DIAMOND HEAD

Yvette Mimieux, Elizabeth Allen, Charlton Heston

DIAMOND HEAD (1962). Director: Guy Green.

Widower King Howland (Charlton Heston) is a wealthy land owner in Hawaii who lives with his sister-in-law, Laura (Elizabeth Allen of Donovan's Reef), and his younger sister, Sloane (Yvette Mimieux of The Time Machine). Sloane is in love with an islander named Paul (James Darren), who returns her feelings, but neither King nor Laura approve of the marriage. "We've never mixed blood," King says, as he tries to enlist Paul's half-brother, Dean (George Chakiris) in breaking up the romance. Dean may have reservations about the union, but he will not speak out against it, although his mother (Aline MacMahon of Babbitt) feels mixed marriages will dilute the Hawaiian minority. Complicating the whole situation is that the hypocritical King is having an affair with an Asian woman (France Nuyen) who is going to have his child. At a party to celebrate the upcoming nuptials between Sloane and Paul, a tragedy occurs ... 

Heston

Diamond Head may take advantage of some gorgeous scenery, but its dramatic value is somewhat lacking. The admirable attempts to denounce racism are half-hearted, especially when you consider that the three main "Hawaiian" roles -- Jimmy, Dean, and their mother -- are played by Caucasian actors. Heston displays his usual charisma, and  his performance is perfectly competent but unmemorable. Elizabeth Allen is okay in the thankless role of the sister-in-law secretly in love with her late sister's widower. Chakiris and MacMahon -- and to a lesser extent Darren -- are notable, and Mimieux gives a fairly strong and sensitive performance, as does Nuyen -- perhaps the best in the picture. Harold Fong makes an impression as King's major domo, Koyama, and Marc Marno is vivid as Nuyen's sleazy brother, Bobby. 

A sub-plot has to do with King planning to run for the state senate, and there are also a couple of obvious hints of his incestuous feelings for his sister. That being said, the movie has an absolutely horrible ending which I believe was tacked on by someone who let their common sense run away with them. 

Verdict: You might have a better time watching reruns of Hawaiian Eye. **1/2. 

HOLD BACK TOMORROW

John Agar and Cleo Moore

HOLD BACK TOMORROW (1955). Written, produced and directed by Hugo Haas. 

In an unspecified foreign country, a former hooker, Dora (Cleo Moore), is saved from drowning herself on the very eve that a prisoner named Joe Cardos (John Agar) -- who murdered three people -- is to be executed. Joe wants company for his final request, and since Dora needs money -- or hopes that Joe will strangle her -- she agrees to entertain him in his cell. Joe proves to be grumpy and hostile, and Dora is not certain she even wants to bother trying to make friends with him. But somehow these two dysfunctional individuals manage to form an unlikely romantic attachment to one another (sexual, maybe) ...

Even on Death Row Agar looks great!

Let me make it clear that I can hardly call the utterly-contrived Hold Back Tomorrow a good movie, but it also isn't worthless. Although I can't quite say that Agar is outstanding, he probably gives his best performance in this movie and gets his character across quite well. In her career Moore has rarely risen above mediocrity -- it's almost comical when she says "I haven't eaten for days" but is completely unable to get this across in her acting -- but she is also much better in this film than in others, possibly because her co-star was giving it his all. Agar also looks handsomer than usual.

Beautiful when wet: Cleo Moore

Haas' screenplay is a bit nutty and naive but it does have some good dialogue going for it. Although two of the people Joe strangled may have been rotters, there is virtually no mention of the innocent guard he shot during a robbery (the crime that first got him incarcerated) as this might have made him even less sympathetic. Of course Haas could have created more sympathy for Joe if he'd had him expressing some remorse for the dead man and his family. Joe blames everyone else for his misdeeds, and dopey Dora -- not the brightest bulb in the chandelier by any means, although she's certainly smarter and nicer than Joe -- goes right along with it, swallowing every word. 

Moore and Agar look to the heavens

I won't give away the ending except to say that I find it unlikely that Joe and Dora would ever have really made it as a couple. Whatever their struggles or problems early in life, one can tell that neither have the wherewithal to make much of anything work for them. One of the most amusing aspects of the flick is that Frank DeKova, of all people, plays the prison priest! Harry Guardino has an early role as a cop. The title tune for the picture is rather pleasant. Haas also teamed Moore and Agar up for his earlier film Bait, which is even worse than this! 

Verdict: Certainly an interesting idea and a truly odd romance, but the movie is half-baked and not really credible despite some decent performances. I didn't find it remotely moving. At least it is not an anti-capital punishment polemic. **.  

QUEEN BEE

Joan as Eva Phillips

QUEEN BEE (1955). Written and directed by Ranald MacDougall. Colorized version.      

"Really that Dr. Pearson is absurd. He actually trembles when he talks to me. You'd think he'd never seen a beautiful woman before." -- Eva. 

Although dating Jud Prentiss (John Ireland of The Ceremony), the Yankee Eva (Joan Crawford) sets her cap for Jud's boss, Avery Phillips (Barry Sullivan of Pyro), a wealthy Southern gentleman, and follows him home. Eva lies and tells Avery that she's pregnant, and the "gentleman" literally leaves his fiancee, Sue (Fay Wray), at the church door to run off with Eva. Years later the two are trapped in a miserable, dysfunctional marriage with Avery spending most of his time in his bedroom getting drunk. Ironically, Avery is nicknamed "Beauty" but now has a large scar on his face due to a drunken driving accident. Meanwhile the aforementioned Jud has fallen for Avery's sister, Carol (Betsy Palmer), who positively loathes Eva. Into this miasma of Southern rage and scandal comes Eva's sweet cousin, Jennifer (Lucy Marlow of He Laughed Last), who is moving into the mansion completely unaware of the goings-on. When Eva, who never lets go of a man, finds out that Jud and Carol are engaged, things in the household will get even tenser, if such is possible ... 

Mrs. Vorhees meets Lucy Harbin

Queen Bee is certainly not a perfect movie, but it is a strangely compelling melodrama with a lot going on in the background. Joan Crawford dominates the picture, of course, as she should, and gives a highly effective performance as a rather nasty character who admits what she is but still can't help making excuses for her behavior. If you don't quite believe her when she's showing vulnerability, it's because you can't quite imagine Eva ever being vulnerable in any real sense, although she is not above playing on people's sympathies. 

Cocktails and savagery at the Phillips

As for the rest of the cast, Betsy Palmer stands out as Carol, standing up to Eva/Joan on occasion even as you realize she is just no match for her strong-willed, highly neurotic sister-in-law. Lucy Marlow, with her odd square face, has a couple of unconvincing moments but is basically solid as the ultimately disillusioned Jennifer. (You're not quite certain how or why she falls for the dissolute Avery, and any actress might have a hard time making that convincing.) Fay Wray has one scene as Sue, the jilted fiancee, who seems to have lost herself in never-got-over-it vagueness. Wray is good, but it's hard to imagine that she would ever want anything to do with this couple, let alone have cocktails with them in their drawing room. 

Barry Sullivan with Crawford

The men don't fare as well. John Ireland and Barry Sullivan give rather stilted, rushed line readings as compared to the ladies. William Leslie makes an impression, however, as the handsome and charming Ty, and Jennifer seems demented in preferring Avery, on the verge of cirrhosis of the liver, over this hunk. Katherine Anderson is suitably hard and unpleasant as the nurse who takes pleasure in being nasty to the little boy (Tim Hovey) who suffers nightmares, until the little guy knows "how [the nightmare] ends" at the violent climax. Hovey is as adorable and adept as ever. (A sobering postscript is that the fellow committed suicide at only 44.) Willa Pearl Curtis, as a maid, has a nice vignette when she expresses sympathy to Jennifer over being dumped and muses about her own romantic missteps. Years later Crawford and Palmer both played deranged murderesses, Crawford in Strait-Jacket (at the opening) and Palmer in Friday the 13th. Handsomely shot by Charles Lang. 

Verdict: Crawford in a compelling portrait of a woman who deservedly hates herself. ***. 

SPLIT SECOND

Alexis Smith, Paul Kelly, Stephen McNally 

SPLIT SECOND (1953). Director: Dick Powell. Colorized version. 

Sam Hurley (Stephen McNally) has broken out of prison with his buddies, Bart (Paul Kelly) and Dummy (Frank DeKova), and are hoping to retrieve some loot from an armored car robbery. Hurley commandeers a car driven by Ashton (Robert Paige) and his lover, Kay (Alexis Smith), and when that runs out of gas, takes over a vehicle driven by reporter Larry (Keith Andes) and hitchhiker Dottie (Jan Sterling). Sam takes the whole group to a ghost town in the desert, even though everyone knows that the following morning an atom bomb being tested will go off and decimate the place! Before they can get out of there, Hurley calls Kay's estranged husband, Dr. Garven (Richard Egan), and tells him to fly down and take a bullet out of Bart or else Kay will die. 

Richard Egan comforts Alexis Smith

Now right there you can see the problem. Even if Garven is still in love with the wife who is divorcing him, it seems ridiculous and unreasonable for him to take so much time getting to Bart instead of telling the police exactly where he is! Surely the cops would have a better chance of rescuing Kay and the others than Garven! Split Second  may be fast-paced, but it's not so fast that the audience won't be scratching their heads over this ludicrous plot hole. Garven has hours during which he can contact the authorities. Frankly, things get a little tiresome in that ghost town before things heat up for the climax. Another weird scene is when Ashton practically seems to be begging Sam to shoot him, and Bart's sudden character reversal is senseless as well, even though it's made clear early on that Bart is not the mad killer type like his friend Hurley..

Stephen McNally

Stephen McNally gives another sharp and dynamic performance as Sam, always convincing whether he's snarling at his captors, shouting orders, or romancing the ladies, one of whom goes along with his addressals for her own protection. The other performances are all good as well, with Smith having the showiest role. The climax is terrific, although the writers seem not to have considered the possible effects of radiation poisoning. Dick Powell directed this and generally keeps things moving, although Hitchcock had nothing to worry about. 

Verdict: Interesting idea that doesn't quite work. **1/2. 

SWISS MISS

The classic piano sequence

SWISS MISS (1938). Director: John G. Blystone. Colorized version. 

While composer Victor Albert (Walter Woolf King of A Night at the Opera) is in a quaint Swiss village with his assistant, Edward (Eric Blore), trying to work on his new operetta, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are trying to sell mousetraps -- where there's cheese, there must be mice. Along comes Victor's soprano wife, Anna (Grete Natzler aka Della Lind), the last person he wants to see because he fears he's in her shadow. Unable to pay a restaurant bill after being given worthless money, Stan and Oliver go to work for the inn, as does Anna, who figures this will keep Victor from ordering her out of town. She also figures she can be perfectly convincing as the peasant girl who is the heroine of her husband's new operetta, although he is doubtful. While all this plays out, everyone sings songs, including the most memorable, "I Can't Get Over the Alps." (Other songs, such as "The Cricket Song," are not as memorable.) 

It may not be a masterpiece, but Swiss Miss is a cute, amusing film with two major set-pieces. The first is  when Stan has a funny encounter with a Saint Bernard

Stan and the St. Bernard

whose brandy he covets (Laurel shows that he does have some brains after all). The second is the hilarious bit when the boys try to push a piano across a rope bridge that is precariously hanging over a gorge far, far below! (This tops the piano sequence in a short they did in 1932, The Music Box.) There's even, improbably, a gorilla who also figures in the funny postscript. This was the last film for Viennese actress-singer Grete Natzler, who is pretty and charming. NOTE: TCM once dared to show a 66 minute shortened version of this film without "I Can't Get Over the Alps," for shame. Sue me, I love that number!

Verdict: The boys are always great! ***.  

BEYOND THE FOREST

"What a dump!" Joseph Cotten and Bette Davis

BEYOND THE FOREST (1949). Director: King Vidor. Colorized version.

"You wear that yourself. No dead cat for me -- mink!" -- Rosa to Jenny. 

Rosa Moline (Bette Davis) lives with her doctor husband, Lewis (Joseph Cotten), in the town of Loyalton, Wisconsin. Growing older, Rosa is desperate to find a more exciting life in Chicago with businessman Neil Latimer (David Brian), with whom she is having an affair. However, Rosa's plans are stymied when she runs off to Chicago and discovers that Neil has a new fiancee. But when Neil comes back to Loyalton for a birthday party for his employee Moose (Minor Watson), Rosa realizes that she still has a chance with Neil. But Moose may throw a monkey wrench into her plans ... 

"If I don't get out of this town I'll die!"

Excoriated for years -- even Davis expressed her hatred for the picture -- Beyond the Forest has come in for reassessment and garnered new fans over the years. What the movie has going for it is Davis' vivid performance, solid supporting performances from most of the cast, fast-paced and dramatic direction from King Vidor, an evocative score by Max Steiner that makes adroit use of the song "Chicago" but also has its own compelling themes, and fine cinematography from Robert Burks. While Rosa is not exactly an admirable woman -- she is rather a pathetic figure, in fact -- Davis gets across her utter desperation, especially in a sequence when she stands by her bedroom window with the fiery smelters in the background. "If I don't get out of this town I'll die. If I don't get out of this town I hope I die."

I'm not just any woman -- I'm Rosa Moline!

Ann Doran as a woman with many children has an interesting exchange with Rosa in the post office. Doran expresses sympathy for Rosa, possibly because she herself feels a bit trapped by the small-town life she lives with half a dozen offspring to look after. "This town has been tough on Rosa," she says, to which a neighbor replies, "Rosa's been tough on the town." Vidor peppers the film with other interesting vignettes as the movie unfolds, a murder occurs, along with a decidedly unwanted pregnancy. Rosa's husband is a perfectly nice man, but he can't give Rosa what she needs and is terrible unexciting. You sense if he slapped her around she would respect him more (or kill him). 

Davis with David Brian

Dona Drake (of Kansas City Confidential)   certainly makes an impression as Jenny, the slovenly, funny maid who works for the Molines and exchanges comical barbs with Rosa, reminding her that if she fires her she, Rosa, will have to do the work. Drake also figures in the bravura climax to the picture, when a fever-wracked Rosa makes up her mind to get to the train to Chicago come Hell or high water. There's an operatic intensity to this sequence as Rosa determinedly if on unsteady legs makes her way to the train station where she meets her ultimate fate. 

Verdict: Think what you will of this, Davis saunters through this saucy film noir, a variation of Madame Bovary, with aplomb. ***. 

THE SEX SYMBOL

Connie Stevens phones her shrink

THE SEX SYMBOL (1974 telefilm). ABC Movie of the Week. Director: David Lowell Rich. NOTE: This is the expanded European version with nudity. 

Movie star Kelly Williams (Connie Stevens) has just been let go from her latest picture -- gossip maven Agatha Murphy (Shelley Winters) cackles on TV that she is through in Hollywood -- and reviews her life, marriages, and love affairs with an unseen psychiatrist. Kelly has a dalliance with Senator O'Neal (Don Murray), and marries former football star Butch Wischnewski (William Smith) and artist Calvin Bernard (James Olson). Will her pills and alcohol lifestyle eventually be Williams' undoing?

Stevens

Connie Stevens, best-known as the petulant, cloying "Cricket Blake" in Hawaiian Eye, was clearly trying to change her squeaky-clean image with this TV movie, and even bares her breasts in a couple of scenes that were added to the theatrical European version. (It's a bet ABC didn't show these!) The Sex Symbol is obviously based on the life of Marilyn Monroe -- the men in Williams' life are stand-ins for JFK, Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller -- but Stevens' has none of that special quality that so distinguished "the adorable one." One can't imagine "Kelley Williams" ever having the kind of career or impact that Monroe had. In fact there are times that Stevens comes off as if Philip, the social director at the Hawaiian Village Hotel on Hawaiian Eye, decided to put on the Marilyn Monroe Story for the hotel's theater and put Cricket in the part! 

James Olson

Stevens gives it the ol' college try and is not terrible, just not that impressive. Shelley Winters seems to be having fun as the gossip maven but does little to make the woman more than a complete caricature. James Olson comes off the best and gives a more than solid performance, and the scenes between him and "Kelly" are psychologically astute. Smith and Murray are fine, but it's weird to see Murray, as he co-starred with the real Monroe in one of her best films, Bus Stop. A notable performance is given by, of all people, director-producer William Castle, who proves quite adept as an actor, playing a sleazy producer. Nehemiah Persoff is another sleazy character, and Milton Selzer and Jack Carter are Kelly's agents. Madlyn Rhue plays Kelly's friend and companion.  

Stevens with William Castle

The Sex Symbol has its entertaining moments, but the scenes of Kelly's long, boozy meltdowns eventually become boring. Although Marilyn Monroe's life story played out in the fifties and sixties, The Sex Symbol seems strictly of the seventies when it was made. Stevens followed this up with a raunchy film called Scorchy, then did numerous TV guest-spots and more made-for-TV movies. Although the real Monroe only joked about putting her breasts in the cement at Grauman's Chinese Theater, Kelly Williams actually does it.

Verdict: Stick with the real thing. **1/4.

IN THE NAVY

Bud Abbott, Dick Foran, Lou Costello

IN THE NAVY (1941). Director: Arthur Lubin. Colorized version. 

Russ Raymond (Dick Powell), singing star, wants to get away from his adoring fans and become anonymous in the Navy. Reporter Dorothy Roberts (Claire Dodd of Babbitt) is determined to get a photo of him for her magazine, somehow thinking this will be a big story. (Even Elvis getting a haircut for the Army wasn't that big a story!) Russ in his new identity encounters the film's true stars, Abbott and Costello, as sailors Smoky and Pomeroy. Chubby Pomeroy thinks of Patti of the Andrews Sisters as his girlfriend, but she may not be so inclined. Everyone sings! 

The Andrews Sisters

In the Navy is an amiable if minor A&C comedy with some amusing moments and pleasant tunes that are not that memorable all told. Bud and Lou do their usual schtick and do it well. Dick Foran is fine as their slightly grouchy superior officer and Powell does his best as straight man for the boys. Claire Dodd is professional but comparatively bland as the persistent reporter. Patti Andrews displays personality to spare, and she and her two sisters sing up a harmonizing storm. The highlight of the movie is actually some splendid tap-dancing from the Condos Brothers duo. Foran and the Andrews trio also appeared together in Private Buckeroo, where Foran gets to do a lot more singing. The Andrews Sisters did a pilot for a TV sitcom in 1951 but no network picked it up. 

Verdict: The boys have done better but this has its moments. **1/2. 

THE BLACK ABBOTT (1963)

The Black Abbott on the prowl

THE BLACK ABBOTT (aka Der schwarze Abt/1963). Director: Franz Josef Gottlieb. 

Lord Harry Chelford (Dieter Borsche of Dead Eyes of London) lives on his estate -- which is reputed to be haunted by a Black-robed Abbott -- and is engaged to Leslie (Grit Boettcher), although she clearly prefers her fiance's cousin, Dick Alford (Joachim Fuchsberger). Leslie's brother, Arthur (Harry Wustenhagen), has a great deal of debts, and is taken advantage of by his employee, Fabian Gilder (Werner Peters) -- Arthur either talks his sister into marrying Gilder, or he will send Arthur to prison. In the meantime, Gilder, Mary (Eva Ingeborg Scholz) who wants Lord Chelford for herself, and others -- including the berobed abbott -- are searching the grounds of the Chelford estate for a rumored treasure of gold. Someone has already been stabbed to death -- who will be next?

Kinski with Fuchsberger

The Black Abbott is based on an old novel by Edgar Wallace which is convoluted and dull and which I never did manage to finish. This film version -- there have been several -- is almost too faithful to the story and is also convoluted and dull. Frankly, although I generally love West German krimi (crime) movies based on Edgar Wallace novels, if this had been the first one I watched I probably wouldn't have sat through the others. Fuchsberger and Peters are familiar players -- Klaus Kinski (of Web of the Spider) is also in this, playing a sinister butler with a criminal history -- and we are also plagued by the presence of the awful Eddi Arent in his usual role of police bumpkin and alleged comedy relief.  

Mismatch: Werner Peters with Grit Boettcher

The Black Abbott has some atmosphere but not much suspense despite so many different characters running around to little effect. More than one of them dress up as the Black Abbott on different occasions, although there usually isn't much sense to it. There was a British film version of the novel in the thirties, and other krimi movies were based on it afterwards (such as The College-Girl Murders in 1967), although these took a lot of liberties. If you're looking for a horror film with a sinister monk beheading people, this isn't it. What you will get instead is a tedious mystery film that fades from memory even as you're watching it. 

Verdict: Could have killed the West German Edgar Wallace sub-genre practically at the starting gate. *. 

HOLLYWOOD HIGH: A Totally Epic, Way Opinionated History of TEEN MOVIES

HOLLYWOOD HIGH: A Totally Epic, Way Opinionated History of TEEN MOVIES. Bruce Handy. Avid Reader Press/Simon and Schuster; 2025.  

Be forewarned if you're looking for a book that critiques dozens and dozens of movies about teens that came out in the fifties and sixties, this is not that book. What it is is an amusing and informative look at Hollywood's attitudes towards teenagers -- and vice versa -- from decades ago until recent days. He has a section on Andy Hardy but doesn't really analyze the various entries in that series, then quickly moves on to an in-depth analysis of Rebel Without a Cause, the Beach Party movies, and then mostly focuses on other select films such as American Graffiti, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Boyz in the Hood and more. With the exception of Graffiti, which I never especially cared for, I haven't seen or wanted to see most of the movies Handy covers. He has a whole loooong chapter on John Hughes, a filmmaker I have never had the slightest interest in. But here's the rub: Handy is such a good and entertaining writer, that he kept me turning the pages as much as if he were writing about subjects more to my liking -- he's that good. No, Handy hasn't convinced me to rush out and pick up a slew of Hughes' movies, but he does a good job of informing the reader about his subject while keeping us engaged and amused. 

Verdict: The great teen movie book has yet to be written, but this highly interesting tome is worth perusing until it is. ***. 

JEZEBEL

Bette Davis in Jezebel

JEZEBEL (1938). Director: William Wyler. Colorized version. 

In pre-Civil War Louisiana, Julie Marsden (Bette Davis) is a spoiled, headstrong gal  who lives on a rambling estate with her Aunt Belle (Fay Bainter of State Fair). Her engagement to banker Preston Dillard (Henry Fonda of Lillian Russell) has already been called off more than once, but Julie is convinced that Pres will always come back to her. This notion is tested when she blatantly wears a red dress to a ball when unmarried ladies are supposed to wear white. Heading north, Preston eventually comes back South -- with a new wife, Amy (Margaret Lindsay of Emergency Hospital). Getting Pres away from Amy presents a challenge to Julie, but the fact that yellow fever (aka Yellowjack) has broken out and is ravaging the area might be even more than she can deal with ... 

Davis, Bainter, Fonda, Lindsay

Warner Brothers wouldn't let Davis play Scarlet O'Hara so they gave her another fiery Southern belle to play in Jezebel. (Jezebel was released first due to the long shooting schedule for Gone With the Wind). Whether Julie is a strong-willed woman who knows her own mind and to hell with the consequences or a pathetic creature who is hopelessly tied to one man is debatable. The soap opera of the story is bolstered by the horrific events of the plague. Whether helming romantic scenes, emotional conflagrations, or sequences detailing the horrors of Yellowjack, William Wyler is at the top of his game, and his star isn't far behind. Fay Bainter is also excellent, and Fonda is better than usual. George Brent does the best he can to keep up and is adequate, as is Margaret Lindsay, deliberately cast to seem a pale weak wren next to the fiery Davis. 

Fonda with Davis

A problematic aspect of the picture, as it is with GWTW, is the patronizing attitude towards the black characters. They are not merely servants, but slaves, but they sing and dance and smile and make merry as if this were perfectly okay with them. Each one gives an notable performance, including Theresa Harris as Zette and Eddie Anderson as Gros Bat. There's a moving scene, be it intended or not, when Fonda asks butler Uncle Cato (Lew Payton) to have a drink with him, but Cato fears it is "hardly proper" and takes his drink with him to the pantry. (We must remember that Fonda swears he is not an abolitionist.) During the plague sequences, when carts are shown taking sick and dying people to an island leper colony, the camera catches both black and white victims, as if to say, the world may discriminate, but yellow fever doesn't. There is a terrific scene in a bar when Fonda falls ill and everyone in the place pulls back in fear and horror in a sudden backwards sweep.

Davis

Whatever its flaws or dated aspects -- although they are "nice" to their slaves, the white characters are essentially racists -- Jezebel is still a memorable picture that takes place in a very different time period. In addition to the fine direction and some splendid performances, there is a notable score by the great Max Steiner and topnotch cinematography by Ernest Haller. The color adds a new dimension to the film although the infamous red dress is more black than red. 

Verdict: A resplendent Davis in a rich romantic drama. ***1/4. 

PRIZZI'S HONOR

Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner

PRIZZI'S HONOR (1985). Director: John Huston. 

Hitman Charlie Partanna (Jack Nicholson), who used to be engaged to the disgraced Maerose Prizzi (Anjelica Huston of Crimes and Misdemeanors), meets and becomes instantly smitten with Irene Walker (Kathleen Turner) at a wedding. The two fall in love and get married, even after Charlie finds out Irene has a husband whom Charlie murders. Irene is hiding a deadly secret, and it isn't long before both husband and wife are being told by different factions to off the other. Now the question is: will they actually be able to murder their own spouse, and which one of them will get it first?

Anjelica Huston and Nicholson

Prizzi's Honor is a black comedy that hasn't worn well with time, although I think it was quite over-rated, even by me, when it was first released. Nowadays there are far too many movies with rather loathsome "heroes" or anti-heroes that we're supposed to care about, even though in real life most of us would do our best to avoid them. The innocent victims in the movie are shunted aside as if they had no importance, which they don't in the world of the Prizzi's and their associates. If this film, based on Richard Condon's novel, is meant to be an indictment of these sleazy people, it doesn't come off that way -- it just doesn't have that much on its mind.

Stealing the movie: Lee Richardson

Nicholson and Turner are okay in the leads playing impossible parts. Although Huston won a supporting Oscar, which she didn't really deserve, she's not that memorable. (I thought she was terrific on Smash, however.) The supporting cast of more experienced actors is much better, with Lee Richardson [The Fly II] taking top honors and John Randolph [Seconds] a close second. The best I can say about William Hickey as Huston's vengeance-filled grandfather is that he's quite odd, and I liked him better in his appearances as the crazy and annoying old man on episodes of Wings. 

Verdict: One of those movies that makes you wonder what you ever saw in it. Still, it is entertaining. **3/4.

FOUR GIRLS IN TOWN

Grant Williams and George Nader

FOUR GIRLS IN TOWN (1957). Written and directed by Jack Sher.  

A Hollywood studio wants to make a biblical epic about Esther, but their biggest star (whose face we never see) wants 50% of the profits. Therefore it is decided to find a new star and bring in four gals to do a screen test: American Kathy (Julie Adams), whose mother (Mabel Albertson) is pushing her to perform; Viennese Ina (Marianne Koch of The Monster of London City), whose husband recently died in a road accident; Italian Maria (Elsa Martinelli of One on Top of the Other), who appears to be a good-time girl who loves the men, especially the ones with money; and French Vicki (Gia Scala of The Big Boodle), who is trying to hide the fact that she has a husband and small son. 

John Gavin comes on to one of the "girls" 

Mike Snowden (George Nader) will helm the young ladies' screen tests, even though he'd much rather direct the picture itself. His best friend, Johnny (Sydney Chaplin) is a film composer nursing a broken heart and many hangovers. Mike is also friends with wealthy playboy Spencer Farrington Jr. (Grant Williams), who pursues women and does little else but attend parties with that end in mind. Tom Grant (John Gavin) is an actor who is chosen to appear in the tests with each of the ladies. Naturally these four men get involved in varying degrees with the "four girls in town." 

