Flamingo Road (1949)

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

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

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:

Crooked Sheriff | Small Town | Suicide | Class Differences | Candidate

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Iris Adrian	...	Blanche - Inmate of Women's Prison (uncredited)
William Bailey	...	Leo Mitchell (uncredited)
Larry J. Blake	...	Martin (uncredited)
M.A. Bogue	...	Johnny Simms (uncredited)
Carol Brewster	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	...	Dancer - Opening Montage (uncredited)
Frank Cady	...	Tom Hill (uncredited)
Tristram Coffin	...	Ed Parker (uncredited)
James Conaty	...	Extra at Lutie Mae's (uncredited)
Russ Conway	...	Johnson - Reporter (uncredited)
Dick Elliott	...	Tom Coyne (uncredited)
Morgan Farley	...	Link Niles (uncredited)
James Flavin	...	Angry Carnival Creditor (uncredited)
John Gallaudet	...	John Shelton (uncredited)
Pat Gleason	...	Carnival Barker (uncredited)
Roy Gordon	...	Senator Flagstedt (uncredited)
William Haade	...	Burr Lassen (uncredited)
Fred Kelsey	...	Train Conductor (uncredited)
Douglas Kennedy	...	Voice of Police Radio Broadcaster (uncredited)
Lester Kimmel	...	Jamison - Dan's Lawyer (uncredited)
Sunny Knight	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Detective (uncredited)
John McGuire	...	Plainclothesman (uncredited)
Sammy McKim	...	Hotel Bellboy (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Nightclub Waiter (uncredited)
Garry Owen	...	Mailman (uncredited)
Dale Robertson	...	Tunis Simms (uncredited)
Dick Ryan	...	Carnival Barker (uncredited)
Frank J. Scannell	...	Man (uncredited)
Charles Sherlock	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Nightclub Extra (uncredited)
Tom Stevenson	...	Maurice - Maitre d' at Ritz (uncredited)
Robert Strange	...	Peterson (uncredited)
Pierre Watkin	...	Senator on Power Commission (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Curtiz

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Edmund H. North		additional dialogue
Robert Wilder		play "Flamingo Road"
Robert Wilder		screenplay
Sally Wilder		play "Flamingo Road"

Produced by
George Amy	....	associate producer
Michael Curtiz	....	executive producer
Jerry Wald	....	producer

Original Music by
Max Steiner

Cinematography by
Ted D. McCord		(director of photography) (as Ted McCord)

Film Editing by
Folmar Blangsted

Art Direction by
Leo K. Kuter

Set Decoration by
Howard Winterbottom

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist
Edwin Allen	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Betty Delmont	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Frank Mattison	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Curtiz	....	second unit director
Robert Vreeland	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert B. Lee	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
William Classen	....	grip (uncredited)
Ellsworth Fredericks	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Fred Morgan	....	still photographer (uncredited)
George Stout	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sheila O'Brien	....	gowns executer: Miss Crawford
Travilla	....	gowns designer: Miss Crawford

Editorial Department
David Curtiz	....	montage

Music Department
Murray Cutter	....	orchestrator
Ray Heindorf	....	musical director

Other crew
Norman Stuart	....	dialogue director
Howard Hohler	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Michael Curtiz Productions (for)
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1949) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1950) (France) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (VHS)

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

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”.

Movie Connections:

Version of Flamingo Road (1980) (TV)

Soundtrack:

If I Could Be With You

The Road to Ruin is paved with good actors

Over the top melodrama that works, under the steady direction of Curtiz. Crawford is an ex-carnie, and Greenstreet is the corrupt sherrif of a small town she's chosen as her haven. He gets her boyfriend to desert her for a more respectable marriage so he can make him a senator, and after she marries a political player he's associated with, he makes life hard on both of them with a combination of blackmail muscle and frame-up push. Greenstreet is wonderfully grotesque, and all the other leads also hold up well. Nice photography in stark toned B & W.