Blond Fever(1944). Directed by Richard Whorf. Cast: Philip Dorn, Mary Astor, Felix Bressart, Gloria Grahame, in her first film performance.
Peter's wife Delilah, knows that Peter is having an affair with Sally Murfin, one of the cigarette girls at one of the nightclubs in Reno and decides to tell her that his Cafe, is losing money in hopes of scaring her off. Peter overhears the lie and denies it. Later, Delilah comes up with another plan to end their relationship when she hires Sally's fiancee, Freddie Bilson, as a waiter.
When a radio show announces the winner of a lottery, Peter and Freddie, who have both entered the contest, listen as the numbers are called. Peter has the winning ticket, which makes Peter and Sally very happy.
Later, Freddie accidentally walks in on Sally and Peter in the wine cellar, he awkwardly pulls a gun on Peter and threatens to kill him. Peter tells Freddie that he and Sally are in love and plan to marry.
That night, Delilah asks Peter for a divorce, and instead of alimony, she tells him that she wants the lottery check. While Delilah is packing her bags, Peter tells Sally's friend Johnny that he has made a big mistake and that he wants to win back his wife. Will Freddie find a way to win back Sally's forgiveness?
What a fun cast, Mary Astor and Gloria Grahame. This film does a wonderful job of entertaining. I think it is a very charming way to spend the afternoon, especially watching Gloria Grahame, in her first film performance.
Elisabeth Risdon (26 April 1887 – 20 December 1958). In 1918 she graduated from the London Royal Academy of arts with high honors.
She attracted the attention of George Bernard Shaw and was cast as the lead in his biggest plays. Besides her performances for Shaw, she was leading lady for actors like George Arliss, Otis Skinner and William Faversham.
She was also under contract to the Theatre Guild for many years.
In later years, she taught drama to patients at a veterans administration hospital near her Brentwood home.
She was married to the silent film director George Loane Tucker who left her a widow in 1921. She later married actor Brandon Evans, who died in April, 1958.
Risdon died in December 1958 in St Johns Hospital in Santa Monica, California from a cerebral hemorrhage.
Macao (1952). Film noir/ adventure film. Director : Josef von Sternberg and Nicholas Ray. Producer Howard Hughes fired director von Sternberg during filming and hired Nicholas Ray to finish it. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, Gloria Grahame and William Bendix.
After a New York undercover detective is killed during his investigation, the police in Hong Kong notifies the New York police about the murder. Later, on a boat headed for Macao passenger Nick Cochran rescues Julie Benton from a guy trying to pick her up, instead of being thankful she picks his pocket. When they arrive in Macao, Nick informs the Macao police that his passport and money were stolen and that his only identification is his Signal Corps discharge papers. Sebastian shows Vincent Halloran, the owner of the Quick Reward casino, a photo of Nick because he thinks he is undercover cop..
Nick, knows that Julie picked his pocket and goes to her hotel room to confront her. At first Julie denies the accusation but when Sebastian arrives, looking for Nick. She gives him back his money. Soon, Julie finds a job singing with Halloran, Nick also asks Halloran for work. But Halloran refuses to hire him and tries to bribe him to leave Macao. The next day, Trumble shows Nick a large diamond and asks him to sell the necklace. Halloran agrees to cross the three-mile limit that legally protects him and goes on to Hong Kong. Where he takes Nick prisoner. Now, Nick's life is in danger and needs to find away to escape.
This is the first time I have seen the Movie Macao. Being a a huge Robert Mitchum fan, I loved this movie and would watch it again.. Jane Russell and Gloria Grahame were also wonderful in their performances. One of my favorite characters in the film was the old blind man.
Gloria Grahame (November 28, 1923 – October 5, 1981), father Reginald Michael Bloxam Hallward, was an architect and author and her mother, Jeanne McDougall, who used the stage name Jean Grahame, was a British stage actress and acting teacher.
McDougall taught her younger daughter acting during her childhood and adolescence. The couple had another daughter, Joy Hallward (1911–2003), an actress who married John Mitchum (the younger brother of actor Robert Mitchum).
Grahame was signed to a contract with MGM Studios under her professional name after Louis B. Mayer saw her performing on Broadway for several years.
She made her film debut in Blonde Fever (1944) and then scored one of her most widely praised roles as the promiscuous Violet, saved from disgrace by George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life (1946).
MGM was not able to develop her potential as a star and her contract was sold to RKO Studios in 1947.
Grahame was often featured in film noir pictures as a tarnished beauty with an irresistible sexual allure.
During this time, she made films for several Hollywood studios. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Crossfire (1947).
Grahame starred with Humphrey Bogart in the 1950 film In a Lonely Place, a performance which garnered her considerable praise.
When she asked to be loaned out for roles in Born Yesterday and A Place in the Sun, Hughes refused and instead made her do a supporting role in Macao. However, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in MGM's The Bad and the Beautiful (1952).
Other memorable roles was Irene Nieves in Sudden Fear (1952), the femme fatale Vicki Buckley in Human Desire (1953), and mob moll Debby Marsh in Fritz Lang's The Big Heat (1953) in which, in a horrifying off-screen scene, she is scarred by hot coffee thrown in her face by Lee Marvin's character.
Grahame's career began to wane after her performance in the musical film Oklahoma! (1955). Grahame, whom audiences were used to seeing as a film noir siren, was viewed by some critics to be miscast as an ignorant country lass in a wholesome musical, and the paralysis of her upper lip from plastic surgery altered her speech and appearance. Additionally, Grahame was rumored to have been difficult on the set of Oklahoma!, upstaging some of the cast and alienating her co-stars, which furthered her fall from grace in Hollywood.
She began a slow return to the theater, and returned to films occasionally to play supporting roles, mostly in minor releases.
She also guest starred on television series including an episode of the sci-fi series The Outer Limits. In the episode entitled "The Guests", Grahame spoofed her own career by playing a forgotten film star living in the past.
She also appeared in "The Homecoming", a 1964 television episode of The Fugitive. In 1965 she appeared in "Who Killed The Rabbit's Husband" an episode of Burke's Law.
Grahame's concern over the appearance of her upper lip led her to pursue plastic surgery and dental operations that caused visible scarring and ultimately rendered the lip largely immobile because of nerve damage, which affected her speech.
Grahame had a string of stormy romances and failed marriages which begins with:: director Nicholas Ray and later to Ray's son, Anthony, with whom she had an affair while still married to Ray. All of this took a toll on her career, as did a two-year hiatus after the birth of her daughter in 1956.Marital and child custody problems hampered her performance on the set of Oklahoma!
She married:
Stanley Clements (1926–1981), actor, married August 1945, divorced June 1, 1948. Nicholas Ray, director, married June 1, 1948, separated 1951, divorced 1952. The couple had one child, Timothy (born November 1948, aka David Cyrus Howard during his mother's third marriage). Their marriage ended when Ray found Grahame in bed with his 13-year-old son by his first marriage, Anthony, whom she later married.
Cy Howard, writer, married 1954, divorced 1957. They had one daughter, Marianna Paulette (born 1956).
Anthony Ray, her former stepson, married May 1960, divorced 1974. The Rays had two sons, Anthony Jr (born 1963) and James (born 1965).
In the late 1970's, Grahame traveled to England to perform in plays. While there, she met Liverpool actor Peter Turner with whom she had a romantic relationship. They moved to the United States and lived in New York and California, where their affair ended.
In March 1974, Grahame was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent radiation treatment, changed her diet, stopped smoking and drinking alcohol and also sought homeopathic remedies. In less than a year, the cancer went into remission. The cancer returned in 1980, but Grahame refused to acknowledge her diagnosis or seek radiation treatment. Despite her failing health, Grahame continued working in stage productions in the United States and Great Britain. While working in London in September 1981, she underwent treatment to remove excess fluid from her abdomen. During the procedure, the doctor accidentally punctured her bowel. She soon developed peritonitis and was hospitalized. After being notified of Grahame's illness, two of her children, Timothy and Paulette, traveled to London and decided to take her back to the United States. On October 5, 1981, Grahame returned to United States where she was admitted to St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City. She died there a few hours later at the age of 57.
In a Lonely Place(1950) .Film noir. Director: Nicholas Ray. Cast: Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame, Produced for Bogart's Santana Productions. The script was adapted by Edmund North from the 1947 novel In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes.
Dixon Steele a screenwriter is driving to meet his agent, Mel Lippman, when you see Dixon lose his temper at a stop light. At the nightclub, Mel wants him to adapt a book for a movie. The hat-check girl, is enjoying reading the book and asks if she can finish reading it. A second argument breaks out when the director criticizes Dixon's actor friend Charlie. Soon after Dixon asks Mildred to go home with him, so he can explain the plot to her.
As they enter his apartment, they pass the new tenant, Laurel Gray. While there Mildred describes the story which confirms what he had first thought about the book. He gives her cab fare to get home.
The next morning, he is visited by an old army friend, police detective, Brub Nicholai, who takes him to the police station to be questioned by Captain Lochner. The girl was murdered during the night and Dixon is a suspect. Laurel is also brought to the police station and says she did see the girl leave Dixon's apartment alone, but Lochner is still suspicious. Dixon does not show any sympathy for the dead girl in this scene:
Capt. Lochner: You're told that the girl you were with last night was found in Benedict Canyon, murdered. Dumped from a moving car. What's your reaction? Shock? Horror? Sympathy? No - just petulance at being questioned. A couple of feeble jokes. You puzzle me, Mr. Steele.
Dixon Steele: Well, I grant you, the jokes couldn't been better, but I don't see why the rest should worry you - that is, unless you plan to arrest me on lack of emotion.
When he gets home, Dixon checks up on Laurel. They begin to fall in love. This gives Dixon what he needs to get back to writing. Dixon begins to act strangely which makes his agent and his wife Sylvia wonder if he really did kill the girl. Lochner warns Laurel about Dixon's violent temper. Dixon becomes furious when he hears of it. Will Laurel's distrust and fear of Dixon become too much for her?
For me the film Lonely Place, Bogart plays probably his darkest character in this love story. Gloria Grahame, one of the underrated actresses of the 40's and 50's, had wonderful on screen chemistry with Bogie, with a mix of violence/ tenderness. I loved the surprise ending.
FUN FACT:
Though the title and characters are based on Dorothy B. Hughes's novel, the biggest difference between book and movie is that in the movie Dixon Steele, though violent, is only accused of being a murderer while in the book he is a serial killer and rapist. Director Nicholas Ray claimed that he made the change because he was "more interested in doing a film about the violence in all of us, rather than a mass murder film or one about a psychotic." Hughes was never bothered by the changes from her novel and praised Gloria Grahame's performance.
Frank Lovejoy (March 28, 1912 – October 2, 1962). A successful radio actor, Lovejoy was heard on the 1930's crime drama series, Gang Busters.
Lovejoy, was a narrator for the show, This Is Your FBI. He played the title character on the syndicated, The Blue Beetle during the 1940's and starred in the later crime drama series, Nightbeat in the early 1950's.
In films of the 1940's and 1950's, Lovejoy mostly played supporting roles in: Goodbye, My Fancy (1951 and The Hitchhiker (1953).
He was in several war movies: Retreat, Hell! (1952) which portrayed the United States Marine Corps' retreat from the Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War. In 1951, he had the title role in, I Was a Communist for the FBI.
When she asked to be loaned out for roles in, Born Yesterday and A Place in the Sun, Hughes refused and instead made her do a supporting role in the film, Macao. Please click here to view Macao movie review. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in, The Bad and the Beautiful (1952). Other well known films include: Sudden Fear (1952), Human Desire (1953) and The Big Heat (1953) in which, she is scarred by hot coffee thrown in her face by Lee Marvin's character. Please click here to view Big Heat(1953) movie review. Grahame's career began to fade after her performance in the musical, Oklahoma!(1955). The paralysis of her upper lip from plastic surgery changed her speech and appearance.
The Big Heat (1953). Film noir directed by Fritz Lang. Cast: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvin. The film was written by former crime reporter Sydney Boehm based on a serial by William P. McGivern which appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, and was published as a novel in 1952.
Homicide detective Sergeant Dave Bannion, next assignment is to investigate the death of officer Tom Duncan. Bannion, is contacted by Duncan's mistress, Lucy Chapman, who tells Brannion that Duncan had a second home which he could not afford on his salary.
Bannion visits Duncan's wife. He asks her about the second home which she is not to happy about. Bannion is called in by Lieutenant Ted Wilks, who wants to close the case as soon as possible. Soon after, Chapman is found dead. Bannion investigates even though it is not his jurisdiction. After receiving threatening calls to his home, he goes to see Mike Lagana, the mob boss. Lagana is angered by Bannion's accusations.
Bannion's car is blown up and his wife Katie is killed in the explosion. Feeling that the police will not find the murderers, Bannion resigns and goes off on his own to arrest Lagana and Vince Stone.
When Stone attacks a girl in a nightclub, Bannion stands up to him by ordering Stone and a bodyguard out of the club. Stone's girlfriend, Debby Marsh, who tries to get friendly with Bannion, keeps pointing out that she gets her money from a Stone. Marsh states: "I've been rich and I've been poor. Believe me, rich is better." As soon as Debby talks about Bannion's late wife, he rushes her out the door.
Debby was seen with Bannion. When she returns to Stone's apartment, he accuses her of talking to Bannion and throws boiling coffee in her face. Debby is taken to hospital by Police Commissioner Higgins, who was playing poker with Stone at the time. Higgins tells him that he will have to file a report, but Stone reminds the commissioner that he is paid to deal with these type of things.
Debby goes to to Bannion looking for help, he finds her a room at the hotel that he is staying at. Bannion learns that a man called Larry hired a mechanic to set the dynamite in the car that killed his wife. Debby tells him that it was Larry Gordon. Bannion forces Gordon to admit to the bombing. Trouble began because Bertha Duncan, widow of the cop, who had papers that could expose Stone and Lagana. Mrs. Duncan kept them and was collecting blackmail payments from Lagana.
Debby tells him that killing for revenge would make him no better than those who killed his wife. Bannion does not kill Gordon, instead spreading the word that he talked. Gordon is murdered by Stone's men. Bannion next goes to see Mrs. Duncan, accusing her of betraying Chapman, causing her death and protecting Lagana and Stone. Cops sent by Lagana make him leave before he is finished talking to her.
Stone kidnaps Bannion's daughter Joyce, who is staying with an aunt and uncle with a police guard nearby. When the guard suddenly leaves, the uncle calls in his army buddies to take over. On the way Brannion meets Lieutenant Wilks, who is now prepared to make a stand against the mob.
Will Stone be arrested for murder and will Lagana and Commissioner Higgins be indicted?
Glenn Ford, gives one of the best performances of his career. But, the film really belongs to bad girl Gloria Grahame. A young Lee Marvin, is perfectly creepy as the man who gets what's coming to him at the end...
FUN FACTS:
When Lee Marvin sees Glenn Ford face to face, the music in the background is "Put the Blame on Mame," a reference to Ford's performance in Gilda (1946).
Bannion's wife Katie is played by Jocelyn Brando, older sister of Marlon.
Jeanette Nolan (December 30, 1911 – June 5, 1998), began her acting career at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California, and, while a student at Los Angeles City College, made her radio debut in 1932 in Omar Khayyam, the first transcontinental broadcast from station KHJ.
She made her film debut as Lady Macbeth in Orson Welles's 1948 film Macbeth, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name.
Viewers of film noir may know her best as the corrupt wife of a dead (and equally corrupt) police officer in, The Big Heat.
Her final film appearance was in Robert Redford's, The Horse Whisperer as Redford's mother.
She also lent her voice to several Walt Disney animated films, most notably as Widow Tweed, the kindly old lady who adopts an orphan fox in the FILM, The Fox and the Hound(1981). Nolan made more than three hundred television appearances.
In 1935, Nolan married actor John McIntire; the couple remained together until his death in 1991. The couple guest starred together in an episode of Charlie's Angels in 1979, The Incredible Hulk in 1980, Quincy, M.E. in 1983, and Night Court in 1985, playing Dan Fielding's hick parents.
She was the mother of two children, one of whom was the actor Tim McIntire, who was best known for his turn as the legendary DJ Alan Freed in the 1978 film American Hot Wax.
