THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WANTED

Charles Laughton as Tony Patucci

THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WANTED (1940). Director: Garson Kanin.

This is the third film version of Sidney Howard's 1924 Pulitzer prize-winning play, and the only one to use his title. The story line -- later used by Frank Loesser in his brilliant musical theater piece The Most Happy Fella -- concerns a middle-aged vintner named Tony (Charles Laughton) who becomes infatuated with a pretty waitress named Amy (Carol Lombard), and asks for her hand in marriage -- but sends a photo of his younger, better-looking hired hand, Joe (William Gargan), instead of his own. When Amy arrives she's horrified to discover that the man she's been dreaming about is years older, uneducated, and rather homely, but her attraction to Joe is still there -- and vice versa ... Although you wouldn't first think of Laughton for the role of the Italian-American Tony Patucci, he's as superb as ever. Similarly, Lombard might not be considered the best casting but she is also excellent, as is Gargan [Strange Impersonation.] The biggest problem with the movie is that the production code was in effect, and there's an awful lot of moralizing and hand-wringing, and the ending is changed from happy to bittersweet [which kind of works anyway]. There's also an annoying priest, Father McKee (played by Frank Fay, who was Barbara Stanwyck's first husband), hovering over the whole movie like the literal embodiment of a censor. Tony is also a bit of an idiot, drunkenly falling off of a roof as he shows off for Amy [in the original version he is in an accident instead]. Despite its many flaws They Knew What They Wanted works because of the superior performances, good direction from Kanin, and a fine score by Alfred Newman. Karl Malden has a small role as Red. Playwright Howard did the screenplay for Dodsworth. Kanin also directed Next Time I Marry with Lucille Ball.

Verdict: Not all it could have been, but noteworthy for the acting. ***.

VIGIL IN THE NIGHT

VIGIL IN THE NIGHT (1940). Director: George Stevens.

What A. J. Cronin did for doctors in “The Citadel” he apparently did for the nursing profession in his novel “Vigil in the Night,” of which this is an adaptation. Carol Lombard is fine as a dedicated nurse who covers for her immature sister when the latter's negligence leads to the death of a little boy. That sequence sets the very somber tone for this movie, which follows Lombard on her adventures working for an understaffed facility in London, which is ill-equipped to deal with a smallpox epidemic. If one picks apart the plot and script there are all kinds of things that will give one pause, but the movie works perfectly on an emotional level and will be, for some, a five hankie weeper. George Stevens' direction is adroit, and the supporting cast boasts the likes of Brian Aherne as a doctor, a fine Peter Cushing as Lombard's brother-in-law (and former boyfriend), and especially the always-wonderful Ethel Griffies as the peppery woman who heads the nursing staff. Alfred Newman's sensitive scoring also adds immeasurably to the success of the production (although some may find it too intrusive). TCM shows two endings to the film: one was for audiences in Europe, and one for audiences in the United States, downplaying the war overseas. Ironically, the United States soon became embroiled in the European conflict, and Lombard was killed not much later when her plane was shot down during a war bonds tour.

Verdict: four-hankie weepie with fine acting. ***.