Comfort Food: When Heaven and Hell are both the same place or why we love “B” Movies.

Between Two Worlds (1944, Edward A. Blatt) ***

"The advantages of a misspent life."

When the the Warner Brothers first conceived their studio it they declared the following credo for the pictures made under their name: “Educate, Entertain and Enlighten”. Between Two Worlds serves all three objectives. As an entertainment it features a strong cast of Warner Bros. players; a world weary John Garfield (when wasn’t he?), an international refugee Paul Henreid (always his best character) and Sydney Greenstreet as the pious avatar (when wasn’t he?). The stellar cast includes Eleanor Parker (Chain Lightning 1950, An American Dream 1966), everyone’s favorite Santa Claus Edmund Gwenn (Miracle on 34th Street 1947), George Tobias and Isobel Elson as the epitome of opulent grand dame haughtiness who gets her due. As opportunity to educate, the moral of the story is that everyone eventually gets their just rewards. Justice only exists in the movies -- or at least what we think of as justice. And lastly the film continued to maintain awareness of the specter of Naziism and its countless victims. In Between Two Worlds we have a contrivance of interconnecting stories occurring on an ocean liner, destination unknown. In true Warner Bros. tradition we know who to root for throughout. The movie turns into a mystical fantasy as we realize that everything is happening after the death of the characters. The story takes place in a limbo or perdition where each character is sentenced to the heaven or hell that they have created in their lives. Movies like this are why we like B-movies. In my lexicon“B” movies include those movies with major stars that were made quickly for audience appeal and box office. They tended to be genre pictures and had smaller budgets all round than their “A” movie counterparts that were released as tent poles of the day -- The VIPs definitely fits into this niche.) Often they are heavy handed yet seductive and always easy to ‘get into’ – these movies exist in an alternate universe where their plots are believable and the stories make total sense, no matter how contrived their reality. All real movie lovers are suckers for movies like this.

Extra: John Garfield the most world weary of the Warner Bros. stable, active in liberal political and social causes, found himself embroiled in Communist scare of the late 1940s. Though he testified before Congress that he was never a Communist, his ability to get work declined. While separated from his wife (who has been reported to a member of the Communist Party), Garfield (at 39) succumbed to long-term heart problems, dying suddenly in the home of a woman friend. His funeral was mobbed by thousands of fans, in the largest funeral attendance for an actor since Rudolph Valentino. More John Garfield to come.