MURDER IN THE MUSIC HALL

William Marshall and Vera (Hruba) Ralston

MURDER IN THE MUSIC HALL (1946). Director: John English.

Lila Leighton (Vera Ralston) is a figure skater who appears in an ice show on the stage of a music hall. She is contacted by Carl Lang (Edward Norris), who spent five years in the penitentiary for killing a man named Douglas. Now Carl tells Lila that he was only covering for her, that he knows she killed Douglas out of jealousy. Lila is still digesting this absurd accusation when Carl himself is murdered, literally stabbed in the back in his penthouse. With the aid of her boyfriend, handsome conductor Don Jordan (William Marshall), Lila tries to ferret out who killed Carl before she herself is accused of the crime by Inspector Wilson (William Gargan). The suspects include Lila's fellow performers -- Millicent (Helen Walker of Nightmare Alley), Diane (Julie Bishop of Why Men Leave Home), and Gracie (Ann Rutherford) -- as well as Rita Morgan (Nancy Kelley of The Bad Seed), the wife of gossip columnist George Morgan (Jerome Cowan). 

Suspects: Helen Walker, Ann Rutherford, Julie Bishop

Murder in the Music Hall is a well-turned-out mystery from Republic studios starring the wife, Ralston, of the studio head. The plot has interesting aspects, especially concerning a certain blind stranger, although the true identity of this person is obvious from the first. The identity of the murderer, however, is by no means certain but won't come as that much of a surprise, either. Never a particularly great actress, Ralston generally manages to be appealing, as she is in this. Marshall, Norris, Gargan and the ladies are all adept. There are some skillful real-life figure skaters who put on brief acts as well. James Craven, Jack La Rue and Anne Nagle are also in the cast in small roles. Director John English also helmed a number of serials.

Verdict: Acceptable Republic murder mystery with an interesting cast. **1/2. 

VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET

Jerry Lewis

VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET (1960). Director: Norman Taurog.  

Intergalactic visitor Kreton (Jerry Lewis of The Patsy) has a fascination with Earth and attaches himself to a family that consists of businessman Roger Spelding (Fred Clark), wife Rheba (Lee Patrick), and daughter Ellen (Joan Blackman), whose horny boyfriend is Conrad (Earl Holliman of Hot Spell). Apparently Kreton's race has given up sex eons ago so he is fascinated whenever Ellen and Conrad make out. Roger has a neighbor named Mayberry (Gale Gordon), who is convinced the earth is being visited by flying saucers and extraterrestrials, which Roger thinks is utter poppycock until Kreton shows off his abilities. For one thing, whenever Roger or anyone else tries to tell anyone the truth about their visitor, all that comes out of their mouths is "Mary Had a Little lamb." Despite the irritation that Kreton may cause him, Roger appreciates it when he helps him with his boss, Abercrombie (Jerome Cowan). But it isn't long before the authorities take an interest in Kreton ... 

Lee Patrick, Jerry Lewis, and Fred Clark

Visit to a Small Planet is suggested by a play by Gore Vidal, who satirized McCarthyism. All that has been jettisoned to make way for the comedic style of Lewis, which actually fits the basic plot pretty well. Lewis is fine as the lovably dopey Kreton, although he gets competition from Lee Patrick, who is also lovably dopey. Clark, Gordon, Cowan and Holliman are all as professional as ever. Joan Blackman was introduced in this movie although she had already had a few credits; she later did a couple of films with Elvis. Ever-dignified John Williams (of Midnight Lace) is bizarre and perfect casting as Delton, the head of the extraterrestrials, and Ellen Corby is fun as Gordon's wife. Barbara Bostock makes a positive impression as Desdemona, who sings a weird ditty and dances with Lewis in a beatnik coffee shop scene. 

Verdict: Highly imperfect and often silly, but cute and well-acted as well. **3/4. 

PENELOPE

Natalie Wood

PENELOPE (1966). Director: Arthur Hiller.

