Showing posts with label Gene Raymond. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gene Raymond. Show all posts
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| Gene Raymond and Osa Massen aka Stephanie Paull |
Stockbroker Nicholas Lawrence (Gene Raymond) steals a million dollars cash from the office safe and takes off for a "vacation." On the flight to Honolulu he meets troubled Cynthia Strong (Osa Massen using the name "Stephanie Paull" for the first and, apparently, only time), who is under suspicion of murdering her husband. These two people bond, developing feelings for each other, but they have to deal not only with their own possible guilt but with Alan Marker (Francis Lederer), who tries to blackmail Cynthia but then is content to run off with Nicholas' suitcase full of loot. Nicholas and Cynthia pursue Alan to San Francisco, where Lawrence is desperate to recover the money so he can return it before the theft can be discovered ... Million Dollar Weekend is a good and unpredictable suspense film bolstered by very good performances from Raymond [The Locket] and Lederer [Terror is a Man], and has a lively climax. Osa Massen [A Woman's Face] is okay as Cynthia. The picture doesn't have a lot of style but as the director, as well as star, Raymond keeps things moving. Massen's clothing was designed by Barbara Barondess MacLean, former actress turned fashion designer.
Verdict: Quick entertaining melodrama. ***.
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| Robert Mitchum and Laraine Day |
"How could I ever have liked you, Norman? -- you're arrogant, suspicious, neurotic!"
John Willis (Gene Raymond) is just about to marry his fiancee, Nancy (Laraine Day of Foreign Correspondent), when a psychiatrist named Blair (Brian Aherne) bursts in, tells him he was once married to Nancy, and that Willis will be making a terrible mistake if he goes ahead with the wedding. What follows is a long flashback -- interrupted by two flashbacks within the flashback -- in which Blair relates his history with Nancy to Willis, including how an artist named Norman (Robert Mitchum) told him that Nancy had knowledge of a certain crime ... Since all the plot twists are part of the fun of The Locket I won't say any more, only that the movie is certainly psychologically dubious, but nevertheless fascinating, and quite entertaining. Day gives one of her best performances, resisting all chances to chew the scenery, and making it clear how so many men could fall for her despite her, uh, problems. Raymond and Aherne are fine, but a miscast Mitchum really just walks through the role of Norman and gives us absolutely no sign of his emotional torment [which makes one of his actions more surprising but also less believable]. Henry Stephenson and Ricardo Cortez are swell in smaller roles, and Katherine Emery scores as Willis' mother, who knew Nancy as a child in a pivotal flashback sequence. Brahm also directed Hangover Square and many others.
Verdict: Unusual and absorbing melodrama with a fine lead performance. ***.
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| Barbara Stanwyck and Gene Reynolds |
Shelby Wyatt (Barbara Stanwyck) works for the wealthy "Nicko" Nicholas (Genevieve Tobin), riding her show horses, but her job comes to an end when she falls for Johnny (Gene Raymond of The Locket), who also works for Nicko, riding her polo ponies -- seems Nicko has a yen for Johnny herself. Soon the couple are out of work and struggling to survive as young marrieds. There are other complications, such as Shelby's snobbish in-laws and efforts by Nicko to get Johnny back. The cast helps keep the mediocre film reasonably entertaining, with Stanwyck as excellent as ever, and Tobin, Dorothy Tree [The Family Secret], Ann Shoemaker [House by the River], and especially John Eldredge (as another man in love with Shelby) offering up fine support. One big disappointment is that Shelby never gives Nicko the big whack she deserves.
Verdict: Another Stanwyck film in which she's much better than the material. **1/2.