Myrna's Married?

Magazine editor Margo Sherwood Merrick (Myrna Loy) is celebrating her first wedding anniversary alone. Or so her colleagues believe. The truth is, Margot is not married. Offered a promotion, Margot faked the marriage to discourage flirting by her boss Ralph Russell (William Halligan) and eventual firing at the instigation of his jealous wife (Marjorie Gatson). Her faux marriage also protects her from a number of unwanted suitors, including Philip Booth (Lee Bowman) and Hughie Wheeler (Sidney Blackmer). But when she meets artist Jeff Thompson (Melvyn Douglas), she begins to wonder about the benefits of that fictitious ring on her Third Finger, Left Hand (1940).

When it's a Myrna Loy movie, you really WANT to enjoy it. She is always so wonderful. Add the engaging Melvyn Douglas to the mix, and you SHOULD have an delightful film. But good as they are, even these actors need a script, and Third Finger, Left Hand really doesn't have much of one. The initial idea is good - a woman who pretends marriage to deflect unwelcome male advances on the job (surely a timely plot!) - but at a certain point, the screenplay runs out of steam and the picture just gets stupid.  For example, Margo has been carrying on this deception for a year, but she doesn't have a concrete description of her alleged husband, and each time she is asked, makes up a  new (rather asinine) one. Her father (Raymond Walburn) and sister (Bonita Granville as Vicky) never asked to see a picture or to know what he is like?  Margo should be smarter than that.

As a result, these two entertaining actors become irksome after a while, as they try to best and humiliate the other. If Margo is interested in Jeff, it's hard to imagine her as a simple housewife in Wapakinetta, Ohio. (We surmised that she will end up handling the business end of his art sales. He's really not all that good at it). Late in the film, the couple run into his neighbors from Wapakinetta, and Margo starts talking like a Brooklyn B-girl. Several members of the group were very distressed at her actions, though I myself found it fit revenge for his earlier behavior. Yet, there is so much plot between his actions and hers that it did, on many levels, seem out of place and inappropriate. It's as though the early chemistry between the two actors vanishes.

Not that there is any particular chemistry with any of her other suitors. Hughie, seen briefly, is a drunk, and Philip is boring. It's hard to imagine the intelligent Margo with any of them. In the long run, she would have been better off single.

There are several underused actors in the production, including Felix Bressart (August Winkel) and Bonita Granville. It's a shame to waste such talented people; when you see them in the cast, you expect them to be integral to the plot. Regretfully, they were not.

We thoroughly enjoyed the scenes with Ernest Whitman, as Pullman conductor Sam. Viewed from a 21st Century perspective, Sam is a wonder. A man eager to stimulate his mind, Sam has a law degree, which he pursued to alleviate the sameness of his job. Sam, as a matter of fact, is a far better lawyer than Philip, and proves an able adversary to Philip when Jeff solicits his assistance. Sam is also African-American.  Mr. Whitman spent most of his career, not surprisingly, playing bathroom attendants and African natives (The Road to Zanzibar). But he also had a stage, radio, and a brief television career, appearing as Bill Jackson in the radio and television versions of Beulah. He died in 1954, at the age of 61.

 

According to this TCM article, Ms. Loy and Mr. Douglas became lifelong friends. Their liberal politics and social activism united them.  Ms. Loy supported Helen Gahagan Douglas when she ran for the U.S. Senate against Richard Nixon (Nixon accused Congresswoman Douglas of being a Communist. She was not, but it worked. He won the election. For more concerning the election, visit this New York Times article.)

Though reviews were not generally enthusiastic, this New York Times review was actually complimentary towards Ms. Loy and Mr. Douglas.  The story was reused by the Lux Radio Theatre in September 1941 when they presented a radio version starring Martha Scott and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (AFI catalog).  We'll leave you with the trailer from the film.

Clifton is an Angel

An unborn child (Gigi Perreau) receives assistance from two angels, Arthur (Edmund Gwenn) and Charles (Clifton Webb), when her chosen parents, Lydia (Joan Bennett) and Jeff Bolton (Robert Cummings) just can't seem to get around to conceiving her. For Heaven's Sake (1950) tells the story of Charles' transformation into a human, named Slim (and patterned after Gary Cooper), ostensibly to assist the child. But human temptations affect Charles in ways he did not expect.

We had mixed reactions to this film. Most of the group found it mildly amusing, whereas I found it annoying. My issues were script related: 1. The child chooses the parents? Really? 2. Having a child will save a bad marriage. 3. When a woman wants to have a baby, she shouldn't tell her husband, she should just get herself pregnant. He'll come around.  For Heaven's Sake was based on a play by Harry Segall, who had a thing about angels. He also wrote the play on which Here Comes Mr. Jordan was based (AFI catalog).

