Customer Reviews

Pittsburgh [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott and John Wayne star in PITTSBURGH, a very entertaining yarn set against the backdrop of coalmines and WW2.

Josie Winters (Marlene Dietrich) inspires Cash Evans (Randolph Scott) and Pittsburgh Markham (John Wayne) to leave their dull and exhausting lives of working the coalmines, and to make their mark on society and big business.

Josie at first finds love with Pitt, but as he grows more big-headed and more snobbish, she finds solace in the arms of Cash.

An accident involving Josie taking a faulty elevator down the mine to break up a fight between Pitt and Cash almost ends in her death, and forces Pitt to finally see the folly of his ways.

A great story, one that everyone will enjoy.

Available seperately or in a box set with SEVEN SINNERS and GOLDEN EARRINGS.

One of my all-time favorites, great cast, great story, and really great music. Good to see John Wayne as the heel for a change and lose a fist fight to my favorite hero, good-guy Randolph Scott. A must for all fans of John Wayne or Randolph Scott.

In 1942 John Wayne (1907-79) was a bankable box office draw at the time. He made more than 100 films by 1942, although most of them had been forgettable B westerns. Then in 1939 he made "Stagecoach" with John Ford, and his career took an upturn. Stagecoach earned 5 Oscars including Best Picture. Wayne followed up with "Dark Command" (1940) directed by Raoul Walsh, but still was making B westerns like "Shepherd of the Hills" (1941) and "In Old California" (1942).

In 1942 with the world at war, Wayne was pained by his inability to get out of his contract and enlist, while other stars and filmmakers (Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable, John Ford, etc.) were. He referred to himself in private conversations as a "fake" and merely "an on screen hero". He signed up to be an Air Raid Warden alongside longtime friend Ward Bond, but that hardly qualified as heroic. So, the chance to play in patriotic films about the war was the next best thing, even if it did intensify his own feelings of inadequacy.

FWIW - Wayne was not only contract bound not to enlist, he was married with 4 children which made him ineligible, and he suffered from various back problems as a result of 10 years of doing his own stunt work in B westerns. Nonetheless, he felt guilty for being a hero on screen and not being in the action.

Wayne's first patriotic film was "Flying Tigers" after which he made "Reunion in France". "Pittsburgh" was his third film in 1942 and his third war film, even though it takes place in Pittsburgh and focuses on civilian efforts. Wayne followed this film with several more war films - "The Fighting Seabees" in 1944, "Back to Bataan" and "They Were Expendable" in 1945 - and his classic westerns including "3 Godfathers" (1948), "Fort Apache" (1948), "Red River" (1948), "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (1949, "Rio Bravo" (1959), and "The Alamo" (1960) . Wayne was nominated for Best Actor for "Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949) and he would finally earn an Oscar for "True Grit" (1969).

Wayne was working seriously on his acting at this time in his life, and long time friend Paul Fix (1901-83) was his coach. The famous furrowed eyebrow look was developed at this time. Fix appeared in dozens of Wayne films including "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (1949), "The Fighting Kentuckian" (1949), "Big Jim McLain" (1952), "Hondo" (1953)" and El Dorado" (1967). Fix played in more than 200 films, many of them westerns, starting in the silent film era. He gave us such memorable roles as old man Maxwell in "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" (1973), and Joan Crawford's confidant Eddie in "Johnny Guitar" (1954). He's best remembered for his role as the Marshall in Sam Peckinpah's TV series "The Rifleman" (1958-65).

Wayne's former girlfriend, Marlene Dietrich (1901-92) is also in the film. She appeared in more than a dozen films, some as early as 1919, before she had her "breakthrough" in "The Blue Angel" (1929), her first film with von Sternberg. They would make 6 more films together (e.g., "Morocco", "The Scarlett Empress", "The Devil is a Woman") and Dietrich would be nominated for an Oscar ("Morocco" in 1930) and a Golden Globe (Witness for the Prosecution" in 1957 - my personal Dietrich favorite).

FWIW - Wayne and Dietrich started an affair when filming "Seven Sinners" (1940) and it continued hot and heavy through "Shepherd of the Hills" (1941) but cooled down by "The Spoilers" (1942).

Randolph Scott (1898-1987) got top billing. He started in silent films and his early career involved playing a variety of characters in a variety of films - "My Favorite Wife" (1940), "To the Shores of Tripoli" (1941), "Home Sweet Homicide" (1946) - but by the 50s he was appearing exclusively in B westerns - "Sugarfoot" (1951), "Carson City" (1952), "The Bounty Hunter" (1954), "7th Calvary" (1956), "Westbound" (1958) - most of which were directed by Budd Boetticher (7 films) or Andre de Toth (6 films). His final film, "Ride the High Country" was made in 1952 and was the first film directed by Sam Peckinpah. Scott had amassed a fortune from California real estate investments, and he retired from film making because he considered his performance in "High Country" to be a good note to go out on.

FWIW - Scott, Dietrich, and Wayne appeared together in "The Spoilers" that same year.

Look for Shemp Howard (1895-1955) of "3 Stooges" fame for a dramatic role as Shorty, the tailor. Shemp had been acting since 1932 when he broke away from "Ted Healy and His Stooges". He appeared in films with W.C. Fields, Fatty Arbuckle, Lon Chaney, and even Abbott and Costello, but was making no real headway. In 1946 when brother Curly had a stroke he re-joined the Three Stooges and they made 73 short films together.

The film was directed by Lewis Seiler (1890-1964). He worked with Tom Mix in the silent era and subsequently worked on a variety of films including "Hell's Kitchen" (1939), "Tugboat Annie Sails Again" (1940) and "Guadalcanal Diary" (1943). This was his only film with Wayne.

The film has some interesting elements. It's one of the few times Wayne plays a heel and shows a dark side (which he later brings to fruition in "The Searchers"). It's also one of the few times Wayne ever looses a fair fight (to Scott).

The NY Times said called Pittsburgh "another lusty and totally synthetic film" and "routine entertainment at best."

John Wayne fans will really enjoy this film. There are only a few films in which The Duke shows his dark side ("Red River", "Reap the Wild Wind", "The Searchers") so this is a must see. It's also interesting to watch Dietrich and Wayne who were no longer off screen lovers and compare this to their sizzle in "Seven Sinners".

FWIW - Take a look at "Boom Town" (1946) with Clark Gable playing the Wayne role, Spencer Tracy as Randolph Scott, Claudette Colbert as Dietrich and Oklahoma as Pittsburgh.

Great to see that three-cornered chemistry again; Dietrich, Wayne and Scott. Released in '42 and a bit of wartime propagnda for the Home Front but none the worse for that. Matter of fact, worth watching if only to see the way Union Labor was courted for the War Effort; that is, with open acknowledgement of the value of worker participation and promises of a fair share of the rewards for it.

Pittsburgh is supposed to begin in the 20s, but forget it. The costumes don't reflect that at all (probably would have been too expensive) and the shots of traffic are strictly contemporary. Average age of cars, app '39. But what the hell, Dietrich never looked better, and neither did Wayne or Scott. Recap of their great success, THE SPOILERS of Jack London. Then, gold-mining. Here, coal-minig. No dansing, but great brawls.

Talk about nostalgia! Two great-looking guys fighting over a beautiful woman. Works every time. Why does everythign have to be so damned Freudian?

Any movie with J Wayne is a favorite and this did not disappoint at all. Loved it. Shipper/seller was awesome. Movie arrived in 3 days. Thankyou.

If your a John Wayne fan, and are looking for a good action movie, avoid this one at ALL costs! On the otherhand, if your looking for a talky melodrama, then this one is for you. You can forgive Duke for being in this, as he was involved in a number of clunkers from the early 40s ("Reunion In France", "Lady For a Night", etc...); and was still not a major movie star at this point in his career.