THE CULT OF ULMER

Edgar G, Ulmer

THE CULT OF ULMER: DIRECTOR EDGAR G. ULMER, KING OF THE "B'S"

I don't remember why, but years ago when I was in grade school, our teacher let us watch a movie on television. It was called The Man from Planet X and we children were enthralled. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see the ending, and decades went by before I finally got to see the movie in its entirety.

It turned out to be a not-bad B movie, and I guess it got me interested in seeing Ulmer's other movies -- at least when I'd see his name listed as director of an unfamiliar movie, I would sit up and pay attention. Ulmer seemed to specialize in genre films: horror, mystery, science fiction, which especially interested me as a kid, although he did other types of pictures as well. I enjoyed Daughter of Dr. Jekyll, which I found atmospheric and creepy, and Bluebeard with John Carradine has its moments. Murder is My Beat is a notable example of film noir. His best picture, however, may be the Zachary Scott melodrama, Ruthless.

Ulmer did more than his share of stinkers, such as Girls in Chains and the oddly-admired but perfectly awful Strange Illusion. He may have directed all of them, but the Ulmer pictures that work the best are the ones with the best scripts. One could argue that this is true of any director, of course. Ulmer's fans have argued that he was a great director who only needed better opportunities and the bigger budgets of major studios. In my opinion, Ulmer was a workmanlike director who had moments of inspiration, and who managed to helm some rather interesting pictures along the way.

Some members of what I call "the Cult of Ulmer" find genius in every frame. They wildly overpraise such movies as Strange Illusion. There has been more than one book on Ulmer, and some film scholars are taking his work very seriously. I like Ulmer -- at least many of his movies -- but I'm not necessarily convinced of his "greatness." He did come out with one certified near-classic, the fascinating Detour, the film he is most famous for.

Anyway, you can make up your own mind. His films tend to be hit or miss. This week you can read about some of these films, good or bad, as well as an excellent biography of the director.

WINGS OF DANGER / HAPPY ACTUAL 35OOTH POST

Zachary Scott and  Naomi Chance

WINGS OF DANGER (aka Dead on Course/1952). Director: Terence Fisher.

Pilot Richard Van Ness (Zachary Scott of The Unfaithful) has a secret: he gets black outs that come on without warning. For this reason he has delayed in marrying Avril (Naomi Chance of The Gambler and the Lady) but keeps on flying. Avril's brother, Nick (Robert Beatty) flies off one afternoon and is presumed dead after his plane crashes into the drink. Richard discovers that Nick may or may not have been involved with a gang who cleverly smuggle gold that has been disguised as tools. Nick has a girlfriend, Alexia (Kay Kendall), who may also be involved with the dangerous smugglers, and there is more than one murder. Zachary Scott was one of a number of American leading men who went to England to make "B" movies where their names still had marquee value. Scott deserves better than this TV-type "thriller" that is rather dull despite Terence Fisher's very brisk and efficient direction. The performances by all the named actors are fine, and there is good work from the supporting cast as well, but despite a positive conclusion relating to Richard's condition and his relationship with Avril, the movie is strictly ho hum. This was another of Lippert's Hammer studio "film noir" non-classics. Diane Cilento [Stop Me Before I Kill!] has a small role as a woman who gets involved with Nick. Malcolm Arnold's music helps a bit.

Verdict: You can't say it's awful but it just doesn't excite despite the occasional car chase and crash. **.

NOTE: A while ago I erroneously reported that Great Old Movies had reached its 3500th post. Well, I was never good at math! This is the real 3500th post for GREAT OLD MOVIES (wish it had been about a better picture)! 

FLAME OF THE ISLANDS

FLAME OF THE ISLANDS (1956). Director: Edward Ludwig. In Republic Trucolor.

Rosalind Dee (Yvonne De Carlo) is given a substantial check by the widow, Evelyn (Frieda Inescort), of her boss, with whom Evelyn believes Rosalind was "involved." Insulted, Rosalind takes the check, quits her job, and uses the money to buy into a club-casino in the Bahamas. Alas, little does she know that her partner, Cyril (Kurt Kasznar), who has a hankering for her (as does every other man she meets), is in league with a pack of gangsters. She brushes off wanna-be boyfriend Wade (Zachary Scott), when she re-encounters old flame Doug (Howard Duff), who once got her pregnant but now doesn't even remember her. Then we have Doug's disapproving mother, Charmaine (Barbara O'Neil of Stella Dallas), and even the Widow Evelyn shows up again at an inopportune moment. We also mustn't forget the island captain and part-time preacher, Kelly (James Arness), who also develops a longing for Rosalind. Which man will Rosalind wind up with, or will her gangster partners make sure she winds up at the bottom of the sea? Flame of the Islands, which has enough plot for ten movies, is very entertaining and well-acted by all. Lester Matthews [Life Begins for Andy Hardy] plays the lead hoodlum, Gus, and Donald Curtis is one of his associates. With a sexy De Carlo [Criss Cross] cavorting, singing and dancing, and of course, going after all the men (and vice versa), Flame of the Islands is a lot of fun.

Verdict: The Bahamas were never like this! ***.

GUILTY BYSTANDER

Zachary Scott

GUILTY BYSTANDER (1950). Director: Joseph Lerner.

Max Thursday (Zachary Scott) is a divorced ex-cop who spends his time drinking in a rundown boarding house. But he is galvanized to action - sort of -- when his ex-wife, Georgia (Faye Emerson), comes to tell him that their little boy has been kidnapped. Max goes to see Dr. Elder (Jed Prouty of the Jones Family movies), who may have some information, but the man winds up murdered. And there are other complications. Frankly, Guilty Bystander is a bit confusing as we follow Max's convoluted path from person to person, although there are some interesting characters and actors along the way: Mary Boland has a very different role to play than usual as the tough, tippling landlady, but she does it well. Sam Levene is Max's former boss on the force, Captain Tonetti, and perhaps the biggest surprise is a young Kay Medford as a sexy moll with whom Max dallies in his quest for answers. Scott [The Unfaithful] gives a very good performance, with Boland, Prouty and Medford [Two Tickets to Paris] not far behind him, but the movie is very minor film noir, although there are a couple of surprises before the conclusion.

Verdict: Perhaps too murky for its own good. **1/2.

SHADOW ON THE WALL

SHADOW ON THE WALL (1950). Director: Patrick Jackson.

Early in Shadow On the Wall we learn that Celia (Kristine Miller), the wife of David Starrling (Zachary Scott), is having an affair with her own sister's fiance, Crane Weymouth (Tom Helmore). When sister Dell (Ann Sothern) learns of this ultimate betrayal, all of her pent-up sibling rage spills out and she shoots her sister dead; she then lets David take the rap. When she learns that David's young daughter Susan (Gigi Perreau) might have seen her commit the murder, she comes to the conclusion that the child must follow her stepmother into the grave. In the hands of a Hitchcock or any superior director, Shadow on the Wall might have been a nail-biting suspense item, but not only is it flaccid but it never quite recovers from its many improbabilities. For instance, little Susan is not an idiot and she's not that young, so she probably would have known her aunt Dell was responsible for the murder all along. And it's hard to believe that David would get the death penalty for a crime of passion that most likely would have been pled out as voluntary manslaughter. But at least the story holds your attention and the performances are good, including Nancy Davis-Reagan [East Side, West Side] as a child psychologist whose methods are bizarre to say the least, and John McIntire as her associate. Little Jimmy Hunt [Pitfall] has an amusing scene with Perreau [Journey to the Center of Time] where he covets a glass of chocolate milk she refuses to drink.A bathtub resuscitation sequence that is shot strictly from the victim's point of view in two shots and closeups is one of the more effective moments in the picture.

Verdict: Psychologically dubious. **.

THE UNFAITHFUL

Zachary Scott and Ann Sheridan

THE UNFAITHFUL (1947). Director: Vincent Sherman.

While her husband is out of town, Chris Hunter (Ann Sheridan) returns from a party and is attacked in her home, ultimately killing her assailant. Chris tells her husband, Bob (Zachary Scott), as well as the police, that she never met the man, a sculptor named Tanner. But if that's the case, why did Tanner do a bust of a woman who looks exactly like Chris Hunter, and why are some people offering it to her husband for sale ..? This is an excellent Americanized variation on, and post-WW2 updating of, The Letter, but it takes awhile for the viewer to realize it as it has so many interesting elements of its own. Sheridan [Nora Prentiss] gives one of her best performances, and has an especially good moment when she has a heart to heart talk with her husband about things she did when he was overseas and why she did them. Zachary Scott [Ruthless] is also excellent, as is Lew Ayres [Damian: Omen 2] as the friend and lawyer who comes to the couple's assistance. Eve Arden certainly scores in the somewhat edgier-than-usual role of Bob's cousin, Paula, and the dialogue [by David Goodis and James Gunn] as she tries to explain Chris' wartime actions to Bob is trenchant and memorable. Marta Mitrovich is quietly effective as the angry widow, Mrs. Tanner; Steven Geray suitably oily as a kind of blackmailer and art dealer; Jerome Cowan appropriately wily as a prosecutor; and John Hoyt ever-grim as a suspicious police detective. This is probably director Vincent Sherman's [The Damned Don't Cry] finest hour and a half. A first-rate score by Max Steiner and fine Ernest Haller photography complete the ensemble.

Verdict: A snappy, sophisticated picture that on its own terms is nearly as good as the original ***1/2.

WHIPLASH

Unlikely couple: Dane Clark and Alexis Smith

WHIPLASH (1948). Director: Lewis Seiler.

In this chopped suey of a movie, artist Michael Gordon (Dane Clark of Paid to Kill) falls for a woman, Laurie (Alexis Smith of The Constant Nymph), who buys one of his paintings. In spite of the fact that Laurie is completely out of his league in every way possible, Michael tells her he's in love with her after knowing her for six hours. Unfortunately, Laurie has a wheel-chair bound husband, an ex-fighter named Rex (Zachary Scott of Ruthless), who convinces Michael that he could be a sensation in the ring. Then there's Laurie's brother, a doctor (Jeffrey Lynn), whom Rex somehow blames for his condition. Whiplash is less a boxing movie than an unconvincing and utterly unexceptional soap opera-melodrama with superficial characters and equally superficial performances. All of the lead actors have been seen to much better advantage in other pictures, although Lynn is generally creditable. Eve Arden adds some slight fun in her inimitable way as a friend of Michael's who wishes she were something more and S. Z. "Cuddles" Sakall is as cuddly and monotonous as ever. This is another in a long line of obnoxious Dane Clark portrayals. Clark and Smith generate no fireworks and are completely unbelievable as a romantic couple. The only good scene is when Zachary Scott gets what's coming to him. Director Lewis Seiler does nothing to help the actors or the picture.

Verdict: A "romance" with two lovers who seem to come from different planets. **.

RUTHLESS

RUTHLESS (1948). Director: Edgar G. Ulmer.

"You're the only friend I have." -- Horace

"And I hate your insides." -- Vic

Horace Woodruff Vendig (Zachary Scott) makes an announcement of the formation of a sort of charitable trust and tries to convince a gathering of victims that he's changed his self-centered tune, but his "best friend" Vic (Louis Hayward) isn't convinced, as flashbacks show their history since boyhood. Raised by a fairly wealthy small-town family after saving the daughter from drowning, Horace is determined to gain riches and power at any cost, going so far as to drop even those who helped him when he no longer requires their assistance. Victims include said daughter (Diana Lynn), who is desperately in love with him and is even affianced to him for a time; second fiancee Susan (Martha Vickers); wife Christa (Lucille Bremer); her ex-husband Buck (Sydney Greenstreet); and worst of all Bruce McDonald (Charles Evans), who helped Horace get his start in a profitable stock business but is turned down when he goes to him for help. Other cast members include Edith Barrett as Lynn's mother, Raymond Burr as Horace's father, and Bob Anderson in a fine turn as Horace as a boy [Arthur Stone as the young Vic is also notable]. Ruthless could have used twenty or so minutes more of character development, but it's a very interesting picture, the entire cast is excellent, and Werner Janssen has contributed an evocative score.

Verdict: One of director Ulmer's best movies. ***.

MILDRED PIERCE

MILDRED PIERCE (1945). Director: Michael Curtiz.

"I wish I could get that enthused about working." -- Monte

"You were probably frightened by a callus at an early age." -- Ida

Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford) has to make it on her own after she throws her husband out, so she winds up as a waitress and eventually works her way up to owning a chain of restaurants. Her chief motivation is her older daughter, Veda (Ann Blyth), to whom she is devoted and whose love she desires more than anything. Unfortunately, Veda is "spoiled rotten" -- to put it mildly, and Mildred's second husband, Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott) is certainly no bargain, either. Barbara Stanwyck, who'd not only appeared in an earlier epic of mother love, Stella Dallas, but who'd also starred in Double Indemnity, another adaptation of a James M. Cain novel, wanted to star in this film and she probably would have been more appropriate. However, Crawford, who won an Oscar, is no slouch in the part, with her effective "Hollywoodish" acting reflecting the fact that the film is essentially a very well turned out melodrama [the murder that opens the film is not part of the novel]. Ann Blyth is so good as the venal Veda [was she ever again as notable?] that she practically steals the film from Crawford. Zachary Scott and Jack Carson are terrific as, respectively, Monte and Mildred's business partner; in fact Carson was probably never seen to better advantage. Eve Arden is her usual adept sarcastic self as Ida, who works for Mildred, and Butterfly McQueen is a sheer delight as Mildred's maid, Lottie, who's always saying "Beg pardon?". [There seems to be something going on with this character that was left on the cutting room floor.] Bruce Bennett is also notable as Mildred's first husband and Veda's father, and the always notable Lee Patrick appears briefly as a woman with whom he becomes involved. Moroni Olsen scores as the police inspector, as does little Jo Ann Marlowe as Mildred's tragic younger daughter, Kay. John Compton, who was uncredited as Veda's handsome temporary husband, Ted, appeared mostly on TV shows until the early sixties. Max Steiner's theme music is memorable, although one wonders why he recycled some of his famous Now, Voyager music elsewhere in the picture. Ernest Haller's photography is, as usual, first-rate. Frankly, there's quite a bit you could quibble with about this movie, but it's undeniably smooth, well-paced, well-directed by Curtiz, and boasts some great dialogue, an interesting plot and characters, and some very excellent performances. It's interesting that Crawford's real-life daughter, Christina, turned out to be much, much worse than Veda, with her pre-fabricated book attacking her mother that by now has been discredited by virtually every thinking person. NOTE: Mildred Pierce has been remade as a cable mini-series, written and directed by Todd Haynes, and starring Kate Winslet as Mildred, Guy Pearce as Monte, and Evan [sic] Rachel Wood as Veda.

Verdict: Not quite a masterpiece but definitely a classic. ***1/2.

FLAXY MARTIN

FLAXY MARTIN (1949). Director: Richard L. Bare. 

Although the hard-as-nails title character is played by Virginia Mayo, the real protagonist is lawyer Walter Colby (Zachary Scott), who's sick and tired of having to get off the scum who work for hood Hap Richie (Douglas Kennedy). When one of them murders a blackmailing lady named Peggy (Helen Westcott), Colby decides to take the rap when Flaxy, whom he loves, is suspected of the crime. On the run Colby runs into good girl Nora (Dorothy Malone), and proceeds to have some not-so-interesting battles with gunsels and the like. Mayo doesn't have that much to do in the film; she's okay if a little obvious. Scott offers another brisk, almost-on-the-edge portrayal. Studio bosses didn't think Dorothy Malone had much sex appeal when she was a brunette, and this picture proves it -- she looked and did much better as a blond. Douglas Kennedy was also in The Amazing Transparent Man and others. Many years later Richard L. Bare wrote and directed Wicked, Wicked (1973). 

Verdict: Pretty forgettable noir lite. **.

THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS

THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS (1944). Director: Jean Negulesco.

A mystery writer named Leyden (Peter Lorre) is fascinated by the tales of a master criminal, Dimitrios Makropolous (Zachary Scott), who was found dead on a beach, and travels to interview people who knew -- and hated -- him. On his journeys he encounters Mr. Peters (Sydney Greenstreet), who wants to know what Leyden is up to without giving away any of his own secrets. Flashbacks illustrate the increasingly violent and cunning career of Dimitrios -- one of the best vignettes details how he helps maneuver a harmless little clerk (Steven Geray) into betraying his country via greed and gambling. But Dimitrios may even have one last trick up his sleeve. Although quite talky, the picture moves fast and features excellent performances from the entire cast; Lorre and especially Greenstreet are a marvel to watch as they emote with great skill and conviction. Kurt Katch as Colonel Haki, Victor Francen as Grudek, Marjorie Hoshelle as the clerk Bulic's wife, are all stand-outs, with Florence Bates and Edward (Eduardo) Ciannelli also offering noteworthy bits. Faye Emerson isn't bad as a discarded woman in Dimitrios' life. Negulesco may not be a Hitchcock (it would be interesting to ponder how the great Hitch would have handled this material) but his direction is quite good nonetheless. Based on A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler.

Verdict: Fascinating! ***1/2.

FLAMINGO ROAD

FLAMINGO ROAD (1949). Michael Curtiz.

It's Joan Crawford vs. Sydney Greenstreet in this entertaining melodrama which combines the stars of Mildred Pierce (Crawford, Zachary Scott) with that film's director, Michael Curtiz. (As well, Scott appeared with Greenstreet in the former's film debut The Mask of Dimitrios.) Crawford also plays a waitress (part of the time) as she did in Mildred. This time, as Lane Bellamy, she's stranded in a small town when the carnival runs off, and is befriended by Deputy Sheriff Field Carlisle (Scott), who, unfortunately, already has a girlfriend, Annabelle (Virgina Huston). Greenstreet is Sheriff Titus Semple, who wants his protege Field to go places in politics and wants Lane run out of town, even going so far as to have her arrested on trumped-up prostitution charges. When Lane whacks him in the face (not once but twice) for his role in this, it begins a formidable battle between two forces of nature, involving not only Field but also political boss Dan Reynolds (David Brian). Giving Titus a steely look across a restaurant table, Lane tells him how an elephant had to be shot down at the circus when it attacked its trainer. "You have no idea how hard it is to dispose of a dead elephant," says she. Flamingo Road could be called anti-corpulent were it not for the fact that Greenstreet/Semple's excessive avoirdupois is neatly tied into the plot.

All of the performances are good in Flamingo Road -- including Gladys George as the owner of a risque roadhouse and Gertrude Michael as a saucy waitress-friend of Lane's -- but Greenstreet pretty much walks off with the picture. Although he never manages a convincing Southern accent, his performance is still powerful, and Titus Semple is, in fact, one of the best roles the portly actor was ever given on the screen. Letting out with a rough giggle after George makes a comment about his weight as he climbs the stairs of her establishment, or confronting a whole roomful of men as he cheerfully blackmails them, Greenstreet is never less than mesmerizing. Curtiz' direction is brisk, Max Steiner's score evocative, and the dialogue positively crackles with gems ("My boyfriend cut himself on a knife I was holding," says Iris Adrian, one of the other women incarcerated with Lane). Oddly, the [uncredited] white maid, Sarah, speaks exactly as if she were doing an imitation of Butterfly McQueen (who was Crawford's maid in Mildred Pierce.) As an added bonus, Crawford does a sexy, smoky rendition of "If I Could Be with You One Hour Tonight." A rags to riches story that also serves as a highly entertaining study of social hypocrisy. Not as good as Mildred Pierce, but not bad.

Verdict: Lots of fun! ***.

BORN TO BE BAD

BORN TO BE BAD (1950). Directed by Nicholas Ray.

Joan Fontaine is Christable Caine, a scheming blonde who steals away the wealthy fiancé (Zachary Scott) of a friend, Donna (Joan Leslie), but who dallies with her true love, Robert Ryan, even after her marriage. A part that seems tailor-made for Bette Davis or Joan Crawford – even Barbara Stanwyck – works beautifully with the less "bitchy" (but equally talented) Fontaine because she’s able to exude an innocence that makes her conniving ways seem even more atrocious. She sends her lonely and loving aunt away even though Scott is happy to have her in his home, and refuses to go see her when she’s ill because of a party. Ryan, playing a novelist on the verge of success who can’t compete financially with Scott, gets some of the best lines. Regarding Scott (after he marries Fontaine) he says, "How can anyone be happy with a hook in his throat?" and says to Christabel "I love you so much I wish I liked you!" Mel Ferrer plays Gobby, a painter who may have been intended to be a gay character, based on certain remarks he makes about his "harmlessness" to wives and his complete lack of interest in the women in the cast (although he paints Fontaine’s portrait he exudes absolutely no romantic or sexual interest in her). When a man pokes his head into the gallery where Gobby’s paintings are exhibited, and rapidly retreats, Ferrer yells after him "Peasant!" This is a pretty classy, entertaining, well-acted soaper, it’s only deficit being the fact that the characterizations are rather superficial. RKO.

Verdict: Watchable and well-acted. **1/2.