Clash by Night (1952)

World-weary Mae Doyle (Barbara Stanwyck) returns to her hometown, defeated by the past ten years. Now just wanting to be safe, she agrees to marry nice guy fisherman Jerry (Paul Douglas). Mae hates Jerry’s boorish, arrogant friend Earl (Robert Ryan), so predictably, they have an affair.

Marilyn Monroe plays the girlfriend of Mae’s little brother. On loan from 20th Century Fox, this was her first sizable role. Back-handed compliments aside, her performance earned her better roles. Old friend J. Carrol Naish played Uncle Vince. A very different role for him.

Commonly labeled film-noir, Clash by Night certainly has a noir title. It also has a noir cast and director, and the tone is fairly pessimistic, but It seems to just miss. Even TCM’s Eddie Muller seems to waffle on the subject.

Clash by Night is a domestic drama populated by fully flushed out characters. The setting feels very ‘lived in’, probably because it was based on a successful play. Robert Ryan performed in the play as Joe Doyle. Maybe not noir, but excellent performances make it an entertaining watch. AMRU 3.5.

The Quiet Man (1952)

A retired boxer (John Wayne) from America returns to his childhood home in Ireland in search of the quiet life. A beautiful hot-headed woman (Maureen O’Hara) catches his eye, but getting her brother’s permission to court her proves complicated.

Of John Ford’s four Oscars, none were for westerns. This was his last win and first when directing his old friend, Wayne. He was also nominated for Stagecoach (1939). While not a Western, The Quiet Man sports its fair share of Duke machismo. The only reasonable way to resolve your differences is a fist fight.

Victor McLaglen plays the aforementioned brother. His health wasn’t great so the big fight scene needed to be handled carefully. Barry Fitzgerald, everyone’s favorite leprechaun, is the village matchmaker. Frequent Ford collaborator Ward Bond is the village priest. Ford gave his older brother Francis a small part. Within nine years all four would be gone.

Romance is the primary story driver, and it is technically a comedy, so I suppose it’s a rom-com. Perhaps so, but it’s an unconventional one. While some story elements didn’t age particularly well, it’s still a very pleasant watch. AMRU 3.5.

The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

A washed up producer (Kirk Douglas) tries to get his former friends to make another picture to revive his career. The three, a director (Barry Sullivan), star (Lana Turner), and screenwriter (Dick Powell), recount their story of how they fell out with him.

Nominated for six academy awards and winning five, Hollywood is a sucker for stories about Hollywood, and apparently so am I. The three stories do not overlap much and illustrate the extent Douglas’ Jonathan is willing to go to further his interests. The now successful three must ask themselves if they can put their feelings aside to now help their former mentor. 

Gloria Grahame won an Oscar nine and a half minutes of a fair southern accent. It would be the shortest screen time for an acting Oscar at the time ... I'm happy to say. Leo G. Carroll has a brief role as a difficult director and Barbara Billingsley makes a blink-and-you’ll-miss-her appearance five years before becoming June Cleaver.

Many of the characters are thinly-veiled versions of real contemporary people. I will out David O. Selznick as a primary inspiration for our main character, but you can read the details for yourself. Selznick even contacted a lawyer to see if there were grounds to sue.

The Bad and the Beautiful is expert storytelling. The performances are excellent (Douglas uses his “angry Kirk” voice only once), the script is tight, and the story compelling. The film came highly recommended and I came to it very late. I should have believed it. AMRU 4.5.

Umberto D. (1952)

An old man and his dog struggle in post-war Rome.

Typical of Italian neorealism, many of the actors were complete amateurs. Young Maria (young Maria) went on to appear in a fair number of Italian films, but Carlo Battisti’s only other credit is directing a documentary three years later. Also typical, there isn’t much of a story arc, more of a ‘month in the life of’. There are moments, some of which are amusing and others pretty moving. Umberto’s ultimate fate is left to the viewer to decide.

Young Maria (whose fate is also undetermined) rids ants from the kitchen wall by waiving a burning newspaper at them. It’s a simple but particular moment. In a Hollywood film this would precipitate future events, but here it’s just a moment.

I do enjoy Italian neorealism, but they sometimes don’t connect emotionally with me. Umberto D is an excellent movie and moments certainly resonated with me, but it falls short of great. AMRU 3.5.

Sudden Fear (1952)

A stage actor (Jack Palance) is fired by the playwright (Joan Crawford) because she doesn’t think he is romantic enough, so he proves her wrong by winning her heart. And everyone lives happily ever after.

Pitch perfect casting of Palance as the homme fatale. Charismatic enough but definitely not the romantic lead type, he fits the character perfectly. Plus he nailed the performance as the menacing charmer. This is the role that launched his career. Gloria Grahame is his accomplice.

No longer the traditional Hollywood leading lady, Crawford fully embraces this mature lead part of her career. As executive producer, she was involved in all aspects of production, not dissimilar to her character. She wanted Clark Gable in the Palance role but was thankfully overruled.

Crawford’s Myra doesn’t seek help when she begins to fear for her life. This is a key point in order for the story to happen, and it’s handled reasonably well. The director also did a pretty fair job planting ideas into the audience’s head to build later tension. We are never sure how this will all play out until the very end.

A little overly dramatic in parts, but Sudden Fear has solid performances. It’s an interesting take on the genre and totally sticks the landing. AMRU 3.5.

The Las Vegas Story (1952)

A newlywed couple (Vincent Price and Jane Russell) are traveling when husband Lloyd suggests they stop off in Las Vegas. Wife Linda balks at the idea, but hubby mysteriously insists. She used to sing in a Vegas nightclub and had a mysterious relationship with a mysterious serviceman. Lloyd gets a mysterious line of credit so that he can gamble all night while a mysterious new man takes a mysterious interest in our leading lady. It seems to have something to do with her mysterious diamond necklace.

The story is a murder mystery wrapped in a personal drama, told in cockamamie noir-esque dialog. RKO head Howard Hughes wanted to showcase both some gambling establishments he recently purchased and his leading lady, which the script must always remind the audience is otherworldly beautiful.

I never understood the fascination with Russell. Not unattractive, but she was only the best looking woman on screen when she was the only woman on screen. Contemporary reviews seem to agree, with the New York Times calling her “slightly grotesque to look upon”. That’s harsh. The film bombed.

The film features and is narrated by composer Hoagy Charmichael, who might have been another Crosby/Sinatra had he been prettier. I was curious how he got the nickname Hoagy. Turns out, his real first name is Hoagland, so there you go. Producer Howard Hughes (not Hugh Hefner) led a fascinating and tragic life. He was the prototype of the eccentric billionaire, becoming a shut-in during his last few years. Think Monty Burns. Also consider modern cult of personality billionaires who exhibit bizarre behavior and jump from industry to industry.

To be fair The Las Vegas Story isn't a bad mystery, if not a great one. Its Achilles heel is the nonsensical dialog desperately trying to impart heightened importance to every nuance, which it lacks in the final analysis. Compounding this is the complete lack of chemistry between Jane and ex-flame Lt. Andrews (Victor Mature). Their scenes, which should sizzle, just fall flat. AMRU 2.5.

The Holly and the Ivy (1952)

Good girl Jenny wants to get married (shush, don’t tell anyone!) but can’t because she must care for her doddering father, the Parson. That’s like an Angelican priest. Prospective hubby-to-be doesn’t understand why little sister doesn’t step up and take care of pops, but things are complicated. And there’s just no talking to father. You know, because he’s a Parson. So, naughty little sis, soldier bro, crazy aunts, and random guy show up to celebrate Christmas and discuss family issues.

I needed a new Christmas movie for the season and seem to have hit all the biggies. TCM made me aware of this one and I watched it the night it aired. They liked it way better than I.

Jenny's soldier brother is played by Denholm Elliott. You know, Marcus Brody from Indiana Jones. You won't recognize him. I'm was somewhat put off by the fact that 31 year old Jenny was played by 45 year old Celia Johnson, who apparently skipped makeup day. She was seventeen years older than her fiancee and six younger than her dad, Ralph Richardson. Ralph's pretty famous, but I don't expect to see too many of his films. He was the Supreme Being in Time Bandits.

The Holly and the Ivy is a British production based on a British play, and few films are British-er. Chuck full of overly formal conversations using understated expressions that will make you wonder what the hell is going on half the time. What we see is loads of set up before the family overcomes all of their problems in about ninety seconds right at the end of the film.

I wanted to like Holly and Ivy, and was tempted to give it a generous 3, but it’s fairly uninteresting. All is resolved but little is revealed, and we ignore the fact that Parson Pops turns out not to be the judgmental and narrow-minded clergyman his family and the entire town know him to be, for their entire lives.

Some of the family members faith has slipped and a redeeming feature is that rather than have them be rejuvenated by the spirit of Christmas, the father learns to accept them for who they are. A far better moral. I just wish it wasn’t so damn boring. AMRU 2.5.

Monkey Business (1952)

Absent minded professor Barnaby (Cary Grant) is working on an elixir of youth. He thinks he solves the problem but in reality a chimp (or “monkey”) had escaped its cage, mixed up the concoction, and put it into the water cooler. Hilarity ensues.

I have to give him credit. The 48 year old Grant was more believable as the college aged wildling than as the stodgy old scientist. But screen wife Edwina (Ginger Rogers) was downright convincing (and charming) in both roles. Hugh Marlowe of All About Eve and Day the Earth Stood Still fame gets another paycheck. Marilyn Monroe played the Marilyn Monroe character.

Don’t confuse this with 1931 Marx Brothers vehicle. I liked this one slightly better probably because it's a more conventional screwball comedy but fans of the Bros will disagree. It was pointlessly zany and holds your interest, but don’t look for any classic bits. It is what it is and that’s fine. AMRU 3.5.

Kansas City Confidential (1952)

Mr. Big carefully plans a bank heist, recruiting three desperate criminals (Jack Elam, Neville Brand, and Lee Van Cleef) to do the heavy lifting. They all wear masks so that no one can rat out the others. They each carry a torn King playing card as identification. Things go well except that an ex-con (John Payne) takes the fall and his life is in tatters. He goes looking for the men who set him up.

Film-Noir of the 50’s was much grittier than the more stylistic films of the 40’s. Here no femme fatal, no European director, and no Bogart-esque dialog. Not as much, anyhow. Jack Elam is the crazy-eyed character actor from so many westerns. Here as a young man he was quirky and amusing. Lee Van Cleef is best remembered as the Bad, with his buddies Good and Ugly. Still have to see that film. Our hunky hero Payne was the romantic lead in Miracle on 34th Street. He eked out a better than fair career with such roles.

With the exception of the heist and immediate aftermath, very little of the film is set in Kansas City. In fact with the exception of the opening establishing shot of the city (likely taken from stock footage) not a single frame was shot there.

Clearly not a high budget production. In one scene our hero is walking near some fake shrubbery when it moves before he reaches it. I backed up the film and rewatched and realized that the camera man must have brushed by them. This happened a second time later in the film. The filmmakers failed to renew the copyright and it lapsed into the public domain. Lucky for me because my DVR choked for three minutes and I missed a critical scene. I paused, jumped into YouTube, and watched the section before continuing. Ah, technology.

Maybe not very high on my favorites for Noir but Kansas City Confidential is still quite enjoyable. The end provided a nice twist and it will withstand rewatching. AMRU 3.5.

“It don't take no big thinking to figure a couple of guys like us ain't in this bananaville on a vacation!”

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

When filming a Lockwood and Lamont silent melodrama, The Jazz Singer becomes a smash hit. The studio stops production to transform their film into a talkie. Because of insipid dialogue and Lamont's horrible speaking voice, test audiences hate it. To save his career, Lockwood (Gene Kelly) remakes it as a musical, with Lamont's speaking and signing voice dubbed by Lockwood's ingenue love interest (Debbie Reynolds).

It's a paper-thin plot. They try to fix a film around a troublesome leading lady, a rom-com subplot forced into it, and peppered with song and dance numbers. But it works. I saw this years ago (it's one of very few old movies my wife likes) and I wasn't impressed. After my fairly extensive if somewhat uneven education of film, I find I like it.

Many details of the advent of sound cinema are incorrect, but for creative reasons. Singin' isn't a film studies class. Also, here is where the misconception that many silent stars lost their careers because they had funny voices comes from. While a great many actors could not make the transition, it had a lot more to do with acting style and aging than anything else.

I've made no secret that musicals, for the most part, are an art form lost on me. Doubly so for dance numbers. O'Connor and Kelly's sheer athleticism, however, is something to behold. Kelly even has Jackie Chan's respect.

But Reynolds didn't have Kelly's respect. He berated the half-his-age co-star for not being an accomplished dancer. Fred Astaire found her crying and helped her out. Donald O'Connor also called him a tyrant.

Despite off screen difficulties, on screen chemistry is great. The music is toe-tappingly good, if that's your sort of thing. It has an up-beat charm that makes it arguably the most popular in it's genre. AMRU 3.5.

Against All Flags (1952)

Brian Hawke (Errol Flynn) goes under cover to learn the secret of the pirate republic. Along the way the pirate mistress 'Spitfire' Stevens (Maureen O'Hara) catches his eye. Generic 50's Technicolor RomCom Action/Adventure pirate movie ensues.

The sets were lavish, the costumes anachronistically colorful, the acting terrible. I caught the beginning on TCM while waiting for the wife to get off work, and decided I'd wait it out. Usually when I do this I eventually find myself being drawn in. Here, well, We'll see. Now back to the film.

Flynn played the dashing gentleman/pirate/spy with a dash of smarmy smugness and apparently more booze than a pirate's bachelor party. They had to ban alcohol from the set. He'd be dead in seven years. O'Hara (still living) played the spitfire well with her sharp tongue and piercing stares. But the intentionally bad, dinner-theateresque acting undermines the performance. There is a scene when the pirate Brasiliano (Anthony Quinn) strikes her that was laughable at best. Still, total hottie.

Big names, high production value, very genre acting. When Flynn broke an ankle they filmed an entire other movie with the sets. Not a terrible way to spend 90 minutes on a Friday night, however. AMRU 3.

"Again?"

The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)

Trapeze artist Holly (Betty Hutton) has finally won the coveted center ring, but boss man boyfriend Brad (Charlton Heston) has sawdust in his veins, you see. To help the show he hires hotshot Sebastian (Cornel Wilde) and gives him the center ring. But he promised that to her! What, does he have sawdust in his veins?

Well, Sebastian (the Great) does his best to show off as well as take after Holly with a vein of another kind. Whatever will Holly do? After all, it's not like she has sawdust in her veins! Oh, yea, and then there's Buttons the Clown (James Stewart) who never takes his makeup off. What's up with that?

This movie had everything! A love triangle, the spectacle of the tawdriest show on earth, a behind the scenes look at how they set up the tents, a three hour run time! Everything short of elephant poop. What more could you ask for? What, don't you have sawdust in your veins?

The principle attraction for me was the fact that it won Best Picture over High Noon (AMRU 3.5) and I had to see how a circus movie could do such a thing. I have to guess that the controversy over the underlying theme of High Noon along with a popular fascination of the topic swayed the day. Calling it tedious is something of an understatement. It was just over two and a half hours, but many dull scenes could have been cut to bring it much closer to 2, if not under. It had one side story after another, with Gloria Grahame (actual hottie) and Dorothy Lamour (you know, from the Hope and Crosby movies) having smallish rolls. Plus there was this gangster sub-plot that seemed to go nowhere.

Anyhow, having said all that, it wasn't too bad of a movie. Clearly no High Noon, but still worth seeing. AMRU 3. Brew some coffee.

High Noon (1952)

The movie starts with Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) marrying, apparently, his granddaughter (Grace Kelly). While in the literal process of hanging up his tin star, he learns that his old nemesis' homies are back in town, waiting for the Noon train. Could this mean trouble?

Apparently so. Seems that said nemesis was released from prison. Might he be on the aforementioned train? Hmmmm? Of course he is. Maybe he has it out for the man who put him behind bars? Hmmmm? Of course he does.

Marshal Kane's close friends try to convince him to turn chicken and run, but that doesn't sit well with 'oll Coop. So instead he tries to get a posse together to stand bad Frank Miller down. This is where it gets tricky.

It seems that not everyone is all that willing to get involved. Young Lloyd Bridges wants a hand-out, the previous sheriff (Creighton Chaney) is chicken, and some townsfolk side with Frankie. What's going on? Maybe this isn't a simple morality tale. Maybe there's some complexity to Marshal Kane. Maybe he isn't the hero he (and his delicious wife) think!

Nope, it's a straight up morality tale. Kane = Good, Miller = Evil, and the townsfolk who don't stand behind our hero are all yeller. What we have here is an allegory for McCarthyism, and not everyone in Hollywood was willing to stand firm.

51 year old Cooper was a fading star when he took the role. Not only did this revitalize his career (bleeding ulcer and all), it's rumored he bagged 22 year old Grace in the process. Not too shabby for the old mule.

Well made movie, almost done in real time. Clocks feature prominently showing how close we are to High Noon. Well acted and directed. It's considered the greatest slight in Oscar history when it lost best picture to some DeMille circus movie. It's my favorite movie of '52. So far. ARMU 3.5.

Flat Top (1952)

Sterling Hayden is Commander Dan Collier. While on deck of an aircraft carrier (or a "Flat Top" in Navy lingo) he reminisces about the good 'oll days back in the war. Specifically, about one group of hotshot aviators and how they needed to learn the lesson that only a hard-ass commander can teach.

A hot shot pilot is grounded for being a hot shot, they go on missions and are successful, they go on other missions and are shot up, some die, but in the end ... you know, I don't really know. They all learn the true meaning of Christmas and we win the war. U S A! U S A!

I chose this Navy propaganda film for the most dubious of reasons. I hadn't reviewed a movie released in 1952 yet. I checked around and found that the top rated movie that year was Singin' in the Rain. Meh. High Noon! That would be cool, but not available streaming. I kept going down the list and this is what I found. Sad, because I had Kansas City Confidential in my queue and I was looking for a reason to do another Film-Noir.

Anyhow, Flat Top was consistently paced, fairly well acted, and probably resonated with audiences of the day. My teenage son, in love with all things military, ate it up. I found it boring. AMRU 2.5.