CONSTANTINE AND THE CROSS

CONSTANTINE AND THE CROSS (aka Costantino il grande/1961). Director: Lionello De Felice.

Cornel Wilde [The Naked Prey] is cast as Emperor Constantine, who as a general beat back the barbarian hordes, in this fictionalized story of his trials and tribulations and his relationship to his Christian mother Elena (Elisa Cegani); wife Fausta (Belinda Lee of Footsteps in the Fog); and her evil brother, Maxentius (Massimo Serato), who accuses Constantine of murdering his own father, among other melodramatic elements. Then there is the secondary romantic couple, also Christians, Livia (Christine Kaufmann) and the centurion, Hadrian (Fausto Tozzi). The multi-national cast in this Italian epic isn't bad, and there is some excellent widescreen photography (Massimo Dallamano) of sweeping battles and the like. Wilde has his usual commanding presence.

Verdict: Not bad historical epic with an interesting cast. ***.

THE SECRET PLACE

THE SECRET PLACE (1957). Director: Clive Donner.

Gerry Carter (Ronald Lewis) is the head of a gang planning a diamond heist. Knowing that a little boy, Freddie (Michael Brooke), has a crush on Gerry's girlfriend, Molly (Belinda Lee), he asks her to importune Freddie to "borrow" his father's cop uniform. This all leads to numerous complications. The best thing about The Secret Place is the robbery itself, which is quite suspenseful and well-handled. Unfortunately, the bulk of the movie is turned over to a lot of running around after the boy through "secret places." The performances are good, with the very talented little Brooke taking top honors, although Lewis is sharp, as usual, and Michael Gwynn [Never Take Candy from a Stranger] scores as Steve, an associate of Gerry's. Belinda Lee [Blackout] is not bad as Molly, and neither is David McCallum [The Man from U.N.C.L.E.] as her rather weird brother. But this falls apart because the second half drags so much and has little suspense.

Verdict: One half of a good crime thriller. **1/2.

BLACKOUT (1954)

BLACKOUT (aka Murder By Proxy/1954). Director: Terence Fisher.

Casey Morrow (Dane Clark) is moping around getting drunk in a bar when an attractive blond named Phyllis (Belinda Lee) pays him 500 dollars to marry her. He later learns that her father was murdered later that night, that she is already engaged to another man, and seeks the help of a painter, Maggie (Eleanor Summerfield), who is doing a portrait of the mysterious Phyllis. Blackout meanders along from scene to scene without much suspense or tension and director Terence Fisher seems as disinterested with the material as the viewer probably will be. There is a very good scene when Casey sees his mother (Nora Gordon/Gorden) for the first time in several years wherein the actress beautifully expresses both her joy at seeing her boy and her suppressed rage at his being out of touch for so long. Clark and the other cast members all give good performances, but the movie is more tedious than anything else. Betty Ann Davies shows some bite as Phyllis' unlovely mother. Another Hammer studio crime drama released in the US by Lippert. The later film Homicidal also had a blond paying a man to marry her but was much, much more entertaining. Lee was in the far superior Footsteps in the Fog the following year, and Summerfield made Man Bait the year before.

Verdict: Watch this during a blackout. **.   

FOOTSTEPS IN THE FOG

FOOTSTEPS IN THE FOG (1955). Director: Arthur Lubin. 

"When she tried to make herself look young, for the first time I realized how old she really was." 

In 19th century London Stephen Lowry (Stewart Granger) poisons his demanding, nagging wife but a young maid, Lily (Jean Simmons), figures out what happened and starts to make demands. And then the fun begins. Lots of interesting twists in this unpredictable suspense tale that is very well acted by the leads and supporting cast. Belinda Lee plays a beautiful woman that Stephen has set his cap for; Bill Travers is a lawyer and love rival. Well-directed and handsomely produced, with a nice score by Benjamin Frankel. Crisply photographed by Christopher Challis. A particularly good sequence is set in London's nighttime fog. Marjorie Rhodes scores as the unpleasant housekeeper Mrs. Park. 

Verdict: A very bizarre romance indeed. ***.