Charles Schnee Movies
Yale Law School graduate Charles Schnee forsook a burgeoning legal career in 1946 to become a Hollywood screenwriter. Schnee spent most of his subsequent career as both writer and producer (Torch Song, The Prodigal, Somebody up There Likes Me) at MGM, with only occasional forays away from the studio for such projects as Red River (1948). He won an Academy Award for his scriptwork on The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), and just before his death penned that film's unofficial sequel, Two Weeks in Another Town (1962). For reasons unknown, Charles Schnee signed his script for By Love Possessed (1961) pseudonymously as John Dennis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1948
On the run from the cops, bootleggers Frankie Madison (Burt Lancaster) and Noll Turner (Kirk Douglas), find themselves racing up to an enormous roadblock. The two split up, agreeing that if one was caught, the other would operate their nightclub and save half the profits for his partner. The unlucky Madison is caught and when released from prison 14 years later, he returns to claim his money. Turner, never intending to split the money, tries to distract Madison by offering him the affections of his girlfriend Kay (Lizabeth Scott). Madison's brother Dave (Wendell Corey), Turner's accountant, help's Turner by doctoring the books to hide the lucrative profits of the club. Madison is enraged that he has been swindled by his friend and his brother, and Dave finally helps Madison get his revenge and Kay's love. Byron Haskin, in his directorial debut, brings a post-war idealism into the ordinarily cynical noir sensibility. Wendell Corey is particularly fine as Madison's cowardly brother, who manages to redeem himself, and Lizabeth Scott is touching as the vulnerable, romantic Kay. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott, (more)
- 1946
In this romantic drama, Bill and Susan Cummings (Mark Stevens and Joan Fontaine), a couple from the Bronx, look back at the early days of their marriage. When they meet in 1938, Bill is working as a machinist, and Susan is a clerk in a bookstore. They fall in love and decide to wed, but it's not long after the honeymoon that Bill is drafted and sent to war. When Bill comes marching home, he finds that it's not easy to find a new job, and economic hardship puts their marriage to the test. The supporting cast includes Harry Morgan and Bobby Driscoll. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Fontaine, Mark Stevens, (more)
- 1946
True Confession was one of the unfunniest of the "screwball" comedies of the 1930s, and its musical remake, Cross My Heart, isn't much of an improvement. Betty Hutton steps into the old Carole Lombard role as Peggy, a compulsive liar who'll do anything to help her attorney fiance Oliver Clarke (Sonny Tufts) get ahead. When it looks as though an unsolved murder case will be Clarke's ticket to success, Peggy, sticking her tongue in her cheek (as she always does when she's about to tell a whopper), glibly confesses to the killing. Peggy's plan is to allow her boyfriend to prove her innocence, thereby cementing his reputation as a man of integrity-but things don't go quite as planned. The subsequent trial is enlivened by the antics of looney Russian actor Peter (Michael Chekhov), who may or may not be the actual murderer. Betty Hutton's song numbers are just about as mediocre as the rest of the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Hutton, Sonny Tufts, (more)
