NEW FACES

Robert Clary stinks up another number

NEW FACES (1954).  Director: Harry Horner.

Making CinemaScope productions of Broadway revues was certainly a rare occurrence in the 1950's, but New Faces was quite successful and it was supposed that it would transfer well to the screen. Well ... the trouble is the material and some of the players. The two performers who get the most screen time are Eartha Kitt and Robert Clary.  Kitt (of Anna Lucasta) was a very talented actress, but her voice was not always exactly euphonic. Clary, best-known for a supporting role on the sitcom Hogan's Heroes, must have had an uncle or somebody else who backed the show, for his appearance in this is inexplicable. He does number after number but betrays no great singing talent nor comedic ability. You'll be reaching for the fast forward button!

"Love is a Simple Thing" dance routine

Fortunately there are a few more talented people in the movie. Paul Lynde (of Bye Bye Birdie) does a hilarious routine on going on a disastrous vacation in Africa. Singers Virginia Wilson and June Carroll do a couple of numbers each. Carol Lawrence [A View from the Bridge] and Alice Ghostly [Rodger and Hammerstein's Cinderella] also appear, the latter doing a forgettable skit with Lynde. The rest is decidedly a mixed bag. "Penny Candy" is an awful number that seems to go on forever; Kitt is at least given a fairy decent song with "Santa Baby," and "Love is a Simple Thing" is the most memorable tune; the dancers excel during this number. "You Can't Chop Your Papa Up in Massachusetts" -- about Lizzie Borden -- is meant to be cute and whimsical but is simply an exercise in bad taste. In the barely existing backstage plot, Ronny Graham tries to get Virginia's father to fork over the money for the show. Harry Horner also directed Vicki, a murder mystery set in the theater world. 

Verdict: Too much tedium but Paul Lynde helps a lot. **. 

ANNA LUCASTA

ANNA LUCASTA (1959). Director: Arnold Laven. Screenplay by Philip Yordan from his play.

"Don't you want to see me respectable?"

"You'd only be cheapening yourself."

Caught by her father necking with a boy in the park, Anna (Eartha Kitt) is thrown out onto the street by her father, (who seems scared of her sexuality perhaps due to incestuous feelings on his part) and has to do what she can to survive. But when an opportunity comes up to marry Anna off to the well-off son, Rudolph (Henry Scott) of an old friend, the father, Joe (Rex Ingram), goes to bring her back home. When it looks as if Anna will have a new life with a very understanding Rudolph, Joe sets out to make sure her happiness is destroyed. This is a powerful family drama that happens to be about a black family. Eartha Kitt gives an outstanding performance as Anna, and the rest of the cast is splendid. Scott offers a sensitive and appealing portrayal of a decent, kind man who can overlook anything out of love. Anna's mother Theresa (Georgia Burke) says "Women play dumb. Men are born that way." Frederick O'Neal, James Edwards, Rosetta LeNoire, Isabel Cooley, Alvin Childress, and especially Claire Leyba as the old lady who only wants a drink, Blanche, are all notable.

And then we come to Sammy Davis Jr, who plays one of Anna's boyfriends, Danny. As much as I admire Davis, I have to say he isn't very good in the movie. His acting is too broad and almost amateurish. The scene when Anna runs off with Danny goes on much too long, and even has inappropriate sequences of Davis tripping the light fantastic. And this is what we get instead of a strong dramatic climax that the movie has been building toward but never quite arrives at. Otherwise, this is a very absorbing drama with an effective cast.

Verdict: Nearly derailed by Davis but still worthwhile. ***.