Stubs - 3 Godfathers

3 Godfathers (1948) Starring John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz, Harry Carey, Jr., Ward Bond Directed by John Ford. Screenplay by Laurence Stallings, Frank S. Nugent Based on the novel The Three Godfathers by Peter B. Kyne (New York, 1913). Produced by John Ford, Merrian C. Cooper. Run time: 107 min. Color. USA Western, Christmas.

Sometimes directors get a second chance at a story. Alfred Hitchcock had that with The Man Who Knew Too Much, making it twice in 1934 and in 1956. John Ford got the same chance with adapting Peter B. Kyne’s novel The Three Godfathers. Marked Men (1919), directed by Ford starred Harry Carey, Joe Harris and Ted Brooks, made by Universal, is now considered lost. When Ford decided to remake the story, Harry Carey was no longer available, having died in 1947.

While another long-time collaborator, John Wayne, would have the lead role, Ford did bring in Harry Carey, Jr. Even though this was not his first film, he is given an “Introducing” sort of credit. To round out the three, Ford hired Pedro Armendáriz, a Mexican-American actor who was appearing in only his third film, having appeared in only two other films, both directed by John Ford, The Fugitive (1947) and Fort Apache (1948).

Ford wanted to make the film in Mexico, however, it was shot on location in Death Valley, CA, with some additional shooting in Lone Pine, CA. Ford made the film through his own production company that he co-owned with Merrian C. Cooper, Argosy Pictures. Since the story rights were owned by MGM, Argosy negotiated a one-picture releasing contract with MGM. This also marked the first time that MGM accepted a distribution deal without a financial investment or creative input in the production.

Stubs - Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein aka Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) Starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange Director: Charles Barton Screenplay by Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo, John Grant Produced by Robert Arthur Run time: 83 minutes. USA Black and White Horror, Comedy

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello had been together since working in Vaudeville. They first worked together in 1935 at the Eltinge Theatre on 42nd Street in New York City after Costello's partner fell ill. They formally teamed up in 1936. They are perhaps best known for their routine “Who’s On First?”  The pair came to Hollywood in 1940 and appeared in 36 films before breaking up in 1957. One of their best-known films is Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

Stubs - Key Largo

Key Largo (1948) Starring Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, Claire Trevor. Directed by John Huston. Screenplay by Richard Brooks and John Huston. Based on the play Key Largo by Maxwell Anderson, as produced by The Playwrights Company (New York, 27 Nov 1939). Produced by Jerry Wald. Run Time: 100 minutes. USA. Black and White. Drama, Crime, Film Noir.

Tell me if this sounds familiar, a deserter of the Spanish Civil War redeems himself in death by defending the family of a true war hero against Mexican bandidos on the tiny island of Key Largo, Florida. No? Well, that’s the story of the play Key Largo that was the basis for the film. With World War II still on everyone’s mind, it is no surprise that the story was updated. Mexican Bandidos are replaced with prohibition-era gangsters. There are some other changes made to the point that the original story is all but impossible to see in the finished film. But that’s Hollywood.

At this point in his career, Humphrey Bogart was getting top-billing. After such films as The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Casablanca (1942), Bogart was finally a full-fledged star. But so was Edward G. Robinson.

Born in Bucharest, Romania, Robinson had been a star since Little Caesar (1931). Often cast as gangster, Robinson had worked with James Cagney, Bette Davis and Bogart. But he had also shown his versatility starring in comedic send ups of his tough guy image, A Slight Case of Murder (1938), as well as a political film, Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939), and biographical films as Paul Ehrlich in Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940) and Paul Julius Reuter in A Dispatch from Reuter's (1940). He also made film noirs including Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (1944), Fritz Lang's The Woman in the Window (1944) and Scarlet Street (1945); and Orson Welles' The Stranger (1946) and Irving Reis’ All My Sons (1948).

In their four previous films, Bullets or Ballots (1936), Kid Galahad (1937), The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938) and Brother Orchid (1940), Robinson had received top-billing. Now, while Bogart would receive top-billing, Robinson’s name would appear in second place, but slightly higher than Bogart’s on the poster to show that he was an equal.

Edward G. Robinson gets second, but equal billing to Bogart.

The film is also notable for Bogart’s teaming with wife Lauren Bacall. After success in To Have and to Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1946) and Dark Passage (1947), Key Largo would represent their fourth and final pairing.

Key Largo would be in production between December 1947 and mid-March 1948. The hurricane footage was stock, having been shot for a Ronald Reagan melodrama, Night Unto Night (1948).

Following the end of World War II, disillusioned ex-Major Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) arrives on the island of Key Largo, Florida to visit the family of George Temple, a friend from the Army who had served under him and was killed in the Italian campaign.

In the hotel's bar, Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) meets (from left to right) Janes Temple (John Barrymore), Ralph Feeney (William Haade), "Toots" Bass (Harry Lewis), Curly Hoff (Thomas Gomez), Angel Garcia (Dan Seymour) and George's widow, Nora (Lauren Bacall). 

Entering the rundown Hotel Largo, where Frank is to meet George’s father, the wheel-chair bound James (Lionel Barrymore) and George’s widow, Nora (Lauren Bacall), he encounters guests in the hotel’s bar: Curly Hoff (Thomas Gomez), "Toots" Bass (Harry Lewis), Angel Garcia (Dan Seymour), Ralph Feeney (William Haade) and Gaye Dawn (Claire Trevor). Frank is informed by Curly that the hotel is closed for the season, but he still seeks out the Temples, who invite him to spend the night.

Frank tells James and Nora about George's bravery under fire.

Frank tells James and Nora about where George is buried and recounts his heroism under fire. Nora seems taken with Frank, stating that George frequently mentioned him in his letters home. Frank tells them that George had told him personal and confidential details about the Temples and that he had committed to memory the small and cherished details George had spoken of, to relieve the boredom, stress, and terror that was the stark reality of combat.

Nora offers that the guests have offered Mr. Temple an amount of money that he couldn’t refuse to open the hotel even though it was closed for the winter and there is a Hurricane expected. He also learns that there is a sixth guest who remains secluded in his room. The guests insist that they are in the Florida Keys on a fishing trip and have a charter boat waiting down by the docks.

With a hurricane coming, the three go about preparing the hotel. They are interrupted when Sheriff Ben Wade (Monte Blue) and his deputy Sawyer (John Rodney) arrive looking for the Osceola brothers, John (Jay Silverheels) and Tom (Rodd Redwing), a pair of Seminole Indians who escaped custody after being arrested on minor charges. Mr. Temple promises Sheriff Wade that he has some influence with the local Indians and will get the Osceolas to surrender. But soon after the Sheriff leaves, local Indians come to the hotel seeking refuge from the approaching hurricane, including the Osceolas.

Back inside the hotel, Curly, Ralph, Angel and Toots pull guns and take the Temples and Frank as their hostage. The sixth member and leader of the group finally makes an appearance. Frank recognizes him as notorious gangster Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson), who was exiled to Cuba some years before for being an undesirable alien. Rocco has entered the country illegally in order to make a delivery of counterfeit money, but his contacts have been delayed by the approaching storm.

Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson) is an old-style gangster who has already been deported from the U.S.

It is revealed to the Temples and Frank that the gang had discovered Sawyer looking about, so they beat him up and knocked him unconscious. As they are held at gunpoint, Temple lets go a stream of insults toward Rocco, who responds by taunting Temple, explaining how he will one day return back to prominence.

Rocco makes an inappropriate pass at Nora.

Rocco is impressed by Nora's feistiness and makes a pass at her. In response to his overtures, she spits in his face.

She spits in his face.

Angry, Rocco wants to kill her, but Frank stops him with some fast talking. Mocking Frank's heroics, Rocco gives Frank a pistol and tells him that he can rid the world of Rocco if he is willing to die in the process. To the disappointment of both Nora and Temple, Frank refuses to shoot, stating that he believes in self-preservation over heroics and that "One Rocco more or less isn't worth dying for!" After Frank throws the gun down, Sawyer grabs it and tries to use it to escape, but Rocco shoots him. Turns out the gun Sawyer picked up, the one given to Frank by Rocco, wasn’t loaded.

Claire Trevor plays Rocco's ex, Gaye, who is now an alcoholic.

James wants to believe Frank knew that Rocco gave the gun to him unloaded, but Frank is adamant that he didn’t. Rocco orders his men to take Sawyer's body by boat to deep water and throw it overboard.

Rocco then demands that Gaye, his alcoholic former mistress, sing a song before she can have another drink. She sings "Moanin' Low," (words by Howard Dietz, music by Ralph Rainger) a capella, but doesn’t sing very well. Rocco still refuses to give her a drink and Frank takes pity on her. Frank goes to the bar, pours a drink and gives it to Gaye. While Gaye says "Thanks, fella" to Frank, Rocco slaps him in the face several times for disobeying his orders. Frank ignores the slaps, and says, "You're welcome" to Gaye.

Rocco slaps Frank for disobeying him and giving Gaye a drink.

The full force of the hurricane then hits, which terrifies Rocco and Frank uses the opportunity to “shame” him:

Frank McCloud: You don't like it, do you Rocco, the storm? Show it your gun, why don't you? If it doesn't stop, shoot it.

The storm also gives Nora a chance to challenge Frank about his disillusionment. Nora tells Frank that she knows his story about her husband's heroism was false and that Frank was the real hero. Mr. Temple then invites Frank to come live with them at the hotel, a prospect that seems to intrigue Nora.

After the storm has passed, Sheriff Wade returns looking for Sawyer and finds his body on the road, where it had been washed up during the storm. Rocco blames the murder on the Oceola brothers.

Sheriff Ben Wade (Monte Blue) finds the body of Officer
 Sawyer after it is washed up after the Hurricane.

Along with the other Seminoles, they hadn’t been been allowed inside the hotel at Rocco’s orders. Sheriff Wade then goes out to the dock where the Indians are preparing their own boats to leave. When the Oceolas try to escape, Wade shoots them down.

After Wade leaves with Sawyer's body, Rocco's contact, Ziggy (Marc Lawrence), arrives to conclude their business deal. Rocco sells Ziggy a large amount of counterfeit money. Even though the meeting is tense. Rocco and Ziggy are old friends and joke about better days ahead for gangsters like themselves.

Curly looks on as Ziggy (Marc Lawrence) and Rocco do some business.

Once the business is concluded, Rocco is ready to leave. It is then that he finds out the Skipper (Alberto Morin) of the boat, against Rocco’s direct orders, has moved it to deeper water to avoid damage from the hurricane. They need another boat and commandeer Temple’s. Rocco then forces Frank, who has skills as a seaman, to take him and his henchmen back to Cuba on the small boat.

Even though Rocco threatens him, the Skipper (Alberto Morin) moves the boat of out the way of the Hurricane.

Rocco pays James Temple for their stay and has his henchmen gather everyone's bags, except for Gaye's. Even though she wants to come with him, Rocco tells her he won’t be taking her with him. Instead, he gives her some money for expenses.

Both Nora and Gaye try to convince Frank to make a break for safety once he is outside the hotel, but he agrees to take the men to Cuba. Gaye appears to make a last-ditch attempt to convince Rocco to take her with him. She hugs him and, while embracing him, steals Rocco's gun. She then manages to slip the gun to Frank.

Gaye makes a last desperate attempt to get Rocco to take her with him.

Once they’re out at sea, Curly worries that Gaye will tell the authorities about Ziggy, but Rocco tells him that is exactly what he wants to happen.

Up on deck, Toots is sea sick. Frank sees his opportunity. He first tricks Ralph into looking over stern under the guise that there might be something on the propeller. When Ralph looks over the edge, Frank races the engine and knocks him into the water.

Toots fires at Frank after Ralph has been dumped in the ocean.

Toots realizes that Ralph has been lost at sea and when Frank won’t go back, he shoots him. Even though he’s wounded, Frank returns fires back and kills him.

Hearing shots, Curly goes up to the main deck and is mortally wounded by Frank in an exchange of gunfire. Curly staggers down the ladder, but before he can respond to Rocco’s questions, he dies.

Rocco wants Angel to go up and see what has happened, even lying to him that Frank is dead. But Angel refuses and Rocco kills him.

Angel doesn't want to go up, so Rocco kills him.

Rocco then tries to trick into surrendering by offering to share the money with him. He even throws one of the guns out on deck, as if it’s his. But from Frank’s vantage point, he can see that Rocco still has his gun. When Rocco comes up on deck, Frank shoots him, but Rocco isn’t dead yet, and fires one more time at Frank, before Frank shoots again and kills him.

Rocco tries to trick Frank into trusting him.

Frank then radios the Miami Coast Guard station, “NAM”, and radios his position. He then asks them to connect him to the hotel so he can tell Nora and Temple that he is coming back home.

From his vantage point, Frank can see everything and kills Rocco.

The film opened in New York on July 16, 1948 and nationwide on July 31st. In his review for The New York Times, Bosley Crowther gave much of the credit for the film’s success to director John Huston for his tightening and speeding up the action. “He has dropped out a lot of prior build-up, thrown away some complexities and avoided the final fatalism which Mr. Anderson (the playwright) always seems to indulge.”

Crowther also credits Huston with getting “stinging performances out of most of his cast—notably out of Mr. Robinson” and calls Bogart’s performance “penetrating.” He calls Claire Trevor’s performance “picturesque.”

Director and co-writer on the set with Bogart and Bacall.

For the most part, Crowther’s is still right. Despite the staging, which is mostly interiors within the hotel, the action never seems to stop. There is never a dull moment in the film. This is due both to the screenplay by Richard Brooks and Huston as well as Huston’s directing. He always seems to get a good performance out of Bogart, from their first film together, The Maltese Falcon, to their last, The African Queen (1951), for which Bogart would finally win a long overdue Academy Award for Best Actor.

I have seen my fair share of Edward G. Robinson films and I don’t believe I’ve seen him give a really bad performance, even if the film isn’t all that good. Here he is able to channel his earlier gangster film roles into something new. His Rocco knows that he’s a relic of the past, but he’s not going gently into that dark night.

Lauren Bacall always does well when playing opposite her then husband, Bogart. They make a very engaging couple on the screen. She is a strong-spirited woman, but still a product of her time. Rather than going out on her own, she has stayed to take care of her deceased husband’s father, an admirable task. It is obvious that there are underplayed sparks between husband and wife on screen, which adds to the subtle flirtation going on between Frank and Nora.

Lionel Barrymore plays James Temple.

Lionel Barrymore is also one of those actors that leaves it all on the screen. Even wheelchair bound, Barrymore gives a very strong performance. He can play a grumpy doctor as in Three Men in White (1944), a heartless villain as in It's A Wonderful Life (1946) and even helpless victim all while seated.

But of all the actors and actresses in the film, it was Claire Trevor who was singled out by the Academy Awards for her performance as the alcoholic ex-gun moll. Her win as Best Supporting Actress came after her second of three nominations she would receive in her career, the others for Francey in Dead End (1937) and her last would be for May Holst in The High and the Mighty (1954). Trevor may be best remembered though for her portrayal of Dallas in John Ford’s Stagecoach (1939).

Key Largo is an easy film to recommend. A film noir at heart, the film shows what happens when the ideals of post-war America runs smack into its own darker past. Under John Huston’s direction, Key Largo is a really great movie. You should see it if you’re a film noir fan, a fan of Edward G. Robinson or a fan of Humphrey Bogart, with or without Lauren Bacall. There is so much to enjoy that the trip to Key Largo is one worth taking. 

Be sure to check out our Film Noir Review Hub for reviews of other films in this genre.

Stubs - All My Sons

All My Sons (1948) Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Burt Lancaster, Mady Christians, Louisa Horton, Howard Duff, Frank Conroy, Lloyd Gough, Arlene Franks, Henry Morgan. Directed by Irving Reis. Screenplay by Chester Erskine. Based on the play All My Sons by Arthur Miller as produced by Harold Clurman, Elia Kazan, Walter Fried and Herbert Harris. Produced by Chester Erskine.  Run Time: 94 min. USA Black and White. Film Noir, Drama

Arthur Miller is not a name that you would immediately connect with film noir. An award-winning playwright and future husband to Marilyn Monroe, Miller had been writing plays since 1936, but didn’t really have a major hit on Broadway until 1947, when his play All My Sons ran for 328 performances from January 29, 1947 until November 8. The play, which starred Ed Begley, Beth Miller, Arthur Kennedy and Karl Malden, would win the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, beating out a little play from Eugene O’Neil entitled “The Iceman Cometh.” The play would also win the Tony Award for Best Author for Miller and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play, for director Elia Kazan.

The original 1947 Broadway production starred  (l to r) Arthur Kennedy, Karl Malden,
Beth Miller, Ed Begley and Lois Wheeler.

So obviously, the play came to Hollywood with pretty high credentials. As with any film adaptations, changes were required, not only for the transition to a new media, but also to satisfy the Production Code that was very much entrenched in Hollywood by the end of the 1940s.

Chester Erskine, best known at the time as the writer, director and producer of The Egg and I (1947), wrote and produced the adaptation. The film began production in October 1947. While the film was to be shot on location in Santa Rosa, severe weather caused the studio, Universal, to rethink that idea. Instead, much of the outdoor scenery was shot on a production stage. The Western Stove Company in Culver City doubled as Keller’s factory. Some scenes were shot on the factory floor and real employees of Western Stove appear in the film.

The film opens in suburban America. Joe Keller (Edward G. Robinson) is raking the leaves when his son Chris (Burt Lancaster) comes out of the house on his way to pick up Ann Deever (Louisa Horton) at the train station. They talk about Chris’s mother, Kate (Mady Christians), who had another bad night worrying about Larry, who three years before went MIA off the coast of China. Kate still holds out hope that Larry is still alive. Joe is less hopeful than Kate about their son’s fate, but every week they find someone who has been MIA, why can’t one of them be Larry.

Chris though is ready to move on. He informs his father that he intends to ask Ann to marry him. But Joe insists he can’t do that as long as Larry might be alive, Ann after all is his fiancée. But Chris is adamant about it and is willing to give up everything he has at home to be with her. Joe reminds him that he’s the heir to his company and really wants him to stay. If he must marry Ann, Joe asks that he talk to his mother before he does. Satisfied, Chris leaves for the train station.

Chris (Burt Lancaster) brings Ann (Louisa Horton) back to her hometown.

When Chris drives Ann back to his house, they run into the neighbors, Jim (Lloyd Gough) and his wife Sue (Arlene Francis). Jim is the local doctor trying to carve out a little “me time” on a Sunday, while Sue is his supportive wife and resident gossip. When Joe sees Ann, he is thrilled to see her, treating her like she’s his own daughter. Kate, on the other hand, is cool bordering on cold. She doesn’t want Ann back, not because of her being a reminder of absent son Larry, she has left his bedroom as a shrine for that. Rather, she is worried about what her being back will mean to everything Joe has built up.

Jim (Lloud Gough) is a local doctor trying to enjoy a Sunday with his wife.

It’s clear that Ann’s arrival back in town carries with it more weight than a girl returning to her hometown. Her family has history here, dark history as it turns out. The truth is slowly drawn out over the first half of the movie. We learn that her father is in prison, but that’s about all. The whole town still talks about it, she’s told.

As in any small town at the time, the neighbors drop over at the drop of a hat, including Frank (Harry Morgan going through his Henry phase) and Lydia (Elisabeth Fraser). Frank has been busy working on a horoscope for Larry at Kate’s request. Frank tells anyone who will listen that Larry went missing on what was supposed to be a good day for him, so he’s probably still alive. His proclamation rattles everyone and he goes back home. Lydia hangs out a while longer before she, too, has to get back to attend to their two small children, four and two years old.

Their celebratory lobster dinner is about to be interrupted.

Joe has the idea that the four of them will go to dinner at the lake, something they used to do, to celebrate Ann’s homecoming. But when their dinner is served, a drunken former employee, Mrs. Hamilton (Helen Brown), approaches the table and accuses Joe of being a murderer. Joe tries to ignore her, but as her voice rises, so does his dander. He is about to strike her when the waiters intervene and throw Mrs. Hamilton out. Even though he wants to ignore the scene and get back to their lobster tail dinner, Kate and Ann wish to leave, so they do.

The drive back from the lake is much more subdued.

When they get back to the Keller home, Kate goes up to bed. Joe tells Chris to take Ann out to dinner at a roadhouse and the two drive off. But instead of eating out, they end up at a lover’s lane with a view of the town. There, Chris finally tells Ann how he feels about her and she reciprocates his feelings. The two leave engaged to be married.

While they’re gone, Ann’s brother, George, calls the house from Springfield, which is where their father is in prison. Ann speaks to him, but tells him explicably she doesn’t want to talk about what he wants to tell her over the phone, insisting they talk when she’s back in Chicago.

