TomJH

DNA ancestry testing is fine and dandy. Yet that only gives you a 99.9% chance that you're related to Mickey Rooney. But there's one sure fire 100% way of knowing. Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night shouting, "Hey, kids, let's put on a show!"? If so, BINGO! You've got the blood of the Mickster in you!

Walter Connolly and Roscoe Karns in 20th Century

Kirk Douglas and Whiskey in LONELY ARE THE BRAVE

This was Cole's last screen appearance, released four months after his death.

You have to see the scene to properly judge it, not just read a synopses of it.

I found Robert Morley a sheer delight as a big poof constantly coddling and calling out to his two "babies" (his poodles) in Theatre of Blood. As for his death scene, while I can understand some finding it too much, to me it was all so overplayed by Vincent Price and so tongue-in-cheek that I didn't take it seriously enough to be bothered by it, the filmmakers' intentions obviously. But it's a delicate balance to carry off a scene like this successfully because it could so easily have become spectacularly gross, especially for a dog lover. For me it's the idea behind the scene that is sickening rather than anything presented in the very dark humour scene itself.

I was a little surprised, too, considering the fame of the film. But ya never know.

That's okay, lav. Besides, quite frankly, my dear, I don't give a ****. 😉

Gone With the Wind.

"Now how did you know I was going to order carrot soup?"

Brent's best performance may well be in THE RAINS CAME. He largely dominates the first half of the film before taking a back seat to Ty Power and Myrna Loy. But he brings more charm to the part than is usually the case.

Whatever the flaws of Danger Signal may have been (that ending, YIKES!), Zachory Scott proved in this film, as he had in Mildred Pierce, that he was great at playing the smooth talking cad. It's a shame, in retrospect, that he had so few films in his career, all at the beginning, in which to shine. Faye Emerson, too, for that matter, shone the year before in two small parts as "bad" or, at least, fallen women, in Uncertain Glory and The Mask of Dimitrios. In this film she got elevated to top billing but her role was less interesting, as the "good girl" quickly succumbing to the charms of smooth talking handsome stranger. The film did have one closeup of her, though (which Eddie used in his film introduction) in which James Wong Howe's photography captured some of her sensuality that had distinguished her work in Uncertain Glory. Emerson could be one sexy lady but the role in this film didn't call for that as she was playing the role of innocent victim. Actually (SPOILER ALERT), I thought Emerson's best moments in the film were at the climax when she casually informed Scott that she had poisoned him and then enjoyed watching him squirm. (SPOILER ALERT) Of course if Scott had not very conveniently fallen to his death by accident the film would not have had a happy ending, something that most noir buffs don't want to see anyway. The aftermath "happy" ending here was particularly irksome. Earlier Mona Freeman is crazy in love with Scott. You'd never know it in this film after his death as she seen is clowning around with Dick Erdman, looking like a poster boy for some character out of an Archie comic book. Overall, I thought Danger Signal was an ok film of missed opportunities, distinguished by a very strong performance by Zachory Scott, carrying on the Uncle Charlie tradition from Shadow of a Doubt. But what was his plan for Emerson if he had succeeded in sneaking into Emerson's room that night? He's going to kill her? Why? The psychopath aspect of Scott's character was not, unfortunately, explored with any of the subtle depth that Hitchcock brought to Shadow of a Doubt. This looks like they were promoting a different film from the one saw but this pix does show how, with assistance of the right makeup and photography, Faye Emerson could have played it sexy bad.

Well, whatta know, there is a resemblance.

Well, Virginia, as you know, aside from being a terrific looking lady, could also play it hard boiled and tough like Adele on occasion. In fact, I think her tough performances were the most memorable of her career. So I can understand your comparison between the two ladies, Dargo.

As a followup to my comments about I Love Trouble Franchot Tone found plenty of it three years later when he picked up with Barbara Payton, which lead to a fight on her front lawn with her boyfriend, Tom Neal. Tone got bounced around a lot in I Love Trouble but apparently that was nothing compared to what Neal did to him, including a broken nose and a brain concussion which put him in the hospital. Just two weeks after the beating Tone and Payton got married but she left him 53 days later to return to Neal. This incident led to Payton and Neal getting blacklisted in Hollywood, and it was a slow decline for both, tragically so in Payton's case. Anyway, there's a scene in I Love Trouble set by a pool in which Tone indulges in some light hearted banter with Adele Jurgens, one of those hard boiled sexy leggy blondes, often cast as schemers, who, like Payton, had a career that never reached the heights. I wonder if Franchot may have been a bit drawn to her inasmuch as I noticed, brief as the scene may be, they had a bit of chemistry. At that, am I stretching it too much to suggest that there may have been a bit of a superficial resemblance between Jurgens and Payton?

