The Great Flamarion (1945)

Stroheim was the older, more experienced and perhaps greater director of the two, while Mann was still learning. There were clashes between them during the shooting, and Mann was wise enough to duck: it's definitely von Stroheim's film, as he succeeds in realizing his perhaps most poignant and shattering film character. He is a total perfectionist doing his job perfectly, when a false woman starts using him for her purposes. He is deluded, but as the perfectionist he is he refuses to realize he has committed a mistake and insists on believing in her the whole way, until everything is lost.At the same time it is almost autobiographical. He was himself on top in the 20s as one of Hollywood's greatest directors, and then had a long and great fall, just like Orson Welles. He was never allowed to direct again after the total failure of "Queen Kelly" with Gloria Swanson, left unfinished, and all he could do any more was some acting. This is one of the three films in which he still succeeds in taking over the whole film, the other two being Renoir's "La grande illusion" (1937) and "Sunset Boulevard", putting Gloria Swanson back on the screen with a vengeance. The story of the perfect shot is Vicki Baum's, and the story as unfolded by Anthony Mann is shattering and in a way a parallel to Josef von Sternberg's "The Blue Angel", describing the same kind of long great fall from established greatness to pitiable misery by delusive love. Although short and almost condensed (only 75 minutes), it's a great film deserving only the highest possible applause. Just the introductory scene, as the camera slowly approaches the acting on the stage closing up on a ridiculous clown, when the long shot suddenly is shattered by an unexpected event, is even up to Hichcock's standard.

The character played by Mary Beth Hughes has to be one of the biggest tramps in a classic movie, leading on at least two men as far as the audience knows while her husband (Dan Duryea) remains unapologetically drunk. Not only is there the handsome and noble Stephen Barclay, but moody specialty performer Erich von Stroheim who utilizes both Hughes and Duryea in his gun act. How does Hughes sucker von Stroheim into her web? By throwing herself at him without shame and then topping it off with every insult that a femme fatale can think of. Why von Stroheim didn't strangle her there is never explained, but for Hughes, the game has just begun.This intriguing film noir has Hughes and von Stroheim exchanging conspiracies secretly on a park bench, pretending to be total strangers, much like Stanwyck and MacMurray did in the same year's "Double Indemnity". Pretty lavish coming from Republic, this opens with a mysterious gunshot going off in a supposed burlesque house, and after pandemonium is calmed down, Von Stroheim is found unconscious on the backstage floor comes to in order to explain his story. He's that suspicious creature known as a loner who admittedly hates all mankind, yet is willing to be pulled into Hughes' den of destruction.The bombastic von Stroheim really is mesmerizing, even though he appears to have been born without smiling muscles. Duryea, one of the great sleazy guys of film noir, is just pathetic here, but as an actor, simply delightful. Esther Howard gets a few good moments as an old dame who is in denial that she's an old dame. But thus is von Stroheim's film all the way, directed in a unique style by film noir and dark western veteran Anthony Mann.

Although Erich Von Stroheim is top billed in The Great Flamarion this film really belongs to Mary Beth Hughes who was the model for playing two timing dames that others took as the standard. She's at her worst when she does it to Von Stroheim. She's playing with fire because the cinematic Von Stroheim is not one to be trifled with.Von Stroheim plays the title role, he's a vaudeville headline with a trick sharp shooting act like Annie Oakley. Hughes and her alcoholic husband Dan Duryea, a former dance act work as Von Stroheim's stooges in the act with him throwing carefully timed shots. Duryea and Hughes are breaking up and Duryea won't give her a divorce. So Hughes plays up to Von Stroheim as eagerly as Barbara Stanwyck did with Fred MacMurray in Double Indemnity to get him involved in her deadly game. In fact there's a lot of resemblance between The Great Flamarion and the Billy Wilder classic.Von Stroheim is a pitiable character in the end, his fall and degradation is like a Greek tragedy. But Hughes who two timed Henry Fonda and married for money in The Oxbow Incident and is best known for that part is the one to watch her. This is one evil woman.This one is an undiscovered gem from Republic so discover it.

Or so the von Stroheim character begins his flashback narration.This movie has never quite worked for me. Anthony Mann was a superb director. Von Stroheim was too. And he was a fine actor in "Grand Illusion" and an interesting character actor in "Sunset Boulevard." Dan Duryea was good at playing heals. But he isn't one here, exactly. He drinks too much but we have an idea why.Mary Beth Hughes is persuasive as a cold-hearted gold-digger. But it never rings true. Stroheim is not sufficiently sympathetic. If his role had been played by Peter Lorre, the movie might have worked. As it is, everything is set up before we even begin to watch it.