Movie review - "Fifth Avenue Girl" (1939) **

 Ginger Rogers' popularity drove this unremarkable comedy to a decent box office gross. She's another of her ordinary girls who falls in with a millionaire, Walter Connolly and pretends to be his mistress, and that gives Connolly respect.

Connolly was a B list older actor - I wish there'd been a Charles Laughton or someone - but he's fine. He died not long after this - they didn't live long back in the day.

The family are boring - this was a versuon of My Man Godfrey. Son is a pompous twist as played by Tim Holt (whose non Westerns tended to be classics... not this one). Daughter dates a commie which has novelty. Wife flirts around. Family aren't interesting. Rogers seems bored.

 There's a reason why no one remembers this much.

Movie review - "Hitler's Children" (1943) ***1/2

 A sleeper blockbuster which made a fortune for RKO and propelled Edward Dmytryk into the top rank. Why was it so successful? It didn't have star factor, though the acting is fine (Tim Holt, Bonita Granville, Kent Smith). It took on the Nazis but so did many films. There's some OTT Nazi acting even for the time.

Trying to analyse it, I think the reason was this: it's a love story about young people. Tim Holt, raised to be a Nazi, falls for Bonita Graville, a German American who recognises the Nazis are wrong. So two young uns with strong point of view for their characters.

It offers career best roles for Tim Holt and Graville. He's a believable Nazi, whose conscience becomes pricked Granville is brave, spirited, beautiful - an anti Nazi in Germany.

Kent Smith lumbers through his role - he's okay I guess. The role is important, an American abroad, an audience surrogate. HB Warner as a Catholic Bishop is dull, giving a long speech - I kept waiting for the Nazis to shoot him.

But the rest is very good. Otto Kruger is excellent as a Gestapo officer who forgives Holt being soft on Granville then becomes vengeful. The pulpy quality suits the material: I mean, it's terrifying, Granville is torn away from her guardian and put into a camp, then later on women are sterilised, she escapes and his tortured, is whipped. Holt falls for her, he's put on trial, he makes a speech, is shot, she's shot. It's full on. Terrific stuff.

Dmytryk handles it all very well.

Movie review - "His Kind of Woman" (1951) ***1/2 (re-watching)

 Legendary nutty film noir turned comedy which starts out as a Bob Mitchum-Jane Russell movie then becomes a comedy farce headed by Vincent Price. Slangy dialogue, Tim Holt looking puffy as an agent who winds up dead, Charles McGraw as another agent, Raymond Burr a gangster, a creepy torturing doctor, reshoots. Fascinating.

Movie review - "Wagon Train" (1940) ***

 First in what would be a long series of B Westerns at RKO starring Tim Holt. They tried him in a few already and decided to star him in a bunch, replacing the presumably more expensive George O'Brien.

Holt is tracking down his father's murderer, a businessman up to No Good. Martha O'Driscoll is the girl. Ray Whitley is the sidekick. Edward Killy directed.

Holt as an amiable boy next door boyishness that suits his heroic character. There's some songs, a cute baby, a decent story, Indians on the warpath. It ticks a lot of boxes. It feels adult in places - the Indians wipe out a farm house leaving a shellshocked O'Driscoll (we don't see the attack but see her reaction). Some impressive action such as a fire.

Tim Holt Top Ten Non-B Western Films

1) Stella Dallas (1937 version)

2) Stagecoach (1939)

3) Swiss Family Robinson (1940)

4) Back Street (1941 version)

5) The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

6) Hitler's Children (1943)

7) My Darling Clementine (1946)

8) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

9) His Kind of Woman (1951)

10) The Monster That Challenged the World (1957)

That's an amazing collection of films for a B Western movie star. Who else matches it apart from John Wayne?  (I will acknowledge Holt's contribution to the bulk of these isn't that critical.)

Script review - "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" by Robert Rossen

I had no idea Rossen worked on this movie- but he's the only writer credited. And from reading it, this felt similar to the movie - although it's been a while since I saw it. There was a bit where Curtin (the Tim Holt character) does a big speech about Mexicans after someone refers to them as bloodthirsty and Curtin points out that you'd be bloodthirsty too if you'd had to suffer from years of abuse etc etc - the sort of good old progressive attitudes that commies would put in scripts (not a criticism!)

Maybe it's simply a very faithful version of a very filmable novel - I'll leave it to an academic to do a proper comparative analysis.

I was a tad underwhelmed by this film when I first saw it - I seem to say that a lot about John Huston movies - but enjoyed reading the script. The theme is very universal - down and outers going prospecting for gold, finding it... then realising once they do their problems have only just begun. How do they divide it up between them? What to do when another American, Cody, stumbles upon their campsite and figures it out - kill him or make him part of the partnership? What to do when some bandits come along - bluff or fight? At what point do they leave? What to do when some Indians demand their main prospector go with them?

For a film famous as a work on paranoia, the characters act rationally most of the time - Curtin, the everyman, is pretty much consistently normal and rational - he saves Dobbs' life, always tries to do the right thing, and at the end goes off to find Cody's widow. Howard,the grizzled prospector, is so wise and smart, not just about gold mining but human nature, that you wonder how he wound up in a flop house at the beginning - he spots the gold site, helps dig it, is brave and smart, predicts how people are going to act... Even Dobbs is normal most of the time - he's a bit tetchy but it's only at the end he goes ga-ga.

The film is a bit racist towards Mexicans - the bulk of them are corrupt and ruthless. The Indians are naive. The bandits are genuinely scary (and they should be, lopping off Dobbs' head) - though it should be said the police are quite efficient (though ruthless too).

A very satisfying look at greed with some suspenseful scenes and one very juicy role (Dobbs).

Script review - "The Magnificent Ambersons" by Orson Welles (1941)

Honestly, why did RKO ever think this was going to be successful? I get that Booth Tarkington's novel had been a best seller - but wasn't that years ago? And didn't they have a look at the synopsis- rich turn of the century family loses money, bratty kid gets his comeuppance. Has that story ever been popular?

I know I'm talking like a studio suit here, but it's hard to read the script that focuses around bratty George Amberson. Citizen Kane was a brat too but at least he did stuff - he could charm women and co workers, he fought against powerful interests, he did cool thinks like start wars and newspapers and run for office.

George Amberson doesn't do anything except whinge. There's talk of attending college, he complains, he woos Lucy Morgan but not very charmingly, he's attached to his mother, he's mean to Aunt Fanny, he slags off on Eugene Morgan, he doesn't even seem that close to his father. At the end he goes to work, the last few pages - but even then he won't devote himself to a legal career, when one is offered... he goes to make quick cash doing dangerous jobs, and gets injured doing one.

That might be Okay if George were the antagonist but he's the center of attention and being around him is a drag. And frustrating. And we're forced to spend a lot of time with him. We never really see what Lucy sees in him or what his mother sees in him for that matter.

Maybe this would have worked if it had focused on Eugene - a young man about town who liked a drink, who lost the woman he loved to another man then who comes back rich due to his invention. Welles clearly has affection for him. He's a nice guy. He does stuff. He loves his daughter and Isabel, and invents things and makes money.

The basic story isn't bad if told from Eugene's point of view - person comes back to home town, makes a go of it, falls for lost love and faces opposition from her son... But it's from George, so we get George sulking, George liking Lucy being wooing her in an abusive way, not liking Eugene, being protective of his mum, being a brat, seeing his family lose his money, try to get a job.

There's some great stuff to be fair. Fanny is compelling - so much so she pulls focus. Isabel the mum is a drip as is the dad. I struggled to see the point of Jack as well - he was given this long monologue at the end. There is a lot of imagination and passion.

It is fascinating in Orson Welles' oeuvre because of its themes - it's obsession with nostalgia ad the 1890s and love of old things. It's also creatively interesting - the draft I read was a lot like a radio play with extensive use of narration. The ending, with George being injured, then being reunited with Eugene and Lucy, was handled ALL off screen.

RKO shouldn't have cut up Welles work... but based on this script it's hard to see there would ever be an audience for it.

Movie review - "Laddie" (1940) **

Tim Holt became known as a Western star for RKO but although this is set in the West it isn't really a Western. It's more a slice of life Americana, a genre popular at the time (The Magnificent Ambersons - which also starred Holt - was a darker example of the genre). It reminded me of something like Hound Dog Man or Pollyanna - lots of gentle observations about young people. The sort of thing that's always based on a "beloved" novel.

The central thrust of the plot revolves around farmer Holt being in love with Virginia Gilmore, whose English father (Miles Mander) doesn't approve. A lot of time is spent on Holt's younger sister Joan Carroll, who is very good. Gilmore isn't much - her character is a bit of a bitch. Miles Mander is fine as is Spring Byington. Peter Cushing - as in the horror star - pops up as Mander's estranged son, which gives the end of this a massive lift.

I've long been interested in the career of Tim Holt, who appeared in so many classics despite mostly making B Westerns. This isn't a classic - it's a nice enough thing, very light; it really needed a top flight director to add lots of touches and atmosphere to make it fly.

Holt is handsome and adequate; to be honest he's a little dull. He's not a star who leaps off the screen - he seems to be more of a leading man, the sort of guy to play opposite a vivacious female star, or to play someone's son. He doesn't have a personality that comes across - contrasted with, say, Carroll.

To be honest the film probably would've been better off had it totally focused on Joan Carroll - told everything from her point of view. (It does for a lot of it but then keeps popping away from her POV.) But he's fine - like the movie itself. I know I use that word a lot about this movie but I can't help it - it's "fine".

Movie review - "Overland Telegraph" (1951) **1/2

One of the last of the many (many) Westerns Tim Holt made for RKO and it's an entirely decent B Western, with strong production values and brisk handling. There's a solid story with some complex (ish) characters and memorable moments. I get the feeling people tried on this one. It also benefits from a good cast.

Hugh Beaumont adds some low-wattage star power the baddy - a saloon owner. Universal's favourite Rock Hudson back up, George Nader, does likewise as a sort of anti-hero - a man who is trying to sabotage Gail Davis' telegraph, but isn't as bad as Beaumont, his best friend. Davis has a memorable introduction, dangling from a telegraph pole, and a strong character - she's feisty, gun-toting, in charge of camp, and willing to whip up a lynch mob. She's not there for romance (Holt apparently didn't often engage in it despite his good looks - it would upset his kid fans).

I don't want to overpraise this - it is a B Western - but there is constant action and story. Tim Holt is a solid star - not bright or bubbly, yes okay you could call him bland, but he's a steady center for the action. Richard Martin is his Mexican-Irish sidekick. Mari Blanchard adds some extra glamour as Nader's fiance.

Movie review - "Wild Horse Mesa" (1947) **

I've seen a bunch of films with Tim Holt - the famous ones such as The Magnificent Ambersons and My Darling Clementine - but never caught one of his B Westerns until now. It's an impressive film - yes absolutely a stock story (investigating stolen horses) but came from a Zane Grey novel so it was strong, and gives an important role to a wild stallion, so that's a little different.

The production values are high, as is the cinematography. It was shot at Lone Pine Ranch, and there are decent action scenes including a horse stampede as well as a few brawls. Holt is a solid hero - decent, conservative, fresh faced, honest. He has nice by play with Richard Martin, who is his singing, womanising sidekick Chito - however Chito's role in this is quite small. Apparently Chito used to handle most of the romancing in Holt movies but Holt here flirts with Nan Leslie.

The plot is quite violent - an old man is shot to death, the head baddy is trampled to death by a horse.

Book review - "I Love the Illusion: The Life and Career of Agnes Moorehead" by Charles Tranberg (2005)

Agnes Moorehead had one of the greatest careers of any character actress of the 20th century - she came to acting relatively late in life, after starting a teaching career, but got work quite quickly: did particularly well in radio where she met a young Orson Welles who took her to Hollywood with him; she delivered two superb performances in Citizen Kane and Magnificent Ambersons that helped set her up for life in cinema; was the definitive lead in Sorry Wrong Number on radio, perhaps the most famous radio play of all and worked constantly in that medium as well; conquered theatre with Don Juan in Hell in the 1950s; then in the 1960s swept all before her as Endora in Bewitched. Never out of work, always liked, a true professional.

Charles Tranberg has done a very good job of covering her life, helped by access to her papers. His examination of her acting style and career is very thorough - the look at her credits is very well done.

