Thomas Has a Theory

 

Professor Henry Todhunter (Thomas Mitchell) has been diagnosed by his friend, Dr. Lawrence Stevens (James Stephenson) with severe coronary disease; he has, at most, six months to live. University Dean Somers (Thurston Hall) forces Todhunter’s retirement; with nothing better to do, Professor Todhunter spends his days developing new theories. He hypothetically asks his colleagues what they would do if they had only six months to live. Professor Peterson (John Eldredge) has a disturbing idea - murder someone who the law cannot touch but deserves to die. Our film this week is Flight from Destiny (1941).

This is a nicely paced mystery story that will keep you guessing through the entire film. The cast is led by Thomas Mitchell, who is wonderful as the dying man. Mr. Mitchell keeps the character just teetering on the edge of sanity - when he proposes his theory that, as he is neither living nor dead, he has the authority to judge the right of another being to live, you wonder if he is sincere. Discovering he is indeed deadly serious (no pun intended), one is chilled to the bone.

Without going into too much detail, some of the plot focuses on an art forging racket.  This is worth noting, as Thomas Mitchell was himself and art collector, who it is believed, was the victim of a forger.  He reportedly purchased a forged Rembrandt, that is currently in the Fogg Museum at Harvard. (Hollywood’s Original Rat Pack: The Bards of Bundy Drive by Stephen C. Jordan)

First billing in the film is given to Geraldine Fitzgerald (Betty Farroway), but don't expect to see her very much. Her character is crucial to the film, setting Professor Todhunter on his mission of "justice," but Ms. Fitzgerald has little to do but look pained.  It's a shame really; she's a talented actress and uses what screen time she has well. 

Jeffrey Lynn (Michael Farroway) is also convincing in the part of the erring husband. Mr. Lynn doesn't often get roles that allow him to do much more than be handsome, but this one gives him a part he can sink his teeth in, and we were impressed with is performance.

On the other hand Mona Maris (Ketti Moret) left something to be desired in the part of the thief and seductress.  Ms. Marris is a striking woman, but but doesn't have all that much allure. The character was supposed to use her charms to win over her victims; while we only see her briefly with Michael, we do see her with Professor Todhunter at some length.  She is just too cold to be convincing as a woman whose primary gift is allegedly her sexual appeal. She does get to show off some remarkable dresses by designer Damon Giffard (who worked in Hollywood for only one year).

Mary Gordon as Professor Todhunter's housekeeper,  Martha is worth comment.  Though a small part, it's a good character that is well acted by Ms. Gordon. And, if you are a fan of Alexis Smith, she appears in a small role. That same year, she'd appear in Dive Bomber with Errol Flynn (TCM article).

Based on the 1937 novel Trial and Error by Anthony Berkeley Cox, it had two working titles: that of the book and Invitation to a Murder (AFI Catalog). It garnered a very positive review from Thomas M. Pryor in the New York Times, saying that "it was most fortunate that an actor of Mr. Mitchell's ability was selected to interpret [Professor Todhunter].

All in all, this is a little-viewed film that deserves some attention. Do try to find it. 

Cary Loves Music

Louise Fuller (Grace Moore), an opera star of some note, is deported from the United States after she overstays her visa limits. Louise is eager to get back to the States - she has promised to assist her beloved tutor and uncle, Walter Mitchell (Henry Stephenson) by appearing in a music festival being held in his honor. The list for a visa is long - she'll have to wait for a year, unless she can find an American to marry. Enter artist Jimmy Hudson (Cary Grant), a foot-loose and fancy free young man, who initially disdains her snobbish demeanor. Our film this week is When You're in Love (1937).

With Cary Grant in a film, what's not to love? Well, this film, quite frankly. It's not that it is bad; it's that it is banal, and above-the-title Grace Moore really is no actress; she  was an opera singer that the studio was trying to make a star. While she is an wonderful singer, with a very expressive voice and demeanor WHEN she is singing, as an actress, she's a dud. Her lines are delivered with an almost flat tone; she never really seems interested in the action. As a result, she and Mr. Grant don't click.

Ms. Moore appeared in nine films between 1930 and 1939. Born in Tennessee (she was called "The Tennessee Nightingale"), she started her career on Broadway in 1913 (she would appear in 9 plays between 1913 and 1932); working her way from the chorus to featured performer in a number of musical reviews (like the Ziegeld Follies of 1931). After a couple of films in 1930, she signed a contract with Columbia in 1934. She was nominated for an Oscar for best actress for her work in One Night of Love (1934). By 1939, she was through with films, and working more steadily in opera companies. Married once to Spanish actor Valentín Parera, she died in a plane crash near Copenhagen (Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden was also killed in the crash). A scholarship is named for her at the University of Tennessee School of Voice.  

Cary Grant had just begun a new contract with Columbia (TCM article), which may account for him being billed below Ms. Moore and below the title (in his next films, Topper The Toast of New York, and The Awful Truth, he was still billed under his co-stars, but above the title). He really does his best to bring some exuberance to the film, and mostly he succeeds. But it's impossible to work around that fact that he's acting against someone who just doesn't project emotion very well. It is amusing that he is playing the American (with his delightful English-ish accent) while Ms. Moore is supposed to be Australian - with an American accent). One of his most delightful scenes is with the couple who raised him after his parents' deaths. His affection for them is transmitted right through the screen. 

Also in the cast is Aline MacMahon. She's wasted in this film; while she gets some good lines, she just doesn't get enough screen time. Similarly, Thomas Mitchell and Henry Stephenson are given very little to do. It's a shame when you have actors of their caliber who are not permitted to perform up to their abilities.
 

This was Robert Riskin's first directing gig; he'd written the screenplay for the film as well. Producer Harry Cohn was hoping that Riskin would break out Cary Grant in the way his scripts for It Happened One Night and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town had for Clark Gable and Gary Cooper. Perhaps it was the loss of his collaborator, Frank Capra, but the magic didn't work for this picture, and it ended up losing money (Cary Grant: A Biography by Marc Eliot). 

The costumes by Bernard Newman are very lovely.The music includes several opera pieces, two songs by Jerome Kerns and Dorothy Fields, and a really terrific version of Ms. Moore singing (and Cary Grant playing the piano) of Cab Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher" (a preview of the film did not, in fact, include that number (AFI catalog).

The film opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The New York Times review by Frank S. Nugent called it "a glib reworking of an ancient operatic formula." The Hollywood Reporter, however, enjoyed it, calling it "a signal triumph for the foremost diva of the screen..." 

For opera lovers, this film is worth a look - you can fast forward to the musical numbers (which mostly have nothing to do with the plot) and watch Ms. Moore sing, which is certainly worth doing. You can watch her doing "Minnie the Moocher" - she is really good!

We'll leave you with a snippet from When You're in Love's premier on GET-TV, which was able to show a restored copy of the film:

Jimmy Goes to Washington

Senator Sam Foley has died suddenly, and the governor of his state, Hubert "Happy" Hopper (Guy Kibbee) is tasked with naming a successor. The Governor is ordered by local boss Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold) to name one of his flunkies, but the citizenry rebel at the appointment of this yes man. The Governor's children campaign for the appointment of local Boy Ranger leader Jefferson Smith (James Stewart), a naive young man who Mr. Taylor finally agrees is the perfect solution. With no political background, Smith will be easily led by Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains) to vote according to Taylor's wishes. And so, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939).

This outstanding film was included as this month's contribution to the TCM Presents series. Originally conceived as a follow-up to Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, the film changed titles and actors when Gary Cooper proved to be unavailable. (AFI Catalog)  James Stewart brings the needed innocence and gravitas to the role in his second film with Frank Capra and Jean Arthur (they had worked together the previous year on You Can't Take it With You).

One problem with Frank Capra films is that he doesn't always know how to end them. It's a big issue with Meet John Doe (1941); it's a smaller issue here. Mr. Capra does seem to back his character into a corner, and then create a deus ex machina to pull him out of his problem. However, in this film the director does set up hints that Claude Rains will be both the problem and the solution to that problem.

Mr. Rains is, of course, excellent as The Silver Knight, the senior senator from Smith's unnamed state. Best friends with Smith's father (a crusading newspaperman who was murdered after he wrote editorials against a mining syndicate), Paine has been in the pay of Jim Taylor for years. But Senator Paine remembers the ideals that brought him to law and to politics. As Mr. Rains looks at Smith, we see his yearning for the purity that he had when he worked with Smith senior.

A favorite villain for Mr. Capra is Edward Arnold. Mr. Arnold is able to be both affable and menacing at the same time. He helps us to understand why a respectable man like Senator Paine would fall into his clutches. He also has looming presence that gives the viewer pause - we know he is capable of any dastardly act to get what he wants. A stage actor at the beginning: between 1919 and 1933, he appeared in 13 Broadway plays, Mr. Arnold started his film career during the silent era. With his booming voice (and wonderful laugh) he was a natural for talkies, and appeared as the leading man in such films as The Toast of New York (1937) (he was billed ABOVE Cary Grant) and Diamond Jim (1935). Listed on the notorious "Box Office Poison" list, Mr. Arnold segued into more character parts, like Anthony P. Kirby, Sr. (James Stewart's father) in Capra's You Can't Take it With You (1938). Though he identified as a conservative Republican (and even ran for Los Angeles County Supervisor - he lost), he served as President of Screen Actors Guild, and was vocal in his opposition to the blacklisting of his colleagues during the HUAC era. Married three times, and divorced twice (he had three children with his first wife), Mr. Arnold died of cerebral hemorrhage in 1956 at the age of 66. His turn as Olivia de Havilland's father in The Ambassador's Daughter was released just after his death.

Jean Arthur (Clarissa Saunders) is picture perfect as the tough as nails assistant, who is sick and tired of the dishonest nature of politics. She's seen Taylor's influence on his state for too long, and is convinced that Jeff Smith is either an idiot or a stooge. When she finds he is a man of ideals, she becomes his staunchest ally. She is ALSO the smartest person in the film. She knows the rules of the Senate by heart, she understands the workings of the government, and she knows the people who work on the Hill. It's hard to imagine anyone other than Ms. Arthur giving Saunders such range.

The film is also blessed with a bevy of magnificent character actors: Thomas Mitchell (Diz Moore), Eugene Pallette (Chick McGann), Capra favorite Charles Lane (Nosey), Ruth Donnelly (Mrs. Emma Hopper), Astrid Allwyn (Susan Paine), and H. B. Warner (Senate majority leader). But leading this group are the always wonderful Beulah Bondi (Ma Smith) and Harry Carey (President of the Senate). Though their parts are small, you remember then. One only regrets that they are not on the screen for longer. Ms. Bondi would end up playing James Stewart's mother a total of five times (TCM article). This was the third outing in that role.

The film proved to be quite popular, though initially it was reviled by many U.S. Senators and by the Washington Press Corps. (WAMU article). Senate Majority Leader Alben Barkley described the film as "silly and stupid," adding that it made the Senate look like "a bunch of crooks." (U.S. Senate article). The film was also banned in Germany and Italy (they didn't like the fact that the film was about a democratic government, even a government that was having problems); however it did well in England, France (prior to the German invasion) and in the United States. Despite the jabs at journalists, the New York Times review was glowing, calling it "is one of the best shows of the year. "

 

The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences obviously agreed; it was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Picture, Actor (for James Stewart), Supporting Actor (for both Harry Carey and Claude Rains), Director, Art Direction,  Film Editing, Film Scoring, Sound Recording, and Original story (for which it won it's only Oscar). But, in 1939 the competition was fierce, and the juggernaut called Gone with the Wind pretty much swept the awards (winning 9 of the 14 for which it was nominated). Among the other Picture nominees were Dark Victory, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Ninotchka, Stagecoach, Wuthering Heights, and The Wizard of Oz!


The film was added to the National Film Registry in the Registry's first year, and has appeared on multiple AFI lists including: 100 Years, 100 Movies, 10th Anniversary (#26; and #29 on the Original List); the Heroes side of 100 Years, 100 Heroes and Villains (Jefferson Smith is #11) and 100 Years, 100 Cheers (where it is #5). It was even made into a television show with Fess Parker (it only lasted for one season in 1962-63). If you've never seen the film, please try and find a copy. It's certainly an essential. In the meantime, here is the trailer:

Separated at Birth Noir

Noir City DC was held in October 2018, and featured a number of fascinating films. Though I would have loved to have seen them all, having a job and other responsibilities precluded that. We were, however, able to see a double feature of two rarely shown films. The first was Destiny (1944), the story of Cliff Banks (Alan Curtis), an ex-con who has a penchant for getting himself involved with the wrong women. The second film was Flesh and Fantasy (1943), an anthology film - three stories that looked at superstition, dreams, and destiny. But more interesting than the films themselves was that fact that, at one point, they were to be one film.

Eddie Muller, founder of the Film Noir Foundation (and the host of Noir Alley on TCM) introduced the films, and also hosted an impromptu discussion in the lobby of the AFI Silver Theatre on the intermission. He provided a fascinating look at the history of these two films, originally intended to be only one movie, with four separate, interrelated vignettes.

Julien Duvivier had already been acknowledged as a great director, thanks to films like Pépé le Moko (1937), when World War II broke out. Like many of his compatriots, he left France to work in Hollywood, where he felt he would have more creative freedom (EuroChannel article). Mr. Duvivier was friendly with Charles Boyer and the two formed a production company. The result was Flesh and Fantasy, which would be distributed by Universal Studios. Only there was a problem. Universal executives thought the first vignette was too odd for their audience, and yanked it out of the film.  Then, the following year, Universal decided release it with a frame built around the short (to make it feature length and "clarify" it). They called back actors Gloria Jean  (Jane Broderick) and Alan Curtis, and over their protests, forced them to film this new, odd sequence. Mr. Duvivier refused to participate (ordering his name be removed from the picture), and Reginald Le Borg reluctantly assumed direction of the new section. The new film was Destiny (1944)
The difference in tone and texture between the two episodes is glaring. As Mr. Muller pointed out in his introduction, you know when Mr. Duvivier's sequence begins (and ends) without being told. His portion is dreamlike, but at the same time, intense and moody. Mr. Le Borg's portion is more matter-of-fact (it also doesn't help that the script he was given makes little-to-no sense. Cliff Banks is turned into an idiot in the frame story. I found the character more interesting as a monster). John Garfield had been the first choice for Cliff (when it was still part of Flesh and Fantasy).

Both Teresa Wright and Bonita Granville were considered for Ms. Jean's role (AFI Catalog). Gloria Jean was brought to Universal as a singing star in the mold of Deanna Durbin. She saw Flesh and Fantasy as a turning point in her career. Finally, she would be in a dramatic role (with almost no singing) with fine performers Like Edward G. Robinson and Barbara Stanwyck. But, when the studio pulled her segment from the film, she was devastated, and felt that this action prevented her from advancing in the film industry (The Hollywood Reporter, 2018). By then end of the 1940's, her film career was pretty much over. She did some television, but eventually worked as an executive secretary at Redken Laboratories; she retired from that job after 30 years with the company. She moved to Hawaii to live with her son, Angelo and daugher-in-law (Angelo died in 2017). A biography was published in 2005 (Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven by Scott and Jan MacGillivray). Ms. Jean died in August 2018 of heart failure and pneumonia. She was 92.


The three stories that make up Flesh and Fantasy were supposed to flow, one into the other. Despite the unnecessary interruptions of Robert Benchley (I'm not really a fan. He frequently just goes a bit too far in silliness for my taste), the vignettes do still waft from story to story. The first (sometimes called "Mardi Gras"), stars Betty Field as Henrietta, an embittered seamstress, who yearns for Michael (played by Robert Cummings), a law student who is unaware of the homely woman. It has a romantic tinge, and is reminiscent of The Enchanted Cottage (1945). Ms. Field does a good job with the part, and provides just the right touch of hope to a woman who has all but surrendered her life. 

Story two (often called "The Palmist") concerns Marshall Tyler (Edward G. Robinson), a businessman who is told by palm reader Septimus Podgers (Thomas Mitchell) that he will kill someone. Tyler becomes obsessed by the prophecy, and is plagued by voices encouraging to control the prediction by picking a victim now, so that he will not be accused of a crime. Mr. Robinson is a deft actor who portrays mania well (if you've never seen him in Scarlet Street (1945), give yourself a treat). He's ably supported by Mr. Mitchell (a superb character actor), along with Dame May Whitty (Lady Pamela Hardwick) and Anna Lee (Rowena).

The final story features Charles Boyer as Paul Gaspar, a world-renowned high-wire performer who is having nightmares that see him falling from the wire as a lovely woman gasps in horror. While traveling back to America (and considering the future of his act), he meets Joan Stanley (Barbara Stanwyck), the woman whom he has seen in the dream. Romantic elements also infuse this story, and both Mr. Boyer and Ms. Stanwyck are excellent (and are excellent together). We also have Charles Winninger as King Lamarr, the sympathetic owner of the Paul's circus.
Originally titled For All We Know, Flesh and Fantasy also looked at actors Charles Laughton, Adolphe Menjou, Deanna Durbin and Greta Garbo as potential actors in the piece. (AFI catalog)  All three stories in Flesh and Fantasy made it to radio: a Screen Guild Theatre radio broadcast on April 1945 starred Ella Rains and Charles Boyer in "The High-Wire Performer" episode; a July 1945 broadcast featured Edward G. Robinson and Vincent Price in "The Palmist" episode; and in September 1945 John Hodiak and Claire Trevor enacted the "Mardi Gras" Episode.

Mr. Muller is hoping that one day, these films can be reassemble to finally show us the film Mr. Duvivier intended to release. In the meantime, I heartily suggest watching both films together, and let you mind wander over the possibilities. Here are trailers from both of the films:

Ronald Goes to Shangri-La

Based on the 1933 novel by James Hilton, Lost Horizon (1937) tells the story of Robert Conway (Ronald Colman),  a highly respected author, former soldier, and now an influential member of the British diplomatic corp.  When unrest breaks out in the Chinese city of Baskul, Robert and his younger brother George (John Howard) go there to rescue the 90 white citizens who are trapped in the city.  The last plane out is boarded by Robert and George, along with three other escapees:  Henry Barnard (Thomas Mitchell), a swindler who escaped to China to avoid imprisonment,  Alexander P. Lovett (Edward Everett Horton), a paleontologist who was one of Barnard's victims, and Gloria Stone (Isabel Jewell), a woman with a past who is dying of tuberculosis.  Exhausted by their ordeal, the group does not notice til the morning that they are flying in the wrong direction, and have been kidnapped by an unknown Asian man.  The plane crash-lands in the Himalayans, and the group is miraculously rescued by Chang (H.B. Warner), who takes them to his home, the monastery of Shangri-La.  The group's immediate reaction is to demand ways to get home to "civilization," but very quickly they, one by one, begin to think about making a life in Shangi-La.  Except George, who is desperate to return to London, and to drag his brother there by whatever means possible.

If you saw this film before the restoration that was released in 1986, you owe yourself another viewing.  The film was severely cut by the studio in both 1937 and in 1942, deleting a lot of information on the motivations of the the secondary characters.  It was those expurgated versions that made their way to television in later years.   Though some of the filmed footage is lost, a soundtrack of the full film was discovered in 1973; using still photographs, the American Film Institute was able to reconstruct the film according to director Frank Capra's original vision.  The DVD version of the film also includes an alternate ending to the film (which was thankfully eliminated from the film early one) -  Capra's ending is far better (this article from the AFI Catalog goes into more detail on the film's production, and this article in the Chicago Tribune gives a more complete outline of the scenes that were added to the restored version).

James Hilton based his tale of Shangri-La on another legendary location - the mythical Tibetan city of Shambala.  This article from PBS's In Search of Myths and Heroes will provide a little more information on Hilton's inspiration for the place of perfect harmony.  Principle photography on the film ran from March 23 to July 17, 1936, and in the months before and during production, Germany occupied the Rhineland, and Italy invaded Ethiopia.  With Hitler beginning his reign of terror, it was becoming apparent to Europeans - and to Americans - that another war was in the offing.  Though written by Hilton between the wars, by the time the film was released in 1937, Robert's despair of a world gone mad was perfectly relate-able to the contemporary audience.

The character of George, as portrayed by John Howard, is an interesting one.  George has spent his life reflecting in his brother's glory; were he to stay in Shangri-la, his one source of self-esteem - that of being the great Robert's brother - would be gone.  At first, it's easy to sympathize with George; the group is being lied to, and he is more than angry at being held against his will.  But Howard brings George's resentment to a fever pitch.  Ultimately, it's hard to like him - he claims to be in love with Maria, but his actions don't speak of love - they display his willingness to use any means or any one to get out.  John Howard does an excellent job of creating a character that has no self esteem, but much pride.

Sam Jaffe, who portrays the High Lama, was 46 when this film was released, and this was only his third feature film.  His career began in the Yiddish theatre; during the period from 1918 to 1937, he appeared in 14 Broadway plays, including The Jazz Singer and Grand Hotel.  He was actually the third choice for the role of the High Lama - the first two choices (A. E. Anson and Henry Walthall) both died before filming began.  This TCM article provides more detail on the early casting of the film. Two years after this Lost Horizon, Jaffe starred in the title role in Gunga Din (1939).  He later appeared in such notable productions as The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), but by 1955, he was blacklisted after he refused to name names to HUAC.  His greatest fame occurred in television, when he appeared as Ben Casey's mentor, Dr. Zorba, in Ben Casey.  Married twice (his first marriage to Lillian Taiz ended with her death in 1941.  His second was to the actress Bettye Ackerman - who appeared as Dr. Maggie Graham in Ben Casey), he continued acting until his death in 1984 (aged 93).

Another actor whose fame came primarily from television was the lovely Jane Wyatt, who appears as  Sondra, the young woman who encourages the High Lama to bring Robert Conway to Shangri-La.  While this was not her first film, it was probably her most notable one.  For the most part, Ms. Wyatt was relegated to starring roles in B movies.  By the 1950s, she had switched over to television, where she became best known for her role as Margaret Anderson in Father Knows Best (1954-1960).  She would create the role of another important mother when she appeared as Spock's human mother, Amanda in the episode Journey to Babel in Star Trek - a role she would reprise in Star Trek: The Voyage Home (1986).  She was one of the many performers who went to Washington, DC in 1947 to protest the HUAC hearings.  She continued acting until 1992 (her final role was as older Vicki in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles).  Married for 65 years, Ms. Wyatt died in 2006, at the age of 96.

Lost Horizon was remade as a musical in 1973, with Peter Finch as Conway, Michael York as George, and Charles Boyer as the High Lama.  With not a singer in the bunch, the film was not especially noteworthy. 

We'll leave you with a trailer from the film, and a strong recommendation to see it:

Rita's on Broadway

We see a suicide note.  Charles Engle (John Qualen) has decided to end his life after his wife runs off with another man, taking with her $3,000 Engle embezzled from his employer.  His boss, Mr. Hopper (George Watts), tells him he has until 6am to retrieve the money and return it. So, Charles goes out to jump in the river, but the police by the waterfront scare him into away from the pier and into The Pigeon Club.  In his ennui, Charles throws what money he has around, raising a number of eyebrows, including those of an unusual trio.  Bill O'Brien (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), in some senses the narrator of the film, is a con man who hopes to make a bit of money off this new mark.   Nina Barona (Rita Hayworth), is a would-be performer looking for someone to cast her in a stage play, or provide a few bucks til she finds a producer.  Gene Gibbons (Thomas Mitchell) is a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright who has just had a play fail miserably, and his girlfriend leave him; he would like to find an angel for his next play, and he thinks Charles is the answer.  So begins Angels Over Broadway (1940).

Angels Over Broadway shows great promise as it opens; it is witty and interesting.  Even the double meaning of the title - the Broadway "angel" (or financier) being sought by all three of our characters, framed in comparison to the angelic deed that the three agree to perform in order to save Charles' life - shows imagination.  By the end, however, the plot begins to implode, and we felt that the writers just didn't know how to end it.  Some of the plots just seem to stop (Gene Gibbons, for example), and the ending given to Nina and Bill has an artificial feel to it.  It's too bad, really, because there are some great characters that showed a lot of promise.

We particularly enjoyed Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.'s small time con man.  He's properly smarmy, but is also attractive. Fairbanks is always a dynamic actor, and he tries hard to make his character realistic.  But, there are problems even a talented actor can't overcome.  For example, though he and Nina bicker, and he denies an attraction, he seems protective of her.  But there is little chemistry between him and Rita Hayworth, and her character is really a riddle. Hayworth doesn't get to do very much, and her character's actions are contradictory.  It doesn't feel like Nina has an awakening; the character does a complete about-face in her attitudes and actions, and its not clear why.  But she is not given a lot to work with - the screenplay is much more interested in Fairbanks and in the always wonderful Thomas Mitchell.

Also given short shrift is John Qualen, a great character actor with a sizeable part in screen time, but no real opportunity for character development.  Qualen gives the appearance of sleepwalking through the film, and while in other films he is often portrayed as an everyman, he is rarely weak in his portrayals.  Here, he is not so much nebbishy as he is a non-entity.  Qualen had a lengthy career, working in films and television from 1931 to 1974. Many of you will remember him as Vera Miles father in The Searchers or as the expectant father in Whipsaw.  His career started on Broadway; he went to Hollywood to recreate his stage role in the screen version of Street Scene and became a favorite of director John Ford.  Qualen appeared in Ford's films over a thirty year period.  John Qualen died in 1987 (aged 87) having been married to his wife since 1924.

Ben Hecht was actually nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Angels Over Broadway (it lost to The Great McGinty), and it was well received critically.  Audiences, however, did not warm up to the film.  This TCM article goes into more depth on the film and on Rita Hayworth.

Having recently seen the film Raffles, we were amused when Gene steals a brooch, and his ex-girl friend announces "You're no Raffles".  All in all, we were sorry that we didn't enjoy Angels Over Broadway more.  It showed such promise!  It might be worth a look, just for the beginning of the film, and to see Fairbanks in top form.  

We'll leave you with a scene from early in the picture, as Bill begins his flirtation with Nina:

Rosalind's Showplace

A few weeks ago, we watched two different versions of the same story.  We are doing it again.  The time, we begin with the 1936 version of the Pulitzer Prize winning play be George Kelly (uncle of Grace Kelly), Craig's Wife.  This is the story of a woman who married for a house, rather than for love or position.  And it is directed by Hollywood's only woman director in this period, Dorothy Arzner.

Harriett Craig (as played by Rosalind Russell) is the very model of a total bitch (one of our group said that if you look up "bitch" in the dictionary, Harriet's picture is there).  She is cold and calculating, a liar and a snob.  Her attitude to everyone is supercilious, no one is as smart as she and no one is good enough to set foot in her precious house.  She has no friends, and has made sure her husband Walter (John Boles) is distanced from his friends.  Friends, after all, might want to visit, and no one is allowed into the temple that Harriet has created.  Harriet is fascinated by objects, and revolted by anything that she perceives as mess.  Flowers are forbidden in her "temple". The petals might get on the table.

The film opens while Harriet is away. Her sister is ill, and Harriet goes to visit her for a few days.  While there, Harriet decides to bring her niece Ethel (Dorothy Wilson) home with her (Harriet has decided that he sister will recover more quickly if she is left alone). On the trip back, Harriet lectures the young woman on the benefits of a loveless marriage, and the security of a well-to-do husband.  Meanwhile, back home, her husband has used her time away to visit his friend Fergus Passmore (Thomas Mitchell), an unhappy alcoholic, who suspects his wife's fidelity.

There really is no motivation given for Harriet's obsessive behavior about her home.  We also don't know much about the marriage; in the play, Harriet and Walter have been married for only 18 months.  This film gives us no idea of the length of the marriage.  Since Walter doesn't seem to be unhappy at the start of the film, his switch to utter disgust of his wife is rapid.  Certainly, a lot of small things happen to tarnish his image of her (his Aunt Austen's lecture, Harriet's unwillingness to cooperate with the police), but he's been living with her for awhile.  His rebellion seems a bit precipitous here.  We found it amusing that Harriet forbids Walter to smoke in the house, something that would have been quite offensive to viewers in 1936  (maybe she suspected that second-hand smoke is bad!).

We were very impressed by Rosalind Russell in this film.  She is not afraid to make Harriet unlikeable.  Even her attitude towards her sister and niece is reserved to the point of disinterest.  Her Harriet is totally dead inside.  Also quite good was Billie Burke as the neighbor, Mrs. Frazier, a warm, affectionate woman with a love for flowers and children. She serves as the perfect foil to Harriet.

We've already been told at multiple points what a harridan Harriet is and how difficult it is for her staff.  Poor Mazie (played beautifully by Nydia Westman) is treated shabbily by Harriet, even though she has taken on the  cooking responsibilities (she was hired as a housemaid), the most recent cook having resigned.  We find out that there is so much turnover in the staff, the employment agency won't send a new cook until the home has been inspected. So, when Jane Darwell, as the housekeeper, Mrs. Harold  has her final confrontation with Harriet,  you want to cheer as Mrs. Harold takes the match.  

One thing to note, when you see Thomas Mitchell, you will assume that this subplot will actually have a conclusion.  Like a lot of the subplots here, it does not.  Primarily because these incidents don't affect Harriet - she won't let them.  

We recommend to you the excellent TCM article for more insights into the making of this interesting picture. This is an excellent film, and well worth your viewing.

Jean Goes on an Adventure

Tonight, we join the lovely Jean Arthur for the first in a series of films that feature her in the lead.  Adventure in Manhattan (1936) has Jean starring as Claire Peyton, and beyond that, there is little I can tell you, as there are spoilers aplenty if I do.  Joining Jean is Joel McCrea as George Melville, a reporter noted for his unerring ability to predict crimes before they happen.  When a famous gem is stolen, George predicts the next robbery, and surmises that the robberies are the work of Belaire, a thief long believed to be dead.  By everyone, of course, except George.

It is interesting that this film is included on the Jean Arthur Comedy Collection, as it is really hard to class it AS a comedy (unless you view comedy in the more Elizabethan-theatrical vein).  Our first encounter with Claire is far from comedic, and very few of the incidents that occur will make you laugh.  Perhaps the only funny lines are at the end (and even then, for those of us who had been carefully watching, they were much more serious than we believed the authors actually intended.) This is certainly a film that will keep you guessing til the very end, but I would be interested to know if anyone else really believed this to be a "comedy." 

A lot of talent is involved in this under-viewed movie.  First, of course, is Ms. Arthur, who really is the consumate actress.  Joel McCrea, usually the boy-next-door, is rather arrogant as George, and well he should be, because George DOES think a lot of himself.  We also have such excellent character actors as Thomas Mitchell (as George's editor, Phil Bane) and Reginald Owen as Blackton Gregory.  An interesting and gifted cast, in a very different, and at times puzzling movie.