I just watched I LOVE TROUBLE (1948) as I now seem to be on a Janis Carter kick. To the best of my knowledge this one is only available in terrible public domain images. There are a number of prints on You Tube, all pretty bad. Franchot Tone plays a wise cracking private eye searching for a missing wife but I defy anyone to be able to follow the complicated plot right to the end. What the film has going for it is strong noirish atmosphere and and a superior cast. Tone gets bounced around and knocked out a few times in this one, and will encounter a couple of dead bodies. Glenda Farrell is great as Tone's wise cracking (a lot of that type here) secretary and John Ireland is effective as a thug who enjoys pushing Tone around. Aside from Janis, the ladies in the cast include Janet Blair, Adele Jurgens (as a hot looking blonde named "Boots" hanging out by a swimming pool) and Lynn Merrick. Raymond Burr can be briefly seen in one of his earliest roles as a thug. Tone's P.I. character, Stuart Bailey, based on a novel The Double Take, would later be recycled on television, played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in 77 Sunset Strip. As for Janis Carter, though, if you view this film as a noir followup for her to Night Editor and Framed, something was going wrong here. Carter may get third billing but she gets lost among the female cast with an uninteresting role and probably doesn't have much more than ten or twelve screen minutes. And her blonde hair is gone. She's a brunette in this film and loses a bit of her oomph impact because of it, though still clearly an attractive woman. Noir buffs will probably enjoy the film for its cast, wise guy dialogue and a few individual scenes more so than any story to try to follow. But this film definitely represents a diminution in status for Carter because of her tiny role. That's Janis on the left in the right hand photo.

One of my favourite episodes, too, Dargo, though it's been years since I saw it. What I recall about this particular one, which has Mrs. Peel trapped in a bizarre house run by a guy playing cat and mouse games with her, was the increasing sense of desperation that Diana Rigg brought to the usually unflappable Mrs. Peel. And at the end, when Steed finally arrives to come to the rescue, there is none of the usual banter exchange between them. Mrs. Peel is grateful to see him and just wants to be gone from a place of creepy horror for her.

Yes, I think Ford may well have had a whizz before his truck went bang in that opening scene in Framed. There's a lot of familiarity about its closing scene but it was somehow comforting as the film was continuing a noir tradition. I generally enjoyed the production even if may be a minor film of the genre.

I am so, so sorry to read this. An incredibly talented actress, Diana Rigg always had a special touch of class. I have not seen GAME OF THRONES but she was marvelous, stealing the show from an ensemble cast, in EVIL UNDER THE SUN, a characterization that was a delicious combination of show biz flash and prima donna b i t c hiness. But I will always remember her, primarily, for the role in which I first saw her and fell in love, as Mrs. Emma Peel in THE AVENGERS. Her portrayal was intelligent, droll and fashion chic. And, of course, there were those tight leather outfits she could wear as almost no one else. Farewell, Mrs. Peel, you will always occupy a large part of my child's heart.

Did it? I know I recorded Framed off TCM a few years ago, a nice looking print, by the way.

Due to the talk about Janis Carter's performance in Night Editor I managed to find an old disc I had of Framed (1947), a noir she made for Columbia the following year. There is a lot of familiarity about this noir, reminding me of other films. This time innocent truck driver Glenn Ford is saved from jail by beautiful waitress Janis who pays his fine and sets him up in a room. Long story short, he is being set up to be framed by her and banker boyfriend Barry Sullivan who is extorting money from his bank, with Glenn taking the planned fall for Sullivan. There's a suspense moment right out of Postman Always Rings Twice set in a car. Familiar as this is, even if Framed is unremarkable, I think most noir buffs would probably enjoy it. But I have to say that, once again, much like Night Editor, it's the classy beauty of Carter, once again in a duplicitous role, that leaves an impression afterward. Her femme fatale this time is a more conventional one than in the previous film inasmuch as she is not, at least, a psychopath. There is, however, a scene in which there is an exploding car. We see Carter's reaction to that explosion and, truth be told, the lady seems to derive an uncommon pleasure out of it. It's pretty subtle, though, compared to her character in Night Editor. Framed has been on TCM (whether or not on Noir Alley I don't know), and it's definitely worth a look. And Carter is good enough in this film that I have to wonder why she didn't receive more roles of this nature or, at least, have a more successful film career. Let's face it, outside of a few noir buffs, who remembers Janis Carter?

"I hope Eddie comes back to the board, too. I'll be waiting for him. I wonder if he likes ice with his drinks."