Une femme survint

Flesh is the story of two people who would seem to be unlikely alliances. This is just one example of how films in the golden days of Hollywood center on character and how they relate to each other to further the plot rather than action or violence. There is something natural or humanely real and raw about this film. That's probably why it's called Flesh. But it's not centering on lust or sex, like today's films would, with Flesh for its title. This is about the basic need to give and receive love and acceptance to each other, even in the last place you'd look. If you're looking for an intelligent film about human relationships and don't mind the early 1930s look of black-and-white, this film shows Karen Morley, a vastly underrated actress and largely forgotten today, and Wallace Beery at their best. This could very well be Ms. Morley's finest hour in films. To not see this film would be missing a lesson in love.

Only really remembered these days because the Coen Brothers paid homage to it as the title of the screenplay being written by the title character in Barton Fink, Flesh is another nearly forgotten Ford film in his very busy 30s period that definitely doesn't deserve to be overlooked. It's a combination of drama and comedy that rather deftly integrated together with a winning central performance from Wallace Beery.

Beery plays Polakai, a German wrestler who meets the young American woman Laura (Karen Morley). She's alone in Germany, just released from a German jail, with no money and orders a plate of food she can't afford because she was expecting the associate of her imprisoned beau Nicky (Ricardo Cortez) to show up and help her. Polakai hears of her troubles as the manager of the restaurant is about to take her to the police and pays for her meal. Because she's still alone and without money, she latches onto him. He takes her back to his flat, offers her the bedroom, and retreats to his living room in wonderfully entertaining fashion. He's unable to get the lock of the door to work, so be breaks through the door and squeezes through to the other side.

Polakai is just a good guy, and he treats Laura extremely well. Giving her a place to live and food to eat. It's obvious that she is beginning to fall for him, but she can't quite throw herself at him. He may be a big, lovable lug, but she has a secret. Meanwhile, Polakai's friends decides to move to America, and they promise to send for Polakai when they are settled. At the same time, Laura discovers where Polakai hides his stash of cash and tries to steal it for Nicky to get him out of jail. Polakai discovers her, and she covers by saying that Nicky is her brother. Polakai, being a nice and gullible man, offers up the money for Nicky.

All of this is told in light fashion, using comedy and just the right amount of drama to sell Polakai's character. Karen Morley probably goes a bit too far into melodrama (especially in the film's final reel), but it's Wallace Beery's portrayal of the wonderfully good-natured Polakai that makes it work.

Nicky arrives, and then quickly skips out on Laura when she reveals to him that she got out of prison because she's pregnant with his child. That leaves her alone with Polakai, who has proposed to her several times. Together, as husband and wife, they head to America to pursue his ascending wrestling career. With a child and wife that he loves, he's ready to take on America. Nicky shows up again with an offer to manage Polakai, but Nicky takes Polakai directly into to seedier side of professional sports, introducing him to a gangster who wants Polakai to throw fights when necessary.

This is where the movie moves decidedly from a lightly comic telling of a story with a strong central character into a drama with Polakai needing to choose between his pride and providing for his family. He ends up taking the deal, happy to take part in the ascension to fame, but he knows that the fall is going to come at some point. The ending straddles the line between cliché, melodrama, and straight drama, but it's buoyed by Beery. His goodness carries him through his final challenges, mistakes, and fate.

The only thing keeping me back from giving this a full four stars is the final reel. Morley just goes too far into melodramatic acting, and the final plot turn goes from interestingly oblique to kind of tired. It's relatively minor stuff considering the whole of the picture but just enough to hold me back slightly in praise.

Outside of that, this is a surprisingly strong film. Confidently and quietly directed with a wonderful central performance and an ending that elegantly brings together everything in one place, Flesh is a completely forgotten film in Ford's output from the 30s that really does deserve some revisitation and re-evaluation.

It's sometimes hard to find John Ford's touch here.This is a pure melodrama that recalls Stahl's works:the German side is also present in "back street" released the same year.The characters are close to Marcel Pagnol's ones (see" Angèle"(1934),"la fille du puisatier"(1941))It does not matter if the action takes place in Germany ,in NYC or in Provence:unmarried mothers abound in Pagnol's movies.Wallace Beery's character reminds me of Fernandel's parts:both are good guys,naive with a very strong heart.

Actually ,Ford's touch can be felt when it gets to wrestling scenes.We find back his great moral stature ,his values,when Beery shows his dislike for the "I tell you when you win and I tell you when you lose" thing.This might have influenced other directors for better (the set- up,Robert Wise,1949)or for worse(Rocky,Alvidsen,1977).

Wallace Beery is undeniably the stand-out,but the supporting cast is excellent.It's strange how the drinks work on a man!When Wallace sticks with beer (good for wrestling?)everything works out fine,but when he switches to whiskey (evil drink?),it's the beginning of the end.How many 2001 movies will be still watchable in 2070?This one deserves to be seen.

The lead role of a German wrestler (Wallace Beery) in this film is far too dopey for my taste, both in the character and the performance. This leads to some really lame humor especially in the first half of the film, e.g. slopping beer around, banging through a door instead of unlocking it, and accidentally breaking an egg. Karen Morley plays the woman with a past that he naively takes in, and things get a little more interesting when her lover (Ricardo Cortez) shows up. Morley almost always impresses me, and the scenes with just the two of them crackle with the tough banter of 1932, making me wish that they had somehow been more of the focus. As it is, the film tries to do too many things, finally settling on being a wrestling film, and doesn't do anything particularly well. How painfully funny that William Faulkner is listed as one of the three screenwriters, though that gives it yet another link to Barton Fink, which I guess gives it some interest.

As for direction, I found no sign of John Ford visually or tonally here; literally anyone else could have directed this listless melodrama and we would not have noticed the difference, which might explain him trying to remove his credit from the film. Don't get too perked up over the salacious title (and its associated poster) either; it's just a pre-Code attempt to get customers into the theater, and refers not to sex but the wrestler being referred to as a "big hunk of flesh" in passing. Anyway, with a more nuanced, less childlike character this really could have been something, between the love triangle and the organized crime element trying to fix fights, but it's too silly and mildly annoying as it is.

A very uncharacteristic John Ford film, lacking any of his usual stylistic or narrative traits.A Hollywood soap opera, yes, but with real emotional depth, from all 3 main characters, and a very somber tone. An expressionistic, Germanic look matches the narrative (quite a bit of which takes place in Germany). Looks more like The Informer than Fort Apache. held me all the way through. By the way, if you want to see a great film with both (the underrated)) Karen Morley and Ricardo Cortez, watch The Phantom of Crestwood.