The Hoodlum Saint

source: The Hoodlum Saint

I have been watching a lot of old movies on TCM lately. (Nothing like Covid almost killing you--and thus following doctors orders--LOTS OF BEDREST). I've read all the reviews, and they go from 1-10 stars. One things I think most reviewers missed was the play on words: The Hoodlum Saint is not only St. Dismus, but also our main character played by Wm. Powell. It is a story of lots of jobless men after the Great War. The leader figures out how to get money and helps his buddies. Then they all loose it in the Wall Street Crash!. Love of money has become a spiritual problem--a big problem--just like today. Redemption is a main and believable role for all involved. It is not a Nick& Nora film, and they made a big mistake dubbing Angela's Lansbury's voice. But I do not believe that Powell's acting was flat, and frankly I didn't notice the age difference between him and Ester Williams--besides, there are a LOT of older men, younger women couples!

If there's a reason to watch this film, it is to watch William Powell. I've yet to see a Powell film where I didn't enjoy his acting. There was just something special about him. But despite an impressive cast, this film just doesn't work -- particularly when you compare the first half and second half of the film. It improves in the second half, only to be scarred with downright corny religious silliness. And while this may be a minor point, not a lot of care was taken in the making of this film. Much of it takes place -- supposedly in Baltimore...where palm trees are so common...right??? But the biggest problem seems to be that film can't quite decide what it wants to be. A comedy? Well, no? A drama? Not exactly. A religious story? Mmmmm...occasionally. It just seems all over the place. There are some interesting things regarding the supporting characters here. Co-star Esther Williams was fine...even without a swimsuit. Angela Lansbury was "good here" as the third member of the triangle. I wondered who sang for her; very nice. James Gleason was good...as always...although his sudden conversion to religion seemed a little sappy. Lewis Stone had a rather boring part as a priest; good to see him, but this was nothing special. Rags Ragland was much better at comedy than sorta-drama. Frank McHugh's fortunes had certainly fallen by the time this film was made; his part was so minimal it was noticeable. I always enjoy seeing Henry O'Neill. I was interested in seeing supporting actor Slim Summerville. I remembered him from a couple of Shirley Temple movies, looked him up, and noted that he died of a stroke shortly after this film was made. As much as I like William Powell, I can't recommend this film...unless you really enjoy William Powell. There's little else of real interest here.

Peculiar little movie that seems like it would have been a better fit for a pre-WWII Warner Bros. gangster picture. The story's about a WWI soldier (William Powell) coming home to find he's out of work. He and other returning vets have no choice but to rely on charity to get by. Embittered, he decides to get rich no matter what it takes. But the love of a good woman (Esther Williams) will undoubtedly set him back on the path of the straight and narrow. It's a strange one, to be sure. The aging Powell is miscast, the movie is mistimed, and Angela Lansbury's singing is dubbed despite her having a fine singing voice. The supporting cast is good, including Lansbury, Frank McHugh, Rags Ragland, and James Gleason. But the starchiness of the script that doesn't allow either of its charming leads to do what they do best and the lack of romantic chemistry between said leads is the film's undoing. It's watchable enough for fans of Powell and Williams but not something that will make either's career highlight reel.

Anyone in the mood to see William Powell as a bad guy? If your answer is no, which makes sense since he usually plays fun, classy guys, you're going to want to steer clear of The Hoodlum Saint. He plays an unscrupulous cad who treats the women in his wife, Esther Williams and Angela Lansbury, without respect, and who values money above all things. After WWI, Bill comes home to find his newspaper job is obsolete. He crashes a wedding and impersonates a wealthy man to get close to another wealthy man to get a job, and in the process he kisses Esther without permission or an introduction, merely to distract the bouncer from throwing him out. She tells him he's not behaving respectfully, but it doesn't matter to him. Soon, he rises to the top of the food chain, while stringing along nightclub singer Angie. Speaking of her, the studio dubbed Angela's singing voice! It doesn't make sense, since she later made her greatest fame on the stage. I didn't find the protagonist likable in this one. I enjoyed seeing his group of "hoodlum" friends, since they seemed to be the only characters capable of knocking sense into him and reminding him of human emotions. James Gleason always turns in a solid performance, and you'll also see Frank McHugh and Slim Summerville.

When the king of suave detecting meets the swimming queen and the future queen of the musical theatre, it's an interesting, if somewhat creepy, trio. William Powell is way older than both Esther Williams and Angela Lansbury, and it's apparent that he's awkward in the conception of their being romantically paired. Absolutely no ego involved with this, he still goes through with his best, somewhat of a lovable middle aged rogue who returns home from serving in World War I and struggles to find work as a newspaper reporter. He flirts and playfully harasses working socialite Williams, passing her off to another partner in a dance marathon but upset when he finds out that she's been married. Along comes glamorous nightclub singer Lansbury (dubbed badly by a singer whose voice is nowhere close to Angela's, let alone those who dubbed her in earlier MGM musicals), but issues with old pals James Gleason, Frank McHugh, Rags Ragland and Slim Summerville adds all sorts of confusion, not only to Powell's life, but the story as well. Far from the dashing leading man of his days with Myrna Loy, Powell is still the most sophisticated man on the post World War II screen, and manages to have an ageless persona even though he's obviously made up to appear to be younger. This mixes in comedy and social drama in a way that isn't always consistent, and gaps in the story makes this a bit inconsistent in it's structure and often episodic. That's the fault of the script, not the stars or direction, although it should have been obvious in daily rushes that something was wrong. It's the type of film that seems to be suffering from an identity crisis, at times going for 30's style screwball comedy then turning into an expose on the ruthlessness of big business dealings, and all of a sudden a typical woman's picture with a confrontation between Williams and Lansbury that lacks the desired spark. I would have liked more of Ms. Lansbury, playing a combination of emotions and not close to the harridans that she was often typecast as, although she's far from being a pushover. Like Powell's character, this was a film with too many ambitions that it didn't quite succeed in achieving.

TCM had "The Hoodlum Saint" on August 8, 2016, the first of a series of movies starring Esther Williams. Williams was 24 when she co-starred in this movie and she looked great. Star William Powell looked like he was just earning a paycheck, he had the most script lines and this script was a disaster area, completely unreal. This movie had fine stars and character actors at every turn: James Gleason, Frank McHugh, Angela Lansbury, Rags Ragland. All try hard but who is really interested in a story that revolves in part on the story of Saint Dismas, the good thief in the New Testament who becomes the "hoodlum saint." Greenlighting movies like this turkey paved the way for MGM production head Louis B. Mayer's dismissal. Cliff Reid was the producer of this movie, his first and last for MGM. Reid had worked as a producer or assistant producer at RKO from 1934 to 1942, according to IMDb. If the movie was low budget, like RKO movies starring Lee Tracy, Reid was the producer. These RKO movies are mostly unwatchable, badly written and with bad production values. For a bigger budget movie like "Bringing Up Baby," Reid was the associate producer. Reid is the one who deserves all the blame for how bad "The Hoodlum Saint" is, it has a low budget script tagged to the high production values MGM gave its movies. Further, William Powell was miscast as the star, he sleep walked through most of the movie. You have Esther Williams full of vitality playing against a very dull William Powell. Producer Cliff Reid imbued this movie with "B" movie values. You know, MGM would have been better off making this movie starring Lee Tracy in William Powell's role as a former newspaperman who sells out at first to get rich on Wall Street before the crash.

Writer James Hill wrote this wonderful story which was directed by Norman Taurog and relates this rags to riches story, staring William Powell as Terence Ellerton 'Terry' O'Neill'. Powell has just been discharged from the Army, after World War One. Finding it near impossible to find employment, he crashes a High Society wedding and with little effort on his part, bumps into just the right people. Shortly thereafter, he is soon riding the gravy train and up towards his first million. Esther Williams and Angela Lansbury are also along with him as are other close friends. Eventually, he finds his second million easier and with it accumulating wealth in everything he attempts. Finding success in all his endeavors, he creates a non-existing Charity fund for the poor and realizes it too is a success. Then Wall Street collapses and Ellerton finds he too is brought low by the Economic Meltdown. As America looks to blame someone, he too is slated for jail or prison. Landing in the streets, he realizes that being poor is lonely at the bottom and wishes he hadn't squandered his life and few friends. The film is a tribute to self reliance and what to do with the wonderful opportunities one is given along the way. Powell is wonderful as are his Co-Stars. Easily recommended. ****

The idea was interesting, and while it was somewhat odd to see them together due to their performing styles being so completely different from one another William Powell, Esther Williams, Angela Lansbury and James Gleason were highly talented performers and always watchable. All have done much better work than 'The Hoodlum Saint', both in terms of performances and in films. 'The Hoodlum Saint' has its moments and redeeming values but it doesn't really come together, feeling disjointed for want of a word. It's very nicely shot in black and white, and hauntingly scored. The songs performed by Angela Lansbury (though dubbed very well by Doreen Tryden, though it was a strange decision as Lansbury is a more than capable singer. While the acting was a mixed bag on the whole, Lansbury really enlivens the proceedings in a charmingly perky performance and comes off best in the cast. James Gleason looks as though he was enjoying himself thoroughly, as does Frank McHugh. Powell was a great actor but this is not one of his best performances, he has been more engaged before and since and is somewhat too clean cut for a role requiring a rougher edge. Williams is cast against type, but while she is radiant it is a rather bland performance in a one-dimensional role. The chemistry isn't there, and Norman Taurog's direction is often mechanical. Scripting is pretty witless and dreary, but it is the story that is 'The Hoodlum Saint's' biggest failure. It's dully paced, with a good deal of convolution and situations resolved too easily. Tone is an issue too, starting with a more comedic touch and then abruptly shifting into drama and it feels like a completely different film and comes over as disjointed. All in all, certainly not unwatchable and worth a one-time watch for curiosity's sake but doesn't really come together. 5/10 Bethany Cox

The Hoodlum Saint has a cobbled-together feel. Too many plot lines, and most lack interest. Characters change personalities, then change again, as if the writers were not certain what to do with their creations. The normally excellent William Powell seems to be phoning in his performance. Even the stalwart supporting actor James Gleason does a pale imitation of himself. He has a religious conversion at one point that is unbelievable and embarrassing in its ham-handedness. Neither leading lady (Esther Williams and Angela Lansbury) has the star quality or acting ability to lift the proceedings a notch. Miss Lansbury sings (dubbed) several torch songs that are fastforward-worthy. I recommend you skip The Hoodlum Saint.