A Retrospective Review By Cesare Augusto Directed by: John Farrow Starring: Dan Milner – ROBERT MITCHUM Lenore Brent – JANE RUSSELL Nick Ferraro – RAYMOND BURR Mark Cardigan – VINCENT PRICE Thompson – CHARLES MCGRAW Martin Krafft – JOHN MYLONG Lusk – TIM HOLT Myron Winton - JIM BACKUS If you’re like me, a youngish millennial born smack-dab in the early to mid 1980s, chances are, your youth was spent immersed in 1990s pop culture. Don’t ask me how, but I still retain vividly childhood memories from that decade. Vividly fond memories of plopping down in front of the TV on Saturday mornings, chugging gallons of Hershey’s Quik-flavored milk, and endlessly watching popular comic book-based cartoons of its day like SWAT Kats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Batman: The Animated Series, and countless others. It’s funny how memorable past tidbits from my kid days would return from the deep recesses of my mind and eventually shape my adult pop culture passions. For instance, in 1992 there was a series of food-based TV ads designed to whet America’s appetite for beef. Some of you might be old enough to remember them, too. They were part of the “Beef: It’s What’s For Dinner” advertising campaign, created by the Beef Council and presented many unique ways to cook red meat. Not only did this ad campaign make TV watchers hungry (provided, of course, they weren’t vegetarians), it also roused our spirits by using the catchy American Classical tune “Hoedown” by Aaron Copeland as its trademark theme, and the richly deep voice of actor Robert Mitchum (1917-1997) for narration. These TV ads would be forever embedded in my mind as a marvelously-memorable marketing gimmick from my youth, and thereby commence a lifelong personal affinity for Robert Mitchum, my all-time favorite actor. Mitchum was the epitome of classic thespian versatility. He dipped his toe into a wide variety of roles, from conflicted but capable Old West lawmen in El Dorado, hunky sensitive romantic types in Holiday Affair, charming yet monstrous predators in Night of the Hunter and Cape Fear (for which he is arguably most famous for, at least among mainstream audiences), and even occasional goofy comedy acts like the ludicrously-premised early 90s sitcom A Family For Joe. Mitch would prove himself adept with commercial voiceovers as he did with “Beef: It’s What’s For Dinner.” But to us cinephiles, Robert Mitchum will always be a major icon of the Film Noir genre. With his dark broodiness, acidic cynicism, sleepy yet piercing eyes, and that trademark gruff voice, Mitch was born to play hard-boiled Noir types, movie star handsomeness be damned. Whether they be private eye, police officer, or aimless drifter, Mitch played them all to near perfection, and with little apparent effort. Many (if not all) Film Noir enthusiasts would quickly acknowledge his great performance in Out of the Past as the honorable yet doomed P.I. Jeff Markham, who accepts a seemingly routine wandering wife case which slowly-but surely descends into a maelstrom of violence and death. Mitch, wrapped in a beat-up trench coat and matching fedora, embodied the tortured Noir hero archetype and would continue to do in many other Noir pictures in the 40s and 50s. Film noir would fade in popularity by the 60s but return in the early 70s via a gritty throwback movement known as neo-noir. Mitchum himself made several great contributions to the Neo-noir movement with such epic crime pictures as The Friends of Eddie Coyle, and The Yakuza, both hearkening to his ill-fated heroic parts decades before. Let’s flash back to 1951. There is one Robert Mitchum noir that, compared to his other films of that genre, stood out to me rather radically in terms of casting types, unusual film backdrop, and a wild and uneven plot. The film is His Kind of Woman, costarring a slew of fellow Noir stars like Jane Russell, Charles McGraw, and Raymond Burr. A few actors not known for Film Noir being their forte also appear in significant parts, including horror legend Vincent Price, Hollywood cowboy Tim Holt, and future TV comedy star Jim Backus. His Kind of Woman´was an RKO production supervised under the watchful eye of Howard Hughes, an indication in itself of potential troubles. Hollywood lore has it that the film was beset with problems such as constant re-shoots, director changes, and battles between Mitch the star and Hughes the producer. Fortunately, the film’s internal turmoil does little to diminish its zany premise and unique entertainment value. Celebrated TCM personality Eddie Muller described His Kind of Woman best as a “parody” of the Film Noir genre, and I reckon he’s right. Mitchum plays down-on-his-luck professional gambler Dan Milner. Compared to his other hard-boiled roles, Mitchum’s Milner is a more laid-back, freewheeling type. He’d rather spend his waking hours at the poker table and win small fortunes rather than solving crimes or voluntarily getting in trouble. Naturally, trouble finds Milner first when he forgoes paying off a debt he owes to a gangster, and promptly gets the hell beaten out of him as penalty. He finds a way out of his misadventures when he’s offered a mysterious job: to leave the country for about a year, in which he will be paid 50 large ones. The job will take him to a remote tropical vacation resort deep in Baja California called Morro’s