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: 

 

Ginger is on the Radio

Glory Eden (Ginger Rogers), America's "Purity Girl" has had it. She's been on the radio for a year. She's popular, she's making plenty of money, but she is banned from going ANYWHERE. She wants to go out and dance in Harlem, she wants to wear makeup and date. But under her present contract, she is forbidden from doing anything that might compromise her image of innocence. When she threatens her boss, Sam Ipswich (Gregory Ratoff) with leaving his employ, he agrees to get her a Professional Sweetheart (1933) - and potential husband - that will allow her to date discreetly.

Though at times a fairly silly movie, Professional Sweetheart is enjoyable. Ginger Rogers is very cute as a girl who just wants to have fun, and while Norman Foster (as Jim Davey) is perhaps not the most dynamic actor in the world, he is convincingly sincere. Add a group of excellent character actors, including Gregory Ratoff (playing a part not dissimilar to his role in All About Eve), Frank McHugh (as Speed Dennis), and Allen Jenkins (as O'Connor), and you have a film that is fun and ever so slightly titillating (as you can see from the still below!)

We were pleased to also see Theresa Harris (Vera) in a small role.  She's relegated to playing a maid, of course, and is not even billed in the credits, but she is again (as she was in Baby Face) intelligent and attractive, and more of a confidant to the unhappy Glory than a mere servant.  Unlike Ginger Rogers, Ms. Harris actually gets to do her own singing (Etta Moten sings for Ms. Rogers; why, is a big question).  Ms. Harris has a lovely voice, and is an excellent actress: with 99 film and television credits to her name, Ms. Harris SHOULD be better known. She was the inspiration for a play, By the Way, Vera Stark, which performed off-Broadway in 2011. Married from 1933 until her death, to a physician, Ms. Harris retired from acting in 1958. She died at age 79, in 1985.

Normally, we enjoy ZaSu Pitts (Elmerada de Leon),  but her vagueness gets annoying after a time.  Of course, Elmerada is supposed to be annoying, but she is also supposed to be funny. The film really carries the act a bit too far, so we found ourselves groaning when Ms. Pitts started to open her mouth.

Norman Foster is okay as the romantic lead, but not much more than that. He would continue acting until 1938 (he returned to acting in the 1970s in a few television shows and movies), but he is best known as a director. He directed several of the Mr. Moto films, 1948's Rachel and the Stranger (starring his sister-in-law, Loretta Young), and the noir classic Woman on the Run (1950). He also did much television directing (including 39 episodes of Ms. Young's television shows). He was married for 7 years to Claudette Colbert; after their divorce in 1935, he married Sally Blane; they had two children and were married until his death from cancer in 1976 (age 72).

This was Ms. Rogers' first film under a three picture deal with RKO (TCM article). All three pictures (Rafter Romance, also co-starring Norman Foster, and Chance at Heaven were the other two) were released in 1933, as was her next film, under a new seven-year contract - Flying Down to Rio, her first film with Fred Astaire. They didn't dub her singing voice after that!

Original titles for the film include Careless and Purity Girl, (AFI Catalog) but we felt the release title was the best choice - after all, but Jim AND Glory turn out to be professional sweethearts! Besides the character actors mentioned above, there are brief glimpses of Betty Furness (as a reporter) and Akim Tamiroff (as a waiter).

The New York Times liked the film (which premiered in Radio City Music Hall), as did my colleague at Pre-code.com (for an outline of some of the pre-code naughtiness, please to visit his posting). You can see some of that naughtiness in this clip from the film. A good opportunity to see Ginger Rogers early in her career, Professional Sweetheart is a pleasant romp. 

The O'Hara Boys Love Olivia

Ma O'Hara (Mary Gordon) lives with her three sons, Police Officer Pat  (Pat O'Brien), Fireman Mike (Frank McHugh), and Danny (James Cagney),  the black sheep of the family (and Ma's darling) who is trying to forge a career as a fight promoter (much to brother Pat's disgust).  The Irish in Us (1935) looks into the lives of the family as Pat plans for a marriage to Lucille Jackson (Olivia De Havilland) - without telling Lucille.

Sure, this is a rather silly movie, but we enjoyed it.  The interplay among the three O'Hara brothers is spot on, and, not surprising, when James Cagney is on the screen, you really can't take your eyes off of him.  Equally wonderful is the relationship between Cagney and Mary Gordon, who plays his mother.  You can sense the affection within the family group, and Ms. Gordon, especially paints a picture of a woman who is the thread that binds the family unit together.

Though the plotline is so-so, this TCM article points out that director Lloyd Bacon, well aware of the script's limitations, encouraged the actors to ad-lib during the production.  As a result, the dialogue has a bounce and energy to it.  And while boxing match at the end does seem a bit prolonged, it gives the character of Pat time to recover from the circumstances that have alienated him from his youngest brother.  O'Brien and Cagney do a wonderful job of creating a brotherly dynamic that it made us imagine Pat and Danny as children, with Danny always getting into scrapes from which big brother Pat needed to rescue him.

 

Normally, we love Allen Jenkins, but his Carbarn Hammerschlog is a bit over the top.  One wonders how Danny could possibly see this rather insane man as a successful boxer (but that is Danny - always looking for the underdog!).  It's one of the weaker aspects of the plot, but does serve as a means of getting Cagney into a boxing ring (the AFI Catalog states that Cagney did his own boxing in the picture). 

We're also treated to a picture of bygone era in New York City - a time when you knew all your neighbors, and it was a fact of life that everyone knew what the other person was doing.  One scene in particular - Ma O'Hara passing a bit of butter wrapped in a napkin to her neighbor via the clothes-line between their apartments, brought up memories of my childhood, when my mother would lend a bowl or some eggs to the neighbor through a narrow kitchen shaft window!

The strength of the film is that strong sense of family.  Pat's anger at Danny's haphazard lifestyle centers more on his fear that Danny will not be able to help support the family when Pat marries and moves out than on any jealousy or dislike of his brother.  And the relationship between Ma and Lucille also emphasizes the family as a unit - Ma is immediately welcoming to a potential new member of her family.  Lucille senses that she is now an O'Hara, and seems to find in Ma the mother that she has lost (Lucille has a father, but it seems he may be widowed).

We'll end this discussion with a scene from the film, as Danny and Lucille get to know one another:

Barbara Demonstrates Yum-Yum

When Professor Bertram Potts (Gary Cooper) discovers that his seven years of relatively isolated research have led to a complete lack of understanding of current American slang, he ventures out of the confines of his enclave.  In his quest, he meets Sugarpuss (Katherine) O'Shea (Barbara Stanwyck), an entertainer who is currently on the lam from the cops - seems her boyfriend, Joe Lilac (Dana Andrews) is suspected of murder and wants her out of the way, since she could link him to the victim.  Sugarpuss arrives on Bertram's doorstep, and within an hour has his research colleagues eating out of her hand, as well as a room in their headquarters.  Meanwhile, Joe is planning a wedding - since a wife can't testify against her husband.  And Bertram is falling in love with his sexy house guest. 

Ball of Fire (1941) is another one of those madcap films that show Barbara Stanwyck's gift for comedy, as well as her chemistry with co-star Gary Cooper.  They had worked together earlier that year in Meet John Doe, and Cooper suggested her for the part of Sugarpuss when other actresses turned it down - among those approached were Virginia Gilmore (Sam Goldwyn's first choice, as she was under contract to him at the time), Ginger Rogers (who thought the role beneath her), Carole Lombard, Jean Arthur, Betty Fields, and Lucille Ball.  Goldwyn and director Howard Hawks were thrilled at having Stanwyck in the role, and their confidence paid off.  (This TCM article gives a little more information on the casting woes of the production).  

Stanwyck carefully balances the greedy showgirl against the young woman who falls in love - against her will - with a man who "looks like a giraffe", "gets drunk on a glass of buttermilk," and "doesn't know how to kiss".  Without the fine hand of Stanwyck, the film could have easily imploded, as it did with the remake (A Song is Born).  Stanwyck gives us a Sugarpuss who glows with love and with sexuality, and who is finally bested by an innocent man who loves her with all of his heart.  She is intelligent, though uneducated, but she is someone who hungers for love AND for knowledge.  And though clearly Joe has gotten her a job in a classy joint, Stanwyck shows us Sugarpuss' roots - watch her walk on the stage as she performs - Sugarpuss started as a stripper.  

As always, Stanwyck is impeccably dressed by her favorite costumer Edith Head.  She has some lovely street clothing, as well as a splendid costume for her act, that is both breathtaking and cheesy at the same time.  And watch how it sparkles in the dull environs of the professors' apartment house - Head makes Sugarpuss the real bright spot in the lives of these sequestered intellectuals.

Equally perfect is Gary Cooper as Bertram.  It would be easy to make Potts merely a jerk, rather than an innocent, but Cooper carefully walks that line.  Certainly Potts is naive, but he is eager to learn and to experience new things.  His enthusiasm for the slang he is discovering is palpable. He is a man dedicated to his scholarship - though much younger than his scholarly colleagues, he hasn't had the opportunity to interact with the opposite sex, but when he does, his inhibitions take a back seat to his passion.

It's interesting to see Dana Andrews in a supporting role.  His Joe Lilac is an egomaniac, surrounded by Yes Men, who is quite sure he can tame Sugarpuss with a large diamond and a marriage certificate.  Given that Andrews has very little screen time, he makes the most of what little time he is provided.  You don't forget Joe - Andrews makes him just sinister enough to keep the comic background, but still have a character that is a threat to our lovers.

