Midnight Club (1933)

Randomly, I checked youtube for new stuff and found a George Raft movie I hadn't seen.

Midnight Club is a fun little visit into the world of aristocratic jewel thieves in London.  The titular Midnight Club functions as a hide-out/base of operations for Colin Grant (Clive Brook) and his gang.  This movie makes thievery into a gentleman's game, and everyone is oh-so-polite throughout.  He and the rest of his gang have employed a set of doubles (the same actors in some beautiful split screen work that does not look like split screen).  The doubles will sit in plain view at their table in the Midnight Club, setting up a perfect alibi, while the real gang goes out and steals jewels.  Commissioner Hope (Guy Standing) knows Grant is guilty, but he simply can't find a way to prove it.  No matter what he does, who he has watched, Grant's beautiful little setup thwarts the good guys.

Enter George Raft, as Nick Mason, an American detective brought over to infiltrate Grant's gang.  Yes!  He's playing a good guy, which I quite enjoyed.  Of course his job is complicated when he falls for the girl, Iris (Helen Vinson).

The fun of this film is mostly just watching the good guys and bad guys sparring with each other in a verbal cat-and-mouse.  The commissioner knows Grant is guilty, Grant knows he knows it and is delightfully smug in the fact that the commissioner will never figure out his secret.  They remain oh-so-polite and friendly to each other throughout, which is quite refreshing.  There's a wee bit of violence at the end when Grant finally cottons on to the fact that Raft isn't who he says he is, but it's short (too short, lol.)

Some Like it Hot on the big screen!

Well, I've seen my first George Raft film on the big screen! (Why yes, I do watch this movie for George Raft first, those other guys second...LOL!). I discovered a new theater in my area, the Fox Theater in Redlands, which has Classic Movie Tuesdays. Last night's movie was Some Like it Hot.

Talk about a fun movie to see with a small crowd of enthusiastic film lovers! There was much delighted laughter all the way through. The theater really is more of an event center, with a dance floor, tables, etc. They set up seating in the middle for the film viewing. The print was clean, the sound good, though a little loud for me. I will definitely be going back to see more movies here. Their film selection is quite varied, so it will be interesting to see what April's schedule holds!

All in all, a great time at a nice venue. But any chance to see classic movies big screen without driving all the way to Hollywood is grand by me!

Listy things -- George Raft

Favorite George Raft films:

1. Spawn of the North (1938)
2. Souls at Sea (1937)
3. Each Dawn I Die (1939)
4. Invisible Stripes (1939)
5. Rumba (1935)
6. Scarface (1932)
7. Some Like It Hot (1959)
8. They Drive by Night (1940)
9. Loan Shark (1952)
10. Background to Danger (1943)

I find it very amusing that my favorite two George Raft films also star two actors I'm not particularly fond of, Henry Fonda and Gary Cooper. Yet I'll watch each any day of the week just to catch those two particular films, which showcase George at his least smooth and well-dressed. Not that I mind him smooth and well-dressed, because damn, the man can wear a tailored suit like nobody's business. But I tend to love rough-and-tumble first, and Spawn of the North and Souls at Sea deliver that. I love the first half of They Drive by Night for the same reason, rough and tumble and scruffy, fisticuffs and wise-cracking.


(up tomorrow... Aldo Ray)

Background to Danger (1943)

This was a pretty entertaining, but not great, spy movie. On the surface, it sounds like quite a winner. The plot is intriguing. Set in WWII, in neutral Turkey. The Germans aim to break that neutrality and give Germany a chance to take over by convincing Turkey Russia plans to evade. They've cooked themselves up a nice little scheme, complete with a fake invasion plan, photos, maps, etc. that the main German instigator (Sidney Greenstreet) plans to publish in a Turkish newspaper. Standing in the way of the nifty German plot are an American spy (George Raft), and several Russian ones (including Peter Lorre and Brenda Marshall).

The movie starts out promising enough. Raft manages to obtain the photos and plans, but the woman who gives them to him is murdered and Raft framed. He's then kidnapped by Greenstreet's men -- not before hiding the plans, of course. Greenstreet does not remotely play nice in his quest to recover the plans, and when Raft refuses to cooperate, our hero gets kicked down to the cellar, only to be rescued from torture by Peter Lorre, and the race is on to see who can obtain the plans first -- and stay alive while they're at it.

Alas, the second half of the movie isn't as fun as the first, but it's livened up considerably by Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet. How can you go wrong with either? Lorre plays a good guy for once, albeit a devious, tricky spy, who loves his vodka. He's delightful, and his lines and delivery made me laugh outloud more than once. He's definitely worth the price of admission alone. I love when he finally tells Raft the truth, isn't believed, and kind of throws up his hands. And the way he sits crosslegged on top of a table to tell his story. He's just plain fun in this movie!

Sidney Greenstreet plays one of those pontificating bad guys who likes to hear himself talk. But, he also smart, one step ahead of the good guys most of the movie, and isn't afraid to do his own dirty work when it comes down to it (though he prefers to do it in comfort). And while he may speechify an awful lot, his dialogue is filled with dry humor and some really nice turns of phrase that also made me grin.

Brenda Marshall plays Peter Lorre's sister, and I hate to say it, but she appears to have hated making this movie or something... she put zero personality into her role. She has no chemistry with Lorre or Raft or even the scenery. She's the weakest link here, her part is unnecessary anyway (token female good guy and tacked on love interest), and I really wish her part had been cut completely. She at least gets to drive the car in the big car chase... but she's pretty expressionless there too.

George Raft turns in a mostly average performance, with a few really good moments and a few snappy lines of his own. I still adore the man. I do love when he gets that stubborn set to his jaw and that defiant look in his eye, and I love the back and forth with Peter Lorre he gets to do as both try to play each other to get what they need, and as they alternate who has the drop on the other. Not nearly enough fisticuffs from him, but there's still plenty of running and scrambling around to show off his physical grace. And he sure does know how to wear a hat and coat well.

The rest of the supporting cast was excellent, I loved the train sequences (trains in old movies are never a bad thing!), the wild, fish-tailing car chase was exciting, shadows and dark alleys abounded, and I loved the confrontations between good guys and bad guys. There was also a lame epilogue, and a couple of lame deaths, but for the most part, it still kept me solidly entertained in a B-spy movie way.

Day 5- Favourite love story in a film

Before 1970: Souls at Sea (1937) - Powdah (George Raft) and Babsie (Olympe Bradna). I didn't know what to expect when I watched this movie, but I certainly didn't expect it to include one of the sweetest -- and saddest -- love stories ever. This is a different type role for George, much softer, not so tough, and he's wonderful in it. Watching George woo the gentle, sweet Babsie (and I mean that in the best way, she's adorable), win her, and then lose her. It was so touching. And yes, George Raft made me cry and cry, too (so, pffft to anyone who says he can't act).


Post 1970: The Wind and the Lion (1975) - the Raisuli (Sean Connery) and Eden Pedecaris (Candice Bergen). I've been sharing these prompts with my sister, and she rolled her eyes when I told her this choice for my favorite love story. She called this movie the most frustrating love story of all time. Hee. But what she hates about it is exactly what I love so much about it. I love the relationship between the two main characters, how it grows and becomes something special and wonderful -- without them ever sharing a kiss or bed or anything physical. When he comes and rescues her single-handedly after her escape attempt goes wrong, okay, that's probably the most romantic moment in a movie ever for me. And at the end, after she's returns the favor and rescues him, when he tells her goodbye: "I'll see you again, Mrs. Pedecaris, when were are both like golden clouds on the wind," I almost always tear up. Definitely my favorite love story in a film. It's also my favorite Sean Connery role, and one of the few films I adore Candice Bergen in. The love story is also intrinsically bound up in Jerry Goldsmith's score, which is some of the most sweepingly romantic music, I know.



Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I don't go for typical happy ending love stories. I can't help what I like.

Day 23 → A YouTube video

Yeah, yeah, it's another What's My Line, but this one's my favorite, and I watch it quite frequently.

Day 06 → Whatever tickles your fancy

Coincidence! Two George Raft films were playing at the Egyptian theater this past Saturday, and I was all lined up to go when plans unfortunately unraveled at the last minute. So what showed up in the mail yesterday? Not one, but two George Raft films from Netflix. I'm only on the one-at-a-time plan, but some of the top items in my queue are on short wait, and the next available item had to ship from somewhere else in the US, so they shipped the item after that as well to tide me over. Both ended up arriving the same day, no delay at all. So now I have Mr. Ace and Outpost in Morocco to watch. Missed two, got two others. I am bummed I couldn't get to the theater, but I'll be keeping an eye out and hopefully will be able to catch the next ones.

Delightful things in 2009

The best thing about 2009 was discovering George Raft. February 2009 brought me Invisible Stripes and with it, an actor who rapidly captured my heart and stayed there (eep, that means I need to redo my top ten favorite actors list, huh?). My love for him is undiminished, if anything it gets stronger with each movie of his I see. I recently watched a VHS tape of Souls at Sea (1937). Oh man, love! I never had a chance to review the film here, but I loved it, and George's character broke my heart in it and made me cry. I even didn't mind Gary Cooper at all. They made a very fun pair. Love their duets.


There were two other actors I had minor flings with this last year. Gilbert Roland, who I've always liked, but I finally got to sit down and watch a bunch more of his work. Still adore his Cisco Kid series. And a current actor... Colin Firth. I've had friends who've always liked him, but I never saw the appeal. Just never liked the romantic comedy character types he seemed to be locked into playing. I guess I was just waiting for him to appear in a movie where he played against that type. Turns out that movie was The Last Legion (2007), a Roman/Arthurian legend retelling that I really enjoyed it, despite the fact that while the first half of the movie is really good, the second half rather sucks. But what I enjoyed most was simply seeing Colin Firth in an action role. Ahhhh, finally! He's damned good at it too. So, watched a whole bunch of his movies, but with the exception of Fever Pitch (1997) (which I really really loved), the rest were meh and did nothing for me. Which just makes me plain cranky. Damn it all, can't I write him a movie script or two? Please?


Movies I bought this year after catching them on Netflix:

Alvarez Kelly
Escape from Fort Bravo (I owned a taped copy of this, but I wanted a clearer DVD copy to better enjoy all the lovely William Holden-ess of it. I particularly love the end of this movie.)
Picnic (another one I owned on tape, but wanted a clearer DVD copy)
The Black Swan (though this was gifted to me before I could buy it myself!)
Road to Perdition (also gifted before I could buy it!)

I will be buying The Last Legion, I just haven't yet. And I really want to own Rio Conchos, but alas, it's not out on DVD yet. Grr. And I think I also need a copy of Pixar's Up for myself. (I got one for my nephew for Christmas.) Now, everything I've seen by Pixar is very good, but Up tops them all. What a wonderful, crazy, beautiful, emotional ride! It only took one viewing to make it my favorite Pixar film.

New movies I actually saw in the theater:

Wolverine
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Star Trek
Avatar

Kind of funny, really. All big budget types. But then, given how infrequently I go to the cinema, not surprising. I had much more fun watching classic movies. If only I lived closer to Hollywood and its revival theaters. I'd be going to the theater all the time. So many good classic movies appeared that if I had the resources, I'd go see on the big screen. This next year, I'll see if I can remedy that a bit, make the trek.

2009 was a good year for me. I have no complaints. Here's looking forward to 2010!

Happy New Year!

Internet Amusement

This is a case where I should have left well enough alone... See, I did this online Mash thingy yesterday after Ginger did it, and I got Van Heflin, and it was a very nice, pleasant future indeed. But as I didn't grab a screenshot, and everyone else was posting theirs on their journal, so I thought I should do it again, and this time do it fairly and put in a (yuck) person (Victor Mature, for me... yuck yuck and yuck), and yuck locations, occupations, etc., instead of putting in everything all rosy and golden.

And this time, I got who I wanted to get the first time... Georgie! Except... one should never marry a gambler. Clearly, he has lost all our money, as... well, look:



A shack? a SHACK?? I get George Raft and our abode is a shack?? In Sicily, raising sheep and six kids, no less. That's it, I'm now in charge of the bank account. But! I did get the vehicle of my choice, as I do lurve those jeeps, and I'm living in the perfect kind of country to drive it too.

"I see a man in your life." -- "What, only one?"

Another actress first for me... Mae West! I've seen clips of her all my life, but never watched a complete film. She's so instantly recognizable, so cariactured she's almost a cartoon figure, and yet there's a whole lot more to her in a full movie. She's pretty, fun and saucy, smart, and actually rather stand-offish with her men. More flirt and talk than action. And despite the patented way of talking, she's unexpectedly genuine. I liked her a lot!

I watched two films, Night After Night (1932) and I'm No Angel (1933), off disc 1 of the "Mae West: The Glamour Collection" dvds. I netflixed the disc for Night After Night, which is a George Raft movie, and was actually going to skip the second film. Mostly because Cary Grant is in it, and while I like older Cary Grant, he just bugs me when he's really young. So, I put it on only to see how it started and then saw the following credit:


Well, then I had to leave it on. Story, screenplay, and dialogue by Mae West? That I wanted to see! I'm not sure how many "Suggestions" there were from Lowell Brentano, but it was a quite amusing film, with a witty script, full of snappy one-liners and trouble and love. It suited her perfectly and I'd like to think most of it was hers. I particularly like her character's knick knack shelf, where she keeps pictures of her various suitors next to animal figurines that match their personality: skunks, snakes, etc. Hee. The courtroom scene is unorthodox but note perfect for Mae West and a highlight of the film.

Night After Night was also amusing, but not as good, mostly because I really disliked the Park Avenue broad slumming around George's speakeasy, looking for a "pirate." Of course, he ends up falling for her. Gah! No no no. She needed to go. She was annoying and full of all the wrong kind of airs. George was way too smart and interesting and funny to fall for a dumb dame like her. But the best parts of the film had nothing to do with her, cuz the best parts of the film belong to Alison Skipworth. She played Miss Jellyman, a matronly school teacher George hires to teach him how to be an educated gentleman. Their scenes are hilarious, and even better... her scenes with Mae West. Boy, those two together are priceless. Alison Skipworth definitely steals the movie. I love her! According to IMDb, she was 69 when she made this movie, but I would have guessed her younger.

(Mae West in I'm No Angel -- love her smile!)

Spawn of the North (1938)

I know, I know. Enough on George Raft already, but I watched a predictable, cheesy-by-today's-standards, but totally wonderful film on youtube last night. It was so much fun I just have to write about it. And I also have to thank these wonderful strangers from all over the world who take the time to post movies on youtube. It may not be the ideal viewing venue, but as I don't have cable, and these films aren't on DVD, youtube is turning into a veritable treasure trove of classics.

Spawn of the North kind of goes with Joel McCrea's The Silver Horde... more Alaska salmon fishing/canning/romance/violence. What's up with all these salmon fishing movies anyway? LOL!

But this film shot immediately onto the top five list of my personal favorite Raft films. It's George without a perfectly tailored suit in sight (okay, there's one suit, because I think there's some sort of rule about him being required to wear one, but only for one party scene, and it's an old suit). It's George scruffy and a bit unkempt, cocky and smirking, and singing (not a bad voice either). He's not in tough guy mode here (except for a couple moments). And best of all -- it's George swimming and goofing off with a sea lion named Slicker. I mean come on, what's not to love? Then there's also Dorothy Lamour (one of my favorite actresses) as his girlfriend. She's feisty and every bit his match. They're a very good combo.

The film also stars Henry Fonda, unfortunately, who I can really do without. He has the charm of a cud-chewing bovine and I swear, whenever he shows up in a movie with one of my favorite actors, my favorite actor will be in trouble and Henry Fonda will do nothing about it. It's guaranteed. Like The Ox-Bow Incident. Ahem. I'm telling you, Henry Fonda is just plain bad luck for my men.

In the film, Henry's character, Jim, and George's character, Tyler, grew up together. Get them together and they still behave like a couple of 10-year-old kids. It's a crack up, and his silly interplay with George almost made me like Henry Fonda for awhile. They're best friends, but that doesn't stop them from trying to one-up each other where women are concerned. Of course, movies are built of conflict, so the fun and games don't last. Tyler needs money to achieve his dream of owning a schooner and making something of himself. (Money, it really is the root of all evil.) When he can't get any fast the legal way, he goes illegal (natch! it's George!), and he does it by hooking up with a Russian named Red (hah!) who steals salmon from other people's traps and sells them himself. This puts Tyler on the wrong side of the law from Jim, but things would still work out all right, except the other robbed salmon fishermen band together and decide to go vigilante and kill anyone who steps onto their boats. And they do it too. No handing transgressors over to the law, they just murder them. (And gee, Henry Fonda can't stop them any more than he can stop the vigilantes in The Ox-Bow Incident.) Jim tries to warn Tyler from going with Red, but Tyler doesn't listen. There's no guesswork where the movie's going to go from there. And of course, this being George Raft... he redeems himself and comes out the hero in the end. I'm telling you, it's his raison d'être in films, doing the right thing at the eleventh hour.

