PEYTON PLACE

PEYTON PLACE (1957). Director: Mark Robson.

This is a surprisingly entertaining film version of Grace Metalious' once-notorious novel with a screenplay by John Michael Hayes. Constance MacKenzie (Lana Turner), who has a secret and a "past," is afraid that her daughter Allison (Diane Varsi) will follow in her footsteps and become like the town "bad girl" Betty (Terry Moore). "Roddy liked flashy girls so that's what I became," Betty says. Alison's friend Selena (Hope Lange) is raped by her step-father and the town seems to blame her. Norman (Russ Tamblyn) has a domineering mother and may have been intended to be a stereotypical gay character. School teacher Elsie Thornton (Mildred Natwick) is passed over in her hoped-for promotion to principal when the town hires much younger Michael Rossi (Lee Philips) instead. (This sub-plot, unfortunately, isn't developed.) Along with Natwick, Varsi, Lange, and Moore come off best, with nice turns by Arthur Kennedy, Lloyd Nolan, little Scotty Morrow as Joseph, and Lorne Greene as a prosecutor. Contrived at times; admirably frank at others. Beautifully photographed by William Mellor, and Franz Waxman's theme music is a classic. The only problem with the movie is that it's supposed to take place pre-WW 2, but it hardly has any late 30's period atmosphere at all.

Verdict: Sex and suffering soaked in classy sounds and images. ***

DANGEROUS CURVES (1929)

Richard Arlen and Clara Bow

DANGEROUS CURVES (1929). Director: Lothar Mendes. Colorized. 

Larry Lee (Richard Arlen) is the headliner high-wire act at a small-time circus. He is in love with his partner, Zara (Kay Francis), who is in love with Tony (David Newell), another high-wire artist. Rough-hewn but lovable Pat (Clara Bow), daughter of another deceased circus performer, has a big crush on Larry and hates the way Zara cheats on and uses him. When Zara and Tony run off together, Pat helps Larry get back on his feet, and he agrees to teach her and do a new act with her. But then Zara comes back into the picture ... 

Kay Francis with Arlen

Dangerous Curves is a charming and occasionally touching comedy-drama with some fine performances from the three leads. Anders Randolf also makes an impression as Brack, the owner of the circus. This movie belies the persistent notion that early sound pictures were static and slow, with the camera nailed to the floor, because this picture moves and is well-edited and at times quite cinematic. There are some things you have to take with a grain of salt, however. Arlen falls 170 feet and only breaks a few ribs, and Bow becomes a fairly adept wire walker rather quickly. But as this is another romantic fantasy, who cares?

Clara Bow

Kay Francis [Four Jills in a Jeep] and Richard Arlen [Identity Unknown] went on to make many movies and have successful sound careers, while Bow's career was essentially over four years later. She had had a passionate affair with Bela Lugosi (!) and later married handsome cowboy star Rex Bell, whereupon she retired, had two children, and developed a host of problems. However, she lived until she was sixty. Lothar Mendes also directed The Man Who Could Work Miracles. 

Verdict: An appealing Clara Bow helps put this over. ***. 

THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: HOLLYWOOD IN THE FIFTIES

THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Hollywood in the Fifties. Sam Kashner and Jennifer MacNair. W. W. Norton; 2002.

This is a very entertaining and readable account of Hollywood trends, important movies, and notable performers, writers and directors during the very end of the film capitol's golden age. The Bad and the Beautiful has chapters on the scandals both in and surrounding the controversial publication Confidential; the troubled offspring of certain movie stars (such as Edward G. Robinson and his son Manny); James Dean and Rebel Without a Cause; Rock Hudson, Douglas Sirk and Ross Hunter; Charles Laughton's Night of the Hunter; Kim Novak and Sammy Davis Jr.; Sweet Smell of Success, Burt Lancaster and Walter Winchell; rival Hollywood "news hens" Hedda Hopper, Louella Parsons and Sheila Graham; the life and plays (Picnic; Come Back, Little Sheba) of William Inge and the film versions thereof; and Gloria Swanson and Sunset Boulevard. The book also details how Hollywood was completely changing in this decade, what with the inroads of television, the breakdown of the studio system, and the increasing use of location filming over shooting strictly on sound stages. Some of this material may be familiar to the film enthusiast, but there is much that is new and interesting as well, all told in compelling prose that keeps the pages turning.

Verdict: Excellent look at the foibles and triumphs of 1950's Hollywood. ***1/2.

HER FIRST ROMANCE (1940)

Edith Fellows and Wilbur Evans

HER FIRST ROMANCE (1940). Director: Edward Dmytryck.  Colorized.

Linda (Edith Fellows of Girls' Town) is a supposedly plain 17-year-old college freshman with an older half-sister and guardian, Eileen (Julie Bishop of Why Men Leave Home), who is cruel and selfish. Katy (Marian Kerby), the peppery housekeeper, can see right through bitchy Eileen, and makes up her mind to help Linda go to the prom -- and get the right dress -- despite her sister's edict that she cannot attend. Linda's being asked to the prom is just a fraternity joke, but when the boys see how transformed -- and downright beautiful -- she is, they all want to be her date. But that honor goes to handsome baritone Philip Niles (Wilbur Evans), who runs into Linda when both are busy singing in the woods!

Alan Ladd and Julie Bishop

Her First Romance is pure romantic fantasy, but it has a degree of charm and some very nice singing. Edith Fellows makes an appealing heroine, but once she becomes officially "beautiful," she's far less interesting. At the halfway point the movie becomes sillier and more incredible, with people falling in and out of love at the drop of a hat. Fellows had been acting since she was six, and amassed over eighty credits. Wilbur Evans appeared mostly on the stage, as he only had four appearances in movies, but with his looks and talent he should have become more famous. (Appearing in a Monogram picture probably didn't help him.) In a supporting role is Alan Ladd (of The Glass Key), as Eileen's fiance, whom she stole away from another sister, Marion (Judith Linden). Ladd, of course, went on to major stardom. The music includes the love duet in the forest; another duet from Don Giovanni; "My Love for You;" and Evans singing a version of Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No. One." You watch the film to the end to see Eileen get her comeuppance, although she deserves worse than she gets.

Verdict: Just buy a new dress and the boys will all pant for you! **1/4. 

SWMMING WITH SHARKS

SWIMMING WITH SHARKS (1994). Director: George Huang.

Guy (Frank Whaley) wants so badly to make it in the movie business that he becomes an assistant to an egomaniacal asshole named Buddy Ackerman (Kevin Spacey) and puts up with his mood swings, nastiness, and abusiveness until something finally pushes him over the edge. Most of the movie consists of flashbacks as Guy makes Buddy a prisoner in his own home. Intriguing suspense-drama holds the attention, but what really puts it over is the acting, especially by an amazing Spacey. Whaley is also excellent, as is Michelle Forbes as a producer named Dawn with whom Guy has an affair. Benicio Del Toro also scores as Buddy's last assistant, who tries to teach Guy the ropes. The ending is unrealistic but cynical. This is no Citizen Kane but there's a character named "Foster Kane." Whaley and Forbes have done mostly TV work since this film was released.

Verdict: Quite entertaining with a marvelous Spacey. ***.

HOLLYWOOD HOTEL

Dick Powell and Rosemary Lane

HOLLYWOOD HOTEL (1937). Director: Busby Berkeley. 

Saxophonist Ronnie Bowers (Dick Powell of Susan Slept Here), who has somehow been given a movie contract, is tapped to accompany movie star Mona Marshall (Lola Lane of The Woman Condemned) to a big premiere. He is unaware that an angry Mona has refused to attend and his date is actually a lookalike named Virginia (Rosemary Lane). When the studio drops Ronnie's contract due to the complaints of Mona, Ronnie and Virginia cook up schemes to get him back in the business. Meanwhile Benny Goodman and his band play a couple of snappy numbers, Dick and the Lane sisters sing some pleasant if forgettable songs, and three comparative freaks of nature -- supremely homely columnist Luella Parsons, "singer" Johnnie Davis, and buck-toothed Mabel Todd as Mona's sister -- nearly shatter the camera lens. 

Freaks: Johnnie Davis and Louella Parsons

Hollywood Hotel is an amiable bit of nonsense with a slender plot and some lively musical moments. Fritz Feld has a very funny bit as a Russian customer in a coffee shop, Ronald Reagan appears for a few seconds as an emcee at the premiere, Harry James -- still playing for Benny Goodman at this point -- makes smooth music with his trumpet, and Raymond Paige and his orchestra play an exciting Russian-style number. Others in the cast include Ted Healey (who put the Three Stooges together before being ousted) as "Fuzzy," Ronnie's alleged manager; Frances Langford; Glenda Farrell as Mona's secretary; Alan Mowbray (of Becky Sharp) as Mona's leading man; Perc Westmore as himself; Grant Mitchell as the head of the studio; Allyn Joslyn as his assistant; and others. Goodman's integrated band includes drummer Gene Krupa and vibraphonist Lionel Hampton. A gay fashion designer is named "Butch" -- oy vey!

Verdict: Some fun but perhaps not enough. **1/2. 

THE BETSY

Lesley-Anne Down and Tommy Lee Jones

THE BETSY (1978). Director: Daniel Petrie. 

"It's not the stock, it's not the money -- it's the car!" 

Loren Hardeman (Laurence Olivier of Richard III) wants a racer named Angelo (Tommy Lee Jones) to work with him on a new fuel-efficient engine and a brand new car he will name after his granddaughter (Kathleen Beller): the Betsy. However, Loren's grandson, Loren Hardeman III (Robert Duvall), who hates him and now runs the company, is completely against the idea, and pulls a few dirty tricks of his own. Loren III has a wife (Jane Alexander) and a mistress (Lesly-Anne Down of Countess Dracula), who also dallies with Angelo, but Betsy develops feelings for him as well. Meanwhile long intermittent flashbacks take us back to the thirties and to the story of Hardeman's gay son (Paul Rudd), his conspiring boyfriend (Clifford David), his wife (Katharine Ross of Games), who has an affair with her father-in-law, and an act of suicide which will have consequences in the present day. 

Father and son: Paul Rudd and Olivier

Based on a novel by schlockmeister Harold Robbins, The Betsy is actually an entertaining and well-acted potboiler. In addition to the very capable actors already named, there's good work from Joseph Wiseman as a mobster, Edward Herrmann as an assistant, and others. Olivier is simply too old for the flashback sequences -- no amount of hair dye or make up can make him look fifty years younger -- and while Duvall is generally excellent, he underplays way too much in his climactic confrontation with his grandfather. There is a nice score by John Barry. A very strange sequence has Angelo being beaten up not by tough guys but what appear to be businessmen on the verge of senior citizenship! The gay aspects are rather dated, but as this section of the story takes place long before Stonewall this is almost inevitable. Daniel Petrie also directed The Idol and many, many others. 

Verdict: Not too many likable characters in this, but it's absorbing. ***. 

WEEKEND AT THE WALDORF

Lana Turner and Van Johnson

WEEKEND AT THE WALDORF (aka Week-End at the Waldorf/1945). Director: Robert Z. Leonard. Colorized. 

The stories of several guests at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel are presented, occurring over one fateful weekend, in this semi-musical remake of Grand Hotel. The two main love stories concern: lonely movie star Irene Malvern (Ginger Rogers), who longs for a normal home life and marriage, and war correspondent Chip Collyer (Walter Pidgeon); and stenographer Bunny Smith (Lana Turner of These Glamour Girls) and Captain Hollis (Van Johnson of The Bottom of the Bottle), who may or may not survive a required operation. 

Ginger Rogers and Walter Pidgeon

In the original Grand Hotel a ballerina had to deal with an impoverished baron who wants to steal her jewels, but in this version Irene merely mistakes Chip for a thief, but he carries on the joke a little too far (for her and for the audience). At one point Irene even exclaims: "That's straight out of the picture Grand Hotel!" Other changes make this a movie only loosely based on Vicki Baum's novel, the source material for the original picture. Frankly, this would have been a much more entertaining movie if they had thrown out everything else -- including a sub-plot with Edward Arnold [Crime and Punishment] trying to fleece a mid-Eastern potentate (George Zucco) -- and strictly focused on the touching love story of Bunny and the captain. Turner and Johnson both give lovely and adept performances in this, and the picture really only comes alive when they are on -- although I must admit Xavier Cugat is likable and does a couple of bouncy numbers (he actually was playing the rooftop at the Waldorf at the time). 

Verdict: One half of a good movie. **1/2. 

KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE

KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE (1950). Director: Gordon Douglas.

Ralph Cotter (James Cagney) escapes from prison with the help of Holiday Carleton (Barbara Payton), the sister of another inmate, who dies during the break out. With the help of a shifty lawyer named Mandon (Luther Adler), Cotter blackmails a corrupt police inspector named Weber (Ward Bond) into using his resources into committing crimes. All goes smoothly until Cotter falls for Margaret Dobson (Helena Carter), the wealthy daughter of a powerful man ... This is a rather fascinating suspense/crime film, bolstered by excellent performances from the entire cast. Cagney is as mesmerizing as ever, and the tragic Payton, whose private life often overshadowed her acting achievements, proves that she did have genuine talent. The scene when she clings to Cagney and intones "I'm so alone, I'm so alone" is quite affecting. Helena Carter is also quite good in a less showy role. The force of the ending is a bit blunted by the production code, but this is still a very entertaining movie. Kenneth Tobey from It Came from Beneath the Sea, John Litel, and Barton MacLane are also in the cast, and William Frawley from I Love Lucy scores as a nasty if good-humored prison guard.

Verdict: Nifty crime drama with outstanding lead performance and highly creditable supporting cast. ***.

MARILYN

Sandra Dorne

MARILYN (aka Roadhouse Girl/1953). Writer-Director: Wolf Rilla. Colorized. 

George Saunders (Leslie Dwyer) owns a combination garage and cafe and lives there with his pretty young wife, Marilyn (Sandra Dorne), whom he essentially bought from her father. Who should apply for a job at the garage but handsome Tom Price (Maxwell Reed  of Daybreak), who takes a shine to Marilyn and vice versa. Before you can say The Postman Always Rings Twice, someone dies and Marilyn finds herself in the middle of a testy triangle containing both Tom and wealthy newcomer Nicky (Ferdy Mayne of Maid in Heaven). If that weren't enough for our heroine, her friend, confidante, and housekeeper, Rosie (Vida Hope), seems to have more than motherly feelings towards her. Which one will our gal wind up with and will anyone else wind up dead?

Maxwell Reed and Sandra Dorne

This British variation on Postman is a credible enough melodrama with good performances from all and -- aside from the basic structure -- an unpredictable plot. Although one could argue that Rosie loves Marilyn like a sister or daughter, the intensity of Vida Hope's performance and the dialogue she is given ("I would have died for you") really makes one wonder. Absorbing enough, with a little more seasoning Marilyn could have been a contender.  Dorne is quite beautiful, and a good actress, and Reed has a lot of screen presence as well. Like Beyond the Forest, this is another story of a desperate woman who longs for a better life and will do just about anything she can to get it. This UK production was released in the US as Roadhouse Girl. Wolf Rilla's most famous movie is Village of the Damned, which he also wrote and directed.

Verdict: Strangely compelling despite its flaws. ***. 

WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME

WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME (1942). Director: Charles Lamont.

War hero Johnny Kovacs (Allan Jones) is feted when he comes home on leave, but most of his musician buddies only know him as Johnny O'Rourke. Therefore when police come searching for him so he can fulfill some obligations, his pals assume he's a deserter from the army. Two women fall instantly in love with Johnny -- Joyce (Jane Frazee) and Marilyn (Gloria Jean) -- while Dusty (Peggy Ryan) can't even score with Frankie (Donald O'Connor). This has virtually no plot to speak of, but there are some well-delivered songs, such as the duets "This is It," "Romance," and "You and the Night and the Music." Jones has a very nice voice, but even in his day his style was a little too precious, and nowadays he seems just a bit hokey. Olin Howlin has a larger role than usual as a liaison, and a black dance group called the Four Step Brothers are full of verve. O'Connor is as good and as likable as ever, although his numbers with the frankly unfunny Ryan are nothing to sing about. Ryan made a better impression in Chip Off the Old Block, which starred O'Connor. Frazee was in Buck Privates and Gloria Jean in Copacabana.

Verdict: By the numbers -- but at least the numbers are good. **1/2.

PARK ROW

PARK ROW (1952). Director/Writer/Producer: Samuel Fuller.

This labor of love for Samuel Fuller about the newspaper business takes a while to get started, but eventually becomes quite interesting and dramatic, although it's nowhere in the league of, say, Citizen Kane, which also, in part, dealt with newspapers. Phineas Mitchell (Gene Evans), fired from the Star in 1880's New York, lunges at the opportunity to start his own newspaper the Globe, which he intends to make a real newspaper, not a shoddy imitation like the Star, whose publisher Charity Hackett (Mary Welch) hasn't got newsprint in her blood. 

Gene Evans

His first big story is his pal Steve Brodie (George O'Hanlon) jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge. Hackett is attracted to Mitchell, and instructs underlings to begin a war on the paper, even though its circulation is not nearly as big as her major competitors. The war escalates into violence and tragedy, with bombs, mobs and destruction. Fuller even works in the invention of Linotype and the gift of the Statue of Liberty. Although this is supposed to be the "true" story of newspaper publishing, it has to be taken with a grain of salt. Fuller's script could have used some punching up and there are character reversals that make no sense. Mary Welch gives the most interesting performance in the film. (Welch died in childbirth six years after the movie was released and had only three other television credits.) Evans of Giant Behemoth fame certainly has his moments and is by no means a bad actor, but you can't help comparing him to the dynamic Orson Welles. Evans doesn't really have that kind of big screen presence that would help him dominate a movie.

Verdict: An interesting curiosity. **1/2.

BLITHE SPIRIT

Margaret Rutherford as Madame Arcati

BLITHE SPIRIT (1945). Director: David Lean. Based on the play by Noel Coward, who also produced the film.

To do research for his next book, writer Charles Condomine (Rex Harrison) and his wife Ruth (Constance Cummings) invite well-known psychic Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford) to dinner and a seance. Everyone at the dinner party thinks the madame is slightly nuts, and definitely a phony, but to Charles and Ruth's surprise she inadvertently manages to call back the spirit of Elvira (Kay Hammond) -- Charles' first wife, leading to expected -- and a few unexpected -- complications! 

Rex Harrison

One critic called the source material for the movie, the play of the same title by Noel Coward, "a wearying  exhibition of bad taste" and indeed it is the sort of dark comedy/farce in which tragic situations are milked for laughs and characters sort of suppress natural human emotions for the sake of the story. Many will feel there's a definite streak of (probably benign and possibly unintended) misogyny running through the movie as well. Harrison and Cummings are fine as the husband and his second wife, but Kay Hammond -- although her performance isn't bad -- has so affected and unnatural a voice, with its jutting lower lip and distasteful inflections, that she becomes positively repulsive as Elvira. Margaret Rutherford, on the other hand, is as delightful as ever as the medium and steals the movie from everyone else. Blithe Spirit is not exactly a laugh-riot (although any pathos the situations might have had goes unexplored) but it is amusing and entertaining. A bonus on the remastered DVD of the film is an interview with Coward scholar Barry Day, who provides much interesting information  on the background both of the play and movie, and also explores the many differences between the two -- and Coward's reaction to the film as well; Day is marvelous. The play was also turned into the cute if mediocre musical "High Spirits." 

Verdict: Certainly worth a look. ***.

STOLEN IDENTITY

Francis Lederer, Donald Buka, Joan Camden

STOLEN IDENTITY (1953). Director: Gunther von Fritsch. Colorized. 

In post-war Vienna American Tony Sponer (Donald Buka) has difficulty making a living because he has no valid papers. When a man is shot in the back of the cab he is temporarily driving, he sees an opportunity to take on his identity and perhaps get back to the States. Unfortunately, the dead man was supposed to meet Karen Manelli (Joan Camden), who is running away from her suffocating husband, the famous pianist Claude Manelli (Frances Lederer of The Return of Dracula). When Karen meets up with her "boyfriend," a completely different person, things really become complicated. 

Buka and Camden

Stolen Identity is an unpredictable suspense story with some fine performances, intriguing aspects, and interesting characters. Lederer is as smooth and vaguely sinister as ever as the concert pianist, and Buka is excellent as Tony, who is torn in different directions as he simply tries to get back to his birthplace but gets tied up in murder and danger. Camden is generally good, although there are times when she hardly seems as upset as she should be considering the circumstances (and the death of her lover). The whole story takes place on New Year's Eve, was filmed on actual Viennese locations, and was produced by actor Turhan Bey. Buka had a long career before settling into a role on All My Children; Camden mostly did television. There are some good supporting performances in this as well. An Austrian-U.S. co-production. 

Verdict: Crackling good suspenser. ***. 

(THE EARRINGS OF) MADAME DE

Charles Boyer and Danielle Darrieux

MADAME DE (1953/AKA The Earrings of Madame de). Director: Max Ophuls.

To pay off her debts, Comtesse Louise (Danielle Darrieux) pawns earrings that were given to her by her husband, General Andre (Charles Boyer), but they wind up being given back to her as a gift from the man she's fallen in love with, Baron Donati (Vittorio de Sica), causing mildly interesting complications. Ophuls' most famous film (made in Hollywood) is Letter from an Unknown Woman, which is vastly superior to the French-Italian co-production Madame de. The characters are not that dimensional, although the actors, especially a fine Boyer, do their best to put them over. Despite some of the emotions boiling under the surface, the story is slight and not handled with much dramatic flair. The modestly attractive Darrieux makes too ordinary a heroine. (She had a decidedly brief Hollywood career, appearing in The Rage of Paris in 1938.) I like de Sica better as a director than as an actor, although he is certainly not bad as Donati.

Verdict: A mere trifle all told. **.

BAD SISTER

David Durand and Bette Davis

BAD SISTER (1931). Director: Hobart Henley. Colorized.

The Madison family are beset with a series of problems. Laura (Bette Davis) is in love with Dr. Dick Lindley (Conrad Nagel of All That Heaven Allows), but he only has eyes for her sister, Marianne (Sidney Fox). For her part, Marianne falls hard for an out-of-town stranger, Valentine (Humphrey Bogart of The Barefoot Contessa) who has distinct, if unpleasant, plans for both her and her family. Dad (Charles Winninger of Lover Come Back) is prompted to find out as much as he can about Val, but the selfish and immature Marianne may cause terrible problems with her own actions. Meanwhile little brother, Hedrick (David Durand), shows Laura's diary to Dick, leading to a moving sequence between brother and sister. 

Sidney Fox and Humphrey Bogart

Bad Sister is best-known as the first film ever for Bette Davis, who is quite good, but you wouldn't necessarily see her as becoming a major and long-lasting star. This was also the first film for the capable Sidney Fox, who didn't have the same good fortune, committing suicide at 34. Bogart, of course, went on to great success and is quite effective in the movie. Nagel and Winninger score as suitor and father, and the film is nearly stolen by young Durand as the lovable if irritating scamp Hedrick, although the boy has his sensitive side as well. Based on a story by Booth Tarkington, Bad Sister is a charming, funny, and occasionally touching comedy-drama. Zazu Pitts and Slim Summerville are also in the cast as maid and son-in-law. 

Verdict: Lovely old movie. ***. 

THE BIGAMIST

Ida Lupino and Edmond O'Brien

THE BIGAMIST (1953). Director: Ida Lupino.

"How could a man like you, successful, respected, get into a situation as vile as this?"

When Harry Graham (Edmond O'Brien) and his wife Eve (Joan Fontaine) apply to adopt a child, Mr. Jordan (Edmund Gwenn), who's in charge of investigating the couple's background, discovers that Graham has another wife, Phyllis (Ida Lupino) in another city where he frequently travels for business. The rest of the film is a flashback as Graham tries to explain to the horrified Jordan exactly how he got into this situation. The Bigamist is completely absorbing, realistically and logically explaining how Graham fell in love with two women, and is beautifully acted by the entire cast. 

Joan Fontaine with O'Brien

Lupino's direction is on the mark, as is her acting, and O'Brien is excellent. The picture is nearly stolen by Joan Fontaine, who has a splendid moment as she reacts to the terrible news delivered to her over the phone by her lawyer. Jane Darwell and Kenneth Tobey have small roles, and there's a nice musical score by Leith Stevens. Very touching movie with an interestingly open-ended wind-up. On youtube there is a beautifully colorized version of the picture. Screenwriter-producer Collier Young was married to Fontaine but had previously been married to Lupino! 

Verdict: Outstanding adult drama with fine performances. ****.

THE FLAME

John Carroll and Vera Ralston

THE FLAME (1947). Director: John H. Auer. Colorized. 

George MacAllister (John Carroll of Zorro Rides Again) is in love with a nurse named Carlotta (Vera Ralston), who happens to be looking after George's supposedly dying brother, Barry (Robert Paige of Hellzapoppin). Carlotta marries Barry with the full approval of George, who is hoping to wrest his brother's fortune away from him. Complicating matters are another gal pal, Helena (Constance Dowling), and a guy with a big crush on her, Ernie (Broderick Crawford of All the King's Men). Then there's the termagant Aunt Margaret (Blanche Yurka), who casts a dim eye on Carlotta and Barry's marriage. Which of the two brothers will Carlotta ultimately wind up with, and which will be alive at the end? 

