When Ladies Meet (1941). Cast: Joan Crawford, Robert Taylor, Greer Garson, Herbert Marshall, and Spring Byington. The screenplay by S.K. Lauren and Anita Loos was based upon a 1932 play by Rachel Crothers. The film was directed by Robert Z. Leonard, who also co-produced the film with Orville O. Dull.
The story is about, Mary Howard, a novelist with different ideas about love and marriage. Things become complicated when she falls in love with her publisher, Rogers Woodruff. She decides to take him away from his wife. Mary's friend Jimmy, is convinced he's the right man for her and comes up with a plan to end her relationship with, Woodruff.
He invites Mary and Woodruff's wife Claire, to meet at the house of a friend. The two women do not know each other, but during their visits they become friends. When she learns Woodruff is a womanizer, she realizes she does not love him... It is interesting to watch the two different acting styles of Joan and Greer, play off each other. Once again, Spring Byington perfectly plays the ditsy-rich-lady character. I just love her. You may find yourself routing for.. Greer Garson. I also thought the sets were absolutely beautiful..
Johnny Eager(1942). Film noir. Cast: Robert Taylor and Lana Turner. Van Heflin won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
The story begins when gangster Johnny Eager first gets out of jail, and pretends to be a taxi driver, but he really owns a gambling house. As he is leaving Burns office, his parole officer, Johnny runs into Lisbeth Bard and it is love at first sight. Lisbeth talks Burns into paying a surprise visit to Johnny. Johnny, who lives in luxurious appartment at a closed dog track, is tipped off by someone in Burns's office. Johnny meets them at his cousin's small apartment, where Barns thinks he lives..
Later, at the track, Johnny begins to suspect that Lew Rankin, is cheating on him and has him followed. That night Johnny and his henchmen, Jeff Hartnett, check up on Lew at Tony Luce's gambling house. Johnny is surprised to see Lisbeth, whose drunken date owes Tony money. Johnny takes Lisbeth home, where he runs into her stepfather, John Benson Farrell, the district attorney, who is keeping the dog track from opening.
He comes up with a plan to make her believe that she's guilty of a murder committed when he stages a fake fight with another gangster. So he can blackmail her stepfather. Has he found a way to get his permit for his gambling house?
The story takes many twists and turns before the end of the film. Van Heflin, gives his Oscar-winning supporting role as the man who tries to be Johnny's conscience.
Patricia Dane (August 4, 1919 – June 5, 1995) . She began her career designing clothes for a New York City dress firm. Dane's, first two performances were uncredited roles in the films, Ziegfeld Girl and I'll Wait For You, both were in (1941).
She played the part of "Jennitt Hicks" in the film, Life Begins For Andy Hardy and she also played "Garnet" in the film, Johnny Eager (1942). Dane received good reviews in the film Grand Central Murder (1942).
Dane took a break from her film career when she married bandleader Tommy Dorsey (8 April 1943 - September 1947), but returned with the role of "Iris March" in the film, Fighting Mad (1948). Her final film performances were uncredited parts in the films, Road To Bali (1952) and The Harder They Fall (1956).
Robert Taylor was born Spangler Arlington Brugh on August 5th, 1911 in Filley, Nebraska. Originally signed at MGM because of his good looks, he gradually became one of the screen's most enduring leading men. Starred in an impressive list of films including Magnificent Obsession (1935), Camille (1936), A Yank At Oxford (1937), Waterloo Bridge (1940), Johnny Eager (1942), Bataan (1943), Quo Vadis (1951), Above and Beyond (1952), Westward The Women (1952) and Ivanhoe (1952).
Taylor was married to Barbara Stanwyck from 1939 to 1951 and then remarried Ursula Theiss in 1954 until his death. They had two children together.
After Taylor died of lung cancer - he was a chain smoker - at the age of 57, he was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, in Glendale, California. Many Hollywood celebrities attended his funeral, and his best friend Ronald Reagan, the Governor of California, gave the eulogy.
Party Girl(1958). Film noir. Director; Nicholas Ray. Cast: Robert Taylor, Lee J. Cobb and Cyd Charisse. Party Girl marked the last film Robert Taylor(age47)did under contract for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
I just watched Party Girl for the first time, is a very unique movie. Not only is it your standard Film Noir, with a clever story line, Charisse also performs two dance routines. I thought that Taylor and Cyd, gave excellent performances. Taylor, is playing a role loosely based on Dixie Davis, lawyer for mob boss Dutch Schultz of New York, who later turned informant and married a beautiful showgirl. Cobb plays a very convincing performance as "Wild-Man-of-Borneo", who threatens to hurt the showgirl if his lawyer leaves him. This maybe my favorite performance of Charisse, who also dances into two sensuous nightclub dances..Party Girl, really is one of the more beautiful film noirs I have seen, maybe because it is filmed in color, where you can see how stunning Cyd's dance costumes are.
Above and Beyond (1952). The film is about Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb. Cast: Robert Taylor , Eleanor Parker and James Whitmore.
Brent believes that Paul, an Army Air Corps pilot, is the man for an important job and orders him to leave Africa and return to the U.S. When they are on the plane flying to Washington, Brent tells Paul that he will be sent to Wichita to test the B-29. His wife Lucey, learns that it is going to be a short reunion and later visits Paul in Wichita. After the B-29 is determined to be safe, Paul returns home to Washington, again their family time is cut short when Paul is called to Colorado Springs . Paul meets Maj. Bill Uanna, who goes over details of Paul's past conversations with other officers over the past year as a security check. Brent then informs Paul that he is one of four men considered for the most important project of the war. Before telling Paul what the job is, he hands him a buzzer and asks if he would press it if by doing so the war would end tomorrow and save 1,000,000 lives but he would have to kill 100,000 people. Paul pauses for a moment, then presses the buzzer.
Brent invites several scientist of the "Manhattan Project," to explain the project to Paul. Brent then tells Paul that only he, Uanna and Paul will know that his mission is to drop an atomic bomb over Japan. Paul agrees and soon leaves for base in Wendover, Utah. To make Wendover seem like the other bases, Uanna suggests that families should live on base, but tells Paul not to bring Lucey, who is now pregnant. After Lucey gives birth, she makes plans to join him. After seeing Paul Lucey soon detects a change in him. Meanwhile, Paul and his team are constantly testing the B-29s to make sure that they will be able to carry the weight of an atomic bomb. Their relationship begins to fall apart when she shares her feelings over the innocent people who died during the war. Meanwhile, Brent has told Paul that the Japanese have refused to surrender and the president has given the go ahead for use of the bomb. Repeated testing is taking its toll on Paul. One night, when the exhausted Paul returns home, Lucey casually mentions that Harry had made up an excuse to get a weekend off to take Marge on a vacation. Paul immediately has Harry relieved of his duties. Angry, Lucey, says she wants out of the marriage. The next day, Paul goes to Colorado Springs to see Brent, who has been injured in a plane crash, and tells him that it is "blue light." When he returns to the base, he learns from Uanna that Lucey came to him wanting to know what was going on. When Lucey apologizes to Paul, for interfering, he tells her that she and the children will leave for Washington that afternoon. With the work at Wendover now finished, the project's next phase, called "Operation Silverplate" sends Paul and his crew to the island of Tinian. Paul soon learns that weather conditions will allow them to make the mission the next morning. Paul cannot sleep and writes a letter to his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets, telling her his fears about killing so many people, then names his plane after her. Will Paul have the courage to accomplish his mission?
This is a wonderful film. One of my favorite scenes is when Paul comes home one to hear sounds from someone working on the plumbing. Lucey tells him that she has found someone to fix the plumbing. "Who?", asks Taylor and Lucey says "One of the sanitary engineers". The plumber turns out to be one of the scientists with the Manhattan Project.
FUN FACTS: (spoiler alert).
The sequences showing the bombing of Hiroshima were lifted from another MGM film, The Beginning or the End (1947).
In 1951, Taylor met Enola Gay pilot Paul Tibbets and found that they had much in common. Both had thought about studying medicine, and were avid skeet-shooters and fliers. Taylor learned to fly in the mid-1930s, and served as a United States Navy flying instructor during World War II. His private aircraft was a Twin Beech called "Missy" (wife Stanwyck's nickname) which he used on hunting and fishing trips. She complained that he spent all his time polishing his guns and aircraft, but when airborne could "do anything a bird could do, except sit on a barbed wire fence".
The Bribe (1949). Crime/film noir. Director: Robert Z. Leonard and written by Marguerite Roberts, based on a story written by Frederick Nebel. Cast: Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Charles Laughton, and Vincent Price.
Rigby remembers, when his boss, Gibbs, first briefed him on how racketeers have been stealing war supplies and airplane motors headed Central America. Rigby, is told that the government suspects war veteran Tug.
After arriving in Carlota, Rigby, finds Tug's wife Elizabeth, singing at a nightclub and they become friends.
Soon, Rigby and Elizabeth fall in love, Tug is either too drunk or too busy to notice. One night, Rigby is approached by J. J. Bealer, a thief, who, offers him $10,000 to leave the island. Rigby rejects the bribe and begins to suspect Carwood, who is posing as a mine owner.
The next day, wanting to learn more about Carwood, Rigby joins him on a fishing trip. The fishing trip almost becomes fatal for Rigby when Carwood causes the fishing boat to lurch forward while Rigby is trying to bring in a huge Marlin. Rigby is falls into the water, the boatman, jumps into the water and saves him. Unfortunately, the boatman is killed by a shark while trying to swim back to the boat. While informing the boat mans father of his sons death. The father confirms Rigby's suspicions and volunteers to help Rigby with his investigation.
Rigby, finds himself torn between his love for Elizabeth and his investigation. He wants to save Elizabeth by accepting Bealer's bribe and leaving the island with her. Before Rigby can tell Elizabeth, Bealer informs Elizabeth, that her husband is a criminal and that Rigby is an investigator, who is going to put him in prison. Tug talks Elizabeth into drugging Rigby long enough to allow him to leave. Rigby loses consciousness after drinking a cocktail laced with a sedative. Will he come to in time to catch the smugglers?
This is the first time I have seen, THE BRIBE. I thought Laughton and Price gave the best performances.. My favorite part takes place at the end, which is exciting and visually awesome.
Lady of the Tropics (1939). Drama/romance. Director: Jack Conway. Cast: Hedy Lamarr and Robert Taylor.
Bill Carey, arrives in Saigon by yacht owned by Alfred Z. Harrison, whose daughter Dolly, he plans to marry until he meets exotic Manon. Bill falls madly in love when they meet in a bar and look into each other eyes. Back on the yacht, Bill can not live without her and decides to jump ship so they can be reunited. In the past Manon, has been denied a passport because of her heritage. She sees Bill as her way out of Saigon, but she falls in love with Bill and wants to give up a planned marriage with a Asian nobleman.
Delaroch, who lives a very shady life, also wants Manon for himself and causes problems for Bill and Manon. His political power insures that he gets what he wants. To buy time Manon promises to marry him, even though she is going to marry Bill at the Mission, later that afternoon. Father Antione warns Bill about marring her, but Bill ignores his warnings about her being a very sly woman and marries her anyway.
Angry, Delaroch prevents Manon from leaving the country by ordering the governor to refuse her a passport. Soon they find themselves destitute, Manon arranges a job for her husband at one of Delaroch's rubber companies, in exchange for her company. On his way home, Bill learns the price that his wife has paid, when he reads an item from a society column, which mentions that Manon and Delaroch, had been seen at the opera together. At first Bill does not believe the society column, until Manon tells him that she has recieved her passport, he becomes enraged and promises to kill Delaroch. Will Manon and Bill have their revenge?
This is one of those black and white movies I wish were in color, the scenery was amazing. Hedy Lamarr, performance was wonderful as well as Robert Taylor's performance.. There is plenty of romance and plenty of drama in this film..
Robert Taylor's, first leading role was Magnificent Obsession(1935), with Irene Dunne. This was followed by Camille(1936), opposite Greta Garbo. Robert Taylor, performed in A Yank at Oxford (1938), with Vivien Leigh. He re teamed with Vivien Leigh, in Waterloo Bridge (1940). After being given the nickname "The Man with the Perfect Profile", Taylor began performing in darker roles. Billy Bonney, in Billy the Kid and the film noir, Johnny Eager, opposite Lana Turner. After playing in Bataan(1943), Taylor became a flying instructor in U.S. Naval Air Corps. During this time, he also performed in instructional films and narrated documentary, The Fighting Lady(1944).Robert Taylor first performance with Elizabeth Taylor, was in the movie Conspirator(1949). In 1950, Taylor played the role of General Marcus Vinicius, in Quo Vadis, opposite Deborah Kerr. The following year, he starred opposite Elizabeth Taylor in Ivanhoe, followed by Knights of the Round Table (1953) and The Adventures of Quentin Durward. He performed in a comedy western co-starring Eleanor Parker called, Many Rivers To Cross (1955). He shared lead with Richard Widmark in, The Law and Jake Wade. In 1958, he formed Robert Taylor Productions, and the following year, he starred in the television series The Detectives (1959–1962). Following the end of the series in 1962, Taylor performed in films and television, A House Is Not a Home and two episodes of Hondo. In 1965, after filming Johnny Tiger, Taylor took over the role of narrator in the television series Death Valley Days. Taylor would remain with the series until he became too ill to continue working. In February 1944, Taylor helped found the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals. After performing with actress Barbara Stanwyck in the film This Is My Affair(1937), the two were married in 1939- 1951. One of the Robert Taylor movies I really want to see is, Personal Property(1937), with Jean Harlow. It is the last film she finished.
