BAD SISTER

David Durand and Bette Davis

BAD SISTER (1931). Director: Hobart Henley. Colorized.

The Madison family are beset with a series of problems. Laura (Bette Davis) is in love with Dr. Dick Lindley (Conrad Nagel of All That Heaven Allows), but he only has eyes for her sister, Marianne (Sidney Fox). For her part, Marianne falls hard for an out-of-town stranger, Valentine (Humphrey Bogart of The Barefoot Contessa) who has distinct, if unpleasant, plans for both her and her family. Dad (Charles Winninger of Lover Come Back) is prompted to find out as much as he can about Val, but the selfish and immature Marianne may cause terrible problems with her own actions. Meanwhile little brother, Hedrick (David Durand), shows Laura's diary to Dick, leading to a moving sequence between brother and sister. 

Sidney Fox and Humphrey Bogart

Bad Sister is best-known as the first film ever for Bette Davis, who is quite good, but you wouldn't necessarily see her as becoming a major and long-lasting star. This was also the first film for the capable Sidney Fox, who didn't have the same good fortune, committing suicide at 34. Bogart, of course, went on to great success and is quite effective in the movie. Nagel and Winninger score as suitor and father, and the film is nearly stolen by young Durand as the lovable if irritating scamp Hedrick, although the boy has his sensitive side as well. Based on a story by Booth Tarkington, Bad Sister is a charming, funny, and occasionally touching comedy-drama. Zazu Pitts and Slim Summerville are also in the cast as maid and son-in-law. 

Verdict: Lovely old movie. ***. 

THE BIGAMIST

Ida Lupino and Edmond O'Brien

THE BIGAMIST (1953). Director: Ida Lupino.

"How could a man like you, successful, respected, get into a situation as vile as this?"

When Harry Graham (Edmond O'Brien) and his wife Eve (Joan Fontaine) apply to adopt a child, Mr. Jordan (Edmund Gwenn), who's in charge of investigating the couple's background, discovers that Graham has another wife, Phyllis (Ida Lupino) in another city where he frequently travels for business. The rest of the film is a flashback as Graham tries to explain to the horrified Jordan exactly how he got into this situation. The Bigamist is completely absorbing, realistically and logically explaining how Graham fell in love with two women, and is beautifully acted by the entire cast. 

Joan Fontaine with O'Brien

Lupino's direction is on the mark, as is her acting, and O'Brien is excellent. The picture is nearly stolen by Joan Fontaine, who has a splendid moment as she reacts to the terrible news delivered to her over the phone by her lawyer. Jane Darwell and Kenneth Tobey have small roles, and there's a nice musical score by Leith Stevens. Very touching movie with an interestingly open-ended wind-up. On youtube there is a beautifully colorized version of the picture. Screenwriter-producer Collier Young was married to Fontaine but had previously been married to Lupino! 

Verdict: Outstanding adult drama with fine performances. ****.

THE FLAME

John Carroll and Vera Ralston

THE FLAME (1947). Director: John H. Auer. Colorized. 

George MacAllister (John Carroll of Zorro Rides Again) is in love with a nurse named Carlotta (Vera Ralston), who happens to be looking after George's supposedly dying brother, Barry (Robert Paige of Hellzapoppin). Carlotta marries Barry with the full approval of George, who is hoping to wrest his brother's fortune away from him. Complicating matters are another gal pal, Helena (Constance Dowling), and a guy with a big crush on her, Ernie (Broderick Crawford of All the King's Men). Then there's the termagant Aunt Margaret (Blanche Yurka), who casts a dim eye on Carlotta and Barry's marriage. Which of the two brothers will Carlotta ultimately wind up with, and which will be alive at the end? 

Robert Paige and Ralston

The Flame is an interesting if flawed bit of film noir from Republic Studios starring Ralston, the wife of the studio head. She seems to give a more convincing performance in this than in other films, although she'll never be seen as another Barbara Stanwyck. Carroll is excellent, however; Paige is somewhat less notable but good enough, Yurka scores as the aunt, and Crawford and Dowling nearly walk off with the movie. Crawford proves that there's much more to him than Highway Patrol, and Dowling does a snappy and sexy song and dance number in a nightclub. The generally unpredictable film keeps throwing curveballs at the viewer when it comes to the inter-relationships of the characters. Victor Sen Yung is a breath of fresh air and is very effective as George's manservant, Chang. There's also good work from Henry Travers as a doctor and Hattie McDaniel as a cheerful domestic. Reggie Lanning's cinematography and Heinz Roemheld's score are added attractions. It is never specified exactly what is wrong with Barry and he never seems to be "dying" or even ill. Much of the story takes place at Manhattan's tony Hampshire House on Central Park West, which is still standing today. 

Verdict: Some more character development might have helped, but this is intriguing enough in its own way. **3/4. 

CHU CHIN CHOW

Fritz Kortner and Anna May Wong

CHU CHIN CHOW (1934). Director: Walter Forde. Colorized.  

Now here is a weird one! Chu Chin Chow was originally a highly popular British operetta with music by Frederick Norton that played for years, but is now more or less forgotten. This very interesting film version has only one cast member whose name may be familiar to modern-day film buffs -- Anna May Wong -- although the other players were all well-known in their day. This adaptation uses some of Norton's wonderful (at times Puccinesque) music but drops some of his best songs. It is a version of the story of Ali Baba and the forty thieves. 

Pearl Argyle and John Garrick

Ali Baba (George Robey) is the brother of the much more successful merchant Kasim (Lawrence Hanray). One day looking for firewood in the Dark Forest, Ali discovers the supposedly magic words to open the entrance to the cave of Abu Hasan (Fritz Kortner of Somewhere in the Night) and his band of thieves and cutthroats. Ali makes off with as much booty as he can and becomes one of the richest men in town. Meanwhile Abu and his men waylay the party of the Chinese Chu Chin Chow and kill everyone, even burying the Chinese man alive; Abu impersonates the dead man, planning to sack the palace. Ali's son Nur-al-din (John Garrick) is in love with the gorgeous slave Marjanah (Pearl Argyle) while another slave, Zahrat (Anna May Wong of Daughter of Shanghai), is the beloved of the evil Abu. These characters all come into conflict with one another in unpredictable fashion until Abu secrets his men in large jars of olive oil planning to attack -- until his plans are stymied in violent fashion.

Lawrence Hanray and George Robey

Chu Chin Chow is strange because it is essentially a light-hearted operetta but has some decidedly grim and bloody developments. When Kasim discovers how his brother got his money, he enters Abu's cave only to be dismembered by forty slashing scimitars (although this is not shown graphically). Later a cobbler has to literally sew the pieces together (!) so the corpse can be presentable. Ali, not an especially likable character, immediately moves in on his brother's fat and unmournful widow. (The song about her, "When a pullet is plump," is dropped). The climax, with dancing girls, an initially unimpressed Caliph (Francis L. Sullivan), a knife attack by a vengeful Zahrat, and the jars allegedly filled with olive oil being dropped down a well followed by flaming liquid, is very well-done and exciting. 

An interesting notion is that the cave door is not opened by magic. When someone shouts out "Open O Sesame" a bunch of Abu's prisoners, starved, whipped and tied to a gigantic wheel, revolve this wheel to open the entrance. When Abu wrongly thinks that Zahrat has betrayed him, he ties her to the wheel until she effects an escape and enacts her revenge. The score includes "The Cobbler's Song," the thieves march, "Anytime's Kissing Time," "Marjanah,"  the title tune (sung briefly), as well as a song about the variety of slaves in the market and even one about olive oil, but doesn't include Norton's two best numbers "I Long for the Sun" and "I Love Thee So." Another version of the famous story is Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves starring Jon Hall and Maria Montez.

Verdict: Rather fascinating and unusual musical. ***. 

UNCLE SILAS

Jean Simmons and Katina Paxinou

UNCLE SILAS (aka The Inheritance/1947). Director: Charles Frank.

