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Post by Fading Fast on Dec 19, 2023 11:33:08 GMT
The Man I Love from 1946 with Ida Lupino, Bruce Bennett and Robert Alda
The Man I Love tries to tell too many stories, but solid acting and directing keep it from becoming a multi-car pile-up even when a few storylines get dropped or are too-easily resolved. It also helps having petite, pretty and force-of-nature Ida Lupino centering this very busy movie.
Lupino's character is the older, wiser sister just visiting, at Christmastime, her parentless family comprising one sister (with a young son) married to a WWII vet who is in a military hospital with PTSD, a late-teen sister trying to find herself and an in-his-early-twenties brother looking for an easy path in life.
Things are further complicated by the struggling couple just across the hall that Lupino's family helps out. They have twin babies where the good-hearted father works nights and the good-time mother wants to party and not take care of her babies. She's having some kind of an affair with a local gangster, played by Robert Alda, who owns a nightclub.
Seeing that her family needs her help more than she thought, Lupino, a nightclub singer herself, extends her stay and gets a job at the nearby club, run by Aldo, where her, Lupino's, lazy brother also works.
If that isn't complicated enough, Alda begins hitting on Lupino - gangsters don't like to hear "no" from their female employees - but Lupino is falling for a former piano player, played by Bruce Bennett, who's now in the merchant marines. Most relevant to Lupino, though, he is still carrying a torch for his ex-wife.
It's a lot of moving parts that have you spending too-much time trying to keep the different storylines and characters straight, but if you just focus on Lupino, it's an okay movie that you can pretty much follow as she's the one that tries to fix everyone else's mess.
While doing all that, though, Lupino is also trying to keep the gangster wolf at bay and depressed Bennett interested in her. She's got a full plate.
The overall feel of the movie is one of a regular family with too much drama that's also somewhat entangled in the noir world of a mobster-run nightclub located on an always foggy waterfront.
Lupino's family's chemistry is pretty engaging as the siblings fight and make up regularly, while the neighbors across the hall provide soap-opera drama, especially since the husband has blinders for his philandering spouse.
Bennett is excellent as a man still pining for his ex-wife, but his character gets less screen time than he deserves. Finally, it is gangster Alda, always pursuing Lupino, who is the catalyst that could blow up the delicate balance of almost everyone involved.
The not-surprisingly complicated climax, no real spoilers coming, is all over the map with a sudden death, a happy reunion, a mobster standoff, scales falling from a husband's eyes and a sad lovers' goodbye all part of the mix.
It's too much to really work as The Man I Love bit off more than it could chew and never really decided what type of movie it wanted to be. But through it all - and it's a lot - Ida Lupino keeps in there swinging. She has enough screen presence and acting chops to make this muddled, but engaging picture worth the watch. |
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Post by topbilled on Dec 22, 2023 7:26:52 GMT
This neglected film is from 1932.
Robinson in Captain Ahab mode
If you’re in the mood for a terrific movie, check out this precode drama from Warner Brothers. Edward G. Robinson turned in many notable performances during his long and varied career…TIGER SHARK is one of his more memorable efforts.
He is cast as a Portuguese fisherman in San Diego. The accent he applies comes off a bit too thick at times, but we have a lively character. It’s a larger than life role, a man who exaggerates his exploits with women and tells everyone he’s the best tuna fisher in the whole Pacific Ocean. It is true that he is successful at sea with his crew, which includes pal Richard Arlen.
But back on land, he often strikes out with the ladies because as we see during the opening sequence, he has lost one of his arms fighting a deadly shark. Gals don’t seem much interested in a man with a hook for a hand.
One exception may be Zita Johann. Her elderly father was one of Robinson’s crew members who died at sea on a recent expedition. Robinson brings her the sad news, along with some food and money. He continues to look after her, and an unlikely relationship develops.
She’s depressed and Robinson’s boisterous charms help snap her out of it. She doesn’t exactly love him, but she expresses considerable affection and is willing to marry him when he suggests doing so. The wedding scenes are artistically filmed by director Howard Hawks, and this sequence comes off best with sincere work from Robinson, Johann, Arlen and the supporting players.
Of course there won’t be smooth sailing for the newlyweds. A short time after they exchange vows, she figures out that she would much rather have said “I do”to his buddy (Arlen). Domestic scenes are fraught with sexual tension between Johann and Arlen, while Robinson remains unaware of their simmering passions. He’s heading for a fall, and it will be monumental.
Eventually Johann tells Arlen how she feels, and he feels the same. Since they both owe a debt of gratitude to Robinson for all the kind things he’s done for them, neither can bring themselves to cheat. They continue to struggle with their feelings, and Arlen devises an escape plan. His attempt to leave, however, is prevented by an accident. When Johann realizes she almost lost Arlen, she doesn’t want to leave his side.
Eventually the two share a passionate kiss one day on the tuna boat, when Johann decides to go out to sea with the men. She wants to make sure Arlen doesn’t hop off in Mazatlan and leave her behind. When Robinson witnesses their romantic embrace, he blows up. The hook he uses for his right hand becomes a weapon when he is provoked. A violent brawl ensues, with Johann caught in the middle.
Robinson is filled with rage and wants to kill Arlen. Johann tells him he is crazy, when he flings Arlen overboard on to a rowboat which he then proceeds to nick with a harpoon so it will sink. This is very dramatic stuff, and you don’t mess with Robinson when he’s in Captain Ahab mode!
Robinson rants and raves about the sharks at sea. He screams that the sharks settle everything, referring to the loss of his hand and the death of Johann’s father. Meanwhile, the rest of the men hear the commotion and run to save Arlen, especially since a shark is circling in the water, and the rowboat is sinking.
In an ironic twist of fate, Robinson falls overboard and a shark starts to attack him. The men are able to pull Robinson and Arlen back on to the tuna boat, but at this point Robinson is dying. Earlier in the film there’s some recurring dialogue about Robinson’s imagined relationship with Saint Peter– also a great fisherman.
When his time comes, Robinson does not want to go down to hell, but up to heaven. He figures that if he is sent to hell, Saint Peter will still come to get him.
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Post by Fading Fast on Dec 22, 2023 11:20:14 GMT
Tiger Shark from 1932 with Edward G. Robinson, Zita Johann and Richard Arlen
Directed by Howard Hawks, Tiger Shark is early Hollywood doing something it did very well: telling a simple, timeless story in just over an hour.
Edward G. Robinson plays a Portuguese fisherman with a big ego, a big heart and a Portuguese accent that periodically disappears. He captains the most-successful (at least according to him) tuna-fishing boat on the West Coast.
Tuna fishing is a physically tough and dangerous endeavor, which bonds the crew of rugged men together. We see Robinson lose his hand and part of his arm to a shark in an early scene, but he just keeps on with his life as captain of the boat with his best friend and young protegee, played by Richard Arlen, at his side.
The scenes of tuna fishing in Tiger Shark approach documentary-level quality as we watch the men run out nets or fish off the side of the boat in dangerous shark-infested waters where they are at constant risk of falling in. Later, the catch is hauled off the boat and sent via conveyor belts to the processing plant - it's like an early The Food Network show.
Back in the story, Robinson's character is a loud and boastful man as, according to him, he's the best fisherman, the best drinker, the best with women (not true, as he has no luck with them at all), etc. Yet, he is also kind as we see him drive his men hard, but fight equally hard to protect them.
When an older fisherman in his crew is killed in a fishing accident, Robinson takes care of the fisherman's pretty adult daughter, played by Zita Johann, at first, simply as an act of kindness and duty because her father worked for him.
When the inevitable happens and he finally asks her to marry him, she accepts out of a sense of honor. Showing her true character, she even tells Robinson she doesn't love him, but as he does with most things, he just barrels ahead anyway.
Their marriage, initially, works for them as Robinson is a happy man in love with his wife, and she is genuinely grateful to him for his kindness. But then the rub comes along when Johann falls in love with Robinson's young and handsome best friend, Arlen.
We are now at the Greek tragedy stage of the story as Johann and Robinson attempt to do the right thing and deny their love, but eventually it comes out in the climatic scene where the scales painfully fall from Robinson's eyes and everything is brutally settled.
Tiger Shark is 1932 clunky in ways - some of the scenes and shots feel like holdovers from the silent era - but a solid script, strong acting by all three leads and no-nonsense directing from Hawks moves the story along in a way that could be a lesson to modern filmmakers.
Hollywood has been telling this story ever since they've been making movies because it is an engaging, human and evergreen tale. In Tiger Shark, a timeless drama of human tragedy is stripped down to its essentials, but told to us in an impactful way. Movie making has come a long way since 1932, but as we see in Tiger Shark, telling a classic story well is never really dated. |
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Post by topbilled on Jan 10, 2024 13:21:02 GMT
This neglected film is from 1954.
Doris and Frank
What we have is a feel-good movie despite the romantic ups and downs of three sisters and an outsider who is driven to attempt suicide. Of course, we may not have ended on a sentimental note if Frank Sinatra hadn’t insisted his character miraculously survive. The original story, produced by Warner Brothers as FOUR DAUGHTERS– as opposed to the three in this remake– had the hard-edged extended member of the family (played by John Garfield) succeeding when he tried killing himself. I guess Sinatra felt it was too much of a downer or that after dying a year earlier in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, he wasn’t going to experience another on-screen death.
As a result of Sinatra’s character living at the last moment, the other romantic possibility (Gig Young) for Doris Day’s character does not get reunited with her. In fact, Young, who is coveted by all three sisters, doesn’t end up with any of them. Day stays married to Sinatra, and the other two gals (played by Dorothy Malone and Elisabeth Fraser) find their own compatible men to marry.
Although all three sisters’ love lives are featured, the focus remains on Day, then on Sinatra, to ensure musical selections from a companion album get full attention. There are plenty of scenes in which Day croons solo, usually singing to her family, none of whom ever duet with her.
Sinatra has his own scenes crooning solo, often at a piano. One bit in the middle of the film has him perform a fantastic rendition of ‘One for My Baby.’
It isn’t until the movie’s coda that we finally glimpse Day and Sinatra performing a tune together. It feels like watching a series of early music videos, loosely hung on a romantic plot. Nonetheless the approach to the material is still highly effective and daresay intimate.
One thing I enjoy most about Doris Day is the love and compassion she projects on camera towards her costars. She seems particularly close to Elisabeth Fraser, and I suspect they had a strong off-camera friendship since Fraser went on to have roles in three other Doris Day pictures. Plus Day hits it off nicely with Gig Young who also turns up in more of the actress’s later films.
In addition to this, there’s a good rapport between Miss Day and Ethel Barrymore who portrays the kind spinster aunt in the story. It does feel like a family…that they all enjoyed each other’s company, and appreciated the chance to make a motion picture together.
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Post by topbilled on Jan 18, 2024 14:25:21 GMT
This neglected film is from 1949.
Storms at night
This melodrama from Warner Brothers is drenched in atmospheric touches. It hits like a heavy stick that is thick on the outside and somewhat hollow in the center. Ronald Reagan plays a young man suffering from epileptic seizures. He is in most of the scenes, but this is not a man’s picture. It’s a woman’s picture, so ultimately everything that happens to him has to affect Viveca Lindfors, who plays his love interest. Reagan’s character will sacrifice himself in the end for her own good.
Key supporting characters, played by Broderick Crawford and Art Baker, are more balanced and finely played. However, some of Crawford’s speechifying gets too heavy-handed; the philosophical pontificating doesn’t stop with him, because the screenwriter sees fit to squeeze the same ponderous thoughts into the dialogue of others. Some films need a philosophical slant and a slight bit of preachiness the audience may need to hear. But it shouldn’t come from all sides, bombarding the viewer to the point where it overtakes one’s enjoyment of the story.
There are some interesting scenes with children, and another good scene with a barking dog that give the whole affair added psychological layers. The actress who plays the Negro maid (Lillian Yarbo) is excellent, bringing her part vibrantly to life with her realness offsetting the clichés. It’s easy to understand why some of the improvisation between her and Crawford was left in the movie.
The story takes place in a coastal region, and there’s tropical storm during one tense sequence of the film. These hurricane shots resemble ones the studio used in KEY LARGO a year earlier. This is not the story’s detriment, since the shots were were edited in wisely. The raging storm outside is smartly simulated in the studio, complete with palm tree branches banging against the windows and the loud noise of the wind on the other side of the walls. So, for the most part, it’s convincingly staged.
There’s another scene, earlier on the beach, where we are given a vital piece of information concerning something that happened in the past, which is intercut with horses’ hooves. This suggests a symbolism that might have been more detailed in the novel yet was only casually alluded to in the script.
Yet it’s the storm sequence that has the most impact. Everything builds to it. After the elongated speeches and gradual revelations, the picture ends dramatically, just short of the main character’s death. But we are told earlier: death is not an end. I find it interesting to watch performers who are long dead now, talking about life after death. I suppose classic cinema keeps them alive.
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Post by topbilled on Jan 25, 2024 15:05:04 GMT
This neglected film is from 1952.
Steve Cochran down on his luck
I wasn’t expecting much from this contemporary western. It’s not a title TCM airs very often. Someone posted that in this film we get to see Steve Cochran smile. That’s true, but he’s still playing a down-on-his-luck guy who has seen better days. We are told a bit of his backstory, that he owns a spread in Wyoming, but due to a hard winter, he was wiped out financially. So, he’s had to hit the road chasing wild horses, which he can sell.
One day he comes across a beaut named Wildfire, who won’t be tamed by anyone else but him. Cochran decides he can’t sell this one, but he still does not have enough money to properly board and feed Wildfire. Someone else (Ray Teal) claims the horse and puts him in a wild animal show. Teal is an abusive owner, entering Wildfire in rodeos where men pay to try to ride him without getting bucked off. This part of the plot was done in Fox’s equestrian drama SMOKY (1946) which had the same director, Louis King.
A key difference here is that Warner Brothers has taken the cast and crew to the Kanab Canyon in Utah for filming. There are some breathtaking rock formations in the background, but the focus remains on Cochran and the horse, which he soon rescues from Teal’s villainy. He and Wildfire wind up at the ranch of an elderly man (Harry Antrim) and his granddaughter (Sherry Jackson) who let him board the animal there, in exchange for labor.
There are some nice scenes with Cochran getting to know the other hands, including an excellent sing-a-long in the bunkhouse. In addition, Cochran gets to know Jackson, who doesn’t have a father…meaning he becomes a surrogate one to her. Incidentally, Cochran and Jackson would team up again in Republic’s COME NEXT SPRING (1956), and that time Cochran played her long-lost dad. They have some wonderful moments together on camera, including a fun bit where she introduces her animal friends to him. One is a gentle raven named Jimmy.
There is also a muskrat named Mr. Jones, a skunk named Willy, a horse named Susie and a dog named Dog (guess all the names couldn’t be too original!). Other scenes play up danger on the ranch, with Cochran stuck in quicksand, then later saving Jackson’s life during a stampede.
One thing I love about the film is how leisurely paced it is. We know that Cochran is still struggling to earn money, in order to return to his home up north, but during this time, he forms relationships with people who can help him. During the earlier sequence where he rescued Wildfire from the wild animal show, there were shots of a lion in a cage. We know Brutus the lion will show up again, or he would not be mentioned in the film’s title.
Sure enough, Brutus the lion does get away from the show and heads to the ranch. Teal is on his trail, and he’s also looking to reclaim Wildfire. This leads to the inevitable clash between Teal and Cochran. Teal is chased off, but returns and attempts to steal Wildfire. By now Wildfire is considerably spooked and tramples Teal to death, which he probably deserved after the countless lashings he gave Wildfire.
Meanwhile the drama with Brutus the lion is not over, since the savage cat is still on the loose. Fearing a sheriff will have Wildfire put to sleep for killing Teal, Cochran packs up his gear.
He takes off on Wildfire then encounters Brutus at a campsite. There is a ghastly fight between horse and lion, with horrific shots of clawing and stomping. I bet the sequence was filmed with the idea of having the film presented in 3-D. But perhaps the studio decided against it, because that scene with Wildfire killing Brutus is quite graphic as it is.
After Brutus’s death, the sheriff catches up to Cochran. However, since Wildfire eliminated the lion and saved the region from terror, he will now be pardoned and not put to sleep. Cochran will also be able to collect a hefty bounty. It’s a happy ending. And of course, that is what we want with these kinds of movies.
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Post by topbilled on Jan 30, 2024 8:29:41 GMT
This neglected film is from 1949.
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered
Nathanael West, who once worked in a newspaper office, wrote the novel Miss Lonelyhearts, which was published in 1933. His story served as the basis for Daryl Zanuck’s ADVICE TO THE LOVELORN starring Lee Tracy, as a hotshot journalist who is reigned in by a boss after overstepping his bounds and is assigned a lonely hearts column under a female pseudonym. Tracy was an expert at playing newshounds, even ones who faced a loss of prestige on the beat.
The following year, Warner Brothers decided to come up with its own version and produced HI NELLIE! which put Paul Muni in a similar role, though Muni was a tad miscast compared to Lee Tracy. In HI NELLIE!, Muni is involved with Glenda Farrell who helps him work on an important criminal case on the side, while doling out advice to the masses.
In most versions of this story, the guy working as a female advice columnist gets caught up in the job of helping others solve their problems. Mostly because he has a Savior complex and thinks he can straighten out the issues of the world, or at least the issues of those who read the paper.
Like ADVICE TO THE LOVELORN, HI NELLIE! was a hit with audiences. In fact, the bosses at Warners were so taken with its success that they quickly remade it as a B film with Ronald Reagan a few years later. Then the studio remade it in 1942, back to an A film with George Brent. And by the late 1940s, this version occurred, which is not exactly a B, but not really an A either. Filmed in the summer of 1948, though not released until September of 1949, it featured Wayne Morris.
Morris had been with the studio since 1936, and this would be his last film under his long-term contract at Warner Brothers. He would start freelancing, with a series of western B flicks at Monogram/Allied Artists, then dabble in television…and he’d later return to Warners for a supporting role in a Randolph Scott western. He died in 1959 at the relatively young age of 45, ten years after THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET was released.
One thing that always impresses me about Morris’ on-screen persona is how kind he seems to be to his costars. There is zero ego with him in his roles. He comes across as gracious and helpful to his costars, such a likable fellow, which is probably why Warners kept him on the payroll so long, even if he never reached the ranks of the Cagneys, Bogarts or Flynns.
In this production, he has several very nice moments alongside leading lady Janis Paige, who was also wrapping up her contract at the studio, and had appeared with Morris in the western THE YOUNGER BROTHERS. Playing an editor who is demoted to the bewildered hearts section of the paper by a frenemy boss (Alan Hale Sr.), Morris isn’t happy at first…but then rolls with the punches and takes his loss of status in stride. Of course, the main part of the plot involves Morris and Paige hunkering down to catch a gangster (Bruce Bennett) who has thus far evaded justice.
Into the mix we have a notable turn by Alex Gerry as Bennett’s crafty attorney. And James Mitchell as one of Bennett’s cronies, who ultimately fears for his life and confides in Morris about Bennett’s illegal activities. His statements provide evidence for a conviction.
It’s not a profound story. Several aspects of the original version have been softened. Once again, Warners is trotting out its gangster flick formula and melding it with a newspaper drama. It’s hardly earth shattering, but it is still an acceptable time passer with pleasing stars who make it enjoyable motion picture entertainment.
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Post by Fading Fast on Jan 30, 2024 11:14:56 GMT
I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but Wayne Morris is one of my favorite "neglected stars" of the studio era. If you have any doubts about his acting range, check out his performance in "Paths of Glory." With a little luck - the one big hit breakout picture he didn't have - I think he could have had a much bigger career.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 3, 2024 15:02:45 GMT
This neglected film is from 1953.
Varlebena
Based on a short story by Louis L’Amour, which L’Amour subsequently expanded into a novel, the screenplay for this 3D western covers a lot of ground in 83 minutes. Yet, it still manages to move at a somewhat leisurely character-driven pace. Very few wasted moments occur, with emphasis on who the main characters are and ensuring that the audience get plenty of on-screen action from everyone.
We do get some explanation about the title character’s background. He’s a loner with a dog; he is half-Indian and had an Indian wife who is now dead. He’s been working for the U.S. Army as worries increase after a treaty with the Apaches has been broken. Sometimes John Wayne is a bit stiff with the expository dialogue, but these lines are needed so viewers understand where the character has previously been in life, and why he takes comfort in knowing a ranch wife (Geraldine Page).
This was Page’s second film, and she would not make her next motion picture until 1961’s SUMMER AND SMOKE, which was quickly followed by another adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play, SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH. She was probably more suited to the stage, but she does a rather convincing job playing a woman who’s been abandoned by a no-good husband (Leo Gordon), a man with no plans to come back to her and their young son (Lee Aaker). Ironically, Hondo has several altercations with the husband and kills him in self-defense, away from the ranch.
The death of her husband is something Page will have to deal with in her own way, but she doesn’t want her son told the truth about his father. The boy is already bonding with Hondo, and with friendly Apaches who may not remain friendly much longer. Personally, I found the scenes where the kid bonded with the Apaches fairly unbelievable. Not unbelievable in how the Apaches would admire the six-year-old’s bravery, but unbelievable in how a mother (Page) would encourage her son to behave like and emulate the Apaches. She may not have had any grudges against them up till now, but would she want her son to be taught things that most white boys his age would never be taught?
After the Apaches go on the warpath, Page seems to realize they can no longer be on good terms with the Apaches. That’s a shame, but she has to side with Hondo and the army and head to California if she and her son are to survive. There are some hard truths that play out. Another hard truth is the fact that she loves Hondo, and she has to follow her instincts where that relationship is concerned. It will be Varlebena, which means Forever.
The final sequence depicts the Apache attack as Hondo leads them all west in a covered wagon. The tone shifts dramatically from character-driven scenes to violent action. It doesn’t surprise me to learn that director John Farrow was replaced by John Wayne’s favorite director John Ford at the end of the movie. The last six or seven minutes are so different in tone, it feels as if the segment is a different type of movie altogether.
I am sure audiences loved it, since it’s a highly dramatic way to bring things full circle. But I do wonder how the ending might have been if Farrow had remained in charge. I think perhaps it would have been a bit more reflective, with the wounds of such a difficult skirmish lingering on. Though hopefully not Varlebena.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 17, 2024 14:06:15 GMT
This neglected film is from 1933.
Kay Francis M.D. (Melodrama Diva)
In the beginning of the film, Kay Francis’ character, the titular Mary Stevens, finishes an internship. She officially graduates from medical school, alongside fellow med student Lyle Talbot, a guy she’s developed romantic feelings over. After the graduation ceremony, they open their new practices together, in separate offices inside the same building. Francis marvels at the fact she made it through her studies and is now a full-fledged physician. She quips wryly that some didn’t think she’d succeed, because she’s a woman. To which Talbot replies: “You’re not a woman…you’re a superwoman.”
Indeed, as the film goes on, we learn that she does possess super skills and builds a thriving practice. There doesn’t seem to be anything she can’t do in the world of medicine. At the same time, Talbot takes his eye off the ball when he meets a high society deb (Thelma Todd); whom he marries. He is now concerned with capitalizing on newfound connections through his relationship with Todd. This leads to his getting involved with graft and his increasing dependency on alcohol.
As for Francis, she remains true to her early ideals and becomes a well-regarded pediatrician. She is assisted by an equally dedicated nurse (Glenda Farrell), and their success is earned. Meanwhile, Talbot is about to be indicted, so he leaves town while his father-in-law (Charles Wilson) tries to pull strings to save his hide. Yes, this is a Warner Brothers precode where basic situations are stretched to implausible points, and the original conflicts are often exaggerated out of proportion.
Though the story becomes less logical in spots, there are still plenty of engaging and highly dramatic moments. One of these moments involves Francis going off on a vacation to a resort, where she bumps into the still-married Talbot who has been in exile the whole time. Francis rekindles the old flame and has an affair with Talbot.
The affair results in a pregnancy. Since this is a precode, the issue turns into whether she will keep the baby and raise it as a single mother. Remember, she is still a super woman and can do almost anything with ease. Plus she has Farrell’s continued help.
Talbot will not be helping her with the unborn child, because his father-in-law has managed to help him avoid prosecution, provided Talbot return to his marriage with Todd. This way he won’t go to jail, and more importantly, will keep the family from being embroiled in a public scandal.
While Talbot is staying off the front pages and staying on the social register with Todd and his in-laws, the story focuses on Francis who went off to Paris to have her baby. But there is a distressing new problem after Francis has given birth and is on a ship back to the U.S. with her newborn. A group of children traveling on board have been afflicted with polio.
This leads to Francis’ baby contracting the disease and dying. It is a huge turning point in the film and there is much melodrama, as she must decide whether to commit suicide after losing her baby, or if there’s a reason to go on living.
Ultimately, she does soldier on, because she realizes she is still useful as a doctor, which brings the story full-circle in a way. After reaching New York, she is reunited with Talbot which rang a bit false to me. Why would she want to go back to a guy whose values were so warped, a guy who is unable to remain faithful to a spouse and should for all intents and purposes, be in prison?
But I guess the audience needed a swell romantic ending, and to know that Dr. Mary Stevens will not be a fully realized super woman unless she is also the Mrs. of a man who is not worthy of her.
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Post by Fading Fast on Feb 17, 2024 14:48:50 GMT
Mary Stevens M.D. from 1933 with Kay Francis, Lyle Talbot and Glenda Farrell
Warner Bros., in its inimitable precode way, lets the melodrama rip as it races through several social issues in Mary Stevens M.D. A female doctor, casual sex, corrupt politicians and padded medical bills are just some of the precode "issues" in this fast-paced picture.
Kay Francis plays a doctor at a time when women physicians were rare, but they did exist, which means they went to medical school, completed internships and joined or started practices in the 1920s and 1930s. Despite our modern view, the door was never bolted shut.
Francis, at first oddly dressed like a 1930s Soviet Union military nurse, establishes a practice adjacent to her childhood friend and fellow doctor, played by Lyle Talbot. They both had idealistic views about their future as physicians.
Francis stays the course, but Talbot marries into a socially prominent and politically connected family. His father-in-law installs him as the head physician at a medical agency where Talbot, with tacit approval from his father-in-law, pads the bills to line his pockets.
This hurts Francis in two ways. First, she has always carried a torch for Talbot, but he's only seen her as a friend and, second, she believes in his integrity and genuinely hates to see him selling out.
There's a telling scene where Talbot takes Francis for a ride in his new Duesenberg and she asks how a physician earning four-thousand dollars a year can afford an eighteen-thousand-dollar automobile. Political graft and medical billing fraud are nothing new.
The movie then goes full precode melodrama. Talbot's marriage stumbles and he's investigated by the government for his billing practices. He also has an affair with Francis, but his wife won't agree to a divorce. Yet, hold on, there's even more melodrama coming.
Francis discovers she's "with child," but without a marriage licence at a time when that mattered socially and to her career. So with her loyal friend and nurse, played by Glenda Farrell, and without telling Talbot about the baby, she takes an overseas "vacation."
To tell more is to give the climax away, but amazingly Warners poured in more melodrama from here, even managing to work a dramatic seaplane "rescue" into the story. The plane itself is a cool, albeit kludgy looking piece of 1930s technology.
Francis has an atypical look, but she was a huge star for most of the 1930s. You see here that she was very comfortable in the ripping melodramas of the precode era. Somebody in continuity, though, messed up, as her hair goes from long to short inconsistently throughout.
Talbot, also a big star of the precode era, is always a bit wooden, but still very good in these types of stories, especially, as happens in this movie, when the real lead is the female actress. He's mainly here to be the mancandy to Francis' personal drama.
The extra kick in this one comes from Glenda Farrell, piquantly playing a character named Glenda Carroll. Farrell often plays the sassy but loyal sidekick in the 1930s, as she does to Francis here. She brings both humor, her one liners are pitch perfect, and compassion.
Mary Stevens M.D. is just another "assembly line" precode from Warners, but as precodes often did, it blasts through several social issues, while amazingly advocating for women's rights, political reform and an open mindedness toward adult sexual relationships and foibles. |
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Post by topbilled on Feb 25, 2024 17:14:58 GMT
This neglected film is from 1951.
Inside out
Usually I enjoy Bryan Foy’s makeshift productions, because they contain solid direction and gritty performances. Foy’s output often focuses on criminals, but this entry– which stars Steve Cochran– feels too much like a rehash of what he and director Wilbur Crane had accomplished in CANON CITY (1948) at Eagle-Lion.
Narration at the beginning preaches to us about abuses in the system. Also, we are told prisoners need wardens who will treat them like human beings, not animals. Nice intentions to be sure, but we’ve seen these kinds of social messages before; and we’ve already heard these speeches in other semi-documentaries.
