blanche-2
Joined May 1999
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Edward Arnold is a police lieutenant prowling Main Street After Dark invthis 1945 film also starring Selena Royle, Dan Duryea, Hume Cronyn, Audrey Totter, and Dorothy Morris. Directed by Edward L. Cahn.
Royle heads up a family gang of thieves, the Dibsons, and Cronyn is Keller, their pawnbroker. The big excitement in the family is that Lefty (Trout) is being released from prison. His wife Jessie (Totter) would be happier, but she seems to be in competition with her mother-in-law who takes charge of his welcoming.
The family's major concentration is on ripping off soldiers coming through town with wage packets, so none of them are very likable. And though Lefty is warned by his mother not to carry a gun, he does.
This is a more sophisticated Ma Barker group as they sit around the radio listening to - police scans instead of Jack Benny.
Audrey Totter is great in her debut.
This is supposed to be light-hearted but I felt sorry for the soldiers.
Royle heads up a family gang of thieves, the Dibsons, and Cronyn is Keller, their pawnbroker. The big excitement in the family is that Lefty (Trout) is being released from prison. His wife Jessie (Totter) would be happier, but she seems to be in competition with her mother-in-law who takes charge of his welcoming.
The family's major concentration is on ripping off soldiers coming through town with wage packets, so none of them are very likable. And though Lefty is warned by his mother not to carry a gun, he does.
This is a more sophisticated Ma Barker group as they sit around the radio listening to - police scans instead of Jack Benny.
Audrey Totter is great in her debut.
This is supposed to be light-hearted but I felt sorry for the soldiers.
Erich von Stroheim stars in The Mask of Diijon from 1945, directed by Lew Landers.
Diijon is a former magician who is studying the power of the mind, to the dismay of his partner and wife Victoria (Jeanne Bates). She can't find a job, and he refuses to work. When her ex-accompanist Tony (William Wright) shows up, he arranges for them to work at his club. It's a disaster, but Victoria stays on as a singer.
Thoroughly jealous of Tony, Dijjon tries a hypnosis technique out, then hypnotizes Victoria so her song will end in a spectacular manner.
Lousy cheap production but von Stroheim is always effective. And of course learning hypnosis from a book and convincing people tondo all manner of things is ridiculous.
However, as others have pointed out, the finale is not to be missed! Total genius. Splendid performance by Sheba the cat.
Diijon is a former magician who is studying the power of the mind, to the dismay of his partner and wife Victoria (Jeanne Bates). She can't find a job, and he refuses to work. When her ex-accompanist Tony (William Wright) shows up, he arranges for them to work at his club. It's a disaster, but Victoria stays on as a singer.
Thoroughly jealous of Tony, Dijjon tries a hypnosis technique out, then hypnotizes Victoria so her song will end in a spectacular manner.
Lousy cheap production but von Stroheim is always effective. And of course learning hypnosis from a book and convincing people tondo all manner of things is ridiculous.
However, as others have pointed out, the finale is not to be missed! Total genius. Splendid performance by Sheba the cat.
Okay I'm a big sap but I liked this!
A young man (Patrick Waltz) awaits his execution, the first in the state to use the electric chair, even as he proclaims his innocence. A Chaplain (Walter Reed) prays with him and attempts to help him meet his fate.
Meanwhile his girlfriend (Sally Parr) is inconsolable as they ready the chair, which isn't working correctly yet.
At a bar/roadhouse a mile away, reporters wait for a bus to take them to the execution; they are told the bus will be late. They play cards and talk, one noticing an old wanted poster on the wall, that of a murderous dead convict famous for emptying his gun into a victim, similar to what the young man did.
I'm not born again or anything like that but I loved the spiritual messages the Chaplain imparts, and how he tries to convince him that he didn't live in vain.
The director, Paul Sloane, was a silent film director who assembled former silent actors (Houseley Stevenson, Charles Meredith, Percy Helton) for the production. This actually comes off as a silent film the way it was done.
As one of the reporters, King Donovan was delightful, very relaxed and natural. Helton's distinctive voice was instantly recognizable.
A young man (Patrick Waltz) awaits his execution, the first in the state to use the electric chair, even as he proclaims his innocence. A Chaplain (Walter Reed) prays with him and attempts to help him meet his fate.
Meanwhile his girlfriend (Sally Parr) is inconsolable as they ready the chair, which isn't working correctly yet.
At a bar/roadhouse a mile away, reporters wait for a bus to take them to the execution; they are told the bus will be late. They play cards and talk, one noticing an old wanted poster on the wall, that of a murderous dead convict famous for emptying his gun into a victim, similar to what the young man did.
I'm not born again or anything like that but I loved the spiritual messages the Chaplain imparts, and how he tries to convince him that he didn't live in vain.
The director, Paul Sloane, was a silent film director who assembled former silent actors (Houseley Stevenson, Charles Meredith, Percy Helton) for the production. This actually comes off as a silent film the way it was done.
As one of the reporters, King Donovan was delightful, very relaxed and natural. Helton's distinctive voice was instantly recognizable.