THE PRICE OF FEAR

Merle Oberon and Lex Barker

THE PRICE OF FEAR (1956). Director: Abner Biberman.

Jessica Warren (Merle Oberon) is driving carefree and a little drunk when she runs over an elderly man. Does she call for an ambulance? No, she keeps driving. Her temporary crisis of conscience fades when she sees dog track owner Dave Barrett (Lex Barker) "borrow" her car and figures if she reports the vehicle as stolen he will be accused of the hit and run, not she. Complicating matters for Dave -- who took Jessica's car because he was being followed by hoods who want a piece of his track -- is the fact that the same time the elderly man was run over, an enemy of Dave's was shot to death. Barrett is going to be convicted of one crime or the other, but he gets close to Jessica to find out what he can. But is she really falling in love with him or does she have her own agenda?

Warren Stevens and Merle Oberon

The Price of Fear has more than one interesting situation and the relationship between Jessica and Dave with their conflicting goals but obvious attraction to one another adds to the film's compelling quality. This was one of Oberon's last starring roles -- it's a bit surprising to see her in this kind of film noir -- and she gives an excellent performance that keeps the audience guessing as to exactly what's on Jessica's mind and what she is ultimately planning to do. Barker gives it the old college try, and his line readings are certainly not terrible, but next to Oberon he's a bit of a wooden Indian. Warren Stevens gives one of his all-time best performances as the shady character Frankie Edare, who's responsible for a lot of Dave's problems; he and Oberon play especially well together.

Lex Barker

There are also good performances from Gia Scala [The Garment Jungle] as the heartbroken daughter of the elderly man; Charles Drake [It Came from Outer Space] as the police sergeant assigned to the case; and Stafford Repp [Batman: The Black Widow Strikes Again] and Mary Field as a tippling cab driver and his unloving wife. With a little added depth and characterization, The Price of Fear would have made an even more memorable picture, but it's quite absorbing as it is. It has a tense climax and an uncompromising wind-up. Abner Biberman was primarily a television director.

Verdict: Another one of those movies that is so good you wish it were just a bit better. ***. 

THE LOOTERS

Danton, Faylen, Adams, Calhoun

THE LOOTERS (1955). Director: Abner Biberman.

"I haven't had this much fun since I was kicked out of the Campfire Girls." -- Sheryl.

Jesse Hill (Rory Calhoun of That Hagen Girl), a loner and mountain climber who lives in the Rockies, gets a visit from a shady ex-army buddy, Peter Corder (Ray Danton of Code Name: Jaguar). When a commercial plane crashes in the mountains, the two decide to climb towards the wreckage, but with very different motives. Jesse wants to look for survivors, while Pete is more interested in salvaging what he can, which turns out to be a trunk full of loot. Pete's true nature is revealed pretty quickly, and he stakes his claim while threatening everyone else. Before long the two men start a tense descent back down the mountain along with three survivors, a former cheesecake model named Sheryl (Julie Adams), a captain named Leppich (Frank Faylen of The Mystery of the 13th Guest). and a wannabee big shot named Parkinson (Thomas Gomez). Who will get to keep the loot and who will survive?

Ray Danton as sneaky Pete

The Looters has a very good premise and could have been turned into a nail-biting and memorable suspense film. Instead it's a mediocre and often hokey time-waster that isn't good enough for the audience to ignore its many implausible aspects. Now, the plane crashed on top of a mountain, but it isn't in a nearly impassable area as the plane was in Three Secrets, so it seems to me that even if there were no survivors, arrangements would be made to get the victims' bodies back to their loved ones. But when the military, who is playing war games in the area, discovers that no one is at the plane, they start bombing the whole area -- say what? Admittedly, this adds some excitement to the climax, but it doesn't make much sense, as if the military's attitude would be "let's just blow up the bodies of the crash victims without even finding out what caused the crash!"

Of course one reason for this silliness is that it may fool viewers into not scratching their heads when one survivor expresses the hope that everyone will think he died in the crash. Another problem is that no one seems to act as if this was the scene of a tragedy, that there are several dead bodies (never shown) lying just out of view for much of the film's length. Then you have to wonder why Sheryl and Jesse would want to make out when neither has brushed their teeth for at least several days. Gomez makes his mark as the weaselly Parkinson, Danton is typically vivid, Adams is reasonably adept and sexy, giving the film no more than it deserves, and Calhoun is adequately stolid and heroic. But this is one flight you may not want to book. After meeting on this film, Adams and Danton were married. Abner Biberman was originally an actor, playing a great many Asian roles, before switching to directing.

Verdict: Another reason to avoid the Rockies. **. 

FLOOD TIDE

George Nader, Michel Ray, Cornell Borchers

FLOOD TIDE (1958). Director: Abner Biberman.

Former playboy Steve Martin (George Nader of Shannon) has fallen in love with his neighbor, Anne (Cornell Borchers), but they have to contend with the jealousy and manipulations of her crippled ten-year-old son, David (Michel Ray). Another concern is that David may have lied when he told the police that another of his mother's suitors, a man named Halloran (Russ Conway), dumped a drunken friend into the ocean after an argument, causing his death. While Steve deals with his on-again/off-again romance with Anne, he does his best to bond with the boy, and also find out the truth about Halloran, who is serving time in jail for a crime he may not have committed. Flood Tide is an interesting and unusual romantic drama that greatly benefits from a excellent performance from the young Ray, who was actually fourteen at the time (looking younger) and by any standard was one of the most talented child actors in pictures. (Ray made only a few films, including The Brave One, Space Children, and Lawrence of Arabia before retiring from the movies to further his education and becoming a multi-billionaire.) In contrast, George Nader, who is at least competent in this and was seen to much better advantage in other parts (such as "Self-Defense" on Alfred Hitchcock Presents), is a trifle perfunctory, as if he's afraid of showing too much emotion. Cornell Borchers is much better as David's sympathetic, but slightly unstable mother. Flood Tide is not an out and out thriller, but at times is threatens to turn into The Bad Seed with a sex change, and while we are always aware that this is a tormented ten-year-old boy, his behavior is very borderline and even criminal at times. Steve's attempts to play child psychologist, however, are often pitiful. Joanna Moore [Monster On the Campus] is fine in a small role as one of Steve's girlfriends, and Troy Donahue shows up very briefly as a young man on the beach who reports that David is ill. Cornell Borchers had mostly German credits and only one film and one TV appearance after this film was released. She and young Ray also appeared in The Divided Heart and she was Rock Hudson's leading lady in Never Say Goodbye.

Verdict: Absorbing, and sometimes moving, in spite of itself. ***.