TWENTY PLUS TWO

TWENTY PLUS TWO (1961). Joseph M. Newman.

When Richard Diamond, Private Detective wound up its four season run, star David Janssen played a man who looks for missing people in Twenty Plus Two. Tom Alder (Janssen) has always been interested in the case of a girl who completely vanished 12 years ago when she was 16. At the same time, movie star Leroy Dane (Brad Dexter) discovers that the woman who answered his fan mail has been murdered. Jacques Pleshette (Jacques Aubuchon) then hires Alder to look into the disappearance of his brother, Auguste. Are these cases all connected in some way? Meandering through the story are three women: former love Linda (Jeanne Crain), who sent him a "Dear John" letter; hostess turned socialite, Nicki (Dina Merrill), whom Tom met in a post-war Tokyo; and Eleanor Delaney (Agnes Moorehead), the mother of the missing girl. Twenty Plus Two is fairly unpredictable and reasonably absorbing, but it ultimately adds up to nothing. It's one of those movies in which characters spend years covering up a "murder" that was clearly self-defense and yet never bother getting a good lawyer. Janssen is fine and the other actors are okay, but the picture is stolen by Moorehead, especially in a scene with Janssen when the two look at photos of the missing 16-year-old and realize that she's already turned into a woman. An unintentionally funny scene has teenage girls screaming over Brad Dexter [99 River Street] as if he were Troy Donahue! William Demarest [The Perils of Pauline] gives a superb performance as a bitter and drunken ex-reporter, walking off with the movie in one brief sequence.

Verdict: Like an extended Richard Diamond episode in CinemaScope. **1/2.

THE GEORGE RAFT STORY

THE GEORGE RAFT STORY (1961). Director: Joseph M. Newman.

Dancer George Raft (Ray Danton) meets gals, entertainers and hoodlums in New York City nightclubs. Then it is suggested that he take off for Los Angeles and try his luck in the movies. He treats women like dirt, punches out people at the slightest provocation, gets a swell head, becomes a has-been, appears in Some Like It Hot as a kind of comeback, and in general acts like a major asshole. Oddly Raft -- who could have sued for defamation of character -- was still alive in 1961, so one supposes he actually liked that image as well as the fact that "Bugsy" or Benny Siegel (Brad Dexter of 99 River Street) was one of his best friends. Danton is an odd choice to play Raft, especially as he's much better looking and arguably much more talented than the real George Raft, who seemed to be a passable dancer and little else. Danton does an okay job of faking the fancy footwork with lots of coaching, but there's no genius there a la Fred Astaire. Jayne Mansfield, of all people, gives a more than credible performance as a fictional character who may or may not be Raft's bosomy wife. Neville Brand [Eaten Alive] is memorable as Al Capone, and Robert H. Harris makes a sympathetic if  exasperated producer, and there are other bits and supporting performances from Julie London as a singer; Margo Moore as a hat check girl; Barrie Chase as the actress, June; Barbara Nichols as a dubbed Texas Guinan; Frank Gorshin as a Raft associate; and Hershel Bernardi as Raft's much-maligned manager. The movie comes to a dead halt during a lengthy performance of a deadly song-and-comedy team. The cliches in the film -- and there are many -- include Raft earnestly complaining that he "can't say these lines!" (-- maybe because he can't act!) No matter what poor Danton played, he always came off as a low-life; he was equally sleazy in Too Much, Too Soon and other films.

Verdict: Poor biopic of someone hardly worth mentioning. **.

VICE RAID

VICE RAID (1960). Director: Edward L. Cahn.

Tough gal Carol Hudson (Mamie Van Doren) is importuned to help her sugar daddy Vince Malone (Brad Dexter of Macao) frame vice cop Sgt. Whitey Brandon (Richard Coogan), who is threatening his modeling agency/call girl rackets. But then Carol's innocent, sweet sister, Louise (Carol Nugent) comes to town ... The best performance in this mediocre crime drama is from Barry Atwater as the sinister, kind of sexy Phil, who goes after the sister when he can't get Carol. Van Doren [High School Confidential] is competent, but she isn't riveting, and in this at least lacks that X factor that makes a big star. The other performances are at least professional. Nestor Paiva [Tarantula] has a small role.

Verdict: Low-grade melodrama with mostly minor-league performances. *1/2.

99 RIVER STREET

Evelyn Keyes and John Payne

99 RIVER STREET (1953). Director: Phil Karlson.

Ernie Driscoll (John Payne) is a bitter prize-fighter and current cab driver whose career ended when he received a serious injury to his eye. Driscoll also discovers that his unsatisfied wife, Pauline (Peggie Castle), is having an affair with a diamond thief named Victor (Brad Dexter). Then an aspiring actress he knows, Linda (Evelyn Keyes), tells him that she's in trouble, leading to the movie's best scene, which is, unfortunately, only midway through the movie. One clever if unlikely sequence isn't enough to save this standard potboiler, where Driscoll has to settle accounts with Victor while dodging police because of an incident with Linda -- and worse. Payne and Keyes are okay, as is Frank Faylen as Driscoll's buddy, but Castle [Beginning of the End] makes a better impression and Dexter is terrific as a smiling homicidal reptile, matched by Jay Adler as the man who engineered the diamond heist but now won't pay off. Michael Ross, the space giant and bartender in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, appears as a cabbie and Glenn Langan [The Amazing Colossal Man] is a theatrical producer. Keyes made a better impression in The Killer that Stalked New York but Dexter is much more vital in this than he was in Macao.

Verdict: Unimpressive film noir despite some decent moments and one surprise. **.

MACAO

MACAO (1952). Director: Josef von Sternberg.

Into Macao come three individuals: Julie Benson (Jane Russell), who wants to look for a singing engagement; Nick Cochran (Robert Mitchum), who lost his wallet and passport and also needs a job; and Lawrence Trumble (William Bendix) who at least seems to be a legitimate businessman. The trouble starts when casino owner Vincent Halloran (Brad Dexter) makes up his mind that Cochran is really a New York City police detective who's come to haul him past the three mile limit and back to the states to pay for his crimes. But has Halloran picked the right person? What could have been an intriguing bit of film noir -- and it holds the attention in a limited way -- is done in by a poor script and a meandering pace that doesn't create or sustain any tension. Mitchum and Russell are both in butch mode throughout the movie -- Russell's as hard as nails and about as appealing -- and Bendix is as good as ever. Brad Dexter makes little impression and it's easy to see why he did mostly TV shows in the future as he lacked that certain "big screen" presence. Gloria Grahame is wasted in a small role as one of Halloran's employees.

Verdict: A wasted trip. **.