John Hears a Bell - Twice

Frank Chambers (John Garfield) is awaiting execution on death row. He protests his innocence of the crime, and proceeds to tell his story, which begins when he arrives at the diner of Nick Smith (Cecil Kellaway). Frank accepts a job at Nick's urging, only to have his life become complicated by the presence of Nick's sultry young wife, Cora (Lana Turner). Our film this time is The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946).

This is a film that is regularly discussed as a touchstone for film noir, and with one very good reason. That's the star, John Garfield, who is perfect as Frank Chambers. Mr. Garfield has the laid-back and gritty sexiness that is required to make Frank convincing. Even when he is downright fresh to Cora, there is no doubt in your mind that she is falling for him. Why wouldn't you? Half the audience is falling in lust with him at the same moment.  Yet he was not the first (or even the second) choice for the part. It was originally offered to Joel McCrea (who said no) and Gregory Peck was also considered (TCM The Big Idea). We would have an extremely different film with either of those two remarkable (yet likely very wrong) actors in the leading role. Mr. Garfield almost had to pull out of the film. He was called up for the draft, and Cameron Mitchell was set to step in. However, Mr. Garfield's bad heart (which would cause his death in 1959, at the age of 39 (Los Angeles Times)) released him from active service in the military.

Lana Turner has never been better in any picture that she is here. From the moment her legs appear, garbed in snow white shorts, crop top, and turban (Cora is only seen in black once - when she is planning to kill Nick),  you're as hooked as Frank is. Her appearance justifies his intake of breath. She's a vision, but a tough one, and Ms. Turner plays every emotion that Cora experiences to perfection. It's hard not to compare her to Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity, because of the similarities in plot. The two actresses, however, build different creations, primarily because their motivations are so very different.  Cora is far less calculating, and her emotions are all over the place; her desire to be with Frank versus her need for security are very much in conflict. As the film progresses, we begin to realize just why she married Nick, and the life she was attempting to escape.  James M. Cain was so impressed by her performance that he gave her an inscribed, leather-bound copy of the novel (TCM Behind the Camera). 

Cecil Kellaway is an interesting casting choice for Nick. It's mentioned that he's thrifty to the point of cheapness, but he's a warm, loving man who is good to Cora and kind to Frank. MGM was hoping to mollify the censors by making Frank a likeable fellow. He was in fact, such a nice man, that Lana Turner would later state that "I adored Cecil Kellaway...so much so that I hated having to help kill him on camera." (Movies TV Network article). But the screenwriters do make you sympathize with Cora just a bit when we discover what her fate will be if she stays with Nick; Mr. Kellaway brings a selfish determination to the scene that makes it all the more convincing.

We especially enjoyed the performances of the two lawyers in the action - district attorney Kyle Sackett (Leon Ames) and defense attorney Arthur Keats (Hume Cronyn). Both capable character actors, their interplay - they have a bit of a friendly rivalry going on - is a real asset the film. The viewer is not really sure which of the two is more opportunistic. Both are using the case to their own advantage, rather than in the pursuit of justice. Another interesting performance is that of Alan Reed (Ezra Liam Kennedy) as a private investigator. Mr. Reed is best remembered today as the voice of Fred Flintstone.

This was Audrey Totter's (Madge Gorland) first appearance in a film noir. Her part is small - a great deal of it was cut when the original occupation of the character - a lion tamer - aroused way too much ridicule during the film's preview (James M. Cain actually crawled out of the theatre in embarrassment) ( TCM article). 

The novel was written in 1934 and was thought to be unfilmable because of the sexual content, though Mr. Cain attempted a stage adaptation in 1936, which he hoped would get it filmed. Le Derniere Tournant (1939), a French adaptation, did not do well and was not released in the U.S.  A 1942 Italian film, Ossessione, was also never released in the United States because it violated Mr. Cain's copyright (AFI catalog).

The title of the film (and novel) was a subject of discussion - there are several tales about how it got it's name, but it was important for the film that the title be eventually explained (by Frank, at film's end). This list of trivia outlines those stories). 

The New York Times review by Bosley Crowther was positive: "it is, indeed, a sincere comprehension of an American tragedy." Other reviews are varied (TCM Critics Corner).  The radio show Hollywood Soundstage aired a version in January 1952 with Eleanor Parker and Richard Widmark. The film was remade in 1981 with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange.

This is a must-see film (don't bother with the remake - it's a pale copy), and we highly recommend it. In the meantime, we'll leave you with the trailer:

 

Everyone Buys a Dress

In a series of four vignettes, the purchase of the latest Paris Model (1953) effects the lives of five women in France, in New York and in Los Angeles.

We picked this film because it had some excellent actors in the cast, but having them there didn't help. This is an AWFUL movie. Even at a mere 80 minute running time, it felt like we were watching the movie forever. The script is bad, the sets are cheap, even the dress that is the focus of the film looks like it came from the bargain-basement in Walmart.

The picture consists of four stories; each focus on women who buy this particular dress design (unlike the 1942 Tales of Manhattan where a tailcoat's owners are the focus, it is NOT the same dress). Gogo Montaine (Eva Gabor) in the first vignette buys a Paris original (and charges it to one of her lovers). Gogo is in the boyfriend business - she gives them the look, and they melt at her feet. Except, while Ms. Gabor can be really funny, and she is quite pretty, giving the sultry "look" is not really in her acting ballpark. She looks remarkably silly and unconvincing as she tries to seduce a variety of men into doing what she wants them to do. It's not all her fault - the camerawork also succeeds in making her look idiotic rather than alluring.

In the next story line, the usually wonderful Paulette Goddard plays Betty Barnes, an avaricious secretary in New York City on the make for her married boss Edgar Blevins (Leif Erickson). She purchases her dress (a knock-off of the Paris model - in the first story we see a woman sketching and taking notes at the Paris showroom) in order to seduce Blevins. She's such a despicable woman, you can't possibly root for her, and you surely don't like her. Leif Erickson's characterization is of a unattractive, henpecked husband who is also unattractive. When you see his wife Cora (Gloria Christian) during a phone conversation, you don't think too much of her either. With no-one with whom to sympathize, what's the point?

In the next tale, the dress has become even cheaper (it's now "a copy of a copy of a Paris original"). Marion Parmalee (Marilyn Maxwell) is attending a retirement party for her husband's boss, and she wants to make sure that Patrick James Sullivan (Cecil Kellaway) names her husband as his successor. How better to do it than to wear a sexy dress and tease P.J. into naming Jack (Robert Bice). She needs to get P.J.  away from his wife Nora (Florence Bates), but that, she reasons will be easy with this marvelous dress. As with the prior tale, we have a thoroughly unpleasant, greedy woman, and a horribly lecherous man that you can't wait to get their comeuppance. Cecil Kellaway is ill-served in the part - he's usually an appealing actor; here, he is just creepy.

This particular segment has the benefit of Florence Bates as Nora (one of the only nice people in the film). Ms. Bates, who is best remembered as the odious Mrs. Van Hopper in Rebecca (1940) was equally adept at comedy and drama  - my favorite of her roles was as Florence Dana Moorehead, the author who likes to "eat good" in I Remember Mama (1948). Ms. Bates started out to be a pianist, but had to change careers due to a hand injury. Then, she got a degree in mathematics, and taught math; after her 1909 marriage, she stayed home to raise their daughter. A divorce led her to study law and become the first female lawyer in Texas. Her father's death resulted in her working with her sister in their father's antique store, which Ms. Bates sold after her sister's death. When her second husband (to whom she was married from 1929 until his death in 1951) lost all his money, the family moved to Los Angeles and opened a successful bakery. She went onto the stage after she arrive in LA (she'd done some bilingual radio work in Texas); an introduction to Alfred Hitchcock led to her role in Rebecca and her film career. This film was her last one; she died the following year of a heart attack at the age of 65.

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The final yarn has Marta Jensen (Barbara Lawrence) buying the dress from a thrift shop. She's eager to convince her boyfriend, Charlie Johnson (Robert Hutton) to propose marriage. Charlie, however, is a cheapskate and a bore. While Marta seems a nice enough girl, her eagerness to marry this louse is distasteful. Ms. Lawrence gives the part as much as she can, but she's working opposite Mr. Hutton who is about as engaging as a piece of white bread. Tom Conway, totally miscast as he Maharajah of Kim-Kepore, repeats his role from the Paris story; he might as well be sleepwalking for the energy he brings to it. The whole episode is set in Romanoff's - except it's an obviously cheap imitation (TCM article). We do have a guest shot by "Prince" Michael Romanoff - he's the only personable character in this segment. 

The original title of the film was Nude at Midnight (AFI Catalog), the name of the dress all the women purchase (AFI Catalog). You can see the dress in the lobby card below. The movie really has nothing to offer, and we strongly suggest you pass this one by should it ever show up on your TV screen.

Katharine's Family Dinner

December marked the fiftieth anniversary of the release of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), and the film was part of the 2017 TCM Presents series. Very much a tale of the 1960s (but still relevant today), the film introduces us to Joanna "Joey" Drayton (Katharine Houghton), a 23 year old woman raised by liberal parents. Joey has returned from her vacation prematurely to her San Francisco home, accompanied by Dr. John Wade Prentice (Sidney Poitier), a highly-regarded physician, who happens to be African-American. The two met in Hawaii and fell in love. As John is about to leave for a three month work assignment with the World Health Organization in Geneva, the pair have arrived to tell Joey's parents, Christina (Katharine Hepburn) and Matt Drayton (Spencer Tracy) of their plans to marry in two weeks in Geneva. What Joey doesn't know is that John feels it is crucial to their future as a couple that Matt and Christina bless the marriage. If they will not, he will remove himself from Joey's life.

As pointed out by TCM host Tiffany Vasquez in her introduction, the film was a bit dated even upon release. John's father (Roy Glenn) states that "in several states" John and Joanna would be breaking the law - however the U.S. Supreme Court had just recently handed down a decision regarding interracial marriage in Loving v. Virginia (brought to the screen in 2016's Loving). Regardless of that momentous decision, Mr. Prentiss was correct about the difficulties that the couple would face - and still (unfortunately) face today. So, while some of the film is a tad old-fashioned, it still can speak to us in the 21st Century. (This Los Angeles Times article on 50th Anniversary of the film is an interesting examination of the film in the our times).

Spencer Tracy was ill when he filmed Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. In fact, both Katharine Hepburn and director Stanley Kramer placed their salaries for the film into escrow in the event Mr. Tracy was not able to complete shooting. Mr. Kramer arranged that Mr. Tracy would only film in the morning, while his energy levels were up to the task (TCM Article). Spencer Tracy died only 10 days after his work was completed. Regardless, his performance gives no hint that he was unwell; he is wonderful as a father facing his own liberal principles against the future happiness of his daughter. Mr. Tracy was posthumously nominated for his 10th Best Actor Oscar. (He lost to Rod Steiger in In the Heat of the Night). 

Another nominated performance was that of Beah Richards, as John's mother (Ms. Richards also lost, to Estelle Parsons in Bonnie and Clyde). Her performance is just wonderful; her love for her son, as well as her fear that her husband will destroy the relationship between himself and his son is evident in every scene. She was a lovely scene with Spencer Tracy that leads to the films penultimate speech from Mr. Tracy. She started working in New York theatre, first off-Broadway (in 1955), then on Broadway (she was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in The Amen Corner). She only made 15 films, most of them playing someone's mother. But it was in television that she made her mark, winning two Emmy awards, and appearing in shows such as I Spy (playing Alexander Scott's mother),  ER (as Peter Benton's mother), and Beauty and the Beast (as Narcissa). Ms. Richards died of emphysema in 2000 at the age of 80. 

Katharine Hepburn suggested that her niece, Katharine Houghton read for the role of Joanna (the studio had Samantha Eggar in mind (AFI catalog)). She's quite good in a part that really is somewhat minor - Joey is the catalyst for the action of the film. She is in the middle of the dialogue between her parents and John, not really part of the conversation. If I have one complaint about the film, it is that Joey is written as almost passive. We know she has some of her mother's fire (her comment about her mother's employee Hilary shows that), but all Joanna can say of herself is that she will be important because her husband is important. I suspect it was not the picture that we were supposed to have of Joanna, but it is very much a sign of the times that Joanna is not all that important. She's not even going to get a say in the decision regarding her future.

Besides the nominations for Mr. Tracy and Ms. Richards, there were other Oscar nominations: Actor in a Supporting Role (Cecil Kellaway), Art Direction, Film Editing, Music (Scoring of Music—adaptation or treatment), Directing, and Best Picture. It won awards for Katharine Hepburn as Best Actress, and for William Rose's Writing (Story and Screenplay—written directly for the screen). This was Ms. Hepburn's second Oscar win - the next year, she would win again for her role in The Lion in Winter and would share the honor with Barbra Streisand, who ALSO won for Funny Girl. The film has also been featured in three AFI lists: It stands as #35 in 100 Years, 100 Cheers, #58 in 100 Years, 100 Passions, and #99 100 Year, 100 Movies, 1998 edition.

I'll close with one of my favorite scenes in the Christina's conversation with the very nosy Hilary (Virginia Christine):