“Framed” is James M. Cain light, “Double Indemnity” and “The Postman Always Rings Twice”, shaken and stirred. All the ingredients are there, the protagonist, a sap of a guy falling hard for a duplicitous femme fatale who crosses and double crosses anyone getting in her way. There’s also the dame’s lover, a debonair adulterous underhanded white-collar thief masquerading as a model citizen.

    Studio hack Richard Wallace directs Glenn Ford, playing Mike Lambert an out of work engineer with a drinking problem. He has the unfortunate habit of drinking too much and not remembering what happened afterward, and needless to say, this gets him into deep trouble. When Paula Craig (Janis Carter) first sets her eyes on him, he is in court, given a bum rap for reckless driving. Broke he cannot afford to pay his $50 fine. Unexpectedly she coughs up the money to pay the fine So the question arises why is she being so nice to a guy she does not even know? Well, it turns out Paula is looking for a stooge to be the fall guy in a plan she and her lover, Bank Vice-President Steve Price (Barry Sullivan),  have cooked up. The two are planning to embezzle two hundred and fifty thousand dollars of the bank’s money. Lambert is just about the right size and weight to pass for Price, if he were to have a deadly car “accident” after the robbery. The plan goes awry when Paula begins to have feelings for Lambert, and decides to bump off Price instead. 

    Paula Craig is one of film noirs forgotten femme fatales, yet here she stands as one the most two-faced treacherous, untrustworthy, deceitful and manipulative woman to grace the screen. Killing her banker/lover, willing to sacrifice Lambert to the law, for Paula, it is all about the money. Men come easy to a beautiful woman like her but money well that’s another story. Fearing Lambert may be able to incriminate her in the murder of Price, she is willing to poison him, only changing her mind once she realizes he was too drunk to remember anything.

     Janis Carter gives a convincingly vivid and sexy performance as Paula Craig, in a poisonous role that ranks her up there with some of the most treacherous dames in film noir.  A tall beautiful, high cheeked boned blonde, Carter runs away with the film. Glenn Ford is well, Glenn Ford, Mr. nice guy only here with a drinking problem. Ford is an actor I just cannot warm up too. Rarely do I find his performances engaging and he does nothing here to change my mind. Admittedly, there are exceptions in films like “The Big Heat”,  “3:10 to Yuma”, and “Jubal.”   Other cast members include Edgar Buchanan who Lambert befriends and who Paula at one point attempts to set up as the killer. Karen Morley is on hand in a small role as the banker’s wife. However, for me it’s Carter’s performance that carries this low budget film raising it above its obvious cut-rate production standards.

    Carter’s career was primarily in “B” films with an occasional foray into “A” works. Films included “Lady of Burlesque”,  “Miss Grant Takes Richmond”, “Night Editor”, and “I Married a Communist.” She also appeared in Budd Boetticher’s  Boston Blackie film, “One Mysterious Night” and with John Wayne in Nick Ray’s “Flying Leathernecks.” In the 1950’s she transitioned into TV, pretty much retiring from the business by 1955. According to IMDB, she made one more film in 1962. Surprisingly it was Russ Myers’ “Wild Gals of the Wild West.”

     Based on a story by John Patrick, the screenplay was written by Ben Maddow, whose writing credits include “The Asphalt Jungle”, “The Mephisto Waltz”, “The Naked Jungle” and “Johnny Guitar.” The last two were fronted by Philip Jordan when Maddow found himself blacklisted. Maddow also directed the documentary, “The Savage Eye” among other films. Maddow was also a published poet, novelist and later a well know photography critic whose books included a biography of  the great photographer Edward Weston.

    Howard Hawks “Scarface” follows the typical rise and fall of a gangster, similar to the two other gangster classics of the period, “Little Caesar” and “The Public Enemy” however, here the bodies pile up much quicker and a lot more violently. There is more action and shooting in the independently shot “Scarface”,  than in both of the studio system films combined. Even for a pre-code film “Scarface” is strong stuff. There is plenty of sexual innuendo, including a strong hint of incestuous interest by Tony Camonte (Paul Muni) toward his sister Cesca (Ann Dorvak). Tony is perversely possessive of his sister scaring off a boyfriend after catching them kissing. “I don’t want anyone puttin’ their hands on you!” he tells her. At one point during this exchange he even violently rips part of her  dress. Cesca however, is too free-spirited to accept being sheltered by the dominant Tony. She is well aware that he acts more like a jealous lover than a brother. This abnormal relationship will come back to haunt them both later in the film.

   Tony however, does not mind hitting on someone else’s sister or mistress as we discover when he meets his boss Johnny Lovo’s (Osgood Perkins) mistress, Poppy (Karen Morley).  The first time they meet, Poppy is sitting at a dressing table in a flimsy dressing gown. When introduced by Lovo to Tony she cannot be bothered to cover up an exposed thigh from his wandering eyes.

