Flamingo Road (1949)

Actually kind of racy for its day, Crawford's character acknowledges the fact of men's more dubious intentions in her interactions as a carny girl with her love interest - the wet behind the ears deputy Sheriff. And Sydney Greenstreet is pure evil as the Sheriff who uses his clout to get his candidates elected.Crawford plays an outsider that we want to root for and she delivers. I like how one of the more slippery characters at first changes into one of the better, moral characters that Crawford eventually falls in love with. When he brings her into the jet set life of Flamingo Road, we feel she had it coming and that she deserves it considering her hard-boiled difficult past and her tough but honest demeanor.Being 1949, the dialogue is a bit hokey and whirlwind romances happen in about 10 second flat, but isn't that how things were (sort of) in the day? Maybe, maybe not.

. . . against the rampant corruption in American Politics, culminating in our alleged POTUS #45 (aka, "Putin's Pick, Putin's Pawn, or Putin's Puppet"). The corpulent geezer playing the part of Evil Party Machine Mastermind "Titus Semple" during FLAMINGO ROAD is a dead ringer for the Real Life "Fake President" of 2018. The well-named and always prophetic Warner Bros. outfit depict Titus as a serial swindler, Fat Cat bully boy, Capitalist Pig, malicious misogynist, self-centered Enemy of the People, compulsively lying spreader of "Fake News" (which one of those Commandments that the misnamed "Righteous" hypocrites are always overlooking calls "bearing false witness"), and obvious Minion of Satan. All Warner Bros. would need to add to this characterization to make it a perfect "spot-on" fit with "Putin's Puppet" is to add a backstory about Titus' dad being a community organizer for the Brooklyn Ku Klux Klan, with his grand-pappy being New York City's top-ranked pimp. Therefore, FLAMINGO ROAD merits top-notch kudos for its unblinking glimpse into America's sad future.

This is one of Joan Crawford's better movies because it is so entertaining. This movie has it all: drama, snappy dialogue, memorial characters. good guys and bad guys, excellent film noir cinematography, fluid continuity, and a wonderful ending. Most commanding is Sydney Greenstreet. He carries this movie; his performance is strong and surprisingly dynamic. Before Boss Hogg there was Boss Semple and in this movie the Boss is in charge until he gets his come-uppance. Joan Crawford gives a wonderful performance as the carnival worker who gets caught up in political corruption. Her scenes with Mr. Greenstreet are the highlights of the movie. The movie treats a number of compelling themes in a straightforward manner and without becoming melodramatic.

This is a very powerful, and I believe underrated, film. And, I would have to disagree with some other reviewers that it's very much Joan Crawford's film. In my view this is a "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" film, and the big shot in question is Sydney Greenstreet. Here, Greenstreet is just about the most repulsive I've ever seen him in any role. And, incidentally, he made only one film after this one.While I feel it's Greenstreet's film, that's not to say Crawford isn't powerful here, as well. Imagine saying to Greenstreet: "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." The film really wouldn't work without both of them, and they are forces to be reckoned with on the screen in this film.I think nowadays we've learned to be somewhat dismissive of Joan Crawford...partly due to her publicity as "Mommy Dearest", and partly due to some of the really rotten films she made in her declining years. But here she was near her peak, and so impressive.Another surprise (at least for me) in this film is Zachary Scott...never a particular favorite of mine...an actor I typically tolerate. But here, he is excellent! Perhaps the best role I've seen him in.David Bryan deserves mention here. He was never a big star, but we often saw him in films and then television. He does very nicely here, as do the other members of the cast.I highly recommend this film. The only negative comment I can make is that perhaps Joan Crawford didn't look the part...but she sure acted it!