Film Reviews by Steve

Routine comedy-drama which is of interest today for the pre-fame appearances of the two big Columbia stars of the '40s, Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. Brian Aherne is actually the lead, as a bumptious family man called to do jury service, who employs the murder suspect (Rita) when she is acquitted.

And then she falls for his teenage son (Ford). It's a sitcom with much of the comedy derived from the pompous old dad falling out with his wife (Irene Rich) and long suffering adolescent children. As a bonus we get a young, exuberant Evelyn Keyes as the scatterbrained daughter.

Hayworth is the closest to arrival as a star. She has that low voice and passive demeanour which she would employ in her noir roles. But there is no spark yet. Ford is just a skinny, puppyish kid with a lopsided grin. When the US joined WWII he volunteered for the Marines.

After his return, Charles Vidor directed them again in Gilda, and made Hollywood history. Ford, and Hayworth- who was the biggest name in pictures by then- burned up the set with their sexy innuendo. And Keyes? Well she married Vidor, for a year! This though, is just a slight diversion kept buoyant by its energetic cast. 

One of Lon Chaney’s last films before his death in 1930. He’s mainly remembered now for horror roles, but was versatile and this wild romantic melodrama is quintessential. He plays a popular clown who raises a foundling that grows up to be Loretta Young; and a tightrope walker in his stage act.

And he tenderly, wretchedly falls in love with her. But she is attracted to a handsome aristocrat (Nils Asther). So will it end in tragedy for the sad clown? This is not the sort of picture which can be made now. It exists within the sentimental and mysterious principles of silent melodrama.

The casting of a 15 year old female romantic lead wasn’t unusual in its time. Loretta is indeed very young to be the love interest of two older men. She plays an archetype of the Victorian stage, a virtuous waif. But she has a luminous star quality on screen and is persuasively, dreamily melancholic.

This is the kind of film where a doctor will prescribe true love because the Count has a sickness which makes him neurotically laugh… And the same cure for the clown’s tears. There is no realism; it’s a vehicle for Lon’s harlequin makeup and the pathos of his unrequited infatuation. But for fans of silent melodrama, this is a knockout. 

Fascinating political comedy, from a James Thurber play, which exposes the deep divide between US academics... and the capitalists who disguise their motives in patriotism. Henry Fonda is a literature professor at a midwest university who wants to read out a composition by so-called anarchist Bartolomeo Vanzetti.

He is opposed by the head of the trustees (Eugene Palette) who raises cash for athletic facilities. Any academic theory at variance with corporate interest is labelled communism and suppressed. This predicts the communist witch-hunt of the ’50s, and articulates a defence of liberalism which it would attempt to shut down.

It was released in 1942 with fascism ascendant in Europe. And it presents a polarised society quick to form into mobs. It all plays out against a college football game which brings an all American great (Jack Carson) back to campus, the ex-flame of former cheerleader (Olivia de Havilland) now married to… Fonda.

This is a witty, funny film which never gets choked by its political themes. Carson is a joy as his usual amiable klutz. Fonda is a likeable hero. Hattie McDaniel gets laughs as… the sassy maid... It's a comedy about the need to fight for free speech, which is what the world was doing in ’42, but invites the US to look inside its own conflicts. 

Lesser known Ernst Lubitsch musical-comedy set in his beloved France. But, naturally, shot in the Paramount studios. Jeanette MacDonald stars as a penniless aristocrat attracted to the rich Count (Jack Buchanan) who poses as a hairdresser to get close to her. Though she can't fall in love because of his- apparent- lower social class...

And much farce ensues. It's funny, and the inimitable Lubitsch touch lends a frisson of worldly sophistication. It's rated the first film musical which uses the songs to advance the plot. They are all duets which function as dialogues between the would-be lovers. The melodies are standard, but the lyrics are witty.

There are impediments. The Countess is an unlovable snob and Jeanette hasn't the charm to make that ok. Buchanan lacks panache and virility and- crucially- can't sing. He's no stand-in for Maurice Chevalier. It's precode so there's a lot of innuendo and lingerie. But it feels odd that audiences sat still for all this continental privilege during the depression.

British actor Claud Allister stands out among the support cast. He devoted a career to playing upper class halfwits; who were known as the 'silly arse'. The comedy of manners would soon be absorbed into the more egalitarian screwball genre, set in a less elitist US. But for a few years, they offered a cosmopolitan alternative to the slapstick of the silent comedians.

Slight, low budget police noir which reprises the classic genre scenario of the guilty police inspector who must make inquiries into his own crime. That's Lee J. Cobb as the rugged, cynical homicide cop who covers up for his upmarket squeeze (Jane Wyatt) when she guns down her surplus husband.

The hangdog Lieutenant investigates with his newly appointed brother (John Dall). Who turns out to be far too precocious for comfort. Setting aside the improbability of making partners out of actual brothers, the actors make the familiar expert/novice dynamic engaging with their natural rapport.

The film gets criticised for casting Wyatt as the wealthy femme fatale, who may have set up her cop boyfriend to protect her from the murder rap. She usually played good-girl roles. But it works because it makes the privilege which camouflages her real intentions more convincing. Besides, she really was from that background.

Frank Feist was the quintessential journeyman director who inevitably ended up doing huge amounts of tv. This is his best film. The plot is farfetched but he keeps the story moving forward and makes a virtue of the meagre budget. And he gives his actors room. It's a minor B-noir, yet the formula succeeds again. 

Harold talks! Though he’s still playing a small town boy living with mum and dad. He leaves for Hollywood to make it big as a dramatic star, but is so accident prone he eventually gets a chance as a comedian. Lloyd isn't a great sound actor. He behaves and speaks surprisingly like Elisha Cook, Jr.

But his physical comedy remains out of this world. Like when he goes to a party of high-rollers but gets his jacket mixed up with the magic act… And there is still an extended climactic set piece, when he gets into a mighty punch up on set with his rival for the sassy female actor he falls for (Constance Cummings).

This is a very funny picture. And if the friction between the silent comedy and early screwball is so easy to overlook, then credit to Cummings, who is sensational (and beautiful) playing both a Hollywood star and the Spanish character which is her role in the film within a film. Both of whom Harold tries to romance. She steals every scene.

This was Lloyd’s last big hit. The sophisticated charm, artifice and verbal wit exemplified by his female co-star would swallow Hollywood comedy. Now we’re all waiting for Cary Grant to turn up. But this is a welcome late success by a great interloper from the silents. Hooray for Harold Lloyd! 

Delirious precode melodrama which stitches a student nurse comedy to quite a nasty crime story. Barbara Stanwyck plays a tough broad who blags her way into nursing school, and gets to hang out on the wards with Joan Blondell's cynical, gum chewing finagler. Edit in a shower scene and you've got a Russ Meyer exploitation picture.

After the girls graduate they get posted to a house of dipsomaniacs hell bent on starving to death a couple of moppets to get their trust fund. The scheme is led by pre-stardom Clark Gable as a sort of chauffeur/gangster who actually knocks out Stanwyck’s night nurse stone cold when she turns whistleblower to shut down the corrupt doctor charged with their care.

It's an unpolished but zesty performance from the star, matched by Blondell's perky, sassy insolence. It's got all the merits of '30s Warner Brothers, with proletarian scenarios and punchy dialogue spoken by wise guys. Nursing demands a pragmatic approach in this city of mobsters and if the students aren't drinking in speakeasies, they're patching up bullet wounds.

It takes some longueurs to get the scanty material to stretch to the (brief) running time but mostly this is crisply directed by William Wellman. More importantly, he gets the laconic script to crackle. Really it's just a weird potboiler, but it delivers that characteristic precode thrill of the utterly unexpected. 

Offbeat thriller which loads its noir atmospherics with a lot of psychological jargon but is ultimately just a provocative, compelling murder story. Loretta Young stars as psychology professor who kills a student in self defence during an attempted rape. She is investigated by Wendell Corey while she romances the dead man's lawyer/social worker (Robert Cummings).

Obviously this is sensitive material for postwar Hollywood, and there is evidence of the Production Code all over this. The narrative focuses on the fragile and unravelling mental state of the academic. Which may seem like the victim of a sexual assault is judged guilty of the crime of being desired by a sociopath...

And some of the attitudes are dated, but the narrative argues in her favour and is sympathetic to her cause. William Dieterle creates considerable suspense with plenty of style. It looks wonderful with a nice feel for '40s coastal California. There's a nuanced script and fine performances, particularly from Young in a demanding role.

The early scenes with the narcissistic undergraduate (Douglas Dick) manipulating his victim, are difficult to watch. He's such an odious creep. Once he's out of the picture, there's a murder mystery with illustrations of realistic police procedures and insights into the criminal mind. This unusual thriller seems to have vanished, but it's worth seeking out. 

Minor but engaging noir thriller which brings together a cast of emerging Warner Brothers' contract players. Most surprising is Broadway musical star Gordon MacRae as a WWII veteran who leaves hospital following a serious spinal injury. Though, looking at the positives, he is dating his nurse and she's Virginia Mayo!

His army buddy (Edmond O'Brien) has gone missing, accused of murder. Dane Clark is another from the old platoon, who might not be all he seems. MacRae is the lead and he's fine (and doesn't sing) but a further new name Viveca Lindfors- the latest next Garbo- makes more of an impact as the mysterious femme fatale.

And she does sing a sultry number in a nightclub. It feels like Mayo's role has been pointlessly inflated because she had a breakout hit with White Heat the previous year. Except this was made earlier and the studio sat on it until after that success. There's nothing new here and the final twist won't rock anyone's world.

But it's still a fine diversion for fan of the genre. Vincent Sherman is remembered for directing melodramas for Warners' big female stars, yet he handles the noir atmospherics well and creates suspense out of the familiar scenarios. And makes perfect sense out of the seven flashbacks! 

This hostage thriller now gets called film noir, but feels more like gothic melodrama with its woman in peril, deranged male oppressor, old dark house and period setting. It's 1918 and Ida Lupino is a war widow who finds casual work for an itinerant handyman (Robert Ryan) who turns out to be a psychopathic serial killer...

Director Harry Horner was usually a production designer, which is apparent in the increasingly menacing guest house that entraps the vulnerable woman. There's also a touch of expressionism to enhance the atmosphere of threat. And though it starts slowly, the encounter builds to a nerve shredding climax.

Ida Lupino's production company usually focused on thrillers with controversial social themes. Maybe this treats mental illness with more sensitivity than most gaslight melodramas, but its purpose is to create the most intimidating antagonist possible. It's not a case study, but Ryan does build a powerful sense of jeopardy.

The origin as a stage play is evident (also a short story and radio drama- with Frank Sinatra!) but this intensifies the mood of claustrophobic confinement. It's the sort of scenario which became a mainstay of television, but there is a superior imaginative quality here, despite the small budget. And there are better stars. 

This gets closest of any adaptation of a David Goodis story to his preoccupation with the aspiration crushing negativity of poverty. Maybe because the author wrote the screenplay himself. A child runs away from home and is adopted by a burglar who teaches him the business. And he grows up to be played by Dan Duryea.

The stand-in father has a daughter (Jayne Mansfield) tormented by the sexual love she endures for Duryea, contaminated by a feeling of incest. After a jewel robbery, the two stars are tracked by a corrupt cop to Atlantic City. When they enter an amusement park house of horror, a mannequin robotically announces 'we the dead welcome you' to everyone who buys a ticket!

They are ruined by bad luck. In Goodis’ world, criminals never succeed because they either get busted, or destroy each other. It's interesting to see Jayne without her glamour-girl make up and gowns. It would be an exaggeration to claim she delivers a good performance, but it was surely her best.

It's great to see Martha Vickers as the moll of the crooked copper whose own misery connects instantly and intimately with the burglar’s. Duryea is superb in a film which has little plot but dwells on his internal pain. He is destroyed by loyalty. His achilles heel is his sense of honour, so inverted are the values of his world. 

