ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW

Harry Belafonte and Ed Begley

ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW (1959). Director: Robert Wise.

With some difficulty ex-cop Dave Burke (Ed Begley of Sweet Bird of Youth) puts together a small team to pull a bank job in the town of Melton. There is initial resistance from musician Johnny Ingram (Harry Belafonte), and especially Earle Slater (Robert Ryan), a racist who at first refuses to work with a black man. But Ingram's family has been threatened by Bacco (Will Kuluva of To Trap a Spy), to whom he owes money, and Slater is tired of his wife, Lorry (Shelley Winters) paying all the bills, so they ultimately decide to go along with the plan. Everything seems to go like clockwork, until the actual robbery.

Robert Ryan and Shelley Winters

Odds Against Tomorrow, like all good caper films, spends a lot of time concentrating on its characters, so their fates have a little more meaning. There are still things we don't learn about these three men, however. The performances help make them three-dimensional: Begley is superb; Ryan again proves what an excellent and under-rated actor he was; and Belafonte also proves that there's more to him than just good looks and musical ability. Shelley Winters, in the early phases of her slovenly phase, is also excellent, and there is a very, very well-played scene between Ryan and Gloria Grahame [Blood and Lace], playing a lusty neighbor, in the former's apartment. Will Kuluva scores big in a fine turn as the menacing Bacco.  Richard Bright is cast as Coco, an associate of Bacco's who is clearly meant to be an old-fashioned pre-Stonewall "faggot" -- nasty and queeny -- not the only element that at times makes Odds seem a bit dated. Coco makes flirtatious comments to Johnny, who only looks upon him with homophobic disdain. (Not the first or last time a movie looks at one minority group with sympathy while being unsympathetic towards another.)

Robert Ryan

Kim Hamilton, a lovely actress, makes an impression as Ingram's ex-wife, who couldn't put up with his gambling and the type of people it put him into conflict with. There are also smaller roles played by people who would go on to bigger parts: Wayne Rogers as a tippling soldier, and Zohra Lampert as a young lady he's trying to impress in a bar. Hefty black songstress Mae Barnes also has a good scene when Belafonte cuts into her act. I also spotted Cicely Tyson as a bartender. Joseph C. Brun's cinematography of New York City and environs, including the Hudson river and Melton, is of a high order, and there is an interesting and quirky score by John Lewis, full of dissonance, which occasionally veers into uncomfortable shrillness. Odds is fast-paced but conversely takes its time telling its story. It has a literally explosive finish, although at the end some viewers, along with the characters, might think it was all a little pointless. A slightly jarring note is the too comic delivery of an actor who plays a man whose car is somewhat demolished during a gun battle. Watching the scenes in "Melton," I was pretty sure they were filmed in Hudson, NY, and it turns out I was right.

Verdict: Highly interesting, absorbing and extremely well-acted caper film with a difference. ***. 

NOT AS A STRANGER

Olivia de Havilland

NOT AS A STRANGER (1955). Producer/director: Stanley Kramer.

"Chris, help me, for God's sake, help me." --Lucas Marsh.

Lucas Marsh (Robert Mitchum) is determined to be a doctor but hasn't got the financial backing he needs to continue his internship. To get the money he romances the adoring Swedish nurse, Kristina (Olivia de Havilland), who has saved up quite a bit of money. The two get married, Lucas is able to complete his studies, and the couple relocate to a small town where Lucas becomes assistant to the aging family doctor, Dave Runkleman (Charles Bickford). Then there's the complication of the seductive Widow Lang (Gloria Grahame). Will Lucas ever be able to feel an honest and profound love for his wife? Not as a Stranger is a nice picture with winning performances, with Mitchum [Angel Face] doing some of the best work of his career. De Havilland [The Dark Mirror] is on the mark as Kris, as is Grahame, but she is given so little to do that it's a wonder her character was even included. It's also a mystery why Frank Sinatra [The Kissing Bandit] took the role of Al, Lucas' intern-buddy, as it's really a relatively minor supporting part. When Sinatra and Mitchum are on screen together, Frank looks unbelievably scrawny in contrast, which the crooner must have hated, but his performance is fine. Lon Chaney Jr. is not memorable as Lucas' drunken father, playing it in too obvious and phony a fashion, but Gertrude Hoffman has a nice bit as an old woman who tells the doctor that she has nowhere to go. The film introduces some weighty matters -- is the doctor's job just to keep people alive no matter what even when they're ready to let go? -- but never quite gets a grip on them. People in the doctor's office  include everyone from Nancy Kulp to Alfalfa! Lee Marvin and Mae Clarke have smaller roles as nurse and intern. Broderick Crawford offers a gruff but interesting performance as Lucas' and Al's teacher in the early hospital scenes. Franz Planer's photography is excellent, and it could be said that George Antheil's score is more than partly responsible for the whole success of the movie.

Verdict: Some moving moments and an interesting story, with a very well-cast and effective Mitchum. ***.

ROUGHSHOD

Gloria Grahame and Robert Sterling

ROUGHSHOD (1949). Director: Mark Robson.

Four ladies of ill repute have been thrown out of Aspen when they encounter Clay Phillips (Robert Sterling) and his younger brother, Steve (Claude Jarman, Jr.) on the road after their wagon breaks down. Clay agrees to take the ladies part of the way, but has to concentrate on taking some horses to his ranch in Sonora. Adding to Clay's woes is the fact that an enemy named Lednov (John Ireland) has escaped from prison with two pals and is gunning for him. Clay also can't quite disguise his disapproval of Mary (Gloria Grahame) and the rest of her companions. Roughshod is an engaging and entertaining picture with some fine performances, especially from Grahame and young Jarman, Jr., both of whom share top billing with Sterling [Bunco Squad], most famous for the TV show Topper, who gives a better performance than expected. (Sterling was handsome and talented enough to have been developed into a major movie star, but his primary credits were on television; maybe he just lacked that certain oomph.) Grahame is as delightful and adept as ever, and Jarman [Intruder in the Dust] proves to be one of the most talented child actors in Hollywood. Ireland offers a chilling portrait of the determined killer, Lednov, and there's nice work from Myrna Dell, Jeff Donnell, and Martha Hyer as the three other "show girls" in the group. Sara Haden, James Bell [Back from the Dead], and Jeff Corey score in smaller roles. There are many affecting scenes in the movie, and a highly satisfying wind-up. Joseph Biroc's cinematography is typically outstanding, and there's a flavorful score by Roy Webb.

Verdict: An  unheralded gem with some fine performances. ***.

SONG OF THE THIN MAN

William Bishop, Myrna Loy, William Powell

SONG OF THE THIN MAN (1947). Director: Edward Buzzell.

The gambling ship, S. S. Fortune, is the sight of the murder of band leader Tommy Drake (Phillip Reed). Suspects include songstress Fran (Gloria Grahame); her ex-boyfriend Buddy (Don Taylor of The Girls of Pleasure Island); gangster Al Amboy (William Bishop); Mr. and Mrs. Talbin (Leon Ames; Patricia Morison); and Phil Brant (Bruce Cowling), whom the police are after for the crime. His fiancee, Janet (Jayne Meadows of Enchantment), comes to Nick Charles (William Powell) for help, and he digs into the case with his usual jaunty style. Nora (Myrna Loy) tags along to no great purpose, while their cute little boy Nick Jr. (Dean Stockwell of The Werewolf of Washington) is left in the charge of Asta and the housekeeper, Bertha (Connie Gilchrist). Song of the Thin Man is not one of the better entries in the series -- in fact it was the last --  although it does have a lively and quite amusing finale. Gloria Grahame is completely wasted in her very small role as Fran, as is Marie Windsor, playing the gangster's wife in just one sequence. This has one of the dumbest murderers ever. The catchy song "You're not so easy to forget" is pleasantly warbled by whoever is dubbing Grahame. Ralph Morgan is Janet's grumpy father, and Morris Ankrum is the police inspector.

Verdict: Talky and dull with few bright spots. **.

NAKED ALIBI

Gloria Grahame and Sterling Hayden

NAKED ALIBI (1954). Director: Jerry Hopper. Produced by Ross Hunter.

Police Chief Joe Conroy (Sterling Hayden of Crime of Passion) is convinced that baker and family man, Al Willis (Gene Barry of The Girls of Pleasure Island), is responsible for the deaths of several police officers. When he confronts him in his bakery, someone takes a photo of Conroy about to hit Willis and the chief loses his job. That doesn't stop Conroy from following Willis to Mexico on one of his "business trips," where he discovers he has a girlfriend, a singer named Marianna (Gloria Grahame of The Big Heat), who doesn't know that her lover boy is married. If the two of them team up, can they find proof that Willis is a killer? Hayden is just right for the role of the cop; he doesn't get across any character nuances, but the script doesn't do much to make him more dimensional anyway. Gene Barry offers one of his most memorable portrayals as Willis, who is smooth and lovable one minute, and raw and sociopathic the next -- in this Barry is quite different than he is as Amos Burke. Grahame offers another credible and sympathetic portrait of a good girl who's fallen for the wrong guy, yet again. Naked Alibi is a fairly standard crime thriller but it does have some suspenseful moments. One incredible sequence early in the picture has Hayden letting Willis simply walk out of the police station after he's assaulted one of his officers! Yeah -- that would really happen. Chuck Connors, Billy Chapin, and Michael Fox have small roles.

Verdict: Acceptable borderline film noir. **1/2.

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH

Cornel Wilde pitches the woo to Betty Hutton

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (1952). Producer/director: Cecil B. DeMille.

Late in The Greatest Show on Earth, star Betty Hutton (also star of the "craptastic" Betty Hutton Show), playing trapeze artist Holly, is shown doing acrobatics on a cross bar in a parade down Main Street. Or rather Hutton is superimposed over the parade, and you can actually see through her in an embarrassingly cheap process shot. That pretty much encapsulates this whole cheesy movie, which purports to be about circus life. What it actually is -- against a backdrop of Barnum and Bailey/Ringling Brothers circus -- is a tiresome soap opera wherein Holly is in love with manager Brad (Charlton Heston), rival trapeze artist Sebastian (Cornel Wilde) is in love with Holly, and Jimmy Stewart wears clown make up throughout because he's hiding a secret. Dorothy Lamour of Donovan's Reef sings a number or two and is sardonic, while Gloria Grahame, also carrying a torch for Heston, has a good scene trading minor barbs with Hutton. The acting in this isn't bad -- even Hutton is more palatable than usual -- but you may find the elephants far more impressive. Wilde swaggers around with an okay Italian accent and is effective. (Although Wilde is billed over Heston, the latter is featured on the DVD cover due to the vagaries of Hollywood fame.)  There's a not-bad train crash at the climax. DeMille only directed one more movie, The Ten Commandments, four years later.

Verdict: Okay, but Berserk is more fun. **1/2.

THE GLASS WALL

THE GLASS WALL (1953). Director/co-writer: Maxwell Shane.

The explosion in the home video/DVD market has vomited a lot of should-be-forgotten crap onto the unsuspecting viewer, but now and then it has helped film buffs to re-discover a fine film that got lost in the shuffle, such as The Glass Wall. The film was the first American movie for Italian star Vittorio Gassman, and it was hoped that it would lead to a major starring career for the actor in American films. That didn't quite pan out, although Gassman appeared to advantage in other American movies, such as Rhapsody with Elizabeth Taylor and, years later, did an amusing turn in The Nude Bomb with Don Adams as Maxwell Smart. He continued to make many films in Italy and elsewhere.

In The Glass Wall, Gassman plays Peter Kaban, a "DP" [or "displaced person"] who stowaways on a ship heading toward New York after harrowing experiences in concentration camps and the like. Unfortunately, he's denied entry into the U.S. because he has no proof of who he is, and is to be sent back the next day by a tight-assed clerical type. Kaban knows that there is an American soldier, Tom (Jerry Paris), whom he aided overseas, who can identity him, and jumps ship so he can find him. Along the way Peter encounters hungry Maggie (Gloria Grahame), who tries to steal a coat [from Kathleen Freeman] and hides Peter out as they fall in love. [Grahame has a great, beautifully-delivered speech about how deadening her job was putting tips on shoe laces all day long.] Other complications include Tom's selfish fiancee (Ann Robinson of The War of the Worlds) who wishes Tom would stay out of the whole affair despite how much it means to a desperate Peter. It all leads to a dramatic climax on top of the U.N. building. The two leads are terrific, and there's excellent support from Robin Raymond [Girls in Chains] as a dancer who also befriends Peter, as well as Joe Turkel [Tormented] as her brother and Else Neft as her mother, among others. Joseph Biroc's photography is a definite plus. Shane also directed the mediocre Nightmare (1956).

Verdict: A lost film to remember, as they say. ***1/2.

THE BIG HEAT

THE BIG HEAT (1953). Director: Fritz Lang.

"I could always go through life sideways."

A violent series of events are set in play with the suicide of a cop, Duncan, who was on the take and knew where the bodies were buried. Det. Sergeant Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) wants to do a full investigation into the activities of criminal boss Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby) but even his boss, Lt. Wilks (Willis Bouchey), wants to tread easy, and the people that Lagana has in his pocket go all the way to the top. But then Lagana pushes Bannion too far and a tragedy ensues... Look out! Others caught up in Bannion's fury include Lagana's chief gunsel, Vince (Lee Marvin); Vince's girl, Debbie (Gloria Grahame); the dead man's widow, Bertha Duncan (Jeanette Nolan); another gunsel named Larry (Adam Williams); a pretty bar girl named Lucy (Dorothy Green); and another named Doris (Carolyn Jones); as well as Bannion's loving and lovely wife, Katie (Jocelyn Brando). The cast is terrific in this outstanding example of hard-boiled film noir, with Ford giving one of his most memorable performances, Scourby offering sophisticated villainy, Marvin and Williams scoring as young sociopaths, and Grahame dishing out another superlative portrayal as a gal who has a date with a really hot cup of coffee. Nolan and the others named are also in top form, and Lang's direction keeps things percolating and boiling over. Sure, you could quibble about some things [the burns caused by scalding coffee for one thing], but this is top notch Hollywood melodrama for sure.

Verdict: Taut, exciting, and altogether terrific. ***1/2.

SUDDEN FEAR

Jack Palance and Joan Crawford

SUDDEN FEAR (1952). Director: David Miller. 

Playwright Myra Hudson (Joan Crawford) thinks that Lester Blaine (Jack Palance) is a fine actor, but he just isn't "romantic-looking" enough for the lead in her new play. But it turns out that the actor is romantic-looking enough for Myra, as she meets him on a train and has a whirlwind romance with him. Myra is convinced that Lester honestly loves her, but she doesn't know about Irene (Gloria Grahame), the woman in his past ... It isn't long before Myra has to use all her skills at plotting to figure out a way to ... well, that would be telling. In the novel by Edna Sherry upon which this excellent suspense film is based, Lester actually looked like a Greek God, and was fired because he'd take attention away from the leading lady. Lester and Myra meet Irene at the same time, when the latter saves her from drowning. The novel has a kind of Eve Harrington/Margo Channing sub-plot which the film eschews, and Crawford's Myra is more likable and attractive than the woman in the book. As for the movie, which is well-directed by Miller, Crawford gives one of her best performances and illustrates the adept pantomiming she learned back in the silent period, and Palance and Graham are also top-notch. While the ending has been significantly changed, softened, from the novel, it's still satisfying, although the original ending might have given the film more bite and controversy. Mike Connors and Bruce Bennett (of Mildred Pierce) have smaller roles but are effective.

Verdict: Watch out Jack -- Joan's in command! ***1/2.

IN A LONELY PLACE

IN A LONELY PLACE (1950). Director: Nicholas Ray. 

"I said I liked it. I didn't say I wanted to kiss it." -- Laurel referring to Steel's face when he tries to kiss her. 

Screenwriter Dixon Steele (Humphrey Bogart) is the primary suspect when a pretty hat check girl, Mildred (Martha Stewart) ,who tells him the plot of a novel at his home, is brutally murdered. Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame) is a neighbor who becomes involved with Steele and is troubled by his temper and all the rumors. Did he do it or didn't he? Frank Lovejoy is the detective on the case. There's a nice score by George Antheil, and the film is well photographed by Burnett Guffey. The acting is good -- Martha Stewart is especially effective -- but the problem with the movie is that the lead character is so repellent. Very good, uncompromising ending, however. An uncredited Alix Talton of Deadly Mantis plays Fran, a friend of Dixon's, and Morris Ankrum of The Giant Claw and Steven Geray are also in the cast. Martha Stewart was attractive and talented but her career petered out by 1964 with only a short list of credits. 

Verdict: Holds the attention, has interesting aspects, but one suspects there's less here than meets the eye. **1/2.

MACAO

MACAO (1952). Director: Josef von Sternberg.

Into Macao come three individuals: Julie Benson (Jane Russell), who wants to look for a singing engagement; Nick Cochran (Robert Mitchum), who lost his wallet and passport and also needs a job; and Lawrence Trumble (William Bendix) who at least seems to be a legitimate businessman. The trouble starts when casino owner Vincent Halloran (Brad Dexter) makes up his mind that Cochran is really a New York City police detective who's come to haul him past the three mile limit and back to the states to pay for his crimes. But has Halloran picked the right person? What could have been an intriguing bit of film noir -- and it holds the attention in a limited way -- is done in by a poor script and a meandering pace that doesn't create or sustain any tension. Mitchum and Russell are both in butch mode throughout the movie -- Russell's as hard as nails and about as appealing -- and Bendix is as good as ever. Brad Dexter makes little impression and it's easy to see why he did mostly TV shows in the future as he lacked that certain "big screen" presence. Gloria Grahame is wasted in a small role as one of Halloran's employees.

Verdict: A wasted trip. **.

BLONDE FEVER

BLONDE FEVER (1944). Director: Richard Whorf.

"I've learned the difference between loving someone and wanting someone."

Peter Donay (Philip Dorn) is a successful restaurateur with an attractive wife, Delilah (Mary Astor) who finds himself becoming infatuated with a pretty blond waitress, Sally (Gloria Grahame), who already has a young boyfriend (Marshall Thompson). This is based on a farce by Ferenc Molnar, but Hollywood screenwriter Patricia Coleman has stripped it of all fun and humor -- there is not a single laugh in the picture [and make no mistake, this is supposed to be a comedy, not a drama or even comedy-drama]. Although each had appeared in small, sometimes uncredited roles in previous pictures, Grahame and Thompson were "introduced" in this picture, and both give good performances. Dorn does his best, but the material defeats him, and even the great Mary Astor has a struggle to breath life into a lifeless movie. The actors are all superior to the material, and Astor should never have been put in such junk in the first place. Felix Bressart, as Johnny the bartender, and Elisabeth Risdon as a friend and customer, are also wasted in this picture.

Verdict: Virtually worthless but for some fine actors who all deserve better. *.

THE COBWEB

THE COBWEB (1955). Director: Vincente Minelli.

"Van Gogh didn't sell a painting in his lifetime, but now they're worth thirty million. They weren't that bad then and they're not that good now, so who's crazy?"

The patients and staff of a Clinic for Nervous Disorders become embroiled in -- believe it or not -- a fight over which drapes to hang in the library. Some want an attractive if standard pattern, while others, such as Dr. Stewart McIver (Richard Widmark) want to transfer drawings done by a young patient, Stevie (John Kerr), to silk screenings and hang them instead. The complications of the staff's private lives don't help much. Dr. Devanal (Charles Boyer), the former head of the clinic now in a sort of advisory capacity, is an unregenerate skirt-chaser whose secretary (Adele Jergens) is in love with him. Dr. McIver's wife Karen (Gloria Grahame) feels neglected by her husband, who is slowly being drawn to the widowed Activities Director Meg Rinehart (Lauren Bacall). Then there's Miss Inch (Lillian Gish), the prickly, strong-willed spinster with territorial instincts who objects to anyone she sees as threatening to her authority. This is an interesting if overlong melodrama/soap opera with outstanding performances by Gish [great in a mostly unsympathetic part] and Grahame, and very good performances by most of the rest of the cast. The love story between Stevie and fellow patient Sue (Susan Strasberg) is kind of boring, however. Oscar Levant is quite amateurish as a neurotic patient and his scenes should have been cut as they add nothing to the picture. Fay Wray, Myra Marsh [from the operetta episode of I Love Lucy] and Virginia Christine appear in smaller roles. Christine had much bigger roles in The Mummy's Curse, Three Brave Men, and Nightmare (1956). She later became "Mrs. Olsen" of coffee commercial fame.

Verdict: Over-baked but enjoyable for the most part. ***.

HUMAN DESIRE

HUMAN DESIRE (1954). Director: Fritz Lang. 

Vicki Buckley (Gloria Grahame) is married to the rather bestial and jealous Carl (Broderick Crawford) who forces her to accompany him when he plans to murder one of her alleged lovers. Into this unpleasant mix comes railroad engineer Jeff Warren (Glenn Ford), who falls for Vicki and whom she hopes will help her get out of the trap that her marriage has become. The opening with the train zooming along is excellent, and everything that follows certainly holds the attention, but a big problem with the picture is that it has no real climax. Brockerick is terrific; Ford gives one of his better performances; and Grahame has her moments as the femme fatale but she's uneven and never altogether convincing. Well-directed by Lang and beautifully photographed by Burnett Guffey. Despite her somewhat cold nature, it's hard not to see Vicki in part as a victim, but the film doesn't encourage the audience to feel much sympathy for her. Kathleen Case as the "good girl" in the story is just as sexy as the bad girl, if not more so. Her first appearance, filling out her sweater, makes you wonder why Warren even bothered with Vicki. Inspired by a novel by Emile Zola. 

Verdict: Compelling if imperfect. ***.

MERTON OF THE MOVIES

MERTON OF THE MOVIES (1947). Director: Robert Alton.

Red Skelton stars as a movie usher, Merton Gill, with big dreams who winds up going to Hollywood and supposedly becoming protege of big star Lawrence Rupert (Leon Ames), who has no use for him. Befriended by a stunt woman, Phyllis (Virgina O'Brien), who also has ambitions, he winds up starring in parodies of Rupert's films -- only he thinks they're supposed to be serious. Not much of a "laugh out loud" movie but the picture is well-acted, good-natured and pleasant, with a happy wind-up for all. After Skelton, Gloria Grahame is the cast stand-out as sexy movie star Beulah Baxter, who at one point tries to "vamp" Merton. O'Brien is a perfectly pleasing leading lady with a certain elusive quality, yet ... somehow she lacks a certain oomph, although she's more than competent. She does show more emotion in this than she did as a singer (her funny shtick was to have an immobile face as she sang).

Verdict: pleasant time waster with nice performances and sentiment. **1/2.

A WOMAN'S SECRET

Maureen O'Hara

A WOMAN'S SECRET (1949) Director: Nicholas Ray.

Flashbacks relate what led up to the shooting of young singer, Susan Caldwell (Gloria Grahame), nicknamed Estrellita, who is the protege of Marian Washburn (Maureen O'Hara, pictured), who took over Susan's career when she lost her own singing voice just as she was on the verge of making it. This sounds like it might make for a very juicy soap opera at the very least, but what results is a pretty boring, minor-league account, with Marians' boyfriend Luke (Melvyn Douglas) talking the whole business over with police inspector Jim Fowler (Jay C. Flippen); Mary Philips is fun as Fowler's take-charge wife. Flashbacks are not very riveting or compelling. Victor Jory is fine as an impresario who is smitten with Susan, and Bill Williams turns up as a man from her past. Gloria Grahame is excellent as Susan, but the movie that surrounds her is a comparatively dull disappointment.

Verdict: Not even worth wasting a rainy day for. *1/2.