Month: October 2020

“Beware, My Lovely” (1952) starring Ida Lupino & Robert Ryan

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Howard Wilton (Robert Ryan), a handyman/drifter, arrives at the house of widow/teacher Helen Gordon (Ida Lupino). He is hired for the day to help clean the house, incl. waxing the floor. It soon becomes apparent that Howard’s behavior is unusual. Howard anxiously asks Helen if his work is satisfactory. He works hard, but is uncomfortable b/c he thinks she is watching him. Helen’s teen niece, Ruth (Barbara Whiting), reacts badly when Howard doesn’t appreciate her flirty behavior. She taunts him; this makes him mad. After she leaves, Howard locks the doors, and makes Helen a prisoner in her own home!

The petite Lupino makes a striking contrast to the dark/tall (6’4″) Ryan. This taut/thought-provoking 77 min. noir was also owned/produced by Lupino and her husband, Collier Young. This is the first movie directed by Harry Horner, who worked as an art director/ production designer for theater, opera, as well as movies. The head of RKO, Howard Hughes, held the film from release for a year. Ryan felt Hughes (known for his right-wing politics) tried to “bury” it b/c Ryan was publicly active in left-wing politics. The staircase was left over from the set of The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) and would be used in many RKO films.

We (in the modern world) are wary to have strangers work our homes (w/o a reference from a friend, family member, or trusted neighbor). Of course, many of us do research on businesses online. However, this story is set in 1918 in a small town, where almost everyone knows each other. Helen’s boarder, Mr. Armstrong (Taylor Holmes), jokes around w/ her before leaving town for the holidays. A group of young schoolchildren bring gifts for Helen to place under her Christmas. This is not the type of environment where we expect danger, in reality and in fiction. But you never can tell! “Women in jeopardy” movies used to be a staple of ‘90s cable TV; however, the story here is more nuanced than you’d expect.

[1] I was attracted to this film because the title suggested a tough detective film noir… Very quickly though I realised that this was down to some people’s assumption that anything that is black and white and tough gets called a “noir,” but I was not disappointed because this domestic thriller is driven by two very good performances. 

[2] …wow did Ryan do a really good job portraying this man! You really find yourself feeling for Ida Lupino as he destroys her life. So with such intense acting and menace…

[3] The suspense comes from her various ploys to keep him happy while trying to escape. It’s a nail-biter all the way. 

-Excerpts from IMDB movies

“Samson and Delilah” (1949) starring Hedy Lamarr, Victor Mature, George Sanders, & Angela Lansbury

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Samson: You came to this house as wedding guests. Fire and death are your gifts to my bride. For all that I do against you now, I shall be blameless. I’ll give you back fire for fire, and death for death!

Samson (Victor Mature) plans to marry Semadar (Angela Lansbury), though the Danites (his tribe) are ruled by the Philistines (her tribe). Also, the Danites believe in one god, while the Philistines worship many gods. Samson jumps over the wall of her house to spend time w/ Semadar, interrupting Ahtur (Henry Wilcoxon), the prince who called to court. Semadar’s younger sister, Delilah (Hedy Lamarr), is secretly in love w/ Samson; he doesn’t pay her much attention. Samson asks the local ruler, The Saran of Gaza (George Sanders), for Semadar’s hand in marriage after defeating a warrior in a test of strength. At their wedding banquet, Semadar betrays Samson, and a violent brawl breaks out among the men. Semadar is killed, as is her father; their house and lands are burned! Delilah vows revenge on Samson; she’ll find out why he’s so strong, then betray him to The Saran.

Prince Ahtur: This Samson has some unknown power, some secret that gives him superhuman strength. No man can stand against him.

Delilah: Perhaps he’ll fall before a woman. Even Samson’s strength must have a weakness. There isn’t a man in the world who would not share his secrets with some woman.

Victor Mature won the role of Samson over Burt Lancaster, who was dealing with a back injury and also considered too young. According to Scott Eyman’s biography of Cecil B. DeMille, the real reason that Lancaster did not get the role of Samson was due to his politics; Lancaster was liberal while DeMille was a conservative (as was Mature). Wilcoxon, Robert Ryan, and Robert Mitchum were also considered for Samson. Mature refused to wrestle a tame Hollywood lion; a stuntman is intercut w/ close-ups of the actor wrestling w/ fur.

