Marked Woman
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Movie Reviews of Marked Woman
Movie Review: "You're a survivor Mary"
Summary: 4 Stars
Marked Woman was made in 1937 and featured the wonderful Bette Davis in a gritty, less than glamorous role. The movie is all about crime, the mobster underworld and hard-bitten alluring hostesses. There's violence and cruelty to women and murder, with most of the more grueling scenes taking place behind closed doors. One can just imagine the sensors take on this movie - they were almost certainly appalled at the subject matter, which was probably quite provocative for the time.
The story pretty much centers on the racketeering at the New York Club Intimé and the group of "hostesses" who work there. Underworld huckster Johnny Vanning (Eduardo Cianelli) has acquired the Club after renovations, and he wants to make sure that the girls are giving him the appropriate cut and that they are fulfilling their duties of encouraging men to spend on champagne and gamble in the secret casino hidden in the back room.
Mary Dwight Strauber (Davis) rooms with a number of hostesses who go along with the new deal, even though they know Vanning has murdered men who think they can trick the club. Mary is well aware that Vanning is up to no good, but her very life is placed on the line when a witness sees her with one of the men who was murdered.
Along with the other girls, Mary is hauled down to the DA's office and forced into a lineup. Mary then gets an offer of protection from David Graham (Humphrey Bogart), and she agrees to help, only to have her reputation as a professional party girl backfire on her - now she's got her picture in the paper, her reputation forever ruined.
There's a trial and a Mary gives a bent testimony, mainly because she's terrified of what Vanning might do to her. Things get even more complicated when Mary's innocent sister Betty (Jane Bryan) arrives in town, and not only accidentally gets pulled in on the police raid, but decides to adopt the call-girl lifestyle. Disillusioned, she accompanies the least dependable and rather flighty hostess Emmy Lou (Isabel Jewell) to one of Vanning's parties.
Perhaps the most memorable scene - and the most violent - is when poor Mary gets roughed up by one of Vanning's henchmen. Of course the director Lloyd Bacon wasn't allowed to show anything, so it all takes place in her bedroom with us outside, but this ironically gives the scene even more of an impact. Davis is really good here, not just in the one-to-one scenes with Bogart, but also when she's with her group of girls and she really manages to portray Mary's strength and fragility in the same moment. It's a very atypical role for an actress at this time.
Of course, the movie is all about the triumph of women over men who treat them badly and exploit them, and punch them out at the lightest provocation, and you can really feel the social relevance oozing off the screen - even if the full impact of it was tempered by the sensors. All these women must find their inner strength after an initial false boldness and it is only with the help of each other can they band together to eventually take these henchmen down. Mike Leonard July 06.
Movie Review: "I'll get even, if I have to crawl back from the grave to do it!"
Summary: 4 Stars
For a slice of pure classic Bette Davis, it has to be MARKED WOMAN (loosely-based on the real-life mobster Lucky Luciano's trial). This 1937 gangster movie from Warner Brothers stars Davis in one of her meatiest roles of the period, and also features Lola Lane and Isabel Jewell in strong support.
Bette Davis plays Mary Dwight. Dwight makes her living by working as a high-class hostess at a "clip joint" run by mobster Johnny Vanning (Eduardo Cianelli). When Mary's innocent kid sister Betty (Jane Bryan) gets caught up in the shady dealings of Vanning and later turns up murdered, Mary decides to expose Vanning--putting the lives of herself and her girlfriends in extreme jeopardy. Mary's actions naturally don't go unpunished by Vanning's henchmen, nevertheless brave Mary soldiers on and finally claims justice for her sister's life.
MARKED WOMAN gave Bette Davis one of her meatier acting assignments during a period when her relationship with Warner Brothers was strained. She had attempted a trip to England in search of better movie roles when studio head Jack Warner sued her for breach of contract. Davis lost the case and returned to Warner Brothers expecting the worst, but was pleasantly surprised when the script of MARKED WOMAN landed in her lap.
The movie features one of Davis' most brilliant performances; she's a sensation playing the brave Mary. Co-starring as two of Mary's fellow hostesses are reliable contract players Isabel Jewell ("Lost Horizon") and Lola Lane ("Miss V. from Moscow"). Humphrey Bogart plays the attorney who assists Mary during the trial; they of course had previously co-starred in "The Petrified Forest".
MARKED WOMAN is a gangster movie with a twist, focusing on the female victims of gangland violence, and naturally a must-see for fans of Bette Davis.
The DVD includes a new Making-Of featurette "Marked Woman: Ripped from the Headlines", two Merrie Melodies cartoons ("Porky's Hero Agency" and "She Was an Acrobat's Daughter"), and the trailer.
Movie Review: Tough crowd
Summary: 4 Stars
Almost immediately after New York attorney general Thomas Dewey successfully prosecuted Lucky Luciano for running a massive prostitution ring in 1936, Warner Bros. came out with this excellent version of the story starring Bette Davis. This is one of the rare Thirites crime dramas where the emphasis is mostly on women and their interrelations: Davis plays Mary Dwight, an especially vivacious hostess at Eduardo Cianelli's Manhattan clip joint the Club Intime, and the film is primarily about her relationship with her sister and with the other "hostesses." (Despite the fact that the film came out after the institution of the Hays Code, the film is exceptionally clear about what Davis and the other women actually do to make their money.) The suspense is terrific, and the film treats violence pretty unflinchingly for its period: there's a horrifying sequence where two of Cianelli's thugs work Davis over in another room as the other women she works with listen in horror. Humphrey Bogart is better than might be expected in an atypical heroic part, the Thomas Dewey role, and Davis is as usual in the Thirties quite fine (except for the one disappointing scene where she overdoes it when she learns in Bogart's office the fate of her sister). Her ability to hold the camera's attention was perhaps unparalleled in Hollywood at this stage in her career. Cianelli deserves much credit for making such a villain so genuinely loathsome; the unusual Mayo Methot, who married Bogart after meeting him on the set of this film, plays one of the other hostesses.Movie Review: Hey Warner Bros., they're called "hookers".
Summary: 4 Stars
The ladies in this movie are prostitutes or whores. I say that without
malice. The word "slut" was used once. There weren't any prostitutes in Hollywood especially heroines. When the "suckers" come to town, they want to drink, dance, talk &.... In real life Bette Davis had just lost her lawsuit against WB. But the producer finally realized what an asset she
was. Better parts albeit at WB started coming her way. This was her best to date. She absolutely dominated this movie as Mary, a hostess at a nightclub owned by gangster, Johnny Vanning. He basically terrorizes her and the other ladies she works with. She is implicated in the murder of one of her johns & arrested by assist. DA David Graham played by Humphrey Bogart. Very good, but he is obviously a co-star in this one. He
arrests Mary & tries to help her out & testify against Johnny. She lies, gets off as does Johnny. But he knows that she knows what really happened. Mary's kid sister Betty comes to visit on a holiday from college. She soon discovers how Mary is paying for her education. Betty decides to stay & slowly gets drawn in. She is killed in an accident at one of Johnny's parties. One of the girls witnesses this & is kidnaped. Johnny threatens the ladies especially Mary & his goons disfigure her & beat her almost to death. Not quite. The ladies along with Mary finally find their courage to testify against Johnny & his gang. A stand-out performance by Bette Davis & highly recommended.
Movie Review: Hoods vs. Bette Davis
Summary: 4 Stars
Wow. If the exact same script for "Marked Woman" was re-made today, I guarantee there'd be a move to soften the things that happen to the Bette Davis character, her character's little sister (played by Jane Bryan), and maybe one or two other unlucky stiffs. This really is a hard-hitting gangster film, laced with frequent violence and tragedy. It's really a take-no-prisoners movie. But, of course, it's supposed to be, so one shouldn't complain that a movie for once delivered on its hype.
This gritty little movie about the down and out taking on the corrupt and powerful is supported by a nicely-produced DVD that delivers crisp picture and sound and a handful of interesting extras. These latter include a short piece featuring several film historians discussing the movie's origins and impact, and a couple of Warner Brothers cartoon shorts that might have been seen with "Marked Woman" when in first appeared in theaters. One of the cartoons is really cute: it features an animated Bette Davis and Leslie Howard appearing in "The Petrified Florist", a sharp parody of the stars' flowery, poetic hit film, "The Petrified Forest".
Great movie, great extras. "Marked Woman" is another Warner Brothers keeper of a DVD.