Movie Review: Yellow Sky (1948)

A thoughtful western with eerie settings, Yellow Sky contemplates themes of honour, greed, and leadership.

In 1867, outlaw James "Stretch" Dawson (Gregory Peck) leads his gang into a town where they quietly rob the local bank without hurting anyone. The gang members include the cool and detached Dude (Richard Widmark), the ambitious but highly strung Lengthy (John Russell), the noisy Walrus (Charles Kemper), and the young Bull Run (Robert Arthur). Chased by a posse, they escape into a hostile desert.

Suffering dehydration and exhaustion, the gang arrives at the abandoned town of Yellow Sky. The only inhabitants are a young woman named Mike (Anne Baxter) and her Grandpa (James Barton), a prospector. Mike triggers sexual tension among the gang members, while Lengthy and Dude take turns challenging Stretch's leadership. When Dude learns that Grandpa has a stash of gold, Stretch negotiates a share agreement, but greed causes gang rivalries to explode into violence.

Directed by William A. Wellman, written by Lamar Trotti, and inspired by Shakespeare's The Tempest, Yellow Sky enjoys unconventional twists. The absence of a natural protagonist is pleasantly disorienting. Stretch Dawson is an outlaw, and has to work hard to reveal the gradations of good separating him from the other gang members. The settings and terrain are also more mythical than traditional westerns, the narrative seeking mental and physical isolation as triggers for organizational breakdown. The desert crossing sequence is a brutal odyssey across unforgiving land, and at the end of it the ghost town of Yellow Sky is the antithesis of salvation.

A watering hole at the town's edge emerges as the one initially unifying source of life, until a woman, gold, and greed combine to bust up the gang. Mike's male name metaphorically signals she is unaware of her impact on men. Quickly a target of their lust, she also wields power beyond the rifle to influence outcomes. 

Some of the film's other elements are less refined. The large group of Apaches who ride into town are an unwieldy plot contrivance in the evolution of trust between Stretch and Grandpa. Wellman excels when the pacing is deliberate, but struggles when emotions run high, the scuffling and shootout scenes lacking polish. And the search for gold takes a detour into an unlikely and clumsy mine excavation.

But the aesthetics are always engaging and convey a slightly surreal trapped-in-a-nightmare mood, the black and white cinematography (courtesy of Joseph MacDonald) making excellent use of sparsity to surround Stretch and his men with ramshackle nothingness. And the narrative strengthens with the sturdy character arc navigated by Stretch, Trotti providing him with a background, a reason to reform, and an opportunity to stand by his word and seek redemption. In Yellow Sky, the pathway from money to wealth passes through an arid test of self-reckoning.



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Movie Review: The Ten Commandments (1956)

A religious epic, The Ten Commandments is the story of Moses recounted on an impressively massive scale.

In ancient Egypt, the Hebrews are enslaved people, used primarily for the arduous task of constructing massive monuments and new cities. The Pharaoh hears of prophecies that a newborn will grow up to lead the slaves to freedom, and orders the death of all male Hebrew babies. Slave Yochabel (Martha Scott) packs her infant son in a basket and sets him adrift on the Nile to spare him from death. He is picked up and adopted by the Pharaoh's daughter Bithiah (Nina Foch), and she names the baby Moses. Only Bithiah's servant Memnet (Judith Anderson) knows that the baby is the son of Hebrew slaves.

Moses (Charlton Heston) grows up vying with Rameses (Yul Brynner) for the right to succeed Pharoah Sethi (Cedric Hardwicke) to the throne, a prize that comes with marriage to the ambitious Nefretiri (Anne Baxter). Rameses recruits the services of Hebrew collaborator Dathan (Edward G. Robinson) to try and uncover the identity of the Deliverer who will free the slaves.

Moses is more capable and more resourceful than Rameses, and also more empathetic to the plight of the Hebrews. He demonstrates mercy to stonecutter Joshua (John Derek) and Joshua's love interest and water carrier Lilia (Debra Paget). But before Moses ascends to the throne, Memnet intervenes, forcing Moses to face his true destiny. Spared from death, he marries Bedouin shepherd's daughter Sephora (Yvonne De Carlo) before embarking on a monumental battle of wills with Rameses.

Producer and director Cecil B. DeMille's crowning achievement (and his second crack at the story after a 1923 silent version), The Ten Commandments is three hours and 40 minutes of grand storytelling, old-fashioned Hollywood at its extravagant best. The cast features a galaxy of stars, the extras in some scenes number in the thousands, the sets are numerous and impressively crafted, and the film bursts with the colours of abundant and imaginative costumes.

The popular Moses and Exodus stories are probably amalgams of people and events composed from legends, fractured oral histories and religious texts. To his credit DeMille cites several books as sources for the film, and benefits by steering away from Bible-in-pictures territory. The long story unfolds in four manageable parts: Moses' rise to prominence as a military leader, city builder and potential future Pharoah; his awakening to his true origins and acceptance of his destiny; the struggle to free the Hebrews; and finally the arduous Exodus out of Egypt and towards the new challenges beyond.

The narrative is punctuated by several memorable setpieces. The scenes of mass motion and human activity feature outstanding choreographed artistry, and DeMille always maintains a strong hold on what his cameras are capturing. The city-building, rock-making and Exodus sequences make use of extras in every corner of the VistaVision screen, conveying a profound sense of open space, ongoing industry and masses on the move.

The latter parts of the film scale some unforgettable heights. Moses and his close allies sheltering during the haunting passover night is a quiet but immensely powerful moment in the shadow of creeping horror. The pillar of fire halting an army, the extraordinary parting of the Red Sea, and the Ten Commandments being carved in stone by mystical flames are innovative visual achievements representing the era's state of the art.

And despite all the theatricality on display, The Ten Commandments generally avoids the pitfall of overstated reverence. This is a movie that tries hard to represent real people displaying naked ambition, conspiracy, sensuality, doubt, mixed emotions, and fallibilities. The script does not try to sound as if every spoken word needs to be enshrined on a hallowed wall.

A story this big needs sturdy acting shoulders to stand on, and DeMille assembled an impressive cast, with the luxurious length affording substantive screen time for several performers. Charlton Heston rises to the challenge of portraying Moses with plenty of authoritative presence, whether as a strapping young man earning his way towards the Pharoah's chair or as the grizzled prophet leading his people to freedom with supernatural winds in his sails.

Heston needed a robust foil to shine, and Yul Brynner delivers as Rameses, Moses' rival for leadership and subsequently his existential foe in the struggle to free the Hebrews. Until late in the film Brynner remains a strong presence representing the Egyptian viewpoint. Edward G. Robinson, Anne Baxter, John Derek, Nina Foch, Martha Scott, Yvonne DeCarlo, Debra Paget and Cedric Hardwicke all provide sustained and animated support, DeMille wisely introducing most of the key characters early in the story and then coming back to them repeatedly in different contexts as Moses' life evolves.

Bold and grandiose in breadth and scope, The Ten Commandments is a domineering and engrossing cinematic achievement.

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Movie Review: A Royal Scandal (1945)

A Russian monarchy romance and politics comedy, A Royal Scandal provides a showcase for Tallulah Bankhead but is otherwise limited in scope and impact.

In the court of Queen Catherine of Russia (Bankhead), Chancellor Nicolai Ilyitch (Charles Coburn) has the job of knowing everything about everyone to protect his Czarina. Countess Anna Jaschikoff (Anne Baxter) is Catherine's confidant and chief fashion consultant. With French Ambassador Marquis de Fleury (Vincent Price) waiting for an audience, a breathless Lieutenant Alexei Chernoff (William Eythe), who is also Anna's lover, arrives from the far reaches of the Empire to warn Catherine of a plot against her life.

Although it turns out that the Chancellor had that plot well in control, Catherine immediately takes a liking to the dashing Alexei and quickly installs him as her new toyboy and promotes him to lead her palace guard. He is enchanted, forgets all about Anna, and fully falls for the pretense that he is the Queen's closest advisor. With Anna unable to hold her tongue, Alexei has to decide where his loyalties lie when he uncovers a new plot, this time for a palace coup.

A play adaptation, with the film produced by Ernst Lubitsch but directed by Otto Preminger after Lubitsch fell ill, A Royal Scandal remains severely stage bound and offers narrow appeal. The fictional romance and scheming shenanigans within the Russian court may have had some basis in reality, but the film makes it difficult to care. Large chunks of the 94 minutes are spent on scenes of discourse between Catherine and Alexei, the action static, the movie trapped within a couple of sets, the pacing slow.

On the positive side some of the dialogue is snappy, Catherine in particular provided with the edgiest lines while her Chancellor Nicolai oozes the manipulative oil that keeps his Queen's machinery in control. And in terms of performances, Tallulah Bankhead is a joy to watch as she dances in the space between lonely ruler looking for her latest virile lover and killer instincts to do whatever it takes to maintain an iron grip on the throne. Even in black and white Catherine's stunning dresses and jewellery add much needed visual appeal. Charles Coburn is the other standout performer, but he disappears from the film for long stretches.

As for the story, there is some humour to be found in Alexei's rapid series of promotions as Catherine's lust-o-meter kicks in, but otherwise much of the action happens off-screen, with the evildoers poorly defined and confined to tertiary characters with interchangeably difficult names. A Royal Scandal is a generally mundane affair, lacking in cinematic energy, with the romance, laughs and palace intrigue all confined to tight quarters.

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The Movies Of Anne Baxter

All movies starring Anne Baxter and reviewed on the Ace Black Movie Blog are linked below:

The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

Crash Dive (1943)

The North Star (1943)

A Royal Scandal (1945)

Yellow Sky (1948)

All About Eve (1950)

The Ten Commandments (1956)

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The Movie Star Index is here.

Movie Review: The North Star (1943)

A pro-Soviet propaganda film intended to whip up sympathy for the war effort against Germany, The North Star (also known as Armored Attack) is a cringe-inducing dud.

It's 1941, and the Nazis are about to invade the idyllic farming village of North Star in western Ukraine, part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Before the shooting starts, five youth from the village embark on a trip to the capital Kiev, including Marina (Anne Baxter), her would-be lover Kolya (Farley Granger), Clavdia (Jane Withers) and Kolya's older brother and conscripted soldier Damian (Dana Andrews).

The travellers don't make it very far: the Nazi's attack with bombing raids, tanks and troops. The village is occupied before it can be burned down. In the face of Nazi atrocities including forcing local children to donate blood, the villagers have to scatter to join the nascent resistance movement.

Produced by Samuel Goldwyn, directed by Lewis Milestone and written by Lillian Hellman, The North Star is unabashed agitprop. Despite the high budget and respected cast, Milestone delivers a painfully bad cinematic experience devoid of any artistic merit.

The first half is preoccupied with portraying Ukrainian villagers living under the Soviet boot as happy simple folks, and it's punctuated by ghastly singing and dancing interludes straight out of amateur high school plays. The fingers-on-the-chalkboard level of irritation is enhanced by inane nationalistic dialogue, ham-fisted delivery and enough over-sugared sentiment to kill a horse.

Once the Nazis make an appearance, the music mercifully stops and the fighting starts. The second half improves, but it's a really low bar to step over. As a story of guerilla warfare and peasants taking up arms, The North Star lacks anything resembling thoughtfulness, nuance or genuine emotion. This is an in-your-face sophomoric effort intended to rally the home front, and Milestone can't even get the basics right: the battle scenes, tactics and consequences are asinine.

Everyone from the children to the old geezers lustily and blindly buys into the die-for-your-country hokum. Given the general level of near unwatchable incompetence, the film boasts a remarkable cast collectively performing at their worst, consumed by Hellman's fatuous prose. Anne Baxter leads the way with one of the many overwrought eyes-dreamily-to-the-stars performances on display. Walter Huston is a local doctor tangling with Erich von Stroheim's Nazi surgeon, while Walter Brennan is a stereotypical crusty farmer-on-a-wagon.

The North Star is not bad because it's propaganda; it's bad because it's a wretchedly awful film.

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Movie Review: Crash Dive (1943)

A serviceable World War Two submarine action drama and romance with a propaganda bent, Crash Dive spends equal time on land at the sea, but is better wet than dry.

Lieutenant Ward Stewart (Tyrone Power) is a veteran of the Navy, most recently enjoying the nimble speed of Patrol Torpedo (PT) boats. Reporting to the navy base in New London, Connecticut, Stewart reluctantly agrees to join the crew of the submarine USS Corsair as Executive Officer, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Dewey Connors (Dana Andrews). Before the Corsair sets sail, Stewart meets schoolteacher Jean Hewlett (Anne Baxter) and is immediately smitten. He pursues her with great determination, and although she initially fends him off, eventually they fall in love.

Stewart does not know that Jean is Connors' fiancée, a man she admires but does not quite love. Meanwhile, out in the North Atlantic sea, the Corsair tangles with a German mine boat, and discovers evidence of a secret enemy base. Stewart and Connors make an effective commanding team, with Stewart more of a risk taker and Connors more strategic in his approach. With the romantic triangle reaching a climax, the Corsair is sent on a dangerous mission to uncover and destroy the hidden German naval station.

For a war film designed to boost recruitment in the US Navy, Crash Dive spends a lot of time on the shore, delving into the romance between Ward and Jean. Tyrone Power and Anne Baxter make for an attractive couple and the Technicolor production captures them both at their most resplendent. But Stewart's relentless pursuit and Jean's coy hard-to-get act consume plenty of screen time, and it's often difficult to remember that there is a war going on.

In the scenes back on the sub, director Archie Mayo switches gears and mounts a credible thriller. Although many of the submarine tactics and actions portrayed are pure Hollywood, Mayo does manage to portray the camaraderie and tension inherent in life underwater, from the hours of abject boredom to suddenly engaging in deadly hide and seek with the enemy. There are plenty of scenes with the requisite depth charges, subterfuge, silent pursuit, and torpedo attacks on enemy vessels. Upon returning from one mission, Stewart and Connors demand a massive meal made exclusively of fresh fruits, vegetables and milk, in a rare acknowledgement of the deficient nutrition served up on a sub.

The character dynamics are above average, with Stewart and Connors melding their leadership styles to good effect and with just a trace of competitive juice. The script by W.R. Burnett and Jo Swerling also deserves a lot of credit for featuring the black crew member Oliver Cromwell Jones (Ben Carter) in a prominent and sympathetic role. Oliver befriends fellow submariner Mike "Mac" McDonnell (James Gleason), who is suffering from a heart condition, and their relationship evolves throughout the film and culminates in the final battle.

And that final climax is not half bad. Despite all sorts of questionable tactics and unrealistic dullness from the Germans, Mayo delivers a solid 20 minutes of commando-style Grade B action to enliven events and stir the blood.

Crash Dive will never be mistaken for a classic war film or an emotion-packed romance. It's an honest war time romp promoting the war effort on a limited budget and in a decent package. Already enlisted in the Marine Corps, star Tyrone Power headed off to recruit training for the real war soon after filming wrapped, a rare case of an actor staying true to the message of his own film.

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Movie Review: All About Eve (1950)

The story of jealousy, backstabbing, ageing and the desperate climb to the top among Broadway's elite actresses, All About Eve is a breathlessly magnificent view of the raw human desire to succeed, often by knocking others out of the way.

The film starts with Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter), the latest sensational star of the theatre world, accepting the distinguished industry award for best actress under the watchful eye of caustic critic Addison DeWitt (George Sanders). In flashback, the story of Eve's remarkable rise to the top is revealed.

Just eight months previously, Margo Channing (Bette Davis) is the reigning queen of Broadway, although age is catching up with her. Margo is starring in the latest hit play produced by Max Fabian (Gregory Ratoff), written by celebrated playwright Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlowe), and directed by Bill Sampson (Gary Merrill), who is romancing Margo. A dedicated fan, Eve attends the play every day to study Margo's performance.

Lloyd's wife Karen (Celeste Holm), who is also Margo's close friend, notices Eve outside the theatre and eventually brings her into the dressing room to meet Margo. Eve's story of humble Wisconsin origins, dedication to the theatre, and losing her husband to the war touches Margo, who takes Eve in as her dedicated assistant, although Margo's helper and confidant Birdie (Thelma Ritter) is skeptical.

Lloyd (about Eve): I like that girl, that quality of quiet graciousness.

Eve quickly proves herself extremely capable, organizes every detail of Margo's schedule, and becomes an indispensable and essential part of her life. But Eve's behaviour also borders on obsessive and controlling, and she does not hesitate to flirt with Bill, fanning the flames of jealousy within Margo. When Eve manipulates Karen to gain the part of Margo's understudy, the hostilities break out into the open, with Margo feeling deeply threatened while Bill, Lloyd and Karen are caught between loyalty to Margo and the sparkle of Eve's undoubted talent. The patiently observant Addison, meanwhile, tries to manage the situation to his advantage.

Addison: We all have abnormality in common. We're a breed apart from the rest of humanity, we theatre folk; we are the original displaced personalities.

Written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, All About Eve boasts a sharp wit, a spry pace, and a prickly attitude. The film drops in on a small group of characters and exposes the destruction caused when naked ambition collides with self-doubt. It's a breathtaking jaunt through the world of Broadway's elite, where the rarefied air only serves to heighten the tension between those seeking a way up and those clinging on with their fingernails to avoid sliding down.

Margo: Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night.

Mankiewicz's dialogue is filled with legendary zingers. Whether fuelled by alcohol, spite, or in the case of Addison DeWitt, a self-applied sense of supremacy, the characters are children of the theatre, and they don't hold back. Whether the insults are veiled or explicit, they are delivered with zeal. Only Karen, being the semi-outsider, resents Margo's frequent descent into verbal prickliness. Lloyd and Bill are not only used to it, they depend on it. In the cocktail party scene to celebrate Bill's return from a Hollywood trip, Mankiewicz creates a legendary piece of cinema, a prolonged battlefield where words are bullets, attitudes are fortifications, and visible emotions are deployed as chemical weapons.

Margo: Funny business, a woman's career. The things you drop on your way up the ladder so you can move faster. You forget you'll need them again when you get back to being a woman.

While there are at least three important male characters in the cast, the heart of the movie is all about women, as suggested by the title. Mankiewicz creates a triangle consisting of Margo the queen, Eve the plotter, and Karen the unwitting enabler. (The three do parallel Caesar, Cassius and Brutus). The film rides on the energy of three ladies fighting intertwining battles, Margo for survival, Eve for power and Karen for friendship. It's a fascinating conflict, and through it Mankiewicz comments on what really constitutes success, the sacrifices to stay at the top, the insecurities that come with professional ambition, and the price that has to be paid in stressed and ruined relationships.

Margo: Nice speech, Eve. But I wouldn't worry too much about your heart. You can always put that award where your heart ought to be.

The performances in All About Eve are mythical in their greatness. In her storied career, it is doubtful whether Bette Davis ever had a role as good as Margo Channing, and she bites into it with absolute relish. This was also likely Anne Baxter's finest moment, and she is simply chilling as the innocent-looking schemer, always about 10 steps ahead in a brutal game of chess, while disarming all around her with an innocuous attitude.

Celeste Holm, George Sanders, Hugh Marlowe and Gary Merrill also find career peaks in the jungle of the theatre world. Thelma Ritter plays her typical self, before surprisingly disappearing from the second half of the film. Marilyn Monroe gets her first significant role as wannabe actress Miss Casswell, hovering around the edges of the elite crowd, looking for a break.

Eve: If nothing else, there's applause... like waves of love pouring over the footlights and wrapping you up.

Shining with the timeless bright lights of Broadway, All About Eve is an absolute gem of an achievement.

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Movie Review: The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

The decline and fall of a rich Indianapolis family, The Magnificent Ambersons is a directorial tour-de-force by Orson Welles. Despite significant studio editing, the film sparkles as a gossipy drama and a story of love and jealousy across generations.

Early in the 1900s, the Ambersons are one of the wealthiest families in Indianapolis, and they live in the grandest of mansions. Daughter Isabel (Dolores Costello) rejects the advances of eccentric inventor Eugene Morgan (Joseph Cotten) when he embarasses himself with an awkward fall. She settles instead for the grey Wilbur Minafer (Donald Dillaway). They have a son George, a spoiled brat who grows up to be a conceited young man (Tim Holt).

George returns home from college and immediately sets his sights on Lucy Morgan (Anne Baxter), Eugene's daughter. Eugene is fast becoming a successful tycoon in the nascent automobile industry, while the fortunes of the Ambersons are in a rapid decline due to bad investments. When Wilbur dies, Eugene again tries to ignite a serious romance with Isabel. George strongly objects to his mother having a dalliance with a new man, while Isabel's plain sister Fanny (Agnes Moorehead) is equally devastated, since she had always harboured secret hopes of winning Eugene's affections.

Edited down to just 88 minutes from an eternally lost original cut of 148 minutes, the surviving version of The Magnificent Ambersons is a compact masterpiece of human drama and cinematic wizardry.

Almost every scene in the film is a carefully composed artwork. Welles directs his own script with an emphasis on fluid camera movements, actors seamlessly gliding in and out of the frame, breathtaking long takes, animated backgrounds, and in-scene depth. Shooting through doors, doorways and hallways or in the cavernous rooms of the Amberson mansion (built with moveable walls to accommodate the kinetic camera movements), Welles fills the screen with action behind the action, something always happening in the background to compete with or enhance the foreground main event.

The story is an epic reversal of fortune, fully deserved in the case of George, as his comeuppance unfolds with the full support of a community fed up with his singularly unearned arrogance. The disintegration of the Ambersons is also a classic tale of the ever turning wheel of market forces. George's grandfather Major Amberson (Richard Bennett) loses his touch in picking winning investments just as Eugene Morgan gets to grips with the automobile and steps into the wealthy industrial class through a technology unheard of in the Major's era.

Welles' phenomenal perception is on full display, as even before the private car fully catches on with society, Eugene, in response to a snide comment from George, expresses his concern that his seemingly miraculous invention may yet prove to be a negative societal force.

Eugene: I'm not sure George is wrong about automobiles. With all their speed forward, they may be a step backward in civilization. It may be that they won't add to the beauty of the world or the life of men's souls. I'm not sure. But automobiles have come. And almost all outward things are going to be different because of what they bring. They're going to alter war and they're going to alter peace. And I think men's minds are going to be changed in subtle ways because of automobiles. And it may be that George is right. It may be that in ten or twenty years from now, if we can see the inward change in men by that time, I shouldn't be able to defend the gasoline engine but would have to agree with George: that automobiles had no business to be invented.

The Magnificent Ambersons is also a series of tragic love stories. Eugene and Isabel pursue a love that is simply never meant to be. Small events, the passing years and small people will conspire to keep them apart. Fanny also suffers in solitude, her pathetic pining for Eugene worlds apart from his utter disinterest in her. Even the relationship between George and Lucy stumbles and stalls rather than soars, his haughtiness in contrast to her practical upbringing.

But for all the financial and emotional turmoil, Welles keeps the mood light. The townsfolk provide a prattling commentary on the travails of the Amberson clan, there is a steady diet of humour, and a thread of world-wise resignation accompanies all the heartache.

A grand story which was ultimately destined to be revealed in unusually concise form, the story of the Ambersons remains nevertheless magnificent.

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