Key Largo (1948)

That Florida hurricane isn't the only ill wind that's descended on the Largo Hotel.    

Intro.

Bogart and Bacall are probably the most iconic couple in Hollywood.  There's even a song about them called "Key Largo" by Bertie Higgins, which has the line "we had it all, just Bogie and Bacall."  You can find references to them just about anywhere, but the best place to see and learn about their chemistry is in the four films they made together.  Key Largo was the last of those four. 

Overview

Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) comes down to the Largo Hotel on the Florida Keys to visit the father and wife of his friend and fellow soldier George, who died in the war.  While he gets a warm reception from George's father James Temple (Lionel Barrymore) and George's widow Nora (Lauren Bacall), he doesn't take to well to the gangsters who have holed up in the hotel.  At first the men say they've rented the whole place out to go fishing, but when they beat up a police officer who recognizes the leader, Rocco (Edward G. Robinson), the truth comes out.  With the gangsters is Rocco's alcoholic girlfriend Gaye Dawn (Claire Trevor), whom Frank pities and tries to help.  Tensions start to brew when a hurricane forces the group to stay together within the hotel.  Rocco dares Frank to kill him, to get rid of all their trouble.  He's just a gangster who was deported and trying to sneak back into the US - who would miss him?  But Frank doesn't fight anyone else's battles.  At least, not until Rocco threatens Nora - we don't hear what Rocco says to Nora, but she spits on him.  Frank reminds him that there would be too many witnesses if Rocco tried to take revenge.  Things go from bad to worse as the hurricane gets closer.  Rocco's getaway boat disappears, Gaye has a breakdown, and the police officer they've been holding gets killed.  Not only that, but a police detective shows up and discovers the body.  With the arrival of some of Rocco's friends (and some freshly laundered money), it's clear that they have to figure out what to do with the hostages and how to escape.  They take Frank with them and overtake a nearby boat in the harbor, forcing him not only to drive the boat, but to try and put an end once and for all to their evil plans.

Highlights

Key Largo is a must for any Bogart and Bacall fans.  It's clear right from the start that their chemistry isn't manufactured.  I loved some of their unspoken interactions as we see Frank and Nora start to care for each other.  One of the most tender actions is when Nora's asleep and Frank, sitting beside her, brushes her hair back gently to wake her.  This is the stuff that makes legends.  The best part is that Bacall had matured since her first film and holds her own as a great leading lady, something that would only get better with time.  As wonderful as Bacall is in the film, it's Claire Trevor who is the real standout.  She's a sweet but tormented woman who has taken the brunt of both Rocco's anger and the alcohol she craves.  She won a well-deserved Oscar for her role too.
  
And finally there's Bogart.  Not only was he at the top of his career here, he just falls naturally into this role.  In fact, his line about fighting his own battles sounds just like it's coming from Rick in Casablanca instead.  He's the perfect embodiment of a worn out, reluctant hero.  And his victory in the end (sorry for the spoiler) is not only a testament to how Frank was and still is a war hero, but how far Bogart had risen in his career.  In his earlier days, he was always the gangster being shot and killed by Robinson; this is the first and only time the roles were reversed.  It's a great scene too - there's no fight, no real struggle.  Just a clean, dead shot (okay, three shots).  Also, Frank's line, "my first sweetheart was a boat" isn't far from Bogart's truth - as a young boy he fell in love with the sea when he would go sailing on his father's boat.  He later joined the Navy and eventually bought his own boat, the Santana.  That's the boat that's used in the end of this film, just with the place, Key Largo, added onto the stern.  

Review and Recommendation
I know this is a bit short, but I'm afraid I'm a bit sleepy.  I might add some more points to the comments - check them out this weekend!  Key Largo is one of those films you really should see not just for its place in film history, but because it's a great example of acting, cinematography and really telling a story by what is said and what is left unsaid.  Pay attention to the silences just as much as the dialogue.  Overall, a good film noir/drama, though watching tonight on such a rainy night really made it even better.  So next time you've got a rainy day, I'd recommend this classic!

Macao (1952)

Intro.

In films, a "meet-cute" is the point in a story where two characters meet for the first time.  It's usually applied to romantic comedies.  Eli Wallach in the film The Holiday gives an example.  To paraphrase: suppose a man and a woman are both in need of pajamas, so they both go to the same men's department store.  The woman says she just needs a top; the man says he only needs bottoms.  They look at each other and that's it.  I have to say, even though the 1952 film Macao isn't a standout classic, it definitely has one of the funniest meet-cutes.  Onboard a ship heading for Macao, Jane Russell is in her cabin with a man she's trying to fend off.  She throws her shoe at him, but he ducks and the shoe goes right through the porthole and hits Robert Mitchum in the head as he's walking by.  He goes into the cabin with the shoe, sees Jane Russell, and that's it - a great meet-cute!

Overview

Cinderella jokes aside, Macao is really a film noir.  It opens on a ship bound for Macao, a place notorious for being 3 miles outside of police jurisdiction.  Headed there is nightclub singer Julie Benson (Jane Russell) and ex-GI Nick Cochran (Robert Mitchum).  Benson is short on money, so not only does she land a job at a local bar, but she picks Cochran's wallet.  He in turn gets stopped by the police, but she returns the money before he's arrested.  Meanwhile, Cochran teams up with another passenger, who gets him a job as an undercover special agent investigating a crime ring that just so happens to be run by Julie's new boss.  What follows is a web of crime, deceit and a blossoming romance between Nick and Julie.  Nick sets out to get Julie's boss, Lawrence Trumble, to take him on as a hired hand.  The idea is to get Lawrence to leave the safety of Macao and go to Hong Kong for some missing jewels so that the authorities can arrest him.  But the best laid plans often go awry, and after a shooting and a thrilling fight on Trumble's ship just shy of the 3 mile mark, the film comes to an end that's typical noir, though a bit happier.

Highlights

Both Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell give good, solid performances.  While not a standout film, it is nonetheless enjoyable and much of that is due to their chemistry.  This was their second film together, the first being His Kind of Woman, which is more of a noir parody.  As many reviewers on IMDb have said (and you should read those write-ups - they are much better than mine!), Macao is kind of a lighter film noir.  It is still "good triumphs over evil" rather than in some of Bogart's films or Mitchum's Out of the Past, where morality is an issue and the good and bad characters are hard to tell apart.   

Aside from that, the story was easier to follow than some noirs, partly because the script was so confusing, Robert Mitchum helped rewrite it as they filmed.  Also worth mentioning is Jane Russell's fabulous singing.  She does "One for My Baby" and the ironically named "You Kill Me."  She is quickly becoming one of my new favorite actresses.  Gloria Grahame is also featured in the film, though not in a leading role.  She nevertheless turns in a great performance as Margie, a woman you both love and hate.  You'll probably recognize Grahame from some of her other work, but for me she'll always be Violet from It's a Wonderful Life.  Overall, a good cast.

Review and Recommendation
Macao is an enjoyable film - it's easy to follow with enough suspense and romance to make for a good lighter film noir.  I recommend it to fans of Russell and/or Mitchum, and would say that it's a good film.  Not great, not horrible, but always entertaining.

Black Hand (1950)

Intro.

Can you name any films Gene Kelly made where there was no singing, dancing or music of any kind?  It's a bit hard, isn't it?  But Gene Kelly was a phenomenal actor in straight dramas too - I loved him in the film version of Inherit the Wind.  So when I saw Black Hand on the TCM lineup, I decided to watch.  All I knew was that it dealt with crime in New York City during the early 1900s.

Overview
Gene Kelly leads the film as Johnny Colombo, a boy who returns to Italy with his mother when his father is killed by the Black Hand in New York City.  Eight years later he returns as a grown man with a vow to avenge his father's death.  He soon reunites with some old friends like Isabella Gomboli (Teresa Celli) and meets an honest cop named Naish (Louis Lorelli).  Together Johnny tries to build a resistance to the Black Hand, but is sorely outmatched.  Finally a great idea comes to Johnny and Naish when a notorious mafia leader in New York is on trial (and winning because he intimidated all the witnesses).  The trial ends only because he is extradited to Italy, where he is wanted by the police.  Naish travels to Naples in order to check outstanding Italian warrants against men he knows to be mafiosos in New York.  He sends the photos and incriminating paperwork back to Johnny, only to have it used as ransom for the life of Isabella's little brother.  The film takes a few more twists as Johnny has to face off with the men who killed his father.

Highlights

IMDb has this film listed as a Thriller, Crime film and Film Noir.  Black Hand delivers on all three.  Gene Kelly is wonderful in his role, and now I am interested in catching a few more of his dramas.  He steps into the film noir like a natural, easily helping the film move through some of the more complicated plot points.  He becomes the heart of the story, as does his relationship with Isabella.  The only problem I had with this film was the opening when Gene Kelly is returning from Italy.  He cannot carry an Italian accent, though he tries.  I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I was laughing when his first lines were in flowing Italian that was thick with the accent of an Irishman from Pittsburgh.  I would have loved to have heard what Gene's friend Frank Sinatra thought of this film, but I digress.  Once Johnny gets back into New York, the accent slips away and he seems more comfortable.

I think what struck me the most in this film was the fine line between stereotype and an actual look at racism against Italians.  I think one of the most striking parts of the film comes during the trial of the mafia leader who has scared away all but one witness.  That lone witness is terrified on the stand and refuses to testify.  Naish comes up to him and gives this speech: "Carlo, did you ever go uptown, out of the district, and try to rent a room somewhere.  You couldn't get it.  They got it in their heads we're not as good as other people.  All they ever hear of us in the newspapers is murder.  All they ever see of us is in the slums or in gangs of pick-shovel men digging the subway.  They think it's because we're not good enough for anything else.  Those newspapermen out there - what are they gonna write about in tomorrow's papers?  'Scared witness refuses to testify'?  Would you like that?  Or maybe 'Brave Italian defies Black Hand warning'?  That would be better, huh? Are we an inferior race like they say, Carlo?"  To which Carlo responds by looking at the lawyer: "Ask me again."  What a great scene and a terrific speech!     

I could go on about the nuances of the film and the history of Italian immigrants, but this post would be far too long.  I did appreciate the line Isabella had in the beginning when she suggests to Johnny that he form a league for protection like they did in New Orleans.  New Orleans had been in 1891 the scene of a mass lynching of 11 Italian Americans.  (Read more about it here).  Meanwhile, groups like the Order of the Sons of Italy were founded to help Italian immigrants find jobs, get settled, learn English and become citizens.  So it made me proud to see Johnny fight the Black Hand in an honest way.  That I think is what defines this film.              

Review and Recommendation
There are some articles online suggesting that this film inspired The Godfather Part II, and after seeing Black Hand, I have to agree it must have been a strong influence.  While not as powerful or well-done a film as The Godfather Part II, this film has its merits.  It's an intriguing thriller and a good solid noir.  If you can make it past Gene Kelly speaking Italian, I have a feeling you'll enjoy it.  


P.S. Also, funniest line in the film?  The bartender, after hearing Kelly sing, says "A man with a voice like that comes here to drink, not to sing."

The Locket (1946)

Intro.

It had been a long while since I had been able to enjoy a nice relaxing evening with take out food and a bunch of great films.  I had plenty on my DVR, so I scrolled through to find one suited for my mood.  I stumbled upon this one, The Locket.  I'm not normally one for melodramas, but as this one starred Laraine Day and Robert Mitchum and added in a psychological twist, I thought it might be good.  As far as story-telling went, it was well worth watching. 

