Last night's movie was "Key Witness" (1947). What should we call it? A Noir? A black comedy? An ironic crime fantasy? Take your pick. I mean, good grief: we've had some crazy plots before, but this one takes the cake! It reminds me of that song "I'm My Own Grandpa", except in this case, a man almost gets executed for murdering himself. Ha! It begins in the style of a TV sitcom, complete with "gee whiz, honey, I'm home" acting, and breezy music. "Milton Higby" (John Beal) is a draftsman working in downtown Los Angeles, who, in his spare time on the job, is always creating goofy gadgets, like a talking clock, or a kissing-couple light switch. His supervisor puts up with it, but his wife (Barbara Read) is always nagging him cause he's passive and never gets a raise. But Milton doesn't care because he's an artsy, non-materialistic guy. "Larry" (Jimmy Lloyd), his pal at work, is always trying to get him to live it up a little. Larry knows that Milton is henpecked, so when Milton's wife goes out of town for a weekend, Larry asks him to go to the track. Larry brings along two dames, and lo and behold, Milton gets lucky and wins the Daily Double. Out of the blue, he's rich. The foursome head back to Milton's house where they celebrate with too much champagne, and soon Milton is hammered and needs a nap. Larry and his girl leave, and ask the spare girl to stay with Milton and watch over him until they get back, but while they're out, the gal's estranged hubby shows up, starts an argument, and shoots her. How he found her at a total stranger's house wasn't explained.
At any rate, when Milton wakes up, hungover, he's got a dead woman in his living room. Thinking he'll be accused of murder, not only by the cops but his nagging wife too, he decides to split the scene. The next we see him, he's a vagabond riding the rails. I'd love to tell you more than that, but because this movie is so unique, I won't (and I hope you even forget what I've already told you). This is the perfect example of a high-concept script, except that it's actually good (most deliberately clever scripts are not). Early on, you might be thinking, "what kind of crime film is this?", with the whimsical Happy Husband routine being played. But as it builds, and the guy ends up almost going to the chair for murdering himself, and then there's a twist on top of that, you've gotta hand it to the screenwriter, who really worked every detail of this freakin' thing out. I mean, it just gets nuttier and more clever as it goes along. Wish I could tell ya more, but I just can't. Two Huge Thumbs Up for "Key Witness", which is absolutely not to be missed. The picture is razor sharp. ////
Now then, are you ready for the return of the great Harry Carey? Man, when was the last time we saw him? And it hasn't been for lack of trying; we just couldn't find any of his films that we hadn't seen. But two nights ago we finally did, and in "Cavalier of the West"(1931) Harry is leading an Army troop through Placerita Canyon when they come across a gang of robbers chasing Indians. Because the Army is trying to keep peace with the tribe, Carey has the white men arrested (much to their chagrin) and besides, he's a law and order military man. And, the Indian "White Feather" (P. Narcha) is his friend. The break up of the robbery gang (who were stealing gold and horses from the Indians) leads "Lee Burgess" (Ted Adams) to very much resent Harry Carey. Burgess is the foreman on the ranch of "Don Fernandez" (Paul Panzer). Come to think of it, we haven't had a ranch foreman as the bad guy in a while. But Adams, as usual, is running the operation from behind the scenes. He's not the Snidely Whiplash of Westerns for nuthin', and now, he's extra resentful of Carey, because, Don Fernandez's charming daughter "Delores" (Carmen LaRoux) seems sweet on Carey, though he's older. Adams fancies Delores too, but what he really wants is the Indian's gold, which Carey has put out of reach by arresting his gang of robbers. Then word comes that Carey's brother is coming to town. "Lieutenant Wilbur Allister" (Kane Richmond) is an incorrigible soldier. The army is sending him to Carey in the hope that Harry can control him and get him to dry out, and after he arrives, it seems to be working. Delores Fernandez is enchanted with Wilbur, who's closer to her in age, and that's fine with Harry. He just wants Wilbur to stay sober.
But Ted Adams and his henchman "Red" (Maston Williams) pay the bar gal "Chiquita" (a great and funny Chilean actress named Christina Montt) many pesos to get Wilbur drunk. He's got an alcohol reputation to begin with, and this disgraces him in the eyes of his brother Harry Carey. Then, Adams goes for the Coop de Grass. He pays a Bandito to come into the bar and start a fight with Wilbur, while Chiquita is getting him drunk again. Offscreen we hear a shot, and the Mexican fight-starter has been killed. Chiquita swears that the shooter was Wilbur, and while we know he was set up, Harry Carey has to prove it at a trial. From here, the movie becomes a courtroom drama, and one scene that is spectacular is when he cross-examines Chiquita the bar girl. We know her as a good-time gal, not trampy but fun, and funny. She likes to drink and gamble, but she's nice. However, she's gotten in over her head with Ted Adams and the bad guys, and has accepted a payoff to set Wilbur up. When Carey questions her on the stand, she breaks down and drops her facade, and we see the real person. The actress nails it, it's a great early sound scene. Speaking of which, the movie was made in 1931, and the weird pauses in dialogue are there again, that we've noted in other early sound era Westerns. Thus far we've chalked it up to the limitations of early sound equipment, but it would be interesting to know the specifics. Two Big Thumbs Up for "Cavalier of the West". It reminds us just how great Harry Carey is, and that we need more of him, so let's keep looking for his movies. ////
That's all for tonight. I finished reading the Tony Iommi book and I've just started a new biography of Stuart Sutcliffe, the early member of The Beatles who died in 1962 at the age of 21. I just got it this afternoon from the Libe and I'm already forty pages in. I'm still hooked on Dio music and am listening to "Strange Highways" as I write this. I hope you are enjoying your weekend and looking forward to the Fourth of July, always one of my favorite holidays. I send you Tons of Love as always!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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