Glenn Ford and Gene Tierney want to know “The Secret of Convict Lake”

The Secret of Convict Lake (1951) is an American Western film directed by Michael Gordon and starring Glenn Ford, Gene Tierney, Ethel Barrymore, and Zachery Scott. The cinematography was by Leo Tover (The Snake Pit, The Heiress, and The Day The Earth Stood Still).

Six convicts escape from a Carson City prison in 1871 during a blizzard. One freezes to death, while the others find their way to Lake Monte Diablo, where eight women are on their own while their men are away prospecting. At first, the women are reluctant to have anything to do with the convicts, but eventually, they break down and offer them shelter and food. One of the men, Jim Canfield (Ford) is looking for the man who lied about him on the witness stand, which resulted in him going to prison. The man Canfield is looking for, Rudy Schaefer (Harry Carter) happens to be the man one of the women, Marcia Stoddard (Tierney), is planning to marry. Carter stole $40,000 and perjured himself, which led to Canfield being convicted of killing a mine owner and stealing his money. The convicts traveling with Canfield are convinced he hid the money somewhere in Lake Monte Diablo. Canfield denies he has the money hidden and explains he is only out for revenge; he plans on killing Schaefer for putting him in jail.

Will Canfield be successful in his quest for revenge? And what about the other convicts? What will their fates be?

Gene Tierney with rifle, flanked by Ann Dvorak on her right and Ruth Donnelly on her left; Ethel Barrymore in the doorway with a pistol

Michael Gordon (1909 - 1993) was an American film director who directed a wide variety of movies including melodramas, films noir, and comedies. His career as a director spanned almost 30 years. Some of his films include Cyrano de Begerac (1950), Pillow Talk (1959), Boys' Night Out (1962), and Move Over, Darling (1963). Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is his grandson by his daughter Jane.

Glenn Ford (1916 - 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who was one of the biggest box office draws for three decades. Ford acted on stage in California before being signed to a contract with Columbia Pictures. He appeared in mostly B movies until The Lady in Question (1940), the first time he was paired with fellow Columbia contract player, Rita Hayworth. After serving in the Coast Guard during World War II, Ford’s career began to take off. He and Hayworth had a huge hit with Gilda (1946) and A Stolen Life (1946) with Bette Davis. Ford came into his own in the 1950s with films like Blackboard Jungle (1955), Interrupted Melody (1955) with Eleanor Parker, Jubal (1956), and The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) with Jeanne Crain, all box office successes. By the end of the decade, Ford was one of the biggest stars in the world. Ford continued making movies in the 1960s but his successes were more uneven than in the previous decade but had hits with Experiment in Terror (1962) and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father  (1963). In 1978, he played Clark Kent’s adoptive father in Superman. His last film role was Raw Nerve (1991).

Gene Tierney, Glenn Ford, and Ethel Barrymore

Ethel Barrymore (1879 - 1959) was an American stage and film actress and part of the famous Barrymore family of actors. Her equally famous brothers were Lionel and John Barrymore. Barrymore got her start on the stage and she was among its brightest stars for many years. Barrymore also had a successful career on the other side of the Atlantic in London, where she starred in Peter the Great. She achieved one of her biggest Broadway successes in W. Somerset Maugham’s comedy, The Constant Wife (1926). Barrymore was a popular character actress in film during the 1940s. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in None but the Lonely Heart (1944) opposite Cary Grant, who played her son. Other film roles include The Spiral Staircase (1946), The Paradine Case (1947), and Pinky (1949).

Zachary Scott (1914 - 1965) was an American actor on stage and most notably in film. He made his film debut in the film noir The Mask of Dimitrios (1944). As a contract player at Warner Bros., Scott was the perfect slick, film noir villain. Before his career in film noir took off, he starred in The Southerner (1945) directed by Jean Renoir. It would be his role as Monty Beragon in Mildred Pierce (1945) that would be his most enduring role with film fans. Scott worked in film, stage, and television until 1963. He died of a malignant brain tumor.

Gene Tierney in a costume test for the film, with the scenes listed for when it would be worn.

The Secret of Convict Lake trivia:

• Dana Andrews and Linda Darnell were originally set to star as Jim Canfield and Marcia Stoddard respectively.
• The story is fictional but it is inspired by a real incident where a posse had a shoot-out with escaped convicts from the Carson City prison. Convict Lake is a real place in California that was named after the incident.
• This was actress Ann Dvorak’s last film role

Click HERE to watch the movie on YouTube.

Click HERE to join the online discussion on Monday, June 23, 2025, 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an email with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion questions

1. What do you think the film’s major theme is? Does it have one in your opinion?
2. Were you surprised by women’s roles in the film?
3. The film features a great cast of supporting actresses. Did one actress’s performance stick out to you more than the others?
4. Did Gene Tierney and Glenn Ford have good on-screen chemistry?
5. Did this movie remind you of other films you’ve seen?

What is the secret of the “Moss Rose?”

Moss Rose (1947) is an American period mystery drama directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Peggy Cummins, Victor Mature, and Ethel Barrymore. The supporting cast includes Vincent Price, Rhys Williams, and Patricia Medina. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Marjorie Bowen, based on a true-crime Victorian murder case.

The story is set in Victorian London and centers around chorus girl, Belle Adair (Cummins), whose real name is Rose Lynton. She sees gentleman Michael Drego (Mature) leave her friend Daisy Arrow’s (Margo Woode) apartment moments before she discovers that Daisy has been murdered.

Daisy decides to blackmail Michael thinking he is the murderer and is willing to do almost anything to keep himself from hanging and his family from scandal. Rose’s blackmail plans are quite unusual but Drego agrees to them. Rose begins to have second thoughts when a second murder is committed that is similar to the first.

Peggy Cummins, Ethel Barrymore, Patricia Medina, and Victor Mature

Gregory Ratoff (1893 – 1960) was a Russian-born American film director, actor, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his acting role as Max Fabian in All About Eve (1950). Some of the films Ratoff directed include Intermezzo (1939) starring Leslie Howard and Ingrid Bergman in her American film debut, Rose of Washington Square (1939) starring Alice Faye, Don Ameche, and Henry Fonda, Adam Had Four Sons (1941) starring Ingrid Bergman and  Warner Baxter, Oscar Wilde (1960).

Peggy Cummings (1925 – 2017) was an Irish actress who had a brief but memorable career in Hollywood. She is best remembered for her starring role in Gun Crazy (1950) playing a murderous femme fatale, who robs banks along with her husband. Cummings was originally cast as Amber St. Clair in Forever Amber (1947) but was replaced by Linda Darnell when Darryl Zanuck, after looking at the rushes, thought she was too young. After Gun Crazy, Cummings never made another film in Hollywood.

Victor Mature (1913 – 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actor who became a major movie star during the 1940s under contract to 20th Century-Fox. Before his film career took off, Mature starred in Lady in the Dark (1941) on Broadway opposite Gertrude Lawrence. Some of Mature’s notable films include I Wake Up Screaming (1941) with Betty Grable, and The Shanghai Gesture (1941) with Gene Tierney. In 1942, he starred opposite Rita Hayworth in the musical My Gal Sal. Other notable films include Samson and Delilah (1949), and The Robe (1952), the first film released in the Cinemascope widescreen process. Mature was self-deprecating when it came to his acting. He said, “I’m no actor, and I’ve got 64 pictures to prove it.”

Ethel Barrymore (1879 - 1959) was an American stage and film actress and part of the famous Barrymore family of actors. Her equally famous brothers were Lionel and John Barrymore. Barrymore got her start on the stage and she was among its brightest stars for many years. Barrymore also had a successful career on the other side of the Atlantic in London where she starred in Peter the Great. She achieved one of her biggest Broadway successes in W. Somerset Maugham’s comedy, The Constant Wife (1926). Barrymore was a popular character actress in film during the 1940s. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in None but the Lonely Heart (1944) opposite Cary Grant who played her son. Other film roles include The Spiral Staircase (1946), The Paradine Case (1947), and Pinky (1949).

 

Victor Mature and Peggy Cummins

Click HERE to join the online discussion on Monday, January 8, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

Click HERE to watch the movie on YouTube.

Discussion questions

1. What genre would you classify this film?
2. Peggy Cummins was given the lead in this film after being fired from Forever Amber. What did you think of her performance?
3. The film had great production values, a good cast, and a tight script. However, the film was a box office failure. Why do you think this was the case?
4. Filmed entirely on the backlot at 20^th Century-Fox, did the recreation of Victorian London look realistic to you?
5. Did it remind you of any other film you’ve seen?
6. Was there a favorite character actor or performance that you especially liked?
7. Where you surprised when the true murderer was revealed?  Did you suspect someone else or where you on the right track all along?

Gregory Peck tops the cast in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Paradine Case”

The Paradine Case (1947) is an American courtroom drama directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Gregory Peck, Ann Todd, Charles Laughton, Charles Coburn, and Ethel Barrymore. The film introduced Alida Valli (billed as Valli on screen) and Louis Jourdan. The film was the last movie Hitchcock directed while under contract to David O. Selznick.

In London, Anna Paradine (Valli), a beautiful young Italian woman is accused of murdering her older, blind husband. The fact that her husband, a wealthy retired colonel cast suspicion on the enigmatic Anna. Anna’s personal lawyer, Sir Simon Flaquer (Coburn), hires Anthony Keane (Peck), a young, successful lawyer to defend her. Keane has been happily married to Gay (Todd) but he is instantly fascinated by his new client. 

Is Anna a murderer? Did she poison her husband on her own or did someone else do it? Was it the colonel’s valet (Jourdan)? Will Keane’s infatuation with Anna keep him from finding the truth and destroy his marriage in the process?

Gregory Peck and Alida Valli

Alfred Hitchcock (1899 – 1980) was an English film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is one of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century. Hitchcock directed over 50 feature films, many are classics that have been honored and studied for years. Some of Hitchcock’s classic films include The 39 Steps (1939), Rebecca (1940), Suspicion (1941), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Notorious (1946), Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), and Psycho (1960).

Gregory Peck (1916 – 2002) was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. He was nominated three times for Best Actor finally winning for his role as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Peck had non-exclusive contracts with David O. Selznick and Twentieth Century-Fox which gave him great flexibility in the roles he chose to play. Peck first gained prominence in The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) and he remained a major movie star through the 1960s. Some of his iconic films include Spellbound (1944), Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951), Roman Holiday (1953), and The Guns of Navarone (1961).

