UNTAMED YOUTH

Mamie Van Doren, Jeanne Carmen, Lori Nelson

UNTAMED YOUTH (1957). Director: Howard W. Koch.

Two sisters heading for Hollywood -- Penny (Mamie Van Doren of The Girl in Black Stockings) and Jane (Lori Nelson) -- are arrested for vagrancy and sent to a work farm for thirty days by Judge Steele (Lurene Tuttle). The farm is owned by Russ Tropp (John Russell), whose housekeepers are girls who offer certain services in exchange for "special privileges." Tropp orders his latest "housekeeper," Lillibet (Jeanne Carmen) back to the barracks with the other girls, resulting in a catfight. The judge sends her son, Bob (Don Burnett), to work at the farm as a regular employee -- he doesn't know that his mother and Tropp are secretly married. And the judge doesn't know about the deplorable conditions at the farm ...

Cougar? The judge (Tuttle, right) hankers for Russell

Untamed Youth is a hoot. Wayward girls, handsome guys, Mamie Van Doren, John Russell, catfights, a female judge who's a cougar -- all this and the movie is a musical, too! Yes, there are several snappy if unmemorable rock 'n' roll numbers supposedly warbled by Van Doren, who zestily shows off her impressive figure when dancing all over the place. The matronly Tuttle and hunky Russell certainly make a comically mismatched pair, Carmen is vivid as Lillibet, and Burnett [Damon and Pythias] is appealing as the sensitive Bob, who falls for Jane.

Mother and son: Don Burnett and Lurene Tuttle

And then there's Mamie, in a role best suited for her talents. In this she's a good girl, not a slut, and she resists advances by Russell. Her performance is more than adequate and she has an out-sized personality that helped her get a minor foothold in Hollywood B movies. Lurene Tuttle gives the best performance as the middle-aged woman who falls in love not at all wisely but well. Wally Brown makes his mark as the deceptively sympathetic cook, Pinky (even if he feeds the kids dog food!) and Michael Emmet [Attack of the Giant Leeches] shows up as a kindly doctor who treats one ill-fated pregnant girl, Baby (Yvonne Lime of Dragstrip Riot).

With a better script Untamed Youth might have emerged a credible melodrama instead of the somewhat campy exploitation picture it is. But on that level, the movie is fun.

Verdict: Catch Mamie doing "Slimy as a Salamander!" **1/2. 

VIOLENT ROAD

Dick Foran and Ann Doran

VIOLENT ROAD (1958). Director: Howard W. Koch.

A runaway missile explodes in a small town, causing many deaths, necessitating the move of the local company that fired the missile to another location. Rocket fuel, which is comprised of many dangerous and acidic chemicals which can "burn a man alive," has to be transported over difficult terrain, and six men are chosen to be the drivers. These include George (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) whose family was lost in the blast; Frank (Dick Foran), who has a tragically bitter quarrel with his wife (Ann Doran) before leaving; Manuelo (Perry Lopez of The Steel Jungle), who needs the money from the trip to become an engineer; the world-weary Ben (Arthur Batanides); and Mitch (Brian Keith), a foot-loose adventurer without much of a past.  Ken Farley (Sean Garrison), the sixth driver, replaces his sad, drunken brother (John Dennis) when he's too hungover to drive. Along the way there are harrowing incidents, such as a runaway bus, brake failures, tumbling rocks, and acid spills, as well as flashbacks that tell us more about these individuals. Violent Road is clearly an unacknowledged rip-off of the far superior French film The Wages of Fear -- which was also remade as Sorcerer -- but it has its moments if taken on its own terms. One stand-out sequence is a tender and tragic moment between Frank and his wife, with an outstanding performance from Ann Doran [Meet John Doe]. Dick Foran is also excellent, and Keith also makes his mark, as does John Dennis in the early scenes. Sean Garrison also makes an impression as the handsome and cocky Kenny. If there's any problem with the movie it's that it seems to lack a real climax and ends much too abruptly. Peter Brown has a small but effective role as a marine, and Merry Anders is fine as a woman who picks Mitch up on the road.

Verdict: Not that explosive, and highly unoriginal, but tense and absorbing nonetheless. *** out of 4.

BORN RECKLESS

Mamie Van Doren, Arthur Hunnicutt, Jeff Richards

BORN RECKLESS (1958). Director: Howard W. Koch.

Trick rodeo rider and singer Jackie Adams (Mamie Van Doren) meets up with cowboy Kelly Cobb (Jeff Richards) when the latter pulls a masher off of her and gets into a fight. Kelly is buddies with the older "Cool Man" (Arthur Hunnicutt), a former rodeo rider who seems to serve as his manager, right hand or surrogate father (anything else the movie does not explore). As they travel around appearing in different rodeos, a romance between Jackie and Kelly doesn't quite develop, but this doesn't stop Jackie from developing a proprietary attitude toward the man when he dallies too long with wealthy sophisticate, Liz (Carol Ohmart). Will Kelly ever realize that Jackie is the girl of his dreams? Hardly anyone who sits through this generally tedious film will give a damn about the outcome, as the under-written and under-acted characters are of little interest to anyone despite the actors' sex appeal. Van Doren and Richards are okay and look good, but neither exactly set the screen on fire, and seem uninterested in each other almost throughout the entire movie, although Jackie eventually displays a hankering for Kelly. Hunnicutt makes the best impression in the film after Ohmart, who exhibits the same smoky sensuality that radiates from her in such films as House on Haunted Hill and others; when she appears you instantly forget about Van Doren, just as Kelly does. Van Doren [High School Confidential] sings several songs throughout the movie, including a nice unrequited love ballad entitled "It Takes a Little Longer" and a band does a good job with "Lovable You." If that's Van Doren's real voice, she isn't a bad singer. Richards was a good-looking actor whose most famous role was as "Buck Winston," the only male to appear in The Opposite Sex, the musical remake of The Women. He also did a lot of television work, was in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and starred as Jefferson Drum in that series. Koch also directed Van Doren in The Girl in Black Stockings. A prospective "cat fight" between Van Doren and Ohmart doesn't really amount to much, for shame.

Verdict: A Mamie Van Doren musical? *1/2.

ANDY HARDY COMES HOME

Mickey Rooney and Fay Holden

ANDY HARDY COMES HOME (1958). Director: Howard W. Koch.

"Wouldn't it be nice some time to take a trip around the world?' -- Aunt Millie

"Oh, I don't know. I'd rather go somewhere else." -- Mrs. Hardy

Twelve years have gone by since the last Hardy film and Andy is now happily married to Jane (Patricia Breslin of Homicidal) and living in Los Angeles with their two children. Andy now works for the legal department of the Gordon Aircraft company and thinks it might be a good idea to open a plant in his home town of Carvel. Unfortunately, a couple of people with grudges against Andy conspire to turn the whole town against him, insisting the factory will lead to slums, criminals, and who knows what else. Old pal "Beezy" (now played by Joey Forman) shows up and tries to help Andy but is stymied by his fearful wife, Sally (Jeanne Baird). Will Andy have to turn his back on Carvel the way they've seemed to turn their backs on him? Andy Hardy Comes Home is an amiable, if minor, picture that in its day served chiefly as a way for the audience to catch up with the Hardy family after many years. Lewis Stone had passed on, but Fay Holden (in her warm if slightly ditsy turn as Mother Hardy), Sara Haden as Millie, and Cecelia Parker (returning as Marian) are all good, as is Rooney. The film introduced Pat Cawley, who plays Sally, the woman who helps Andy in his search for property, although it is highly unlikely that her handsome boyfriend (William Leslie of Mutiny in Outer Space) would actually be jealous of Andy. Also introduced in this picture were little Teddy Rooney, who is okay as Andy Hardy Jr., and Johnny Weissmuller Jr. , who plays Andy's very tall nephew, Jim. Jerry Colonna shows up as Doc, who runs the soda shoppe. There are flashback scenes with Judy Garland, Lana Turner, and Esther Williams in clips from the older Hardy films. At the end of Andy Hardy Comes Home it says TO BE CONTINUED in big letters, but it was not to be. Andy was too old, and his son too young, to capture the teen-aged girl-crazy humor of the earlier installments, and the script for the film was no world-beater, making a mild attempt at recreating the humor and sentiment of the original series. The very pretty and competent Cawley only did two other movies.

Verdict: A middle-aged and mostly mediocre Andy Hardy. **1/2.

SHIELD FOR MURDER

SHIELD FOR MURDER (1954). Directors: Howard W. Koch; Edmond O'Brien.  

Cop Barney Nolan (Edmond O'Brien, who co-directed) has been on the straight and narrow for most of his career, but when an opportunity comes he takes it, shooting a crook and hiding away the cash that the dead man had on him. He claims the killing was in the line of duty, but a deaf-mute witness says otherwise. Nolan's girlfriend, Patty (Marla English) and Mark Brewster (John Agar), the cop he mentored, have faith in Nolan's innocence but as evidence piles up against him even that faith is tested. Okay crime thriller is kind of weak on characterization, and while the acting is okay, it's not exactly on the subtle side. O'Brien comes off best, as expected, Agar is Agar (although even he has his moments), English makes very little impression, and Emile Meyer as the police captain is so busy chewing the scenery that it hurts just to look at him. Carolyn Jones appears briefly as a slightly drunk gal that Nolan meets in a bar and completely takes over the movie for five minutes. A fast-pace doesn't hurt, but you've seen this all before. Marla English was also in Three Bad Sisters and The She-Creature. 

Verdict: Watch D.O.A. instead. **.