Nader with Gavin

I wish I could report that Four Girls in Town is a trenchant drama about Hollywood or at the very least a real trash wallow, but it's neither, although I can't say I ever found it boring. The acting is generally more than professional -- although none of the cast members really stand out -- and the picture has a good pace, but it just never quite comes alive. Maybe it just needed a few sensationalistic scenes to perk up the viewers' interest. An odd sequence has Mike taking some of the ladies and gents on a nighttime grunion hunt, a sequence that was a little more entertaining in Piranha 2: the Spawning, of all things. Jack Sher also directed The 3 Worlds of Gulliver. 

Verdict: At least it has a very attractive cast! **3/4. 

THE FILMS OF DORIS DAY

THE FILMS OF DORIS DAY. Christopher Young. Citadel Press; 1977. 

This was one of the picture-packed oversized volumes of Citadel Press' "Films of" series. Young has a biographical section up front, then a section on each of Day's movies, with excerpts from contemporary reviews and notes by the author on select films. There are also several photo galleries, and each movie has a crop of photos as well. Young makes the point that Day was often under-rated, both as a light musical comedy star and then later as a dramatic actress. Day gave notable performances in Julie, Midnight Lace, Love Me or Leave Me, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and others, and she was extremely adept in comedies, such as the ones she did with Rock Hudson. Still, poor Doris had her haters, including Mad magazine, which made merciless fun of her at every opportunity back in the day. 

Verdict: Enjoyable, heavily illustrated romp through Doris-Land. ***. 

THE PAJAMA GAME

John Raitt and Doris Day

THE PAJAMA GAME (1957). Directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen. 

Sid Sorokin (John  Raitt) gets a job in management at a pajama factory and almost immediately comes into romantic conflict with worker and union member Babe Williams (Doris Day). Although the two are clearly attracted to one another, Babe is sure that there will eventually be problems over their taking opposite sides in a struggle over a raise of seven and a half cents. Meanwhile Gladys (Carol Haney), who keeps the books, is exasperated by her boyfriend Vernon's (Eddie Foy Jr. of The Case of the Black Parrot) almost pathological jealousy. When the workers decide to have a slow-down on the job, things come to a head.  

Picture This: Foy and Shaw trip the Light Fantastic

The Pajama Game is based on the Broadway show with songs by Adler and Ross and choreography by Bob Fosse, which is transplanted to the screen along with much of the cast, such as Raitt. Doris Day replaced Janis Paige, but she is quite good, and handsome Raitt is so good -- and has such an outstanding voice -- that it's a wonder he didn't have more film assignments. Haney and Foy are also excellent, as is Reta Shaw, who does a delightful light-on-her-feet number with Foy ("Picture This"). Other musical highlights include Raitt singing the show's most memorable number, "Hey There;" the big production number at the picnic ("Once a Year Day"); and the smoky, insinuating "Hernando's Hideaway." Another well-known number from the show is "Steam Heat," which I confess I've never much cared for. 

John Raitt 

Thelma Pelish makes an impression as Mae, the economy-sized factory worker and wit who certainly stands out in (very) widescreen. Barbara Nichols [Woman Obsessed] as dumb Poopsie is her typical whiny self and even attempts to sing at times. The worst performance is from Ralph Dunn (of The Golden Eye) as boss Myron Hasler, who instead of  being amusing is merely loud and obnoxious, ruining virtually every scene that he's in. It also has to be noted that the secondary love story between Gladys and Vernon has its tiresome moments, especially the nonsense with the latter throwing knives at everyone in the office. Otherwise, Pajama Game is a likable, entertaining, if relatively slight musical comedy with several good scenes and songs. 

Verdict: Fun and tuneful musical with a spirited Day and a rather sexy Raitt. ***. 

DO YOU KNOW THIS MOVIE?

While I finish up a new book GREAT OLD MOVIES will come out on an irregular schedule.

In the meantime, does anyone know the title of the following film. Here is the description I got from a correspondent:

"The story involves a man in jail who is due to be hanged the following morning. The prison governor offers him one last request and he asks for a woman to spend his last night with him in his cell. The prison governor is unhappy about this request but he is obliged to fulfil it. That evening the police happen to pick up a prostitute(?) who has just tried to commit suicide by drowning. The police offer her an amnesty if she will agree to spend the night in the cell of the condemned man. She agrees to this proposal, and the man and woman spend the night in the cell talking with each other.

They discover they both have very sad backgrounds and despite having a tempestuous conversation they fall in love, and the following morning they get married just before the man goes off to be hanged."

