STRANDED

STRANDED (1935). Director: Frank Borzage.

Lynn Palmer (Kay Francis) has dedicated her life to helping people via the Traveler's Aid Society. Back into her life comes an old school chum, Mack Hale (George Brent, pictured), who's building a bridge and dealing with hoods who want him to pay protection money. Mack is a practical, somewhat cold-blooded guy who thinks Lynn is a fool to care for losers who can't care for themselves (even though he hires a young man who came to her for help). As their relationship hits a personal crisis -- Lynn tells him that she won't give up her job after they've married -- things at Mac's job get worse. The hoods manage to get some of the workers drunk, which leads to a disturbing, indeed horrifying, scene, when one of the drunk men falls dozens of stories to his death. (In fact, that's about all you can think about until the end of the movie.) Things are resolved a bit too quickly -- that's Hollywood -- but Stranded is an engrossing picture featuring two excellent lead performances. Lynn Palmer is a fascinating, likable, independent female characterization and is is very well portrayed by Francis in one of her most notable performances. Donald Woods, Frankie Darro, Barton MacLane, Ann Shoemaker, and other fine character actors also give fine support.

Verdict: Very interesting drama. ***.

MY BRILLIANT CAREER

MY BRILLIANT CAREER (1979). Director: Gillian Armstrong.

Judy Davis is Sybylla, a young woman from the Outback who is sent by her poor parents to live with her wealthier relatives where she meets a handsome neighbor, Harry Beecham (Sam Neill), but is determined to preserve her feisty independence. This is a well-made, well-acted, and entertaining picture, but while it was trumpeted as some kind of feminist manifesto and is based on a true story, it comes off more like a typical "Bette Davis" movie. [Remember, Davis and other actresses of the golden age often played feisty and independent women.] Having the guy who is tall, dark and handsome improbably fall for the "homely" Sybylla taps into the same wish-fulfillment fantasy of many another movie starring Davis and others and is pure "Hollywood" (even if this was made in Australia). The scene when Sybylla snubs Harry at a ritzy party and then dashes out to the barn to dance with the poor ranch employees, snatching one guy away from his girlfriend, is pure [Bette] Davis. Yet fans of the film seemed to see it as something new and original. Still, Judy Davis gives a solid performance and Neill is quite good as well and the film does present an interesting lead character.

Verdict: Not so original but otherwise not bad at all. ***

I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE

I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE (1951) Director: Michael Gordon.

Susan Hayward is a mannequin who decides to enlist two co-workers in a risky scheme to start their own fashion house, make a fortune, and achieve independence. Not exactly a bad idea, but this dated picture decides to basically portray Hayward as a kind of villainess, as if any woman who is ambitious like a man has to be inherently wrong and crazy. Hayward's partners are tailor Sam Jaffe, who loves her like a daughter, and salesman Dan Dailey, who loves her romantically. SPOILER ALERT: The two decide it would be better to let their new firm go bankrupt and lose their investment (and Jaffe is an old man with a family) rather than let the woman they both love enter into a business arrangement with slimy George Sanders that would make all of them millionaires. It is understood that the two men don't want Hayward to “lie down with the devil” so to speak, but throughout the picture it is made clear that Hayward is a gal who can handle herself -- while overly unsentimental at times, she seems to be the only person with common sense -- so their concern is patronizing at best and moronic at worst. That being said, I Can Get It for You Wholesale is a very entertaining picture with a typically fine performance from Hayward and solid support from Dailey, Sanders, and especially, Sam Jaffe.

Verdict: Fun if you don't take it seriously. **1/2.

AN UNMARRIED WOMAN

AN UNMARRIED WOMAN (1978). Writer/Director: Paul Mazursky.

Erica (Jill Clayburgh) seems to have a perfect life and marriage, but suddenly one afternoon her husband (Michael Murphy) begins to sob and blurts out that he's fallen in love with another woman and wants to be with her. What follows is Erica's attempts to deal with being suddenly single and "alone" with a teenage daughter, having to re-enter the dating pool, and so on. This is a very light film that isn't funny enough to be a comedy and certainly hasn't the meat to make it a strong dramatic contender -- yet in its day it was highly acclaimed, perhaps because it supposedly struck a nerve in the fashionable idea of women's independence. Erica winds up with an artistic schlockmeister, Saul (Alan Bates), who throws paint on canvases, although she resists simply turning her whole life over to him as she did with her husband. One problem is that as a rich white Vassar graduate, Erica's post-divorce problems are not nearly as bad as other women's. But the really big problem is that the film is predictable and lacks bite. The scenes between Erica and her therapist seem improvised and are rather dull. The whole movie is well-produced but not exactly riveting.

Verdict: A dated curiosity. **.