I'm Still Alive

Over in Trivia there is this little note: Actress Helen Twelvetrees sued, claiming that the film was based on her life story. She won her case.

It would have taken a really bad lawyer to lose the case. RKO was on record of making the claim. On page six of the pressbook sent to the theatre exhibitors, there was a long publicity story , for use in local newspapers when the film was showing in their towns. It told of the many stunt men who were involved (in actual roles and stunts) on "I'm Still Alive." Mentioned were Allen Pomeroy. George Magrill, Cliff Bergere, Art Dupuis, Cy Slocom and several others. And, about half-way through the long ready-to-be printed (and it was) story was this paragraph from RKO's publicity department: "Strangely enough, every one of them is married, and most of them own their own homes. It is a fetish with these men who lead such hazardous lives to run no bills, to pay cash for everything they buy. They had fun on the picture which, they say, is based on a true story of one of their number, the romance a few years ago between the former star, Helen Twelvetrees, and stuntman Jack Woody."

She might have overlooked it. if they hadn't called her a former star.

... because little RKO just didn't have the star power and budget to put much energy, excitement, or depth to this story. And yes, Katharine Hepburn as the big star would have made this film much better, but RKO had already deemed her box office poison, mainly because of their own awful scripts, and sent her packing to MGM, where the next ten years would prove her to be otherwise. But I digress.

This is the tale of a Hollywood stuntman, (Kent Tayler as Steve Bennett) who first feuds with then falls in love with and marries a big star (Linda Hayes as Laura Marley). Then, AFTER the ceremony, AFTER she sees Steve do his first big stunt post nuptials, THEN Laura pouts until he gives up the profession he loves and becomes a bit actor - and a mediocre one at that - in Laura's films. His first reaction is - "Well, I couldn't keep doing this the rest of my life." That is true. But he needed to come to that realization on his own schedule. And surely Laura must have noticed that all of her dates with Steve involved adventurous sports?

Eventually, Steve is brought down by a combination of missing his old profession, feeling he is under the thumb of his influential wife, and an accident on the set for which he blames himself because he was not the experienced guy doing the stunt. I'll let you see yourself how this paint by numbers plot pans out.

This film has a few things that recommend it. First, RKO has found its own Asta in Skip as Laura's dog that actually brings the feuding couple together in the first place. Second, there is the bar - "The Graveyard" - where all of the Hollywood stuntmen gather for a drink that closes anytime a stunt man dies. How does such a bar stay in business with such a narrow clientele and such a gloomy name? Finally, there is a laugh out loud minute at the beginning of the film where Steve and Laura go to their "trailers" on the movie set, before they first meet. Inside each "trailer" the place looks like a dressing room complete with cheery drapes on sunny windows. But outside - they look like the big portable trash containers you rent if you are moving and need to throw away a pile of junk! It was just a great comical art direction moment in film.

Whether it was intentional or not, RKO Studios was successfully sued because of "I'm Still Alive". Apparently, the story of an actress' marriage to a stuntman was WAY too close to that of star Helen Twelvetrees and her then stuntman husband, Jack Woody. That marriage did not last...and when you watch the movie, you can certainly understand why.

Steve (Kent Taylor) just completed a deadly stunt on the film set. At the same time, obnoxious actress Laura Marley (Linda Hayes) is having a typical sort of tantrum--and Steve tells the stuck-up actress to shut up! From this inauspicious beginning is a relationship between the stuntman and actress. But the marriage is doomed...not because they don't love each other but because Laura insists Steve stop stuntwork. You can certainly understand why...but Steve is bored with just sitting around as well as letting his masculinity take a hit. Can the two somehow patch things up or is the marriage (like in the real life story) beyond repair?

Despite being a B-movie and having mostly small-time actors, this is a very good quality production. I really liked the romance (while it lasted) and having professionals like Ralph Morgan and Henry De SIlva (playing a nice guy for a change of pace) on hand to offer support, it's a terribly enjoyable film. My only complaint was the overuse of the song "Darling Clementine"....which, after a while, became tedious....but cheap for RKO to use.

By the way, in one brief scene Steve is chatting with the director, Fred. In reality Fred was the real director, Fred Niblo. And that familiar looking Fox Terrier is Asta of The Thin Man movies.

This is a rather light tale of a Hollywood stuntman that falls in love with a big name actress and still wants to pursue his risky career. The little women gives him a choice-the stunts or her. He chooses the stunts and still manages to get her. A nice inside look at how Hollywood wanted the public to think the movies were made, circa 1940.

Kent Taylor is a fine stunt man in Hollywood. Then he marries movie star Linda Hayes. She's terrified by his deadly stunts, and forces him to quit.

There's a lot to recommend this movie, from the stunts to the general ambiance of the stunt players' bar, to a cast that includes Asta and Fred Niblo (playing Fred Niblo the director). To Howard Da Silva and Ralph Morgan. Unfortunately, Miss Hayes is not very good, and there's one of those endings in which they hand wave away all the problems that have been building up for 71 of its 72 minutes. This leads me to think that screen writer Edward North had a far more tragic ending in his original screenplay. Still, for the first 71 minutes, it's pretty good.