Cult director Edgar G. Ulmer's magnificently perverse "Ruthless" finally arrives on DVD and blu-ray, courtesy of Olive Films. It's been a long time coming. For years, the only prints available for home viewing were bootleg copies, most of them missing several minutes of footage, apparently spliced together from broadcast showings that had been taped on VHS cassettes. Olive Films has rectified that situation with a satisfactory (but hardly spectacular) transfer of a complete print.An independent production released in 1948 through Eagle-Lion, "Ruthless" tells the story of young man from a hardscrabble background whose lack of parental love and affection creates a fatal emotional flaw in his character. We watch him climb his way up the financial ladder, callously ruining every life he touches betraying the people who have helped him along the way and destroying every woman who is unfortunate enough to fall in love with him. The movie, in some ways evocative of "Citizen Kane" in theme and style, is nonetheless replete with distinctive Ulmer flourishes including unusual camera angles, deep shadows, razor sharp and artfully lit close-ups, and a fatalistic tone. Bert Glennon's cinematography is outstanding, as are the art direction by Frank Sylos, the musical score by Werner Janssen, and the costumes by Don Loper.
Ulmer was fortunate to be able to assemble a remarkable cast, some of whom give the best performances of their careers in "Ruthless". Zachary Scott is brilliant in the leading role of Horace Vendig. He doesn't flinch from the character's amoral core, and yet he manages to convey an undertone of wounded misunderstanding even in his most sadistic and manipulative scenes. Scott's portrayal is reinforced by the performance of Bob Anderson as the youthful Vendig. (Anderson also played the role of young George Bailey in Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life".) Diana Lynn, best known as a contract player in Paramount comedies, is dazzling in a dual dramatic role, playing two of the women in Vendig's orbit. Special kudos go to Sydney Greenstreet, the portly actor who was so memorable in "The Maltese Falcon" and "Casablanca." In "Ruthless", Greenstreet's typically sly and sardonic character becomes a truly tragic figure, allowing the actor to significantly expand his emotional onscreen range.
Cast in other key roles are Louis Hayward, Martha Vickers (of "The Big Sleep"), Lucille Bremer (the oldest sister in "Meet Me in St. Louis", a Bette Davis lookalike who appeared in only eight films), Raymond Burr, Ann Carter (the child star of "Curse of the Cat People"), and Edith Barrett (the mother in Val Lewton's "I Walked with a Zombie", and one of Vincent Price's wives) -each of these players shines. Also of interest is little known character actress Joyce Arling as Vendig's neurotic harridan of a mother: she plays her brief role skillfully, and one can't help but wonder at the cruel way the actress' acne scars are faintly highlighted in one scene. Was this by accident or, more likely, by design? Either way, it's shocking (especially in a film made in Hollywood's Golden Age when such imperfections were routinely hidden) and somehow, uncomfortable to witness.
As mentioned earlier, Olive Films' film to video transfer of this minor masterpiece is imperfect, but certainly acceptable. (I bought and screened the blu-ray.) The film has not been restored, but it is complete and uncut. There is a lot of speckling during the opening credits, and at certain times a distinctive hiss emerges on the soundtrack. The biggest flaw involves the few scenes in which the contrast seems to fade in and out; this is particularly annoying in one key sequence. Still, I have to admit that I was so absorbed in the film that these distractions seemed minor. There are no extras included on the disc. Overall, I heartily recommend "Ruthless", particularly to fans who enjoyed Ulmer's Karloff-Lugosi horror classic "The Black Cat" (1934) and his cult film noir "Detour" (1946). This one's definitely a gem.
The movie: *****
The print: ***
Dr. Ron Schwartz, Manhattan Very good. Portrait of a truely ruthless man and how he got the way he was.
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