Sylvia Scarlett (1935)

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"I'll be a boy and rough and hard. I won't care what I do."

Bookkeeper Henry Snow (Edmund Gwenn) is in a terrible jam. To pay off his gambling debts he's been dipping into the company finances. When his coworkers catch wind of Henry's transgressions, he's desperate to escape Marseilles for London in an effort to avoid jail time. It seems risky to take his daughter Syliva (Katharine Hepburn) with him. What if they're caught? Sylvia, who refuses to be left behind, cuts off her long braids, dresses like a man and adopts the name Sylvester Scarlett. While on the boat to England, Sylvester and Henry meet con artist Jimmy 'Monk' Monkley (Cary Grant). Monk has a way about him with his cockney accent and ability to charm anyone out of their hard earned cash. The trio join forces to con well-to-do Londoners. While Monk and Henry are perfectly content to live as criminals, Sylvester wants to earn income the old-fashioned way, through honest work. They meet Maudie (Dennie Moore), the maid to a wealthy family and when Sylvester spoils the plot to steal the household jewels, the four to head to the seashore. It's here that Sylvester meets Michael Fane (Brian Aherne) a curly haired artist who makes Sylvester wish she was Sylvia again. When Michael's girlfriend Lily (Natalie Paley) shows up, Sylvia must decide whether to continue as Sylvester or to transition back to Sylvia to win Michael's affections.

Directed by George Cukor, Sylvia Scarlett (1935) was produced by Pando S. Berman for RKO. The story is based on Compton Mackenzie's novel The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett published in 1918. That story is the sequel to Sinister Street, published in 1914 and offers the origin story of the Michael Fane character. In 1919, Mackenzie followed up Sylvia Scarlett with the novel Sylvia and Michael. Sylvia Scarlett was adapted to the screen by author John Collier and screenwriters Gladys Unger and Mortimer Offner. According to the AFI:

After Collier had completed his draft, Cukor brought in Gladys Unger and Mortimer Offner to tone down the sexual implications of the story and to write a ten-minute prologue and a fifteen-minute ending that would make Sylvia a more sympathetic and comprehensible character.

Sylvia Scarlett was the first of four films pairing Hepburn and Grant. Both actors are well-suited to their parts. Hepburn is perfect as Sylvester/Sylvia and Grant, who was on loan from Paramount, was in his element as the playful con artist. The film was also an auspicious debut for actress Dennie Moore who doesn't get on screen credit but plays a substantial role as Maudie the flighty maid who dreams of being a singer.

The film was not well received both by critics and by audiences. It was a box office failure and lost a significant amount of money. Hepburn later became branded as "box office poison" until her comeback with The Philadelphia Story (1940) which also stars Cary Grant. Sylvia Scarlett was a pet project for both Hepburn and Cukor. They tried but failed to make amends with producer Berman who was disappointed with the final result.

Sylvia Scarlett suffers from a convoluted plot that doesn't hold the viewer's interest or attention. However, I still really enjoyed the film and found that I was willing to deal with the messy storyline to get at all of the subversive goodness. I've always been drawn to stories that explore gender dynamics, sexual politics and identity and in this regard Sylvia Scarlett delivers. Contemporary audiences will be more apt to appreciate the film's exploration of gender identity. It's truly ahead of its time. We're also more likely to cast a discerning eye on the gendered representations of women as weak and emotional and men as tough and carefree and how the film both relies on those stereotypes and attempts to break them down. I'm not one for remakes but Sylvia Scarlett seems like a prime candidate for a 21st century makeover.

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The Prize (1963)

Directed by Mark Robson, The Prize (1963) stars Paul Newman as Andrew Craig, a celebrated novelist with a penchant for booze and women. Having just won the Nobel Prize in literature, Craig is whisked away to Stockholm, Sweden to accept the honor and fraternize with his fellow laureates. Little does he know he'll be caught up an international web of intrigue. Among the laureates is physicist Dr. Max Stratman (Edward G. Robinson) who mysteriously disappears and is replaced by a look-a-like in his stead. Stratman's niece Emily (Diane Baker) is in charge of the scheme and seduces Craig to keep his nose out of her business. She's got competition from Inger Lisa Andersson (Elke Sommer), the representative from the Swedish Foreign Ministry assigned to look after Craig. To complicate things, Nobel winning scientist Dr. Denise Marceau (Micheline Presle) is counting on the handsome Craig to help make her husband jealous. In the lead up to the award ceremony, Craig has several run ins with international spies who want him dead. Will he save Dr. Stratman, and himself, in time for the big day?

The Prize is a Cold War thriller that doesn't take itself too seriously but really should have. It's a convoluted mess of a film. The dramatic and comedic elements clash and on the whole the story feels disjointed. Had they stuck with the more serious elements of the story or completely revamped it into a silly 1960s comedy, it could have worked either way. But doesn't quite work as is. I had never heard of the film until recently and now I know why. It's not a notable film by any means.

It's still fairly enjoyable for several reasons. First there's Paul Newman. The character of Andrew Craig doesn't quite suit him but Newman could really do anything and make it look good. There is a hilarious scene when he's running away from two hit men and he finds himself at a nudist's conference. It's funny and charming and one of the highlights of the film. By the 1960s, Sweden had developed a reputation for being a sexually progressive culture and that's touched upon in this film. While Elke Sommer plays Newman's main love interest, Diane Baker as Emily Stratman is far more interesting as a character. She's duplicitous but you can tell something else is going on to make her that way. Baker plays her with a subtlety that's rare for that era. Sommer's Ms. Anderson is beautiful but quite boring. Baker was far more interesting. .

As much as I love Edward G. Robinson, he doesn't have much to do in the film and the swap between the real Dr. Stratman and the imposter was weak at best. Other notable actors include Kevin McCarthy who plays Dr. John Garrett, Nobel laureate in medicine, Leo G. Carroll as Count Jacobsson and Micheline Presle as the worldly and playful Dr. Marceau.

Shot in Panavision and Metrocolor for MGM, The Prize is visually stunning and looks spectacular on Blu-ray. If you're smitten with the 1960s aesthetic, like I am, you'll be pleased with this offering. The film was shot on location in Sweden and between the costumes, sets and the good looking cast, it's truly a feast for the eyes.

The Prize (1963) is available on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection. When you use my buy link you help support this site. Thanks!

The film has been remastered (1080p HD with DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0). The Blu-ray has subtitles and a trailer but no additional extras.

 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 The Prize (1963) on Blu-ray for review!

Desert Fury (1947)

"I'm a big girl now. I'm allowed to play with matches."

Director Lewis Allen's Desert Fury (1947) stars Lizabeth Scott as Paula Haller, the daughter of a wealthy gambling magnate, Fritzi Haller (Mary Astor), who returns home to the fictional town of Chuckawalla, Nevada. Paula brings home with her a defiant spirit and a determination to live her life by her own rules. Mother and daughter have a complicated relationship. Fritzi has a strange fixation on Paula which leads to her to want to control every aspect of her daughter's life, including her romantic attachments. But Paula rebels. As Paula crosses the bridge back to Chuckawalla, two men come into her life. First there's the straight-laced and responsible Tom Hanson (Burt Lancaster), who left behind a career in rodeo for the sake of his health and now works as a deputy sheriff. He's the safe bet. Then there's the mysterious Eddie Bendix (John Hodiak), the racketeer who travels the country with his partner Johnny Ryan (Wendell Corey) looking for their next money making scheme. Eddie's got some serious baggage. He's been kicked out of Vegas, his wife died under mysterious circumstances and he's got a contentious history with Fritzi. Eddie's all wrong for Paula but she wants him. Will Paula make the wise decision or will she make the wrong one?

Based on the novel Desert Town by Ramona Stewart, Desert Fury was produced by Hal Wallis for Paramount and adapted to the screen by Robert Rossen. It was filmed in Cottonwood and Sedona, AZ, Palmdale, CA and Paramount studios. The film makes great use of Technicolor with the beautiful scenic shots, the gorgeous Edith Head costumes and fantastic sets. Adding to the dramatic atmosphere in the film is a score by Miklos Rozsa.

The film features fresh young faces. It's Wendell Corey's film debut, Lizabeth Scott's fourth film and it was intended to be Burt Lancaster's debut but he made two films prior to this one, including his notable debut in The Killers (1946). According to Hal Wallis biographer Bernard F. Dick , "Lancaster truly despised [the film] along with the critics and the public." Wallis and Lancaster had a 'contentious working relationship" and "Lancaster wanted to break his contract with Wallis, but he stayed on with the understanding that he be allowed at least two outside pictures a year."

Desert Fury is delightful melodramatic confection. It's not a good film by any means but boy is it enjoyable. It's worth watching alone for the fantastic cast and the envy-inducing wardrobe worn by Lizabeth Scott and Mary Astor. Scott, Hodiak, Astor, Lancaster all play to their strengths and Corey is superb as the reserved bad guy.

There's a strong sexual subtext with Johnny and Eddie's relationship mirroring that of a married couple. The two are inseparable and Paula poses a real threat to their partnership. Johnny refers to himself as Eddie's nursemaid and when Eddie recounts to Paula how he met Johnny he says, "I went home with that night... we were together from then on." The relationship between Paula and her mom Fritzi is fraught with tension. Fritzi's a bit too fixated on her daughter and Paula refers to her mom by her first name. There is a strong theme of the delineation between present and past lives and the bridge featured in the film almost becomes another character as it functions not only as a meeting point and passage way but also becomes a place where tragedy occurs.

For years Desert Fury was locked up in the Paramount-Universal distribution jail. It is now available on Blu-ray and DVD for the very first time (at least in North America!).

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Desert Fury (1947) is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. When you use my buy links you help support this site. Thanks!

The Blu-Ray includes audio commentary by Imogen Sara Smith, subtitles and trailers of other Kino Lorber releases.

Thank you to Kino Lorber for sending me a copy of Desert Fury (1947) for review.