Lodge, where he is to await further instructions. With nothing left to lose (except perhaps his physical well-being), Milner accepts the job. No sooner than he climbs aboard the plane when he meets lovely singer Lenore Brent, portrayed with vintage elegance by Jane Russell. Lenore has unusual reasons of her own to travel to the resort. Before long, their peculiar personalities intrigue each other, and a spark inevitably lights between them. One of the film’s biggest drawbacks happens once Milner and Lenore arrive at the lodge. From here the story becomes a disparate disarray of clashing subplots, due largely to the wide cast of characters that also converge at the resort. These distractions seemingly come out of nowhere and inadvertently sidetrack us from the true premise behind the film. There’s well-meaning but conceited actor/hunting enthusiast Mark Cardigan (Vincent Price doing his best Errol Flynn impression), suffering from a rocky marriage; depressed newlywed Jennie Stone, who worries about her gambling-addicted husband; and Myron Winton (Jim Backus), a wealthy vacationer who pesters Milner with gin rummy challenges. Even lovely Lenore has backstory baggage of her own. Upon my first viewing, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had somehow unconsciously began watching two different movies. Was this a Film Noir thriller I popped into my DVD player, or a 1930s Screwball Comedy satirizing Noir? Was Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn supposed to be cast here, but the producers mistakenly got Mitch and Russell instead? Thankfully, the story does return to its general premise before it spirals completely out of control. We are introduced to the shadier members of the cast. While investigating his strange island excursion, Milner meets sunglasses-sporting writer Martin Krafft (John Mylong) and tight-lipped mystery man Thompson (McGraw). Both men exhibit the chilling vibe of unknown villainy. Later, an ostensibly drunk airplane pilot named Lusk (Holt) flies to the resort and encounters Milner. But Lusk snaps out of his intoxicated facade and reveals himself to be an undercover federal agent. He then unveils a bigger bombshell: Milner is the patsy of a elaborate scheme involving vicious deported crime boss Nick Ferraro (Burr), who seeks to physically usurp Milner’s identity and return back to the States. What follows is a turn of events that must be seen to be believed. Milner gets wise to his unwilling participation to the conspiracy and embarks on a risky crusade to bring Ferraro to justice. But what begins as a crusade turns into near slapstick, as Milner is captured by his enemies, and Cardigan launches a rescue attempt. Cardigan, apparently bored from playing fictional swashbuckling types on the big screen, gleefully jumps at the chance of playing a real hero and comically sprouts Shakespearean passages as he gears up for actual war. Here again rears the uneven nature of His Kind of Woman. While Milner desperately fights for his life against Ferraro on the gangster’s boat, Cardigan engages in gimmicky combat with the crime boss’ army of henchmen. Film Noir thriller once again ping-pongs into farce, and back again, much to the possible frustration of its viewers. Was this flip-flopping of cinematic perspectives an intentional use of juxtaposition by the filmmakers, perhaps? If so, it was disorienting, and frankly, badly done. Frustrating convoluted setbacks aside, His Kind of Woman still entertains once you’re reserved to accepting the unbalanced switches of perspective. The climatic boat battle, choppy and chaotic as it looks, is actually quite an exciting and action-packed sequence, as long as you suspend all disbelief. The film’s performances also pack incredible punches, with Burr chewing the scenery delightfully as the brutal crime boss going through some truly crazy lengths just to head back stateside. Vincent Price is a hoot, not by depicting Gothic-stye evil as usual, but comically quoting Hamlet when facing evil off-camera, and memorably breaking typecast while doing so! Of course, a Film Noir piece (even in a near-satire as this), isn’t complete without steamy romantic chemistry between its two leads. Before you can say “Bogart an’ Bacall,” Mitchum and Russell execute that classic chemistry expected of this film realm. Flirting, teasing, acting coy; you name the lovey-dovey activity, Mitch and Russell sparked it. The two stars ignite their passions on the Baja beach with the obligatory kiss under the dark moonlight. The passionate lovers’ kiss is the emotional payoff all Noir fans wait for, along with the violent impact of the film’s climax. Sure, His Kind of Woman doesn’t come close to the signficant legendary status of The Maltese Falcon or Out of the Past. But if anything, it’s pure vintage entertainment for veteran Film Noir fans and newcomers alike. See the original trailer here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smdt0wGkrfg
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About Yours Truly
Unearthing great forgotten and criminally underrated pop culture mediums is my specialty! Whether the topic be about cinema, television, music, or other fun bits of obscure minutiae, I love analyzing and unleashing these lost treasures to the unwitting public! Archives
October 2020
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