The next day, it’s back to work at the appliance factory, where the saying is “if you want to know, ask Joe.” He is very experienced and hands on, which the other employees seem to appreciate. Ann shows up early to drive the men home, but Joe insists on staying, though he lets Chris leave early, even though he had come in late.

On the floor of the factory, the saying is "If you want to know, ask Joe" (Edward G. Robinson).

Back at the house, Kate tells Ann that George has been calling from the station, demanding that she come and pick him up. But since Ann was out, Kate asked Jim to go to the station. Sue is over wondering if anyone has seen Jim. In passing, Sue tells Ann that everyone in town thinks Joe was guilty, but just outsmarted her father. Ann is confused, but Sue insists that’s the truth. She’s there, when Jim arrives with George (Howard Duff). A newly minted lawyer, George has been to see their father and now believes his story about the incident that put him in prison. Things start to come out a little more.

Kate (Mady Christians) melts George's (Howard Duff) cold exterior.

Apparently, their father, Herbert, had been sent to prison for shipping bad cylinders that led to 21 plane crashes, killing dozens of American soldiers. Joe had also been accused, but had convinced a jury that he was sick at home and knew Herbert had sent the parts knowing they wouldn’t hold up.

George orders his sister to pack her things and come back to Chicago with him that night. When Joe arrives, things get tense. But Kate intercedes. She manages to melt George’s cold exterior, after all, she helped raise him and Ann after their mother died. The other neighbor, Lydia, comes over and it is clear that she and George had been close before the war. But with George off fighting and Frank a year too old for the draft, she married him. You can see the sense of love and loss in George. He relents and stays for dinner, but during the conversation his mood changes. Joe is adamant that he’s never been sick a day in his life to the point that George puts two and two together. Kate tries to deflect George, but he now knows his father was telling him the truth. George gets up to leave and this time Ann is ready to go too, despite Chris’ protests.

The conversation at dinner gets tense as George's mood changes.

But George isn’t alone in doubting Joe; so does Chris and for the first time. Joe doesn’t feel he owes his son any explanation, but Chris thinks differently. He takes a few days off work. Joe thinks he’s travelling, but doesn’t know Chris has gone to see Herbert in prison. In a change from the original play, Herbert’s character is actually seen. Herbert is surprised to see Chris and tells him the story of the cylinders.

In a flashback, we see Joe and Herbert during the war. The plant has been militarized and is making airplane parts rather than home appliances; working practically 24/7 to meet the war effort. The floor manager, who is also the government inspector, has found problems with the latest batch of cylinders the plant has churned out, which the Army is expecting to ship the following Monday. Delaying the shipment would mean financial ruin for Keller and Deever, their company. Keller has too much sweat equity in the company to let it go under. He tells George that fiscally, they have to ship the cylinders, knowing they’ll malfunction. But when the day to ship comes, Joe is home “sick” and George doesn’t feel like he can authorize it. The next day, the Army is demanding the cylinders. George calls Joe, who is still at home. Joe, over the phone, tells George that he’ll take full responsibility for the shipment. But of course, he doesn’t. Joe manages to walk and Herbert ends up in jail. Chris isn’t quite sure he believes it, but on his way out, Herbert reminds Chris, “If you need to know, ask Joe.”

Meanwhile, Ann has returned from Chicago for Joe, since despite everything she still loves him. But Kate is still holding out hope that Larry is still alive; letting Joe and Ann marry would be to admit he’s dead. But Ann is convinced that Larry is dead and her proof is a letter Larry sent her on the eve of his last mission. Kate reads the letter and is devastated. She begs Ann not to show the letter to Joe and she agrees. Ann goes to a friend’s house to wait for George to return.

That night, Joe is at the plant playing his weekly card games with his workers and one of his biggest customers, McGraw (Herbert Haywood). Chris arrives as the game is breaking up. McGraw complains about the doors on some of the new models his stores received and Joe tells them to ship 

them back and he’ll repair them at no charge.

Chris finds Joe at the plant playing cards with one of his customers, McGraw (Herbert Haywood).

When they’re finally alone, Chris tells his father where he’s been and confronts him about wanting to know the truth about the shipment. Under some duress, Joe finally confirms that what Herbert said was all true. But he says he reiterates that he had no choice but to send the shipment or he would have lost the business. Chris doesn’t take learning the truth well. After striking his father, Chris leaves.

But Chris doesn’t go home. Later that night, Kate and Joe are sitting up waiting for his return. Kate pleads with Joe to finally admit what he’d done. But once again, Joe feels that his actions were justified to save the business and protect his family.

Ann thinks she knows where Chris is and drives up the lover’s lookout Chris had taken her to a few days before. Chris tells her that Joe was guilty as charged, but insists he doesn’t fully understand the impact of his actions. To help Chris understand, she gives him Larry’s letter she had earlier shown to Kate. After reading it, Chris goes back home to confront Joe with it.

Kate tries to stop him, but Chris reads the letter to his father. In it, Larry describes how he’s read the news about the faulty equipment shipment, the tragic deaths as a result and Herbert and Joe’s trial. Larry finds his father’s betrayal and his own shame unbearable. He writes that he doesn’t plan to return from his mission the next day.

