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. ***. 

TEENAGE CAVEMAN

Robert Vaughn and Jonathan Haze

TEENAGE CAVEMAN (aka Teenage Cave Man/1958). Produced and directed by Roger Corman.

In what seems to be a prehistoric society, the young son (Robert Vaughn) of the symbol maker (Leslie Bradley) questions the laws of the society as embodied by the crusty "Black-Bearded One" (Frank DeKova). No one is permitted to cross the river into the forbidden territory, but Vaughn's curiosity gets the better of him and he discovers dinosaur-like creatures (courtesy of One Million B.C. and others) and a strange "god" in a kind of bear suit who has a death touch. Pursued by the others of his tribe, Vaughn learns the truth of the world that lies beyond his tiny village ... Anyone who has read Stephen Vincent Benet's classic 1937 story "By the Waters of Babylon" will figure out the twist in this rip-off/variation of the tale, but on its own terms Teenage Caveman is more entertaining than it has any right to be. Vaughn gives a good, solid, dramatic performance and DeKova nearly steals the show in his turn as the dyspeptic guy who thinks anyone who breaks the law should be killed. The film casts Roger Corman's usual troupe of actors, including Jonathan Haze [The Little Shop of Horrors] as the "Curly-Haired Boy" and a spear-wielding Ed Nelson [Attack of the Crab Monsters]. Albert Glasser's typically brassy and effective score may be better than the picture deserves but it ably punctuates each scene in the film's short running time. Robert Vaughn went on to major success on TV's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Teenage Caveman is similar to Creation of the Humanoids in that both films appear to be post-apocalyptic -- and they are -- but both turn out to take place in the distant past as well. A real film version of "By the Waters of Babylon" might have made a strikingly powerful film, but its ideas have been "borrowed" so often since its publication that it's unlikely it will ever receive an official filming, although a movie with just that title is listed as "in development" on the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) website. Who knows?

Verdict: Vaughn and dinosaurs. **1/2. 

PHILO VANCE RETURNS

cop vs private eye: Eddie Dunn and William Wright

PHILO VANCE RETURNS (1947). Director: William Beaudine. 

"Mrs. Simns is a neurotic -- an advanced case."

Larry Blendon (Damian O'Flynn) has already had four wives and a girlfriend, but he is smitten again when he meets singer Virginia Berneaux (Ramsay Ames). Unfortunately, Virginia is shot to death not long after being introduced to Larry's grandmother, Stella (Clara Blandick), then Larry himself is found dead. Larry's friend, detective Philo Vance (William Wright) teams up with Virginia's former manager, Alexis Karnoff (Leon Belasco), to look up these former wives -- and the fan dancer Choo Choo (Iris Adrian) -- all of whom were unaccountably mentioned in Larry's will (what, no divorce settlements?). There are more murders, usually involving women who put on a lipstick that's been poisoned. Frank Wilcox [The Devils Mask] is lawyer George Hullman, and Eddie Dunn [A Fig Leaf for Eve] is police lieutenant Mullard, who often finds Vance underfoot and doesn't like it. This one had possibilities in its characters and plot, but it's a minor PRC (Producer's Releasing Corporation) production, which puts it on an even lower level than Monogram. Still, Wright [Reveille with Beverly] is okay as Vance, and most of the performances are at least competent. Albert Glasser did the score.   

Verdict: Standard series mystery with some interesting elements. **

WESTERN PACIFIC AGENT

Kent Taylor

WESTERN PACIFIC AGENT (1950). Director: Sam Newfield.

Bill Stuart (Robert Lowery), a payroll agent for the Western Pacific railroad, is murdered by a hood named Frank Wicken (Mickey Knox). Agent Rod Kendall (Kent Taylor) investigates this murder as well as the death of an elderly railroad worker, also attributed to Wicken. Frank's father, store owner Joe Wicken (Morris Carnovsky of Cornered), suspects what his son has done, but loves him too much to turn him in. Kendall organizes a manhunt for the desperate Frank among the "bindlestiffs," or migrant workers who ride the rails, that doesn't end well. Western Pacific Agent is a minor film from Lippert that boasts a stand-out performance from Mickey Knox and a nice score from Albert Glasser. Kent Taylor [Gangbusters] is fine, and there are also small roles for Sheila Ryan and, unfortunately, Sid Melton [Lost Continent], playing a comedy-relief character who wears out his welcome almost immediately.

Verdict: Acceptable minor B movie but little more. **1/2.

THE BOSS

THE BOSS (1956). Director: Byron Haskin.

Matt Brady (John Payne) comes back from WW1, and has a love-hate relationship with his older brother, Tim (Roy Roberts of Oh, Susannah!). Driving away his girlfriend, Elsie (Doe Avedon) with his drunken behavior, Matt impulsively marries a sad barfly named Lorry (Gloria McGhee), while his best friend, Bob (William Bishop of Harriet Craig), marries Elsie. After Tim's death, Matt rises as a crooked political boss with the aid of Bob, who's become a lawyer. A reformer named Millard (Rhys Williams) represents a problem to Brady, even as his ill-advised marriage to Lorry proceeds on its dismal course. John Payne gives perhaps the best performance of his career as the bitter, unpleasant, unhappy if powerful Brady, and there are also fine performances from McGhee, Bishop, and Roberts, as well as from Robin Morse as gangster Johnny Mazia, and William Phipps [Five] as the killer, Stitch. Percy Helton and Joe Flynn have smaller roles. One of the best scenes is a massacre of hoods in Union Station. Albert Glassers' score is also effective. Neither Gloria McGhee (also spelled McGehee) or Doe Avedon amassed too many credits.

Verdict: Payne makes his mark in an absorbing crime drama. ***.

FLIGHT TO HONG KONG

FLIGHT TO HONG KONG (1956). Director: Joseph M. Newman.

"When a man makes a mistake, all of his friends suffer."

Tony Dumont (Rory Calhoun of The Colossus of Rhodes) has been living well ever since he got in with hood Michael Quisto (Paul Picerni), to the consternation of his fiancee, Jean (Delores Donlon). Tony's rationale is that he was afraid to say no to Quisto. On a flight to Hong Kong Tony meets writer/socialite Pamela Vincent (Barbara Rush) and the two are attracted to each other; the flight is hijacked to assist in the theft of a fortune in industrial diamonds, a theft that Dumont has actually had a hand in. As Pamela pursues Tony -- his fiancee be damned -- Tony's associates Nicco (Pat Conway) and Lobero (Aram Katcher) try to betray Quisto with unpleasant results. But then, drawn to Pamela, Tony makes up his mind to do the same thing ... Flight to Hong Kong is a flavorful, unpredictable crime drama with interesting settings from Hong Kong to Macao, good photography (Ellis W. Carter), and a suspenseful final quarter. Other cast members include Werner Klemperer, Carleton Young and Mel Welles [The Little Shop of Horrors] but the best performances are from Barbara Rush [Bigger Than Life] and Soo Yong as Tony's friend, Mama Lin. Nice score by Albert Glasser.

Verdict: Not bad at all. ***.

ROCKETSHIP X-M

The astronauts explore red planet Mars

ROCKETSHIP X-M (1950). Director/producer/writer: Kurt Neumann.

The first manned spaceship and its team -- consisting of Colonel Floyd Graham (Lloyd Bridges), Major William Corrigan (Noah Beery Jr.), Dr. Karl Eckstrom (John Emery of Kronos),  Dr. Lisa Van Horn (Osa Massen), and Harry Chamberlain (Hugh O'Brian) -- take off for the moon but somehow, as if they were Abbott and Costello, wind up on Mars instead. Wandering around in stark, red-tinted landscapes, they discover stone age savages and eventually come to a depressing realization. The decent production values insure that the sets and FX are less cheesy than they are in similar movies, and there's a nice theme by Ferde Grofe [Albert Glasser was musical director]. The picture was also photographed by Karl Struss [Sunrise] and has a downbeat conclusion. Morris Ankrum gives perhaps the best performance as Dr. Fleming back on earth. There are no giant spiders in this although some may feel it could have used them.

Verdict: Not quite serious sci fi but close. ***.

WHY MEN LEAVE HOME

Gross: The Fat Twins --  Zoe and Chloe Borden

WHY MEN LEAVE HOME (aka Secrets of Beauty/1951). Director: Erle C. Kenton.

In this oddball theatrical film from Hallmark, Dr. John Waldron (Richard Denning) is put out because his wife, Ruth (Julie Bishop of Lady Gangster) won't, well, put out. He thinks she puts too much effort into her housekeeping and not enough into keeping herself lovely and satisfying his needs. [In one scene it is very obvious that John is hoping for and expecting some bedroom action until Ruth puts curlers in her hair and smears cold cream on her face.] The couple have a little daughter, Ginger (Ginger Prince), who is sent out to Hollywood for a screen test along with other youngsters, such as the Fat Twins. [Not only are these gals corpulent and plain, they have absolutely no talent and should not be seen on an empty stomach -- or a full one! Four years later, blond but still disgusting, they appeared on one of the least memorable I Love Lucy episodes with Tennessee Ernie Ford]. Then the movie turns into an ad for Ern Westmore of the famous make-up family, who demonstrates beauty tricks on different ladies as his wife, Betty (actually actress Virginia Merrick) stands by and urges him to lose weight. [Betty Westmore was a sometime actress herself, but for some reason doesn't play herself in this movie.] Meanwhile Ruth mistakenly believes that John is carrying on with his sexy nurse, Kay (Myrna Dell), who is in love with him, while she's in Hollywood with Ginger and the Westmores. (At one point John actually spies on Kay as she's changing her clothing  -- talk about unprofessional, even sleazy, behavior!) Should this couple divorce, or will tubby Ern Westmore pull some tricks out of his hat and turn Ruth once again into a ravishing beauty? The movie stops dead now and then while Ern and other "experts" deliver lectures. Poor Albert Glasser [Monster from Green Hell] wrote the score for this. Erle C. Kenton also directed many Universal horror flicks, a few Abbott and Costello comedies, and Search for Beauty in 1934. It's unlikely he ever made a worse movie than this, however.

Verdict: Why people leave the theater. Atrocious! *.

MONSTER FROM GREEN HELL

MONSTER FROM GREEN HELL (1958). Director: Kenneth G. Crane.

Two scientists (Jim Davis and Robert E. Griffin) shoot animals into outer space to gauge the effect of radiation on them. Unfortunately, some wasps wind up being over-exposed and crash land in Africa in a place the natives call Green Hell. Now the wasps have mutated into gigantic monstrosities that threaten to overrun all of Africa. There's some okay stop-motion animation and the scenes with the monsters -- often portrayed by full-size mock-ups complete with out-sized stingers -- are fun. The movie is padded with exciting stock footage from previous jungle epics. Davis and Griffin aren't bad (especially the latter) but Barbara Turner as doctor's daughter Lorna is amateurish. Eduardo Ciannelli as a guide and Joel Fluellen as a concerned native add some flavoring to the proceedings. The giant wasps look nothing like they do in the film's poster. Good score from Albert Glasser, as usual. NOTE: For more on this film and others like it, see Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies.

Verdict: Generates some positive buzz. **1/2.

ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE

ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE (1958). Director: Bert I. Gordon. 

"He turned your fiance into a doll!" 

Gordon, who had already helmed The Amazing Colossal Man and its sequel War of the Colossal Beast -- not to mention The Cyclops -- switched from gigantism to miniaturization in this very lower-case Incredible Shrinking Man. A lonely, dotty toy maker, Mr. Franz (John Hoyt), doesn't like anyone -- even his secretaries -- to leave him, and shrinks them down to doll-size, where they stay in suspended animation in cases until he decides to revive them for parties and the like. [There are hints that Franz has shrunken the old mail man, but we never see the guy thereafter.] Franz' latest victims include receptionist Sally (June Kenny), salesman Bob (John Agar), and Laurie Mitchell, the Queen of Outer Space herself. Franz has an old friend, Emile (Michael Mark), who is a puppeteer, and the climax takes place in a theater where Emile is performing. [Emile is also a bit batty. He suggests that he and Franz have a night cap and says "I'll pick you up at noon." The cinematographer is Ernest Laszlo (!) and the score is by the ever-reliable Albert Glasser. There are a couple of mediocre songs, and an strange little girl who shows up at the toy maker's without any parents in sight. There's some suspense, the pic is watchable, and the effects are typically fair-to-middling. 

Verdict: For those who think small. **1/2.

THE NEANDERTHAL MAN

THE NEANDERTHAL MAN (1953). Director: E. A. Dupont. 

