Der Scharlatan

Nightmare Alley is a remarkable film- it hardly blinks in showing a cynical, scheming "preacher" doing his thing.Given the norms of Hollywood at the time, or almost at any time,it does give you a lot to consider.Tyrone Power is brilliant, and the movie is actually quite close to the powerful (hard to find!) novel.In the best tradition of a movie that examines the dark side of society in an effectively muckraking way, it is a rare gem. I found the movie all the more effective for the fact that while Tyrone Power is in a quite uncharacteristic role. It is obvious he is strongly committed to the film and delivers a chilling, scary, thought provoking performance. The glimpses of the brutality of contemporary circus/side show life are in themselves interesting and disquieting. It is a rare film and even rarer book, but really worth the time.

Tryone Power gave one of his finest performances in "Nightmare Alley." His off-beat role highlighted a strange and intriguing tale, and was a role which he reportedly fought hard to get, upon his return to film work following military duty.

Power proved he was capable of much more demanding parts than those normally given him. On screen most of the time, he displayed a flair for sound characterization and nuance, being endowed with an unusually fine speaking voice and diction.

Lee Garmes' cinematography and Thomas Little's set decoration are notable here, and the entire cast works in fine ensemble fashion. Only some plot details may seem a little obvious and predictable. That's probably because "Nightmare Alley" details have been copied numerous times by other film makers and, as a result, we're much more savvy now than 1947 audiences.

It was a particular treat to have an opportunity to see this film last week on a film society series in a beautiful 35mm print. The showing also reminded viewers how beautiful and effective black and white productions are, and how much they're missed.

As other commentators have noted, once you've seen this film it haunts you. The creepy carnival milieu has rarely been better done (well, Tod Browning's "Freaks" of course) but seems more wholesome than the upscale world of nightclub mentalists and corrupt psychiatrists to which Tyrone Power ascends. Joan Blondell is carnally blowzy but she's almost upstaged by the ill-starred actress Helen Walker (the duplicitous wife in Impact) as that double-crossing shrink. No one soon forgets Power's slippery climb to the top followed by his horrifying fall. This film is a true, dark classic.

Nightmare Alley is forever known in Hollywood as the film in which Tyrone Power made a total break with his typecast image, playing a completely evil and ultimately weak individual. Post World War II, Power made it clear to Darryl Zanuck that he was looking to expand his range as an actor. Zanuck reluctantly allowed him to do this film. He usually indulged his favorite at the studio. Of course he also had a backup plan just in case Nightmare Alley was a bust.

Well critically it wasn't a bust, Power got deservedly rave reviews for his portrayal of small time hustler and carnival sharpie Stan Carlisle. Power had a variation on his previous roles, he was either a straight out hero as in The Mark Of Zorro, Lloyds Of London, or The Razor's Edge. More often he was a combination hero/heel as in Blood And Sand, The Black Swan or A Yank In The RAF most of all in Rose Of Washington Square, probably the closest part to Stan Carlisle he had played before. Still he was never as unredeemingly evil as in Nightmare Alley on screen until his last completed film, Witness For The Prosecution.

Power is working in a small time carnival where Joan Blondell and Ian Keith have a mind reading act with a good code between them that allows Keith to pull some really strange and good answers out of left field. Power would like to learn it and does after Keith dies when he gets into some wood alcohol. Power then teams with Blondell.

He's forced to marry innocent young Coleen Gray when circus strongman Mike Mazurki thinks he's ruined her reputation. But even with the inconvenience of a wife, Power has his eyes on bigger game. He gets a mind reading act going at a swank Chicago nightclub and then partners with Helen Walker who is a quack psychologist.

Ty Power was great in the role, no question about that, but 1947 must have been a great year for scheming women. Helen Walker never gets the credit she's due for her part. She's every bit as bad as Power and more than up to whatever games he's playing. Her part is very similar to Jane Greer's in Out Of The Past which also came out in 1947.

The critics loved Power in Nightmare Alley, but 20th Century Fox took a big loss from it because the public wouldn't accept Power in so evil a role. Darryl Zanuck absolutely knew this would happen so he hedged his bets a little by withholding from release Captain From Castile, a big budget spectacular where you'll Tyrone Power at his most noble and heroic on screen without a bit of heel shading. That came out within six weeks of Nightmare Alley and Power's fans were appeased.

Power's character was a man essentially out of his depth in going for the big con. But as an actor in Nightmare Alley he expanded his range beyond anything anyone ever expected from him. Now Nightmare Alley is considered a cinema classic and box office bust that it was, it remained a personal favorite among Tyrone Power's films.

Though Darryl Zanuck preferred to forget the experience.

It's odd that I'd never heard of this film--I pride myself in my knowledge of movies from that era. Now, after seeing it, I really wonder why it's not among the more famous films of the later 1940s, as it's very slickly and intelligently written.

The DVD box advertises it as part of Twentieth Century Fox's "Film Noir" collection, and this is a tad deceiving. While it does have some elements of Noir, to me this isn't a noir film. Yes, there's some of the snappy and gritty Noir dialog, but only a bit. And while there is some crime in the film, it's not murder or robbery (the usual Noir themes), but fraud. But, I still think lovers of that genre will appreciate the film. What stands out most in my mind was the wonderful and well thought-out plot as well as the acting of Tyrone Power. The writers made this movie with a complex and engaging plot as well as a lot of terrific symbolism. Power, instead of his usual "nice guy" image, plays a despicable man--almost as rotten as the guy he played in the wonderful WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION. Tyrone is a sociopathic con man who has no compunction about using those around him to get rich. Lying, stealing and conning are not usually the sort of behaviors I'd expect to see from the man--he did a much better job than I expected playing such a despicable rogue.

As far as describing the plot goes, it was rather reminiscent of Claude Rains' film THE CLAIRVOYANT as a starting point, but then morphs into a film highly reminiscent of ELMER GANTRY. A fine, fine film that I heartily recommend to all.