Vincent Sherman

Nora Prentiss

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Doctor Talbot and Nora

“Major picture-making at its worst,” was the New York Times verdict on Nora Prentiss in 1947. Yes, but… It’s also a prime example of the sort of 1940s movie seemingly designed to put women back in their box once war was over. And for that reason alone it deserves a look. It’s a classic “rogue female” movie, and Ann Sheridan is ideally cast as the nightclub singer driving a staid, breadwinning family man to destruction. They called them dangerous dames back then and it must be said that there’s nothing wilful or malevolent in Nora (Sheridan), far from it. But that just makes it worse. The girl can’t help it. Stodgy and slow are … Read more

All Through the Night

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Jane Darwell with Humphrey Bogart

An entertaining fruit cocktail, All Through the Night was one of a raft of propaganda movies Hollywood made to try and turn isolationist American public opinion in favour of entering the Second World War. In the end it didn’t matter. By the time the film came out in early 1942, Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor, Hitler had declared war on the United States and President Roosevelt had decisively taken his fellow Americans into the fray. It’s a Warner Bros movie, full of Warner players, with Humphrey Bogart leading the pack as Gloves Donahue, a wiseguy gambler with a heart of gold, the sort of guy who makes a lot of money but is … Read more