Wonderland Burlesque's
Let's All Go To The Movies
She's A Lady!
Part XXVIII
Yes, sometimes? It takes a lady.
And sometimes, that lady is very much in peril!
Or so these films would have us believe.
They promise lots of drama, the occasional comedy or musical, and a little bit of dirt!
Let's take a walk down Hollywood Blvd. and shine a light on these magnificent classic films.
This way, if you please. But remember...
Ladies first!
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Kind Lady
(1935)
AKA: House Of Menace
Mary Herries is a rich woman with a habit of contributing to those less fortunate. On her way home from a concert on Christmas Eve she discovers a poor, would-be artist outside her estate. Mary takes pity on this artist, Henry Abbott, and gives him some food and money. After taking him in, she finds herself somewhat attracted to him; he is handsome, and quite knowledgeable of fine art, especially the paintings in Mary's extensive collection. However, when she discovers that Henry has a wife and small child, she gives him some money and hand-me-downs and sends him on his way. A few days later he shows up with some of his own paintings (which are absolutely awful) as well as some items he stole from Mary's house on Christmas Eve. Henry demands a large amount of money for his paintings, which Mary eventually pays. She then discovers that Henry has left his wife and baby outside in the rain. His wife collapses and Mary, out of pity, lets Henry and his family stay with her until his wife is well. Soon, Mary's servants have all quit, tired of dealing with Henry and his family, who are unreasonable and greedy. Once the servants are gone, Henry's extended family arrives, and Mary discovers to her horror that Henry's "family" is actually a gang of art thieves, planning to imprison her in her own house to gain control of her art collection!
Based on the play of the same name by Edward Chodorov and a short story called The Silver Mask by Hugh Walpole, this American drama was directed by George B. Seitz and stars Aline MacMahon, Basil Rathbone and Mary Carlisle.
Constance Collier was originally cast as the female lead in this picture.
Doris Lloyd appeared in this film, as the sister, and its 1951 remake of the same name, as the maid.
Basil Rathbone and Aline MacMahon
MGM paid $35,000 for the film rights to the play.
Aline MacMahon was an American actress. Her Broadway stage career began in 1920. She made her screen debut in 1931, and worked extensively in film, theater, and television until her retirement in 1975. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Dragon Seed (1944). During the late 1940s and 1950s she was blacklisted as a Communist sympathizer and appeared on the notorious Communist watchlist pamphlet, Red Channels. The FBI held covert investigations of her and her husband, Clarence Stein, for decades.
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Produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures, this American comedy was directed by Charles Vidor and stars Ann Dvorak, John Trent and Harry Beresford.
This was Ann Dvorak's first freelance assignment after being suspended permanently by Warner Bros.
She was a rebel! Ann Dvorak (born Anna McKim) was an American stage and film actress. Dvorak was the daughter and only child of silent film actress Anna Lehr and director Edwin McKim. Asked how to pronounce her adopted surname, she told The Literary Digest in 1936: "My fake name is properly pronounced 'vor'shack'. The 'D' remains silent. I have had quite a time with the name, having been called practically everything from Balzac to Bickelsrock."
Dvorak made her film debut when she was five years old in the silent film version of Ramona (1916). She continued in children's roles for two more films, but then quit acting. Her parents separated in 1916 and divorced in 1920, after which she did not see her father again until 13 years later, when she made a public plea to the press to help her find him.
In the late 1920s, Dvorak worked as an assistant choreographer to Sammy Lee at MGM and gradually began to appear on film uncredited usually as a chorus girl or in bit parts. Her friend, actress Karen Morley, introduced her to billionaire movie producer Howard Hughes, who groomed her as a dramatic actress. She was a success in such pre-Code films as Scarface (1932) with Paul Muni, Three on a Match (1932) with Bette Davis and Joan Blondell, The Crowd Roars (1932) with James Cagney and Sky Devils (1932) opposite Spencer Tracy. Known for her style and elegance, she was a popular leading lady for Warner Bros. during the 1930s, and appeared in numerous contemporary romances and melodramas.
At age 19, Dvorak eloped with Leslie Fenton, her English co-star in The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932) and left for a year-long honeymoon, despite her contractual obligations to the studio. Litigation followed and she was allowed to run out her contract while suspended. From that point, she freelanced, frequently taking smaller, supporting roles. During the war, she moved to London, where she supported war efforts working as an ambulance driver. During this time, she made several British films. She retired from the screen in 1952, after marrying a third time and moving to Hawaii, where she died of stomach cancer at the age of 68.
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The Frightened Lady
(1940)
AKA: The Case Of The Frightened Lady
Mark's Priory, the Lebanons' family seat, serves as a house of terror for Isla Crane, Lady Lebanon's niece and secretary. The strange behavior of two sinister footmen, Gilder and Brooks, adds greatly to her fear, and her sole consolation lies in the sympathy extended her by Lord William "Willie" Lebanon. A young architect, Richard Ferraby, arrives from London to inspect the ancient home in regards to renovations, and he and Isla are immediately attracted to each other. Lady Lebanon tells her son that he must marry Isla to carry on the family name, but Lord Willie tells her he has no intentions of marrying. Later, the family physician, Dr. Amersham, arrives and it is evident he has some hold over Lady Lebanon. The chauffeur, Studd, hints that he knew Amersham in India and that he was discharged from the Indian Army under unsavory circumstances. Isla and Richard find Studd murdered and suspicion falls on the gamekeeper, Tilling, whose wife had been more than a little friendly with Studd. But Chief Inspector Tanner and Deputy Sergeant Totty arrive from Scotland Yard and uncover evidence that points to Dr. Amersham as the killer, and Lord Willie substantiates the clue by telling them that Amersham had strangled a young Eurasian girl in India by using a red scarf--and Studd was found strangled with a red scarf. Just when the police are about to fold up their tidy little case, a telegram arrives from "Mark's Priory" informing them that Amersham has just been found murdered--strangled with a red scarf. Back to the drawing board.
This British, black-and-white, crime, drama, mystery thriller was directed by George King and stars Marius Goring, Helen Haye, Penelope Dudley Ward, George Merritt, Ronald Shiner and Felix Aylmer Produced by Pennant Picture Productions and presented by British Lion Film Corporation, it is based on the 1931 play by Edgar Wallace.
This production was the second time that Wallace’s play had been adapted for the cinema. The first, in 1932, was directed by T. Hayes Hunter and starred Emlyn Williams.
Marius Goring, who plays Lord Lebanon, previously played him on the London stage.
The score, by Jack Beaver, includes perhaps the first example of a Romantic style, diegetic. "Denham Concerto" was composed especially for the film. In the film, the piano is actually played by Marius Goring as Lord Lebanon. Goring was an accomplished player whose mother Kate Winifred was a professional pianist.
You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.
Helen Haye
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Gallant Lady
(1942)
AKA: Prison Girls
You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.
Rose Hobart was an American actress and a Screen Actors Guild official. Her father was a cellist with The New York Philharmonic and her mother, an opera singer. When her parents split, she and her sister were sent to France to live with their grandmother. When the war broke out, they were sent to boarding schools in America. Hobart's stage career began when she was fifteen years-old. She would go on to star opposite the likes of Noel Coward and Helen Hayes. It was her performance as Grazia in Death Takes a Holiday that won her a Hollywood contract. Hobart appeared in more than 40 motion pictures over a 20-year period, working with Charles Farrell, Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March. Hobart often played the 'other woman' in movies during the 1940s, with her last major film role being Bride of Vengeance (1949). The House Un-American Activities Committee investigated Hobart in 1949, effectively ending her career.
Rose Hobart was an American actress and a Screen Actors Guild official. Her father was a cellist with The New York Philharmonic and her mother, an opera singer. When her parents split, she and her sister were sent to France to live with their grandmother. When the war broke out, they were sent to boarding schools in America. Hobart's stage career began when she was fifteen years-old. She would go on to star opposite the likes of Noel Coward and Helen Hayes. It was her performance as Grazia in Death Takes a Holiday that won her a Hollywood contract. Hobart appeared in more than 40 motion pictures over a 20-year period, working with Charles Farrell, Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March. Hobart often played the 'other woman' in movies during the 1940s, with her last major film role being Bride of Vengeance (1949). The House Un-American Activities Committee investigated Hobart in 1949, effectively ending her career.
Rose Hobart
Hobart served on the board of the Screen Actors Guild and was an active participant in the Actors' Laboratory Theatre, a group which Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed was subversive. In 1986, she recalled that "On my first three pictures, they worked me 18 hours a day and then complained because I was losing so much weight that they had to put stuff in my evening dress. When I did East of Borneo (1931)... we shot all night long. They started at six o'clock at night and finished at five in the morning. For two solid weeks, I was working with alligators, jaguars and pythons out on the back lot. I thought, 'This is acting?' It was ridiculous. We were militant about the working conditions. We wanted an eight-hour day like everybody else."
In 1948, Hobart was subpoenaed to appear before the Tenney Committee on Un-American Activities. Although Hobart was not a member of the Communist Party, she refused to cooperate, instead reading a prepared statement which concluded, "In a democracy no one should be forced or intimidated into a declaration of his principles. If one does yield to such pressure, he gives away his birthright. I am just mulish enough not to budge when anyone uses force on me." In 1950, Hobart was also listed in the anti-Communist blacklisting publication, Red Channels. Hobart never worked in film again, although she did work on stage and television, once the red scare was over.
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Kind Lady
(1951)
Mary Herries has a passion for art and fine furniture. Even though she is getting on in years, she enjoys being around these priceless articles. One day she meets a strange young painter named Harry Springer Elcott, who uses his painting skill to enter into her life. Little does she expect that his only real interest in her is to steal everything she owns.
This American film noir / crime drama was directed by John Sturges and stars Ethel Barrymore, Maurice Evans, Keenan Wynn, Betsy Blair and Angela Lansbury. Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film is remake of the 1935 film of the same name which starred Aline MacMahon in the title role.
Because she was blacklisted after being investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee, Betsy Blair wouldn't make another film for four years, until she landed the role of Clara Snyder in Marty (1955). She was cast in Marty mainly because her husband, Gene Kelly, threatened to stop filming at MGM unless they found work for her despite being blacklisted.
Moyna MacGill, who plays Mrs. Harkley, was Angela Lansbury's mother in real-life.
According to MGM records, the film made $361,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $139,000 in other markets, resulting in a loss to the studio of $664,000.
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And that's all for now, folks.
Tune in next time...
Same place, same channel!
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Kind Lady - Movie Trailer
(1951)
