WITHOUT HONOR

Laraine Day and Franchot Tone

WITHOUT HONOR (1949). Director: Irving Pichel.

Jane Bandle (Laraine Day of Foreign Correspondent) is a bored and neglected housewife whose husband, Fred (Bruce Bennett of Smart Girls Don't Talk), frequently leaves her alone and who insists he wants no children. She enters into an affair with Dennis Williams (Franchot Tone), who claims to love her to such an extent that he wants to leave his wife, Katherine (Agnes Moorehead) and daughters. But when Dennis gets wind that Fred might be having him followed, he gets cold feet and wants to end his relationship with Jane. Things spiral out of control and who should show up but nasty Bill (Dane Clark of Whiplash), Fred's jealous brother, who has reasons for despising Jane. He's also invited Mr. and Mrs. Williams to come over for a chat, but none of the players, including a clueless Fred and despairing Jane, realize that Dennis may be permanently out of the picture. 

Day with Dane Clark

One could quibble with certain aspects of Without Honor, but on its own terms it's a credible and absorbing -- and certainly unpredictable -- melodrama with a good script by James Poe. The performances are quite good across the board, and while Pichel is no Hitchcock he keeps things moving and manages to build up a degree of suspense. Another "player," as usual, is composer Max Steiner, who provides good back-up for the goings-on, with some of the catchy music acting as counterpoint to the generally grim proceedings. Without Honor has certainly gotten mixed reactions from viewers, with some hating almost every aspect of it and others finding it a bit unique and different. Count me in the latter camp.

When Ladies Meet: Agnes Moorehead with Day

Bill hates Jane because years before he made a pass at her while she was dating his brother and she made a fuss about it, perhaps somewhat altering the relationship between the two men. Some viewers feel that Bill has incestuous sexual feelings for his own brother -- the notion that Bill is in love with Fred might make more sense if Bill was Fred's best friend and not his brother -- but while Bill does come off like a rejected lover (of Fred's) due to the intensity of Clark's performance, I don't think that was the film's intention (although Poe did deal with homosexual characters in his adaptations of plays by Tennessee Williams).

Verdict: Unusual and arresting film that never quite goes where you expect it to. ***1/4. 

HOLLYWOOD CANTEEN

Davis, Leslie, Garfield and Hutton

HOLLYWOOD CANTEEN (1944). Director: Delmer Daves.

Corporal Slim Green (Robert Hutton) and his buddy Sergeant Nowland (Dane Clark) are on leave in LA when they drop by the Hollywood Canteen. The canteen was started by Bette Davis and John Garfield, and both stars play a prominent role in the film, which is basically built around Slim wanting to meet actress Joan Leslie, playing herself, and the romance that ensues. During this, a number of stars either appear or do numbers. Among the highlights: Dennis Morgan and Joe E. Brown sing "You Can Always Tell a Yank;" The Andrews Sisters perform "We're Getting Corns for Our Country;" Jack Benny and Joseph Szigeti have a comical duel of violins; Joan McCracken does a jazz ballet production number; a Spanish dance number from Rosario and Antonio; and Kitty Carlisle singing "Sweet Dreams, Sweetheart." Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet have an amusing cameo, and there are lots of guest appearances by a host of stars, some of whom you may miss if you blink (Eleanor Parker, for instance). Davis and Garfield are wonderful playing themselves; Dane Clark has an affecting moment when his character realizes that he no longer needs to use his cane; and Robert Hutton is excellent as the shy, sensitive small-town fellow who develops quite a crush on Leslie, who gives a winning performance as well. Zachary Scott and Barbara Stanwyck have notable cameos, and Janis Paige makes a decided impression as a studio messenger who pretends to be an actress. Corporal Green addresses his fellow fighting men and allies at one point, and mentions "our own colored boys" as it flashes to a shot of several black soldiers. Good. Although Hutton never became a major star (this was his fourth picture) he did amass 90 credits in his long career. However, the one single actor who has the most sheer presence in the two hour film is the formidable Joan Crawford.

Verdict: Entertaining, and ultimately quite moving. ***.

THE GAMBLER AND THE LADY

Dane Clark

THE GAMBLER AND THE LADY (1952). Directors: Patrick Jenkins; Sam Newfield, Written by Sam Newfield,

After getting out of jail for manslaughter, Jim Forster (Dane Clark) sets up operations in London, where he owns a nightclub, a boxer, a racehorse, and several illegal gambling dens. Jim is on a self-improvement kick, and wants to be just like, and accepted by, the titled lords and ladies with whom he wishes to mingle. He falls for Susan Willens (Naomi Chance), the sister of Lord Peter Willens (Anthony Forwood), a patron of one of Forster's gambling dens. But two things stand in the way of Jim achieving all of his goals: his nasty ex-girlfriend, Pat (Kathleen Byron); and a business deal with the Willens family that may blow up in all of their faces. The Gambler and the Lady has a 1940's style script -- one could easily see Bogart or Gable in  the lead role -- but the picture is still quite entertaining and Clark [A Stolen Life] gives a very memorable performance. The above-mentioned ladies are also notable, as is Eric Pohlmann as Colonna, one of Jim's business "rivals."  Anthony Forwood, who has a pleasing screen presence, later became the life-partner of Dirk Bogarde. [Mr.] Meredith Edwards, George Pastell [The Stranglers of Bombay], and Martin Benson [Battle Beneath the Earth] also give flavorful performances as, respectively, Jim's good right-hand, Dave; a nasty character Jim fires named Jacko; and Tony, Pat's dancing partner.

