Cass Timberlane (1947)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Glossy MGM production of a good-hearted judge (Spencer Tracy) who goes against his rich friends by marrying a woman (Lana Turner) from across the tracks. The woman tries her best to fit into the higher class lifestyle but soon she begins to hate the life and sees what she thinks is a new life in another man (Zachary Scott). For the first eighty-minutes of this thing I was really enjoying it as the entire cast and especially the two leads were doing a terrific job and made for some great entertaining. Even though all of this you could tell that the screenplay was offering nothing new and after eighty-minutes of this the final forty just became too much. The final forty-minutes of this thing contains one boring bit of melodrama after another and by the time the film ends you feel as if you've spent three hours with these characters instead of just two. I thought the film started out wonderful as we got some nice bits of comedy with Tracy being introduced to Turner due to a court case where she was a simple witness. This leads to an incredibly charming date sequence as well as a terrific baseball sequence where Tracy fills in as an umpire. The two actors are so incredibly charming together that you can overlook all the issues with the screenplay. Tracy does another great job in a role that he could play in his sleep. The guy has a great heart and does what he believes is right even when those around him begin to doubt his heart. Tracy brings that certain dignity to the role and in the end makes it his own. Even better is Turner who is simply magnificent in the role. In the early scenes with her playing the poor but happy girl she brings so much sunshine to the character where it was easy to believe that Tracy's judge would fall for her. Turner handles the lighthearted material so well but she's even better in the more dramatic stuff including her love for two men. Scott also comes off quite charming but that snake feeling is also there. Tom Drake, Mary Astor, Albert Dekker and Margaret Lindsay are all fine in their supporting roles. You can also look quickly for a cameo by Walter Pidgeon playing himself and Cameron Mitchell has a small role. Sidney's direction is pretty good throughout but even fine direction and great performances can't overcome a screenplay that offers up one predictable move after another. There are several twists and turns to the love triangle but they're all things we've seen countless times before and after a while it just gets downright boring.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Glossy MGM production of a good-hearted judge (Spencer Tracy) who goes against his rich friends by marrying a woman (Lana Turner) from across the tracks. The woman tries her best to fit into the higher class lifestyle but soon she begins to hate the life and sees what she thinks is a new life in another man (Zachary Scott). For the first eighty-minutes of this thing I was really enjoying it as the entire cast and especially the two leads were doing a terrific job and made for some great entertaining. Even though all of this you could tell that the screenplay was offering nothing new and after eighty-minutes of this the final forty just became too much. The final forty-minutes of this thing contains one boring bit of melodrama after another and by the time the film ends you feel as if you've spent three hours with these characters instead of just two. I thought the film started out wonderful as we got some nice bits of comedy with Tracy being introduced to Turner due to a court case where she was a simple witness. This leads to an incredibly charming date sequence as well as a terrific baseball sequence where Tracy fills in as an umpire. The two actors are so incredibly charming together that you can overlook all the issues with the screenplay. Tracy does another great job in a role that he could play in his sleep. The guy has a great heart and does what he believes is right even when those around him begin to doubt his heart. Tracy brings that certain dignity to the role and in the end makes it his own. Even better is Turner who is simply magnificent in the role. In the early scenes with her playing the poor but happy girl she brings so much sunshine to the character where it was easy to believe that Tracy's judge would fall for her. Turner handles the lighthearted material so well but she's even better in the more dramatic stuff including her love for two men. Scott also comes off quite charming but that snake feeling is also there. Tom Drake, Mary Astor, Albert Dekker and Margaret Lindsay are all fine in their supporting roles. You can also look quickly for a cameo by Walter Pidgeon playing himself and Cameron Mitchell has a small role. Sidney's direction is pretty good throughout but even fine direction and great performances can't overcome a screenplay that offers up one predictable move after another. There are several twists and turns to the love triangle but they're all things we've seen countless times before and after a while it just gets downright boring.