Nightmare Alley (1947)

Tyrone Power, a fourth generation actor, was 20th Century Fox's biggest star who continually tried to get studio head Darryl F. Zanuck to cast him in meatier roles that would stretch his acting abilities, while Zanuck felt more comfortable cranking out another saccharine "A" picture with immaculate production values that was sure to get good box office, even though it left Power unfulfilled as an actor. Once in a great while, Zanuck let Power off his leash and this project, a special favorite of Ty's was made although it cast him in a very unglamorous light. So unglamorous, that Fox failed to give it much promotion and it quickly disappeared from theaters becoming a seldom seen but acclaimed favorite of film geeks - but, well, that word is part of the story, too.

Nightmare Alley is a story about the carnival with its penny ante sideshows populated with mystics, con artists, and freaks. This is not your Ringling Bros carnival but a nondescript one of the second or even third tier. The most sought after sideshow attraction in this carnival is the "Geek," a half human monster that we are told eats live chickens, and you can see it for only 10 cents, one tenth of a dollar! Privately, we learn it is a man at the end of his carny career, paid for with a bottle a day and a place to sleep it off. At night when it gets quiet, the geek howls like a lost soul and must be restrained by his fellow carny hucksters. He seems to be in his own private hell until further alcohol takes hold and transports him to blissful oblivion.

Tyrone Power is a low level carny barker who steers people to Madame Zeena's act. "Hurry, hurry, hurry, step right this way," etc. Zeena (Joan Blondell) does a pretty mystifying mind reading act, except we can see her hidden partner giving her the answers from below the stage. After the suckers leave, the carnies share stories about their glory days. Madame Zeena and her husband once had a mentalist act that was the toast of Vaudeville. Now, a hopeless alcoholic, he is little better than the Geek, always looking for another drink. But when Power tries to pry the secret of their verbal "code" from them, the husband will not hear of it. Later on, Power gets rid of the husband and learns the code anyway, discarding Zeena afterwards.

The interesting thing to note is the carnies have their own code of honor – swindle the rubes but never swindle each other, seems to be their ethic. Power, apart from romancing Zeena has been with the strongman's girl (Coleen Gray), so the carnies insist he marry her.

With the secret safely memorized, Power and Gray take their act to Chicago and make a good living using the verbal code to mystify the audience at an expensive nightclub. Although it is never clear, and I think that is a flaw with the storytelling, some of Power's abilities seem to be genuine. He predicts a couple of things that are truly surprising. But – it seems like he is so obtuse he just seems to believe he is conning somebody, to the rising alarm of his wife. He meets a hard-boiled psychiatrist (Helen Walker) who tries to trick him but he successfully hoodwinks her, he thinks.

This lady turns out to be his downfall, or at least the straw that breaks the camel's back. Fired by greed, he then tries to elevate his swindle to defraud some rich people out of some big money and his partner in crime Gray tells him he is mocking God. She also queers his act in front of a prominent mark and Power must head for parts unknown, pronto.

If you've got a good sense of the circular paths these odd little film noir stories often take you can probably guess where Power ends up, but I'm going to let you find out for yourself, when you see Nightmare Alley.

The direction was by Edmund Goulding and the cinematography was by the masterful Lee Garmes (Morocco, Scarface), and the well done score is by Cyril Mockridge. The supporting cast is excellent with Joan Blondell almost unrecognizable as the frumpy Zeena, Coleen Gray as the nubile Molly, and Helen Walker as the femme fatale. Power, despite being slathered under a layer of makeup that makes him look like the portrait of Dorian Gray, just does not seem to have enough shtick to keep your undivided attention throughout the 110 minute running time - so maybe Zanuck was right? Finally, a studio "happy" ending was mandated, even though the film received little support from the studio. With the storytelling flaws and happy ending, I'm docking it a star.

You can get Nightmare Alley in a brand new DVD from Fox Film Noir. Besides a great transfer of the B&W movie, there is a decent full-length commentary by James Ursini and Alain Silver, as well as the theatrical trailer.

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Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening