EVEN DeepER Blurting!: DBNS: Bowery Bela

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DBNS: Bowery Bela

Posted by Kenneth Morgan on 12/30/2008, 11:56 pm

Today, Kenneth Morgan finishes out the year with a visit from an old fiend…er, friend.
*****
Well, 2008 is winding down. It’s been a tough year for your semi-humble correspondent in many ways. So, for my last review of the year, I decided to try something fairly simple, clear-cut and familiar. And, for a MSTie, what could be more familiar than our old pal Bela Lugosi.

Thus, our subject for today: “Bowery at Midnight” released by Monogram Pictures in 1942.

The film opens with the escape from prison of “Fingers” Dolan (John Barkes), convicted safecracker. Dolan manages to reach the Bowery section of New York City. There, based on an overheard conversation, he goes to the Friendly Mission, a homeless shelter for indigent men, where they can get food and medical care, and not be bothered with questions. Upon arrival, Dolan is recognized by the mission’s founder, Carl Wagner (Bela). Oddly, rather than turning him in, Wagner gets chummy with Dolan and offers him a proposition.

It turns out that Brenner isn’t as altruistic as we might’ve thought. (Well, he is played by Bela Lugosi, after all.) It seems he’s actually using some of the destitute men to commit crimes throughout the city. Brenner is aided in this by henchman Stratton (Wheeler Oakman) and drug-addicted janitor Doc (Lew Kelly). Brenner offers Dolan protection if he’ll open the safe at a local jewelry company. Dolan agrees, cracks the safe, and promptly gets the SPECTRE-approved retirement benefit: a lethal bullet.

The next morning, we see Brenner at home, giving his wife a string of pearls as a gift. He gently refuses to discuss his work, only saying that he’s researching a new book. (SUGGESTED RIFF: (as Bela) It’s called “Twilight” and it’s about a young punk trying to move in on my territory.) Later on, we see him teaching a college class on psychology, but we learn that his students know him as “Professor Brenner”. Weird, huh?

Meanwhile, as the police try to close in on the crooks, low grade gunman Frankie Mills (Tom Neal), on the run from the law, reaches the mission. Wagner/Brenner recognizes him, too, and offers him a job as his henchman. He wins the position by killing current henchman Stratton, who’d been overheard plotting a coup. So, with his new sidekick, W/B continues his criminal campaign, immediately knocking off anyone who might be considered a threat or even an inconvenience.

Three complications arrive, though. First, one of Brenner’s students, Richard Dennison (John Archer), is doing research on the psychology of the indigent and turns up at the mission. Second, new-fledged NYPD detective Pete Crawford (Dave O’Brien) is getting uncomfortably close in his investigation. Third, Brenner’s nurse Judy Malvern (Wanda McKay), who’s also Richard’s fiancée, is being nagged by her future husband to give up her job and not go to the Bowery anymore. (S.R.: You’re hanging out with Slip Mahoney, aren’t you?) Oh, and there’s also Doc’s odd obsession with the bodies of Brenner’s dead accomplices. In any case, all (well…most) is revealed in a big finish at the mission.

“Bowery at Midnight” is pretty much what you’d expect from a Bela Lugosi picture during his Poverty Row period, before he started hanging around with Ed Wood. It’s actually a pretty good movie. It moves pretty fast, lasting only about an hour. The acting is OK, particularly by Lugosi. The script by Gerald Schnitzer has a couple of interesting twists, and the direction by Wallace Fox keeps the story pretty straight and Bela fairly restrained. (No “FORSAKEN JUNGLE HELL” moments.)

On the other hand, there are a lot of moments when you realize that this movie really makes little sense. For example, we learn that Brenner has been having awful nightmares, leading us to believe that maybe we’ve got a split personality thing going, yet Wagner readily admits that he’s Brenner and nothing more is made of it. There’s also the way that Wagner seems to have extensive files on the crooks that just blunder into the mission; where did those come from? Finally, I don’t want to give away the ending, but it includes a twist that comes from way deep out in left field, followed by a coda that’s meant to be funny and happy, but just seems rather creepy in retrospect. You’ll have to see it for yourselves.

As could be expected, this movie does provide a fine amount of riffing material, much of it Lugosi-centered. There’s the time Brenner, at breakfast, gently asking his wife, “How about feeding your hungry husband?” (S.R.: Okay, I’ll have a pint or two drained out in a moment.) Or when we see a newspaper headline about Dolan being the victim of a “double-cross”. (S.R.: (as Bela) Please, don’t use the word “cross” around me!) And, of course, there are the all-but-traditional uses of “How fortunate! This will simplify everything!” at the appropriate time. You can also throw in some comments about Richard’s telling Judy that her trying to save humanity through her job is ridiculous. (S.R.: (as Shatner) Spock! Let them die!) And, whenever the Bowery is mentioned, you can throw in a “Routine 5, fellas!” or two.

All in all, “Bowery at Midnight” is a pretty good movie. It’s an enjoyable B-picture that pretty much does what it’s supposed to: entertain for about 61 minutes. It’s not Bela’s best, but it’s certainly not his worst. (Sadly, there are any number of movies competing for that title.) I can recommend this one with little reservation.

Well, that’s about it. Thus, we close the coffin on both Bela Lugosi and 2008. Happy 2009, all! See you next year.