Category: Classics

“The Big Combo” (1955) starring Cornel Wilde & Richard Conte

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Capt. Peterson: You’re a cop, Leonard. There’s 17,000 laws on the books to be enforced. You haven’t got time to reform wayward girls. She’s been with Brown three and a half years. That’s a lot of days… and nights.

This is a lesser-known/low-budget noir w/ snappy dialogue, a jazz score (rare for that period), and fine B&W cinematography. It has its good points, but the femme fatale isn’t compelling, and a few scenes seem slow. A determined cop, Lt. Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde from Leave Her to Heaven), is told to stop surveillance of suave mob boss, Mr. Brown (Richard Conte from Thieves’ Highway). Leonard’s captain says it’s costing the police department too much money w/ no results after 6 mos. Diamond makes one last attempt to uncover evidence against Brown by going to Brown’s girlfriend, Susan Lowell (Jean Wallace- wife of Wilde and resembling Grace Kelly), who is chaperoned by two henchmen- Fante (Lee Van Cleef) and Mingo (Earl Holliman).

Mr. Brown: I’m trying to run an impersonal business. Killing is very personal. Once it gets started, it’s hard to stop.

This was one of the very first American films to imply a man going down on a woman; I was a bit surprised! Brown maneuvers around Susan, stopping briefly at her lips, but then dropping out of frame, seemingly down past her waist. Leonard is clearly having a “friends w/ benefits” relationship w/ the burlesque dancer, Rita (Helene Stanton). Her show outfit is sparkly and skimpy, even by today’s standards. Also, the film openly infers that Fante and Mingo are a gay couple who live together, kill together, and seem to love each other (note the basement scene).

 In a performance brimming with cool menace, Conte is fond of saying `First is first and second is nobody.’

And Brown is obsessed with his prowess with women as Diamond is with capturing him and wooing his moll. The film is filled with risque sexual allusions…

What almost ruined this picture for me was the hideously annoying performance of actress Jean Wallace…

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

“The Breaking Point” (1950) starring John Garfield, Patricia Neal, & Phyllis Thaxter

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[1] Peppered with sparkling dialogue throughout, everything in the film is splendidly executed. The movie just rattles along at a well defined pace.

[2] ...this contains one of John Garfield’s best performances. Always a fine actor, he gets under the skin of his character and makes you understand his desperation and moral conflict, he’s riveting every second he is on screen.

[3] The relationship between Juano Hernandez’ Wesley and Garfield’s Harry is about as race neutral as it could be. … they are partners – and they seem truly friends beyond their business relationship.

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

Tagline: There’s nothing more deadly than a gentle man pushed too far!

This film is smart, touching, entertaining, well-acted, and well-shot. The Breaking Point comes from a novel by Ernest Hemingway (To Have and Have Not). This was identified by critic Thom Andersen as an example of film gris, a suggested sub-category of film noir w/ a left-wing narrative. Michael Curtiz, who also directed Casablanca, shows he had a tough side. The screenplay by Ranald MacDougall is considered (in certain scenes) to be even better than the novel! TCM’s Eddie Muller noted that star John Garfield thought this was his best performance and the film of which he was most proud. He provided many ideas to the producers and director, unofficially taking on an executive producer role. This was Garfield’s second to last role before being blacklisted.

Harry: A man alone ain’t got a chance.

Garfield was the type of leading man who resembled a working man- rugged, blue collar, and wearing a leather jacket. This kind of leading man would rise to prominence after WWII w/ actors such as: James Dean, Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, and Steve McQueen. In Balboa, CA, Capt. Harry Morgan (Garfield) doesn’t quite fit in during peacetime. He earned a Purple Heart for his service in WWII, but now struggles to make payments on his boat and provide for his family (wife and two daughters). The domestic scenes between Harry and wife- Lucy (Phyllis Thaxter)- are touching and realistic. Though devoted to her stubborn husband, she’s determined and strong-willed. Harry’s mate, Wesley Park (Juano Hernandez- a pioneer among Black actors), is loyal, wise and patient; they worked together on the boat for 12 yrs. Unlike some other characters of the period, “he is not an example of noble Black suffering” (as Muller commented). Wesley has a shy/young son who walks to school w/ Harry’s daughters.

Harry: [to Leona as she reaches into his shirt pocket for a cigarette] Yuh know, one of these days you’re gonna get your arm broke reachin’ for something that don’t belong to yuh.

Leona: It’s all in a good cause.

The femme fatale in the story is Leona Charles (Patricia Neal); she meets Harry on one of his trips down to Mexico w/ her older male friend, Hannagan (Ralph Dumke). Leona is a platinum blonde, wears nice clothes, and leads w/ her feminine charms. Harry tries to ignore her (but in a nice manner); she keeps trying to get him interested. After the two-week fishing trip, Hannagan suddenly flies off before paying Harry, and stranding Leona! A shady lawyer, F.R. Duncan (Wallace Ford), offers to help Harry make up for the loss and maybe earn a lot more. Harry has never done anything illegal, but now is faced w/ a desperate situation.

“They Drive By Night” (1940) starring George Raft, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, & Ida Lupino

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[1] The dialogue is salty and well-delivered… while the background stuff- the diners, rented rooms and garages- is beautifully detailed and always believable.

[2] …it features a top-flight cast of actors who are usually fun to watch.

[3] It’s mile-a-minute banter delivered by pros (this film played a big part in landing bigger roles for Bogie).

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

[Paul is checking out Cassie, a waitress, at a roadside diner.]

Cassie Hartley: All right, that’s enough of the X-ray treatment.

This is the story of the Fabrini brothers, ladies’ man Joe (George Raft) and married man Paul (Humphrey Bogart), independent-minded truckers somewhere in California. They’d like to buy their own rig, but can’t afford one. There is tough competition and long-haul trucking is dangerous. Cassie Hartley (Ann Sheridan) is the wise-cracking waitress the brothers pick up on the road. Joe obviously has eyes for her. Later that night, they witness a terrible accident after a fellow trucker falls asleep at the wheel! Later on, circumstances drive them to work for Ed Carlsen (Alan Hale), a former trucker who runs his own business. His much younger wife, Lana (Ida Lupino), is very interested in Joe.

Joe Fabrini: Do you believe in love at first sight?

Cassie Hartley: It saves a lot of time.

This film is considered an underrated/lesser-known noir. Raft and Bogart are close in age and have great chemistry, so you believe them as brothers. It’s refreshing to see Bogie (before he became a leading man) as a regular guy; I don’t think I’ve seen him smile so much! I reviewed Thieves’ Highway (1949) earlier on this blog; it also deals w/ the trucking business. The screenplay of They Drive by Night was based on a novel by A. I. “Buzz” Bezzerides, who wrote Thieves’ Highway (based on his experiences as a first gen American/former trucker).

Producer Mark Hellinger’s wife, Gladys Glad (a former showgirl on Broadway for Ziegfeld), was responsible for getting this film made. Hellinger brought home a stack of scripts to read, skimmed this script, but felt that “nobody would pay money to see a bunch of truck drivers.” Glad read this script, liked it, and pressured her husband to read it. The film became the sleeper hit for Warner Bros. It was directed by Raoul Walsh and shot in just 33 days (in sequence).



“Hamlet” (1948) directed by/starring Laurence Olivier

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[1] Heartbreaking, well acted, great script and direction, well paced,… it’s the clearest telling of Hamlet I’ve seen, old or contemporary.

[2] …Olivier is superb, his finest filmed acting performance. His Hamlet is measured and nuanced and brilliantly crafted…

-Excerpts from Amazon reviews

[1] Olivier portrays him primarily as “a man who could not make up his mind,” and his fine and often subtle acting brings to his role a deep understanding of his character’s inner struggles and dilemmas, both moral and practical.

[2] He shies away from the humor completely, and instead takes a slow, purposeful tack. To that, it might not appeal to some.

[3] The camera moves and sweeps everywhere… It creates extraordinary images and energy that make many scenes unforgettable- without calling too much attention to itself.

…the climactic fencing scenes are genuinely great- easily the best fencing scenes in a version of Hamlet and possibly among the best in film history.

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

This is the first English movie adaptation (w/ sound) of Shakespeare’s Hamlet; it cost $2 million to produce (a large sum at that time). This is also the first British (non-American) film to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Laurence Olivier became the first person ever to direct himself and win the Best Actor Oscar. It was shot in black and white b/c (as Olivier later admitted) he was in a fight w/ Technicolor! Desmond Dickinson (the cinematographer) had a special maneuverable camera dolly made w/ tires (the first of its kind in England). To appeal to a wider public, Olivier and Alan Dent (text adaptor) modernized and/or clarified some phrases. This version omits Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The “Do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?” scene is missing. Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, also doesn’t appear; some of his lines were given to Horatio.

Olivier (who wears a blonde wig and tights) can pull off many looks; he created his characters from the outside-in. He speaks his lines in a natural way, as if he had just thought of them. Even if you’re not a huge fan of Shakespeare, you’ll understand and be able to follow Olivier. The famous “To be or not to be” speech is done in an unique way atop a tower; at first, we hear Hamlet’s thoughts, then he speaks out loud. The scene where Hamlet peruses Ophelia’s face is done well (and somewhat unexpected). The adventure w/ the pirates is briefly shown; we don’t see that in the theater. Near the end, Hamlet leaps off the high stairway and stabs Claudius- another unexpected (and potentially dangerous) directorial choice! Olivier was uninjured, but the stuntman for Claudius was knocked out from the impact and lost two of his teeth.

Some critics/viewers didn’t agree w/ the emphasis on the Oedipal complex (a concept arising from theories of Freud) in this adaptation. Hamlet is more affectionate w/ Gertrude (Eileen Herlie) than I’ve seen in other movies and plays. Herlie (who hailed from Scotland) was quite younger than Olivier; she looked familiar (she played a matriarch on the American soap opera All My Children). She also played Gertrude in the 1964 movie starring Richard Burton. Gertrude and Claudius (Basil Sydney) made a believable couple, though you can also sense some tension. I think Gertrude knows the cup of wine is poisoned in the pivotal fight scene!

Christopher Lee (Count Dooku in Star Wars; Saruman in LOTR) is one of the palace guards; he holds a spear. Peter Cushing (Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars) is Osric, a foppish courtier. Lee and Cushing worked on 22 films together- wow! Anthony Quayle (The Guns of Navarone; Lawrence of Arabia) plays Marcellus, one of the friends who sees King Hamlet’s Ghost (John Gielgud). Stanley Holloway (Eliza’s father in My Fair Lady) is the darkly funny gravedigger. Terence Morgan (in this first movie) is Laertes; he is boyishly handsome and shines in the sword fighting scene. Norman Wooland (who worked w/ Olivier in Richard III) is Horatio; he has very thick/dark hair and a strong physical presence. Jean Simmons (w/ blonde hair) is Ophelia; she is youthful and vulnerable. She does a good job, but I wanted to see deeper characterization. Vivien Leigh wanted to play Ophelia, but Olivier (then her husband) said she was too famous. The scene of Ophelia floating down a river w/ flowers all over her dress and around her body is reminiscent of the painting by Sir John Everett Millais.

Hitchcock on Catholic Guilt: “I Confess” (1953) starring Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, & Karl Malden

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German refugees, Otto Keller (O.E. Hasse) and his wife Alma (Dolly Haas), work as caretaker and housekeeper at a Catholic rectory in Québec City, Canada. While robbing the house of a lawyer (who he sometimes works for), Otto ends up killing the man. Racked w/ guilt, he heads to the church where Father Michael Logan (Montgomery Clift) is up late. Otto confesses to murder; he says he wore a cassock that night as a disguise. After two schoolgirls come forward as witnesses, the police question all the local priests. Inspector Larrue (Karl Malden) suspects Fr. Logan from the start, sensing that he’s hiding something. It turns out that the deceased was blackmailing Ruth (Anne Baxter), who grew up w/ Logan and loved him before he went off to fight in WWII. She loves him still, though is married to a politician.

Fr. Logan: I never thought of the priesthood as offering a hiding place.

Sir Alfred Hitchcock (who was raised Catholic) told a New York Times reporter in August 1952, that he chose Québec for filming because “in no American city do you find a priest walking down the street in a cassock.” This movie was based on the 1902 play “Nos deux consciences” by Paul Anthelme, a journalist. In the play, the priest and his lover had a baby, and the priest was hanged at the end. These elements had to be removed from the movie b/c of the Hays Code. I Confess was banned in Ireland b/c it showed a priest having a relationship w/ a woman (even though it took place before the character took orders). The screenwriter (George Tabori) wanted the script to be a subtle dig at the McCarthy hearings, as it centered on a man unable to tell the truth when questioned by authorities. Tabori found that Hitchcock only wanted to make a thriller. Peter Bogdanovich noted that this is a favorite of French New Wave directors.

Hitchcock created detailed storyboards for each scene, as was his custom. He couldn’t understand Clift’s Method acting technique; he became frustrated after the actor blew take after take, failing to follow instructions. Tension occurred over Clift’s insistence on having his acting coach (Maria Rostova) by his side. Hitchcock found that Clift didn’t listen to him at all. Karl Malden, who was friendly w/ Clift, found the process difficult. Clift would immediately turn to Rostova for feedback after each scene. Clift was drinking heavily also; he’d come on-set hungover (which wasn’t unusual for leading men in Hollywood’s Golden Age). As a closeted gay man, I’m sure he had a lot of pressure on his shoulders.

This isn’t your typical Hitchcock- it lacks the sly humor, memorable music, and (of course) the suspense he was known for. However, it’s atmospheric, moody, w/ a thread of foreboding running throughout. French is spoken a bit by supporting characters. There are towering old churches, crosses and crucifixes of all styles, marble statues, and houses of Parliament. There is a flashback section that’s quite engaging, where you see a lighter side of Clift and Baxter. I liked Clift and Malden together; they project very different energies. Malden famously played a priest in On the Waterfront; fans of The West Wing know him as President Bartlet’s priest. Baxter has her hair dyed blonde (which I thought was distracting) and wears some stylish outfits, thanks to Orry Kelly.

[1] Forced into complicity with the murderer, Father Logan behaves as though he is guilty despite his innocence…

[2] The movie is a somber psychological drama, and the story of a forbidden love, and perhaps a Christ allegory (the priest has to suffer for another man’s sins- he has to bear his own cross).

[3] When the camera sweeps up to a full screen view of Clift’s face and you see those glowing, brooding eyes, you fall under their collective spell.

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews