THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG

THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG (1939). Director: Nick Grinde. 

A young assistant agrees to become part of an experiment with a doctor he works with, Savaard (Boris Karloff), even though the assistant's fiancee, Betty (Ann Doran), begs him not to do it. In essence the young man has to be killed so that Savaard can bring him back to life. Horrified, Betty gets the authorities, who shut Savaard down just before he can revive his assistant, dooming the young man to an early death. Savaard is put on trial for murder, and vows revenge on all those who put him away. The fascinating climax has him trapping everyone in an old house and swearing that every fifteen minutes someone will die! Karloff, not exactly looking fetching with blond, wavy hair, gives one of his best performances in this entertaining and interesting thriller. 

Verdict: One of the better Karloff vehicles. ***.

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1939)

On the moors with Holmes and Watson

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1939). Director: Sidney Lanfield. 

"Oh, Watson, the needle." 

This is the first of two Sherlock Holmes films made by Twentieth Century-Fox and the first in which the wonderful Basil Rathbone created perhaps the definitive movie portrayal of the famous detective -- he is simply outstanding. The plot has to do with Holmes and Watson (Nigel Bruce) trying to save the life of an heir (Richard Greene) while dealing with rumors of the huge title beast roaming the foggy moors where the story takes place. John Carradine has a small role as a servant, and Wendy Barrie is the love interest. Lionel Atwill, who played Holmes' nemesis Professor Moriarty in a later film, Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon, is excellent in the more sympathetic role of Dr. Mortimer. Mary Gordon played Mrs. Hudson for the first time in this picture. Barlowe Borland scores as the cranky, litigious old Frankland. Morton Lowry is fine as John Stapleton. The 1959 color remake is also quite creditable, and some may feel it has the slight edge. Followed by The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. 

Verdict: Fine introduction to the Rathbone portrayal. ***.

IN NAME ONLY

Grant, Lombard and Francis

IN NAME ONLY (1939). Director: John Cromwell. 

Alec Walker (Cary Grant) is trapped in a loveless marriage with his wife Maida (Kay Francis), who freely admits she was in love with another man at the time of their wedding and only married Alec for his money. Alec meets a free-spirited widow, Julie Eden (Carole Lombard) with a small girl, and he and Julie, instantly smitten, fall in love. But will Maida graciously step aside -- or cause them all manner of trouble? What do you think? The stars are all in top form in this -- it's one of Francis' best performances -- and the picture is warm, humorous, dramatic, and absorbing, the only deficit a climactic bout with pneumonia that's a bit of a bore. Otherwise, this is very entertaining. Supporting players include Helen Vinson as the bitchy, man-hungry Suzanne, supposedly Maida's best friend; Katharine Alexander as Laura, Julie's bitter sister; and Charles Coburn as Grant's father, who doesn't have nearly enough to do. Grant and Lombard are really terrific in this. A lost film from that great year for movies, 1939. 

 

Verdict: Kay, Carole and Cary make this a winner! ***1/2.

THE OLD MAID

THE OLD MAID (1939). Director: Edmund Goulding.

"Don't you know what happens to you means more to me than anything?"

So says young Charlotte Lovell (Bette Davis) to the man she loves, Clem Spender (George Brent), who has come back to town to discover that the woman he loves, Charlotte's cousin Delia (Miriam Hopkins), is that very day marrying someone else. Charlotte consoles Clem, who goes off to war and never returns, leaving Charlotte with a child that she disguises as a civil war orphan. Then Delia, who has a "good" marriage with one of the wealthy Ralston brothers, learns about Charlotte and Clem and is enraged ... with expectedly dramatic results. She eventually takes both mother and illegitimate daughter into her home and usurps the mother position from Charlotte. 

