DeForest Has a Nightmare

Vince Grayson (DeForest Kelley) awakens from a nightmare - he dreamed he killed a man who was trying to strangle him. However, his nightmare enters the world of reality when he notices finger marks on his neck, and finds a key and button in his pocket. This week, we'll be talking about Fear in the Night (1947).

Based on a story by Cornell Woolrich, this taut noir took some of its inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock.  Certainly, it is not of the caliber of a Hitchcock film, but the elements are there. And it is an enjoyable film - short, tightly crafted, and well-acted.

DeForest Kelley makes his feature film debut as the tortured innocent who cannot dismiss the idea that he may have killed someone.  He puts just the right amount of angst into the character; though his brother-in-law, police detective Cliff Herlihy (Paul Kelly) poo-poos the idea that Vince's idee fixe is anything more than a dream, Vince cannot escape from the clues that point to a very real murder.

As a fan of classic Star Trek, Mr. Kelley has become inexorably linked for me (and for many others) to the character of Leonard "Bones" McCoy. But he had a long and varied career prior to joining the Star Trek universe. He did a great deal of episodic television, films, and also did some work on radio.  In 1960, he appeared in an episode of Alcoa Theatre titled "333 Montgomery". It was written by Gene Roddenberry. In 1967, he appeared in another Roddenberry piece, Police Story, a pilot that never came to fruition. But Mr. Roddenberry liked what he saw, and offered Mr. Kelley his choice of either Spock or McCoy in Star Trek (Remembering DeForest Kelley). His choice helped to create in one of the most successful franchises in TV history.  Mr. Kelley died in 1999 at the age of 79 - his legacy, as he saw it, was the number of people who had become physicians because of McCoy (New York Times obituary).

When the film was released, Paul Kelly got lead billing. If you find a copy of it these days, you’ll notice a different Kelley listed first.  Regardless, Mr. Kelly does a good job as a dedicated police officer and loving husband whose concern for his wife includes looking out for her younger brother. 

The two women in the cast, Ann Doran (Lil Herlihy) and Kay Scott (Betty Winters) don't get a lot to do except look anxious.  It's a shame in the case of Ms. Doran, who's a wonderful actress with an impressive list of credits, usually in character parts.  For Ms. Scott, it's hard to know - this was her first film. She only made seven more, all uncredited, at which point she seems to have retired.

Robert Emmett Keane (Lewis Belknap) is worth mentioning - his performance is quite menacing and very convincing.  The audience is pretty certain from the moment we see him that he is up to no good, but we really enjoyed watching him hover over the story like a dark cloud.

This film fell into the public domain some time ago, and thus the prints that you see are not really of superior quality.  The film is very dark, and it's hard to know how much is the decision of the cinematographer, and now much is deterioration.  Regardless, we found the opening of the film, with its dark, almost blurry look to be effective - its fits the mood of the film, rather like walking into a haunted house on Halloween.

When Fear in the Night was reviewed by Bosley Crowther of the New York Times, he not only expressed his disdain for it, he didn't even sign the review, which was credited to B.C. The subsequent years have been kinder to the movie, as you can see from this discussion by the Toronto Film Society

The director of this film, Maxwell Shane, decided he wanted one more try at the story, and remade in 1956 as Nightmare, starring Edward G. Robinson (AFI Catalog). While Fear in the Night is not the best film ever made, it is an enjoyable 72 minutes and worth a viewing. 

We'll leave you with a scene with Kelly and Kelley:

Robert Meets Jane

After several thugs beat Dan Milner (Robert Mitchum) with claims that he owes a gambling debt, Milner is offered an opportunity - go to a ritzy resort in Mexico, all expenses paid, and stay for one year. En route, he meets Lenore Brent (Jane Russell), a wealthy woman who is also going to the resort. When he arrives, he meets various characters, including hunting-mad actor Mark Cardigan (Vincent Price), FBI Agent Bill Lusk (Tim Holt), and the threatening Thompson (Charles McGraw). But what is becoming clear is that Dan is in danger.  Our film this week is His Kind of Woman (1951).

Any discussion of this film has to start with the fact that it is weird. It's classed as a film noir in many publications, but it is more than that - it's got a little marital melodrama, elements of the traditional gangster film, and a lot of comedy.  This by no means is to intimate that it is a bad film - there is pleasure in weirdness, and there certainly is in His Kind of Woman.

 

The audience is often in the same situation as Dan Milner - going on an unknown ride, with precious little information to guide us.  We know from the start that Nick Ferraro (Raymond Burr) is up to something, and that Dan's appearance is part of the factor, but we aren't sure of what, which adds to the suspenseful aspects of the film.  There is supposed to be a resemblance between Dan and Ferraro, but the camerawork also makes it seem that Mr. Mitchum is much taller than Mr. Burr (there was actually only a 1 inch difference in their heights), so we finally see the two together, the similarities are slim at best. 

Mr. Burr was the THIRD person cast in the role of Ferraro, a character loosely based on Lucky Luciano (TCM article).  Lee Van Cleef had shot his scenes when Howard Hughes informed his second director, Richard Fleischer (more on that later) that he didn't like Van Cleef.  So Fleischer re-filmed all the scenes with Robert J. Wilke, only to have Mr. Burr walk in one day to tell Fleischer that Mr. Hughes had ordered Mr. Burr to the set to again re-film the Ferraro scenes (Movies!TV). Mr. Burr is convincingly menacing as Ferraro - even in stillness, he has an air of danger around him. It's been said that, in one of the intense fight scenes, he accidentally knocked out Robert Mitchum (AFI catalog). We felt he was a real asset to the film, but three different filmings does seem a bit excess. 

Robert Mitchum was Howard Hughes only choice for the role, and he's excellent as a man way out of his depth.  In the extended ending, he is truly fearful - something you don't often see from a hero.  Also, he has an excellent rapport with his fellow actors, especially with Jane Russell (who became his long-time friend with this film) and Vincent Price (who called Mr. Mitchum "an extraordinary actor" who was "heaven to work with").  

Jane Russell brings just the right amount of street smarts to the character of Lenore, who is really Liz Brady, a former singer trying hard to find a rich husband.  She and Mr. Mitchum bounce off of one another beautifully; she's also smart and gutsy.  When the final showdown begins, she's all set to storm the gates with Mr. Price's ragtag army.  She brings a sweetness to Liz that is refreshing - yes, she's planning to marry Mr. Price for his money, but the audience never feels that she is completely mercenary. 

 

Some other supporting parts worth mentioning are Jim Backus as a professional gambler who is using his skills to railroad a newlywed into his bed - watch for the Casablanca-inspired scene with Leslye Banning (Jennie Stone), who was, in fact, Jane Russell's sister-in-law.  Ms. Banning and Mr. Russell were divorced in the 1950s; she remarried and had a total of 10 children - 3 with Mr. Russell and 7 with her second husband Keith Rogers, to whom she is still married). Marjorie Reynolds (Helen Cardigan) as Cardigan's estranged wife and Tim Holt have far too little screen time, in our estimation, but both (especially Ms. Reynolds) make the best with what they have.

I've saved the best for last - Vincent Price is amazingly funny as the actor who takes on the villains. Mr. Price looks like he is enjoying himself in the part, and it brings some much needed relief at the end of the film when the sadism level reaches it's peak.  Howard Hughes was particularly enamored with the character of Mark Cardigan, and insisted that it be substantially expanded. Watching Mr. Price spout Shakespeare (and for those who have watched the commentary by film historian and academic Vivian Sobchack, they is NOT all from Hamlet. Mark quotes Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest) and throw his cape around is immensely funny. At the same time, you have to admire his bravery, as well as his intelligence - watch him figure out exactly where an attacker is hiding.

It would take more space than we have here to go into detail on the varied and sundry changes made to this film - Eddie Muller's intro and outro for the film's presentation on Noir Alley will give you a really good overview. The short version is that director John Farrow refused to make the emendations that Howard Hughes wanted - the expansion of Vincent Price's scenes, and a long ending that involved beating and torturing Mitchum's Dan Milner (it's amazing that this film got through the PCA!). So, Hughes brought in Richard Fleischer and told him he would only release The Narrow Margin IF Mr. Fleischer subbed as director for the scenes he wanted. By the time the film ended, Mr. Mitchum had been on the production for one year, having shot some of the extremely intense scenes many times with different actors.  He finally lost it one day, and destroyed much of the set when he was shooting a fairly violent episode yet again.

The New York Times review by H.H.T. (Howard Thompson) was abysmal, calling it "one of the worst Hollywood pictures in years".  It lost money upon release, primarily because Hughes spent so much money in reshooting that the budget was overly inflated.  In recent years, it has been viewed more positively, with Senses of Cinema say it is one of  "classics of narrative perversity" and TimeOut saying that in spite of its oddness it is "an unforgettable delight".