Her performance was definitely the main asset of the film, one for which she deserved an Academy Award nomination. -Christopher Young, Hedy Lamarr’s biographer

Though cast as the older sister, Lansbury (23 y.o.) was 10 yrs younger than Lamarr (33 y.o.)- who hailed from Austria and was Jewish. Other candidates for the role of Delilah were Jean Simmons, Lana Turner, and Rita Hayworth. Yvonne De Carlo (who later starred in DeMille’s The Ten Commandments) also wanted to play Delilah. Lamarr wears 10 costumes (designed by Edith Head); the peacock gown and cape included 2,000 peacock feathers. Before the scene where Samson kisses Delilah, much discussion took place as to whether a man would kiss a woman w/ his eyes closed or open. Mature commented “a fellow would be a chump to close his eyes” when kissing Lamarr. In the final shot, Mature closed, opened, and then closed his eyes again.

Samson: Your arms were quicksand. Your kiss was death. The name Delilah will be an everlasting curse on the lips of men.

Samson and Delilah was the top-grossing movie of 1949 ($28M). DeMille wanted to shoot the background scenes in Israel, but couldn’t b/c of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. He decided to send a camera crew to North Africa for 2 mos; they brought back footage shot in Morocco and Algeria, as well as props. Despite this Biblical account of their battle against the Philistines, the oppressed people were never referred to as “Israelites”, “Hebrews”, or “Jewish” people. This omission (or avoidance) occurred in an era when studio chiefs were very sensitive to the fact that Hollywood was generally considered to be “run by Jews.” This movie was in post-production when Sunset Blvd. (1950) was being shot at Paramount. In the scene where Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) visits a soundstage to meet w/ DeMille, the set of Delilah’s tent was reassembled to show the director/producer at work. 

I find the American public fairly true to corn. It grows all across the great Midwest. It’s on the ground and in the hearts of the people. I’m very proud to say you’ll find a good deal of it my pictures. -Cecille B. DeMille, commenting on the “corny” reputation of this movie

[1] Victor Mature, a fine physical specimen of the male physique, seems to fit perfectly into the role of the brooding and oft-troubled Samson. George Sanders is superb as the Saran of Gaza. The absolute star of the show is the movie’s other lead actor, Hedy Lamarr… sets the screen on fire as the sensual and wicked Delilah…

[2] Acting honors in this go to George Sanders as the Saran of Gaza, Philistine ruler and sophisticated cad. This was the height of Sanders career, he received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for All About Eve the same year. I think the Saran and Addison DeWitt would have understood each other very well.

[3] Hedy Lamarr took the title role of Delilah and made it her own… She was full and sparkling as the Philistine temptress, the central figure of Samson’s last love story…

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

“Sullivan’s Travels” (1941) starring Joel McCrea & Veronica Lake

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In Preston Sturges’ highly influential film, John Sullivan (Joel McCrea) is a wealthy/naive/30-ish director of comedies who wants to make a serious pictured focused of the troubles of the poor. Despite the protests of his producers, Sullivan sets off on a journey, wearing a tramp’s (homeless man’s) clothes and carrying only a dime! Along the way, he meets a beautiful/spirited/failed actress- Veronica Lake (only 19 y.o.)- and gets more hard knocks than he bargained for. In 2007, the AFI ranked Sullivan’s Travels as the #61 Greatest Movie of All Time. This film was selected into the National Film Registry in 1990 for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Jerry Seinfeld said for what it’s about, Sullivan’s Travels is his favorite movie.

Sullivan: I’m going out on the road to find out what it’s like to be poor and needy and then I’m going to make a picture about it.

Burrows (his butler): If you’ll permit me to say so, sir, the subject is not an interesting one. The poor know all about poverty and only the morbid rich would find the topic glamorous.

Sturges may’ve got the idea for this movie from stories he heard from actor John Garfield, who lived as a hobo, riding trains and hitchhiking cross-country for a brief time in the 1930s. In his autobiography,  Sturges explained that wrote the film as a reaction to the “preaching” he found in other comedy films “which seemed to have abandoned the fun in favour of the message.” Film buffs will notice how Sturges pokes fun at The Grapes of Wrath and mentions (directors) Frank Capra and Ernst Lubitsch.

Sullivan: …I’m going to find out how it feels to be in trouble. Without friends, without credit, without checkbook, without name. Alone.

The Girl: And I’ll go with you.

Sullivan: How can I be alone if you’re with me?

Sturges wrote the film w/  McCrea in mind, which pleasantly surprised the actor. He credited the director w/ instilling confidence and treating him as if he were a bigger star than Clark Gable. Sullivan plans to make O Brother, Where Art Thou? (a title borrowed by Joel and Ethan Coen for their 2000 film). The author of the book Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? is “Sinclair Beckstein,” an mash-up of Upton Sinclair, Sinclair Lewis, and John Steinbeck. Directors Peter Bogdanovich and Stephen Spielberg have spoken re: how this film influences their work.

Policeman: How does the girl fit into the picture?

Sullivan: There’s always a girl in the picture. What’s the matter, don’t you go to the movies?

Barbara Stanwyck was Sturges’ first choice for The Girl; studio execs suggested Ida Lupino, Lucille Ball, Frances Farmer and Ruby Keeler. Lake was pregnant during the making of this movie (6-8 mos)! The only people (in the production) who knew were the costume designer Edith Head and Sturges’s then-wife, Louise. Head designed costumes to hide the condition. Lake was afraid that she wouldn’t be allowed to make the film if her advanced state of pregnancy was known (b/c of the physical demands of the role). The Girl has some clever lines which may make modern viewers think of the #MeToo movement!

Filled with pathos and poignancy, Sturges’ film is an insightful sojourn across the territory of the human condition. It’ll make you laugh and it’ll make you cry, as along with Sullivan you come face to face with some hard truths about reality.

Some very enjoyable references to socially conscious movie-making, to Ernst Lubitsch in particular, make this particularly fun with some knowledge of the period and the films mentioned, albeit not necessary. And almost worth seeing alone for Veronica Lake’s memorable performance as a failed starlet.

Sturges’ most daringly double-edged film, laced with bitter ironies. It is also arguably the most audacious film in Hollywood’s (mainstream) history, audacious because it takes the kinds of risks that can so easily fall flat on their face, and right until the final image, as Sturges becomes increasingly ambitious and multi-layered, you wonder how long he can keep it up without getting ridiculous. It never does…

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

“The Naked Street” (1955) starring Farley Granger, Anthony Quinn, Anne Bancroft, & Peter Graves

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Expect a fast progression, some good solid filming, and acting that holds its own. The director, Maxwell Shane, is really more of a screenwriter, and so it figures the writing here is pretty good (he co-wrote, too).

Quinn is wonderful as the tough gangster who isn’t afraid to push people around to get what he wants. For 1955 his performance is pretty raw and rough…

…Quinn delivers a scary and riveting performance. The actor’s just back from Italy where he starred in the powerful classic La Strada (1954). So maybe he was trying to show Hollywood a thing or two, since he delivers a lot more than the role requires. Then there’s Bancroft, already a magnetic personality, and on her way to an Oscar-studded career.

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

In this short/lesser-known noir film, Brooklyn-raised gangster, Phil Regal (Anthony Quinn), finds out that his younger sister, Rosalie (Anne Bancroft), is pregnant by a local punk, Nicky Bradna (Farley Granger). She insists that she loves this man, though he’s on death row for a murder committed during a robbery. Regal’s henchmen scare all the witnesses to change their testimony, so Nicky is released, and free to marry Rosalie. Soon, Phil regrets what he did for Nicky, who isn’t content to be an honest working man/devoted husband. A young journalist, Joe McFarlan (Peter Graves), is also investigating Regal’s business activities.

We see how criminals don’t just come out of the blue, but are a product of their environment (which must’ve been risky to show in the mid-50s). The story itself is far-fetched, but the acting and dialogue will keep you interested. Quinn (around 40 y.o.) creates a compelling underworld character who’ll go to any length to protect his sweet immigrant mom and naive little sister. I got a kick out of seeing 23 y.o. Bancroft; she was striking w/ large expressive eyes. I learned that both her parents were Italian immigrants to NYC; Quinn’s heritage is Mexican (mother) and Irish (father). Graves (younger brother of Gunsmoke‘s James Armess) looks handsome in a conventional way (athletic/square-jawed/thick hair); later he’d become famous on TV also (Mission: Impossible). This was one of Granger’s last (movie) roles; he decided to focus on theater soon after (which was his first love). Fans of soap operas may also recognize a sassy/young Jeanne Cooper (in a small/uncredited role); she was also the mother of L.A. Law star Corbin Bernsen.