Reviews

Dark Corner is one of my all-time favorite film noir movies. Mark Stevens was my reason for seeing it the first time--I was sure he was going to be a major dramatic/romantic star. I had first seen him in a cheap little B called Within These Walls, and wrote to him immediately, telling him he was definitely going to be a star in a year. He wrote back and thanked me and adolescent me was thrilled. I still have the photo he sent. In a year's time he was cast opposite Olivia De Haviland, and I was sure he was on his way. There were other good dramatic parts, then he started doing the light technicolor musicals, often with June Haver, and this was a let-down to me, a dedicated Stevens fan. Lat time I saw him was on Murder She Wrote--recognized the voice instantly. He was still devastatingly handsome. But The Dark Corner remains my favorite of his work, peopled with an excellent cast and with lots of marvelous noir atmosphere. Now that TCM has their own Noir program and host (2017), this fine quality, well acted and produced noir film should show up often there. Mark Stevens should have gone on playing this sort of role, leaving the musicals out of his resume. I admit I was not a big fan of the movies Lucy. But I really did like her in this, a different role for her. She was still the brittle, wise-cracking dame, but softened and a bit vulnerable and more real than the chorus cuties she too often played. A good cast, impressive stars, atmospheric music...this film is far, far better than anyone seemed to think at the time of it's release...

This remains one of my all-time favorite movies. I had read the Caspary novel first, and knew I had to see the movie when it first came out in the late 1940s. (I was in high school and was a life-long avid movie goer.) The film starred two of my favorite actors, Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews. I was already an artist who loved fashion, and the wardrobe in this film really impressed me and still does on repeated viewing. Tierney standing there in the white raincoat and that marvelous rain hat was stunning! Bonnie Cashin won much acclaim for her hats for Laura.

It is nearly impossible to talk about the plot without committing spoilers so I won't. Just know it is one of the best of film noir mysteries with puzzlers, plenty of drama, and surprises at nearly every turn. The dialogue is witty and revealing and the actors handle it superbly. The haunting musical theme enhanced the romantic drama and later became a major song hit with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. I guess my biggest problem with the story is how Laura, apparently a beautiful, bright, capable girl, could have taken up with so many losers and a such a shallow group of friends.

Another problem for me was the casting of Vincent Price as Laura's fiancé--I could never imagined him as a leading man. He was also Tierney's fiancé in a later film, 'Leave her To Heaven', but the role was brief and without romantic scenes. And of course, Clifton Webb is also very obviously a man unlikely to fall for a woman--but if you consider that the much older Waldo was simply controlling and obsessive it works.

This film turned out far better than anyone might have supposed, since at least two prominent directors turned it down because they didn't much care for the script. Gene Tierney worried her part would suffer because she wasn't in the film right away and then only as a recollection. The studio first considered Laird Cregar as Waldo, but Preminger said no-- the audience would see him as a villain the moment he appeared because he had played so many villains. Instead, Preminger wanted a middle-aged stage actor who had no movie experience, Clifton Webb, which at the time seemed a chancy choice. But he was perfect and the part made him a star. His waspish tongue and effete delivery did Waldo to a turn. In the book there is a scene where Waldo and Mark go into an antique shop where Waldo admires and wishes to buy a vase. It is not for sale says the shop owner, and somehow before they exit, the vase gets tipped and shatters to the floor. Considering Waldo's pattern of disposing of Laura's men and friends, it is a telling moment. (The moment is not in the film.) He seemed to feel he created her, owned her, taught her all she knew--that is his obsession with the exquisite creature that was Laura.

It is easy to see Mark becoming drawn into that fascination as Waldo obssesses. That gorgeous portrait over the fireplace was not actually a painting--it was a photograph which was touched up with oils to look like it was painted. The studio had commissioned a painting, but it didn't satisfy them. After all, much is focused on that portrait, so it had to be right.

Once you have seen the film, you may want to read the novel. Oh, and the movie won one Academy Award--not sure what for. Likely the camera work which is evocative film noir.

This was the kind of film that was the bottom bill and I saw it when I was a teen. I don't recall precise plot points, but I remember the actors, and especially one, Mark Stevens. When he came on, I sat up straighter in my seat. Here was someone who I felt was going to be a star. He had that magnetism, that thing with the camera. Thomas Mitchell was a decent character actor who did good work in this and while I was not a fan, Edward Ryan was good as the rebellious son. And Mary Anderson, who did so many Bs, was okay, too. But Mark really stood out.

When I got home, I immediately wrote a fan letter to Mark Stevens, telling him I was sure I'd be seeing him starring in movies soon, that he was destined for stardom. I received a very friendly, appreciative letter from him and included was a gorgeous 8x10 photo of him, personally signed. (the studios seldom sent photos of that size.) And I was right--Mark was co-starring with Joan Fontaine a year later. And with her sister a year after.

That had to have been at least 68 years ago and I still have that photo. One evening I was watching a 50-some rerun of Murder She Wrote, not paying close attention, and I heard a voice. I knew that voice and I stared at the actor. He looked so familiar, an older, white haired man--and it dawned on me. Mark Stevens! I waited for the credits and yes, it was Mark.

So this film has been embedded in my brain all these years

This is one of my all-time favorite films, partly because it stars Jean Arthur, one of my all- time favorite actresses, has Boyer's charm, and is beautifully directed and produced. An artistic achievement of its day.

Poor Jean Arthur, trying to get loose from a really ruthless, jealous soon-to-be ex, is set up in her Paris hotel room by husband who has hired a gigolo to sneak in. Boyer, on the balcony, gets wind of it and spoils it and steals her away. They wind up at his place of work, a elegant Paris restaurant, and they dance, dine, laugh, and begin to fall in love. But when she returns to the hotel, it seems the hired gigolo is dead, and her husband coerces her back, threatening scandal, making her give up the divorce final.

Broken-hearted, Boyer and his chef friend go to America to try to find the lady, but cannot, so decide to go to work at an upscale café where Boyer hopes she may patronize. She does and they reunite and the cruel almost-ex-husband, who is a very wealthy shipower and builder, fixes it so Boyer is about to get arrested for the Paris murder. Jean and Boyer try to return to Paris on board a new ship of her husband's and he orders the captain to go full speed into a dense fog...and, well, it is suspenseful and frightening and wonderful. It plays up the speed competitions of the great Ocean Liners, the luxuries and yet dangers of this mode of travel. I learned all I know of Ocean Liners of the time thru movies like this, Love Affair, and Now Voyager, etc, because I would never have the opportunity to sail on one myself. Movies were always a great source of learning to me! But this film is especially entertaining, even though Jean Arthur is playing a straight romantic drama this time. Boyer never disappoints. I count this as another of the late 1930's golden crop of finest all-time films...

Okay, I admit I have long had a soft spot for Michael Wilding--had a terrific crush on him when I was young and was delighted to see him in this film playing the Prince. He had a nice career going for himself in England before marrying Elizabeth and moving to the US. Hollywood didn't quite know what to do with him and he didn't have that many good or even likely roles here. In England he and Britain's favorite blonde, Anna Neagle, made several films in which she sang and the two of them danced (kind of a poor man's version of Rogers and Astaire), so he did dance in films before this picture, but I'm afraid he wasn't terrifically impressive as a dancer. But, boy, he had charm!

When I first saw this film I thought it was a bit simplistic, but I was won over by Leslie Caron, a favorite of mine. And it was gratifying to see Michael Wilding, though he didn't get to do much here. Loved Estelle Winwood; she too, was always good. Altogether a very pleasant movie, pretty to watch, if just a little slow. (Or maybe it seemed that way because with this story, there are no surprises--you know how it will end!)

The plot of Roberta is an old chestnut by now...young man (comic, dancer, musician, goof ball, etc--depends on which version) finds he has inherited one half of a posh fashion salon. He and his buddy go to salon to check it out, with the intent of making money either from selling it or by a promotion of one kind or another. They meet the other half owner, a gorgeous young woman. This plot was done as movies and even a TV show starring Bob Hope. This version is one of my cherished British films, actually, because it stars Michael Wilding. Wilding was wildly popular in England, long before he met and married Liz Taylor. He was usually teamed with Anna Neagle and they made several of these entertaining and fun films with place titles: Spring in Park Lane, Maytime In Mayfair, The Courtneys of Curzon Street, Picadilly Incident (a friend and I used to enjoy making up new titles for these stars--A Cuddle in the Cotswalds, Manchester Meeting, Winter in Winchester, Kissing in Kensington, etc.)

Neagle's husband produced most of Neagle's films and by teaming her with Wilding, had a good thing going for some time in the 1940s. Here Wilding is a broke aristocrat, a bit of a playboy, who intends to collect money from this inheritance, but is distracted from this when he meets the lovely co-owner, Neagle. The plot is entirely predictable, but enjoyable, all the same. He sets out to help make the salon a success so they can all make money. He and Neagle dance and romance (Wilding was marvelous at provocative little asides and quick quips), and there is a big fashion show as climax.

I always felt this couple was sort of a heavy-footed version of Astaire-Rogers. They usually began with some sort of misunderstanding or she hates him immediately or identities were mistaken, or some such device, and then all that sexual tension until they dance and romance blooms. I recommend this--not because it is a particularly good movie (it isn't), but because of Wilding's charm and wit. I adored him in British movies, and was so disappointed in his American movie career. They hadn't a clue what to do with him in the US, and so his career declined and was basically over by the time Taylor divorced him. What a shame. He made one US film, directed by Hitchcock, which gave you a hint of the charmer he had been, Stage Fright, with Jane Wyman and Marlene Dietrich.

As for Neagle, well she went on in such froth as this, long past her prime, but producer-husband Herbert Wilcox looked after her well, and she was a British favorite. She reacted well with Wilding, but I often found her bland.

Having just watched the original, "Four Daughters", made in 1938, I was struck by the fact that this 1954 remake follows the original script nearly word for word. And that's good because the script was excellent, with fast repartee and well-built drama. But it is unusual that a script tailored for the 1930s could still be as entertaining and relevant almost 20 years later. I have read that Warners intended the original Fannie Hurst story, "Sister Act", for a Bette Davis vehicle--it boggles the mind! Can't imagine it at all, given the story. Wise Bette turned it down, thank heavens. Instead, Warners cast the Lane sisters, Priscilla, Lola, and Rosemary, plus Gale Page as the fourth sister. (The fourth sister was dropped in "Young At Heart".) A rare case of two movies made from the same script, years apart, and of equal quality, this remake stands on its own and is just as entertaining as the original, if a little more light hearted. After all, the original had a tragic ending, which they didn't use for the remake. It is practically the only thing in the movie not a duplicate of the first movie. Even the sets look much the same. And "Young at Heart " added popular songs. Ethel Barrymore took over for May Robson, but it was the kind of caustic aunt role she had played many times. I missed Claude Raines in the newer version, but preferred Gig Young to Jeffrey Lynn. In fact, the cast of each film was really first rate. I could happily recommend either or both films!