Brian Loses Control

College friends Al Mercer (Guy Madison), Brick (Brian Keith), Roy (Brian Keith), and Ronnie (Kerwin Mathews) take a vacation trip to Harold's Casino in Reno, Nevada. Upon returning to school, Ronnie comes up with a supposedly foolproof method of robbing the casino. Ronnie and Roy see it as a game - they won't keep the money, so there is no crime. But unknown to them, Brick, a Korean War vet who has had mental issues since returning stateside, is finding it hard to cope with civilian life. This week, we'll discuss 5 Against the House (1955).

At first look, this appears to be a film in the vein of Oceans 11 - it was, in fact, an inspiration for Martin Scorsese's Casino (TCM article). There is one small problem - it's not a very good movie, and it's badly miscast. 

Two of our actors are supposed to be college students in their early 20s. Alvy Moore was 34 and looks it; Kerwin Matthews was 29 and looks older. It's therefore rather hard to find them believable as naive youths. Also, Matthew's character is supposed to be extremely intelligent. But he thinks he can commit grand theft and not be charged because he's going to give back the money. Really?? He's also really unpleasant - he's constantly hazing a younger student (which is supposed to be the comic relief), and he's vain enough to decide to trap Al into his illegal scheme. All in all, he is a self-important, spoiled brat.

Guy Madison is saddled with a character who's given little opportunity to develop. We know he is a Korean War veteran, and that Brick saved his life. We know that he is in love with Kay Greylek (Kim Novak). We're also told that he is intending to study law. Other than that, he is a blank slate, and the script does not allow us to really care about him at all.

The actor who is given the most to work with (and that still is not a whole lot) is Brian Keith. He gets the chance to play a man teetering on the verge of madness. But he's given precious little of a back story, and that does not help our understanding of the man. When one thinks of other post-war films, like The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) and Captain Newman, M.D. (1963), both of which have characters that have suffered emotional trauma because of their experiences, the audience is given a chance to taste some of the horrors that plague the men. Not here - like Al, Brick is written in shorthand. It's only thanks to the skill of Brian Keith that we have any sympathy for him.

This was only Kim Novak's fifth film, and while she too is saddled with a superficial character, we do warm to her, mainly because we see that she is a strong and intelligent woman.  If any character is a savior, it is she, and the audience likes her audacity by the end.  The same year as this film was released, Ms. Novak would appear as Madge in Picnic, and her stardom was assured.  

William Conrad (Eric Berg) has a brief appearance as a casino employee - strangely, he gets billing OVER Kerwin Matthews. Well, maybe not so strange - he's a far better actor.

The story was taken from a Good Housekeeping series (AFI Catalog) - an odd tale for such a magazine.  One nice feature is that it offers a glimpse of Reno (and Las Vegas) in the mid 1950s - not the cities that we think of today.

Unless you are a Kim Novak completist, or a fan of Brian Keith, we can't really recommend this one. Here is a trailer from the film:

 

Gramercy Park Barbara

Jessica (Barbara Stanwyck) and Brandon Bourne (James Mason) appear to be a successful, happily married couple. They dine weekly with Jessie's mother Nora Kernan (Gale Sondergaard), who shows deep affection for her son-in-law. They live in a lovely Gramercy Park apartment. But, there marriage was threatened some years ago when Brandon had an affair with Isabel Lorrison (Ava Gardner). Her departure helped repair their marriage; however, Isabel has just returned to New York, and she wants Bran back. Our film for this week is East Side, West Side (1949)

Before I begin discussing the film itself, I wanted to comment on the "East Side" setting. One of my favorite places in the world is Gramercy Park. For those of you not from NYC, Gramercy Park is a small region in Manhattan; it encompasses an area from 19th Street to 21st Street, and from Third Avenue to Park Avenue South. In its center is the actual Park, a private garden available only to residents. Centered in the Park is a statue to Edwin Booth; across the street is The Players' Club, which Mr. Booth founded in 1888. Among the inhabitants of the area were James Cagney (who lived at #34), Gregory Peck (you can see him walking in the Park in A Conversation with Gregory Peck), and Margaret Hamilton; John Garfield died in #3. The home in which the Bournes reside is #36 (right next door to James Cagney!) and was my personal dream apartment. Now, there is no way that Jessica can see the river, even from the top floor of the east face of the building (Stuyvesant Town would be in the way), but it's still an impressive residence.

