William A. Seiter (1890–1964)

This warm and sweet film full of charm and the values once held dear in small towns across America is one of Deanna Durbin’s finest. Based on a play by Phyllis Duganne, the screenplay by Richard Connell and Gladys Lehman captures the innocence of a time when going downtown for an ice cream soda and attending the town dance was a big deal.

The music is beautiful this time out, with Deanna getting to sing everything from the sweet “Beneath the Lights of Home” to the lovely “Love at Last” with music and lyrics by Jacques Press and Eddie Cherkose. The songs never seem intrusive here as is so often the case in straight-up musicals, but fit perfectly into the story. They are simply part of a mosaic painted here by director William A. Seiter and producer Joe Pasternak. Vera West dressed Deanna in this film and reminds the viewer that Durbin was everything a girl is supposed to be, and just a bit more.

Deanna is Jane Dana, the quiet daughter of Professor Dana (Robert Benchley). His youngest daughter, Nancy, is boy crazy, and his other daughter, Sylvia, wants to be an actress and takes every opportunity to ham it up. Jane takes care of the rabbits and helps her dad out with his research. He is hoping for a fellowship that will let him expand his work. When a big university sends Richard Calvert (Franchot Tone) to Stillwater to interview Jane’s dad for the grant, things will never be the same.

Jane’s boyfriend, Don (a very young Robert Stack), is so crazy about his car he misses all her signals for romance. When the handsome Richard appears on the scene, all three sisters descend on him like bees to a pot of honey. Young Nancy’s attempts to seem older are a hoot, but Jane has the inside track when she borrows Don’s car and in order to play seductress. But Jane has a small-town heart, rather than a sophisticated one, and Richard has no designs on taking advantage of her; though those gowns by Vera West make it tempting.

Franchot Tone worked well opposite Durbin on more than one occasion, and is terrific here. His on-screen rapport with Durbin is quite pleasing. Once Jane returns home and the whole town knows the 5-cent scandal, she tries to save face when Don just assumes that nothing could have happened. But wait. What about the engagement?

Walter Brennan shines as the town postman, Hector, trying to romance the Dana’s maid. Helen Broderick, Anne Gwynne and Ann Gillis offer fine support to a film everyone in the family will enjoy. Durbin’s voice is lovely here and so is she in this charming slice of Americana. Not just a five-star film for Deanna’s fans, but a five-star film classic, period.… (mehr)

Though this film has its detractors — because of its mishmash of styles — it remains a fun and funny crime caper with a nice cast and plenty of South-of-the-border flavor. William A. Seiter’s Borderline is a nifty little film that has more in common with The Big Steal than the noir films it is often advertised as, which leads to some of the disappointment experienced by viewers, in my opinion. Its blend of humor, crime and fun grows on you more and more, until its snappy ending.

It seems both the LAPD. and United States Treasury Customs wants to stop a dope smuggling ring bringing narcotics across the border from Mexico. Claire Trevor is the enthusiastic if green LA cop Madeline Haley, a former O.S.S. agent who talks her way into the assignment in an attempt to get information on the nasty middleman Pete Ritche, hoping it will lead them to Mr. Big. TV’s Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, is the heavy in the white suit, Ritche, and he plays the role with relish.

Madeline sort of stumbles into Ritchie but before she can find anything out, Johnny Mackland, an unknown player working from the LA end of the connection, hijacks Ritchie’s gold so he can make a deal for the next shipment. He ends up taking Madeline with him after the guns are drawn and then the fun chase across Mexico is on. As they try to avoid Ritchie and elude the cops it is a lot of fun for the viewer, which includes some tall tells told along the way. A cop who doesn’t know the other one is a cop makes for some fun situations.

This one is sort of a fun pulp film, with more flavor than a habanero pepper, Trevor gives a cute performance as she begins to like Johnny, even getting a bit jealous of the oh-so-friendly young and pretty daughter of a not-too-smart Mexican cop. Of course each regrets having to tun the other one in if they make it out alive, because in true movie fashion, they’ve fallen for each other.

A rousing shoot-out with Ritchie and his gang climaxes a great ending to this very fun to watch film meant as pure entertainment, rather than an artsy example of any one genre. This film doesn’t take itself too seriously, and neither should you.… (mehr)