Last night's movie was "Deluge"(1933), an early disaster film that hold up 90 years later as one of the best in the genre. As the movie opens, scientists are watching a weather front develop over the Atlantic ocean. It's looking bad. They call for all aircraft to land, all ships to return to port, but before the storm hits, an earthquake strikes the West Coast. As an aside, the Long Beach quake - a biggie - was also in 1933. It would be interesting to know if it hit before or after this film was released. At any rate, in the movie, California is plunged into the sea, just like the doomsayers always said would happen. But the quake doesn't end there. It's truly a whopper, and continues to spread across the Midwest, the South, and all the way to the East Coast. There's a sequence about 15 minutes in, where New York is destroyed, and it has to be seen to be appreciated. What the filmmakers accomplished with models is more terrifying than any CGI, as skyscrapers topple one after the other, and a tidal wave submerges the coastline.
Only a handful of survivors are left, and all of man's systems are wiped out. Money is worthless. There are no laws, no law enforcement, no government whatsoever. We're in Walking Dead territory here, minus the zombies. Crime and brutality are rampant. Women are treated like property. "Claire Arlington" (Peggy Shannon), a long distance swimmer, is captured by a beast named "Jepson" (Fred Kohler). She manages to escape his clutches, and is found on an island by "Martin Webster" (Sidney Blackmer), a decent man who is also on his own after losing his wife and two children in the catastrophe. They hole up in Bronson Cave (which stands in for the New York wilderness), but Jepson wants his woman back, and he'll stop at nothing to get her. Although he sees himself as the Shotcaller in this brave new world, he has to negotiate with The Bellamy Gang, a tribe of railroad tramps and convicts who terrorize the countryside.
Martin and Claire have to use their wits to survive, and have several battles with Jepson. But unbeknownst to them, a budding township of civilized men and women has been organised in the ruins of New York City, and the men have formed a posse to stop The Bellamy Gang. Procreation is a subtheme, because most of the population has been wiped out. All of the women in the ramshackle new town are required to marry and have babies. When Martin and Claire are rescued from Jepson by the posse, they learn that Martin's wife and children aren't dead after all. They're alive and well in the town. But by now, Martin is in love with Claire. They've been through the apocalypse together, and he thought his family was dead. Now that he learns they're alive, he has to deal with being in love with two women. Who will he choose, his wife or Claire? And how can he choose either one, without being unfair to the other?
I didn't like the ending, and that's all I'm going to tell you, though I'm not referring to the choice Martin ultimately makes. I'm talking about what happens after that. Peggy Shannon gives a realistic, pre-Code performance as Claire, whose heart is broken by the discovery of Martin's wife. Shannon's real-life story is tragic as well, she died at only 34 from a heart attack brought on by alcoholism. How sad for such a talented actress. But while the ending is a downer, the movie itself is thrilling, and again, the earthquake sequence is freakin' spooky. It made me a little nervous to watch it, just because we're overdue for the Big One. Well, let's put that out of our minds, shall we? Two Big Thumbs Up for "Deluge", an amazing film that explores the breakdown of society. It calls for a Criterion restoration; the picture is good but slightly damaged. ////
The previous night, we found an Ann Savage comedy! Yes, she can do it all. In "The Dark Horse"(1946), she plays "Mary Burton", secretary for "Honest John Rooney" (Donald MacBride), a political mover-and-shaker who's looking for a candidate to unseat "John Aldrich" (Raymond Largay), a local alderman. "George Kelly" (Phillip Terry) is just back from the war, and staying with his "Aunt Hattie" (Jane Darwell). She asks him to take a book to her church for donation, a biography of George Washington. On the way, he passes a rally for Aldrich. Rooney's man "Willis Trimble" (Allen Jenkins) bumps into him and starts a punchout. In the aftermath, he finds Kelly's book, and thinks of him as the perfect candidate to run against Aldrich, even though he has no political experience. "Think about it", Trimble tells Rooney, "he's a fan of George Washington, which means he cannot tell a lie. What a great promotional gimmick!" They plan to run him as George "Washington" Kelly, but he wants nothing to do with it.
To get George to comply, they send Ann Savage to entice him. The plot is a Frank Capra/Preston Sturges type setup, think "Mr Smith Goes to Washington". The problem is that it's talky and features too much Donald MacBride, who's a ham sandwich as John Rooney. Still, it's fun, and worth watching for Ann Savage, who is excellent at farce and comes across here with crack comic timing. If you're a Savage fan, it's a must see. Otherwise just Two Solid Thumbs up.
Sorry for the short reviews this time. I'm just trying to get caught up. I promise to be more in-depth with the next blog, and I send you Tons of Love, as always.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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