Trimonthly Favorites 2024: Zachary Scott, Noir Rarities and One Major Discovery
Discussing my most memorable classic movie finds that I saw during the year's first months
Typically, the beginning of the year proves chaotic for me. Despite my enjoyment of Christmas, it often feels like an abrupt interruption to the momentum I feel I have been building up during October and November, two of my favorite months. January and February, both metaphorically and literally, normally seem a bit cold and stagnant. The usual dynamics are disrupted, and a new year, which doesn't quite feel like one yet, slowly begins to take shape in a state of dormancy. Yet, amidst the uncertainty, it's also during these times that I find myself drawn to delve into films I had previously postponed watching or to explore new ones, seeking to break free from a feeling I can’t totally put my fingers on. As I take a look at the past few months, I would like to share some of the films I've discovered, with the aim that they may offer you as much comfort or inspiration as they have for me, during these initial stages of the year.
So then, what did the beginning of 2024 had to offer? In my case, film noir rarities, several Zachary Scott films, adventure movies, Douglas Sirk’s debut… Fantastic cinematic treats, if you ask me. My yearly classic film journey started this 2024 with a wild mix of movies that I have been thoroughly enjoying. It has been a while since I posted about favorite first-time watches, so since we are entering the second quarter of this year, I thought it would be a great moment to do it once more. Therefore, join me as I highlight a few discoveries that have stood out for me (many of which can be streamed or found online). Whether you're a declared noirista or just dipping your toes into old Hollywood waters, there's something here for everyone and I am here to prove it to you! Just remember that.
This post includes some affiliate links so if you would click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. It also includes shameless promotion of my YouTube channel but, once again, no spoilers in sight for any of the movies mentioned.
1/7. The Spiritualist a.k.a The Amazing Mr. X by Bernard Vorhaus
You will meet a tall dark stranger is both the title of a flopped Woody Allen film and a cliché prediction from a fortune teller. Well, it might have worked as a better title for this film noir mystery released in 1948, that effectively starts with its female protagonist Christine (Lynn Bari) walking down the beach at night and then stumbling upon a charismatic stranger named Alexis (Turham Bey). He turns out to be an intriguing and attractive spiritualist –or a mentalist, who seems to know all about her. A walking red flag from our perspective but in Christine’s and her romantic younger sister Janet (Cathy O’Donnell) view, the perfect person to consult over the matter of her recent eerie contacts with her late husband Paul Faber (Donald Curtis).
The Amazing Mr. X (1948) starts off with a rather silly premise but through its tight 78 minutes of runtime, it manages to create an engaging Gothic-tinted thriller that keeps on delivering gratifying twists and turns. John Alton’s cinematography is otherworldly and utterly mesmerizing. Certainly one of the highlights of this Eagle-Lion Films production that also makes the most of the exotic enigmatic allure of Turham Bey who offers a nuanced and solid performance. Also in the cast, amiable Richard Carlson plays a smaller role as Christine’s fiancé. The Spiritualist is an atmospheric hidden gem in its own right and one that would benefit from another fully restored (there is one blu-ray edition by The Film Detective) with more extra content, release. I hope the stars of physical media are in our favor.
📺 Watch The Spiritualist on YouTube
2/7. Flaxy Martin by Richard L. Bare
Since the end of 2023, I was on a mission to watch as many Dorothy Malone films as I could find. Partly, for my own pleasure but also as part of my research for a recent video dedicated to her career and her particular, often overlooked contribution to film noir. So, through my self-catered Dorothy Malone movie marathon, I discovered Flaxy Martin (1949), a noir parfait starring Virginia Mayo as the titular character and Zachary Scott as mob attorney Walter Colby.
Fed up with his line of crooked business, Colby tells his girlfriend showgirl Flaxy Martin that he is ready to stop working for mobster Hap Richie (Douglas Kennedy) and have a respectable lawyer practice. A perfectly great notion that in true noir fashion, is but a laughable idea. Flaxy is in fact aligned with Hap and together they plan to convince him otherwise. During the course of the movie, he winds up self-appointed for a crime he didn’t commit and roughly escaping from prison by jumping off the train that is transferring him. Nora Carson (Dorothy Malone) is driving by when she is surprised by him and kindly helps him, even though he is anything but nice to her. Elisha Cook Jr. also has an on-brand sleazy part in this thoroughly entertaining but, at times, implausible film. Zachary Scott who was often relegated to shady pseudo-villainous supporting roles, is actually the lead and a much welcome presence. Same goes for Virginia Mayo whose part is not as prominent in the film as one might think, but just like Scott, she makes the most of it. Best served with cool suspension of disbelief.
📽️ Watch Flaxy Martin on the Internet Archive
3/7. Captain Horatio Hornblower by Raoul Walsh
Aside from his roles as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) or as Joe Bradley in Roman Holiday (1953), one might argue that some of Gregory Peck’s most iconic roles were portraying sea captains. I’m thinking of The World in His Arms (1952), Moby Dick (1956) or The Big Country (1958). In any case, the shoe perfectly fits in his stint as Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951), directed by the mighty Raoul Walsh and paired with Virginia Mayo, in her second appearance in this post.
The film was based on the first three C. S. Forrester novels featuring this fictional British Royal Navy Captain during the Napoleonic Wars. Originally intended for Errol Flynn, Gregory wasn’t the obvious choice in the early 1950s, for the part of Horatio Hornblower but one could certainly rely on Walsh to create a rousing naval epic. Together they make a memorable adventure that thanks to Peck’s persona is engrossing but also human. Filled with battles, escapades and thrilling encounters, the film’s most satisfying scenes are the ones shared with Virginia as they build a slow-burning enemies-to-lovers kind of relationship that encounters many obstacles. The supporting cast included many happy acquaintances with the likes of Christopher Lee, Stanley Baker, James Robertson Justice or Dennis O’Dea. If you are ever in need for a classic pick-me-up, I don’t think you can do much better.
Even though I don’t usually watch as many swashbuckling films as I used to when my gran was alive, I was pleasantly surprised with my first-time watch of Captain Horatio Hornblower. I have to confess that I arrived here after watching a 1993 tv talk show featuring Dorothy Malone and Virginia Mayo (amongst other old Hollywood stars) in which Mayo confesses that Gregory Peck was her best onscreen kiss! Being a thorough researcher, of course, I had to see for myself. Wink, wink.
4/7. The Court Jester by Melvin Frank & Norman Panama
“I've got it! I've got it! The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true! Right?”, shouts Hurbert Hawkins. It’s virtually impossible for me to write about The Court Jester (1955) and keep a straight face. This dialogue lives now rent-free in my mind and who knows when it might become handy!
A carnival entertainer and member of the Black Fox's band of rebels, Hubert Hawkins (Danny Kaye) longs to have a greater mission in protecting the true infant King of Medieval England from the usurper King Roderick the Tyrant (Cecil Parker). His chance arrives when on his way to take the baby to safety along with Maid Jean (Glynis Johns), they encounter Giacomo (John Carradine), the king’s newly hired jester. Seeing this as an opportunity to infiltrate the castle, Jean knocks out Giacomo and Hubert steals his identity. It turns out that being a minstrel entertainer was useful, after all. From this point forward, this mad-cap musical comedy adventure production offers a series of hilarious misunderstandings, romance and several memorable scenes that I can’t believe I hadn’t watched sooner. The Court Jester offers a brilliant spoof of all the swashbuckling, dashing adventure tales of classic Hollywood and literature, long before Mel Brooks did Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993). It was a brilliant choice to cast Basil Rathbone, the grand onscreen archnemesis of Errol Flynn or Tyrone Power, and also Mildred Natwick, Angela Lansbury, Robert Middleton or Alan Napier, aside from Kaye and Johns. A film that definitely comes to mind when I think of perfectly cast classic movies. Such a wonderful treat that you should watch too, soon if possible. Get it? Got it. Good.
5/7. Flamingo Road by Michael Curtiz
From carnival entertainer to carnival dancer, in Flamingo Road (1949) Joan Crawford was reunited with director Michael Curtiz, four years after the enormous success and critical acclaim of Mildred Pierce (1945). She also reunited with Zachary Scott (our man of the months) in a film that presents her as Lane Bellamy, indeed a carnival dancer stranded in a strange southern town, where she finds one of her biggest opponents to date, both literally and figuratively, in Sydney Greentreet’s Sheriff Titus Semple. When his deputy Fielding Carlisle, played by Scott, whom he is grooming to become state senator, falls in love with Lane, Titus pulls out all stops to bring her down. A great tour de force between these two noir icons, in a somewhat uneven film but still thoroughly rewarding.
Although Flamingo Road was a commercial hit at the time, many criticized Joan’s casting and the overall incongruity of the movie. Despite all of its retractors, the production had a powerful defendant in the German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder who was powerfully inspired by this film and paid tribute to it in the opening of Fox and His Friends (1975). Perhaps not as fervently as Fassbinder, I also stand amongst those who really appreciate the film. What stood out to me the most was the escalating tension between Crawford and Greenstreet (they are superb as opponents), its portrayal of the prevailing political backstabbing and misogyny, juxtaposed with a sense of solidarity among many of the women in the film. Such a strong undercurrent of themes that probably needed further development. While I found some flaws and Zachary’s character too feeble, Curtiz's impeccable skills, provided with a compelling experience. You just can’t go wrong with Joan Crawford.
