A Última Noite de Glória

"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.

Don't miss this! The incomparable Roz, totally believable as a Broadway legend. What a delight to see her playing off the underrated, irreplaceable Claire Trevor. Clever mystery set in the environs of the theater with a real feel for atmosphere. It really seems like it was filmed on location on not on RKO soundstages. That is always one of the real treats of unappreciated the RKO product. Throw in a sly performance from Greenstreet. This one is a real gem!

This is a highly entertaining film with a great cast. Its major flaw is that Rosalind Russell was not willing to go full out villian. It was made by her production company and I assume she had her character dilluted.

It is still a fun watch.

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!

Higher production values and A list actors results in both an improvement and degradation of this so-called noir. So many great noir films possess the similar elements. But with the big budget and ambitious productions here, the tension, darkness and grit give way in this film to light, romance and big stage productions. Sure there are things to like in this movie, but let's be honest and not call it noir. Just because there is a murder, it gets lost in dream sequences which quickly abandon the crime in service of the backstory. The investigation into the murder - which often brings the real tension to noir - doesn't get started until 45 minutes into the film - thank goodness for Sydney Greenstreet. Serviceable mystery, yes. Film noir, nope.