Luise Rainer: In Memoriam

By Ed Garea

In the mid-Thirties, a meteor burned brightly over Hollywood. And like most meteors, it burned out quickly, but while it was active, it was one of the brightest ever to be seen in that town. That meteor was named Luise Rainer.

Rainer was the first actor to win multiple Academy Awards and the first to win them consecutively. She won the Best Actress statue for her performance as Anna Held in 1936’s The Great Ziegfeld, and Best Actress the next year for her performance as O-Lan in The Good Earth. Yet, her stay at the top of her craft was short, and by 1938, her career at MGM was over. She tried a comeback for Paramount in 1943 in the film Hostages, but we would not see her again on the silver screen until 1997 in the film The Gambler.

Rainer (pronounced “rye-ner”) was born on January 12, 1910, in Dusseldorf, Germany, into an upper-class Jewish family. Her father, Heinrich, was a businessman who settled in Europe after spending most of his childhood in Texas, where he was sent at the age of six as an orphan. Her mother Emilie (nee Konigsberger) was a pianist from a cultured family.

Her father wanted her to attend finishing school and eventually marry the “right sort” of man, but Luise, who was rebellious by nature, fell in love with the world of entertainment, inspired at the age of six by the circus. At the age of 16, she decided to follow her dream and become an actress. She began studying acting under the great Max Reinhardt, and by the age of 18, many critics were hailing her talent. She became a member of Reinhardt’s Vienna theater ensemble and scored several major successes on the Berlin stage, including George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan, Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, and Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author.

She began her film career in Germany in 1930, and in 1934, was signed by MGM talent scout Phil Berg, who offered her a three-year contract, thinking she would appeal to the same audience that flocked to see Greta Garbo. Rainer, for her part, stated in an interview that she had no real interest in films until she saw the 1932 production of A Farewell to Arms. After that, she said, film moved to the forefront in her career. Her decision to leave Europe for America was made easier by the ascension of Adolf Hitler in Germany and his draconian anti-Semitic laws, which would have made it impossible for her to work in Germany.

She sailed to America aboard the Ile de France in 1935. The first thing her handlers at MGM had to do was to subdue her rather pronounced Mittel-European accent. Actress Constance Collier was given the assignment, and under her tutelage, Rainer’s command of English grew rapidly. She was then cast in MGM’s 1935 comedy-romance Escapade, after Myrna Loy turned the role down. It was a remake of the 1934 Austrian film Masquerade, starring William Powell as an artist who persuades the married Rainer to pose semi-nude for him, but when the illustrated poster is printed, it causes a potential scandal.

Her next film was The Great Ziegfeld, again co-starring Powell, in which she played the real-life character of Anna Held, the actress, singer and (scorned) common-law wife of the showman Florenz Ziegfeld, played by Powell. She almost didn’t get the part. MGM chief Louis B. Mayer thought the part was too small for such a star, but Irving Thalberg felt she was the only actress on the MGM lot that could play it. Shortly after filming began in 1935, doubts about Rainer’s ability to play Held began to circulate in the press, mainly centering on the fact that she didn’t resemble the Polish-born Held.

But as Thalberg predicted, Rainer more than held her own in the part. In what may be the most famous telephone scene in film history, the heartbroken Anna attempts to congratulate Ziegfeld on his marriage to Billie Burke (Loy). As the camera records her, she smiles through tears with a voice alternating between false gaiety and utter despair. As she hangs up that camera catches her breaking down into rivers of tears.

Later Hollywood legend would have Rainer writing the teary telephone scene for the film, and Mayer, thinking it too dreary, trying his best to excise it from the picture. Ironically, it is widely believed that it was that very scene, and Rainer’s tour de force performance in it, that clinched the Oscar. Rainer later said in an interview that she based her interpretation of the scene on Jean Cocteau’s play La Voix Humaine: "Cocteau's play is just a telephone conversation about a woman who has lost her beloved to another woman."

On the evening of the Oscar ceremonies, Rainer stayed home, not expecting to win. When Mayer learned she had won the award, he sent MGM publicity head Howard Strickling to her home to fetch her. As she finally arrived, master of ceremonies George Jessel mistakenly introduced her, a task that was originally scheduled for Bette Davis.

Now that she had the Oscar, pundits wondered how she would follow it up. Rainer’s next film was The Good Earth (1937), in the role of O-Lan. Her co-star was Paul Muni, playing her husband, Wang Lung. Muni’s casting actually opened the door for Rainer to play O-Lan. Thalberg’s original choice was actress Anna May Wong, but once Muni was signed, Thalberg knew the Hays Office would not allow even the slightest hint of miscegenation, even between an actual Chinese woman and a Caucuasian actor in yellow-face drag.

O-Lan presented a challenge to Rainer, as the character was the complete opposite of Anna Held. Whereas Held was talkative, O-Lan was practically mute, speaking only a few lines of dialogue throughout the movie, which required Rainer to do a complete turnaround. Again Mayer opposed her casting, wanting her to remain a glamorous star, while Thalberg enthusiastically supported her in her desire to stretch out in unaccustomed roles. She refused to wear heavy makeup or don a Chinese mask made especially for her by the makeup department, preferring to express herself without prosthetics.

The results of Rainer’s decision helped her to portray a Chinese woman far superior to those Loy assayed in her Oriental vamp phase or Katharine Hepburn in 1944’s Dragon Seed. In an interview in the late '90s, Rainer praised her director, Sidney Franklin, as "wonderful," and explained that she used an acting technique similar to "The Method" being pioneered by husband Clifford Odet's Group Theatre.

At any rate, she collected another Oscar as Best Actress, becoming the first actor to win in consecutive years and establishing a record for actresses that lasted 30 years before Hepburn matched it. Her win was considered something of an upset, the favorite being Garbo for her performance in Camille. She was on the threshold of greatness: the public adored her, and even rivals like Carole Lombard, Norma Shearer, and Loy concurred. But suddenly her career went into free-fall. She came to see her Oscars not as a blessing, but as a curse, setting expectations so high as to be impossible to achieve. She made five more films for MGM, but with the exception of 1938’s The Great Waltz, they were critical and box office failures.

Because Reiner refused to be stereotyped and knuckle under to the studio system, Mayer refused to be sympathetic to her demands for serious roles. The fact that she was also fighting for a higher salary didn’t help matters either. She soon acquired the label of being difficult and temperamental, which caused her to miss out on serious roles such as the female lead in the Edward G. Robinson opus, The Last Gangster (1937), which, ironically went to Viennese actress Rose Stradner. Her last film for MGM was the disappointing Dramatic School (1938). By this time, Rainer was listed, along with Garbo, Joan Crawford, Shearer, Mae West, Marlene Dietrich, Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Kay Francis, and others, as “Box Office Poison” by the Independent Theatre Owners of America.

After finishing Dramatic School, Rainer abandoned Hollywood for New York, where her then-husband, playwright Odets, was living.

Rainer was also unhappy off the set as well. Her marriage to Odets, whom she met at the Brown Derby while dining with Gershwin and composer Harold Arlen, and married in 1937, was also in free-fall. Odets cheated on her and, as she told Vanity Fair, reacted so coldly to the news she was pregnant that she opted for an abortion. Odets was also extremely jealous, even accusing Rainer’s friend Albert Einstein of having an affair with his wife. She and Odets divorced in 1940.

Her unhappiness also extended to Hollywood itself, which she saw as intellectually shallow and absurdly materialistic. In a 2009 interview with The Daily Telegraph, she said Robert Taylor had once invited her to lunch. When she asked him his ambition, he replied that he wanted to own 10 very good suits. That was why, she said, she preferred the company of George Gershwin, Thomas Mann, Frank Lloyd Wright, Einstein and other intellectuals and artists to that of Hollywood people. It all boiled over in her oft-repeated account of her last meeting with Mayer, which over the years became a Hollywood legend.

"Louis B. sent for me and said, 'I understand that you want to leave us.' I said, 'Yes, Mr. Mayer, my source is dried out.'" She explained that she had run out of inspiration. "He looked at me and he said, 'What do you need a source for? Don't you have a director?' What could I say? He looked at me for a long time," and then he delivered his you'll-never-work-in-Hollywood-again threat. She managed a dignified reply and left, heading first to New York City, and later relocating to Europe. She was not yet 30, and yet her Hollywood career was over. While in Europe, she studied medicine, aided orphaned refugees of the Spanish Civil War, appeared at war bond rallies in the United States and entertained Allied troops in North Africa and Italy during World War II.

When World War II broke out in Europe, Rainer fled to America with her family. Her German-born father was also an American citizen, allowing them all to escape Hitler and the Holocaust. Rainer returned to Hollywood in 1942, her contract at MGM long expired. David Rose, head of Paramount, offered her the starring role in an English film shot on location, but war conditions prevented her from accepting the role. Rose then suggested her in 1942 to take a screen test for the lead role in For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), but Ingrid Bergman was cast. Rainer eventually settled on a role in Hostages (1943), telling the press during interviews that while it was something unspectacular, she nevertheless hoped it was a step back in the right direction. Alas, it was not to be and it wasn’t until 1997 that she would again appear in a film, taking a small role in the English production of The Gambler.

It’s not that she wasn’t tempted. Director Federico Fellini pursued her to play “Delores,” a cameo role he wrote for her in his 1960 film La Dolce Vita. But it never came off, even though she came to Rome, with the reasons still unclear to this day. One story has it that she insisted on writing the part herself, which for Fellini was a no-no. Another has it that she refused because the role required an on-set sex scene with co-star Marcello Mastroianni. At any rate, after her refusal, the role was excised from the screenplay.

She made sporadic television and stage appearances following her and her husband's move to Britain, appearing as Countess De Roy in an episode titled “Finest Hour” for the World War II television series Combat! It aired on December 21, 1965. In 1983, she played Dorothy Fielding in an episode of The Love Boat that aired on March 3.

Regarding her personal life, things took a turn for the better in 1945. Rainer married publisher Robert Knittel. The marriage was a very happy one, lasting until Knittel’s death in 1989. In 1946. they welcomed daughter Francesca. Rainer abandoned filmmaking, though, as previously mentioned, she did make occasional appearances on the stage and television. She and Knittel split their time between residences in Geneva, Switzerland and Eaton Square, London. Their London residence was an apartment in a building once inhabited by actress Vivien Leigh.

The couple loved travel, books, plays, and music. Their friends reflected their interests and included such luminaries as Arturo Toscanini, Marian Anderson, Thomas Mann and Bertolt Brecht. Of special interest to the couple was climbing in the Alps. “He was a mountain climber, and he taught me how to climb,” she recalled years after her husband’s death in 1989. “Robert went with a fiddle up to the Matterhorn, and at the top of the Matterhorn he played a Bach sonata.”

In the early 1980s, Rainer memorized all 900 lines of "Enoch Arden," Tennyson's epic poem, which she performed in Europe and the United States, including at UCLA's Schoenberg Hall. After Knittel died, she maintained an active life in London.

Rainer returned to Hollywood for the 1998 and 2003 Academy Awards shows honoring previous Oscar winners, and in 2010 for the TCM Classic Film Festival, where she was interviewed by Robert Osborne and presented a screening of The Good Earth. 2010 was a special year for her, as she celebrated her centenary. She was feted at the British Film Institute, where she was interviewed before screenings of The Good Earth and The Great Waltz.

In 2011, Rainer was at the center of a controversy involving her inclusion on the Boulevard der Stars in Berlin, which was created to honor actors and directors from German film and television. Despite being Germany's only Academy Award winning actress, Rainer had been overlooked when the Boulevard opened in 2010. In 2011, she was nominated, but initially rejected by the jury (Senta Berger, Gero Gandert, Uwe Kammann, Dieter Kossliock, and Hans Helmut Prinzler).

In October 2010, New Zealand music executive Paul Baylay, who had noticed Rainer's omission on the Boulevard, began a campaign to get the actress a star. Baylay campaigned in Germany, lobbying press and politicians to have the actress and her work recognized. Baylay also picked up a key supporter when the Central Council of Jews threw their weight behind the campaign. In August 2011, the Boulevard der Stars finally relented, acknowledging Baylay’s Facebook, e-mail and letter campaign had been key in their decision to awarding an extra star to Rainer. And on September 5, 2011, Rainer traveled to Berlin to receive her star on the Boulevard der Stars.

The lights finally went out for Luise Rainer on December 30, 2014. She died at her home in London from complications from pneumonia. Besides daughter Francesca Knittel-Bowyer, granddaughters, Luisa and Nicole, and great-grandchildren, Luca and Hunter also survive Rainer.

TCM will honor Rainer with a marathon of her films on January 12 that was originally to celebrate her birthday. The schedule is as follows:

6:00 am – THE GREAT ZIEGFIELD (MGM, 1936): William Powell, Luise Reiner, & Myrna Loy. This lavishly filmed biography of Broadway’s great showman won Reiner her first Oscar.

9:00 am – BIG CITY (MGM, 1937): Spencer Tracy, Luise Rainer When officials attempt to pin a bombing on a taxi driver’s foreign-born wife and deport her. Tracy takes it to heart and fights back.

10:30 am – THE EMPEROR’S CANDLESTICKS (MGM, 1937): William Powell, Luise Rainer. Spies on opposite sides fall in love in pre-Revolution Russia.

12:00 pm – THE GOOD EARTH (MGM, 1936): Paul Muni, Luise Rainer. Sidney Franklin and Victor Fleming directed this epic adaptation of Pearl Buck’s classic novel about Chinese farmers battling the elements.

2:30 pm – DRAMATIC SCHOOL (MGM, 1938): Luise Rainer, Paulette Goddard. This ensemble piece about the struggles of a young actress on the stage and in marriage could’ve been better, but Rainer sinks it.

4:00 pm – THE GREAT WALTZ (MGM, 1938): Luise Reiner, Fernand Gravey. The story of waltz king Johann Strauss II.

5:45 pm – THE TOY WIFE (MGM, 1938): Luise Rainer, Melvyn Douglas, & Robert Young. Southern belle Rainer finds herself torn between two suitors.

Annie

Dinner and a Movie

Annie Way to Get to Henry’s End

By Steve Herte 

It’s amazing what things you can accomplish when you’re waiting for someone. On Tuesday, karaoke night, I was at table at 5:00 pm and Betty assured me she would be there “around” 6:00 pm. Drink in hand and occasionally conversing with various friends among the regulars I decided to start a “Bucket List.” I never considered doing it before and didn’t know what to include. Did what I wanted to do be possible or just what I would like to have happen? I came up with a short list, with the top five being to: 1. Sing on-stage with the Moody Blues, 2. Have dinner with Stephen King, 3. Ride the Orient Express, 4. Meet Sigourney Weaver, and 5. Be a taster on an Iron Chef show. Are they possible?

Betty arrived with no voice, a case of laryngitis, and to keep her from using her voice I gave her my pack of Post-Its for her to respond with. I knew it drove her crazy being that limited but I kept her laughing. The evening went well. New Year’s eve was exactly the way I wanted it this year, quiet. I’ve found that I don’t need the hoo-hah and noise every year and was already anticipating Friday night. Enjoy!

Annie (Sony Pictures, 2014) – Director: Will Gluck. Writers: Will Gluck, Aline Brosh McKenna (s/p); Thomas Meehan (stage play book); Harold Gray (comic strip “Little Orphan Annie”). Cast: Jamie Foxx, Quvenzhane Wallis, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaye, David Zayas, Cameron Diaz, Zoe Margaret Colletti, Nicolette Pierini, Eden Duncan-Smith, Amanda Troya, Dorian Missick, Tracie Thomas, Mike Birbiglia, & Stephanie Kurtzuba, Color, 118 minutes.

In 1977, the Broadway show “Annie” opened and ran for an amazing six years. It was a dark story of a comic strip character with a fright wig of flaming red (actually orange) hair and the perpetual red dress. The comic strip was unique in that none of the characters had pupils in their eyes, just whites. The early life for “Little Orphan” Annie was tough and the tale goes on to tell of her befriending a stray dog and saving it from the dogcatcher – naming the homely creature Sandy. Her only friends are the six other little girls who live with her under the tyranny of the besotted spinster, Miss Hannigan. Toward Christmastime, the wealthy “Daddy” Oliver Warbucks shows up to choose an orphan to have Christmas dinner with him. Annie is chosen and her life takes an upswing (except for the avaricious Miss Hannigan and her brother).

In 1982, the show was first made into a movie featuring Carol Burnett as Miss Hannigan, which alone lightened the mood of the story. But, unfortunately, Sandy was changed from an orange, shorthaired street dog to a mangy sheepdog mix and Annie was a little on the tubby side.

Who knew that the show that spawned thousands of starry-eyed screeching moppets destroying the song “Tomorrow” at the top of their lungs would evolve into the Annie produced this year? People who formerly ran screaming as soon as they heard “The sun’ll come out…” would peep out from their hiding places at the new sound of this superbly updated version.

Will Stacks (Foxx) – the Daddy Warbucks part – is a multi-billionaire who made his money in his communications/cell phone company. He’s running for public office against a more popular conservative white candidate and his right-hand man, Guy (Cannavale) will do anything to improve his chances, mainly because of what it will do for him). Grace Farrell (Byrne) is his right-hand woman and adviser and she plays an excellent “good conscience” to balance out the ruthless Guy.

Annie Bennet (Wallis) is the optimistic little girl who believes that her parents are still out there somewhere and will return – according to a note she holds near and dear – to an Italian restaurant called “Domani” (Italian for tomorrow). And so she waits on the corner across the street on cannoli night each week hoping they come back. She’s pretty much a free spirit and comes and goes as she wishes, using the fire escape to enter and leave Miss Charlene Hannigan’s (Diaz) apartment, where she lives with four other girls, Tessie (Colletti), Mia (Pierini), Isabella (Duncan-Smith), and Pepper (Troya). Already the Broadway show familiars are saying they didn’t know Annie had a last name or that Miss Hannigan had a first name. Each night, Tessie asks Annie to read the hopeful note from her parents and this develops into the song “Maybe.”

Since the song “Hard Knock Life” must be a part of the movie, a new character is introduced. Social Services Inspector (Birbiglia) is due to check up on Miss Hannigan’s five charges and she wakes them all up early, threatening no breakfast until the apartment is immaculate. The girls sing and play through the housework and all is ready for Charlene to flirt with the Inspector throughout his uncomfortable visit. The only place Miss Hannigan does not want inspected is her “medicine” cabinet. Annie knows this and asks to be allowed to go to the library while the bathroom is being checked. All it takes is the allusion to the infamous cabinet and Hannigan lets her go. Of course we know that Annie’s destination is not the library. She goes across the street to the bodega run by another new character, Lou (Zayas), who is deeply in love with Hannigan, and asks to borrow $53.58. He lets her “work” for the money changing the expiration dates on the milk and orange juice containers. Why does she need the money? She and the girls saw a piece of paper with their Social Security numbers on it when the Inspector arrived and Annie wants to get copy of her “records.”

She fills out the proper form and somehow gets a “guardian” signature on it and presents it to Mrs. Kovacevic (Kurtzuba) at the Child Welfare Bureau along with the money. The single page she gets back doesn’t tell her anymore than she already knows but it doesn’t dampen her spirits. She leaves singing “Tomorrow” on the streets of Harlem on the way home. Two boys chasing an orange-colored dog race by her tormenting the animal. She goes after them to try and stop them.

Meanwhile, Stacks’ campaign is not going well. He’s talked into doling out food at a Food Bank, which almost makes him go into a germaphobic fit. A homeless man challenges him to actually eat the mashed potatoes on his serving spoon. It’s disgusting and Stacks does a perfect “Danny Thomas” (spewing it out as if choking on it) and the act is caught on a smart phone and goes viral. Stacks decides to take a walk away from his advisers and, as he turns a corner he sees Annie run right into the path of an on-coming truck and grabs her to safety just in time. This also goes viral and his poll numbers soar. Guy suggests (recommends) he take Annie to lunch, which Stacks does, and the relationship (and press photos) develop into something much bigger. Annie moves into his penthouse “smart” apartment where everything is automated accompanied by Grace and Mrs. Kovacevic. The song “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here” is sung by the trio.

As time goes by Annie’s irrepressible positive thinking brings her and Stacks closer. Her friends at Miss Hannigan’s also benefit from her wealthy acquaintance when she talks him into having them attend a movie premiere and party. Stacks even takes Annie on a helicopter ride over New York City and they perform a surprising duet on a new song, “The City’s Yours.” But, eventually Guy figures out that being with Annie will only take Stacks so far and he comes up with a scheme to take her out of the picture. Conning the willing Miss Hannigan into his confidence over booze at a night club he asks her to “find” two people to pose as Annie’s parents – he’ll fake the DNA tests – and have them drive her away for a little while and drop her back into “the system” when they’re tired of her.

“Wait! That’s nothing like the original story!” you might say. I might have mentioned it was seriously updated. The music has a new funky beat and a lower key (so that the girls no longer screech their songs), which makes it eminently more attractive. There’s no Franklin Delano Roosevelt in this edition and no “We’d Like to Thank You Herbert Hoover” song. In fact, there’s no presidential appearance at all. None needed. Several songs were eliminated and the new, beautiful ballad “Opportunity” was added and sung wonderfully by Annie at a fancy dress dinner (her first red dress in the movie). 

Quvenzhané Wallis has a spectacular singing voice. Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz are also good singers. Even Rose Byrne gets some good notes in. The movie is beautifully photographed and the story much lighter and optimistic than the original. Miss Hannigan is more comedic than harassing and she’s redeemed in the end during the new song “Who Am I?” Now, just because all of this sounds as if it would be a perfect family movie, just take it from the woman who brought two toddlers to the theater and sat next to me. Both children became bored early on and were antsy to leave before the first hour. If you love musicals, this is your film. If you hated the Broadway show, this might change your mind. It did mine. In fact, if it weren’t for the competition from Into the Woods it would win Best Musical Adaptation hands down.

Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 Martini glasses.

Henry’s End

44 Henry Street (between Cranberry and Middagh), Brooklyn, NY

The Annual Game Festival was in full swing at my favorite restaurant when I arrived. Henry’s End doesn’t look like much from the outside. It’s little more than a chest-high brick wall surmounted by a window with a neon sign spelling the name (in lower case) and featuring a partial Brooklyn Bridge image. The “A” rating and the menu are ensconced in a glass case to the right of the window and, to the right of that and one-step up, is the door. The black metal safety gate is open, and although it’s still not too inviting, you go in knowing what wonders are inside. A heavy velvet drapery to keep out the cold further complicates the two-door “air lock,” which is difficult to navigate for a slim person in summer – they’re a bit too close together. I saw several patrons get lost in it like players experiencing their first time on a real stage.

However, once past the entrance, Mark Lahm (owner, chef and manager) greeted me by name and led me to a table in the center of the long narrow room. Chatty people having a good time occupied several tables, and the air was dreamy with the aroma of barbeque sauce. “May I prepare you a Happy New Year martini?” says Mark. “Of course.” “Olive?” “Twist.” While he did his magic, several other staff members who know me also sent their best wishes for the New Year. The streamers dangling from the ceiling fans looked like Chinese ribbon dancers above me and the twinkle lights in the back and front windows and over the bar gave a festive appearance to the open brick walls.

Sipping an always-perfect martini I studied the all-too-familiar two-page menu with fond memories of dinners past. Henry’s End is starting their 40th year in business and I’m hoping they have a party and that I’m invited. But tonight my focus is on game. I know the New Orleans Turtle Soup (they get their supply from renewable farmed sources) is always excellent with a shot of sherry but I was hoping for something different. With the help of my young, new server I chose a three-course meal and he was off to put in the order. While I waited, I enjoyed the three kinds of bread in the basket before me – bread sticks, a fruit/nut bread, and a crusty sourdough, all served with a ramekin of soft sweet butter.

The first course sounded like a dessert and, being on the sweet side could have been had it not been so obviously an appetizer. The rabbit strudel with leeks, butternut squash and roasted corn in filo dough accompanied by leaf salad greens was full of many wonderful flavors and the filo dough was lightly crunchy. I was on my journey to culinary Neverland.

The martini finished, I consulted my server on a glass of wine. He selected the 2011 Bogle Vineyards Petite Sirah to go with the next course. The dark red, berry-flavored wine was a nice prelude to the Potato Gnocchi with Wild Boar Ragu. There was almost as many pieces of meat in the dish as there was pasta and both were tender and succulent. The tomato sauce accented but did not interfere with the strong flavor of the boar and the extra cheese my server sprinkled on top completed the dish.

There are very few dishes as exotic as my main course and it was the one I was hoping for – having had it a number of times. The Sliced Kangaroo on mashed sweet potatoes with spinach and a sour cherry sauce was a little tougher than usual but with a leaner texture than beef and a bolder flavor. The combination of the sweet potatoes, spinach and sauce created a lively taste sensation as I dined on it. Having finished the Petite Sirah, I ordered the 2011 Banknote Zinfandel, Counterfeit Vineyards, Sonoma to go with this fabulous food. And it performed its services well.

Knowing the quality of the foods and the expertise (mostly in his sauces) of the chef, I purposely almost starve myself before coming to Henry’s End to ensure I have room for dessert. They had a new one. The Crispy bread pudding with vanilla ice cream topped the meal in a light, but decadent way. It was not as erotic as Brennan’s of New Orleans (my benchmark) – almost nothing compares to theirs – but it held its own. I wouldn’t have wanted the heaviness at that point.

Henry’s End is consistently a place where I feel at home, secure in the knowledge that any dish I pick will be something not only I will love, but will love me back. And I’ve never been disappointed. It’s always more fun when Mark is there and isn’t super-busy with his second place, the Brooklyn Heights Café, two doors away on the corner of Cranberry and Henry because, like the Big Bopper, he “knows what I like.” That’s why, though many restaurants are fancier and glitzier, have elegant presentations and ridiculous prices, I will choose Henry’s End over them all, every time.

For the Dinner and a Movie archive, click here.

TCM TiVo Alert for January 8-14

TCM TiVo ALERT

For

January 8–January 14

DAVID’S BEST BETS:

METROPOLIS (January 10, 8:00 pm): Not only is this 1926 masterpiece, directed by Fritz Lang, the greatest silent film ever made, it's one of the 10 greatest films of any kind in cinematic history. The special effects are at least 40 years ahead of time, the set designs are stunning, and the scenes with thousands of extras moving as one entity are incredible. The compelling storyline is of a futuristic society in which the rich live above ground while the workers live and work below ground providing energy for the upper-class. The son of a rich industrialist falls in love with a woman who wants to lead the workers in a peaceful uprising for equality. A mad scientist at the behest of the rich industrialist makes a robotic clone of the woman to lead the workers astray. Lost scenes have been found and added numerous times over the years. TCM is showing the restored 149-minute version of the film, which includes some still photos and extra footage found in 2010 in Argentina. It's regularly on TCM. If you haven't seen it in a while, definitely watch. If you have never seen it, you must.

ANNIE HALL (January 11, 4:00 pm): The movie that changed the cinematic career for Woody Allen, its lead actor, director, and co-writer - and his fans. While Allen's previous films weren't conventional comedies, the main focus was on being funny; and so many of them were. There are still great comedic scenes in Annie Hall, but this 1977 film is far more serious than anything Allen ever made to that point. Allen plays Alvy Singer, a  neurotic intellectual comedian who falls in love with the movie's title character (Diane Keaton). Hall is fun-loving, carefree and a bit naive. Singer wants to change Hall - including buying her books about death - and make her smarter. The love affair falls apart, but the film delivers some great laughs and an insightful analysis of relationships. The characters break the "fourth wall" to deliver some of the movie's best lines, including the opening with Singer saying, “There’s an old joke. Two elderly women are at a Catskill Mountain resort, and one of them says, ‘Boy, the food at this place is really terrible.’ The other one says, ‘Yeah, I know, and such small portions.’ Well, that’s essentially how I feel about life – full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness, and it’s all over much too quickly.”

ED’S BEST BETS:

MINISTRY OF FEAR (January 10, 10:45 pm): Fritz Lang, along with Alfred Hitchcock, was a master of the espionage thriller. And this film is a prime example of what Lang could do when given the right source material (Graham Greene’s novel of the same name), the right screenplay (by Seton I. Miller), and the right cast, led by a superb Ray Milland. And yet, Lang thought the film was not up to par; he didn’t like the finished product. Well, Herr Lang, I did - I loved it. Milland is superb as a recently released mental patient, sent there after being wrongly convicted of killing his wife. He gets caught up in a web of espionage, and we begin to wonder if the mad house is the asylum or what passes for the real world outside the asylum’s walls. It’s a film that pulls us in, whether we want to enter or not, and one which builds to a great finish, Lang style. Lang rarely lets me down.

THE MALTESE FALCON (January 11, noon): Yeah, I know, this is a no-brainer. But, believe it or not, there are some out there who have never laid eyes on this masterpiece. And it’s time they should. Humphrey Bogart was born to play Sam Spade, and he’s aided and abetted by a stellar supporting cast, including Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Mary Astor, and Lee Patrick. It’s hard to believe that this was John Huston’s directorial debut; it's handled with the polish of a 30-year veteran. Huston also wrote the screenplay, being judicious to stick as closely to the Dashiell Hammett’s novel as was possible. It all makes for one of the most unforgettable - and best - movies ever to come out of Hollywood. This Best Bet commentary is aimed at those who have not yet seen this wonderful noir, and an invitation to you to tune in. You’ll love it.

WE DISAGREE ON . . . CALIFORNIA SUITE (January 9, 1:30 am)

ED: A-. For me, this is what I would describe as a “desert movie,” an enjoyable piece of fluff whose main purpose is to entertain. And that it does, a wonderful quartet of stories whose only connection is the venue - the Beverly Hills Hotel - where each vignette takes place. It boasts a terrific cast, with such players as Maggie Smith (who won the Oscar for her performance), Michael Caine, Walter Matthau, Elaine May, Jane Fonda, Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, and Alan Alda. Director Herbert Ross does a great job intercutting between the vignettes, unlike the Broadway production, which featured each story in its entirety. And if I were to choose one special reason for viewers to watch, it would be the segment with Maggie Smith and Michael Caine. Smith is absolutely brilliant as a distinguished British stage actress who “slummed,” playing a supporting role in a film. To her surprise, she’s nominated for an Oscar. The segment revolves around her pre-ceremony anxiety, and after she loses, her drunken despair. The writing here is possibly Neil Simon’s best, with Smith and Caine, playing her homosexual husband, exchanging cutting one-liners while coming to face the hard truths in their relationship. As noted by author Roger Fristoe in TCM’s article on the movie, Maggie Smith became the only person to win an Academy Award for playing a person who loses an Academy Award. Although I‘m not the biggest Simon fan, I find some of his works minor masterpieces of comedy. This is one of them. 

DAVID: C-. The terrific cast – including Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Bill Cosby, Walter Matthau, Richard Pryor and Jane Fonda – is the sole reason this film gets a passing grade. The 1978 film adaption of this tired Neil Simon play doesn't have anything else going for it. By this time, Simon had run out of creativity and ideas. This is a recycled version of Plaza Suite, a good 1971 film and a play before that, which is also about people at a luxury hotel and the misadventures they have there. Simon had a very good 10-year run of writing movies, mostly from his plays, such as The Odd Couple, Plaza Suite, The Heartbreak Kid, Murder by Death and The Goodbye Girl. The last one on that list would be his final excellent movie. Instead of quality, moviegoers got garbage such as Seems Like Old Times, I Ought to Be in Pictures, Max Dugan Returns and a lot of sappy Simon semi-biographical films. As for California Suite, it tells four separate stories of people staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel and the problems they experience. The movie is badly edited going from slapstick comedy to really depressing scenes. The film is stale with one-dimension characters and poor directing. While Pryor and Cosby were in more than their share of film flops, you can't deny they are two of the funniest comedians of their time. So what is done with their story of two competitive doctors who end up waging war during an intense mixed-doubles tennis game with their wives? It's an after-thought, sliced and diced into small sections throughout the movie. Yes, the story of Smith as the older actress and Caine as her gay husband in a marriage of convenience is the best of the four. Despite some strong acting, the film's plot and storylines are weak. 

For the complete list of films on the TCM TiVo Alert, click here.

It's a Small World

The Psychotronic Zone

By Ed Garea

It's a Small World (Eagle-Lion, 1950) - Director: William Castle. Writers: William Castle, Otto Schreiber. Cast: Paul Dale, Lorraine Miller, Will Geer, Nina Koshetz, Steve Brodie, Anne Sholter, Todd Karns, Margaret Field, Shirley Mills, Thomas Browne Henry, Harry Harvey, Jacqui Snyder, & Lora Lee Michel. B&W, 74 minutes.

William Castle directed many an offbeat film, usually accompanied by loads of ballyhoo. But this is a film we usually don’t find in his oeuvre unless we look carefully.  It’s not mentioned in the wonderful documentary about him on TCM, and comes at a time when he decided to leave Columbia, tired of directing nothing but B’s while waiting for the “A” assignment that was promised, but never came.

And so he struck out on his own, pitching his talents to the ultra low-budget Eagle-Lion Films. Castle had a pretty good resume. He was a studio director for Columbia, turning out B-product such as The Whistler series and Boston Blackie films. But when a promised promotion to direct A-features failed to materialize, Castle bailed on his Columbia contract and signed with Universal-International. He was at large in the period between studios, so he pitched a couple of projects to Eagle-Lion. The studio, which was serving as the American distribution arm of England’s J. Arthur Rank Organization, produced B-features to accompany such noted British imports as Olivier’s Hamlet. Eagle-Lion established itself by absorbing the bankrupt Producers Releasing Corporation and its studio space on Gower Street.

Castle’s first pitch was for a science-fiction film along the lines of Destination Moon, basing the film on Robert Heinlein’s 1947 novel Rocket Ship Gibraltar, but Eagle-Lion honcho Arthur Krim turned it down, seeing the project as too expensive to mount. Castle’s next pitch was something along the lines of a epic Western, but that was rejected also as being too expensive for Eagle-Lion’s tastes and pocketbook, but Castle was not one to be deterred by rejection. Ever the salesman, he proposed a film in line with recent features such as Crossfire (1947), The Snake Pit (1948), and Home of the Brave (1949). Its plot would be about the life of a social “outsider” and stump for acceptance. Thus, It’s a Small World came into existence: a well-meaning look at a midget (Dale) and the problems he must overcome. An old saying is that the road to hell is paved with the best intentions, which is the case with this film. Castle made it as a serious commentary on the problems of little people in the world, but it comes off as an unintentional hoot.

To use the present PC parlance, “little people” have been employed as the subject of many an exploitation picture. It wasn’t always so, but finding a film that took such characters seriously is a difficult job. The best-known midget performer was Harry Earles, who had a substantial role in both the silent and sound versions of The Unholy Three (1925 and 1930), and a leading role in Tod Browning’s Freaks (1932). Other than that he appeared in shorts, (mainly unbilled), and as one of the Lollipop Guild in The Wizard of Oz (1939).

As a matter of fact, The Wizard of Oz was one of the few films not to use smaller performers as an exploitation device. Most films featuring smaller performers were low-budget atrocities such as Sam Newfield’s all-midget Western, The Terror of Tiny Town (Jed Buell Productions/Columbia, 1938).

As time passed, smaller performers slowly moved from the cellar of exploitation films to roles in mainstream productions, though the occasional exploitation film still managed to creep in. But in 1950, exploitation was still the norm; a norm Castle wished to change.

Castle approaches his subject with all the necessary sincerity and gravity his budget will allow, but what does the film in is the performance of his leading man, Paul Dale (real name Dale Paullin). Dale, whose only other acting credit was in The Wizard of Oz as one of the Lollipop Guild, was working in Des Moines as a disc jockey when Castle tapped him to star in this movie. His problem is the whipped-dog look he carries through most of the picture. It’s so obvious and affected that the natural sympathy we should feel for our protagonist dissolves instead into laughter and snarky remarks. It doesn’t help Dale that he can’t act, either. There are way too many scenes where he looks at a complete loss as what to do. However, I blame this on Castle, who obviously wasn’t used to directing non-professionals.

The film is divided into three parts. Part 1 is entitled “The Boy,” and it’s where we meet our protagonist, Harry Musk (Dale) of Santa Clara, California. As we open, poor Harry is getting the snot knocked out of him by a group of neatly-dressed thugs with crew-cuts who are joyfully beating Harry because he’s trying to convince them he’s 12.

Harry’s home life isn’t that much better. (Home is a really cheap set with fake trees outside.) Harry’s widower father (Geer) is a well-meaning clod who, when Harry comes into the kitchen looking as if he’s been through the wringer, artfully concludes that he’s been fighting and asks Harry why he never fights back. The answer should be obvious. There are four of them and Harry’s a midget. His eight-year old sister, Susan (Snyder), tells Dad that it wasn’t Harry’s fault; the other kids are just bigger than he is. This flummoxes Dad. “I can’t figure it out,” he says. “I’ve beat him and I’ve pampered him and he just says nothing.” Father of the Year he’s not. 

Dad then hauls Harry off, standing him up against the wall, where we see a clearly marked pencil line. Measuring Harry again, Dad realizes that he still hasn’t grown, despite the beatings and pamperings. Dad takes Harry to the family’s doctor. “All I can say is your boy will grow no bigger than he is right now.” Some help he is. What the doc does prescribe is a thick book titled Medical Almanac “that will help you understand it.” So Harry reads about his condition, arriving at the conclusion that the only way he will get taller is to stand on the book.

Dad now gets another brainstorm: he pulls Harry out of school, over the objections of Harry’s teacher. It’s better if no one sees you, he tells the lad. After all, they’ll only make fun of him. That night, Castle tries to get arty. Harry has tormenting dreams, which show themselves as shadows on his bedroom wall. It’s great that the shadow also has Harry’s squeaky, comical voice. It’s also wonderful that the shadow also takes delight in tormenting Harry, asking sarcastically if his condition also means that his shadow won’t grow, either. “You gotta grow,” the shadow tells him, “I won’t stay small.” Great, even the schlemiel’s shadow picks on him.

Harry now spends his days helping Dad on the farm. From the swelling crescendo, we come to believe that Harry and Dad are growing closer, or that Harry has found happiness. Or whatever.

But not everyone hates or makes fun of Harry. A young girl, Janie (Michel), comes by and plays with Harry and his farm animals. One arty montage of young animals later, we see Harry and Janie again. Only this time Janie is older, a teenager, though the actress playing her seems to be at least in her mid-20s (Field was 28 at the time of filming). She’s also taller than Harry. It seems they read together, and today she is reading to him a passage from Gulliver’s Travels. Subtle, huh? At any rate, Harry falls asleep. Maybe he’s bored. Perhaps he only likes short stories.

Later, she gives him a belated birthday present - a watch with “To My Best Friend” inscribed on the back. But before Harry can surmise that there’s something more to this, Janie cuts him to the quick by saying that she’s engaged to be married and will be moving away with her bridegroom. Harry is crushed; she’s the only friend he has. Her absence only makes life at home that much more intolerable. Dad is hiding him away, and Sis is really getting on his nerves, complaining that she can’t ask any of her dates over after they take her home. (This being a small community, they surely must have heard of Harry somewhere.)

Harry concludes that life on the family farm isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and as he’s 21 years old, he tells Dad that it’s time he went out on his own. There’s not much he can do on the farm other than sit around due to his small stature. Harry sends a letter to a small-time carny named Jackson (Henry). Jackson takes the bait and pays Harry a visit. He’s pleased by Harry’s potential and agrees to take him on. This necessitates a sloppy goodbye scene between Harry and Dad. Dad goes so far as to hug his son and tell him that, if things go wrong, he can always come back home. For her part, Sis apologizes to Harry for the way she has treated him. Neither, however, tells Harry that they don’t want him leave.

Cut to Harry and Jackson on the road. By the look on his face, Harry is obviously regretting his decision. When they enter a diner, Jackson tries to get his new employee to perform for the customers. Harry begs off and heads for the bathroom. Locking the door, he opens the window and takes it on the lam. As Harry runs through the nighttime countryside, Castle entertains us with a trick he will use in his later horror films. No matter where Harry runs or turns, he is confronted with the superimposed image of Jackson’s laughing face. Reaching the highway, Harry thumbs a ride with a trucker who thinks Harry is a runaway child, and Harry accompanies the trucker to a vegetable market in the big city, where he disembarks and walks around the big city.

We have now reached Part Two of our story: “The Woman.” We quickly know where this is going thanks to a drawing of a woman standing under a streetlamp accompanying the title. But first, Harry has things to do. After leaving the market he walks around, allowing Castle to provide us with some location shooting. He ends up on a park bench, where he meets Sam (Karns). Sam, a hell of a nice guy, informs Harry that he’s an ex-serviceman who’s looking to live “free and easy” for a while. He makes his living shining shoes and, as he has an extra shoeshine kit, Harry can come in as his partner. Harry accepts and the next morning the two are busily shining shoes in the park. Because of his height, Harry proves something of a novelty; he quickly attracts a line of customers while Sam is ignored. “It’s a good thing we’re partners and not competitors,” Sam tells him as they pack up for the day.

In the meantime, Harry has rented a small room. Things are finally looking good for him, but we know this can’t go on forever. One night, Harry hears a noise in the hall. Looking out, he sees it's the woman who lives across the hall being smacked around by a man (obviously meant as a john). Harry tries to rescue her, but is knocked aside for his efforts. The man scrams and the woman, who introduces herself as Buttons (from the many buttons on her dress), joins Harry in his room, letting him play paramedic as he applies a damp cloth to her brand new shiner. Harry has never met anyone like her; his gaze travels up from her F-me shoes to her tight skirt to her cheap hairdo. For her part, she looks at him like a bird of prey looking at its next meal, sizing him up as easy pickings. They go to the sleazy neighborhood bar, where she introduces him to booze and beer. The next day is Sunday and Harry is heading out to work when Buttons tells him to take the day off - she knows how to spend it better. They go off on a date, strolling hand in hand as she helps Harry lavish his earnings on her. All the while, she’s talking about some plans she has for her and her little beau. Harry is totally smitten. We quickly surmise from Harry’s besotted persona that, even though it’s kept strictly off-camera, Buttons has been inducting him in the art of bedroom wrestling as well.

But all is not sunshine and roses. Harry is getting increasingly frustrated with her habit of keeping company with other men. (Doesn’t it dawn on him by now?) When she ditches their date in favor of another guy, Harry is mad. He looks out the window to the shadowy bar across the street. Failing to heed the all-too-obvious symbolism of Castle’s attempt at expressionism, Harry toddles there to drown his sorrows with a liquid dinner, chugging down beers, getting blotto. His resentment toward his erstwhile girlfriend grows as he sees a couple making out in the next booth. Worse, he sees the superimposed image of Buttons no matter where he turns. He climbs on top of a piano, trying to emulate Dietrich. When a female souse points out what a cute midget he is he throws his beer in the woman’s face.

The next morning, still nursing his wounds, plus a possible hangover, he’s back on the job, but surly as all get out. Sam asks Harry what’s wrong, but all he gets is hostility and surly silence. Sam presses for an answer. Harry’s answer is to walk away. He arrives back home after dark to find Buttons waiting for him. After buttering him up, she tells him she has found a “good job” for him, handing him a card. All he has to do is go to the address on the card. When he does so the next evening, it’s in a dingy apartment. He knocks and is met by a woman so fat Haystacks Calhoun looks skinny by comparison. She takes one look at him and laughs. He points at her and laughs. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship . . . well, maybe not.

Inviting him inside, she quickly gets down to business. Her name is Rose (Koshetz), and she’s the leader of a gang of pickpockets. Harry is the newest trainee; he will learn the art of picking pockets, and will delve into crowds disguised as a child. Buttons arrives, along with a guy named Charlie (Brodie) whose idea of camaraderie is to address Harry as “Shorty.” Here’s the plan: Buttons and Charlie will stroll around like a couple, and Harry will pose as their kid to ward off suspicion.

Sounds good, but Harry’s hesitant because this is a crooked scheme. The gang works on him to change his mind, with Buttons in the lead. She hits Harry with the classic “look at all I’ve done for you and this is how you repay me?” line. Harry’s still not won over, so Buttons dismisses Charlie and Rose from the room and turns on the charm - such as it is. She quickly turns the little guy’s head and he joins the gang. Rose trains him in what he needs to know in his new profession and Harry picks it up quickly (He’d better, there’s only 74 minutes in this film.), and soon the gang is on the street. We know this because Castle once more gives us an arty-farty montage of the four of them superimposed over various crowds. Hey, it saves both time and money (hiring extras), not to mentions lots of pages of script.

At any rate, the gang is successful, parlaying Harry’s smooth little digits into oodles of bucks. Harry's back at his place, hiding the loot as Sam visits and ask Harry why he hasn’t been around. Harry puts him off with a weak spiel. Who needs Sam and the bench when he’s got big bucks and a girl? However, unbeknownst to the little guy, he and Buttons are heading for the rocks. Having got what she wanted from the little guy, Buttons is losing interest. After Harry catches her making out with Charlie, he’s moved to declare his love and intention to marry. Her reaction is peals of derisive laughter accompanied by the question of why she should want a midget.

Harry finally realizes he’s been played and goes to Rose to announce that he’s giving his two-week notice. Furthermore, he’s going to the cops to make a clean break of everything. Rose’s answer to this announcement is to wrap her big fat mitts around Harry’s little neck, telling him to forget about quitting, and if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll show at the next gang meeting. 

Harry gets the message and shows for the gang’s meeting, but not before calling the cops and tipping them off. Seems the gang is planning a really big job this time - the filching of a payroll. (How a gang of pickpockets is going to pull this one off is laughingly preposterous to start.) As Rose outlines the plan, Charlie notices that Harry keeps looking at the door. Charlie smells a rat - a little one at that. Things are about to become rough for our little hero when, lo and behold, a couple of cops - including Castle himself in a cameo - break down the door and arrest everyone in the dump.

Harry, with the ever-loyal Sam at his side, is pleading his case with the judge. Since Harry ratted out the gang, and seeing that he’s not a hardened criminal, the judge decides to remand Harry to the custody of someone else, handing him a ticket to Miami. Sam offers to go along on the ride, telling Harry that he can shine shoes just as well in Florida as he can here, but Harry pulls a Garbo - he vants to be alone.

This brings us to part three: The Circus. Yes, that’s where the judge decided to send Harry: he’s ordered to the winter camp of the Cole Bros. Circus. This is a real circus. It’s still around, and obviously Castle decided to use it to save big bucks. The circus, in return, is under the belief that it will get free publicity from the throngs that come out to see Mr. Castle’s movie. Suckers. Harry is introduced to the manager, Mr. Winters. He’s soft-spoken and pleasant, almost the anti-Jackson of the carny. Harry’s not so sure he wants to stick around. Mr. Winters asks him to take a look around before making his decision, and Harry agrees.

As he makes the rounds, he sees that the circus is a close-knit family, where everyone has a place and everyone pitches in. The capper for Harry is when he’s introduced to Dolly (Sholter), a blonde midget who works a pony act. As time passes they grow closer. She presents him with a watch for his birthday. Why, it’s inscribed “To My Best Friend,” just like the one Janie gave him. Will wonders ever cease? The moral? Bad girls (Buttons) take your presents, while good girls like Janie and Dolly give you presents.

Later, Harry tells Dolly he has a surprise for her. He plays her a record to which he’s made up lyrics. The title of his tune? “It’s a Small World,” as if you didn’t know. Harry belts it out in a fashion that tells us Sinatra has nothing to worry about. But Dolly is tickled pink. After he finishes, he takes her in his arms and plants a manly kiss on her lips. The film ends with Harry and Dolly getting married. Yes, Harry’s going to stay with the circus, because they accept him for who he is rather than castigating him for what he can’t help. And the world has become so much the better for it.

AFTERWORDS

-- Will Geer (Dad) was a stage and film actor whose film performances were few and of a supporting nature. The biggest thing in his life was being blacklisted in 1951 for refusing to name names. He survived by forming the “Theatricum Botanicum,” a repertory theater in Topanga Canyon, California, where he coached actors. He returned to Hollywood in 1962 with a supporting part in Advise and Consent. Geer kept busy with supporting roles in movies and guest shots on television before landing the role of Grandfather Walton, in The Waltons, the role he is best known for today.

-- Shirley Mills, who played Harry’s 16-year old sister, Susan, was best known for her starring role in the 1938 exploitation film, Child Bride, in which, at the age of 12, she played a blooming sexpot who is the object of leering by several creepy hillbillies. The “highlight” of the film was her extended skinny dipping scene - at the age of 12, yet. Despite having this on her resume, she was able to land a plum role as one of the Joad children in John Ford’s The Grapes of Wrath. She also appeared (mostly unbilled) in movies directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Curtiz, Allen Dwan, and George Cukor. By 1956, parts dried up and her last film was 1961’s Twist Around the Clock.

-- Lora Lee Michel, who played the 8-year old Janie, also played the younger version of heroine Jill Young (Terry Moore) in 1949’s Mighty Joe Young. Her career never lasted beyond the child stage.

-- Margaret Field, who played the 16-year old Janie, languished in B-moviedom before switching to television. She is most famous, however, as the mother of actress Sally Field.

-- The carny pro Jackson was played by Thomas Browne Henry. He went on to work mainly in television. His credited movie resume was mostly B to Z productions such as Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956), Blood of Dracula (1957), The Beginning of the End (1957), and The Brain From Planet Arous (1957).

-- Those who recognize Harry’s buddy, Sam, played by Todd Karns, probably remember him from his most famous role: that of George Bailey’s brother in Frank Capra’s 1946 holiday classic, It’s a Wonderful Life. He was never able to match the promise of that film and was out of Hollywood by 1956. He moved to Ajijic, Mexico in 1971 and started a English language theater called The Lakeside Little Theater, where he produced and directed shows up to his death in 2000.

-- Nina Koshetz (Rose) was a famous opera singer in her native Russia. She came to America in 1920, having fled the Communists. Besides becoming a highly respected vocal coach, she also appeared in a few films. Her most famous role was in 1938’s Algiers, with Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr.

-- Steve Brodie was the sleazy gangster Charlie. He went on to a long career as a guest star on television. His best movie roles were as Private Judson in A Walk in the Sun (1945), Floyd in 1947’s Crossfire, and as Chief Budge in The Caine Mutiny (1954). He also appeared in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), and the camp classics The Wild World of Batwoman (1966), The Giant Spider Invasion (1975), and the incredible Frankenstein Island (1981).

The Hobbit – The Battle of the Five Armies

Dinner and a Movie

Taking the Hobbit to City Hall

By Steve Herte 

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope everyone had a merry Christmas and a good Chanukah, and anyone celebrating Kwanzaa, a good holiday as well.

My family has a history of buying gifts that either are not liked or never used and eventually returned. Then we tried a Secret Santa scheme where, at Thanksgiving, each member picks another’s name out of a hat. This worked for a while until many of us realized that we still were getting “stuff” that we didn’t actually need. Now, we have a better idea. The grandchildren still get gifts from the grandparents and their parents but the elders and their children do not exchange gifts. Instead, they contribute to a catered get-together the whole family attends.

My dinner and a movie took a bit of scheduling too. Having the day off, I figured I could buy an earlier movie ticket and schedule an earlier dinner. Great idea, but I could only move the time of the show up a half hour with the movie times available, as the location of the restaurant determined the theater. Enjoy!

The Hobbit – The Battle of the Five Armies (New Line/MGM, 2014) – Director: Peter Jackson. Writers: Fran Walsh, Phillippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, & Guillermo del Toro (s/p). J.R.R. Tolkien (novel, The Hobbit). Cast: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish, William Kircher, James Nesbitt, Stephen Hunter, Dean O’Gorman, Aidan Turner, John Callen, Luke Evans, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Sylvester McCoy, Hugo Weaving,  Peter Hambleton, Jed Brophy, Manu Bennett, Lee Pace, John Tui, Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom, & Ryan Gage. In color and 3D, 144 minutes.

As you may remember (a year ago), the great dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) has left Erebor, the Lonely Mountain in his fury against the inhabitants of Laketown. The company of dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Armitage) and including the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins (Freeman), have taken possession of the mountain and the endless riches in gold and precious gems it contains (and are hoping the dragon doesn’t return). And last, but not least, the wizard, Gandalf (McKellen), has been taken captive by the powerful Orc Lord, Azog (Bennett), who intends to kill him.

This is the last (and shortest – relatively) part of the trilogy of long, drawn-out movies relating the adventures of the “Halfling” which only took 287 pages in paperback. For those who enjoy saddle sores, if they were shown consecutively, the first, An Unexpected Journey (2012) was two hours, 49 minutes; the second, The Desolation of Smaug (2013) lasted two hours, 41 minutes; and the newest, The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) two hours, 24 minutes. You’ll be in the theater for eight hours.

I enjoyed reading “The Hobbit” and it made me want to read “The Lord of the Rings” as well as all subsequent works of J.R.R. Tolkien. I daresay that now that I’ve sat through all three films, I would not need to give them a second viewing. I was miffed at the end of the first installment when the company hadn’t even gotten to Mirkwood Forest. The second was better because of the scenes with the spiders and Smaug. But for 60 pages they made a third movie?

The best scenes of movie number three are in the beginning as Smaug makes repeated strafing runs at Laketown and sets the island village ablaze. The expert archer Bard (Evans) escapes his prison cell (the town blames him for all their troubles) and climbs the highest remaining tower to bring down the dragon. His son sees him and realizes he doesn’t have the “black arrow” he needs to complete his mission and risks life and limb to bring it to him. His bow broken, Bard uses the structure of the tower as a make-shift bow and Bain’s shoulder as a steadier and sends the arrow directly into the only vulnerable spot on the dragon.

Noticing nothing flying over Laketown, the dwarves conclude that Smaug is dead. But Thorin comes down with a bad case of “dragon sickness” and, contrary to what he promised to the elves and mankind, decides to keep the entire mountain’s wealth. Jack Benny was never so cheap. He has the dwarves barricade the gaping hole Smaug blew out in his murderous rage with heavy stones. But where is the “Arkenstone?” It is the symbol of his dwarfish kingship. The opalescent gem, the size of an avocado, is in Bilbo’s sack. He wants to give it to Thorin but sees how crazed he’s become and one of the other dwarves advises that he would get worse if he had the stone.

Gandalf is rescued from his prison by the combined magic and martial arts of Elrond (Weaving) the Elf King, Saruman the White (Lee), Galadriel (Blanchett), and Radagast the Brown (McCoy) but he doesn’t stay in recovery for long. He must warn the people of Laketown (who are now heading for the city near Lonely Mountain for shelter) and the dwarf company that an army of Orcs is headed their way. Once Smaug was killed the word got out fast and everyone who had their riches stolen by the dragon wants them back – hence the battle of the five armies. The dwarves have an army coming from the Iron Hills under their leader, Dain, brother of Thorin. The Elves have a golden army under Thranduil (Pace) looking to repossess the white diamond jewelry rightly theirs. The army of mankind (vastly outnumbered) under Bard is fighting for survival as well as their share of the gold. And, lastly there is a second army of Orcs and goblins marching out of Gundabad to the North augmented by monstrous bats under Bolg (Tui). Though well choreographed, the battle itself could have been much, much shorter (only six pages in the book).

To lighten the generally dark mood of the movie there is the doomed love attraction between Tauriel (Lilly), a character who doesn’t exist in the book, and one of the dwarves (a forbidden relationship). This is much to the chagrin of Legolas (Bloom) who would rather see himself with her. And then there is the character Alfrid (Gage), adviser to the Headman of Laketown, but a craven coward who cross-dresses to avoid fighting the enemy.

The cinematography of The Battle of the Five Armies is so splendid it almost makes me want to see New Zealand, where most of it was shot. The huge scope and depth of the scenes added to the heroic theme of the film. I have no complaints about the acting either. Just the length of time it took to complete a scene. Even the final sword fight between Thorin and Azog had me wondering, “When will it end?”  

Rating: 3 out of 5 Martini glasses.

City Hall

131 Duane Street (between Church and West Broadway), New York

www.cityhallny.com

One of my two favorite places to dine and now my official “Last Restaurant of the Old Year,” City Hall is like a second home to me. I’ve never had anything but fine food and splendid, caring service here. At Christmastime, the building is bathed in pink light while purple twinkle lights decking the boxwoods surrounding the outdoor café. Inside, I’m greeted by name, my coat is checked and I’m given a choice of tables. I tried to choose the one with the most lighting and the most comfortable banquette (I was still sore from sitting through the movie).

My server, Jihane, took my water preference and cocktail order, and presented me with the wine list, specials list and single-card menu. My martini came briefly and was perfect, as usual. I took my time with the menu and the shorter “specials” menu to see if I could find something I have not tried before. Jihane touted the grilled octopus & calamari salad as a starter but sadly reported that they were out of escarole and had replaced it with frisée, which I find highly inferior to any other green vegetable. Then, she recommended the Argentine “grass-fed” sirloin with Chimichurri sauce as a main course. That got my attention. I asked for a few more minutes to make my decision.

Another server greeted me and placed the complimentary plate of pickles before me. I managed to finish the pickled tomatoes, radishes, olives, raw carrots and the sweet dill pickle by the time I was ready to leave. Only the celery was left.

Before my appetizer course, Chef Meer sent out a yellow lentil soup as an amuse-bouche and it was lovely. The light curry flavor in it made it a nice precursor to what was to come. The homemade salt-stick twist accompanying it was just the right touch of bread.

I saw a 2011 Pinot Noir from McCall vineyards of the North Fork of Long Island on the wine list and ordered it. Usually I drink Zinfandel by the glass at City Hall, but I was trying to be different this time. It was a beautiful ruby color and had light tannic accents with medium body, the compromise wine to go with the next two courses.

The appetizer was what Chef Meer calls his “Light Fry,” a combination of tiger shrimp, calamari strips and crispy oysters served with horseradish cocktail sauce, mustard mayonnaise, and basil dipping sauces. The basil dipping sauce tasted like parsley and was indeed a parsley dipping sauce. I enjoyed every bite.

For my main course, I decided on the “grass-fed” Argentine sirloin and added a lobster Tail just to be different. The presentation was elegant. The Chimichurri sauce gave a festive color to the well-browned steak and the fluffy lobster meat protruded from the shell for easy access. A ramekin of drawn butter was on the plate for the lobster, which was excellent. The steak was tasty and nicely pink inside but it was strangely dry. I had it prepared medium rare per the Chef’s recommendation but it was not to my liking. It was a bit overdone for me. For the first time ever at City Hall, I sent a main course back. Jihane asked if she could substitute something. I asked for a hamburger.

Anyone who’s ever sent a dish back knows that you’ve already partially eaten the food and your capacity for eating more is diminished. The hamburger was superb and needed nothing added, but because I was becoming full (must be the curried onion rings I ordered as a side dish – which I am fully addicted to and ate every last one), I could not finish it.

In my younger days, I considered myself as a part of the mythical “Olympic Eating Team.” I could finish multiple entrées at Grossinger’s Lodge in the Catskills and think nothing of it. But now, even though I fasted anticipating this meal…sorry Chef. I still love City Hall and will still return at every convenience and will do so as long as you serve those onion rings, but from now on I’m ordering my steaks my way.

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