Backfire (1950)

War veteran Bob (Gordon MacRae) is recovering from a serious spine injury. He and Army buddy Steve (Edmund O’Brien) have plans to start a ranch. But after being administered a sedative Bob is visited by a strange woman who tells him that Steve has had a serious spine injury. Nobody believes him but he hasn’t heard from Steve in quite some time. After being discharged, Bob learns that Steve has been fingered for the murder of a notorious gambler. Bob sets out to find his buddy and clear his name.

It appears at first that the film will follow O’Brien’s Steve character, but follows Bob instead. But much of the film is told in flashback, so it follows both. Bob’s best gal is pretty nurse Julie (Virginia Mayo) who helps with the sleuthing. Ed Begley Sr plays a police captain.

Backfire spent two years on the shelf before release for reasons unknown. This noir-adjacent film kept me guessing and boasts a surprising high body count. Considered a middle of the road drama at the time, I found it a bit better than most. I don’t see how the title plays into the story, but who am I to judge. AMRU 3.5.

Zero Hour! (1957)

Because a former war pilot (Dana Andrews) can’t get past a raid he led that went wrong, his wife leaves him. Despite being terrified to fly, he buys a ticket on her flight. When the pilot and co-pilot become incapacitated with serious food poisoning, our hero has to step up and land the plane.

Sound familiar? This is exactly the plot of Airplane! (1980), and that’s exactly why I watched it. Jim Abrahams and the Zucker brothers essentially remade Zero Hour! but with jokes. If you are as familiar with the classic ZAZ comedy as I am, you will spot every setup to every joke. I had to see it.

Pretty Linda Darnell plays Dana’s estranged wife. She seemed very familiar but I haven’t seen anything she was in. She would die in a house fire at age 41. Elroy ‘Crazylegs’ Hirsch, the just-retired star wide receiver for the NFL Rams, plays the sickened pilot. Gruff Sterling Hayden plays the gruff Captain Treleaven.

Despite its reputation as a forgettable aviation drama, Zero Hour! isn’t that bad. Perhaps not great but better than its reputation. Rotten Tomatoes gives it some disrespect. And if you have seen Airplane!, you by and large have already seen Zero Hour! But give it a watch anyhow. ASMR 3.5.

The Invisible Ray (1936)

Eccentric scientist Dr. Janos Rukh (Boris Karloff) has made a great discovery. He invites the more establishment scientists to his home to present his findings. Using a telescope to zoom into the Andromeda “nebula”, he can look into the past and see the Earth millions of years ago, because science. He shows them that a great asteroid struck the early Earth, and also because reasons, it must contain an element that radiates one thousand times as powerful as Radium. He calls this element, Radium X. But first they need to go on an African safari.

The science is deliciously wonky here. I give a pass to calling Andromeda a nebula, because that was the science of the day, but much of the rest is silly and hard to follow. But say what you will about Rukh’s science, he puts on one hell of a planetarium show.

Charming Frances Drake plays Rukh’s young wife. She retired from acting after marrying into English aristocracy. Mother Rukh steals the few scenes she is in. Played by Violet Kemble Cooper, she was only 11 months older than son Boris.

This is chronologically the fourth of eight films featuring Karloff and Bela Lugosi, and it’s the fifth one I’ve seen. Left is The Raven (1935) and two silly comedies. Karloff plays the mad Hungarian scientist while Hungarian Lugosi plays against type as the rational French scientist. 

The Invisible Ray is a very early depiction of the utility and dangers of nuclear radiation. It's a lot of fun, despite or perhaps because of the science element. Perhaps I was just in the mood for this self-serious foolishness, but it really delivered on the premise. AMRU 3.5.

One, Two, Three (1961)

A Coca-Cola executive (James Cagney) in West Berlin dreams of being promoted to the London office. His boss asks a personal favor: keep an eye on his wild daughter for a few weeks. This proves to be a difficult task.

There is a significant tonal shift between Wilder’s screwball comedy Some Like it Hot (1959) and his black comedy The Apartment (1960). The tonal shift to One, Two, Three, however, is off the chart. The comedy is extremely broad and the pace is absolutely frenetic. I suggest subtitles.

Leon Askin, better known as General Burkhalter from Hogan’s Heroes, plays a Russian doing business with Cagney’s MacNamara. John Banner (Sargent Schultz) did some voice work. But it's Cagney's larger than life persona that takes up the vast majority of the film. His performance is breathtaking, quite literally.

There are several references to Cagney’s prior work, arranged like poorly hidden Easter eggs. At one point he quotes a line from Edward G. Robinson, whom he is often mistaken for.

The Berlin wall was erected during filming causing big problems. Production had to relocate to Munich, and now a major plot element (crossing back and forth between east and west) was no longer possible. Most importantly, the public’s view of the divided city and the cold war turned pretty negative. No longer a prime topic for a zany comedy, it bombed.

One, Two, Three is a peculiar film with a peculiar title. Very over-the-top comedy seldom works for me, but if you listen close you will hear Billy Wilder’s unique brand of wit. AMRU 3.5.

The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)

Father O’Malley (Bing Crosby) returns, this time to take over a parochial school run by troublesome nuns. Nuns so troublesome that the previous priest had to be carried out and sent to a sanatorium. Kids have kid problems, school has financial problems, Bing sings songs.

Despite the build up, there is surprisingly little conflict. O’Malley and Ingrid Bergman’s Sister Mary have disagreements, but they are handled very cordially. Nothing that would send someone to a nut house. Una O’Connor is underutilized here.

The first big problem is money. The convent had to sell the kids playground to the local comedic millionaire for maintenance. Millionaire built a giant building on it and now wants the rest for parking. The nuns are hoping he gives them the building for a new school. Quite plausible. It'll be another year before Clarence earns his wings.

The second pertains to a single mother who wants her daughter to attend. This is a curious subplot. The girl was born in wedlock (because production code), but dad disappeared to play in a band. When asked how she has been supporting her all this time, she says in her own words that she’s “no good”. So, one wonders how being no good is a source of income for a single mother. Perhaps she means Entertaining Lonely Men for Fun and Profit. There are elements later in the film that support this hypothesis.

Despite Crosby and Bergman’s obvious onscreen chemistry, a movie about a convent cannot have any romantic undertones. A priest was on set to make sure of that, so Bing and Ingrid decided to play a prank. In the very last scene they embraced for a passionate kiss.

Going My Way was a huge hit, winning seven Oscars. Sequels don’t do as well as the original so less money and resources are usually brought to the production, fulfilling the prophecy. But there was faith in this sequel and RKO got Bergman on loan. Again, it was a huge hit and was nominated for seven Oscars, winning one. Bing was nominated for the same character in two different films, Bergman for the third time in three years, and I believe this is the first sequel to be nominated for best picture. I’m surprised they didn’t force a third film down the pipeline.

The story follows a school year, and during that time Christmas happens. Thus it is tangentially a Christmas movie. But what The Bells of St. Mary's really is, is a pleasant if undemanding watch. Old Hollywood was good at creating a world that seemed very enticing to live in. AMRU 3.5.

Sabotage (1936)

Scotland Yard is searching for the man who sabotaged an electric plant, and suspicions turn towards Karl Verloc, a foreign born movie theater owner.

Mrs. Verlock is played by Sylvia Sidney, whom I initially assumed to be his daughter. They were only twelve years apart, but visually it looked much more. And then there is Stevie, whom I assumed to be their son but in fact was her little brother. Sidney is much better known to my generation as Juno, the civil servant of the afterlife from Beetlejuice.

Based on the Joseph Conrad novel “The Secret Agent”, Sabotage is a pretty tight spy thriller. Because Hitch had just completed a film titled Secret Agent (1936), the name had to be changed. Hitch had a penchant for titling films after crimes.

Sabotage is one Hitch's better early films. Not as well known as The 39 Steps but every bit as good. It's concise, logical, and satisfying. AMRU 4.

The Big Clock (1948)

A chance encounter with his boss’ mistress leads to a crime reporter (Ray Milland) having to solve a murder where he is the prime suspect.

This is a difficult film to sum up both accurately and without spoilers. Our hero knows, or strongly suspects, who the murderer is, but that’s not where the evidence points. He frantically scrambles around trying to cover his tracks and collect evidence, while not tipping off the culprit or angering his wife.

The heartless boss is played to perfection by Charles Laughton. Wife Elsa Lanchester has a small but memorable role. Old friend Harry Morgan is quite menacing as a hired thug. He has no lines. OG Jane Maureen O’Sullivan is the reporter’s long suffering wife. IRL she was married to director John Farrow, parents of Mia.

Based on the Kenneth Fearing novel of the same name, the film added one element not present in the book: a big clock. In the book, the clock is just a metaphor, perhaps as a thinly veiled critique of Time Magazine, Fearing’s longtime employer. Time gave the book and the film glowing reviews.

The Big Clock is a better than fair crime thriller with some excellent performances. And it was a satisfying way for me to round out Noirvember. AMRU 4.