Movie Review: Scene Of The Crime (1949)

A cluttered police procedural, Scene Of The Crime offers a decent-enough cast and some noir elements, but fails to build meaningful momentum.

When aging detective Monigan of the Los Angeles police department is shot dead outside an illegal betting joint, his ex-partner Mike Conovan (Van Johnson) investigates, assisted by detectives Gordon (Tom Drake), a rookie, and Piper (John McIntire), a veteran. Although $1,000 in cash was found on Monigan, Mike refuses to believe he was on the take.

Mike leans on informer Sleeper (Norman Lloyd) and uncovers a simmering war for control of the illegal gambling business, with established bookies being killed or intimidated by newcomers. The investigation leads to nightclub chanteuse Lili (Gloria DeHaven), and Mike pretends to romance her to extract information. Mike's obsession with the case and frequent unscheduled absences from home strain his relationship with his wife Gloria (Arlene Dahl).

One of MGM's first forays into the rough and tumble world of detectives and gangsters, Scene Of The Crime is neither boiled enough nor polished enough, and remains stranded in bland territory.  As soon as the murder investigation launches, Charles Schnee's script introduces an avalanche of hoodlums and off-screen characters: Webson, Sleeper, Turk, Blade, Rutzo, Pontiac, Hippo and Lafe have clever names and may or may not be important, but other than Sleeper, they are undefined and interchangeable, rotating in and out of scenes to little effect. Scene Of The Crime quickly sinks under the weight of abstract villainy.

Sub-plots abound, further diminishing the value of the central mystery. Veteran detective Piper is suffering from failing eyesight. Rookie detective Gordon (nicknamed C.C. for carbon copy), is studiously learning the trade. Crime reporter Herkimer (Donald Woods) is Mike's dubious friend and angling for a story.

The marital troubles between Mike and his wife Gloria should have been another simple distraction, and often repeat the same notes. But with the investigation strangled by faceless goons, the couple's personal life injects an interesting dynamic. A tired sophistication hangs in the air as Gloria slowly runs out of patience with her husband's non-presence, hovering ex-lover Norrie (Tom Helmore) offering an alternative and Mike's dalliance with Lili not helping.

Lili should have been the film's most interesting character, but director Roy Rowland appears oblivious to her potential as a mysterious enigma. She simply switches modes at the behest of the script, robbing the plot of what could have been a captivating undercurrent.

Van Johnson is half-convincing as a no-nonsense detective, often struggling to balance his cultured presence with the gritty environment. Like the rest of Scene Of The Crime, he tries hard but never quite clicks.



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Movie Review: Sangaree (1953)

A stiff costume drama, Sangaree is a talky and stodgy romance and adventure.

Just after the Revolutionary War in the late 1700s, wealthy and progressive land owner Victor Darby (Lester Matthews) is on his death bed when he bequeaths his Sangaree estate near Savannah, Georgia to Dr. Carlos Morales (Fernando Lamas). Carlos is from humble origins but is the only man trusted by Darby to continue his legacy and work towards freeing the slaves.

Darby's son Roy (Tom Drake) supports Carlos, but Roy's sister Nancy (Arlene Dahl) is influenced by her arrogant fiancé Harvey Bristol (John Sutton) and his evil father Dr. Bristol (Francis L. Sullivan). She rejects Carlos' authority and plans to dispute her father's will. Sparks fly between Carlos and Nancy, while Carlos also has to deal with pirates raiding his trading ships and a possible bubonic plague outbreak.

Directed by Edward Ludwig and filmed in fashionable 3D, Sangaree adapts the 1948 novel by Frank Slaughter with plenty of ambition but insufficient talent and budget. The ingredients promise swashbuckling intrigue, and the brief set-piece highlights include a naval raid, a duel with daggers, and a barroom brawl. All are choppily constructed and inelegantly staged. 

Too much time is occupied with dull and repetitive verbal sparring, and the constrained resources are evident in uninspired dialogue and cramped studio-bound sets. The pacing is uneven, the scenes between  Carlos and Nancy dragging on, all other events and characters squished into the brief remaining time. The acting is of the basic, one-note variety, Fernando Lamas focusing most intently on being shirtless as often as possible, otherwise revealing little beyond angry determination. Arlene Dahl struggles with Nancy's sudden transformation from manipulative schemer to acquiescent lover.

The many under-developed sub-plots include fragmented hints about emancipation, and the lingering passion of Carlos' ex-lover Martha (Patricia Medina), now married to Roy Darby but still lusting after the good doctor. A succession of poorly-defined secondary characters and would-be villains clutter the action with once scene here and two scenes there, the third dimension reserved for budget consumption and the occasional gimmick shot, all else plain and flat.



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The Movies Of Arlene Dahl

All movies starring Arlene Dahl and reviewed on the Ace Black Movie Blog are linked below:

Life With Father (1947, uncredited)

The Bride Goes Wild (1948)

Scene Of The Crime (1949)

Three Little Words (1950)

Sangaree (1953)

Bengal Brigade (1954)

Journey To The Center Of The Earth (1959)

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The Movie Star Index is here.

Movie Review: The Bride Goes Wild (1948)

An unbalanced romantic comedy, The Bride Goes Wild has no idea what it is trying to be and collapses in an inept heap.

Prim and proper schoolteacher Martha Terryton (June Allyson) wins a competition to be the illustrator for the latest children's book by celebrated author "Uncle Bumps", the pen name of Greg Rawlings (Van Johnson). Publisher McGrath (Hume Cronyn) knows that contrary to his reputation, Greg is a womanizing borderline alcoholic, still recovering from a long-ago failed relationship with Tillie (Arlene Dahl).

When Greg clumsily attempts to seduce Martha and plies her with alcohol, McGrath fears a scandal, and concocts a plot to elicit sympathy for Greg by creating a fake sob-story about the author as a single dad raising an unruly child. Young freckled kid Danny (Butch Jenkins) is plucked from an orphanage and asked to play the role of Greg's out-of-control son. Martha starts to fall for Greg, but the reappearance of Tillie complicates matters.

The film is as unstable as the synopsis suggests. The third teaming of Allyson and Johnson is devoid of charisma and chemistry, and frequently veers into obnoxious territory. The character of Greg Rawlings is a singularly irritating predator, and somehow writer Albert Beich doubles down on the loathsome behaviour by contriving the ludicrous introduction of the shin-kicking Danny.

Other than perpetuating the mythology that every bad man just needs a good woman to achieve a remarkable reformation, why a wholesome schoolteacher like Martha would ever fall for a lech like Greg is only explained in the minds of Beich and director Norman Taurog. Matters are made worse when Tillie reappears, clearly a better match for Greg, but yet somehow the romance between Greg and Martha has to blossom among the thorny weeds of bad behaviour.

The Bride Goes Wild (the title has nothing to do with the events in the film) ends with ants overrunning a wedding and then stunningly awful and prolonged scenes of hordes of kids pretending to be Indians. Almost bad enough to be good due to the utter lack of cohesion, the film just settles for a putrid type of awful.

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Movie Review: Journey To The Center Of The Earth (1959)

A science fiction adventure, Journey To The Centre Of The Earth is a family-friendly descent into a strange world. The science is suspect and the special effects dated, but the film nevertheless delivers easy entertainment.

Edinburgh, 1880. Celebrated geology Professor Sir Oliver Lindenbrook (James Mason) researches a piece of rock gifted to him by his student Alec McEwan (Pat Boone), and finds a hidden message from legendary explorer Arne Saknussemm who attempted to reach the centre of the Earth 300 years ago. McEwan interrupts a fledgling romance with Lindenbrook's niece Jenny (Diane Baker) and joins Sir Oliver on a hastily arranged expedition to retrace Saknussemm's path through an Icelandic volcano.

Once in Iceland they tangle with rival Swedish Professor Göteborg (Ivan Triesault), who is promptly poisoned to death by a mysterious evil doer. His widow Carla (Arlene Dahl) joins the expedition, as does local man Hans (Peter Ronson). Sir Oliver and his team descend into the volcano and discover an amazing world of caves, salt deposits, crystals, underground oceans, tree-sized mushrooms and massive reptilian creatures, but the main threat comes from Count Saknussemm (Thayer David), who wants to protect his ancestor's legacy.

An adaptation of the classic Jules Verne novel directed by Henry Levin, Journey To The Centre Of Earth is an efficient, almost mechanical, recreation of a fantastical expedition. Focussing much more on a succession of impressive (for the era) sets rather than character nuance and interaction, the film defaults to a series of set-pieces. Lindenbrook's group sequentially encounter and overcome one obstacle at a time with barely a pause for reflection, the challenges covering the animal, mineral and vegetable kingdoms.

The film is undoubtedly enjoyable for its vivid colours, outlandish sets, and earnest "what next" construction, but singularly lacks intensity and tension. Any sense of real danger, drama or conflict is easily swept away by the pedestrian execution, remarkably clean clothes and staged encounters, Levin never coming close to injecting anything that resembles emotion or genuine scientific discovery. Questions as to why gigantic reptiles live in the bowels of the earth, how oversized mushrooms grow down there, or what brought an ocean and a long-lost city to exist miles below the surface are barely even asked, let alone answered.

The character dynamics are equally superficial. There is some fun to be had in the banter between Carla and Sir Oliver, and her insistence on joining the adventure and proving her value is a welcome early feminist flagpost. But otherwise this team of intrepid explorers mainly exists to stop and stare in wonderment rather than conduct any actual science. The performances match the tone, Mason working up a theatrical sweat as the group's leader while Pat Boone awaits the next opportunity to take off his shirt and warble a song for his real fans.

Journey To The Centre Of Earth cannot be taken seriously, but remains a celebration of childlike imagination

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Movie Review: Bengal Brigade (1954)

A military adventure film which gets almost all its history and culture wrong, Bengal Brigade (also known as Bengal Rifles) still manages to entertain despite itself.

It's 1857 in India, the 100th year of British rule, and the British army, consisting of English officers commanding Indian fighting men, is busy extinguishing flare ups that may coalesce into revolution. At one such skirmish Captain Jeffrey Claybourne (Rock Hudson) disobeys orders in a brave attempt to save Indian soldiers trapped in an ambush. He achieves local hero status among the natives, but after a court martial he is drummed out of the army in disgrace, thanks in part to the tainted testimony of his rival Captain Ronald Blaine (Dan O'Herlihy). Claybourne and Blaine are both vying for the attention of Vivian Morrow (Arlene Dahl), the daughter of their commanding officer Colonel Morrow (Torin Thatcher).

Lost without his career, Claybourne drifts sideways, confronts a tiger in a staring contest, gives up on Vivian, and meets local villager Latah (Ursula Thiess). With the country awash in a new, deadlier type of rifle and whispers of revolution and full scale mutiny growing louder, Claybourne is approached by powerful warlord Rajah Karam (Arnold Moss) to help train his army of rebels in readiness for rising up against the British. Claybourne finds himself caught between seeking revenge against the army that turned its back on him and participating in an act of treason against his country.

Directed by Laslo Benedek, Bengal Brigade is a lavish, colourful production, portraying foreign military adventurism and delving into events surrounding the Indian Rebellion of 1857. It's a shorthand course in warped history according to Hollywood, but Benedek packs plenty of drama and some action into less than 90 minutes, rushing past historical inaccuracies to create an enjoyable, costume-rich romp filled with stiff military men, out-of-place beautiful women, and locals having to decide between serving foreign masters and betraying them.

The film provides plenty of causes for irritation. Rock Hudson makes no attempt to pretend to be British. Ursula Thiess is subjected to hideous brown makeup in a laughable attempt to pass her off as Indian. The characters of Vivian Morrow and Captain Blaine lack any meaningful depth. A couple of showdown set-pieces, including Claybourne's act of heroism, are abruptly edited short. And despite some cursory words about Indian independence, the film parks its loyalties firmly with the British and makes no attempt to explore the motivations of locals willing to fight for self-rule. The film is almost too glossy, the studio work unable to convey the dusty grittiness of faraway frontiers.

But Bengal Brigade is successful as a rollicking military adventure with a pulpy dilemma for its central character, and there are enough twists and turns to maintain interest. It's all quite vivid and lacking in the refinement of more ambitious and bigger budget productions, but Bengal Brigade bangs the pleasurable beat of baloney.

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Movie Review: Three Little Words (1950)

A biography of the Bert Kalmar - Harry Ruby songwriting team, Three Little Words is an infectiously bubbly celebration of musical creativity and friendship.

It's the early 1900s, and Bert Kalmar (Fred Astaire) forms a successful vaudeville dance partnership with Jessie Brown (Vera-Ellen). Kalmar is full of show business ideas and ambition, and wants to also prove himself as a magician. Harry Ruby (Red Skelton) is a piano plugger, wannabe baseball player, and struggling to get his music writing noticed. The two have a disastrous first encounter, with Harry inadvertently wrecking Bert's magic show.

A backstage accident injures Bert's knee, forcing him to temporarily retire from dancing. Another fortuitous meeting with Harry results in their writing a hit song, Bert providing the lyrics to Harry's music. A series of hit songs follow, and the partnership grows to include stage shows and movie soundtracks. The men also develop a deep friendship, Harry helping Bert and Jessie to reconnect and get married, while Bert and Jessie together save Harry from a series of disastrous relationships before he finally settles down with screen star Eileen Percy (Arlene Dahl). But every friendship has its rough spots, and Bert and Harry have disagreements that seriously threaten their partnership.


A perfectly constructed film, Three Little Words is one of the more underrated classic musicals. Finding an impeccable balance between dancing, singing, comedy and story, the movie just simply works as a seamless whole. Within the packed 100 minute running length, director Richard Thorpe gives each element of the film its proper due, and the result is an experience with just the right ingredients mixed in just the appropriate amounts.

Astaire and Vera-Ellen are a formidable dance team. She is full of balletic energy and fluid leggy seductiveness as she partners Astaire in the classic Where Did You Get That Girl? and the much more modern and thoroughly delightful Mr. and Mrs. Hoofer At Home. She then goes it alone with Come On, Papa before they team up again the the beautifully dreamy Thinking Of You.


The songs are just as good, and Three Little Words explores that always mystical and sometime frustrating process of creating a successful song. Sometimes every word is a struggle, while at other times inspiration just descends in the middle of the night. My Sunny Tennessee, So Long, OO-Long, Who's Sorry Now? (sung by Gloria DeHaven), Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You), and I Wanna Be Loved by You (featuring one of Debbie Reynolds' earliest performances as the boop-boop-a-doop girl Helen Kane) are all featured. And the film's running joke is Bert's long-term inability to find lyrics to a simple Harry tune, which finally ends up being Three Little Words.

The George Wells screenplay effortlessly weaves the song and dance numbers into the story, and keeps them short and sharp. The result is that rare movie in which the music only enhances the narrative, without unnecessarily interrupting or delaying it. At its heart Three Little Words never forgets that this is a story about a friendship and a partnership between two real people, and the relationship is portrayed with all the magic moments and troubled patches that emerge when two men work closely together over the decades.

The presence of Skelton adds a natural dose of comedy, Harry portrayed as a well-meaning, positive personality, but susceptible to getting himself into trouble. Astaire gets to dance, sing and act in one his most well-rounded performances, while Keenan Wynn provides his reliable support as Bert's agent Charlie Kope.

Greatness arrives in modest packages. The words may be little, but the success is large.

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