Two O'Clock Courage

Catch that noirish opening—Ted (Conway) wandering around in the fog with an even bigger fog inside his head, not knowing who he is or where he came from. Good thing girl cabbie (it's still war time) Patty (Rutherford) helps him out since the cops think he's murdered someone. These look like classic elements of noir, especially with master of the genre Anthony Mann in charge. But this is early in his career when he was still doing programmers.

There may be some interest here for film historians since the movie appears to straddle two genres— the humorous murder mysteries of the 30"s and early 40's and the emerging noir crime dramas of the post-war period. Note how Mann uses a noirish close-up to dramatize Ted's recovering memory. Looks like his darker artistic side is looking for opportunities to surface.

Still, thick-headed cop (Parnell) and fast-talking reporter (Lane) remain anchored in Charlie Chan's and Falcon's of the earlier period. But however you cut it, the movie's still a fun diversion, with a bouncy Rutherford, a polished Conway, and a pay-me-by-the-word Lane. Just don't try to figure out the mystery. I lost track somewhere between the butler-did-it and the gorgeous Jane Greer's revealing gowns.

Tom Conway and Ann Rutherford star in "Two O'Clock Courage," a 1945 film. Rutherford plays Patty, a taxicab driver who picks up an injured man (Conway) with amnesia. She attempts to help him, and the two are drawn into the murder of a producer. Her fare may or may not have had something to do with it.

This film is more of a mystery/comedy, done with a light touch and a perky Ann Rutherford. She's pretty and bubbly, perhaps a little too much at the beginning of the film. Conway, who somehow, despite a similar voice, never had his brother George Sanders' smoothness, is good as a confused man trying to fake his way through a situation where he doesn't even know his own name.

"Two O'Clock Courage" has plenty of suspects and twists and goes on just a little longer than it needs to, but it's still a fun watch.

Finding himself with a bloodied head, and suffering from amnesia, suave Tom Conway is nearly run over by pretty cab driver Ann Rutherford (as Patty Mitchell). Riding around, Mr. Conway discovers clues to his identity, including five hundred dollars in his suit pocket. A news flash connects Conway to recent murder, but Ms. Rutherford doesn't think her passenger is guilty. The pair try to solve the murder mystery while love blooms. Director Anthony Mann isn't as artful as in later years. "Two O'Clock Courage" turns out to be the name of a play that figures in the plot. By the time the mystery is solved, it's not very interesting. Fortunately, the well-endowed Rutherford, Jane Greer (as Helen Carter), and Jean Brooks (as Barbara Borden) are around to keep it looking good.

****** Two O'Clock Courage (4/13/45) Anthony Mann ~ Tom Conway, Ann Rutherford, Jane Greer, Jean Brooks

Basically a light-hearted mystery programmer in the style of the 1940s, Two O'Clock Courage claims attention by virtue of having been directed by Anthony Mann, before his legendary collaboration in film noir with cinematographer John Alton. It also happens to be a pretty good movie, of its limited type, in its own right.

It opens at the fog-shrouded intersection of Ocean View Drive and Arch Street where Tom Conway, looking and sounding eerily like his more successful brother George Sanders, bleeds from a head wound and can't remember who he is. Skidding to his rescue in a taxi comes game hack Ann Rutherford (a sister under the visor to On The Town's Brunnhilde Esterhazy), who becomes his sidekick even though it turns out he may be mixed up in a high-profile murder. Trying to establish his identity and what he might have done (or not done), the pair travel through a theatrical/nightlife milieu; the mystery concerns a plagiarized play written by a dead man, which shares its title with this movie.

There are the staple characters of the sub-genre: the befuddled butler, the snoopy landlady, the apoplectic editor. There's also, as a society floozy, young Jane Greer (billed here as `Bettejane'). Two O'Clock Courage doesn't show much of the flair Mann would later bring to suspense, even, the following year, to Strange Impersonation. But he keeps his eye on the ball, and never lets the unraveling of the mystery take a back seat too long to the farcical episodes (which mercifully he keeps from growing too extended or too broad). All in all, it's a more satisfying effort than similar and better-known efforts from around the same time, like A Night to Remember or Lady on a Train.

Remake of Two in the Dark from RKO starring the unlikely duo of Tom Conway and Ann Rutherford. Conway plays a guy with a head wound and amnesia who searches for the truth about who he is and whether or not he committed murder. Rutherford is the spunky female cabbie who helps him. This is an entertaining enough picture. Nothing exceptional but a good time-passer. Conway, debonair as ever, is the kind of actor they just don't make anymore. Adorable Ann Rutherford is a little miscast as a street-smart cabbie. This is a part more suited for a Farrell, Blondell, or Sothern. Rutherford's just too sweet. Still she's always a treat to watch, even if it does feel a bit like she's trying on her big sister's clothes. Conway/Rutherford chemistry isn't exactly sizzling, either. Also featuring noir great Jane Greer in a small part and RKO favorite Jean Brooks, who was in quite a few Tom Conway films during the 40s. Directed by Anthony Mann but you would never know it as it's a pretty routine B movie with no discernible style or craft to brag about.