Today, TCM pays tribute to Dick Powell, airing 14 of his films as part of Summer Under the Stars. Earlier this month, a day had been devoted to William Powell. As a major fan of both stars, I can’t decide if I was more excited to listen to Dick Powell croon and crack wise, or watch William Powell woo his costars with wit and style.
Like several male stars from the Golden Age, neither Powell was classically handsome. Yet, both are attractive and appealing because of their cultivated charisma and star images. WP was the elegant gentleman who exuded romance and class, while his keen sense of humor prevented his characters from becoming too high brow or pompous. Though he played oily cads very early in his career, his star image as the suave gent was cemented by the 1930s and remained remarkably consistent until his last movie, Mr. Roberts, in 1955. I admire those Golden Age movie stars who were able to maneuver their images through the changes in the industry and the ravages of aging. But, then again, who doesn’t respect Dick Powell for completely changing his star image from the sweet-faced crooner of backstage musicals to the wise-cracking, hard-boiled anti-hero of film noir.
William Powell is the very essence of romance in his films from the 1930s. His graciousness and consummate manners seem like a throwback to another era, when men treated women with respect and approached them with gallantry. Or, perhaps there never was such an era and it is only “movie memory” that makes me think there was. Even when his character deceives Myrna Loy—his most constant costar—in Libeled Lady or goads her in Double Wedding, we know he will ultimately act in her best interests at the expense of his own. WP’s best tool for charming women was his voice—so smooth, soothing, melodious.
Dick Powell’s voice was also his best asset, and not just because he could sing in that high tenor voice (see 42nd Street today at 1:00pm). With his impeccable timing and sarcastic tone, he could toss off a verbal barb with wit and aplomb. Of all the actors to play Philip Marlowe, Dick Powell was the best at handling Raymond Chandler’s wise-cracking one-liners and smart dialogue. Revisit Murder, My Sweet this evening at 9:15 on TCM and focus on Powell’s line delivery. The back-and-forth banter between Powell and his leading ladies in his film noirs is a verbal dance—sexy in its sarcasm and modern in its suggestion that all romance is a sham. This is miles away from William Powell’s star image—yet I find both romantic in different ways.
DICK POWELL IN ‘MURDER MY SWEET’: DP WAS SUCCESSFUL AT CHANGING HIS STAR IMAGE, WHICH WAS HIGHLY UNUSUAL DURING THE GOLDEN AGE.
WP IN ‘DANGEROUS MONEY’ FROM 1924 WHEN HE WAS STILL PLAYING CADS.
Both Powells ended their acting careers about the same time in the mid-1950s. WP’s last romantic role was in How to Marry a Millionaire as Lauren Bacall’s wealthy, older beau (TCM, Aug. 30, 8:00pm). In the end, she leaves him at the altar for a gas-pump jockey played by Cameron Mitchell, which always makes me yell, “You idiot,” at the screen. WP retired in 1955, living a quiet life with wife Diana Lewis for the next three decades. Dick Powell’s last film as an actor was the romantic comedy Susan Slept Here, released in 1954, in which he stars as a middle-aged screenwriter pursued by a spunky teenager, played by Debbie Reynolds. Modern audiences might be squeamish about the age difference, but this unique comedy directed by Frank Tashlin downplays the romance while it mocks Hollywood. DP left acting for the other side of the camera, directing a few films before finding his niche as a television producer with his company, Four Star Television. Four Star was responsible for The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, The Westerner with Brian Keith, Wanted: Dead or Alive with Steve McQueen, and The Dick Powell Show, an anthology series that attracted the biggest stars, including Gregory Peck, John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and David Niven. DP enjoyed the other side of the camera, once joking, ” The best thing about switching from being an actor to being a director is that you don’t have to shave or hold your stomach in anymore.”
WP ADJUSTS TO MIDDLE AGE IN ‘MR. PEABODY AND THE MERMAID.’
Quotes by William Powell tend to be far less light-hearted. Though happily married to Lewis for over 40 years, I can’t help but think two incidents scarred him, making him all too aware of his own mortality. Powell’s much publicized romance with Jean Harlow ended when she died unexpectedly. Supposedly Harlow wanted to get married but WP had been dragging his feet. The year she died, he noted to a reporter, “Life is rather sad for there is the primary and inescapable fact that when we are born we are, in that same instant, condemned to death.” Not long after, WP discovered he had colon cancer and agreed to a radical treatment involving radiation, though this fact was not revealed until after he retired. Much later, he commented on his good fortune as a movie star, “Money is the aphrodisiac which fate brings you to cloak the pain of living.”
Deciding on my favorite Powell flicks brought me no closer to knowing whether I would end up with Dick or William on that proverbial desert island. So, I offer my five favorites for each Powell, starting with WP.
1. Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid. WP stars as a man in a midlife crisis who discovers a beautiful, young mermaid while on vacation. The mermaid restores some of his youthful vigor as he struggles with the aging process and the problems of a stale marriage. WP has never been more attractive or charming.
LOY AND POWELL IN ‘MANHATTAN MELODRAMA’: THE FIRST SCENE THEY EVER SHOT TOGETHER.
2. Manhattan Melodrama. I am a sucker for this gangster saga for many reasons: It marks the first pairing of Myrna Loy and WP; Clark Gable costars in one of his best roles as a charming but morally corrupt gangster; a very young Mickey Rooney is dynamic as Gable’s character in childhood; and, this is the movie that Dillinger saw the night he was shot down in an alleyway outside Chicago’s Biograph Theater.
3. I Love You Again. Another of the 14 films Powell made with Myrna Loy. This time, WP plays a ruthless, self-centered husband who is knocked unconscious. He not only wakes up with amnesia but also with a change in personality. Loy is confused to discover her husband has become a nice guy who is still in love with her. This movie offers the best solution to a wayward husband—knock him over the head and hope he wakes up a new person.
WP PLAYS THE BOHEMIAN ARTIST IN ‘DOUBLE WEDDING.’
4. Double Wedding. WP stars as a nonconformist artist who lives in a trailer in an alley behind a bar. He befriends a young woman who is under the thumb of her straight-laced, all-business sister, played by Loy. Of course, Powell and Loy are a mismatch made in screwball heaven. WP as the archetypal bohemian artist in striped shirt and beret is the best part of the movie.
5. Life with Father. As the exasperated patriarch of a large family in 1880s New York, an older Powell stars in a slightly different role than the romantic leads of his younger days. Strict and a bit imperious, WP’s character is deflated by the crazy antics of his family. In addition to Powell, I love the nostalgia in the story, with references to Delmonico’s, Audubon Park, and other sites in old NYC. WP received an Oscar nomination as best actor.
At the mention of Dick Powell, most movie-lovers think of 42nd Street, the Golddiggers series, or Murder My Sweet, but his filmography offers a variety of interesting titles that don’t often make the film history books. Some of them are airing today, so call in sick and spend the day with Dick Powell.
DP CLIMBS THROUGH THE DOGGIE DOOR IN ‘YOU NEVER CAN TELL.’
1. You Never Can Tell. The owner of a loyal German Shepherd leaves his fortune to his dog, but the dog is murdered for the money. The canine comes back as a private detective named Rex Shepherd, played by DP, to search for his killer. I love movies in which animals talk and act like humans, so this movie was made to order for me. Rex is assisted in his task by a secretary named Goldie, who used to be a horse. Despite the fantastical premise, this movie is genuinely funny, largely because of DP. The animal jokes are kept to a minimum, though Red does eat kibble, and Goldie can’t keep away from the racetrack.
2. The Tall Target. This is my favorite film about Abraham Lincoln, though the 16th president appears in it for only a few moments. It is a fictionalization of a real-life event in which the newly elected Lincoln was threatened with assassination. Powell stars as NYC cop John Kennedy (no kidding) who gets wind of the plan and tries to stop it. Evocatively shot by director Anthony Mann, this gripping suspense thriller was panned at the time of release, proving that movie reviewers were no better back then than they are now. It airs on TCM at 3:00am, so set those DVRs.
‘CRY DANGER’ MADE INTERESTING USE OF L.A. LOCALES.
3. Cry Danger. Powell’s ability to slay his enemies and his lovers with a well-turned phrase highlights this film noir about an ex-con who decides to find the low-lifes who set him up. Noir protagonists are often marginal to society; in this case, Powell ends up in a seedy trailer park over- looking downtown L.A. with femme fatale Rhonda Fleming and sidekick Richard Erdman, who plays a burnt-out ex-Marine. Sharp dialogue delivered with razor wit by colorful characters who will never fit into mainstream society.
4. It Happened Tomorrow. With his usual light touch, Rene Clair directed this fantasy tale about a turn-of-the-century obituary writer who uncovers newspaper headlines that predict the news a day ahead of time. Powell’s lucky gift soon leads to trouble. Clair had wanted Cary Grant for the role but ended up with DP, who could play working stiffs with greater aplomb.
5. The Bad and the Beautiful. I actually enjoy watching Vincent Minnelli’s melodramatic condemnation of Hollywood more than Sunset Boulevard, though Wilder’s nightmare vision is more provocative. Powell plays a Southern writer and college professor who is lured to Hollywood to write a screenplay. His Southern belle of a wife, played by Gloria Grahame, is tempted by the Hollywood lifestyle, causing a strain on their marriage.