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Reviews
Tall in the Saddle (1944)
Superb John Wayne vehicle
For lovers of black and white westerns, 'Tall in the Saddle' is first rate entertainment. It is good old fashioned fun from beginning to end, and it manages to incorporate elements of film noir, comedy and romance. There is plenty of action along the way too and a number of twists and turns in its' plot. All of which prevents it from being the standard affair it could have ended up as without its' host of top notch performances.
The star of the film is John Wayne and it is I feel a good role for him. Although it lacks the depth of his greatest performances in the likes of 'Red River' and 'The Searchers', it does have the light hearted element of 'Rio Bravo', undeniably one of his career highlights. He stars as Rocklin, a tough cowboy recruited by a rancher named Red Cardell to help stop an outbreak of cattle rustling. He is apparently immune to the charms of women- "I never feel sorry for anything that happens to a woman." When he steps off the train however his new employer has been murdered and Rocklin has to find out who is responsible for such a brutal act.
It is after he beats Clint Harolday (Russell Wade) at cards that he comes face to face with the losers' angry sister Arly, played by the beautiful Ella Raines who despite falling for Rocklin almost instantly and although clearly considerably shorter in height than him, is determined to stand up for herself- "I always get what I want". Very soon they are engaged in a humorous battle of the sexes which Arly is determined not to lose, despite her obvious attraction towards the Dukes' character. The exchanges between the pair are sexy as neither is prepared to swallow their pride to give in to the other; "You might as well know right now that no woman is going to get me hooked, tied and branded"/ "Don't be so sure. Don't think I'm doing badly." Witness the pleasure Arly gets in sacking Rocklin from her employment, and her boasts of making love to him. This is the only Ella Raines film I have seen to date but I really loved watching her and would jump at the opportunity to see another of her performances.
Contrast Arly with the other glamorous lady in the film- Clara Cardell (Audrey Long)- and you have two entirely different women. Although also interested in Rocklin Clara I would say is sheepish and easily dominated by her spiteful, stuck up aunt Elizabeth Martin (Elisabeth Risdon) who hides from her niece a secret that links Clara and Rocklin and this explains her disdain for the latter- she tells Clara to stop "throwing yourself at that wretch". Risdons' character has little time for many townsfolk- "The rudeness of people in these parts is appalling". Frankly most people feel the same way about her.
Many of the best scenes in the film (and certainly the funniest) involve Dave the alcoholic stagecoach driver (played by the wonderful George 'Gabby' Hayes). Just watch his introduction as Blossom the horse knocks over his priceless bottle of whiskey- "I oughta poison you!" His charismatic, accident-prone character has many great lines, for example his analogy of whiskey and women- "They both fool you but you never figure how to do without them." He is even referred to as a "hairy beast"- no prizes for guessing who by. Add to the mix the great support of the ever dependable Ward Bond as Judge Garvey, one of the villains. He rivals Rocklin for toughness and they engage in a great fist fight.
The setting is typical of the genre, with many of the western hallmarks such as a dusty town in the middle of a desert containing cactuses (the latter are missed out in many westerns but not this one), a card game, a stagecoach, alcohol and gun fights. But less typical is the noir element- the hero being framed for a murder crime he did not commit for example, which results in a classic whodunit. Another western which to me is reminiscent of film noir is Pursued (1947).
Overall then a hugely enjoyable movie which does exactly what it sets out to do- it entertains throughout and I'm sure audiences who saw this film at the cinema went home happy!
They Drive by Night (1940)
Vintage Warner Bros. fare with Ida Lupino outstanding
An intriguing movie in many ways, 'They Drive by Night' was made just after a series of classic Warner Bros gangster movies such as 'Angels with Dirty Faces' and a year before the era of a cycle of films popularly known as film noir began. It contains plenty of the grittiness that both genres, and indeed the studio itself, were noted for.
In fact, had it been released a few years later the movie may well have been regarded as a prime example of film noir. The first half is the story of the Fabrini brothers (George Raft and Humphrey Bogart) who drive trucks for a living. This is a bit of a dead end job, and both rarely get a good nights' sleep- "Oh boy, I'd like to stay in bed a week, not even get up to eat." This job brings its' dangers- notably the risk of falling asleep at the wheel ("Every minute when I'm alone I expect someone to knock on the door and tell me I'm a widow"- Bogarts' wife, played by Gale Page). At the end of the day, both brothers desperately need their "dough" to make ends meet- after all, this is the depression era. In the second half of the film we witness lust, murder, jealousy and madness, much of which centres around Lana Carlsen (Ida Lupino).
The main reason I enjoy this film so much is the performances of the cast. The leading role falls to George Raft and he performs adequately enough. Better known as a gangster in the decade that had just passed, this movie gave him the opportunity to display his acting skills as an honourable 'Ordinary Joe' character. However, I enjoy the other performances most of all. Humphrey Bogart was on the verge of his big career breakthrough when he appeared in this film and although he is only really involved in the first half of the movie there is no doubting the presence he has in the final supporting role of his film career. Ann Sheridan, known as the 'oomph girl' to many (a name I understand she resented) is on top form as a tough, no nonsense working class dame who is resistant to the charms of most of the men she meets ("All right, that's enough of the x-ray treatment"), with an obvious exception being Raft. Then there is the wisecracking, hugely likable character actor Alan Hale (seen often in Errol Flynn movies) who plays the charming and friendly manager of a lucrative truck firm (just look at the state of the art technology of his garage door!) Unfortunately he has two weaknesses- alcohol and his unfailing devotion to his wife, who shall we say is not the gentlest of people.
It is in the latter role that Ida Lupino provides the performance of the film as an untrustworthy wife driven to all kinds of insanity by her jealousy of another female, her resentment of her drunken husband ("Your liver must look like a bomb hit it") and her lust for another man. The London-born actress turned many heads here and an especially notable moment sees her in hysterics in the court room scene at the end of the film ("Yes! The doors made me do it!" is a very memorable quote). She clearly took her opportunity to steal the picture with both hands.
Moviegoers who enjoy witty lines will have a field day with this picture- there are lots of these to be found in its' 90 minute running time. It's not a comedy but it is the humour that lifts this movie to the impressive heights it reaches in terms of sheer entertainment, despite its' serious side.
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
A depression era classic
By the time John Ford begun filming his adaption of John Steinbecks' depression-era novel late in 1939, a whole decade had passed since the Wall Street Crash sent the USA spiralling into economic crisis, yet its effects were still very much apparent with many Americans out of work and short of the money they lost on the stock market. Film studios did their best to help ordinary Americans forget their troubles with lavish musicals and comedies of the screwball variety, but with this picture Ford used his remarkable movie making skills to document the true harshness of the situation depicted in Steinbecks' book.
The picture is given its much needed authenticity by the opening scene. On a bleak, dusty, open road in Oklahoma, we see Tom Joad (Henry Fonda) walking alone against a howling wind as he heads towards his family home ("We lived here fifty years same place") for the first time since he was released on parole from the state penitentiaries ("You can't keep a Joad in jail"- Grandpa Joad). Here he meets Casy (John Carradine), a preacher who no longer preaches because "I got nothing' to preach about no more". We learn that decent, hardworking families such as the Joads are being forced off their land by the greed of the bank. Many such people have farmed their land for decades and yet their homes are being destroyed and they are forced to seek their fortunes elsewhere.
The story is a heartbreaking one, especially since the life that the Joads are forced to leave behind is all that they have known. Grandpa Joad (Charlie Grapewin) has to be forced off the territory by his own family- "This is my land and I belong here...my dirt." The family face an arduous journey to the promised land of California, a journey which has tragic consequences for them. Upon arriving at a campsite they find starving children and other families who are very much in the same boat. One telling moment comes when the Joads see their faces for the first time. All of these people look glum, hopeless and devastated. Their expressions reveal the hardships of life at the campsite- "It sure don't look none too prosperous"-Tom Joad. The little work that is on offer is hardly enjoyable- picking peaches for five cents a box for example- "a man can't make his dinner on that". Furthermore, just as it seems the family have found a better place to stay for at least the time being there is more heartache around the corner-"I guess it had to come, sooner or later"-Ma Joad.
