Janet0312 Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I get a kick out of MGM crime dramas. They stink. Had this been a Warner's vehicle, I bet they would have Billy Hallop as the bad kid. He would have been terrific in this role. There's just something so schmoozie about MGM's crime/bad guy/copper films. They never work for me. When the kid is digging weeds in the cornfield, all I could think of was Dorothy and Kansas and Toto too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelenBaby2 Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Aw I kinda like Gene Reymolds in this. I gave it a pretty good review on IMDB in 2007. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I get a kick out of MGM crime dramas. They stink. Had this been a Warner's vehicle, I bet they would have Billy Hallop as the bad kid. He would have been terrific in this role. There's just something so schmoozie about MGM's crime/bad guy/copper films. They never work for me. When the kid is digging weeds in the cornfield, all I could think of was Dorothy and Kansas and Toto too. MGM was good with glamor but not with crime dramas. In the 30s Warner was the studio for crime drama. But in the 40s and 50s, with crime and noir films, other studios like RKO (where most of the Mitchum noirs were made), 20th Century-Fox and United Artist lead the way. MGM has a few good noir films (Act of Violence, Force of Evil, Asphalt Jungle, and the Taylor noirs of Johnny Eager, The Bribe, Party Girl and Rouge Cop. Warner of course has the Bogart noir films and a few other major ones like White Heat and Mildred Pierce but otherwise no longer had the same grit they had before the war. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet0312 Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Is it Lionel's birthday today? He seemed to be pretty much wasted in this film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 MGM was good with glamor but not with crime dramas. In the 30s Warner was the studio for crime drama. But in the 40s and 50s, with crime and noir films, other studios like RKO (where most of the Mitchum noirs were made), 20th Century-Fox and United Artist lead the way. MGM has a few good noir films (Act of Violence, Force of Evil, Asphalt Jungle, and the Taylor noirs of Johnny Eager, The Bribe, Party Girl and Rouge Cop. Warner of course has the Bogart noir films and a few other major ones like White Heat and Mildred Pierce but otherwise no longer had the same grit they had before the war. You missed one of Taylor's best noir assignments at the lion-- HIGH WALL, with Audrey Totter. It's the perfect example of MGM's glossy treatment, coated over a disturbing post-war crime story. You also should mention Universal noir-- they gave us CRISS CROSS, THE NAKED CITY and BRUTE FORCE, among others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Is it Lionel's birthday today? He seemed to be pretty much wasted in this film. Are you suggesting he was drinking between takes? Or are you saying he was underused or underutilized in the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet0312 Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Are you suggesting he was drinking between takes? Or are you saying he was underused or underutilized in the story. I'm saying it seemed to me to be a wasted role for Lionel. He had a contract with MGM and needed to pay off his debts to the morphine people. Just wasn't his usual good role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet0312 Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 You missed one of Taylor's best noir assignments at the lion-- HIGH WALL, with Audrey Totter. It's the perfect example of MGM's glossy treatment, coated over a disturbing post-war crime story. You also should mention Universal noir-- they gave us CRISS CROSS, THE NAKED CITY and BRUTE FORCE, among others. I am a HUGE fan of anything Universal, TB. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I'm saying it seemed to me to be a wasted role for Lionel. He had a contract with MGM...Just wasn't his usual good role. I think what happened was if you were a member of the MGM stock company and especially if you were a character actor, like he was, you were used in all sorts of productions. He may have had two or three weeks between starring roles in bigger films and they squeezed him into this project with a reduced number of scenes. Obviously, Lionel Barrymore's part in THE PENALTY could have been done by any number of character actors on the lot (such as Frank Morgan or even Guy Kibbee) but having Barrymore appear, even in a limited capacity, would obviously bring a bit more prestige to what was otherwise a modestly budgeted programmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet0312 Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 I think what happened was if you were a member of the MGM stock company and especially if you were a character actor, like he was, you were used in all sorts of productions. He may have had two or three weeks between starring roles in bigger films and they squeezed him into this project with a reduced number of scenes. Obviously, Lionel Barrymore's part in THE PENALTY could have been done by any number of character actors on the lot (such as Frank Morgan or even Guy Kibbee) but having Barrymore appear, even in a limited capacity, would obviously bring a bit more prestige to what was otherwise a modestly budgeted programmer. Yup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Is it Lionel's birthday today? TCM's daytime lineup for April 10th is a tribute to director Harold S. Bucquet. He helmed five of the pictures on the schedule today-- KATHLEEN; THE PENALTY; WE WHO ARE YOUNG; CALLING DR. KILDARE; and ON BORROWED TIME. Barrymore happens to be cast in three of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet0312 Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 TCM's daytime lineup for April 10th is a tribute to director Harold S. Bucquet. He helmed five of the pictures on the schedule today-- KATHLEEN; THE PENALTY; WE WHO ARE YOUNG; CALLING DR. KILDARE; and ON BORROWED TIME. Barrymore happens to be cast in three of them. Oh. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Oh. Thanks. Yup. I was glad to have the chance to add ON BORROWED TIME to my collection. It was one of those I had recorded long ago on VHS, but was needing a DVD copy of it. Great film! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Is it Lionel's birthday today? He seemed to be pretty much wasted in this film. The only "Penalty" I can think of is a 1920 release by GOLDWYN PICTURES, not officially MGM, and NO one named LIONEL is in it! So, what am I missing here? Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 The only "Penalty" I can think of is a 1920 release by GOLDWYN PICTURES, not officially MGM, and NO one named LIONEL is in it! So, what am I missing here? Sepiatone I wonder if she meant to say Lon Chaney???? Yea, no Lionel or any Barrymore in The Penalty (1920). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 I wonder if she meant to say Lon Chaney???? Yea, no Lionel or any Barrymore in The Penalty (1920). She was referring to the MGM crime drama with the same title from 1941 that aired on TCM yesterday, where Lionel Barrymore is billed after the lead, Edward Arnold. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Penalty_(1941_film) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 She was referring to the MGM crime drama with the same title from 1941 that aired on TCM yesterday, where Lionel Barrymore is billed after the lead, Edward Arnold. Thanks. I was confused. I did go to Wiki but the link for the 1941, MGM version was at the bottom and I missed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Thanks. I was confused. I did go to Wiki but the link for the 1941, MGM version was at the bottom and I missed it. Sure. No problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 She was referring to the MGM crime drama with the same title from 1941 that aired on TCM yesterday, where Lionel Barrymore is billed after the lead, Edward Arnold. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Penalty_(1941_film) But, SHE said "lionel was WASTED" in this film. I thought it was JOHN who was usually "wasted"! Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 But, SHE said "lionel was WASTED" in this film. I thought it was JOHN who was usually "wasted"! Sepiatone Yes, when I first read her initial comments, I took it literally and though she had confused the two acting brothers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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