The film was made in the US, and I think it was released in the late 1950s or the early 1960s. It is in black and white. None of the actors are household names. I tentatively think the leading man is played by an actor called John somebody."

Sounds interesting, no? Contact me at the blog's email if you happen to know the name of the movie. Thanks! 

WHERE THE SPIES ARE

Francoise Dorleac and David Niven

WHERE THE SPIES ARE (1965). Director: Val Guest. 

Dr. Jason Love (David Niven of Please Don't Eat the Daisies) is a quiet British doctor whose chief love is his snazzy automobile, and who is promised an even snazzier car, a LeBaron, if he agrees to undertake a little assignment for the government as embodied by MacGillivray (John Le Mesurier). Although certainly there are agents who could impersonate a doctor, Love is enlisted to go to Beirut, Lebanon, to look into the disappearance of a certain spy. First he stops off in Rome to make contact with another agent, the beautiful Vikki (Francoise Dorleac), who is also a highly-paid model. Love doesn't think there will be much to this assignment, and wants to put it off to make love to Vikki, but the plane he was supposed to take to Beirut explodes right after take-off. While Love doesn't think this has much to do with him, on that he would be wrong. Assisted by another agent named Parkington (Nigel Davenport of No Blade of Grass), Love uncovers a plot to assassinate Prince Zahlouf. 

Niven and Nigel Davenport

Everything in Spies must be taken with a grain of salt. One assumes Love has been drafted for the assignment because he is a real doctor who will be above suspicion, but apparently all of the agents have other professions. Not only that, but the opposition seems clued in to who he is before he even leaves the country, planting a bomb on an airliner he is to take. Love is able to beat up Parkington in their first encounter with relative ease, and although his last espionage assignment was during WW2 proves more capable than the professionals. 

Niven with Paul Stassino

Despite this, Spies is relatively absorbing and moves swiftly enough as Jason Love finds himself getting deeper and deeper into trouble. He is pursued by both Lebanon police and Russian agents, and winds up on a Soviet "Peace" plane where he is threatened with extinction when he is placed in a special chamber during the flight in which the air is slowly sucked out. (Another good scene has Love dangling from a helicopter as one of the rungs of the ladder starts to shred!) One of his allies turns out to be a double-agent, and there are a couple of interesting villains in the persons of Simmias (Paul Stassino) and his portly boss, Stanilaus (Ronald Radd). The humor of the film is a bit at odds with such grim stuff as the destruction of an airliner and all aboard. (A disturbing, tossed-off sequence has the Russian who engineered this disaster requesting asylum from American authorities!) 

Niven and John Le Mesurier

Niven is okay as the not-so-bumbling "amateur" spy, and there is good work from the other named cast members as well as Eric Pohlmann as the amiable Farouk, who runs a garage; and Noel Harrison as Le Musurier's good right hand in the London office. Dorleac, the sister of Catherine Deneuve, died in an automobile accident two years later. This was based on the novel "Passport to Oblivion" by James Leasor, who wrote nine novels starring the character of Jason Love. This is the only one that was ever filmed. Mario Nascimbene's score is all over the lot. 

Verdict: David Niven was no James Bond (even if he played 007 in the spoof Casino Royale. **3/4. 

JUST BEFORE NIGHTFALL

Anna Douking

JUST BEFORE NIGHTFALL (aka Juste avant la nuit/1971). Director: Claude Chabrol. 

At the very opening of Just Before Nightfall we see that rather unemotional Charles Masson (Michel Bouquet) has strangled his lover, Laura (Anna Douking). Immediately afterward he runs into Laura's husband -- and his best friend -- Francois Tellier (Francois Perier), but acts as if nothing has happened. Charles has a wife, Helene (Stephane Audran), and two lovely children. Although Charles initially seems unaffected by his actions -- and there is a question of whether or not the death was deliberate or "accidental" -- it clearly begins to nag at him. Meanwhile Francois decides not to tell the police that his friend was seen at Laura's special apartment because he believes Charles is above suspicion. But Charles can't bear to keep silent about what he's done. But how will Helene react when she learns the truth? And Francois? Charles may be surprised by their attitude.

Stephane Audran and Michel Bouquet

I have always had mixed emotions about Claude Chabrol, whose movies seem hit or miss. I have never seen him as being great enough to be called a "French Hitchcock." Still, now and then he comes out with a memorable picture, and Just Before Nightfall falls into that category. The film is an absorbing, well-acted mood piece, shot through with an air of fatalism. Are Charles and Helene a sophisticated, continental couple above the usual marital conventions? Is Helene a romantic, delusional fool? Or is Charles merely a pig and Helene his dupe? The picture has a very satisfying ending that may answer all those questions. Chabrol's masterpiece remains Les bonnes femmes.

Verdict: One of Chabrol's better movies. ***.