Movie Review: Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1941)

A suspense fantasy drama, Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde delves into the darkest recesses of the soul, where vile tendencies await an awakening.

In London of the late 1800s, Dr. Jekyll (Spencer Tracy) is a respected physician, engaged to be married to Bea Emery (Lana Turner), although her father Sir Charles (Donald Crisp) has so far refused to set a wedding date. Jekyll is interested in the duality of the soul, and is conducting animal experiments to develop a drug that can separate good from evil.

Jekyll and his colleague Dr. Lanyon (Ian Hunter) rescue barmaid Ivy Pearson (Ingrid Bergman) from an assault, and she triggers his lustful impulses. He completes his research, tests the drug on himself, and is physically and emotionally transformed into Mr. Hyde, an immoral, selfish and violent man. He proceeds to kidnap and assault Ivy. Initially Jekyll is able to control his transformations back and forth into Mr. Hyde, but soon loses control, with his evil side making unwelcome appearances at inopportune moments.

An adaptation of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson story, the 1941 film version features a superlative and understated Spencer Tracy performance to help bring out the complex shadings of the internal human struggle between good and evil. With a deliberate one hour build-up, Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde invests in its characters and builds to a second half filled with disconcerting behaviour.

In this version Jekyll's virulent tendencies are unleashed by sexual repression. Director Vincent Fleming hints at the burning desire between Jekyll and Bea as they sneak passionate kisses at every opportunity behind Sir Charles' back. Maybe because of Jekyll's audacious nature Charles refuses to set a wedding date, only worsening Jekyll's frustration.

With Ingrid Bergman in full-on seductress mode, the sultry advances of Ivy are the final push. She is available and incessantly flirtatious; he perfects his concoction, drinks the potion and embraces his evil Hyde self. What starts as a mode that can be switched on and off quickly progresses to a powerful and uncontrollable condition, Jekyll unable to determine when and where Hyde appears, evil proving remarkably resilient once given room to breathe and thrive.

Fleming excels in making best use out of brooding sets to recreate 19th century London. Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde comes to life in a foreboding gas lit environment filled with cobbled streets, alleys and isolated park paths. Frequent fog and plenty of shadows complete the aesthetic.

On a couple of occasions Tracy's transformation is handled in real time with superimposed imagery and some shifty frame waviness, the effects basic but nevertheless achieving the objective. The actor does the rest, Tracy disappearing into Hyde's dark pool of soullessness with ferocious venom. The film is more unsettling than scary, the emphasis firmly fixed on revealing the ease with which human malevolence can dominate. Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde reside in every person, their eternal conflict often decided by thin margins.

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Movie Review: Whispering Smith (1948)

A thoughtful western tackling themes of friendship and lost love, Whispering Smith packs action, tension and drama in a zesty package.

Rail company detective Luke "Whispering" Smith (Alan Ladd) reconnects with his old friend Murray Sinclair (Robert Preston) while on a mission to track down the Barton Brothers gang. When he finally catches up with the bandits at a telegraph office, Smith is wounded but kills two of the three outlaw siblings. Smith recovers at Murray's house, reigniting his passion for his lost love Marian (Brenda Marshall), who is now Murray's wife.

Smith doggedly goes after Blake Barton, the sole surviving brother, and finds him hiding under the protection of influential landowner Barney Rebstock (Donald Crisp) and his gunslinger henchman Whitey Du Sang (Frank Faylen). Smith starts to suspect that his friend Murray, who runs the rail company's local wrecking crew, may be involved in sordid business with Rebstock. With his allies Bill Dansing (William Demarest) and George McCloud (John Eldredge), Smith starts investigating Murray and Rebstock, creating a deep rift in a lifelong friendship as well as romantic complications.

Based on the often-adapted novel by Frank H. Spearman, Whispering Smith is a superior western, buoyed by an almost perfect mix of action, character conflict, romance, secondary depth and high production values. Directed in rich Technicolor by Leslie Fenton, the film is a feast for the eyes. Paramount constructed a large western town complete with an active railway for Whispering Smith, and the set became a much-used stage for many later productions. Here Fenton creates a bustling environment nestled against mountains and lush nature, with several highlight scenes featuring 1870s-era trains up close and at their noisy best.

The heart of the film is a love triangle complicated by an established friendship and greed, and the complexities of the human relationships transcend what is expected in most westerns. Luke and Murray absolutely care for each other, but start to drift apart over Murray's less than honest dealings at the train wreck sites and his alliance with Rebstock. The resulting imbalance opens the door for Marian and Luke to start imagining a different future, but here again the character depth shines through: Luke cares about doing right by Murray just as much as he cares for Marian, meaning there are no easy decisions.

Alan Ladd, Robert Preston and Brenda Marshall bring the three central characters to vivid life. The acting is admirably stoic yet nuanced enough to carry the narrative weight. Ladd in particular portrays a range of emotions mostly through the intensity level of the fire in his eyes, while Preston is more emotive, capturing increasingly frantic attempts at self-delusion. In her penultimate screen role, Marshall shines as the dignified wife potentially losing a husband but regaining a true love.