Ann Todd, Charles Coburn, and Gregory Peck

Ann Todd (1907 - 1993) was an English actress and singer. She started out on the London stage but ended up appearing in films, becoming a star opposite James Mason in The Seventh Veil (1945). Due to the success of that film, she was signed by producer David O. Selznick. It was reported to be the most “lucrative”film contract signed by an English actress. However, she found limited success in America. Todd was married three times. Her third husband was to film director David Lean. Together they collaborated on three films produced in England.

Charles Laughton (1899 – 1962) had a long career on the stage and in Hollywood. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Henry VIII in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) and was nominated for two other Best Actor Oscars for his performances in Mutiny on the Bounty (1933) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957). His performance in The Suspect is considered one of Laughton’s most natural screen performances, which is credited to director Siodmak, a close personal friend of the actor.

Charles Coburn (1877 – 1961) was an Academy-Award-winning character actor. Coburn was one of the most popular character actors in film during the 1940s. He was nominated for three Best Supporting Actor Academy Awards for The Devil and Miss Jones (1941), for The More the Merrier (1943)—won, and The Green Years (1946). Other classic films featuring Coburn include The Lady Eve (1941), Kings Row (1942), The Constant Nymph (1943), Monkey Business (1952), and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953).

Ethel Barrymore (1879 - 1959) was an American stage and film actress and part of the famous Barrymore family of actors. Her equally famous brothers were Lionel and John Barrymore. Barrymore got her start on the stage and she was among its brightest stars for many years. Barrymore also had a successful career on the other side of the Atlantic in London where she starred in Peter the Great. She achieved one of her biggest Broadway successes in W. Somerset Maugham’s comedy, The Constant Wife (1926). Barrymore was a popular character actress in film during the 1940s. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in None but the Lonely Heart (1944) opposite Cary Grant who played her son. Other film roles include The Spiral Staircase (1946), The Paradine Case (1947), and Pinky (1949).

Alida Valli (1921 - 2006) was an Italian actress who made films in Europe and the United States. She came to America under contract to David O. Selznick who considered her another Ingrid Bergman. Introduced as “Valli” in Alfred Hitchcock’ The Paradine Case, she never lived up to the promise Selznick had for her. Her next two films The Miracle of the Bells (1948) co-starring Fred MacMurray and Frank Sinatra and Walk Softly Stranger (1950) co-starring Joseph Cotten were box office failures. The latter film was completed in 1948 but its release was held up for two years with the hope that it would capitalize on the popularity of The Third Man (1949). Valli had much greater success in Europe where she starred in films until 2002.

Louis Jourdan (1921 - 2015) was a French film and television actor. Jourdan worked on the stage in Europe and even began working in films as early as 1939, but his film work was interrupted due to World War II. After the war, Jourdan was brought to Hollywood by producer David O. Selznick. His first film in Hollowood was Alfred Hitchcock’s The Paradine Case (1947). The next year he made Letter from an Unknown Woman, one of his most famous roles during his long career. Jourdan made movies in Europe and Hollywood and starred on Broadway in The Immoralist in 1954 co-starring with Geraldine Page and James Dean. Jourdan’s most famous and successful American film was Gigi (1958). The film cos-starred Leslie Caron and Maurice Chevalier and won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

The Paradine Case trivia

• Alfred Hitchcock didn’t think Gregory Peck, Alida Valli, and Louis Jourdan were right for their roles and wanted Laurence Olivier or Ronald Colman as Anthony Keane, Greta Garbo as Mrs. Paradine, and Robert Newton instead of Jourdan.
• The film cost as much as Gone with the Wind (1939) due to Selznick’s insistence that Hitchcock due reshoots and his constant interference on the set.
• A replica of the Old Bailey courtroom was constructed at a cost of $400,000.
• Hitchcock makes his cameo appearance almost 40 minutes into the film.

Why watch this film?

• Watching any Alfred Hitchcock movie is always interesting.
• This is probably the largest cast of stars the director worked with at one time; Laughton, Coburn, and Barrymore were all Oscar winners at the time of the film’s release.
• The film introduced two European stars to American audiences in Louis Jourdan and Alida Valli.
• The attention to detail as far as the film’s production goes is staggering.

To watch the film on YouTube, click on the link below.

To join the discussion on June 28, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you will be sent an invitation with links to the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion questions:

1. Did this seem like an Alfred Hitchcock movie to you? 
2. Do you think this movie deserves more attention from Hitchcock critics?
3. The film introduced Jourdan and Valli to American movie goers. What did you think of them?
4. Was Valli a good choice for Mrs. Paradine? Could you see another actress in the role?
5. When the film was released, Ann Todd and Joan Tetzel (Judy Flaquer and Gay’s best friend, received the best reviews. Do you think they were justified?

Joseph Cotton falls for “The Farmer’s Daughter,” Loretta Young

The Farmer’s Daughter (1947) is an American film comedy directed by H. C. Potter and starring Loretta Young, Joseph Cotten, and Ethel Barrymore. The supporting cast includes Charles Bickford, Harry Davenport, Lex Barker, Keith Andes, Thurston Hall, and James Arness.

Katie Holstrom (Young), a Swedish-American leaves home to go to nursing school. On her way to Capitol City, she is taken advantage of by barn painter Adolph Petree (Rys Williams). He steals her money and leaves her stranded at a motel 60 miles from Capitol City. Humiliated and afraid to tell her parents about her situation, she takes a job as a maid for Agatha Morley (Barrymore) and her son, U. S. Representative Glenn Morely (Cotten). Agatha is the head of a powerful political family which is of interest to Katie.

Impressed by Katie’s work ethic and ability to charm everyone including the crusty butler Joseph Clancy (Bickford). Another bonus, her coffee is much better than Clancy’s which must be taken with alcohol to blunt its bitter taste. Glenn Morley takes notice of Katie’s good qualities and courts her much to the delight of his mother.

When Katie learns that the Morleys are backing Anders J. Finley (Art Baker) for Congress, Katie shows her disapproval by asking him pointed questions of Finley at a town hall meeting introducing him as a candidate. So impressed with Katie’s questioning, the opposition party asks Katie to run for Congress. She accepts their invitation and quits her job with the Morleys.

Will Katie be able to handle the rough and tumble ways of American politics? Will she be taken seriously as a viable candidate and will Glenn stand by her no matter what troubles lie ahead?

H. C. Potter (1904 - 1977) was an American theatrical producer and director, and a director of motion pictures. Potter graduated from Yale University in 1926 and was part of the Yale Dramatic Association. He founded a theater group, the Hampton Players based in Southampton, Long Island. He eventually made his way to Hollywood where he eventually became a film director. Some of his popular films include The Shopworn Angel (1938) starring Margaret Sullivan and James Stewart, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939) starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Mr. Lucky (1943) starring Cary Grant and Laraine Day, and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) starring Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Melvyn Douglas.

Loretta Young (1913 - 2000) was an American actress who can trace her start to the days of silent films where she performed as a child actress. Young made the transition to talking pictures as an adult with almost immediate success. As an adult starred opposite some of Hollywood’s most popular leading men including James Cagney, Clark Gable, Tyrone Power, Gary Cooper, and Cary Grant. Young made many films during the pre-code era including Platinum Blonde (1931), Taxi! (1932), They Call It Sin (1932), Employee’s Entrance (1933), and Midnight Mary (1933). Darryl Zanuck signed Young to a contract at Twentieth Century-Fox and paired her with Tyrone Power, the studio’s top male star in several hit films including Love is News (1937), Cafe Metopole (1937), and Second Honeymoon (1937). Unsatisfied with the roles Zanuck was providing her with, Young left the studio and became a freelance artist. On her own, Young starred opposite Alan Ladd in two films, starred alongside Gary Cooper in Along Came Jones (1945), The Stranger (1946), The Bishop’s Wife (1947) with Cary Grant and David Niven, and Rachel and the Stranger (1947) top-billed over William Holden and Robert Mitchum. After her film career was winding down, Young became a huge star on television when the medium was in its early stages.

Joseph Cotten (1905 - 1994) was an American film, stage, radio, and television actor. Cotten achieved fame on Broadway in the original stage productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair.  He became famous worldwide after appearing in Citizen Kane (1941) and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942). As one of the most popular leading men of the 1940s, Cotten starred in Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Gaslight (1943), Duel in the Sun (1946), and The Third Man (1949). Cotten alternated between work on stage and film into the late-1950s. Cotten also appeared on television guest-starring on The Name of the Game, Cimarron Strip, and Ironside. Cotten’s last film role was in 1981.

Ethel Barrymore (1879 - 1959) was an American stage and film actress and part of the famous Barrymore family of actors. Her equally famous brothers were Lionel and John Barrymore. Barrymore got her start on the stage and she was among its brightest stars for many years. Barrymore also had a successful career on the other side of the Atlantic in London where she starred in Peter the Great. She achieved one of her biggest Broadway successes in W. Somerset Maugham’s comedy, The Constant Wife (1926). Barrymore was a popular character actress in film during the 1940s. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in None but the Lonely Heart (1944) opposite Cary Grant who played her son. Other film roles include The Spiral Staircase (1946), The Paradine Case (1947), and Pinky (1949).

Joseph Cotten and Loretta Young

The Farmer’s Daughter trivia

• The film was intended as a vehicle for Ingrid Bergman but she declined the role. Dorothy McGuire and Sonja Henie were possible replacements.
• Glenn Morley’s (Joseph Cotten) political party was never mentioned.
• Loretta Young’s Oscar win is considered one of the biggest upsets in Academy history. It was the first comedy performance to win since Claudette Colbert won for It Happened One Night (1934).
• Rosalind Russell (one of Young’s real-life best friends) was the odds-on favorite to win the Academy Award that year for her performance in Mourning Becomes Electra (1947).
• This was James Arness’s movie debut and Lex Barker’s first credited screen appearance.
• Anna Q. Nilsson who played Young’s mother was a major star during the silent era.

Why watch this film?

• It’s a delightful film featuring a winner performance from Loretta Young.
• The production is so polished and beautiful, showing off the old studio system at its height.
• In life and politics, nothing has really changed.
• Interesting characterizations from Ethel Barrymore and Charles Bickford

To join the discussion on June 8, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time click here. Once you RSVP, you’ll receive an invitation with a Zoom link.

To watch this film on YouTube, click on the link below.

Discussion questions:

1. What did you think of Young’s performance? Was it Oscar-worthy?
2. Did Young and Cotten have good screen chemistry?
3. What did you think of the political backdrop? Not much has changed, has it?
4. Did you have a favorite scene, character, or piece of dialogue?
5. Did this film remind you of any others that you may have seen?
6. Was Young’s hairstyle the real inspiration for Princess Leia’s in Star Wars?

Glenn Ford and Gene Tierney discover “The Secret of Convict Lake”

The Secret of Convict Lake (1951) is an American Western film directed by Michael Gordon and starring Glenn Ford, Gene Tierney, Ethel Barrymore, and Zachery Scott. The cinematography was by Leo Tover (The Snake Pit, The Heiress, and The Day The Earth Stood Still).

Six convicts escape from a Carson City prison in 1871 during a blizzard. One freezes to death, while the others find their way to Lake Monte Diablo where eight women are on their own while their men are away prospecting. At first, the women are reluctant to have anything to do with the convicts, but eventually, they break down and offer them shelter and food. One of the men, Jim Canfield (Ford) is looking for the man who lied about him on the witness stand which resulted in him going to prison. The man Canfield is looking for, Rudy Schaefer (Harry Carter) happens to be the man one of the women, Marcia Stoddard (Tierney) is planning to marrying. Carter stole $40,000 and perjured himself which lead to Canfield being convicted of killing a mine ower and stealing his money. The convicts traveling with Canfield are convinced he hid the money somewhere in Lake Monte Diablo. Canfield denies he has the money hidden and explains he is only out for revenge; he plans on killing Schaefer for putting him in jail.

Will Canfield be successful in his quest for revenge? And what about the other convicts? What will their fates be?

Gene Tierney with rifle, flanked by Ann Dvorak on her right and Ruth Donnelly on her left; Ethel Barrymore in the doorway with a pistol

Michael Gordon (1909 - 1993) was an American film director who directed a wide variety of movies including melodramas, films noir, and comedies. His career as a director spanned almost 30 years. Some of his films include Cyrano de Begerac (1950), Pillow Talk (1959), Boys' Night Out (1962), and Move Over, Darling (1963). Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is his grandson by his daughter Jane.

Caricature of Glenn Ford from Punch

Glenn Ford (1916 - 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who was one of the biggest box office draws for three decades. Ford acted on stage in California before being signed to a contract with Columbia Pictures. He appeared in mostly B movies until The Lady in Question (1940), the first time he was paired with fellow Columbia contract player, Rita Hayworth. After serving in the Coast Guard during World War II, Ford’s career began to take off. He and Hayworth had a huge hit with Gilda (1946) and A Stolen Life (1946) with Bette Davis. Ford came into his own in the 1950s with films like Blackboard Jungle (1955), Interrupted Melody (1955) with Eleanor Parker, Jubal (1956), and The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) with Jeanne Crain, all box office successes. By the end of the decade, Ford was one of the biggest stars in the world. Ford continued making movies in the 1960s but his successes were more uneven than in the previous decade but had hits with Experiment in Terror (1962) and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father  (1963). In 1978, he played Clark Kent’s adoptive father in Superman. His last film role was Raw Nerve (1991).

Gene Tierney, Glenn Ford, and Ethel Barrymore

Gene Tierney (1920 – 1991) was an American actress. Tierney got her start on the stage where she played the ingenue lead in The Male Animal. She was spotted by 20th Century-Fox Studio head Darryl F. Zanuck and he offered her a movie contract. Zanuck said that Tierney was the most beautiful woman in the movies. Tierney proved that she could carry a film not completely based on her beauty in films like Laura (1944) and Leave Her To Heaven (1945) for which she was nominated for her first and only Best Actress Academy Award. Other important films include The Razor's Edge (1946), Dragonwyck (1946), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), The Iron Curtain (1948), Whirlpool (1949), and The Mating Season (1951). In the late 1940s, she struggled with mental illness which negatively affected her career. After 1955’s The Left Hand of God, Tierney was off the screen until Advice & Consent (1962). She appeared in two films after that, but her career in film effectively ended in 1964 after a guest appearance in The Pleasure Seekers.

Ethel Barrymore (1879 - 1959) was an American stage and film actress and part of the famous Barrymore family of actors. Her equally famous brothers were Lionel and John Barrymore. Barrymore got her start on the stage and she was among its brightest stars for many years. Barrymore also had a successful career on the other side of the Atlantic in London where she starred in Peter the Great. She achieved one of her biggest Broadway successes in W. Somerset Maugham’s comedy, The Constant Wife (1926). Barrymore was a popular character actress in film during the 1940s. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in None but the Lonely Heart (1944) opposite Cary Grant who played her son. Other film roles include The Spiral Staircase (1946), The Paradine Case (1947), and Pinky (1949).

Zachary Scott (1914 - 1965) was an American actor on stage and most notably in film. He made his film debut in the film noir The Mask of Dimitrios (1944). As a contract player at Warner Bros.Scott was the perfect slick, film noir villain. Before his career in film noir took off, he starred in The Southerner (1945) directed by Jean Renoir. It would be his role as Monty Beragon in Mildred Pierce (1945) that would be his most enduring role with film fans. Scott worked in film, stage, and television until 1963. He died of a malignant brain tumor.

Gene Tierney in a costume test for the film with the scenes listed for when it would be worn.

The Secret of Convict Lake trivia:

• Dana Andrews and Linda Darnell were originally set to star as Jim Canfield and Marcia Stoddard respectively.
• The story is fictional but it is inspired by a real incident where a posse had a shoot-out with escaped convicts from the Carson City prison. Convict Lake is a real place in California that was named after the incident.
• This was actress Ann Dvorak’s last film role.

To watch the film on YouTube, click on the link below.

To join the online discussion of this film on May 18, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation with a link to the discussion on Zoom.

Questions for discussion:

1. What did this film have in common with the other two films we watched: The Walking Hills and Lust for Gold?
2. How did Glenn Ford’s performance in this film compare with his characterization in Lust for Gold?
3. Was Tierney believable as a western heroine? Was her chemistry with Ford believable?
4. Did you have a favorite character in the film?
5. Were you surprised by anything?

Dorothy McGuire descends "The Spiral Staircase"

The Spiral Staircase (1946) is a psychological suspense film directed by Robert Siodmak starring Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, and Ethel Barrymore. Dore Schary produced the film; the screenplay was by Mel Dinelli, the music by Roy Webb, and the cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca.

The setting is a small New England town during the early 20th century terrorized by a serial killer targeting handicapped women. McGuire stars as Helen, a mute since childhood, after she witnessed her parents burn to death in a fire. She is employed by Mrs. Warren (Barrymore), who insists that Helen leave town because she fears she could be the killer’s next victim. Does Mrs. Warren know who the killer is? Mrs. Warren is a widow with two sons: Professor Albert Warren (Brent) and Steven Warren (Gordon Oliver). Albert is Mrs. Warren’s stepson, the son of her husband’s first marriage. Steven is her biological son.

Dorothy McGuire walks home in the dark.

All the action takes place during one day, which adds to the film’s increasing tension. The cast also features Kent Smith, Elsa Lanchester, Sara Allgood, and Rhonda Fleming.

Robert Siodmak (1900 – 1973) had a very successful career in Hollywood and is best known for his thrillers and films noir. He signed a seven-year contract with Universal and directed The Killers (1946), the film that made Ava Gardner a star. He worked with some of the top movie stars during Hollywood’s Golden Age, including Deanna Durbin, Gene Kelly, Burt Lancaster, Dorothy McGuire, Yvonne de Carlo, Olivia de Havilland, and Barbara Stanwyck. Often compared to Hitchcock in his prime, he never got the recognition that the Master of Suspense did, but most of his films hold up remarkably well and are worth watching.

Dore Schary (1905 – 1980) was an American screenwriter, producer, and studio executive. Schary was a journalist and acted in bit parts on Broadway. Schary wrote screenplays for all the major studios before becoming a film executive with David O. Selznick’s Vanguard Films where he oversaw the production of I’ll Be Seeing You (1944), The Farmer’s Daughter (1947), and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947). He moved on to the head of production for RKO where he produced Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) and Crossfire (1948). Schary left RKO and went to M-G-M to be vice president in charge of production in 1948 and immediately clashed with studio head Louis B. Meyer. Things came to a head with Meyer resigning and Schary made the head of the studio. After a series of film flops, Schary was fired from M-G-M in 1957. Schary went on to have success writing and producing shows on Broadway including Sunrise at Campobello (1958-59). He went on to write and produce the film version to great success.

Mel Dinelli (1912 – 1991) was an American writer for theater, radio, and film. Dinelli wrote the screenplays for The Window (1949), The Reckless Moment (1949), Cause for Alarm! (1951), Beware, My Lovely (1952), Jeopardy (1953), and Lizzie (1957).

Roy Webb (1888 – 1982) was an American film music composer. Webb was born in New York City and conducted on Broadway before moving to Hollywood in the late 1920s where he became the music director at RKO where he stayed until 1955. He was nominated for seven Academy Awards for his film scores including scores for My Favorite Wife (1940), I Married a Witch (1942), and The Enchanted Cottage (1945). Other famous film scores include Notorious (1946), Out of the Past (1947), I Remember Mama (1948), and Teacher’s Pet (1958). A graduate of Columbia University, Webb wrote the fight song “Roar, Lion Roar” in 1925.

Nicholas Musuraca (1892 – 1975) was a cinematographer best known for his work at RKO where he helped establish their house style. Musuraca filmed producer Val Lewton’s famous horror film Cat People (1942) and the film noir classic Out of the Past (1947), and director George Stevens’s I Remember Mama (1948). Other movies he filmed include Deadline at Dawn (1946), The Locket (1946), and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947).

McGuire at the movies

Dorothy McGuire (1916 – 2001) was an American theater and film actress. McGuire developed an interest in acting at a young age. At 13, she made her stage debut in A Kiss for Cinderella in Omaha, Nebraska, her hometown. Henry Fonda, also from Omaha, was her costar. As an adult, she achieved fame on Broadway in Claudia”(1941 to 1943). In 1943, she starred in the film version with Robert Young that was a huge success. She reunited with Young for The Enchanted Cottage (1945) and replaced Gene Tierney in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945). She was nominated for Best Actress in Gentleman’s Agreement (1947). Some of her other films include Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), Trial (1955), and Friendly Persuasion (1956). McGuire made several popular films for Walt Disney including Old Yeller (1957), Swiss Family Robinson (1960), and Summer Magic (1963).

George Brent (1904 – 1979) was an Irish-American stage, film, and television actor. Brent went to Hollywood in 1930 and appeared in supporting roles in several films. In 1931, he signed with Warner Bros. where he played opposite Barbara Stanwyck in So Big! (1932). That same year he co-starred with Stanwyck again in The Purchase Price. In 1933 he appeared in the musical classic 42nd Street, The Keyhole with Kay Francis and Stanwyck again in Baby Face. He made a string of pictures with Bette Davis: Jezebel (1938), Dark Victory (1939), The Old Maid (1939), The Great Lie (1941), and In This Our Life (1942). Brent continued acting in movies and television till 1978, a year before he died of emphysema.

