Tonight's Movie: I Love Trouble (1948) at the Noir City Film Festival

The 20th Annual Noir City Film Festival in Hollywood featured an opening night double bill of THE BLUE DAHLIA (1946) and I LOVE TROUBLE (1948).

This was at least the third opening night I've attended featuring a film starring Alan Ladd; past opening nights have featured THE GREAT GATSBY (1949) in 2012 and THIS GUN FOR HIRE (1942), shown on the bottom half of the double bill in 2012 and reprised as the evening's lead film in 2017. As a big fan of Alan Ladd, I'm delighted his work continues to command such attention!

I last reviewed THE BLUE DAHLIA after watching it on DVD in 2013. Once again I found it to be a highly entertaining film, right down to faces like Noel Neill, James Millican, Frank Faylen, and Anthony Caruso in small roles.

All of the films in this year's Noir City Festival are set in and around Los Angeles, and both THE BLUE DAHLIA and the second film of the night, I LOVE TROUBLE, do a good job conveying a sense of "place." The location shooting in each film isn't extensive, but it's effective, and script references to nearby cities like Long Beach add to the authenticity.

I LOVE TROUBLE was the first screenplay by Roy Huggins, based on his Chandler-esque novel THE DOUBLE TAKE. Huggins would later be known for several classic TV shows, including James Garner's MAVERICK and THE ROCKFORD FILES. Franchot Tone plays Hollywood-based private detective Stuart Bailey, and it's fun to note that Huggins would later recycle the name Stuart Bailey for Efrem Zimbalist Jr.'s character in the TV series 77 SUNSET STRIP!

Character actor Tom Powers, seen earlier in the night as the police captain in THE BLUE DAHLIA, here plays Ralph Johnston, who hires Bailey to follow his lovely young wife (Lynn Merrick). Mrs. Johnston seems to have an unexceptional background, yet she's receiving blackmail letters.

Bailey, aided by his firecracker Gal Friday, Hazel (a very funny Glenda Farrell), traces Mrs. Johnston's background, which leads him to Portland and meeting lovely ladies played by Janet Blair, Janis Carter, and Adele Jergens. Before the film Alan K. Rode quipped that "If Joan Crawford and Barbara Stanwyck are the Four Seasons of femme fatale, then Janis Carter and Adele Jergens are the Courtyard by Marriott."

The plot frankly gets a bit convoluted, especially given a couple characters' multiple identities. I was glad to note it wasn't just me who became a bit confused; some years ago Steve at Mystery File wrote "I do not believe that anyone can watch this movie and follow the plot all of the way through. It is complicated."

That said, it's made up for by the terrific cast, the previously mentioned location shooting, a couple nicely choreographed car chases, and a number of good lines and fun incidents; I especially loved a dark warehouse which conceals a high-class nightclub.

The supporting cast includes John Ireland, Donald Curtis, Robert Barrat, Steven Geray, Eduardo Ciannelli, Arthur Space, and, pretty far down in the cast list, Raymond Burr, his fifth film in a career which started in 1946. Mary Adams Hayes and Karen X. Gaylord appear in an amusing scene as waitresses.

The underappreciated Franchot Tone brings to Stu Bailey the same lighthearted spirit seen as the Western detective in TRAIL OF THE VIGILANTES (1940). Things may get tense and even dangerous, such as when there's an attempt to run him down in a deserted industrial area, but he keeps his cool and is always ready with a quip. There's definitely some foreshadowing of Jim Rockford here, over a quarter century before THE ROCKFORD FILES.

The movie is good fun and I would happily watch it again; alas, it's not available on DVD or even VHS. It can currently be found on YouTube in a murky print with a slightly mismatched but clear soundtrack; sadly, the print looks nothing like the lovely 35mm print from Sony we saw last night. I very much hope this Columbia Pictures film shows up one day on a restored DVD so that it may be enjoyed by a much wider audience.

I LOVE TROUBLE was directed by S. Sylvan Simon, who would pass away too young in 1951. Simon was only in his 20s when he made numerous entertaining "B" films for MGM, including SPRING MADNESS (1938), THESE GLAMOUR GIRLS (1939), and DANCING CO-ED (1939), to name just three fondly recalled movies.

The movie was filmed in black and white by Charles Lawton Jr. It runs 93 minutes.

Coming soon: A review of L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (1997), seen Saturday evening.