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MARIE GALANTE (Fox Films, 1934), directed by Henry King, stars Spencer Tracy in an espionage spy story set in Panama City. The title character does not go to Tracy but to Ketti Gallian, a French-born actress making her American movie debut. As much as Gallian acquires enough attention to make this movie her own, and her being the studio's answer to foreign-born imports as Greta Garbo (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) or Marlene Dietrich (Paramount), Gallian failed to make that impact with American audiences. Although she wasn't that bad in her galante performance, having the opportunity singing a French song and acquiring enough closeups, the material, based on the novel by Jacques DuVal, is mainly routine regardless of fine cast to back her up.

Opening on a seacoast town in France, Marie Galante (Ketti Gallian) is introduced as a messenger working for a telegraph office, bike riding her telegrams to assigned individuals. Delivering a telegram to a captain (Robert Gleckler) located in a cafe, he invites her over his ship, The Hettie King, to wait for a reply. Because of his drunkenness, the captain orders the steamship to leave port, naming Marie a stowaway and holding her prisoner in the brig below. Dropping her off at a seacoast in Central America, Marie, wanting nothing more than to get back to France, she is advised by an agent her only way home is to board a docked ship at the Panama Canal. Through the goodness of one man, she acquires a job working for the Pacific Gardens Cafe managed by Plosser (Ned Sparks). In the meantime, General Phillips (Arthur Byron), Governor of the Panama Canal Zone, holds a meeting with Ellsworth (Frank Darien) and Ratcliffe (Robert Lorraine) from England discussing on the capture of a notorious ringleader named Ryner (a master of disguises) with intentions on sabotaging the Panama Canal. Jim Crawbett (Spencer Tracy) from Wisconsin, an undercover agent posing as a doctor experimenting on tropical diseases, secretly handles the case. While at the cafe, Crawbett becomes interested in Marie Galante. He soon discovers her involvement with various characters promising to help her return home, feeling that maybe one of them could the man he's assigned to capture.

Members of the cast include Siegfried Rumann (Brogard, owner of the Parisian Bazaar); Jay C. Flippen (The Sailor) and Stepin Fetchit (The Waiter). Leslie Fenton is virtually unrecognizable as the Japanese General Tenoki, a dealer in curios; while Helen Morgan as Tapia sings a couple of unmemorable songs, "The Song of a Dreamer" and "It Serves Me Right for Treating You Wrong" Ketti Gallian not only speaks a lot of French during film's opening minutes, but also gets to sing a French song titled "Un Peu, Bean Coup." Look fast for the uncredited J. Carroll Naish playing a French speaking painting sailor.

A real obscure item from Fox Studios that began to surface on public television in 1997, MARIE GALANTE might have remained forgotten in some dark film archive had it starred contract actors as Edmund Lowe or Warner Baxter in the Tracy part. Through the presence of two-time Academy Award winning actor Spencer Tracy shortly before his improved motion picture career for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1935-1955) took effect does MARIE GALANTE serve any interest to contemporary viewers. Of the very few Hollywood movies featuring Ketti Gallian, only SHALL WE DANCE (RKO Radio, 1937) starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (where she has a secondary role) is known to have numerous television broadcasts over the years. Though blonde in MARIE GALANTE, she was brunette in SHALL WE DANCE.

The plot material for MARIE GALANTE was reworked again in CHARLIE CHAN IN PANAMA (20th Century-Fox, 1940) starring Sidney Toler as Chan. While the original adaptation is a showcase for Ketti Gallian, who doesn't acquire all the attention during its full 88 minutes, other actors get to take part in this espionage story as well. Overlooking some slow spots, MARIE GALANTE rises above its limitations through numerous quick reaction shots from observers; dialogue spoken through the extreme loud noise of machinery in the Powerhouse; and some fine suspenseful moments. Availability for viewing on either video cassette, DVD, and on-demand from cable television's MGM Plus. (**1/2)

BLACK LEGION (Warner Brothers, 1937) directed by Archie L. Mayo, is a powerful story starring the youthful presence of Humphrey Bogart. For a studio best known for some real hard-hitting dramas ranging from I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG (1932) to THEY WON'T FORGET (1937), BLACK LEGION ranks one of the best of them. Sadly, the film in itself is somewhat underrated and relatively neglected among the listing of Bogart's better-known classics as THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) and CASABLANCA (1942). BLACK LEGION in fact breaks away from Bogart's then usual performances of thug/villain or gangster sidekick to something that doesn't come very often, an ordinary working man with a wife and child. Though the plot starts off in ordinary fashion, it improves considerably as it reaches its high point to a different sort of crime drama. Being his first leading role in a major motion picture, BLACK LEGION shows off Bogart's true acting skills, especially when an exceptional script comes his way. With Dick Foran and Ann Sheridan playing the secondary younger couple, Erin O'Brien-Moore should not be overlooked for such a fine performance and rare opportunity in a sizeable role to good advantage.

The plot development introduces Frank Taylor (Humphrey Bogart), a factory working machinist, married to Ruth (Erin O'Brien-Moore) and father to a young son named Buddy (Dickie Jones). Frank is also close friends with fellow employee, Ed Jackson (Dick Foran) who lives close by. Although loved by Betty Grogan (Ann Sheridan), Ed's problem is Pearl Davis (Helen Flint), a woman with questionable background who interferes in their relationship. After Tommy Smith (John Litel), a factory foreman, receives his promotion, Frank believes he'll be up for Smith's old job that is still open. Disappointed that Joe Dombrowski (Henry Brandon), a studious younger man of foreign decent getting the foreman job instead, the embittered Frank, through the advice of fellow employee, Cliff Summers (Joseph Sawyer), finds himself a new lodge member of a secret organization called The Black Legion that rids foreigners from stealing jobs from American workers. At first Frank feels he did the right thing in becoming a hooded Klansman until situations occur to make him live to regret that decision. Other members of the cast include Samuel S. Hinds (The Judge); Eddie Acuff (Ted Metcalf); Alonzo Price (Alexander Hargraves); Paul Harvey (Billings); Robert Barrat and Charles Halton.

Though stories involving Klansmen have been controversial, depending how it's been presented. For BLACK LEGION, it focuses on hooded Klansmen terrorizing foreign-born citizens, making it for all it's worth through with some very realistic and intense situations. Reportedly inspired on an actual occurrence in Michigan, the elements don't hold back for such notable sequences as a new candidate taking a sacred oath of Allegion with a gun pointed to his head by a member; the flogging/running out of town of foreign victims during the night, and so forth. The real terror falls on the member of the legion of fear for being a member for life. Aside from this being Bogart's only crime story where the villains are not the usual gangsters with guns, his presence here is the sole reason of watching BLACK LEGION. Its strong presentation holds audience attention for its full 83-minutes, especially during its second half of the story that never lets go for an instant.

Available on home video and DVD format, BLACK LEGION shows up occasionally on cable television's Turner Classic Movies, the channel for both known and forgotten Humphrey Bogart movies. (***1/2 sheets)

LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN (Warner Brothers Classics of the Screen, 1925), produced and stylishly directed by Ernst Lubitsch, is a silent comedy/drama based on the 1892 play by Oscar Wilde starring Ronald Colman (1891-1958) by special arrangement of producer Samuel Goldwyn. Though Colman's name heads the cast, the story rightfully belongs to May McAvoy and Irene Rich, with Colman and Bert Lytell in secondary performances quite beneficial to the story.

Opening title: "Lady Windermere faced the grave problem - of seating her dinner guests." The plot summary, set in England, introduces Lady Margaret (May McAvoy) whose husband, Lord Windermere (Bert Lytell) is a close friend of Lord Darlington (Ronald Colman). Unknown to him, Darlington is love with his wife. Windemere receives a letter from a Mrs. Edith Erlynne, a woman he's never met, asking him to meet with her at her residence. With Darlington spotting the letter on his desk, he suspects Windermere is romancing another woman. Upon their meeting, Mrs. Elynne reveals to Windermere she's his wife's mother believed deceased. After years of living a life of adventure and luxury, the scandalous Mrs. Erlynne agrees not to identify herself to Margaret by accepting a cheque from Windemere for $1500. Reading in the society column regarding Margaret's forthcoming birthday function, she breaks her promise by wanting to come and meet with her daughter without giving herself away. While attending the races, Margaret overhears three women, Duchess of Berwick (Mme. Carrie Daumery), Lady Plymdale (Billie Bennett) and Mrs. Cower-Cower (Helen Dunbar) gossiping about Mrs. Erlynne leading her to suspect Windermere to have some connection with her during his evenings out. Locating the cheque made to the notorious woman in her husband's locked desk drawer, she confronts him only to be assured he was only helping out a woman. At first, she believes him until he asks to have Mrs. Erlynne attend her birthday gathering. More problems ensue by Mrs. Erlynne's arrival escorted by Lord Augustis Lorin (Edward Martindel), London's most distinguished bachelor, and the misplacement of Lady Windermere's fan that would draw a scandal to her if found in the wrong place.

Regardless of its age, LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN still works in entertainment value and understandably why this became one of the truly great hits of 1925. Though this comedy of errors might have made a good latter 1930s Warner Brothers sound edition starring Adolphe Menjou, Olivia DeHavilland, Verree Teasdale and Paul Cavanagh, it didn't see another Hollywood screen adaptation until 1949's retitled THE FAN (20th Century-Fox) starring Jeanne Crain, Madeleine Carroll, George Sanders and Richard Greene.

Available for viewing in various formats (no music track; orchestration underscoring or piano accompaniment), LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN did have television broadcasts over the years, most notably on public television (late 1960s and early 1970s) being part of the weekly series of "The Toy That Grew Up," decades before its resurrection on cable television's Turner Classic Movies piano scoring edition in 2007 as part of its theme "More Treasures from American Film Archives" hosted by Robert Osborne. DVD format availability soon followed. Of its latter screen adaptations to LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN, many scholars rank the 1925 silent edition the best of its kind, and it shows. (*** fans)