Shadowy and Satiny: What to Watch on TCM in May 2024
May is bustin’ out all over with pre-Code and film noir gems – there are so many flicks from the shadowy side, in fact, that I’m recommending an entire day of noir instead of just one film. But first, my . . .
Satiny Pick: My Past (1931)
This isn’t one of those films that’s typically mentioned on lists of favorite pre-Codes, but I like it and I hope you will, too. It stars Bebe Daniels as stage actress Doree Macy, Lewis Stone as millionaire steel operator John Thornley, and Daniels’s real-life husband Ben Lyon as Thornley’s right-hand man, Bob Byrne. At the core of the film is a triangle concerning these three; John has loved Doree for several years, Doree falls hard for Bob shortly after they meet, and Bob returns Doree’s feelings but he’s married and, as it turns out, committed to his union.
This picture has more pre-Code goodies than you can shake a stick at. Just when you think you’ve recovered from one dramatic scenario or startling bit of dialogue, along comes another. There’s the encounter between Bob and Doree the day after they meet aboard John’s yacht; Bob spies Doree taking a swim and before you can say “Fanny’s your aunt,” he’s stripping off his clothes to join her. And he’s even more intrigued when he sees that she’s removed her swimsuit: “I can’t swim with a suit on,” Doree tells him. “At least, not as fast!” (Whoa!)
On Bob and Doree’s first night on dry land, he drives her to her hotel, and while she’s changing into something more comfortable, he calls his garage and arranges for his car to be picked up. And the next morning, we see dishes from a breakfast meal that was clearly for two. Even Doree’s best friend Marion (Joan Blondell) knows the deal: “I catch on,” she says.
Speaking of Marion, she delivers one of my favorite monologues when Doree tells her that Bob’s wife is getting a divorce. “There’s a lot o’ difference between ‘getting’ and ‘got’,” she says. “Take it from me, I know these young married men. When their wives are away, they play – and how! They’ll tell you anything, they’ll make all sorts of promises. . . . But just as soon as the well-known ball and chain gets back, they creep home on their hands and knees.”
Give My Past a look – it’s airing on TCM May 6th. And let me know what you think!
Other Stuff:
Ben Lyon and Bebe Daniels got married the year before the release of My Past. This film was the second of their six pictures together. They remained married for more than 40 years, until Daniels’s death in 1971.
In the scene where Marion is warning Doree about her relationship with Bob, Doree refers to her friend as “Beatrice Fairfax.” This was the pseudonym for the real-life Marie Manning Gasch, who wrote an advice-to-the-lovelorn column in The New York Evening Journal for many years.
From the “Tell me your chauffeur is Black without telling me he’s Black” department: Marion tells Bob that she’s looking for a man and asks him if he has a good-looking chauffeur. Bob affirms that he does, but adds, “The only trouble is his name is Thomas Jefferson Washington Lee and he hails from New Orleans.” (“Curses,” Marion responds.) Wow.
During a golf outing, Doree is carrying a book of Bob’s. When she places the book on a table, we see that it’s Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 mystery novel, The Maltese Falcon. Bebe Daniels would star with Ricardo Cortez in the first film adaptation of the book that same year.
Shadowy Pick: May 16th
May 16th is National Classic Movie Day, which celebrates films from the silents to the 1970s. And on that great day this year, TCM is screening seven first-rate noirs:
Pitfall (1948). Lizabeth Scott stars as a model who gets involved with a married (and bored with his life) insurance adjuster (Dick Powell) and a psychopathic private dick (Raymond Burr).
The Set-Up (1949). Based on a poem by Joseph Moncure March, this film takes place during a single night, centering on the Paradise City boxing arena, where aging boxer Stoker Thompson (Robert Ryan) hopes to win the evening’s bout – but doesn’t know that his manager and trainer have made a deal with a local gangster for him to take a dive.
The Maltese Falcon (1941). Humphrey Bogart is private detective Sam Spade, who finds himself entangled with a motley trio in search of the jewel encrusted bird of the film’s title.
Lady in the Lake (1947). This is my least favorite of the bunch, but it’s worth a look nonetheless. It’s filmed from the subjective camera point of view, which allows the audience to see the world as main character Phillip Marlowe (Robert Montgomery) sees it.
They Live By Night (1948). Farley Granger and Cathy O’Donnell are Bowie and Keechie, star-crossed lovers whose future is imperiled by Bowie’s inability to escape his criminal past.
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946). In the title role, Barbara Stanwyck is the head of an industrial empire, which she has expanded and enhanced since inheriting it from her aunt –who, incidentally, she killed as a youngster.
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). Based on a James M. Cain novel, this feature focuses on drifter Frank Chambers (John Garfield), who falls for the very married Cora Smith (Lana Turner) and teams with her to murder her husband.
Call in sick to work (or maybe just set your DVR, whatever) and make sure you don’t miss this shadowy septuple on May 16th!
Other Stuff:
In Pitfall, keep your eyes peeled for the scene where Dick Powell goes to see Lizabeth Scott at her job. After he parks, you can see the May Company department store in the background, located on Wilshire Blvd. That building now houses the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
Robert Ryan, who plays a boxer in The Set-Up, held the heavyweight boxing title for all four years of his attendance at Dartmouth College.
At the age of 62, Sydney Greenstreet made his big screen debut in The Maltese Falcon.
Robert Montgomery made his directorial debut on Lady in the Lake and completed the movie 19 days ahead of schedule.
Cathy O’Donnell landed the role of Keechie in They Live By Night after she was recommended by Farley Granger.
Watch for the scene in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers when Van Heflin is giving a ride to a hitchhiking sailor. That sailor is future director, producer, screenwriter – and husband of Julie Andrews – Blake Edwards.
In the novel The Postman Always Rings Twice, the character played in the film by Audrey Totter was a lion tamer. The movie’s director, Tay Garnett, filmed a scene where Totter introduces John Garfield to her cats, but it was later scrapped and the character was changed to a diner waitress.
Have a great May and check out these films – you’ll be glad you did.
shadowsandsatin 
So many great ones there, Karen. I love The Set-Up and think Robert Ryan is phenomenal in it. One of his very best performances.
I totally agree about The Set-Up, Maddy — I think it may just be my favorite Robert Ryan performance.
I too love The Set Up and a good part for Audrey Totter in one of her few sympathetic roles.
Thank you for keeping us abreast of these choice screenings!