Wonderland Burlesque: July 2025

Thursday, July 31, 2025

Wonderland Burlesque's Let's All Go To The Movies: With Or Without, Part II

Wonderland Burlesque's

Let's All Go To The Movies:

With Or Without

Part II

As the say in show biz: some got it, some ain't.

To do with or without?

That appears to be the question. And these are the men with the all the answers.

Or so these films would have us believe.

Let's take a peek at what the world of cinema has to offer when it comes to the haves and have not.

Either way? It's movie magic!

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The Man With Two Faces

(1934)

Actress Jessica Wells, sister of actor Damon Wells, is on top of her form except when her husband Vance is around. When Vance takes her to the apartment of a theatrical producer she comes home incoherent and Vance is found dead in the vanished producer's hotel suite.

Adapted by Tom Reed and Niven Busch from the play The Dark Tower by George S. Kaufman and Alexander Woollcott, this American drama was directed by Archie Mayo, and stars Edward G. Robinson, Mary Astor, Ricardo Cortez, Louis Calhern, Mae Clarke, and David Landau.

Second of only two films to co-star Edward G. Robinson and Mary Astor. The other was The Little Giant (1933). However, it is one of six films in which Mary Astor and Ricardo Cortez both appear.

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Man With 100 Faces

(1938)

AKA: Crackerjack

Jack Drake,a man with a hundred faces and in reality a modern-day Robin Hood known only as Crackerjack, thrills all England with his exploits of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. As a guest at a society party "Crackerjack" steals some valuable pearls, and the next day learns there has also been a hold-up at the party and a man killed. and Scotland Yard considers Crackerjack to be the leader of the killer-gang, and he realizes that someone is using his name to cover their own crimes. And sets out to prove it without having to disclose who he really is.

This British comedy crime film was directed by Albert de Courville and stars Tom Walls, Lilli Palmer, and Noel Madison.

You can watch this film in it's entirety for free on YouTube. Look under the title Crackerjack (1938).

Lilli Palmer

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The Man Without A Face

(1950)

AKA: El Hombre Sin Rostro

A faceless killer who hunts women can only be stopped by a detective with a disturbing past.

This Mexican mystery thriller was directed by Juan Bustillo Oro and stars Arturo de Córdova, Carmen Molina and Miguel Ángel Ferriz.

The same plot was developed nine years later by Robert Bloch. This film anticipates Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho (1960) by ten years.

You can watch this film in it's entirety for free on YouTube.

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The Man With My Face

(1951)

A man arrives home one night to find that a look- alike has taken over his life completely.

This American film noir was directed by Edward Montagne and stars Barry Nelson, Carole Mathews and Lynn Ainley.

The island the film was shot on is San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1951. The commonwealth of Puerto Rico had just recently come under the jurisdiction of the Untied States due to the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950. This is the only film noir shot on location in that country.

Marks Jack Warden's movie debut.

Film critic Dennis Schwartz was lukewarm about the film, writing: "The B film has a good premise over mistaken identity, but a lousy execution. Montagne keeps it good enough as a diversionary time killer, but it's just too bad it never was convincing."

You can watch this film in it's entirety for free on YouTube.

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The Man With Bogart's Face

(1980)

A man with a fixation on Humphrey Bogart gets plastic surgery to make him look exactly like Bogart. Then he changes his name to Sam Marlowe (after Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe, two of Bogart's most famous characters), hires a ditzy blonde secretary, and opens up a detective agency. His first case is one that would do Bogie proud.

Based on a novel of the same title, this American comedy was directed by Robert Day and stars Robert Sacchi, Franco Nero, Michelle Phillips, Olivia Hussey, Misty Rowe, Victor Buono, Sybil Danning, and Herbert Lom - with appearances by Yvonne DeCarlo and George Raft.

Andrew J. Fenady, author of the novel, produced the film and wrote the screenplay.

Robert Sacchi had a one-man show called "Bogey's Back", which toured the US for four years. Touring the U.S., Sacchi played Humphrey Bogart in over 1000 performances of Woody Allen's Play It Again, Sam. Lauren Bacall is once said to have done a double-take in regards to Robert Sacchi's physical resemblance to Humphrey Bogart.

Fenady had actually cast another actor in the role until Sacchi walked in, after which the producer "went into shock. Bob doesn't need to do an impersonation. The physical impact is enough. When he began talking, I knew I had Bogart."

Appearing in this movie as Mr. Wing, Victor Sen Yung (best known for playing Charlie Chan's sons Jimmy and Tommy in eighteen Charlie Chan movies from 1938 to 1948) previously had supporting roles in the Humphrey Bogart movies Across the Pacific (1942) and The Left Hand of God (1955). This was Yung's final film before his death on November 1, 1980 at the age of 65.

George Raft had actually worked with Humphrey Bogart twice. First, they played ex-cons leaving prison in Invisible Stripes (1939). Then second, about a year later, was They Drive by Night (1940), in which they played the truck driving Fabrini Brothers. This was George Raft's final film before his death on November 24, 1980 at the age of 79.

The film debuted at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival.

The New York Times called it "an intelligent, amiable and often amusing spoof of Humphrey Bogart and the roles he played" although "everyone is so cool that there are moments when the picture seems about to drift off the screen". While The Los Angeles Times wrote: "...all of Fenady's boundless affection for Bogart and vintage movies is not enough to make The Man with Bogart's Face come fully alive."

A rarity in Hollywood: Fenday took the film to Mel Simon who agreed to provide $4 million. Fenady says he wound up not needing all that money and returned $400,000 to Simon. "I'm a Depression baby, I don't believe in wasting money", he said.