A ROYAL SCANDAL

William Eythe and Tallulah Bankhead

A ROYAL SCANDAL (1945). Produced by Ernest Lubitsch. Directed by Otto Preminger. 

Devoted Russian soldier Lt. Alexei Chernoff (William Eythe), hearing of a plot against his empress, Catherine the Great, dares all to rush to her side and warn her. Catherine (Tallulah Bankhead) already knows of the plot but is almost instantly smitten with the handsome Alexei. Although Alexei is engaged to the countess Anna (Anne Baxter), it isn't long before he is ensconced in the palace, the commander of the palace guards -- and a colonel to boot. Knowing that Catherine has undoubtedly had a long line of "commanders" as lovers, Anna is not about to take this lying down. But Catherine is hardly the type to put up with insubordination either from her ladies-in-waiting or from her lovers. The fur will fly!

Anne Baxter, Charles Coburn, William Eythe

A Royal Scandal is a very funny royal farce with an outstanding performance from Tallulah Bankhead who brilliantly mines every comic gem in the script. William Eythe and Anne Baxter are no slouches and deliver excellent performances, and we also have adept and amusing work from Charles Coburn as the Chancellor, Sig Ruman as General Ronsky, Vincent Price as the French ambassador, Misha Auer as Captain Sukov, Grady Sutton as Ronsky's nephew, and others. Briskly directed and with a notable theme by Alfred Newman, this is a real treat. William Eythe was a talented actor who died tragically young at 38. Although he had a brief and unsuccessful marriage, he was the boyfriend of actor Lon McCallister. Eythe somewhat resembled Tyrone Power and had a voice that reminds one of Audie Murphy. 

Verdict: Delightful and stylish comedy with engaging and highly adept players. ***1/2. 

THE MAN WHO LOST HIMSELF

Brian Aherne and Kay Francis

THE MAN WHO LOST HIMSELF (1941). Director: Edward Ludwig.

John Evans and Malcolm Scott (both played by Brian Aherne of My Son, My Son) both look  exactly alike, so alike that no one, including Scott's wife, Adrienne (Kay Francis of The Keyhole), can tell them apart. Evans wakes up in Scott's bed -- sans Scott -- and the household staff, including lovable Paul (S. Z. Sakall of Lullaby of Broadway)  assume he is their employer. Evans discovers that "he" died in a fall in front of a subway train, when the dead man is actually Malcolm Scott. When John realizes that he is attracted to Adrienne, who is on the perpetual verge of divorcing Scott, he decides to assume the other man's identity. And this is a comedy?

Glamorous Kay

The Man Who Lost Himself offers some intriguing situations but hasn't much idea what to do with them. Evans doesn't seem the slightest bit upset when he learns of Malcolm's death, but this is made somewhat palatable when we learn that Scott was a bit of a bounder. The cast, including a very enthusiastic Aherne, the glamorously caparisoned Francis, and especially the wonderful "Cuddles" Sakall do their best with the material, but there's a kind of grotesque seriousness underneath the silliness that strips the film of its alleged fun quotient. The picture could have been a funny movie but aside from one or two chuckles it just isn't. It may have worked better as a drama.

"Cuddles" Sakall and Brian Aherne

Other cast members include Henry Stephenson as the family lawyer; Dorothy Tree as a girlfriend of Scott's nicknamed Boobie Woobie; Nils Asther as an admirer of Adrienne's; Marc Lawrence as a would-be blackmailer; Sig Ruman and Barlowe Borland as psychiatrists; Henry Kolker as a business associate; and Eden Gray as Scott's sister Venetia. They all give it their best but it just isn't enough. Of all the films about doubles taking the place of someone else, this is one of the least interesting. There is no explanation for why the two men look like identical twins but apparently aren't.

Verdict: Lots of possibilities that add up to very little. **. 

MA AND PA KETTLE ON VACATION

Parisian dining: Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride

MA AND PA KETTLE ON VACATION (1952). Director: Charles Lamont.

Ma (Marjorie Main) and Pa (Percy Kilbride) Kettle receive an invitation from Elizabeth and Jonathan Parker (a returning Barbara Brown and Ray Collins) -- their married daughter's in-laws -- to accompany them on a trip to Paris after their original traveling companions cancel. Once there, the foursome get embroiled in a silly story involving a nest of spies and secret Naval plans. Ma and Pa Kettle On Vacation is a step down from the previous movies in the series, although Ma and Pa remain utterly endearing creations and Main and Kilbride are superb in bringing them to life. There are still humorous lines and sequences in the film, such as when Ma belts an Apache dancer in a nightclub because she thinks he's actually hitting his lady partner, and Ma cluelessly refers to Parisians as "Parasites!"  The supporting cast includes Sig Ruman [Thank You Mr. Moto] as a spy, and the ever-versatile Jay Novello has a very small role -- as a Frenchman no less!

Verdict: The screenplay is weak but the players are spirited. **½.

ON THE RIVIERA

Gene Tierney and Danny Kaye 

ON THE RIVIERA (1951). Director: Walter Lang.

Entertainer Jack Martin (Danny Kaye) works on the Riviera with his girlfriend, Colette (Corinne Calvet), but he is told by club manager Gapeaux (Sig Ruman) that he is through unless he comes up with a catchier act. Jack decides to do his impression of married playboy and famous pilot Henri Duran (also Kaye) who looks just like him. To keep a business deal from collapsing along with their careers, associates of Duran importune Jack to pretend to be Duran while he is out of town, causing complications involving Colette and Duran's wife, Lili (Gene Tierney). This is a remake of That Night in Rio (itself a remake of a French film), and it has one insurmountable problem. Why do a remake unless it is an improvement over, or distinctly different from, the original? This version adds Technicolor and a few weak songs by Sylvia Fine (Kaye's wife) that you forget even as you're listening to them. Another problem is that On the Riviera casts competent but essentially unknown French actors in smaller roles instead of the flavorful and more familiar character actors that usually pepper and add enjoyment to these films. Kaye is okay, but has been seen to better advantage in other vehicles. Corinne Calvet [So This is Paris] is gorgeous and capable, as is Gene Tierney [The Pleasure Seekers]. Clinton Sundberg [The Kissing Bandit] plays the taciturn butler, Antoine, in his usual effective style. Jean Murat is Felix Periton, with whom Duran wants desperately to do business. Kaye does so-so impressions of Maurice Chevalier and Carmen Miranda, both of whom starred in previous versions.

Verdict: One dip in the well too many. **.

THE DOLLY SISTERS

June Haver, Betty Grable and John Payne

THE DOLLY SISTERS (1945). Director: Irving Cummings.

Latsie Dolly (S. Z. Sakall) brings his two nieces from Hungary to America where Jenny (Betty Grable) and Rosie (June Haver) become a popular singing and dancing sister act. Jenny falls for entertainer Harry Fox (John Payne) but their romance hits a couple of snags. Lest you think that the Dolly Sisters were a mere invention of 20th Century-Fox, these gals actually existed, and a true story of their lives would have shocked the hell out of staid 1940's movie house patrons. In this sanitized version of their backstage history, the focus is on the love affair and marriage of Jenny and Harry -- Harry Fox was also a real person -- but the latter was only one of Jenny's husbands -- and lovers. This movie completely ignores the fact that the two gals became more famous for gambling and bed-hopping with wealthy men than they did for their singing and dancing! A car crash which necessitated plastic surgery for Dolly is presented in the movie, and would seem like a lame attempt to add "drama" were it not for the fact that it actually happened. Reginald Gardiner [Black Widow] plays a duke who dallies with Jenny after she and Harry part ways, and Frank Latimore [Shock] is a real-life store owner, Irving Netcher, who marries Rosie. Trudy Marshall [Mark of the Gorilla] has a nice bit as Lenora, a woman who has the misfortune of falling for Harry even though he's still in love with Jenny. While the screenplay is mediocre, The Dolly Sisters is bolstered by sumptuous Technicolor, high-class cinematography from Ernest Palmer, professional performances (from Sig Ruman and others), and some pleasant songs (Gordon and Monaco), although the best numbers are standards such as "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows." Two ladies who make an impression are Collette Lyons as (fictional?) entertainer Flo Daly and an uncredited chorus cutie who plays "Rosie Rouge" in a production number devoted to make up. (This song, in particular, has a weird off-kilter melody, if you can even call it that.) I have no idea what they were like in real life, but as embodied by Haver and Grable, the Dolly Sisters come off as a decorative but not terribly mesmerizing or especially talented vaudeville act.

Verdict: Smooth and entertaining and good to look at it nothing else. ***.

THINK FAST, MR. MOTO

Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto

THINK FAST, MR. MOTO (1937). Director: Norman Foster.

"Half of the world spends its time laughing at the other half -- and both are fools." -- Mr. Moto.

"Strange people, these Americans." -- ditto.

On a liner heading for China, a mysterious Japanese man named Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) encounters a pleasant young fellow named Bob Hitchings (Thomas Beck), whose father owns the steamship company. Bob falls hard for another mysterious person, Gloria (Virginia Field), who is employed as a singer at the International Club in Shanghai. Gloria's employer, Nicolas Marloff (Sig Ruman) is up to some skulduggery and Mr. Moto seems to have an uncertain role in this. Is he good guy or bad? Although Think Fast, Mr. Moto, the first of the Mr. Moto films, has a workable script and a fast pace, its primarily the performances that put it over, with Lorre superb as the importer who dabbles in detective work as a sideline, especially where his own concerns are involved. Thomas Beck is quite appealing as Bob, and Virginia Field [Repeat Performance] offers another of her expert portrayals as the mystery woman who has, perhaps, gotten herself in too deep. John Rogers scores as ship's steward, Carson, who may be hiding a shiv under his likable exterior, and there are nice turns from J. Carrol Naish as an assassin; Murray Kinnell as a business associate of Bob's father; and Lotus Long [Mr. Wong in Chinatown] as a hotel switchboard operator who helps Moto and is nearly killed for her troubles. Thomas Beck and Murray Kinnell both appeared in Charlie Chan in Paris.

Verdict: Good, snappy introduction to the Mr. Moto series. ***.

STALAG 17

William Holden and Peter Graves

STALAG 17 (1953). Director: Billy Wilder.

In a WW2 German POW camp, Sefton (William Holden) is a slick, callous wise guy who makes money anyway he can, whether it's from his fellow officers or from the German guards. When two hopeful escapees are discovered and shot, the other men suspect that someone in the barracks is feeding information to the buffoonish Schulz (Sig Ruman). The main suspect is Sefton, his accusers including the Security man, Price (Peter Graves); the barracks chief. Hoffman (Richard Erdman); blustery Duke (Neville Brand); and the two camp clowns, Shapiro (Harvey Lembeck) and "Animal" (Robert Strauss); among others. When it is clear that the Germans, represented by Commander Sherbach (Otto Preminger), intend to kill newcomer Lt. Dunbar (Don Taylor), who led a successful anti-German bombing raid, the group try to figure out a way to spirit him out of the camp without the quisling's knowledge. But is Sefton really the traitor? Stalag 17 might have made a great picture if there wasn't such insistence on catering to popular tastes and making a "feel good" movie about a Prisoner of War camp. No one expects Italian neo-realistic grimness in a Hollywood movie, but the comedy relief -- especially as it pertains to the bumbling and irritating Shapiro and Animal --  at times threatens to overwhelm everything else, as if it's a sitcom -- in fact, this movie with its cartoon Nazis was undoubtedly the inspiration for the series Hogan's Heroes, which even included a fumbling "Schulz". It's too bad, because the more serious aspects of the film are generally well-done. Holden gives his usual competent once-removed performance, and Graves [Beginning of the End] and Erdman [Cry Danger] and some of the others are fine, but Neville Brand is especially notable and dynamic as Duke. Holden won a Best Actor Oscar that he didn't really deserve, as it was well within his range and nothing at all special. Wilder and Strauss [September Storm] were nominated, but Brand should have been. The men in the camp talk about Betty Grable, but not once does anyone mention or even seem to think of wives and other loved ones back home aside from a brief scene when the POWs receive mail -- including letters from the finance company (!) -- from the States. [Apparently the Red Cross helped ship U.S. mail to Germany via neutral Sweden, but letters from the finance company are doubtful!] The film even tries to milk humor out of a throwaway scene when a prisoner realizes his wife is pregnant by another man but can't face up to it. (Trying not to over-sentimentalize, the movie goes to the other extreme.) There's a charming scene when the men all dance together in the absence of women.

