The siren lure of show business must have had a more irresistible song in the days when stars, in the flesh, came right to towns like Pocatello, Idaho and Biloxi, Mississippi. The dreams were delivered fresh and piping hot, not through the many scrims of television and movie screens, and not through the machinations of crafty publicists and a fawning press. That's the milieu of Green Hill, a sooty steeltown where Helen Chernen (Ida Lupino) has cut her losses and her hopes until her little sister (Joan Leslie) gets a whiff of the greasepaint and hears the roar of the crowd. Lupino up and leaves her laborer husband to propel sis right to the boulevard of broken dreams. First steps on the stampede to the top are the mediocre vaudeville duo of Jack Carson and Dennis Morgan; Leslie marries Carson but leaves him in the dust at Lupino's bidding. Soon Leslie is poised to be the toast of all Broadway, but the tinsel is turning to ashes, and she's turning against her unstoppable bulldozer of a big sister. The bookends of this story told in flashback involve an ermine wrap, a pier on New York's waterfront, and a couple of New York cops....You get the idea. The Hard Way still packs a punch (after all these years), if a punch somewhat softened with a tinge of nostalgia. This is one of Lupino's strongest roles (along with Lily in Road House), and at her best she makes you wonder why she didn't achieve the superstardom of a Davis, a Hepburn, or a Stanwyck. She's just that good.
40 Reviews
Too many husbands!...
AlsExGal22 April 2023
...And too many gray characters with the exception of Jack Carson as the sincere but simple Albert Runkel.
Even the alleged villainess of the story, Helen (Ida Lupino) starts out with the best intentions. She lives in hopeless poverty in a mill town with natural surroundings that are even ugly with coal slag and air clouded with smoke bellowing from the local factories. She doesn't want to see her sister suffer her fate - loveless marriage with never enough money - so she takes her first false step. She pushes younger sister Katie into marriage with malleable vaudevillian Albert Runkel, and uses that marriage as an excuse to leave the poverty of Green Hill and her marriage behind. Poor old underachieving Sam - Helen's husband - is never mentioned again.
The problem is that, over time, Helen forgets that she is doing what she is doing for Katie to get ahead. It's not enough that she get ahead, Katie has to be on top, and there is nobody too close or too vulnerable for Helen to step on to get Katie on the next rung of stardom. Eventually this becomes more about Helen's success with Katie as the golden goose that she is slowly choking to death.
WB emphasizes the dramatic portion of this film rather than the musical, and that is good since the two musical numbers included are underwhelming. Fortunately, WB didn't have Joan Leslie be the centerpiece of more than one of them since singing and dancing were never her forte. Also fortunately, there is at least a number by talented WB tenor Dennis Morgan. It's just too bad that the material wasn't better.
This was probably the best dramatic role Ida Lupino ever had. It's definitely worth it if you are a fan of Warner Brothers' output product in the 1940s.
A question I have - Dennis Morgan is always going on as to how the dream of all humble people is a house in the country with ten kids. But how do you support ten kids in the middle of nowhere? It seems our leading man has high ideals but not many practical ones. It would have been instructive to drop in on him in ten years and see how that "dream of all humble people" was working out for him. But I digress.
Even the alleged villainess of the story, Helen (Ida Lupino) starts out with the best intentions. She lives in hopeless poverty in a mill town with natural surroundings that are even ugly with coal slag and air clouded with smoke bellowing from the local factories. She doesn't want to see her sister suffer her fate - loveless marriage with never enough money - so she takes her first false step. She pushes younger sister Katie into marriage with malleable vaudevillian Albert Runkel, and uses that marriage as an excuse to leave the poverty of Green Hill and her marriage behind. Poor old underachieving Sam - Helen's husband - is never mentioned again.
The problem is that, over time, Helen forgets that she is doing what she is doing for Katie to get ahead. It's not enough that she get ahead, Katie has to be on top, and there is nobody too close or too vulnerable for Helen to step on to get Katie on the next rung of stardom. Eventually this becomes more about Helen's success with Katie as the golden goose that she is slowly choking to death.
WB emphasizes the dramatic portion of this film rather than the musical, and that is good since the two musical numbers included are underwhelming. Fortunately, WB didn't have Joan Leslie be the centerpiece of more than one of them since singing and dancing were never her forte. Also fortunately, there is at least a number by talented WB tenor Dennis Morgan. It's just too bad that the material wasn't better.
This was probably the best dramatic role Ida Lupino ever had. It's definitely worth it if you are a fan of Warner Brothers' output product in the 1940s.
A question I have - Dennis Morgan is always going on as to how the dream of all humble people is a house in the country with ten kids. But how do you support ten kids in the middle of nowhere? It seems our leading man has high ideals but not many practical ones. It would have been instructive to drop in on him in ten years and see how that "dream of all humble people" was working out for him. But I digress.
Lupino as barracuda
blanche-221 August 2005
Ida Lupino plays the ruthless, ambitious, domineering sister of Joan Leslie in "The Hard Way." The film starts with Lupino attempting suicide by jumping off a bridge, and the resulting story is one big flashback. Unhappily married in an ugly industrial town, Lupino sees a way out for herself and her sister, played by Joan Leslie, when two vaudevillians, Jack Carson and Dennis Morgan, come into town. Carson soon is married to Leslie and Lupino joins everyone on the road, beginning her path of destruction to make way for Leslie in the big time.
Ida Lupino does a terrific job, as does the entire cast, including a wonderful appearance by Gladys George. Leslie is fresh and young but no phenomenal musical talent, so one has to attribute Lupino's drive to her success! A very good Warners Bros. offering.
Ida Lupino does a terrific job, as does the entire cast, including a wonderful appearance by Gladys George. Leslie is fresh and young but no phenomenal musical talent, so one has to attribute Lupino's drive to her success! A very good Warners Bros. offering.
Ida Lupino & Joan Leslie excellent in brilliant, bitter minor gem...
Doylenf16 April 2001
Warning: Spoilers
If ever a fine film deserved the term "neglected", it's the rarely seen 'The Hard Way' with Ida Lupino, Joan Leslie, Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson all giving strong, believable performances. It's a gripping story, a well-told tale (in flashback) of a manipulative older sister (Lupino) who pushes her younger sister (Leslie) into a show biz career and proceeds to destroy the girl's relationship with the man who loves her (Jack Carson) because he doesn't have the status her sister deserves. Carson creates a sympathetic character of a man who is heartbroken when he loses the woman he truly loves. All four stars are at their best--and Lupino won the Best Actress citation from the prestigious New York Film Critics circle for her work. She herself wasn't at all sure how far to go to portray the woman's dark side and needed lots of assurance from director Victor Sherman that she was on track. He was more optimistic about her performance and proved right when she won the N.Y. Critics award. Equally impressive is Joan Leslie, only seventeen at the time, who had to become a bitter and dissolute woman of the world toward the end. By all means, a gritty film that established Victor Sherman as a director to be reckoned with and led to other meaty assignments. Watch for my article on Ida Lupino due for publication in FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE later this year.
Joan Leslie cartwheels her way to fame!
David-2406 September 2001
This is a very enjoyable film, with a terrific central performance from Ida Lupino. But there are times when she seems to be working harder than she needs to, so that we see her acting. This is not surprising given the very light-weight performance given by Joan Leslie. Ida has to work very hard to get anything out of her. It's a shame, because I think a great actress in the Leslie role might have turned this film into an unforgettable exploration of sisterhood. Just imagine someone like Anne Baxter or Susan Hayward in the role. The really laughable sequence is the musical number that launches Leslie to stardom. It's a horrible piece of choreography and a very ordinary song, and the routine climaxes in Leslie doing some truly ridiculous cartwheels, that would have made her the laughing stock of Broadway. Instead she is the toast of the town, and a top playwright immediately offers to write a play for her! The climax of the film is also very silly, as anyone who has worked in the theatre would know. The actions of Morgan and Leslie here are completely unbelievable.
There are shades of ALL ABOUT EVE in THE HARD WAY - although the dialogue lacks the wit of Mankiewicz. It's good to see Carson and Morgan playing more meaty roles than usual - they were both top notch performers. But the best performance in the film is given by the wonderful Gladys George, who plays an ageing stage star manipulated out of her lead role by Lupino, to be replaced by Leslie. She is funny, touching and utterly convincing in a powerhouse cameo - can't imagine her doing those cartwheels though!
There are shades of ALL ABOUT EVE in THE HARD WAY - although the dialogue lacks the wit of Mankiewicz. It's good to see Carson and Morgan playing more meaty roles than usual - they were both top notch performers. But the best performance in the film is given by the wonderful Gladys George, who plays an ageing stage star manipulated out of her lead role by Lupino, to be replaced by Leslie. She is funny, touching and utterly convincing in a powerhouse cameo - can't imagine her doing those cartwheels though!
Superb Acting Better than Script!!
churei10 March 2005
Rarely seen these days, and unavailable on tape, THE HARD WAY is a melodramatic gem, vaulted by five strong performances. True, the beginning looks as if we are going to watch 'Mildred Pierce', and, true, the ending is totally false if you know anything about the theater at all. Despite the script's weaknesses, this is a film to see, and I am glad that I have been able to obtain a copy. Ida Lupino is excellent as the grasping, obsessive, manipulative elder sister who pushes her younger sibling into show biz prominence. Lupino won the N.Y. Film Critics' honors but, surprisingly, was not nominated for an Oscar. It is a strong performance that, perhaps, needs a little shading here and there. Joan Leslie has an even more demanding role, however, in that her personality and growth is altered throughout the film. She is exquisite even though, as it often was in films of the 40's, the show-within-a-show sequences really are weak. Leslie's career ended because she was essentially blacklisted after she sued to get out of her Warner Bros. contract. (She had been considered to be the lead in 'The Constant Nymph' so some saw her emerging talents!). Jack Carson is remarkable, as he would be later in such films as 'The Tattered Dress'; Dennis Morgan gives his best acting work; and Gladys George, in a cameo, is wonderful even though it is evident the character is out-of-focus in terms of the way in which Broadway works (she never would have been given just one song in a revue). Vincent Sherman's direction is uniformly good in that it often leaps over plot contrivances and zeroes in on the performances. Leslie's acting abilities would be wasted until she free-lanced in REPEAT PERFORMANCE, BORN TO BE BAD (a better look at Broadway), and others. THE HARD WAY remains a forgotten and generally fine film.
Geat Lupino performance.
haroldg-213 August 2001
Vincent Sherman's 1943 'The Hard Way' stars Ida Lupino as an ambitious, manipulative woman who pushes her younger sister into a musical theater career, stopping at nothing to get her sister to the top. Despite her strong central performance, the film is a disappointment. It would have worked a lot better if it had been a backstage Hollywood story, like the original 'A Star Is Born,' rather then set in the world of vaudeville and the musical theater. The musical numbers were simply at odds with the typically gritty Warner Brothers 1940's production values. The film looked very noirish, and all that singing and dancing just didn't fit into the atmosphere director Sherman created. The film can't seem to make up it's mind what it wants to be, much to it's detriment.
However, Ida Lupino is first rate as the domineering older sister, who's single-minded determination to push her kid sister to the top ruins several lives, including her own. She's a perfect Warner Brothers actress, with a forceful screen personality that dominates a film much like the way Davis and Crawford did. I would not have named her best actress of the year, as the New York Film Critics did. But she's very good.
Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson also do marvelous work as a song and dance team, and the terrific Gladys George has a sad, touching vignette as an aging musical performer on the downside of her once successful career. She nearly steals the film right out from under Lupino with her moving performance in the small but flashy role. And while Joan Leslie, as the younger sister, was pretty enough and a competent actress, she's no Judy Garland (or even June Allyson, for that matter). It's quite hard to believe that she would be proclaimed the sensation of the New York musical theater world. More believable casting in the important role would have helped the film immeasurably.
All in all, the film is worth seeing for fans of the Warner Brothers melodramas of the 1940's. But as a star vehicle for one of their top studio actresses, it's not in the same league with Crawford's 'Mildred Pierce,' Davis' 'Now, Voyager,' or Lupino's final Warners film, 'Deep Valley.'
However, Ida Lupino is first rate as the domineering older sister, who's single-minded determination to push her kid sister to the top ruins several lives, including her own. She's a perfect Warner Brothers actress, with a forceful screen personality that dominates a film much like the way Davis and Crawford did. I would not have named her best actress of the year, as the New York Film Critics did. But she's very good.
Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson also do marvelous work as a song and dance team, and the terrific Gladys George has a sad, touching vignette as an aging musical performer on the downside of her once successful career. She nearly steals the film right out from under Lupino with her moving performance in the small but flashy role. And while Joan Leslie, as the younger sister, was pretty enough and a competent actress, she's no Judy Garland (or even June Allyson, for that matter). It's quite hard to believe that she would be proclaimed the sensation of the New York musical theater world. More believable casting in the important role would have helped the film immeasurably.
All in all, the film is worth seeing for fans of the Warner Brothers melodramas of the 1940's. But as a star vehicle for one of their top studio actresses, it's not in the same league with Crawford's 'Mildred Pierce,' Davis' 'Now, Voyager,' or Lupino's final Warners film, 'Deep Valley.'
Exceptional--sort of like Film Noir combined with A STAR IS BORN
planktonrules9 November 2007
This was an exceptional film--one that nearly earned a 9 and the deciding factor for me were the musical numbers which actually seemed to sometimes get in the way of the exceptional plot and acting. While this film was quite the coup for a young Joan Leslie, the real star of this film was Ida Lupino and this might just be her best performance. She plays an amoral and conniving woman who will do just about anything to make her younger sister (Leslie) a star--even use nice people like Jack Carson and Dennis Morgan to make it big. The fact that the script is so unrelenting in its way that it shows the depths to which Lupino would go made this a real standout film. Many other films of the day would have tried to soften her character more or give her a shot at redemption towards the end--a big mistake had they chosen to follow the typical formula of the day.
Aside from Lupino, the other standout actor in the film seemed to be Jack Carson, as his character had much more depth and was much more sympathetic than the usual brash character he played. Also, while their acting wasn't a huge standout, Morgan really belted out some excellent songs and I was surprised to see Leslie dance as well as she did (though I wonder if it really was her doing all the flips--you CAN'T see her face and it could have been a double).
Good, gritty entertainment--it's well worth a look.
Aside from Lupino, the other standout actor in the film seemed to be Jack Carson, as his character had much more depth and was much more sympathetic than the usual brash character he played. Also, while their acting wasn't a huge standout, Morgan really belted out some excellent songs and I was surprised to see Leslie dance as well as she did (though I wonder if it really was her doing all the flips--you CAN'T see her face and it could have been a double).
Good, gritty entertainment--it's well worth a look.
To escape a life of pity; a sisterly push.
michaelRokeefe7 November 2000
This movie is highly under rated. At the time of production, director Vincent Sherman agreed with his star, Ida Lupino; will this project hold up? The answer is...yes. The finale could be reworked a bit, but this film is appreciated more now with age.
Joan Leslie plays a young woman that has suffered a dismal life until it is discovered that she has enough talent to try the stage. Lupino is the overbearing, older sister that pushes her little sister to stardom. Soon the two woman are competing for the glory.
Good song and dance movie, evocative of the times.
Also features; Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson and Paul Cavanagh.
Joan Leslie plays a young woman that has suffered a dismal life until it is discovered that she has enough talent to try the stage. Lupino is the overbearing, older sister that pushes her little sister to stardom. Soon the two woman are competing for the glory.
Good song and dance movie, evocative of the times.
Also features; Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson and Paul Cavanagh.
Ida Lupino was Outstanding
whpratt114 June 2007
Greatly enjoyed this 1942 film starring Ida Lupino,(Mrs.Helen Chernen) who was married to a man who worked in a coal mine and Helen took care of her younger sister, Katie Chernen,(Joan Leslie). Helen hated the town they lived in and also her husband and wanted a bigger and better future for Katie. Katie met up with Albert Runkel, (Jack Carson) who worked on the stage as a song and dance team with Paul Collins, (Dennis Morgan). Katie has a great singing voice and can dance and Albert falls in love with her and gets her into his act. However, behind the scenes is Helen who is scheming to get her sister into big time show business and decides to get her sister married to Albert and runs off and leaves her husband and goes away with her sister and Albert. This story is really about the great actress Ginger Rogers and how her mother pushed her daughter into show business at all costs. They even offered Ginger Rogers a part in this picture, but she refused. Great Classic film, don't miss seeing it on TV.
Solid performances
gbill-7487722 September 2018
A couple of sisters in a grimy little town (Ida Lupino and Joan Leslie) see a chance at a way out in the form of a couple of travelling performers (Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson) who pass through. It's an interesting study in contrasts for both pairs, with Lupino being the ambitious older sister who will do most anything as an agent for her fresh-faced and innocent sister. Meanwhile, Morgan is a cynical philandering entertainer who sees right through Lupino's ambition, and Carson is his big-hearted partner who falls for Leslie.
This 'rise to fame' story is not all that original, and we go through what are some pretty predictable phases: being discovered in an ice cream shop, playing bit parts and small towns, getting a break but having to choose between 'going solo' and remaining part of an act, the inevitable strain on relationships, and living to excess once one has 'made it'. We see behind the scenes looks at rehearsals, back-biting, aging stars, and agents with casting couches.
Ida Lupino is excellent, and there is truth in the directness with which her character operates in an industry with so much falseness, but as she tramples over people in her quest to make her sister a star, we can't help but cringe a little. On the other hand, Lupino is wisely measured in her portrayal of manipulation, so that we have a degree of empathy for her, and realize she's just a business woman. In one scene, after exchanging glances with an agent who one woman warns is a "very fast man with his hands" she disappears into his office, and the next thing we know, her sister has the part. It's quietly very creepy, and perhaps more effective because nothing's actually shown. Lupino knows what's expected in the industry, and does it without ever betraying any angst about it. On the other hand, she's pretty ruthless in trying to maintain her control over his sister.
Joan Leslie was just 18 when the film was released, and turns in a reasonably good performance as well, with youthful enthusiasm coming through. The song and dance numbers she performs are decent but not outstanding, but I think this adds to the realism of the film; we see just how difficult it is to stand out as a true talent. Her cartwheel sequence in a flowy dress is perhaps her best, but even this smacks of an amateur.
The film has a bit of a B-movie vibe, and I think this adds to the realism as well. It gets a tad melodramatic so I wouldn't call it a great film, but the performances are strong, including those of Carson and Morgan, and there are no lulls in the story-telling. I thought it was interesting that a film that shows some of the ugly side of the business stars an 18-year-old who would later be blacklisted by powerful studio executive Jack Warner just 3 or 4 years later, and after she had worked in films starring Bogart, Cooper, and Cagney as a teenager. It was also interesting to read that it was based on Ginger Rogers's relationships with her stage-mother, Lela E. Rogers, and first husband. Worth watching.
This 'rise to fame' story is not all that original, and we go through what are some pretty predictable phases: being discovered in an ice cream shop, playing bit parts and small towns, getting a break but having to choose between 'going solo' and remaining part of an act, the inevitable strain on relationships, and living to excess once one has 'made it'. We see behind the scenes looks at rehearsals, back-biting, aging stars, and agents with casting couches.
Ida Lupino is excellent, and there is truth in the directness with which her character operates in an industry with so much falseness, but as she tramples over people in her quest to make her sister a star, we can't help but cringe a little. On the other hand, Lupino is wisely measured in her portrayal of manipulation, so that we have a degree of empathy for her, and realize she's just a business woman. In one scene, after exchanging glances with an agent who one woman warns is a "very fast man with his hands" she disappears into his office, and the next thing we know, her sister has the part. It's quietly very creepy, and perhaps more effective because nothing's actually shown. Lupino knows what's expected in the industry, and does it without ever betraying any angst about it. On the other hand, she's pretty ruthless in trying to maintain her control over his sister.
Joan Leslie was just 18 when the film was released, and turns in a reasonably good performance as well, with youthful enthusiasm coming through. The song and dance numbers she performs are decent but not outstanding, but I think this adds to the realism of the film; we see just how difficult it is to stand out as a true talent. Her cartwheel sequence in a flowy dress is perhaps her best, but even this smacks of an amateur.
The film has a bit of a B-movie vibe, and I think this adds to the realism as well. It gets a tad melodramatic so I wouldn't call it a great film, but the performances are strong, including those of Carson and Morgan, and there are no lulls in the story-telling. I thought it was interesting that a film that shows some of the ugly side of the business stars an 18-year-old who would later be blacklisted by powerful studio executive Jack Warner just 3 or 4 years later, and after she had worked in films starring Bogart, Cooper, and Cagney as a teenager. It was also interesting to read that it was based on Ginger Rogers's relationships with her stage-mother, Lela E. Rogers, and first husband. Worth watching.
An unforgettable movie-it still holds up after 56 years
none-8514 December 1998
The stars- Lupino, Leslie, Morgan and Carson give great performances. Leslie was only 17 when she made this movie- she gives the best performance of her career. Morgan was always underrated as both a singer and actor. Lupino should have gotten the Academy Award for this. The movie has drama plus good songs from an earlier time. It's surprising, but Leslie was essentially finished as a star at 25. She was delectable.
Carson and Lupino shine amid the grit
Piltdown_Man8 November 2007
Jack Carson can appear to chew the scenery a bit when viewed through the prism we hold in 2007, but this is really a wonderful performance by him. In some ways, he almost steals the show.
But Lupino, who I always love, again brings her energy and her great wide-eyed sadness to bear in a way that overwhelms everything. She was always a force to be reckoned with!
The stock footage which places us in or around Pittsburgh has a shot of 5 smokestacks which I swear still exist today...as part of a Pittsburgh area mall/development which kept them as a talisman to the age of steel...though I could be wrong. I do know this, however, they definitely weren't shot on the back lot in Culver City!
Pilt
But Lupino, who I always love, again brings her energy and her great wide-eyed sadness to bear in a way that overwhelms everything. She was always a force to be reckoned with!
The stock footage which places us in or around Pittsburgh has a shot of 5 smokestacks which I swear still exist today...as part of a Pittsburgh area mall/development which kept them as a talisman to the age of steel...though I could be wrong. I do know this, however, they definitely weren't shot on the back lot in Culver City!
Pilt
"Eat it up, baby!"
moonspinner5521 October 2016
Overdrawn soaper has Ida Lupino managing kid sister Joan Leslie's career in the musical theater, which includes squeezing out early song-and-dance partner Jack Carson. Story begins as a growing-pains melodrama, eventually exchanging teen-tears for backstabbing backstage business. Screenplay by Daniel Fuchs and Peter Viertel uncomfortably turns Carson's character into a sap, while Lupino's eyes continue to glitter like those of a wicked queen. If director Vincent Sherman had a good sense of camp, this might have been a juicy tale; but Sherman is too square and sincere, laying on us the old stardom routine of too much, too soon. Why is it that Leslie's "Katie" is made so innocent of her sister's hard-nosed tactics? Had she been a little conniver herself, there might have been something for Joan Leslie to play. As it is, Lupino gets all the tough talk while Leslie looks stricken, the starlet who fights her own fame from the footlights. ** from ****
Great film; surprising acting from Jack Carson
JulieKelleher574 May 2000
This was a terrific film. I was riveted as I watched the story unfold. Ida Lupino, fast becoming one of my favorites, was absolutely magnificent as the stage sister, a "Svengali" using her sibling to propel both of them out of poverty. No wonder I don't go to the movies much -- I'd rather stay home and watch performances such as Miss Lupino's!
I was a bit confused by the blossoming relationship between Leslie's and Morgan's characters (though they both gave noteworthy performances). It could have been built up more, since I thought I missed something when the relationship evolved to its resolution. A small flaw.
But the best part of the film was an unusually strong and moving performance from Jack Carson. He is known more for his comic relief (I hate comic relief!) roles in such films as "Mildred Pierce." Heres, Mr. Carson presented a three-dimensional character that you could not help but feel bad for. A pleasant surprise which only added to a must-see film.
I was a bit confused by the blossoming relationship between Leslie's and Morgan's characters (though they both gave noteworthy performances). It could have been built up more, since I thought I missed something when the relationship evolved to its resolution. A small flaw.
But the best part of the film was an unusually strong and moving performance from Jack Carson. He is known more for his comic relief (I hate comic relief!) roles in such films as "Mildred Pierce." Heres, Mr. Carson presented a three-dimensional character that you could not help but feel bad for. A pleasant surprise which only added to a must-see film.
Stage Sister
bkoganbing24 August 2017
Ida Lupino and Joan Leslie play a pair of sisters in The Hard Way. Leslie's your ordinary American teenager from the 30s and Lupino is her older sister and acts more like a mother. Both are from a sleepy small town and would dearly like to escape it. Leslie with her talents of singing and dancing and Lupino as her Jo Van Fleet like stage sister.
Their meal ticket turns out to be traveling song and dance team Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson. Lupino pushes Leslie into marriage with Carson, but Morgan sees right through her schemes always.
The Hard Way boasts a lot of musical numbers some just portions showing the rise of Leslie. When she does do her dancing it was very reminiscent of Marilyn Miller who had died in 1936. Having seen all three of Miller's films two of them were versions of stage musicals she starred on Broadway I could see the resemblance quite clearly. So would have a 1943 studio audience. Leslie becomes quite the party animal as Miller was reputed to be.
There's a great bit in the film for Gladys George who plays an over the hill musical comedy star. In her rehearsal scene on stage and later in a bar with Lupino, Lupino achieves her desired result.
Structurally the film is told in flashback the same way another 1943 Warner Brothers film The Big Shot. Both are told from the same perspective by the top billed player Ida Lupino here and Humphrey Bogart in the other film.
Ida Lupino really shines in this movie and the rest of the cast gives her great support.
Their meal ticket turns out to be traveling song and dance team Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson. Lupino pushes Leslie into marriage with Carson, but Morgan sees right through her schemes always.
The Hard Way boasts a lot of musical numbers some just portions showing the rise of Leslie. When she does do her dancing it was very reminiscent of Marilyn Miller who had died in 1936. Having seen all three of Miller's films two of them were versions of stage musicals she starred on Broadway I could see the resemblance quite clearly. So would have a 1943 studio audience. Leslie becomes quite the party animal as Miller was reputed to be.
There's a great bit in the film for Gladys George who plays an over the hill musical comedy star. In her rehearsal scene on stage and later in a bar with Lupino, Lupino achieves her desired result.
Structurally the film is told in flashback the same way another 1943 Warner Brothers film The Big Shot. Both are told from the same perspective by the top billed player Ida Lupino here and Humphrey Bogart in the other film.
Ida Lupino really shines in this movie and the rest of the cast gives her great support.
Feminism and the American Dream in One Movie!
BENNYTI21 April 2006
Warning: Spoilers
The viewpoint of the movie was one of disapproval of Ida Lupino's character's selfish and manipulative actions to elevate herself out of a hopeless existence. But she was in fact a valiant feminist who was ahead of her time. Remember, Ida in real life was a trailblazer herself in a time when movie production was a men's only club.
Most of the reviews take the 1940s view that Ida depicted a monster who forced her sister to become a star. But in fact Ida didn't force anyone to do anything against their will. The key scene is at the audition where Joan Leslie's character wants to be a star but is too bashful to charge up to the stage after the drunk aging star bombs out. In that moment Ida's character provides the literal push Joan needed to get up on stage and become a star. Joan wanted to be a star and she proves in that moment that she had the talent. She only lacked the confidence, savvy and connections that her sister provided in spades.
Ida's character in "The Hard Way" is flawed, but in the prism of post-modern feminist society, is hardly a monster. Like many successful men and women in real life, captains of industry, CEOs, union leaders, politicians, star athletes and lawyers, Ida's character didn't know when to turn off the drive the succeed after she had succeeded (like sports star Michael Jordan).
Joan Leslie's character had attained fame and riches and wanted to stop and smell the roses and live happily ever after with the Prince Charming-like Dennis Morgan, but Ida's character couldn't stop competing. That was the real tragedy of the movie and it happens in real life to successful people every day across capitalistic America. These people rise out of humble beginnings and are driven towards the goal of attaining The American Dream, but there is no joy, only relief and the need to keep going in the same manic manner, with no peace of mind.
I have met many Ida's in my life and they are tortured souls. They just can't let up and relax. They can't play fair when there is nothing at stake. They can't stop manipulating when they come home from the office. They alienate friends and family. The thing that gives them career success gives them personal failure.
This movie accurately captures a true human experience, the dark side of achieving your dreams. This dark side is now experienced in the 2000s by both men and women. That's why this movie is still so contemporary and fresh when so many acclaimed movies of that era, like "The Little Foxes", fade like a prom corsage. "The Hard Way" is a neglected classic.
Most of the reviews take the 1940s view that Ida depicted a monster who forced her sister to become a star. But in fact Ida didn't force anyone to do anything against their will. The key scene is at the audition where Joan Leslie's character wants to be a star but is too bashful to charge up to the stage after the drunk aging star bombs out. In that moment Ida's character provides the literal push Joan needed to get up on stage and become a star. Joan wanted to be a star and she proves in that moment that she had the talent. She only lacked the confidence, savvy and connections that her sister provided in spades.
Ida's character in "The Hard Way" is flawed, but in the prism of post-modern feminist society, is hardly a monster. Like many successful men and women in real life, captains of industry, CEOs, union leaders, politicians, star athletes and lawyers, Ida's character didn't know when to turn off the drive the succeed after she had succeeded (like sports star Michael Jordan).
Joan Leslie's character had attained fame and riches and wanted to stop and smell the roses and live happily ever after with the Prince Charming-like Dennis Morgan, but Ida's character couldn't stop competing. That was the real tragedy of the movie and it happens in real life to successful people every day across capitalistic America. These people rise out of humble beginnings and are driven towards the goal of attaining The American Dream, but there is no joy, only relief and the need to keep going in the same manic manner, with no peace of mind.
I have met many Ida's in my life and they are tortured souls. They just can't let up and relax. They can't play fair when there is nothing at stake. They can't stop manipulating when they come home from the office. They alienate friends and family. The thing that gives them career success gives them personal failure.
This movie accurately captures a true human experience, the dark side of achieving your dreams. This dark side is now experienced in the 2000s by both men and women. That's why this movie is still so contemporary and fresh when so many acclaimed movies of that era, like "The Little Foxes", fade like a prom corsage. "The Hard Way" is a neglected classic.
You've got something that I'v never had. You've got me to guide you.
sol-kay29 August 2011
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** After being fished out of the Hudson River by the police Helen Chernen, Ida Lupino, lays dying in her hospital bed as she refuses to tell the police and hospital staff her true identity. Helen then goes into a long long, over 100 minutes, flashback reflecting on the events that brought her there.
As we soon find out Helen was obsessed in making her pretty and a bit naive, in what it takes to make it to the top, teenage sister Katie, Joan Leslie, a theater singing and movie, TV wasn't invented yet, star and moved heaven and earth to get her there. On her way in making Katie the biggest thing that ever hit Broadway since the great white way itself she hurt a lot of people in the process. Some of them that ended up dead and buried before he film "The Hard Way" was finally over. Now with her life ebbing away Helen realizes what a mistake she made and is more then willing, by refusing medical help, to pay for what she did.
It all started back in Greenhill Pa. when Katie attended a song and dance act one Saturday evening at the local theater. The act consisting of Albert Runkel & Paul Collins, Jack Carson & Dennis Morgan, so impressed Katie that later at town soda joint she did an imitation of act that Albert Runkel,going in to get a drink, just happened to see. Told that she's got talent and that he knows how to cultivate it Albert soon got Katie's big sister Helen, who at first thought that he was just a dirty old man, to go along with him. Runkel soon had both Helen and Katie head for Broadway and, if all went right turning west to Hollywood, make in big in the world of show business.
It's really Helen who pulled all he strings to get her kid sister Katie acting dancing and singing parts even going as far as splitting her and Albert, who by then Katie was married to, up that lead to his going downhill as a song & dance man. Keeping Albert away from his estranged wife Katie, who still loved the guy, lead to Albert blowing his brains out when he saw, by being cut from his latest song & dance gig, his once promising career going straight down the toilet bowl. With all the success that Katie achieved she soon became very despondent in being manipulated by her big sister Helen and wanted out only to have her tighten the screws on her.
***SPOILERS*** With her having total control of Katie Helen started to lose it when the person that she was secretly in love with Katie's late husband Ablert's partner song & dance man, and now band leader, Paul Collins fell in love with her and the two soon planned to tie the knot. Doing her best to brake up the loving couple Helen drove so hard in having her making it big on Broadway that it lead an emotionally drained Katie to have a complete nervous breakdown. This all happened on Katie's big night on the Broadway stage,in front of over 1000 people, in what was to be the breakout performance in her career. Knowing now that she blew it, her sister Katie big chance, all Helen could now do is take a long walk off a short pier and dunk herself into the cold dark and dirty Hudson River. In a way Helen did something positive in doing herself in by getting out of Katie's as well as Paul's lives. With her now out of the way, in Helen making the ultimate sacrifice, Katie and Paul can now go on with their already shattered, by Helen, lives and in time forget all the hurt and damage that Helen bought to them.
As we soon find out Helen was obsessed in making her pretty and a bit naive, in what it takes to make it to the top, teenage sister Katie, Joan Leslie, a theater singing and movie, TV wasn't invented yet, star and moved heaven and earth to get her there. On her way in making Katie the biggest thing that ever hit Broadway since the great white way itself she hurt a lot of people in the process. Some of them that ended up dead and buried before he film "The Hard Way" was finally over. Now with her life ebbing away Helen realizes what a mistake she made and is more then willing, by refusing medical help, to pay for what she did.
It all started back in Greenhill Pa. when Katie attended a song and dance act one Saturday evening at the local theater. The act consisting of Albert Runkel & Paul Collins, Jack Carson & Dennis Morgan, so impressed Katie that later at town soda joint she did an imitation of act that Albert Runkel,going in to get a drink, just happened to see. Told that she's got talent and that he knows how to cultivate it Albert soon got Katie's big sister Helen, who at first thought that he was just a dirty old man, to go along with him. Runkel soon had both Helen and Katie head for Broadway and, if all went right turning west to Hollywood, make in big in the world of show business.
It's really Helen who pulled all he strings to get her kid sister Katie acting dancing and singing parts even going as far as splitting her and Albert, who by then Katie was married to, up that lead to his going downhill as a song & dance man. Keeping Albert away from his estranged wife Katie, who still loved the guy, lead to Albert blowing his brains out when he saw, by being cut from his latest song & dance gig, his once promising career going straight down the toilet bowl. With all the success that Katie achieved she soon became very despondent in being manipulated by her big sister Helen and wanted out only to have her tighten the screws on her.
***SPOILERS*** With her having total control of Katie Helen started to lose it when the person that she was secretly in love with Katie's late husband Ablert's partner song & dance man, and now band leader, Paul Collins fell in love with her and the two soon planned to tie the knot. Doing her best to brake up the loving couple Helen drove so hard in having her making it big on Broadway that it lead an emotionally drained Katie to have a complete nervous breakdown. This all happened on Katie's big night on the Broadway stage,in front of over 1000 people, in what was to be the breakout performance in her career. Knowing now that she blew it, her sister Katie big chance, all Helen could now do is take a long walk off a short pier and dunk herself into the cold dark and dirty Hudson River. In a way Helen did something positive in doing herself in by getting out of Katie's as well as Paul's lives. With her now out of the way, in Helen making the ultimate sacrifice, Katie and Paul can now go on with their already shattered, by Helen, lives and in time forget all the hurt and damage that Helen bought to them.
Hard edged view of a climber who let's nothing stand in her way
jjnxn-113 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Not quite as good as "The Man I Love", with a real Hayes office cop out of an ending, but Ida offers her usual superior performance.
Joan Leslie isn't bad but if a stronger actress with more musical talent than she had played the other sister this would have been a better film. The character, the object of Ida's burning ambition, is supposed to be a marvel of the age-talented beyond measure. Joan's odd cartwheel dancing and average singing voice tend to make the viewer feel Ida is somewhat deluded. Judy Garland would have been ideal and a fascinating screen partner for Ida. She was the right age at the time and this would have certainly offered more of a challenge than the films she turned out at MGM that year. It would have made the movie something special but Metro never would have loaned her out so put that down to wishful thinking.
Ida is one hard grasping number in this, amazingly this is the one performance that she ever won any prestigious award for, the New York Film Critics Circle Award incredibly not followed by an Oscar nod, she was never recognized by that body to their discredit. Her fine work is matched by Jack Carson and in a career best performance Dennis Morgan. Gladys George shines bright in a small role stealing her too few scenes.
The script could be better but this is worth watching for all the terrific acting it contains.
Joan Leslie isn't bad but if a stronger actress with more musical talent than she had played the other sister this would have been a better film. The character, the object of Ida's burning ambition, is supposed to be a marvel of the age-talented beyond measure. Joan's odd cartwheel dancing and average singing voice tend to make the viewer feel Ida is somewhat deluded. Judy Garland would have been ideal and a fascinating screen partner for Ida. She was the right age at the time and this would have certainly offered more of a challenge than the films she turned out at MGM that year. It would have made the movie something special but Metro never would have loaned her out so put that down to wishful thinking.
Ida is one hard grasping number in this, amazingly this is the one performance that she ever won any prestigious award for, the New York Film Critics Circle Award incredibly not followed by an Oscar nod, she was never recognized by that body to their discredit. Her fine work is matched by Jack Carson and in a career best performance Dennis Morgan. Gladys George shines bright in a small role stealing her too few scenes.
The script could be better but this is worth watching for all the terrific acting it contains.
BW killed it.
gkeith_128 September 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Minus one for no color. Minus one for Leslie weak singing voice but dubbed. Minus one Jack not funny. Minus one Dennis not funny.
A downer movie. I was looking forward to my favorites Jack and Dennis being in their usual hilarious film. It didn't happen here.
Leslie was not convincing at being a super-talented character or being super beautiful. I liked her better in Yankee Doodle Dandy. In her long gown in the straight play here, she reminded me of Deanna Durbin.
Lupino was very talented. Does the harsh role well.
Gladys George super-talented, as always.
The female playwright seemed very nice, and the actress portraying her seemed quite competent to do the job.
A downer movie. I was looking forward to my favorites Jack and Dennis being in their usual hilarious film. It didn't happen here.
Leslie was not convincing at being a super-talented character or being super beautiful. I liked her better in Yankee Doodle Dandy. In her long gown in the straight play here, she reminded me of Deanna Durbin.
Lupino was very talented. Does the harsh role well.
Gladys George super-talented, as always.
The female playwright seemed very nice, and the actress portraying her seemed quite competent to do the job.
Great Behind The Scenes Melodrama
prometheeus1 February 2008
Joan Leslie was 18 when this movie got released. She'd already worked with Bogart at 15 in High Sierra, Cooper at 16 in Sergeant York, and Cagney at 17 in Yankee Doodle Dandy. This was her first film following Yankee.
Ida Lupino the Brit born actress who owned her part as the Big Wicked Sister from Hell in this film. Ida won the NY Film Critic's Circle Award for Best Actress with her performance herein.
Along with wonderful cinematography by the legendary James Wong Howe.
Gladys and Paul were really good with their roles. Dennis was perfect as Jack's show biz partner. Same with Sam who played the father to the Joan and Ida in his small role as a hard working man without much money.
But Jack Carson was poignant, powerful, and completely believable as Joan's suffering husband. You could feel that he wanted to make it on his own but that his own ego also wouldn't let him get a free ride by living off of Joan's newfound, popular, and increasing fame.
All that got shown in this film version of behind the scenes backstabbing is well acted out. Everyone knows that this environment does exist.
I saw this film last Friday night Jan 25 with Joan in the audience. Before this movie started she got interviewed on-stage. What an exciting life she's had. She even mimicked Ida's Britsh accent for a few moments having us in the audience laughing along with her.
The last thing she was given before she walked off the stage was for everyone in attendance ~probably more than 1,000 ~ to stand up and sing to her "Happy Birthday to Joan" since the Sat Jan 26th was her 83rd birthday.
Hopefully, Warner Bros. will give this great film it's proper release soon! The fans that keep coming out more and more in droves to watch Film Noir are wanting more a whole lot more.
Ida Lupino the Brit born actress who owned her part as the Big Wicked Sister from Hell in this film. Ida won the NY Film Critic's Circle Award for Best Actress with her performance herein.
Along with wonderful cinematography by the legendary James Wong Howe.
Gladys and Paul were really good with their roles. Dennis was perfect as Jack's show biz partner. Same with Sam who played the father to the Joan and Ida in his small role as a hard working man without much money.
But Jack Carson was poignant, powerful, and completely believable as Joan's suffering husband. You could feel that he wanted to make it on his own but that his own ego also wouldn't let him get a free ride by living off of Joan's newfound, popular, and increasing fame.
All that got shown in this film version of behind the scenes backstabbing is well acted out. Everyone knows that this environment does exist.
I saw this film last Friday night Jan 25 with Joan in the audience. Before this movie started she got interviewed on-stage. What an exciting life she's had. She even mimicked Ida's Britsh accent for a few moments having us in the audience laughing along with her.
The last thing she was given before she walked off the stage was for everyone in attendance ~probably more than 1,000 ~ to stand up and sing to her "Happy Birthday to Joan" since the Sat Jan 26th was her 83rd birthday.
Hopefully, Warner Bros. will give this great film it's proper release soon! The fans that keep coming out more and more in droves to watch Film Noir are wanting more a whole lot more.
Too much drama, too many conflicts & too many ambitions make for a hard daily soap.
SAMTHEBESTEST11 April 2023
The Hard Way (1943) :
Brief Review -
Too much drama, too many conflicts & too many ambitions make for a hard daily soap. If you are familiar with the melodramatic and boring daily soaps on TV, then have a look at Vincent Sherman's "The Hard Way" to know how it all began. This is a perfect daily soap material for its time and an interesting one. The problem is that we have been through these conflicts and dramas so often that we are now bored of seeing them. Well, that's not a fair way to judge this one since it was okay for its time. Actually, it was too good in the first hour, but then the second half, especially the last 30 minutes, took it too hard and cheesy. The film is about two sisters and their struggle to make something big out of life-their rise and fall. Struggle > Rise > Downfall > Redemption-this is so mainstream and soapy, man. However, this film has it in a good way, at least for the first hour of it. A girl wants to be a star, and her elder sister does everything to make it possible. The girl marries a guy who loves her, but her sister keeps him away, which leads to the guy's suicide. His best friend, who has been around and has seen everything that happened, calls them murderers. The sisters return to the stage world and try to make even bigger success, but somewhere the girl knows that she is not happy and her sister is taking decisions for herself. She then falls in love with the best friend of her dead husband. Imagine how funny and rubbish this piece of writing is when you see a guy fall in love with a girl, whom he once called the murderer of his best friend. Anyways, there are some kiddish pointers like this here and there, and by the end you get used to everything-even the mediocre ending. What this film lacked the most is smart writing in the last hour. This could have had a very sensible ending in the noir zone, but it decided to become the ancestor of hell-boring daily soaps made in the future. Overall, a decent watch with good performances and lots of drama.
RATING - 6/10*
By - #samthebestest.
Too much drama, too many conflicts & too many ambitions make for a hard daily soap. If you are familiar with the melodramatic and boring daily soaps on TV, then have a look at Vincent Sherman's "The Hard Way" to know how it all began. This is a perfect daily soap material for its time and an interesting one. The problem is that we have been through these conflicts and dramas so often that we are now bored of seeing them. Well, that's not a fair way to judge this one since it was okay for its time. Actually, it was too good in the first hour, but then the second half, especially the last 30 minutes, took it too hard and cheesy. The film is about two sisters and their struggle to make something big out of life-their rise and fall. Struggle > Rise > Downfall > Redemption-this is so mainstream and soapy, man. However, this film has it in a good way, at least for the first hour of it. A girl wants to be a star, and her elder sister does everything to make it possible. The girl marries a guy who loves her, but her sister keeps him away, which leads to the guy's suicide. His best friend, who has been around and has seen everything that happened, calls them murderers. The sisters return to the stage world and try to make even bigger success, but somewhere the girl knows that she is not happy and her sister is taking decisions for herself. She then falls in love with the best friend of her dead husband. Imagine how funny and rubbish this piece of writing is when you see a guy fall in love with a girl, whom he once called the murderer of his best friend. Anyways, there are some kiddish pointers like this here and there, and by the end you get used to everything-even the mediocre ending. What this film lacked the most is smart writing in the last hour. This could have had a very sensible ending in the noir zone, but it decided to become the ancestor of hell-boring daily soaps made in the future. Overall, a decent watch with good performances and lots of drama.
RATING - 6/10*
By - #samthebestest.
Lupino and Leslie take centre stage in story about the pitfalls of success.
alexanderdavies-9938230 August 2017
"The Hard Way" just about sums up the plot of the film. It is an exercise in how achieving success can come with its own price tag. The events that unfold, take place via a flashback after the opening scene shows Ida Lupino being picked up by the police. Lupino plays a character who's life and that of her younger sister (Joan Leslie), is confined to being stuck in a rut in a small, unimportant town. They both struggle on a daily basis until Leslie displays a natural talent for singing and dancing. As a result, Lupino uses every trick and advantage at her disposal in pushing her sister to the top in show business. The older sister doesn't care who she has to use or who gets hurt in the process. After a while, Leslie begins to develop a conscience regarding her sister's behaviour and the problems begin..... We are given a more accurate portrayal of how showbusiness tends to function in an undiluted form. Jack Carson and Dennis Morgan play a vaudeville act who are initially of some use to Lupino. Carson does very well as he is successfully cast against type. He usually was cast in light-hearted films at "Warner Bros" as well- meaning but clumsy characters. In "The Hard Way," he is a more tragic character and a victim to the scheming that goes on. Ida Lupino gives one of the best performances of her career and she bristles with a fiery passion. Joan Leslie compliments her fellow lead perfectly and is given a more mature role to play. The writing is of a high calibre, as is the direction.
the hard way
mossgrymk16 November 2021
This film is mostly shlock, of course, albeit rather watchable schlock unlike the low grade sausage that was being simultaneously ground out by, say, Mickey Rooney or Kay Francis. Indeed, every so often, like in the scenes that contemplate feckless failure that feature Jack Carson and Gladys George, the viewer is reminded that the screenplay is by two of the better twentieth century American novelists, Daniel Fuchs and Peter Viertel. But then we cut away to over the top Ida and bland Joan or a boring song and dance routine with Dennis Morgan and we are suddenly jarred back to Vincent Sherman directed mediocrity. Give it a C plus.
PS...Even to 1940s unliberated women the sight of Joan Leslie giving up a successful acting career for ten (!!!) kids with Dennis Morgan must have elicited more than a few "Better you than me, hon"'s.
PS...Even to 1940s unliberated women the sight of Joan Leslie giving up a successful acting career for ten (!!!) kids with Dennis Morgan must have elicited more than a few "Better you than me, hon"'s.
The hard-not-to-get-bored way
AAdaSC5 April 2016
Ida Lupino (Helen) wants the best for her younger sister Joan Leslie (Katie) and pushes her into a showbiz career. Lupino is pretty ruthless and Leslie is pretty useless. Still, Leslie makes it to the top but there is a cost – plenty of heartbreak and ruthless behaviour. Lupino has to answer for her actions.
The film is told in a long flashback. And it's pretty long. Way too long. It gets boring. Lupino holds together the film as she is always watchable but the whole premise of the film is utterly unbelievable. There is just no way that so much credit would be given to Joan Leslie for possessing what seems to be zero talent. She just doesn't convince as someone with extraordinary talent. Or any talent, for that matter. She can't sing and she can't dance. And she's not that attractive. Lupino's screen presence dominates her in every scene and the infatuation that double-act Dennis Morgan (Paul) and Jack Carson (Albert) show towards her is a complete nonsense.
I actually thought that this film was deliberately portraying Leslie as a rubbish singer and dancer so that the heartache would come from her realizing that she was just never any good. Well, that, surprisingly, is not what happens.
Set against this is a good performance in an all-too-brief scene with has-been star Gladys George (Lily). The film really could have used more of her.
I suspect the film is meant to have some kind of meaning with Lupino wearing the white dress symbolic of her younger sister's dreams. It is really Lupino who has the dreams and so ends up wearing the dress instead of Leslie. The songs and dancing are unmemorable and the story drags.
The film is told in a long flashback. And it's pretty long. Way too long. It gets boring. Lupino holds together the film as she is always watchable but the whole premise of the film is utterly unbelievable. There is just no way that so much credit would be given to Joan Leslie for possessing what seems to be zero talent. She just doesn't convince as someone with extraordinary talent. Or any talent, for that matter. She can't sing and she can't dance. And she's not that attractive. Lupino's screen presence dominates her in every scene and the infatuation that double-act Dennis Morgan (Paul) and Jack Carson (Albert) show towards her is a complete nonsense.
I actually thought that this film was deliberately portraying Leslie as a rubbish singer and dancer so that the heartache would come from her realizing that she was just never any good. Well, that, surprisingly, is not what happens.
Set against this is a good performance in an all-too-brief scene with has-been star Gladys George (Lily). The film really could have used more of her.
I suspect the film is meant to have some kind of meaning with Lupino wearing the white dress symbolic of her younger sister's dreams. It is really Lupino who has the dreams and so ends up wearing the dress instead of Leslie. The songs and dancing are unmemorable and the story drags.
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