Alias Nick Beal (1949)

It's a story as old as time. A mortal sells his soul to the devil for what he really wants only to suffer the consequences later. Bargaining with evil always comes at a cost.

"I'd give my soul to nail him." - Joseph Foster

Joseph Foster (Thomas Mitchell) is a good man by all accounts. He's devoted to his wife Martha (Geraldine Wall). He runs an athletic club for wayward boys with his good friend Reverend Thomas Garfield (George Macready) and takes on a particular tough case with Larry Price (Darryl Hickman). As district attorney, he seeks to put a criminal in jail but just needs the proof.  And this is when his troubles begins. When he proclaims he would sell his soul for evidence needed in the case, a mysterious figure by the name of Nick Beal (Ray Milland) shows up. He's a strange man. He appears and disappears seemingly out of the blue. He's conjures up the much needed evidence and helps Foster run for governor. Then things start to spiral out of control. Foster develops a wandering eye when Beal hires prostitute Donna Allen (Audrey Totter) to play the role of dutiful campaign secretary and temptation to Foster. Then people start to question how Foster was able to get that evidence that had once been destroyed. Foster can't seem to shake the shadowy figure who haunts him day by day. Who exactly is Nick Beal and what does he want from Foster? Can Foster save his marriage, his career, his life?

Directed by John Farrow, Alias Nick Beal (1949) is a terrific Film Noir with a fantastic cast, captivating story, ominous music, beautiful and eerie cinematography. It's everything a film noir should be: dark, brooding and captivating. Based on an original story by Mindret Lord and adapted for the screen by Jonathan Latimer, Alias Nick Beal is a modern story in the tradition of Goethe's Faust. It's a morality tale with a clear warning against "trading principles for personal glory."

Audrey Totter and Ray Milland in Alias Nick Beal

If you came to Alias Nick Beal for Ray Milland, you won't be disappointed. A few years after his Academy Award winning performance in The Lost Weekend, Milland wanted to strengthen his acting muscles with different types of characters. Nick Beal presented him with a chance to play a villain, a captivating one at that. Audrey Totter has a fantastic role as Donna who transforms from a lowlife to a career woman. She's a complex character who begins to doubt her newfound role. Totter is always amazing to watch on screen and I love her in this sort of two-part role. One of my favorite actors of all time Darryl Hickman has small but memorable role as a tough kid from the streets who becomes the recipient of Foster's benevolence. Cast members looked back on this film kindly. John Farrow and Audrey Totter both proclaimed it as one of their best films. Farrow could be tough on actors but he seemed to get on swimmingly with Milland.

Watching Alias Nick Beal, I couldn't help but feel like it came from a parallel universe. Another old Hollywood where many movies like this existed and this one just happened to sneak through to the other side. Perhaps it's the fact that this film is so highly sought-after and hard to get that makes it that way. This movie aired recently on TCM as part of their Summer Under the Stars tribute to Ray Milland. It was the first time they had ever screened the moment making it one not to miss. This film, along with many others, are part of the Paramount library owned and tightly controlled by MCA. If you find yourself with an opportunity to watch Alias Nick Beal, do so. Who knows when you'll get another chance.

Update: According to this article in The Hollywood Reporter, the last film Hugh Hefner screened at the Playboy Mansion, nine days before he passed away, was Alias Nick Beal. Did he tape it off of TCM?!

Showcase Event Cinema: The Witches of Eastwick (1987) 30th Anniversary Screening

On Monday I had the privilege of attending an exclusive event hosted by Showcase at their Super Lux location in Chestnut Hill, MA.  Showcase Event Cinema is the theater chain's initiative to bring classic movies, documentaries, anime as well as ballet, opera, stage productions and other entertainment to a wider audience.

The event I attended was a 30th anniversary screening of The Witches of Eastwick (1987). With Halloween just around the corner and the fact that the movie was filmed in Massachusetts, this seemed like the perfect pick for a Boston area event. Attendees mingled during the cocktail reception while a violinist serenading us as we nibbled on some delicious h'orderves and sipped on our signature cocktail. There was also a mini-red carpet and photography session. I got a couple photos taken and even had one printed out as a keepsake.

 

Jared Bowen of WGBH was on hand to kick off the event which would be capped off by an interview with screenwriter Michael Christofer. Before the attendees were whisked away to cinema #5 for the screening, we were treated to  a live performance of Je Suis Encoure Tout Etourdie performed by soprano Carley DeFranco with Stephanie Mao accompanying on the piano.

I've never been to one of the Super Lux cinemas so this was a real treat. The cinema boasts plush reclining seats with swivel trays and a call button. Visitors can order food and cocktails to be delivered to their assigned seats. Much to my delight I was offered a plush blanket to use during the screening. I'm always cold at movie theaters so this felt ultra luxurious. I also received a complimentary tub of popcorn and a bottle of water. I felt pampered in a way I don't usually experience when going out to the movies.

Directed by George Miller, The Witches of Eastwick follows the story of three women who suddenly find themselves single. Alexandra (Cher) is widowed, Sukie (Michelle Pfeiffer) has been abandoned by her husband and left to raise her six children and Jane (Susan Sarandon) just finalized her divorce from a husband frustrated by her inability to bear them a child. The three don't realize it yet but they're witches with magical powers. On a drunken night, they come up with the idea of their ideal man who materializes as Daryl Van Horne (Jack Nicholson), AKA the devil. He invades their town and their lives. The women feel liberated until their relationships with Daryl quickly spiral into chaos. Their small town, including the outspoken Felicia (Veronica Cartwright), can't handle the chaotic developments. Will the triumvirate be able to get rid of Daryl before he ruins all of their lives?

"If we're gonna have it, let's have it all." - Cher as Alexandra

"How much can you take before you snap?" - Jack Nicholson as Daryl Van Horne

The Witches of Eastwick is not your typical family Halloween movie which is why it still flies under the radar. It can be raunchy and vile and is definitely a film to be enjoyed by adults. I love it's feminist message of empowerment. It's a smart movie that lacks the cheesiness of many others in its genre. However, as someone who loves cherries I might not be able to eat my favorite fruit for quite some time after watching this. Lucky for me, cherries are currently out of season.

Michael Christofer and Jared Bowen in conversation

The story was adapted from a novel by John Updike by the same name. Screenwriter Michael Christofer was intrigued by the first half the novel but not the second which had the three female protagonists turn on the local women in spite. In conversation with Jared Bowen, Michael Christofer called the second half of the book "John Updike's very very very dark view of women. It was not a story I wanted to tell." Christofer went on to say, "this was a very pertinent and hot political, sociological issue about women in a repressed state finding their own power and then getting to use it. [And] this devil was an extraordinary character that I have never seen before. It was fun to write."


The filming of The Witches of Eastwick was anything but smooth sailing. In particular producer Jon Peters drove everyone nuts. Christofer said, "it was the '80s. There was a thing called cocaine that many people indulged in. There was a lot of strange behavior on the set."  In fact, director George Miller walked away from the movie twice and the three female leads walked away once. Who brought them back? Jack Nicholson. About Nicholson, Christofer said "He's a madman. He's completely crazy. But he was so dedicated and so disciplined. There is not a word on screen that was not right out of the script. He made it into something extraordinary. I have enormous respect for him."

The cast originally was supposed to be Bill Murray, Dianne Wiest, Barbara Hershey and Susan Sarandon, in Cher's role. According to Christofer, Wiest and Hershey were dropped because Jon Peters and other executives didn't think the three women would make for a good movie poster. Cher and Michelle Pfeiffer were brought on with Sarandon's role switched. Have you noticed the particular attention to hair in the film? The three women each have a distinct hair color and style and Sarandon's changes as her character blossoms. Nicholson sports a wild man that is as untamed as his character. Producer Jon Peters was a former hairdresser and his influence can be seen in this respect. Christofer, in his best Jack Nicholson voice, recalled the actor saying to Peters, "Jon, you know we all get nervous when you start talking about hair."

Christofer's script was to have the climax of the film in the church scene followed by a short coda. However, movies with special effects were trending and a spectacular scene with the devil coming back for the women was added. While it's quite dramatic it doesn't add anything to the film and makes the ending longer than it needs to be. It was also very expensive and in Christofer's opinion "it was boring."

The Witches of Eastwick was filmed in Massachusetts notably Cohasset, Ipswich and Marblehead. The story is set in Rhode Island and they were supposed to film in Little Compton. Christofer recalls 'The deacons of the church threw us out. The Massachusetts film board lobbied really strongly to get us to come to Massachusetts."

Could this film be made today? Christofer's answer: no. He went on to say:

"It would have to be a small art film, done by independent financing. The language alone, the sexuality, these things... I had a lot of freedom then in terms of dialogue, in terms of writing those and in terms of writing that character. Which we don't have any more... I don't know what this movie cost. I'm going to guess $25 million maybe $30 million. To make this movie now the way we made it would be over $100 million. It was championed as a huge hit. It brought in $20 million in the first two weeks. Compare that to $50 million on the first weekend which is what films are expected to do now. Money, it's all about money."

Showcase Event Cinema will be hosting screenings of The Witches of Eastwick (1987) on October 26th. They'll also be showing the following classic movies:

TCM The Princess Bride 30th Anniversary - 10/15 and 10/18
TCM Casablanca 75h Anniversary - 11/12 and 11/15
TCM Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? 50th Anniversary - 12/10 and 12/13

Many thanks to the folks at Showcase and Marlo Marketing for the opportunity to attend this event.

Hugh Hefner: The Ultimate Classic Movie Fan

Hugh Hefner with Vivian Blane and Rita Hayworth at the Hollywood Sign fundraiser, circa 1978
Photo source: AP and Another Mag

On a cold wintry day in 2015, I sat in a makeshift screening room of a Holiday Inn in upstate New York. It was the final Cinefest and one of the highlights of the show would be a screening of the once lost Me and the Boys (1929). This jazz short starring Estelle Brody and Ben Pollack's band clocks in at nine minutes. Discovered in 2013, it was restored by the UCLA Film & Television archive and presented at a few screenings including Cinefest. Only die-hard cinephiles, and maybe jazz nuts too, would be interested in this obscure gem. One of the most famous figures who fits into that category was Hugh Hefner. The media mogul was known around the world as the founder of Playboy magazine but to our small community was known as a patron of classic film restoration. Hefner contributed funds to restore Me and the Boys and many other shorts and feature-length films.

Hugh Hefner passed away last week at the age of 91. Over the past few decades Hefner has contributed much to the preservation and exhibition of classic film. His love of movies started as a child living in Chicago during the Great Depression. Hefner said,

“The movies, other than family, were the major influence of my childhood... I was in a very typical Midwestern, Methodist home with a lot of repression and not much demonstrative expression of emotion. My escape was the darkened theater." 

“The reality is because I was not shown affection, I escaped into an alternate universe, and it came right out of the movies. Love for me is defined almost exclusively in terms of romantic love as defined by the films of my childhood."

Hefner held onto that love for the classics throughout his life. Even his well-known fascination with blondes came from watching icons like Jean Harlow and Alice Faye on the big screen. When interviewed during the early naughts at the Playboy Mansion, Hefner proclaimed,

“My dreams came from movies of the 1930s and 40s. There in the dark, all dreams are possible.”

The Playboy Mansion boasted an enormous film collection accrued by Hefner over the years. His movies were organized by genre and color coded. Orange was comedy, blue was crime, green was musicals and so on. Within the genres, the films were arranged in chronological order. The mansion's living room converted into a full movie theater several times a week. One or two nights were devoted to new releases while Fridays and Saturdays were reserved for the classics. Hefner would devote what he referred to as "an afternoon I really can't afford" to writing up an introduction which he would then present to his guests before screening a classic movie.

Hefner's favorite movie? It was Casablanca (1942). Every year on his birthday he would host a Casablanca themed birthday party. Men were required to where cream colored tuxedo jackets like Humphrey Bogart does in the film. Women dressed up in their most glamorous gowns. The dining room was decorated to emulate Rick’s Cafe and the birthday cake was decorated with the Casablanca poster.

“Movies are my passion.” - Hugh Hefner

Hugh Hefner also adored movie stars. Not only were the celebrities of the moment invites to his many lavish parties hosted at the Playboy Mansion, he also befriended many classic film stars. Writer and critic Glenn Kenny shared this sweet story of Hefner meeting Alice Faye at Cinecon in 1993.

“My task was to keep the droolers (for lack of a better term) from getting too weirdly close to Ms. Faye. She was very game through each signing event. Hefner and his pal Chuck McCann made the pilgrimage on a Sunday morning. They waited on line like everyone else. Once Hefner met Alice, he was diffident, worshipful. He quietly rhapsodized to Alice of matinees spent gazing at her loveliness. Alice was moved, but not knocked out. She knew who Hefner was, but his world was not one she was conversant with. That didn't matter to him. He was there to meet his childhood silver screen crush. A relatively innocent and clearly precious thing. His real heart was in this past.” - Glenn Kelly

Hefner simply loved Hollywood. In 1978 when the landmark Hollywood sign was in disrepair, Hefner hosted a fundraiser selling each of the old letters to wealthy buyers. He raised enough to pay for a brand new sign. Three decades later in 2010, the sign was once again in trouble. The land around in danger of being developed. Trust for Public land was trying to raise the $12.5 million to save the surrounding property but were $900k short. Hefner stepped in and contributed the rest. When asked about the Hollywood sign, Hefner said, “it’s become something iconic and represents not only the town but represents Hollywood dreams, and I think that’s something worth preserving.”

In the last decades of his life, Hugh Hefner made many contributions to support classic film preservation and exhibition. Hefner frequently contributed to the UCLA Film and Television Archive and in 2005 he contributed $1 million to start their Hugh M. Hefner Classic American Film program. Over at USC, he contributed $1.5 million dollars in 1995 to endow the Hugh M. Hefner Chair for the Study of American Film and funded the Hugh M. Hefner Moving Image Archive. For over a decade, he was a guest lecturer for a film censorship class which he also contributed financially to.

Hefner directly funded the restoration of numerous films including obscure musical shorts and feature-length silent and talking pictures. Ron Hutchinson of the Vitaphone Project had this story to share:

"When the long-lost Bing Crosby short TWO PLUS FOURS (Pathe, 1930) was found, I contacted Hef's (a huge Crosby and Al Bowlly fan) assistant Mary O'Connor to see if he'd fed its restoration. She called back to say he would. I then stupidly said I'd find out the cost and let her know. She said, nicely but recognizing my. cluelessness, "Ron, just send us the bill!".

Below is a list of film preservation projects that Hugh Hefner has been credited as funding. If you know of any ones I missed, please tell me in the comment section below (along with a creditable source) and I will add it to my list.

Hugh Hefner Film Preservation Projects
Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914)
The Lost World (1925)
Al Jolson in A Plantation Act (1926)
The Band Beautiful (1928)
Harry Wayman and His 'Debutantes' (1928)
Me and the Boys (1929)
The Opry House (1929)
Pandora’s Box (1929)
Tal Henry and His North Carolinians (1929)
Warner Oland Fu Manchu films (1929-1931)
The Benson Murder Case (1930)
Two Plus Fours (1930)
The Spider (1931)
The Big Broadcast (1932)
Too Much Harmony (1933)
Murder at the Vanities (1934)
14 Rathbone-Bruce Sherlock Holmes films including...
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942), The Spider Woman (1944),
and The Scarlet Claw (1944)
The Big Sleep (1946)
Ruthless (1948)

Starting in the late 1990s, Hugh Hefner was executive producer on numerous documentaries about classic film. These include the following:

Documentaries produced by Hugh Hefner
Mary Pickford: A Life on Film (1997)
Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu (1998)
Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl (1999)
Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood (2000)
Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies (2001)
Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces (2000)
Rita (2003)
Olive Thomas: Everybody's Sweetheart (2003)
The Woman with the Hungry Eyes (2006)
Why Be Good? Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema (2007)
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2017)

Those of us who love and support the arts know that the biggest obstacles are financial ones. The classic film community was lucky to have such a generous patron.

Sources:
Glenn Kenny Twitter
LA Times 
Hugh Hefner tour on MTV Cribs
Leonard Maltin
UCLA
Variety
The Hollywood Reporter
and others

Note: This article serves to inform my readers about Hefner's contributions to classic film preservation and exhibition, his love of movies and his work to save the Hollywood sign. It is not meant to be about any other aspect of his life. Please consider this when leaving a comment below. Any irrelevant or inappropriate comments will be deleted.