Victor Travers Movies
Director Victor Fleming's final film features Ingrid Bergman as a vivid and luminous Joan of Arc, the 15th-century French peasant girl who led the French in battle against the invading English, becoming a national hero. When she was captured, tortured, and ultimately executed by the English, she was made a Catholic saint. Bergman's Joan is a strong and spiritual figure who proves her devotion to the Dauphin (Jose Ferrer), later to become the King of France. Joan is compelling as she wins an alliance with the Governor of Vaucouleurs and the courtiers at Chinon, leads her army in the Battle of Orleans, is betrayed by the Burgundians, and edicts that "our strength is in our faith." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ingrid Bergman, Selena Royle, (more)
- 1947
Lucille Ball offers a seminal version of her Lucy Ricardo TV character in Her Husband's Affairs. Ball is cast as Margaret Weldon, the wife of advertising executive William Weldon (Franchot Tone). Though Weldon is successful, Margaret can't help but feel that he'd be more successful if she were to take an active part in his business affairs. The fun really begins when Margaret tries to help Weldon promote a crackpot inventor (Mikhail Rasumny) who's come up with a revolutionary new embalming fluid. As in the previous year's The Hucksters, Madison Avenue and Big Business are targetted for a great deal of derisive ribbing. If only Her Husband's Affairs were as funny as everyone involved seems to think it is. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucille Ball, Nana Bryant, (more)
- 1947
A precursor of sorts to the 1999 Julia Roberts vehicle The Runaway Bride, It Had to Be You stars Ginger Rogers as Victoria Stafford, a wealthy girl who has been engaged three times, and has three times chickened out at the altar just before saying "I do." Determined to wed her fourth fiancé, Oliver H.P. Harrington (Ron Randell), Victoria is on the verge of saying those two little words, when suddenly she sees the vision of her "dream lover," George (Cornel Wilde), whom she has envisioned since childhood. Ultimately our heroine meets an in-the-flesh lookalike for her imaginary sweetheart: a no-nonsense fireman named Johnny Blaine, who indeed was a childhood friend of Victoria's. So, do wedding bells finally ring? Not on your life. Though Victoria is ga-ga over Johnny, the feeling is far from mutual -- and besides, there are several reels to go before the end title. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, Cornel Wilde, (more)
- 1946
In this typical Vera Vague 2-reel comedy, the scatterbrained Vera mistakes a stage magician, Bluebeard the Great (Barton Yarborough), for a murderer.The "victim," as it turns out, was merely a dummy and part of the act. Not one of the Columbia short subject department's better efforts, Hiss and Yell was nevertheless nominated for an Academy Award in the short subject category, the second Vera Vague farce so honored. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1945
In this tuneful comedy, an opera talent scout is in the country one day when he overhears a beautiful hillbilly milkmaid singing to her cow. The gal has an exquisite voice and he immediately snaps her up and takes her to the big city to become his newest star. Unfortunately, for all her musical gifts, the poor girl couldn't act her way out of a milk pail and so the wily agent has her sing off-stage while her double performs on stage. Things go okay for a time, but then the singer rebels, finding opera music tiresome and too snobby. One night she decides to sing her own version of Rossini's "William Tell" which she calls "Tillie Tell." The audience goes mad with delight and she becomes a great success. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1945
Bedlam is one of the costlier psychological-horror efforts from RKO producer Val (Curse of the Cat People) Lewton. Boris Karloff stars as the supervisor of the notorious 18th century British insane asylum St. Mary's of Bethlehem, better known as "Bedlam." Anna Lee, who co-stars as the feisty mistress of a fatuous government official, is appalled by the miserable treatment afforded the Bedlam inmates and insists that reforms be initiated. The crafty, politically connected Karloff responds by having Lee herself incarcerated in the institution: she is a "willful woman", and therefore must be insane. With the help of a few of the more rational patients, Lee stages a mutiny, capturing Karloff and giving him a mock trial. Though they don't truly intend to harm Karloff, he is seriously injured by one of his tormented patients. Assuming that Karloff is dead, the other inmates wall up his body in the cellar--and as the last brick is put in place, we see Karloff's eyes suddenly open! Though it has it moments of genuine terror, Bedlam is as historically accurate as possible, right down to the archaic dialogue passages. For the most part, the film is an indictment against political corruption, with Karloff (in a terrific, multi-faceted performance) alternately bullying and wheedling to save his own behind. Val Lewton (writing under the pseudonym Carlos Keith) based his film on one of the illustrations in Hogarth's "The Rake's Progress," glimpses of which are seen throughout the film as transitional devices. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Boris Karloff, Anna Lee, (more)
- 1944
Leonard Maltin once observed that Storm Over Lisbon is what Casablanca would have looked like had it been produced by Republic instead of Warner Bros. This wartime meller reunites the cast and director of the successful Republic melodrama Lady and the Monster, with less than successful results. Skating star Vera Hruba Ralston plays Maritza, a woman of mystery operating in neutral Lisbon. Maritza is somehow connected with sinister café owner Deresco (Erich Von Stroheim), who seems to have a more than a cozy relationship with the Nazis. Deresco tries to prevent American journalist John Craig (Richard Arlen) from leaving Lisbon with a cache of top-secret microfilm (what, no Letters of Transit?) With the whole world crumbling, Vera Ralston manages to work in an ice-ballet number. Few have ever had the urge to shout "Play it again" after watching Storm Over Lisbon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vera Ralston, Richard Arlen, (more)
Thanks to its Jerome Kern/Ira Gershwin/Yip Harburg score and the luminescence of stars Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly, Cover Girl has taken on a legendary status in recent years. In truth, the film has a banal and predictable premise: a chorus girl (Hayworth) is given a chance for stardom by a wealthy magazine editor (Otto Kruger), who years earlier had been in love with the girl's mother. Offered an opportunity to be a highly-paid cover girl, our heroine would faithfully remain with her tacky nightclub act if only the club manager (Kelly), whom she pines for, would ask her. He loves her too, but doesn't want to stand in her way, so he fakes an argument to send her packing. You don't need a crystal ball to known that the girl and her guy will be reunited for the finale. Phil Silvers, everybody's best friend, and Eve Arden, Kruger's acid-tongued assistant, provide comic relief. The story sags badly at times, but the fans went home happy thanks to the powerhouse musical numbers, including Long Ago and Far Away and Kelly's famous "alter-ego" dance. The film skyrocketed both Hayworth and Kelly to superstardom, and didn't do Silvers any harm, either. Cover Girl is an extraordinarily lavish Technicolor production from the usually parsimonious Columbia Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, (more)
- 1944
Within its brisk 78 minutes, Jam Session manages to accommodate the singing, dancing and acting talents of Ann Miller, a romantic main plot, a comic subplot-and no fewer than six big-name orchestras. The story is the old saw about a small-town girl named Terry Baxter (Miller), who wins a trip to Hollywood. Unable to impress any of the tinseltown bigwigs, Terry is about to pack it in and head home until she meets go-getting screenwriter George Carter Haven (Jess Barker). Several mishaps and setbacks later, Terry not only lands a studio contract, but Haven as well. In addition to the terpsichorean talents of Ann Miller, the film spotlights such major big-band names as Charlie Barnet (playing "Cherokee," of course!), Louis Armstrong, Alvino Ray, Jan Garber, Glen Gray and Teddy Powell, along with vocalists Nan Wynn and the Pied Pipers. A tantalizingly brief clip of Jam Session was featured (wildly out of context!) in the 1968 Monkees film vehicle Head. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Miller, Jess Barker, (more)
- 1941
In this low-budget thriller (which developed something of a cult following among film buffs in the '60s and '70s), Peter Lorre plays Janos Szabo, an immigrant from Hungary who is a skilled craftsman. After he's caught in a fire, his face is horribly scarred; his terrifying appearance makes it impossible for him to get a job. With nowhere else to turn, Janos begins working for the criminal underworld, where he eventually raises enough money to purchase an expensive mask whose expressionless features are only a slight improvement over his distorted visage, but at least allow him to go out in public. However, Janos begins having second thoughts about his life of crime, especially after he falls in love with Helen (Evelyn Keyes), a kind-hearted blind woman. Director Robert Florey supposedly shot this film and Meet Boston Blackie in a mere 24 days. Florey and Lorre would team up again for another offbeat film buff favorite, The Beast with Five Fingers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Lorre, Evelyn Keyes, (more)
- 1940
