Joan Bennett and Edward G Robinson, are one of my favorite film Noir "On Screen Couples". They performed together in two very successful film noirs: The Woman in the Window (1944), which is definitely not a predictable film. The powerful psychological mind games, is one of the best I have seen on film. I believe this film is a "gotta see", and I don't think you will be disappointed.
Their next film together, Scarlet Street (1945). The film is about a man named Chris Cross, who retires after 25 years as a cashier.One rainy night, he saves Kitty from her abusive boyfriend. As a amateur painter Chris lets Kitty think he's a wealthy artist and sets her up in a nice apartment. Chris paints masterpieces and sells them under Kitty's name, with unexpected results.
These two films are some of Joan Bennett's, best known films with the help of, Edward G Robinson's, wonderful performance, who has played many type of characters throughout his acting career..
The Housekeeper's Daughter(1939). Comedy. Directed and produced by Hal Roach. Cast: Joan Bennett, Adolphe Menjou and John Hubbard. The screenplay was written by Rian James, Gordon Douglas, Jack Jevne and Claude Martin, based on novel by Donald Henderson Clarke.
The film begins when Hilda decides to visit her mother, who is the housekeeper for the Randalls. The Randalls go on vacation, while their son Robert stays behind to start his career as a reporter.
While, Benny is selling his flowers, he is a witness to Gladys Fontaine kidnapping and follows close behind while she is taken to Gangster Floyd's houseboat. Benny, wanting to save Gladys, puts poison in a cup of coffee meant for Floyd, but Gladys drinks it instead. The next morning, Robert reads about Gladys death in the papers and decides to cover the story, hooking up with reporter Deakon Maxwell and photographer Ed O'Malley. At a police station, they find Benny confessing to Gladys' murder. After a night on the town with Deakon and Ed, Benny suggests to the drunken Robert that he call his editor and tell him that Gladys was thrown from a houseboat.
Robert's story makes Floyd believe that the reporter knows what happened and puts out a contract on his life. While, Deakon and Ed are shooting fireworks from the roof, the gangsters think the fireworks are gun shots and they shoot back. Will the police get there in time?
Loved the cast of this fun movie, Joan Bennett, now a brunette, who reminded me a little of Heddy Lamar. Menjou of course always gives a wonderful performance. The rest of the cast were wonderful character actors including: William Gargan, Marc Lawrence, Donald Meek, George E. Stone and Peggy Wood. Also.. in his debut film, Victor Mature.
Peggy Wood (February 9, 1892 – March 18, 1978), did not perform in many films. Her few film appearances include co-starring opposite Will Rogers in the film, Handy Andy, Jalna, a cameo in the film, A Star is Born(1937), playing a movie studio receptionist. Other films: "Call It a Day" with Olivia de Havilland, "The Housekeeper's Daughter" with Joan Bennett, "The Bride Wore Boots" with Barbara Stanwyck, "Magnificent Doll" with Ginger Rogers and "Dream Girl" with Betty Hutton.
Wood's final screen appearance was as the Mother Abbess in the, The Sound Of Music (1965), for which she received an Academy Award nomination in the category of Best Supporting Actress. She was thrilled to be in the movie although she knew that she could no longer sing. Mother Abbess's performance of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" is dubbed by Margery McKay. Her co-star Marni Nixon wrote in her memoir, "I Could Have Danced All Night", that Wood especially liked McKay's singing voice because it sounded like her own.
In 1969 she joined the cast of the ABC-TV soap, One Life to Live as Dr. Kate Nolan and had a recurring role until the end of the year.
The Woman on the Beach (1947). film noir directed by Jean Renoir.Cast: Robert Ryan, Joan Bennett and Charles Bickford.
After waking up from a nightmare, Lieutenant Scott Burnett, becomes curious about the woman on the beach, named Peggy Butler, a married woman he sees on his daily patrol and the woman he sees in his nightmare. Scott asks his girl friend, Eve Geddes, to marry him that night, and though she agrees at first, she asks Scott to wait another two weeks. Later, Scott sees Peggy on the beach collecting fire-wood from an abandoned shipwreck, he stops and tells Peggy not to take the wood. She asks him if he is haunted by "ghosts" of the ship and then invites him to back to her house. Scott is touched by her understanding and compassion. Soon Peggy's husband Tod, a blind, famous artist joins them. Tod invites Scott to stay, but he thinks it best to return to his station. Later that night, Tod shows up at the station and invites Scott to have dinner at his house, and Scott, who is supposed to meet Eve in town, agrees, standing her up. During dinner, Scott and Tod talk about Tod's blindness. Later, Peggy confesses to Scott that she stays with Tod because she accidentally cut his optic nerve during a drunken fight and feels responsible for him. Scott, doubts that Tod is really blind and comes up with a plan to prove that he really can see.. Will he succeed?
I just saw the film, Woman on the Beach, for the first time yesterday on TCM. There is some beautifully haunting imagery and Robert Ryan, in my opinion, gives a strong performance as does Joan Bennett . There's an interesting love triangle going on here with a very well done mystery. Although, there are a couple of scenes that I could have done without like.... when the kids were whining about wanting candy.
Charles Bickford (January 1, 1891 – November 9, 1967) was an American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The Song of Bernadette (1943), The Farmer's Daughter (1947), and Johnny Belinda (1948). Other notable roles include Whirlpool (1948), A Star is Born (1954) and The Big Country (1958).
Secret Beyond the Door(1948). Psychological thriller. Directed by Fritz Lang, produced by Lang's Diana Productions. Cast: Joan Bennett and was produced by her husband Walter Wanger.
When Celia's beloved older brother Rick dies she is left with a large trust fund. Celia decides to vacation in Mexico with her friend, Edith Potter. After arriving, Celia and Edith witness a knife fight between two men over a woman. Celia can not tear herself from the fight which attracts the attention of an American architect, Mark Lamphere. They quickly fall in love and within days are married. After the wedding, Mark tells Celia about his work managing an architectural journal and his interest reproducing in exact replica of rooms in which brutal murders were committed. The couple's honeymoon plans change when Mark tells Celia he has received a telegram sending him back to New York City. Mark asks Celia to go ahead to his family estate in Lavender Falls, where he will meet her later. That night the maid tells Celia that Mark received no telegram. Puzzled, Celia travels to her new home, where she is met by his sister, Caroline Lamphere, who tells her that Mark has been delayed. Celia is shocked to learn that Mark has a young teenage son, David. Carey introduces Celia to Mark's secretary, Miss Robey, who wears a scarf to hide the side of her face that was burned years before when she rescued David from the fire. When Celia meets Mark at the train station, he reacts strangly to her lilac corsage. Later he tells Celia he is worried about money, as his journal is failing. During a large party at the house, Bob tells Celia he believes that Mark may have married her for her money. Mark then takes the guests through his recreated rooms, which feature the murders of wives by their husbands, and Celia becomes worried when he refuses to show her the last room, which remains locked. What will Celia find beyond the door?
Even if this movie might be a little cheesy, I loved the cinematography and the haunting music which helped create a dreamy atmosphere. The focus on the door and the naration keeps you interested as to what the secret really is.
Fun Facts:
Fritz Lang's version of Rebecca (1940) was a project fraught with disaster. It ran over budget and over schedule, while Lang was at constant loggerheads with his leading lady, Joan Bennett. The first preview of the film attracted comments like "beyond human endurance" and "it stinks". Bennett herself referred to the film as "an unqualified disaster".
Michael Redgrave's first American film.
Anne Revere was a direct descendant of American Revolution hero Paul Revere. In 1926, she graduated from Wellesley College, then enrolled at the American Laboratory School to study acting with Maria Ouspenskaya and Richard Boleslavsky.
Revere made her Broadway debut in, The Great Barrington (1931). Three years later she went to Hollywood to reprise her stage role in the film, Double Door. She returned to Broadway to perform in the original production of, The Children's Hour(1934), and in later years she performed on the New York stage in: As You Like It, The Three Sisters, and Toys in the Attic (play), for which she won the 1960 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play.
Revere worked as a character actress in films between 1934 and 1951. She played mother to Elizabeth Taylor, Jennifer Jones, Gregory Peck, John Garfield, and Montgomery Clift. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress three times and won for her performance in National Velvet. Other Revere films: The Song of Bernadette, Gentleman's Agreement, The Keys of the Kingdom, Body and Soul, and A Place in the Sun.
In 1951, Revere resigned from the board of the Screen Actors Guild after she pleaded the Fifth Amendment and refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. She would not perform until twenty years later in the film, Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon. She began performing on television in 1960, in soap operas : The Edge of Night, Search for Tomorrow, and Ryan's Hope.
