 |
Take a gander at Laird Cregar as
lovable rogue Gooseberry! |
To some
people, the name
Hudson’s Bay (HB) may simply bring to mind
the famous Canadian department store, but of course there’s a rich history behind
it—rich enough for 20th Century-Fox to green-light it as a lavish
biopic directed by Irving Pichel
(The Most Dangerous Game; the 1935
version of
She), with a remarkable all-star cast!
Hudson’s Bay’s
leading man
was the great actor Paul Muni, whose amazing four-decade
career included stage triumphs (born Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund, Muni got his
start in the Yiddish theater); movies (Muni won the Best Actor Oscar for the
1936 biopic
The Story of Louis Pasteur, with another nomination in 1937
for
The Life of Emile Zola, and six other Oscar nominations, along with a
New York Film Critics Circle award for
…Zola); and an Emmy nomination for
his performance in the 1956
Playhouse 90 TV drama “The Last Clear
Chance.” No wonder: Muni was a true chameleon, renowned for his amazing ability
to dive into every aspect of his roles. I wonder if Meryl Streep considered him
as one of her role models?
(Click here for a scene from the film!)
That said, as
awesome as Muni was, I must confess that although he gets top billing in
HB, it was actually a member of
HB’s fine
supporting cast that really made me eager to see it:
Laird Cregar (Samuel
Laird Cregar, for completists)
! I’ve been a fan of Cregar’s ever since I
first saw him as the smilingly sinister NYPD Inspector Ed Cornell in the film
adaptation of Steve Fisher’s novel
I Wake Up Screaming. I found myself fascinated by Cregar’s relentless pursuit
of Victor Mature, wondering if there was more to it (if you haven’t seen the
movie, I won’t spoil it for you). I had to know more about this actor! With
each new (to me) Cregar film, I’ve been wowed by his ability to be a witty,
smooth-talking adversary, or a tormented but terrifying foe. In fact, for those
of you who may not have read
Team Bartilucci’s Flico Suave blog post, here’s our entry about our lad Laird:
LAIRD CREGAR.
Silky-voiced, Philadelphia-born Cregar looked like a fearsome mountain of a man,
an image that served him well in such classics as I Wake Up Screaming
(1941), Heaven Can Wait (1943), and the 1944 remake of
The Lodger. However, he blazed his own trail, mounting his own acclaimed
stage productions of Oscar Wilde and The Man Who Came To Dinner.
His smooth voice served him well in radio plays, including the role of Caspar
Gutman in a production of The Maltese Falcon. But Cregar longed to leave
his villain roles behind and move into romantic leading man parts, and to his
frustration, his 300-pound girth stood in his way. He slimmed down on an insane
crash diet in order to look as suave as his voice sounded. Tragically, the diet
took a terrible toll on Cregar’s health, and he died of heart failure at the age
of 31, just before the debut of the film that essentially killed him,
Hangover Square (1945). Ah, the suavity that could have been…. For more about our special Flico Suave post, in which Fredrico Fabuloso of noirbabes.com has joined forces with Team Bartilucci to craft a terrific slide show devoted to Cregar, please
click this link:
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| The Supremes, in a command performance! |
When our friend and fellow blogger Laura of
Laura’s Miscellaneous Musings recently wrote about several films showing up
on the Fox Movie Channel, I was intrigued when I saw
HB would be
among them. It seemed like a typical costume epic, certainly a departure from
the film noirs and comedy-thrillers that I usually blog about here at
TotED. But once
I saw Cregar’s name among the cast members, I was
definitely interested, especially when it became clear that both Muni’s and
Cregar’s characters would be more scrappy and lighthearted, with lots of joking
and brawling—and don’t forget those suave French-Canadian accents! Alfred Newman’s
score understandably leans on instrumental versions of the moving anthem “O
Canada.”
HB frequently uses another song whose title escapes me.
It’s derived from a beloved traditional folk tune, but I keep remembering
hearing it in, of all things, the Elvis Presley comedy-thriller
Double
Trouble, with these lyrics: “I only love one girl/The one I have my arms
around/I only love one girl/One in every town!” (Just as well I never opted for
a career in music—but if you need a gal who can hum or whistle, let me know!)
For those of
us who were too easily distracted to give our history classes our full attention
back in school (and even if we had, I’m betting 20th Century-Fox
probably took liberties with the real facts anyway), the script by Lamar Trotti
(The Razor’s Edge; The Ox-Bow Incident; There’s No Business Like Show
Business) helpfully provides this preamble:
“In 1667
Canada, under the French flag, was a vast uncharted wilderness. Montreal and
Quebec were hardly more than trading posts on the St. Lawrence River. Our story
opens farther south, at the Albany Government House, in the British colonies.”
Does it ever! First we viewers see Indians getting thrown in prison for alleged
thievery at the hands of stern-looking upper-class twits with long curly wigs
and fancy clothes. One of the stuffed shirts sniffs, “These savages must realize
that New York is a British possession…twenty lashes in the public square!” I
couldn’t help thinking of a sarcastic line from
Witness for the Prosecution: “Lovely you all look in them wigs.…” As
the understandably sullen Indians are given the heave-ho, two fur
trappers/traders arrive: diminutive Pierre Esprit Radisson (Muni) and tall,
wide, bear-shaped Médard Chouart Sieur des Groseilliers, a.k.a.
Gooseberry (Cregar). (I’m guessing this is where/how today’s Radisson Hotel
chain got its name?) It’s clear that these French-accented, smooth-talking yet
scrappy trappers have been here before, asking for the money and supplies they
need for an expedition into the north country. Radisson and Gooseberry kinda
freak out the stuffed shirts with their boisterous barging-in, their ruddy
cheeks, handmade buckskin, and fur hats; I liked them immediately!
 |
Pierre
gets no kick from champagne,
but he’s always up for a brawl! |
The bewigged
bigwigs aren’t interested in our boys’ proposed expedition to Canada’s Hudson’s
Bay because “His Majesty’s government is not in the fur trade,” and besides,
they’re convinced that Radisson and Gooseberry must be “rogues,” if they can’t
get the funding from their own government.
Humph! They say “rogues” like
it’s a bad thing! Those silly “suits” in suits don’t realize our boys aren’t the
types to meekly take no for an answer, especially when they’re threatened with
jail. It’s clobbering time as a royal rumble breaks out! Radisson and Gooseberry
get tossed in Ye Olde Holding Cell, but at least it’s a good place to make
friends: Lord Edward Crewe (John Sutton from
Jane Eyre; My Gal Sal; A Yank in
the R.A.F.) is cooling his heels in the slammer, too! Seems Lord Eddie was
banished by Prince Charles (the great Vincent Price, one of Team B.’s favorite
scene-stealers) on account of drunken pranks that went too far. Edward convinces
Radisson and Gooseberry to help him blow this popsicle stand, and after our
scamps hit Montreal, Radisson and Gooseberry sell Edward on the idea of putting
up capital for their Hudson’s Bay expedition.
It helps that
Radisson happens to be best buds with the Indians, and he’s adamant about
sharing their booty with them, fair and square. In fact, Orimha (Chief
Thundercloud, who graced many a Western and even comedies like
The Cat and
the Canary during his 21-year film career) is Radisson’s Indian foster dad.
Still, it takes lots of brawling to make Edward and the other city-boy white guys
get their act together, stop treating the helpful Indians like “savages,” and get
it into their fool heads that you can’t just pay the Indians in trinkets and
brandy if you’re serious about making Hudson’s Bay a solid nation full of decent, fair-minded human beings. As Radisson
explains in his charming patois during what I like to think of as his Yoda Moments:
“Wine very
bad for Indians—make him crazy like the wolf. He get one little drink, pretty
soon he drunk, go on warpath, kill everybody, cut their throat, maybe get his
own throat cut. Then he don’t know where he is. What he do? By and by, he don’t
hunt no more, he don’t fish, he don’t catch the beaver, he don’t do nothing but
make trouble. He in pretty bad fix, no?”
Frankly, I
was itching to see Edward get punched in the nose in the 1660’s equivalent of a
playground! With a little help from Radisson and Gooseberry, who are already
tight with their Indian pals, “Holier than Thou” Edward eventually gets an
attitude adjustment, courtesy of Yoda Radisson:
“This Country, this Canada, she’s like a pretty woman, waiting for big, strong
fella to come live with her, raise big family. She say, ‘Look, I have fine
prairie to make big farm. I have nice trees for house, rivers to fish. I have
big heart to love all the world, make you very happy.’ And she say, ‘Those
fellows who live in Europe, they crazy, they fight all the time, kill one
another for a little dirt that don’t grow anything. (Sarcastically) They
got to bow down when Edward Crewe comes in the room. But here, I give you nice
big place to live in, I give plenty to eat, I not let anybody be better than
you. ‘Then she say, ‘But you must not cheat my little children because they are
not so strong as you. You must not make them drunk, bring war with you. You will
love, like the Bon Dieu planned, or I give you big tweak in the nose…I think
maybe this Canada have plenty happy people someday, feel same way. Them maybe
people, they say, ‘This Radisson, he big fool, but he’s right. Now I think we
talk too much.”
(Lamar Trotti
not only knew how to write rousing speeches, he knew when to stop!)
 |
As Lady Barbara, lovely Gene Tierney
is worth risking
prison for! |
 |
“Think of it, darling, there are millions
of
beavers waiting to be caught!”
(Actual line from the film!) |
All the agita
of starting a new colony is finally paying off—until French Governor D’Argensen
seizes our heroes’ furs (polyester and microfibers weren’t invented yet) as
“payment” for fines enacted
that very morning! So Radisson and Gooseberry
indignantly steal their furs back and return to England with Edward; that’ll show ‘em!
Eddie’s nervous about being back in England—remember, he’s supposed to be
banished—but Edward’s cousin Sir Rupert (Nigel Bruce—Dr. Watson himself!—not to
mention Bruce’s supporting roles in Hitchcock’s
Rebecca and
Suspicion)
is willing to help sort things out, with encouragement from the intrigued Prince
Charles, who admits to liking “rogues” (there’s that word again!), and is
willing to help Radisson, Gooseberry, and Edward as long as they can keep it on the
QT until they get their booty. Besides, news of fabulous furs from the New
World goes a long way toward our guys being forgiven, especially when Edward is
reunited with his beloved fiancée, Lady Barbara Hall (Gene Tierney at her most
beautiful and winsome). I love the way Edward and Barbara only have eyes for
each other as Prince Charles’ scolding falls on deaf ears; Charles might as well
be talking in that
Peanuts “blah blah blah” gibberish! Radisson sagely
notes, “These English, they like to make a little money, no?” Prince Charles
gives them the supplies and boats they need, though he cautions them:
“There will be no talk of a charter until we see 300,000 pelts that the Governor
of New France did
not steal.” Radisson sweetens the pot by naming the
first Hudson’s Bay post Fort Charles after the King himself.
 |
No lackeys in Canada?
You mean I have to w-w-w-work?! |
Lady Barbara
is so impressed with Edward’s new success, maturity, and overall manly-man
qualities that she suggests that when they return to Hudson’s Bay, they should
bring her younger brother Gerald (Morton Lowry of
The Hound of the
Baskervilles; The Picture of Dorian Gray; How Green was My Valley). Bad
move, guys!
The novelty wears thin fast for spoiled baby brother Gerald
Whiny-Pants; he’s more interested in plying the Indians with brandy and cheap useless tchotchkes than
in making Hudson’s Bay succeed and flourish by getting off his bratty butt and
*gasp* pull his weight! When Gerald disobeys
Radisson’s rules, drunken violence erupts all over the colony, and a friendly
Indian tribe is senselessly slaughtered. This means war, since the Indians are understandably furious at
these Eurotrash white guys making a mess of things. Having witnessed similar
massacres in his time, Radisson reaches a grim decision: in order to patch
things up with the warring Indians, he elects himself judge, jury, and
executioner, ties up Gerald, and shoots him dead. Our heroes aren’t exactly
happy campers (even though Gerald had it coming, in my
opinion). When Radisson, Gooseberry, and Edward return to London and explain the tragedy, Prince Charles fumes: “The very
idea, going around shooting my subjects, and without my consent!”
 |
Lesson learned: Don't bring troublemaking
siblings to faraway outposts! |
Mother of
Mercy, is this the end of Radisson, Gooseberry, and Edward? Luckily for our
boys, riches triumph over dead trouble-making relatives: 4,000 pelts in perfect
condition is an end that justifies the means, big-time! In fact, as Edward
urgently points out, if Radisson and Gooseberry are hanged, there
won’t be
any Hudson’s Bay Company, because Canada would then belong to France,
not
England! Turns out our lovable slyboots Radisson fixed it in advance with the Indians
that if anything happened to them in England, the Indians would take all those
lovely, expensive furs to the French, Radisson’s biggest fans! All is forgiven; I think even Lady Barbara knew in her heart of hearts that Gerald was a little
good-for-nothing creep. Our roguish heroes are the toast of the town, Radisson and Gooseberry
walk off singing, boy gets girl, Hudson’s Bay is born—what’s not to love?
 |
| Asterix and Obelix |
 |
Vinnie imagines Laird Cregar
and Paul Muni as Obelix & Asterix! |
My husband
Vinnie is a big fan of the Franco-Belgian series of
Asterix comics
created by
René Goscinny
and illustrated by
Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo
(if you haven’t had the pleasure of reading
Asterix,
click this link), and he noticed that Muni and Cregar had a
striking resemblance to Asterix and his big pal Obelix! Anyway, just hearing the
cheerfully boisterous Cregar doing a French-Canadian accent made me smile.
It was fun to
see another side of our lad Laird, since I’d seen him showing a flair for comedy
even in his bad-guy roles. To my surprise and delight, Muni and Cregar turned
out to be a rollicking comedy team, stealing their scenes and my heart! With
their rambunctious, devil-may-care shenanigans and great buddy chemistry, Muni
and Cregar make a totally appealing pair! Muni has a playfulness about him, and
a clever way of talking around things when the suits in London and France get
restless; nevertheless, when push comes to shove, he does the right thing when
it counts most.
HB has great production values, too, with Travis
Banton’s costumes including posh threads at the palace and buckskin in the
wilderness, as needed. For my money, Muni and Cregar are so good together, I was
wishing 20th Century-Fox had figured out a way to make one or more
sequels about Radisson and Gooseberry’s exploits. Even their accents and
mischievous grins had me laughing and smiling (for all the right reasons)! In
particular, Vinnie and I thought it was tons of fun to watch Cregar launch his
monstrously huge body at smug, unsuspecting fops and dandies, knocking those
pretty-boys over like bowling pins! Go, Team Gooseberry!
 |
| "Poor lady!" (Another actual line from HB!) |
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| It's Spring Break in Canada, and they're gonna party like it's 1667! |
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You can meet the most interesting people at these pot luck dinners!
(Left to right: Laird Cregar, Nigel Bruce, Vincent Price, and Virginia Field) |
 |
Hey, Gooseberry cleans up pretty good!
He's going do-me-do-ing in his do-me-do
duds! |
 |
Radisson's livin' on a wink and a
prayer!
|
 |
| Iron bars do not a prison make — when the
prisoner is Gooseberry! |
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| Hey, just imagine Laird Cregar, Paul Muni, and John Sutton cleaned up some, wearing musketeer garb. Would Laird have been an awesome Porthos, or what? |
