ROAD HOUSE (1948)

Richard Widmark, a blustery little tough guy, runs Jefty's Road House, a bowling alley/nightclub in a relatively rural Midwestern town.  Handsome nice guy Cornel Wilde, an old buddy of Widmark's, is the manager, and Celeste Holm is the office girl who is sweet on Wilde. Into this happy little family comes a serpent, sultry Chicago singer Ida Lupino. Wilde thinks she's bad news and tries to ship her right back to the big city, but she does an effective version of "One for My Baby" in her worn, battered voice—Holm says her voice sounds like gravel—and the customers love her (not to mention that Widmark develops a thing for her as well).  Soon, Wilde and Lupino are hot for each other; Holm picks up on this but Widmark does not, and he returns from a vacation with a wedding license for he and Lupino. When Wilde and Lupino they tell him about their attraction, Widmark is not only unhappy, he gets a little psychotic, framing Wilde for the theft of some money and getting the judge to release him to Widmark's care. When all four go up to Widmark's hunting lodge near the Canadian border, the shit hits the fan.

This noir-ish film plays out like a slightly less mannered GILDA, with the backstory setting Widmark in George Macready's role as the somewhat screwy benefactor to Wilde (Glenn Ford in GILDA). Being set in the woods and not quite having a femme fatale role, this may not exactly fit the noir template, but it sure looks and feels like one. (If GILDA is a film noir, so is this.) I'm not a fan of Wilde's but he’s OK here. Holm is also fine, but the real stars are Lupino and Widmark, doing the best at what they are known for—tough as nails gal for Lupino, slow-burning psycho for Widmark. I haven't reviewed many of his movies on my blog, but his presence is always a good sign. I need to revisit his breakthrough role in KISS OF DEATH one of these days. Pictured are Wilde, Widmark and Lupino. [DVD]