Show Boat (1936): A Review (Review #2035)

SHOW BOAT (1936)

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Irene Dunne.

I believe that there are at least two Broadway musicals that changed the musical theater. One of them is Oklahoma! where the story was as important as the singing and dancing. I think that Show Boat was the other. It too blended songs with plot but also tackled serious subjects like racism and miscegenation when musicals were seen as lighthearted confections. This second adaptation of the Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein musical is a strong, beautiful adaptation with fine performances. It also has one moment that will probably shock modern audiences but which accurately albeit sadly reflect both the times it was set and made.

The Cotton Palace riverboat comes down the Mississippi to bring entertainment to the various communities on the river. Captain Andy Hawks (Charles Winninger) has brought a cavalcade of stars to sing, dance and act for audiences white and black. His wife Parthy (Helen Westley) is not keen on Andy giving townsfolk so many "free samples" of the various entertainments aboard the Cotton Palace. She is even less keen on her daughter Magnolia (Irene Dunne) being BFF with the main female performer, Julie LaVerne (Helen Morgan), the Little Sweetheart of the South. 

As it stands, Julie is keeping a secret, which is revealed when jealous crewman Pete (Arthur Hohl) goes to the local sheriff. Julie is biracial, passing for white and married to her white leading man, Steve Baker (Donald Cook). Steve will not leave Julie even though he married her knowing that she was half-black. This leaves the Cotton Palace in a jam. Very reluctantly, Parthy goes along with the idea to make Magnolia's theatrical dreams come true.

Joining her in those aspirations is charming gambler Gaylord Ravenal (Allan Jones), who becomes the new idol of wide-eyed theatrical patrons. Magnolia and Gaylord fall in love and eventually move away to Chicago. Gay's gambling starts out strong, affording them a nice life. However, like all gambler's lucky streaks, it ends. Feeling shame, Gay moves away, unaware that Magnolia is with child. She now has to rebuild her life, aided by former Cotton Palace hoofers Frank Schultz (Sammy White) and Ellie May Chipley (Queenie Smith). Also commenting from time to time are the "Negro" crew, husband and wife Joe (Paul Robeson) and Queenie (Hattie McDaniel). Will Magnolia and Gaylord reunite in the end, or will Old Man River just keep rolling along? 

I think I should start by getting what I figure will be the most controversial part of Show Boat out of the way. Late in the film, there is a musical number which was added to the film adaptation. Gallavantin' Aroun' is performed in blackface. If one is not prepared for such a moment (and to be honest, I doubt anyone who saw the 1951 version would know of it), the sight of Irene Dunne and her fellow performers painted up that way would shock, perhaps anger. 

As a side note, Show Boat has black audience members watching this number from the segregated balcony seats. I can only imagine what the black extras must have thought at the sight of this spectacle.

I in no way condone blackface. I think thought that viewers should keep some things in perspective. Blackface was sadly an acceptable entertainment style both for when Show Boat is set as well as in 1936. Mercifully, such practices were slowly fading out. I also think that under director James Whale, Show Boat gave some dignity to the two main black actors. Paul Robeson and Hattie McDaniel have a great duet in Ah Still Suits Me, another addition for the film adaptation. Their characters are treated with more respect than other black characters in movies from the era. 

McDaniel's Queenie even manages to put Pete in his place early in the film. Pete, who has been pursuing Julie despite knowing her racial background, notices that Queenie has a new piece of jewelry. He asks her where she got it. "It was a gift to me," Queenie coyly says. "Who gave it to you?" Pete barks. Queenie slyly replies, "Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies," laughing as she walks away. 

McDaniel and Robeson in Show Boat did something that few black actors at the time were allowed to do, which was to play fully formed characters. Joe and Queenie were a loving couple whose relationship was a subplot, again rare for the time. They were also full participants in some of the musical numbers. Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man has three women singing sections of the song: Dunne, Morgan and McDaniel. In a way, this puts McDaniel on equal pairing with her white counterparts.

Robeson has perhaps the standout musical number in Show Boat: Old Man River. I think Robeson's rendition of Old Man River is the definitive version, deep, resonant and filled with that sense of despair that the lyrics call for. Director James Whale did something quite extraordinary in Old Man River. He first does a full 360-degree turn of the camera to Robeson's singing. He then shows the lyrics on screen. When he sings "Tote that barge!", we see the crew toting that barge. When he sings "Lift that bale!", we see Robeson struggling with the weight of the bale on his back. "Get a little drunk" shows him stumbling out of a saloon. "And you land in jail" shows him and others behind bars. It is an exceptionally filmed sequence. I think it is very rare in film when we see the lyrics literally play out before us. Whale was highly creative in his filming.

Irene Dunne is beautiful and charming as Magnolia. She handled the musical moments well, making Magnolia a sweet and delightful young woman who eventually ages to a grande dame of the theater. Her final scene with Allan Jones while the next generation takes to the stage is deeply moving. Dunne balances the singing and acting. While I found her tones a bit operatic, they were also casual, and she kept a good Southern drawl.

Helen Morgan had created the role of the tragic Julie in the original Broadway production and recreated her performance for this film adaptation. Morgan's personal problems plagued her life, which is why Show Boat was her final film, dying five years later. I was moved by her performance as Julie, a woman who finds in Magnolia a sister and confidant whom fate allows her to help secretly. Helen Westley and Charles Winninger were delightful as Parthy and Captain Andy, a couple that bickered but showed genuine love between them.

If there is a weakness in Show Boat, it is in Allan Jones as the rakish Gaylord Ravenal. I did not think that he was either attractive or charming enough for the role. He sang well, but he seemed a bit nondescript for the character. 

Show Boat has moments of tenderness and even moments of humor. During a performance of a melodrama, we see Elly May's malapropisms where she claimed to have been plucked by a passing mule when she meant "male". In the same scene, an audience member threatens to shoot down the actor playing the villain for his evil on-stage actions, forcing the poor actor to flee for his life.

Show Boat is a well-acted, well-crafted film. The unfortunate blackface number aside, Show Boat is a film that entertains and showcases some great talents in Irene Dunne, Paul Robeson and Hattie McDaniel. This is a Show Boat that will sail for years to come.

DECISION: A-

The Horn Blows at Midnight: A Review

THE HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Alexis Smith.

It might be the end of the world as we know it, but no one feels fine in The Horn Blows at Midnight. A star vehicle for Jack Benny, The Horn Blows at Midnight has a good concept but is played too broadly for it to reach its potential.

An unsuccessful trumpeter (Benny) finds that the radio house band that he plays with is somewhat beneath his talents. His bandmate, harpist Elizabeth (Alexis Smith) does her best to perk him up but also endures the grandiose ideas of "the artist", who literally keeps hitting wrong notes during rehearsals before the radio show goes live. The radio show is sponsored by Paradise Coffee, which promises the listener to send him to sleep.

That's the trouble, as the soft narration does cause the trumpeter to nod off and begin to dream. Now, he is Athanael, an angel in the heavenly host. Here too in Heaven 1945-1946, Athanael is not particularly good. Despite his lack of skills, Athanael has an ally in the Department of Small Planet Management office. That is the angel Elizabeth (Smith again), who is sweet on Athanael. The department head or Chief (Guy Kibbee) has given Athanael a major assignment. The Boss has decided that Planet 339001 has to get destroyed. The creatures of this planet, also known as Earth, have gotten out of hand. Athanael is to blow the first four notes of the Judgment Day Overture, signaling the end of the world. He must do so at exactly midnight, not a minute before or after.

Landing at the Hotel Universe, Athaneal blows not his horn but his chance. Pretty cigarette girl Fran Blackstone (Dolores Moran) is also on the roof, about to commit suicide. Athaneal's bumbling has foiled an attempted robbery by debonair thief Archie Dexter (Reginald Gardiner), for which Archie blames Fran. His bumbling also saves her life, but he misses his cue. 

Two beings thrilled that the world did not end are renegade angels Osidro (Allyn Joslyn) and Doremus (John Alexander). These two fallen angels have gone native long ago and hoodwink fellow angel Athaneal into thinking that they will show him the ropes. As he has failed in his mission, Athanael is now himself a fallen angel, a most reluctant one. Elizabeth pleads with the Chief to give Athaneal a second chance to blow his horn. He agrees, but it won't be easy. Osidro and Doremus are working feverishly to prevent Athaneal from completing his mission. They get Dexter and Fran to steal the trumpet, which Athaneal barely recovered. Will Athaneal manage to blow the world with his trumpet playing or will he wake up from his heavenly slumber?

I do not want to say that The Horn Blows at Midnight blew its chance to be funny. I think though that it was probably not the best idea to wrap a comedy around the end of the world. The film premiered shortly before the end of the Second World War. The nation had gone through a lot, seen a lot, endured a lot. All that misery and death came before the full horror of the Final Solution became widely known. As such, I do not understand who decided that a comedy about the world ending was what the public wanted to see. 

Perhaps in different hands, Sam Hellman and James V. Kern's screenplay might have worked. Strange as it sounds, director Raoul Walsh was not those hands. There was something rather forced about the h humor, as if everyone behaved as those all this was funny but knew that it wasn't. The best way for me to phrase it is that things were broad. There was no real buildup to, for example, Osidro and Doremus. We hear about fallen angels, but these two were just there. Efforts at humor mostly fell flat. When the hotel security confronts Dexter about the missing elevator, he asks if he's getting blamed for it. Dexter says he did not steal the elevator, though he did steal Whistler's Mother. 

The broadness continues when Fran, in part of the plot to steal Athaneal's trumpet, attempts to "seduce" him. As played by Moran and Benny, they know that it is supposed to be funny. They just did not make it funny. Worse, The Horn Blows at Midnight seems to have stolen a line from the Marx Brothers. As Fran demands that Athaneal hold her closer, he replies, "If I got any closer, I'd be standing behind you". That bit was heard in the 1937 film A Day at the Races. 

To be fair, there were a few moments of cleverness in The Horn Blows at Midnight. In that same seduction scene, Fran tells Athaneal, "Can't you see what my eyes are saying?". "Yes", he replies, "and you ought to watch your language". When Osidro and Doremus spy Elizabeth, they instantly know that she too is an angel. They quickly put together that she is there to help Athaneal. When one of them asks if that is what Elizabeth came to do, the other replies, "She didn't come down to pitch for the Brooklyn Dodgers". 

Another thing that weakens The Horn Blows at Midnight is the casting. Jack Benny is a comedic genius, but his genius lies in his persona. You do not see Athaneal, well-meaning but bumbling angel while watching. You see Jack Benny, ham actor who is in on the joke. His voice, his delivery, his asides mannerisms are all from his radio and television show. It is pretty hard to separate the Jack Benny persona of the cheap, vain man when he is meant to be a different character. 

Jack Benny would spend years mocking The Horn Blows at Midnight, using it as a punchline. He would have done better to have spent some of those pennies to buy up and burn every copy. I think everyone else did as good as they could with the material they had. Gardiner and Kibbee probably did the best as the sophisticated thief and the gruff but loveable Small Departments Chief. I wonder if a different movie, where Athaneal and Elizabeth have to stop Dexter from stealing the Horn of the Last Judgement would have worked better. 

Alexis Smith, I think, did her best. I also think that her heart was not in the project. She at times looked genuinely frustrated at having to play second harp to Benny. Try as she might, Smith could not convince me that she was wild about Benny. If there is anything good here, it is the sadly brief sight of Marx Brothers foil Margaret Dumont early on, attempting an operatic number while still being a bit of a diva. 

I think that there is a story rattling somewhere in The Horn Blows at Midnight. The film might be worth a remake in better hands. Angels we have heard on high, but few will want to sing the praises of The Horn Blows at Midnight. 

DECISION: D+

There's No Business Like Show Business: A Review

THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Donald O'Connor.

Long before the concept of a jukebox musical came into prominence, There's No Business Like Show Business took the idea of building a whole story on a songbook to create an entertaining film. With a massive number of Irving Berlin's songs and some surprisingly solid performances, There's No Business Like Show Business makes for enjoyable viewing.

With some voiceover by Terry Donahue (Dan Dailey) and his wife Molly (Ethel Merman), we learn that they are old-school vaudevillians of some renown. They go from just The Donahues to The Three Donahues and then ultimately the Five Donahues. Molly loves show business, but she also is unhappy to make their two sons and one daughter travel up and down the vaudeville circuit. Terry is fine with his kids being young hoofers, but eventually Molly gets her way, and the kids go to Catholic school.

When they grow up, the kids do literally get in on the act. The youngest, Tim (Donald O'Connor) proves himself a double threat, able to sing and dance. The oldest, Steve (Johnnie Ray) was not a dancer but could sell a song. Their daughter, Katy (Mitzi Gaynor) was more a dancer than a singer, but could easily carry a tune. While they carved out respectable careers, the kids were also working to be their own beings.

Steve is the biggest rebel, shocking the family by joining the Catholic priesthood. Tim for his part, is a Lothario, squiring pretty showgirls all over town. Katy is the opposite, working to keep the wolves at bay. Tim in particular comes to butt heads with hat-check girl Victoria Hoffman (Marilyn Monroe). He flirts with her, but no dice. She is focused on a stage career more than on some two-bit hoofer. She does start making waves. She also, despite herself, starts falling for Tim.

Molly and Terry are not pleased by a lot of their kids' decisions. Molly especially dislikes the now-Victoria Parker. She sees Victoria as some designing woman plotting to steal their material for her own act. As their lives and careers go through ebbs and flows, the Donahues find themselves both on the welcoming and receiving end of showbiz. Will Tim and Victoria get together or will he self-destruct? Will the Five Donahues ultimately come together, or will they be short a member? Is it possible that they might actually end up with more than Five Donahues at the end? 

There's No Business Like Show Business is not plot-heavy. It is a very simple story. However, it has many qualities that enhance the viewing. At the top of that list is the Irving Berlin songbook. There's No Business Like Show Business manages to squeeze in about sixteen Berlin songs into the film. Curiously, all but one or two are performed on a stage. Puttin' on the Ritz is heard at a dance hall for restaurant patrons. A Man Chases a Girl (Until She Catches Him) is the only number that can be called a musical number. Here, the song does express a character's feeling, if not push the plot forward.

It is also a rare solo number for Donald O'Connor. I think Johnnie Ray got more solo numbers (If You Believe and a section of the first rendition of Alexander's Ragtime Band where he sings at a piano). In that long Alexander's Ragtime Band number, O'Connor does have his own section where he performs the song as if he were Scottish, down to the bagpipes playing and him in a kilt. I guess that I am wrong about O'Connor not having a specific musical showcase for himself, but I digress.

The veteran hoofer dances with statues and up on the roof. He even "hears" Monroe's voice accompanying him (though she does not appear dancing with O'Connor here). It is probably the rare moment in There's No Business Like Show Business where director Walter Lang showed a moment of imagination in the musical staging. This is a very strong number. Donald O'Connor has incredible physical dexterity in his dancing. He uses his whole body, even throwing in a little bit of bouncing off the walls. 

