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Reviews
The Lady and the Mob (1939)
Mob Comedy Is An Offer You Shouldn't Refuse
As a fan of comedies from Hollywood's Golden Age, I've seen such classics as "Duck Soup,", "His Girl Friday," and "Bringing Up Baby" many, many times. Though I never tire of them, I often wonder if there are many unheralded gems still deep in Hollywood's vaults awaiting the light of day. For this reason alone, the invaluable cable television station Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is always worth visiting for a little prospecting.
Today, I found a fair-sized gold nugget there: "The Lady and the Mob" (Columbia Pictures, 1939). Ever hear of it? I hadn't, and chances are, you haven't either. Ever since TCM gained access to Columbia's vaults, some interesting films started reaching the public again, like "Ladies in Retirement" (1941), a twisty suspense film with a superb performance from Ida Lupino. I mention Miss Lupino because she's second-billed in "The Lady & The Mob." Comedy was never a big part of her career, but she acquits herself quite well in the supporting role of Lila Thorne, fiancée of Fred Leonard (Lee Bowman) who sends her to meet and be approved by his mother, Hattie Leonard (Fay Bainter) who has a track record for scaring away prospective brides.
What seems to be the set-up for a '30s Hollywood comedy of manners quickly shifts gears into another comedic sub-genre, the mob comedy, best typified by such films as "Brother Orchid" (1940) and "A Slight Case of Murder" (1938), two Warner Bros. light-hearted offerings that gave Edward G. Robinson a chance to spoof his tough guy image.
After visiting her local cleaners to complain about a $2 bill, Hattie learns that the owner, Mr. Zambrogio (Henry Armetta) had to raise prices because a "protective association" is extorting $7 a week from him and others. Outraged after the mayor assures her that the matter will be remedied eventually sometime, she sends for Frankie O'Fallon (Warren Hymer), a reformed thief whom she met when he tried to steal her purse, to lend a hand. Framkie is quickly decked by Harry the Lug (Harold Huber), the racket collector prompting Hattie to order Frankie to recruit her own mob. Before long, we are introduced to Blinky Mack, Brains Logan, Bert the Beetle, Big Time Tim and The Canary (with a voice that sounds like Curly's from The Three Stooges, though it's not) and the laughs which were decent from the beginning start coming at you with the rapidity of a tommy gun.
The film abounds in bright lines sch as when Hattie, correcting Frankie after he calls her "lady", rebukes him with: "My servants call me madam." Perplexed, Frankie comments, "Gee, that don't hardly sound respectable." I love the scene where the local hoods that Hattie has recruited stroll about her mansion looking at her artwork. Seeing a Gainsborough-like painting depicting a child on its mother's lap, one of them urges the others to "get a load of the ventriloquist here!" And wait 'til you see their armor-plated getaway car replete with smokescreen generator and dropping tacks, anticipating James Bond's Aston Martin car by a quarter of a century.
In the lead role, Fay Bainter may appear an odd choice, here looking a lot like May Robson and sounding very much like Billie Burke, two actresses who may have seemed like more natural casting for such a dizzy society matron role. After all, Miss Bainter had established a reputation as a dramatic actress, having been nominated as Best Actress for "White Banners" and Best Supporting Actress for "Jezebel," (and winning for the latter role), both for Warner Bros. in 1938, the year before. To work for Columbia (then trying to fight off its "poverty row studio" image) in what was at 66 minutes, a B-movie, seemed to be a comedown. Whatever the circumstances -- I'd like to think it was simply someone recognizing a good role in a good script --she makes the film a ton of fun.
About midway in, an interesting scene occurs that warrants special mention. After a horde of owners have come to her house, insisting she call off her campaign because the ensuing brawls between the two mobs are wrecking their cleaning stores, Hattie launches into a dramatic monologue about patriotism, quoting Robert G. Harper's "Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute." In quick succession, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Patrick Henry's most famous lines are also heard. Declaring that a real American will never tolerate a dictator, she likens Mr. Watson, the mid-level operator of the town's protection racket, to one who "doesn't believe in your rights." Don't let him take your America from you, she urges.
Warner Bros. is often credited (and rightly so) with alerting the country to the dangers of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany with its exciting, "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" in 1939. That film was released May 6. "The Lady & The Mob", first in theaters nearly five weeks earlier on April 3, stole a bit of its thunder. Granted it was only one scene and its impact can hardly be compared to this other film. But I mention it to illustrate that Warner Bros. wasn't the only studio concerned about the Nazis that was willing to make a public statement at the risk of foreign revenues, even if Hitler was never directly named. Although you might think that Hattie's plea might stop the comedy cold, the words are so well-integrated into the plot that they don't kill the mood which is quickly flowing again.
If you're a fan of gangster comedies, this film is well-worth your time thanks to a good script, several wonderful character actors at their peak, and a high-flying lead performance that will bring a smile to your face long after the movie's over. Rated 8 of 10.
The Visitor (2007)
Wonderful Film Celebrates The Humanizing Power of Music
Writer-Director Tom McCarthy has taken a simple idea - the humanizing power of music -- and has fashioned a very satisfying film, one that appeals to both the mind and the heart. Veteran character actor Richard Jenkins ("The Kingdom," "North Country,", "Shall We Dance") stars as Walter Vale, a college professor who arrives at his Manhattan apartment one evening, after a long absence, and discovers he is not alone. A young Muslim couple, Tarek, a musician from Syria, and Zainab, a woman from Senegal who makes and sells jewelry at street fairs, have been living there, unknowingly illegally.
Realizing the situation, they immediately gather their sparse belongings and leave, forgetting a photo of themselves. Walter, a widower, discovers it, and perhaps a distant memory of a better time. He catches up with them a few blocks away to return the picture. Essentially a good man, although a very lonely one, he invites them to come back, just until they can make other living arrangements. Little do these three people -- or the viewer -- realize how their lives will change, in some cases for the better, and in other cases, for the worse.
The movie first introduces Walter trying to learn to play the piano. His teacher (Marian Seldes, in an amusing cameo) points out the obvious: it's hard for someone Walter's age, without any natural talent, to succeed. So why is he so determined? Could it be a way to somehow unite in spirit with his deceased wife, a classical pianist? Before long, Walter discovers he does indeed have some natural musical talent -- but not for the piano but for the drum. Tarek introduces Walter to the drum and a very different kind of music.
Through music, Walter discovers something deep within himself. Jenkins, in an award-caliber performance that one hopes will be remembered when the award-bestowing season rolls around, makes the most of his role through subtle body language. In his face and eyes, we see a weary life, one lived for too long on automatic pilot. The joy he conveys in little bursts of discovery through the drumbeats of other countries may make your heart leap within you.
Writer-director McCarthy, however, has much more up his sleeve. Tarek and Zainab are illegal immigrants. Through a strange twist of fate, Tarek is quickly scooped up by immigration officials. Walter, having reconnected with his humanity, is galvanized to help. Like Walter, the viewer is swept up into a world where the promises of inscribed on the Statue of Liberty (seen several times throughout the film) jar coldly against the politics of a post-9/11-world.
If you need a change of pace from the summer blockbusters of special effects -- and I have enjoyed many of them, I gladly admit -- and want to instead be enthralled by the plight of several ordinary characters whom you have come to know and care for very deeply, this is a film you should seek out. It is one of the finest films of the year.