A Gentleman After Dark

If you like old gangster pictures, find a copy of the obscure A Gentleman After Dark for this weekend. It follows the classic formula of all those great James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson movies of the 1930s and '40s, with violence, tension, great characters, friendship with cronies, and tenderness to make you cry. But this one stars the underrated Brian Donlevy instead!

Brian plays a gangster with a trademark of a heliotrope boutonniere. He has a respected friendship with Preston Foster, the detective who's always trying to catch him in the act. He also has a beautiful but demanding wife, Miriam Hopkins. Miriam is volatile and hard to handle, but he loves her. You can find out more about the synopsis online, but I'd rather not tell you. It's so exciting when you watch it and let it unfold naturally. You won't see the twists and turns coming. But you will see an absolutely delightful performance from Brian Donlevy. He's so sweet and charming and handsome! This movie will make you an instant fan of his, as it did of me. For a great double feature this weekend, pair this movie with Stella Dallas. You'll know why.

Gentleman jewel thief "Heliotrope Harry" Melton (Brian Donlevy), a Roaring Twenties legend, becomes a changed man after his wife Flo (Miriam Hopkins) gives birth to a baby girl and the decision to go straight sends his selfish spouse straight into the arms of his partner in crime, suave Eddie Smith (Phillip Reed). They tip off his childhood friend, policeman Tom Gaynor (Preston Foster), to an upcoming heist but Harry sidesteps their trap and tracks down the treacherous twosome. He lets Eddie have it but lets Flo go, vowing to kill her if he ever sees her again and then turns himself in to Gaynor on the condition that the cop raise his daughter. Eighteen years later, Gaynor's a supreme court judge with his daughter about to marry into old money when Flo slithers out of Buenos Aires with blackmail on her mind and Harry, out of his mind over this, crashes out of prison to carry out that long-ago threat...

I've never seen anything quite like this male "chick flick" yet I was constantly reminded of other movies. I flashed back to Jimmy Cagney and Pat O'Brien as boyhood friends on opposite sides of the law and also recalled Spencer Tracy and John Garfield breaking out of prison to set things right. LITTLE MISS MARKER also came to mind. Cross a Warner Brothers upperworld gangster movie with STELLA DALLAS or MADAME X and you'll have an idea of what A GENTLEMAN AFTER DARK is like. The off beat casting only adds to the overall oddness- I like bantam Brian Donlevy who's affable, stocky, and a bit like Lon Chaney, Jr. every time he's a leading man but this role required a complicated (ruthless/loving) charisma he couldn't quite pull off. And what was Miriam Hopkins doing in this? The talented but temperamental hoyden was a sexy sensation in some of her early 30s Paramount Pre-Codes but she had the kind of blonde beauty that faded fast and was a poor second choice for a 40s femme fatale originally meant for beautiful Ilona Massey. Miriam was on familiar territory, however, having been a jewel thief in TROUBLE IN PARADISE, involved in pulling paternity wool over a young girl's eyes in THE OLD MAID, and stalked by an obsessed killer in DR. JEKYLL & MR HYDE. Douglass Dumbrille and Gloria "Dracula's Daughter" Holden are in it, too. The sentimental crime meller (I guess you'd call it) was capably directed without panache by Edwin L. Marin and was a remake of FORGOTTEN FACES, a lost 1928 silent starring exotic blonde glamazon Olga "Freaks" Baclanova. It may not be Film Noir and the title's pretty strange (what woman or gay man wants THAT?) but it should hold the interest of any classic film fan.

This classic film noir crime drama is a remake of 1936's Forgotten Faces. Harry's daughter has been raised by the Judge who put him behind bars.When his estranged wife threatens him with blackmail, Harry escapes prison to keep her quiet, permanently. Brian Donlevy stars as the convict willing to sacrifice everything for his daughter, a girl who may never know her real father. A stylish thriller, that although slightly dated, is still a treat to watch if you appreciate the classics.

Brian Donlevy (Harry) is a jewel thief who has gone soft because he has become a father. He wants to settle down on a farm much to the disgust of his wife and fellow jewel thief Miriam Hopkins (Flo). She has no time for sentimentality and wants to get back on the fags and alcohol now that she is no longer pregnant and wants a slice of some action now that she is no longer confined to a hospital. Phillip Reed (Eddie) is the 3rd member of the jewel gang and he and Miriam double cross Donlevy in his last job before he settles down to his new ridiculously boring life on the farm. Things don't go to plan for Phillip and Miriam and Donlevy warns Hopkins to stay away from his daughter or else. Well, there is an "or else" situation that shows up.....

The cast are all good in this film apart from a terrible William Henry (Paul) as a sappy suitor for the grown up daughter Sharon Douglas (Diane). The story starts off slightly boring with Donlevy being sentimental but things get going once Miriam Hopkins enters and reveals her true character. The honours in this film have to go to Donlevy and Hopkins who keep things ticking along and have genuinely funny moments amidst the plot.

Brian Donleavy makes an unforgettable performance here as the gentleman crook who always gets away with his crimes and never gets caught, while his career suddenly makes a considerable turn as his wife gives birth to a daughter. His heart melts, while his wife's heart, who has been his accomplice in everything, turns hard and cold as steel. Miriam Hopkins to my knowledge never made a sympathetic role, she was like a worse copy of Bette Davis but without nuances, and here she walks the line all the way. It's a terrific story with many surprising twists and turns, and Brian's manoeuvres constantly take not only you by surprise but his old childhood pal the police Tommy as well. Tommy accepts Brian's extraordinary offer of standing in for his girl's father, while Brian has too be true to his gentlemanly character and accept proper punishment when he has committed reasonable murder. The real criminal is in fact Miriam Hopkins, who has betrayed him and even makes abominable efforts at blackmail against her own daughter when she grows up - it's a complicated story, but it is well worth while to carefully follow every single turn of it. And Brian Donleavy is ultimately the victor - at least morally. The rest doesn't matter in the context - only he and the audience will know the whole truth.