Cone of Silence (aka "Trouble in the Sky") (1960) Starring: Michael Craig, Bernard Lee, Peter Cushing, Elizabeth Seal, Gordon Jackson, George Sanders, Noel Willman, Marne Maitland, and Andre Morell
Director: Charles Frend
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
An aging pilot (Lee) is blamed for a near-crash with the latest passenger jet design, the Phoenix. While the designer of the jet (Willman) and a pilot-turned-airline-executive (Cushing) are pushing all the blame onto pilot error, a training pilot (Craig) starts to discover evidence that the problem may be with the aircraft design.
"Cone of Silence" is a nice little drama that revolves around the business and politics involved in running an airline and the processes by which mistakes and accidents are investigated, blame is assigned, and steps are taken to understand why the mistake or accident happened and how they can be prevented from occurring again. In the hands of less talented people, and with a cast that wasn't comprised entirely of top-notch actors--with even smaller roles being filled by the likes of Gordon Jackson, George Sanders, and Andre Morell--this could easily have turned into a preachy melodrama. Instead, we're treated to some nice performances by talented actors and a character-driven story that's made even more suspenseful by the fact that the audience knows there's going to another plane crash (or several) than just the one that got pinned on old Captain Gort (played with great charm by Bernard Lee) at the outset.
One interesting aspect of the film is that none of the major characters are ever acting out of malice--every character has blind spots/fatal flaws that contribute to the film's chain of events, but there isn't anyone who can truly be described as villains. Everyone is acting in a way that they believe forwards the greater good, and in the interest of truth and public safety. (There is one character who remains as apparently shady and misguided at the end of the film as he seemed at the beginning, but even he is more arrogant than outright bad.)
Further, with the plane crashes that have been dominating the news about the airline industry in recent years, this sixty year-old movie still has relevance today. I suspect that you'll find the exact same personalities in those same jobs, performing the same functions, today as you did back then... and I think that they'll behave in much the same fashion and be motivated by the same outlooks as those in "Cone of Silence."
If you have some time, you can watch "Cone of Silence" from this very post. I think you'll enjoy it. It's got fine performances from Elizabeth Seal, in her only starring role, as a dutiful daughter hoping that her father's name will be cleared; Michael Craig striking a nice balance between earnest and smarmy as a cocky pilot; and Peter Cushing as a "company man" trying to find a truth that is most beneficial to growing the bottom line. (It may be because I'm a huge fan of him, but I think that out of all the cast Cushing gave the most excellent of performances. He communicates more with a shift in body language, a darting of the eyes, or a slight change in tone than pages of dialog might reveal about a character. I don't recall ever seeing him give a bad performance, but he is particular excellent in this film.)
Lured (aka "Personal Column") (1947)
Starring: Lucille Ball, Charles Coburn, George Sanders, George Zucco, Cedric Hardwicke, and Boris Karloff
Director: Douglas Sirk
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
Scotland Yard's Inspector Temple (Coburn) hires sharp-eyed, sharp-witted, and sharp-tongued down-and-out American actress Sandra Carpenter (Ball) to serve as a lure for a serial killer who has been prowling through London's shadows, murdering young women he contacts through personal ads. With her Scotland Yard "guardian angel" Barrett (Zucco) watching over her, she undertakes the dangerous task of drawing out the insane killer.
"Lured" is a well-done, light-touch police procedural thriller (with touches of romance and melodrama along the way) that features an all-star cast of 1940s B-movie actors (and a respected stage actor thrown in for good measure), all of whom deliver great performances.
The dialogue is snappy, the tense moments geniuinely tense, the funny moments genuinely funny, and the many red herrings tasty. Boris Karloff's character serves as the oddest and funniest fish of them all--and it's not a spoiler to say that he isn't the serial killer. Yes, it's the sort of part he often plays, but not here, and it will be obvious to viewers almost immediately.
I think this is a film that will be enjoyed by anyone who likes classic mystery movies. I also think that fans of Lucille Ball will enjoy seeing her in her pre-screwball comedy days. (Speaking of comedy, George Zucco's scenes with Ball are always amusing, as Sandra repeatedly inadvertantly helps Barrett solve the crossword puzzles he's constantly working on with stray comments.)
Sundown (1941)
Starring: Bruce Cabot, Gene Tierney, and George Sanders
Director: Henry Hathaway
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
As World War II rages, District Commisioner Crawford (Cabot) and British Army officer Major Coombs (Sanders) get wind of a plot by the Nazis to arm violent North African tribes and set them upon the Allied forces. An exotic, mysterious caravan mistress (Tierney) arrives at their isolated outpost, but is she a friend, or is it her extensive trading network that the Nazis are using to move their weapons shipments?
