Flamingo Road (1949)

People are voting emotionally.

Memorable, crazy movie

Let's be realistic.

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Flamingo Road (1949)*** (out of 4)Soap opera with some trash thrown in is the best way to describe this Warner thriller. Lane Bellamy (Joan Crawford) decides its time to leave the circus so when they leave town she decides to stay. At first this seems like a good idea when she meets deputy sheriff Dan Reynolds (David Brian) but soon the sheriff (Sydney Greenstreet) decides to play dirty and have her thrown into jail. Once out she plans her revenge. FLAMINGO ROAD is part politics, part thriller, part soap opera and there's even some trash moments thrown in and as usual director Michael Curtiz manages to hold everything together and deliver a very entertaining film. The movie certainly isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination but there are enough very good moments to make it worth viewing and especially if you're a fan of the cast. Crawford, supporting a blonde hair color, manages to be very good here, although this certainly won't rank among her best performances. Some of the best scenes has her going on off the crooked sheriff as she makes it clear that she's not going to be pushed around by anyone. Brian is very good in his supporting role and I especially liked the weakness he managed to bring the character. Zachary Scott plays the man Crawford ends up marrying and is very good as well. Greenstreet played a lot of lovable bad guys in his career but that's not the case here because he's 100% bad and the actor steal the film playing the snake. Curtiz handles the material extremely well and he keeps everything moving at a very fast pace and thankfully things never slow down even when the plot becomes somewhat predictable. Fans of the cast are certainly going to want to check this one out.

This is one of Joan Crawford's better movies because it is so entertaining. This movie has it all: drama, snappy dialogue, memorial characters. good guys and bad guys, excellent film noir cinematography, fluid continuity, and a wonderful ending. Most commanding is Sydney Greenstreet. He carries this movie; his performance is strong and surprisingly dynamic. Before Boss Hogg there was Boss Semple and in this movie the Boss is in charge until he gets his come-uppance. Joan Crawford gives a wonderful performance as the carnival worker who gets caught up in political corruption. Her scenes with Mr. Greenstreet are the highlights of the movie. The movie treats a number of compelling themes in a straightforward manner and without becoming melodramatic.

"Flamingo Road" released in 1949 in the waning days of Joan Crawford's days at Warner Brothers, where she had a great second career after 18 years at MGM. Crawford plays a carnival girl, who decides to stay in the town after her fellow performers leave. She meets Zachary Scott, whom Crawford worked with in "Mildred Pierce." Scott played the playboy in that film, here is a weak-willed deputy sheriff who falls for Crawford - but he is controlled by the big bully sheriff (a stand out performance by Syndey Greenstreet). Crawford is a nuisance to the sheriff and a threat to the political plans he has for Zachary Scott. After he fails to run her out of town and gets her fired from her job, she stays anyway and meets - and marries - handsome David Brian, playing a hotshot businessman. It all gets quite complicated, with politics, corruption and sleaze thrown in for the storyline. Crawford is a delight here, playing her usual rags to riches kind of gal - but who did it better than she? Sure, she was in her 40's here, but she looked fantastic and played well off actor David Brian especially. Syndey Greenstreet has the performance of his career here, as the evil and corrupt sheriff who seems to have too much power to be quite believable. The film is a bit too long, and the end seems forced and tacked on, when Crawford and Greenstreet finally have it out. But - a must see for Crawford fans!

FLAMINGO ROAD begins with a carnival being run out of town. Tired of life on the road, Joan Crawford stays behind and tries to settle down in this town with the help of the town's deputy sheriff. However, the political boss (Sidney Greenstreet) can't stand Crawford since she's "from the other side of the tracks" and he has plans for the deputy to enter politics. Instead of just telling Crawford and trying to gain her friendship or understanding, he sets her up and sends her to a short stint in the work farm. When she gets out, Crawford is determined not to run but pay Greenstreet back sooner or later. However, Greenstreet is a very wicked and calculating man and spends much of the movie biding his time until the end of the film--where there is a dynamite confrontation between them.This film is a bit of an odd style, as in many ways it's like a trashy Soap Opera combined with Film Noir. The dialog is among the best I have heard and is very Noir-like--so many snappy comebacks and the dialog just crackles. And, fortunately, all the Soap elements are far less predictable than you'd think---as again and again, the characters did NOT do what you'd expect.The bottom line is that this is a quality production with exceptional acting, script and mood throughout. Provided you like older films, it's hard to imagine a person not liking this movie.