Happy Birthday to Patricia Morison!

Actress-Singer Patricia Morison turns 102 today!

The 23-year-old Morison made a stunning debut as an amoral crook in her first feature film, PERSONS IN HIDING (1939), which seemed to anticipate the crime classic GUN CRAZY (1950) by over a decade.

Morison was a striking screen presence, with vivid eyes and unusually long, dark hair. She registered strongly in lead roles which included HITLER'S MADMAN (1943) opposite Alan Curtis...

...and THE FALLEN SPARROW (1943) with John Garfield.

However, Hollywood never seemed quite sure what to do with her, and she never broke through to be a movie star of the first rank.

Morison made her way to Broadway, where she had a smash success in 1948 starring in the original cast of Cole Porter's KISS ME, KATE.

Her performance was preserved on film a decade later when she appeared in an abridged TV production:

In 1954 she succeeded Gertrude Lawrence as Broadway's "Mrs. Anna" in THE KING AND I opposite Yul Brynner:

I've been fortunate to see Patricia Morison in person twice. When I was a child in the early '70s I saw her as the Baroness in a Los Angeles stage production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

Werner Klemperer played Uncle Max.

I also saw her interviewed at a screening of THE FALLEN SPARROW in 2015, just after she celebrated her centennial birthday.

An interesting side note, though her name is seen in posters for one of my favorite film noir titles, KISS OF DEATH (1947), her role as Victor Mature's first wife was cut from the film. At least one still of Morison with Mature and Coleen Gray survives; I've always wondered if outtakes exist, as it would be interesting to see them.

A Patricia Morison portrait gallery:

Happiest birthday wishes to a lovely and talented woman whose work has brought me tremendous enjoyment!

Patricia Morison films reviewed at Laura's Miscellaneous Musings: PERSONS IN HIDING (1939), THE ROUNDUP (1941), ROMANCE OF THE RIO GRANDE (1941), NIGHT IN NEW ORLEANS (1942), WHERE ARE YOUR CHILDREN (1943), HITLER'S MADMAN (1943), THE FALLEN SPARROW (1943), LADY ON A TRAIN (1945), and KISS ME, KATE (1958).

September 2017 Update: Here is a review of UNTAMED (1940), screened at the Cinecon Film Festival with Morison in the audience.

May 20, 2018 Update: Patricia Morison Dies at 103.

2020 Update: Here's a review of WITHOUT LOVE (1945).

2022 Updates: Here are reviews of SONG OF THE THIN MAN (1947) and THE RETURN OF WILDFIRE (1948).

Tonight's Movies: Mamba (1930) and Cheer Up and Smile (1930) at the UCLA Festival of Preservation

It was another terrific night at the 2017 UCLA Festival of Preservation!

I made my fifth visit to the festival to see a double bill of films from 1930, MAMBA (1930) and CHEER UP AND SMILE (1930).

The two-color MAMBA was one of the earliest all-color feature films; while the very first color films were musicals, MAMBA was notable as an early color drama.

Thought lost for many years, a nitrate print had been saved from destruction decades ago by a couple in Australia. (It seems that many "lost" films turn up in unexpected places such as Eastern Europe or Australia, because they were the "end of the line" for exhibition.) Some of the Vitaphone sound discs were missing, but they happened to be in UCLA's collection and were ultimately synced up.

The sound survived for a four-minute sequence which had been excised by Australian censors, so we were able to listen to the missing scene while looking at a handful of stills.

There's more on the film's restoration history in a 2012 post by UCLA's Jan-Christopher Horak, and Leonard Maltin wrote about the movie that same year.

Incidentally, I was curious about the film's locations, which looked unfamiliar; Maltin had also been unsure where MAMBA was filmed until his wife spotted a familiar Universal backlot landmark!

MAMBA is a jungle melodrama which I found to be a very entertaining 78 minutes. Jean Hersholt plays August Bolt, a wealthy but thoroughly nasty plantation owner in East Africa.

Bolt travels to Germany where he weds an impoverished German countess, Helen (Eleanor Boardman); all too soon, Helen realizes her new husband's behavior is not just awkward and embarrassing, but threatening in the extreme.

Karl von Reiden (Ralph Forbes), a German officer Helen meets on the boat to Africa, falls in love with Helen and manages to protect her from the worst of her husband's brutality; Karl even provides Helen with a gun for self-defense after he stops August from whipping her.

Matters come to a head when war breaks out between the Germans and the British; while Karl's regiment is moved to the front and August tries to evade military service and flee the country, restless natives attack the settlement where Helen has been left behind.

The movie is admittedly rather hokey at times, not to mention politically incorrect, but I found it completely entertaining.

Hersholt, usually associated with the kindly Dr. Christian character he played in numerous films, is absolutely repellent as August Bolt, and there is thus considerable satisfaction in his ultimate fate.

Boardman and Forbes manage to rise above some cliched situations and dialogue and find romantic moments which are genuinely moving. I tend to think of Forbes as a British Ralph Bellamy type, always losing the leading lady, so I found it especially interesting to see him as the romantic lead.

Director Albert S. Rogell and cinematographer Charles Boyle opened the movie up far beyond what one might expect from an early talkie, with a great opening tracking shot and some exciting action sequences.

MAMBA provided a memorable evening at the movies, more than worth making the trek up to L.A.

(And an "only in L.A." aside: When I pulled into my parking spot at the Hammer Museum, director John Landis was standing next to my car chatting with someone.)

The second half of the double bill, CHEER UP AND SMILE, wasn't as successful. A silly Fox comedy about a fraternity pledge named Eddie (Arthur Lake) who is suspended from college but ends up a hit as a radio singer, it had its moments but grew tiresome before its 76 minutes were done. I didn't find either Lake or leading lady Dixie Lee (aka Mrs. Bing Crosby) particularly appealing.

The film was chiefly notable for a young actor named Marion Morrison who makes a solid impression as one of Lake's fraternity brothers. That same year Morrison changed his name to John Wayne! As a big Wayne fan I enjoyed seeing him in this; he definitely stands out from the crowd and makes an impression as a fun-loving leader with a conscience.

J. Carroll Naish has a small role as gangster who robs a nighclub. One of the other robbers was very familiar; I thought at first it was a young William Bendix, but he apparently didn't begin his film career for another decade-plus so I'm still in the dark on that one.

I appreciated the beautiful 35mm print, but all in all, this film was strictly a two-star affair.

CHEER UP AND SMILE was directed by Sidney Lanfield. It was filmed by Joseph A. Valentine. The supporting cast included Ogla Baclanova, "Whispering" Jack Smith, Franklin Pangborn, Johnny Arthur, and Charles Judels.

I plan to see one more double bill at the Festival of Preservation, INFERNAL MACHINE (1933) and SLEEPERS EAST (1934). Then it will be time to turn my attention to the annual Noir City Film Festival!

19th Annual Noir City Film Festival Opens in Hollywood March 24th

The 19th Annual Noir City Hollywood festival opens at the Egyptian Theatre next Friday evening, March 24th.

The festival will follow last year's format, taking place over ten consecutive days, concluding on April 2nd.

Last year I was able to attend eight of the festival's ten evenings, including three films on the final night; my hope, unless I need a night off from wading through freeway traffic, is to be at all ten screenings this year! As always, I'll be reporting here on each of the films seen.

I find this year's festival format particularly interesting, pairing an "A" and a "B" film each evening. The schedule is a great mix of old favorites and little-seen rareties. Click any hyperlinked title below for the corresponding review of those films I've seen in the past.

We already have tickets for Opening Night, which features Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in THIS GUN FOR HIRE (1942), paired with George Sanders and Gail Patrick in QUIET PLEASE - MURDER (1942).

We saw THIS GUN FOR HIRE at a tribute to Alan Ladd at the festival five years ago but are more than happy to see it again! I've only seen the rather odd QUIET PLEASE - MURDER once and am curious to see it on a big screen.

March 25th features a favorite I've never seen on a big screen, MINISTRY OF FEAR (1944), starring Ray Milland, Marjorie Reynolds, and Dan Duryea. It's paired with ADDRESS UNKNOWN (1944) starring Paul Lukas.

I'm quite thrilled about the schedule on March 26th, when I'll have the chance to see a Deanna Durbin film in a theater for the very first time -- and it's one of my favorites, LADY ON A TRAIN (1945), costarring Ralph Bellamy, Dan Duryea, and many more fun faces. It's paired with Nina Foch in ESCAPE IN THE FOG (1945), directed by Budd Boetticher.

On March 27th the evening kicks off with THE DARK CORNER (1946), starring Mark Stevens and Lucille Ball. It will be shown with BEHIND GREEN LIGHTS (1946), starring William Gargan and Carole Landis.

The rarely seen Alan Ladd-Gail Russell film CALCUTTA (1947) is on the schedule on March 28th. It's shown with BACKLASH (1947) starring Jean Rogers and Richard Travis.

I'm especially looking forward to Wednesday, March 29th and THE ACCUSED (1948), starring Loretta Young and Robert Cummings. It's a Young film I haven't seen yet! It's being screened with THE HUNTED (1948), which I fell in love with at the festival half a dozen years ago. Preston Foster and Belita star. I'm so excited to have another chance to see that one at the Egyptian!

On March 30th there's even more Alan Ladd! He stars in CHICAGO DEADLINE (1949). It's being shown with I WAS A SHOPLIFTER (1950), which has a fantastic cast including Scott Brady, Andrea King, Charles McGraw, Tony Curtis, and Rock Hudson.

March 31st there's a Dana Andrews-Gene Tierney film I've not yet seen, WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS (1950). It's showing with Evelyn Keyes in THE KILLER THAT STALKED NEW YORK (1950).

THE MAN WHO CHEATED HIMSELF (1950) will be shown on April 1st, starring Lee J. Cobb and Jane Wyatt. It's on a double bill along with Jeff Chandler in IRON MAN (1951), costarring Stephen McNally, Evelyn Keyes, and Rock Hudson.

The festival closes on April 2nd with a noir classic I've never seen, THE BIG HEAT (1953), starring Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame. It's paired with WICKED WOMAN (1953) starring Richard Egan and Beverly Michaels.

With the exceptions of CALCUTTA, WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS, and THE BIG HEAT, which will be shown via DCP, all films in the festival will be screened in 35mm prints; some of the prints are brand-new. A number of the films being shown have never been released on DVD.

As a postscript, the TCM Classic Film Festival will be opening on April 6th, just a few days after the completion of the Noir City festival. I'm happy to announce that I will again be covering TCMFF as credentialed media. Some key new announcements about that festival were made yesterday, with the complete schedule anticipated to be released in the next few days. I'll have much more information on that festival soon after the schedule is published!

Key posts on past Noir City Hollywood Festivals: A Visit to the Noir City Film Festival (2010); A Visit to the 13th Noir City Film Festival (2011); First Preview of 14th Annual Noir City Film Festival; Schedule Announced for Noir City 14 in Hollywood; Final Week of Noir City 14 Schedule Announced; A Visit to the 14th Annual Noir City Film Festival (2012); Schedule Announced for Noir City 15 in Hollywood; A Visit to the 15th Annual Noir City Film Festival (2013); Schedule Preview of Noir City 16 in Hollywood; A Visit to the 16th Annual Noir City Film Festival (2014); 17th Annual Noir City Film Festival Opens in Hollywood This Friday; A Visit to the 17th Annual Noir City Film Festival (2015); 18th Annual Noir City Film Festival Opens in Hollywood This Friday; A Visit to the 18th Annual Noir City Film Festival (2016).

Update: A Visit to the 19th Annual Noir City Film Festival.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A couple years ago I had fun putting together a St. Patrick's Day post featuring actresses enjoying spring-like weather while wearing green.

In honor of the holiday, here's a fresh batch of photos of actresses dressed in green:

Natalie Wood:

Lauren Bacall:

Dorothy Hart:

Laraine Day:

Virginia Mayo:

Janet Leigh:

Grace Kelly:

Ginger Rogers:

Gail Russell:

Elizabeth Taylor:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Previously: Maureen O'Hara (2016), actresses wearing green (2015), Angela Greene (2014), and Maureen O'Hara (2013).

Tonight's Movie: Too Busy to Work (1932)

I'm in the midst of a heavy workweek, and a mellow Will Rogers film was just the thing to enjoy at the end of a busy day.

That movie was TOO BUSY TO WORK (1932), costarring Dick Powell and Marian Nixon.

In TOO BUSY TO WORK Rogers plays Jubilo, a hobo who is searching for his wife and daughter, who disappeared while he was fighting in WWI.

Jubilo ends up at the home of Judge Hardy (Frederick Burton), whom he discovers had married his former wife. She has since passed away, but Jubilo's sweet daughter Rose (Nixon) is very happy living with her stepfather, and she plans to marry the Judge's son Dan (Powell).

In this gentle tale Jubilo never tells his daughter his true identity, but he takes a job around the Hardy home for a few days in order to get to know her -- while avoiding actual work as much as possible! He also helps put right a thorny situation involving Dan, whom he saw inadvertently drive a getaway car after a robbery.

There's not much more to the story; the 76-minute film is more a series of warm and humorous vignettes as Jubilo gets to know the charming young girl he fathered and her equally likeable sweetheart.

I found it interesting that while Jubilo is kind and sentimental, he's far from a perfect person, as he tries hard to keep from working, plays pranks, and fibs easily; indeed, he sizes up the Judge's character against his own and concludes that perhaps his former wife made an understandable decision.

This was just Powell's third film, after BLESSED EVENT (1932) and BIG CITY BLUES (1932). The following year his career took off with a trio of Busby Berkeley musicals, beginning with 42ND STREET (1933).

In 1933 Nixon costarred with Rogers again in John Ford's DOCTOR BULL (1933). I'll be watching that film later this year, as it's one of the films on my list of 10 Classics to see for the first time in 2017.

Nixon married director William Seiter in 1934, and they were married until his passing in 1964. In 1972 she married actor Ben Lyon, widowed when his wife Bebe Daniels passed away. (There's a connection to Powell there, as Daniels was the star of 42ND STREET.) Nixon's daughter, Jessica Seiter Niblo, wrote a somewhat hard-to-find memoir, MOVIETOWN BABY GROWS UP. You can read more about the family in an article by R. Emmet Sweeney at the Streamline blog (formerly TCM's Movie Morlocks).

As for Rogers, he tragically died in a plane crash in Alaska in August 1935. It was a great loss to the film industry, including a young actor Rogers had mentored named Joel McCrea. McCrea invested in his ranch with Rogers' encouragement and lived there for most of his life. As a matter of fact, I'll be making a return visit to the McCrea Ranch the first weekend of April.

TOO BUSY TO WORK was directed by John G. Blystone and filmed by Charles G. Clarke. The cast also includes the immensely likeable Louise Beavers as the Hardy family cook and Charles Middleton as the police chief.

IMDB says that the film's exteriors were filmed in Lone Pine, California. I didn't recognize the locations, which didn't seem to be shot in areas typically used in Lone Pine, and I'd love to know more.

TOO BUSY TO WORK is part of the four-film Will Rogers Collection, Vol. 2. I picked up both volumes from Amazon a couple Christmases ago for about $8 each -- a remarkable deal of roughly $2 per movie. The sets are currently a few dollars more than that at Amazon, but still a great buy.

Previous reviews of Will Rogers films: STATE FAIR (1933), JUDGE PRIEST (1934), and STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND (1935).

2022 Update: I just revisited this film at the TCM Classic Film Festival. What a difference a few years and a big screen makes! I almost instantly recognized the film as being set in Lone Pine, doubtless thanks in part to having spent considerable time in Lone Pine in the last few years. I don't know if the "judge's house" actually existed in Lone Pine or was a set, but Lone Pine Peak was easily recognizable in the background.

Tonight's Movie: Love in the Afternoon (1957) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

Gary Cooper and Audrey Hepburn star in LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON (1957), available on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive.

Billy Wilder directed and also cowrote the screenplay with I.A.L. Diamond, based on a book by Claude Anet.

The film tells the story of young Ariane (Hepburn), a cellist whose father (Maurice Chevalier) is a private detective. Through her father's work, in a roundabout way, Ariane meets American businessman Frank Flannagan (Cooper). Flannagan is an inveterate ladies' man, yet he finds himself increasingly fascinated with Ariane, and vice versa.

It's thus rather fitting that Flannagan's habit when wooing ladies is to hire violinists play "Fascination." Although the music begins as something of a joke, as the movie goes on "Fascination" begins to cast on a spell on the audience, too.

LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON seems to evoke strong emotions in viewers; some have trouble with the significant age difference between Cooper and Hepburn.

For my part, the age difference is a key reason the film is so moving; at the end of the film Flannagan realizes that Ariane is his very last chance for something lasting, and the suspense and his ultimate decision are all the more moving seen in that light.

There's something magical about a film which can take a rather disreputable character like Flannagan and make him so appealing; in the wrong hands the film would have been tasteless, yet somehow the director and actors pull it off with a light touch. Cooper's appeal and Hepburn's yearning are both completely believable, and they keep the viewer engrossed for the film's longish running time of 130 minutes.

Just a few days ago I saw Cooper in one of his early starring films, I TAKE THIS WOMAN (1931), so it was particularly interesting to revisit this film from the last years of his career. The films were made over a quarter century apart, but he owns the screen in both, and in each film he's teamed with a leading lady with enough star power to more than hold her own opposite him.

The Warner Archive widescreen Blu-ray looks terrific. (The film was shot by William Mellor.) The disc includes the trailer.

I loved LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON when I first saw it in 2009, and I deeply enjoyed it all over again thanks to the Warner Archive. Recommended.

