PATTERNS

Face Off: Van Heflin and Everett Sloane

PATTERNS (1956). Director: Fielder Cook. Screenplay by Rod Serling. Colorized. 

Recruited by Walter Ramsey (Everett Sloane of The Big Knife), the head of the Ramsey Corporation, Fred Staples (Van Heflin) moves with his wife (Beatrice Straight) to New York for an important position. Fred will be working with veteran Bill Briggs (Ed Begley of Odds Against Tomorrow) but doesn't know that Ramsey intends for Fred to be Briggs' replacement. Ramsey is doing his best to get Briggs to quit, yelling at him and humiliating him, but Briggs is determined to stick it out. Ramsey gives all the credit for a joint report to Fred even though many of the ideas were Briggs', leading to a tense boardroom confrontation that may lead to tragedy. Will Fred stay working for Ramsey, a man he admits he hates ...

In the boardroom

With an excellent script by Rod Serling and a superb cast -- Elizabeth Wilson also gets high marks for her portrayal of secretary Marge, whose heart is breaking for Briggs -- Patterns emerges as a compelling and intelligent drama that hasn't lost any of its power. Heflin gives another strong performance as a man who has principles and doesn't wish to compromise them, and is perfectly willing to take on the more ruthless Sloane on a day by day basis. Although one could accuse Sloane of occasional over-acting, he also makes Ramsey much more than just a one-dimensional villain, as much of what he says is logical and impassioned and there are signs that he is not without a conscience. The picture is well-cast down to the smallest role, well-directed and paced. This film was undoubtedly influential on many other films and TV shows about corporate intrigue.

Verdict: The human factor vs. logistics. Good show! ***1/2. 

NUTCRACKER: MONEY, MURDER AND MADNESS

NUTCRACKER: MONEY, MURDER AND MADNESS. 1987 mini-series. Various directors.

The true story of Frances Shreuder (Lee Remick), a women who decided that she needed her father's money to fund her elaborate lifestyle, and would do anything to get it, including outright thievery and embezzlement. But when she fears that Daddy (G. D. Spradlin) might cut Frances out of his will entirely, she cooks up a plot to have her sons kill him off. [The title refers to the fact that Shreuder managed to get a seat on the board of directors of the ballet, and her daughter was an aspiring dancer as well.] While Lee Remick is not perhaps the perfect choice for such a demanding role, she does give a credible and effective performance as the most monster mother of them all. Tate Donovan [Nancy Drew] and Frank Military are both excellent as Frances' deeply troubled sons, one of whom winds up in a mental institution. Inga Swenson [Advise and Consent] is excellent as Frances' outraged sister Marilyn, who has to watch as her mother, who always favored Frances, cuddles up to the woman responsible for her husband's death. As the mother, a superb Elizabeth Wilson [The Tunnel of Love] almost walks off with the movie. There is also very nice work from John Glover as Frances' friend, Dick; G. D. Spradlin as her father; and Tony Musante as her first ex-husband and the father of her boys. Four and a half hours long, in three installments, this has not a boring moment in it. Based on a book by Shana Alexander. Another book about the case, At Mother's Request, was also made into a telefilm.

Verdict: Fascinating look at truly twisted people. ***.

YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU

YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU (1984 telefilm). Directed by Ellis Rabb and Kirk Browning.

This is a filmed version of a stage production of the famous comedy by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. In the year 1938, Alice Sycamore (Maureen Anderman) is dating and hopes to marry her boss, VP Tony Kirby (Nicholas Surovy), but she greatly fears that his comparatively stuffy parents might disapprove of her highly unconventional and eccentric family. This includes her mother, Penny (Elizabeth Wilson), who began writing bad plays when she accidentally got a typewriter; her father Paul (Jack Dodson), who makes firecrackers for a living; her sister Essie (Carol Androsky), who has been practicing dancing for eight years, but according to her instructor, "stinks;" and her grandfather (Jason Robards Jr.) who dropped out and stopped paying taxes many, many years ago. George Rose is hilarious as the Russian dance instructor and Colleen Dewhurst has a nice turn as the Grand Duchess Olga Katrina who is now working at Shraft's. Anderman and Surovy make a nice pair of lovers, and Richard Woods and Meg Mundy are swell as Tony's parents, who arrive on the wrong night and find the household in its usual chaos. Wilson, Dodd and Robards are fine, and there's also nice work from Rosetta LeNoire as Reba and Arthur French as her boyfriend, Donald, as well as Alice Drummond as the dunken actress Mrs. Wellington. The entire cast is splendid in fact.

Verdict: Very funny and well-acted. ***1/2.

THE TUNNEL OF LOVE

THE TUNNEL OF LOVE (1958). Director: Gene Kelly.

Richard Widmark plays a married man who comes to the conclusion that he actually fathered the baby that he and his wife (Doris Day) are to receive from an adoption agency – and that the mother is the woman who came to assess their suitability (Gia Golan)! When the baby arrives, even Day is convinced the tyke looks just like Widmark at that age. This amusing, fast-paced, well-acted comedy keeps you guessing over this bizarre situation until the conclusion. Day is less cloying than usual, although still a bit too perky for my taste. Widmark displays hithero unexplored comic talents as her befuddled husband. Gig Young and Elisabeth Fraser are very good as the next-door neighbors, who have several children; Young tries to offer Widmark points on the fine art of philandering in one scene. Elizabeth Wilson is as sharp and fun as ever as another woman from the adoption agency. A very pleasant comedy with a risque premise that is absurd but certainly gets points for originality. Based on the Broadway show (in which Wilson, but none of the other film principals, appeared).

Verdict: Good fun! ***.

THE GODDESS

THE GODDESS (1958). Director: John Cromwell.

Uneven but absorbing film written by Paddy Chayefsky is a fictionalization of the Marilyn Monroe story. While an almost-middle-aged Kim Stanley is an odd choice to play the Marilyn part – she isn't photographed particularly well and never creates the sexy, alluring aura of a Monroe – the producers probably figured a little subterfuge was in order (Monroe was still alive when the film was released) and Stanley's performance is generally splendid. Lloyd Bridges is fine as her second husband, an ex-boxer who only wants to go back home where he's still admired, but Steven Hill's off-kilter thesping as husband number one only shows why he never became a major player. Betty Lou Holland almost runs off with the movie as Stanley's mother, who in youth is a pathetic woman desperate for a better life, and in old age becomes a withered withdrawn bible-thumper. While the film has its slack and cliched moments, there are also moments that are trenchant and powerful. Elizabeth Wilson offers her usual finely-honed performance as Stanley's devoted companion in her later years.

Verdict: Worth a look. ***.