Stubs - I Wake Up Screaming

I Wake Up Screaming (1941) starring Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Carole Landis. Directed by Bruce Humberstone. Screenplay by Dwight Taylor. Based on the novel I Wake Up Screaming by Steve Fisher (New York, 1941). Produced by Milton Sperling Run time: 82 minutes. Black and White. USA. Film Noir

In 1941, the first major studio film noir, The Maltese Falcon, was released, on October 3rd, followed later that same year by I Wake Up Screaming, released by 20^th Century Fox, on November 14th. Filming took place between July 21, 1941 and late August with re-shoots on September 4, under the working title Hot Spot and was originally released under that title. However, fans of Betty Grable, the star and main attraction, were not expecting her in a mystery thriller. Retitled back to I Wake Up Screaming, the film did better and actually earned $574,100 profit on a budget of $462,500, taking in $1,491,500 at the box office.

Headlines report the death of Vicky Lynn (Carole Landis).

After beautiful Vicky Lynn (Carole Landis) is killed, New York City police interrogate Frankie Christopher (Victor Mature), a promoter who sponsored Vicky, "glamorized" her and got her jobs as a model. Especially tough on Frankie is obsessed inspector Ed Cornell (Laird Cregar), who has never failed to get his man. Jerry MacDonald (William Gargan), a more sympathetic policeman, asks Frankie to tell them how he met Vicky, and Frankie tells his story.

Frankie Christopher (Victor Mature) is interrogated by the police.

One evening, Frankie goes with his friends, fading actor Robin Ray (Alan Mowbray) and newspaper columnist Larry Evans (Allyn Joslyn), to a lunchroom where Vicky works as a waitress. Impressed with her beauty and ambition, Frankie decides to remake her, take her to all the smart places and put her on top of the world. At first Vicky is skeptical, but agrees to give it a try.

Columnist Larry Evans (Allyn Joslyn) is there when Frankie discovers Vicky.

Soon after, Frankie takes her to the El Chico Club, where Robin and Larry help him to get her invited to the table of the socially influential Mrs. Handel (May Beatty). The first step accomplished, the evening ends with Vicky having been offered two modeling jobs.

Vicky is an instant hit, seen here with actor Robin Ray (Alan Mowbray) at the El Chico Club.

Vicky then returns home to the modest apartment she shares with her sister Jill (Betty Grable), who works as a stenographer. Jill and Vicky argue, for Jill maintains that nothing good can come of taking the easy road to success. But Vicky is captivated by the limelight and decides to continue her ride.

Vicky's sister, Jill (Betty Grable), tries to warn her about her sudden fame.

After a whirlwind of publicity and offers, Vicky tells Frankie that behind his back, she has taken a screen test and is going to Hollywood without him. Bitter about her betrayal, Frankie storms out of her apartment and commiserates with Robin and Larry, both of whom have fallen in love with Vicky.

Larry, Frankie and Robin commiserate about losing Vicky to Hollywood.

Jill is brought in for questioning by the police and informs the policemen that she does not believe that Frankie is guilty of killing her sister. She informs them that before Vicky met Frankie, she had seen a mysterious man stalking her at the restaurant where she worked. When she demands to see the head investigator, Cornell is called in.

Jill is brought in for questioning about her sister's death.

When he enters the interrogation room, Jill recognizes him as the man who was following Vicky. The police do not believe her story, but she and Frankie are nonetheless released when the assistant district attorney (Morris Ankrum) decides that Harry Williams (Elisha Cook Jr.), the switchboard operator at the hotel where Jill and Vicky lived, must be guilty because he has been missing since the murder.

Jill walks with Vicky while inspector Ed Cornell (Laird Cregar) hangs in the shadows.

After a while, Jill returns to the hotel, where she learns that Harry has been questioned by the police and released because he said that he was visiting his parents in New Jersey.

Not having evidence to hold Frankie for the murder doesn't stop detective Cornell. It is clear that he is absolutely certain of Frankie's guilt and vows to bring him to justice. Cornell abuses his power, entering Frankie's home while he is sleeping, as well as other residences without warrants.

Frankie wakes up with Cornell in his apartment.

Cornell confronts Jill at her new apartment, accusing her of withholding evidence, and although Jill orders him to leave, she is indeed withholding an angry letter Frankie wrote to Vicky after he found out about her screen test.

Determined to find out for herself if Frankie is her sister's killer, Jill spends the evening with him and has a marvelous time. He takes her to a night club, something she has never done before, and later the two go swimming. She invites him to her apartment, where she is about to give him the letter when Cornell bursts in, takes the letter and handcuffs Frankie.

On their first date, Frankie and Jill go swimming.

Jill knocks out Cornell and helps Frankie escape, and after they realize that they are in love, they decide to run away together the next day.

After spending the night in an all-night movie theater, Frankie goes to get some money he has hidden in a safety deposit box, and while he is gone, Jill is arrested. Cornell convinces the police chief to free her in the hope that she will lead them to Frankie, but she eludes them and finds Frankie at the theater.

They then trace a clue to Larry, who reveals that he took Vicky up to her apartment just before she was killed, and that Harry was not on duty at the switchboard when he left.

Switchboard operator Harry Williams (Elisha Cook Jr.) confesses to killing Vicky.

Their suspicion aroused, Frankie and Jill plan to trap Harry into confessing, which he does. Harry, who was desperately in love with Vicky, also reveals that Cornell knows he killed Vicky, but let him go.

Cornell's apartment is a tribute to Vicky.

MacDonald arrests Harry, while Frankie goes to Cornell's apartment. He is stunned to find that the walls are covered with photographs of Vicky, and on the mantle is a shrine to her. Cornell arrives and bitterly denounces Frankie for "glamorizing" Vicky and taking her away from him, for they had dated a few times and he was hoping to marry her. Cornell drinks poison, and soon the embittered, lonely detective is dead.

Later, Frankie and Jill celebrate their marriage by going dancing.

Judging by Bosley Crowther review in The New York Times, you would think reviews were not very positive. “In spite of the fact that it embodies many perceptible tricks of quality melodrama — flashbacks, sharp photography, menace music and a water-torture pace—Twentieth Century-Fox's "I Wake Up Screaming," which arrived at the Roxy yesterday, is a pretty obvious whodunnit and a strangely unmoving affair.”

However, Variety’s review took an opposite point of view,” Most murder mysteries are B’s regardless of budget, but this one is an exception to the rule. The director, H. Bruce Humberstone, has been equipped with a good script [from Steve Fisher’s novel] and from his cast has obtained results that are all that may be asked in a murder meller with a romantic strain of more than ordinary strength.”

I come down somewhere in the middle. Overall, I liked the film and I disagree with Crowther that the real murderer was obvious. It’s not surprising that it was a character played by Elisha Cook, Jr., but the character was sort of barely in the film. Having watched it, I wasn’t really sure how they came to suspect him, other than he was creepy.

That said, the film is a little pat. Everyone suspects that Jill and Frankie are secretly in love, and they are. Jill tells Vicky that no good will come from her fame, and she’s killed. Jill thinks Cornell is creepy and he is. Had no one he worked with ever been to his apartment? He’s supposed to be so trusted that you know he can’t be.

Coming late to the party, so to speak, I’m not sure what the big deal was about Betty Grable. Perhaps this is not the movie to use as an introduction. She’s not bad in the role, that’s not what I’m saying but in a couple of years, she would be considered a major pinup girl. Known for singing and dancing, there is none of that in this role. Based solely on this, I don’t see what made her a star.

Carole Landis as Vicky Lynn.

Personally, I preferred Carole Landis to Grable. Vicky is sort of the Kardashian of her day, being famous for being famous, though she does possess some acting talent. Sadly, the role of Vicky bore some eerie similarities to her own life. Landis had been waiting tables herself about seven years earlier in San Bernardino, waiting for her own Hollywood break. She made her film debut as an extra in the 1937 film A Star Is Born. Her big break came when she was cast as a cave girl in One Million B.C. (1940). She married five times and divorced four, and had affairs with director and choreographer Busby Berkeley, with Darryl Zanuck at 20^th Century Fox, and with actor Rex Harrison. It was at end of her affair with Harrison, who refused to leave his wife, that she committed suicide at the age of 29.

Victor Mature was fairly new to films, having made his debut in The Housekeeper’s Daughter for Hal Roach studios in 1939. I Wake Up Screaming would be his first film at 20^th Century Fox, his home studio for the next 12 years. He’s solid in the role of Frankie, who is wrongly accused of the murder.

This film is sometimes held up as an early example of film noir, along with The Maltese Falcon. While Falcon seems more of a prototype, based on its private detective storyline and its star, Humphrey Bogart, I Wake Up Screaming utilizes flashbacks, which would become a standard feature in future film noirs. Also, the lighting is very atmospheric and utilizes shadows, thanks to the work of cinematographer Edward Cronjager.

If I had to pick which of the two films to watch, I’d pick The Maltese Falcon every time. However, as a fan of film noir, I can’t say I was disappointed in the film. I Wake Up Screaming is good but not great, which can be said for many of the films in this genre.