Associés sans honneur

I was interested in this film for two reasons - I like Edward G. Robinson very much, and just last year, I saw Marsha Hunt at Paramount's 100th anniversary party, 95 years old, with all her marbles, looking marvelous. It is wonderful to see her here, at the age of 23.

Unholy Partners takes place after World War I, when a newspaper man, Bruce Corey (Robinson) returns from the conflict - but not to his old reporting job. He wants to start a different kind of newspaper -- more of a tabloid, something people can fold over and read easily in the subway. But he doesn't have the money. He approaches a crooked gambler, Merritt Lambert (Edward Arnold) and wins the $250,000 from him that he needs, making them partners. Corey starts the paper along with his secretary (Laraine Day) and an assistant, Tommy (William T. Orr). Conflicts arise when Lambert objects to the investigation of certain stories that involve him.

This is a good film, somewhat melodramatic, with a pretty Hunt singing "After You've Gone" - she had a wonderful voice - as she plays Gail Fenton, who is dating Lambert, but has drawn the interest of Corey's assistant (Orr). If you baby boomers will think back, you may remember that at the end of every TV series produced by Warner Brothers there was the name Wm. T. Orr - Orr became a very successful executive producer. Robinson, Arnold, Day, and Orr are all very good.

This film came out around the same time as Citizen Kane so probably got lost in the shuffle, not that it's anywhere near as good. The interesting thing is they talk about the end of tabloid era. Little did they know that we're still in it, worse than ever.

The paper Corey starts, The New York Mercury, was based on the newspaper The New York Mirror. One of the reviews mentions reading the Sunday funnies. I did too. It was a fun paper.

Fresh from World War I, Edward G. Robinson has all kinds of new ideas about his chosen profession of journalism. But his old newspaper won't see things his way. Not discouraged, but needing cash he gets it from Edward Arnold a gangster with whom he becomes Unholy Partners with.

Although Arnold is at first a silent partner and gives Robinson a free hand with the paper, it's not a partnership that in any way can last. Robinson, and more particularly reporter William T. Orr, starts looking into the activities of Arnold's friends and later Arnold. And then Orr becomes interested in Laraine Day who is a nightclub singer that Arnold has taken a kind of lease out on.

The whole film builds toward the inevitable showdown of Arnold and Robinson and the two really dominate the film, the other players barely getting any innings in their performances. Arnold is a very careful man in maintaining a respectable front and he sees the possibilities in controlling a large media outlet. Not unlike that other Arnold film character from 1941, D.B. Norton from Meet John Doe.

Charles Dingle who is a favorite character actor of mine is in Unholy Partners. But he's in a very subdued role who Arnold has under his thumb by controlling Dingle's gambling debts. Dingle's not at all the arrogant and pompous man he usually plays. And I miss that.

Robinson and Arnold make quite a good pair of matched adversaries. Unholy Partners showed they should have done more work together.

This movie was a great reinactment of how newspapers changed their formats from pure journalism to sensationalism just after World War I. Edward G. Robinson, in one of his best unknown roles, starts his own N.Y. tabloid by becoming partners with a gangster who finances everything. The paper crusades against the underworld and soon enough the unholy partners are at conflict. A superp film that gives a better insight of the early newspaper business than "Citizen Kane"(Not saying its better than the Orsen Welles classic).Definatly a high recomendation; insight, drama, love, and guns.

Another great Edward G. Robinson performance in an entertaining film about a hard driven newspaper man,with fine performances all around. However,what gets me is this: Why place a film in a period setting and ignore aspects of that setting? In this case,this 1941 film was set in 1919. Besides a few indiscretions like inappropriate hairstyles on the women,at one point Marsha Hunt sings After You've Gone in a 1940's swing style with a big band(this is at about 15 years before the "Big Band Era"!) Funny...this film was made only twenty years after the story takes place...no one remembered what things were like? I am reminded of a similar problem(although much worse)in the Gene Krupa Story,where we had "boppy"soloists in the "twenties"! If film makers want contemporary hairstyles,music,etc.,why make a period film?

Unholy Partners (1941)

*** (out of 4)

After WW1 newspaperman Bruce Corey (Edward G. Robinson) goes back to his job to try and pitch a job to his boss but he's not interested in the new ideas. In order to start his own paper, Corey starts a partnership with notorious gangster Merrill Lambert (Edward Arnold) and soon he lives to regret it. UNHOLY PARTNERS is a good little melodrama from MGM that manages to get two great actors in strong roles, although I will admit there are some pretty big flaws throughout the picture. The biggest flaw is the entire conflict of interest. I mean, Robinson's character should have known that he wouldn't be able to report certain illegal activities that Lambert is doing so when he starts doing so and the clash happens, the Robinson character seems shocked or pig-headed but what did he expect? Why the character never thought about this before making the deal is certainly a flaw in the writing but it's certainly not big enough to where it destroys the film. The best thing is without question the performances by the two leads. I'm sure reading the plot description that many would think Robinson would be playing the gangster but he was also great at playing the "good" guys just as much as the bad ones. He's quite believable in the part and I really liked the energy he brought the character. Arnold, often a good guy, really gets to shine here as the dangerous mobster and he's quite threatening. Laraine Day makes for a good love interest as does Gail Fenton. William T. Orr plays Robinson's "young" version and is good as well. The film contains a few good twists along the way, some good action, a couple nice laughs and best of all are the performances. UNHOLY PARTNERS isn't a lost classic but if you're a fan of the stars then it's worth watching.