The Damned Don't Cry
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Movie Reviews of The Damned Don't Cry
Movie Review: Joan Crawford Commands The Screen In Fascinating Gangster Melodrama
Summary: 4 Stars
By 1950 Joan Crawford was coming towards the end of her reign as one of the leading female stars at Warner Brother's Studios through most of the 1940's. However before she finally left the studio in 1952 to seek new challenges and better roles than she had been getting of late she had one last powerhouse performance to give in the bleak but riverting melodrama "The Damned Don't Cry". The Crawford on display in this story is the mature actress fully in command of her craft who by her sheer star power and gritty performing literally wipes every one else off the screen in this tawdry tale of underworld thugs and the women they use along the way. In many ways the screenplay is your typical rags to riches story so familiar to Crawford enthusiasts however Joan Crawford under the solid direction of veteran Vincent Sherman in the first of their three collaborations together really works magic with the stock character and makes the at times unbelievable "The Damned Don't Cry", a taut and totally fun outing. Full of double dealings, shoot outs, deception and a central female character who ruthlessly takes on the boys in a man's world, it makes a fitting conclusion to Joan Crawford's amazing career run at Warner Brothers and definately helped pave the way for the many hard broiled roles that became her trademark in the 1950's.
Based on a story by Gertrude Walker the story opens with a distraught woman dressed in a beautiful mink coat arriving at a dreary old house on the outskirts of the coal fields. She is no ordinary woman however as the story reveals and Ethel Whitehead (Joan Crawford) appears to be escaping from some dangerous past. With her story told in flashback we first see Ethel as a down trodden, financially strapped housewife married to a hard working but unimaginative husband Roy (Richard Egan), living with her parents and having to bear the criticism of her harsh father. Ethel's existence is shattered when her young son is killed while out riding the new bike his mother had just bought for him despite the disapproval of her husband. Deciding life must have more to offer than this existence Ethel packs up and moves to the city where she finds work firstly in a cigar store and then in modelling clothes for a firm handling out of town buyers which often involves the women being the "dates" for the travelling salesmen. Ethel gains in self confidence and in the belief in her own attractiveness towards men and when she meets gifted accountant Martin Blackford (Kent Smith), Ethel sees her chance to develop a better life. She pushes Martin into an involvement with the owner of a local nightclub to handle his financial affairs for a good price and from there they make the acquaintance of hardened gang land figure George Castleman (David Brian), who sets up a reluctant Martin as his organisation's chief accountant. Martin does it solely to please Ethel who he is in love with and proposes mariage to despite disapproving of Castleman's shady operations. Ethel however has her sights set much higher and begins an affair with Castleman during which she undergoes a complete transformation emerging as the mysterious but socially prominent Lorna Hanson Forbes. However the luxury apartment, beautiful clothes and world travel provided by Castleman have their price as she now discovers when she is caught in a plan by George to remove one of his underlings Nick Prenta (Steve Cochran) who is in charge of Castleman's operation in the west coast area of Palm Springs. Lorna reluctantly travels out to Palm Springs to spy on Nick for Castleman however she ends up falling in love with him and attempts to head off the inevitable show down between the two men that will only end in Nick's death. A now hardened Martin travels out to Palm Springs to warn Lorna that Castleman is onto her and when Castleman himself arrives there is a shootout which sees Nick killed and Lorna fleeing the scene in a frantic effort to get away from him. He however follows her back to her impoverished parents house and in one final fiery showdown between Lorna, Martin and Castleman where she is injured Ethel/Lorna finds herself right back where she began all those years ago with only a mink coat as evidence of her former glittering life as the "socially prominent", but equally mysterious, Lorna Hanson Forbes.
Largely based on the story of Las Vegas gangster Bugsy Siegel and his mistress Virginia Hill, "The Damned Don't Cry" proved to be one of the strongest vehicles that screen legend Joan crawford had enjoyed in some time. At this stage in her ever enduring career the role of Ethel Whitehead/Lorna Hansen-Forbes was one that suited Joan Crawford perfectly and in this lurid story she makes the absolute most of the meaty part. Rarely have I enjoyed her as much as here and the unique thing is that she makes her character's transformation from dowdy law abiding housewife to mistress of a mobster totally believable and she is equally riverting in both parts. Joan Crawford enjoyed a very successful collaboration with director Vincent Sherman here and in her next feature when she went on loan out to Columbia Studios for the suberb "Harriet Craig" and indeed by this stage in her career Crawford undoubtedly knew as much about directing herself as those hired to perform the task. She is totally compelling on screen and never for a moment does she really share the screen with anyone as the viewers attention seems to be constantly fixed on her. What is so pleasing about "The Damned Don't Cry", is that it provides such a strong central woman's role despite the story being the "rough and tumble man's story", type of product so familiar in the output at Warner Bros. Despite the Crawford powerhouse the two leading males in David Brian as the ruthless George Castleman and Steve Cochran as his rival Nick Prenta also make memorable impressions. One critic likened David Brian's character to a snarling cobra and that's a perfect description of his character here and rarely has Brian been so effective on screen. He enjoys an electric chemistry with Joan Crawford and their scenes together especially when the cracks start appearing in their relationship are especially noteworthy. Production wise "The Damned Don't Cry", has alot of the famed "noir" look about it and the cinematography is especially effective in depicting the drab and grainy existence of down trodden Ethel Whitehead which stands in stark contrast with the filmy look to those scenes when Ethel becomes Lorna and is enjoying the good life of priviledge in New York and Palm Springs which is further enhanced with some wonderful location photography in the desert resort. Sheila O'Brien's fashions for Joan Crawford are another visual standout in "The Damned Don't Cry", perfectly tracing the rise and fall of Ethel Whitehead from coal town to the heights of international society.
The saying "they sure don't make 'em like that anymore", is an apt description of "The Damned Don't Cry"., and for all Joan Crawford fans who like to see her in commanding, fully cut roles this one is a real treat. Along with "Harriet Craig", it is by far my favourite Crawford vehicle from the 1950's and it has everything a full bodied melodrama should have with ruthless men always ready to pull a gun, and classy no nonsense women who are prepared to use their "charms", to get ahead in a man's world. Joan Crawford like no other actress was perfect for these hard broiled type roles and she makes a real meal out of her part turning a fairly unbelievable story into an exciting and highly entertaining viewing experience. Don't miss Joan Crawford in one of her last Warner Bros. roles before she became a freelance actress in the sordid and fast moving "The Damned Don't Cry".
Movie Review: "She's as tough as a 75-cent steak"
Summary: 4 Stars
The Damned Don't Cry! is such a distinctively a Joan Crawford movie that from the moment she's on the screen, you know she's going to command your attention and it's her inimitable presence that certainly raises this crime noir film above mediocrity.
Ethel Whitehead (Joan Crawford) is caught in a loveless marriage with her poor working-class husband Roy (Richard Egan), who has no ambition to rise above his circumstances. They live in a ramshackle house in the middle of an oil field, where she constantly worries about money. Roy even balks when Ethel buys their 6-year-old son Tom a new bike for a measly ten bucks.
When Tom gets accidentally run over by a truck, Ethel decides she's had enough and heads to New York where she uses her good looks and sex appeal to move from being a cigar store girl to a model for a trashy fashion house wholesaler. Sandra (Jacqueline deWit), a model in the same place, clues the ambitious Ethel into accepting expensive dates with businessmen representing the firm.
But in reality, the businessmen are part of an illegal bookmaking racket. Soon she's sleeping her way to the top of the criminal empire starting with naïve accountant Martin Blackford (Kent Smith), moving on up to fellow boy from the wrong side of the tracks George Castleman "Mr. Big" Castleman (David Brian) and ending with a poolside affair in Vegas opposite the slick, sexy West Coast gangster Nick Prenta (Steve Cochran).
Martin has fallen in love with Ethel and admits that he will do absolutely anything for her. Ethel, however, wants "so much more" than what Martin ha to offer. When George finally courts her, she's disappointed that he only thinks of her as an investment - a type of gangster moll. Despite her uncertainties, George sends her on assignment to Vegas where she ends up falling in love with Nick. She fails, however to keep the boss informed.
Ethel, as she slowly but surely transforms into a society lady, naively stumbles from one man to another gradually digging herself deeper into danger and duplicitousness. The last thing Ethel wants is to have murder on her hands; after all, she's basically a good person, but she's unwittingly become involved with a crowd of men who will basically stop at nothing to achieve their own mean-spirited ends.
The movie climaxes in Vegas (actually filmed in Palm Springs) when George and Martin, now the well-oiled top bookkeeper for the syndicate, pay Ethel a surprise visit, demanding to know the truth about her relationship with Nick.
The Damned Don't Cry! is basically a tale of how blind and selfish ambition can lead innocent people astray and how it can ultimately lead to their downfall. By the time Ethel becomes involved in the shadowy cycle of the noir underworld, it is just too late for her to turn back. She sees the world as is divided between the "haves" who take whatever they want and the "have-nots" who are honest but always poor.
It's not until Ethel learns how ruthless these men really are that she realizes she's miscalculated what she stands for and has been given a harsh life lesson about how corrupt her life has really become. She never meant for it to be this way. Ethel becomes a downtrodden victim of men, of circumstance, of her feminine ego, and most importantly, of her own naïve stupidity.
Crawford's solid, and at times, almost campy performance as Ethel anchors what could easily have been a sub par, B grade example of gangster film noir. All Ethel ever wanted was to make her life economically better for herself. She realizes pretty early on that only through the use of her feminine wiles will she be able to advance her agenda in a man's world that is largely ruthless, predominantly misogynistic, and unalterably corrupt. Mike Leonard July 05.
Movie Review: With her loveliness she ruled men's hearts.
Summary: 4 Stars
After her son dies, a woman (Joan Crawford) leaves her husband and their hardscrabble oil field life to find something better. In New York City she finds that she's able to cash in on her good looks, brains and moxie to get what she always wanted -- which is, apparently, swell clothes and a swank place to live.
Crawford plays Ethel Whitehead, who will change her name along with her history when she hits the east coast. Whitehead becomes oil heiress Lorna Hansen Forbes and works her way up the food chain by devouring men who succumb to her beauty. The first test feed is small fry Martin Blackford (Kent Smith), an accountant Lorna seduces - as seduction was done in 1950 - and whose coattail she rides until she's swimming with the big fish. East coast crime boss George Castleman (David Brian) and west coast boss Nick Prenta (Steve Cochran) will both find themselves grinding through the mill that is Lorna's love. Men fall for her like ten pins and she tosses them away like yesterday's newspaper when she's done with them. The special feature documentary "The Crawford Formula: Real to Reel" tell us, and director Vincent Sherman confirms that Crawford sought out and befriended directors and cameramen, who in turn would make sure their friend Joan looked her best.
THE DAMNED DON'T CRY is supposed to chronicle the transformation of a simple, lower-class housewife into a dazzling socialite with some unfortunate ties to big time criminals. According to Sherman's otherwise disappointing commentary the transformation works because she (Crawford the housewife) `was naïve, simple and sweet.' It was the only time I laughed out loud during the movie or any of the extras. `Simple' and especially `sweet' aren't the first words that come to mind when describing Crawford in this picture. Barracuda, mercenary, cut-throat, and a few dozen other words pop in mind, but not simple and sweet. For all the soft-focusing and center-framing director Sherman and cinematographer Ted McCord throw at Crawford, they aren't able to disguise the fact that this is a 46-year-old hard-bitten actress on the screen.
Anyway, Crawford learns that `the world isn't for nice guys' and gains access to the big, bad boys before discovering that there's more to life then knowing that one does not wear orchids in the afternoon. I didn't buy what the movie was selling for a minute, but it was stylishly done and moved forward at a brisk pace. Brian and Cochran were good as the seedy thugs aspiring to refinement. Crawford, to my surprise (haven't seen many of her pictures), had an ingratiating charm in some scenes that smoothed things over some. Solid entertainment.
