A DOLL'S HOUSE (1959)

Julie Harris and Christopher Plummer

A DOLL'S HOUSE (1959 telefilm). Director: George Schaefer. NOTE: This production was broadcast Live.

Nora Helmer (Julie Harris) is married to a man, Torvald (Christopher Plummer), who is on the verge of great success, and their marriage seems to be happy -- on the surface. Two visitors bring upsetment to Nora's life: her old friend, Kristine (Eileen Heckart), a widow whose life turned out quite differently from Nora's; and Nils Krogstad (Hume Cronyn), who lent Nora money some time ago in order for her to secretly help her husband. Now Nils is pressuring Nora to make sure her husband doesn't fire him, or the truth will come out -- that Nora forged her late father's signature in order to get the money. An added complication is that the Helmers' good friend, Dr. Rank (Jason Robards) tells Nora that he is madly in love with her. Nora can only hope that Torvald will react with understanding if the truth about the loan and her criminal actions comes out, but she may get a very unpleasant surprise.

Eileen Heckart with Harris

This truncated TV version of one of Henrik Ibsen's greatest plays and one of the earliest masterpieces to have a feminist perspective (without hitting you over the head with it) boasts some excellent performances from the entire cast, although Robards never seems capable of playing fervid love scenes convincingly. Although she is certainly given cause, some may find Nora's seemingly abrupt character change to be equally unconvincing, along with some of her actions at the end, although that may be due to the cuts in the text made in the teleplay. In any case A Doll's House is a great play and even this abbreviated version is compelling and suspenseful.

Verdict: Worthwhile to see even this imperfect version of a masterpiece with such a great cast. ***. 

BY LOVE POSSESSED

Lana Turner and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. 

BY LOVE POSSESSED (1961). Director: John Sturges.

Two law partners in a small town have personal problems to go with legal ones. Arthur Winner (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) is afraid that his wife, Clarissa (Barbara Bel Geddes) and son Warren (George Hamilton) feel completely disconnected from him. Julius Penrose (Jason Robards of Philadelphia) is afraid to get close to his tippling wife, Marjorie (Lana Turner), because of physical problems which undoubtedly include impotency. Meanwhile Arthur's father-in-law, Noah Tuttle (Thomas Mitchell), the head of the firm, seems to be senile and may have even committed embezzlement. Just as Arthur and Marjorie draw closer for an illicit relationship, Warren is accused of rape by the town tramp, Veronica (Yvonne Craig), with his girlfriend, Helen (Susan Kohner of The Gene Krupa Story) waiting in the wings.

Jason Robards (Jr.) and Lana Turner

Although her part is not even that large, Lana Turner was obviously cast and headlined so that the public would think they had another Peyton Place on their hands, which is not the case. Despite all the heavy breathing (especially on Hamilton's part) and other goings-on, By Love Possessed is neither strong drama nor even a trashy guilty pleasure. Zimbalist, who has the biggest part, is adequate and smooth but as bland and pedestrian as ever. He and Turner and some other cast members give overly earnest line readings as if they thought they were reciting something profound. Sometimes there is some interesting dialogue, such as when Veronica tells Warren "If I get drunk and pass out it's no fun for me, and if you get drunk and pass out it's no fun for me." Later Arthur tells his son: "Your generation doesn't have a monopoly on sex, legal or otherwise -- you just talk about it more."

Unrequited: George Hamilton with Susan Kohner

Jason Robards seems a mite uncomfortable acting with Lana, and his performance is actually only adequate. Bel Geddes [Caught] is playing the wise, warm and womanly role years before she enacted same on Dallas but she does it in a rather bland fashion. Old pros Mitchell and Everett Sloane as a doctor are more impressive, and the younger generation of Hamilton, Kohner, and Craig are also on the money. Jean Willes has a small role as a former prostitute suing her late paramour's estate, and she is fine. As for the story, everything with both couples is neatly resolved by the finale, but Warren's fate in the rape trial is left unrevealed, although it's hard to believe anyone would find Veronica -- who always refers to herself in the third person -- a creditable witness. The audience is supposed to be devastated by the sad fate of Helen, but we never get to know her well enough to feel anything for her. Elmer Bernstein's musical score has a few nice moments, but is also a bit sappy, which is no more than the picture deserves.

Verdict: This talky flick would have been more fun if it were just a blatant trash wallow. **. 

MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1971)

Christine Kaufmann and Jason Robards

MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1971). Director: Gordon Hessler.

In Paris around the turn of the century, Cesar Charron (Jason Robards of Philadelphia) runs a Grand Guignol theater that nightly presents an adaption of Poe's story "Murders in the Rue Morgue." First the actor playing the orangutan is murdered with acid, and then more people who used to work for Charron, including an actress turned prostitute and an escape artist, are killed the same way. Charron fears that the killer is a former associate, Rene Marot (Herbert Lom), whose faced was once disfigured with acid and who supposedly took out his anger by axing the woman he loved (Lilli Palmer). Marot committed suicide and Charron transferred his affections from the dead woman to her daughter, Madeleine (Christine Kaufmann of Constantine and the Cross), whom he later married. But if Marot is truly dead, how can he be the killer? This is also a question for Inspector Vidocq (Adolfo Celi).

Herbert Lom and Christine Kaufmann

Despite its intriguing plot, Murders in the Rue Morgue is not a very compelling nor entertaining picture. Robards doesn't seem to have any feel for this kind of material, and Lom is generally forced to run about in a mask and opera cape as if he were in out-takes from the 1962 version of Phantom of the Opera.  Lilli Palmer only appears in flashbacks and manages to retain her dignity. Michael Dunn adds a bit of flavor in his portrayal of Marot's friend, Pierre, but his role is never clearly defined. The story is good, the motive for the murders makes sense, but the picture is clumsy, disjointed, and at times almost laughable. After the main story is over and its revelations revealed, there is a long, slow and dull post-script with Madeleine being chased around in the theater that, if possible, sinks the picture even further.

Verdict: Highly disappointing horror film, which is no better than the 1932 Murders in the Rue Morgue with Bela Lugosi. *1/2.

PHILADELPHIA

Tom Hanks

PHILADELPHIA (1993). Director: Jonathan Demme.

"Everyone in this room is your friend, more than your friend -- family." -- Wheeler to Beckett.

Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) is a young lawyer in Philadelphia who is going places -- until he gets AIDS. Although he tries to hide it from the partners, he is fired (just as much for being gay as for his illness) on a trumped up charge of incompetence. Turned down by most lawyers for a wrongful dismissal lawsuit, he is finally represented by ambulance chaser and part-time homophobe Joe Miller (Denzel Washington). Although Charles Wheeler (Jason Robards), the head of the firm, is importuned to settle with Beckett, the crusty old lawyer is not about to give in ... Philadelphia, the first major American movie to deal with AIDS and homophobia, is an admirable if flawed motion picture. It doesn't shy away from stark realities such as depicting the illness and its effect on other people; the way that gay partners are not considered "family" in the hospital; invisible gays and closet cases; and difficult questions about so-called "risky" behavior. On the other hand, with so many points to be made on such an issue, the characters sort of get lost, and the viewer probably gets to know Joe Miller better than it does Andrew Beckett. Andrew's partner Miguel (Antonio Banderas) is only given a couple of scenes, remains a distant figure, and worse, the two men seem more like friends than partners -- it's almost as if Banderas was afraid to ruin his "macho" image by kissing Hanks. Hanks [Road to Perdition] won a Best Actor Oscar, and is quite good, even if he's perhaps a bit too "fluttery" on certain occasions [the film seems to show the diversity of the gay male community, and even indulges in some stereotype-busting at times]. Washington [American Gangster], Robards [You Can't Take It With You], and Mary Steenburgen as opposing counsel are excellent, and there's an effective cameo by director Roger Corman as one of Beckett's former clients. As for the music (the main score is by Howard Shore), the soundtrack makes effective use of Maria Callas singing "La mamma morta" from Giordano's Andrea Chenier, although one wonders if either Bruce Springsteen (Oscar winner for the title tune) and Neil Young (composer of the haunting end-title piece "City of Brotherly Love") knew the subject matter before they wrote the songs.

Verdict: Whatever its imperfections this is an often powerful and very affecting picture. ***1/2.

YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU

YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU (1984 telefilm). Directed by Ellis Rabb and Kirk Browning.

This is a filmed version of a stage production of the famous comedy by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. In the year 1938, Alice Sycamore (Maureen Anderman) is dating and hopes to marry her boss, VP Tony Kirby (Nicholas Surovy), but she greatly fears that his comparatively stuffy parents might disapprove of her highly unconventional and eccentric family. This includes her mother, Penny (Elizabeth Wilson), who began writing bad plays when she accidentally got a typewriter; her father Paul (Jack Dodson), who makes firecrackers for a living; her sister Essie (Carol Androsky), who has been practicing dancing for eight years, but according to her instructor, "stinks;" and her grandfather (Jason Robards Jr.) who dropped out and stopped paying taxes many, many years ago. George Rose is hilarious as the Russian dance instructor and Colleen Dewhurst has a nice turn as the Grand Duchess Olga Katrina who is now working at Shraft's. Anderman and Surovy make a nice pair of lovers, and Richard Woods and Meg Mundy are swell as Tony's parents, who arrive on the wrong night and find the household in its usual chaos. Wilson, Dodd and Robards are fine, and there's also nice work from Rosetta LeNoire as Reba and Arthur French as her boyfriend, Donald, as well as Alice Drummond as the dunken actress Mrs. Wellington. The entire cast is splendid in fact.

Verdict: Very funny and well-acted. ***1/2.

THE MIRACLE RIDER

THE MIRACLE RIDER (1935). 15 chapter Mascot serial. Directed by Armand Schaefer and B. Reeves Eason.

In this “modern-day” Western serial, the comparatively bland Tom Mix is cast as Texas Ranger Tom Morgan, who comes up against Zarnoff (Charles Middleton), who wants to scare the Indians off a reservation because it holds a mine with an explosive ore. Zarnoff uses a airship to try and convince the Indians that a deadly “Firebird” is on the loose. The ore is used to make formula X49, which is employed to create a fire-causing beam of destruction. Not even the great Middleton can save this dull serial that is poorly edited and lacks suspense. The only good thing about it is the snappy theme music that opens each episode. Joan Gale plays Ruth; Bob Fraser is Black Wing, and Jason Robards is Carlson.

Verdict: Below the level of most other Mascot serials. *1/2.