THE TOY WIFE

Luise Rainer

THE TOY WIFE (1938). Director: Richard Thorpe. Screenplay by Zoe Akins.

"A woman is like a postage stamp. Once there's a black mark on her, she's no good to nobody." -- Pick.

In pre-Civil war Louisiana, two sisters live on a plantation with their slaves and their father. Gilberte, or "Frou Frou" (Luise Rainer) is the pretty and somewhat muddle-headed younger daughter, and Louise (Barbara O'Neil) is the more practical and less attractive older daughter. The young mountebank, Andre Vallaire (Robert Young), wants to propose to Frou Frou, but he is too late, as she has already decided to accept a proposal from the lawyer, George Sartoris (Melvyn Douglas). The trouble is that Frou Frou doesn't love George, but Louise does ... and Andre will not forget Frou Frou. Things come to a boil when George asks Louise to come and run the household, as Frou Frou --  a "toy wife," in his estimation -- seems incapable of doing so.

Luise Rainer and Alan Perl 

Had The Toy Wife starred, say, Bette Davis, it would probably not be a nearly forgotten film today. Luise Rainer, who is outstanding in the film, had already won back to back Best Actress Oscars (for The Great Ziegfeld and The Good Earth) before appearing in this film, but for various reasons her career faded out soon after and long-lasting major stardom never materialized. Douglas, Young and especially O'Neil are also very good in the film, along with Theresa Harris [The Flame of New Orleans] as Frou Frou's maid and companion, "Pick," Libby Taylor as the housekeeper Suzanne, and Alma Kruger [Saboteur] as Andre's disapproving mother. Little Alan Perl is a charmer as George and Frou Frou's son, Georgie.

The Toy Wife's patronizing treatment of black characters is typical of the period, unfortunately, but the film is still absorbing and has a very touching conclusion. There is first-rate cinematography from Oliver T. Marsh and a nice score by Edward Ward.

Verdict: Memorable, well-acted, and unpredictable drama. ***.

FLAME OF THE ISLANDS

FLAME OF THE ISLANDS (1956). Director: Edward Ludwig. In Republic Trucolor.

Rosalind Dee (Yvonne De Carlo) is given a substantial check by the widow, Evelyn (Frieda Inescort), of her boss, with whom Evelyn believes Rosalind was "involved." Insulted, Rosalind takes the check, quits her job, and uses the money to buy into a club-casino in the Bahamas. Alas, little does she know that her partner, Cyril (Kurt Kasznar), who has a hankering for her (as does every other man she meets), is in league with a pack of gangsters. She brushes off wanna-be boyfriend Wade (Zachary Scott), when she re-encounters old flame Doug (Howard Duff), who once got her pregnant but now doesn't even remember her. Then we have Doug's disapproving mother, Charmaine (Barbara O'Neil of Stella Dallas), and even the Widow Evelyn shows up again at an inopportune moment. We also mustn't forget the island captain and part-time preacher, Kelly (James Arness), who also develops a longing for Rosalind. Which man will Rosalind wind up with, or will her gangster partners make sure she winds up at the bottom of the sea? Flame of the Islands, which has enough plot for ten movies, is very entertaining and well-acted by all. Lester Matthews [Life Begins for Andy Hardy] plays the lead hoodlum, Gus, and Donald Curtis is one of his associates. With a sexy De Carlo [Criss Cross] cavorting, singing and dancing, and of course, going after all the men (and vice versa), Flame of the Islands is a lot of fun.

Verdict: The Bahamas were never like this! ***.

ANGEL FACE

Jean Simmons and Robert Mitchum

ANGEL FACE (1952). Producer/director: Otto Preminger.

"If you want to play with matches, that's your business, but not in gas-filled rooms."

Ambulance driver Frank Jessup (Robert Mitchum) goes out on a call to a California estate where Mrs. Tremayne (Barbara O'Neil of Stella Dallas) has had a close call with a gas jet in her room. Frank meets the woman's step-daughter, Diane (Jean Simmons), and the two begin a sort of romance, despite the fact that Frank has a steady and reliable gal in Mary (Mona Freeman). Diane loves her father (Herbert Marshall of Girls' Dormitory), a writer who is down on his luck and living off of his wife, whom Diane loathes. Then there's a horrendous accident in which two deaths occur ... how much did Diane have to do with it? Angel Face is a very entertaining melodrama with very good performances from the entire cast, which includes Leon Ames as a defense lawyer and Kenneth  Tobey as another ambulance driver with an eye for Mary. There are two incredible car crash sequences, a knock-out ending, and a fine score by Dimitri Tiomkin. For my money this is superior to Preminger's Laura. Some people find similarities in this to Leave Her to Heaven, made in 1945, and they probably aren't wrong.

Verdict: Zesty, absorbing film noir with some bite to it. ***1/2.

SECRET BEYOND THE DOOR ...

Barbara O'Neil, Joan Bennett and Michael Redgrave

SECRET BEYOND THE DOOR ... (1947). Director: Fritz Lang.

Celia (Joan Bennett) meets an attractive stranger, architect Mark Lamphere (Michael Redgrave), on a vacation, blows off her fiance, marries Mark, and goes home to his mansion where his friendly sister, Caroline (Anne Revere), strange son David (Mark Dennis) and even stranger secretary, Miss Robey (Barbara O'Neil), are waiting. Wouldn't you know that Mark is haunted by something, perhaps the death of his first wife, and has a rather odd hobby. In his house he has recreated rooms where infamous murders took place, and there is one room which is absolutely verboten for anybody to enter. Naturally Celia can't wait to see what's inside. As Mark puts it "under certain conditions a room can influence or even create the actions of the people within it." Well ... maybe. This oddball Gothic movie sounds good, but is tedious and full of pseudo-psychological hogwash, although the bit with the murder rooms is interesting, and the performances are reasonably good for this type of claptrap. Natalie Schafer [Female on the Beach] adds some zest, as she usually does, as a flamboyant friend of Celia's. Redgrave does the best he can with the material but seems uncomfortable throughout. Young Dennis makes an interesting David. The ending is unintentionally hilarious. Not one of Lang's more memorable movies. O'Neil was seen in better advantage in Stella Dallas and All This and Heaven, Too.

Verdict: Too tricky and silly by far. *1/2.

STELLA DALLAS

Anne Shirley and Barbara Stanwyck

STELLA DALLAS (1937). Director: King Vidor.

Stella is a young woman in a family of mill hands who wants a better life for herself and gets it when she contrives to meet an executive at the mill, Stephen Dallas (John Boles). But although she lands the guy, Stella is a vulgar and unsympathetic person in many ways, and the two soon separate. However, Stella is redeemed by the sincere love she feels for her daughter, Laurel (Anne Shirley). But as the girl grows and bonds with her father and the new lady in his life, the widow Helen Morrison (Barbara O'Neil), Stella comes to realize that her rather declasse status may do her daughter more harm than good. Some aspects of Stella Dallas have to be taken with a grain of salt. It's one of those movies where people are terrible to other people that they love because they think they need "to be cruel to be kind" [along the lines of the guy who discovers he's going to be permanently crippled telling the woman who adores him that he hates her so she can be "free."] Once you accept that somewhat dated convention, it is easy to focus on the film's major strengths, which include Stanwyck's utterly superb performance [one of her finest in a career of excellent performances], as well as sterling work by Shirley, John Boles, boisterous Alan Hale as a friend of Stella's, O'Neill, Ann Shoemaker, Marjorie Main, and others. [Even Olin  Howlin/Howland from The Blob --years in his future -- shows up!] One of the best scenes is a very moving encounter between Stella and Helen, and the ending -- if slightly contrived and "dramatic" -- is lovely and poignant. Hattie McDaniel, Jimmy Butler, and Tim Holt also have small roles. All this and an excellent score by Alfred Newman as well.

Verdict: Stanwyck and a general air of classiness lift this out of the soap opera level, but it's definitely a classic tearjerker. ****.

WHIRLPOOL

WHIRLPOOL (1949). Director: Otto Preminger. NOTE: Plot points are mentioned in this critique.

Gene Tierney, the wife of a prominent psychiatrist (Richard Conte) is caught shoplifting when the ne'erdowell Jose Ferrer comes to her rescue. After using his influence to stifle the incident, Ferrer uses hypnotism to cure Tierney of her insomnia, but his real purpose is to frame her for a murder he plans to commit. His previous girlfriend (Barbara O'Neil) is threatening to go to the D.A. because he helped her embezzle money from her daughter's trust. Tierney is arrested for the crime, but her husband insists that Ferrer is the true murderer – the trouble is that Ferrer was in the hospital after an operation at the time of the murder. This is a very predictable suspense story that runs out of gas long before it's over. Every time Preminger tried one of these thrillers and mysteries (and that includes Laura) he would only show that he lacks the skill of an Alfred Hitchcock when it comes to handling this kind of material. Gene Tierney's performance will hold your attention, but it's also very affected and “actressy” and never real. Jose Ferrer isn't bad in a role that both George Sanders and Vincent Price could have made more of [the least attractive of this trio, it's hard to imagine Ferrer as some kind of lover boy with the ladies]. Richard Conte barely registers as the husband, but Charles Bickford is a bit better as the detective assigned to the case.

Verdict: Not very memorable. **.

ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO

ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO (1940). Director: Anatol Litvak. NOTE: Important plot details are discussed in this review. 

In 19th century France, a young woman, Henriette (Bette Davis) becomes governess to the four children of the Duke Theo (Charles Boyer) and Duchess Frances (Barbara O'Neil) de Praslin. Frances is a neurotic woman who lacks the maternal instincts of Henriette, and her condition is worsened by her deepening suspicion that Henriette is trying to usurp her place in the affections of both children and husband. Henriette and Theo do fall in love, but their relationship never becomes intimate. This does not stop Frances from hating her rival with a passion matched only by Theo's hatred of his wife. Rachel Field based the novel upon which the film was based on a true story, making Henriette (to whom she was related) completely innocent, which was probably not true in real life. Casey Robinson's screenplay makes both Duke and Duchess so one-dimensional that it's hard to figure out the true reasons for why their marriage went so wrong and how much Theo contributed to his wife's emotional distress. Theo is supposed to be so noble, but is only -- in essence-- a gigolo who married Frances for her father's money. Frances is made almost entirely hateful so that the audience will be on Theo's side when he commits a frightful act late in the picture. Despite these unsatisfactory aspects, All This and Heaven Too is an entertaining, well-made film for the most part, and moves quickly for nearly two and a half hours. Bette Davis offers one of her loveliest, most subdued portrayals, and wisely doesn't try to compete with an excellent Barbara O'Neil for histrionics. (O'Neil sort of out-Bettes Bette.) Boyer is good, but during his big love scene with Davis he merely seems to be woodenly reciting lines -- where is the passion generated by Davis? Jeffrey Lynn does a nice job as a kind minister who offers Davis salvation -- and romance (and he's younger and better-looking than Boyer, wouldn't you know it? Only in Hollywood!) The movie is drenched in acceptable Max Steiner romantic music, and Ernest Haller's photography is good but not especially striking. There are a host of fine supporting players in the film, and little Richard Nichols nearly steals the show as the adorable youngster, Reynald. If you can watch the scene when the kid lies sick in his bed, near death, without getting a lump in your throat you're way tougher than I am. 

Verdict: Interesting version of historical incidents. ***.