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| Jayne Mansfield and Dan Duryea |
THE BURGLAR (1957). Director: Paul Wendkos.
Nat Harbin (Dan Duryea) leads a small gang of criminals, including Gladden (Jayne Mansfield), the girl he was raised with. They steal a very valuable necklace from a old lady spiritualist, Sister Sarah (Phoebe MacKay), who lives in a sprawling mansion. Now the question is whether to sell the necklace at a great loss or wait until the heat is off, a suggestion that does not sit well with Baylock (Peter Capell of
The Fury of the Cocoon), who is desperate to get out of the country. None of them are aware that another person is watching them and scheming ...
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| Martha Vickers and Dan Duryea |
The Burglar is an interesting crime melodrama that just misses being special. Duryea gives a solid performance, although Mansfield comes off like an amateur, and one doesn't buy that she "hungers" for Duryea (the only actor billed above the title). Stewart Bradley, who was "introduced" in this picture (he had had previous TV credits but this
was his first movie role) makes a definite impression as the cop, Charlie. Martha Vickers (one of Mickey Rooney's ex-wives and who also appeared in
The Big Bluff) also makes an impression as Della, a woman who picks up Nat in a bar and has a few secrets of her own. Mickey Shaughnessy plays Dohmer, another member of the gang who is a little too trigger-happy.
The Burglar features interesting settings in Philly and Atlantic City, such as a shack on the lonely coast and a fun house where the climax takes place. Paul Wendkos also directed the excellent
Brotherhood of the Bell.
Verdict: Not
quite top-drawer but it does hold the attention. **3/4.
I like this one too. Duryea is a favorite, underrated and almost forgotten these days (he is so great in Little Foxes as well as his usual noir thrillers). Jayne shows real promise as an actor here, but then was buttonholed to take over the dumb blond roles that MM started refusing (in mostly really bad pictures.) People forget that Mansfield was a very ambitious and hardworking professional, and was a Broadway star in Rock Hunter before coming to Hollywood. The ditsy hypersexual image she created for that stage role was a persona she was forced to play long beyond its shelf life.
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You're right. Although I didn't care for Mansfield's performance in this I have seen her do excellent work in other films when she didn't have to subordinate everything to the sex kitten image.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that Mansfield's daughter, Mariska Hargitay, has had a highly successful television career (on Law and order:SVU) and developed into a first-rate actress fully deserving of her multiple Emmys.