HE LAUGHED LAST

Frankie Laine and Lucy Marlow

HE LAUGHED LAST (1956). Director: Blake Edwards. 

When prohibition mobster Big Dan Hennessy (Alan Reed of I, the Jury) is wiped out by an ambitious underling, Max (Jesse White), the latter discovers that the dead man has left everything to an employee, singer-dancer Rosie (Lucy Marlow), including his stake in all of his rackets. This causes problems for Rosie because she is engaged to a cop, Jimmy Murphy (Richard Long). Surveying all this while having little impact on events is the late Dan's benign henchman, Gino Lupo (Frankie Laine), who also sings now and then. Max cooks up the idea of having handsome dancer Dominic Rodriguez (Anthony Dexter of Fire Maidens of Outer Space) become Rosie's partner and romance her, hoping to win her heart and hand and control of the rackets for Max. But Rosie may have other plans. 

Dick Long with Marlow

After the success of the film version of Guys and Dolls the previous year, there were all sorts of Damon Runyonesque-type stories featuring comical gangsters, of which He Laughed Last is one of the worst. Despite the title, the movie has virtually no laughs, and no one in the cast is remotely amusing. Frankie Laine, whose character doesn't really have much to do in the story, has no great comic skill, Jesse White is as annoying and unfunny as ever, Richard Long is certainly no comedian, and although Lucy Marlow plays it cute she's not a barrel of laughs, either. Blake Edwards script is, in a word, a stinker, an idea that should never have seen the light of day. 

Marlow with Anthony Dexter

He Laughed Last is not an actual musical, although Marlow is given two numbers and Laine sings a couple of times as well. The one and only highlight of the picture is when Rosie and that Latin Lover Boy Dominic dance a sexy tango together and the movie is (very) temporarily scintillating. Dexter had played Valentino five years earlier and uses the smooth assurance he displayed in that film to good affect in this, but he doesn't have enough screen time. Blake Edwards also directed Bring Your Smile Along, his first film, which also featured Marlow and Laine. It's a question why Laine even chose to appear in this picture. This might be the only time Richard Long was billed as "Dick Long."

Verdict: One tango does not a worthwhile movie make. *1/2. 

NEW FACES

Robert Clary stinks up another number

NEW FACES (1954).  Director: Harry Horner.

Making CinemaScope productions of Broadway revues was certainly a rare occurrence in the 1950's, but New Faces was quite successful and it was supposed that it would transfer well to the screen. Well ... the trouble is the material and some of the players. The two performers who get the most screen time are Eartha Kitt and Robert Clary.  Kitt (of Anna Lucasta) was a very talented actress, but her voice was not always exactly euphonic. Clary, best-known for a supporting role on the sitcom Hogan's Heroes, must have had an uncle or somebody else who backed the show, for his appearance in this is inexplicable. He does number after number but betrays no great singing talent nor comedic ability. You'll be reaching for the fast forward button!

"Love is a Simple Thing" dance routine

Fortunately there are a few more talented people in the movie. Paul Lynde (of Bye Bye Birdie) does a hilarious routine on going on a disastrous vacation in Africa. Singers Virginia Wilson and June Carroll do a couple of numbers each. Carol Lawrence [A View from the Bridge] and Alice Ghostly [Rodger and Hammerstein's Cinderella] also appear, the latter doing a forgettable skit with Lynde. The rest is decidedly a mixed bag. "Penny Candy" is an awful number that seems to go on forever; Kitt is at least given a fairy decent song with "Santa Baby," and "Love is a Simple Thing" is the most memorable tune; the dancers excel during this number. "You Can't Chop Your Papa Up in Massachusetts" -- about Lizzie Borden -- is meant to be cute and whimsical but is simply an exercise in bad taste. In the barely existing backstage plot, Ronny Graham tries to get Virginia's father to fork over the money for the show. Harry Horner also directed Vicki, a murder mystery set in the theater world. 

Verdict: Too much tedium but Paul Lynde helps a lot. **. 

PAID IN FULL

Bob Cummings and Lizabeth Scott

PAID IN FULL (1950). Director: William Dieterle.  

"Youth should be a blessing, not an apology." 

Jane Langley (Lizabeth Scott) makes continual sacrifices for her spoiled sister, Nancy (Diana Lynn), and even steps aside when both women fall in love with the same man, Bill Prentice (Robert Cummings). Bill and Nancy get married but he soon realizes that he got hitched to the wrong sister. Nancy is too selfish and immature to make a good wife or mother, but both Jane and Bill are too dumb to see it. When a tragedy involving a child occurs, no one seems to be held responsible for it. Meanwhile Dean Martin sings "You're Wonderful" on the soundtrack and Eve Arden, playing an arch gal named "Tommy," delivers her advice in her usual sardonic style. 

Cummings with Diana Lynn

Paid in Full is somewhat absorbing romantic schlock with generally credible performances. Others in the cast include Ray Collins of Perry Mason as a doctor, John Bromfield and Dorothy Adams, as well as Charles Bradstreet and Carol Channing in bits. Lizabeth Scott [I Walk Alone] delivers each and every line in a beatific style that makes her come off like the biggest sap on the planet. Shot by Leo Tover and with a score by Victor Young. William Dieterle also directed Dark City with Scott.

Verdict: Not one of the great classics of Hollywood. **1/4. 

FEAR NO MORE

Mala Powers appeals to Jacques Bergerac for help

FEAR NO MORE (1961). Director: Bernard Wiesen. 

Sharon Carlin (Mala Powers of Edge of Doom) is having a bad day. A man points a gun at her in a train compartment and accuses her of murdering the dead blonde whose body is nearby. This man disappears and a police officer (Robert Karnes) shows up and tries to take her into custody. When she runs off she is nearly run over by Paul Colbert (Jacques Bergerac of Twist of Fate), who is travelling with his young son. Paul eventually comes to care about Sharon and tries to help her figure out what's going on, especially when her employer, Milo Seymour (John Harding), denies all knowledge of sending Sharon on that train trip. Then Mrs. Seymour, for whom Sharon was hired as  a companion, shows up but is a completely different woman (Helena Nash). Still Paul supports Sharon until he learns that she was in a mental institution and may have murdered her last elderly employer. Still, something just doesn't sit right with Paul ... 

Powers with Jon Baer

Fear No More will hold your attention as it maneuvers the various twists and turns of the interesting plot, although Sharon's actions are often stupid, and a lot of the details of the alleged plot she's gotten herself into don't make much sense when all is said and done. However, Powers gives a good accounting of herself and she gets good support from Bergerac, Harding, Nash, and John Baer [Terry and the Pirates] as Keith, a tippling friend of hers who comes to an bad end. Anna Lee Carroll is also good as Paul's ex-wife, Denise. The picture leads up to a tense confrontation at a cabin in the woods. 

Verdict: Intriguing if imperfect mystery-thriller with a good cast. ***. 

DON'T JUST STAND THERE

Mary Tyler Moore and Robert Wagner just read the script

DON'T JUST STAND THERE (1968). Director: Ron Winston. 

Martine Randall (Mary Tyler Moore of Just Between Friends) works for romance novelist Sabine Manning (Glynis Johns of The Cabinet of Caligari), who has run off to who-knows-where. Kendall Flannigan (Barbara Rhoades) is hired to finish Manning's latest opus, but after she is accused of killing her boyfriend she is kidnapped by his gangster friends. Martine hires Lawrence Colby (Robert Wagner of Say One for Me) to finish the book, and he winds up affecting a rescue of Kendall. And it gets more confusing and stupider after that. 

Wagner and Moore went in disguise after pic's release

I'm afraid that Don't Just Stand There is one of those alleged comedies that is simply busy and frenetic instead of funny. I believe I laughed exactly once during the entire hour and forty minutes. Moore and Johns must have been appalled at the results if and when they saw this incredibly bad movie disaster. Both, especially Moore, are capable of being funny, but the script defeats them. Even Harvey Korman in a supporting role doesn't garner a single laugh. This is the first film for Barbara Rhoades and she's lucky it wasn't her last. Glynis Johns at least isn't on screen for that long. Charles Williams, who wrote the book (The Wrong Venus) this was based on also wrote the screenplay, so he has to get much of the blame. Possibly this was never meant to be a comedy? 

Verdict: Atrocious film is an effort to sit through despite some good players. *. 

GREAT OLD MOVIES SUMMER SCHEDULE

 

GREAT OLD MOVIES

is going on a Summer Schedule. There will be occasional posts in the hot months, but in general we will return on a regular basis in the Fall. This will give me time to finish up some book projects.

However, don't despair! My brother blog, B MOVIE NIGHTMARE, will maintain a regular schedule during the summer months and may even come out with more frequency. Yeah! 

THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL

Lord Olivier and La Monroe

THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL (1957). Director: Laurence Olivier.

"We are not dealing with an adult but an unruly child."

On the eve of the coronation of the new British King in 1911 London, the Grand Ducal Highness of the Balkan nation of Carpatha, AKA Charles (Laurence Olivier), invites a pretty American showgirl named Elsie (Marilyn Monroe) to supper at the Carpathian embassy. Alas, the Grand Duke doesn't realize that Elsie is a lot smarter than she looks -- and not quite as "easy" as he hopes. During the night and the following day, the two argue and banter, and Elsie manages to wend her way into Carpathian politics and  more via the Duke's son Nicky (Jeremy Spenser), soon to be king, and the prickly if lovable Queen Dowager (Sybil Thorndike). The cast in this entertaining if overlong comedy, including Jean Kent as an actress friend of Charles and Richard Wattis as Northbrook, a liaison, is uniformly excellent. Olivier is fine as the rather stuffy if amorous duke, and Monroe is natural, unaffected and marvelous -- luminescent, in fact -- as Elsie. I'm not the first to think that she sort of out-acts Olivier at times, but both are splendid. The ending is a bit strange, but this is a colorful, unusual picture.

Verdict: The High and the Horny. ***.

ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE

Ellen Burstyn

ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE (1974). Director: Martin Scorsese.

