Movie review - "Gun Belt" (1953) **1/2

 Decent central situation - two brothers who were outlaws, George Montgomery and John Dehner, squabble over Dehner's son Tab Hunter - Dehner is still bad but Montgomery has gone straight.

The film makes a mistake killing Dehner 20 minutes in. William Bishop comes in as the new villain but it would've been stronger with Dehner who was Hunter's dad.

This is a pretty good little Western. Solid story, in colour, decent action, a support role from Wyaatt Earp, good actors. Helen Westacott doesn't have much to do as the girl (why no love triangle). Montgomery has that great voice - he should wear a moustache though. The cast is good. Hunter gets decent chances in this, whining about Dehner being killed and yelling at Montgomery but being a callow kid too. He's not bad.

Movie review - "Roxie Hart" (1942) ***

 I know I'm projecting but this film feels as though it wants to be a musical - everyone bursts into song in one scene, and in another Ginger Rogers does a dance, and it just always feels like people want to sing.

It's a fun tale, quite cynical. They added George Montgomery to be pure of heart, as a journalist who loves Roxie (Ginger) but he mostly just watches her, and narrates the story... he doesn't influence the narrative. The ending which reveals they got married and had six kids with another on the way is kind of depressing.

Ginger is having a great time. The perm isn't very attractive. I didn't mind the censor changes.

I'm not a massive fan of this story but it is fun and cynicism ages well.

Movie review - "The Pathfinder" (1952) **1/2

 Cheerful Sam Katzman Western set during the French Indian Wars based on James Fenimore Cooper's prequel to The Last of the Mohicans. George Montgomery plays the Hawkeye role, Jay Silverheels is Chicganook. Uncas is a baby, and Helena Carter is the girl they escort across the forest.

There's not much escorting - the last act is mostly indoors. Carter is helping Montgomery spy for the French. There's a bit of bickering before they fall in love. Carter has a decent subplot - a guy she was engaged to has become a drunken bum married to an Indian. The French officer develops a crush on Carter and Montgomery which is cute.Carter has more to do in this than in most of her films and was only seven years younger than her co-star which is pretty good for Carter.

Unpretentious programmer fun.This was the last film of Carter's I had to see so it's nice that it's ticked off the list.

Book review - "The High Window" by Raymond Chandler

Number three in the Marlowe series - one of the less highly regarded ones. The plot is relatively simple - it's chasing after the Brasher Doubloon, a valuable old coin. The characters aren't as memorable in the first two books - there's no Moose Malloy, for instance. And some bits feel like rehashes - instead of being hired by an old general, for instance, he's hired by an old lady. And there's no really vivid scenes, such as being locked up in a sanitarium, or raiding a gambling boat.

It's well written, of course, and well paced. There's some very spooky moments, like discovering corpses and getting mysterious phone calls.

I did get confused with so many characters being named with words starting with "M" - there's Marlowe, Merle, Murdock, Magic, Morny. I did like the slightly crazy secretary and wish she had gone crazier. The ending was a jolt with Marlowe uncovering murder and not turning them in. Maybe this prompts Marlowe to do all that self righteous drinking he does - including one where he checks himself into a hotel room to do it.

Movie review - "Ten Gentlemen from West Point" (1942) **1/2

Military movies of the early 40s all tended to share the same elements: two soldiers, contrasting personality types, who squabble over the same woman, but learn how to be good soldiers; the stern officer in charge learns to appreciate his troops; there's a battle at the end where heroism is proved.

It's a formula for a reason, offering chances for conflict, colour, comedy and all that - indeed, it was re-used in Top Gun. Here the girl is Maureen O'Hara, always likeable, never as effective in black and white (unfortunately the case here); the male stars are George Montgomery, 20th Century Fox's Clarke Gable imitator (an engaging actor) and wet drip John Sutton. You wish for John Payne or Henry Fonda or someone instead of Sutton.

Montgomery isn't entirely happily cast as a backwoodsman from Kentucky. Sutton is more comfortable as a rich kid, though he is a drip. O'Hara is at home in these sort of parts - a laughed at the opening sequence where she goes around kissing soldiers for the sake of West Point. You hussy, Maureen!

There is a strong support cast, including Laird Cregar (not the first actor you think of to play a military officer but he has an imposing presence), Ward Bond (always good as a sergeant type) and Henry Davenport. Some of these have decent roles to sink their teeth into - such as Cregar, as an officer who doesn't believe in West Point.

Its set in the 1800s, a period we don't see that often in Hollywood films - the era of funny hats, and random Indian battles. This one ends fighting Tecumseh and his men - though there's no mention of the War of 1812, which is technically when this took place. (Probably was a bit uncomfortable during World War Two to draw attention to the fact that really it was the US fighting the British).

It's very corny, but there are things that work: Sutton discovering his patriotism, the nephew of Benedict Arnold redeeming the family honour. The romance between Montgomery and O'Hara feels undercooked - I didn't like how he rejected her, then she tagged along anyway (it felt like a scene inserted after the first preview). The final action sequence is well done.

Movie review - "Wabash Avenue" (1950) **1/2

These Betty Grable musicals were more tolerable during the war - you can understand the appeal of technicolour fairy floss after a hard day at the munitions factory but to know this was made in 1949, I can't help thinking "Betty don't you want to try something different?"

It's a remake of her 1943 hit Coney Island with Betty again as a singer, only it's in Chicago instead of New York, has Victor Mature instead of George Montgomery, Phil Harris instead of Cesar Romero and Reginald Gardiner instead of Phil Silvers.

The casting changes a lot. Mature is sleazier and less energetic than Montgomery; also less believable as a music man, although he does become better as the film progresses and the character is more likeable. Phil Harris is a ruddy faced comedian who seems bewildered - I assume he's famous from soemething else; he's not remotely believable as a romantic rival for Grable, or a saloon owner, or a scammer or a threat. For me he was the film's big weakness. Gardiner is okay.

There's colour and some jaunty songs and tunes. Grable seems bored at times - she'd made this sort of film a lot by this stage, slapping the face of the leading man and being feisty, etc.
 But it's not bad and I liked it more as it went on.

Movie review - "Young People" (1940) ** (warning: spoilers)

Historically significant in a way: this was Shirley Temple's last movie under her contract with Fox, a studio for whom she had made a lot of money. It's an odd piece - I'm not quite sure they made it: were they genuinely trying to change her image or were they just finishing the contract?

It's not really a Temple vehicle - she shares the lead duties with two others (Jack Oakie and Charlotte Greenwood) and the film is about three of them equally. They are vaudevillians who retire to a stuffy town, which I guess is an okay concept for a fish out of water comedy, only the filmmakers don't have that much fun with it. Temple does a slightly race school dance but it's only slightly racy - the others say a few outrageous things, but the main problem never seems to be them it's the stuff townsfolk. So the town is an unpleasant place to live, and we kind of wish they'd go back to vaudeville. That's what they intend to do too until a deux ex machina storm comes along and makes them heroes so they stay. (They only want to live in a town where people like you if you're heroes... great).

George Montgomery is handsome and confident in an early leading man role as the nice editor of the local paper. There are some decent dance routines and a potentially intriguing theme about the importance of embracing change (which could have had terrific resonance for the showbusiness backgrounds of the three leads) is completely ignored. A potentially big dramatic moment where Shirley finds out she's adopted is just thrown away too. At a time when Temple's career needed careful handling it was like Fox couldn't really be bothered (I get the feeling they always feared the day would come when she grew up and became unpopular, and when they did they gave up in advance).

Movie review - “Coney Island” (1943) ***

A Betty Grable musical but the plot is more driven by George Montgomery, who arrives in Coney Island during the 1890s and sets about establishing himself as a musical impresario by outwitting his former partner and making a star of Grable. Betty doesn’t do much plot wise except stamp her foot, look indignant and be fought over, but she does lots of numbers (one in blackface, unfortunately) and is very pretty. Montgomery is terrific, confident and wise-cracky in a sub Clark Gable way – surely he would have become a bigger star had war service not interrupted his career. Good support from Cesar Romeo (the perennial other man), Phil Silvers and Charles Winninger. Some of the musical numbers seem to go on forever.