Ethel Barrymore and McGuire

Ethel Barrymore (1879 – 1959) was an American actress whose career spanned more than six decades. She was the sister of actors John and Lionel Barrymore, the aunt of John Drew Barrymore, and the great-aunt of Drew Barrymore. Barrymore established herself as a major Broadway actress in the 1920s and appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1924. Barrymore made 15 silent movies and appeared in the early talking picture Rasputin and the Empress (1932) with her brothers John and Lionel. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in None but the Lonely Heart (1944) co-starring Cary Grant. She was nominated for three more Best Supporting Actress Oscars for The Spiral Staircase (1946), The Paradine Case (1947), and Pinky (1949).

A cautious McGuire navigates The Spiral Staircase

The Spiral Staircase trivia:

• Ingrid Bergman was originally considered for the role of Helen.
• The Killer’s eyes are those of director Robert Siodmak.
• The silent film being watched by Dorothy McGuire’s character is D.W. Griffith’s The Sands of Time (1922).
• Included among the American Film Institute’s 2001 list of 400 movies nominated for the top 100 Most Heart-Pounding American Movies.

To watch the film on YouTube, click the link below.

To join us on Zoom for a discussion of the film on November 24, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click on the link to the Chicago Film Club.

Discussion questions:

1. What genre category do you think this film fits? 
2. Some have called it a horror film. Is that a fair assessment?
3. What did you make of the dynamic between the two brothers?
4. Did you wonder if Mrs. Warren knew who the murderer was?
5. Was the romance between Helen and Dr. Parry believable?

Classic Movies to watch during COVID-19: “The Spiral Staircase”

The Spiral Staircase (1946) directed by Robert Siodmak is one of my favorite films. During this time when most of us are confined to our homes, I thought it would be interesting to review this classic.

The Spiral Staircase is based on the novel Some Must Watch (1933) by British Author Ethel Lina. Screenwriter Mel Dinelli, changed the location from Britain to early 20th century Vermont. The plot focuses on a young woman named Helen (Dorothy McGuire) who suffered a childhood tragedy that left her mute. She is employed by Mrs. Warren (Ethel Barrymore), a rich old woman who is bedridden and in need of constant medical attention. The Warren home is a large Victorian mansion with lavish furnishings and a spooky spiral staircase that goes down to the cellar. It is also secluded and isolated from the town. The Warren’s employ Mr. and Mrs. Oates, a husband and wife team (Rhys Williams and Elsa Lancaster) of handyman and housekeeper respectively. Mrs. Warren has two sons: Professor Albert Warren (George Brent) and Steven Warren (Gordon Oliver) who has just returned from a trip abroad. Albert, who is the older brother, is actually Mrs. Warren’s stepson by her husband’s previous marriage. Also living in the Warren home is Blanche (Rhonda Fleming), Professor Warren’s secretary.

Helen (Dorothy McGuire) watches a silent film while a murder takes place in the hotel.

The movie begins with Helen attending the showing of a silent movie in a downtown hotel. It’s a great scene for a couple of reasons. It establishes the time period and showcases what the silent movie experience was like. It also helps to establish the mute Helen’s character; she is living in a kind of silent movie of her own.

At the conclusion of the film, the constable (James Bell) arrives at the hotel after a handicapped woman staying there has been murdered. Two other women have been murdered recently and it appears that all the dead women had some kind of physical handicap or deformity. The constable advises Helen to go home before sundown as he suspects the town is being terrorized by a serial killer. Just as she’s about to walk home, Helen meets Dr. Parry (Kent Smith) who offers her a ride in his carriage. It is obvious by the way Helen and Dr. Parry interact that they enjoy each other’s company. Helen accepts the ride, but about halfway home, a young boy stops the carriage and begs Dr. Parry to come to his house to attend to his ailing father even though Dr. Harvey (Erville Alderson) is the boy’s father’s physician. Dr. Parry relents to the boy’s pleas, which leaves Helen to walk the rest of the way on her own. As Helen gets closer to the Warren home, the sky turns dark and it begins to rain. In her hurry to get into the house, she drops her key. As she scrambles to find it on the wet ground, a sinister-looking figure is seen lurking behind a tree, stalking Helen. Fortunately, she finds the key and gets into the house safely, but now we know that whoever the murderer is, sees Helen as a potential victim.

Helen walks the rest of the way home by herself.

Safe inside the house we learn some more about the Warren family. We discover that there is tension between the stepbrothers. It seems that Steven and Blanche had a relationship in the past. Steven just back from Europe seems to want to rekindle that relationship. This situation makes Blanche uncomfortable since she’s employed by his stepbrother, the professor. As the storm rages outside, you get the sense that one is brewing inside this home as well. In the meantime, Mrs. Warren’s condition seems to be getting worse. Dr. Parry is called to treat her, which pleases Helen.

Mrs. Warren (Ethel Barrymore) is fearful of Helen’s life

During Dr. Parry’s visit, it is discovered that the ether, used to revive Mrs. Warren from her spells, has gone missing. The matriarch accuses Nurse Barker (Sara Allgood) of taking it. This is the last straw for Nurse Barker who quits after being accused, leaving Helen to tend to Mrs. Warren by herself. Just before Dr. Parry leaves, Mrs. Warren begs him to take Helen away from the house; she senses some harm will come to her if she stays. He agrees and leaves to attend to another patient, but promises to come back for Helen as soon as he’s done. Professor Warren orders Mr. Oates to go to a neighboring town to get some more ether, a task he’s not keen to do on a stormy night.

Helen on the creep spiral staircase

One by one, people exit the house leaving Helen alone with Mrs. Warren. Not only is Helen isolated because of her inability to speak, but she’s isolated in the huge Warren house during a furious rainstorm. Will she survive the night?

Siodmak is compared to Alfred Hitchcock in his ability to build suspense and it’s a fair comparison. The tension rises to a surprising and satisfying (for me) climax. The film’s production values are first-rate. The cinematography by RKO’s legendary Nicholas Musuraca (I Remember Mama) created the perfect mood with light and shadow. The music is by another RKO contract employee, Roy Webb (Notorious). All these elements work together to create the perfect blend of mystery and suspense.

McGuire is amazing as Helen, acting with her eyes and body since she doesn’t speak. Barrymore gives her usual cantankerous old-woman-sick-in-bed characterization, but it totally works here. Brent is properly reserved as the professor hiding a family secret. The rest of the supporting cast has some great moments, including Lancaster as the housekeeper with a soft spot for brandy and the constable fearful of the Warren’s harmless bulldog.

Helen, Professor Warren (George Brent), Blanche (Rhonda Fleming), and Steve Warren (Gordon Oliver)
in a dream sequence

If I had to classify The Spiral Staircase, I’d call it gothic film noir. The remoteness of the setting and the moody photography combine to make that tag make sense.

I guarantee that The Spiral Staircase will not disappoint. It has so many virtues that it’s worth more than one viewing to realize them all.

Let me know what you think of this classic.

You can watch The Spiral Staircase on YouTube.



The Spiral Staircase
Directed by Robert Siodmak
Produced by Dore Sherry
Screenplay by Mel Dinelli
Cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca
Music by Roy Webb
Released February 6, 1946

Classic Films in Context: “Pinky” 1949

In 1947, producer Darryl F. Zanuck tackled the subject of anti-semitism with Gentlemen’s Agreement. The movie, directed by Elia Kazan, won the Academy Award for Best Picture of the Year. In 1949, Zanuck produced the first Hollywood film to address racial prejudice. The movie was Pinky. When viewed today, it seems dated and filled with stereotypes, but for its time, it was groundbreaking cinema.

Made when Jim Crow laws ruled the South, Pinky tells the tale of a young, light-skinned black women who passes for white. Patricia “Pinky” Johnson (Jeanne Crain) leaves her home in Mississippi to be educated as a nurse up North. On the train ride to college, the ticket-taker assumes she is white and she doesn’t correct him. So begins her deception. While in nursing school, she meets a young doctor (William Lundigan) who falls in love with her. Fearing her secret will be discovered, she returns home to the grandmother who raised her. Up North she was treated with dignity and respect. Down South, she’s treated with cruelty and suspicion. Dicey Johnson (Ethel Waters), Pinky’s illiterate grandmother, worked as a laundress to send Pinky to nursing school. She hoped her granddaughter would return home and help her own people. But Pinky wants no part of this. She’s had a taste of a better life.

Jeanne Crain and Ethel Waters

Reportedly Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge campaigned for the lead. It’s hard to know if Zanuck seriously considered either of these actresses (Linda Darnell also wanted the role). One can only imagine how the audience would have reacted to seeing a black actress holding hands with a white man, let alone kissing him. There is a telling scene towards the end of the film. Pinky is in the midst of a court battle. She’s trying to hold onto property willed to her by Miss Em (Ethel Barrymore), an elderly white woman who became fond of Pinky, while in her care. In the packed courtroom, Pinky’s white boyfriend touches her. As he does this, she stops in her tracks, a look of terror on her face. Viewers today might not understand that in the deep South of the 1940s, that slight physical contact was enough to get the two of them lynched.

Zanuck was criticized for casting Crain, a white actress as Pinky, but he was convinced that audiences would identify with Crain. Zanuck hypothesized that they would experience racial prejudice through Crain’s characterization. Apparently, Zanuck was correct. In Bosley Crowther’s September 30, 1949 review of the film in The New York Times, the sometimes-acerbic critic said, “By giving a winning personality to the much-abused girl Jeanne Crain successfully channels resentment against these bitter experiences to you.”

A pivotal scene between Crain and Ethel Barrymore

Besides the film’s focus on the evils of racism, it has a universal appeal. There is an underlying theme that you need to be true to yourself, something that Pinky’s character struggles with throughout the film. She could have had an easier life if she married her doctor boyfriend, moved up North, and never revealed her background (which was his plan for the two of them). When she finally embraces the fact that she is black, she is truly free. She establishes “Miss Em’s Clinic and Nursery School,” on the property the old woman left her, thus fulfilling the dreams of her grandmother.

Pinky was a huge box office success, one of the biggest of the year in fact. All three actresses received Academy Award nominations. Crain was nominated in the Best Actress in a Leading Role category, while Ethel Barrymore and Ethel Waters competed against each other in the Best Actress in a Supporting Role category. All three were shutout. Crain lost to Olivia de Haviland (The Heiress), Ethels Barrymore and Waters lost to Mercedes McCambridge (All The King’s Men).

Pinky, not that well remembered, even by classic movie fans, proved that a movie tackling a subject like racism could be a commercial success. The 1950s would produce a flood of “message” pictures like No Way Out (1950) and The Defiant Ones (1958), but if it weren’t for Pinky, those films might never have been made.