Last night we had Preston Foster in "The Lady in the Morgue"(1938). I'm trying to think who we can compare him to. He's big, with a manly face and wavy hair. He's got clear, wide set eyes and a radio announcer's voice, and a devil-may-care attitude. He can take or leave the ladies, and they feel the same way about him, even though you'd assume it would be the opposite in both cases. He always plays a private eye, and he's quick with a wisecrack. Any comparisons? I wanna say Tom Selleck, but Selleck has a high voice and that mustache, and isn't as laid back as Foster. In fact, Selleck is a lousy comparison. Try to think of someone while you're reading the review. Well anyhow, on to the movie. It's a plot heavy (maybe too heavy) murder mystery involving a missing woman.
First off, there's a female body in the morgue, as yet unidentified. A chiseler named "Steve Collins" (Joe Downing) has been told his wife committed suicide. "She could be the broad in the morgue" says his associate. "Yeah, maybe," says Collins. He knows she was cheating on him, but doesn't think she killed herself. He thinks her boyfriend killed her and made it look like suicide. But is she the lady in the morgue? "Go down there and find out", he tells the associate.
Meanwhile, at the offices of Strom Investigations, bossman "Strom" (Thomas E. Jackson) is drilling Private Eye "Bill Crane" (Foster) on the same set of circumstances. "There's a lady in the morgue, and our client (who's name is kept private), wants to know if it's her daughter. They're society people and can't be associated with a suicide, and the client can't be seen at a morgue, so you go down there. The daughter was a blonde, but it could be peroxide."
Crane goes to the morgue, and two other men are there: Steve Collins' buddy, and a reporter who's out for a scoop.Then a fourth man shows up, a cabbie named "Courtland" (played by our Western pal Wild Bill Elliott, hooray!). All of them ask to see the body, but then the morgue assistant is found dead. Man, this is gonna get so convoluted I don't know if I can continue. It was the second entry in Universal's Crime Club series, and while the plot is very good, you've gotta be a chess player to stay on top of it. For one thing, the personalities are gonna distract you, especially that of Foster (have you figured out who he reminds you of yet?) and perpetual wisenheimer Frank Jenks, of whom we've seen a lot lately. Jenks plays another private eye from Strom's agency who teams up with Foster to solve the case.
Wild Bill Elliott is my favorite guy in the movie. We loved him in the Red Ryder westerns we saw last year, and it took me a minute to recognise him here because we've never seen him in a suit. It was his deadpan delivery that gave him away, and those smilin' Chinese eyes. All the best cowboys have 'em, according to Pete Townshend, and Wild Bill Elliott is definitely one of the best. But it's Preston Foster's movie. A few pre-Code babes appear, some are red herrings, one is a prime clue.
Watch it for the style and odd pacing which is forward moving but casual at the same time, making room for repartee over crime solving where necessary. Nothing gets in the way of Frank Jenks, not murder nor extraneous brain cells. Two Bigs. Bonus points if you follow the plot all the way through, but only you will know if you actually did it, so be honest with yourself and don't cheat. The picture is very good. ////
The previous night belonged to early '30s good guy Wallace Ford in a dual role crime-up called "Get That Man"(1935). A private eye named "Malone" (E. Alyn Warren) runs a workshop for victims, including live identification lineups behind two-way glass. Dunno how he has the same power as the cops, (maybe he's working with them), but anyway, at one of the lineups, an ex-con bank robber (Ford) is serving as a decoy. When he's let go by Malone, he drives himself, his wife, and a friend (Leon Ames) all the way to a cabin camp resort for a short vacation. "450 miles is a lot of driving" he says when they arrive, then gets ready to take a nap. But just before he falls asleep, he sees Ames and his wife making out. "I should've known," he says, and starts a punchout that ends in his death.
Now the wife and Ames are on the run. He adopts a new look and identity as "Mr. Macdonald", a college professor. As we know, college professors are often psychos under their rweed coats, and Ames is no different. Meanwhile, we find out that "Malone" the private eye is crooked. As a side business, he chases down missing heirs to inform them of their inheritance, for which he charges a finder's fee. One of the heirs on his list has turned up dead, and he looked exactly like Wallace Ford. Remembering Wallace Ford the taxi driver/ex-bank robber from his line-up, he calls him to come back to the office, then blackmails him into helping with his scheme to collect the inheritance money, because Ford the cabbie is a dead ringer for Ford the deceased heir. This one might be even more convoluted than "The Lady in the Morgue."
Anyhow, with cabbie Ford now towing the line, Malone sets his scheme in motion. Cabbie Ford poses as the missing heir, who's dead so there's no possibility of him messing up their plan. Everything is going fine and dandy when cabbie Ford introduces himself at the family mansion. His aunt welcomes him, and the real heir's half-sister is thrilled to meet him: "It's so wonderful to finally meet my brother." These rich people are so nice that cabbie Ford feels guilty about stealing a faked inheritance, but private eye Malone has no such scruples. Meanwhile, Leon Ames and dead Ford's wife are back in the game. After hearing about cabbie Ford trying to collect the inheritance, they show up at the mansion and try blackmailing Malone, who's there as cabbie Ford's "lawyer" to make sure the inheritance goes smoothly. But he blackmails them in return by telling them he knows about a certain murder. It gets more than a tad confusing because the two Fords are not clearly delineated in the beginning, but it makes sense as it goes along, then it gets damn good.
There are some location scenes that are definitely Valley (as determined by the mountains), and the road they are driving has gotta be Burbank Boogalord going through what is now the wilderness basin, and it's awesome because there's nothing out there but trees. I love seeing locations from 90 years ago, but yeah - this film has a good plot, once Leon Ames (a big mofo who we know better as Judy Garland's Dad in "Meet Me in St. Louis.") starts blackmailing people. Two Bigs and a high recommendation, but eat your Wheaties before watching so you don't lose the plot. The picture is very good. ////
That's all for tonight. I was sorry to see two of the greats retire on the same day today, Tom Brady and Ozzy Osbourne. For years, I was one of the biggest Brady haters (because he beat the Rams in the 2002 Super Bowl), but as time went by, it could no longer be denied that he was indeed the greatest quarterback of all time, and in recent years I rooted for him to win Super Bowls. I thought he was gonna give it at least one more year and try to go out on top with one final SB victory, but 45 is 45, and time even catches up with Tom Brady. There will never be another one like him, and the same goes for Ozzy, who announced his retirement from touring today. I was fortunate to see him six times with Black Sabbath (including at the California Jam, my first concert), and about the same amount of times with his solo band, including twice with Randy Rhoads. I also went out to lunch with Ozzy in Beverly Hills in January 1983, for an interview with Jon S. (I was Jon's photographer). That was such a great day. Ozzy had short hair then, having cut it all off after Randy died. He had just gotten his large "demon" tattoo on his chest and wanted to show it off. I took pictures. I kind of lost track of his music after Jake E. Lee was fired. I saw the Zack Wilde version of the band once, and wasn't as big of a fan. It was too "metal" and not as melodic, but I've liked the songs I've heard from Ozzy's recent album. I do wish they'd never made a cartoon character out of him twenty years ago with "The Osbournes" (and I think Ozzy regrets it, too), because he's a very intelligent guy behind all the goofy stunts. And the drugs and alcohol, which he finally defeated, thank goodness. Mostly, he was one hell of a singer, and no one who heard him on his records or live will ever forget his voice, it was - and is - one of a kind. So God Bless Ozzy, and let's hope he lives on, even without touring, for a long time to come, and in as good of health as possible given his various ailments. ////
My blogging music tonight is "World Record" by Van Der Graaf Generator, and my late night is Handel's Siroy, King of Persia opera. I hope your week is going well and I send you Tons of Love as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
No comments:
Post a Comment