Linkshoch Wonderful Movie

Micitype Pretty Good

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Cooktopi The acting in this movie is really good.

writers_reign Vintage film buffs are here offered a cast to die for from the top-billed Roz Russell through Leon Ames, Clare Trevor and Sydney Greenstreet, who turns up four and a half reels in and immediately embarks on a cat-and- mouse duel with Russell. Although there have been a sprinkling - Stage Door, Morning Glory, All About Eve - the theatre hasn't featured too often in film so The Velvet Touch fills an all-too real gap. God knows how much Sardi's shelled out for product placement but it was worth it for the theatre-buff viewers who will lap up the atmosphere. The plot fits where it touches but this time around it's a case of the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts.

Spikeopath The Velvet Touch is directed by Jack Gage and collectively written by Leo Rosten, Walter Reilly, William Mercer and Annabel Ross. It stars Rosalind Russell, Leo Genn, Claire Trevor, Sydney Greenstreet and Leon Ames. Music is by Leigh Harline and cinematography by Joseph Walker.Ah, now then, is this a murder mystery in reverse? At the beginning we are shown the crime of murder, so we know the main character is guilty. The rest of the picture thrives on if Valerie Stanton (Russell) will either get caught by the law, own up, or become a victim of crime herself? The screenplay contains a flashback and that grand old devil of someone else being pegged for the murder. There's witticisms abound, with some wonderfully choice lines delivered with relish, while the cast turn in decent shows - Greenstreet doesn't show up till the 45 minute mark, but promptly waddles in and steals the film!Set to the background of the theatre it's unsurprising to find this is something of a theatrical drama rather than a film noir of the era. It has found its way into a couple of film noir reference books, without really being film noir as such. Certainly the photography is appealing to noir fans, and there's a dark passage of play that definitely comes out of noirville, but really it's a marginal entry. But hey! It's still a very good film that's recommended. 7/10

bkoganbing Rosalind Russell signed a multi-picture deal with RKO in the hopes of getting some really serious dramatic roles and RKO obliged her with Sister Kenny and Mourning Becomes Electra. Two really good performances she got Oscar nominations for and both failed miserably at the box office. With those two failures with RKO she and husband Frederick Brisson approached RKO and offered to produce this next film, investing a little of their own money I'm sure. Brisson was a well known Broadway producer. This was the first of four films he produced for his wife. In doing The Velvet Touch Rosalind Russell took on a role I would normally have seen someone like Bette Davis or Barbara Stanwyck do. Still Roz does it in grand style. Russell plays an actress who is trying to break free from her personal and professional entanglements with producer Leon Ames who only sees her in lightweight material. Roz has also fallen for architect Leo Genn, but Ames won't let her go. In desperation and frustration she picks up a Tony Award facsimile and kills Ames with a blow. Suspicion falls on another actress Claire Trevor who under the weight of it commits suicide. Still police captain Sydney Greenstreet keeps on digging. Brisson assembled a fine supporting cast as you can see by just the names I've mentioned. Both Trevor and Greenstreet stand out. Claire if she had not won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress that year for Key Largo might well have been nominated for this. With a minimum of histrionics she conveys a woman hopelessly in love and always being beaten out by the more glamorous Russell. As for Greenstreet, his police captain is the same kind of forensic detective of the mind that he played in Conflict opposite Humphrey Bogart. I'm surprised no one ever thought to cast Greenstreet as Rex Stout's famous literary detective Nero Wolfe. He would have been grand in the part. Best of all according to Russell's memoirs, The Velvet Touch even made money for RKO. Everyone was happy including the audience with this one.

Maciste_Brother THE VELVET TOUCH is a great witty drama about Valerie Stanton (Rosalind Russell), a Broadway actress living the high life who's wrought with guilt when she kills her lover/impresario Gordon (Leon Ames) after he threatened to end her career. We see the deadly confrontation at the beginning and thanks to some flashbacks we see how it all led to that moment and the rest of the film is spent on how Valerie deals with her guilt while the murder is being investigated. THE VELVET TOUCH is NOT a murder mystery because we see Valerie killing Gordon at the beginning. Sydney Greenstreet is the investigator involved in solving the crime. He's a big fan of Valerie and the story is about how privileged people living in a privileged world are treated somewhat differently in these circumstances than the average folk. Because it's not a standard murder mystery with the usual penchant for suspense, this story is much more complex and actually asks questions that standard mysteries or film noirs wouldn't ask, all with wit and intelligence. The McGuffin in THE VELVET TOUCH is Valerie's guilt: how can she live with herself? Will she ever tell that she's the killer? How will she tell? Who already knows she's the murderer and the fact that they don't care. Very interesting points rarely touched in films of those days or even today. The lack of focus on suspense is refreshingly original and sorta anti-Hitchcock.The witty dialogue, certainly during the first hour, is some of the best writing I've ever heard in any film. It's positively brilliant and delivered to perfection by the stellar cast: Russell, Claire Trevor, Greenstreet and certainly Leo Genn all shine. Theresa Harris, as Valerie's dresser is also good in a supporting role. The ending is poignant without being sappy or melodramatic.Aside from the script and the cast, there are two things that really standout in THE VELVET TOUCH: Rosalind Russell and the B&W cinematography. Rosalind looks amazing and underplays what could have been a role that could have easily fallen into melodramatic nonsense. Her confrontations with Claire Trevor are priceless. She's truly a star in this film and towers over so many other actresses of her time whom are more well-known than her.And lastly, the black & white cinematography is absolutely gorgeous. The levels of black here are truly rich and well, velvety. It's a beautiful film to look at and makes me wish more B&W films were made today.The only sour note in THE VELVET TOUCH is the theme song. It's all wrong. But that's just a minor point in an otherwise excellent production.