Farley is on the Run - Again

Having lost his gas station, Joe Norton (Farley Granger) and his wife Ellen (Cathy O’Donnell) are forced to move in with her parents. The only work he can find is as a temporary mail carrier. With a baby on the way, Joe steals what he thinks is $200 from a man on his delivery route, only to find the file contains $30,000. When he tries to return the money, he discovers it has disappeared, and the criminals from whom he stole it are now after him.  Today, we’re looking at Side Street (1950).

Our initial reaction to Farley Granger's Joe was that the character is a complete idiot. He starts out as almost listless and passive, then endangers himself, his wife, and his child by stealing from an office to which he's been delivering mail. Finally, to add insult to injury, he gives the money (wrapped in some brown paper) to a bartender to hold for him. These early scenes have the viewer constantly head shaking because Joe is SO stupid.  Happily, the character begins to grow and Mr. Granger is ultimately able to make us care for him - first because of his family, but finally because he cares about his wife so much, and really does repent his actions.

The film starts with voice-over narration by Paul Kelly (Captain Walter Anderson); while some of it is interesting (especially the information about New York City, circa 1950), much is superfluous.  Mr. Kelly is very good in what is really a very small part (removed from the narration), and perhaps his reassurances at the end of the film might be welcome to some members of the audience. Mostly though, it felt as though the filmmakers really wanted to be compared to The Naked City (1948).

Whether you agree with everything director Anthony Mann did, it is apparent that he hired actors who gave some amazing performances.  The first that comes to mind is James Craig as Georgie Garsell. If your mind immediately goes to images of Editor Halverson in Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945) or reporter Mike Regan in Lost Angel (1944), think again. Georgie is a psychotic individual whose eyes gleam when he knows he is a going to kill someone.  Mr. Craig plays him with some degree of relish, but never goes over-the-top. He makes Georgie both scary and human.

The always impressive Jean Hagen (Harriet Sinton) is wonderful in a part that is almost a cameo. This is only her third movie, and she is convincing as an alcoholic singer with the hots for Georgie. She has a brief scene with Mr. Granger (making an interesting foil to his real love interest), and then a scene with Mr. Craig.  You will, however, remember her at the end. 

Cathy O'Donnell's part is also relatively small, but she makes an impact in all of her scenes.  A loving wife who is completely thrown by her husband's sudden secretiveness, she's the person that makes you initially understand that Joe has something worth liking.  As with their appearance together the previous year, They Live by Night, they are an appealing couple, much of it thanks to Ms. O'Donnell's delicate performance. 

Several other actors should be acknowledged, many in uncredited roles. Charles McGraw has a brief appearance as Detective Stanley Simon.  Richard Basehart appears briefly - and uncredited - as a bank teller; likewise, King Donovan as Detective Gottschalk and Ben Cooper, in his first film role as Young Man at Cleaners are not listed in the credits. 

Shot on location in New York City (AFI catalog), the cinematography by Joseph Ruttenberg is impressive. He uses aerial shots to increase the claustrophobic atmosphere of the city, making the skyscraper streets appear as mazes. In her book on Anthony Mann, author Jeanine Basinger comments that "[Joe's] world is one he can neither control nor see fully, trapped as he is in the small canyons below." There is also an impressive car chase scene in the narrow confines of New York's Wall Street area (TCM article).

If you are at all interested in New York City locations, I suggest visiting the NYC in Film blog  and take a look at some of the amazing photos the author has compiled showing the City then and now. 

While not well received by Bosley Crowther in his New York Times review, the reviews at the time were mixed, and the film has been more fairly judged in recent years.  This is an enjoyable film that will keep you interested throughout.  We'll leave you with a trailer: 

Katharine & Spencer Go to Court

Doris Attinger (Judy Holliday) shoots her philandering husband, Warren (Tom Ewell) after she finds him in the arms of Beryl Caighn (Jean Hagen). The case intrigues attorney Amanda Bonner (Katharine Hepburn), who sees it as a means of striking a blow for women's rights. But there is a complication - her husband Adam (Spencer Tracy) is the assistant DA assigned to prosecute the case.  Our film this time is Adam's Rib (1949).

Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy are delightful as a happily married couple on opposite sides of the political fence (she's a Democrat; he's a Republican) and opposing each other in a media circus of a trial. Amanda is convinced that if the defendant were a man, she would not be on trial for shooting her cheating spouse. Adam says the gender shouldn't matter - it's the letter of the law that counts, and someone who shoots another deserves jail time, no matter the reason for it. 

The dialog between the couple fairly crackles - it's smart, sexy, and amusing. Written by Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon (who were friends of Tracy and Hepburn), the screenplay was written with the acting duo in mind. The story was inspired by the divorce of Raymond Massey and Adrianne Allen, who hired a married couple as their representation. The Massey/Allen divorce resulted in two divorces, when lawyers William and Dorothy Whitney also divorced, each to marry their client  (TCM's The Big Idea).

While this was not Judy Holliday's first film, it was a major breakthrough for her. She's wonderful as the remarkably dim Doris - the audience feels sorry for her, at the same time shakes their collective heads at her naivety. Ms. Holliday was appearing on Broadway in her first starring role - that of Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday.  In fact, she filmed Adam's Rib during the day, and rushed back to the Henry Miller Theatre to appear in the play each evening. Ms. Holliday badly wanted to appear in the film version of Born Yesterday, but Columbia's Harry Cohn had no interest in her. So, Katharine Hepburn devised various means to bring Ms. Holliday into a position that Mr. Cohn could not say no (TCM The Essentials), even going so far as to plant stories that Ms. Holliday was stealing the movie (TCM's Behind the Camera) from Tracy and Hepburn.  

Jean Hagen is also spectacular as the Other Woman. This was her first film, and she's a riot in her small scene with Katharine Hepburn. Beryl Caighn is reminiscent of Ms. Hagen's most famous role - Lena Lamont in Singin' in the Rain, but we should never forget that Ms. Hagen was a versatile actress who really never rose to the level of success that she should have.

If there is one weak link in the film, it's Tom Ewell as the cheating husband. It's hard to imagine what either Doris or Beryl could see in this uncouth lout. A cheater, an abusive husband - he's despicable, and Mr. Ewell doesn't attempt to make him in any way attractive.  We're not particularly fans of Mr. Ewell - it seemed to us there should be something about him that would seem appealing to two women. We didn't see it.

David Wayne (Kip Lurie) has the pleasure of singing a "Farewell, Amanda" which Cole Porter wrote for the film. He's really funny as a fey composer who is the bane of Adam's existence.  He's flirtatious, rude, and downright obnoxious - a man with some talent who thinks he can dominate every event. We wondered why the Bonner's would have it at their party (to play the piano), when Kip spends most of his time insulting the guests and Adam. It was Katharine Hepburn who convinced Mr. Porter to write the song, but he would only do it if they changed the name of the character from Madeleine (AFI catalog). At which point, they decided to also change the name of the male character from Ned to Adam.

Several other actors have small parts, and their presence in the film is most welcome. Marvin Kaplan as the Court Stenographer will be remembered more for his voice than his face - he was Choo-Choo in the animated series Top Cat. Madge Blake, who played a plethora of older women (including Aunt Harriet on the Batman television series) appears briefly as Adam's mother.  And Hope Emerson (Olympia La Pere) gets to play a strong woman who has one of the funnier bits in the film.
 

The film has been criticized for undercutting Katharine Hepburn's bit for women's rights at the end (Framing Female Lawyers: Women on Trial in Film by Cynthia Lucia), but we felt that the movie did justice to the points of view of both attorneys. Amanda is right - women are treated unequally by the law, but Adam is right that men should be held to the same standards. 

Two other titles preceded this one - Love is Legal and Man and Wife (Spencer Tracy: A Biography by James Curtis). The second title was changed, as the PCA found it suggestive. What they didn't seem to notice was that in the first scene in Adam's and Amanda's bedroom, while it has two large beds, clearly only one of them was used that night - the second bed is neatly made, and the other pillow in Adam's bed is has a head dent in it!  

 

The New York Times review by Bosley Crowther was quite positive, calling it a "bang-up frolic". Other reviews were equally complimentary (TCM Critics Corner).

In 1973, there was a very brief TV series based on the film with Ken Howard and Blythe Danner. The film has also been included in Jeremy Arnold's first book of The Essentials: 52 Must-See Movies and Why they Matter. This is definitely a film that should be on your must-see list - here's a trailer:

Stuck on a Desert Island (with a DVD player)

In celebration of National Classic Movie Day, and as part of the Classic Film and TV Cafe's blogathon, I'm going to venture on choosing the five (!!) movies I want with me when I'm stuck on a desert island.  For someone with over 1,000 DVDs in her library, this is no easy task, but I'm going to give it a try with the caveat that the five I pick today may not be the same five I pick tomorrow!

I know that when forced to choose, I'm going to want to mix up the genres a bit, so I'm not watching the same kind of film over and over,.  Let's start with a musical, and my selection here is without equivocation.   Whenever Singin' in the Rain is on, I have to watch the whole thing.  I start out saying "I'll just watch this scene", and the next thing I know, the movie is over and I've re-watched it again.  I actually do that with a lot of movies, which is probably not a surprise to anyone reading this.  Regardless, Singin' in the Rain is special.  With great music, wonderful dancing (Donald O'Connor doing "Make 'em Laugh" is an especial favorite), and terrific actors (Jean Hagen as Lola Lamont - she is perfection!)  it has everything.  It also serves as an introduction to the beginning of talkies.  It's a film to which I frequently refer people, especially when they are puzzled as to why films look like they do in 1929 and 1930.  Plus, it's a film that you will finish with a smile on your face and a song in your heart.

If you've never see I Remember Mama, you are missing a wonderful film.  My pick for drama has several competitors (mainly A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Johnny Belinda and The Enchanted Cottage), but for this week, I'm going with Irene Dunne in one of her last films.  As the titular Mama, Dunne is perfect as Marta Hansen.  Sure, Mama at time seems without fault, but it's hard to care or even notice as Dunne is so unbelievingly convincing as this warm and loving wife and mother.  Narrated by the family's oldest daughter, Katrin (played beautifully by Barbara Bel Geddes), the story is a series of incidents in the life of the Hansen family over a number of years, which makes it perfect desert island viewing.  Each "story" can be watched as part of the whole progression of the film, or as an independent short story.  Especially poignant is an incident that revolves around the illness of the youngest daughter, Dagmar (June Hedin), and the inability of Mama to see her ailing child after surgery (hospital rules forbid any visitors for 24 hours post surgery.  Wow, have things changed with time!)  Dunne's heartbreak and guilt (she'd promised the child she would be there when she woke) in this segment reaches out from the screen and tears your heart.  Ultimately, it is the strength of the family and the care that the immigrant mother and father show to their children as they try to avoid "go[ing] to the bank" that you will remember.

There are some really great westerns, and I have to admit that I had trouble deciding on just one.  It came down to two:  The Searchers and Westward the Women (add to the mix, a friend suggested Shane and The Big Country.  Yes, my friends make my life harder).  Ultimately, I chose The Searchers since it is again one of those movies I fall into each time I see it.  John Wayne is exceptional as Ethan Edwards, a man driven to almost insanity by his hatred of Native Americans.  When Ethan's niece, Debbie, is captured by a group of Indians who murdered the rest of her family, Ethan and Martin Pawley, a young man of mixed heritage who was raised by Debbie's parents, go on a quest to recover Debbie from her captors.  But as the years pass and Debbie goes from childhood to young adulthood, it becomes clear to Martin that he must continue on the journey, no matter the cost.  For, if he abandons it, Ethan will surely murder the young woman he now sees as a squaw.  The story is intense, with Wayne creating a character that is impossible to like, but with whom the viewer feels a bond.  Also notable are Jeffrey Hunter as Martin and Ward Bond as the Reverend Clayton, both characters that act as counterpoint to Wayne's driven loner.  Finally, there are the magnificent vistas of Monument Valley, which director John Ford uses to tell his tale.  It's a film with so many layers that, with each viewing, you'll see something new. 

There are a number of comedies, especially romantic comedies which come to mind when asked to pick a desert-island selection: Victoria, Victoria, The Major and the Minor, Roman Holiday are just the tip of the iceberg.  But I decided to select Bachelor Mother, starring Ginger Rogers as Polly Parrish, the temporary employee of Merlin and Son Department Store.  When her job is about to come to an end, Polly goes out on her lunch break to find another job.  She sees a woman abandoning a baby at a foundling home.  Fearful the baby will roll from the stoop, Polly rushes in - and is mistaken for the baby's mother by the staff.  As a result, Polly finds herself saddled with a baby, as well as a suitor, in the form of David Merlin, the "and Son" of the department store.  The film is funny and sweet, the baby is adorable, and our romantic couple have a great chemistry.  But what I love about this film are the attitudes of everyone towards this seemingly unwed mother.  Sure, we, the audience, know that Polly is a "good girl", but the other characters don't, and uniformly they treat her with kindness and compassion.  I especially love Polly's landlady Mrs Weiss (played to perfection by Ferike Boros), who, rather than condemn the girl, goes and gets her adult son's baby things and becomes Polly's go-to baby sitter!  In an era where unwed mothers didn't exist, or were punished (usually by death) at movie's end, Bachelor Mother gives us a picture of a society that embraces the mistakes of a young woman, and ends by creating a happy family, all without violating the Code.

I'm not a huge horror fan, but I love suspenseful films.  The Spiral Staircase is one film that I considered for this category, but really there was no contest in the ultimate winner: The Uninvited.    It really does have everything - a phenomenal story, great cast, two ghosts, a really mysterious house, and a haunting musical score.  (In an earlier blog entry, above, you'll find a link to a You-Tube video of the magnificent theme, Stella By Starlight).  One of the problems with suspense films is that, once you know the answer, you don't always enjoy rewatching the film.  But The Uninvited still is a pleasure even when you know what is coming.  Much like Laura, it's the acting, and the relationships of the characters that keep you returning to this film.  Ray Milland is exceptional as Rick, the new owner of Windwood House, as is Ruth Hussey as his sister Pam.  But the person who steals the film from under everyone else is the ethereal Gail Russell, playing Stella Meredith, the object of Rick's love and the focus of the beings that haunt the house.  The Uninvited is a movie that will make you believe in ghosts.

As I said, this is a list that could change at a moment's notice, and you'll notice that the list lacks a few films that one might expect to see on a desert island list.  So, let's give a nod to To Kill a Mockingbird, Gone with the Wind,  The Best Years of Our Lives, The Thin Man, Casablanca, just a few in a list of "essentials" that film fans love.  These are wonderful; I own them, I would never give them up. I rewatch them regularly, but you all KNOW about these films.  With my list, I hope I may have brought up a few films that might not have made your own "essentials" queue.

Gene Dances in the Rain

In celebration of National Classic Movie Day our contribution to the blogathon being hosted by the Classic Film and TV Cafe is the magnificent Singin' in the Rain (1952).  We had the pleasure of seeing it recently at the Strathmore Music Center, with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra accompanying the film.  Computer technology, it seems, allows them to strip the music, but leave all the voices in place - thus, Gene and Donald and Debbie get to sing with a magnificent symphony orchestra providing support. 

