FOUR GIRLS IN TOWN

Grant Williams and George Nader

FOUR GIRLS IN TOWN (1957). Written and directed by Jack Sher.  

A Hollywood studio wants to make a biblical epic about Esther, but their biggest star (whose face we never see) wants 50% of the profits. Therefore it is decided to find a new star and bring in four gals to do a screen test: American Kathy (Julie Adams), whose mother (Mabel Albertson) is pushing her to perform; Viennese Ina (Marianne Koch of The Monster of London City), whose husband recently died in a road accident; Italian Maria (Elsa Martinelli of One on Top of the Other), who appears to be a good-time girl who loves the men, especially the ones with money; and French Vicki (Gia Scala of The Big Boodle), who is trying to hide the fact that she has a husband and small son. 

John Gavin comes on to one of the "girls" 

Mike Snowden (George Nader) will helm the young ladies' screen tests, even though he'd much rather direct the picture itself. His best friend, Johnny (Sydney Chaplin) is a film composer nursing a broken heart and many hangovers. Mike is also friends with wealthy playboy Spencer Farrington Jr. (Grant Williams), who pursues women and does little else but attend parties with that end in mind. Tom Grant (John Gavin) is an actor who is chosen to appear in the tests with each of the ladies. Naturally these four men get involved in varying degrees with the "four girls in town." 

Nader with Gavin

I wish I could report that Four Girls in Town is a trenchant drama about Hollywood or at the very least a real trash wallow, but it's neither, although I can't say I ever found it boring. The acting is generally more than professional -- although none of the cast members really stand out -- and the picture has a good pace, but it just never quite comes alive. Maybe it just needed a few sensationalistic scenes to perk up the viewers' interest. An odd sequence has Mike taking some of the ladies and gents on a nighttime grunion hunt, a sequence that was a little more entertaining in Piranha 2: the Spawning, of all things. Jack Sher also directed The 3 Worlds of Gulliver. 

Verdict: At least it has a very attractive cast! **3/4. 

ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER/ PERVERSION STORY

Jean Sorel

ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER (aka Una sull'altra/Perversion Story/1969). Writer/director: Lucio Fulci.

Dr. George Dumurrier (Jean Sorel) runs a clinic, and is looking after his ill and neurotic wife, Susan (Marisa Mell). After her death, George and his mistress, Jane (Elsa Martinelli), arrive at a nightclub to see a performer named Monica (also Marisa Mell), who could be the twin of the late Susan. George and Jane. through various subterfuges, try to find out if Monica and the supposedly deceased Susan are indeed one and the same. But the police are certain that Susan is really dead -- and that George murdered her. One On Top of the Other is a twisty, far-fetched suspense tale that has an interesting idea (the type of thing that British screenwriter Jimmy Sangster might have come up with) but mediocre execution. The movie features interesting performers but it needs a different musical score and much more tightness in both the direction and editing. Still, there is some tension at the very end. Handsome Sorel [A View from the Bridge] is a good actor who deserved much better assignments than this. Alberto de Mendoza also gives a good performance as George's brother, Henry. John  Ireland [Raw Deal] shows up now and then as a San Francisco police inspector, and a (deliberately) haggard-looking Faith Domergue is cast -- and appears even more briefly -- as George's grieving sister-in-law. Domergue and Ireland both appeared in The House of Seven Corpses five years later, in which Domerque was allowed to look much more attractive than in this.

Verdict: The plot and Sorel keep this going. **1/2.