Marked Woman (1937)

Very disappointing...

Absolutely the worst movie.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This film is a thinly disguised account of the trial and conviction of the real-life New York gangster, Lucky Luciano. In the film he is called Johnny Vanning, and is played with convincing ruthless menace by Enrico Ciannelli. The fact that the film was really a portrait of Luciano was revealed by LIFE Magazine on April 19, 1937. Bette Davis is feisty, outspoken, and a 'realist' who reluctantly turns into an 'idealist' when her kid sister is murdered by Vanning. The film is extremely well directed by Lloyd Bacon, who began his career by directing many silent shorts in 1922 and became famous in 1928 for directing Al Jolson in the early sound film THE SINGING FOOL. He is probably best remembered today as the director of the outstanding film 42nd STREET (1933). The fact that he directed the football film KNUT ROCKNE ALL American (1940) came to the world's renewed attention when Ronald Reagan became President. His patriotic and impressive film THE FIGHTING SULLIVANS (1944) is also highly thought of. His last film (his 130th) was released in 1954, and he died in 1955. The prosecuting attorney who aids Bette David is played by Humphrey Bogart, who delivers his lines very well and forcefully, but who shows about as much emotion as a marble statue. His eyes are numb. A number of young actresses support Bette Davis very well indeed, namely Lola Lane, Isabell Jewell, Mayo Methot, Rosalind Marquis, and Jane Bryan. Of these, Mayo Methot married Bogart the next year, 1938, having met him during the shooting of this film. She was tempestuous and once threatened Bogart with a gun in front of dinner guests. She divorced Bogart in 1945 and died a few years later at the early age of 47 as the result of years of alcoholism. As for Jane Bryan, who was a special protegé of Bette Davis, it was she and her husband who were responsible for persuading their friend Ronald Reagan to run for President. She then served on the Federal Arts Commission and was one of Reagan's closet political advisors. The only one of the five who soon faded from the screen was Rosalind Marquis. She was a concert pianist who briefly turned actress and made 11 films between 1936 and 1938. But after only two years in the business, she retired from films, became a singer for a few years, and then became a 'socialite' in Kentucky, as wife of the wealthy Ed Axton. Both she and Jane Bryan lived to be 90. Sometimes it can be interesting to research some of the supporting actors and actresses in films, as you never know what you will find. This film made a big hit and deserved to, as it portrayed a group of young women who are the only ones to stand up to a gangster who has terrorised New York City, bribed many of the great and good, murdered many of his enemies and 'girls who might talk' and thrown them into the river, and threatened just about everybody else. When corruption goes that far, an honest society becomes impossible. Bette Davis was the perfect choice for the provocative leading role in this challenging film. The fight against corruption never stops, so this film is as relevant today as it was then.

After watching this film, I'm surprised it was released as late as 1937. Given that the main characters are call girls and this fact is central to several plot points, I expected to find it was pre-code. Still, thinking back on it, this fact is made clear without direct references. The most direct notice of the nature of their work is given by the reaction of the little sister when this is made a point in court by the defense attorney.Another point in my casual mis-dating of this film is the quality of the picture. There is a black haze that rounds out the corners, but this may be due to the way the film was stored so many years ago. It gives the movie a sense of being a few years older than it is. Call it character.Bette Davis gave a good performance in this movie, walking the line between under and over-acting, with a very balanced treatment of the main role. She was also prettier than I've ever seen her. Humphrey Bogart had a bit of dash in his appearance as the clean cut assistant District Attorney, spending much of his time arguing the case for the prosecution..It's interesting to look back a the way the trial was handled. There isn't a lot of excess drama in those scenes. They are very direct in their approach to the necessary exposition, treating it almost as quick action which gets to the heart of the story. Besides some last minute badgering of a sobbing witness, there isn't much to compare to the stirring soliloquies of more modern courtroom scenes. Even the way the cameras shot the scene is pretty basic, with only the occasional interesting perspective.The plot is easy to follow, revolving around a minor crime lord, a group of call girls and the ability of the court system to triumph. The ending is satisfying in terms of plot, but this is the biggest clue that this is a reflection of the direction Hollywood went in the mid to late 30s. Good always wins. The ending for the characters is not so certain and this is one of the most dramatic parts of the film as the characters go their separate ways to uncertain destinies.

***SPOILERS*** Based on the downfall of Mafia Kingpin Lucky Luciano "Marked Woman" also has the two stars of the previous years top gangster film "The Petrified Forest" Bette Davis & Humphrey Bogart as nightclub "hostess" Mary Dwight and NYC D.A David Graham back together again.It's when mob "Boss of Bosses" Johnny Vanning, Eduardo Ciannell, took over the "Intimate Nightclub" that the girls working there started to feel the heat. Not just from Johnny but the D.A David Graham who's job It was to put him behind bars and have him shipped out of the country as an indescribable alien. In trying to get someone who works for Vanning to turn evidence against him D.A Graham finds that one of his nightclub hostesses Mary Dwight's home address was found on the body of Ralph Krawford, Damian O'Flynn. It was Mary who was last seen with Krawford who tried to skip out of town, after not paying his tab at the Intimate Nightclub, hours before his body was found shot to death!With D.A Graham getting Mary to testify against her boss Vanning she completely fall apart on the stand under the grueling cross-examination of Vanning's high priced lawyer Gordon, John Litel. It's a defeated D.A Graham who feels that his star witness Mary Dwight either double-crossed him or was intimidated by Vanning's hoods to have her throw the what he felt was an air-tight case against the Mafia chieftain. It's earlier when Mary's sweet pretty and innocent, in not knowing what kind of business her big sister was involved in, kid sister Betty, Jane Bryan, who came to visit her that the awful truth about Mary hit the poor girl right between the eyes! That's when the police and D.A Graham busted into Mary's rooming house and pinched her as being an accessory in the Ralph Krawford murder! Betty felt deeply hurt and humiliated in what her sister who claimed to be a fashion model, really was; A B-girl in a mob clip-joint. Betty now throwing off her wholesome All-American girl image decides against her sister Mary's strong objections to get into the same kind of work that she's in that was soon to end up with disastrous results!***SPOILER ALERT*** Not at all knowing what she was getting into Betty, who was also a virgin, ended up being pushed down a flight at the "Intimate Nightclub" by an outraged Vanning for refusing to put out for one of the club's rich and sex hungry costumers Bob Crandall, William B. Davidson, who spends all of his free time and money there. With Mary out on the streets looking for her sister she gets the shocking news from D.A Graham that Betty was found dead in an empty lot with her skull bashed in!It took a lot for Mary to come clean in what she knew about Vanning's involvement in the sex and protection rackets and after also getting brutally worked over by one of Vanning's thugs Charlie Delaney, Ben Welden, she finally decided, together with a number of her hostess friends, to testify against Vanning in open court. This time around D.A Graham didn't have any trouble at all convicting Vanning and his band of hoodlums, including Charlie, having them sent up the river, to Sing Sing State prison, for a stretch of 30 to 50 years.In the end Mary and her friends could hold their heads up high in them knowing that they finally put to end to Johnny Vanning's vice-like control of the City of New York as well as having him pay for his involvement in Betty's murder; Even though he wasn't convicted for it. As for D.A Graham he had bigger and better goals withing for him on the horizon including the Governorship of the State of New York as well as running as his party's stander barer for the Presidency of the United States of America.

Marked Woman must have been quite jolting when it was released in 1936. Although thoroughly implied, there is prostitution at the center of the plot, and everything nasty that goes along with it. Thankfully, the violence is off screen, but we are not spared the aftermath of violent acts.Bogart breaks away from his bad guy roles and plays the hero, quite well. Bette Davis is in her usual good form. There are a couple of melodramatic scenes for Davis which will seem dated, but she also will wow you with some killer lines delivered as only Bette can.Many '30s films are clunky and hard to sit through. This is not one of them. It is fast paced and full of moral dilemmas and interesting characters. To add to the interest of the story, it was based on an actual news story of that time.