THE I DON'T CARE GIRL

Bob Graham and Mitzi Gaynor

THE I DON'T CARE GIRL (1953). Director: Lloyd Bacon.  Produced by George Jessel.

The real George Jessel is trying to produce a picture about old vaudeville star Eva Tanquay (Mitzi Gaynor of Anything Goes) and importunes his scriptwriters (Warren Stevens and Craig Hill) to locate people who knew the entertainer. These include Ed McCoy (David Wayne), supposedly the man who discovered her as well as her former partner; Charles Bennett (Oscar Levant of The Barkleys of Broadway), a composer; and Larry Woods (Bob Graham), another composer-performer who falls in love with Eva but is married. Larry is separated from his wife but a bigger problem is the seductive Stella Forest (Hazel Brooks of Sleep, My Love), who wants to star in Larry's operetta. Will true love win out over all?

David Wayne, Warren Stevens, Craig Hill

Hollywood is famous for coming out with biopics that have little to do with the real lives of their subjects, but The I Don't Care Girl takes the cake, as there's very little -- but the bare basics -- that have anything to do with Ms. Tanquay. The movie is really just an excuse to show off the admitted skills of Mitzi Gaynor, who gives a good performance, sings quite well, and is a sensational dancer with sensational gams. Ms. Gaynor is featured in some creative -- some might say overly creative -- big production numbers that have very little to do with anything ever seen on a vaudeville stage and everything to do with fifties fashion. 

Mitzi Gaynor and Oscar Levant

The title of the picture comes from Ms. Tanquay's most famous number, "I Don't Care." (Judy Garland, somewhat mimicking Tanquay,  arguably gives the best performance of this song in In the Good Old Summertime.) As for Tanquay, she was certainly a more interesting character than the sanitized version we see in this picture. Essentially forgotten today, she was once a tremendous international star, an early feminist, an absolutely relentless self-promoter, and had two or possibly three husbands as well as at least one affair. For a publicity stunt, she "married" a cross-dresser and wore a tuxedo while he wore the wedding dress. You can bet you won't see that in this movie! 

As for Bob Graham, the fellow is handsome, has a great baritone voice, and makes a smooth, likable leading man. But this was his last picture out of seven. What happened? Even the Internet Movie Data Base has very little information on him, including his date of birth and death. He is not to be confused with another actor named Robert Graham. 

Verdict: The story is just a mass of cliches but the cast is game and the dancing is great. ***.   

ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS: A Biography of ROCK HUDSON

ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS: A Biography of ROCK HUDSON. Mark Griffin. HarperCollins/2018.

This welcome if imperfect new biography of Rock Hudson looks back at the man's life and career and sexuality with some reflection, generally without employing too breathless a tone. Mercifully, it dispenses with the notion that there was anything real about Hudson's marriage to essentially lesbian Phyllis Gates, who was hoping for a cushy lifestyle as Mrs. Rock Hudson. It looks at Hudson's early days, his ambitious and ultimately successful attempts to get into the movies, the early influences and patrons who helped him achieve his goal, and his many friends and romantic partners -- such as actor Craig Hill [The Flight that Disappeared]--  some of whom are quoted extensively in the book. Understandably anxious to put all of his research and sources into the book, the author sometimes quotes people who I would consider suspect (do we need to know that Hudson supposedly "took" Mamie Van Doren on her kitchen floor?) and there are, perhaps, too many quotes from Phyllis Gates' unreliable, phony and totally discredited memoir, as well as long-time companion Tom Clark, who "in'd" both himself and Hudson in his own autobio. The business that Hudson may have fathered a child during his early years is never satisfactorily resolved. Griffin includes quotes from Hudson's two best friends, Mark Miller and his partner actor George Nader (via Nader's diary), and mentions the assertion from some that they may have manipulated Hudson into leaving them most of his money. Mark Christian's lawsuit against Hudson's estate, claiming Hudson never told Christian he had AIDS, is also scrutinized, and found wanting. Some women claim affairs or "interest" from Hudson as if they want people to think they are simply so sexy that they can temporarily turn a gay man straight, but this book pretty much portrays Hudson as essentially gay and not bisexual in any meaningful way. Griffin does not ignore Hudson's work in films (All That Heaven Allows; Pillow Talk; Seconds), on television (Macmillan and Wife) and in the theater (Camelot, etc.)  and analyzes his subject's thoughtful approach to his performances in different media. There are continuous testaments throughout the book as to Hudson's kindly and helpful nature -- he didn't just give career boosts to his boyfriends -- which makes it odd that he stayed away from his dying mother for six months, despite her wanting to see him, simply because he couldn't deal with her condition -- what sort of son is that? But when all is said and done, Hudson may have been a decent guy for the most part, but a movie star is a movie star is a movie star, more of a creature, an invention, than a real human being, although All That Heaven Allows does its best to humanize him.

Verdict: Readable, informative and entertaining. ***. 

THE BLOODSTAINED SHADOW

Craig Hill and Lino Capolicchio

THE BLOODSTAINED SHADOW (aka Solamente nero/1978). Director: Antonio Bido.

Stefano (Lino Capolicchio) comes to Venice to visit his brother, the priest Don Paolo (Craig Hill), who lives in a small town on an island near the city. Haunted by an incident where a young woman was murdered years ago, Stefamo's memories are awakened by a series of new murders. Stefano begins an relationship with Sandra (Stefania Casini of Suspiria), whose own stepmother (Laura Nucci) becomes one of the victims of a fiendish killer. The Bloodstained Shadow is a reasonably intriguing Italian thriller/giallo film whose murders are not quite as gory as in similar films, but we do have the sequence when a woman's head is thrust into a fireplace and is engulfed in flames. Other characters, suspects, and victims include a midwife, Signora Nardi (Juliette Maynial); Count Pedrazzi (Massimo Serato), a music teacher whom Don Paolo accuses of fiddling with his young male students (a sequence which given recent events in the Catholic church may raise some eyebrows); and  Dr. Aloisi (Sergio Mioni), among others. After a few red herrings and twists, a satisfying conclusion unmasks the killer and also provides a mostly believable motivation. The film's production is greatly enhanced by location filming and the brooding shots of mysterious Venice and environs. Craig Hill [Detective Story] was a B movie leading man and TV performer in the fifties and sixties who later did much work in Italy. Juliette Maynial was most famous for Eyes Without a Face. 

Verdict: Has its flaws, and it's not especially stylish, but it's one of the better giallo films. ***. 

DETECTIVE STORY

Kirk Douglas and Eleanor Parker

DETECTIVE STORY (1951). Director: William Wyler.

24 hours in a police precinct focusing on Detective James McLeod (Kirk Douglas) and his efforts to bring down Karl Schneider (George Macready), who helps bring unwanted babies into the world so he can sell them [in the play, Schneider was a simple abortionist]. McLeod seems so crazy to get this guy that his superior, Lt. Monaghan (Horace McMahon), wonders if there's some personal connection to the case, and in an ironic development, discovers that there is -- and it concerns McLeod's wife, Mary (Eleanor Parker). Will these revelations bring about the too-rigid McLeod's ruination? Detective Story is an absorbing and often powerful movie and features some fine performances from Douglas, Macready, McMahon [Quick Millions], and especially the wonderful William Bendix as McLeod's colleague, Brody. Lee Grant [Damian: Omen 2], in her first film, is fine as a likable if bewildered shoplifter; Craig Hill scores as an embezzler in love with the wrong woman; and Cathy O'Donnell offers a sensitive portrayal of another woman who's in love with Hill. There are also some flavorful short appearances by Gladys George [Flamingo Road] and Gerald Mohr; Joseph Wiseman, only in his second film, is perhaps less effective. Eleanor Parker, possibly miscast to begin with, is a bit too showy and mannered at times, although she has her moments. In general, Wyler's assured direction gets the most out of the story and characters and the film holds the attention throughout. O'Donnell and Mohr appeared together in Terror in the Haunted House.

Verdict: Another very fine Wyler feature. ***1/2.

THE FLIGHT THAT DISAPPEARED

Paula Raymond and Craig Hill

THE FLIGHT THAT DISAPPEARED (1961). Director: Reginald Le Borg.

Flight 60 takes off from LA and is heading for Washington D.C. with several special passengers aboard. Carl Morris (Dayton Lummis of The Music Box Kid) is a physicist who has come up with an idea for a devastating Beta bomb. Marcia Paxton (Paula Raymond of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms) is a mathematician and Morris' assistant. Tom Endicott (Crag Hill of Deadly Duo) is a rocket engineer who feels an attraction to Marcia. Inexplicably the flight keeps rising higher and higher into the air despite the best efforts of the crew. Then the engines stop running and the three aforementioned find themselves in a weird, fantastic nightmare -- or the Twilight Zone, if you prefer. The Flight that Disappeared is like a long, third-rate TZ episode complete with heavy-handed message. The first half is intriguing and well done and holds the attention, but then it collapses into illogical, incoherent stupidity below comic book level. The acting is generally professional, with Lummis taking top honors. Harvey Stephens [The Cheat] and Meg Wyllie are vivid as an hysterical, mentally-disturbed passenger and his blind wife. Another messterpiece from the fine folks at Bel-Air.

Verdict: A Rod Serling reject. **.

DEADLY DUO

Marcia Henderson and Craig Hill

DEADLY DUO (1962). Director: Reginald Le Borg.

A down and out lawyer, Preston Morgan (Craig Hill), is hired by wealthy Lenora Spence (Irene Tedrow) to make an offer to her daughter-in-law, Sabena (Marcia Henderson of All I Desire): half a million bucks if she gives up all rights to her son, Billy (Peter Oliphant). Sabena has no intention of giving up her child, but her evil twin sister Dara (also Marcia Henderson) and her slimy husband, Jay (Robert Lowery of Batman and Robin) cook up a murderous scheme against the background of a studio lot "Acapulco." Tedrow is terrific as the no-nonsense Lenora, Lowery is suitably reptilian, and the others are competent enough if unexciting, and the picture holds the attention in the way of a cheap TV thriller. An interesting aspect of the film is that at first you get the impression that there are two different actresses playing the twins as the "double" business is handled quite well for such an inexpensive production. Marco Lopez makes an impression as the bellboy, Luis, who wants to show Preston the town. Henderson was also in The Hypnotic Eye and Le Borg also directed Bad Blonde, Voodoo Island, Weird Woman and many others. His surname was alternately spelled "Le Borg" or "LeBorg." Although this looks like a Bel-Air production it was actually made by United Artists.

Verdict: You can't go wrong with evil twins. **.