Stingaree

Based on a story by "Raffles" creator E. W. Hornung (brother-in-law of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle), directed by William A. Wellman and promoted as reuniting Irene Dunne (billed first this time) and Richard Dix from the cast of RKO's blockbuster "Cimarron," "Stingaree" is a ridiculous film but also an enjoyable one if you don't take it too seriously. True, it doesn't play to Wellman's strengths as a director (as the awesome, woefully underrated "Safe in Hell" had done a year earlier) or to Irene Dunne's talents as a comedienne, but her singing (her own voice; she was a fully trained operatic mezzo-soprano and had auditioned for the Met before signing with RKO) is gorgeous. Plot-wise this seems like a beta version of a Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy film — all it needed was a male star who could sing (or a voice double for Richard Dix) — and though the promise of the first reel that it was going to be "Cimarron" in Australia was not fulfilled, it was still a lot of fun. Incidentally, I wondered if any of it was inspired by the life of real-life diva Nellie Melba, the first international opera star to come from Australia. (There's been at least one other since: Joan Sutherland.)

Or perhaps "The Phantom of the Opera, Down Under" with a dash of Cinderella thrown in for good measure.

This is one of six RKO films that were buried in rights problems that Turner Classic Movies managed to resurrect and show back in 2007, with the rights having been resolved by their legal department. Only this one is less than excellent.

Of course, Irene Dunne has a great singing voice. She was the songbird of the RKO lot in the 1930s, but this was just a terrible vehicle for her talents.

There are some good individual performances. The looks on Henry Stephenson's face were priceless. Also, how was little RKO able to get Reginald Owen for what was basically an uncredited cameo? This film falls into several categories - adventure, romance, comedy, musical. If RKO had left out the music and concentrated on one or a couple of the other genres it might have worked.

Australia, 1874. The famous bandit Stingaree is in the neighborhood; the prominent London music producer, Sir Julian Kent, is also visiting. Everyone is excited:

Mrs. Clarkson (Mary Boland), the nutty (and annoying) lady of the vast Clarkson estate, is determined that she will impress Sir Julian with her singing. Mr. Clarkson (Henry Stephenson) is not so sure, but he is curious to see the famous Stingaree.

Servant girl Hilda dreams of singing for Sir Julian herself—but Mrs. Clarkson is banishing her to the neighbors' during his visit. Hilda is crestfallen….might Sir Julian have been her once chance of escape from this lonely life?

Irene Dunne is wonderful as Hilda, and her performance makes this picture worthwhile. When she sits down at the piano, thinking herself alone, and sings—what a beautiful song, and scene.

Richard Dix is rugged yet refined as Stingaree, the dashing and notorious outlaw. He excels at disguises, takes bold risks…and has a keen appreciation for music. One very exciting moment: he's leaving in a hurry, cops in pursuit — he races toward the front door — sees Dunne standing there — picks her up in his arms and carries her off with him!

Andy Devine plays it fairly straight as Stingaree's loyal sidekick, Howie. (Neither Dix nor Devine attempts to sound remotely Australian or English, by the way—with the exception of Devine's hilarious phony accent when helping set up a robbery.) Conway Tearle is the devoted and reliable Sir Julian—it's a good performance but the role doesn't offer much except bland sincerity and mild passion.

The plot is outrageously silly—a suave criminal with a musical ear finds a girl in the sticks who sings like an angel and he risks life and limb to promote her career.

Nevertheless, the picture certainly has its moments. It's not every 1930s operetta-style musical that is highlighted by its songs, at least not to my taste…but Irene Dunne's singing really is most excellent, and she creates a character we do want to cheer for. A couple of neat plot turns offer pleasant surprises right up to the rather abrupt but satisfying ending.

Odd—but entertaining.

Richard Dix and Irene Dunne, both from Cimarron, star in this very strange little film about an opera-loving outlaw on the run. Richard Dix happens to meet Irene Dunne and hears her sing. When Mary Boland (who is a total hoot as a self-absorbed patron of the arts and herself), from Greer Garson's Pride and Prejudice, won't let her audition for an influential friend, but only sings herself in her own off-key and shrill way, Dix fixes it so that Irene can audition for the V.I.P., despite the fact he puts himself at risk in doing so. As usual, Dix likes to ham it up, but endears himself at the same time. Ms. Dunne has never sung better in some very dramatic songs. And, what this film may lack in some technical ways and by feeling rather dated and old, it makes up for in originality and presentation. Overall, I liked it, despite its flaws and its incredibly unrealistic ending! Just go with the flow with Stingaree!

The red flags went up the moment I spotted William A. Wellman's name as the director of this hybrid western/musical which has RICHARD DIX as an Australian bandit named "Stingaree" who also happens to be a noticeably ungifted song writer responsible for some of the numbers IRENE DUNNE is forced to sing in this film. He's a bandit who finances the career of a pretty operatic singer. (One number, in particular, gets quite a tiresome workout from Dunne's quavering soprano).

Wellman's name is usually associated with much sturdier material than he has here--films like WINGS, BEAU GESTE and THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY. On the other hand, STINGAREE is not a formulaic musical so perhaps he knew what he was getting into.

While Miss Dunne is one of my favorite actresses (and I know she was chosen to play Magnolia in James Whale's SHOW BOAT), she has never been one of my favorite sopranos and this film didn't change my mind at all. Indeed, the film itself does nobody any great favor because the plodding script goes off in so many different directions, you're never quite sure whether it's meant to be serious or comic. Only when ANDY DEVINE and MARY BOLAND give out with some non-subtle comic relief in supporting roles can we be sure what the intentions are.

Let's just say that not every film that turns up on TCM's "lost and found" package of RKO films deserves to be resurrected--nor are they necessarily classics, so to speak. STINGAREE is one of them, best forgotten as an outmoded and lumbersome sort of film easily ignored unless you happen to be an ardent admirer of either Miss Dunne or Mr. Dix, both of whom have done better work elsewhere.

Dunne excelled in the '30s and '40s as a woman who was usually one step ahead of, and smarter than, the man (a more feminine version of the characters Katharine Hepburn often played). As the ingenue of a mixed up western, she's not exactly in her element and Richard Dix (even with a mustache) is just as hard to believe as a bandit as Nelson Eddy was in THE GIRL OF THE GOLDEN WEST. At least he and Jeanette had some good songs to sing.

For comic relief, we have reliables like ANDY DEVINE, MARY BOLAND (a stridently over-mannered performance), HENRY STEPHENSON and UNA O'CONNOR on hand, but nothing really helps.

Summing up: A curious misfire that must have had a target audience once upon a time in pre-code 1934, but that audience no longer exists outside a small clique who love anything made in the '30s, whether good, bad or indifferent, as long as TCM presents it. The title song sounds suspiciously like a Rudolf Friml reject.

Trivia note: Dunne and Dix were both better received in CIMARRON made three years earlier and without music.