DIAMOND HEAD

Yvette Mimieux, Elizabeth Allen, Charlton Heston

DIAMOND HEAD (1962). Director: Guy Green.

Widower King Howland (Charlton Heston) is a wealthy land owner in Hawaii who lives with his sister-in-law, Laura (Elizabeth Allen of Donovan's Reef), and his younger sister, Sloane (Yvette Mimieux of The Time Machine). Sloane is in love with an islander named Paul (James Darren), who returns her feelings, but neither King nor Laura approve of the marriage. "We've never mixed blood," King says, as he tries to enlist Paul's half-brother, Dean (George Chakiris) in breaking up the romance. Dean may have reservations about the union, but he will not speak out against it, although his mother (Aline MacMahon of Babbitt) feels mixed marriages will dilute the Hawaiian minority. Complicating the whole situation is that the hypocritical King is having an affair with an Asian woman (France Nuyen) who is going to have his child. At a party to celebrate the upcoming nuptials between Sloane and Paul, a tragedy occurs ... 

Heston

Diamond Head may take advantage of some gorgeous scenery, but its dramatic value is somewhat lacking. The admirable attempts to denounce racism are half-hearted, especially when you consider that the three main "Hawaiian" roles -- Jimmy, Dean, and their mother -- are played by Caucasian actors. Heston displays his usual charisma, and  his performance is perfectly competent but unmemorable. Elizabeth Allen is okay in the thankless role of the sister-in-law secretly in love with her late sister's widower. Chakiris and MacMahon -- and to a lesser extent Darren -- are notable, and Mimieux gives a fairly strong and sensitive performance, as does Nuyen -- perhaps the best in the picture. Harold Fong makes an impression as King's major domo, Koyama, and Marc Marno is vivid as Nuyen's sleazy brother, Bobby. 

A sub-plot has to do with King planning to run for the state senate, and there are also a couple of obvious hints of his incestuous feelings for his sister. That being said, the movie has an absolutely horrible ending which I believe was tacked on by someone who let their common sense run away with them. 

Verdict: You might have a better time watching reruns of Hawaiian Eye. **1/2. 

THE PASSIONATE FRIENDS

Claude Rains and Ann Todd

THE PASSIONATE FRIENDS (1949). Director: David Lean.

Professor Steven Stratton (Trevor Howard) has always been in love with Mary (Ann Todd), and vice versa, but she's afraid of losing her identity and freedom in a romantic match with him and marries the wealthy Howard Justine (Claude Rains) for practical reasons instead. Years later, Mary and Steven reignite their passion and Mary's marriage almost ends, but she decides to stay with Howard. In what could only be termed an improbable and utterly amazing coincidence, Mary and Steven inadvertently wind up in adjoining rooms in the same resort at the exact same time, leading a disbelieving (of their innocence) Howard to file for divorce, even though Steven has since married another. This leads to some powerful and emotional sequences as husband and wife face the worst crisis in their lives, and an older-but-wiser Mary must make a supreme sacrifice. With direction from David Lean [Doctor Zhivago], and a script by Eric Ambler (from one of H. G. Wells' non-science fiction stories) The Passionate Friends isn't as good as Lean's earlier romantic drama Brief Encounter, but comes close. The performances by Claude Rains and Ann Todd [The Paradine Case] are simply superb, and Trevor Howard, while a cut below the other two, is also excellent. (It is probably because of the strength of the cast that it was decided not to use different actors for the varying ages of each character.) The film also boasts outstanding cinematography by Guy Green, and a fine score by Richard Addinsell, as well as a quite moving conclusion. The film is so good and so well-acted, in fact, that one can forgive the incredible coincidence that leads into the dramatic events that follow.

Verdict: Superior romantic drama with top talents involved. ***1/2.

LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA (1962)

Olivia de Havilland and Rosanno Brazzi

LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA (1962). Director: Guy Green.

Meg Johnson (Olivia de Havilland) is in Italy with her daughter, Clara (Yvette Mimieux), when the latter meets and falls for a young Italian named Fabrizio (George Hamilton), who returns Clara's feelings. The problem is that not everyone is aware that the free-spirited, fun-loving Clara, who is in her mid-twenties, never advanced emotionally beyond ten or so years of age due to a childhood accident. Clara's father, Noel (Barry Sullivan) wants to put Clara in a home in an attempt to repair his marriage, while Meg thinks the real answer is for Clara to marry Fabrizio. But there may be other roadblocks to their nuptials. Light in the Piazza features some especially good performances from Mimieux [Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm] and Hamilton (in the days before he turned himself into a smarmy joke), but Sullivan [Forty Guns] mostly walks through his smaller part and de Havilland is terribly affected and a bit unreal. Rosanno Brazzi [Legend of the Lost] is better as Fabrizio's father. This is a movie that you want to like and be moved by, but there's just something off about it, especially a strange business involving a man killed by cannon fire during a sporting exhibition. Nice location footage of Florence. Many years later this was turned into a musical.

Verdict: Some good performances help ... **1/2.

HOUSE OF SECRETS (1956)

Michael Craig and Barbara Bates

HOUSE OF SECRETS (aka Triple Deception/1956). Director: Guy Green.

"He's too smug to live."

Sailor Larry Ellis (Michael Craig) is drafted by the Criminal Investigation Association (CIA)  -- "international cops," as Larry puts it -- when it develops that he bears a striking resemblance to a deceased criminal named Steve Chancellor. Coached by his superiors, he infiltrates a gang who plan to release scads of counterfeit cash into the world's economy. Ellis' job is to find out who the real ringleader is and stop the plot. Chancellor's girlfriend, Judy (Barbara Bates), is actually an undercover agent, and there's another woman in Chancellor's life, Diane (Julia Arnell) who is the niece of the dragon lady conspirator, Madame Ballu (Brenda de Banzie of The Man Who Knew Too Much). Julius (Gerard Oury) and Anton (Anton Diffring) round out the gang, but there's an unknown traitor in the CIA who is Ellis' most dangerous adversary. This pre-Bond film comes off more like a spy thriller than a crime drama, and is not badly done. Craig, who is swaggering, rakish and sexy throughout, would actually not have made a bad 007, as he loves up the women and engages in fisticuffs with equal aplomb. There's a lively dressing room knife-fight, some decent slug-fests, and an exciting climax on a plane with a bomb on it. I had always thought that Craig suppressed his British accent in certain films, such as Mysterious Island, but his North American voice is his true one (having been raised in Canada) and he affects a British accent for such pictures as Doctor in Love. He and the other cast members are all quite good -- Anton Diffring [The Man Who Could Cheat Death] is rather wasted, however --  and the picture is fast-paced and entertaining.

Verdict: Craig would have made a fine Bond. ***.

THE SNORKEL

THE SNORKEL (1958). Director: Guy Green.

You learn right at the start of the movie that Jacques Duval (Peter van Eyck) murdered his wife, but the well-made film holds your attention in spite of it. Good acting and tense situations certainly don't hurt. The murdered woman's daughter, Candy (Mandy Miller, a young beauty), alleges that she saw Jacques murder her father some years before, and is convinced that he somehow managed to murder her mother even though her death, which occurred in a locked bedroom, has been ruled a suicide. Betta St. John plays Jean, a relative who is a sort of governess or companion to Candy. One of the best scenes has Jacques making an attempt on Candy's life while she's swimming. A very satisfying wind-up. Peter van Eyck strikes the perfect note as the cold-blooded murderer. Co-written by the prolific Jimmy Sangster but not as gimmicky has some of his stories.

Verdict: Engaging time passer. ***.