Verdict: German POW camps as filtered through superficial Hollywood. **1/2.

THANK YOU MR. MOTO

Peter Lorre and Sig Ruman

THANK YOU, MR. MOTO (1937). Director: Norman Foster.

Charlie Chan had been appearing in motion pictures for some years when 20th Century-Fox and Monogram came out with competing series about Oriental sleuths. Boris Karloff's Mr. Wong appeared in films released by Monogram, while Mr. Moto had the more prestigious Fox at the wheel. Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) is a "confidential investigator" but his real profession, he claims, is "importer." Another character describes Moto as "an adventurer, an explorer, a soldier of fortune." In any case, Moto never quite seems altogether on the up and up although in essence he's a good guy. In this second Mr. Moto film, he is in Peping when it develops that certain parties wish to obtain scrolls that will lead to the hidden tomb of Genghis Khan in the Gobi desert and all of its treasures. Prince Chung (Philip Ahn) and his mother Madame Chung (Pauline Frederick) own the scrolls and will not part with them at any price because they fear the Great Khan's (!) tomb will be desecrated. Assorted individuals are murdered for the scrolls by an unknown party, but Thank You, Mr. Moto is less a mystery than a film of action and intrigue. Characters include Colonel Chernov (Sig Ruman), who tries to purchase the scrolls from the prince; his wife, Madame Chernov (Nedda Harrigan of Charlie Chan at the Opera); Periera (John Carradine), an antique dealer who knows more than he's telling; and Eric Koerger (Sidney Blackmer of The House of Secrets). The romantic interest is supplied by Thomas Beck and Jayne Regan. Lorre is fine as Moto, and Blackmer, Ruman, Harrigan and Carradine are also notable. The best performances, however, come from Ahn as the prince and Frederick as his mother; there's an especially good scene when the prince tries to keep his mother from being tortured. Philip Ahn [Red Barry] was an extremely talented actor, one of those who graces every film he appears in. There is a moving conclusion as well.

Verdict: Creditable if imperfect Moto vehicle. **1/2.

TARZAN TRIUMPHS

TARZAN TRIUMPHS (1943). Director: William Thiele.

Jane is out of Africa looking after her sick mother when who should show up but the beauteous Zandra (Frances Gifford of Jungle Girl). She saves Boy's life but then finds herself in trouble when a pack of loathsome Nazis -- who first pretend to be friends -- descend on her tribe in the city of Pallandria and begin to enslave them. At first Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) stays out of the conflict, making him seem not very heroic, but he cries "Now Tarzan make war!" when Boy (Johnny Sheffield of Bomba the Jungle Boy) is kidnapped and he, Zandra, Boy -- and of course, the magnificent Cheeta -- roust the invasion of German soldiers. Tarzan seems pretty hot for Zandra in at least one sequence when they go swimming. The actors are all fine for this sort of thing, and Cheeta proves once again that he is the most wonderful and talented creature in all of Hollywood's animal kingdom. Cheeta dances to band music, steals grapes from monkeys (and then has to return them, chastened) and even talks on the radio to the Germans. The final shot of Cheeta about to talk to Hitler is priceless! Sig Ruman plays a Nazi sergeant.

A note of sheer disillusionment: Apparently Cheeta was actually played by a wide variety of chimpanzees. The Cheeta feted here died in 2011 and may not have appeared in any movies. Well, whichever Cheeta played what, these chimps were cute and talented and the highlight of every movie they were in.

Verdict: They should have given Cheeta -- whoever he was -- his own picture! **1/2.