Last night we watched "Street of Chance"(1942), another "Man in Jeopardy" noir that employed the same "amnesia device" we saw in last week's "Man in the Dark", with Edmond O'Brien. This time Burgess Meredeth stars, as a guy walking home from work who gets hit on the head with falling debris from a New York City high rise. When he comes to, he shakes off the injury, feeling little the worse for wear, then notices a monogrammed cigarette case in his pocket, and a matching hat lying next to him. Both bear the initials D.N.
"These aren't mine", he tells the cop attending him. "My name's Thompson. I have no idea who D.N. is". The cop gives him a shady look, and a detective follows him home. When he gets there, his wife is astonished to see him. "Sorry I'm late", he says, explaining his accident, but when she still looks badly shaken, he asks what's wrong.
So she tells him :
"Frank........it's wonderful to see you again, but there's something you don't understand. You've been gone for over a year. You didn't come home one day, and haven't been back ever since. I put in a missing persons report, but eventually gave you up for dead".
Now there's a heck of a setup, right? Burgess is dumbfounded as well, so he heads out the door to try and identify Mr. "D.N", he of the fancy monograph. The detective continues to follow him, when suddenly Meredeth is pulled off the street by a frantic Claire Trevor.
"Oh my goodness, Danny! There you are, I've been looking all over for you".
Well, at least he's now got the first initial. She thinks he's someone called Danny, so he decides to play along. Trevor is the housekeeper for a wealthy couple named The Diedrichs. She takes Burgess back to their mansion, instructing him to remain inside. "You've gotta stay off the street, they're looking for you everywhere", she implores. He has no idea what she's talking about, until he does some rummaging after she leaves the room. In a drawer, he finds a headline reading : "Neary Suspected In Diedrich Murder"!
Now he's got both initials for D.N. He's "Danny Neary", or so Claire Trevor tells him, and he's wanted for the murder of Mr. Diedrich's father, the family patriarch. He has no memory of any of this. "But I could never kill anyone"!, he protests, horrified at the thought. "Oh, but you did, Danny......you did", Trevor replies, "and we've got to get you out of here". She tells him of her plan to leave the country : "I've been saving the money. We could leave tonight". From this exchange we gather that Trevor and "Danny" are lovers, and that she is trying to protect him. Indeed, Claire Trevor specialised in playing Loyal Gals Who'd Die For Ya, and she sure is convincing here.
But then Burgess/"Danny" makes another discovery that throws her entire story into doubt. Unlocking an upstairs room, he finds an old woman inside, confined to bed. She looks frightened. Burgess peppers her with questions, to which she responds by blinking, either once or twice. It dawns on him that she's mute, so he devises a game : "Okay, ma'am......I'll ask you a question, and you blink once for 'yes', twice for 'no' ". But just as he's gaining her cooperation, in pops Claire Trevor, who's upset to see him in the room.
"Oh, Danny. That's Grandma. You must never bother her; she isn't well".
This lets Burgess know that he's on the right track, so the next time he sneaks upstairs to talk to Grandma, he's thought up a more precise method of questioning : "Okay, this time when I gonna ask you something, I'm gonna run through the alphabet. When I come to the first letter of your response, you blink to stop me. That way we can spell out all the words of your answer".
This is a fun game, and a terrific device for a Noir, but I must say - while I did enjoy "Street of Chance" very much - you're gonna need to run it by Sherlock Holmes to fully understand the mystery. Maybe you should watch the movie with him, I don't know, but I have several questions for Holmes myself, such as "why was the first wife (Mrs. Thompson) never seen again"? And, "if Meredeth was 'Danny Neary' for a year, how did he become D.N. "? This we are never told. And Claire Trevor would never have explained it, as it wasn't in her best interest to do so.
Don't let the confusion prevent you from watching the film, however. It's a great puzzle to get wrapped up in, and as many Youtube fans have noted, the Blinking Game is a lot of fun. On a side note, Adeline de Walt Reynolds, the actress who plays Grandma, was born in 1862, making her the second or third earliest motion picture performer we've seen thus far (our oldest being born in 1859 if I remember correctly). She had a full life before movies, and didn't even begin acting until she was 78! So there you have another interesting detail about "Street of Chance", which gets Two Big Thumbs Up and a high recommendation from moi. ////
In our ongoing series of Epic Films, we have a new title to add : "West Side Story"(1961), which we watched the previous night. You'd think we'd have already seen it; after all, it's Beyond Legendary - the winner of 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and both Supporting categories. Then there's the music by Leonard Bernstein that has transcended the film to become part of the American Canon. "WSS" is considered to be one of the greatest motion pictures and musicals ever made by every critic and institution in the business. But you're talking to the same guy who's still never seen "Casablanca" and who didn't see "Citizen Kane" until a few years ago, so there's your answer. I've been trying to rectify the situation by scheduling Unseen Epics, which has been my mission this year, and was inspired to see "West Side" by my sister Vickie, who spoke of it last week with high praise. I thought, "that's it. No more excuses. Watch it now or die". :)
You all know the story : Teenage gangs fighting over territory in New York City. Jets vs. Sharks, whites against Puerto Ricans, aka "PR"s. They're just punks but they mean business. One Jet - the handsome Tony - is trying to go straight. He's got a job and a new girl, "Maria" (Natalie Wood). But she's a PR, and inter-ethnic relationships are strictly verboten in early '60s Noo Yawk, especially among the gangs. No one objects more strenuously than Bernardo (George Chakiris), Maria's brother and the leader of the Sharks. There's already gonna be a major battle to decide turf rights. Now it's become personal, when the Jets leader "Riff" (Russ Tamblyn) asks Tony back into the gang for one last fight. "These streets belong to us and we need your help", Riff tells him.
But with his newfound love, all Tony can think of is Maria. He doesn't want to fight and she begs him to stay away. Tony's loyalty is torn, and he'll try to act as a peacemaker, with tragic results.
The story, as I'm sure you know, is a variation on "Romeo & Juliet". With encyclopedias of information readily available, I'm not going to write volumes about the plot or the movie, except to ratify everything that's been said : "West Side Story" is indeed one of the greatest films ever made, and if you were to put it in the Top Ten I wouldn't argue with you. It's so great on so many levels that it exists in a world of it's own.
There's Russ Tamblyn's dancing, the choreography of Jerome Robbins (who co-directed with Robert Wise), there's the amazing performance of Rita Moreno as "Anita", Bernardo's girlfriend, for which she won Best Supporting Actress. Every performance in the film is nothing short of spectacular.
There are also the sets, and the beautiful use of color, which dissolves into a blurry kaleidoscope on the sides of the frame, whenever Tony and Maria are together. This shows there is no one in the world but them, their love is all that matters.
As far as the music is concerned, you've heard it all your life, whether you realize it or not. These songs are ingrained in your consciousness even if you've never deliberately listened to them. Bernstein combines Gershwin-like jazz with classical swells and soaring, yearning vocal melodies to create a unique, cohesive soundtrack. He was already known as one of the greatest conductors who ever lived, but he made a permanent mark as a composer, too, with "West Side Story", and it's one of those situations where it's enough to qualify him as a Musical Genius, even if it was the only thing he ever wrote (which it was not).
I must say that I'm surprised Richard Beymer wasn't nominated for Best Actor for "WSS". Not only that, but he should've won, in my opinion. He gives a majestic, luminous performance as Tony, the good guy of the Jets gang. Apparently though, Beymer himself hated his portrayal. He wanted to play Tony a lot tougher. Robert Wise said no, and Beymer was so disillusioned upon seeing the final result that he walked out of a Royal Screening for Queen Elizabeth. That, and his on-set feud with Natalie Wood probably damaged his career, which never again rose to the same heights. But he's incredible in "West Side Story" and I hope after all these years he's reconsidered his opinion of his work. God Bless David Lynch for bringing him out of obscurity for a major role in both the original "Twin Peaks" and it's sequel series in 2017.
Oh yeah, and Natalie Wood was fantastic too. But that goes without saying. "West Side Story" is a movie you live inside. I was blown away by how great it is. I suppose you could say "Well duh, Ad". You've probably already seen it, but on the off chance you haven't, don't wait 61 years like I did. Watch it tonight. It obviously gets our highest rating, Two Gigantic Thumbs Up. /////
In a final note, you may also be aware that a remake is in the works. I would condemn it in the strongest possible terms were it not for the director involved : Mr. Steven Spielberg. I'm sure he knows not to compete with the original, and I'll be interested to read the early reviews coming in later this year. His version is to be released at Christmastime. I imagine I'll be in line to see it.
That's all for the moment! I'm gonna head out for a hike, maybe to Santa Su. Have a great afternoon, I send you Tons of Love as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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