Great accidents happen once in a while that leave us saying thank God for accidents. The Killer’s starring Burt Lancaster plucked fresh from Broadway (in his motion picture debut) and Ava Gardner is just such a film.

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This 1946 classic from Universal Pictures was almost made with different lead actors. The role of Kitty Collins almost went to Audrey Totter, a blonde with a hard edge. Through a series of events producer Mark Hellinger was lead to a screening of a low budget film called Whistle Stop starring George Raft and Ava Gardner. The next day he called MGM, to whom Miss Gardner was under contract to at the time, to arrange a meeting. Hellinger was set to cast Wayne Morris in the role of the Swede but Morris was under contract to Warner Brothers and Jack Warner said “no” due to a previous disagreement with Hellinger. In the role that deservedly made him a star, Burt Lancaster is tremendous. Thank God for Jack Warner’s vindictivness.
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The first ten minutes are pure Hemingway, the rest of the picture is explaining why the first ten minutes happens. The film is text book film noir - the hero “did something wrong once” and it comes back to bite him on the butt.
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Although I call it text book film noir that does not mean that this is not an exciting, beautifully constructed story (told through a series of flashbacks). A beautifully photographed and directed film, director Robert Siodmak would receive his only Oscar nomination for his work on this film. All the performances are superb. The cast is full of the greatest character actors the world has ever known. Watch out for William Conrad in his first speaking role.
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One of the best things about this film right now is that it is free for the recording. So set your DVR boxes, DVD burners or (God forbid) VCRs for this classic film. Saturday March 27 at 8:30 AM on Turner Classic Movies .

There are reasons why people became movie stars and every one of them has at least one performance to prove it. Ginger Rogers proved it alright in 1940 with her performance as the title role in Kitty Foyle. This is also a her Oscar performance and ( I believe ) her first non musical role. Miss Rogers gives one of the most tragic and beautiful performances in film history.

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Philadelphia born Kitty is a tough, yet (of course) vulnerable woman from the “wrong side of the tracks” school of female characters. The beautiful Kitty meets and marries a socialite from the mainline ( although I am sure that the marriage part was different in the book). His family disapproves and he ultimately dumps our heroine. Kitty then meets a nice young doctor. On the eve of her marriage to the nice doctor the cad from the mainline comes back to Kitty saying he has dumped his wife and family and wants to go off with her. What is a girl to do? What is the right move for her? We are given the whole story in series of flashbacks leading right back to the beginning of the movie.

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I would rarely play this film in the store because I would get too misty every time. We couldn’t have that happen, a store full of men crying at poor Ginger Rogers’ problems. And although a tear is shed the film is not without it’s lighter moments. This is a great film suitable for kids over 12 (some of the material might need some explaining to younger viewers), especially if they have all ready have seen some of the Astaire / Rogers musicals of the 1930’s (and if they haven’t what are you waiting for) Nice to know that the gal can act.

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This gem will be on TCM. It is free. It will be shown on Wednesday march 31rst at 8:00PM. So set your DVR’s, DVD burners or (what!) VCR’s.

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When the evil Prince John and the Norman Lords begin oppressing the Saxon masses in King Richard’s absence, a Saxon lord, Sir Robin of Locksley, fights back as the outlaw leader of a rebel guerrilla army. As the “rob from the rich and give to the poor” defender of downtrodden Saxons, Sir Robin runs afoul of Norman authority, Sir Guy of Gisbourne (the great Basil Rathbone), Prince John (Claude Rains) and is forced to turn outlaw. With his band of Merry Men, he fights a good deal of injustice and cruelty but still has time to woo the lovely Maid Marian, foil the cruel Sir Guy , and keep the nefarious Prince John off the throne.

Warner Brother workhorse and studio style setter Michael Curtiz took over from director William Keighley when the producers felt that the action scenes lacked impact. Errol Flynn was not happy when Michael Curtiz took over production, as he didn’t care for Curtiz’s dictatorial methods and the two fought often during production of The Charge of the Light Brigade. During one fight sequence, Errol Flynn was jabbed by an actor who was using a sword that didn’t have a safety guard on the point. The other actor apologized and explained that the director (Curtiz) had instructed him to remove the safety feature in order to make the action “more exciting”. Errol Flynn then climbed up a platform where Michael Curtiz was standing next to the camera, grabbed him by the throat and asked him if he found that “exciting enough”.

At the time this film held the distinction of employing the largest number of stuntmen on any one production. The stunt players wore heavy padding underneath a steel breastplate overlaid with some balsa wood to absorb the impact of arrows. The stuntmen weree paid the princely sum of $150.00 a day for the risk of having arrows shot at them. The production used all 11 of the Technicolor cameras in existence in 1938 and they were all returned to Technicolor at the end of each day’s filming.

At the time, the palomino upon which Olivia de Havilland rode was named “Golden Cloud” and was owned by Hudkins Stables, a stable that leased horses and Western equipment for films. Roy Rogers bought “Golden Cloud” for $2,500. Character actor Smiley Burnette, who was Rogers’ sidekick in his early movies, suggested the name of Trigger. The name stuck and Rogers rode Trigger in his first starring Western, Under Western Stars.

A juicy bit of gossip that the truth of might never be known is in The Warner Brother files/records which are archived at the USC Cinema Television Library. Interoffice memos clearly indicate that Olivia de Havilland was not the first choice for the role of Marion. The original actress, whose name is blacked out in each of documents, became pregnant out of wedlock, and could no longer accept the role.

This was a picture that was shown all the time on regular broadcast television. There is violence but I have seen things on the Cartoon Network, during the day when kids are watching, that are way more violent. I am not justifying the violence in Adventures of Robin Hood, all I am saying is that it is not gratuitous and it is a sort of toned down historical accurateness. The sword fights are thrilling and are some of the best duels ever filmed. It is very much worth recording. When Movie Place was in business, I cannot tell you how many tweens I recommended this picture to and who would almost always tell me later that they loved it and would very often rent it again.

Midnight (or 12:00 AM) on February 5th on Turner Classic Movies.

Private investigator Brad Galt (Mark Stevens) has moved to New York from San Fransisco where he was framed by his former partner Anthony Jardine (Kurt Kreuger) and unjustly spent two years as a guest of the state of California. He opens a new office in New York, where he works with his efficient, witty and very beautiful secretary Kathleen (Lucille Ball). After Kathleen recieves a visit at the office from a mysteroius man in a white suit, Galt invites Kathleen to dinner with him, were she spies the man in the white suit (William Bendix) on their tail. Confronted by Galt, the man in the white suit confesses that he too is a private detective named Fred Ross who was hired by Jardine. When a speeding car almost hits him on the street, Galt believes Jardine is behind it. Is Jardine acting alone or are there other dark corners to turn?

The director, Herny hathaway, was famous for wanting to shoot on location as much as possible. He got to do some for this picture but in 1947 he really got his wish with The Kiss Of Death which was almost entirely shot in New York. There are shades of Laura, (especially with Clifton Webb’s character and performance) and Mark Stevens does bear some resemblance to Dana Andrews (the tough guy investigator in turmoil) but it is still a picture to be seen.

Saturday January 30th at 10:00 AM on Turner Classic Movies

This was another constantly viewed picture at the store. It had 4 important elements; great acting, great script, great boxing scenes and great location shooting in the New York of 1956. In fact it was all shot here. As far as bio pics go I am sure that there is a great deal of glossing over but that does not mean that the hero of the picture is portrayed as a wonderful guy.

“This the way I remember it” is a quote from Rocky Graziano in the opening credits. The story is of his rise from street thug to world champion prize fighter. He was a Mike Tyson for the late 40’s, a guy who learned to fight on the street. The picture shows Mr. Graziano’s (whose real last name was Barbella) home life and abusive drunken father. In fact the picture opens up with a fairly disturbing scene of the father, a failed prize fighter himself, boxing a very young Rocky while being egged on by a bunch drunken “friends”. When his skill is questioned by one of his drinking buddies the father lets loose and sends Rocky out into the night with a bloody nose and a greater hatred towards his father. This of course leads to a life of crime and nothing but trouble.

The years pass as do many criminal acts and many encounters with the law. Rocky has become notorious in his lower eastside neighborhood. He has also grown into Paul Newman. While walking down the street with his cohorts (which includes a young and uncredited Steve McQueen and the ever tough Sal Mineo) the camera leads them through the crowd. At one point they pass a stoop where a man calls out (in a heavy New York / Italian accent) “Hey bigga man, who you gonna rob now huh?”. Beautiful touch as it speaks volumes about the neighborhood and Rocky.

Rocky is finally caught and sent to a reform school and then to Rikers Island for a long stretch where he starts to hone his fighting skills. Upon his release however he is picked up immediately, as he gets off the ferry yet (as there was no Rikers Island bridge at that point), for Army service. World War Two has begun and is in full swing. Not being able to tolerate the structured life of the Army, Rocky goes AWOL. Once back in his old stomping ground he discovers that he can make quick cash as a sparing partner for boxers at Stillman’s Gym. This is where he is discovered by the world weary, former ladies lingerie salesman, manager Irving Cohen (Everett Sloane). After accidentally knocking out the boxer he was only supposed to spar with, Irving realizes that this could be the boxer of a lifetime. Being AWOL from the Army, Rocky assumes a different last name and the road to greatness, all though incredibly bumpy, and a stretch at Leavenworth where he really hones his boxing skills, lies ahead.

The beautiful Pier Angeli is Norma, the nice girl who Rocky falls in love with. Introduced to Norma by his sister Rocky at first feigns disinterest. They meet again as she starts to head home to Brooklyn and Rocky ends up taking her all the way home after initially just walking her to the subway. This was one of the few films Miss Angeli made in Hollywood. She worked primarily in Europe after getting her start in Italy at age 16. Just before her tragic end at age 39 in 1971 Miss Angeli wrote that James Dean was the only man she ever loved. Her mother intervened in their romance because James Dean was not Catholic. It was such a shame that this beautiful talented actress did not work more here.

Not for young kids as there is some violence, the boxing is tough but that first scene is pretty rough. I however saw this film when I was quite young when they used to show movies (real movies-not made for TV movies) on TV. However the things I most remembered about it was that first scene, the relationship with the father and all the location shooting that was done here. I also remember thinking that Rocky was not the most wonderful guy in the world. As I grew older, watched more of these bio pics, I figured out that there was a huge amount of glossing over done to the real stories. Glenn Miller, as portrayed by James Stewart in The Glenn Miller Story was the nicest guy in the world. Everybody loved him. I read one story however, that there were members of his band that cheered when Miller’s plane was reported missing. So I always take these films with a grain of salt the size of a grapefruit. This picture does not gloss over too much. Every thing looks dirty and sweaty before Rocky hits the bigtime. And I am sure, just on the basis of it’s being there in a main stream Hollywood film of the 50’s that the child abuse was real (and probably worse in real life). I am sure that Mr. Graziano was guilty of many crimes that went un punished, that he was probably not the most wonderful human being that ever walked down the street but if the movie portrays his reality half way close to the truth, then you can understand (not forgive) Rocky Graziano for his indiscretions.

This is a great picture, one of the better bio pics made during the late golden age of Hollywood and obviously an influence on Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull.

Tuesday January 26^th at 3:15 PM on Turner Classic Movies.

War widow Connie Ennis (Janet Leigh) is a commercial spy checking the prices and ware of other department store. She has invaded the turf of toy salesman Steve Mason, a vet who although is a very kind man is slightly aimless but has a heart of gold (all wrapped around the frame of the young Robert Mitchum).

Connie’s shenanigans are discovered and when Steve lets her go he gets fired. Feeling responsible but also attracted to Steve, Connie starts spending more and more time with him. She even introduces him to her young son who immediately takes a huge liking to Steve. All of this while declaring her allegiance and love for her fiancé Carl Davis (poor Wendell Corey who never gets the girl).

It is clear half way through the picture who is right for who but like I said, we don’t care. This is a charming (a word I almost never use) little movie with two talented leads in the beginning of the prime of their careers.

Friday December 25th at 4:30 PM on Turner Classic Movies

Sahara 1943

Mr. Bogart is the commander of a tank crew. While crossing the Libyan desert in their tank “Lulubelle” they pick up five British soldiers, a Frenchman and a Sudanese man with an Italian prisoner crossing the Libyan Desert to rejoin their various armies after the fall of Tobruk. They, and the larger German forces who are stalking them, are greatly in need of water.
9:15 AM

Passage to Marseille 1944

It’s World War Two (again) and a French bomber crew prepares for an air raid from a base in England. It is through a long flashback that we learn the story of Jean Matrac (Humphery Bogart), a French journalist who opposed the Munich Pact. Framed for murder and sent to Devil’s Island, he and four others escape. They are on a ship bound for Marseilles when France surrenders and fascist sympathizer Major Duval (Sydney Greenstreet) tries to seize the ship for Vichy.
A large number of the cast(s) of Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon, members of what I call The Warner Brothers repertory company, the “usual suspects” if you will, are in this picture. This picture tried to recapture the magic of Casablanca, after all it was directed by Michael Curtiz. This is also one of the few picture that uses flashback within flashback within yet a flashback. One enormously important event happened during production of this picture. Lauren Bacall was brought to the set to meet Mr. Bogart and to test the chemistry between them. This was their first meeting. It looked like the beginning of a beautiful friendship. This picture is not on DVD, I strongly urge you to DVR it.
11:00 AM

Conflict - 1945

Mr. Bogart is Richard Mason, a man with the hots for his wife’s beautiful younger sister. After being slightly injured in a car accident he fakes a greater injury so he gets out of going with his wife Kathryn on a trip to the mountains. He does, however, kill her on a lonely mountain road. Or did he? He smells her perfume, finds her jewelry, sees an envelope addressed with her handwriting. Is someone out to get him? Is Kathryn still alive? does someone know what he did? The suspense is killing me. This is a rare good guy Sidney Greenstreet performance and a picture that Mr. Bogart reluctantly made. Although he fought against making it, it is still worth a look. Not on DVD,so do what you gotta do.
1:00 PM

Dead Reckoning - 1947

Another story told in flashback, Mr. Bogart plays Captain “Rip” Murdock who, along with his army buddy Sgt. Johnny Drake are soon to be Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. This does not sit well with Johnny who disappears while en route to Washington. Rip eventually tracks Johnny down to a small town called Gulf City. He also finds that there is a badly burned body in the morgue that is probably Johnny’s. He then discovers that his pal had enlisted with a fake name, the murdered husband of a singer in a nightclub owned by the local organized crime czar. Many discoveries, many good performances especially from Morris Carnovsky and Lizbeth Scott in a role originally intended for Rita Hayworth.
2:30PM

The Two Mrs. Carrolls - 1947

Mr. Bogart plays struggling artist Geoffrey Carroll who meets and is quite taken by the beautiful Sally Morton played by the beautiful Barbara Stanwyck. He spends more time sketching her than fishing. She is quite taken with him. Then she discovers he’s married. He tells her that his wife is an invalid and he is in the process of getting a divorce but had not up until now because of their daughter. The daughter is now at the appropriate age for her parents to split. Things go well for Geoffrey and Sally - his wife dies. She died right after he finished her portrait. Sally discovers some earlier Mrs. Carrolls who also had the portrait done by Geoffrey. Golly, Sally is having her portrait painted and why is Geoffrey using a fake name at the drug store? With these two in the lead roles the picture should have been better but it is still worth a look. Not on DVD, act accordingly.
4:15 PM

Knock On Any Door - 1949

This is the first picture to come out of Humphrey Bogart’s independent production company Santana Productions. The Santana was Mr. Bogart’s beloved yacht. This picture reflects the liberal political views that Mr. Bogart possessed. He plays Andrew Morton, a lawyer who rose out of the slums. He is representing Nick Romano (John Derek - husband of Bo) who has been charged with murder. In a dramatic appeal to the court Morton argues that it is the evils of slum life that lead Nick to a life of crime and to the kind of anger that would lead to murder.
Mr. Bogart chose Nicholas Ray to direct because he had greatly admired his directorial debut They Live by Night. When told that Nicholas Ray wanted to film the entire sentencing statement for the defense sequence in a single take, Mr. Bogart was concerned because he had never delivered such a long speech without cuts and feared he couldn’t do it. Mr. Ray calmed Mr. Bogart down, had him rehearse it several times, and much to Mr. Bogart’s surprise, Mr. Ray filmed the rehearsals, shooting most of what has become the famous and well played sentencing scene. The two, director and star, would collaborate again the following year with 1950’s In A Lonely Place. This is currently not on DVD, so be warned.
6:00 PM

To Have And Have Not - 1944

One day in the early 1940’s, Howard Hawks’ wife was looking through a magazine when she came across an advertisement that featured a striking young woman. She shows him the picture and the ball starts rolling. Just before this event, Ernest Hemingway had a bet with Mr. Hawks. The bet was that Mr. Hawks could make a movie out of the worst thing that Mr. Hemingway wrote. The ball that started rolling hit a bump named Lauren Bacall. Looking to cast the female lead in the picture that grew out of the bet, Mr. Hawks summoned the soon to be immortal Ms. Bacall west to Hollywood. She tests for the role. Humphrey Bogart sees the test and is introduced to the young actress who was waiting outside the screening room. “We are going top have a lot of fun” is what he said. They did and the rest is for me the absolute pinnacle of Hollywood magic. If there is a god of Motion Pictures, he or she was in the best mood ever that day.

To Have and Have Not is the picture and it is a record of a courtship, a romance that has lived on since the day they shot the first kiss between Ms. Bacall and Mr. Bogart. Knowing what we do now about them I almost feel like a voyeur. Mr. Bogart had only recently established himself as a not only a great actor who could carry a picture (and get Oscar nominated for his work) but also as a romantic leading man as well. In a recent post I quoted a song lyric that I feel summed up Ms. Bacall; “you’re one in a million baby, you’ve got to burn to shine”. In this film she burns. She effortlessly moves through the picture spilling out an aura of sexuality and maturity far beyond her 19 years. No one ever in my opinion has ever had a motion picture debut such as hers in this picture. Oh my god, never. If you’ve seen the picture consider yourself lucky; if you haven’t, now is your time. And I’ll say this, there never ever will be a debut like it again. Ever.

The story is not necessary for me to go into here. It has to be seen. There are shades of Casablanca; the Nazi’s / bad guys here are the Vichy French. Mr. Bogart is still the uninvolved ex-pat American who is forced by events to become involved. What is necessary for me to mention are the great performances from the terrific Warner Brothers stable of character actors. Walter Brennan as Eddie is a great example of a tragic / comic performance at it’s best. Hoagy Carmichael appears as almost as the “Sam” character of Casablanca. Mr Carmichael does a couple of his classic numbers and is accompanied by Ms. Bacall on two of them. As far as Mr. Bogart’s great performances go, his Harry Morgan is one of them.

This is truly a classic. It is only by a stoke of luck that Mrs. Hawks was looking at that magazine. This is a great picture and it’s a lot of fun. It’s safe for the kids and I wanted it to be required viewing when someone joined Movie Place. It was a constant on the screen at the store and I never ever got tired of it. I am not kidding when I say that I have seen a picture a hundred times. I have seen Sweet Smell Of Success close to 400 times. Although I have not seen To Have and Have Not close to the Sweet Smell Of Success level, the number is up there. If you have not seen this picture yet, you will understand when you see it.

8:00 PM

Big Sleep - 1946

I always liked Phillip Marlowe better than Sam Spade. He is a little nicer, a little smarter and a good deal funnier. Mr. Bogart in one of his defining roles, plays Marlowe who is hired by a very wealthy family. Before this complex case is over Mr. Marlowe has seen murder, blackmail and what might be true love. While working on the script, writers William Faulkner and Leigh Brackett couldn’t figure out from the novel who murdered a particular character. So they phoned Raymond Chandler, who angrily told them the answer was right there in the book and hung up. Chandler soon phoned back to say that he looked at the book himself and couldn’t figure out who killed the character, so he left it up to them to decide. In the original cut, shown to the armed services, this question is resolved; in the film as released, it isn’t.
The scene where Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall make suggestive talk about horses was added almost a year after filming was otherwise complete, in an attempt to inject the film with the kind of risque innuendos that had made To Have and Have Not so popular two years earlier.
The last bit of trivia is my favorite. Eddie Mars’ henchman are named Sidney and Pete, a tribute to Mr. Bogart’s frequent costars Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre
10:00 PM

Dark Passage - 1947

Dark Passage was another constant in the Movie Place rotation of what was on the screen. It has a murder, a prison break out, a slightly insane back alley plastic surgeon, an incredibly villainous woman and a love story all rolled into one great 106 minute picture. It has everything one could possibly want in a movie, good clean sex and violence and a trippy surgery scene that Tim Burton seriously referenced in his 1989 Batman.

The plot is simple and one that has been used before and after but the fortunate combination of a good script, an interesting director/screenwriter and a legendary cast combine to make what is referred to as Hollywood magic. Humphrey Bogart plays Vincent Parry, a man convicted of murdering his wife who escapes from prison in order to prove his innocence. One of the things that make this picture special and a stand out over other pictures of it’s type is that the first third of this movie the camera is Vincent Parry. Other wise known as “point of view”, the camera is the character. Robert Montgomery wrote and directed himself in Raymond Chandler’s Lady In the Lake (which uses point of view through the entire picture) and although the picture was released a few months earlier than Dark Passage I will venture to say that the latter picture pulls off the gimmick of “P.O.V.” better. It uses this technique for just as long as it has to; up until Vincent finds the back alley plastic surgeon, who says that if he wanted to he could make a man look like a dog, makes Vincent look like Humphrey Bogart.

Lauren Bacall as always shines as the heroine – love interest of the picture. Only 22 years old when she made the picture and already a performing like an old pro. I have always said that she is of another world, no one looks like her, no one sounds like her. One afternoon in the store I was playing Key Largo and a bunch of high school students came in. The girls hung around the screen watching her. Finally one girl said “she looks so old”. I was a little surprised and said that Lauren Bacall was only 23 when she made the picture. What I told these kids is this: a star of her caliber does not look like a regular person, what you see as “old” is an intense air of confidence. There is a line in some song that I heard once that suits Ms. Bacall – you’re one in a million baby, you’ve gotta burn to shine. She doesn’t just burn, she smolders. Boys, when she rescues the recently escaped Vincent Parry, there will be a part of you that will want her to rescue you too. I think that I have gone on long enough about Ms. Bacall, but I am, as some of you know, prejudiced.

The always great Agnes Moorehead is the annoying and clingy Madge, friend to Irene (Lauren Bacall) and the lead prosecution witness against Vincent at his trial. She is responsible for his being sent to San Quentin. She is terrified and believes that Vincent is coming after her. Her annoying factor ultimately builds and morphs into spiteful villainy. Also on hand is Bruce Bennett as Bob, Irene’s current beau (but it ain’t going anywhere). Bruce Bennett was a solid performer who was great at playing heels (see Mildred Pierce) but also great as stand up guy who will do the right thing.

Delmar Daves directed some of my favorite movies of all time, the lurid and tawdry Summer Place, Parrish and Susan Slade as well as the testosterone injected Destination Tokyo, Demetrius and the Gladiator and The 3:10 to Yuma. Dark Passage is a lot of fun and safe for the kids.

Midnight

Key Largo- 1948

This was the fourth and final film pairing Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall and it is great. Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) travels to a run-down hotel on Key Largo to visit the family of a friend who died bravely in his unit during WW II. His friend’s widow, Nora (Lauren Bacall) and wheelchair bound father, James Temple (Lionel Barrymore) manage the hotel and the three of them soon find themselves virtual prisoners when the hotel is taken over by a mob of gangsters led by Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson) who hole up there to await the passing of a hurricane. They are prisoners of the weather and organized crime. Having become disillusioned by the violence of war, Frank is reluctant to act, but Rocco’s demeaning treatment of his alcoholic moll, Gaye Dawn (Claire Trevor), and his involvement in the deaths of some innocent Seminole Indians and a deputy sheriff start to motivate McCloud take action.

