The Incomparable

116 His Personal Murder Concierge

If you meet up with Lawrence Tierney in a dark alley - or in a kitchen, for that matter - chances are the encounter won’t end well. Tierney is truly the bad boy of film noir, and no film shows it better than “Born to Kill.” Claire Trevor is great, as always, but I do question her taste in men. I imagine a few eyebrows raising at what the filmmaker gets away with here, including the brazen attitude of our leading man. And oh hey, Elisha Cook Jr. Is here, too, bringing all the gay subtext.

115 Gene Kelly’s Guns

Greatest musical of all time, you say? Plenty of people would agree. Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly co-direct Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds through a delightful Comden and Gteen score, not to mention dance numbers that have achieved legendary status. For anyone who admires clever, energetic film choreography, it’s a joy to watch. For a fan of classic film, there’s an homage to the transition between silent and talking movie. That happened barely 20 years before this film was made, which is kind of bonkers to think about.

The episode title is a callback. It’s what we do!

114 There’s Lots of Nice Coats…

This film was a passion project for George Cukor and Katharine Hepburn. RKO let them do it, but the studio was sorry, when the movie confused audiences in 1935, and made no money. It has attained a bit of a cult following since. Hepburn and her father, Miracle on 34th Street’s Edmund Gwynn are fleeing trouble, and Sylvia dons a male disguise to help her dad. They meet con man Cary Grant, and hilarity and awkward moments of gender identity ensue.

113 Untapped Reservoir of Cool

Let the show’s 5th year begin!

LTS regular Micki Maynard turned me onto this one. Paul Newman and Sidney Pottier star as jazz musicians in Paris. Their love interests are Joanne Woodward and Dihann Caroll, repectively. Louis Armstrong plays a character called Wild Man Moore. If my synopsis seems superficial, that’s because I haven’t actually seen this one. But I love the cast, and I love the idea that Sidney and Diahann are doing something more interesting than playing that one Black person in the movie. So come discover this one along with me.

112 The Holiday Show

111 Go Out In Flames and Drama

We return surprisingly often to the Hitchcock well, but his 1940s films are so interesting. Here is a gothic romantic mystery, with poor Joan Fontaine just trying to get her bearings in an old, dark house. Why are her new husband, Laurence Olivier, and his housekeeper, Judith Anderson, so mean to Joan, and what’s become of the cupid in the morning room? Join us and find out.

110 Bogart: Life Comes In Flashes

A new film tells the story of Humphrey Bogart through the lens of the women who were most important in his life - his mother and his four wives. Shelly talks with Bogey’s son, Stephen Humphrey Bogart, about the new film.

109 More Beer!

AUDIO FIXED: Join us for peak 1950s MGM musical. If that doesn’t interest you, I can’t help. Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse dance their hearts out, Oscar Levant levants, and Vincente Minnelli does his usual excellent job as director. We take issue with the plot and at least one of the main characters, but it’s entertaining. And I like the triplets number.

108 Let Me Tell You A Story About Heroin

Susan Hayward won an Oscar. Susan Hayward was a protégé and fan of Barbara Stanwyck. Susan Hayward would like NOT to be put to death for her part in murder, please. Robert Wise (Star Trek: The Motion Picture AND The Sound of Music) directs. And this film showcases not only Miss Hayward, but a crazy intense jazz score. Unlike the usual “women in prison” pictures, this one features a protagonist who is not misunderstood, or innocent of all charges. She’s a hooker, and a lifelong criminal. But does she deserve the death penalty? Based, as they say, on a true story.

107 Gayer Than The Cast of Bewitched

Previously, on Lions, Towers & Shields, we’ve talked about one western. It was an unusual one, and included themes a modern audience tends to read as gay. Well guess what? We’re doing it again. Desert Fury puts Lizbeth Scott, Bert Lancaster and John Hodiak into a love triangle. Film noir expert Eddie Muller says this is the gayest movie ever produced in classic Hollywood. But is it? Please enjoy the lush color, and the Miklos Rosza score. And look, there’s Mary Astor and Kristine Miller, too. So we have a very noir cast getting together to ride a present-day version of the range.