Crossroads(1942).

Crossroads(1942). Mystery directed by Jack Conway. Cast: William Powell, Hedy Lamarr, Claire Trevor and Basil Rathbone.

The story begins when, French diplomat David Talbot's marriage and his future plans to be Brazil's ambassador, are threaten after receiving an anonymous letter. Addressed to "Jean," which demands one million francs.

Later, David leaves a the money at the drop-off point, but.. when Carlos Le Duc, retrieves it, he is arrested.

At Le Duc trial, he testifies that the letter was only asking for money owed to him and that he knew David, when he was known as the criminal, Jean Pelletiel.



The next day, eccentric, kind hearted Dr. Tessier, testifies that David had been in a train wreck and suffers from amnesia.

Soon after.. his testimony is challenged by the well respected Dr. Dubroc, then singer Michele Allaine, who back ups Le Duc's story. Next, on the stand is, wine salesman Henri Sarrou, who says that he also knew Pelletier, before he died.

After De Luc's conviction, Sarrou comes to see David and demands one million francs. Sarrou says that he and Pelletier had been partners when Pelletier killed a man during a robbery, then disappeared with all the money. Sarrou, then tells him that Pelletier, has a powder burn on his hand. David, starts to make a call to the police when he sees the mark on his left hand and changing his mind. He now begins to suspect that he is... Pelletier.

The next day, Michele comes to see David and begs him for forgiveness and then warns him about Sarrou. He thinks she is part of the blackmailing scheme and threatens to turn her into the police. She then shows David a locket with a picture of the two of them together.

Later, Michele comes to see David and Lucienne and tries to show Lucienne the locket, but David stops her and tells his wife that Michele had come to apologize for what she said at the trial. Lucienne, begins to wonder what is really going on..

Soon, David receives a 1922 newspaper headline about the robbery. David then goes to see Michele at the night club where she is performing and confronts her, saying that he does not believe Sarrou's story and offers to pay them off. She angrily calls him a fake and tells him to go see Pelletier's mother, who was left penniless.

David goes to see Pelletier's mother, who says he resembles her son but, that is not her son. But, her odd behavior causes David, to believe that he could have been a thief and murderer in his past life.

The next day, Lucienne finds Tessier's address and goes to see him, saying that if David were Pelletier, she would still love him and would sell everything she has to pay Sarrou off.

The next day, Sarrou shows up at David's club, and tells him that Tessier came to see him. Sarrou then demands his money and says that David must bring it that night or the police will be contacted. David goes to Tessier, who tells him that his identity is only thing that matters.

David, goes into a travel agency and buys a single ticket to Saigon. That evening, David sends Lucienne, on ahead to a party at the home of Deval, saying that he has to help a colleague, but will join her later.

After she leaves, David gets a call from Sarrou, who knows about the ticket and threatens him. Meanwhile, at Michele's place, it is revealed that "Mme. Pelletier" is really De Luc's wife.

She leaves just before David arrives, who confesses to Sarrou that he does not have one million francs. Sarrou, suggests that they get the money from his office safe and make it look like a robbery.

Meanwhile, at Deval's, Lucienne sees the colleague with who David was supposed to be working and realizes that he lied to her. She leaves, seeing David and Sarrou, together on the street, she then follows them back to the office.

After David turns off the lights, Sarrou is able to sneak past the guard and take the money after David opens the safe. Lucienne, then arrives by cab and begs David not to go through with the plan, but Sarrou threatens them and orders that she tie David up. Just then, the police arrive and arrest them.

At police headquarters, David admits that he is Pelletier and, when Michele is brought in, he begs her and Sarrou to join him in confessing their past crimes. Is this a trick to bring out the truth or is he really Pelletier?

William Powell, plays a man who is very much in love with his wife and you will be hooked, as evidence begin to reveal, the possibility of his shady past. A must see for all William Powell and Hedy Lamarr fans.

Margaret Wycherly (26 October 1881 – 6 June 1956). She was best known as a stage actress, appearing in one silent film.

In 1929 at the advent of sound pictures she appeared in her second film, but first talkie, The Thirteenth Chair, based on the 1916 play by her husband in which she had starred. The film was directed by Tod Browning and was in the genre of mystery-old house melodrama.

Twelve years later, Wycherley appeared in Sergeant York in 1941. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role of Mother York, though perhaps her best remembered screen role was as "Ma Jarrett", the mother of the psychopathic gangster Cody Jarrett, in White Heat (1949), which starred James Cagney.

Wycherly starred in several popular Broadway plays, including Tobacco Road, Random Harvest, Liliom, Six Characters in Search of an Author and The Thirteenth Chair (which role she reprised in the film of the same name).

Her other films include Keeper of the Flame, The Yearling, Forever Amber, The Man with a Cloak and Johnny Angel starring George Raft.

Photo of the Day: Claire Trevor and Hi to Dawn!

Dawn is the first friend I met here when I began blogging and she graciously invited me to post on her several of her blogs. So while she is taking care of her medical problems, of which I know she will overcome, and be back here shortly, I told her I would post as much as I could. Here is a pic of Claire Trevor that is simple but very effective. You know I have never seen Dawn before but for some reason I always imagined her as Claire. Don't know exactly why, but Claire was a terrific actress and one of my favorites. So Happy Saturday to everyone and I will be on here from time to time with pics and reviews.

Claire and me sending some love your way Dawn!

Key Largo (1948).

Key Largo (1948). film noir directed by John Huston. Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, and Claire Trever. Key Largo, was the fourth and final film pairing of married actors Bogart and Bacall. Trevor won the 1948 Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance.

Veteran Frank McCloud, travels to Key Largo, Florida to pay his respects to the family of George Temple, who died under his command during World War II. George's wheelchair-bound father James runs the hotel with George's widow, who insists that he stay the night. Sitting at the bar are Nora, Frank, Curly Hoff, Toots, Angel and Gaye Dawn. Nora, explains to him that they offered her father-in-law so much money to open the hotel for them, that he could not say no.

It is not long before, a hurricane warning is issued and Nora, runs around closing all the shutters, when the telephone rings. Curly, answers the phone and tells the caller that the Temples are not there and he also has not seen local police officer named, Sawyer. When Temple speaks up, the men pull their guns. The men's boss comes downstairs and Frank recognizes him as the gangster Johnny Rocco. Johnny Rocco and his men, have already captured and beaten Sawyer, who was looking for the Oceola brothers, who had just escaped from jail.

When Rocco, makes a pass at Nora, she spits in his face and Frank quickly talks him out of killing her. Rocco throws him a gun and tells him that he can rid the world of Rocco if he is also willing to die. Frank, throws the gun and Sawyer grabs it and tries to escape. Rocco kills Sawyer, revealing that the other gun was not loaded. Rocco then demands Gaye, his alcoholic girlfriend, to sing a song before she can have a drink. She does not sing very well, Rocco refuses to give her a drink, Frank feels sorry for her and pours her a drink. Rocco slaps him and once again, Frank does nothing.

After the storm passes, Rocco learns they lost the boat in the storm. He orders Frank to take Temple's boat to take him to Cuba. Just before they leave, a second police officer comes looking for Sawyer and finds his body laying outside the hotel. Rocco, blames the murder on the Oceola brothers and when the the brothers try to escape, the officer shoots them. As Rocco and his men prepare to leave, Gaye begs Rocco to take her with them, she grabs his gun from his pocket without him knowing and slips it to Frank. Will Frank save them and get out of this alive?

Key Largo, is a story about a bad situation in which from the beginning you wonder when Frank (if ever), is going to make his move, but.. as luck would have it the hurricane changes things around .

Thomas Gomez (July 10, 1905 – June 18, 1971), began his acting career in theater during the 1920s and was a student of the actor Walter Hampden. He made his first film Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror in 1942 and by the end of his career had appeared in sixty films.

He received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film, Ride the Pink Horse (1947). His other film roles include: Who Done It? (1942), Key Largo (1948), Force of Evil (1948), The Conqueror (1956) and his final film Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970).

Dead End(1937).

Dead End(1937). Crime drama film. Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Joel McCrea, and Sylvia Sidney. It is the first of 7 films with the, Dead End Kids.

The story begins on the streets of New York, where there are many luxury apartments being built close to the east river, because of the beautiful views. The poor people, also live close by in their crowded run down tenements.

At the end of the street, is a dock, where you will find a gang of street kids who call themselves, The Dead End Kids. There is a the new kid on the block looking for friends. At first, the gang bullies the new kid and takes his money, but they soon become fast friends. One of the boys sister, Drina, dreams of marrying a rich man who will save her and her brother from their hard life.

Drina, does not want her younger brother to turn out like Mobster Baby Face Martin, who just returned to his old neighborhood. Drina's friend Dave Connell, is an unemployed architect, who now works odd jobs. He is having an affair with a rich man's mistress, Kay Burton.

Looking for trouble, the gang of kids beat up a rich kid, who lives in the near by apartments. When the boy's father tries to help his son, Tommy stabs him in the hand and then goes into hiding.

Mobster Baby Face Martin, is turned away by his mother and upset to find out that his ex-girlfriend, Francie, is now a prostitute. Needing money, he decides to kidnap the rich child for ransom. Dave, finds Martin and kills him in a fight. When the police arrive, Spit.. tells the police that it was Tommy, who stabbed the man. Will Dave, convince him to turn himself in?

In this film you have, Rich, poor, kindhearted and hardhearted all trying to live together, in the same neighborhood. This film also, shows the differences as well as similarities between the rich and the poor.

Fun Fact:

Even though, she is in only one scene that lasts a little under five minutes, Claire Trevor won an Oscar nomination for her performance as Francie, the prostitute.

Sylvia Sidney (August 8, 1910 – July 1, 1999), she became an actress at the age of fifteen. As a student of the Theater Guild's School for Acting, Sidney performed in several of their productions during the 1920s. In 1926, she was seen by a Hollywood talent scout and made her first film performance later that year.

Sidney, often played the girlfriend or the sister of a gangster in the films: An American Tragedy, City Streets and Street Scene (all 1931), Alfred Hitchcock's, Sabotage and Fritz Lang's, Fury (both 1936), You Only Live Once, Dead End (both 1937) and The Trail of the Lonesome Pine .

She also performed in the films: Blood on the Sun (1945) and Les Misérables(1952).

In 1973, Sidney received an Academy Award nomination for her supporting role in, Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams.

As an elderly woman, Sidney continued to play supporting screen roles such as, Miss Coral in the film, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. She played Aunt Marion in, Damien: Omen II and had a role in the films: Beetlejuice, for which she won a Saturn Award and the film, Used People. Her final role was in, Mars Attacks!

My favorite Sylvia Sidney films:

City Streets (1931)
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936)
Fury (1936)
Dead End (1937)
Beetlejuice (1988)

Happy Birthday: Claire Trevor! "Queen of Film Noir".

Claire Trevor (March 8, 1910– April 8, 2000), was nicknamed the "Queen of Film Noir" because of her many performances in film noirs. Her first film performances were in the films, Life in the Raw(1933) and Jimmy and Sally (1933).

She went on to star with Humphrey Bogart in the film, Dead End (1937), which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Some of her best known performances were with John Wayne, in the western, Stagecoach(1939), which was Wayne's breakthrough role. She also starred with Wayne in the films, Allegheny Uprising and Dark Command(1940). Over a decade later, she would again costar with Wayne, winning her final Oscar nomination for the film, The High and the Mighty.

One of Trevor's memorable roles were starring opposite Dick Powell in, Murder, My Sweet. Directed by Edward Dmytryk. Cast: Dick Powell, Claire Trevor and Anne Shirley.

The story begins when, a dazed detective Philip Marlowe, is interrogated by police lieutenant Randall about his involvement in several murders. Marlowe tells his story:

One night at Marlowe's office he is visited by Moose Malone, who wants to hire him to find his old girlfriend Velma Valento, who he has not seen for the past eight years, because he has been in prison. Moose thinks she might still be at the nightclub where she used to work. There they meet up with Jessie, who took over the bar after her husband's death, at first Jessie denies knowing Velma until Marlowe finds Velmas photo. Then Jessie decides to tell them them that Velma is dead and when Marlowe tells her that Moose is out of jail, she becomes hysterical. Marlowe leaves, but watches from the window as Jessie makes a phone call.

Back at his office, Marlowe finds pretty boy Lindsay Marriott, waiting to hire Marlow to go with him as he delivers the money for the stolen jewels. As Marlowe waits, he is knocked unconscious and awakens to find a young woman standing over him. After the woman runs away, Marlowe sees Marriott's dead body in the back seat of the car. Marlowe then returns to his office, where he finds a woman reporter waiting to question him about a stolen jade necklace. Marlowe knows she is lying and forces her to admit that she is Ann Grayle and that her stepmother, Helen, owns the necklace. Ann drives him to the Grayle estate, where he meets the elderly Mr. Grayle and his young wife Helen, who tells him that the necklace, was stolen from her at gunpoint. After Helen admits that Marriott, her friend, agreed to ransom the necklace for her, Marlowe asks her if Marriott knew Amthor and she said that Marriott was Amthor's patient.

Feeling responsible for Marriott's death, Marlowe agrees to search for the necklace and Marriott's killers. The case becomes complicated when his investigation leads to a web of deceit, bribery, perjury and theft.



I think Powell's experience in romantic musicals, helped with his performance in this film as a conflicted character, with a side dish of humor. I can see why this film was said to be his favorite role.

She also performed in the film noirs, Born to Kill, Key Largo, where she played the role of Gaye Dawn, the washed-up nightclub singer and gangster's girlfriend, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Her final film performance was playing Sally Field's mother in, Kiss Me Goodbye (1982). She made a special appearance at the 70th annual Academy Awards in 1998.