PAID IN FULL

Bob Cummings and Lizabeth Scott

PAID IN FULL (1950). Director: William Dieterle.  

"Youth should be a blessing, not an apology." 

Jane Langley (Lizabeth Scott) makes continual sacrifices for her spoiled sister, Nancy (Diana Lynn), and even steps aside when both women fall in love with the same man, Bill Prentice (Robert Cummings). Bill and Nancy get married but he soon realizes that he got hitched to the wrong sister. Nancy is too selfish and immature to make a good wife or mother, but both Jane and Bill are too dumb to see it. When a tragedy involving a child occurs, no one seems to be held responsible for it. Meanwhile Dean Martin sings "You're Wonderful" on the soundtrack and Eve Arden, playing an arch gal named "Tommy," delivers her advice in her usual sardonic style. 

Cummings with Diana Lynn

Paid in Full is somewhat absorbing romantic schlock with generally credible performances. Others in the cast include Ray Collins of Perry Mason as a doctor, John Bromfield and Dorothy Adams, as well as Charles Bradstreet and Carol Channing in bits. Lizabeth Scott [I Walk Alone] delivers each and every line in a beatific style that makes her come off like the biggest sap on the planet. Shot by Leo Tover and with a score by Victor Young. William Dieterle also directed Dark City with Scott.

Verdict: Not one of the great classics of Hollywood. **1/4. 

WE'RE NOT MARRIED

Wedded bliss? Fred Allen and Ginger Rogers

WE'RE NOT MARRIED (1952). Director: Edmund Goulding.

"I'll say one thing about our marriage. If there's such a thing as an unjackpot, I've hit it!" -- Ramona

Five couples who were married by a dithering Justice of the Peace (Victor Moore) discover that the man's license only went into affect after the new year, so that their marriages are invalid. Those affected include radio show hosts Ramona and Steven Gladwyn (Ginger Rogers and Fred Allen), who hate each other and only speak during the show; Katie and Hector Woodruff (Eve Arden and Paul Douglas), who have gotten into a rut; Annabel and Jeff Norris (Marilyn Monroe and David Wayne), who have an adorable baby boy; Patsy and Wilson Fisher (Mitzi Gaynor and Eddie Bracken), who are expecting a child; and Eve and Fred Melrose (Zsa Zsa Gabor and Louis Calhern), who are facing an expensive divorce -- for Fred. 

Gabor, Louis Calhern, Paul Stewart

Although there are a few laugh-out-loud moments, We're Not Married has a very insufficient screenplay. Some of the stories have such flat endings that you wondered why anyone even bothered. It also makes no sense to team the adorable Marilyn Monroe -- whose appearances virtually amount to a cameo! -- with the bland and utterly sexless David Wayne; they hardly set the screen on fire. The best episode has lawyer Paul Stewart dictating divorce terms to Louis Calhern, then a certain letter arrives in the mail, but even this segment is completely predictable. For me it doesn't help that Eddie Bracken happens to be one of my least favorite actors ever, although his typically whiny performance is adequate. Calhern, Rogers and others are wasted in this piffle, which could have been a really strong picture with a much, much better screenplay. Fred Allen was once a very popular comedian, although he's virtually forgotten today. Movies like this didn't help.

Verdict: A lot of good actors with generally disappointing material. **1/2.

ANATOMY OF A MURDER

James Stewart

ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959). Produced and directed by Otto Preminger.

"Get off the panties! You've done enough damage." -- Judge Weaver.

Folksy former D. A. Paul Biegler (James Stewart) is importuned by his soused buddy, Parnell (Arthur O'Connell), to defend an Army lieutenant, Manion (Ben Gazzara), after the man shoots and kills a bar owner who allegedly raped his wife, Laura (Lee Remick). The trouble is that Laura seems rather sluttish, Manion has a hair-trigger temper, and the defense that Biegler comes up with -- an irresistible impulse that Manion couldn't control -- may not fly with the jury. And a hot shot prosecutor from out of town, Claude Dancer (George C. Scott), may put the lie to Laura's story in any case.

Eve Arden and Arthur O'Connell

Anatomy of a Murder is a frustrating picture. On one hand, it is very entertaining, frank, suspenseful and fast-paced, its nearly three hour length flying by in short order. There are also some excellent performances from Stewart (who in one interview did not seem to see his character as any kind of hero, which he isn't); Remick (who offers one of her best performances, in fact); Gazzara; a splendid Scott, who makes the most of his comparatively brief scenes; and especially O'Connell, who is superb as Parnell -- Stewart, O'Connell and Scott all received Oscar nominations, the last two in support. Eve Arden is also on hand as Biegler's seriously underpaid secretary, and she also makes the most of her scenes with her customary aplomb. Murray Hamilton also scores as a bartender, along with Kathryn Grant as the daughter of the victim, and Don Ross [Walk the Dark Street] makes his mark as a jailbird who testifies against Manion. Sam Leavitt's [Advise and Consent] cinematography was also rightly nominated for an Oscar, although I didn't especially care for Duke Ellington's jazz scoring.

Ben Gazzara

On the other hand, if you're expecting a neat and tidy story where all of the loose ends are tied up as in a Perry Mason episode, be forewarned that Anatomy of a Murder is not only ambiguous in its plot line but morally ambiguous as well. This last is no surprise, as the film is based on a novel written by the defense attorney who actually represented someone similar to Lt. Manion and fictionalized the true case. The result in real life was the same as in the movie. Frankly, some people may want to throw something at the TV screen when the film is over, while others will ruefully note that the justice system is imperfect and some people never quite get the justice they deserve.

George C. Scott and Lee Remick 

Another problem with the picture is that at times it is off-puttingly light-hearted, almost playing like a parody of a courtroom drama. You're gratified when the judge finally tells people that this is a serious matter, although it seems to take him forever to do so. Stewart's "aw shucks" manner becomes a little grating at times. And what on earth is up with that flamboyant cigarette holder than Manion uses in the court room? Judge Weaver is played by an actual judge, Joseph N. Welch, who later became an actor and had three credits. Although his performance is okay, for better or worse he does add to the almost comical tone of some sequences in the picture. Otto Preminger also directed the terrific Angel Face.

Verdict: Your call. Quite absorbing and well-acted, one of Preminger's better directorial jobs, thought-provoking, but it may have you gritting your teeth. ***. 

THE KID FROM BROOKLYN

Walter Abel, Steve Cochran, Danny Kaye and Eve Arden

THE KID FROM BROOKLYN (1946). Director: Norman Z. McLeod.

Burleigh Sullivan (Danny Kaye) is a skinny milkman who comes to the rescue when his sister, Susie (Vera-Ellen), is bothered by a masher, the boxer Speed McFarlane (Steve Cochran of The Chase). When Speed, the heavyweight champion, is knocked out with one punch, the press wrongly believe that Burleigh delivered the blow. Speed's manager, Gabby (Walter Abel), decides to capitalize on the situation by hiring Burleigh as a fighter, and paying his opponents to take a dive so he can ultimately cash in when Burleigh has a real match with Speed. Complications occur when Burleigh's success goes to his head, and Speed and Susie fall for each other. Kaye is wonderful in this light-hearted, silly, modestly entertaining musical, and the pic is bolstered with fine supporting performances, not only from those already mentioned but from an absolutely gorgeous Virginia Mayo as Burleigh's recent girlfriend, Polly Pringle, and the inimitable Eve Arden as Gabby's acerbic gal pal, Ann. Clarence Kolb of My Little Margie is the head of the milk company, Lionel Stander is as repulsive as ever as Speed's associate (and the one who actually knocked him out), and Fay Bainter [The Children's Hour] has an amusing scene with Kaye when he teaches her how to box and duck. Some of the characters, such as Polly and Susie, seem to over-react when Kaye's behavior changes after his "success" in the ring, but he's never as bad as they make him out to be, making it seem more like they've got sour grapes. Kaye and Mayo would make more movies together.

Verdict: The players help put across this. **1/2.   

ONE TOUCH OF VENUS

Sleeping Beauty: Ava Gardner

ONE TOUCH OF VENUS (1948). Director: William A. Seiter.

"Debussy. Debussy does something to women." -- Mr. Savory.

"Personally, I go for Buzzy Balou and his Musical Crew." -- Molly.

Eddie Hatch (Robert Walker of My Son John) is a window dresser for Savory's department store. Mr. Savory (Tom Conway) has just acquired a $200,000 statue of Venus which he wishes to unveil and he instructs Eddie to make sure the curtain rises perfectly at the right moment. Eddie impulsively kisses the statue, and the next thing he knows it has come to life. Venus (Ava Gardner), Goddess of Love visiting from Olympus, is charmed by Eddie, and he is smitten with her, although he already has a girlfriend in clerk Gloria (Olga San Juan). Eddie's buddy, Joe (Dick Haymes of St. Benny the Dip) has a secret crush on Gloria, as secretary Molly (Eve Arden) does on her boss, Mr. Savory. Spotting her asleep in a model home on the first floor of the store, Savory determines to drape this goddess in gowns and make her his own. Will all of these lovers get together with the right person, and will Eddie have to go to jail for stealing a very expensive statue? One Touch of Venus, adapted from the Broadway show that starred Mary Martin, takes a while to get its footing (a third of the movie has gone by before anyone sings a song, for one thing), but it develops into a charming and well-performed musical comedy. Gardner [The Night of the Iguana] makes a luscious Venus, and is good in the role, although her singing is dubbed. The other performers are all on the money -- Sara Allgood has a nice turn as an anxious landlady --  and Eve Arden adds just that extra special sparkle that the proceedings require. The movie drops about half of the songs (Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash) -- some are heard in the background -- but retains "Speak Low;" "That's Him;" and "My Foolish Heart." Olga San Juan was in the original Broadway cast of Lerner and Loewe's Paint Your Wagon.

Verdict: Romantic tomfoolery perhaps, but it certainly has its delights. ***.

NIGHT AND DAY

Cary Grant and Alexis Smith

NIGHT AND DAY (1946). Director: Michael Curtiz.

"Love can be a delight, a dilemma, a disease, or a disaster." -- Monty Woolley.

Over his grandfather's objections, Cole Porter (Cary Grant) decides to leave Yale and pursue a career as a songwriter instead of as a lawyer. Things don't go smoothly at first, with WW1 interrupting things, but eventually he becomes a big success. Unfortunately, his marriage to his neglected wife, Linda (Alexis Smith), hits the rocks, and he has a horse riding accident that requires operations. Will the rather self-centered composer and his wife ever be reunited? Actually, if there was any threat to Porter's marriage, it was because he preferred gentlemen, but the film glosses over this except for one moment when Porter's friend, Monty Woolley, (played by Monty Woolley, who had indeed been a friend of Porter's and was also closeted) tells him he probably shouldn't have gotten married in the first place. The rest of the film is a mix of truths and half-truths and outright fabrication, little of which is very compelling.

Therefore we're left with Porter's music, of which there is quite a lot: "Miss Otis Regrets;" "In the Still of the Night;" 'I've Got You Under My Skin;" "I Get a Kick Out of You;" "You're the Top;" and many, many others. Jane Wyman [All That Heaven Allows] makes a positive impression as performer Gracie Harris, and Ginny Simms [Hit the Ice], who has a lovely voice, made a bid for stardom as another performer, Carole Hill. Mary Martin  plays herself to perform her signature tune "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and there are several lively, TechniColor production numbers, including one on the lawn of Porter's massive estate.

As for the acting, Alexis Smith [The Sleeping Tiger] actually fares better than Grant, who is adequate, but seems oddly listless and unconvincing; Porter himself was still alive when the film was made and died in 1964. Eve Arden shows up as a French chanteuse to warble one number. I didn't even recognize Dorothy Malone as Porter's cousin, Nancy. Years later Kevin Kline played Porter in a film that was franker, but not necessarily better.

Verdict: The music is all that matters. **1/2.

ZEIGFELD GIRL

HIGH CAMP: Judy Garland on top of poles

ZIEGFELD GIRL (1941). Director: Robert Z. Leonard.

Three young ladies are chosen to join Ziegfeld's Follies (Ziegfeld himself is never seen): Sandra (Hedy Lamarr), who is married to a jealous, out-of-work violinist, Franz (Philip Dorn) but is courted by the handsome singer, Frank (Tony Martin); Sheila (Lana Turner), who has a truck-driving boyfriend, Gil (James Stewart) but who is drawn to the wealthy Geoffrey (Ian Hunter); and Susan (Judy Garland), who has been working for years with her has-been father, "Pop" Gallagher (Charles Winninger), who is afraid he'll be nothing without her. Pop tries to get Susan to sing in a hokey, super-fast, old-fashioned style -- as the director, John (Paul Kelly) puts it "they quit beating a song to death ten years ago" -- but when she delivers "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" as a ballad the whole audience is moved. (Of course, it makes little sense that the diminutive Garland would ever have been hired as a showgirl, and in one scene in fact she is told that she is not a showgirl, so I'm not certain what she was supposed to be doing before her singing talent was discovered.) This is one of probably dozens of films that look at the trials and tribulations of three women hoping for success in show business -- you can even include Valley of the Dolls in the bunch, for that matter -- and while the melodramatics are cliched and not that interesting, the picture is still quite entertaining. Busby Berkeley put together the production numbers, the best of which is Garland's "Minnie from Trinidad," which definitely turns into high-camp when Garland is lifted high above the stage atop poles at the finale! Garland is swell, Lamarr is beautiful and effective, and Turner isn't quite up to her more dramatic scenes, in which she tends to over-act, to put it mildly. Turner is chosen to be the gal who nearly winds up in the gutter, but even when she becomes a drunk she still looks glamorous! Jimmy Stewart is miscast and somewhat perfunctory in this, although he gets plenty of scenes. Eve Arden shows up once or twice doing her usual schtick; Fay Holden appears briefly as Lana's mother ("I didn't raise my boy to be a Ziegfeld girl," she says to Jackie Cooper when he imitates his sister); Paul Kelly orders the show girls around but isn't really given a character to play; and Tony Martin has a handsome face, a beautiful voice, and is charmingly smarmy as Frank. There are notable if quite small, supporting performances from Rose Hobart as Martin's neglected wife, and Renie Riano [Nancy Drew -- Detective]  as Annie, Lana's wise-cracking maid. I've no doubt Ziegfeld gals, especially the more popular ones, were paid comparatively well, but Lana's apartment looks like something a major film star like Joan Crawford might have lived in! But that's the movies! NOTE: Not to be confused with The Great Ziegfeld in which the great Ziegfeld actually appeared.

Verdict: Likable musical with attractive players. *** out of 4.

HIT PARADE OF 1943 aka CHANGE OF HEART

John Carroll and Susan Hayward

HIT PARADE OF 1943 (aka Change of Heart/1943). Director: Albert S. Rogell.

"Their cover charge reads like my social security number!"

Aspiring songwriter Jill Wright (Susan Hayward of I'll Cry Tomorrow) discovers that her publisher, Rick Farrell (John Carroll) has appropriated her song for himself and retitled it. Considering that said song is a dreadful concoction called "Tohmboombah" one would think Jill would be happy that someone else took credit. Still she is importuned by Rick into writing more songs for him, planning to step forward and take credit when the songs become hits. They are both hopeful with a forgettable romantic ditty entitled "Change of Heart," which became the film's new title in re-release. Hit Parade of 1943 is amiable enough, although it ends with the heroine's self-abnegation when Rick tries to tell the truth about their songs on the radio. [Wanna bet Jill will change her tune when Rick starts cheating on her, as he will?] Hayward is terrific in the film, with very good support from Carroll, as well as Walter Catlett [Fired Wife] as Rick's dyspeptic associate, and Gail Patrick [Up in Mabel's Room] as the wealthy woman Rick uses in his career ambitions. Eve Arden is fun as always as Jill's friend, who doesn't think much of Rick (along with most of the audience.) The lyrics are by Jule Styne of "Funny Girl" fame and the music by Harold Adamson -- too bad this wasn't reversed, although "Who Took Me Home Last Night?" is a cute number and ""Do These Old Eyes Deceive Me?" isn't bad. A very young Dorothy Dandridge sings with Count Basie's orchestra, and you wouldn't recognize her as the sophisticated beauty she later became. As for Hayward, it was clear she had something special right from the start.

Verdict: A standard Republic musical with some good performances. **1/2.

LET'S FACE IT

Zasu Pitts, Eve Arden, and Phyllis Povah

LET'S FACE IT (1943). Director: Sidney Lanfield.

"When we were first married he could lull me to sleep with his tuba." -- Zasu Pitts

"Now he can't even lift it." -- Eve Arden

Private Jerry Walker (Bob Hope) secretly sells food to some of the larger, starving ladies at the fat farm run by his fiancee, Winnie (Betty Hutton). Along come three middle-aged ladies -- played by Eve Arden [Three Husbands], Zasu Pitts and Phyllis Povah -- whose husbands have bundled them off to the fat farm while they go fishing. These women are convinced their husbands are secretly meeting honeys at a summer lodge, so they inveigle three soldiers into coming to the lodge to make their men jealous. Jerry desperately needs money so he agrees to go but he drags along two buddies -- neither actor makes much of an impression -- because he insists that the ladies "look like Veronica Lake, with two eyes!" Let's Face It has some cute moments, good lines and performances, but it runs out of plot around halfway through. The songs are forgettable, even if they are by Cole Porter, though there are two excellent dance numbers: Bob and his pals do a very cute shuffle; and a bizarre, violent dance act in which the couple seem to be illustrating the battle of the sexes. The script is kind of rough on women who have the misfortune not to be young and beautiful, and it's full of what you might call "fat abuse." What's ironic is that Hope and his buddies act as if the three ladies are so hideous, even Arden, when they are not exactly prizes themselves. Hutton gets one especially horrible song number and sings it horribly. Joe Sawyer [Roses are Red] is swell as Jerry's gruff sergeant and Hope's gal pal Dona Drake [Valentino] has a small role.

Verdicts: Some funny moments to be sure but not the hilarity you're hoping for. **.

THE UNFAITHFUL

Zachary Scott and Ann Sheridan

THE UNFAITHFUL (1947). Director: Vincent Sherman.

While her husband is out of town, Chris Hunter (Ann Sheridan) returns from a party and is attacked in her home, ultimately killing her assailant. Chris tells her husband, Bob (Zachary Scott), as well as the police, that she never met the man, a sculptor named Tanner. But if that's the case, why did Tanner do a bust of a woman who looks exactly like Chris Hunter, and why are some people offering it to her husband for sale ..? This is an excellent Americanized variation on, and post-WW2 updating of, The Letter, but it takes awhile for the viewer to realize it as it has so many interesting elements of its own. Sheridan [Nora Prentiss] gives one of her best performances, and has an especially good moment when she has a heart to heart talk with her husband about things she did when he was overseas and why she did them. Zachary Scott [Ruthless] is also excellent, as is Lew Ayres [Damian: Omen 2] as the friend and lawyer who comes to the couple's assistance. Eve Arden certainly scores in the somewhat edgier-than-usual role of Bob's cousin, Paula, and the dialogue [by David Goodis and James Gunn] as she tries to explain Chris' wartime actions to Bob is trenchant and memorable. Marta Mitrovich is quietly effective as the angry widow, Mrs. Tanner; Steven Geray suitably oily as a kind of blackmailer and art dealer; Jerome Cowan appropriately wily as a prosecutor; and John Hoyt ever-grim as a suspicious police detective. This is probably director Vincent Sherman's [The Damned Don't Cry] finest hour and a half. A first-rate score by Max Steiner and fine Ernest Haller photography complete the ensemble.

Verdict: A snappy, sophisticated picture that on its own terms is nearly as good as the original ***1/2.

WHIPLASH

Unlikely couple: Dane Clark and Alexis Smith

WHIPLASH (1948). Director: Lewis Seiler.

In this chopped suey of a movie, artist Michael Gordon (Dane Clark of Paid to Kill) falls for a woman, Laurie (Alexis Smith of The Constant Nymph), who buys one of his paintings. In spite of the fact that Laurie is completely out of his league in every way possible, Michael tells her he's in love with her after knowing her for six hours. Unfortunately, Laurie has a wheel-chair bound husband, an ex-fighter named Rex (Zachary Scott of Ruthless), who convinces Michael that he could be a sensation in the ring. Then there's Laurie's brother, a doctor (Jeffrey Lynn), whom Rex somehow blames for his condition. Whiplash is less a boxing movie than an unconvincing and utterly unexceptional soap opera-melodrama with superficial characters and equally superficial performances. All of the lead actors have been seen to much better advantage in other pictures, although Lynn is generally creditable. Eve Arden adds some slight fun in her inimitable way as a friend of Michael's who wishes she were something more and S. Z. "Cuddles" Sakall is as cuddly and monotonous as ever. This is another in a long line of obnoxious Dane Clark portrayals. Clark and Smith generate no fireworks and are completely unbelievable as a romantic couple. The only good scene is when Zachary Scott gets what's coming to him. Director Lewis Seiler does nothing to help the actors or the picture.

Verdict: A "romance" with two lovers who seem to come from different planets. **.

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. Season Two

Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin -- in color

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. Season Two. 1965.

Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) came back for a second season of the generally light-hearted spy show, this time in color and "armed" with special pen communicators. There was more humor this season, with some rather stupid episodes, but quite a few were memorable. The two-part "Alexander the Greater Affair" features Rip Torn as a megalomaniac out to rule the world. "The Foxes and Hounds Affair" presents an amusing -- and explosive --  rivalry between two Thrush agents played by Patricia Medina and a wonderful Vincent Price. "The Dippy Blonde Affair" has a Thrush executive falling for the girlfriend (Joyce Jameson) of a colleague he murdered after she's enlisted by UNCLE to play along and find out what she can. Thrush develops a strain of deadly and nearly invisible bees in "The Birds and the Bees Affair," in which Illya and a lovely companion are subjected to torture by sonics. "The Bridge of Lions Affair" features Maurice Evans, Bernard Fox and Vera Miles in a tale of artificial rejuvenation and the power plays surrounding it. The season's best episode, "The Waverly Ring Affair," is a suspenseful business in which the agents must figure out which co-worker, Larry Blyden or Elizabeth Allen, is a traitor working for Thrush. Other good episodes include "The Ultimate Computer;" "Discotheque Affair;" "Re-Collectors;" "Arabian Affair;" "Adriatic Express;" "Project Deephole;" "Minus X Affair" with Eve Arden; and "The Children's Day Affair," in which Jeanne Cooper plays Mother Fear, who runs a boy's school and is training the little fellows to wipe out agents at a special conference. The worst episode is probably "The Deadly Toys Affair," which guest-stars an overbearing Angela Lansbury in one of her least memorable performances; way too much camp. Vaughn and McCallum are perfect and Leo G. Carroll nearly steals the show as their boss, Alexander Waverly. The souped-up theme music is pretty neat. NOTE: The big-screen adaptation of the show due in 2014 will not star Tom Cruise but rather Henry Cavell of The Man of Steel.

Verdict: Cool show if too often on the edges of camp. ***. 

THREE PHASES OF EVE: EVE ARDEN

THREE PHASES OF EVE: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Eve Arden. 1985; St. Martin's Press.

One could argue that there are two kinds of actors: those who live primarily for their careers, and those who find more joy and fulfillment in family. Arden is definitely of the latter type. The trouble is that those hoping for an insider's look at radio, TV, movies and theater -- Arden appeared in all of those mediums -- are going to be disappointed. Arden made dozens of movies but you won't find many on-set anecdotes or even a list of films, let alone her comments on most of them. Although her second sitcom, The Eve Arden Show, may have only lasted one season, it did have 26 episodes, but not only won't you find the names of any of the guest-stars, Arden doesn't even list the supporting cast -- the show rates only half a page. Her more successful sitcom, Our Miss Brooks, only gets a few pages -- not even a full chapter, although it was both on radio and television for several years -- and The Mothers-in-Law doesn't fare much better. Arden prints full-length rave reviews for her stint as Auntie Mame on stage, but most of the book is a travelogue detailing the many months she and her husband [actor Brooks West] and their children spent in Italy and other European locations. These chapters are not without interest, and Arden always writes very well, but who cares? You could have more fun looking at photos of your own European travels. The pages looking at a disastrous near-production of Applause in Australia are much more entertaining, as are the early sections where Brooks writes of working with such legends as Fanny Brice and the Marx Brothers, among others. Still, Arden's wit and warmth are on every page, and her obvious adoration for her family is admirable [even if one suspects there's no full disclosure on her marriage], especially when you consider some of the self-absorbed celebrities who barely mention their relatives on the dedication page let alone anywhere else in the manuscript. That being said, you can expect the usual kind of name-dropping in the book, but it never becomes obnoxious.

Verdict: Not what one would hope for, but very well-written. **1/2.

EVE ARDEN ON TV: THE EVE ARDEN SHOW AND OUR MISS BROOKS

Eve Arden

EVE ARDEN ON TV: THE EVE ARDEN SHOW and OUR MISS BROOKS.

Beginning as a radio show, Our Miss Brooks was transferred to TV with most of the same cast for four seasons from 1952 - 1956 [a feature film was released immediately thereafter]. Eve Arden played teacher Connie Brooks, who dealt with an acerbic principal, Mr. Conklin (Gale Gordon, who later became the bane of "Lucy's" existence), had some interesting students such as Walter (Richard Crenna), as well as a big crush on fellow teacher Mr. Boynton (Robert Rockwell), who was also pursued from time to time by Miss Enright (Mary Jane Croft, who also appeared with Lucy). Her landlady was the lovable Mrs. Davis (Jane Morgan). Many episodes are on retail DVD, and a few can be viewed at the Internet Archives. The series, bolstered by Arden's great expressions and the droll delivery of Gale Gordon, was very popular in its day. For its 4th and final season the show got rid of most of its regulars, moved Miss Brooks to a new location, and then brought everyone else back when ratings began to dip. Too late to save the show.

Arden followed up Brooks with her second, less successful sitcom, The Eve Arden Show (1957- 58), which lasted just one season. 4 episodes are available on a retail DVD, but these can also be seen/downloaded for free on the Internet Archives. In this Arden played author and widowed mother of twin girls, Liza Hammond. Hammond's mother was Frances Bavier, previously on It's a Great Life and later Aunt Bee on The Andy Griffith Show. Allyn Joslyn played George, who booked Liza on various lecture tours. In one episode, Liza deals with her stage fright while addressing a women's group. In another, her head winds up on a sexy body on the cover of her latest book. Her daughters hero-worship another mother during a PTA "white elephant" sale, and in the final episode one of the girls gets sick as Liza leaves for Washington D.C. Arden and the rest of the cast are all quite good, and the scripts are generally of the B or B+ quality, although the last episode is much less successful.

