LARCENY

John Payne and Joan Caulfield

LARCENY (1948). Director: George Sherman.

"If she's your cousin, I'm a boa constrictor in high heels." -- Tory.

Rick Mason (John Payne of Hats Off) is part of a group of con men led by Silky Randall (Dan Duryea). Silky is nuts about blowsy blond Tory (Shelley Winters), but she is really crazy about Rick and vice versa. Silky tries to send Tory to Havana while Rick starts a new con involving a wealthy war widow, Deborah (Joan Caulfield), but Tory shows up in the same town. Now Rick not only has to keep Deborah from finding out about Tory, but Silky as well. Tory's presence could put paid to Rick's scheme to steal $100,000 earmarked for a youth center, but a different complication is that he finds that he's genuinely falling for Deborah.

Shelley Winters and John Payne

Larceny is an absorbing melodrama with solid performances from the entire cast, although Shelley Winters pretty much walks off with the movie with her zesty and sexy portrayal of Tory. Tory is given the best and most amusing lines (by Margolis, Morheim and Bowers) and Winter's sassy performance makes the most of them. She gets some competition from Dorothy Hart [Tarzqn's Savage Fury] as Madeline, a secretary who can wear glasses and still get passes -- and make some of her own. Patricia Alphin is yet another lady, a waitress, who makes eyes and more at handsome Rick. There are other notable performances from Percy Helton (playing a sweet old guy for a change); Dan O'Herlihy as another con man; and Richard Rober as Max, another one of Silky's associates. Percy and Payne had a different kind of interaction in The Crooked Way. Don Wilson and Gene Evans have smaller roles. The con man who goes soft for love is an old, old stereotype but this is one of the better movies on that theme, even if the conversion isn't entirely believable, and the characters aren't as dimensional as you might like.

Verdict: Absorbing and snappy film noir. ***. 

DEAR WIFE

DEAR WIFE (1949). Director: Richard Haydn.

In this sequel to Dear Ruth, Bill Seacroft (William Holden) is happily married to Ruth (Joan Caulfield) and living with his in-laws in their big house in New York. Bill's young, naive, but politically active sister-in-law, Miriam (Mona Freeman), doesn't like the current administration in her town and rallies against it before she discovers that her father, Judge Wilkins (Edward Arnold), is going to run for state Senate. Worse, Miriam has started a petition nominating Bill for the same seat! At first Bill, a bank clerk, has no interest in running, but when he learns that a new airport will leave many people homeless, he decides to challenge the judge, a situation which becomes increasingly awkward and threatens his marriage. Dear Wife is predicated on an amusing and interesting situation and builds upon it with its funny script and some fine acting. Holden [Executive Suite] makes the perfect leading man in this, Caulfield [The Unsuspected] is fine, and Arnold and Mary Philips as her parents are wonderful. Mona Freeman plays her part with perhaps too much self-conscious cuteness, but Billy De Wolfe positively walks off with the movie with his irresistible portrayal of Bill's boss and love rival, Albert. There are also memorable bits from Irving Bacon, Harry von Zell, amiable and adept William Murphy, Arleen Whelan, Raymond Roe, and Ida Moore [The Egg and I] as a drunken old lady in court. The best cameo is a sleepy neighbor played by Richard Haydn, who also directed the film.

Verdict: Cute and funny picture with some great performances. ***.