Edward G. Robinson Movie Reviews: Good Dad, Bad Dad

Edward G. Robinson & Margaret O'Brien.

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945).  A year after receiving a special "outstanding child actress" Oscar for Meet Me in St. Louis, Margaret O'Brien teamed up with Edward G. Robinson in this earnest family film. They portray father and daughter (along with Agnes Moorehead as the mother) who live in a rural Wisconsin town settled by Norwegian immigrants. Like To Kill a Mockingbird, the narrative is a collection of childhood memories: the new progressive teacher who takes over the school, a circus that passes through the town, a youthful lark that turns dangerous, and one family's tragedy that impacts the entire town. The effects of World War II also loom quietly in the background, affecting the farmers' livelihoods and causing one resident to make a life-changing decision. The primary focus is on the close relationship between young Selma (O'Brien), an only child, and her father (Robinson). When the latter is forced to discipline his daughter, you can see the anguish on his face. To make amends, he gets up in the dead of night and takes Selma to see a traveling circus making a rest stop as it passes through the the town. When Selma gets excited at the prospect of seeing a "real, live" elephant, her father pays the animal's trainer to let her pet the majestic creature. It's a lovely scene that's certain to hit home with anyone who has shared a special childhood experience with a parent. A climatic scene, in which Selma makes a personal sacrifice to help a neighbor, is equally potent. The rest of Our Vines Have Tender Grapes cannot replicate the power of those scenes (and Butch Jenkins is mighty annoying as Selma's friend). Still, it's a poignant reflection on another time and place. By the way, the film's title--which is never spoken--is from the same Bible verse that provided the title for Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes.

Allene Roberts & Edward G. Robinson.

The Red House (1947). When teenager Meg (Allene Roberts) convinces her father to hire a young man to assist with the farm chores, it appears to be a blessing. Her father (Edward G, Robinson), who adopted Meg with his sister, struggles with his wooden leg now and needs the help. Meg also has a crush on the young man, Nath, though he is dating someone else. It looks like a promising situation--until Nath decides to take a shortcut home through the nearby woods. Meg's father tries to stop the lad and warns him of dire consequences. But the more he discourages Nath, the more the young man becomes obsessed with the forest and the old red house that lies within it. One of my favorite filmmakers, Delmer Daves, directed and wrote the screenplay for The Red House. It was his fourth directorial effort and it's clear that Daves was still learning his craft. Running 100 minutes, The Red House feels like a much longer movie and could use some serious editing. That said, there are several brilliant sequences, most notably Nath's initial trek through the woods which foreshadows a later scene in the horror classic Night of the Demon. The cast is solid and features rising stars such as Julie London (as Nath's shallow girlfriend) and Rory Calhoun (a bad boy interested in Julie). It also affords Judith Anderson an opportunity to play the antithesis of Mrs. Danvers. Edward G. Robinson overplays his performance as Meg's father, who becomes gradually unhinged as he tries to hide a dark secret from his beloved daughter. It's not his best acting job, but it doesn't damage the film either. It's interesting to note that The Red House as been described as a horror film, a film noir, and a Gothic drama. I'd call it a psychological thriller--a flawed one that is nevertheless worth a look.

Seven Things to Know About "The Avengers"

John S Steed and Mrs. Emma Peel.

1. Patrick Macnee played John Steed in 159 of the 161 episodes of The Avengers from 1961-69. The two episodes in which he did not appear were "Girl on the Trapeze" and "The Far Distant Dead," which aired in the first season. Both of those focused solely on Dr. David Keel, a medical doctor played Ian Hendry. Initially, Steed was a supporting character, who teamed up with Keel while investigating the murder of Keel's fiancée. For the record, Macnee also starred in all  26 episodes of The New Avengers (1976-77).

2. The Avengers has numerous connections to the James Bond movies. Most notably, Honor Blackman played Pussy Galore opposite Sean Connery's 007 in Goldfinger (1964), while Diana Rigg's countess married George Lazenby's Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). The latter film also featured New Avengers star Joanna Lumley in a small role. Finally, Patrick Macnee has a supporting part in the Roger Moore 007 outing A View to a Kill (1985). There are likely other less obvious connections, such as John Cleese, who had a brief stint as Q in the Bond films and earlier appeared as a guest star in The Avengers episode "Look (stop me if you've heard this one) But There Were These Two Fellers..."

Steed and Cathy Gale.

3. The first season of The Avengers was not shot on film (as were U.S. TV series at the time). As a result, only two complete episodes and a partial one exist today. The second and third seasons, starring Macnee and Blackman, were not broadcast in the U.S. until 1991 by A&E. The cable network acquired the rights to 134 episodes, but showed them out of order. It broadcast the better-known seasons with Diana Riggs and Linda Thorson as the female leads before the Honor Blackman ones.

4. The Avengers underwent a mini-transformation when Diana Rigg left the series to return to the stage and pursue a film career. Producers Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell departed the series briefly after a dispute with ABC Television U.K. During their hiatus, newcomer Linda Thorson was cast as Tara King, Steed's new partner. Initially, at least, Tara was more reliant on Steed than her predecessors. Instead of using martial arts to defeat baddies, she might slug them with her handbag. In "The Forget-Me-Knot," the same episode in which Emma departed and Tara arrived, Patrick Newell guest-starred as Mother, Steed's crippled superior. The American network ABC, which was paying large sums for broadcast rights, wanted Mother added as a recurring character--so Patrick Newell joined the regular cast. Mother later had an assistant named Rhonda (played by Rhonda Parker), who appeared in eighteen episodes (but never spoke).

5. In terms of Nielsen TV ratings, The Avengers was never more than a modest hit during its original run on ABC in the U.S. It never cracked the Top 30 shows for any year. ABC didn't help matters by shuffling The Avengers around its schedule. The first season with Diana Rigg, still shot in black & white, premiered in March 1966, replacing Ben Casey on Mondays at 10:00 pm. The following year, The Avengers (in color!) moved to Fridays at 10:00, replacing 12 O'Clock High at midseason. For the 1967-68 season, ABC relocated The Avengers to Wednesdays at 7:30 opposite The Virginian and Lost in Space (which surely appealed to some of the same demographics). The death knell came in 1968-69 when The Avengers was pummeled in its Monday 7:30 time slot by Gunsmoke on CBS and I Dream of Jeannie and the first half of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In on NBC. Both Laugh-In and Gunsmoke were Top 10 shows that season.

Steed, Purdey, and Mike Gambit.

6. In 1976, just seven years after The Avengers was cancelled, producers Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell launched the sequel series The New Avengers. Patrick Macnee starred as Steed once again, but this time, he was joined by two associates: Joanna Lumley as Purdey and Gareth Hunt as Mike Gambit. The addition of the latter was driven by a desire to tweak the formula and free Macnee, now 53, from some of the more physically-challenging stunts. Thematically, The New Avengers harkened back to Diana Rigg's first season. There was less parody, more spy plots, and even a third appearance of the Cybernauts (murderous robots that appeared in two Avengers episodes). In the U.S., The New Avengers was not shown in prime time. Instead, it appeared on The CBS Late Movie, often paired with Return of the Saint. After two seasons totaling 26 episodes, The New Avengers ceased production.

7. There were numerous attempts to revive The Avengers between the demise of The New Avengers and the ill-fated 1998 theatrical film starring Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman as John Steed and Emma Peel. An interesting effort was the CBS 1978 "special" Escapade, which was a busted pilot for an American version of The New Avengers written by Brian Clemens. It starred Morgan Fairchild as Suzy and Granville Van Dusen as Joshua Rand (two characters clearly based on Purdey and Gambit). The Museum of Classic Chicago Television has posted the complete pilot on YouTube.