Le fond de la bouteille

Woke up in the early-AM with the opening credits to this film just rolling on the screen. Tired as I still was, I couldn't take my eyes off of it and watched the whole thing. Beautifully-shot. Script sensitively handles both Van Johnson's character's alcoholism and the familial-strife at its roots - very adept for it's day. Capably acted by all.

And I agree with previous comments: Ruth Roman is someone whose career is deserving of a serious re-visiting. She rarely seemed to get choice parts, but always managed to impress. Indeed, some of the films she was in may have been bad but from what I've seen, SHE was never the reason.

Here is yet another example of a good, solid 1950's film that is wrongfully ignored/neglected for the simple reason that it doesn't star "Marilyn," "Marlon," or "Audrey".

Enjoyed this great Classic film from 1956 starring a great cast of actors, namely: Van Johnson, (Donald Martin) who was serving time in Joliet Illinois Prison and seeks the help of his brother, Joseph Cotton, (P M Martin) who is a very successful rancher and well known throughout the community. P M is not very happy about his brother showing up, because he never told anyone about his brother and that he had a bad problem with drinking which caused most of the problems in his life.

Ruth Roman, (Nora Martin) played the role as wife to P M who did not really get along and now that Donald Martin appears, his wife becomes interested in her husband's new friend, not knowing it is his brother. There is plenty of action and this is truly a great classic from the Year 1956, enjoy. Nora Martin teaches her husband about being your Brother's Keeper, the hard way.

Social and family drama slowly and elegantly directed by Henry Hathaway , adding an engaging screenplay by Sydney Boehm , based on the novel "Le fond de la bouteille¨by Georges Simenon . In the border town of Nogales, Arizona, a rich advocate at law and rancher named Patrick (Joseph Cotten) is solicited by his getaway convict brother Donald (Van Johnson) in aiding him to cross the frontier into Mexico . But Patrick is reluctant to help him , while his wife Nora (Ruth Roman) attempts to support him , despite she doesn't know his true identity . Brother against brother ... stripping the southwest's ranch society of its bought respectability !...

This cultured and dramatic family film contains a feud between brothers , thrills , rider pursuits , escapes and emotion . Hathaway does the human touch including lots of nice moments and enjoyable relationship blending enmity , brothership , fraternity and strong confrontration between siblings . Including some breathtaking and spectacular scenes about a river is flooded and they have to pass it . Performances are over-the-top , such as : Van Johnson as drunkard on the lam who had been sent to the penitentiary five years previously for killing a man in a barroom brawl , Joseph Cotten as the wealthy solicitor and rancher big-man-in-town , while Ruth Roman is pretty good as the bitter wife who doesn't know about his jail-bird brother on the loose . They are finely accompanied by a great support cast , such as : Jack Carson , Margaret Hayes , Jim Davis , Bruce Bennett, Brad Dexter, Peggy Knudsen, Margaret Lindsay , Nancy Gates , Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez , Robert Adler , John Doucette and Harry Morgan as a barman.

It displays a colorful cinematography in Cinemascope and Technicolor by cameraman Lee Garmes . Bing shot on location in Old Tucson, Arizona, Nogales, Santa Cruz Valley, Sonoran Desert, Sierrita Mountains , Ironwood Forest National Monument, Tucson Mountains, Mission San Xavier del Bac, West San Xavier Road, Tucson, Arizona . As well as moving and thrilling musical score by Leigh Harline . This well-developed in cracking style flick was stunningly directed by Henry Hathaway and usually works very nice . He does the human touch and full of insight that accompanied him during most of his films and the story develops pleasantly with an interesting plot and fully adjusted to the requirements of the action . Hathaway was the classic Hollywood craftsman giving prrolific and professional works . He had a long friendhip with John Wayne , both of whom collaborated in various Westerns , they included ¨Five Card Stud¨ , ¨North to Alaska¨ and Wayne's Academy Award-winning ¨True grit¨. Hathaway himself was only even nominated for an Oscar , but his movies themselves are testimony to his skills to heighten narrative tension and shoot action so exhilarating it made adrenalin run . Henry was a good artisan who had a long career from the 30s with successful films , and especially Westerns , as ¨Brigham Young¨ and ¨Raw Hide¨ . In his 60s Hathaway still got the vigour to make some fiery movies as ¨From Hell to Texas¨, ¨How the West was won¨, ¨Nevada Smith¨, The sons of Katie Elder¨and ¨Shoot out¨ . He was an expert on Western genre as he proved in ¨True grit¨ , ¨Five card stud¨ , ¨Nevada Smith¨ , ¨How the West was won¨ , ¨Rawhide¨ , ¨Brigham Young¨ , ¨Buffalo Stampede¨, ¨Garden of evil¨ and many others. Hathaway also directed other genres as Drama, adventures , Film Noir and about the Second World War that were all for studio Twentieth Century-Fox and included ¨The House on 92nd Street¨ (1945); ¨Wing and a Prayer¨ (1944); ¨You're in the Navy Now¨ (1951) and ¨13 Rue Madeleine¨ (1947). Rating : 6.5/10 , better than average .

Usually Van Johnson is cast as a nice guy next door, the kid from just around the block who just happens to be around when everybody wants to dance--and in many ways, he was the happy simpleton to June Allyson's perky plans, or played off Esther Williams by just being nice and attractive in a chubby way. Here, Johnson earns his chops as an escaped convict with a severe drinking problem who runs to his brother for help only to meet the same brick wall the two of them built growing up. The brother, played coldly by stolid Joseph Cotten, is a wealthy rancher, but has problems of his own, having married for reasons never quite made clear, but mired in a long-time childless relationship with svelte, intelligent Ruth Roman, here, as in so many films, holding an anchor on some out of control emotions. Except for what I felt was an unnecessarily saccharin final five minutes, the plot zips with some intensity along the Mexican-American border, and the assured direction of veteran Henry Hathaway assures the viewer of a Cain-Abel story with modern ranch trimmings. Johnson, who passed away in 2008, could always be relied upon to be an easy leading man in musicals, from Two Girls and A Sailor, In The Good Old Summertime (with Judy Garland), but also served well in wartime dramas Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo and Caine Mutiny; in this film, however, Johnson stretched his talents beyond the usual and turned in his most distinctive role.

While not quite a masterpiece or a classic, The Bottom Of The Bottle is involving, suspenseful, and watchable. Like many movies of the era filmed on location, especially those made by director Henry Hathaway, it uses the atmosphere and landscape to get you involved. It's hard to picture this story taking place anywhere else (though it's based on a novel that took place in France).

Van Johnson heads the cast as an escaped convict and an alcoholic, who ends up at the doorstep of his older brother (Joseph Cotten), an affluent lawyer in Nogales. Arizona, during the aftermath of a big rainstorm that has caused the local river to rage and flood its banks. Johnson needs to get across to Mexico, where his wife and children are waiting, down to their last cent.

As a prominent attorney, it would be career suicide for Cotten to help his brother to leave the country. He seems cold and unfeeling, but after all, he has his own life to think of. It turns out, though, that years ago, he had a chance to help his brother (who's innocent) and didn't. He has become a shell of his former self, and his wife (Ruth Roman) realizes they're living a kind of half-life, partying and socializing with the other well-off people in town, in a kind of substitute for real happiness.

Eventually their friends (who have met Johnson, whom Cotten has passed off as someone else) realize Johnson is the escaped convict they've all become aware is in the area. But he has escaped into the wilderness, and is going to try to cross the turbulent river waters - even though he's gone back to drinking, in his desperate state. What happens from then on, you'll have to see.

Van Johnson is pretty great - he was an actor who played for charm, usually, and created a kind of familiar, laid back personality that he used in a lot of his roles. But here he has to create a completely different character, that you might expect to see played by a different type of actor.. And he pulls it off. Cotten, also, plays against type, and does it well. They don't really seem much like brothers. There's roughly a 10 year age difference, and they're different physical types. But being good actors, they make it work.

The great Lee Garmes photographed in CinemaScope, and the screenplay is by Sidney Boehm. Though somewhat turgid and heavy, the movie keeps you going and has a suspenseful last quarter and a satisfying pay off.