   With all the bodies piling up and the sex, the censors came down hard on “Scarface.” Produced by Howard Hughes, “Scarface” was the last of the three seminal gangster films to released in the early 1930’s. Originally scheduled to be released in 1931 the film came out in March of 1932 due to a protracted censorship battle with the Will Hays Office and various State Film censorship boards including the powerful New York State Board. The censors felt there was too much glorification of gangsters in recent films like “Little Caesar” and “The Public Enemy.” They were demanding that the violence in “Scarface” be toned down and the lead character, Tony Camonte, be punished and condemned for his deeds. This  forced a second ending to be filmed long after the film wrapped. Muni and director Hawks were long gone by the time second ending was filmed. In this alternate version Muni is never seen (alternate ending is included on the DVD as an extra).  Additionally, a subtitle, “The Shame of a Nation” was added as well as an introductory text condemning the gangster lifestyle, blaming the government and demanding that something be done. Still after all this, some censors refused to let the film be released. Finally, producer Hughes scrapped the revised ending and released the film as originally shot in States with lenient film censorship boards. Subsequently, the world premiere was held in New Orleans. When the film was eventually released in New York, it was a censored version that both the critics and the public saw. In Chicago, the film was not released until 1934. Due its limited distribution and its late release toward the end of the first wave of the great gangster film cycle “Scarface” did well at the box office however, not as good as the earlier released films. About 1947, the film was pulled from distribution and became unavailable for public viewing except for some poorly chopped up bootleg versions floating around the underground market. In 1980, now owned by Universal, the uncensored version was finally shown in New York State at a special showing as part of the New York Film Festival. 

    While loosely based on the life of Al Capone (Capone was originally upset with the film’s likeness but eventually changed his mind and even had a personal copy of the film), the film’s realism was enhanced by screenwriter Ben Hecht’s familiarity with the Chicago underworld, and such real life Chicago mob figures as North Side gang leader, Dion O’Banion and Capone himself. Many scenes depicted in the film are based on actual events; the killing of “Big Louie” Castillo by Camonte (Paul Muni) was based the killing of boss “Big Jim” Colosimo.  Later on, Camonte has the North Side gang leader O’Hara killed in his flower shop mimicking the Capone ordered assassination of Dion ‘O’Banion his flower shop, and the resulting retaliation by the O’Banion gang when they shot up a restaurant where Capone was eating at the time, was recreated  by Hawks in its violent entirety. Still, there was much that was fiction also. The incestuous attachment Camonte has to his sister, screenwriter Ben Hecht used the Borgias, the infamous Italian Renaissance family as a blueprint, and the ending is pure imagination. Unlike the fictional Camonte, Al Capone died of syphilis and not by police bullets.  

    Looking at the film today, it still holds up as one of the most violent and best gangster films of its era. This is especially true if compared to “Little Caesar”  that today seems to move along at a creaky pace despite a strong performance by Edward G. Robinson.  What also contributes to the films modernity is Hawks use of the X motif, which shows up at various times during the film, mostly when someone is killed or about to be killed. The X, of course, looks similar to the scar on Camonte’s face. While parts of the screenplay are dated, the script contains a lot of dark and witty humor. Karen Morley as Poppy provides numerous sharp lines of dialogue mostly directed at Tony. 

    Paul Muni plays Tony as a not too bright thug, with an eye for the good things in life (power, gaudy clothes and women). Despite a bad Italian accent and a propensity for overacting Muni strikes the right balance as the crazed power hungry gangster with an unnatural attachment to his sister. The beautiful Ann Dorvak, who began an affair with director Howard Hawks during the filming, is vulnerable yet determined and sexy as Cesca, especially when she performs a seductive dance for Rinaldo (George Raft). Hawks would use her again in his next film, “The Crowd Roars.” Karen Morley portrays Poppy, Johnny Lovo’s mistress, with a cool sensual feistiness. For George Raft, this was well known territory. At one time the former ballroom dancer worked for real life bootlegger Owny Madden. The coin flipping that became his trademark and was parodied in Billy Wilder’s “Some Like it Hot” was actually, used as an attempt by Hawks to calm Raft’s nerves while filming. Boris Karloff who previously worked for Hawks in “The Criminal Code” got the small part of Gaffrey, the new head of the rival gang.        

    “Scarface” remains one of the most violent and provocative of all gangster films managing to overcome some creaky dialogue, chew biting performances, by Muni and Boris Karloff, and some unfortunate attempts at misplaced humor by Vince Barnett as Angelo one of Tony’s incompetent henchmen.

    “Scarface” was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry and is part of the film catalog in the Library of Congress.

Year: 1934

Director: Paul Sloane

Cast: Franchot Tone, Karen Morley, May Robson, Jack LaRue, Nat Pendleton, Gladys George

Benny (Tone) is returning to his mother after spending time in prison. While he was gone, his mother (Robson) took in their neighbor, Bertha (Morley), whose mother had died. Benny promises Bertha and his mother that his days of crime are behind him and he wants to go straight. But his old friends (LaRue and Pendleton) and his old flame (George) want him to come back into their business.

Straight is the Way is a short and sweet B-picture that’s just a good watch. It’s a very basic film, not outstanding in any way, but not terrible in any way either. The characters in the film are Jewish, and it’s interesting to see a movie about the mob with Jewish characters. The film does have an odd structure. There’s not much of a flow to the story, not much of climax, but it does have a certain pace to it and it’s an enjoyable story.

Tone gives a really solid performance. Not one of his best, but he’s charismatic and it’s fun to see him play a character who’s a little morally ambiguous. Sometimes it’s hard to see where his motivations are coming from, until the love story between Benny and Bertha really starts to blossom. The romance is the strongest aspect of the film. Morley and Tone are a really good pair. Morley is the perfect good girl to Gladys George’s bad girl, and Tone’s growing love for her is interesting to watch as he believes he’s not good enough for her.

And I have to mention the supporting performances from Jack LaRue and Nat Pendleton. LaRue was one of the slimiest actors of the 1930s, and he does his usual good job of playing the bad guy here. And Pendleton is so much fun, as always. Charming, kind of adorable, and funny. He always gives a movie a special kick.

Straight Is the Way certainly isn’t a great movie, but for a 1930s B-picture, it’s a fun way to spend an hour, and the unusual structure is somewhat refreshing.

By Katie Richardson

With a star-studded cast this generation would likely not recognize, Dinner at Eight really went all out to bring some of the biggest names together for this film event.

With these hugely successful and talented actors Dinner at Eight gives life to some of the most interesting characters I have seen in a long time. Any audience, no matter how unfamiliar with the actors of yesteryear, is bound to enjoy these well crafted and memorably portrayed characters.

Dinner at Eight follows Millicent Jordan, a middle aged woman prone to frantic episodes, as she prepares for a dinner in her luxurious home that promises to be quite an event. Everyone who is any one has been invited, or so it seems. As she prepares, the movie takes time to feature little snippets out of the lives of her guests, painting a very colorful picture filled with scandal, intrigue, love triangles, adultery, despair, and moral decay.

It seems these guests of innocent Millicent aren’t necessarily the high class people they desire the world to perceive them as. Their skeletons and tribulations end up seeing the light of day and the level of infamy and disgraceful behavior is shocking, especially for the early 1930s.

This movie really does feature some impressive and memorable performances, too many to give justice to, suffice it to say, these characters will stick with you and are bound to have a profound impact even with more then seven decades having passed since they were initially portrayed.

One of the elements to the movie that must be mentioned is the ease with which it mixes incredibly somber subject matter with the most delightful humor. The mastery over the art of storytelling needed to pull that feat off is worth praising.

Surprisingly, despite being completely engaged and enthralled by the characters, and absolutely loving the blend of humor and intense drama I found myself surprisingly un-invested. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it and respected the quality of the production, but felt some how detached. It was almost as if I enjoyed the movie more on an academic level and less on a personal level. Even as I write about it, I don’t fully understand it, but it certainly wouldn’t be a movie I would revisit again and again and I wouldn’t give it a ten or a nine, though I completely respect it and enjoyed it immensely.

As bizarre as that may sound, don’t let it deter you from seeing it (I did really enjoy it), it is a masterpiece of writing, and features some of the best performances from some of the most unparalleled film actors of the last one hundred plus years.

Dinner at Eight is both satisfying and filling, not to mention delicious.

8/10

Review By: Greg Dickson

Year: 1933
Director: George Cukor
Cast: John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Marie Dressler, Billie Burke, Madge Evans, Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, Lee Tracy, Edmund Lowe, Jean Hersholt, Karen Morley
Plot: Millicent Jordan (Burke) plans to throw a dinner party, but things are never as simple as they should be. Her husband Oliver (Lionel Barrymore) has health problems and is concerned about people buying up his company’s stock. Even his oldest friend Carlotta (Dressler) wants to sell. He hopes to get help from Dan Packard (Beery), who is trying to secretly secure the company himself. Packard’s wife, Kitty (Harlow), is a gold digger who is having an affair with Dr. Talbot (Lowe). To make matters even more complicates, Millicent and Oliver’s teenaged daughter Paula (Evans), is having an affair with has been movie star Larry Renault (John Barrymore).
Reviews: Greg Dickson

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