THIS COULD BE THE NIGHT

Anthony Franciosa, Jean Simmons, Paul Douglas

THIS COULD BE THE NIGHT (1957). Director: Robert Wise. 

Anne Leeds (Jean Simmons of Angel Face) is a schoolteacher who inexplicably gets part-time work as a secretary for one of the partners, Rocco (Paul Douglas), in a Manhattan nightclub. Rocco's partner, playboy Tony Armotti (Anthony Franciosa), thinks Anne, due to her upper-crust education, is stuck up and doesn't belong in the club, but Rocco takes a shine to her. As Tony and Anne work out their differences, other denizens of the club interact with our trio: singer Ivy (Julie Wilson); dancer Patsy (Neile Adams) and her mother Crystal (Joan Blondell); Hussein (Rafael Campos), a busboy who slowly warms up to Anne; and slick lawyer, Devlin (Tom Helmore). Will Anne and Tony ever get together, and what will Rocco think of it when they do?

Jean Simmons and Anthony Franciosa

This Could Be the Night came out two years after the film version of Guys and Dolls, which also starred Jean Simmons, and while it's a quite different story and may take place in a different time period, I doubt if it's a coincidence that it presents a "greenhorn" (virgin) interacting with various gangster and nightclub types. There are musical numbers in this, too, although they are integrated into the nightclub setting and This Could is not a musical as such. The three leads all give very good performances. However, one has to say that while Franciosa is a very good and intense actor, he is not a charm boy. He plays a scene with some schoolchildren with absolutely no humor at all!

Simmons, Franciosa, and Rafael Campos

Although one can understand why no cult grew up around singer Julie Wilson as it did around Judy Garland, she is a snazzy entertainer and is okay as an actress; she was essentially a cabaret star. Filipino Neile Adams appeared on Broadway, in a couple of films and several TV shows, but her chief claim to fame was as the wife of eventual superstar Steve McQueen (from 1956 - 1972). Joan Blondell is fat, unpleasantly brassy, and unappealing in this. Along with the leads Adams and Blondell are shown in the end credits, but not Rafael Campos, which is distinctly unfair. Talented Campos [Lady in a Cage] is exuberant and quite good in the film and has at least as much to do as the other two. (Frankly, I didn't understand the whole business with Hussein being able to change his name if he passes an algebra test!?) 

Franciosa with William Joyce

Another interesting player is William (Ogden) Joyce, who plays Bruce, a fellow teacher of Anne's who, oddly, never gets to first base with her -- he isn't treated all that well. (Joyce is handsome and adept in this but his only leading role was in I Eat Your Skin.) Attractive bandleader and trumpeter Ray Anthony [Girls Town], one-time husband of Mamie Van Doren, is cast as himself and exudes charm, and J. Carrol Naish plays the club chef with his usual charisma.  While the three lead characters are fairly well-developed, and there's some attempt to flesh out the supporting characters, the portraits tend to be on the superficial side. This is a somewhat unusual directorial assignment for Robert Wise. The film is sharply photographed by Russell Harlan. 

Verdict: With good actors and several interesting sequences, this is smooth entertainment. ***. 

CARNIVAL IN COSTA RICA

Dick Haymes and Vera-Ellen

CARNIVAL IN COSTA RICA (1947). Director: Gregory Ratoff. 

Luisa Molina (Vera-Ellen), daughter of Costa Rican Rico (J. Carrol Naish) and American Elsa (Anne Revere), is told that she is to have an arranged marriage to Pepe Castro (Cesar Romero). For his part Pepe is already in love with the brash Celeste (Celeste Holm), and pretends to Luisa and her parents that he is too sickly to dance, sightsee or do much else that she might enjoy, hoping they will cancel the engagement. While Luisa is contemplating this possible union with a low-energy, half-dead spouse, she meets Jeff Stephens (Dick Haymes), who practically sweeps her off her feet during Carnival. Neither Luisa's or Pepe's parents have a clue to what is going on as everyone tries to do the right thing -- but what is it?

Celeste Holm and Cesar Romero

Carnival in Costa Rica is, as the title implies, very colorful and full of music, including a few fairly insipid if inoffensive songs by Levanna and Ruby. There isn't much plot beyond what is described in the paragraph above, so the movie sinks or swims on its musical numbers, which are at least energetic if not terribly inspired, and its performances. Everyone in the cast is more than adequate, but I especially enjoyed Anne Revere, sophisticated and stylish as the mother; Romero, who is as charming as ever; and of course the ever-delightful Fritz Feld as a hotel manager who has an amusing scene with the two fathers in question. Dick Haymes' is fine as an actor, and when he opens his mouth out comes one of the smoothest and most attractive voices in popular music. He knows how to put over a song, too (if only the songs had been a bit better). Little red-headed Tommy Ivo plays Luisa's sister even if he doesn't look much like a Costa Rican. Vera-Ellen's dancing is swell, but this could have used an Astaire or Kelly. 

Verdict: A pleasant and perfectly forgettable musical comedy without enough comedy. **1/4.

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (1951)

Howard Keel and Betty Hutton in Technicolor!

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (1950). Director: George Sidney.

Famed sharpshooter Frank Butler (Howard Keel of Jupiter's Darling) with Buffalo Bill Cody's (Louis Calhern) wild west show, takes on any challenger, but he meets his match in hillbilly Annie Oakley (Betty Hutton), who falls for him but discovers his male pride takes a beating each time she learns a new trick. During their first match she beats him, but she isn't so sure she wants to win the second one at the climax. On this she is advised by none other than Chief Sitting Bull (J. Carroll Naish) of Custer's Last Stand, who comes to see her as his honorary daughter. Will Annie get the man she loves or the prizes?

Naish, Hutton, Calhern

I had trepidation about watching this film because I had always loved the TV version with the wonderful Mary Martin, which was broadcast seven years after this film came out. I was also afraid Betty Hutton would be too overbearing. There are moments in her performance that are borderline, but I must say Hutton is excellent as Annie, capturing both the vulnerability and the pride of the character. Although Hutton does not sing badly (except on "They Say That Falling in Love is Wonderful" in which Howard Keel saves the day), her vocal skills are no match for Mary Martin's (who played Annie in a more feminine and lady-like fashion). In any case, Judy Garland was originally signed for the lead and did a few scenes that survive, and, frankly, she isn't nearly as good as Hutton.

That "handsome devil" Keel

Now we come to Chief Sitting Bull. Although he was in part responsible for the massacre of American soldiers (who attacked first) at Little Big Horn, I guess that even in the 19th century celebrity trumps everything. The chief joined Buffalo Bill's show and stood around signing autographs -- yes! -- and participating in some re-enactments. Annie Oakley did indeed become like a daughter to Sitting Bull, but whether he encouraged her to throw a competition so she'd get her man is debatable. What is not debatable is that Irving Berlin's score is one of his finest, and one of the best of any Broadway musical, responsible for "There's No Business Like Show Business;""" "Doin' What Comes Naturally;" "The Girl That I Marry;" "My Defenses are Down;" "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun;" etc. although it's disappointing that the film excludes "Moonshine Lullaby;" "I Got Lost in His Arms;" "I'm a Bad, Bad Man" (which could have been quite a showcase for that handsome devil Keel); and "Old-Fashioned Wedding."

In addition to Hutton and Keel, there are fine performances from Naish and Calhern [The Asphalt Jungle] and Keenan Wynn, Clinton Sundberg, and little Brad Morrow as Annie's cute baby brother, Jake. Charles Rosher's widescreen, technicolor cinematography is often breathtaking.

Verdict: The cartoon Indians are questionable in this day and age, but the movie has an interesting (if heavily fictionalized) story and lots of great music and performances. ***. 

DR. RENAULT'S SECRET

J. Carrol Naish (center) and cast 

DR. RENAULT'S SECRET (1942). Director: Harry Lachman.

Dr. Larry Forbes (John Shepperd aka Shepperd Strudwick of All the King's Men) has come to a small European village to meet up with his fiancee, Madelon (Lynne Roberts) and her Uncle Robert (George Zucco), who is also a scientist. Others on Robert's large estate include the strange Noel (J. Carrol Naish of The Kissing Bandit), who is a manservant; the butler Henri (Jean Del Val); and the gardener, Rogell (Mike Mazurki). These last two have criminal pasts, but neither of them is as weird as Noel, who is hiding a dreadful secret along with the doctor. Then the brutal strangulation murders begin ... Dr. Renault's Secret was clearly inspired in part by H. G. Wells' "The Island of Dr. Moreau" (itself filmed as Island of Lost Souls) just as both properties inspired Captive Wild Woman and its sequels. While Renault hardly gets points for originality, it is distinguished by brisk and adroit direction, a good score (Emil Newman and David Raksin), excellent cinematography (Virgil Miller), and a terrific lead performance by Naish, who is both pitiable and menacing. The other cast members are all more than adequate, and Zucco is, as usual, perfect. Arthur Shields [South Sea Woman] plays a police inspector and Ray Corrigan is seen in flashbacks as a gorilla. 20th Century-Fox gave the pic a handsome production, and despite its inadequacies and unacknowledged debt to Wells, it is an entertaining horror flick. Harry Lachman also directed the Laurel and Hardy masterpiece Our Relations.

Verdict: One more ape-man never hurts. ***.

TIP OFF GIRLS

The cast of "Tip Off Girls"

TIP OFF GIRLS (1938). Director: Louis King. 

Joseph Valkus (J. Carrol Naish) is head of a criminal outfit that hijacks trucks. He uses a hard-boiled gal named Rena (Evelyn Brent of Holt of the Secret Service) to snare drivers on the road and in coffee shops, then -- boom! Valkus' secretary, Marjorie (Mary Carlisle), is at first unaware of what's going on, but later works with undercover agent Bob Anders (Lloyd Nolan) to trip up the gang. Working for Valkus are Red Deegan (Buster Crabbe of King of the Congo), Tom Benson (Roscoe Karns) and chief enforcer, Marty (Anthony Quinn). Tip Off Girls certainly has an interesting and adept cast and is fast-paced and reasonably snappy. The plot seems strictly poverty row, but this was actually released by Paramount. Or course Pierre Watkin is in the cast -- as he seems to be in every other movie ever made -- and is as utterly forgettable as ever. Anthony Quinn makes an effective tough guy but you wouldn't necessarily have suspected that much bigger things were in store for him in only a few years.

Verdict: Not bad little melodrama. **12/

HIT THE DECK

HIT THE DECK (1955). Director: Roy Rowland.

Young sailor Danny (Russ Tamblyn of Follow the Boys) is the son of rear admiral Smith (Walter Pidgeon). When Danny thinks that his sister, Susan (Jane Powell), a show business aspirant, may be taken advantage of by theater star Wendell Craig (Gene Raymond), he and his Navy buddies Rico (Vic Damone of Athena) and Bill (Tony Martin) break into his apartment where he sits with Susan and assault him. Their stupid actions result in the sailors being chased all over Manhattan by the shore patrol (including Alan King in an early role). Meanwhile Danny falls for Carol (Debbie Reynolds), who appears in Craig's show, and Ginger (Ann Miller) despairs that long-time fiance Bill will ever marry her. Rico's mother (Kay Armen of Hey Let's Twist) finds that her fiance, Peroni (J, Carrol Naish), may find her too old when he sees she's got a grown son. The "plot" is just an excuse to hang some songs and dance numbers on, so we've got Powell doing the snappy "Sometimes I Love You," Armen and the cast doing "Sing, Hallelujah!" and other numbers. Miller is typically saucy, Martin and Powell can sing, but Naish, Armen, and especially Gene Raymond make the best impressions. The silly  picture aspires to funniness but never quite gets there.

Verdict: More widescreen Technicolor twaddle. **.

THAT NIGHT IN RIO

Carmen does her thing!

THAT NIGHT IN RIO (1941). Director: Irving Cummings.

"If I can't be happy with another man's wife, how can I be happy with my own?" -- Pierre.

Larry Martin (Don Ameche) is an entertainer with a jealous and tempestuous girlfriend, Carmen (Carmen Miranda of Copacabana). Larry puts on an act in which he impersonates the wealthy Baron Duarte (also played by Ameche), who has a rather cold marriage to his wife, the baroness (Alice Faye). Due to a business foul-up, the baron has to leave town, and his advisers (S. Z. Sakall and Curt Bois) importune Larry to impersonate the baron -- which causes numerous complications but may save a marriage as well as Larry's relationship with Carmen. That Night in Rio is a big, kitschy, Technicolor musical with spirited performances and fun songs (by Gordon and Warren), including Miranda's "Chicki Chicki Boom" and "Ai Yi Yi." The three lead performers are all terrific, and there's excellent support from J. Carrol Naish [The Kissing Bandit] as rival businessman Machado and Frank Puglia [20 Million Miles to Earth] as manservant, Pedro. Maria Montez plays one of the young ladies but hasn't any lines that I recall. Leonid Kinskey plays Pierre, who is hopelessly in love with the baroness. A similar plot was used for a Maurice Chevalier starrer, as well as for On the Rivera with Danny Kaye.

Verdict: It's hard not to like this amiable nonsense. ***.

THINK FAST, MR. MOTO

Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto

THINK FAST, MR. MOTO (1937). Director: Norman Foster.

"Half of the world spends its time laughing at the other half -- and both are fools." -- Mr. Moto.

"Strange people, these Americans." -- ditto.

On a liner heading for China, a mysterious Japanese man named Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) encounters a pleasant young fellow named Bob Hitchings (Thomas Beck), whose father owns the steamship company. Bob falls hard for another mysterious person, Gloria (Virginia Field), who is employed as a singer at the International Club in Shanghai. Gloria's employer, Nicolas Marloff (Sig Ruman) is up to some skulduggery and Mr. Moto seems to have an uncertain role in this. Is he good guy or bad? Although Think Fast, Mr. Moto, the first of the Mr. Moto films, has a workable script and a fast pace, its primarily the performances that put it over, with Lorre superb as the importer who dabbles in detective work as a sideline, especially where his own concerns are involved. Thomas Beck is quite appealing as Bob, and Virginia Field [Repeat Performance] offers another of her expert portrayals as the mystery woman who has, perhaps, gotten herself in too deep. John Rogers scores as ship's steward, Carson, who may be hiding a shiv under his likable exterior, and there are nice turns from J. Carrol Naish as an assassin; Murray Kinnell as a business associate of Bob's father; and Lotus Long [Mr. Wong in Chinatown] as a hotel switchboard operator who helps Moto and is nearly killed for her troubles. Thomas Beck and Murray Kinnell both appeared in Charlie Chan in Paris.

Verdict: Good, snappy introduction to the Mr. Moto series. ***.

THE WHISTLER

Richard Dix

THE WHISTLER (1944). Director: William Castle.

This is the first of several Columbia films (and later a TV series) based on the radio show where a weird, whistling figure narrates mystery stories, as he does in this film. Earl Conrad (Richard Dix) is despondent after the death of his wife, Clair, and arranges to have a hit man murder him. Then Conrad discovers that Clair is still alive, and tries to call off the hit man. Unfortunately the go-between, Vigran (Don Costello),  has been killed by the police, and the hit man (J. Carrol Naish), who has been paid, thinks it is a point of honor to finish his assignment. The basic premise of the film was undoubtedly used in other movies both before and after The Whistler, but it has effective variations, Castle's direction is adroit, and the acting is generally good. Naish is a bit miscast as the hit man, a role that would have been better played by Peter Lorre. Joan Woodbury has a vivid turn as Vigran's angry wife, who blames Conrad for her husband's death, and Trevor Bardette scores as a sinister bum in a men's shelter where Conrad is hiding out. Billy Benedict, Byron Foulger, Cy Kendall, Alan Dinehart, and Gloria Stuart (as Conrad's secretary, who is secretly in love with him) also have roles of varying importance. One puzzling aspect of the film is it is never fully explained how a woman, Claire, who supposedly drowns on a vacation winds up in a Japanese POW camp. Later Whistler films include The Secret of the Whistler and The Return of the Whistler.

Verdict: Interesting low-budget suspense film. ***.

THE KISSING BANDIT

Kathryn Grayson and Frank Sinatra

THE KISSING BANDIT (1948). Director: Laslo Benedek.

"You kiss women you don't even know, whom you've never been introduced to?"

Ricardo (Frank Sinatra) comes down to California in a pre-statehood period to take over his late father's business. Unfortunately Ricardo thinks his father's business is an inn which is really just the front for the man's true activities as the notorious "kissing bandit," who terrorized the land but made all the ladies swoon. Ricardo's friend Chico (J. Carrol Naish) tries to groom the young man to take over as the bandit, but the problem is that shy Ricardo hasn't kissed a girl in his life! Further complications ensue when a tax man arrives from Spain, the snooty Count Belmont (Carleton G. Young), accompanied by  his security chief General Toro (Billy Gilbert); Ricardo and Chico wind up impersonating them at the home of Don Jose (Mikhail Rasumny of Her Husband's Affairs), whose beautiful daughter Teresa (Kathryn Grayson) has fallen for Ricardo and vice versa. Frank Sinatra gives one of his best performances -- playing a milquetoast with no experience with the ladies! -- in The Kissing Bandit, and is both charming and amusing, resisting any attempts to wink at the audience and suggest he's really a "stud." Naish is simply superb as Chico, losing himself, as this fine actor generally does, in his comical characterization. Grayson with her beautiful voice is lovely and adept. Mildred Natwick [Peyton Place] scores as Teresa's Aunt Isabella, who tells her niece at the approach of the Kissing Bandit on the highway that she "will make the sacrifice" and get kissed by the notorious bandit instead; Isabella also develops a hankering for Chico/General Toro. Clinton Sundberg [Living in a Big Way] is notable as the servile Gomez, as are Young and Gilbert. The score is quite nice, with such numbers as "Tomorrow Brings Romance;" "Siesta;" "Love is Where You Find It;" and, especially, "If I Steal Your Heart." [The composers are not credited but Andre Previn may have been one of them.] Another highlight is a lively dance number with Ricardo Montalban, Ann Miller, and Cyd Charisse.

Verdict: Cute and very entertaining MGM musical with wonderful performances from all. ***.

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. Season 3

Reta Shaw as a sinister THRUSH agent

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. Season Three.  1966.

Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Illya Kurakin (David McCallum), as well as Mr. Waverly (Leo G. Carroll), are back for a third season of Uncle. Fans of the show generally consider this the worst of the four seasons, as there were times the program began to resemble an out and out comedy a la Get Smart. In spite of this, some of the more absurd episodes were fun. The first two episodes concerned homicidal females: "Her Master's Voice" had the mesmerized staff at a girls' school taking after the agents; and the memorably batty "The Sort of Do-It-Yourself Dreadful Affair" featured killer robots modeled on beautiful women. The entertaining two-part "Concrete Overcoat Affair" was turned into the theatrical feature The Spy with the Green Hat. A silly but zesty episode had the wonderful Reta Shaw [Sanctuary] as a THRUSH operative trying to find a scientist (Victor Borge) with a dangerous formula in his head in "The Suburbia Affair." A ray that could put people into instant suspended animation figured in "Deadly Smorgasbord." "Off-Broadway Affair" starred Shari Lewis in a tale of THRUSH using a theater to gain access to computer info. At least two of the season's episodes were not campy. "Galatea Affair" starred Joan Collins [Tales that Witness Madness] as a woman trained to take the place of a lookalike, a baroness working for you-know-who. "The Candidate's Wife" also featured a double substituted for the wife (Diana Hyland of Jigsaw) of a presidential nominee. Understandably, these were two of the season's best episodes.

Fans generally consider the worst episode to be "The Super Colossal Affair" in which the mob drops a bomb on Los Angeles which turns out to be -- unfortunately for poor Illya -- a ten ton stink bomb! Okay, this is a far cry from what the fans were hoping for, but I have to say this episode is absolutely hilarious, which was generally not true for many of its campy, would-be comical episodes -- yes, "Super Colossal" was not the worst episode of season three. J. Carrol Naish is very funny in this story as well.

Verdict: A comedown from seasons one and two, but still entertaining. **1/2.

CHARLIE CHAN AT THE CIRCUS

George Brasno and Keye Luke

CHARLIE CHAN AT THE CIRCUS (1936). Director: Harry Lachman.

Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) takes his wife and twelve children to the circus and becomes embroiled in another mystery when one of the co-owners, the unpleasant Joe Kinney (Paul Stanton), is murdered. Suspects include Kinney's partner, Gaines (Francis Ford); the gorilla trainer, Blake (John McGuire of Sea Raiders); aerial artist Marie (Maxine Reiner), who was Kinney's fiancee; Marie's sister, Louise (Shirley Deane); circus worker Tom Holt (J. Carrol Naish) and Nellie Farrell (Drue Leyton), who claims to be the dead man's widow. Surely the killer couldn't be one of the adorable dancing midgets, Tim (George Brasno) and Tiny (Olive Brasno), nor Caesar the gorilla (Charles Gemora), and certainly not Lee Chan's pretty crush Su Toy (Shia Jung)? Keye Luke has a lot to do in this installment and emerges as comic relief, especially in a very funny scene when he and little Tim pretend to be a mother and her baby so they can follow one of the suspects! Shirley Deane appeared in several Jones Family films such as Educating Father as daughter Bonnie. Drue Leyton comes off very different in this than she was in Charlie Chan in London.

Verdict: Highly engaging Charlie Chan adventure. ***.

NO OTHER WOMAN

NO OTHER WOMAN (1933). Director: J. Walter Ruben.

Anna (Irene Dunne) is in love with steel worker Jim (Charles Bickford), but she despises their environment and wants to have a life without soot and noise and comparative poverty. Jim has no such ambitions, but Anna marries him anyway. When a friend named Joe (Eric Linden) develops a new dye formula, Anna importunes Jim to go in with him, although at first he stubbornly resists. But eventually he succumbs and before you know it he and Anna are living on easy street -- and then the real troubles start, especially in the form of slinky vamp Margot (Gwili Andre). This rags-to-riches soap opera would be forgettable were it not for the performances and an exciting court room scene where Anna pulls out all the stops to get her man back. [One may wonder why she would want him, as he proves to be a first-class stinker.] J. Carrol Naish has a small role as Jim's lawyer, Bonelli, another Italian role for the Irish actor.

Verdict: There have been worse. **1/2.

GREAT OLD ACTORS -- J. CARROL NAISH

J. CARROL NAISH (1896 - 1973). NOTE: In his early credits Naish's name was spelled "Carroll" with two "l"s.

The great character actor J. Carrol Naish had over 200 film roles to his credit in his long and distinguished career, and he acquitted himself admirable in virtually every single role.

After many bit parts, one of his more memorable early roles was as Sun Yat Ming in the Loretta Young/Edward G. Robinson starrer The Hatchet Man. Naish played a friend of Robinson's who doesn't realize that the latter has been sent to kill him. He supported Robinson again in Two Seconds, and once again was excellent. When he did Crooner, playing the manager of a nightclub that employers David Manners as a singer, he showed his flair for comedy.

Although Naish was of Irish ancestry, he seemed to play more Italians and other ethnic types, although he had at least one Irish role.

Naish appeared in everything from Charlie Chan, Bulldog Drummond, and Mr. Moto mysteries to more prestigious films such as Anthony Adverse with Fredric March and Charge of the Light Brigade. You could find him in musicals (Down Argentine Way), dramas (Tales of Manhattan), horror films (Dr. Renault's Secret) and serials (Batman as the sinister, cackling Dr. Daka).

He did a lot of television work in the sixties; his last film was Dracula vs. Frankenstein in 1971, about which the less said the better. Better to remember that he was Chief Sitting Bull in Annie Get Your Gun, John Garfield's father in Humoresque with Joan Crawford, worked with everyone from Mario Lanza to Frank Sinatra to Barbara Stanwyck in Clash By Night. In House of Frankenstein Naish stole the picture from all the other actors and monsters with his striking portrayal of the tormented hunchback Daniel.

Naish was one of that rare breed of character actors of whom it can be safely said : They just don't make 'em like that anymore!