GOBS AND GALS

Robert Hutton and Florence Marly

GOBS AND GALS (1952). Director: R. G. Springsteen.

At an isolated military base Sparks (George Bernard) and Salty (Bert Bernard) have cooked up a scheme in which they use their captain's picture to get women to send him what today we would call "care packages." Captain Smith (Robert Hutton of The Vulture) has no idea of this, nor of the fact that the two buddies have opened a store at camp to sell all of the goodies the ladies think they're sending Smith. When the men all return to the U.S., Smith finds himself mobbed at the dock by dozens of lustful ladies who plaster him with hugs and kisses as his fiancee, Betty (Cathy Downs of The Dark Corner), watches in dismay. Now while Smith is nice-looking, he is not a famous singer or matinee idol, so you'd think that Cathy would understand that something strange is going on, maybe a practical joke, but instead she instantly cancels their engagement. Smith pursues Cathy to a train upon which she and her father, a senator (Emory Parnell), are travelling and tries to mend fences with her even as Sparks and Salty, the men responsible for all of his troubles, are supposed to guard a trunk of papers that are also on board. During the ride they encounter a beautiful Russian spy, Sonya (Florence Marly of Queen of Blood); a cute little kid and trouble maker named Bertram (Tommy Rettig); a termagant (Minerva Urecal) who thinks CPO Donovan (Gordon Jones) keeps stealing her purse; not to mention the peppery and dithery conductor (Olin Howlin). Gobs and Gals is a silly but often amusing movie with some good performances and a highly interesting cast. Brothers George Bernard and Bert Bernard were an American comedy team who never rose to any particular prominence -- they appeared in only four films --  and while they aren't bad, the movie could have used the presence of Bud and Lou or Lewis and Martin. Jean Willes, Donald MacBride, and Marie Blake are also in the movie in smaller roles. Marly is rather reminiscent of "Natasha" of the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon show which debuted several years later.

Verdict: Amiable train farce. **1/2.

GAMES

Simone Signoret

GAMES (1967). Director: Curtis Harrington.

"I'm afraid I'm accustomed to infinitely more exciting -- and dangerous -- games."

Jennifer Montgomery (Katharine Ross) is a wealthy gal with an artist husband, Paul (James Caan), and a beautiful Manhattan townhouse. Alas, Jennifer isn't too bright. When a cosmetics saleslady named Lisa Schindler (Simone Signoret) shows up at her doorstep and faints from hunger or something, Jennifer invites this total stranger to stay and the woman simply moves in. If you can buy that utterly improbable scenario [I mean, give her a meal and send her on her way] you might buy the rest of this admittedly entertaining but often stupid movie that borrows a plot device or two from Signoret's better known film Diabolique. Paul has a game room full of macabre pinball machines and the like but Lisa tells him his games are tame as, say, compared to Russian roulette, and before long the members of this strange household are playing increasingly violent practical jokes on one another, with delivery man Don Stroud eventually becoming an unintended victim. But there's even more intrigue afoot after that ... Signoret gives a very good, enigmatic performance and Stroud is fine, while Ross and Caan will probably not consider this one of the better showcases for their talents -- they both "underplay" so much after someone is shot in their house that it's almost unintentionally comical. The movie itself cries out for more atmosphere and more inventive direction. Florence Marly of Harrington's Queen of Blood plays a baroness and party guest in one sequence; Kent Smith is the family retainer; Estelle Winwood is a neighbor with cats; and Ian Wolfe is a doctor -- all are on the money. Signoret won a well-deserved Oscar for her work in Room at the Top, which this in no way resembles.

Verdict: These games are a little too familiar. **1/2.

QUEEN OF BLOOD

The very odd Florence Marley as a sinister queen

QUEEN OF BLOOD (aka Planet of Blood/1966 ) Writer/director: Curtis Harrington.

Using footage from a foreign space epic or two for FX shots, Curtis Harrington [What's the Matter with Helen?] fashioned this quaint horror-sci-fi tale using some American actors and Czech-born Florence Marley. Astronauts Alan Brenner (John Saxon), Laura James (Judi Meredith) and Paul  Grant (Dennis Hopper), among others, fly to pick up an alien visitor who has landed on the wrong moon. The visitor is a silent, spooky, weird alien queen (perfectly cast Marley) with green skin, an acorn hairdo, and a certain strict diet that Dracula could empathize with. Before long the crew find themselves fighting off her unwelcome advances. Queen of Blood is disjointed, but eventually it becomes modestly entertaining. Basil Rathbone plays a doctor who seems more fascinated by Marley's appetite than appalled. The actors do the best they can, considering what they have to work with. Meredith was the princess in Jack the Giant Killer. Now and then you'll hear some of Ronald Stein's music from Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

Verdict: Okay, but no It, the Terror from Beyond Space. **1/2.