Flamingo Road (1949)

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Edmund H. North (additional dialogue)
Robert Wilder (play)

Release Date:

6 May 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A wrong girl for the right side of the tracks.

Plot:

Carnival dancer Lane Bellamy finds herself stranded in a southern town ruled by corrupt political boss Titus Semple...

Plot Keywords:

Road House | Carnival | Southern | Dancer | Moral

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Joan Crawford	...	Lane Bellamy
Zachary Scott	...	Fielding Carlisle
Sydney Greenstreet	...	Sheriff Titus Semple
David Brian	...	Dan Reynolds
Gladys George	...	Lute Mae Sanders
Virginia Huston	...	Annabelle Weldon
Fred Clark	...	Doc Waterson
Gertrude Michael	...	Millie
Alice White	...	Gracie
Sam McDaniel	...	Boatright
Tito Vuolo	...	Pete Ladas

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Michael Curtiz Productions

Trivia:

Originally intended as a vehicle for Ann Sheridan, who turned down role played by 'Joan Crawford'.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Sheriff Titus Semple tells Fielding Carlisle to "get over to that girl's house and ask her to marry 'her'", instead of “marry you”.

Quotes:

Sheriff Titus Semple: Now me, I never forget anything.
Lane Bellamy: You know sheriff; we had an elephant in our carnival with a memory like that. He went after a keeper that he'd held a grudge against for almost 15 years. Had to be shot. You just wouldn't believe how much trouble it is to dispose of a dead elephant.

Movie Connections:

Version of Flamingo Road (1980) (TV)

Soundtrack:

A Vision of Salome

Mildred Pierce meets the devil on her way to easy street.

This film is a joy to watch, even if defies logic. The narrative is convoluted, to put it mildly. Joan Crawford as a carnival girl? That's a stretch of the imagination. From the very beginning, watching Ms Crawford and the two other dancing women, the viewer realizes that he has to be kind to this film. Her take on Lane Bellamy is vintage Crawford!

This must have been a vehicle for the star right after her star turn in Mildred Pierce. It has some of the same people behind it, like director Michael Curtiz and Zachary Scott. The dialogue is something to be treasured. They don't make films like this anymore. Just imagine what panache Ms Crawford brought to anything she appeared in.

The cast that was assembled for this film is probably impossible to match. The great Sydney Greenstreet is so good as the evil sheriff Titus Semple, that we stay riveted looking at his every move. David Brian as the man who loves Lane and rescues her from poverty is also an asset. The minor players, Gladys George, Fred Clark and Virginia Huston, among others fit right into the story.

But this is a Joan Crawford's film. She dominates every scene in which she appears. What power she conveys with only an economy of gestures. No one working in films these days can come near to this actress, who left her own imprint in the canon of American cinema, not to be equaled by anyone any time soon.