Ida Goes Mad

Joe (George Raft) and Paul Fabrini (Humphrey Bogart) are trying to beat the odds by running their own trucking service.  With their one truck, They Drive by Night (1940) moving produce from one city to another. It's an exhausting and dangerous job, as they try to acquire enough money to pay off their truck and build a successful business.

This is a well-acted film with an engaging storyline that will keep you interested throughout.  It's got an impressive cast, but frankly, it's Ida Lupino (Lana Carlsen) who steals the entire film.  More on her later.

George Raft is convincing as the determined trucker who's trying to beat the odds in building his own business. While I'm generally not a fan of Mr. Raft, he does a good job in this film, primarily because of the actors he plays against. Raft and Humphrey Bogart make convincing brothers; there is a subtle intimacy between the two. While we witness the strain between the brothers - Paul wants to be home more with his wife, while Joe is convinced they can beat the system - there is affection and understanding too.

Humphrey Bogart's role in the film is relatively small. As Joe's brother, he is constantly complaining about the stress of their work and his ongoing reluctance to leave his wife alone yet again.  Gale Page (Pearl Fabrini) is in much the same situation - she's there to represent the wives who fear for their husbands' safety. She's a much better actress than the whining Pearl allows her to be.

Alan Hale (Ed Carlsen) fairs much better as the jovial, if hard drinking, owner of a major trucking company.  Ed came up through the ranks and built a thriving business.  He's a loyal friend, who's been trying to convince Joe to join his company. The fly in the ointment is Ed's wife Lana - unbeknownst to Ed, Lana has been pursuing Joe, who is having none of it.  Mr. Hale is awfully good in the part, and his loss is felt.

Ann Sheridan (Cassie Hartley) gets to wisecrack in her early scenes in the film but as she becomes more involved with Joe, she becomes more subdued.  By the end, we know who is going to be in charge in their marriage; Cassie is a strong and loyal woman who will always support her man. We particularly enjoyed the scene when Joe collapses on her bed in exhaustion, and Cassie spends the night on the sofa.

It was George Raft who recommended Ida Lupino for the role of Lana (TCM article), and as we mentioned previously, she steals the film.  She's crafty and scheming; disgusted by her husband but eager to spend his money. She dominates every scene in which she appears, but it is the last part of the picture where she rules. Her desire to get Joe into her bed, her growing guilt over her husband's death, and her resentment of Cassie all lead to a perfect storm in the film's conclusion. 

They Drive by Night is also blessed with a number of Warner Brothers contract players, including Roscoe Karns (as pinball addict Irish McGurn), George Tobias (as fruit seller George Rondolos), and William Bendix (as another truck driver).  All combine to make a very well-rounded film.

The story is loosely based on the 1935 film Bordertown (AFI Catalog).  It was aired by Lux Radio Theatre  in June of 1941 with George Raft, Lana Turner, and Lucille Ball.

New York Times review by Bosley Crowther was positive, calling it "an entertaining ride".  We concur; if you are a fan of Ms. Lupino, you must see this. And if not, there is still plenty of good acting to catch your eye. We'll leave you with the film's trailer:

Ann is Unfaithful

Christine Hunter (Ann Sheridan) returns home after a late party and is accosted on her front porch. She's forced into the house; we hear a scream and fighting. The next morning, her husband returns from a business trip to discover homicide detectives, a dead body, and his distraught wife. Our film this week is The Unfaithful (1947).

An exceptional cast and a tight script make this film thoroughly enjoyable. Led by the always excellent Ann Sheridan, the cast portray characters that feel like real people.  Ms. Sheridan plays Christine with an underlying insecurity that makes you believe she could be swayed by loneliness and grief. But her clear love for her husband, Bob (Zachary Scott) also makes us sympathize with her as her world begins to fall apart. The film reflects the aftermath of the war - an increasing divorce rate as couples who married quickly find that they are incompatible. Chris and Bob are not, but the misery brought about by wartime separation is really the crux of this movie.

