BUS RILEY'S BACK IN TOWN

BUS RILEY'S BACK IN TOWN (1965). Director: Harvey Hart. Screenplay by William Inge, writing as "Walter Gage."

Bus Riley (Michael Parks of Kill Bill) has spent three years as a sailor and now has come back to his small town and his family, which consists of his mother (Jocelyn Brando) and two sisters, worshipful Gussie (Kim Darby) and disdainful Paula (Mimsy Farmer of Four Flies on Grey Velvet). Also in the household is a boarder named Carlotta (Brett Somers), who objects to Bus' noisy presence. Bus discovers that his old sweetheart Laurel (Ann-Margret) is married to a wealthy older man, but bored and childish, she won't leave him alone. Bus had planned for a career as an assistant mortician, but that doesn't work out when lonely and middle-aged Spencer (Crahan Denton) -- who runs the funeral parlor with his no-nonsense mother (Ethel Griffies) -- wants Bus to move in with him and all that implies. Bus gets a job selling a house disinfectant device to lonely housewives while dallying with Laurel, but a neighbor girl named Judy (Janet Margolin) also catches his attention, especially after a tragedy in her family. But will Bus have the strength to cut all ties with selfish Laurel?

Michael Parks

Bus Riley's Back in Town started out as a short play by William Inge, who turned it into a screenplay, then was dismayed when changes to the script were made to accommodate Ann-Margret (who later claimed that she didn't care for the changes either). So dissatisfied was Inge that he used the name "Walter Gage" instead of his own. I don't know what the screenplay was like before it was changed, but Bus Riley comes off mostly like warmed-over Inge, with snatches of Picnic and other plays,  For instance, in both movies we've got a widow with two daughters who takes in boarders, one of whom is a neurotic spinster, not to mention a handsome hero who ignites sexual interest in many.

Ann-Margret

As for the actors, most of them are so good that you wish they had been given better material. This includes Brett Somers, whose part seems to have been cut to the bone; Kim Darby, whose feelings for her brother seem to border on the incestuous; Griffies and Denton as mother and son; Alice Pearce as a potential customer; and Janet Margolin in a sensitive turn as Judy, among others. As for Ann-Margaret, her appearance does not really unbalance the movie as some have suggested, and I happen to think that she's excellent in the film. Her sex-kitten mode is completely appropriate for her part, and she runs with it, out-acting Parks, whose James Dean impressions do little to suggest that the chief reason for casting him wasn't his considerable sex appeal. Both he and Ann-Margret are, in a word, voluptuous.

Margolin, Parks and Denton

An interesting aspect to the film is its pre-Stonewall treatment of homosexuality. One could argue that mortician Spencer is almost guilty of a form of harassment when he makes his suggestion to Bus (although he places his hands nowhere besides Bus' knee), but the man comes off as more desperate and pathetic than anything else. Bus doesn't get angry, but he is clearly disillusioned and simply walks out of the room. Later, at a minor character's funeral, he is friendly to Spencer and vice versa but it is, of course, awkward, and he excuses himself quickly. Inge himself was a deeply closeted homosexual man.

Michael Parks

For a time the star build-up certainly worked for Ann-Margret, but Parks' period of movie stardom was very brief, with him returning to television where he started with Then Came Bronson. He managed to amass 145 credits, however, and had a successful career by any standard, although mega-stardom eluded him. As for Bus Riley it got a surprisingly good review from the New York Times at the time of the film's release, but other reviews were mixed. It is probably the weakest of the films inspired by Inge's work. Harvey Hart also directed Dark Intruder.

Verdict: Inge Lite. **1/2. 

THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT

Doris Day

THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT (1966). Director: Frank Tashlin.

Widow Jennifer Nelson (Doris Day) works as a tour guide at a space research center, where she runs into scientist Bruce Templeton (Rod Taylor) only days after he hooks her mermaid suit with a fishing rod. Attracted to Jennifer, Bruce gives her an assignment to get close to her, and pretends he's working on something called Project: Venus. In truth, he has developed a device called Gizmo. Some of Bruce's associates, such as his partner, Zach (Dick Martin) and General Bleecker (Edward Andrews), are convinced Jennifer is a Russian spy who's after the secret plans for Gizmo. This leads into all sorts of complications, some of which are quite funny, and others not so much. Instead of doing The Graduate, which might have led into more mature and serious roles for Day, she did stuff like The Glass Bottom Boat, which made use of her talents as a comic actress (although not on a Lucille Ball level) but little else. Still, she's good in the picture, as is her co-star Rod Taylor, who handles the silliness with aplomb after already appearing with Day in Do Not Disturb. The movie tries to tie into the spy trends of the period with gadgets and the like, and Robert Vaughn of The Man from U.N.C.L.E even shows up for literally a second. Martin, Andrews, and Dom DeLuise [Fail-Safe] adeptly add some fun to the proceedings, although Paul Lynde [Bye Bye Birdie] is given the single funniest moment, which is the priceless expression on his face when he observes Martin and Andrews inadvertently in bed with one another. He also does a comical drag routine, especially when he's interacting with Day in a ladies room. Alice Pearce [The Belle of New York] and George Tobias play Day's neighbors, and essentially essay the same roles as the ones they play on TV's Bewitched, which debuted two years earlier. Arthur Godfrey is cast as Day's father, who owns the titular boat and has his daughter playing mermaid now and then to justify the title; he adds nothing to the picture. The movie is about half an hour too long, and hasn't enough of director Tashlin's trademark cartoon-like humor, although there are some amusing scenes such as a comical encounter between Day, DeLuise, a cake, and a trash can. It's amazing that nobody noticed that the song sung over the opening credits, "The Deep Blue Sea," is basically a knock-off of "Mockingbird." This was the last of Day's films to make money, after which she fled to television.

Verdict: Punctuated with enough laughs to keep you watching, but never a real riot. **1/2.

THE BELLE OF NEW YORK

Marjorie Main and Fred Astaire

THE BELLE OF NEW YORK (1952). Director: Charles Walters.

In Olde New York footloose Charlie Hill (Fred Astaire of Royal Wedding) is about to walk out of yet another wedding that his wealthy aunt (Marjorie Main) will have to pay for -- or rather, pay the bride off for -- but he may have finally found the right gal in pretty Angela (Vera-Ellen of White Christmas). Angela works for the Daughters of Right, a Salvation Army-type charity and faith organization that was founded by the late Phineas Hill, Charlie's uncle. When Mrs. Hill learns that her nephew and Angela have fallen in love, she doesn't know whether to be delighted or appalled, but true love will not be denied -- or run smoothly. The Belle of New York got its start as a 19th century operetta and was tossed around as a possible production for years until former dancer and choreographer Charles Walters got the assignment to direct it and practically disavowed the picture in later years. The movie may be a trifle, but it's a charming and entertaining trifle decked out in gorgeous TechniColor and with excellent performances. The film posits the theory that falling in love is like dancing on air, which Astaire does in a nice sequence set in and above Washington Square. Astaire is especially given a chance to shine in his "Dancing Man" number where he combines his trademark elegance with his major terpsichorean skill. Leading lady Vera-Ellen, even considering that she's playing an upright, "moral" type (the film has some similarities to Guys and Dolls), often looks as if she's afraid her makeup is going to crack, but she's more than competent; her singing voice is dubbed. Marjorie Main is her usual delightful self as the grumpy but forgiving aunt, and Alice Pearce nearly steals the picture as Angela's friend, Elsie. (There's a touching moment when Elsie stands in for Angela at the wedding rehearsal and a sad, hopeful look slowly comes across her sweet homely face.) The reasonably pleasant songs by Warren and Mercer seem to be the type that might need to grow on you, although "Naughty But Nice" is well-performed by Vera-Ellen and then comically reprised by Pearce. Gale Robbins, Clinton Sundberg, and Keenan Wynn are very adept in supporting roles, and even Percy Helton has a bit as one of Angela's legion of admirers, giving her flowers at the opening. 

Verdict: Call it piffle if you will, but there's a lot of talent and charm on display. ***.