Chris reads brother Larry's letter to their father.

Joe admits that his guilt always included losing Larry, but he now realizes that all the soldiers who died were all his sons. He retreats into his room and while Chris and Kate discuss next steps, Joe shoots himself. Chris tries to keep his mother from going in, but she insists that she’s taken care of him their whole life together and she’s not going to stop now.

A few days later, Joe and Ann prepare to leave town together; Kate encourages them to go live their life together.

Like the play it was based on, All My Sons, the film, received strong reviews and even won an award from the Writer’s Guild of America for Best Written American Drama for Chester Erskine, as well as the Robert Meltzer Award (Screenplay Dealing Most Ably with Problems of the American Scene) again for Erskine.

But his work is only one of the bright spots in the film.

Edward G. Robinson was one of the great actors to come out of the studio system. While he appeared in a handful of films dating back to Arms and the Woman (1916), he didn’t really become a star until 1931’s Little Caesar with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. While many of his better known roles were starring as gangsters, in films like Smart Money (1931), The Whole Town’s Talking (1935), Bullets or Ballots (1936), A Slight Case of Murder (1938), Larceny, Inc. (1942) and Key Largo (1948), he was a very versatile actor. He plays every part like it’s really him and his Joe Keller seems a very natural multi-dimensional character.

When Burt Lancaster came to Hollywood, he jumped into film noir right away with The Killers (1946). All My Sons would his fifth film and his star power jumps off the screen. Like Robinson, it’s hard, if not impossible, to think of a bad role Lancaster played in his long career. He gives Chris just enough naivety to make him believable.

The other actors are also good. Henry Morgan is usually a treat to see even if the role is as small as the comedic relief he plays here in All My Sons. Howard Duff has a difficult part with George Deever. On the one hand it has to be tough and unfeeling, on the other, he has to believably melt when Kate Keller puts on the charm. While the audience I saw the film with at the Film Noir Foundation screening at the Egyptian in Los Angeles laughed, the transition would have been difficult for any actor to pull off, you therefore have to give Duff credit for trying.

Sometimes in old movies, you discover actors or actresses that you’ve never seen before. In the case of All My Sons, this was my first time to see either of the lead actresses. Mady Christians, who played Joe’s wife, Kate, was an actress nearing the end of her career. A German immigrant, Christians had been in films in Europe, including being in the first German full sound film, It’s You I Have Loved (1929). All My Sons was one of her last films; she would appear in only one more, Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948).

While Christians was at the end of her career, Louisa Horton, who played Ann, was appearing in her debut. After this, she would start acting on the new medium, television, and would continue to concentrate her acting there, making her last appearance in 1990.

All My Sons was Louisa Horton's film acting debut.

Both Christians and Horton are very good in their roles. Christians’ Kate is as stubborn as she is protective of her family. She has a hard time letting go of Larry, but her plight must have been common for mothers and fathers immediately after World War II. As long as she holds onto his memory, then he’s not really dead.

For a relative newcomer, Horton more than holds her own acting alongside the likes of Robinson, Lancaster and Christians. While Ann is no great beauty, her love for Chris comes from not just physical attraction, but also from a shared past and comfort with each other. The attraction seems more real this way.

While All My Sons comes from the theater, it doesn’t come across as a filmed play. A lot of the credit for that belongs to Chester Erskine who wrote the adaptation as well as produced the film and to director Irving Reis. A former director on Broadway, Erskine had been working in Hollywood since 1932, where he wrote, directed and produced movies, including writing, producing and directing, The Egg and I, a comedy with Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray and Take One False Step 

(1949). He would also write and produce Witness to Murder (1954) with Barbara Stanwyck.

Chester Erskine surrounded by Horton, Robinson and Lancaster on the set of All My Sons.

Reis would get his start as a writer for radio, before starting at Paramount in 1938 as a scriptwriter. While there, he would study film direction. He would take that up full time, leaving Paramount in 1940 for next door RKO Pictures. He would direct George Sanders in a series of Falcon films: The Gay Falcon (1941), A Date with the Falcon (1942) and The Falcon Takes Over (1942), as well as such films as Hitler’s Children (1943), Crack-Up (1946) and The Bachelor and The Bobby-Soxer (1947).

Both men had shown they could work in a variety of genres and their collaboration on All My Sons helped rise it above the normal Film Noir fare.

While I went in without any expectations, I left very impressed with the story, the acting and the directing. All My Sons is not only a good film noir, but also a good movie and if you have a chance to see it, I would say take it.

Be sure to check out our Film Noir Review Hub for reviews of other films in this genre.

Stubs – Hamlet

Hamlet (1948) Starring: Laurence Olivier, Basil Sydney, Eileen Herlie, Jean Simmons, Stanley Holloway. Screenplay by Laurence Olivier. Based on the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare (London, 1601, published 1603). Directed by Laurence Olivier. Produced by Laurence Olivier.  Run Time: 155 minutes. U.K.  Black and White. Drama, Tragedy

There are several well-known film adaptations of William Shakespeare’s plays, but perhaps none won bigger acclaim than Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet (1948). Perhaps no actor in film history is closer associated with Shakespeare than Olivier. He appeared in a little over fifty films during his career, six of which were films based on the works of the Bard. Prior to Hamlet, Olivier had starred in As You Like It (1936) and Henry V (1944), the latter which he also produced and directed. For that film, he would receive Academy nominations for Best Actor and Best Picture, neither of which he would win, but he did receive a Special Award "for his outstanding achievement as actor, producer and director in bringing Henry V to the screen."

Following that triumph, Olivier returned to the stage and did not make another movie until he made Hamlet. Olivier adapted Shakespeare’s play, eliminating nearly half of the dialogue, three main characters from the play: Fortinbras, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and removing most of its political elements. Instead Olivier concentrated on the psychological and Oedipal aspects of the work.

The film opens on the battlements of Elsinore, where sentry Bernardo (Esmond Knight) relieves Francisco (John Laurie) of his watch. Bernardo asks him if he has seen anything. Another sentry, Marcellus (Anthony Quayle), arrives with Horatio (Norman Wooland), Prince Hamlet's friend. Twice previously, Marcellus has seen an apparition, but Horatio is skeptical. Suddenly, the three see the Ghost, and even though Horatio demands that it speak, the ghost vanishes then, without a word.

Inside the castle, there is a celebration in progress for the marriage of Gertrude (Eileen Herlie) and King Claudius (Basil Sydney). Everyone seems to be having a good time, with the exception of Prince Hamlet (Laurence Olivier). Something seems rotten to Hamlet about the circumstances; his father,the old King Hamlet has only been dead for a month, apparently killed by a snakebite, and his mother is already married to his Uncle.  

Hamlet (Laurence Olivier) with his mother, Gertrude (Eileen Herlie) and King
Claudius (Basil Sydney) at a celebration in honor of their marriage.

Even after the court has left the Great Hall, Hamlet continues to fume over the hasty marriage, muttering to himself the words "and yet, within a month!" Soon, Horatio and the sentries arrive and tell Hamlet about seeing his father’s ghost. Hamlet accompanies them to the battlements and sees the ghost for himself.

After the celebration, Hamlet fumes over his mother's hasty marriage.

Hamlet follows the ghost, which beckons him forward, after which it reveals itself to be the Ghost of Hamlet's father (Laurence Olivier). He tells Hamlet that he was murdered, who did it and how it was done as the audience sees the murder re-enacted in a flashback as the ghost describes – Claudius is seen pouring poison into a sleeping King Hamlet's ear, thereby killing him.

Hamlet does not at first accept what his father’s ghost tells him to be the truth, but prepares to act mad to test Claudius' conscience. Hamlet’s feigned insanity attracts the attention of Polonius (Felix Aylmer), the Lord Chamberlain. Convinced Hamlet has gone mad, Polonius pushes the point with the King. He tells him that Hamlet’s madness is derived from his love for Ophelia (Jean Simmons), Polonius's daughter. In order to convince the king, Polonius sets up a meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia. After overhearing their exchange, Claudius is convinced.

A wandering company of stage performers arrives at Elsinore and Hamlet invites them to stay, requesting them to enact the play The Murder of Gonzago for the king. Hamlet makes a few alterations to the play, so as to make it mirror the circumstances of his late father's murder. Claudius, obviously uncomfortable with the message being sent, calls out for light and retires to his room. Hamlet is now convinced of Claudius' treachery and seeks to kill him. He finds Claudius alone, praying. Not wishing to send his father’s killer to heaven, he decides to wait and bide his time.

Hamlet stops himself from killing the King.

He instead goes to his mother and confronts her about the matter of his father's death and Claudius' role. During this confrontation, he hears a voice from behind the curtain, and, believing it’s Claudius eavesdropping, plunges his dagger into the body. Hamlet discovers that he has killed Polonius instead. Hamlet is not very upset and continues to confront his mother. He then sees his father’s ghostly apparition and proceeds to converse with it. Gertrude, who cannot see the ghost, is now also convinced that her son has gone mad.

Hamlet confronts his mother.

Claudius finding out that he’s killed Polonius deports Hamlet to England, giving orders to have Hamlet killed once he arrives. Fortunately, Hamlet's ship is attacked by pirates, whom he befriends and who return him to Denmark.

Meanwhile, Ophelia goes mad over Hamlet's rejection and the idea that he had killed her father. She drowns herself, committing suicide. Laertes (Terence Morgan), Ophelia's brother, is driven to avenge her death, as well as his father's.

Ophelia (Jean Simmons) commits suicide when Hamlet rejects her.

Claudius and Laertes, after learning of Hamlet's return, prepare to have him killed. They want to make it look like an accident. Laertes is to challenge Hamlet to a duel, wherein Laertes will use a poisoned blade that will kill with a bare touch. In case that fails, Claudius also prepares a poisoned drink.

Hamlet is informed about Laertes’ challenge by Osric (Peter Cushing), a courtier, and accepts. Initially, the scheme Claudius and Laertes planned looks to be failing. Hamlet wins the first two rounds of the duel. Gertrude, suspecting poison, drinks from the cup intended for Hamlet.

In-between bouts, Laertes rushes Hamlet and strikes him on the arm, fatally poisoning him. Not knowing this, Hamlet continues the duel, eventually disarming Laertes and switching blades with him. Hamlet then strikes Laertes in the wrist, fatally wounding him.

Already mortally wounded, Hamlet wins the duel with Laertes.

