The Luso World Cinema Blogathon is an annual event hosted by Spellbound with Beth Ann and Critica Retro. I’ll admit that I didn’t know anything about Luso cinema, in fact, I didn’t know what “Luso” meant. Research revealed that “Luso” is a prefix used in relation to Portugal and Portuguese culture. From reading through the list of actors/actresses of Portuguese heritage, I learned that one of my favorites, Mary Astor, fits this description.
Mary Astor was born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke in Quincy, Illinois on May 3, 1906. Her father was German and her mother was American. Mary got her Portuguese heritage from her mother. Mary was homeschooled by her mother until 1919 when she sent a photo of herself to a beauty contest and became a semi-finalist. When she was 15, she began taking drama lessons and appearing in local productions. Mary submitted her photos to other beauty contests, eventually catching the attention of an employee at Famous Players-Lasky. She was then signed to a six-month contract at Paramount. Mary would eventually make her screen debut in 1921 at the age of 14.
Mary’s career in silent film had its ups and downs. In 1929, she briefly found herself out of work as her voice was deemed too deep for talkies. However, she appeared in a play with her friend Florence Eldridge (wife of Fredric March) which ended up getting her back into films. She started being cast in films again and was on her way to stardom. In 1935, Mary had an extra-marital affair and was later embroiled in a bitter custody dispute with her ex-husband. In many cases, an adulteress’ career would be over, but the scandal seemed to have little effect on her career. Mary would eventually win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1941 for her role in The Great Lie.
Mary Astor’s career reached its peak in the 1940s with her Oscar win and appearance in the film noir classic, The Maltese Falcon, as Brigid O’Shaugnessy. As what happened with a lot of actresses back then, as soon as Mary hit 40 she was seen as a “mother” figure and was often cast in more matronly roles such as matriarch Anna Smith in Meet Me in St. Louis and Marmee in Little Women. Some of Astor’s best roles however come during this time when she took on against-type parts, such as playing a prostitute in Act of Violence or a madam in Desert Fury. Mary made her final appearance in 1964 in the small, but important role of Jewel Mayhew in Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte.
Mary Astor had a lot of great roles in her long career. Here are my top 5 favorite Mary Astor performances:
Walter Huston and Mary Astor in “Dodsworth.”
#1Dodsworth (1936). In this film, Mary plays “the other woman,” a role which typically isn’t sympathetic and is usually villainous. However, in Dodsworth, Mary’s performance as Edith Cortright and relationship with Walter Huston’s Sam Dodsworth is so beautiful that she is seen as the woman that Sam deserves. In this film, Sam and his wife Fran (Ruth Chatterton)’s daughter is all grown and married. Fran cannot accept being old enough to have a grown and married daughter. Sam retires and hopes to live a life of leisure with Fran. They’re planning on starting their retirement with an extended European vacation. While on the ocean liner, Sam meets Edith and Fran meets a young Englishman (David Niven) with whom she flirts. Sam ends up spending much of his time on the boat with Edith. While in Europe, Fran wants to be part of the jet set, spending her time living the high life while pretending to be much younger. Sam just wants to see the sights. As the Dodsworths find themselves growing apart, through a chance encounter, Sam reunites with Edith.
Mary’s performance in Dodsworth is very charming and sweet. She is what the film needs to offset the vain and materialistic Fran. While she is the “other woman” so to speak, Sam is such a nice guy and Fran is so awful, that we as the audience want Sam and Edith to be together.
Mary Astor and Joel McCrea in “The Palm Beach Story.”
#2The Palm Beach Story (1942). Mary Astor’s performance in this film is unlike any other part that I’ve seen her play. While she doesn’t seem like the obvious choice to appear in a Preston Sturges screwball comedy, Mary is right at home. In this film, she plays the oft-married Princess Maud Centimillia. At the start of the film, she’s on her way home to Palm Beach, FL with her latest conquest, Toto. She pulls up to the dock in her yacht and immediately wants to drop Toto for Tom Jeffers (Joel McCrea). Tom is in town looking for his wife, Gerry (Claudette Colbert) who has traveled to Palm Beach from New York. While on the train to Florida, Gerry meets the Princess’ brother, John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee). John is instantly smitten with Gerry and takes her back to his home to give her a place to stay.
Mary Astor’s performance as the Princess is hysterical. Even though she’s taken Toto as her lover, she wants nothing to do with him as soon as she spots Joel McCrea. Her disdain for Toto is so clear and obvious, but he’s a dope and doesn’t pick up on it. The Princess constantly has to think of errands to send Toto on so she’ll go away. She’s also very funny when Gerry introduces her husband as “Captain McGlue” in an effort to hide the fact that he’s her husband. When Tom later reveals that he is not Captain McGlue, the Princess says: “Thank heaven for some things. That name!”
Clark Gable and Mary Astor in “Red Dust.”
#3 Red Dust (1933) In this film, Mary plays Barbara Willis, the wealthy wife of Gary (Gene Raymond) who is sent to oversee a rubber plantation in French Indochina. The manager of the rubber plantation is Dennis Carson (Clark Gable). Another visitor to the plantation is Vantine (Jean Harlow), a young prostitute on the lam. Vantine is instantly smitten with Dennis and he seems interested in her until he sees Barbara. Barbara is the polar opposite of Vantine. She is brunette, more classy and ladylike. In contrast, Vantine is a bleached blonde, a brash, and outspoken. Gary ends up coming down with malaria, which puts him out of commission and more importantly, away from Barbara. Dennis spends the week of Barbara’s visit seducing her until she finally succumbs to his advances. Meanwhile, Vantine looks on with intense jealousy.
This is a very sexy part for Mary Astor. She is given the chance to have the hot and heavy affair with the hunky Clark Gable. The entire film is sweaty and it feels sweaty. At one point, Barbara is caught in the rain and is drenched. She then shares a sexy kiss with Gable.
Mary Astor and John Barrymore in “Midnight.”
#4 Midnight (1939) In this film, Mary plays the wealthy Helene Flammarion, the wife of Georges Flammrion (John Barrymore). She is very openly having an affair with ladies man, Jacques Picot (Frances Lederer). At the beginning of the film, Eve Peabody (Claudette Colbert) crashes a concert attended by members of the Parisian high society. She ends up running into Marcel Renaud (Rex O’Malley) who invites her to play bridge with himself, Helene, and Jacques. Eve introduces herself as “Madame Czerny.” Georges enters the room and sees Eve. He pretends to recognize Madame Czerny.
Georges comes up with a scheme to break up his wife and Jacques. He proposes to Eve that she try and break up Jacques and Helene. If she succeeds, Georges will give her a good payoff to reward her for her efforts. He will also give her 50,000 francs and invites her to his and Helene’s home in Versailles for the weekend. Georges also puts Eve up in a suite at the Ritz and buys her a new wardrobe, worthy of her persona as Madame Czerny. Meanwhile, cab driver Tibor Czerny (Don Ameche) is looking for Eve, having fallen in love with her while her drove her around town. When he finally finds her, he is amused that she’s taken on his surname as her fake royalty name.
While Mary Astor is more of a side character in this film, she is very funny in her part as John Barrymore’s unfaithful wife. She has absolutely no discretion in her affair with Jacques. Mary excels in these parts playing a bit of a goody two shoes, but also classy and a bit rigid. She’s also great at delivering her lines with a bit of bitterness, cynicism, while also being very funny.
Mary Astor and Humphrey Bogart in “The Maltese Falcon”
#5 The Maltese Falcon (1941). This is perhaps Mary Astor’s most famous role, that of femme fatale Brigid O’Shaugnessy in John Huston’s directorial debut and Humphrey Bogart’s breakout role. In this film, Brigid introduces herself to Bogart’s Sam Spade as “Miss Wonderly,” but he soon figures out that she’s lying about her identity. She comes to Sam wanting help in finding out the whereabouts of her missing sister. All Brigid can say is that she came to town (San Francisco) with Floyd Thursby. Sam puts his associate, Miles Archer, on the case. Miles is murdered while investigating Thursby’s whereabouts.
Sam sets out to investigate Archer’s death, but is soon thrust into an even larger (more interesting) mystery. He goes to Brigid, now calling herself Brigid having abandoned the “Miss Wonderly” moniker, to find out more information about Thursby. Brigid confesses that she made up the story about her sister and revealed that Thursby was her partner. She also puts forth the theory that Thursby probably killed Archer. When Sam returns to his office, he encounters Joe Cairo (Peter Lorre) who is wanting help looking for a statue of a black bird.
The black bird investigation proves to be a lot more interesting, especially when it turns out that Brigid is acquainted with Joe Cairo. Sam also learns that Cairo and Brigid are part of a gang led by Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet). Wilmer Cook (Elisha Cook Jr.) is Kasper’s gunsel and eventual fall guy. The ending of the film where Sam calls Brigid out and says she was responsible for Archer’s death. This is Mary Astor’s time to shine. In the scene, she is heartbroken that Sam Spade, with whom she thought she was in love, sends her up the river. She pleads with him to not turn her over to the police, but to no avail. He “consoles” her stating that she’ll probably be out in twenty years. As she descends in the elevator, Brigid’s face is covered by the shadows of bars on the windows.
SPOILER WARNING: If you haven’t seen “Dark Passage,” the ending will be spoiled in this article. It is impossible to talk about Agnes Moorehead’s role in this film without discussing the ending. In a happy coincidence, “Dark Passage” is scheduled to air on TCM’s Noir Alley this Saturday, May 4th at 9:15 pm (Pacific) and on Sunday, May 5th at 7:00am (Pacific).
BOB (to MADGE): Why don’t you leave people alone? You’re not satisfied unless you bother people. Either it’s your family or your friends, people you don’t know…No feelings for you. No feeling at all, except I’m annoyed whenever I see you.
