shadowsandsatin | . . where the worlds of film noir and pre-code collide . .

Film Noir Files for July 2026

•July 3, 2026 • 8 Comments

Welcome to The Film Noir Files, the noir series here at Shadows and Satin and over at Speakeasy, the blog authored by my pal Kristina, where each month we recommend a film noir feature for you to watch on TCM. We never know what the other has selected until we post, and part of the fun is trying to never pick the same movie!

I only discovered Dirk Bogarde within the last few years, and have greatly enjoyed his performances in films like Libel (1959), Victim (1961), and The Servant (1963). But the movie that served as my introduction to this first-rate British actor is my Film Noir Files pick of the month: Cast a Dark Shadow (1955).

*Teddy treated Monica like a queen. (Too bad that queen was Anne Boleyn.)*

In this edge-of-your-seat suspenser, Bogarde plays Edward “Teddy” Bare (get it?), a charming and handsome ne’er-do-well who lives off of his wits and his penchant for dispensing exits of the lethal kind, if you get my drift. When we first meet Teddy, he’s at an amusement park with his senior-citizen wife, Monica (Mona Washburne), with whom he is celebrating his one-year wedding anniversary. From the light shining in Monica’s eyes when she fixes them on her “Teddy Bare,” we can see that she’s completely in love, and why not? Teddy treats her like a queen, solicitously spiriting her off to their favorite seaside resort for a post-flu recuperation, showering her with compliments that make her feel younger than her advanced age, and – as Monica herself observes – “always thinking of little ways to make [her] happy. Nothing’s ever too much trouble.”

Unfortunately for Monica, Teddy has a bit of a comprehension problem – or he’s just not that good at eavesdropping – as we see when Monica meets with her attorney, Philip Mortimer (Robert Flemyng), to share her plans to modify her will. Monica intends to leave her considerable fortune to Teddy, rather than her estranged sister, Dora, but when Teddy believes that Monica’s final wishes are not in his favor, he decides that she’s got to go before she gets the chance to sign the document. And when Teddy finds out, after Monica’s untimely demise, that he’s only been left his wife’s house, he has to start all over again – with a new financially flush target. That target comes in the person of widow Freda Jeffries (Margaret Lockwood), but this time around, Teddy may just discover that he’s in over his head.

*“I always thought your marriage to Edward was a mistake.”*

Along with Dirk Bogarde, who imbues Teddy with a suave, calculating, and quietly menacing persona, Margaret Lockwood is a standout. Her Freda is completely unlike any of the other characters I’ve seen Lockwood play; she’s rich but a bit unrefined, plainspoken with a bawdy sense of humor and a raucous, grating laugh – you can just imagine Teddy bristling and gritting his teeth whenever she opens her mouth. Despite her rather common exterior, though, Freda is nobody’s fool, wasting no time in informing Teddy that she has no plans to remarry – “not unless I could find someone to put down pound for pound.” Another notable character in the film is Monica’s lawyer, who apparently has had Teddy’s number from jump street – he’d judged Teddy to be a shady character long before Monica’s death, and his opinion doesn’t improve after she’s gone – even at Monica’s funeral, he doesn’t hesitate to make his suspicions known, telling Teddy that the coroner’s finding of accidental death isn’t necessarily a final ruling. “If further information comes to light,” he says with a knowing gaze, “the case can be reopened.”

Dun dun DUUUUUN!!!!

OTHER CAST A DARK SHADOW STUFF:

*Lita Roza’s number was a show-stopper.*

The director of the film, Lewis Gilbert, is perhaps best known for helming the 1966 Michael Caine starrer, Alfie, and three James Bond features: You Only Live Twice (1967), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979). He died in 2018 at the age of 97.

A riveting number is performed by singer Lita Roza, whose song, “Leave Me Alone,” provides a prophetic underpinning as Freda fields Teddy’s obvious come-on. Roza had a hit record a couple of years earlier, with “(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?” Interestingly, Roza’s version of the song was released in the U.K. just two months after the popular Patti Page record of the same name was released in the United States.

*Another outstanding performance from Margaret Lockwood.*

I’m a relatively recent fan of Margaret Lockwood’s (as I am with Bogarde) – I’ve enjoyed her immensely in every film I’ve seen her in: Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes (1938), Night Train to Munich (1940), The Wicked Lady (1945), and Bedelia (1946). She shines like a diamond in each one – if you can recommend any others that I should look for, please let me know in the comments! Incidentally, although Lockwood would later say that she was glad that she took on the role of Freda, she added that she was “still wondering exactly where it got me.” Cast a Dark Shadow would be the actress’s last feature film for two decades; her next appearance on the big screen – in The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (1976) – would be her last.

Tune into TCM on June 8th to catch Cast a Dark Shadow; I can say with all confidence that you’ll be glad you did. And don’t forget to pop over to Speakeasy to see which film noir gem Kristina has chosen for this month – and see if our streak is still intact!

Posted in Film Noir Files, Noir Films, Noir Performers
Tags: British movies, Cast a Dark Shadow, Dirk Bogarde, film noir, Film Noir Files, Margaret Lockwood, Mona Washburne, Robert Flemyng, TCM

Pre-Code Crazy for July 2026

•July 1, 2026 • 2 Comments

Pre-Code Crazy is the monthly series here at Shadows and Satin and over at the blog of my pal Kristina, Speakeasy, where each month we recommend a pre-Code film for you to watch on TCM – we never know what the other has selected until we post, and we try to never pick the same movie!

I’ve been a fan of James Cagney and Joan Blondell for just about as long as I can remember. And for almost that long, I’d heard about their first movie together, which was based on the Broadway play in which they both appeared. But it wasn’t until relatively recently that I finally got the chance to see that movie, and let me say that it was worth the wait. It’s Sinners’ Holiday (1930), and it’s my Pre-Code Crazy pick for the month of July.

*I neglected to mention this attraction . . .*

Clocking in at an exceedingly economical 61 minutes, this feature doesn’t star Cagney and Blondell – instead, top billing goes to Grant Withers, who I’d previously only known as the first husband of Loretta Young. He stars as Angel Harrigan, a barker for an amusement park on Coney Island’s boardwalk, where the film is set. Speaking of the setting, I love the way we’re introduced to the amusement park and its workers – Angel invites the crowd to see the “gorgeous, beautiful” women on display, then instructs the ladies to offer a quick flash of skin. (“How d’ya like that?” he asks the onlookers.) Joan Blondell’s character – Myrtle, AKA “The Little Happiness Girl” (for some reason) – is completely unbothered as she sits reading a magazine and waiting to pose for photos. Another worker hawks his Coney Island hot dogs, which are “all pedigreed and house-broken,” while a fellow employee surreptitiously directs a customer to “Mitch McCain’s Palace of Joy,” where he can get a shot of booze. Incidentally, although McCain (Warren Hymer) is in charge of the sideshow attraction, he’s actually a mobster and bootlegger, and has a fully operational speakeasy and gambling joint located underneath the family arcade.

Others in the story include arcade owner Ma Delano (Lucille La Verne) and her three children: Joe (Ray Gallagher), the straitlaced eldest son and operator of the penny arcade; Jennie (Evalyn Knapp), who’s got eyes for Angel; and Harry (Cagney), the charming apple of his mother’s eye who can never seem to stay on the right side of trouble. The lives of these characters swirl around and mix together, creating a bubbling stew of romance, hijinks, deceit, and murder.

As the star of the film, Grant Withers is required to do a lot of heavy lifting, but he’s no Laurence Olivier. Still, I’ll admit that he’s mildly entertaining to watch, often delivering his lines with waggling eyebrows and creating a persona that wavers between semi-likable goofball and overdone smart aleck. Lucille La Verne clearly has roots on the Broadway stage, and Evalyn Knapp is sweetly appealing. But they aren’t the standouts in the picture – that prize goes to Cagney and Blondell. Even in supporting roles, we can clearly see why screen stardom was just around the corner for both. Blondell serves up some of the film’s best wisecracks with her soon-to-be-customary sass, and Cagney turns in a performance in one scene that’ll have you flashing forward to Cody Jarrett in White Heat (1950).

OTHER SINNERS’ HOLIDAY STUFF:

Grant Withers was the first of Loretta Young’s three husbands – he married her when he was 26 years old and she was (ulp) 17. They met while co-starring in the 1930 pre-Code, The Second Floor Mystery, and they eloped to Yuma, Arizona. They next starred opposite each other in the ironically titled Too Young to Marry, which was released in 1931, right around the time that their marriage was annulled.

Evalyn Knapp was the leading lady in the 1931 film Smart Money, the first and only film to star James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson. The following year, she was named a WAMPAS Baby Star in a group that included Ginger Rogers, Gloria Stuart, Mary Carlisle (who died in 2018 at the age of 104), and Toshia Mori, the only woman of Asian descent to be named a Baby Star. (The Baby Stars were a group of young women identified each year by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers as actresses on the verge of big-screen success.)

Character actress Lucille La Verne may not be a household name today, but you might recognize her voice – she brought to life the evil queen (and the old witch) in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The 1937 Disney picture marked her final film role.

*Blondell and Cagney steal every scene.*

Sinners’ was helmed by John Adolfi, a prolific director whose career began in front of the camera during the silent era before he switched to directing. One of his best-known films was The Man Who Played God, starring George Arliss, and he also directed Joan Blondell in the first-rate pre-Code, Central Park (1932). Sadly, Adolfi died in 1933 after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage during a bear hunting expedition in Canada.

Penny Arcade, the play on which the film was based, opened on Broadway in March 1930, but it closed after only three weeks. The screen rights were purchased by singer Al Jolson, who sold them to Warner Bros. under the condition that Cagney and Blondell be cast in the roles they performed in the play. Warners kept its end of the bargain and the film marked the big screen debut for both. And the rest, as they say, is history. (Cagney and Blondell would go on to appear together in six more films for Warners, including Blonde Crazy [1931], the first picture in which they were top-billed stars.)

Tune into TCM July 8th for Sinners’ Holiday – you’ll be glad you did! And be sure to pop over to Speakeasy to find out what pre-Code gem Kristina has selected, and see if our streak is still intact!

Posted in Pre-Code Crazy, Pre-Code Films
Tags: Evalyn Knapp, Grant Withers, James Cagney, Joan Blondell, John Adolfi, Lucille La Verne, pre-Code Crazy, Sinners Holiday, WAMPAS Baby Stars

Summer Under the Stars 2025: The New-to-Me Movies, Days 7-9

•June 6, 2026 • 2 Comments

What time is it?

Time to continue my look at the new-to-me movies I saw back in August 2025 as part of TCM’s Summer Under the Stars event. In today’s post, I’m taking a look at Days 7, 8, and 9.

Day 7: Ruby Dee – A Long Day’s Journey Into Night (1982)

Earlier last year, I’d tried watching the Katharine Hepburn version of this Eugene O’Neill play, but I didn’t get far. I think it’s because I didn’t really understand what was going on. But while doing the research for the Blu-ray release of The Emperor Jones (also based on an O’Neill play), I learned that Long Day’s Journey was autobiographical; O’Neill used it to shine a spotlight on his dysfunctional family, which included his morphine-addicted mother and his alcoholic father and older brother. Armed with that information, I selected The Long Day’s Journey made-for-TV adaptation, as my selection for Ruby Dee day.

*Ruby Dee, here with Rhetta Hughes, is riveting.*

The film takes place over the course of a single day in August 1912, and gradually exposes the decay at the heart of the Tyrone family – Dee turned in an outstanding performance as Mary, with Earle Hyman (perhaps best known as Cliff Huxtable’s father on The Cosby Show) matching her excellence as Mary’s long-suffering husband. The production was fascinating (especially knowing its biographical nature) and seeing it made me want to go back and watch the Hepburn version. Incidentally, the play so closely paralleled Eugene O’Neill’s life that he left instructions that it was not to be published or produced until 25 years after his death. (As it turned out, his widow disregarded O’Neill’s wishes and allowed the play to be published and staged just three years after he died.)

Day 8 – James Garner: 36 Hours (1964)

Before last year’s SUTS, I’d never heard of this film – I selected it because I happened to see a recommendation on Twitter from Rick, of the Classic Film and TV Café blog (and also the creator of National Classic Movie Day). The film was introduced by Ben Mankiewicz and, because of what he said during the intro (which, unfortunately, I did not record and cannot find online), I knew what to expect. And, as I said in my notes on the film, I’m not sure if that knowledge made me more anxious than I would have been otherwise, or less, but suffice it to say that I was plenty tension-filled and practically on the edge of my seat throughout.

*Saint, Garner, and Taylor make a winning trio.*

In this World War II film, Garner stars as Major Jefferson Pike, who is captured by Germans just before the D-Day invasion. They hope to learn from Pike the exact time and place of the Allied invasion (and they have only 36 hours to get this information), so they set up an elaborate ruse to make Pike think he has had amnesia for six years and that the war is long over.

Pike gradually begins to suspect that all is not as it appears to be, but he’s in a race against time to uncover the truth and escape before it’s too late. Providing able support to Garner are Eva Marie Saint as a German nurse who is initially part of the deception, and Rod Taylor, playing the German intelligence officer who is overseeing the operation.

If you’ve never seen this one, do yourself a favor and track it down. It’s one of my favorite finds of the entire SUTS offerings.

Day 9 – Elizabeth Taylor: The Sandpiper (1965)

It took me a while to decide which new-to-me Elizabeth Taylor movie to select – I’d seen most of them, so I decided to ask my pals on Twitter to help me choose between The VIPs, The Sandpiper, and The Taming of the Shrew. I received 23 responses (well, actually 25, but two people advised me to see Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf!), and there was a tie between The VIPs and The Taming of the Shrew. I gave the nod to Shrew, but after about 30 minutes I gave up on it. I suppose it was just the Shakespeare of it all. I don’t know why I didn’t move on to The VIPs, but I didn’t – I wound up with The Sandpiper.

*Taylor was gorgeous, but the film was a snoozer.*

In a nutshell, The Sandpiper focuses on Laura Morgan (Taylor), a free-spirited artist (and single mother) who becomes involved in a torrid affair with the married clergyman (Richard Burton) in charge of the boarding school her son attends. The title is taken from the tiny shorebird that Laura finds injured on the beach where she lives and tries to nurse back to health.

Taylor was gorgeous in the film, and the Big Sur setting was lovely, but I found the story itself to be basically a snoozer. Also, I’m really not a Richard Buron fan, so whenever he was on the screen, it was all I could do to keep watching. Let’s just say that I was glad to have this one behind me.

I’ll stop here and pick up again soon with my SUTS 2025 coverage – if you’ve seen any of these, I’d love to know what you think of them! Just leave a comment below . . .

Posted in Summer Under the Stars 2025
Tags: 36 Hours, A Long Day's Journey Into Night, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Marie Saint, film, James Garner, movies, Ruby Dee, Summer Under the Stars, SUTS, The Sandpiper

The Best Years of Our Lives: The 2026 TCM Film Festival – Part 1

•June 4, 2026 • 10 Comments

Another TCM film festival is in the books, and it was just as fabulous this year as it was the first time I attended back in 2013 – four wonderful days filled with films, friends, and fantastic special guests!

As you may know, for the last six years, I’ve attended the festival with my older daughter, Veronica, and we always go a few days early to take in some special sights of L.A. This has previously included visits to Angels Flight, the Magic Castle, the Last Bookstore, Grand Central Market, the Bradbury Building, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and Rodeo Drive, as well as tours of the Paramount and Warner Bros. Studios. And this year was no different. I’ll talk about the actual fest in my next post, but today, I’m sharing the “pre-gaming” activities that Veronica and I enjoyed this year.

*Dinner with my niece, Imani, was the perfect way to start our adventure.*

We kicked off our trip with dinner at Bossa Nova in Hollywood with my niece, Imani, who moved to L.A. last July. The food was tasty, as were the cocktails, but it was just great to catch up. The next morning, Veronica and I went to The Getty Center, which I’d been wanting to visit for a couple of years, and it exceeded every expectation. To say I was amazed is putting it mildly – it was indescribable. First off, one of their exhibits was called Photography and the Black Arts Movement (1955-1985), and we saw so many fascinating photos, from a young Richard Roundtree working as a model (sans moustache – but still fine!), to a group of women in Lexington, Kentucky, at a lunch counter sit-in. We also loved the beautiful Central Garden, which was created by artist Robert Irwin to be a permanent piece of living art. It was absolutely stunning – I didn’t want to leave. And, finally, the art! I was floored by the paintings in the collection by masters like Monet, Renoir, and Van Gogh, and I loved discovering pieces by artists who were new to me, including Franz Xaver Winterhalter and Charles Cordier. They even had furniture and household items like teapots and lidded bowls. It was just beautiful. And we didn’t even get through half of the museum! We will definitely be going back next year.

*This portrait of Princess Leonilla of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn was painted by Franz Xaver Winterhalter in the mid-1840s.*

*A striking bronze bust by Charles Cordier from 1861.*

*The teapot is Chinese porcelain from the 1600s and the Japanese porcelain lidded bowl dates to the 1700s.*

*Loved this beech and walnut bed from 1700s Paris.*

After the Getty, Veronica and I went to The Broad Museum, which was another one I’d been wanting to visit. I wasn’t as wild about it as I was the Getty – it’s a contemporary art museum, and that’s not really my jam. There were several exhibits that stood out, though – one was an installation by the late artist Robert Therrien called “Under the Table,” which consists of a giant table and chairs designed to allow visitors to experience the world from a child’s perspective. I’d first found out about it from a story on CBS Sunday Morning, so I was thrilled to see it in person. There was also artwork by familiar artists like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, and a light installation by Yayoi Kusama called the Infinity Mirrored Room – The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away. This is a mirror-lined space that uses suspended LED lights to create an illusion of infinite space. It was quite something – the photos we took can’t capture what it felt like. It really was like stepping into space.

*This table and chairs were worth the trip.*

*Andy Warhol and Elizabeth Taylor — a winning combination.*

The next morning, Veronica and I visited the L.A. Breakfast Club – it was our third time at this interesting and unique establishment. Last year, the group had Ben Mankiewicz as the special guest (and if you know me, you KNOW I had to be there!) and a few years before that, Alicia Malone was on hand. This year, I was delighted to learn that Jacqueline Stewart would be at the club – I’d met her years ago, before she became a TCM host; since then, I learned that she knows a good friend of mine, and I’ve been wanting to share this with her, but I never got close enough to her in the years since.

Before I go further, I just wanted to give you a little background on the L.A. Breakfast Club – it was founded in 1925, and some of its early members included studio heads Louis B. Mayer, Jack and Harry Warner, and Darryl F. Zanuck; director Cecil B. DeMille; and entertainers Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Gloria Swanson. Dues for the club are $100 a year and the club meets every Wednesday for a buffet breakfast, traditions including calisthenics and sing-a-long songs, and a presentation from a guest speaker. Veronica is not a fan, but I love the Breakfast Club – the people are so friendly, the coffee is delicious, and I think that the various customs (including a unique, wrist-rotating way they have of shaking hands) are an absolute hoot. I’m smiling just thinking about it.

*Jacqueline Stewart gave a great interview.*

On the morning of the breakfast, there comes a time before the guest speaker is introduced when everyone gets up and greets the people at the head table. When I reached Jacqueline Stewart, I told her that I am a fellow Chicagoan, reminded her that I’d met her back in the day, and mentioned our mutual friend. She couldn’t have been more gracious, and she asked me if I’d like to take a picture with her after the breakfast presentation. It was such a pleasure and an honor to talk with her.

By the way, Stewart was inducted as a member into the club – the initiation ceremony consists of being blindfolded, reciting a pledge, and putting your hand into a plate of eggs. Now you know.

Incidentally, in case I haven’t made it clear – if I were a resident of L.A., I would TOTALLY apply for membership!

*Loved reconnecting with Monika Henreid — Paul Henreid’s daughter — at the pre-fest party at the Hollywood Heritage Museum.*

Outside of a couple of social gatherings – a meetup at a dive bar called Power House and the annual pre-fest party sponsored by the Going to TCM Classic Film Festival Facebook group – and my traditional trek to the Larry Edmunds Bookstore, that concludes the activities Veronica and I enjoyed before the festival started. They left us well and primed for the fun that was in store!

*No trip to L.A. is complete with a visit to Larry Edmunds’ Bookstore!*

Thanks for getting this far – I hope you’ll pop back by for my coverage of the festival, coming soon!

Posted in TCM Film Festival
Tags: film, Jacqueline Stewart, L.A. Breakfast Club, Larry Edmunds Bookstore, Power House, TCM, TCM Film Festival, TCMFF, The Broad Museum, The Getty Center

The Film Noir Files for June 2026

•June 3, 2026 • 6 Comments

Welcome to The Film Noir Files, the monthly noir series here at Shadows and Satin and over at Speakeasy, the blog authored by my pal Kristina, where each month we recommend a film noir feature for you to watch on TCM. We never know what the other has selected until we post, and part of the fun is trying to never pick the same movie!

Deciding on this month’s Film Noir Files recommendation was a no-brainer for me. It’s Nightmare Alley, released in that stellar noir year of 1947, featuring a first-rate cast, and starring Tyrone Power in what I consider to be the best performance of his career. As soon as I saw it listed (and realized that I’ve never covered it on the blog), I knew what my pick for the month would be.

The story centers on Power’s character, Stanton Carlisle (how’s that for a name?), who, when we first meet him, is working as a barker in a local carnival. He’s low on the totem pole of carny employees, but it’s soon clear that his charm, intelligence, and innate skills could take him to higher heights – and they do. Stan first sets his sights on his fellow carny worker, Zeena Krumbein (the always wonderful Joan Blondell), who – along with her husband, Pete (Ian Keith) – used to have a top-flight mind-reading act in vaudeville, but wound up in the carnival after Pete developed a drinking problem. Stan cozies up to Zeena in the hopes that she’ll share the secrets of the mind-reading act, but it’s not until Pete winds up dead (how convenient, amirite?) that Zeena relents. Before you can say “Jack Robinson,” Stan is on his way to the big time – and he’s more than willing to use whatever means are necessary to get there. Unfortunately, he learns that the bright lights he’s aiming for aren’t always as warm and welcoming as they appear.

The stellar cast I referenced earlier includes Coleen Gray as Molly, Stan’s devoted wife, right-hand, and diametric opposite when it comes to morals; Mike Mazurki as the carnival strongman who has eyes for Molly; and Helen Walker as a venomous and thoroughly unethical psychologist who takes on a unique role in Stan’s act. The direction served up by the capable Edmund Goulding will keep you on your toes as you try to anticipate the next dastardly deed that Stan will commit and who will suffer the fallout. And speaking of Stan, Power manages to bring to life a character who is simultaneously despised, admired, and pitied.

Other stuff:

The film was based on the best-selling novel by William Lindsay Gresham, who was reportedly fascinated by carnivals from an early age, and wrote a non-fiction book about carnival life called Monster Midway.

Actor Harry Anderson, best-known as the star of the 1980s hit TV series Night Court, was a huge fan of Gresham’s novel and carnivals in general. For years he tried to launch a remake of the film, starring himself as Stanton. And in the mid-1970s, Motown wanted to make an all-Black remake starring Billy Dee Williams. (I can’t deny I would love to have seen that!!)

To add to the film’s authenticity, the producers built a full working carnival on 10 acres on the 20th Century-Fox back lot. They also hired more than 100 real-life sideshow performers and carnival people.

The movie’s tagline was, “He was all things to all men . . . but only one thing to all women!” (Hmmm . . .)

Tune into TCM June 12th for this film noir classic – and don’t forget to visit Speakeasy to see which film noir gem Kristina has chosen for this month – and see if our streak is still intact!

Posted in Film Noir Files, Noir Films
Tags: 1947 films, 20th Century Fox, Coleen Gray, Film Noir Files, Harry Anderson, Helen Walker, Joan Blondell, Nightmare Alley, Tyrone Power

Pre-Code Crazy for June 2026

•June 1, 2026 • 2 Comments

My Pre-Code Crazy pick for June is not exactly the pre-Codiest feature I’ve ever recommended. Far from it, in fact. But it’s one that I rarely see airing on TCM, and it’s one that you won’t want to miss. It’s Ever in My Heart (1933) and it stars Barbara Stanwyck – and, really, what more do you need to know?

The film begins in 1909, in a small town called Archervale, located somewhere in New England – Stanwyck is Mary Archer, daughter of the town’s most prominent family. When the story opens, Mary is awaiting the homecoming of her distant cousin, Jeff (Ralph Bellamy), who’s been in Germany for the last several years and who the family expects her to wed. Jeff brings with him a German friend from college, Hugo Wilbrandt (Otto Kruger), and he and Mary fall in love at first sight.

*Mary and Hugo were meant to be. For a while.*

In quick fashion – the movie clocks in at an economical 68 minutes, so there’s not a minute to waste – Mary and Hugo marry, get a dog (a dachshund, naturally), have a baby – Teddy (Ronnie Cosby) – and move away together, settling down for a happy life together. Hugo gets a job as a professor at a local college and becomes an American citizen. But the couple’s idyllic existence is shattered when the British ocean liner, the RMS Lusitania, is torpedoed by a German U-boat during World War I. Before long, the community turns on the family because of Hugo’s German background, and he is dismissed from his position at the college.

And that’s where my discussion of the plot will end – I want you to experience it for yourself. No spoilers!

*The Wilbrandt’s adorable son and his adorable pup.*

With the film taking place during the first half of the 1900s, and its themes combining romance, war, family tragedy, and xenophobia, it’s easy to see why there aren’t a lot of familiar pre-Code tropes to be found here. In the pre-Codiest occurrence in the picture, one scene ends with Mary and Hugo kissing on her bed, and the next begins as they’re both finishing getting dressed. But even here, there’s nary a glimpse of Mary’s lingerie or similarly titillating views.

Don’t let the dearth of Baby Face-like circumstances dissuade you from seeing this, though. In its little-over-an-hour running time, Ever in Her Heart packs a punch, with enough pathos to send you reaching for the tissue and an ending that will knock you off your seat. It goes in directions that you’d never expect, and you’ll be glad to hang on and go along for the ride.

Other Stuff:

*Stanwyck in the Archie Mayo-directed Illicit.*

Ever in My Heart was directed by Archie Mayo, who doesn’t get a lot of mention these days, but who helmed such classics as The Petrified Forest (1936), and some of my favorite pre-Codes – The Doorway to Hell (1930), Under Eighteen (1931), and The Mayor of Hell (1933). He was also the director of the famously lost 1933 pre-Coder Convention City, and directed Stanwyck in two other features from the era, Illicit (1931) and Gambling Lady (1934).

Ever in My Heart marked the second film starring Ralph Bellamy and Barbara Stanwyck – the two were also in the 1932 pre-Code, Forbidden, where Bellamy was seen in a rare bad guy role. The picture was also one of the first where Bellamy would play his soon-to-be-familiar guy who doesn’t get the girl.

The cast contains several familiar faces, including Elizabeth Patterson, perhaps best known as Lucy Ricardo’s neighbor and frequent babysitter on TV’s I Love Lucy; Clara Blandick, who played Auntie Em in The Wizard of Oz (1939); and Frank Albertson, who I know best as Katharine Hepburn’s brother in Alice Adams (1935), Sam Wainwright (“Hee Haw!”) in It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), and the original owner of the forty grand stolen by Janet Leigh in Psycho (1960).

Tune into TCM June 17th for Ever in My Heart – you will not be sorry. And don’t forget to pop over to the Speakeasy blog to find out what pre-Code gem Kristina is recommending (and see if our streak is intact)!

Posted in Uncategorized Stuff

Marilyn Monroe: Noir Star

•May 31, 2026 • 2 Comments

Marilyn.

The very mention of her name conjures images of her playful, unmistakably flirtatious smile, her luminous blonde hair, her expressive eyes. Not to mention her distinctive singing voice and her flair for comedy.

But as a resident in the shadowy world of film noir? Not so much.

At least, that’s probably not what most folks associate with Monroe – but you can bet that I sure do!

Monroe was born 100 years ago, on June 1, 1926, and I’m celebrating this event by spotlighting the four films noirs in which she appeared. If you’ve never seen them, they’ll all be airing in June on TCM, which is featuring the actress as its star of the month, so check your local listings (as they say) and treat yourself!

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

This film – one of my many favorite noirs – tells the story of Doc Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe), an aging criminal who masterminds a sophisticated jewel robbery with the financial assistance of a crooked attorney, Alonzo Emmerich (Louis Calhern). The actual heist is carried out by a motley crew of local hoods, including Dix Handley, who longs to return to the Kentucky home where he grew up. Monroe plays the small but showy role of Emmerich’s childlike mistress, Angela Phinlay, whose innocence is best revealed when she discusses a planned trip to Cuba: “Imagine me on this beach here in my green bathing suit . . . . Run for your lives, girls, the fleet’s in! Yipes!”

Clash By Night (1952)

Barbara Stanwyck stars here as Mae Doyle who, at the start of the film, is returning to her home town of Monterey, California, after a long absence. She attracts the attentions of Jerry D’Amato (Paul Douglas), a rugged, honest fisherman, and Earl Pfeiffer (Robert Ryan), Jerry’s cynical friend. Monroe’s character, Peggy, is engaged to Mae’s brother, Joe, but she’s unhappy with her job in a local fish cannery and pines for the exciting life she imagines Mae led during her years away from home. While Peggy initially displays a strong sense of independence and spunk, though, she later allows herself to be tamed, telling Mae, “Joe came to the house and was going to kick the door down. I never thought I’d like a guy that pushed me around.”

Don’t Bother to Knock (1952)

Monroe had her first starring role in this feature, playing Nell Forbes, a mentally ill young woman who attempted suicide following the death of her lover in a plane crash. Trying to help Nell get a fresh start after her release from a mental institution, her uncle Eddie (Elisha Cook, Jr.) arranges a baby-sitting job for her in the hotel where he works as an elevator operator. Everything seems to be going well at first, but Nell’s mental state gradually deteriorates after she meets a hotel guest (Richard Widmark), confuses him with her dead lover, and accuses her charge of coming between them. Although Monroe earned mixed reviews for this unusual role, the critic for Variety praised her for giving “an excellent account of herself,” and her co-star, Anne Bancroft, said her experience with Monroe was “one of those very few times in all my experiences in Hollywood, when I felt that give and take – that can only happen when you are working with good actors.”

Niagara (1953)

*“Sure. I’m meeting somebody. Just anybody handy, as long as he’s a man. “*

Monroe’s final noir – a rare color feature from the era – kicks off when Ray and Polly Cutler (Casey Adams and Jean Peters) arrive in Niagara Falls for a belated honeymoon. Once there, they encounter George Loomis (Joseph Cotten), a brooding and unstable man, and his beautiful young wife, Rose (Monroe). Rose’s obvious contempt for her husband is shown early in the film when she feigns sleep as he approaches her bed, and flashes a disdainful smile when he reluctantly retires for the night. Before long, it’s revealed that Rose’s feeling toward her spouse goes beyond contempt – she’s having an affair and she and her lover plan to kill George. After the film’s release, most reviewers agreed on Monroe’s impact on the feature; in her best notice, the critic for the Los Angeles Examiner raved, “Here is the greatest natural star since Jean Harlow. She has more intelligence than Harlow. She out-lures Lana. She makes any other glamour girl you care to name look house-wifely.”

Tune into TCM to check out all four of these gems; The Asphalt Jungle, Clash By Night, and Don’t Bother to Knock are all airing on June 8th, and Niagara can be seen on June 15th.

You’ll be glad you did – you only owe it to yourself.

Posted in Noir Films, Noir Performers
Tags: Anne Bancroft, Clash By Night, color film noir, Don't Bother to Knock, elisha cook jr., Marilyn, Marilyn Monroe, movies, Niagara, the asphalt jungle

Summer Under the Stars 2025: The New-to-Me Movies, Days 5-6

•May 18, 2026 • 3 Comments

What time is it?

Time to continue my look at the new-to-me movies I saw back in August 2025 as part of TCM’s Summer Under the Stars event. In today’s post, I’m taking a look at Days 5 and 6, and I’m kicking things off with one of my favorite character actors!

Day 5: Claude Rains – Passage to Marseille (1944)

Although this feature reunited four of the stars of Casablanca (1941), I’d never been interested in seeing it – probably because I have a strong tendency to steer clear of wartime movies. But this film showed me that I need to get over that tendency! (Full disclosure: Passage to Marseille was actually my third choice for Claude Rains Day – I first tried to watch Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), but I couldn’t get into it, and then I tried Stolen Holiday (1937), but it didn’t grab me either. As it turns out, I made the right choice.)

The film follows a group of French prisoners during World War II, who escape from Devil’s Island and eventually join the Free French fight against the Nazis. The film’s focus is on Jean Matrac (Humphrey Bogart), a journalist who was falsely imprisoned for exposing corruption in France. Flashbacks are used to show the experience of Matrac and his companions as they make their way to Marseille, where they commit themselves to the Allied cause.

Although I found the story to be a little murky in the beginning, it didn’t take long before I was all in, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I found it to be fascinating and intense and full of suspense, with moments of rousing patriotism and breathtaking action. And did I mention flashbacks? This film has flashbacks within flashbacks – which is always a sign of a winner in my book. A couple more things I wanted to mention – George Tobias (who you might know best as Abner Kravitz, from TV’s Bewitched) plays Petit, one of the escaped convicts who joins Jean Matrac. With his talent for accents, Tobias is a standout. I also wanted to point out that Humphrey Bogart was eager to do this movie, but his boss, studio head Jack Warner, wasn’t keen on the idea and he only agreed to allow Bogart to accept the part if the actor agreed to also star in Conflict (1945), with Sydney Greenstreet (again!). Now you know.

Day 6: Judy Garland – The Harvey Girls (1946)

*Virginia O’Brien was a nice discovery.*

Y’all know I’m no musical fanatic, but I’d been wanting to see this MGM feature for quite a while. Set in the late 1800s, The Harvey Girls stars Judy Garland as Susan Bradley, who travels west to marry a man she met through correspondence. When she discovers that he’s not quite what she’d anticipated, she gets a job as a “Harvey Girl” at a Harvey House restaurant – Harvey Houses were a chain of clean, quality railroad dining establishments located along southwest and midwest train routes. The Harvey Girls worked as waitresses and were known for their distinctive uniforms and high standards of professionalism.

I loved the film’s entertaining opening number – On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe – which I’d seen several times before and wouldn’t mind seeing several times again. But as a whole, I’m sorry to say that I just wasn’t that wild about the film. Firstly, I was a little put off by the singing voice coming out of co-star Angela Lansbury – it was kinda ludicrous. And there was a scene where the women are waltzing that made me want to leap for the fast-forward button – it was a total snoozefest. Then there was the part where the women from the local dance hall start brawling with the Harvey Girls – and the only Black actor in the scene gets his hand stuck in a spittoon, for some reason. Like . . . what? Also, there’s a scene featuring Ray Bolger tap dancing that just wasn’t my cup of tea. It reminded me of Buddy Ebsen in Born to Dance (1936) – I am not a fan of this kind of goofy, loose-limbed performance. If it ain’t Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, or the Nicholas Brothers, I’ll pass on the tap numbers, thank you.

Don’t get me wrong – there were a few things I liked about the movie. Judy Garland was luminous, it was nice to see a young Cyd Charisse, and I absolutely loved the scene with Virginia O’Brien. I’d never seen her in a movie before (at least, not that I’d noticed), and she was a delight. But all things considered, I think I’d have liked the movie better if it just wasn’t a musical.

That’s it for today’s SUTS installment. Have you seen these two films? What do you think of them? Drop a comment below and share with the group!

Posted in Summer Under the Stars 2025
Tags: Cyd Charisse, film, Humphrey Bogart, Judy Garland, movies, Passage to Marseille, Ray Bolger, Summer Under the Stars 2025, SUTS, TCM, The Harvey Girls, writing

TCM is Going All-Day Pre-Code Crazy!!!

•May 14, 2026 • 4 Comments

If you love pre-Code as much as I do, you’ll tune into TCM on Friday, May 15th for one of the best satiny line-ups I’ve seen since Heck was a pup! I’ve written about each of these features here at Shadows and Satin — I’m listing the films below and linking to my write-ups on each.

Check ’em out — there’s not a clunker in the bunch. You only owe it to yourself.

Midnight Mary (1933)

Mandalay (1934)

The Divorcee (1930)

The Reckless Hour (1931)

Beauty for Sale (1933)

Blondie Johnson (1933)

Frisco Jenny (1932)

Red-Headed Woman (1932)

Baby Face (1933)

Posted in Pre-Code Films
Tags: baby face, Beauty for Sale, Blondie Johnson, Frisco Jenny, Mandalay, Midnight Mary, pre code, Red-Headed Woman, TCM, The Divorcee, The Reckless JHour

The Film Noir Files for May 2026

•May 3, 2026 • Leave a Comment

As I noted in my Pre-Code Crazy post a few days ago, this year’s TCM Film Festival extended into May, so I’m recommending a movie for the Film Noir Files that I previously covered here at Shadows and Satin.

For this month, I’m pleased to recommend one of my favorite noirs – They Live By Night (1948), airing on May 20th (my high school boyfriend’s birthday!). Farley Granger and Cathy O’Donnell play star-crossed lovers Arthur “Bowie” Bowers and Katherine “Keechie” Mobley, whose desire for a white-picket-fence life is derailed by Bowie’s criminal past.

Click HERE to check out my previous coverage of the film – and don’t forget to pop over to Speakeasy to see what Kristina is serving up for the month!