Book Review--DARK CARNIVAL: The Secret World Of Tod Browning, Hollywood's Master Of The Macabre (Revised Edition)

 

DARK CARNIVAL is the revised edition of a 1995 biography on American film director Tod Browning, written by David J. Skal and Elias Savada. The book was published by the University of Minnesota Press, and I purchased the more affordable paperback version. 

Tod Browning is a name well-known to film geeks and old monster movie lovers. He directed the original THE UNHOLY THREE, THE UNKNOWN, LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT, DRACULA, FREAKS, and many other movies involving the weird, the morbid, and the uncanny. Browning's life was as strange as many of the stories he put onscreen, and even after the first edition of this book came out in the 1990s, bizarre rumors about his personal habits still persist to this day. 

In the years since the first edition of their biography was released, the authors discovered new material and information about their subject. This DARK CARNIVAL doesn't contain what I would call any earth-shattering revelations, but it does shine as much light as possible on an off-beat filmmaker who managed to create some of the darkest visions released during the 1920s-30s era of Hollywood. 

It's amazing that Browning was able to make the films that he did, especially considering he wasn't working on the low-budget margins of the American movie industry. Browning spent most of his career at MGM, a studio proud of its prestigious reputation. DARK CARNIVAL charts how Browning fell in and out of favor from MGM (and Universal) during his checkered years as a director. 

The book also details (as well as it can) Browning's early life, which is where most of the wild rumors about him originate. (The authors point out that a lot of these "facts" about Browning's youthful days working in carnivals and fairs cannot be verified.) The problem with any book or article dealing with Tod Browning is that the man himself never gave what would now be called a complete all-inclusive interview, and his one-on-one interactions with individuals were complicated, to say the least. Browning's alcoholism is also dealt with, an affliction which haunted his life and work constantly. 

Nevertheless, over the years the authors managed to interview a number of folks who either worked with Browning or had personal knowledge of him. The book contains a full filmography of Browning's work, including the movies in which he appeared as an actor. DARK CARNIVAL is heavily illustrated, with full-page photos featuring the likes of Browning, Lon Chaney, and Bela Lugosi. 

As expected, the more notable of Browning's films--his collaborations with Lon Chaney, the 1931 DRACULA, and of course FREAKS--get plenty of coverage. There is also a chapter on how Browning's work has influenced pop culture over the years. One could say that Browning's cinematic output has had far more lasting effect than those of his more mainstream (and more respected) contemporary filmmakers. 

DARK CARNIVAL is the ultimate source when it comes to Tod Browning, yet it must be said that even after I finished reading it, the man was still something of a mystery. If Browning were alive today, fanboys would be crowding all over him, but during his long retirement from Hollywood he wound up basically forgotten (he appears to have spent most of his time by himself drinking beer). The fact that Browning never really opened up about himself and his films makes him all the more intriguing. DARK CARNIVAL is a must for the bookshelf of any classic horror film fan, and it is also a great biography about an early Hollywood figure. 

DOUBLE FACE

 

DOUBLE FACE is a 1969 Italian-West German co-production, a mystery thriller also known as A DOPPIA FACCIA and DAS GESICHT IM DUNKLEN. The movie was promoted as an Edgar Wallace Krimi in Germany, and it is listed as an official part of the Rialto Krimi series in a few sources, although it has nothing to do with anything Wallace wrote. 

Klaus Kinski stars as John Alexander, a well-to-do English businessman whose marriage to wife Helen (Margaret Lee) is on the rocks. Helen goes off on a trip by herself, but her car is destroyed in an explosion. Devastated by his wife's death, John takes a much-needed vacation. Upon his return, Alexander is bedeviled by a young woman named Christine (Christine Kruger), who shows him an adult film she appears in. John is convinced that the other woman in the stag reel is his wife, and as he tries to find out the truth behind what really happened to Helen, he deals with a set of weird occurrences and characters. 

DOUBLE FACE was directed by Riccardo Freda (THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK), and one of its many credited writers was Lucio Fulci. This is one of the reasons why the movie is a favorite of a number of Euro Cult experts. DOUBLE FACE has plenty of Hitchcock-style elements to it, and it is also regarded as a giallo story, despite the fact that it doesn't feature any stylized gory murders. The film even has some Italian Gothic aspects to it (at one point Klaus Kinski roams around his empty house holding a candelabra). 

John Alexander is an unusual role for Klaus Kinski. Alexander is a nattily-dressed member of the upper class (Kinski probably never had a better wardrobe selection onscreen than he did here), and he's trying to solve a desperate situation instead of causing one. Alexander is still considered a major suspect in his wife's death (this is Klaus Kinski we're dealing with, after all), and there's a suggestion that everything the man is experiencing is all part of some dream or nightmare. Much of the film consists of Kinski wandering around and looking pensive, and the viewer is as frustrated as his character, due to a confusing narrative. 

Riccardo Freda does inject a sense of jet-set European decadence, although one never believes for a second that this story takes place in England, despite the many insert shots of downtown London. At one point Kinski finds himself in the middle of a Swinging London style rave that isn't all that swinging, and goes on for so long that it appears to have been an attempt to pad out the running time. 

As in most European genre productions made around this time, DOUBLE FACE is filled with gorgeous women: Margaret Lee, Christine Kruger, Annabella Incontrera, and Barbara Nelli. All these ladies also go topless at one point during the story. This certainly kept my attention, but the film's pace drags at times, and from my perspective the final explanation for all the goings-on is way too simple. 

I viewed DOUBLE FACE on the Tubi streaming channel, and it was an uncut, colorful and sharp widescreen presentation. This version had an English voice dub, with English title credits (Riccardo Freda is listed under his "Robert Hampton" moniker). Once again Klaus Kinski is given a voice that doesn't match up to his attitude and style. 

DOUBLE FACE will be of interest to fans of Euro Cult cinema, but I felt it wasn't one of the better entries in that genre. 

THE WICKED DARLING

 

I'm currently reading the revised edition of DARK CARNIVAL, the excellent biography of film director Tod Browning, written by David J. Skal and Elias Savada. I'll be writing a blog post on the book when I've finished it, but it has inspired me to seek out some of Browning's films I haven't yet viewed. Last night I watched THE WICKED DARLING, a 1919 silent crime melodrama made by Universal. 

THE WICKED DARLING is an important title in Tod Browning's directorial catalog. It was the second time he worked with Priscilla Dean, an actress he would go on to collaborate with a number of times. It was also the first time Browning directed Lon Chaney, and the filmmaker and actor would wind up working together on a total of ten films. Browning and Chaney formed one of the greatest director-star pairings in cinema history, although DARK CARNIVAL suggests the relationship was far more professional than personal. 

Like most Tod Browning movies, the plot of THE WICKED DARLING is fairly simple. Priscilla Dean plays Mary Stevens, a petty criminal who is referred to as "The Gutter Rose" in the film's intertitles. After swiping a valuable pearl necklace, Mary, while hiding, encounters Kent Mortimer (Wellington Playter), a man who has lost his fortune and his fiancee. Mary is so taken by how the kindly Mortimer has responded to his bad luck, she decides to go straight. Her confederates, a nasty crook called Stoop (Lon Chaney) and a disreputable pawn shop owner (Spottiswoode Aitken), still want the necklace Mary stole, and they have no intention to let her change her ways. 

Tod Browning's penchant for sideshow weirdness hadn't fully blossomed yet when he directed THE WICKED DARLING, but he ably portrays the seedy side of town that Mary and her cohorts operate in. Priscilla Dean is the major star of this picture--she was a top leading lady for Universal at the time--and she does show a natural, appealing screen presence, although I thought she looked too fresh-faced and innocent to be a denizen of skid row. 

