Rewind Review: Me and the Colonel ( 1958 )

"In life, there are always two possibilities...."

It is quite common to find a film that begins terrifically, loses a bit of its appeal midway through and then flounders at the end. But it is rare to find a film that begins slowly and then gets better and better until it reaches its climax. This is because screenwriters desire to "hook" their audience within ten minutes through a compelling script. Me and the Colonel is one of those rare films that fall into the latter category of having a slow beginning. Yet, one cannot say that it does not feature a compelling script. Quite the contrary; Me and the Colonel is wonderful entertainment.

Danny Kaye stars as Jacobowsky, a Polish Jew who flees from town to town throughout France trying to avoid the Nazis - as this takes place at the beginning of WWII. He is a clever and extremely resourceful man, a practical survivor. He uses people and situations to help provide him with the tools and opportunities to make his escapes. It is during his attempt to flee Paris that he meets Colonel Prokoszny ( Curt Jurgens ), a proud and stubborn Polish officer, and his aide Szabuniewicz ( Akim Tamiroff ). 

Jacobowsky is reluctant to use the colonel in his escape plan since he is unapologetically anti-semitic and extremely unhelpful. However, as the colonel is Jacobowsky's only chance, he uses him to drive the car that will take them to southern France and to safety in Spain. Their flight from the Nazis is immediately complicated when the colonel "goes the wrong direction" and heads north into German-occupied territory to rescue his mistress Suzanne ( Nicole Maurey ). The colonel has a penchant for getting them into trouble and it is left to Jacobowsky to continually use his inherent wiles to rescue them from one scrape after another along their journey.  It is through Jacobowsky and the colonel's ordeal together that they manage to form a bond of friendship that transcends their differences. 

"You have one of the finest minds of the 12th-century"

Danny Kaye was a marvelous actor. His skill at drama was often hidden behind the humorous masks of the characters he played. Me and the Colonel leans more towards drama than comedy and Kaye does not play Jacobosky for laughs. The publicity department at Columbia Studios attempted to warn Danny Kaye fans who were expecting zany comedy and tongue twisters that "Kaye pulls a switch". It was an uncharacteristic role which he played with impressive ease....and won a Golden Globe for his endeavor.

Jacobowsky has such a beautiful soul and it is so appealing to watch him unfold the various layers of his character throughout the film. Suzanne recognizes what a rare individual Jacobowsky is and is lovingly drawn to him. He - and the audience - are left to wonder whether she feels a romantic attachment to him or simply honors him for his noble character. 

I have always been amazed at how well Danny Kaye was able to play the romantic. Perhaps it is because we expect him to be the clown that his moments of displaying genuine warmth are all the more touching. Me and the Colonel features one of the sweetest love scenes he ever did. Tucked away in a French palace during a thunderstorm, he confesses his love to Suzanne and the predicament he feels he is in due to his loyalty to the Colonel. Not revealing what she feels, she simply asks him if he would like to dance and there, on the beautiful marble floor of the palace, they waltz. 

                           

"More and more I like this Jacobowsky"

Me and the Colonel was nominated for Best Motion Picture at the 1959 Golden Globes and at the Mar del Plata Film Festival. It was based on a play by Franz Werfel ( "The Song of Bernadette" ) and S.N Behrman ( "The Pirate" ) that played for 417 performances on Broadway in 1944 with Louis Calhern, Annabella, Oskar Karlweis and Edward Bromberg as the four intrepid escapees. 

It is a light-hearted but thought-provoking drama generously sprinkled with humorous dialogue. Touches of espionage and the serious undertone of its setting make it reminiscent of Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not To Be ( 1942 ) and Howard Hawks' I Was a Male War Bride ( 1949 ). 

                           

Curt Jurgens, who almost always gives a top-notch performance, overdid it in this role and his performance of Prokoszny borders on buffoonery. Yet, he redeems himself at the end of the film and we catch a glimpse of a more tender-natured colonel. Prokoszny is stiff-necked and ego-maniacal but nonetheless endearing. Jacobowsky is willing to give up his life for this man and understandably so. He is courageous and fiercely loyal. The colonel's aide shows equal loyalty to him, as does Suzanne, even though she knows very well that he had affairs with women in every city he stopped at.

"In the cathedral of my heart, a candle will always burn for you!"

The lovely French actress, Nicole Maurey, is always a delight to watch. She is perhaps best known for appearing opposite Bing Crosby in the post-war drama Little Boy Lost ( 1953 ) and for her part in The Day of the Triffids ( 1963 ) where she was once again fleeing France for the Spanish border. 

Me and the Colonel features beautiful location filming throughout France and a great supporting cast which includes Alexander Scourby, Françoise Rosay and the marvelous Martita Hunt in a brief part as a nun who aids our heroes in their escape. 

This post ( originally posted in 2019 ) is our contribution to The Danny Kaye Blogathon being hosted by Poppity Talks Classic Films. Danny Kaye is known for his comedic work but this film showcases his skill as a dramatic actor as well and so it is well worth spotlighting in a celebration of Danny Kaye's life. We hope you enjoyed it! To read more reviews of Danny Kaye films be sure to check out the blogathon here. 

Me and the Colonel ( 1958 )

"In life, there are always two possibilities...."

It is quite common to find a film that begins terrifically, loses a bit of its appeal midway through and then flounders at the end. But it is rare to find a film that begins slowly and then gets better and better until it reaches its climax. This is because screenwriters desire to "hook" their audience within ten minutes through a compelling script. Me and the Colonel is one of those rare films that fall into the latter category of having a slow beginning - and yet, one cannot say that it does not feature a compelling script. Quite the contrary; Me and the Colonel is wonderful entertainment.

Danny Kaye stars as Jacobowsky, a Polish Jew who flees from town to town throughout France trying to avoid the Nazis - as this takes place at the beginning of WWII. He is a clever and extremely resourceful man, a practical survivor. He uses people and situations to help provide him with the tools and opportunities to make his escapes. It is during his attempt to flee Paris that he meets Colonel Prokoszny ( Curt Jurgens ), a proud and stubborn Polish officer, and his aide Szabuniewicz ( Akim Tamiroff ). 

Jacobowsky is reluctant to use the colonel in his escape plan since he is unapologetically anti-semitic and extremely unhelpful. However, as the colonel is Jacobowsky's only chance, he uses him to drive the car that will take them to southern France and to safety in Spain. Their flight from the Nazis is immediately complicated when the colonel "goes the wrong direction" and heads north into German-occupied territory to rescue his mistress Suzanne ( Nicole Maurey ). The colonel has a penchant for getting them into trouble and it is left to Jacobowsky to continually use his inherent wiles to rescue them from one scrape after another along their journey.  It is through Jacobowsky and the colonel's ordeal together that they manage to form a bond of friendship that transcends their differences. 

"You have one of the finest minds of the 12th-century"

Danny Kaye was a marvelous actor. His skill at drama was often hidden behind the humorous masks of the characters he played. Me and the Colonel leans more towards drama than comedy and Kaye does not play Jacobosky for laughs. The publicity department at Columbia Studios attempted to warn Danny Kaye fans who were expecting zany comedy and tongue twisters that "Kaye pulls a switch". It was an uncharacteristic role which he played with impressive ease....and won a Golden Globe for his endeavor.

Jacobowsky has such a beautiful soul and it is so appealing to watch him unfold the various layers of his character throughout the film. Suzanne recognizes what a rare individual Jacobowsky is and is lovingly drawn to him. He - and the audience - are left to wonder whether she feels a romantic attachment to him or simply honors him for his noble character. 

I have always been amazed at how well Danny Kaye was able to play the romantic. Perhaps it is because we expect him to be the clown that his moments of displaying genuine warmth are all the more touching. Me and the Colonel features one of the sweetest love scenes he ever did. Tucked away in a French palace during a thunderstorm, he confesses his love to Suzanne and the predicament he feels he is in due to his loyalty to the Colonel. Not revealing what she feels, she simply asks him if he would like to dance and there, on the beautiful marble floor of the palace, they waltz. 

"More and more I like this Jacobowsky"

Me and the Colonel was nominated for Best Motion Picture at the 1959 Golden Globes and at the Mar del Plata Film Festival. It was based on a play by Franz Werfel ( "The Song of Bernadette" ) and S.N Behrman ( "The Pirate" ) that played for 417 performances on Broadway in 1944 with Louis Calhern, Annabella, Oskar Karlweis and Edward Bromberg as the four intrepid escapees. 

It is a light-hearted but thought-provoking drama generously sprinkled with humorous dialogue. Touches of espionage and the serious undertone of its setting make it reminiscent of Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not To Be ( 1942 ) and Howard Hawks' I Was a Male War Bride ( 1949 ). 

Curt Jurgens, who almost always give a top-notch performance, overdid it in this role and his performance of Prokoszny borders on buffoonery. Yet, he redeems himself at the end of the film and we catch a glimpse of a more tender-natured colonel. Prokoszny is stiff-necked and ego-maniacal but nonetheless endearing. Jacobowsky is willing to give up his life for this man and understandably so. He is courageous and fiercely loyal. The colonel's aide shows equal loyalty to him, as does Suzanne, even though she knows very well that he had affairs with women in every city he stopped at.

"In the cathedral of my heart, a candle will always burn for you!"

The lovely French actress, Nicole Maurey, is always a delight to watch. She is perhaps best known for appearing opposite Bing Crosby in the post-war drama Little Boy Lost ( 1953 ) and for her part in The Day of the Triffids ( 1963 ) where she was once again fleeing France for the Spanish border. 

Me and the Colonel features beautiful location filming throughout France and a great supporting cast which includes Alexander Scourby, Françoise Rosay and the marvelous Martita Hunt in a brief part as a nun who aids our heroes in their escape. 

In Kaye's Kitchen : Danny Kaye Cooks More than Comedy

Danny Kaye loved to try new things and was always open to learning the necessary skills and then plunging right into an experience...with no fear of making a fool of himself. With this bravado he acquired proficiency in a number of different fields over the years: flying commercial aircraft, conducting world-famous orchestras ( without knowing a note of music ), dancing, juggling, playing baseball....and cooking. In fact, he became quite an accomplished chef. 

Chef Ruth Reichl, a good friend of Kaye's reminisced about the man shortly after his death and said "Danny Kaye didn't cook like a star. He didn't coddle you with caviar or smother you in truffles. He had no interest in complicated concoctions or exotic ingredients. His taste was absolutely true, and he was the least-pretentious cook I've ever encountered. The meals he made were little symphonies--balanced, perfectly timed, totally rounded. "

French chefs, including Paul Bocuse and Jacques Pepin, often said the best restaurant in California was Danny Kaye's house. Dana Kaye, Danny's daughter, recalled the kitchen in their wisteria-covered Beverly Hills home : 

"This room, with ruffled curtains and a huge island, was the pulse of our lives. My father, in par­ticular, loved the tiny break­fast nook with walls full of cookbooks and an old-fash­ioned wooden table covered in a red-and-white-checked tablecloth. Many mornings he’d sit in his terry cloth robe, make phone calls and offer a cup of coffee to whoever wan­dered in, like the plumber. "

Chinese cooking was his specialty. It all started when Kaye began frequenting Johnny Kan's Chinese restaurant in San Francisco in the late 1960s. He loved the cuisine, the simplicity of the ingredients, and the quick preparation of Chinese food and began a self-appointed apprenticeship to learn what he could about cooking these meals himself. 

Suddenly, Kaye's simple kitchen sprouted a new "Chinese Kitchen" wing that featured a 10-foot long three-wok restaurant stove, shelves which held his hand-made cleavers, a vertical roasting oven, Chinese lanterns, and a round table that accommodated eight. Guests who enjoyed his nine-course Chinese dinner were varied and during any night you may have seen Roddy McDowall, Rudolf Nureyev, Audrey Hepburn, or Zubin Mehta seated in Kaye's Kitchen. 

“The trouble with Danny's cooking,” Olive Behrendt, president of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, once said, “is it spoils you forever for going to restaurants. You could eat in this home every night for a month and never be served the same dish twice.” Luciano Pavarotti considered Kaye's fegato alla veneziana the best in the world.

His fame as a chef spread throughout Hollywood and those who doubted his mastery in the kitchen quickly sang a different tune after tasting one of his meals. In 1979, Kaye was honored with the ultimate compliment: when he guest-starred on The Muppet Show he was permitted to cook alongside the famous Swedish Chef! 

This entry is a part of our series entitled "Did You Know?".....sometimes we just feel like sharing interesting fragments of television and movie history and now we have a place to do just that. If you have a hot tip that you would like us to share on Silver Scenes, drop us a line!

Gangsters in Comedy 1940 - 1955

In 1940, one of my favorite of all film characters featured in comedy appeared on screen for the first time - the gangster goons - and for the next 15 years they would remain to get bumped, kicked, elbowed and knocked out by our bumbling comedian heroes.

These were no modern Disney villains who trip over their own shoelaces and could scarcely hold a gun. Nay, these were full-fledged “tough guys” of the meanest sort...ones who have earned their facial scars and busted noses. These were characters like Raspy Kelly, the strong silent type – “Moose Matson” a gourmet gangster - or “Left-eye Louie” who keeps you up nights wondering what happened to his right eye. And who can forget “Angel” from Shivering Sherlocks ( Three Stooges )?

Hardly the angelic sort!

The beginning of the era of comedy/villain films stems from Universal Studios in 1940 with the release of The Ghost Breakers starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. Whilst there were a few slapstick shorts that featured thugs prior to this, it was The Ghost Breakers that really triggered the comic-gets-mixed-up-with-gangsters theme that continued into the mid-1950s. These gangsters appeared in the form of bank robbers, mobsters, art thieves, foreign spies and various other private syndicates. In this particular film, Bob Hope fled from Frenchy Duval’s gang in the nick of time just to fall into the hands of another villain out to scare Paulette Goddard from her family’s estate of Black Island in deep fog-engulfed Cuba.

One year later, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were pitted against “Moose” Matson and his henchmen in the rollicking comedy Hold That Ghost ( 1941 ). Richard Carlson, Evelyn Ankers, and Joan Davis are stranded along with Abbott and Costello in a secluded roadhouse - during a thunderstorm, of course - where, unbeknownst to them, a gangster's fortune lay hiding within. 

That same year Red Skelton had to contend with one of the most notorious of filmdom’s vicious stereotyped actors – Conrad Veidt – in Whistling in the Dark ( 1941 ) when Veidt, as the leader of a swindling cult, need to hush up our hero from squawking about their criminal activity.

Throughout the 1940s, the Three Stooges were continually being thrown into the hot spot of gangster’s lairs as well. In Hold That Lion! they try to collect on their grandiose inheritance but come up against Ichabod Snipp, an underhanded broker. In Crime on their Hands ( 1948 ) they try to scoop a news story about a stolen diamond but Shemp almost gets cut in two by Dapper and his henchman Muscles when he accidentally swallows the rock instead. Ouch! Character actor Kenneth MacDonald often portrayed the villain in these Stooges shorts in spite of his gentlemanly appearance.

Even the four-footed equine Francis had to contend with a gang of art thieves for his final film…Francis in the Haunted House ( 1956 ). Donald O'Connor opted out of this entry and Mickey Rooney took his place in aiding Francis to save the hapless heroine of MacLeod castle from the so-called "ghost" of the estate. 

Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and other looney tunes poked fun of goony gangsters in such classics as “Bugs and Thugs” and “Catty Cornered” and “Rackateer Rabbit”. Big clunky Mugsy was the epitome of a henchman – clearly a former boxer who had his brains knocked out once too many times.

But King of all tough-talking, fast-acting, eye-glaring gangsters was Sheldon Leonard. This poor guy was stereotyped so badly that even when a role did not call for any skull-duggery he gave the appearance that he had a few tricks up his sleeve. Just look at those shifty eyes.

Mike Masurki and Mark Lawrence were popular con men of the 1940s too. Mark Lawrence played the mysterious “Charlie Smith” in Hold that Ghost and was bumped off faster than you can bat an eye by person or persons unknown. Alas, that’s often the fate for a scripted gangster.

In the 1950s comedians such as Abbott and Costello, The Three Stooges and Red Skelton were waning in popularity and so the studios turned to box-office draws such as Danny Kaye and Bob Hope and a duo which were the newest hit nightclub sensation of New York- Martin and Lewis.

These comedians fought crooked racing bookies, diamond thieves, murderers, international spies as fast as the screenwriters could churn out plots in such semi-classics as The Lemon Drop Kid, My Favorite Spy, My Favorite Brunette, The Secret of Walter Mitty, Knock on Wood, Paris Holiday and one of the last of the comedy-gangster films – You’re Never Too Young ( 1955 ). Raymond Burr played our baddie in this colorful remake of The Major and the Minor.

By the mid-1950s audiences were tired of seeing the same plot of mix-ups with thugs and goons…especially when films focusing on realistic teen crime were hitting the screen ( Blackboard Jungle, East of Eden ).

Nevertheless, in the 1960s there was a brief return to making films with a light-hearted approach to catching spies after the James Bond spy mania swept the world. As a mild-mannered archeology professor with a magical amulet, Tom Poston was fleeing from Russian agents as early as 1962 in Zotz!

Today, this genre of film no longer exists. While Walt Disney continues to make a handful of kiddie capers with bungling crooks, we no longer have full-fledged comedians fleeing from rough and tough gangsters who want their diamonds back, or bank robbers trying to silence their only eye-witness. 

Too bad really...they were such enjoyable films. 

"Alright Lefty.....you got us beat now. But beware, we'll be back!"

This post is our contribution to The Great Villain Blogathon being hosted by Speakeasy, Silver Screenings, and Shadows and Satin. Be sure to check out the complete roster for more great posts about gangsters, goons, and other grimly characters of the silver screen. 

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty ( 1947 )

Shadows & Satin and Speakeasy are hosting The 1947 Blogathon featuring posts on some of the greatest films that were released in 1947. Be sure to head on over to their sites to read about all the great '47 films. But don't hurry there just yet! First, read our review on Danny Kaye's best post-war comedy The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. 

We all have moments when we daydream. A spoken word, an image, a song, launches us into a realm of fantasy where we place ourselves center stage in the drama. Timid magazine proofreader Walter Mitty ( Danny Kaye ) has these dreams too. As an ace pilot gunning down Nazis; a sea captain battling a fierce storm; a riverboat gambler exposing a cheat; or a square-jawed gunslinger, Mitty is always the hero with the beautiful blonde clinging to his side. With the steady thumping of "ta-pockita ta-pockita" he uses his overripe imagination to escape from his humdrum reality and his henpecking mother ( Fay Bainter ).However, Mitty finds it difficult to distinguish fantasy from reality when the beautiful damsel from his dreams ( Virginia Mayo ) appears before him in real life and pleads for his aid in a dangerous situation involving spies. The clumsy milquetoast also realizes he may not have the backbone to face the adventure he has always been seeking. 

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was based upon a short story by James Thurber ( The Male Animal ) originally published in The New Yorker magazine in 1939 which featured Walter married to a nagging wife.

Ken Englund and Everett Freeman's took Thurber's story and rewrote Mitty as a bachelor, tied to his mother's apron-strings, and engaged to a pretty but obnoxious young woman ( Ann Rutherford ). They also reworked the story into a clever blend of comedy and intrigue centering around the theft of a little black book containing the whereabouts to priceless Dutch art treasures hidden from the Nazis. Danny Kaye is given ample opportunity to display his comedic antics and particularly shines in the non-dream sequences. While there are many highly amusing moments in the film, there are also some missed opportunities. Parts of the script are inconsistent with one scene apparently missing/cut and Walter's transformation at the end of the film seemed too sudden. Kaye's famous sing-song number "Symphony for Unstrung Tongue " ( penned by his wife Sylvia ) is too zany for our taste and halts the momentum of the picture but his second silly song "Anatole of Paris" is quite entertaining, especially since it takes place within an Irene Sharaff fashion sequence starring the Goldwyn girls. 

It's no wonder Mitty thinks he has imagined these crooks...just look at them!

 "Perhaps you are mistaking me for someone else." Dr. Hollingshead ( Boris Karloff )

 "Oh no. No one looks as much like you do as you do." Walter Mitty

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was released on September 1, 1947 and received much praise from critics and audiences alike. It seems like the only person not amused by the film was its author. James Thurber did not enjoy seeing his story rewritten in such a slapstick Hollywood fashion and even refused to attend the premiere. He felt that Samuel Goldwyn had discarded his work and used only the basis of it as a vehicle for Danny Kaye's shenanigans, dubbing the film The Private Life of Danny Kaye. In fact, after reading the final script, Thurber offered Goldwyn $10,000 not to film his story! 

The stiff in the cab.

  "Walter, what's that awful smell?" Gertrude Griswold

 "It's that cologne you gave me for Christmas." Walter 

 "It's lovely, isn't it?" Gertrude Griswold

An interesting aspect of Englund and Freeman's screen adaptation is that while Walter Mitty often dreamed of becoming the hero who aids a woman in distress, when the opportunity arose in real life he refused to accept it; not once, but three times. In the first instance, while they are in a taxi cab, Virginia Mayo asks him for his assistance in helping retrieve the "little black book" and Mitty refuses because he is late for work. 

Then, when she asks him to assist her in helping an old man and loading the luggage in the cab, he refuses again because he is late but succumbs when she tells him that they will drop him off at work to save time. Finally, when he tells her that he hid the book in a corset, she asks if he will help her retrieve it and he refuses once more...not wanting anything to do with her or her involvement with danger. But once again, he changes his mind when he sees her tears of frustration. Walter certainly needed plenty of egging to take up the gauntlet and become a knight in shining armor to the helpless lady!

Director Norman Z. McLeod, who had filmed numerous comedies of the 1930s ( Monkey Business, Topper, It's a Gift ) took the helm and did a marvelous job directing this brisk-paced comedy. Special mention should go to art director Perry Ferguson who created a wonderful contrast between the colorful settings of Walter's dream sequences and his dark and old-fashioned home. 

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is highly entertaining escapism and - in spite of its inconsistencies - showcases Danny Kaye at his chaotic best. The Technicolor is stunning and the film boasts a great cast of supporting players including Boris Karloff, Thurston Hall, Florence Bates, Gordon Jones, Reginald Denny, and Konstantin Shayne.