VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET

Jerry Lewis

VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET (1960). Director: Norman Taurog.  

Intergalactic visitor Kreton (Jerry Lewis of The Patsy) has a fascination with Earth and attaches himself to a family that consists of businessman Roger Spelding (Fred Clark), wife Rheba (Lee Patrick), and daughter Ellen (Joan Blackman), whose horny boyfriend is Conrad (Earl Holliman of Hot Spell). Apparently Kreton's race has given up sex eons ago so he is fascinated whenever Ellen and Conrad make out. Roger has a neighbor named Mayberry (Gale Gordon), who is convinced the earth is being visited by flying saucers and extraterrestrials, which Roger thinks is utter poppycock until Kreton shows off his abilities. For one thing, whenever Roger or anyone else tries to tell anyone the truth about their visitor, all that comes out of their mouths is "Mary Had a Little lamb." Despite the irritation that Kreton may cause him, Roger appreciates it when he helps him with his boss, Abercrombie (Jerome Cowan). But it isn't long before the authorities take an interest in Kreton ... 

Lee Patrick, Jerry Lewis, and Fred Clark

Visit to a Small Planet is suggested by a play by Gore Vidal, who satirized McCarthyism. All that has been jettisoned to make way for the comedic style of Lewis, which actually fits the basic plot pretty well. Lewis is fine as the lovably dopey Kreton, although he gets competition from Lee Patrick, who is also lovably dopey. Clark, Gordon, Cowan and Holliman are all as professional as ever. Joan Blackman was introduced in this movie although she had already had a few credits; she later did a couple of films with Elvis. Ever-dignified John Williams (of Midnight Lace) is bizarre and perfect casting as Delton, the head of the extraterrestrials, and Ellen Corby is fun as Gordon's wife. Barbara Bostock makes a positive impression as Desdemona, who sings a weird ditty and dances with Lewis in a beatnik coffee shop scene. 

Verdict: Highly imperfect and often silly, but cute and well-acted as well. **3/4. 

SUMMER AND SMOKE

Geraldine Page and Laurence Harvey

SUMMER AND SMOKE (1961). Directed by Peter Glenville.

"Ask for all -- and be prepared to get nothing." -- Alma.

In a small Southern town around the turn of the century, Alma Winemiller (Geraldine Page) has been in love with her next door neighbor, doctor's son John Buchanan Jr. (Laurence Harvey), since they were children. Alma would prefer a more spiritual romance with John, while the lusty and somewhat wild and free-wheeling John would prefer just the opposite. Alma's father (John McIntire) is the town preacher and her mother is mentally disturbed, having had a breakdown years before. John's father is incredibly stern, which perhaps leads his son to take up with the daughter (Rita Moreno) of the owner of the local gambling den. Alma eventually commits what John deems a betrayal, but the bond between them still exists, until both realize that the tables have turned ... This very odd "romance" is based on the 1948 play by Tennessee Williams (revised some years later as Eccentricities of a Nightingale); Page played the part in a 1950's revival. Page, who received an Oscar nomination, gives a very strong performance, although at times she seems overly theatrical. Harvey is good but not in her league.  Una Merkel [Destry Rides Again] also received an Oscar nomination for her notable performance as Alma's mother. Earl Holliman does some nice work as a traveling salesman that Alma encounters at the finale. Pamela Tiffin [The Fifth Cord] was "introduced" in this film as the daughter of a madame played zestfully by Lee Patrick [Caged]; Tiffin never developed into a major star.

Geraldine Page as Alma

I basically think Summer and Smoke is an absorbing and interesting picture with a good storyline, but it does have some problems. Page and Harvey were both in their thirties at the time, perhaps a little too old for their roles; Page was nearly forty, in fact. Younger actors -- assuming they were good actors -- might have added a certain degree of veracity. Considering the obsession that Alma has had for John over the years, I thought her reaction at a development at the end of the film is a bit too subdued. But the film has a good score by Elmer Bernstein (which even adds suspense to the proceedings). some lively and poignant sequences, moves quickly, and boasts an essentially fine performance by Page. Her scene when she finally declares her love for John is superb.

Verdict: Star-crossed, touching romance with some wonderful acting. ***. 

HOT SPELL

Shirley MacLaine and Shirley Booth

HOT SPELL (1958). Director: Daniel Mann.

Housewife Alma Duval (Shirley Booth) is hoping that the 45th birthday celebration for her beloved husband, John (Anthony Quinn), will be a memorable occasion, but things are brewing that may make that impossible. John is very unhappy with his life and has taken on a lover who is decades younger than he is. Oldest son Buddy (Earl Holliman) feels that his dad doesn't take him seriously and is always putting him down. Daughter Virginia (Shirley MacLaine) is in love with aspiring doctor, Wyatt (Warren Stevens), but is only headed for heartbreak. And youngest son Billy (Clint Kimbrough) is uncertain about himself and unable to understand his father's unhappiness. Based on a play, Hot Spell is a thoughtful and beautifully-acted drama that looks at the ins and outs of marriage and family life with compassion and perception. Heading a terrific cast is a splendid Booth [About Mrs. Leslie], who must contend with her children's problems even as her own marriage, and her dreams of a happier future (tied to a home they lived in many years before), begin to crumble. Quinn is also superb, adding dimension and sympathy to what could have been an odious character in some ways, with fine work from Holliman [The Big Combo] and MacLaine (especially the latter). Kimbrough was an attractive and sensitive young actor who should have had many more credits than the twenty he amassed. Eileen Heckart [The Bad Seed] also appears as Alma's friend, Fran, and is also very good, as expected. One could argue that the movie is resolved a little too neatly, but it is generally quite effective and at times very poignant.

Verdict: A lost gem. ***1/2.

THE BIG COMBO

THE BIG COMBO (1955). Director: Joseph H. Lewis.

"A woman doesn't care how a man makes a living, only how he makes love."

There's a ferocious struggle going on between two determined men: Lt. Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde) and his crooked antagonist, gang boss Mr. Brown (Richard Conte). Caught up in this struggle are three women: Brown's unhappy, cultured paramour, Susan (Jean Wallace), whom Diamond cares for from afar; dancer Rita (Helene Stanton), who cares for Diamond; and the missing Alicia (Helen Walker), whom Diamond is trying to find. Add to this mix the jealous underling McClure (Brian Donlevy), who used to be the one in charge and now covets Brown's position, and the two gunsels Fante (Lee Van Cleef) and Mingo (Earl Holliman), the latter of whom seems to have real feelings for the former. There are murders, double-crosses, twisted feelings, and betrayals galore, all bolstered by excellent acting from the leads and most of the supporting cast. Particularly good scenes include Diamond's torture-by-hearing aid, and a murder later on in which the same hearing aid figures. Wallace [No Blade of Grass], Stanton, and Walker [Nightmare Alley] are all vivid and compelling in the roles of the three ladies. Ted de Corsia has a notable cameo as a scared former gangster; Jay Adler [99 River Street] and Robert Middleton score as Diamond's police associates; and John Hoyt makes a believable Swedish captain turned antique dealer who knows more than he should. Conte is deliciously slimy, and handsome Wilde also turns in an outstanding performance; Donlevy is also terrific. Well-directed by Lewis, The Big Combo is film noir at its best.

Verdict: Crackling good crime drama; one of the finest of the fifties. ***1/2.

ALEXANDER: THE OTHER SIDE OF DAWN

Leigh McCloskey

ALEXANDER: THE OTHER SIDE OF DAWN (1977 telefilm). Director: John Erman.

Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway, a telefilm aired in 1976, was a ratings success, so it was decided to come out with a sequel. Alexander Duncan (Leigh McCloskey), who was introduced in the first film as young prostitute Dawn's (Eve Plumb) boyfriend, is thrown out by his family (who can't afford to feed him) and winds up in L.A., where he, too, sells his body. Then he meets a closeted football player, Chuck Selby (Alan Feinstein), and begins to bond with him. But are they only just using one another? ... Alexander is a dishonest, superficial, ersatz "gay" movie where the lead character has sex with men but is supposedly straight. The scenes with him getting into cars with men, and his exact relationship with Chuck, are glossed over, and the "happy" ending doesn't seem to resolve Alexander's conflicts over his sexuality. Made for television in the seventies, it would have been a surprise that so much of the gay content made it to broadcast were it not for the fact that the far superior and much gayer That Certain Summer aired five years earlier. In this Alexander attends a rap session in a gay center, and goes to gay bars with Chuck (ever dreaming of sweet if drippy Dawn). Eric Holliman portrays a sympathetic gay counselor, and there are nice vignettes from Larry Rosenberg and Jonathan Banks [Wiseguy], among others, as young men at the center. Holliman's character says that he believes in people making their own choices, although nowadays it is not being gay that is considered a choice, but accepting oneself. McCloskey was actually twenty-two when he played this seventeen-year-old character, and while at times he seems a little too sophisticated, he gives a good performance. Holliman [The Power] is fine, as is Feinstein, although Chuck's dallying with a seventeen-year-old and getting him to go off and buy drugs for him, is problematic. Jean Hagen [No Questions Asked] scores as a landlady who's seen better days and has a picture of herself as "Miss Newcomer" of the Year on her wall, and Asher Brauner is also notable as a friend of Alexander's who gets him into hustling wealthy women, such as  Juliet Mills (these scenes have little veracity, frankly). Lonnie Chapman and Diana Douglas are effective as Alexander's parents. Miss Frances Faye plays herself and is apparently female, although in the film she comes off like a drag queen.

Verdict: The sequel, "Alexander Moves to New York and Comes Out," never materialized. **.