Prismark10 The Velvet Touch is a crime melodrama with Rosalind Russell as Valerie Stanton, a celebrated actress known for comedies whose career has been built up by producer Gordon Dunning.Dunning gets upset and chides Stanton when she tells him that she is going to marry Michael Morrell, an architect and by taking a break from comedies and tackle Hedda Gabler with another producer. Stanton ends up killing Dunning in a fit of anger with an award statue and another actress falls under suspicion for his death.The film is rather underwhelming and talkative almost like a stage play. Once Durning is killed early on in the film, we have flashbacks as to how Dunning and Stanton met and how later Stanton go involved with Morrell.The film livens up a bit when Sydney Greenstreet enters as a detective investigating the killing. However the acting is a bit starch, there is no mystery to the film as to even if the killer will get justice as it was made during the Hays Code era.

seymourblack-1 The star of this movie (Rosalind Russell) and its producer (who was also Russell's husband), created "Independent Artists Ltd" and for their first production, selected a story about a murder that was committed because of the conflict that existed between a top actress and her producer!! Fortunately, this wasn't autobiographical and provided the basis for an entertaining melodrama that features a colourful collection of characters, a wonderfully witty script and an on-going sense of tension that's created because of the circumstances of the murder and its unexpected repercussions. Guilt, jealousy and bitterness are just a few of the emotions that fuel the passions of the story's main characters and ensure that what takes place behind the scenes at a Broadway theatre, is every bit as the dramatic as anything that takes place on stage.For the last ten years, top Broadway star Valerie Stanton (Rosalind Russell) and her producer, Gordon Dunning (Leon Ames) have worked together on a series of light comedies that have all been highly successful. Problems arise, however, when their latest hit comes to the end of its run and Valerie decides that she wants to develop her career by taking on more serious roles. In Gordon's office, the two ex-lovers get into a heated argument because he doesn't want to end their relationship (personally or professionally). In his desperation, he also threatens to reveal some unflattering information about her past which would undoubtedly threaten her current relationship with Michael Morrell (Leo Genn) who's a well-respected architect. As their argument starts to become more physical, Valerie picks up a statuette from Gordon's desk and hits him over the head with it and then, recognising that she's killed him, leaves the theatre shortly after.Marian Webster (Claire Trevor), who had regularly been one of Valerie's co-stars during her association with Gordon, discovers the producer's dead body and is heartbroken because she'd been his lover until Valerie came along and had remained in love with him ever since. Her distress is so great that she immediately falls into a deep state of shock and has to be hospitalised. When the police investigation begins, Captain Danbury (Sydney Greenstreet) is assigned to the case and Marian Webster becomes the prime suspect because her fingerprints are the only ones found on the statuette. Unfortunately, because of her condition, Marian isn't well enough to be questioned by the police and so Danbury pursues his investigation by calling the whole theatre group together to discuss what they knew about what had transpired in Gordon's office. Nothing new seems to emerge from this process and so Marian Webster remains under suspicion and it seems that Valerie's going to get away with murder.During the weeks that follow, Valerie becomes increasingly tormented by the guilt she feels about what's happened to Marian (despite the fact that the two women hate each other) and is also fearful about whether the police will discover that she's Gordon's killer. This makes her rehearsals for Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler" extremely challenging and also makes it uncertain whether she'll ever be able to achieve her ultimate ambition and prove herself as a serious actress.Rosalind Russell and Claire Trevor are both superb in their roles with Russell doing a great job of making her character's anguish recognisable whilst still conducting herself with her usual confidence. Leon Ames is brilliantly cast as the shrewd producer who has some cynical attitudes to the whole notion of love and Leo Genn is incredibly smug as the architect who patronises Valerie from the very first time he meets her. The outstanding performance, however, comes from Sydney Greenstreet who illuminates every scene he's in with his offbeat humour and his ability to convey non-verbally that he consistently knows more than he outwardly acknowledges.

MartinHafer When this film begins, Valerie Stanton (Rosalind Russell) is in the office of Gordon Dunning (Leon Ames). Dunning is insisting that he MUST have her or he will destroy her. Dunning is VERY intense and vaguely threatening. Stanton is obviously afraid of him and ends up accidentally killing him in self-defense. However, she does NOT tell the police but tries to see if she can get away with it. Since there is no doubt that Valerie did it, you might wonder how they fill the rest of the movie. After all, the killing happens in just the first few minutes of the film. Well, part of the film consists of Valerie having a flashback where she thinks about all the things that led up to the killing. The rest consists of the police investigation headed by the Captain (Sidney Greenstreet). However, where it all goes is not what I would have expected--and I appreciate that. In particular, since Valerie was doing the play "Hedda Gabler", I assumed the film would end the same as the play.The film has a very nice script, as it explores human nature and has plenty of twists and turns. Additionally, the acting and direction are quite intelligently done--making it a nice movie for adult tastes. Of the actors, by the way, my favorite was Greenstreet, as he plays against type and his performance is smooth and believable. Overall, a very nice film.

Poseidon-3 Following the costly failure of "Mourning Becomes Electra," which Russell and her husband Frederick Brisson had produced themselves, this somewhat more commercial enterprise put the star back in the public's good graces. She plays a highly successful Broadway actress, groomed from youth by producer Ames, who longs to branch out from the romantic comedies she's known for and perform in "Hedda Gabler" for a competitor of his. When Ames responds to her wishes with blackmail threats, a fight ensues and he winds up dead. Fortunately for Russell, no one seems to notice that she was even in Ames' office and she is able to slink out, leaving the blame at another person's doorstep. However, guilt begins to eat away at her and she can't seem to elude Greenstreet, the inspector on the case. Despite the bright promise of a relationship with new beau Genn and the ability to fulfill her dreams on stage, she starts to feel the heat of her inadvertent crime. Russell, looking fine in a series of Travis Banton costumes, gives a dedicated and engrossing performance, despite the presence of a few mannerisms, which would eventually become part and parcel of her repertoire. Genn is smooth and even a bit mysterious. The pair had starred in "Electra" and was deemed to have chemistry enough for another teaming despite that film's box office non-performance. Ames is appropriately commanding, demanding and nasty, yet shows a tad of humanity under all his bravado. Trevor, as a rival for both Ames' attention and the theatre audiences', gives an excellent performance. She won an Oscar this same year for "Key Largo." Russell was wise to let her retain her snarky dialogue and let her have a few moments in the sun as it benefits the film nicely to have a costar of her stature. Greenstreet has fun with his probing character (who enjoys bursts of laughter at unexpected times.) Generally, the cast is made up of above-average actors, which aids the quality of the film and makes it interesting to watch today. Comic veteran McHugh has a small role as a stage manager while attractive newcomers Barker and Hyer have little roles as actors in Russell's current play. Tobin appears as an implied-gay gossip columnist. It's an interesting enough mystery story made more palatable by the sheen of some beautiful sets (not the least of which is the opulent theatre itself, one of the largest sets of its kind), costumes and dramatic lighting. It also contains some entertaining dialogue (pre-dating "All About Eve," which would ratchet the chatter up even further, by two years.) Fans of harmonic men's groups will get a kick out of the title tune, crooned by an unknown gaggle of gentlemen.