VOICE IN THE MIRROR

Bar mates: Richard Egan and Arthur O'Connell

VOICE IN THE MIRROR (1958). Director: Harry Keller.

"We're all in the same boat, none of us more than one drink away from the gutter for the rest of our lives."

"I spilled more whiskey than you ever drank."

Commercial artist Jim Burton (Richard Egan) claims to have started drinking since the death of his little girl, but his doctor, Leon (Walter Matthau), reminds him that he was drinking before that and would probably have used any excuse. Jim's patient wife, Ellen (Julie London of The Helicopter Spies), is forced to put up with broken promises and wondering if and when he'll come home and what condition he'll be in. Now Leon tells him that his alcoholism may have created serious nerve damage. A fellow drunk named Harry (Harry Bartell) tells him that he thinks the solution to their problem may be through spiritualism, but Jim discovers that the secret may be to help other drunks --  alcoholics can help other alcoholics stay sober. Although set twenty years later, Voice in the Mirror basically appears to be the story of the formation of Alcoholics Anonymous (although the term is never used and there's not as much emphasis on religiosity; AA's famous slogan is used at the end, however.) In any case, the picture is absorbing and generally well-acted, with a moving conclusion. Egan and London are not exactly perfect casting for this film (stolid Egan never quite seems desperate enough for one thing), but both of them have their moments; oddly, London is better in her more emotional and difficult scenes than in her quieter ones. Harry Bartell and Doris Singleton, who plays Jim's sympathetic co-worker, have nice bits; both of them appeared several times on I Love Lucy. Arthur O'Connell nearly steals the picture as one of Jim's sad friends, and Matthau, in an unexpected role as the no-nonsense doctor, is also excellent. Ann Doran and Peggy Converse make their marks, respectively, as a landlady and the mother of a suicidal young drunk played by Troy Donahue. Eleanor Audley [Sleeping Beauty] is fine as a woman at a soup kitchen, and I believe that's Mae Clarke [Frankenstein] playing the first woman member of Jim's group. One of the best scenes depicts Jim's frightening nightmare in which he is caught in a train tunnel as a rushing train threatens to run him down.

Verdict: Imperfect but interesting and affecting drama. ***.

CORONADO 9

Dan Adams (Rod Cameron ) questions a suspect

CORONADO 9 TV series. 1960.

Rod Cameron starred in this well-made and entertaining detective series that lasted one season. Cameron plays Dan Adams, a private dick who used to work for Naval Intelligence and works out of San Diego with a Coronado address. Many of the episodes were directed by movie serial master William Witney, who helmed G-Men vs the Black Dragon, in which Cameron played agent Rex Bennett [reprising the role in Secret Service in Darkest Africa]. Cameron may have been stone-faced as Bennett, but he's much, much better as the tough but human and compassionate Adams, who gets involved in some very intriguing cases, and has a solid core of law and order values. Some of the best episodes include: "Doomtown," in which the village geek is accused of a murder he didn't commit; "Remember the Alamo," in which it isn't certain if a man's (David White from Bewitched) younger wife has been kidnapped or not, but his secretary (Beverly Garland) may hold the answer; "Gone With Thy Loot," which has a lot of skulduggery over some stolen jewels; "Blonde Herring," a shipboard adventure with a sizzling Carol Ohmart, and an effective Sue Ann Langdon and Harry Lauter in supporting parts; and "They Met in Honolulu" in which Hayden Rourke's much younger bride simply disappears right after the ceremony. The best episodes are: "Run, Shep, Run" with Jay Novello giving another amazing character turn as a Southern doctor in a swampland chase and mystery; "Sincerely Yours, Napoleon," in which a married, middle-aged man tells his wife (Virginia Christine) that he spent their life savings on certain letters but there's a honey (Sue Ann Langdon, again) in the pot; and "Flight to La Paz," in which Adams is aboard a plane that crash lands in an isolated area and a suitcase of money ignites all kinds of passion in the passengers; Harry Bartell and Laurie Mitchell [Queen of Outer Space] are both excellent in this. [Bartell was the process server who pretended to be a big fan of Ricky's on the I Love Lucy courtoom episode.] Out of 39 episodes there isn't a real stinker in the bunch.Other notable guest-stars include Mary LaRoche, Patricia Medina, Norma Varden, and Coleen Gray [The Leech Woman], who is excellent as a conflicted woman who tries to help the sick mobster father that she's been estranged from for many years in "The Anxious Mariner."

Verdict: Very entertaining and well-done mystery series. ***.