To be honest though it wasn't a terribly interesting life. There's an old rumour she was a lesbian, which Tranberg debunks; I think this got started because Moorehead simply looked like people's idea of a lesbian - and it might have livened up the book. She was a Midwestern gal who was religious, adored her dad who died early, who worked very hard and had Midwestern morality - becoming increasingly publicly associated with right wing causes towards the end of her life. She had rotten luck with her love life, with several failed marriages; she was also a lousy mother, fostering a kid but barely spending any time with him, making him raised by nannies and at boarding school (this is the most upsetting section of the book - they had a falling out and the guy dropped out of her life and no one knows what happened to him). I think she just loved acting so much she was prepared to give her career priority over everything.

It seems she was an immacuate pro and complete actress, working hard and always prepared. She could be a pain in the neck over things like billing and respect and whinged a lot around the time of Bewitched. But she knew her stuff and was always respected. I just wish she hadn't been such of a dickhead. It's not the fault of Tranberg who has written a good book.

Movie review - "George O'Brien: A Man's Man in Hollywood" by David Manefee (2009)

George O'Brien isn't particularly well known today, even among film buffs, but had an interesting career. A top athlete and World War One veteran (he was champion boxer for the fleet) he got his break as a stuntman and extra before becoming a star relatively quickly (in terms of progressing from bit parts to leads) in The Iron Horse. In the 1920s he was a decent enough box office draw for Fox but managed to appear in one classic - Sunrise - plus some John Ford movies and Michael Curtiz's Noah's Arc.

Sound didn't kill O'Brien's career but seemed to affect it in an odd way - he began appearing mostly in Westerns, then solely in them, and didn't really appear in anything else during the 30s. He re-enlisted during WW2 and saw hard service (in the navy), returned as a character actor (notably in some John Ford movies such as Fort Apache)... then went back to the navy. Plenty of film stars served in the military during the war -was he the only film star who went back to the navy deliberately when his film career wound down?

He was an odd kind of star, O'Brien - with his beefy build and not particularly memorable name or all American persona. Definitely not one of the great silent stars - no Valentino, no Fairbanks, no Tom Mix - but he had enough talent to impress Murnau, a young Howard Hawks, Allan Dwan and John Ford (with whom he had a long term falling out - which seems standard for people who worked for Ford). Hollywood executives liked him to a point but then seemed happier to shunt him off to Westerns.

The only career I can think that was like O'Brien's was Tim Holt, the actor who replaced him as RKO's B Western cowboy (Holt was cheaper) - mostly known for countless Westerns, but a surprising amount of classic movies on his resume (eg The Magnificent Ambersons, His Kind of Women), impressive war service. (I do admit though that Holt never had anything like O'Brien's success in the late 1920s).

He seems to have been a decent enough guy - sensible, hardworking, fit, held on to his money, didn't go insane or get hooked on drugs like so many of his contemporaries who met tragic ends (eg Olive Borden). Not a very good husband, running off to play soldiers whenever he good - World War Two I get but to do it in the 50s, I think he just liked the navy. He was married to Margeurite Churchill but from this biography didn't seem that interested in spending too much time with her - or with other women. And he appeared in a (very) large number of beefcake photos in the 20s some of which are downright homoerotic. Maybe it was all coincidental, but still... None of that is explored here.

This is still a pretty good book, benefiting from the fact that so much of it is unfamiliar to me so I was learning a lot. Occasionally the writer goes off on tangents with biographies of people connected to O'Brien - and I did feel that I wasn't entirely getting to know the real guy. 

Movie review - "My Darling Clementine" (1946) ****1/2

Mr John Ford knew how to use a movie camera - this is perhaps the most beautiful of all black and white Westerns, with its loving compositions and evocative atmosphere. The story isn't as good though it's effective, with Henry Fonda an ideal Wyatt Earp, rocking into Tombstone with his brothers and deciding to stick around and be Marshall when his brother is killed.

There is a remarkably strong support cast on display: Ward Bond and Tim Holt as Earp brothers (Holt wasn't that great an actor and his performance here isn't that inspired but he played in an awful lot of classic films throughout his career); Victor Mature in perhaps his best ever performance and definitely his greatest role as Doc Holliday; Walter Brennan as the terrifying Ike Clanton; Grant Withers and John Ireland as his sons (a terrific rogue's gallery of baddies); Linda Darnell (a much better actress than she was given credit for) as the Mexican singer-hooker; Alan Mowbray as a stage actor (a lovely little sequence); Jane Darwell as a local and J. Farrell MacDonald as the bartender. The only really damp squib is Cathy Downs as Clementine; she's not bad, just vanilla.

There's an irritating strand of racism through the story - Earp scolds people for selling liquor to Indians and makes cracks about Mexicans - but it's full of beautiful moments, and the depiction of violence consistently interesting: it comes in short, sharp bursts out of nowhere (having said that the final shoot out isn't that spectacular). Deserved classic.

Movie review - "His Kind of Woman" (1951) **** (warning: spoilers)

A real delight - there's no other film quite like it. Two thirds or so consists of familiar third world noir, with Bob Mitchum in laconic hunky form as a drifter who agrees to go missing to help a gangster into the country. When we first meet Mitch he's a bit of a loser, hanging out in dingy dives and getting smacked around, but once he sees Jane Russell on the plane to the resort he perks up and when he arrives he's super smart. (Even helping a drippy kid on his honeymoon win some money so he can have sex with his wife a la Casablanca - if Mitch is so smart how did he get so broke?)

Mitchum and Russell were one of the great scream teams and it's a shame they couldn't have worked more often; they have terrific chemistry, especially when he's rubbing lotion into her back. She looks wonderful, all legs and swimsuits and slinky gowns, singing songs and exchanging banter.

The supporting characters at the resort are a strong bunch - Raymond Burr is as always a strong villain, Jim Backus is enigmatic as a guest, Tim Holt turns up as a government cop (Holt was always popping up in classics - he's not bad here, although not a very convincing drunk), John Mylong as a creepy author, Charles McGraw as a tough guy.

Most of all there is Vincent Price, who initially appears as Russell's false love interest (no real threat because Mitchum and Russell are so into each other), but then for the last third becomes the film's hero when this movie is turned totally on its head and becomes a glorious tongue in cheek romp: Mitchum keeps getting knocked out, Russell disappears, and Prince hams it up wonderfully.

This is probably overlong (two hours is pushing it) - Backus should either have been used more or cut out, I didn't particularly care for the newlyweds. But a real romp and proof that Howard Hughes' meddling sometimes made his films more fun. Lots of lovely touches like Mitchum ironing money.

Radio review - Lux - "Hitler's Children" (1943) *** (warning: spoilers)

A massively popular B film from RKO, it remains a decent story, more than just an interesting period piece, kind of like a Young Guns meets the Nazis. It's about various young kids who are drawn into Nazi life prior to WW2 centering around the romance between a young couple in particular. There's a powerful ending with the two of them shot to death in a courtroom!!

This sort of young-people-dealing-with-big-issues story is universal; they could remake it. Bonita Granville, Otto Kruger and Kent Smith reprise their film roles; Tim Holt doesn't (Holt was a cowboy actor who kept popping up in really important/interesting films: Magnificent Ambersons, this, Stagecoach, Treasure of Sierra Madre, His Kind of Woman).

Radio review - Lux - "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1949) ***1/2

Bogie reprises his legendary film role in this enjoyable adventure tale. I'll put my hand up and admit I don't find this as sensational as some (apparently it was one of Kubrick's favourite movies) - something about it doesn't quite work... it feels a bit predictable, maybe? I can't quite put my finger on it. I like it, mind you, I just don't feel it's awesome. Bogart is very good, as is Walter Huston.

Radio review – CP#34 - “The Magnificent Ambersons” (1939) ***

Every fan of the film of this should check out Orson Welles’ radio version. It’s clear Welles was a massive fan of the novel (he gushed about it ad nauseum the previous week and in the introduction) and it helps give you an idea of what a non-mutilated version of the film might be like.

This is a decent enough adaptation – I don’t agree with the Vanity Fair article which describes it as “brilliant” but think it’s better than Simon Callow does in his book on Welles. Welles’ performance as George is awful – whiny, high pitched, etc - and is a major flaw (and to his credit Welles seemed to recognise this when he cast Tim Holt for the film version). There is no Aunt Fanny character but Walter Huston is on hand to play Eugene.

NB. A random thought how the Ambersons could have been a popular film - cast Welles as George but reconfigure the part to better fit Welle’s image. Make George like the popular impression of Welles at the time – charming, brilliant, smooth, egotistical, bratty, surrounded by people who either humour him or long for his come-uppance. And have him do something genuinely nice at the end rather than just realising he's bad.

Movie review – “The Magnificent Ambersons” (1942) ***

Stunningly well directed, full of interesting shots and camera angles and scenes, and it looks (and sounds) terrific. But it’s a boring story. I know it was recut, and it shouldn’t have been – but even if it hadn’t it just would have been a more fully realised version of a boring story. I can’t believe anyone would care about a useless rich family, with sulky George (Tim Holt) and his nice pretty mother (Dolores Costello) who is nonetheless weak enough not to marry a man she loves, even 20 years later, because of family opposition. You can’t quite figure out why Joseph Cotten or Anne Baxter, both of whom seem like nice sensible people, want to be involved apart from the fact they are so boring maybe they find the Ambersons exciting in comparison.

The story of the redemption of a brat is normally sure fire in Hollywood – Tom Cruise built his career on it – but we never get to see anything nice about Holt, except for him being nice to his mother while she’s dying (he still doesn’t let her see Cotten which is unforgivable) – and the new improved Holt never does anything. Holt’s performance has produced mixed critical response over the years; I think it’s fine – petulant, believable, all that (Welles himself would have had too much authority to play the role) – it’s just not much of a character. You don’t really care what happens to him. Or anyone in the film, for that matter. Costello is weak for having not stood up for her family to marry Cotten, especially the second time around (you never get a sense of the close ties that bind her and Holt), Baxter is silly for getting involved with such a loser, Cotten is Mr charming and diplomacy but we never see him do anything sensible.

Defenders of this film blame RKO and Robert Wise – but even if the film had been presented in its original version it still would have been a boring story about uninteresting people. Again Welles defenders would probably argue that “he wasn’t interested in playing Hollywood games with sympathetic protagonists and all that” – but protagonists don’t have to be sympathetic, they just have to do something, or have interesting things happen to them. At least Charles Foster Kane built newspapers and tried to promote his wife as an opera star; these guys just go on picnics and dance and lose money and invent things off screen.

For all his genius as a director, Welles wasn’t much of a screenwriter, and I think on this one he was sidetracked by his determination to recreate his childhood. Watching it you can’t help wish if only Welles (those three words again) had picked something with a stronger narrative drive for this second film, like Dracula, or Heart of Darkness or Julius Caesar. Of course it was a tragedy that the film was cut about to such a degree but I'm sorry this has been massively over-rated by people who love the romance of its destruction.

Radio review – Peter Bogdanovich interviews Orson Welles

Fascinating series of interviews which formed the basis of Bogdanovich’s excellent book about Welles. He chats in particular about his relationship with Gregg Tolland on Citizen Kane, his plan to make a film about Jesus Christ, casting Alan Ladd in Kane, casting Tim Holt in Magnificent Ambersons (which he still defends – someone should do a study of Holt one day, he’s got a lot of classic films on his resume); the troubles filming Othello (setting scenes in Turkish baths to do it without costumes); etc.

Welles makes a lot of statements, some where you go “gee I dunno” (He argues that directors do their best work in their 20s and 70s), others which I think is dead right (everyone knows an Iago in their life).

He is a bit defensive about the lack of commercial success of his films (blames Kane on poor distribution, says Lady from Shanghai got its money back "but was no Gilda and they wanted Gilda"). Says there were only a few cuts to Lady from Shanghai, which surprised me – he takes the blame for what’s bad about this; refutes Bogdanovich’s claim that War of the Worlds was bad luck for him (credits this for the Campbell sponsorship and movie career); talks about being inspired for War of the Worlds by a priest’s claim that communists had taken over London (he perhaps takes a bit too much credit for this broadcast – poor old Howard Koch the author isn’t mentioned); chats about his passion for “the funnies”.

Welles seems to have been friends with or at least known everyone – Preston Sturges, Thornton Wilder, Sam Goldwyn, Barrymore. He’s constantly telling stories along the lines of “of course I knew Preston”.

Bogdanovich was asking questions for posterity, not television, so his queries tend to be drawn out and stumbling – but they are mostly pretty good and he has a warm rapport with Welles.