Mildred Pierce (1945)

Another classic film that I had heard about for many years, and another chance for me to check out a central performance from Joan Crawford (I think this is only my second film I have watched with her onscreen), this was the perfect choice to sit down and enjoy during a recent, relaxing, bank holiday.

Crawford is the titular Mildred Pierce, a woman who will do whatever it takes, working her fingers to the bone, to look after her family. Her husband (played by Bruce Bennett) leaves home, which means divorce needs to be figured out, and her eldest daughter, Veda (Ann Blyth) seems to have a constant need for things that cost more and more money. Mildred does have an idea though, a plan for a restaurant that could prove to be a very profitable business venture, but it soon becomes clear that, whether the business is successful or not, money won’t necessarily solve more problems than it causes.

Directed by Michael Curtiz (who delivered some major classics throughout the 1940s - little films you might have heard of like, ummmm, Casablanca, Captain Blood, Angels With Dirty Faces, etc), this is a fantastic blend of standard 1940s melodrama and film noir. It all begins with a murder, and a sequence of events that lead to Mildred Pierce being interrogated by police, but it is easy for forget the moments framing the main narrative as the storyline unfolds.

Writer Ranald MacDougall (someone else with more than one big title in his filmography) adapts the James M. Cain source material with an impressively delicate touch throughout. Everything in the film is deceptive, from the time taken to show the start of the whole story (keeping viewers far removed from that corpse for longer) to the various characters who end up as main suspects in the third act. And everything is anchored by Crawford at the centre, delivering another superb performance. Not that she is alone, and I guess now is as good a time as any to praise the entire cast.

Is this the best performance ever from Crawford? I don’t know, but only because I have yet to see enough of her work. I would be surprised if many of her film turns topped this one though. Blyth impressed by holding her own alongside her, playing a spirited girl who grows up to be an icy and determined young woman, with money always being her main motivation. Bennett is decent enough in his role, but he is overshadowed by the charismatic presence of Jack Carson (playing Wally Fay, the man who helps Mildred get her business started) and the faux-mystery and charm of Zachary Scott (playing a businessman who could also be a potential love interest). There are also enjoyable moments from Eve Arden and Butterfly McQueen, the latter injecting a particularly welcome scattering of humour with just one word or line delivered at just the right times.

Not a film I see mentioned all that often by film fans, although I am sure those who already appreciate it just assume that everyone knows about it by now, Mildred Pierce is another classic that I recommend others check out sooner than I did. A great mix of light and dark, and with the kind of memorable and impactful ending that you want from a film noir, it’s well worth your time, not least because it is well worth watching such a masterful performance from Crawford.

9/10

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Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)

There are many movies that just don't hold up when you revisit them. They are tinged with a glow of nostalgia that quickly fades away in front of your older eyes. Many were just aimed precisely at the you as you were then, compared to the you of today. But many of the classics can be relied on not to disappoint. They endure for a reason. That's what I was hoping when I finally revisited Angels With Dirty Faces anyway, a film that I loved as a young boy, and a film that would always set me to tears every time I watched it (seriously, my mother would have a towel ready for me as things moved towards the finale, and I would cover my red, snotty, bawling face with it as the end credits rolled).

There's a bit more going on here than I remembered. I forgot, for example, that Humphrey Bogart played a shady lawyer who makes his name, and riches, off stolen loot that was being held for his client (Rocky Sullivan, played by James Cagney). And I forgot how the third act brings everything together, with a net closing around Rocky thanks to the persistence of a friend (Father Jerry O'Connolly, played by Pat O'Brien) who wants to clean the criminal element out of the neighbourhood.

But let me start at the beginning. Rocky and Jerry are first seen as a pair of cheeky kids. They try to steal some pens from a railway carriage, are caught in the act, and flee. Jerry slips, Rocky picks him up. They run. unfortunately, Rocky isn't quite as quick, which leads to him being caught. He won't give up his friend to help lighten the sentence, and so he begins a life mostly spent behind bars, in between further criminal activities.
Fast forward to Rocky and Jerry as adults, two men who ended up on two very different paths, but also two men who immediately rekindle their friendship when they meet up again. And both men end up offering a helping hand to a group of young larcenists (The Dead End Kids) - Jerry has known them for some time, Rocky meets the group when they try to steal his wallet. That's the main story. The kids idolise Rocky, once they realise who he is, and Jerry tries to use this in a positive way. Meanwhile, Rocky is also wanting to get his money back and make himself a more comfortable life, others will go to deadly lengths to stop that from happening, and there's a woman (Laury, played by Ann Sheridan) who catches the eye of our (anti-)hero.

Based on a scenario by Rowland Brown, Angels With Dirty Faces is a perfect combination of a wonderful script (by John Wexley and Warren Duff), great direction (from Michael Curtiz), and dazzling star power. It's also a perfect combination of gangster action, comedy, and a heart-swelling look at how strong the bonds of friendship can be when forged at the right age.

I am a fan of Cagney in pretty much anything he ever did, but this remains one of his best performances, allowing him to play the comfortable tough guy role that made him famous while injecting a lot more humour and sweetness. O'Brien is a bit stiffer in his role, but that's not a major negative, considering the very earnest and unwavering part he plays in the proceedings. Bogart is as good as ever (I may not have seen much of his work while a youngster, but became a firm fan of his in my adult movie-watching years), all about his self-enrichment and self-preservation, and Sheridan does well to make a lasting impression in a film that is otherwise all about the guys. As for the Dead End Kids, well, it's perhaps inevitable that I don't enjoy their antics quite as much today as I did when I was a youngster, but they're still an amusing and likeable bunch.

I eventually covered the beginning of the film and I guess I should end on the ending. I won't reveal any details, because I don't believe the age of a movie should let people assume that everyone already knows all about it, but I will say that it still packs a punch. It's in line with the whole direction of the story, it's played beautifully by all involved, and, yes, I may have had a quivering lip while I tried to stop my eyes leaking everywhere.

9/10

Here's a DVD copy available.
Americans can get it here.