After the death of her husband in an accident, Alice Hyatt (Ellen Burstyn of The Exorcist) packs up and drives off to a new life as a singer with her young son Tommy (Alfred Lutter). Trying to get a job as a singer -- although she's not very good -- she winds up as a waitress in a diner in Arizona and along the way gets involved with two very different men (Harvey Keitel and Kris Kristofferson). This once very popular movie hasn't worn well with time. Although Alice was hardly the first Hollywood movie to deal with a widow moving on and starting a new life for herself, stumbling all the while, it came out in a decade reappraising women's roles and therefore seemed more novel than it actually was. Burstyn is good, if a bit overwrought at times, and won the best actress Oscar for the role. Lutter as her son is terrific and the rest of the supporting cast, including a young Jodie Foster as a friend of Tommy's, is excellent. A product of its time if little else.

Verdict: Pleasant and well-acted. **1/2.

HOUSEWIFE

HOUSEWIFE (1934). Director: Alfred E. Green.

Nan Reynolds (Ann Dvorak) helps to push her husband Bill (George Brent) to success, then has to deal with it when he falls in love with a man-hungry co-worker, Patricia Berkeley (Bette Davis) and says he wants to marry her. You can argue that the film is fairly predictable and formulaic, but it's also well-acted by the principals and surprisingly entertaining. Dvorak is very lovely and capable, Brent proves again that he could give many a winning performance, and Davis is saucy and likable despite her "bad girl" role. John Halliday and Ruth Donnelly also score as, respectively, one of Bill's clients (in his advertising business), who falls for Nan, and Nan's amused and amusing sister-in-law, Dora. 

Verdict: Easy to take and quite enjoyable, with a winning cast. ***

THE COWBOY AND THE BLONDE

THE COWBOY AND THE BLONDE (1941). Director: Ray McCary.

"Oh, you beautiful dope!"

Actress Crystal Wayne (Mary Beth Hughes), a complete bitch, is softened when she falls in love with a hopeful new cowboy star, Lank Garrett (George Montgomery), which is just as well because Garrett proves to be a hopeless actor except when he's doing love scenes with Crystal. The couple have a series of dumb misunderstandings throughout the 64 minute movie, which seems three hours long. Alan Mowbray plays Crystal's liaison in the studio. Minerva Urecal shows up for a minute or two. It's hard to believe this dog was actually released by 20th Century-Fox, as it looks like nothing so much as a poverty row item with an undistinguished cast. Hughes is at least somewhat vivid as Crystal; Montgomery has some charm but little else. This "comedy" has not got one single real laugh in it.

Verdict: 64 minutes long and only one half-hearted chuckle! *.

THE MAD MONSTER

George Zucco

THE MAD MONSTER (1942). Director: Sam Newfield.

"I'm not interested in your imbecilic mouthings."

Dr. Cameron (George Zucco) wants revenge on the scientific colleagues who mocked him, so he uses a formula created from wolf's blood to turn his handy man Petro (Glenn Strange) into a voracious monster complete with two fangs, a shaggy beard, and lipstick! Petro goes out to take care of Cameron's alleged enemies. Anne Nagel of The Secret Code is the doctor's daughter, Lenora, and Johnny Downs [Adventures of the Flying Cadets] plays a reporter named Tom Gregory. The film has its share of foggy atmosphere, but there's an awful lot of talking about things we already know. But the performances are good: Nagel [Black Friday] is always a pleasure, and Zucco is fun to watch no matter what the vehicle.

Verdict: Low-grade wolf man film with some limited appeal -- and Zucco! **.

THE SECRET OF THE PURPLE REEF

Brothers: Richard Chamberlain; Jeff Richards 

THE SECRET OF THE PURPLE REEF (1960). Director: William Witney. 

When a ship disappears in the Caribbean, and their brother is presumed dead, Mark Christophe (Jeff Richards of Born Reckless) and his other brother, Dean (Richard Chamberlain), try to find out what happened. Does it have something to do with another ship that was scuttled in that area around the same time? And is a man named Tom Weber (Peter Falk of Penelope) somehow mixed up in this? With the help of their late brother's pal, Tobias (Robert Earl Jones), they try to get information from the shifty loner Ashby (Terence de Marney) and from Weber's girlfriend, Rue Amboy (Margia Dean). But are the brothers asking too many questions? 

Peter Falk and Margia Dean

The Secret of the Purple Reef seems to have everything going for it: attractive leads, beautiful scenery, an interesting Calypso score, a fairly intriguing plot, and an experienced action director in serial specialist William Witney [King of the Mounties]. But the script is a bit of a letdown and the movie never really catches fire. As well the action sequences lack that great exciting touch that Witney brought to his cliffhangers and other movies. Peter Falk gives an excellent performance, with de Marney and Jones (the father of James Earl Jones) also notable. Chamberlain and Richards look great and are competent. Margia Dean, sort of the love interest, is middle-aged, matronly, and completely miscast. This picture needed a really sexy lady to complement the two handsome leads. 

Verdict: Such possibilities, but this just doesn't quite work. **. 

MYSTERY OF MARIE ROGET

Maria Montez as Marie Roget

MYSTERY OF MARIE ROGET (1942). Director: Phil Rosen.

Notorious actress Marie Roget (Maria Montez of Arabian Knights) goes missing in Paris, and Inspector Gobelin (Lloyd Corrigan) and the famous Dr. Dupin (Patric Knowles of Five Came Back), who solved the case of the Murders in the Rue Morgue, are called in to investigate. After a few days Marie turns up alive, and her grandmother, Cecile (Maria Ouspenkaya of Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman) suspects that Marie's stepsister, Camille (Nell O'Day) may be the subject of a devious murder plot. There is also a faceless corpse of a woman in the river. Dupin accompanies Camille to a party, but when another dead body turns up in the river it may be a surprise to everyone whose it is. Dupin, with the help/interference of the Inspector, uncovers the murderer and his motive. 

Knowles and Corrigan

Mystery of Marie Roget is very loosely based on the famous short story by Edgar Allan Poe, which in turn was inspired by a real murder case -- the first mystery story to do this -- although the murder occurred in New York and not in Paris. One problem with this film adaptation is that there aren't enough suspects, which include John Litel as the family lawyer, and Edward Norris as Camille's shady fiance, and even the old grandmother herself. Although the film still has some suspense in spite of this, the solution doesn't come as much of a surprise. As for the cast, Corrigan is as fun as ever, Knowles makes a credible Dupin, Ouspenkaya is suitably peppery (and borderline bitchy with the Inspector), Montez looks classy and actually gives a perfectly good performance, and Litel and Norris are on-target throughout the proceedings. The film is well-paced under Phil Rosen's direction and well-produced. Rosen directed several Charlie Chan movies and many others. 

Verdict: Not Poe perhaps, but entertaining, atmospheric, and well-made. ***.  

PERRY MASON: THE CASE OF THE GRINNING GORILLA

Raymond Burr with special guest-star

PERRY MASON: THE CASE OF THE GRINNING GORILLA. Season 8, episode 28. 1965. Director: Jesse Hibbs.  

Now here's a weird one. Della Street (Barbara Hale) buys the diary at auction of a woman -- the secretary of an eccentric millionaire who keeps various kinds of apes in his home -- who died while at sea during a storm. Della wants her boss, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr), to somehow get involved, but he winds up giving advice to Josephine Kempton (Lurene Tuttle), a housekeeper who is suing her former employer -- said millionaire -- for slander after he fired her for stealing. Perry is able to find out who actually stole the items in dispute, but has to defend the peppery and difficult Miss Kempton when she's accused of murder. Did she stab somebody with scissors or was it the "grinning gorilla?"

Perry confers with his client, Lurene Tuttle

Jackson Gillis' script for this twisty and entertaining episode has some strange elements, foremost being that Perry and Della occasionally act out of character. I mean, Della has tripped over plenty of dead bodies accompanying Perry, so it seems strange for her to get hysterical when she sees a gorilla far in the distance, or to worry unduly about Perry going into the millionaire's mansion to meet Josephine. Perry seems very impatient with his secretary throughout most of the episode as well. However, Lurene Tuttle of Psycho fame gives an excellent performance in this, and we've also got Gavin MacLeod from the Mary Tyler Moore Show and Victor Buono from What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, along with Robert Colbert as a DA and Janos Prohaska as a gorilla. Yes, Perry faces a gorilla-on-the-loose at one point!

Suspects in Grinning Gorilla

There have been better episodes of Perry Mason than Grinning Gorilla, but it is fun and suspenseful and has some clever twists. Perry does not appear in a courtroom at all in this episode, and the whole business is resolved before there even is a trial, something that did not happen too often on the show. Raymond Burr appeared in more than one gorilla-oriented movie, such as Gorilla at Large with Anne Bancroft and Bride of the Gorilla with Barbara Payton, but he was also in such classics as Hitchcock's Rear Window. 

Verdict: Perry has more than one encounter with an adorable chimp! ***

WHITE WOMAN

Kent Taylor and Carole Lombard

WHITE WOMAN (1933). Director: Stuart Walker.

Down in Malaysia, Judith Denning (Carole Lombard of In Name Only) is considered notorious because it is said she drove her husband to suicide by taking a lover. She is also a "white woman" who sings in a cafe that caters to the natives. When the rich owner of a rubber plantation, Horace Prin (Charles Laughton), who calls himself the "King of the River," makes her a proposition, she decides to become his wife. On the plantation she comes to realize that Prin is a monster, and also that his overseer, David (Kent Taylor of Western Pacific Agent), is the man for her. It isn't long before the two are making plans to leave together, but Prin will not be so amenable to this decision of theirs. 

Claude King, Charles Laughton, Ethel Griffies

White Woman is a weird but intriguing movie, dripping with humid atmosphere, interesting performances, sinister jungle natives who are fond of lobbing lopped-off heads through windows, and the like. The centerpiece, of course, is Laughton, who gives a bizarre account of himself. On one hand he adds great flavor to his portrayal of a man who might be sociopathic, but at other times he is borderline campy, playing it like a vicious and childish "queen." Lombard is perhaps not quite as expressive as one might have hoped for, but she is good, and she plays quite well with Kent Taylor, who gives a very good reason for deserting. Percy Kilbride can't quite get away from Pa Kettle in his portrayal of Laughton's associate, Jakey, but he is effective enough. Others in the cast include Claude King as the administrator who wants Judith to "get out of town," Ethel Griffies as his highly disapproving (of Lombard) wife, and Charles Middleton [Drums of Africa] and Marc Lawrence as other workers on the plantation. Charles Bickford, who is as good as usual, shows up late as the new overseer and certainly keeps Laughton on his toes!

