Caftan Woman's Choice: One for April on TCM

Jim Wilson is a big city cop at the end of his rope. We meet Jim and his two partners on night patrol. The Force has been under a lot of pressure since a cop killing of two weeks standing. Wilson, however, has been a walking exposed nerve for longer than the past two weeks. He is a lit fuse waiting to explode.

Detectives Santos, Wilson and Daly

Anthony Ross, Robert Ryan and Charles Kemper

Pete Santos:  "Hey, what's the matter with Jim? I tell ya' he's sore or somethin'."

Pop Daly:  "He's sore alright. All we ever see is crooks, murderers, winos, stoolies, dames - all with an angle. You get so you think everybody is like that. Until you find out different it's kind of a lonely life. I've had to put up with it, so did you. Jim just takes it harder than the rest of us."

Pete:  "He's getting harder to work with all the time."

Mad With Much Heart is the evocative title of Gerald Butler's novel which is the basis of 1952s On Dangerous Ground. A.I. Bezzerides (Thieves' Highway) and director Nicholas Ray (Johnny Guitar) adapted the screenplay for the story of Jim Wilson's redemption.

Jim's reputation as a tough man precedes him and proves true as he roughs up suspects and places tipsters in danger. He gets the job done, but pays a heavy psychological price and faces disciplinary action as well.

Jim Wilson:  "What kind of a job is this anyway? Garbage! That's all we handle, garbage.  ...  How do you do it? How do you live with yourself?"

Pop Daly:  "I don't. I live with other people. To get anything out of this life you gotta put something in it - from the heart."

Captain Brawley played by Ed Begley (12 Angry Men, Odds Against Tomorrow) has tried talking to Wilson, but now tries a temporary measure to pull him back from the edge of the cliff. A girl has been murdered upstate and Jim is sent out of town to assist in the case. It is not much of a mystery as the suspect has been identified and there is manpower for the search. Whether Jim's help is actually needed by the rural authorities is one matter. The other matter is Jim Wilson, the man, and he just may find himself in this foreign environment.

It is a long journey from the dark city streets to the open unknown. Tall pines replace skyscrapers and isolation replaces crowded humanity. Jim is suddenly and unexpectedly teamed with the father of the victim in the manhunt. Ward Bond plays Walter Brent, a man filled with grief and rage, and a need for vengeance. This simple family man embodies all the turmoil that Jim Wilson has been living with for years.

Ward Bond and Robert Ryan

From his earliest pictures such as The Big Trail through The Long Voyage Home to It's a Wonderful Life and TVs Wagon Train, in close to 300 bits and film roles, Ward Bond fit a variety of roles as if that were the one he was born to play. It was never going to happen, but if the Academy had ever deemed to recognize one of his performances, I think that of Walter Brent would be that one. The bereaved parent travels his own heartbreaking journey that mirrors and amplifies that of Detective Wilson.

Walter Brent and Jim Wilson

Ward Bond and Robert Ryan

Robert Ryan's one Academy Award nomination was for playing an unrepentant killer in Crossfire. He played outstanding villains, but that craggy face could also portray a kindly soul as in The Boy with Green Hair. As Jim Wilson, Ryan gives us the depravity of a lost soul and his latent hope.

The emotional journey of our character is also a very physical one as Wilson and Brent's chase includes running through snow and over difficult terrain. Hate motivates a lot of the chase, but hate is being pounded out of them. The chase leads them to the farmhouse of Mary Malden and her brother Danny. Danny, a young man "not quite right", is the murderer they seek and Mary must find a way to protect her brother by giving him up. Mary is played by Ida Lupino (They Drive by Night). Ms. Lupino, the director of four films by this time, took on directing duties during an illness experienced by Nicholas Ray during the shoot.

Bernard Herrmann's score for On Dangerous Ground uses the same insistent motif that characterizes his score for North by Northwest. I find it fascinating that it is equally effective for an adventure film and for the overwrought emotions of this tale.

Jim Wilson and Mary Malden

Robert Ryan and Ida Lupino

Mary's blindness complicates the search for Danny. Brent is confused and frustrated by Mary and by Jim's reaction to the woman. Mary has spent much time alone and time examining her own loneliness which she senses in Jim. For Jim Wilson, the dam which has been holding back his emotions is beginning to shatter.

Mary Malden:  "Tell me, how is it to be a cop?"

Jim Wilson:  "You get so you don't trust anybody."

Mary:  "You're lucky. You don't have to trust anyone. I have to trust everybody."

One Dangerous Ground epitomizes the tough film-noir in the gritty telling of the first part of the story. What had been our focus sets up the change in setting and mood as the story wears its emotional heart on its sleeve in the second act. At the very least I think you will find On Dangerous Ground an interesting film, at the most you may find it enriching.

TCM is screening On Dangerous Ground on Thursday, April 7th at 11:15 am on a day exploring the creative phenomenon that was Miss Ida Lupino.

THE 2ND ANNUAL FAVOURITE TV SHOW EPISODE BLOGATHON: Maverick, Shady Deal at Sunny Acres (1958)

Now in its glorious second annual presentation, Terence Towles Canote of A Shroud of Thoughts hosts the Favourite Television Episode blogathon running from March 25 to 27. Click HERE for the contributors.

In its glorious second season Maverick (1957-1962) received a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Western Series, the first and only time the Television Academy presented that award in an era where westerns glutted the small screen landscape. Writer and producer Roy Huggins created Maverick to be the snide opposite of his successful and more traditional western Cheyenne starring Clint Walker. Whether the Academy got the joke or not is up for debate.

Jack Kelly as Bart and James Garner as Bret

Legends of the West, Bret and Bart Maverick roamed the TV west with a deck of cards and a ready wit; conning con men, romancing pretty Warner's contractees, and being generally adventurous. In a tight spot ,they would quote the larcenous philosophy passed down by their "old pappy". James Garner starred as Bret, and when the demanding schedule of the enormously popular program proved too much for one actor, Jack Kelly was signed as Bart.

Both actors of charm and skill, fans were most delighted when a script called for the two sharing the spotlight in an episode. Such an episode is Shady Deal at Sunny Acres written by Roy Huggins for that award winning second season and directed by Les Martinson, who turned 101 this past January. Martinson's career in television dates back to General Electric Theatre in the 1950s through The Roy Rogers Show, Conflict, all of the Warners programs of the 50s and 60s including 18 episodes of Maverick, Ironside, Mannix, The Six Million Dollar Man, Barnaby Jones and practically anything you ever watched.

John Dehner as John Bates

"If you can't trust your banker, who can you trust?"

Fate and the friendly laws of probability have been kind to Bret Maverick. In a crowded saloon on a warm evening, his pocket is $15,000 richer than when he entered the establishment. Overcome with a sudden case of discretion, Bret prevails upon a local banker, one Mr. Bates, to open his premises for the safe storage of his funds. Bret sleeps well that night with Mr. Bates' receipt tucked in the Maverick wallet.

The next day Bret's request at the bank for a portion of his funds is met with a blank stare from Mr. Bates who claims never to have seen the gambler before. The signature on the receipt is an obvious forgery, as attested to by the honest banking partner, Mr. Granville. That Maverick fellow is up to something. Yes, he is. Bret pays for two weeks rent on his hotel room and announces that when he leaves town he will have his purloined $15,000. He then perches comfortably in a rocking chair on the front porch of the hotel and whittles. When townspeople, who find the whole affair rather amusing, ask how he will get his money back Bret smiles and says that he is "working on it".

If, in the usual course of a Sunday evening (Maverick's original air date), it was a treat to have both Maverick brothers on hand, imagine the delight the first time this episode aired with a plethora of recurring characters audiences had become familiar with all coming together (Avengers Assemble!) for a perfect sting.

Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Dandy Jim Buckley

Diane Brewster as Samantha Crawford

Richard Long as Gentleman Jack Darby

Leo V. Gordon as Big Mike McComb

Arlene Howell as Cindy Lou Brown

with John Dehner and Jack Kelly

Bart Maverick arrives in town under the name of Bartley J. Mansfield III, representative of British investors and a private stock speculator. Thus Bart gains the confidence of the greedy John Bates, and with expert and willing performances from the slickest con artists this side of the Rockies, Bret does indeed leave town with his $15,000. The honest banker becomes the only banker in town, Bates sits in the hoosegow contemplating his downfall, and Bret rarely got up out of that rocker.

Fans of classic character actors are treated with more familiar faces than they can shake a stick at in this episode. Along with the great John Dehner as Bates ,we have Regis Toomey, Karl Swenson, J. Pat O'Malley, Irving Bacon, Syd Salor, Jonathan Hole and Earle Hodgins. A genuine treat from beginning to end.

As my old pappy used to say, "You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, and those are very good odds."

THE TV SIDEKICK BLOGATHON: Della Street and Paul Drake of "Perry Mason" (1957-1966)

Perry Mason: Noted criminal lawyer - intrepid, dramatic, elusive fighter, whose cause is never lost.

- The Case of the Perjured Parrot, 1939

The sign on the office door is a comfort to clients found at the wrong place at the wrong time; clients with secrets and clients who lie, innocent clients accused of murder.  In over 80 novels written by lawyer/author Erle Stanley Gardner and 271 television episodes from 1957-1966, Perry Mason,  and his Emmy winning portrayer (1959 and 1961) Raymond Burr, won the day.   

Della Street:  As much Perry Mason's right arm as his secretary.

- The Case of the Waylaid Wolf, 1960

Perry, however, was not in the fight for justice on his own.  Those clients would be languishing in cells to this day, or worse, if the entire team hadn't pulled together.  A lawyer like Perry is only as good as his confidential secretary and Della Street is the gold standard.  Competent, intuitive and fearless Della Street was played on the series by Barbara Hale.

A star attorney such as Perry must be armed with the truth when he enters the courtroom and that information requires legwork.  The legwork for Mason's cases is provided by the Paul Drake Detective Agency.  Paul, played by William Hopper, knows his job, even though at times he is baffled by Perry and the risks his friend is willing to take for often less than forthcoming clients.

Barbara Hale

Barbara Hale was born in DeKalb, Illinois in 1922.  As an art student she turned to modeling as a means of making money which led to being signed by RKO Studios.  A featured player and sometimes leading lady, a few of Barbara's pictures include The Falcon Out West, The Falcon in Hollywood with Tom Conway and Higher and Higher with Frank Sinatra.  RKO teamed her with her husband Bill Williams (married 1946-1992) in The Clay Pigeon, A Likely Story and West of the Pecos.  Barbara played the title character in Lorna Doone, leading lady to Larry Parks in Jolson Sings Again, to James Stewart in The Jackpot, to Randolph Scott in 7th Cavalry and to James Cagney in A Lion is in the Streets.  Barbara is a sympathetic teacher in The Boy with Green Hair, a harried mother in the film-noir classic The Window and a bombshell entertainer in the nifty noir The Houston Story.

Della Street:  Mason's confidential secretary with an intuitive flair for the feminine angle.

- The Case of the Cautious Coquette, 1949

In the 1950s Barbara was devoting most of her energies to raising her young family.  On interview extras included with the television series 50th anniversary DVD release Barbara relates that she was speaking with Gail Patrick Jackson about an idea for customizing costumes for dolls to be sold in specialty boutiques.  Gail, as executive producer of a new TV program based on Erle Stanley Gardner's popular Perry Mason novels, had other ideas.  She wanted Barbara for Della Street.  Previous secretaries to the crime busting attorney included Claire Dodd to Warren William, June Travis to Ricardo Cortez and Ann Dvorak to Donald Woods.

Barbara Hale won the Primetime Emmy in 1959 for Best Supporting Actress (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series.  She was nominated for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actor or Actress in a Series in 1961.  Don't you just love the way the Emmy folks play around with their categories?!  There were three nominees in the category that season including Barbara as Della, Abby Dalton as Lt. Hale in Hennessy and the winner, Don Knotts as Barney Fife in The Andy Griffith Show.  Don't you just love the way the Emmy folks put that mix together?!

This coming April 18th Barbara Hale, a great-grandmother, turns 94.  Barbara's attendance at fan conventions in recent years affirm how beloved she is among generations of Barbara and Della watchers. 

 Della Street:  She was a one-way street and the way was always Perry Mason's.

- The Case of the Beautiful Beggar, 1965

Della was more than the gatekeeper to Perry Mason's inner sanctum.  Perry relied on her instincts when sizing up clients and on her legal secretarial skills to keep the office and trials running smoothly.  Della could be counted on giving more than one hundred percent to any cause of Perry's.  She was not afraid to get her hands dirty in the field as a decoy or to hiding clients at her apartment.  When forced into court, she was unflappable in the face of cross-examinations.  This is not to say that Della wouldn't offer a word of caution to her foolhardy boss upon occasion, but there was never any doubt of her total support.  On a personal level, while it was more apparent in Gardner's page turners that Perry and Della's closeness extended beyond business (all those late night dinners), there was never any doubt among TV fans of the depth of feeling between the two.

Paul Drake:  Detective, long, laconic, and loyal, willing to toss his natural caution to the winds in the service of Perry Mason.

- The Case of the Perjured Parrot, 1939

Perry's most frequent combatant, District Attorney Hamilton Burger played by William Talman could call upon the services of the police department in the form of Ray Collins as Lt. Tragg, Wesley Lau as Lt. Anderson, Richard Anderson as Steve Drumm and Lee Miller as Sgt. Brice.  Who's Perry gonna call?  Paul Drake!  The Paul Drake Detective Agency had a seemingly inexhaustible supply of operatives on call around the clock and contacts in cities far and wide.  Paul may have dreamed of keeping regular business hours, but Perry knew he could call any time during the 24 hours allotted to us and Paul Drake would be on the case.  

William Hopper

(1915 - 1970)

William Hopper's parents were the actor DeWolfe Hopper Sr. and actress turned influential gossip columnist Hedda Hopper.  It was at his mother's urging that the young man entered the acting profession with no genuine sense of a calling.  Signed by Warner Brothers in the mid-30s you will see in such pictures as The Footloose Heiress, The Adventurous Blonde and Public Wedding a handsome and pleasant actor of potential.

William Hopper was a Navy frogman during WWII, the stress of which left him with his striking white hair and a drinking problem.  Resuming his acting career he played leads in Bs and solid supporting roles in prestigious features.  The sci-fi fave 20 Million Miles to Earth stars Harryhausen effects and Hopper.  He is Natalie Wood's distant father in Rebel Without a Cause and Patty McCormack's too normal father in The Bad Seed.  I think his best roles in this period are for director William Wellman as Jan Sterling's fiance in The High and the Mighty, the good brother in Track of the Cat, and especially as a sympathetic dog trainer in Goodbye, My Lady.

William Hopper was one of the many actors who auditioned for the role of Perry Mason and the clip  below is one of his screen tests to play the attorney.  It may seem strange as we are so used to Raymond Burr as Perry, but I think Bill Hopper gives a credible characterization.  Nonetheless, things worked out as they should.  Nothing tops the breezy way Paul greets Della with "Hello, Beautiful" as he enters the Mason offices ready for the next adventure.

In 1959 William Hopper was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Best Supporting Actor (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series.  The season featured the Drake-centric episode The Case of Paul Drake's Dilemma, giving our favourite P.I. a chance to shine.  The other nominees included Herschel Bernardi as Lt. Jacoby in Peter Gunn, Johnny Crawford as Mark McCain in The Rifleman and the winner, Dennis Weaver as Chester Goode in Gunsmoke.

Paul Drake:  Detective with a lot of explanations to make and sleep to catch up on.

- The Case of the Empty Tin, 1941

Paul Drake had a phone in his car!  When I was a kid I thought that was the coolest thing ever!  Nowadays people of far less importance in my eyes walk around with little phones as if it is commonplace.  Are they on a case?

Paul's favourite cases seem to be anytime he gets to interrogate a pretty girl.  On more than one occasion Paul has put his private investigator's license on the line backing up one of Perry's convoluted schemes.  Paul Drake seems to have the respect of the police and the loyalty of his employees and I certainly would have tuned in for a spin-off series focused on the Paul Drake Detective Agency.  The imagination takes flight.  

Barbara Hale and William Hopper

Loyal and hard-working, Della Street and Paul Drake are the support Perry Mason needs to get his clients acquitted.  However, the brilliant attorney's mind races so that by the end of the episode, and for our benefit, there is usually some little bit of information that must be explained to the team before celebrations can begin.  Above we see our stalwarts in the only colour episode of the original series, The Case of the Twice Told Twist from 1966.  "My, how he does blather on" seems to be in back of Della's expression.  Paul has the confused puppy dog look of "I never get it when he talks like this, but he pays his bills on time". 

Rick at the Classic Film and TV Cafe is hosting THE TV SIDEKICK BLOGATHON which runs from March 6 - 8.  Click HERE to spend time with our favourite folks from our favourite classic TV shows.  

Caftan Woman's Choice: One for March on TCM

"One gets lost fighting a lie."

William Wyler directed both film versions of Lillian Hellman's first Broadway success The Children's Hour, first in 1936 as These Three and then in 1961 under the original title with the original lie intact. Hellman wrote the screenplay in 1936 and the adaption for the 1961 film. These Three and its story of the impact of lies made quite an impression on me as a teenager. My overwhelming memories from that first viewing are of the beauty of Gregg Toland's cinematography, the emotion in Alfred Newman's score and Martha Dobie's loneliness.

Joel McCrea, Merle Oberon, Miriam Hopkins

"Two well-educated young women, also neat and clean, wish position."

Friends Karen Wright and Martha Dobie have their University Degrees in hand and the future looming before them. Martha's only family is her self-absorbed Aunt Lily, a refugee from the theatre. Karen's last relation, a deceased grandmother has left her a farmhouse in Massachusetts and the two young women put their energies into creating a girl's school. Their neighbour, Dr. Joseph Cardin helps with friendship and handyman skills. The socially prominent Mrs. Amelia Tilford supports their efforts among her set and provides their first student in her granddaughter Mary.

Karen and Martha create a warm and inviting atmosphere at their school which is appreciated by most of the students. This is despite the oppressive presence of Martha's aunt, Mrs. Mortar, who insinuates herself into the school as an elocution teacher. Among the students, the spoiled Mary Tilford proves to be a bully and a trouble-maker. Joe and Karen have fallen in love and makes plans to be married. Martha has also fallen in love with Joe, but she stoically keeps her feelings to herself.

Bonita Granville, Alma Kruger

Mary Tilford is not a long-range thinker and says of herself that she works better at making it up as she goes along. Mary makes a lot of things up, sometimes out of whole cloth and sometimes out of bits of fabric she picks up from observation. She knows how to flatter and cajole Mrs. Mortar. She knows how to bully her classmates to use to her advantage. Both Karen and Martha have been patient and kind in their treatment of Mary, but the fairness or not of her most recent punishment leads to a major meltdown. She starts with feigning illness and follows it up by running back home to her grandmother. The family maid, Agatha, has no illusions concerning Mary, but Mrs. Tilford is a softie where her granddaughter is concerned. Mary has to come up with a good story to be allowed to leave this most recent school placement.

Mary's story is that something untoward has been happening at the school between Martha and Karen's fiancee, Joe. Classmate Rosalie Wells can back up every twisted lie Mary comes up with because Rosalie is being hideously blackmailed over a "borrowed" bracelet. Mrs. Tilford is shocked that inappropriate behaviour is being exhibited by those caring for children and she spreads the news which results in the wholesale withdrawal of students from the school.

Alma Kruger, Bonita Granville, Merle Oberon, Miriam Hopkins, Joel McCrea

"When three people come to you with their lives spread out on a table for you to cut to pieces, then the only honest thing for you to do is to give them a chance to come out whole."

Joe, Karen and Martha bring a slander suit against Mrs. Tilford and the jury decides in her favour. Mrs. Mortar, whose testimony ought to have helped, avoided the court. Karen and Martha are left with nothing. Joe is dismissed from the hospital. Lost in the fight Karen allows doubts about Joe and Martha to cloud her judgment. Joe rreturns to Vienna where he studied medicine. Martha admits to her feelings for Joe to Karen, truthfully affirming that those feelings remained hers alone. Nonetheless, the world of three innocent people is completely shattered.

The drama is exquisitely played out by the cast led by Miriam Hopkins (The Stranger's Return, Design for Living) as Martha Dobie. Martha is at heart a kind person and with her slapdash and isolated upbringing, she would have every right to have turned out differently. Martha is devoted to her friends and to wanting to make a pleasant existence for her charges. Her love for Joe is not returned and even that she accepts as another of life's inevitable blows. Karen is played by Merle Oberon (Wuthering Heights, 'Til We Meet Again) at this point in her career at the height of her loveliness. She is a heroine worthy of the audience's care. Joel McCrea is especially appealing as Joe, whose humour and strength is put to the ultimate test.

Catherine Doucet

(1875-1958)

Catherine Doucet (Poppy, It Started With Eve), whose Broadway career began in 1906 and started appearing in films in 1915, is an everlasting irritation and annoyance as Lily Mortar - as she should be. Miriam Hopkins, in the last of the five films she made with William Wyler, would play this role in the 1961 film. Alma Kruger (Dr. Kildare series, Saboteur) made her film debut as Amelia Tilford. She is a grand dame to the world, yet easily manipulated by her affection for her orphaned granddaughter. She is heartbreaking.

Marcia Mae Jones, Carmencinta Johnson

Bonita Granville (Nancy Drew series, The Glass Key) was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the role of Mary Tilford in the first year of that category. Mary is horrid and despite the best intentions of those around her, you get a sense that there is no hope for the character. Marcia Mae Jones (Baby Face, Heidi) is the conscience stricken Rosalie, constantly under threat from Mary and her performance is every bit the equal of Miss Granville's. Wyler's handling of a crucial scene among three students including Carmencita Johnson (The Wind, Frankenstein) is excellent as all three young actresses behave naturally and true to their characters.

Bonita Granville, Margaret Hamilton

Spoiler alert:

The audience is not disappointed when Mary's lies finally become known and we get a touch of her comeuppance. The maid Agatha, played by Margaret Hamilton (My Little Chickadee, The Wizard of Oz) dispenses a slap heard around the world. I recall Ms. Hamilton telling a tale on The Mike Douglas Show that Bonita, who was a good kid, was frightened about the slap and kept pulling away and ruining the shot. In the shot we see in the film, listen closely and you will hear Agatha/Margaret whisper under he breath "Bonita, come here." before meting out the genuine deal Wyler requested.

These Three has lost none of its power through the years as an emotional and cautionary piece of drama. 

Note: Miriam Hopkins takes the role of Mrs. Mortar for Wyler in The Children's Hour, 1961.

TCM is screening These Three on Friday, March 4th at 8:00 pm as part of the tribute to Star of the Month, Merle Oberon.

  

MOVIE SCIENTIST BLOGATHON (The Mad): The Invisible Ray (1936)

"He's one lab accident away from being a super-villain."

- The Big Bang Theory

Ruth of Silver Screenings and Christine Wehner are our hosts for the Movie Scientist blogathon running February 19, 20 and 21.  The subjects can be the good, the mad or the lonely.  I would say my "hero" is "good and mad!".

Be it ever so humble...

Dr. Janos Rukh (Boris Karloff) lives in a castle/compound high in the Carpathian Mountains.  On the surface of it, Rukh's life is pretty sweet.  He has a state of the art laboratory, a staff of servants, a loving mother and devoted young wife, Diana.  This is balanced by the accident during one of his experiments that left his mother mother (Violet Kemble Cooper) blind.  Perhaps his marriage to the orphaned daughter (Francis Drake) of a late assistant occurred without much foresight.  Rukh's stubborn pride has cut him off from his fellows in the scientific community leaving him feeling slighted with an overwhelming need for vindication.

Janos shows off his discovery.

On an appropriately dark and stormy night wealthy researcher Sir Francis Stevens (Walter Kingsford), who had once scoffed at Rukh's theories, has been invited to see Rukh's latest success.  In the party is his novelist wife Lady Arabella Stevens (Beulah Bondi) and her cartographer nephew Ronald Drake (Frank Lawton).  On hand to verify Rukh's work is his scientific rival Dr. Felix Benet (Bela Lugosi).  Through Rukh's long distance/time traveling telescope the group observes the crashing of a meteor in Africa thousands of years ago.  An expedition to the continent is planned and Dr. Rukh joins them in searching for a power source he refers to as Radium X.  Mother Rukh does not approve of this plan as she knows that her son does not know how to play nice with others.  No matter how old a boy gets, he should always listen to his mother!

Joining the expedition is not one of Janos' better ideas.

Violet Kemble Cooper, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi

Walter Kingsford, Beulah Bondi, Frances Drake, Frank Lawton

In Africa Janos Rukh splits from the main group in his pursuit of Radium X.  Back at the main camp Dr. Benet furthers his research into his field of astro-chemistry, Lady Arabella works on her latest tome, Sir Francis complains about the heat, and Diana and Ronald fall in love.  However, they are the noble sort who will not act on their feelings.  As Janos as left her for weeks with no word, Diana attempts to join him at his camp.  Janos has discovered his Radium X, but it has poisoned his system.  Not only does he glow in the dark, but his very touch brings death.  He orders Diana away without even seeing her or offering an explanation.  How Janos doesn't see this as the end of his marriage is a quirk of his strangely focused thinking.

Janos seeks help from Dr. Benet who comes up with a counteractive which will allay some of the symptoms, but is not a cure.  Janos must take this counteractive regularly to sustain his life.  Back in his mountain compound Radium X is used to cure Mother Rukh's blindness.  In Paris Dr. Benet is using Radium X to do much good for as many patients as possible.  Radium X is the discovery of the age and the all in the expedition, including Janos Rukh, as given credit.  Rukh only sees that he has been cheated of everything, especially in the loss of his wife to another man.  The poison has not only affected his body, but his brain.  Let's face it, Janos had issues to begin with and this is not a turn for the good.

"It poisoned me."

Boris Karloff as Janos Rukh

Faking his own death, Janos Rukh now a glowing monster of death seeks revenge on all involved in the expedition.  Dr. Benet and newlywed Ronald are quick to lay the proper blame when Sir Francis is murdered, followed by Lady Arabella.  The mad man let's them in on his game by terrorizing the city with acts of destruction.  Working together, the survivors of the African enterprise and the police lay a trap for the wily and mad Janos Rukh.  Will it work?  Will love conquer all?  What role will Mother Rukh play in the resolution of the horror?

The third of their eight film collaborations.

Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi

One of the great joys of movies is watching Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi onscreen together.  The Invisible Ray provides plenty of opportunity for them to create interesting, terrifying and admirable characters in a story of scientists going too far (always a favourite) and revenge.  The actors do not disappoint; it was not their way.

The second of two 1936 joint appearances.

Walter Kingsford, Beulah Bondi

Beulah Bondi is particularly fun to watch as the sophisticated lady Arabella whether dressed in hiking shorts and a pith helmet or an elegant dinner gown, she gives wry comments on circumstances and characters, and looks like she's having a grand time.  Walter Kingsford is a consistently watchable actor and here he gets to put just the right touch of humour into his role.

Why not get married?  Janos was dead.  It was in all the papers.

Frank Lawton, Frances Drake

Francis Drake as Diana has to spend most of her time worrying, but she also has the opportunity to show grit and guts.  Frank Lawton's Ronald starts out as just your average cardboard young lover, but toward the end of the movie when things start heating up against Dr. Rukh, he becomes more interesting.

1936s The Invisible Ray is as entertaining a movie of its type as you could wish.  Director Lambert Hillyer was an old pro who knew how pace his adventures having made dozens of films, mostly westerns, by this point in his career.  That career behind the camera which began in the teens, would continue into the era of 1950s television.  The dramatic goings-on are supported by a lovely score from Franz Waxman.  The glowing effect is the result of painstaking matte work lead by special cinematographer John Fulton who would go on to receive five Oscar nominations for special effects work, winning for 1945s Wonder Man and 1956s The Ten Commandments.

"Science is not good or bad, Victor, but it can always be used both ways.  That is why you must always be careful."

- Frankenweenie

Movie Scientist Blogathon

Day 1 recap:  The Good

Day 2 recap:  The Mad
Day 3 recap:  The Lonely

Movie Music for a Winter's Day

The record-breaking frigid temperatures are behind us, but the freezing and drizzling precipitation is here.  Music helps to bring the sunshine to the grey days and I find lots of sunshine in movie music.  Here are three indelible movie themes that never fail to make me feel the warm sun on my face and see blue skies everywhere.

First up is Larry Adler's theme to the charming 1953 comedy Genevieve.  A young married couple, their friend and his date complicate the straight-forward London to Brighton run in antique cars into a comic misadventure.  American born harmonica virtuoso Adler was Oscar nominated for the score for this British production, residing in England at the time due to the blacklist, which also kept his name off the Oscar roll.  Listening to the lilting waltz with my eyes closed I can believe that when I open them the world will be in Technicolor.

Miss Marple's theme first heard in 1961s Murder She Said by Ron Goodwin always makes me smile and remember sunny days in my childhood.  True, Margaret Rutherford's Jane is not like our Jane in Christie's books, but there is no one else like Miss Rutherford.  Her droll humour and blunt faith in her detecting abilities as she drags poor Mr. Stringer into another adventure is infectious.  Look, there she is riding down the street on her bicycle.

And look who else is riding down the street on his bicycle!

Ah, the original score by Frank Barcellini for Jacque Tati's Mon Oncle from 1958.  It is a sturdy support and a playful partner to Tati in a film that freely gives away its smiles, laughter and even a sentimental tear.  Its wistful whimsy dances in my heart.

   

These are three of my sunshine songs.  What are yours?

A KISS IS JUST A KISS blogathon: Rio Grande (1950)

Lesley Gaspar of Second Sight Cinema is hosting a Valentine's Day treat for us all, the A Kiss is Just a Kiss blogathon devoted to our favourite film kisses.  Click HERE for the contributions.

John Ford's Rio Grande, released by Republic Pictures in 1950 was the first onscreen teaming of Maureen O'Hara (Miracle on 34th Street) and John Wayne (Red River).  It is almost unfathomable that it took so long.  For a decade, since her appearance in The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1939 Maureen was one of Hollywood's best and versatile leading ladies appearing in comedies, dramas and action films.  John Wayne had been in Hollywood longer, but it was in 1939 as well, in Ford's Stagecoach that he became a superstar.  Both actors possessed a great charisma, dignity and attractiveness.  Personally, they shared a deep and loyal friendship.  Onscreen they were a match of equals made in cinematic heaven and would appear in five films together; three of them directed by John Ford.

Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne had committed to John Ford years earlier to appear in his pet project The Quiet Man should it ever get the green light.  That time had come, but first Ford had to get the pesky business of a western for Herbert Yates' studio out of the way before he could take his heart and his crew to Ireland.

Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke and his estranged wife Kathleen are the characters played by our stars.  They have been separated since the American Civil War during which Kirby had burned to the ground his wife's family plantation.  She raised their baby son on her own as Kirby pursued his military career.  Many years later that son has grown and is played by Claude Jarmin, Jr. (Intruder in the Dust).  The teenager has failed a course at West Point and enlisted as a cavalryman assigned to his father's far western outpost.  Young Jefferson Yorke's arrival is closely followed by that of his mother.  Kathleen, following military guidelines, has come to buy Jeff's release from his oath.  His father's permission is required as well and that Kirby will not give.  He is proud of his son and jealous of the time that he now has to get to know Jeff.

Kathleen's presence on the post brings up old and unresolved feelings between the couple.  As the country had to struggle to come together after the conflict, will the Yorkes find their way beyond their stubborn pride and back to each other?

Kathleen arrives at the outpost.

"I am not unauthorized.  I am Trooper Jefferson Yorke's mother."

Kirby relinquishes his quarters to his son's mother.

Is anyone else sensing an attraction here?

These are two very strong-minded individuals.

Kathleen:  "Ramrod, wreckage and ruin.  Still the same Kirby."

Kirby:  "Special privilege to special born.  Still the same Kathleen."

The regimental singers perform "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen"
in Mrs. Yorke's honour. 

Kirby:  "This song is not of my choosing."

Kathleen:  "I'm sorry, Kirby.  I wish it had been."

The Yorkes are slowly finding their way back to each other.

Circumstances force another separation.

Kathleen:  "Aren't you going to kiss me goodbye, Kirby?"

Kirby:  "I never want to kiss you goodbye, Kathleen."

Since Lesley announced this blogathon and I selected this scene, I have wracked my brain for an appropriate closing sentence.  This is the point in the movie where I just sit and sigh with a silly grin on my face.  Like Pavlov's dogs I can only say, from the bottom of my toes, "sigh".