I hate to dampen everyone's parade, but I found this film very disappointing. And I am a noir fanatic with inscribed pictures of Jane Rusell and Robert Mitchum in my home and office. The supporting cast, including Tim Holt, Phil Van Vandt, Peter Brocco, and Charles McGraw (the latter two one year before they went head to head in "The Narrow Margin") is par excellance. I'm also a huge fan of Vinny's who is truly unleashed in this film and seems to be genuinely enjoying every moment of it.
But what's going on here? Is this a film noir or a comedy? In trying to be both, it achieves neither and falls incredibly flat to my mind.
The plot makes no sense at all. Give a loser 50 grand to go to a resort so a bad guy can take his place? C'mon. Why not pay him five bucks to take his picture for the plastic surgeon and kill him right then and there?
Mitchum happens to run into Russell while he's waiting for a small plane that she just happens to be waiting for too?
What about Jim Backus? Is he a good guy or a bad guy? He's apparently cheating the poor shlub who Mitchum bails out so he can get a crack at the shlub's wife, a la Captain Renault in "Casablanca." But when Mitchum intervenes in true Rick Blaine style and cheats him out of more than a grand with a magically reappearing pair of aces, Backus just smiles and says something like, "No hard feelings?"
Tim Holt's a fed who shows up out of nowhere all by himself just so he can get whacked?
A novelist hangs around the resort playing chess with himself and just so happens to also be a plastic surgeon with access to a drug used by the Nazis?
This assortment of nonsense is worth a look just because of the collection of marvelous performers. But, as a story, it sucks.
Mia Farrow's Dad, John, was a notorious boozer and must have been hitting the bottle hard with Mitchum during filming to direct this nonsensical farrago.
At least the movie is balanced in one way - on the one hand, you have one of the greatest ham actors of all time (Vinny) playing the part of, well, a ham actor.
Conversely, legendary substance abuser Bob Mitchum plays a teetotaler!
Hughes was fortunate enough to have both Mitchum and Russell under contract at RKO where they also did "Macao" together. It's just a shame that he couldn't have latched on to some better material with which to showcase their obvious talents (and physical attributes) along with the wealth of supporting talent that surrounded them in this haphazard mishmosh.
One postscript - the scene where Mitchum and Russell enter Vinny's room and he is wearing an apron and cooking dinner was a slice of real life.
I watched Robert Osborne's interview of Mitchum and Russell shortly before Mitchum's death, and they both raved about going to parties at Vinny's house and what a marvelous gourmet cook he was. They also described him as probably the nicest guy in all of Hollywood. I think the best part of this film is that we are treated to a rare glimpse of Vinny as he really was, a particularly special treat for those of us who remember him as Charles Dexter Ward, Matthew Hopkins, and Dr. Anton Phibes.
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christieg2
18 years ago
As you must be a keen fan of Robert Mitchum, you surely would have read Lee Server's biography of Mitchum, "Baby I Don't Care" which explains the alterations that took place after John Farrow finished his work on the film. For all its peculiarities, I enjoy its moments of fun, with Vincent Price hamming it up with such expertise and enjoyment, the scenes where Russell and Mitchum play so well together.(And they both look gorgeous!) No way can the dangerous moments be taken seriously. It reminds me of old Batman serials I saw at the Sat arvo matinees when I was a kid, cheering on the hero, hissing the villians, no one taking it too seriously. If I want serious drama I know where to look.( By the way I envy you your autographed photo of Mitchum.)
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oversplayer
18 years ago
I not only read Lee Server's book but have frequently recommended it as the most entertaining book I've ever read. However, I don't recall the part about the alterations to HKOW.
Autographed Mitchums are not that hard to come by. There's a site called R&R that auctions celebrity photos every month, and all of the signatures are verified by their team of authenticators.
I got one of my two Mitchums there for about $200.00 which may sound high, but in the last two months, a John Wayne went for $1500.00, a Bogart for $4000.00, and a particularly beautiful Marilyn brought $16,000.00.
That was a shame because I wanted all threereally bad, but the eventual prices blew me away.
What's really special about one of my Mitchums is that it is hanging in my home next to a picture of Jane Greer which is personalized to me with a reference to my all time favorite film, "Out of the Past."
I happen to share the first name of Mitchum's character in that movie, and Ms. Greer signed the photo, "To Jeff. Love Kathy."
I got it less than a year before she passed away.
Mitchum's performances in "Out of the Past" and "His Kind of Woman" are virtually identical. That may be a substantial part of the reason why I was disappointed by the latter film.
I agree that it's fun to watch all those great performers cavort in a Mexican resort. I just wish it would have been more of a true noir and that the repartee between Mitchum and Russell would have been more fully developed.
That said, Vinny was absolutely priceless. Casting him in the role of a ham actor was as much of a stretch as casting Dean Martin as a gambler "with a taste for booze and broads" in "Some Came Running."
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christieg2
18 years ago
Hi Oversplayer, Thanks for the info about the R&R site. You certain;y have some interesting pieces. Just quickly, the reference for the changes and additions Howard Hughes made to HKOW after John Farrow signed off, are pp 211-216. There's so much to read in this great book, I love it too. Talk to you later. Christie.
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oversplayer
18 years ago
Hi, Christie
You'll have fun on R&R although the prices are increasing almost as fast as gas at the pump.
The great part is, with fraud running rampant on the intenet, all of the signatures on R&R pieces are guaranteed authentic.
Thanks for the tip on the book. It's always worth a reread. I loved the part about Mitchum handing five bucks to a producer and then telling the columnist who was interviewing him that the producer was a bathroom attendant.
Regards,
Jeff
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christieg2
18 years ago
Hi Jeff. In reading Server's very interesting book about Mitchum, nothing really came as a surprise. I can well imagine him getting up to to all those pranks. He was larger than life. I'm hoping that the new DVD release of HKOW will have some interesting features. There are so many of his films that remain neglected, eg. The Big Steal, The Lusty Men, The Yakuza, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, The Sundowners. I wish I knew which buttons to press! I meant to comment about your personally autographed picture of Jane Greer. That is a real treasure. She was stunningly beautiful in Out of the Past and The Big Steal (still waiting for a DVD release) and still looked lovely in Against All Odds. Did you meet her?
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a-wheeler
18 years ago
I love this film and glad WB is re-releasing. It deserves to be seen on a wider scale.
I understand why you couldn't fall behind this film, but I thought I would counter some of what you said.
It's a noir with shades of comedy. They work separately very well -- together, it's almost a stretch. But they were both done well, so I can forgive the patch work genre.
The plot does make sense-- Ferraro hired Milner to stay in Mexico while he takes his place back in the states. 50 grand was promised, but he wasn't going to get it -- Milner was going to play the sap, if he was dumb enough. The Nazi surgeon was the weakest part of that set-up (a face transplant? and those sunglasses?).
The resort was sort of a low-key get away. Backus was there to gamble and pick up women. Price was there to be with his mistress (and hunt). Backus was primarily there to fill out the scenery.
John Farrow directed most of the picture and then was sacked. Richard Fleischer was brought in a reshot much of it. Farrow's Ferraro (Wilke) was cut from the film and Raymond Burr was added later. Something similar to the Donner/Lester Superman II fiasco. I would love to see how HKoW was originally shot, myself.
Mitchum as a teetotaler was just a character device. Just a quirk that makes him unique to this film.
I hope you keep this mind and rewatch it.
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christieg2
18 years ago
This is one of my favourite Mitchum films, not his best performance by any means, but altogether, a lot of fun. On page 211, of Mitchum's biography, "Baby, I Don't Care", Lee Server writes, " In mid-May Farrow shot the last pages of the script and went home, the picture completed. Or so he thought." According to Server, Howard Hughes then fiddled, recast certain roles and rewrote the ending, which held up the release of the film for some time. It would be interesting if the DVD release has some special features which go into these developments.
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oversplayer
18 years ago
Hi, Christie
No. Unfortunately, I did not meet Jane Greer in person. If I had, I may have never recovered. She and Maureen O'Hara (who I did see in person as a teenager) are my favorite actresses of all time and the two I regard as most beautiful.
I love "The Big Steal" which I have on VHS, and particularly love the banter between Duke Vincent Blake Halliday and "Chiquita" and the way Jane Greer needles Mitchum about his proficiency in Spanish.
Plus you have one of the nicest guys in Hollywood (Patric Knowles) plaing a particularly slimy bad guy, silent star Ramon Novarro as the Inspector "Heneral," and the great John Qualen ("Berger" from "Casablanca") as another villain.
If you remember in Lee Server's book, the cast had to wait for Mitchum in Mexico because he was serving his 60 days for marijuana possession. When he flew to join them, his private place crashed as it was landing. Mitchum, in tatters, stumbled into the diner where the cast was eating, and his first words were, "Anyone have a joint?"
Vintage.
Regards,
Jeff
P.S. I have actually been invited to visit Glenn Ford's house next month! (I met his son during Glenn Ford's 90th birthday party last May 1st.)
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freudified_n_funkified
18 years ago
HIS KIND OF WOMAN is far and away the quirkiest of the 40s/50s B+ grade film noirs and noir fans are pretty much split down the middle, the supporters hailing it as a one-off masterpiece.
If you're not looking for OUT OF THE PAST, I think this one really hits the mark. Vincent Price steals the show out from under Mitchum, and the movie works as it goes back and forth between tones, genres, directors, etc.
The almost lackadaisacal resort sequences had the warmth and charm of a Tati film, which is so weird to integrate into the overall darker aspects of the piece.
I'm a big fan of movies that, even if they don't always succeed, are fearless and/or stupid enough to jump genres and navigate tones so drastically within their runtime. The great ones are the ones that do it effortlessly without betraying their basics, and therefore often seem more realistic. Life isn't always dark noir shadows - there can be light and levity, too. HIS KIND OF WOMAN never becomes a parody, of other movies or of itself, and not only works but thrives according to it's own logic.
If you can get on board with that, it's entertaining all the way. Definitely a deserving cult classic.
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oversplayer
18 years ago
You're absolutely right.
My biggest problem with HKOW is that it's not "Out of the Past."
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christieg2
18 years ago
I like IBH27's description, " HKOW not only works, but thrives according to its own logic". That pretty well sums it up in a nutshell. Oversplayer, do you mean that HKOW is not a true noir, but more of a spoof of one? "Out of the Past" for me, is a much more serious film, dedicated to its storyline. HKOW as I've said before, is more like a romp, a send-up of more serious films like OOTP. How could the hero iron his money in a serious film? Can you imagine Humphrey Bogart in the Maltese Falcon pressing his money? What would Sydney Greenstreet say? Or Elisha Cook Jnr? I love both of these films. BTW. I hope you enjoy your visit to Glen Ford's house, that's a rare treat.
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oversplayer
18 years ago
Thanks, Christie.
What I actually meant is that I regard "Out of the Past" SO highly (the very best Mitchum film, the defintive noir, and one of only a small handful of the very best films ever) that almost any other movie leaves me flat by comparison.
You are surely correct that HKOW is not a true noir, but I don't see it as a spoof either. It seems unable to divine its own identity; a bunch of wonderful performers cavorting around in search of a purpose.
I don't think it's even a faux noir. In addition to Vinny's comedic character, it has many other anti-noir elements, e.g., it takes place at a resort rather than at night in the city; no detectives or cops (I don't count the very brief appearance by Tim Holt); no femme fatale (even though she's hunting for a rich husband, Jane Russell is basically a good girl); no shadows or odd camera angles, etc., etc.
One only thinks noir because the film stars Mitchum, and Mitchum, to use an overworked expression, was the face of film noir. In addition, Dan Milner shares a great deal in common with Jeff Bailey of OOTP, particularly his fatalistic sense of his own impending doom and his certainty that nothing around him is quite as it seems.
And, since I'm stating comparisons, I must add that, as big a fan as I am of Jane Russell (notwithstanding her atrocious political views), no actress can possibly compare favorably with Jane Greer.
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