Ann Has a Secret

John Shadwell (John Boles) and Vergie Winters (Ann Harding) were planning to marry, but Vergie's father (Edward Van Sloan) told John that Vergie is instead marrying Hugo McQueen (Creighton Chaney). In pain, John marries Laura Shadwell (Helen Vinson) on the rebound. But Jim Winters had been paid $10,000 to tell the lie, and trick John into the marriage with Laura. Unable to divorce his wife, John visits Vergie on a regular basis, while his political star begins to rise. Our film this week is The Life of Vergie Winters (1934).

Based on Louis Bromfield's short story (AFI catalog), this film is similar to the stories that are told in Forbidden (1932) and Back Street (1932) - a couple whose true love is thwarted by circumstance, but stay together despite the rules of society. And while this is not an original plot, Ann Harding makes Vergie so likable that you don't really care that you know the story. You keep watching just to see her. 

There are class issues regarding Vergie's potential marriage to John which assist the Shadwells' lies; and Laura is eager to marry a man with political possibilities. Vergie, however, is seemingly well regarded (initially) by the community. A milliner with a popular store, her wealthy clientele are friendly with her (albeit only during business hours). When her secret life becomes more public, she loses her society shoppers, but inherits a new customer base, represented by Pearl Turner (Cecil Cunningham), a local madam. Rich or poor, Vergie displays an easy relationship with her customers.

The film also has an interesting "innovation" not a part of the previously mentioned movies. The Life of Vergie Winters uses narratage (New York Times review); the inner monologues of the townpeople at the opening of the film (the film actually begins with John's death and Vergie's imprisonment) serve as a kind of Greek chorus, preparing the audience for the story that is about to unfold. The technique was very reminiscent of the inner monologue in Strange Interlude (1932) and is interesting, if a bit stylized.

Frank Albertson (Ranny Truesdale) is the kind of man every woman wants to marry. His love for Joan Shadwell (Betty Furness) is deep; when the couple discover Joan is adopted, Joan suggests they break the engagement, since her background is so nebulous. Ranny complies - he demands his ring back; then asks for her hand and places the ring back on her finger. No further discussion of the subject is required (much to the disgust of Laura Shadwell). Ranny is a true gentleman, and Mr. Albertson gives him a warmth that makes him very engaging.

Helen Vinson, on the other hand, plays Laura as a opportunistic witch. She has no regard for John; she wants the prestige that his political possibilities will provide and nothing more. It's pretty apparent that the marriage is eventually one of convenience; it's also clear that she has no use for the child that she has taken into her home (the end of the film - without giving much away - substantiates that). Ms. Vinson's career was primarily playing the "other woman." She started on Broadway, appearing in four plays between 1927 and 1932, then went to Hollywood, where she would make 40 films, including Jewel Robbery (1932), I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932), and In Name Only (1939). Her final film was The Thin Man Goes Home (1945). Married for the third time to Donald Hardenbrook the following year, she left film at her husband's request. They were married until his death in 1976; Ms. Vinson died in 1999 at the age of 92.

One of the most appealing people in the film is that of Joan. We first see her as a girl of about 11 (played by Bonita Granville). She's an engaging child, kind to Vergie (who she has been told to avoid). The interaction between Ms. Harding and Ms. Granville is touching. The character does not alter as she ages - Betty Furness is lovely as a woman who has somehow stayed a good and loving person, despite being raised by a viper. 

There are a few other actors who should be mentioned - Lon Chaney, Jr. (still listed as Creighton Chaney - his true given name) has a few scenes as Hugo McQueen, the man Vergie's father says she is marrying. Donald Crisp is the villain of the piece as Mike Davey, a local pub owner who despises John. Sara Haden is Winnie Belle, the woman who has set her cap on Vergie's despicable father. Ben Alexander, who would later gain fame as the first of Jack Webb's partners in Dragnet, appears as Laura's brother Barry. And Walter Brennan has a brief scene as a rumor-spreading drunk.

