Ben Hecht (1) (1894–1964)

Coming on the heels of Garbo’s “Ninotchka” this film was somewhat dismissed as lightweight, but in retrospect it is a delightfully hilarious blend of political satire and slapstick comedy from King Vidor. The writing team of Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer gave Vidor a script which poked fun at Communism while still allowing its stars, Clark Gable and Hedy Lamarr, to be themselves. The result was a film perhaps less sophisticated than Ninotchka, but funnier throughout and generally more entertaining.

Gable portrays a hard drinking and fun-loving American reporter named McKinley B. Thompson. Thompson has been secretly sending unflattering reports about the goings on in Russia back to the States as “Comrade X.” The Russian Chief of Police is desperate to expose him and shut him up for good. When Thompson gets a photo of that same police chief being knocked off by the soon to be new Chief of Police, who just happens to be the Communist guru of revolutionist Hedy Lamarr, he’s got a big story.

All that may have to wait, however. It just so happens that Thompson’s hotel valet, Vanya (Felix Bressart), knows McKinley is Comrade X. You can guess who his daughter is, and what he wants is for Thompson to get her out of Russia before she gets killed. She is in much danger, as Vanya tells Thompson, because Communist are being shot so that Communism can prosper! Thompson doesn’t have much choice and that’s when the real fun begins.

Even a stoic Communist can make your jaw drop if she’s Hedy Lamarr; even if she’s running a Russian street car. Gable and Lamarr are marvelous together, and how he convinces her he loves Communism and needs to take her back to America to educate the masses is a riot! Not even Russian tanks can keep Thompson from getting the story, and the entire Red Army couldn't keep him from falling for the cutest little Commie you’ve ever seen.

Eve Arden has a nice turn as Thompson’s fellow Foreign Correspondent gal-pal in director King Vidor’s hilarious take on apple pie vs. Communism. They don’t make stars or films like this anymore. The last two lines of this film are unforgettable.… (more)

Still a powerhouse gangster saga full of raw violence and barely-clothed lust after all these years, this may have been the defining moment in the genre. Maurice Coons had a heart attack before the film’s release and didn't get to witness his story reaching immortality as Howard Hawks’s treatment blazed across screens like a wildfire that couldn’t be contained. Both Paul Muni and Ann Dvorak gave their second unforgettable performance of the year as gangster Tony Camonte and the sister he has a yen for, Cesca. Dvorak’s Cesca is nowhere to be seen during the middle portion of this film, but such an impression does she make at the beginning and end, that her character seems to frame the entire story.

Muni is equally memorable as the inarticulate and brash gangster with animal magnetism to spare. All he wants is more. Following his moving performance in I am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang, and Dvorak’s as the doomed and restless Vivian who finds redemption at the shattering climax of Three On a Match, both cemented their place in screen history with this film.

Though not as often mentioned when this film is talked about, Karen Morley’s turn as the gangster’s moll who gets off on the animalistic behavior of Tony, but wont let him get a taste until he’s the man in charge’ is splendid. Of all the fine performances here, however, it is George Raft’s as the cool, coin-flipping gunman, Guino Rinaldo, which has that extra something special called star power. Raft would not want to foster this image and intentionally chose to portray the good guy after this, but his underplayed “Little Boy” was admired by the real gangsters he had grown up and continued associating with during his career. He had a charisma and honesty on-screen that those critical of his talents only wished they had.

If one of the gangsters looks a bit like Boris Karloff to you, that’s because it is Boris Karloff. He is quite good as Gaffney, who introduces the machine gun to the streets when Tony makes a grab for the North Side. Partially shot at Harold Lloyd Studios, Howard Hughes would tire of Hays Office interference and told Hawks to make it as real as he could, resulting in a bona-fide screen classic.

Ben Hecht and a host of others worked on adapting Armitage Trail's (Maurice Coon) story for Hawks, which became a thinly veiled bio of Al Capone’s rise to crime boss. The power of the infamous massacre on St. Valentine's Day still shocks, despite decades of more explicit cinema since. Morley is terrific in conveying Poppy’s desire for the brutality Tony brings to the table, but denies him until he’s taken complete control. Helping him do that more than a little is Tony’s right arm, the cool Guino (George Raft). Tony's sister Cesca wants to live life to the fullest, and that means Guino. Dvorak is magnificent and when she disappears for a time as this gangster saga gets hot, viewers are left chomping at the bit for her return, despite the mesmerizing story unfolding before them.

The cops know Tony is just like any other guy without Guino and his boys, however, and Hawks uses this aspect of the story to condemn the mob, using one of the cops to highlight the difference between outlaws of the West and this new type of street gangster. There is a marvelous scene where Poppy shows where her real allegiance lies by simply lighting of a cigarette. Perhaps the finest scene in the film comes after Guino gives in to temptation with Tony’s sister and makes it permanent while he's away on business. What happens in a doorway and Cesca’s reaction is still powerful. Violent and raw, Hawks gave up trying to please the Hays office with an ending they’d approve of, and Hughes finally released it in selected cities to packed houses, with Hawks’s original in tact.

Dvorak was something else and this is a good glimpse of what that something was. She moved to Britain for a time with her husband during the war and offered her services to drive an ambulance. Morley would become a casualty of the Blacklist but later serve the state of New York as Lt. Governor. Four powerhouse performances and the fine direction of Howard Hawks add up to a screen classic, and perhaps the finest gangster saga ever put on film.… (more)

Hitchcock framed this wartime noir film around a debonair Cary Grant and the youthful beauty of Ingrid Bergman. Luxuriant black and white cinematography was added to this elegant love story set in the world of secret agents, giving it a lusciously romantic glow not found in his other films. The love story plays out against mounting suspense, making this one of his best films.

From sun-drenched Miami to exotic Brazil, this intertwined story of spies and romance is exciting to watch. American secret agent Delvin (Grant) is forced to use Alicia (Bergman) to get close to a suspected Nazi, Alexander Sebastion (Claude Rains). Alicia's father was convicted of being a German agent, and his playgirl daughter has been living fast and hard trying to forget ever since. Delvin reluctantly recruits her under orders from above and the vulnerable Alicia falls hard for him.

Her assignment must take top priority, so Delvin cannot let on that he too has fallen for her. Claude Rains does a good job as the deceptively dangerous Sebastion, in love with Alicia but growing more suspicious by the moment. His suspicions reach a fever pitch when her old friend Delvin arrives on the scene.

All Alicia wants is for Delvin to tell her not to get close to Sebastion. He can't, of course, and the romantic tension builds side by side with the suspense, creating an almost unbearable anxiety on two fronts.

The romance gets equal billing until Alicia and Delvin discover something in the wine cellar and Sebastion realizes she is a spy. Since Delvin has been reassigned to Spain, he may not be in time to save her. The famous staircase scene is just one highlight in a film filled with memorable images.

Hitchcock took an alluring Bergman, a handsome Grant, and a tightly written and suspenseful script, and made one of the most exciting and lusciously beautiful films in screen history. Ingrid Bergman is lovely and vulnerable and Cary Grant has his hands full keeping his feelings to himself so he can do his job. Don't miss this one. It is one of Hitchcock's best.… (more)