Ida Sings

Petey Brown (Ida Lupino) is moderately successful as a torch singer in a New York club, but it is nearing Christmas and Petey misses her sisters and brother in California. She arrives on the West Coast to find her brother Joey (Warren Douglas) working for nightclub owner Nicky Toresca (Robert Alda); sister Sally Otis (Andrea King) dealing with her husband Roy’s (John Ridgely) post-war mental issues; and sister Virginia (Martha Vickers) avoiding the world. Petey decides she better stay to set things in order. Our film this week is The Man I Love (1947).

While there is nothing extraordinarily unique about the story, this is a fantastic film, with an exceptional cast. The focal point is the always stunning Ida Lupino as a determined and strong woman. Even when we think she is weakening, Petey bounces back and dominates every scene and the situation.  She is supportive of her sisters and brother, and glides in and out of their lives like the hero in a western - she stays while they need her, then rides off into the sunset! Ms. Lupino was not the first choice for Petey; Warner’s purchased it with Ann Sheridan in mind (AFI catalog). Peg LaCentra provided Ms. Lupino's singing voice in this film, though later (in Road House), she did her own singing (Ida Lupino, Director: Her Art and Resilience in Times of Transition by Therese Grisham and Julie Grossman).

Also providing a noteworthy performance is Robert Alda. A highly-regarded singer, Mr. Alda - the original Nathan Detroit on Broadway, (and the father of actor Alan Alda) - does not sing here. As Nicky Toresca, he is as far from the boy singer as you can get.  Nicky is sleazy - first he is on the prowl for Sally Otis, then Petey, and eventually Sally’s neighbor Gloria O'Connor (Dorothy Moran).  Mr. Alda bring a smoothness tinged with menace to Toresca.  It’s clear he is interested in Petey primarily because she is not interested in him, making the character all the more perverse. Like Ms. Lupino, Mr. Alda wasn’t even the first choice for the role - originally it was intended for Humphrey Bogart; later Jack Carson was scheduled to do it (Music in the Shadows: Noir Musical Films by Sheri Chinen Biesen). 

Bruce Bennett (San Thomas) spends much of his time in his films being a forlorn and moody victim (for example, his turn as Bert Pierce in Mildred Pierce), but it works in this film. San spends much of The Man I Love pining for his ex-wife; the audience gets to shake their respective heads at his denseness. Why on earth is he still mourning this feckless woman when he has the magnificent Ida waiting for him? However, faced with Petey's determination, the viewer is left with the feeling that San will be getting over his past in time. Dane Clark was also considered for the role; he surely would have brought an entirely different vibe to the character.

The film is blessed with an excellent supporting cast: Andrea King's almost matches Petey with her strength of character. Faced with a husband who has been hospitalized following his service in the Army, she is forced to work to support her young son, as well as deal with a husband whose illness causes him to expresses his hatred for her when she is able to visit. Dorothy Moran as the next-door neighbor with a husband, twin babies, and a penchant for the night life that husband Johnny (Don McGuire) can't afford, is convincing as a lady with more than housework on her mind. The few brief scenes in which Alan Hale appears are always a pleasure. As Riley, Toresca's good natured assistant, he brings a bit of comic relief to the proceeding. Both Craig Stevens (Johnson) and Florence Bates (Mrs. Thorpe) have minor parts - blink and you will miss them. Also worth noting are the beautiful gowns that were designed by Milo Anderson, one of which was so tight, Mr. Lupino had to be literally cut out of it (see below).

Ms. Lupino became ill during the filming, at one point fainting during a scene (partially caused by the tightness of her dress) - Mr. Alda caught her before she hit the ground. (Ida Lupino: A Biography by William Donati). As a result of her illness, the film ran 19 days overtime and $100,000 over budget (TCM article). It did earn a profit, however, and came in at number 71 on the year's list of top grossing movies (Ultimate Movie Rankings).

Based on the 1942 novel Night Shift by Maritta Wolff, Bosley Crowther's New York Times review of The Man I Love was not all that complementary, but it seemingly didn't hurt the movie.  Frequently cited as a film noir, Eddie Muller in a 2017 "Noir or Not" segment said it was not noir because "the protagonist (Petey) is not flawed". His book Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir goes into detail on Ms. Lupino's career both inside and outside of noir. 

We'll leave you with a trailer and the suggestion you keep your eyes peeled for this one:

Three (Pre-Code) Sailors on the Town

I recently had the opportunity to see a pre-code film, Sailor's Luck (1933) at a Raoul Walsh Film Festival at AFI Silver.  It's a silly little movie, but as an example of pre-code film, it's quite interesting.

Three sailors, James Fenimore Harrigan (James Dunn), Bilge Moran (Frank Moran) and Barnacle Benny Cohen (Sammy Cohen) arrive in port, intent on having an entertaining shore leave. Benny is in search of his girlfriend, Minnie Broadhurst (the character is also known as Mme. Marvelle, and is played by Esther Muir), while Jimmy wants to find a girl - any girl.  Bilge is happy to tag along with Benny.  After our trio rob a man of two hands of bananas, Jimmy meets Sally Brent (played by Sally Eilers), and follows her to a swimming pool, where she has just landed a job as a swim instructor - despite the fact that she can't swim.

Racism, sexism, and - well, add your favorite ism here - are rampant in this film.  The banana salesman who gets robbed and the landlord in Sally's building are both Italian, and played with all the caricature possible. The Baron Portolo (Victor Jory), for all the world reminiscent of a low-level Mafia-style gangster, also seems to be Italian.  We have a gay bath attendant at the swimming pool (and oh, my, is he a stereotype), a Jewish sailor (Barnacle Benny),  who at one point pronounces his name as "Quinn" spelled C-O-H-E-N, with a pause for a laugh.  Why would that be funny? Well, the photo below gives you an idea of Sammy Cohen's very ethnic appearance (he's in the center).

The one character who is NOT a stereotype is Bilge.  Again, you can see him in the poster above (to the left).  He appears, to all intents and purposes to be a big, ignorant lug.  Yet, he plays classical music perfectly and with feeling, and reads philosophy.  He also seems to be engaged in a menage a trois with Minnie and Benny.  It gives one pause.

The film also manages to keep the lovely Sally Eilers as undressed as is humanly possible.  We even find her sleeping au naturale.  She is constantly being leered at and manhandled. And though she is careful of the proprieties, our Sally still allows a sailor to set her up in a hotel room, since she has no money.  It's clear she is not willing to sleep with him when they get to the hotel.  It's also clear that HE thought that she was.

It's rather fascinating that the film got a very nice review from New York Times  back in 1933.  It's not that it is a bad film.  Sure, it's rather silly and far-fetched, but the very things that make it pre-code are rather shocking to us in 2014.  It is, by far, the most politically incorrect film I think I've ever seen. 

Sally Eilers is very appealing in the film.  Having never seen her before, we were very intrigued with her as an actress.  She had a very substantial career, appearing in films from 1927 through 1950, though many were B pictures.  By the 1940's, she was only in a few films, and does not seem to have made the transition into television as did many of her contemporaries.  An interesting bit of trivia appears on the IMDB concerning her start in pictures.  She was discovered by Mack Sennett while visiting the studio to have lunch with an old friend named Jane Peters - better known these days as Carole Lombard.  After four marriages - husband number one was Hoot Gibson - and one child (who became a screenwriter), Eilers died in 1978 at age 70.

Mention should also be made of child actor Buster Phelps, who appears as Elmer Brown, Jr.  He is quite adorable in this film.  I had seen him a few times before (in Libeled Lady and in One Man's Journey), but his presence does a lot to show Sally in a more sympathetic light.  Her genuine affection for little Elmer make plain her innate goodness.

Luckily, we can give you a little taste of this odd little film.  Here we see Sally waking up after her night alone in the hotel.  And notice her lack of garb: