Now I'll Tell

Rise and fall of a gambler based on the life of Arnold Rothstein from a book by his former wife. Episodic and not particularly interesting. Some nice women's costumes and Alice Faye as the girlfriend (definitely not the wife) can shake it when she gets a chance. Spencer Tracy is on screen most of the picture but can't get past the thick layer of 'crime does no pay' in the script.

If you're looking for any kind of tell all story about the legendary Twenties gambler and racketeer Arnold Rothstein, Now I'll Tell isn't the film for you. The book it was based on by his widow who was obviously wanting her late husband to be seen in the best possible light. Fox Films further obliged the widow by even changing the name of the protagonist to Murray Golden.

But as for the story of Murray Golden, his character is excellently essayed by Spencer Tracy who got few enough times at Fox to show his acting chops. Usually he was in B adventure films as a rugged hero. Here he is as amoral character as you might find in a Warner Brothers classic gangster film. In fact had the film been made at Warner Brothers the lead would have been perfect for James Cagney.

There are two women in Tracy's life, his loyal wife Helen Twelvetrees and his sexy mistress Alice Faye. Twelvetrees sticks by Spence until the affair is really tossed in her face. As her character wrote the book on which the film is based we see the film through her eyes.

As for Alice Faye this was her second film, her first George White's Scandals had not yet been released when she was shooting this one. Faye is in her platinum blond Jean Harlow period and she's given a really outstanding song in this film which both reflects her personal life and character in the film, Fooling With The Other Woman's Man by Harry Akst and Lew Brown. Alice even got to record it, she did some records of her early film songs before Darryl Zanuck put the Kibosh on his musical stars doing records.

At the time of the film Faye was gaining more notoriety for being named as a co-respondent in a divorce proceeding of Rudy Vallee and one of his wives. Alice was a female vocalist for Vallee's Connecticut Yankees Orchestra and when Rudy was signed to appear in the aforementioned George White Scandals film version, Alice got to appear as well. Fox executives liked what they saw and Vallee who was usually not one to let a chance to make a nickel go by, let Faye out of her contract with him to sign with Fox. Maybe it was for old times or past good times sake, but the rest is history.

In a biography of Alice Faye she mentions that she was awed by Spencer Tracy's acting ability, but put off by his drinking and the crude passes he made at her. Tracy was going through a bad time of it in his marriage, but it didn't effect his performance on screen an iota.

Up to this point I haven't seen too many of Spencer Tracy's Fox films, but of the few I have seen this is one of the best, could be ranked in with some of his best work at MGM.

Regardless of the antecedents of plot to actual persons living or dead, this film exudes power from the performances, especially those of Spencer Tracy and his wife in film, Helen Twelvetrees, the latter rather a forgotten star for a brief period in the early 1930's; the famous Tracy intensity glows off his performance as a incorrigible gambler, whose charge comes from the challenge, not the win, and who neglects his wife in so many ways--among them an almost public fling with Alice Faye; the latter home-town blonde of the late 1930's here as a blowsy, blonde-out-of-a-bottle good time girl who creates a permanent rift in Tracy's marriage. For film fans, there is a delightful cast of vintage character actors, Hobart Cavanaugh being a particular standout, and little Miss Shirley Temple making a brief appearance kissing her Daddy The Honest Judge goodnight. Twelvetrees is handed the heavy melodrama, but handles most of it well, particularly as the plot develops, exuding a sort of Lillian Gish quality of loving forgiveness. Yes, it's pre-code melodrama, and most of the plot can be predicted, but I found the honesty of the performances and the interaction of the characters, mixed with a good deal of local color (street performers, brassy night club singers, boxers on the take) made the film fascinating, if not a classic. One hopes that the Fox archives will get ahold of it and make a decent print--and release it in a box of early Spencer Tracy at Fox films.

"Now I'll Tell You" was a bit familiar and a bit of a rerun. It mirrored several gambler/gangster movies of that era. The formula is known. A gambler starts small, makes it big, and takes a fall.

Murray Golden (Spencer Tracy) was a small-time gambler who was as crooked as the day is long. If he could fix a fight, a race, or a roulette wheel, he would do it. He started as a nickel-and-dime gambler and worked is way up to a big shot.

He was also lucky. And he attributed his luck to his gilded wife, Virginia (Helen Twelvetrees). She was in love with Murray, and even though she disdained his lifestyle, she couldn't leave him. He kept her stored away in a nice apartment while he tended to his gambling and catted around with his side piece Peggy Warren (Alice Faye). Virginia was so tucked away and so trusting that the entire outside world knew about Peggy while Virginia was clueless. Peggy was his outside woman, whom he saw more of than his own wife, while Virginia was his homebound woman whom he could not dispense with. As much as he lied to and cheated on Virginia, he would do anything for her (except stop cheating and gambling).

That's always a funny line: "I'll do anything for you." Most of the time the people who say that don't fully mean it. Like the Meatloaf lyrics:

"I'll do anything for love, but I won't do that."

Golden would do anything for Virginia except the two things she wanted most of all for him to do. I guess love has its limits.

"Now I'll Tell You" wasn't anything special. It was fairly rote and lacked anything distinguishable. Fox Film Corp went with a flat movie that was probably considered safe and easy. Spencer Tracy isn't going to float anyone's boat, but he was a known face, and Helen Twelvetrees (the little we saw of her) was more of a second tier actress; recognizable enough, but not a very big star. If there was any good reason to watch this movie, it was for the sixty seconds or so of Shirley Temple. Who can resist her smile?

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Spencer Tracy stars as Murray Golden, a compulsive gambler who is very good at his craft. Virginia (Helen Twelvetrees) is inexplicably in love with him and agrees to marry him. However, most of their marriage, Murray is gambling or running around with his floozy, Peggy (Alice Faye)...yet still Virginia loves him and listens to his many promises he never keeps. At one point, he promises to stop gambling when he makes $200,000...and doesn't. Then, he amasses nearly $650,000 during the 1910s...and yet he doesn't quit. It's obvious Murray is hooked and can't stop and this will end up being the case until he falls flat on his face...which, ultimately, has to happen. You just can't winning or cheating on your wife forever, can you?

There is a major problem with this film that keeps it from being a really good film. Despite good acting (after all, it stars Spencer Tracy), the main character is despicable...no two ways about it. He is an amoral liar...and how can they expect the audience to care about him in the least?! To make things worse, the ending drags on WAY too long.