The Great Flamarion (1945)

'The Great Flamarion' is an early noir by director Anthony Mann who, as I already mentioned in my review of his screwball noir 'Two O'Clock Courage', would become a well-known director in noir circles due to pure noirs like 'Raw Deal' and 'T-Men'. Here, in this 1945 movie which is also much more of a pure noir than 'Two O'Clock Courage', he uses a plot device that has become a staple in the noir universe: the femme fatale who lures and seduces an unsuspecting sucker into her web, only to drop him just as hard once she's gotten what she's after. The movie started out under the working title 'Dead Pigeon' and was loosely based on a short story by Vicki Baum called 'Big Shot'. Her story was turned into a screenplay by Anne Wigton, Heinz Herald and Richard Weil, none of whom did much in the way of films noirs, apart from Anne Wigton who also co-wrote on Mann's next noir, 'Strange Impersonation'. Cinematography was done by James S. Brown Jr. whose credits include a number of the Ellery Queen mystery movies and the music was done by Alexander Laszlo ('The Amazing Mr. X', 'The Glass Alibi'). The movie was shot just as shooting for 'Two O'Clock Courage' was winding down, without a break for director Mann. Just another assignment on poverty row, heh...

'Every bullet is a caress.'

The movie starts out at a vaudeville show in Mexico City, 1936. During a comedy act, shots are fired and a woman working in one of the acts is found killed backstage. The police quickly arrest her husband, who claims he is innocent. Later that evening, when the theater is empty except for the vaudeville group's comedian who's packing up his stuff, someone falls down from the rafters, mortally wounded. The comedian recognizes the dying man as The Great Flamarion (Erich Von Stroheim). Flamarion confesses it is he who killed the woman, his former assistant Conny (Mary Beth Hughes), and he wants to tell the story of why he did it to the comedian, so he can come clean, as he'll be dead soon. In a long flashback, he recounts his own vaudeville act as an expert marksman. The act involves a small theater play where his assistants Conny and her husband Al Wallace (Dan Duryea) play secret lovers. Flamarion, Conny's husband in the act, crashes their secret gettogether by surprise. He then starts shooting all kinds of targets, such as lighting a match by shooting it, shooting a strap of Conny's dress and shooting lightbulbs surrounding a mirror with Al moving in front of it. The act is very successful and Flamarion is quite popular. There's trouble in paradise however. Al's an alcoholic and he uses Conny's past of hustling guys for money against her to keep up his drinking habit. Conny wants to get rid of Al and starts to work her charm on Flamarion, making him believe Al's jealous of him and that she has feelings for Flamarion. Resisting at first due to a failed love in his past, Flamarion eventually falls for her. Once Flamarion's ready to kick Al off the act and start a new life with Conny, she starts to work him even harder. She wants Flamarion to get rid of Al by 'accidentally' shooting him during one of their shows. Flamarion does so accordingly, and gets off scot-free due to Al being intoxicated during the act, making the coronor believe it was Al who made a mistake in timing. Behind Flamarion's back however, Conny's started up a relationship with Eddie Wheeler (Stephen Barclay), who rides a bicycle in another act. By the time Flamarion figures out he's been double-crossed by Conny, she's long gone with Eddie. But Flamarion still wants Conny, so he goes in search of her for revenge.

The movie doesn't stand out in the tension department, primarily due to the story starting at the end and giving away too much within the first 10 minutes. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as classics like 1944's 'Double Indemnity' and 1950's 'Sunset Blvd' prove, but here too much of the mystery is given away too soon. Apparently the flashback structure was not an idea of Mann but of producer William Wilder, the brother of legendary director Billy Wilder. Wilder possibly thought he could cash in a bit on his brother's directorial success with 'Double Indemnity' using a similar plot device, but it didn't turn out to be the classic or hit he had hoped for, although the movie didn't do too bad in the cinemas either. Both as a producer and as a director ('The Glass Alibi', 'The Big Bluff'), William Wilder had nowhere near the talent or success of his brother.

'Any guy that wouldn't fall for you is either a sucker or he's dead.'

There are some great scenes tho, Mann does show he knows what he's doing here, and the cinematography is above average as well. Flamarion's act, showing off his marksmanship, is a lot of fun to watch, as is the scene where he's practicing his skills, mechanically repeating the same shot over and over again. The movie uses stock footage of Mexico City to start off the movie, transitioning into the theater, and studio lots are used from there on. In some cases, such as some scenes taking place in a park, it's too clear it's a studio lot, but overall the sets look great, including a fancy hotel in Chicago, where Flamarion rents the massive bridal suite where he waits for Conny, who never shows up. There are some shadowy scenes, but also scenes which take place during the daytime, even if most of the movie takes place indoors. There's also some nice make-up work done on Von Stroheim, who looks physically much worse for wear near the end of the movie, his face noticeably thinner and more rugged.

Erich Von Stroheim plays the title character, The Great Flamarion, with a very harsh and stoic frame, always seemingly unemotional, utterly professional and completely detached from those around him, almost coming off as feeling superior. He's not nearly as great here as he would be 5 years later in the classic 'Sunset Blvd' tho, and at various points in the movie when he's involved in some lengthy dialogue he even seems disinterested. Von Stroheim was one of the great silent movie directors, but he was also renowned, and infamous, for being a very stubborn eccentric with a near-insane attention to detail and accuracy and spending a lot of money on his very lengthy movies (his 1924 epic 'Greed' ran somewhere between 7 to 10 hours in its original form, most of it cut by the studio), which more often than not did not do well at the box office. His eccentricities were such that he was banned from directing in 1933. He was also an actor for most of his career, but his name and fame hit rock-bottom in the mid 40s, which might explain his occasional lackluster attitude here, forced to take roles he felt were beneath him. Von Stroheim, who always thought of himself as a director first and an actor second, did not hesitate to offer some advice to director Mann: 'Do you want to be a great director? Photograph the whole of 'The Great Flamarion' through my monocle.' He also disagreed on the non-linear structure of the movie, and probably felt disgruntled in general. Famously, Mann said of working with Von Stroheim: 'He drove me mad. He was a genius. I'm not a genius, I'm a worker.' Despite all this, I enjoy Von Stroheim here, he's got something about him that makes you want to watch him.

'Don't you realize Al that every time we step on that stage you're nothing but a live target which I must miss.'

Dan Duryea is also a well-known name in noir circles, his many noir roles include 'Scarlet Street', 'Black Angel' and 'Criss Cross'. He's his usual solid self here, altho his role is pretty one-dimensional. His Al Wallace is an alcoholic who has got his act together well enough to keep performing on stage, but who's addicted enough to use Conny's past, it's implied she's left behind more than one guy after taking his money, to keep the marriage and thus their work for The Great Flamarion going. While usually playing a crook, a villain or an otherwise unsympathetic character, Duryea gives Al more of a pitiful edge here, even though he essentially blackmails Conny to keep his habit going. Conny is the classic noir femme fatale. She's played quite effectively by Mary Beth Hughes. Hughes played almost exclusively in B movies her entire career including a ton of westerns, her noir credentials include 'The Lady Confesses', 'Loophole' and 'Inner Sanctum'. She's a real femme fatale here, and it's always fun to watch a femme fatale at work, the glances she gives when she's putting ideas into Flamarion's head are stereotypical but great. While I wasn't overly impressed with her work in 'Inner Sanctum', she's pretty good and seductive here, and is able to convincingly portray (fake) tenderness and repulsion towards Flamarion at the same time.

As mentioned before, the movie lacks the necessary tension to make it a great noir, but it's definitely still a solid noir in my book. Despite knowing the outcome right from the get-go, the movie is still entertaining and interesting. The story's good enough, and so are the performances of the main actors. Von Stroheim is always interesting to watch, and he does make The Great Flamarion quite a unique character, and Mary Beth Hughes balances out their twisted relationship quite well. The music is pretty forgettable unfortunately, and it's not exactly a stunning noir visually either. But on a whole, it's a good noir which I enjoy quite a bit. Recommended.

8/10

Two O'Clock Courage (1945)

What do you get when you combine a lighthearted screwball comedy with a twisty murder-mystery and throw in a dash of amnesia noir? Usually you would end up with quite a mess, but 1945's 'Two O'Clock Courage' does an admirable job of bringing these elements together in an enjoyable little noir-ish thriller.

What's remarkable about this movie, besides the weird combination of styles and genres, is that it's directed by Anthony Mann, who would go on to direct quite a number of much purer, more hard-boiled and overall better noirs without a trace of comedy, like 'T-Men' and 'Raw Deal'. It's hard to imagine him directing this lighthearted movie, but he did. The movie is based on a novel of the same name by Gelett Burgess, which had already been turned into a movie in 1936, called 'Two In The Dark'. The director of that movie, Benjamin Stoloff, was the producer of this movie. Robert E. Kent wrote the screenplay with additional dialogue written by Gordon Kahn. The cinematography was handled by Jack MacKenzie. The score was done by Roy Webb whose work for movies includes 'Notorious' and the classic noir 'Out Of The Past'.

'Next time you want a cab, just whistle or flap your arms or something. Don't try to stop it with yer head.'

Tom Conway plays Ted 'Step' Allison, although at the start of the movie neither he nor the viewer knows his identity. In case you forgot, I did mention this movie had an element of amnesia noir... Allison has amnesia, in fact he can't even remember what he looks like. Thankfully a cabbie, Patty Mitchell (Ann Rutherford) decides to help him find out who he is. They find their first clue inside his hat, the initials R.D. are stitched inside it. It doesn't mean a thing to Allison however, so they head to the nearest police station. But when they get their hands on the latest edition of the newspaper outside the station, they find out that earlier that evening a man named Robert Dilling was murdered in the same area where Patty picked up a dazed and confused Allison. Patty doesn't believe Allison is the murderer however because he's 'not the type', so they decide to continue with their search for Allison's real identity, as well as his possible connection to Robert Dilling and his murder. But of course they're not the only ones trying to find out about Robert Dilling's murder, so does inspector Brenner (Emory Parnell) who in turn is closely followed by newspaper reporter Al Haley (Richard Lane). And they're taking a keen interest in Allison, who still doesn't know who he is.

Tom Conway and Ann Rutherford play off against each other quite well, he as the confused, slightly posh man without an identity, and she as the bubbly, wise-cracking cab driver who has given her cab the name Harry. Rutherford's Patty provides a number of lighter, more comedic moments, both with her wise-cracks, but also with her look and demeanor. She wears her cabbie's hat at an extreme angle on her head an has a pencil stuck behind her ear. Rutherford and Conway really make this movie work with their acting and chemistry. Her bubbly energy is infectious and because it is not over-the-top it excites rather than annoys and his quizzical demeanor works as well, it is a lot of fun to watch them try to unravel his identity and connection to the murder.

Richard Lane has a screwball like running gag throughout the movie, phoning in a new lead or suspect on the Robert Dilling murder case to his newspaper editor, who grows more and more frustrated with each consecutive call. It's not as bad as it sounds, but it does get a bit grating and ridiculous, especially near the end of the movie when the twists and turns pile up and so does his phone bill. His exchanges with Emory Parnell are more comedic than serious as well, and only work in some places unfortunately. The movie also features a young Jane Greer (still working under her real name here, Bettejane Greer), better known for her parts in 'Out Of The Past' and 'The Big Steal', who shows off her natural sultriness in her first credited appearance, but when she is supposed to act drunk later on, she comes off as slightly awkward. Either way, it's nice to see her in this one. Tom Conway in the mean time was reunited here with Jean Brooks, whom he played with in 'The Seventh Victim'. Brooks has a small role here as a stage actress, and she would do only a few more movies after this one, retiring from the movie business after RKO dropped their contract with her.

Overall, the movie is pretty light on the noir visuals. But there are a few scenes that should please noir aficionados. The opening scene with Allison stumbling into a streetsign and almost getting run over by Patty, is pretty neatly done with a simple but nice tracking shot as the camera approaches Allison. There is also a pretty atmospheric noir scene where Allison breaks into the office of a writer and finds the manuscript for 'Two O'Clock Courage', a play which plays a central part in the mystery. He gets gunned down at close range, yet the bullet only grazes his head, triggering back his memory and a small flashback sequence. The scene is as noir as it gets, devoid of all comedy and pretty well-done. The climax at the end of the movie where several people end up getting killed is also quite noir and ties up some loose ends, as well as finally revealing the real killer.

'Murder... That's a cheerful way to improve my mind!'

So to summarize, take a splash of amnesia noir (a very light one tho), mix in a whodunit mystery and add some screwball comedy, and you got a ridiculous but tasty cocktail that will keep you entertained for a bit over an hour. Worse things have happened.

7/10

Strange Illusion (1945)

Cult-director Edgar G. Ulmer directed 1945's 'Strange Illusion' and it's clear from the start it's a cheapie. This movie, also known as 'Out Of The Night', was released by Producers Releasing Company, one of the many so-called 'poverty row' studios who consistently churned out low-budget bottom-end double bill features. Film noir is littered with great, and sometimes even classic, cheap B-movies ('D.O.A.' and Ulmer's own 'Detour' for instance), but let me start of by saying this is most definitely not one of them. Oh well...

The movie starts off with a heavy-handed dream sequence in which we see Paul Cartwright (Jimmy Lydon) walking in a thick mist. His mother and a man, whose silhouette is all that can be seen of him, are walking besides him. Paul explains to the viewer how the silhouette is not his father, who he was close with. His mother Virginia (Sally Eilers) proceeds to tells him it is his new father, but Paul has a very bad feeling about this silhouette. His sister Dorothy (Jayne Hazard) joins them and shows Paul a bracelet with a lions head on it which the new man has given her. As they're walking a train can be seen, which hits a car, distressing Paul even more, and Paul awakens from his nightmare, with Dr. Vincent (Regis Toomey) sitting by his bed. Dr. Vincent, or 'Doc' as Paul calls him, is a family friend and he and Paul are on a fishing trip together. Paul's dad, a former judge and lieutenant Governor of California, had died 2 years before after an accident. When Paul returns back home from the trip, he finds out his mother has started dating local businessman Brett Curtis (Warren William). Later that night he meets Curtis over dinner and he seems alright enough, even tho Paul cannot get the dream out of his mind. However afterwards, his sister Dorothy shows him a bracelet Curtis just gave to her, which has a lions head on it! Paul starts to feel his dream might become reality and becomes very suspicious of Brett Curtis. Later on he starts to go through his father's old files and comes across the unsolved case of Claude Barrington. Barrington was thought to be a murderer among other crooked things but nothing could ever be proven as there were never any fingerprints found and no witnesses that came forward and Barrington got away with everything and he was thought to have died. When his mother tells Paul about a past engagement of Curtis, where his fiancee drowned, he's reminded of one of Barrington's unsolved murders, and his suspicious mind immediately thinks Brett Curtis and Claude Barrington are one and the same. He starts his own investigation, reluctantly aided by Dr. Vincent, which leads him to Professor Muhlbach (Charles Arnt), a psychiatrist who has his own clinic, and who seems to be a friend and associate of Brett Curtis. Paul decides to have himself institutionalized to try to find out more that way. But Curtis and Muhlbach are on to him, and a cat & mouse game ensues.

The movie was made in under a week and with an extremely low budget, and quite frankly, it shows. The story uses a number of forced plotdevices to move things along, but that stretch the imagination. For instance, Paul's dad was obviously aware of his death, because he left behind a stack of letters with his lawyer to send to Paul at regular intervals. Sound believable? Not to me it doesn't... In one of the letters he receives right before he finds out about Brett Curtis dating his mother, his dad warns Paul about his mothers gullibility and that he's to take responsibility of the household and not let men prey on his mother. What a coincidence. Another instance of the low budget is when Paul is watching a car late at night from a second story window, at an angle which makes it impossible to look properly into the car to see who's inside. But the camera shows who's inside the car from a much lower angle, as if we're seeing it through Paul's eyes, which is clearly not the case. There are more instances and some of them are quite annoying to be honest.

The way Paul and his friends are taken straight out of boys movies from that era adds an almost comedic air to the movie, they have that juvenile happy-go-lucky 'charm' to their dialogue, and it just doesn't feel right. You almost expect them to say 'Gee wiz!' every other sentence, thankfully that doesn't happen, but 'Boy!' does get used. Paul is played by Jimmy Lydon, who actually starred in a series of these movies under the Henry Aldrich moniker, but that's no excuse to act the same way here. Lydon's even called James Lydon in the credits, which seems like an obvious attempt to seperate him from his former character and give him a more serious edge. But it's not much use with Lydon still playing a Henry Aldrich-like character here, now is it?

There are a few good things here tho. Occasionally some shots play with shadows in pretty clever and effective ways. And Warren William, who was a moderately popular actor in the pre-code era (he was the original Perry Mason) plays an ultra-slimey but very distinguished, smooth & suave creep here, to great effect. William was way past his prime here (and would die a few years later) but he still manages to play the part here, you know he's up to no good the second you see him, with his oily combed back hair, hawk-like nose and his thin smile. He definitely was able to combine the sinister and the classy person in one character.

Warren William is actually the only actor with any sort of redeemable part here. Regis Toomey was an accomplished actor, but his part as Dr. Vincent is too one-dimensional to really allow him to show his skills. And most everybody else just seems to go through the motions, with George Reed who played Paul's friend Ben, as the low point, there's nothing serious about his acting. It seems an obvious consequence of the really short filming time (under a week reportedly), the low budget and the script which isn't all that great. Ulmer was known for making the most out of such bad circumstances, but I'm afraid even he was incapable of saving this movie from the lower end of mediocrity.

The movie is noir-ish, but it is more of a semi-paranormal crime/melodrama than anything else without the dark grittiness usually associated with film noir. The night scenes are fairly atmospheric and there's a decent use of shadows every so often, but this movie is more interesting to Edgar G. Ulmer aficionados than film noir aficionados.

I couldn't find a trailer for this movie, but you can watch it in its entirety on archive.org.