Tag: Movies

Movie reviews

“Too Late for Tears” (1949) starring Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, Dan Duryea, & Arthur Kennedy

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She Got What She Wanted… With Lies… With Kisses… With Murder! -A tagline for the movie

One night on an empty LA highway, a man in a speeding car tosses a bag into Jane (Lizabeth Scott) and Alan Palmer’s (Arthur Kennedy) convertible, as they’re heading down a mountain road to a party. When they open the satchel, they find $60,000 inside! Alan wants to turn it over to the police; Jane (w/ a life of luxury now w/in reach) persuades him to hang onto it “for a while.” Soon, the Palmers are tracked down by Danny Fuller (Dan Duryea), a shady character who claims the money belongs to him. To hang on to the cash, Jane relies on her feminine wiles, even if it leads her to danger!

Alan: What is it, Jane? I just don’t understand you! I’ve tried to give you everything you wanted, everything I could.

Jane: Yes, you’ve given me a dozen down payments and installments for the rest of our lives.

This is a B-movie (w/ a small budget), BUT packs a big punch when it comes to entertainment. It was independently produced and released via United Artists, so it wasn’t a studio picture. The director is Byron Haskin and the screenwriter is Roy Huggins (perhaps more known for his TV work, incl. Maverick). I always liked the work of older James Garner, so have been watching some eps of this Western series in the pandemic. In this story, the femme fatale is a housewife (rare for noir) married to a decent man!

Scott and Duryea play up the melodrama (which suits this story), as opposed to the more naturalistic Kennedy (who took this role in order to play Biff on Broadway in Death of a Salesman). Kennedy also had many character roles in Westerns. Kathy Palmer (Kristine Miller) does a good job as Alan’s caring/working gal younger sis. Miller had a supporting role in I Walk Alone w/ Scott. The character played by Don DeFore brings mystery when he enters the story; this actor worked in the theater, small movies, and eventually found success in TV.

Danny [to Jane]: You know, tiger, I didn’t know they made ’em as beautiful as you are, and as smart. Or as hard.

This movie shows us (yet again) that you don’t need famous actors, elaborate sets, or glam locations to make something effective (and enjoyable). The “bad girl” here is SO bad that she even scares a career criminal- whoa! FYI: Adjusted for inflation, $60,000 would be equal to about $663,000 (2021). The Film Noir Foundation provided the funds to restore this movie; the process took 5 yrs (after the print was discovered in France). TCM aired the fully restored version in 2015; you can also see it free on YouTube.

“The Naked Spur” (1953) starring James Stewart, Janet Leigh, Robert Ryan, & Ralph Meeker

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Packed with Technicolor Thrills! -A tagline for the movie

A former rancher/Civil War vet, Howard Kemp (James Stewart), has been searching for a murderer, Ben Vandergroat (Robert Ryan), for a long time. Circumstances compel Kemp to take on 2 partners- an old prospector, Jesse Tate (Millard Mitchell), and a dishonorably discharged Union soldier, Roy Anderson (Ralph Meeker). When they learn that Ben has a $5,000 bounty on his head, greed starts to get the better of Jesse and Roy. Howie and Ben have a (troubled) history, and Ben takes every chance he can to sow doubt btwn the other 2 men. To add to the drama, there is a beautiful/young woman riding w/ Ben- Lina Patch (Janet Leigh in one of her early leading lady roles).

You can take any of the great dramas- it doesn’t matter if it’s Shakespeare or if it’s any of the Greek plays- you can always lay them in the Western and somehow, they come alive. There is this kind of passion and drama. You can have patricide, any kind of -cide- but if you’re in a Western, you can get away w/ it… b/c it’s where… all action took place. -Anthony Mann, director

The Naked Spur (directed by Anthony Mann- who started in B-movies of the noir genre) is the MOST successful Western movie of 1953. It’s a “psychological Western” filmed on location (mainly in the Colorado Rockies) and doesn’t shy away from (gritty) violence. There are several scenes of exciting action, plenty of character development, and terrific dialogue. This is the 1st screenplay by Sam Rolfe and Harold Jack Bloom, who shared an Oscar nom; they went on to have long/successful careers as writers/producers. Mann and Stewart would collaborate on a total of 11 films, incl. 5 Westerns!

Ben [to Howie]: Choosin’ a way to die? What’s the difference? Choosin’ a way to live – that’s the hard part.

As the bitter/troubled Howie, Stewart (44 y.o.) reveals darkness, intensity, and vulnerability; the actor was working to let go of his bumbling/youthful/Everyman image (after returning from WWII). A strong protagonist needs a strong antagonist; Ryan (43 y.o.) wears his black hat (villain role) perfectly. As Ben, Ryan (unshaven/floppy-haired) effortlessly switches btwn grinning nonchalance and deep-thinking (in what is considered one of his best roles). Meeker (a leading man on Broadway) looks at ease as the volatile/sleazy womanizer; the Method-trained actor (32 y.o.) sports a bushy blonde mustache. Paul Newman was Meeker’s understudy in a Broadway play. Leigh (at just 25 y.o.) does a fine job alongside her (older/more experienced) co-stars; she gets a few moments to shine (rare for women in Westerns). Even if this is NOT your fave genre, you may enjoy it a LOT! You can rent the movie on Amazon Prime.

[1] Spectacular location photography in the Rocky Mountains lends a ring of authenticity to the story.

[2] …Ryan’s charming, snake-like villain who dominates this rugged western despite strong performances from the entire cast. He obviously relishes his role and is a joy to watch.

[3] …an outstanding western and has lost none of its glow over the years and like all classic westerns- it just gets better and better with the passing of time.

[4] …Mann directs very assuredly, James Stewart is wonderfully ferocious and Robert Ryan is very charismatic in a more convoluted role. The film looks great, with wonderful sets, scenery, costumes and photography. The music adds to the mood of each scene without feeling too intrusive. The dialogue is excellent and the story- even with the well-worn themes and such- is very compelling.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

“The Bedford Incident” (1965) starring Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier, James MacArthur, & Martin Balsam

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The cold war just got hotter. -A tagline for the movie

Capt. Finlander: It’s been my experience with the press that they ignore truth for sensationalism.

Capt. Eric Finlander (Richard Widmark) plays a hardened cold-warrior on the American Naval destroyer USS Bedford. Ben Munceford (Sidney Poitier) is a famous photojournalist given permission to interview the captain during a routine patrol. Lt. Cmdr. Chester Potter (Martin Balsam) comes with Munceford; he is the new doctor assigned to the ship. As they are adjusting to the ship, the Bedford discovers a Soviet sub nearby. Capt. Finlander begins a relentless pursuit, pushing his crew… perhaps to the breaking point!

Ben Munceford: I’ve heard a lot about you, Commodore, but I never expected I’d meet you.

Commodore Schrepke: Is that so?

Ben Munceford: Not aboard an American destroyer.

Commodore Schrepke: [Is] that so surprising in these times?

Ben Munceford: I guess not, if one can make the switch mentally. But I, uh… I still connect you with… Hitler’s navy.

Commodore Schrepke: Your pardon: Admiral Dönitz’s navy, sir.

This movie unites (real-life pals) Widmark and Poitier; they also worked on No Way Out (1950) and The Long Ships (1964). Poitier had been making films for 15 yrs at this time, BUT this was the 1st film in which his race was neither mentioned nor relevant. The role of the medical officer was written for Poitier, BUT he asked to play the journo instead. The former U-Boat commander onboard, Commodore Wolfgang Shrepke (Eric Portman- a Brit known for playing Germans), is a NATO advisor. The eager/cute Ensign Ralston (James MacArthur) MAY be familiar to some viewers; he played the older bro (Fritz) in the 1960 Disney classic- The Swiss Family Robinson. Look out for a 20-ish Donald Sutherland; he’s one of the nerdy scientists in the ship’s lab in an early scene.

Commodore Schrepke: That permission specifically said “if the sub is still in territorial waters,” is that not so?

Capt. Finlander: A matter of interpretation, Commodore.

Commodore Schrepke: But the Russian is in international waters. The ocean is free, my captain.

Capt. Finlander: Yeah, so it is.

Commodore Schrepke: So you have lost your opportunity. It was magnificent –

Capt. Finlander: Look, if I catch a man robbing my house and he makes a break for the street, do I let him go just because he made it to the sidewalk?

The director (James B. Harris) and screenwriter (James Poe) were able to visit a Navy destroyer in Norfolk, VA for pre-production research in late 1963. When Munceford and Lt. Cmdr. Potter are flying out to the destroyer, they are aboard an H-19 helicopter, which was called the Whirlwind by the British. Interior scenes were filmed aboard a British Type 15 frigate (the H.M.S. Troubridge); much British military equipment can seen around the ship. The cameras Munceford uses are the Nikon Model F and Pentax; the tape recorder he uses is a 1964 Philips EL3300 (the world’s 1st commercial compact cassette recorder).

I’m a long-time fan of Poitier and saw several of his more famous films growing up; he was a hero to MANY people (of all backgrounds) for his acting and activism. In the pandemic, I’ve been focusing on the noir genre; Widmark got his start there, though he later made many Westerns. I plan to watch and review more of this movies in the near future. I’m also a fan of the submarine drama Crimson Tide (1995) starring Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman. There are a LOT of sub-related movies out there; I recently listened to reviews of a few on the podcast Submersion.

#Noirvember: “House of Strangers” (1949) starring Edward G. Robinson, Susan Hayward, and Richard Conte

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After serving 7 yrs in prison, NYC-raised lawyer Max Monetti (Richard Conte), goes to the bank run by his brothers Joe, Tony and Pietro. He promises to revenge them. Next, he visits his lover, Irene Bennett (Susan Hayward), who asks him to forget the past and start a new life in San Fran. In flashback, we see Max’s life in the early ’30s. He was the favorite son of his father, Gino Monetti (Edward G. Robinson), who had a small bank in Little Italy on the Lower East Side (LES). Gino is an egotistical/self-made Italian immigrant who ruled over his family like a tyrant. Max was a competent lawyer engaged to a young woman, Maria Domenico (Debra Paget). Max meets Irene when she comes to him for legal help; they have a LOT of spark, but their love affair is troubled. The new Banking Act takes effect in 1933, and Gino is investigated by the feds for misapplication of funds. Max forms plan to help his father…

Max [to Irene]: Always looking for a new way to get hurt from a new man. Get smart, there hasn’t been a new man since Adam.

This is a film noir that is also a dysfunctional family drama (how appropriate for the holidays- LOL)! If you are an immigrant or a 1st gen American, you MAY esp. relate to this movie. It’s a BIT of a mixed bag, though it has some (timeless) themes and (mostly) good acting. The character of Gino Monetti is loosely based on Amadeo P. Giannini (1870-1949), founder of the Bank of Italy, which became the Bank of America. According to articles from the entertainment press in March of 1948, Victor Mature was to be cast as Max. This film reunites Conte, Paget, and Hope Emerson who appeared in Cry of the City (1948)- a V fine movie. Of course, MANY of you will know Robinson and Paget from The Ten Commandments (1956).

I like watching Conte (discovered by John Garfield and Elia Kazan); he has a challenging role here. No offense to the fans of Mature, BUT Conte is a stronger actor. Max (who sometimes operates in the “gray areas”) has to decided btwn the “good girl” (virgin) from his neighborhood and the mature/WASP “temptress” (experienced w/ men). Conte and Hayward play off each other well; they have a sort of combative energy. Now, are there some stereotypes in this story? Yes, though we classic movie fans are aware this can be the case sometimes. People of Italian heritage were considered “exotic” in the 1940s; Hollywood (for many decades) did NOT create subtle characters who were ethnic (or racial) minorities. Some (modern) viewers couldn’t get over the accent used by Robinson, his pencil-thin mustache, and mannerisms.

Max: Pa, have you read the new banking act?

Gino: I don’t even read the old one. Why?

There was also drama behind-the-scenes (BTS) of this movie. According to the biography of director Joseph L. Mankiewicz (People Will Talk), the producer (Sol Siegel) hired Philip Yordan to adapt Joseph Weidman’s novel (I’ll Never Go Home Again) for the screen. After Yordan submitted 3/4 of the script, Siegel decided that it was unacceptable, fired him, and asked Mankiewicz to redo the script. Mankiewicz rewrote ALL of Yordan’s dialogue, reshaping the script. The Screen Writers Guild ruled that Yordan receive sole story credit and he and Mankiewicz share credit for the screenplay. Mankiewicz refused to share credit for a screenplay he had basically written, so received NO credit. The studio remade House of Strangers in 1954 as a western- Broken Lance (starring Spencer Tracy as the patriarch). Yordan was given credit for the story and won the Oscar for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story. Yordan was also front for many screenwriters blacklisted in the ’50s.

[1] The acting is this film is nothing short of fantastic. Robinson is perfect as the dictatorial, ruthless Gino. Conte is totally believable as the favorite son – efficient and slightly to the right of slimy. Luther Adler gives a brilliant performance as the henpecked Tony. The rest of the cast is uniformly excellent. Susan Hayward plays Max’s love interest, a woman who gives as good as she gets. She looks sensational and does a terrific job in her role. Stardom is right around the corner for her, and it’s no surprise.

[2] …a great story of hatred and forgiveness. Edward G. Robinson has one of his best performances (if not the best) and wins the Best Actor award in the 1949 Cannes Film Festival. Richard Conte has one of his best roles (if not the best) in his well-succeeded career. Susan Hayward is very beautiful and elegant and performs a strong female character.

[3] I said it was an adult movie… The characters are ambiguous, as people in real life would be. In some ways, for instance, Pa is a lovable old patriarch, but he’s also monstrously insensitive to the feelings of others. And the murderous resentment of the older kids is made understandable too. And Richard Conte’s character is aggressive and domineering at the beginning, just as a spoiled youngster might be, but he develops into a Mensch by the end of the tale. Hayward develops too…

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

#Noirvember: “The Set-Up” (1949) starring Robert Ryan & Audrey Totter

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An “over the hill” (35 y.o.) boxer Bill “Stoker” Thompson (Robert Ryan) insists he can still win, though his wife, Julie (Audrey Totter), pleads w/ him to quit (before he sustains a serious injury). His manager, Tiny (George Tobias), is so confident that he will lose, he takes money for a “dive” from a gambler, Little Boy (Alan Baxter), w/o telling Stoker. Tension builds as Stoker hopes to “take” 23 y.o. newcomer, Tiger Nelson (Hal Fieberling), unaware of what will happen to him if he wins.

Stoker: Yeah, top spot. And I’m just one punch away.

Julie: I remember the first time you told me that. You were just one punch away from the title shot then. Don’t you see, Bill, you’ll always be just one punch away.

This movie is based on a poem published in 1928 by Joseph Moncure March, who gave up his job as the 1st managing editor of The New Yorker to focus on writing. He went to Hollywood for a dozen years and worked as a screenwriter. In 1948, he volunteered to work on this film, BUT was turned down! Moncure March was angered that his Black boxer (Pansy Jones) was changed into a white character for The Set-Up. In the original poem, Pansy is depicted as a bigamist. The main reason for the change of race was b/c RKO had no Black leading men on contract. James Edwards (who plays Luther Hawkins), could’ve fit the bill, BUT the studio decided that he wasn’t well-known enough to carry a movie. Director Robert Wise suggested Canada Lee (who’d played a boxer in Body and Soul); RKO didn’t think that would work either.

While he was a student at Dartmouth, Ryan was an undefeated boxing champion- V cool! Former boxing pro, John Indrisano, choreographed the match and is credited onscreen for “fighting sequences.” Fieberling was also an expert boxer. Martin Scorsese is a big fan of the film; he was so impressed by the boxing that he had to deliberately avoid copying Wise’s camera moves when it came to Raging Bull (1980). Wise (who’d begun his illustrious career as an editor) used 3 cameras to capture the boxing scenes: one capable of seeing the entire ring, one focused on the fighters, and a handheld for quick shots and close-ups. This was Wise’s 9th film for RKO; after this, his contract obligations were complete and could work freelance.

Wise credited screenwriter Art Cohn (a former sportswriter) w/ much of the film’s realism. Cohn knew the boxing world; many of the script’s colorful supporting characters came from his own experiences. After attending several matches, Wise added other characters himself; he hung out in dressing rooms before and after fights. Scorsese (who 1st saw this film as a college student) considers it as an allegory for the chaos of life, populated by characters who are flat-out of luck.

The events occur in real-time (over the tight running time of 73 mins); this is unusual for a Hollywood movie. Ryan plays a good/straight-talking guy; you can’t see the acting (as he inhabits the role). I esp. liked the early scenes w/ Ryan and Totter; they make a believable married couple going through a rough patch. All the supporting characters have something to contribute; some of the boxers are jaded (after experiencing disappointment), while others remain hopeful. The crowd can be bloodthirsty, entertained by the (potentially dangerous) fighting.

It’s really a happy ending, in a truthful way. And maybe there’s a hope to that, a hope for the weaker ones in the world.

-Martin Scorsese

[1] I love Robert Ryan films. Whether playing a scum bag or a hero, his gritty and realistic performances have always impressed me.

[2] The end result is a film that is dark, low key and gripping throughout; it exists in the gutter, in the small time where all our characters seem destined to remain regardless of heart or talent. […]

The fight is realistic and tense throughout, I was genuinely unsure how it would go.

[3] What first struck me the most watching this was just how vile everyone- apart from the boxers- are. The fighters are actually the only ones with honesty and integrity running through their veins. These guys are the ones with the self respect being a chief issue for them, they are fighting not just for glory, but for a basic human trait.

[4] Although unnoticed at first, The Set-Up has slowly built a reputation as one of the great noir films out of RKO and one of the best boxing films ever made.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews