Todd Honig

23 May 2012

I told you she was different

This is one of my favorite film-noirs. I could watch it every night and notget tired of it. What Ida Lupino was able to do with a cigarette, a fewshrugs of her shoulder and a gravelly singing voice, well lets just say theythere oughta be a law against it. The casting of this film could not havebeen better.Richard Widmark, Ida Lupino, Cornel Wilde and Celeste Holm areall at the top of their game here. And to top it all off, it has one of thegreatest bar-room brawls of all time. If you've never seen it, you'rewasting valuable time here. Shut off your computer, go down to your localvideo store and rent it immediately. You won't be disappointed. Or betteryet, try to catch it on a big screen somewhere.

Kalaman

22 May 2012

Intriguing Noir with a Sultry Performance by Ida Lupino

A fascinating, quietly invigorating noir piece from director Jean Negulesco.Richard Widmark is fantastic as the owner of the roadhouse who spoils themarriage of Cornel Wilde and Ida Lupino in the quasi-idyllic setting locatedin the U.S.-Canadian border. There are two things that kept me fascinated bythis odd and satisfying little noir. One is the sultry presence of IdaLupino as the silky, smooth-voiced torch singer Lily (her rendition of "Onefor My Baby" is itself precious). Without a doubt this is one of Lupino'sbest performances. The other is director Negulesco's intriguingly stylishdirection: the use of languorous long takes and deep focus, particularly inthe misty, smoke-induced finale in the wilderness is quite haunting andexpressive. This is the only Negulesco film I've seen. I'm looking forwardto this other works.

jpdoherty

20 May 2012

Silly Noir

20th Century Fox's ROAD HOUSE 1948) is not only quite a silly noir butis an implausible unmitigated bore of a movie. Full of unconvincingcardboard characters it is blandly written by Edward Chodorov, who alsoproduced, and is surprisingly directed by Jean Negulesco from whom onewould expect a great deal more. Miscast is Ida Lupino in the leadingrole! Lupino, a lady who was capable of exuding about as much sexappeal as a blood orange, is here under the illusion she is RitaHayworth playing the part of a sexy bar-room Torch Singer. HandsomeCornel Wilde as her lover is as wooden as usual and totally wasted isthe talented Celeste Holm who's role is little more than a bit part.Then we have Richard Widmark who has the most ludicrously written partin the picture! When we first see him he is a nice O.K. guy who runs athriving Road House. Then suddenly - and for reasons that are notsufficiently made clear - he becomes insanely jealous of his manager(Wilde) when the latter tells him that he is about to marry Lupino. Yousee Widmark wanted to marry her himself but - 1) He never proposed toher - 2) They never had a relationship (they don't even have anythingthat resembles a love scene together) and - 3)without telling anyone(including Lupino) he has obtained a marriage license. Wow! So howWidmark was to achieve something like wedded bliss with Lupino aftersuch a "courtship" is anybody's quess. Huh? Well, when Widmark goes topieces over the whole affair so also does the movie I am sorry to say.From here on the Widmark character turns unintentionally comical! Hislosing his marbles so early in the proceedings is totally implausibleand unconvincing. He finally goes over the edge, becomes completelyderanged and with a few Tommy Udo sniggers, he laughably goes gunningfor poor Cornel Wilde before biting the dust himself. And if that isn'tenough of a mess of a movie for you - the whole thing is marred withthe constant use of studio sets and indoor exteriors. There's not asingle outdoor shot in the entire film! Added to this - 95% of thepicture takes place at night.Besides an interactive press book and a photo gallery the extras alsoincludes a featurette "Widmark & Lupino At Fox". Whatever prompted sucha documentary is beyond me! As far as I know they were never beforetogether in a movie at Fox or anywhere else for that matter! Howeverthe featurette is hosted by such heavy hitter know-alls as RobertOsborne, Eddie Muller, Rudy Belhmer and a few others who amazingly heappraise on this wearisome and cringe - inducing affair. All I can saythen is it must be me I guess. But "Road House" up to now was aforgotten and buried Noir and as far as I am concerned it should haveremained so.Fox would do better if they issued DVDs of superior and thus farelusive Widmark movies like "Down To The Sea In Ships" (1949) and thecolourful "Red Skies Of Montana" (1952).

bkoganbing

20 May 2012

Tommy Udo in the Nightclub Business

Following up his sensational movie debut in Kiss of Death, RichardWidmark got another psychopathic role in Road House. Hischaracterization of Jefty, the owner of a road house in the ruralmiddle west near the Canadian border, is Tommy Udo once again, rightdown to the maniacal giggle. Good thing for Widmark he got out of thattypecasting as soon as he could.The actors have to be good here because the story as some real bigholes in it. Richard Widmark owns the Road House and his World War IIbuddy Cornel Wilde manages it. Widmark on a trip to Chicago hires asinger, Ida Lupino at a good deal beyond the normal rate. Of courseWidmark has other things on his mind for Lupino.But it's Wilde that Lupino falls for and when they tell Widmark, hegoes psycho on them, but in a coldblooded maniacal sort of way. Heframes Wilde for embezzlement and then successfully pleads with thejudge to suspend the sentence and commit Wilde on parole to Widmark'scharge. The rest I won't say.Celeste Holm is in this film and I'm not sure what her function isother than to be a witness for Wilde and Lupino in the end. But worsethan that she's a musical performer who could have been a believablesinger. Ida Lupino croaked her numbers out like a bullfrog. The woman,talented actress that she was, could not sing.The song Again was introduced in Road House and if it could become ahit with Lupino's croaky singing of it, it must be a great song.A key piece of evidence also turns up rather conveniently in the end todestroy Widmark's nefarious scheme. A piece of evidence that shouldhave been destroyed months ago as a matter of course. I won't say more.And I also cannot believe that Wilde would have agreed to the paroleconditions. Where was his lawyer?Despite all the holes in this plot, the characterizations of Wilde andLupino caught in a psychotic's jealous rage ring true. And RichardWidmark was a psychotic for the ages. Fans of the above players and I'm one of them should see this film. Iwish these four had been given a better script.

20 May 2012

One of Lupinos Best

This is by far one of Ida Lupino's finest films. She looks terrific and she sings too. This is one actor and director who is sadly missed.

19 May 2012

ROAD HOUSE Revisited

This review is from: Road House (Fox Film Noir) (DVD) I hadn't seen tis film since it's original release. It was great to see it again after all these years. It was especially fun to see Widmark in one of his early "bad boy" roles. Solid cast! Great story, cinematography, and direction.

Bacardi1

19 May 2012

Idas Singing Should Have Been Dubbed

This could have been a top-notch film noir classic if it wasn't for IdaLupino's god-awful singing, made even more laughable by everyone in thefilm waxing rhapsodic over her re: how fabulous she was. Flat, off-key,talking thru most of it - you name it. Neither sexy nor torchy. Eventhe worst Grade D picture singers sound better. Can't help but feelthat once again, another example of a star's ego ending up ruining whatcould have been a very nice little film.Cornel Wilde does his usual shtick, which rarely changes film-to-film;but as usual, Richard Widmark shines in a role that he does best.But all in all, a nice little film.

verbusen

19 May 2012

Silly Stuff But Watchable

Spoilers....I won't go so far as to give this a one star review but I will agreewith what the other low rated reviewers have said. On the down side thescript is really, really, stupid. Ida is hired as a lounge act for sixweeks for a country night club with a bowling alley. So the only placein town to go to has the same act for six weeks? That would get oldreally fast. And I asked my wife while watching this, did somethinghappen in Chicago before this movie started to make Widmark's charactergo head over heals for Lupino? If Chicago happened, they never showedit. Maybe it was the gravely singing cig voice she has (which is a turnon for me). But I mean, come on, they never kiss in the film and he'shead over heels for her? Then the movie flies really fast to a forcedending which is ridiculous, IMHO.OK here's the good, Ida singing One More For The Road. I had watchedthis as a double feature at home with "Macao" and Jane Russell had sungthat same song and this version was much better (again IMHO). Anothergood thing, the bar fight, that was good. And finally, the night clubwas really cool, I imagined myself hanging out there, that would havebeen really nice.More Spoilers.....What could have saved this film for me? When Widmark comes into thekitchen with Ida and Cornell kissing and does nothing, if that wentinto a 3 way thing, that would have been memorable (but this isn't aEuropean film so, NOT!). Another thing would have been after Cornellgets the damning envelope evidence at the end Widmark kills them alland gets off clean, that would have been a memorable ending. Alas, thisis made in 1948 not 1988 so it didn't happen and we get a rushed lamemovie. I'm sure it killed some time in the theaters back in the day.It's kind of like what we would see on TV in the 70's on a Quinn Martinproduction or ABC Mystery Movie of the week except its 1948 and TVwasn't big yet. 5 of 10, IMHO.

17 May 2012

Outstanding performance by Ida Lupino

This review is from: Road House (Fox Film Noir) (DVD) Ida Lupino's acting and singing is a major reason that Road House is among the best of film noir. She has that character (Lily Stevens) DOWN and she is the perfect woman to play that character, who as one lounge patron said "She reminds me of the first woman that ever slapped my face!!".She had the appearance of a person who had drank for years. She had seemingly aged prematurely and had a hard looking face (yet very attractive) - perfect for the brassy, world weary, very confident bar lounge singer she plays. She is brought from Chicago to this far away club to perform for a week or so, and gets involved in a love triangle with the Cornel Wilde and Richard Widmark characters.This is the first movie in which we hear Ida's real singing voice. In previous movies her voice had been dubbed over by another singer. She does two songs: "Again" (which made it to number 2 on the charts shortly thereafter) and "One For My Baby (And One More For the Road)". That latter one is IMO one of the great singing performances in any movie, ever. Her appearance as a chain smoker and of a person who drank, together with her capturing a Bogart-like world-weariness make her absolutely perfect for this song. She sings it (and plays piano) with a sultry, smoky air, and in fact it's more almost like talking than singing. But it works. Her whole persona totally fits the jaded lyrics of that sad song. That performance is the highlight of the movie, IMO. The Celeste Holm character said it perfectly at the end of that performance: "She does more without a voice than anybody I ever heard!!"

16 May 2012

A NOIR FAN MUST-SEE!

As a noir collector, I have to tell you that this one is a must. Buy it for Ida Lupino's performance alone! The star of the show for me, though, is Widmark. While his role is no Tommy Udo (Kiss of Death - 1947 - DON'T MISS IT!), he sizzles, as always. Let's face it, aside from being a great actor, when he was young, the guy was a major hotty!

T Y

15 May 2012

A Songbird in a Bowling Alley

Ida Lupino drifts into town on Widmarks dime, see? Gonna be a songbirdat his bowling alley/cabaret. Only it's like this. She's the wrong kindof dame - she's trouble with a capital "ouble." Sings like a canarythat chews glass and has a 4 pack a day habit. She disrupts everythingthat was good about Palookaville. Soon lumberjacks are destroyingperfectly good liquor bottles to fight for the right to ruffle herfeathers. Widd's got designs on her too, but she falling heavy forCornell Wilde, a rugged hunk of beef who really knows how to work adame's 7-10 split. Meanwhile, Celeste Holm can't scare up the interestof anything with a Y chromosome. What happens? Well it's noir sowhatever it is, the dames won't be marching off in white, and someone'sgonna wish they'd kept their nose to themselves.

15 May 2012

Diners, drive-ins and dives

Not to be confused with the trashy 1989 Patrick Swayze mullet fest that shares the same title, this was the fourth and final genre pic from director Jean Nugulesco, who had previously helmed The Mask of Dimitrios, Nobody Lives Forever and Johnny Belinda.Noir icon Richard Widmark stars as the mercurial Jefty Robbins, who owns a road house called (wait for it...) "Jefty's". He has hired his longtime pal Pete Morgan (noir beefcake Cornel Wilde) to help with day-to-day management. The fussy, protective Pete feels that his main function is to be the voice of reason and steer the frequently impulsive Jefty away from making potentially reckless business decisions. When Pete is dispatched to the train station to pick up Jefty's "new equipment" Lily Stevens (Lupino), a hardened chanteuse who starts cracking wise from the moment they meet, he becomes convinced that this is one of Jefty's potentially reckless business decisions. The tough, self-assured Lily laughs off his attempt to offer up the advance money "for her trouble" and then steer her onto the next train heading back to Chicago. Now, you and I know that these two are obviously destined to rip each other's clothes off at some point; the fun is in getting there. Although the setup may give the impression that this is going to be a standard romantic triangle melodrama, the film segues into noir territory from the moment that the Widmark Stare first appears. Suffice it to say-when you see the Widmark Stare, it is very likely that trouble lies ahead. As his character becomes more and more unhinged, Widmark eventually employs all his "greatest hits" (including, of course, The Demented Cackle). His performance builds to an operatic crescendo of sociopathic bat$#!+ craziness in the film's final act that plays like a precursor to Ben Kingsley's raging, sexual jealously-fueled meltdown in Sexy Beast.Widmark and Lupino are both in top form here. Wilde is overshadowed a bit, but then again his "boy toy" role isn't as showy as the others. Celeste Holm is wonderfully droll as one of Jefty's long-suffering employees. Lupino insisted on doing her own singing in the film; while she was not a technically accomplished crooner, she actually wasn't half bad in a husky-voiced "song stylist" vein (she really tears it up on "One For My Baby"). The film sports an excellent DVD transfer and amusing commentary from noir experts.

12 May 2012

It was always Jefty...or us.

This underated film noir classic has three great stars of the genre: Richard Widmark, famous for his psychotic laugh, Ida Lupino, who was always perfect as the sultry femme fatale, and Cornel Wilde, who despite being very talented never became the big star that he should've been. Other reviewers have already gone over the plot, so I won't bother. Along with the three stars, there's great support from Celeste Holm, who you might recognize from the classic "High Society". Ida Lupino is hotter than ever in this great tale of lust and revenge! Ever since I first saw Richard Widmark's classic and sadistic performance in "Kiss of Death" I've been a big fan, and once again he plays the villian to perfection! Cornel Wilde gives a great performance as a man torn between his love for a woman and his loyalty to his best friend. This classic was made during the "golden years" of film noir, the late 40's, and it has stood the test of time. Hopefully, we won't have to wait too much longer before Fox releases this (along with the other Richard Widmark film noirs) on dvd.

12 May 2012

The New Equipment

That's how Cornel Wilde's Pete Morgan describes Ida Lupino's Lily Stevens, the new headliner at the rural roadhouse of the title this 1948 noir classic that is finally out on DVD. Lupino's Lily is the latest in a long line of women the road house's creepy owner, the memorably named Jefty Robbins (Richard Widmark), has wooed with short-term contracts; all of the previous ones have been disasters, but Lily turns out to be something different. For one thing, despite her self-described "small voice" (that one character describes as "the sound of gravel"), Lily turns out to be a sensation at the road house, and you see and hear why. Either despite or because of her strange tiny sound and her strange way of gulping down her words like swigs of scotch, Lupino has an amazing musicality to her, in a way that might remind viewers of such other screen icons who didn't have great voices but are also forever memorable for their way with a song (such as Dietrich or Marilyn Monroe). For another, she's Ida Lupino, and she is astonishingly sexy, skinny little figure and all. Had Bette Davis not been at Warners in the early 40s Lupino would have been their top female star. One of the greatest female figures in noir, here she is memorably paired with one of the top male figures, Richard widmark, in one of his very earliest screen appearances showing his great gift for playing detestable gigglers (when he finally gets it at the end of the film, you're really ready for it). The film also boasts terrific mise-en-scene work from Jean Negulesco, superb photography by Joseph LaShelle, and Cornel Wilde at his dreamiest. The screenplay is seriously marred by one of the stupidest plot twists ever devised for a noir when Wilde is framed by Widmark for stealing his receipts; not only is he found guilty (with absolutely no evidence other than Widmark's word), but the punishment Widmark has the judge devise is one of the most unbelievable ever devised. it takes a while for the film to get back on track again, but it does so quite memorably in the film's famous denouement, when the characters stumble after one another through a forest during a muggy and foggy dark night. The film also has one of the greatest barroom brawls ever filmed, with Wilde trying to protect Lupino from the advances of a drunk who is an absolute mountain of a man. Beware the audio commentary: although Eddie Muller's comments on noir films are always welcome, he is unfortunately paired here with Kim Morgan, who has very little insight to offer.

ZenVortex

08 May 2012

Classic Film Noir, Brilliant Acting

The lovely Ida Lupino and curiously handsome Richard Widmark deliverbrilliant performances in this classic film noir about a love trianglein a small town bowling alley. Widmark is cast as the owner of the bowling alley who hires Lupino tosing in the bar. We learn that this is his way of meeting new women sohis best friend, convincingly portrayed by Cornell Wilde, tries to dumpLupino at the railway station before she causes any trouble. Of course,she refuses to leave and ends up in a love triangle with Widmark andWilde.Lupino exudes star quality in a truly amazing performance as a sultry,world-weary night club singer in search of redemption. Her mannerisms,vocalizations, and facial expressions are superbly nuanced and defineher as one the best actresses of her generation, comparable to BetteDavis. Widmark gives a mesmerizing performance as a repressed psychopath whonaively deludes himself into believing Lupino will marry him, then goesoff the deep end when he discovers she is in love with his best friend.In the final scenes, he explodes in a virtuoso display of controlledinsanity that characterized his early career as an actor. The direction and cinematography are excellent with beautifullycomposed shots and lingering close-ups of the stars. There is somesharp dialog and the rest of the cast deliver convincing performances,making this an outstanding film noir. Highly recommended.

08 May 2012

Widmark Goes Psychotic Again!

This was a very interesting character study of three people: "LIly Stevens" (Ida Lupino), "Jefty Robbins" (Richard Widmark) and "Pete Morgan" (Cornel Wilde).The two guys are attracted to Lupino, who prefers good-guy Wilde. The scorned Widmark then gets his revenge. This film was a year after Widmark played sadistic killer "Tommy Udo" in "Kiss Of Death" and his character in this movie isn't too far removed from Udo. In both films, Widmark provides the spark when the story needed it.That's not to say the rest of the cast isn't good, too. Ida Lupino always played interesting roles, but Widmark playing these psycho villains is just fascinating and stands out.I'm glad to see this film noir finally now available on DVD.

30 April 2012

Lupino Unbound

Jean Negulesco was an also-ran among golden-age directors, but he fired on all cylinders in this late-forties piney-woods noir. Richard Widmark is a giggling psycho who owns, what else, a Road House somewhere near the Canadian Border; Cornel Wilde is his all-American man Friday. Into the mix comes Lupino, a tough "shantoozie" who becomes the apex of a sick triangle. The talk is hard-boiled and freighted with innuendo (in the style of the times). Worth the price of admission is Lupino singing "One more for my baby (and one more for the road)" in her burnt-toast voice, while sitting at a white piano gouged with burns from her smouldering cigarettes. This movie was made for viewing on the late, late show.

30 April 2012

Great movie, great commentary!

Let me first say that this is an extremely enjoyable film. Ida Lupino is perfect as the hard-bitten nightclub singer, and dominates the early part of the film. But it's watching Richard Widmark's character Jeffty's smoldering jealousy slowly build, finally erupting into full-fledged psychosis at the end of the film that makes this a movie worth re-watching, and owning. But the reason I'm writing this review is as a kind of counter-weight to a prissy pseudo-intellectual response to the commentary another viewer has posted. Eddie Muller and Kim Morgan know and give a lot of insightful back-story on the production of Road House, and the life and careers of the cast and crew. The problem this Stellhorn character seems to be having is simple: they're actually watching and enjoying the film! And yes, they'll be telling a story about Widmark or Lupino, and stop to say something like, "Oh, look at THAT!" To me, the biggest sin one can commit while doing a commentary is simply not watching the movie. And, unfortunately, noir has been subjected to an endless parade of academics sitting there and reading from their long-winded notes, and just never looking up at the screen. They're more interested in their own Theories and Opinions about why the film is important to "the noir cycle" than they are in the movie. I suspect most of them would never have become interested in the films themselves in the first place if the French hadn't legitimized them. Noir Directors and actors are notoriously cynical about these critics and their pet theories. More often than not, these critics were busilly taking notes the first time they saw the films. There are a number of levels to most noirs, and Road House is no exception. Far from creepy, Muller is just enjoying Lupino's performance on exactly the level that it was meant to be taken on. And both he and Kim Morgan are not above savoring the deliciousness of the film's innuendo.In fact, I would say Eddie Muller's excellent 1998 book, Dark City, The Lost World of Film Noir spearheaded a renewed interest in these films that is much more legitimate than the dissecting the genre was subjected to in the late 60s and 70s. A lot of pompous windbags achieved tenure by unsuccessfully trying to emasculate what has always been an intelligently made, but essentially visceral genre. I highly recommend both the commentary and the documentary on this disc to anyone who is actually capable of enjoying the film itself.And I also recommend Eddie Muller's books, especially these two...Dark City: The Lost World of Film NoirArt of Noir: The Posters And Graphics From The Classic Era Of Film Noir

kenjha

28 April 2012

Uneven Film Noir

The employees of a road side nightclub become involved in a lovequadrangle, leading to tension. Lupino is fine as the tough saloonsinger, even warbles a few songs at the piano. Wilde is the earnest buthunky fellow she is attracted to, much to the dismay of Widmark (wholikes Lupino) and Holm (who likes Wilde). As was often the case earlyin his career, Widmark plays a psycho with a maniacal laugh, overactingto the hilt. Holm is given little to do but she does it well enough.The script is contrived and melodramatic, but Negulesco creates a nicefilm noirish atmosphere, culminating in an exciting finale infog-filled woods.

27 April 2012

I loved Ida Lupino

This review is from: Road House (Fox Film Noir) (DVD) I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Ida Lupino was a revelation of inner strength and beauty. What would this movie be without Richard Widmark? For that matter, what would many movies be without him? Can we say boring together. Richard Widmark is always priceless. The consummate bad guy that you just love to hate. I could watch this movie over and over and over.