The character of Johnny Rocco was obviously modeled on Al Capone (with shades of Lucky Luciano), who had moved to Florida after his stay in prison. His glory days behind him, he died there of complications due to advanced syphilis a year before this film was made.

The character of Gaye Dawn (Claire Trevor) was based on real-life gangster’s moll Gay Orlova (gangster Lucky Luciano’s girlfriend), allegedly executed by a German firing squad. Miss Trevor’s performance (she was always great) and her particularly painful rendition of “Moanin’ Low” won her a much deserved Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

The boat on which the final scenes take place is named Santana. This was the name of Humphrey Bogart’s yacht. An avid sailor, Mr. Bogart loved sailing since the days his father had taught him on Seneca Lake in the Adirondacks. He loved the Santana so much he named his production company after it.

Shot in a remarkably quick 78 days on the Warner Brothers back lot, Key Largo was the fourth (out of six) collaborations between John Huston and Humphrey Bogart. Based on a Maxwell Anderson hit play that had starred Paul Muni on Broadway. The movie version has little to do with the play however; the characters names, the time period and the setting were changed. This is a great picture that further perpetuated the Bogart / lone tough guy hero persona that we all came to love.
2:00 AM on December 24th

Robert Mitchum proving yet again that he can carry a picture effortlessly and do the kind of “noir voice over narration with the same ability as Fred Mac Murray in Double Indemnity, this is a one of a kind picture. Robert Mitchum stars as a former private detective who has gone into hiding with a different name and a career different than the one left behind in New York. Hired by New York based gangster Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas) to find the woman who shot at him five times (and made one of them count) and stole 40,000 dollars our hero ultimately finds the woman but he falls in love with her. Oops, the tragic flaw, which can be dangerous.

The woman, Cathy, played beautifully by Jane Greer is a scorpion in sheep’s clothing. Beautiful yet extremely dangerous. “Then one day she drifted in out of the sun and I knew why Whit wanted her back” is the line that introduces us to her. After much time spent together she asks “when are you taking me back”. After not really answering the question Cathy pleads her case. “I’m not sorry I shot him but I didn’t take the money, you believe me don’t you?” to which Mitchum replies the famous “Baby, I don’t care”. The two run off together and go into hiding. Unfortunately they are found by Mitchum’s former partner. After a viscous fist fight some one is dead on the floor and a certain woman has disappeared into the night.

Mitchum has gone into hiding under a different name in a small town in California where he owns a gas station. He is also involved with a local woman whom he plans to marry. Everything seems okay until someone out of his past breezes through town and recognizes him. Forced to confront his past and quite possibly Cathy, Mitchum agrees to drive to Lake Tahoe (were Whit has relocated) and close all unfinished business so he can move on. That is all I am going to say about the plot. I do not want to give anything away.

The performances are all top notch. Jane Greer is Lauren Bacall hot in this role as the femme fatal. Kirk Douglas is subtly evil. Paul Valentine as Whit’s sidekick Joe is smarmy and as real as one could get with the role of a sidekick. Same goes for Steve Brodie who plays Mitchum’s sidekick/partner Jack. For me the stand out of the supporting cast is Dickie Moore. Some of us remember Dickie Moore for his stint as an Our Gang (Little Rascals) member. Mr. Moore appeared in many films over the years and I believe that he also gave Shirley Temple her first screen kiss. He plays “the Kid”, Mitchum’s gas station assistant who is deaf and mute but can read lips. Fortunately for Mitchum they can both use sign language as well.

The script is top notch as well. Written by the same people that wrote The Big Steal, both pictures have dialogue that exhibits the same spark of originality and humor although both pictures are very different.

This film is safe for the kids; there is no need to explain what the windows blowing open and the music swelling after a kiss in which the kissers disappear mean. I called it “noir sexual innuendo”. It is a great introduction to “film noir” as well as being an all around great picture.

Saturday December19 ^th at 6:00 AM on Turner Classic Movies

After the world was scared to death by the 1922 German picture Nosferatu, Universal took a shot at it. Casting Romanian stage actor Bela Lugosi as the undead, ancient Count Dracula type cast this talented co - founder of the Screen Actors Guild (member number 28) for the rest of his life. After rocketing to stardom in the 1927 Broadway version of Dracula (based on Bram Stoker’s novel) he ended up a drug-addicted pauper in Hollywood. Mr. Lugosi found that after establishing one of the screen’s greatest personifications of pure evil, his reputation rapidly declined, mainly because he was only too happy to accept any part handed to him, and ended up playing pathetic parodies of his greatest role, in low-grade poverty row shockers. He ended his career working for the legendary worst director of all time, Edward D. Wood Jr.. He was buried in his Dracula cape.
After a harrowing ride through the Carpathian mountains in eastern Europe, Renfield enters castle Dracula to finalize the purchaseof Carfax Abbey in London to Count Dracula. Renfield is hypnotized by the eerie count, and turned into one of his minions, protecting him during his sea voyage to London. After sucking the blood and turning the young Lucy Weston into a vampire, Dracula turns his attention to her friend Mina Seward, daughter of Dr. Seward who then calls in a specialist, Dr. Van Helsing, to diagnose the sudden deterioration of Mina’s health. Van Helsing, realizing that Dracula is indeed a vampire, tries to prepare Mina’s fiance, John Harker, and Dr. Seward for what is to come and the measures that will have to be taken to prevent Mina from becoming one of the undead. It’s your basic Dracula story.

Universal called the picture “The story of the strangest passion the world has ever known!” This picture was directed by Kentucky born, former actor for D.W. Griffith, Tod Browning. Mr. Browning went on to direct the cult classic Freaks in 1932

The following pictures are very similar in theme. The themes are as follows: Do not mess with nature. Do not play God. Very simple warnings that every one should follow. Those who break these rules must be punished, and sticking to the classical form, they are punished. All three of these pictures were directed by James Whale, played brilliantly by Ian McKellan in the 1999 bio pic Gods & Monsters which is very much worth a look.

Frankenstein 1931,

The taglines for this picture were “A Monster Science Created - But Could Not Destroy!” and “To have seen it is to wear a badge of courage!”. We all know the the story, Dr. Frankenstein has gotten it into his head that to make life from something dead is a good idea. Yet he can’t set a wedding date.

Invisible Man 1933

In his second appearance in the movies (the first having been a silent picture) Claude Rains took on a role rejected by Boris Karloff. Mr. Karloff rejected the role because he is not seen for most of the picture. Director James Whale wanted a more “intellectual sounding” voice. Mr. Whale discovered Mr. Rains by accidentally hearing a screen test coming from another room. Mr. Rains went on to become one of the biggest stars at Warner Brothers (and being one of two favorite leading men of Bette Davis’). Gloria Stuart who plays Flora Cranley, went on to play “Old Rose” in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic.
The Tagline for this picture was “Catch me if you can”. Well this scientist catches a bad case of the crazies after he messes with nature by inventing a formula that makes one invisible.

Bride of Frankenstein 1935

“To a new world of Gods and monsters” states (rather loudly) Dr. Pretorious, an even madder scientist who forces Dr. Frankenstein to create again life from death. Preotoius has not yet learned his lesson.

As I pointed out, these pictures were on television and I saw them as a tween. They are scary, but is not that part of the fun? We know that this might happen as these pictures are billed as “horror films”, so we know what to expect. I am certainly not recommending these pictures to the 5 and 6 year olds out there (although I know a few 6 year olds that would not be phased by any of these pictures). I am suggesting that you know your child better than anyone. Can they handle it? However, would it not be nice to settle down, in the dark and watch these pictures with your children, allowing them the fun of getting spooked, seeing you get a little unnerved and finally really understanding the phrase “its just a movie”?

Tuesday May 19th at 1:15 AM on Turner Classic Movies