LOVING YOU

Elvis!

LOVING YOU (1957). Director: Hal Kanter.

"He's the one -- the one with jumping beans in his jeans!"

Press agent Glenda Markle (Lizabeth Scott of Dark City) and her sort of boyfriend "Tex" Warner (Wendell Corey), hope to improve their situation and get lots of publicity by bringing young Deke Williams (Elvis Presley) into their band. Deke's hip-swinging antics incur the wrath of old biddies and the town council, but even the biddies are eventually won over by Deke's obvious likability and sex appeal. Jailhouse Rock, the next Presley film after Loving You, also juxtaposed an older has-been singer with an up and coming youngster but made a little more of the older man's angst, although Loving You has a slightly more serious script than Jailhouse. Elvis is fine, Scott and Corey are excellent, Delores Hart [Wild is the Wind] makes little impression as another band member and Presley's love interest. The title tune and "Teddy Bear" are the best numbers, and Presley betrays a not-terrible baritone when he warbles a ballad. One of the best scenes has Glenda reminding a disapproving council that years ago there was an outcry against jazz, and even against Debussy and Stravinsky decades before. Whatever you think of his acting and singing, Presley had presence in spades.

Verdict: Appealing performances help put this over. **1/2.

LONELYHEARTS

LONELYHEARTS (1958). Director: Vincent J. Donehue.

Adam White (Montgomery Clift) importunes publisher William Shrike (Robert Ryan) to give him a job on the paper, but all he winds up with is doing the "Miss Lonelyhearts" column. Shrike verbally abuses his wife Florence (Myrna Loy) because of an indiscretion in her past, despite the fact that Shrike has had numerous infidelities of his own. Adam is engaged to Justy (Delores Hart) -- short for Justine, one supposes -- but he has an indiscretion of his own when unhappy wife Fay (Maureen Stapleton) discovers that he's "Miss Lonelyhearts" and asks if she can come see him at his apartment to talk about her troubles ... The best thing about Lonelyhearts is the acting, with Clift giving a superb performance, and Loy, Stapleton, Ryan and Hart providing excellent support. Ryan's character is in some ways incomprehensible, and while his performance may lack the spontaneity of Clift's, it is still quite effective. One can't quite understand why Florence stays with Shrike, however. The whole business with Stapleton seems contrived, and the story, despite some minor incidents, never seems to go anywhere. This is a shame because the characters are compelling and the acting memorable. There are interesting parallels in the picture, however: Adam's father (a very effective Onslow Stevens) is in jail because he murdered his adulterous wife and her lover; Florence cheated on her husband and Fay wants to do the same. Stapleton had done mostly television and stage work before being "introduced" in this film. Despite its flaws, this is better than The Day of the Locust, another movie taken from a Nathaniel West novel.

Verdict: A mesmerizing Clift easily outshines his material. **1/2.

WILD IS THE WIND

WILD IS THE WIND (1957). Director: George Cukor.


Widower Gino (Anthony Quinn) decides to marry his sister-in-law Gioia (Anna Magnani, pictured) and flies to Italy to bring her home to his family in America. The movie spends the first hour doing its best to inject drama into the situation -- Gino keeps comparing Gioia to her dead sister; the two argue over killing wild horses -- but the movie doesn't really live up to its "wild" title until Gioia begins an affair with Gino's handsome young ward, Bene (Tony Franciosa). The script by Arnold Schulman may never really rise above a soap opera level, but somehow it doesn't matter much because the direction, cinematography (Charles Lang), and acting are of such a high order that they smooth over all the imperfections of the story. Magnani is as wonderful as ever, but Cukor wrests fine performances from Quinn (one of his best ever), Franciosa, and the entire supporting cast as well. Joseph Calleia and Lila Valenty score as Quinn's brother and sister-in-law, and Delores Hart is lovely in the small role of Quinn's daughter. Once it gets going this is quite absorbing and has a very nice ending.

Verdict: Definitely worth a look. ***1/2.