The Hoodlum Saint

Writer James Hill wrote this wonderful story which was directed by Norman Taurog and relates this rags to riches story, staring William Powell as Terence Ellerton 'Terry' O'Neill'. Powell has just been discharged from the Army, after World War One. Finding it near impossible to find employment, he crashes a High Society wedding and with little effort on his part, bumps into just the right people. Shortly thereafter, he is soon riding the gravy train and up towards his first million. Esther Williams and Angela Lansbury are also along with him as are other close friends. Eventually, he finds his second million easier and with it accumulating wealth in everything he attempts. Finding success in all his endeavors, he creates a non-existing Charity fund for the poor and realizes it too is a success. Then Wall Street collapses and Ellerton finds he too is brought low by the Economic Meltdown. As America looks to blame someone, he too is slated for jail or prison. Landing in the streets, he realizes that being poor is lonely at the bottom and wishes he hadn't squandered his life and few friends. The film is a tribute to self reliance and what to do with the wonderful opportunities one is given along the way. Powell is wonderful as are his Co-Stars. Easily recommended. ****

THE HOODLUM SAINT (1946) is a curiosity. It has the feel of a film that would have fit perfectly in 1936 for it has none of the post-war (WWII) sophistication that had been developed over the last ten (10) years. It is clearly locked in as a typical mid-thirties programmer. This may be because the screenwriter 'SPIG' Wead was on his last legs, literally, (died 1947) needed a paycheck and just recycled concepts that he was more successful with a decade ago.

The 'NUTS'...Veteran from WWI (then the GREAT WAR) returns to find job gone. Goes for the easy buck. Makes fortune, loses same, redemption through love, fade out. The films sole saving grace is it's excellent cast headed by William Powell (always dependable), supported by pros' James Gleason, Lewis Stone and Frank McHugh. The feminine interest features Angela Lansbury and Esther Williams. If you have never seen Ms. Lansbury when she was a young hot-tie or Esther Williams out of the pool that alone makes this film deserving of at least one (1) look.

MGM like all major studios was committed to a production schedule of fifty (50) feature films a year. It was the largest and had the most actors on payroll and they had to be kept busy. Look through the principal cast and we bet their credits come to over three hundred (300) features. In less then five (5) years this luxury will disappear and with it the production schedule of fifty (50) a year. Now it would be T.V. that shouldered the burden of production.

This is an old-time enjoyable movie, the plot keeps moving, with new and interesting events around each turn. The movie is lot like real life, which has setbacks, but eventually things like character and work ethics are what win out in the end. The protagonist, a war veteran, becomes very wealthy by bravado, good fortune, creative thinking, and hard work, only to lose it in the great crash of 1929. And I suppose that the way one's character weathers misfortune is equally important to the one's character in earning it.

This is not the shallow stuff you see in the movie houses of today. Ester Williams and Angela Landsbury are not only great actors, but are also beautiful and great to watch.

Everything is odd about "The Hoodlum Saint," a 1946 film starring William Powell, Esther Williams, Angela Lansbury, Frank McHugh, and James Gleason. It's a film about a returning World War I veteran when people were returning from World War II; it has the look and feel of a '30s film about it. At 54, the wonderful Powell is a little old for the role of an ex-soldier, and his love interest is 24-year-old Esther Williams. Apparently Williams wrote in her autobiography that she thought it was ridiculous to be cast opposite someone so much older, and states that Powell had to have elaborate makeup and wear a girdle. My question is, did she have anything nice to say about anybody in her book? The last oddity, which couldn't have been predicted back then, is that now Angela Lansbury's dubbing sounds very strange indeed as audiences have become more familiar with her singing voice.

All that being said, the story concerns a returning vet, a newspaper journalist, who has difficulty finding work. He crashes a wedding that has a lot of influential people attending. There he meets Williams and gets a job on another paper, only leaving it to join the very stockbroker he's been writing exposes about, deciding to go after the almighty dollar. This is all leading up to the stock market crash of 1929.

The acting is uniformly excellent. Williams is absolutely stunning in her role, and Powell is his usual charming, fast-talking self, delivering his lines with a good deal of irony and a light touch. Lansbury plays a club singer/love interest for Powell who becomes more sophisticated as the story evolves. Her acting is wonderful and she looks better and more glamorous in each scene. James Gleason, Frank McHugh, and Rags Ragland play Powell's somewhat crooked buddies, and they're delightful.

Powell is always worth watching, though this isn't his best.

The idea was interesting, and while it was somewhat odd to see them together due to their performing styles being so completely different from one another William Powell, Esther Williams, Angela Lansbury and James Gleason were highly talented performers and always watchable.

All have done much better work than 'The Hoodlum Saint', both in terms of performances and in films. 'The Hoodlum Saint' has its moments and redeeming values but it doesn't really come together, feeling disjointed for want of a word. It's very nicely shot in black and white, and hauntingly scored. The songs performed by Angela Lansbury (though dubbed very well by Doreen Tryden, though it was a strange decision as Lansbury is a more than capable singer.

While the acting was a mixed bag on the whole, Lansbury really enlivens the proceedings in a charmingly perky performance and comes off best in the cast. James Gleason looks as though he was enjoying himself thoroughly, as does Frank McHugh.

Powell was a great actor but this is not one of his best performances, he has been more engaged before and since and is somewhat too clean cut for a role requiring a rougher edge. Williams is cast against type, but while she is radiant it is a rather bland performance in a one-dimensional role. The chemistry isn't there, and Norman Taurog's direction is often mechanical.

Scripting is pretty witless and dreary, but it is the story that is 'The Hoodlum Saint's' biggest failure. It's dully paced, with a good deal of convolution and situations resolved too easily. Tone is an issue too, starting with a more comedic touch and then abruptly shifting into drama and it feels like a completely different film and comes over as disjointed.

All in all, certainly not unwatchable and worth a one-time watch for curiosity's sake but doesn't really come together. 5/10 Bethany Cox