User Reviews

George Raft plays Eddie Ace, head of the state's Tomahawk Club. Ace is a behind-the-scenes political fixer, a man who can deliver votes. Nowadays he'd be seen as a cross between a machine boss, a lobbyist and a political consultant, but without the body odor of the last two.

Sylvia Sidney plays Margaret Wyndham Chase, a glamorous, spoiled society dame with three names. Chase is a wealthy, ambitious Congresswoman with ice water in her veins who now intends to be elected governor. "I know what I want and I'm going to get it," she says. We believe her.

When Margaret Wyndham Chase meets Mr. Ace in this political romance, the sparks will fly, the tears will flow and a woman will learn her place even if she makes it to the governor's mansion. Chase wants Ace's support for her campaign to win the party's nomination. She knows he's essential because he can mobilize his machine to deliver the convention votes she needs. She has manipulated her husband in their loveless marriage, cozied up to newspaper publishers and fat cats and, being a beautiful woman, has never hesitated to use her charm to win over men with power. She thinks Ace will not be a problem. She's wrong.

"Well, are you going to support my nomination?" she asks him after a cozy dinner, dancing at a posh nightclub and an evening at her country home. "No," Ace says. "You're not? Why?" "Because beautiful women don't belong in politics," Ace tells her. "Where do they belong?" "Where do you think?"

I'm probably one of the few people around who enjoys Mr. Ace. The movie was made when Raft's career was on the downslide. He was no actor, which he proved in all of his movies, including this one. Sidney was a fine actress with great big eyes and a memorable face, but she, too, had seen her career begin to contract after some first-class roles in the Thirties. The problem with Mr. Ace, from my point of view, however, is not Raft. The first 30 minutes of the movie are spent establishing our three-named heroine as such an unlikable, power- hungry, ambitious politician that I became impatient watching. It's difficult later to accept her as a woman who has learned her lesson, much less like her. Sidney makes it work, but those first 30 minutes are a bore.

Then there is the lesson she learns. Mr. Ace, while a movie of its time, seems to hit harder than it needs the old saw about a woman who loses her femininity if she chooses to play at men's' games, and can be redeemed only by a man's love. Chase comes to her senses only after we have to listen to Sidney give us this bit of male-written insight. "A woman can be clever and shrewd. She can think brains more important than heart because she feels above everything else. Some little thing may happen...an ash may grow too long on a cigarette...a man may look too long in her eyes...suddenly everything collapses...she's afraid..."

Still, all the political shenanigans the movie shows us are fun. I've always liked Sylvia Sidney and she does a fine job here. Playing against Raft must have been a challenge, but she makes the chemistry look interesting. And -- I'll admit it -- I'm a sucker for George Raft. As wooden as he is, he still has that indefinable movie presence that makes him, for me, at least, watchable. I think some of his unexpected success in the movies is because, while he looks like a believable, emotionless tough guy, he also seems to be the kind of guy you'd like on your side. I can't explain it, but I enjoy watching him in most of his movies, even the bad ones...perhaps the bad ones most of all.

If you can get past the initial unlikeability of the heroine and the inherent sexism of the plot, give Mr. Ace a try. Just don't read the reviews first. (And is the movie worth seven stars? Objectively, no. But if you like Raft and behind-the-scenes political maneuvering...why not?)

A successful woman congressman (Sylvia Sidney) finds herself on the road to state governor, yet blocked by the manipulations of a sinister adviser (George Raft). She's involved in scandal thanks to a loveless marriage and the supposed affair she has with Raft that she claims is a lie in order for Raft to maintain control over her. The performance of Sylvia Sidney is what makes this an interesting political thriller, one of the few films of Hollywood's golden age to desk with women with political clout. Raft, however, isn't as lucky.

For one thing, his character seems to be almost mystical, of course in an evil way, and doesn't really have a we rounded, full drawn out character. Sidney, not regularly making films anymore after returning to the stage, is still quite lovely, almost exotic looking, and it's a far cry from the waifs she played on screen during the depression, and certainly not close to the old biddies she began playing only a few years later on TV and in occasional film roles. Supporting performances by Sara Haden and Stanley Ridges are excellent.

This really could have been a powerful commentary on politics as seen through the woman's angle, much like the classics "State of the Union" and "All the Kings Men", and obscure sleepers like "Alias Nick Beal" and "The Magnificent Yankee". But some bizarre unbelievable twists make this fall apart in the last quarter. It is a sign, however, of hopes in the independent film industry that strong roles for women went far beyond wives, mothers, nurses and secretaries. Sidney's great performance makes this a notch above what it could have been.

Producer: Benedict Bogeaus. Copyright 2 August 1946 by Tivoli Productions, Inc. Released through United Artists. Presented by Benedict Bogeaus. New York release: 28 September 1946 (at the Globe). U.S. release: 2 August 1946. U.K. release: 16 September 1946. Australian release: 6 March 1947. Sydney release at the Empire: 1 March 1947. 7,649 feet. 85 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Congresswoman will stop at nothing to be elected Governor - including dealing with shady political racketeer, Mr Ace.

COMMENT: Not a film that's often seen - and no wonder! It's unbelievably dull. Makes you wonder how any producer not madly besotted with his leading lady would agree to finance such a tepid, actionless, talky script. As a political drama, it packs no punches, as romantic fluff, it generates no heat. All it has going for it is Karl Struss' crisply toned photography, and Sid Silvers' energetic playing of a rather thankless role as Ace's henchman.

The principals are as lackluster as the script. Raft could play Ace in his sleep. Sidney's character is not attractively written but she acts it with such exaggerated venom as to alienate any member of the audience who might still be awake. Sara Haden and Jerome Cowan try to infuse a bit of life into the proceedings but are skillfully undermined at every turn by that consummate bore, Roman Bohnen.

As for Edwin L. Marin's concentratedly flat-footed direction . . .

The plot for this romance drama is fairly basic. A well-liked woman (Sylvia Sidney) intends to become the first female elected governor of her home state. Her husband and a professor from her alma mater object to her plans. A political consultant (George Raft) objects, too, but for another reason. It doesn't matter, because she's determined to prove them all wrong and succeed anyway.

By the time they received the script for MR. ACE, Sylvia Sidney and George Raft had already appeared in a few films at Paramount. They share a very natural chemistry on screen. What I notice in their scenes together is how much respect Raft has for his leading lady. He seems to appreciate working with a top-notch actress and treats her well. Sidney shines and gives a confident performance. We believe she can be a fully self-actualized woman because of him.

Benedict Bogeaus, an independent producer, made this film. The set design rivals anything you'd find in a large scale studio production from this era. The rooms in Sidney's hotel suite are elaborately furnished. Her country estate is as fine as any country estate in the movies. And then there's the other stuff. Sidney's clothes are fabulous. So are her jewels and her carefully formed hair.

The dialogue is often coy. There's a scene when they're on the way home from a night out together, and he steals a kiss when she's falling asleep in the back of the car. He says he had to see if there's any woman in her. After the smooch ends, she asks if there was any woman in her, and he says plenty.

Raft's character runs the well-oiled political machinery in their city, usually determining who will or will not be elected. Despite their romantic escapades, he doesn't offer to support her in the election. She ends up withdrawing because of a scandal involving her husband. Later she re-enters the race as an independent candidate and at that point, Raft does support her- without her knowledge.

She is elected and tells him that she is going to clean up the political corruption, meaning her first act as governor will be to send him to prison. But she'll be there for him when he gets out. Not a typical Hollywood love story, but it worked for me. Also, I think this film succeeds where so many others fail.

Most women in studio era pictures who espouse feminist ideals surrender everything in the end, deciding they can't win in a man's world. But Sylvia Sidney's character does win, in more ways than one, and she does it because of the man she betrays but will always love. In her quest for glory, she learns many ironic truths; and so does he.