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

Tonight's Movie: Big Business Girl (1931)

I've recently had the opportunity to check out the Warner Archive streaming service, where all sorts of interesting titles are available on a rotating basis.

Regular readers know I love Loretta Young, so it's perhaps no surprise that the first film I chose to stream was Young's BIG BUSINESS GIRL (1931), which I'd never seen before.

BIG BUSINESS GIRL isn't yet available on DVD, so Warner Archive's streaming service is the only way to catch it, outside of it turning up occasionally on Turner Classic Movies. It's an entertaining pre-Code with 18-year-old (!) Loretta at her most beautiful.

Loretta plays Claire "Mac" MacIntyre, a new college graduate who's determined to get a good job and pay her off her college bills. In short order she lands a job in an advertising agency, where Robert Clayton (Ricardo Cortez) sees her potential -- and admires her legs -- and quickly promotes her from secretary to (underpaid) ad exec.

While Mac is working -- and dealing with sexism and her boss's passes -- her boyfriend Johnny (Frank Albertson), a band leader, takes a job in Paris. When Johnny comes home, he gets the wrong idea about Mac's relationship with her boss.

Complications ensue...enter Joan Blondell as a hired co-respondent who's going to help the couple get a divorce. (Yep, a divorce...it's sprung on both Loretta's boss and the audience that the couple has been married all along!)

It's a middling pre-Code, not as interesting as some, but better than others. The main drawback is Albertson as whiny Johnny, who's a success as a band leader yet has trouble remaining in a job consistently enough for his wife's happiness. He's not especially appealing, but Loretta certainly sells her character's love for him.

The camera loved Loretta, and that's reason enough to watch this, but it's also fun watching her navigate the business world. She's not above using her looks to get ahead, but then must draw the line to hold off her boss, who becomes so frustrated with her lack of interest that he finally proposes -- saying if they get married maybe he can finally fall out of love with her! (Not one of the more romantic proposals...) A couple years later Young and Cortez would costar in the outstanding MIDNIGHT MARY (1933) for William Wellman.

Blondell only shows up in the last ten minutes or so, but she's worth the wait, with plenty of sarcastic one-liners as she helps steer the film to its conclusion.

Young and Blondell were two of the most enjoyable actresses of the pre-Code era, and their fans will probably find BIG BUSINESS GIRL worth the watch.

BIG BUSINESS GIRL was directed by William A. Seiter and filmed by Sol Polito. It runs 75 minutes.

In addition to BIG BUSINESS GIRL, Warner Archive currently has two dozen additional pre-Codes available for streaming, as well as numerous films from other genres and several TV series. The majority of the offerings are from the "classic era," but there are also some relatively recent movies and TV shows.

Captioning was available for the movie I watched, a nice plus for those who find that service helpful.

Look for additional reviews from Warner Archive streaming here in the future!

Thanks to Warner Archive for providing reviewer access to their streaming service. Warner Archive is available on desktop at WarnerArchive.com as well as via Roku, Apple TV, and iOS and Android apps.

Quick Preview of TCM in June

The tentative June schedule for Turner Classic Movies is now available!

Audrey Hepburn is the June Star of the Month. Over a dozen Audrey Hepburn films will be shown on Monday evenings in June.

Hepburn was last the Star of the Month a dozen years ago, in July 2005.

In other June news, Friday, June 2nd, will feature the next edition of Treasures From the Disney Vault, with Hayley Mills starring in SUMMER MAGIC (1963) and POLLYANNA (1960).

The remaining Friday nights in June have an "armchair travel" theme. There are also a whole lotta "shipwreck" movies on TCM in June!

Additional June themes include spies, political assassinations, affairs, orphans, windows, and waitresses. The Saturday morning movie series for the month is BOSTON BLACKIE.

There will be multifilm tributes to Katharine Hepburn, Alexis Smith, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, Louis Wolheim, Vincente Minnelli, Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers, Eleanor Parker, and Lew Landers.

I haven't heard yet if there will be any sort of "TCM Movie Camp" or "TCM Jr." this summer, but the Sunday evening lineups feature some excellent family-friendly films from a variety of genres: A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN (1945), BEND OF THE RIVER (1952), FATHER OF THE BRIDE (1950), and THE STREET WITH NO NAME (1948).

Currently Richard Burton continues as the Star of the Month for March; April will feature a Character Actors theme, and Clark Gable is the Star of the Month for May.

Update: For more on TCM in June 2017, please visit TCM in June: Highlights.