THE KILLING

Marie Windsor and Vince Edwards

THE KILLING (1956). Director, co-screenplay: Stanley Kubrick.

Ex-con Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) has gathered together a motley group to rob a race track: bartender Mike (Joe Sawyer); cop Randy (Ted de Corsia of The Big Combo); sniper Nicky (Timothy Carey); front man Marvin (Jay C. Flippen), muscular Maurice (professional wrestler Kola Kwariani); and track employee George (Elisha Cook, Jr.). But George, who wants to participate so he can buy things for his unfaithful wife, Sherry (Marie Windsor), is unaware that she has taken a lover, Val (Vince Edwards), and when these two learn about the robbery they cook up their own plans ...

Elisha Cook Jr. and Marie Windsor

The Killing is Kubrick's third theatrical film (aside from some documentaries), and it is one of his best. He managed to get excellent performances from the cast, with Windsor being a stand-out along with Elisha Cook, Jr., [House on Haunted Hill] who here is given one of the best roles of his career and runs with it. The other cast members are all on the mark, including Dorothy Adams as Mike's bedridden wife, Ruthie. Colleen Gray gets only a few moments as Johnny's girlfriend, but she's fine, and Carey makes a weird and effective Nicky, who literally shoots horses. Lucien Ballard's cinematography is first-class, and Gerald Fried's musical score adds to the film's taut and suspenseful atmosphere.

Sterling Hayden with Jay C. Flippen 

Jim Thompson's dialogue is occasionally forgettable ("she has a dollar sign where her heart should be"), but there's also an interesting interchange between Marvin and Johnny in which the former tells the latter that he practically thinks of him as a son, but then virtually suggests that they run away together, although the implications of this go unexplored. The film has an ironic, knock-out ending that really delivers a wallop. The movie is generally filmed in long cuts and the tension would have been increased with sharper editing. As good as this is, I would have loved to see what this would have been like had Hitchcock directed it. Another interesting Kubrick film is Eyes Wide Shut.

Verdict: One of the best caper movies ever made. ***1/2. 

LOOKING FOR LOVE

Connie Francis sings and swings!

LOOKING FOR LOVE (1964). Director: Don Weis.

Libby Caruso (Connie Francis) isn't making it as a singer, so she decides she'll become a housewife instead -- all she needs is the right man. She sets her cap for a standoffish fellow named Paul (Jim Hutton), but he's more interested in her invention, a "lady valet." This somehow gets Libby on the Tonight show where she wows everyone with her singing and winds up with a spectacular career. On the verge of going off on a grand tour, Libby has one last chance to get Paul to marry her ... Looking for Love is utterly ridiculous but quite entertaining, bolstered by a fine lead performance by the highly charismatic Francis. Francis proves to be an outstanding singer as well, doing jazz numbers, ballads, and even "Be My Love" with equal aplomb. In spite of this, Francis only did four real movies. Joby Baker plays a friend who is carrying a torch for Libby, and Susan Oliver really scores as her roommate, Jan. The most intriguing cameo is by Joan Marshall (Jean Arliss of Homicidal) who looks gorgeous and is a lot of fun as one of the women interviewed for a spokeswoman job for the Lady Valet. Jay C. Flippen [Carnival Story] is fine as the manufacturer of Libby's invention -- Flippen's wife wrote the screenplay for this --  and there are guest appearances by Danny Thomas and Johnny Carson. Barbara Nichols [The George Raft Story] has a nice bit as another potential spokesperson until she learns that Libby is taking over her spot on the Thomas show. The snappy songs help a lot and Francis is delightful.

Verdict: Amiable nonsense with some great singing. **1/2.

CARNIVAL STORY

Anne Baxter and George Nader

CARNIVAL STORY (1954). Director: Kurt Neumann.

"If you were starving to death, howling for food, I wouldn't throw you a rotten bone."

In this arresting and amusing melodrama, a female pickpocket named "Willie" (Anne Baxter) joins up with an American circus traveling in Germany. She falls hard for her first benefactor, Joe Hammond (Steve Cochran), but winds up doing a high-diving act with Frank Collini (Lyle Bettger). The third man in her life is photographer Bill Vines (George Nader), not to mention the circus owner Charley (Jay C. Flippen) and the mute strong man Groppo (Adi Berber). While hardly a filmic masterpiece, Carnival Story is very entertaining and Baxter gives a riveting performance, be it great acting or not. The supporting cast is also quite good, and there's a nice, evocative score by Willy Schmidt Gentner. Part Italian opera, part E.C. horror story, part masochistic romance, the movie is a lot of fun. Neumann also directed Kronos and Mohawk.

Verdict: Anne chews up the scenery, the dialogue, and everything else -- good for her! ***.

A WOMAN'S SECRET

Maureen O'Hara

A WOMAN'S SECRET (1949) Director: Nicholas Ray.

Flashbacks relate what led up to the shooting of young singer, Susan Caldwell (Gloria Grahame), nicknamed Estrellita, who is the protege of Marian Washburn (Maureen O'Hara, pictured), who took over Susan's career when she lost her own singing voice just as she was on the verge of making it. This sounds like it might make for a very juicy soap opera at the very least, but what results is a pretty boring, minor-league account, with Marians' boyfriend Luke (Melvyn Douglas) talking the whole business over with police inspector Jim Fowler (Jay C. Flippen); Mary Philips is fun as Fowler's take-charge wife. Flashbacks are not very riveting or compelling. Victor Jory is fine as an impresario who is smitten with Susan, and Bill Williams turns up as a man from her past. Gloria Grahame is excellent as Susan, but the movie that surrounds her is a comparatively dull disappointment.

Verdict: Not even worth wasting a rainy day for. *1/2.