Bruce Bennett as “Bob” and Agnes Moorehead as “Madge Rapf” in Dark Passage (1947)
This quote pretty much sums up every character in Dark Passage‘s relationship and feelings about Madge Rapf, portrayed by the brilliant Agnes Moorehead. She is the town busy body, known to everyone and liked by no one. She gets on everyone’s nerves with her persistence, suspicion, and tendency to insert herself into everyone’s business.
Madge Rapf is the ultimate woman scorned.
At the start of the film, Vincent Parry (Humphrey Bogart, whose voice is heard, but isn’t shown until about halfway through) escapes from the notorious San Quentin prison. As the audience, we only see the events transpire from Vincent’s perspective. He is picked up by a passing motorist, who soon starts to ask too many questions and is knocked unconscious by Vincent. Another motorist, Irene Janson (Lauren Bacall) picks Vincent up and smuggles him past the police roadblock and takes him to her apartment in San Francisco. Irene explains that she followed his case closely and knew who he was when she spotted him. She further explains that her father had been falsely convicted of murder, something that she believes has also happened to Vincent. Irene states that her father’s false conviction has inspired her to take an interest in instances of injustice.
Madge annoys Bob one too many times while Irene looks on.
Here’s where Madge comes into the story. Madge, it turns out, is acquainted with Irene and Bob (Bruce Bennett). Bob is a friend of Irene’s who wants to be romantically involved with her. How Madge knows Irene isn’t made clear, but she knows her, because she seems to know everyone. It is also revealed that Madge is well acquainted with Vincent and was the star witness at his trial. Her testimony, in which she claimed Vincent’s late wife had identified him as her killer, is what clinched his guilty verdict and placed him into a cell at San Quentin. Madge had made romantic advances toward Vincent, and when he rejected her, she delivered the false (but incriminating) testimony out of spite. She has resented Vincent ever since. When Madge hears about his escape and then thinks she hears his voice in Irene’s apartment, she becomes convinced that Vincent is going to murder her.
Vincent, needing to hide in plain sight from the police, takes the advice of a cab driver to visit the office of a disgraced plastic surgeon. At around 3am, Vincent arrives at the surgeon’s office and receives a “new look.” The new look is obviously the face of Humphrey Bogart, so that he can be seen in the film. There is an amusing scene earlier in the film where a photo of Vincent Parry is seen in a newspaper article. The man in the photo looks absolutely nothing like Bogart, which just goes to show how skilled the plastic surgeon is.
Bacall nurses Bogie back to health.
Before getting outfitted with a new face, Vincent had visited the apartment of his friend George, who lived near the doctor’s office. He asks George for a place to stay while he recovers from the surgery. Upon Vincent’s return, he finds George dead on the floor–a victim of murder. Vincent eventually ends up at Irene’s apartment. She assists him during his recovery and helps him with his new look and gives him a new name. Because this film stars married couple Bogie and Bacall, their respective characters start to develop romantic feelings toward one another.
Eventually, Vincent becomes suspicious of Madge, knowing that she has been hanging around Irene’s apartment. He also knows that she knows he’s around somewhere. Vincent shows up at Madge’s apartment to confront her over the deaths of both his wife and George. He presents a document outlining his accusations towards Madge and attempts to coerce her to sign it, which would serve as her confession. Madge refuses, knowing that without her confession, Vincent has no proof of his claims. Madge, still the woman scorned, is also upset that Vincent is in love with Irene.
MADGE to VINCENT: I’ve cried myself to sleep at night because of you. She’s (Irene) got you now. She wants you very badly doesn’t she? She’s willing to run away with you and keep on running and ruin everything for herself. But she wouldn’t care because she’d be with you and that’s what she wants. Well she doesn’t have you now. She’ll never have you. Nobody will ever have you! And that’s the way I want it! You’re nothing but an escaped convict. Nobody knows what you wrote down. They’ll believe me! They’ll believe me!
Agnes Moorehead as “Madge Rapf” to Humphrey Bogart as “Vincent Parry” in Dark Passage (1947)
Madge about ready to leap, she sure showed him!
Then, in the ultimate power play of a woman scorned, Madge jumps out the window and falls to her death. Vincent has a throwaway line where he tells Irene that Madge “stumbled and fell out the window,” however, it is fairly obvious that Madge jumped on purpose. Before she falls, she is seen grabbing something from the desk, presumably something with which to break the window. Then, she jumps. The window was closed and Madge wasn’t very far from it when she “fell.” There’s no way that Madge would have stumbled with such force that she would have broken the glass. The production code prohibited villains from getting away with their crime through suicide. Presumably, including the dialogue about Madge falling out the window was the film’s way of circumventing the production code.
Can you imagine someone hating you so much, they’d jump out a window to their death to avoid helping you?
The ending scene of Madge’s wrath is expertly performed by Agnes Moorehead. The contempt she feels towards Bogart’s character is so well acted and is felt by the audience. I also appreciate that she’s a bit over the top so that we can safely conclude that this woman is a bit bonkers so we don’t feel too bad for her that she dies. I love movies with scenes that come out of left field. The first time I saw Dark Passage, I didn’t expect Madge to jump. With Bogart there, it seemed like shooting Madge would be the obvious solution. For her to dramatically jump out the window instead, right after her speech where she explains that she won’t do anything to help him, was incredibly shocking and awesome.
Happy New Year, everyone! Another busy holiday season has passed. So that I didn’t miss yet a second blogathon (I’ll get back to the Warner Bros one, even though I am way past the date to turn in my post), I wanted to get my post about two of my faves–James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart, finished.
Cagney and Bogart have a lot in common:
Both born in 1899 (Cagney on July 17th and Bogart on December 25th).
Both were born in New York City.
Both started their careers on the New York stage.
Both were Warner Brothers contract players.
Both were known for their gangster films.
Both won their respective Oscars playing non-gangster characters (Cagney for Yankee Doodle Dandy and Bogart for The African Queen).
Both are iconic stars of Classic Hollywood.
James Cagney in 1930.
However, Cagney and Bogart’s childhoods couldn’t be more different. Cagney was born into a lower-class neighborhood and grew up in a tenement. His father was a bartender and his mother was the daughter of a barge captain. Eventually Cagney was forced to drop out of school and support the family financially when his father succumbed to influenza during the 1918 epidemic in the United States. Cagney held a variety of odd jobs before finding work in the theater. He worked as a junior architect, a copy boy, book custodian, bellhop, draughtsman (doing technical drawings–I looked it up), and a night doorkeeper. As a child, Cagney also took tap dancing (which would serve him well in Yankee Doodle Dandy) and also was a skilled street fighter (which I’m sure served him well in his films). In 1919, Cagney’s dancing ability earned him a spot in the New York stage production of Every Sailor. He would continue performing on the stage until 1930 when the stage production of Sinners’ Holiday brought he (and co-star Joan Blondell) to Hollywood for the film adaptation.
Humphrey Bogart in The Petrified Forest (1936)
Bogart’s upbringing couldn’t be more different than Cagney’s. Born into an affluent family who owned an apartment on the classy Upper West Side of New York, Bogart was not suffering. In addition to their apartment, the Bogart parents also owned a lake home on 55 acres. Rare for the time, Bogart’s mother was an extremely successful commercial artist who did illustrations for companies such as Anheuser-Busch, Ivory Soap, and Metropolitan Life Insurance. Despite the legend that baby Humphrey served as the Gerber Baby model, this is not true. The famous Gerber baby logo was not designed until Bogart was an adult and his mother did not design it. Mrs. Bogart did use an illustration of baby Humphrey for Mellins Baby Food. For the record, the original 1926 Gerber Baby was Ann Turner Cook. She was born in 1926 and just passed recently–2022. The sketch was drawn by Cook’s neighbor, Dorothy Hope Smith, who submitted the drawing in response to Gerber’s contest looking for their new logo. Smith’s successful illustration earned her $300 (or $5386 in 2023).
I love this part of Casablanca, I never tire of it.
But enough about the Gerber Baby, back to Bogart. Despite his privileged childhood (with Bogart’s parents earning a combined $70,000 annually, a huge sum for the 1900s-1910s), Bogart was not an academic scholar. He attended numerous fancy pants private schools, eventually ending up in an esteemed boarding school–of which he was kicked out. Mr. and Mrs. Bogart had hoped their son would attend Yale, but that was pretty much off the table once he was kicked out of school. In 1918, Bogart joined the Navy and enjoyed his time after the Armistice ferrying soldiers back from Europe. In 1921, Bogart made his stage debut in Drifting. In 1928, Bogart appeared in a short film, The Dancing Town, and in a 1930 short, Broadway’s Like That. Also in 1930, the same year Cagney was making his screen debut, Bogart secured a contract with Fox and appeared in his first film Up the River, with soon-to-be lifelong friend, Spencer Tracy.
However, unlike Cagney, Bogart’s Hollywood stardom wasn’t instant. Despite having appeared in a series of films for Fox, there was no single breakthrough role for Bogart. Cagney shot to super stardom in his sixth film, The Public Enemy (1931). He was unstoppable after that and appeared in a series of successful gangster films. Cagney also regularly waged wars with Jack Warner, head of Warner Brothers, demanding more money after each successive hit film. Unfortunately, Bogart was not in the same position to make such demands, having not appeared in a hit film. After a couple false starts in Hollywood, Bogart finally got the role he was hoping for when he appeared in 1936’s The Petrified Forest. ‘Forest’ was a Broadway play that featured Bogart and Leslie Howard. Warner Brothers bought the rights to the story and brought Howard out to Hollywood to reprise his role. However, they wanted their star, Edward G. Robinson to appear in Bogart’s role, Duke Mantee. Howard responded to Warners’ request by sending a telegram stating “No Bogart, No Deal.” Warners acquiesced to Howard’s demands, and Bogart’s star was finally on the ascent. He would finally become a bona fide superstar, achieving Cagney’s level of stardom, with a series of hits, one after another–High Sierra (1940), The Maltese Falcon (1941), and Casablanca (1942).
Cagney and Bogart appeared in three films together: Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), The Roaring Twenties (1939), and The Oklahoma Kid (1939)
These are my Top 5 Favorite Cagney and Bogart Films:
(Please excuse me if some of your favorites aren’t listed, either I haven’t seen it, I haven’t seen it for a long time and can’t remember it, there wasn’t enough room in my Top 5, or maybe I loved something else more!)
JAMES CAGNEY
White Heat (1949) This is probably my favorite Cagney film. His portrayal of the vile Cody Jarrett is captivating. He is a terrible person, but in some ways, you can’t help root for him. He’s the villain of the story, but he’s complicated and has some good points, especially where his mother is concerned. There’s also no denying that the ending of White Heat is one of the all-time most iconic scenes in cinema history.
The Public Enemy (1931). There’s no denying that Cagney’s break-through role isn’t one of his best. This film features the iconic scene of Cagney smashing Mae Clarke’s face with a grapefruit. It also features future stars Jean Harlow and Joan Blondell. What more could you want? Cagney screams star quality even in the opening credit sequence where he makes a little punching motion and raises his eyebrows.
Footlight Parade (1933). This film features Cagney tap dancing and hoofing his way through multiple numbers as he plays a producer trying to save his career by producing a series of prologues. He is once again paired with Joan Blondell who plays his secretary who is in love with him and horribly jealous of Cagney’s interest in Claire Dodd. The trio of prologues at the end of the film is the highlight. Also a highlight? Cagney trying to teach Frank McHugh how to move like a cat.
Picture Snatcher (1933). In this film, Cagney plays a “picture snatcher,” the 1930s equivalent of paparazzi. Cagney is an employee of editor, Ralph Bellamy, who is reluctant to hire him. However, Cagney soon wins his place on the team by using rather unscrupulous methods to obtain hard-to-get in demand photos for his newspaper. Eventually, Cagney’s ethics are put to the test when he is admitted to an execution at Sing Sing, where one of the rules is “no pictures.”
Taxi! (1932). Cagney is paired up with Loretta Young in this film where he plays a scrappy taxi cab driver in New York City. Loretta’s father, cab driver Guy Kibbee, is facing pressure from a rival cab service who wants his primo location. The rival cab service is using force to try and dominate the entire cab industry in New York City. Loretta appeals to Cagney to encourage his colleagues to fight back against the rival cab company (aka the mob).
HUMPHREY BOGART
Casablanca (1942). It’s cliche, but this is probably my favorite Bogart film and my second favorite film overall (after The Long Long Trailer). Every piece of this film is iconic, from the score, to the dialogue, to the actors’ performances. Even though I’ve seen it a million times, Bogart’s iconic “hill of beans” speech to Ingrid Bergman at the end of the film still gives me goosebumps. I never tire of it.
The Maltese Falcon (1941). Another cliche choice, but film noir was born with this film and Bogart’s Sam Spade was pretty much the archetype for the film noir detective. The entire cast is fantastic and initiated another great partnership–between Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre. This film is also notable for being John Huston’s directorial film debut.
Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1947). Not a deep-cut but it’s hard to find one in Bogart’s career when he made so many hit films. Bogart’s run of films in the 1940s might be the most successful run of films anyone has ever had. An actor would probably be happy just having a Casablanca as part of their resume. However, Bogart has not only Casablanca, he has ‘Falcon,’ High Sierra, To Have and Have Not, Key Largo, The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, and Treasure of the Sierra Madre. After Rick Blaine, Bogart’s most famous character might be Fred C. Dobbs. Bogart turns in an excellent performance where he starts out as a desperate man just looking to survive in Mexico. He is given a chance to make a bunch of money mining for gold, eventually succumbing to the greed and desperation that motivates his need to get as much money as possible–at whatever cost is necessary.
To Have or Have Not (1944). This is the film that introduced Bogart and Lauren Bacall to not only audiences, but to each other! Bacall was a discovery of director Howard Hawks’ wife, who spotted her on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar. Despite their 25 year age difference, Bogart and Bacall’s chemistry is off the charts and they steal the show. Bacall has one of the all-time greatest screen debuts, where not only is she an instant star, she also became half of an indelible part of Classic Hollywood history–the legendary Bogie and Bacall romance. Bacall also delivers the iconic “you do know how to whistle don’t you? You just put your lips together and blow” line.
In a Lonely Place (1950). This is an absolutely spectacular film noir directed by Nicholas Ray and co-starring Gloria Grahame. Bogart’s son, Stephen, stated that In a Lonely Place is the closest depiction to the real Bogart that was ever captured on film. Bogart’s character is a complicated man. He is capable of love, empathy, loyalty, romance, etc. as depicted in his relationship with Grahame. However, he is also shown as being capable of violence, through depictions of his explosive temper causing him to engage in a serious road rage incident with a fellow motorist. The conflict of the entire film is that a woman who was last seen with Bogart is murdered, but he is cleared as a suspect with Grahame providing an alibi. However, as more and more of his personality and temper is revealed, the film begins to question Bogart’s innocence. This is a fascinating film.
Another Noirvember is upon us. I’ve been pretty spotty in trying to take part in these online events, so once again I’m going to try my best to participate. #Noirvember is an ode to all that is film noir that was started a few years ago by @oldfilmsflicker on Twitter. It’s become a highly anticipated event that has taken on a life of its own and is now promoted by everyone from film fans to movie theaters.
Anyway, because I can’t just simply watch film noir in November, I have to make myself some sort of challenge. One reason is that it makes it more interesting and forces me to check out films, actors, directors, etc. that I may not have otherwise, or it would have taken me longer. While deciding what to do for my challenge, I wanted to make sure that I allowed myself to watch old favorites like Double Indemnity (1944). However, I want to make sure that I also watch some new titles–if only to get through some of the blind buys that I’ve purchased throughout the year. I don’t want to force myself to only watch “new” films, because then I’ll be sad that I can’t watch my favorite Alan Ladd film noir (e.g.). While I did this challenge in the past and ALMOST finished it, I am going to give it another go this month–I am going to follow-up my next film noir with a film that has an actor in common with the film that preceded it.
I’m also not going to limit myself to just one film per day. Some days I can fit in only one film, other days I can fit in 2-3. Due to my regular Monday night board game group, I may not be able to get a film noir watched every single day; but I’ll do my best. I’m also hoping that I can finagle it where the last film I watch connects to the first film. We’ll see what happens as my movie watching will be organic. I do not have it planned out in advance! Just to keep myself on my toes.
Without further much ado. These are the films watched for #Noirvember. Click on the link to view more information about the film and to see what connected it to the previous film!
EDIT: Woo! Did it. The final film, The File on Thelma Jordon, connects to the first film, Double Indemnity, using the Queen of Film Noir, Barbara Stanwyck.
Ingrid Bergman was born 108 years ago today, August 29th, in 1915. Her life came full circle with her passing 41 years ago on her 67th birthday in 1982. Throughout her life, Ingrid won 3 Oscars, was condemned for her affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini on the floor of the US Congress, and came out on the other side of the scandal stronger than ever. She appeared in more than 40 films (including films in the US, Italy, and her native Sweden), a half a dozen made-for-TV movies, and dozens of theatre and radio performances. Despite winning awards for Classic Hollywood films such as Gaslight (1944), Anastasia (1956), and Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Ingrid is best known for her role in Casablanca (1942).
Today, Casablanca is regarded as one of the best films ever made. It also ranks on the top of many lists as one of the most (if not *the* most) romantic films ever made. However, during the time of production, nobody involved thought much of the film–especially its star, Ingrid Bergman. The script was constantly being re-written to the point where the stars didn’t even know how the film was going to end. The crux of the climactic scene at the airport involves the resolution of the film’s classic love triangle. Ingrid was kept in the dark as to who her character, Ilsa Lund, would end up with–Humphrey Bogart’s Rick Blaine or Paul Henreid’s Victor Laszlo.
One of the most famous love triangles in cinema history: Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), and Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart)
Casablanca takes place in the city of the same name in Morocco. Rick Blaine is an American who operates a nightclub, Rick’s Café Américain (aka “Rick’s”). His club offers a refuge for citizens from all countries and all walks of life who are desperate to escape the Nazis and leave for the United States, which has not yet joined the war effort. Rick is seen signing off on a bill dated a few days prior to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Every refugee is desperate to procure a “letter of transit” which is required to leave Morocco for neutral Portugal, which then will allow them to get to the US. At the beginning of the film, a crook by the name of Ugarte (Peter Lorre) rushes into Rick’s, requesting a place to hide. Rick refuses and Ugarte is killed by the Nazis. Ugarte had stolen two letters of transit by murdering two German couriers. He manages to hide the letters of transit at Rick’s prior to his death. Rick’s possession of the letters of transit provides one of the main motivations for both the French and German police’s constant presence.
UGARTE: You despise me, don’t you? RICK: If I gave you any thought, I probably would. (Oof)
Nazi Major Heinrich Strasser (Conrad Veidt) and French Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains) are constantly at odds with one other, with their blows often coming to head at Rick’s. Louis, while he is the prefect of police, is corrupt and is friends with Rick. It is implied that Louis propositions young female refugees, asking for sex in exchange for an exit visa. Strasser and Renault’s main bone of contention is the arrival of Victor Laszlo, a Czechoslovakian who escaped from a concentration camp and is the leader of a resistance movement. Major Strasser’s main motivation in the film is to capture Victor Laszlo and return him to the concentration camp.
However, while the political strife of Casablanca is important to the plot, the film is mainly remembered for its love triangle between Rick Blaine, Ilsa Lund, and Victor Laszlo. Throughout the beginning of the film, Rick is shown to be cynical and completely apathetic to everything. He has funny lines such as when he’s asked if he is available for drinks later in the evening, and he responds: “I never make plans that far ahead.” One evening, Ilsa and her husband, Victor Laszlo enter the club. When Rick spots Ilsa, his face suddenly contorts into the look of sheer anger and heartbreak.
Rick is distraught after Ilsa re-enters his life. “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she had to walk into mine.”
In flashback, we learn that Rick and Ilsa used to be romantically involved, while living in Paris. They’re shown in blissful happiness: romantic drives around the French countryside, sipping champagne while engaging in flirty banter and dancing at romantic clubs. Rick and Ilsa are in love and when they learn that Germany is marching into Paris, they make plans to leave together on the train. One rainy afternoon, Rick waits for Ilsa at the train station, but she never shows up. Heartbroken, Rick reads the “Dear John” letter she sent and boards the train. Ilsa’s reappearance in Morocco brings back a flood of memories to Rick and reminds him of how much she hurt him.
Seeing Rick is obviously a blow to Ilsa as well. Her admiration and love for him comes flooding back to her gorgeously lit face (kudos to whoever lit Ingrid Bergman for this film) that just sparkles on screen. Throughout the film, Ilsa becomes conflicted, not knowing if she wants to leave Victor and rekindle her romance with Rick. In her confusion, she tries to convince herself that she doesn’t love Rick and tries to hold him at gunpoint to force him to give her the letters of transit. Rick isn’t convinced and soon Ilsa confesses that she still loves him.
Rick and Ilsa during happier times in Paris.
Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman acted out Rick and Ilsa’s romance perfectly. They are still in love, but Rick has been so hurt by Ilsa, that it’s hard for him to drop his defenses. The fact that she’s married makes him even more adverse to getting involved with her again. Ingrid portrays Ilsa’s dilemma perfectly, with her face displaying the conflicted feelings she has for Rick. She loves Rick, but she also admires Victor for his work in the resistance. In a very gallant speech, Rick tells Ilsa that Victor needs her, as she is his motivation. In the famous airport scene, Bogart’s face perfectly portrays the love that Rick has for Ilsa. Ingrid’s face beautifully portrays Ilsa’s confusion and overwhelming love for Rick. However, this time, Rick is able to end the relationship on his own terms, knowing that it’s for the best that Ilsa stays with Victor. Ilsa on the other hand, seems to have expected that she’d stay with Rick and send Victor packing.
“Play it Sam, play ‘As Time Goes By.'”
In the end, do we want Rick and Ilsa together? The Simpsons offered an alternate ending. As Rick and Louis walk away together as Sam (Dooley Wilson) plays piano. Sam then warns Rick that Louis has a gun. As Louis prepares to shoot Rick, Sam shoves his piano at Louis and knocks him out. Hitler then pops out of the lid of Sam’s piano, preparing to throw bombs at Rick and Sam. Ilsa suddenly parachutes down from her departing plane, lands on the piano lid, locking Hitler inside. Sam begins playing something that kind of sounds like “As Time Goes By” (but isn’t, obviously. Rights issues) and the scene segues into Rick and Ilsa’s wedding.
While this is obviously a ridiculous way to end the film, it does give the audience the happy ending that many in the audience want–Rick and Ilsa ridding the world of Hitler and living happily ever after. Personally, I cannot imagine Casablanca with that ending. The entire airport scene, oddly one of the most romantic scenes in cinema history, despite being basically a break-up scene, is so perfect. The credit for how the scene plays out entirely belongs to Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. The problems of three little people may not amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world, but for 102 minutes, we’re captivated. We’ll always have Paris. And we’ll always have Ingrid Bergman’s luminous face. Here’s looking at you, kid.
The alternate ending to “Casablanca” as envisioned by The Simpsons.
RICK: Last night we said a great many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. We’ll I’ve done a lot of it since then, and it all adds up to one thing: you’re getting on that plane with Victor where you belong.
ILSA: But Richard, no, I…I…
RICK: Now, you’ve got to listen to me! You have any idea what you’d have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine chances out of ten, we’d both wind up in a concentration camp. Isn’t that true, Louis?
LOUIS: I’m afraid Major Strasser would insist.
ILSA: You’re saying this only to make me go.
RICK: I’m saying it because it’s true. Inside of us, we both know you belong with Victor. You’re part of his work, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you’re not with him, you’ll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.
ILSA: But what about us?
RICK: We’ll always have Paris. We didn’t have, we, we lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.
ILSA: When I said I would never leave you.
RICK: And you never will. But I’ve got a job to do, too. Where I’m going, you can’t follow. What I’ve got to do, you can’t be any part of. Ilsa, I’m no good at being noble, but it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday, you’ll understand that.
(Ilsa lowers her head and starts to cry)
RICK: Now, Now…
(Rick lifts Ilsa’s chin, so their eyes meet)
RICK: Here’s looking at you kid.
Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine, Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund, and Claude Rains as Louis Renault in “Casablanca.”
Ingrid Bergman’s gorgeous face as Bogart gives her the most romantic brush-off in cinema history.
Allen Jenkins has one of those mugs and voices that is instantly recognizable the second he’s on screen and opens his mouth. He’s never the lead, or even the major second lead, but he’s always there to provide ample support. My first introduction to Allen Jenkins was in his numerous appearances on I Love Lucy, often as a police officer. His most memorable appearance was in a late second season episode, “Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans.” In this episode, Lucy and Ethel are upset about becoming boxing widows when Ricky and Fred settle in for the evening to watch “the big fight.” It is established that Ricky and Fred have spent a lot of evenings watching boxing on television and their wives are fed up with being ignored night after night. Lucy and Ethel decide to go down to the corner drug store and call Ricky on the phone. Lucy will disguise herself as one of her friends and ask Ricky to call Lucy to the phone, which should clue him in that Lucy and Ethel are gone. The plan doesn’t work however, as Ricky just answers the phone, calls Lucy to the phone, sets the receiver down, then returns to watching the fight. The entire crowd in the drug store is caught up in the fight, including Officer Jenkins (Allen Jenkins). Lucy unable to get the drugstore clerk’s attention (because he’s watching the fight on television), decides to make change for herself. The bell on the cash register gets Officer Jenkins’ attention and he accuses Lucy of trying to rob the drug store. Lucy and Ethel get away.
Officer Jenkins (Allen Jenkins) hauls in “Sticky Fingers Sal,” aka Lucy and “Pick Pocket Pearl” aka Ethel and presents them to his boss, Officer Nelson (Frank Nelson) in I Love Lucy, “Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans.”
Later, Lucy and Ethel return to the Ricardos’ apartment only to see the phone still off the hook and Ricky and Fred still watching the fight–they didn’t even notice the women’s disappearance. Insulted, Lucy decides to climb up onto the roof to cut the electricity to the Ricardos’ apartment. It seems a little drastic, and she has no fear about being electrocuted, but that’s how Lucy works, she doesn’t screw around. Anyway, while Lucy and Ethel discuss which cord is running to the Ricardos’ apartment, Officer Jenkins finds them and brings them down to the precinct. Now at the police station, Officer Jenkins tells his superior, Officer Nelson (Frank Nelson), that he’s finally tracked down the infamous female robbers, “Pickpocket Pearl” and “Sticky Fingers Sal.” The women are identified based on their hair color. ‘Pearl’ is a blonde and ‘Sticky Fingers’ is a brunette, who must have dyed her hair red, deduces Officer Nelson.
LUCY: Dyed your hair. A lot you know. My hair is naturally red. Isn’t it Ethel? ETHEL: Look Lucy, let’s not add perjury to our other charges. LUCY: Well I might have expected something like that from you. Pick. Pocket. Pearl.
Lucille Ball as “Lucy Ricardo” and Vivian Vance as “Ethel Mertz” in “Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans” in I Love Lucy. Originally aired June 22, 1953.
Allen Jenkins went all the way back to 1939 with Lucille Ball when he appeared with her in the RKO film, Five Came Back. In the film, nine passengers board a flight from Los Angeles to Panama City. During the flight, the plane flies directly into an intense nighttime storm, which ends with the plane crashing into a rainforest. The passengers and crew survive. Eventually the plane is repaired, but can now only support the weight of five passengers. The passengers and crew must decide which five people will get to return home. Lucy plays Peggy Nolan, a woman with a shady past and Allen plays Pete, a gunman who is tasked with escorting the son of a gangster back home.
Lucille Ball and Allen Jenkins in 1939’s Five Came Back
Eight years prior to Five Came Back, Allen had made his film debut in the 1931 short film, Straight and Narrow playing what else? An ex-convict. Allen played many unsavory characters throughout his career. He also appeared in many memorable pre-code films such as: Three on a Match (1932), Employees’ Entrance (1933), 42nd Street (1933), Blondie Johnson (1933), and Jimmy the Gent (1934). During the production code era, he played opposite big Warner Brothers stars like Errol Flynn (The Perfect Specimen (1937), Footsteps in the Dark (1941), and Dive Bomber (1941)) and Humphrey Bogart (Marked Woman (1938), Dead End (1937), and The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938) ).
Jenkins was born on April 9, 1900 in Staten Island, New York. Despite often being cast as the dimwitted thug or comic relief, Jenkins actually had a long pedigree when it came to show business training. His family earned their living in show business and he later trained at the reputable American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In the 1920s, Jenkins was working steadily on Broadway, even replacing Spencer Tracy in the play, “The Last Mile.” Jenkins’ turn in Tracy’s role is what led to Darryl F. Zanuck discovering him and bringing him out to Hollywood to work for Paramount Pictures. His first major role was reprising his Broadway role of “Frankie Wells” in the 1932 film adaptation of Blessed Event, starring Lee Tracy. This role led to Jenkins receiving steady work, often in gangster films throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
Allen Jenkins played Errol Flynn’s chauffer and cohort in Footsteps in the Dark (1941).
In Ball of Fire, Jenkins has a memorable role as the garbage man who rattles off one slang word after another, much to the bewilderment of the professors who are trying to write a comprehensive encyclopedia on American slang. He would later reprise his role in the film’s 1948 remake, A Song is Born.
GARBAGE MAN: I could use a bundle of scratch right now on account of I met me a mouse last week. PROFESSOR ODDLY: Mouse? GARBAGE MAN: What a pair of gams. A little in, a little out, and a little more out. PROFESSOR BERTRAM POTTS: I am still completely mystified. GARBAGE MAN: Well, with this dish on me hands and them giving away 25 smackaroos on that quizzola. PROFESSOR BERTRAM POTTS: Smackaroos? PROFESSOR ODDLY: Smackaroos? What are smackaroos? GARBAGE MAN: A smackaroo is a… PROFESSOR BERTRAM POTTS: No such word exists. GARBAGE MAN: Oh, it don’t, huh? A smackaroo is a dollar, pal. PROFESSOR BERTRAM POTTS: Well, the accepted vulgarism for a dollar is a buck. GARBAGE MAN: The accepted vulgarism for a smackaroo is a dollar. That goes for a banger, a fish, a buck, or a rug. PROFESSOR BERTRAM POTTS: Well, what about the mouse? GARBAGE MAN: The mouse is a dish. That’s what I need the moolah for. PROFESSOR ODDLY: Moolah? GARBAGE MAN: Yeah. The dough. We’ll be stepping. Me and the smooch, I mean the dish. I mean the mouse. You know, hit the jiggles for a little drum boogie.
Allen Jenkins as “Garbage Man,” Richard Hadyn as “Professor Oddly” and Gary Cooper as “Professor Bertram Potts” in “Ball of Fire” (1941).
Pictured from left: Frank McHugh and Allen Jenkins. Jenkins was part of the “Irish Mafia” with James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, and McHugh.
One of Jenkins’ last film roles was as the elevator operator who takes pity on the perpetually hungover Thelma Ritter in Pillow Talk (1959). Later, he moved to television, where he often played cops, or characters in blue-collared jobs. Aside from I Love Lucy, Jenkins also appeared in Adam 12, Bewitched, Batman, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. He also made frequent appearances on Red Skelton’s show, The Red Skelton Hour, and also had a role in the 1950s sitcom, Hey Jeannie! (1956-1957). He is also remembered for voicing Officer Dribble on the cartoon series, Top Cat (1961-1962).
Allen Jenkins passed away on July 20, 1974 from lung cancer at the age of 74.
HUNK: Maybe I’m wrong. We all make mistakes, boss. That’s why they put the rubber on the ends of pencils.
Allen Jenkins as “Hunk” to Humphrey Bogart in Dead End, 1937.
2021 is (finally) coming to a close. While the year wasn’t so hot as a whole, except for my fabulous trip to Southern California in October, it was another year of discovering new favorite films. One of the best thing about being a fan of film, especially classic film, is that you never run out of “new” movies to see. As Lauren Bacall says in an episode of Private Screenings with Robert Osborne, “It’s not an old movie, if you haven’t seen it,” and I couldn’t agree more. There is an entire world of movies to discover, a world of films just waiting to become someone’s favorite.
Without further adieu, in no particular order, here are some of my new favorites that I watched for the first time in 2021:
#1 Road House (1948) This was a fabulous film noir that I watched right at the start of the new year. It is the final volume in the Fox Film Noir DVD series (I own the entire collection). I decided to take a look at it, because I’m a big fan of Ida Lupino. In addition to Lupino, it also starred Cornel Wilde, Richard Widmark, and Celeste Holm. At first, it seems like Ida is going to be the femme fatale, but it is soon revealed that she is a woman who will not be made a pawn in the games of the men, Wilde and Widmark. Even though she was originally brought into the Road House by Widmark to be another of his fly by night floozies, she refuses to be used and becomes a big star and later saves the day. In a time when every woman who wasn’t Judy Garland or Doris Day was dubbed, Ida uses her own voice to warble out “One for my Baby (And One More For the Road)” and it was fabulous.
#2 Mrs. Miniver (1942). I know. This is a big Oscar winner. A major classic of the studio era, but I hadn’t seen it yet. I absolutely loved this movie and actually bought the blu-ray literally right after watching it. That’s how much I loved it. Greer Garson won an Oscar playing the titular Mrs. Miniver and infamously delivered the longest acceptance speech, a record which still stands today. Long-winded speech or not, Garson deserved her award. In Mrs. Miniver, Garson portrays a very stoic woman and mother who stays strong and protects her family even directly in the line of fire during the German invasion of Britain. She puts humanity above all else, even when directly threatened by an injured German pilot. The scene with Mrs. Miniver and her husband and children hiding in the shelter while bombs fall all around them is heartbreaking. This family does not know what they’ll find when they emerge, or whether their house will still be standing. Despite everything, Mrs. Miniver remains a calm influence even in the middle of a tumultuous event, like a World War. I cannot say enough good things about this film, it was fantastic.
#3 Girl Happy (1965). Like the esteemed Mrs. Miniver, this Elvis movie is another film that I purchased immediately after watching it. I loved it. For years, with the exception of Viva Las Vegas (my favorite Elvis movie), I wrote off Elvis’ movies as pure fluff, and not fluffy in a good way, and many of Elvis’ movies are ridiculous, like Girl Happy, but if you can suspend disbelief and just go along with whatever plot is presented, I’ve found that many of Elvis’ movies are enjoyable diversions. In Girl Happy, Elvis plays a musician (a premise setting up lots of opportunities for Elvis to sing) who, along with his band, is hired by his boss to indirectly chaperone his 18-year old daughter, Shelley Fabares. Shelley is traveling to Florida for Spring Break and her overprotective father is worried. Elvis happily agrees, because he gets an all expenses paid trip to Florida. Like how most movies with this plot go (see Too Many Girls), Elvis starts to fall in love with the girl whom he’s chaperoning, and the girl discovers that he was hired to watch her and gets upset. Regardless, this movie was charming, fun, and I loved it.
#4 History is Made at Night (1937) This was a movie that I’d never even heard of until I heard that Criterion was restoring it and releasing it as part of their esteemed (at least among the boutique label community) line of films. I first watched it on the Criterion Channel and must have seen a pre-restoration print, because it was pretty rough. After watching it, I couldn’t believe that I’d never heard of it. It had one of my faves, Jean Arthur! And Charles “LUCY! RAWWWR” Boyer. How has this movie been hiding from me this entire time? In this movie, Jean Arthur plays Irene, a woman who leaves her husband, Bruce, (Colin Clive) after he falsely accuses her of having an affair. To prevent the divorce from being finalized, Bruce tries to manipulate a situation to frame Irene for infidelity. He hires his chauffeur to pretend to be Irene’s lover, so that a private detective walks in and catches them in a compromising position. While this is taking place, Paul (Charles Boyer) is walking by Irene’s window. He overhears the ruckus and comes to Irene’s rescue, pretending to be an armed burglar. It’s a weird set-up, but ultimately leads to a beautiful love story with an ending that I was not expecting.
#5 Naked Alibi (1954). This was another film noir that I’d never heard of until I was reading Sterling Hayden’s filmography and discovered that he’d made a film with one of my faves, Gloria Grahame. Fortunately, my library had this film available and I was able to borrow it. This was a great movie. Hayden plays a police chief who tails a suspect, Willis, to Mexico. Willis is suspected to be the mastermind behind a series of crimes in the small town from which he and Hayden hail. While in a border town on the Mexican border, Hayden meets Grahame, a singer with whom he becomes smitten. Unfortunately, Grahame is the girlfriend of Willis, despite the shoddy treatment she receives from him. Hayden and Grahame’s connection with one another continues to grow until the very end of the film. This was a wonderful film and I thought that Gloria Grahame looked absolutely gorgeous.
#6 Dead End (1937). Despite the appearance of the Dead End Kids, whom I cannot stand (I don’t get their appeal), I thought this was a great movie. This film is a story about social classes and the privileges that are afforded to those of a higher social standing. The neighborhood in the film is a “dead end” both figuratively and literally. The rich live in high rise apartments that overlook the slums and tenements. Those who are not privileged to live in the high rises literally have the rich looking down upon them. If you have the misfortune to be born into the slums, it is all you can do to get out. Some try to do so honorably, like Dave (Joel McCrea), who dreams of making a career as an architect. However, he can’t just seem to book the right gig, so he has to survive by doing odd jobs. Others, like Drina (Sylvia Sidney) have slightly less honorable means to get out of the tenement, she wants to marry a rich man. Then, there are those like Hugh “Baby Face” Martin (Humphrey Bogart), who did manage to get out of the slums, but he did so by becoming a big-time mobster. The Dead End Kids represent the next generation who most likely will remain in the slums, unless they can somehow be guided into making a better life for themselves. Marjorie Main has a heartbreaking role as Baby Face’s mother. Claire Trevor is fantastic as Baby Face’s old girlfriend, who was never able to get out of the slums.
#7 Klute (1971) This was the first film in Alan J. Pakula’s “Paranoia Trilogy,” which unfortunately I watched all out of order. I don’t think the films in the trilogy have anything to do with one another, so I think I’m okay. Anyway, there’s just something about the 1970s thrillers that I find fascinating. There’s a grittiness, a seediness, combined with the earth tones aesthetic that I just love watching. Anyway, in this film, Jane Fonda gives an Oscar-winning performance as Bree Daniels, a prostitute who aids police detective, John Klute, in investigating a murder. After finding an obscene letter addressed to Bree in the murder victim’s office, Klute rents an apartment in Bree’s building and begins tracing her. Concurrently, Bree is working as a freelance call girl to support herself while she tries to make it as a model/actress. Bree is also trying to find meaning in her life through sessions with a psychiatrist. This was such a fantastic movie and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out who was responsible for the murder.
