Raymond Benson (see also Criterion Corner)
Entries from July 2021
“DON’T
THROW YOUR SHOES OUT THE WINDOWâ€
By
Raymond Benson
The
prolific Hollywood producer Walter Mirisch was responsible for spearheading
such famed titles as Two for the Seesaw, Hawaii, In the Heat
of the Night, and Dracula (’79), and served as uncredited executive
producer for a number of high-profile pictures such as The Pink Panther,
The Great Escape, Fiddler on the Roof, and more. Mirisch got his
start, though, at the “Poverty Row†studio Monogram in the 1940s, where he
churned out a few low-budget crime dramas and film noir.
Mirisch’s
second feature for Monogram was a movie that has apparently been out of
circulation for decades. Considering its title, one might understand why… I
Wouldn’t Be in Your Shoes! is based on a novel of the same name by the
great mystery writer Cornell Woolrich, and the screenplay is by pulp writer
(e.g., Mystery Adventures magazine) Steve Fisher, who penned scripts for
such flicks as Destination Tokyo (1943), Johnny Angel (1945), Song
of the Thin Man (1947), and The Hunted (1947).
The
picture stars relative unknowns (today), but it’s a tight little “wrong manâ€
scenario that holds one’s interest despite having some plot and character aspects
that stretch credibility.
Tom
Quinn (Don Castle) is an out-of -work dancer in New York City, and he’s married
to Ann (Elyse Knox). Ann works at a dance joint where strange men tip her to
“provide dance lessons,†but it’s really a place where men attempt to get dates
with the dancers. One guy, whom Ann refers to as “Santa Claus†because of his
build, is very insistent on dancing with her (at least he tips her well). One
hot night, Tom and Ann are trying to get some sleep, and noisy cats are outside
howling in the alley. Tom gets up and throws his shoes out the window at
the cats to shut them up (who does this, really?). Realizing he needs his
shoes, Tom goes out to look for them. He can’t find them. Figuring he’ll search
again in daylight, he returns to the apartment and goes to sleep. The next
morning, his shoes are in the hallway outside the door. Later, he finds a
wallet with a lot of money in it, seemingly placed exactly where he would
stumble upon it. It turns out that a wealthy hermit who lived nearby was robbed
and murdered. The police discover a shoe print outside in the mud that matches
Tom’s shoes. Lo and behold, one of the detectives is none other than Clint
(Regis Toomey), the fellow Ann knows as “Santa Claus.†Tom, obviously framed,
is arrested, tried for murder, and convicted. He’s sentenced to die in the
electric chair, so Ann has a race against time to try and prove her husband
innocent. Perhaps if she gives Inspector Clint what he wants from her…?
Okay,
so Tom does a really dumb thing by throwing his shoes out the window. Then,
both he and Ann decide to keep the money he finds after it isn’t reported in
the papers. When they start to spend it, the police get wise to the couple. Later,
if Ann is so devoted to Tom, would she really start an affair with the
policeman who was responsible for Tom’s arrest? The affair is implied, of
course, or at least there is the promise of one if the guy helps her
investigate the crime further. And… maybe the legal machine operated more
quickly in the late 1940s, but Tom is swiftly tried, convicted, and sentenced, and
the execution date set—in seemingly record time!
These
quibbles aside, I Wouldn’t Be in Your Shoes! does manage to entertain.
Viewers may very well guess who the real killer is earlier than the filmmakers
intended for that to occur, but one does get a “I was right!†feeling when the
identity is revealed.
Warner
Archive’s new Blu-ray restoration brings this little-seen picture out of the
vault, so to speak. It looks and sounds great. One supplement is The
Symphony Murder Mystery, a 1932 short written by S. S. Van Dine (who was
responsible for the “Philo Vance†mystery novels), one in a series of
“Criminologist Dr. Crabtree†mystery yarns that were made as short subjects in
the 30s (with Donald Meek as Crabtree). Its age shows, but it’s an interesting
curio from the era. A second extra is the Warner cartoon, Holiday for
Shoestrings, directed by Friz Freleng, a mostly pantomimed musical parody
of “The Elves and the Shoemaker†fable. Fun stuff.
I Wouldn’t Be in Your Shoes! is a welcome diversion into Hollywood cinema of yesteryear.
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“A
SENATOR, NAZI SPIES, AND A DOGâ€
By
Raymond Benson
Want
a fast-paced action thriller, starring attractive leads and a precocious dog,
that deals with Nazi spies in the political climate immediately following the
war, and be done with it in only 62 minutes? This 1946 potboiler directed by
Phil Rosen and starring notorious Lawrence Tierney is for you!
Step
by Step is
not a film noir, which was what most crime pictures ended up stylistically
becoming in the period after World War II. Instead, it’s a rollicking good
action drama that packs what today might be two hours’ worth of plot into a
don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-something single hour. The picture is not only
well-written (screenplay by Stuart Palmer, story by George Callahan) and
well-shot, it has a superb cast that functions quite well in this tight little
ride.
Perhaps
most interesting for today’s audience is the leading man presence of Lawrence
Tierney, who had burst onto the Hollywood scene with the previous year’s Dillinger.
Handsome, rugged, and tough, Tierney could have been a major star… but he blew
it with his off-screen behavior that got him into trouble. Tierney was known to
have alcohol problems and was arrested many times for brawling in public.
Quentin Tarantino brought him—and his legendary Hollywood bad boy reputation—back
into the mainstream in a major guest cameo in Reservoir Dogs (1992). At
any rate, seeing him in Step by Step—young, virile, and surprisingly personable—is
a revelation.
Tierney
plays Johnny, a Marine veteran just home from the war. His smart little
terrier, Bazuka, follows him everywhere. He meets a gorgeous blonde, Evelyn
(Anne Jeffreys), on the beach. Evelyn is a secretary for Senator Remmy (Harry
Harvey, Sr.), who is working with a National Security agent to uncover the
identities and whereabouts of leftover Nazi spies in the USA who are planning
on committing terrorist acts. Before Johnny can see Evelyn again, however, a
trio of the baddies (Lowell Gilmore, Jason Robards Sr., and Myrna Dell), abduct
the senator and Evelyn. Johnny and Bazuka take it upon themselves to rescue
Evelyn—but in the process Johnny and Evelyn are accused by the police of being
murderers and fugitives!
Thus,
Step by Step is a spy movie, a chase picture, a lovers-on-the-run flick,
and even a boy-and-his-dog film… all bundled into a compact ball of excitement.
The
Warner Archive’s new Blu-ray release looks terrific. There are a couple of
welcome supplements, too. The Trans-Atlantic Mystery is a 1932 short
written by S. S. Van Dine (who was responsible for the “Philo Vance†mystery
novels), one in a series of “Criminologist Dr. Crabtree†mystery yarns that
were made as short subjects in the 30s (with Donald Meek as Crabtree). Its age
shows, but it’s an interesting curio from the era. Also included on the disk is
the fabulous Daffy Duck cartoon, The Great Piggy Bank Robbery, in which
Daffy becomes “Duck Twacy.†Great stuff.
Step
by Step from
Warner Archive is a surprising, little-known title from yesteryear that packs a
punch. Highly recommended.
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“CAREFUL
WITH THAT KNIFE, LADYâ€
By
Raymond Benson
The
great Richard Matheson wrote a number of fabulous works in genre
fiction—novels, short stories, screenplays, and teleplays—and was one of the
main writers of the original The Twilight Zone TV series. This reviewer
considers the man a genius of his craft, as Matheson was responsible for some
truly classic science fiction, horror, and mystery tales.
Matheson’s
first published novel, Someone is Bleeding (1953), however, is not one
of the author’s best-known titles. It is a psychological thriller in which the
leading lady may or may not be a crazed killer. The novel was adapted and
filmed in 1974 in France with the title Les seins de glace, which
translates to… Icy Breasts, though the film was released in some countries under the novel's title.
Perhaps
Richard Matheson ended up being happy that the filmmakers did not use his
original title. While it contains some interesting moments, a couple of eye
candy stars, and a story that is somewhat compelling (mainly because one wants
to see how it winds up), Icy Breasts suffers from heavy-handed direction
and poor acting.
Claude
Brasseur plays François Rollin, the protagonist of the story,
even though Brasseur was billed third (popular Alain Delon received top billing,
and his life-partner at the time, Mireille Darc, got second billing). All three
actors have done much, much better work in other movies.
Rollin
is a successful television writer who lives in the south of France near Nice.
One day he meets beautiful but obviously troubled Peggy (Darc) on the beach. She
is standoffish at first, but eventually warms to Rollin’s flirtations and
advances. But Peggy has some dark secrets. She is watched over by the
mysterious wealthy lawyer, Marc Rilson (Delon), who employs creepy Steig
(Emilio Messina), a chauffeur/bodyguard worthy of a Bond movie. Rilson is in an
unhappy marriage to a creepy but beautiful woman (Nicoletta Machiavelli), and
also provides a home for a similarly creepy, bitter brother. Peggy’s own creepy
gardener/housekeeper, Albert (Michel Peyrelon), works for Rilson in order to
keep an eye on Peggy. There’s a lot of creepy going on! Rollin, who has
fallen hard for Peggy, wants to know why everything surrounding her is so
creepy. Eventually he learns that Peggy may or may have not stabbed her husband
to death. Rilson was the lawyer who got her off on an insanity defense. But is
she insane? If so, why isn’t she institutionalized? Or had she been? One thing
is certain—Peggy cannot stand to be touched by a man and becomes irrational and
violent when that occurs. Once the body count starts to increase and threats
from Rilson begin to multiply, Rollin realizes he may be in over his head.
Ice
Breasts is
a little similar in tone and feel to Play Misty for Me (1971) and
perhaps the filmmakers had that movie in mind. Unfortunately, Icy Breasts is
nowhere near as successful a psychological thriller as Misty. Brasseur’s
acting is over-the-top jovial, lively, and energetic. His character is
attempting to be funny and charming to Peggy, but often he just comes off as a
jerk. Is he an idiot? Can’t he see that Peggy is Trouble with a capital T? And
wouldn’t being physically assaulted more than once make a sensible person turn
and run the other way? Contrasting with Mr. Joviality are the rest of the
actors. Delon, Darc, and the henchmen take their roles so seriously that one
would think they’re in an Ingmar Bergman drama. The direction is simply too
ham-fisted.
On
the plus side, the movie is pretty to look at. The Nice and Antibes locations
are scenic. Both Delon and Darc are gorgeous and do light up the screen. The
story is interesting enough to hold one’s attention.
Kino
Lorber’s new Blu-ray release ports over the StudioCanal 4K restoration from the
original camera negative, which emphasizes that distinctive 1970s film stock
look. The soundtrack includes both the original French (preferred, with English
subtitles) and English-dubbed (avoid!) versions. There is an audio commentary
by film historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson
that is perhaps more enlightening than the film itself. Rounding out the
package is the theatrical trailer for this and other Kino Lorber releases.
Icy
Breasts is
for fans of French cinema, Richard Matheson, Alain Delon, and 1970s thrillers.
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“WELCOME
TO THE CLUBâ€
By
Raymond Benson
Kino
Lorber and Something Weird Video continue their collaboration to present
“Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of the Exploitation Picture†with Volume 11—Girl
Gang/Pin-Down Girl, a double bill of so-bad-they’re-funny early 1950s
“crime†movies. They were marketed as such, but they were really what passed
for softcore in those days. If the movie ratings had existed then, these two gems
would likely have been rated “R.â€
These
delicious and suitably sleazy pictures in the “Forbidden Fruit†series were
made cheaply and outside the Hollywood system. They were distributed
independently in the manner of a circus sideshow, often by renting a movie
theater for a few nights, advertising in the local papers, and promoting the
scandalous title as “educational.†It’s certain, however, that in this case
both Girl Gang and Pin-Down Girl are not educational in any way
except to show you how to use illegal drugs (uh oh!), and to appeal to prurient
interests.
Producer
George Weiss specialized in fare that defiantly challenged the Production Code
and therefore made cheap—very cheap—exploitation flicks with filmmakers
and actors who were not, shall we say, A-list material. For example, Weiss
produced Ed Wood’s notorious Glen or Glenda (1953), along with Test
Tube Babies (1948, previously reviewed in Cinema Retro as part of
the “Forbidden Fruit†series). Weiss is responsible for both titles in Volume
11.
Girl
Gang (1954)
is a hoot. Unintentionally hilarious, it’s one of the better titles in the
series. Exploitation film regular Timothy Farrell is Joe, the sleazy leader of
a “girl gang†of outlaws—all of them thieves, drug users and dealers, and con
artists who use sex as bait. Joe gets help from alcoholic Doc Bradford (Harry
Keatan), who regularly checks the young women for, presumably, pregnancy and
venereal diseases. There are a handful of young men in the gang who act as
muscle, but mostly the members are 1950s-era Bettie Page-types who, for
example, might hitchhike to stop an unsuspecting male motorist. Once two of the
girls are in the car with him, two more drive up. The four women beat up the
man, rob him, and hijack his car. Back at headquarters, Joe gives them “weed to
make them less anxious.†Some of them have already graduated to heroin. The
alpha-gal is June (Joanne Arnold, a popular pin-up model and occasional actress
of the day), and she sets out to make a big score by seducing and fleecing an
insurance agency head who she gets a part time job working for. Yes, folks, you’ll hear
some of that devil boogey-woogey rock ‘n’ roll and see pot-smoking, smack-shooting,
gunplay and beatings, and scantily clad women, all in a head-spinning 63
minutes.
There
are truly some laugh-out-loud moments, such as when one of the girls has been
shot in the gut. She’s brought to the Doc, who is forced to operate on the
filthy kitchen table. The tremendously bad acting, the clumsiness of the
direction, and the wince-poor editing make it a scene worthy of the Three
Stooges.
Pin-Down
Girl is
the second feature, made three years earlier by the same producer (Weiss) and
director (Robert C. Dertano). The movie is also known as Racket Girls,
and The Blonde Pick-Up, which is what is seen in the opening credits. This
one stars real-life lady wrestler Peaches Page as “herself.†Peaches gets
involved in a ladies’ wrestling “club†that is a front for a gang that practices
racketeering, prostitution, and bookmaking. Timothy Farrell appears again as
Scalli, the gangster who manages the club. One might say it’s more of a crime
tale, although it is sprinkled throughout with sequences of the
leotard-and-tights-wearing women wrestling in the gym for those in the audience
who are into that stuff.
While
Girl Gang is unintentionally bad and funny, Pin-Down Girl is just
unintentionally bad. At 55-minutes, though, perhaps it’s worth it for anthropological
study.
Kino
Lorber continues its fabulous job in the presentation of the Forbidden Fruit
series. Girl Gang looks pristine in its digital restoration. It comes
with an audio commentary by the always-interesting film historian Alexandra
Heller-Nicholas, plus the theatrical trailer.
Pin-Down
Girl is
a bit choppy in places (missing frames of splices) and shows more damage to the
source material. It comes with an audio commentary by Eric Schaefer, author of the
book Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!: A History of Exploitation Films and
one of the curators of the Forbidden Fruit series. The theatrical trailer is
included.
For
fans of midnight-movie sensationalism and nuttiness… Girl Gang/Pin-Down Girl
is for you!
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“THE
DEVIL MAKES HIM DO ITâ€
By
Raymond Benson
The
actor Ray Milland always presented himself on screen with a serious intensity.
His Oscar-winning turn as an alcoholic in The Lost Weekend (1945)
catapulted him into the upper ranks of Hollywood stardom in those years. He
didn’t always appear in A-list pictures, though. Film noir and thrillers
like The Big Clock and So Evil My Love (both 1948) featured
Milland in what might be perceived as moonlighting roles, but he is nonetheless
effective.
Such
is the case with Alias Nick Beal, directed by frequent Milland
collaborator, John Farrow. This is not a film noir, per se, but rather a
thriller-cum-supernatural tale that borrows heavily from the Faust myth.
And while Milland is the fire that energizes Nick Beal, it is third-billing
Thomas Mitchell who is the protagonist of the story.
Mitchell
is Joseph Foster, a district attorney who aspires to run for governor. He’s an
honest and “good†man with a loving wife, Martha (Geraldine Wall). Foster has
influential friends, including Reverend Garfield (George Macready), and he has
ties to a youth center that caters to wayward boys. Enter Nick Beal (Milland),
who offers Foster “help†to attain his goals. The only hitch is that Foster
must, essentially, sell his soul to Beal. To sweeten the pot, so to speak, Beal
brings in lovely but troubled Donna (Audrey Totter) to turn Foster’s head from
what is right and lead him down the same dark path that she is on.
It’s
a classic Good vs. Evil story—one we’ve seen a dozen times—but its retelling
here in something of a film noir style is refreshing. Farrow directs the
picture with flair and grace, evoking a moody, sinister atmosphere with many
set pieces blanketed in fog and darkness. It’s almost a horror film, by the
looks of it. And, while Mitchell is believable and sympathetic in his plight
against damnation, it is indeed Milland who ensures that Alias Nick Beal works.
Milland is truly creepy as the Devil (and it’s obvious early on that he is the
“alias†of the title). Totter is also winning in her role as a tramp who gets
caught up in Beal’s plot to win Foster’s soul, although the Production Code
likely prevented the filmmakers from blatantly depicting what she’s really out
to do to Foster!
Kino
Lorber’s new Blu-ray release could have used some better cleaning of the source
material, but it looks good enough in its glorious black and white. Lionel
Lindon’s cinematography is suitably gothic, especially in the exterior night
scenes. The movie comes with an audio commentary by the informed and celebrated
film noir historian Eddie Muller, plus the theatrical trailer for this
and other Kino Lorber releases.
Alias
Nick Beal is
an entertaining diversion for fans of crime pictures, dark fantasies, Ray
Milland, and 1940s Hollywood B-movies in which the creators made lemonade from
lemons.
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“TO
GRIFT OR NOT TO GRIFTâ€
By
Raymond Benson
This
film noir pot boiler, released in 1948 and directed by George Sherman,
borders the fine line between being truly awful and stunningly good. Luckily
for us, it’s the latter. Larceny surprised this reviewer with its
tale—albeit a melodramatic one—of a quartet of con men who make their livings by
grifting wealthy people out of investments, phony real estate scams, or
whatever. Kind of like what’s happening today with e-mail phishing and
robocalls, right?
The
picture stars John Payne as Rick Maxon, one of the con men who might be having
second thoughts about the company he keeps and the people who become his
victims—especially if they’re beautiful women who easily fall for his charm and
good looks. Payne was a handsome and low-key actor who worked constantly from
the late 1930s through the 1950s, and then sporadically in the 60s (his final
appearance being a Columbo television episode in the 70s). Payne played
mostly in crime movies and was a second-string Robert Mitchum type who was
reliable and got the job done—although he didn’t exactly light up the screen.
The
firecracker in Larceny, however, is a young Shelley Winters, who
plays the femme fatale. When she’s on, the film really comes alive.
Maxon
works for sleazy Silky Randall (film noir stalwart Dan Duryea). They
have their eyes set on wealthy and gorgeous Deborah Clark (Joan Caulfield), who
lost her husband in the war. Maxon pretends to be an army buddy of her late
husband, and his intent is to get Deb to invest in a war memorial—when, in
fact, Silky and his team will pocket the money and run. Silky’s wild
girlfriend, Tory (Winters), has the hots for Maxon, though, and the two of them
have been carrying on behind the back of the very jealous Silky. Big trouble
brews when Maxon falls for his prey, and Deb reciprocates… and then Tory gets
wind of the budding romance.
Thus,
there are romantic shenanigans, a clever crime plot, and truly shady characters
that drive this little low budget gem. When the protagonist of a movie is the
bad guy, you know you’ve got yourself a real film noir! Sure, there are
some eye-rolling moments and some acting that is at times laughable, but that’s
all part of the fun. Larceny is indeed astonishingly entertaining. Look
for wonderful character actor Percy Helton as a hotel operator, and striking
Dorothy Hart as yet another female who is willing to commit a crime for ladies’
man Maxon.
Kino
Lorber’s new Blu-ray restoration looks good enough. It comes with an audio
commentary by the knowledgeable film historian Eddy Von Mueller, plus the
trailer for this and other Kino Lorber releases.
Larceny
is
recommended for fans of film noir, Shelley Winters, and Hollywood cinema
of the 1940s.
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“NOT
SO TANGLED, IT WEAVESâ€
By
Raymond Benson
The
low budget 1947 film noir drama, The Web, is a fairly typical
example of the type of B-picture that many Hollywood studios were churning out
in the late 1940s. No one referred to these crime movies as film noir at
the time; it wasn’t until the late 1950s that French critics looked back at
this body of work and proclaimed, “Sacré bleu! Film Noir!â€â€”and the term stuck.
In
the case of The Web, the title is categorized as film noir for
being a crime picture shot in black and white by DP Irving Glassberg with high
contrasting light and shadow, a tale that features cynical and unreliable
characters, a twisty plot, and some double-crosses. That’s about it,
really—there is no femme fatale (we think that one character is going to
serve that role, but ultimately that isn’t the case), and there is a tangible
grittiness to other, classic films noir that is missing here.
Nevertheless, The Web is enjoyable, if somewhat predictable.
While
the lovely Ella Raines receives top billing as Noel, the personal assistant to
wealthy industrialist Andrew Colby (Vincent Price), it is Edmond O’Brien, as
Bob Regan, who is the protagonist of the story. Regan is an attorney—something
of an ambulance chaser, it seems—who is temporarily hired by Colby to serve as
a bodyguard as protection against a former employee, Leopold Kroner (Fritz
Leiber). Kroner has just been released from prison, blames Colby for framing
him, and allegedly seeks revenge. On the first night on the job, Regan is
forced to shoot Kroner in Colby’s office during a struggle. Even though the
police deem the incident as self-defense, Lieutenant Damico (William Bendix) is
suspicious and wants to pin a murder rap on Regan. While Regan sweats it out,
he becomes romantically infatuated with Noel while simultaneously doing his own
investigation into Colby and the man’s history with Kroner.
Yes,
a “web†of conspiracy is revealed, and it turns out to be not so tangled. We
can foresee the outcome, really, from the first act of the picture. It’s no
spoiler to say that a viewer would have to be an idiot not to realize that
Colby is the heavy (he’s Vincent Price—duh!). That said, the film moves along
at such a brisk pace and features an enthusiastic, plucky performance from
O’Brien as the cocky lawyer-cum-bodyguard/detective. Raines, who made several film
noir titles, seems to have been molded by Hollywood to be a second string
Lauren Bacall-type; she does possess silver screen presence and a charisma that
plays well off of O’Brien’s antics. One can’t help but be entertained.
Kino
Lorber’s new Blu-ray restoration looks and sounds superb. There is an accompanying
and informative audio commentary by film scholar, Professor Jason A. Ney. The
theatrical trailer is included along with other Kino Lorber trailers.
While
it’s not going to win any awards (it didn’t), The Web is indicative of
the era in which it was released. For fans of film noir, Edmond O’Brien
and Vincent Price, and Hollywood B-movies.
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“GOIN’
TO TOWN†(1935;
Directed by Alexander Hall)
“KLONDIKE
ANNIE†(1936;
Directed by Raoul Walsh)
“GO
WEST, YOUNG MAN†(1936;
Directed by Henry Hathaway)
“EVERY
DAY’S A HOLIDAY†(1937;
Directed by A. Edward Sutherland)
“MY
LITTLE CHICKADEE†(1940;
Directed by Edward F. Cline)
(Kino
Lorber)
“GOODNESS
HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT—THE MAE WEST FILMS, PART TWOâ€
By
Raymond Benson
This
is the continuation of reviews of the classic 1930s (and 1940) films of Mae
West, which began here.
Kino
Lorber has just released in gorgeously restored, high-definition presentations
every Mae West film made between 1932-1940—the Paramount years, plus one with
Universal. This review will cover the last five of nine titles.
What
is not commonly appreciated among Hollywood enthusiasts is that Mae West held a
unique position in the history of cinema. Until the modern era, she had the
extraordinary fortune—for her time—of being a leading actress who wrote her
own screenplays. Six of the nine pictures reviewed here and in Part One were
written by West, one was co-written, and all but the first was based on or
adapted from West’s plays or stories. It wasn’t until the likes of Tina Fey,
Kristen Wiig, Angelina Jolie, and a finite number of other actresses appeared
on the scene to write original scripts for themselves that Hollywood allotted
that kind of opportunity to a female performer. West was doing it in the 1930s,
and this was unprecedented. Her talent and wit deserve a renewed appreciation
today.
Her
first two solo pictures (not counting her debut, Night After Night) are
undoubtedly the quintessential Mae West movies (She Done Him Wrong and I’m
No Angel) because of the freedom she had in the pre-Code years. Once the
Production Code kicked in on July 1, 1934, West battled censorship and the
challenges of getting across her risqué humor with more subtlety. It can be
said that her remaining Paramount Pictures titles suffered when compared to the
pre-Code fare, but they are still entertaining and worth a look.
Goin’
to Town (1935)
takes place at the turn of the century when automobiles are appearing but there
are still horses and buggies. It’s a globe-hopping affair that begins in what
appears to be the Wild West as Cleo Borden (West) is a cattle rancher who
juggles men on the way to fulfill her desire to refine her manners and join
high society. Although her designs are really aimed at British engineer Edward
Carrington (Paul Cavanaugh), she marries
Fletcher Colton (Monroe Owsley) for convenience, but he’s an obsessive gambler.
In Buenos Aires, Cleo faces off with rival Grace Brittony (Marjorie Gateson).
As a recurring theme to this and other West vehicles, the actress sings “He’s a
Bad, Bad Man, but He’s Good Enough for Meâ€! Goin’ to Town is
entertaining enough—it’s better than the previous Belle of the Nineties,
but the picture lacks interesting co-stars for West. The Blu-ray comes with an
audio commentary by film historian Kat Ellinger, plus the theatrical trailer.
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Klondike
Annie (1936)
is overseen by solid filmmaker Raoul Walsh, and it shows. It is perhaps the
best of West’s post-Code pictures, despite its embarrassingly offensive take on
Asian characters, which was standard operating procedure in Hollywood for the
time. It’s the 1890s again (why do so many of West’s films take place in that
decade?). Rose Carlton (West) is a “kept woman†in San Francisco’s Chinatown by
cruel club owner Chan Lo (Harold Huber, not an Asian actor). Rose ends up
killing Lo and escapes on a ship to Alaska, the captain of which is Bull Brackett
(the fabulous Victor McLaglen). Rose disguises herself and impersonates the
deceased Sister Annie Alden, a missionary who was on her way to Nome to head up
the only establishment of worship in an otherwise rough Gold Rush town. Bull
falls hard for “Annie,†and she likes him, too, but she also has eyes for
Mountie-like inspector Jack Forrest (Phillip Reed), who is looking for Rose
because she’s now wanted for murder. Klondike Annie went through major
Hays Office interference and in fact two major scenes were deleted from the
film—the murder of Lo (we now only hear about what happened in conversation
later), and the sequence in which Rose dons Annie’s clothing and dresses the
former sister in the garb of a streetwalker (the censors seriously objected to
this on puritanical grounds!). Nevertheless, Klondike is lively, rather
suspenseful, and features the most exotic of settings for a Mae West movie. The
disk comes with an audio commentary by film historians Alexandra
Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson, plus the theatrical trailer.
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Go
West, Young Man (also
1936) was helmed by accomplished director Henry Hathaway, and it fares well for
West and her filmography. West is controversial movie star Mavis Arden, who has
a penchant to get in trouble. Thus, her studio has assigned press agent Morgan
(Warren William, who was known as the “king of pre-Code,†but he was apparently
still working post-Code) to keep an eye on Mavis and stop her from dalliances
with men. On the way to a public appearance, their car breaks down in a hick
town where Mavis and Morgan must stay at a boarding house run by a prudish
woman (Alice Brady) and her more open-minded aunt (Elizabeth Patterson). The
problem is that hunky Bud Norton (Randolph Scott) runs the gas station next
door to the boarding house! It’s another enjoyable West romp that is more of a
screwball comedy than any of her other pictures. The disk comes with an audio
commentary by author/film historian Lee Gambin, plus the theatrical trailer.
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Every
Day’s a Holiday (1937)
was the last picture West made for Paramount, after which her contract was
cancelled. She, along with many other actresses such as Katharine Hepburn,
Marlene Dietrich, and even Bette Davis, were deemed at the time by the
Hollywood press as “box office poison†(which was nonsense, of course). It’s
too bad, for Holiday is one of the funnier titles in the West canon,
mainly due to character actor co-stars Charles Butterworth (as Graves, a butler
who is sweet on West’s character, Peaches O’Day), Charles Winninger (as Van
Doon, an outrageous millionaire who also has the hots for Peaches), and
bumbling Walter Catlett (as Nifty, Peaches’ manager). Peaches, who has a habit
of “selling†the Brooklyn Bridge to numbskulls, has her eyes on police
captain McCarey (Edmund Lowe), whose rival is the police chief Quade (Lloyd
Nolan). Peaches, wanted by the law, “disguises†herself by donning a black
wig—and of course no one recognizes her as Peaches anymore (!). Quade, once pursuing
Peaches to arrest her, is now after “Fifi†to woo her. Fun stuff all around. Look
for Louis Armstrong’s cameo leading a marching band and performing a song. The
disk comes with an audio commentary by film historian Kat Ellinger, plus the
theatrical trailer.
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Continue reading "RAYMOND BENSON REVIEWS THE NEW MAE WEST KINO LORBER BLU-RAY RELEASES (PART TWO) "
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