THE THREE FACES OF EVE

Joanne Woodward and Ken Scott

THE THREE FACES OF EVE (1957). Director: Nunnally Johnson.

Timid Eve White (Joanne Woodward of A Kiss Before Dying) acts strangely at times, so her husband, Ralph (David Wayne), takes her to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Luthor (Lee J. Cobb of Boomerang). During their interview, a different, sexier personality named Eve Black emerges. While Luthor and a colleague at first suspect that Mrs. White is faking, they come to the conclusion that she has multiple personality disorder. Her husband can't quite buy this, and her already troubled marriage begins to disintegrate. Then a third personality, "Jane," makes its presence known ... The Three Faces of Eve is based on a non-fiction book by a psychiatrist, so it's introduced and narrated by Alistair Cooke (who is himself "introduced" in this picture) to let the audience know this is real and serious. Whatever the reality of Eve and multiple personalities, this is an absorbing picture thanks primarily to the performance of Woodward, who won the best actress Oscar. [The part was originally to go to Judy Garland, who would have been interesting.] Woodward is subtle in her effects, never once over-acting, and is moving at times as well. Cobb is also excellent, but David Wayne is ludicrously miscast as the ignorant, stumbling husband, and his attempts to portray him are "Hollywood" acting at its worst. Ken Scott [Desire in the Dust] makes more of an impression as a man who falls in love with "Jane." Nancy Kulp [Strange Bedfellows] is cast as Eve's mother in a brief flashback. One suspects that the reasons for Eve's trauma and her developing this disorder have been cleaned up for the screen. The best sequence has Eve White talking to the doctor and realizing that she -- that is, her personality -- doesn't have much longer to live, and doesn't care. Which begs the question: when a personality disappears does it also, in essence, die? This is much better than the knock-off Lizzie which came out later the same year. Unlike that movie Eve doesn't equate sexuality with evil.

Verdict: Intelligent look at a weird and troubling problem. ***. 

DESIRE IN THE DUST

DESIRE IN THE DUST (1960). Director: William F. Claxton.

Lonnie Wilson (Ken Scott) gets out of prison after six years and comes home to find out the woman who promised to wait for him -- for a very good reason -- Melinda Marquand (Martha Hyer), has gotten married in the meantime. That doesn't stop her from fooling around with Wilson (see photo), but the latter tells her husband (Brett Halsey) what she's up to when he finds out about the marriage, and Melinda suddenly cries "Rape!" Then there's Melinda's father, Colonel Ben (Raymond Burr) who wants to run for governor, and her mother (Joan Bennett) who became unhinged after her little boy David was supposedly run over by Lonnie and thinks the child is still alive. And why does Melinda call her father by his first name? Hints of incest, anyone?

This is example of what happens when much less talented people try to take on a kind of Tennessee Williams "twisted" Southern family plot but lack the great playwright's brilliance, sensitivity and poetic feeling. With a better script, better acting and certainly better direction, Desire in the Dust might have amounted to some powerful stuff, but it wears out its welcome long before the not-so-melodramatic wind-up. When it comes to playing overbearing patriarchs, Raymond Burr proves no Burl Ives, and Joan Bennett doesn't seem at all sure of what she's doing. Ken Scott is beefy and sexy enough for the role of Lonnie, but while he isn't bad, he generally seems too reigned in throughout the movie. There are some effective enough character turns but the two actors who make the most impression are Douglas Fowley as Lonnie's aged father, and -- surprise -- Martha Hyer as the lamentable, slutty Melinda.

Verdict: Not half as entertaining as Claxton's giant killer bunny rabbit movie Night of the Lepus. **.