Singin' in the Rain is the story of Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly), a silent movie star who is faced with the loss of his career as the sound era begins.  He and his best friend Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor) hatch a plan - to take the horrid sound melodrama that their studio is about to release and turn it into a musical. The problem? Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), Don's addle-pated co-star, who has a voice like air raid siren.  So, they enlist the help of Don's great love, Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) to supply Lamont's singing and speaking voice for this one picture.

With the exception of "Moses Supposes" and "Fit as a Fiddle" ("Make 'Em Laugh" contains the music of "Be a Clown", with new lyrics), all of the songs in Singin' in the Rain are recycled from other films (this article will give you a rundown of where the songs first appeared).  And the story, in some senses, hearkens back to early Rooney-Garland "let's put on a show" musical comedies.  Yet, Singin' in the Rain is unique and brilliant, and possibly the greatest musical ever made - certainly the American Film Institute places it highly.  On their list of the 100 Best Love Stories, it placed 16.  On their list of the100 Best Movies, it placed 5th.  It was number in the list of the 100 Best Songs, and in the list of the 100 Best Musicals, it wins as number 1!  There are many reasons why, not the least of which is an outstanding cast, and dance numbers beyond parallel.

Gene Kelly both stars in and co-directs (with Stanley Donen) the film.   His masterful dancing is especially evident in the "Broadway Ballet" (his partner in that number is the glorious Cyd Charisse), and in the even more famous title song routine.  There is a special joy in the latter number that is rarely scene in film.  Don's jubilance in his newly found love is contagious.  It's impossible to watch the him dance through a heavy rain without wanting to join him.

In her first major role, Debbie Reynolds is lovely.  She is a combination of innocence and spunk that only she is able to portray.  She learned to dance on the set; mostly taught by Gene Kelly, but also by Fred Astaire, who was visiting the set one day.  This video from AFI has Reynolds describing the encounter.

Donald O'Connor is masterful in the role of Cosmo.  As impressive a dancer as Gene Kelly is, it is next to impossible to NOT watch O'Connor when they dance together.  It's also hard to understand why O'Connor is not up there with Kelly and Astaire in the oft-named great dancers.  He could do it all - tap, novelty, ballroom; was an impressive actor, and an excellent choreographer.  In this tribute written by Roger Ebert at the time of O'Connor's death,  the genesis of the "Make 'Em Laugh" number is discussed.  O'Connor invented the dance due to an injury that forced Kelly to pass the reigns to him - and gave him some extra time to do it.  He would go on to receive a well-deserved Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy.     

Which brings us to the true shining light of Singin' in the Rain, the always wonderful Jean Hagen.  Her Lina Lamont is a work of genius - vain, selfish, quite dense, but not ever stupid, Lina is a character you can't like, but adore anyway.  Like my fellow blogger at A Person in the Dark, I'm appalled that she was snubbed for a well-deserved Oscar (and didn't even get a Golden Globe nomination!)  But we can still revel in her artistry, and laugh at her dialog, delivered in a voice that is far from her own.  When you watch the film, pay close attention to the dialogue in the reworked sound version of  "The Dancing Cavalier".  It was decided by the powers-that-be at MGM, that Debbie Reynolds voice wasn't quite the thing for the dialogue, so they went back to the source - Jean Hagen spoke for herself, without the shrill LaMont cadence.  The section of notes from the AFI Movie Page provides a wealth of backstory on the film, as do these TCM articles.

The film opened on March 27, 1952 at Radio City Music Hall, hallmarking it as a prestige film (the opening also featured the Rockettes in "The Glory of Easter", a pageant second only to their Christmas show).  The New York Times review was not exactly an enthusiastic "thumbs-up".  Bosley Crowther, however, has been proven wrong by history, and we still have this film to watch (repeatedly, in my case).  I'll leave you with Ms. LaMont being wired for sound - a wonderful moment with a great actress, and a bit of film history to boot.


This post is part of the My Favorite Classic Movie Blogathon in celebration of National Classic Movie Day (May 16th). Click here to view the schedule listing all the great posts in this blogathon.