Bait

Hugo Haas' first American movie set the pattern for many of his efforts ;"bait" takes again the deadly love triangle of " pickup" and it's another variation on the theme ; the middle-age man ,who,like in the mentioned movie and in "strange fascination ",marries a pretty girl who could be his daughter out of the blue , much to the surprise of the usual handsome young lad.

But here it seems that ,more than Cleo Moore's charms, it's gold which is the hero's obsession, the attractive wife playing the role of a bait (check the title) .

Hugo Haas had a fancy for enclosed places : the "shacks" in "pickup" and in this movie; his character is not totally cardboard :he might be responsible for his former partner' s death he left in the cold ,but a new partner ,although helpful ,may also be a nuisance when it comes to share the gold .Note also his love for dogs :himself in "pickup ", John Agar here.

I'm a fan of Huge Haas's films but this one was rather awkward and stilted, especially in the first half. It has a "lazy" feel to it as Haas didn't want to find the dramaturgical equivalent of his dark themes, including a sexual subtext that is never successfully realized.

Obviously one level of the sexual theme is quite explicit. But the suggestion of sexual impotence and misogyny and how that relates to the protagonist's interest in gold is never dramaturgically staged.

Especially awkward are the voice-overs, which suggests that Haas didn't know how to cinematically convey his ides except by stating them outright.

To be fair with only 3 main characters in the film, and, excluding the Haas character, only two, and with the other two isolated from each other, it's difficult to dramatically stage the themes in the film.

But Haas in my view was a cinematic genius, though he relies mainly on establishing shots for many scenes. Yet they are effective for what he wants to convey.

He himself was a superb actor and by far the best thing in the film. I've never been a fan of Cleo Moore though .Agar, who bore a striking resemblance to Jeffrey Hunter, acquitted himself fairly well.

Cinematically there is a remarkable scene where Moore and Agar are seated at a table when both their heads move into darkness. But mainly Haas relies on establishing shots that work quite well in the film.

For those who wish to explore Haas's career further, this is not the film to start with, for Haas made some very powerful films exploring the darker side of sex.

Sir Cedric Hardwicke had the self satisfied look of a man whose check from Harry Cohn had just cleared as he narrates the beginning of Bait. He's playing none other than old Scratch himself as he tells how the devil can make people do wicked things.

I think old Scratch had a head start with Hugo Haas who was definitely short a whole suit in his deck of cards. Haas is a crazy old prospector who lost both a mine and a partner in the Rockies and he'd like to find the former again. But he's getting on in years and he needs a younger partner for the heavy lifting.

Enter John Agar and they do find the old mine, but he's not looking to split with a new partner. So the fiendish Haas hatches a scheme whereby he marries sluttish Cleo Moore who's a better girl than she let's on and brings her back to their cabin. I would think that curvaceous Cleo might have gotten the hint that something was amiss when Haas not only doesn't pay attention to her, but encourages her to be in Agar's company at every opportunity.

This turgid drama is as stupid as it sounds. Need I say more.

It's typical of this film that although heroine Cleo Moore has a baby boy born out of wedlock we never see him.

Like a silent film or Russ Meyer movie without the jokes (or the voluptuousness), presented by Cedric Hardwicke as the Devil, whose projectionist (in the wittiest aside in the film) is referred to as Lucifer.

I guess that makes director/star Hugo Haas The Serpent, since rather surprisingly he proposes marriage to Miss Moore without showing any interest in consummating the union, and the Deadly Sin the film punishes turns about to be greed rather than lust.

"Marko" (Hugo Haas) and his best mate "Ray" (John Agar) head off into the wilderness searching for a lost gold mine. Duly found and riches secured, the former man starts to resent sharing with his younger partner so hits on quite an ingenious plan to be rid of him. When he returns from a supply run to the local town, he brings with him a new wife. "Peggy" (Cleo Moore) is a feisty, no-nonsense woman who is also quite appreciative of her husband taking her from the drudgery of the town. Now the ingeniousness of the plan kicks in. "Marko" hopes that his glamorous young wife and his business partner will fall for each other and that will allow them to catch them flagrante delicto - and all will be his! It's got to be said that being holed up in a remote cabin as the snow sets in tests the mettle of everyone, but will his plan succeed or will they realise they are being manipulated? The problem here is that there's just no chemistry. Anywhere. Moore can't quite decide if she wants to be Doris Day or Barbara Stanwyck and Agar is just straight out of central casting's book of handsome B-stars that deliver just enough but never more. There's something quite sad about the conclusion, and indeed that rather makes the whole thing worth a watch, but I think once will do.