As for Mr. Cochran he gets top billing but doesn’t have much to do in the beginning. The first half of the picture focuses on the officials who run Folsom Prison, which has been in operation since 1880. Specifically, we see how a corrupt warden (Ted de Corsia) runs the facility, usually by torturing his inmates. He’s a sadistic creep not unlike Hume Cronyn’s character in BRUTE FORCE (1947).
Then the focus shifts to David Brian, portraying a newly hired captain of the guards. Mr. Brian is meant to be the nice guy, a man genuinely dedicated to reform. His idea of cleaning things up means giving the prisoners meat to eat instead of beans; giving them valuable jobs; and preparing them for successful re-assimilation into society.
The second half of the film allows more screen time for Cochran. His character concocts an escape plan, in spite of Brian’s attempts to treat everyone fairly. Meanwhile tensions between de Corsia and Brian escalate, resulting in Brian’s ouster– which works to Cochran’s advantage.
With de Corsia now back in charge, life inside returns to how it was…more brutal than ever. Cochran is able to convince the others to go along with his scheme to revolt. This all builds to a huge riot.
At the time this film was made, twenty years had passed since MGM defined the formula in THE BIG HOUSE. But with the uninspired nature of this production, we have nothing more than a series of cliches.
The moral of the story? If structural reforms don’t occur, then conditions inside Folsom Prison and other such places will not improve. But most viewers already know this, because it’s common sense.
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Post by topbilled on Mar 2, 2024 13:38:15 GMT
This neglected film is from 1952.
Joan Crawford is dangerous
This early 1950s melodrama was produced by Warner Brothers and came at the end of Joan Crawford’s contract with the studio (she would soon work at RKO and Columbia). The script is contrived in spots and one gets the idea that Miss Crawford agreed to do it either for the money or as a way to satisfy her contract to start freelancing and have more control over scripts.
But in spite of its more far-fetched elements, I rather enjoy THIS WOMAN IS DANGEROUS. It takes us into the world of a female gangster who has gone deep into crime. She has a chance to redeem herself when an eye operation forces her to take a break from nefarious activities.
While recuperating from surgery, she falls in love with her doctor, a nice man played by Dennis Morgan (also at the end of his contract with the studio). They come from completely different worlds, but they are drawn to each other.
There is a sequence mid-way through the picture involving Crawford’s character, who is still one step ahead of the law. We have seen her fall in love with Morgan, against her better judgment.
At a critical juncture in their courtship, he has to stop at a women’s prison and check on an inmate. While he is inside the correctional facility, Crawford remains in the car smoking a cigarette. She glimpses a group of women being led into a building by a fierce warden (is there any other kind?).
The warden smells smoke and quickly inspects the gals to find out who has committed the infraction of sneaking a cigarette. At the same time, Crawford notices this and tries to conceal her own carefully lit tobacco.
There is a clever bit of editing– one of the nameless inmates puts out her cigarette behind her back, and the shot is perfectly matched with Crawford’s hand extinguishing her own cigarette in the car ashtray. We do not even see Crawford’s face– nothing beyond her wrist, but we know it is she. The filmmakers have done such a perfect job with the editing, we can logically make the jump from one woman and her cigarette to the other.
Small but effective edits like this draw us into the story. We know Miss Crawford’s character will wind up in prison like these other women, but maybe after she serves her time, she can reunite with her new love.
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Post by topbilled on Mar 15, 2024 7:48:49 GMT
This neglected film is from 1937.
Danger and tumbleweed lives
There’s a line in this Warner Brothers drama where Margaret Lindsay’s character laments the fact that boyfriend Pat O’Brien and his pal Henry Fonda prefer danger and tumbleweed lives over a more respectable way of living. They earn their keep as traveling linemen who go from region to region in search of jobs where they climb tall poles and metal scaffolds to do electrical work.
Fonda plays the title character, so nicknamed because he’s skinnier than everyone else. His character is an early version of Tom Joad three years before THE GRAPES OF WRATH, an aw-shucks farm boy who is not interested in milking cows on his uncle’s farm. Instead, he’d rather seek employment alongside O’Brien for a man affectionately known as Pop (J. Farrell MacDonald).
At first MacDonald won’t hire Fonda, thinking he doesn’t have what it takes. But when another man falls from the scaffold and is badly injured, there’s a job opening and Fonda pesters him into getting a chance to prove his worth. From here there are some excellent bonding scenes between O’Brien and Fonda, as Fonda is assigned grunt work under O’Brien. Soon Fonda is promoted and scaling the heights with his new mentor.
This is a buddy film in its most basic sense. Some of the male bonding scenes are offset by the inclusion of Lindsay who plays a nurse that O’Brien looks up every time he’s in Chicago. A recent visit has Fonda tagging along, which sets the stage for a romantic triangle.
During the second half of the story, viewers may wonder which guy Lindsay will wind up with. She has more history with O’Brien, but he has a phobia of commitment. In her scenes with Fonda, there are some sparks, but Fonda is too loyal and too faithful to cut in on O’Brien’s action. However, we know that Lindsay wouldn’t be in the film if she didn’t get one of the men to settle down with her. Since both men are fairly likable, meaning neither one is a villain, one is going to have to die doing some dangerous work. This will make the decision easier for Lindsay and the survivor to hook up.
Some lines of dialogue are rather fatalistic in the film. At one point O’Brien tells Fonda they need to live it up between jobs because they are only here (in Chicago and on earth) for a short time. A subsequent scene has O’Brien making a toast before drinking in a bar, by saying ‘may you live long and hard, then check out real fast.’
I guess with dialogue like this it’s pretty obvious O’Brien will die at the end and Fonda won’t. But this is still an engaging motion picture with some very sincere performances and nail-biting stunt work to recommend it.
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Post by topbilled on Mar 20, 2024 14:46:55 GMT
This neglected film is from 1950.
All’s well that ends well
This seldom-seen melodramatic crime flick from Warner Brothers has a lot to recommend it. It starts off with the entombment of the lead character, played by Kent Smith, who tells us that he has ended up in the bottom of a well on a remote estate called Sans Souci. We don’t know who put him there, and how his life spiraled out of control, but we do know that an extensive flashback will follow that is meant to fill in the gaps and answer our questions.
Smith was nearly 42 when he made this film and he looks at least ten years younger. Indeed, he aged nicely and was still a handsome man in minor roles during the 1970s. His leading lady in this film is European import Viveca Lindfors. Warners had also put Miss Lindfors into another brooding melodrama around this time, NIGHT UNTO NIGHT with Ronald Reagan.
In THIS SIDE OF THE LAW, she is a patient woman who has been waiting seven years to find out if her missing husband is dead or alive. Her husband looked very much like Smith, only the first part of the extended flashback tells us that Smith is not really the man she married, but an impostor.
An elaborate ruse has been set in motion by a crafty attorney (Robert Douglas) who glimpses Smith one day in a courtroom. Smith’s a down-on-his-luck vagrant appearing before a tough judge. Noticing the resemblance between Smith and his former employer, Douglas bails him out. Then he takes Smith to his office where he makes an intriguing proposition.
We learn that Douglas’ idea is to have Smith impersonate Lindfors’ husband who disappeared several years earlier. Douglas must carry out this plan, because he needs several important documents “signed” by Smith that will give control of the estate to him, under the guise of protecting Lindfors. What we don’t know during this part of the story is that Douglas is more than just a shyster, he’s a murderer, having killed Lindfors’ husband in cold blood. He disposed of the body in the old well where Smith later winds up.
Before the documents can be filed and these transactions made official, Douglas needs Smith to pretend to be the dead man for awhile. Smith goes along with the scheme, because he’s getting paid five grand for his trouble…and because he feels a need to look after Lindfors, whom he has naturally started to fall for…which doesn’t come as a surprise since she is so beautiful.
There is an important subplot involving the dead man’s brother (John Alvin) and his greedy wife (Janis Paige). They have been staying with Lindfors inside her spacious home and feel the estate should be theirs. Paige is really a piece of work in this picture. She had an affair with her deceased brother-in-law, and now that he’s “back” in the form of Smith, she makes another play for him.
Smith is not the same man, and he rebuffs her advances. She realizes he does not have a scar where he should have one, and she smells a rat. Not one to be deterred, she has a few tricks up her sleeve to gain control of the property and will resort to blackmail if necessary. This is where we find out she has also been involved with Douglas. Only she goes too far in her dealings with him and winds up dead.
The plot takes a few unexpected turns, when Paige’s husband blames her death on Smith…because he and his “brother” have always had issues…but the police clear Smith and rule Paige’s fatal tumble off a cliff as an accident. Meanwhile, Lindfors and Smith are not yet fully aware of Douglas’ many machinations but they are starting to suspect a few things.
Once Douglas has gotten Paige out of the way and is able to finalize the transactions to legally put the estate into his control, he no longer needs Smith or Lindfors. He manipulates Smith into leaving Sans Souci but of course, he has no intention of letting Smith leave alive. This is when he knocks Smith out and pushes him into the old well, which brings us to where this whole sordid drama started.
Smith desperately struggles to scale the rocky walls of the well to get out. He is aware that Lindfors is surely in danger, since he figures Douglas will engineer her death next. He finally reaches the top just as he hears Lindfors screaming for help.
He hurries off to save her, and this culminates in a deadly brawl with the brother, whom Douglas has goaded into attacking Smith. The brother falls off the cliff and dies just like Paige did earlier. Then Smith goes after Douglas. Ironically, their sparring leads back to the well and Douglas falls down into the well and dies there.
In the last segment, Smith confesses his role in Douglas’ plan to defraud Lindfors. But she is not going to press charges. She has forgiven him, because she loves him in a way that she never really loved her dead husband. All’s well that ends well.
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