BODYGUARD (1948)

Priscilla Lane and |Lawrence Tierney

BODYGUARD (1948). Director: Richard Fleischer.

Lt. Mike Carter (Lawrence Tierney) is a hot-headed cop who doesn't play by the book, which gets him fired by his supervisor Borden (Frank Fenton of Lady of Burlesque). Carter is contacted by Freddie Dysen (Phillip Reed), who tells him that his Aunt Jean's life has been threatened. Jean Dysen (Elisabeth Risdon) is a tough old bird who runs the Columbia Meatpacking company, and the last thing she wants is a bodyguard. But when somebody takes a shot at her in her parlor, Mike agrees to take on the job. It develops that he has much bigger problems when he wakes up in a car on a railroad track with a corpse sitting next to him ... Bodyguard is a terse, snappy crime thriller with enough plot for two movies, but its short running time means it stints a bit on characterization. Gruff Tierney and sweet Priscilla Lane [The Meanest Man in the World] -- Lane plays Tierney's brave and devoted girlfriend -- are both fine as the leads, providing contrast, but the movie is nearly stolen by Risdon, giving another one of her sharp and  biting performances. Steve Brodie and June Clayworth [Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome] are notable as a brother and sister who are both in Risdon's employ, and Reed is suitably oily as her nephew. Fleischer's direction keeps the picture moving at a brisk pace, and there's a very suspenseful climax. While there is a blond in the movie, there is no femme fatale, making this only nominal film noir. Paul Sawtell's score is a plus, as is the photography by Robert de Grasse. Richard Fleischer also directed Fantastic Voyage and many others.

Verdict: Snappy "B" picture is taut and suspenseful. ***.

THE MEANEST MAN IN THE WORLD

Jack Benny and Priscilla Lane

THE MEANEST MAN IN THE WORLD (1943). Director: Sidney Lanfield.

Richard Clark (Jack Benny) is a struggling small-town lawyer with a fiancee, Janie (Priscilla Lane), who wants him to make good. Janie's father, Arthur (Matt Briggs), suggests that Richard go to New York where there is real opportunity, so he packs up his employee-confidante Shufro (Eddie "Rochester" Anderson) and heads to Manhattan. When business proves just as dismal as it was back home, Richard somehow rents a Park Avenue apartment to impress Janie and her dad, but Shufro advises him that only by becoming "mean" and ruthless can he ever hope to achieve success. Richard is somewhat dubious, but takes Shufro's advice, leading to him taking a lollipop away from a small boy on the sidewalk. Literally taking candy from a baby, Clark becomes known as the Meanest Man in Town. When Janie discovers that he helped toss an old woman into the street, she wants to call off the wedding -- and things get worse from there! -- but maybe the poor sap isn't quite as mean as she and everybody think ... The Meanest Man in the World is a very funny movie, with Benny, Anderson, Lane, and the supporting cast all in fine fettle. Anne Revere [Fallen Angel] is amusing as Clark's slightly acerbic secretary; Edmund Gwenn is great in a surprisingly nasty role as one of his clients; and we've got bits by Nick Stewart as the wide-eyed elevator operator and Ralph Byrd as a reporter. Tor Johnson [The Black Sleep] of Plan Nine from Outer Space infamy even shows up in a long black wig as the Russian wrestler and wannabe bodyguard Vladimir Pulaski! Anderson [Honolulu] is up there with Benny all the while, playing an employee who is never truly subservient, thank goodness, but who displays an inoffensive wise and sassy quality. This is a remake of a silent movie made twenty years earlier.

Verdict: Lots of big laughs in this amiable and often zany movie. ***.

MILLION DOLLAR BABY

MILLION DOLLAR BABY (1941). Director: Curtis Bernhardt.

When wealthy Cornelia Wheelwright (May Robson) discovers that her late father cheated his partner out of $700,000 she decides to do right by the man's only living heir, a salesgirl named Pam (Priscilla Lane). She moves into the boarding house where the young lady lives to check her out, meets her boyfriend Pete (Ronald Reagan) and the other residents, and winds up giving Pam a check for one million dollars -- and that's when the trouble starts. The movie is charming and entertaining for the most part, bolstered by some fine old character actors, and even Reagan and Lane are quite good (this is more Lane's meat than, say, Saboteur), but .... STOP READING IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM.

The trouble with the movie is the characterization of Pam's boyfriend, Pete, who is a complete jackass. He can't deal with the windfall -- or rather the fact that his gal has more money than he does (although he claims is has to do with earning something and all that) -- so what does he do? He walks out on her! Packs up, moves out, leaves town with a band, and never gets in touch with her again. So what does she do? She conspires to win him back. Why, for Pete's sake [pun intended]?! Even more ridiculous she gives away all of the money. Yes, she doesn't even set aside any for her possible children's education or for emergencies. And the jackass approves. Sheesh

Lee Patrick and Helen Westley are fun as the ever-battling Miss La Rue and the landlady Mrs. Galloway, and George Barbier scores as Miss Wheelwright's bemused lawyer. Flora Robson, of course, is the best thing in the movie.

Verdict: Cute and entertaining, but oh boy -- what a dumb ending! **1/2.

SABOTEUR

SABOTEUR (1942). Director: Alfred Hitchcock.

It's just possible that this wonderful movie might have become a classic if Hitchcock had gotten the two leads he really wanted – Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck – instead of Robert Cummings and Priscilla Lane. While some might feel the dynamic Stanwyck would have been wasted in this movie, she would have added far more bite and intensity than the competent but mediocre Lane. Bob Cummings was certainly a skilled comedic actor (some think Cummings could also turn in fine dramatic performances in such films as Kings Row), but he's all wrong for Saboteur. Michael Curtiz once said “some men squeeze a line to death” and Cummings not only does that but rushes mush-mouthed through his readings to such a degree that the effect is not stirring or powerful as he might have intended but ludicrous. Apparently Hitch just threw up his hands and bristled at having to use these two utter lightweights in a movie that deserved so much better. Cummings is falsely accused of sabotage at a defense plant and also of incinerating his best friend by putting gasoline inside a fire extinguisher. [Cummings carries little of the resonance of this throughout the rest of the movie.] The real culprit is Norman Lloyd (who is excellent), whom Cummings – with an initially unwilling Lane in tow – pursues across the country. There are scenes which give one pause – how can a man in handcuffs manage to swim, for instance – but also some fine moments and interesting settings, such as the dusty, deserted Soda City where they encounter some of the nest of spies in an eerie moment or two. Hitch works up a lot of suspense for the scene in which Cummings gets rid of said handcuffs with a car's fan belt, and the Statue of Liberty finale is superb. Giant close ups of Norman Lloyd's jacket sleeve – held by Cummings, who wants to save the man so that he can clear him -- beginning to tear are contrasted with stunning long shots of the two men clinging horrifically to the outside of the statue. Hitchcock always said that it should have been Cummings dangling (or falling?) from the statue, not the villain, but the sequence is breath-taking all the same. An inspired touch is having the saboteurs operating in the midst of a respectable charity ball, and they are presented as being for the most part quite ordinary and mundane, with the exception of the flamboyant Mrs. Sutton and the sinister fifth columnist leader, very well-played by, respectively, Alma Kruger and Otto Kruger (no relation). Frank Skinner's opening credits music is very effective and right on the money. The strangest moment: Priscilla Lane actually pays for a milkshake brought to her by one of her captors. Talk about adding insult to injury!

Verdict: Not what it could have been but still some knock-out sequences. ***.