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Post by topbilled on Dec 9, 2022 1:02:55 GMT
This neglected film is from 1945.
Christmas at Republic Pictures
Thank you from me too, TopBilled, for reviewing THE CHEATERS. Originally, I watched it because I'm a big fan of Joseph Schildkraut, but I was completely taken in by the film in general. It is interesting that the role of Mr. M was intended for John Barrymore. No doubt he would have been memorable, but Schildkraut's portrayal of Mr M is so complimentary to the other performers, it's hard for me to imagine Barrymore's portrayal would have blended better or as well. |
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Post by sagebrush on Dec 19, 2022 0:35:41 GMT
Great point about Schildkraut playing the villain in THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER. I think SHOP and THE CHEATERS would make a great holiday double feature, especially as a study of how this actor plays two rather dissimilar characters.
  Or they could make it a Schildkraut trio of Christmas-themed films; he played Judas Iscariot in the 1927 silent version of KING OF KINGS (which happens to be airing tonight on Silent Sundays. ) |
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Post by topbilled on Dec 19, 2022 14:51:29 GMT
This neglected film is from 1946.
Beautiful troubled people
First thing we need to get out of the way, which several astute reviewers on the IMDb have already addressed– the music hall setting in this picture is NOT Radio City Music Hall, as it has been incorrectly identified on the film’s wiki page. There were other notable music halls in New York and London at this time, some of them even featuring figure skating routines, but Radio City was not one of them.
Republic ingenue Vera Ralston, a former Czech figure skater in the Olympics who toured with the Ice Capades, is perfectly cast in the lead role. Miss Ralston had already been expanding her film resume in other genres, such as the horror picture THE LADY AND THE MONSTER; and the western drama DAKOTA. So this was a return to the ice, and it would be her last such role.
Something Vera Ralston doesn’t get enough credit for is her sheer gracefulness, not only as a skater but also as a lady who brings a special pure quality to all her performances. In this production she is cast as an ice show star who is caught up in scandal.
A former producer is blackmailing her and when she goes to see him to back out of their deal, she finds his dead body in his penthouse apartment. She’s in the wrong place at the wrong time, and unless her boyfriend (William Marshall) helps her prove her innocence, the killing will be pinned on her by a police inspector (William Gargan).
There are several interesting subplots. One involves the relationship Ralston’s character has with the other girls that share her dressing room. One is a sardonic, jaded gal (Helen Walker) who has seen and heard it all. If she hadn’t latched on to a husband yet, she would probably get out of the business.
We also have a neophyte understudy, played by former MGM contract player Ann Rutherford. Like Ralston, she also has a reason to hate the man that has died. There’s a great musical number in which Miss Rutherford, without the use of a double, performs opposite Ralston. They engage in a fencing match, and it’s a lot of fun to watch their highly coordinated swordplay while they spin around on skates.
Another good subplot involves Nancy Kelly and Jerome Cowan. Cowan’s character is a reporter whose wife Kelly has also been blackmailed by the victim. As a dutiful but possessive husband, he will do anything to keep his wife’s name out of the papers and to ensure she doesn’t go down for murder. They’re both red herrings, since the actual culprit turns out to be someone we’d never suspect.
Throughout the film’s 84-minute running time, there are a lot of atmospheric touches. As well as a lot of engaging banter. The picture never slows down or feels as if the plot is dragged out. If anything, this is a story that could have used more time to explore the different themes suggested by the main characters.
The reason MURDER IN THE MUSIC HALL works so well is because it does more than those frothy ice pictures at 20th Century Fox starring Sonja Henie. It contains an ordinate amount of spectacle, but it goes beyond the pageantry. It plums the emotional depths of beautiful but troubled people in a dark postwar world.
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Post by BingFan on Dec 19, 2022 16:13:24 GMT
Thanks for noting Murder in the Music Hall. Although I’ve never seen it, the title is familiar, and I did wrongly assume it referred to Radio City. You’re right about other cities having a “Music Hall.” (Cincinnati’s beautiful Music Hall was the site of my high school graduation, lo those many years ago.)
In any event, this sounds like a movie that I’d enjoy. I’d be glad if TCM showed it. (Unfortunately, streaming, as with YouTube, etc., isn’t possible for me with our substandard internet service.)
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Post by topbilled on Dec 20, 2022 15:03:26 GMT
Thanks for noting Murder in the Music Hall. Although I’ve never seen it, the title is familiar, and I did wrongly assume it referred to Radio City. You’re right about other cities having a “Music Hall.” (Cincinnati’s beautiful Music Hall was the site of my high school graduation, lo those many years ago.)
In any event, this sounds like a movie that I’d enjoy. I’d be glad if TCM showed it. (Unfortunately, streaming, as with YouTube, etc., isn’t possible for me with our substandard internet service.) |
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Post by topbilled on Jan 1, 2023 17:40:53 GMT
This neglected film is from 1944.
At the casino
The story, brimming with wartime espionage and intrigue, is no doubt inspired by CASABLANCA. But instead of Morocco, the main setting is a casino in Portugal, run by a very machiavellian Erich Von Stroheim. Stroheim is fantastic and underplays a role that is not quite subtle in terms of which side of the law he’s on.
Vera Ralston conveys a simple sometimes naive quality which works well in this particular yarn. Off camera Ralston would marry studio boss Herbert Yates a few years later. At this point, the former Olympic star had moved on from ice skating musicals and was being groomed as a dramatic actress. She had previously appeared in THE LADY AND THE MONSTER with Von Stroheim, whom I am sure Yates hired to coach her through challenging scenes.
Ralston’s best work in this offering is an exotic number that she performs on stage at the casino with a collection of other pretty dancers. It puts to good use her athleticism and she radiates much more sex appeal here than Ingrid Bergman does in the other film. The musical number is slightly repeated near the end, but interrupted, because that night, Ralston is fleeing the country with a man who’s captured her heart, played by Richard Arlen.
The ending is a reversal of CASABLANCA’s ending, where instead of Bogart watching Bergman leave on a plane, we have Ralston watching Arlen leave. After all, Arlen is a government agent and he has to fly back to America to provide testimony against Von Stroheim and Von Stroheim’s cronies. These final shots are perfectly staged, and I think the ending outdoes CASABLANCA if I’m honest.
One of Von Stroheim’s cronies is played by character actor Otto Kruger. There’s a great scene where Kruger senses he has exceeded his usefulness to the boss, and he pretends that he is in cahoots with someone on the outside that may compromise Von Stroheim’s operation of trading government secrets. Kruger goes to the window to adjust a blind, meant to signal the outside person. Von Stroheim figures this is a bluff, there is no such person outside the casino, and Kruger’s futile attempt to save his life means curtains for him.
I should point out that since the casino is the main set, Republic’s design team have done a very meticulous job of creating what feels like a grand night spot. There are huge, and I do mean huge, staircases; ornate chandeliers; countless gaming tables; a posh bar; spacious hallways; and rooms for the guests with elaborate balconies.
Von Stoheim’s office, complete with back elevator, is adorned with antique set pieces that makes him seem much more refined than any run-of-the-mill gangster.
There is also a running gag involving two elderly women (Sarah Edwards & Alice Fleming) who have come to the casino on their vacation, looking for a little ahem action. In one amusing moment, they think Arlen is hitting on them, and the excitement is almost too much for them to handle. But trust me, they are no competition for Miss Ralston.
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Post by Fading Fast on Jan 1, 2023 18:32:44 GMT
This neglected film is from 1944.
At the casino
The story, brimming with wartime espionage and intrigue, is no doubt inspired by CASABLANCA. But instead of Morocco, the main setting is a casino in Portugal, run by a very machiavellian Erich Von Stroheim. Stroheim is fantastic and underplays a role that is not quite subtle in terms of which side of the law he’s on.
Vera Ralston conveys a simple sometimes naive quality which works well in this particular yarn. Off camera Ralston would marry studio boss Herbert Yates a few years later. At this point, the former Olympic star had moved on from ice skating musicals and was being groomed as a dramatic actress. She had previously appeared in THE LADY AND THE MONSTER with Von Stroheim, whom I am sure Yates hired to coach her through challenging scenes.
Ralston’s best work in this offering is an exotic number that she performs on stage at the casino with a collection of other pretty dancers. It puts to good use her athleticism and she radiates much more sex appeal here than Ingrid Bergman does in the other film. The musical number is slightly repeated near the end, but interrupted, because that night, Ralston is fleeing the country with a man who’s captured her heart, played by Richard Arlen.
The ending is a reversal of CASABLANCA’s ending, where instead of Bogart watching Bergman leave on a plane, we have Ralston watching Arlen leave. After all, Arlen is a government agent and he has to fly back to America to provide testimony against Von Stroheim and Von Stroheim’s cronies. These final shots are perfectly staged, and I think the ending outdoes CASABLANCA if I’m honest.
One of Von Stroheim’s cronies is played by character actor Otto Kruger. There’s a great scene where Kruger senses he has exceeded his usefulness to the boss, and he pretends that he is in cahoots with someone on the outside that may compromise Von Stroheim’s operation of trading government secrets. Kruger goes to the window to adjust a blind, meant to signal the outside person. Von Stroheim figures this is a bluff, there is no such person outside the casino, and Kruger’s futile attempt to save his life means curtains for him.
I should point out that since the casino is the main set, Republic’s design team have done a very meticulous job of creating what feels like a grand night spot. There are huge, and I do mean huge, staircases; ornate chandeliers; countless gaming tables; a posh bar; spacious hallways; and rooms for the guests with elaborate balconies.
Von Stoheim’s office, complete with back elevator, is adorned with antique set pieces that makes him seem much more refined than any run-of-the-mill gangster.
There is also a running gag involving two elderly women (Sarah Edwards & Alice Fleming) who have come to the casino on their vacation, looking for a little ahem action. In one amusing moment, they think Arlen is hitting on them, and the excitement is almost too much for them to handle. But trust me, they are no competition for Miss Ralston.
I also love your description of the casino set as, when Hollywood was on its game and had the budget, it created some incredible sets. I've always wanted to stay at the created-by-Hollywood hotel in "Key Largo." |
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Post by topbilled on Jan 8, 2023 22:10:39 GMT
This neglected film is from 1947.
Melodramatic noir at its finest
This was a lavish production that Republic Pictures boss Herbert Yates made for his leading lady Vera Ralston. Previously, she had starred in ice skating musicals, horror-suspense dramas and westerns. But now she would be showcased, alongside frequent leading man John Carroll, in a prestigious postwar noir.
Two things draw us into the story during the initial sequence. First, the art direction is amazing– elaborate sets with high ceilings, huge staircases and wide hallways. Second, the acting is at once engaging. Nobody plays a world-weary rogue the way Mr. Carroll does. He kills a blackmailer (Broderick Crawford) on New Year’s Eve with considerable ease, like getting rid of a pesky housefly.
Only the blackmailer gets a shot in, too– and now Carroll has taken one in the back. Returning to his swanky penthouse apartment, he’s greeted by an asian houseboy (Victor Sen Yung) and fails to mention the fact he’s dying. He will bleed to death and recall the events that led up this fateful night. Cue the flashbacks, and there are plenty.
This is when we meet the other main characters which include Carroll’s brother (Robert Paige) and the brother’s nurse (Ralston). We learn that Carroll resented his well-to-do brother, whom he was forced to depend on for handouts. As a result, he brought Miss Ralston into the mix as a caregiver/swindler.
The idea was for Ralston to help bilk the brother out of his fortune, then she and Carroll would run off together. But of course, things haven’t gone according to the original plan. She’s fallen for the brother and has married the brother for love not money. She finds his organ playing somewhat endearing, but not his disapproving aunt (Blanche Yurka), who is anything but endearing.
The brother’s seaside residence is also home to a talkative maid (Hattie McDaniel) and features house calls from a good doctor (Henry Travers). Later there is a visit from a singer “friend” of Ralston’s (Constance Dowling) who has gotten chummy with Carroll and Crawford in town.
Mr. Crawford has some of the film’s best moments. He plays a cad who gloms on to the scheme that Carroll and Ralston cooked up. He threatens exposure if Carroll doesn’t come up with some serious dough. In the best noir tradition, blackmailers live short lives and this, as we saw during the opening sequence, is no exception.
In addition to the strong performances, the film benefits from a huge budget. While THE FLAME was a hit with audiences, it was not profitable due to Yates’ overspending. At every turn there are ornate furnishings, artistic camera angles and zoom shots (before those were fashionable in Hollywood) that show off the film’s rich design. Also, because this is melodramatic noir, director John Auer and cinematographer Reggie Lanning indulge in chiaroscuro techniques that accentuate both the light and shadow in these framed compositions.
The title concentrates on the aspects of light in the story. While Ralston and Carroll may have been old flames, a new flame now burns for the brother. This is brought into focus during a key scene inside the family chapel, where Ralston has a heart-to-heart talk with the doctor. The organ music and religious tones that permeate the narrative provide an intended holiness, as a crooked nurse turns angel and becomes the best wife a man could have.
