MYSTERY STREET

Ricardo Montalban

MYSTERY STREET (1950). Director: John Sturges. 

A blackmailer named Vivian (Jan Sterling), who lives in a shady boarding house, winds up on the wrong end of a bullet. Some time later Lt. Morales (Ricardo Montalban) of the Barnstable, Cape Cod police force is called in when a skeleton is found on a beach. With the help of forensics and some dogged police work, as well as interviews with those who knew Vivian, Morales is able to zero in on the killer. Morales' chief suspect is Henry Shanway (Marshall Thompson of Cult of the Cobra), a married man who made the drunken mistake of driving off with Vivian that night, while Mrs. Smerrling (Elsa Lanchester), the landlady of the boarding house, is playing a dangerous game of blackmail that could make her the next victim. 

Elsa Lanchester and Edmon Ryan

Mystery Street deals with forensic science much, more more than the average murder mystery of the period, which is one of its strengths. There are also some fine performances from Montalban, Lanchester, Thompson, Sterling, Bruce Bennett as a Harvard professor that Morales consults with, and Sally Forrest as Thompson's wife. Forrest has a particularly good scene talking obliquely about the death of her child in the hospital. There is also nice work from Betsy Blair as a woman who lived in the same boarding house as the victim, and Edmon Ryan as a ship builder who is another suspect. Walter Burke and King Donovan have smaller roles and are fine.

Sally Forrest and Marshall Thompson

Mystery Street has some flaws, however. There is not nearly enough music, which would have strengthened key sequences. Certain actions of the main suspect should have strongly intimated that he wasn't the murderer if Lt. Morales, who seems quite smart, was using his head. And the scene when Morales walks in on Shanway just a second after the latter happens to see the victim's photo in the newspaper is coincidence carried a bit too far. John Alton's moody photography is an asset, though. Leading man Montalban always played with a borderline cocky assurance that gives his thesping a certain flavorful aspect -- this film is no exception in that regard.

Verdict: Good crime thriller with some very good performances. ***. 

SUDDEN FEAR

Joan Crawford

SUDDEN FEAR (1952). Director: David Miller. Colorized. 

Wealthy playwright Myra Hudson (Joan Crawford) turns down the actor Lester Blaine (Jack Palance) for a role in her new stage work because he lacks "romantic" looks. Nevertheless, Blaine seems more than romantic enough when she encounters him on a train to California and he wins her over. It isn't long before the two are dating, and then married, living in her fabulous San Francisco mansion. But one day Myra hears something that was inadvertently recorded on her dictaphone, and realizes with a sickening shock that Lester may not be as enamored of her as she thought. Her money, however, is a different matter. The feisty Myra makes up her mind to fight back ... 

Jack Palance and Gloria Grahame

Sudden Fear not only features an exemplary Crawford performance -- she received an Oscar nomination -- but is an excellent, suspenseful thriller that has tense moments that remind one of Hitchcock. The film's climax, set all over the rolling streets of the city (but actually filmed in Los Angeles unlike the rest of the movie), is outstanding. Crawford isn't the only cast member operating at top level: Jack Palance  -- nominated for a supporting Oscar -- and Gloria Grahame as his lover are also on target all the way through, and there's fine work from Mike Connors [Voodoo Woman] in his first role, billed as "Touch" Connors; Virginia Huston [Flight to Mars]; and Bruce Bennett. It's fun seeing Crawford exchanging small talk with Arthur Space of Panther Girl of the Kongo in a party scene. Fine David Miller direction, a good score from Elmer Bernstein, crisp Charles Lang cinematography, and very sharp editing by Leon Barsha. This version is also beautifully colorized, which only adds to its appeal. NOTE: To read further analysis of the film and go behind the scenes read Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography by Quirk and Schoell. 

Verdict: One could quibble about certain illogical plot points, but basically this is all systems go! ***1/2.

FIGHTING DEVIL DOGS

Lee Powell and Herman Brix/Bruce Bennett

FIGHTING DEVIL DOGS (12 chapter Republic serial/1938). Directors: William Witney; John English. COLORIZED. 

