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. ***.

EYES OF TEXAS

EYES OF TEXAS (1948). Director: William Witney. 

Thad Cameron (Francis Ford of Charlie Chan at the Circus), who has started a home for boys who lost their fathers in WW2, is overjoyed to discover that his long-lost nephew, Frank, has survived. Before the two are reunited, however, Thad is killed by a pack of bloodthirsty dogs. Roy Rogers, playing himself -- this time he's a Marshall and not an actor -- investigates with the help of the Sons of the Pioneers as well as Doc Cookie Bullfincher (Andy Devine) and his amorous nurse, Penny (Lynne Roberts of Dick Tracy Returns). This time Roy is up against the ruthless lawyer Hattie Waters (Nana Bryant), a tough and clever middle-aged lady, her chief gunsel Vic (Roy Barcroft) and his evil pals, and the ex-con (Danny Morton of The Royal Mounted Rides Again) who pretends to be Thad's real nephew. Then there's those deadly dogs ...    

Pure evil: Barcroft, Morton, and Bryant

Eyes of Texas is a near-perfect "modern" Roy Rogers vehicle. The performances are all on target -- Bryant and Barcroft make especially nasty and effective villains in this -- the comedy relief isn't too pervasive -- Andy Devine is far more palatable than Gabby Hayes -- serial specialist William Witney keeps things moving at a thrilling pace, and Roy even sings a couple of pleasant tunes, "The Texas Trail" and "The Padre of Old San Antone." Then there's the amazing Trigger, who participates in fist fights by kicking out at the bad guys with his hooves and other amazing equine feats! 

Verdict: A prime example of why Roger Rogers movies were so damned popular! ***. 

ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES

Jon Hall as Ali

ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES (1944). Director: Arthur Lubin. 

Prince Ali (Scotty Becket) of Baghdad is the son of the king and has a little girlfriend in Amara (Yvette Duguay),  with whom he makes a blood pact. When the King is betrayed by Amara's father, Cassim (Frank Puglia of 20 Million Miles to Earth), Ali manages to escape. Cassim is working with Hulagu Kahn (Kurt Katch of The Mask of Dimitrios), leader of the Mongul hordes and the new king of Baghdad. Ali stumbles upon the cave where the forty thieves keep their booty, and is adopted by them, especially old Baba (Fortunio Bonanova) and the grumpy Abdullah (Andy Devine of Never Say Die), who resents being a "nurse maid" to the boy. The years go by and young Ali Baba, as he is now known, has managed to turn the thieves into freedom fighters (!) who strike swiftly at the Mongolians. Cassin's beautiful daughter, now grown (and played by Maria Montez), is betrothed to Kahn, but falls for the handsome thief, Ali Baba. Eventually they will realize who the other one really is, but in the meantime Kahn is determined to kill one and marry the other ... 

Maria Montez

Ali Baba takes the story from "The Thousand and One Nights" and does its best to turn it into a tale of WW2-style oppression and resistance although it never really loses its fantastic flavoring. Part of this is the casting of Montez -- the only actor with her name above the title despite the fact that even she complained that it was Hall's picture -- and again she proves more than adequate for the proceedings, although much of her part consists of merely reacting to what is going on around her. Hall gives a good performance, as adept at the derring do as he is at pitching the woo. Scotty Becket, as always, is just as good as Ali as a boy. Devine, Bonanova, Puglia, and especially Kurt Katch as the loathsome Kahn, head up the supporting cast, along with Turban Bey, who is fine as a slave boy who assists both Amara and Ali. Like the earlier Arabian Nights, Universal pulled out all the stops for this flick, which is bathed in rich technicolor and has an exciting score by Edward Ward. Arthur Lubin's direction is not quite on the same level but he does keep things moving. 

Verdict: Colorful fantasy flick -- open sesame! ***. 

BETWEEN US GIRLS

Diana Barrymore and Kay Francis as mother and daughter

BETWEEN US GIRLS (1942). Director: Henry Koster.

In this very oddball comedy, the actress Carrie Bishop (Diana Barrymore) learns that her mother, Chris (Kay Francis), is engaged to a man, Steven (John Boles), who thinks her daughter is just a little girl. Afraid that he will jilt her mother when he learns that the "little girl" is actually twenty-years-old, she decides to pretend to be a girl of about 12. Things get especially complicated when Steven's associate, Jimmy (Robert Cummings), accuses the "real" Carrie of child abuse after she supposedly hits the child, and then literally socks her, Carrie, in the jaw. Still Carrie stupidly continues the deception ... Francis and Cummings are fine, as is Andy Devine in a lively, likable performance as Carrie's manager, and the picture is nearly stolen by Ethel Griffies as the stony Irish housekeeper, Gallagher. [The scene when Gallagher threatens to quit and packs her bags to the consternation of mother and daughter is the best in the movie]. As for Barrymore, she reveals a real talent in this, but unfortunately is forced to play an idiotic part and perform in several embarrassing sequences. On the other hand she has a splendid moment performing with talented little Scotty Beckett when Carrie plays Queen Victoria in a play. (Her attempts at Sadie Thompson are less successful perhaps because she's deliberately playing too broadly, and her Joan of Arc at the end is only adequate.) Another scene stealer is Lillian Yarbo as the funny, ever-complaining black maid, Phoebe, who claims it was more fun when she was working in a funeral parlor. Francis' hairdo in this is especially grotesque. Between Us Girls has a couple of amusing moments, but it's too strange, poorly scripted, and has a fairly moronic premise as well, from which it never quite recovers.

Verdict: A bizarre curiosity but hardly a good movie. **.

NIGHT TIME IN NEVADA

NIGHT TIME IN NEVADA (1948). Director: William Witney.

Farrell (Grant Withers) doesn't want to share the booty with his mining partner Andrews (James Nolan), so he murders him and hides his body. Many years later Andrews' daughter, Joan (Adele Mara), shows up hoping to get her hands on some of the money in her father's trust fund -- of course there isn't any. Sheriff Roy Rogers (Roy Rogers, of course) suspects that Farrell is a bad 'un, and his suspicions prove correct when he and his hench men try to rustle some cattle off a train, leading to an exciting climax with Roy and Farrell having a battle on a speeding truck. If this sequence reminds you of a cliffhanger serial, it's because the movie was directed by serial specialist William Witney. Aside from the climax and Withers' good performance as the nasty, murderous Farrell, Night Time has little to recommend it. Rogers made over one hundred similar features in addition to his TV show. Andy Devine [A Star is Born/1937] and Trigger the horse [who had a notable part in Son of Paleface, along with Rogers] are Rogers' co-stars and they are both about as usual. Adele Mara later wound up in Curse of the Faceless Man.

Verdict: A good-looking hero never hurts. **.

THE FLAME OF NEW ORLEANS

Marlene Dietrich and Theresa Harris

THE FLAME OF NEW ORLEANS (1941). Director: Rene Clair.

In old New Orleans lady of leisure Countess Claire (Marlene Dietrich) has set her cap for the wealthy older banker Charles Giraud (Roland Young). But Claire has left behind quite a reputation in St. Petersburg, and to deflect Giraud's suspicion she also pretends to be another notorious woman from Russia, Claire's lookalike and [kind of] cousin, Lily. Complicating matters is a lusty sailor named Robert Latour (Bruce Cabot), who has an eye for Claire (and Lili)  and vice versa. One could say that Flame of New Orleans is Dietrich's Two-Faced Woman [in which Greta Garbo pretended to be two different women] not just because of the plot but because Flame is similarly mediocre. However, the actors, especially a surprising Cabot, all do a good job, and they are backed by such stalwarts as Franklin Pangborn, Mischa Auer, Anne Revere, Laura Hope Crews, Andy Devine, and a host of talented black actors, including Theresa Harris [Baby Face] as Clarie's saucy, sexy maid Clementine. However, the film is predictable and not as much fun as it sounds. Clair also directed It Happened Tomorrow.

Verdict: Pleasant in many ways but minor. **1/2.  

A STAR IS BORN (1937)

Norman accidentally smacks Esther at Oscars

A STAR IS BORN (1937). Director: William A. Wellman. Produced by David O. Selznick.

"For every dream of yours that comes true, you'll pay the price in heartbreak."

In this technicolor re-visioning of What Price Hollywood? -- a star on the rise juxtaposed with a star on the wane -- the two main characters are romantically involved and get married, adding some dramatic heft to the basic plot line. Norman Maine (Fredric March) is a heavy-drinking lead actor who is in danger of being cast off as too difficult to work with. [As one wag puts it, "his work is beginning to interfere with his drinking."] He becomes smitten with a sweet little hopeful named Esther Blodgett (Janet Gaynor of Sunrise), who is taken under his wing and signed to a contract. Rechristened "Vicki Lester," she becomes a big star even as Norman's phone stops ringing, culminating in an embarrassing scene at the Academy Awards when he storms in drunk as she gives an acceptance speech. The film shows much more of Esther's early life than either of the two remakes. Gaynor is fine as Esther, but she seems an unlikely bet for major stardom, although in real life she had already won the first Best Actress Oscar [for two silent films] and was an established name and one-time top box office attraction before the film was made -- her performance in this was also nominated for an Oscar, but ironically she had few film roles afterward. March does the best he can with a severely underwritten role. [It also seems unlikely that Maine would be so completely forgotten in so short a time.] Adolph Menjou, Lionel Stander, and Andy Devine are all notable in important supporting roles, and peppery May Robson is as wonderful as ever as Esther's loving grandmother. Max Steiner's score is one of his least memorable.

Verdict: Entertaining behind-the-scenes look at one of Hollywood's sad stories but not quite a true classic. ***.