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:

Yankee Doodle Jimmy

From the stage of I’d Rather Be Right, George M. Cohan (James Cagney), famed actor and the composer/lyricist of Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), is summoned to Washington DC to meet President Roosevelt. At the President’s request, Cohan recounts the story of his life.

This post is part of the Politics on Film Blogathon, hosted by the Classic Movie Blog Association.
 
James Cagney gives the performance of a lifetime as Cohan. Though the role was offered to Fred Astaire (Mr. Astaire said no - he felt he was wrong to portray Cohan; he was right), and finally was given to Mr. Cagney, who was eager to play the part (TCM article). Mr. Cagney had always considered himself a hoofer - his first job in the theatre was dancing in the chorus (Library of Congress biography) - and he was eager to get away from the gangsters to which his career had been relegated. He'd also on occasion been accused of being a communist (his activities in the Screen Actors Guild were part of the issue), and playing Cohan showed him as the ultimate American patriot.

Mr. Cagney was a perfectionist, and demanded long rehearsals to perfect his dancing.  He was coached by Johnny Boyle, a vaudevillian who was highly regarded as an Irish-American tap dancer. At the same time, he was not averse to improvisation - when he first meets Mary Cohan (Joan Leslie), Mr. Cagney improvised most of his "business." The stair dance at the conclusion of the film was also spur of the moment. The dancing style, however was very reminiscent of Cohan's style (you can see some brief clips of Mr. Cohan dancing in this video). His dynamic dancing makes the film - when he is on screen you cannot take your eyes off him.  He's no singer, but as Joan Leslie pointed out "Jim doesn't sing, because he doesn't sing worth a darn. He'd talk it, and every now and again, he'd hit a note...but he had some much energy and such a presence that it doesn't seem like he couldn't sing." (Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film by Alan K. Rode).

Joan Leslie is a strong counterpart to Mr. Cagney. She gives Mary just the right amount of naivete in the beginning, and slowing moves the character into a knowing and supportive partner. Ms. Leslie had an excellent singing voice, and could dance a bit; she follows Mr. Cagney's lead, as he improvises some of their scenes together, she responds easily.  Ms. Leslie is playing a primarily fictional character.  George M. Cohan was married twice - to Ethel Levey and Agnes Nolan. When he agreed to the film biography, he stipulated that he didn't want either of his wives discussed. Warner Brothers decided to create an amalgam of the two women and give her a different name, thus abiding by Cohan's requirement and still having him be married - as well as provide a motivation for the song "Mary's A Grand Old Name."

Yankee Doodle Dandy is very much a Cagney family affair. James Cagney's brother, William, served as the producer, and sister Jeanne Cagney appears as Josie Cohan. The easy relationship between the brother and sister, combined with the talents of Rosemary DeCamp (Nellie Cohan) and Walter Huston (Jerry Cohan) make for a strong family unit. Ms. DeCamp was actually 11 years younger than Mr. Cagney. Her autobiography comments on the difficulties she and Ms. Cagney had learning the complex dance routines (Tigers in My Lap by Rosemary DeCamp).

Walter Huston, however, had a theatre background - he'd worked in Vaudeville, and among his fourteen Broadway credits was the musical Knickerbocker Holiday. He has what is perhaps the most moving scene in the film - the death of Jerry Cohan. According to Rudy Behmer (in his commentary on the DVD), Michael Curtiz broke down sobbing as he watched Cagney perform. He ruined at least one take and can be heard in the background of the film if you listen carefully.

The film also features strong performances by Richard Whorf (Sam H. Harris) and Irene Manning (Fay Templeton). George Tobias (Dietz) appears as a would-be theatrical impresario. And S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall (Schwab) has one scene as the man who stages Cohan and Harris first production. Though the scene is fine, Mr. Cagney was initially upset that Mr. Sakall was mugging through the filming - he asked Mr. Curtiz to tone Sakall down. Much of his work ended up on the cutting room floor.

Obviously, a lot of the history is incorrect - the frame story in particular is not anywhere the actual story.  World War II broke out while Yankee Doodle Dandy was being filmed (Ms. DeCamp related the company huddled around a radio on the set, listening to Franklin Roosevelt deliver his address to Congress). I’d Rather Be Right, however,  ran from November 1937 to July 1938. And Roosevelt gave Cohan the Congressional Gold Medal (NOT, as stated in the film, the Congressional Medal of Honor - the Medal of Honor is a military award) in May of 1940.  It had been awarded in June of 1936, but Cohan (a Democrat), disliked unions and though an early Roosevelt supporter was not fond of Roosevelt's pro-union stance. The photo below (from the Library of Congress), shows George M. Cohan receiving the Gold Metal from the President. Mr. Cohan died in November of 1942, a few months after the film was released (AFI Catalog).

Bosley Crowther's review in the New York Times was glowing: "as warm and delightful a musical picture as has hit the screen in years, a corking good entertainment and as affectionate, if not as accurate, a film biography as has ever—yes, ever—been made." A Roger Ebert review from 1998 was also complimentary.  The film received three Academy Awards (for Actor - Mr. Cagney, Sound Recording, and Scoring of a Musical). It was also nominated for five awards: Picture, Supporting Actor - Walter Huston, Director, Original Screenplay, and Film Editing).  In 1993, it was added to the National Film Registry. It is #18 on AFI's list of musicals, #100 on the original 100 Years, 100 Movies, and #98 on the 10th Anniversary list.