The film not only presents an unfavourable picture of the bank who force people to live like "pigs" but also the police who are brutal, and the first camp which is far more inhabitable than the next camp the Joads move on to. Here they are stunned to find the luxury of toilets, showers, washtubs and entertainment every Saturday night. The tone is overall very bleak but there is always a glimmer of hope-"We'll go on forever pa because we are the people"- Ma Joad.
The performance of Henry Fonda as Tom Joad is exceptional and he excels as the main character of the film whose flaw perhaps is his inability to restrain himself when he sees injustice before him- "Whenever there's a cop beating up a guy, I'll be there". Jane Darwell is very effective as Ma Joad in an Oscar-winning portrayal of a highly sympathetic character who tries to hold the family together through the series of crises they face. Also worth looking out for amongst the cast is Ford favourite Ward Bond as a policeman.
The much acclaimed Greg Toland provides the films' impressive cinematography- he would famously work on Orson Welles' 1941 masterwork Citizen Kane. The film was cited by Bruce Springsteen as a big influence on his moving 1995 song 'The Ghost of Tom Joad'. Overall this is an excellent picture and it certainly made me think next time I face up to a problem- does it really seem bad when compared with what the Joads faced up to?
Stage Fright (1950)
Underrated Hitchcock classic
I have to say I am slightly puzzled as to why 'Stage Fright' is not generally considered one of Alfred Hitchcocks' finest works, as on every viewing I remain glued to the screen right the way from beginning to end.
The film opens with a theatre curtain rising and we are immediately introduced to a postwar London still containing the ruins of World War Two. Eve (Jane Wyman), a Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts actress is driving Johnny (Richard Todd) who has run from away from the scene of the murder of the husband of Charlotte (Marlene Dietrich), a major star of the theatre. "Any sign of the police?" she asks him as they escape. "Eve, do you hate me now you know about me and Charlotte?" Johnny asks her. Eve regards Charlotte as "cold and calculating", and is convinced that she is using Johnnys' affections towards her to get him convicted of the murder. From here until very late in the picture, Eve does all she can to prevent Johnny from being convicted of a crime she is sure Charlotte has committed.
As the film progresses there are plenty of indications as to who might have done the crime, but it takes a dramatic twist towards the end of the picture for us to discover who out of Johnny and Charlotte is actually guilty. The conclusion very much goes against what we are led to believe for much of the films' running time due to an early flashback, something which Hitchcock apparently regretted. In my opinion this makes the movie hugely interesting and somewhat unique.
The other reasons for me liking this picture are plenty. The attractive Jane Wyman as Eve is outstanding in the lead role, whilst Marlene Dietrich steals much of the limelight, notably when she performs the song 'The Laziest Girl in Town' surrounded by smartly dressed men. Alistair Sim is very charismatic as Eves' father who goes out of his way to try to get Charlotte to confess, even using a doll with a bloodstained dress to unnerve her whilst she performs at a wet garden party ("What vermin some vermin are" Charlotte remarks). Charlotte suffers from 'Stage Fright' in front of an audience when she is presented with the doll, and is a fascinating character who uses her acting skills to get herself out of tricky situations in real life. Eve turns the tables on Charlotte by posing as her dresser and when she reveals her true identity a horrified Charlotte tells her, "I'll give you anything if you keep me out of this." The film harks back to Hitchcocks' origins as it contains many quintessentially British characters, notably Eves' parents and Charlottes' maid, and it is set in London which is where many of his early British films from the 1920's and 1930's took place. One notably British location is a pub where Eve meets the police detective Smith (Michael Wilding), who takes quite a fancy to her.
Overall, I think this is an excellent picture and very worthwhile viewing for all Hitchcock fans.