Lucille Ball did something novel for 1950s television. Halfway through the phenomenal run of I LOVE LUCY, she moved the New York City based story line to Hollywood and this allowed her to make a series of shows with guests. Many had not appeared with her in film. Several did appear in movies with her: Harpo Marx (ROOM SERVICE) and William Holden (MISS GRANT TAKES RICHMONE). But one figure did not appear who one misses. Clifton Webb.
To be fair neither did Mark Stevens (Ball's co-star) nor William Bendix (then in his own rival television show, THE LIFE OF RILEY). Still it is odd that Webb never showed up. The only clue I have ever found about this I heard about year or so ago: in the 1930s Webb was in a Broadway show with William Frawley, and the two had some type of run-in, leading to Frawley punching Webb in the face. Possibly Lucy felt that made such a casting impossible.
Webb had made his memorable entry into film in 1944 as Waldo Lydecker in LAURA. Then nothing happened for two years. Then he made THE DARK CORNER and the first version of THE RAZOR'S EDGE. His role as Hardy Cathcart, the wealthy art and antique dealer is rather like that of Lydecker. Cathcart is, basically, an effete interior decorator, with a trophy wife (Cathy Downs) rather than an effete newspaper/radio personality and critic with a trophy friend.
There are differences though. Waldo is one of several suspects in LAURA. But in THE DARK CORNER, we are quickly aware of the villain of the piece: Cathcart is planning to frame detective Bradford Galt (Stevens) for the murder of Anthony Jardine (Kurt Krueger) who once framed Galt in California. Jardine has been carrying on an affair with Mari Cathcart, thus exciting her husband's anger. Cathcart sees that Galt is a perfect patsy. He uses a crooked private eye named Stauffer(William Bendix) to set up Galt to be left in his rooms with the body of Jardine. Galt's only hope is his secretary and lover Kathleen (Lucille Ball) who can help gather information when the police are looking for the hiding Galt.
Like many film noir (including LAURA and DOUBLE INDEMNITY) if one looks at the plot carefully there are so many holes in it as to make anyone putting it into effect look insane. Why go to such an elaborate plan against Jardine and Galt, when it is simpler to just make Jardine disappear? You double the chances of a plan failing if you actually complicate it's mechanism with some type of frame-up as attempted here.
Yet the film works. Lucy never played a female girl Friday in any other major film, and this may be her best performance, especially when describing the confused feelings she has regarding the dire situation she and her lover are in. Only her performances in LURED and THE BIG STREET may have been better dramatic ones, but the former was a remake of a better French thriller, and the latter was marred by too much garrulousness and sentimentality (although some of the color from Daman Runyon's stories and characters was a plus).
Also, the film benefited from Stevens as the gumshoe, who worked well with Lucy. They genuinely seem concerned about each other's safety. Cathy Downs' Mari Cathcart is more limited, spending much of her screen footage mourning the loss of her lover, and only coming out of it (with deadly results) at the conclusion of the film.
Bendix always gave competent and expert performances, and his sleazy detective is unexpectedly realistic (even if the plot against Stevens is not). He turns out to be a tough customer, even willingly accepting a working over by Stevens before knocking him out when setting him up. But for all his toughness he turns out to be surprisingly too trusting and naive regarding his boss. As for the boss, Webb makes the art dealer seem quite untrustworthy and blasé from the first, when he comments on not liking the grass in the morning as it looks like it has been left out all night.
But my favorite piece of business in the film is a joke scene of Bendix and Webb plotting mischief. Webb has insisted that Bendix not see him in his office (he wants no witness showing up who saw Bendix at his office). But Bendix has insisted on visiting him inside his office. Webb sees no possible way out, and they are in his office. All around are these costly antiques, but Bendix does not care. He is smoking his cigarette, while Webb stares at him with anger and fear. He does not recall planning to let the Detective invade his personal office. So Webb listens while Bendix spells out why he needs more cash. But gradually we see Webb's eye wander away from Bendix's face to his hand and that cigarette with the growing ash. Finally, Webb blows up - he won't continue talking to Bendix until he puts the cigarette out in the ash tray on his desk. You see, he does not want the idiot to drop an ash on the antique Persian carpet on the floor! That is more important than Bendix's bellyaching about fleeing town, and needing cash.
It was a neat follow-up to Laura. And then came THE RAZOR'S EDGE, which allowed Webb to play his high strung heroes/anti-heroes for laughs. After 1946 (as I said earlier) the job offers were far more frequent than they had been. Webb's star was now in ascendants.
To be fair neither did Mark Stevens (Ball's co-star) nor William Bendix (then in his own rival television show, THE LIFE OF RILEY). Still it is odd that Webb never showed up. The only clue I have ever found about this I heard about year or so ago: in the 1930s Webb was in a Broadway show with William Frawley, and the two had some type of run-in, leading to Frawley punching Webb in the face. Possibly Lucy felt that made such a casting impossible.
Webb had made his memorable entry into film in 1944 as Waldo Lydecker in LAURA. Then nothing happened for two years. Then he made THE DARK CORNER and the first version of THE RAZOR'S EDGE. His role as Hardy Cathcart, the wealthy art and antique dealer is rather like that of Lydecker. Cathcart is, basically, an effete interior decorator, with a trophy wife (Cathy Downs) rather than an effete newspaper/radio personality and critic with a trophy friend.
There are differences though. Waldo is one of several suspects in LAURA. But in THE DARK CORNER, we are quickly aware of the villain of the piece: Cathcart is planning to frame detective Bradford Galt (Stevens) for the murder of Anthony Jardine (Kurt Krueger) who once framed Galt in California. Jardine has been carrying on an affair with Mari Cathcart, thus exciting her husband's anger. Cathcart sees that Galt is a perfect patsy. He uses a crooked private eye named Stauffer(William Bendix) to set up Galt to be left in his rooms with the body of Jardine. Galt's only hope is his secretary and lover Kathleen (Lucille Ball) who can help gather information when the police are looking for the hiding Galt.
Like many film noir (including LAURA and DOUBLE INDEMNITY) if one looks at the plot carefully there are so many holes in it as to make anyone putting it into effect look insane. Why go to such an elaborate plan against Jardine and Galt, when it is simpler to just make Jardine disappear? You double the chances of a plan failing if you actually complicate it's mechanism with some type of frame-up as attempted here.
Yet the film works. Lucy never played a female girl Friday in any other major film, and this may be her best performance, especially when describing the confused feelings she has regarding the dire situation she and her lover are in. Only her performances in LURED and THE BIG STREET may have been better dramatic ones, but the former was a remake of a better French thriller, and the latter was marred by too much garrulousness and sentimentality (although some of the color from Daman Runyon's stories and characters was a plus).
Also, the film benefited from Stevens as the gumshoe, who worked well with Lucy. They genuinely seem concerned about each other's safety. Cathy Downs' Mari Cathcart is more limited, spending much of her screen footage mourning the loss of her lover, and only coming out of it (with deadly results) at the conclusion of the film.
Bendix always gave competent and expert performances, and his sleazy detective is unexpectedly realistic (even if the plot against Stevens is not). He turns out to be a tough customer, even willingly accepting a working over by Stevens before knocking him out when setting him up. But for all his toughness he turns out to be surprisingly too trusting and naive regarding his boss. As for the boss, Webb makes the art dealer seem quite untrustworthy and blasé from the first, when he comments on not liking the grass in the morning as it looks like it has been left out all night.
But my favorite piece of business in the film is a joke scene of Bendix and Webb plotting mischief. Webb has insisted that Bendix not see him in his office (he wants no witness showing up who saw Bendix at his office). But Bendix has insisted on visiting him inside his office. Webb sees no possible way out, and they are in his office. All around are these costly antiques, but Bendix does not care. He is smoking his cigarette, while Webb stares at him with anger and fear. He does not recall planning to let the Detective invade his personal office. So Webb listens while Bendix spells out why he needs more cash. But gradually we see Webb's eye wander away from Bendix's face to his hand and that cigarette with the growing ash. Finally, Webb blows up - he won't continue talking to Bendix until he puts the cigarette out in the ash tray on his desk. You see, he does not want the idiot to drop an ash on the antique Persian carpet on the floor! That is more important than Bendix's bellyaching about fleeing town, and needing cash.
It was a neat follow-up to Laura. And then came THE RAZOR'S EDGE, which allowed Webb to play his high strung heroes/anti-heroes for laughs. After 1946 (as I said earlier) the job offers were far more frequent than they had been. Webb's star was now in ascendants.