Helmed by mega-comedy director Leo McCarey (THE AWFUL TRUTH, THE MILKY WAY, DUCK SOUP), RUGGLES OF RED GAP is the only Western appearance of Charles Laughton until he guest starred on TV series WAGON TRAIN in 1960.
Ruggles, a "gentleman's gentleman" from a long line of them, becomes the employee of the Floud family of Red Gap, WA after being lost in a card game by his long time employer, the Earl of Burnstead. Effie Floud (Mary Boland), a frontier social-climber, is thrilled to have a servant, but dismayed that her husband prefers to treat their new butler as an equal.
Wonderful performances all around, with the standouts being Charlie Ruggles as down-to-earth Egbert Floud, Roland Young as the Earl of Burnstead, and Zasu Pitts as Prunella Judson, a widow who has eyes for Ruggles.
Especially watch out for the glorious "Gettysburg Address" scene, which, according to Robert Osborne on TCM, Laughton did in a single take.
Filmclip: Red Gap's good-time girl. Nell (Leila Hyams), shows a smitten Earl of Burnstead how to play the drums
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
SHADOW ON THE WALL (1950)
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
A curious, noir-ish film, SHADOW ON THE WALL reflects the late 1940s-early 1950s fascination with psychoanalysis.
What gives this movie its extra zing is the casting against type of Ann Sothern, a smart, funny presence in comedies and musicals, cast as the villain. Also, Zachary Scott, best known as sleazy Monte Beragon in 1945's MILDRED PIERCE, is the good guy here.
He plays David Starrling, who returns home to his new wife and 6 year old daughter only to find that his wife has been having an affair with his sister-in-law Dell's (played by Sothern) fiance. David, carrying a gun, confronts his wife, and as he nears her, she knocks him out with a silver hand mirror from her dressing table. The wife panics, thinking she's killed her husband, and calls Dell to help her. Dell arrives and reassures her sister that David is not dead, but unconscious. Then, as she realizes the situation with the fiance, she gets angry and kills her sister with David's gun. At this moment, David's daughter walks into the room and sees her father seemingly dead and her stepmother most certainly dead. Screaming, she sees Dell's shadow on the wall, but doesn't see who it is.
David is taken to prison believing he killed his wife, Dell's not confessing, so six-year-old Susan is the only person who really knows who the murderer is. Suffering from shock, she's taken to stay in the children's ward of a psychiatric facility under the care of a sympathetic doctor, played warmly by Nancy Davis (later to become Nancy Reagan), who begins to suspect that there were three people in the room the night of the murder. Watching this unfold — and Dell's reaction — makes this movie interesting.
Good performances all around, including Gigi Perreau as the daughter and John McIntyre as Davis' colleague. Patrick Jackson directed.
What gives this movie its extra zing is the casting against type of Ann Sothern, a smart, funny presence in comedies and musicals, cast as the villain. Also, Zachary Scott, best known as sleazy Monte Beragon in 1945's MILDRED PIERCE, is the good guy here.
He plays David Starrling, who returns home to his new wife and 6 year old daughter only to find that his wife has been having an affair with his sister-in-law Dell's (played by Sothern) fiance. David, carrying a gun, confronts his wife, and as he nears her, she knocks him out with a silver hand mirror from her dressing table. The wife panics, thinking she's killed her husband, and calls Dell to help her. Dell arrives and reassures her sister that David is not dead, but unconscious. Then, as she realizes the situation with the fiance, she gets angry and kills her sister with David's gun. At this moment, David's daughter walks into the room and sees her father seemingly dead and her stepmother most certainly dead. Screaming, she sees Dell's shadow on the wall, but doesn't see who it is.
David is taken to prison believing he killed his wife, Dell's not confessing, so six-year-old Susan is the only person who really knows who the murderer is. Suffering from shock, she's taken to stay in the children's ward of a psychiatric facility under the care of a sympathetic doctor, played warmly by Nancy Davis (later to become Nancy Reagan), who begins to suspect that there were three people in the room the night of the murder. Watching this unfold — and Dell's reaction — makes this movie interesting.
Good performances all around, including Gigi Perreau as the daughter and John McIntyre as Davis' colleague. Patrick Jackson directed.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Alamo Theater: 1937
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Another wonderful vintage image from Shorpy of a movie theater, this time in Washington, DC. A triple feature of a Bob Allen western, Ralph Morgan in THE OUTER GATE, and Bela Lugosi in SHADOW OF CHINATOWN.
A fantastic high resolution image where you can check out the fine detail (dig the Kosher restaurant on the left) can be found at Shorpy.
High res image of the Alamo Theater
Hopefully, I'll be able to write a proper blog post soon.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Liberty Theater: 1935
Thursday, March 26, 2009
New Orleans, LA, Liberty Theater in 1935. The film was Wheeler & Woolsey in "The Rainmakers". Looks like a big Morton Salt promo with a "rain" tie-in to the movie was going on, and check out the price of admission: 15¢ + 1¢ tax.
This wonderful photo is from Shorpy, a remarkable treasure trove of high-res historical photos.
You can access the high-res version of this image at:
Liberty Theater in 1935 from Shorpy
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