Gertrude then dies from the poison, but not before warning Hamlet not to drink from the cup. While he lays dying, Laertes confesses the whole plot to Hamlet, who then, in a fit of rage, flies down at Claudius from the top of the stairs, killing him. Only then does Hamlet die.

Horatio, horrified by all this, orders that Hamlet be given a decent funeral, and the young prince's body is taken away to the embattlements where the story began.

The young prince's body is taken away to the embattlements where the film began.

This film set a number of firsts when it came to Awards. Hamlet was the first film in which the leading actor had directed himself to an Oscar-winning performance. Olivier was the first actor to win an Academy Award for a Shakespearean role. The film was the first non-American film to win Best Picture and it is the only one to have won both Best Picture and the Venice Film Festival – Great International Prize of Venice (The Golden Lion). While the Venice Film Festival has been overshadowed by the Cannes Film Festival, Venice is the oldest (founded in 1932) and some say most prestigious international film festival. The film also won the BAFTA for Best Film From Any Source, but did not win Best British Film. That distinction went to Carol Reed’s The Fallen Idol.

Hamlet was not without its critics. They pointed out the truncation of the play and the slant from politics to Oedipal fixation. The exclusion of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern robbed the film of any possible comedic moments which Shakespeare had included in the play.

Over the years, some of the luster has gone from Hamlet. Once considered to be the definitive cinematic Hamlet, that hasn’t stopped others from making their own adaptations of Hamlet, including Bill Colleran in 1964 directing Richard Burton in the lead; Tony Richardson in 1969 with Nicol Williamson in the lead; Franco Zeffirelli, in 1990 with Mel Gibson in the lead; Kenneth Branagh directing himself in 1996; Michael Almereyda in 2000 with Ethan Hawke in the lead; and Gregory Doran directing David Tennant in a BBC version in 2009.

Everything about this Hamlet screams seriousness, starting with the score written by William Walton. You know right away that you should leave any joy you had coming in at the auditorium door. This is a dark movie in almost every regard. The black and white cinematography by Desmond Dickinson is both reminiscent of German Expressionism as well as film noir. The sets are both improbably large but the passageways somewhat claustrophobic, as if playing against the public spectacle of the royal court and the dark, death-obsessed mind of Hamlet.

Olivier may be the great Shakespearean actor of his generation, but his performance here, especially nearly 70 years hence, seems stodgy and unrealistic. Perhaps it works better on stage, but his Hamlet on film comes off as a dated interpretation. It’s the kind of acting that you think of when you think of Shakespeare, which is unfair to the source material.

Despite their direction, a couple of the actors seemed to break through. Peter Cushing, best known as for his appearances in horror films and as Grand Moff Tarkin in the first Star Wars, practically disappears as Osric, the foppish courtier, which I think is a sign of how well he played the role. His Osric provides the only smiles and near laughs in an otherwise dour film. It should be noted that a frequent co-star of Cushing’s is also in the film; somewhere in the background, is a spear carrying Christopher Lee.

Peter Cushing plays Osric, a courtier in Hamlet.

Jean Simmons, who would have a long and distinguished career, was nominated for her role as Ophelia. The Academy has a history of rewarding actresses who play crazy or disabled, so the nomination as Best Supporting Actress isn’t really a surprise. Her madness just seems to come on her all at once. Perhaps there is more in the original play that explains it, but here she seems to snap like a twig.

Jean Simmons plays Ophelia and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress by the Academy.

I also found myself liking Norman Wooland as Horatio. I think he had a very good presence in the movie.

While Olivier did edit out great portions of the play, I have no doubts that he respected the author of the play more than I can imagine. He excised portions and characters that took screen time away from the themes he wanted to concentrate on with his adaptation. Still, there are the usual quotable lines and soliloquies, though Olivier isn’t above truncating them as well. Despite that and even if you are a relative novice, this is one of those Shakespeare plays that you are no doubt more familiar with then you may realize as time after time something you’ve heard before will be spoken. 

"To be or not to be" is one of the famous soliloquies in Hamlet.

Olivier’s Hamlet is very much a filmed stage play, though there are a few shots outside the confines of a sound stage. This is not a film that plays well to a modern audience, who may be used to more natural acting. Practically everything Hamlet says is spoken with the same intensity and speed of delivery. This has been my complaint before about films based on Shakespeare’s works; if the dialogue is spoken too fast, the uninformed audience can get lost trying to keep up.

Some of the sets are impressive, but still somewhat bare.

There is a bit of flourish near the end of the film, when Hamlet and Laertes are involved in their swordplay. It must be criteria for a Shakespearean trained actor to be good with a sword, since both actors show a real flair, fighting with two swords each. But this little bit of action is not enough to save the film for me. I’ve seen old posters advertise this Hamlet as “One of the screens most exciting experiences,” but the film critic for Look magazine, to whom the blurb is credited, and I must have had very different experiences while watching it.

The swordfight at the end of the film offered some flourish.

Of the Shakespeare films we’ve seen and reviewed as part of Shakespeare September, Olivier’s Hamlet is perhaps my least favorite. I had trepidations about the film going in, remembering what bits I’d seen reminding me too much of school. Good films can introduce their audiences to new texts and give them an appreciation of that text. Great films accomplish this much more subtly and also draw the audience in. Olivier’s Hamlet never forgets its own importance and you get the feeling you are always on the outside looking in.