Classic Symbiotic Collaborations Blogathon: Bing Crosby, David Butler and Their Movies

Bing Crosby, David Butler, Bob Hope, visitor Joel McCrea

on set of Road to Morocco from Getty Images

Theresa Brown aka CineMaven has challenged us with a blogathon dedicated to those director/actor pairings that bring magic to the movies.  The Classic Symbiotic Collaborations blogathon runs on January 23/24.  Click HERE for the contributions.

"I made friends, like buddies, with my crew, with my cutters, with my actors and actresses.  I didn't want to have any feeling that I was the big boss and they were nothing.  I think that by doing that I was able to last as long as I did."

- David Butler, Honorary Life Member, Directors Guild of America

David Butler (1894-1979) was born into show business, and with the support of his stage manager father and actress mother, considered no other career.  Small stage roles combined with film work when available in his San Francisco hometown and this led to Hollywood and extra work in western films for Thomas Ince and gradually bigger things with D.W. Griffith and Maurice Tourneur.  One of the leading characters (Gobin) in the 1927 Fox film 7th Heaven would be the apex of his acting career as, like fellow Fox extra/stunt rider John Ford, David Butler ran with the opportunity to become a director.

We might call David Butler our "happy ending" man.  Coming from the theatrical background where you aim to send the audience out with a smile on their face, humming a cheerful tune, his films have that same appeal.  At Fox he directed the top studio stars such as Will Rogers in five popular films including A Connecticut Yankee and Doubting Thomas.  Five of Shirley Temple's best are Butler pictures such as Bright Eyes with the scene-stealing Jane Withers, Captain January and The Little Colonel.  In a career that never waned, by the 1950s David Butler was at Warners and directing Doris Day in six of her well-remembered movies such as Calamity Jane, By the Light of the Silvery Moon and Lullaby of Broadway.  Toward the end of that decade he moved on to television with Wagon Train, The Deputy and, most memorably, Leave It to Beaver.

Bing Crosby (1903-1977), popular as a vocalist pioneering a new and intimate style, made his initial screen appearances as a distinct personality in a series of shorts for Mack Sennett in the early 1930s.  The audience took to him and he was signed by Paramount Studios after 1932s The Big Broadcast. To get the singing star Paramount had to put up with the "Crosby clause".  Bing refused to be top-billed or singly billed above the title in any of his pictures.  His thinking was that if the movie flopped audiences would remember the big name, yet if the audience enjoyed themselves there would be plenty of good will to go around.  This was not happy news for studio publicity workers, but it certainly did well by Bing and it rather reflects David Butler's attitude toward the co-operation required to make a motion picture.

It appears that a shared work philosophy was not the only thing David Butler and Bing Crosby had in common.  They both put as much effort into their play as their work.  David Butler was an executive on the Board of the Del Mar Race Track of which Bing was the chief founding member.  They also shared a fondness for the old-time entertainments both had grown up with, such as the older Vaudeville acts.  As members of the Marching and Chowder Club, they were part of entertainment professionals who staged performances to show off and show up each other.  A printed program lists "Crackerjack, large peanuts and exceptional popcorn between the acts by David Butler, concessionaire.  Very good prizes too."

Another clause in Bing's contract gave him the opportunity to produce his own pictures and the first of these was 1936s Pennies from Heaven wat Columbia which was financially successful, Oscar-nominated for the title song and gave Bing and Louis Armstrong a chance to work together.  The things you can do when you are the boss!

David Butler approached Bing with a story idea for his next "outside picture" and East Side of Heaven was developed and the idea sold to Universal Studios.

Bing plays Denny Martin, a hyphenated singer.  First he is a singing telegrapher who loses his job after he annoys a rich man (C. Aubrey Smith).  Next he is a singing cabbie who finds an abandoned baby in the back seat of his car.  The baby actually has been left on purpose by his mother (Irene Hervey), an old friend of Denny's.  Her wealthy father-in-law (guess who?) is trying to take the baby since its father is off on a bender.  The young wife and mother intends to keep the baby out of grandpa's clutches while trying to get hubby back on the straight and narrow.

Helpful sort that he is, Denny (Bing) rises to the challenge with the help of his wacky Russian roomate Nicky (Mischa Auer) and his attractive and far too understanding fiance Mary (Joan Blondell).  The Snidely Whiplash in the piece is a radio star/columnist named Claudius De Wolfe (Jerome Cowan).  This De Wolfe character does not like Denny one bit, but he does like Denny's girl and he wants to impress the rich guy.  Comic complications ensure.

Bing Crosby, Mischa Auer, Baby Sandy

Well, where would you hide a baby from a landlord?

Three new songs by James Monaco and Johnny Burke are featured in the film.  Monaco even figures in an inside joke near the opening of the film.  The title song is lovely, lilting ballad.  Sing a Song of Sunbeams is a bouncy ditty that gets Denny his job with the Sunbeam Cab Company.  The big production number is Hang Your Heart on a Hickory Limb which is sung to the errant father of the baby in a cafe.  Singer Jane Jones, who knew Bing back in the speakeasy days, is the proprietor of the cafe and the Music Maids, about to appear weekly on Kraft Music Hall with Bing are singing waitresses.  Everybody gets into the act!
 

Joan Blondell may not be as sassy as in a Warners pre-code of earlier in the decade, but she never lacks for spark and spunk, and is a perfect comedic leading lady.  Mischa Auer is his usual dynamo.  The heart tugging of the cutest baby ever never overwhelms the laughs, creating a fun film to watch and a lasting fond memory.  The film was a pleasure to make, a hit with audiences and a financial success.

David Butler put together another package for Bing at Universal featuring the studio's young (14 year old) soprano, Gloria Jean.  If I Had My Way comes across as sort of an amalgam of all the things that made Crosby's movies in the 1930s so popular.  He is an independent sort, but a natural leader who draws to himself a make-shift family.  Bing as "Buzz" Blackwell works construction, in this case the Golden Gate Bridge, with his pals Fred Johnson (Donald Woods) and Axel Swenson (El Brendel).  Fred's daughter Pat (Gloria Jean) is the little mother of the group and when an accident leaves her orphaned, Buzz and Axel follow Fred's wishes and take Pat to her relatives in New York City.

The Snidely Whiplash in this piece is Pat's rich Uncle Jarvis (Allyn Joslyn).  Jarvis and his wife Brenda (Claire Dodd) have no intention of letting some little upstart intrude on their financial security and deny her as a relative.  Fortunately, the family tree has a friendlier branch in Great Uncle Joe (Charles Winninger) an old-time vaudevillian and his wife Marian (Nana Bryant).

Bing Crosby, Gloria Jean

Finale

Through blink and you miss 'em plot twists, our heroes end up owning a bankrupt restaurant which they intend to revive by cashing in on nostalgia.  Entertainers from an earlier age are booked to perform and prove to be a hit.  Jarvis is hoodwinked and learns to like it.  The finale of the film features performances by acrobatic cyclist Pat Gordon, ballad singer Blanche Ring and minstrel man Eddie Leonard.  The songs "I've Got Rings on My Fingers and Bells on My Toes" and "Ida" are backed by the contemporary swing vocalists Six Hits and a Miss.  Butler and Crosby seem to be fulfilling some longing to be old-fashioned impressarios as well as offering a kindness to the entertainers of their youth.

Gloria Jean found Bing to be a protective and easy-going co-star, who gave her a birthday party.  David Butler even helped her with her homework.  Sometimes she observed the star and director fighting about little things Bing wanted to do with a scene.  Bing would always win these arguments, but for the most part Gloria says the two got along famously.

The movie is chock full of songs from the established ones such as the title track and Gloria's solo of "Little Grey Home in the West" to new numbers by Monaco and Burke including "The Pessimistic Character" and "I Haven't Time to be a Millionaire".

If I Had My Way was more of a hit with audiences than with critics who bemoaned its old-fashioned story.  Nonetheless, Universal had success with the movie and it was part of a package sent to troops in North Africa in 1943 as a film that "exemplified typical American homelife".  Well, anything is better than Nazi propaganda!  Today, if you come across the movie on television it is a pleasant diversion and a chance to enjoy the under-seen Gloria Jean.  Also, the scene where Bing learns of his friend's death and has to tell little Pat is quite moving and gives us a glimpse of the mature dramatic actor to come.

The "Road" pictures put a new spin on the careers of their stars in the 1940s and supplied Bing Crosby and Bob Hope a special niche in film comedy history.  1940s Road to Singapore had first been planned for the team of George Burns and Gracie Allen, and was later slated for for Fred MacMurray and Jack Oakie.  Fate had other plans and Bing and Bob were teamed and the rest is history.  Both performers had developed an off-the-cuff style that meshed well as they knew from an unplanned New York stage performance almost a decade previously.  Audiences took to the combination and a series was born.

In Gary Giddens biography of Crosby he quotes a school pal as saying that the Bing in the "Road" movies is the real Bing - the easy banter, the primed reactions, the fast wit and easy superiority.  That is Bing's character in all of the pictures, with Bob as the put upon pal who doesn't stand a chance as they run from over-the-top villains and pursue Dotty Lamour.  Of course, there is the occasional break for a ballad and this movie features the lovely Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen standard "Moonlight Becomes You".

Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Bob Hope

Hope is such an optimist!

Road to Morroco is the third of the six "Road" movies (I don't count the seventh without Dorothy Lamour as leading lady, and it's my blog), and most fans consider it the best of the lot.  There was a script, but it was augmented by Bob and Bing's radio writers and their own quick wits.  David Butler admired what he called Bing's "feeling for language" and was willing to let him have free reign.  Butler knew when to keep the camera rolling to catch gold and when to pull back.  When a camel spit at Bob, Butler didn't cut and run to take care of the star.  He watched to see what would happen and Bing didn't disappoint by patting the camel's rump and calling her a "good girl".  Of all the movies in the series, Road to Morocco capitalizes best the feeling of improvisation that makes the comedy timeless.

David Butler would go on to direct Bob Hope in three more films, 1941s Caught in the Draft, 1943s They Got Me Covered and 1944s The Princess and the Pirate, the last two featuring amusing cameos by Bing Crosby.

Bing Crosby and David Butler's careers would go in different directions from this point with Bing winning an Oscar and Butler finding a home at Warner Brothers and in television.  Their work together was successful and gave them opportunities to showcase their talents and their passion leaving a legacy of music, good-natured humour and those happy endings we all need once in a while.


Sources:
Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams - The Early Years 1903-1940 by Gary Giddins
Directors Guild of American Oral History Interview with David Butler by Irene Kahn Atkins
Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven by Scott MacGillivray and Jan MacGillivray

Remembering Barbara Stanwyck blogathon: All I Desire (1953)

Crystal Kalyana Pacey of In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood is our hostess for the Remembering Barbara Stanwyck Blogathon. Click HERE for the tributes to the amazing actress.

The 1953 release All I Desire, based on the novel Stopover by Carol Ryrie Brink, is the link between two distinct phases of director Douglas Sirk's career. The half dozen or so films for Universal preceding All I Desire have the flavour of comedic Americana, Week-end With Father, No Room for the Groom and the period pieces, Has Anybody Seen My Gal, Meet Me at the Fair and Take Me to Town. After All I Desire we find the opulent soapers such as Magnificent Obsession, The Tarnished Angels, Imitation of Life and All That Heaven Allows, a film that compares interestingly to our choice. All I Desire bridges these movies as a woman's picture, a period piece, and an excellent showcase for Barbara Stanwyck.

Barbara Stanwyck as Naomi Murdoch, actress

Vivacious Naomi Murdoch would seem to have had it all with a loving family and a secure social position, but she wanted more. She thinks she may have found it in the equally restless Dutch Heinemann played by Lyle Bettger. She thinks she will find it by following her dream of a career on the stage. Life upon the wicked stage was not all it was cracked up to be and Naomi is scraping by in bottom-of-the-barrel vaudeville and burlesque houses, too proud to return home.

Naomi's middle child, daughter Lily played by Lori Nelson (Bend of the River, Destry) is about to graduate high school and dreams of following her mother into the theatre. Lily sends an invitation to Naomi to return for the graduation ceremony and to see her play the lead in the school play. Naomi accepts the invitation and returns playing the part of the grand and successful lady.

Naomi knows how to make an entrance.

Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Carlson

The black and white photography by Carl Guthrie (Christmas in Connecticut, Storm Warning) paints a nostalgic feel for the town, with especially appealing shots of and through the windows of the family home. Barbara Stanwyck glimmers in a white gown by Rosemary Odell when she makes her grand entrance in the darkened auditorium to attend the school play. Outstanding!

The Murdoch family at home.

Lori Nelson, Marcia Henderson, Richard Carlson, Billy Gray

The role of Naomi provides much for actress Stanwyck to play with as the character faces those she abandoned, pretending that the life she chose has been a success. She is naturally reticent, but puts on the brave face and plays her part to the hilt.

All I Desire offers solid performances from supporting players including Richard Carlson as the rejected husband. I note that Carlson appears in many of my old standby favorites such as The Little Foxes, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Beyond Tomorrow and his charming debut in 1938s The Young in Heart.

Marcia Henderson (Thunder Bay) plays the oldest daughter Joyce, who is the most resentful of her mother's leaving her in the role of female head of the household. Lori Nelson is ebullient as a young girl with plans. Billy Gray, probably the finest of the younger actors at this time, plays the youngest child in the family, the one most in need of sure boundaries. Lotte Stein plays the housekeeper Lena, who understands much and is the only one to honestly make Naomi's homecoming special.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Tarzan and His Mate) plays a colleague of Carlson's character, a woman whose life would be different if not for the shadow and presence of Naomi. Lyle Bettger (The Greatest Show on Earth) is Naomi's former lover "Dutch", a man with a long memory and a short fuse.  I once saw Bettger play a good guy and was in a daze for a week!

What a treat to see future The Big Valley mother and son Barbara Stanwyck and Richard Long cutting a rug in All I Desire.

Universal-International in the 1950s cornered the market on good looking, dark-haired chaps and All I Desire gave many of them a chance at a scene or a line or two:  Guy Williams (Zorro), Stuart Whitman (The Comancheros), Brett Halsey (Follow the Sun), and Richard Long (The Big Valley) as Joyce's boyfriend.

The accident.

Barbara Stanwyck, Lyle Bettger, Billy Gray

One scene in All I Desire compares interestingly to a similar scene in the later Douglas Sirk film, 1955's All That Heaven Allows.

In All I Desire Naomi accidentally shoots "Dutch" and has the following exchange with her longtime family doctor played by Thomas Jackson (Little Caesar).

Dr. Tomlin:  "I am an old man and I say what I think. I'm the doctor and I know Riverdale.  As soon as I make my report to the police - Dutch Heinemann shot by a woman - "

Naomi:  "But I told you it was an accident."

Dr. Tomlin:  "It makes no difference what you tell me. Maybe it was an accident.  Do you think that'll make any difference? Already out there those maggots have got it all over town. The whole story in the worst way. The oldest and the nastiest story in the world."

Naomi:  "What can I do?"

Dr. Tomlin:  "You can go back to Chicago, for Henry's sake and the children's."

Naomi:  "Funny, isn't it? How things work out."

In All that Heaven Allows young widow Cary Scott played by Jane Wyman consults her family doctor played by Hayden Rorke about chronic headaches. The real issue is her unresolved feelings for a younger man.

Cary:  "Well, Dan, what's the verdict?"

Dr. Hennessy:  "I was just going over the findings. There's nothing organically wrong with you, Cary."

Cary:  "Well then why do I have these headaches. It's not my imagination and they're getting worse all the time."

Dr. Hennessy:  "You're punishing yourself."

Cary:  "For what?"

Dr. Hennessy:  "For running away from life. The headaches are nature's way of making a protest."

Cary:  "Will you give me something for them?"

Dr. Hennessy:  "Do you expect me to give you a prescription to cure life?  Sit down, Cary.  I want to talk to you. Forget for a minute that I am your doctor and let me give you some advice as a friend.  Marry him."

Cary:  "Well, there's no point in discussing that. It's all over."

Dr. Hennessy:  "Apparently it isn't. You still have the headaches."

Cary:  "But that's silly. And anyway, how could I marry him. The whole thing was impossible from the beginning. Why, you know Dan in a place like Stoneingham you can't ignore conversation and ... "

Dr. Hennessy:  "So you gave up a man you were in love with because you were afraid of Mona and the others, and you have the grand satisfaction of being taken back into the fold."

Cary:  "Well, I was thinking of my children."

Dr. Hennessy:   "You're just as lonely as you were before - lonelier in fact. Kay married and Ned abroad, so what good was your noble sacrifice. Cary, marry him."

Cary:  "It's too late. And maybe he's found someone else. Anyway, if he really loved me he would have come to me."

Dr. Hennessy:  "No. If you loved him you'd have gone to him in spite of the town, the children, everything. Cary, let's face it, you were ready for a love affair but not for love."

Naomi and Henry reconnect.

Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Carlson

The two films are set half a century apart although only a couple of years by production. There is a world of difference in the attitude and advice given to the leading character in terms of understanding and empathy. How much that tells us about the times.

Barbara Stanwyck would only make one other film with Douglas Sirk, 1956s There's Always Tomorrow.  Here again, Sirk would turn down unexpected roads in a family melodrama by focusing on the dissatisfaction of a neglected husband and father. Fred MacMurray is relatable as the father, and Barbara Stanwyck adds another must-see portrayal as a single woman who rethinks her choices.

Backstage Blogathon: Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)

The Backstage Blogathon hosted by Fritzi of Movies Silently and Janet of Sister Celluloid runs from January 15 - 18.  Day 1 recap.  Day 2 recap.  Day 3 recap.  Final day recap.

A music lover.

Boris Karloff

Intrigue, betrayal, secrets, threats of violence - all this can be found in the opera Carnival and in the San Marco Opera Company.  It has been seven years since the company and its prima donna Madame Lilli Rochelle have played Los Angeles.  Her return is front page news and fans are eager to fill the house.  Caught up in the thrill of the music and the glamour of the theatre, patrons are little aware of the complicated lives shared backstage.

Lilli and Enrico are less than discreet.

Gregory Gaye, Margaret Irving

Madame Rochelle would seem to have it all including a husband, the wealthy Mr. Whitely, to finance her dreams and ambitions.  Is that cozy arrangement threatened by her more than cozy relationship with baritone Enrico Borelli?  Does Lilli think she is keeping that a secret from Whitely, along with the secret of an earlier marriage and a daughter?  Certainly Anita Borelli, also a soprano in the company, is not blind to her husband and Lilli's relationship.

Perhaps Lilli believed all her secrets were buried in the past.  People seem to have forgotten the Chicago Opera House fire back in 1923.  That was 13 years ago when her first husband, the baritone Gravelle was lost in the flames.  Thirteen years to deny her daughter, or at least keep her age from the public.  However, Lilli is frightened enough by a threatening note to go to the police and ask for protection.  Yes, Lilli has been frightened enough.

"Gravelle sings tonight!"

You don't argue with the man.
Boris Karloff, Nedda Harrigan

The Los Angeles police have their own problems.  The publicity surrounding the escape from a sanitorium of a mental patient has the public in an uproar.  An amnesiac who lost his mind and was considered a lunatic has been in the facility for seven years.  His distinguishing characteristic is that he sits at the rec hall piano and sings every night.  He sings opera!

The famous Honolulu police inspector Charlie Chan has been in Los Angeles on another of his thrilling cases, this last one involving crooked gamblers and horse racing.  Inspector Chan stops by the office of Inspector Regan before departing for home.  The timely arrival of Madame Rochelle, an old friend, precipitates our hero's agreeing to attend to her case personally.  Sergeant Kelly, to put it mildly, does not appreciate being shown up by the visiting Inspector.  Sergeant Kelly isn't a happy man to begin with as he's been put on the spot for not capturing the maniac, and he does not approve of the show biz types strewn across his path.

"I tell ya' nobody can see Madame Rochelle tonight!"

Sergeant Kelly takes charge.
William Demarest, Charlotte Henry, Thomas Beck

Inspectors Chan and Regan, with the added resources of number one son Lee and a few of his friends, Sergeant Kelly and a squad of patrolmen attend at the opera house for the protection of the famed soprano - but from whom?  Charlie Chan has observed that Madame Lilli's picture in a torn newspaper left at the asylum bears the mark of a footprint indicating anger.  She may deny it, but is Lilli acquainted with the escaped lunatic?  A mysterious and unnerving stranger lurks in the catacomb-like hallways and cubby holes of the theatre, terrorizing the wardrobe mistress and the ensemble.  Meanwhile, annoying Sergeant Kelly no end, is a young man and a girl who are most insistent on speaking with Lilli.

Chan and Son on the case.

Keye Luke, Warner Oland

Before the first act of Carnival is over, and despite the presence of the law, two murders occur backstage.  Can the field of suspects be narrowed?  In the grand theatrical tradition, will the show go on?  Should it go on?  Sergeant Kelly bulldozes his way through the investigation, determined to make the situation fit his theory.  He is equally determined to be first across the finish line with the case solved ahead of Chan.  Inspector Chan uses scientific methods (fingerprints) and equipment (long distance photographic transfer), the assistance of his helpful son, and his own deep knowledge of the human heart to separate the obvious from the truth, many truths.

H. Bruce Humberstone

(1901-1984)

Charlie Chan at the Opera was the second of four Chan features assigned to H. Bruce Humberstone (I Wake Up Screaming, Sun Valley Serenade, Wonder Man).  The former actor had given himself the role of a gangster in the previously released Charlie Chan at the Race Track.

"Voice from back seat sometime very disconcerting to driver."

Inspector Chan tells Mr. Whitely to shut up.

Frank Conroy, Guy Usher, Warner Oland

This movie was lucky number 13 in Warner Oland's run as Inspector Chan which began with 1931s Charlie Chan Carries On, based on Earl Derr Biggers 1930 novel, the fifth in his popular series.  Other actors had played Chan in earlier adaptions of the novels, but no one caught fire in the role until Oland.  In Hollywood since the teens, Oland could and did play a variety of characters, but became particularly adept at Asian characterizations, especially those of a villainous nature, becoming associated with Sax Rohmer's Dr. Fu Manchu.  The Hawaiian police officer and family man was a very different sort of fellow from the manical Fu or the power-driven Chang in Shanghai Express.  In the film series, as Chan became internationally renowned, so did his portrayer and Warner Oland was beloved the world over for his performance.

The view from the wings as a trap is set.

Nedda Harrigan, Boris Karloff onstage.
Arias dubbed by Zari Elmassian and Tudor Williams.

Boris Karloff rightfully received top billing with Warner Oland in Charlie Chan at the Opera.  As the tormented Gravelle, he is the key to every mystery in the story and his horror persona, developed onscreen from 1931s Frankenstein and honed through The Mummy, The Black Cat and other moody chillers was and is always welcomed by audiences.  Karloff's performance is touching and assured.  It also lays the groundwork for Maurice Cass' line, as Mr. Arnold, "I'm stage manager here and this opera's going on tonight even if Frankenstein walks in."  Corny?  Perhaps, but delivered with unabashed gusto and always gets an appreciative chuckle.

All good operas have a drinking song and a heroine named Leonora.

Joan Woodbury dances.

Oscar and Emmy nominee William Demarest plays the sorehead Sergeant Kelly, taking some spectacular pratfalls and shots to the head in his misguided attempt to solve the case before Inspector Chan.  Demarest appeared in 1927s The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson as a cantor's son lured by show business.  Warner Oland played the cantor.  Demarest's Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor was for 1946s The Jolson Story.  His Emmy nomination was in 1968 for Uncle Charlie in My Three Sons.

Since the previous year's Charlie Chan in Paris, handsome illustrator turned actor Keye Luke had added immeasurably to the Chan series in his role as Lee, "Pop's" number one son and assistant.  Luke and Oland created a deep friendship that translated extremely well to the screen.

The view from the stage.

The dueling sopranos of Lilli Rochelle and Anita Borelli are played by Margaret Irving (Animal Crackers) and Nedda Harrigan (Devil's Island).  Off-screen Ms. Harrigan was widowed by actor Walter Connolly in 1940 and director Joshua Logan in 1988.  A 1957 Tony Award winner, Frank Conroy (The Ox-Bow Incident) plays Mr. Whitely.  This was the final Chan feature of four for young Fox leading man Thomas Beck (Heidi) who would leave Hollywood in 1939.  Charlotte Henry (Babes in Toyland) is the young Kitty Gravelle.  Profligate baritone Enrico Borelli is played by Gregory Gaye who had a 40 year career in pictures in smaller roles.  According to the IMDb he is the uncle of George Gaynes (Tootsie, Police Academy).  The dancer in Carnival is Joan Woodbury (Charlie Chan on Broadway, The Black Room).

Oscar Levant (Rhythm on the River) composed the short opera Carnival with a libretto by William Kernell, of which excerpts were used onscreen that add so much to the theatrical atmosphere.  In particular, the playing of the overture over backstage dialogue is a nice touch.

Director Humberstone had a way with the Chan features, keeping them nicely-paced with a fresh, contemporary feel.  The series was at the height of its popularity and the cheeky title card:  Twentieth Century Fox presents Warner Oland vs. Boris Karloff in Charlie Chan at the Opera is just the thing to delight fans then and now.

2016 CMBA Winners

  

Caftan Woman's Choice: One for January on TCM

TCM starts 2016 with Fred MacMurray (1908-1991) taking point as Star of the Month. The reliable actor enjoyed a career of over 40 years as a leading man in movies and on television and radio. As with most things that are "reliable", we take for granted the fact that they work well and never disappoint, often overlooking the skill behind that lauded reliability.

Fred MacMurray was not trained as an actor, but I believe his natural instincts as a performer were honed through his background as a musician. While attending Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin MacMurray played saxophone in local bands and later was a professional with Gus Arnheim's big band and pit orchestras in Los Angeles. He knew how to read the notes on the lines, interpret them with the correct weights and measures; how to blend with an ensemble and how to take the solo line. These skills were deftly transferred to reading the lines of a script and interpreting them with his own knowledge, personality, and physical attractiveness.

Practically out of the gate MacMurray made his mark on the screen. Signing with Paramount in 1935, he made 7 films in which he was lead or second lead including Alice Adams with Katharine Hepburn, The Gilded Lily with Claudette Colbert (7 collaborations) and Hands Across the Table with Carole Lombard (4 teamings). He was immediately able to support and share the screen with such formidable leading ladies and make a positive impression on audiences.

MacMurray's film career also provided challenging dramatic roles in Double Indemnity, The Caine Mutiny and The Apartment, none of which, surprisingly, were acknowledged with an Oscar nomination. Fred MacMurray is purported to have said that he never felt comfortable on a horse in reference to the older leading man moves to westerns phase of his career. However, I would point to Face of a Fugitive and Good Day for a Hanging and disagree with his assessment. I can think of no roles where Fred MacMurray was not a hundred percenter and believable.

My own particular bias in performing is a great admiration for those who excel at comedy and this is where Fred MacMurray shines be it the witty banter of a screwball comedy (Honeymoon in Bali, The Egg and I) or the wacky and over-the-top physical side of things (Murder, He Said). MacMurray ranks with the best in this regard. Sure, Spencer Tracy is fine in Judgment in Nuremberg, but give me Adam's Rib or Father of the Bride. Go ahead and give Alec Guinness an Oscar for The Bridge on the River Kwai, but give me The Ladykillers or The Lavender Hill Mob. Best of all, give me Fred MacMurray in 1961s The Absent-Minded Professor.

Fred MacMurray stars as Professor Ned Brainard ("Neddy the Nut") of Medford College. The chemist is particularly single-minded in his research to the detriment of other aspects of his life, as exemplified by the picture above. Beloved betrothed Betty Carlisle played by Nancy Olson (Sunset Boulevard, Pollyanna, So Big) is a patient woman, but how many last chances can you give a guy?

Surely Ned can be forgiven for missing their latest wedding date because he was busy inventing Flubber (flying rubber), an entirely new energy source with untold benefits to mankind. I absolutely adore MacMurray in the scenes of his discovery. It is easy to believe that Flubber is flying around and the actor is not in an empty room waiting for special effects (Oscar nominated Robert Mattey and Eustace Lycett) to do their stuff. His eagerness to share the momentous news is infectious. Look at that face - the man just invented Flubber!

Flubber may indeed prove to be a great boon to humanity, but it causes a myriad of immediate problems for Professor Brainard. He must deal with Betty's chagrin, as well as a rival for Betty's affections in Elliot Reid (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Woman's World). The villain of our piece, industrialist Alonzo Hawk played by Keenan Wynn (Kiss Me Kate, Neptune's Daughter) wants to control Flubber and will stop at nothing. Alonzo Hawk as played by Wynn was such a swell villain that he makes future appearances not only in the superbly funny sequel Son of Flubber (best title ever!), but also in the 1974 sequel to The Love Bug, Herbie Rides Again.

The zaniness of romantic travails, financial difficulties for the college and the dastardly doings of Alonzo Hawk culminate with a flying Model T and an incredibly bouncy basketball game. Familiar faces in support include Tommy Kirk, Leon Ames, James Westerfield and Wally Brown. The screenplay from a story by Samuel Taylor is by Disney producer/writer Bill Walsh (The Shaggy Dog, That Darn Cat!) and the director is Robert Stevenson (Mary Poppins, Old Yeller, Jane Ayre). Along with the special effects team, the movie was Oscar nominated for black and white cinematography for Edward Colman (TVs Dragnet, -30-) and for art direction/set decoration in black and white for  Carroll Clark (Top Hat), Emile Kuri (Shane) and Hal Gausman (The Untouchables).

The good-natured laughs and exemplary leading performance of The Absent-Minded Professor can be enjoyed on TCM on Wednesday, January 27th at 8:00 pm. Do not miss this last evening of the MacMurray salute nor the rest of the month.

An Invitation to Classic Movie Christmas Parties

Christmastime is here. A time of get-togethers and good cheer, at your home, your neighbour's and with some old friends on the screen. Today I want to share some of my favourite Christmas parties from movies and television. 

THE THIN MAN (1934)

Dashiell Hammett's dark and comic murder mystery was beautifully realized on screen in this adaption by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett directed by W.S. Van Dyke. William Powell and Myrna Loy are perfectly cast as Nick and Nora Charles. Nick, a former private eye now looks after his heiress wife's fortune. Nora is intrigued by her husband's past and is thrilled at the idea of helping to solve a real live murder! Their New York hotel suite is the site of a raucous Christmas Eve party. The revolving door of guests includes pug fighters, ex-cons, doxies, and dopes.

Nora:  "Oh, Nicky, I love you because you know such lovely people."

A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN (1945)

Betty Smith's enormously successful novel about the struggling Nolan family at the beginning of the 20th century was the first directorial credit for Elia Kazan. The film focuses on the first portion of the novel and stars special Oscar winner Peggy Ann Garner as Francie. Francie is a bright and imaginative girl trapped by circumstances, and longing for the freedom that comes from education.

Francie adores her father, a singing waiter with big dreams and a big heart. Francie has to learn to understand and accept her mother who bears the practical burdens of keeping the family together. The last Christmas Eve spent as a family includes a quiet, companionable party at home with thoughtful and practical gifts from the maternal side of the family.

Francie and her brother Neely's (Ted Donaldson) only hope of getting a Christmas tree to decorate is to hold on to one of the leftover trees tossed by the seller at the close of business. Their triumph in catching and keeping the tree brings joy and excitement to their family and the entire apartment house.    

SHUBUN aka SCANDAL (1950)

Akira Kurosawa's film tells the story of an artist (Toshiro Mifune) who brings a libel suit against a magazine for publishing a false story about an alleged relationship with a famous singer (Shirley Yamaguchi). The idealistic artist hires as a lawyer, a rather shady character (Takashi Shimura). The lawyer's faults are easy for all to see, but his loving wife and devoted daughter who suffers from tuberculosis touch our artist's heart and he sacrifices his own interests to help the little family.

The artist and the singer combine forces to give the ill Masako a simple, but charming Christmas party with decorations, music, and food. The celebration is overwhelming in its sincerity and highlighted by a lovely rendition of Silent Night.

Later that night client and lawyer retire to the dubious charms of a tavern known as The Red Cat where the festivities end with drunken and remorseful patrons raising their voices in an off-key, dirge-like version of Auld Lange Syne.

THE LONG GRAY LINE (1955)

John Ford's film is based on Bringing Up the Brass, the autobiography of West Point athletics instructor Martin Maher, an Irish immigrant played by Tyrone Power. Maureen O'Hara co-stars as his wife, Mary. It is an episodic film with healthy doses of humour leavening the reverence, along with the stroll through historic names and events.

The Christmas party scene is short and sweet in its manly sentiment. It is Marty's first Christmas after the death of his wife and the house is quiet and lonely. The stillness is interrupted by a few of the cadets bringing all their youthful energy, a tree, some punch, some song and good fellowship in a show of genuine affection. Actions speak louder than words.

DESK SET (1957)

Katharine Hepburn runs the research department of a TV network. Spencer Tracy is the consultant hired to computerize many of the network operations, including research. Things may be changing, but the office Christmas party must go on and this is the best movie office Christmas party ever! A piano escapes a rehearsal hall, making the rounds of the offices. Lowly delivery boys get dream tips. Secretaries and researchers alike get to relax and enjoy a bit of spiked punch. Conga lines snake the hallways. Gifts are exchanged. We laugh, sing and get to watch Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy fall in love.

Richard Sumner to Bunny Watson:  "I'll bet you write beautiful letters."

GUNSMOKE:  P.S. MURRY CHRISTMAS (1971)

Here's a classic TV Christmas party from the 17th season of Gunsmoke. Jeanette Nolan guest stars as the skinflint manager of an orphanage. Jack Elam is the handyman who helps the kids in her charge (Patti Cohoon, Jodie Foster, Erin Moran, Josh Albee, Brian Morrison, Willie Aames, Todd Lookinland) run away in search of Christmas that is sorely lacking in the sterile facility.

Riding the rails, the ragtag group makes it to Dodge City where the whole town takes them under their wing. Eventually, it is discovered that the headmistress isn't hard-hearted or the most fearsome "outlady" in the west (Festus is often given to hyperbole), but does the best she can with the little money given for the orphanage. Forgiveness is the order of the day and the Longbranch becomes the site of a children's Christmas party. Why, Miss Kitty even gives Matt a kiss on the cheek.

Kitty:  "Merry Christmas, Cowboy."

Matt:  "Merry Christmas, Kitty."

SINATRA CENTENNIAL BLOGATHON: Frank's Musical Oscar Legacy

Frank Sinatra

(1915 - 1998)

The Sinatra Centennial Blogathon runs December 10 - 13 and is co-hosted by The Vintage Cameo and Movie Classics.  Our thanks to Emily and Judy for this opportunity to celebrate Frank Sinatra.  Day #1 entries HERE.  Day #2 is HERE.  Day #3 is HERE.  Day #4 is HERE.

Frank Sinatra is one of the most successful of the popular singers who turned to acting, proving the depth of his talent.  Previously at this corner of the blogosphere we looked at Bing Crosby's enviable record of introducing 14 film songs that were nominated for the Oscar, including 4 winners, and Doris Day's 6 nominations and 2 wins for songs she introduced.  Frank's film career spans the 1940s to the 1980s and the variety of musicals, comedies and dramas of quality is impressive.  Frank introduced 8 songs into the Oscar nomination roll, with 3 standards in the win column.

Click on the song title links for YouTube performances where available.

Frank made his feature film debut as part of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in 1941s Las Vegas Nights.  Funnily enough, the movie features an Oscar nominated song, Dolores by Frank Loesser and Louis Alter sung by Bert Wheeler of Wheeler and Woolsey fame.  Frank appeared singing the Dorsey recording hit I'll Never Smile Again by Canadian Ruth Lowe.  The Oscar of the season went to Kern and Hammerstein's The Last Time I Saw Paris featured in Lady Be Good.

1943s Higher and Higher was adapted from a 1940 Broadway show with music by Jimmy McHugh and Harold Adamson.  RKO purchased the rights for the film to showcase Frank Sinatra and  one of the new songs composed for the film, I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night, was nominated for the Oscar.  The Oscar winner that year was Swinging on a Star from Going My Way.  Among the 12 nominees are The Trolley Song from Meet Me in St. Louis and Long Ago and Far Away from Cover Girl.

MGMs splashy big budget musical of 1945, Anchors Aweigh won George Stoll the Oscar for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture.  The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Leading Actor for Gene Kelly, Best Color Cinematography and a Best Song nomination for Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn's ballad I Fall in Love Too Easily.  The song was introduced by Frank as the shy sailor Clarence who pines for Kathryn Grayson while Pamela Britton patiently waits on the sidelines.  The Academy awarded Rodgers and Hammerstein's It Might as Well Be Spring from State Fair.  Other nominees include Accentuate the Positive from Here Come the WAVES, I'll Buy that Dream from Sing Your Way Home and Victor Young's theme to Love Letters.

In 1954 an uncredited Frank Sinatra sang the title track to Three Coins in the Fountain which won the Best Song Oscar for Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn.  The other nominees were Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep from White Christmas, the theme to The High and the Mighty, Hold My Hand from Susan Slept Here and (my personal choice), Arlen and Gershwin's The Man That Got Away from A Star is Born.  As Judy, who pointed out this early omission on my part noted, surely Sinatra's performance helped sell the number.

The remaining 5 songs on Frank's Oscar list are all composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn.  Van Heusen, in particular, was a close friend of Frank's and his swinging lifestyle was an inspiration to the crooner.  Van Heusen was nominated for 12 Oscars.  Johnny Burke was the lyricist on 3 nominations including one win and Van Heusen and Cahn had 3 wins from 9 nominations.  First up -

The theme to the 1955 comedy The Tender Trap was nominated for Best Song losing to Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster's timeless theme to Love is a Many-Splendored Thing.  Among the nominees we find Johnny Mercer's Something's Gotta Give from Daddy Long Legs and Unchained Melody, Alex North and Hy Zaret's theme to the prison picture Unchained.

We have ourselves a winner!  The biopic of entertainer Joe E. Lewis is directed by Charles Vidor who had such success with Ruth Etting's story in Love Me or Leave Me.  The winning song, All the Way was not only perfect for the character, but perfect for Frank and became one of his famous signature tunes.  Also nominated that season were the themes from An Affair to Remember, April Love, Tammy and Wild is the Wind.

1958s Some Came Running, based on James Jones novel and directed by Vincente Minnelli, garnered 3 acting nominations for Shirley MacLaine, Martha Hyer and Arthur Kennedy, Walter Plunkett's costumes and the Van Heusen and Cahn theme song, To Love and Be Loved.  The winner for the year was Gigi from the Lerner and Loewe musical.

The 1959 Frank Capra picture A Hole in the Head grows on you with its quirky charm.  In the eyes of his brother played by Edward G. Robinson, Frank's character is a wastrel not doing right by his motherless son played by Eddie Hodges.  The conflict gives rise to many trials and a great musical moment with our second winner.  The imagery in High Hopes makes it popular with children and the positive message a timeless favourite.  The line-up of nominees included themes for The Best of Everything, The Five Pennies, The Hanging Tree and Strange Are the Ways of Love from The Young Land.

Fun? Wow!  Robin and the 7 Hoods spoofs old-time gangster flicks with scene stealing turns from Peter Falk and Bing Crosby.  Van Heusen and Cahn give Frank another one of his signature tunes and Frank's last musical trip to the Oscars.  My Kind of Town competed with the team's own title theme to Where Love Has Gone, Mancini's Dear Heart, DeVol's Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte and they all bowed to the Sherman Brothers winner, Chim Chim Cheree from Mary Poppins.

Frank Sinatra won the Oscar's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1971, the Best Supporting Acting trophy for From Here to Eternity in 1954 and was nominated in the Best Leading Role category for 1955s The Man with the Golden Arm.  In 1945 Frank was the featured lead and shared in an Honorary Award with Mervyn LeRoy, Frank Ross, Albert Matz, Earl Robinson and Lewis Allen for the short The House I Live In. 

The "Try It, You'll Like It!" blogathon: 12 Angry Men (1957)

This post is part of the "Try It, You'll Like It!" Blogathon, hosted by Sister Celluloid and Movies Silently, where we write about "gateway films" that might bring non-classic-film lovers into the fold! For all entries, click here!

Some of the inflexible reasons given for avoiding classic films: "I don't watch old movies." "I don't watch black and white movies." "I don't like the way they acted back then." "Movies keep getting better, so why should I watch something from when they weren't as good as they are now?" All that's needed to break that logjam is one distinguished and impressive piece of cinema. All that's needed is 12 Angry Men.

Securing an audience's attention starts with the word, and Reginald Rose strung together some great words for his Emmy winning teleplay for Studio One, Twelve Angry Men in 1954. The following year he adapted the script for the stage. The theatrical play has enjoyed many professional and amateur tours and revivals, including a multi-Tony nominated 2005 Broadway production. In 1957 Rose and star Henry Fonda co-produced the 12 Angry Men feature film version for United Artists.

Former actor and live television director veteran Sidney Lumet (Fail-Safe, Network, The Verdict) made his impressive feature debut with this project, collaborating with the great cinematographer Boris Kaufman (L'Atalante, On the Waterfront, The Pawnbroker). The visionary artists created a universe inside of a single room. The black and white cinematography gives an almost documentary-like feel to the proceedings; a sense of the immediacy of a newspaper. The view of the sparse set, at first a wide empty room that slowly fills to overcrowding humanity pulls the viewer into the atmosphere. The variety of shot angles and actor placement, combined with the judicious decisions of when or when not to use close-ups guides us subtly through the developments of plot and character.

Over the course of a wet, humid afternoon in New York City, jurors debate evidence given in a first-degree murder trial. By rote, the judge charges the twelve strangers with the fearsome task. After weeks of testimony, a preliminary vote shows that eleven jurors are convinced of a guilty verdict. Juror #8, however, votes "not guilty" feeling that with the life of the young defendant at stake, some discussion is merited. Oh so reluctantly, the discussion that ensues reveals much about the trial and much more about the jurors.

Ed Begley, George Voskovec, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Jack Warden

Robert Webber, Joseph Sweeney, Henry Fonda, Martin Balsam, Edward Binns, John Fiedler

Such words and such art behind direction deserve a fine ensemble of actors to bring it to life. The cast of 12 Angry Men was in the enviable position of weeks of rehearsal before shooting so that these professionals could create and truly know their characters. The last of the ensemble to pass away, Juror #5, Jack Klugman, spoke of the pride they all took in this project. Such pride of craftsmanship shows in the film.

Juror #1:  Martin Balsam, high school football coach
The foreman is a reasonable man striving to do his duty and keep order.

Juror #2:  John Fiedler
He is not the sort to stand out in a crowd and is easily dismissed by others.

Juror #3:  Lee J. Cobb, owns a messenger service
A man filled with inner rage.

Juror #4:  E.G. Marshall, stockbroker
Prides himself on his clear thinking.

Juror #5:  Jack Klugman
A man from a disadvantaged background who feels the outsider.

Juror #6:  Edward Binns, labourer
An unimaginative working man with a big heart.

Juror #7:  Jack Warden, salesman
The guy that does not want to be here.

Juror #8:  Henry Fonda, architect
Courageous and compassionate observer.

Juror #9:  Joseph Sweeney, senior citizen
In his case wisdom has come with age.

Juror #10:  Ed Begley
Prejudice blinds his thoughts.

Juror #11:  George Voskovec, watchmaker
The European immigrant has a balanced view of the proceedings.

Juror #12:  Robert Webber, advertising man
Bright young executive is all surface.

E.G. Marshall, Henry Fonda, John Fiedler (seated)

Lee J. Cobb, Edward Binns

Juror #8 begins and ends the discussion with the point that he doesn't know if the defendant is guilty or innocent, but given the case, as presented, there is room for reasonable doubt. As they deconstruct the prosecutor's case and the defense's lackluster performance, one by one, other jurors come to sense that reasonable doubt. Still others, for reasons that eventually become more clear and more personal, stubbornly cling to their original vote. Hearts and mind are laid uncomfortably bare as these strangers clash and bond.

12 Angry Men is a compelling and timeless drama. Perhaps the timelessness of the film will be the most surprising and welcome aspect to the non-classic film fan. It may well be a shock for them to discover that although technology, fashion and certain mores have changed, people haven't really changed. The same principles, fears and behaviors influence our personalities and our interactions. The powerful and memorable 12 Angry Men will have the non-classic film fan wondering what other films from bygone eras will speak to them.