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 Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)

Young Martha Ivers (Janis Wilson) hates her domineering aunt (Judith Anderson) and in a fit of rage kills her. Years later, adult Martha (Barbara Stanwyck) is a successful business owner married to a childhood friend (Kirk Douglas), who knows her secret. When another childhood friend (Van Heflin) returns after many years, the couple conclude he is there to negotiate a price for his silence.

This is the first ever film role for Douglas as a scared little boy, quite against what would later become his type. This is the second appearance of Lizabeth Scott, playing the good but not too good girl. Judith Anderson is great as the Judith Anderson character. See Laura (1944) and Rebecca (1940). It’s a shame she didn’t have more screen time. Stanwyck reportedly exercised a lot of control on the set, perhaps realizing that her career was at an inflection point. She would turn the big four-oh a year later.

This film was adapted from a short story titled Love Lies Bleeding, which is a pretty awesome title. There are at least four other unrelated films with that title. I couldn’t find box office numbers but Strange Love apparently was a success despite the Strange Title.

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers is an interesting story that perhaps takes a little too long to resolve itself. Back in the day Noir films were simply called melodramas, and this film gets more than a little melodramatic. AMRU 3.5

Ladies of Leisure (1930)

Awkward rich man (Ralph Graves) escapes a party and happens upon a “party girl” (Barbara Stanwyck) who is escaping a boat party she was “working”. He decides to hire her as a model. Will love bloom?

The movie jumps through hoops to establish that Stanwyck’s Kay isn’t a prostitute, despite all evidence. The source play was named “Ladies of the Evening” after all. And Kay’s third act “I know what kind of woman I am” declaration doesn’t read very much like an acknowledgement of class status. Still, nobody is under any illusions. This is unsurprisingly the catalyst of the “crisis climax” beat in the Rom-Com formula.

This was thirty two year old Frank Capra’s fourteenth film, but he had not yet hit his stride. It Happened One Night was four years and nine films off. Sound film was still very new and they hadn't quite gotten the hang of it. A silent version of this film was also produced. 

Ladies of Leisure is a pleasant enough watch. Capra was still Capra and Stanwyck was always Stanwyck, but had I not taken notes directly after watching, I might have forgotten about this film. Watch it to see a very early Stanwyck performance, but there is little else to recommend it. AMRU 3.

Baby Face (1933)

Young Lili (Barbara Stanwyck) works as a barmaid in her father’s speakeasy. Everyone treats her horribly except a kindly older gentleman who tells her that she is better than all this. She has potential. She should screw her way to the top. Wait, what?

Of all the pre-code films, Baby Face just may be the pre-codiest. Cut to ribbons before release and again at each location it was exhibited, we are lucky to have a pre-censored version. Pretty but never gorgeous, Stanwyck showed that she can turn on the sex appeal when needed.

For those unfamiliar, there once was an agreed upon moral standard that Hollywood movies must adhere to. Formally, the Motion Picture Production Code, it mandated stuff like the bad guy must get caught (or die), the avoidance of overt sexuality or violent themes, and of topics like prostitution, abortion, or homosexuality. The so called “per-code era” is a span of four or so years after the studios agreed to this standard to when they actually started following it. During this time many films were released that directly flaunted these rules. While none of these movies could be described as explicit, they do raise eyebrows.

Another subversive aspect of Baby Face is that Lili has a black maid who is also her friend, played by the adorable Theresa Harris. Although a side-kick character, she didn't play the racial stereotype. She would be relegated to maid characters throughout her career. Someone who’s talent wouldn’t be wasted is a young John Wayne. He was already an established B western star and had a small role here as a stepping stone. Second billed George Brent didn’t appear until well past the halfway mark.

While not shocking by modern standards, Baby Face did have quite a few “Oh, crap!” moments. It is strongly implied that Lili was more than just a barmaid to her father’s customers, nudge nudge. Played as the story of a woman using her sexuality for her benefit rather than others, there will be a variety of opinions on this. I'm sure it provoked many viewers back in its day. Assuming they knew what was going on after all the edits. AMRU 4.

Ball of Fire (1941)

Nightclub singer Sugarpuss O’Shea (Barbara Stanwyck) must hide out until the heat is off her gangster boyfriend (Dana Andrews). She stumbles upon a group of professors (NNNNNERRRRRDSSSSS!!) working on an encyclopedia, and they want her help studying modern slang. The cops would never think to look for her there. Will love bloom?

Much of the story makes no sense but it doesn’t matter. It is just a framework for the fish out of water to fall in love with the head nerd … I mean professor (Gary Cooper). The seven other professors are modeled after the seven dwarfs, presumably with Stanwyck as Snow White and Cooper as the prince. Billy Wilder wrote the story prior to the release of the Disney movie and in one shot a marquee can be seen showing the Disney flick.

Because the plot revolves around our nerds … I mean professors trying to learn modern slang, the dialog is chuck full of exaggerated or completely made up terms, sounding silly or awkward. This is to heighten the sense of the other fish being out of the other water. Unfortunately our two leads didn’t show much on-screen chemistry. Maybe because their characters were from such different universes or maybe because Cooper acts with all the panache of an uncooked potato. Plus, the 40ish never-been-kissed Cooper looked old enough to be 34ish year old Stanwyck’s dad.

Some prolific character actors make up the the seven dwarfs, most notably S.Z. Sakall from Casablanca and most recently Christmas in Connecticut. Also here is the prolific Charles Lane, whose career spanned from the early 30’s until the mid 90’s. If ever you needed a grumpy lawyer, he was your man. His docket is even longer than Ian Wolf’s, whom I detailed recently. Between the two they appeared in almost 700 movies and TV shows, with only a half dozen titles in common, maybe because they played similar character types.

I wanted to like this film a bit more but I simply didn’t buy either character actually falling for the other. There were funny parts and Stanwyck was as charming as ever, but I have yet to see Cooper in something I liked. That said, mom would have enjoyed it. AMRU 3.

Remember the Night (1940)

Shoplifter Lee (Barbara Stanwyck) is on trial and her attorney uses the classic Hypnotism defense. When the prosecuting attorney (Fred MacMurray) realizes the jury is eating that crap up, he calls for Expert Testimony, thus delaying the trial until after the holidays and turning the tables back in his favor. Feeling bad he caused her to spend the holidays in lockup, he arranges for her to be bailed out. Only his man downtown thought he wanted her bailed out and brought around to his place for some nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more. Only he didn’t. At all. I mean, he’s Fred F’ing MacMurray for god sakes!

As luck would have it he’s going home for the holidays, she wants to reconnect up with her loving mother, and would you know it, it’s on the way! So, off on a road trip these love-birds-to-be go. What adventures they will have!

Remember the Night is a charming romantic comedy. It makes a case for nurture over nature without beating you over the head. The two grew up in similar circumstances, but while one steals, the other is a successful lawyer. The difference is Love. Hold a sec, I have to get a tissue. There seems to be something in my eye …

MacMurray and Stanwyck are solid performers. Please watch Double Indemnity if you haven't. Stanwyck’s transformation from streetwise bad girl to sympathetic woman was handled very well. Even more interesting is how the motion picture code is at odds with the Hollywood ending. Now, if I could only figure out which Night we are supposed to Remember. AMRU 3.5.

“Now there's nothing as dangerous as a square shooter. If all men were like you there wouldn't be any nice girls left.”

Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

A destroyer is sunk and two seaman are adrift for weeks. When rescued the nurse refuses to give one a satisfying meal, so he flirts with her to get fed. Now he’s “engaged”, and she thinks he is hesitant to get married because he never had a real home. SO she convinces a magazine publisher to have the famous cooking writer Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) invite him over for Christmas to show him what a home is like. Only, Lane a complete fraud. She doesn’t live in Connecticut, and can’t cook, and doesn’t have the husband and baby she wrote about. Also, the publisher Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet), who believes everything in his magazines is truthful, will be joining them as well. Wow, what a convoluted setup for a generic Rom Com.

So, pretty Elizabeth agrees to marry a doofus architect (Reginald Gardiner), have the bartender from Rick’s Cafe American handle the cooking, and try to sneak in a marriage ceremony to make it all legit. All the while she falls in love with a man she thinks is engaged, and thinks she is married. Will these two love birds ever get together?

Let’s spend some time chatting about Sydney Greenstreet. Very recognizable due to his great size and because of the quality of his films. Past 60 when he debuted in The Maltese Falcon, he’d be retired before he reached 70. I give him credit for outliving his two frequent costars Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre (by 17 and 14 years respectively), he didn’t exactly avoid health issues. His cause of death is listed as the effects of diabetes and nephritis, clearly brought on by his weight. But his work was outstanding and his library of films (24 in eight years) stands as a testament to his talent.

Una O’Connor has a somewhat similar story. She started in films at almost 50 and appeared in about 65 films, many of them classics. If you needed a comically shrill housekeeper, Una was your lady. She moved to television in the late 1940s but came out of retirement to finish her career with Witness for the Prosecution (1957). I am amazed how often her face turns up.

The success of a Rom Com relies entirely on the chemistry of the lovers (where have I heard this before?) and despite its flaws, Christmas in Connecticut succeeds. While fifteen minutes shorter would have been fifteen minutes better (now, I know I heard that before!), the story got us where it needed to. Safe, predictable holiday fare. AMRU 3.

“Having babies to boost your circulation takes time.”

Night Nurse (1931)

Young Lorna Hart (Barbara Stanwyck) wants ever so much to be a nurse, but without the proper degree (high school) she isn't qualified. But bumping into a chief surgeon on the way out appears to have solved all that. She is paired by sassy blond Maloney (sassy blond Joan Blondell) who shows her the ropes. At the midpoint of the film, Lorna gets a private gig and the drama begins. She is taking care of two young girls who are ever so sorry they have been such a bother and promise to be good, really they do! They are slowly dying of starvation and the twitchy attending physician and the cruel chauffeur Nick (Clark Gable) seem to like it that way.

Classified pre-code mostly because Stanwyck and Blondell have occasion to undress to reveal their overly complicated undergarments. In one scene they share a bunk for no clear reason, then suddenly shiver inexplicably as if cold. While a bootlegger is a protagonist, this is during the great social experiment, and drunkenness must shown in a definitely negative light. One character exclaims that she's a dipsomaniac and she likes it. Dipsomaniac is an old fashioned word for alcoholic but I suspect filmmakers wanted us to think she was saying nymphomaniac, which also fits.

James Cagney was suddenly a big star so he turned down the role of Nick, allowing nobody Gable to take it. I like the jargon thrown in there in an attempt to make it sound credible, like "Have you tried the Murphy drip?" There are nice elements like the point of view shot from an ambulance at the beginning, and it holds your interest, but otherwise Night Nurse is standard fare for it's time. AMRU 3.

"Says me in a big way, sister"

Double Indemnity (1944)

Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) pays a visit to a client who's car insurance is about to expire. The Mr. Dietrichson isn't home but Wally likes what he sees with the Mrs. (Barbara Stanwyck). Eventually the Mrs. floats the idea of life insurance, in case anything unfortunate happens to the Mr. Of course the Mr. mustn't ever found out he bought it. Well, Walter smells a rat. And he likes what he smells. Together they plan how the insurance gets bought and how accidents can happen.

The fly in the ointment is Walter's boss, the savvy Mr. Keyes (Edward G. Robinson). You see, he has a "little man" that tells him something is fishy. Apparently Keyes' "little man" is a bit smarter than Neff's.

Excellent acting, great dialog, engaging story, Double Indemnity earned it's reputation as a great film. IMdb ranks it 55th all time (currently) and in the genre of film-noir it's third. I put a rush on watching it because Starz was making a hasty exit from the land of netflix, and while I enjoyed the movie, I can't say I love it up to it's reputation. I'll give it a 4.

So, what's the buzz about the movie? Apparently director Billy Wilder and co-screenwriter Raymond Chandler hated each other. Wilder would later say he flaunted his "womanizing ability" to torment the closeted Chandler. Wilder also had Stanwyck wear an ugly blond wig to give her a cheap, fake look. Later a studio exec remarked "We hired Barbara Stanwyck, and here we get George Washington".

"How could I have known that murder could sometimes smell like honeysuckle?"

The Lady Eve (1941)

A cruse ship picks up Charles Pike (Henry Fonda), the socially awkward heir to the Pike's Ale fortune, who was in South American to study snakes. He's not much into the brew, you see. Con artist Jean (Barbara Stanwyck) sets out to fleece him. Things become complicated when she starts to fall for him. Anything more would encroach upon spoilage.

My first Stanwyck movie, and I have to say, not the total babe I was expecting. Better than fair no doubt, but not the hottie of legend. Later in life she would be the matriarch in The Big Valley, a favorite of my youth. Have to see an episode now. Back then my eyes wandered towards the young Linda Evans, not the oldie. Not on Netflix. I'll check Amazon Prime ...

Not much else to say. really. Fonda's on screen dad was Eugene Pallette, the dad from My Man Godfrey, doing basically the same character. The caretaker looking after Fonda was played by William Demarest, better known by me as Uncle Charlie from My Three Sons. I knew I recognized that voice.

Fairly complex plot, great script, and top notch acting, especially for a romantic comedy. The dialog had a very His Girl Friday quality about it and a second viewing would not be wasted. AMRU 3.5.

"Positively the same dame!"