CHASE A CROOKED SHADOW

CHASE A CROOKED SHADOW (1958). Director: Michael Anderson.

On an estate near Barcelona, Kim Prescott (Anne Baxter) is mourning the death of her father. Then a stranger named Ward Prescott (Richard Todd) shows up claiming to be Kim's brother. But Kim insists to police commissar Vargas (Herbert Lom) that her brother was killed in an auto accident the year before. "Ward" then invites a woman, Elaine Whitman (Faith Brook), to move in with them. Kim does everything she can to expose the man she insists is an impostor, but no matter what she tries it seems that the strange man is really Ward Prescott. Even her uncle Chandler (Alexander Knox) thinks Ward is the real deal, and there's some skulduggery involving missing diamonds. Then Kim begins to fear for her life ... 

Chase a Crooked Shadow is an intriguing suspense film with Baxter [Carnival Story] chewing the scenery in superior fashion -- she actually gives an outstanding performance wherein her intensity and overwrought quality make perfect sense. Todd [Stage Fright], Lom

[Mark of the Devil] , and the others are pretty much along for the ride. The ending is satisfying if implausible, as -- without giving too much away -- we have a case of entrapment, coerced confessions, and the police acting in such a way that would probably never hold up in court. Chase a Crooked Shadow might have been even more interesting if we could have witnessed the legal shenanigans that would have resulted after the end of the story proper. Producer Douglas Fairbanks Jr. shows up at the finale to admonish the audience not to give away the denouement.

Verdict: Anne steals the show! ***.

VALERIE

Sterling Hayden and Anita Ekberg

VALERIE (1957). Director: Gerd Oswald. Colorized.

Valerie begins with a literal bang as two men enter a home, shots are fired, and in short order there are three corpses lying in the living room. However, one of these corpses, Valerie (Anita Ekberg of Back from Eternity), is still alive, although it is a question if she will ever wake up out of a coma. Her husband, John Garth (Sterling Hayden of The Asphalt Jungle), is put on trial but insists he only fired in self-defense. He tells his story on the witness stand,  as does Reverend Stephen Blake (Anthony Steel of Another Man's Poison), who tried to get Valerie to safety although Garth claims he was "running off" with his wife. These conflicting accounts have everyone confused, until Valerie wakes up and tells everyone her side of things -- and a completely different story emerges. 

Peter Walker and Sterling Hayden

Nowadays Valerie -- which takes place in the post-Civil War period -- is a forgotten movie, but it doesn't deserve to be, as it has themes that resonate even today. It's fascinating the way the viewer is carried along by the original narrative -- poor John Garth married a faithless woman who's just after his money -- only to have it turned on its head by the climax, which is as violent as the opening. One also comes to conclusions about Valerie because of her voluptuousness. Hayden's performance seems slightly off in this perhaps because in many scenes he has to play it a certain way to keep the viewer in suspense. Ekberg is not only gorgeous, but convincing as the confused and tormented Valerie. There is also good work from Anthony Steel, who was (briefly) married to Ekberg at the time. Peter Walker, who mostly did television work, is adequate as Garth's brother, Herb. 

Anthony Steel

Valerie is well-photographed by Ernest Laszlo. It also has a good and interesting score by Albert Glasser, who usually scored science fiction and monster movies such as The Beginning of the End, but here is allowed to flex his musical muscles and delivers. Gerd Oswald also directed Ekberg in Screaming Mimi and Paris Holiday, but he got his best work from her in Valerie. Oswald's most famous film is A Kiss Before Dying. 

Verdict: An unusual and twisted romance. ***. 

SING BOY SING

Tommy Sands and Nick Adams

SING BOY SING (1958). Producer/Director: Henry Ephron. Colorized. 

Singer Virgil Walker (Tommy Sands) is becoming a big star with the teenybopper set and his manager, Joseph Sharkey (Edmond O'Brien of The Bigamist), is doing his best to run his career -- and his life. Sharkey is especially concerned that Virgil's revivalist grandfather (John McIntire) will be a bad influence on him, as the old man thinks Virgil's singing and shaking makes him a "sinner." Sharkey's employee, Arnold (Jerry Paris of The Glass Wall), does his best to run interference, but Sharkey really can't tolerate former delivery boy C.K. (Nick Adams), whom a lonely Virgil puts on his payroll and turns into a buddy. When the grandfather has a heart attack, Sharkey tries to prevent Virgil from going home, but the whole gang, including C.K. gets on a plane ... 

Edmond O'Brien and Jerry Paris

It would be easy to assume that Sing Boy Sing is the story of Elvis Presley and manager Colonel Tom Parker, except that Tommy Sands was also a client of Parker's and many of these rags to riches show biz stories have similar elements. Sing Boy Sing is entertaining and its mostly due to the performances. As an actor Sands is better than a singer, and I found his vocal style -- at least in this flick -- to be severely off-putting. O'Brien and Paris are both excellent, and Nick Adams nearly walks off with the movie in his colorful turn as the amiable, Hillbilly-like C.K. Although top-billed with Sands, Lili Gentle makes little impression as his sort-of girlfriend in her brief scenes with him; she made one more movie then retired. (Gentle made a much better impression in the previous year's Young and Dangerous.) 

Tommy Sands as Virgil

Regis Toomey of Burke's Law shows up as Rev. Easton, and Josephine Hutchinson is another cast stand-out as Virgil's aunt, who has a great speech talking of how her father pretty much ruined her life with all his talk of "sin" and won't allow the same thing to happen to Virgil. There are several song numbers in the movie, but they are all pretty much forgettable. Sing Boy Sing was not a "B" movie but a Twentieth-century Fox release in CinemaScope (albeit in black and white). 

Verdict: Despite its flaws and an uneven lead performance, this is an entertaining flick. ***. 

AMERICAN HUSTLE

The cast of American Hustle

AMERICAN HUSTLE (2013). Director: David O. Russell.

"Sometimes all you have in life are fucked-up, poisonous choices."

Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) is a married con artist/loan shark with a really elaborate comb-over who works with his lover, Sydney (Amy Adams), in conning desperate and larcenous people out of their money. They get caught by arrogant, ambitious agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), who tells them they can stay out of jail if they help him in a sting operation. The target for entrapment is Atlantic City mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner of Mission Impossible -- Ghost Protocol), who needs money to bring gambling to AC (this takes place in the late seventies). When Polito begins making deals with gambling experts who happen to be mobsters, such as Victor Tellegio (Robert De Niro), Richie, who begins an affair with Sydney, figures he can bring down even bigger fish than Polito. Realizing they are the ones the gangsters will go after when the whole thing blows up, Irving and Sydney come up with a secret counter-scheme, but will Irving's jealous wife, Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence), cause more problems than they can handle? 

American Hustle is an okay movie with some clever moments and a fairly satisfying ending, but it's incredible that it won an Oscar as Best Picture -- all four lead actors won Oscars as well --  proving that studio backing and aggressiveness can and often is more responsible for the garnering of awards than genuine quality. The acting is okay (but never outstanding) for the most part -- one could single out Bale [American Psycho] for his character role -- but the cast members all seem to be exuding personality in a naturalistic manner rather than acting (a common occurrence in modern-day movies). Also the movie is played as a black comedy, which is also typical of many new movies, and has not a single likable character. It also has senseless scenes, such as a girl-on-girl kiss between wife and startled mistress in a ladies room, that seem thrown in for titillation and nothing else. American Hustle also tells an 80 minute story in two and a half hours! It in no way compares to great con man/film noir classics of the past such as Too Late for Tears/Killer Bait.

Verdict: This isn't terrible, but a masterpiece with truly great acting it is not. **1/2.

THE SHRIKE

THE SHRIKE (1955). Director: Jose Ferrer.

Jim Downs (Jose Ferrer) is placed in the mental wing of a hospital after trying to commit suicide. He is estranged from his wife Ann (June Allyson), and in love with a woman named Charlotte (Joy Page). After initial success as a theater director, Downs fell on hard times and was down to his last few dollars. While he had very good reasons for feeling despair,  the doctors have to see him as someone who could be dangerous to himself and others. Not only is this sensitive, intelligent man virtually held captive by the mediocrities on the staff, but it becomes clear that his wife -- who wants him back under any circumstances -- holds all the cards. If he wants to go free, he has to renounce the woman he really loves.

Joseph Kramm's Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Shrike debuted on Broadway in 1952, where Jose Ferrer not only directed but played the lead part of Jim Downs. Three years later Ferrer did double duty again on the film version. In the play Charlotte did not appear at all, but the film was opened up to include flashbacks both of Jim and Charlotte and of his courtship of, and marriage to, Ann. Ann isn't given much chance to express her point of view in either the play or picture (in the movie, Ann is an actress who gave up her career when she got married), but it's really Jim's story. The movie tacks on a somewhat hopeful ending that is entirely unrealistic. It also has a dumb scene -- not in the play -- in which a psychiatrist, sensing the vindictive nature of Ann under her surface concern and sweetness, essentially compares her to a bird called a shrike, which is not only awkward but even more unrealistic than the phony ending. (And for several reasons goes against the grain of the play as well. The playwright felt no need to elaborate for the theater audience.)

June Allyson and Mel Ferrer

All three leads -- Ferrer, Allyson and Page -- give fine performances, although it's hard to imagine that Allyson was as good as Judith Evelyn in the play. Still, Allyson is not at all a bad choice for the role, as she manages to fool almost everyone into thinking she's as sweet and uncomplicated as she seems. There are good supporting performances from Will Kuluva, Mary Hayley Bell, Martin Newman and others as hospital staff and patients. Ed Platt plays Downs' brother, worried about what having a mental patient in the family will do to his career.

Yet for all the good stuff, there's something unsatisfying about both the play and the film. One suspects the play was forgotten because its characters were (as compared to, say. O'Neill and Williams) rather ordinary and under-developed, and because of its depressing wind-up. And by making compromises, the film doesn't deliver the wallop it should, and wound up being forgotten as well. Too bad, because both projects are certainly worthwhile if flawed, and the film is certainly worth seeing. The Shrike is chilling in its depiction of how a person has to prove his sanity in a mental ward even as he's nearly being driven crazy by the very situation he's in. Jim discovers that he's been offered a life-saving job which might end his career and financial woes, but the good doctors won't let him keep the appointment! 

Isobel Bonner, who played Dr. Barrow both on Broadway and in the film, was married to the playwright, Joseph Kramm. She was performing the same part in Los Angeles the same year the film was released, when she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died right in a middle of a scene on the stage.

Verdict: I always thought Allyson was a shrike at heart! ***.

TWILIGHT OF HONOR

Claude Rains and Richard Chamberlain

TWILIGHT OF HONOR (1963). Director: Boris Sagal.  

David Mitchell (Richard Chamberlain) is stunned when Judge Tucker (Edgar Stehli) insists he defend an Army vet, Ben Brown (Nick Adams), accused of murdering the beloved citizen and cop, Cole Clinton (Pat Buttram). David hasn't been in a courtroom in years, and then he was a prosecutor! Forced to take on the case, he consults with his aged mentor, Art Harper (Claude Rains), who agrees to help him. A widower, David draws closer to Harper's smitten daughter, Susan (Joan Blackman), as he prepares his case. He is convinced that even if Brown killed Clinton, it might be a justifiable homicide under New Mexico law if Clinton was sleeping with Brown's wife, Laura (Joey Heatherton). But the question of adultery -- and prostitution -- might test the limits of the angry town's patience, not to mention Clinton's widow, Amy (Jeanette Nolan). But David might be surprised by what Amy tells him outside of court ... but will she repeat it under oath?

Heatherton, Buttram, Adams

Twilight of Honor is a very good and absorbing courtroom drama that benefits from a swift pace, sharp direction, interesting twists, a certain sixties-style frankness, and some excellent performances. Taking time off from his hit medical series, Dr. Kildare, Chamberlain certainly delivers as the impassioned and intelligent, no-nonsense defense attorney. Nick Adams fought hard and spent much money to get a supporting Oscar, and while he was nominated -- and is quite good as well -- his screen time may have simply been too limited, and he lost to Melvyn Douglas. Rains is as good as ever, but perhaps the most impressive performance is from James Gregory (of A Distant Trumpet) as the special prosecutor -- he has a superb turn as a rather slimy character who's out to win at all costs, and makes no bones about it. Joey Heatherton -- introduced in this, her first movie -- proves that she had more than sexiness going for her, and Jeanette Nolan also scores as the widow who knew her husband's peccadilloes all too well. 

Chamberlain with Jeanette Nolan

There are also smaller roles played well by Paul Langton, Pat Buttram (as the victim), Don Barry, Arch Johnson, Edgar Stehli (as the judge), Bert Freed as the sheriff, and George Mitchell as the D.A. Linda Evans, later famous for Big Valley and Dynasty, plays the victim's angry daughter -- her first film as well. The only player who really doesn't impress is Joan Blackman; most of her credits were on television although she also did a couple of films with Elvis and was Jerry Lewis' leading lady in Visit to a Small Planet. Boris Sagal did most of his work for television, but also helmed such features as The Omega Man. 

Verdict: Solid courtroom drama with generally excellent performances. ***1/4. 

ANN SHERIDAN: THE LIFE AND CAREER OF HOLLYWOOD'S OOMPH GIRL

ANN SHERIDAN: THE LIFE AND CAREER OF HOLLYWOOD'S OOMPH GIRL. Michael D. Rinella. McFarland; 2024. 

Never quite in the front rank along with Davis and Crawford, Ann Sheridan nevertheless had a very successful career and proved herself a snappy and adept actress in both comedies (The Man Who Came to Dinner) and dramas (Nora Prentiss). Sheridan was a beauty contest winner who came to Hollywood and beat the odds by actually getting a long-time career out of it. For a long time she had minor roles in minor films until the studio came up with the idea of billing her as the "Oomph Girl," with "oomph" replacing "It" as a combination of sex appeal and dynamic presence. Sheridan grew to hate the appellation and feared people would assume she wasn't a real actress. Sheridan married three actors -- Edward Norris, George Brent, and Scott McKay -- only the third seemed to work (until her death). She was not above being a homewrecker on more than one occasion, however. When her film career began to dry up, she turned to television and starred in a western sitcom called Pistols 'n' Petticoats, which was fairly successful  -- but Sheridan died of cancer during its run. Some of her more memorable films include The Unfaithful and George Washington Slept Here, which illustrate her abilities as both a dramatic thespian and comedienne. 

Verdict: A workmanlike career study of a most interesting performer. ***. 

GO WEST, YOUNG LADY

Glenn Ford

GO WEST, YOUNG LADY (1941). Director: Frank R. Strayer. Colorized.
 

The town of Headstone is regularly besieged by a masked villain known as "Killer" Pete and his gang. Then into town comes the official replacement for the murdered sheriff, Tex Miller (Glenn Ford of Gilda). Bar owner Jim Pendergast (Charlie Ruggles) is expecting his nephew, Bill, to take over as sheriff, but "Bill" turns out to be his niece, Belinda (Penny Singleton of Young Widow), who's dad always wanted a boy. Belinda and Tex are immediately drawn to one another, while Pete keeps robbing the saloon. Judge Harmon (Jed Prouty), Deputy Hank (Allen Jenkins), and businessman Tom Hannegan (Onslow Stevens of The Vanishing Shadow) are at their wit's end, but one of them is hiding a secret. Meanwhile dance hall gal Lola (Ann Miller) knows much more than she's telling. 

Penny Singleton and Ann Miller have at each other!

Go West, Young Lady is a delightful western musical comedy that is bolstered by fast-paced direction, a great spirit of fun, and terrific performances. Ford is appealingly boyish, and while Singleton could be accused of simply playing Blondie Out West, she is also very good. Miller is suitably nasty as Lola, and she and Singleton have a protracted "cat fight" (they are not fighting over Ford) that is one of the best examples of a femme fight scene I've ever seen in the movies. Ruggles, Stevens, and Jenkins are also terrific -- Jenkins has a funny song and dance number with Miller -- and Edith Meiser is also notable in a small bit as an angry townswoman (she appeared in the I Love Lucy episode when Ricky makes the mistake of putting Lucy on a schedule). 

Charlie Ruggles and Ford

Go West, Young Lady is punctuated by several songs -- the title tune and "Take Your Time" are the most memorable -- but all of the tunes are pleasant. Waffles the dog makes an impression, and we've got numbers by the Foursome, as well as Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. The opening, with Ford and Singleton shooting attacking Indians, is a bit problematic, but the ending, in which the ladies of the town take matters into their own hands, is wonderful! Frank R. Strayer also directed several installments of the Jones Family movie series in which Jed Prouty played the father. 

Verdict: An utterly charming musical comedy with the added bonus of a major "cat fight!" ***.

VALLEY OF FIRE

Gene Autry

VALLEY OF FIRE (1951). Director: John English. Colorized.  

