Fri 25 Aug 2017
DARK CITY. Paramount Pictures, 1950. Charlton Heston, Lizabeth Scott, Viveca Lindfors, Dean Jagger, Don DeFore, Jack Webb, Ed Begley, Harry Morgan, Mike Mazurki. Director: William Dieterle.
In this film Charlton Heston is a small-time grifter who, along with his gang of cohorts, fleeces a LA businessman (Don DeFore) in a game of cards. When the man commits suicide, his brother (Mike Mazurki), not altogether sane, doesn’t take kindly to it and decides to do something about it.
This wasn’t Charlton Heston’s film debut, but it was close. He had done a very early experimental film (Peer Gynt) back in 1941, then one other film (Julius Caesar) earlier that same year, plus a single episode of an obscure TV show called The Clock.
While I think the movie is a small gem, it would be stretching it to say that you could tell from seeing it that Heston would soon be a major star. In fact, in old movies such as this one, I usually enjoy watching people such as Jack Webb, Ed Begley, and Harry Morgan performing a whole lot more.
One other thing. This movie was released a long time before Jack Webb and Harry Morgan teamed up to do Dragnet on TV. Webb plays a shifty-eyed hood named Augie, with a wide-rimmed hat twice the size of his head, while Morgan is a punch-drunk hanger-on with a heart as big as all outdoors.
August 25th, 2017 at 9:25 am
This film has an interesting subtext about isolation and a fine turn from Don Defore.
August 25th, 2017 at 9:49 am
I will need to see this film again. With a cast like this one has, including the ones I mentioned as well as Don DeFore’s, how could you go wrong?
But how I could not have mentioned Lizabeth Scott? That I don’t understand.
August 25th, 2017 at 10:04 am
I didn’t like the film much, especially the second half, but I disagree seriously with you about Heston. He leaps off the screen, and that must be what the folks at Paramount thought as well.
August 25th, 2017 at 10:21 am
I suspect you are right about Heston. At this point in time I have no idea what it was about his performance that I found lacking. Another reason for me to see the film again!
August 25th, 2017 at 10:49 am
Almost-but-not-quite-relevant:
When Charlton Heston was edging back into television in the early ’80s, he did a miniseries called Chiefs, about an early police force in the West.
One of the writer/producers was Christopher Morgan, who was a son of Harry Morgan.
Early in the filming, Heston and the younger Morgan had a conversation which concluded with Heston passing on a greeting to the elder Morgan, mentioning that he’d been in his first movie.
A few days later, Chris Morgan met up with Heston again and told him that he’d seen his dad and mentioned that Heston told him he’d been in that first movie, to which Harry replied:
“Chris, I was in everyone’s first movie.”
Just thought I’d pass that along …
August 25th, 2017 at 10:19 pm
Hi Mike,
Wasn’t Chiefs set in the fictional town of Delano, Georgia and based on the book by Stuart Woods?
August 26th, 2017 at 2:32 am
Chuck
I’m not Mike, but since he hasn’t replied yet, the answer is Yes to both questions. I missed seeing it at the time, and haven’t been reminded of it in ages.
Here it is on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbNcD794qTU
August 26th, 2017 at 12:42 am
Jack and Harry also teamed in Alan Ladd’s APPOINTMENT WITH DANGER where Jack oils Harry.