The Island of Dr. Moreau: A Review

THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Marlon Brando.

Divas to the left of me. Crazies to the right. Sometimes, the divas and crazies switch places and were even one and the same. The bonkers behind-the-scenes stories during the filming of The Island of Dr. Moreau have become infamous. Fired directors who had nervous breakdowns. Actors who accidentally repeated police reports as if it were actual dialogue. Other actors who fled or attempted to flee the filming location. Those wild stories range from the amusing to the terrifying. However, what about the film itself? Separate from the eccentric anecdotes, how is The Island of Dr. Moreau as a movie? 

Told occasionally in voiceover, we start with Edward Douglas (David Thewlis). He is the eventual sole survivor of a plane crash on the Java Sea. Edward is a United Nations negotiator who is close to finding peace with warring nations in the region. However, it is not the U.N. that comes to his rescue. Instead, it is the Ombak Penari, a small ship that came across Edward's raft. Aboard is Dr. Montgomery (Val Kilmer), who first tells Edward that he will be dropped off on Java. However, they end up on what Montgomery calls "Moreau's Island", where Edward reluctantly agrees to go.

Montgomery appears somewhat hospitable. That hospitality, however, includes locking Edward in his guestroom. Why would Montgomery make Edward a de facto prisoner? Who is the beautiful woman dancing in the courtyard? The answer to the second is Aissa (Fairuza Balk), who says that she is Moreau's daughter. The answer to the first is a shocking secret. Montgomery is helping give birth to new creatures who are half-man, half-animal.

Edward, aided by Aissa, flee to a village of these new mutants overseen by the Sayer of the Law (Ron Perlman). This blind half-man/half-goat creature speaks the words of the Father. Edward now comes face to face with the mysterious Doctor Moreau (Marlon Brando). He is the mad scientist who has created his "children" with varying degrees of success. Montgomery is his hands at the various surgeries. Edward is appalled at Moreau's activities but his efforts at escape flop.

One creature who does not escape is Lo-Mai (Marc Dacascos), who has violated Moreau's laws about killing other creatures. He's disposed of with Azazello (Temuera Morrison) violating another law: shooting him. Moreau controls his creatures via electroshock implants inside of them. Montgomery also controls them with various shots that allegedly are to stop them from regressing but which he adds some marijuana. However, by now one of the creatures, Hyena-Swine (Daniel Rigney) has uncovered the implant and removed it.

The mutants are revolting, leading to a cascade of butchery and death. Which of the three pure humans (Moreau, Montgomery and Douglas) will survive the growing chaos on the Island of Misfit Monsters? 

It is approximately twenty minutes into The Island of Dr. Moreau before Marlon Brando appears. When he does, I would not blame anyone watching from having one of two reactions. He or she will either sit in stunned disbelief or burst out into laughter. Those are probably the only logical reactions to seeing Kabuki Brando arrive on his version of the Pope-Mobile. 

It does not get any better for Brando. His performance is one for the ages in that it somehow transcends goofy, bypasses loony and lands on Bizarro World. Actually, even on Bizarro World, Marlon Brando's performance would be seen as flat-out bonkers. Brando's first appearance has him in garish white makeup and all-white ensemble, looking like the illegitimate child of the Abominable Snowman and Frozen's Olaf.

His appearance then shifts to his speaking. That does not improve matters. Brando adopts a very curious accent, presumably British but the type more suited to a P.G. Wodehouse adaptation than an H.G. Wells one. He is quite foppish in his manner, with grand gestures and an air of not being fully aware of where or even who he is. I will give credit where credit is due. Marlon Brando does seem to play it oddly straight when Moreau is surrounded by beast men waiting to lunge at him.

Even here, when the animals are revolting against Father, Marlon Brando looks as if he either doesn't care or doesn't seem aware of anything. Sometimes though, one flat-out laughs at how broad Marlon Brando is (and no, that is not a fat joke).

The height or nadir of Brando's gonzo acting comes in what should be a curiously tender scene. Aissa has come to Moreau for help. She is slowly transitioning to animal (Aissa being the most human-looking of his creations). There we see Marlon Brando, usually ranked among the greatest actors of all time, with an ice bucket on his head. He tells Aissa that his "caloric converter" is empty, requiring her to dump ice directly into Moreau's head. The entire scene, I think, is meant to be a tender heart-to-heart between Aissa and Moreau. Instead, one could not help but to laugh at the hilarity of the "caloric converter".

Caloric converter probably is one of the saner elements in The Island of Dr. Moreau. The mad doctor has with him one of his favorite creations: Majai (Nelson De La Rosa). One never knows why he is almost always at Moreau's side (we do get to see this tiny figure nude when Montgomery is vaccinating the various creatures). This attachment to Majai is an unexplained whim. Majai later became the inspiration for the character of Mini-Me in the Austin Powers franchise. Majai adds nothing to whatever plot Ron Hutchinson and the film's former director Richard Stanley had. Then again, I don't know if The Island of Dr. Moreau had an actual script or director. Technically, the latter role was filled by John Frankenheimer. Visually, it's anyone's guess if someone was overseeing this madhouse.

Marlon Brando didn't embarrass himself in The Island of Dr. Moreau. He didn't humiliate himself. He looked like he was too whacked out to even be aware of what he was doing. His performance is such that one can believe the stories that Brando repeated police reports accidentally picked up through his earpiece as if it were actual dialogue. Brando does not appear to know anything about reality if one judges by his performance. 

As bad as Brando was, and he was bad, his two other costars were hardly better. David Thewlis did embarrass and humiliate himself as Edward Douglas. While Marlon Brando was acting on a whole other planet, Thewlis was not bothering to show his utter contempt for everything to do with the film. Brando may have slipped into some alternate universe, but Thewlis was one-note throughout. One can watch Marlon Brando as some kind of bizarre avant-garde acting style he was doing for his own eccentric amusement. One cannot watch David Thewlis as anything other than looking and sounding irritated.

A mild defense can be made owing to a lack of script. However, David Thewlis never convinced anyone that he was genuinely shocked or horrified at the demonic experiments going on. His character says that this is a mad and evil world that Moreau has created. Edward, however, never seems to believe anything that he says. One can say that it is wrong to create human/animal hybrids. Thewlis, however, never delivers his statements with any conviction. It is pretty sad that someone apparently cannot make the case why bestiality is wrong. 

Then we got Val Kilmer. He seemed to act as if the whole thing was crazy and it was best to be crazier. Given the reports of intense animosity between Kilmer and Brando, one imagines that the former enjoyed mocking the latter when Montgomery goes mad. However, in that short time period when Montgomery is the new Father, he looks less crazy and more bored. I think Kilmer may have tried to be menacing. He might have tried, but he failed spectacularly.

It is unfortunate that Fairuza Balk gave the most honest performance in The Island of Dr. Moreau. She is the only major player to appear to at least try to make any of this remotely plausible. It is probably the best performance in the film because she steered clear of what doomed her male costars. She did not make Aissa a whacked-out loon (Brando), a bored actor (Kilmer) or an angry actor desperate to get out (Thewlis). Ron Perlman was basically sad as the Goat-Boy. One often forgets that he is there or what his purpose is.

The film is confused about itself. Its efforts to be deep end up looking goofy. We start with a fistfight between the other survivors of Edward's doomed flight. "They fought like beasts, not men", we hear in Thewlis' voiceover. That's not subtle foreshadowing. The film ends with footage of various fights, again pushing the "man is really a beast" theme that it thinks it is communicating. "You all killed the Father. You all ate the flesh", Douglas somewhat mockingly tells Hyena-Swine when the latter appears close to demanding worship. My guess is that even atheists would roll their eyes at The Island of Dr. Moreau's pretentions of intellect.

The Island of Dr. Moreau has exactly two good things in it: Fairuza Balk and Gary Chang's score. The music is strong and effective in its effort to make things ominous and thrilling. Like Balk, Chang's score was making the effort. Apart from those two aspects, The Island of Dr. Moreau is a film that one watches almost in stunned disbelief at how laughable it all is. I figure that it may be revived as a cult film. It is not a "so bad it's good" film. It just gives mad scientists a bad name. 

DECISION: D-

His Girl Friday: A Review

HIS GIRL FRIDAY

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Cary Grant.

Screwball comedy rarely came as fast, as smooth and as funny as in His Girl Friday. Standout performances by two of the finest actors of their generation showcases the witty script and rapid-fire manner to this witty film.

Morning Post editor Walter Burns (Cary Grant) is as unscrupulous a figure as they come. He's the embodiment of the charming rogue. He gets his story no matter what. One thing that he cannot get is his ex-wife, star reporter Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell). She had endured Walter's schemes and manners for far too long. She, for example, was denied a honeymoon with Walter because he had to get her to cover a story. Now, all Hildy wants is to settle down with staid insurance agent Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy). 

Walter knows that Hildy is the best man for the job. He also knows that he is the best man for her. Walter tempts Hildy with one final major story. Earl Williams (John Qualen) is set to be executed for murdering a police officer. Williams didn't just kill a police officer. He killed a "colored" police officer. The mayor (Clarence Klob) and Sheriff Peter B. "Pinky" Hartnell (Gene Lockhart) know that Williams' death will get them the "colored" vote. Williams, however, maintains his innocence. Walter believes that Williams is being set up for political reasons. He knows that Hildy is the best man for the story. 

He also wants to keep her from marrying Bruce. Hildy, for her part, slowly starts finding her journalistic instincts harder to suppress. Walter finagles things to stop them from going to Albany where Bruce lives with his mother. If it means repeatedly getting the hapless Bruce arrested, then so be it. If it means literally abducting Mrs. Baldwin (Alma Kruger), then so be it.

One thing that Walter did not arrange was Williams busting out, thanks in part to Pinky's incompetence. He also did not arrange for Williams' reprieve. Williams, however, did not flee into the night. He is still, technically, inside the prison. Hildy, who had gotten an exclusive with him earlier, is astounded to find Williams in the prison's journalist room. Now Hildy and Walter are sitting on the biggest news story in town. Will Pinky and the mayor manage to "not" receive the reprieve in time? Will Bruce keep himself out of jail? Will Hildy find that she and Walter really are best for each other?

His Girl Friday is a remake of The Front Page with one major change. Hildy Johnson was switched from a male to a female character, with the added change of making the new Hildy into Walter's ex-wife. This gives His Girl Friday a different dynamic altogether. The film goes from a clever take on journalism and political corruption to a battle of the sexes. Charles Lederer's adaptation of the Ben Hecht/Charles MacArthur play (with uncredited work by Hecht) has many amusing moments both in situations and dialogue. The naive Bruce compliments Walter to Hildy, calling him "charming". Hildy chuckles at this assertion. "He comes by it naturally. His grandfather was a snake", she retorts. Later, Hildy suspects that Walter will try and pull a fast one on Bruce by trying to steal the certified check that Walter will give Bruce so as to not let him cash it. In a clever set of circumstances, Hildy does her own hoodwinking, conning Bruce to literally put it under (or inside) his hat.

The dialogue even allows for a few inside jokes, which I figure was not common in the day. Walter seems to struggle describing what Bruce looks like to a woman Walter uses to frame him for solicitation. Walter soon comes up with the perfect answer. "He looks like that fellow in the movies...Ralph Bellamy". Later on, the corrupt mayor and dimwitted sheriff think that they have Hildy and Walter over a barrel. "Listen, the last man that said that to me was Archie Leach, just a week before he cut his throat". The joke is that "Archie Leach" was Cary Grant's real name. His Girl Friday, in short, was meta before the concept really existed. 

His Girl Friday also, I think, is the rare film where a woman is shown as the equal to a man in a male-dominated world. Hildy is treated more than just "one of the boys" by the other reporters. She is actually shown as someone who is extremely well-liked and very respected amongst her peers. The other journalists are more cynical about things than Hildy is. She is not naive or unaware of how politics and corruption work. There is a wonderful comedic bit where she is denied a chance for an interview with Williams until she "happens" to find a $20 that she "assumes" the warden dropped. However, Hildy is also more optimistic about Williams' chances. She also, as a woman, appears more sympathetic to Molly Malloy (Helen Mack), whose initial caring for Williams was misconstrued by the other reporters in print.

One of His Girl Friday's best elements is with its cast. Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant were absolute masters of wordplay. Both are able to rattle off rapid-fire dialogue and make it sound perfectly natural. His Girl Friday gives both of them many moments where they seem to speak over each but are actually in tandem. Their double-act makes their interplay a delight to watch. Of particular note is when they are desperately trying to keep poor Williams hidden in a rolltop desk. Their verbal and physical comedy is a great thing to watch.

Cary Grant is delightful rakish as Walter Burns. He is ruthless and manipulative. However, he has such a breeze, almost playful manner in his antics and schemes that you end up liking him. Yes, he might have repeatedly framed Bruce for crimes. He may have hired a kidnapper to keep Mrs. Baldwin out of things. However, Grant makes Walter not into a villain but into a sharp, quick-witted fellow who will scheme his way to get what he wants. I think the success comes from the fact that Grant plays Walter as someone who is so thoroughly convinced that he is right that he never stops to think anything he does is wrong. I never sensed that Walter was cruel or corrupt. In fact, he was very much anti-corruption, noting that Williams was being railroaded for other people's crooked schemes. 

In some ways, Grant gives Walter something of a childlike manner. He is like a big kid delighting in making mischief for others, especially if it benefits him. 

Rosalind Russell is more than able to match Cary Grant in fast-paced dialogue. Her Hildy is sharp and hard-edged while also showing genuine caring for others. Her interview with Williams is surprisingly dramatic. Here, Russell shows that she could play serious while still firmly in the madcap world of His Girl Friday. She is able to show her moral strength and courage when facing off against the desperate Williams. She is also able to have great physical comedy. One has to laugh when she literally makes a giant tackle to stop the terrified Warden Cooley (Pat West). 

Ralph Bellamy has a pretty thankless role as the naive Bruce Baldwin. He, however, makes Bruce into an ideal third wheel. Bellamy does have one moment when he does stand up for himself. As Walter and Hildy are furiously on the phone lines attempting to give their stories, Bruce berates Hildy for ignoring him and his repeated arrests. For the most part, Bellamy played the part correctly. He is slightly befuddled but totally sincere in his affection for Hildy.

His Girl Friday is a sheer delight from start to end. This is more surprising given that His Girl Friday runs a rapid-fire 92 minutes long. In that surprisingly brief runtime, the film packs in a whole set of wit, great performances and hilarious situations. Everyone should be so lucky if they had His Girl Friday in their lives.

DECISION: A+

The Maltese Falcon (1941): A Review (Review #2195)

THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars series. Today's star is Humphrey Bogart.

There have been, technically, three adaptations of Dashiell Hammet's The Maltese Falcon. There is a 1931 adaptation. There is Satan Met a Lady, which I can describe as a very loose adaptation. Then there is the 1941 version. This is seen as the definitive version. It is seen as one of the greatest films ever made. It is a film that should be seen. The Maltese Falcon is a brilliant film noir, full of clever quips, cleverer dames and an outstanding debut for one of the great filmmakers.

Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) is a San Francisco private eye. A beautiful woman, Ruth Wonderly, comes to Spade and his partner, Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan) to follow a man named Thursby. Wonderly claims that this Thursby is essentially holding her sister prisoner. Archer, despite being married, takes a shine to this broad. Archer ends up dead.

The police think that Sam Spade may have plugged his partner. Archer's wife, Iva (Gladys George) and Spade appear to have some kind of understanding. Spade may not be the straightest arrow, but he did not bump Miles off. Did he, however, bump off Thursby, who is also conveniently dead? Whodunit? 

The trail of death leads Spade back to "Ruth Wonderly". She is really Brigid O'Shaughnessy (Mary Astor). She seems forever forlorn, forever alluring, and forever devious. Spade sees through her innocent, deer-in-the-headlights act. He, however, is still wildly drawn to our fatal beauty. What does she truly know about Thursby and Miles? She is connected to a rogues' gallery of shady characters. 

There's the curiously perfumed Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre). He offers Spade $5,000 to help him locate a statue of a black bird. There's the upstart hood-in-training Wilmer Cook (Elisha Cook, Jr.), who trails Spade but isn't good at it. Finally, we see "the fat man". This is Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet). Gutman, an urbane man, relates to Spade the story of the Maltese Falcon. It is a great treasure made from various jewels. After a decades-plus search, this formerly lost treasure is within reach. That is, if Spade plays dice and Brigit plays nice.

More turns come when a ship captain stumbles into Spade's office. He's been shot. He also has the falcon. Now all our shady figures reunite, the fate of the Maltese Falcon in their hands. Is it the real Maltese Falcon? Who killed Thursby and Miles? Will everyone get away with it? Which way will Sam Spade go?

The Maltese Falcon was the first film directed by John Huston. He had been a screenwriter for several years, but now Huston was going to direct as well as write. This was an audacious debut. Huston shows himself a master in terms of visuals. Of particular note is when Gutman is relating the Falcon's sordid story. It is a long scene dominated by Sydney Greenstreet in his Oscar-nominated performance. Huston keeps everything pretty still as Gutman matter-of-factly tells of the various crimes committed to obtain this object. As he goes on though, Adolph Deutch's music and Arthur Edeson's camerawork begins making things look more sinister.

The scene culminates with Spade falling, slowly becoming aware that he has been slipped a mickey. There are camera angles and subtle suggestions of how sordid these figures are. Huston's dialogue, for example, has an exchange between Gutman and Cairo that implies the latter screwed a kid in Istanbul when they came close to catching the bird. It goes on to suggest that Cairo could do the same here in San Francisco. With a curious manner and a calling card smelling of gardenias, there is more than a vague suggestion that Joel Cairo is into a certain kind of San Francisco treat.

Earlier, Sam was asked, "How did you and the widow make out?". There is a double entendre there that is barely concealed from both the characters and the audience. 

Huston also does brilliant work with his cast. Humphrey Bogart makes Sam Spade into an honest cynic. He has something about him that is aware of how he's being deceived but goes along with it purely out of his own amusement. As Brigit continues to vacillate between playing innocent and showing more of her cards, Spade pretty much calls her out. He compliments her on how her voice throbs at certain points in her efforts to play the situation sweeter. He is able to tell off Wilmer, whom he has an open contempt for. In the end though, we see Spade's disillusionment, even sadness. He may be in love with Brigit. He won't, however, hang for her. Spade knows that she has used her feminine wiles on others. He, however, won't play the sap for her. Despite that, he still holds out a vague hope that, sleazy as she is, she might return to him.

As he ponders on what the Maltese Falcon is, he remarks that it is "the stuff that dreams are made of". Spade knows that, for him, the Maltese Falcon is that obscure object of desire, a desire that he will not possess. The bird and the broad are forever gone, and he is left to quietly mourn.

Humphrey Bogart works well with the cast. When he and Sydney Greenstreet's Gutman are speaking, you see their styles blend well. Spade, blunt and shrewd, knows that Gutman is almost nobody's fool. Greenstreet looms large in The Maltese Falcon (no pun intended). His Fat Man is almost averse to violence. His dominance comes from his intelligence and manipulation. He is not above resorting to violence or threats. However, Gutman seems almost courtly in his manner. That makes the scene where he, along with everyone else, discovers that they have all been duped all the more effective. As Cairo berates him and starts crying, you see Gutman come close to collapse. Greenstreet suggests that Gutman is inches from a literal stroke. In the end though, one senses that Gutman finds the thrill of the search more interesting than the treasure itself. He is still greedy and corrupt. However, he is also shrewd and amused.

Peter Lorre also does well as the eccentric Joel Cairo. His first scene has him fondling his cane in a very curious manner. As the film goes on, he, like Greenstreet, keeps a mostly calm veneer to mask his own desperation and greed. 

It is surprising that Humphrey Bogart was not nominated for his performance as the ultimately honest gumshoe. The bigger surprise is how Mary Astor was also overlooked for her performance as Brigit O'Shaughnessy. She is a different kind of femme fatale. She is attractive. However, she is not alluring. Astor does not use sex appeal or the promise of physical intimacy to get the men to bend to her will. Instead, she uses an innocent act. Brigit keeps trying to play a damsel in distress, attempting to use that need in men to protect the weaker sex to her advantage. What makes Astor brilliant in the role is that she plays that insincerity. There is a sense of exaggeration to her constant suggestions of being a victim. However, because Astor plays it a bit too forced, the end result is showing a woman who cannot be honest. Her dramatic manner is perfect as this mysterious broad. 

The Maltese Falcon may or may not be the first true film noir. It is, however, a film that blends the various elements of film noir together. This is a shady, dark world, all for a little bird. What dreams may come to whomever possesses The Maltese Falcon. 

DECISION: A+

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941): A Review

DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1941)

Ten years after Fredric March won Best Actor for playing dual roles, two-time Oscar winner Spencer Tracy tried his hand at matching March's performance. The 1941 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde remake suffers from an unintended sense of comedy. The film was miscast three times over, but each actor did their best. 

Dr. Harry Jekyll (Tracy) is a good man. He believes that the base aspects of a person's character can be removed through science. Jekyll is engaged to British belle Beatrix Emery (Lana Turner), the daughter of respected Sir Charles (Donald Crisp). Sir Charles is dubious of Jekyll's medical theories. He is also displeased by how loose Beatrix comes across. By the standards of the time, Beatrix would be a Victorian tramp. She lets him kiss her in public.  

A real Victorian tramp is lusty Cockney barmaid Ivy Peterson (Ingrid Bergman). Jekyll and his friend and colleague, Dr. John Layton (Ian Hunter), rescue Ivy from a rough man. She wastes no time attempting to seduce Jekyll. While she does not get her way, Jekyll seems open to the suggestion. He still is devoted more to his experiments than to Beatrix. One fateful night, he takes his concoction. From that emerges his dark side, which takes the form of "Mr. Hyde".

Mr. Hyde wastes no time either. He quickly forces Ivy to be his mistress. Beatrix and Sir Charles have left for the Continent, so Jekyll will be fine to play with his basic instincts. Good news comes to Jekyll when he learns that the Emerys have returned. Even better news is that Sir Charles has finally agreed to let them marry sooner than originally planned. Jekyll swears off Hyde. That in turn will please Ivy, who turns to Jekyll for help. Things, however, do not go as planned.

