Quand le rideau tombe

"The Velvet Touch" is a wonderful film starring Rosalind Russell as a glamorous Broadway star, Valerie Stanton, who accidentally kills her boyfriend-producer.

The movie's dialogue is sophisticated and so is its New York theater atmosphere - the parties, the clothes, the rivalries, and the lush theater itself which looks like the real thing, but is an elaborate set. Russell's costars include Sydney Greenstreet, Claire Trevor, and Leon Ames. Greenstreet's portrayal of the clever police detective is excellent, and you can see where he would get on Russell's frayed nerves. Trevor, as a rival of Valerie's, gives a marvelous performance. There is a clever juxtaposition between the film's plot and the play in which Valerie Stanton is appearing, Hedda Gabler. I've always considered this movie an unsung gem.

As always, Rosalind Russell gives a superb performance in "The Velvet Touch." She gets a lot of great support from veteran pro Claire Trevor, who is on to her as well as Leo Genn and Leon Ames.

As Valerie Stanton, an ambitious actress who knows her craft quite well, Russell etched a memorable portrait of a woman bent on self-destruction. She knows that she can switch from comedy to drama and she will do anything to prove the point. Of course, killing Ames is by accident, but it happened and she did cover it up.

Genn loves her as tragically reveals that he knows what she has done.

Sidney Greenstreet plays the police inspector with that Peter Falk-like Columbo attitude. He is polite but yet knows that something is amiss with Valerie.

Leave it to Roz Russell to play that ending scene while waiting in the wings is Greenstreet. He is ready to escort her to a new destination. Yet, he allows her to take her final bows. Bravo!

Sydney Greenstreet and his loud, frequent guffaw (6 years after Maltese Falcon and Casablanca) plays Captain Danbury trying to track down a murderer, with a few twists and turns. Viewers will recognize Gordon Dunning, played by Leon Ames, who often had roles of authority, -- the sheriff, the DA, the commissioner, the captain on a ship. Rosalind Russell (10 years after playing Sylvia Fowler in "The Women") plays Valerie Stanton, a stage actress ( although Agnes Moorhead would also have been PERFECT for this role). Leo Genn, Claire Trevor (Key Largo, The High & Mighty), Frank McHugh, and Walter Kingsford also play very believable characters. Note also Theresa Harris, the dresser, who was also in "The Women" with RR. Good solid story from 1948, no obvious plot-holes.

The murder mystery genre is carried out here well by some capable, veteran Hollywood regulars. While this was not Rosalind Russell's high point (that occurred in the film "Auntie Mame" ten years after this one was made), she does acquit herself well as the diva restless to go her own way and thus finds herself in a trap of her own making. The police detective captain played by Sydney Greenstreet is right up there with his unforgettable presence in the "Maltese Falcon" but here he parries the dialog with oiled charm in contrast to La Russel's soigne bearing of hateur a la the 'grande dame' actress she portrays. While the cast is uniformly good, and the story told in an unconventional way, it is not these things that stand out for me, since such a setting of a murder in a theatre was done before in such as the "G-string Murders" and others.

What does stand out for this film, however, is the background of a truly sumptuous theatre that you would swear was the real thing. Since I write about the draperies and passementeries used in theatres (as a member of the Theatre Historical Society of America), I was anxious to learn just where this monument with its gorgeous textiles was, and inquired of the American Film Institute through their web site. Their librarian graciously replied from their "AFI Catalog of Feature Films" that the theatre building was in fact a very elaborate set (said to be the largest and most elaborate to date)! They quote articles in the "Hollywood Reporter" of 1947 and '48 as their source of the details of this 1-1/2 million dollar film. The multi-swaged Grand Drapery and the stage's House Curtain with its 3-foot appliqued border above a 2-foot fringe is but an example of the gorgeous textiles they had created for presumably just this one use, along with all the elaborate decor and detailing. The attention to detail was so great that it is still hard to believe that one is not in a real building! Such work today would command many millions more dollars, but I guess that Hollywood could not arrange to get a suitable New York 'Broadway' theatre for rent for the filming at the right price and time, so they splurged on this set which is among several other good ones in the film. For those who appreciate movie settings as much as the story and acting, this one will please you.

The Velvet Touch is directed by Jack Gage and collectively written by Leo Rosten, Walter Reilly, William Mercer and Annabel Ross. It stars Rosalind Russell, Leo Genn, Claire Trevor, Sydney Greenstreet and Leon Ames. Music is by Leigh Harline and cinematography by Joseph Walker.

Ah, now then, is this a murder mystery in reverse? At the beginning we are shown the crime of murder, so we know the main character is guilty. The rest of the picture thrives on if Valerie Stanton (Russell) will either get caught by the law, own up, or become a victim of crime herself? The screenplay contains a flashback and that grand old devil of someone else being pegged for the murder. There's witticisms abound, with some wonderfully choice lines delivered with relish, while the cast turn in decent shows - Greenstreet doesn't show up till the 45 minute mark, but promptly waddles in and steals the film!

Set to the background of the theatre it's unsurprising to find this is something of a theatrical drama rather than a film noir of the era. It has found its way into a couple of film noir reference books, without really being film noir as such. Certainly the photography is appealing to noir fans, and there's a dark passage of play that definitely comes out of noirville, but really it's a marginal entry. But hey! It's still a very good film that's recommended. 7/10