CONNECTION TO PREVIOUS ENTRY: Kristine Miller
SOURCE: Personal Collection, Kino Lorber Blu Ray
STARRING: Lizabeth Scott, John Hodiak, Burt Lancaster
CO-STARS: Mary Astor, Wendell Corey, Kristine Miller
DIRECTOR: Lewis Allen
STUDIO: Paramount
SUMMARY:
I used Kristine Miller as my connection, which turned out to not be the greatest link. I’m fairly certain that Miller only appears in a brief scene at the beginning of the film where she is very rude to Lizabeth Scott. Anyway, the film starts with Paula Haller (Scott) returning to the small town of Chuckawalla, Nevada. Paula has just dropped out of college and is returning to town in hopes of finding work at her mother, Fritzi’s (Astor) casino. Fritzi’s casino, The Purple Sage, is the biggest business in town, making Fritzi a very influential member of the community. When Paula arrives, she quickly realizes that her contentious and competitive relationship with her mother is still wholly intact. Fritzi has very specific ideas for her daughter’s future; but Paula wants to make her own decisions. As soon as she arrives in town, Paula encounters gangster Eddie Bendix (Hodiak) and his henchman Johnny (Corey in his film debut). Some time prior, Eddie’s wife Angela had died in a mysterious accident on the Chuckawalla Bridge. Despite being cleared of involvement in the accident due to lack of evidence, Eddie is highly suspected of having killed his wife. The town’s local deputy sheriff, Tom Hanson (Lancaster), claims to have seen Eddie kill his wife with his own eyes, but for whatever reason, he wasn’t (or didn’t) able to get Eddie convicted. Tom is also in love with Paula. Paula likes Tom, but it seems he has been “friendzoned.” Paula is in love with Eddie. Neither Fritzi, nor Tom, nor Johnny approve of Paula’s interest in Eddie–all for different reasons.
FAVORITE PART(S):
1) Mary Astor’s performance. She was fantastic. She is a tough as nails, brash, stern, glamorous, yet kind of trashy woman who revels in her influential position in town; but also regrets the path she took to get there. She views her daughter, Paula, as competition, yet also has a specific idea for what she wants for Paula–regardless of what Paula wants.
2) The relationship between John Hodiak and Wendell Corey. There is very clearly some homosexual subtext that is implied yet overt at the same time.
3) Mary Astor and Lizabeth Scott’s fabulous wardrobes.
4) The Night Spot Cafe, all-night cafe building.
5) The jerk at the counter at the Night Spot Cafe who needlessly heckles Hodiak for wanting to sit at a table. This encounter was so odd as there were two available seats at the counter, but three people in the party. Why wouldn’t Hodiak & co. want to sit at a table?
6) The ending was to be expected but was also a satisfying conclusion.
7) Lizabeth Scott. I’ve always been skeptical of her acting prowess in her films; but I thought she was excellent here. I think melodrama might have been her niche.
BEST QUOTE(S):
EDDIE: I was your age, maybe a year older. I was in the Automat off Times Square about two o’clock in the morning on a Saturday. I was broke, [Johnny] had a couple of dollars, we got to talking. He ended up paying for my ham and eggs. I went home with him that night. I was locked out. Didn’t have a place to stay. His old lady ran a boarding house in the Bronx. There were a couple of vacant rooms. We were together from then on.