Jekyll can no longer control his split nature. Which of his two sides will win out? Will both Ivy and Beatrix survive the ravishes of Mr. Hyde? Will Dr. Jekyll similarly be able to survive Mr. Hyde as well? 

I think that our three leads did as well as they could with the roles they played. However, all three of them look rather silly attempting to be the characters. Spencer Tracy was best when playing the everyman. He excelled at being a good man, the best friend, the sidekick. Here, I think he gave it as good a go as his skills permitted. However, I found a lot of his performance elicited more chuckles than suspense.

I think it is because of a variety of factors. There was director Victor Fleming's decision to have Spencer Tracy speak in a whisper when playing Hyde. One does not need to make the villain cartoonish or silly. However, whenever Tracy is Hyde, his whispers come across as one of two things. Either he is trying to make Hyde more menacing by whispering or trying to suppress giggles himself that one could see him as threatening. Either way, the end results are more humorous than horrifying.

Spencer Tracy was also not known for using makeup. He had surprisingly little makeup as Hyde. He mostly attempted to show off the dark side by widening his eyes. That, added to his persistent whisper, only made Mr. Hyde a figure of fun than of danger. 

A second factor was the decision, presumably by Fleming, to not have Tracy even try for a British accent. That leads to a bizarre situation of having this very American man in London high society. Presumable, Dr. Jekyll is British. If he is supposed to be British, Tracy's very American tones make no sense. If he is supposed to be American, there is never an explanation as to why this Yank is in London high society.

Spencer Tracy's performance here is a rare miss. He comes across as exaggerated to downright silly. He apparently thought that widening his eyes showed menace and murder. Instead, it looked like someone trying to elicit chuckles at spookiness. Bless him, for he is trying, so there is that. It is that in his trying, Tracy just looks comical.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is equally perplexing when it comes to the two female leads. If I understand things, Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner were meant to play each other's roles. I get that both wanted to play against type. Bergman wanted to play someone sleazier and Turner the sophisticated lady. That being said, neither looked logical. 

Ingrid Bergman is a Cockney by way of Sweden. One was unaware that the East End of London extended all the way to Stockholm. Like Tracy, Bergman tried to make this tart believable. In her defense, she did act the part of the tragic Ivy well. However, like Tracy she ended up looking foolish. The issue is her Swedish accent. Ingrid Bergman almost always sounded Continental. In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, that European tone is so at odds with this working-class barmaid. In terms of performance, Ingrid Bergman does quite well. In terms of sound, it comes across as laughable.

Lana Turner, curiously enough, is the best of the three. One could see Turner trying to be this innocent, posh British lady. Oddly, to her credit Turner did not try for an accent either. I think that would have made her look absurd. Throughout the film, you could see Lana Turner working to play this role. It might not have been convincing but one gives mad props to her for making the effort.

One element that does look creepy is in how obvious the age differences were. Spencer Tracy was 41 when he made Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Lana Turner was twenty-one years younger. In their scenes together, Turner looks old enough to be Tracy's daughter. That is because she was old enough to be his daughter. It looks almost obscene to have someone that much younger play Tracy's love interest. Ingrid Bergman was twenty-six. Although their fifteen-year age gap wasn't as horrible as that of Tracy and Turner, it still looked a bit peculiar. 

In his smaller role, Donald Crisp does well as Sir Charles Emery. He is respectful without being haughty, supportive without being a simp. Crisp does not have much to do in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He does make his presence known as the man who tries to understand Jekyll.

John Lee Mahin, Percy Heath and Daniel Hoffenstein's adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel sometimes takes surreal and downright perverted turns. In one dream or fantasy sequence, Tracy's Hyde imagines his dueling broads as horses. He whips them repeatedly, turning this into some whacked-out S&M scene that is quite daring now, let alone in 1941. The sadomasochism in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is barely concealed. Ivy, for example, is clearly being whipped for Hyde's erotic satisfaction. He also repeatedly assaults her, though the screen goes black every time that he does. 

There are good elements in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Franz Waxman's score and Harold Kress' editing create that moody, gothic atmosphere. They, along with Joseph Ruttenberg's cinematography, all received Academy Award nominations. Each elevate the film and makes for interesting viewing. However, the three performances are why this version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ultimately fails. Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner all tried. They are not bad performances. They just are not particularly good ones either.       

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde fails to match the original. I understand that efforts were made to hide the Fredric March version so that the public would not compare it to this remake. Fortunately, the original survived and will stand the test of time better than this remake. 

To be fair to this remake though, the original never featured women being whipped like horses.

DECISION: C-

Satan Met a Lady: A Review

SATAN MET A LADY

In 1941, director John Huston made one of the most auspicious debuts in film history with The Maltese Falcon. While considered now as the definitive version of the Dashiell Hammett novel and an early film noir, the 1941 Maltese Falcon is technically the third adaption of Hammett's novel. The novel had been first made in 1931. It was remade a mere five years later as Satan Met a Lady. Neither the original 1931 The Maltese Falcon nor Satan Met a Lady are much if at all remembered today. While I cannot say whether that fate is deserved for the 1931 original, it is more than earned for the abysmal Satan Met a Lady.

Ted Shane (Warren William) is a wheeler-dealer with a breezy manner and a way with women. He is ostensibly a detective working alongside Milton Ames (Porter Hall). Ames is a longsuffering fellow when it comes to Shane. He not only keeps drumming up lousy business for Ames. He also romanced Ames' now-wife Astrid (Winifred Shaw) in the past. His newest assignment is to follow the wealthy Mrs. R. Manchester Arden (May Beatty), whom Shane hoodwinks into thinking that jewel thieves are after her jewels. Meanwhile, the mysterious Valerie Purvis (Bette Davis) hires Shane & Ames to follow a man named Farrow, who has been following her.

It is a surprise when later both Ames and Farrow end up dead in a cemetery. Whodunit? Shane's frenemies Detectives Dunhill (Olin Howland) and Pollock (Charles C. Smith) think that maybe Shane himself bumped both off. Shane, ever breezy and amused by everything and everyone, is not the killer. He, however, is in the midst of a mystery over who done in Ames and Farrow. 

This case is tied in with Purvis, but how? Does it involve a rare horn supposedly owned by the legendary hero Roland? Roland's fabled horn is supposed to contain a treasure trove of jewels separate from its own historic value. It looks like everyone is after Roland's horn. There is the tall Englishman Travers (Arthur Treacher), the veddy proper muscle. There's Madame Barrabas (Alison Skipworth), the heavyset Queen of Crime. There's her wimpy nephew Kenny (Maynard Holmes), whose beanie irritates Shane. All of them are after Roland's horn. Ted Shane claims that he can get it for them. Each of them pays him handsomely for that promise. However, will Shane keep his word and his life? Double and triple crosses abound until the real killer is unmasked. There are, however, a few more twists until Ted Shane and his loyal secretary Miss Murgatroyd (Marie Wilson) can be together at last.

While watching Satan Met a Lady, I came to the surprising realization that the film is really a comedy. Either that, or someone forgot to tell everyone that the film was meant as a crime drama. The viewer should know this from the beginning when Bernhard Kaun and Heinz Roemheld's score began the film. The music is surprisingly jolly and upbeat for what one would initially think was a mystery. It soon becomes clear that almost no one in Satan Met a Lady is taking any of this seriously.

That, in and of itself, would not be a bad thing. No genre should be immune from a good spoof. However, Satan Met a Lady is not smart enough to be a spoof. I do not think it aimed to be a spoof or a lighthearted jaunt. Instead, I think everyone behind the camera was unaware of how awful Satan Met a Lady was. 

William Dieterle was a good director. Therefore, it is almost sad seeing how misdirected Satan Met a Lady was. One is unsure if Dieterle was aware of how awful to downright cringe everyone and everything was coming across. I think the main flaw is in how Dieterle directed almost all of his actors to play the situations as if they were not meant to be remotely serious. Take for example when Shane comes upon Ames' body. For reasons that I cannot fathom, Dieterle had everyone play this scene as if it were something one might find in a Mel Brooks film. You have no sense of suspense. You have Warren William's very breezy manner. You have Brown Holmes' screenplay giving awful puns.

When asked by one of the detectives, "Don't you want to take a closer look at your silent partner?", I simultaneously groaned and winced. Holmes seems dead set on giving the characters flat out idiotic things to say. Travers asks Shane about what he knows about Roland's horn, suspecting that he knows its whereabouts. Shane replies, "Well, they've pointed the finger at me for a lot of dirty tricks but never for a crime like playing the saxophone". 

I think a lot of Satan Met a Lady's failures come less from Dieterle's direction than from Holmes' adaptation. That is not to say that Dieterle is off the hook when it comes to blame. All but one, possibly two, of the performances looked slightly cartoonish and silly. When, for example, Kenneth gets hit in the hand, Maynard Holmes looks less menacing and more childlike. Overall, though, Brown Holmes' adaptation of The Maltese Falcon clearly was not interested in fidelity to the source material.

Instead, it was interested in showing how these characters were silly. Warren William was far too breezy and jolly to make Satan Met a Lady come anywhere close to looking serious. For the entirety of the film, William made Ted Shane look like someone who was a joke. His efforts to come across as unflappable sometimes made him look downright dumb. I think Marie Wilson did her best as Miss Murgatroyd. She was meant to be a dumb blonde, such as when she struggled to spell her own name. Her coos and flighty manner seemed more at home in a spoof than in an allegedly serious film.

That is what dooms Bette Davis' performance. In a sea of silliness, you see Davis making a sincere effort to be a femme fatale. There is nothing to hold her up. Not the screenplay. Not the directing. She tried. However, she was clearly attempting to be in a whole other movie than what Satan Met a Lady was. It looked like she at a certain point gave up too. While she was not hamming up it like so many were, Bette Davis' heart was not in the final product.

To be fair, I think Alison Skipworth did slightly better as Madame Barrabas. She could have plausibly been a good Queen of Crime. She did not embarrass herself but did not quite match Davis' determined efforts either. Interestingly enough, two actors from the film were recognizable. I struggled initially to place both Porter Hall and Olin Howland (the latter via his voice). Eventually, I remembered where I had seen them. Hall was the idiot psychiatrist from Miracle on 34th Street. Howland was the kooky diner owner on an I Love Lucy episode where he serenaded the Ricardos and Mertzes with an odd rendition of I'm Afraid to Come Home in the Dark. 

Satan Met a Lady to be fair has a great title. It is a misleading title. One thinks that it will be lurid and full of action, mystery and suspense. However, the tone is quickly established that it is an unintentional comedy. If nothing else, it would be worth watching to see Bette Davis making the best effort to save a film and her performance. Other than that, it is good that Satan Met a Lady is pretty much forgotten now. 

DECISION: D-

Masters of the Universe (2026): A Review

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (2026)

There is something wonderful when a film embraces what it is. Masters of the Universe is such a film. Fully aware, throwing nice in-jokes and references, Masters of the Universe, while longer than necessary, is a fun film. 

Narrated in voiceover by Adam Glenn/He-Man (Nicholas Galitzine), we learn of the world of Eternia. It was a wonderful place, though perhaps not for Adam. Despite being the prince and heir, Adam is small and not a good warrior in training. This distresses Duncan (Idris Elba), the kingdom's Man-At-Arms. His daughter, Teela, is better and she enjoys both teasing and helping Adam. However, the evil Skeletor (Jared Leto) has invaded and conquered Eternia after a fierce battle. The fall of Castle Grayskull seems to doom the universe. Fortunately, the Sorceress (Morena Baccarin) was able to spirit Adam off to safety. The Queen Marlena (Charlotte Riley) sends Adam and the powerful Sword of Power to her home world of Earth.

Unfortunately, Adam cannot hold onto the Sword of Power in the escape. Adam is now a poor schlub in Oklahoma City. Enduring the drudgery of human resources, suffering the faux perkiness and toxic friendliness of his supervisor Suzie (Sasheer Zamata), Adam searches for the Sword. At last, he has a hit and races to a comic book shop where he, with some difficulty, pinches it off a display. That one act triggers a signal for Teela (Camila Mendes) to find him and bring him back to Eternia. That also, however, lets Skeletor know that Adam is still around.

Now back in Eternia, Adam must take his place as the mighty warrior he needs to be. Easier said than done. He has no training. He has always been a bit of a klutz. His father's warriors look on with disenchantment. Duncan is a shell of his former self and a bit of a lush. Adam also faces both Skeletor and his own Girl Friday, the powerful sorceress Evil-Lyn (Alison Brie). Adam discovers that with the Sword of Power, "I HAVE THE POWER!" and becomes the powerful warrior he knows is within. However, that power has a powerful foe in Skeletor.

The battle for Eternia begins. It will take many turns, and not all will survive. Will Adam discover the hero within to become He-Man? Who will triumph to take Castle Grayskull and rule Eternia?

Masters of the Universe, from start to finish, is a delight. We see and hear this right at the beginning with Nicholas Galitzine's opening voiceover. He has a nice, quippy, cheerful tone. It is as if he is fully aware of how downright silly the entire opening section is. We find that there is a reason for this. The opening narration, we discover, is him telling this story to a prospective date. 

Unsurprisingly, he finds that she leaves without saying goodbye. This whole section sets up a lot of Masters of the Universe's tone. It is filled with action and fantasy. It is also, thanks to Chris Butler, Dave Callaham and Aaron Nee's screenplay (Nee curiously billed twice), filled with humor and heart. The opening does a lot of things right. It sets up the world of Eternia. It sets up the various personalities and flaws of Adam, Duncan, Teela and Skeletor. We see that Adam, for example, is at heart a good kid who wants to be a capable warrior but also a caring and compassionate person. Teela, for her part, loves the action but also has a soft spot for Adam.

It has the requisite action for when Eternia falls. However, Masters of the Universe also has a slightly tongue-in-cheek manner. It is self-aware. Skeletor can be menacing, such as in his declaration to King Randor (James Purefoy), "There are no statues of losers". However, when Skeletor makes what he thinks is a clever quip, he is genuinely surprised that none of his henchmen laughed. He has to point out to them that he expects a response. At that point, Evil-Lyn starts the cacophony of chuckling that pleases Skeletor.

Masters of the Universe blends humor and action very well. It is an amusing film. Note that I said "amusing" and not "funny" because it embraces its own offbeat universe without mocking it. The film knows that it is meant as an amusing romp and a nice jaunt for Masters of the Universe fans. It does not ridicule either the source material or fans. Instead, it throws nice in-jokes that are in a positive spirit. The film uses 4 Non Blondes What's Up? which was the source of a popular He-Man gif. There's a nice cameo from Dolph Lungren, who starred as He-Man in the original Masters of the Universe. "You're taking my spot", he tells the unsure Adam when they are at the gym. The pun is clear, but it also works within the context of the scene. The film has a quick appearance from Orko, a cutesy, bumbling magician who gives us the moral of the story.

In short, Masters of the Universe is fully aware that it is meant as a nice tribute to the original animated series. It is not mocking it or sending it up. Instead, it is playing with elements while still giving viewers a good mix of action and fantasy.

The film is also well acted by the cast. Nicholas Galitzine is wonderful in the role of Adam Glenn/He-Man. What makes his performance so good is that he is able to balance these two figures. He makes Adam's initial clumsiness, insecurity and moroseness believable and relatable. When he holds up the sword and becomes He-Man, one can marvel at Galitzine's incredible physique. However, even when buffed up, Galitzine still keeps true to Adam's character. He still makes oddball mistakes, is clumsy and at times unsure. The Sword of Power does not make him all-knowing and/or all-powerful. At heart, Adam Glenn is still an unsure, hesitant figure who has to find the hero within. Galitzine balances Adam's humor and action with great skill.

His antagonist also does a wonderful balancing act. Jared Leto has been struggling in terms of his filmography post-Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club. He was not embraced as the Joker in the DC Extended Universe. His previous film, Tron: Ares, was a massive misfire. Here though, he made Skeletor both a figure of fear and a figure of fun. He could be menacing and dangerous. He could also be slightly goofy and not aware of how silly Skeletor came across. This, again, was a deliberate choice by both Leto and director Travis Knight. Skeletor was, if memory serves right, both. He was the villain, an embodiment of evil. He was also a bit silly and unaware of how goofy he could be.

The other performances keep to that balance of humor and sincerity. Idris Elba was probably the most dramatic in terms of acting and character. He needed to be as Duncan, the man whose sense of failure led him to drink but who now must rise to redeem himself. Camila Mendes too was excellent as Teela. The film mercifully forgoes turning her into a "girlboss" who dominates the other characters. She is quite strong and capable as a warrior. She is effective as a mentor to Adam. However, she is He-Man's right-hand woman, not his superior. Teela can hold her own against the others, but she is there to support Adam, not dominate him. I would say that Alison Brie was the one who leaned in the most into the camp manner as Evil-Lyn. However, as I think that was how the role was meant to be, I think it works within the film. 

Masters of the Universe has some nice visuals, making Eternia into that fantastical universe that it needs to be. Daniel Pemberton's score was rousing when it needed to be. So many of the elements in Masters of the Universe blended well that the overall effect was a positive one.

I do think, in the negative elements, that the film is longer than it needs to be. Master of the Universe runs almost two-and-a-half hours. I think that is around a half-hour longer than the original 1987 film (which for full disclosure I have yet to see as of this writing). That length, including mid and post-credit scenes, eventually starts wearing on the audience. Another character is not as well integrated as he could have been. Hussein (Christian Vunipola) is Adam's Oklahoma City roommate. His main characteristic is in crying at sappy television programs/movies. He humors Adam in his Eternia stories rather than openly disbelieving them. However, he does pretty much nothing to the plot and seems a throwback to earlier drafts. It is not a bad performance, and he is not totally unnecessary. He just seemed a bit of an odd duck among the goings-on. 

Those are minor points to an overall entertaining film. Masters of the Universe is a pleasant, fully aware, enjoyable romp. While it is unfortunate that the box office shows otherwise, in terms of entertainment and enjoyment, I would say that Masters of the Universe does have the power.

DECISION: B+

Wuthering Heights (2026): A Review (Review #2132)

WUTHERING HEIGHTS (2026)

I confess that as of this writing, I have not read Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. I have also not seen the celebrated 1939 film adaptation. I will, however, venture a guess that neither had the female protagonist perform an auto-erotic exercise. Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights is wine mom erotica. It turns what is held up as a literary classic into a low-rent Harlequin paperback with less intelligence.

The Earnshaw family was once wealthy but has now fallen on hard times. They have managed to hold onto their estate, Wuthering Heights, but not much else. Mr. Earnshaw (Martin Clunes) has a surprise gift for his haughty daughter, Cathy. It is a street urchin that she names "Heathcliff". He displaces Cathy's playmate-cum-lady-in-waiting Nelly, the illegitimate daughter of a lord. "I suppose he'll fall in love with me", she declares.

Many years pass. Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) has grown to a tall, thin, hunky man. Cathy (Margo Robbie) has grown to a smugger and more obnoxious bitch. She may toy with her hunky plaything. However, Cathy is desperate for wealth and escape. Fortunately, the new neighbors will provide a way out. Wealthy merchant Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif) is the perfect stooge for this designing woman. Edgar's ward Isabella (Alison Oliver) is no match for our wily adventuress. She will marry Edgar despite being in erotic throes about Heathcliff. In a mix of heartbreak and rage, Heathcliff flees Wuthering Heights.

Five years pass. Cathy and Edgar are respectable but still childless. This allows Nelly (Hong Chau) to stay alongside Cathy. Nelly occasionally throws shade at the mistress of the manor. Nelly has also arranged years earlier for Heathcliff to overhear snippets of conversation where Cathy denounces him. Cathy, however, had also expressed conflict about whether to follow her heart or her purse. Now, Heathcliff has returned. He is wealthy. He is influential. He is still hunky. Despite her new pregnancy, Cathy and Heathcliff being a lurid sexual affair. Heathcliff also draws Isabella into his web of sex games. Heathcliff and Isabella's liaison is so sadomasochistic that even Nelly is shocked when finding her employer's ward behaving like a literal dog. Will Cathy and Heathcliff break through to find their erotic passions fulfilled? Will death separate our twisted lovers?

I was in the minority in finding Promising Young Woman a revolting piece of trash. I thought the same of writer/director Emerald Ferrell's second film, Saltburn. I was not in the minority for that one. With her third film, I find that Emerald Ferrell is obsessed with sex and does not care who knows it. I cannot imagine that Emily Bronte would have liked seeing Cathy pleasuring herself or getting serviced by Heathcliff's tongue in her nether regions. 

Did I mention that Cathy is pregnant when Heathcliff uses his tongue on her vajayjay? 

I suppose it takes a great skill to make Fifty Shades of Grey look downright virginal compared to Ferrell's adaptation. It takes a certain cinematic vision to make Isabella rolling around like a dog, complete with chains, reflect Bronte's Victorian vision for womanhood. Ferrell figured that she was being clever with how Isabella came across. "You're a dog in a manger!" Isabella screams at her when Cathy warns her not to involve herself with the hunky Heathcliff. We then saw that Isabella willingly let herself be chained up and behave like a dog.

I figured that Isabella, as played by Alison Oliver, was already a loon. Is that how she was in the novel? I am less inclined to read Wuthering Heights after seeing this. 

It would be uncharitable of me to not find some good things in Wuthering Heights. The costumes were elaborate. Excessively so, but elaborate, nonetheless. The film is as fixated with fog as Heathcliff is in getting into Cathy's corsets. There is lots of fog and shadows floating about. Wuthering Heights aims for atmosphere. It occasionally hits that target. 

In every other aspect, Wuthering Heights is trash. This is the first film Jacob Elordi has appeared in after his Best Supporting Actor nomination for Frankenstein. The man is hunky. He is tall. He is beautiful to look at. Those, however, are the full extents of his cinematic abilities. He speaks all his lines in this curious, dare I say careless whisper. I cannot fathom why he and Farrell thought that made any sense. Even what should be his climatic speech cursing Cathy's soul is spoken in this sotto voce manner. No matter what the situation, Jacob Elordi made Marlon Brando's Don Corleone sound thunderous by comparison.

To misquote Dorothy Parker, Jacob Elordi in Wuthering Heights ran the gamut of emotions from A to A-. 