From the same folks who brought us My Son is a Criminal comes the near-lookalike property My Son is Guilty. Veteran police patrolman Tim Kelly (Harry Carey) despairs over the antics of his ne'er-do-well son Ritzy (Bruce Cabot), who prefers to live life in the fast lane. Released from prison after getting mixed up with mob activities, Ritzy promises his dad that he'll try to reform, but before long he's back with a bad crowd, compounding his misdeeds by plotting the demise of his own father. Meanwhile, Ritzy's sweetheart Julia Allen (Jacqueline Wells) gives up on the lad entirely, preferring a much safer relationship with young author Barney (Glenn Ford, in one of his first major roles). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Cabot, Harry Carey, (more)
Frank Capra's classic comedy-drama established James Stewart as a lead actor in one of his finest (and most archetypal) roles. The film opens as a succession of reporters shout into telephones announcing the death of Senator Samuel Foley. Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains), the state's senior senator, puts in a call to Governor Hubert "Happy" Hopper (Guy Kibbee) reporting the news. Hopper then calls powerful media magnate Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold), who controls the state -- along with the lawmakers. Taylor orders Hopper to appoint an interim senator to fill out Foley's term; Taylor has proposed a pork barrel bill to finance an unneeded dam at Willet Creek, so he warns Hopper he wants a senator who "can't ask any questions or talk out of turn." After having a number of his appointees rejected, at the suggestion of his children Hopper nominates local hero Jefferson Smith (James Stewart), leader of the state's Boy Rangers group. Smith is an innocent, wide-eyed idealist who quotes Jefferson and Lincoln and idolizes Paine, who had known his crusading editor father. In Washington, after a humiliating introduction to the press corps, Smith threatens to resign, but Paine encourages him to stay and work on a bill for a national boy's camp. With the help of his cynical secretary Clarissa Sanders (Jean Arthur), Smith prepares to introduce his boy's camp bill to the Senate. But when he proposes to build the camp on the Willets Creek site, Taylor and Paine force him to drop the measure. Smith discovers Taylor and Paine want the Willets Creek site for graft and he attempts to expose them, but Paine deflects Smith's charges by accusing Smith of stealing money from the boy rangers. Defeated, Smith is ready to depart Washington, but Saunders, whose patriotic zeal has been renewed by Smith, exhorts him to stay and fight. Smith returns to the Senate chamber and, while Taylor musters the media forces in his state to destroy him, Smith engages in a climactic filibuster to speak his piece: "I've got a few things I want to say to this body. I tried to say them once before and I got stopped colder than a mackerel. Well, I'd like to get them said this time, sir. And as a matter of fact, I'm not gonna leave this body until I do get them said." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Jean Arthur, (more)
Virtually a textbook example of Howard Hawks' "macho" mode, Only Angels Have Wings takes place high in the Peruvian Andes. Cary Grant heads a ramshackle airmail and freight service, forced to fly in the most perilous of weather conditions to the most treacherous of destinations. Facing death on a near-hourly basis, Grant and his flyers have adopted a casual, all-in-day's-work attitude towards mortality. If a pilot cracks up and dies, it's simply because he didn't have what it took, and that's that. Stranded showgirl Jean Arthur can't stand this cavalier attitude at first, but before long she becomes, in true Hawksian fashion, "one of the guys". Complicating the story is the presence of Richard Barthelmess, who has been persona non grata with the other pilots ever since his carelessness cost the life of one of their number. In addition to a surfeit of guilt, Barthelmess is saddled with a faithless wife, played by Rita Hayworth in her first important A-picture role. Hayworth makes a play for Grant, but he spurns her, finally realizing that, in spite of himself, he's in love with Arthur. Grant himself is riddled with guilt when near-blind pilot Thomas Mitchell insists upon taking on one final flight. Having lost his best friend, Grant drops his hard-bitten shell, and for the first time opens himself up emotionally to Arthur-which of course leads to a nail-biting climax wherein Arthur suffers mightily as Grant faces certain death. Scripted by Jules Furthman from a story by Hawks, Only Angels Have Wings is a treasure trove of terse, pithy dialogue: our favorite scene occurs when, upon discovering that he's about to die, Thomas Mitchell says he's often wondered how he'd react to imminent death-and, now that death is but a few moments away, he'd rather that no one else be around to witness his reaction. Though sometimes laid low by obvious miniatures, the aerial scenes in Only Angels Have Wings are by and large first-rate, earning a first-ever "best special effects" Oscar nomination for Roy Davidson and Edwin C. Hahn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, (more)