Verdict: Unusual romance with a suspenseful climax. ***. 

HOLIDAY IN HAVANA

Mary Hatcher, Desi Arnaz

HOLIDAY IN HAVANA (1949). Director: Jean Yarbrough.

Bus boy turned bandleader Carlos Estrada (Desi Arnaz of Cuban Pete) wants to sign up singer Lolita Valdez (Mary Hatcher) to be a vocalist with his group. Talking to what he thinks is Lolita through a hotel room door, Carlos is highly insulted by the gal's termagant mother, Mama Valdez (Minerva Urecal of That Other Woman). Hating Lolita for "her" remarks, Carlos attempts to find a new singer with which to enter a competition at a carnival in Havana. Through a sequence of events, Lolita winds up accompanying Carlos and his band to Havana, but he thinks she is a woman named "Delores." Meanwhile two opposing agents, Marge (Ann Doran of Violent Road) and Sam (Ray Walker), are both anxious to sign Lolita to a contract that will bring her to New York. 

Ray Walker, Minerva Urecal, Ann Doran

I asked myself while watching "why is Holiday in Havana so dull?" Desi Arnaz is charming and talented -- I was never crazy about his voice but he does know how to put over a song -- as is his leading lady, Mary Hatcher, and there is fine back up from Urecal, Doran, and Steven Geray and Sig Arno as members of the band. There are also some snappy song numbers -- Hatcher scores with the lovely "I'll Take Romance" while Desi does "The Straw Hat Song" (which he reprised on Lucy) and that exciting bongo-rhumba finale. But then there's everything in-between, silly situations with no real laughs even though the cast is more than game. The movie runs a little over an hour but it seems three times as long. Mercifully, Arnaz found gainful employment, and showcased his considerable talent, on I Love Lucy two years later. Despite her ability, Mary Hatcher's film career -- after only a handful of credits -- was over that same year. Hatcher had a beautiful near-operatic voice and did some Broadway musical productions in addition to film assignments. 

Verdict: Desi has energy to spare but he needs a better script. **1/2. 

CRY OF THE CITY

Richard Conte and Victor Mature

CRY OF THE CITY (1948). Director: Robert Siodmak. Colorized. 

Career criminal Martin Rome (Richard Conte) is laid up in the hospital after a bank job -- during which he shot a cop --goes awry. Lt. Candella (Victor Mature) learns that a woman (Debra Paget)  came to see him and is determined to discover her identity. Could Rome have had something to do with a jewel robbery in which an elderly woman was beaten and strangled? Others involved with Rome include shifty lawyer Niles (an excellent Berry Kroeger); Nurse Frances (Betty Garde), who does Rome a big favor; gal pal Brenda (Shelley Winters); and sinister masseuse Rose Given (Hope Emerson). When Rome breaks out of jail there will be more than one death attributed to him.

A lady to watch out for: Emerson and Conte

Richard Conte gives a good performance in this but Victor Mature is even better. One could easily complain that the film is full of cliches -- a hood with an adoring younger brother (Tommy Cook) and heart-broken mother (Mimi Aguglia), for instance -- but the film is so well-written, acted and directed that it just doesn't matter. Everyone is perfectly cast and at the top of their game. This is another film in which those two hefty, homely and gifted actresses Garde and Emerson both appear, although they have no scenes together in this as they do in Caged. Garde is good but Emerson is outstanding in her portrayal of a truly slimy female reptile. Fred Clark and Roland Winters are also notable in smaller roles, as is Walter Baldwin as inmate Orvy. 

Betty Garde deals with Mature while Clark and Conte look on

This unpredictable movie has several memorable scenes: the suspenseful  business when Rome breaks out of his prison hospital cell; a violent confrontation in Nile's office between the lawyer, Rome and an unfortunate secretary who gets too nosy; and the tense subway stand-off between Rome and Candella with Emerson getting in the way. Alfred Newman contributes an exciting score and the film is shot by Lloyd Ahern Sr.

Verdict: Terrific film noir with a great cast. ***1/2. 

PATTERNS

Face Off: Van Heflin and Everett Sloane

PATTERNS (1956). Director: Fielder Cook. Screenplay by Rod Serling. Colorized. 

Recruited by Walter Ramsey (Everett Sloane of The Big Knife), the head of the Ramsey Corporation, Fred Staples (Van Heflin) moves with his wife (Beatrice Straight) to New York for an important position. Fred will be working with veteran Bill Briggs (Ed Begley of Odds Against Tomorrow) but doesn't know that Ramsey intends for Fred to be Briggs' replacement. Ramsey is doing his best to get Briggs to quit, yelling at him and humiliating him, but Briggs is determined to stick it out. Ramsey gives all the credit for a joint report to Fred even though many of the ideas were Briggs', leading to a tense boardroom confrontation that may lead to tragedy. Will Fred stay working for Ramsey, a man he admits he hates ...

In the boardroom

With an excellent script by Rod Serling and a superb cast -- Elizabeth Wilson also gets high marks for her portrayal of secretary Marge, whose heart is breaking for Briggs -- Patterns emerges as a compelling and intelligent drama that hasn't lost any of its power. Heflin gives another strong performance as a man who has principles and doesn't wish to compromise them, and is perfectly willing to take on the more ruthless Sloane on a day by day basis. Although one could accuse Sloane of occasional over-acting, he also makes Ramsey much more than just a one-dimensional villain, as much of what he says is logical and impassioned and there are signs that he is not without a conscience. The picture is well-cast down to the smallest role, well-directed and paced. This film was undoubtedly influential on many other films and TV shows about corporate intrigue.

Verdict: The human factor vs. logistics. Good show! ***1/2. 

THE BANK DICK

THE BANK DICK (1940). Director: Edward F. Cline.

W. C. Fields is simply splendid as Egbert Souse (pronounced Sousay, and don't you forget it!), who inadvertently foils a bank robbery and is given a job as a bank guard as a reward. Egbert's future son-in-law, Og (the wonderful Grady Sutton) borrows money from the bank for an investment opportunity and discovers to his horror that the bank examiner J. Pinkteron Snoopington (the superb Franklin Pangborn) is in town to look over the books! Egbert does what he can to prevent Snoopington from discovering the missing loot until Og can return it and has other assorted misadventures as well, even winding up directing a film. Una Merkel and Cora Witherspoon are terrific as members of Egbert's family. Jan Duggan from The Old-Fashioned Way has a cameo as a customer in the bank, and Pierre Watkin [Atom Man vs. Superman] is actually excellent as the bank president.

Verdict: This is a very funny and well-acted movie. ***1/2.

JIGSAW (1962)

JIGSAW (1962). Produced, directed, and written by Val Guest. 

A young woman (Moira Redmond) makes the mistake of telling her unseen lover that she is two months pregnant, and perhaps now would be a good time for him to break from his wife. Unfortunately, this gent has a different idea on his mind. Some time later part of the lady's corpse is found in the garage of a rented house. Detective Fellows (Jack Warner of Dear Murderer) and Detective Wilks (Ronald Lewis) are part of a team assigned to not only find out who killed the woman but who she was. Doing dogged police work (although it seems to take forever for them to bring in someone to work with an identikit) leads to mistaken identities and bum steers. Finally they discover the killer has been hiding in plain sight for quite some time. 

Jigsaw is a very absorbing British police procedural with Warner playing an amiable, highly professional detective. Lewis is also good, but he's always more interesting as a bad guy, such as in Stop Me Before I Kill! Yolande Donlan -- who was married to director Val Guest --  really makes an impression as another woman who dallies with the killer, and there's notable work from Redmond, Michael Goodliffe [The Gorgon], John Barron, John Le Mesurier [Jack the Ripper] and others. This is not another British copy of Psycho and focuses much more on the solving of the crime than it does on the crime itself. Guest also directed The Day the Earth Caught Fire. 

Verdict: Suspenseful British mystery. ***.  

OVERPRAISED NEW MOVIE: ANATOMY OF A FALL

ANATOMY OF A FALL (aka Anatomie d'un chute/2023). Director/co-screenplay: Justine Triet. 

German-born Sandra (Sandra Huller) lives in a Chalet in France with her husband, Samuel (Samuel Theis), and their son, Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner). Sandra is a successful novelist while her husband is a teacher who seems unable to complete his own book. One day Samuel is found lying dead in the snow outside the chalet -- but did he fall, jump, or was he pushed? Eventually Sandra, who has had one-night stands with other women and had a big, tape-recorded fight with Sam not long before his death, is arrested for murder. Her lawyer, Vincent (Swann Arlaud), and his associates, do their best to convince a jury that Samuel, depressed at being a failure at forty, committed suicide. Meanwhile young Daniel struggles with his own conflicted feelings. 

Samuel Theis and Sandra Huller

Despite a slow opening, Anatomy of a Fall is an absorbing and interesting movie that reminds one of an episode of Dateline. Did she do it or didn't she? Be warned that the movie doesn't seem to care that much if she did or didn't, but is more concerned with analyzing -- to a small extent -- the couple's marriage and Daniel's reactions. Huller is okay in her stereotypically "Germanic" and generally unemotional portrayal, and the adults surrounding her are all on target, but Machado-Graner is superb. There are some well-written scenes in the movie. One that especially comes to mind is the argument between husband and wife in which she accuses him of blaming her for all of his failings. But the movie is also at times rather superficial, especially when it comes to exploring Sandra's sexuality (there's no discussion of her possible internalized homophobia, for instance) and other matters -- it just doesn't dig deep enough (and at two and half hours long it should have). The movie does illustrate how some prosecutors can and will use any bit of ammunition they have, even if they have to twist things a bit, to convict someone (just as defense attorneys do the same in their own way). 

