Morris can be seen in Blind Alley (1939) with none other than Ann Dvorak on TCM tonight, Mar. 25, at 11:00PM ET. This film is adapted by the same screenwriters from the same play that formed the basis of tonight's 8pm film, The Dark Past, which features Lee J. Cobb & William Holden leading the cast. Both sound promising, but the prospect of Chester & Ann sounds best of all to me!
In the last year or so, I feel as though I'm constantly learning to appreciate Chester Morris more each time TCM unearths another of the little programmers that Morris found himself in during his long, (slightly checkered) career.
While he is probably best known for his work in Alibi (1929), The Big House (1930) The Divorcee (1930) and the Boston Blackie movies, I think I first realized what a phenomenal actor he could be when I stumbled across the wonderful version of Three Godfathers (1936) a few years ago. Directed by a talented but forgotten figure from America's theatrical & cinematic past, Richard Boleslawski, it is much more tough-minded and realistic than the better known, beautiful looking 1948 John Ford version.
Sharing the screen with the superlative Walter Brennan and Lewis Stone (who was particularly good in a different role for him), Morris just burned up the screen with his brash and very appealing bad man. While I'd been familiar with the cheerful (and sometimes stylish) Boston Blackie films, I've since found myself tracking down every one of his movies when they're on--just to enjoy the ride, even when it's not supposed to be a good film.
Just the other morning, TCM ran an unheralded, deeply cynical, yet wonderfully entertaining 1937 RKO movie called Flight From Glory. Never heard of it? Welcome to the club.
Well, this well acted film featured a stoic Morris playing a disgraced pilot who's working for a fly by night airline that supplies mines in the Andes. Their planes are junk and their pilots have black marks on their records and can't fly for anyone in the states, and, oh yeah, their airline charges them for their transportation, food, lodging etc. and most of the poor saps wind up owing the airline thousands by the time their contract runs out, so they can never leave, except by crashing!.
Among the denizens of this hellish place are a disgraced Russian who maintains the planes and a manager who is a real tight s.o.b. Chester Morris is joined in this combination of No Exit and The Wages of Fear by none other than a very young, good Van Heflin as one more flier off the scrap heap. Heflin even brings along a dishy wife, played by the lovely (though rather stiff) Whitney Bourne. Morris does a great job as a very bitter but tender hearted and sarcastic guy who tries not to fall for the disintegrating Heflin's bride.
I'm sure that most of you have gathered that Howard Hawks +had+ to have seen this movie before making Only Angels Have Wings in 1939. Hawks had Cary Grant, Thomas Mitchell and cast as well as a budget that must've been about 5 times that of Flight from Glory! Interesting, eh? All this little movie had going for it were some good, under-rated actors, particularly Chester Morris, a good actor who could make any sow's ear of a movie into a silk purse!
I hope that anyone who likes or dislikes Chester Morris will chime in here.
