The Velvet Touch: A Review

THE VELVET TOUCH

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Rosalind Russell.

People may die for their art, but would they murder for it? The Velvet Touch is a surprisingly solid murder mystery despite knowing whodunit in the beginning. 

Valerie Stanton (Rosalind Russell) is the Queen of Broadway. Her newest comedy, Escapade, has been another roaring success. On this closing night, however, it is curtains for more than just the show. Val has learned to her rage that her Svengali, Gordon Dunning (Leon Ames) has no plans to let Valerie go either professionally or personally. An argument ensues between them, culminating in Val whacking Gordon on the head with a trophy. Shocked and slightly dazed by her act, Valerie manages to slip out of the theater unobserved. Unaware of anything that has happened, her fellow Escapade actress Marion Webster (Claire Trevor) finds Gordon's lifeless body and also goes into shock.

At home, she dreams in an extended flashback on how all this came to happen. Valerie had been Gordon's professional and personal muse. She starred in all the comedies that he produced. Gordon had dumped Marion Webster for Val, making the professional and personal rivals. Now, two new opportunities had come to Valerie. The first was an offer to appear in Hedda Gabler. Valerie itches for the chance to play drama versus the successful but lightweight comedies she specializes in. The second is Michael Morrell (Leo Genn). He is a dashing British architect who is enchanted by Valerie. She in turn is enchanted by Michael.

No dice, however, from Gordon. He plants a story with bitchy theater columnist Jeff Trent (Dan Tobin) that she has agreed to be in Gordon's newest comedy and not Hedda Gabler. Enraged, she demands that he retract the story. Nothing doing, and in their tussle, she accidentally murders him. Now, the story of Gordon's murder breaks. She is convinced that she will be quickly found. 

However, a twist of fate coupled with Marion Webster being found alongside the body shifts focus onto Valerie's love rival. Captain Danberry (Sydney Greenstreet) is a shadow around Valerie, but he too starts turning towards Marion Webster as the murderess. Could Valerie find herself literally getting away with murder? She does feel guilty. Marion Webster accuses her privately of murder. However, Marion Webster ends herself, leaving everyone in little doubt that she is the guilty party. Now, Valerie Stanton may at last shift from comedienne to tragedy queen. She may have a husband. Even theater-mad Captain Danberry seems satisfied that the case is closed. Is it though? Will Valerie keep her secret shame or crack?

After watching The Velvet Touch, I was reminded of a few films that both preceded and came after it. The first is Mourning Becomes Electra. That film was meant to showcase Rosalind Russell as a dramatic actress. That lurid story did earn her a Best Actress nomination. Unfortunately, it was such a critical and commercial disaster that Loretta Young in The Farmer's Daughter ended up winning. In a curious way, The Velvet Touch seems to mirror Russell's own artistic aspirations.  Like Valerie Stanton, Russell was seen primarily as a brilliant comic actress who wanted to show that she had versatility. I think that had Russell and her team not focused so much on the lumbering Eugene O'Neill adaptation that is Mourning Becomes Electra, Russell could have legitimate earned a Best Actress nomination for The Velvet Touch. 

Here, Russell showed that she could do drama and comedy remarkably well. The Velvet Touch has nice comedic moments. Of particular note is when she is at a dinner party where her more rapid-fire delivery and eager-to-please manner brought an amusing touch. In that scene, she compliments a writer for his newest work, oblivious to his hesitancy in accepting the praise. It is not until someone tells her that she has been speaking to the book's publisher and not author that she shows a slightly manic manner reminiscent of yet another film, Auntie Mame. 

Russell could also show strong dramatic manner. We see this when she is shown performing Hedda Gabler or when confronting Marion Webster. I figure that director Jack Gage could not completely break Russell of a habit of widening her eyes when expressing drama. I, however, put that down to the intense theatrics that Mourning Becomes Electra mistook as great drama versus unintended comedy. The scene where she learns of Marion Webster's suicide is an especially strong piece of acting. It is not overdone but not restrained either.

The Leo Rosten screenplay does have some surprising moments of humor. They almost always come at Sydney Greenstreet's willing expense. He first appears to the Escapade cast and crew to start his investigation. As he slowly starts to sit, his physicality suggests that he expects that his girth will cause the chair to collapse. Later on, Danberry is hounded by reporters. "Looks like a big case," one of them says. Looking somewhat serious, Danberry snaps back, "Don't get personal!", pauses, then starts laughing. 

The other film that The Velvet Touch reminds me of is All About Eve. Both are set in the theater world. Both have divas who are looking for love. Both have secondary actresses who work against said divas. Both have a pretty bitchy theater columnist who delights in his maliciousness. Both even have a hard, shrewd theater figure. The parallel between Thelma Ritter's Birdie in All About Eve and Esther Howard's Pansy in The Velvet Touch is not an exact parallel. Pansy hangs around the stage door, giving the cast and fans the latest reviews and reports. However, one can see how these two films could fit in a metaphorical double bill.

Rosalind Russell gives a strong performance as the guilt-ridden Valerie. Despite Claire Trevor's Marion Webster's protests, I think Valerie did have a sense of guilt over murdering Gordon. She clearly did not intent to do so. However, The Velvet Touch is not about the crime itself. We know from the get-go that Valerie is the murderess. Instead, the film is about a bigger mystery: whether or not she will get away with it. Almost all the performances are strong.

The aforementioned Greenstreet brings a lightness to things. He is not a fool, able to use his powers of deduction to a proper albeit incorrect conclusion. We also see Greenstreet showing a caring side, comforting Valerie when she learns the shocking news. A surprise is seeing Leon Ames as the villainous Gordon Dunning. Ames usually played well-meaning and caring fathers. Here, he is arrogant, selfish and possessive. It is Ames that one is impressed with most. The paterfamilias of Meet Me in St. Louis showed himself a manipulative figure. You did not mind that he got done in. 

Dan Tobin also did well in his small role as the fussy Jeff Trent. I would put two performers on the lower end. The first is Claire Trevor as Marion Webster. She was not terrible. Trevor had a good moment when she meets with Gordon as part of a plan to help her now-frenemy take Michael while she gets Gordon back. However, her final scene where she is coming in and out of her hysteria when confronting Valerie might have been a bit much.

The wettest blanket was Leo Genn as Michael Morrill. Why anyone would want this man, especially with his long nose, I cannot guess at. He and his character were both bland and boring.

A particular poor element in The Velvet Touch involves Marion Webster. It is not the character herself. It is her name. One cannot be faulted for wondering why "Merriam Webster" was so important. It did not help that she was routinely called "Marion Webster". Why anyone involved in The Velvet Touch thought that the character's name might not elicit laughter or at least bemusement I also cannot guess at. Let us say that the name choice was in the long run, a curious one.

The Velvet Touch also has a surprising element in a lovely theme song. It is lush and romantic. It might be slightly at odds with the plot. However, it is a nice romantic number. 

If one wants to see Rosalind Russell show her dramatic range, it would be better to watch The Velvet Touch over Mourning Becomes Electra. We know whodunit. We watch to see if she will get caught or get away. How it turns out requires watching, which I think will be worth the time to do so. 

DECISION: B+