Among the Living

Moviecut—Among the Living

source: Among the Living

Stuart Heisler is one of the best B picture directors I know. Most of his films post high quality cinematography and acting despite budgetary and other limitations, and AMONG THE LIVING is no exception. Albert Dekker plays the twin Raden brothers with considerable verve, alternating the calm and good sense of John with the mad and murderous Paul. Lovely Frances Farmer plays John's loyal wife, Susan Hayward the selfish and sluttish lass who sees an opportunity to skin Paul, who somehow has a great deal of money on him, even though he has been held captive for over 25 years in the basement of his house. What makes it even odder that he should have any lettuce on him is that we first see him in a straight jacket, and then he just freely hands out money, seemingly without any idea as to its value. Harry Carey also delivers a stunning performance, although his metamorphosis from forging death certificates and other illegalities to upstanding citizen admitting his guilt and showing readiness to pay his debt to society at the end is anything but easy to buy. Quirky script, great chase sequence, wonderful crowd reactions and crazy behavior all combine to render this a gem of a B picture. Don't miss it!

Among the Living opens on a funeral. The patriarch to a wealthy family has died, and the man's son, Albert Dekker, returns home to pay his respects after twenty-five years away. Harry Carey, the family doctor, and Ernest Whitman, the family servant, are glad to see him but wary of his return to town. Twenty-five years ago, Albert's twin brother died, and ever since, Harry and Ernest have been keeping a terrible secret from the family and the town. . . There's a lot more to the plot, and if you look this movie up on IMDb, you'll read much more than I'm telling you. However, I think it's more exciting sometimes to watch a movie without knowing too much about it. There are lots of surprises in this thriller, and it's great to watch around Halloween. Yes, it's a little dated, and Susan Hayward's acting is atrocious, but if you like the campy black-and-white scary flicks from the olden days, turn off all the lights and huddle close to your popcorn!

Twenty years ago, the town's founder discovered one of his two twin sons was insane. He had doctor Harry Carey fake a death certificate, had an old servant at the house to care for him, then moved the other son and himself into the town's best hotel. Now he has died, the town mill has closed down until the sane son, played by Albert Dekker, decides to reopen it. The other son, also played by Dekker, kills the old servant, and flees into town. In many ways, this movie is reminiscent of HIGH SIERRA; Susan Hayward, who plays the love interest to the insane son, even gives a performance reminiscent of Ida Lupino in the other movie. It's a very watchable movie, with Dekker quite convincing as the two men, particularly the naive insane brother. It doesn't live up to its competitor, because it elevates the pulpish and melodramatic aspects of the plots, and doesn't make use of the introspective elements that the other movie emphasize. At 67 minutes, it lacks the time to do so. With Frances Farmer, Gordon Jones, and Maude Eburne.

Albert Dekker stars in a dual role in "Among the Living" from 1941, which also stars Susan Hayward and Francis Farmer. Dekker plays John and Paul Raden, part of an important family - in fact, the town is called Radentown. Paul supposedly died when he was 10 years old. However, he was discovered to be mentally unstable and was locked in a secret room in the Raden Mansion. When John Raden and his wife (Farmer) return for the Raden patriarch's funeral, they learn that Paul is alive. Paul escapes after killing his caretaker and takes off into town, renting a room, where he meets the landlady's daughter (Hayward). Childlike and unschooled in social graces, Paul gives her money and tells her to buy a new dress. She's no idiot and takes him for a real ride. After a night in a club, a woman is found murdered, and the hunt for the killer is on. Decent film with noir touches and a dash of horror, and an excellent performance by Dekker who gives an individuality to both twins. Susan Hayward really pops - frankly, I prefer her earlier films, when she was fresh and sexy, as opposed to the harder characters she played later. Here she's a real scene-stealer. I have a quibble with what happened toward the end - I really didn't understand the lynch mob mentality. It seemed over the top. Albert Dekker was a prominent stage actor who died a strange death. During his career, he turned in some very good film, television, and Broadway performances. This was a good showcase for him. All in all, pretty good.

A lunatic evil twin escapes to terrorize a small Southern Gothic town and get smitten with a young and saucy Susan Hayward. And that's the good news! A campy, good twin-bad twin, swamp melodrama.

Where does insanity start? It truly varies from patient to patient, but in many cases, it's obviously child abuse, and that is the theme here as one of two twin brothers ends up in a straight jacket in the family mansion's attic because of abuse he went through at the hands of his evil father. Years later, the old man has died, and now he's out on the street where havoc, death and destruction are sure to follow. Albert Dekker, who the year before played the equally menacing Dr. Cyclops, plays two sides of the coin; The sane brother who managed to escape his father's wrath and the brain damaged twin who only ended up in a straight jacket because he defended his mother against an equally brutal attack by his father. Moving into a boarding house run by spunky Maude Eburne, he fells in love with her daughter (a young Susan Hayward) but after a visit with his brother (whom he viciously attacks in front of sister-in-law Frances Farmer) goes on a rampage, stalking and brutally killing a young blonde he saw in a tavern. The insane brother shows gentility and total sanity when he's with Hayward, but that's most likely going to snap at any moment, especially when Hayward decides she's going to find the mysterious killer on the loose and asks him for his help. Harry Carey is excellent as the family doctor who knows the truth about the troubled family's past and tries to help the insane brother to no avail. Hayward is her typical tough cookie, claiming "For $5000, I'm not afraid of anything, including death", but unfortunately, Farmer (who around this time was dealing with serious mental issues herself) is totally wasted. Her small role does give the indication, however, how great she would have been in the same types of roles which were given to newcomers such as Veronica Lake, Lauren Bacall and Lizabeth Scott with her husky voice and seemingly tough demeanor. The tension builds up as does the pressure with Dekker in getting caught in his own trap, and this makes for a very exciting conclusion. An early example of film noir which mixes in elements of horror, Dekker's insane brother could be described as a live version of Frankenstein's monster as his gentility and madness are mixed to provide him with a very hair-raising performance. This is a forgotten sleeper which very much deserves to be re-discovered.

Long before 'The Parent Trap' we get some great split-screen special effects of Albert Dekker playing twins in this 1941 early Noir. But, it seems Dekker did such a great job of playing two starring roles in this film, that he spent most of the rest of his long career playing bit parts. He wasn't really that bad . . . or that good. Not the greatest film ever but worth a watch just for the wild vigilante mob that becomes the star of the show and is reminiscent of 'Frankenstein.' Plus how can you go wrong with a sweet innocent lead heroine named Mollie Pickens and several scenes with a newsboy walking down the street shouting, "Extra, Extra . . ." to help move the plot along?

Deranged twin brother escapes home confinement after father's death and tries to fit into a new life. Wacky, highly original horror story. When the luscious Hayward (Millie) makes her entrance at the stairs' top, it's like an explosion of saucy sex appeal. There's enough lively personality there to light up the room. In fact, her gold-digging coquette manages to steal the film. And that's against tough competition from Dekker as the wide-eyed, strangely sympathetic mad strangler. Together, they're easily one of filmdom's genuine odd couples. Frankly, the story at times makes little sense. But that's okay because it's the characters and Gothic atmosphere that distinguish the film. It's also one of the few films where the camera pans through a hellish mansion, only to focus finally on a guy in a straitjacket (Dekker as the mad Paul), of all things. Catch that opening scene with the unemployed mill workers taunting the funeral rites for the mill owner. In fact, there's an odd class undercurrent to the screenplay as a whole. Considering that blacklisted leftist Lester Cole did both the story and the script, that's not surprising. Moreover, the screenplay can be viewed as something of an allegory with mad brother Paul as the brutalized innocent, who would like to side with the workers (he prefers living with them), but has been too damaged by his mill owner father to be able to. In that sense, he suggests Dad's repressed (straitjacketed) humane side hidden away from public view, but finally released by Dad's death into a world his now childlike nature can't comprehend. More tragically, he can only relieve a woman's scream of pain by strangling her, the memory of his abused mother and his attempt to help still fresh in his mind. Dekker's affecting performance with its unexpected degree of pathos underscores, I believe, something of this way of looking at things. Director Heisler certainly has a flair for exciting crowd scenes. That clip joint with its frenetic swing dancers is a marvel of editing and atmosphere, a really memorable scene. And those teeming street crowds add both color and more atmosphere. The movie's commanding visuals owe a lot to the underrated Heisler. Too bad, however, the talented Frances Farmer is largely wasted in a brief, conventional role. Anyway, in my little book, the movie's a one-of-a-kind that rises above the ordinary B- feature or horror film, and should not be missed.