Classic Films in Focus: THE BEAUTIFUL BLONDE FROM BASHFUL BEND (1949)

If you know much about writer and director Preston Sturges, you might well go into The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (1949) expecting too much. Sturges, after all, was the brilliant creative force behind smartly daring comedies like The Lady Eve (1941), Sullivan’s Travels (1941), and The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944), but this Western musical comedy starring Betty Grable lacks the punch of those classic films. Despite that, The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend is still amusing enough to be worth watching, especially because of a sprightly supporting cast and several instances of Sturges’ typically outrageous humor.

The story follows Freddie Jones (Grable), a feisty singer in a frontier saloon who gets into trouble when she accidentally shoots a judge in the rear end while aiming for her faithless lover, Blackie (Cesar Romero). Freddie and her pal, Conchita (Olga San Juan), hightail it out of Bashful Bend and impersonate a schoolteacher and her Native American maid in another town further down the railroad line, where Freddie entertains the advances of a wealthy local (Rudy Vallee). Trouble pursues the girls when Blackie discovers their hiding place and the resulting shenanigans cause a shootout in the town.

Grable is fetching as the trigger happy heroine, and her musical number early in the picture is fun, especially as her backup singers react to her plans to finish the song with a bang. Cesar Romero projects his customary charm as her roving paramour, and Rudy Vallee is reliably cast as the fussy golden boy. The romantic relationship between Freddie and Blackie sadly lacks development, and the joke about the judge’s posterior gets old by the end of the picture, but Sturges’ usual crew of character actors liven things up, and Sterling Holloway is hilariously weird as a crazy local youth. There’s also a great cameo appearance by Margaret Hamilton early in the movie. Upstaging all of these comedians is the simply delightful Olga San Juan as Freddie’s Mexican friend, Conchita. Whatever the other failings of the picture might be, her knowing, naughty performance makes the whole thing worthwhile.

Be sure to catch the strains of the old murder ballad, “Frankie and Johnny,” in the score whenever Freddie and Blackie get together. Look for more of Betty Grable in Down Argentine Way (1940), I Wake Up Screaming (1941), and How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). Best remembered today for his role as the Joker on the 1960s Batman series, Cesar Romero can also be found in Wee Willie Winkie (1937), Orchestra Wives (1942), and Vera Cruz (1954). Rudy Vallee plays similar characters in The Palm Beach Story (1942) and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947). Olga San Juan never became a star, but you can find her in a couple of comedies, including Blue Skies (1946), Variety Girl (1947), and One Touch of Venus (1948). Finally, ask the kids if they recognize the distinctive tones of that maniacal redheaded fellow; Sterling Holloway provided the voice for several memorable Disney characters, including the Cheshire Cat and Winnie the Pooh.

An earlier version of this review originally appeared on Examiner.com. The author retains all rights to this content.

Classic Films in Focus: MARKED WOMAN (1937)

The world of the gangster movie is largely a boys' club, where women exist only as victims or commodities and the mobsters' guns serve as constant reminders of their phallic power. In opposition to that trend we have director Lloyd Bacon's very effective Marked Woman (1937), which features Bette Davis as the leader of a group of women who fight back against the mob's control over their lives. Inspired by the real-life fall of mobster Lucky Luciano in 1936, Marked Woman is a film that took a lot of finesse to get by the censors, but it's an excellent example of a classic Warner Bros. gangster picture that also offers something different from the studio's better-known films.

Davis stars as Mary Dwight, one of five "hostesses" at a night club newly acquired by Johnny Vanning (Eduardo Ciannelli), a vicious crime lord. At first, Mary and her friends agree to play by Vanning's rules, and Mary even helps the mobster beat a murder charge prosecuted by a crusading assistant district attorney named David Graham (Humphrey Bogart). Later, Vanning murders Mary's innocent kid sister, Betty (Jane Bryan), and the devastated Mary leads the women in a dangerous bid to help Graham bring Vanning to justice for his crimes.

Of course the women are prostitutes. The movie calls them "hostesses" to placate the censors, but there's little doubt about their real occupation at the club. When Vanning first takes over, his speech to the assembled girls pointedly includes directions to soften up the suckers for the gambling tables by any means necessary, and later scenes show them cozying up to various men according to the management's orders. The seedy nature of their work contrasts with their beautiful clothes and attractive faces, but they are all tough survivors underneath, pragmatic and jaded enough to cover up Vanning's crimes and keep their mouths shut. The actresses who play the women are all very good at projecting those facets of their characters' personalities. Davis is the undisputed star, but Isabel Jewell is very good as the soiled Southern belle, Emmy Lou, and Lola Lane, Mayo Methot, and Rosalind Marquis all give solid performances, as well. In the most powerful scene in the film, the gangsters beat and mutilate Davis' Mary behind closed doors while the other girls (and the audience) shudder in horror at the sounds of screams and blows. When the door opens, we see only the girls' white-faced reaction shots as clues to the carnage inside. Davis proves her talent for dramatic transformation when she later appears bandaged and beaten in a hospital bed, the wrecked visage and copious gauze a result of her own decision to make the scene more realistic than Bacon and the make-up department had intended.

Bogart's role is comparatively small, although the film marks a reunion with Davis following their appearance together in The Petrified Forest in 1936. At least the part of David Graham put him on the other side of the law for a change. More importantly for Bogart, the film introduced him to Mayo Methot, whom he married in 1938, although the union would prove to be a train wreck that ended with divorce in 1945. Eduardo Ciannelli has a meatier part as the gangster boss, and he makes a truly horrifying villain. Jane Bryan is fresh-faced and sweet as Davis' kid sister, a perfect contrast to the streetwise group who avenge her tragic death.

You'll find plenty of more masculine gangster action in films like Little Caesar (1931), The Public Enemy (1931), and Scarface (1932). For more of Bogart and Davis, see Kid Galahad (1937) and Dark Victory (1939). Isabel Jewell is probably best remembered today for her performance as the unlikable Emmy Slattery in Gone with the Wind (1939). Look for Mayo Methot with Davis and James Cagney in Jimmy the Gent (1934). For more from Lloyd Bacon, try 42nd Street (1933), Footlight Parade (1933), and Brother Orchid (1940).

An earlier version of this review originally appeared on Examiner.com. The author retains all rights to this content.

Classic Movie Cryptoquiz: Film Noir

A cryptoquiz is a group of related words or phrases made illegible with simple letter substitution. The twelve cryptic movie titles listed below all belong to the genre of classic film noir, but you don't need to hire a private detective to figure them out.

As always, I'll post the answers in the comment section below. Have fun!

XEQ   HDRAU

PFO   IRTPOZO   YRTHKQ

GKEJTO   MQGOIQMPU

ZEQZOP   JKETOCRDG

KEP   KY   PFO   LRZP

TREDR

IMTGDOG   LMODHO

IEDGOD   IU   ZSOOP

PFO   JMX   FORP

PFO   PFMDG   IRQ

PKEHF   KY   OCMT

PFO   RZLFRTP   WEQXTO

Genre Index for BEYOND CASABLANCA II

A friend of mine requested an index of the films in BEYOND CASABLANCA II organized by genre. The book has three index sections already, with listings by year, director, and notable cast, but I think that a genre index can also be a handy tool, especially if you're in the mood for a particular kind of film. That said, genre indexing can be tricky, since many movies straddle multiple categories. In order to create the simplest index possible, I'm here listing each of the 101 films in BEYOND CASABLANCA II once, under the genre grouping that seems the most indicative of its content. I have also tried to keep subgenres to a minimum. I hope that people will find it useful!

ACTION/ADVENTURE

Gunga Din (1939)
Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The Three Musketeers (1948)

COMEDY

The Apartment (1960)
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)
The Canterville Ghost (1944)
Charade (1963)
Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)
Desk Set (1957)
The Doll (1919)
Father of the Bride (1950)
The Girl from Missouri (1934)
The Great Race (1965)
Holiday (1938)
I Married a Witch (1942)
Jewel Robbery (1932)
Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)
Midnight (1939)
Modern Times (1936)
Monkey Business (1952)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
On Approval (1944)
The Palm Beach Story (1942)
Pat and Mike (1952)
Roman Holiday (1953)
Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)
Safety Last! (1923)
The Seven Year Itch (1955)
Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)
The Trouble with Angels (1966)
The Women (1939)
You Can't Take It with You (1938)

DRAMA

Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
Blood and Sand (1941)
Brief Encounter (1945)
Captains Courageous (1937)
The Divorcee (1930)
The Enchanted Cottage (1945)
Fury (1936)
Grand Hotel (1932)
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Jane Eyre (1943)
The Letter (1940)
Little Caesar (1931)
National Velvet (1944)
Of Human Bondage (1934)
Torch Song (1953)

FILM NOIR

High Sierra (1941)
Niagara (1953)
On Dangerous Ground (1952)
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
The Stranger (1946)
Tension (1949)
They Drive by Night (1940)
Touch of Evil (1958)

HORROR

The Bad Seed (1956)
The Birds (1963)
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Cat and the Canary (1927)
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Eyes without a Face (1960)
The Haunting (1963)
House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
The Innocents (1961)
Island of Lost Souls (1932)
Mad Love (1935)
Night of the Demon (1957)
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
The Thing from Another World (1951)

MUSICAL

The Band Wagon (1953)
42nd Street (1933)
The Jazz Singer (1927)
The Music Man (1962)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Swing Time (1936)
White Christmas (1954)
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

THRILLER (MYSTERY)

Cape Fear (1962)
Dial M for Murder (1954)
Don't Bother to Knock (1952)
Dragonwyck (1946)
Lifeboat (1944)
The Lodger (1944)
Night Nurse (1931)
Peeping Tom (1960)
Vertigo (1958)
Wait Until Dark (1967)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

WAR

Mister Roberts (1955)
Stalag 17 (1953)

WESTERN

Fort Apache (1948)
The Gunfighter (1950)
The Man from Laramie (1955)
McLintock! (1963)
My Darling Clementine (1946)
Westward the Women (1951)

Here's a link to BEYOND CASABLANCA II on Amazon, as well!

Classic Films in Focus: FROM HELL IT CAME (1957)

Most viewers can recognize the appeal of a celebrated masterpiece like Citizen Kane (1941), but it takes a special kind of film fan to appreciate an unqualified turkey like From Hell It Came (1957), an Atomic Age explosion of bad acting, execrable dialogue, and one of the dumbest movie monsters you could ever hope to see. Like Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) and Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959), From Hell It Came represents the sublime rock bottom of cinema, a movie so bad it's absolutely delightful to watch, provided you bring your own peanut gallery and something squishy to throw at the screen.

The story opens with the execution of Kimo (Gregg Palmer), a South Sea Island prince whose demise is engineered by a tribal witch doctor and his accomplices. Bent on revenge, Kimo returns from the dead as the tree monster, Tabanga, who lumbers after his enemies in order to dispatch them. Caught in the middle of the local turmoil are several American scientists who are on the island to investigate potential radiation from government testing. At first, they see Tabanga as a prize scientific discovery, but they soon learn that the ambulatory plant is stronger and more deadly than they imagined.

The tropical setting is used mostly as a justification for racist platitudes about the "simple" natives and their customs, although their belief in a vengeful walking tree turns out to be perfectly reasonable. The plot presents the natives as a collection of the usual stereotypes, with the evil witch doctor, the island temptress, the native ingenue, and the noble prince all making appearances. Of course, very few of the natives are played by people with even the remotest claim to Polynesian descent, and most of them look - and sound - absolutely ridiculous in their island garb.

Sexism also gets plenty of play, with the attractive scientist, Terry (Tina Carver), constantly badgered by her boyfriend, Bill (Tod Andrews), to give up her career in favor of marriage and a "normal" life. The eager career girl is the one who first urges the team to uproot Tabanga in order to study him, but her feminine weakness for high heels - even on a jungle island - makes her an easy target for the shuffling tree monster. It's unclear how Tabanga's attack suddenly convinces Terry to accept Bill's proposal (is it post-traumatic shock?), but the ending suggests that wedding bells and baby carriages aren't far off for the American couple. We can only imagine the sadly domesticated Terry back in the States, pushing a pram through the park and eying every rustling elm with a nervous expression.

Be sure to savor Linda Watkins' really atrocious English accent as the lusty widow, Mrs. Kilgore; she makes Dick Van Dyke's Bert in Mary Poppins (1964) sound like a shining pearl of linguistic authenticity. Director Dan Milner also made the equally awful 1955 picture, The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues. If really bad, laugh until it hurts, B movies are your idea of a good time, try other classic turkeys like Night of the Blood Beast (1958), The Killer Shrews (1959), and Night of the Lepus (1972), or turn to modern parodies of the genre like Teenage Catgirls in Heat (1994) and The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001).

From Hell It Came is currently available on Warner Archive Instant.

BEYOND CASABLANCA II is now on Kindle

My second collection of classic movie reviews is now available on Kindle, and to celebrate its arrival it will be free all this weekend. I hope that anyone who enjoys the blog will download a copy!

BEYOND CASABLANCA II: 101 CLASSIC MOVIES WORTH WATCHING offers a whole new collection of classic film reviews to expand your movie watchlist even farther beyond the original book's selections. This time I've moved into the 1960s to include great films like The Music Man (1962), Wait Until Dark (1967), and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967). You'll find silent films like The Cat and the Canary (1927), The Doll (1919), and The Phantom of the Opera (1925). As always, the book covers every genre and decade, and the movies selected represent more than 75 directors and hundreds of notable performers.

Unlike the Leonard Maltin guide, which offers only capsule reviews, I provide an essay-length discussion of each movie included, although I try to keep spoilers and plot summary to a minimum so that you can fully enjoy watching the pictures for yourself. Every review ends with suggestions for what to watch next, and the three index sections group movies by year, director, and notable cast members so that you can find more of what you like best.

Right now the new book is only available on Kindle, but the original continues to be in both paperback and Kindle editions. I'll let everyone know if a paperback edition of BEYOND CASABLANCA II becomes an option in the future.

Here's the link to BEYOND CASABLANCA II on Kindle!

Classic Movie Cryptoquiz: Bette Davis

A cryptoquiz is a puzzle in which all of the letters of the alphabet have been switched. Can you solve all twelve of the scrambled movie titles in the list below? Each of the movies in this quiz stars Bette Davis.

Bette Davis Movies

GSUIMO  FVGSE

VY LTGSE  QVEOSAM

SWW  SQVTD  MKM

EVF  KVPSAMU

OSUI  KXZDVUP

DLM  FLSWMJ  VY  STATJD

BMRMQMW

DLM  HMDUXYXMO  YVUMJD

DLM VWO  GSXO

OMSO  UXEAMU

DLM  WMDDMU

GU.  JIMYYXEADVE

If you haven't solved a lot of cryptoquizzes before, you might find it helpful to print the puzzle out. I'll post the answers in the comments section below, but don't look until you are finished! I hope to make cryptoquizzes a regular feature of the blog if people enjoy them, so let me know if you want to see more classic movie puzzles and games in the future.