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Post by Fading Fast on Jan 9, 2023 10:58:26 GMT
The Flame from 1947 with John Carroll, Vera Ralston, Robert Paige, Broderick Crawford and Constance Dowling
Recipe: Mix equal parts noir and melodrama with a splash of gothic atmosphere using mainly B actors and a dash of a Czech actress playing a French nurse but with a Czech accent, shake vigorously and serve in crisp black-and-white cinematography for an enjoyable albeit a bit slow-moving-in-parts Republic Pictures movie.
The Flame is a solid noir/melodrama offering from the height of the film noir era that opens with two men shooting each other in a prosperous looking apartment house only to then tell its story through one long flashback.
As the flashback begins, we see that one of the men who was shot is a prodigal brother, played by John Carroll. Carroll has spent his inheritance, but wants to marry his French girlfriend and former nurse (he was injured in WWII) played by Vera Ralston - the aforementioned Czech actress with the wrong accent for the part.
Lacking the funds to continue living a lavish lifestyle, he convinces vacant-eyes Ralston to become his infirmed and wealthy brother's nurse.
The plan from there is for the sickly brother to fall in love with, marry and leave everything in his will to Ralston, then die, thus, clearing the path for Carroll and Ralston to marry with the dead-brother's money now all theirs. Good grief.
Problem number one with all this is the brother, played by Robert Paige, looks like the healthiest man on earth. While he lives in a modestly haunting gothic mansion and irritatingly fills the house with sounds from his sonorously melancholy organ playing all the time, the guy is the picture of haleness.
Problem number two is you never understand Ralston's character as she seems like a nice girl who would have, immediately, told Carroll to pound sand with his mean and selfish plan.
Problem number three is the plan itself isn't illegal - immoral as heck, but not illegal - as you don't get arrested for thought crimes or marrying with deceit in your heart (otherwise, the jails would be overflowing) as Carroll and Ralston aren't contemplating murder, but planning to let nature take its course to finish off Paige.
With their cockeyed plan now in motion, two things happen to squirrel it: Ralston falls in love with the putatively dying brother, while a blackmailer, played with pitch-perfect low-key sinisterness by Broderick Crawford, discovers Carroll's scheme.
Carroll, who was quietly counting his future money, now has to worry about Ralston not coming through for him and Crawford either exposing his plan or bleeding from him the money he doesn't even yet have.
Further complicating things, it turns out Carroll's neighbor, a nightclub singer played wonderfully with unembarrassed selfishness by Constance Dowling, whom Carroll is dancing in the sheets with on the side, is the object of Crawford's affections. Yet she'll only be with Crawford if he has money to provide her with a luxurious lifestyle.
Yes, the slant rhyme storylines are obvious screenwriting 101, but Crawford provides a needed burst of energy to this sometimes somnambulant effort. He's smart, sinister, physically imposing and steals every scene he's in.
You'll wish his and mercenary Dowling's roles were bigger. Dowling spices up the screen with her delicious blonde evilness, while Crawford, oddly but engagingly, wears his personal Kryptonite proudly on his sleeve: he can't live without an obviously selfish and venal woman. Their story is the more interesting of the two in the movie.
The climax, no spoilers coming, is unsurprising as it was somewhat telegraphed in advance. The flashback technique had a vogue in noir at that time, but often, it is a gimmick that, as it does here, undermines the tension in the plot as aware viewers use it to anticipate the movie's conclusion.
Henry Travers as the kindly family physician, Blanche Yurka as the bitter spinster aunt (effectively playing a weak version of the "Mrs. Danvers" role from Rebecca), Victor Sen Yung as Carroll's houseboy with misplaced loyalty and Hattie McDaniel, unfortunately, in the stereotypical maid role she knew all too well, round out the cast in parts that, had they been larger, would have given the movie a richer and more-textured feel.
Despite several plot holes, plus director John H. Auer setting too slow a pace here and there and an unsurprising climax, The Flame is still a very worthy effort. You just wish the ingredients in this noir-melodrama cocktail had been combined in a more skillful manner as there was an even better movie to be made from its parts.
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Post by topbilled on Jan 9, 2023 14:31:30 GMT
The Flame from 1947 with John Carroll, Vera Ralston, Robert Paige, Broderick Crawford and Constance Dowling
Recipe: Mix equal parts noir and melodrama with a splash of gothic atmosphere using mainly B actors and a dash of a Czech actress playing a French nurse but with a Czech accent, shake vigorously and serve in crisp black-and-white cinematography for an enjoyable albeit a bit slow-moving-in-parts Republic Pictures movie.
The Flame is a solid noir/melodrama offering from the height of the film noir era that opens with two men shooting each other in a prosperous looking apartment house only to then tell its story through one long flashback.
As the flashback begins, we see that one of the men who was shot is a prodigal brother, played by John Carroll. Carroll has spent his inheritance, but wants to marry his French girlfriend and former nurse (he was injured in WWII) played by Vera Ralston - the aforementioned Czech actress with the wrong accent for the part.
Lacking the funds to continue living a lavish lifestyle, he convinces vacant-eyes Ralston to become his infirmed and wealthy brother's nurse.
The plan from there is for the sickly brother to fall in love with, marry and leave everything in his will to Ralston, then die, thus, clearing the path for Carroll and Ralston to marry with the dead-brother's money now all theirs. Good grief.
Problem number one with all this is the brother, played by Robert Paige, looks like the healthiest man on earth. While he lives in a modestly haunting gothic mansion and irritatingly fills the house with sounds from his sonorously melancholy organ playing all the time, the guy is the picture of haleness.
Problem number two is you never understand Ralston's character as she seems like a nice girl who would have, immediately, told Carroll to pound sand with his mean and selfish plan.
Problem number three is the plan itself isn't illegal - immoral as heck, but not illegal - as you don't get arrested for thought crimes or marrying with deceit in your heart (otherwise, the jails would be overflowing) as Carroll and Ralston aren't contemplating murder, but planning to let nature take its course to finish off Paige.
With their cockeyed plan now in motion, two things happen to squirrel it: Ralston falls in love with the putatively dying brother, while a blackmailer, played with pitch-perfect low-key sinisterness by Broderick Crawford, discovers Carroll's scheme.
Carroll, who was quietly counting his future money, now has to worry about Ralston not coming through for him and Crawford either exposing his plan or bleeding from him the money he doesn't even yet have.
Further complicating things, it turns out Carroll's neighbor, a nightclub singer played wonderfully with unembarrassed selfishness by Constance Dowling, whom Carroll is dancing in the sheets with on the side, is the object of Crawford's affections. Yet she'll only be with Crawford if he has money to provide her with a luxurious lifestyle.
Yes, the slant rhyme storylines are obvious screenwriting 101, but Crawford provides a needed burst of energy to this sometimes somnambulant effort. He's smart, sinister, physically imposing and steals every scene he's in.
You'll wish his and mercenary Dowling's roles were bigger. Dowling spices up the screen with her delicious blonde evilness, while Crawford, oddly but engagingly, wears his personal Kryptonite proudly on his sleeve: he can't live without an obviously selfish and venal woman. Their story is the more interesting of the two in the movie.
The climax, no spoilers coming, is unsurprising as it was somewhat telegraphed in advance. The flashback technique had a vogue in noir at that time, but often, it is a gimmick that, as it does here, undermines the tension in the plot as aware viewers use it to anticipate the movie's conclusion.
Henry Travers as the kindly family physician, Blanche Yurka as the bitter spinster aunt (effectively playing a weak version of the "Mrs. Danvers" role from Rebecca), Victor Sen Yung as Carroll's houseboy with misplaced loyalty and Hattie McDaniel, unfortunately, in the stereotypical maid role she knew all too well, round out the cast in parts that, had they been larger, would have given the movie a richer and more-textured feel.
Despite several plot holes, plus director John H. Auer setting too slow a pace here and there and an unsurprising climax, The Flame is still a very worthy effort. You just wish the ingredients in this noir-melodrama cocktail had been combined in a more skillful manner as there was an even better movie to be made from its parts.
Maybe with some tighter editing a few of the longer scenes at the beginning could have been trimmed. I also thought that when we saw Paige at the organ, and we had Ralston wafting down the stairs in those slow long shots, it was meant to show off the set and how much money studio boss Herbert Yates had poured into the production. Later in the story, there are more medium shots and better cutting from one actor to the other.
One thing that I realized upon re-watching THE FLAME yesterday was that while Carroll and Ralston's characters go back and forth between the two main sets (Paige's mansion and Carroll's penthouse apartment), the only other exception is Dowling who though she spends most of her time in town, does go out to the country to see Ralston at the mansion. Otherwise, Paige remains firmly ensconced at the mansion, never once venturing into town until the end when he boards the ship...and Crawford never goes to the mansion, and all his scenes take place in town. Of course, he does mention having spoken to the servants at the mansion, to get dirt on Carroll, so we can assume he might have ventured out there or at least made some phone calls, even if it does not occur on screen. But in terms of the main characters, Paige is the one who is most isolated and shown primarily as functioning in one main location.
The supporting characters all exist within their carefully defined environments...we would not expect the aunt to go into town much (she would have things delivered to her), we would not expect the maid to go into town either (unless on her day off), and we would not expect the asian houseboy to go to the mansion, unless to accompany Carroll, which never happens.
I guess I am mentioning this stuff, because I think that while the sets are spacious, the story seems a bit contained and claustrophobic in spots, which adds to the psychological appeal of it. While Paige turns out to be quite healthy, he is a recluse until the end yet ironically, he's the hero of the piece.
As for Dowling and Crawford's roles, if their parts had been expanded, the roles would have been given to Ralston and Carroll...as they were Republic's two main A-picture stars at this time (not counting John Wayne and Adele Mara). Dowling and Crawford were never going to be playing more than secondary leads here, due to the pecking order. But they are expected to come in and provide some pizzazz and contrast, which is exactly what they do.
I think it was a smart decision to have Ralston's character grow the most during the story. After all, studio boss Yates decided to green-light this project as a showpiece for her...and Ralston is very good at playing herself. So as a character who grows, in this case develops a conscience and becomes more sincere, she is most convincing.
I have written elsewhere that I actually prefer watching someone like Vera Ralston as opposed to actresses like Bette Davis or Katharine Hepburn. Since Ralston is projecting her own real life vulnerabilities on screen as a recent immigrant adjusting to life in America (whether or not she's playing a different foreign ethnicity), we get much more realism. There is never the artifice of a highly manufactured performance which we get with the Davises and Hepburns who at every turn inform us that they are ACTRESSES hear them roar putting on a show. Ralston doesn't know how to be an actress, she only knows how to be herself, which makes her more genuine to me and ultimately more endearing.
As for Yung's character, I didn't feel we were meant to view him as someone with misplaced loyalty. He loved Carroll, not in a homosexual way, but there was something about Carroll he believed in and worshipped, and we are meant to admire that...sympathizing re: the heartbreak of him losing his boss at the end.
The film has some very good male bonding. There are scenes with Carroll and Paige as brothers, there is the bonding between Paige and the doctor and Paige and the minister. There is the stuff with Carroll & Yung. We also have Carroll and Crawford forging a friendship, until Crawford decides to start blackmailing him. Even the two male cops that come in at the end seem to have a warm familiarity with each other.
The women also have good bonding scenes. The maid and the aunt seem friendly, even while observing their respective class differences. The aunt softens towards Ralston. And Ralston and Dowling forge an unlikely friendship, though you would think at first they're going to have a massive catfight.
Part of the goodness of the film is that these people mostly are decent, and probably guided by some inner religious light. Carroll gets what he deserves in the end, but still does something decent, sending the telegram to the ship that he won't be seeing the newlyweds off, ensuring they are free to leave without worrying about what's happened to him.
After the movie ends, I do wonder what would have happened next. The lovebirds would have gotten to Europe and probably received a cable from either the aunt or the doctor about his brother's death. They would have had to go back or at least spend time communicating long-distance with the police. Ralston's initial scheme with Carroll would probably have come out...not because Carroll revealed it before he died, but because Ralston would not have continued the secret and would have come clean since it would be the decent thing to do. But as it is, the movie ends with happiness and hope and a temporary reprieve from the murky shadows of Carroll's death. |
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Post by Fading Fast on Jan 9, 2023 16:19:59 GMT
"As for Dowling and Crawford's roles, if their parts had been expanded, the roles would have been given to Ralston and Carroll...as they were Republic's two main A-picture stars at this time (not counting John Wayne and Adele Mara). Dowling and Crawford were never going to be playing more than secondary leads here, due to the pecking order. But they are expected to come in and provide some pizzazz and contrast, which is exactly what they do."
This makes sense from a business perspective, but it is a shame as Dowling and Crawford created the two best characters in the movie and I doubt that would have been true if Ralston and Carroll had played them. The screen lit up when either Dowling or Crawford was in a scene.