If you'd like to read more about this exceptional picture, take a look at "‘A Great American Service’: George M. Cohan, the Stage, and the Nation in Yankee Doodle Dandy" by  Elizabeth Titrington Craft from The Oxford Handbook of Musical Theatre Screen Adaptations Edited by Dominic McHugh Oxford Handbook Online and this American Heritage article. If you've never seen Yankee Doodle Dandy, treat yourself and get hold of a copy. In the meantime, here is the trailer:

This post is part of the Classic Movie Blog Association Blogathon, Politics on Film. Please visit the website to read some of the other wonderful posts.

Interlude: WWII Erupts

On December 6, 1941, a group of B-17 Flying Fortress bombers leave San Francisco on a routine run to Hawaii.  As they arrive, they discover that Pearl Harbor and Hickam Field have been virtually destroyed by the Japanese attack of December 7th.  In that instant, the lives of the crew of the Mary Ann change as they attempt to get their plane first to Wake Island, then to the Philippines, to fight in the newly declared war in the Pacific.  This is Air Force, a Howard Hawks film from 1943. 

We had the opportunity to see this interesting film on a big screen at the AFI Silver Theatre, as part of a Howard Hawks retrospective.  Hawks, a member of the U.S. Army Air Service during the first World War, had already demonstrated his interest in aviation with his prior films, Ceiling Zero (1935) and Only Angels Have Wings (1939). Here, as the war rages on in Europe and Asia, with no end in sight, Hawks looks at an event that would have been very much in the memory of his audience.  The film is careful in sticking to the facts, with only a few liberties taken.  In fact, a group of Fortresses was en route to Hawaii just prior to the Pearl Harbor attack, and one of the ships was, in fact, the Mary Ann. 

My companion, who is quite familiar with the history of World War II, pointed out to me some of the liberties taken in the film.  For example, were a ship like the Mary Ann to be sent from Hawaii to the Philippines, it would have flown via Midway, not Wake Island. It's apparent that Hawks wants to reference the events that occurred on Wake Island, as it was attacked and captured by the Japanese (and perhaps tip his hat to the film Wake Island, that had been released the previous year). Towards the end of the film, we see the Mary Ann's crew involved in a battle - it appears to be the Battle of the Coral Sea, but that didn't happen until 5 months AFTER Pearl Harbor (not a few days as portrayed here).  And there is no way a B-17 could hover over a convoy of battleships to mark the way for oncoming planes. It just would not work!

You'll be treated to some fine performances here: a young John Garfield as tail gunner Joe Winocki; George Tobias as New Yorker and gunner Weinberg, Harry Carey - always wonderful - as crew chief Robbie White, Arthur Kennedy as Bombardier Tommy McMartin. and Gig Young as co-pilot Bill Williams.  We even have a cameo by Ann Doran as pilot Irish Quincannon (John Ridgely)'s wife.

Though I'm not usually a fan of war movies, this one was certainly worth seeing, and I hope to view it again. It had a sympathy for the men and an understanding of what they were facing that is not always apparent in World War II propaganda films.  Is it propaganda? Of course, but propaganda of the best kind.

For your enjoyment, the trailer from the film is below:

Our next Constance Bennett movie will be up in a few days.

Bloomer Girl Olivia

The Strawberry Blonde from 1941 is one of those wonderful movies that I think people just don't know about.  Here our Ms. de Havilland plays Amy Lind, a gutsy nurse whose best friend is Virginia Brush (Rita Hayworth), the titular Strawberry Blonde.  Olivia is just a delight as she attempts to shock James Cagney (as T.L. "Biff" Grimes) with her suffragette ideas and outspoken manners.  One of my favorite scenes is Virginia, laying out her plan to entice Biff and Hugo Barnstead (played as a complete slime by Jack Carson) over, without looking forward.  "That will show them we're good girls and they can't trifle with us" asserts Virginia. "What did we come for if not to be trifled with?" questions Amy with some indigence.  Here is part of that scene:


It is rather a shame that Olivia and James Cagney did not get to do more pictures together. They are a quite delightful pair.  And again, combined with the stellar character actors that inhabit this movie, this movie is a lot of fun.  Rita Hayworth, in what is essentially a supporting part, is excellent as the at first naive, and later hard-as-nails Virginia.  Watch her in the final scene.  Her very voice will make you cringe.  George Tobias as Nick, Biff's best friend Nick, is adorable.  And then there are the always wonderful Alan Hale (as Biff's father) and Una O'Connor (as a next door neighbor to Mr. Grimes).  Oh, let's not leave out George Reeves as the obnoxious college man who lives next door to Biff and Amy.

The movie is told in flashback, a technique that works beautifully here, as we see the growth of Biff and Amy.  We know something really awful has happened to them, but not what or why.  We know that Biff has reached a crossroad, but not how he will deal with it.  The ending is satisfying, and we come to love these two people, who discover their love for each other though adversity and conflict. If you've never seen it, do yourself a favor and try to catch it the next time it is on.  I think you will like it.