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:

James and Joan Don't Skate

Larry Hall (James Stewart) has a vision for ice shows - he sees them as extravaganzas, that tell stories through ice dancing and music. He has hired Mary McKay (Joan Crawford), a singer with no skating expertise to participate in his show, but is finding it hard to get jobs. No one wants anything more than skaters doing tricks. But Mary and Larry are in love, and when Mary realizes she is part of the problem, she separates herself from the ice show by talking her way into a film contract. But there is another issue - Mary and Larry have to hide their marriage. Her contract will only allow her to marry with the studio's permission. In celebration of James Stewart Day (August 7th) during the 2019 Summer Under the Stars festival on TCM (and as part of the Summer Under The Stars Blogathon), we'll be discussing Ice Follies of 1939 (1939).

Louis B. Mayer wanted a skating picture to compete with those of 20th Century Fox's Sonja Henie (Musicals in Film: A Guide to the Genre by Thomas S. Hischak), but was unable to find a skating star of Ms. Henie's caliber. So, he took two of his biggest stars, and threw them headfirst into an ice skating extravaganza.  There was, of course, a big issue - neither Joan Crawford nor James Stewart could skate.The solution was avoid showing them on skates - except in the advertisements (see below) - and just talk about them skating.

Given the cast, one would assume that this film from Hollywood's Golden Year would be exceptional. Unfortunately, it's not. The script is so mediocre that it is impossible for the actors to work successfully within it. There are some fun bits (like the running joke about Ms. Crawford's poor skating and a scene in which a doorman calls out the arrival of cars to a variety of MGM stars - great publicity for the studio!!), but by and large, the screenplay is routine, and doesn't capitalize on the skills of the actors.

Why they even bothered to have Lew Ayres as Larry's best friend, Eddie Burgess  is one issue.  He is such a good and engaging actor, and they give him precious little to do. As Larry's best friend, you would think he would serve as a sounding board for Larry when troubles begin, but the character is shipped out the minute problems begin. He reappears when things are looking up for Larry, and the only function he serves is as a sort of Yes Man for Larry's plan. By having Mr. Ayres in the part, you expect more, and are disappointed when he is gone.

Joan Crawford was likely never supposed to skate, but she was supposed to sing. She recorded three songs for the production, but all were cut (AFI Catalog), and when she does sing, her voice is dubbed. Ms. Crawford would later state that the reason for the cuts were Jeannette MacDonald's jealousy of Ms. Crawford's vocal talents (TCM article). The very idea is idiotic; we've heard Ms. Crawford sing (Dancing Lady (1933)), and she's no coloratura.

One shock is the design of Ms. Crawford's appearance in the film (see above) - her hair is darkened and parted in the middle; her makeup is more elaborate. Given how protective Ms. Crawford was of her appearance, it's a surprise she would have consented to this new look! Ms. Crawford was not happy with the production, so MGM gave her a juicier part that same year - Crystal Allen in The Women.

Lewis Stone's  Douglas Tolliver Jr. - the head of Monarch Studio - is the image that Louis B. Mayer wanted the public to believe was him, but, of course is not. Tolliver hires Mary because she says she doesn't want to be an actress (after she forces her way into his office, allegedly to collect $20 for damage caused by his chauffeur to Eddie's car). He's sweet, supportive, and a genuinely nice man. Ah, would that life imitated art!

Lionel Stander is also present as producer Mort Hodges. Like Tolliver, he is a good guy, and Mr. Stander plays him as the one person who believes in Larry's dream. Mr. Stander was about to have problems with HUAC (in 1940) that would continue on until he was blacklisted in 1951 (You can read his bold stand before the committee: The McCarthy Hearings by Philip Brooks). He eventually settled in Italy, where he appeared in spaghetti westerns like Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). When the TV series It Takes a Thief was filming in Italy, Robert Wagner asked Mr. Stander to appear in an episode of the show. This would lead to Mr. Stander's casting as Max, the man-of-all-work to the Harts in Hart to Hart. Mr. Stander died in 1994, aged 86, of lung cancer.

Which brings us to our Star of the Day, James Stewart. Like Ms. Crawford, he was unimpressed with the script. He plays Larry as a decent guy, who's trying to be supportive of his wife's carer - even to the point of cooking and cleaning as she supports them financially. But without anyone to bounce off, the character flounders, and it's hard for the audience to get to know him. There's precious little chemistry between him and Ms. Crawford, but he gives as good a performance as he can, given the limits of the script.  He too would see better days that same year - he would appear in both Destry Rides Again and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and be nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for the latter performance.

The New York Times review by Frank S. Nugent was negative ("Far be it from us to rap one of Mr. Rapf's more glittering productions; what we mildly object to is the fact that the glitter does not extend to the dialogue,"); the New York Herald Tribune said Ms. Crawford "should avoid this type of film in future, where she has to buck poor material, a group of specialists and Metro's own lavishness" (Skating on Air: The Broadcast History of an Olympic Marquee Sport by Kelli Lawrence). All in all, The Follies were a folly, but it did give Mr. Stewart the opportunities that would advance his career greatly (leading to his Oscar win for The Philadelphia Story the following year.

We'll leave you with a trailer,

And a suggestion that you visit some of the other Stars in the Summer Under The Stars Blogathon!