Claudette Goes Mad

As Ellen Ewing (Claudette Colbert) is about to take her wedding vows to David McLean (Robert Ryan), a stranger accuses her of already being married to another man, Lucian Randall (Dave Barbour), a charge which Ellen denies.  Ellen and David attempt to disprove the charges, but a succession of people claim to have been a part of the so-called wedding.  Our film this time is The Secret Fury (1950).

This is a fun film, primarily because of the performances of Ms. Colbert and Mr. Ryan.  Though the script has more holes in it than a piece of Swiss cheese, it does have a decent mystery story, and you will be hard pressed to identify the villain until the very end.  Regardless, it is a lesser work of Ms. Colbert.

Despite that, she is very good as a woman being driven slowly mad for no apparent reason.  A gifted pianist, with a substantial inheritance from her father, Ellen seems rock solid. However, as more and more strangers contradict her beliefs, her mind deteriorates and she ends up institutionalized, giving Ms. Colbert the opportunity to play a character who has completely lost her place in the world. Ms. Colbert was interested in the part because Mel Ferrer was directing (TCM article).

One of the major attractions of this film is Robert Ryan, who gets to play a good guy.  David never loses faith in Ellen, despite the evidence piling up against her. He keeps digging to get at the truth. Mr. Ryan makes David a warm and engaging character. He's funny, he's loyal, and he is clearly in love with Ellen.

Also in the cast is Jane Cowl as Ellen's Aunt Clara. We're never quite sure of Aunt Clara. Like many of the other characters, she suspects that Ellen is either lying or has gone insane. Ms. Cowl manages to keep Aunt Clara ambiguous.  Likewise, Paul Kelly as DA Eric Lowell also questions Ellen's mental status and becomes suspect to the audience.  This, of course, keeps the audience guessing through the whole film. 

This was the film debuts for both Philip Ober (playing Ellen's lawyer Gregory Kent) and his then-wife Vivian Vance (playing Leah, the hotel maid) (AFI Catalog). Ms. Vance is quite interesting as the cagey maid.  The marriage to Mr. Ober would end nine years later; Ms. Vance would go on to play Ethel Mertz in I Love Lucy. One more actor to watch out for is Jose Ferrer in a cameo appearance.

As I've mentioned before, I'm always on the lookout for women playing physicians in films. We have one here - Elisabeth Risdon as Dr. Twining, Ellen's psychiatrist.  Dr. Twining is a competent physician and a kind person. As is often the case in these films, there is no questioning by the patient or their family of the presence of a female physician.

Bosley Crowther was unimpressed with the film in his New York Times review, puzzling as to why "a respectable cast...descends to such cheap and lurid twaddle."  While we would not quite call the film twaddle, we should note that it doesn't seem to be particularly film noir (it was advertised as such on the film channel), and the script IS inferior to the talents of the cast.  But we do recommend it to see Mr. Ryan and Ms. Colbert together.  We'll leave you with a scene from the film:

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: 

DeForest Has a Nightmare

Vince Grayson (DeForest Kelley) awakens from a nightmare - he dreamed he killed a man who was trying to strangle him. However, his nightmare enters the world of reality when he notices finger marks on his neck, and finds a key and button in his pocket. This week, we'll be talking about Fear in the Night (1947).

Based on a story by Cornell Woolrich, this taut noir took some of its inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock.  Certainly, it is not of the caliber of a Hitchcock film, but the elements are there. And it is an enjoyable film - short, tightly crafted, and well-acted.

DeForest Kelley makes his feature film debut as the tortured innocent who cannot dismiss the idea that he may have killed someone.  He puts just the right amount of angst into the character; though his brother-in-law, police detective Cliff Herlihy (Paul Kelly) poo-poos the idea that Vince's idee fixe is anything more than a dream, Vince cannot escape from the clues that point to a very real murder.

As a fan of classic Star Trek, Mr. Kelley has become inexorably linked for me (and for many others) to the character of Leonard "Bones" McCoy. But he had a long and varied career prior to joining the Star Trek universe. He did a great deal of episodic television, films, and also did some work on radio.  In 1960, he appeared in an episode of Alcoa Theatre titled "333 Montgomery". It was written by Gene Roddenberry. In 1967, he appeared in another Roddenberry piece, Police Story, a pilot that never came to fruition. But Mr. Roddenberry liked what he saw, and offered Mr. Kelley his choice of either Spock or McCoy in Star Trek (Remembering DeForest Kelley). His choice helped to create in one of the most successful franchises in TV history.  Mr. Kelley died in 1999 at the age of 79 - his legacy, as he saw it, was the number of people who had become physicians because of McCoy (New York Times obituary).

When the film was released, Paul Kelly got lead billing. If you find a copy of it these days, you’ll notice a different Kelley listed first.  Regardless, Mr. Kelly does a good job as a dedicated police officer and loving husband whose concern for his wife includes looking out for her younger brother. 

The two women in the cast, Ann Doran (Lil Herlihy) and Kay Scott (Betty Winters) don't get a lot to do except look anxious.  It's a shame in the case of Ms. Doran, who's a wonderful actress with an impressive list of credits, usually in character parts.  For Ms. Scott, it's hard to know - this was her first film. She only made seven more, all uncredited, at which point she seems to have retired.

Robert Emmett Keane (Lewis Belknap) is worth mentioning - his performance is quite menacing and very convincing.  The audience is pretty certain from the moment we see him that he is up to no good, but we really enjoyed watching him hover over the story like a dark cloud.

This film fell into the public domain some time ago, and thus the prints that you see are not really of superior quality.  The film is very dark, and it's hard to know how much is the decision of the cinematographer, and now much is deterioration.  Regardless, we found the opening of the film, with its dark, almost blurry look to be effective - its fits the mood of the film, rather like walking into a haunted house on Halloween.

When Fear in the Night was reviewed by Bosley Crowther of the New York Times, he not only expressed his disdain for it, he didn't even sign the review, which was credited to B.C. The subsequent years have been kinder to the movie, as you can see from this discussion by the Toronto Film Society

The director of this film, Maxwell Shane, decided he wanted one more try at the story, and remade in 1956 as Nightmare, starring Edward G. Robinson (AFI Catalog). While Fear in the Night is not the best film ever made, it is an enjoyable 72 minutes and worth a viewing. 

We'll leave you with a scene with Kelly and Kelley:

Jimmy is a Bootlegger

The First World War has ended. Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney) returns to New York City to find all the jobs gone - taken by the men who remained home during the war. As The Roaring Twenties (1939) begin, Eddie falls into a new career - bootlegging - and enters into the world of organized crime.

Let's start by admitting that, no matter who else we discuss in this space, this is James Cagney's movie. Period. When he is on the screen, it's him you are watching. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Bogart fan, but this is one where Cagney shines. His Eddie Bartlett is a man of depth. We watch him change because of the circumstances of his life; we don't like most of those changes, but because it is Mr. Cagney playing him, we understand them. Director Raoul Walsh encouraged Mr. Cagney to improvise a bit, which adds to his impact (including a scene where he punches out two men with one throw!)  (TCM article).  From beginning to end, James Cagney is the linchpin of the film. 

 

Humphrey Bogart (George Hally) also provides a fascinating character - he's a monster from the moment we see him. Unlike Eddie, he seems to have no reason for doing the things he does. He enjoys inflicting pain and death. There are no shades to George's character - he is a murderer who we would like to forget (and do, when he disappears immediately after the war). What Mr. Bogart brings to the role is someone you can genuinely hate - Bogart is not afraid to make George horrific, with no attempts to gain the audience's sympathy.

A great deal of our conversation centered on Jean Sherman (Priscilla Lane). I, for one, find her hard to like or sympathize with. From the start, we discover she is a liar (she'd misled Eddie into thinking she was a woman in her twenties, when she is actually a high school student). She's self-centered, caring only for her career, and very willing to use Eddie to get ahead. She's well aware that he loves her. She tells him she doesn't love him, yet she takes expensive gifts from him, while she carries on a relationship with Lloyd Hart (Jeffrey Lynn). Because she is played by Ms. Lane, who is an engaging actress, you want to like her, but Jean is a passive person, who floats from man to man.  One wonders why all these men are smitten with her; it is perhaps because they are that we get distracted from the reality of Jean - that she is a thoughtless woman who likes Eddie because of what she can get from him.  Perhaps the character needed a firmer hand in the writing; as written, she's not a person that one can countenance.

Gladys George, however, is perfect as Panama Smith. She was not the first choice for the part - it was originally intended for Ann Sheridan; Lee Patrick and Glenda Farrell had also been cast at various points  (The Films of James Cagney by Homer Dickens). It is hard to imagine any of them playing the character. Panama's love for Eddie is selfless - she is truthful with him, even when he doesn't want to hear it (especially about Jean). With her husky voice, it's easy to accept her as a "tuneless canary" (the name given to her by a minor character); she also is the epitome of the tough broad after which she was patterned - Texas Guinan. 

Also worth noting is the performance of Frank McHugh (Danny Green). A gentle man who gets pulled into bootlegging  through his friendship with Eddie, he's too kind for the business and eventually pays the price. Mr. McHugh gives him a simplicity and sympathy that makes him believable.  Jeffrey Lynn (Lloyd Hart), on the other hand, has the thankless task of being "the other man." Like Jean, Lloyd works with Eddie, while protesting his distaste for the business. It's not a great part because the character is very underwritten.

New York reporter Mark Hellinger wrote the 1938 story The World Moves On, on which the film is based.  He was writing about real people that he had encountered (AFI catalog). Mr. Hellinger also served as a producer on the film.

The New York Times review by Frank S. Nugent was not enthusiastic, however he praised both Mr. Cagney and Ms. George (who "breathed poignance into the stock role of the night club hostess") for their work. Given that it was released in 1939 (and had stiff competition), no Oscar nominations were given, but Mr. Cagney won the National Board of Review for Best Actor.  On a side note, Carol Burnett did her own take on the story as "The Boring Twenties." As always, Ms. Burnett (as Panama Smith) is hysterical. 

This is an engaging film; if you are an admirer of Mr. Cagney or Ms. George, it is an essential. It was also one of my father's favorite films. We'll leave you with a trailer to introduce you to the action:

Bette is a Librarian

Librarian Alicia Hull (Bette Davis) finds herself in a Storm Center (1956) when she is asked to remove a book, The Communist Dream, from the Kenport Public Library. Torn between her desire to get a new children's wing for the library, and her belief in free access to books, Alicia has to decide what is best for her library and for the community in general.

While one member of our group found the film hard to sit through - specifically the parts that involved young Freddie Slater (Kevin Coughlin) and his meltdown - all members of the group agreed this is an important film, and deserves to be seen and discussed more frequently.

The character of Freddie is included to create one specific scene towards the end of the film. While we salute the imagery that the writers and director were inserting, Freddie is a frustrating character who lessens the impact of the film. The child is badly damaged, primarily by his tentative relationship with a bigoted, unintelligent, and obnoxious father. George Slater (Joe Mantell) bullies his child because the kid is too smart, and wants a boy who will do what he sees as manly things, like play baseball. Mother Laura (Sallie Brophy) encourages Freddie's intellectual growth (she is a talented pianist), but she is undercut by her husband, and weak enough to put up with his nonsense. Why she would marry this neanderthal is beyond our understanding, and is a weakness in the story.

Kevin Coughlin is over-the-top as Freddie; according to this TCM article, director Daniel Taradash was not comfortable directing a child (this was, in fact, Mr. Taradash's only directing credit). Coughlin's mother horrified both Ms. Davis and Mr. Taradash when she pinched her son until he cried, so as to elicit tears for the camera. This was Mr. Coughlin's first film role; he would later play Billy in The Defiant Ones (1958). Most of his career, however, was on television. He died in 1976, at the age of 30, hit by car speeding by his home in Malibu.

Bette Davis was not the first (nor the second) choice for Mrs. Hull (AFI catalog). Originally, the part was intended as a comeback for Mary Pickford, however Ms. Pickford bowed out, ostensibly because the film was not being shot in color. It is believed, however, that she was pressured to withdraw from the picture by Hedda Hopper who was infuriated by the anti-McCarthy sentiments of the movie.  Ms. Hopper's influence may have also had the same effect on Barbara Stanwyck, Irene Dunne, and Loretta Young. Ms. Davis, however, is magnificent as Alicia. She gives Alicia both the strength of character and vulnerability needed to play a woman who is being crucified by the town she loves, simply for being true to her duties as a librarian.

Brian Keith plays councilman Paul Duncan as an innocuous man who is even more dangerous because he seems so personable. Engaged to the librarian Martha Lockridge (Kim Hunter), he uses her collegiality with Alicia to find information that he can use against Mrs. Hull in a smear campaign. Though only one character makes mention of their complicity, it's clear to the viewer that Martha is not averse to the benefits that come from Alicia's dismissal.  There are strong performances as well from other actors in the cast, including Paul Kelly as sympathetic judge Robert Ellerbe, Edward Platt as the Reverend Wilson, Joseph Kearns as Mr. Morrisey, and Kathryn Grant as Hazel.

The story was based on an actual event (though the reason for the firing was altered). Ruth Brown was a librarian in Oklahoma, who was active in local civil rights organizations. In 1950, she was fired from her job ostensibly for being a communist - the actual reason was her involvement in desegregation activities. (The Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown: Civil Rights, Censorship, and the American Library by Louise S. Robbins ). 

Daniel Taradash and Elick Moll, the screenwriters, were familiar with the case and saw Storm Center as "a dangerous picture about dangerous ideas." Original titles for the film were: The Library, This Time Tomorrow, and Circle of Fire, but none of them were felt to be strong enough.  The American Library Association, which had supported Ms. Brown through her fight in Oklahoma, hosted an advance screening, during which a letter from Bette Davis was read, saying she hoped she had "reflected accurately their dedicated service and had made communities more aware of the role of librarians"  (Louise Robbins. Fighting McCarthyism through Film: A Library Censorship Case Becomes a "Storm Center". Journal of Education for Library and Information Science Fall, 1998. 39(4) 291-311).

Not surprisingly, there were censorship issues with the film. The Catholic Church's Legion of Decency came up with a whole new category just for this film (The Catholic Crusade Against the Movies, 1940-1975 by Gregory D Black; Transforming the Screen, 1950-1959 by Peter Lev), stating that "the highly propagandistic nature of this controversial film (book-burning, anti-communism, civil liberties) offers a warped and strongly emotional solution to a complex problem of American life."

The New York Times review by Bosley Crowther was reluctantly negative, but Mr. Crowther pointed out:  "This is too bad, because the purpose and courage of the men who made this film not only are to be commended but also deserve concrete rewards. They have opened a subject that is touchy and urgent in contemporary life. It should be presented so adroitly that it would fascinate and move people deeply.Furthermore, they have got from Bette Davis a fearless and forceful performance as the middle-aged widowed librarian who stands by her principles. Miss Davis makes the prim but stalwart lady human and credible."  

While this is not be best picture ever made, it is a significant film, one that is still worth watching. Unfortunately, we still have to deal with communities banning books (American Library Association list of Banned Books) and individuals deprived of their liberties because of the beliefs, place of birth, religion or skin tone.  As a librarian myself, I wanted to stand up and cheer at the end of Storm Center.

We'll leave you with a trailer from the film:

Kay Scams the Military

Allotment Wives (1945 aka Woman in the Case) opens with an announcement that the film is based on an actual wartime problem - women who would marry soldiers solely for the purposes of collecting their allotment checks.  Colonel Pete Martin (Paul Kelly) is assigned the task of finding the women who are perpetrating this fraud.  His investigation leads him to a service canteen, organized by Mrs. Sheila Seymour (Kay Francis), a wealthy society woman, who, unbeknownst to Pete, is the head of an organization that recruits young women to gull soldiers into marriage - often taking on three or four "husbands".  She is assisted by  Whitey Colton (Otto Kruger), her friend and confidant.  Sheila, a strong woman who has a firm control on her operation,, has a weakness - her daughter Connie Seymour (Teala Loring), who Sheila has carefully stashed away in a boarding school, primarily to keep her away from "the business".  Or so Sheila thinks.  In truth, Connie is out on the town, spending her days finding men and drinking.  Sheila also has another problem - Gladys Smith (Gertrude Michael), who knew Sheila when both were in reform school, and wants payment to keep quiet about it.

Let's start by saying, this is not a great movie.  Unlike my colleague at Kay Francis on Film, this is not a film we would consider essential Kay Francis viewing.  Were it not for the fact that it was her last appearance on the silver screen, we doubt it would be remembered at all.  It's not that Ms. Francis isn't good, she is.  But she doesn't have a whole lot to work with.  Made at the Poverty Row Monograph Studios and originally titled Allotment Wives, Inc. (AFI catalog), filmed in 10 days, and with a script that required Ms. Francis (who was also a producer) to do some major editing, the inferior production values tend to diminish the viewer experience.  The New York Times wasn't impressed either - their short review was not laudatory.

The benefit, however, at working in Poverty Row was that the censors didn't seem to care as much about what got through (see this TCM article).  There's quite a bit of risque plot - not the least of which is the idea of one woman being married to several men.  There's  the relationship between Whitey and Sheila - it seems very apparent that they are lovers.  And finally, the fact that a woman could unquestioningly lead this group of men.  Even when Sheila is compromised, there is no question that she is still in charge. 

Pete Martin, as played by Paul Kelly, really comes across as a passive character.  It's only by chance that he discovers that Sheila is the ringleader (and he knows about the marriage ring because he's told where to go.  There's no great detecting on his part).  He never even finds the secret back room in the beauty parlor (we all loved that hidden room).  Mr. Kelly is overpowered by the strong performances of Ms. Francis and Mr. Kruger.  You end up rooting for them, not for him.

Paul Kelly had a fairly lengthy career, despite the fact that it was interrupted by his death in 1956, at the age of 57, and a 25 month stint in San Quentin for manslaughter.  Kelly had an extensive career in silent films when a fight with Ray Raymond (both men were drunk) in 1927  over Kelly's affair with Raymond's wife (Dorothy Mackaye) resulted in Raymond's death from a brain hemorrhage.  (See our review of Ladies They Talk About for more on the story).  When he was released from prison, Kelly resumed his career, now appearing in talkies - often as a heavy.  He also returned to a career on Broadway (he had appeared in 13 plays before his incarceration), appearing in 9 productions from 1930 through 1950.  He was nominated for a Tony for his appearance in Command Decision  (in the role Clark Gable would assume in the film version), and appeared in the role that would earn Bing Crosby a best actor nomination for the film version of The Country Girl.  After Mackaye's death in 1940 (in an automobile accident), Kelly remarried.  He worked in film, stage, and television until his death of a heart attack.

Otto Kruger is very good in the film, and plays the character of Whitey as a gentleman, not a thug.  With a name like Whitey, one expects a low-life, but Kruger gives us a man of sophistication and class, which makes the character more appealing than perhaps he should be.  At the very least, it helps us to understand the relationship between Whitey and Sheila.

Mr. Kruger began his career on the Broadway stage; from 1915 to 1949, he appeared in 32 plays, including the part of Waldo Lydecker in Laura.  Beginning in 1915, he appeared in a few silents, but his career on film bloomed with talkies, which is not hard to understand, given his lovely speaking voice.  He primarily played heavies (as in Saboteur (1942).  But on occasion, he got to play a secondary role as a nice guy - Chained (1934), in which he is Joan Crawford's kindly - but older - husband and Cover Girl (1944) where he plays Rita Hayworth's enamored - but older - suitor.  By 1949, he had started to appear on television (he also had a fairly substantive career on radio) and would continue working between film and TV until his retirement in 1964.  Married in 1919 to Susan MacManamy (they had one daugher, Ottilie), they were together until his death at age 89 in 1974.  

So, while not a totally awful film, its not great.  And while Ms. Francis tries her best to give a performance worthy of her talent, she's really not got enough to work with.  If you want to cover her oeuvre, by all means, give it a try.  Otherwise, stick to Confession (to see her suffer) or In Name Only (if you want to see her sink her teeth into a really great villain role).  We'll have more Kay in the future, but next time, join us for a Barbara Stanwyck film.