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. 

ELLERY QUEEN AND THE MURDER RING

Blanche Yurka and Ralph Bellamy

ELLERY QUEEN AND THE MURDER RING (1941). Director: James P. Hogan.

Augusta Stack (Blanche Yurka) is a nasty old lady who runs a hospital, senses chicanery everywhere, and treats her own children like crap. We learn early on that son John (Leon Ames) is plotting murder with the help of two bumbling confederates. But when the termagant kicks off, are the conspirators actually responsible for her death? Then there are more murders. Writer/amateur sleuth Ellery Queen (Ralph Bellamy) investigates with the help of his cop father, Inspector Queen (Charlie Grapewin), and Ellery's secretary, Nikki (Margaret Lindsay). Ellery has a very condescending attitude toward Nikki, who also seems to be his girlfriend, but she also seems a lot smarter than he is. Notable cast members include George Zucco [The Mad Monster] as a doctor suspected of assorted bad things; James Burke as a cop; Olin Howland (Howlin) as another, rather merry doctor; and especially Mona Barrie [King of Burlesque] in a vivid turn as nurse Marian Tracy, who is involved with John. Dennis Moore has a small role as another doctor, and wouldn't you know Pierre Watkin shows up as lawyer Crothers and is as bland and minor as ever. The basic plot is workable, but there is too much unfunny "comedy" relief surrounding the hit men, and the movie becomes fairly tedious before too long. Characterization is minimal; there's no attempt to explain why Mrs. Stack has such a bad relationship with her children, for instance. The Spanish Cape Mystery, with Donald Cook playing Ellery Queen, was better than this. This was Bellamy's last appearance as Queen.

Verdict: Some people like this picture; they're welcome to it. *1/2.

SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT

Cagney and Evelyn Daw

SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT (1937). Director: Victor Schertzinger.

"A Japanese who speaks better English than I do, with a weakness for wiener schnitzel. It's too much for me in my weakened condition." -- Terry. 

Terry Rooney (James Cagney) is a popular musical theater man who is tapped to go to Hollywood to make his first picture. Planning to send for his singing sweetheart, Rita (Evelyn Daw), he goes to the studio and meets publicity man Hank Meyers (William Frawley) and studio chief B. O. Regan (Gene Lockhart of A Scandal in Paris), as well as major star Stephanie Hajos (Mona Barrie of The Devil's Mask). After a blow out on the set, Terry walks out and marries Rita, only to discover his first film is a big hit and he's a big star himself. The only trouble is that his marriage must be kept secret ... Cagney is, as expected, swell in the picture, as are most of his supporting players, including Dwight Frye as a hairdresser and Philip Ahn, as his butler, Ito. There's an excellent scene when Ahn reveals that he speaks English perfectly (although in real life he was Korean-American and not Japanese). As for leading lady Daw, it's easy to see why she appeared in only one other movie. Despite a heavy chin, Daw was cute, and not unappealing in an amateurish way, but she has one of the the worst soprano voices I've ever heard -- shrill, nasal, and altogether awful (if not quite as bad as Florence Foster Jenkins). Director Schertzinger's discovery, she retired to get married not a moment too soon. Something to Sing About has some nice tunes, including the title number, Cagney does a lovely soft shoe routine with two professional dancers, and of course is given a chance to belt guys around to prove his "manhood." A shipboard sequence features an actual "cat fight" with two real cats boxing one another (!) and a sailor in drag is tossed over the railing!

Verdict: Frothy, mindless, and reasonably entertaining. **1/2.

KING OF BURLESQUE

Alice Faye and a bevy of chorus cuties

KING OF BURLESQUE (1936). Director: Sidney Lanfield.

Kerry Bolton (Warner Baxter of Just Before Dawn) has been very successful as a producer of burlesque entertainment, but he longs for Broadway respectability and embarks on a new career. He also decides to romance a society lady named Rosalind Cleve (Mona Barrie), who is down on her luck and already engaged to handsome singer, Stanley Drake (Charles Quigley of The Crimson Ghost). In a bizarre development Rosalind agrees to marry Kerry if the latter will back Drake financially for a career in opera as well as give him the lead in a high-brow Broadway show. Obviously this is not a recipe for marriage -- or musical -- success. In the meantime, Pat Doran (Alice Faye), who's been carrying the torch for Kerry, is heartbroken and leaves his employ. Will true love win out in the end? Since not enough is made of the strange marital triangle, we're left with some winning production numbers, especially when Bolton finally stages his big show for a comeback. You have to see the gals swinging like trapeze artists over a supper club set to believe it. Fats Waller sings "Got My Fingers Crossed;" little Gareth Joplin tap dances his little heart out; Kenny Baker does a sterling rendition of another of the catchy numbers; and a piece with the chorus boys adroitly tap dancing with Faye is also delightful. The leads are all fine, with nice work from Jack Oakie as Kerry's pal, Joe; Dixie Dunbar as secretary turned singer, Marie; and especially Gregory Ratoff [All About Eve] as a man who impersonates a wealthy Russian backer of the revue. This is a near-MGM style musical from Twentieth Century Fox. Remade as Hello, Frisco, Hello, also with Faye and Oakie, and John Payne replacing Warner Baxter.

Verdict: The story takes a back seat to the snappy numbers. ***.

THE DEVIL'S MASK

Jim Bannon and Anita Louise

THE DEVIL'S MASK (1946). Director: Henry Levin. Based on a I Love a Mystery radio script.

A plane crashes on its way to South America, and among its cargo is a shrunken head. Meanwhile Janet Mitchell (Anita Louise of The Firebird) is convinced that her father was murdered on a trip into the jungle, and goes to her Uncle Leon (Paul E. Burns) for succor. Her chief suspects are her stepmother Louise (Mona Barrie) and Professor Logan (Frank Wilcox), who are supposedly having an affair. Private eyes Jack Packard (Jim Bannon of Unknown World) and Doc Long (Barton Yarborough) are hired by Louise, who is suspicious of Rex Kennedy (Michael Duane), an alleged gadabout who is keeping company with Janet. Then someone is killed with a Jivaro blow gun ... The Devil's Mask is minor in all departments but it has its intriguing aspects and the acting is okay, with insouciant Duane [The Return of the Whistler] the stand-out. There's some interesting business with the shrunken head as well.

Verdict: Okay, but a better movie with shrunken heads is The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake. **1/2.

CHARLIE CHAN IN LONDON

Drue Leyton, Warner Oland and Ray Milland

CHARLIE CHAN IN LONDON (1934). Director: Eugene Ford.

Pamela Gray (Drue Leyton) is convinced that her brother, Paul (uncredited), is innocent of the murder of an inventor named Hamilton, but his appeal has been denied and he is facing execution. Although Pamela's fiance, Neil (Ray Milland), Paul's lawyer, doesn't believe in his client's innocence, Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) isn't so sure. He has only a couple of days to prove the man's innocence and save his life. Then there's a "suicide" of one of the suspects, and an attempt is made on Chan's life ... Among the suspects are the horse groom Lake (John Rogers); grumpy, uncooperative Major Jardine (George Barraud); Phillips, the butler (Murray Kinnell); Geoffrey Richmond (Alan Mowbray); and his girlfriend, Lady Mary (Mona Barrie), among others. Detective Sergeant Thacker is played by E. E. Clive. Considering the circumstances, Charlie Chan in London should have been a lot more suspenseful than it is, but the actors, Oland included, are more than competent and the movie is watchable. The ending is charming.

Verdict: Chan capably treading water. **1/2.