Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting

Dotbankey A lot of fun.

Robert J. Maxwell It's not a simple-minded movie full of characters etched in black and white. Greenstreet, as the sheriff of a small Florida town, is thoroughly rotten, true, and the editor of the local newspaper, the Advertiser, is thoroughly good. But the rest of the characters have more dimensions.Crawford is a hootchy-kootchy dancer abandoned in town by her traveling circus and works her way to the mink-clad top by a series of dog-leg moves motivated by her hatred for Greenstreet. Zachary Taylor is a weakling who finally takes to drink. David Brian as one of Greenstreet's local tools, falls for Crawford, rejects her, and then reforms for good. Greenstreet pays the price the code demanded at the time.I've been trying to think of another movie character that Joan Crawford reminds me of. And I finally realize it was Bruce the shark in "Jaws." That adventure could easily have shown Roy Scheider shoveling chum into Crawford's open mouth. I don't think there's every been a more grasping, ambitious, narcissistic actress. She was to everyone else in her films as the steam roller is to the soggy tar beneath it.She did finally deliver a couple of good performances -- "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane," for instance -- but for most of her career she just bulldozed her way through. Sometimes the result was ludicrous. See "Johnny Guitar," in which she packs a pistol and invites her enemies upstairs in her casino although there is "no whiskey, just bullets."Zachary Taylor had a fine role in an unusual movie, "The Texan," and nothing happened after that. Greenstreet is unbelievable as the pudgy Southrin sheriff who mangles his British accent with demotic Southernisms, "A man don't know what's best for him sometime."If anyone walks away from this with any pride, it must be David Brian, who handles a somewhat twisted and complicated role with a degree of competence.It's not a bad movie, not insulting. It's just plain typical of a romantic melodrama with social overtones.

Michael_Elliott Flamingo Road (1949)*** (out of 4)Soap opera with some trash thrown in is the best way to describe this Warner thriller. Lane Bellamy (Joan Crawford) decides its time to leave the circus so when they leave town she decides to stay. At first this seems like a good idea when she meets deputy sheriff Dan Reynolds (David Brian) but soon the sheriff (Sydney Greenstreet) decides to play dirty and have her thrown into jail. Once out she plans her revenge. FLAMINGO ROAD is part politics, part thriller, part soap opera and there's even some trash moments thrown in and as usual director Michael Curtiz manages to hold everything together and deliver a very entertaining film. The movie certainly isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination but there are enough very good moments to make it worth viewing and especially if you're a fan of the cast. Crawford, supporting a blonde hair color, manages to be very good here, although this certainly won't rank among her best performances. Some of the best scenes has her going on off the crooked sheriff as she makes it clear that she's not going to be pushed around by anyone. Brian is very good in his supporting role and I especially liked the weakness he managed to bring the character. Zachary Scott plays the man Crawford ends up marrying and is very good as well. Greenstreet played a lot of lovable bad guys in his career but that's not the case here because he's 100% bad and the actor steal the film playing the snake. Curtiz handles the material extremely well and he keeps everything moving at a very fast pace and thankfully things never slow down even when the plot becomes somewhat predictable. Fans of the cast are certainly going to want to check this one out.

vincentlynch-moonoi This is a very powerful, and I believe underrated, film. And, I would have to disagree with some other reviewers that it's very much Joan Crawford's film. In my view this is a "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" film, and the big shot in question is Sydney Greenstreet. Here, Greenstreet is just about the most repulsive I've ever seen him in any role. And, incidentally, he made only one film after this one.While I feel it's Greenstreet's film, that's not to say Crawford isn't powerful here, as well. Imagine saying to Greenstreet: "You know sheriff; we had an elephant in our carnival with a memory like that. He went after a keeper that he'd held a grudge against for almost 15 years. Had to be shot. You just wouldn't believe how much trouble it is to dispose of a dead elephant." The film really wouldn't work without both of them, and they are forces to be reckoned with on the screen in this film.I think nowadays we've learned to be somewhat dismissive of Joan Crawford...partly due to her publicity as "Mommy Dearest", and partly due to some of the really rotten films she made in her declining years. But here she was near her peak, and so impressive.Another surprise (at least for me) in this film is Zachary Scott...never a particular favorite of mine...an actor I typically tolerate. But here, he is excellent! Perhaps the best role I've seen him in.David Bryan deserves mention here. He was never a big star, but we often saw him in films and then television. He does very nicely here, as do the other members of the cast.I highly recommend this film. The only negative comment I can make is that perhaps Joan Crawford didn't look the part...but she sure acted it!

sdave7596 "Flamingo Road" released in 1949 in the waning days of Joan Crawford's days at Warner Brothers, where she had a great second career after 18 years at MGM. Crawford plays a carnival girl, who decides to stay in the town after her fellow performers leave. She meets Zachary Scott, whom Crawford worked with in "Mildred Pierce." Scott played the playboy in that film, here is a weak-willed deputy sheriff who falls for Crawford - but he is controlled by the big bully sheriff (a stand out performance by Syndey Greenstreet). Crawford is a nuisance to the sheriff and a threat to the political plans he has for Zachary Scott. After he fails to run her out of town and gets her fired from her job, she stays anyway and meets - and marries - handsome David Brian, playing a hotshot businessman. It all gets quite complicated, with politics, corruption and sleaze thrown in for the storyline. Crawford is a delight here, playing her usual rags to riches kind of gal - but who did it better than she? Sure, she was in her 40's here, but she looked fantastic and played well off actor David Brian especially. Syndey Greenstreet has the performance of his career here, as the evil and corrupt sheriff who seems to have too much power to be quite believable. The film is a bit too long, and the end seems forced and tacked on, when Crawford and Greenstreet finally have it out. But - a must see for Crawford fans!