Ms. Sheridan is ably supported by Lew Ayres (Larry Hannaford), an attorney who spends much of his time in the divorce court. Larry sees Chris and Bob as a model of marital happiness, so when the truth about Christine is revealed, he is as offended by her "crime" as her husband.  However, Mr. Ayres makes his character pull back mentally and apply some objectivity to the case, which also helps the audience to side with Chris.  

This was Mr. Ayres second film after returning from service during World War II.  He was derided before the war for declaring himself a conscientious objector. Though he refused to kill, he was was quite to serve as a non-combatant; he won three battle stars as a medic and chaplain's aide in the Pacific.  He returned to his film career, which must have seemed an impossibility at the start of the War - his studio (MGM) and the public were horrified at his unwillingness to kill the enemy - he continued working in films and television until two years before his death at age 88 (Washington Post obituary). 

Zachary Scott is frequently the villain in films, but not here. He's a loving husband who watches his life fall apart when his wife is assaulted.  Once he discovers Chris' indiscretion, Bob does come across as petulant. He is redeemed by his interactions with Eve Arden.

Eve Arden (Paula) steals the movie in her big scene with Zachary Scott. Paula, Bob's cousin, appears on the surface to be a completely thoughtless person - a gossip who rather dislikes her cousin-by-marriage and takes a certain amount of joy in putting Chris in her place. But when the chips are down, it is Paula who sees the truth in Chris' story, and is not going to let Bob get away with his judgemental attitude. It's a magnificent scene.

Normally, we enjoy Jerome Cowan (the Prosecuting Attorney), but he ends up being distracting more than convincing. We found that we sought out Larry Hannaford during the courtroom scenes. His quiet dignity made the courtroom scenes more believable.

The Unfaithful is loosely based on The Letter (1940); though much of script was unfinished when production started (TCM article). In his New York Times review, Thomas M. Prior (T.M.P.) was not impressed with the script, though he was full of praise for the three leads.

This is very much a film about forgiveness, and as Jeanine Basinger points out, the topic is unique in this post-war film (I Do and I Don't: A History of Marriage in the Movies). Clearly, the MPAA thought so as well, as they allowed a film about adultery to be shot, though with one proviso: "the MPAA agreed to allow this if the film clearly conveyed the message that divorce is undesirable" (AFI catalog). 

We really enjoyed this film and heartily recommend it. We'll leave you with the trailer:

George is in Cleveland

Author Kenneth Bixby (George Brent) is on a book tour with his secretary (and almost fiance) Ann Rogers (Ann Sheridan). Upon his arrival in Cleveland for a book signing, he receives flowers and a mysterious note from "Miriam," the fictional character in his latest book. The sender of the flowers turns out to be Ken's college girlfriend, Julie Wilson (Osa Massen), who's still fixated on him even though she is married to Harvey Wilson (Charles Ruggles). Our film this week is Honeymoon for Three (1941)

With a script based on a relatively successful Broadway play, and an excellent cast, you would think Honeymoon for Three would be a good film. Unfortunately, you would be wrong. The script slides deeper and deeper into silliness, and after awhile, the audience just doesn't care any longer (and starts to look at their collective watches).

It doesn't help that George Brent is miscast as the lothario Kenneth Bixby. Mr. Brent is just to stable to be convincing as a ne'er-do-well.  And why on earth he would respond to a flibbertigibbet like Julie Wilson is beyond comprehension, especially when he has an attractive, intelligent woman like Ann Rogers sitting next to him.

We don't get to see enough of Ann Sheridan. Initially, there is a pleasant rapport between her and Mr. Brent (who would become her husband shortly after the filming ended. The marriage only lasted for a year). (TCM article)  Ann is a calm breath of air next to the overblown Julie, and we DO get too much of Osa Massen. She's a delusional whirligig, with a mania that is just too much to take in. The viewer needs to understand why Bixby would even tolerate her, and the audience just can't.

Jane Wyman, as Julie's almost sister-in-law, Elizabeth Clochessy is also wasted. Ms. Wyman was still playing small roles in 1941 - her real breakthrough as Orry Baxter (for which she was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar) in The Yearling wouldn't come for another five years. All she allowed to do in this film is dither, and look adoringly at her fiance Arthur Westlake (William T. Orr), who really isn't worth all that much adoration.