It goes without saying that Ms. Stanwyck is impressive as Jessica. Though Jessie is quiet, Ms. Stanwyck makes sure she is not passive. Jessie is determined that her marriage will survive (her parents' marriage was tumultuous, and it had a toll on their daughter), but neither is she a doormat. She has made it clear to her husband that she won't tolerate his philandering any longer. Though she has suspicions at times, she is willing to trust to a point that he is keeping his word. Ms. Stanwyck makes her pain evident, but also shows us Jessica's strengths - especially when she finally confronts her chief nemesis, Isabel (for an interesting discussion of the scene, please visit this review by Jeanine Basinger in The New York Review of Books. It includes a review of  Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations, by Peter Evans and Ava Gardner in which Ms. Gardner alleges an affair with Ms. Stanwyck's husband, Robert Taylor).

None of us are huge James Mason fans; though he is at his best when there is something a bit shady about the character. This film is no exception. Mr. Mason has no problem with making Bran distasteful and weak; the result however is that you know pretty quickly that he is not a fit husband for anyone, much less the caring Jessica. His interactions with Rosa Senta (Cyd Charisse, in a rare dramatic role) cut immediately to the chase. He flirts, she puts him down, saying "If I were your wife, I'd cut your heart out!" The audience totally understands her reaction; we don't even need to know that Isabel can summon him with a flick of her little finger to understand that he is spineless.

Conversely, Van Heflin as Mark Dwyer is excellent and immediately likeable. Sure, he falls for Jessica a bit too fast (but it is only an 108 minute film!) and he doesn't appreciate Rosa's affection for him, but he's a good man who has little use for Bran, and is upfront in his relations with the women in his life. Mr. Heflin, in his third appearance with Ms. Stanwyck (they had already appeared together in B.F.'s Daughter and The Strange Love of Martha Ivers) , shows an easy relationship with his co-star. There is an equality and regard in their relationship that (appropriately) is not present with Mr. Mason.

Part of the reason that Mr. Heflin's character is so attractive is the regard with which he is held by Rosa Senta. She's loved him since childhood, but she is also a woman with a regard for herself. She won't accept him as a second choice. His honesty towards her; her response to their conversations make both characters attractive.

Let's also acknowledge that the women in this film are remarkable for their solidarity. Sure, Isabel and Felice Backett (aka "The Amazon", played by Beverly Michaels) are heinous people, but the interactions that Jessie has with Helen Lee (Nancy Davis) and Rosa, and the love that Nora has for her daughter demonstrate that not every female discussion results in a catfight. These women are protective of Jessie. Ms. Davis, (in her first screen role; she was on the set of this film when she met her future husband, Ronald Reagan), says it best, when she decries the belief "that [women] aren't capable of affection for one another and honest friendship." Rosa, Nora, and Helen show the depth of female friendships. (TCM article)

Beverly Michaels was also appearing on the big screen for the first time. She was married to the film's producer Voldemar Vetluguin at the time (the marriage would end in 1952). She only appeared in 11 films (3 of them uncredited), but she's quite good in this small but memorable role. After her divorce, she married again, to screenwriter/director Russell Rouse. They were married for over 30 years, until his death, and had two children (their son Christopher is an editor). She died in 2007, at the age of 78, by which time she had become something of a cult figure as a noir-ish bad girl.

As is often the case, Mr. Mason and Ms. Stanwyck were not the first choices for the Bournes - Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert were the considered first. This would also be Gale Sondergaard's final film for 20 years - she and her husband Herbert Biberman were blacklisted; they moved to New York City where she was able to get work on Broadway. Finally, in 1969, she returned to the big and small screen (AFI catalog) with the film Slaves (directed by her husband) and the TV show It Takes a Thief.

We'll leave you with the trailer to this excellent film.