"I think it was a smart decision to have Ralston's character grow the most during the story. After all, studio boss Yates decided to green-light this project as a showpiece for her...and Ralston is very good at playing herself. So as a character who grows, in this case develops a conscience and becomes more sincere, she is most convincing. "
Her growth was the most-rewarding part of the movie, but as noted, I'm not sure that I buy that she would have ever even agreed to Carroll's scheme in the first place as her character just seemed to innately decent for that.
"As for Yung's character, I didn't feel we were meant to view him as someone with misplaced loyalty. He loved Carroll, not in a homosexual way, but there was something about Carroll he believed in and worshipped, and we are meant to admire that...sympathizing re: the heartbreak of him losing his boss at the end. "
I have to think about this a bit because I meant "misplaced" in the sense that Yung was a good man who gave Carroll loyalty he didn't deserve. For example, had Yung been Paige's employee, his loyalty would have been rewarded, not so much in money (although, probably that too), but because he was helping a good man live a full and honorable life.
"And Ralston and Dowling forge an unlikely friendship, though you would think at first they're going to have a massive catfight. "
I enjoyed that turn too, it was touching when Dowling told Ralston (I forget the words she used) that she'd be good to Paige if he were her husband because he's a good man.
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Post by topbilled on Jan 16, 2023 15:05:14 GMT
This neglected film is from 1944.
Enjoyable morale booster
You could call it a feminist musical comedy, though the word feminist wasn’t applied back then. It was a morale booster, geared for female audiences who worked in factories like Jane Frazee’s character does in the movie. They were all doing their part for the war effort while the men were away fighting.
Jane Frazee appeared in quite a few musical comedies. By 1944 her Universal contract ended and she was offered deals at MGM and Republic. She chose to sign with Republic, where boss Herbert Yates gave her nice roles, good songs and above the title billing. She had pleasant leading men to work with at the studio, so I’m sure she went home after shooting scenes with a smile on her face.
Republic cast the actress in westerns and of course, musical comedies like ROSIE THE RIVETER. The set-up for this picture is rather basic and reminds me of RAFTER ROMANCE, a precode about young people with opposite schedules sharing a room. The war years were known for housing shortages and women working in factories. What good would Hollywood be if it did not depict that on screen?
In our story Jane and her girlfriend Vera (Barbara Jo Allen) share a room in a boarding house with two single men who have opposite work schedules. Since this film was made while the production code was in full force, the two single women and two single men are technically sharing the same beds, just at different hours. The boarding house is run by a strict landlady (Maude Eburne) who of course will not allow any hanky panky.
Jane, Vera and the guys usually interact when one group is coming home from the nearby factory and the other group is getting ready to go to the factory to start their shift. There are squabbles about the upkeep of the room. While battling each other, the two couples end up falling in love. During the film the characters use interesting slang that was probably commonplace during that era. Things like schmoodle and ‘making woo’ which means ‘making love.’
Miss Frazee’s performance is sincere and likable; while Miss Allen’s performance relies on wisecracks and deadpan deliveries. There’s a lot of witty dialogue. One highlight is a memorable scene where the gals have no clothes on and are locked out of the boarding house in the rain. They get picked up by the police.
But the best part is a rousing finale that was filmed on location at an aviation factory. There’s no other word for it, except riveting.
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Post by Fading Fast on Jan 16, 2023 15:40:58 GMT
...There’s no other word for it, except riveting.
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Post by topbilled on Jan 22, 2023 16:34:31 GMT
This neglected film is from 1944.
Nostalgic song-and-dance production
Republic’s nostalgic song-and-dance production, complete with romantic complications, is mostly a comforting way to spend an hour and a half. Comforting because the tunes contain nice old-fashioned lyrics and sentiment. They are performed with joy and reverence for glorious days gone by, reassuring us that a good time can still be had.
The studio has pulled out all the stops. There are on-location exteriors and ornate in-studio sets with convincing backgrounds as well as fine period costumes and hairstyles that make us feel like we have traveled back to a simpler era. Of course the writers play a bit loose and fast with the real history of Atlantic City.
Dramatic liberties aside, the narrative focuses on the son (Brad Taylor) of a local businessman (Charley Grapewin). He schemes to build up the boardwalk in 1915. Part of his plan is to provide alternative sources of entertainment. The plan works in the beginning, and his father’s vaudeville house is replaced by a massive theater and upscale hotel.
Acts include popular performers like Louis Armstrong, Dorothy Dandridge, Belle Baker and a gal named Marilyn Whitaker (Constance Moore). She quickly catches everyone’s eye. Also rounding out the list of entertainers is a comic character called The Professor (Jerry Colonna). He’s a diplomaniac.
Miss Moore does a splendid job singing standards like ‘The Bird on Nellie’s Hat,’ ‘By the Beautiful Sea’ and ‘On a Sunday Afternoon.’ But of course the highlight is probably Mr. Armstrong’s rendition of ‘Ain’t Misbehavin” as well as Miss Dandridge’s foot-stomping numbers ‘Harlem on Parade’ and ‘Rhythm for Sale.’ We’re lucky these performances have been preserved on celluloid.
The musical numbers are a key component of the film. But I found the picture’s storyline just as engaging. When Mr. Taylor’s expanded oceanfront business venture goes up in flames during a dramatic sequence, he must rely on his father and some friends he didn’t know he had, to rebuild. The father-son scenes are very endearing in this picture. No son wants to be a failure in his father’s eyes; and no father would let his son fail.
It’s nice to see the family come together at the end, supported by a group of loyal vaudeville entertainers. Including one with a silly mustache.
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Post by topbilled on Jan 28, 2023 15:01:24 GMT
This neglected film is from 1956.
Stanwyck holds all the cards
This was the first and only time Barbara Stanwyck, who made plenty of westerns, worked for Herbert Yates’ illustrious studio which specialized in such fare. She plays Kit Banion, a larger than life saloon gal who has ties to some outlaws that includes one of the Younger brothers, Butch Cassidy and Sundance.
THE MAVERICK QUEEN is Stanwyck’s show. She is surrounded by audience favorites like Wallace Ford, Jim Davis and Scott Brady. Brady plays Sundance. So you can see what sort of shady business she’s involved in…however, she retains the upper hand for most of the film’s running time. She’s in command of what happens when these dangerous dudes appear on screen.
Another important character is a guy named Jeff who shows up to “help” Kit. He’s played by Barry Sullivan, and while we are told he’s a criminal at first, we later learn he is in fact a Pinkerton detective on a mission to nab the gang. The film reunites Sullivan with Stanwyck after their previous work in MGM’s psychological drama JEOPARDY (1953). The following year they would team up for another western, over at Fox, called FORTY GUNS (1957). Mr. Sullivan is well suited to the genre, and he shares a nice easy rapport with Miss Stanwyck.
Stanwyck is probably a bit too long in the tooth to play a seductive saloon madame at this point in her career, but she makes up for it with her considerable acting skill. A decade earlier she had portrayed a saloon gal in Paramount’s CALIFORNIA (1947). But while it was implied the character in that film had obviously used sex to get ahead, it’s not as explicit as it is here. Therefore, Lily Bishop, the woman she plays in CALIFORNIA, does get a happy ending– provided she leave a life of sin behind. But in THE MAVERICK QUEEN, Kit Banion is a known “maverick” and must not be rewarded for this.
I suppose we might ask– has she been corrupted by Sundance and his men? Or did she corrupt them? We’re sort of left to figure it out for ourselves. The production code leaves it to our imagination. Balancing out the toughness of Stanwyck’s character, we have Mary Murphy playing a supporting role. She is cast as the softer more wholesome ingenue– a farm girl that Sullivan meets when he first arrives in the area.
Miss Murphy was a contract player at Republic. And typically, she was cast in “A” westerns as the sweet-natured love interest. She did not have the star power Stanwyck possessed, but in this story, she is given the main romantic storyline. Ultimately Murphy’s character wins the good guy (Sullivan), because Stanwyck’s character is too immoral, too far gone to be saved. And since Stanwyck, under these circumstances, cannot be allowed the happily-ever-after fairy tale ending, it goes to Murphy.
The audience might have expected Mr. Sullivan’s character Jeff to redeem Kit, and for Miss Murphy to redeem Sundance, so that more age-appropriate couplings could occur. But we know that Sundance is not the type to be tamed, and apparently, neither is Kit. This leaves wholesome Lucy the only viable match for Jeff, even though he’s old enough to be her father.
Despite such contrivance, the film is still worth watching. It contains some interesting action sequences and as we all know, Stanwyck always puts on a real good show because she’s the one holding all the cards.
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