Is Bill a Murderer?

Sailor Alex Winkler (Bill Williams) finds a large sum of money in his pocket. He tells dance-hall hostess June Goffe (Susan Hayward) that he must have taken it from Edna Bartelli (Lola Lane) after she got him drunk. They return to her apartment to return the money, and find her dead. June agrees to help Alex locate the murderer before Alex's Deadline at Dawn (1946).

At first glance, this appears to be another "we only have six hours to find the murderer movie," but the plot has more twists and turns than a pretzel, making it an interesting ride.  It gets a bit long-winded at times - there is perhaps a twist too many and the ending seems to come from nowhere, but this is an enjoyable picture that will keep you watching.

Susan Hayward creates an interesting character in June. She's just on the border of jaded - tough, but still possessing enough faith in humanity that she is willing to come to the aid of this naive sailor. June hovers on the edge of acceptance - she wants to believe in Alex, but her experiences in the Big City have left her cynical. The audience spends the movie waiting for her to abandon Alex and is relieved when she doesn't. Ms. Hayward is a good choice for the part — her strength makes it acceptable as June takes on the more traditionally masculine role, while Williams is the "damsel" in distress. The film marks Ms. Hayward's return to the screen after giving birth to twin boys (AFI catalog).

Though Alex, as played by Bill Williams, is likeable, he can also seem dull and repetitive. Thankfully, as the film progresses, he becomes less childlike and more responsible. Mr. Williams is able to grow Alex - the film open with him recovering from the mickey that Edna gave him. As the movie goes on, we are aware that Alex's head is clearing, and while he is still a babe in the woods compared to June, he's far more intelligent than the early scenes led us to believe. Mr. Williams, who married Barbara Hale the year this film was released, maintained a friendship with Susan Hayward after the film - which apparently was not an easy task for a woman as guarded as she was (TCM article). 

Paul Lukas (Gus Hoffman) rounds out the stars of the film as a cab driver who befriends the pair. Mr. Lukas makes Gus a cypher - why he would want to help the couple is mysterious, but, like June, he appears to believe sincerely in Alex's innocence and goes to drastic lengths to clear him of a potential murder charge. Gus gets the opportunity to orate on the more philosophical elements of the film that were inserted into the script by Clifford Odets.

There are a number of outstanding character performances, headed by Lola Lane as the thieving Edna. The opening sequence of the film (you can watch it below), shows a deep close up of her face, with a fly dancing around her - is she dead, you wonder. Her appearance in the film is brief, but pivotal. Ms. Lane is always a pleasure and sadly often under-utilized - she never got the screen time offered to sister Priscilla.

Marvin Miller (Sleepy Parsons), who would later gain fame as Michael Anthony in the TV show The Millionaire, is excellent as Edna's compatriot, a blind pianist. Osa Massen (Helen Robinson) is also convincing as a woman who is somehow tied into the crime. Jerome Cowan (Lester Brady) has a brief appearance as another suspect.  The one character we could have done without was the creepy Edward Honig (played by Steven Geray). He was a bit too icky as a dance hall patron pursuing June, and didn’t seem relevant to the story.

The story was reprized by the Lux Radio Theatre in May 1946 with Mr. Lukas, Mr. Williams and Joan Blondell in the lead roles. The movie received a lukewarm review by Bosley Crowther in the New York Times. And while we agreed with the Times that the ending came out of nowhere, a lot of things that throughout the film made no sense do coalesce.  We will mention that that a couple of us needed to rewatch the ending to grasp all that was going on.

If not everything makes sense in the film, one can assume, like Eddie Muller says in his introduction to the film, that it is "a dream." We'll leave you with that opening scene,  which starts the twisty road.

Bette is Marked

Gangster Johnny Vanning (Eduardo Ciannelli) has purchased the Club Intime, forcing hostesses Mary Dwight Strauber (Bette Davis), Gabby Marvin (Lola Lane), Emmy Lou Egan (Isabel Jewell),  Estelle Porter (Mayo Methot), and Rosalind Marquis (Florrie Liggett) to work for him. Mary is well aware of the hazards of being in Johnny's employ - he murdered a hostess in another of his clubs - but she figures if she does her job and keeps her distance, all will be well.  But things go awry when her younger sister Betty Strauber (Jane Bryan) arrives for a visit on the same day that Mary is arrested for the murder of club client Ralph Krawfurd (Damian O'Flynn), an out-of-town visitor who stiffed Johnny. Our film this week is Marked Woman (1937). 

Jack Warner read the newspapers regularly - he considered them a source for stories for his studio. The reports on the arrest and prosecution of Charles "Lucky" Luciano by New York Attorney General Thomas E. Dewey piqued his interest. The charge was compulsory prostitution, and several prostitutes were convinced to testify against Luciano, despite the danger implicit in such an action (Marked Women: Prostitutes and Prostitution in the Cinema by Russell Campbell). While the movie denies its relationship "to any person living or dead," Mr. Warner had clearly ordered a story based on this famous trial. (DVD Documentary: Marked Woman: Ripped from the Headlines)

Bette Davis had just returned to Warner's after losing a court battle against the studio (TCM article). However, she came back to a strong role in an excellent film.  Ms. Davis as Mary Dwight is the lynch pin in the story - she is strong, intelligent, determined, but she is also a woman with a human side. Her love for her sister is the most important part of who she is, and Ms. Davis gives a performance that clicks on all levels.  She was determined to make Mary believable. For her appearance in a later scene (after Mary is beaten for her refusal to cow-tow to Vanning), Ms. Davis went to her own doctor to get properly bandaged and "damaged" for the hospital scene, as she thought the Warner's makeup department made her look as though she was wearing "a cream puff of gauze" (Dark Victory: The Life of Bette Davis by Ed Sikov). When she returned (and a horrified guard called the office to report that Ms. Davis had been in a horrible accident), Warner and producer Hal Wallis agreed to her makeup, as long as she removed the broken nose she was sporting! 

In 1937, Humphrey Bogart was not known for playing heroes. He came close in The Great O'Malley, playing a family man who is sent to jail by a by-the-book cop. But he'd also appeared as a white supremacist in Black Legion and as gangsters in Dead End, Kid Galahad, and San Quentin that same year. Here, Bogart takes on the mantle of Thomas Dewey, playing a crusading district attorney. He's excellent throughout the film, but is especially wonderful in a scene where he has to deliver some bad news to Ms. Davis

It was on the set of this film that Mr. Bogart met Mayo Methot (who gives a touching performance as Estelle); both were married at the time, but that didn't stop them from beginning a relationship. They married they following year, but the marriage was notorious for its violence. (Hollywood's Hard-Luck Ladies: 23 Actresses Who Suffered Early Deaths, Accidents, Missteps, Illness and Tragedies by Laura Wagner)  Nicknamed "The Battling Bogarts," they drank deeply and often, usually resulting in violent arguments - his nickname for her was "Sluggy". (Architectural Digest, 2016). As time wore on, Mr. Bogart came to fear and pity Ms. Methot; when he met young actress Lauren Bacall in 1944, he finally asked for a divorce. Suffering from alcoholism and depression, Ms. Methot eventually moved to her home town of Portland, Oregon, when she died in 1951. Mr. Bogart sent flowers to her gravesite until his own death (Portland Monthly, 2011)

The film is enhanced by the talents of number of magnificent character actors working at Warner Brothers. Allen Jenkins (Louie), always a delight, has a brief moment as a dress salesman. John Litel (Gordon) is convincing as Johnny Vanning's lawyer. Ben Welden is frightening as Vanning's henchman Charlie. After a substantial career playing small parts in film, Mr. Welden would move onto television, where he again took on character roles - including appearances in 8 episodes of The Adventures of Superman.  Eduardo Ciannelli is effective as the menacing Vanning. Casting Mr. Ciannelli also emphasizes the fact that Vanning is supposed to be Luciano. Sure, "Johnny Vanning" isn't an Italian name, but using the very Italian Ciannelli in the part eliminates any doubt of who Vanning is supposed to be.

The ladies who work as the club hostesses are also excellent. We've touched on Ms. Methot, but it is worth mentioning the efforts of Lola Lane and Isabel Jewell. Neither actress ever gets the attention they deserve - Ms. Jewell always turns in memorable performances, that you forget are her because she so inhabits the character, as she does here. 

Jane Bryan is also good in her small, but pivotal role. Ms. Bryan started her career at the Hollywood Theatre Workshop. A contract with Warner Brothers and support from Bette Davis led her to make 18 pictures (four with Ms. Davis) between 1936 and 1940 (She's featured in this Life article, when she appeared in The Old Maid). In 1939, Ms. Bryan retired from films after she married head of Rexall Drugs, Justin Dart (The Independent, 2009). The couple were married for 45 years and had three children (until Mr. Dart's death in 1984). Ms. Bryan worked as a governor of the Los Angeles Natural History Museum and advocated for the arts. She died, age 90, in 2009.

Originally titled The Men Behind  (AFI catalog), the film got a good review from Frank S. Nugent in the New York Times ("a dramatically concise script, a shrewd director, and an extremely capable supporting cast") Life similarly praised the film in this article from April 19, 1937. This is an excellent and compelling drama, well worth your time. We'll leave you with this trailer: 

 

Sisters in Love with the Same Man

When the AFI Silver opened in 1938, their premier film was Four Daughters.  As part of their anniversary festival, this was one of the three films we viewed. 

The Lemps are a musical family - father Adam (Claude Rains) is a conductor, instructor, and flutist; his daughters Thea (piano, played by Lola Lane), Ann (violin, played by Priscilla Lane), Emma (harp, played by Gail Page), and Kay (vocalist, played by Rosemary Lane) accompany him on classical recitals in their home; their audience is their Aunt Etta (May Robson).  Their home is a happy one, and the girls have a busy social life.  Emma has a beau, Ernest (Dick Foran), and Thea has just met someone (Frank McHugh as Ben Crowley).  Young Ann, however, has no interest in a beau; she has decided to be an "old maid", and live always with her beloved sister Emma.  But that is before Felix Dietz (Jeffrey Lynn), a young composer enters their lives.  In short order, all four girls are smitten with the young man.  He however, only has eyes for Ann.  And while it seems there will be a happy ending for Felix and Ann, the arrival of  Mickey Bordon (John Garfield), and Ann's realization that Emma loves Felix will have devastating results.   

From a novel by Fannie Hurst, Four Daughters is certainly a woman's picture in the traditional sense.  In some sense, the men (Felix, Ernest, Ben) are merely objects for the women to discuss.  But the character of Mickey, as portrayed by Garfield is far more than that.  Garfield's intensity (which he brought to all of his film roles), makes Mickey a force of nature that blows violently into the lives of all around him.  Mickey is both selfish and caring at the same time.  He loves Ann passionately, is able to see the pain of those around him (he and Aunt Etta are the only ones that realize how deeply Emma cares for Felix), but he is also willing to destroy the lives of Ann and Felix so he can have Ann. 

The Lane Sisters and Gail Page are flawless as the Lemp girls.  Their love for one another and for the family unit is true - watch the scene as the girls rummage through each other's closets to compile an appropriate date outfit.  Ann's decision to be with Mickey rather than Felix is as much about sparing Emma pain, as it is her need to bring some joy into Mickey's life.  We quickly realize that Ann DOES love Mickey - not in the way she does Felix; she feels an almost motherly responsibility for Mickey that she cannot escape. Ann's extreme youth is further demonstrated by her decisions.  She is unable to differentiate between love of a spouse and love of family.  Mickey should be family, but Ann can't quite see it.

The film resulted in two sequels, Four Wives and Four Mothers, as well as a companion film, Daughter's Courageous.  While neither is quite as powerful as the first film, the chemistry among the Lemp family is emphasized in this continuing series.  The impact of Garfield as a performer is highlighted in this clip.  Enjoy!