First partnered as army frenemies in Raoul Walsh’s WWI dramedy WHAT PRICE GLORY/’26, one of the biggest hits of the late silent era, Edmund Lowe & Victor McLaglen not only revisited their characters in three sequels, but continued the relationship out of uniform in other films. The comic battling grew forced & repetitive over time, but this clever murder mystery, the first non-army teaming, is still pretty sharp. A sort of Pre-Code COLUMBO, it opens with a surprisingly gruesome strangulation before showing the trick used by Henry Stephenson’s husband/killer to get away with the crime. Enter chief detective McLaglen & cocksure crime reporter Lowe who run this murder procedural between one-upmanships & comic bickering as they work to clear Richard Arlen of the crime. McLaglen, still looking great, a mass of power behind the glinty grin, is mostly straight man on this one, letting Lowe’s wily schemer get the best bits. Appallingly cynical & self-assured, this newsman deftly steps over a fresh corpse, taps cigarette ash on the body, even sits in the lap of a dead man only to then obstruct the camera (and our view) by putting his feet up! Someone (director Erle C. Kenton?; cinematographer Karl Struss?) had a scabrous view of life and a few camera tricks up their sleeve to liven things up. Check out the distorted closeups used at critical moments with near 3D effect. Not a technique for everyday use, but it does add a dollop of naughty fun and a modern vibe to a conventional story.
DOUBLE-BILL: Would love to put WHAT PRICE GLORY here, but haven’t found an edition that uses a print worthy of the film. And John Ford’s lamentable remake from 1952 (planned for James Cagney & Dan Dailey as a semi-musical) is an embarrassment for all. (One good scene though as Cagney bemoans his new, baby-faced recruits.)
No comments:
Post a Comment