Caroline Ruthyn (Jean Simmons) finds herself at the mercy of her rather batty Uncle Silas (Derrick De Marney) and his psychotic son, Dudley  (Manning Whiley), after her father dies and she becomes the ward of Silas -- who has serious debts and sinister plans. But even more threatening is the very weird governess Madame de la Rougierre (Katina Paxinou), who is positively monstrous. This adaptation of a Sheridan Le Fanu gothic novel tries very hard to be atmospheric and sinister and classy, and it nearly succeeds some of the time, but it also has a decidedly second-rate quality to it that nothing can disguise. The acting is very good, however, with Jean Simmons perfect as the (rather slow) heroine and Paxinou marvelous as the evil Madame, who shows up again to cause mischief at an unexpected moment. Marjorie Rhodes has a small role as Mrs. Rusk and there isn't enough of her. The ultimate effect is one of tedium, however.

Verdict: Strange, rather dull movie despite all the goings-on. **.

THE UNSUSPECTED

THE UNSUSPECTED (1947). Director: Michael Curtiz.

"I detest scenes not of my own making."

Roslyn, the secretary of radio star Victor Grandison (Claude Rains), who narrates tales of mystery and the macabre, is found hanging in the study, apparently the victim of a suicide. Meanwhile, Grandison's niece, Matilda (Joan Caulfield), who was supposedly lost at sea, shows up alive and well, as does Steven Howard (Michael/Ted North), a man she doesn't remember who claims he's her husband. Other members of this strange household include another viperish niece, Althea (Audrey Totter), her husband Oliver (Hurd Hatfield), whom she stole away from Matilda, and snappy assistant Jane (Constance Bennett), not to mention Press (Jack Lambert) a hooligan employed by Grandison. Based on a novel by Charlotte Armstrong, this seems an odd fit for director Curtiz (despite his work on such films as Mildred Pierce) and while it holds the attention and has a fairly exciting finale, otherwise it never quite comes alive. Nice work by Claude Rains (although he seems less inspired by this material than he was in, say, Deception). Audrey Totter is vivid, as usual, as is Constance Bennett. Caulfield is just okay, no more.

Verdict: Okay suspenser. **1/2.

DIE HALBSTARKEN

Horst Buchholz

DIE HALBSTARKEN (aka Teenage Wolfpack/1956). Director: Georg Tressler. Colorized. 

A youth gang (of sorts) in post-war Germany is led by Freddy (Horst Buchholz), the most attractive and charismatic of the bunch. He has acquired some of his nasty attitude from his father (Paul Wagner), who has been in a foul mood since his brother-in-law borrowed a significant amount of money and can't repay it. Freddy's younger brother, John (Christian Doermer), is dismayed that his father takes it all out on his mother (Viktoria von Ballasko) and hopes to raise the money to repay his father. Meanwhile Freddy has moved or been thrown out of the house, and has his own place, with his 15-going-on-16 girlfriend, Sissy (Karin Baal), just next door. Freddy concocts a robbery scheme that goes horribly wrong, and discovers that the female of the species may just be deadlier than the male. 

Doermer and Baal

If one is hoping for a serious and thoughtful look at life in post-WW2 Germany, Die Halbstarken is not it. Clearly inspired by Hollywood juvenile delinquency films (which were dubbed and shown in Germany), this picture resembles one of them even down to the jazz score. We've got the restless teenage boys, the sluttish females, the attitude and feeling of wasted lives going nowhere, and all the usual tropes. The acting is quite good, however, with Buchholz (billed as "Henry Bookholt" in the dubbed American version of the film, Teenage Wolfpack, which even played drive-ins in the states) taking top honors but getting competition from Doermer as his nicer and more sensitive brother and Baal as the girlfriend, a blonde Lolita who tries to play both ends against the middle. The supporting cast is also on top of things. Buchholz struts around in tight black leather pants through the whole movie, which is somewhat entertaining if minor. NOTE: After I wrote this review I discovered that I'd already seen and reviewed the darn thing some years ago. I hate when that happens! 

Verdict: Buchholz went on to better things. **3/4. 

WILD RIVER

WILD RIVER (1960). Director: Elia Kazan.

