Happy Birthday, George Raft!!

Happy 117th birthday to one of my top 30 favorite actors...Mr. George Raft.  (September 26, 1895 - November 24, 1980)  NOTE:  I have found conflicting information about Mr. Raft's birth year, but I have gone with 1895, as that is the year on his gravestone.

Born George Ranft to a poor family in the Hell's Kitchen section of New York City, Mr. Raft spent his early years as a dancer.  With his fantastic sense of style, his flair for fashion, and his amazingly fast dancing feet, he was a regular on Broadway and in the New York nightclub scene, before making his way to Hollywood.  Though Mr. Raft found success in Scarface and other gangster films, he may have known even greater success.  Had he not turned down roles in High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon, those roles---which virtually launched Humphrey Bogart into stardom---might have made Raft the household name Bogart is.  It was through my desire to see the films of the man who played a part in making Humphrey Bogart a mega-star that I first discovered Mr. Raft.

My all-time favorite George Raft film is Each Dawn I Die (reviewed HERE).  This film, which pairs Mr. Raft with James Cagney is a superbly-acted prison drama.  The film sees Mr. Raft taking on the gangster persona with which he was so readily identified.

Rounding out my list of five favorite George Raft films are:

2.  They Drive by Night  (with Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, and Ida Lupino)

3.  Invisible Stripes  (with William Holden, Jane Bryan, and Flora Robson---reviewed HERE)

4.  Black Widow  (with Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, and Gene Tierney---reviewed HERE)

5.  Johnny Angel  (with Claire Trevor and Signe Hasso)

There are many of Mr. Raft's films on my "want to see" list---Souls at Sea, The House Across the Bay, Manpower, and Spawn of the North to name just a few.  Unfortunately, I don't think any of those films are out on disc, nor are they on YouTube, so I must wait until TCM airs them.

So, Mr. George Raft, here's to you on your 117th birthday---or whatever birthday it is.  I am glad you left so many great films by which we can remember you.  And by the way, man, could you wear a suit!!

Invisible Stripes (4 stars)

Invisible Stripes, from 1939, is a gangster drama starring George Raft, Jane Bryan, and William Holden, with Humphrey Bogart, and Flora Robson taking on supporting roles.  It's a film made before either Bogart or Holden had really hit their stride; in fact, it's only the 2nd credited film appearance of Mr. Holden.

At Sing Sing Prison, two convicts have served their time and are being released.  There's Cliff Taylor (George Raft), a man who has been successfully rehabilitated and who has every intention of going straight from here on out.  With faith in Taylor's ability to readjust to life in the outside world, the prison warden proudly bids him farewell.

Chuck Martin (Humphrey Bogart), on the other hand, is a repeat offender with zero intention of living a law-abiding life.  The warden knows Martin's time in prison has done nothing to change him; in fact, he would hold him longer if he could.

As the two men travel home on the train together, Martin finds Cliff Taylor's determination to go straight quite laughable.  With the "invisible stripes" of his prison record, Chuck insists, Cliff won't be given a chance and, therefore, will end up resorting to crime once more.  Sure that won't be the case, Cliff heads for home...hopes high.

The years in prison having given him an appreciation for freedom and for home, Cliff sees through new eyes the tiny apartment he shares with his mother (Flora Robson) and younger brother, Tim (William Holden).  What he formerly thought a dump now is beautiful to him.

To celebrate Cliff's homecoming, Mrs. Taylor has arranged a dinner party, with Cliff's girlfriend, Sue, in attendance.  It doesn't take Cliff long to discover that Sue doesn't want anything to do with an ex-con.

Unfortunately, Sue isn't the only one not interested in an ex-con.   Because of his prison record, Cliff is unable to get a break in the working world---no one trusts him, and no one wants to hire him.  When he finally does get a job, he is fingered as the "inside man" and arrested after the store is burglarized.

Brother Tim is in love with Peggy (Jane Bryan), and the two of them want to get married; however, due to insufficient funds they have been unable to set a date.  Anxious to be able to support a wife, Tim tells Cliff he has thought about crime.  Of course, Cliff is angered by Tim's talk and is determined to keep his brother from walking the criminal path he did.  Not convinced that honesty is the best policy, Tim informs Cliff that he has to see it in order to believe it.

Desperate to make money and prove to Tim that going straight is the only way, yet unable to get a break for himself, Cliff calls on his old relationship with Chuck Martin.

Though he has, in fact, gotten involved with Martin's gang and is part of a bank robbery, Cliff deceives his family into believing he has gotten an out of town sales job.  With the money Cliff sends home, Tim and Peggy are able to get married and Tim is able to purchase the garage he's been wanting.

Does Cliff's family discover he has reverted to crime in order to keep Tim from following in his shoes?  Does Tim stay on the straight and narrow?  Is Cliff able to break away from Martin's gang and live the honest life he really desires to live?  These are the questions which play out in the remainder of the film.

Invisible Stripes is a terrific film, with a great message about giving people a chance.  Although I watched this for my William Holden birthday month celebration, the film is, in fact, George Raft's.  He is wonderful here---humble, contrite, determined, responsible.  His character is extremely likeable and one I couldn't help rooting for.  He was a man who was devoted to his family, especially his momma, and I found his scenes with Flora Robson beautiful and touching.  In fact, I even got misty-eyed a couple times---not often that happens in a gangster film.

Adding to the great character traits was the sight of Mr. Raft in a suit!

Even in just a white shirt and tie, he was incredibly handsome.

William Holden---only 21 here---has not yet reached that maturity which would make him heartthrob material.  Oh, he's cute here, but in another ten years, he would be gorgeous!!

This film is out on DVD, so it ought to be fairly easy to track down.  Also, it is on the TCM schedule for Tuesday, April 17th at 6:00 a.m. (EDT).  George Raft fans will surely love this...as will William Holden fans.

Happy viewing!!

Each Dawn I Die (5 stars)

Each Dawn I Die is another one of those amazing films from the year 1939.   A gritty prison drama, this film stars James Cagney and George Raft, with Jane Bryan and George Bancroft taking on supporting roles.  This is one of many films which I think showcases the absolute brilliance of Mr. Cagney.  Truly,  he was one incredibly fabulous actor...nearly always turning out an Oscar-worthy performance.  He shines brightly in this film...as does George Raft.  Ah, if only George Raft hadn't turned down some of the roles he turned down!!

Frank Ross (James Cagney), a newspaperman who vows to expose political corruption, breaks a story which reveals the great graft among the city's elected officials.  Though Jesse Hanley, who is running for governor, insists that a retraction be printed, Ross refuses, an act for which the hoodlums intend to make him pay dearly.  Knocking Frank unconscious, the thugs douse him in booze and then put him in a car, which they send careening into a high traffic area.  Three people are killed, and though Frank insists he was framed and was neither drunk nor driving the car, he is found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 1-20 years in the penetentiary.

Entering prison, Frank is confident that his newspaper friends will be able to find evidence which proves his innocence; he is sure that his stay there won't be a long one.  However, things don't go as planned, and when months go by and Frank is no closer to proving his innocence than on day one, he begins to change.  Eventually, as he experiences the brutality of the guards, he begins to think and act like a convict.  His only hope is to throw in his lot with hardened criminal, Stacey (George Raft), a repeat offender with connections on the outside.

With Frank's help, Stacey is sure he can bust out, and after he has done so, he promises to track down those responsible for framing Frank.   But will Stacey, who doesn't care about or trust anyone, give a second thought to Frank's predicament after he has reached freedom?  Will Frank ever be exonerated?    Will those responsible for Frank's imprisonment ever be brought to justice?  Those are the questions that play out in this exciting prison drama.

Each Dawn I Die is a bold and exciting film, and the performances of both James Cagney and George Raft are spectacular.  I loved seeing these "bad boy gangster" actors together in a film; though Mr. Raft had appeared in a couple early 30's Cagney films, this one is the only one in which they shared the lead.  And, wow, what a team they were!!  Their brilliant performances are what take this film from 4 to 5 stars.  Jane Bryan, who portrayed Frank Ross's girlfriend, was quite good in her role as well.

As an aside, I learned from watching a James Cagney biography, that gangster roles were not his favorites; far and away, he preferred his song and dance movies (Yankee Doodle Dandy, Something to Sing About, The West Point Story, etc.) and viewed gangster films as simply a way to pay the bills.  Even though these roles weren't his favorite, though, he still gave them his all and was totally sensational in them.

Out on DVD, Each Dawn I Die should be very easy to track down.  James Cagney and George Raft fans will love it, I'm sure.

Happy viewing!!

Black Widow (4 stars)

Black Widow, from 1954, is a film noir/drama of the whodunit kind.  Starring Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney, and George Raft, it is one of those films that keeps you guessing up until the very end.  It's also one of those films that has enabled me to see Van Heflin in a new light, which is really saying something, since not all that long ago, I really didn't like him (thought him very milque-toasty).  Since seeing this and a half dozen or so other films, though, I really see Mr. Heflin as a romantic leading man.

Van Heflin's role in Black Widow is as play producer Peter Denver.  As the film begins, he is putting his wife, Iris (Gene Tierney), on a plane to visit her ailing mother.  Before departing, Iris reminds Peter that he is expected at Lottie Marin's (Ginger Rogers) party that evening.  Though he doesn't much care for Lottie and really would prefer not to attend the party, Peter knows it is essential that he put in an appearance.  The lead actress in one of Peter's plays, Lottie is quite high maintenance, so Peter knows her ire would be raised if he didn't attend.

Mingling among the guests at Lottie's party, Peter strikes up a conversation with Nancy Ordway, a young aspiring writer.  With completely pure motives and a desire only to be kind, Peter invites Nancy out to eat after the party is over.  The two strike up a very innocent friendship, and very soon, Nancy has convinced Peter to allow her to use his fancy apartment while he is at work.  Saying that her own apartment isn't cheerful for writing and promising to be out of the apartment before Iris returns to town, Nancy obtains Peter's permission to access his place during the day.   Lottie and her husband, Brian, who live in the same apartment building as Peter and Iris, are very aware that Nancy is spending time at Peter's apartment.  They see her coming and going all the time, and they wrongly conclude that she and Peter are involved.

Eventually, Nancy turns up dead in Peter's apartment, and as the case is looked into, it would appear that he was, in fact, very much involved with her...that it wasn't the strictly-friends relationship he maintained it was.
How everything plays out is the balance of this very interesting film.

As I said, Van Heflin was really great in this role.  His acting was solid, and I very much saw him as a romantic leading man.  Gene Tierney, beautiful as always, was definitely underused here.  There wasn't a whole lot for her character to do.  George Raft, who was beginning to show his age (but who still looked extremely good!), was underused as well.  As the police officer investigating the death, he didn't have a whole lot to do either.  Top-billed Ginger Rogers was terrific, as always, but her character was definitely unlikeable, and I didn't really like how she was made up...she seemed harsh to me, but maybe that was in fitting with her character, or maybe it was her age.  (Though she was only in her early 40's here, she just wasn't the beautiful Ginger my husband knows and loves.)

Black Widow is definitely an entertaining viewing experience, especially when watching it for the first time when you don't know how everything is going to play out.  The film is out on DVD and should be quite easy to track down.

Happy viewing!!

Red Light (3 stars)

Red Light, from 1949, is a mildly suspenseful crime-drama/film noir starring George Raft, Virginia Mayo, and Raymond Burr.  The film begins inside a prison, where inmate Nick (Raymond Burr) vows vengeance on the man who put him behind bars---Johnny Torno (George Raft), the employer from whom he had been embezzling.  When Nick learns that Johnny's younger brother, Jess, a priest just returned from chaplain duty in the army, is back in town, he realizes that the best way to exact revenge on Johnny is to have Jess killed.  Since Jess is the person Johnny is closest to, his death will devastate him, which is exactly what Nick wants.

Nick's plan takes shape, and as Jess is alone in a hotel room one day, he is shot several times.  When Johnny arrives at the hotel, he discovers a dying Jess lying on the floor and, vowing revenge, asks Jess who did it.  With his final breath, Jess responds that it is "written in the Bible."  After searching Jess's own Bible for several days and not finding any information, Johnny is sure that Jess must have meant the Gideon's Bible from the hotel room.  That Bible, however, is missing, so Johnny tracks down every person who has occupied that particular room since the night of the murder.

One of the room's occupants was Carla North (Virginia Mayo), who, also, knows the pain of losing a brother she loved dearly.  Carla is willing to help Johnny track down the Bible, but when it appears that Johnny's desire for vengeance has taken over his entire being, she tries to get him to see that vigilante justice is unacceptable.  Johnny, however, can't let it go...no matter what he has to do, he is determined to find the Bible, discover the name Jess wrote down, and then make that man pay.

Is Johnny ever able to track down the Bible he is seeking?  Does it provide the information he is looking for?  Can Johnny let go of his hatred and desire for vengeance?  These are the questions that will play out in this interesting and enjoyable film.

As a Perry Mason fan, it is always a bit strange for me to see Raymond Burr in these kinds of roles.  In that beloved TV show, he's always on the right side of the law; however, what I'm discovering, is that his movie roles often have him portraying the lawbreakers.  Virginia Mayo is lovely, as always, but she really doesn't have much to do in this film.  And George Raft, the man whose career might have been huge had he not passed on certain roles that ended up going to Humphrey Bogart, is quite good in this strong, "I'll do it my way" role.  I do hope you get a chance to see this film.

Happy viewing!!