There were so many great scenes. My absolute favorite: Tyler and Jim and the bet payoff with the egg. Makes me laugh out loud just thinking of it. Every scene with George and Dorothy, but particularly her attempt to stop him from heading out to join Red. Dorothy Lamour's resigned/mortified: "I hope they've got their clothes on" comment. And there's one gruesome scene involving cigarette smoke and what happens when you smoke when you've been shot through the lung that I won't forget anytime soon. Gah! There's also a couple unexpectedly powerful emotional scenes where George shows he's anything but wooden. (He's extremely lively and colorful the entire movie.) There's also some quite intense action scenes on the salmon boats. The two newspaper guys get some choice dialog that also made me laugh aloud. The editor waxes flowery and poetic, and the typesetter guy who, when asked to read the editorial back, renders it into just the important words. Nice writing lesson there, LOL! Actually, all the dialog was well-written. Quite a few zingers in there, and some quiet important stuff too. Man, I love this movie.

And then there's Slicker the sea lion. He steals every scene he's in. And he almost made me cry at not one but two points too. Darn animals. They break your heart.

A moral compass

I was noting the other day that while George Raft may be known for playing gangsters, he actually plays very few genuine bad guys. Of the fifteen or so films I've seen in the past few weeks, he was a bad guy in only two (okay, three counting Some Like it Hot, which I haven't seen recently), and those were Scarface and Palmy Days.

In the commentary on the Each Dawn I Die DVD, the speaker mentioned that George apparently had turned down films like High Sierra and Double Indemnity because the characters he would have played had no moral compass. And after the run of films I've seen, that totally rings true. He really does go for the characters that ultimately choose right over wrong. Even when he's on on the wrong side of the law (or especially when he's on the wrong side), he still does what's right and ends up a hero. And I get the feeling that's what he really liked about being in movies, getting to be the hero. There's a little extra twinkle in his eye when he finally does the right thing (usually before he's killed for it), like this is what it's all about.

And that's the very thing that drew me to him in the first place, when I watched Invisible Stripes. I need my characters to change and grow in a movie. They gotta be different people at the end of the film than when they started out, or I just get bored. And I'm the biggest sucker on the planet for a character who's got a redemption arc, and nine times out of ten, George's shadier characters all redeem themselves before the final credits. Really, how could I not fall in love with him? He's an actor tailor-made for me.

Each Dawn I Die is my favorite of his films to date. I loved absolutely everything about this film, and both James Cagney and George Raft are outstanding. It was only the second James Cagney film I'd ever seen, the first being Tribute to a Bad Man. So I watched White Heat and Yankee Doodle Dandy last week to expand my James Cagney viewing experience. White Heat was the exact opposite of a George Raft movie, and I didn't really enjoy it. James Cagney's character is clearly not going to change (nor did I want him to), and neither does the nominal good guy, Edmond O'Brien. The film is just a straight-forward account of a bad guy and how he ultimately gets his. Nothing wrong with that at all, and while I appreciate the movie, and I do love watching Cagney at work, the movie still does nothing for me personally and it won't be one I ever watch again. I need more... which brings me back to George Raft. His movie choices, for better or worse, give me that more I'm looking for.

(George Raft as Stacey from Each Dawn I Die)

Two birds with one stone

After fellow blogger Hollywood Dreamland wrote this entry about posting a picture of Carole Lombard, I realized I had never actually seen a movie of hers. Not one. I know who she is, I know she was married to Clark Gable, I know about her untimely death, and I can usually recognize her in photos. But I've never seen her in a movie. Now that's shameful!

So, in a convenient piece of timing, she's the female lead in two of the George Raft films I really wanted to see, Bolero (1934) and Rumba (1935), so I got to indulge my continuing love of all things George Raft and see Carole Lombard at the same time!

And I really adored Carole Lombard in both films. I like how comfortable she is on screen. She has such a natural, unaffected elegance about her. Feminine and beautiful and strong. She could rapidly become one of my favorite actresses, except I believe a lot of her movies are comedies. I'll have to see what's out there because I definitely want to see her in more films.

As to the two films themselves, Bolero is apparently considered the better of the two... naturally, I liked Rumba better. LOL! But Bolero's timeline covers many years as we follow arrogant, ambitious dancer Raoul (George) on his rise up to the top. Lengthy rags-to-riches plots (and movies in general that span many years) just don't satisfy me. This is just a personal thing; I need my plots in much tighter time frames with more immediate needs/conflicts. This film also suffers from the There Are No Happy Endings in WWI Movies syndrome. But it was still a good movie, and I still enjoyed it, particularly to watch George's dance routines. It's one of the things that fascinates me about him, how he can be a rather vicious street fighter and also a damned stylish dancer. It's like what the guy in this hilarious What's My Line ep says: "The only tough dancer I know is George Raft." And it's true! In these two movies, he's playing characters just as tough as when he plays gangsters -- he just translates it to his dancing. There's just a graceful, elegant ruthlessness to him in everything he does that intrigues me no end.

On the other hand, Rumba's much tighter plot mostly focuses on the troubled romance between the two leads, with, again, George's drive to make it big as the backdrop. It has much more tension, and because of the year it was made, I actually wasn't sure how it was going to end. I like that a lot. George is more fiery/passionate about his dancing and his women in this one, colder and egotistical towards both in Bolero. I like that passion aspect more too, and the dances in Rumba were longer and more entertaining.

George and Carole make a very appealing couple. They play off each other very believably, and they also dance quite well together. Not Fred and Ginger (who is?), but more than adequate.

George Raft - quicky film reviews

I don't currently have any of the more famous George Raft films handy at the moment, but thanks to Netflix's instant viewing capability, I was still able to indulge my current obsession. I watched a bunch of his later movies that nobody's probably ever heard of and probably doesn't want to! But George aged really well, as far as I'm concerned. He stays a fit, active, and very handsome man all through his life. These roles are, for the most part, quite undemanding, and George gets a lot of criticism for being wooden, but really... there's nothing truly interesting for him to do in these later third-rate films. Just run around dodging trouble and solving mysteries. Nobody else is going to do much with the roles either, and personally, I'd rather watch George over a lot of other actors.

Whistle Stop (1946) -- Okay, if you leave your brain at the door, this movie is rather entertaining. Otherwise, it makes no sense. Ava Gardner returns to her tiny home town where George is wasting his time unemployed, drinking, and playing cards. They had a thang in the past, and both wouldn't mind having a thang now. But George is now an idle layabout, and she wants more out of life, so there's the town rich guy -- but he's a rotten louse. And that's where it devolves into wacky plot land. Victor McLaglen's running around, stirring up trouble. He tries to get George to join him in a plot to steal Rich Guy's money, then there's this whole weird frame up for murder, and they're forced to run. There's also George's other girlfriend who naturally reacts badly to Ava Gardner's return, except her fate is... um... illogical. There's so much plot in this movie that simply doesn't add up. However, George Raft, Victor McLaglen, Ava Gardner -- they're all fun to watch, even if the story's dumb.

Would I watch it again? Probably, just for the cast.

(Oooh, and a personal highlight was watching George and Victor play Casino in this movie! Another card game, (like klaberjass or klobiyash, however the hell you want to spell it) from my youth. I love playing Casino, and I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone ever play it in a movie before! Speaking of klob (which is still the best two-person card game ever)... my parents caught a film with James Cagney where they were playing it! I need to get the name of that film and watch it. It was with great joy that I discovered Dana Andrews LOVED playing klob. Sigh. Oh, to go back in time, put some opera on, and play klobiyash with him. And catch a couple of fifties and set him and beat his pants... mwahhahhah. Sadly, the only people I know who play this game nowadays are my own family. I really am living in the wrong decade.)


The Man From Cairo (1953) -- Best parts of this movie are the bookends. I laughed outloud at the expected, but still delightful last 30 seconds of this movie. In this one, George is visiting Algiers and gets mistaken for an American detective who's being sent there to find out about a missing gold stash from the war. Oddly George doesn't protest this mistaken identity problem. No, instead he runs with it, particularly after getting drugged, accused of murder, and finding out there's a gorgeous dame involved (Gianna Maria Canale, who really is drop-dead gorgeous in this film). Naturally, he goes on to solve the problem of the missing gold. A straightforward, routine, but fast-paced sort of film. Amusing enough.

Would I watch again? If I was really bored and had nothing else to do.


Loan Shark (1952) -- Probably my favorite of the bunch. George gets out of prison (what, again? LOL!), and goes undercover hunting for the leader of a nasty bunch of loan sharks who are preying on the employees of a tire factory after they murder his sister's husband. He joins the bad guys and quickly makes himself indispensable. He has to reject his sister, friends, and a new girlfriend to do it. This one's got a bunch of character actors I like, the kind of guys who show up in everything back then: John Hoyt (I mostly know him from tv: " Star Trek," "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," "Big Valley," etc.) Paul Stewart (Kiss Me Deadly, King Creole, 12 O'Clock High), and Henry Slate (The Frogmen, Somebody Loves Me, Miss Sadie Thompson). Paul Stewart looks and acts just like he stepped out of Kiss Me Deadly. Same delightfully smirky expression. He should have that look patented. Love them all! This one is more lively than the others. It had a pretty tight script, pretty decent dialog, some nice fist fights (George sure throws a vicious punch), interesting bad guys, and a satisfying (if predictable) ending. Oh, speaking of the ending, I made the mistake of reading a couple reviews before watching the film that claimed there was a twist at the end... they LIE! I spent the movie second-guessing characters and motives, waiting for some kind of cool plot twist to spring up because there was so much room for one or even two... and there was absolutely nothing. Grrr. And this is precisely why I don't read reviews before I see a movie. Nothing worse than setting up false expectations.

Would I watch again? Oh yeah.


I'll Get You (1952) -- Yeah, sure, and who came up with that brilliant title? Not even sure what the title has to do with the movie. This was the worst of the bunch, which is too bad, cuz the basic idea is sound: hunting for bad guys smuggling scientists through the Iron Curtain. It's just that they don't do anything with it and nobody really seems in danger and nothing personal's at stake. Sigh. However, this movie surprised me because it actually featured a capable female character played by Sally Gray. She plays a British Intelligence agent who seemed surprisingly realistic for a film made in the early 50's. She's cool-headed, she gets the drop on George, she's good at what she does, lies her way into wherever she needs to go, her boss trusts her, etc. -- and all without ever turning into some lame "kick-ass superwoman" caricature that she'd probably be nowadays. She's just a girl doing a job to the best of her ability. It was a very welcome surprise. Of course, the script requires she fall in love with George. And they were doing so well with her character up until then. Sigh. Does every story have to have a romantic element??

Would I watch again? Doubtful. Except maybe the part where he vaults over a high railing and lands lightly on his feet. At age 57. I like that part.

Those (im)Pervious Cars

You know how things always come in threes... Well, I've had a run on old-time car chases lately, and what I've noticed is that 30's and 40's cars seemed to provide little protection against someone shooting at you. (Warning... minor spoilers follow...)

In Invisible Stripes, Bogart gets his leg wounded by police bullets fired from behind that go right through the trunk and backseat. In Whistle Stop, George Raft gets nailed the same way -- and he's all the way up in the front seat. And in Scarface, as he moves up the gangland chain of command, one of the first things Tony Camonte does is get himself a car with bulletproof glass and a steel body which, sure enough, comes in handy during an assassination attempt on his life later. Clearly, cars provided little protection from all those flying bullets and he knew darn well to take some precautions up front.

Naturally, I dig this threat immensely. It increases the tension to know characters are hardly safe just because they made it to their car and are speeding away. In fact, Invisible Stripes and Whistle Stop caught me a bit off-guard, particularly the latter. I was not expecting anybody to get shot like that because I've been conditioned by current films to think that can't happen that way. And in both films, other characters actually have to ask the suddenly grimacing, wounded men, "you hit?" because it's not obvious what's happened; there's been no sound of shattering glass, no holes appearing in their rear view mirror panorama. And there's something a bit scary and cool about that.

So, what is up with modern cars? Are their chassis materials that much stronger? I swear the only time people get wounded in modern car chases is when they get shot through the windows. People are always ducking low beneath the windshield in movies, yelling, "Get down!" Like that's the only danger: bullets through the glass. There's probably some exceptions, but right now, I can't think of any. It seems like if you get in your modern vehicle and stay low, you're safe! (unless the shooters hit your gas tank and your car goes boom.) But those lovely old cars...? You'd better drive like a bat outta hell because you're still a hittable target.

The Perfect Henchman

That's how I'd define George Raft's character of Guino Rinaldo (what a great name!) in Scarface (1932). At least he's everything I'd want in my right-hand man were I a gangster. Unflappable, fearless, loyal, follows orders without question, will happily do the dirty work or guard the door while you do the dirty work, it's all the same to him. And most importantly - he's not ambitious. That sort of goes with the loyalty part, but it's important. You don't want your henchman getting ideas and bumping you off to take over, (like you're doing to your own bosses), and that's just never going to happen with Rinaldo. He has his place and he likes it. Also, he doesn't talk much, which I like in a henchman, though that ends up being his personal downfall. (There are just some occasions where standing there looking smug and flipping your gold coin is NOT a good idea. Speak up fast, you damned fool!) I'd also add good-looking as a quality, though I don't necessarily need that in a henchman, I just appreciate it from the comfort of my couch. (Why, is it spring? It must be! I'm definitely having a bit of a fling! :-D)

Alas, this movie isn't about Rinaldo, it's about Paul Muni's character, Tony Camonte, a colorful, ambitious lug whose rise up the gangster chain is as much a result of his own violent stupidity (ie: he's too dumb to realize what he's up against, therefore he doesn't fear it, therefore he actually succeeds where a smarter man might not) as his willingness to break all rules to get there. He's quite the amoral despicable character, and yet, Paul Muni plays the ugly mug with just enough naïveté and boyish enthusiasm that I actually grew to like him a bit. Not enough to want him to succeed or live (particularly after #*$(#*%# spoiler, grrrrrr), but enough to keep my interest when Rinaldo wasn't around.

This movie is chock full of colorful characters, and all of them leave a memorable impression. From Osgood Perkins (Anthony Perkins' father!) as Tony's not-ambitious-enough boss (all too briefly), to Vince Barnett as Angelo, the other faithful henchman who has some hilarious scenes when he attempts to function as Tony's secretary, to Boris Karloff as a rather refined (though bloodthirsty) Irish gangster, to beautiful Ann Dvorak playing Tony's free-spirited (understatement) sister. Her sexy dance (in public, no less) as she tries to get Rinaldo's attention -- Ay caramba! (The fact that she's unsuccessful just shows once again why Rinaldo is the absolute perfect henchman: the boss's sister is off-limits, and that's all there is to that.) One of my favorite screenwriters, the brilliant Ben Hecht, wrote the script, and Howard Hawks directs. It's a great combo all around and there's so many interesting things going on in this film, when I went back to watch just a few parts, it was difficult not to get sucked back into the movie and keep watching all of it. It's very well done.

Coolest shot: the tommy gun blowing away the calendar pages.

I intended to start a database at some point of opera used in movies, so I might as well start here... Tony likes to whistle the sextet from Lucia di Lamermoor before he's about to murder someone.

Invisible Stripes (1939)

How odd to see my first movie headlining George Raft, and he's mostly playing a good guy. Interestingly, I watched Black Widow not too long ago and did not even realize he played the detective in it... but that would make two "good guy" roles. I'm starting out all backwards! I rather like him, at least in this film. His character genuinely tries to make a go of a straight life, but those eponymous "invisible stripes" haunt everything he does. Employers won't keep him on, his girlfriend dumps him because she doesn't want to be seen with an ex-con. He can't win, and you know where that's eventually going to lead him.

George Raft filled this role very nicely. I don't have anything to compare him to, so I think I may have to check out a couple of his gangster flicks, but he had a suitable solid earnestness here that was very appealing. There are flashes of his gangster side, when he loses his temper or when he starts working the angles and slides into wary and clever. And boy, he can switch from a pleasant "yes, sir!" good son to calculating and cold at the snap of a fingers. Not someone you want to cross! (And a random aside: he has the most lovely eyes. They remind me very much of Rudolph Valentino's eyes. Same shape, very dark, very Italian-looking (even if he isn't). Mmmm.)

Then there's William Holden, playing Raft's younger brother. He mostly alternates between sincere and angry, with only a touch of the cynical bitterness he does so well later in life. This role's similar in flavor to his Golden Boy character (and made the same year, so once again he's super young and cute), but without the nuance or complexity. He wants to get ahead in the world, needs money to do it, seriously considers getting it the "easy way" by following in big brother's footsteps. Raft tries to dissuade him from those notions verbally several times, culminating in possibly my favorite scene, when Holden admits to starting down the wrong path. Raft listens to him silently, then locks the door so their mother and Holden's girlfriend can't intrude, and proceeds to knock some sense into him. Literally. Holden's all wild, uncoordinated anger; Raft is calm and precise. Holden doesn't stand a chance. LOL! As the older sibling in my family, I can't help but relate to Raft here. I don't think there's anything quite as frustrating as being older, having been there, done that, then watching a younger sibling ignore everything you tell them and start to make the same mistakes you did. Fortunately, none of my mistakes included anything criminal, but nonetheless! LOL!


The third star in this film is Humphrey Bogart, and while he's supposedly only a supporting actor here, he steals every scene he's in. I never appreciated him growing up, but he sure has been growing on me. In this film, he's the counterpoint to Raft. Raft wants to go straight; Bogart is completely unrepentant and can't wait to leap back into his previous life. Of course their paths inevitably tangle again, and the climax with the two of them is probably my second favorite scene. I do so love characters who give their word and keep it, no matter what.

I enjoyed this film a lot. It's nothing outstandingly special, but nicely diverting, with quite a bit of eye candy.