The New York Times review by Mordaunt Hall was indifferent; the film was "important" enough that it opened at Radio City Music Hall. It probably will come as no surprise that the film landed on the Catholic Church's Condemned List, which also helped it to do well at the box office (TCM article).  But, with a release date of June 14, 1934, it's at the end of the pre-code era - the new regulations took effect on July 1st, and would effectively have made this film impossible to release in its current state. So, while it is not the most original of plots, it is handled well, and it's always a pleasure to see Ann Harding at her peak.  We enjoyed it, and think you will as well.

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.

Mommy Kay

In 1938's My Bill, Kay Francis plays Mary Colbrook, the widowed mother of four children.  3 of her little darlings are rude, selfish, graspy creeps.  But then there is Bill (played by Dickie Moore), who for some unexplained reason calls his mother "Sweetheart", and who is the only sensible member of this family. Though Kay was left some money on her husband's death, she has wasted every cent of it providing the selfish bunch with piano lessons and new dresses.  Now, she's broke. So the obnoxious 3 leave her (after she squanders more money on cabs and flowers); Bill remains, begins a paper route, and takes on the job of "Man of the Family" to support his mother.

I think it would be fair to call this an odd movie. It's based on a play (from 1928), but really the biggest problem is the character of Mary.  By the end, we get a lot more back-story (which does make her story more interesting), but she is such a scatterbrain that one wonders how she has survived as long as she has. Bill, however, is a stand-up young man, and Dickie Moore plays him with verve. Bonita Granville, Anita Louise and Bobby Jordan as the other three nightmarish offspring bring obnoxious to new heights. And Elizabeth Risdon as Aunt Caroline confirms they are from the correct gene pool.

This film came out the same year that Kay got labeled "Box Office Poison" (along with Katharine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich); it's obvious it was less her and more some of the parts she was being given.  She does the best she can, but in a sense, this IS Dickie Moore's movie.  And he kinda runs with it.

Olivia and Family

This week, we watched a movie none of us had seen before (or, quite frankly, even really heard of): Call it a Day (1937). The movie tells the story of one fairly odd day in the life of the Hilton family, a middle-class English family.  Olivia plays the older daughter, Catherine, who is posing as a model for family friend Paul Francis (Walter Woolf King).  Only problem is, she is madly enamored of him, and he is terrified to be alone with her.  Mother Dorothy (Frieda Inescort) is being pursued by a would-be Lothario (Roland Young), and father Roger (Ian Hunter) is in a similar situation when his client Beatrice Gwynn (Marcia Ralston) decides HE would make an excellent night's diversion.  Silly, perhaps, but also diverting, and with a satisfying conclusion.

Though given top billing, Ms. de Havilland really has a secondary part. The main action  of the plot is devoted to Dorothy as she tries to keep Frank at bay.  But Olivia is wonderful as a heart-sore teen, who is stuck on a married man.  The rapport between her and Bonita Granville (as her younger sister, Ann) is perfect.  Young Ann is in love with art; when Paul gives her a Dante Gabriel Rossetti sketch (because she is a fan of the Pre-Raphaelites), her offer to loan it to Catherine is touching.  And logical - she won't give it up, but loves her sister enough to let her borrow the precious sketch (and as I Pre-Raphaelite fan myself, I envied her that picture!!).  An interesting note - the part that Olivia played here was played on the West Coast stage by her sister, Joan Fontaine. 

We should also mention the performance of Roland Young - who would have envisioned Topper as such a lech! He is very funny as the brother of Dorothy's friend, who develops an immediate interest in this mother of three when he meets her in a market.  The interactions between the two of them - especially the scene in which she tries to induce the busy members of her family to stay in for dinner when Frank shows up in an attempt to win his beloved away from her husband, are VERY well done.

We heartily recommend this under-viewed movie.  Well worth a look!