Mascot of the Month: William Warren

William Warren is long forgotten by most people.  He did his best work in the movies of the mid-1930's - before the film advances that made movies from the late 30's and 40's so memorable.
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He was possessed of a deep soulful voice that worked very well in the early talkie days, when sound recording wasn't all that good.  And he very best work was all pre-code work.  Films that couldn't be shown for years after the production code was initiated.  These very old movies were often lost.

Turner Classic Movies was my introduction to Mr. Warren.  He played Perry Mason, back before Raymond Burr, when Perry Mason was still a scoundrel and a serial womanizer.

Since then I have seen some of his earlier work, for which he grew to fame.  He was cast in the beginning of the Depression as the worst of the Corporate Men.  Handsome men with hearts of coal that would be equally happy stealing a farm or ruining a good woman.  He was the bad guy, to be rooted against. In the Great Depression (as opposed to the current long slowdown), the businessman who preyed on the poor, the weak and the venerable were shown as sleek and cunning - their charm hiding a black soul.  Where our era's James Dimon or Chuck Prince are rewarded with Congressional Ass Kissing Sessions, the people of the Depression knew evil when they saw it - but I digress.

Giving Barbara Stanwyck the bees-wax

Anyway, back to Warren William.  Born in Aiken Minnesota, he had a great run in Hollywood, until the Depression lessened, when he found himself typecast.  He moved on worked, mainly as a character actor, until his death from bone cancer in 1948.

I admire his ability to play suave, even when he was in an evil role.  You knew you should hate him, but some part of you is still rather infatuated with his very presence.  It is the same style William Powell would use in The Thin Man - albeit with a much truer heart.  Outside of his corporate bad guy personna, William Warren did much of his best work as a gentlemen detective playing Perry Mason, Philo Vance and "The Lone Wolf".

Charming Joan Blondel

One of his best roles is an early remake of the Maltese Falcon called, Satan Met a Lady with Bette Davis.   Renamed Ted Shayne (from Sam Spade), the plot is nearly identical, with a horm filling in for the black bird itself.  Bette Davis is the constantly lying femme fatale - but in this version Shayne gets away with the goods.  It was in the "Ultimate Maltese Falcon" DVD set and I think it can be rented or streamed.  It's not very famous only because the definitive Humphrey Bogart version came out only 3 years later.  But it is a funny backstabby thriller / comedic version and quite entertaining.

Anyway, William Warren is forgotten too easily and so he is my Mascot of December.

With Jack and Jill. Who doesn't love a man with Terriers?