Joan Crawford and Melvyn Douglas in They All Kissed the Bride (1942)

Obscurity factor: 9

Margaret J. Drew (Crawford) is a driven, determined business woman running her late fathers trucking company. Her style of management is autocratic and dictatorial and she's not one for a soft touch when it comes to employees or anyone else for that matter. The only obstacle to mounting profits is the pesky, pro-labor journalism of Michael Holms (Douglas). She sets about dealing with him as she does everything else, with a strong arm and offense. A chance encounter with him, however, leaves her weak in the knees, and is complicated by the fact that she's not aware who he is. She has him arrested on a trumped up charge, thinking he is an unwelcome rival for her sisters attentions and soon finds herself vulnerable to a potential lawsuit. In trying to negotiate a settlement, she allows herself to be wooed by Holms and the inevitable happens - they fall in love. Will the differences in class and intervening circumstances keep the two apart or will love conquer all?

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Though not a brilliant example of the Screwball Comedy genre, this film has many bright spots and it's fun to see Crawford mix the hard bitten career woman of her WB years with the light-hearted comedy style of her MGM years. Look for Roland Young and Billie Burke (Topper and his wife) as Drew's attorney and mother.

This film has yet to be released on DVD and is harder to find online than hens teeth at the moment. It was given a VHS release and copies can still be found on Amazon.

Obscurity factor: 9 (not on DVD, available on VHS, not available online at all at the moment, occasionally screened on TV)

Elaine Stritch & Hans Conried on Pantomime Quiz (1947)

Obscurity factor: 8

Charades swept the nation as a party game in post war America. Was television - the slave to all trends - to be far behind? Subsequently retitled Stump the Stars, this series brought together television and film personalities in two teams of four to play Charades with clues sent in by viewers, who won a gift package from the sponsor if their clue was chosen.

Above is part 2 of an early episode featuring Elaine Stritch and Hans Conried uploaded to YouTube by dentelTV1. I've set it to start at Elaine's spot. Though the series started in 1947, this dates to sometime in probably the early 50's. There are other episodes to see on YouTube and it can be found in classic game show complation DVDs.

Obscurity factor: 8 (dimly remembered, on DVD in compilations, available on YouTube)

Joan Crawford in Flamingo Road (1949)

Lane Bellamy (Crawford) is a carnival dancer, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. When she falls in love with the hand picked political pawn (Zachary Scott) of the powerful sheriff (Sidney Greenstreet) of Bolden City, she makes an enemy of that sheriff who will dog her to the death. She thought she had escaped his grasp when she married a political boss more powerful than he, but will his burning hatred be shielded by power and influence? Don't count on it.

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I've always been aware of this film, but had never seen it until tonight when I hosted it for Chelsea Classics here in New York. It's one of those Crawford films from that era that all seem to blend into each other - The Damned Don't Cry... Sudden Fear... Flamingo Road... It's a damned good picture though, with great suspense and pot-boiling drama. Sidney Greenstreet is just hateful as the sheriff, with a mean streak so wide you could drive a truck down it. The story, which originated in novel form, was turned into a television series in the 1980's starring Morgan Fairchild Stella Stevens.

This film is available on DVD. The trailer for it is above, uploaded to YouTube by captbijou.

Obscurity factor: 4 (known to diehard Crawford fans, still in the public consciousness, available on DVD)

Ann Sheridan & Zachary Scott in The Unfaithful (1947)

Obscurity factor: 7

Chris Hunter (Sheridan) kills an intruder in her home late one evening while her husband (Scott) is out of town. When questioned by the police, she claims not to know him, but it's later discovered by her lawyer (Lew Ayres) that he - a sculpter - had done a bust of her and they had been having an affair. She schemes to keep the truth from her husband and beat the murder rap. Will she be able to?

Wikipedia

On Friday I posted The Road Builder, a Patricia Neal film that had elements reminiscent of the Bette Davis vehicle, Now Voyager.  This film is a reworking of the Somerset Maugham, Bette Davis film, The Letter. It deviates from the original plot in a few key points, however and there are more misogynistic overtones to this version of the story, and that's saying quite a bit.

This film has been released on DVD through the Warner Bros. Archive Collection. The trailer is above, uploaded to YouTube by SkipJackTuner.

Obscurity factor: 7 (available on DVD, occasionally screened on TV, not high in the public consciousness)

Ginger Rogers, Lana Turner, Walter Pidgeon & Van Johnson in Weekend at the Waldorf (1945)

Obscurity factor: 7

The plot of this film may seem familiar. It's a war time remake of Grand Hotel. It follows the fortunes of a bored film star (Rogers), exhausted war correspondent (Pidgeon), ambitious stenographer (Turner) and a wounded air force captain (Johnson) as they spend their weekend at the glamorous Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. Of course romance is in the air and before long the leads are paired off. Will the star lose her boredom in love? Will the stenographer forsake her career for the man she loves? Will the captain survive the only operation that can save his life? Only time will tell.

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This film, though long, at 2 hours and 10 minutes, has a charming wartime feel to it, despite the fact that it was released a month after the war was over. Also in the cast are Xavier Cugat, Robert Benchley, Leon Ames and the irrepressible Keenan Wynn. It's interesting to note the differences between this and Grand Hotel - those differences are really indicative of the differences between the eras both films were made in.

Weekend at the Waldorf was a very successful film in its day - finishing 11th at the box office the year it was released. It has faded into obscurity since then, overshadowed by it's more successful forebarer, Grand Hotel. It's recently been released on print-on-demand DVD and the trailer is above, uploaded to YouTube by skipjacktuner.

Obscurity factor: 7 (popular in its day, largely unknown today, available on DVD)

Lucille Ball & George Sanders in Lured (1947)

Obscurity factor: 5

This film has a strange quality. Primarily because of the strange pairing of stars and director (Douglas Sirk). Sandra Carpenter (Ball) is an American stranded in London after the show she was in folded. She's supporting herself as a dance hall girl. When a friend from the dance hall disappears, she is drafted by the police to help solve the crime. They've been getting strange poems that precede the disappearance of girls who have answered ads in the personal columns for some time now, and want to use Sandra as a lure to flush out the killer. Concurrently she meets Robert Flemming, a night club owner who becomes fascinated with her. They fall in love, but he is also a prime suspect. Will they find the killer before he finds Sandra?

There is lots to enjoy in Lured - Lucy is restrained, but delightful as the damsel in distress - though she's not as distressed as you might think. She can, and does take care of herself. In the process of hunting for the killer, she goes through many ordeals as a result of answering ads in the personals. Look for a particularly stylish segment with Boris Karloff. It's interesting to see her in an early Sirk film because their careers went off in two completely different directions after this.

This film is available on DVD and can be viewed in its entirety on YouTube, thanks to an upload by IveGotSplainin2Do. The poster above is available at MoviePosterShop.com.

Obscurity factor: 5 (Known to Ball and Sirk fans, available on DVD, largely unknown to the general public)

Barbara Stanwyck & Gig Young in The Gay Sisters (1942)

Obscurity factor: 7

The title of this film is a bit of an intentional misnomer. These sisters are anything but gay - in any sense of the word. Susanna Gaylord (Nancy Coleman) is drearily trying to find happiness after a 4 hour marriage the groom refuses to annul, Evelyn Gaylord (Geraldine Fitzgerald) is bitter and spiteful and Fiona Gaylord (Stanwyck) is hard as nails and completely unforgiving. They've been orphans (albeit rich ones) since they were children, and the estate their father left them has been in probate for 20 years. It's being held up by developer Charles Barclay (George Brent) who wants to buy the family mansion, tear it down and build a complex. Fiona refuses to sell and the standoff has been a stalemate. Of course there's more to this than real estate. There's more to the relationship between Fiona and Charles than meets the eye...

This super soaper is the film that gave Gig Young his name. He plays an artist who forms the sticky point of a love triangle between Susanna and Evelyn. Warner Brothers decided after casting him in this film that he should take the characters name professionally. It's sort of odd to hear the character referred to by name so often in the film (And they do it endlessly, using both given and surname so it almost seems like a parody) knowing that since then, the name also refers to the actor.

