DAVID AND BATHSHEBA

Gregory Peck and Susan Hayward

DAVID AND BATHSHEBA (1951). Director: Henry King.

King David (Gregory Peck) of Bethlehem is married to Michal (Jayne Meadows) but spots Bathsheba (Susan Hayward) taking a shower on a rooftop across the way. As Bathsheba hoped, David spies her and asks her over, where the two reveal an immediate attraction to one another. But what to do about Uriah, the Hittite (Kieron Moore), a soldier who happens to be married to Bathsheba? It seems David will do just about anything to keep his lover from being stoned to death as an adulteress ... Gregory Peck is not bad as David, but this is an actor who has always had trouble summoning up any kind of passion, even in his scenes with Hayward; he projects strength and nobility but little else. Hayward is more effective as Bathsheba, as is Moore [Satellite in the Sky] as the unwitting Uriah. Meadows [ Enchantment] is oddly cast but okay enough as the jealous, cast-off wife. Raymond Massey [Possessed] is fine as the pious prophet, Nathan, and young Gilbert Barnett makes an impression as David's sinister son, Absolom. James Robertson Justice looks and acts as if he wandered into the movie by mistake; George Zucco makes a better impression as an Egyptian messenger from Pharaoh. The best scene in David and Bathsheba is a flashback which details the well-staged battle between a young David and the hulking Goliath. The contributions of Leon Shamroy (cinematography) and Alfred Newman (score) are also of note. Peck first refers to his lover as Bathsheba than starts calling her Bathsheba; the other characters can't seem to make up their minds as to which pronunciation is correct!

Verdict: A biblical soap opera. **1/2.

I THANK A FOOL

Susan Hayward hurls angry accusations

I THANK A FOOL (1962). Director: Robert Stevens.

"It belongs to the genre in which the plot never stops thickening and significant entrances are made through French windows." -- London Times review.

Dr. Christine Allison (Susan Hayward) is put on trial for the alleged mercy killing of her dying lover and is prosecuted by Stephen Dane (Peter Finch). