Movie Review: Flamingo Road (1949)

A hard edged and fast moving political drama, Flamingo Road combines noir elements with a gripping and asymmetrical personal duel between a man who embodies established corruption and a woman with nothing on her side except steely determination.

When the carnival is driven out of Boldon City, weary dancer Lane Bellamy (Joan Crawford) decides to stay behind, tired of a life on the move. She befriends the clean-cut Fielding Carlisle (Zachary Scott), Boldon's deputy sheriff. He helps her to find a job as a waitress and they quickly fall in love. But Sheriff Titus Semple (Sydney Greenstreet), the local power broker, has big plans for Fielding, and they don't include Lane. Titus pressures Fielding into dumping Lane and marrying the wholesome Annabelle (Virginia Huston).

Backroom political operative Dan Reynolds (David Brian) and Titus then combine forces to have Fielding elected as a state senator. Lane, unbowed, resists Titus' attempts to run her out of Boldon, and instead finds her way into Reynolds' heart, and they get married. As Lane makes a giant leap upwards and joins the social elite, Titus sets his sights on backing Fielding to win the governor's seat. This causes a rift between Titus and Reynolds, leading to turmoil among the king makers and a new showdown between the sheriff and the former carnival dancer.

Directed by Michael Curtiz and written by Robert Wilder, Flamingo Road is a breathless combination of brutal politics and personal rivalry. Clocking in at 94 minutes, Curtiz demonstrates the best attributes of efficient film making, packing in multiple romances, backroom dealings, political manipulation, threats and blackmail, and an intense, years-long hatred between Titus and Lane.

The title refers to the street where the social elites have their homes, a neighbourhood that Lane can only dream of attaining as she tangles with Titus. It's an intriguing confrontation between a powerful ruthless man, and a disadvantaged weak woman. Titus is the ultimate insider and insatiable puppet master who controls the city, influences the state, and deploys every dirty trick to get what he wants. Lane, the literal outsider, appears to be hopelessly outclassed. But the plucky performer finds ways to survive, and then thrive, to once again become a thorn in the side of the despicable sheriff.

Sydney Greenstreet gives one of his best performances this side of The Maltese Falcon, creating in Titus an indelible and hate-worthy villain. Titus never loses his temper, and is never ruffled. He treats every setback as another opportunity to dish out more severe punishment and colder revenge, as Greenstreet revels in the character's rich narcissism, either holding court on the hotel patio or guzzling milk by the jugful. Crawford provides a worthy opponent as only she can, Lane relying on her hard-earned survival skills to hold her ground after deciding that she's had enough running for one lifetime.

The film does stumble to find a satisfactory ending, with Curtiz and Wilder appearing to run out of time and ideas, and resorting to obvious methods to settle the score once and for all. It's an unfortunate conclusion, because otherwise Flamingo Road earns its residency along the street of noir gems.

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The Movies Of Sydney Greenstreet

All movies starring Sydney Greenstreet and reviewed on the Ace Black Blog are linked below:

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

They Died With Their Boots On (1941)

Across The Pacific (1942)

Casablanca (1942)

Passage To Marseille (1944)

The Hucksters (1947)

Flamingo Road (1949)

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The Index of Movie Stars is here.

Movie Review: They Died With Their Boots On (1941)

An ambitious biographical epic, They Died With Their Boots On is a stellar example of grand storytelling, Hollywood style. The chequered history of George Custer makes for an action-packed and yet human story, recounted with impressive vigour and traces of humour.

Before the Civil War, George Custer (Errol Flynn) enlists at West Point Military Academy with ambitions to join the cavalry. He proves to be an undisciplined free spirit, unable to follow rules, his record tarnished with frequent transgressions. He clashes with fellow cadet Ned Sharp (Arthur Kennedy), and meets and falls in love with Elizabeth Bacon (Olivia de Havilland), the daughter of businessman Samuel Bacon (Gene Lockhart).

When the Civil War does erupt Custer is rushed into service in the Union Army despite his unpromising performance. Lieutenant General Winfield Scott (Sydney Greenstreet) takes a shine to the young man and assigns him to the Cavalry. Custer proves to be an unconventional and fearless military commander, incurring losses but achieving significant victories. In the chaos of war, he is quickly promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. He marries Elizabeth, continues to lead his troops from the front, and contributes to the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg.

In a post-war funk Custer crosses path with Sharp, now part of an unscrupulous railroad expansion business cartel. Custer refuses to go into business, rejoins the military and is assigned to command Fort Lincoln deep in the Dakota Territory. With Indians under the leadership of Crazy Horse (Anthony Quinn) still ruling the territories and threatening trade routes, Custer gets help from grizzled old-timer California Joe (Charley Grapewin) and sets about to whip the fort regiment into shape and forge peace. But events and corporate interests will conspire against him, culminating in the Battle of Little Big Horn.

An enthusiastic version of the Custer story, They Died With Their Boots On is a galloping 140 minutes packed with adventure, war, politics and ultimately tragedy. Director Raoul Walsh expertly paces the film to alternate swashbuckling moments of Flynn doing what Flynn does best with more measured character-building scenes, delving into quieter moments where politicians, generals and businessmen helped to shape the key events in his life. The one missing aspect is Custer's childhood and upbringing, but the film is none the poorer for the omission. He arrives at West Point as an oddball adult, and remains a true contrarian throughout his colourful career.

In the context of Hollywood's early 1940s era, They Died With Their Boots On is remarkably accurate. Custer's abject mediocrity at West Point, his unexpected over-achievement in the Civil War, his bold battlefield tactics, his post-war involvement in the intersection of politics with commerce, and the romance with Elizabeth Bacon are all represented, and bring to life a rounded hero rightfully celebrated in his time. His last stand and demise at Little Big Horn are romanticized in Custer's favour as a great sacrifice, but the film is commendable for capturing a compelling Custer with all his faults, and all his strengths.

The film boasts a progressive portrayal of the Indian tribes, who are presented as defending their land, willing to accept peace, and then victims of a betrayal driven by unscrupulous business interests.  The screenplay (by Æneas MacKenzie, Wally Kline and Lenore J. Coffee) also excels at injecting the typically ignored backroom machinations of business and politics, providing the movie with an added dimension of intrigue outside the more traditional battlefield exploits. And throughout Custer's adventures, moments of humour and human traits and foibles are teased out, turning the legend into a man.

They Died With Their Boots On was the eighth and final teaming of Flynn and de Havilland. They are easily comfortable with each other, their romance and marriage an inspiration and then foundation for Custer's exploits. Their last scene together is prolonged and poignant: Custer's farewell to Elizabeth as he prepares for the fateful battle with Crazy Horse is carefully constructed by Walsh to heighten the impending tragedy. Flynn and de Havilland give the scene a deep maturity as the couple dance around what needs to be fully understood but absolutely unsaid. Flynn again demonstrates admirable range and no shortage of charisma in the acting scenes, while Arthur Kennedy as Ned Sharp is a worthy and tenacious adversary.

Custer's legacy was much more than just his final stand, and They Died With Their Boots On flamboyantly celebrates an adventure-seeking maverick who lived life to the fullest.

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Movie Review: Across The Pacific (1942)

A World War Two adventure conceived before the attack on Pearl Harbor and hurriedly re-written afterwards, Across The Pacific is a would-be classic, unfortunately let down by a poor ending.

It's 1941, World War Two is well underway, and Japan is making aggressive gestures towards the US. In the Panama Canal Captain Rick Leland (Humphrey Bogart) is unceremoniously drummed out of the US Coast Artillery after being caught stealing money. He travels to Halifax but even the Canadian Army refuses to recruit him. He boards the Japanese ship Genoa Maru, intending to travel to Asia via New York and the Panama Canal, to join Chiang Kai-shek's army.

But it's all a ruse. Rick is working for US intelligence, with a mission to cozy up to the wealthy Dr. Lorenz (Sydney Greenstreet), a Philippines-based professor traveling back to Asia on the Genoa Maru. Dr. Lorenz has strong ties to Japan, and may harbour treacherous plans. Also on board is Canadian girl Alberta Marlow (Mary Astor), and Rick immediately tries to get close to her, as it becomes evident that her story of being a small-town girl from Medicine Hat does not ring true. As they steam to New York and then approach the Canal, the trip becomes hazardous when Rick thwarts an assassination attempt and uncovers Dr. Lorenz's true intentions.

Across The Pacific is four-fifths of an excellent film. Director John Huston headed off to the real war before the ending was wrapped, apparently taking the script with him. An uncredited Vincent Sherman was left to find and film any sort of an ending, and it's miserable B-movie botch of a job. The final 15 minutes almost undo all the preceding good work, and leave a bitter taste in the mouth.

But up until all the main characters find themselves at the Morton Plantation in Panama, Across The Pacific (despite being set entirely in the Atlantic) is a sassy and clever espionage caper, benefiting from three intriguing characters playing a game of cat and mouse on board a tense ship in the shadow of a war that is about to get a lot worse. Across The Pacific is fast-paced, with sharp dialogue (by Robert Garson and Richard Macaulay) and edgy direction. Rick, Dr. Lorenz and Alberta rarely say what they mean or reveal their true intentions, creating a delightful dance of duplicity balanced on a knife's edge.

Huston, Bogart, Astor and Greenstreet reunite from The Maltese Falcon (1941), and the chemistry is immediately evident. Huston transforms the Genoa Maru into a veritable maze of spies and a den of love, Rick and Dr. Lorenz engaged in dangerous deceit while Rick makes a separate play for Alberta. Of course she is hiding secrets of her own, setting up a triangle of saucy secrets on the high seas. Grim-faced Japanese crewmen who seem to eavesdrop on all conversations add to the mounting tension.

But then the climax arrives, a horribly staged, childishly simplistic and brain dead resolution. Across The Pacific is a seductive journey that flounders badly at the final port of call.

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Movie Review: The Hucksters (1947)

A critical dissection of the post-War advertising world, The Hucksters blows hot and cold. The drama surrounding the business of marketing resonates with a satisfying edge. In comparison, the romance elements appear contrived and stagger into somewhat bedraggled predictability.

In New York, wily advertising executive Victor Norman (Clark Gable) is looking to re-start his career after serving in the Second World War. He approaches Mr. Kimberly (Adolphe Menjou), head of the Kimberly Advertising Agency, to seek a position. Victor hangs around on a freelance basis to help Kimberly deal with his most difficult client: Evan Evans (Sydney Greenstreet), the domineering and egotistical head of the Beautee Soap company. Evans gives Kimberly $10 million worth of business every year to make Beautee the best selling soap in America, and terrifies Kimberly's executives with impossible demands.

Victor proves his ability by convincing widow Kay Dorrance (Deborah Kerr) to endorse Beautee soap, and the two become romantically involved. However, local lounge singer Jean Ogilvie (Ava Gardner) also has eyes for Victor. With clumsy missteps besetting the relationship between Victor and Kay and opening the door for Jean, Evans throws the next impossible demand Victor's way: secure the services of two-bit comedian Buddy Hare (Keenan Wynn) and turn him into a success on a radio show to be sponsored by Beautee soap. Victor has to deal with talent agent David Lash (Edward Arnold), please Kimberly, satisfy Evans, secure a job, and choose the right woman for his future.

The Hucksters is based on the best-selling (and at the time sensational) book by Frederic Wakeman, Sr., and some elements do not translate well to the screen. Victor's attempted courtship of Kay at a sleazy motel burns too much time and smacks of incompetence totally at odds with his character, while a pivotal conversation between Victor and talent agent David Lash is inserted without context and as a result is catastrophically fumbled.

Clark Gable, 20 years older than Kerr and 21 ahead of Gardner, is hazily unconvincing as the romantic lead, but moves comfortably through the minefields of the corporate world, creating in Victor Norman a believable executive oozing confidence and quick to enact solutions to problems that others find intractable.

The Hucksters was Deborah Kerr's debut in Hollywood, and although competent, she is not the best thing in the movie. Her friendly but conservative character of Mrs. Dorrance has absolutely nothing in common with the slick and resourceful Victor Norman, and there is simply no reason for the two of them to fall in love, leaving Kerr in an awkward lurch as the leading woman who must fall for the leading man due to convention rather than conviction.

In contrast, the lively Ava Gardner as Jean Ogilvie positively sparkles, and Jean's earthy talents appear to be the perfect fit for Victor. Both actresses would go on to become major stars, Kerr by careful design and Gardner through the happy discovery of her performance in The Hucksters.

Director Jack Conway steers the movie to its best moments in the scenes focusing on Victor's interactions with Kimberly and Evans. Sydney Greenstreet steals every scene he is in with overwhelming presence. His portrayal of the insufferable tycoon Evans is a treasure, surrounded by yes men and yes women and outwardly demanding their immediate agreement with all his opinions. The dynamics between Evans, Norman and Kimberly are at the heart of the movie, filled with fascinating lessons in personal and corporate leadership as well as examples of human behaviour under pressure.

In a movie packing mixed content, the business drama is a sharp deal, but the romantic triangle needs to be liquidated at a discount.

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Movie Review: Passage To Marseille (1944)

Passage To Marseille is a heartfelt salute to the men and women of France fighting under the Free French banner against the Nazis during World War Two.

The movie engages with a unique and courageous and potentially disorenting flashback within a flashback within a flashback technique to essentially recount four linked stories. The film's style and structure prevent any of the chapters from being totally absorbing, but there is enough going on with the dedicated cast to maintain momentum, both backwards and forwards.

The main story is set at a camouflaged military air base in the English countryside, where Captain Freycinet (Claude Rains) oversees a Free French bomber squadron flying night missions to hit German targets. Jean Matrac (Humphrey Bogart) is a machine gunners on one of the bombers, and on the return flights he drops steel tubes containing messages to his wife and son, who live under occupation in the French countryside. Freycinet recounts Matrac's story to a visiting journalist.

In the first flashback, Freycinet is sailing on-board the Ville de Nancy, a small French merchant boat heading from Central America to Marseille, with the war just having started. Also on board is pompous French veteran Major Duval (Sydney Greenstreet), who wrongly believes that the Maginot line will stop any German attack on France. On the journey, the Ville de Nancy picks up five men spotted drifting on a ramshackle raft, including Matrac, Marius (Peter Lorre) and Petit (George Tobias).

The rescued men initially claim to be miners from Venezuela, but Duval suspects that they are convicts, and he is right. In a story told through the second flashback, the five men eventually admit to Freycinet they are escapees from the notorious French Guiana penal colony. Despite being convicted prisoners deported for life, they wish to return home and fight for France against the Germans, and are helped by a patriotic old timer to plan and execute their escape from the unforgiving jungle colony.

As the escape from French Guiana is unfolding, the third flashback reveals Matrac's pre-war background: he was an anti-establishment journalist writing for a small newspaper, highly critical of French politicians trying to appease Hitler. With the authorities wanting him silenced, he is framed and convicted of a murder he did not commit. Before his capture, he marries his sweetheart Paula (Michele Morgan), the woman who now receives the messages he drops from the sky.

Passage To Marseille does suffer from an uncharacteristically disinterested Bogart performance, and the movie does not even try to explain his lack of an attempt at a French accent. The romantic sub-plot between Matrac and Paula is sincere and well-intentioned, but is free of tension and occupies a limited amount of screen time, robbing Bogart of the relationship spark that he so effectively translates into rich drama in many of his best movies.

But Passage To Marseille is an otherwise powerful World War Two film. Produced when France was still under the Nazi boot, the story is a reminder that many Frenchmen kept up the fight and did not give up on securing freedom for their country. While the internal French resistance network has often been celebrated, French soldiers who fought a more traditional war with the Allied armies have featured less frequently on film.

The four stories are compact, and the transitions between them are handled seamlessly. Director Michael Curtiz keeps the time shifts linear, moving one step at a time sequentially backwards and then again forwards, the rational progression between timelines effective in maintaining coherence. The segment on the Ville de Nancy emerges as the core of the movie, bringing together all sides of France.

While Matrac and his fellow escapees are risking everything to take the fight to the Germans, Major Duval represents both the clueless officers underestimating the enemy and then the surrenderists all too quick to align themselves with the puppet Vichy government. When shooting erupts on the boat and a German fighter plane attacks, Matrac shows no mercy, in a scene deleted from some earlier versions of the film for its rather astonishing but honest brutality.

The reconvening of Curtiz, Bogart, Rains, Lorre and Greenstreet, as well as the use of flashbacks, forces a mention of Casablanca, but Passage To Marseille is a different kind of film, grittier, less romantic, and more concerned with the mechanics of war and the motivations of the men who decide to fight. Rather than the beginning of a beautiful friendship, Passage To Marseille is about the fierce patriotism most needed in the days of darkest oppression.

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Movie Review: Casablanca (1942)

Casablanca may or may not be the best movie ever made, but it probably is the most perfect. Filled with memorable characters, rich scenes, an elaborate central locale, and sharp dialogue, and centred on a doomed love story set amidst a world war, Casablanca effortlessly delivers the pure magic of the movies.

With World War Two raging, Casablanca is a hot transit point for anyone traveling in or out of the conflict zone, and nominally ruled by the Vichy French government as represented by Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains). Nazi officials keep a close eye on everything and everyone, and exit visas to a safe haven are the most coveted prize.

Jaded Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) runs Rick's Café Américain, the place to mingle, illegally gamble and swing deals. He competes with the Blue Parrot cafe, run by his rival Signor Ferrari (Sydney Greenstreet). Two visas fortuitously fall into Rick's hands, just as his former love Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) enters his joint with husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), who is an essential leader of the underground movement fighting the Nazis. Passion reignites between Rick and Ilsa, but she is torn between helping her husband escape to fight another day, or pursuing the true love of her life.

A small movie made in a hurry with limited sets and a cast of Warner Bros regulars, Casablanca catches lightning in a bottle. A mix of wartime intrigue, soulful romance and thriller stocked with desperation and no shortage of danger, the film oozes eloquent magic in every scene. Against a backdrop of a global conflict blanketing the city with a thick fog of mistrust, director Michael Curtiz cleverly exploits the ambience and uses an economy of scenes to package the film into a breezy 102 minutes, all the important threads tied up, but many others left to the rich imagination of another day.

One of the most perfect casts ever assembled brings the unforgettable characters to life. Bogart excels as Rick, the owner of the busiest cafe in Casablanca, emotionally hiding out and pretending not to care for the duration of the war, but inexorably drawn into it when the lost love of his life suddenly re-emerges.

Yvonne (Rick's casual floozy): Where were you last night?
Rick: That's so long ago, I don't remember.
Yvonne: Will I see you tonight?
Rick: I never make plans that far ahead.

Bergman is simply luminous as Ilsa, torn between her past and present lovers, having to decide between two men, and between her personal passion and her life's most important duty. And finally Rains as Captain Renault, charming his way through the tightrope of maintaining the peace and doling out favours in a nest of supposedly neutral chaos, and waiting to see which side will emerge victorious from the ruins of war. Rains also gets to participate in many of the best dialogue exchanges in the movie.

Renault: And what in Heaven's name brought you to Casablanca?
Rick: My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters.
Renault: The waters? What waters? We're in the desert.
Rick: I was misinformed.

Paul Henreid as Laszlo, Ilsa's husband and a leader of the French underground resistance, is billed along with Bogart and Bergman and ahead of Rains, but unfortunately, he is the weakest link in Casablanca. Whether due to the limitations of the role or the actor, Henreid almost comes across as more suitable for a silent movie. His wooden performance is not in the same league as the other three leading stars.

The depth of memorable secondary characters is part of Casablanca's enduring charm. Conrad Veidt as Major Strasser; Sydney Greenstreet as Signor Ferrari; Peter Lorre as Signor Ugarte; Dooley Wilson as Sam the pianist; and Joy Page as Annina, the Bulgaria refugee. None have too much screen time; nevertheless they all shine and make a deep and lasting impression in their few featured moments.

Renault (about Ugarte): I'm making out the report now. We haven't quite decided whether he committed suicide or died trying to escape.

Even further down the list, minor characters such as the waiters in Rick's Cafe, the pickpocket, and the assortment of desperate figures populating the corners of Casablanca linger in the memory.

In terms of locations, Rick's Cafe Americain is one of the most interesting places in movie history. Something is happening in every corner, and there is intrigue at every table, all the time. And if the main room of the cafe is not enough, the gambling den in the back is just as busy and even more entertaining. Adding depth to the exotic locations, Signor Ferrari's Blue Parrot cafe, Rick's main competition, is just as interesting, and much more ramshackle.

Renault: I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here.
Employee of Rick's: [hands Renault money] Your winnings, sir.

The script by Julius and Philip Epstein and Howard Koch is a masterpiece. Sharp, economical and funny, there is a classic line around every corner. The more famous lines are legendary. What is remarkable is that some of the less famous lines are just as good.

Michael Curtiz may have been the main Warner Bros. go-to guy to get the job done, and this proved to be a perfect fit for Casablanca. The flashback scenes with Rick and Ilsa in Paris are weak, but in the Casablanca locales, Curtiz adds clever and artistic touches without ever taking away from the urgency of the unfolding drama.

Renault (to the gathering police officers): Major Strasser has been shot.
[pause]
Renault: Round up the usual suspects.

A classic landmark in the history of movie-making, often imitated but rarely matched, Casablanca just gets better as time goes by.

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Movie Review: The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Dashiell Hammett's book reads like a screenplay, and director John Huston knew better than to tamper with brilliance. This movie version of The Maltese Falcon is a skillfully faithful adaptation of the story featuring a colourful group of ruthless back-stabbing crooks in pursuit of a precious treasure.

Detective Sam Spade finds himself in the middle of the muddle, and has to sort through the mess while keeping himself off the growing list of murder victims.

The strengths of the book are effectively translated to the screen. In a star-making role, Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade defines the 1940's private detective role, all cool under increasing pressure, manipulating diverse characters and cascading events to his advantage despite a shortage of complete information and an even more disadvantageous shortage of guns.

The core of the film is Spade matching wits with Kasper Gutman. Sydney Greenstreet creates one of the most memorable villains of the screen, a combination of faux-intellect, cold-blooded evil, and a really large stomach. Surrounding, complementing, and counterbalancing Greenstreet are the effeminate Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) and the too-tough-for-his-own-good Wilmer (Elisha Cook Jr.). They both add immeasurable depth to the texture of the film.

The weak spot of the movie, much as in the book, is Mary Astor as Brigid O'Shaughnessy. Astor, with her weird hair style and wide open eyes, cannot bring any depth or darkness to the unconvincing O'Shaughnessy as created by Hammett, and is simply not believable neither as a villainess nor as a seductress.

With a lot of the actual action and murder happening off-screen, and most of the character interaction taking place indoors and through sharp conversation, John Huston creates tightning tension and dynamic movement with his camera angles and framing. There is menace, danger and hidden intent behind every line of dialogue, and Huston, working from his own script, captures it all perfectly.

The Maltese Falcon movie, much like the bird at the centre of everyone's attention, is indeed the stuff that dreams are made of.

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