Play review - "Point Valaine" by Noel Coward (1934)

 One of several unsuccessful attempts from Coward to find a follow up vehicle for The Lunts after Design for Living worked so well. This was his go at Somesert Maugham style sex in the tropics with whites behaving badly - the play is dedicated to Maugham.

There's a bit of padding and the device of the Maugham/Coward like writer who visits and commentates on the action was surely tired then - although when he talks of his philosophy towards the end of love you go "oh is this Noel Coward talking", about not getting too involved in people.

It's not a great Lunt vehicle as it's not a two hander - there's four roles, the Maugham guy, an ageing woman, her Russian lover, and a young man who falls for the older woman. So there's a lot of gay writer tropes at the time - ageing horny woman, beautiful young man who adores her, rough trade who is mean to her. Alfred Lunt played the rough trade - I was surprised until I read the confrontation.

The drama's not bad, it's a solid love triangle, with people making out in the rain, and gossiping whites in the background. I'm surprised this was never filmed by Hollywood. It's a play I could imagine good pulp screenwriters actually improving, giving the lead to a Joan Crawford type. Or you could flip the sexes around and have it about a guy loved by a younger woman and older mysterious woman. Maybe it lacks the big pay off too - the rough trade kills himself, the young man goes his own way... Really rough trade should have killed the woman. It would've been more satisfying dramatically.

Louis Hayward played the young man on Broadway - makes sense.

Movie review - "The Black Arrow" (1948) **

 Columbia went into swasbucklers in a big way after World War Two - they were usually produced by Sam Katzman or Edward Small. This one is a Small effort, based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novel with the hero aged up to make a vehicle for Louis Hayward, and a dash of Robin Hood and Hamlet sprinkled into the story.

Hayward returns from the wars to find his dad dead. George Macready blames another noble, whose daughter Janet Blair is under the control of Macready. There's a sassy fiar, outlaws in the woods, a trial by combat at the end, a cameo by the future Richard III in a sort of sympathetic but not really part (he's depicted as pompous)

Director Gordon Douglas does a decent job and there's fine production values even if in black and white. But it's a sluggish tale. Uninspired support cast. Not very engaging story. I had that issue with the novel (which is different to this).

Some decent Hayward-Blair flirting but that's about it.

Movie review - "The Saint's Return" (1953) ** (re-watching)

 Louis Hayward came back to the franchise in this attempt to revive it. It didn't work, but it's nice to see him - even if he's no George Sanders. I watched a copy of this - it was gloomy and dark, which may be the print but I did miss the lightness of Sanders.

The tone of this seems uncertain. Too serious. After a while I got used to tougher Hayward as the Saint but he still had a bumbling assistant.

Diana Dors livens things up with one scene. Why not give her a bigger part? She's got more charisma than the female lead. So frustrating. The lower budget doesn't help.

Movie review - "Three Smart Girls" (1936) ***1/2

Really sweet film with a simple premise that I'm surprised hasn't been more remade: three girls find out their father is marrying a gold digger and set out to get him back. Really mother should go along but she is kept back in Europe - probably good idea since she's a bit dull.

Their main plan involves getting a gigolo to seduce the gold digger which is fun - only they accidentally get a genuinely rich guy, Ray Milland, whose family "own half of Australia". Milland plays a lord but I guess he's... an Australian lord?

It's really sweet and fun. Deanna Durbin was the X factor and she's charming - I don't like her singing (the genre not the ability, she's obviously very good) but there's not too much of it. She is bright and sparky and full of fun and is wonderful getting that final close up, delighted at her reunited parents.

Her sisters don't have her star power but they are fun too - Nan Grey and Barbara Read. Actually the whole cast is very strong - Mischa Auer as the genuine gigolo, Ray Milland (stepping in for Louis Hayward who was sick a few days into filming), Binnie Barnes as the gold digger, Alice Brady as her even greedier mother, Charles Winninger as the dad (the film is really a love story between Durbin and him).

They probably could have added another complication or two but this is lovely and it's no surprise it became a big hit.

Movie review - "Midnight Intruder" (1938) ***

Maybe two and a half stars is more accurate but this is a bright, fast enjoyable comedy farce with Louis Hayward quite fun as a gambler who with his old mate takes shelter in a house and is mistaken for the son of a wealthy woman. The situations are familiar but strong - he falls for a woman, becomes a better man, helps the real son off a murder charge (this storyline is probably introduced too late in the story).

Lubin keeps the pace fast and light - it spanks on by. Some of the actors could have been stronger but everyone is trying. This was a lot of fun.

Movie review - "Anthony Adverse" (1936) **1/2

I remember enjoying this as a kid watching it on Bill Collins back in the day - even though I'd never read the book, you could feel it was adapted from one: a prologue leading to the birth of a title character, scenes of his childhood (including meeting a childhood sweetheart), adventures in exotic climes, a nemesis, rags to riches, etc, etc. It remains enjoyable if you can handle some melodramatic over the top acting.

It gets off to a strong start with Anita Louise married to nasty Claude Rains but in love with Louis Hayward (in the role that got him noticed in Hollywood), which results in Rains killing Hayward in a duel and Louise dying in childbirth. The resulting kid is dumped with nuns, and falls for a fellow girl. He then grows up to be the not very exciting Frederic March (I wish they'd cast Errol Flynn), though the girl is the delightful and charming Olivia de Havilland.

There's a very good support cast: Donald Woods as a random best friend, Edmund Gwenn as a kindly benefactor (very coincidentally March's real grandfather), Steffi Duna as a brown face native girl who has hot pants for March, Akim Tamiroff hamming it up outrageously as a slave trader. Most of all there are Claude Rains and Gale Sondergaard as a pair of villains.

I really like Eric Wolfgang Korngold's score and several of the scenes remain etched in my memory: March meeting his son, realising de Havilland has become Napleon's mistress, March talking to his son and them going away together, the death of Hayward. It badly misses a come uppance for Rains and Sondergaard.

Louis Hayward Top Ten Films

Just because I've finished a book on him!
1) Anthony Adverse (1936) - only a small part but a memorable one, at the beginning
2) The Saint in New York (1938) - Hayward was the first screen Saint, not as good as George Sanders but solid
3) The Man in the Iron Mask (1939) - a good swashbuckler with Hayward impressing in a difficult role (s)
4) Son of Monte Cristo (1940) - another solid mid-tier Edward Small swashbuckler
5) Dance Girl Dance (1940) - Hayward is a leading man to the ladies but its feminist subtext makes this worth watching
6) And Then There Were None (1945) - one of Agatha Christie's greatest stories, this has a jokey tone which is hard to get used to at first but once you do you'll enjoy it
7) Ruthless (1948) - from Hayward's late 40s film noir, Eagle Lion period - enjoyable
8) The Black Arrow (1948) - more Ed Small swashbuckling
9) Walk a Crooked Mile (1948) - film noir
10) My Son My Son (1940) - if Hayward hadn't gone to war he could have challenged George Brent as a rotter in 40s melodramas such as this one

Book review - "Louis Hayward: Beyond the Iron Mask, a Collected Memoir" by Mary Ann Anderson (2015)

Disappointingly short book on Hayward, a quasi-well known star of the 30s through to 50s whose career, while not legendary, was very interesting, and deserved better treatment.

Hayward was born in South Africa and educated in England; he wanted to act and his good looks and charm saw him get work on the English stage. He was a protege and lover of Noel Coward, who cast Hayward in one of his plays, Point Valaine. He got work in British films of the early 30s but found more success over in Hollywood, starting with a juicy part in Anthony Adverse. He was the first cinematic incantation of The Saint and was a favourite of producer Edward Small who cast Hayward in The Man in the Iron Mask. This kicked off a career for the actor as a swashbuckler star - he suited period films, and could act; while he only made a few top rank swashbucklers (Son of Monte Cristo), they kept him steadily employed in the 40s and 50s.

Hayward's career was interrupted by war service - and it was impressive service, risking life and limb as head of the photography unit at the Battle of Tarawa.  He never recovered his earlier momentum - maybe he wouldn't have even if he hadn't joined the army, who knows, but at least when he came out he had the odd good part (eg And Then There Were None) and was lucky to get regular work in low budget swashbucklers.

Despite the fling with Coward, Hayward had a number of marriages to women, notably Ida Lupino. His career went into gentle decline - there seemed to be plenty of TV and stage work, and the odd film (such as in Chuka with Rod Taylor) before his cigarette habit killed him.

The book isn't a bad rough overview of Hayward's life and there are some good photos but I kept wanting more - more about his films, acting style, personal life, working with Edward Small, etc.  There's not enough.

Movie review – “And Then There Were None” (1945) ***1/2

I’ve read the book and the play of this, both by Agatha Christie, and they’re quite gloomy works – a bunch of killers on an island being knocked off one by one. But in the hands of Rene Clair this is a light, bright tale, with plenty of comedy. The death toll is still really high, and it remains creepy, especially towards the end when there’s only a few people on the island. Sometimes I wondered if it was too light for the material – I mean, people are dying – opportunities for suspense and terror were missed. But still this is pretty good. It helps having a strong cast, including Barry Fitzgerald, Judith Anderson, Walter Huston, C Aubrey Smith and Louis Hayward. June Duprez is a bit of a wet blanket in the main female role. Good adaptation by Dudley Nichols.

Movie review – “The Man in the Iron Mask” (1939) ***

Louis Hayward made a large number of second-tier swashbucklers during this career; this was probably is sole first-rate one (although Son of Monte Cristo was pretty fun). He’s very good in a challenging role and it’s a handsome production with a strong story. The supporting cast is good too, including Warren William and Alan Hale as former musketeers and Joan Bennett as the love interest.

Producer Edward Small was presumably inspired by the success of Prisoner of Zenda, with which this shares similarities: a good commoner swaps places with his evil lookalike, and falls in love with the evil lookalike’s betrothed, the villain has a nasty sidekick, there is lots of talk of loyalty and duty.

There is a surprising lack of action – there's only really a decent amount at the end. The director was James Whale; this was his last significant credit in what is an atypical genre for his career (although the dungeon scenes and the big shadows in the palace could have easily slotted into his Universal films). The deaths of the musketeers at the end are dealt with kind of perfunctorily – only two of them get closeup!

Movie review – Saint #9 – “The Saint’s Girl Friday” (1954) **

The Saint returned to the big screen after a twelve year absence, and to sweeten the deal RKO have Louis Hayward reprise the role – even if he only played it once, he was the first. This is a very British focused story, unlike the George Sanders films – it’s British setting and characters make it closer to the Hugh Sinclair movies, although Hayward’s Saint is, again, American.

The plot has the Saint called back to England by an old girlfriend, who turns out to have been killed in a car crash. He starts investigating, visits gambling dens. Diana Dors has a support role – a fun scene where she seduces Hayward to distract him. Also fun when some old biddies excitedly ask Saint about his violent activities.

The Saint does have a girl Friday, a pretty thing who assists him – but she only is properly introduced after the film is half over. The revelation of the identity of one of the crooks is a genuine surprise, but as a whole the film is a bit flat – more like an episode of a television series, and that wasn’t enough in 1954. It needed colour and a bit of flash, like the Roger Moore series later provided.

There is a cute final brawl where the Saint punches out the baddy while his henchman punches the baddy’s henchman and his girl punches the baddy’s girl. Hayward doesn’t kill as many baddies in this one but he does engineer things so that baddies kill their own men twice.

Movie review – Saint #1 - “The Saint in New York” (1938) **1/2

New York is in the grip of a crime spree – apparently the problem isn’t so much catching the crooks as getting them convicted. That darn legal system! So politicians decide to ask for the assistance of a vigilante – a man outside the law, feared by crooks, loved by the innocent. It’s not the Dark Knight, or Charles Bronson – it’s the gentleman adventurer Simon Templar, the Saint.

He’s played by Louis Hayward, a slightly cherubic faced actor who although South African performs with an American accent. They ask the Saint to kill six gangsters, promising to keep it all secret and the support of the police. The Saint agrees – secret police of dictatorships would have loved him. He shoots one while dressed as a nun and gradually starts working his way through the criminal world.

This is not really comfortable stuff, especially with Hayward being so smug and cocky, so it’s not particularly exciting. But about half way through it starts to improve, when Hayward recsues a child from a kidnapping and strikes up a relationship with a beautiful enigmatic girl. It gets a bit darker and more film noir-esque and there’s a scene where the Saint is actually going to be killed by two hoodlums and is saved by the girl… who is on his list.

It’s quite brooding stuff and you can’t help wishing a darker, more complex actor that Hayward was playing the Saint. (Turner Classic Movies called Hayward a poor man’s Orson Welles – and you know Welles would have been perfect). The idea that the Saint is used by the head baddy to knock of the latter’s rivals is a terrific one (and a great way to take the sting out of the vigilante stuff), but the potential of this is not really exploited.

Interesting names often pop up in B movie series and this one has a young Jack Carson (as one of the two hoodlums mentioned above), plus Sig Rumann (who surely appeared in every B picture series of the time).

Movie review - "Son of Monte Cristo" (1941) ***

Excellent example of an unpretentious, medium-budget swashbuckler that Hollywood used to churn out. Technically a sequel to The Count of Monte Cristo (1934), this is more of a follow up to The Man in the Iron Mask (1939), with Louis Hayward and Joan Bennett again starring and George Bruce again scripting.

Hayward is the son of the famous count who gets involved in a dictatorial Balkan country - mainly because he takes a shine to Bennett, as the local duchess (who is democratically minded). The show is stolen by George Sanders as the local dictator - although a brute he is a smart one, willing to get his own hands dirty, he seems to genuinely love Bennett and at least he's worked his way up himself the hard way (the film is pro-aristocracy, but very anti-Nazi).

Brisk pace helps it not matter so much the story rips off Zorro - Hayward pretends to be a fop and also dons a black mask to become "The Torch". Well directed from Rowland Lee - Sanders has an especially spectacular death. If two of the support cast seem vaguely familiar, its because they are Clayton Moore (later the Lone Ranger) and Dick Byrd (later Dick Tracy).