Bette Davis

Yes, this film has some of the elements of soap opera, but it's on a much higher level, and the film is virtually perfect in all departments, from Goulding's direction to Max Steiner's evocative score (which incorporates some old songs but also has original music), to the accomplished acting from the entire cast. This is easily one of Davis' best portrayals, years before she became much too affected and artificial in certain projects. Mariam Hopkins is her match in the more flamboyant if less dramatic role of Delia. Jane Bryan as the daughter, Tina, Donald Crisp as the wise friend and doctor, Cecelia Loftus as the wily old grandmother, and Louise Fazenda as the maid Dora are all superlative, and while he's not entirely successful at showing us the hurt and trauma beneath his light-hearted, sardonic air, even George Brent is solid. Very moving and a genuinely touching finale. A real gem of a tearjerker. Based on a novella by Edith Wharton and a Pulitzer prize-winning play by Zoe Akins. NOTE; This was my late partner, Lawrence J. Quirk's, all-time favorite movie. I was forced to watch it half a dozen times until I grew to love it, too. 

Verdict: Another in the category of 'They don't make 'em like this anymore.' ****.

OF MICE AND MEN (1939)

OF MICE AND MEN (1939). Director: Lewis Milestone. 

"It's just havin' someone to talk with. It's just bein' with another guy."

George (Burgess Meredith) and his brain-damaged cousin Lennie (Lon Chaney Jr.) arrive at a ranch and hope to save up enough money to buy their own farm and be their own boss. The elderly Candy (Roman Bohnen), afraid of almost literally being put out to pasture, wants to go in with them, as does Crooks (Leigh Whipper), the black man who is isolated in his own shack away from the bunk house with the other men. But then there's the nasty little Curley (Bob Steele), the boss's son, and his bored, lonely wife, Mae (Betty Field), and the trouble they represent. John Steinbeck's heartbreaking tragedy is brought to the screen with great intensity and power and has many memorable moments: the death of Candy's dog; Curly gets his hand crushed; the climactic accidental death. Bohnen gives perhaps the best performance, but Meredith and Field are also great, and Charles Bickford, Lon Chaney Jr. and Bob Steele are no slouches. Okay, maybe the acting is a little over-emphatic at times, and Copland's score is nice but not that special. Still, this is a very strong and memorable picture. The streak of misogyny -- if that's what it is -- and the moral ambiguity of the ending, only make it more fascinating. Remade several times, including a version in 1992, starring and directed by Gary Sinise of CSI New York. 

Verdict: Another masterpiece from 1939 and a great study of loneliness. ****.

THE MAGNIFICENT FRAUD

Akim Tamiroff and Mary Boland

THE MAGNIFICENT FRAUD (1939). Director: Robert Florey.

Sam Barr (Lloyd Nolan) is friend and aide to Alvarado (Akim Tamiroff of After the Fox), the president of San Cristobal. When Alvarado is killed by a bomb, Sam importunes actor Jules LaCroix (Akim Tamiroff again) to pose as the president until some papers are signed and a certain loan secured -- only Sam has his own plans for the money. But there are complications in the form of Duval (Ernest Cossart) of the French Surete, who wants LaCroix for murder, and two females who are recent arrivals in San Cristobal: Geraldine (Mary Boland of Nothing But Trouble) is a former opera singer who knew Alvarado -- whom she knew as "El Toro" -- quite well in her youth, and is determined to see again. Then there's her younger friend, Claire (Patricia Morison), whom Sam begins to fall for, even though he knows he really isn't right for her. The biggest complication is that LaCroix is beginning to enjoy his performance -- the best of his life -- a little too much and delays and delays in signing those papers ...

Patricia Morison and Lloyd Nolan

The sad fact about The Magnificent Fraud -- at least for me -- is that even with an interesting plot, a good director, and several of my favorite actors -- Tamiroff, Boland, George Zucco as a doctor -- in the cast, the movie is an effort to sit through. Time and again I thought of stopping and putting it in my next Films I Just Couldn't Finish post, but I somehow managed to make it through. True, it's not the fastest moving of movies, but it's not that slow. Perhaps it's that movies like this which are basically serious in tone yet have a kind of comical premise either work for you or they don't, and this one just didn't. It doesn't help that Lloyd Nolan is simply too homely to make a convincing lover boy. Tamiroff is wonderful, but Boland isn't given that much opportunity to be fun, although she and Tamiroff have a splendid dramatic moment together at the very end of the film. Morison doesn't make much of an impression in this flick; she was more scintillating in later films.  Remade as a comedy entitled Moon Over Parador. The prolific Robert Florey also directed Johnny Weissmuller's last appearance as the Ape Man, Tarzan and the Mermaids.