📺 Watch Flamingo Road on the Internet Archive
6/7. April, April! by Douglas Sirk
Who would have thought that Sirk’s first feature was a lovely screwball farce? The Spanish streaming platform Filmin had the great idea of adding many early German productions of Douglas Sirk to their collection, including the rarely screened April, April! (1935), his film debut. A great opportunity for me to continue learning about his cinematic universe and the themes he was most interested in.
Plagued with misunderstandings and identity confusion, April, April! tells the story of Julius Lampe (Erhard Siedel), a nouveau riche social-climber and former baker who now owns a successful pasta factory. One night, in one of his ostentatious soirées, one of his fed-up guests decides to pull a prank on him for April’s Fools Day. After Julius receives a letter from the Prince von Holsten-Böhlau (Albrecht Schoenhals) placing him a large order and profusely boasting about it, Finke (Paul Westermeier) surreptitiously makes him believe that the Prince himself will visit the factory the next morning, in order to teach him a lesson. None of them could ever anticipate what this “fake” visit will ensue. In the tradition of masters of the theatrical satire such as Molière or of film such as Ernst Lubitsch, April, April! runs along like a palatable mockery of the need to publicly signal wealth and importance, at a time when social classes were clashing and collapsing.
Definitely reminiscent of Lubitsch’s work. Sirk himself confessed in his book of interviews that he had been greatly influenced by him in his earlier work in theatre and film, particularly when staging comedies. He said of the fellow German director that “Lubitsch was able to walk a very narrow path between the absurd and the realistic. And this ties up with another point: he also had taste and elegance, which I hope I learnt a little from him. They certainly are essentials of picture-making.”1 You can tell by this film that he indeed learnt a lot and, even though his more recognizable work was still many years ahead of him, his razor-sharp vision on human contradictions and concessions was as vivid as in his best American films.
📽️ Watch April, April! (1935) on Filmin (for Spain and EU)
7/7. The Southerner by Jean Renoir
Talking about European filmmakers and their American films, last March I watched Jean Renoir’s The Southerner (1945). A viewing that was also influenced by Douglas Sirk for he mentioned the film and the director’s influence as well, alluding to what he referred to as a his “Mozartian touch” and his eye like a painter. Naturally, this movie had been on my watchlist for quite long time but I wasn’t sure what to expect. The result was a major surprise for me, one that caught me off guard.
An adaptation of George Sessions Perry's novel Hold Autumn in Your Hand, this largely unheard-of movie is the award-winning tale of a poor family trying to make it as first-time tenant farmers. It features once again, Zachary Scott as Sam Tucker in his second feature film role not counting his brief appearance in Hollywood Canteen (1944), after his screen debut in The Mask of Dimitrios (1944). Contrary to Scott’s other performances mentioned in this post and what he was known most for, he was cast in The Southerner as an amiable, hard-working and generous man. Under Renoir’s magnificent intimate direction, he gets to reveal a side of him that we, sadly, didn’t get to experience much while he was under contract for Warner Bros. The rest of the cast also offered several wonderful performances by Betty Field, Beulah Bondi, J. Carrol Naish or Norman Lloyd.
A touching rural drama that is elevated by Renoir’s particular approach to realism. So nuanced and sensitive, thought-provoking and moving at much deeper levels than I initially anticipated. It is also a film that, at the time of its release, raised a lot of controversy for different sectors in several Southern states, for its gritty depiction of the hardships of life in the country. Yet, if anything, it felt like a heartfelt defense of the beauty of human spirit, keeping us together despite all obstacles and against all odds. I highly recommend it, if you haven’t yet discovered it.
📺 Watch The Southerner on YouTube
🎬 Thank you for reading this post and making it thus far. As always, you can find me on my YouTube channel where I talk about classic films, in depth.
What have you been watching during the first months of 2024? Any surprising classic film discoveries? Have you watched the films I mention in this post? Share with me in the comments, I would love to know!
I hope you're having a great year so far! I wish you all the best for 2024.
Miriam
A direct quote from the book Sirk on Sirk: Conversations with Jon Halliday. I already wrote a post about some of his favorite books that he mentions in it and I made a video discussing the book itself. I encourage to check both if you are interested!
A wonderful list! I'm going to seek out April, April, especially since I have enjoyed several Douglas Sirk movies during the past year. You have also inspired me to return to my own "What I Watched" posts. Keep up the great work!
April, April sounds great, will check it out!