Showing posts with label Fay Wray. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fay Wray. Show all posts

Thursday, May 6, 2021

TCM Classic Film Festival: Doctor X (1932)

 


This year's virtual TCM Classic Film Festival kicks off with some special presentations including the late night premiere of Doctor X (1932), recently restored by UCLA Film and Television Archive and The Film Foundation in association with Warner Bros. Entertainment. Doctor X was the first of three horror films, including Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) and The Walking Dead (1936), that director Michael Curtiz made for Warner Bros.

The film stars Lionel Atwill as Doctor Xavier, one of several scientists who are being probed for their possible involvement in a string of murders. A killer is on the loose, searching for his victims during the full moon, brutally murdering them and mutilating their bodies afterwards. Doctor X theorizes that the murderer is triggered by a past trauma and that this will help them solve the mystery. Newspaper reporter Lee Taylor (Lee Tracy) is desperate to get the scoop and infiltrates the home of Doctor X to get insider information. There he meets the doctor's daughter Joanne (Fay Wray) who is protective of her father yet concerned about his involvement in the matter. Doctor X rounds up all the scientists including Wells (Preston Foster) Haines (John Wray), Duke, (Harry Beresford) and Rowitz (Arthur Edmund Carewe) for an unusual experiment to uncover the identity of the Moon Killer.

Doctor X is a wonderful mad scientist mystery with plenty spooks, a few laughs and some sex thrown in for good measure (it is a pre-code film after all). The film was shot in black-and-white by Richard Tower and in two-strip Technicolor by Ray Rennahan. The color version was considered lost for years until a print was recovered in Warner Bros.' executive Jack L. Warner's belongings after he died in 1978.

The restoration of Doctor X (1932) in its original two-strip Technicolor premieres tonight on TCM as part of their late-night line-up for the TCM Classic Film Festival. Film historian and Michael Curtiz biographer Alan K. Rode will be presenting the film. Rode will explain how Doctor X fits into Curtiz' filmography, the history of Warner Bros., its importance as an early horror film and a side-by-side comparison of the old and new print. The restored Technicolor version of the film looks incredible. This is a real treat and one you won't want to miss.




Monday, July 15, 2019

Fay Wray and Robert Riskin: A Hollywood Memoir

Fay Wray and Robert Riskin
A Hollywood Memoir
by Victoria Riskin
Pantheon
Hardcover ISBN: ISBN 9781524747282
February 2019
416 pages

AmazonBarnes and Noble Powells

"My mother had a pioneer resilience, a vulnerability, a need for admiration... she never expected life to magically take care of her." - Victoria Riskin 
"[My father] was a private man who expressed his deeply held values and philosophy largely through his writing." - Victoria Riskin

In Victoria Riskin's new book Fay Wray and Robert Riskin: A Hollywood Memoir she paints a portrait of her two talented parents who were integral members of early Hollywood history in their own unique ways. Alternating chapters tell parallel stories of the actress and the screenwriter  There were a few bumps in the road before they began their romance amidst the backdrop of WWII. Wray and Riskin raised three children together, Susan from Wray's previous marriage and two fathered by Riskin, Robert Riskin Jr. and the youngest Victoria, whose name was inspired by America's victory in the war. Their romance was cut short when Riskin suffered a series of debilitating strokes of which he would never fully recover. He passed away in 1955 and Wray would outlive him for nearly a half century.

"She was at ease, often sparkling and impish, or graceful and guileless, beautiful and confident." - Victoria Riskin

Fay Wray is best known for her iconic role as Ann Darrow in King Kong (1933). The legacy of that performance would overshadow all of her other work which was vast in range. She started off in Hollywood as a teenager making silent comedies and two-reel Westerns. Eventually she graduated to meatier parts and leading roles in films like Erich von Stroheim's The Wedding March (1926). A successful transition into talking picture saw her a plethora of Pre-codes including Doctor X (1932) and The Most Dangerous Game (1932). Wray was a founding member of the Screen Actor's Guild and active in the community. She met and fell in love with John Monk Saunders, Hollywood screenwriter best known for his work on Wings (1927). The two had a tumultuous marriage that ended in a bitter divorce. Saunders' life had been spiraling out of control for years and he eventually committed suicide. They had one daughter Susan, later adopted by Wray's second husband Riskin. Wray stopped working during WWII to focus on her family and supporting the war effort. It wasn't until Riskin's stroke that she returned to work. In the 1950s her career saw her in films such as Hell on Frisco Bay (1955) and Tammy and the Bachelor (1957). She worked in TV as well until she retired in 1965 only to return once in the 1980s.


"Writer and director each make a unique and invaluable contribution. One has the story to tell and the other a way to tell it. Each can make the other better." - Victoria Riskin

Robert Riskin arrived in Hollywood 1930 via Broadway where he brought his unique talents story development, character building and dialogue. According to Victoria Riskin, her father's films "reflected love for his characters, especially the ordinary people he cared about and the smart, independent women who were equal to- at least equal to-the men they were paired with." Under the helm of Harry Cohn at Columbia Pictures, Riskin collaborated with director Frank Capra. The Riskin-Capra partnership gave birth to many successful projects including Lady for a Day (1933), It Happened One Night (1934) You Can't Take It with You (1938)  Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) and Meet John Doe (1941). During WWII, Riskin worked for the United States Office of War Information and wrote and produced many propaganda films to help American war efforts. Riskin was a founding member of the Writer's Guild of America West and worked up until his debilitating stroke in 1950.

Robert Riskin and Fay Wray

Wray and Riskin's paths crossed various times throughout their careers but it wasn't until they attended a Christmas party hosted by actor Richard Barthelmess that a romance sparked between the two. On their first date they saw The Grapes of Wrath (1939) together. Wray was involved with Clifford Odets at the time but once that ended and WWII began the two found each other again and married on August 23rd, 1942.

Their youngest daughter Victoria Riskin has worked as a psychiatrist and a human rights activist. She wrote and produced movies for television and following in her father's footsteps she joined the Writer's Guild of America West and later served as president. In her book, she writes about her parents in glowing terms but isn't afraid to take a step back to criticize actions she didn't agree with.
Books written by family members have a natural bias and should be taken with a grain of salt. Riskin backs up her claims with examples and facts. The author's familial connection with her subjects is also a bonus for the reader because it gives us access to information that might have been available otherwise including family stories, personal letters and archival photos.

I enjoyed reading Riskin's wartime love letters to Wray and the author's stories of growing up in the Wray-Riskin household. Plenty of behind-the-scenes stories add richness to the text. The book is a memoir but also a "life and times" type of book and the author provides lots of context of the different eras (silent, Pre-Code, Great Depression, WWII, blacklist, etc.) and of key figures who orbited Wray and Riskin's world including Frank Capra, Harry Cohn, Jo and Flo Swerling, Merian Cooper, Dolores del Rio, etc. There are insights into Wray's complicated relationship with King Kong and the author's own reaction to seeing the film for the first time which I found very illuminating. The alternating chapters switch from Wray to Riskin and back but follow their lives in chronological order.

Fay Wray and Robert Riskin: A Hollywood Memoir is an engrossing and informative book written by a more than capable storyteller. Readers will find much to enjoy within the pages of this memoir. It does require some level of interest in Hollywood history to full appreciate the book but chances are if you're visiting my blog you already fall into that category. Watch my book review video for some additional thoughts on the book and how it's structured.





Thank you to Pantheon Books for sending me an advanced reader's copy of the book for review.



This is my second review for the Summer Reading Challenge.



Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Hell on Frisco Bay (1955)




Steve Rollins (Alan Ladd) is a man who's been wronged. After serving a 5 year sentence at San Quentin for a crime he didn't commit, the former cop is now free. Waiting for him at the gate is his old partner Dan (William Demarest) who sticks with him through thick and thin, and his wife Marcia (Joanne Dru), a lounge singer who gave into temptation while her husband was away. But Steve can't be bothered with dealing with his failed marriage. He's on a mission to track down the one man responsible for putting him in the slammer: Vic Damato (Edward G. Robinson). He got a hot tip from Frank Ragoni about who set him up and now Ragoni is missing. All fingers point to Damato who leads a mob syndicate that terrorizes the Italian fishing community of San Francisco. He's drunk with power and will kill anyone who gets in his way, even one of his own. He rules his team with an iron fist. First there's his number one man, Joe (Paul Stewart), who will do anything Damato tells him to but pulls away when he starts a romance with former screen star Kay (Fay Wray). Then there's Hammy (Stanley Adams), a blood thirsty mobster who is a little too eager to please, Damato's naive nephew Mario (Perry Lopez) and his man on the inside, dirty cop Detective Connors (Peter Hansen). Steve must make his way through web of shady characters to uncover the truth and to bring down Damato once and for all.

Hell on Frisco Bay (1955) is a fascinating noir, filmed in Cinemascope and Warner Color by with plenty of on-location shooting in the city by the bay. San Francisco serves as the beautiful backdrop for a dark tale of disturbed characters. Viewers will see shots of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf and the San Francisco, Ghirardelli Square, the Embarcadero and the iconic hills of San Francisco. Anyone familiar with the city will find plenty of recognizable scenery.

Based on the novel The Darkest Hour by William P. McGivern, Hell on Frisco Bay was adapted by screenwriters Sydney Boehm and Martin Rackin for Warner Bros. McGivern also wrote The Big Heat which is one of my favorite Noirs and one of the best films Fritz Lang made during his time in Hollywood. It was directed by Frank Tuttle who worked with Alan Ladd on This Gun for Hire (1942). Ladd, who also served as an uncredited producer through his company Jaguar Productions, hired Tuttle and other colleagues from his Paramount days including William Demarest, Paul Stewart and Anthony Caruso.

This Noir boasts a cast of characters portrayed by some of the best in the business. Edward G. Robinson playing a heartless mobster is no stretch as he had been playing such characters for many years. Alan Ladd looks worse for wear but his performance as Steve begs for the audience's sympathy but also holds them at a distance. I was quite taken with Paul Stewart's nuanced performance as Damato's reluctant sidekick Joe. He's not an actor I'm all that familiar with but this film definitely brought him to my attention. Fay Wray has an important but small role as a former actress who tries to protect her gangster boyfriend. I wish Joanne Dru and William Demarest had more to do in the film. They really just serve as the protagonist's counter parts. Starlet Jayne Mansfield has a bit role as the girl Perry Lopez dances with at Damato's night club. A young Rod Taylor, billed as Rodney Taylor, has a small role as one of Damato's thugs. His fight seen with Alan Ladd isn't quite believable but it's still fun to see Taylor in what was his fourth movie. In fact Ladd and Robinson have a big action-packed scene in San Francisco Bay that is also not quite believable. But with the help of stunt men and some studio footage, it works.



Hell on Frisco Bay is a gorgeous movie. Where it lacks in story telling it makes up for in stunning visuals and dramatic music by Max Steiner. This movie makes me long for a time when you could dress up, go to a classy lounge, have a drink and hear a good song or two. I always forget how richly visual 1950s movies are until I watch a good one and am reminded of this fact. Because of the gorgeous color cinematography, the film felt less like a Noir and more like a 1950s drama. I don't think this hurts the film at all. It makes it more of a hybrid.




Hell on Frisco Bay is available on Blu-Ray and DVD-MOD from the Warner Archive Collection. According to their recent podcast Hard Lessons this is the first time this film has been available either on DVD or Blu-Ray format. The film has been remastered from the original camera negative at 4k. You can buy the DVD and Blu-Ray at the WB Shop. Using my buy links helps support this site. Thanks!


Warner Archive Wednesday - On (random) Wednesdays, I review one title from the Warner Archive Collection. Thank you to Warner Archive for sending me a copy of Hell on Frisco Bay (1955) to review!

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