#8 Thunder on the Hill (1951) I am a big fan of Ann Blyth and this was a film of hers that I hadn’t heard of until I purchased Kino Lorber’s Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema box sets. Thunder on the Hill, by the way, is on the second collection in the series. In this film, Blyth plays Valerie, a young woman convicted of murder and sentenced to be hanged. However, on her way to the gallows, Valerie and the police officers accompanying her, are forced to spend the night in the hospital ward of a convent due to massive flooding. Running the hospital ward is Sister Mary (Claudette Colbert), a woman who is also battling with her own mental troubles involving her sister’s suicide. Valerie is understandably combative and angry, but confides to Sister Mary that she is innocent of the crime of which she was convicted. Sister Mary, who has been warned in the past about meddling in other people’s affairs, is convinced of Valerie’s innocence and sets to save her before she is executed. This was such a wonderful film. It was interesting to see Blyth in such a different role than that of Veda in Mildred Pierce or the mermaid in Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid. I loved the suspense of the story and the cinematography was gorgeous. I am also a big fan of Douglas Sirk, so this film fit the bill.
#9 King Creole (1958) A second Elvis film on the list? Yes! I watched a lot of Elvis movies this year according to LetterBoxd, so it was bound to happen. This was an excellent film. It was much higher brow fare than Elvis would be offered once he returned from his stint in the army. In this movie, Elvis plays super senior Danny, who has failed high school once and looks like he’ll fail it again due to his behavior. He is offered a chance to graduate if he agrees to take night classes, but Danny turns it down, much to the chagrin of his father, Dean Jagger. There is drama between Danny and his father, in that Jagger lost his job as a pharmacist after his wife died. The family is forced to leave their nice home outside of New Orleans for a much more modest flat in the French Quarter. To help make ends meet, Danny was working before and after school. Now with school out of the way, Danny starts working at a club. As how most Elvis movies go, he is coerced into singing and is offered a job performing at the club, much to the chagrin of the club’s main act. Danny is soon a sensation. Eventually his connection with the local gangs threaten to affect his family, his relationship with a young woman named Nellie (Dolores Hart), and his life. This was such a great movie with a stellar cast. Aside from Elvis, Dean Jagger and Dolores Hart, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, Vic Morrow, and Paul Stewart also star in this film… and it was directed by none other than Michael Curtiz!
#10 Private Lives (1931) This was a fabulous pre-code starring Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery. In this film, Shearer and Montgomery play Amanda and Elyot, two ex-spouses who end up staying at the same hotel while honeymooning with their new respective spouses. Both honeymoons are NOT going well. Amanda and her new husband Victor (Reginald Denny) are already fighting due to Victor’s incessant need to talk about Elyot. Because yes, let’s talk about your new bride’s ex-husband on your honeymoon. Great idea, Victor. Elyot is dealing with the same thing from his new wife, Sybil (Una Merkel) who won’t stop asking about Amanda. Eventually, Amanda and Elyot find each other and begin to reminisce about “the old times.” They end up leaving the hotel together and head to a new place in St. Moritz. This was a fabulous pre-code that had plenty of racy moments. I am not as big a fan of Shearer in her production code movies like The Women, but I love her in pre-code. She and Montgomery also make a great pairing. Poor Una Merkel is wasted in her role, but she is wonderful in her scenes.
#11 Hold Back the Dawn (1941) This was an amazing movie. One that I’d always wanted to see but it seemed like it was never on TCM–then finally it was and the movie was everything I’d hoped it would be. In this film, Charles Boyer stars as Georges Iscovescu, a Romanian immigrant who is stuck in a Mexican border town. Per immigration laws, he is looking at up to an eight year wait to obtain a quota number for entry in the United States. Georges then runs into an old flame, Anita Dixon (Paulette Goddard), an Australian who married a US citizen purely to obtain US citizenship. As soon as she could, she divorced the man and retained her citizenship status. Anita suggests that Georges do the same thing, then he and she could be free to start a new life together in New York. Georges immediately goes to work and spots Emmy Brown (Olivia de Havilland), a California school teacher whose bus has broken down. The bus is set to be repaired shortly, but Georges manipulates the situation (by “losing” a vital piece of the bus’s machinery) and forces Emmy and her class to stay overnight. This gives Georges enough time to woo Emmy and they are married after a whirlwind romance. However, Georges is required to wait in Mexico a few weeks before he can join Emmy in California. Emmy returns unexpectedly and Georges takes her on a trip (under the guise of a honeymoon, but in reality he is trying to hide from an immigration officer who is looking for con artists like Georges and Anita). Georges’ plans are complicated when he finds himself falling in love with Emmy. This was such an amazing film. Even though we’re supposed to dislike Georges, it’s hard to do because it’s Charles-freaking-Boyer. It’s easy to see why Emmy falls for him. I love true, legitimate romantic films (with no contrived plot points), and this is one of the best that I’ve seen.
#12 Gaslight (1944) Another Charles Boyer film! Third one on the list! Surprisingly Boyer was not on my top 10 actors watched in 2021, per Letterboxd. This was an amazing film. I don’t know how I went so long without seeing it. This is the film that gave the name to a form of psychological abuse, where one partner mentally manipulates another into thinking that they’re losing their mind. In this film, Boyer plays Gregory Anton, a pianist who marries Alice Alquist (Ingrid Bergman), a famous opera singer. Gregory works as Alice’s accompanist. At first, Gregory seems sweet, he convinces Alice that they move into her deceased aunt’s old home #9 Thornton Square in London, seemingly under the guise that Alice loved her aunt so much and that her aunt would want her home to be lived in. However, Gregory has ulterior motives which are revealed throughout the film. To keep Alice from catching onto Gregory’s motives, he gaslights her by manipulating situations and then making her think she caused them. Alice begins to think she’s going insane. And while she begins to question Gregory’s actions, he’s gotten her mind so messed up that she can’t convince herself that she’s right. A young, 17-year old Angela Lansbury makes her film debut as Nancy, a tart of a maid who takes pleasure in observing Gregory’s manipulation of Alice. Nancy even plays along to exacerbate the situation. Ingrid Bergman’s performance was a tour-de-force and she deserved every piece of the Oscar that she received.
#13 I Want to Live! (1958) If there are two things I love, it’s classic film and true crime. I Want to Live! has both. This film is a biopic of Barbara Graham, a prostitute who was executed in California in 1955 for her part in the murder of a wealthy widow. Susan Hayward gives an Oscar-winning performance as the doomed woman who at the beginning of the film, works as a prostitute who is arrested for soliciting sex across state lines. She then receives jail time after providing a false alibi to two friends who committed crimes. Despite her growing rap sheet, Barbara continues to “make a living” by committing petty crimes and turning tricks. Eventually, she hits the big time when she gets a job working with a big time thief, Emmett Perkins. Her job is to lure men into his illegal gambling parlor. Meanwhile, her husband has a drug addiction and is unemployed–leaving Barbara as the breadwinner. Eventually Perkins ends up becoming involved with criminals, John Santo and Bruce King. Barbara returns to Perkins’ establishment which is soon raided by the police. Barbara surrenders to the police for her involvement in the gambling ring, but soon learns that she is being accused in being complicit with Santo and King’s murder of a wealthy widow. Barbara tries to give her alibi, saying that she was home with her husband and son, but her husband has skipped town. Unless he can be found, Barbara is toast. This was such an amazing film. I know that there was controversy regarding how Barbara Graham was portrayed in the film, versus the real life events. I can’t comment on that; but what I can say is that real facts or not, this was a great movie.
#14 Suspense (1946) I went into this film noir not knowing entirely what to expect. It starred Barry Sullivan whom I like and Albert Dekker who always turns in a good performance. Sullivan and Dekker’s co-star was British figure skater, Belita. Often when athletes are put into films, especially athletes whose sport is exploited on screen, the results can vary drastically–especially if the athlete has limited acting talent. Sometimes this is good, such as the case with Johnny Weissmuller in the Tarzan series. Other times, it can be limiting like is the case with Belita in another film of hers that I’ve seen. However, in this film, I was pleasantly surprised. I’m not saying Belita was amazing; but she was asked to play a figure skater, and Belita delivers on that front. In this film, Sullivan plays schemer, Joe Morgan, a newcomer to New York City who ends up taking a job at a theater as a peanut vendor. Belita plays the star performer, figure skater, Roberta. Albert Dekker plays Leonard, the owner of the theater and Roberta’s husband. Joe ends up suggesting a new act for Roberta, which revitalizes the show–as a reward he is made a manager. When Leonard leaves for a business trip, he puts Joe in charge. Joe and Roberta end up striking up a romance which Leonard soon discovers. This was a fantastic film. I actually was in suspense and couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.
#15 The China Syndrome (1979) This was another 1970s thriller that I watched which I really enjoyed. In this film, Jane Fonda plays television reporter, Kimberly Wells, who keeps getting stuck with the fluff stories during the local news segments. There is chauvinism present at the station, as it is thought that she couldn’t possibly handle a serious story. Her cameraman is the hot-tempered Richard Adams (Michael Douglas). One day, Kimberly and Richard end up getting a plum gig: doing a report from the Ventana, CA nuclear power plant. While visiting, they witness a malfunction in the nuclear power plant turbine operation and emergency shutdown protocol. Richard, despite being asked not to film, covertly records the entire incident. The incident is played off as not a big deal, but it becomes clear that the plant was thisclose to a meltdown. Jack Lemmon gives a fantastic performance as Jack Godell, the supervisor of the plant. Wilford Brimley was also excellent as the long-time employee, Ted Spindler, who battles with knowing what is right and his resentment over being passed up for promotion opportunities. I loved this movie. This isn’t normally my type of thing, but as a fan of 1970s thrillers and Fonda and Lemmon, I gave it a try. I’m glad I did. I was captivated from beginning to end and I especially loved Lemmon’s performance in the second half of this movie.
Honorable Mentions:
A Cry in the Night (1956). Raymond Burr, Natalie Wood, Edmond O’Brien.
Jane Fonda in Five Acts (2018). A fabulous documentary on HBO Max.
The Caine Mutiny (1954). Humphrey Bogart, Fred MacMurray, Van Johnson, Jose Ferrer.
Once a Thief (1965). Alain Delon, Ann-Margret, Van Heflin.
Walk on the Wild Side (1962). Laurence Harvey, Jane Fonda, Barbara Stanwyck, Anne Baxter, Capucine.
Moonrise (1948). Dane Clark, Lloyd Bridges, Gail Patrick.
The Glass Wall (1953). Vittorio Gassman, Gloria Grahame.
The Big Combo (1955). Richard Conte, Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace.
Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021) The Great Gonzo, Pepe, Will Arnett.
Die Hard (1988) Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson.
Confession (1937) Kay Francis, Basil Rathbone, Ian Hunter.
Three Days of the Condor (1975) Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Max Von Sydow, Cliff Robertson.
I’ll Cry Tomorrow (1955) Susan Hayward, Richard Conte, Eddie Albert.
Possessed (1947) Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, Raymond Massey
WILMER COOK: Keep on riding me and they’re gonna be picking iron out of your liver.
SAM SPADE: The cheaper the crook, the gaudier the patter.
Elisha Cook Jr. as Wilmer Cook and Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade in “The Maltese Falcon.”
HELEN: I must warn you though, liquor makes me nosy. I’ve been known to ask all sorts of personal questions after four cocktails.
MARTY: ‘s alright. I’ve been known to tell people to mind their own business. Cold sober too.
Claire Trevor as Helen and Elisha Cook Jr. as Marty in “Born to Kill.”
GEORGE PEATTY: This couple, sittin’ in front of me, oh, they weren’t young, exactly. I guess the woman was about your age.
SHERRY PEATTY: A little senile, you mean? With one foot and a big toe in the grave?
GEORGE PEATTY: You want to hear this or not? Do you or not, Sherry?
SHERRY PEATTY: I can’t wait. Go ahead and thrill me George.
Elisha Cook Jr. as George Peatty and Marie Windsor as Sherry Peatty in “The Killing.”
“Well Wilmer, I’m sorry indeed to lose you. But I want you to know I couldn’t be fonder of you if you were my own son. But well, if you lose a son, it’s possible to get another. There’s only one Maltese Falcon.”
Elisha Cook Jr. carved out a very unique niche for himself in Hollywood. He often played a villain, but never a outwardly scary villain. He was no Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark) in Kiss of Death or Max Cady (Robert Mitchum) in Cape Fear. Cook Jr.’s portrayal was much different. He was mild-mannered, timid even, but was still able to make the action of the film seem uncomfortable. To me, he comes across as someone who seems like they could crack any time now. In The Maltese Falcon, he trails Sam Spade all over San Francisco and makes threats along the way, but Spade never takes him seriously. Even at the end of the film, Cook Jr.’s boss, Kasper Gutman, sells him out and makes him the fall guy. Kasper does this to save his own neck.
When I first learned about Elisha Cook Jr., I did what I always do for every new film and new actor I discover: I looked up his Imdb and Wikipedia pages. I was astonished to learn that Cook Jr. was born in 1903! 1903! In ‘Falcon,’ he looks like a kid compared to Bogart and company. However, he was only four years younger than Bogart! Save for Sydney Greenstreet, Cook Jr., was older than the other members of his gang: Mary Astor and Peter Lorre. This was insane to me. He had such a baby face that it was astonishing that he was almost 40 when he appeared in ‘Falcon.’
It is partially Cook Jr.’s baby face that lends to his ability to play these meek, timid characters who provide a duplicitous nature to his characters. He didn’t always play the villain, but he often played someone who was pretty much on the up-and-up, but got in over his head due to his naiveté and inability to stand up against a stronger personality. In The Killing, Cook Jr., works at a large horse track as a cashier. He is married to the very domineering (physically and personality-wise) Marie Windsor, who treats him like garbage because he hasn’t provided her with the lifestyle to which she feels accustomed. To make his wife like him better, Cook Jr., gets involved with criminal Sterling Hayden who wants to pull off one last heist. Cook Jr., offers to use his position as an employee of the horse track to help Hayden pull off the heist. In exchange, he is supposed to receive a large sum of money. Unfortunately, Cook Jr. ends up paying for his involvement with his life.
Probably the most action Elisha Cook Jr. ever got in one of his films–Phantom Lady.
In contrast to his wimpy weaklings, Elisha Cook Jr., did turn in a very uncharacteristic (yet entirely typical) performance in Phantom Lady. In this film, Ella Raines is trying to prove the innocence of her boss who is sitting on death row for murdering his wife. He has an alibi, but the alibi cannot be located. Raines is trying to follow the clues to find the alibi and exonerate her boss before it’s too late. Nightclub drummer Cook Jr., is one of the people who can help lead her to the alibi. To convince him to give her the details, Raines tries to emulate the type of woman that a musician would be interested in. Donning fishnet stockings, a slinky dress, and stilettos, hepcat Raines’ ruse works. Cook Jr., invites her to this seedy private club away from the nightclub.
Here’s where Cook Jr.’s uncharacteristic performance comes in. Obviously wanting to seduce Raines and “make it” (as they say in old movies back then) with her, he presents the most erotic, sexually charged drum solo ever committed to celluloid. This is as close as filmmakers could get in having characters have sex on screen in 1944. Cook Jr.’s drumsticks hit the drumheads with such an intense, rhythmic beat. Close-ups of his sweaty face, eyes widening, smile tightening are juxtaposed with shots of the drumsticks. As the beat intensifies, so does the intensity in Cook Jr.’s face until the scene climaxes, and he and Raines slink out the door when she offers a come hither look. Like in most of his films, Cook Jr., doesn’t survive Phantom Lady, but at least he had some fun before his murder.
Elisha Cook Jr. is one of my favorite character actors. He brings such a unique presence to screen and you never know what you’re going to get, while knowing exactly what you’re going to get when he’s on screen.
My favorite Elisha Cook Jr. performances:
The Maltese Falcon
The Killing
Born to Kill
Phantom Lady
House on Haunted Hill
The Big Sleep
The Gangster
Don’t Bother to Knock
Love Crazy
I Wake Up Screaming
Ball of Fire
WATSON PRITCHARD: They’re coming for me now… and then they’ll come for you.
Elisha Cook Jr. as Watson Pritchard in House on Haunted Hill
“Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
“Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.”
“We’ll always have Paris.”
“Play it Sam, play ‘As Time Goes By.'”
“I’m shocked! Shocked to find that gambling is going on here.”
“Here’s looking at you, kid.”
“Everybody comes to Rick’s.”
Humphrey Bogart (Rick), Claude Rains (Louis), Paul Henreid (Victor) and Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa) in “Casablanca.”
These are just some of the amazing quotes from Casablanca. Casablanca is considered one of the greatest films of all time, and for good reason–it is a fantastic movie. Almost every line of dialogue is quotable. The characters (especially Rick, Ilsa, and Louis) are iconic. The last scene between Rick and Ilsa at the airport and later, the ending scene with Rick and Louis walking off into the fog are forever symbolic of Classic Hollywood. Between the quotes, the scenes, the music, Rick and Ilsa’s romance, Louis’ corruption… there is so much to remember about Casablanca. However, does anyone remember the object that plays a central role in the film? 1
1 Obviously a rhetorical question, because duh, we’re all Classic Hollywood film fans, OF COURSE we know the answer to this question; but roll with it.
Answer? The letters of transit. The letters of transit are introduced in the film as a piece of crucial documentation that refugees must present to leave Casablanca, Morocco. These refugees are hoping to obtain a letter of transit so that they can travel through German-occupied Europe to Lisbon, Portugal (which is neutral), then board a ship/plane to head to their new life in the United States. These documents are the objects that motivate the main characters’ actions in the film. The audience is first introduced to Peter Lorre’s character in the film, Ugarte, as he races through town and into Rick’s (Humphrey Bogart) club, Rick’s Cafe American. Ugarte boasts that he murdered two German couriers to obtain these precious letters of transit. He wants to sell them in Rick’s club. In the meantime however, Ugarte asks Rick to keep the letters of transit safe.
Later, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) and Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) arrive in Casablanca and head over to Rick’s. Victor is the leader of the Czech Resistance movement. Because of his activity, Victor ranks high on the Germans’ list of persons to not allow to leave Casablanca. Thanks to Rick’s business rival, Signor Ferrari (Sydney Greenstreet), Rick is suspected of having the letters of transit in his possession. This suspicion is what leads Ilsa and Victor to Rick’s. Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains), the corrupt prefect of police, also suspects Rick has the letters of transit. He is a subject of the German-controlled France and is supposed to be preventing Ilsa and Victor’s escape.
Dooley Wilson (Sam) attempts to comfort Humphrey Bogart (Rick) as he laments Ilsa walking into his gin joint.
But does the audience care about the letters of transit? No. Not really. As the audience, we are immediately captivated by Rick’s sour reaction to Ilsa’s showing up at his club. What’s the story there? That’s what we want to know. Judging from Ilsa’s acquaintance with Sam (Dooley Wilson), Rick’s pianist and friend, and her asking him to play “it,” we know that there’s a story there. Sam knows what “it” is and reluctantly agrees to play the song when Ilsa persists. When Sam acquiesces to Ilsa’s request and begins playing “As Time Goes By,” (i.e. “it”), Rick angrily emerges from his office, demanding to know why Sam is playing *that* song. He spots Ilsa and oof. If looks could kill. Rick’s reaction, combined with Sam quickly grabbing his piano bench and scurrying out of the way, is what we need to know about. What is the story behind Rick and Ilsa?
The story of Rick and Ilsa provides the main framework of the story and the main conflict. Add in the fact that Ilsa is married to Victor, and a love triangle develops. Rick and Ilsa’s romance is re-kindled and soon it’s up in the air as to whether Ilsa will want a letter of transit to leave Casablanca. A different side of Rick emerges. He was a cynical, world weary ex-pat living in Casablanca, seemingly impervious to everything. Then Ilsa shows up (unexpectedly) and the romantic side of him emerges. Louis is there, kind of playing both sides, both as an ally of Rick’s but also wanting to follow through on his “duty” and prevent Victor’s escape. He knows Rick knows where the letters of transit are, but he doesn’t really work too hard to look for them. Louis, a French police officer, is stuck in the middle between duty to his country and duty to the corrupt Nazi regime who had taken over Vichy France. At the end of the film, Louis tosses the full bottle of Vichy water into the trash, symbolically showing that he is severing his ties with the Nazis. Louis, like Rick, becomes a patriot.
At the end of the film, Rick makes the ultimate sacrifice and sends Ilsa off with Victor. He hands over the letters of transit very casually. There is no big fanfare, no big build up when Rick hands off the coveted documents. Instead, we are treated to Rick’s very self-sacrificing monologue, the monologue in which he finally severs ties with Ilsa and closes this chapter of his life. This is closure to the romance that we’ve been captivated by since the beginning of the film. We’re finally finding out the resolution of the love triangle. Which man will Ilsa end up with? The man she fell in love with after her husband was thought to be dead? Or her husband, whom she reunited with (and abandoned Rick in the process) after learning that he was still alive? Does she stay with the man who escaped the war to live in Casablanca? Or does she stay with the man who is conducting very important, but also dangerous work on behalf of the Resistance? The letters of transit are essentially irrelevant in the context of the real crux of the film.
Humphrey Bogart (Rick) and Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa) in the iconic airport scene from “Casablanca.”
RICK: “Last night, we said a great many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. Well, I’ve done a lot of it since then, and it all adds up to one thing: you’re getting on that plane with Victor where you belong.”
ILSA: “But Richard, no… I… I…”
RICK: “Now you’ve got to listen to me! You have any idea what you’d have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine chances out of ten we’d both wind up in a Concentration Camp. Isn’t that true, Louis?”
LOUIS: “I’m afraid Major Strasser would insist.”
ILSA: “You’re only saying this to make me go.”
RICK: “I’m saying it because it’s true. Inside of us, we both know you belong with Victor. You’re part of his work, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you’re not with him, you’ll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.”
ILSA: “But what about us?”
RICK: “We’ll always have Paris. What we didn’t have, we lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.”
ILSA: “When I said I would never leave you.”
RICK: “And you never will. But I’ve got a job to do, too. Where I’m going, you can’t follow. What I’ve got to do, you can’t have any part of. Ilsa, I’m no good at being noble, but it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you’ll understand that.”
(ILSA lowers her head and begins to cry)
RICK: “Now…now…”
(RICK gently grabs Ilsa’s chin and raises it, so they can look into each other’s eyes.)
RICK: “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
Humphrey Bogart (Rick), Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa), and Claude Rains (Louis) in one of the most iconic scenes in Classic Hollywood.
The final scene between Rick and Ilsa is one of my absolute favorite scenes in any film. Who knew that a scene where two people are breaking up could be so romantic and heartbreaking. It was beautifully written and acted. After taking in the emotional gravitas of this scene and the absolutely heart-wrenching ending to this romance, who is still thinking about the letters of transit?
Rick, hide me! Do something! You must help me, Rick!”
February is the month of Valentine’s Day. A month to celebrate romance. A month to celebrate love. Typically, in lieu of the regular romance movie routine, I personally like to watch movies about obsessive love, like Leave Her to Heaven, where the antagonist, Ellen Berent’s only problem is that “she loves too much.” That’s putting it mildly. For this blogathon however, I’m going to go the more traditional route with a salute to my favorite movie couples. No, it’s not the most unique idea, but I hope that my selections are unique. These are the couples you hope will end up together. Even if they don’t, if the relationship ends on a satisfying note, it can still be a relationship worth coveting.
Humphrey Bogart & Ingrid Bergman in “Casablanca”
#1 Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund- Casablanca (1942). This isn’t a unique choice. Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) are often held up as one of Classic Hollywood’s greatest romances; but for good reason. Rick and Ilsa’s goodbye scene at the airport is iconic. Who can forget Rick lifting Ilsa’s chin as she sobs, then delivering the iconic line: “Here’s looking at you, kid.” Yes he’s repeating a line that he says to Ilsa in Paris, but it’s this moment where the line is the most poignant. It’s the final callback to the passionate romance they shared before World War II changed their lives permanently. Yes, Ilsa was married to Lazlo (Paul Henried) while they were in Paris and she’s married to him throughout the film. But who cares about Lazlo? This is Rick and Ilsa’s romance. They fell in love in Paris. They were torn apart by the war when Ilsa discovers that her “dead” husband, Lazlo, is actually alive. They’re brought back together in Casablanca when Lazlo’s work with the French Resistance takes him to Morocco. Rick and Ilsa’s feelings for one another come back and it’s such a passionate romance, it’s almost a shame that they don’t end up together. But the ending allows Rick to be the bigger man and to find his place in the world, with Louis Renault (Claude Rains) by his side. It’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship, indeed.
Lauren Bacall & Humphrey Bogart in “To Have and Have Not”
#2 Harry Morgan & Marie ‘Slim’ Browning- To Have and Have Not (1944). I’d be remiss to forget about Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall’s iconic first film together. For not being known as a matinee idol, Bogart found himself part of many classic on-screen romances. In this instance, it was his appearance as Harry Morgan (Bogart), a fisherman working in the French colony of Martinique, a Caribbean nation. Because this takes place right after the Fall of France to the Germans during World War II, the island of Martinique is a mish-mash of Germans (due to the control possessed by the Pro-German Vichy France), sympathetic French, and other people trying to escape their lives. One of these people that Harry meets, is “Slim” (Bacall), a young American woman who is a bit of a wanderer and has found her way to Martinique. The sparks between Harry and Slim are obvious, especially after Slim teaches him how to whistle. Bogie and Bacall’s on-screen chemistry leapt off the screen and into real life as Bogie and Bacall fell in love and became one of Classic Hollywood’s most iconic couples.
Sandra Dee & James Darren in “Gidget” — Get it, girl!
#3 Frances “Gidget” Lawrence & Jeffrey “Moondoggie” Matthews-Gidget (1959). If there’s one type of movie I love, it’s the teen beach movie and Gidget is the all-time best teen beach movie, in my opinion. Part of the reason I love this movie so much is for Gidget (Sandra Dee) and Moondoggie (James Darren). In this film, Gidget (nicknamed bestowed upon Frances by the surfer boys, it’s an amalgamation of “girl” and “midget”) is a 17-year old incoming high school senior who feels inadequate next to her more physically developed, boy crazy girlfriends. At the beginning of the film, we see Gidget and her friends try to attract the surfer boys at the beach, with Gidget failing miserably due to her awkwardness. But there’s something endearing about Gidget. She’s genuine. She can’t muster up the ability to try and attract the boys, because it seems fake. She just wants to swim. She doesn’t want to play stupid games trying to get their attention. She ends up catching the attention of one of the surfer boys, Moondoggie. At first Moondoggie is standoffish, but it’s obvious that he’s doing so because he’s trying to keep up his “cred” with the other boys. But through being protective of Gidget and later having a chance to spend time with her one-on-one, he realizes that he really does like her. Gidget’s liked him the whole time. When they have a chance to be together, they are smitten. Frankly, they are adorable and I love them. In the end, Gidget’s friends are still single and Gidget’s hooked herself a hot college guy by staying true to herself. Get it, girl!
Joel McCrea & Jean Arthur in “The More the Merrier”
#4 Connie Milligan & Joe Carter- The More the Merrier (1943). Connie (Jean Arthur) and Joe (Joel McCrea) are adorable. They’re brought together by the meddling, Benjamin Dingle (Charles Coburn), a retired millionaire who sublets half of Connie’s apartment during the World War II housing crisis. When Sergeant Joe Carter shows up to answer Connie’s ad, Mr. Dingle sees an opportunity to fix the uptight Connie up with a nice young man. Mr. Dingle sublets half of his half of the apartment to Joe. After learning about Mr. Dingle’s arrangement, Connie is upset. Especially when the men start razzing her about her fiance, Mr. Charles J. Pendergast. Despite trying to impress the two men with Mr. Pendergast’s good points (he makes $8600/year and has no hair), it becomes even obvious that she’s matched up with the wrong man. By this point, Joe has a crush on Connie and wants to spend time with her. Later one evening, Joe and Connie find themselves alone together on the front stoop of their apartment building. What unfolds on the front stoop is one of the sexiest, romantic scenes in Classic Hollywood, and nobody had to lose any of their clothes. I love them together and hope that they lived happily ever after… without Mr. Pendergast.
William Powell & Myrna Loy in “The Thin Man” (1934)
#5 Nick and Nora Charles, The Thin Man Series (1934-1947). Nick (William Powell) and Nora (Myrna Loy) Charles are the power couple that everyone wishes they were. They are part of society. They have a beautiful home. They have an amazing dog, Asta. And, they solve mysteries together, thanks to Nick’s background as a detective. Nick loves the thrill of the mystery and Nora desperately wishes to be a part of the thrill. Nick tries to keep her at home and safe from the danger, but Nora always manages to horn her way in, by finding a vital clue or having an alluring thought about a potential suspect. At the start of the film series, Nick had retired from his detective career when he marries socialite Nora. Nick and Nora have such an amazing rapport and chemistry with one another, that the mystery almost takes a back seat to their relationship. William Powell and Myrna Loy are so amazing together, that one wishes they’d been married in real life.
Whimsically Classic 