Richard Bennett Movies

Orson Welles' followup to Citizen Kane (1941) was utterly different from Kane in style and texture, but just as brilliant in its own way. Writer/director Welles does not appear on camera, but his voiceover narration superbly sets the stage for the movie's action, which fades in valentine fashion on Amberson Mansion, the most ostentatious dwelling in all of turn-of-century Indianapolis. Its mistress is the haughtily beautiful Isabel Amberson (Dolores Costello). When Isabel's beau, erstwhile inventor Eugene Morgan (Joseph Cotten), inadvertently humiliates her in public, she breaks off the relationship and marries colorless Wilbur Minafer (Donald Dillaway). The neighbors are certain that, since Isabel can't possibly love Wilbur, she will spoil her children rotten. As it turns out, she has one child, George Minafer (Tim Holt), and that one is enough as far as the rest of Indianapolis is concerned. There are those who live for the day that the arrogant, insufferable George will get his comeuppance. When George returns home from college, his mother and grandfather (Richard Bennett) hold a gala reception in his honor. Among the guests is the older-and-wiser Eugene, now a prosperous automobile manufacturer, and his pretty daughter Lucy (Anne Baxter). George takes to Lucy immediately, but can't warm up to Eugene, especially after learning from his uncle Jack Amberson (Ray Collins) and his maiden aunt Fanny (Agnes Moorehead) that Eugene and Isabel had once been sweethearts. After the death of Wilbur Minafer, the widowed Eugene feels emboldened enough to propose to Isabel again. This time she is willing, but the obstreperous George refuses to allow his mother to see Eugene. His imperious bullheadedness will lead to tragedy for all concerned--and, at long last, a chastened George Minafer will indeed receive his comeuppance. The film's real villain is not George but that old intangible bugaboo called "Progress." As the automobile age comes to fruition, the elegant, cloistered lifestyle of the Ambersons fades from view, finally disappearing altogether. This is superbly foreshadowed in the "winter outing" sequence (filmed in an L.A. icehouse) in which George's two-horse sleigh is abandoned in favor of Eugene's clunky horseless carriage. Welles evokes performances that his actors seldom (if ever) matched in later years; even the very limited Tim Holt is wholly believable-and even a bit pitiable-as the blinkered George Amberson Minafer. The current version, however, is but a pale shadow of Welles' original concept. Out of time and overbudget, the movie previewed badly and was eventually sliced down to an abrupt 88 minutes (by, among others, editor Robert Wise, who would go on to direct such films as West Side Story and The Sound of Music). Even though the film therefore must be regarded as a marred masterpiece, the remaining two-thirds of Welles' original concept is still a thrilling cinematic experience, especially whenever Agnes Moorehead is on the screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this handsomely-staged adaptation of the story by Emile Zola, Anna Sten plays Nana, a woman of the streets who is spotted by noted theatrical producer Gaston Greiner (Richard Bennett). Greiner is so impressed by Nana's beauty that he gives her a part in his latest revue. Almost overnight, Nana is the toast of Paris and a star of the highest magnitude; however, fame and fortune brings her little happiness, as two brothers, Lt. George Muffat (Phillips Holmes) and Col. Andre Muffat (Lionel Atwill), both vie for her affections, leading to a bitter rivalry that ends in tragedy. Russian actress Anna Sten was brought to America as a protégé of producer Samuel Goldwyn, who sought to make Sten the "next Garbo." The resounding box office failure of Nana and Sten's next two vehicles led Goldwyn to drop her contract two years after bringing her to Hollywood, though she continued to work sporadically in films for another 25 years. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Song of Songs was the first Marlene Dietrich vehicle not directed by Dietrich's "Svengali," Josef von Sternberg. The star plays a zaftig German peasant girl who becomes a nude model (anything to get her out of those ill-fitting 1890s costumes!) She falls in love with a struggling sculptor (Brian Aherne), but her ambitions get the better of her and she marries a hedonistic baron (Lionel Atwill). Leaving her husband, Dietrich sinks further down the social scale by becoming a cabaret singer. She is eventually reunited with the sculptor, but not before smashing the nude statue based on her voluptuous frame, thereby symbolically purging her checkered past. Song of Songs was based on a Herman Sudermann novel, previously adapted into a stage play and then filmed twice during the silent era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Alexander Carr, a Jewish-dialect comedian usually confined to small roles, is practically the whole show in the sentimental drama No Greater Love. Carr is cast as delicatessen owner Sidney Cohen, who unofficially adopts Irish-Catholic orphan girl Mildred (Betty Jane Graham). Hoping to finance an operation that will enable the crippled Mildred to walk, Cohen hocks all his possessions and sells his store. The insensitive adoption authorities intervene, snatching Mildred from Cohen's arms, but the girl eventually walks all the same, inspired by the love of her foster father. No Greater Love was partially remade in 1938 as City Streets, with the protagonist changed to an Italian (played by Leo Carrillo). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An early comedy about the generation gap, this 1932 movie was written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who went on to write and direct films such as Guys and Dolls and Cleopatra. Director Frank Tuttle co-wrote the script, based on a successful play called The Goose Hangs High by Lewis Beach. Donald Ingals (Richard Bennett) and his wife Eunice (Frances Starr) are conventional and loving parents who are shocked when their son Bradley (Buddy Rogers) comes home from college with ideas that they consider to be outrageous. His parents would like him to get involved with Mary Burke (Peggy Shannon), a prim and proper young lady. More complications ensue because Bradley's sister Lois (Frances Dee) is attracted to the flapper lifestyle, but she isn't sure whether she can handle its emotional demands. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, two corrupt financiers conspire to fake the murder of their boss and leave a hapless chauffeur to shoulder the blame. Their scheme works and the driver is given the death penalty. Fortunately, on the day of his execution, the "dead" man shows up and saves him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Constance Bennett, Hollywood's favorite "wronged" heroine, is the star of the misleadingly titled Bought. Thing of it is, Bennett can't be bought by wealthy playboy Ray Milland. Despite dangling all sorts of expensive temptations in front of her, Milland never gets any farther than a one-night stand with the girl. Turning her back on high society, our heroine returns to her tenement apartment and her poverty-stricken sweetheart, author Ben Lyon. One of the attractions of Bought was the rare on-screen teaming of leading-lady Constance Bennett and her father, legendary Broadway star Richard Bennett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A wealthy man hits the half-century mark and promptly suffers a mid-life crisis in this silent romantic comedy. Like countless fellows before and after him, he ends up falling for a beautiful young woman. Trouble comes when the besotted gent's best friend begins suspecting that the girl only wants her beau's considerable fortune. Wanting only to protect him, the best buddy begins trying to beak up the affair. This is an early sound film and is one of the first to utilize dialog, not as a novelty, but as a serious way to advance the plot. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

While this independently made stage drama didn't have one original concept in its scenario, it was well-made by director William Christy Cabanne and featured a solid cast. Connie Sutton (Sigrid Holmquist) is a shopgirl who quits her job to join the chorus line. Her old-fashioned friend, Molly Malone (May Allison), decides to stay working behind the counter. Wealthy Montgomery Breck (Richard Bennett), who spends much of his free time around chorus girls, takes a particular liking to Connie. Molly goes to a party Breck is throwing, accompanied by her sweetheart, Tom Towers (Charles Emmett Mack). When she discovers that Towers has a weakness for wild women, Molly tries to live it up by drinking some bootleg gin. But the hooch is bad and it renders her blind. To raise the money to cure Molly's condition, Connie offers herself to Breck, but Molly puts a halt to the plan. Instead, Towers sells his business and takes her on a honeymoon cruise to Europe, where they will see a specialist. Breck, meanwhile, is impressed with Connie's loyalty and offers her a wedding ring. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide