THE BONNIE PARKER STORY

Jack Hogan and Dorothy Provine

THE BONNIE PARKER STORY (1958). Director: William Witney.

In 1930's Oklahoma Bonnie Parker (Dorothy Provine of Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die) has a dead end job as a waitress after her husband, Duke (Richard Bakalyan), is sent up the river for 175 years. But then Bonnie meets the cocky "Guy Darrow" (Jack Hogan of The Cat Burglar), whose first passes are easily blocked by the feisty and easily-angered Bonnie. Eventually Guy convinces his new girlfriend that they could make a lot of money knocking off gas stations and the like, but Bonnie -- who proves much more strong-willed than Guy -- is sick of getting comparative chicken feed. Her new plan is to to break her husband out of jail and start robbing banks ...

Dorothy Provine as Bonnie Parker

Made almost ten years earlier than the more famous Bonnie and Clyde, this is arguably the better of the two pictures. Provine and Hogan give more convincing performances as these rather vicious individuals, and William Witney -- who helmed numerous cliffhanger serials -- knows how to keep things moving at a brisk pace and also creates lots of suspense in key moments. There are other good performances in the film as well: Joe Turkel [The Glass Wall] as Guy's brother; Patricia Huston as his girlfriend; William Stevens as a budding architect who sees a more romantic and tender side of Bonnie; Richard Bakalyan as Duke; Douglas Kennedy as a cop who is pursuing the couple; and others.

Jack Hogan as "Guy Darrow"

The picture has several good scenes, including the hold-up of a armored truck which is nearly interrupted by a boy scout troop and the terrified scoutmaster (Sydney Lassick), and a tense if amusing business when a cute little boy (Stanley Livingstone) seemingly identifies Bonnie and the others as "bank robbers." The climactic shoot-out is also extremely well-handled. One could argue that the film may not have a lot of period atmosphere and it's strange that Clyde Barrow's name was changed, albeit not very much.

Verdict: Very snappy AIP crime drama with vivid players. ***. 

WALL OF NOISE

Ty Hardin and Suzanne Pleshette

WALL OF NOISE (1963). Director: Richard Wilson.

Horse trainer Joel Tarrant (Ty Hardin) goes to work for Matt Rubio (Ralph Meeker) who wants to get involved in racing. Angered when Joel's girlfriend, Ann (Dorothy Provine), whom he treated like crap, goes off with his friend and jockey, Bud (Jimmy Murphy), Joel takes up with Rubio's sophisticated and neglected wife, Laura (Suzanne Pleshette). Will their horse win the big race? Will Joel wind up with Ann or Laura? Is there any way that anyone could possibly care? Wall of Noise is an incredibly dull picture that is bolstered strictly by the talents of its supporting case, especially Meeker [Jeopardy], Murphy, Simon Oakland, Murray Matheson, and George Petrie. Hardin [Berserk] is only adequate, one of these lesser-talented hunks who plays everything in a key of anger because it's easier to do than real emoting -- he is always grimacing as if he's smelling something bad -- and Pleshette offers one of her rare lousy performances. The dialogue is often cliched and terrible, but it isn't helped by its delivery: Hardin and Pleshette [A Rage to Live] set off  as much passionate sparks as a wet firecracker. Even the racing scenes are dull, and after awhile you're just impatiently waiting until this bomb is over. Richard Wilson also directed the equally awful Raw Wind in Eden, which at least had a better title.

Verdict: Not enough noise to drown out this stinker, but the horses are nice. *1/2.

THE GREAT RACE

Blink and you'll miss her: Vivian Vance

THE GREAT RACE (1965). Director: Blake Edwards.

Near the turn of the century, rival daredevils Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon) and the Great Leslie (Tony Curtis), among others, embark on a race from New York to Paris (they go way up north and head for Siberia to make their way into Europe). They are joined by Maggie Dubois (Natalie Wood), a suffragette and wannabee reporter. Along the way -- the very longgg way -- they have assorted misadventures ... Frankly, I only put on The Great Race because I heard Vivian Vance [The Blue Veil] was in it. Unfortunately, "Ethel" -- now playing the wife of newspaper editor Arthur O'Connell -- is a mere "guest star" and is on screen for at best a minute and a half. Boo hiss! Worse, the movie is nearly three hours long. No, it's not awful and there are enough entertaining moments and good acting to keep you watching, but there's no need for this picture to be so long. (The movie is, rather presumptuously, dedicated to Laurel and Hardy, who certainly never needed three hours to make a funny movie!) Probably inspired by the success of such mammoth productions as Around the World in 80 Days and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, The Great Race is bloated and episodic, with way too many digressions. There is a long and unnecessary detour involving a foppish (or stereotypically gay?) prince who happens to be a lookalike of Fate's, a sequence which could and should have been excised from the final cut, despite some good performances from Lemmon as the prince and George Macready as a conniving member of his court. A sequence for some reason situated in the old west has Dorothy Provine [Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die] -- looking sort of like a monkey with a bouffant hairpiece that threatens to topple off of her head any minute -- belting out a terrible number, but at least it leads into a fairly rousing bar fight. On the other hand, a pie fight that caps the prince sequence goes on too long (keeping in with the "theme" of the movie) and hasn't a single laugh. Oddly, the best scene in the movie is a well-cut and choreographed sword and saber fight between Curtis and Ross Martin that isn't played for laughs but plays. Jack Lemmon is in manic mode (as he was in Luv) throughout the movie but is effective on that sometimes irritating level. Curtis and Wood are Curtis and Wood, although they are well-coached in their line readings. Keenan Wynn, Larry Storch, Macready and Martin make a better impression.

Verdict: Not quite "Blake's Folly" -- but not for lack of trying. **1/2.

KISS THE GIRLS AND MAKE THEM DIE

KISS THE GIRLS AND MAKE THEM DIE (1966). Director: Henry Levin.

A CIA operative known only as Kelly (Mike Connors) is in Rio tracking down the activities of a man named Ardonian (Raf Vallone), who has many girlfriends -- and kills any of them who dare to take on other lovers. But this ultimate Male Chauvinist Pig has another nefarious plan in mind. Working with the Red Chinese, Ardonian has developed a formula which will remove the sex drive from all human beings, eventually wiping out the U.S. population in a generation or so without bloodshed. [Ardonian doesn't seem to reckon with the ingenuity of human beings.] With the help of Susan, a British spy (Dorothy Provine), and her gifted chauffeur (Terry-Thomas), Kelly sets out to stop Ardonian and his allies. With attractive Brazil locations and some exciting scenes, and good performances from the leads (especially Vallone, who strikes just the right note), Kiss the Girls is basically good-natured but a little bit too silly for its own good. Poor Provine is clothed in one hideous fashion "creation" after another. But the movie is fun for the most part.

Verdict: One of the better James Bond imitations if not without its flaws. **1/2.