A large part of the film's appeal resides in well-developed secondary characters adding plenty of texture. Donald Crisp has rarely been more intimidating as a land baron running his own black market. By his side is Frank Faylen, delivering a simply chilling performance as bloodless albino gunslinger Whitey Du Sang, his dead eyes always fixated on his next victim-to-be. William Demarest, Fay Holden and John Eldredge ensure that there is talent in every role that matters.

Fenton stumbles a bit in staging the action scenes, most of which appear hurried and awkwardly edited when it matters most. Otherwise Whispering Smith is a western that speaks softly but leaves an impressively loud impression.

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Movie Review: Bright Leaf (1950)

A potent mix of business manoeuvring and romantic entanglements, Bright Leaf is a drama filled with fierce characters seeking fortunes and confronting flaws.

It's the 1890s, and Brant Royle (Gary Cooper) returns to Kingsmont, North Carolina to establish a tobacco business. Years earlier the Royles were driven off their land by the powerful tobacco mogul Major Singleton (Donald Crisp). Now Brant wants revenge, although he still lusts after the Major's feisty daughter Margaret (Patricia Neal). She has grown up to be as conniving as her father, and as interested in causing trouble. Meanwhile, businesswoman and brothel owner Sonia Kovac (Lauren Bacall) always loved Brant and is happy to see him back in town, but he never reciprocated her affection.

With financial help from Sonia, Brant teams up with inventor John Barton (Jeff Corey) and colourful promoter Chris "Dr. Monaco" Malley (Jack Carson). Using a production machine invented by Barton and Malley's promotional savvy, they corner the market by automating cigarette manufacturing and launching a catchy marketing campaign. With Brant on the ascendancy he makes his move on Margaret and tries to buy out the Major, but both business and romance are about to get a lot more complicated.

Directed by Michael Curtiz and possibly inspired by real events, Bright Leaf is a rich broth of corporate machinations, personal greed, cold revenge and hot romance. Clocking in at 110 minutes, the film is packed with grim emotion and multiple struggles for self-definition through destroying others rather than nurturing personal growth. Curtiz maintains interest by quickly cycling through the various threads of Brants life, and efficiently moving through the passing years.

Aesthetically Curtiz creates an enjoyable environment of a bustling town built on the tobacco industry before the product was associated with any health threats, with every frame populated by activity in all corners. From the prostitutes tempting their customers to the frenzied auctioneer selling the latest tobacco leaf bundles to the tycoons fretting over their business prospects, Bright Leaf is a dynamic experience.

The film is distinguished by colouring all the main characters an interesting shade of grey, and avoiding simplistic good and bad definitions. As Brant claws his way from a penniless man driven by revenge to the top of the tobacco heap, the lines of distinction between him and the Major begin to blur. Brant is blinded by a mission to reclaim his family's heritage, destroy the Major, and conquer the Singleton estate and Margaret as two ultimate prizes. His focus blinds him to the victims he creates along the way, and they are all ready to help bring him down when his turn comes.

Margaret Singleton and Sonia Kovac stand out as women true to their intentions, but at diametrically opposite ends of the spectrum. Margaret is her father's daughter from her first introduction, a fact that makes her irresistible to Brant. She plays his need to subjugate her for all its worth. Meanwhile Sonia remains true to her genuine love for Brant, her heart persisting in the belief that someday he will awaken to what she has to offer, while her head says otherwise.

Gary Cooper is freed from his typical good-guy persona and presents a dour, single-minded man. His aggressive intensity creates a hard shell at the heart of the film. Patricia Neal is all conniving sass, and Lauren Bacall conveys the struggle between passion and pragmatism. Donald Crisp, Jeff Corey and Jack Carson add plenty of animation to the other supporting roles.

Engaging and entertaining, Bright Leaf glows with the heat of sweltering determination colliding with human failings.

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The Movies Of Donald Crisp

All movies starring Donald Crisp and reviewed on the Ace Black Blog are linked below:

Mutiny On The Bounty (1935)

The Charge Of The Light Brigade (1936)

Jezebel (1938)

Wuthering Heights (1939)

The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex (1939)

The Sea Hawk (1940)

Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1941)

How Green Was My Valley (1941)

The Valley Of Decision (1945)

Whispering Smith (1948)

Bright Leaf (1950)

Home Town Story (1951)

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The Index of Movie Stars is here.

Movie Review: How Green Was My Valley (1941)

A family drama rich with longing for bygone days, How Green Was My Valley is an irresistible homage to the bright eyed innocence of childhood awakening to the convolutions of an adult world.

In Wales of the 1800s, members of the respected Morgan family make a living by working in the local coal mine, much like everyone else in their scenic village community tucked into the lush countryside. The family patriarch Gwilym (Donald Crisp) still works in the mine, while his wife Beth (Sara Allgood) maintains the household with help from daughter Angharad (Maureen O'Hara). The eldest five sons Ianto, Ivor, Davy, Gwilym Jr and Owen work with their father, while 10 year old youngest son Huw (Roddy McDowall) is smart enough to go to school, but is also eager to follow in the footsteps of his father and brothers.

Change slowly but surely comes to the valley. Wages are driven down due to the availability of too many workers, triggering a strike and calls for a union that create a wedge between the more traditional Gwilym and his sons. Ivor gets married to the beautiful Bronwyn (Anna Lee), and Huw develops an immediate crush on his sister-in-law. The handsome Mr. Gruffydd (Walter Pidgeon) arrives as the new preacher in the village and catches Angharad's eye. Huw and his mother are hurt on a snowy night, while Angharad is pressured into marrying Mr. Evans, the son of the mine's owner. Huw has misadventures at school, there are tragic accidents within the mine, and Angharad tries to find a way to once again be with Mr. Gruffydd.

The adaptation of the 1939 Richard Llewellyn novel is a nostalgic celebration of childhood, family and simpler times. Told through the eyes of young Huw, How Green Was My Valley unapologetically pines for days of yore, and yearns for people who have since departed and places that have forever changed.

With a Wold War rendering filming in Europe a difficult proposition, California locations and Irish accents have to suffice as representations of Wales. Director John Ford nevertheless strikes all the right notes, creating the most picturesque of mythical villages, where all the miners sing their way to and from work, the community is united, laughter is aplenty and families look out for each other and respect their elders. Then reality starts to creep into Huw's perspective, as labour strife, family divisions, economic realities and impossible affairs of the heart start to tear the family apart, and the community of his childhood disintegrates.

The film touches on a broad range of issues, including social class divisions, workers' rights, religion, and economic immigration. As Huw experiences more adult interaction, he is exposed to hypocrisy within the church community, business imperatives dispensing with surplus workers, malicious community gossip, loveless marriages, physical trauma and harrowing bullying by classmates and teachers alike. It's a lot to pack into a two hour movie, which means that no one topic dominates, but Ford keeps the film pointed in a steady direction and the pace remarkably measured, while making sure that every scene is worthy of a postcard.

Roddy McDowall was 13 years old at the time of filming and had already been acting for three year. He delivers a remarkably mature performance, the events in the valley unfolding from his viewpoint, and Huw emerging as the central character in a changing landscape. McDowall displays a range of emotion including respect for his father, worry for his family, fear for the future and the courage to adapt, all without resorting to bathos. The other performances are steady and more traditional, Maureen O'Hara as Angharad provided with the most promising adult role but ultimately not much evolution.

How Green Was My Valley succeeds as an attractive trip down memory lane tugging at the heartstrings that connect family and community, a case of the grass being greener on the other side of childhood.

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Movie Review: Home Town Story (1951)

Somewhere between laughable corporate propaganda and outright embarrassment, Home Town Story survives as a curiosity piece thanks to the appearance of a young Marilyn Monroe in one of her pre-fame roles.

Blake Washburn (Jeffrey Lynn) is a defeated and quick-tempered ex-United States senator, returning to his small home town to take over as editor of the local newspaper. Bitter about his defeat and intent on fighting the next election, Washburn uses the newspaper as a mouthpiece and looks for controversial issues to make a name for himself. He soon sets his sights on large corporate profits as an easy target to whip up populist frenzy. Slim Haskins (Alan Hale, Jr.) is a reporter at the paper and also Blake's friend, but becomes increasingly uncomfortable with Washburn's zealous anti-corporate stance.

Meanwhile Janice Hunt (Marjorie Reynolds) is the girlfriend beginning to question whether Blake is the man for her, while Blake's much younger and quite annoying sister Kate is excited about an upcoming school trip. Local corporate magnate John MacFarland (Donald Crisp) tries to explain to Blake the benefits of large corporations to no avail. But when things go drastically wrong during Kate's school trip, Blake gets an eyeful of all the resources that companies with deep pockets can deploy for the greater good.

Backed by the likes of General Motors and directed by Arthur Pierson under the MGM banner, Home Town Story started life as a commercial and ended up as a one hour movie blatantly trumpeting the benefits of corporate economic muscle. The ham-fisted approach to delivering the message would make the propaganda machine of any dictator proud, while the mundane performances and wooden characters add charm to the astounding artistic carnage on display. Only Alan Hale Jr. emerges with any credit, his turn as reporter Slim Haskins the one character who comes close to escaping the rampant awkwardness.

Marilyn Monroe has perhaps three minutes of screen time and five lines of dialogue as the secretary at the newspaper, bearing the brunt of Slim's boorish advances. And despite the fleeting presence, her charisma is by far the best thing going on in Home Town Story, an otherwise utterly forgettable and amateurish attempt at brainwashing.

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