Verdict: Not one of the classic films of 1939. **. 

THE STORY OF VERNON AND IRENE CASTLE

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

THE STORY OF VERNON AND IRENE CASTLE (1939). Director: H. C. Potter.

Encouraged to stop doing low comedy routines for Lew Fields (the real-life vaudevillian who plays himself, albeit years older), Vernon Castle (Fred Astaire) starts a dancing act with his new wife, Irene (Ginger Rogers). After a false start in Europe, they become a sensation dancing at the Cafe de Paris, and rapidly make their way back to New York City. They introduce many new dances, including the Foxtrot, sell various products under their names, while Irene unveils the new bob hair cut for women and influences clothing fashions as well. Then Vernon becomes a military flier in World War One. Training pilots back in the states, Vernon has a date with destiny ... Vernon and Irene is such a delightful and upbeat picture that the tragic ending almost seems out of place, were it not for the fact that it's part of history.  But for most of its length, this is a joyous film with top performances from the leads (as well as from Fields, Walter Brennan [Nobody Lives Forever] as their pal, Walter, and tart Edna May Oliver as the Castles' manager)  and some excellent singing and dancing. A particular highlight is the ballroom dancing the Castles do for their audition in Paris. A clever bit shows the couple going on tour in the United States by picturing a big map with dancing figures superimposed all over it. Still a top team, Astaire and Rogers did not make another film, The Barkleys of Broadway, for ten years.  In real life, Walter was actually African-American, and the lady manager was happily gay. Vernon Castle was only thirty when he died while Astaire was ten years older when he made this picture.

Verdict: Very entertaining musical biopic. ***. 

HAPPILY BURIED

Rita Oehmen and John Hubbard

HAPPILY BURIED (1939 MGM short). Director: Felix E. Feist.

In this musical comedy short, the owners of two rival waffle companies -- Evelyn Foster (Rita Oehmen) and Richard Wright (John Hubbard of Up in Mabel's Room) -- decide to form a merger and get married. Unfortunately, Evelyn wants to stick with the round "magic circle" waffle iron while Richard insists they only offer the "four corners" square waffle iron. Of course, they could decide to manufacture both waffle irons, but that would be too easy. Richard decides to perk up business for his company by putting himself in a transparent coffin for the publicity value, while Evelyn exhibits the world's largest (round) waffle iron -- which can hold an orchestra and dancers -- at the 1939 World's Fair, an exhibition which Richard sabotages. While both parties are stubborn, Richard is so obnoxious that it's staggeringly sexist that Evelyn would happily take the creep back at the end. Both Oehmen (who had a lot of heartbreak in her life) and Hubbard (who was billed as "Anthony Allan" for this and other early film appearances) have pleasing personalities and Hubbard has a smooth and attractive tenor voice. He had a very long career, especially on television in his later days. Oehmen's only starring role was in a western programmer, Gun Law, and she had only three other credits, Happily Buried being the last of them. Her daughter, Charmian Carr, appeared in The Sound of Music. Benny Rubin plays an Hindu prince who can walk on coals. Incidentally, The songs are by Wright and Forest of Kismet fame. Incidentally, does this silly short forecast the fact that round waffle irons seem no longer to exist except as antiques on ebay? What a shame!

Verdict: Pleasant short with some singing. **. 

FAST AND FURIOUS

Ann Sothern and Franchot Tone

FAST AND FURIOUS (1939). Director: Busby Berkeley.

When Gerda Sloane (Ann Sothern), the wife of bookseller and amateur sleuth Joel Sloane (Franchot Tone), is told by him that the two are taking a vacation, she doesn't know that he's put money in a bathing beauty contest occurring in the resort town of Seaside City (read: Atlantic City). As Gerda runs interference for the occasionally amorous beauties, Joel investigates the murder of the contest's promoter, Eric Bartell (John Miljan). The suspects include his girlfriend, Lily (Ruth Hussey of The Uninvited); his other girlfriend, Jerry (Mary Beth Hughes of Men On Her Mind); Sloane's old friend, Mike Stevens (Lee Bowman of Up in Mabel's Room); and others. Fast and Furious was the debut and apparently the one and only entry in this bid for an aborted mystery series a la The Thin Man, but it's mediocre enough that there were never any sequels. Sothern and Tone make good leads -- Tone is somewhat better and has more aplomb at this than his co-star does -- but even Tone, good as he is, can't compete with William Powell. The business about a wife getting all hot and bothered because her husband is judging a beauty contest was to be repeated ad nauseum in various movies and TV shows, and had probably been done even before 1939. Harry Kurnitz' script has few laughs aside from a very funny bit involving some lions, and there is at least one very suspenseful scene when our couple are caught underneath a descending stage elevator, nearly crushing them. Otherwise, this is forgettable.

Verdict: Not one of the classics of 1939. **.

BAD BOY

Johnny Downs

BAD BOY (1939). Director: Herbert Meyer.

"I don't care if your business is shipping fat missionaries to cannibal island, I want a job!"

John Fraser (Johnny Downs) kisses his sweet mother (Helen MacKellar) goodbye and heads for the big city full of hope and promise. Although he lands a good job and impresses his boss, McNeil (Holmes Herbert of The Curtain Falls), he falls in with a co-worker, Steve (Archie Robbins), who introduces him to gambling and a singer named Madelon (Rosalind Keith). Although Madelon is about as sexy as a hat rack, John falls hard for her and spends all of his money on her instead of sending it to his mother. Then he decides to "borrow" a couple of hundred dollars in petty cash so he can pay off his gambling debts, and things get worse from there. Bad Boy presents boyishly handsome Johnny Downs [Adventures of the Flying Cadets]  in an atypical role of a supposedly "nice guy" who becomes a gangster in a stereotypical boy-goes-wrong storyline. He is hardly perfect casting for the latter half of the film but he still manages to acquit himself nicely. MacKellar is excellent as his devoted mother, and the pic is nearly stolen by Spencer Williams as Terry, the black super in Mrs. Fraser's apartment who becomes a good friend to both mother and son and winds up working for John -- Terry has a much better head on his shoulders than John does. Saddled with a hairdo that has to be seen to be believed, Rosalind Keith is okay as a miserable bitch but is simply too homely to be that believable as a femme fatale. She retired after one more film.

Verdict: Entertaining minor melodrama with good performances. **1/2.

THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR

Hugh Herbert and Eddie Quillan

THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR (1939). Director: Joseph Santley.  

George Pierce (Hugh Herbert of We're In the Money) runs a small-town household consisting of wife Rose (Ruth Donnelly), daughters Susan (Juanita Quigley) and Laura (Joy Hodges), and sons Sammy (Eddie Quillan) and Rufus (Benny Bartlett). While aspiring singer Laura has some romantic problems, son Sammy conspires with his mother to cash in some bonds in order to buy property that he is sure will become valuable once a railroad stop is erected. Alas ... In 1937 MGM started their long-running Hardy Family series with A Family Affair while 20th Century Fox beat them out with the first Jones Family entry, Every Saturday Night the year before. The Family Next Door was released by Universal, and perhaps there was some hope that it would be as successful as the other studios' entries, but this picture was not developed into a series. On its own terms, The Family Next Door is a very funny movie bolstered by fine comic performances. Ruth Donnelly especially stands out as the mother who goes to some extreme lengths for her pretty daughter, who has fallen for newcomer Bill Trevis (Thomas Beck), and there's an amusing party scene that reminds one a bit of Alice Adams (in other ways as well). Cecil Cunningham makes an impression as Bill's disapproving Aunt Cora. There is also an adorable family pet named Baby, who in one charming scene commiserates with the (temporarily) heartbroken Laura, and Lillian Yarbo, as usual, is very amusing as the maid Blossom. The dramatic developments are fairly predictable, but The Family Next Door is quite entertaining.

Verdict: Fun, old-fashioned family comedy with expert players. ***.

THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK

Warren William, Hayward, Joan Bennett, Hayward

THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK (1939). Director: James Whale. Based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas pere.

When it is discovered that the queen has given birth to two identical boys, it is decided one will have to be sent away to be raised by a foster father, D'Artagnan (Warren William), to avoid the in-fighting and sibling rivalry that would undoubtedly result. Alas, things don't work out as planned when the foppish and cruel Louis XIV (Louis Hayward) discovers that he has a twin in Philippe of Gascony (also Hayward), who. along with his "father," D'Artagnan, objects to the salt tax. D'Artagnan and his fellow musketeers are rounded up and put in prison, but it amuses Louis to seemingly allow Philippe the run of the palace (an unlikely development, considering). Philippe takes advantage of Louis' absence to free his father and musketeers and work other wiles. Eventually, however, Louis wises up and imprisons his brother, forcing him to wear an iron mask and hoping his growing beard will eventually suffocate him. But Louis is wrong in thinking that this is the end of his twin just as Philippe is wrong in underestimating his brother. The Man in the Iron Mask had been filmed both before and after this version -- Dumas' story has been filmed many times, in fact -- but this may be the best-known version. At times the verisimilitude of the film is about on the level of an Abbott and Costello feature, but whatever the picture's flaws, it boasts a remarkable lead performance from Louis Hayward [Midnight Intruder], who is superb as he successfully limns two distinct characterizations. There is also fine work from the ever-florid Warren William; from William Royle [Drums of Fu Manchu] as the Commandant of the Bastille; and especially from the marvelous Joseph Schildkraut [Cleopatra] as the utterly loathsome Fouquet, a former tutor who "advises" his majesty. Joan Bennett is a little out-classed in this (not to mention Marion Martin as Louis' French mistress!), as costume dramas were not her forte. There's a very good score by Lucien Moraweck. Albert Dekker, Dwight Frye, and Peter Cushing (in his film debut) are also in the picture, but don't blink or you might miss them!

Verdict: A superb lead performance -- or rather two of them -- is the chief distinction of the picture. **1/2.

HOLLYWOOD CAVALCADE

Alice Faye and Alan Curtis

HOLLYWOOD CAVALCADE (1939). Director: Irving Cummings.

Michael Connors (Don Ameche) a brash wannabee director, talks new Broadway actress Molly Adair (Alice Faye) into going to Hollywood with him to have careers in silent pictures. They manage to become very successful with movie after movie. Michael thinks of himself and Molly as an unbreakable team, but the lack of romance in their lives causes Molly to do the quite sensible thing and marry her handsome co-star, Nicky Hayden (Alan Curtis of Good Girls Go to Paris). This starts Michael on a downward spiral, and eventually a tragedy results. Hollywood Cavalcade is a colorful look at the silent movie era with an attempt at a dramatic underpinning that doesn't quite come off. Alan Curtis' character is so under-developed (and comparatively unmourned) that he hardly exists, and Michael is too unlikable to be sympathetic, despite the obvious heartbreak he's undergoing. The performances are fine, with Faye [King of Burlesque] beautifully underplaying her very emotional sequences; Ameche [Guest Wife] is good if a bit less effective. Donald Meek is wonderful as a producer, and there are guest appearances by Buster Keaton. Rin Tin Tin Jr., and Al Jolson, who recreates a scene from The Jazz Singer. The other recreations of silent movies are all well done and mostly quite funny. Irving Bacon and Robert Lowery have small but well-played parts. The movie is said to be loosely inspired by the lives of Mabel Normand and Mack Sennett, who briefly appears as himself in the film.

Verdict: Glorious technicolor can't quite disguise the pic's deficits, but the film is entertaining. **1/2.

GOOD GIRLS GO TO PARIS

Rivals: Melvyn Douglas and Alan Curtis

GOOD GIRLS GO TO PARIS (1939). Director: Alexander Hall.

British teacher Ronald Brooke (Melvyn Douglas of A Woman's Face), is an "exchange teacher" with an American university, where he meets a vivacious waitress named Jenny (Joan Blondell). Jenny wants to get rich quick, and tries to get cash for a breach of promise suit against the scion of a wealthy family. When that fails, Jenny goes to New York, and winds up ensconced with the very family that Brooke is about to marry into. With two suitors and Brooke harboring secret feelings for the audacious Jenny, exactly which man will she wind up marrying? Good Girls Go to Paris has a promising and pleasant first quarter, and things really pick up with the introduction of Walter Connolly [So Red the Rose], who is the grandfather of the handsome hunk, Tom (Alan Curtis), that Jenny has set her cap for. Connolly is even more amusing than usual in his portrayal of the dyspeptic, hysterical and neurotic Olaf Brand, the grumpy head of the household. Unfortunately, after a very amusing middle section, the picture gets bogged down with too many suitors and sub-plots and developments that probably confused the audience as much as it does the characters. It just stops being fun, with only Connolly supplying any relief. The other performers, including Joan Perry, Isabel Jeans, Alexander D'Arcy [Vicki], and Clarence Kolb, are fine. Douglas and Blondell make a better team that one might suppose, but while Blondell is a good actress, she can't quite get across some of her lines with that certain skill of, say, a Lucille Ball.

Verdict: Half a good picture. **1/2.

INTERMEZZO: A LOVE STORY (1939).

Leslie Howard, Ingrid Bergman

INTERMEZZO; A LOVE STORY (1939). Director: Gregory Ratoff.

"I wonder if one has ever built happiness on the unhappiness of others."

Producer David Selznick, struck by Ingrid Bergman's appearance and performance in the Swedish film Intermezzo -- in which she played the young lover of a married man with children -- signed her to a contract and decided to do an American version of the movie in which Bergman was "introduced." According to most biographies of the actress, Selznick wanted to do Bergman over by Hollywood standards, and she insisted she just wanted to be herself. Oddly, Selznick went to the other extreme, in that Bergman looks much better -- prettier and sexier -- in the Swedish version than in his own -- she doesn't even wear make up in the remake. The violinist in this is played by Leslie Howard, his wife by Edna Best, and the children by Ann E. Todd and Douglas Scott. While the remake follows the original's story closely (and uses virtually the same script most of the time), there are some differences. First, there isn't as big an age difference between Bergman and Howard, giving an added weight to their relationship; in addition the scenes where Howard and Bergman fall in love are longer and more expressive. The story is a bit more moralistic than the Swedish version. A negative change is when the little daughter is hit by a car. In the Swedish version she is immediately taken to a hospital, but in the American version, Howard takes her home and yells "Send a doctor to the house!" To the house? -- this after she is clearly shown being run over! As in the earlier version, the best scene isn't between husband and wife or husband and lover, but the moving confrontation/reconciliation between father and son (well-played by Howard and young Scott). The movie is twenty minutes shorter than the Swedish version, and only clocks in at 70 minutes. Bergman and the other performers are all very good.

Verdict: Despite the business with the accident, this may have a slight edge on the original. ***.  

BABES IN ARMS

BABES IN ARMS (1939). Director: Busby Berkeley.

When some old vaudevillians leave town to go on tour, their children decide to put on their own show.  That's the plot of this okay Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland "let's put on a show" musical. This is based on a Rodgers and Hart stage musical, but the only songs by the team that are left are the title tune and "Where or When?," which I believe was from another show. ("The Lady is a Tramp" from Pal Joey plays in the background of one scene.) As usual, some of the "kids" in this are a bit too old, such as Douglas McPhail and real-life wife Betty Jaynes, both of whom have beautiful semi-operatic voices (they do "Where or When?"). Mickey and Judy are in splendid form, of course, and we see footage of Rooney when he was a small boy performing in vaudeville. Of the older cast, which includes Guy Kibbee,  Margaret Hamilton, Henry Hull and Ann Shoemaker, Charles Winninger [Three Smart Girls] is a stand-out as Mickey's father, Joe Moran. Johnny Sheffield of Bomba fame also has a small role. Judy sings "I Cried for You," Mickey does an excellent impression of Gable, and there's a memorable finale in "God's Country." McPhail had hoped to have a career along the lines of Nelson Eddy, but when it didn't materialize and he and Jaynes got divorced, the poor guy took his own life at age thirty.

Verdict: Not the best Mickey-Judy musical but fun enough. **1/2.

ON YOUR TOES

Eddie Albert and (Vera) Zorina

ON YOUR TOES (1939). Director: Ray Enright.

"Russian art is always morbid." -- Vera.

Phil Dolan Jr. (Eddie Albert), a childhood hoofer who had an act with his parents, now wants to be a composer. To this end he hooks up with Ivan (Loenid Kinsky), a Russian composer  who helps him work on his ballet, "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue." He meets his old friend, Vera (Vera Zorina), now a ballet dancer, and she encourages the mild-mannered man in his work. He winds up dancing in his own ballet, unaware that two Russian hit men have confused him with someone else, and are planning to kill him at the climax. This is a textbook example of how not to make a film out of a hit Broadway musical (which was successfully revived in the 80's). First you hire two leads who can't sing, then cut out each and every one of Rodgers and Hart's tunes (one or two play in the background and that's it), then cobble together a screenplay that makes the movie resemble more a typical dopey musical of the period than anything else. "Slaughter on 10th Avenue" was performed much more successfully nine years later in Words and Music, the Rodgers and Hart biopic. There's some mild suspense involving the hit men, but mostly the movie is more tedious talk than music and comedy, with mostly unfunny shtick from the players. Accomplished ballet dancer Zorina [I was an Adventuress] was getting the build-up from Sam Goldwyn, and the film's credit reads "Zorina in On Your Toes." Talk about making somebody a star before they're a star! That said, Zorina has a pleasing personality and gives a capable performance, but her career was derailed when she was replaced in From Whom the Bell Tolls by Ingrid Bergman. Albert is okay, but James Gleason and Queenie Smith as his parents, as well as Erik Rhodes [Charlie Chan in Paris] as the temperamental ballet star, Konstantin, make a bigger impression, as does a charismatic Donald O'Connor playing Albert as a boy. Gloria Dickson has little to do as a flirtatious patron of the arts, but boisterous Alan Hale is all over the movie as the head of the ballet troupe.

Verdict: Aside from a couple of moments this is basically a waste. *1/2.

DESTRY RIDES AGAIN

James Stewart

DESTRY RIDES AGAIN (1939). Director: George Marshall.

Kent (Brian Donlevy) who runs the saloon and the town in the old west, conspires with singer Frenchy (Marlene Dietrich) to cheat Lem Claggert (Tom Fadden of Winners of the West)  out of his ranch during a crooked card game. When Sheriff Keogh (Joe King) objects, he is dispatched with, as is anyone who gets in the way of Kent. Into this situation comes Tom Destry Jr. (James Stewart), the son of the legendary Sheriff Destry and now the deputy for inept and half-drunken Sheriff Washington Dimsdale (Charles Winninger). Destry doesn't carry a gun, although he's a crack shot (wouldn't you know?)  It's now his job to enforce the law, clean up the town, and find Keogh's body, while dealing with the hooker-hard Frenchy, who eventually warms up to him and vice  versa. Destry Rides Again is an odd movie, a sometimes uncomfortable combination of grim situations and unpleasant characters with moments of out and out farce, and the characters never seem remotely real. On the other hand, the movie is entertaining and certain sequences are quite well-staged by Marshall, including Frenchy's post cat-fight meltdown in the bar, and the sequence with the angry townswomen going on the march. As for the acting. it's top of the line all the way, with Dietrich giving an outstanding portrayal that almost manages to make her rather heartless character sympathetic. Jack Carson scores as a cattleman, a less genial role than he usually plays, Una Merkel is fine as the gal who tries to give French a good thrashing, Dickie Jones [Blake of Scotland Yard] is charming as young Claggett, Brian Donlevy [Juke Box Rhythm] is brisk and commanding as the evil Kent, and Charles Winninger gives a typically winning performance as the "new" sheriff, Wash. Dietrich's voice, with every other note sung flat, is wretched, but she still manages to put over such songs as "See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have" with her emoting. It's interesting that while Frenchy is somewhat redeemed, she is still punished for her actions as she would probably not be today. This was remade with Audie Murphy as Destry, and seven years earlier Tom Mix starred in a very different version of Destry Rides Again. Andy Griffith starred in the Broadway musical version with songs by Harold Rome, and John Gavin starred in the short-lived television series. These all originated in a book by Max Brand.