Every other song is performed on a stage. In fairness, If You Believe and a reprise of When the Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves for Alabam is performed at Steve's farewell party before he heads off to seminary. One does have to give screenwriters Phoebe and Henry Ephron credit in how they snuck in Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee as a radio commercial jingle. In the When the Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves for Alabam number, O'Connor and Gaynor do solid imitations of Dailey and Merman. 

I think that There's No Business Like Show Business does give some of the actors a chance to showcase their musical range. While she is billed third after Merman and O'Connor, the film is pretty much a Marilyn Monroe film. She does not appear until almost half an hour into There's No Business Like Show Business. However, we see in the entirety of Monroe's performance some wonderful musical moments. There is Heat Wave, where she is appropriately sultry without being sleazy. There is also the sly Lazy number, where she shares the screen with O'Connor and Gaynor. Here, she is fun and flirtatious and quite charming.

The curious thing is that in the film, Monroe also gets a chance to show some dramatic range. Near the end of the film, she and Tim are having a fight. Monroe has a strong monologue where she talks about how. unlike Tim, she did not grow up in a vaudeville family. As such, she has had to struggle and fight for the success that she has. He, too drunk and arrogant to listen, suggests in a subtle but definite way that she essentially is using her feminine wiles to get ahead in showbusiness. This naturally angers her.

We see two Marilyn Monroes in the film. The beginning has her speaking with the stereotypical breathy voice, which she attributes to her vocal coach. When they reunite in Florida, Monroe's voice and manners are stronger, more confidant. Her character has gone through a change from Victoria Hoffman to Victoria Parker. Monroe brought about that sense of confidence. She even managed to show the intelligence behind her character. Pleading with Tim to let her use the Heat Wave number that Molly had planned to use, we end that scene with the band leader calling her the new champion, holding her hand as a boxer who has won his bout would.

Mitzi Gaynor is a human dynamo in There's No Business Like Show Business. She leaps about with wild abandon, exuberant and joyful. She is delightful and adorable in A Sailor is Not a Sailor, playing off well against the bombast of Ethel Merman. She can also handle the dramatic moments well, such as when she reunites with her long-lost brother. 

Donald O'Connor was surprisingly strong in the dramatic moments. Of special note is when he has a confrontation with his father that leads to a shocking slap. He also has those scenes with Monroe, where he plays some comedy in his efforts to woo her. However, when he makes a vague suggestion that Victoria has slept her way to the top, we see a hurt man lashing out. 

Ethel Merman never became the star on film that she was on Broadway. She still kept her big, brassy manner in There's No Business Like Show Business when singing, projecting to the back row in Poughkeepsie. To be fair, Merman was also able to handle much of the dramatic moments in a softer manner. I did not think much of Dailey, whose musical and dramatic style did not rise to where Monroe, O'Connor, Gaynor or even Merman were.

Perhaps the worst was, as the song goes, poor old Johnnie Ray. Part of me thinks that he was made into a priest as a way to get him out of the story. The film is open about how he was not a dancer. Ray did not dance much and certainly not alone as O'Connor and Gaynor did. His singing was not terrible, but he was a bit weak all around. He was miscast and probably the weakest part of the film.

On the whole, though, I was surprised at how entertained I was with There's No Business Like Show Business. It is splashy and bright, almost choking with Irving Berlin songs that almost always go well. Let's go on with the show indeed.

DECISION: B+

Strait-Jacket: A Review

STRAIT-JACKET

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Joan Crawford.

One of the many infamous moments in Mommie Dearest is when Joan Crawford screams out to her adopted daughter, "TINA! BRING ME THE AX!" Crawford then proceeds to chop down a tree in her garden, swinging the ax with crazed frenzy while wearing an elegant evening gown. While this moment has been parodied and become a joke, there was a film where Joan Crawford did swing an ax with crazed frenzy. Strait-Jacket will entertain the viewer, though whether it is in a camp manner or not depends on said viewer.

Lucy Harbin (Crawford) comes home early to discover her husband Frank (Lee Majors) in bed with his ex-girlfriend, Stella Fulton (Patricia Crest). Lucy is shocked and devastated by this discovery. She does what any other woman would do in this situation: she stumbles onto an ax and hacks them to death. The so-called "Love Slayer" is found to be insane and for the next twenty years is locked up in the booby hatch.

Making things worse is that Lucy and Frank's daughter Carol saw both the liaison and the ax murders. Now, the adult Carol (Diane Baker) has revealed the truth about her bonkers mother to her boyfriend, Michael Fields (John Anthony Hayes). Why has Carol revealed all now? Simple. Lucy has finally been released from the funny farm and will be living on a real farm. She will stay with Carol, who has been living with Lucy's brother Bill (Leif Erikson) and his wife Emily (Rochelle Hudson). 

Lucy is uncertain and afraid of the outside world. Carol, however, is understanding and patient, welcoming her mother back to life. They go shopping and appear to start bonding. However, Lucy begins having terrifying dreams and hears childish taunts about her ax-murdering days (we'll leave aside for the moment her oddball flirtation with Michael). A visit from the hospital psychiatrist appears to push Lucy over the edge. It also pushes the psychiatrist into being the first person literally axed out.

Could Lucy have returned to her whacking days? Carol fears that her mother has gone all loony again. Less afraid is farmhand Leo Krause (George Kennedy), but he too gets cut out of things. Has Lucy gone loca? Who is behind these new killings? The answer proves shocking.

I admire films that do not pretend to be anything other than a good time. Strait-Jacket is such a film. This is a slasher film with bits of humor. The credit for such a curious blend belongs to three figures behind the film. The first is Robert Bloch, who wrote the screenplay. The man who wrote the novel Psycho gave us an interesting story of a woman driven insane who may be driven insane again.

As a side note, I like the title Insane Again for this stab at the "hagsploitation" or "Grande Dame Guignol" genre. 

We get nice twists and turns as the story rolls on. There are bits of sly humor, such as when Leo thinks that he is getting attacked but is really hit by clothes on the clothesline. One line in the opening section does come across as I presume unintentionally funny. In Carol's voiceover, she says of her mother, "She was very much a woman, and very much aware of it". That particular line seems more suited to a noir film than a psycho-biddy film. It does not help that Joan Crawford appears to make a valiant but ultimately unhinged effort to try and pass herself off as a woman in her twenties. 

The plot is not perfect. If one looks at Strait-Jacket, there are parts that do not make sense. For example, Lucy hears the Lizzie Borden children's rhyme; instead of "Lizzie Borden took an ax, gave her mother forty whacks" it's "Lucy Harbin took an ax, gave her husband forty whacks". We learn that this was a recording as part of the plot to drive her bonkers. However, Strait-Jacket shows two little girls playing jump rope outside the store where Lucy hears this taunting rhyme. They begin singing it to her. They even throw in a second rhyme, "Take the key and lock her up, my fair lady" that only Lucy can hear. Those two elements could not have been part of the master plan. That came from Lucy. 

I figure that this might have been a bit of misdirection from the second figure behind Strait-Jacket: director William Castle. Castle, a man not averse to cheap gimmicks to promote and make his films, showed some surprising touches in Strait-Jacket. There is a wonderful shot of Kennedy's Krause looking at slaughtered pigs that seems a bit of foreshadowing. He also did his best to shoot Crawford in literally the most flattering light. 

We still have some oddball moments that show how Castle was more showman than auteur. The actual killings look comical and extremely fake. 

It is unknown if slipping into the film a shot of a Pepsi pack, which Crawford heavily promoted while married to its head Alfred Steele, was a Castle promotional stunt.

The third and perhaps strongest element in making Strait-Jacket enjoyable is that formidable force known as Joan Crawford. I once heard someone remark that Crawford played Strait-Jacket as if it were Mildred Pierce except with an ax. The thing about Crawford is that she never cheated on a performance. She never winked at the camera. She always took whatever material she was given seriously. It did not matter how awful the film was. It did not matter how outlandish the material was. She always played things seriously.

You can see that in some of her other post-What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? films. If you stumble onto something like Berserk! or Trog, Joan Crawford took the same professional tone there that she did here. I would argue that Joan Crawford was actually quite good in Strait-Jacket. She made Lucy into a sympathetic figure, a woman attempting to keep her sanity even as it teeters dangerously close to collapsing. She and Diane Baker have a wonderful chemistry, with their scenes being a highlight of the film. In her at times crazed defense of Carol to her prospective in-laws and genuine sadness at the end, Joan Crawford does a standout job.

The part where she openly flirts with Michael is so bizarre, but again, bless Crawford for trying.

There is granted, one element in Crawford's performance that is simply too impossible to ignore. In the early section, her vanity got the best of her. There is no way that Joan Crawford, who was anywhere from 56 to 60 years old when Strait-Jacket was released, could pass for a woman in her forties. I'm not sure that she was supposed to be in her sixties for the bulk of Strait-Jacket. Her character may have technically been in her forties given that Carol was supposed to be in her early twenties. Crawford does look too old for any of this to make sense. However, I find it oddly brave of her to even try.

In terms of the acting, I think Castle did a serviceable job directing his cast. Diana Baker did a very respectable job as Carol. Baker made Carol into a woman torn between loving and hating her mother. Sometimes, she shows a very sympathetic and protective side. Other times, her hostility and anger come through. This film is an early role for George Kennedy as the loutish farmhand. He is delightfully despicable as Leo Krause, taunting Carol by calling Lucy a loony. It is to where one enjoys him getting his comeuppance.

One should give Castle credit for directing Mitchell Cox as Dr. Anderson, the psychiatrist who literally gets the chop. Why? Cox was not an actor. He was a Pepsi executive who got this role in Strait-Jacket due to Crawford's connections to Pepsi. He was clearly not an actor, but he did not embarrass himself either. 

The film has a very effective score from Van Alexander, part spooky part dramatic. There are also some wonderful close-ups of Crawford, a credit to cinematographer Arthur Arling. 

One final note about Strait-Jacket. In both Strait-Jacket and Mommie Dearest, we see Joan Crawford wielding an ax in a crazed manner. We also see in both films a scene where the male partner's heads are cut out of pictures. I do not offer anything other than an observation on how there are similarities in both stories. 

Slightly campy, slightly creepy, Strait-Jacket balances genuine thrills with a bit of amusement. The film has a strong and committed Joan Crawford performance (one that is perhaps too committed to the material). I am always entertained by Strait-Jacket, even it is a bit second-rate. It is, however, a cut above her later work. 

DECISION: B-

The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner. A Review

THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG-DISTANCE RUNNER

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Tom Courtenay.

There was a time in British cinema where "the angry young man" dominated. These tales of working-class alienation and despair were prominent with such films as Look Back in Anger and Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. Even Sir Laurence Olivier got into the act with The Entertainer. Another film entry into the kitchen sink drama is The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner. This is an absolutely brilliant film, with a standout performance by Tom Courtenay as our antihero.

Young Colin Smith (Courtenay) has been sent to Ruxton Towers, a youth detention center (what is called a borstal in Britain) after having been found guilty of breaking into a bakery and stealing money. Here, Smith is at most indifferent to things, at most hostile to the people around him. He has one standout quality: Colin is an excellent athlete.

This piques the attention of the borstal Governor (Michael Redgrave). Ruxton Towers will have the chance to compete in an athletic tournament with the posh Ranley School. The Governor is sure that Smith will defeat Ranley in long-distance running. Smith does have great skill in this event and soon gets the priviledge of running through the nearby fields unaccompanied. As he runs, Colin has the chance to reflect on his life prior to Ruxton Towers.

He remembers his father's death and how his mother (Avis Bunnage) spends his father's life insurance money on needless luxuries such as a television and a fur coat. He also sees Mrs. Smith bring in Gordon (Charles Dyer), her new lover to live at the home with Colin and his younger siblings. He remembers his best mate Mike (James Bolam) and the scrapes that they got into together. He remembers Audrey (Topsy Jane), his first love and first lover. He also thinks about what the future holds for Colin Smith. He remembers the break-in and his efforts to pull a fast one on the cop doggedly pursuing him. He remembers how he was eventually caught, thanks to the rain.

Now he is here at Ruxton Towers, running but going nowhere. The Governor dreams of glory for Ruxton and by extension for himself. On race day itself, Colin soon overtakes Ranley's best runner, the upper-class Gunthorpe (James Fox). As he nears the finish line, the past comes at Colin in flashes. His mother. His father. The cop. Mike. Audrey. Gordon. Will Colin win the race, or will he win for himself?

I think The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner has one of the greatest performances in film in Tom Courtenay. Colin Smith is another angry young man, frustrated in life but finding no escape. I'm reminded of a line from Pet Shop Boys' West End Girls: "we've got no future; we've got no past". That describes Colin Smith perfectly. He sees what the future holds for him: a life like his father's. This is not what he wants. I think that he wants near-endless visits to Skegness with Audrey like the one that he took with her, Mike and Audrey's BFF Gladys (Julia Foster) who is also Mike's girlfriend.

However, that would take money, which Colin does not have. Worse, he sees how his mother flittered it away. He is powerless to persuade her not to splurge so rampantly. He is powerless to stop Gordon from trying to usurp Colin's place as head of the family. In short, he is powerless.

Unlike other angry young men in the kitchen sink genre, Colin Smith is a remarkably decent, thoughtful young man. He is angry, but it is the world around him that has shaped him so. Another angry young man, Laurence Harvey in Room at the Top, carried a permanent chip on his shoulder. Colin, on the other hand, shows a thoughtful, tender side, in particular with Audrey. He is a reflective young man, aware of the hardness of life and his inability to change it despite his wish to. "All I know is that you've got to run, running without knowing why, through fields and woods. And the winning post is no end, even though the balmy crowd might be cheering themselves daft". Colin understands through his time at Ruxton Towers that, for all the success that he might have for his athletic skills, he is still very much alone, condemned to stay in one place.

Metaphor has never been so well used in film as it is for The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner. 

Yet, I have wandered off from Tom Courtenay's performance. His Colin Smith is an antihero for the ages. Colin is cynical and sullen. Yet within him, Colin is also tender and caring. He has a brief scene where he looks in on his dying father. As everyone else seems to have forgotten the cantankerous old man, Colin quietly covers him with his blanket. Courtenay reveals Colin's anger at his mother's frivolousness to downright disinterest in her late husband on the family shopping spree. Sitting quietly, smoking, he observes her buying needless thing after needless thing, his impotency and condemnation clear. 

Courtenay reveals Colin's tender side when he is with Jane's Audrey. "I know enough, you know, to want to know more," he tells her. This line from Allan Sillitoe's adaptation of his own short story reveals so much about Colin. He thirsts for something more, something better, but knows that he will not find it. I think that he is disgusted with the world as it is but cannot find a way to change it. 

As his benevolent antagonist, Michael Redgrave is correct as the pompous Governor. He imagines that he cares about the young men at Ruxton Towers and in Colin's future. In reality, Colin and the audience knows that the Governor cares about glory and tribute for the institution and by extension, for himself. In the climatic race conclusion, Colin's smile is countered by the Governor's scowl. In this exchange, brilliantly directed by Tony Richardson, we see not just their battle coming to its conclusion. We see in a sense that battle between the haves and the have-nots.

The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner reveals itself in other ways. The use of the traditional British hymn Jerusalem is used ironically. This ode to patriotism is heard twice: in the opening and in counter for when an escaped borstal resident is returned and punished. The second use of Jerusalem is also when a "concert" for the boys is ended. This concert consists of a man doing bird imitations and an elderly couple singing a very old song in an old-fashioned way. It is such a laughable sight to have a bird imitator attempt to entertain young men. It does, however, reveal that disconnect between those in power and those under them. It is a credit to both Richardson and Courtenay that one is unsure if Colin Smith is singing along to Jerusalem because he genuinely believes in its sentiment or to mock said sentiment.

In one of the flashbacks, Mike and Colin have muted a television speech extolling a revived patriotism in the new Elizabethan age. The delight Mike and Colin have at how silly the man looks reveals much about their world and views on it.

Richardson even manages to have a bit of comedy in The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner. The break-in ends with deliberately sped-up action that would be seen in a silent movie, down to John Addison's music. Colin's efforts to hide the discovered money are also amusing. It does show that even a kitchen sink drama can have a genuine sense of fun.  

I finished The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner highly impressed with everything in it. Colin Smith is an antihero that you end up admiring. He is unbowed and true to himself. "I got caught. Didn't run fast enough," he tells an interviewer at Ruxton Towers. There is a lot of meaning in that line. The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner is simply brilliant, with a standout performance by Tom Courtenay. Anyone who takes time to see The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner will find a masterclass of storytelling. 

DECISION: A+

Beyond the Poseidon Adventure: A Review

BEYOND THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Shirley Jones.

Nothing succeeds like success. After The Poseidon Adventure became a massive hit, it is not a surprise that a sequel followed. Perhaps seven years was too long a wait. Perhaps that was also the first sign that Beyond the Poseidon Adventure was going to be a disaster, but not in the good way. Not exactly a remake per se, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure is neither fun nor exciting.

It is right after the Poseidon capsized on New Year's Day when the tugboat Jenny comes upon it. The Jenny's three crew, having survived the same storm that threw the Poseidon over, see that they can claim salvage rights to the Poseidon. Jenny's captain, Mike Turner (Michael Caine) is eager to find anything in the Poseidon that will get him to pay his debts and save the Jenny. His second-in-command, Wilbur (Karl Malden) is also excited on the salvage prospects. Their passenger, the ever-perky Celeste (Sally Field) goes along with this because she has no choice.

Once near the Poseidon, the Jenny crew are surprised to find another ship coming alongside the Poseidon. It is the Greek medical ship Irene, headed by Dr. Stefan Svevo (Telly Savalas). He claims to have received the Poseidon's S.O.S. and search for more survivors. Pulling their resources, the Irene and Jenny crew go into Poseidon. Here, they find more survivors. The first group is made up of nurse Gena Rowe (Shirley Jones) and passengers Frank Mazzetti (Peter Boyle) and Suzanne Constantine (Veronica Hamel).

Frank is desperate to find his daughter Theresa, and fortunately Theresa (Angela Cartwright) did survive. She is found in the purser's office, alongside hunky elevator operator Larry Simpson (Mark Harmon) and Dewey "Tex" Hopkins (Slim Pickens). Tex has a bizarre fixation for a Baune 1865 wine that he found, saying that there are only six in the world. Despite the diamonds, gold and cash around him, Tex thinks the wine is worth far more and will not let it go. Eventually, they come upon two more survivors: Harold and Hannah Meredith (Jack Warden and Shirley Knight). They seem almost resigned to die, as Harold is blind and will not leave, causing Hannah to refuse to leave him. They are talked into joining the others in a bid for life.

The Greek medical team splits from the Jenny trio, who mix their salvage search for a rescue of the Poseidon survivors. There is in truth a malevolent reason for not trusting the Greeks. Far from being rescuers, Svevo has come in search of what we eventually discover is plutonium, along with arms for smuggling. Svevo has an inside person among the survivors, but this agent will not live to reveal anything. After the inside person's body is found, the survivors fear that there is a serial killer aboard. Svevo cannot let anyone outside his circle live. Who will make it out Beyond the Poseidon Adventure?

Irwin Allen pulls double duty as both producer and director in Beyond the Poseidon Adventure. That should have been the second sign that the film was going to be wildly misguided, or perhaps misdirected. There is no sense of danger or menace to be found. Instead, you see a lot of actors floundering about (no pun intended). Allen as a director could not build up suspense or danger or interest in what was going on. So many scenes look as if not even the actors are taking things seriously. 

Savalas seems to be having a grand time being a villain. He apparently decided that it was better to make Svevo into a calm villain. Savalas never rages or rants. He is quite rational, cooly detached from things. He is a highlight of Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, as if he accepted that this was a nice paycheck. Bless Shirley Jones, who also managed to play scenes straight even while having to say idiotic things. "If Captain Turner's right and there is a homicidal maniac on board this ship and it's not Dr. Svevo then he's in as much danger as we are" she scolds I believe Mazzetti. Any actress who could get through such a line without breaking out into laughter deserves credit.

As a side note, wouldn't even homicidal maniacs be more interested in saving their own lives than in going on murderous sprees if they are trapped on a sinking ship? 

I think a major problem with Beyond the Poseidon Adventure is that, unlike the original, we get very little chance to know the characters. If anything, we are given little bits about who these people are. Blind. Perky (irritatingly so). Whiny. Loud. Bossy. Murderous. As such, there is no sense of why we should care. That may also be why more often than not, we would not mind seeing some of these people die.

That is the case with Sally Field's Celeste. Put aside for a moment that for the longest time we did not learn her name (if memory serves right, she was referred to as "Honey"). Right from the get-go, you sense that Celeste is a dimwit who would be better off being left aboard the Poseidon. How else to explain how her idea of "helping" during the storm was to smash the tugboat's window? To be fair, she did not intentionally smash it. However, why did she think that using a coatrack would help in the situation? Beyond the Poseidon Adventure wants to suggest some kind of romance will eventually evolve between Celeste and Mike. It is a strange suggestion given that Captain Mike is pretty contemptuous of Celeste and understandably so. 

The film ends with Celeste pulling out a large diamond after they have lost the rest of the treasures that they managed to salvage. Mike looks at our perky (VERY perky) heroine. "Gonna kiss me now?", she asks. "I was gonna kiss you anyway", he replies. That may be the most eye-rolling bit of dialogue from Nelson Gidding's adaptation of Paul Gallico's novel. However, other elements fail to keep us interested.

Peter Boyle was affected by being one of the one-note characters. I think that he might have been the new Rogo from The Poseidon Adventure, the one who questioned every decision and was crabby about it. However, while I think that Boyle tried, the end result was more laughable than interesting. It takes, I suppose, a lot of work to be out-acted by Mark Harmon, but there it is. Stabs at pathos, such as with Karl Malden and Slim Pickens' characters, also fall flat. Tex's true identity, along with his refusal to let go of the bottle, were more absurd than moving. To be fair, I did admire Tex's devotion to his wine.

