WHITE WOMAN

Kent Taylor and Carole Lombard

WHITE WOMAN (1933). Director: Stuart Walker.

Down in Malaysia, Judith Denning (Carole Lombard of In Name Only) is considered notorious because it is said she drove her husband to suicide by taking a lover. She is also a "white woman" who sings in a cafe that caters to the natives. When the rich owner of a rubber plantation, Horace Prin (Charles Laughton), who calls himself the "King of the River," makes her a proposition, she decides to become his wife. On the plantation she comes to realize that Prin is a monster, and also that his overseer, David (Kent Taylor of Western Pacific Agent), is the man for her. It isn't long before the two are making plans to leave together, but Prin will not be so amenable to this decision of theirs. 

Claude King, Charles Laughton, Ethel Griffies

White Woman is a weird but intriguing movie, dripping with humid atmosphere, interesting performances, sinister jungle natives who are fond of lobbing lopped-off heads through windows, and the like. The centerpiece, of course, is Laughton, who gives a bizarre account of himself. On one hand he adds great flavor to his portrayal of a man who might be sociopathic, but at other times he is borderline campy, playing it like a vicious and childish "queen." Lombard is perhaps not quite as expressive as one might have hoped for, but she is good, and she plays quite well with Kent Taylor, who gives a very good reason for deserting. Percy Kilbride can't quite get away from Pa Kettle in his portrayal of Laughton's associate, Jakey, but he is effective enough. Others in the cast include Claude King as the administrator who wants Judith to "get out of town," Ethel Griffies as his highly disapproving (of Lombard) wife, and Charles Middleton [Drums of Africa] and Marc Lawrence as other workers on the plantation. Charles Bickford, who is as good as usual, shows up late as the new overseer and certainly keeps Laughton on his toes!

Verdict: Unusual romance with a suspenseful climax. ***. 

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. 

WESTERN PACIFIC AGENT

Kent Taylor

WESTERN PACIFIC AGENT (1950). Director: Sam Newfield.

Bill Stuart (Robert Lowery), a payroll agent for the Western Pacific railroad, is murdered by a hood named Frank Wicken (Mickey Knox). Agent Rod Kendall (Kent Taylor) investigates this murder as well as the death of an elderly railroad worker, also attributed to Wicken. Frank's father, store owner Joe Wicken (Morris Carnovsky of Cornered), suspects what his son has done, but loves him too much to turn him in. Kendall organizes a manhunt for the desperate Frank among the "bindlestiffs," or migrant workers who ride the rails, that doesn't end well. Western Pacific Agent is a minor film from Lippert that boasts a stand-out performance from Mickey Knox and a nice score from Albert Glasser. Kent Taylor [Gangbusters] is fine, and there are also small roles for Sheila Ryan and, unfortunately, Sid Melton [Lost Continent], playing a comedy-relief character who wears out his welcome almost immediately.

Verdict: Acceptable minor B movie but little more. **1/2.

FIVE CAME BACK

Patric Knowles and Joseph Calleia

FIVE CAME BACK (1939). Director: John Farrow.

A plane flying over South America crash lands in the jungle, but only five people can fly back when the plane is fixed, and there are headhunters in the area. Will it be the convict who faces execution (Joseph Calleia), or the blowsy brunette (Lucille Ball) who feels she hasn't got much of a future? Professor Spengler (C. Aubrey Smith) and his peppery wife (Elisabeth Risdon)? Crimp (John Carradine), who is delivering his prisoner but uses no handcuffs or takes any precautions? Or Pete (Allen Jenkins) who is traveling with his murdered boss's little boy, Tommy? Then there's the eloping couple, Judson (Patric Knowles) and Alice (Wendy Barrie), and the two pilots, played by Chester Morris [The She-Creature] and Kent Taylor [Gangbusters]. Five Came Back certainly features an interesting situation, but it's contrived, and the acting, while professional, is generally of the second-rate Hollywood variety. However, "Lucy" isn't bad as Peggy, and Knowles makes an impression as Jud, while Barrie does her best with the part she's given. At least in this earlier version the horrible death of a steward is remarked upon at some point. Farrow directed the remake Back from Eternity some years later, but it wasn't much of an improvement. This is not one of the great movies of 1939.

Verdict: Maybe more headhunters would have livened this up. **.

PETER GUNN Season 3

Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn

PETER GUNN Season Three. 1960.

The third and final season of the popular private eye program was unexceptional but entertaining. "Mother" is gone, and Peter's girlfriend, Edie (Lola Albright) opens her own restaurant-club, and hires a maitre'd, Leslie (James Lanphier), after the man's own restaurant is bombed. Although well-played by Lanphier, the character did little more than interrupt Edie and Peter (Craig Stevens) to tell the latter that he had a phone call. Edie herself only appeared sporadically [giving Gunn a girlfriend never made much sense, as it would have been more fun to have him involved with a different "dame" each week, which only happened on occasion]. Hershel Bernardi as Lt. Jacoby appeared in virtually every episode, again functioning practically as Gunn's partner. Late in the season four episodes in a row took place in Acapulco, to which Peter flew for one case and remained for several more. It seems clear that Gunn must have been a wealthy man slumming as a private dick because he rarely makes a lot of money and is always giving away very large bills to his informants. The most memorable episodes this season include: "A Kill and a Half," in which a midget hit man pretends to be a trick or treater; "A Matter of Policy" involving an insurance scheme and a bomb on an airliner; and "Than a Serpent's Tooth," in which Pamela Britton  [DOA] is notable as a woman who is carrying a secret in regards to her husband's death. The final episode -- although it has a standard plot of a millionaire wanting Peter to deal with a blackmailing female -- is very entertaining and features Peter Gunn director (and actor) Robert Gist and the show's executive producer Gordon Oliver in main roles, and both are excellent. Guest-stars for the third season include John Fieldler, Tommy Rettig, Jack Lalanne (who proves to be a terrible actor although he looks fit), Regis Toomey (in a very good turn as a desperate, aging P.I.), Ann Robinson, Kent Taylor [The Day Mars Invaded Earth], Hayden Rourke, Virginia Grey, and Patric Knowles. Robert Altman [That Cold Day in the Park] directed a couple of energetic episodes.

Verdict: Not a true classic, perhaps, but it has its moments. **1/2.

PAYMENT ON DEMAND

PAYMENT ON DEMAND (1951). Director: Curtis Bernhardt.

"When a woman starts getting old, time can be an avalanche, and loneliness a disaster."

Released after All About Eve, but made just before that film was shot, Payment on Demand has long been considered the "lost" Bette Davis film, although it has been shown on TCM (albeit not recently). Joyce Ramsey (Bette Davis) thinks she runs the perfect household for her husband David (Barry Sullivan) and two daughters, but one day David tells her they've been out of love for years and he wants a divorce. Flashbacks then show how they met, courted, fell in love, and the gradual reasons for their marital disintegration. When the film first begins, Davis' acting is so broad and affected, her line readings so bizarre, that initially you think this is going to be another of her terrible latter-day performances, but there's method to her madness. Davis is fine in the flashbacks when she's playing a much younger woman. Her affected acting in the modern scenes is to give the audience a clue as to why David fell out of love with her. She's become something he can't stand, a callous snob, and her weird delivery of lines in the opening scene makes it clear that she's also so self-absorbed that she really isn't listening to anything anyone says to her -- hence her listless, if arch, replies. One of the best scenes has the now-divorced Joyce encountering an old friend Emily (Jane Cowl), who's taken up with a much-younger gigolo and delivers the line highlighted above. At one point David says "Loneliness is a general feeling of not being part of everything that exists." One of the problems with the marriage is that Joyce feels absolutely no real guilt for sort of stabbing David's business partner Robert (Kent Taylor, whom I didn't recognize without his mustache) in the back. Since this hasn't changed by the end of the film, one can't realistically imagine that she's changed enough for David to want to take her back. Natalie Schafer, Otto Kruger, Peggie Castle, Frances Dee, Richard Anderson and Betty Lynn are also in the cast.

Verdict: A bit dated but often quite arresting. ***.

GANGBUSTERS

GANGBUSTERS (1942). Directed by Ray Taylor and Noel Smith.

Based on the radio show of the same name, this is one of the very best Universal serials, with a fast-pace, rapid editing, an effective musical score, and plenty of two-fisted action throughout. Ralph Morgan plays Professor Mortis (his I.D. is revealed in the first chapter), who is out for revenge against the city authorities (this is supposed to be New York but looks more like the typical Hollywood back lot). He is the head of the League of Murdered Men, allegedly bringing various gunsels back to life and keeping them alive with pills that enforce their loyalty. Kent Taylor is the stalwart detective Bill Bannister, and Robert Armstrong is his associate Tim Nolan (as usual Armstrong pretty much just plays himself). Irene Hervey is the intrepid girl reporter. There’s some good character actors in supporting roles but William Haade makes the biggest impression as Mike Taboni, a hood who murders Bannister’s kid brother, commits "suicide," and is revivified by Professor Mortis.

Although pretty much a dim bulb, Taboni is smart enough to ask Mortis who brought him, Mortis, another "suicide," back to life. "An intelligent question," says Mortis, "One best left unanswered." Understandably. I believe we never learn who’s sending Mortis all those notes delivered by the newsboy, either. There are some good cliffhangers in this serial, including one in which a car plunges several stories down a shaft, and a bit involving Hervey switching from the running board of one car to another. The pace never flags. An amusing aspect of the serial is that the secret entrance to the gang’s underground HQ is a trapdoor located right in the middle of the subway tracks. Of course, placing the trapdoor off to the side of the tracks would eliminate the danger as well as the ending that you know is coming. It’s interesting that instead of doing brief recaps at the start of each episode, the serial instead inserts brief new sequences that help the audience catch up with what’s going on – a nice touch. This may not quite be in the "classic" league, but it’s certainly a pretty good serial. And from Universal, no less.

Verdict: Good show! ***.

THE DAY MARS INVADED EARTH

THE DAY MARS INVADED EARTH (1962). Director: Maury Dexter. NOTE: One important plot point is revealed in this review.

Ever since I was a kid I'd been hoping to catch a glimpse of this little-seen [it's not even in Bill Warren's Keep Watching the Skies] sci fi movie from the early sixties. Be careful what you wish for ... Apparently somebody had this big empty estate with large rooms and beautiful gardens and long pathways that was just perfect for filming. Unfortunately, instead of making a haunted house film or thriller which would have been more appropriate, they instead made a tacky science fiction film with a minimum of FX work. Kent Taylor is a scientist who has sent a probe to Mars. Back with his family for a long overdue visit, Taylor discovers that Martians have landed on Earth as energy forms and have duplicated the bodies of himself and his family. There's a lot of aimless wide-screen wandering around through this pretty estate as Taylor, his wife (Marie Windsor) and their two children see their doppelgängers in the distance and either chase, or are chased by, them. The very downbeat ending, which packs a small wallop – we see the ashes of the bodies of Taylor and his family being washed away after their duplicates replace them – is the only thing of interest about the movie. Richard La Salle fashioned a full-fledged romantic score of a minor variety for the picture with some suitably eerie passages when required. Harry Spalding's script never really catches fire despite some attempts at characterization. The actors do what they can with insufficiently developed material.

Verdict: Not worth the time to track it down. **.