I’ve never known a congenital wise-guy yet that didn’t outsmart himself. – Manhandled (1949)
Today on Classic Movie Review, we are taking on Manhandled (1949). This is a Film Noir that I have never watched before. But, it has Sterling Hayden, Dorothy Lamour, Dan Duryea, Alan Napier, and Art Smith. I expect good things.
I want to thank everyone that contacted me this time. I really appreciate it. I want to shout out to the following people: Linda J for her comments on The Sundowners (1960) and the family/community feelings shown in the movies, to Thunderstruck54 for their excellent insights into The Killing (1956) versus The Killers (1946) both of which are great Film Noirs, to Der Klavierspieler for going way back to Cast a Giant Shadow (1966), and finally to Robert H who consistently make great suggestions.
iMDB.com rates this movie at 6.5[1]. Rottentomatoes.com doesn’t have a Tomatometer score and only 40 percent audience approval.[2] This film is not great, but it is not that bad. It has some big stars, and there is a bit of slapping and gunplay.
New York Times film critic T.M.P. said in a May 26, 1949 review:
“Apparently the idea behind “Manhandled” …was to set up Dan Duryea as the paramount movie heel of the year. As a private investigator hungry for a dishonest dollar he not only physically abuses Dorothy Lamour but tries to pin on her innocent person full responsibility for a jewel robbery and murder. There is no spark of compassion, not the slightest hint of morality in Mr. Duryea’s characterization of Karl Benson. But even worse, he is a bore. …”
It seems to me that was how he was supposed to be.
T.M.P. continued talking about the film, saying:
“…Producers William Pine and William Thomas [overstretched] when they set about to bring to the screen such a cheap, sensational hodgepodge of incredible melodramatics as is represented in “Manhandled” The irresponsibility manifested in this film is exemplified by the story’s big, running comedy routine—-a police car with defective brakes…”[3]
In my list of All Film Noirs, I will initially slot this movie around 170.
Actors – Manhandled (1949)
Returning
The cast of this film reads like a who’s who of Film Noir. The actors include Sterling Hayden, who played insurance investigator Joe Cooper. This excellent rouge was first covered in the Film Noir Crime of Passion (1957).
Great Film Noir, bad guy Dan Duryea played a stinker of private investigator and ex-cop Karl Benson. Duryea was first covered in the Bogart war flick Sahara (1943).
Alan Napier played the suspected murderer Alton Bennet. He was not used well. Napier was first covered in the awful John Wayne Film Noir Big Jim McLain (1952).
Art Smith was cast as Detective Lt. Bill Dawson. Smith was covered in the amazing Film Noir Ride the Pink Horse (1947).
Paul E. Burns had a tiny part as a Pawn Shop Owner. Burns was first covered in Night Editor (1946).
James Edwards played Henry, Bennet’s Butler. He was only in the film for a couple of minutes. Edwards was first covered in the Sweet Science film The Set-Up (1949).
Ian Wolfe played criminal fence, Charlie. They did not take advantage of his talent. Wolfe was first covered in the Film Noir 99 River Street (1953).
New
Dorothy Lamour played the female lead Merl Kramer. She was in no way a Femme Fatale. Lamour was born in 1914 in the Big Easy, New Orleans. She had the tagline of “The Sarong Girl” because of her many road movies and other exotic local films.
Lamour was beautiful as she grew. She planned on being a singer. She won the Miss New Orleans beauty contest in 1931. Following the contest, Lamour traveled to Chicago to start her singing career. After a bit, she worked with bands and performed on radio shows.
Lamour had a small part as a chorus girl in Footlight Parade (1933). She did not make another film until 1936. In 1936, Lamour played the sarong-wearing Ulah in The Jungle Princess (1936). Future roles were not so different as she appeared in The Hurricane (1937), Typhoon (1940), Beyond the Blue Horizon (1942), and much later in Donovan’s Reef (1963).
Lamour became part of the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby road pictures. These include Road to Singapore (1940), Road to Zanzibar (1941), Road to Morocco (1942), Road to Utopia (1945), Road to Bali (1952), and The Road to Hong Kong (1962). Lamour only wore a sarong in about 10 percent of her pictures. This did not stop her from participating in a sarong burning stunt in 1946.
As well as acting, Lamour continued to release songs, work on the radio, and perform in theater. Some of her later films include Disputed Passage (1939), Johnny Apollo (1940), Dixie (1943), A Medal for Benny (1945), and On Our Merry Way (1948).
He career slowed around 1950, but she was in a few movies, including The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and Creepshow 2 (1987). Lamour died at the age of 81 in 1996.
Story – Manhandled (1949)
The credits roll, showing a stormy night. The camera pulls back into the room, showing it is late at night. There are artworks and a fireplace. A robed man sits in a chair with a lite but unsmoked cigarette in his hand.
Laughter is heard as another couple enters the room. Only their feet are shown as they discuss going out again the next night. The man in the chair grinds out his cigarette with his fingers. The other man, named Joe, leaves after a kiss, and the woman goes upstairs.
The robed man follows. The woman, Ruth (Irene Hervey), looks at herself in the mirror as she removes expensive jewelry. The robed man crosses the room toward her, and she calls him darling. They have words about the open marriage before the robed man says he will kill her. He grabs a perfume bottle off the table and murders the woman. Only the feet are shown. Finally, the robed man’s face is shown with a look of horror on it. The man is Alton Bennet (Alan Napier).
The scene fades away, and Alton is in a psychiatrist’s office. The above murder is only a recurring dream that Alton has been having. The psychiatrist is Dr. Redman (Harold Vermilyea). Also in the room is stenographer Merl Kramer (Dorothy Lamour). Alton has had the dream five or six times but has not told anyone about it. Alton is a fiction writer. Redmen tries to get to the bottom of the issues. Redman says everything will be private, and Merl can be trusted. The doctor says that all dreams are ‘wish dreams,’ and all men kill what they love. What are they werewolves? Alton leaves a little upset by the personal questions about money, love, and relationships.
When Alton is gone, Redman tells Merl that he needs to speak to Ruth as soon as possible. He also mentions that he lied about how long Merl had worked with him. It was not four years, only four weeks. Merl types up the doctor/patient conversation.
At home, Alton is trying to get an advance from his publishers but is being refused. Ruth comes in with architect Guy Bayard (Phillip Reed). They have been at the horse track. Alton is a bit suspicious because they only saw the last two races. The couple had traveled to the beach house site where Alton and Ruth are building. Alton and Bayard get a little snippy with each other. Ruth tells Bayard to pick them up at 8:00 p.m. Alton says he is not going to the party. Alton calls her a cheap carnival biddy. Ruth thinks her husband wants her jewels, and he says she is just building the house so she can see Bayard. To end the fight, Ruth intimates that she is having an affair.
Merl makes her way home carrying a bag of groceries. She is friendly and part of the local community. She stops on the second floor of her apartment building at the office of Karl Benson (Dan Duryea). Benson is a private investigator, an ex-cop, and her boyfriend. However, Merl goes upstairs without visiting.
Karl hears her come in, and he quickly follows her up. Merl talks to a picture of a child she misses. Karl knocks, and Merl welcomes him inside. Merl says she will have to go back to work at 9:00 p.m. She decides to cook in for the night. Karl puts on some happening jazz. Karl starts talking about settling down, and Merl evades. In general conversation, Merl tells that she had been working with a patient who dreams every night of killing his wife with a perfume bottle.
A lightbulb pops in Karl’s head. He secretly slips Merl’s keys out of her purse. He excuses himself and leaves Merl’s apartment. Karl goes to Charlie’s Keys, which just happens to be located in the basement of their building. He has Charlie (Ian Wolfe), a fence, make copies of the keys. Karl says he will return to pick up the copies. He returns with some small flowers, so she will think he is a good guy. They get a little kissy-faced, and she stops him, saying she doesn’t want to fail again.
After walking Merl back to work, Karl waits outside on the sidewalk. Ruth and Bayard enter the psychiatry office for her appointment. They are dressed in evening clothes. Karl records the address of Beth’s home from the car’s registration.
In the office, Dr. Redman finishes the session with Beth. He releases Merl to file the report. Beth thinks her husband will be fine when he gets his next royalty check. Beth and Bayard leave the office, and she tells him what has been said. When Bayard finds out she really has valuable jewels, he gets a little excited.
Karl lies in the bed in his office. He hears people having a good time, and it makes him mad. A pet hampster going round and round betrays the condition of Karl’s life. He goes to Charlie’s and delivers a handful of stolen jewels that Charlie carefully reviews. Charlie says there is a murder rap associated with some of the jewels. Charlie has heard on the police radio that there was a murder and jewels were stolen. Karl maintains that he didn’t kill anyone. Karl takes $1,100 for part of the load and is told to dump the rest.
Karl runs into Merl coming out of the building. He pays Merl back a fin he has borrowed with a sawbuck. He then hits her up to put $1,000 in her personal account. She agrees. He chews gum as he leaves.
In his room, Karl hides the jewel associated with the murder in a water jug.
In an upscale part of town, the police are parked outside a building where the murder occurred. Detective Lt. Bill Dawson (Art Smith) arrives in a car with failing breaks. The driver, Sgt. Fayle (Irving Bacon) says he needs time to take it into the shop. Dawson and the three others push through the crowd into the Crawford Arms. There are people all over the apartment. Henry, Bennet’s Butler (James Edwards), walks through the room. Wearing a robe and sitting on the couch, Alton Bennet, Beth’s husband, is drinking coffee.
The cops and Alton go upstairs. Beth is dead on the floor. Joe Cooper (Sterling Hayden) is waiting with the body. He says the jewels are insured by his company. Dawson is not happy to see him and tries to send him away. Beth was killed with a perfume bottle. The maid discovered the body and saw that the jewels were missing.
Henry and the maid are brought in for questions. Alton is very snotty, but he says that his wife has been keeping company with Bayard. Alton tells about the dreams of murder. Henry verifies that Alton took four sleeping pills the previous evening. Alton says his prints are probably on the perfume bottle used for the murder. Dawson tells the press all of the case’s details, including the psychiatrist’s visit.
Dawson and his driver go to see Dr. Redman. Cooper is already there. Redman says that the transcripts of the visits are missing. Merl has been sent home because she had a headache. Redman has a bump on his head. He says he was home all night. Cooper keeps asking questions out of turn. They have Redman talk in his office, confirming that Bayard could have heard the conversation. Dawson then turns her attention to Merl. Dawson says Merl’s records are all forged. Cooper has already left.
Karl is on the sidewalk in front of their building when the police come crashing in. They go to Merl’s apartment. Karl slinks along behind the cops. Cooper answers the door at Merl’s apartment. Cooper has already interviewed Merl. Dawson asks about the files and her arrival time back home. He asks why she forged her references and wants to know if she is running from something. She orders them out. On further questioning, they find out that Merl got her job with the help of Karl.
Dawson and Cooper go in to see Karl. He is very friendly and acts like he doesn’t have a care in the world. They ask if he knows Merl’s background. Cooper tries to use the water jug, but it won’t work. Cooper gives up on getting water. Karl panics a bit. Karl says he helped her get a job for a small fee. Karl tries to point the cop in different directions. He also asks if he can get a reward if he solves the case.
After Dawson and Cooper leave, Karl gets a ring from the hot jewelry inside the water jug. He goes upstairs to Merl’s apartment. Karl goes out of his way to let Merl know what a great guy he is. She says she didn’t rat him out to the cops for the fake letters either. Karl drops the hot ring into the cushions before he leaves. Merl finds it later as she cleans but just sets it aside.
Cooper brings pictures of the jewelry to Dawson. Dawson takes Cooper inside so he can watch Bayard’s interrogation. Alton is in the room also. Bayard gives the details of the evening with Beth. He said he took her home in a cab. Beth was drunk. A couple was having a conversation in the lobby. Bayard says he put her in the elevator and went home. Alton says his wife never drank heavily. Dawson still doesn’t have enough evidence to pick up his prime suspect, Alton.
Dawson’s wife calls with a grocery list for her husband. Cooper gets an idea and asks Dawson to go to the police lab with him. The lab tech confirms that if Alton took benzedrine, it could counteract the sleeping pills. They conduct the test on Cooper. Dawson takes a sleeping pill but no benzedrine.
Sgt. Fayle tells Dawson that one of the stolen objects has shown up in a local pawnshop. They travel to the pawnshop, and it is indeed the stolen signet ring. The lady that pawned the ring was carrying clothes from a dry cleaner.
Cooper and the very sleepy Dawson visit cleaners until they find one that remembers having the items described by the pawnbroker (Paul E. Burns). The name of the owner is Merl. They send Dawson home, and Cooper heads for Merl’s place. Sgt. Fayle sends a man to tail Cooper. As Cooper arrives, he sees Alton coming out of the building.
When Cooper arrives at her apartment, Merl is modeling a new coat she has been saving for. Cooper looks at the picture of the baby. Merl says the child is three and will come to live with her when she has enough money. Cooper invites Merl out for an Italian dinner.
The couple goes to an authentic Italian restaurant where they eat and smoke. Cooper says the homicide guys are beginning to suspect her. He pulls out the signet ring, and she says that she found it in her apartment. Merl says she asked the landlady and Karl about the ring before she pawned it. Cooper asks, and Merl confirms that Karl was in her apartment before she found the ring. She also tells that Alton visited her apartment as well. They leave for a show.
Dawson, Cooper, Fayle, and another cop head to Merl’s apartment. On the way up, they see Karl heading upstairs to Merl’s apartment. He places his gum under the banister for the stairs before using his duplicate key to enter her room. Dawson knocks, but there is no answer. Cooper breaks the door down, and Karl has already escaped through the window.
Dawson catches Karl coming out of the next apartment. Karl plays it free and easy. He says he is looking for the loot, and he is one of them. Karl then shows Merl’s bankbook with $1,000 deposited.
Dawson says they are going to pick up Merl. He collects Karl’s gum before he leaves. Dawson invites Karl to come along for the arrest. He says he has something to attend to first. When Karl opens the door to his office, Dr. Redman is waiting with a gun. Redman wants the loot. Karl says that Redman is a fake doctor and killed Beth.
Redman wants to know how Karl found out about Beth and the jewelry. Karl says he stole the file and waited for Beth to come home. He said someone else was trailing Beth but didn’t know it was Redman.
When Beth and Bayard’s taxi arrived, Redman headed down the street and stood by a lamppost. When Bayard returned to the taxi, Karl was waiting by the entrance. Karl realized that Redman had the same plan, so he let him pull the robbery. Karl snuck into the building at the same time as Redman using a bag of groceries to hide his face.
When Redman came out with the jewel, Karl clunked him on the head with a pistol butt. Karl then took the stolen jewels. Karl asks why he killed Beth but gets no answer. Karl says they should dump everything onto Merl.
Karl wants the fake references returned to him at 9:00 p.m.
Karl then goes to the Homicide Office, where Merl is being verbally beaten down as a suspect. Merl says the money came from Karl. He denies that he did. Karl lobbies the police telling them what a great guy he is.
Dawson, Cooper, and Karl go outside. Dawson tells that they need to find the jewels to have an ironclad case against Merl. Dawson says that he wished he had searched her apartment better. Karl asks to search Merl’s apartment, and they let him go.
Karl returns to his apartment and removes the remaining jewels from the water jug. He then goes up to Merl’s apartment. Karl starts hiding the jewels in the lining of a chair. Suddenly, Redman walks in and takes the jewels from Karl. Redman puts Karl in the closet and escapes the window.
Karl runs out of the closet and goes down the regular stairs. He catches up with Redman in the alley. Redman starts shooting at Karl. Karl jumps in Redman’s waiting car and smashes the fake doctor against a wall. Karl then takes the jewels off of the dead body.
Back at the office, Dawson gets a call from Karl. Karl says he has found the jewels. Dawson says they will let Merl go, and Karl should be in her apartment when they arrest her with the jewels.
Merl walks back to her apartment, broken down by the recent activities. She enters her apartment, and Karl is sitting behind her in a chair. She tells him to get out. He says for the $1,000, he will get her a good lawyer. Karl directs Merl to the jewels, and she pulls them out.
At last, Merl understands the entire plot. Karl says she is the fall guy. Merl has a meltdown and threatens Karl. He says he will make it look like a suicide by throwing her out the window. He knocks her out.
Dawson heads in the front, and Cooper goes up the fire escape.
Karl carries Merl to the roof to throw her off, but she wakes at the last minute and starts screaming. He hits her again as the cops arrive. They carry her downstairs. The cops and Cooper inventory the jewelry as Merl slowly wakes.
Cooper says that everything is there except the diamonds Charlie bought. Karl pretends he doesn’t know who that is. Dawson says they picked up Charlie earlier in the afternoon. They then bring in Bayard, who IDs Karl. They then bring in the couple from the lobby and they ID him too.
Dawson places Karl under arrest and says the charge is health and sanitation for leaving gum around. Then he says the charge is murder. Karl says he didn’t kill Beth. Then, however, he remembers that he killed Redman.
Dawson is happy with himself for discovering that Karl was the criminal. Cooper invites Merl out to dinner. The cop car doesn’t have breaks, and the movie ends with a crash.
Conclusion – Manhandled (1949)
There is really not a lot of available information about this film. From my viewing of this film, the attempt to add humor really hurt the film. The police car had failing breaks, and it was used as a gag during and at the movie’s end. Also, the film had a bit where Dawson was suffering from taking a sleeping pill, and it was played like he was a drunk.
Sterling Hayden was great as always. However, they did not cover how he became interested in dating the prime suspect, Dorothy Lamour. Dan Duryea was a sniveling little rat like he was supposed to be. However, he could have been developed to be more of a stinker. When he hit Lamour, it was done two times in a reasonably close timespan. This really diminished the effect.
Alan Napier was not used in this film as he could have been. He came off as a spoiled rich guy and little else. Art Smith, as Detective Dawson, was hurt by the added comedy.
I never thought for a second that Dorothy Lamour was a bad guy, even though she had a mysterious past and a real stinker of a boyfriend played by Duryea.
World-Famous Short Summary – One genre at a time
Beware the moors.
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041631/
[2] Manhandled – Rotten Tomatoes
[3] https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1949/05/26/85641950.html
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