TopBilled
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Posts posted by TopBilled
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Fisher, Frances
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2
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NIGHT CROSSING (1982)
Next: Boat
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Dean, James
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Rex Harrison
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VIVACIOUS LADY (1938)
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MARY MARY (1963)
Next: THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY (1998)
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Sara Allgood
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Brennan, Walter
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18 minutes ago, Fading Fast said:
⇧ I couldn't agree more. I only saw this one for the first time a few years ago, but really enjoyed it for all the better-than-I-could-have-articulated reasons above. I'll just emphasize, Nina Foch is outstanding in it. She's one of those actresses I think should have had a bigger career than she did. Even in small roles, like the executive secretary in "Executive Suite," she stands out. And yes to @TopBilled's comments on Dame Whitty - she has impressive range. It's also impressive that she made the transition from stage to talkies at an advanced age with, what appears to be, ease.
Not long ago we reviewed the remake of A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT (1940) in which Miss Whitty plays an entirely different character, a bible thumper who tries to keep niece Maureen O'Hara in line. She's a fascinating actress to watch.
As for Miss Foch, I thought it was interesting how she applies for a secretarial job in MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS, then she actually did play a secretary in EXECUTIVE SUITE (for which she was Oscar nominated). She had a lot of television work later on.
There's a very good 1967 episode of Bonanza where she is a snobbish and overbearing cousin of the Cartwrights'. And she turns up in a 1990 episode of Hunter as a Norma Desmond type washed-up actress who receives a visit from Fred Dryer's character, while he is an investigating a murder near her property. Foch was known in Hollywood circles as an acting coach, and Fred Dryer was one of her students when he was transitioning from professional sports to acting.
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two thousand five hundred seventy-third categoryNews comedy
NOTHING SACRED (1937)
BROADCAST NEWS (1987)
NewsRadio-
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DO NOT DISTURB (1965)
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TIN MEN (1987)
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Merle Oberon
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WHAT NEXT CORPORAL HARGROVE? (1945)
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SHANGHAI NOON (2000)
Next: Clock
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WINTERTME (1943)
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TEN LITTLE INDIANS (1965)
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Zeta-Jones, Catherine
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Today's neglected film is from 1945. It has aired 16 times on TCM.
Film critic James Agee was never one to heap lavish praise on a B-film, unless it was something made by Val Lewton. But his comment that this Columbia noir is “a likeable, unpretentious, generally successful attempt to turn good trash into decently artful entertainment” suggests he enjoyed it.
I enjoyed it too, and frankly what’s not to like…the picture grabs the viewer right from the start. As the opening credits appear, we glimpse storm clouds over London, then a sudden downpour of rain.
We are pulled into a situation involving a young woman named Julia Ross (Nina Foch) who is about to be evicted by a boarding house owner (Doris Lloyd). She goes out on a job interview and meets an elderly woman (May Whitty) at an employment agency. The woman and her son (George Macready) claim they are looking to hire a secretary, when of course they are looking to do something much more sinister.
Mr. Macready was usually assigned villainous roles at Columbia, or if he was not playing outright villains, they were certainly unhinged. We know the minute he appears on screen that our heroine will be in trouble. And sure enough that’s exactly what happens, because when Miss Foch’s character travels to the family’s country home, she learns she’s expected to pose as Macready’s dead wife.
Macready has a slightly scarred face, which adds to the more menacing aspects of his character. Foch becomes terrified of him, when she figures out– and so do the viewers– that he killed his recently deceased wife. Only there was no alibi for him, so mother is going to have this lookalike killed in a way that will exonerate her son. It’s a highly twisted and suspenseful tale.
We are anxious for Foch to escape the nest of vipers. She tries several times, but of course her attempts to flee are thwarted, because Whitty is just too smart for her. There’s an interesting shot where she looks out through the barred up window in her bedroom. She has virtually become a prisoner here.
What I most enjoy about this movie is that everyone in the village thinks she is crazy…and all her schemes to convey the truth seem like lies. The sequence where she hides in the back of the car to leave with some guests is very well played. Nina Foch does it so remarkably, it’s easy to become wrapped up in the story and sympathize with the character’s plight.
As for Dame Whitty, she has remarkable range as a performer. This character is so unlike the cozy dignified roles she was given to play at MGM. It’s a bit startling at first.
The film’s relatively short running time makes it better than it probably would have been if they had padded the scenes and stretched it out to 90 minutes. Sharply written and edited, there are no wasted moments, no extraneous filler scenes. All films should be made so economically and efficiently.
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Carleton Carpenter
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MA AND PA KETTLE (1949)
Next: lots of business office scenes
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2
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THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE (1975)
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THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN (1999)
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PACIFIC HEIGHTS (1990)
Next: A STRANGER AMONG US (1992) two with Melanie Griffith
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*A to Z of Movies*
in Games and Trivia
Posted
XIU XIU: THE SENT-DOWN GIRL (1998)