Lon Chaney and Priscilla Dean in THE WICKED DARLING

With one look at Lon Chaney's Stoop, with his devilish grin and jauntily angled hat, you just know the guy is a baddie. Chaney gives Stoop an air of menace, but he also shows the guy isn't as tough as he thinks he is. I wouldn't call Stoop one of Chaney's most memorable performances--there's no special makeups or physical contortions to be found here--but the role shows that the actor was a fine supporting player, and he no doubt impressed Tod Browning with his professionalism. 

Wellington Playter was an odd choice for the part of Mary's love interest. For one thing, he's taller and much bulkier than Chaney--actors Playter's size usually played bad guy roles in the silent era. The other thing is he's not all that dynamic, so one wonders why Mary changes her life over him. 

THE WICKED DARLING has a very old-fashioned, melodramatic air to it--while watching it one has to remember that Browning worked with D.W. Griffith for a number of years. The climax of the film features an expected confrontation between Kent, Mary, and her former cohorts--but the battle is interrupted to guarantee a happily ever after ending, which was probably acceptable for audiences during the time. 

I viewed THE WICKED DARLING on YouTube. The print was in very bad shape--but we should be thankful the movie exists at all, because for years it was considered lost. Tod Browning would go on to make a number of crime tales at Universal, and he would re-team Priscilla Dean and Lon Chaney in the much better OUTSIDE THE LAW. The most important aspect of THE WICKED DARLING is its place in movie history, but the movie does give one a chance to see what Lon Chaney was like before his "Man Of A Thousand Faces" 1920s stardom. 

VOODOO ISLAND

 

VOODOO ISLAND is one of Boris Karloff's lesser onscreen moments. It's a 1957 low-budget black & white tale dealing with supernatural events taking place in the Pacific South Seas. (Due to its title, the film should have been set in the Caribbean or near Africa.) 

The island of the title is owned by a wealthy businessman named Carlton, who wishes to build an exclusive resort there. Four men under the employ of Carlton are sent out to the island to scout the location, but only one comes back--and that man is now literally a zombie. Carlton hires professional debunker Phillip Knight (Boris Karloff) to go out to the island with a new team to find out what is really going on at the place. Knight is convinced that all the strange happenings concerning the island can be explained, but, as most people in these types of movies invariably realize, there's more in heaven & earth than he can dream of. 

VOODOO ISLAND is a very mediocre mix of jungle terrors and voodoo antics. The movie is already half over by the time Karloff and his companions arrive at the title spot, and, due to the Hawaiian filming locations, the place looks more like a sunny camping area instead of a cursed isle. The story is filled with one-note characters who are constantly bickering with one another, and all the inexplicable incidents that happen seem random and contrived. 

The island in question is also filled with carnivorous plants, but these "monsters" resemble inflatable rubber toys. The movie doesn't so much end as it peters out, with all the supernatural elements left hanging in the air. 

Boris Karloff doesn't have much to work with, but I'm sure that he enjoyed his time in Hawaii. This is one of the very few times Karloff played a character in a contemporary film who wasn't a threat or a menace, and it's unusual to see Boris in regular everyday clothes. The supporting cast includes Elisha Cook Jr. as an island trading post owner who thinks the resort will make him some money, and Rhodes Reason as a tough-guy boat captain. Adam West has a very small part. 

VOODOO ISLAND was directed by journeyman Reginald Le Borg. During his career Le Borg directed the likes of Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine, and Vincent Price, but I've always found his films flat and pedestrian. This film is no different--the pace drags and the supernatural occurrences are not handled in an effective manner. The producers of the film, Howard Koch and Aubrey Schenck, would work with Karloff again in FRANKENSTEIN 1970, a movie that is much more watchable than VOODOO ISLAND. 

Seeing Boris Karloff in a "normal", non-villainous role is about the only reason to watch VOODOO ISLAND. 

MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR On Blu-ray From Film Masters

 

The latest in the Film Masters series of Blu-ray special editions featuring low-budget 50s/60s sci-fi-horror outings is MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR (1954), the very first film produced by the legendary Roger Corman. 

A young American named Julie (Anne Kimbell) is taking a vacation on the Pacific coast of Mexico, and she becomes intrigued by tales told by the locals concerning a horrible monster inhabiting a nearby cove. Julie decides to go out on her own and see if there really is an underwater creature, despite being advised not to do so from a marine biologist (Stuart Wade) doing research in the area. Julie and her biologist friend find out the monster is all too real. 

As detailed in the extras on this disc, MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR sprang from Roger Corman's discovery (from a magazine article) of a one-person submarine created by Aerojet General. Corman made a deal with the company to use the sub in a sci-fi story, and scraped up enough cash to make the film. The movie was made very, very cheaply, but Corman was able to make a decent profit on it, and he enjoyed the experience so much he decided to continue in the film making business, and his overall career still affects the entertainment industry to this day. 

MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR is more notable from a historic perspective rather than an artistic one, but it is a serviceable little movie that does what it was designed to do. There is a lot of padding to it, even with a 64 minute running time, but it isn't boring. The main reason why is leading lady Anne Kimbell, who is appealing, energetic, and engaging. Her Julie is the one that instigates the action, and she is the one that takes the lead in trying to find out if there actually is a monster. (It does need to be pointed out that Julie doesn't seem to have considered what to do if she really did find the thing.) Julie would be the first in a long line of strong female characters populating films connected with Roger Corman. 

The monster of the title turns out to be a giant one-eyed octopus type of creature, and there is a suggestion that it was created by radiation from nuclear tests in the Pacific. (In the disc extras Tom Weaver points out this was one of the very first movie creatures whose origins were caused by atomic radiation.) The monster was created by puppeteer Bob Baker, and it is much more effective than it has usually been credited for. 

MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR avoids looking tatty due to the California locations and the use of the one-person sub, which, as expected, gets plenty of screen time. The presence of famed cinematographer Floyd Crosby certainly helped the look of the production. Roger Corman didn't direct MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR, but what Wyott Ordung, the actual director, did (or didn't) do probably encouraged Corman to take up the job in the future. According to the disc extras, Corman was something of a one man crew--he even played a small role, and Wyott Ordung appears as a shifty local. Jonathan Haze (of the original LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS) begins his long association with the Corman team with his portrayal as a fisherman. 

MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR is another low-budget Fifties shocker that had fallen into public domain purgatory, but this Film Masters Blu-ray presents the black & white feature in a very fine looking print. The underwater sequences are a bit hazy, but one must remember that it was a miracle that a movie with this low of a budget got any underwater sequences at all. The sound quality is lacking at times, but that is more than likely due to the source material. 

As with every Film Masters release, there are a number of extras which provide plenty of information and background on the film being presented. There's a 14-page illustrated booklet, with notes written by Tom Weaver, giving detail on the making of the film and quotes from some of the talent involved with it. The disc has a couple of featurettes--one is a 15 minute program from Ballyhoo Productions on puppeteer Bob Baker, who created the monster from the ocean floor. The other is a shorter talk with Roger Corman, who gives brief discussions on not only MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR but most of his early 1950s film work. There's also a stills gallery and an original trailer, along with a reconstruction of the trailer using restored footage.  

The main extra is a new audio commentary by Tom Weaver, who gives his usual informative talk mixed in with some droll humor. Weaver augments his discussion with audio snippets from an interview he did with Corman years ago. Just about everything you need to know about the making of MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR is contained in these extras. 

I've been very impressed with the Film Masters releases that I have purchased so far. it would have been very easy to slap this type of material on a disc and just be done with it, but the company has gone out of their way to provide plenty of bells & whistles to make these releases enticing to film geeks who have seen these features over and over again. MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR isn't among the best Roger Corman movies, but I've seen plenty of low-grade 50s sci-fi flicks that are way worse. MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR shows that even from the very beginning Roger Corman was able to make the most out of what he had to work with, and he was able to make his film stand out from the pack. 

THE CASE OF THE CURIOUS BRIDE

 

This is one of the Perry Mason films produced by Warner Bros. in the 1930s, and I caught it on Tubi last night. The Warner Bros. version of Perry Mason has very little to do with the Raymond Burr version of the character, despite the fact that Warners based their films on the Mason novels written by Erle Stanley Gardner. 

San Francisco attorney Perry Mason (Warren Wiliam) is asked by an old flame named Rhoda (Margaret Lindsay) to investigate whether her first husband, who supposedly died four years ago, is still alive. Rhoda wants to remarry, but the first husband is very much alive and attempting blackmail--until he's found dead, after a visit from Rhoda. Mason uses his wits--and some shady maneuverings--to save Rhoda from a murder conviction. 

I've read a few of the Perry Mason books written by Erle Stanley Gardner, and the main character is just like he is portrayed in the famous TV series--solid, focused, hard-working, and a straight-arrow type. For their Perry Mason movie series Warners decided to jazz the character up. Casting Warren William as Mason must have seemed like an inside joke to the studio--William was the King of Pre-Code, an actor who played fellows that steal candy from a baby, and then try to sell the treats back. William's Mason is a dandy who carries a cane, has a sardonic wit, speaks in very florid tones, and has a sideline interest in gourmet cooking. He also isn't above bending the rules to his advantage, something that must have driven Erle Stanley Gardner crazy (his novels are filled with all sorts of explanations about legal ethics). 

Gardner probably wasn't too happy about the choice of actress to play Della Street (Perry's loyal and efficient secretary) in this movie either. In this entry Della is played by Claire Dodd, who had her own Pre-Code reputation as a scheming other woman. Perry Mason and Della have an ongoing relationship in the Warners series (I believe they even wound up getting married in one of the later films). 

What makes THE CASE OF THE CURIOUS BRIDE stick out is that it was directed by the legendary Michael Curtiz. To say that this movie was not up to Curtiz's talents is an understatement. Curtiz keeps things moving along at a rapid clip, and he uses a novel way to transition between sequences--the picture starts going out of focus, and the viewer is introduced to a new setup when things become clear again. 

Curtiz might have used such a rushed pace because he knew there wasn't much to the story. There's only one death in the entire film--that of Rhoda's lost husband--and the revelation of how the man died is a bit of a letdown. It's the Warners Bros. style, rather than the whodunit aspects, that makes this entertaining--the snappy dialogue, quirky characters, and attitudes of the cast members. (It must be stated that the poster shown above is far more atmospheric than anything in the film.) 

The role of Rhoda's lost husband is played by none other than Errol Flynn, in his first American film appearance. Flynn only shows up in a flashback showing how his character died, and he doesn't even get a line of dialogue. There's nothing in his screen time that would make one think he would soon turn out to be a Hollywood legend--or that he would pair with Michael Curtiz several more times in a number of classic pictures. 

The rest of the cast is filled out with all sorts of faces that make Warner Bros. films of this era so welcome, faces like Barton MacLane, Warren Hymer, Mayo Methot, and Wini Shaw (who gets to sing). Perry Mason's right-hand man Paul Drake is here transformed into a goofy mug called "Spudsy", and he's played by the ultimate goofy mug, Allen Jenkins (who has almost as much screen time as Warren William does). Donald Woods plays one of the suspects, and ironically he would wind up playing Perry Mason in THE CASE OF THE STUTTERING BISHOP. 

Warren William would go on to play Perry Mason a couple more times, but he would move even farther away from the Erle Stanley Gardner version of the character, as Warners tried to make the attorney into a Nick Charles type. William was replaced by Ricardo Cortez, who, if anything, had more of an onscreen con guy image than William did. 

SON OF HITLER

 

As anyone who has read any entries in this blog knows, my favorite actor of all time is Peter Cushing. One great thing about living in the 21st Century is the availability of so many streaming and Internet sites that allows one to watch even the most obscure and rare films and TV shows. These sites have enabled me to view many Peter Cushing films that have fallen into a sort of black hole. 

One of these very under-the-radar Cushing titles is SON OF HITLER, which is, believe it or not, a comedy. (I should rephrase that by stating that it "attempts" to be a comedy.) The premise of SON OF HITLER is exactly what the title says--Adolf Hitler had a son born in 1944, and he was hidden away until unearthed in 1977, to be used as a symbol for a modern-day German political party. (This movie is so obscure, I couldn't even find a decent enough image on the internet to represent it.) 

Indie acting legend Bud Cort (HAROLD & MAUDE) plays Willi, a timid, innocent soul who has been sheltered up in the mountains all of his life by a former SS officer who wanted to make up for the misdeeds of the Nazis. Another former SS officer named Haussner (Peter Cushing), is aware of Willi's existence, and he has been searching for him since the end of WWII. After Willi wanders away from his mountain abode, Haussner tracks him down, and attempts to train the naive young man into a duplicate of his father. Willi is to be the figurehead of a rising German political party known as NEIN, but the guileless fellow is too kind and simple to carry on the Nazi tradition. 

Why anyone would even consider making a comedy about a long-lost son of Adolf Hitler is a mystery, and an even bigger mystery is why Peter Cushing (or his agent) would have considered starring in it. SON OF HITLER was made in late 1977, the same time as STAR WARS was breaking box office records all over the world. One would think that due to the success of STAR WARS, in which Cushing had a major role, the actor would have the advantage of being able to appear in all sorts of worthy productions. For whatever the reasons, it didn't turn out that way--most of the projects Cushing did appear in after SON OF HITLER were, if anything. even more mediocre and obscure. 

Perhaps Cushing was drawn to the idea that in SON OF HITLER he would be playing a comedic role, and he would get lead billing (although having star billing in a movie like this doesn't seem to be a positive). As for the comedic aspects of his part, I have to say that this is one of Cushing's most broadly played characterizations. When it comes to Peter Cushing's acting abilities, I'm one of his most staunchest defenders, but even I must admit he goes somewhat overboard on Haussner's comic villain persona. Haussner is loud, overbearing, and disdainful, and Cushing gets a number of opportunities to rant & rave. This type of performance might have worked for a 5 minute comedy sketch, but it's hard to maintain over a 90 minute film, especially when the script does Cushing no favors. 

If anything SON OF HITLER isn't provocative enough. The comedy is on the level of an American TV sitcom, which shouldn't be a surprise, since the film was directed by Rod Amateau, a veteran of that genre. (Amateau would also later go on to helm THE GARBAGE PAIL KIDS MOVIE.) There are plenty of chances in SON OF HITLER to inject some sharp satire, but the film isn't clever enough to do so. A more aggressive approach might have made the film more offensive, but at least it would have been more memorable.  

Bud Cort amply defines Willi's simpleton personality, perhaps too well, since the character is such a dunce the viewer isn't able to care all that much about his situation. I'm really reaching here, but a comparison can be made between Willi and Peter Sellers' Chance in BEING THERE. Both men are total innocents, blank slates if you will, who are used by political forces to represent ideas they can't possibly comprehend. (The similarity ends at that point--BEING THERE is a million times more an accomplished film.) A subplot involves Willi falling in love with the young daughter (Felicity Dean) of the powerful man (Anton Diffring) who bankrolls the NEIN party, but this isn't developed enough. 

The version of SON OF HITLER I watched on YouTube wasn't in the best condition, but it was in widescreen, and it appeared to be uncut. The movie wasn't cheaply or inadequately made, which makes it even more of a disappointment--the money and effort could have been used for something more important. The film was shot in West Germany, which makes one wonder how onlookers must have felt seeing Bud Cort walk around in a full SS uniform. 

SON OF HITLER got basically no type of release whatsoever, but what did the people behind it expect?? 1970s cinema was known for a "Anything Goes" mentality, but even in 1977 a film with this type of material would be frowned upon. Will SON OF HITLER ever get a proper home video release for English-speaking audiences?? In today's political and social climate?? 

What's really disappointing for Peter Cushing fans is that SON OF HITLER gives him more screen time than just about any other project he was involved with after STAR WARS. He deserved much, much better. The movie isn't cringe-inducing, or out-and-out awful--it's just silly and very tiresome. 

*Many books and articles on Peter Cushing list this film under the title HITLER'S SON. The version I watched on YouTube carries the title SON OF HITLER, so that's what I used for this blog post. 

THUNDER BAY

 

In my last post, on the Criterion Blu-ray of WINCHESTER '73, I mentioned that one of the extras on the disc was a program concerning the films that Anthony Mann made at Universal. During this program it was stated that the non-Western films that Mann directed starring James Stewart--THUNDER BAY, THE GLENN MILLER STORY, and STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND--were titles that the filmmaker wasn't all that excited about. The program suggests that Mann helmed these features more as a favor to Stewart, and as a way to stay in the actor's good graces. 

The program also states that THUNDER BAY--a tale set in 1946 that details the efforts of an engineer played by Stewart to build an off-shore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico--was made mainly due to the fact that James Stewart had major investments in oil companies, and he wanted to show how important their operations were. I had never heard or read about this opinion, and it made me want to watch THUNDER BAY again. 

I had THUNDER BAY on DVD already--it's included on a three-disc set of James Stewart films released by Universal years ago. I watched it after getting the set, but it didn't make much of an impression on me, and I had basically forgotten about it since. THUNDER BAY is probably the least known of the Anthony Mann-James Stewart collaborations. It never seems to be shown on cable TV, even on the retro channels. 

THUNDER BAY tells the story of Steve Martin (James Stewart), a man determined to prove his ideas about an off-shore oil rig can work in reality. After getting out of the army, Steve and his partner Johnny Gambi (Dan Duryea) travel to Louisiana, with almost no money left, to meet with a prospective financial backer, a millionaire oil man named MacDonald (Jay C. Flippen). Steve convinces MacDonald to provide him money to start building an oil rig platform off the Louisiana coast. The project angers the local Cajun community--they believe that the rig will affect the local shrimping industry. Steve and Johnny's interactions with the locals don't help matters, and the two men start to grow apart due to Steve's hard-charging workaholic ways. The board of directors of MacDonald's company doesn't have faith in the project, and wants to stop it--but Steve is determined to see it through, no matter what. 

One major issue with THUNDER BAY is that while it's easy to be involved in watching Jimmy Stewart going after bad guys in the Old West, it's hard to be engaged in the building of an oil rig. It doesn't help that Stewart's character Steve is something of a jerk. He's bossy, touchy, and he expects everyone to do what he wants without question. One understands why Steve acts the way he does, but that doesn't make him any more sympathetic. A couple of times in the film Stewart makes speeches about how important it is to provide oil for the modern world, but these scenes fail to give much inspiration. 

The portrayal of the Cajun community that opposes Steve and his plans is another major weakness. The Cajuns are played by such actors as Gilbert Roland, Antonio Moreno, and Fortunio Bonanova, and they come off as Italian/South American/gypsy ethnic types instead of believable natives of Louisiana. They all act "colorful", so colorful that they become caricatures--they're almost backward peasants. (During the climax, the Cajuns go off in their boats and try and storm the oil rig as if they were superstitious villagers in a Universal monster movie.) Steve and Johnny fall in love with the daughters of Antonio Moreno's boat captain, and the women (played by Joanne Dru and Marcia Henderson) act and look as Cajun as Alec Guinness. 

Despite what one would think by looking at the poster above, there isn't much action in THUNDER BAY. There's a storm, an attempt to blow up the oil rig by Dan Duryea's romantic rival, a bar brawl between the oil rig workers and the fishermen, and a few other confrontations, but these sequences are very predictable. The climax is a big letdown--it's one of those contrived happy endings where everyone's problems are wrapped up way too neatly and too easily. The relationship between James Stewart and Joanne Dru has a soap opera aspect to it--it's established that Dru's character had left Louisiana for a few years and gotten hurt by various men, so she has a chip on her shoulder. The result is the leading man and woman of the story both have chips on their shoulders, and they both are not very appealing. 

