This week’s mystery movie was the 1956 film The Scarlet Hour, with Carol Ohmart, Tom Tryon, Jody Lawrance, James Gregory, Elaine Stritch, E.G. Marshall, Edward Binns, David Lewis, Billy Gray, Jacques Aubuchon, Scott Marlowe, Johnstone White, James F. Stone, Maureen Hurley and James Todd.
Never Let Me Go sung by Nat “King” Cole.
Screenplay by Rip Van Ronkel, Frank Tashlin and John Meredyth Lucas.
Story by Rip Van Ronkel and Frank Tashlin.
Photography by Lionel Lindon.
Art direction by Hal Pereira and Tambi Larsen.
Special photographic effects by John P. Fulton.
Process photography by Farciot Edouart.
Set decoration by Sam Comer and Frank R. McKelvy.
Costumes by Edith Head.
Edited by Everett Douglas.
Assistant director William McGarry.
Makeup by Wally Westmore.
Sound by Harold Lewis and Winston Leverett.
Music scored by Leith Stevens.
Song Never Let Me Go by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans.
Produced and directed by Michael Curtiz.
The Scarlet Hour is available on Blu-ray from Critics’ Choice Videos.
Further information on the film is available from the AFI Catalog.
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James Gregory’s birthday was Dec. 23, which was enough reason for this mystery movie. It is, as Howard Mandelbaum noted, “steamy,” with lots of good location shots of Los Angeles.
I’m guessing Bosley Crowther hated it – or possibly it was handed off to one of the alphabet soup critics…. Uh-oh. The New York Times skipped it entirely. Harrison’s Reports called it a lurid melodrama for undiscriminating moviegoers. So there.
For “Mean Monday,” we have a mystery smoker.
Update: This is Tom Tryon in the dark.
For Tuesday, we have a mysterious fellow.
Update: This is Benson Fong.
For “Hm Wednesday,” we have a mysterious executive with a very large map of Los Angeles. Also Back of the Head Guy.
Update: This is a large map of Los Angeles. Also James Gregory and Tom Tryon as Back of the Head Guy.
Brain Trust roll call: Sylvia E. (mystery movie and Monday’s and Tuesday’s mystery guests), Jenny M. (Tuesday’s mystery guest), Anne Papineau (mystery movie and Monday’s and Tuesday’s mystery guests), Howard Mandelbaum (Tuesday’s mystery guest), Mike Hawks (Tuesday’s mystery guest), B.J. Merholz (Tuesday’s mystery guest), Mary Mallory (mystery movie and Monday’s and Tuesday’s mystery guests) and Roget-L.A. (Tuesday’s mystery guest).
For “Aha Thursday,” we have this mysterious fellow and some mysterious companions.
Update: This is, from left, Jacques Aubuchon, Scott Marlowe and Richard Deacon.
We also have this mystery gent.
Update: This is E.G. Marshall.
Also this mystery fellow.
Update: This is Nat “King” Cole.
Brain Trust roll call: Mary Mallory (Wednesday’s mystery guest and Back of the Head Guy), Jenny M. (mystery movie, Monday’s and Wednesday’s mystery guests and Back of the Head Guy), B.J. Merholz (Wednesday’s Back of the Head Guy), Mike Hawks (mystery movie, Wednesday’s mystery guest and Back of the Head Guy), Sylvia E. (Wednesday’s mystery guest and Back of the Head Guy), Anne Papineau (Wednesday’s mystery guest) and Megan and Thom (Tuesday’s mystery guest).
Megan and Thom: No, it’s a theatrical release, not a TV show or made-for-TV movie.
For Friday, here’s Monday’s mystery guest after he turns on a source light.
Update: This is Tom Tryon.
And our mystery leads.
Update: This is Tom Tryon and Carol Ohmart, with Richard Collier in the background.
Brain Trust roll call: Mary Mallory (Thursday’s mystery guests), Howard Mandelbaum (mystery movie, all mystery guests and Back of the Head Guy), Charles Kjelland (mystery movie and Tuesday’s, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s mystery guests), Gary (mystery movie), Sylvia E. (Thursday’s mystery guests), Chrisbo (mystery movie, Wednesday’s mystery jeweler and Thursday’s mystery guests), Mark G. (Thursday’s mysterious nightclub singer), Megan and Thom (mystery movie, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s mystery guests), Michael Lott (mystery movie and Thursday’s mysterious nightclub singer), Incredibleinman (mystery movie, Wednesday’s mysterious jeweler and Thursday’s mystery guests), Patrick (mystery movie and all mystery guests) and Bruce Reznick (mystery movie, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s mystery guests).
Sylvia: That is going the extra mile on our mystery orchestra!
Note: Gary sends a long a reminiscence about one of the mystery cast members. Be sure to check for it Saturday!
Update: And here’s a bonus photo of Tom Tryon and Jody Lawrance. He does not approve of such goings-on!
Gary says:
Listed in the credits for The Scarlet Hour is the actress Maureen Hurley. In the summer of 1963 I was working on an off Broadway production of The Importance of Being Earnest that was produced by and starred a Maureen Hurley. The male star of the production was John Merivale who at the time was the paramour of Vivian Leigh, then starring on Broadway in Tovarich. One Sunday evening she came down to see our show and afterward was brought backstage to meet the cast and crew. It was a very brief general hello but at the least I can say that I was once introduced to Miss Leigh.
The show was at the end of its run and was scheduled to close in a few weeks and I was moving on to other work. But suddenly Miss Hurley’s good friend, Maureen O’Sullivan , told her her daughter was coming to New York after having finished her schooling in England. In an effort to revive the production Ms Hurley hired her to play the role of the young girl. And so this rather timid young girl came to the performances and watched the show for the directing from backstage beside me at my vantage point. Thus the last two weeks of my employment there I was the companion of Mia Farrow, the then unknown actress.
In retrospect it was like being a first hand observer of the changing of the guard.
When the show closed my friend Fred, the stage manager, said that he was going to go to London for a few weeks to see some shows there. I asked where he stayed in London and he said…with Vivian. I said oh, you have friends in London. Who is this Vivian? He said…Vivian Leigh. And how do you know Vivian Leigh so well? He said…you met her the same time I did. Yes, I replied…but in a very brief few minutes I didn’t get to know her so well as to go live with her! …PS Fred had a certain quality that attracted famous people. He worked in the NY theater for over 25 years and he KNEW Everyone!
ladailymirror.com 
My first thought was Burt Lancaster in “The Killers,” but he’s too big a name for a Monday and the apartment looks too nice.
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Hint: Burt Lancaster also wasn’t left-handed.
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Oh golly. Barry Nelson?
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THREE HUSBANDS. Shepperd STrudwick Monday and Benson Fong today.
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Actually how about Deception, with Paul Henreid Monday and Fong today.
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HAZARD with Frank Faylen Monday and Fong today.
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I’m pretty sure Tuesday’s guy is Benson Fong. So I’ll guess that the movie is “Three Husbands” 1950/51.
If that’s correct maybe Monday’s left-handed smoker in the shadows is Emlyn Williams (though I am not familiar with his work. I’m just going by the storyline of that film and Fong – the images so far seem to be a mixture of melancholy and light-hearted fare.)
Await your “Yea or Nay”
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Changed my mind. Now I think the movie is “The Scarlet Hour” and Tom Tryon is the Monday shadowy guy.
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Benson Fong
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Tom Tryon and Benson Fong in “The Scarlet Hour”
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Benson Fong.
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Benson Fong.
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Benson Fong
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THE SCARLET HOUR. Tom Tryon Monday and Benson Fong today.
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Benson Fong on Tuesday?
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James Gregory with BOTH Tom Tryon.
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Movie – The Scarlet Hour
Mon – Tom Tryon
Wed – James Gregory and Tom Tryon
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I’ll occupy my usual space out on the end of the limb and guess that Wednesday is Joseph Cotten as a sailboat race-winning architect with an exceedingly well equipped bar in his office.
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THE SCARLET HOUR (1956)
Monday: Tom Tryon
Wednesday: James Gregory, Tom Tryon
Thursday: Jacques Aubuchon, Scott Marlowe, Richard Deacon; E.G. Marshall; Nat ‘King’ Cole
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Could that be the back of Tom Tryon’s head?
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James Gregory and Tom Tryon in THE SCARLET HOUR.
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James Gregory and BOTHG Tom Tryon.
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James Gregory
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Tuesday’s guest is Benson Fong, but I never knew the name of today’s guest. It’s not a tv movie or series, right?
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Jacques Aubuchon, James Gonzalez, and Richard Deacon, E. G. Marshall, snd Nat King Cole.
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Nat Cole today, “Make Believe Ballroom”?
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Changed my guess, must be the Scarlet Hour, with E G Marshall, Richard Deacon, Benson Fong and Nat Cole
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The Scarlet Hour.
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Image 1- Jacques Aubuchon, Scott Marlowe and Richard Deacon
Image 2 – E.G. Marshall
Image 3 – Nat “King” Cole (trying to confirm that Nelson Riddle’s Orchestra is behind him.)
I thought Edward Binns, Elaine Stritch and Billy Gray would show up today. But maybe a very full plate tomorrow?
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Aha! Richard Deacon + E.G. Marshall + Nat “King” Cole = The Scarlet Hour
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Thursday’s final mystery fellow is the great Nat King Cole.
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Our movie is “The Scarlet Hour”. On Wednesday the actor is James Gregory. On Thursday the jeweler is Richard Deacon. The next two shots show E G Marshall and Nat King Cole.
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Thursday’s photo – Nat King Cole… The movie, “The Scarlet Hour.”
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Richard Deacon, E.G. Marshall and Nat King Cole today, making this “The Scarlet Hour.”
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Benson Fong. James Gregory, Tom Tryon, Jacques Aubuchon, Scott Marlowe, Richard Deacon, E.G. Marshall and Nat ‘King’ Cole in The Scarlet Hour from 1956.
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“The Scarlet Hour”, with Thursday being the recognizable (to me) faces of Richard Deacon, E. G. Marshall and Nat King Cole. Wednesday might be James Gregory. No clue on Monday or Tuesday. Director Michael Curtiz and Screenwriter Frank Tashlin: not an expected combination.
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Friday – Tom Tryon and Carol Ohmart
And a good ol’ music store (sigh)
Looks like Nelson Riddle did the arrangement and conducting of the song Nat Cole sings (the pre recording at Paramount Studios – Cole is listed for vocals and piano for that session) but there’s nothing I can find that confirms that those musicians in the movie are actually part of Riddle’s orchestra. So maybe that means they’re musician/actors not actually playing – just following the pre recorded version.
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Tom Tryon with Carol Ohmart and looks like Richard Deacon photobombing.
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Tom Tryon, Carol Ohmart.
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Jacques Aubuchon, Richard Deacon, E.G. Marshall, Nat King Cole, Tom Tryon and Carol Ohmart.
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Really enjoyed Gary’s remembrances. Thanks for sharing.
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