Tête chaude

In this hammy melodrama from Warner Brothers and director Alfred E. Green, Italian immigrant "Mama" Teresa Lorenzo (Marjorie Rambeau) struggles to raise her son Joe on her own. Despite the hardship, she even agrees to adopt Joe's orphaned, homeless friend Nick. As the boys grow into men, Nick (William Lundigan) stays on the straight and narrow, graduating from college. Meanwhile, Joe (John Garfield) has fallen into a life of crime, which he keeps secret from Mama. When Joe returns home with new girlfriend Laurie (Brenda Marshall), the stage is set for conflict as Nick falls for the gal, too.

This is yet another substandard film that Garfield had to endure, and this one is further hampered by some bad acting and a cliche script. Rambeau is just terrible as the stereotypical "Mama", sporting one of the most exaggerated phony accents ever committed to celluloid. George Tobias, too,lays it on thick, but one expects that of his generally boisterous performances. Marshall makes for a bland leading lady, and I had a hard time figuring out why both guys went crazy over her.

A disappointing screenplay hurt my full enjoyment of seeing John Garfield, one of my favorite actors. He behaves badly most of the time, so I found it hard to accept his rather sudden transformation into a self-sacrificing angel because his mother (Marjorie Rambeau) lectures him. He hadn't listened to her before, so why did he start? Similarly, Brenda Marshall, who we hear at the start was forging signatures on checks, is also transformed after she gets the taste of family life with Rambeau and falls in love with Garfield's adopted brother, William Lundigan. These plot elements didn't ring true. But worse, the final behavior of the revenge-seeking gangsters, led by Douglas Fowley, was too stupid to be believed, although it did create some suspense.

The acting wasn't too bad. I got used to the thick (but understandable) Italian accents of both Rambeau and George Tobias, both of whom were very good. So is the child actor, Joe Conti, who plays Garfield as a boy. The rest of the cast did what they could with the material, but the film must have been very heavily edited. As one who is interested in credits, I noticed that Charley Foy never appeared, and both Robert Homans and Jimmy O'Gatty are barely seen and have non-speaking roles. All three get onscreen credit, while other actors with large speaking parts are uncredited. The three must have had good agents.

Director of Union Depot and Baby Face, Alfred E. Green guides an accomplished cast in a crime-oriented feature worth watching. Garfield commands the screen but the irrepressible Brenda Marshall earns our attention and affection. Marshall is on the lam from charges in Nevada, is smarter than Garfield and is the long distance love of his life. Released from prison he has unfinished business that takes him away from her. Garfield's moment of truth comes in a memorable scene with Marjorie Rambeau, who plays his mother. A noted Broadway actress since 1913 and in movies since 1917, she stops this show with her own unexpected dominance. The familiar George Tobias is her partner in setting a positive tone. Lundigan shows some real emotion in a lesser role.

It is 1927 New York City. Joey Lorenzo is a kid who gets into trouble. He and his friend Nick batter a railroad worker. The cops track them down. The Judge is ready to send them both to reform school. Joey's mom convinces the Judge to give them a second chance and she agrees to take on the orphan Nick. Nick grows up to be a great student and the perfect son. On the other hand, Joe Lorenzo (John Garfield) grows up to be a bad student and a criminal although his mother doesn't know that part. He comes home with his criminal girlfriend Laurie Romayne.

This idea of a triangle upon a triangle is interesting. It's the two boys and their mother in one. The other one is the boys with the girl. I never really felt for Nick or quite frankly Laurie although her progression is more interesting. Big momma is doing big momma things and she dominates. As for Garfield, he does fine as the urban hood. I believe it sometimes. I'm not sure about the ending, but that's kind of a Hollywood safe ending. All in all, I like some parts and less with other parts.

Gotta admit it, no studio was as good at making crime movies as Warner Brothers during the 1930's. With Cagney, Bogie, and, here, John Garfield, there were fewer actors at any one studio who were as good at being bad. And that's what makes "East of the River" so watchable. The performances help to turn what's basically a routine crime drama into a watchable, second-string noir treasure.

As to the basic plot, that's been done again and again in endless variations. Warners even used it at least a half a dozen times. Boyhood best friends/brothers get into some sort of juvenile scrape. One goes "good," the other "bad." Both meet years later and thereby hangs the tale. However, when the boys are played by Garfield and popular 30's second-lead William Lundigan and the girl they both love by Brenda (Mrs. William Holden) Marshall, the good performances that result raise the story above the standard clichés. Almost as good, albeit with a lot of stock "Italian" mannerisms ("You a good-a boy!"), is Marjorie Rambeau as the boys' mother. Rambeau was one of those actresses who could shine in a broom closet, playing either the star's mother or a world-weary chippie (Catch her her in 1931's "The Secret Six" sometime) with equal finesse, transcending whatever stereotyped qualities may have been in the script. Also excellent are old Warners standby George Tobias as an excitable "Italian" waiter, Douglas Fowley as a particularly despicable heavy, and Moroni Olsen playing yet another of the authority figure roles he always did so well.

Okay, "East of the River" may not be in the same league with "Little Caesar," "The Public Enemy," "Angels with Dirty Faces," or even "You Can't Get Away with Murder." What it IS, though, is an excellent little (75 minutes) crime melodrama of the old school that is definitely worth a look.