Penelope (Natalie Wood) is the neglected wife of a bank president, James Elcott (Ian Bannen of Psyche 59). Apparently she has had a problem with stealing -- which gives her pleasure -- for some years, but her crowning achievement, some might say, is robbing her husband's bank on the very day it opens. Two cops -- Lt. Bixbee (Peter Falk) and Sergeant Rothschild (Bill Gunn) -- are called in to investigate, and are quickly on the trail of a blond woman with a French accent who disguised herself as an old lady and changed her clothing and wig in the ladies room. The two cops get closer and closer to Penelope, but ultimately arrest a streetwalker named Honeysuckle Rose (Arlene Golonka). Will Penelope come clean and keep this innocent woman out of jail?

Penelope in old lady drag

Penelope has its amusing moments, but as a major comedy it's a bust. Natalie Wood is cute in the picture, but her character calls more for a kookie Gracie Allen-type -- even Phyllis Diller would have been better in some ways -- and Wood doesn't really have sharp comedic skills. Ian Bannen isn't especially funny, either, but although he's initially rather off-putting, his performance is acceptable. At first Dick Shawn as Penelope's psychiatrist doesn't exactly act as if he's in a comedy, but he has his moments as well. Lila Kedrova and Lou Jacobi enliven the film a bit with their portrayal of a couple who run a dress shop. Jonathan Winters is completely wasted in a terrible flashback wherein he plays Penelope's college professor who literally tries to rape her -- even back in 1966 this sequence must have seemed utterly tasteless.

Peter Falk

Yet Penelope never quite made it onto my Films I Just Couldn't Finish list. That's because the movie is generally watchable, moves fairly quickly, and has some interesting twists to it that keep you  involved. As for the other actors, Peter Falk is fine, although one could argue that he's auditioning for his role on Columbo. Bill Gunn is a likable African-American actor who does what he can with a small if sympathetic part. Norma Crane [Night Gallery] is zesty as Elcott's ex-girlfriend, who just won't let go, and Arlene Golanka [Diary of a Bachelor] really runs with her brief portrayal of Honeysuckle. If you don't blink you'll also see adept bits by Jerome Cowan and Fritz Feld. Wood didn't make another movie for three years after this flick bombed at the box office.  

Verdict:  If the biggest laugh comes from a character's burping, you know a comedy is in trouble. **1/2.                                                                                                                                                    

PRIVATE PROPERTY

Corey Allen

PRIVATE PROPERTY (1960). Written and directed by Leslie Stevens.

Boots (Warren Oates) and Duke (Corey Allen) are drifters who spy a blonde in a corvette and decide to follow her with the temporary assistance of the frightened businessman Ed Hogate (Jerome Cowan). The handsome and more intelligent Duke decides it's time that the older and somewhat simple-minded Boots have a woman, and the blonde, Ann (Kate Manx) -- who lives in a beautiful home with her husband, Roger (Robert Wark) -- has been selected whether she likes it or not. Holing up in an empty house next door, the two watch Ann and plan their next move ...

Robert Wark and Kate Manx

Private Property has its admirers -- it has some atmosphere and moody photography -- but it is by no means a lost masterpiece. The picture takes forever to get going, the antics of the two men and the views of Ann and Roger at home become equally tiresome, there is virtually no suspense, and by the time anything of real interest happens it's far too late to save the picture. Yes, it is clear that Ann, despite her love for her husband, is attracted to Duke, and some sequences almost have a simmering quality, but the chief feeling you get from the film is that Corey Allen -- good-looking, charismatic and talented -- deserved a much bigger career and could have easily played romantic leads. Allen has a rare leading role in this film and is excellent (he later became a very successful director). He gave top-notch, quirky performances in such films as The Big Caper and The Chapman Report.

Allen, Oates, and Cowan

Warren Oates, of course, who is also good, went on to better things. Jerome Cowan appears briefly and is as adept as ever. Kate Manx, who gives an appealing performance, was married to the writer-director Leslie Stevens [Fanfare for a Death Scene] at the time, and did a second film with him, Hero's Island, in which she was James Mason's leading lady! A year after her divorce from Stevens she committed suicide at 35. As for Stevens, he wrote the stage play The Marriage-Go-Round (as well as the screenplay for the adaptation) and created The Outer Limits and It Takes a Thief, among others. Ann and Roger's house in this movie was actually the home of Stevens and Manx.

Verdict: Over-rated B movie features an arresting performance by Allen, who deserved a better vehicle. **1/4, 

THE FAT MAN

Julie London and Rock Hudson

THE FAT MAN  (1951). Director: William Castle.

A dentist named Bromley (Ken Niles of Out of the Past) is knocked unconscious and thrown out of an 18th story window. His secretary, Jane (Jayne Meadows), comes to the corpulent private investigator, Brad Runyan (J. Scott Smart), for help in proving that the dentist's death was murder and not an accident. Suspects include mob boss Gordon (John Russell of Hell Bound); his shady chauffeur, Anthony (Anthony George of Checkmate); a patient named Roy (Rock Hudson) who disappeared after being fitted for a dental plate; Roy's worried wife, Pat (Julie London); and Roy's ex-cell mate, Ed Deets (Emmett Kelly). The large and interesting cast also includes Jerome Cowan as a police lieutenant and Tristram Coffin as a Missing Persons Officer.  The Fat Man is an entertaining, if cold-blooded movie -- hardly anyone registers dismay over the death of the poor dentist, and the Fat Man doesn't seem much bothered by the murder of his client -- but director William Castle keeps things moving at a snappy pace. In this early role for Rock Hudson, it's clear that he had the ability and presence to emerge a major movie star, as he did. Based on a long-running radio series, the character of The Fat Man was created by Dashiell Hammett. This was Brad Runyan's one and only screen appearance. Although J. Scott Smart gives a competent performance as Runyan, it's easy to see why the character never caught on with the public, as he's just not that likable. Julie London makes a positive impression as Pat, although Clinton Sundberg, playing Runyan's major domo, has been seen to better advantage elsewhere. The Fat Man is a bit similar to another fictional detective, Nero Wolfe. Playing a most unusual role considering his usual profession as a clown, Emmett Kelly proves a splendid actor and walks off with the movie. Even the bit parts in this are well-cast.

Verdict:  Absorbing enough mystery. ***. 

THE FULLER BRUSH GIRL

Eddie Albert and Lucille Ball

THE FULLER BRUSH GIRL (1950). Director: Lloyd Bacon. Written by Frank Tashlin.

Sally Elliott (Lucille Ball) is engaged to co-worker Humphrey Briggs (Eddie Albert), and the two have their eye on a home they can't afford. After a spectacular accident at work involving an exploding switchboard, Sally is fired and tries her hand at selling cosmetics as a Fuller Brush girl (she hasn't actually got the job yet, but is kind of "auditioning"). She and Humphrey wind up in the midst of a murder mystery, on the run both from police and from the real killer, winding up on a ship at sea with a bomb aboard! Red Skelton's The Fuller Brush Man was a success, so it was only natural for there to be a Fuller Brush Girl, and Lucy was an inspired choice as star, as she's wonderful in this. Franklin Tashlin's funny script (he also co-wrote Fuller Brush Man), has lots of thrills and laughs, and is full of his trademark inventive "cartoon-style" comedy, such as a great scene when Lucy, wearing several round life preservers, goes rapidly rolling around the deck of the ship and almost goes kerplunk into the ocean. Albert [On Your Toes] provides fine support for Lucy, and there are good performances from Jerome Cowan [Have Rocket, Will Travel] as her boss; Lee Patrick as his wife; Gail Robbins as dancer Ruby Rawlings; Arthur Space as Inspector Rogers; and Jeff Donnell [Night Editor] as Sally's friend, Jane. Red Skelton has a cameo playing himself and a potential customer -- he sells some items to Lucy instead of the other way around! There's a lot of clever stuff in this and the two parrots on the ship (voiced by Mel Blanc) are a scream.

Verdict: Cute picture with lots of laughs and a resplendent Lucy! ***.

THE UNFAITHFUL

Zachary Scott and Ann Sheridan

THE UNFAITHFUL (1947). Director: Vincent Sherman.

While her husband is out of town, Chris Hunter (Ann Sheridan) returns from a party and is attacked in her home, ultimately killing her assailant. Chris tells her husband, Bob (Zachary Scott), as well as the police, that she never met the man, a sculptor named Tanner. But if that's the case, why did Tanner do a bust of a woman who looks exactly like Chris Hunter, and why are some people offering it to her husband for sale ..? This is an excellent Americanized variation on, and post-WW2 updating of, The Letter, but it takes awhile for the viewer to realize it as it has so many interesting elements of its own. Sheridan [Nora Prentiss] gives one of her best performances, and has an especially good moment when she has a heart to heart talk with her husband about things she did when he was overseas and why she did them. Zachary Scott [Ruthless] is also excellent, as is Lew Ayres [Damian: Omen 2] as the friend and lawyer who comes to the couple's assistance. Eve Arden certainly scores in the somewhat edgier-than-usual role of Bob's cousin, Paula, and the dialogue [by David Goodis and James Gunn] as she tries to explain Chris' wartime actions to Bob is trenchant and memorable. Marta Mitrovich is quietly effective as the angry widow, Mrs. Tanner; Steven Geray suitably oily as a kind of blackmailer and art dealer; Jerome Cowan appropriately wily as a prosecutor; and John Hoyt ever-grim as a suspicious police detective. This is probably director Vincent Sherman's [The Damned Don't Cry] finest hour and a half. A first-rate score by Max Steiner and fine Ernest Haller photography complete the ensemble.

Verdict: A snappy, sophisticated picture that on its own terms is nearly as good as the original ***1/2.

THE DENNIS O'KEEFE SHOW

Dennis O'Keefe

THE DENNIS O'KEEFE SHOW. 1959.

This sitcom starring popular actor Dennis O'Keefe lasted for one season in 1959. The premise had him as a newspaper columnist with one son, Randy (Ricky Kelman), and a housekeeper named "Sarge" (played by Hope Emerson after she was replaced on Peter Gunn). The very lovely Eloise Hardt plays a sometimes girlfriend, Karen. Three episodes from this lost, pretty much forgotten series are available at the Internet Archives, and two more on youtube. In "June Thursday" 42-year-old Hal Towne (O'Keefe, who was actually a somewhat older-looking fifty-one at the time)) tries to make a star out of a talented cigarette girl. In another episode Randy sends a note to a cute little girl, but her grandmother (Zazu Pitts) thinks the note is for her and that it was sent by Hal! In "Counterfeiters" two elderly counterfeiters buy tickets from Randy with phoney bills, leading to complications. In another episode Hal tries to romance his son's teacher, upon whom he has an unrequited crush, while another teacher (Nancy Kulp, who was eternally cast as the homely "other woman) tries to get a date with him. The best and most amusing episode you can find on line [on youtube], "The Regency Club," has Hal romancing a snobbish society lady who's only dating him so she can dump him, but he goes her one better with some help from his son, housekeeper, and Karen [why Hal would want any other woman when the very attractive, classy yet down-to-earth Karen is available is the question]. Judging from these episodes, there have certainly been worse sitcoms than The Dennis O'Keefe Show and much better ones as well. The cast is appealing, O'Keefe is fine, Emerson amusing, Kelman a cute kid, and Jerome Cowan scores, as he generally does, as a rival columnist. O'Keefe was in Hold That Kiss, Weekend for Three, and many, many other movies.

Verdict: No I Love Lucy, but O'Keefe fans may enjoy. **1/2.

THE GREAT LIE

Astor, Brent, Davis and who's baby?

THE GREAT LIE (1941). Director: Edmund Goulding. Screenplay by Lenore Coffey. Based on "The Far Horizon" by Polan Banks.

"It's so completely mad!" -- Sandra.

Wealthy Maggie Patterson (Bette Davis) loves rugged Pete Van Allen (George Brent), but she's turned down his marriage proposals once too often and he winds up wedded to, shall we say,  "vibrant" concert pianist Sandra Kovak (Mary Astor). But it turns out that Sandra wasn't quite divorced from her last husband, so Maggie has another chance to snare Pete. When tragedy strikes, Sandra and Maggie enter into a bizarre bargain having to do with Pete's baby, but then the circumstances change dramatically and ... The Great Lie is a very engaging soap opera featuring a vulnerable, lovely Davis and a wicked-sharp and excellent Astor in a battle for the same man, bolstered not only by their performances [*especially Astor's] but some literate dialogue, smooth direction from Goulding [who also put Davis and Brent through their paces in The Old Maid], fine photography from Tony Gaudio, and  an excellent supporting cast headed by a warm, snappy Hattie McDaniel and including Jerome Cowan, Grant Mitchell and Lucile Watson. Brent's character isn't the brightest in the universe, but the main problem is that Brent isn't a good enough actor to get across Van Allen's nuances. Some of the black characters are treated a bit patronizingly, typical of the period, but McDaniel maintains her dignity, and there's a wonderful bit with a young black man in a tree singing a ballad with a very sweet voice and simple sincerity. One of the best sequences in the movie has the two ladies sharing a cabin together in the desert while one awaits the birth of her baby and the other acts like an expectant father! Very amusing at times. Modern-day television soap operas have used variations of this basic plot over and over and over again! *NOTE: Astor won the best supporting Oscar for this.

Verdict: Very entertaining soaper done in high style. ***.

CRY WOLF (1947)

CRY WOLF (1947). Director: Peter Godfrey.

"I am not a placid girl."

James Demarest (Richard Basehart) has just been buried by his uncle, Mark Caldwell (Errol Flynn), when who should show up at the sprawling estate but a woman, Sandra (Barbara Stanwyck), claiming to be his widow. Sandra insists James married her to satisfy certain clauses in a will, and that there's a signed and proper copy of it somewhere. While the search for it goes on Sandra befriends Jim's sister, Julie (Geraldine Brooks), as the two hear strange cries in the night, wonder what's going on in the closed-off wing where Caldwell has his laboratory, and even imagine that Jim is still alive. Cry Wolf works up considerable suspense, even if the ending is a bit predictable and terribly creaky even by 1947 standards.

The movie is based on an old Gothic novel, and while Stanwyck is as good as ever, it's not the type of material that uses the actress to best advantage. For much of the movie Stanwyck is sneaking around like a grown-up Nancy Drew, climbing over trellises, ascending to secret rooms in dumb-waiters, and dropping through sky lights on to convenient cots. While she and the much less talented Flynn play well together, they don't really have much chemistry as a romantic couple. One can't imagine that either one of them was  especially pleased with this assignment. In her film debut, Geraldine Brooks makes a very positive impression, and Richard Basehart and Jerome Cowan are also notable in smaller roles. A very young Patricia Barry [Patricia White] is fine as Angela, the maid. Franz Waxman contributed an interesting theme.

Spoiler alert. The ending to the film is unintentionally hilarious. Flynn and Stanwyck never have a clinch, but instead turn their backs to the camera and walk rapidly away as if they were glad the last scene was over and they could get the hell off the set of this terrible picture!

Verdict: Absorbing, smooth, and intriguing for much of its length but the ending disappoints. **1/2.

MY REPUTATION

MY REPUTATION (1946). Director: Curtis Bernhardt.

Released in 1946, My Reputation was made -- and takes place -- three years earlier. Jessica Drummond (Barbara Stanwyck) has just lost her husband after a long illness, and doesn't quite know how to handle the emptiness she's left with. She has two young boys, a difficult if somewhat wise old mother (Lucile Watson) and some good friends, including Ginna Abbott (Eve Arden), but the loneliness she feels can be crushing. On a holiday with Ginna and her husband Cary (John Ridgely), she accidentally meets Major Scott Landis (George Brent) and the two begin a decidedly unconventional romance... and soon gossipy tongues are wagging. This has a superb, sophisticated, literate script by Catherine Turney, and features another of Stanwyck's sterling star performances. The supporting cast -- Arden, Watson, Esther Dale as the housekeeper, Jerome Cowan as a lecherous married friend, Scotty Beckett as one of her boys and others -- are swell, and George Brent, if not on Stanwyck's level, strikes the right note throughout. This is a lovely, beautifully-made movie with a moving ending. Max Steiner's score is one of his best, and cinematographer James Wong Howe ensured that Stanwyck looks luminescent.

Verdict: Another great Stanwyck picture. ****.

PERRY MASON SEASON 2

PERRY MASON SEASON 2 (1958).

"It's incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial."

Perry Mason continued as a solid series for its second season [For season one click here]. One change in the opening was that Perry's secretary Della Street (Barbara Hale) and his P.I. Paul Drake (William Hopper) were not seated in court at the same table with D.A. Hamilton Burger (William Talman) and Lt. Arthur Tragg (Ray Collins), which was the case in the first season opener. Despite a few merely mediocre episodes, the quality of the writing -- and acting-- remained high. Raymond Burr gave a particularly good performance in "The Spanish Cross," which also featured a superb Arthur Space and Josephine Hutchinson and emerged as one of the very best Mason episodes ever. Other excellent episodes include: "The Purple Woman" with a fine turn by Robert H. Harris [this episode has one of the most loathsome murder victims ever]; "The Shattered Dream" with Osa Massen and a huge diamond; "The Borrowed Brunette" with a terrific Paula Raymond; "The Glittering Goldfish" with Cecil Kellaway, as usual, stealing the show; "The Foot-Loose Doll" with a very young James Kirkwoood [who later became a playwright and novelist] and Robert Bray; "The Lost Last Act" with a notable Jerome Cowan and David Lewis; and "The Howling Dog" with Ann Rutherford and Gregory Walcott. With the exception of maybe five episodes, the rest of the bunch are all at least B+. Perry faced other D.A.s in out of town courtrooms in a couple of episodes, and some stories had him roaming about a bit more than usual.

Verdict: Definitely not "incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial." ***1/2.

HAVE ROCKET, WILL TRAVEL

HAVE ROCKET, WILL TRAVEL (1959). Director: David Lowell Rich. 

Moe, Larry and Curly Joe are employed as janitors at a scientific lab where a pretty, put-upon lady scientist Dr. Ingrid (Anna-Lisa) is threatened with expulsion by the boss (Jerome Cowan) unless she comes up with a rocket fuel that works. Determined to help her because of her kindness to them (not to mention her figure) the stooges come up with their own rocket fuel and wind up accidentally taking off for planet Venus. Amazingly, they do not encounter sexy space babes but rather a friendly talking unicorn, a giant spider (courtesy of Tarantula and Earth vs. the Spider) that shoots out heat rays, and a nasty super computer that shrinks them and creates robot duplicates. This amiable movie is full of old gags that are still funny because they're delivered by old pros. The sequences on Venus are comparatively lame, but there's funny stuff before and after, especially the party scene that closes the movie. Good sport Cowan, who was in The Old Maid and other classy pictures, is a lot of fun as well. 

Verdict: You can't keep a good stooge down. ***.

MR. AND MRS. NORTH (1942)

MR. AND MRS. NORTH (1942). Director: Robert B. Sinclair.

"Oh! Bristles from Brussels!"

There's trouble afoot when a body is found in the apartment of Mr. and Mrs. North (Gracie Allen and William Post Jr.) Paul Kelly [Secret Code] is the cop on the case; Virgina Grey, Jerome Cowan, Tom Conway, Rose Hobart, and others are among the suspects, which include the title couple. There's also a "Fowler Brush" salesman (Felix Bressart) who has important information to impart to the police, if they'll only take him seriously. Allen basically plays the usual daffy characterization that she was famous for; Post provides more sensible support. The film is light-hearted and easy to take, but also quite easy to forget.

Verdict: Gracie is always fun. **.

DEADLINE AT DAWN

DEADLINE AT DAWN (1946). Director: Harold Clurman.

"Golly, the misery that walks around in this pretty, quiet night."

Alex (Bill Williams), a sailor who has to catch a bus at six am to report back to duty, is on leave in Manhattan when he discovers that a woman (Lola Lane) with whom he dallied earlier in the evening has been murdered. A hard-boiled, disillusioned taxi dancer named June (Susan Hayward) feels sorry for him and helps him find out who the real killer is before he has to catch his bus -- or is arrested. They are aided by Gus Hoffman (Paul Lukas), a sympathetic cab driver. Along they way they encounter cops, blackmail victims, shady ladies (one played by Osa Massen), the dead woman's nasty brother (Joseph Calleia), her blind ex-husband, and a sad man (Steven Geray) with white gloved hands who is smitten with Hayward. This isn't much of a mystery -- the identity of the killer is pretty obvious -- but it has an undercurrent of loneliness and lost souls that gives the film a poignant and disturbing edge. Considering that New York is essentially a major character in the film, it's criminal that the movie was clearly shot on Hollywood sound stages and not on location. Clifford Odet's screenplay, awash in great dialogue and interesting characters, was based on the novel by Cornell Woolrich (William Irish). Jerome Cowan demonstrates his versatility as a nervous if exuberant blackmail victim. Hayward offers an interesting portrait of a tough, unpleasant woman who slowly allows her humanity to shine through. Joe Sawyer, who's only seen in the distance, makes an impression as a drunk friend of the dead woman's. The entire cast is excellent.

Verdict: More here than meets the eye. ***.