His Kind of Woman (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: Aug 05, 2025
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
John FarrowRelease Date(s)
1951 (June 24, 2025)Studio(s)
RKO Radio Pictures (Warner Archive Collection)- Film/Program Grade: B-
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: B
Review
His Kind of Woman, made by RKO when Howard Hughes ran the studio, is a film noir that also veers into broad farce. The blend doesn’t always work, as the element of comic relief threatens to overpower the suspense and violence, but the film features the studio’s biggest stars, whose screen chemistry keeps the production afloat.
Robert Mitchum plays down-on-his-luck gambler Dan Milner, $50,000 in debt to bookies. A trio of thugs administer a brutal beating to soften him up for a deal. If he agrees to leave Los Angeles and stay out of the States for a full year, his debt will be forgiven. His destination: a Mexican resort called Moro’s Lodge. What Milner doesn’t know is that he’s being set up for murder. Mafia boss Nick Ferraro (Raymond Burr) has been deported to Italy and plans to return to the United States from Italy by assuming the identity of an American man whose physique is similar to his own, after which the American can be disposed of discreetly. Milner fits the bill.
At Moro’s Lodge, Milner meets singer Lenore Brent (Jane Russell), posing as an heiress to attract Mark Cardigan (Vincent Price), a flamboyant movie star who’s tired of Hollywood and tired of his wife. He’s also an avid hunter given to spouting Shakespeare and making histrionic gestures. Lenore regards Cardigan as her ticket to a privileged life, but his divorce from wife Helen (Marjorie Reynolds) hasn’t gone through yet and when Helen unexpectedly arrives, Lenore shifts her gaze to Milner.
Milner spends a good deal of time with Lenore while also dealing with gangster Thompson (Charles McGraw) and a sinister-looking writer named Krafft (John Mylong), who in fact is a plastic surgeon. The plot is further complicated by the murder of a federal cop (Tim Holt). So now the Mexican police are involved and we have an absurdly swashbuckling Cardigan leading them in a charge on the gangsters’ docked ship while Milner tries to escape horrifically violent thugs and avoid a deadly injection from Krafft.
The final third of the picture becomes a broad comedy dominated by Price as his self-centered Cardigan does real battle with real bad guys. Price lifts the film from its lugubrious pace with some genuine action mixed with farcical comedy and cape-swirling Shakespearean pronouncements. An elaborately staged sight gag involves Cardigan at the prow of an overcrowded boat a la George Washington, leading the Mexican police into battle against the gangsters. The top-heavy vessel doesn’t get far before sinking, Cardigan looking stalwart and upright even as he submerges.
Director John Farrow has crafted an overly complex and overly long film with an identity crisis. Because Price’s scenes went over so well in previews, Howard Hughes demanded more screen time for Cardigan, which throws the film off balance. Russell winds up locked in a closet for the extended finale. Because the Breen Office had misgivings about violence in the script, Farrow made sure beatings and deaths occur largely off-screen. Nonetheless, there’s plenty of action, particularly when the film takes on the tone of a swashbuckler with a protracted fight involving the hammy Cardigan commanding the timid Mexican police and a few conscripted men from the Lodge against a boat full of bad guys.
Mitchum, at the peak of his career when he made His Kind of Woman, delivers a laid-back performance with his trademark sleepy eyes and natural manner. He works well with Russell, and the middle of the film is mostly the two exchanging witty dialogue. Russell, known for her “hard glamour,” wasn’t your typical leading lady. She could overpower her co-stars, so casting was critical to make the on-screen relationship work. Russell looks comfortable with Mitchum. Why Farrow would have her off-screen for such a long time is a mystery. Her absence allows Price to dominate, and even Mitchum’s plight pales in comparison to Price’s histrionics.
His Kind of Woman is convoluted, but it does provide fun with Vincent Price cavorting and going over the top as Cardigan. It’s a pity that, with such palpable chemistry, Mitchum and Russell couldn’t have had a project worthier of their talent. A good half-hour could have been cut to make the narrative tighter. There’s so much of Vincent Price that even if ten minutes of his scenes were cut, his character’s impact would remain. His Kind of Woman is only one of two films in which Mitchum and Russell co-starred. They teamed up once again in Macao (1952).
His Kind of Woman was shot by director of photography Harry J. Wild on 35mm black & white film with spherical lenses and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.37:1. The Blu-ray is sourced from a 4K scan of the original camera negative. In keeping with Warner Archive’s high standards, the film looks great. There are no visual imperfections. Details are well defined, such as patterns in clothing, individual strands of Jane Russell’s hair, the studio set of the yacht, and uniforms on the Mexican police. Process photography stands in for the ocean in a few scenes. Shadows from Venetian blinds play on walls and deep shadows are present during a climactic fist fight. Low angles are employed frequently, allowing ceilings to be shown. The use of shadows, in general, is atmospheric and gives the film its noir credibility.
The soundtrack is English 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio. English SDH subtitles are an available option. Dialogue is clear and distinct. Jane Russell performs two numbers—Five Little Miles From San Berdoo and You’ll Know—and does her own singing. Leigh Harline’s score provides a romantic feel in the scenes between Mitchum and Russell and a rousing, adventurous tone to Vincent Price’s derring-do in the film’s final third. Sound effects include gun shots, bodies being pummeled, radio transmissions, and crowd mayhem.
Bonus materials on the Blu-ray release from the Warner Archive Collection include the following:
- Audio Commentary by Vivian Sobchack
- Bunny Hugged (7:14)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (1:13)
Commentary – Film historian Vivian Sobchack notes that after His Kind of Woman wrapped, Raymond Burr was hired to help clarify the plot. Burr’s character of Ferraro suggests real-life Lucky Luciano. Mexico is a frequent location in film noir. Because of the Good Neighbor Policy, the censors cautioned against demeaning stereotypes of Latin characters. In terms of style, the film features interesting camera angles, deep shadows on walls and ceilings, patterned shadows created by venetian blinds, and rich furnishings in a Beverly Hills mansion. Jane Russell was an “odd star” because she conveyed toughness and strength. Casting her with the right leading man was critical. Robert Mitchum’s career was going strong. Before His Kind of Woman, he made The Locket, Undercurrent, Crossfire and Where Danger Lives. When Howard Hughes took over RKO in 1948, he announced that the studio would no longer make message pictures. He interfered with productions by altering endings. Because he demanded additional scenes for His Kind of Woman, the prop department wound up building a whole 150-foot yacht. The film is a combination of farce and sadism. The sinking longboat sequence took a long time to stage at great cost. It had to sink in just the right way. When the scene failed to get a laugh, the tank had to be dug deeper. The hypodermic needle scene creates suspense as the rocking boat, a battle melee, and a struggling Milner fight a precise injection of the needle into Milner’s arm.
Bunny Hugged – This 1950 Technicolor Merrie Melodies cartoon from Warner Bros. was directed by Chuck Jones. Voice characterizations are provided by Mel Blanc. A wrestling match pits current champion Crusher against challenger Ravishing Ronald (a parody of Gorgeous George). Bugs is Ravishing Ronald’s mascot. When Ronald is brutalized by the Crusher, Bugs decides to enter the match as the Masked Terror. Things don’t go well for the seemingly unbeatable Crusher when Bugs rips his mask apart, making Crusher think his trunks have torn. Bugs, now advertising himself as a tailor, offers to sew his trunks but instead jabs a needle into Crusher’s backside. The bout ends badly for Crusher when he bites into a stick of dynamite.
His Kind of Woman has a far from riveting plot. It’s too complex and often seems cobbled together. What saves the film are its two stars and the over-the-top antics of Vincent Price. The picture is entertaining, but in a “so weird it’s fun to watch” way. This isn’t top-tier film noir, but an offbeat outlier of the genre. With little happening in the middle of the film, it’s admirable how Mitchum and Russell captivate with their easy charm and edgy dialogue (by Frank Fenton and Jack Leonard).
- Dennis Seuling