Bette is Marked

Gangster Johnny Vanning (Eduardo Ciannelli) has purchased the Club Intime, forcing hostesses Mary Dwight Strauber (Bette Davis), Gabby Marvin (Lola Lane), Emmy Lou Egan (Isabel Jewell),  Estelle Porter (Mayo Methot), and Rosalind Marquis (Florrie Liggett) to work for him. Mary is well aware of the hazards of being in Johnny's employ - he murdered a hostess in another of his clubs - but she figures if she does her job and keeps her distance, all will be well.  But things go awry when her younger sister Betty Strauber (Jane Bryan) arrives for a visit on the same day that Mary is arrested for the murder of club client Ralph Krawfurd (Damian O'Flynn), an out-of-town visitor who stiffed Johnny. Our film this week is Marked Woman (1937). 

Jack Warner read the newspapers regularly - he considered them a source for stories for his studio. The reports on the arrest and prosecution of Charles "Lucky" Luciano by New York Attorney General Thomas E. Dewey piqued his interest. The charge was compulsory prostitution, and several prostitutes were convinced to testify against Luciano, despite the danger implicit in such an action (Marked Women: Prostitutes and Prostitution in the Cinema by Russell Campbell). While the movie denies its relationship "to any person living or dead," Mr. Warner had clearly ordered a story based on this famous trial. (DVD Documentary: Marked Woman: Ripped from the Headlines)

Bette Davis had just returned to Warner's after losing a court battle against the studio (TCM article). However, she came back to a strong role in an excellent film.  Ms. Davis as Mary Dwight is the lynch pin in the story - she is strong, intelligent, determined, but she is also a woman with a human side. Her love for her sister is the most important part of who she is, and Ms. Davis gives a performance that clicks on all levels.  She was determined to make Mary believable. For her appearance in a later scene (after Mary is beaten for her refusal to cow-tow to Vanning), Ms. Davis went to her own doctor to get properly bandaged and "damaged" for the hospital scene, as she thought the Warner's makeup department made her look as though she was wearing "a cream puff of gauze" (Dark Victory: The Life of Bette Davis by Ed Sikov). When she returned (and a horrified guard called the office to report that Ms. Davis had been in a horrible accident), Warner and producer Hal Wallis agreed to her makeup, as long as she removed the broken nose she was sporting! 

In 1937, Humphrey Bogart was not known for playing heroes. He came close in The Great O'Malley, playing a family man who is sent to jail by a by-the-book cop. But he'd also appeared as a white supremacist in Black Legion and as gangsters in Dead End, Kid Galahad, and San Quentin that same year. Here, Bogart takes on the mantle of Thomas Dewey, playing a crusading district attorney. He's excellent throughout the film, but is especially wonderful in a scene where he has to deliver some bad news to Ms. Davis

It was on the set of this film that Mr. Bogart met Mayo Methot (who gives a touching performance as Estelle); both were married at the time, but that didn't stop them from beginning a relationship. They married they following year, but the marriage was notorious for its violence. (Hollywood's Hard-Luck Ladies: 23 Actresses Who Suffered Early Deaths, Accidents, Missteps, Illness and Tragedies by Laura Wagner)  Nicknamed "The Battling Bogarts," they drank deeply and often, usually resulting in violent arguments - his nickname for her was "Sluggy". (Architectural Digest, 2016). As time wore on, Mr. Bogart came to fear and pity Ms. Methot; when he met young actress Lauren Bacall in 1944, he finally asked for a divorce. Suffering from alcoholism and depression, Ms. Methot eventually moved to her home town of Portland, Oregon, when she died in 1951. Mr. Bogart sent flowers to her gravesite until his own death (Portland Monthly, 2011)

The film is enhanced by the talents of number of magnificent character actors working at Warner Brothers. Allen Jenkins (Louie), always a delight, has a brief moment as a dress salesman. John Litel (Gordon) is convincing as Johnny Vanning's lawyer. Ben Welden is frightening as Vanning's henchman Charlie. After a substantial career playing small parts in film, Mr. Welden would move onto television, where he again took on character roles - including appearances in 8 episodes of The Adventures of Superman.  Eduardo Ciannelli is effective as the menacing Vanning. Casting Mr. Ciannelli also emphasizes the fact that Vanning is supposed to be Luciano. Sure, "Johnny Vanning" isn't an Italian name, but using the very Italian Ciannelli in the part eliminates any doubt of who Vanning is supposed to be.

The ladies who work as the club hostesses are also excellent. We've touched on Ms. Methot, but it is worth mentioning the efforts of Lola Lane and Isabel Jewell. Neither actress ever gets the attention they deserve - Ms. Jewell always turns in memorable performances, that you forget are her because she so inhabits the character, as she does here. 

Jane Bryan is also good in her small, but pivotal role. Ms. Bryan started her career at the Hollywood Theatre Workshop. A contract with Warner Brothers and support from Bette Davis led her to make 18 pictures (four with Ms. Davis) between 1936 and 1940 (She's featured in this Life article, when she appeared in The Old Maid). In 1939, Ms. Bryan retired from films after she married head of Rexall Drugs, Justin Dart (The Independent, 2009). The couple were married for 45 years and had three children (until Mr. Dart's death in 1984). Ms. Bryan worked as a governor of the Los Angeles Natural History Museum and advocated for the arts. She died, age 90, in 2009.

Originally titled The Men Behind  (AFI catalog), the film got a good review from Frank S. Nugent in the New York Times ("a dramatically concise script, a shrewd director, and an extremely capable supporting cast") Life similarly praised the film in this article from April 19, 1937. This is an excellent and compelling drama, well worth your time. We'll leave you with this trailer: