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. ***.   

WE'RE NOT MARRIED

Wedded bliss? Fred Allen and Ginger Rogers

WE'RE NOT MARRIED (1952). Director: Edmund Goulding.

"I'll say one thing about our marriage. If there's such a thing as an unjackpot, I've hit it!" -- Ramona

Five couples who were married by a dithering Justice of the Peace (Victor Moore) discover that the man's license only went into affect after the new year, so that their marriages are invalid. Those affected include radio show hosts Ramona and Steven Gladwyn (Ginger Rogers and Fred Allen), who hate each other and only speak during the show; Katie and Hector Woodruff (Eve Arden and Paul Douglas), who have gotten into a rut; Annabel and Jeff Norris (Marilyn Monroe and David Wayne), who have an adorable baby boy; Patsy and Wilson Fisher (Mitzi Gaynor and Eddie Bracken), who are expecting a child; and Eve and Fred Melrose (Zsa Zsa Gabor and Louis Calhern), who are facing an expensive divorce -- for Fred. 

Gabor, Louis Calhern, Paul Stewart

Although there are a few laugh-out-loud moments, We're Not Married has a very insufficient screenplay. Some of the stories have such flat endings that you wondered why anyone even bothered. It also makes no sense to team the adorable Marilyn Monroe -- whose appearances virtually amount to a cameo! -- with the bland and utterly sexless David Wayne; they hardly set the screen on fire. The best episode has lawyer Paul Stewart dictating divorce terms to Louis Calhern, then a certain letter arrives in the mail, but even this segment is completely predictable. For me it doesn't help that Eddie Bracken happens to be one of my least favorite actors ever, although his typically whiny performance is adequate. Calhern, Rogers and others are wasted in this piffle, which could have been a really strong picture with a much, much better screenplay. Fred Allen was once a very popular comedian, although he's virtually forgotten today. Movies like this didn't help.

Verdict: A lot of good actors with generally disappointing material. **1/2.

THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN

"It's growing!" Kate Reid and Arthur Hill

THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (1971). Director: Robert Wise.

Project Scoop, which collects organisms in space, crashes to earth  in a small town in New Mexico. Everyone is killed by a plague from an organism inside the scoop aside from an old man and a baby, both of whom are taken to a secret Nevada base known as "Wildfire," which was created to contain deadly biological alien entities. Inside the base several scientists try to figure out why these two particular humans survived, and to determine the exact nature of the organism that killed everyone else, and how it was transmitted. It is decided to wipe out the town with a bomb, but will that be such a good idea ...? The Andromeda Strain, based on a novel by Michael Crichton ["Micro"], was one of the first of the technological sci fi/medical thrillers, and it's a pip, well-directed by Wise and very suspenseful. [The movie Alien owes a lot to Andromeda's climax with its destruct mechanism that only allows a short time to cancel it]. Arthur Hill as the head of the team offers his usual competent if bland performance; James Olson, David Wayne and Paula Kelly are a bit more flavorful; and Kate Reid [A Delicate Balance] is simply outstanding as the grouchy, dyspeptic Dr. Ruth Leavitt -- she's a a real asset to the movie. Glenn Langan [The Amazing Colossal Man] has a small role as a politician and is fine. Remade as an A&E mini-series in 2008.

Verdict: Taut, creepy, and fascinating. ***1/2.

THE THREE FACES OF EVE

Joanne Woodward and Ken Scott

THE THREE FACES OF EVE (1957). Director: Nunnally Johnson.

Timid Eve White (Joanne Woodward of A Kiss Before Dying) acts strangely at times, so her husband, Ralph (David Wayne), takes her to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Luthor (Lee J. Cobb of Boomerang). During their interview, a different, sexier personality named Eve Black emerges. While Luthor and a colleague at first suspect that Mrs. White is faking, they come to the conclusion that she has multiple personality disorder. Her husband can't quite buy this, and her already troubled marriage begins to disintegrate. Then a third personality, "Jane," makes its presence known ... The Three Faces of Eve is based on a non-fiction book by a psychiatrist, so it's introduced and narrated by Alistair Cooke (who is himself "introduced" in this picture) to let the audience know this is real and serious. Whatever the reality of Eve and multiple personalities, this is an absorbing picture thanks primarily to the performance of Woodward, who won the best actress Oscar. [The part was originally to go to Judy Garland, who would have been interesting.] Woodward is subtle in her effects, never once over-acting, and is moving at times as well. Cobb is also excellent, but David Wayne is ludicrously miscast as the ignorant, stumbling husband, and his attempts to portray him are "Hollywood" acting at its worst. Ken Scott [Desire in the Dust] makes more of an impression as a man who falls in love with "Jane." Nancy Kulp [Strange Bedfellows] is cast as Eve's mother in a brief flashback. One suspects that the reasons for Eve's trauma and her developing this disorder have been cleaned up for the screen. The best sequence has Eve White talking to the doctor and realizing that she -- that is, her personality -- doesn't have much longer to live, and doesn't care. Which begs the question: when a personality disappears does it also, in essence, die? This is much better than the knock-off Lizzie which came out later the same year. Unlike that movie Eve doesn't equate sexuality with evil.

Verdict: Intelligent look at a weird and troubling problem. ***.