Movie Review: "The Damned Don't Cry (1950) ... Crawford & Brian ... Vincent Sherman (Director) (2005)"
Summary: 4 Stars
Warner Bros. Pictures presents "THE DAMNED DON'T CRY" (7 May 1950 ) (85 min/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- Nick Prenta (Cochran) the gangster is murdered and opens up an investigation of Lorna Hansen Forbes a mysterious socialite, no trace of a past and has gone missing --- Once again a story with flashbacks, uncovering the woman's anonymous roots; her poor working-class marriage, which ends in tragedy and her determination to find "better things." --- She soon discovers that sex appeal is her only salable commodity, she climbs from man to man toward the center of a nationwide crime syndicate - Entire cast gives a realistic performance.
Typically another powerful performance from Crawford.
Under the production staff of:
Vincent Sherman [Director]
Harold Medford [Screenwriter]
Jerome Weidman [Screenwriter]
Gertrude Walker [story "Case History"]
Jerry Wald [Producer]
Daniele Amfitheatrof [Original Film Music]
Ted D. McCord [Cinematographer]
Rudi Fehr [Film Editor]
BIOS:
1. Vincent Sherman [aka: Abraham Orovitz] [Director]
Date of Birth: 16 July 1906 - Vienna, Georgia
Date of Death: 18 June 2006 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
2. Joan Crawford [aka: Lucille Fay LeSueur]
Date of Birth: 23 March 1905 - San Antonio, Texas
Date of Death: 10 May 1977 - New York City, New York
3. David Brian
Date of Birth: 5 August 1914 - New York City, New York
Date of Death: 15 July 1993 - Sherman Oaks, California
4. Steve Cochran [aka: Robert Alexander Cochran]
Date of Birth: 25 May 1917 - Eureka, California, USA
Date of Death: 15 June 1965 - Pacific Ocean (acute infectious edema)
the cast includes:
Joan Crawford - Ethel Whitehead
David Brian - George Castleman aka Joe Caveny
Steve Cochran - Nick Prenta
Kent Smith - Martin Blankford
Hugh Sanders - Grady
Selena Royle - Patricia Longworth
Jacqueline deWit - Sandra
Morris Ankrum - Jim Whitehead
Edith Evanson - Mrs. Castleman
Richard Egan - Roy Whitehead
Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 4 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]
Total Time: 103 min on DVD ~ Warner Bros. Pictures ~ (06/14/2005)
Movie Review: Glamorous Film Noir Fun
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Damned Don't Cry" is the kind of movie that Joan Crawford excelled. The formula consisting of either "shop girl" seeking the good life or "unappreciated wife and mother" seeking the good life, which is the case here, are played to perfection by the ultimate movie star. Joan leaves her hard working, yet seemingly uncaring husband, after the death of their young son and goes out seeking the "good things in life." This is a "from rags to riches" story that mirrors the film noir classics, but is a step above due to the acting talents of Joan and her male co-stars. David Brian is excellent as the sophisticated mob boss who seduces Joan into his world of luxuries and crime. Kent Smith plays a smart accountant which gets pulled into the world of the mob by his ambitious "true love" played by Joan. And then there's the tough and handsome playboy, Steve Cochran, (who also claims to be Joan's true love) which plays the rival mobster to David Brian's mob boss. I highly recommend this movie to both film noir fans, as well as to all Joan Crawford fans. The dvd features the original movie trailer, as well as a nice "making of" featurette, "The Crawford Formula: Real and Reel". The dvd has a clean transfer, however the film itself has a few minor blurs and glitches but nothing that would detract the viewer's enjoyment of the movie, but this is on the film itself and has nothing to do with the dvd's transfer. "The Damned Don't Cry" ranks right up there with Joan's other classics, such as: "Harriet Craig," "Flamingo Road," and one of my personal favorites, "Female On The Beach." All of which are sadly missing and desperately needed on dvd. If you're considering purchasing the Joan Crawford Collection box set, I highly recommend all the films in this collection. As one of the reviewers here mentioned, there are only three titles here that were not previously on dvd, "The Damned Don't Cry," "Humoresque," and "Possessed (1947)." And two titles that were already available on dvd, "Mildred Pierce," and "The Women." I would love to see all of Joan's movies available on dvd, for after all she was, and will always be, "the ultimate star."