THE LAW AND THE LADY

THE LAW AND THE LADY (1951). Director: Edwin H. Knopf.

"At my age a good cook is more important than a husband." --Marjorie Main

Another version of The Last of Mrs. Cheney -- Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford did the others -- with Greer Garson and Michael Wilding as a lovable team of jewel thieves and rogues at the turn of the century. Jane Hoskins (Garson), with the help of Wilding, the brother of her former employer, reinvents herself as "Lady Jane Loverly" and becomes welcomed in American society, especially the home of wealthy old Julia Wortin (Marjorie Main), who has a fabulously valuable necklace. Fernando Lamas, Margalo Gillmore, Hayden Rourke, and Natalie Schafer all add to the fun as various guests and suitors. The movie gets kind of silly and unreal toward the end, to say the least, but it never quite loses its sense of humor. Speaking of which, it's definitely fun to see Marjorie Main as a lady in society! Soledad Jimenez scores as Lamas' peppery grandmother. This is arguably the best screen version of Frederick Lonsdale's play.

Verdict: Light and snappy for the most part. ***.

DANGEROUS WHEN WET

Fernando Lamas and Esther Williams

DANGEROUS WHEN WET (1953). Director: Charles Walters.

Katie Higgins (Esther Williams) belongs to a very healthy Arkansas family whose farm needs a lot of improvement. Along comes Windy Weebe (Jack Carson), who hawks a dubious product known as Liquipep. Katie is able to resist Windy's all-too-obvious advances, but she decides to let Liquipep sponsor her whole family in a race to swim the English Channel. While getting in training both in England and France, Katie meets a wealthy French playboy named Andre (Fernando Lamas of The Lost World), but his pursuit of her may endanger her chances of winning the race. Dangerous When Wet is a very entertaining and amiable pic with a funny script by Dorothy Kingsley and very good performances from Williams and the rest of the cast, which includes William Demarest and Charlotte Greenwood [Up in Mabel's Room] as Katie's parents; Denise Darcel as the very buxom French entry Gigi; and Barbara Whiting [Fresh from Paris] as Katie's younger sister, Suzie, who warbles "I Like Men." The bouncy, pleasant score is by Arthur Schwartz and Johnny Mercer, and also includes "I Got Outa Bed," "My Wildest Dreams;" and "Ain't Nature Great." Williams doesn't have a bad voice, and while Lamas can carry a tune, his tones are not exactly dulcet. The film has two major highlights: Charlotte Greenwood going into her dance with such obvious joy and kicking up her heels like she's double-jointed; and the suspenseful climax when Katie desperately tries to make it across the twenty miles of the channel, which is filmed in harrowing detail. Another bright moment is a sequence when Williams has a dream of being underwater with the cartoon characters Tom and Jerry, as well as a grabby octopus that is meant to represent Lamas. When the Higgins family first gets to England, the business with all of the fog is funny but causes eye strain after awhile.Williams married Lamas sixteen years after this film was made and they remained together until his death.

Verdict: Possibly Williams' best picture, and an unqualified delight. ***.

THE GIRL RUSH

"

The forgettable "Hillbilly Heart"

THE GIRL RUSH (1955). Director: Robert Pirosh.

Kim Halliday (Rosalind Russell) works at the Providence Historical Society wherein she learns that she co-owns a Las Vegas hotel with an old friend of her father's, Ferguson (James Gleason). Unfortunately, she mistakes the glamorous Flamingo casino, owned by Victor Monte (Fernando Lamas), for the dilapidated, closed place next door that she actually owns. Then she learns that Ferguson gambled the place away to Monte, who will claim it unless they come up with the money Ferguson owes him. A possible savior comes along in the form of hotel man Elliott Atterbury (Eddie Albert), whose father is looking for a property in Vegas. Kim balances both men romantically while her Aunt Clara (Marion Lorne) tries to jitterbug or something with Ferguson. Well ... The Girl Rush is one of those silly old musicals with mostly lousy music and a lead actress whose singing voice sounds like an out-of-tune foghorn; her dancing is slightly better but she can't compare to the chorus boys, who include Don Crichton. Albert and Lamas can sing in tune, however, and both are in fine fettle, especially the latter, whose amiable personality helps the movie no end. When she's not butchering a song, Russell is swell, but hardly anyone could save this third-rate material, which goes for the songs by Martin and Blane, although "Out of Doors" and "Alone" at least have respectable melodies. The film's nadir is the terrible production number "Hillbilly Heart," which even the chorus boys can't save. Gloria DeHaven and Robert Fortier are perky and talented as a dancing brother and sister act. Marion Lorne's "Aunt Clara" is exactly like the Aunt Clara she played years later on Bewitched [without the magic] so one might imagine that her performance in this movie won her that role. Pirosh also directed Valley of the Kings.

Verdict: Makes So This is Paris seem like West Side Story. **.