Lee Patrick is equally ill-served as Mrs. Pettijohn, an idiotic woman with a penchance for naming her children after authors (Booth Tarkington Pettijohn???). The character provides a somewhat deus-ex-machina ending to the proceedings, but Ms. Patrick deserves better.

We did like Charles Ruggles who is the only part of the comedy to underplay his role. You feel sorry for Harvey - his wife is insane, and his brother is a bore - and Mr. Ruggles makes you rather like Harvey. Who can blame him for wanting to get Julie off his hands?  Charles (or Charlie) Ruggles started his career on Broadway (in the 1914 production of Help Wanted), and was working in silent films by the following year. He easily made the transition to sound, often in those early years playing the romantic lead.  As time progressed, he moved to character parts, including Egbert Flout in Ruggles of Red Gap (1935), Major Applegate in Bringing Up Baby (1938), and Grandfather Charles McKendrick in The Parent Trap (1961).  A generation grew up with his voice - he was Aesop in the various Rocky and Bullwinkle shows. He worked frequently in both radio and television, while continuing to appear in films and on Broadway.  He married his second wife (his first marriage only lasted two years) in 1942; they remained together until his death from cancer, age 70, in 1970.

Originally slated to have starred Olivia de Havilland and Fred MacMurray (AFI Catalog), the film was based on the play Goodbye Again, which opened on Broadway in 1932, starring Osgood Perkins (Anthony Perkins father) as Kenneth - and with a very young James Stewart as The Chauffeur (in his second Broadway role).  In 1933, it was made into a film, with Warren William and Joan Blondell. In 1943, and 1956 (with Donald Cook, Patricia Barry, and Tom Poston), the play was again produced on Broadway. 

While critic Bosley Crowther is never a fan of Mr. Brent (his loss, quite frankly), we have to agree with him in his New York Times review Mr. Brent is just all wrong for this one. Then again, no one would have had a great deal of success with this tangled web of a script. Here's a trailer from the film.

Errol Fights the Nazis

The 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor just passed; our film this week commemorates the occasion with a look back to a film from the second World War.  Edge of Darkness (1943) takes place in Norway, circa 1942.  Told in flashback, the film tells the story of the village of Trollness.  The Nazis have taken over the country, and the populace are being starved and murdered by their conquerors.  Gunnar Brogge (Errol Flynn) a local fisherman, chaffs at his inability to fight for his country, and is about to leave the woman he loves, Karen Stensgard (Ann Sheridan) to join the resistance in England.  But when word comes that the British are planning to arm the population up and down the coast in an effort start a revolution in the country Gunnar determines to stay and fight.  He becomes the official leader of a resistance movement which includes Karen, Gerd Blarnesen (Judith Anderson), and Lars Malken (Roman Bohnen).  But not everyone is willing to fight. Karen's father, Dr. Martin Stensgard (Walter Huston) and his wife Anna (Ruth Gordon) prefer to live quietly within the strictures of the dictatorship.  And there remains the danger from the local Quislings, who include Karen's uncle Kaspar Torgerson (Charles Dingle) and brother Johann (John Beal).

When this film was released on April 24, 1943, America had been at war with Germany for just over a year.  Certainly, there had been films that dealt with Nazi atrocities before (To Be or Not to Be (1942) and The Mortal Storm (1940) are two examples), but this was perhaps the first one to portray ordinary people resisting the Nazi juggernaut.  And a powerful statement it is.  Even though the film starts showing the carnage of a decimated Nazi stronghold, and a Norwegian flag flying above it, we've no idea of who did it and what became of them.  The strength of this movie is the fact that many incidents are unexpected.  It keeps you engaged with both the multidimentional storyline and the characters. For more information on America's view of the situation in Europe during this period, see this New York Times book review of The Holocaust in America.

The depth of the characterizations is best exhibited by the minor characters that we expect to be tropes, but are not.  The talkative grocer, Lars Malken, as ably portrayed by Roman Bohnen, is the best example.  From the minute we meet him, we expect that he will betray the resistance with his anger and his need to express show off his commitment.  Another is the relationship between Gerd and the German soldier whom she loves.  Our initial reaction is that he will come to side with the resistance, and love will triumph.  But this film is not about the standard Hollywood tropes.  It's attempting to create a glimpse into the real horrors of the war in Europe.

