I TAKE THIS WOMAN

Hedy Lamarr

I TAKE THIS WOMAN (1940). Director: W. S. Van Dyke.

"Time wounds all heels." -- Marcesca.

Georgi Gregore (Hedy Lamarr) tries to throw herself off of an ocean liner due to an unhappy love affair, but she is saved by the compassionate Dr. Karl Decker (Spencer Tracy). Georgi is still dealing with her feelings for the married Phil Mayberry (Kent Taylor), when she gets involved with Karl -- who works at a clinic for low-income patients -- and marries him. But trouble begins when Karl joins a practice that caters to the wealthy, and Georgi runs into her ex-lover, Phil, once more. Can this marriage be saved?

Spencer Tracy and Hedy Lamarr

When I Take This Woman was first released, it came in for a mostly critical drubbing, and over the years has been considered a very bad picture starring a completely mis-matched Tracy and Lamarr. In actual truth, while the film is certainly not excellent, and at one point begins to rip off The Citadel, it is entertaining and very well-acted, with Tracy and Lamarr  playing very well together and making a very convincing romantic couple. In addition we've got some good work from Verree Teasdale as Georgi's effervescent friend, Marcesca, Kent Taylor as Phil, and Mona Barrie [Something to Sing About] as his bitter, heart-broken wife. Laraine Day, Louis Calhern, Frances Drake, and Paul Cavanagh also have notable supporting parts, along with Marjorie Main, Willie Best, Reed Hadley [Racket Squad], Don Castle [Roses are Red], and others.

I Take This Woman, alas, makes the mistake of trying to ape Frank Capra, throwing in a final scene that is sentimental in the wrong way and unconvincing. But the picture is still easy to take, Lamarr looks stunning, and the performances by both stars are quite memorable.

Verdict: Tracy and Lamarr make a better team than you might imagine. **3/4. 

THE AFFAIRS OF MARTHA

Marsha Hunt and Richard Carlson

THE AFFAIRS OF MARTHA (1942). Director: Jules Dassin.

The town of Rock Bay, Long Island is in an uproar when a columnist publishes an item about how one of the maids is going to publish a memoir about the family she works for. The ladies of the town hold one meeting, while all of the maids hold another. Meanwhile Martha (Marsha Hunt), who works for the Sommerfields and is secretly married to son Jeff (Richard Carlson), has to deal with romantic overtures from her publisher, Joel (Allyn Joslyn), as well as a young lad named Danny (Barry Nelson), when she then discovers that Jeff has come home with a fiancee (Frances Drake). While Martha has some similarities to the earlier Theodora Goes Wild, it has much less on its mind, although a spirited cast makes certain that the picture is generally fun. In addition to the already named there are good performances from Marjorie Main [The Law and the Lady] as the Sommerfield cook, Spring Byington as Mrs. Sommerfield, and Virginia Weilder as her precocious daughter, Miranda. Sara Haden, Margaret Hamilton and Grady Sutton all have smaller roles. Jules Dassin also directed Thieves' Highway.

Verdict: Cute if minor comedy. **1/2.

LES MISERABLES (1935)

March and Laughton in a tense confrontation

LES MISERABLES (1935). Director: Richard Boleslawski.

Jean Valjean (Fredric March) goes to prison for stealing a loaf of bread, whereupon he makes an impression on Inspector Javert (Charles Laughton) when he uses steely shoulder muscles to lift a fallen beam off of a fellow inmate. Years later, when Valjean has become the respected citizen Mssr. Madeleine, Javert witnesses him lifting a cart off of a man and gets suspicious, leading to a lengthy and convoluted pursuit. Victor Hugo's novel has been compressed a bit, certain characters [such as the innkeeper and his wife] become less important, but the basic plot is all there. This is a well-mounted and elaborate production with fine cinematography from Gregg Toland and an expert editing job by Barbara McLean; a montage depicting Valjean fleeing from Javert by coach is especially breathless and exciting. Although he has his moments, this is not one of March's better performances; in fact he's surprisingly perfunctory in the opening scenes when he explains why he stole the bread for his starving family. Ironically, some of his best moments come not when he's playing Valjean, but Champmathieu, a man who looks like Valjean and is arrested in his place! Laughton gives a stunning performance, however, and Rochelle Hudson scores as the grown-up Cosette, who falls for the protesting student, Marius (well-played by John Beal). Cedric Hardwicke, Florence Eldridge [as Fantine, mother of Cosette], and Frances Drake are also notable.

Verdict: If you prefer your Hugo without the pop music. ***.

MAD LOVE

MAD LOVE (1935). Director: Karl Freund.

One of the most fascinating horror films ever made, this features a superb performance by Peter Lorre as brilliant surgeon Dr. Gogol, who is tormented by his unrequited obsession with a beautiful actress,Yvonne Orlac (Frances Drake). Gogol buys a life-like statue of Yvonne from a wax musem and sets it up in his living room. When her husband, a great concert pianist named Stephen Orlac, has his hands hopelessly mangled in a train wreck, Gogol operates but tells no one that he has replaced Orlac's hands with the hands of a murderer, a knife thrower, who was recently guillotined. The hands take on a life of their own, as Gogol plots to remove Orlac from the scene so that Yvonne will belong to him alone. Lorre's portrait of what seems like a decent man (in contrast to Orloc's hateful step-father, who comes off as a real monster) driven to insane, evil acts by a torturous and maddening infatuation, holds the film together despite the bizarre moments and disruptive comedy relief of a nervous reporter. Fine script (various writers), vivid direction, very atmospheric photography (Gregg Toland, Chester Lyons), impressive art direction (Cedric Gibbons), a fast pace and not a dull moment.

Verdict: Great. They don't make 'em like this anymore. ***1/2.