We all agreed, however, that the script was pretty slim (no pun intended). The saving grace of the movie, however, Clifton Webb. Mr. Webb goes along with the silliness of the conceit, and as a result gives an enjoyable performance. According to Sitting Pretty: The Life and Times of Clifton Webb by Clifton Webb and David L. Smith, Mr. Webb was intrigued with the script because he wasn't playing "Clifton Webb."  He was also really intrigued with Charles' portrayal of Slim - it amused him to imitate Gary Cooper, and he was also eager to utter lines that were so linked to film westerns. Mr. Webb shaved his mustache and cut his hair to enhance the Gary Cooper imitation - it was the only sound film in which he didn't have the mustache. According to this TCM article, Mr. Webb said that "I always have children in my pictures because, I'm certain, it's punishment for having lived so long as a bachelor."

Edmund Gwenn was also very good in the role of Arthur. As the stabilizing influence on the actions of the film, he's called upon to respond as Charles' human body begins to react to temptations. Of particular amusement was a scene in which Charles and Arthur set the scene for our little girl's conception. The look on Mr. Gwenn's face especially was something that told the audience what was going on in the bedroom above, yet there was nothing about which the censors could complain.

Gigi Perreau and Tommy Rettig (in the small part of Joe, another child waiting to be conceived) were quite good as well. Ms. Perreau is ALMOST able to make you understand why she has picked the Boltons for her parents. And Mr. Rettig is adorable as a little boy whose parents really long for his arrival, but are unable to financially support a baby.

Joan Blondell (as playwright Daphne Peters) and Joan Bennett, however, are just wasted in the film. Ms. Blondell has about two decent scenes, both of which involve her trying to seduce Charles. Ms. Bennett just gets to be petulant. That the film is not about the women is emphasized by the lack of definition given to their characters. Ms. Blondell was returning to the screen after a three year absence - she had just divorced producer Michael Todd.

Jeff Bolton, on the other hand, has plenty of screen time, and is a totally obnoxious character.  In the spirit of honesty, two of our group are NOT members of the Robert Cummings fan club, and this was not a film in which he engenders any affection.  A lot of it is the fault of the script -  we really need to understand why our little girl wants to be his daughter. Cummings plays him as so self-centered that one wants to yell to the child "RUN AWAY."  Mr. Cummings had a long career, starting in uncredited parts in 1933. His roles varied throughout his career between A- and B-list films; regardless, he appeared in several notable films. Two for Alfred Hitchcock show him at his best - Saboteur (1942) and Dial M for Murder (1954). He was also good as the reluctant prince consort in Princess O'Rourke (1943). After a career on both on the stage and on radio, by the 1950s, Mr. Cummings had made the successful transition to television, with The Bob Cummings Show, and later My Living Doll. Mr. Cummings was married five times, and had seven children (his son Tony is an actor). On the recommendations of colleagues, Mr. Cummings, an advocate of healthy living, became a patient of Dr. Max Jacobson (aka Dr. Feelgood), who succeeded in addicting Mr. Cummings to methamphetamines (he thought he was taking a vitamin mixture). This addiction and Parkinson's Disease affected his ability to get acting jobs. He died in 1990, age 80, of pneumonia and kidney failure in the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital. (New York Times Obituary)

The TCM article listed above says that many of the reviews for the film were favorable, though the New York Times was not impressed. We'll leave you with the trailer for the film, to give you a taste.

Golden Boy and the Blacklist

Tom Moody (Adolphe Menjou), a fight promoter, is eager to make enough money to buy off his estranged wife and finally marry his mistress, Lorna Moon (Barbara Stanwyck). When Joe Bonaparte (William Holden) enters their lives, they think they have found their Golden Boy (1939), but there are problems. Besides being a talented fighter, Joe is a gifted violinist, and his father (Lee J. Cobb) strongly objects to Joe relinquishing his potential career as a musician for a life in the boxing ring - the the potential destruction of his hands.

Perhaps it seems unusual to look at a 1939 film as part of the Banned and Blacklisted Blogathon, but this film featured a great deal of talent that was, in one way or another, affected by the House UnAmerican Activities Committee (HUAC).  We'll take this opportunity to look at both the film, and the experiences of those involved in it during the period of the blacklist, in this year, the 70th anniversary of the beginning of this evil campaign.

My interest in the Blacklist really began in 1972, when Robert Vaughn (yes, THAT Robert Vaughn, the actor who appeared in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and had a PhD in Communications from University of Southern California) published Only Victims: A Study of Show Business Blacklisting.  The book demonstrated that everyone involved in the process in Hollywood was victim - from those who supported the blacklist, to the actual victims. Dr. Vaughn's title was  taken from a quote by Dalton Trumbo: "it will do no good to search for villains or heroes or saints or devils because there were none; there were only victims."

Barbara Stanwyck is, as always, excellent as Lorna Moon (interestingly, the play was purchased as a vehicle for Jean Arthur, with Frank Capra directing! (TCM article)). Ms. Stanwyck can take a scene, as she does when she is trying to convince Joe to continue fighting, and change her reaction on a dime.  Though filmed under the code, Lorna remains unpunished, despite the fact that she is clearly having an affair with the married Tom.  

Ms. Stanwyck was a staunch conservative - she objected to labor unions and only joined the Screen Actors' Guild when it became apparent that the new union would prevent her from working (A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True, 1907-1940). When the investigations of HUAC began, Stanwyck, like her husband Robert Taylor, became a member of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals. Whether she herself named names is information that is not recorded - Mr. Taylor certainly made a name for himself when he testified before HUAC on October 22nd, 1947, and named names (Howard Da Silva and Karen Morley, specifically). But Ms. Stanwyck was involved with a group that was busily hunting for Communists within the Hollywood rank-and-file.

So too was Adolphe Menjou a member of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals. His Tom Moody in our film is a rather banal man; it's hard to understand why Lorna would be interested in him, so it is easy to root for a relationship between Lorna and Joe. The day before Robert Taylor testified in front of the HUAC, Mr. Menjou testified. He fancied himself an expert on Communism, having read "over 150 books on the subject [of Russia]". He then accused John Cromwell of "acting an awful lot like a communist" (while acknowledging that he had no knowledge that Mr. Cromwell actually was a communist. He considered himself "a witch-hunter if the witches are Communists. . .a Red-baiter. I make no bones about it whatsoever. I would like to see them all back in Russia." Later, he would publicly attack many Hollywood liberals, including Katharine Heburn ("scratch a do-gooder, like Heburn, and they'll yell 'Pravda'."), infuriating Spencer Tracy and Ms. Hepburn who would only speak to Mr. Menjou onscreen when they filmed The State of the Union in 1948. (Katharine Hepburn: A Remarkable Woman by Anne Edwards)

William Holden is quite wonderful as Joe, a part for which John Garfield, Tyrone Power and Richard Carlson were all considered (AFI catalog).  This was his first real picture, and he almost got ousted from the film - only thanks to Barbara Stanwyck's intervention and coaching did he remain in the role that would effectively begin his career. When we discussed their only other film together, Executive Suite, we provided a clip of Ms. Stanwyck's tribute to Mr. Holden at the 1977 Oscars.  Though a participant in Hollywood Fights Back, a radio program hosted by the Committee on the First Amendment (the group protesting HUAC's activities), (J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the Movies: The FBI and the Origins of Hollywood's Cold War by John Sbardellati) Mr. Holden, unlike many of the other committee members (Marsha Hunt and Jane Wyatt among them) seems to have escaped unscathed from the morass of the blacklist. He even rejected vehement anti-Communist Hedda Hopper's advice when he appeared in The Bridge on the River Kwai, co-scripted by HUAC refugee Carl Foreman (Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood: Celebrity Gossip and American Conservatism by Jennifer Frost). Again, it did not affect his career.

Others in the cast were not as lucky. Lee J. Cobb (named by Larry Parks, himself a victim of the blacklist), and writer Clifford Odets (named by Leila Rogers, Ginger's mother) were blacklisted until they finally, in desperation, went before HUAC to name names (see this Study Guide from Lincoln Center, from a production of the play there). For more information on those affected by HUAC, visit this list.

Golden Boy had started as a Broadway play in 1937; many of those involved in that play were also targeted, including Mr. Cobb, Mr. Da Silva, Frances Farmer, Elia Kazan (who would become a symbol of the traitor when he named names to clear himself), Morris Carnovsky (named by Mr. Kazan) , Phoebe Brand (Mr. Carnovsky's wife; also named by Mr. Kazan), Luther Adler, and Roman Bohnen.  Jules Garfield, who would take Hollywood by storm under the name John Garfield was also in the Broadway play. He dearly wanted to play Joe Bonaparte, but was unable to get the needed studio loan-out to play Joe. Mr. Garfield, too, was targeted by HUAC, probably causing the heart attack that claimed his life at age 39.

