ronnmullen Reviews

Scarlet Angel (1952)

a modest gem

[28 October 2002]

By the time Universal made this one, they had the formula down pat -- rough, tough man meets rough, tough gal, they wrangle; she cheats him and runs off with his bankroll. She changes identities and he finds her by accident -- then, blackmail, or love?

I won't spoil the ending for you.

DeCarlo was gorgeous in this one (as she always was) but the big surprise was her new leading man, one Rock Hudson -- brash and boy-next-door handsome -- he all but steals the movie from her. It's a fun romp in handsome costumes and the supporting cast is top notch -- yes, the jealous "cousin" in San Francisco is Amanda Blake who made a splash as Miss Kitty on Gunsmoke.

The Montecarlo Story (1956)

a few high points among the low

[26 October 2002]

granted, this whole movie was a low point for Marlene and for Vittorio daSica as well. There is one great line in it, however: when asked by confidence man daSica why she never wears any jewelry (which she has hocked to pay for her stay in Monte Carlo) La Dietrich purrs, "Should I?" to which daDica responds, "Most women do." Dietrich points out, "Most women NEED to." Touche' -- The other high point for me in this mess is when Dietrich sings "Back Home Again in Indiana" -- as unlikely a possibility as there ever could be!

The Gal Who Took the West (1949)

a western Rashomon

[26 October 2002]

The fun of this film is telling the story from three different viewpoints -- each version diametrically opposed to the others -- what is the truth? probably a mixture of all of them -- it's a fun film with DeCarlo in fine form and the feuding brothers fighting it out for her affections is half the fun.

Casbah (1948)

remake of "Algiers" not "Casablanca"

[26 October 2002]

This strange little item is a remake of the 1938 film "Algiers" which starred Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr, which itself was a remake of a French film of the previous year, called "Pepe LeMoko." The 1938 version made stars of Boyer and Lamarr; Tony Martin (who was married to dancer Cyd Charisse) and Marta Toren were not so lucky. Both were physically attractive enough but lacked the panache and charisma to capture the movie going public's loyalty. DeCarlo held her own in the film in a secondary role in a period when Universal was trying to figure out what to do with her -- the camp era was over -- no more "Salome" or "Sheherazade" for her. She did some fine work in film noir during this time -- "Brute Force" and "Criss Cross" in particular. (If you look real close at the Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe -- you might spot a young dancer named Eartha Kitt who made quite a name for herself a bit later, as a singer.)

Slave Girl (1947)

camp

[26 October 2002]

this was the most aggressively comedic of the films of DeCarlo in this period, although, they must have known that "Salome, Where She Danced," "Song of Sheherazade," and "Frontier Gal" were hilarious as well -- but this one was out-front farce. The talking camel predates Francis, the Talking Mule by a few years.

Sombrero (1953)

Beautiful film

[25 October 2002]

This film is based on short stories by Josefina Niggli, whom I met when she was teaching at the Univeristy of North Carolina in Chapel Hill -- the plot outlined by the previous contributor is quite thorough, but does not mention the fine performance of Yvonne DeCarlo as Maria, of the River Road, and most especially does not mention the magnificent dance number performed by Cyd Charisse on a mountaintop in the rain -- unforgetable!!!

Salome, Where She Danced (1945)

THE camp classic of all time

[10/10 · 25 October 2002]

Miss DeCarlo's starring debut has everything the writers could come up with -- from the Franco-Prussian War to the US Civil War, the great American West, San Francisco in its heyday, ballet, opera, vaudeville, stage coach bandits, and a Chinese junk. Just when you thought the plot couldn't get any screwier, it does. It's magnificent, taken tongue in cheek. DeCarlo's character (here called Anna Marie -- NOT Salome, that's the role she dances) is loosely based on the career of the notorious Lola Montez, who was the mistress of the King of Prussia and caused a revolution when he gave her the crown jewels. She did escape to the American west. There is a town in Arizona called "Salome, Where She Danced," based on the historical fact that Lola Montez did dance the role of Salome there. StageCoach Cleve and the Russian nobleman who fall under her charms are not historically accurate, nor I assume is the Chinese wise man with the Scottish accent -- but it is one of my favorite all time camp classics and DeCarlo is breathtakingly beautiful throughout.