DESTINY (1944)

 

Movies have always been a big part of my life, whether going to theaters or curling up on the couch and watching them on television. But what actually turned me into a film fanatic was reading. It all started with Leonard Maltin's first TV Movies book, which was published in 1969, I believe. I read that book from cover to cover, A to Z. It opened my eyes to just how many films there were to see, and to the reality that I would need several lifetimes if I wanted to see them all, so I'd better get busy. During the 1970s, the decade when I was in my 20s, I saw as many movies as my crazy work/college class schedule would permit. As the decade was coming to a close, I began reading film books that suddenly were filling the shelves in bookstores. One of my early favorites was The Golden Age of B Movies by Doug McClelland, published in 1978. There were many films I had seen and a few others I'd heard of, but many titles were unfamiliar. One such title was DESTINY, a film made at Universal in 1944, starring an actress named Gloria Jean, whose name was only familiar because I'd seen it in Maltin's book.

Gloria Jean Schoonover was an operatic prodigy who began singing on the radio at age three. When she was twelve, she signed with Universal Pictures after auditioning for producer Joe Pasternak. Mr. Pasternak was responsible for making a major star out of another child opera singer, Deanna Durbin. Now that Miss Durbin was growing up, the studio was looking for another similar actress to, hopefully, repeat the success they'd had with Durbin. Gloria made her film debut in THE UNDER-PUP (1939), when she was thirteen. She followed this success with IF I HAD MY WAY (1940), co-starring Bing Crosby, A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN (1940), and possibly her most well-known film NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK (1941), opposite the legendary W.C. Fields. She then showed off her singing talent in musicals such as GET HEP TO LOVE and WHAT'S COOKIN'?, both released in 1942. 

Gloria Jean during her years at Universal Pictures

In 1942, when she was sixteen, Gloria Jean was cast in the prestigious FLESH AND FANTASY, an anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier. The other stars were Edward G. Robinson, Barbara Stanwyck, Charles Boyer, Robert Cummings and Betty Field. Each story dealt with supernatural themes. The Gloria Jean segment, also featuring Alan Curtis, Frank Craven and Dorothy Vaughan, was the opening part of the film. Although this segment received positive responses during previews, Universal decided to cut it from the film, making FLESH AND FANTASY, released in 1943, a trilogy. Different reasons have been given for why the segment was cut, the film's overall length being the most likely explanation. Two years later, Universal decided to use the segment, with additional footage, as the feature film DESTINY, running a total of sixty-five minutes.

The cover art for Vinegar Syndrome's excellent release of FLESH AND FANTASY

The article about DESTINY made me very curious to see it. However, the film remained elusive. It never played on TV in my area, and it never seemed to be available as the home video era came into existence in the 1980s. But I recently was able to purchase a copy from an online seller. It turned out to be very watchable with decent sound quality, although not remastered in any way. It was most likely recorded from television or copied from a VHS tape. Still, the film appeared to be complete and proved to be a fascinating watch. The original footage, running about thirty minutes, is surrounded by scenes directed by Reginald Le Borg and using a different cinematographer. In the original segment, Cliff Banks (Alan Curtis), an escaped killer, takes refuge at a secluded farm where Clem Broderick (Frank Craven) lives with his blind daughter, Jane (Gloria Jean). Jane lives an almost enchanted life, totally attuned to nature, with animals and plants responding to her, and watching over her, as if she were an angelic creature. The evil Cliff has plans to take over the farm for himself and take advantage of Jane. When she flees from him and runs into the forest, he pursues her, only to be overtaken by the angry forces of nature and ending up drowning. This good vs. evil, light vs. darkness story plays out like a dark fairytale, with Jane even dressed to resemble Snow White. The B & W art direction and special effects are quite impressive, making me wish the film had the remastered treatment so as to better appreciate the imagery. By the way, one brief shot of the drowned body of Cliff at the beginning of FLESH AND FANTASY is all that's included from this excised episode.

The scenes added by Le Borg are more fast-paced and resemble a standard B crime thriller with a Noirish overtone. In these scenes, Cliff is a good guy who gets involved with the wrong crowd (femme fatale Vivian Austin and her criminal boyfriend Frank Fenton), ends up in prison, gets released, only to get caught up in crime once again and having to flee the police. All of these plot points are related in flashback sequences told to nice girl Grace McDonald who makes the mistake of giving Cliff a ride when he's running from the cops. When Cliff is double-crossed by another conniving female (Minna Gombell), he finds himself at the Broderick farm. Cliff's bad behavior with Jane and his ultimate demise are explained away as a bad dream. And then all the loose ends are quickly and neatly tied up, including Cliff being wanted by the police, and we are rewarded with a happy, sentimental ending. This all happens in sixty-five minutes. The big problem with DESTINY isn't that it plays like two different films awkwardly spliced together, but rather it seems like three different films. The first part setting up the complicated life of Cliff and his series of bad decisions moves at breakneck speed, as do many Noir programmers, but it nevertheless makes sense as a story, flashbacks and all. The emergence of Cliff into Jane's enchanted world is definitely a little hard to swallow, considering what has preceded it. But the Duvivier footage has its own foundation and integrity. What becomes quickly problematic is the obvious change in Cliff's demeanor. Up to now, he's been a hapless victim, a not terribly smart guy who lost his way, becoming somewhat cynical and mistrusting after his release from prison. In Jane's world, he turns into a shifty-eyed opportunist looking for a quick buck and some womanizing activity on the side. The "bad dream" explanation doesn't address this obvious dichotomy.

The third part of DESTINY is what ruins it. With Gloria Jean and Frank Craven brought back after nearly two years to shoot more footage, Cliff, having awakened from his horrifying dream in a cold sweat, has once again regained his nice guy persona. Gloria/Jane has obviously matured and is given the most stilted dialogue imaginable while the different parts of Cliff's confused life are quickly cobbled together and solved to, presumably, the viewing audience's satisfaction. Credibility is another matter. I'm not sure if DESTINY was intended as an A picture release, but it's obvious from the poster art that Universal was unsure of how to market the film. Some of the posters exploit a sexy image of actress Vivian Austin, the femme fatale in the expanded footage, even though Gloria Jean was the top-billed star.

The release of DESTINY didn't do much to promote Gloria Jean's career, and she was featured in B pictures from then on. Her final Universal film, RIVER GANG (1945) was released after she had already decided not to renew her contract. She made several films at different studios over the years and also worked on television, but by the early 1960s, her acting career was over. She became a receptionist for a cosmetics firm and died in 2018 at the age of 92.

Gloria Jean in 1947

Handsome Alan Curtis, with his dark, brooding gaze, had made a good showing of himself in HIGH SIERRA (1941) and in the excellent cult film PHANTOM LADY (1944). He worked in films until 1951, mostly supporting roles in minor films. He died in 1953 at the age of forty-three following kidney surgery.

Alan Curtis

I hope someday DESTINY is eventually given a proper release on Blu-ray. While Universal has generously provided fans with good quality releases of most of its horror film catalogue, B pictures included, it has a vault filled with other B pictures, including musicals, that it has chosen to ignore. Maybe this situation will change. DESTINY is an important film that deserves to be seen and given serious consideration.

Destiny • 1944 • Theatrical Trailer