A sabretooth tiger is on the loose in the High Sierras, but Professor Clifford Groves (Robert Shane aka Shayne/pictured) scoffs violently at the very idea. Or doth he protest too much? One old hunter takes the cast he made of the beast’s footprint to Dr. Harkness (Richard Crane) who has a similarly hostile reaction – but his curiosity is ignited and he heads for the High Sierras to investigate. But what’s this? – who is that awful ape-like creature stalking the mountains and tearing up hunters? The make up for the neanderthal man is a bit comical but otherwise not bad. For a cheapie creepy this has rather good acting. Both Doris Merrick and Joyce Terry play with conviction as, respectively, the professor’s fiancee and daughter. Shane spits out his venomous, condescending remarks to his fellow scientists with decided flair, and etches a convincing portrait of a scientist who’s rapidly going cukoo. Richard Crane isn’t much of an actor, however. Beverly Garland turns in her usual professional job as a waitress who is traumatized by the monster. Albert Glasser’s intense score is a big plus. Undoutedly this influenced the later Monster on the Campus which also had creatures and people reverting to prehistoric forms. 

Verdict: Late night time-passer. ***.

INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN

INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN (1956). Director: Jack Pollexfen.

Charles "Butcher" Benton (Lon Chaney Jr.) isn't having a very good day. Arrested for a payroll robbery and murder, his two partners in the crime roll over on him and his own lawyer is the mastermind of the plot. However, things look up after he's executed, when his body is delivered to a scientist, Professor Bradshaw (Robert Shayne), who is trying to find a cure for cancer. For some reason Bradshaw treats Benton's corpse to an electrical process that inadvertently brings the dead man back to life -- mute. With super-strength and invulnerability to bullets and what-not, Benton proceeds to go after the ones who done him wrong. Max Showalter is the detective on the case, and Ross Elliott is the Lawyer, Paul Lowe. Ken Terrell, who played butler Jess in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, is one of Benton's victims. The cast is professional enough, and Chaney -- although he only speaks in the opening sequence -- gives one of his better, more intense performances. Marian Carr is very appealing as the dancer, Eva Martin, who once befriended Benton; she was also in Kiss Me Deadly. Marjorie Stapp makes an impression as a woman whose boyfriend is murdered by Benton right in front of her. (She was also in The Monster that Challeneged the World -- as was Showalter -- Daughter of Dr. Jekyll, and other genre films.) Joe Flynn of McHale's Navy has a small role as Shayne's assistant. Elliott was a busy actor of the period and appeared in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Albert Glasser's dramatic score is a definite asset to the picture. The narration is unnecessary but there is a good use of locations. Exciting climax in the sewers.

Verdict: Entertaining, taut little thriller. ***.

WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST

WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST (1958). Director Bert I. Gordon. Written by George Worthing Yates.

The Amazing Colossal Man, now played by Dean Parkin (in make up very similar to what he wore for Gordon's Cyclops), reappeared in the sequel War of the Colossal Beast. Manning somehow survived his fall into the damn and floated down to Mexico, where he lifts trucks carrying food off the back roads and hides out in the mountains. His sister (Sally Fraser) convinces an Army Major (Roger Pace) to fly down and search for him. [Considering the number of trucks he's carried off, you would think dozens of people would have seen him by now instead of one frightened boy.] As usual, the effects are very cheap, but Gordon manages some effective bits, especially when another truck containing the major and a local sergeant is pursued by the humongous legs of the giant, as well as his tug of war with a dozen privates, and his rampage through an airport. Now and then there's a very cleverly handled shot. Despite some of the intentional humor of the film, it's rather depressing, especially when Manning, his mind clearing enough to recognize that he's become a danger as well as a freak, commits suicide in front of his horrified sister by clutching some power lines. Albert Glasser's score for both pictures is very good, particularly when it is creating suspense and eeriness in the sequel. Taken separately or together, these are reasonably entertaining flicks for the monster movie devotee. Mark Hanna, who co-scripted Amazing Colossal Man, also scripted Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958). Two actors in that epic, William Hudson and Roy Gordon, also appeared in Bert Gordon's Colossal Man films. Hudson is "Handsome Harry," the unfaithful husband of Alison Hayes, in 50 Foot Woman and Dr. Lindstrom in Amazing Colossal Man. Roy Gordon is the Mayor (uncredited) in Colossal Beast and Doctor Cushing in 50 Foot Woman. These two actors certainly had their hands full with very big people! A remake of The Amazing Colossal Man was announced in the 1990s but it never materialized. [The less said about the television remake of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman the better.] 

Verdict: If you dig it, dig it! **1/2.