Has Pat Cracked Up?

George Steele (Pat O'Brien) assaults a police officer trying to get into the Manhattan Museum, where George works.  George is confused, and says he was in a train accident.  But Lieutenant Cochrane (Wallace Ford) from the police detective unit assures him there have been no train accidents in over seven months.  Is George about to Crack-Up (1946)?

Pat O'Brien gives a good performance as a war veteran who genuinely believes he was involved in a train wreck, but can't prove it.  If there is one problem with his portrayal it is that Mr. O’Brien is obviously too old (he was 47 when the picture was released) for the part he is playing. That aside, you do believe him both as a man being driven to the edges of sanity, as well as an intellectual with a deep interest and knowledge of art history. Mr. O'Brien's did only one other film noir, but he makes the most of it in this outing (TCM article).

He's well matched with Claire Trevor (Terry Cordell), herself a veteran of films noir.  She'd already done one notable noir - Murder, My Sweet (1944), and would win an Oscar for her performance in Key Largo (1948) two years after our film. It's a shame she doesn't have more screen time, but when she does appear, either working with Mr. O'Brien as his love interest, or with Herbert Marshall (Traybin), she takes command of the screen.

Though Herbert Marshall's part is small, he is used to good effect. You are never quite sure of the reliability of the character. Ray Collins (Dr. Lowell) is also in the same position.  By keeping the characters ambiguous, the audience is kept engaged in the action.

One small oddity in the film comes at the beginning. During an art lecture given by George Steele to a group of museum donors, Steele compares an old Master to a modern painting (which bears a passing resemblance to Dali), and trashes the modern painting. He is interrupted by an angry man in the audience; the man speaks with a distinct foreign accent and is nearly hysterical in his passion for the modern piece. It's an odd insert into the movie. As Derek Sculthorpe points out in his book on Claire Trevor (Claire Trevor:The Life and Films of the Queen of Noir), the screenplay seems to be linking modern art to radicalism - an acknowledgement to the increasing Red scare?

Based on the story Madman's Holiday by Fredric Brown, the film was not well received; Bosley Crowther's New York Times review found him "overwhelmed by [the film's] inadequacies." Regardless, in December 1946 Lux Radio Theatre did a production with Pat O'Brien and Lynn Bari. (AFI catalog).

While this is by no means a perfect movie, it certainly is worth a viewing, if only to see this very good cast work together.  We'll leave you with a trailer:

 

Edward Sees Himself

The Whole Town's Talking (1935) about gangster "Killer" Manion (Edward G. Robinson), who just broken out of jail in search of stoolie "Slugs" Martin (Edward Brophy). With Manion's picture all over the front page of every newspaper in town, Arthur Ferguson Jones (Edward G. Robinson) is in a pickle - the mild-mannered clerk is a dead-ringer for Manion. How can the police catch Manion and not keep arresting Jones? Well, a pass issued by the Chief of Police seems like a good solution, but when that information hits the papers as well (thanks to Reporter Healy (Wallace Ford), Manion develops his own plan.

Mr. Robinson is quite impressive in the dual roles. Using him is an interesting and effective casting decision; it toys with the audience's familiarity with him in his gangster roles, by throwing another characterization into the mix.  Mr. Robinson doesn't rely on makeup or vocal changes to differentiate the characters - he uses his posture and his face. The audience always knows which character is which because of his skill in demarcating one man from the other. Clearly the star of the film - and the romantic lead - his performance also shows the skills that would make him a magnificent - and powerful - character actor as he aged. 

Following his success in Little Caesar (1931), it appeared that Edward G. Robinson was doomed to a career of gangster roles. So, when Columbia pictures wanted to borrow him for The Whole Town's Talking, he initially balked (TCM article). Under suspension and pressed for cash, Mr. Robinson eventually agreed to take the part. The film was so well received that there were rumors he would be nominated for an Oscar. However, Jack Warner used his influence to block the nomination - he didn't want a Warner star nominated for another studio's film (Little Caesar: A Biography of Edward G. Robinson by Alan L. Gansberg).

Jean Arthur is appropriately sassy as Wilhemina "Bill" Clark, the woman of Arthur’s dreams. He secretly writes poems to her, addressing them to Cymbeline; poems which she mocks (not knowing Arthur is the author). When she realizes that Arthur is a double of Manion, she becomes fascinated with the timid clerk. And while Bill finds Arthur's bachelor apartment exactly as she suspected (even to “a canary bird”), she has mellowed enough to find this endearing. We were especially amused by Bill’s discussions with the police, as she yells “Manion” to every crime about which they inquire. This film was something new for Ms. Arthur and contributed to her future in films like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) (Women in the Films of John Ford by David Meuel).

It's surprising to realize that the film was directed by John Ford. One doesn't often think of him in relation to films of this type, but he had directed contemporary American stories before (John Ford: The Man and His Films by Tag Gallagher). In his autobiography, Edward G. Robinson had nothing but praise for Mr. Ford. The pair bring a gentle comedy to the film - Arthur is amusing, but never mocked.

A quick tip of the hat to the always amusing Donald Meek as Hoyt, the first person to confuse Arthur with Manion  - his efforts to claim the reward for finding Manion are really funny (it's not a surprise that he's having a problem getting the money, since he keeps turning in the wrong person). 

We do wish the police were a little less stupid - the idea of giving Arthur a note, and then letting a reporter put that in the newspaper is so tantamountly idiotic that you can only shake your head at this plot device. Regardless, this is a very small complaint in an otherwise enjoyable picture.

When it opened at Radio City Music Hall, The Whole Town's Talking received a glowing review from Andre Sennwald at the New York Times. This was the first of Mr. Robinson's films to open at Radio City and was a huge success for the studio (Little Caesar: A Biography of Edward G. Robinson by Alan L. Gansberg). 

The story was adapted from a novel by William R. Burnett, the author of Little Caesar (which would certainly help explain Mr. Robinson's initial reaction to the role). Working titles were Jail Breaker and Passport to Fame (AFI catalog).  In February 1941, Jeff Corey took on the story for the Lux Radio Theatre.

This is a fun film, and one we wholeheartedly encourage you to view.  We'll leave you with a clip from the opening of the film:

Queen Barbara

Jeff Young (or Younger) (Barry Sullivan) is on his way to Rock Creek, when he meets Lucy Lee (Mary Murphy), who's headed there as well to sell her cattle. When Jeff prevents Lucy from being raped by The Sundance Kid (Scott Brady) the two continue to the town together. Once there, Jeff gets a job with Kit Banion (Barbara Stanwyck), at her saloon The Maverick Queen (1956). Kit has been having an affair with Sundance, but is sick of his vulgarity, and finds Jeff to be a much more appealing man. However, Jeff's eagerness to meet the Hole in the Wall Gang arouses her suspicions.

We've already ascertained that Barbara Stanwyck can do anything, but Ms. Stanwyck is the perfect Western actress. She looks like she knows how to handle a gun, she looks like a horsewoman, she won't let anyone - man or woman - run her down. So we were really looking forward to this film. Well, we were wrong. The Maverick Queen is a pretty awful movie. And it's not that Ms. Stanwyck is bad in it - she's actually great. But she's got precious little to work with, and the rest of the cast is inferior at best. Ms. Stanwyck performed her own stunts in the film, by the way (TCM article)

I've previously mentioned my antipathy towards Barry Sullivan, and this movie is case in point as to why I don't like him. He plays Jeff totally flat - no emotion, and little reaction. He's got two beautiful women in love with him, and he can't even muster a smile. It's hard to believe that a woman as dynamic as Kit could fall in love with this nonentity, and Mr. Sullivan's performance doesn't help you to believe it.

Equally dull is the performance of Mary Murphy as Lucy. She's a pretty woman, but she is banal. She's supposed to be gutsy enough that she's willing to run a herd of cattle to market for sale, but you wouldn't believe it from her performance. Her career was not standout - she's remembered today for her performance in The Wild One (1953) - but does anyone remember any actor but Brando in that film? She did quite a bit of television, retiring in 1975.  She died in 2011 at the age of 80.

Scott Brady tries to play his role by not bathing and scowling a lot. Again, why in heavens a woman with the class of Kit would want to sleep with this guy is a mystery. This is not the Sundance Kid as played by Robert Redford thirteen years later; this is a nasty, mean, and crude individual with no class whatsoever.

It's always nice to see Jim Davis (Jeff Younger). He's possibly the only one of the bad guys with any kind of personality, and he's only in a couple of scene. Now, if Kit had been smitten with him, we might have believed it, but the casting department flubbed that one.

The script was based on a Zane Grey novel, which was a motivation for Ms. Stanwyck's appearance - she was a fan, and in fact made several appearances on the television series Zane Grey Theatre (hosted by and often starring Dick Powell). But, compare some of her TV scripts to this, and you'll see a big difference in quality. The tight television format was far more entertaining than this muddle.

With fight scenes that are almost laughable, and music by Victor Young (AFI catalog) that is trying to emulate High Noon, this one is a major disappointment. We will leave you with the film's opening, and a suggestion that you try a different Stanwyck western. We'll have a really good one for you shortly.

Joan is Possessed (for the First Time)

Joan Crawford made two movies named Possessed. We already looked at the 1947 film (with Van Heflin); this time we look at an interesting pre-Code film of the same name (from 1931), co-starring Clark Gable.  Crawford is Marion, a factory worker with an eye towards bigger thing. When she meets a New York playboy while his train is laying over in her town, she accepts his invitation to come and see her in NYC,  and follows him to the big city. Here, we see their meeting:  

Of course, Wally Stuart (Skeets Gallagher) is not in the least serious about wanting to see her.  Constantly drunk, he barely remembers her, but he decides he owes her some "good" advice - meet a rich man, and take him for all he is worth. Though, he - Wally - will not introduce her to any of his friends.  Marion, however takes his advice immediately to heart, and maneuvers herself back into his apartment, where he meets Mark Whitney (Clark Gable), a wealthy lawyer, with visions of a political future.  Whitney is immediately smitten with Marion, but, the victim in a bad marriage, he has no intention of wedding again.  Instead, he sets Marion up as a wealthy divorcee, Mrs. Moreland, and she becomes his hostess and lover.

Crawford's Marion is so very likeable in this film.  Even her machinations to meet Mark are down with a down-to-earth honesty that makes you truly like her character.  The same is true for Gable's Whitney.  He is a man who has been burnt, but his regard for Marion is true. He does love her, treats her with respect and love, but is unwilling to risk losing her - he says - by marrying her.  

Another fairly interesting performance is that of Wallace Ford as Al Manning, Marion's small-town boyfriend.  He is most interesting when we meet him again in the film, after he has become a success.  Watch for the confrontation between the two of them, and then watch his reaction when he realizes that she has the ability to make or break him.  It is a fascinating turn.  We also liked the brief appearance by Marjorie White as the mistress of one of Mark's associates.  It is a wonderful part, but the way Crawford and Gable interact with her is just lovely and subtle.  Kudos especially to Crawford here - her silent training - especially her ability to use her eyes to tell you so much more than the words of the story reveal, are easy to see.

Join us next time for another early film.