Imagine if in 1973, Mike Leigh and not Terrence Malick directed Badlands. That gets close to the spirit of this low-key British black comedy. And like Leigh's films, this has the effect of dividing its audience. Some may find its casual violence offensive... 

A dull, contemptuous caravanner (Steve Oram) dispenses sudden, brutal justice against the trivial thoughtlessness he routinely encounters, while his lonely, pliant girlfriend (Alice Lowe) colludes in a desire to be whatever it takes to stay together. And then goes even further...

This captures something intuitive about the UK; it travels close to the parochialism and anger and bitter humour at the heart of the nation. And the gentle beauty of its countryside. It's the fusion of banal normality and fanatical intolerance which makes this unsettling, yet familiar.

It's not so much un film de Ben Wheatley, though the soundtrack of psychedelic folk makes this borderline horror. This was developed by the writer/actors. It's a small British picture, which feels almost homemade. But this is- for me- the best comedy of its decade.

Slight, but attractive relationship comedy which owes a huge debt to Woody Allen- with the New York locations, the jazz score and the droll insights on the great game of love. Director Rob Reiner and scriptwriter Nora Ephron ostentatiously adopt Annie Hall (1977) as a model.

Indeed Billy Crystal, as the acerbic pessimist and Meg Ryan as the fluffy control freak appear to channel Woody and Diane Keaton. At the time all this was welcome as Allen was in his Ibsen period and had lost his audience. Whereas this was a critics' favourite and a box office success.

Yet it feels superficial in comparison; like a sequence of comic sketches drawn from magazine articles on the dating rituals of single metropolitan thirty-somethings. Harry and Sally meet occasionally over many years and though attracted to each other, sense they are not destined to be together.

There's a Hollywood ending, but it's welcome, and actually quite emotional. The observations are mostly astute. The famous scene in the delicatessen is hilarious (though out of character for such a fastidious character!) Sure, this is derivative, but still a superior romcom.

Dated low budget comedy which is interesting for its cynical, satirical account of corruption in American politics. It has points in common with Frank Capra’s pro-New Deal pictures of the late ‘30s. Harold Lloyd plays an ingenuous, humourless stooge who unintentionally gets elected mayor of a Californian city usually run by the mob.

So the novice attempts to remove graft from the machinery of local government, which results in chaos. Meanwhile he naively looks for a wife among the sardonic dames of the speakeasies. Having been raised with missionaries in China the patsy takes inspiration from eastern proverbs.

 The main drawback is the representation of his Chinese American cohorts is racist, if standard for the ‘30s. Also, while Harold was one of the standout comedians of the silents, he’s lacks the charm (and looks) to be the star of a screwball romance. Though everyone else is fine, including Una Merkel in the Jean Arthur type role.

There’s an interesting scene in a speakeasy with Harold flummoxed by the stripper and the girls from the chorus line. Which somehow escaped the production code. This could easily be from a story by Damon Runyon. It’s a minor comedy with many flaws, but still viable entertainment. 

The same year as Warner Brothers grabbed the zeitgeist with Little Caesar and The Public Enemy, Paramount released their own prohibition gangster film. This isn’t as violent or streetwise, but much less preachy. An honest, carefree fairground operator (Gary Cooper) joins the mob to get his crooked girlfriend (Sylvia Sidney) out of the big house.

So it’s also a romantic melodrama. There are the usual issues of the period with sound, and the actors in support roles are inflexible. While we're spared the editorialising moral sermons of those ‘30s Warners crime pictures, the influence of the Hays Office is still palpable.

But there are many positives. Rouben Mamoulian’s direction is impressive for an early talkie, with the tracking shots, the expressionism and cute perspectives. And though the audio is primitive, it is innovative. Dashiell Hammett’s only original screenplay lands a few punches. And there is Sylvia Sidney in her breakout performance as the bad girl gone good…

Neither she nor Cooper is quite there yet as an actor, but the screen glows when she is on. And this being precode, she gets to wear a stunning sexy/glamorous evening dress. It’s not really a landmark gangster film. But there is clever, unorthodox direction. And it’s a must-see for Sylvia Sidney fans.