Flamingo Road (1949)

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Edmund H. North (additional dialogue)
Robert Wilder (play)

Release Date:

6 May 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A wrong girl for the right side of the tracks.

Plot:

Carnival dancer Lane Bellamy finds herself stranded in a southern town ruled by corrupt political boss Titus Semple...

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Dancer | Southern | Political Machine | Carnival

Cast

Joan Crawford	...	Lane Bellamy
Zachary Scott	...	Fielding Carlisle
Sydney Greenstreet	...	Sheriff Titus Semple
David Brian	...	Dan Reynolds
Gladys George	...	Lute Mae Sanders
Virginia Huston	...	Annabelle Weldon
Fred Clark	...	Doc Waterson
Gertrude Michael	...	Millie
Alice White	...	Gracie
Sam McDaniel	...	Boatright
Tito Vuolo	...	Pete Ladas

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Michael Curtiz Productions

Trivia:

Originally intended as a vehicle for Ann Sheridan, who turned down role played by 'Joan Crawford'.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Sheriff Titus Semple tells Fielding Carlisle to "get over to that girl's house and ask her to marry 'her'", instead of “marry you”.

Quotes:

Sheriff Titus Semple: Now me, I never forget anything.
Lane Bellamy: You know sheriff; we had an elephant in our carnival with a memory like that. He went after a keeper that he'd held a grudge against for almost 15 years. Had to be shot. You just wouldn't believe how much trouble it is to dispose of a dead elephant.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star (2002) (TV)

Soundtrack:

If I Could Be with You

Perhaps, an acquired taste, but...

Like a dry Martini with just a tad too much vermouth, garnished with an olive that hasn't been washed of its brine, this one can leave a nasty taste if you're looking for something that goes down smoothly. But if you're not too fastidious, this Crawford star vehicle is almost ridiculously entertaining. Joan might have been just a little long in the tooth to be playing a hoochy-coochy carnival girl in the film's opening sequence but it isn't long before she's on her way up, constantly being tripped on that inexorable climb by one of the slimiest villains that Sydney Greenstreet ever played. Warners trowels on the class "A" production values (except for some glaring back projections at a construction site) and Michael Curtiz's direction is, as usual, briskly efficient, getting the best from everyone in the cast, principal and supporting players alike, except perhaps for Greenstreet who really doesn't look well at all and seems to be struggling against imminent collapse in some scenes. (He made only one picture after this one and died from complications of diabetes about five years later.)

Max Steiner contributes his usual melodically overwrought score (with heavy reliance on the popular song, "If I Could Be One Hour With You [Tonight]"), lushly orchestrated by Murray Cutter, under the musical direction of that Warners stalwart, Ray Heindorf. It's almost too distracting but the frequently crackling dialogue keeps the audience's attention focused on the pulpy proceedings. Ted McCord's black-and-white cinematography is an outstanding example of why not every picture should be in color and I suspect that it was Travilla who was given the task of gowning Crawford once she'd finally crossed over to the right side of the tracks. (Sheila O'Brien, also credited, probably ran up those nifty waitress uniforms and the prison garb Crawford gets to wear not once, but twice!)

They really, REALLY don't make 'em like this anymore, and thank goodness Turner Classic Movies, for instance, trundles a tasty morsel like this out of their archives every once in a while for us to savor once again.