FLAMINGO ROAD (1949)

Warner Bros., 94m 43s

The Warner Bros. success MILDRED PIERCE (1945) marked a triumphant comeback for actress Joan Crawford and deservedly is remembered as one of the finest film noirs of its time. Four years later, studio boss Jack Warner looked to recreate that production's magic. The reteaming of Crawford, Zachary Scott and Michael Curtiz along with a familiar array of Warner talent resulted in the rags to riches story FLAMINGO ROAD. Once again Crawford's indefatigable character is determined to defy all odds and elevate her social status while retaining her moral foundation. Compared alongside MILDRED PIERCE, this title might be considered minor league film noir, though FLAMINGO ROAD remains of interest as a gritty woman's picture with the great Crawford at its center. And under the stewardship of executive producer/director Curtiz, his southern gothic noir is notable for its dramatic rigor, well-staged compositions and aggressive critique of unfettered capitalism.

Set in the south within the (fictitious) community of Boldon City, Deputy Sheriff Fielding Carlisle (Zachary Scott) is tapped on the shoulder to foreclose on an insolvent carnival, only to learn the troupe of traveling performers already is bound for the state line. The one exception is Lane Bellamy (Joan Crawford), an undereducated but headstrong woman with three dollars to her name. She has decided against continuing her exotic woman act in the hope of establishing some roots. Fielding takes an immediate interest in Lane and helps secure her a job at the Eagle Cafe, where she cannot escape the scrutiny of the slyly observant Sheriff Titus Semple (Sydney Greenstreet), who has long-term political plans for the meekly obedient Fielding. Titus frowns on his protégé's sudden connection with the "stray cat" Lane and quickly becomes a disruptive force between them. The highly influential, controlling sheriff has a more respectable mate in mind for Fielding in the form of socialite Annabelle Weldon (Virginia Huston).

Evidence piles up throughout the narrative that political corruption is the crux of American society, with the kingmaker Titus as poster child for the undesirable realities of free market capitalism and its insoluble conflicts. His support of Fielding reeks of self-interest and opportunism. Fielding seems custom made for the part. He served in the US Army during WWII and is the son of a prominent judge. Though Fielding failed to finish law school, based on his family name the state's charismatic political boss Dan Reynolds (David Brian) agrees with Titus that Fielding has a future in the public sector. Titus plans for Fielding to serve on the state legislature before ultimately graduating to governor. Toward that venture, Titus wields his considerable authority in the direction of Lane in the hope of exterminating her from Fielding's life.

Given his full-scale assault on Lane's plan to remain in Boldon City, Titus proves he will do whatever it takes to compel her to leave town at high speed. Without warning he gets her fired from her waitressing job. Were that not sufficiently evil, he then has her picked up for prostitution and railroaded into the Women's Prison Farm. Interestingly, and this is where the film really says a lot about what it takes to get ahead in America, it is while incarcerated that Lane is directed to Lute Mae Sanders (Gladys George), proprietor of a popular roadhouse frequented by crooked state politicians. This establishment is where Lane attracts the attention of Dan Reynolds, who enables her rapid ascent to 32 Flamingo Road.

In his audio commentary track for ANGEL FACE (1952), film noir expert Eddie Muller notes the classic noir movement champions the working woman. Time and again the genre's positive female characters participate in the workforce and its worthless dames live off either inherited wealth or the earnings of men. FLAMINGO ROAD provides solid evidence for Muller's observation. A strong role model for Lane and females in general, Lute Mae is an empowered, willful personality who represents what is possible for the ambitious working woman. She admits she is a cynic, especially when it comes to other women. Lute Mae is steadfast in her refusal to be manipulated by Titus, who seems to reluctantly respect her backbone. Certainly she is the antithesis of the cowardly Eagle Cafe owner Pete Ladas (Tito Vuolo), who fires Lane rather than stand up for the waitress he knows is doing a fine job. Along with Lute Mae and Lane Bellamy, FLAMINGO ROAD features a likable supporting group of working women such as the Eagle Cafe's Millie (Gertrude Michael), Lute Mae's Tavern's Gracie (Alice White) and the Reynolds' maid Sarah (Jan Kayne).

FLAMINGO ROAD fully endorses the working woman while it associates masculine endeavors with corruption, compromise, callousness and weakness. Dan Reynolds personifies a political landscape hopelessly awash in dishonest dealings. "I've got a soul that needs lots of purging," he remarks. At the helm of his own construction company, Dan is an industrialist who believes his efforts as a land developer require predictable political alliances. Based upon trial and error, he understands that without the necessary political connections, everything to do with construction moves at a glacial pace. In his view, politics and land development each require the other to function. His involvement in getting people elected remains a troublesome listen to the modern ear:

 

"The people haven't elected anyone in this state for so long they've lost the habit. It's a lot of trouble to go to the polls. Usually it interferes with a baseball game or a fishing trip. When people don't care, they get about what they deserve."

The above notion regarding voter apathy is where FLAMINGO ROAD is especially pessimistic, with elected public officials subservient to corrupt shadow government figures. In such a scenario, do elections really matter? How can a representative democracy serve the greater social good when its politicians are beholden to backers with specific self-centered interests? Over the years Dan has built his syndicate and no doubt made his share of enemies. The impersonal nature of a free market that enriches some and ruins others is emphasized when Dan registers zero emotion in front of a man who says he suffered a devastating loss. Dan has heard it all before. The film's Marxist agenda is underscored when Dan justifies his position to Lane:

 

"...the honest men get eaten up. There are too many other men waiting, watching, probing for the soft spots, the graft. No, it's better to be one of them."

Dan at least displays a point he won't go beyond when he remains committed to George Parkhurst for governor and staunchly refuses to back Titus's stooge Fielding. If nothing else Dan is a man of his word, which helps separate him from the more detestable Titus, a man willing to sink to far lower levels of depravity. Titus rests on the Palmer House porch like a slug when not engaged elsewhere in what appears to be exclusively dishonorable activity. He probably was perched on the front porch when he first dreamed of controlling the entire state with the manipulable Fielding under his thumb. Power-hungry men like Titus prop up men who are strong enough to get elected (sometimes merely based on a family name), but weak enough to be controlled by their backers who stand in obscurity behind the curtain. There is a discernible homoerotic subtext to the sheriff's endorsement of Fielding, who weds Annabelle but in a sense already is married to Titus. After Fielding proves he does not have the stomach for the tactics of Titus, the portly county sheriff shows a propensity for bold violence when he tosses a drunken Fielding out of his own office (the segment is staged like a lover's quarrel). Ultimately Titus double-crosses his own boy's club and confidently positions himself as the next governor. In an especially hypocritical, dirty move, Titus forces Dan's project manager Burr Lassen (William Haade) to put convicts to work without wages to set up Dan for peonage charges. In a moment of honest reflection about the political prominence Titus commands, Dan admits to local newspaper man Doc Waterson (Fred Clark), "...it's men like me that make them possible." Perhaps to discourage a communist interpretation of the film, Doc conveys a more optimistic mindset when he mentions, "...I don't think our form of government's so bad that honest men can't run it." But to emphasize FLAMINGO ROAD's overarching level of cynicism, Titus recognizes his need to at some point get the bothersome journalist under control. The brand of cronyism Titus favors clicks along best with the newsman either passive or a partner.

The noir stairway here implies a position of both danger and power

In film noir mythology, the American family often is depicted in a less than flattering light. That hallmark noir theme in FLAMINGO ROAD starts with the marriage between Fielding Carlisle and the aristocrat Annabelle Weldon at the behest of Titus. Annabelle, depicted as simple-minded and high maintenance, is delighted to marry Fielding, who in truth would prefer the long-term company of Lane to the endless henpecking of Annabelle. As Titus demands, his flunky Fielding becomes a state senator, thanks at least in part to Fielding's union to a socially prominent woman. But it is this same woman who ensures Fielding's downfall when she complains to Titus about her husband. In the course of his marriage, Fielding leans into the sort of full-on downward spiral not uncommon in film noir territory. He develops an addiction to alcohol, loses the support of both his wife and his political backer and allows his own moral decay to lead to his suicide.

As assumptions about capitalism here apply, Fielding falls while Lane rises. But the marriage between Lane and Dan brings about its own heavy baggage, especially in terms of class relations. The society gal Annabelle dismissively refers to Lane as "a woman of that sort." Eventually Dan turns his back on Lane when she reveals exactly why Titus is so uncharitable in his judgment of her. Based upon the film's resolution, we are left in a somewhat uncertain state in terms of where Lane and Dan are headed. Presumably Dan will continue to play the capitalist game, his wife along for the ride, or could there be a significant change in his business mentality after he was manipulated by Titus? Whatever Dan's ethical boundaries might be going forward are left to conjecture. He looks set to stick by his wife, but will he allow his state to be governed by honest men, as Doc suggests is possible?

Marital discord

Bang

The marriage of political expedience meets its conclusion

Now you listen and you listen good

FLAMINGO ROAD was released theatrically on May 5th, 1949 and performed well commercially. Robert Wilder's screenplay was an adaptation of the 1946 play co-written by Wilder and his wife Sally. The play was derived from his 1942 novel. To the modern viewer accustomed to the structure of an 8-to-10 episode TV series, the events in FLAMINGO ROAD play out at an absurdly quick pace, as when Dan declares his strong feelings for Lane after knowing her about a day. The events that play out in this film likely would provide more than adequate material for a 10-hour series these days. The casting of Joan Crawford is another problem point. She was 43 at the time of filming and too mature to play the part of a carnival dancer. Even more problematic is she was almost 20 years older than Virginia Huston, the actress who portrays her rival. And to my ear anyway, Sydney Greenstreet is not the easiest thespian to understand; I flipped on the subtitles during a couple of sequences. Minor reservations aside, FLAMINGO ROAD is a taut, well-written film that rewards repeat viewings with snappy dialog and assured direction from Michael Curtiz.

Earlier this year Warner Bros. added FLAMINGO ROAD to the Blu-ray restorations among their Archive Collection. According to Warner, this new transfer made use of the best film elements available. The new HD master is accompanied by a new 2.0 DTS-HD Master audio track. Black & white contrast shows a nice improvement versus the Warner DVD first issued in 2008. At times whites lack definition, though mostly at times of soft focus. The level of film grain is pleasing to the eye and the film looks really nice in motion. The cinematography is top notch as handled by Ted D. McCord, a frequent collaborator with Curtiz, i.e. THE BREAKING POINT (1950), YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN (1950) and THE PROUD REBEL (1958). Framing is at the theatrical scope of 1.37:1 and honors the integrity of the film elements better than the Warner DVD’s scan, which was compressed to 1.33:1. The DVD scan captures slightly more information at the bottom of the frame, the new HD scan adds slightly more to the top. Fans of FLAMINGO ROAD should consider this Blu-ray disc a worthwhile upgrade. The DVD screen capture below looks hazy by comparison.

Warner Blu-ray

Warner DVD

Most of the new Blu-ray's supplemental material was ported from the Warner DVD. "Curtain Razor" (1949, 7m 17s) is a Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short directed by Friz Freleng. It stars Porky Pig and was originally released on May 21, 1949. This short features gags common to other Looney Tunes shorts; most notably "Show Biz Bugs" (1957) borrows from multiple segments. "Crawford at Warners" (2008, 12m 9s) recalls Joan Crawford's transition from MGM to Warner Bros., where she had about five good years. Crawford pushed away most everything at first, then was drawn to MILDRED PIERCE after her Warner stablemate Bette Davis turned it down. After that film, for which she won the Academy Award, next up was HUMORESQUE (1946), sometimes referenced as her finest role. It was another big hit. Her follow-up was POSSESSED (1947), which was meant for Davis, who was pregnant at the time. Crawford's performance in the role of Louise Howell earned her a second Academy Award nomination. After a string of films that performed respectably at the box office, GOODBYE, MY FANCY (1951) was a box office failure. THIS WOMAN IS DANGEROUS (1952) was considered a derivative production that marked the end of her run at Warner Bros., but she would bounce back quickly with SUDDEN FEAR (1952), an independent feature released by RKO Radio Pictures and one of my favorite film noirs. For her contribution as playwright Myra Hudson she received a third Academy Award nomination. Another selectable bonus feature is the Screen Directors Playhouse radio drama adaptation of FLAMINGO ROAD (23m 38s) that aired May 26th, 1950. Joan Crawford and David Brian resumed their original roles. A theatrical trailer (2m) is included, and this Blu-ray release also includes “Breakdowns Of 1949” (10m 25s), a collection of outtakes from familiar Warner titles.

FLAMINGO ROAD was converted into an NBC TV Series that ran from 1980 to 1982. This adaptation was created by Lorimar Productions, known for producing CBS's popular shows DALLAS and KNOTS LANDING. Ultimately it failed in its timeslot opposite ABC's silly but popular mystery series HART TO HART.