The House Across the Bay

Joan Bennett plays a chanteuse. Her first song is a la Carmen Miranda and involves her Chihuahua. That song is a must.

George Raft has a relatively small role, though he gets top billing. Bennett is the focus. Lloyd Nolan plays a sleazy lawyer. Walter Pigeon is an entrepreneur who falls for Bennett.

Early in the movie, Raft is sent to Alcatraz. The scenes in which we see wives and girlfriends on a boat going from San Francisco to the jail are beautiful. And on the ship is -- Gladys George.

What a marvelous actress she was! She was poignant and could be witty when asked to be (as she is here.) Bennett is chic and her acting is good. But Gladys George is my girl.

While Warner Brothers had nothing for George Raft to do they lent him in 1940 to Walter Wanger for an independent production that Wanger released through United Artists, The House Across The Bay. The bay is San Francisco Bay and the house is an apartment that Joan Bennett takes on Telegraph Hill that faces Alcatraz where Raft is incarcerated for what Al Capone was also there for, income tax evasion. Bennett still wants to feel somewhat connected to her man out on the island in the bay.

Right around this time Raft made the first of several career blunders in turning down some pretty good films, in this case it was High Sierra which certainly gave Humphrey Bogart a boost. So instead of doing High Sierra, Raft wound up in this rather unbelievable film.

For a guy who was supposed to be a smart gangster George Raft is one incredible fool in this one. He meets and marries Joan Bennett who was an entertainer at one of his clubs. When Raft gets shot at by some business competitors, he allows himself to take some lawyerly and wifely advice from Bennett and his lawyer Lloyd Nolan. Of course Nolan has an agenda all his own which not only includes taking Bennett from Raft, but also his money. Nolan tanks the defense and Raft winds up with ten years on the Rock for income tax evasion. I'm sure he and Al Capone must have commiserated some while there.

Bennett is loyal and true blue, but she's feeling a bit antsy and also attracted to aircraft manufacturer Walter Pidgeon whom she meets by accident. After that the plot takes some unbelievable turns.

Joan Bennett and her husband Walter Wanger were friends of George Raft, The House Across The Bay in fact was the third of four films she did with him. She also wrote the forward to George Raft's biography, The George Raft File. She described Raft as moody and temperamental and trying to break away from his gangster persona. This sure wasn't the film to do it. But that he was also a polished gentleman and proud of the fact he'd raised himself to stardom after a childhood in Hell's Kitchen in New York. She also said he was a marvelous dancer and that when Wanger and she were out on the town and met Raft at some nightclub, he would always ask Wanger for a dance with his wife. A good idea since Wanger later shot someone paying attention to Joan Bennett.

According to Bennett, Raft did walk off the film, but later did come back only to find that director Archie Mayo also walked off it just before shooting the finale. Alfred Hitchcock came in and shot the last scene with no credit as a favor.

Bennett and Raft and in fact all the cast have seen better days. They look bored with the film and Pidgeon loaned out from MGM as Raft was from Warner Brothers has little to do, but be a noble pal to Bennett. Lloyd Nolan always is good even in the worst films and Gladys George as the unofficial chairperson of a fraternity of visiting Alcatraz women is outstanding in the film. She's another one who always is.

Raft turned down High Sierra, The Maltese Falcon, and Casablanca all at Warner Brothers and instead wound up doing this. Well at least Humphrey Bogart made out fine in the deal.

If you can accept Raft's pitch to Bennett at the beginning of the movie, this is a pretty decent flic. Raft and Bennett eventually develop chemistry, and Lloyd Nolan is superbly understated as the rat. Pidgeon is not quite believable as the guy who almost gets the girl, and then finds a way to be there when Raft is no longer in the picture. It may not excatly be noir, but it is pretty good.

Beautiful lounge singer Joan Bennett (as Brenda "Lucky" Bentley) marries racketeer businessman George Raft (as Steve Larwitt). The two are blissfully in love, but his criminal past spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Thinking prison will protect Mr. Raft from rival gangsters, Ms. Bennett helps the F.B.I. put him behind bars. But, she tearfully regrets it when Raft is sentenced to ten years at Alcatraz. The frame-up is engineered by Raft's sneaky aide Lloyd Nolan (as Slant Kolma), who wants Bennett for himself. She rejects Mr. Nolan and rents "The House Across the Bay" from Alcatraz, to be close to Raft. Enter Walter Pidgeon (as Tim Nolan).

Producer Walter Wanger does a wonderful job showcasing bride Bennett in this crime thriller. Bennett is stunningly presented, and acts well, too. Others in the cast are also very strong, but it would have been nice to tie Mr. Pidgeon's aviation character in with Raft's somehow - perhaps as a wronged business partner or old acquaintance. Boozy blonde Gladys George (as Mary) lends notable support. Director Archie Mayo and photographer Merritt Gerstad do an excellent job - the three prison meeting scenes are marvelously staged - with help from assistant directors Charles Kerr and Alfred Hitchcock.

******* The House Across the Bay (3/1/40) Archie Mayo ~ Joan Bennett, George Raft, Lloyd Nolan, Gladys George

The flick's a Bennett showcase. The other top-cast members (Raft, Pidgeon, Nolan) sort of drop in and out as needed, while Bennett's struggling single woman carries the storyline. Despite Raft's presence as an underworld entrepreneur, the plot has more to do with Bennett's romantic mishaps than with the sinister Raft. So what suspense there is has mostly to do with which suitor she'll end up with rather than Raft's underworld intrigue. Nonetheless, note that clever plot twist where, for his own protection, Bennett gets Raft sent to the slammer for what she thinks is only a year, only to watch it backfire in more ways than one. It's also an ironical move that sets up the rather surprising climax.

Anyway, kudos to wonderful A-list actress Bennett who's both gorgeous and convincing in what's a fairly demanding role. Her steely reserve alternates convincingly with the more tender moments. Also, a big nod to the always understated Lloyd Nolan as the sly lawyer man, along with Raft who manages to unbend more than usual, his occasional hard-eyed stare still managing to send me under the bed. To me, the movie's high point, however, are the scenes between the sassy Gladys George and Bennett who still manages to hold her own against tough gal competition. Between them, there's a lot of memorable chemistry and snappy dialogue.

All in all, it's more a movie of outstanding cast-members than gripping plot. Nonetheless, the 90-minutes will keep the viewer eye tuned in.