Lady of Burlesque

 

(1943)
Directed by William Wellman
Written by James Gunn, based upon a novel by Gypsy Rose Lee
Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Michael O'Shea, J. Edward Bromberg, Stephanie Bachelor, Pinky Lee. Gerald Mohr
IMDB Entry

Gypsy Rose Lee was quite a legend in her time. She was known for her strip tease act* and became a celebrity outside the Burlesque circuit, even being the subject of the Broadway musical Gypsy. And she even wrote a mystery novel, The G-String Murders, which was filmed as Lady of Burlesque.**

Dixie Daisy (Barbara Stanwyck) is the star of a burlesque company, wooed by comic Biff Brannigan (Michael O'Shea), though she refuses his advances having had bad experiences with other comics. During a police raid, someone tries to strangle her; she is rescued by a stage hand in the nick of time. But later, a member of the cast is found strangled, a g-string around her neck, after arguing with her gangster boyfriend Louie Grindero (Gerald Mohr). The plot goes out from there, with another star is found dead the same way -- on stage as Dixie starts her act.

The movie is full of twists and red herrings, but its strength is portraying the backstage life of burlesque performers. There are hints and quick glimpses of acts, but most of it stays in the dressing rooms, and deals with the issues of police raids and other things.

One of the actors is Pinky Lee, a baggy pants comedian who worked in vaudeville and burlesque, and who I remember for a kids show in the early 60s. Another name I recognize was Gerald Mohr, who did a lot of radio work, including a long stint as Phillip Marlowe.

Given the censorship of the Hayes office, this was a touchy subject to film. They refused to allow the title of the book attach itself to the movie, even though the term "G-String" is used throughout and the book was not only successful, but even had a feature article in Life Magazine. And, of course, the more risque parts of the acts were toned town; when Dixie sings about "bump and grind," the camera stays off her.

It's a decent mystery, fast-paced and with plenty of humor. Well worth a viewing.

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*Not stripping -- she joked and teased as she slowly removed her clothes, and didn't really show herself nude.

**Burlesque was low on the totem pole beneath legitimate theater and vaudeville, known for more adult and bawdy themes and very broad comedy.

The Villain Still Pursued Her

 

(1940)
Directed by Edward Cline
Written by Elbert Franklin, Ethel La Blanche
Starring Hugh Herbert, Anita Louise, Alan Mowbray, Buster Keaton, Richard Cromwell, Margaret Hamilton, Billy Gilbert
IMDB Entry

Sometimes bad acting can be fun. Plan 9 from Outer Space is a case in point. And withThe Villain Still Pursued Her, the bad acting is deliberate and very funny.

The movie is a broad parody of the idea of the old-time melodrama. It starts out with a stage proscenium, where the announcer (Billy Gilbert) comes on to introduce the play. Then we see Mary Wilson (Anita Louise) talking with her aunt (Margaret Hamilton) and laying out the situation: Edward Middleton (Richard Cromwell) has inherited the mortgage on their house from his kindly father and they are afraid he will foreclose. Cribbs (Alan Mowbray) comes by to tell them they will have to move. When Edward is on the way to the house, Cribbs intercepts him, pushing him to foreclose, but when he sees Mary, the two fall in love.

At their wedding, the scheming Cribbs inveigles Edward into trying alcohol for the first time. He immediately becomes a drunkard, and Cribbs tries to trick him into crime, which he refuses. Cribbs forges Edward's name on a check, but but Dalton (Buster Keaton), Edward's friend, exposes that crime. and others. With the help of Frederick Healy (Hugh Hubert), Edward becomes sober and all is well.

Everyone overacts. That's the point. Cribbs often addresses to audience to talk about his nefarious plans, while the others will soliloquize about their thoughts and feelings.

Mowbray is full-on Snidely Whiplash as Cribbs, moustache and all.  He was a busy character actor, appearing in movies and films for over 40 years. 

I was interested in the film because the many familiar faces. Buster Keaton was the big one, but he was given very little to do. Margaret Hamilton was Mary's kindly mother, a big departure from her role the year before in The Wizard of Oz. Billy Gilbert did a lot of comedy -- most notably as Mr. Pettibone in His Girl Friday -- and was the voice of Sneezy in the Disney Snow White. Hugh Hubert is forgotten today, but his ditzy character was very popular in the 30s, with his fluttery mannerisms and his catchphrase "hoo hoo hoo," which often was parodied in cartoons. I also spotted Vernon Dent, the Three Stooges' greatest straight man.

Director Edward Cline was responsible with several W.C. Fields features and also directed several of Keaton's short subjects.  

The joke does perhaps go on too long, and has one somewhat racist non-sequitur joke, but it does remain amusing as a send-up of  old-time stage melodramas.

"Pimpernel" Smith

 (1941)
Directed by Leslie Howard
Written by Anatole de Grunwald, Ian Dalrymple (screenplay), A. G. Macdonell, Wolfgang Wilhelm (Story)
Starring Leslie Howard, Francis Sullivan, Mary Morris
IMDB Entry

I'm a fan of the Scarlet Pimpernel, the template for modern superheroes. Leslie Howard played him credibly in a 1934 movie and once World War II broke out, he had the idea of remaking it and changing the time from the French Revolution to the current time. He directed and produced a current-day version, "Pimpernel Smith."

In 1939, Archeologist Horatio Smith (Leslie Howard) takes a group of Cambridge students on an expedition to examine archeological sites in Germany. They soon discover that the mild mannered professor is helping people escape from Nazi Germany. Gestapo General von Graum (Francis Sullivan) is desperate to stop the man. Discovering the person helping them is British, he blackmails Ludmilla Koslowski (Mary Morris) to ferret him out; Ludmilla's father is a Gestapo prisoner.  She finds Smith and urges him to save her father. Smith denies he has anything to do with it, but comes up with a plan to get him and some other prisoners out of Germany, with von Graum suspicious that he might be the man he is looking for.

The movie starts a bit slow, but eventually shows Smith and his students working to achieve the escape.  The Scarlet Pimpernel books showcased the Pimpernels' cleverness, and this version has it in spades. The escape plans are very worthy of the original.

Leslie Howard played the original Pimpernel a few years earlier and clearly wanted to do an updated version for the wartime audience. He is much like the original in most respect. Frances Sullivan makes Von Graum a decent antagonist, though he isn't quite as good as Citizen Chauvelin in the books. 

Overall, this is a nice update on a classic hero.

Krapopolis (TV)

 

(2023 - )
Created by Dan Harmon
Starring Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry, Pam Murphy, Duncan Trussell, Hannah Waddingham
IMDB Entry

I don't watch Fox animated shows often. The older ones seem tired and the newer ones don't seem all that interesting. That's why I didn't pay much attention about Krapopolis. But when I saw it on a streaming service, I decided to take a look. And seeing it was created by Dan Harmon, the mind behind Community and Rick and Morty, I started to watch the episodes.

It's set in the ancient Greek city that gives the show its name. Tyrannis (Richard Ayoade) has declared himself king, and lives with his family. His mother, Deliria (Hannah Waddington) is a goddess, kicked out of Olympus and his father Shlub (Matt Berry) is a mantitaur, part human, part lion, and part scorpion. His sister Stupendous (Pam Murphy) is a cyclops with a patch where her right eye should be* and his brother Hippocampus (Duncan Trussell) has the head of a fish kept inside a fishbowl, with a baby walker ro move his weak body around.

Tyrannis lacks self-confidence, even though he's trying to do something special with the city. Schlub is only interested in sex and drinking, and isn't subtle about it at all.  Deliria is completely self-centered and doesn't care about mere mortals. Stupendous is a warrior, while Hippocampus is a scientist, whose schemes aren't appreciated until they're needed.

The show stars two of my favorite actors. Richard Ayoade came to my attention as Moss in The IT Crowd, as a clueless computer nerd. Matt Berry is a very busy actor, usually playing bombastic roles. He came to my attention in Snuff Box and later in Toast of London and seems to be showing up all over the place.

The show also covers contemporary issues like the problems with social media as a hydra** acts in that capacity.

As of this writing, the show is still in production. Give it a look.

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*An eye is painted on it.

**Voiced by D'arcy Cardin of The Good Place.

My Life is Murder (TV)

 

(2019-2024)
Created by Claire Tonkin, Rick Maier
Starring Lucy Lawless, Ebony Vagulans, Tatam Warren_Ngata, Marting Henderson
IMDB Entry

There's a lot of TV outside of the US and the UK and when you stumble upon something with a well-known actress in the lead, it requires a closer look. My Life is Murder is a gem from Austrailia/New Zealand, a cozy mystery with sharp writing and strong characters.

Alexa Crowe (Lucy Lawless) is a retired cop who is still a sharp investigator and is hired by the police as a consultant to look into crimes that seem a bit fishy. Alexa is assisted by Madison Feliciano (Ebony Vabulans), a computer hacker who finds information online.

The mysteries are cleverly wrought, but the big reason for watching the show is Lucy Lawless* as Alexa. She smart, clever, and witty, something of a pain, but willing to put herself on the line to solve the case. Ebony Vabulans is also excellent and the dialog between the two is always a joy.

In the third season, they added Beth (Tatum Warren-Ngata), a friend of Madison's, who takes over when she is away and become part of the team. The third season also adds Will Crowe (Martin Henderson) as Alexa's ne'er-do-well brother.

The first season was set in Melbourne, Australia, but Alexa and Madison move to Aukland, NZ for the second season. Lucy Lawless is a New Zealander, and I suspect that had a lot do to with the move. A nice little touch is the way the title of the show is displayed in each episode as part of the background.

The show is on Acorn TV and -- if you're library offers it -- Hoopla. It's a charming little detective show that's a lot of fun.

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*I knew her from Xena, of course, and didn't realize she was a natural blonde.

No Good Deed (TV)

 

(2024)
Created by Liz feldman
Starring Lisa Cardellini, O-T Fagbenie, Abbi Jacobson, Lisa Kudrow, Denis Leary, Poppy Liu, Teyonah Paris, Ray Romano, Luke Wilson, Anna Maria Horsford

IMDB Entry

I sometimes wonder the decision process for categorizing a show on a streaming service. I've seen thing flopping because the expectations in the promotional material mislead audiences. No Good Deed is a prime example.  

It's billed as a dark comedy, and while there are quite a few darkly comic moments, it's better described as a mystery and a drama.

It's centered around Paul and Lydia Morgan (Ray Romano, Lisa Kudrow), who are trying to sell their house.  Lydia was a concert pianist, but has developed tremors that make playing impossible.  Three couples are introduced looking over the house. JD Campbell (Luke Wilson) is an out-of-work soap opera actor whose wife Margo (Linda Cardelli) is having an affair. Leslie Fisher (Abbi Jacobson), a prosecutor, and Sarah Webber (Poppy Liu), a doctor, are a couple looking to move up. Dennis Sampson (O-T Fagbenie) is a best-selling author who is suffering from writer's block*; his wife Carla (Teyonah Parris) is pregnant and worried that Dennis's overbearing mother (Anna Maria Horsford) might come to live with them. Paul and Lydia are also visited by Paul's ex-con brother Mikey (Denis Leary), who is clearly up to no good, and plays a little blackmail game on them.

The concept doesn't seem like much, but the key to understanding it is that everyone has secrets they're keeping from their partner.  Some are small; others are enormous and everything centers around selling the house.

The main plot line involves why Paul and Lydia are selling the house, a mystery that is slowly revealed (and solved) as the show goes on. Most of the humor depends on plot twists, so there aren't a lot of laughs throughout (especially when we learn more about Paul and Lydia), but when there is one, it's a big one.

I've liked Lisa Kudrow as an actress since I saw her in The Opposite of Sex.  This is primarily a dramatic role; there's a scene in the final episode where she is spectacularly good. Ray Romano also shows some strong acting chips and the entire cast is wonderful. Lisa Cardinelli has a great presence also. Denis Leary also shows a great deal of depth as his character is not what he seems.

The story is extremely well-written, both in character and plot. It unfolds the mystery slowly, but it's not just finding the perpetrator, but is shows how it affects the people involved.**

No Good Deed is on Netflix, and deserves a binge.

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*Authors in movies often have this problem.

**I noticed a nice bit of foreshadowing in the first episode, and the title is a clever bit of wordplay

Naked Alibi

 (1954)
Directed by Jerry Hopper
Written by Lawrence Roman, from a story by Gladys Atwater and J. Robert Bren
Starring Sterling Hayden, Gloria Grahame, Gene Barry
IMDB Entry

I've been impressed by Sterling Hayden from when I first saw Dr. Strangelove. And Gloria Grahame was absolutely delightful as Ado Annie in the film version of Oklahoma! But neither had the type of career that made them stars. Naked Alibi allows them both to showcase their talents.

Joe Conroy (Sterling Hayden) is police chief in a small California city.  After a string of robberies, Albert Willis (Gene Barry) looks like a suspect and, under interrogation, he punches a cop. The cop punches back and they are separated, but not until after Willis vows revenge. The cop is shot; Willis is the obvious suspect, but he falls down trying to escape. Police brutality is alleged. Then two more cops are shot. Conroy goes after Willis, but there's another fight in front of a reporter and, due to the complaints about brutality, Conroy is fired. 

He's still certain that Willis is guilty and follows him down to Border City.*  Willis is there to meet his mistress Marianna (Gloria Grahame). Conroy is mugged and taken into an apartment to recover. Marianna lives in the building and comes to help him. She learns that Willis is married and the two of them work together to get the evidence that will connect Willis with the murders. 

Hayden is excellent as the hero, with some of the same qualities that made him effective as Jack D. Ripper and in The Long Goodbye. He's intense and obsessed with catching Willis. Grahame shows a neat vulnerability and is utterly charming throughout.

It's strange to see Gene Barry in the role as a sociopath. His TV persona was much more genial, but he does a great job of turning mean.

Chuck Connors has a small role as a cop. Connors was a two-sport pro athlete** who, while playing for the Los Angeles Angels (the minor league team), started getting small roles in films and quit sports for acting, eventually becoming a TV star.

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*Much like Los Robles in Touch of Evil, though with fewer Mexicans.

**He played for both the Chicago Cubs and Boston Celtics.

Lepke

 

(1975)
Directed by Menahem Golan
Screenplay by Wesley Lau, Tamar Hoffs
Starring Tony Curtis, Anajanette Cromer, Michael Callan, Vic Tayback, Vaughn Meader
IMDB Entry

I can't believe it took me so long to get around to Lepke. I  like gangster films, and this one was special for me. I had sat in the electric chair prop used in the movie, but now that I got a chance* I discovered that it was an interesting depiction, and a fine role for Tony Curtis.

The movie is a biography of the gangster Louis "Lepke" Buchalter,  a petty thief who eventually becomes the head of Murder Incorporated. Lepke is ruthless and a stone killer, starting out in the protection racket. He eventually becomes the head of it, and starts to branch out. If someone gets in the way, they don't last for very long. 

But Buchalter is a loving family man, kind to his wife Bernice Meyer (Anajanette Comer) and friends with the lawyer Robert Kane (Michael Callan), who is completely honest and goes to work for the FBI.  Eventually, through the work of J. Edgar Hoover and Thomas Dewey, Buchalter is sent to the electric chair in Sing Sing.

This is a strong role for Tony Curtis. He originally was just considered a pretty boy who couldn't act,** but managed to confound the critics and pick up roles now considered classic. Here he gets to play a psychopath, and is fascinating. Though the attempts so soften him by making him a loving husband and father don't really ring true. Anajanette Comer manages to sell the idea that she loves him despite his flaws. Milton Berle has a small role as Bernice's father, who doesn't trust Lepke. 

An interesting member of the cast was Vaughan Meader as reporter Walter Winchell. Meader was the man behind the smash record hit, The First Family, a series of skits parodying John F. Kennedy. After the assassination, Meader had no career. This was his only real film role, as he imitated Whichell, a famous reporter in his day.

Screenwriter Wesley Lau is well known to fans of Perry Mason. He played Lt. Anderson, the main homicide detective when Ray Collins couldn't continue.

The movie was produced by director Menaham Golan with his cousin Yoram Globus. This was an attempt to do a prestige film and he was willing to take on people who were pariahs in Hollywood, which is why Curtis (who was having trouble getting roles) and Meader took part. The film was supposed to be the first in a series of gangster films, but the genre's day had passed. One more was made -- a comedy -- but Golan and Globus's Cannon Films did a lot of schlock in the 70s and 80s*** and the occasional prestige film.

The reason the movie connects with me is that Lepke was a distant relative of mine. The connection added much to my enjoyment.

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*No thanks to Youtube, who interrupted it for ads every sixty seconds (literally; I kept track).

**"Yonda lies the castle of my fadder."

***Breaking 2: Electric Boogaloo

A Stranger in Town

 

(1943)
Directed by Roy Rowland
Written by Isobel Lennart, William Kozienko
Starring Frank Morgan, Richard Carlson, Jean Rogers, Porter Hall, Robert Barrat
IMDB Entry

"Film noir" is an imprecise term, and grows more imprecise as time goes by. It originally designated a dark film, both in lighting and in theme, usually about a man laid low by an evil woman.* Later, it developed films involving crime and private eyes.  Now, all too often, it just means a black-and-white movie. I tend to look to films that are billed as film noir for my posts, and came across A Stranger in Town, which has very little darkness, but is a surprisingly good movie.

John Grant (Frank Morgan) is a U.S. Supreme Court justice. The court term ends and he goes off on a duck hunting expedition, telling his secretary Lucy Gilbert (Jean Rogers) that he will be going incognito to avoid the press. While hunting, the local game warden asks for his license and informs him that, though the state license he shows is legitimate, he needs a special license to hunt in the town. The warden makes a deal: if Grant gives him five dollars, he'll overlook the violation and give him the license. Grant doesn't reveal his identity and refuses to pay the bribe; he's taken to court and fined $100.

While waiting, he sees lawyer Bill Adams (Richard Carlson) try to get justice for a man who is about to lose his farm.  The corrupt Judge Austin Harkley (Porter Hall) will have none of it. Adams is planning to run against the boss of the town, Mayor Connison (Robert Barrat) and Grant decides to help him out. He asks Lucy to come to town and she meets cute with Bill.** Despite harassment and other tricks, Grant reveals his identity and Connison is taken down.

Frank Morgan was, of course, the Wizard of Oz and in the early scenes it's hard not to think he's being a giant humbug again. The part here is similar to the kindly version of  the wizard at the end of that film. Richard Carlson reached fame in science fiction films of the 50s, most notably in It Came from Outer Space and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Jean Rogers also has a connection with science fiction as Dale Arden in the early Flash Gordon serials with Buster Crabbe.  Porter Hall is also a familiar movie face as the evil Sawyer in Miracle on 34th Street.

The film is far to lighthearted to be considered noir, but it is a charming little movie with a message of the need to fight against corruption.

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*Double Indemnity is the prototype.

**An extended sequence of disasters that should make her stay well away from him. But we know better, don't we?

They Never Come Back

 

(1932)
Directed by Fred C. Newmeyer
Written by Arthur Hoerl, Sherman L. Lowe
Starring Regis Toomey, Dorothy Sebastian, Edward Woods, Greta Granstedt, Earle Foxe, Gertrude Astor
IMDB Entry

In the 1930s, boxing was America's most popular professional sport next to baseball so there were a lot of boxing movies. They Never Come Back stays away from the cliches that marked boxing movies* to come up with something different.

Jimmy Nolan (Regis Toomey) is a successful prizefighter, but just before a bout, he gets a telegram telling him his mother has died. Distraught, he goes into the ring and manages to win, but he tears a ligament in his arm and is not cleared to box again. He brings his sister Mary to the city and he manages to get a job working for at Jerry Filmore's (Earle Foxe) nightclub. He becomes close to Adele Landon (Dorothy Sebastian), Filmore's girl. When money is stolen, Jimmy becomes the prime suspect and is arrested when he is found with the money; he believes Filmore has framed him for his interest in Adele.  Mary visits him in prison and also falls in love with Ralph Landon (Edward Woods). When Jimmy is released, he discovers that the money was stolen by Landon because he owed it to Filmore. Because Landon is in love with Mary, Jimmy decides to find the money and the most convenient way was to take part in a boxing match, despite the risk.

The story is fairly sophisticated for its time. Toomey, who later became a successful character actor in TV, was a leading man of the time, but never a star. Dorothy Sebastian is best known today starring with Buster Keaton, most notably for the routine when he tries to get her into bed once she's passed out drunk.**

Director Fred C. Newmeyer directed several Harold Lloyd films, notably his classic Safety Last."

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*"In the third round, you're taking a dive."

**It's hard to write the description these days without people getting the wrong impression. Sebastian plays his wife and Keaton is just trying to get her into a place to sleep. No sex is suggested or implied. Keaton loved the routine and re-created it elsewhere.