Overview
Basically, this is a story within a story within a story within a story.  The depths of the film are peeled away like onion skins.  First we meet John Willis (Gene Raymond) and his beautiful fiancee Nancy (Laraine Day) at their engagement party.  They seem to be the perfect, happy couple.  But a stranger arrives and asks to see John in private.  The stranger turns out to be Nancy's ex-husband, Dr. Harry Blair (Brian Aherne).  Blair warns John he's making a huge mistake - that Nancy has already ruined the lives of three men.  His story launches a flashback to when he had met Nancy and their lives together.  However, this flashback gets interrupted when Blair explains that he too had been warned about Nancy - about how she alone was responsible for a man being wrongly executed in Sing-Sing.  The man to warn him was named Norman Clyde (Robert Mitchum).  Norman's story launches another flashback about how he had met Nancy.  Apparently Nancy and Norman had been at an art dealer's party (Norman was a painter) and Nancy had stolen a diamond bracelet left by some guest in the bathroom.  She told Norman it was all just her gut reaction - she just wanted it and took it.  Her teary-eyed explanation takes us to the last flashback, which takes place when she was about ten years old and living with her mother, a housekeeper to an extremely rich family.  Nancy was falsely accused of stealing the family's daughter's diamond locket and severely punished for it.  It's more of an emotional beating that leaves grown up Nancy still shaking in Robert's arms as she tells him about it.  He convinces her to mail back the bracelet anonymously.  We think all is resolved until they go to another party and the host is murdered, his prize diamond stolen.  Did Nancy do it?  We don't really know.  But she lies to the police and lets the butler take the fall for the crime (that's 2 of the 3 men whose lives she ruined, if you're keeping score).  Norman desperately tries to save the butler, hence his visit to Blair, but it doesn't do any good.  I won't go on from there except to say that Blair also comes to learn the disturbing truth about Nancy while living with her in England.  Even as a psychiatrist, he cannot help her, and their subsequent divorce leads to her returning and finding John.  It all ends back where it started - with the wedding preparations for Nancy and John.  But Nancy gets the shock of her life when she meets with her mother-in-law, and the film comes to a close.  (No spoilers here!)     

Highlights

I really enjoyed all of the layers to this film.  It was a lot of fun to keep peeling back layer after layer, just as you would to get at the heart of any person's personality.  It had a film noir quality to it as it not only had the multiple flashbacks, but also the overall dark tone.  I realize now as I write this, that there is very little evidence that Nancy killed her host and stole his diamond - the entire case is really built on suspicion and the way Norman reacts to her story.  That part is really well done and intriguing.  Laraine Day is also wickedly delightful as this angel-faced, allegedly-homicidal kleptomaniac.  All the men who surround her are helpless, and only one - Blair - manages to escape in one piece.

Apart from its noir-ish elements, the film really is a melodrama and its attempts at the "psychological drama" aren't done well.  I feel bad to admit this, but the secret at the heart of Nancy's problems didn't really seem all that devastating to me.  The only justification I could see was that perhaps she already had some psychological problems and the incident with the locket was just the trigger she needed.  I almost wish we had some more time with her as she grew up - did the incident that cost her mother's job ruin their family?  Did her mother find work again?  Did she blame Nancy constantly for her unhappiness?  It's a bit of a jump and leaves a lot of questions unanswered.  I don't want to sound cold - anyone would've been severely shaken by that business with the locket, but very few people I know would have turned to theft and purgery and possibly murder.  The ending seemed much too easy, too simple, though the irony of it has a bit of a redeeming quality.  I won't dwell on it more, just in case you decide to watch!  

Review

If you can get past the flaws with motive and psychology, you will find some things to appreciate in The Locket.  For the most part, the story-telling is wonderful.  I really enjoyed all the depths and twists each story took as we went further back into Nancy's past.  The film itself even feels like a case study - as if we are in Dr. Blair's shoes evaluating a patient.  So overall, not one of the best films I've reviewed, but still enjoyable and a good example of plot techniques.