Why is that guy at the check-in desk so darned abrupt with his passengers, verging on rudeness at times? He doesn't say anything explicitly rude but his manner seems awfully peremptory and his attitude a tad cynical. Or is this just my imagination?
I've always had a somewhat different impression. Yes, he's a cynic and a bit of a wise guy, but with the passengers, he's all business. Then, as soon as they're out of earshot, he relays his knowledge or impressions of them to Spalding in his less businesslike and more honest way. But even his formality and cynicism crack a bit with the Korean passenger, Miss Chen, and we see his gentler side as well.
All this is accomplished in just a few minutes, and it provides some dimension to a small role that really amounts to very little, making it more interesting.
You might remember the actor, Douglas Fowley, in one of his even more colorful roles, as the long-suffering director of Lockwood and Lamont in "Singin' In the Rain."
Poe! You are...avenged!
I just think he's too business-like, totally averse to any idle chit-chat with the passengers. Not that I like seeing passengers ahead of me in a line engaging in chit-chat with the check-in clerk but in this case there's no line — the passengers just seem to turn up on cue, like they've been paged.
I don't know "Singin' In the Rain" well enough but I'll look out for Fowley next time I watch it. I do remember Millard Mitchell well.
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