AND NOW TOMORROW

Susan Hayward and Loretta Young

AND NOW TOMORROW (1944). Director: Irving Pichel.

Socialite Emily Blair (Loretta Young) has become deaf due to meningitis, and pursues different doctors to find a cure. Family friend Dr. Weeks (Cecil Kellaway) gets Emily together with Merek Vance (Alan Ladd), who is working on a serum that may cure Emily, but who has a chip on his shoulder regarding her wealth and privilege. Adding to the complications is the fact that Emily's fiance, Jeff (Barry Sullivan), has fallen in love with her somewhat selfish sister, Janice (Susan Hayward), and vice versa. If she gets her hearing back, Emily may be in for a big surprise ... And Now Tomorrow is an entertaining soap opera that probably has little to do with the realities of hearing loss, and might even be considered a heartless fantasy for the deaf. On the other hand, it's very well-acted, with Young, Hayward, and Kellaway [Love Letters] taking the top honors, although Ladd [Boy on a Dolphin] and Sullivan [Jeopardy] also acquit themselves nicely. Beulah Bondi, Grant Mitchell and Helen Mack have smaller roles, and all are fine. The movie borders on the absurd at times but never quite goes overboard. and is well-paced and entertaining. Young is excellent, but Hayward comes close at times to stealing the movie from her.

Verdict: Having a handsome doctor is half of it. ***.

SHE (1935)

Helen Gahagan as "She"

SHE (1935). Directors: Lansing C. Holden; Irving Pichel. Colorized version. Based on the novel by H. Rider Haggard.

John Vincey (Samuel S. Hinds), who is dying of radiation poisoning, tells his nephew, Leo (Randolph Scott), that he can find the secret of immortality by finding the flame in a lost civilization which was first discovered by Leo's lookalike ancestor. Leo, Horace Holly (Nigel Bruce), and Tonya (Helen Mack of Son of Kong), whom they sort of pick up along the way, travel through a frigid wasteland and after an avalanche discover the cavern that leads to this lost land. There they find a bunch of unfriendly savages, but they also find -- "She" (Helen Gahagan), the absolute ruler of this weird little empire. She has lived for centuries, and thinks Leo is his ancestor, John, whom she actually murdered many years before. Now she wants to sacrifice Tonya ... She, superior to the sixties remake, has some striking settings, good special effects (for the period), and is well-acted by the two ladies. Bruce is less effective than he was as Dr. Watson, and Scott [Go West Young Man] is embarrassingly awful as the hero. The best scene depicts a thrilling fight on a high precipice that keeps tottering during the battle. Elaborately produced for its time, She was probably an influence, unconscious or otherwise, on such cruel-queen-in-strange-settings movies as Queen of Outer Space and many others. [At least this society has the Arts, evidenced by the dancing and statuary.] This is an entertaining adventure film, but Max Steiner's excellent score probably makes it seem even better than it is. The big gate from King Kong shows up early in the film. A singer and politician, Gahagan only appeared in this one movie.

Verdict: Interesting adaptation of classic adventure story. ***.

SON OF KONG

SON OF KONG (1933). Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack. 

"Next time leave the big monkey alone!" -- Charlie the cook 

Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) and Captain Englehorn (Frank Reicher) from King Kong flee Manhattan and numerous creditors and process servers and set sail once more, coming across the man, Helstrom (John Marston), who first told Denham about Kong's island. Now Helstrom claims there's a treasure on the island just waiting to be found. Taking off with a singer named Helene (Helen Mack) as a stowaway, they sail off again to find a fortune. But what they find first is "little Kong," the big ape's much more benevolent son, who bonds with them after they rescue him from a quicksand bog on the island. There are some good effects and fluid stop-motion animation in this [although the model work is nowhere near as good as in the original] , as well as an exciting climax with an earthquake and tidal wave, but this is pretty much a pale shadow of King Kong. Passably entertaining, however. 

Verdict: Not a chip off the old block. **1/2.

DIVORCE

DIVORCE (1945) Director: William Nigh.

Diane Carter (Kay Francis), an adventuress who has married and divorced four wealthy men, returns to her home town and discovers that her ex-beau Bob Phillips (Bruce Cabot) is happily married and has two adorable little boys. Diane and Bob go into business together, and it turns out that Diane is better at helping him realize his ambitions than his pretty wife Martha (Helen Mack) is. Martha soon realizes that she is right to be suspicious of their relationship.... This was one of three films Francis did for Monogram studios, the last of her career, and it's not very memorable. She gives a good performance but plays a character so unlikable that she practically sneers in Martha's face when Bob tells her he's in love with her, Diane. This is the kind of movie that wants us to believe it's a happy ending if the husband goes back to the wife, even though Bob not only shows bad taste in choosing Diane over Martha, but neglects his two little boys and proves all around a stinker. Cabot is fine as the heel of a husband, and Helen Mack is lovely as Martha. Despite some good dialogue, the script is superficial and the characters one-dimensional.

Verdict: Watchable for Kay but no great shakes. **.