Classic Movie Blog Association Gene Kelly Centennial Blogathon: Black Hand (1950)

The promotional material for MGMs 1950 release Black Hand trumpeted Gene Kelly as “Sensational in his first great dramatic role”. The studio’s publicity department must have forgotten Gene as the determined POW in 1943s The Cross of Lorraine. Perhaps they overlooked his outstanding portrayal of a psychopath in the 1944 film-noir Christmas Holiday because that was for Universal, but once seen audiences could never forget the performance. MGM must also have forgotten that in his first film for the studio, 1942s For Me and My Gal, Gene’s character of Harry Palmer was more than a bit of a rat in the melancholy WWI era romance. 

Of all of the crafts, acting is the easiest to critique and dismiss as both fans and people in the profession have their own expectations and prejudices. A comedic actor? Hey, he’s just being funny. A performance in a western? The cowboy hat does the acting. The musical performer? All they’re doing is singing and dancing. As if Jeanette MacDonald singing Lover, Come Back to Me in New Moon or Judy Garland singing Over the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz or Gene Kelly dancing with his alter ego in Cover Girl aren’t using all their skill to communicate to the audience as persuasively as Lord Olivier with a Shakespearean soliloquy. It must be a drama, dark and heavy, and preferably with ample opportunity to shed tears before some are convinced they are seeing “real acting”.

In 1950 Gene Kelly was beginning what was probably the most creatively satisfying time in his career. He had just completed his first credited co-directing assignment with the release of On the Town. Soon to come, with the resources of MGM behind him, are Singin’ in the Rain, An American in Paris, It’s Always Fair Weather and Invitation to the Dance. The decade begins with Gene top-billed and part of a fine ensemble of character actors in the offbeat crime drama Black Hand directed by the sturdy Richard Thorpe (The Thin Man Goes Home, The Crowd Roars, The Voice of Bugle Ann).

I call Black Hand offbeat because, for a gangster picture, it does leave the well-beaten path. By 1950 audiences could be forgiven for thinking that the gangster was solely the byproduct of the 18^th Amendment giving way to the roaring twenties, the period having been glamorized in dozens of crime pictures (Scarface, The Public Enemy, etc.).

Black Hand, however, deals with the turn of the 20^th century when organized extortion or the protection racket made life unbearable for countless immigrants seeking a better life in America. Along with the time period, Black Hand is unique in that its focus is not on the life of an unfortunate sucked into a life of crime through poverty and neglect, but on the victims of the criminals. The story is by Leo Townsend (It Start with Eve, Port of New York) with a screenplay by Luther Davis (Across 110^th Street, The Hucksters).

We are not in the turn of the century of Two Weeks With Love with its sunshine and wide verandas. In Black Hand we are in the claustrophobic city with narrow, dark streets and airless, crowded rooms courtesy of art director Gabriel Scognamillo (Mystery Street, Act of Violence, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao) and cinematographer Paul Vogel (Battleground, Lady in the Lake, Dial 1119). One of the crowded rooms houses the Columbo family. The father, a lawyer from Italy, Roberto Columbo played by Peter Brocco has had enough of the intimidation of the gangsters. Despite the pleading and prayers of his wife Maria played by Eleonora Mendelssohn, Roberto keeps a late night meeting with the police to inform against the Black Hand. Before the night is over both the police officer and Roberto Columbo will lose their lives to the vicious Serpi played by Marc Lawrence. The distraught Maria will return to Italy with her children, but her eldest son, Giovanni, vows to return someday and avenge his father’s death.

 Gene Kelly as Giovanni "Johnny" Columbo

A few years pass and the grown Johnny Columbo played by Gene Kelly returns to the neighbourhood incognito hoping to find his father’s murderer. His anonymity is short-lived as frightened people who know too much put the pieces together. Johnny is befriended by police officer Louis Lorelli played by the incomparable J. Carroll Naish (Oscar-nominated for A Medal for Benny and Sahara). Lorelli was a friend of the family’s in Italy and a long-time foe of the criminals who prey on his people. Johnny also rekindles a friendship/romance with childhood friend Isabella Gomboli played by Teresa Celli. She lost all in her family except a younger brother when the Black Hand bombed their tenement. Like Johnny, she seeks revenge, but in a civilized fashion. Isabella wants to organize the neighbourhood against the gangsters as such efforts have proved successful in other cities. Teresa has the backing of Lorelli and soon they sway Johnny to their efforts. Each small inroad against their tormentors is met with a setback in the form of beatings, kidnappings and destruction. Lorelli and Teresa are made of strong stuff and persevere, encouraging Johnny to study Law to further his cause.

J. Carroll Naish, Frank Puglia

The citizen’s committee takes a case to court when shopkeeper Sabballera played by Frank Puglia agrees to testify against the mob. Puglia is inspired as a man full of bravado and happy to be in the limelight. Slowly he is overcome by fear as nonverbal threats come from the spectators, leaving the case and the man in tatters. Equally as impressive is Naish as Lorelli makes an impassioned plea to the judge to understand the pervasive fear experienced by the people in his district. Again, the committee is rebuffed in their attempt to fully prosecute the gloating gangsters.

Another avenue of investigation comes their way and this one takes Lorelli back to Italy as he and Johnny devise a plan to exploit official records to name the gangsters before the courts. This time the gangsters are worried. This time Lorelli is in danger. This time Johnny faces a night of terror and desperation as he finally comes face to face with his father’s killer.

Black Hand is a well-told tale of an under-explored area in crime pictures. The fine ensemble effortlessly convinces us with their sincere and energetic performances, including Gene Kelly “sensational in his first great dramatic role”. 

Enjoy the brief clip from Black Hand as "Johnny" returns to the old neighbourhood and indulge yourself in All Things Gene Kelly as the Classic Movie Blog Association presents the Gene Kelly Centennial Blogathon.

Broadway to Hollywood: Chaney, Huston and "Kongo"

It's been quite a while since this blog has looked at the twists and turns of casting from Broadway to Hollywood. A recent screening on TCM of Tod Browning's 1928 thriller West of Zanzibar prompted this look at a two extraordinary actors.

Lon Chaney

April 1, 1883 - August 26, 1930

Lon Chaney, "The Man of a Thousand Faces", made only one sound picture before his untimely death from lung cancer at the age of 47 and that was a remake of 1925s The Unholy Three. Yet such is the power of his performances that long before I saw the 1930 movie I was convinced I had heard Chaney speak. In role after role, from The Phantom of the Opera to The Hunchback of Notre Dame, from He Who Gets Slapped to Laugh, Clown, Laugh Lon Chaney possessed the talent and the skill to transcend the screen and make the audience feel and know his inner being.

Chaney early learned to communicate with his deaf parents and was born an instinctive entertainer. A vaudevillian who could sing, dance and make people laugh, today Chaney is recalled mainly for characterizations in the horror genre. Yet, he said ,"I hope I shall never be accused of striving merely for horrible effects." Lon Chaney's talents as an actor and as a make-up artist created characters that showed us many horrors and much nobility.

One of the 10 films Lon Chaney made with director Tod Browning is West of Zanzibar, 1928. It is a tale of revenge and redemption. As Phroso aka Dead Legs, he rules a territory in Africa by confounding superstitious natives with magic and fear. Phroso lives for one thing, to take revenge on the man who made him a cripple and stole his wife and her daughter. The girl is the victim of abuse which is the core of Phroso's vengeance and the victim of a cruel twist of fate which tears the soul out of her tormentor. The audience is in the hands of the master watching Lon Chaney in West of Zanzibar.

Walter Huston

April 5, 1883 - April 7, 1950

Canadian born Walter Huston was enjoying success on the Broadway stage while Lon Chaney was wowing them in movies in the 1920s. One of those plays was Kongo written and directed by Chester De Vonde and Kilbourn Gordon. The play ran for 135 performances in 1926 and became the 1928 movie West of Zanzibar. How often has the stage star looked west to see someone else take over "their" role?

In 1929 Huston himself headed west and began his distinguished film career.  Early on he appeared in such diverse roles as the villain Trampas in The Virginian, as Abraham Lincoln in that titled picture for D.W. Griffith and as a sympathetic prison warden in The Criminal Code for Howard Hawks.

In 1932 Huston was outstanding in Frank Capra's American Madness, as the hypocritical Davidson in Rain and as Flint, the hate-filled cripple in Kongo in the sound remake of West of Zanzibar, going back to the original title. If it is possible, the lurid story seems even more so in sound. Huston is never less than riveting and no matter how much you want to turn away, you cannot ignore the depths to which this man fell and the overwhelming remorse he experiences.

In a fortunate case of not messing with success, when Walter Huston's 1934 stage success Dodsworth was beautifully filmed by William Wyler in 1936 it starred Huston who received a well-deserved Oscar nomination. However, he would have to wait until 1948s The Treasure of the Sierra Madre for the statue in the supporting category.

Two admirable actors and one despicable role in the winding road from Broadway to Hollywood.

Caftan Woman's Choice: One for August on TCM

Vacation From Marriage aka Perfect Strangers is a 1945 Academy Award Winner directed by Alexander Korda. The movie is based on a story by Clemence Dane, the British author born Winifred Ashton who took her pseudonym from the London church St. Clement Danes. Her popular works include Regiment of Women and A Bill of Divorcement. She was part of the Noel Coward set and a member of the Detection Club.

She adapted her story Perfect Strangers for the screen with actor/writer Anthony Pelissier, director/writer of The Rocking Horse Winner. The Oscar for the movie was awarded to Clemence Dane for Best Writing, Original Story.

Robert Donat, Deborah Kerr

Catherine and Robert at home

Vacation from Marriage is the story of Robert and Catherine Wilson played by Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr (it rhymes with "star"). When we first meet the couple it is Spring, 1940 and a single barrage balloon blots the skyline. It is both a typical and a not-so-typical morning in the Wilson's dreary flat. Robert, a nondescript bookkeeper in the city, is going about his routine in automaton type fashion. Catherine, nursing a perpetual cold, fusses over the eggs and her mate. The not-so-typical aspect of the day is that it is Robert's last as a civilian. He has heeded the call of King and country to join the Navy.

Shorn of the mustache grown for the sake of dignity and forced to acclimatize himself to life on the waves, Robert comes into his own. Robert's heroic actions in battle land him in a hospital where he shares a mutual attraction with an attractive nurse played by Ann Todd. Catherine would not recognize the man she married.

Robert is more than a little nonplussed to receive word that his mousy little wife has joined the Women's Royal Naval Service. Cathy is a Wren. In the Wrens, Cathy is befriended by the bright and outgoing Dizzy Clayton played by Glynis Johns. Cathy, for the first time, tries lipstick - and likes it. Cathy wears her uniform cap at a daring angle. Cathy spends too much time with and thinking of her pal Dizzy's exciting cousin played by Roland Culver. Robert would not recognize the woman he married.

 Deborah Kerr, Robert Donat

Who are these people?

Three long years of separation are about to come to an end as, finally, their leaves coincide. Robert and Cathy are returning to a home base that is no longer home. They are returning to a decimated neighbourhood with dozens of barrage balloons in the sky. They are returning, they think, to the old life, the old spouse and neither is very happy about it.  

Vacation from Marriage is funny and true and features exemplary performances. It is a love story with the lovers kept apart. It is a war story where the war just may be the best thing that ever happened to our protagonists. It is a winner in every way.

TCM is airing Vacation from Marriage aka Perfect Strangers on Monday, August 16 at 6:00 a.m. as part of a day-long tribute to Deborah Kerr (it still rhymes with "star") during their annual "Summer Under the Stars".

Better Parenting Through Movies

Janet and Gavin

The UK paper The Telegraph published a piece about the top ten films children must see before they are 9-1/2. 

"The line-up, compiled by child psychologist Dr Kairen Cullen, was based not only on entertainment value, but also the films' moral themes in order to teach children “essential life-lessons”.

"The hardest lessons children have to learn are not the sort that fit neatly into the school curriculum or can be found in any parenting guides. These lessons relate to emotion and relationships; both of which lie at the heart of any good film," said Dr Cullen." 

I read the article with interest even though my kids passed the 9-1/2 mark some time ago wondering how my parenting through movies agenda stacked up alongside Dr. Cullen's list.

Sid and Buzz

1.  Toy Story

Check.  We took Janet to see Toy Story when it was released.  Of course, since we were all seeing it for the first time we didn't know what lessons might be gleaned from the movie.  She displayed sympathy for Buzz Lightyear when he came to the realization he was only a toy.  Gavin is still waiting for his Woody and Buzz toys to start walking around on their own. 

2.  The Lion King

Check.  Janet saw The Lion King at the theatre with friends.  She learned the words to The Lion Sleeps Tonight.  Gavin saw the movie (many times) on VHS/DVD.  At an early age he would look at bugs and say things like "Oh, the little cream-filled kind."  When you live with an echolalic autistic/developmentally delayed person it is really important that you know what they are watching.

3.  Home Alone

Check.  I wasn't thinking about the "importance of family" when I made the kids watch this one.  I wanted to share the hilarious slapstick mayhem of the booby-trapped house.  I fulfilled my parental duty by informing them that no actors were harmed in the making of the film. 

4.  Labyrinth

I haven't seen this one.  Sounds good.  Have to check it out sometime.

 

5.  The Jungle Book

Check.  One of my all-time favourites.  I had the only babies at the park who could scat.  So proud.

6.  Mary Poppins

Check.  The Daddy Man has a thing for Julie Andrews.  Like father, like son. 

7.  The Wizard of Oz

Check.  One of the great perks of being a parent is scaring the bejeezus out of kids by showing them the flying monkeys.

8.  The Neverending Story

I think my daughter saw this on a rental.  I couldn't get through it.

9.  Matilda

Another I think Janet saw without me.  I'm not a big Roald Dahl fan.

10. Up

A 19 year old Janet made me watch this.  We cried and laughed and laughed and cried.  I'm not certain it would have appealed to her in those pre-10 years.

Rita and Gene

During their formative years my kids were exposed to a lot of classic movies through Family Channel Canada regularly showing musicals, comedies and dramas from the Golden Era of Hollywood (a practice sadly long since abandoned) and mom and dad sharing personal favourites.

On their own Janet discovered Singin' in the Rain and an adoration for Gene Kelly while Gavin found Cover Girl and a passion for Rita Hayworth.

Dad Garry enjoys Lilies of the Field and before we knew it Gavin was singing Amen and borrowing the tape to spend time with his pal Homer Smith.

The stuff that dreams are made of

My attempt to share the many joys of The Thing from Another World with young Janet, along with imparting significant life lessons in dealing with hostile extraterrestrials, inexplicably caused nightmares.  She forgave me when I introduced her to The Court Jester.

Another normal day for Donald Duck

The top 3 rentals during Janet and Gavin's toddler-hood were 101 Dalmatians which taught them to beware of smokers, Winnie-the-Pooh and the Blustery Day which taught them to beware of heffalumps and woozles, and The Three Caballeros.  Donald's surreal adventures in Latin America did not mess with their minds in any way.  I'm pretty sure.  Anyway - too late now.

   

I Love to Laugh!

A few weeks ago I wrote about Rene Clair’s 1928 classic The Italian Straw Hat, a stage farce turned into a perfect silent film comedy. Today I would like to spread the love to a few favourite shorts and features which highlight the remarkable depth of style of the silent film comedy.

BIG BUSINESS

Stan, Ollie, Fin

“The story of a man who turned the other cheek – And got punched in the nose.”

James W. Horne and Leo McCarey directed Laurel and Hardy in 1928s Big Business, the popular team’s last silent short. As door to door Christmas tree salesmen our boys are a bust and yet they persevere. It might have been prudent to change careers when perpetual foil James Finlayson answers the door, but these lads are made of stern stuff. If you are going to bring Christmas trees to doorsteps there is a chance that a branch might get stuck in a door. It might get stuck in a door more than once. So might a coat. The short-fused Finlayson might take exception. A pair of righteous peddlers might reciprocate. Things might get out of hand.

The location of Dunleer Drive in Los Angels in 1928 was a sweet neighborhood of cunning little bungalows, as well as the site of deliberate and delicious slapstick mayhem. Finn methodically begins wrecking the boy’s car and the boys, in turn, destroy Finn’s house. A curious crowd gathers and a cop takes notes from the sidelines as the destruction escalates to an emotional and cynical climax. What’s so funny about the destruction of private property, you may well ask. I will tell you that it is all in the attitude with which the deeds are committed, the sense of purpose and imagination behind the acts, plus the physicality. I am convulsed with laughter at the sight of Finn wrestling the Christmas trees. I am supposed to be convulsed with laughter. Mission accomplished. 

   

NEIGHBORS

Buster Keaton, Virginia Fox

Written and directed by Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline 1920s Neighbors is a back alley Romeo and Juliet story that is a sublime showcase for leading man Keaton. The Boy (Buster) and The Girl (Virginia Fox) are in love, but kept apart by their feuding folks. Buster incorporates thrilling and funny stunts involving the fence that separates him from his girl, the clothesline and a telephone pole. The neighborhood is filled with feisty folk and there’s always a cop around when you don’t need one. The whole kit and caboodle end up in court where a judge convinces them to give up their shenanigans and let the kids marry. Please note the table of wedding gifts which includes an instruction book by Gentleman Jim Corbett! The wedding day brings its own problems including and especially wardrobe and jewellery malfunctions leading to a daring acrobatic and romantic finish. I first saw Neighbors at a theatrical presentation where the full house laughed and cheered. It is the perfect introduction to the genius that is Buster Keaton.

THE MATINEE IDOL

Bessie Love, Johnnie Walker

Perhaps you’re looking for a little more tenderness in your romantic comedy than Buster usually provides. You want Frank Capra’s 1928 feature The Matinee Idol, a charming comedy/drama/romance with an intriguing backstage setting. The film stars the wonderful Bessie Love as the daughter and leading lady in a family of troupers. A very likeable Johnnie Walker co-stars as a successful actor taken with Miss Love. Consequently, he takes up with the small town thespians, throwing himself into their sincere, yet corny theatrics.

When the troupe’s melodrama is brought to the big town and faces scorn from the critics and sophisticated audiences, romance is there to ease the sting of rejection. The movie is a delightful look at another time and place, filled with director Frank Capra's insights and affection for all types of people.

MY BEST GIRL

Buddy Rogers, Mary Pickford

Another gem in the romantic comedy line is Sam Taylor’s 1927 starring vehicle for Mary Pickford, My Best Girl. The boss’ son (Charles “Buddy” Rogers) goes to work in the shipping department of his family’s department store and falls for poor, but honest and totally beguiling Maggie Johnson (our Mary). The fact that Maggie’s beau isn’t who she thinks he is may be the least of the complications in the road to their happy ending. There’s “Joe’s” high society mother and fiancée. There’s Maggie’s problematic family including her theatre-mad flapper sister, overbearing Mom and indolent Pop. My Best Girl is sweet without being cloying and funny in its ring-true characterizations. The chemistry between Mary and Buddy is touching and joyful.

TWO ARABIAN KNIGHTS

William Boyd, Louis Wolheim

Lewis Milestone’s 1927 feature Two Arabian Knights is an Oscar winner in the unjustly long abandoned “Best Director, Comedy Picture” category. A buddy movie and an adventure comedy starring handsome William Boyd and rough around the edges Louis Wolheim as, respectively, W. Dangerfield Phelps III and Sergeant Peter O’Gaffney. These two opposites are WWI POWs who escape their captors and end up on board a ship with a lovely Arabian princess played by Mary Astor. PS: Don’t blink as they leave the ship or you’ll miss Boris Karloff!

The beguiling princess is betrothed to the powerful and jealous Shevkit Ben Ali played by Ian Keith. Many comedies through the years have been described as a “romp” and I don’t think many fit that description better than Two Arabian Knights. The rollicking humour comes from the personalities and performances of our two Yankee daredevils as they battle each other and everyone else they encounter in their bid for freedom and the pursuit of romance. Boyd and Wolheim make quite a team and Two Arabian Knights is quite a picture.

Everything you look for in a talkie and more can be found in a silent comedy. What more could you need after a good laugh?

The Best Hitchcock Films Hitchcock Never Made Blogathon: Experiment in Terror (1962)

Suspense! Thrills! A lovely and resourceful heroine. A beautiful city location that becomes a character in the movie. A familiar director and composer combination. An intriguing villain. An ordinary setting made frightening. Sounds like a Hitchcock film to me, but it’s not. It is Blake Edwards’ 1962 thriller Experiment in Terror.

Blake Edwards? Operation Petticoat Blake Edwards? The Pink Panther Blake Edwards? The Great Race Blake Edwards? Victor/Victoria Blake Edwards? That’s the guy. Blake Edwards who also gave us TVs Peter Gunn and Mr. Lucky, and Days of Wine and Roses and Wild Rovers and The Tamarind Seed. Blake Edward who could do it all. He was a bit actor in films (“Corporal at counter” in The Best Years of Our Lives).  A young man with a vision and a distinct comic attitude who became a well known and popular writer/producer/director. Experiment in Terror falls between Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Days of Wine and Roses in Edwards’ directing career. 

Experiment in Terror was adapted by The Gordons from their crime novel Operation Terror featuring their recurring character FBI agent John “Rip” Ripley. Gordon Gordon was an editor and 20^th Century Fox publicist as well as an FBI agent during World War 2. Mildred Gordon had been a teacher and editor when the couple combined to write novels and screenplays. Their character Agent Ripley had been portrayed previously on film by Broderick Crawford in 1954s Down Three Dark Streets. The Gordons also gave us the 1965 feature Disney’s That Darn Cat! based on their story Undercover Cat, which is another of their recurring characters.

The first character we get to know in Experiment in Terror is the city of San Francisco (think Hitch’s Vertigo), this time in gleaming black and white. The city gleams at night with a pristine sheen courtesy of talented cinematographer Philip Lathrop. The city in the day is bright and harsh, without a hint of warmth even in the innocent setting of teens at a swimming pool. Lathrop received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Cinematographers in 1992 and in 1999 the Society of Camera Operators awarded him the Historical Shot award for his work as a cameraman on the famous opening shot of Touch of Evil. Lathrop’s two career Oscar nominations were for Earthquake and The Americanization of Emily.

Lee Remick, Ross Martin

The opening of the film shows us Miss Kelly Sherwood, bank cashier, involved in the routine activity of driving home from work. The city lights are as beautiful as stars around her, but there is a sense of unease heightened by Henry Mancini’s memorably moody score. Kelly is accosted and intimidated by an unseen man who is an intimidating presence and an eerie voice in the darkness. He knows everything about her and she will be his partner in robbing her employer or Kelly and her teenage sister will come to harm.

Glenn Ford

Kelly is played by the Lee Remick, an actress with talent and looks to spare. Like many of Hitchcock’s leading ladies (think Madeline Carroll, Ingrid Bergman, Eva Marie Saint, etc.) she seemingly effortlessly conveys intellect as well as emotion. Along with Hitchcock’s gals (think young Charlie, Iris Henderson, and Lisa Fremont) Kelly is a resourceful and canny woman. Despite warnings and physical harm, she contacts the FBI.

Agent Ripley as played by Glenn Ford is a no-nonsense yet compassionate man. Ripley is also a busy man. Perhaps his other case of lonely Nancy Ashton played by Patricia Huston involved with a man who may be about to commit a crime has something to do with the Sherwood file. Miss Ashton works from home and her studio apartment filled with department store mannequins is the setting for a scary and shocking scene (think the carnival in Strangers on a Train or the windmill in Foreign Correspondent).

The FBI has little to go on except Kelly’s recollection of her tormentor’s asthmatic breathing. The agents keep an eye on Kelly and her sister Toby, played by 20-year-old Stefanie Powers in her first big role, while investigating cases with a similar M.O. Like the FBI, the viewers learn more of the villain as time passes. At first, we see only the dark shadow and hear the voice. Later, we see his mouth during a phone call. Eventually, we see the full face of the villain in time to let us know that the man who picks Kelly up at a bar is not the man the FBI hope to apprehend.

Agent Ripley finally gets a name for the murderer, Garland “Red” Lynch, and gets promising leads on this villain. Ned Glass plays a quirky little police informant who knows a thing or two and plays by his own rules. Anita Loo is Red’s on again – off again girlfriend who refuses to co-operate with the authorities because of Red’s kindness and financial support to her disabled 6-year-old son.

Ross Martin

Red Lynch is played by Ross Martin from Blake Edwards’ Mr. Lucky TV show. Ross Martin was one of those guys. You know the type. You’re watching a scene with half a dozen actors acting their heart out and Martin comes into the room, leans against the wall and gives them the once over with those baleful eyes and he’s the guy you watch.

Ross Martin had been an actor since his teen years and with a talent for dialects became in demand for radio and moved to television easily. The road to movie stardom was strangely closed to him despite his association with Edwards in Experiment in Terror and The Great Race. The studio build-up for his engrossing performance included keeping his identity secret until the end credit “Red Lynch played by Ross Martin”. He received excellent notices and a Golden Globe nomination. Unfortunately, a heart attack at age 38 may have frightened producers away from offering Ross Martin the large roles suitable for his large talent. Luckily, television fans can still enjoy Ross Martin’s talents in a variety of guest spots and his signature role of Artemus Gordon on The Wild Wild West. Costumes, largely of Martin's own devising, played a large and fun part in that television role, and a little old lady disguise is a shocker in Experiment in Terror (think Mrs. Bates from Psycho in the flesh).

"Red" Lynch

Knot in the stomach plot twists lead us through the crime to the climax in a crowded Candlestick Park during a Dodgers vs. Giants night game (think the music hall in The 39 Steps, the ballroom in Young and Innocent and the Albert Hall in The Man Who Knew Too Much). The audience is placed on tenterhooks wondering when Lynch will make his move, but we can be distracted by Don Drysdale on the mound, Harvey Kuenn at the plate and Willy McCovey in the outfield. And wait, isn’t the stadium organist playing the theme to Mr. Lucky? I think of that cheeky nod to his other collaboration with Henry Mancini and Ross Martin as Blake Edwards’ Hitchcock-like cameo appearance in the film.

The psychotic Red Lynch is reduced to a snarling animal and the girls are safe, as well as the bank’s funds (think “MacGuffin”), but you knew just looking at the stalwart Agent Ripley that it couldn’t end any other way. And it sure feels good to get that knot out of your stomach.

I think Experiment in Terror is the best of The Best Hitchcock Films Hitchcock Never Made, but if you click on that phrase you’ll find different opinions and movies in this dandy blogathon hosted by Dorian of Tales of the Easily Distracted and Becky of ClassicBecky’s Brain Food.

Caftan Woman's Choice: One for July on TCM

Ever since the beginning of Hollywood, the actual location or state of mind, Hollywood has enjoyed giving us an insider's view of itself. Sometimes heartbreaking as in the various versions of A Star is Born. Sometimes in the vein of an expose as in 1957s Four Girls in Town or 1952s The Bad and the Beautiful. The nostalgia of 1952s Singin' in the Rain or 2011s The Artist has proven a winning approach for filmmakers and audiences. The dark humour behind 1950s Sunset Boulevard is truly classic. Most often, Hollywood likes to poke fun at itself as in 1928s Show People, 1932s Make Me a Star and 1938s Boy Meets Girl.

The 1937 feature Stand-In is based on a Saturday Evening Post story by Clarence Budington Kelland, a writer who gave us many familiar movies including Speak Easily with Buster Keaton, The Cat's Paw with Harold Lloyd, Strike Me Pink with Eddie Cantor, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town with Gary Cooper, Arizona with Jean Arthur and Sugarfoot with Randolph Scott. The director is Tay Garnett of The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Valley of Decision, Bataan, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and Cause for Alarm!.

Atterbury Dodd, man of science

Stand-In is equal parts goofy and adorable, and a wonderful showcase for its leading players the perpetually popular Joan Blondell and TCM Star of the Month for July, Leslie Howard. Howard plays Atterbury Dodd, a man dedicated to the beauty and logic found in science. Dodd is convinced that it is illogical for his banking employers to sell Colossal Studios because he knows he can turn the studio around and make a profit for the shareholders.

The ancient head of the bank played by Tully Marshall is equally convinced that Dodd is wrong in his assumption because he is not taking the human factor into account. Hollywood is run by people and most of the people are crazy. The rambunctious senior citizen sends Atterbury Dodd to Hollywood with complete power over the studio where he is sure to learn a thing or two.

Atterbury Dodd goes to Hollywood but does not "go Hollywood" much to the dismay of an overbearingly obnoxious studio PR man played by Jack Carson (The Strawberry Blonde, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof). Studio executive C. Henry Gordon (The Charge of the Light Brigade, Charlie Chan at the Olympics) is the mastermind behind a plan to unload Colossal at a profit to himself and the demise of the studio. Collaborating on this bit of corporate sabotage is the public relations man, an over-the-top Russian director played by Alan Mowbray (My Darling Clementine, I Wake Up Screaming) and a cigarette girl now quickly fading movie queen played by beauty pageant contestant turned actress Marla Shelton.

They plan to keep Atterbury Dodd occupied with glitz and glamour and away from the company books. Unfortunately for the crooks, Dodd is not only a man totally dedicated to his career, but he also has no interest in nightlife and has never even heard of Shirley Temple or Clark Gable. He is also increasingly frustrated when each example of stupidity and excess is explained away with "That's the picture business."

How often do we see Bogie this relaxed on screen?

Luckily for Dodd, there is one person of integrity he can turn to on the studio lot in producer Douglas Quintain played by Humphrey Bogart. Currently, Quintain's integrity is slightly compromised by his undying love for the glamour puss who has aligned herself with the crooks to revive her fading career, but his heart is in the right place if booze doesn't get in the way.

Miss Plum pulls out all the stops!

More good fortune comes into Atterbury Dodd's life on his first day in Hollywood when he is befriended by Miss Lester Plum played by Joan Blondell. Miss Plum is a former child star who is currently employed as a stand-in for the aforementioned glamour puss. She also is the graduate of a night school secretarial course and has a more than motherly interest in fish-out-of-water Atterbury Dodd. Miss Plum certainly has her work cut out for her in cluing Dodd into the intricacies of the picture business and romance. How can a guy be so smart about some things and so dumb about others? The big lug! Will Atterbury Dodd ever come to his senses, save the day and win the girl? The ending of Stand-In, like the rest of the movie, is equal parts goofy and adorable.

Atterbury Dodd, man of the people

TCM is airing Stand-In Tuesday, July 3rd at 12:00 a.m. as part of the first evening of the month-long salute to Leslie Howard. It is a charming little diversion after the prime-time screening of the emotionally charged Gone With the Wind.

Bonus:  If you are one who scours classic films for a sight of Esther Howard, Olin Howland, and Pat Flaherty then this is the movie for you!