Flamingo Road (1949)

★ 7.0 1h 34m IMDb

Drama Romance

A stranded carnival dancer takes on a corrupt political boss when she marries into small-town society.

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Cast

Joan Crawford as Lane Bellamy Died 1977 · San Antonio, Texas, USA Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 1906 – May 10, 1977) was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawf...

Zachary Scott as Fielding Carlisle Died 1965 · Austin, Texas, USA Zachary Scott (21 February 1914 – 3 October 1965) was an American actor, most notable for his roles as villains and "mystery men"..

Sydney Greenstreet as Sheriff Titus Semple Died 1954 · Eastry, Kent, England, UK Sydney Hughes Greenstreet (27 December 1879 – 18 January 1954) was an English actor. He is best known for his Warner Bros. films with Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre, which include The Maltese Falcon...

David Brian as Dan Reynolds Died 1993 · New York City, New York, U.S. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. David Brian (August 5, 1914, New York City – July 15, 1993) was an American actor and dancer. Description above from the Wikipedia article David Brian, lice...

Gladys George as Lute Mae Sanders Died 1954 · Patten, Maine, USA Gladys George was an American actress. George went on the stage at the age of 3 and toured the United States, appearing with her parents. She starred on stage in the 1920s, although she had made seve...

Director Michael Curtiz

Cast Joan Crawford, Zachary Scott, Sydney Greenstreet, David Brian, Gladys George, Virginia Huston, Fred Clark, Gertrude Michael, Alice White, Sam McDaniel

John Chard 7/10 Jun 14, 2015

Ya can't go wrong in this town if you say Yep to the right people and Nope to the rest.

Flamingo Road is directed by Michael Curtiz and adapted to screenplay by Robert Wilder from his own play of the same name (with Sally Wilder). It stars Joan Crawford, Sydney Greenstreet, Zachary Scott, David Bryan and Gladys George. Music is by Max Steiner and cinematography by Ted D. McCord.

When circumstance sees Lane Bellamy (Crawford) stuck in Bolden City, she quickly finds herself embroiled in a love affair and involved in a war with political tyrant Sheriff Titus Semple (Greenstreet).

The Moody kind always cause trouble.

Southern Gothic - cum - politico melodrama with noirish tints, Flamingo Road gets above average due to high tech credits and a superbly nasty turn from Greenstreet. Essentially the pic is about a girl from the other side of the tracks making her way up the social ladder, but she has to lock horns with a nasty piece of work and battle with affairs of the heart.

Flamingo - Affluent - Road!

It's strong on narrative terms, the screenplay neatly blending the greed of political posers with almost perverse social wiles. Curtiz (Mildred Pierce/The Unsuspected) and McCord (Johnny Belinda/The Breaking Point) keep it brisk and atmospherically moody, while the impressive Greenstreet - all sweaty, ambiguous and devilish, is surrounded by a more than competent cast of supporting players.

What of Crawford? Wisely "requesting" that Curtiz be given the director's job, she's compelling and classically committed to the role. It's true to say she is too old for the character, something which her fans are known to hate reading, while both the actors playing her love interests are almost 10 years her junior - which is a bit of a reality stretch for the era. However, such is her acting ability, she gets you on side quickly, with the makers shooting her in soft focus and the writer giving her good work to use off of the page.

A strange movie in some ways, but intriguing and sharp and it's never dull. While the quality on show from both sides of the camera is most pleasing. 7/10