Quick takes on 5 films of the 40s

Brute Force may be one of the best prison films I’ve ever seen. Released in 1947 and directed by the great Jules Dassin before he was blacklisted during McCarthy’s communist witch hunt, it features a couple young stars in Burt Lancaster and Hume Cronyn. The “action” of the film takes place entirely in a prison, where the inmates all dream of getting out and returning to their girls waiting on the outside. No one wants out more than rabble-rouser Joe Collins. The other prisoners follow his example, and the guards are understandably weary around him because of this. Joe is particularly opposed by the sadistic captain of the guard, Munsey. Munsey plays the prisoners off of each other, fermenting paranoia and angst among them. Joe is onto the game though, and is able to gather a few close friends to plan a real escape. The attempt is fantastic; even though the viewer knows it can’t possibly succeed, we hold out hope that a miracle can happen. Interspersed throughout the film are flashbacks, some heartbreaking, for each of our main troupe, showing the reason they want to get out and the life they want to return to. This is the third Dassin film I’ve seen, and loved The Naked City and Thieves’ Highway. Been holding out on Rififi, his supposed masterpiece, but that one is coming. ★★★½

Ride the Pink Horse is a seldom-seen film noir from director Robert Montgomery, who also starred in the lead role as Lucky Gagin. Gagin comes to a tiny town in New Mexico, San Pablo, in order to blackmail a crime boss, Frank Hugo, over the murder of Gagin’s friend. In classic film noir fashion, there are some side tracks, double crosses, a ne’er-do-well girl, and some innocents who try to give a helping hand to Gagin along the way. I resisted liking Gagin through much of the film, because frankly, he’s not a very likable guy. He is rough with people, condescending, and downright cruel in his talk to the local Mexican immigrants in town, calling them derogatory names even when they are helping. I know a lot of that can be written off as part of the times in 1947, but it doesn’t make it any easier to watch. Still, Gagin gets his comeuppance in the end, and his language and character issues aside, the film itself is absolutely enthralling. Not sure how this one hasn’t gotten more attention over the years, but anyone who likes film noir should check it out. ★★★★

Hold Back the Dawn is a lovely romance from director Mitchell Leisen, based on a screenplay by Billy Wilder. Georges is from Romania and is trying to immigrate to America for a new start. He can afford to get to Mexico first, but it is there that he learns about quota limits on who can cross into the USA, and is told it will be 5-8 years before he can enter. A few months in, and broke from living at the local hotel, Georges is reunited with a former dance partner from Romania, Anita, who tells him how she was able to get US citizenship by “marrying in” and then quickly divorcing. Georges plans to do the same thing, and targets a visiting schoolteacher, Emmy, who is in Mexico with a bunch of field-tripping kids. Georges woos her and marries her all in a day, but is at least gallant enough to put off their wedding night. Over time, as Georges tries to avoid the USA immigrant agent who frequents the Mexican town with eyes out for people just like him trying to get into the country any way they can, Georges starts to have feelings for Emmy after all. But will he realize it himself before she catches on to his plot? It’s a very nice film; perhaps not all that memorable in the long run, but entertaining. Emmy is played by none other Olivia de Havilland, Melanie Hamilton of Gone With the Wind fame. She received an Oscar nomination for this role, and the picture received 6 nominations overall. ★★★½

My Name is Julia Rose is sort of a tense, quasi-psychological drama, from director Joseph H Lewis. It’s a simple picture, just a hair over an hour long, and not all that deep either. American immigrant Julia is desperate for work in the UK, and visits an employment agency where she hears about a job as a secretary for a wealthy woman. All seems ok until we see the family she is to work for, and they start whispering about nefarious doings. As soon as Julia gets there that night, she is drugged, and wakes up 2 days later in a seaside mansion, and is being called a different name. She doesn’t know what their intent is, and no one knows she’s there. The rest of the film is about her boyfriend trying to hunt her down, and her repeated attempts to escape the crazy family. Strange picture, and a few too many cheesy moments, even for a 40s flick. The constant (and I mean CONSTANT) violin runs and tremolos, to build suspense I guess, grew tiresome even during the short length of this film. ★½

So Dark the Night is from the same director, and it is a bit better. It’s a classic who-done-it in the film noir tradition. Henri is a famous detective from Paris on vacation in a small village in the French countryside. A local girl, Nanette, sets her eyes on him as a way to get out of the tiny town. Nanette’s mother encourages her to pursue Henri, but Nanette’s father and her longtime beau Leon have obvious objections. When Nanette ends up dead of strangulation, Henri suspects Leon immediately, until Leon is found dead too. Those are just the first two, and the killer starts leaving notes of warning to Henri as well. The ending gets a little weird, with some wild leaps in typical 40s fashion, but it was still ok. And I do like a short film I can watch in about an hour! ★★½