Movie review – “Orchestra Wives” (1942) ***

The second of two films featuring Glenn Miller and his orchestra isn’t as well known as Sun Valley Serenade but is still pretty fun. Ann Rutherford plays a small town girl obsessed with Miller’s band who falls for trumpeter George Montgomery when he’s on tour. They decide to get married very quickly – we see pretty much their entire courtship and it doesn’t last longer than five minutes. I think such things made more sense when there was a war on.

Rutherford never became a star despite her success as Polly Benedict in the Andy Hardy films and she doesn’t really have much charisma. She is nice but is a bit too sweet in the wrong way – she comes across as someone’s grandmother when they were young, if that makes sense. Her character is a bit of a ninny – surely she’s got to expect some troubles marrying a musician she barely knows? Is it so bad to learn that your husband went out with the singer once, is that really mean of the girls to tell her?

The other orchestra wives are a lot of fun – wisecracking, playing cards – but not as much fun as Lyn Bari, in her upteenth role as man stealer. (As in Sun Valley Serenade I found my sympathy going to Bari rather than the star – Montgomery should go off with her). Montgomery is an excellent male lead, handsome with a terrific Clarke Gable-ish voice – I was always surprised he never became a bigger star (his career never regained it’s momentum after he went off to war service). There’s also a strong support casting, including Cesar Romero (who I kept waiting to chase after Rutherford and/or Bari but it never happens), a very young Henry Morgan and Jackie Gleason, plus the Nicholas Brothers, who do an amazing dance number at the end (which presumably made it easier for southern exhibitors to snip off). Some great Glen Miller tunes (Miller himself has a lot more lines than in Sun Valley Serenade – he’s still a bit stiff but is getting better), and the classic song ‘At Last’.

Radio review - Lux - “Wabash Avenue” (1950) **

A remake of Coney Island (it hit cinemas only seven years after the original did - the old days weren't that original) isn't as much fun to listen to without being able to see the colour and dancing and Betty's legs. Betty is likeable enough as the singer squabbled over by some competing men, including Victor Mature - who is engaging but not as good as George Montgomery (a sort of imitation Clarke Gable type who was really good in the original). There are some songs and a comic Irishman.

Movie review – “The Brasher Doubloon” (1947) **

George Montgomery was a brash Clarke Gable type who enlivened a number of musicals in the early 40s; his career never really recovered momentum after military service, but he did get to play Philip Marlowe in this film, perhaps the least known Marlowe adaptation. It’s based on The High Window, which also served as the basis for a Michael Shayne movie. You’d think The High Window was a slightly more sensible title than The Brasher Doubloon, which has a pirate flavour to it, but there you go (maybe they were hoping to draw comparisons with The Maltese Falcon).

Montgomery isn’t one of the great Philip Marlowes – he lacks a little depth (Montgomery was always most effective paired against a strong female co-star). To be fair the film doesn’t help him that much – John Brahm made a number of impressive films in his career, including a pair of Laird Cregar starrers, but his aim was slightly off on this one. The script doesn’t help – it features that staple of lazy scriptwriting: someone saying “there’s really no reason why I should tell you this but I’ll tell you anyway”; there’s also a Thin Man like finale with all the suspects gathered while Marlowe reveals who did it.

The supporting cast is a little undercooked. Nancy Guild is pretty as a girl who can’t bare to be touched although attracted to Marlowe, but she lacks a bit of spark. So too do the others, although they include Florence Bates and Conrad Janis – you can’t help compare them (not flatteringly) with the rogues gallery in The Big Sleep and Murder My Sweet.

Movie review – “Battle of the Bulge” (1965) **1/2

Many of the same elements of the Saturday night television 60s action epics – well known cast (albeit solidly B list), washed colour, Germans, action. But this falls into the secondary category along with Bridges of Remagen – Phil Yordan scripts of this time often just missed eg 55 Days at Peking and this is no exception. 

 It’s a decent enough account of the battle – it gets off to a sluggish start with some very bland scenes, such as soldiers going “oh it’ll all be over by Xmas” and Henry Fonda going “no it won’t” and Dana Andrews continually to the point of contrivance; Telly Savalas is a wacky corrupt sergeant and there is some boring hey-I’m-a-writer-I’ll-put-in-conflict between a lieutenant and a sergeant, but 50 minutes or so in the battle gets going and its particularly exciting when the Germans pretend to be Yanks and when the Germans shoot a bunch of Americans who’ve surrendered.

Robert Shaw is effective as an imposing Nazi; Ty Hardin is good, too, as a German. I always liked George Montgomery and he pops up and does well as a sergeant. Pier Angeli is one of two poorly incorporated love interests.

Book review - "Raymond Chandler" by Tony Hines

I picked this biography to read from the library shelves chiefly because of its pulp cover and a flick through the contents revealed that the book, while not a hefty tome, was concisely and well written. I'm not a Chandler nut but I was interested to find out a bit more about him, and I liked his screenplays.

I wasn't disappointed - this is an excellent biography, well researched (it doesn't go into awesome detail but enough), extremely well written with some solid analysis of the books and his life. Raymond Chandler was an odd man but he had an odd life - American born, American father (alcoholic, absent), Irish mother, but Anglo-Irish (he had no love for Catholics), moved to England as a boy, public school educated at the expense of a rich uncle, even worked for the civil service, then back to the US, was friendly enough for a family to adopt him, saw war service with the Canadians (real mccoy war service too, seeing people die and being concussed by a shell), working in the oil business and making a fortune, marrying a woman 20 years older (when he was 31!!), losing his money in the depression - not through poor investments but through being an alcoholic and losing his job, turning to writing in middle age and by putting in hard yards (months over a single story) became conversely very good very quickly.

His first two Marlowe novels were snapped up by Knopf who recognised their quality - but they did not sell well and he struggled financially until two windfalls happened: Hollywood hired him for Double Indemnity and his books started to sell in paperback. Despite increased fame and money he still managed to remain unhappy, turn out one more classic book, become a widower, then drink himself to death - but he still made it to 70.

Chandler comes across very vivid here - the most overriding image is that of loneliness, growing up without a father, living in America with no family around him (when he brought mum over that was little help). When he married he picked a woman 20 years older and they did not seem to socialise. He had a few mates but seemed to shed them after time. He wanted company yet didn't at the same time - not uncommon for a writer, I can relate. He often found it better to communicate through letters.

He was a wonderful writer, Chandler, who like Steven King found the perfect genre for his gifts (would he have thrived in another genres? He didn't write enough non detective stuff to tell). A very good screenwriter, too: he only wrote a few but they included Double Indemnity, The Blue Dahlia, and Strangers on a Train (it's frustrating Universal never financed Payback although Chandler needed strong directors). A very strong style although it seems everyone likes only three of the Marlowes (The Big Sleep, Farewell My Lovely and The Long Goodbye) - opinion seems more divided on the others.

The biggest two surprises: one was Chandler connected to two Australian women during his widower years (when he formed crushes at the drop of a hat): one his secretary, Australian born, whom he tried to "rescue" and who sued unsuccessfully for his estate after he died, and another who was a penpal (he planned to visit Australia towards the end of his life but changed his mind).

The second involves his marriage - one of the great weird love stories: Chandler and Cissy, aged 50, a former beauty who ran with the opium set and had nude photos of her, who was sick for much of her last years, who separated from him in the Depression for a bit due to his drinking, nonetheless clicked with Chandler - he seems to have been devoted to her (well, apart from two affairs), especially towards the end of her life when he could be the real knight in shining armour I think he always wanted to be. They led a self-contained life, few friends. When she died he was devastated. This was the most moving part of an unexpectedly moving book.