These individuals, colleagues in 1939, would become adversaries for no real reason; yet the hatred that the Blacklist generated still remains.  In 2008, when Elia Kazan received a special Oscar, many in Hollywood either boycotted the award, or refused to applaud. (You can see the ceremony here). Was Mr. Kazan the only person who surrendered to HUAC? Are people like Lee J. Cobb and Clifford Odets evil because they caved into the pressure of not working in their chosen profession? And are we going to continue to punish the victims - because of their political beliefs, their race, creed, gender or sexual identity? That we can talk about the Blacklist in 2017 is a step in the right direction - let's keep the dialogue going, and remember it as a symbol of all the bias in our world.

We'll leave you of this scene featuring Ms. Stanwyck and Mr. Holden:

Cary and Robin, As You Wish

A small boy (Fred Savage) is laid up in bed due to illness.  His Grandfather (Peter Falk) comes to visit with his favorite book, The Princess Bride (1987). The boy is dubious, but as the story of Westley (Cary Elwes) and Buttercup (Robin Wright) unfolds, the youngster finds himself captivated by the tale.

TCM  Big Screen Classics for October featured the 30th Anniversary showing of this lovely story, along with an opportunity to hear director Rob Reiner talk a bit about his experiences on the film. The Princess Bride has a very interesting history - the book was written by William Goldman (author of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). After the book's release, Robert Redford, Norman Jewison, and Francois Truffaut all expressed interest in filming it (Vanity Fair article). Rob Reiner had also loved the book - it was his favorite (it had been given to him by his father, Carl Reiner), and he eventually approached Goldman about taking it on. Some convincing had to be done - Reiner related that The Princess Bride was Goldman's favorite of his works, and he didn't want it to be ruined. Needless to say, it wasn't!

The cast is altogether delightful, but our favorite characters were Valerie (Carol Kane) and Miracle Max (Billy Crystal). Mr. Reiner talked about his experiences with Mr. Crystal, who ad-libbed some of his dialogue (including the "mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwich"), resulting in Mr. Reiner having to leave the set for a time - his laughing kept interrupting the action.  The scenes are superb - from word one to the conclusion ("Have fun stormin' the castle").

This was Robin Wright's breakout film role - though the film "introduced" her, she had been on screen before. She had appeared on one TV show, a TV film, and a small part in Hollywood Vice Squad (1986). At the time she filmed The Princess Bride, she was a regular in the soap opera Santa Barbara (AFI Catalog).  Ms. Wright is very good, though I have a problem with one scene. When Westley is attacked by the Rodent of Unusual Size, Buttercup just stands there watching, and doesn't react until it finally goes after her. Princess, pick up a stick and hit the darn thing. If it kills Westley, it's going for you next!

I confess to not being a Mandy Patinkin fan, by and large, but as Inigo Montoya, he is perfect. He learned to fence with both hands for the film (as did Carey Elwes), and he plays Inigo straight. Had there been the slightest bit of satire in his demeanor, the part would have fallen flat. Because Inigo believes in his quest, we do to, and we root for him to find the man who killed his father.

Christopher Guest is wonderfully despicable as Count Rugan, and makes a perfect partner to Chris Sarandon's Prince Humperdink. Both play their roles with relish, and while they are a bit overstated, it really works in the film.

Before I close, I need to talk briefly about the frame story between the Grandfather and Grandson. The relationship between the two makes the film very special. The Grandson doesn't want to see his Grandfather because he will pinch the boy's cheek (of course he does), and the boy isn't really interested in the story at first, because it is not about sports, and because there is kissing. Yet, we feel the love between the two, and watch the boy become engroseed in this story which was also read to his father years before. Peter Falk just exudes love for his Grandson, and Fred Savage is the perfect pre-teen boy. Mr Falk's line, "when I was your age, television was called books" is marvelous! I looked forward to their "interruptions" in the main story.

While The Princess Bride was not a box-office bonanza, it did relatively well in initial release. Since then, it has become widely popular. It was named #88 on  AFI 100 Years, 100 Passions, and in 2016 it was added to the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. It even has its own fan website; visit for trivia games and film clips.

We'll leave you with these scenes of Westley's signature line.

Garbo Laughs Over Lunch

When Russian representatives Iranoff (Sig Rumann), Buljanoff (Felix Bressart), and Kopalski (Alexander Granach) are sent to Paris to sell the jewels of the Grand Duchess Swana (Ina Claire), the negotiations do not go smoothly. The Grand Duchess, now living in Paris, initiates a lawsuit, and the three agents find themselves seduced by the entrancing Parisian lifestyle. Enter Nina Ivanovna Yakushova - or Ninotchka (Greta Garbo) - a stern Communist envoy, sent to find out the reason for the delay. Determined to not fall into the same pit as her predecessors, Ninotchka (1939) instead finds herself succumbing to the wooing of Count Leon d'Algout (Melvyn Douglas), a ne'er-do-well playboy, and Swana's latest lover.