The Gay Sisters has yet to be released on DVD, though it can be watched in its entirety on YouTube, thanks to an upload by heapsoflovenozomi. Part 1 is above. It's also occasionally screened on TCM, which is where I saw it. The poster above is available at MoviePosterShop.com.

Obscurity factor: 7 (not on DVD, mostly unknown to the general public)

David Nivin & Kim Hunter in A Matter of Life and Death

Obscurity factor: -2

Yesterdays film dealt with the afterlife during the period of the Second World War, so I thought this one, which has a similar basis would make a good follow up post.  Squadron leader Peter David Carter (David Niven) is about to bail out of his doomed plane without a parachute. He's resigned to his fate and his last communication is with the American girl manning the radio at the air base in England. Imagine his surprise when he awakens, washed up on the beach. He believes he's in heaven, but is disabused of that belief by a naked boy on the beach. The boy points out a cyclist pedaling home. Peter chases her down and finds that it's June, the American girl from the previous night. Meanwhile, up in heaven they're missing him. By the time they've located him on earth, he's fallen in love with June. He refuses to return with the Conductor and argues that, due to extenuating circumstances he should be allowed to remain on earth for a normal lifespan. He's granted a trial to prove his case.

This is the first film I've posted with a negative obscurity factor rating. It's not largely known to the general public, but has been named the second greatest British film ever made (by the magazine, Total Film in 2004) and is well known to film buffs. It is one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen. The cinematography is breathtaking and the sequences in heaven are rendered on a scale so vast and majestic you would think that the set designer had inside knowledge. Interestingly, the earth bound sequences are shot in Technicolor, while the heavenly sequences are in black and white. The cast is quite impressive as well, including in addition to Mr. Niven and Ms. Hunter, Raymond Massey and Richard Attenborough.

This film is available on DVD (though it's out of print and a bit pricey) and on YouTube. I've included the first installment above, uploaded by littleiceage. I suggest you do yourself a favor and either watch it on a large TV in a dark room or preferably look for it at a revival house. It's worth the effort to see this beautiful film on the big screen. The poster above is available at MoviePosterShop.com.

Obscurity factor: -2 (Available on DVD, well known among critics and film buffs, relatively unknown among the general public)

John Garfield & Paul Henried in Between Two Worlds (1944)

Obscurity factor: 6

When a couple (Paul Henried and Eleanor Parker) who have just committed suicide together find themselves on a steamship with other passengers, only they are able to surmise the truth - that they're in a modern day purgatory, sailing to their own judgment day. The assembled lot, all killed in an air raid, is diverse - a business man, a reporter (John Garfield), an actress, a wealthy couple, a sailor and others are alone on the ship with only one porter and believe they're sailing from England to New York.

This film is based on a play of the same name and still retains some of its wordiness, but is a compelling portrait of the then prevailing idea of the afterlife. In addition to Mr. Garfield and Mr. Henried, look for Sidney Greenstreet, George Coulouris and Edmund Gwenn.

This film is recently available on DVD, thanks to TCM. It can be seen there occasionally as well. The trailer is on YouTube and can be seen above, uploaded by Passthejointplease. The poster is available at Movieposterdb.com.

Obscurity factor: 6 (little remembered WWII film, available on DVD)

Walt Disney's Make Mine Music (1946)

Obscurity factor: 3

The war years had quite an impact on the film industry. Studios retooled, just as factories did, only instead of turning out planes and tanks, they turned out propaganda, training films and projects designed to keep the moral up. Disney's studio was no different. Because of a reduction in development staff they turned to projects like this, which utilized content they already had on the boards.

 Make Mine Music was a compilation of 10 different, unrelated segments that featured songs and stories based around music. Many went on to become pre-show shorts in later years, like the one advertised in the poster above, but they were all brought back together (except for the first one - The Martins and the Coys, which was deemed inappropriate for children by today's standards because of violence) for the VHS and DVD releases. Below are a few of my favorites from the film.

After You've Gone is the second Benny Goodman piece to be featured in the film. You'll see shades of Peter Max and other contemporary animation and illustration styles in this one. Look for the dancing fingers. It was uploaded by epcot

Here's The Martins and the Coys, the segment stripped from the home video releases of the film. It tells a Romeo and Juliet like story of star crossed lovers. It's uploade by 2wingo

The Andrews Sisters provided the song for this addition to the film. It tells the story of a hat who falls in love with a bonnet, but they are separated when different customers buy them.

The other Benny Goodman segment is All The Cats Join In and is very clever in its animation with everything originating from the point of the animator's pencil. This segment above is uploaded by Uncutcartoons247. The film is also the origin of the Disney version of Peter and the Wolf, which was shown to many elementary school students over the years, and The Whale who Wanted to Sing at the Met, voiced by Nelson Eddy.

The entire film is available on DVD in Disney's Gold Classic Collection, minus the hillbilly segment. You can also find many of the segments on YouTube separately.

Obscurity factor: 3 (available on DVD and in pieces on YouTube, known to Disney fans, relatively unknown otherwise)

Blonde Ice 1948

Blonde Ice is true film noir. It's a B movie all the way, produced by an obscure production company and showcasing obscure actors, it's left to get by on its own merits. There are a few.

The lead - Leslie Brooks plays Claire Cummings Hanneman, a woman so obsessed with getting ahead that she lets nothing stand in her way. She's willing to lie, cheat, steal and murder to come out on top. She's made a name for herself as a society reporter for a San Francisco newspaper and uses that name to land a wealthy man. The film opens at her wedding, and after the ceremony, she takes the sports writer (Robert Paige) she dumped aside to tell him that she's still in love with him. When her husband finds out on their honeymoon in Los Angeles he leaves her to fly home. She follows and kills him, then goes back to LA to establish an alibi. Despite some boneheaded moves on her part, she gets away with it for a while. The film is entertaining, though you have to suspend disbelief occasionally.

Another film available on the Hollywood Bombshells Collection DVD set, this film is also available in full on YouTube, thanks to Time Capsule Project. There is a stand alone release of this title as well, that comes with several interesting bonus features. It's otherwise all but forgotten. The poster above is available at MoviePosterShop.com.

Tallulah Bankhead in A Royal Scandal 1945

Tallulah Bankhead didn't make may films. She was better known for her stage work - she introduced roles that the likes of Bette Davis played on screen. When you did get a chance to see Ms. Bankhead in a film it was a treat, indeed! Her most famous films are the Hitchcock classic Lifeboat (1944) and the unfortunate Die, Die My Darling (1965). This little gem is mostly unknown, however, and that's a shame. It's charming! Bankhead plays Catherine the Great. She has fallen in love with a young officer (William Eythe) much to the consternation of his fiancee (Anne Baxter). The comedy of manners that ensues is deftly directed by Otto Preminger and was conceived and created by Ernst Lubitsch. It has Lubitsch's delightfully frothy and sophisticated style. Also in the cast are Charles Coburn and Vincent Price.

It's not yet available on DVD, but I imagine that it will be soon. It's been getting some play on TCM. You can find the entire film uploaded to YouTube by konway87. The first installment is above. Give it a whirl! It's the perfect diversion for New Year's Day.

Obscurity factor: 7 (Not on DVD, occasionally seen on TCM, available on YouTube)

Rosalind Russell in The Velvet Touch 1948

In 1948 Rosalind Russell and her husband Fredrick Brisson (occasionally referred to as The Lizard of Roz) embarked on a career partnership that paralleled their marriage with this film. It was the first of many of Roz's films that was based on a Broadway play that Brisson negotiated the rights for. It centers around the complicated life of actress Valerie Stanton (Russell) who is under the thumb of her producer (Leon Ames), but wants to try her wings at more challenging material than he is willing to offer her. During an overheated meeting she inadvertently kills him. Circumstances lead to an enemy of hers being accused of the crime and Valerie finds herself in a moral conundrum. 

 

This suspenseful film is full of sparkling dialog with witty turns of phrase that contrast the dramatic subject matter and make it a delight to watch. Also starring in the film are Sydney Greenstreet and Claire Trevor. It's hard to find and only occasionally shown on TV. You can get the old video tapes of it on Amazon.com, but that's about the only source for it right now. Perhaps it will find its way into TCM's DVD release series. We can only hope.

Obscurity factor 9 (No DVD, hard to find, not on YouTube or iOffer.com, rarely seen on television)