The Silver Screen Oasis

Ha! I love the fellow myself, but in The Private Affairs of Bel Ami, he's really almost irredeemable. It was a shock to me not to like him, or to root for him, lol. I think I must make a list ranking my favorite George Sanders movies.

Hahaaaa. I know he's your boy. Well, I'd like to see that list. And the reasons why you put the films on 'em.

Ahhh...I see TCM will be airing one of my favorite movies this Saturday morning ( 12 / 15 / 12 ):

8:45 AM IMPACT (1949)
 
After surviving a murder attempt, an auto magnate goes into hiding so his wife can pay for the crime. Dir: Arthur Lubin. Cast:  Brian Donlevy, Ella Raines, Helen Walker, Charles Coburn.

Sure, you've seen it before. So have I. And why not again? There's an element of "NIAGARA" in it. The great Anna May Wong appears in this. Stretch your credulity and check out Coburn as an Irish detective. But of course the real tale of the tape is ELLA RAINES and HELEN WALKER.



In THIS corner there’s.......... ELLA RAINES:

* The Warm Brunette.
* A regular Joe.
* Outdoors girl.
* Smart...common sense.
* Will stick in your corner through thick and thin.
* Will help you out of a murder jam.
* Distinctive voice.
* Sultry in a slow burn kind of way.
* I love her.

In THIS corner there’s.......... HELEN WALKER:

* The Ice Cold Blonde.
* High brow & haughty.
* Strictly nightclubs and concerts.
* Highly intelligent...she’s three steps ahead of you.
* Will put you behind the eight-ball...or prison bars.
* Will drop you like a hot potato.
* Distinctive voice.
* Femme femme femme fatale.
* I love her.

But first, tonight...

YAY! I can finally get a copy for myself. Love Donlevy, Raines and Walker, all three.

December is packed with good movies, but one that deserves to be seen and could be easily overlooked is a short feature about The American Revolution called Sons of Liberty (1939) which is being broadcast on TCM on Sunday, Dec. 15th at 7:33am (ET). Rarely broadcast on TCM, this short is available on the DVD of Dodge City (1939).


Above: Claude Rains on the set of Sons of Liberty (1939).

The film, produced by Warner Brothers in Technicolor, reminds a viewer that this was one movie studio that publicly acknowledged their Jewish roots and made some of the first anti-Fascist films, including this movie, which has parallels with what was happening in Europe and American then. It was directed by Michael Curtiz and starred highly accomplished actors who chose to be Americans, including Claude Rains, Vladimir Sokoloff, Donald Crisp, & Montagu Love, along with Minnesota-born Gale Sondergaard in a small role as Rains' wife. The 21 minute Oscar-winning short shines a light on the real life revolutionary patriot and proud Jewish-American, Haym Salomon, who helped to bankroll the American Revolution along with Robert Morris; a feat that was more remarkable because it was accomplished at a time when most European-based societies regarded Jewish bankers with contempt (despite the fact that this was one of the few sectors of Christian society where Jews were traditionally allowed to work). While few of us know about Salomon's key role in The Revolution, that aspect of the nation's precarious birth is fascinating, especially since the movie treats the Jewish figures in the film as "normal Americans" in solidarity with the nominally Christian founding fathers. However, it is Rains' eloquent, restrained portrayal of this figure that makes the featurette well worth seeing, especially the moment when, imprisoned by the British, he recites the 23rd Psalm to a despondent fellow prisoner. In the concluding moments of the story, Haym's acknowledgement that he has only the intangible gift of freedom to leave his family that really got me, with history giving added resonance to this thought.

I suspect that this movie may have been planned as a feature length film, but, because Warners was constantly trying to tempt Claude off his Pennsylvania farm to appear in their movies, some very good and some pretty lame (he loathed his role in They Made Me a Criminal), they chose to use him in this short, giving him star billing, just as he had originally stipulated, following this up with his featured role as Louis Napoleon in Juarez (1939).

7:33 AM
SONS OF LIBERTY (1939)
A patriotic short chronicling the efforts of underground leader and military financier Haym Salomon during the American Revolution. Starring Claude Rains as Haym Salomon. Directed by Michael Curtiz.
C-21 mins,

Thanks for the heads-up on this one, Moira. Have never heard of it but it looks like a goodie. Just hope TCM Canada broadcasts it. Curtiz, Claude and Crisp!

[quote="CineMaven"]Ahhh...I see TCM will be airing one of my favorite movies this Saturday morning ( 12 / 15 / 12 ):

8:45 AM IMPACT (1949)

Oh, I love your Raines/Walker comparison!
One of my favorite films, have watched it 4 or 5 times.

Thank you for the notice about Sons of Liberty, Moira. I'll be able to catch it before I leave to play Christmas Carols at church.

[u][color=#800000]kingrat[/color][/u] wrote:Maven, thanks for your enthusiastic praise of the gals of IMPACT. Had never seen this one, but after reading your comments, I had to check it out...Here's a thought: what roles would you like to have seen Ella and Helen play if their film careers had been bigger? For instance, how about:

Ella Raines in the Lauren Bacall role in WRITTEN ON THE WIND
Helen Walker in the later Eleanor Parker roles (THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM, HOME FROM THE HILL) or Lana Turner in IMITATION OF LIFE

Not that there's anything wrong with the originals.

Thank you Vienna.

...And thank you Brother Rat. I was surprised to read you had never seen "IMPACT" before ( how'd that slip by you?? ) and glad you liked it. You've given me a lot of food for thought re: Ella and Helen playing different roles. What immediately comes to mind from the top of my pointed head is:

* ELLA ( as Bacall ) in........"THE BIG SLEEP"
* HELEN ( as Constance Ford ) in......"A SUMMER PLACE."

Ella would look adorable in a paper sack. And I loved when Donlevy sat down to dinner with Ella and her mom, and he says to Mom, "Thank you for the 'young man'." I can't believe he's the same guy that terrorized ev'ryone in "BEAU GESTE."

kingrat wrote:Tuesday morning, Christmas Day, has feaito's favorite THE MIRACLE OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA.

And a Gilbert Roland alert should be issued too, as he injects some healthy earthiness into the proceedings.

Before the Miracle:


After the Miracle:

Oh Lordy, I am thinking some very irreligious thoughts about that first picture.

Too high a price to pay for that miracle Gilly. He aged like Moses...or Felix Bressart.

Or Alan Hale.