One thing that I noticed and that I found unintentionally hilarious was Elordi's earring. When he first returns to Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff's piercing is a small gold stud. In his next scene, it is slightly larger. After that, it grew to a hoop. It was to where I thought that by the end, it would be platter-size. I found the whole earring thing odd. I grant that it was a curious thing to fixate on. However, I do not know exactly why Heathcliff's piercing seemed to grow each time he appeared. 

I think Margot Robbie saw how her steamy, hunky costar was comatose in his performance. That may be why she decided to go the opposite route. I will not say that Robbie was overacting. She was not acting either. She just appeared to decide to flail around, hoping that being whiny would help her find a character. Robbie is a competent actress. She, unlike Elordi, can act and has shown that she can create a character. Wuthering Heights is not that showcase for Margot Robbie. She cannot make Cathy's self-absorption and arrogance either infuriating or sympathetic. She is just whiny. She is a ninny. She is too mannered. It is a bad performance.

Martin Clunes is one-note as Mr. Earnshaw despite using two tones: loud and soft. I cannot figure how audiences would not laugh at him bellowing out "I AM THE KINDEST MAN ALIVE AND YOU TREMBLE AT ME!" when he starts giving child Heathcliff a whipping. I know that it was meant to show Earnshaw as unaware. It just made it all look like farce.

Hong Chau is the only one who does not embarrass herself as Nelly. She communicates so much with just a glance. Even when Cathy dismisses her from service, you can see in Chau's performance that Nelly has a few cards left to play to keep her position. Chau also throws some of the best lines in the film. "If I were in Heaven, I would be so miserable," Robbie's Cathy declares when describing her conflict about Heathcliff. "Because you don't belong there," Chau's Nelly deadpans. Later, Cathy whines, "I think you like to see me cry". "Not half as much as you like crying", Nelly snaps coldly. Her reaction to Isabella's degradation reveals the shock at something even her calculating mind could not have conceived. It also reveals genuine sadness at Isabella's condition.

There is no eroticism or romance in Wuthering Heights. I laughed at the sex montage. The people behind me were also laughing when Heathcliff takes Isabella on the dining room table. I will concede that I have not read Wuthering Heights. It has a lofty reputation. I do not, however, imagine that the 2026 film adaptation will achieve that same lofty reputation. 

Who knew Emily Bronte was such a super freak? 

DECISION: F

First a Girl: A Review (Review #2080)

FIRST A GIRL

It is a curious thing that sandwiched between the original German comedy Viktor und Victoria and the 1982 American remake Victor/Victoria there is another English-language remake that is all but forgotten now. First a Girl is a surprising and undiscovered treat. It is a jolly, charming little film that comes close to equaling the better-known Julie Andrews film. 

Aspiring theater actress Elizabeth (Jessie Matthews) simply cannot find her big break. She is down to her last farthing when she encounters Victor (Sonnie Hale). He is a Shakespearean actor of the first order. He also has a drag act to keep body and soul together. Both are caught in a major rainstorm. For their troubles, Elizabeth gets her clothes shrunk and Victor gets laryngitis. It couldn't come at a worse time, as Victor just got a last-minute booking for his drag alter ego, Victoria.

In desperation, Elizabeth agrees to fill in for Victor as "Victoria". As "Victoria", Elizabeth is a rousing success. So much so that major theatrical impresario McClintock (Alfred Drayton) caught "Victoria's" act and wants to hire her immediately for a European tour. "Victoria's" agent Victor quickly agrees. Elizabeth, who now has to go by "Bill", is horrified at the thought of being a female impersonator. However, the lure of the stage quickly wins her over.

"Victoria" is a hit. She also astounds audiences when she removes her wig and reveals that she is a man. One person who is not thrilled is Robert (Griffith Jones). He is something of a Lothario who has ensnared or been ensnared by Princess Helen (Anna Lee). Robert is deeply embarrassed when he apparently found himself attracted to a drag queen. However, something about "Bill" seems off, almost distinctly feminine. Could Victoria really be a woman? Robert, and later the Princess, both begin suspecting as such.

Things get complicated when the real Victor falls for the Princess, or at least the chance to have an angel fund his Shakespearean efforts. Elizabeth for her part has fallen for the handsome Robert. Efforts to unmask "Bill" fail, but eventually Robert and the Princess separately find out about the female impersonator being female. Will Victor/Victoria be exposed? Will our two couples manage to stumble into each other at the end?

What surprised me about First a Girl is just how good its musical numbers were. One does not think of British cinema having the capability of big, splashy musicals like their American cousins. First a Girl makes a case that the British could make big, elaborate musicals that could match those from a Busby Berkeley. The opening number set in on a stage is a big number or numbers really. You have the stage show countered with Jessie Matthews' Elizabeth and her hatcheck girls doing their own version. Another number, I Can Wiggle My Ears, is also incredibly filmed and choreographed. 

I Can Wiggle My Ears is ostensibly a floor show at the nightclub that the four characters go to after "Victoria's" debut. As filmed by director Victor Saville, the number is wildly inventive. You have the chorus girls appear and disappear almost in a mirror-like manner. An earlier number, It's Written All Over Your Face, is a nice English music hall presentation. It is funny and clever and altogether charming.

First a Girl is a wonderful way to discover the charms of Jessie Matthews. She is an absolute standout as Elizabeth/Victoria. Matthews has a large, expressive face that is charming and beautiful. She in the film gave a fully rounded performance. Matthews excels in the musical numbers. No matter how big or small they are, Matthews is never overwhelmed or diminished in them. She also handles the comedy very well.

There is a long scene where Robert, Victor and "Bill" have to share a room. Robert, convinced that "Bill" is really a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman, tries to get everyone ready for bed by undressing. That also means that two of them will have to share a bed. Elizabeth/Bill does not want to do either. Matthews' manner of escaping this delicate situation is played with great humor. Credit to Marjorie Gaffney's adaptation to keep things going for as long as they could.

Matthews also did have a wonderful sense of drama when confessing her gender and love for Robert to the Princess. In every way possible, be it singing, dancing or acting, Jessie Matthews was top notch. It is, to be fair, a bit ludicrous to think anyone would be fooled by "Bill". However, we go along with this.

One is never quite sure what to think of Sonnie Hale's Victor. He could be comical, such as in a montage where he attempts to recite various bits of Shakespeare to an uninterested director, mistaking the director's comments to an aide as acting direction. He could also be ruthless, like when he pushed to downright bullied Elizabeth into one odd situation to another.

He was also supposed to be smitten with the Princess. However, sometimes he seemed to suggest that Victor was gay. He did enjoy the drag a bit too much. His love scenes with Anna Lee's Princess seemed a bit curious. It was not completely unrealistic that Victor and the Princess would eventually be coupled. It did, however, look a bit peculiar.

The same could be said about Lee's Princess. I think she was meant to be something of a villain, the figure who would keep Elizabeth and Robert apart. However, she also seemed to be if not smitten at least amused by Victor. It was a bit curious. Griffith Jones' Robert was handsome. He also gave a good performance overall as the hoodwinked Robert. He had a good way with humorous lines. After being jokingly reprimanded for falling for "Victoria", Robert sneered at seeing her again. The Princess told Robert that he should think of Victoria as successful for coming across as a marvelous girl. "I dislike men who make marvelous girls", he tells the Princess. Later, "Bill" attempts to pass himself off as a man. "Bill" claims to know a lot about women. "I'll bet there's nothing about women you don't know", he replies.

First a Girl has as stated some wonderful musical numbers. They are full of energy, sometimes frenetically so. The film moves mostly well and has a lot of nice comical touches. "What do you want?", Victor whispers to Elizabeth just before she hits the stage as "Victoria". Her reply? "I want to be sick". With great musical numbers and a delightful performance from Jessie Matthews, the musical First a Girl is a film that should be better known. It is a nice romp, one that delights in literally winking at the audience.

DECISION: B-

Victor/Victoria: A Review (Review #2079)

VICTOR/VICTORIA

Gender benders never came as frothy as Victor/Victoria. The second remake of the German comedy Vicktor und Victoria, this adaptation has a wonderful songbook and strong performances that elevate it to a delightful musical comedy.

Paris, 1934. Openly gay cabaret singer Carrol Todd or Toddy (Robert Preston) is having romantic issues with a handsome but sleazy lover. He also sees chanteuse Victoria Grant (Julie Andrews) audition at Chez Lui, where Toddy is the headliner. Chez Lui's owner Labisse (Peter Arne) is totally unimpressed despite her vocal range. Victoria is at the end of her rope, going so far as to offer to sleep with her hotelier for a meatball.

Things take a great turn when Victoria and Toddy reunite at a restaurant. Circumstances force them to spend the night together. In the morning, Toddy's lover returns and is shocked to find a "man" in the closet. Toddy then hits on a brilliant idea. He will pass Victoria off as Count Victor Grazinski, a gay Polish aristocrat who is also the world's greatest female impersonator. Victoria scoffs at the idea of a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. Nevertheless, they manage to fool Andre Cassell (John Rhys-Davies), Paris' premiere talent agent.

Now hired at a chic club, "Victor" fools everyone into buying this drag act. Everyone except Chicago nightclub owner King Marchand (James Garner). He is convinced that "Victor" is really a woman. At first, Marchand's moll Norma Cassady (Leslie Ann Warren) is bemused by the apparent mistaken identity. Marchand, however, is not. Norma's violent nature at being scoffed is such that Marchand forces her to return to Chicago. 

Eventually, King does confirm that Victor is a woman. He and Victoria soon become lovers. The deception about "Victor" is such that Marchand's bodyguard, Squash Bernstein (Alex Karras) finds the courage to come out as gay to Marchand. Norma, still bitter about getting dumped, starts performing at a Chicago club. She also tells Marchand's gangster partner Sal Andretti (Norman Chancer) about King and "Victor". 

Soon, one other person starts doubting the Count Victor Grazinski routine. Labisse is still miffed that Toddy has caused not one but two riots at Chez Lui. He goes to the club and becomes convinced that Count Victor Grazinski is really Victoria Grant. He is determined to unmask this fraud. Andretti for his part is determined to take over King's club. Will Victor be unmasked? 

Victor/Victoria has a very pleasant and amusing manner for most of its admittedly long runtime. A lot of Victor/Victoria is really farce and everyone plays it as such. Of particular note is the scene where Marchand breaks into Toddy and Victoria's hotel suite. He is determined to confirm his suspicions that Victor is really Victoria. This also involves Squash finding himself outside in the Paris snow, freezing as he tries to break back in.

There is also another section where Norma continues to rant despite no one being able to hear her. This brief moment concludes with her opening her coat, revealing her undergarments. That in turn causes a poor traveler to fall off the platform, astounded at the sight. 

The movie is blessed from strong performances from the cast. Julie Andrews had been working hard to move her image past that of the sugary-sweet Mary Poppins and Maria von Trapp. She had done so when she famously revealed her bosom in S.O.B. Now, she is playing a female drag queen. Andrews keeps a deft balance between the farcical and the serious. Her desperation at offering sex for a meatball is well-played. She also has wonderful monologues about being able to see things from a different view. I think she puts it as being her own man so to speak. 

She rightly earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination. Joining her in receiving recognition were Robert Preston and Leslie Ann Warren. Preston was delightful as the quippy Toddy, instigator of this wild scheme. I do not know if it is right to use the term "flamboyant" when it comes to Preston's performance. He is appropriately effeminate at times. However, he is also not a mincing caricature. Preston is broad, but he also plays Toddy as someone who is enjoying all this. 

Warren for her part is delightful as the dimwitted moll who finds herself duped over and over again. She and Preston have a great scene when she discovers that Toddy is gay. "You know, I think that the right woman can reform you", she coos. "You know, I think the right woman can reform you too!" Todd replies amusingly. There is such a great interplay between them here. Warren knows to play this broad as broadly as she can. 

Alex Karras, former football star, does quite well as Squash, the tough bodyguard who comes out. In his smaller role, John Rhys-Davies also did well as Andre Cassell, the talent agent who was duped. My surprise is that James Garner did not receive recognition for his turn as King Marchand. Yes, he was the straight man so to speak in this farce. However, Garner is the key to sell the wild premise. He was not fooled by Victor's drag act. And yet, it took time to prove he was right. That initial doubt, that sense of keeping a straight face amidst all the craziness around him is a hard task. James Garner did it quite well.

A musical lives or dies by its numbers. Victor/Victoria does two things right thanks to Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse's Oscar-winning Original Song Score Adaptation. First, they crafted music that fit the situation or mood. The opening and closing music, an instrumental version of the film's song Crazy World, gives it a mix of romantic and melancholy. Its use of an accordion added a touch of French taste. Pretty much each song moved the story forward without having the characters break out into song (all the numbers taking place on a stage).

Todd's opening number Gay Paree works on two levels. It can be about the underground flamboyant gay world in the City of Lights. It can also be about his life and his unapologetic nature. The big musical number is Victoria's nightclub debut of Le Jazz Hot! which is splashy and energetic. This might be the only number that may not reflect the story's situation. However, I will not argue against anyone that can find a meaning with it. 

Toddy and Victoria have a smaller duet in You and Me, which again works on two levels. It could be a casual song about finding the ideal partner. It could also be about what a wonderful pair they make in their friendship and deception. For me, the standout number is not big or splashy. Crazy World, directed by screenwriter Blake Edwards, keeps thing simple. Everything in the Crazy World number works brilliantly. You have the Mancini/Bricusse music. You have Julie Andrews' beautiful voice carrying it. She is full command here, being vocally strong or weak when needed. The camera does a complete circle around her, keeping things focused on Andrews and the song. For me, Crazy World is the best song in Victor/Victoria. It is a shame that few people remember it the way that they do with something like Le Jazz Hot! or the clever and amusing Shady Dame from Seville. 

The hilarious Shady Dame from Seville reprise is one of two numbers that Andrews does not sing (though she did the first time). Chicago, Illinois is sung by Norma when she is back home entertaining at King's club. Both these numbers are clever and amusing. The Shady Dame from Seville reprise will have you laughing. It will also make the long performance of the first version slightly more tolerable in retrospect. Chicago, Illinois is charming and witty. "Smack on the lake, this is the report! Someday they say we'll have an airport" is a hilarious lyric given the future that awaits Chi-town with O'Hare. 

The film only starts falling off at the end. I think Edwards could not figure out a way to land the ending. Labisse is coming with the police to prove that Victor is really a woman. There is no real explanation how Cassell, who up to this point had been duped, suddenly went along with keeping up the fraud. I figure that he had both his reputation and his career to think of. However, whether he was once more fooled or Toddy and Victoria had to suddenly confess, we do not know. I also think all the sight gags involving private detective Charles Bovin (Herb Tanney, billed as "Sherloque Tanney") fell flat. Each of them was too much slapstick. Finally, a quick scene of Bovin and Labisse was jarringly cut into the Shady Dame from Seville reprise. I think that was a mistake.

Victor/Victoria, minus the jumbled ending, still holds up as an amusing farce with some wonderful songs. Well-acted, written and directed, oh how I love this Crazy World too.

DECISION: B+