This is a film that is blessed with an amazing supporting cast.  We have the always excellent Allen Jenkins as the neighborhood garbage man, who wants to enter a "quizzola" (he's got all the boxtops he needs.  What he needs are the answers).  Dan Duryea as Duke Pastrami, Lilac's lead henchman is delightfully oily, with his rather disturbing laugh is put to good use.  Watch for the scene when he licks his thumb to clean his gunsight - thus tipping his hat to co-star Gary Cooper (who did the same maneuver in Sergeant York).  "I saw this in a movie," Duryea quips. (Interestingly, a few days after seeing Ball of Fire, I was watching Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955), and my husband noticed that Fess Parker (as Crockett) does the same maneuver while fighting Santa Ana at the Alamo. Coincidence? I think not.)

And let us not forget the "seven dwarfs" (Yes, the film is loosely based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), Professor Potts colleagues in research.  Among the superb actors gracing the cast are Oscar Homolka as Professor Gurkakoff (Mathematics), Henry Travers as Professor Jerome (Geography), S. Z. Sakall  as Professor Magenbruch (Physiology), Leonid Kinskey as Professor Quintana, and Richard Haydn as the appropriately named Professor Oddly (Botany).  Sugarpuss calls them a bunch of "squirrelly cherubs", a most apt description.  But rather than just have them there for laughs, they are intrinsic to the plot - it is their combined brain power that will save the day for our couple.

One other note of interest, actress Mary Fields, who plays Miss Totten, is the only actor to appear in the remake, A Song is Born. She plays the exact same character in the remake, though there was a seven year gap between the films.  

Ball of Fire was well received at the time of its release, as is evidenced by this New York Times review.  In 2007, it was selected as a TCM Essentials pick (as well as a 2012 Essentials, Jr. selection).  AND it is number 92 on the American Film Institute's 100 Funniest American Movies Of All Time list.   If you've never seen it, treat yourself to a viewing - and if you have seen it, curl up on a cold evening and watch it again!  We leave you with the scene in which Sugarpuss demonstrates "Yum-yum".  We'll be back soon with more Barbara!

Joan B.'s on the Switchboard

I've Got Your Number (1934) is a film about the telephone: repairing them, using them, working with them.  It opens with a fascinating examination of the importance of the telephone in the 1930s - surely dated, but so enlightening.  In an age where we carry our phones with us, to see the phone being demonstrated as a new technology for both good and ill is a revelation.  As a native New Yorker, I also enjoyed the references to the old exchanges that, back in the day, told you the location of the phone (Nowadays, we carry our numbers with us, no matter where we live!)  

The story is a simple one.  Hotel switchboard operator Marie Lawson (Joan Blondell) inadvertently provides information to gangster Nicky (Gordon Westcott) that results in a financial loss for a guest.  Marie is forced to resign when telephone repair man Terry Reilly (Pat O'Brien) determines the security breech was human rather than machine.  Terry assists Marie in finding a new job.  Only problem is, Nicky is planning to use Marie's new position in a financial office to steal some some securities.  

The film is a tad silly, but it is amusing.  Terry and partner Johnny (Allen Jenkins) make telephone repair look like the most fun job in the world.  And while we have some really great actors, the script doesn't give them a whole lot of time to flesh out their characters.  Terry does a complete about-face when he meets Marie - going from roué to devoted suitor in about ten seconds,though O'Brien does a really good job at making the switch believable.  And Blondell's  Marie come across as very naive.  How can she not know that Nicky is a snake, especially after the incident at her first job?  She's awfully trusting of a man she doesn't seem to like all that much, yet she is obviously, from her banter with O'Brien, very careful of her appearance with men.

Wonderful supporting actors abound:  We've already mentioned Allen Jenkins, who is, as always, a hoot.  We also have Glenda Farrell as Bonnie, aka Madame Frances, a would-be psychic, who's not very good at it and Louise Beavers as her assistant.  And the always wonderful Eugene Pallette as Terry's often frustrated boss, Joe Flood gives a fantastic performance as a man who wants to throttle the devil-may-care Terry, but, when the chips are down, is the first one to come to his defense.  

We were not very familiar with Gordon Wescott.  He made 34 films between 1931 and 1935, but died at the age of 32 from injuries sustained while playing polo. Another interesting bit of trivia - the last scene shows Blondell in bed.  Well, she really WAS confined to her bed - she had just had emergency surgery, and the studio did the scene in Blondell's own bedroom!  The book, Joan Blondell: A Life Between Takes states that the emergency was actually the result of a botched abortion.

Released in January of 1934, this film just makes it into the pre-code era, and, as a result, it is quite risque - there is much double entendre.  And the scene in which Terry lounges on a couch with Bonnie really needs no explanations.

Orry-Kelly does the film's costumes, and Joan Blondell has some wonderful dresses that no switchboard operator could afford.   The dress with a fur collar is especially attractive. 

Before we go, here is a trailer from the film:

Clark Boxes

When waitress  Mabel O'Dare (Marion Davies) loses her job thanks to Aloysius K. Reilly (Roscoe Karns), he gets the bright idea to introduce her to a Broadway producer.  Mabel ends up with a job, only because the star has just quit.  But there's a problem - Mabel can dance, a little, but not enough to lead a Broadway show.  Her dreams of stardom are all but gone when Reilly decides to get some publicity for her by claiming a love affair between Mabel and up-and-coming boxer Larry Cain (Clark Gable).  But again, there is a little problem - Larry and Mabel loathe one another.

Thus begins Cain and Mabel (1936), a little froth of a comedy, with a few musical numbers thrown in.  While it was fun to see Clark Gable in this very early role, and Marion Davies is a delightful performer, this was probably not the best movie either ever made.  The musical routines were a bit tedious - they ended up changing the tone of the film.  We know Mabel isn't a great dancer; all the routines do is emphasize that to no purpose.  And though the film is a bit long, there are some delightful scenes.  The early conversations between Reilly and Mabel are a hoot, and then there is the added presence of Allen Jenkins as Dodo, Larry's fight second. Any time Allen Jenkins is in a movie, you know you are going to have a good time.  

We also have Ruth Donnelly as Aunt Mimi, who is also very funny.  It should be mentioned though that Mimi is a fairly despicable person.  She will go to any lengths to advance Mabel's career, because it is keeping Aunt Mimi in the money.  She has no worry that her actions might make Mabel unhappy.   

Another interesting appearance is that of Pert Kelton as Toddy, the star whose departure makes way for Mabel.  We've seen her in Bed of Roses, and  as we mentioned then, later in her career as Shirley Jones' mother in The Music Man.  Unfortunately, she doesn't get a whole lot to do here, which is a shame.

Interestingly, Dick Powell was originally slated to play Ronny Caudwell, Mabel's co-star and almost boyfriend.  However, the part went to Robert Paige, because William Randolph Heart didn't like Dick Powell. Hearst felt Powell was too attractive and that Davies liked him too much.  As I'm sure everyone is aware, Heart and Davies were longtime companions.  An interesting bit of trivia - when Hearst was in financial trouble in the 1930s, it was Davies who came to his rescue. She was a very intelligent businesswoman, and used $1 million of her own money to bail him out (much of it invested in jewelry).

This TCM article also tells in some detail the story of how Clark Gable was cast as Larry.  Davies did NOT want him in the part - she didn't think he was attractive enough to play Larry!  She later changed her mind about him, but Gable never quite forgot the insult.  All we have to say is HUH?  Gable not attractive? On what planet?

The film is a remake of  the silent film The Great White Way, which was filmed by Hearst's company in 1924, which starred Anita Stewart.  And while we can't whole-heartedly recommend this one, it has some nice moments.  And then there is Gable.  We close with the film's trailer:

Mogel Joan

This week, we were able to get hold of 1942's They All Kissed the Bride.  In it, Joan Crawford plays Margaret J. Drew, the head of a trucking company. She is a stern boss, with a passel of rules for her employees, which makes her despised and dreaded by her truck drivers. Enter Michael Holmes (Melvyn Douglas) who is publishing articles on her tyrannies, much to her ire.  Michael meets her (though she doesn't know who he is) when he crashes the wedding of MJ's younger sister Suzie (Mary Treen).  Rapidly, MJ and Michael become involved as he tries to loosen up this very up-tight lady.  She, however is immediately attracted to this unknown man.

This is a particularly odd little movie.  First of all, the title has NOTHING to do with the plot. We barely see the bride, in fact, we see more of her groom as the action progresses.  Also, the film can't decide if it wants to be a screwball comedy or a romance.  Clearly filmed (at some point) after the start of World War II, it makes only passing reference to the war, and there is no implication that all the male characters will soon be deep into the fighting.  And Crawford's MJ is rather annoying.  She WANTS to be the head of her father's company, but she acts like a total idiot when she meets Michael.  Oh, sure, love at first sight and all that, but really!! There is no way anyone could efficiently run a conglomerate like MJ does, yet be such a blithering moron.  Poor Melvyn Douglas doesn't get to do much better, really.  Michael is pretty much as silly - and he KNOWS who MJ is. At least she has the excuse of ignorance.

Some good supporting actors here - Billie Burke is very sweet (and of course, addled) as MJ's mother;  and Roland Young is rather likeable as MJ's business associate, Mr. Marsh.  Here's a scene where she meets Allen Jenkins:

 But in the long run, one rather wishes the authors and director had made a decision about which direction they wanted the picture to take.  Instead, they end up with a mishmash that never does find its genre.