Life, death, love, sex, hope and dreams at the movies.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Comfort Food/Guilty Pleasures -- Howard Hughes and the Blacklist
The Las Vegas Story (1952, Robert Stevenson) ***
Hoagy Carmichael plays the piano player at the Last Chance Casino (… not the best place in Las Vegas but far from the worst…”) narrating the opening of this gem of a B-movie from RKO before he settles in to the generic “Hoagy Carmichael” character – they guy who was always friends with the girl, but never gets her in the end. But Hoagy does sing and perform two of his songs, the pop standard “I Get Along Without You Very Well” and one of his comic masterpieces “The Monkey Song”. The Las Vegas Story is worth watching for this alone. The main players are Jane Russell as a femme with a dubious past, a talent for singing and hooking up with various men – her current husband, a delightfully prissy and despicable Vincent Price and Victor Mature (who never looked more zombie-like). The pulp dialog is priceless -- “What a beautiful picture, moonlight, sagebrush and my wife with a stranger.”And the story behind the screenplay credits is one for Hollywood history books. Produced by Howard Hughes, the original screenplay was written by Paul Jarrico, who was brought before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), and pleaded the Fifth Amendment, refusing to testify. This not only brought an abrupt (albeit temporary) end to his rising career as a screenwriter but a battle for screen credit as well. Hughes, an ardent anti-communist wanted Jarrico’s name taken off the production which prompted threats of a strike by writers guild, but they buckled to Hughes. This is well covered in Victor Navasky’s definitive book about the blacklist, Naming Names. The cast also features Brad Dexter (the often forgotten member of The Magnificent Seven) and the wonderful bull dog faced character actor Jay C. Flippen. Wonderful second-unit location coverage of early fifties Las Vegas; it is interesting to note that the main action takes place in two fictitious casinos, The Last Chance and The Fabulous. The logo and type treatment of the later is unmistakably like that of The (Fabulous) Flamingo. Come to think of it the movie contains three of Howard Hughes passionate fixations (helicopters, casinos and Jane Russell’s breasts).
I love movies. I was born in 1953 and grew up on movies. The films I didn’t see on the “big screen” at the Fox Theater in Redlands, CA I watched on TV. Be it the Early Show (KNXT), Million Dollar Movie (KHJ), Ben Hunter’s Matinee (KTTV) or The Fabulous 52 Saturday nights at 11:45 pm (KNXT). I watched every movie I could. Today I collect movies and presently have over 2000 titles in my collection.
Hoagy Carmichael plays the piano player at the Last Chance Casino (… not the best place in Las Vegas but far from the worst…”) narrating the opening of this gem of a B-movie from RKO before he settles in to the generic “Hoagy Carmichael” character – they guy who was always friends with the girl, but never gets her in the end. But Hoagy does sing and perform two of his songs, the pop standard “I Get Along Without You Very Well” and one of his comic masterpieces “The Monkey Song”. The Las Vegas Story is worth watching for this alone. The main players are Jane Russell as a femme with a dubious past, a talent for singing and hooking up with various men – her current husband, a delightfully prissy and despicable Vincent Price and Victor Mature (who never looked more zombie-like). The pulp dialog is priceless -- “What a beautiful picture, moonlight, sagebrush and my wife with a stranger.”And the story behind the screenplay credits is one for Hollywood history books. Produced by Howard Hughes, the original screenplay was written by Paul Jarrico, who was brought before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), and pleaded the Fifth Amendment, refusing to testify. This not only brought an abrupt (albeit temporary) end to his rising career as a screenwriter but a battle for screen credit as well. Hughes, an ardent anti-communist wanted Jarrico’s name taken off the production which prompted threats of a strike by writers guild, but they buckled to Hughes. This is well covered in Victor Navasky’s definitive book about the blacklist, Naming Names. The cast also features Brad Dexter (the often forgotten member of The Magnificent Seven) and the wonderful bull dog faced character actor Jay C. Flippen. Wonderful second-unit location coverage of early fifties Las Vegas; it is interesting to note that the main action takes place in two fictitious casinos, The Last Chance and The Fabulous. The logo and type treatment of the later is unmistakably like that of The (Fabulous) Flamingo. Come to think of it the movie contains three of Howard Hughes passionate fixations (helicopters, casinos and Jane Russell’s breasts). 
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