"Sundown" is a fairly run-of-the-mill drama, with the steadfast British colonial troops and their valiant native allies standing fast against those who would bring low Britain. It's got a more interesting cast of characters than many of these films--with the liberal minded Crawford standing outin particular--and the cast is mostly excellent. The film also benefits from a more exotic locale than many of these films, and the gorgeous photography takes full advantage of this, as does the script. (One bit of repetition that made me scratch my head: why did the bad guys always get gunned down in pools of water?)
Aside from the great camera work, another reason to see "Sundown" is the presence of the absolutely gorgeous Gene Tierney. She truly is one of the most beautiful actresses to ever appear on film, and she doesn't do a whole lot more than walk around looking exotic and gorgeous here. If you haven't seen Tierney do majestically beautiful, you need to see this movie.
Welcome to the Boris Karloff Blogathon, a week-long celebration that spans over 100 blogs. To experience its full scope, click here.
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Ask me to name three stars of black-and-white movies, and the first names that come to my mind are Katherine Hepburn, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. I will eventually be posting reviews of Hepburn films, but I had not intended to write about Karloff or Lugosi in this forum as I have already covered their work in The Boris Karloff Collection, The Bela Lugosi Collection, and The Universal Horror Archive.
[UPDATE (July 2010): Since writing that paragraph, most of the posts from the Lugosi and Karloff blogs have been replicated in "Shades of Gray," for ease of reference.]
However, the Franksteinia blog is serving as a hub this week for the Boris Karloff Blogathon, an event that is proving to be a fabulous source of views and reviews on one of the horror genres greatest figures. I wanted to call attention to the blogathon (in case anyone out there is checking out these posts)... and that, in turn, inspired me to take the opportunity to highlight some films where Boris Karloff is playing very different characters than he is famous for.
To any fan of classic movies and to most Americans over 45, the name "Boris Karloff" evokes images of monsters, creepy bad guys, and shadowy, fog-draped cemeteries. However, Karloff's career spanned many genres and while he admittedly mostly played creepy bad guys, he did occassionally break from that character. Here are three examples of such roles--three films I think everyone who has ever admired Karloff should see. They are "Night Key" (Universal, 1937), where Karloff plays a grandfatherly inventor whose momentary desire for revenge gets him caught up in the schemes of a bunch of gangsters; "Mr. Wong, Detective" (Monogram, 1938), where he takes a turn as a mild-mannered Chinese-American private investigator; and "Lured," ("Hunt Stromberg, 1947) where he plays a part like one he wouldn't play again until he dressed in drag on an episode of "The Girl From U.N.C.L.E."
Night Key (1937)
Starring: Boris Karloff, Hobart Cavanaugh, Jean Rogers, Warren Hull, Samuel S. Hinds, Alan Baxter and Ward Bond
Director: Lloyd Corrigan
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
After being cheated out his latest security system by his former business partner, Steve Ranger (Hinds), inventor and security expert Dave Mallory (Karloff) sets out to gain revenge and force the crooked business man to change the deal to a fair one. Together with a petty thief (Cavanaugh), Mallory sets about using another invention--the Night Key--to override the alarm system he created and cause harmless mischief in places protected by it. But, before Mallory manages to embarrass Ranger into submission, a ruthless gangster (Baxter) learn of his device and forces him to assist them in a major heist.
"Night Key" is a fun, fast-paced 1930s techno-thriller--it's like a "Firewall" or "Mission Impossible II" of its day, only with humor replacing the violence and a script written by someone who actually knew how to write and properly develop characters in a very short space. Of course, it also helps that the film features a fabulous cast, with everyone being perfect in their parts and everyone giving top-of-the-line performances.
Boris Karloff is particularly fun in this film, as he plays a character of a sort that he hardly ever got to play: A fundamentally nice person who is as kindhearted as Karloff reportedly was in real life. (Although one assumes that Karloff was not as naive and scatterbrained as the grandfatherly Dave Mallory is.)
Thanks to good direction and even better acting, the film provides many moments of touching comedy (such as the scene where Mallory and his criminal associate have fun opening every umbrella in an umbrella store) and intense excitement (such as when Mallory devises a way to escape the clutches of the gangsters who have kidnapped him and are holding his daughter for ransom). Everything in the film works perfectly, except for a rather pointless romance between Mallory's daughter and a security guard. However, this is such a minor part of the overall movie that it hardly has an impact.
Mr. Wong, Detective (1938)
Starring: Boris Karloff, Grant Withers, John St. Polis, Maxine Jennings, Lucien Prival and Evelyn Brent
Director: William Nigh
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars
When a powerful captain of industry is found dead inside his locked office moments after police detective Sam Street (Withers) saw him standing at the window, renowned private James Lee Wong (Karloff) joins forces with the homicide squad to interpret the only clues found at the scene--tiny fragments of delicate glass. When Dayton's business partners start dying under equally mysterious circumstances, and sinister agents of foreign powers start appearing in the shadows, Wong and Street have to race against time to prevent more murders, including, possibly, their own.
"Mr. Wong, Detective" is a fast-paced, well-scripted, complex mystery with lots of twists, turns, and misdirections. The array of suspects and the way suspicion moves on and off them, the way motives come into focus and blur again, the clever way the murder weapon is triggered, and the way Wong ultimately unmasks the very clever murderer, all add up to a mystery movie that deserves more attention than it gets.
Another element that adds to the film's quality is the acting. Boris Karloff is excellent as Wong, playing a more subdued and refined character than in just about any other role he played before or after, with the way Wong sarcastically offers stereotypical "Oriental humbleness" to the face of the bad guys adding flavor to the character and comedy to the film. Grant Withers as Street is likewise excellent in his part, shining particularly brightly in the scenes with Maxine Jennings, who brings effective comic relief to the picture as his feisty girlfriend, Myra. The supporting cast and co-stars also all turn in top-quality performances.
"Mr. Wong, Detective" is a film well worth the time a fan of 1930s mysteries should devote to watching it.
Lured (aka "Personal Column") (1947)
Starring: Lucille Ball, Charles Coburn, George Sanders, George Zucco, Cedrick Hardwicke, and Boris Karloff
Director: Douglas Sirk
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
Scotland Yard's Inspector Temple (Coburn) hires sharp-eyed, sharp-witted, and sharp-tongued down-and-out American actress Sandra Carpenter (Ball) to serve as a lure for a serial killer who has been prowling through London's shadows, murdering young women he contacts through personal ads. With her Scotland Yard "guardian angel" Barrett (Zucco) watching over her, she undertakes the dangerous task of drawing out the insane killer.
"Lured" is a well-done, light-touch police procedural thriller (with touches of romance and melodrama along the way) that features an all-star cast of 1940s B-movie actors (and a respected stage actor thrown in for good measure), all of whom deliver great performances.
The dialogue is snappy, the tense moments genuinely tense, the funny moments genuinely funny, and the many red herrings tasty. Boris Karloff's character serves as the oddest and funniest fish of them all--and it's not a spoiler to say that he isn't the serial killer. Yes, it's the sort of part he often plays, but not here, and it will be obvious to viewers almost immediately. (Some might say he's WORSE than a serial killer here... he plays an eccentric fashion designer!)
I think this is a film that will be enjoyed by anyone who likes classic mystery movies. I also think that fans of Lucille Ball will enjoy seeing her in her pre-screwball comedy days. (Speaking of comedy, George Zucco's scenes with Ball are always amusing, as Sandra repeatedly inadvertently helps Barrett solve the crossword puzzles he's constantly working on with stray comments.)
The Strange Woman (1946)
Starring: Hedy Lamarr, George Sanders, Louis Hayward, Gene Lockhart, and Hillary Brooke
Director: Edgar G. Ulmer
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
Beautiful sociopath Jenny Hager (Lamarr) vamps her way through early 19th century Bangor, spreading heartbreak, mayhem and murder.
"The Strange Woman" is a predictable period drama that is elevated by its superior cast, and a multi-faceted performance of star Hedy Lemarr. Although Jenny Hager is a textbook sociopath and thoroughly evil, Lamarr manages to make the character sympathetic. Unlike most femme fatale characters as self-centered and manipulative as Jenny, the viewer can't help but feel a little sorry for her when her life starts to unravel when her weaknesses catch up with her.
Another impressive aspect of the film is is musical score. It serves as more than just a mood-heightener, it helps move the story forward by using well-known bits of music (such as the Wedding March or a Christmas song) to show the passage of time. It's a very effective technique that makes sure the film never loses momentum.
If you're a fan of Hedy Lemarr or a great lover of gothic romances, I think you'll get a kick out of this movie.
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