Barbara is Bedridden

Leona Cotterell Stevenson (Barbara Stanwyck) is alone at home; she is bedridden and cannot maneuver her home unassisted.  Leona cannot find her husband, Henry (Burt Lancaster), who was supposed to be home to care for her. The servants are off, and Leona is annoyed.  She gets on the phone, attempting to find her husband, but some wires cross; she overhears two men discussing the murder of a woman.  Leona tries to get help for this "poor woman," but she soon begins to believe that the "poor woman" is herself.

The story of how Leona and Henry became a couple in Sorry Wrong Number (1948) is told in flashback; using this technique, we learn much about the backstory of this very unhappy marriage.  Based on a popular radio play, the film expands the 27 minute radio story  by inserting this background information.  Though the radio play was wildly successful with the marvelous Agnes Moorehead in the lead role, the studio deemed her to be too much a character actress to reprise her role.

Barbara Stanwyck was justly nominated (her final competitive bid) for an Oscar for the role of Leona. She lost - again - this time to  Jane Wyman in Johnny Belinda.  She did have other tough competition: Ingrid Bergman (Joan of Arc), Olivia de Havilland (The Snake Pit) and Irene Dunne (I Remember Mama), any of whom certainly deserved the award (and Ms. Dunne was another excellent actress who never won an Oscar, despite being nominated 5 times).  That being said, Leona is a character that runs the gamut - she's tough, decisive, and authoritative in the flashback scenes; whiny, carping, and domineering as she lies in her bed.  Stanwyck, craftswoman that she is, makes it all hang together - you believe the trajectory of Leona's life. 

Burt Lancaster's Henry goes through a similar metamorphosis.  A milquetoast at the beginning, he allows Leona to bulldoze him away from the woman he supposedly loves, (Sally Hunt as played by Ann Richards).  By the time we see him in the present, the roles have begun to reverse, with Henry taking the lead in the marriage and in business (though not in a good way).  In what is essentially a new part from the radio play, Lancaster crafted a character that was far different than any he had played before (TCM articles). Initially, Hal Wallis had wanted Lee Bowman for the part (who was often cast as weaker men), but Lancaster lobbied for the role and got it when Bowman proved to be unavailable.  He's excellent in the part. 

As Leona's father, James Cotterell, Ed Begley portrays a power-obsessed man, who is overly protective of his daughter and demeaning to his son-in-law.  At the same time, he's also a bit of a cad, far more interested in his latest girlfriend than in  his daughter's troubles.  In a sea of characters who are dichotomous, his is perhaps the most contradictory part in the film. Begley makes it easy to understand how Leona has been driven to hypochondria by her father's bullying nature.

We particularly liked Ann Richards in the role of Sally Hunt Lord.  She ends up being the only truly sympathetic character in the film - she loves her husband and son, but still is protective of Henry.  Despite the fact that Leona literally stole Henry from Ann, she does her best to assist Leona.  Born in Australia, Ms. Richards had a very short film career, appearing in 18 films (and one television show) between 1937 and 1960.  She's probably best remembered as Dilly Carson in Love Letters (1945).  She retired from film in 1949, to raise her three children with her husband Edmond Angelo (she would reenter the film arena to appear in Mr. Angelo's 1952 film Breakdown), and to write poetry (two volumes of her poetry were published in 1971 and 1991).  She died in 2006, at the age of 88. 

According to an article in the AFI Catalog, the film had a bit of trouble with the Production Code Administration (PCA) regarding Henry's plan to steal from his father-in-law's pharmaceutical company.  Early versions of the script made it much more obvious that Henry was stealing and selling drugs (ergo, drug trafficking, a code no-no).  The script had to be amended so that he was selling "products of all kinds," not drugs.  It's a fine point, but it made the PCA happy.

 Several excellent actors make brief appearances in the film.  Wendell Corey has one scene as Dr. Alexander, the man to whom Leona goes for a "cure" to her invalidism.  Leif Erickson as Detective Fred Lord, who is husband to Sally and is also investigating Henry's nefarious activities, makes an appearance.  And as the sinister Morano, William Conrad shines in a single scene. With his imposing presence and magnificent voice, Mr. Conrad always makes an impression.

We highly recommend this film; if you've not yet seen it, you are in for a treat.  We'll leave you with a trailer from this excellent movie.