I don't know if, unlike Boyle, Michael Caine tried to make any of this serious. Predating his open cash grab role in Jaws: The Revenge by eight years, Caine seems to have problems when in stories involving water. He barked a lot and was given a pretty thankless role, so to speak. Maybe he did the best he could with it. Or maybe he realized that Beyond the Poseidon Adventure was silly and opted to roll with it. 

All of that, I suppose, could be forgiven if Beyond the Poseidon Adventure were action-packed. There were efforts at that with shootouts and an explosion to top off the film. However, they were not exciting. They seemed to be more play than real. I am also curious about the plutonium found on the Poseidon. Again, I won't wade into the waters as to why the Poseidon was being used to smuggle arms and plutonium, especially given that this was going to be the Poseidon's final voyage. 

The Poseidon ultimately explodes due to the damage the ship has. I do not recall that Svevo's men managed to get the plutonium's container aboard the Irene before the explosion. Even if they did, I figure that the ferocity of the Poseidon's explosion would have taken the Irene out. As such, shouldn't the plutonium have also exploded? If it did, how did anyone manage to escape?

Oh well, perhaps that is thinking too much on things. Beyond the Poseidon Adventure is a misguided effort to keep things going from the first film. To misquote a lyric from West Side Story, let Beyond the Poseidon Adventure sink into the ocean.

DECISION: D+

On Golden Pond: A Review

ON GOLDEN POND

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Henry Fonda.

Even those who have never seen On Golden Pond would recognize some elements of it thanks to everything from Jim Carrey's imitation of star Henry Fonda to many others quoting fellow star Katharine Hepburn's monologue from the film. Sincere and heartfelt, On Golden Pond touches on universal themes of familial bonds, sometimes frayed, but with a chance to mending.

Retired professor Norman Thayer, Jr. (Fonda) and his wife Ethel (Hepburn) arrive at their summer retreat on Golden Pond. Norman, cantankerous and a bit obsessed with death, seems to have a permanent dark cloud over him. Ethel, who loves him despite his flaws, is upbeat and optimistic, the perfect yin to his yang. Here, they spend their days picking strawberries, reading, playing Parcheesi, canoeing and fishing. Ethel is aware that Norman is having memory loss and heart palpitations, but she does what she can to keep his spirits up.

As Norman gets ready, crabbily, to celebrate his 80th birthday, their daughter Chelsea (Jane Fonda) arrives. With her are her new boyfriend, dentist Billy Ray (Dabney Coleman) and his son, Billy Ray, Jr. (Doug McKean). Chelsea has a fraught relationship with her father. She easily calls Ethel "Mommy", but he is always "Norman". Norman does not dislike his only child, but he is openly critical of her.

Chelsea asks Ethel to look after Billy, Jr. while she and Billy, Sr. spend time together in Europe. Ethel agrees. Initially both Norman and Billy are unenthusiastic about the arrangement but they quickly bond. Norman enjoys being a mentor to Billy as he learns fishing and diving. Soon, despite his bouts of irascibility and memory lapses, Norman finds almost a kindred spirit with this 13-year-old. After a boating accident, Chelsea returns newly married. She now has to confront her past with Norman to build a new life, and Norman & Ethel Thayer must accept the inevitability of permanent separation.

On Golden Pond is one for the history books. It earned both its leads historic Oscar wins. This was Henry Fonda's only competitive Best Actor win out of a lifetime tally of only two nominations (for this and The Grapes of Wrath). For Hepburn, this was her fourth Best Actress win, making her as of this writing the most honored actress in Academy history. Each earned their respective wins with their beautiful performances.

Fonda's Norman is hard, crotchety, sometimes inscrutable. He is also at times unaware, frightened and in need of support. He and Hepburn have exceptional interplay between them as Norman and Ethel. In the film, we see Norman's desperation when he gets lost in the woods. Dave Grusin's music and the camerawork enhance Norman's confusion and growing terror. However, Henry Fonda is what gives it that sense of desperation and fear. Norman, this proud, crusty man, is facing what should be easily recognizable to him. As he starts going around, unsure of where he is and with a growing terror that he will not make it back, Fonda brings both a genuine fear and empathy to the character. Henry Fonda's best moments are when we see the vulnerable man behind the gruff exterior. It is not just when he is having hard moments. It is also when he delights in mentoring Billy, Jr. or when Billy is able to tell Norman off.

In his final film, Henry Fonda showcases a masterful performer, making Norman relatable, at times likeable, at times maddening.

Katharine Hepburn is more than Henry Fonda's equal. Her Ethel is patient, loving and funny. When asked how she came to be with Norman, she quips, "I won him in a contest. He was the booby prize". However, we know that she deeply loves her deeply flawed husband. Her speech about him being her knight in shining armor may be a great source for Hepburn impersonators. However, she delivers this monologue brilliantly, moving the viewer with her great love for her man. She is not blind to how Norman has been with Chelsea. She understands that Norman could have been better. However, when Chelsea still expresses bitterness and resentment towards Norman, the audience is genuinely shocked when Ethel slaps her daughter. He may not be perfect, and Ethel knows it. However, he is still her husband, the man she loves, and she will not accept Chelsea's demeaning of him.

Ethel is loving, supportive and wise. She knows that the past should not run your present. That is why she mostly overlooks or dismisses Norman's constant talk of death. That is why she also pushes Chelsea to reconcile with her father. However, when Norman comes close to death near the end, the genuine fear that Ethel shows moves you in the same way that Fonda's performance does. 

Jane Fonda may have been working out her own personal issues with her father in On Golden Pond. I cannot say for certain whether or not Fonda fille felt that working with Fonda père helped mend their own personal rifts. As Chelsea, she showed the character's bitterness and hurt behind said bitterness. Their big moment is when Chelsea and Norman finally talk about her desire to be his friend, to not be angry with each other anymore. The joy and pride everyone has when she does that backflip will have audiences cheering as well.

Dabney Colman truly was so underappreciated and undervalued. His Bill Ray, Sr. showed the character's nervousness, hesitancy and fear at a new situation. He, however, was able to have enough strength to tell Norman that he was able to stand up for himself. Doug McKean also did excellent work as Billy, the young man foisted on the Thayers who nonetheless won them over.

Ernest Thompson won Best Adapted Screenplay for adapting his stage play to film. On Golden Pond did not lose much of its theatrical trappings in the adaptation. You could tell how the original stage play would have played out while watching the film version. This is most notable in the arrival and exits of various characters, which would happen on a theater stage. However, I think major credit should be given to both Thompson and director Mark Rydell for making it look natural and realistic. The film is also blessed with some beautiful imagery of the bucolic Golden Pond, with Grusin's music lending a gentle, nostalgic quality to the film.

On Golden Pond is a beautiful film, deeply moving and truthful about that tension between parent and child. It is also a love letter to love, where this married couple do love each other even with their faults. The film is like its characters: gentle and strong, knowing and touching. Whether one sees themselves in any of the characters, one cannot help but be moved by those On Golden Pond.

DECISION: A-

The Detective: A Review

THE DETECTIVE

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Frank Sinatra.

A year before the Stonewall Riots sparked the modern gay rights movement, there was a film that balanced gay stereotypes with a surprisingly positive portrayal of if not tolerance, at least lack of hostility to gays. The Detective features a strong performance from Frank Sinatra but is hampered down by a secondary story that never quite fits into things.

Detective Joe Leland (Sinatra) is brought in to investigate the murder of Teddy Leikman, the black sheep son of a prominent New York City businessman. Leikman's head has been bashed in. More grotesque is that his fingers and penis have been cut off. While the other detectives are either bemused or sickened by this sight, Leland keeps his focus squarely on the case. Unlike everyone else, Leland does not flinch at the victim's lifestyle, taking it as a matter of fact. Thanks to the information provided by Leikman's neighbor, the case eventually finds Leikman's roommate/lover, Felix Tesla (Tony Musante). Leland puts the squeeze on Tesla to admit to killing Leikman. While Tesla does confess, something about Tesla's state of mind bothers Leland. Tesla is executed and Leland gets promoted to Lieutenant. Still, he feels something is off.

That feeling extends to his marriage to Karen (Lee Remick). While she loves the no-nonsense Joe, she is also repeated unfaithful to him. Leland loves his wife but knows that her rampant infidelities will make for a poor marriage and they separate. This looks like Leland's only trouble until a seemingly unrelated case comes to him.

Colin MacIver (William Windom) has apparently committed suicide at the Garden State Racetrack. His widow Norma (Jacquline Bissett) insists that it was not suicide. She also insists that Colin's death may be related to a major land deal. Leland finds that powerful figures do not want the case investigated. However, he is an honest and dogged detective who will get to the truth. Eventually, he finds Colin's psychiatrist, Dr. Wendell Roberts (Lloyd Bochner). Dr. Roberts, in a curious turn, knows Leland because he has treated Karen. He also plays a taped confession from Colin, revealing that he is Teddy's murderer. Colin is a deeply closeted man who went to the waterfront and a gay bar where Teddy picked him up. A tryst ends with Colin both horrified and enraged at being pegged as gay, leading to Teddy's killing. 

Now, Lieutenant Joe Leland has a choice before him. Knowing that the wrong man was sent to the electric chair, will he reveal what he has discovered? Will he put his career on the line to expose the truth?

The Detective has Frank Sinatra as a major positive. His Joe Leland is direct, honest, blunt, no-nonsense. Sinatra shows a man totally dedicated to his job, who upholds his code regardless of outside influences. Leland treats everyone the same and is unfazed by things. The other detectives involved in the Leikman case fall under one of two sides. 

There are those like rookie Robbie Loughlin (Al Freeman, Jr.), who say that they are going to be sick when seeing Leikman's body. After expressing such feelings, Sinatra's Leland tells him straight-out, "No you're not. You're going to take out your notepad and take notes," or words to that effect. 

Other detectives, such as Detective Nestor (Robert Duvall) are openly homophobic. We truly do not know what Leland thinks of homosexuality or homosexuals. He does ask Leikman's neighbor, "Do you know if he had any other friends of a similar persuasion?". That, however, is as homophobic as Leland ever gets, if that. When there is a raid on the waterfront where various gay men of all ages, Nestor is openly disgusted by them. A young man fearfully asks if they will tell his parents, and Nestor starts roughing him up. Calmly but firmly, Leland orders Nestor to stop. "Take it easy, they're not murderers," he tells Nestor.

This reveals a lot about Joe Leland. He is unfazed by things and accept things as they are. There is a mutilated body in front of him. There is a gathering of gay men in front of him. There is his wife admitting that she cannot help sleeping with other men in front of him. Leland takes it all in, calmly. He is not judgmental about people. He is, however, able to berate those who go against what is right.

Loughlin, for example, humiliates a suspect by having him stripped of his clothes while questioning him. Leland does not appear to bat an eye while observing this act but makes his displeasure clear. He uses his authority to remove the suspect and tells him to put his clothes on. Once the suspect is out, Leland tells Loughlin in a firm manner that this behavior is unacceptable. 

The Detective holds your attention because of Sinatra's performance. His Joe Leland is honest and direct, able to show sympathy and more importantly, a quiet strength and acceptance of things.  

As stated, The Detective is one year prior to Stonewall. As such, the portrayal of gay life is close to seedy. As McIver strolls through the waterfront and the Circus Bar, the men look lascivious, almost menacing. Teddy (James Inman) is a bit fey in his manner versus Colin's more straight-acting manner.  We hear Windom's voiceover speak of how revolted he is. I do not know if he or Dr. Roberts said that "there is no such thing as a bisexual, only a homosexual without convictions". That, I figure will not go over well with actual bisexuals.

The performances were mostly strong. In their small roles, Freeman, Jr. and Duvall made impressions. The same goes for Jack Klugman as forensics investigator Schoenstein and Bissett as the Widow McIver. Bochner also does well as the patrician Dr. Roberts. The curious thing about Lee Remick is that while her performance is good, it feels unnecessary. 

This is where I think The Detective goes a bit wrong. This subplot of the Leland marriage, down to the many flashbacks, do not quite fit into the overall picture. It feels like a separate story that found its way here.

Minus that, Abby Mann's adaptation of Roderick Thorpe's novel works well. The film is also enhanced by Jerry Goldsmith's jazz score. The Detective is well-directed by Gordon Douglas, drawing strong performances from almost everyone. I did think that Musante as Felix was a bit bad. As for Windom, he was weak as this repressed gay man who kills when called out on his sexuality.

However, I think that McIver's final words on the recording say a lot. "You know, I felt more guilty about being a homosexual than about being a murderer". Strong words even now. The Detective on the whole is a good film. It moves well and has good performances. It is, however, held back by the marriage subplot, which sometimes intrudes on the case. Still, The Detective is worth the time and effort to seek out.  

DECISION: B+

Hud: A Review (Review #2025)

HUD

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Patricia Neal.

Hud, the title character of the film, is a dangerous man. Dangerously attractive. Dangerously amoral. Dangerously arrogant. Yet, we are still drawn to this figure. With strong performances all about, Hud tells its story beautifully.

Hud Bannon (Paul Newman) cares nothing about no one. He lives only for himself, indulging his pleasures all over his small Texas town. His father, rancher Homer (Melvyn Douglas) is appalled at his only surviving son's amorality. He does, however, concede that Hud is shrewd about ranching matters. While Homer finds Hud rather repulsive, Homer's grandson Lonnie (Brandon de Wilde) is fascinated by his rebellious uncle. Lonnie loves and respects Homer, but Hud is magnetic.

Hud has his way with any woman he meets, even married women. One woman, however, has enough sense to admire at a distance. That is Alma Brown (Patricia Neal), the Bannon housekeeper. She is a tough, blunt broad, able to stand up against Hud. She is also the object of desire to both Hud and Lonnie. 

A crisis occurs when one of the Bannon cattle is found dead. Over Hud's fierce objections, Homer has the state veterinarian examine the dead cattle. The diagnosis is foot-and-mouth disease. The entire cattle has to be destroyed. Hud wants to sell some of the cattle before they received the eventual diagnosis. His father, upright and moral, refuses flat-out. Hud for his part continues a self-destructive path, ending in him attempting to rape Alma. She cuts out of town, but not before Hud sees her at the bus stop. He tells her that he'll always remember her as "the one that got away".

Not getting away are Homer and Lonnie. Will Lonnie ultimately turn out like his honorable grandfather or his rakish uncle?

Hud has the distinction of having the shortest Best Actress Oscar-winning performance as of this writing. Patricia Neal won for a performance totaling a little under 22 minutes of screentime in a 112 minute long film. She makes the most of her screentime as Alma. She is not unaware of things, such as Hud's magnetism. She is also aware that Hud is an amoral, selfish individual, an arrogant man behind the physique and cool eyes. Neal has a wonderful scene with Newman when she talks about her past as he attempts to woo her in her bedroom. She is cooly tolerant of Hud's philandering and his manner. Alma is also loving towards Lonnie, who does not shrink from being in bed nude when she comes in.

What makes Neal's performance so strong is that she makes Alma both vulnerable and unflappable. We see the strength in her. We also see the disillusionment that forces her to leave.

