THE WORLD WAS HIS JURY

Paul Birch 

THE WORLD WAS HIS JURY (1958). Director: Fred F. Sears. Colorized. 

During the party for the last night of the voyage of a luxury liner, Captain Barrett (Robert McQueeney) is accidentally struck on the head and appears drunk when he staggers onto the bridge. A fire causes much loss of life and serious injuries, and the ship sinks as well. Barrett then finds himself accused of dozens of charges of manslaughter, not just facing the loss of his career but decades in prison. Assisted by private eye Tony Armand (John Beradino), attorney David Carson (Edmond O'Brien of The Bigamist) decides to defend Barrett, something which even his wife, Robin (Mona Freeman of That Brennan Girl) -- who thinks he has been defending far too many creepy guilty people -- is against. Carson will discover that it will be an uphill battle to prove that his client isn't guilty of criminal negligence, and the damaging testimony of officer Martin Ranker (Paul Birch of Not of This Earth) certainly won't help.

Mona Freeman and Edmond O'Brien

The World Was His Jury not only has an interesting and completely absorbing storyline, but it features fine performances from (as expected) O'Brien but also from the rest of the cast. Paul Birch is outstanding and riveting as Ranker, who is forced to give negative testimony despite his alleged friendship with the defendant. Richard H. Cutting (of Seven Were Saved) and Harvey Stephens (of The Flight that Disappeared) score respectively as the prosecuting attorney and the no-nonsense judge. There's also nice work from McQueeney, Mona Freeman and  Karin Booth as the captain's wife. Director Sears [Earth vs the Flying Saucers] passed away before the film was released, and this was Freeman's last movie, although she frequently appeared on television afterwards. McQueeney was primarily a television actor. 

Verdict: Highly interesting drama with an excellent cast -- and Paul Birch makes the grade! ***.

LET 'EM HAVE IT

Richard Arlen with Bruce Cabot in the background

LET 'EM HAVE IT (1935). Director: Sam Wood.

Federal agents Mal Stevens (Richard Arlen), Van Rensseler (Harvey Stephens), and Tex Logan (Gordon Jones of The Green Hornet) are up against a formidable foe in Joe Keefer (Bruce Cabot), who has organized a gang of ex-cons, many of which he sprung from a prison farm, to engineer a series of bank robberies. Joe was originally a chauffeur for Eleanor Spencer (Virginia Bruce), who was once very close to Van but now has feelings for Mal. Unfortunately, Eleanor gets angry with Mal when he is unable to prevent her kid brother, Buddy (Eric Linden), from becoming a G-Man, with tragic results.

Eric Linden and Richard Arlen

Under the direction of Sam Wood, Let 'Em Have It is a fast-paced, well-acted, and entertaining cops vs robbers movie. Although mostly forgotten today, even by film buffs, Richard Arlen (Island of Lost Souls) was a handsome and charismatic leading man for most of his career, which comprised nearly 200 credits. Other players in this flick include Alice Brady [When Ladies Meet], as Eleanor's man-hungry Aunt Ethel, and Barbara Pepper as one of Cabot's blond molls, Milly. Pepper later gained a lot of weight and appeared more than once on I Love Lucy. Sam Wood also directed Goodbye, Mr. Chips in 1939 and a great many others.

Verdict: Snappy picture hasn't a dull moment. ***. 

THE COURTSHIP OF ANDY HARDY

Mickey Rooney and "droopy" Donna Reed

THE COURTSHIP OF ANDY HARDY (1942). Director: George B. Seitz.

"Andrew! I do not go back to the American Revolution!" -- Judge Hardy

While Andy (Mickey Rooney) is having problems operating his car towing service, Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) intervenes in the case of a divorcing couple (Freida Inescort; Harvey Stephens) whose daughter, Melodie (Donna Reed) is being adversely affected by their behavior. The judge asks Andy to take Melodie to a dance, and he agrees, even though he thinks she's kind of "droopy." However, he gets to like the girl when he actually get to know her,  although he's worried when she develops a crush on him -- this in spite of the fact that Melodie eventually turns herself into quite a dish. And what about the returning Polly Benedict (Ann Rutherford)? In the meantime, Marian (Cecelia Parker) meets a brash young man named Jefferson (William Lundigan), and Mother Hardy (Fay Holden) has to deal with dishonest bill collectors. There seemed to be a decision with this film to focus a little more on the other members of the Hardy family, although Andy still gets the lion's share of the footage. The Courtship of Andy Hardy features the usual fine performances, but while it's quite pleasant in spots, it's not one of the more memorable entries. Todd Karnes reappears as Harry Land [Andy Hardy's Private Secretary], who falls for Melodie even before her makeover.

Verdict: One of the weaker Hardy pictures. **1/2.

DIARY OF A MADMAN

Vincent Price

DIARY OF A MADMAN  (1963). Director: Reginald Le Borg.

"I don't know if I'm innocent of guilt or guilty of innocence." -- Odette

Magistrate Simon Cordier (Vincent Price) speaks to a condemned murderer, Louis Girot (Harvey Stephens), in his cell, wherein Girot says he only killed people because he was possessed by a spirit called a Horla. Cordier learns to his dismay that Girot was telling the truth, when said Horla reveals its presence and its terrible intentions. Cordier, who mourns his wife and child, falls for a very pretty model named Odette (Nancy Kovack), who already has a husband in poor painter Paul (Chris Warfield). A sculpted bust that Cordier makes of Odette is later used for a very grisly purpose. Loosely based on stories by Guy de Maupassant, Diary of a Madman has an excellent story and features a wonderful performance by Nancy Kovack -- its main problem is Vincent Price, who offers his customary charm but otherwise walks through the movie and its horrific events as if all he were thinking of was using his paycheck to acquire more artwork, which was probably the case. Cordier is a terrific role for any actor, but almost always Price just goes through the motions, maintaining that certain image that, unfortunately, often undermined his thesping. Most of the other actors, however, including Ian Wolfe [Games] as Simon's butler, are more on the mark. Price does not ruin the film's entertainment value, but he was more than capable of being so much better if director Le Borg had insisted upon it.

Verdict: Creditable horror flick. ***.

THE FLIGHT THAT DISAPPEARED

Paula Raymond and Craig Hill

THE FLIGHT THAT DISAPPEARED (1961). Director: Reginald Le Borg.

Flight 60 takes off from LA and is heading for Washington D.C. with several special passengers aboard. Carl Morris (Dayton Lummis of The Music Box Kid) is a physicist who has come up with an idea for a devastating Beta bomb. Marcia Paxton (Paula Raymond of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms) is a mathematician and Morris' assistant. Tom Endicott (Crag Hill of Deadly Duo) is a rocket engineer who feels an attraction to Marcia. Inexplicably the flight keeps rising higher and higher into the air despite the best efforts of the crew. Then the engines stop running and the three aforementioned find themselves in a weird, fantastic nightmare -- or the Twilight Zone, if you prefer. The Flight that Disappeared is like a long, third-rate TZ episode complete with heavy-handed message. The first half is intriguing and well done and holds the attention, but then it collapses into illogical, incoherent stupidity below comic book level. The acting is generally professional, with Lummis taking top honors. Harvey Stephens [The Cheat] and Meg Wyllie are vivid as an hysterical, mentally-disturbed passenger and his blind wife. Another messterpiece from the fine folks at Bel-Air.

Verdict: A Rod Serling reject. **.

THE CHEAT

Tallulah Bankhead

THE CHEAT (1931). Director: George Abbott.

"If you're trying to appeal to my better nature, it's hopeless, for I haven't any."

Elsa Carlyle (Tallulah Bankhead) and her husband Jeffrey (Harvey Stephens) are feeling a financial pinch when Elsa makes matters worse by losing a bundle at cards. She compounds this error by making a very unsound investment. The oily Hardy Livingstone (Irving Pichel), a wealthy man who collects women like literal trophies, offers Elsa his help -- but at a price she isn't willing to pay, leading to melodramatic complications and a climactic courtroom scene. Except for her overacting at the finale, Bankhead is quite good, and while hardly a raving beauty, one can imagine she never lacked for dates. Stephens is adequate and Pichel is fine, although the movie might have had more of an edge -- and given Elsa more of a moral dilemma -- had Hardy been played by a sexier actor one could believe she was attracted to. The picture is minor but holds the attention and Bankhead is basically swell and appealing. Pichel was later the villain in the serial Dick Tracy's G-Men and directed many films, including The Most Dangerous Game (co-director) and Quicksand. Bankhead later appeared in everything from Hitchcock's Lifeboat to Die, Die, My Darling to the TV series' Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour and Batman.

Verdict: Creaky old pre-code melodrama enlivened by Bankhead. **1/2.