Although Tod Rawlings (Harry Lauter of The Crooked Web) and hard-boiled gal pal Bee Laverne (Christine Larson of Valley of Headhunters) try to fix the election, Gene Autry (Gene Autry of The Phantom Empire) manages to become mayor, appointing buddy Breezie (Pat Buttram of Twilight of Honor) as sheriff. Gene decides to send for a wagon train full of women who want husbands, and one of the gals is the gold-digging Laurie (Gail Davis). Rawlings does his best to shanghai the ladies to the new town where he's taken up residence, while Laurie falls for Steve Guilford (Russell Hayden), who actually shot the driver of a stagecoach and stole the gold on board. Gene and Breezie have their hands full dealing with Rawlings and also trying to prove that Guilford is both a crook and a murderer. 

Autrey with Larson and Lauter

Gene Autry once said of himself: "I'm not a good actor, a good rider or a particularly good singer, but they seem to like what I do, so I'll keep on doing it as long as they want." Autry was also not particularly attractive and was a bit paunchy as well. In spite of all that, he was hugely popular and is still considered by many to be the greatest cowboy star of them all. Valley of Fire has a couple of pleasant and forgettable song numbers, and is, like the star, completely amiable. The film is well-produced when it comes to cinematography and scoring and there is an enthusiastic supporting cast. Teddy Infuhr is amusing as young Virgil, a bratty kid who keeps bedeviling Breezie; he amassed 104 credits! 

Verdict: Minor western comedy-musical-drama is easy enough to take and to forget. **1/4. 

BACK FROM ETERNITY

BACK FROM ETERNITY (1956). Director: John Farrow.

In this widescreen if black and white remake of Five Came Back (which was also directed by John Farrow), a motley group of passengers survive a crash in the South American jungle, only to realize that only a few of them can fly away and there are headhunters right around the corner. Back from Eternity could have been a terrific, gut-wrenching movie if only all of the dumb "Hollywoodisms" had been excised from the script. True, I've watched plenty of silly if entertaining dumb Hollywood movies, but what makes Eternity worse is that it had so much potential. True, the final few minutes are suspenseful, the acting isn't bad, and the conclusion has a certain power, but otherwise it's not a very good movie. Anita Ekberg [Screaming Mimi] got the lion's share of the publicity, and aside from being beautiful and busty, she's not a bad actress, either (by Hollywood standards, at least), although her American career didn't last long. (She appeared in this before her famous role in Fellini's La Dolce Vita.) Robert Ryan as the possibly tippling pilot is perhaps less effective in this than in other films, but Rod Steiger offers the best performance as a condemned man being brought back for execution. Phyllis Kirk and Gene Barry are effective enough as an engaged couple who have problems, and Beulah Bondi and Cameron Prud'homme are fine as an elderly professor and his wife. Jesse White is Jesse White.

SPOILER ALERT: Now let's talk about those "Hollywoodisms:" Fred Clark is taking Steiger back for execution, but he uses no handcuffs on a supposedly dangerous felon. Kirk and Ekberg have a completely ridiculous "cat fight" over a man that serves only to show the latter in a wet, clinging outfit. Worse still is the whole business with the lovely stewardess, Maria (Adele Mara of Night Time in Nevada). First let's make it clear that Maria is a friend and co-worker of the pilot and his co-pilot (Keith Andes), and is an attractive and really nice person. Saving a little boy (Jon Prevost) from falling out of the plane when a tank smashes open the door, she herself falls to her death in a horrifying moment. There is no scene when Andes tells Ryan what happened. After the plane lands in the jungle, Ryan says to Andes "everyone all right?" to which Andes replies that the passengers were only a little bruised. There's absolutely no mention of brave Maria and her horrible death throughout the rest of the movie, and these are her co-workers!  (A somewhat similar sequence occurred in another plane crash drama The Crowded Sky.) Admittedly, the passengers are having their own problems, but even during a quiet, contemplative moment much later on, when the pious professor and his wife lead everyone in the Lord's Prayer, nobody offers up a prayer for Maria. It's unbelievable, cold-blooded and illogical scenes like this (or the lack of them) and others that make me classify Back From Eternity less as drama than as schlock. Farrow's direction, although the plane scenes are well-handled, also does little to disguise/detour around some moments of really bad acting.

Verdict: The final quarter has its moments but then there's the rest of it ... **.