GUILTY BYSTANDER

Zachary Scott

GUILTY BYSTANDER (1950). Director: Joseph Lerner.

Max Thursday (Zachary Scott) is a divorced ex-cop who spends his time drinking in a rundown boarding house. But he is galvanized to action - sort of -- when his ex-wife, Georgia (Faye Emerson), comes to tell him that their little boy has been kidnapped. Max goes to see Dr. Elder (Jed Prouty of the Jones Family movies), who may have some information, but the man winds up murdered. And there are other complications. Frankly, Guilty Bystander is a bit confusing as we follow Max's convoluted path from person to person, although there are some interesting characters and actors along the way: Mary Boland has a very different role to play than usual as the tough, tippling landlady, but she does it well. Sam Levene is Max's former boss on the force, Captain Tonetti, and perhaps the biggest surprise is a young Kay Medford as a sexy moll with whom Max dallies in his quest for answers. Scott [The Unfaithful] gives a very good performance, with Boland, Prouty and Medford [Two Tickets to Paris] not far behind him, but the movie is very minor film noir, although there are a couple of surprises before the conclusion.

Verdict: Perhaps too murky for its own good. **1/2.

NOBODY LIVES FOREVER

NOBODY LIVES FOREVER (1946). Director: Jean Negulesco.

Nick Blake (John Garfield) is fresh out of the army, and discovers his girl, Toni (Faye Emerson) hasn't exactly been idle during his absence. He leaves for Los Angeles with his buddy Al (George Tobias), and is offered a lead role in a new scheme by fellow low-life, Doc (George Coulouris): he is to romance a recently widowed and wealthy woman named Gladys (Geraldine Fitzgerald) with the aim of parting her from her newly-acquired dough, a percentage of which he'll turn over to Doc and his racketeer cronies. But what happens if Nick genuinely falls in love with Gladys? Nobody Lives Forever is a surprisingly dull suspense drama with a shoot 'em out climax that seems to last an hour. Garfield is fine, but his character is unreal and uninteresting, and while Fitzgerald gives a good performance as the very naive and lady-like Gladys, it has no spark or fire, and neither does her character. The whole story is contrived and unbelievable in many respects to start with. George Coulouris (Womaneater; Citizen Kane) is excellent but George Tobias is irritating and adds absolutely nothing to the picture. Emerson [Lady Gangster], Walter Brennan [A Stolen Life] and Robert Shayne [The Neanderthal Man] are all fine in smaller roles. Again Brennan plays a character who is much older than he was at the time of filming.

Verdict: Phony and lifeless. **.

THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS

THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS (1944). Director: Jean Negulesco.

A mystery writer named Leyden (Peter Lorre) is fascinated by the tales of a master criminal, Dimitrios Makropolous (Zachary Scott), who was found dead on a beach, and travels to interview people who knew -- and hated -- him. On his journeys he encounters Mr. Peters (Sydney Greenstreet), who wants to know what Leyden is up to without giving away any of his own secrets. Flashbacks illustrate the increasingly violent and cunning career of Dimitrios -- one of the best vignettes details how he helps maneuver a harmless little clerk (Steven Geray) into betraying his country via greed and gambling. But Dimitrios may even have one last trick up his sleeve. Although quite talky, the picture moves fast and features excellent performances from the entire cast; Lorre and especially Greenstreet are a marvel to watch as they emote with great skill and conviction. Kurt Katch as Colonel Haki, Victor Francen as Grudek, Marjorie Hoshelle as the clerk Bulic's wife, are all stand-outs, with Florence Bates and Edward (Eduardo) Ciannelli also offering noteworthy bits. Faye Emerson isn't bad as a discarded woman in Dimitrios' life. Negulesco may not be a Hitchcock (it would be interesting to ponder how the great Hitch would have handled this material) but his direction is quite good nonetheless. Based on A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler.

Verdict: Fascinating! ***1/2.

BETWEEN TWO WORLDS

Paul Henreid

BETWEEN TWO WORLDS (1944). Director Edward A. Blatt.

Long and rather tedious remake of Outward Bound has a couple who committed suicide (Eleanor Parker; Paul Henreid) finding themselves aboard a passenger ship heading toward eternity – only the other passengers don't realize that they themselves are also dead. Thought-provoking premise is given half-baked, overly literal and preachy treatment, and the many stilted performances don't help. Aside from an excellent speech at the very end of the film, John Garfield is in no way showcased to advantage in the film, playing it all in one note and revealing little of his character's inner torment. His girlfriend in the film, Faye Emerson, doesn't even appear to be an actress (although she plays one); she has some nice moments, again at the conclusion, but is otherwise astonishingly inept. However, Edmund Gwenn is splendid as the chief steward, and Sara Allgood scores, as usual, as a kindly older lady. Henreid gives one of his more memorable performances, and Parker is superb. By the time Sydney Greenstreet shows up as the “examiner” to determine exactly which place the passengers go -- Heaven or Hell – the movie just implodes.

Verdict: Have a nice nap instead. *1/2.