Review: Kind Lady

The title elderly rich old lady (Ethel Barrymore) takes a shine to a struggling but snazzy-dressing artist (Maurice Evans), and reluctantly allows his fragile wife (Betsy Blair) to stay after she takes a turn. Before long, Evans has moved himself in and taken over the entire house with his two crass cronies (Angela Lansbury and Keenan Wynn). Barrymore is left helpless in her own abode as Evans and co help themselves to her expensive art collection. Doris Lloyd plays Barrymore’s original maid, John Williams plays a concerned acquaintance of the elderly Barrymore.

 

Although best-known for his more manly-man films in the war and western genres (“Gunfight at the OK Corral”, “The Magnificent Seven”, “The Great Escape”, “Last Train from Gun Hill”), director John Sturges was capable of a lot more than just making ‘guy’ movies. He shows just that in this excellent 1950 crime-thriller, based on a stage play that was filmed before in the 1930s with Basil Rathbone and Aline MacMahon in the leads. Scripted by Charles Bennett (“The 39 Steps” and “Foreign Correspondent” for Hitchcock) and Jerry Davis (A top TV writer-producer, principally “The Odd Couple” and “Bewitched”), the plotting is really nifty and shifty as Maurice Evans somehow moves in not just himself but ill wife Betsy Blair, followed by couple of servants/henchmen. Poor Ethel Barrymore doesn’t know how trapped she is until it’s rather too late. Look for an excellent bit of shot composition where Barrymore starts to wise up and the interlopers surround and intimidate her through posture, body language, and sheer numbers advantage. She’s a prisoner in her own home, and all due to her kind and trusting, charitable nature. It’s a wonderfully claustrophobic, malevolent film that you could easily see Hitchcock turning out rather than Sturges (Sturges even employs one of Hitchcock’s regulars, character actor John Williams for a minor role).

 

Maurice Evans, a couple of decades before playing Dr. Zaius in “Planet of the Apes” gives perhaps his finest film performance here as a lowly artist and sly criminal. Although he’s dressed rather spiffy like his Puzzler villain from TV’s “Batman”, Evans’ character is actually a rather pathetic, lower-class criminal here. He just has the outward appearance of a debonair, cultured artist-type to help with his ruse and perhaps distinguish him from his accomplices (whom he likely considers somewhat beneath him). Meanwhile we have the excellent Ethel Barrymore as the title character, who tries to pretend she’s not a big softie at heart, when she’s actually a very kind and charitable soul. A naïve and gullible kind and charitable soul about to get hoodwinked by a slimy prick con artist in a spiffy suit and hat. Barrymore excels at portraying not only the initial naivety and vulnerability of her character, but also the later steeliness and defiance without the two sides seeming unbelievable in the same person. For support we have a couple of absolute rotters in Angela Lansbury and thuggish Keenan Wynn as Evans’ accomplices. Lansbury is instantly unpleasant, cold-hearted, and greedy, a million miles away from her roles in “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” and “Murder She Wrote”, but not a surprise to anyone who has seen her in “State of the Union” and “The Manchurian Candidate”. An excellent, versatile actress. Durable and dependable American character actor Wynn sounds nothing like himself here, though it’s not entirely certain whether his character is Australian or English. He has definitely spent time in Australia, as he references Melbourne frequently, but at times his accent wavers between Australian and English. Of course, for many decades Australians sounded rather British anyway, especially if you’ve ever seen any early Aussie TV shows or film, or even documentaries. However, Lansbury is clearly using a cockney British accent as his wife, so there’s that too. Wynn pronounces ‘Melbourne’ correctly, and doesn’t sound remotely American, so that’s something. More importantly he gives a great, thuggish and intimidating performance as essentially Evans’ muscle. Betsy Blair’s fragility and meekness are effectively on display here in an important supporting role.

 

Perhaps plot-wise this kind of thing might seem dime-a-dozen these days, but I imagine even for a remake this felt fresher in 1950. It’s a well-done example of this type of film, with an underrated director in Sturges at the helm making sure there’s enough meat on its bones but zero fat. If the film has one flaw – and it does – it’s that details in the finale involving Evans’ true identity and nature are a bit confusing for the audience. Still, up until that point this one is expertly done. Apparently a financial flop, this is near-classic B-movie stuff to me, highly underrated and brilliantly performed especially by the devious Maurice Evans. The best thing? Sturges gets in and out in under 80 minutes. Must-see, it deserves a much wider audience.

 

Rating: B+