Years later Arden appeared on another successful sitcom, The Mothers-in-Law.

Verdict: Arden is always interesting in whatever she does. ***.

MY REPUTATION

MY REPUTATION (1946). Director: Curtis Bernhardt.

Released in 1946, My Reputation was made -- and takes place -- three years earlier. Jessica Drummond (Barbara Stanwyck) has just lost her husband after a long illness, and doesn't quite know how to handle the emptiness she's left with. She has two young boys, a difficult if somewhat wise old mother (Lucile Watson) and some good friends, including Ginna Abbott (Eve Arden), but the loneliness she feels can be crushing. On a holiday with Ginna and her husband Cary (John Ridgely), she accidentally meets Major Scott Landis (George Brent) and the two begin a decidedly unconventional romance... and soon gossipy tongues are wagging. This has a superb, sophisticated, literate script by Catherine Turney, and features another of Stanwyck's sterling star performances. The supporting cast -- Arden, Watson, Esther Dale as the housekeeper, Jerome Cowan as a lecherous married friend, Scotty Beckett as one of her boys and others -- are swell, and George Brent, if not on Stanwyck's level, strikes the right note throughout. This is a lovely, beautifully-made movie with a moving ending. Max Steiner's score is one of his best, and cinematographer James Wong Howe ensured that Stanwyck looks luminescent.

Verdict: Another great Stanwyck picture. ****.

THREE HUSBANDS

THREE HUSBANDS (1951). Director: Irving Reis.

"Women are better wives if they are not dependent on the peccadilloes, insecurities, and whims and pretensions of their husbands."

Three men are given letters written by a deceased playboy, Max (Emlyn Williams), in which he tells each man that he and the fellow's wife were in love. What follows are a series of flashbacks in which each husband reviews his and his wife's relationship with the deceased, trying to determine if the letter could possibly be true. Arthur (Shepperd Strudwick) is married to Jane (Ruth Warrick) but is involved with a woman named Matilda (Louise Erickson). Ken (Robert Karnes) is married to Max's nurse, Mary (Vanessa Brown), and has an interfering mother (Billie Burke) who lives upstairs. Dan (Howard Da Silva) is married to Lucille (Eve Arden), and constantly nags her to act more upper crust than she is to help him gain entry to a higher social scale. While this light comedy-drama has its moments and good performances -- especially from Brown, Da Silva, and Arden -- any resemblance to the superior A Letter to Three Wives, which it tries to emulate, is strictly coincidental. Burke plays a more serious part, as she did in In This Our Life, but is given little to do. Strudwick made a fine impression in The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe in the title role, and also appeared in Psychomania/Violent Midnight. Whatever its inefficiencies, the picture does have a very cute ending.

Verdict: As usual, Eve Arden adds some snap. **.

MILDRED PIERCE

MILDRED PIERCE (1945). Director: Michael Curtiz.

"I wish I could get that enthused about working." -- Monte

"You were probably frightened by a callus at an early age." -- Ida

Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford) has to make it on her own after she throws her husband out, so she winds up as a waitress and eventually works her way up to owning a chain of restaurants. Her chief motivation is her older daughter, Veda (Ann Blyth), to whom she is devoted and whose love she desires more than anything. Unfortunately, Veda is "spoiled rotten" -- to put it mildly, and Mildred's second husband, Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott) is certainly no bargain, either. Barbara Stanwyck, who'd not only appeared in an earlier epic of mother love, Stella Dallas, but who'd also starred in Double Indemnity, another adaptation of a James M. Cain novel, wanted to star in this film and she probably would have been more appropriate. However, Crawford, who won an Oscar, is no slouch in the part, with her effective "Hollywoodish" acting reflecting the fact that the film is essentially a very well turned out melodrama [the murder that opens the film is not part of the novel]. Ann Blyth is so good as the venal Veda [was she ever again as notable?] that she practically steals the film from Crawford. Zachary Scott and Jack Carson are terrific as, respectively, Monte and Mildred's business partner; in fact Carson was probably never seen to better advantage. Eve Arden is her usual adept sarcastic self as Ida, who works for Mildred, and Butterfly McQueen is a sheer delight as Mildred's maid, Lottie, who's always saying "Beg pardon?". [There seems to be something going on with this character that was left on the cutting room floor.] Bruce Bennett is also notable as Mildred's first husband and Veda's father, and the always notable Lee Patrick appears briefly as a woman with whom he becomes involved. Moroni Olsen scores as the police inspector, as does little Jo Ann Marlowe as Mildred's tragic younger daughter, Kay. John Compton, who was uncredited as Veda's handsome temporary husband, Ted, appeared mostly on TV shows until the early sixties. Max Steiner's theme music is memorable, although one wonders why he recycled some of his famous Now, Voyager music elsewhere in the picture. Ernest Haller's photography is, as usual, first-rate. Frankly, there's quite a bit you could quibble with about this movie, but it's undeniably smooth, well-paced, well-directed by Curtiz, and boasts some great dialogue, an interesting plot and characters, and some very excellent performances. It's interesting that Crawford's real-life daughter, Christina, turned out to be much, much worse than Veda, with her pre-fabricated book attacking her mother that by now has been discredited by virtually every thinking person. NOTE: Mildred Pierce has been remade as a cable mini-series, written and directed by Todd Haynes, and starring Kate Winslet as Mildred, Guy Pearce as Monte, and Evan [sic] Rachel Wood as Veda.

Verdict: Not quite a masterpiece but definitely a classic. ***1/2.

THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW

THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW 1967 - 1969.

It must have looked good on paper. Get the wonderful Eve Arden and the talented Kaye Ballard together to play women whose children are married to one another. On top of that, the two families live next door to each other. And there are all sorts of problems, complications and feuding and fussing. If didn't really matter who played the husbands or the married children [in truth these actors were all competent if forgettable] as long as Arden and Ballard could successfully pull off a new team of Lucy and Ethel. Unfortunately, they don't. Even Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance as they got older and began to repeat themselves became much less fun as the comical couple after I Love Lucy -- a truly memorable sitcom -- went off the air and they dipped in the well once too often on The Lucy Show. [Let's not even talk about Here's Lucy or Life with Lucy.] It was a style of comedy that had its day and is still fun to watch in I Love Lucy reruns, but on The Mothers-in-Law it mostly didn't work. Much was made of the fact that many episodes of this series were written by people who'd done scripts for I Love Lucy, but a.) it was another era and b.) they were not writing for Ball, Vance, Arnaz and Frawley, and c.) even I Love Lucy had the occasional stinker episode. The Mothers-in-Law has the occasional laugh [Ballard does a dead-on impression of Bette Davis at her most affected], but mostly this show is made up of stinker episodes. Yes, Lucille Ball's lovably childish "Lucy" character was brilliantly brought to life by Ball, but in general it's not much fun watching grown-ups acting like eight-year-olds.

Verdict: Watch I Love Lucy instead where they did most of this shtick for the first time. **.

SHE COULDN'T SAY NO (1940)

SHE COULDN'T SAY NO (1940). Director: William Clemens.

Alice Hinsdale (Eve Arden) is the fiancee of a lawyer, Wally Turnbull (Roger Pryor), who doesn't have much business. When an opportunity for a case with an important pay-off comes in when Wally is out of town, Alice poses as the non-existent partner (the one who "handles" all the bills) and travels to a small town to defend an elderly man, Eli Potter (Clem Bevans) against a breach of promise suit. Unfortunately, it turns out that Wally has already decided to represent the woman, Pansy Hawkins (Vera Lewis) who is suing Eli, making for an uncomfortable situation, to say the least. This is a very cute picture with amusing performances and many funny lines (although some might find it a bit much that Alice gets rid of Pansy's tippling lawyer by exposing him to alcohol.) Other stand-out cast members include Zeffie Tilbury as Pansy's mother; Cliff Edwards as Turnbull's associate Banjo Page; Chester Clute as Ezra Pine; and Irving Bacon (Ethel's father on I Love Lucy) as Abner Prestler. One senses that smart and sassy Alice can do a lot better than Turnbull. Funniest moment: Pansy says she's 26!

Verdict: Lots of fun. ***.

THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD

THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD (1975). Director: Vincent McEveety.

Even a host of veteran comics and character actors can't save this Disney comedy that takes a workable premise -- a super-strength formula increases a rivalry between two cereal companies -- and beats it into the ground. Student Dexter Riley (Kurt Russell) is the first one to inadvertently ingest the formula, but the Dean (Joe Flynn) demonstrates its efficacy to a cereal board presided over by no less than Eve Arden. Phil Silvers plays the head of the rival cereal company. It all leads to a weight-lifting competition which will supposedly prove which cereal is the best. Fritz Feld is a board member, Kathleen Freeman plays a cop, Mary Treen is the dean's secretary, and Cesar Romero is a hired crook -- all of them (and Silvers) deserved a better script. Flatly directed by McEveety. A few amusing bits but not enough to sustain a feature. Michael McGreevey is the kid who supposedly invented the formula.

Verdict: A waste of a great cast.