CHARLIE CHAN IN THE CHINESE CAT

Sidney Toler and Benson Fong

CHARLIE CHAN IN THE CHINESE CAT (aka The Chinese Cat/1944). Director: Phil Rosen.

"One Chan at a time is enough! No more murders for me!' -- Birmingham Brown.

Six months after the police are stumped by a "locked room" murder in which Thomas Manning is found shot, a work of fiction, "Murder by Madame," comes out which puts the blame on the widow, Mrs. Manning (Betty Blythe of A Fig Leaf for Eve). It appears that the woman's first husband died mysteriously as well, but this sub-plot is dropped early on. Mrs. Manning's daughter, Leah Manning (Joan Woodbury), who apparently took her stepfather's name, importunes Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) to finally solve the case and remove the cloud of suspicion over her mother. Charlie also makes a bet with the novelist, Recknik (Ian Keith of Cleopatra) as to whether or not the detective will come up with a new solution. There's a hidden staircase (which makes you wonder why anyone considered it a "locked room" puzzle); gems secreted inside cat statues with hidden compartments; and a climax inside a fun house on a pier. Alas, the one thing this movie doesn't have is any real suspense. While different and not as lovable as Victor Sen Yung, Benson Fong is quite good as Tommy Chan. Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland), now a Yellow cab man in New York, gets in on the action whether he wants to or not. Detective Harvey Dennis (Walden Heyburn) happens to be Leah Manning's boyfriend, and the ever-mediocre Cy Kendall is the late Manning's business partner, Webster Deacon. John Davidson [The Perils of Pauline] plays creepy-looking twins.

Verdict: Fairly standard Chan picture is not one of the better ones. **.

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS

Claudette Colbert

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS (1932). Director: Cecil B. DeMille.

"I'm the emperor's most urgent business."

In 64 A.D. Marcus, (Fredric March), the prefect of Rome, falls in love virtually at first sight with Mercia (Elissa Landi). The problem is that Mercia is a Christian,as is her entire household, and Marcus causes all of Rome to gossip and watch in dismay as he defends her, although he doesn't share her beliefs. Another problem is that Emperor Nero's wife, Poppea (Claudette Colbert), has a thing for Marcus and is perfectly willing to commit adultery with him, which he refuses to do; she is not thrilled by his interest in Mercia. In the meantime hunky Tigellinus (Ian Keith), who should certainly pique the empress's interest but apparently doesn't, is already plotting against Marcus before the latter gives him plenty of ammunition due to his passionate interest in Mercia. If you can get past the pious nature of some of the scenes -- and some of the Christians do seem nuts -- this can and should be taken as a study of cruel oppression. The scenes of Christians being herded into an arena only to be mauled and eaten by lions are still quite raw and disturbing (if not as graphic as they would be today) and one can't help but think of the later Holocaust and its atrocities. [Ironically, Hollywood parties were probably more like Roman orgies than Christian prayer meetings.] Charles Laughton is excellent, as usual, in his brief appearances as Nero. Charles Middleton has a small role as the panicking Christian Tyros, who feels that God has forgotten his people. Tommy Conlon is excellent as the boy Stephen, who is tortured until he gives away the Christians' location. Colbert is as good as she was in Cleopatra, but March, frankly, never quite seems to get a handle on his character, perhaps because as written Marcus is a little unreal. There's a supposedly "lesbian" dance in which a woman seductively drapes herself around Mercia to music. The coliseum scenes are intense and harrowing and even if you're neither Christian or even religious it's hard not to be affected by the awful deaths of so many innocent people. [Ironically, many Christians today are similarly intolerant towards others.]

Verdict: DeMille has his cake and eats it, too! ***1/2.

CLEOPATRA

Wilcoxon and Colbert

CLEOPATRA (1934). Director: Cecil B. DeMille.

"I am dying, Egypt, dying."

In 48 B.C. Egyptian princess Cleopatra (Claudette Colbert) first falls in love with Julius Caesar (Warren William) and then feels even more passion for the magnetic Marc Antony (Henry Wilcoxon). In the meantime, there is a lot of  jockeying for power and all sorts of heinous betrayal from many quarters. This is an opulent, totally absorbing bit of "Hollywood" history that is remarkably entertaining from start to finish. Colbert gives one of her finest performances, matched by florid William and studly Wilcoxon as her paramours. Other stand-outs in a fine supporting cast include Ian Keith as Octavian and Joseph Schildkraut as King Herod. This film also has the bit with Cleo wrapped up in a rug that was featured in the inferior remake with Elizabeth Taylor. One of the film's highlights is the detailed, briskly-edited montage of the war between Rome and Egypt, with a smitten Antony desperately fighting against his own countrymen out of love for Cleo. Fascinating, handsomely produced, and well-directed -- and ultimately moving.

Verdict: DeMille and Colbert at the height of their power. ****.

DICK TRACY'S DILEMMA

DICK TRACY'S DILEMMA (1947). Director: John Rawlins. 

Ralph Byrd takes over -- or rather takes back -- the role of Tracy from Morgan Conway in this, the third RKO Dick Tracy feature film. The villain of the piece is a murderous crook known as "The Claw" (Jack Lambert), who murders a guard during a robbery of expensive furs. The florid Vitamin Flintheart (Ian Keith plays him like a combination of John Barrymore and Cyril Ritchard) gets into the action out of guilt for not taking seriously a man who came to relay information to Tracy. [One of the best scenes has that man, a beggar named "Sightless" (Jimmy Conlin), trying to keep from being murdered in an alley by The Claw.] Tess Trueheart is played in this venture by Kay Christopher. Fast-paced and well-acted. Lambert makes a vital villain. This follows Dick Tracy and Dick Tracy vs. Cueball. 

Verdict: Acceptable B movie. **1/2.

DICK TRACY VS. CUEBALL

DICK TRACY VS. CUEBALL (1946). Director: Gordon Douglas.

Although Ralph Byrd played the famous cartoon strip detective in several cliffhanger serials, when they began making feature-length Tracy movies they first hired Morgan Conway to play the part. Conway isn't bad, but he's not as perfect for the role as Byrd is. In this very fast-paced thriller, Tracy is up against a bald, nasty criminal named Cueball (Dick Wessel, who is very effective) who is after some diamonds or their cash equivalent and strangles anyone who gets in his way (director Douglas includes lots of vivid close ups of people about to be dispatched by Cueball). There are a lot of colorful characters in this, not the least of which is "Filthy" Flora (Esther Howard), proprietress of the Dripping Dagger bar, who mistakenly thinks she can outwit the malevolent Cueball. Anne Jeffreys is Tess Trueheart and Ian Keith is the florid "Vitamin."

Verdict: Minor but fun. **1/2.

NIGHTMARE ALLEY

NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947). Director: Edmund Goulding

Tyrone Power gives one of his best performances as Stanton Carlisle, a young man who works for a carnival and inadvertently contributes to the death of an alcoholic co-worker, Pete (Ian Keith). Stan winds up performing a mind-reading act with his wife Molly (Coleen Gray), giving him gullible high society contacts and getting him into business with shady psychiatrist Lilith Ritter (Helen Walker, pictured with Power). This is an absolutely fascinating movie with interesting twists and turns and a powerful, if not entirely unexpected, wind-up (which is somewhat reminiscent of The Crowd). The supporting cast is splendid, with Joan Blondell excellent as Zeena, Pete's partner, and Helen Walker offers a diabolical portrait as the utterly amoral Lilith. There's a terrific scene when Power uses his skill to both charm and undermine an angry Marshall (a splendid James Burke) who's out to shut the carnival down. Well-directed by Edmund Goulding.

Verdict: A crackling good yarn. ***1/2.