In conjunction with the Food in Film Blogathon, we'll look at Ninotchka though the lens of food and beverage. Ernst Lubitsch's film sparkles like the champagne that intoxicates Ninotchka and Leon and satisfies like Ninotchka's workman's lunch. A nominee for the 1939 Best Picture Oscar, it marked a redemption for Greta Garbo who had been labeled as "Box Office Poison" in 1938. This was her first comedy, and resulted in the last of her 3 nominations for the Best Actress Oscar. (She'd already been nominated for Anna Christie (1930) and Camille (1938)). In 1955, she was awarded an Honorary Oscar. Not surprisingly, she did not attend the ceremony.

Food represents a corrupting influence in Ninotchka.  Among the initial temptations that seduce Iranoff, Buljanoff, and Kopalski is the readily available room service in their luxurious hotel. Ninotchka tries to resist the temptation by eating lunch where working men eat, but even there she is expected to relish her food and care about what she is eating. Leon cautions her that she has insulted the restaurant owner and must apologize "by eating everything that he brings you with relish, by drinking everything with gusto, by having a good time for the first time in your natural life!"  Ninotchka's ultimate downfall is represented when she is drunk on champagne. She's been raised on goat's milk and vodka. Champagne is a new, heady experience for her.

In comparison, the lack of food in Russia is constant theme. The jewels that the ambassadors are in Paris to sell will provide food for the citizens. Grand Duchess Swana convinces Ninotchka to leave Paris by pointing out the number of people who will starve while their court case if fought. When the quartet return to Russia, they pool their ration of a single egg apiece to make an omelet. Finally,when Iranoff, Buljanoff, and Kopalski again leave Russia - never to return - it is to open a restaurant in Turkey.

Greta Garbo is amazing in the film. Yet, her two most intriguing scenes were ones she did not want to play.  According to this TCM article, Garbo was reluctant to play the drunk scene - finding it "unbecoming".  Co-star Melvyn Douglas also stated that she "was unable to articulate so much as a titter during the shooting of the restaurant scene." Yet, somehow in the film, laugh she did, and legend was born.

Bela Lugosi has almost a cameo appearance as Commissar Razinin. With his beard and scowl, he is properly menacing (he's been mentioned prior to his appearance as someone with whom you do not want to tangle).  It's a good role, and makes for an interesting break from the horror films that would dominate his career. 

Both Cary Grant and William Powell were considered for the role of Leon (AFI Catalog); Melvyn Douglas is excellent in the role. You believe him both as a wastrel and as a man who is sincerely in love for the first time. A stage actor with Broadway experience, Mr. Douglas came to film with the advent of sound. He continued to work in both mediums, adding radio and television to his resume, until his death in 1981 - 14 months after the death of his wife of nearly 50 years Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas.  The pair met while appearing in the Broadway production of Tonight or Never (Mr. Douglas had been previously married and had a son). They had two children; their grand-daughter is actress Illeana Douglas.

The story was redone as a play on the Paris stage in 1950, as well as a radio play (part of the Screen Guild Theater) with Joan Fontaine and William Powell in the leads.  A musical followed in 1954. Silk Stockings, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, and starring Hildegarde Neff and Don Ameche (and with a very young Julie Newmar in a minor role) ran for 478 performances.  The film version, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse was released in 1957. Then, in 1960, a television version of Ninotchka was aired on ABC, with Maria Schell and Gig Young in the leads.

There were, not surprisingly, censorship issues. The Russians didn't like the film (and threatened theater owners in Vienna with reprisals if they exhibited the film!). As this New Yorker article points out, it won no love from the Germans either - the German couple at the railroad station issuing their salute to the Fuhrer is a clear barb at the Nazis. Lubitsch was no fan of the German Reich - three years later, he would release his biting comedy, To Be or Not To Be (1942).  Regardless, the New York Times was in heaven, calling Ninotchka "one of the sprightliest comedies of the year." Besides the awards mentioned above, it was also nominated for Best Writing (Original Story) and Best Writing (Screenplay). It ranks at #52 on AFI 100 Years, 100 Laughs.

We'll leave you with this scene, of Garbo laughing (and eating - and she's not eating "raw beets and carrots"). Enjoy!