CONFESSION

CONFESSION (1937). Director: Joe May.

A young music student, Lisa (Jane Bryan), is pursued by an older, famous --and somewhat seedy -- concert pianist and composer named Michael Michailov (Basil Rathbone). The two are at a nightclub one night when the singer stares at them, faints, and a little while later pursues them with a gun and shoots Michailov to death. This is just the beginning of Confession, a rather grand melodrama and mother-love soap opera that features an excellent performance from Kay Francis as opera star Vera Kowalska. On trial for murdering Michailov, Vera at first refuses to defend herself, but then reveals (in flashbacks) what led up to the murder and her motives for committing it. Absorbing, with fluid camera work, vivid musical backgrounds, and expert performances, Confession is one of Francis' best starring vehicles and she rises to the challenge in every scene. With his acting and star charisma Rathbone makes you forget that he doesn't exactly look like Tyrone Power. Bryan offers another lovely performance as Lisa, and there are many other notable supporting players. Laura Hope Crews plays a lively, likable variation on her Prudance from Camille, and even Veda Ann Borg is memorable as Xenia, a singer who's jealous of Vera. Donald Crisp and Dorothy Peterson are solid, as always, as the judge and Lisa's mother. Once you adjust your thinking to the film's somewhat outdated moral codes, it becomes poignant and effective. NOTE: This was a remake of the German film Mazurka.

Verdict: Possibly Kay's finest hour and a half! ***1/2.

THE GIANT CLAW

THE GIANT CLAW (1957). Director: Fred F. Sears. "I'll never call my mother-in-law an old crow again!" 

A gargantuan bird from outer space with an anti-matter shield shows up on Earth where it attacks planes, lifts cars and trains off of the ground, pops screaming parachutists into its mouth, and knocks over skyscrapers. Not good. Pilot Mitch MacAfee (Jeff Morrow), scientist Sally Caldwell (Mara Corday). Lt. General Considine (Morris Ankrum) and Dr. Karol Noymann (the bizarre Edgar Barrier) team up to destroy "the big bird." As it has some horrific elements and good sequences, this might have amounted to an outstanding monster movie had the FX department come up with a monster (pictured) that didn't look as stupid as the one in The Giant Claw. The actors are more than competent, considering. SHAMELESS PLUG. You can read more about this movie in my new book Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies. Available at amazon.com and at the publisher's website. 

Verdict: Despite its deficiencies, this pic is a lot of fun. ***.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3 (2006). Directed by J. J. Abrahms.

This is a big improvement on the disappointing, lackluster Mission Impossible 2. Tom Cruise is back as an IMF agent who has decided to leave the field on the eve of his wedding. But various events keep taking him away from the lady in his life, and eventually he's forced to disobey orders so that he can go to her rescue. His main adversary in this is a nasty arms dealer named Davian, played with marvelously intense menace by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Ving Rhames is likable as a fellow agent, and Laurence Fishburne is excellent as IMF Director Brassel, who may or may not be working with Davian. There are many exciting sequences in the film, which is briskly directed by J.J. Abrahms of Alias fame. Highlights include the snatching of Davian from within Vatican city, and a mission to steal a top secret project from a Shanghai skyscraper. While MI3 is by no means a classic, it is certainly an entertaining time-passer. An amusing aspect of the MI movies is that the scripts borrow from old movie serials such as Hurricane Express in that the characters occasionally employ the use of heavy masks as disguises – Cruise becomes Hoffman at one point via a mask – with the other actor substituting for the one in disguise at an appropriate moment. The thing is that whether it's in Hurricane Express or the much more high-tech Mission Impossible 3 it's never believable that anyone would actually be fooled by the mask!

Verdict: High-energy action. ***.

SEVEN KEYS TO BALDPATE (1929)

SEVEN KEYS TO BALDPATE (1929). Director: Reginald Barker.

Richard Dix (pictured) plays a writer who takers a bet from his publisher that he can complete a new novel in twenty four hours in the seclusion of the publisher's summer resort Baldpate, which is completely empty in the winter. Dix is given "the only key" to the building (why Dix would believe a resort hotel would have just one key is the only real mystery in this turkey) but a dozen or so individuals show up to disturb him, all of them with keys. For once the author is embroiled in the kind of stuff he writes about in his books. There's some business about money being hidden in a safe, a crooked deal, a woman pretending to be somebody's husband, wild gunshots, murder, and a lot of other stuff that is neither amusing nor thrilling -- which is a big problem in an alleged comedy-thriller. Dix doesn't really have the flair for this sort of material although he gives it a good try. There have been seven versions of this dog of a play. This one is especially flat and stage-bound. The twist ending will really make you groan. 

Verdict: Read a good book instead. *.

EDGE OF MIDNIGHT: THE LIFE OF JOHN SCHLESINGER

EDGE OF MIDNIGHT: The Life of John Schlesinger. An Authorized Biography by William J. Mann.

This excellent biography traces the life and career of director John Schlesinger from his childhood to his early days as an actor to his first directorial efforts and on to the big splash he made with Darling starring Julie Christie. Schlesinger really came into his own with the huge critical and financial success of Midnight Cowboy, a film which helped usher in a new era of frankness in Hollywood. Most of the director's later films were not quite as successful nor as feted. The book reveals that his superb film Sunday, Bloody Sunday was inspired by people and events from Schlesinger's own life, and documents his attempts to get back on top again while accepting screen assignments that may have been beneath him [some of which he championed nevertheless]. Written with the full cooperation of Schlesinger and his lover, the book is bolstered with many interviews from the people who knew the subject best. While looking into Schlesinger's attitude toward his homosexuality, Mann also analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of Schlesinger's films, explaining why some were better received and better made than others. A compelling and worthwhile biography of a director who may have been more influential than people realize. The book will make you want to go out and look at DVDs of the director's many features.

Verdict: Top-notch bio. ****.

DR. MONICA

DR. MONICA (1934). Director: William Keighley.

Now here's a sick situation. Dr. Monica Braden (Kay Francis, pictured) is a baby doctor who's unable to have a baby of her own. She officiates over the pregnancy of her friend Mary (Jean Muir), unaware that the baby's father is none other than her, Monica's, husband John (Warren William), with whom Mary had an affair! You have to take a few things -- especially the ending -- with a grain of salt, but Dr. Monica is a well turned out soaper with superlative performances and an intriguing situation. Francis is on top of things as the doctor who finds herself in a rather grotesque spot, Muir gives a sensitively drawn performance, and Verree Teasdale is sharp and snappy as their mutual friend and confidante, Anna. Warren William isn't given much of a characterization in this, but he plays as well as ever.

Verdict: Surprisingly effective if you're game. ***.

ALLOTMENT WIVES

ALLOTMENT WIVES (1945). Director: William Nigh.

In another unsympathetic role in a Monogram picture, Kay Francis plays Sheila Seymour, who runs a racket in which women marry several G.I.s a piece in order to get their money. Paul Kelly is Major Peter Martin, who is investigating the racket, and Otto Kruger is Francis' partner and lover, Whitey. Sheila has an adversary in Gladys Smith (Gertrude Michael), who knew her years ago before she became a society dame and blackmails her, even going so far as to inveigle Sheila's daughter Connie (Teala Loring) into joining her own allotment racket. Francis and the others give okay performances, but a movie that should have been fun is kind of dull and disappointing. Joan Crawford could have made a lot more of the Sheila Seymour role.

Verdict: Kay at poverty row. *1/2.

MANDALAY

MANDALAY (1934). Director: Michael Curtiz.

Tanya (Kay Francis) is in love with Tony (Ricardo Cortez) but he runs off and sticks her with Nick (Warner Oland), who installs her in his nightclub, where she sings and becomes known as "Spot White." Setting off for Mandalay and a new life, she runs into disgraced doctor Gregory Burton (Lyle Talbot) on shipboard and the two become a team. But then Tony shows up again ... The cast helps put over this mediocre pot-boiler which has a somewhat surprising -- and darkly amusing -- conclusion. Cortez and Francis again make a good team as they did in Transgression and The House on 56th Street.

Verdict: See Glamorous Kay suffer! **1/2.

MONSTER-IN-LAW

MONSTER-IN-LAW (2005). Director: Robert Luketic.

Jennifer Lopez thinks she's met the man of her dreams in handsome and successful Michael Vartan, but she didn't count on his having a mother (Jane Fonda) who wants to run almost every aspect of his life, particularly in regards to whom he marries. Fonda steals the picture and is excellent as the middle-aged newswoman who's just been replaced by a young bimbo at the network, and has plenty of free time to make life miserable for Lopez – who finally realizes what's up and fights back. Lopez is fine in the movie, as is Vartan [from TV's Alias], but you have to wonder why Vartan's character isn't able to see through his mother and realize what problems she might cause for Lopez later on. Wanda Sykes may be a limited performer but she's also excellent as Fonda's friend, assistant, and conscience. Late in the picture Elaine Stritch puts in a memorable apperance as Fonda's mother-in-law. A cute, consistently entertaining comedy if not quite a classic. But Fonda looks great and is wonderful.

Verdict: Lots of fun. ***.

THE FACE BEHIND THE MASK

THE FACE BEHIND THE MASK (1941). Director: Robert Florey.

Janos Szabo (Peter Lorre) arrives in America full of hope and awe and fully expecting to have his sweetheart join him as soon as he is established. Instead he winds up horribly burned and disfigured in a boarding house fire and looks so terrible that no one will give him a job. He meets up with a kindly small time crook named Dinky (George E. Stone), and is slowly drawn into a life of crime, becoming ringleader of a gang of ambitious thieves. And then he meets a pretty, sensitive blind girl named Helen (Evelyn Keyes) and wants out ..... This is an absorbing and well-acted melodrama with touches of pathos throughout. Lorre is, in a word, superb. Keyes gives a lovely performance and Stone makes Dinky a memorable character in his own right. Don Beddoe is also noteworthy as the cop who befriends Janos when he first gets off the boat. Although different in its way (and not as good) this has some similarities to A Woman's Face which came out the same year. The make up is excellent, particularly when Janos is supposed to be wearing a lookalike mask of his face.

Verdict: Another great Lorre performance. ***.

THE 49TH MAN

THE 49TH MAN (1953). Director: Fred F. Sears.

Government agents (played by Richard Denning and John Ireland) discover that parts of atom bombs are being smuggled into the country by using racing teenagers and others as out-of-the-loop couriers. Ireland travels to Marseilles, where he thinks the enemy spy ring has originated, and discovers that it has links all the way back to Washington, D.C. Suzanne Delbert plays a sexy member of the Marseilles group, and Peter Marshall (who later hosted Hollywood Squares) plays enemy agent Leo Wayne. There's a reasonably taut finish as the men race to stop a bomb from wiping out a major city. No, this isn't exactly 24 (although it does have a cheap TV feel to it) but it does hold the attention and is briskly directed by Fred F. Sears.

Verdict: Okay timepasser. **1/2.

UNKNOWN WORLD

UNKNOWN WORLD (1951). Director: Terry O. Morse.

When fear of atomic warfare reaches an hysterical level, a group of scientists led by Dr. Morley (an uncredited, blacklisted Victor Kilian) decide to search for a place underground where nuclear survivors can rebuild civilization. Newspaper man and spoiled heir Wright Thompson (Bruce Kellogg) finances the expedition but insists on coming along. Using a boring machine known as a "cyclotram," the group descend down to the Earth's core, ultimately discovering a huge cavern with its own sea and artificial light source. Obviously inspired by Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth (which was filmed nine years later), Unknown World is cheap but absorbing, with more than serviceable effects. Filmed in Bronson and Carlsbad Caverns (as was Journey), the movie is atmospheric and never over-lit. Ernest Gold's moody music is a definite asset. Some of the actors, such as Jim Bannon as navigator Andy and Marilyn Nash as the only woman in the party, give decent enough performances, but Kellogg is pretty terrible as Wright. Otto Waldis was also in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

Verdict: Not bad trip out of the daylight. ***.

GREAT OLD TV: BURKE'S LAW

BURKE'S LAW (1963 - 1966). Produced by Aaron Spelling.

This show had a really terrific premise. Amos Burke (Gene Barry) was a very wealthy, sophisticated and cultured man who happened to be a police captain in Los Angeles. He drove to crime scenes in a Rolls Royce chauffeured by Henry (Leon Lontoc). His partners were young, likable turk Tim Tilson (Gary Conway) and older veteran Les Hart (Regis Toomey). Naturally the show had a lighter approach than other cop shows, and sometimes was an out and out (and rather silly) comedy. Still, many episodes were intriguing, well-acted, and suspenseful. The show's other gimmick was to cast well-known former movie stars (or hasbeens), as well as familiar character actors, in supporting roles. Carolyn Jones scored as triplets in one episode, and Lizabeth Scott had a couple of notable guest shots as well. One episode cast Basil Rathbone as a flamboyant director and Edward Everett Horton as a Shakespearean actor. Gene Barry played the playboy detective with just the right note of insouciance and sardonicism, and the other regulars were top-notch as well. For the third season the supporting cast was let go and the show's title was changed to Amos Burke, Secret Agent due to the then-popular spy craze on TV (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; I Spy etc.). This, too, was an entertaining program but it only lasted one season. About thirty years after the show premiered, it was revived, again with Barry in the lead, but there were only 27 episodes.

Verdict: Fun whodunit. ***.

PLAY GIRL

PLAY GIRL (1940). Director: Frank Woodruff.

"She's said good-bye to more men than most women have said hello to."

Grace Herbert (Kay Francis, pictured) has unapologetically made a living by romancing wealthy men and suing them for breach of promise. Unfortunately, the game is getting tougher as she gets older. Along comes orphaned, hungry Ellen Daley (Mildred Coles), whom Grace decides to make her protege. Their first target is Grace's old pal Bill Vincent (Nigel Bruce), but Ellen also has her eye on a handsome rancher named Thomas (James Ellison). It's hard to believe that Ellen would be so upset that Thomas is worth millions, but she's afraid Grace will get her hooks in him -- and maybe she will. Despite the unconvincing attitudes and actions of the protege, Play Girl is an amusing and appealing trifle with a nicely sentimental wind-up. Francis gives a top-notch performance as the world-weary Grace, and Coles and Ellison do a fine job as the young lovers. Margaret Hamilton has a few funny moments as Grace's friend and housekeeper, although you kind of wish Eve Arden was along for the ride. Bruce is a lot of fun as the lovable if slightly buffoonish Bill.

Verdict: A winner for Kay! ***

OCEAN'S TWELVE

OCEAN'S TWELVE (2004). Director: Steven Soderbergh.

As the remake of Sinatra's Ocean's 11 was better, cleverer, and more entertaining than the original (if not exactly a world-beater), there were some high hopes that Ocean's Twelve would surpass it. What we have instead is a sporadically entertaining film that goes on too long, is over-complicated, and gets too clever for its own good. The casino boss (Andy Garcia) that the gang robbed in the last picture threatens each member with death if they don't repay him the money they stole – with interest. They now have two weeks to raise or steal 197 million dollars! This brings them into competition with a French master thief in an attempt to steal a priceless Faberge egg. Catherine Zeta-Jones appears as an old girlfriend of Brad Pitt's who also happens to be a detective, and Julia Roberts is back as George Clooney's wife. To help steal the egg she has to pretend to be -- “Julia Roberts.” [This whole business, in which the real Bruce Willis – who knows the real Julia -- shows up to complicate matters is amusing but threatens to take over the whole picture.] The performances are okay, if minor, and Elliot Gould and Carl Reiner effortlessly steal the show in their few brief scenes. This is not without entertainment value, but it runs out of juice long before the conclusion.

Verdict: A bit too self-congratulatory. **.

THE FACTS OF LIFE

THE FACTS OF LIFE (1960). Director: Melvin Frank.

Pasadena housewife Kitty Weaver (Lucille Ball) and neighbor Larry Gilbert (Bob Hope) drift into a (unconsummated) affair while vacationing in Acapulco, and are comically stymied in their attempts to finally be intimate. While there's some attempt to look at middle-class malaise and suburban boredom, this is basically a lighter and more superficial examination of adultery. Recognizing the light approach -- and that her co-star was Bob Hope -- Lucy plays it all in just the right note, and she even manages to create a character who isn't just Lucy Ricardo. On the other hand, Hope gives an over (or under) rehearsed, stilted performance that he practically just phones in for much of the film's running time; Fred MacMurray would probably have been much better in the part. But despite these quibbles, the movie eventually becomes absorbing, thanks to Lucy and the audience's wondering if these two will ever get together in the sack. There are plenty of amusing moments, and even if Hope's performance is less than stellar, he and Lucy still make an interesting team. A very pleasant and entertaining movie despite its obvious flaws. Hope's wife is the attractive Ruth Hussey; Lucy's hubby is the dull Don DeFore.

Verdict: You can hardly go wrong with Lucy. ***.

TRANSGRESSION

TRANSGRESSION (1931). Director: Herbert Brenon.

"It is not wise to leave a beautiful young woman alone in Paris too long."

 You can say that again. Robert Maury, (Paul Cavanagh) sends his wife Elsie (Kay Francis) to Paris for a year while he's seeing to some tedious stuff in a rough environment abroad. Before long Elsie is being wined and dined by the handsome Spaniard Arturo (Ricardo Cortez, pictured), who maneuvers her into visiting him in Spain without an escort. Elsie decides to send her husband a letter asking for a divorce -- and well, things don't quite work out the way anyone hoped they would. Good performances by the three leads -- Cortez is especially memorable -- bolster this otherwise pedestrian romance/soap opera, which is nevertheless reasonably absorbing. The ending is just a touch pat. Nance O'Neil, who was rumored to be Lizzie Borden's lover, is vivid as a witchy relative of Robert's who hates his wife.

Verdict: Ricky and Kay make an interesting couple. **1/2.

HOSTILE WITNESS

HOSTILE WITNESS (1968). Director: Ray Milland.

Simon Crawford suffers a nervous breakdown when his daughter is killed by a hit and run driver. When an old friend and neighbor of his is murdered, the police feel that the dead man was the driver and that Crawford murdered him for revenge. Crawford is put on trial and has one of his associates, Sheila (Sylvia Syms) defend him. Although this is no Witness for the Prosecution, there are some interesting twists and a fair amount of suspense. Milland gives a vigorous performance, but he seems more interested in putting on a show than in establishing a strong and convincing characterization. Good supporting cast helps enormously. Milland directed at least three other films (including Panic in the year Zero) and quite a few television programs.

Verdict: Holds the attention. **1/2.

FROM BROADWAY TO CHEYENNE

FROM BROADWAY TO CHEYENNE (aka Broadway to Cheyenne/1932). Director: Larry L. Fraser.

Jimmy Kildare (Rex Bell) is a New York City detective who goes out west for a vacation and discovers some familiar crooks are operating a protection racket in town. Oddball mix of western and crime drama is fairly forgettable but it does have some good fisticuffs and a fast enough pace. Bell is a likable, cheery hero -- his nickname is "Breezy" -- and Gwen Lee and George (Gabby) Hayes are also in the cast. From Monogram pictures and it looks it.

Verdict: You can miss it. **.

SINNERS IN PARADISE

SINNERS IN PARADISE (1938). Director: James Whale.

A motley group of individuals take off for China in a sea plane and wind up crash landing near an island deserted but for Dr. Jim Taylor (John Boles) and his manservant (Willie Fung). The passengers include a nurse, Anne (Madge Evans); an heiress, Iris (Marion Martin); a mobster, Robert (Bruce Cabot), who's running from hit men; a blithering senator (Gene Lockhart); and others. The doctor has a secret and refuses to let the stranded passengers use his boat to get to the mainland; he eventually relents but there's only room on the boat for six people and the bickering turns into fighting and murder. Alas, the movie is not as good as it sounds; with all that's going on it's still a colossal bore. Some of the performances aren't bad, however. Other cast members include Milburn Stone, Morgan Conway, and Don "Red" Barry.

