BODYGUARD (1948)

Priscilla Lane and |Lawrence Tierney

BODYGUARD (1948). Director: Richard Fleischer.

Lt. Mike Carter (Lawrence Tierney) is a hot-headed cop who doesn't play by the book, which gets him fired by his supervisor Borden (Frank Fenton of Lady of Burlesque). Carter is contacted by Freddie Dysen (Phillip Reed), who tells him that his Aunt Jean's life has been threatened. Jean Dysen (Elisabeth Risdon) is a tough old bird who runs the Columbia Meatpacking company, and the last thing she wants is a bodyguard. But when somebody takes a shot at her in her parlor, Mike agrees to take on the job. It develops that he has much bigger problems when he wakes up in a car on a railroad track with a corpse sitting next to him ... Bodyguard is a terse, snappy crime thriller with enough plot for two movies, but its short running time means it stints a bit on characterization. Gruff Tierney and sweet Priscilla Lane [The Meanest Man in the World] -- Lane plays Tierney's brave and devoted girlfriend -- are both fine as the leads, providing contrast, but the movie is nearly stolen by Risdon, giving another one of her sharp and  biting performances. Steve Brodie and June Clayworth [Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome] are notable as a brother and sister who are both in Risdon's employ, and Reed is suitably oily as her nephew. Fleischer's direction keeps the picture moving at a brisk pace, and there's a very suspenseful climax. While there is a blond in the movie, there is no femme fatale, making this only nominal film noir. Paul Sawtell's score is a plus, as is the photography by Robert de Grasse. Richard Fleischer also directed Fantastic Voyage and many others.

Verdict: Snappy "B" picture is taut and suspenseful. ***.

ISLE OF FORGOTTEN SINS / MONSOON

Sidney Toler and Gale Somdergaard

ISLE OF FORGOTTEN SINS (aka Monsoon/1943)./ Director: Edgar G. Ulmer.

Marge (Gale Sondergaard) runs a shady casino and nightclub in the islands, where she waits for her lover, Mike (John Carradine), to arrive. Mike has a love-hate friendship with Jack Burke (Frank Fenton of Lady of Burlesque), and Mike tells him where they can find three million in gold on a sunken ship in a lagoon. The two men plan to steal it away from Krogen (Sidney Toler) and his partner, Johnny Pacific (Rick Vallin), but are unaware that these two men know what Mike and Jack are planning and have their own scheme in mind. After a shooting at the club, which is called the "Isle of Forgotten Sin," Marge importunes Mike to take her and some of her shady ladies to the lagoon to avoid the prying eyes of the law. Bur there will be a lot of skulduggery and double-crosses, not to mention a climactic storm, before anyone gets their hands permanently on the gold. Isle of Forgotten Sins not only features the novelty of a rare starring role for Sondergaard [The Spider Woman Strikes Back], but also gives her an unlikely pairing with Carradine (although that's not as strange as her teaming with Andy Devine in Never Say Die). Sidney Toler, who frequently played the venerable Charlie Chan, nearly steals the show playing the kind of nasty adversary that Chan would have had fun out-witting. Veda Ann Borg is cast as Luana, the native girl who is the lover of Johnny Pacific. There are a couple of good songs sung at the club -- "Tango" and "Moon Madness" -- but most of Leo Erdody's score sounds like it was borrowed from classical themes and is hardly ever appropriate. Despite the cast and situations, Isle of Forgotten Sins only really comes alive in the final minutes, but the low-budget of a PRC production could hardly approximate a really astonishing monsoon at the end so we're left with some heavy winds and a few water-logged actors in a tank.

Verdict: Nice to see Toler and Sondergaard and a few others, but the movie is strictly minor-league. **1/2.

PHILO VANCE'S SECRET MISSION

Alan Curtis and Sheila Ryan

PHILO VANCE'S SECRET MISSION (1947). Director: Reginald Le Borg.

Martin Jamison (Paul Maxey of The Sky Dragon), a publisher of lurid horror and mystery pulp magazines, wants to hire Philo Vance (Alan Curtis) to write a story based on a real-life murder case. The victim was the husband of widowed Elizabeth Phillips (Tala Birell), who is working for Jamison and faints when she discovers Vance will be investigating her late spouse's still-unsolved murder. Jamison announces that he already knows who did it -- and is later found dead in the trunk of a car. Aided by Jamison's cover model, Mona Bannister (Sheila Ryan), Vance attempts to discover who killed the late Mr. Phillips as well as Jamison. Other suspects include Paul Morgan (Frank Fenton of Hell Bound), Louise Roberts (Toni Todd of Philo Vance's Gamble), and others who worked for their deceased boss. Philo Vance's Secret Mission is an acceptable lower case mystery with a not-bad plot, even if the solution is somewhat obvious. Curtis makes a handsome and reasonably adept Philo and the others are all okay. Frank Jenks plays Philo's buddy and sort of-partner, Ernie, and James Bell is the sheriff. This is another PRC release.

Verdict: Passable time-passer. **1/2.

HELL BOUND

HELL BOUND (1957). Director: William J. Hole, Jr.

Jordan (John Russell) is a ruthless criminal who is putting together a gang for a caper: robbing a ship of millions of dollars of drugs. His confederates include: suffering addict Stanley (George Mather), whom Jordan slaps around brutally; obese and diabetic Herbie (Stanley Adams); tough moll Jan (Margo Woode of Somewhere in the Night); and sexy Paula (June Blair), who is not as bad as she seems. Harry Quantro (Frank Fenton) is another nasty associate of Jordan's. As part of her assignment Paula must play nurse to a paramedic, Eddie (Stuart Whitman of Sands of the Kalahari), who doesn't know that he's part of the robbery scheme. When a little boy is killed at an accident scene attended by Eddie and Paula, she is very disturbed by the child's death. Later her resolve to help commit the robbery weakens, but most of the other conspirators have equal problems. Hell Bound is a lively and absorbing crime movie about a bunch of truly inept criminals, and features good locations, some supremely screwed-up characters, and a highly satisfying wind-up. The prologue seems to depict the robbery itself but is only a film made by Jordan to show to his confederates. Whitman and Blair give very good performances, Woode and Mather are fine, and Russell is quite effective as the rough and determined ringleader. Jordan calls himself "Mr. Natas," an obvious reference to his evil nature. One scene that's supposed to take place on a boat looks like it was filmed on a staircase in an office building! William H. Hole Jr. was primarily a television director. Richard Landau also wrote the screenplay for The Quatermass Xperiment.

Verdict: Low-budget, but vivid, exciting, and well-acted. ***.