If only to see Vincent Price, we heartily recommend of viewing of this peculiar film.  We'll leave you with the trailer:

William and Myrna Investigate Again

It’s a year After the Thin Man (1936) investigation, and Nora (Myrna Loy) and Nick Charles (William Powell) return to their San Francisco home on New Year’s Eve, To Nick’s dismays a command visit by Nora’s aunt, Katherine Forrest (Jessie Ralph) awaits them. It seems that Nora’s cousin Selma Landis (Elissa Landi) has been abandoned by her husband Robert (Alan Marshal), and Selma is frantic.

If this film doesn't quite have the magic of the original film, it's pretty darn close (and if you'd not seen the first one, you wouldn't care there was something better). Mr. Powell and Mr. Loy remain in top form, and Mr. Powell is given another character to bounce off - this time in the person of Jessie Ralph's domineering Aunt Katherine.  Every time she calls him NICHO-LAAS, you fall down laughing. 

What begins as a simple case of marital neglect becomes a series of murders, with Selma Landis as the key suspect.  It's hard to sympathize with Selma - she's a doormat. Her husband is a boor, he's a serial philanderer, and she knows that he only married her for her money. When she begins begging him to return to her, one cringes. Selma has no gumption - she crawls to her husband and cowers from her aunt. Even her relationship with Nora - who really cares for her cousin - is that of a supplicant.  It doesn't help that Ms. Landi really overacts the part. 

That David Graham (James Stewart) would be passionately in love with Selma seems a stretch. The only time she seems to have rebelled against anyone is when she jilted David for Robert. But Mr. Stewart, who was starting to get lead parts (Born to Dance (1936) was released just before this film) is excellent in a very complex part.  According to Ms. Loy's biography, he was thrilled to be in the movie, and ran around the set telling everyone "There ought to be a law against any man who doesn't marry Myrna Loy!" (Myrna Loy: The Only Good Girl in Hollywood by Emily W. Leider). They had already appeared in the same film (though with no on-screen time) in Wife vs. Secretary that same year.

This was the first big role for Dorothy McNulty (Polly Byrnes), who would change her name to Penny Singleton in 1938 (AFI Catalog) and go on to fame in the Blondie series - all 28 films of it. She's good in the part - Polly's a tough woman, and serves as an interesting counterpoint to Selma the wimp. In the long run, I think we ended up liking Polly a lot more (even if she is a conniver!) 

Other supporting actors provide interesting performances. Joseph Calleia (Dancer) is properly menacing as the nightclub owner who is using Robert Landis for his own purposes. A short scene with Fingers (Harry Taylor), another of Nick's buddies, is very amusing. And finally, there is Sam Levene (Lieutenant Abrams), who takes on the part of the harried police officer.  Mr. Levene is excellent, and he and Mr. Powell have the rapport that is necessary to make the relationship between the detective and the investigator work.  

Asta gets a bigger part in this movie - he has a "wife" who is flirting with another dog, much to Asta's disgust. It's a cute bit, and was probably added because of the popularity of the animal from the prior film.

When Ms. Loy saw that she and Mr. Powell were being advertised as a screen team, she decided that receiving half the salary Mr. Powell was getting was not enough. So, she stood her ground and held out for an equal salary to Mr. Powell - and Louis B. Mayer gave it to her! (TCM article). And, if only for this film, Ms. Loy does seem to know how to knit.

The opening of the film makes of a big point of the fact that Nick and Nora are arriving in San Francisco on the Sunset Limited, a train that ran from New Orleans to San Francisco. Since, at the end of the first movie, the Charles' were on the train to San Francisco (and it is just after Christmas in that film), we know that the action in After the Thin Man is likely one year after the first movie.

The New York Times review by Frank S. Nugent was positive calling it "one of the most urbane comedies of the season". And indeed it is.  We'll leave you with the trailer:

William and Myrna Investigate

The disappearance of The Thin Man (1934), Clyde Wynant (Edward Ellis), and the suspicion that he is responsible for several murders, brings his friend, former police detective Nick Charles(William Powell) out of retirement. His wife, Nora (Myrna Loy) and their dog Asta come along to assist in the investigation.

The reasons this film is listed as an Essential (Jeremy Arnold The Essentials: 52 Must-See Movies and Why They Matter) are the two stars. The interactions between Ms. Loy and Mr. Powell are phenomenal. Their banter is clever and loving; it sparkles like the champagne they drink. It's easy to understand why the public thought them a happily married couple - they play the part so perfectly. As Jeanine Basinger said, "Loy and Powell know how...cooperate without losing individuality. They're Fred and Ginger OFF the dance floor" (I Do and I Don't: A History of Marriage in the Movies).

Ms. Loy had spent most of her career playing exotics. This role completely changed her image, and she would eventually do 14 films with Mr. Powell, six of which were part of The Thin Man series. She wasn't the first choice for the film - Louis B. Mayer wanted silent film star Laura LaPlante to play Nora, but director Woody Van Dyke, who had worked with her and Mr. Powell in Manhattan Melodrama (1934), insisted on Ms. Loy, and won the argument (TCM The Big Idea). She gives Nora an intelligence that, in lesser hands, would have made the character seem like a ditz.

Much of the credit for the success of the film goes to director Woody Van Dyke.  He wanted the two actors to re-team, recognizing their easy relationship from his prior experience with them. He also encouraged his actors to be more spontaneous - when William Powell started shooting balloons off the Charles' Christmas tree with an air gun off-camera, Mr. Van Dyke just worked the routine in the the picture (TCM Behind the Camera).

 

Maureen O'Sullivan as Dorothy Wynant, the only appealing person in that family, didn't particularly like the film because her part was very small. She also disliked Mr. Van Dyke's fast shooting style - the film was completed in between 12 and 18 days (TCM The Essentials). Authors Albert Hackett & Frances Goodrich modified the character of Dorothy from the original Dashiell Hammett novel. Dorothy was far less appealing - "a rather silly, heavy-drinking girl" (Mystery Classics on Film: The Adaptation of 65 Novels and Stories by Ron Miller). This change works well, as it gives the audience someone who cares about the missing inventor with whom we can sympathize. Claude Wynant is not all that pleasant, and the rest of his family are distasteful. That we sympathize with Dorothy makes it more palatable that Nick would continue the investigation. 

 

 

Thankfully, Nat Pendleton (Detective John Guild)  gets to play a police officer who is good at his job. Sure, he's not brilliant like Nick, but he's smart enough to realize that he has the help of an outstanding detective, and he uses his colleague's skills with gratitude. We liked Detective Guild, and his easy relationship with Mr. Powell.  

The film has the advantage of a number of excellent character performers. While all are pretty disagreeable characters, the actors give the right bite to their parts - Porter Hall as Lawyer MacCaulay, Minna Gombell as the unreliable former Mrs. Wynant (Mimi), and a very young Cesar Romero as her current husband, Chris Jorgenson.  

 

William Henry, who Dorothy's odd brother Gilbert, would go on to have a long and varied career - the quintessential working actor. He appeared in films from 1925 until 1971 (in later years, often uncredited). In 1951, he added television to his credits, appearing in shows like Rawhide, Bonanza, and The Six Million Dollar Man (his final role). He died in 1982, at the age of 67.

While the ending is a bit convoluted - Mr. Powell complained that he was having trouble sorting out the complicated plot - the audience doesn't really care who did the murder, we are more interested in watching Nick figured it out. The popularity of the film, besides generating 5 more Thin Man films, also resulted is a spate of films that dealt with married sleuths like those found in There's Always a Woman (1938), Dangerous Blondes (1943), and A Night to Remember (1942). None of the copies were as good as the original.

The Thin Man received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Actor, Director, and Adapted Screenplay.  It also created a craze for wire-hair terriers (though Myrna Loy said that Skippy, the dog who played Asta, bit her) (TCM The Thin Man).

The New York Times review by M.H. (Mordaunt Hall) called the film "an excellent combination of comedy and excitement,"  and other critics have also praised the film (TCM Critics Corner). 

 

Mr. Powell and Ms. Loy recreated their roles for a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast on 8 Jun 1936. From 1957 to 1959, Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk starred in a TV series, The Thin Man. It even generated a musical play called Nick and Nora, starring Barry Bostwick and Joanna Gleason, which opened on Broadway on 8 Dec 1991 (but closed on 15 Dec 1991) (AFI Catalog). 

Since then, it has appeared on AFI's 100 Years, 100 Laughs (#32). It was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1997.

This is a must-see movie to add to your list.  We'll leave you with the trailer: