Nobody Lives Forever

This is certainly not one of John Garfield's more famous films and it's very possible you have never heard of it or seen it. It is about a con man who finds a rich woman who he intends to swindle. And, due to his smooth and effortless way of lying and ingratiating himself, she soon falls head over heels for the rat! However, despite his supposed heart of stone, he finds that he really does care for the woman and can't bring himself to hurt her. This is a serious problem, as Garfield's cohorts are definitely NOT nice people and he knows they will kill him if he double-crosses them.

This film is a satisfying mix of romance and film noir that deserves a chance.

A very usual plot covers this story. A manipulator wants to fleece a wealthy widow but falls for her instead. The problem is that he had made previous commitments with other hoods to take this woman for a ride.

John Garfield is perfect as Nick. He falls for Mrs.Halverson, a wonderful Geraldine Fitzgerald.

The gang is in top form with Walter Brennan as Pop, George Coulouris'Doc is excellent. By the way, for a hood Coulouris speaks very well and in fact sounds like a very educated person in some scenes. George Tobias really provides some comic relief, but in a straight role as Nick's sidekick.

You wonder why the Fitzgerald character can't fall in love with her financial adviser, nicely played by Richard Gaines. The two seem to be a perfect match but I guess there would be no story if that occurred.

Faye Emerson is the dame that Nick had previously hooked up with. She is a real hot number here. Few realize that in real life she had been married to Eliot Roosevelt, FDR's son.

This is a great film about an Ex-Gi named Nick Blake, (John Garfield) who goes back to New York City and gets back with his gal, Toni Blackburn, (Faye Emerson) who is a very attractive blonde gal. Nick soon finds out that the $50,000 dollars he gave her is gone and was given to her new boyfriend. Nick manages to get his money back and heads to Los Angeles and starts his con-artist career all over again. Nick travels with his sidekick, Al Doyle, (George Tobias) who is his bodyguard and good friend. Nick meets up with an old buddy of his named Pop Gruber, (Walter Brennan) who tells him about a very rich woman who is a widow and named Gladys Halvorsen, (Geraldine Fitzgerald). Gladys has a fortune of 2 million dollars and Nick decides to become much closer to this gal. This is when the story gets very involved and you will never be able to figure out how this film will end. Faye Emerson was the wife of famous band leader, Skitch Henderson in real life and she gave a great supporting role. Enjoyed the great acting by veteran actor Walter Brennan and last but least, John Garfield.

Nobody Lives Forever (1946)

This is a quirky but good film. If technically a film noir in tone and structure, it largely lacks the darkness of intention in any of the main characters. Part of this comes from the casting—John Garfield is just too sweet a guy to pull off a devious, malicious scammer, and Walter Brennan as the sidekick couldn't appear evil if he tried.

There are some classic noir elements which make the movie fun, like a nightclub (and nightclub owner), a femme fatale (played with restraint by Faye Emerson), and a host of thugs who are convincing (this is Warner Bros. after all). The main plot is a kind of crime romance, where Garfield, an ex-con man playing a returning soldier, has half an intention to go straight but then gets roped into one last big scam. The victim is a rich young widow, and as Garfield goes after his mark he naturally falls in love. The people backing Garfield have a stake in his success and they don't like what's going on—he could just marry the widow and they'd be left in the cold.

So there is a turning of who is against who in the scenario. And this matters, but a lot of the first half of the movie is about the growing romance between the two leads. And it doesn't quite take off. I suppose it was important to make this widow a straight up type, a "good" woman," but casting Geraldine Fitzgerald made sure the chemistry would be restrained. You do want these two very nice people to make it, but it's not spiked with anxiety enough, or dreamy highs enough, to make you quite get swept away.

Where it gets interesting is when the thugs get in the way. The plot takes some terrific twists, and there are some some terrific atmospheric scenes at a pier in the second half of the movie, with large pumps running and the mist rolling by at night. People's better natures are revealed. A tragedy for one man becomes a lesson for our leading couple.

Director Jean Negulesco, though not as well known as a dozen of his contemporaries, made a series of strong, highly dramatic movies after the war that are often worth watching just for their moods. Here he uses legendary cinematographer Arthur Edeson ("Casablanca," "Frankenstein") to make this mood memorable and visually stunning. Throw in the usual high standards of Hollywood, and Warner Bros., at the time and you have a lot of why this movie, whatever its flaws, is still completely absorbing. Well worth watching.

Geraldine Fitzgerald gets the glamor treatment here as a young widow about to be bilked by ex-soldier John Garfield in this post-war film. Both stars give wonderful performances and are ably supported by a neat cast consisting of Walter Brennan, Faye Emerson, George Coulouris, George Tobias, and Richard Gaines. Garfield, an experienced con man, comes back from the war changed. Drawn into a scheme to con a rich widow, he finds himself falling for her instead.

The stars are lovely together, and the film has a rich atmosphere throughout, each setting clearly defining the moment. The nightclub scenes evoke the '40s postwar feeling, the California scenes are bright and sunny, and the scenes on the pier are spooky and dense with fog. A very good film.