Verdict: One of James Whale's least interesting pictures. **.

EVEREST

EVEREST (1998). Directors: David Breashears, Greg MacGillivray, Stephen Judson.

Short documentary shown in IMAX theaters was filmed in 1996 at the same time that a fierce storm claimed the lives of five climbers. It shows several climbers attempting to reach the summit. One of whom, Ed Viesturs, actually leaves his wife to worry about him back in base camp as he makes the nine-week ascent during their honeymoon. His wife is a great sport, perhaps, but he's a self-centered jackass -- couldn't he wait a few months to go after his dream and spend his honeymoon with her? There are some great scenic shots in the movie -- narrated by Liam Neeson and a couple of the climbers -- but it has no real point of view or sense of irony. While one can admire people for wanting to pursue a dream against all odds, and reaching the summit is certainly an achievement of sorts, it's not as if anyone has found the cure for cancer on top of Mount Everest. As Michael Kodas' excellent book High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in An Age of Greed reveals, many people climb Everest not in a spirit of humanity and adventure but for personal glory at any cost, wanting something noteworthy to add to their resume when they go on to become motivational speakers and the like. Kodas writes that often climbers on Everest will callously pass by people who are dying and desperately need help because they're so anxious to realize their "dream" of attaining the summit after spending so much time, energy and money to get there; stopping to help someone might keep them from their goal. (Sir Edmund Hillary once opined that reaching the summit was hardly more important than saving someone's life!) While there may well have been genuine heroes on Everest who risked their lives to save someone else's, it's wrong to claim that every climber on Everest is a hero, whether he or she "summits" or not. Often these "heroes" are self-centered amateurs who risk toes, fingers, and a horrible death via falls, avalanche, freezing, or brain embolism, enduring weeks and weeks of torture, for five minutes on top of a summit whose view, while spectacular, may not be worth the human cost. Instead of a spirit of all-for-one-and-one-for-all, an attitude of every man or woman for him or herself is sometimes the rule. Life-saving equipment is often pilfered from climbers, endangering their lives, and unscrupulous "guides" take advantage of people who have no business being on Mount Everest. The lives of the Himalayan Sherpas who assist the climbers seem held in less regard than the lives of those they assist. Let's face it -- No one climbs Everest to make the world a better place. This documentary has some great photography, but it's totally superficial.

Verdict: Pretty and pretty mindless. Read Kodas' High Crimes instead. **1/2.

MISS GRANT TAKES RICHMOND

MISS GRANT TAKES RICHMOND (1949). Director: Lloyd Bacon.

Ellen Grant (Lucille Ball) is the worst student in secretarial school but she's chosen for employment by Dick Richmond (William Holden) because he wants somebody dumb to work in his office. You see, Richmond's real estate business is just a front for his bookie operation. However, Ellen doesn't cotton to this and before long has embroiled Richmond and his pals in a low-cost housing enterprise and manages to stymie Richmond at every turn -- not as dopey as he thought. Lucy is great in this movie -- the scene with her taking a typing test is very funny -- but the movie is essentially a one-joke idea that has amusing lines and moments but never quite becomes the laugh-out-loud-fest you were hoping for. This would have worked better as a half hour or hour-long TV show. Ball exhibits some of the mannerisms she would later employ in her classic show I Love Lucy. She and Holden make a good team, but this is still a disappointment.

Verdict: Watch "Lucy Meets a Movie Star" (Holden) instead. **1/2.

THE HOUSE ON 56TH STREET

THE HOUSE ON 56TH STREET (1933). Director: Robert Florey.

"There was an old maid in Nantucket ... " limerick told by young lady at restaurant party.

Peggy Stone (Kay Francis), a chorus girl torn between two suitors in 1905, marries Monte Van Tyle (Gene Raymond) and moves into the house he built especially for them on 56th street in Manhattan. After a grotesque series of events that pretty much destroy Peggy's happy life, she winds up back in the house under unusual circumstances. Once you get past the film's undeniable contrivances, this is an interesting, somewhat poignant drama/soap opera.

STOP READING IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM.

The moral ambiguity of the film, which is quite irritating on first viewing, might be one of the film's most interesting elements. Peggy, who is completely innocent, is convicted of murdering an old flame who's shot in a suicide attempt as Peggy tries to wrestle the gun away from him (and she must have had the worst lawyer in New York, as the dead man's doctor knew he had only months to live). Later on there's a good scene when Peggy, now a croupier in the house on 56th street -- her honeymoon home turned into a speakeasy and gambling den -- plays cards with her own daughter Eleanor (Margaret Lindsay), who thinks her mother is dead. Incurring debts of $15,000, Eleanor begs Peggy's partner Bill (Ricardo Cortez) not to go to her husband for the money, and when he refuses, shoots him. At the end Peggy sends Eleanor off to sail to Europe with hubby, and tells her boss she killed Bill herself (in self-defense, more or less.) The boss agrees to cover up the crime.

The trouble with this, of course, is that Eleanor, who was not forced into gambling by anyone, committed a cold-blooded murder and her mother did not. Still, this can hardly be called a happy ending. One senses that Eleanor, who is not tightly wrapped (and well-played by Lindsay), will be haunted by her crime for the rest of her life (even if Peggy lied and told her Bill wasn't dead). And Peggy will spend the rest of her life as an employee in a house that was supposed to be a lifetime home for her and her family (husband Monte died overseas in WW1 when Peggy was in jail.)

Kay Francis' performance is not exactly Oscar-worthy, but she does a nice job essaying a woman in various, very different times of her life. Raymond and Cortez are professional, and, as noted, Lindsay is quite good as the daughter. Director Florey doesn't always make the most of the dramatic possibilities of some sequences, such as when Peggy gets the telegram regarding her husband's death while in jail.

Verdict: A house is not a home, all right. ***.

CYNARA

CYNARA (1932). Director: King Vidor.

"I have been faithful to thee, Cynara, in my fashion."

Jim Warlock (Ronald Colman) is happily married to Clemency (Kay Francis, pictured), who is out of town traveling with her sister, when he meets a pretty young woman, Doris (Phyllis Barry), in a cafe. The two drift into an affair, which eventually results in scandal and tragedy. While this is a slight film, it boasts good performances, especially from Barry and Colman and the always-wonderful Henry Stephenson as Jim's friend, John. Normally the unfaithful spouse is not too sympathetic, but Colman actually manages to be quite moving, and the ending is effective. What the film needs is another half hour of running time and deeper characterizations.

According to Lawrence J. Quirk in The Films of Ronald Colman, Colman was nervous about playing an adulterer, and while the film got good reviews, Colman's fans did not care for him in such a part. Quirk also writes that "it was a novel idea in 1932 that occasional infidelity in a marriage could be countenanced and forgiven if all other aspects of the union were favorable."

Verdict: Minor but definitely has its moments. **1/2.

A NOTORIOUS AFFAIR

A NOTORIOUS AFFAIR (1930). Director: Lloyd Bacon.

Wealthy Patricia Hanley (Billie Dove) scandalizes her father and their friends by marrying a penniless violinist Paul Gherardi (Basil Rathbone). The only one of their crowd who is welcoming to Paul is the unfortunately predatory Countess Olga (Kay Francis, pictured), a sexually-free lady who leaves lipstick all over the stable boy. (This is the kind of movie that equates "loose" sexuality with evil.) As soon as Paul becomes a famous, flamboyant violinist, the countess gets her hooks in him and poor Pat is wringing her hands and consulting with daddy (Montagu Love). Talky and dull, A Notorious Affair could have benefited from a little more notoriety. Kay Francis steals the picture in her sexy, vibrant performance as the countess, but the others are also good. Even with an Italian accent, Rathbone scores as the touchy and temperamental Paul.

Verdict: Turn off the TV and find somebody to be notorious with. *1/2.

GIVE ME YOUR HEART

GIVE ME YOUR HEART (1936). Director: Archie Mayo.

Belinda Warren (Kay Francis) is in love with Bob Melford (Patric Knowles) who has a disabled wife, Rosamond (Freida Inescort). When Belinda becomes pregnant, Bob's father, Lord Farrington (Henry Stephenson) makes a deal for Belinda to give up the child to Bob and Rosamond, telling her that otherwise she has little to offer the child. (It never occurs to Belinda to make the point that the child will be his grandchild no matter who raises it, and you'd think he'd want to provide for it no matter what.) Traveling on a train, Belinda encounters Jim Baker (George Brent) and marries him, but her brooding over the past threatens their marriage until an old friend drastically takes matters into his hands.

Give Me Your Heart is a likable, at times touching, movie that is greatly bolstered by some fine dialogue and an excellent cast at their best. Kay Francis gives one of her best performances as Belinda, and Roland Young is terrific as her buddy "Tubbs." Francis and Brent always made a good team, and in this Young and Helen Flint (as Belinda's doctor Florence Cudahy) also make a grand screen couple. (The protracted scene when the two "meet cute," nearly grabbing the same cab, then keep bumping into each other until they realize they're going to the exact same place, is one of the best scenes in the movie.) Zeffie Tilbury scores as Belinda's grumpy Aunt Esther. Francis has a sublime moment when she looks at a picture of her little boy at a very awkward gathering, and she and Freida Inescort have a very good scene as the two women manage to bond with each other despite the events of the past. Warm, humorous and sentimental in the right way, Give Me Your Heart is one of Francis's best features. Nice score, too.

Verdict: Kay fans should pounce. ***.

PASSION FLOWER

PASSION FLOWER (1930). Director: Uncredited.



"Men are kind of handy in the day time and sort of entertaining in the evening. But as far as I'm concerned, I'd just as soon have a good radio." -- Zazu Pitts.

Katherine (Kay Johnson) infuriates her father by marrying the family chauffeur Dan (Charles Bickford). Her cousin Dulce (Kay Francis) is married to a wealthy, much older man, Tony (Lewis Stone). Proud and stubborn, Dan refuses Dulce's help until circumstances force him to give in. Unfortunately the two proceed to fall in love, causing the expected painful complications. As the selfish Dulce, Francis isn't bad, but her part is too one-dimensional for us to feel much sympathy for her and at times her acting is artificial and stilted. Johnson is quite lovely and affecting as the heart-broken Katherine. The gruff Bickford is an unlikely lover boy but a good actor nevertheless; his scenes with his two little boys are touching (Dickie Moore is adorable as Tommy) but his character is also a bit of a stinker. Zazu Pitts plays Katharine and Dan's pessimistic landlady who somehow winds up moving to a farm with them as housekeeper.

Verdict: Entertaining, but maybe not enough passion. **1/2.

BEAUTY FOR THE ASKING

BEAUTY FOR THE ASKING (1939). Director: Glenn Tryon.

Beautician Jean Russell (Lucille Ball) is excitedly hoping to market her new astringent face cream and make oodles of money when her fiance Denny (Patric Knowles) comes to tell her that he's going to marry another woman, Flora (Freida Inescort) -- who happens to be worth ten million. Trying to get over her heartbreak, Jean gets an entrepreneur named Jeff (Donald Woods) to help her find backing for her product and she winds up going into business with -- Flora! Naturally there are complications when Denny is installed in the executive wing of her business. Lucy gives a lovely performance in one of her nicest and most sympathetic roles, and she's ably backed up by the rest of the cast, including Inez Courtney as Jean's friend Gwen, and Leona Maricle as a predatory friend of Flora's named Eve Harrington -- years before All About Eve. Good dialogue and a light touch help enormously.

Verdict: Very pleasant indeed. ***.