The film received Oscar nominations for best film, best actress, best director and best editing, but won only for best screenplay. In French and English. 

All in all, Anatomy of a Fall is not necessarily a waste of time -- it should hold your attention -- but you'll probably never want to see it again. **3/4. 

CIRCUS WORLD

Rita Hayworth and John Wayne

CIRCUS WORLD (1964). Director: Henry Hathaway. 

Matt Masters (John Wayne) decides to pack up his tents and take his circus on a European tour. His associate and buddy Cap (Lloyd Nolan) suspects that Matt's real reason for going is to find Lily (Rita Hayworth), who ran off fourteen years ago and hasn't been seen since. Lily left behind a daughter, Toni (Claudia Cardinale), who was taken in by Matt, who has become her surrogate father. Matt is a bit disturbed by Toni's feelings for Steve (John Smith), who hopes to become Matt's partner and Toni's husband. But just as the troupe arrives in Paris, there's a disaster when their ship capsizes. 

Wayne with John Smith

Circus World may not be a great movie, but it's quite colorful and entertaining. Hayworth and Wayne, two very different kinds of actors, actually play quite well together, with Hayworth being handled the more difficult role and running with it. Cardinale of the whiskey voice also acquits herself nicely, although one could argue that she's more decorative than anything else. John Smith makes a decidedly positive impression as Steve, but he did much more work on television shows such as Laramie. Lloyd Nolan arguably comes off the best in his peppery and engaging performance as Cap. Richard Conte is also good in an underwritten role as Hayworth's former brother-in-law, a clown. Miles Malleson and Katherine Kath are also notable in smaller roles.

Claudia Cardinale with Wayne

Despite some terrific circus and animal acts involving horses, highwire acts, lions and tigers, the most outstanding sequence is when the boat capsizes at the dock in France. This scene is remarkably well-handled and wakes up anyone who might have been sleeping beforehand. An elaborate sequence when a tent catches fire is also notable, if not quite as impressive. Dimtri Tiomkin's theme song is pretty awful. Other major circus movies include Trapeze, Jumbo, The Big Circus, Carnival Story, and The Greatest Show on Earth, not to mention numerous films of varying genres that use the circus as a backdrop. 

Verdict: Even when Hayworth is down and out and deglamorized she is still beautiful. ***. 

PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES

Angel Aranda and Barry Sullivan

PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES (aka Terrore nello spazio/1965). Director: Mario Bava.

Two spaceships, the Argos and the Galleon, led respectively by Mark (Barry Sullivan of Pyro) and his brother, Toby (Alberto Cevenini), respond to a distress signal from an isolated planet. When the Argos lands, the crew members inexplicably begin attacking each other, and the crew of the Galleon, which already landed, are eventually found dead. Regaining control of their minds, Mark, crewmembers Wes (Angel Aranda), Sonya (Norma Bengell), Tiona ((Evi Marandi), and others, are baffled and terrified when some of the dead appear to them, seemingly alive. Something on this planet is a decided enemy of theirs ...

Trapped with the giant alien skeleton

The highly influential Planet of the Vampires is as colorful and entertaining as an E.C. sci fi comic book of the fifties. Perhaps the best scene has Mark and Sonya trapped inside an alien spaceship -- which also responded to a distress call centuries ago -- inside which is the skeleton of a creature three times their size. Something starts sucking the air out of the chamber as the two try desperately to find a way out. But their true enemy is more or less invisible and that much more dangerous. 

the crew of the Argos

Planet of the Vampires, along with It, the Terror from Beyond Space,  undoubtedly stirred the imaginations of the creators of Alien. The similarities are numerous: in both films the protagonists respond to a distress signal; the shape of the spaceships, including orifice-like exits; the derelict spaceship and the huge alien skeleton found inside. One could argue that its sequences in which colleagues and loved ones come back from the dead are reminiscent of the later Night of the Living Dead, as well. 

Angel Aranda

Director Mario Bava cleverly expands a small budget with his trademark attractive, even garish color schemes, the use of shadows and fog, and camera angles that add to the eerie atmosphere. The spacemen wear black leather outfits that come off as perhaps a little too stylish. Barry Sullivan, whose real voice is heard in this Italian production, is professional although the role is not really a good fit for him. He shows little reaction when he finds out his brother is dead -- or "alive." The other actors all seem adept. Angel Aranda reminds one of Mark Damon of House of Usher. The downbeat "surprise" ending is also typical of fifties sci fi comics. 

Verdict: Very interesting sixties science fiction. ***. 

MAN FROM CHEYENNE

Roy Rogers

MAN FROM CHEYENNE (1942). Director: Joseph Kane. 

Roy Rogers (Roy Rogers) has been traveling far from home in Cheyenne, Wyoming when he returns after ten years to renew old acquaintances with the likes of surrogate father Gabby Whittaker (Gabby Hayes). his daughter Sally (Sally Payne), and old crush Judy Evans (Gale Storm). He learns that some mysterious rustlers have been causing problems, and he is asked by a Cattlemen's Association to investigate as he won't be seen as a suspicious stranger. Meanwhile Roy meets up with fellow rancher Marian Hardy (Lynne Carver of Everybody Sing), who is keeping secrets, and Gabby's foreman Bob (Bob Nolan), who seems to have a hankering for Judy. 

