Tonight's Movie: Love is a Racket (1932)

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. plays a lovestruck Broadway columnist who realizes by movie's end that LOVE IS A RACKET.

LOVE IS A RACKET is an interesting little pre-Code film about Broadway, the newspaper business, and mobsters, which was directed by William A. Wellman. The film has a slightly racy edge and plenty of moral ambiguity, typical of that brief era in film history. No one ever questions the hero looking the other way and burying newspaper stories about the mob. And this being the pre-Code era, someone literally gets away with murder! (A scene where the body is disposed of is briefly rather shocking.) The script has some really wonderful lines scattered here and there. It's a different kind of movie which is worth checking out.

Fairbanks brings a crisp energy to his part. Frances Dee is quite effective in her role as the ambitious, selfish woman careless of Fairbanks' affections -- a turnabout from the sweet roles she often played in films such as LITTLE WOMEN (1933) and FINISHING SCHOOL (1934), reviewed here last year.

Lee Tracy plays Fairbanks' loyal pal and Ann Dvorak is the woman who carries a torch for Fairbanks while he pines after Dee; both actors do a nice job, and Dvorak's knowing smile at the very end of the film is a nice touch.

According to IMDb, George Raft was originally in the cast but his scenes were deleted.

This movie runs 72 minutes.

The film isn't available on DVD or video but is part of the library at Turner Classic Movies.

The trailer can be viewed here.

2013 Update: LOVE IS A RACKET is now available on DVD-R from the Warner Archive.

2020 Update: My review of the Warner Archive DVD may be found here.

"The Failure of Normality"

A thought-provoking article by Andrew Ferguson for The Weekly Standard, about the highly abnormal process of running for President.

Fred Thompson's only problem, Ferguson says, is that he's a normal human being who finds "meeting" hundreds of people per day as a requirement to be President a pointless exercise.

I have a lot of sympathy with Thompson's point of view. As I've written here before, I find the current system of campaigning for President antiquated. This is a huge country, yet the candidates pay special attention to a few small geographic areas for months, while ignoring the rest of us.

Harnessing technology in order to communicate with voters nationwide, rather than pretending that a few thousand Iowans are all a candidate's best friends, makes a lot more sense to me. Thompson tried to do this new kind of campaigning, making excellent use of the Internet to spread his message; it didn't work for him, but I suspect he has laid the groundwork for future candidates.

McCain Hires Open Borders Anti-American Activist

John McCain has added another item to the long list of reasons conservatives are not interested in electing him to the Presidency.

McCain has unbelievably yet somehow not surprisingly hired Juan Hernandez, an open borders Anti-American activist who, among other things, does not recognize the existence of the United States (the U.S. and Mexico aren't two countries, "it's just a region") and who wants Mexicans who move to the U.S. to continue to put "Mexico first" for generations to come.

This is an obvious statement that McCain isn't serious about his newfound pledge to secure the borders first.

Mark Krikorian at The Corner wants to know if McCain has "offered Hernandez, a former high-level foreign government official who presumably swore an oath to uphold the Mexican constitution, a place in a future McCain Administration? That's not a rhetorical question."

McCain's campaign says Hernandez isn't paid (so?) and wouldn't answer directly whether Senator McCain repudiates Hernandez's belief in "Mexico first."

If that's not a simple enough question for a campaign spokesperson to answer right off the bat, well...

Update: More from Michelle Malkin.

A Thompson Convention Nomination?

Steven Stark lays out a scenario whereby all the other candidates, none of whom have wholehearted Republican support, cancel each other out, paving the way for Fred Thompson to receive the nomination at the convention.

"When conventions deadlock, history teaches us that yesterday's disappointments become tomorrow's stars. If McCain can't stampede to the nomination and Super Tuesday doesn't produce another clear front-runner, we may not have heard the last of Fred..."

I find the idea highly unlikely, though appealing...but stranger things have happened. Whoever would have thought the 2000 election wouldn't be decided for 36 days?

Tonight's Movie: A Letter for Evie (1946)

Lonely Evie O'Connor (Marsha Hunt), a secretary at a uniform factory during World War II, impulsively puts a letter to a soldier in the pocket of an outgoing uniform. She's delighted to receive a reply from Johnny McPherson (Hume Cronyn), who seems to be a kindred spirit. There's only one little problem -- insecure Johnny sends Evie a photo of his friend, Edgar "Wolf" Larson (John Carroll), rather than himself. When Johnny and Wolf have a couple days' leave in New York and meet Evie, naturally complications ensue.

The film is somewhat unusual in that neither of the two leading men are wholly honorable. Wolf is, well, a "wolf" -- a ladies' man careless of women's feelings, without much hope of reforming. And Johnny, while overall the better man, has deceived Evie. It's unclear for quite some time into the movie whether MGM's higher-billed wartime Gable backup, Carroll, or the less striking, lower-billed Cronyn will win Evie's hand. The resolution was somewhat unexpected and very satisfying.

Marsha Hunt is delightful, as always. The actress, who turned 90 last fall, is still going strong. She'll be appearing at the Noir City Film Festival in San Francisco this Saturday, January 26th, when her new short film THE GRAND INQUISITOR premieres.

Norman Lloyd, recently discussed here in my post on SABOTEUR, has a few scenes as Evie's boss. MGM musical fans will recognize Pamela Britton, who plays Evie's roommate, as the Girl From Brooklyn in ANCHORS AWEIGH. Wonderful Spring Byington has just one scene in the film, but she provides a key turning point in the plot.

A LETTER FOR EVIE was directed by Jules Dassin, who directed this film during his brief stint at MGM before moving on to direct darker fare elsewhere, including BRUTE FORCE, THE NAKED CITY, and NIGHT AND THE CITY. He was married for decades to actress Melina Mercouri. For more on Dassin, see my review of another film in which Dassin directed Marsha Hunt, THE AFFAIRS OF MARTHA, which includes a link to a profile on the director.

A LETTER FOR EVIE runs 89 minutes and was shot in black and white.

This movie isn't available on either DVD or VHS. Click here if you'd like to request Turner Classic Movies add the movie to its schedule.

The trailer is here.

Huntington Beach School District Regulates R Movies

Thanks to the courage of a mother and her 15-year-old daughter who spoke out against the showing of R-rated movies at Huntington Beach High School, here in Orange County, the district is adopting regulations about the showing of such films.

The district has banned the showing of entire R-rated films and requires parental permission before clips are shown.

Given that minors under 17 may not attend an R-rated movie without an adult, this is an appropriate step. It's only sad that teachers are so lacking in common sense that such a rule has to be formalized in the first place.

As the article said about the mom in this case, "...she understands that some may think she's sheltering her child too much."

The mom says in response: "It's my choice. She's my kid."

That's exactly right. More and more schools seem to feel comfortable making decisions in place of parents, and too many parents don't say anything.

The family was represented by the Pacific Justice Institute. (Note: The PJI article is in error that CHICAGO is an R-rated movie; it's PG-13. However, the modern PG-13 movie often strikes me as the equivalent of an R from a couple decades ago!)

Unfortunately, this isn't the only high school in Orange County where R-rated movies are an issue. A couple years ago my own daughter walked out of a movie referring to pimps and hookers, which was shown in her U.S. Government class, of all places!

McCain: The Answer's Still No

Perennial media darling John McCain is being strongly touted as a likely Republican Presidential nominee -- despite the fact that his wins have come in states where independent votes pushed him over the top.

As Michael Barone points out, McCain "hasn't been winning self-identified Republicans by any significant margin even where he has won, in New Hampshire and South Carolina. He has been running behind his 2000 percentages everywhere (though then he was in what was essentially a two-candidate race)."

Ed Morrissey (subject link) outlines the challenge McCain will have if he wants to win conservative hearts and minds.

Michelle Malkin gives a resounding thumbs down to McCain.

For a refresher course on why this conservative will never vote for John McCain, here's a roundup of some of my posts from the last couple years:

John McCain...Is Just Annoying, May 24, 2006.

The Answer is No..., July 12, 2006.

One Reason I'll Never Vote for John McCain, October 9, 2006.

Can McCain Win?, November 17, 2006.

Why John McCain is a No-Go for Conservatives, January 4, 2007.

Another Reason Not to Vote for McCain, March 7, 2007.

McCain Consistently Fought Tax Cuts, March 13, 2007.

It's the Contempt, April 10, 2007.

Border Deal: How Bad Is It?, May 17, 2007.

The Arrogance of John McCain, May 18, 2007.

The Arrogance of John McCain, Continued, May 20, 2007.

McCain: "Not Going to Erect Fences and Barriers", June 5, 2007.

McCain Going Down Swinging, June 10, 2007.

That Will Sure Win Over the Base...Not!, July 10, 2007.

Final food for thought: does any conservative believe that the sponsor of McCain-Feingold wouldn't sign the Fairness Doctrine back into law, thereby attempting to silence one of his most persistent critics, Rush Limbaugh?

If you look at my July 12, 2006 post above, you'll see that McCain says of some radio talk show hosts: "I don't think they're good for America."

I urge anyone on the fence about McCain, or wondering why McCain has such a difficult time with the conservative "base," to take a look at a few of these posts and the related articles.

McCain deserves credit where credit is due, for his military service and his support of the Iraq war. However, he has for the most part fought against rather than championed conservative causes, disparaging conservatives in the process.

McCain's record indicates to me that he will not govern as a conservative and is not deserving of conservative support.

Update: More from Holy Coast here and here.

I Don't Get It...

...how is it that people who don't pay income tax may be due to receive income tax rebates in the plan currently under discussion by the President and Congress?

I've never understood the rationale for the Earned Income Tax Credit, and I sure don't get "stimulus" suggestions that "rebate checks go to everyone who files an income tax return, regardless of whether they pay any income tax."

Some might call it welfare...I call it socialism, taking the money from people who earned it and passing it out to those who didn't.

If the government let those who earned the money keep more of it in the first place, I suspect our economy would be doing much better.

And just think of all the administrative money wasted handling rebates which could have simply stayed with taxpayers to begin with.

Sigh

Fred Thompson is out.

If Giuliani or Romney is smart, one of them will sign up Thompson as their V.P. candidate. (Update: For whatever it's worth, Captain's Quarters quotes a report saying that Thompson has no interest in a V.P. or cabinet position.)

According to Mark Levin, Thompson will not be endorsing another candidate.

80th Annual Academy Award Nominations

It's a sad commentary on the current state of Hollywood that of all the films nominated for Best Picture, Direction, and Acting, there is only one I have any interest in seeing: JUNO.

Well, I suppose I might amend that and catch CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR sometime, just for Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, knowing full well that its history and politics are inaccurate.

On a happier note, RATATOUILLE was nominated for Best Animated Feature, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Score, while three songs from ENCHANTED were nominated. (Does that mean they'll cancel each other out?)

Sadly but not unexpectedly, no recognition for Amy Adams' delightful performance in ENCHANTED, probably because it's a Disney film which is as close to G as a PG movie can get.

Previously: 78th Annual Academy Award Nominations, 79th Annual Academy Award Nominations.

State Funeral of Sir Edmund Hillary

Sir Edmund Hillary's state funeral in New Zealand was held today.

The BBC has some striking photos of the service.

The service was televised through New Zealand, Nepal, and at the Scott Base in Antarctica, which was founded by Sir Edmund.

The service began with the ringing of the bell of the HMNZS Endeavor, the ship that took Sir Edmund's expedition to the Antarctic over half a century ago.

The ice axe Sir Edmund used to summit Everest lay atop his coffin, and as the casket left the cathedral, it passed an honor guard holding ice axes.

A fitting end to a remarkable life.

Previously: Sir Edmund Hillary Dies at 88.

Tonight's Movie: The War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942)

In THE WAR AGAINST MRS. HADLEY, the birthday party of Washington society hostess Stella Hadley (Fay Bainter) is ruined when news comes over the radio that Pearl Harbor has been bombed. Mrs. Hadley, a widow, views the war as an intrusion into her ordered life, especially when her beloved ne'er-do-well son (Richard Ney) is called up to serve. As time goes on Mrs. Hadley's life is impacted more and more by the war, particularly when her daughter (Jean Rogers) falls in love with a working-class soldier (Van Johnson) she meets at a canteen.

The plot builds to a moving climax. Although a couple of film rating books on my shelves only rated this film two stars -- one complained it was "dated propaganda" -- I found it a very well-made film which is surprisingly relevant today, when there are still many people in denial about the battle our country is facing. And as with PARTY WIRE, the film is also valuable as an historical artifact of its time.

The overt references to politics were also quite interesting -- Mrs. Hadley is a staunch Republican opposed to FDR's policies, who refuses to read her late husband's former paper because the new owners supported Roosevelt for a third term.

The cast is superb, beginning with Fay Bainter in the title role. Bainter is one of the great supporting actresses of Hollywood and a pleasure to watch in any of her films. Edward Arnold is equally good as her longtime friend, who thinks war service might force her son to grow up.

This was Van Johnson's first good-sized role, after appearing in bit parts and shorts. The deep cast also includes Spring Byington, Sara Allgood, Frances Rafferty, Connie Gilchrist, Halliwell Hobbes, and Dorothy Morris. Isobel Elsom shares a particularly moving scene with Bainter near the film's end.

I was tickled that my 9-year-old son recognized the voice of James A. FitzPatrick, host of MGM's long-running series of Traveltalk shorts, as the radio announcer on Pearl Harbor Day. In recent months I've videotaped a large number of Traveltalks, which are colorful time capsules about different cities and countries around the world. Although FitzPatrick is not listed in the IMDb credits, he was under contract to MGM so I feel pretty confident my son was correct in his identification.

The film's director was Harold S. Bucquet. The script by George Oppenheimer was nominated for Best Original Screenplay.

The movie runs 86 minutes.

THE WAR AGAINST MRS. HADLEY is not available on VHS or DVD.

The trailer can be seen here.

Just Too Depressing...

There has been a dearth of political posts here in the last few days...not much new to say and it's a rather depressing time for conservatives.

California Conservative has a good summary of the current situation.

Of the five leading Republican candidates, there are two for whom I'd never vote; two more I'd consider voting for but who raise serious questions; and the best candidate may be on the verge of dropping out of the race.

Sigh.

I can take or leave George Will -- sometimes I enjoy him, other times I vehemently disagree with his viewpoints -- but I am in particular agreement with his new column on John McCain.

On the other side of the political fence, I don't know what's scarier -- the info that's come out in newly released government documents about how the Clintons tried to suppress dissent and smear critics of their healthcare plan, or the mainstream media's refusal to address these documents in a substantive way. If it weren't for the Internet and Rush Limbaugh, who read the documents on the air last week, I wouldn't even know about them.

New Movie: Leatherheads (2008)

George Clooney has terrible taste, in my humble opinion, when it comes to politics...but there's no doubt the man knows moviemaking.

Clooney directed and stars in LEATHERHEADS, a romantic comedy set against the background of 1920s football. His costar is Renee Zellweger.

Based on the trailer it looks like Clooney's got another winner.

LEATHERHEADS opens April 4, 2008.

For Fans of Friday Night Lights

I've occasionally watched FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS this season -- I intend to go back and start at the beginning of the Season 1 DVD set, but I have enjoyed peeking in at Season 2 every so often as sort of a preview of "coming attractions."

For me, the main reason to watch the show is its realistic, documentary-style depiction of a solid, supportive marriage, with Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton as Eric and Tami Taylor.

If you also like the show, you'll enjoy this interview with Chandler and Britton which ran in the L.A. Times. (Although I wasn't impressed with what we were told about their off-camera language...par for the course in much of Hollywood, it seems.)

I didn't realize Britton was in the original film, which I've not seen. Interesting to note that her character in the film had a different name. I added the movie to my Netflix queue today.

Tonight's Movie: Party Wire (1935)

One of the great things about movies is that aside from entertaining, they serve as time capsules...a great example being PARTY WIRE, which demonstrates to modern audiences a phone system few people today have ever experienced.

Jean Arthur plays Marge, a nice girl who nearly has her life destroyed when vicious smalltown gossips misinterpret what they hear when eavesdropping on a party line. Arthur is her usual sweet self as one of the only nice people in town. As leading lady roles go, it's a relatively small part, as much of the screen time is devoted to people talking about her, rather than her being on screen.

Victor Jory has a rare leading man role as the wealthiest man in town, who finds a unique way to combat the gossip. Jory is best-known for playing villains, such as Injun Joe in THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER and Jonas Wilkerson in GONE WITH THE WIND. Here in Southern California he did play another hero role onstage, starring in the famous Ramona Pageant in the late '30s.

Charley Grapewin plays Marge's father, while Clara Blandick plays one of the gossips. Four years later Grapewin and Blandick would play Uncle Henry and Auntie Em in THE WIZARD OF OZ.

Walter Brennan has a brief uncredited part as one of the townspeople. The very next year Brennan would move from a long string of bit parts to the first of his three Academy Award winning roles, in COME AND GET IT. Brennan also received Oscars for KENTUCKY (1938) and THE WESTERNER (1940), and was nominated for SERGEANT YORK (1941).

The film runs 70 minutes and was filmed in black and white. It was directed by Erle C. Kenton, whose career began in the silents. Most of his films seem to have been relatively inconsequential "B" movies.

This movie is unfortunately not available on either DVD or video, but it can be seen on cable as part of the Turner Classic Movies library.

The film's cautionary conclusion is that sometimes people refuse to learn from their mistakes. It's an interesting, somewhat unusual film worth catching.

Update: This film is now available on DVD in the Jean Arthur Drama Collection in the TCM Vault Collection line.

Songwriter Lew Spence Dies at 87

You may not recognize Lew Spence's name, but you have probably heard his music. Spence composed the title tune for my all-time favorite Sinatra album, NICE 'N' EASY.

Other Sinatra fans may choose more serious Sinatra albums, such as IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS, as his best work, but for me, it's the bubbly, romantic NICE 'N' EASY, which also includes my all-time favorite Sinatra recording, "How Deep is the Ocean?"

Spence also composed "Sleep Warm," which was the title of perhaps my favorite Dean Martin album -- which happens to have been conducted by Sinatra. Sinatra himself also recorded "Sleep Warm."

Rather remarkable that the same composer wrote the title songs for two favorite albums by two very favorite singers.

Elizabeth Enright's Melendy Books Back in Print

Some of my favorite books from the world of children's literature are coming back into print next week: Elizabeth Enright's Melendy Family series. The four books in the series are THE SATURDAYS, THE FOUR-STORY MISTAKE, THEN THERE WERE FIVE, and SPIDERWEB FOR TWO.

The first two books in the series are particularly fine; I read them countless times growing up. In THE SATURDAYS, published in 1941, four siblings who live with their widowed father and housekeeper in New York pool their allowances so that each Saturday one of the children gets all the money to go off and have an adventure. It would be unthinkable now, but the children travel on their own all around New York City!

The next book in the series finds the Melendys moving to an old house in the country, the "Four-Story Mistake."

Enright's other books include GONE-AWAY LAKE (a Newbery Honor book), RETURN TO GONE-AWAY, TATSINDA, and the 1939 Newbery Medal winner THIMBLE SUMMER.

All are highly recommended for the young readers in your life. Like most quality children's literature, grownups can enjoy them too. :)

Suzanne Pleshette Has Passed Away

Sad news tonight that longtime BOB NEWHART SHOW costar Suzanne Pleshette has passed away at age 70.

Pleshette, whose husband of nearly 32 years passed away in 2000, married Tom Poston, costar of Bob Newhart's second classic show NEWHART, in 2001. They had known each other since the '50s. Poston passed away last year.

Pleshette was part of the famous ending of the second NEWHART show, as Bob woke up in bed next to her and we learned he had dreamed the entire second series.

Her films included Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS, James Garner's SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL GUNFIGHTER, and the Disney films THE UGLY DACHSUND, BLACKBEARD'S GHOST, THE SHAGGY D.A., and THE LION KING II: SIMBA'S PRIDE.

Monday: A nice article from USA Today.

Tonight's Movie: Whispering Smith (1948)

Alan Ladd stars as WHISPERING SMITH, a steely railroad detective working to solve a series of train derailments and robberies.

Smith's old friend Murray (Robert Preston) is mixed up in the derailments. As an added complication, Murray's wife Marian (Brenda Marshall) is the woman Smith had once hoped to marry himself.

The movie is a nice solid Western, not a classic but a worthwhile, entertaining film. Ladd is compelling as the determined Smith, who tries to turn his friend back onto the right path but is rebuffed. Brenda Marshall frankly has struck me as a bland actress in the couple of films I've seen her in thus far -- I've always regretted Olivia DeHavilland wasn't the leading lady of THE SEA HAWK -- and in this Marshall isn't required to do much more than look tearful for most of the movie. She only made one more film after this before retiring from the screen.

The excellent supporting cast includes Donald Crisp, William Demarest, Fay Holden, and Frank Faylen. Frequent Western character actors such as Will Wright, Ray Teal, Irving Bacon, and Hank Worden also appear in the film.

Cinematographer Ray Rennahan shot the movie in striking Technicolor. There are some particularly beautiful second unit location shots, although the lead actors themselves don't seem to have gone any further than the backlot or maybe Paramount Ranch. The shifts from the outdoors to soundstage are particularly noticeable; in one shot the camera pans past a large tree and as it does we leave the outdoors and are suddenly looking at the soundstage exterior of a ranch house.

There's also a very noticeable blooper: Ladd opens a harmonica box and the box falls to the ground, but in the very next shot the box seems to have jumped right back into his hand.

The movie was directed by Leslie Fenton. It runs 88 minutes.

WHISPERING SMITH is available on DVD. (Update: This film is also now available in a 10-film Westerns collection which is a great value.)

It's also been shown on cable on Turner Classic Movies.

You can watch the trailer here.

2020 Update: This film will be released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber in May 2020 as part of the Western Classics 1 collection.

My June 2020 review of the Blu-ray may be found here.