Tonight's Movie: Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022)

It's hard to believe it's been almost exactly six years since the first DOWNTON ABBEY (2019) film was released.

I absolutely loved it, and I felt likewise about the sequel, DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA (2022).

I never managed to review A NEW ERA at the time it came out, so watching the Blu-ray and posting this review seemed like the perfect preparation to see the final film of the series this week: DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE (2025).

A NEW ERA picks up shortly after the conclusion of the previous film, opening with the wedding of Tom Branson (Allen Leech) and Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton).

Happily married Edith (Laura Carmichael) and Bertie (Harry Hadden-Paton) are now the parents of a son, Peter; meanwhile, Lady Mary's husband Henry (an unseen Matthew Goode) is perpetually away on business.

I'll insert here that anyone wishing to have more extended character introductions is invited to read my review of the previous film, which gives more details; for the most part I assume those reading this are likely to already be DOWNTON ABBEY fans.

It's openly acknowledged that Lady Violet (Maggie Smith) is slowly fading away, in her final weeks or months. Otherwise, all is rolling gently along at Downton Abbey when a pair of unlikely events occur.

Lady Violet announces that a long-ago beau has bequeathed her a villa in the south of France and that she intends to leave it to Sybbie (Fifi Hart), the young daughter of Tom and his late first wife Sybil, so that she'll be financially well situated on a level more comparable to her well-off cousins.

At the same time a film production company wants to rent Downton Abbey as a movie location, and Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) tells her father (Hugh Bonneville) they can't afford to turn down the significant fee involved, which will allow much-needed repairs to Downton.

Several family members travel to France to visit the mysterious villa, while Lady Mary remains at Downton Abbey to manage the goings-on surrounding the movie shoot, which coincidentally is taking place at the dawn of the sound era.

But -- shades of SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952) -- the leading lady (Laura Haddock), who was cast when the film was planned to be silent, has a strong lower class accent. What to do? Anyone who's seen SINGIN' IN THE RAIN can probably guess how the actress is provided with a posh British accent.

There are a couple of aspects I particularly love about these films. One is that they allow us the pleasure of spending time with the huge cast, and each of the many characters has their moments to shine. That's been part of the appeal of "series" movies from the early days of moviedom, and this simply does it on a grand scale, with great costumes in glorious settings. It's a complete pleasure.

There's no particular need to comment on individual performances in this case; the actors had been portraying these characters for over a decade at the time this movie was made, and they simply are the upstairs and downstairs members of the Downton Abbey household, with all their admirable traits and foibles.

I also love that after the many traumas some of the characters endured in the original TV series, which aired in the U.S. 2011-2016, everyone is now, for the most part, enjoying prolonged "happily ever afters" in the movies, and we get to enjoy that with them.

Lady Mary alone may not be so fortunate in her personal life, but everyone else is happily paired up and planning their futures, making these the ultimate in "feel good" movies. I thus happily anticipate seeing DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE in the near future.

DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA was written by Julia Fellowes and directed by Simon Curtis. It was filmed by Andrew Dunn.

A trailer may be watched here. The movie is rated PG.

DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA is available in a Blu-ray/DVD set.

Related post: Musings on Downton Abbey (2011).

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Around the Blogosphere This Week...

...will not appear this weekend.

I'm participating today in the second annual Pixie Dust Dash at Disneyland.

Pixie Dust Dash is a sort of trivia scavenger hunt along the lines of MouseAdventure, which requires a fair amount of Disneyland knowledge for success. We really enjoyed it last year, placing 17th out of 65 teams.  (Earlier this year we placed 2nd at MouseAdventure!)  

Update: We improved over last year by one spot and placed 16th out of 57 teams this year.  It was a true challenge so we were very happy with this.

The column will return next weekend, on September 20th.

For recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my September 6th column.

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Tonight's Movie: Sharpshooters (1938) at Cinecon

One of the films I most looked forward to at the Cinecon Classic Film Festival was a Labor Day screening of SHARPSHOOTERS (1938).

SHARPSHOOTERS is a 65-minute "B" movie from 20th Century-Fox which stars Brian Donlevy and Lynn Bari. One of the things which sparked my interest in ths film was how much I had previously enjoyed another Fox "B" starring Donlevy, 36 HOURS TO KILL (1936).

The movie was introduced by my friend John DiLeo, who traveled to the Cinecon Festival from Pennsylvania (photo below). He placed the movie in a larger context in the careers of its stars.

The following year Donlevy would have one of his greatest career successes, for his Oscar-nominated role as the villain in BEAU GESTE (1939). He would star in or play prominent supporting roles in many more fine movies, including Preston Sturges' THE GREAT MCGINTY (1940). Bari also had a busy career throughout the '40s.

The SHARPSHOOTERS title is a play on words; the poster says the film features "The Camera Daredevils."

Donlevy plays newsreel reporter Steve Mitchell, who as the movie begins witnesses the assassination of the king of a small European country. The incident is successfully captured on film by Steve's cameraman Waldo (Wally Vernon).

Despite the attempts of the local government to suppress news coverage regarding the murder, Steve gets the newsreel footage to his boss for worldwide distribution.

It transpires that a group is also attempting to depose the young heir to the throne, Prince Michael (Martin Joseph Spellman Jr.). Through their ingenuity Steve and Waldo manage to save Prince Michael, his uncle Prince Alexis (John King), and Prince Michael's American schoolteacher, Dianne (Bari).

I described this film on Twitter immediately afterward as "a bit silly, yes, but also tons of fun with a good cast. This is the kind of Cinecon programming I love!"

There's a lot of goofiness, with most of the cast simply having fun; there aren't any particularly deep characterizations, but there's lots of action along with some bits of humor to keep the audience engaged throughout.

I was surprised that Bari didn't end up being a romantic interest for Donlevy, the repartee in their first scene together to the contrary. But it's all highly entertaining and I would certainly watch it again.

The movie was directed by James Tinling, a name previously unknown to me. It was filmed in black and white by Barney McGill. The screenplay was written by Robert Ellis and Helen Logan from a story by Maurice Rapf and Lester Ziffren.

Cast members Bari and King were also seen later in the day in the Fox "B" CITY GIRL (1938).

The cast also includes Douglass Dumbrille, C. Henry Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, and Frank Puglia.

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Tonight's Movie: Little Miss Roughneck (1938) at Cinecon

One of the five films I saw on Labor Day last week at the Cinecon Classic Film Festival was LITTLE MISS ROUGHNECK (1938).

LITTLE MISS ROUGHNECK was a 64-minute film from Columbia Pictures. It was the weakest film seen that day, although it had its moments.

Edith Fellows stars as Foxine LaRue, an overly vivacious (to put it mildly!) child performer whose "stage mother" Gertrude (Margaret Irving) wants Foxine to be in movies. Foxine's long-suffering older sister Mary (Julie Bishop, billed as Jacqueline Wells) helps support her mother and sister.

Agent Al Patridge becomes interested in Foxine -- or perhaps he's more strongly interested in pretty Mary -- and has Foxine and family travel to Hollywood, where he endeavors to find Foxine film work.

Al gets Foxine in the door at studios, and she even merits some brief praise from a director for a bit of improvisation when she's working as an extra, but Foxine and her mother are both so obnoxious her career doesn't end up going anywhere.

Foxine decides to run away as a publicity stunt and jumps on a freight train; she later ends up living in the humble home of Pascual and Mercedes Orozco (Leo Carrillo and Inez Palange) and their children. While the Orozcos try to figure out who the secretive Foxine is and where she came from, Foxine is treated as an ordinary child for the first time ever, and it might be the making of her.

However, complications arise, including the authorities and local community erroneously believing Pascual kidnapped Foxine...

The first part of this film was admittedly fairly difficult to watch due to how incredibly obnoxious Foxine and her mother are; in fact, one of my friends said he "couldn't take it anymore" and left the theater!

Fortunately, the movie improved considerably once the engaging Carrillo entered the film; not only is he a delight, but at this point in the story Foxine's behavior begins to calm down considerably and the movie correspondingly becomes more enjoyable.

That said, towards the end the film unexpectedly grows very dark, threatening to turn into something like the conclusion of the later TRY AND GET ME (1950)! The direction this ostensibly lightweight film centered around a child went with the story was frankly shocking.

All is well by the end, though, with a reformed Foxine singing a piece from RIGOLETTO as the movie comes to its conclusion.

I've seen Fellows in several dramas and comedies, including HIS GREATEST GAMBLE (1934) and SHE MARRIED HER BOSS (1935), but along the way I somehow missed the realization that she was a singer.

I'm curious to now find more of Fellows' movies and learn more about her musical career, while hoping she didn't usually play characters as unpleasant as Foxine! I'm particularly curious about her Gene Autry films HEART OF THE RIO GRANDE (1942) and STARDUST ON THE SAGE (1942). I've also got a copy of PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1936) in which she costarred with Bing Crosby.

I'd also like to see CITY STREETS (1938), which reunited Fellows and Carrillo later the same year as LITTLE MISS ROUGHNECK. I assume that title might be as hard to find as LITTLE MISS ROUGHNECK, but perhaps it will play at a future Cinecon!

I've long been a fan of Julie Bishop, who began as a child actress herself in 1923 under the name Jacqueline Wells, which she was still using at the time of this film. She transitioned to the name Julie Bishop in 1941, not long after signing with Warner Bros.

At Warner Bros. Bishop appeared in a wide variety of parts, from bits to leads, including playing Humphrey Bogart's wife in ACTION IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC (1942) and Errol Flynn's fiancee in NORTHERN PURSUIT (1943). Bishop's long career included one of my favorite films, MGM's WESTWARD THE WOMEN (1951). She left movies after playing a supporting role in the Warner Bros. Western THE BIG LAND (1957) with Alan Ladd.

Julie Bishop died in 2001. Her survivors included her daughter, actress Pamela Susan Shoop, a familiar episodic TV presence in the '70s and '80s. In 2016 I was able to pay my respects at Bishop's final resting place at Forest Lawn Glendale, where she's buried under the name Julie Shoop Bergin.

For that matter, now that I think of it, I've also visited the final resting place of Leo Carrillo. Edith Fellows has a niche at Hollywood Forever Cemetery which I'll look for on my next visit.

LITTLE MISS ROUGHNECK was directed by Aubrey Scotto and filmed in black and white by Benjamin Kline. It was written by Fred Niblo Jr., Grace Neville, and Michael L. Simmons based on Niblo and Neville's story.

The supporting cast included John Gallaudet, Thurston Hall, Ann Doran, George McKay, and Al Bridge.

While LITTLE MISS ROUGHNECK only partly succeeded as enjoyable entertainment, I was glad to see it in a very nice print, especially given its rarity, and to learn more about the career of Edith Fellows. With rare exceptions, I find even the most minor films valuable viewing, for a variety of reasons.

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Tonight's Movie: Knights of the Round Table (1953) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

MGM's KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE (1953) is a lavish telling of Arthurian legends.

KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE was the studio's first CinemaScope picture, and the location filming -- including vistas of castles and a great many battles -- looks spectacular in the widescreen format.

Add in a strong cast and a robust, stirring score by Miklos Rozsa and it adds up to an enjoyable 115 minutes of entertainment.

This was my first viewing of the film. While over the years I've heard rumbles that it wasn't all that good, I must say I was quite pleasantly surprised. Perhaps it helped to view it with low expectations, but I found the movie to be a colorful, energetic telling of the familiar stories.

I wish it ended differently, but a sad ending has always been inherent to the tale, and MGM's screenwriters did what they could to leave audiences on a hopeful note.

Robert Taylor made a number of period pictures in the '50s, including QUO VADIS (1951) and IVANHOE (1952), and he seems just right for Lancelot of the Lakes. (Of course, as with many films of the era, there's no attempt at a non-American accent by Taylor or the other leads, but classic film fans are used to that!) He's handsome, courtly, and great in the action scenes.

Just as I'd read complaints about the movie, I've read reviews expressing disappointment with Ava Gardner's quiet performance as Queen Guinevere; however, I really like her in this, finding a unique sweetness to her performance I don't recall seeing from her in other films. She also looks absolutely lovely.

The rest of the cast is quite strong, including Mel Ferrer as King Arthur, Felix Aylmer as Merlin, Anne Crawford as Morgan Le Fay, and Stanley Baker as Modred.

I especially enjoyed Maureen Swanson as Elaine, the fanciful young woman who, like Guinevere, loves Lancelot and eventually becomes the mother of the future Sir Galahad.

Director Richard Thorpe had worked with Taylor on IVANHOE and would continue to collaborate with the actor regularly throughout the '50s. Thorpe also directed the recently reviewed swashbuckler THE PRISONER OF ZENDA (1952).

The screenplay was by a trio of writers, Talbot Jennings, Jan Lustig, and Noel Langley, based on Thomas Malory's LE MORTE D'ARTHUR.

The movie was shot on location in the UK and Ireland by Stephen Dade and Freddie Young. As was common for the earliest CinemaScope films, KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE was shot in both a flat and a CinemaScope version, which must have been a Herculean undertaking with so many action scenes. Only the widescreen is on this Blu-ray.

As a side note, this film was previously released on DVD by the Warner Archive Collection in 2012. I've not seen that disc but, given the Warner Archive's track record, must assume that this Blu-ray is an improvement.

The new Blu-ray print is from a 1080p HD master from a 4K scan of the original camera negative. In a word, it looks and sounds spectacular.

The disc includes a brief introduction by actor Mel Ferrer which was recorded in 2003. It also includes the trailer; a premiere newsreel; the 10-minute musical short MGM JUBILEE OVERTURE (1954); and the seven-minute CinemaScope cartoon ONE DROOPY KNIGHT (1957).

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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Tonight's Movie: Dr. Broadway (1942) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

DR. BROADWAY (1942), a 68-minute "B" film which marked the directorial debut of the great Anthony Mann, was just released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber.

The movie is part of the Dark Side of Cinema XXVI collection along with SMOOTH AS SILK (1946) and THE GREAT GATSBY (1949).

I first saw DR. BROADWAY at UCLA in 2014, when it was part of a terrific festival celebrating Mann's career. I hadn't seen it since then and was very glad to revisit it thanks to Kino Lorber making the movie available for home viewing at long last.

DR. BROADWAY was written by Art Arthur, based on a novel by Borden Chase. The titular character's real name is Dr. Timothy Kane (Macdonald Carey). Lead actor Carey, like director Mann, was making his film debut, though Carey's next movie, TAKE A LETTER, DARLING (1942), beat DR. BROADWAY to theaters by just a few days.

"Dr. Broadway" is a handsome young doctor with a Times Square office. Many of the local Runyon-esque "characters" are friends who banded together to help send Kane to medical school, his father having died when he was young.

As the movie begins, the doctor promptly finds himself helping to save Connie (Jean Phillips) from jumping off a building ledge; meanwhile mobster Vic Telli (Eduardo Ciannelli), whom the doc sent "up the river," is out of jail unexpectedly early and looking for the doctor.

While the initial assumption is that Vic will threaten the doctor, Vic has something entirely else in mind...

This is a terrific-looking, fun film which I like a lot. The screenplay is admittedly a bit hard for me to completely track at times, despite repeat viewings, but I really enjoy the ride. The movie has a great cast, a wealth of fun dialogue, a fast pace, and an incredibly stylish presentation.

Carey is smooth and congenial in the title role; he even rates a special introduction in the film's creatively designed opening credits. By the next year he was working with Alfred Hitchcock on SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943), and it's easy to see why Hitchcock cast him in that film.

Phillips was only in films from 1940 to 1942, though she amassed a significant number of credits in that short time frame. She has a curiously strong resemblance to Ginger Rogers, but that works with her energetic character and I enjoy her in it.

The striking Joan Woodbury (enjoyed in CRASHING HOLLYWOOD and FLAME OF THE WEST) has a relatively short but significant role late in the film.

The many wonderful character actors in the movie include Richard Lane, J. Carrol Naish, Olin Howland, Mary Gordon, Sid Melton, Warren Hymer, Gerald Mohr, Spencer Charters, Thomas W. Ross, John Gallaudet, and Jay Novello, to name just some of the familiar faces in the movie's large cast.

Kino Lorber's Blu-ray print is a great-looking new HD master from a 4K scan. Sound quality is also excellent.

It's also worth mentioning that this case has particularly well-designed case art based on one of the film's posters.

DR. BROADWAY contains two commentary tracks; the first is by the always-excellent Jeremy Arnold, while the second was recorded by Allan Arkush and Daniel Kremer.

I enjoyed listening to Arnold's track immediately after watching the film and thoroughly enjoyed it. Arnold always comes to his commentaries fully prepared, with a wide variety of topics to discuss; here he comments on everything from the film's place in the careers of its filmmakers to the role of "B" films to the creativity in how Mann and cinematographer Theodor Sparkuhl shot certain scenes, along with much, much more. It's an informative and entertaining hour-plus which I recommend.

A trio of trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber rounds out the disc.

For additional thoughts on this enjoyable film, please visit my 2014 review.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray collection.

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Tonight's Movie: City Girl (1938) at Cinecon

One of the most interesting "B" films shown at last weekend's Cinecon Classic Film Festival was CITY GIRL (1938), a 63-minute "B" film from 20th Century Fox.

The title role was played by Phyllis Brooks, who I noted sounded curiously rather like Jean Arthur.

I'll mention at the outset that I'm going to share quite a bit of the plot, as part of what's interesting about this movie is how much of an action-packed story it jams into a little over an hour. 

Brooks plays Ellen, a diner waitress who turns down a date with her longtime boyfriend Don (Robert Wilcox), a lawyer just starting his career, in order to go out with hoodlums Ritchie (Douglas Fowley) and Mike (Chick Chandler), along with Mike's girlfriend Flo (Esther Muir).

Ellen doesn't initially realize Ritchie and Mike are crooks, but the men rob a gas station that evening while they're on the date! Ellen drops her purse at the crime scene but convinces the police she was an innocent bystander. Instead of learning from the experience, Ellen digs in deeper with the criminal element and agrees to go out again with Ritchie and Mike; she then attracts the attention of crime boss Charles Blake (Ricardo Cortez).

Ellen may have a sweet appearance, but she wants the "finer things in life" instead of waiting for Don to move up in his career. She's happy to receive gifts she shouldn't accept from the men who will provide them.

Blake's mistress Vivian (Adrienne Ames) doesn't take kindly to her lover's interest in Ellen, leading to a confrontation in which Ellen accidentally shoots and kills Vivian.

Ellen is convicted of murder but broken out of prison by Blake. The getaway car, however, ends up in a fiery crash and Ellen's face must be repaired with plastic surgery.

After a lengthy recovery, Ellen dyes her hair brown and goes to work infiltrating the work of Ralph Chaney (Paul Stanton), who is investigating organized crime. Ellen's ex Don is, naturally, one of Chaney's assistants...

As can be seen, quite a lot happens in a little over an hour! The screenplay was written by Frances Hyland, Lester Ziffren, and Robin Harris based on their story; the movie may not be completely probable, but it's quite entertaining, with interesting characters in a story which seems to get wilder the longer it goes.

The plastic surgery angle, with Ellen operated on by a non-specialist doctor (Charles Lane), particularly stretches credulity, but as with several plot elements from these late '30s movies, that story point would be revived again in a later film, in this case with Humphrey Bogart in DARK PASSAGE (1947).

I was rather expecting that eventually Ellen would reform, along the lines of Robert Montgomery's crook in HIDE-OUT (1934), but that film was just barely into the Code era and perhaps crime could be forgiven a little more easily then, with a brief jail sentence. In both CITY GIRL and another film seen at the fest, GANGS OF CHICAGO (1940), the "crime does not pay" message was drilled into audiences in each film's final moments.

Cortez was always good as kind of an elegant slimeball, including in one of my favorite pre-Codes, MIDNIGHT MARY (1933). The next year he also began directing, starting off with INSIDE STORY (1939), which I also saw at the festival. Curiously, Phyllis Brooks refused to work with him again on INSIDE STORY and went on suspension.

Brooks captures Ellen's odd mix of naivete and uncaring greed, ready to leave behind a handsome fiance on his way up in order to obtain immediate luxuries. Things matter more to Ellen than people, and the people who can provide the nice things matter more to her than people who can't.

Several CITY GIRL cast members were also in INSIDE STORY, including Douglas Fowley, Chick Chandler, Irving Bacon, and Charles Lane. Cast members Lynn Bari and John King were also seen in SHARPSHOOTERS (1938) on the same day at Cinecon.

One of the most memorable cast members in CITY GIRL is Marjorie Main as Ellen's slow-talking, sad, and unkempt mother. Her parents' poor tenement lifestyle is a key reason for Ellen wanting luxuries.

CITY GIRL was directed by Alfred L. Werker and filmed in black and white by Harry Jackson.

CITY GIRL has no connection with the 1930 film of the same name, which starred Charles Farrell and Mary Duncan.

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Around the Blogosphere This Week

Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the Internet...

...The dates for the 2026 Noir City Festival have been announced. The festival will take place in Oakland from January 16th to 25th. The festival has an intriguing "Face the Music" theme.

...Speaking of Noir City, the Chicago edition of the festival is currently underway. Here's a nice interview with Eddie Muller and Alan K. Rode of the Film Noir Foundation.

...I enjoyed Karen Burroughs Hannsberry's look at THESE GLAMOUR GIRLS (1939) at her blog Shadows and Satin.

...The Joel McCrea Western STRANGER ON HORSEBACK (1955) will be coming to Blu-ray this December. Toby Roan, who's doing the commentary track, says the disc -- from the only surviving 35mm print -- "will be a huge improvement over the old DVD." I watched the DVD 16 years ago and mentioned the colors were variable; I'm going to really enjoy revisiting it on the Blu-ray.

...Toby Roan also reports on a new CD of the soundtrack for THE SEARCHERS (1956)...and over at his blog The Hannibal 8 he shares the good news that Film Masters is bringing the Hedy Lamarr film THE STRANGE WOMAN (1946) to Blu-ray.

...A Hollywood statue of actress Anna May Wong has been damaged in a hit and run car accident.

...I enjoy actress Pamela Tiffin, who's both cute and funny in films like ONE, TWO, THREE (1961) and COME FLY WITH ME (1963). Most recently I enjoyed seeing her in THE PLEASURE SEEKERS (1964) last weekend at the Cinecon Classic Film Festival. I learned that there's a 2015 book on the actress by Tom Lisanti, PAMELA TIFFIN; HOLLYWOOD TO ROME, 1961-1974. It was published by McFarland.

...An interesting Blu-ray release this year from VCI Entertainment: A "Poverty Row" double bill consisting of MISS V FROM MOSCOW (1942), starring Lola Lane, paired with KING OF THE ZOMBIES (1941) starring Dick Purcell, Joan Woodbury, and Mantan Moreland.

...Colin's latest review at Riding the High Country is WAR ARROW (1953) starring Jeff Chandler and Maureen O'Hara...and over at Jeff Arnold's West, Bud and RR have reviewed Bill Elliott in TAMING OF THE WEST (1939). And my thanks to Bud for his comment sharing the link for my review of Elliott in DIAL RED O (1955)!

...I'm hearing some good things about the new film THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB (2025), currently streaming on Netflix. Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren lead an impressive cast.

...Coming from Powerhouse Indicator in Britain this November: Columbia Noir #7: Made in Britain. I've collected all of the Indicator noir sets to date and they're great, with tons of extras and a nice book. The movies are detailed at the Indicator website.

...Speaking of Indicator, I just received their U.S.-only release of OUT OF THE CLOUDS (1955). It was recently reviewed by Glenn Erickson. This Region A Blu-ray can be ordered from Amazon here in the U.S.

...Glenn Erickson has also just reviewed INVASION U.S.A. (1952) from Film Masters. I'll be reviewing it soon as well! The set is packed with extras, including the full-length film ROCKET ATTACK USA and an essay by Toby Roan (there's that name again - Toby is busy!).

...Stephen Reginald has recently reviewed the Ronald Colman biography RONALD COLMAN: HOLLYWOOD'S GENTLEMAN HERO at his blog Classic Movie Man. The book was written by Carl Rollyson and published by Bear Manor Media in 2024.

...Coming to Blu-ray and DVD from ClassicFlix in November: AESOP'S FABLES - THE 1920S, VOL. 1. It features 20 restored cartoons plus bonus shorts. ClassicFlix also releases THE O. HENRY PLAYHOUSE - THE COMPLETE SERIES to DVD in November. The set will have 39 episodes.

...Notable Passings: Singer-Actor Randy Boone, who played Randy on THE VIRGINIAN (1964-66), has passed on at the age of 83. I really enjoyed him on the show, especially when he sang with Roberta Shore, and was sorry when he was dropped from the cast...Actor Jerry Adler (MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY) has died at 96...Oscar-nominated actor Graham Greene (DANCES WITH WOLVES) has passed away at 73.

...Please note that Around the Blogosphere This Week will not appear next weekend, when I'm participating in the second annual Pixie Dust Dash at Disneyland. The column will return on Saturday, September 20th.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my August 23rd column.

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Tonight's Movie: Inside Story (1939) at Cinecon

One of the films I most enjoyed at last weekend's Cinecon Classic Film Festival was a 60-minute "B" film, INSIDE STORY (1939).

INSIDE STORY was released by 20th Century-Fox in March 1939. I'll note at the outset that it has no connection with the later, similarly obscure film THE INSIDE STORY (1947), which I reviewed after seeing it at UCLA a dozen years ago.

INSIDE STORY was introduced at Cinecon by Jeremy Arnold, a "B" film aficionado and author of CHRISTMAS IN THE MOVIES. He's seen giving his intro in a photo near the end of this review.

Jeremy told us that this was the first of seven films directed by actor Ricardo Cortez in 1939-40; by the time it came out he'd already directed two more. Something that made it particularly fun for the audience was that earlier in the day we'd seen Cortez starring in another Fox "B," CITY GIRL (1938), so we enjoyed his work both in front of and behind the camera.

Jeremy noted that he'd read the story takes place at Christmas and, not having seen it, he wondered if the film would meet his personal criteria for a Christmas film, with Christmas directly impacting the film's plot and characters.

We saw INSIDE STORY in a lovely print, and I'm happy to say it proved to be very much a true Christmas film! I would certainly love for Turner Classic Movies to obtain rights to show the movie at Christmas.

Jerome Cady's screenplay was based on a story by Ben Ames Williams, author of the later novel LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (1945).

The INSIDE STORY plot strongly foreshadows REMEMBER THE NIGHT (1940) which premiered in South Dakota in December 1939, with a wide release following in January 1940 (hence the film typically being identified as from 1940).

In both films a female thief is reformed by spending a "farm Christmas" including elderly "relatives," in this case Jane Darwell and Spencer Charters. There's also a phony "family" angle, a plot point which calls to mind the later CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945).

June White (Jean Rogers) works in a "clip joint," a nightclub where lovely young ladies induce male guests to spend lots of money.

One night June goes beyond encouraging expensive drink purchases and robs a large sum of money from Paul Randall (John King) when his back is turned. Randall protests and later ends up dead at the hands of June's boss Gus Brawley (Douglas Fowley).

June wants to get out of town in a hurry and by sheer luck ends up chosen by a newspaper as "The Loneliest Girl in Town." This means she gets to go out of town for a "country Christmas" with newspaper columnist Barney Callahan (Michael Whalen), hosted by his "aunt and uncle," Mary and Ben Perkins (Darwell and Charters).

June learns early on that Mary and Ben aren't really Barney's family and the "farm" is owned by his publisher (Charles D. Brown), but they all have a lovely time regardless. June starts to fall for Barney, but after she bakes him a pie for Christmas, but Brawley shows up and forces her to leave.

June later agrees to testify against Brawley but is dismayed when Barney refuses to believe she's a reformed woman... I'll leave off with the plot there so that the many people who have never seen this film can hopefully one day discover the rest for themselves.

According to Jeremy Arnold, Phyllis Brooks, who had played the title role in the previously mentioned CITY GIRL, was originally to star in this film; for unknown reasons she did not want to work with Cortez again and instead went on suspension.

Jean Rogers had previously appeared in WHILE NEW YORK SLEEPS (1938) with Michael Whalen and was cast in this film instead of Brooks. Rogers began in the movies with bit roles in the early '30s and was perhaps best known for FLASH GORDON (1936); she was in films through 1950. I thought she looks a bit like Ann Sheridan in this film!

Whalen was never a big star but was a steady working actor for three decades. I've enjoyed him in supporting roles in later minor films such as HIGHWAY 13 (1948) and SKY LINER (1949). Both actors are pleasant leads in this, with a nice chemistry.

The movie also features Jan Duggan and Louise Carter, who are hilarious as Flora and Dora, inquisitive sisters who live next door to the "farm." They're quite delightful and play a key role in the movie's resolution.

The supporting cast also includes Chick Chandler as Barney's photographer, plus June Gale (later Mrs. Oscar Levant), Theodore von Eltz, Bert Roach, Pat O'Malley, and Irving Bacon.

Charles Lane, who plays the District Attorney, was also in CITY GIRL, along with Fowley and Chandler. We saw several faces in multiple films at the festival!

INSIDE STORY was filmed in black and white by Virgil Miller.

A few similar types of Fox "B" movies came out on DVD-R from the Fox Cinema Archives or have been shown on Fox Movie Channel, but to my knowledge INSIDE STORY has been completely unavailable for home viewing. I would so love for sets of these minor but very enjoyable Fox films to be released on DVD or Blu-ray!

Let's hope that INSIDE STORY becomes more widely available in the future, including being added to Christmastime movie rotations!

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Tonight's Movie: That's the Spirit (1945) at Cinecon

Last weekend I spent two full days at the Cinecon Classic Film Festival in Beverly Hills.

Over the course of Saturday and Monday I saw nine feature-length films, three two-reeler Technicolor musical shorts, and two very short new documentaries. I also met Nancy Kwan when she autographed her memoir for me, and I saw Ann-Margret and Pat Boone in person.

In short, it was a fantastic time! Monday, in particularly, was bliss: 4 "B" movies, all roughly an hour long, followed by a longer musical.

The films I saw were, with perhaps the exception of THE PLEASURE SEEKERS (1964), quite obscure. None are available on DVD, so most or all of us were seeing them for the first time ever.

I'm hoping to write about several of the films here, as they were quite interesting and I'd love more film fans to know about them -- hoping that one day they'll be more widely available for others to see.

I'm starting off with the final film I saw on Labor Day, THAT'S THE SPIRIT (1945). I'd never previously heard of this 87-minute Universal Pictures film, viewed in a beautiful print, but I loved it.

THAT'S THE SPIRIT is a musical fantasy which is quite reminiscent, in various ways, of both HERE COMES MR. JORDAN (1941) and HEAVEN CAN WAIT (1943). It also has a tinge of the sweetness found in the lovely fantasy IT HAPPENED TOMORROW (1944), in which THAT'S THE SPIRIT star Jack Oakie also appeared.

Perhaps even more significantly, it reminded me of CAROUSEL. That may be pure coincidence, as CAROUSEL had opened on Broadway just a few weeks before this film was released in June 1945, but it's noteworthy. And funnily enough, THAT'S THE SPIRIT costar Gene Lockhart would appear in the film version of CAROUSEL (1956) over a decade later. (Update: Please visit the comments for info on CAROUSEL's dramatic predecessor LILIOM, which might have influenced the scriptwriters.)

Lovely June Vincent (BLACK ANGEL) plays Libby, a young lady living with her parents Jasper and Abigail (Lockhart and Edith Barrett) at the turn of the century. Her orphaned relative Patience (Victoria Horne) is also part of the household.

Libby's father is straight-laced in the extreme, controlling every aspect of the lives of the women in the family. Patience is compliant with Jasper's strict edicts, but Libby, not so much, and one day the adventurous Libby takes Patience along to see a vaudeville show and find out what it's all about.

Libby falls in love with entertainer Steve Gogarty (Oakie) instantly, because he makes her laugh -- laughter not really being a thing in her family's household. They quickly marry, but a year later, when Libby is having a difficult birth, Steve says aloud that if anything has to happen to Libby, he wishes it would happen to him instead. And the Angel of Death (Karen Randle) makes a detour from the delivery room and takes Steve off to Heaven.

Steve is anxious to get back to earth and help Libby and their little girl Sheila in some way, but he's told by the Complaints Desk Clerk that he must complete his heavenly training first. The deadpan clerk is played by a funny Buster Keaton, who has just a couple scenes.

Eventually, when Sheila (Peggy Ryan) is a teenager, Steve is allowed to return to earth. Libby's father is still very controlling, and his spirit-crushing disdain for Sheila's interest in performing makes her very unhappy. Steve sets to work helping Sheila's dreams come true, while also trying to reform the constantly annoying Jasper. He's also concerned about the lonely Libby, whom he still loves deeply.

As is probably clear from the above, the screenplay (written by Michael Fessier and Ernest Pagano) has quite a lot of plot packed into under an hour and a half, but it plays very well indeed. My one quibble is that Lockhart's Jasper is allowed to go on being a pain in the neck for a bit too long, but otherwise I loved it. The film has a great cast, a lovely tone, and some incredible dancing as the cherry on top of the proverbial sundae.

I've seen almost none of Peggy Ryan's work, as -- like THAT'S THE SPIRIT -- so much of it is not available for home viewing. (What I wouldn't give for several volumes of a Ryan-O'Connor-Jean-Blyth-Foster Universal musicals collection!) Ryan has a couple very athletic dance numbers partnered with Johnny Coy which are absolutely transcendent, lifting the film to an entirely different level; I was blown away. Coy also has a terrific solo number.

I can kind of take or leave Jack Oakie, but I liked him in this a lot. It's a low-key, mellow, and at times quite touching performance.

Victoria Horne, who plays Patience, would marry Oakie half a decade later; they were wed from 1950 until his death in 1978. Their foundation has given away many thousands of dollars, if not more, to benefit young people and the arts; recipients include my oldest daughter's alma mater, USC, and there was even money awarded from the foundation at Cinecon.

June Vincent, who I've liked since seeing her in BLACK ANGEL, is very good as Libby, capturing Libby's youthful innocence and unlikely love for Steve, as well as the older Libby, a loving mother who is also a bit worn out by both her father and life.

The excellent supporting cast includes Andy Devine, Arthur Treacher, Irene Ryan, and Edward Gargan. Karen Randle, memorably spooky as the Angel of Death, was in films from 1944-52.

THAT'S THE SPIRIT was directed by Charles Lamont and filmed in black and white by Charles Van Enger.

This film is recommended...for those who can find it! Let's hope that one day a company like Kino Lorber comes to the film's rescue and plucks it out of obscurity, as it very much deserves a wider audience.

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