Polite dislike: Gale Storm; Lynne Carver

Frankly, there's not much to this semi-musical modern-day cowboy film set in 1941 when it was made. However, it's pleasant enough, as are the actors and the songs. It probably won't be much of a surprise as to who's behind the gang of rustlers. Sally Payne is a homely Una Merkel lookalike, Lynne Carver needs a lot more meat on her bones, and Storm is as proficient and likable as ever. She and Carver have a catfight at one point, with Storm delivering a knock-out kayo to Carver's chin. James Seay plays Sheriff Jim, William Haade is the sinister Ed, and Jack Ingram is the rustler, Chuck. The Sons of the Pioneers play the ranch hands and do some singin'. Gabby Hayes is more bearable than usual in this. Rogers and Payne also appeared in Romance on the Range.  

Verdict: Okay time-passer with good-looking' Roy. **1/4. 

THE CARDINAL

Father Fermoyle (Tom Tryon) faces the KKK

THE CARDINAL (1963). Produced and directed by Otto Preminger.

At his birth it was decided that Stephen Fermoyle (Tom Tryon of The Unholy Wife) would become a priest, and he never questioned it. Seen as being too ambitious by Bishop Glennon (John Huston), Fermoyle is sent to one of the poorest parishes in the nation, where he works with the dying Father Halley (Burgess Meredith). Not certain that he wants -- or ever wanted -- to be a priest, he takes a leave of absence and falls in love with the Austrian woman Annemarie (Romy Schneider) and vice versa, but his faith is reignited and he remains in the priesthood. As he advances at the Vatican due to the patronage of Cardinal Quarenghi (Raf Vallone), he jeopardizes his career by helping a black priest, Father Gillis (Ossie Davis), in Georgia and comes afoul of whip-wielding members of the Ku Klux Klan. Later he goes to Vienna to consult with Cardinal Innitzer (Joseph Meinrad), who has capitulated to the Nazis but is betrayed by them. He manages to escape an attack on Innitzer's quarters and with most of his family present is made a cardinal. 

Raf Vallone with Tom Tryon

Over three hours long, The Cardinal -- which spans WW1 up to the beginnings of WW2 and the rise of Hitler -- is never boring. I only watched the film because I was curious how actor-turned-novelist Tom Tryon would handle such a demanding lead role, and he comes through with flying colors. Unfortunately, The Cardinal was a financial flop, and that adversely affected his career. One of the film's greatest strengths is the performances of the entire cast, although John Huston, despite some solid moments, is as uneven in this as he was in The Other Side of the Wind. Carol Lynley makes her mark as Stephen's sister, who falls in love with a Jewish man, well-played by John Saxon. Broadway star Bill Hayes is also effective as Stephen's brother, Frank, as is Dorothy Gish as their mother. Others in the cast include Patrick O'Neal as a southern bigot, Murray Hamilton as one of the racist group who tries to help Stephen, Chill Wills as a bishop, and Bobby Morse (appearing with the Adora-Belles) as the main performer in a spirited nightclub act. 

Joseph Meinrad with Tryon

One problem with the film is that apparently some scenes had to be left on the cutting room floor, or perhaps were never filmed. The resolutions of storylines involving the sister and her fiance, as well as Annemarie in Nazi-controlled Vienna, are left dangling. Some scenes, such as a confrontation between Stephen and his sister's Jewish fiance after a tragic occurrence, cry out to be recorded but are never shown. On the other hand, there are some powerful moments, such as a chorus of Catholics in Vienna attracting the negative attention of the SS and Hitler Youth, forming a startling contrast, and the sequences when Nazis storm Cardinal Innitzer's quarters, which actually happened. Joseph Meinrad [Sissi: The Young Empress] is excellent as the cardinal, who was a real-life individual. 

Brothers: Tom Tryon with Bill Hayes

The Cardinal does something unusual in that it depicts the Nazi persecution of Catholics. Although ordinary members of the clergy (Protestants as well as Catholics) were sent to concentration camps or killed, higher-ranking clergy were generally left alone so as not to become martyrs. In any case, this doesn't compare to the persecution of Jews, whose ordinary citizenry were slaughtered in appalling numbers. Annemarie's husband has Jewish blood, and comes to a bad end, but otherwise The Cardinal doesn't really deal with antisemitism, another serious flaw of the film. Despite the fact that the film was partially bankrolled by the Vatican (the church's liaison later became Pope Benedict XVI), it is made clear that the church didn't really want to get involved in civil rights, let alone in the troubles of the Jews.  

Whatever its flaws, The Cardinal boasts a beautiful, expressive score by Jerome Moross [The Big Country] and superb cinematography courtesy of Leon Shamroy [The Robe] . 

Verdict: I am not remotely Catholic but I enjoyed this movie -- the religiosity never quite becomes overbearing, it is great to look at, and much more interesting than you might imagine, with a great cast. ***.