The Louche Saint of Tangier

Flamingo Road (1949)
directed by Michael Curtiz
rating: 2 out of 5 cravats
on DVD from Netflix

Curtiz begins this small Southern potboiler in the tents and lights of a traveling carnival. But when Joan Crawford complains about the dirt she's picked up by dancing in hundreds of towns, her dress and the room are clean as whistles. No, the road show is Casablanca in soft focus, with the same Arabian music floating through the air. There's even a late-night rendezvous between ex-lovers, both more cynical than when they first met.

At 44, Crawford is much too old to play the seductress of two ambitious men, but Sydney Greenstreet, at 70 (!), is just right for corrupt Sheriff Titus Semple, all linen suits and lazy front porch complaints. Everyone makes fun of his weight, and Semple laughs right along with them, sweats a bit, and cuts their throats. He eats slices of pie and orders milk by the pitcher, and whispers seedy secrets to weaker men. "Pinch its ear," he tells his deputy, who strikes the siren on the squad car. "I like to hear it squeal."