watchingwell

Watchingwell

Curated classic films

I’m crushingly bored, are you?

Escape is the theme. It’s still cold. The sun rarely shows up. I’m bored with trying to summon the energy to fight through it. I’ve retreated to the couch, under the afghan, until spring. I’m going to watch old movies that don’t require too much mental investment, ones that are comfortingly predictable. Fortunately, I know just the thing. B-picture mysteries. There are several film series that can keep me going for weeks. I’ll begin with Sherlock Holmes, the Basil Rathbone version.

I have seen other Sherlocks (there have been many) and in my opinion, the one that came closest to the Conan Doyle character was the brilliant portrayal of Jeremy Brett for Britain’s Granada TV. But for pure escapism, it has to be Basil Rathbone who defined the role in 14 films, some of which were actually taken from Conan Doyle tales, while others were inventions of Hollywood, taking place during World War II, like Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942) and Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1942), which really stretched the character to fit the war effort. In any case, there was nothing so comforting as watching Rathbone's Holmes display superior intellect and diction in the face of all enemies, including Dr. Moriarty. No danger was ever too frightening because Holmes always anticipated every move of the criminal in a very satisfying chess match. And that voice! It always sounded so certain, dismissive of everyone who couldn’t see everything as clearly, including clients, Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Lestrade, and even his friend and chronicler, Dr. Watson.

My favorites:

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939), directed by Sidney Lanfield, because I can never remember which of the suspicious character is the murderer, and House of Fear (1945), directed by Roy Williams Neill, which is a good mystery.

The other titles starring Basil Rathbone:

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939), directed by Alfred L. Werker, Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942), directed by John Rawlins, Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1942), Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942), The Spider Woman (1943), Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943), The Pearl of Death (1944), The Scarlet Claw (1944), Pursuit to Algiers (1945), The Woman in Green (1945), Dressed to Kill (1946), Terror by Night (1946), all directed by Roy Williams Neill.

On the subject of wonderful speaking voices, George Sanders had one of the most recognizable. There always seemed to be a tinge of superior, sardonic humor in his voice, even when he was at his most menacing. I was often entertained by his voice in films from, not one, but two series. First he starred in films adapted from The Saint stories by Leslie Charteris, although whether or not he was a hero is always unclear. If you have seen the TV series, either the Roger Moore or the Ian Olgivy versions, Sanders was a slightly more ruthless character, closer to the Charteris creation. Hugh Sinclair and Louis Hayward both took the role in three Saint films, but for me, they lacked the right personality.

See The Saint Strikes Back (1939), directed by John Farrrow, The Saint in London (1939), directed by John Paddy Carstairs, The Saint's Double Trouble (1940), The Saint Takes Over (1940), and The Saint in Palm Springs (1941), all directed by Jack Hively.

When George Sanders was finished with the Saint, he fell right in to The Falcon series. I know they’re different characters, but in my mind, they’re just a continuous series. Even though at one point in The Falcon series, George Sander’s title character, Gay Lawrence, was replaced by his actual brother, Tom Conway, as Gay Lawrence’s brother, Tom. The brothers had very similar voices, as it happens, and a suave manner, although Conway was a little more keen to play the hero. They both were attracted and attractive to the ladies, they usually had a humorous side kick with an unusual name, like Pearly Gates and Goldie Locke, and a tenuous relationship with an exasperated police captain. Watch The Falcon’s Brother (1942) directed by Stanley Logan, to see both brothers in the transition film.

For several years, they used to show Sherlock Holmes films on local TV every other Sunday afternoon, alternating each week with a Charlie Chan feature. So I saw a lot of them in a comfortable, lazy Sunday way. Charlie Chan was also a character from literature, a series written by Earl Derr Biggers about a Honolulu police detective. Translated to film with the typical racist values seen in Hollywood at the time, the series had 3 different actors playing Chan, all non-Asian. Warner Oland played the role in 16 films from 1931 to 1937, Sidney Toler took over for 22 films, from 1938 until 1946, and Roland Winters was Chan in 6 films, from 1947 -49. In addition, the Asian actors that were cast, notably, the number one son/assistant, were foolish and the recurring African-American role, the chauffeur, played by Mantan Moreland, was clownish. The title Asian, although not played by an Asian, was always the smartest of all, in an inscrutable sort of way, always, spouting dubiously-ancient Chinese proverbs.

But even with this in mind, and considering the times in which they were made, these films are entertaining and some of them are pretty good mysteries. The Warner Oland films were more serious mysteries. The Sidney Toler films added a bit of humor. Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935), directed by Louis King, features Rita Hayworth (as Rita Cansino) in one of her first films and Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936), directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, which features Boris Karloff, is a lot like the Phantom of the Opera story, only spookier.

Films with Warner Oland:

Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937) and Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) directed by Eugene Forde, Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937) and Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936) directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936) directed by Harry Lachman, Charlie Chan’s Secret (1936) directed by Gordon Wiles, Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935) directed by James Tinling, Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) directed by Lewis Seiler and Hamilton MacFadden, Charlie Chan in London (1934) directed by Eugene Forde, Charlie Chan’s Courage (1934) directed by Eugene Forde and George Hadden, Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case (1933) directed by Hamilton MacFadden, Charlie Chan’s Chance (1932) directed by John G, Blystone, The Black Camel (1931) and Charlie Chan Carries On (1931) both directed by Hamilton MacFadden.

Films with Sidney Toler:

The Trap (1946) directed by Howard Bretherton, Dangerous Money (1946) and Shadows Over Chinatown (1946) directed by Terry O. Morse, Dark Alibi (1946) and The Shanghai Cobra (1945) directed by Phil Karlson, The Red Dragon (1945), The Scarlet Clue (1945), The Jade Mask (1945), Black Magic (1944), Charlie Chan in the Chinese Cat (1944), and Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944), all directed by Phil Rosen, Castle in the Desert (1942), Charlie Chan in Rio (1941), Dead Men Tell (1941), and Murder Over New York (1940), all directed by Harry Lachman, Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940) directed by Lynn Shores, Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940) directed by Eugene Forde, Charlie Chan in Panama (1940) and Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) directed by Norman Foster, City in Darkness (1939) directed by Herbert I. Leeds, Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938) directed by H. Bruce Humberstone.

Films with Roland Winters:

Docks of New Orleans (1948) directed by Derwin Abrahams, The Sky Dragon (1949) directed by Lesley Selander, The Chinese Ring (1947), Shanghai Cheat (1948), The Golden Eye (1948) and The Feathered Serpent (1948), all directed by William Beaudine.

I enjoyed reading some of the Stuart Palmer mysteries featuring the original ‘little old lady’ detective, school teacher, Hildegarde Withers, and her friend, Inspector Oscar Piper of the New York City Police. So, I was predisposed to enjoy the film versions even though there is more comic interaction between these two than I remember in the books. Of the three actresses who played Hildegard, Edna Mae Oliver was the most effective, in my opinion, because she was such a character in her own right, but the one with Helen Broderick and the two with Zasu Pitts, (actually playing a competent person) are also well-plotted mysteries.

My favorite: The Penguin Pool Murder (1932) in which a corpse is found in the New York City Aquarium (which is now actually in Brooklyn), features James Gleason as Inspector Piper. Mae Clarke stars as the widow with Donald Cook as her special 'friend'. Directed by George Archainbaud.