Actors and Sin

"Actor's and Sin" had heart and soul seeping from every corner, but what it lacked was that standard to bring it out of the "made-for-TV" category. While this film was a feature in its own right, it had a feel of simplicity that one could not shake. Shakespeare it was not, but this little film could have put more "humph" into its life and fought for a possible cult-classic nomination.

"Actor's and Sin" was very entertaining, and for the time of its release, it would have been a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon. It begins with a drama of sorts. Marsha Hunt plays an actress who is about to strike it rich on Broadway. As she follows the path of fame and fortune, the path becomes a crooked one with each performance suddenly bubbling with more villains. Eventually, she is found dead – possible suicide – one could guess all day until Daddy-dearest decides to play "Clue" and unmask the real killer. Entitled "Actor's Blood", this was the weaker of the two. It was heavy, dull, overly dramatic, and our characters seemed like they were lifted from Cracker Jack boxes than film school. While the cinematography was simple enough with decent lighting and impressive cut scenes, what brought this opener down was two parts, the first is the story and the second were the actors. "Actor's Blood" was a 43-minute short that could have been about 20-minutes shorter. Too many characters were introduced in such a short amount of time that not enough time was devoted to development. It was tough to follow some and to fully understand their roles in the climaxing moment. If "Actor's Blood" would have been a feature film, it still would have only had about 20-minutes of good meat, with the rest just fatty tissue. The actors were laughable at best. Edward G. Robinson loved his fatherly character so much that he decided to bore us with long monologues, pompous entrances, and a finale that cried melodrama. It was pointless and at times certain to be "MST3K-ed" by a group of college freshman. This opening film had everything we didn't want to begin with, but thankfully our desserts were enough to bring this film from horrid to mediocre.

The second part of "Actor's and Sin" is entitled "Woman of Sin", in which a slimy Hollywood agent unknowingly options a script for a 9-year old bratty girl (insert laughter here or loud "ZOING"). This second segment seemed to pull everything that went wrong with the first, transform it into greatness, and insert it back into the film. The characters were strong and had an honest humor to them, the concept was fun – albeit maybe dated – but fun, and the beats seemed to gel well with the length of this film. Eddie Albert played Orlando Higgins with so much pizazz and energy; it is hard to keep your eyes on anyone else but him during the short. Those with an infatuation with "The Flintstones" should watch "Woman of Sin" to see Alan Reed – Mr. Fred Flintstone himself – as well as hear him as the big shot executive caught in the shuffle. This is a great parody of Hollywood, which takes the dirtiness of Ari Gold from "Entourage" and brings him into a Preston Sturges-esquire film. Watch when you meet the child's mother for the first time, the entire scene is reminiscent of Lynch or Aronofsky, very surreal, very eerie, very dark – but it counters the tone of the film very well. Our young writer, Daisy Marcher (played by the director/producer's daughter Jenny) is very good at her performance. She is feisty, cruel, and exactly what you would not think of a young girl writing about a woman and sin. This second half was phenomenal. It brought together the zaniness of working in the film business with the sleaze of truth. It was funny and upbeat with pacing that made you wish it was another hour long. Nearly the direct opposite of "Actor's Blood", "Woman of Sin" pulls out as the obvious winner and my vote for viewing this film at least once.

Overall, this was a mediocre entry into the world of cinema. There was a level of annoyance with "Actor's Blood", with the wooden overly dramatic performances and the trite story that could have been shortened another twenty minutes. Yet, this film was saved by its second half. "Woman of Sin" reminded me of a Preston Sturges film, with the symbolism, energy, and audacity coming through every scene. It was (unlike the first) original and a definite suggestion to friends. Alas, I cannot suggest this entire film. It is a self-produced independent film that is a unique idea, but developed incorrectly. One could tell that there was more passion and enjoyment in the second half than the first – perhaps with a change of directors this happened, but there was no consistency or cohesiveness. For "Actor's and Sin" to work the two films had to connect at some level. It needed to be one film to the viewer, but two films on the VHS box. There was nothing to make these two short films fit together, thus they suffered by merely working solo, with an obvious lack in the front, and a bit too bottom heavy. I liked, but not loved. This film did raise itself above the one-star rating with its "Woman of Sin", but not too much further. Watch once, repeat viewings are not necessary.

Grade: *** out of *****

The first half is a 43 minute film called Actor's Blood. Edward G. Robinson plays an older actor whose daughter is a current star but troubled. She dies at the start and the rest of the film is a who done it. This part is pretty good. The second film stars Eddie Albert and is a fairly silly story about a nine year old female author that writes adult love stories. This one is called Woman Of Sin.

There were a lot of live television anthology series in the 1950s and both the episodes in this movie could have have been good episodes. Both lack movie quality production values and cinematography. The nice things is watching Edward G. Robinson, Marsha Hunt, Alan Reed (later voice of cartoon Fred Flintstone) and Eddie Albert doing some fine acting. Ben Hecht does not appear to be very good at directing, but the actors help him out by trying to punch up the material. The first half/episode is a mild "Who Done It" that satirizes the Broadway Theatre. It is no way in the ball park of "All About Eve" "The Saxon Charm," and "Sweet Smell of Success," but it draws some blood as a light murder mystery. The second half/episode "Lady of Sin" has Eddie Albert as a roguish Hollywood Agent and Alan Reed as a typically tyrannical movie studio boss. They both milk the comedy nicely. I had been reading Anita Loos' autobiography "A Girl Such As I," and she mentions that she turned Ben Hecht's first movie idea into a screenplay for Douglas Fairbanks. The plot revolves around a 9 year old writer who sells a script called "Lady of Sin" to a movie studio who think its quite sophisticated. Loos talks about how she wrote her first scripts when she was quite young (around 23 actually) and the people at Biograph Studios, thought that she was a sophisticated older woman. When four years later, when she met the studio heads for the first time, her mother accompanied her and they all thought her mother had written the scripts. At just 4'11," Loos still looked like a teenager. The studio heads, including D.W. Griffith were shocked and astonished when they realized it was the daughter and not the mother who had written the 100 plus scripts they had bought. Clearly, Ben Hecht, just exaggerates what happened with Anita Loos and D.W Griffith here. Ben Hecht's daughter actually does a fine job as the brat of a writer here, especially given that Hecht was not a great director. To sum up, two amusing stories, but with poor production values worth and bad direction, but worth watching for the good writing and good actors.

This was the first film Ben Hecht made in six years after "The Specter of the Rose", an ambitious ballet psychological thriller, and you recognize the high strung and exaggerated drama from that extreme melodrama, and Edward G. Robinson is the right character for this almost freak show. "Actor's Blood" however is only 45 minutes, and it will not disappoint you, but it is followed by another 45 minutes feature called "Woman of Sin" which is supposed to be a comedy but isn't funny at all. It's about a child star, apparently the director's own daughter, who is allowed to steal the show with disastrous consequences - this is a terrble film, intended as a satire of the film industry in Hollywood and how it works with the producers, but it is not worth spending your time. If you happen to this film, enjoy the "Actor's Blood", be prepeared that it 's ony 45 minutes, and then turn off before the other film begins, and you will be spared the worst.

This two-part feature from Ben Hecht and his distinguished cameraman Lee Garmes begins with a magnificently theatrical-styled performance by Edward G. Robinson, befitting an odd murder-mystery replete with thunder and theatrical effects at the end. He and daughter Marsha Hunt play thespians, and as we witness her rise and fall of a career on stage, Hecht injects his highly personal barbs concerning critics and the hangers-on of the Broadway milieu.

Less successful is the accompanying piece, "Woman of Sin", in which Hecht cast his 9-year-old offspring Jenny Hecht as the author of a sexy romantic screenplay, which causes a ruckus allowing him to ridicule prudishness and venality in Hollywood.

Eddie Albert has fun starring as an unscrupulous agent who unwittingly sells Jenny's dirty script. The vignette is filled with in-joke name dropping of real names, none of which have stood the test of time. The joke about kid as writer is spoiled by little Jenny's embarrassing attempt at acting -her subsequent career as actress is laughable.