Tonight I was back with Bogey again, in "The Two Mrs. Carrolls" (1947), a psychological thriller also starring Northridge's own Barbara Stanwyck as one of the "Mrs." in question. This was a weird one! The movie opens on a riverbank in the Scottish countryside. Humphrey Bogart, an artist, is there on vacation with his fiancee Stanwyck. They sit near the river. He is sketching her portrait and also has a fishing pole nearby with it's line in the water. Bogey and Barbara are in love, they talk as he draws, all is well and very Scottish (pronounced Sskietissh!). The exclamation point is part of the pronunciation. I know it's not as rigorous as you are used to from me, but please understand that it's doggone difficult to even understand a word of Scottish, let alone translate it, so the above will have to do. Just make sure you use the exclamation point and you should be good to go.
Okay, so Bogart and Stanwyck are there by the river. Suddenly, stormclouds gather overhead. It begins to rain and rain hard. Bogey and Babs hightail it for the nearest cave, following hard to understand directions provided by the local Skitsman.
In the shelter of the cave, Bogart gives Stanwyck his coat for she is wet and cold. The rain lets up a minute later, so he heads back to the river to retrieve his fishing pole and art supplies.
That's when Barbara Stanwyck happens to find a letter in the pocket of Humphrey's coat, addressed to "Mrs. Geoffrey Carroll". Humphrey has been lying to Barbara, his fiancee. He is already married.
She is temporarily devastated, but she marries him anyway, because - you see - Bogart's wife has suddenly died shortly after his return home from Scotland. Home is in England. Bogey is an expat American, his deceased wife was English. And now we cut to a few months in the future, and all is well again. Bogart and Stanwyck are now married. She is the second "Mrs. Carroll".
It isn't long, though, before cracks begin to appear in the new marriage. Third parties present themselves in the form of a "Mr. Pennington", Stanwyck's former fiance who comes round to visit. He is still in love with her and she seems to have a small flame burning for him, too. Bogey notices this, and so when "Penny"'s wealthy friends come calling at a dinner party - a society woman and her statuesque daughter (Alexis Smith) - he first pretends to ignore them, which is a sure sign that he is attracted to the tall, cool Smith, who is using her charms on him. She straight up hits on Bogart the first night at the party. Then her mother offers him a generous sum to paint Smith's portrait.
Wife Barbara Stanwyck naively ignores all of this, but in her heart she knows. And she has Penny to fall back on.
But suddenly Barbara takes ill. She has been feeling weak, unable to get out of bed. Her doctor tells her it's "just nerves".
But conversations with Bogart's precocious 12 year old daughter (from his first marriage) begin to reveal some curious details as to how the first Mrs. Carroll died. And if all of this weren't enough, there is now a suspicious man lurking in the mix, who keeps calling the Carrolls at odd times, insisting to talk with Humphrey.
And Alexis Smith is not about to leave him alone. Ruing a marriage is right up her alley.
Bogey is in a big time jam, and all he wants to do is paint. But the walls, and the women, are closing in.
Okay, so this is me again. That's the end of my review. We have been on a Humphrey Bogart marathon of moderate length, and we've seen him play a sea captain, a District Attorney, a newspaper editor, and tonight - a psycho.
He is always Humphrey Bogart beneath the role, but this one really stretched him, and I think it is the best role I have seen him play, because at certain points it was really sinister and very, very creepy.
With Bogart I always say "watch his eyes". I mean, like all great movie stars he generally gives the same delivery no matter the movie, but his eyes reveal his talent. And in "The Two Mrs. Carrolls" he genuinely inhabited the character. There are a couple of scenes near the end where......
Well, I mustn't tell you. It wouldn't be the Scottish thing to do.
What's the deal with Scotland, anyway? How come we never hear anything about them? Are they like Canada, and not a real country? I don't think that's quite accurate. I mean, it is accurate in the case of Canada, but didn't Scotland once have their own.....hmmm, what did they have?
Well I don't know. I suppose I should study it and I shall perhaps make an attempt to do so if my interest is maintained. It does seem that at some point, a lot of Scottish people moved to Canada, maybe back in the 19th Century. So there you have it, at least for tonight, a Canadian/Scotch mashup, two countries that may or may not be real, joining as one.
I jest of course, so please don't pound me, you Canadians and Scottish people. If we were speaking in person my intent would be clear, but on the internet, the humor 'tis different.
Just make sure to use your exclamation point and I will see you in the morning. oxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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