on 5/23/2023, 11:38 am
Social Distancing: Times are tough. I watched a Hugo Haas production
Posted by Dan in the MW on 4/10/2020, 9:54 pm
Yesterday, I checked out a film that I had not watched before: "Strange Fascination" which was written, produced and directed by Hugo Haas. It starred (who else?) Haas and Cleo Moore.
It was fairly forgettable fare. For a change, Haas was not mimicking "The Postman Always Rings Twice." This film was a low rent knock off of "The Blue Angel." A celebrated European concert pianist sees his career decline once he becomes involved with flirtatious and curvy dancer. Haas is not Emil Jannings and Moore is not Marlene Dietrich.
It was quite inconsequential and mediocre. What was most shocking is that some list this title as being film noir.
Not really.
Posted by Don Malcolm on 4/11/2020, 7:25 am, in reply to "Social Distancing: Times are tough. I watched a Hugo Haas production"
Dan—Try 1954’s THE OTHER WOMAN, or 1957’s LIZZIE (where Eleanor Parker beats Joanne Woodward to the punch and conjures up three faces of her own). Haas gets to play a character less bloated with self-pity in that last one, which is tilted more toward psychological melodrama than “standard-issue” noir. Also anomalous: Richard Boone as a good guy...
Posted by Dan in the MW on 4/11/2020, 11:27 am, in reply to "Re: Social Distancing: Times are tough. I watched a Hugo Haas production"
I have seen "The Other Woman" which is arguably one of Hugo Haas' better movies.
Perhaps Cleo Moore would have had a longer and more prosperous career if she had not been so closely associated with Hugo.
Posted by Don Malcolm on 4/11/2020, 11:38 am, in reply to "Re: Social Distancing: Times are tough. I watched a Hugo Haas production"
Maybe. There were a lot of blondes out there in the 50s, however. Cleo sort of took over the slot Barbara Payton abdicated—which was not that high up the pecking order. She was probably lucky to get the work she got with Hugo, who surely would’ve stuck with Bev Michaels if she hadn’t thrown him over for Russell Rouse...
Posted by Dan in the MW on 4/12/2020, 5:25 pm, in reply to "Re: Social Distancing: Times are tough. I watched a Hugo Haas production"
Your Barbara Payton comparison is somewhat apt.
As for Cleo, the studio cost cutting on some of her films is quite obvious. In "Strange Fascination" it is quite obvious that Haas is performing on same stage with the proscenium arch more than once when his piano recitals are supposed to be taking place in different cities.
Cleo Moore's "Overexposed" is also as dull as dishwater. It made me pity Richard Crenna. Television programs have had better sets. Ditto "One Girl's Confession" in which Hugo Haas really overstays his welcome as a gambling addicted cafe owner.
Her best role was a bit performance in "On Dangerous Ground."
Re: Social Distancing: Times are tough. I watched a Hugo Haas production -- quotation from Cleo
Posted by Dan in the MW on 4/14/2020, 7:23 am, in reply to "Re: Social Distancing: Times are tough. I watched a Hugo Haas production"
Good for a chuckle:
Anything I learned about the fine art of acting I learned from Hugo.
Cleo Moore
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