James Stewart more than succeeds in showing the driven, obsessive nature of Steve. (I wonder if Anthony Mann realized how unlikable the character of Steve was, and, instead of trying to soften it, just let it go.) Dan Duryea has a nice rapport with Stewart, but since his Johnny is a fun-loving, gregarious type, one expects that he and Steve will clash--and of course they do. 

THUNDER BAY was Universal's first film released in widescreen, and it also had a stereophonic soundtrack. One wonders why the studio didn't pick a much more exciting and expansive story for such technical highlights. The movie was shot in actual Louisiana locations, and on a real off-shore oil rig, which does give it some flavor. It's not a badly-made film, but one can tell that Anthony Mann's heart wasn't really in it. THUNDER BAY doesn't hold up anywhere near as well as the other Mann-Stewart collaborations, and those with a 21st Century mindset would no doubt consider the main character of the story a villain. 

WINCHESTER '73 On Blu-ray From Criterion

 

One of the all-time best American Westerns gets the well-deserved Criterion treatment. WINCHESTER '73 marked the first time that James Stewart worked with director Anthony Mann, and this 1950 Universal production ushered in an entire decade of tough, meaningful Westerns. 

The major subplot of the film is Lin McAdam's (James Stewart) determined search for his murderous brother (Stephen McNally), but it is the rifle that the title refers to that is actually the major character in the story. The Winchester goes from one hand to another (usually through violence), and as it does the viewer is exposed to a number of Old West elements, such as dealings with Native Americans, life on the frontier, criminal activities, etc. The film flows so smoothly that its unusual structure doesn't come off as gimmicky or contrived. (The screenplay, credited to Robert L. Richards and Borden Chase, should have at least been nominated for an Oscar.) 

Anthony Mann's assured direction keeps the narrative on point at all times despite the various elements involved. Mann is helped by William Daniels' stark black & white photography and a fantastic ensemble cast including Shelley Winters, Millard Mitchell, John McIntire, Will Geer, Jay C. Flippen, and Dan Duryea, who, despite his relatively small role, almost manages to steal the entire film. The movie also has bit roles for then young up-and-comers Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, and James Best. 

James Stewart changed the course of his acting career with WINCHESTER '73, giving an intense performance that went far beyond his regular nice guy image. Stewart knew how important this film was, and he also realized how efficient and capable a filmmaker Anthony Mann was. Stewart and Mann would go on to make eight films together, one of the most notable pairings between a star actor and a director in cinema history. 

As expected, Criterion provides a magnificently sharp version of WINCHESTER '73 on this Blu-ray, taken from a recent 4K digital restoration. Included is a booklet with an essay analyzing the film by Imogen Sara Smith. The extras on this disc are an interview with Adam Piron that focuses on how Native Americans have been portrayed in American Westerns, and a 47 minute program examining Anthony Mann's time at Universal in the 1950s. This is an excellent featurette from Ballyhood Productions, and it looks at the making of most of the Stewart-Mann collaborations, and explains why the duo eventually went their separate ways. 

Also included is an audio commentary that was recorded for a laserdisc release of the film in 1989. This talk is notable in that it features James Stewart himself, and it's fascinating listening to the legendary actor talk about not just WINCHESTER '73 but other facets of his life and career. There's also a radio adaptation of the film from 1951 that stars Stewart, and an original trailer for the film that features an alternate version of the famed confrontation between Stewart and Dan Duryea in a bar. 

WINCHESTER '73 is a more than welcome addition to the Criterion lineup. A James Stewart-Anthony Mann box set would have been better, but at least one of the great American Westerns, containing one of the best James Stewart performances, has a high-class home video release.