Loving Lucy: Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949)

Aug. 5, 2011

67. Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949)

Starring Lucille Ball, William Holden, Janis Carter, James Gleason, Gloria Henry, Frank McHugh

Directed by Lloyd Bacon

Plot: "A bookie uses a phony real estate business as a front for his betting parlor. To further keep up the sham, he hires dim-witted Ellen Grant as his secretary figuring she won't suspect any criminal goings-on. When Ellen learns of some friends who are about to lose their homes, she unwittingly drafts her boss into developing a new low-cost housing development.” (from IMDb)

Since I haven’t seen many of Lucille Ball’s films, in honor of her 100th birthday blogathon I decided to view one of them. I honestly was not expecting much from this movie and it was about what I thought it would be. Not a bad way to pass the time, but not a profound cinematic achievement either.

  

Dependable character actor Charles Lane has a small role near the beginning of this movie. I Love Lucy fans will recognize him from several episodes of the show: “Staten Island Ferry” (1956), “The Business Manager” (1954), “Lucy Tells the Truth” (1953), and “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” (1953).

 
Another actor in this that would later appear in I Love Lucy was Will Wright, who showed up in two episodes: "Tennessee Bound” (1955), and "The Handcuffs” (1952).

 
Lucy looks gorgeous in this film. Costumes were designed by Jean Louis.

Together with Holden, James Gleason and Frank McHugh make up the trio of bookies.

 

When this film was made, William Holden had not yet reached the height of his fame, which would be launched by his success the following year in Sunset Blvd. I found his character in this film a bit too cynical to be a sympathetic leading man for this type of light comedy. In fact, I actually thought Ellen’s (Ball’s) boyfriend was a lot nicer than the bookie character played by Holden. He is very handsome, and though comedy may not be Holden’s forte, there are glimmers of the dry wit and unmistakable voice that helped make him a star.

William Holden would later star in a very famous episode of I Love Lucy. Here is a clip from part of that show:

You can also watch Lucy light her nose on fire and throw a pie at Holden.

According to IMDb: “Rita Hayworth was going to star in this movie, but Hayworth requested script revisions, and went on suspension to avoid making it.” I can’t say I really blame her. The material is just not that good.

One of the best parts of the film was near the end when Lucy’s character pretends to be tough-talking gangster. It reminds me of the kind of comedy she would later come to embody as Lucy Ricardo.

Though the film as a whole is rather unremarkable, it is interesting to watch these promising stars at this point in their careers. A solid B picture, it’s not a great movie, but it is worth watching if one is interested in Ball’s career pre-I Love Lucy.

{Here are more photos and some behind-the-scenes pictures from this film.}

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This is post is my humble contribution to the Loving Lucy Blogathon, hosted by True Classics.

The Roaring Twenties (1939)

July 26, 2011

64. The Roaring Twenties (1939)

Starring James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart, Gladys George, Jeffrey Lynn, Frank McHugh, Paul Kelly

Directed by Raoul Walsh

Plot: "Three men attempt to make a living in Prohibitionist America after returning home from fighting together in World War I." (from IMDb)

I thought the acting and story were great in this. Everything, really, just made for a topnotch and very engaging production. I can't say that gangster flicks are really my thing, but I enjoy watching Bogart and Cagney. Besides them, I thought Gladys George was exceptional; she was a very expressive actor who was able to convey a great deal of feeling without saying too much. As Panama Smith, she was perfect for the part and rather underrated in general, I think. I also liked the newsreel format of the film. It is a good way to weave the different years together and illustrate the time period. I'm not usually one for sad endings, but this one just works; it’s hard to imagine any other way to conclude it.

I can't really say that this is a film that I'll watch a lot, because it is kind of depressing, but there is no doubt that it is Warner Brothers at its best—and definitely worth a viewing.

I really love the intro credits—the font and how it shimmers a bit against the skyscape.

Cagney plays Eddie, a basically good guy who is driven to crime by some bad breaks.

I never noticed before how Cagney does that thing with his lip. He does it quite a few times in this.

“I do alright, any time, any place.”

Quintessential baddie Bogart, before he hit it big with stardom. I have to say he does make a great bad guy, and adds a lot to the movie.

**Please note that not all the pictures and graphics in this post are mine. Click on respective images for source. No copyright or creative infringement is intended. If you feel I have used an image contrary to the author's wishes, please let me know and I will promptly remove it.**

Dodge City (1939)

July 7, 2011

62. Dodge City (1939)

Starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Ann Sheridan, Bruce Cabot, Frank McHugh, Alan Hale, John Litel, Henry Travers

Directed by Michael Curtiz

Plot: "A soldier of fortune takes on the corrupt boss of a Western town." (from TCMDb)

I'm not huge on Westerns, but I decided to watch this one for Olivia and Errol. I also like Ann Sheridan a lot, but this is definitely not her best role, as she gets very little screen time. Too be honest, this film confused me a little. That could be because I was only half paying attention, and because the cattle chases and all that caused me to lose some interest. I think I got the basic plot, though: Errol is the good guy; Alan Hale is his comic-relief sidekick (who gets a little annoying after a while); Olivia is Errol's feisty love interest; William Lundigan (in a role very different than the one I last saw him in!) is Olivia's rowdy brother; Bruce Cabot is the lawless bad guy; Ann Sheridan is the saloon girl; Frank McHugh is Olivia's uncle.

Olivia and Errol are wonderful together, as usual. Like most of their pairings, they start out with an intense dislike of each other. [Of course we don’t really buy it, because we know they’ll eventually get together. But the sparks are still fun to watch.] Then they argue, and suddenly they are out on a date together (if you can call riding horses at sunset a date). I actually rewound to see if I missed something because I wasn't sure how they went from this (bickering) …

…to this.

I still wonder if I missed something? Ah, well, we knew it was bound to happen anyway. Never mind how we got there.

Despite the fact that most of the photos in this post include Errol and Olivia, they really don’t have that many scenes together. (It was hard to find photos of other things in the film, and I forgot to get screencaps. You can click on each image for the source.)

There are certainly bar room brawls, stampedes, and gun fights aplenty. But I don’t really go for that. One of my favorite part of the movie is probably when Olivia trips Errol. Really! It's a very funny moment that is delightfully and playfully acted. Okay, okay…maybe Frank McHugh's laugh is the best part of the movie. (Seriously, has anyone ever noticed how hilarious his laugh is? It's like a very light, quiet 'hehehehee'. I don't know why but it just strikes me as really funny. :D)

In conclusion, if you like classic westerns, stunning Technicolor, Olivia + Errol, or just want to hear what Frank McHugh's laugh sounds like, you'll probably want to check this out.

 

P.S. On Monday I did a guest post on Sophie’s blog where I shared my six favorite Ginger Rogers films.

You can check it out HERE.

[Also, be sure to visit some of Sophie’s other posts and subscribe to her site. She has a great blog!]