Verdict: Peculiar in some ways but Dietrich knocks it out of the ball park. ***.

NEVER SAY DIE

You're strangely attractive, my Henry: Devine and Sondergaard

NEVER SAY DIE (1939). Director: Elliott Nugent.

"I don't want any trouble with you -- you get back here in bed!" -- Henry to John.

Scene: the Bad Gassewasser health spa in Europe. John Kidley (Bob Hope) is worth twenty million dollars, and is being chased by "black widow" Juno Marko (Gale Sondergaard). Meantime, Mickey Hawkins (Martha Raye) is ordered by her father (Paul Harvey) to marry a man she does not love, the impoverished Prince Smirnov (Alan Mowbray), only so that he can get into the country club. John and Mickey decide to marry each other to keep out of the hands of their persistent suitors, but then Mickey's boyfriend, Henry (Andy Devine of Between Us Girls) shows up and accompanies the couple on their honeymoon, with the two men sharing a bed! An added complication is that John has mistakenly been told that he only has a short while to live. not to mention the fact that the prince wants to fight a duel with him. Never Say Die is a very funny movie with a great script and terrific performances from everyone in the cast, which includes Monty Woolley [Life Begins at Eight-Thirty] as the confused doctor; Ernest Cossart as "Jeepers," John's helpful butler; and Sig Ruman [Thank You Mr. Moto] as the hotel proprietor who is astonished by John's apparent bed-hopping.

Verdict: As usual Hope and Raye make a splendid team. ***.

TARZAN FINDS A SON!

John Sheffield and Johnny Weissmuller

TARZAN FINDS A SON! (1939). Director: Richard Thorpe.

A young couple (Laraine Day; Morton Lowry) are killed in a plane crash in Africa but their infant son survives, and is in essence adopted by Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) and Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan), who simply call him "Boy" (John/Johnny Sheffield). Greedy relatives August Lancing (Ian Hunter of The Sisters) and his wife (Freida Inescort), along with their Uncle Thomas (Henry Stephenson of Red-Headed Woman), and guide Sande (Henry Wilcoxon of Cleopatra), come to the Dark Continent to see if they can find any trace of the family, with the Lancings, of course, hoping they don't, for reasons to do with inheritances. Meeting Boy, Thomas suspects the truth, and Jane and Tarzan argue about whether or not to let Boy go back to claim his heritage. But August Lancing's duplicitous and evil mind, as well as a deadly native tribe called the Zembeles, may make it all moot. Tarzan Finds a Son! is a very entertaining Tarzan adventure, with very good performances from all, including a charming Sheffield, and many exciting scenes. There are more wild life shots than usual, as well as some excellent underwater sequences, especially one in which Tarzan and Boy go swimming with a baby elephant. Tarzan has a struggle with a kind of boar-hippo creature that nearly tramples Boy at one point. The Zembeles, who figure in the climax, don't just shrink heads, but entire bodies, in a process that isn't clearly delineated but seems rather frightful. Jane refers to Tarzan as her husband for, I believe, the first time. The movie has hardly any music, which would have added to its already considerable appeal.

Verdict: One of the better Tarzan adventures. ***.