Noir Alley

[Hibi]

Flamingo Road was quite enjoyable again. Sydney Greenstreet makes a great villain, Zachary Scott is once again good-looking but weak, Joan Crawford has a "rode hard and put away wet" look that is right for her character, and Gladys George has a "rode even harder and put away even wetter" look that is appropriate for Lute-Mae, a wonderful name. Gladys George always makes her screen time count; I'd have liked to find out even more about Lute-Mae.

Flamingo Road is an enjoyable film. I watched it Sat night, but I'm not sure I'd want to again. I've seen it way too many times. Although Joan is a little too old for the part (despite Eddie's protestations) she is perfectly cast. And Greenstreet is a great villain. I can imagine audiences cheering when he finally gets his just desserts!

[HoldenIsHere]

That's pretty funny. I now have to think think of Larry as a less sophisticated age contemporary of Roger.
And we saw more of Bert Cooper than we ever did of McMann. I think what makes the comparison so
much fun is that Bewitched could never hint at the things that went on in Mad Men, two
completely different times. It's not hard to imagine that Larry Tate was likely as deceptive in his
personal life as he was in his professional life. But it' hard to see Darrin Stevens, especially in his
Dick York incarnation, doing the same things Don Draper did even in one's wildest imagination. I
know some fans didn't like Betty Draper, but I always felt sorry for her being married to a jerk like
Don. Plus, she was very easy on the eyes.

Yes, Robert Morse made quite a few guest appearances as Bert Cooper on MAD MEN.
Howard McMann appeared in only two episodes of BEWITCHED and was played by a different actor each time: "Man of the Year" from Season 4 with Roland Winters as McMann and "What Makes Darrin Run?" from Season 6 with Leon Ames in the role.

In "Man of the Year," here's how Howard McMann describes his partner Larry Tate:
"Larry has a lot of good qualities. He’s hard-working. He’s not impressed by facts. He’s slippery. He lies beautifully. And he’s got a nice head of hair."

RE: Larry's possible deceptions in his personal life: In the Season 1 episode "That Was My Wife," he was impressed with Darrin when he saw him at a hotel with a brunette and thought he was getting some on the side. (It was really Samantha in a wig to spice things up a bit). But Larry becomes angry when he later thinks the brunette was Louise.

LOL!

Another thing that Howard McMann said about his partner Larry Tate:
"Deep down, he's shallow."

[ziggy6708a]

[Hibi]

Haven't they shown this before on Noir Alley? I'm pretty sure.

[jamesjazzguitar]

Haven't they shown this before on Noir Alley? I'm pretty sure.

I believe you're correct. I know I have seen the film and since it is an MGM film likely it was on TCM.

[cmovieviewer]

Dial 1119 (1950) has been shown on TCM several times before, but never on Noir Alley.

The next Noir Alley repeat is Desperate (1947), scheduled for July 29, which was also shown on Noir Alley back in 2018. That will be the first repeat that Eddie has shown so far this year.

[Dargo]

And here I always thought Marshall Thompson was such a nice young man!

(...just goes to show ya, ya never really know people, huh)

[HoldenIsHere]

DIAL 1119 is another movie with a BEWITCHED connection.
One of the hostages is played by Leon Ames, who would later play Howard McMann, Larry Tate's partner at McMann & Tate Advertising, in the character's second of two appearances. It was on the Season 6 episode "What Makes Darrin Run?"

[Hibi]

Dial 1119 (1950) has been shown on TCM several times before, but never on Noir Alley.

The next Noir Alley repeat is Desperate (1947), scheduled for July 29, which was also shown on Noir Alley back in 2018. That will be the first repeat that Eddie has shown so far this year.

That's strange. I've seen it before on TCM and it''s not the type of film I'd watch if it weren't on Noir Alley. Guess I must have then.

[Hibi]

So who else saw Dial 1119? I thought Virginia Field stole the film as the lush with an eye for anything male. She was part Joan Crawford and part Claire Trevor. William Conrad, Sam Levene, Leon Ames, Marshall Thompson, a good cast. Even Keefe Brasselle was pretty good.

The dialogue about Andrea King being 23 surprised me because the clothes suggested someone considerably older. She is better in other films, like Hotel Berlin.

SPOILERS: For me one of the best things was what happened to the psychiatrist. I thought the film was going in a different direction but loved the direction it took.

I watched it, but I'd seen it before. Don't think I'd watch it again though. An ok B. Got pretty tired of Marshall Thompson. At least it wasnt a long running time. Yes, Virginia was a hoot! Yeah, poor Same Levene! Was the film trying to send a message? LOL!

[Hibi]

Yes, the whole film had an underlying law and order theme, it seemed to me. Seemed to give short shrift to Levene and his ilk for dealing with disturbed criminals. LOL.

[laffite]

I nearly gave up early on the film when Chuckles got that early exit. What an oversight! Like taking the best ingredient from the recipe. I was looking for his lip as one of the hostages. And wanting to hear him call Wycoff a crumb. (maybe the movie runners thought he might upstage the proceedings.)

I loved Andrea the way she approached W as she was instructed to. She was scared s h i t l e s s and it really showed. A fine piece of acting. She took her time and was totally committed.

We got Marshall Thompson and I kept thinking of Robert Walker.

Virginia has one of the best laughs ever (as a technical point).

I agree, the fate of the doctor was cool and and funny. Usually the doctor comes on all warm and fuzzy and then gets tough and saves the day as the criminal breaks. The way it happened here could have been on Saturday Night Live. Who remembers the old Mad Magazine feature, "Hollywood films as we would like to see them", a series of cartoons doing a famous scene from a Hollywood film with out-of-the box surprises.

(OTOH, R.Walker is smooth and nuanced, maybe too polished for a one-note role. I wonder what Anthony Perkins was doing then, too young? Virginia bears a resemblance to Joan Crawford but not even the Great Joan could have out-Virginia'd Virginia in this one. Andrea is perfection IMO so she gets to stay. Slimy Leon could be replaced but he is okay. The TV as Eddie intimates was near surreal).

[speedracer5]

...but I just didn't buy Thelma having a sudden case of remorse or maybe disgust and sticking that
cig lighter into Tony's puss and causing the car crash.

To me, this had the Production Code requirements of the time written all over it.

I also vaguely remember watching this film years ago but couldn't remember much of it or how it ended, however I had a feeling as I watched this scene unfold that Thelma and Tony would have to meet this fate and because of the Code, and so lessening any sort of surprise that it happened and making it seemed forced.

(...and re Stanwyck's death scene...her lack of any facial burns and/or contusions after the fiery and violent car cash, reminded me a lot of how Lizabeth Scott looked on her hospital deathbed in the film 'Dead Reckoning'...didn't buy this notion in either movie)

I agree with Stanwyck and Scott's respective appearances in their deathbed scenes. These women should have massive cuts, bruises and burns!

Not deathbed scenes, but I loved how Bette Davis didn't hold back with her appearance after getting a beating in "Marked Woman." And in "The Glass Key," William Bendix beats the crap out of Alan Ladd, and he shows every punch on his face. His face is a bruised and swollen mess. When I first saw this film, I was surprised that the filmmakers would allow their handsome star to look so terrible. Of course later, when he's in the hospital, he instantly looks better and only has a little bandaid on his face. But that is necessary for him to charm and flirt with the nurse. Lol.