That’s a nice outfit but you’d better add to it before you go to church – Road House (1948)
Road House (1948)
Hello to all of the classic people that are returning. I am glad you are back. I want to welcome any new visitors. Today on Classic Movie Review, we are taking on Road House (1948). Yeah, not the one with Patrick Swayze.
Road House (1948) is a classic Film Noir that tells the story of a small-town bar owner, Jefty Robbins (Richard Widmark), whose life takes a dark turn when Lily Stevens (Ida Lupino) comes between him and his former army buddy and employee, Pete Morgan (Cornel Wilde). Directed by Jean Negulesco, Road House (1948) is a gripping noir thriller showcasing human nature’s dark underbelly and the consequences of past mistakes.
One of the strengths of Road House (1948) is its complex and morally ambiguous characters. Richard Widmark delivers a stellar performance as the volatile and unpredictable Jefty, whose actions are driven by his possessiveness and desire for control. Cornel Wilde portrays Pete with sensitivity and charm, making the audience root for his character despite his flaws. Ida Lupino shines as Lily, a woman torn between her loyalty to Jefty and her feelings for Pete, adds depth to her role.
The film’s noir aesthetics are also noteworthy, with moody lighting, sharp dialogue, and a sense of impending doom permeating throughout. Director Jean Negulesco skillfully creates a tense atmosphere and uses shadows and angles to heighten the suspenseful moments. The film’s climax is particularly gripping, with unexpected twists and turns that keep the audience on the edge of their seat until the end.
Road House” is not just a run-of-the-mill noir thriller; it delves into deeper themes of jealousy, possessiveness, and the consequences of past actions. It explores the darker aspects of human nature and our choices when driven by obsession and desire. The film also raises questions about loyalty, betrayal, and the nature of justice, making it a thought-provoking viewing experience. Its engaging story, compelling performances, and atmospheric direction make it a must-watch for genre fans. If you’re a fan of gritty, character-driven thrillers with unexpected twists, Road House (1948) is a film that should be on your radar.
Road House (1948) is rated 7.2 on iMDB.com[1]. On Rottentomatoes.com, this film has a pretty good 92 percent on the Tomatometer and a 69 percent audience score.
An edited review by New York Times film critic A.W. from November 8, 1948, states in part:
Having carved himself a fairly auspicious career out of being cinematically anti-social, Richard Widmark is keeping up the good work as a bad man in Road House…the company also had the services of Ida Lupino as Widmark’s fulminous [related to thunder and lightening] opposite number, and the pair, abetted by crisply natural lines, give the story a much better than average distinction. Not that its bare outlines have distinction. It is concerned, in the main, with the struggle of a road house owner and his house manger for the love of the place’s entertainer. When that lady, a blues warbler, makes it clear that she prefers the handsome manager, the owner, a lad who will go to great lengths to square a grudge, frames his erstwhile pal on a phony robbery charge. The outline as has been noted, is less than inspired, but a climactic twist and arousing donnybrook between the principals serves as a much-needed catalyst. And the development of characters through an intelligently written script keeps things lively and plausible. List first the fact that Widmark, though he stands in danger of being typed as the screen’s prime psychotic, does an excellent job (complete with chilling laughter) of the road house owner, who gets his friend paroled so as to further torture him. Although Ida Lupino is described as being able to “do more without a voice than anyone I’ve heard,” her portrayal as the beleaguered chanteuse is expertly brittle and passionate and her singing of three low-down numbers convincing. Cornel Wilde is the sedate but muscularly attractive object of her affections, while Celeste Holm is her customary witty self in the decidedly minor role of road house cashier.[2]
I was pleasantly surprised by this film. I have never been the greatest Ida Lupino fan, never being excited by her acting or the films she chose to direct. However, this all changed with this film. I get it! She was great in this role and did a decent job singing some songs. A re-evaluation of Lupino is underway.
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Actors – Road House (1948)
Returning
Today, we have a fair-sized group of returning actors. And these aren’t the B and C list levels. Ida Lupino is cast as Lily Stevens, a Chicago-based torch singer hired to work in a small town road house. Lupino was first covered in the Film Noir High Sierra (1941) beside Humphrey Bogart.
Cornel Wilde played the easy-going road house manager Pete Morgan. At the same time, he was clearly playing a manly man. Wilde was first covered in Film Noir The Big Combo (1955).
Richard Widmark provided the role of spoiled rich guy and road house owner Jefferson T. ‘Jefty’ Robbins. Widmark played the role of a psychotic that reacted irrationally when he didn’t get his way. Widmark hit the crazy laugh a few times, channeling Johnny Udo. Widmark was first covered in the tights and fights film The Long Ships (1964).
Robert Karnes had a small role as Mike. Karnes was first covered in a fantastic Film Noir, Trapped (1949), with a dapper Lloyd Bridges.
One of our favorite background players was an uncredit Ray Teal playing a policeman at the bus depot. Teal was first covered in the good Western The Command (1954).
New
Celeste Holm was in the role of good girl and cashier for the road house Susie Smith. Holm was born in 1917 in New York City. An only child, her father was an insurance adjuster that worked for Llyods of London before immigrating to the U.S. Her mother was a painter and an author.
While attending the University of Chicago, Holm became interested in acting. At the age of 19, she debuted on Broadway. Her success continued in the theater. After almost a decade in theater, Holm signed with 20th Century Fox for Three Little Girls in Blue (1946). Holm’s talent was really noted in her third film, Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) with Gregory Peck. For this role, Holm won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
Holm was in some pretty good films, such as). The Snake Pit (1948), A Letter to Three Wives (1949), All About Eve (1950), The Tender Trap (1955), and High Society (1956).
Holm had a short-lived television show titled “Honestly, Celeste!” in 1954. She continued to work and was very active in television series, game shows, and tv movies. Holm died in 2012 at the age of 95. An interesting side note, her son Ted coined the word “hypertext.”
O.Z. Whitehead had a very small part as Arthur. Whitehead was born in 1911 in New York City. While attending Harvard, Whitehead became interested in acting. He started his career as a stage actor. In the mid-1930s, Whitehead moved to film work. His third film was The Grapes of Wrath (1940).
Although a pacifist, he served in a non-combat role in World War II, leaving the service as an NCO.
Always looking younger than his years, Whitehead was successful in film through the late-1960s with a fair amount of television appearances. He was part of the John Ford (Dir.) stock group and, as such, appeared in The Last Hurrah (1958), The Horse Soldiers (1959), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). He also appeared in the historical drama The Lion in Winter (1968).
Whitehead moved to Ireland in 1963, where he primarily worked with Bahai congregations. He died in 1998 in Ireland.
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Story – Road House (1948)
The movie opens on the exterior of Jefty’s Road House. It is in a wooded area and has a dirt parking lot. Like Porky’s, it seems like a place where you could get your ass kicked. Swing jazz belts inside and out, as required for a Film Noir.
Inside is a bowling alley with manual pin setters, a restaurant with live entertainers, and places to drink and dance. The credit role with Ida Lupino in the first position and Richard Widmark appearing below Celeste Holm. My how things change.
Road House manager Pete Morgan (Cornel Wilde) enters the office to find a well-dressed woman with her bare feet on the desk. She is shuffling a deck of cards and is looking all hard and tough. Pete notes the smoke moving along her bare calf, and she reacts by pulling her leg off the desk.
Pete asks if she is there to see him, and she asks who are you. Pete replies that he is the manager. The woman asks for a room, and Pete invites her to his room. It is then that the woman asks for Jefty (Richard Widmark). She is irate and says she is the new entertainer from Chicago, Lily Stevens (Ida Lupino). Lily says she needs sleep.
Pete is upset that Jefty has hired a new entertainer and tries to find out what she is paid. Lily says she is getting paid twice what she was making before.
Jefty enters the office and takes Lily and Pete to the bar for a celebratory drink. Before leaving the room, Pete extinguishes the cigarette Lily left burning on the wooden desk.
Jefty is playing the big dog in the bar. He introduces Lily to the cashier Susie Smith (Celeste Holm). Jefty leaves to find Lily a room, and Susie ushers the new employee to meet the bartender Sam (Jack G. Lee). Lily and Sam chat while she has a drink.
Pete hears Jefty making the call to the hotel. Pete asks if it is the same room as always. Jefty says this girl is different. Pete complains that he has to clean up the messes when things go bad with the girls he brings in. Pete is concerned about turning a profit at the road house.
Art (O.Z. Whitehead) tells Jefty he is needed in the pool room. When Jefty is gone, Pete tells Art to bring the station wagon to the front of the road house. Pete tells Lily that he will take her to her room at the Antlers Hotel. Pete loads her bags into the car.
Jefty comes into the bar looking for Lily. Susie is showing a little green-eyed monster. Sam is taken aback that Pete is being friendly to an entertainer.
Pete drives Lily to the train station, which is located across the street from the Antlers. Pete offers Lily money and tells her she is leaving town. Pete continues that whenever Jefty goes out of town, he brings a female back with him. Lily hits Pete with the chills and says she will stay as long as she wants. When Pete calls her baby, she gives him a hard slap.
Lily sits at the bar, waiting for her time to sing. Jefty gives Lily an introduction to the tiny local crowd. Pete watches her leave a burning cigarette on the piano. Her singing is pretty moving in a gravelly way, both in the movie and in real life. She’s a hit.
Pete goes to the office, and Jefty follows him inside. Pete is forced to admit that Lily is a good entertainer. However, it still doesn’t make him happy.
After the show, Lily chats with Sam. Pete eats crow for being against Lily but leaves to work as Jefty comes in. Lily tells Jefty she wants to learn to bowl. He says he has the perfect coach.
Time passes, as noted by the burn marks on the piano. The bar is crowded with people to see the show. The people have even left their bowling games to hear her sing. Pete watches part of the show. He leaves in the middle to bowl a few frames.
Jefty tells Pete he wants him to teach Lily to bowl. Pete does everything he can to get out of the assignment. Jefty shows his first sign of anger as he forces Pete to take the teaching assignment. Jefty tells Lily that she will need slack. Lily says in one of the best contemptuous lines I have ever heard in a movie, “I know how to dress. Humph. You kill me,’ as she walks away.
Susie is won over by Lily because of her singing. She enters the bowling alley, where Art watches Pete teach Lily the game. Pete gives Lily instructions while the lady smokes and pays little attention. Lily throws sloppy gutter balls each time she is up. Pete insults Lily, saying she should be really good at curve balls. Finally, Lily gets Pete to put his hands around her waist.
It seems like Pete and Susie may have a little something going on.
Lily throws a perfect strike, already knowing how to bowl.
On Sunday morning, Jefty is in a small diner with a couple of other men. They are discussing how close his cabin is to Canada. The cook gives Jefty a to-go breakfast tray. Jefty picks up the key to Lily’s room and lets himself inside.
Lily is unhappy about the sunshine from the drapes that Jefty opened and that he came in without asking. Lily says he better read her contract because there is nothing about being in her room. As Lily smokes and tries to wake up, she finds that Jefty is going hunting and will be gone most of the week. Jefty tries to explain his feelings by saying that Lily is different. He tries to kiss her, but she sends him away. As he leaves, Lily thanks Jefty for the food and flowers she clearly doesn’t want.
Pete is sleeping in his room at the road house when he hears someone bowling. Pete is surprised to find Lily bowling in that high-waisted butty shorts and a skin-tight shirt. He doesn’t fall for the trap and goes back to his room.
A bit later, Lily knocks on Pete’s door carrying a breakfast tray. He compliments her on her outfit. Pete is going boating, and Lily asks to go along. He says no because she is Jefty’s girl. Lily throws down on Pete and tells him she is in charge of her life. Pete says he will pick her up for boating at 11:00 a.m.
Lily wears a dress with an oversized scarf around her waist for the trip. She has also made a big basket of food. When they get to the car, Lily is surprised that Susie is also coming on the trip. Lily doesn’t have a swimsuit.
Lily sits in the Jeep, lazily playing solitaire, while Pete and Susie swim and have a good time. Susie goads the unhappy Lily. In response, Lily turns her oversized scarf into a sexy bathing suit. The suit really gets Pete’s attention. Susie knows she is losing the game.
Lily continues to belt out tunes at the road house. A hulking, drunken, lumberjack-type staggers near Lily’s piano. When the song ends, the drunk starts mauling Lily. He throws off several men and destroys the bar. Lily calls for Pete, who, after a bit of work, is able to defeat the oversized drunk. When the police come, they say next time, call as soon as the hulk shows.
Lily is impressed by Pete and goes up to his room to tend to her bruises. Pete comes up to tend a cut from a bottle, and Susie is not far behind. But Art calls Susie back downstairs. Left alone with Pete, Lily goes right to work, drawing Pete in. Soon, they are all kissy-faced.
Later, Pete and Lily ride around in a speed boat, occasionally enjoying a cigarette. Pete professes his love. It has been less than a week. Pete tells that he and Jefty go back to before the war. Lily worries about how Jefty reacted when Pete didn’t want to teach her to bowl. Pete maintains that Jefty, although born rich, is still a good guy. Pete tells of his future dreams. Lily is all in.
Jefty returns from his moose hunt and goes straight to Lily’s hotel. He finds out she has not spent much time there while he was away. In the street, Susie speaks to Jefty. He asks about where Lily is. Susie lies that she and Pete went to a movie together. Just then, Pete and Lily return to the hotel in his Jeep. Susie sees it and distracts Jefty so he doesn’t see. Susie and Jefty head to the road house.
Later at the road house, Susie tells Pete about her lie. Jefty asks Pete about Lily, and Pete keeps changing the subject. Jefty shows Pete a marriage license he wants to use with Lily. Pete calls Lily and tells her he wants to marry her. She is against it but doesn’t know how to act. Pete arrives at Lily’s room. Jefty asks her to go on a boat trip in the morning, and she says okay and then hangs up. Pete wants to tell Jefty. Lily says Jefty has no hold on her. She wants to pack and leave town.
Pete heads to Jefty’s mansion to tell about his relationship. Pete tells that he and Lily are in love. Jefty takes it badly and throws Pete out.
At the road house, Pete leaves a note saying he is taking $600 that he is owed out of a total of $2,600. He and Lily go to the train station and buy tickets to Chicago. Two cops, one of which is Ray Teal, pick up Lily and Pete just before their train arrives.
At the police station, Jefty has sworn out a complaint that the $2,600 are missing. Susie comes in and verifies the amount of money that was in the safe. The police are not interested in hearing Pete’s side even though he doesn’t have the money on him. Pete is arrested and won’t explain why Jefty made the false report. Lily rages on Jefty. Susie helps her by taking her out of the station. After everyone is gone, Jefty pretends to be Pete’s friend claiming he might be innocent.
Pete is tried in the small town and found guilty. The sentencing is set for 2:00 p.m. Jefty goes to the judge (Grandon Rhodes) to plead for Pete based on their lifelong friendship and diminished facilities due to alcohol. Jefty asks to have Pete paroled to his custody. In court, the judge gives Pete 2 to 10 years. He then suspends the sentence and orders Pete to be on probation in Jefty’s custody for two years. If he tries to leave, he will be sent to prison. Jefty looks like a great guy to everyone in town.
Jefty has a big party at the mansion. Susie, Pete, and Lily are there and trying to act normal in the odd situation. Lily and Pete know the probation is a setup. Pete asks Lily to marry him. Jefty busts them kissing in the kitchen. Lily tells Jefty to come clean about the money. Jefty gloats about his hold over Pete and Lily. Jefty laughs like Tommy Udo.
Lily still sings in the bar but is just going through the motions. Everything is very tense. Jefty coerces Susie, Lily, and Pete to go to his cabin near the border. Susie thinks it is a setup to get Pete to flee across the border.
Pete starts packing and wants Lily to come along. The border is 15 miles away from the hotel. Pete is pretty mean to Lily until she tells him she hates him. He apologizes and realizes she is right. Jefty comes into the room and sends Lily away. Pete warns Jefty not to push him too far.
At the cabin, the other three are forced to endure a drunken and domineering Jefty. Jefty shows them a map of the route to Canada. He even says that there is a small boat Pete could use. Jefty forces everyone outside so he can do some shooting in the moonlight.
Jefty murders some tomato cans with his rifle. Jefty hangs his hat in a tree as a new target. Lily has the gun and is tempted to shoot Jefty. Pete stops her before she kills him. He then lets them know that the gun is empty. Again he laughs like Tommy Udo. Lily calls him insane. He slaps her and knocks her to the ground.
Pete comes in to help, and Jefty gets the jump on him. However, it is not long until Pete beats Jefty to the ground. Pete and Lily plan to run for the border as Susie begs them not to try the escape.
Pete destroys one gun and disposes of the other. Susie says she will leave so she will not be alone with Jefty. Pete and Lily begin the rugged walk north.
Susie stays to cover Jefty with a jacket. The alleged missing money falls out of his coat pocket when she does. Jefty comes too and finds Pete and Lily gone. Pete gets a revolver and plans to head after the fleeing pair. Susie shows Jefty the evidence and then escapes into the night.
Jefty staggers after Susies. Suddenly, this movie has become The Most Dangerous Game (1932). Lily and Pete hear Susie and think it is Jefty trailing them. Jefty is behind Susie, drunken and beaten.
Pete and Lily find the boat just as Susie arrives with the evidence that will free him. Jefty shoots from the dark and wounds Susie in the arm.
Pete cranks the boat and sends it away with only his jacket on board, covering a bundle. Jefty fires on the boat and starts a fire. Thinking he has won, he laughs maniacally and orders Pete and Lily back to shore.
On land, Pete doubles back. Jefty tries to take the envelope away from the wounded Susie. Pete attacks him, but Jefty gets the advantage this time. Lily grabs the revolver and tells Jefty to leave Pete alone, or she will kill him.
He walks towards her, asking for the gun. She backs away until he picks up a rock to smash her head. She fires. As he falls, he can’t believe she shot him. Lily is horrified by what she was forced to do. Pete picks up Susie. Lily looks at the moon, and they all leave to return to town.
Conclusion – Road House (1948)
Today’s film was the second of two lower-rated Film Noirs I picked for their title. The other was The Fast and the Furious (1954). These two films bookended pretty well, with The Fast and the Furious (1954) being pretty mediocre and this film being pretty solid.
There are many reasons why Road House (1948) is a superior film. The main reason was revealed in an interview with director Jean Negulesco in 1969 is as follows; Negulesco stated that Fox chief Darryl F. Zanuck told him the film had a bad script, so every time the action slows, stage a fight, have a dame adjust her stocking, or do something sexy. Zanuck wanted to pace the film like a James Cagney / Pat O’Brien movie. Negulesco certainly took this to heart with broken bottle attacks by hulking lumberjacks; Lupino is very sexy in dresses and outfits, and a maniac was slowly revealed.
Ida Lupino was paid $95,000 for this role. And boy, did she earn it. She nailed the role of a tough-luck Chicago torch singer that had a hard day. As we used to say, rode hard and put up wet, referring to mistreated horses.
Lupino did her own signing, which was very soulful with the gravelly voice from too much smoking and drinking. As I said earlier, this film made me a Lupino fanboy when I wasn’t before. She ranged from the bitter and broken singer to someone still with hopes and dreams and finally to a fugitive struggling through the wilderness and defending the man she loved. The lighting and the make-up during the final chase were superior.
World-Famous Short Summary – good girls go home, bad girls go everywhere.
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[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040740/
[2] Adventure Film Arrives at the Mayfair – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
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