Verdict: Snappy British crime picture. ***.

THE NEW PERRY MASON

Monte Markham as Perry Mason

THE NEW PERRY MASON. 1973 TV series.

Monte Markham had the unenviable task of stepping into the inestimable shoes of Raymond Burr when he took on the role of Erle Stanley Gardner's famous criminal lawyer in The New Perry Mason. Markham didn't try to do the role exactly as Burr did, which is wise, and he isn't bad, but he lacks authority, something you could never say about Burr. The other casting choices are interesting, with Dane Clark [Whiplash] as Lt. Tragg, Albert Stratton as Paul Drake, and Harry Guardino [Jigsaw] as Hamilton Berger, although Sharon Acker [Happy Birthday to Me] makes virtually no impression as Della Street. Most of the episodes are fairly mediocre, but some of the better ones include: "Jailed Justice," in which a judge is accused of poisoning his hated son-in-law; "Tortured Titan," in which a woman allegedly murders the man who put her wealthy brother in an institution; "Murdered Murderer," in which the inventor of a new type of camera is accused of murder even as the contract killer who did the deed is himself murdered [with good performances from Paul Burke and Sharon Farrell]; and the best episode, "Telltale Trunk," in which a greedy, back-stabbing businessman winds up dead in a trunk after his victims plan a playful revenge [with a notable Richard Anderson and Keenan Wynn].

Verdict: Has its moments, some good guest performances, but stick with Burr.

WHIPLASH

Unlikely couple: Dane Clark and Alexis Smith

WHIPLASH (1948). Director: Lewis Seiler.

In this chopped suey of a movie, artist Michael Gordon (Dane Clark of Paid to Kill) falls for a woman, Laurie (Alexis Smith of The Constant Nymph), who buys one of his paintings. In spite of the fact that Laurie is completely out of his league in every way possible, Michael tells her he's in love with her after knowing her for six hours. Unfortunately, Laurie has a wheel-chair bound husband, an ex-fighter named Rex (Zachary Scott of Ruthless), who convinces Michael that he could be a sensation in the ring. Then there's Laurie's brother, a doctor (Jeffrey Lynn), whom Rex somehow blames for his condition. Whiplash is less a boxing movie than an unconvincing and utterly unexceptional soap opera-melodrama with superficial characters and equally superficial performances. All of the lead actors have been seen to much better advantage in other pictures, although Lynn is generally creditable. Eve Arden adds some slight fun in her inimitable way as a friend of Michael's who wishes she were something more and S. Z. "Cuddles" Sakall is as cuddly and monotonous as ever. This is another in a long line of obnoxious Dane Clark portrayals. Clark and Smith generate no fireworks and are completely unbelievable as a romantic couple. The only good scene is when Zachary Scott gets what's coming to him. Director Lewis Seiler does nothing to help the actors or the picture.

Verdict: A "romance" with two lovers who seem to come from different planets. **.

BLACKOUT (1954)

BLACKOUT (aka Murder By Proxy/1954). Director: Terence Fisher.

Casey Morrow (Dane Clark) is moping around getting drunk in a bar when an attractive blond named Phyllis (Belinda Lee) pays him 500 dollars to marry her. He later learns that her father was murdered later that night, that she is already engaged to another man, and seeks the help of a painter, Maggie (Eleanor Summerfield), who is doing a portrait of the mysterious Phyllis. Blackout meanders along from scene to scene without much suspense or tension and director Terence Fisher seems as disinterested with the material as the viewer probably will be. There is a very good scene when Casey sees his mother (Nora Gordon/Gorden) for the first time in several years wherein the actress beautifully expresses both her joy at seeing her boy and her suppressed rage at his being out of touch for so long. Clark and the other cast members all give good performances, but the movie is more tedious than anything else. Betty Ann Davies shows some bite as Phyllis' unlovely mother. Another Hammer studio crime drama released in the US by Lippert. The later film Homicidal also had a blond paying a man to marry her but was much, much more entertaining. Lee was in the far superior Footsteps in the Fog the following year, and Summerfield made Man Bait the year before.

Verdict: Watch this during a blackout. **.   

PAID TO KILL

Dane Clark

PAID TO KILL (1954). Director: Montgomery Tully.

In a variation of the old plot about a man hiring someone to kill him and then wanting to call it off, James Neville (Dane Clark) is convinced that a business deal gone south will not only ruin him but the company he heads, so he blackmails an associate, Paul (Paul Kirby) into killing him so his wife can collect the insurance money. But then the deal is back on again, and Neville is saved, only someone is still trying to kill him -- and it doesn't appear to be Paul. Suspects include his apparently loving secretary, Joan (Cecile Chevreau), his wife, Andrea (Thea Gregory), and his friend, Peter (Anthony Forwood), among others. Paid to Kill is well-acted and suspenseful, and with a little more care might have really amounted to something; as it is it's entertaining. Clark gives a very good performance as the not terribly likable Neville, and the others in the cast are good as well.

Verdict: Not bad Hammer mystery film. ***.