Five Star Final

Just like the tabloids of today, every now and then some old scandalous case is slapped across the front page just to sell copies.  That’s how the Gazette operates here in Mervyn LeRoy’s Five Star Final.  With the competitive circulation dropping, publisher Hinchcliffe (Oscar Apfel) pushes the editor, Randal (Edward G. Robinson) to run a more sensational story.  Randal decides to dig up a twenty year old murder case, where the actions of the murderess, Nancy Voorhees (Frances Starr), were found justifiable.  Since then she has been living a quiet life of anonymity, with her daughter, Jenny (Marian Marsh) who knows nothing of the murder or the true identity of her father.

The Townsend family (Nancy’s new last name that helped her hide twenty years ago) is about to have a joyous celebration.  Tomorrow is Jenny’s wedding to Phillip (Anthony Bushell), a sweet upper-class boy.  This is everything Nancy could have dreamed for her daughter, born just after her trials.

When Randal sends one of his reporters, Isopod (Boris Karloff) to get some dirt straight from Nancy’s mouth, Isopod disguises himself as a minister in hopes of seeming more trustworthy.  Just after Nancy welcomes an appointment with the phony minister (trusting he has some ties to Jenny’s wedding), she reads in the Gazette that her story will be featured again.  Desperate to save her daughter’s wedding, she confides in Isopod, asking if he could try to reason with the newspaper not to run the story.  It’s only too late when she realizes she’s trusted the wrong person with her secret.  Printed on schedule, her name is smeared through the mud again, along with Jenny’s, resulting in heartbreaking tragedy.

It’s established early that this isn’t a newspaper that plays fair.  When they get a whiff that one news stand isn’t putting the Gazette on top, they vandalize the old man’s stand.  It’s a dirty trick that lets us sever any allegiance we could have had with the paper

One interesting detail I found in Five Star Final, is the role of alcohol.  Set in the era of prohibition, speakeasies seem to be the main hangout for the Gazette’s employees, from reporters to secretaries.  Booze seems to be the lubrication that helps them regularly run these stories that end up ruining lives.  Showing only our villains touching the outlawed liquor reinforces the negative image of alcohol that helps the law.

Five Star Final is a good film that gets us interested in this seedy world within the Gazette right away and then pulls our heart with Nancy’s story.  It has a smart split-screen phone conversation scene that I’m sure was quite the technical achievement in it’s day.  Problem is, the ending climax is gone in a flash, watch it and you’ll see that you don’t even have time to gasp before it’s snuffed.  Then things turn to preachy speeches before giving us one last great moment.  Even with this one Achilles heel, the film is still worth a watch for any classic film buff, and available on YouTube.

“They don’t throw you out of speakeasies… they carry you out!”

Elmer Gantry

Based on the 1927 novel by Sinclair Lewis, Elmer Gantry tells the story of a fast talking, womanizing traveling salesman who becomes the main preacher in a traveling revivalist church.  Both the novel and film were very controversial in their time.  In the twenties, the novel was banned in many cities and denounced in churches the world over.  Director Richard Brooks beings the film with a statement to explain the message and warn audiences of the controversial content:

“We believe that certain aspects of Revivalism can bear examination- that the conduct of some revivalists makes a mockery of the traditional beliefs and practices of organized Christianity!

We believe that everyone has a right to worship according to his conscience, but- Freedom of Religion is not license to abuse the faith of the people!

However, due to the highly controversial nature of this film, we strongly urge you to prevent impressionable children from seeing it!”

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting anything so gutsy from the year 1960.  For those worried about that statement above, the film does not make a mockery of religion, but rather examines characters that abuse the faith of the public and turn it into a circus.  The film offers some great food for thought and should not be immediately dismissed by religious communities.

Burt Lancaster drives the film and earned an Oscar for his performance as Elmer Gantry.  In his first scene, we see Gantry’s amazing talent from telling dirty stories in a speakeasy, to selling Christmas spirit comparing Jesus to a regular All-American football star.  Gantry seems to rely on the kindness of strangers by putting on a wholesome choirboy attitude, scoring him trusting smiles and places to sleep, sometimes with a female companion.

When he happens upon a Revivalist tent with the beautiful Sister Sharon (Jean Simmons), Gantry works his charm, and hops on their train, to become part of the traveling church group.  His energetic sales pitches, I mean sermons, can range from mocking Darwinism with a cute chimp to ranting and sweating with proclamations of brimstone and hellfire.  He gains the church so much attention and converts that they are invited by Mr. Babbitt (Edward Andrews) to the big city ofZenith, where there’s a lot of sinners to be saved and Gantry’s racy past could ruin his new reputation.

It’s obvious to us that Gantry is a no-account drifter only using this revivalist church to his own gain.  He tries to hide his exploits with booze and women as he becomes a more public figure.  To help further his image, Gantry takes it upon himself to lead the people of Zenith to destroy the local speakeasies and other sinful establishments.  They’re like a mob, complete with torches and chopping down doors with an ax.  Then Gantry happens upon Lulu (Shirley Jones), a one night stand he once had, while overturning the prostitution ring.  Lulu has told her coworkers all about Gantry and how “he rammed the fear of God into me so fast I never heard my old man’s footsteps!”  With the whore house destroyed, Lulu decides to blackmail Gantry and expose his unholy side.

Through all this unwholesome drama and turmoil, Sister Sharon is the one true believer in the story.  From her humble beginnings and no training, she started this revivalist church on her own to spread the word of Jesus.  She has nearly reached her ultimate goal of having a permanent church.  Along the way, she falls for Gantry, which seems nearly scandalous for woman trying to be a pillar of moral fiber.  The real problem Sharon has is that she can trust God too much.  No matter how religious you are, always get out of a burning building.  Or Darwinism will always win.

“The mob don’t like their Gods to be human.”

Alexander’s Ragtime Band

We first see Roger (Tyrone Power) having just finished conducting a classical concert.  The ladies try to get near him and his proud old professor tries to give the young man some advice, but he brushes them aside.  He and his band pals Charlie (Don Ameche) and Davey (Jack Haley) have an audition to get to.

At Dirty’s Eddie’s a band has just been kicked out by the owner when Stella Kirby (Alice Faye) arrives hoping for a job singing in the joint.  She tells the bartender she’s got some new music straight from New York.  While she’s catching up with an old friend, Roger and his band show up missing their music.  The bartender hands them Stella’s music entitled Alexander’s Ragtime Band.

Now, these boys are used to playing classical, more serious music.  As they begin to play, they ask, “What time is this?” The music is stiff for a few seconds before Roger tells them, “Swing into it.”  It isn’t long before Stella realizes they’re playing the new music she brought and fumes.  She gets up and starts singing with the band, not wanting to lose her own audition.  Before the boys can tell Stella to get lost, the owner hires all of them.  In that moment, they have become Alexander’s Ragtime Band with Roger replacing his name to the lead Alexander.

Though they’ve got the job, it’s not smooth sailing.  Alex and Stella are at each other’s throats at first.  She thinks he’s a snob and he thinks she is too crass.  There’s a great power struggle scene where Alex is trying to make Stella’s costume look classier, but she won’t budge and knows what keeps the audience entertained.  Throughout their fights, Charlie keeps the peace and plays referee.

Soon, a love triangle forms.  Charlie falls for Stella and writes a beautiful song for her, but as she sings it during a performance, she and Alex realize their love for each other.  Their romance is sweet, especially when they incorporate their feuds.  Nothing like embracing and telling your love, “And that’s for all the times I wanted to break your neck.”

With Charlie approving of Alex and Stella’s relationship and the band about to grab the ear of Broadway producer Charles Dillingham (Joseph King), everything seems smooth sailing.  Unfortunately, Dillingham only wants to put Stella on Broadway and soon after the rest of the band gets recruited into the army for WWI.  The rest of the film follows changes through the roaring twenties and days of prohibition where Alex tries to become a post war success and Stella tries to make up for lost time.

I believe I’m finally starting to warm up to these 1930’s musicals.  Either that or Alexander’s Ragtime Band is simply a film that cannot work without all the ragtime numbers spread throughout.  One of the great things about this film is that the plot doesn’t come to a dead stop for each musical number.  Many times they’re part of the action, like when Alex and Stella realize their affections and Stella runs off the stage mid-song and Alex simply hands his baton to Charlie to go after her.  Later, the army’s shows finale doubles as the troops deployment.  Talk about improvising.

In the end, Alexander’s Ragtime Band is an engaging story through the 1910s and 20’s.  Our emotions are pulled and pushed between the love story, Stella’s stage career and Alex’s rise from ruin.  Just like in the audition at Dirty Eddie’s, the band would not have worked without Stella’s voice, and the film cannot go on without the Oscar winning music.

“Just because you can stand here and shout you know everything about music.”