PARK ROW

PARK ROW (1952). Director/Writer/Producer: Samuel Fuller.

This labor of love for Samuel Fuller about the newspaper business takes a while to get started, but eventually becomes quite interesting and dramatic, although it's nowhere in the league of, say, Citizen Kane, which also, in part, dealt with newspapers. Phineas Mitchell (Gene Evans), fired from the Star in 1880's New York, lunges at the opportunity to start his own newspaper the Globe, which he intends to make a real newspaper, not a shoddy imitation like the Star, whose publisher Charity Hackett (Mary Welch) hasn't got newsprint in her blood. 

Gene Evans

His first big story is his pal Steve Brodie (George O'Hanlon) jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge. Hackett is attracted to Mitchell, and instructs underlings to begin a war on the paper, even though its circulation is not nearly as big as her major competitors. The war escalates into violence and tragedy, with bombs, mobs and destruction. Fuller even works in the invention of Linotype and the gift of the Statue of Liberty. Although this is supposed to be the "true" story of newspaper publishing, it has to be taken with a grain of salt. Fuller's script could have used some punching up and there are character reversals that make no sense. Mary Welch gives the most interesting performance in the film. (Welch died in childbirth six years after the movie was released and had only three other television credits.) Evans of Giant Behemoth fame certainly has his moments and is by no means a bad actor, but you can't help comparing him to the dynamic Orson Welles. Evans doesn't really have that kind of big screen presence that would help him dominate a movie.

Verdict: An interesting curiosity. **1/2.

MONEY, WOMEN AND GUNS

Jock Mahoney

MONEY, WOMEN AND GUNS (1958). Director: Richard Bartlett.

Western detective "Silver" Ward Hogan (Jock Mahoney) rides into town and is immediately assigned the case of an elderly murdered prospector. Hogan discovers that the killer might be one of the people mentioned in the old man's will, so he sets out to find them and see what's up. The beneficiaries include a cute little boy named Davy (Tim Hovey), who lives with his widowed mother, Mary (Kim Hunter), and who ignites Hogan's cautious interest. Then there's the bearded Briggs (Don Megowan); the supposedly reformed crook Clinton Gunstone (William Campbell), who lives with his wife Mary (Judi Meredith); and the oldtimer Henry Devers (James Gleason), whose best pal is Art Birdwell (Lon Chaney, Jr.). Hogan also has a rival in bounty hunter Johnny Bee (Jeffrey Stone, who makes a good impression in a strange role).

The comically generic title of the movie, along with its poster, promises something that the flick doesn't quite deliver. One imagines Mahoney stumbling out of a dance hall with a smile on his lips and lipstick all over his face, but any dance hall gals in this movie are kept far, far in the background. Instead, Money, Women and Guns is a relatively serious and well-written western-mystery whose major flaw is its very abrupt wind-up. Smaller roles in the film are played by Phillip Terry as a lawyer, Tom Drake as the brother of two desperadoes, and Gene Evans [The Giant Behemoth] as an autocratic sheriff. Kim Hunter [The Seventh Victim] is fine if a bit out of place as Mary, little Tim Hovey is a scene stealer, and James Gleason [Racket Squad] arguably offers the best performance as Devers. Mahoney has charisma and is competent but is frankly out-classed by some of the other actors. From Universal-International, this is a color CinemaScope production.

Verdict: Entertaining, minor western with a good premise. **1/2. 

SHOCK CORRIDOR

Attack of the Nymphos!

SHOCK CORRIDOR (1963). Produced, written and directed by Samuel Fuller.

"Their sickness is bound to rub off on you." -- Cathy

"Nymphos!"

Johnny Barrett (Peter Breck) hopes to win a Pulitzer prize by feigning a mental disorder that will get him committed to an asylum where he can find out who murdered one of the patients. He enlists his highly agitated girlfriend, Cathy (Constance Towers), to pretend to be his sister, so he can claim an incestuous attachment to her. Among the inmates that Barrett investigates are an ex G.I., Stuart (James Best), who turned traitor and now thinks he's a general in the confederacy; Boden (Gene Evans), a genius scientist who suffered a nervous breakdown and acts like a child; "Pagliacci" (Larry Tucker) a likable chubby guy who sings an aria from Barber of Seville off-key; and Trent (Hari Rhodes), a black man who has deluded himself that he is a white supremacist. Trying to be topical and controversial, Fuller has managed to come up with a movie that is undeniably arresting at times but, sadly, isn't very good, with some awful and pretentious dialogue, and scenes that border on parody. Barrett somehow manages to wind up in a ward for nymphomaniacs-- only because the script demands it -- where the women seem more interested in clawing him than kissing him -- it's an hilariously ludicrous sequence, badly overdone as so much of the movie is. Periodically Fuller inserts color stock footage (in a black and white movie) to illustrate certain points, and what can one say about Towers' dance number but that it is seriously weird? There are some good performances, with Breck [I Want to Live!] and Evans [The Giant Behemoth] coming off best. Fuller seems to have directed Constance Towers to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown herself. Mental illness is more exploited by the movie than examined. Samuel Fuller could make some good movies -- Forty Guns, for instance -- but this one is a notable failure.

Verdict: It's different, certainly, but still not very good. **.

DONOVAN'S BRAIN

DONOVAN'S BRAIN (1953). Director: Felix Feist.

Irresponsible scientist Patrick Cory (Lew Ayres) removes the brain from a dead plane crash victim, and decides to keep it alive for study. It never occurs to him the living hell into which he has put his victim -- sort of alive and conscious, but unable to see, move, hear etc. (none of which is dealt with in this dumb movie) -- which is why it seems like ironic justice when the brain takes over Cory's mind. The dead man was a very wealthy and ruthless character, and he tries to get back his life and fortune by possessing the hapless Cory. Meanwhile, the brain starts inexplicably growing in size inside its tank...  Ayres gives a good performance in this clap trap, along with Nancy Davis (later Nancy Reagan) as his wife, while Gene Evans [The Giant Behemoth] is a cut below as an alcoholic associate of Cory's. The performers should be credited with playing their roles in this absurd film with straight-faced conviction. Steve Brodie is also fine as a blackmailing reporter who comes afoul of "the Brain." The music  by Eddie Dunstedter does a lot of the work. One good thing about the movie is that Cory doesn't just walk away from things without being held accountable for his actions. Feist also directed The Man Who Cheated Himself.

Verdict: As far as disembodied brain movies go, this isn't nearly as much fun as The Brain from Planet Arous. ** out of 4.

THE HELEN MORGAN STORY

THE HELEN MORGAN STORY (1957). Director: Michael Curtiz.

"I always get involved with men who are wrong for me."

Set against a back drop of the 1920's, prohibition, and the depression, this tells the "true" story of torch singer Helen Morgan (Ann Blyth), her rise to fame, her appearance in Show Boat, and her romantic entanglements with two men, bootlegger Larry Maddux (Paul Newman) and wealthy married lawyer Russell Wade (Richard Carlson), as well as her battles with alcoholism and her despiar over her faded career. This entertaining, well-acted picture, well-directed by Michael Curtiz and beautifully photographed by Ted D. McCord, boasts lots of atmosphere as well, but it lacks three-dimensional characters. Filmed in CinemaScope [and black and white], the film has only one major close up of Blyth [and one of Newman]. Curtiz guided Blyth to a fine performance as the venal Veda in Mildred Pierce, and she gives a superlative interpretation of Morgan in this picture. [After Mildred Pierce, Blyth appeared in a number of films, often musicals, none of which made a lasting impression. Despite her fine performance and obvious ability to carry a picture -- Newman really has only a supporting role -- The Helen Morgan Story was her last theatrical film; she did only TV work thereafter.] Newman is fine as Larry, and there are good supporting performances from Cara Williams and Alan King. Gene Evans of The Giant Behemoth and Park Row plays another bootlegger, and Ed Platt of Get Smart is a government man. I believe Blyth's singing was dubbed by an uncredited Gogi Grant, who does a superb job with "The Man I Love" and other great standards. Other movies about alcoholic singers include Smash Up and I'll Cry Tomorrow, both starring Susan Hayward. In real life Morgan was married three times (and gave up a baby for adoption) but in this film she just pines for Larry and never gets married.

Verdict: Classy biopic but take with a grain of salt, especially the ending. ***.

ARCH JOHNSON OR GENE EVANS

Arch Johnson [on the right] or Gene Evans [on the left]?

It happens all the time. I'll be watching an old TV show or movie and I'm convinced that the actor I'm looking at is Gene Evans, who starred in The Giant Behemoth, Samuel Fuller's Park Row, Devil Times Five, Steel Helmet, Fixed Bayonets, and many others and when I look at the cast list it will turn out that "Evans" is really an actor named Arch Johnson, who could be his brother. [Keep in mind that in these two pictures Evans is much younger than Johnson. When they were the same age they looked even more alike.]

Evans and Johnson not only resembled one another, but they were born on the same year, 1922. Johnson lived until 1997 and Evans died just a year later. Evans, who won a purple heart as well as the Bronze star in WW2, arguably had the higher-profile career, appearing in many more movies than Johnson, including Donovan's Brain and Walking Tall, but Johnson was no slouch. In the sixties and afterward, both actors appeared primarily in television productions, and both had long, busy careers appearing on one TV show after another. Evans appeared in the film Operation Petticoat and Johnson appeared in the TV show based on the movie.

So remember, the next time you're watching an old movie or show, if you think it's Evans it's probably Johnson -- and vice versa!

ARMORED CAR ROBBERY

ARMORED CAR ROBBERY (1950). Director: Richard Fleischer. 

William Talman, who played Perry Mason's perennial opponent Hamilton Burger on the TV series Perry Mason, is herein cast as bad guy Dave Purvis, who plans an armored car heist and kills off some of the gang members he's supposed to share the loot with. Adele Jergens is cast as club performer Yvonne LeDoux, who's married to a mug named Benny McBride, but has a hankering for the more dynamic -- if not exactly more attractive -- Purvis. Charles McGraw is the tough cop investigating the armored car robbery during which his married partner was murdered. Don McGuire and Gene Evans [of The Giant Behemoth and Park Row) have smaller roles. The picture is minor-league for the most part, but it does boast an exciting and satisfying climax on a runway. NOTE: Armored Car Robbery is one of the films in the new Film Noir Classic Collection Volume 5. 

Verdict: Punchy performances help put this over -- and Jergens is always fun. **1/2.

THE GIANT BEHEMOTH

THE GIANT BEHEMOTH (1959). Director: Eugene Lourie. 

"And the Lord said: Behold now -- The Behemoth." 

Fisherman Tom Trevethan (Henri Vidon) intends to go to town to show off his big catch of white fish to the other villagers. "He'll be as drunk as a Lord," says his daughter Jean (Leigh Madison). But poor Tom doesn't get drunk so much as deep fried by "white hot fire" radiating from something that came out of the sea. "Behemoth!" he intones dramatically before expiring. Steve Karnes (Gene Evans) knows that there's something deadly out there in the ocean, something that absorbed radiation and became mutated. There's a lot of suspense built up over what this strange creature can be, therefore it's a bit of a surprise when it merely turns out to be another revivified dinosaur, an electric "paliosaurus" that can emit deadly radioactive waves that burn people to a crisp. Karnes and Professor Bickford (Andre Morrell) do their best to track down and destroy the creature, but not before it attacks a ferry and then stampedes through London [courtesy of more than acceptable stop-motion effects work by Willis (King Kong) O'Brien.] Jack MacGowran, who played a director in The Exorcist, is Dr. Sampson, a somewhat vague if lovable paleontologist. Edwin Astley's music is a great plus. The movie is sort of thrown together, cheap and tacky, but somehow it's also well-acted, disquieting and effective. Lourie also directed The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and Gorgo. NOTE: For more info on this film and many others like it, read Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies. 

Verdict: Watch out for those big feet! **1/2.