Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-22 10:07:03

Diners, drive-ins and dives

Not to be confused with the trashy 1989 Patrick Swayze mullet fest that shares the same title, this was the fourth and final genre pic from director Jean Nugulesco, who had previously helmed The Mask of Dimitrios, Nobody Lives Forever and Johnny Belinda.Noir icon Richard Widmark stars as the mercurial Jefty Robbins, who owns a road house called (wait for it...) "Jefty's". He has hired his longtime pal Pete Morgan (noir beefcake Cornel Wilde) to help with day-to-day management. The fussy, protective Pete feels that his main function is to be the voice of reason and steer the frequently impulsive Jefty away from making potentially reckless business decisions. When Pete is dispatched to the train station to pick up Jefty's "new equipment" Lily Stevens (Lupino), a hardened chanteuse who starts cracking wise from the moment they meet, he becomes convinced that this is one of Jefty's potentially reckless business decisions. The tough, self-assured Lily laughs off his attempt to offer up the advance money "for her trouble" and then steer her onto the next train heading back to Chicago. Now, you and I know that these two are obviously destined to rip each other's clothes off at some point; the fun is in getting there. Although the setup may give the impression that this is going to be a standard romantic triangle melodrama, the film segues into noir territory from the moment that the Widmark Stare first appears. Suffice it to say-when you see the Widmark Stare, it is very likely that trouble lies ahead. As his character becomes more and more unhinged, Widmark eventually employs all his "greatest hits" (including, of course, The Demented Cackle). His performance builds to an operatic crescendo of sociopathic bat$#!+ craziness in the film's final act that plays like a precursor to Ben Kingsley's raging, sexual jealously-fueled meltdown in Sexy Beast.Widmark and Lupino are both in top form here. Wilde is overshadowed a bit, but then again his "boy toy" role isn't as showy as the others. Celeste Holm is wonderfully droll as one of Jefty's long-suffering employees. Lupino insisted on doing her own singing in the film; while she was not a technically accomplished crooner, she actually wasn't half bad in a husky-voiced "song stylist" vein (she really tears it up on "One For My Baby"). The film sports an excellent DVD transfer and amusing commentary from noir experts.

2012-05-22 03:28:19

JEAN NEGULESCO, OPUS 9

**** 1948. Directed by Jean Negulesco. When Lily Stevens is hired by Jefty to sing in his bar/bowling, everybody knows that Lily will soon be his mistress. But she's rather attracted by Jefty's friend and employee Pete Morgan. Jefty will imagine an ingenious scheme to get his revenge. ROAD HOUSE is a film I've always enjoyed very much for years. I particularly like the first part of the movie until Pete Morgan's trial. Ida Lupino clearly overshadows Cornel Wilde, Celeste Holm and Richard Widmark then with her hoarse voice and her sexy wardrobe. I also like a lot the bowling lesson given to her by Cornel Wilde. The last part of ROAD HOUSE is more outdated and the final game hunting reminded me at times of The Most Dangerous Game - Criterion Collection. But, all in all, I highly recommend ROAD HOUSE, a film that will defintively stay in ma library.

planktonrules 2012-05-19 14:14:35

Despite quite a few plot holes, this is an enjoyable Noir thriller

There is a lot to like about ROAD HOUSE. The plot idea is very good andit's enjoyable throughout. The only problem is that the film reallylooked like the script should have been polished a bit first as thereare just a few too many plot holes--particularly at the end.The style of this film is rather Film Noir, though it doesn't featurethe usual gangsters or cops. Instead, Ida Lupino plays a world-wearylounge singer who acts much like your typical Noir femme fatale. She'sa chain-smoking and smart-mouthed dame through and through, thoughlater in the film she inexplicably changed to a "nice girl in badgirl's clothing". This is a bit unexpected because I assumed the filmwas about how she trapped poor Cornell Wilde in her evil clutches--butthe film takes a much more unexpected detour. You see, once Lupinocatches Wilde, their boss (Richard Widmark) oddly switches from a niceguy to a calculating psycho bent on destroying the lovers. This iswhere the plot really kicks into high gear and the next 20 minutes ofthe film are exciting.Unfortunately, the ending where there is a final confrontation doesn'twork at all because again and again there are plot problems. Widmark isobviously crazy and dangerous, but once Wilde beats him up, he doesn'teven bother to tie up Widmark or plug him to make sure he doesn'treturn for round 2--which he naturally does. Again and again they needto fight off this mad man even though one time should have been enough!Despite the hole-riddled ending, it's still worth seeing because ofLupino's and Widmarks' performances. She is great as the 2nd-ratesinger (singing her own songs with a decent but obviously less thanstellar voice--which was perfect for the role) and she exuded sleazysex appeal. Widmark was interesting because he combined two totallydifferent performances in one film--one a nice guy and the other highlyreminiscent of his psycho from KISS OF DEATH! A great film? Nah. But anenjoyable bit of Noir, that's for sure.

edwagreen 2012-05-19 11:12:02

Road House-Evil Shines Again ***

A year after his Oscar nomination for "Kiss of Death," Richard Widmarkgives another sinister performance, this time as an owner of alounge-bowling alley who frames his partner (Cornel Wilde) for robberywhen the latter wants to marry his girl, a very sultry Ida Lupino.Lupino, with light hair, can't sing a note to save herself, but shestill knows how to put over a song in this film noir production.A year after winning the best supporting actress award for "Gentleman'sAgreement," Celeste Holm has a routine part in this film as a cashier,with no guy of her own, who gets caught up in Widmark's mayhem andwinds up with a bullet in her arm.With the interesting cast, you know what can happen when Widmark is athis evil best and a gun is put in Lupino's hand.

Robert J. Maxwell 2012-05-18 22:36:29

Widmark Goes Nuts.

Actually, in real life people rarely are driven nuts by frustration.They go nuts and then they try to find some reason for it. Not that itmatters in this case. In 1948 Richard Widmark had a patent on a certainkind of maniac, the kind that giggles as he kills.He begins normally enough. Well, normal for Widmark anyway. He's theimpulsive owner of Jefty's Road House near the Canadian border, anundistinguished place with deer heads on the wall. Cornel Wilde is hisjunior partner and Celeste Holm is the cashier.Widmark brings home a singer, Ida Lupino, whom he picked up on one ofhis jaunts to the city. He has designs on her. Wilde wants to get ridof her but in fact she turns out to be a terrific success. It's hard tosee how because Lupino's voice is neither dubbed nor good. It's full ofcracks and sounds smoke cured from years of Chesterfields. Well, okay,nobody ever accused Diana Krall of having an operatic voice and she'snot a sex bomb either but Krall can at least play the piano whileLupino's skill is limited to the rudimentary.Come to think of it, everybody smokes in this movie -- a lot. If itwere to be remade, nobody would smoke because it's now politicallyincorrect to show cigarettes in use. Guns -- yes. There'd be blood andbrains all over the place in a remake, but no tobacco. First thingsfirst.At any rate, Widmark goes away for a week's hunting and guess whathappens in his absence? When he returns, he's determined to marryLupino. He has the marriage license in his pocket. At this point, it'seasy to feel sorry for the deluded Widmark character. His friendshipwith Wilde aside, it's the first sign of maturity that he's shown.Still, it's Wilde's unpleasant duty to tell Widmark that he's out ofthe picture.Widmark, resignation not being his strong suit, frames Wilde for grandlarceny and convinces the judge that Wilde should be paroled to him,Widmark. The judge concurs. I didn't even know you could do that -- Imean that a judge could decide on his own that a convicted man could beturned over to another ordinary citizen as a kind of slave.And a slave is what the sullen Wilde now becomes. He's restored to hisearlier position only at a lesser income. He can't slug Widmark. Hecan't even talk back. And Lupino is tied to Widmark through her lovefor Wilde. Celeste Holm has the unenviable task of being the good,sensible girl whom nobody wants.Finally, at a cabin in the woods, Widmark goes bananas and after beingbeaten senseless by Wilde -- he was rude to Lupino -- he grabs a pistoland chases Wilde and Lupino through the forest as they make for theCanadian border. Here the film could have used some location shooting.Studio forests are rarely convincing. There's never any wind, thegreenery looks phony and repetitive, and sometimes there are echoeswhere there should be no echoes. There are instances, though, whenstudio forests become so stylized as to be -- not convincing -- but atleast honest in their falsity. "Battleground" and "Bataan" areexamples.Wilde is the nominal hero but he's pretty routine. The character is sostraight that he's uninvolving. Lupino's role is more textured. She'shad a "past," as they say, and she's a willful and complicated babe.She's skinny and vulnerable but tough enough to belt Wilde when hetries to hustle her out of town with a few bucks. Widmark's characteris by far the most interesting. A little unbalanced at the beginning,he turns crafty and bitter before he loses it altogether. There's agood deal of pathos in the character.I don't know if this is a "noir," though it's very dark. A woman comesbetween two men, but nobody slinks around the city streets and there isno sneaky betrayal by anyone. There's no city at all. The town nearwhich Widmark's road house is located has a population of about 14,000,and we don't see much of it beyond the hotel and the police station.Jean Negulesco's direction is pat. The musical arrangements are byHerbert Spencer, and I thought he'd been dead for years.

2012-05-18 18:43:51

I loved Ida Lupino

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Ida Lupino was a revelation of inner strength and beauty. What would this movie be without Richard Widmark? For that matter, what would many movies be without him? Can we say boring together. Richard Widmark is always priceless. The consummate bad guy that you just love to hate. I could watch this movie over and over and over.

2012-05-17 18:54:47

Outstanding performance by Ida Lupino

This review is from: Road House (Fox Film Noir) (DVD) Ida Lupino's acting and singing is a major reason that Road House is among the best of film noir. She has that character (Lily Stevens) DOWN and she is the perfect woman to play that character, who as one lounge patron said "She reminds me of the first woman that ever slapped my face!!".She had the appearance of a person who had drank for years. She had seemingly aged prematurely and had a hard looking face (yet very attractive) - perfect for the brassy, world weary, very confident bar lounge singer she plays. She is brought from Chicago to this far away club to perform for a week or so, and gets involved in a love triangle with the Cornel Wilde and Richard Widmark characters.This is the first movie in which we hear Ida's real singing voice. In previous movies her voice had been dubbed over by another singer. She does two songs: "Again" (which made it to number 2 on the charts shortly thereafter) and "One For My Baby (And One More For the Road)". That latter one is IMO one of the great singing performances in any movie, ever. Her appearance as a chain smoker and of a person who drank, together with her capturing a Bogart-like world-weariness make her absolutely perfect for this song. She sings it (and plays piano) with a sultry, smoky air, and in fact it's more almost like talking than singing. But it works. Her whole persona totally fits the jaded lyrics of that sad song. That performance is the highlight of the movie, IMO. The Celeste Holm character said it perfectly at the end of that performance: "She does more without a voice than anybody I ever heard!!"

2012-05-17 04:10:28

Road House

I love the older movies. This one is what I refer to as a Fifty Dollar Budget Movie

sticks114 2012-05-16 16:34:32

Pete's "parole" to Jefty

A poster wondered why Pete agreed to accept a sentence of being"paroled" to his boss Jefty. First of all, I think the proper readingis that he was put on probation with Jefty acting as his probationofficer. Parole occurs after a person is released from serving a prisonsentence. As to why Pete would accept this arrangement; since thealternative was a state prison sentence I guess he felt it was thelesser of two evils. Little did he know what was to follow!Why Jefty would be allowed to act as Pete's probation officer is amystery. I'm guessing that in this one-horse town in the north woodsthe state had very limited resources for supervising people onprobation and may not have had a local probation office. Also, Jeftymay have been one of the leading citizens in town and not perceived asthe deranged individual he was.

2012-05-16 03:48:34

Gorgeous movie, but the worst audio commentary ever

This review is from: Road House (Fox Film Noir) (DVD) I know a friend who likes to comment on good pictures' first five minutes. She would be absolutely delighted!!! You see a film noir which is tempted to be more realistic and tougher than some pictures several years before, you are introduced to the four main characters, you learn to know all their relevant characteristics and the upcoming relations by little hints, their way to use their voice, the dialogue, some brilliantly photographed superimpositions, etc...The rest of the movie will not always keep that density, but is very good, with an excellent Ida Lupino as a nightclub singer who maybe has not a classically beautiful voice, but "she's a cutie with more than beauty, she's got a lot of personality" and she would pass any round of a TV casting show better than 10.000 of the would-be-starlets you can see in such shows.Well, and all this is missed by the audio commentators, who giggle to themselves and annoy us with silly anecdotes and praisings of each other. I really got furious. I admit of course that anyone has his expectations, but I would have liked a deep-focus analysis of the movie, which you won't find here.However, the picture itself and its technical quality are excellent.

2012-05-16 01:29:07

Ida lupino -They don't make them like that anymore!

This review is from: Road House (Fox Film Noir) (DVD) Road House- Yea, so she shines in this movie. Just another old black and white movie with a forgotten actress lost in time -right? What to you really care? There are thousands of movies since her time -plenty of sultry new babes and hi-tech film hotties to grab your attention who know how to act the part of a bitch while teasing you with their trinkets. What was so special about her? Bare with me here. If I had my choice of a dinner date with any actress past or present, or any woman for that matter -why would it be her? In this movie, she plays a hard luck lounge singer with a burnt out voice and a worse attitude who is not shy about telling the men around her where to get off. I wouldn't take that kind of an attitude for a second from any modern woman- so why would I take every bit from her with a smile. It's because when she was dishing out her worst, you still sense vulnerability beneath -there was a real woman there with real feelings. What other woman could be hurling her worst insults -while you were enjoying it and falling in love with her. I haven't seen one lately. I repeat -They don't make them like that anymore. Yes, 'Road House' is one of her best movies- But she nailed me the same way in every movie of hers I've ever seen; 'Out of the Fog' 'They drive by Night' 'Moontide' 'Sea Wolf' and many others -If she was in it, don't think it could ever be called a bad movie. If you can watch any one of them without falling for her -then best of luck to you. She left a lot of treasures and if any actress deserves to be rediscovered and remembered; she gets my vote. This DVD is a great transfer with some nice special features as are the other movies mentioned. I am still waiting for 'Sea Wolf' and 'Out of the Fog' to come out on DVD. Here's to Ida!

2012-05-15 13:06:18

Lupino rocks!

This review is from: Road House (Fox Film Noir) (DVD) Ida Lupino was sexy; she was hard as nails but you can't help but melt to her throaty torch songs. But Richard Widmark owns the end of this movie- with the maniacal laugh, the crazed eyes and the high-pitched growl- he could make your blood chill.

2012-05-12 19:18:04

A NOIR FAN MUST-SEE!

As a noir collector, I have to tell you that this one is a must. Buy it for Ida Lupino's performance alone! The star of the show for me, though, is Widmark. While his role is no Tommy Udo (Kiss of Death - 1947 - DON'T MISS IT!), he sizzles, as always. Let's face it, aside from being a great actor, when he was young, the guy was a major hotty!

Jem Odewahn 2012-05-12 10:56:06

Pure melodrama, but very good

"Road House" is another of those slinky noir films from the 40's, andin filming this crackling but melodramatic script the directorbenefited from the talents of a great cast. Ida Lupino is Lily, anightclub singer who comes to the unhinged (but we don't know it yet)Jefty's (Widmark) bar. He soon falls hard for her, but she's got thehots for his long-time pal and right-hand man, Pete (Cornel Wilde, inone of the better performances he ever gave). Add to this mix thelovely Celeste Holm, playing Ann, who also works at Jefty's and isquietly in love with Wilde's character. Lupino and Wilde enjoy aweekend rendezvous when the controlling Jefty goes away hunting...butwhen he comes back all hell breaks loose.This noir has plenty of sharp dialogue, and the stars deliver it withaplomb. Ida Lupino and Richard Widmark are always so darnwatchable--and their scenes crackle with force and fury. Lupino's justthe right fit for Lily, a woman who has been dragged through the gutter(and with a voice to match), but underneath is vulnerable. MaybeWidmark was told to overdo the psychotic laugh he introduced in theprevious year's "Kiss Of Death"...he is terrific but has a tendency toover-act in this film. Celeste Holm always equips herself well but herrole is rather thankless. I liked this noir, even if was verymelodramatic. It's got plenty of atmosphere (the cigarette burns on thepiano), mixed-up characters, blurry motivations and hot moments. Thereare many better noir films out there, but "Road House" is well worth avisit.

mauricebarringer 2012-05-12 05:05:11

Widmark and Lupino are phenomenal

What a tremendously under-rated film classic. The wonderful Ida Lupinowas as sultry and sensual as one could get, especially in the 1940s.How about the scene at the lake when she improvised and made her ownbathing suit. I would have liked to see her in a bikini. She turned aroutine role as a hard luck woman singer into a great performance.Richard Widmark is one of my all-time favorite actors. Why he has neverreceived a Career Achievement Award from the Academy is mind boggling.No actor in film history has given so many memorable performancesportraying sociopaths and psychopaths.I will skip the fine plot as so many others have explained it but willsay that this is a great film noir that holds up exceptionally welleven 60 years later. Cornel Wilde and Celeste Holm were alsooutstanding in less flamboyant roles. Holm was superb as the goodhearted woman who was in love with Wilde who thought of her only as agood friend. Wilde gave a fine naturalistic performance as the stableand hard working good guy whom Widmark turned against out of jealousyand eventually hatred.The direction, screenplay and cinematography were also top notch, and"Again" is a classic song that has endured the march of time and isstill played on jazz and oldie stations regularly.Come on Acadamy! Give the great Widmark a Career Achievement Award.

2012-05-11 20:59:14

This film sizzles with emotion -- desire, jealousy, hatred..

The plot is basically a triangle -- Cornel Wilde and Richard Widmark are both in love with lounge singer Ida Lupino. Widmark's character is well-off and owns the road house that his old pal Cornel Wilde manages for him. If Widmark can't win Lupino's heart, he's going to make sure Wilde doesn't get to have her. Just to add to the complications, another road house employee yearns for Wilde, but unlike Widmark, she's basically a good person.Somehow black and white is the right medium for this film -- I think color would have detracted from the brooding atmosphere.All in all, this movie stands the test of time well. Widmark puts in a great performance.

Calvin 2012-05-09 11:34:34

Classic Noir !

A road house near the Canadian border serves as the setting for this classic noir flic. Wilde, Widmark, and Lupino form the romantic triangle gone very, very wrong. Widmark is quite effective as the psycho out to destroy anything in the way of his obsessive desires. Lupino is a real spitfire and does her own singing a la Marlene Dietrich. The story moves quickly building to a rousing climax. The northwestern scenery and the road house itself are used to full advantage and add to the cinematic experience. This is such a tight movie which will delight all noir fans and is worthy of its cult status as a true classic of the genre. Very watchable and highly recommended.

2012-05-09 01:33:43

Noir at its Best!

Currently I'm taking a Film Noir class in college and I must say this isonefine piece of work. Ida Lupino is so overwhelming there are no words toexpress it but Richard Widmark is surely the finest actor in Noir! He wassoooooooo creepy - a real human monster. The fight scene in the bar washysterically funny though. It looked like it had been lifted out of aWestern. Cornel Wilde was also sensational and I wish I'd seen this beforemeeting him years ago.

mgrindberg 2012-05-06 05:05:51

Widmark, Wilde, and Lupino

Richard Widmark gives a superior performance in this film as anunstable owner of a road house that's located in a small communityclose to the Canadian border. He inherited the business from hisfather. His lifelong friend, played by Cornel Wilde, works for himmanaging the business. The two are equals until Ida Lupino shows up asan out of town singer and pianist who's hired by Widmark to provideentertainment. Her presence is what causes the extreme strain thatbreaks Widmark's and Wilde's friendship for good. The settings areunique, with a taut finale out in the woods, and as well a courtroomscene. Widmark gets best actor honors (in my opinion). He slips soeasily into his character's unpredictability, and goes from cool andcunning to sadistic, which is even more than he did in Kiss Of Death,where the character was entirely crazy and sadistic. Lupino, whoapparently had zero vocal range, is great as the sultry singer fromChicago with a troubled past. For such an idyllic setting as the RoadHouse is in, miles of forests and lots of lakes, the film noircharacters provide a great contrast. Directed by Jean Negulesco andshot by Joseph LaShelle, the film looks and moves quite crisply. Whilethe finale is really well done, it's not as if the viewer suffersthrough lapses before that point, as the tension between Wilde andWidmark, and Wilde's romance with Lupino are well enough placed to keepthe punches coming.

2012-05-06 00:46:25

Worst Commentary EVER!

Sometimes something can be so spectacularly bad as to hypnotize the audience into staying with it just to see the grizzly end (such as a train wreck or say "Showgirls"), no I'm not referring to this middle of the road noir, but rather the most god-awful commentary track I've ever heard, which plagues this disk. Let's face it, Fox was a long way from being the Mount Olympus of what would later be called film noir (as evidenced by the fact that they are currently trying to sell any old movie by slapping the "noir" label on it: I'm looking at you "Daisy Kenyon"), however that being said this film is a solid entry into the genre, and boasts wonderful performances by Ida Lupino and Richard Widmark, a poorly thought out plot, some good dialogue, and cinematography that captures nothing of the noir atmosphere (no high contrast German Expressionism here, just flat greys). In short it's not bad, well worth seeing for fans of the genre, but nobody will confuse this with a classic like "Out of The Past", "Night and the City", "A Touch of Evil", or even "Kiss of Death" (with which it shares a similar Widmark performance). No the really remarkable thing about this disk is the rank commentary by Kim Morgan and Eddie Muller. I really can't do justice in words to the trite vapidity of Muller and Morgan's effort, but I'll give it a try. Muller spends the bulk of the commentary verbally drooling over Ida Lupino in such a way that crosses the line of creepiness well within the first twenty minutes, while Morgan likes to describe for us Lupino's wardrobe ad nauseum. I realize that allot of commentators fall into the trap of narrating for us that which we can plainly see, but this commentary brings it to a whole new level with insights such as "LOOK it's Ida Lupino!" or "... I forgot what I was talking about, just LOOK at Ida Lupino...", variations on this theme take up the bulk of the commentary. However when the pair do tear themselves away from Ida Lupino we get insightful theories such as "I think Richard Widmark's character is a virgin...", or "I want to name my cat Jefty.", it just has to be heard to be believed, and the realization that these people were paid actually money for their inane babbling is a terrible shock to the system.In closing if one wishes to sample a solid but far from classic noir with a train-wreck of a commentary, this effort from Fox will make your day.cheers.