Last night, we found an excellent crime drama called "The Accusing Finger"(1936), in which a prosecutor nicknamed "Hot Seat Harry" undergoes a moral awakening after being sentenced to The Chair for a murder he didn't commit. "Douglas Goodwin" (Paul Kelly) never loses a case. As the movie opens, he's just sent young "Jimmy Ellis" (Bob Cummings) to death row and has no qualms about it, even though Jimmy is a teenager. His secretary "Claire Patterson" (Marsha Hunt) is against the death penalty. She commiserates the result with "Senator Nash" (Harry Carey), a family friend who observed the trial and is preparing to introduce a bill to abolish capital punishment. That night, DA Goodwin takes Claire out to dinner at a fancy restaurant. It turns out that he's in love with her, even though they disagree on the death penalty, and he's planning to divorce his wife so he and Claire can marry. For her part, she finds him a good man, even though he favors capital punishment.
The script is nuanced on the subject. It doesn't demonize the pro-death penalty argument except to have Jimmy Ellis say "men should not try to play God." I've given my own take previously, but to repeat my bottom line, I don't feel I should have a say in the matter because I can't put myself in the shoes of a victim's relatives. My opinion changed after the Polly Klass case, however my final take is that it should be abolished, not because there has never been a person who deserved it, because I think there has, (see previous opinion) but because there are innocent folks on death row.
Back to the movie, while Goodwin and Claire are at the restaurant, his wife walks in and makes a scene. He's embarrassed and takes Claire home, then goes home himself to confront his wife. She's a shrew, won't give him a divorce, and lets him know she's gonna keep him on the hook so he can't marry Claire. Then the screenwriter shows up to provide Goodwin a solution to his problem, but the writer screws up - or cheats him for his own purposes - and has a burglar enter the Goodwin house, just as the divorce argument is in progress. His wife surprises the burglar as he's stealing her jewels in the bedroom. She screams, Goodwin rushes in and a schtruggle ensues. Bang! His wife is shot dead. Goodwin shoots at the fleeing robber and is certain he plugged him, but the hysterical maid, who doesn't like Mr. Goodwin to begin with, accuses him to the cops. "He did it! I hear him yelling at her before the shot!" Investigators can't find hide nor hair of the alleged burglar, no blood trail on the property, no nothing. Goodwin is charged with the murder of his wife, and at his trial, evidence is also provided of the argument at the restaurant. "It's clear he had it in for his wife," says Goodwin's prosecutor in an ironic twist. Now Mr. Hot Seat is gonna sit in the seat himself, convicted of First Degree Murdalization.
When Goodwin gets to the slammer, all the cons on death row are "pleased to see him" cause he put most of them there. Poor Jimmy Ellis is going to be the next in line for The Chair, and the scenes leading up to his execution are harrowing. We've noted in other reviews that "Love That Bob" Cummings was a fine dramatic actor, and his final walk to the electric chair is memorably grim and frightening, as his fellow prisoners (led by big Fred Kohler of 60 minute Western fame) bang their cups on the bars of their cells and shout epithets at the warden.
But the prosecutor who has taken over the DA's office from Goodwin is interested in his case. He's working with Senator Nash to clear him, and believes in his story of the burglar. His investigators think they have a lead in a street crawler named "Twitchy Burke" (Paul Fix). The new prosecutor has also fallen in love with Claire Patterson, and by this time, Goodwin is next in line for execution. The guards test the voltage on The Chair the night before, and a priest visits Goodwin in his cell, as Fred Kohler rages. The plot uses the irony of the pro-death penalty prosecutor, facing execution himself, to argue against capital punishment, and it's presented without sentiment on either side, just as a call for justice to be more civilised. As the movie ended, I was thinking "what a cast!" : Harry Carey in a non-Western role! Big Fred Kohler! Love That Bob Cummings! And the lovable Marsha Hunt! Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! I recognized Paul Kelly too, the actor who stars as DA Douglas Goodwin, but I didn't know much about him, so I went to IMDB to read his bio. I was already gonna go a step beyond the usual and give the movie Two Huge Thumbs Up, and nothing I read changes my mind about that decision, for it wouldn't be fair to dock the rating over an actor's personal history, but having said that, it was a shockeroo and a half to read that Paul Kelly's life mirrors that of his character in this movie.
After a successful start to his career, which began as a child actor, he spent time in San Quentin for beating a man to death. Kelly was in love with the guy's wife (shades of Tom Neal and Franchot Tone, only worse), but the thing is, even though he should've been charged with second degree murder at the very least (read his bio and see), he only did two years in San Quentin, then got out and resumed his movie career like nothing happened. So now, as I finished reading his bio, I was thinking "how the hell can you murder a guy, get off with a slap on the wrist, then star in a movie like this and pretend like nothing happened?" It affected me, if not my opinion of the movie. So, Two Huge Thumbs Up for "The Accusing Finger", including Paul Kelly's performance, but Two Thumbs Down for Kelly in real life. The picture is razor sharp. ////
The previous night we saw Buster Crabbe and Al "Fuzzy" St. John in "Gangster's Den"(1945), with a special comic cameo by Charles King that's hilarious. Buster and Fuzzy are trying to run a gold mine, but their hired hands are at the bar getting drunk. Buster tells Fuzzy that their profits are going down the drain, and the last straw is when Fuzzy is flipping flapjacks for breakfast and one hits him in the head. He storms out of the cabin they share, vowing to run the mine himself, and Buster follows. But no sooner do they ride off than they are shot at by "Ruth Lane" (Sydney Logan), who's chasing some honchos away from her property. Buster and Fuzz accompany her back there to investigate what's wrong (Buster is playing "Billy Carson"), and she tells them that "Horace Black" (I. Stanford Jolley), the lawyer in town, is trying to steal her ranch. They pay him a visit and he swears its not true: "The Lanes owe me money from a legitimate loan."
We also see that Ruth's brother "Jimmy" (Michael Owen) has a gambling problem, and owes Black a sum of money. While they're in town, Fuzzy gets hungry and stops into the saloon. He orders up some chow, and when it isn't served fast enough, he vows to buy the place and fire the cook. Turns out he ain't kidding, because he does exactly that the next day, returning to pay for it in gold dust. Well, lawyer Black sees Fuzzy with all that gold dust, and tells his henchmen that he's their next target. Meanwhile, Black has tricked Jimmy Lane in to signing over the deed to his sister's ranch, after Jimmy came to him for another loan. Buster sets out to entrap Black, who wants the Lane ranch because the mine runs beneath it.
As with "The Accusing Finger", the cast is all-star: besides Buster and Fuzzy St. John (who gets a lot of comic screen time), you've got the awesomely-named I. Stanford Jolley as Horace Black, George Chesbro as his henchman Dent, Kermit Maynard (Ken's taller brother) as another henchman, and famous Western coot Emmett Lynn as the cook. Then you have Charles King in comedy mode, playing Fuzzy's inebriated bodyguard, as only King can. Though he doesn't show up until 30 minutes into the movie, it's one of his best performances (a laff riot), and we have got to find some of his Silent comedies. The Billy Carson series is great; we haven't seen a bad one yet. Two Big Thumbs Up for "Gangster's Den". Absolutely do not miss Charles King in this one. The picture is very good. ////
That's all for the moment. I'm trying some more Amon Duul, and it's good for background music, but its hard to take these guys seriously. Much better is Khan, featuring Steve Hillage and Dave Stewart, with their legendary album "Space Shanty." Also listening to Arch/Matheos "Winter Ethereal." Any John Arch fans out there? I think he's an incredible singer. Check him out on "Awaken the Guardian" by Fates Warning, a masterpiece of progressive metal. Late night listening is "Lohengrin" by Wagner. You already know who conducted it. I hope you had a nice day, and I send you Tons of Love as always.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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