DOLL FACE

Perry Como and Vivian Blaine

DOLL FACE (1945). Director: Lewis Seiler.

"Doll Face" Carroll (Vivian Blaine) is a top burlesque performer who tries to go legit, but when one producer, Flo Hartman (Reed Hadley), finds out who she really is he refuses to hire her. Doll Face's manager and boyfriend, Mike (Dennis O'Keefe), comes up with the dubious notion of showing that she has "class" by hiring a ghostwriter, Fred (Stephen Dunne), to pen her memoirs -- as a burlesque queen! As Fred falls for Doll Face, and singer Nicky Ricci (Perry Como) tries to get dancer "Frankie" (Martha Stewart) to warm up to him, Mike decides to turn Doll Face's memoir into a Broadway show. Can Doll Face finally go legit? And will she wind up with Mike or Frank?

Stephen Dunne and Carmen Miranda

This was adapted from a play by Gypsy Rose Lee but Doll Face should certainly not be confused with Gypsy! The script for this is no world-beater, although most of the performers are game. Vivian Blaine had her most famous role in Guys and Dolls, but in this I found her lacking in distinction. O'Keefe is as buoyant as ever, and poor Carmen Miranda is given no romance and only one catchy number, "Chico from Puerto Rico." The songs by McHugh and Adamson [Four Jills in a Jeep] are pleasant, however, with "Here Comes Heaven Again" arguably being the best. Reed Hadley is fine as the producer, who ultimately opts to work with Doll Face, and Perry Como is mildly appealing as Nicky. Handsome Stephen Dunne is billed in this as "Michael" Dunne, the name he used in his earliest appearances. He later starred as "Steve" Dunne on The Brothers Brannagan for TV.

Verdict: Acceptable but rather minor musical. **1/2. 

TAHITI HONEY

Dennis O'Keefe and Lionel Stander

TAHITI HONEY  (1943). Director: John H. Auer.

In Tahiti just before Pearl Harbor, bandleader Mickey Monroe (Dennis O'Keefe) decides he needs a woman for the act, although previous songbirds have only caused trouble for the band. Mickey hires Suzette (Simone Simon), who agrees to join his team because he tells her he can get her to the U.S. The other band members are against taking her, but Mickey appeals to their sympathy by saying she wants to be reunited with her soldier fiancee, Charlie. Mickey makes up so many phony letters that the band members all come to believe that "Charlie" actually exists. And then a real soldier shows up, Lt. John Barton (Michael Whalen), whom everyone thinks is Charlie. Suzette decides to go along with the deception, creating romantic feelings in John and jealousy in Mickey. Which man will she finally wind up with?

Dennis O Keefe and Simone Simon

Tahiti Honey is a typical Republic musical time-waster, although it's easy to take for most of its length until it eventually wears out its welcome. The songs are pleasant enough but not likely to stay in your memory. O'Keefe is excellent, an adept comic actor who makes the most of his role as a smooth-talkin' ladies man; you just wish he had better material. Simon (of Cat People fame and Girls' Dormitory) is cute and apparently dubbed -- her singing, that is. Lionel Stander, whom I usually can't abide, is not only very good but much less obnoxious than usual. Michael Whalen [Highway 13] is fine as the initially confused, then smitten, lieutenant. Simon made this movie in between her most famous feature, Cat People, and its sequel. Her American career never really took off.

Verdict: O'Keefe fans may enjoy this, but not recommended for anyone else. **1/4. 

YOU'LL FIND OUT

Kay Kyser bolstered by Petter Lorre, Bela Lugosi, and Boris Karloff

YOU'LL FIND OUT (1940). Director: David Butler.

Playing himself, band leader Kay Kyser brings his College of Musical Knowledge, along with singers Ginny Simms and Harry Babbitt (also playing themselves) to a spooky mansion where resides Janis Bellacrest (Helen Parrish of First Love), who happens to be engaged to Kay's manager, Chuck Deems (Dennis O'Keefe). Before long the group finds itself cut off from everyone with a cut phone line and a bridge that falls apart due to an explosion. Janis' Aunt Margo (Alma Kruger of Craig's Wife) is friends with a spiritualist named Prince Sallano (Bela Lugosi), who seems to be held in little regard by Professor Fenninger (Peter Lorre) and Judge Mainwaring (Boris Karloff). As Kay, Chuck, and alleged comic Ish Kabibble explore secret passages in the old mansion, attempts are made on Janis' life more than once. RKO obviously hedged its bets by bringing in that triumvirate of terror in the persons of Lugosi, Lorre, and Karloff, who get right into the silly spirit of things with marked professionalism and without losing their dignity. Kyser remains a likable presence, although some of the comedy shtick he does in the film is not only unfunny but painful to watch; ditto for Kabibble, whose jokes wouldn't impress a three-year-old. However, O'Keefe [Abroad with Two Yanks] is just right for this kind of material and he and Kyser make an engaging comedy team at different points in the story. Ginny Simms, who was not only Kyser's singer but was involved with him at the time, zestfully sings two nice numbers, including "I'd Know You Anywhere" and "One Track Mind." Late in the picture Kyser has the band instruments imitating human voices with horrific results. There's an amusing business with the dog Prince, who gets phosphorescent paint on his tail at one point, and later on plays catch with a bomb! Experienced director David Butler helps keep this whole thing running more or less smoothly. A number called "The Bad Humor Man" may have made the "Good Humor" ice cream people nervous.

Verdict: Silly, but with some nice numbers and a few laughs, not to mention those horror stars! **1/2. 

SIREN OF ATLANTIS

Maria Montez

SIREN OF ATLANTIS (1949). Director: Gregg G. Tallas.

Lt. Andre Saint-Avit (Jean-Pierre Aumont of Carnival of Crime) is found in the desert, delirious, half-starved, wailing about a lost city, an evil queen, and a friend he murdered. In flashback he tells his superiors how after a sandstorm he discovered the lost city of Atlantis -- improbably hidden under the mountains in the Sahara -- where the beautiful Queen Antinea (Maria Montez) loves and disposes of one man after another, and acts cruelly towards her subjects and her slaves. Andre's friend is Captain Jean Morhange (Dennis O'Keefe), who can resist the queen because he's headed for a monastery anyway. Before too long, Andre becomes the favorite of the queen, and presumably does a lot more than play chess with her, but then days go by and Jean is nowhere to be found and the queen isn't calling for Andre ... In his novel "Myron," the sequel to "Myra Breckenridge," Gore Vidal wrote about a Maria Montez flick called Siren of Babylon, and it was probably this picture he was referring to. Not quite a camp classic, it immediately suffers from the fact that it works up absolutely no sense of wonder over this apparently marvelous hidden city, which doesn't seem much different from the kind of places you'd find in those space-babes-on-the-moon epics. Maria Montez is indeed beautiful, if somewhat heavy featured, but her acting is barely adequate. She comes off like a particularly vicious drag queen (not to suggest that most drag queens are vicious). Aumont is fine in an impossible part, and an almost comically miscast O'Keefe doesn't look particularly good in a mustache and goatee. Other characters in the film include Lindstrom (Allan Nixon of Pickup), one of Antinea's cast-off lovers; Cortot (Alexis Minotis of Land of the Pharaohs), an alchemist who had his tongue cut out by the queen; the tragic slave Tanit (Milada Mladova) who dies a horrible death; and Blades (Henry Daniell), the court librarian and philosopher who acts as a kind of butler or assistant and who cackles and belittles the men, primarily acting like the loathsome little cockroach that he is -- Daniell easily offers the best performance in the film. (Movies like this should offer some kind of catharsis, but neither he nor his mistress ever get their comeuppance.) Antinea has her ex-lovers turned into immortal statues. Michel Michelet's score is interesting if a trifle overblown at times, and Karl Struss' photography is fine, especially a sequence in which Andre sees the mirage of an oasis of rushing water in the desert. Aumont and Montez were a real-life married couple from 1946 until 1951 when the Spanish beauty (born in the Domenican Republic) drowned in her bath after possibly suffering a heart attack. She was only 39. Director Tallas also helmed Prehistoric Women, which starred Allan Nixon. It is much worse than this.

Verdict: Everyone should see at least one Maria Montez movie. **. 

ABROAD WITH TWO YANKS

Battling Beauties? William Bendix and Dennis O'Keefe

ABROAD WITH TWO YANKS (1944). Director: Allan Dwan.

"I came over here to wear a uniform, not a girdle!" -- Biff

Biff (William Bendix) and Jeff (Dennis O'Keefe), two marines on leave in Australia,  are more or less friendly rivals (although the casting of the handsome O'Keefe doesn't exactly level the playing field!), especially when it comes to women. Jeff pretends to be Biff so he can get in good with Joyce (Helen Walker), who is anxious to meet Biff because he saved the life of family friend, Cyril (John Loder). The first half of the film, in which Jeff tries to maintain the impersonation while Biff suggests to Joyce that his "pal" has mental troubles, is pretty average and even silly, but the picture certainly picks up in the second half. For unaccountable reasons the Marine sergeant wants some of the guys to dress up as gals during a show, but both Biff and Jeff take off in drag with the latter intent on proposing to Joyce while the former wants Cyril to have a shot at it. There are hilarious developments as these two gals romp around a social event trying to get the better of the other one. William Bendix [The Big Steal], always a fine actor in either comedy or drama, has a ball playing the sensitive, likable but feisty Biff, while O'Keefe also offers a fine comic performance as his hated buddy. A highlight is watching Bendix warbling "All I Need is a Man!" Helen Walker [Nightmare Alley] might seem an odd choice for this kind of material but she's winning throughout. John Loder is blandly professional, as usual. Walker and O'Keefe also appeared in Brewster's Millions, in  which they were not nearly as effective.

Verdict: After a slow start, this is a very funny service comedy. ***.

MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Peter Lorre

MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY (1941). Director: William Morgan.

Socialite P. Cadwallader Jones (Dennis O'
Keefe) is assigned to the district attorney's office primarily on the strength of his father's name. At first he's a first-class screw-up, but then he gets involved with some missing money, and a suspect, Hyde (Peter Lorre), who seems to be missing himself. This picture is the first of two that were based on the radio series of the same title -- there were two TV series as well -- all of which have the exact same title, which meant that I looked up Mr. District Attorney and couldn't understand why there was a completely different cast aside from O'Keefe (not even playing the same character) and Lorre was nowhere to be found. Well, of course that was the 1947 version. In any case, this picture is utterly undistinguished but for the brief appearance of Peter Lorre. O'Keefe is okay, and the supporting players include Minor Watson, Grady Sutton, Stanley Ridges, and Florence Rice. After Lorre, Helen Brown makes the best impression as Hyde's wife. Let's hope the second movie with this title was a bit better.

Verdict: Fast-paced but stupid and uninteresting. *1/2.

DISHONORED LADY

DISHONORED LADY (1947). Director: Robert Stevenson.

"You're a voluptuous pain in the neck."

"I'm mad about you -- in my own foul way."

Beautiful New York City magazine editor Madeleine Damian (Hedy Lamarr) tries to kill herself out of what seems to be ennui and is counseled by a rather patronizing psychiatrist (Morris Carnovsky), who encourages her to start a brand new life for herself. She meets a handsome scientist, David (Dennis O'Keefe), who lives upstairs and falls in love, but then her past intrudes, in the form of sleazy lover boy Felix Courtland (John Loder) and even sleazier former co-worker Jack Garet (William Lundigan). When Madeleine is accused of murder, David turns against her in the snap of a finger! [Why anyone would expect such a beautiful woman not to have admirers and previous boyfriends ... !] Lamarr [Crossroads] and the other actors are perfectly fine in this, but the screenplay is a load of rot. Paul Cavanagh and Natalie Schafer [Female on the Beach] are their usual adept selves as Madeleine's former associates, and there are appearances by Margaret Hamilton as a landlady, and Douglass Dumbrille as a prosecutor; both are swell. (Ms. Damian is quite a woman: it's not that she doesn't scream at the sight of a mouse, but that she's actually able to grab and pick up one of the little vermin without trouble! Faster than a mouse? Sure!)  It's fun to watch those two blond Hollywood pretty boys, O'Keefe and Lundigan [The White Orchid], having a knockdown, drag-out battle -- guess who wins? Lundigan is effective in an unusual bad boy role for him.

Verdict: An attractive, competent cast doesn't hurt, but oh that story! **.

THE FAKE

THE FAKE (1953). Director: Godfrey Grayson.

Paul Mitchell (Dennis O'Keefe of Weekend for Three) is investigating the theft of a couple of da Vinci paintings when he arrives at the Tate gallery in London. Once there, he suspects that the da Vinci in their collection is a fake. One of the main suspects for the forgery is an unsuccessful painter named Henry Mason (John Laurie of Island of Desire), whose daughter, Mary (Colleen Gray of The Phantom Planet), works at the gallery and is appalled and angered by Mitchell's suspicions, which hardly helps him make time with her. Others mixed up in the case include Smith (Guy Middleton), Peter Randall (Gerald Case), and Sir Richard Aldingham (Hugh Williams). Will Mitchell survive this investigation as the forger gets increasingly desperate to avoid capture? The only really interesting thing about this by-the-numbers movie with its TV-like production is that the score is based on Mussorgsky's "Pictures from an Exhibition." The acting is decent.

Verdict: Not quite a fake movie, but close. **.

UP IN MABEL'S ROOM

Mischa Auer, Dennis O'Keefe and baby

UP IN MABEL'S ROOM (1944). Director: Allan Dwan.

Gary (Dennis O'Keefe) is married to the easily excitable and almost neurotically jealous Geraldine (Marjorie Reynolds). Years ago Gary had a drunken fling in Mexico City with Mabel (Gail Patrick), and gave her some intimate lingerie with a love message embroidered on it with his name. Mabel, who is engaged to Gary's prospective business partner, Arthur (Lee Bowman), thinks Gary should be honest about it and they can all laugh about it and forget it -- very sensible -- but not-so-sensible, nervous Gary wants to get the notorious slip out of Mabel's hands and destroy it. To that end he hires Boris (Mischa Auer) to help him get it when the two couples and others converge at a house party. Somehow, after much hiding under beds and marital misunderstandings, the rumor gets around that Gary and Mabel's big secret isn't a mere slip, but a "slip" of a baby! Up in Mabel's Room is based on a creaky old farce that might have been hilarious in its day, but this attempt to turn it into a wartime screwball comedy just doesn't come off. There are some talented players in this -- O'Keefe certainly tries hard, Patrick is quite likable as the sophisticated Mabel, and Mischa Auer gets the film's only laughs (and there are far too few of them) -- but Marjorie Reynolds [Bring On the Girls] and most of the others show no gift for farce. If the picture were really funny you might overlook that most of the characters are quite stupid. John Hubbard [The Mummy's Tomb] and Binnie Barnes play another couple, and Charlotte Greenwood is an older woman who thinks Boris is a burglar and tries to shoot him. Allan Dwan also directed the terrible Brewster's Millions with O'Keefe.

Verdict: Pick any Mexican Spitfire movie and it will be a lot funnier -- this is leaden. *1/2

THE COMPANY SHE KEEPS

Jane Greer and Lizabeth Scott

THE COMPANY SHE KEEPS (1951). Director: John Cronwell.

NOTE: Some plot points are revealed in this review. Diane (Jane Greer) is released from prison after passing bad checks and the like, and is assigned to parole officer Joan (Lizabeth Scott). Diane resents kindly Joan from the first, and makes a major play for Joan's boyfriend, Larry (Dennis O'Keefe of Hold That Kiss), which the big lug falls for. Before long Larry and Diane are in love, but they need Joan's approval to marry ... what a weird situation. The problem with The Company She Keeps is that the two lovers are pretty unsympathetic, with Diane returning Joan's friendship by stealing her boyfriend, and Larry betraying the faithful [if eternally busy] Joan, who is too sweet for words -- or reality. Fay Baker [The Star] plays another parolee who works with Diane as a nurse, and Gertrude Hoffman [My Little Margie] has a silent role as a woman on the parole board. Paul Frees is a judge's clerk and Great Old Movies' favorite Kathleen Freeman plays another parolee. Jeff Bridges and his brother Beau supposedly appear as an infant and a small boy. Given Diane's essential nature, it's unlikely that the "happy" ending for this couple is going to last. The acting is generally solid.

Verdict: These two lovers deserve each other. **.

THE DENNIS O'KEEFE SHOW

Dennis O'Keefe

THE DENNIS O'KEEFE SHOW. 1959.

This sitcom starring popular actor Dennis O'Keefe lasted for one season in 1959. The premise had him as a newspaper columnist with one son, Randy (Ricky Kelman), and a housekeeper named "Sarge" (played by Hope Emerson after she was replaced on Peter Gunn). The very lovely Eloise Hardt plays a sometimes girlfriend, Karen. Three episodes from this lost, pretty much forgotten series are available at the Internet Archives, and two more on youtube. In "June Thursday" 42-year-old Hal Towne (O'Keefe, who was actually a somewhat older-looking fifty-one at the time)) tries to make a star out of a talented cigarette girl. In another episode Randy sends a note to a cute little girl, but her grandmother (Zazu Pitts) thinks the note is for her and that it was sent by Hal! In "Counterfeiters" two elderly counterfeiters buy tickets from Randy with phoney bills, leading to complications. In another episode Hal tries to romance his son's teacher, upon whom he has an unrequited crush, while another teacher (Nancy Kulp, who was eternally cast as the homely "other woman) tries to get a date with him. The best and most amusing episode you can find on line [on youtube], "The Regency Club," has Hal romancing a snobbish society lady who's only dating him so she can dump him, but he goes her one better with some help from his son, housekeeper, and Karen [why Hal would want any other woman when the very attractive, classy yet down-to-earth Karen is available is the question]. Judging from these episodes, there have certainly been worse sitcoms than The Dennis O'Keefe Show and much better ones as well. The cast is appealing, O'Keefe is fine, Emerson amusing, Kelman a cute kid, and Jerome Cowan scores, as he generally does, as a rival columnist. O'Keefe was in Hold That Kiss, Weekend for Three, and many, many other movies.

Verdict: No I Love Lucy, but O'Keefe fans may enjoy. **1/2.

CHICAGO SYNDICATE

O'Keefe, Hayes, Lane and Stewart

CHICAGO SYNDICATE (1955). Director: Fred F. Sears.

"First you give me the cold shoulder and now you're romancing me like I'm Liberace."

A man named Kern is gunned down in the street and it develops that he was bookkeeper for a mobster named Arnold Valent (Paul Stewart). Kern's wife commits suicide and her daughter, Joyce (Allison Hayes), becomes a social pariah. Barry Amsterdam (Dennis O'Keefe) is hired to go undercover to get the goods on Valent, and he runs into an angry young woman with a gambling habit who turns out to be Joyce Kern; eventually the two join forces. Joyce's presence is irksome to Connie (Abbe Lane), Valent's girlfriend, who is also a singer and has a lap dog named Benny (Xavier Cugat). Hayes clearly has the leading female role, but she's billed under Lane, who gets co-star status with O'Keefe. Apparently Lane and Cugat (who were married at the time) were a package deal, as Cugat, who can't act [even when he's playing an orchestra leader!], just seems along for the ride. On the other hand, O'Keefe [Hold That Kiss] is fine, Stewart is excellent, while Hayes is a little more problematic. The infamous "fifty foot woman" [a Great Old Movies favorite] has no problem doing her usual shtick -- smouldering, bitter hostility -- but she's less successful in getting across any of her character's other nuances. Still, Hayes is always fun, especially when she's trading barbs with and spilling hot coffee on Lane, who doesn't give a bad performance; Lane could have used a little more seasoning but she managed to amass a few credits after this. Chicago Syndicate is entertaining even if it plays like little more than an expanded TV episode. Sears also directed such fun sci fi as The Giant Claw and Earth vs. the Flying Saucers.

Verdict: O'Keefe and Hayes make an interesting pair. **1/2.

RAW DEAL

Dennis O'Keefe will have to deal with John Ireland

RAW DEAL (1948). Director: Anthony Mann.

Lawyer Ann Martin (Marsha Hunt of Smash Up) visits Joe Sullivan (Dennis O'Keefe of Hold That Kiss) in jail to talk about parole, but she's as attracted to him as he is to her. Joe took the rap for a big wheel named Rick (Raymond Burr) who promised him big money if he served his sentence. But Joe's faithful girlfriend, Pat (Claire Trevor of Crossroads), somehow breaks Joe out of jail in a million to one chance (the exact details are completely glossed over!), and the big lug brings her to -- Ann's apartment. In an interesting development, Joe forces Ann to go along with him and Pat as they drive past police blockades and try to get out of the city, which doesn't exactly sit well with the jealous Pat. Ann at first grows to hate the man she is attracted to, but then ... Yes, this is the type of movie in which the protagonist is a complete loser, but gets away with a lot because he's passably good-looking and has a slight -- very slight -- modicum of sensitivity. Raw Deal should have been more interesting than it is -- although it does pose a heart-rending moral question for Pat at the very end -- but the characters are unsympathetic (although one almost feels sorry for Pat) and the movie never quite rises above its second-rate film noir atmosphere. Hunt and Trevor are excellent, however, and O'Keefe got one of the best roles of his career and runs with it. Raymond Burr is also fine as Rick, who is so sadistic that he throws a flaming food dish in a woman's face because she accidentally spilled a drink on his jacket. John Ireland is a nasty henchman of Rick's who is sent to kill Joe, and Regis Toomey is the cop in pursuit of him. The versatile Whit Bissell has a memorable cameo as a murderer being chased by a posse who just happens to make his way to the same place that Joe and company are hiding out in. John Alton's moody cinematography doesn't hurt. Mann also directed the excellent Furies with Barbara Stanwyck.

Verdict: Very good showcase for O'Keefe with some interesting situations. **1/2.

THE AFFAIRS OF JIMMY VALENTINE / UNFORGOTTEN CRIME

THE AFFAIRS OF JIMMY VALENTINE (aka Unforgotten Crime /1942). Director: Bernard Vorhaus.

Radio host Mike Jason (Dennis O'Keefe of Hold That Kiss) turns a town upside down when he offers a reward for information about which of the populace may have formerly been known as safe cracker Jimmy Valentine. It seems Fernville is hiding a number of ex-cons who have paid their debt to society and are afraid this hunt will expose them and destroy their lives. Soon there are a couple of murders among the agitated citizenry before the truth comes out -- or not. Despite the interesting plot this is actually a lightweight comedy vehicle for the adept O'Keefe, and little else. With grade A treatment, the picture might have amounted to something. We even learn the identity of the killer almost from the start, despite the fact that his identity might have come as a surprise to most of the audience. Ruth Terry is bouncy as Bonnie, the daughter of the newspaper editor (Roman Bohnen), and Gloria Dickson plays O'Keefe's colleague and supposed girlfriend, Cleo; neither actress is distinctive in any way and both had minor careers. George E. Stone is "Mousey,"  Mike's buddy. Bohnen was memorable as poor old Candy in Of Mice and Men.

Verdict: Nice idea, but nothing special here at all. **.

WOMAN ON THE RUN

WOMAN ON THE RUN (1950). Director: Norman Foster.

"I'm not a bad guy when you get to know me. A little obnoxious, but pleasant."

Police contact a bitter woman, Eleanor Johnson (Ann Sheridan), when her husband, Frank (Ross Elliott), witnesses a murder in San Francisco and runs off instead of going into protective custody. Eleanor learns that Frank, who is a painter and sculptor, has a heart condition and needs medicine, and tries to track him down with the help of a reporter, Dan Legget (Dennis O'Keefe) and without alerting the cops, who want to find him. As they search for him in various places, Eleanor begins to realize that maybe her husband still loves her, and she him. But Dan has a secret of his own. Well directed and edited, this is an entertaining, fast-paced little "B" film with snappy performances from Sheridan and O'Keefe, and fine support from Robert Keith as Inspector Ferris. One could argue that it's hard to sympathize with Frank, and by extension Eleanor, when the couple refuse to do their civic duty, although their fear is nevertheless understandable. There's a nice climax at an amusement park. A good scene has Eleanor remarking that Ferris and Legget seem to think they know more about her husband than the woman who was married to him for years. Unusual storyline helps put this over and it's rather well-done all told.

Verdict: Highly interesting film noir that just misses being really special, but is still solid. ***.   

HOLD THAT KISS

HOLD THAT KISS (1938). Director: Edwin L. Marin.

June Evans (Maureen O'Sullivan) and Tom Bradford (Dennis O'Keefe) meet at a society function and both believe the other one is well-to-do. Tom actually works for a travel agency and June is a model for a couturier, but they do their best to keep up the deception, afraid the other would dump them if they knew they weren't wealthy. The leads are swell, and the picture is bolstered by a fine supporting cast: Mickey Rooney, Frank Albertson and Phillip Terry as June's brothers; Fay Holden as her mother; Jessie Ralph as her Aunt Lucy; Edward Brophy as Tom's roommate; and George Barbier as the father of a bride in the opening sequence. A definite scene stealer is the St. Bernard with soulful eyes who plays Blotto. No world-beater, perhaps, but a cute and amusing trifle.

Verdict: Fun picture with appealing cast. ***.

WEEKEND FOR THREE

WEEKEND FOR THREE (1941). Director: Irving Reis.

"Every married man ought to be a bachelor!"

One night when he's tight, Jim (Dennis O'Keefe, pictured) invites a friendly guy, Randy (Phillip Reed), in a club to come visit, and the guy shows up at his house -- and shows no signs of ever wanting to leave. Worse, he and Jim's wife Ellen (Jane Wyatt) are old friends and have great fun dancing all night together. Had this low-grade Man Who Came to Dinner been made in the 21st century, it probably would have had all sorts of psycho-sexual developments [Randy seems stereotypically gay for one thing] but for a screwball forties picture it certainly doesn't have enough laughs. O'Keefe and Wyatt are fine, but the picture is stolen by those old pros Zazu Pitts (as the maid), Edward Everett Horton (Jim's associate, who's had several bad marriages) and Franklin Pangborn (as a waiter in their favorite establishment). This is a picture you really want to like but it's very third-rate and never really erupts into the hoped-for hilarity. And this had a screenplay by Dorothy Parker -- I wonder how much of her original script actually made it into the movie. Not much, I bet.

Verdict: You'll have the feeling you've been this way once too often. *1/2.

BREWSTER'S MILLIONS

BREWSTER'S MILLIONS (1945). Director: Allan Dwan.

"Turkey?! If it had kept on running we'd have had to pay the actors off in cranberries!"

Monty Brewster (Dennis O'Keefe, pictured) comes home to his girl Peggy (Helen Walker) from the war and learns that he has inherited 8 million dollars from an uncle. But the will has a (frankly ridiculous and possibly unenforceable) stipulation: Monty must spend a million dollars before his thirtieth birthday (about two months), be left with absolutely no assets (which means he can't buy such things as jets and yachts) or he will forfeit all the rest of the money (he can only give 5% to charity). There doesn't seem to be any reason why he can't simply give $100,000 to ten friends, but instead he sets up a business, rents expensive offices, pays inflated salaries -- and keeps making money no matter how hard he tries not to. The old old idea (this was filmed several times before) is a cute one, but this version, despite all the running around and mugging and so on, just seems lifeless, and it's never very funny. Part of the problem is that Dennis O'Keefe is not exactly a skilled comedian a la Bob Hope, although he does do his best. Helen Walker, who was excellent as the sinister Lilith in Nightmare Alley, makes a competent if unamusing leading lady. The supporting cast does their best, but a few genuinely amusing lines are sort of thrown away and lost in the general hysteria/tedium. Eddie "Rochester" Anderson adds to the limited fun.

Verdict: Highly forgettable. *1/2.