Ann Sheridan is an actress who, in my opinion, is not given enough credit for her excellent portrayals, and she excels here.  Especially notable is the scene in which she discovers her brother, who has been working for the Nazis, is returning to Trollness.  Her reactions are subtle, but pointed.  Ms. Sheridan's career began in the sound era (and her lush voice is perfect for sound), and worked steadily through the 1930s and 1940s.  As her film career slowed in the 1950s, she segued into television, including a year on the soap opera, Another World.  In 1966, she accepted the lead in the TV series Pistols and Petticoats, but died of cancer (age 51) before the end of the first season.  She was married three times, including a one-year marriage to George Brent.  Allegedly, it was this film which ended the marriage, as Ms. Sheridan may have gotten a little too close to co-star Errol Flynn.  See this TCM article for more on the sexual shenanigans that plagued this film.  If you are not familiar with Ms. Sheridan, this film is an excellent start.  Then consider viewing The Man Who Came to Dinner, Nora Prentiss, I Was a Male War Bride, and (my favorite of her films) Tropic Zone. 

We were not as impressed with Ruth Gordon, who plays Ms. Sheridan's mother, Anna.  I personally am not a member of the Ruth Gordon fan club, and this is not a film that will make you one.  Anna is rather whiny, and comes across as peculiar and rather stupid.  Ms. Gordon didn't have an especially impressive film career, but with 33 Broadway plays to her credit (she was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance as Dolly Gallagher Levi in The Matchmaker in 1956), she kept busy.  She was also writing with her husband, Garson Kanin (they were nominated for three Oscars: for A Double Life (1947), Adam's Rib (1949) and Pat and Mike (1952).  But Ms. Gordon's film and television performances skyrocketed after she won the Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for Rosemary's Baby (1969). You can view her amusing acceptance speech here.  She died, aged 88, in 1985.  She was survived by her husband of 42 years, Garson Kanin, and her son Jones Harris (born in 1929), the result of a long-term affair with producer Jed Harris - though they never married, the couple openly acknowledged their son.

Edge of Darkness is based on William Woods novel of the same name (see this AFI Catalog entry  for more information on the film's background).  Though it got a tepid review from the New York Times, we highly recommend it.  With a strong story, and impressive acting, it is definitely worth your time.  We'll leave you with a scene from the end of the movie:

Olivia Rides the Wagon Train

This week, we're discussing Errol Flynn's first western, 1939's Dodge City. In it, Olivia plays Abbie Irving, a young woman who is forced to move to the godless Dodge City after the death of her father.  Unfortunately, she has to get there with her drunken brat of a brother (William Lundigan), who starts a cattle stampede with his gun-play, and ends up getting himself killed.  Of course, Abbie blames wagon master Wade Hatton (Flynn).  Wade meanwhile, enters Dodge City to find it being run by former adversary Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabot), and after a horrible incident decides he is the one to bring law and order to Dodge.

This movie is full to the brim with wonderful character performances. We have the usual Flynn sidekick, Alan Hale as well as Guinn "Big Boy" Williams.  We have a rare character visit from the gorgeous Ann Sheridan (one wonders if Jack Warner was angry at her that week to give her such a small part), as well as the ever-wonderful Frank McHugh as newspaper publisher Joe Clemens. And the adorable Bobs Watson as Harry Cole, the reason that law comes to Dodge.  With a cast like this, (and these names are just the tip of the iceberg) can you really lose?

I have major problems with seeing Bruce Cabot in pretty much anything since I heard about his horrible actions to Errol Flynn later in their careers.  But one must admit he is truly loathsome here. Olivia is spunky, in all the best senses of the word, especially in the later portions of the movie (it is as though we get to watch Abbie grow up).  Here is one of their love scenes:

It is truly funny to see the screenwriters making an excuse for Flynn's presence in a Western (Wade is from Ireland, and has traveled the world).  Finally, we all adored Frank McHugh - he is funny and touching in this small, but important role. His performance in the film is well worth emphasizing.

Join us next week for another Olivia epic.