Chuck Glover (Montgomery Clift), a representative of the Tennessee Valley Authority, tries to persuade an elderly woman, Ella Garth (Jo Van Fleet), that she must leave her home before the whole area is flooded to make a damn for electric power, as well as to tame a river that has taken many lives. (A very affecting prologue presents what appears to be actual newsreel footage of a heart-broken man telling how most of his family was swept away by flood waters.) But Ella is very eloquent about what the land means to her, and why she is adamant about dying in her home. In the meantime Glover begins a romance with the old lady's grand-daughter, Carol (Lee Remick), and has to deal with racists who object to his hiring black workers and paying them a decent wage. This is another interesting social drama by Elia Kazan, imperfect and not always riveting, but bolstered by fine acting and photography. The secondary love story between Chuck and Carol isn't that compelling, even though Remick gives a lovely performance and Clift, as ever, is solid. Van Fleet, who was actually only 46 when the film came out, is simply superb as Ella Garth, and as others have noted, it's a shame that she wasn't even nominated for an Oscar.

Verdict: Worth viewing for an outstanding Van Fleet. ***.

JUBILEE TRAIL

JUBILEE TRAIL (1954). Director: Joseph Kane.

A dance hall gal who calls herself Florinda (Vera Ralston) and a "nice" gal named Garnet (Joan Leslie), recently married, develop an unexpected friendship that lasts from 1845 New Orleans to California in the days just before and after it became a state and on the verge of the Gold Rush. The main story of this meandering "epic" from Republic pictures has to do with Garnet's brother-in-law trying to kidnap her young son after her husband's death, and the chaos that results. Along the way there are Indians on the warpath and assorted romantic complications. Richard Webb, Forrest Tucker, Buddy Baer, Barton MacLane and Jim Davis are also in the cast. Pat O'Brien has a notable turn as "Texas," a kind-hearted drunk with a secret. Leslie is okay as Garnet; Vera Ralston is oddly appealing as Florinda. Jubilee Trail isn't awful but it isn't memorable, either.

Verdict: A trail you may not want to wander along. **1/2.

THE LAW AND THE LADY

THE LAW AND THE LADY (1951). Director: Edwin H. Knopf.

"At my age a good cook is more important than a husband." --Marjorie Main

Another version of The Last of Mrs. Cheney -- Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford did the others -- with Greer Garson and Michael Wilding as a lovable team of jewel thieves and rogues at the turn of the century. Jane Hoskins (Garson), with the help of Wilding, the brother of her former employer, reinvents herself as "Lady Jane Loverly" and becomes welcomed in American society, especially the home of wealthy old Julia Wortin (Marjorie Main), who has a fabulously valuable necklace. Fernando Lamas, Margalo Gillmore, Hayden Rourke, and Natalie Schafer all add to the fun as various guests and suitors. The movie gets kind of silly and unreal toward the end, to say the least, but it never quite loses its sense of humor. Speaking of which, it's definitely fun to see Marjorie Main as a lady in society! Soledad Jimenez scores as Lamas' peppery grandmother. This is arguably the best screen version of Frederick Lonsdale's play.

Verdict: Light and snappy for the most part. ***.

STAY TUNED

Great Old Movies is on temporary hiatus while I finish up a new book project. Work, work, work!

We will be back in the new year if not before!

THE SECRET FURY

Claudette Colbert and Robert Ryan

THE SECRET FURY (1950). Director: Mel Ferrer. Colorized version.

Ellen Ewing (no relation to J. R. Ewing) is about to marry architect David McLean (Robert Ryan), when a strange man (Willard Parker) interrupts the ceremony and insists that he was present when Ellen married another man -- she is about to commit bigamy! Ellen insists that she never heard of her "husband," Lucian Randall (Dave Barbour). Although Ellen's Aunt Clara (Jane Cowl) seems to fear that her niece might have had a nervous breakdown, David has a more supportive attitude and sets off with his fiancee to find Randall and get to the bottom of this mystery. The couple get more than they bargained for when a murder is committed and Ellen is accused. Is she the victim of a far-reaching conspiracy, or is Ellen truly unhinged? 

Robert Ryan questions Vivian Vance

Although there are some holes in the plot -- the whole logistics of the murder, for instance -- The Secret Fury proceeds at a fairly swift pace and maintains suspense for its entire length. You'll find yourself being suspicious of virtually everyone in the picture. The acting can't be faulted. Although Ryan has the less showy role of the two stars, he never reveals too much nor too little about David. Colbert is excellent, particularly in a courtroom sequence when she has a positive meltdown (and gives Doris Day of Midnight Lace a run for her money!) Paul Kelly is wonderful as a former flame of Ellen's, although it is highly unlikely that he would be the prosecutor on the case. Philip Ober is given one of his all-time best roles as Ellen's defense attorney and friend, and his then-wife Vivian Vance makes an impression as a maid who swears that she met Ellen and her husband, the aforementioned Randall, before. (The following year Vance wound up as Ethel on I Love Lucy.) Jane Cowl is also excellent as the aunt who hardly seems like she's that much on her niece's side. Percy Helton, Paul Picerni and Elisabeth Risdon also make an impression in smaller roles. This is one of ten or so films directed by actor Mel Ferrer; his work on this is efficient enough if hardly Hitchcock level. Jose Ferrer (no relation to Mel) has a small role in the film as a wedding guest. 

Verdict: Very suspenseful thriller with some excellent performances. ***. 

THE SERVANT

Wendy Craig, James Fox, and the servant's shadow

THE SERVANT (1963). Director: Joseph Losey. Colorized version.  

Tony (James Fox), a wealthy if somewhat dizzy Londoner, simply can't function without a manservant, and hires Barrett (Dirk Bogarde) to be his cook, butler and chief bottle washer. His fiancee, Susan (Wendy Craig), takes an almost instant dislike to Barrett, who clearly isn't much impressed with her, either. Barrett has his "sister" (Sarah Miles of White Mischief) come move in to do the housekeeping, and it isn't long before she and Tony are carrying on, far more passionately than Tony ever did with Susan. One night Susan and Tony come back early and discover things may be even more twisted than they thought ... 

Bogarde meets Fox' approval

Although the screenplay for The Servant is written by Harold Pinter, who has a cameo in a restaurant, it is based on a novella by Somerset Maugham's gay nephew (I believe Somerset was also gay). He based the novella on his own experiences with a manservant who wanted to bring in his "nephew," but he feared being blackmailed. The novella changes gay characters to straight, as does the film, although there are certain intimations which go unexplored -- late in the film Tony and Barrett come off like a quarreling married couple, for instance, and there are those posters of muscle men on the bedroom wall. But both men seem to be lustily interested in the ladies (another case of gay erasure?) 

Setting up housekeeping: Bogarde; Fox

Acclaimed in its day, I'm not certain if The Servant deserves its reputation, although it is well-directed by Losey (who had to work in England after being blackballed by Hollywood), extremely well-acted, and has absolutely stunning cinematography by Douglas Slocombe. Not to mention an interestingly quirky score by John Dankworth. Perhaps the problem is that after all these years The Servant makes such obvious points about class distinction and the character flaws of the rich, the characters are not quite as dimensional as you might have hoped, and the predictable ending doesn't carry the punch that it might once have. Losey also directed Bogarde in King and Country and The Sleeping Tiger, both of which are arguably better than The Servant.  

Verdict: Outstanding cinematography is the film's major asset. **3/4. 

SEVEN WERE SAVED

Richard Denning and Catherine Craig

SEVEN WERE SAVED (1947). Director: William H. Pine. Colorized version. 

Captain Jim Wilson (Russell Hayden of Lost City of the Jungle) is looking forward to a future with Lt. Susan Briscoe (Catherine Craig of The Pretender), but their plans hit a snag when she finds out he wants to stay in the service and she wants out. Although engaged, they don't really know each other that well. Later Susan is flying as a nurse in a plane that not only carries her patient and others, but a Japanese prisoner, Colonel Yamura (Richard Loo). Yamura tries to get the pilots to fly him to an island, and the plane winds up hitting the ditch. Now the lifeboat is filled to the brim with, among others, the Hartleys (John Eldredge and Ann Doran), and the amnesiac Smith (Keith Richards), who turns out to have a highly surprising connection to Mrs. Hartley. As various problems confront the castaways hoping for rescue, chief among them Captain Danton (Richard Denning), Captain Wilson is on a desperate search for the woman he loves, but a bout of malaria may prevent this. 

Russell Hayden and Don Castle

Seven Were Saved begins with a tip of the hat to the Air and Sea Rescue Service, for which this might be considered an advertisement. Although the movie is by no means in the same league as such films as Lifeboat and similar adventures, there is an attempt to create interest with a couple of intriguing characters and situations. The film might have had more impact with a more stellar cast, but a bigger problem is the cutting back and forth between the inflatable lifeboat and the attempts to find it, and there are too many tedious stretches. However, there is some decent acting in this, and a few nice touches. Star Russell Hayden later directed When the Girls Take Over. 

Verdict: Rather minor sea crash melodrama. **1/2. 

ZERO HOUR

Linda Darnell and Dana Andrews in the cockpit

ZERO HOUR (1957). Director: Hall Bartlett. Colorized version.  

Ted Stryker (Dana Andrews) hasn't had an easy time of it since leaving the service, feeling that he made a major mistake on a mission that left his men dead. Now his wife, Ellen (Linda Darnell), wants to take off with their little boy, but Ted manages to get on their plane before it departs. Suddenly people begin succumbing to food poisoning -- something in the fish -- including the pilot and co-pilot, both of whom collapse. Dr. Baird (Geoffrey Toone of The Terror of the Tongs) warns that everyone, including the Stryker's son, could die if they don't get to a hospital soon, but they have to go to another airport hours away because of fog. Meanwhile Ted, with instructions from an old, not terribly friendly colleague Capt. Treleaven (Sterling Hayden) on the ground, tries to fly and land the plane despite his not having flown in ten years, and never having flown an airliner! What could go wrong? 

Sterling Hayden takes charge!

Arthur Hailey of Airport fame was one of the co-writers of this tense if minor melodrama that is also a borderline disaster flick. Andrews is terrific as Ted, who has to confront his demons at the worst possible time, and he gets fine support from Darnell, Toone, Peggy King [Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy] as a stewardess, Jerry Paris [The Glass Wall] as her boyfriend, and especially Hayden as the take-charge and direct Treleaven, barking orders at Ted and everyone else with great authority. It's just that Zero Hour is not as good nor as thrilling as other airplane disaster flicks. Just the year before Doris Day, of all people, had to land an airliner following instructions on the radio in Julie. One distinct plot problem with the picture is that everyone succumbs to food poisoning much too quickly, and the doctor couldn't possible know they were, supposedly, going to die without doing tests. 

Verdict: Whatever you do, don't eat the fish! **3/4. 

OKAY NEW MOVIE: JUROR # 2

Toni Collette and Nicholas Hoult

JUROR # 2 (2024). Director: Clint Eastwood. 

Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult of Dark Places) is chosen for a jury on a murder case. The defendant (Gabriel Basso), who has an unsavory past, is accused of beating his girlfriend to death one rainy evening. But then Justin remembers that he was at that same bar where the two of them were that night, and that he hit something in the road, assuming it was a deer. Could he have actually hit the dead woman? A lawyer friend (Keifer Sutherland) advises him that with his past drunk driving record -- although he claims not to have had anything to drink that night -- he will wind up being charged with vehicular manslaughter. But, hell, maybe he did hit a deer ... 

Simmons and Hoult

Juror # 2 reminds one of twisty, somewhat contrived suspense flicks of the forties and fifties where lots of things about trials were shoved under the rug. For instance, I found it incredible that when an elderly man testifies that he saw the defendant (actually Justin, one assumes) on the road checking out his car and recognized him months later even though it was the proverbial dark and stormy night and he was quite a distance away, the defense lawyer (Chris Messina) doesn't challenge him! It takes someone on the jury to point this out. The actions of a juror named Harold, a retired homicide detective (J. K. Simmons of Whiplash) are also a bit suspect. 

Hoult

Whatever the flaws of the film, it is suspenseful and entertaining and not entirely predictable. The acting is also top-notch, with the conflicted Hoult, Simmons, Toni Collette (of Fright Night) as the prosecutor, and others giving credible performances. It's also admirable that the picture presents a prosecutor who isn't perfect, but who isn't some kind of monster, either. One could argue, however, that Juror # 2 just misses being a really memorable movie. 

Verdict: Interesting plot -- and Hoult gives a charismatic lead performance. ***. 

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.