THE HARD WAY (1943)

Closer to tragedy than woman’s-weepie, with a cast & director punching well above their weight (other than Ida Lupino who was always up there), this sharp meller from Warner Brothers is a tale of two sisters (Lupino; Joan Leslie) hitching a ride out of their grim factory town on the backs of duffer vaudevillians Dennis Morgan & Jack Carson. Lupino plays the heavy as viciously ambitious, goal-oriented stage mom (make that stage sister) to Leslie’s teen sweetheart musical comedy prodigy; living the life she missed out on thru her kid sister's looks & talent, but presses too hard, and winds up tearing everything she’s achieved to pieces: partnerships; marriage; careers. Told in flashback from a suicide attempt (and it’s not the only suicide in here!), Daniel Fuchs & Peter Vietel’s fine original screenplay only takes the easy way for a moment near the end, but more than makes up for it with tangy, stage-smart dialogue and a stunning set piece for Lupino as she brings down Gladys George’s fading diva. Good as everyone is in here, and that includes director Vincent Sherman, awfully lucky to have James Wong Howe lensing, it’s Jack Carson, of all people, who’s the revelation. Heartbreaking as a second-rater with a good heart who goes unappreciated. He never hit this level again.

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: The soundtrack is loaded with American Songbook classics, and not just the usual studio-owned titles. Plenty of Harry Warren & Cole Porter, but how’d they get those Rodgers & Hart tunes used in the overture to Leslie’s final B’way show? And keep an ear out for Dennis Morgan as band leader, singing something ghastly called ‘Good Night, Oh My Darling,’ credited to M.K. Jerome. It’s one of those pop tunes stolen from the classics; here Chopin.

SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Leslie had an on-and-off career for decades, but her A-list years, playing against Gary Cooper (SERGEANT YORK/’41), James Cagney (YANKEE DOODLE DANDY/’42), and Fred Astaire (THE SKY’S THE LIMIT/’43), only lasted thru her teen years.