Robert Paige and Ralston

The Flame is an interesting if flawed bit of film noir from Republic Studios starring Ralston, the wife of the studio head. She seems to give a more convincing performance in this than in other films, although she'll never be seen as another Barbara Stanwyck. Carroll is excellent, however; Paige is somewhat less notable but good enough, Yurka scores as the aunt, and Crawford and Dowling nearly walk off with the movie. Crawford proves that there's much more to him than Highway Patrol, and Dowling does a snappy and sexy song and dance number in a nightclub. The generally unpredictable film keeps throwing curveballs at the viewer when it comes to the inter-relationships of the characters. Victor Sen Yung is a breath of fresh air and is very effective as George's manservant, Chang. There's also good work from Henry Travers as a doctor and Hattie McDaniel as a cheerful domestic. Reggie Lanning's cinematography and Heinz Roemheld's score are added attractions. It is never specified exactly what is wrong with Barry and he never seems to be "dying" or even ill. Much of the story takes place at Manhattan's tony Hampshire House on Central Park West, which is still standing today. 

Verdict: Some more character development might have helped, but this is intriguing enough in its own way. **3/4. 

CHU CHIN CHOW

Fritz Kortner and Anna May Wong

CHU CHIN CHOW (1934). Director: Walter Forde. Colorized.  

Now here is a weird one! Chu Chin Chow was originally a highly popular British operetta with music by Frederick Norton that played for years, but is now more or less forgotten. This very interesting film version has only one cast member whose name may be familiar to modern-day film buffs -- Anna May Wong -- although the other players were all well-known in their day. This adaptation uses some of Norton's wonderful (at times Puccinesque) music but drops some of his best songs. It is a version of the story of Ali Baba and the forty thieves. 

Pearl Argyle and John Garrick

Ali Baba (George Robey) is the brother of the much more successful merchant Kasim (Lawrence Hanray). One day looking for firewood in the Dark Forest, Ali discovers the supposedly magic words to open the entrance to the cave of Abu Hasan (Fritz Kortner of Somewhere in the Night) and his band of thieves and cutthroats. Ali makes off with as much booty as he can and becomes one of the richest men in town. Meanwhile Abu and his men waylay the party of the Chinese Chu Chin Chow and kill everyone, even burying the Chinese man alive; Abu impersonates the dead man, planning to sack the palace. Ali's son Nur-al-din (John Garrick) is in love with the gorgeous slave Marjanah (Pearl Argyle) while another slave, Zahrat (Anna May Wong of Daughter of Shanghai), is the beloved of the evil Abu. These characters all come into conflict with one another in unpredictable fashion until Abu secrets his men in large jars of olive oil planning to attack -- until his plans are stymied in violent fashion.

Lawrence Hanray and George Robey

Chu Chin Chow is strange because it is essentially a light-hearted operetta but has some decidedly grim and bloody developments. When Kasim discovers how his brother got his money, he enters Abu's cave only to be dismembered by forty slashing scimitars (although this is not shown graphically). Later a cobbler has to literally sew the pieces together (!) so the corpse can be presentable. Ali, not an especially likable character, immediately moves in on his brother's fat and unmournful widow. (The song about her, "When a pullet is plump," is dropped). The climax, with dancing girls, an initially unimpressed Caliph (Francis L. Sullivan), a knife attack by a vengeful Zahrat, and the jars allegedly filled with olive oil being dropped down a well followed by flaming liquid, is very well-done and exciting. 

An interesting notion is that the cave door is not opened by magic. When someone shouts out "Open O Sesame" a bunch of Abu's prisoners, starved, whipped and tied to a gigantic wheel, revolve this wheel to open the entrance. When Abu wrongly thinks that Zahrat has betrayed him, he ties her to the wheel until she effects an escape and enacts her revenge. The score includes "The Cobbler's Song," the thieves march, "Anytime's Kissing Time," "Marjanah,"  the title tune (sung briefly), as well as a song about the variety of slaves in the market and even one about olive oil, but doesn't include Norton's two best numbers "I Long for the Sun" and "I Love Thee So." Another version of the famous story is Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves starring Jon Hall and Maria Montez.

Verdict: Rather fascinating and unusual musical. ***. 

UNCLE SILAS

Jean Simmons and Katina Paxinou

UNCLE SILAS (aka The Inheritance/1947). Director: Charles Frank.

Caroline Ruthyn (Jean Simmons) finds herself at the mercy of her rather batty Uncle Silas (Derrick De Marney) and his psychotic son, Dudley  (Manning Whiley), after her father dies and she becomes the ward of Silas -- who has serious debts and sinister plans. But even more threatening is the very weird governess Madame de la Rougierre (Katina Paxinou), who is positively monstrous. This adaptation of a Sheridan Le Fanu gothic novel tries very hard to be atmospheric and sinister and classy, and it nearly succeeds some of the time, but it also has a decidedly second-rate quality to it that nothing can disguise. The acting is very good, however, with Jean Simmons perfect as the (rather slow) heroine and Paxinou marvelous as the evil Madame, who shows up again to cause mischief at an unexpected moment. Marjorie Rhodes has a small role as Mrs. Rusk and there isn't enough of her. The ultimate effect is one of tedium, however.

Verdict: Strange, rather dull movie despite all the goings-on. **.

THE UNSUSPECTED

THE UNSUSPECTED (1947). Director: Michael Curtiz.

"I detest scenes not of my own making."

Roslyn, the secretary of radio star Victor Grandison (Claude Rains), who narrates tales of mystery and the macabre, is found hanging in the study, apparently the victim of a suicide. Meanwhile, Grandison's niece, Matilda (Joan Caulfield), who was supposedly lost at sea, shows up alive and well, as does Steven Howard (Michael/Ted North), a man she doesn't remember who claims he's her husband. Other members of this strange household include another viperish niece, Althea (Audrey Totter), her husband Oliver (Hurd Hatfield), whom she stole away from Matilda, and snappy assistant Jane (Constance Bennett), not to mention Press (Jack Lambert) a hooligan employed by Grandison. Based on a novel by Charlotte Armstrong, this seems an odd fit for director Curtiz (despite his work on such films as Mildred Pierce) and while it holds the attention and has a fairly exciting finale, otherwise it never quite comes alive. Nice work by Claude Rains (although he seems less inspired by this material than he was in, say, Deception). Audrey Totter is vivid, as usual, as is Constance Bennett. Caulfield is just okay, no more.

Verdict: Okay suspenser. **1/2.

DIE HALBSTARKEN

Horst Buchholz

DIE HALBSTARKEN (aka Teenage Wolfpack/1956). Director: Georg Tressler. Colorized. 

A youth gang (of sorts) in post-war Germany is led by Freddy (Horst Buchholz), the most attractive and charismatic of the bunch. He has acquired some of his nasty attitude from his father (Paul Wagner), who has been in a foul mood since his brother-in-law borrowed a significant amount of money and can't repay it. Freddy's younger brother, John (Christian Doermer), is dismayed that his father takes it all out on his mother (Viktoria von Ballasko) and hopes to raise the money to repay his father. Meanwhile Freddy has moved or been thrown out of the house, and has his own place, with his 15-going-on-16 girlfriend, Sissy (Karin Baal), just next door. Freddy concocts a robbery scheme that goes horribly wrong, and discovers that the female of the species may just be deadlier than the male. 

Doermer and Baal

If one is hoping for a serious and thoughtful look at life in post-WW2 Germany, Die Halbstarken is not it. Clearly inspired by Hollywood juvenile delinquency films (which were dubbed and shown in Germany), this picture resembles one of them even down to the jazz score. We've got the restless teenage boys, the sluttish females, the attitude and feeling of wasted lives going nowhere, and all the usual tropes. The acting is quite good, however, with Buchholz (billed as "Henry Bookholt" in the dubbed American version of the film, Teenage Wolfpack, which even played drive-ins in the states) taking top honors but getting competition from Doermer as his nicer and more sensitive brother and Baal as the girlfriend, a blonde Lolita who tries to play both ends against the middle. The supporting cast is also on top of things. Buchholz struts around in tight black leather pants through the whole movie, which is somewhat entertaining if minor. NOTE: After I wrote this review I discovered that I'd already seen and reviewed the darn thing some years ago. I hate when that happens! 

Verdict: Buchholz went on to better things. **3/4. 

WILD RIVER

WILD RIVER (1960). Director: Elia Kazan.

Chuck Glover (Montgomery Clift), a representative of the Tennessee Valley Authority, tries to persuade an elderly woman, Ella Garth (Jo Van Fleet), that she must leave her home before the whole area is flooded to make a damn for electric power, as well as to tame a river that has taken many lives. (A very affecting prologue presents what appears to be actual newsreel footage of a heart-broken man telling how most of his family was swept away by flood waters.) But Ella is very eloquent about what the land means to her, and why she is adamant about dying in her home. In the meantime Glover begins a romance with the old lady's grand-daughter, Carol (Lee Remick), and has to deal with racists who object to his hiring black workers and paying them a decent wage. This is another interesting social drama by Elia Kazan, imperfect and not always riveting, but bolstered by fine acting and photography. The secondary love story between Chuck and Carol isn't that compelling, even though Remick gives a lovely performance and Clift, as ever, is solid. Van Fleet, who was actually only 46 when the film came out, is simply superb as Ella Garth, and as others have noted, it's a shame that she wasn't even nominated for an Oscar.

Verdict: Worth viewing for an outstanding Van Fleet. ***.

JUBILEE TRAIL

JUBILEE TRAIL (1954). Director: Joseph Kane.

A dance hall gal who calls herself Florinda (Vera Ralston) and a "nice" gal named Garnet (Joan Leslie), recently married, develop an unexpected friendship that lasts from 1845 New Orleans to California in the days just before and after it became a state and on the verge of the Gold Rush. The main story of this meandering "epic" from Republic pictures has to do with Garnet's brother-in-law trying to kidnap her young son after her husband's death, and the chaos that results. Along the way there are Indians on the warpath and assorted romantic complications. Richard Webb, Forrest Tucker, Buddy Baer, Barton MacLane and Jim Davis are also in the cast. Pat O'Brien has a notable turn as "Texas," a kind-hearted drunk with a secret. Leslie is okay as Garnet; Vera Ralston is oddly appealing as Florinda. Jubilee Trail isn't awful but it isn't memorable, either.

Verdict: A trail you may not want to wander along. **1/2.

THE LAW AND THE LADY

THE LAW AND THE LADY (1951). Director: Edwin H. Knopf.

"At my age a good cook is more important than a husband." --Marjorie Main

Another version of The Last of Mrs. Cheney -- Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford did the others -- with Greer Garson and Michael Wilding as a lovable team of jewel thieves and rogues at the turn of the century. Jane Hoskins (Garson), with the help of Wilding, the brother of her former employer, reinvents herself as "Lady Jane Loverly" and becomes welcomed in American society, especially the home of wealthy old Julia Wortin (Marjorie Main), who has a fabulously valuable necklace. Fernando Lamas, Margalo Gillmore, Hayden Rourke, and Natalie Schafer all add to the fun as various guests and suitors. The movie gets kind of silly and unreal toward the end, to say the least, but it never quite loses its sense of humor. Speaking of which, it's definitely fun to see Marjorie Main as a lady in society! Soledad Jimenez scores as Lamas' peppery grandmother. This is arguably the best screen version of Frederick Lonsdale's play.

Verdict: Light and snappy for the most part. ***.

STAY TUNED

Great Old Movies is on temporary hiatus while I finish up a new book project. Work, work, work!

We will be back in the new year if not before!

THE SECRET FURY

Claudette Colbert and Robert Ryan

THE SECRET FURY (1950). Director: Mel Ferrer. Colorized version.

Ellen Ewing (no relation to J. R. Ewing) is about to marry architect David McLean (Robert Ryan), when a strange man (Willard Parker) interrupts the ceremony and insists that he was present when Ellen married another man -- she is about to commit bigamy! Ellen insists that she never heard of her "husband," Lucian Randall (Dave Barbour). Although Ellen's Aunt Clara (Jane Cowl) seems to fear that her niece might have had a nervous breakdown, David has a more supportive attitude and sets off with his fiancee to find Randall and get to the bottom of this mystery. The couple get more than they bargained for when a murder is committed and Ellen is accused. Is she the victim of a far-reaching conspiracy, or is Ellen truly unhinged? 

Robert Ryan questions Vivian Vance

Although there are some holes in the plot -- the whole logistics of the murder, for instance -- The Secret Fury proceeds at a fairly swift pace and maintains suspense for its entire length. You'll find yourself being suspicious of virtually everyone in the picture. The acting can't be faulted. Although Ryan has the less showy role of the two stars, he never reveals too much nor too little about David. Colbert is excellent, particularly in a courtroom sequence when she has a positive meltdown (and gives Doris Day of Midnight Lace a run for her money!) Paul Kelly is wonderful as a former flame of Ellen's, although it is highly unlikely that he would be the prosecutor on the case. Philip Ober is given one of his all-time best roles as Ellen's defense attorney and friend, and his then-wife Vivian Vance makes an impression as a maid who swears that she met Ellen and her husband, the aforementioned Randall, before. (The following year Vance wound up as Ethel on I Love Lucy.) Jane Cowl is also excellent as the aunt who hardly seems like she's that much on her niece's side. Percy Helton, Paul Picerni and Elisabeth Risdon also make an impression in smaller roles. This is one of ten or so films directed by actor Mel Ferrer; his work on this is efficient enough if hardly Hitchcock level. Jose Ferrer (no relation to Mel) has a small role in the film as a wedding guest. 

Verdict: Very suspenseful thriller with some excellent performances. ***. 

THE SERVANT

Wendy Craig, James Fox, and the servant's shadow

THE SERVANT (1963). Director: Joseph Losey. Colorized version.  

Tony (James Fox), a wealthy if somewhat dizzy Londoner, simply can't function without a manservant, and hires Barrett (Dirk Bogarde) to be his cook, butler and chief bottle washer. His fiancee, Susan (Wendy Craig), takes an almost instant dislike to Barrett, who clearly isn't much impressed with her, either. Barrett has his "sister" (Sarah Miles of White Mischief) come move in to do the housekeeping, and it isn't long before she and Tony are carrying on, far more passionately than Tony ever did with Susan. One night Susan and Tony come back early and discover things may be even more twisted than they thought ... 

Bogarde meets Fox' approval

Although the screenplay for The Servant is written by Harold Pinter, who has a cameo in a restaurant, it is based on a novella by Somerset Maugham's gay nephew (I believe Somerset was also gay). He based the novella on his own experiences with a manservant who wanted to bring in his "nephew," but he feared being blackmailed. The novella changes gay characters to straight, as does the film, although there are certain intimations which go unexplored -- late in the film Tony and Barrett come off like a quarreling married couple, for instance, and there are those posters of muscle men on the bedroom wall. But both men seem to be lustily interested in the ladies (another case of gay erasure?) 

Setting up housekeeping: Bogarde; Fox

Acclaimed in its day, I'm not certain if The Servant deserves its reputation, although it is well-directed by Losey (who had to work in England after being blackballed by Hollywood), extremely well-acted, and has absolutely stunning cinematography by Douglas Slocombe. Not to mention an interestingly quirky score by John Dankworth. Perhaps the problem is that after all these years The Servant makes such obvious points about class distinction and the character flaws of the rich, the characters are not quite as dimensional as you might have hoped, and the predictable ending doesn't carry the punch that it might once have. Losey also directed Bogarde in King and Country and The Sleeping Tiger, both of which are arguably better than The Servant.  

Verdict: Outstanding cinematography is the film's major asset. **3/4.