Lt. Tom Grayson (Lee Powell) and Lt. Frank Corby (Bruce Bennett AKA Herman Brix) of the United States Marine Corps discover that their colleagues at a base in Linchuria have been completely wiped out by a mysterious weapon. This infernal machine, called the Thunderbolt, is an "aerial torpedo charged with massive amounts of electricity" and is aimed via a radio-controlled gyroscope. The villain of the piece, who calls himself the Lightning, and whose motives are rather obscure, operates from a flying craft called the Wing (which first appeared, I believe, in the first Dick Tracy serial). 

Did the Lightning's appearance influence Darth Vader?

Grayson, Corby and General White (Montagu Love) work with scientist Ben Warfield (Hugh Sothern) to come up with something that can stop the deadly Thunderbolt, which is being used to wipe out fighting ships at sea and entire villages. Characters suspected of being the Lightning include assistant Crenshaw (Perry Ivins), butler Benson (Forrest Taylor), and even Warfield's gardener, Sam (Henry Otho), but the truth might be much more startling. Most serial villains don't actually chew the scenery that much, but the actor playing the Lightning is initially very hokey until apparently someone told him to tone it down for the later chapters. 

Lee Powell

There is no love interest in the film, but Warfield's daughter, Janet, is played by the colorless Eleanor Stewart, who appeared mostly in B features. Lee Powell was the first actor to portray the Lone Ranger and also had a big part in Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe. During WW2 after surviving a bloody Japanese attack on his unit, he ironically and tragically died from alcohol poisoning after celebrating with his buddies and some rotgut liquor. Herman Brix went on to play Joan Crawford's husband in Mildred Pierce as Bruce Bennett. He had a solid career as second lead in several features and also appeared in many television episodes. 

Colorized but colorless: Eleanor Stewart

Fighting Devil Dogs has several exciting and suspenseful sequences, chief of which is a bit when Grayson, Corby and others are trapped in a locked room into which cardon dioxide is slowly being pumped. A big iron bar hovers over Tom and falls, nearly crushing him, and he has a desperate battle aboard a careening plane. He and Corby aim their own plane towards one of the Thunderbolt missiles before it can smash into a dirigible, but first jump out via parachute. The serial has a mediocre score, but plenty of action.  

Verdict: The Lightning is a nasty bad guy with a formidable weapon. ***. 

 

DAREDEVILS OF THE RED CIRCLE

Bennett, Sharpe and Quigley

DAREDEVILS OF THE RED CIRCLE (1939/12-chapter  Republic serial). Directors: John English; William Witney. NOTE: This is a colorized version. 

Harry Crowel (Charles Middleton) has escaped from prison and disguised himself as industrialist Horace Granville (Miles Mander), who is kept prisoner in a cell in his own basement. Opposing Crowel are the three circus daredevils Tiny Dawson (Bruce Bennett of Mystery Street), Burt Knowles (David Sharpe) and Gene Townley (Charles Quigley of The Crimson Ghost). The fellows get involved when Gene's little brother Sammy, (Robert Winkler), is killed in a fire at an amusement pier started by Crowel's henchmen. With the assistance of Granville's granddaughter Blanche (Carole Landis), the Daredevils do their best to stop the nefarious plans of the sinister Crowel. 

Daredevils of the Red Circle is a good and exciting serial, even if the fisticuffs in this are perhaps not as lively as in other Republic cliffhangers. Still there are good sequences: a raging flood in a tunnel; a factory pool that catches fire; and especially a locked garage that fills with gas. As expected Charles Middleton offers the best performance as Crowel. 

Verdict: Some thrilling fun -- in color! ***. 

BEFORE I HANG

BEFORE I HANG (1940). Director: Nick Grinde.

Boris Karloff plays a physician who is not only convicted of a mercy killing but improbably gets the death penalty because of it. He has developed a serum which will reverse the aging process, and he uses it on himself some hours before his scheduled execution. But then the governor commutes his sentence to life imprisonment. The serum makes Karloff look a bit younger and gives him vigor, but it also has an unfortunate, violent side effect. Karloff is fine and restrained in the picture, and frankly he deserved a much better script. Before I Hang doesn't do nearly enough with its premise and actually amounts to very little. Bruce Bennett plays the boyfriend of Karloff's daughter, Martha (Evelyn Keyes).

Verdict: Not much in this cheapie creepy. *1/2.