It is interesting that three of the four central cast members of Hud received Oscar nominations. Neal would be one of the film's three Oscars out of its seven nominations. Melvyn Douglas is the other acting winner as Homer. This is an atypical role for Douglas. He specialized in urban sophisticates, men. Here, he shows Homer to be a man of honor, but also a man from the past. He is not a sentimentalist. Rather, he is a man whose values have not changed even as the world has. His conflicts with his son, built on decades of mutual resentment and frustrations, carry Hud so well. Their conflicts are both literal and metaphorical. They do have different views on running the ranch. They also show the conflict between the code of the old west and the corruption and self-indulgence of the new.

I am surprised that Brandon de Wilde was left without a nomination for Hud while his three costars received nominations. Admittedly, de Wilde is extremely pretty as Lonnie. However, in terms of performance, de Wilde is more than capable of holding his own against three skilled actors like Neal, Douglas and Paul Newman. A lot of Hud is from his perspective as the young man caught between his grandfather and his uncle. The push-and-pull between Homer and Hud for Lonnie's allegiance is captured so well in de Wilde's performance. Lonnie is in turns appalled and fascinated by his uncle. He is also admiring of his grandfather's strong morality.

Hud is I think one of Paul Newman's most definitive performances. This was the third of his eventual nine nominations (with one competitive win). Hud the character is mesmerizing thanks to Newman's skill. We see the charming scoundrel that Hud is. He not only does not shrink from sleeping with married women but openly takes them around town. When Lonnie, in the opening scenes, finds his wayward uncle, it is at a married woman's house. It is clear that Hud has slept with her, but Hud does not shrink from letting his nephew take the fall when the husband arrives early. Later, when they arrive back at the ranch, Hud runs over Alma's flower bed. When she scolds him for driving over her zinnias, he is dismissive.

"Don't plant them where I park," he retorts. 

Newman makes Hud Bannon a dangerous figure. We see why Lonnie was drawn to him. We see why Homer was so utterly disappointed in him. We see why Alma was both. Hud simply does not give a damn about anything and anyone other than himself. He will, on occasion, do the right thing, but only if it is absolutely necessary. There is even a spark of honor and protectiveness within him. When the state veterinarian is ready to kill the two longhorns that Homer has hung onto, Homer asks if he could do it later. A doubtful sheriff would rather not. In this rare moment, Hud stands up for his father, angrily telling him that if his father said he would kill them, he would keep his word.

Hud's third win was for James Wong Howe's black-and-white cinematography. Hud is a beautifully filmed movie. The shadows and lights are filmed almost poetically that it makes for visual splendor. Hud also has a beautiful, sparse score by Elmer Bernstein. Major credit should go to Martin Ritt, also Oscar-nominated, for drawing great performances from his cast.

Hud is an excellent film. It has one of Paul Newman's most brilliant performances. It has excellent work from Patricia Neal, Melvyn Douglas and Brandon de Wilde (the latter gone too soon). The viewer will be drawn to this dangerous, rakish figure. Hud is a cold-blooded bastard, but we cannot help finding him almost irresistible. "Nobody gets out of life alive," Hud tells Lonnie. That could be Hud's mantra. 

DECISION: A-

James Cagney: Top of the World. The Television Documentary

JAMES CAGNEY: TOP OF THE WORLD

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is James Cagney.

There are two ways to think about James Cagney. Some see him as the ultimate gangster, a small brawler who could take down anyone who got in his way. Some see him as a cheerful song-and-dance man, making dancing down a staircase look effortless.  Cagney was able to play both with equal ability. Perhaps that is why he is still remembered long after his 1986 death. James Cagney: Top of the World is a good introduction to this iconic figure, respectful and with some surprising revelations along the way.

Top of the World uses an archival interview from Cagney himself to fill in bits of information presented by host Michael J. Fox. Fox speculates as to how he got to be our guide through Cagney's life and career. He notes in Top of the World that when he was asked what the difference between himself and other young actors was, Fox replied, "They all want to be James Dean. I want to be James Cagney".  Fox wasn't trying to be flip or glib. He was sincere in his aspirations to be an all-around actor. Perhaps, and this is just my speculation, the fact that Cagney was 5'6" brought a sense of comradery with the 5'5" Fox.

Top of the World starts us out with Cagney's early years in the tough streets of Lower East Side New York City, with his tough mother ruling over the tough brood of Cagney children. Despite this, young Jimmy had a love for the country and rural pursuits. He even applied to agricultural college but did not complete a semester. His family needed help. Cagney then turned to the stage, making his debut in drag as part of the chorus line. He also met his wife Frances "Billie" Vernon, to whom he would be married for 64 years.

Cagney was always studying his craft, learning to improve his acting and dancing. Finally, the years of being a hoofer and on-stage tough guy paid off with the Broadway production, Penny Arcade. Cagney was singled out for praise, and none other than Al Jolson bought the film rights and brought the play and Cagney to Warner Brothers. Retitled Sinner's Holiday, Warner Brothers soon found a solid but at times difficult contract player. His breakout role in The Public Enemy made him a star. 

It also typecast him as a tough guy, which frustrated him. More frustrating were the dangerous conditions that he and his fellow actors worked under. During filming for The Public Enemy, real bullets were used, which could have killed the actors. He also disliked how he was shown as treating women. However, his Public Enemy costar Mae Clarke stated that everything he did was choreographed. The fighting and infamous grapefruit slap was choreographed. So was the dancing, as Cagney finally was allowed to do a little on-screen soft shoe in Footlight Parade, showcasing a different side to Cagney. 

Cagney was not one to back down from a fight. He helped form the Screen Actors Guild, looking out for his other players. However, his lifelong friend and costar Pat O'Brien noted that Cagney was "the far away fellow", who preferred being a gentleman farmer than hitting the Hollywood scene. In real life, James Cagney was the antithesis of his tough guy persona.

But was he a Communist? His political activities brought him to the attention of the House Un-American Activities Committee before it grew into the post-war fright fest it became. While Cagney was completely cleared of any subversive activities, the experience was so strong that he and his brother decided that it would be in their best interest to make a passionately patriotic film. That film became more important when Yankee Doodle Dandy began filming on December 8, 1941.

From there, Top of the World covers Cagney's slow fade out from film by his own choice. Among the twilight triumphs was White Heat, where the documentary's title comes from. After 31 years of acting, making big budget and small independent films, Cagney decided that it was time to close out his career. Retiring to his farm, he would be lured back into the spotlight a few more times, with the American Film Institute salute being the highlight.

Top of the World, as I said, is a good primer for the life and career of this most extraordinary figure. He was an interesting contradiction; the tough guy who had a passion for rural pursuits. On screen, Cagney was a smooth-talking, at times brutal man with women. In real life, he was gentle and devoted to his Billie, the love of his life.  People will learn that, long before method acting was in vogue, Cagney drew from memories of visiting an insane asylum for his White Heat character's breakdown when learning of the mother's death. 

Cagney earned the nickname "The Professional Againster" from Jack Warner for his pugnacious manner when dealing with the studio. However, time mellowed him to where he could look back with some amusement. We see this at his AFI acceptance speech, where he corrected the record on an imaginary quote. "I never said, "You dirty rat". What I did say was, "Judy! Judy! Judy!", laughing at another imaginary quote from his contemporary Cary Grant.

At less than an hour, James Cagney: Top of the World is informative and entertaining. James Cagney was more than his image of the hoodlum. He was a man who loved nature, loved his wife, loved his colleagues. He could also look back on his career with great pride. 

He certainly made it to the Top of the World. 

8/10