The Scarf is a 1951 American film noir written and directed by Ewald André Dupont starring John Ireland, Mercedes McCambridge, James Barton, and Emlyn Williams.[1] The screenplay concerns a man who escapes from an insane asylum and tries to convince a crusty hermit, a drifting saloon singer, and himself that he is not a murderer.
| The Scarf | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ewald André Dupont |
| Screenplay by | Ewald André Dupont |
| Story by | Isadore Goldsmith E.A. Rolfe |
| Produced by | Isadore Goldsmith |
| Starring | John Ireland Mercedes McCambridge James Barton Emlyn Williams |
| Cinematography | Franz Planer |
| Edited by | Joseph Gluck |
| Music by | Herschel Burke Gilbert |
Production company | Gloria Productions Inc. |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
editJohn Ireland stars as John Barrington, an escapee from an institution for the criminally insane. Actually, Barrington is not insane, but the victim of a plot orchestrated by a clever murderer. The only person who believes Barrington's story is Ezra Thompson (James Barton) a turkey farmer who hides him from the authorities. Then a singing waitress named Cash-and-Carry Connie (Mercedes McCambridge) unwittingly provides the clue that will prove Barrington's innocence. Emlyn Williams co-stars as a psychiatrist.
Cast
edit- John Ireland as John Howard Barrington
- Mercedes McCambridge as Connie Carter
- James Barton as Ezra Thompson
- Emlyn Williams as Dr. David Dunbar
- Lloyd Gough as Asylum Dr. Gordon
- Basil Ruysdael as Cyrus Barrington
- David Bauer as Level Louie (as David Wolfe)
- Harry Shannon as Asylum Warden Anderson
- Celia Lovsky as Mrs. Cyrus Barrington
- David McMahon as State Trooper
- Chubby Johnson as Feed Store Manager
- Frank Jenks as Tom - Drunk cowboy
- Emmett Lynn as Jack the Waiter
- Dick Wessel as Sid - Drunk cowboy
- Frank Jaquet as Town Sheriff
- Iris Adrian as the floozy at Level Louie's Place
Reception
editCritical response
editFilm critic Bosley Crowther panned the film, "For a picture so heavily loaded with lengthy and tedious talk, talk, talk, The Scarf, the new tenant at the Park Avenue, has depressingly little to say. As a matter of fact, it expresses, in several thousand words of dialogue—and in a running-time that amounts to just four minutes short of an hour and a half—perhaps the least measure of intelligence or dramatic continuity that you are likely to find in any picture, current or recent, that takes itself seriously."[2]
Film critic Manny Farber writing in the May 26, 1951 issue of The Nation characterizes The Scarf as “a disjointed, monstrously affected psycho-mystery freak show.” [3] Farber adds:
Producer-directors Ewald André Dupont and Isadore Goldsmith glamorize a singing waitress, a turkey-raising hermit, a jaundiced metaphysical barkeep, and a morose amnesiac fugitive from a desert asylum...Dupont and Goldsmith turn their tinny proletarians into sententious talkers, dubbing them with names like “Level Louie” and “Cash-and-carry Connie" and having them oscillate their eyeballs in a sophisticated version of Griffith’s pantomime. It sounds awful but it’s kind of interesting.[4]
References
edit- ^ The Scarf at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times, film review, April 23, 1951. Accessed: August 10, 2013.
- ^ Farber, 2009 p. 354
- ^ Farber, 2009 p. 354-355
Sources
edit- Farber, Manny. 2009. Farber on Film: The Complete Film Writings of Manny Farber. Edited by Robert Polito. Library of America. ISBN 978-1-59853-050-6
External links
edit
- The Scarf at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- The Scarf at IMDb
- The Scarf at AllMovie
- The Scarf at the TCM Movie Database
- The Scarf is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive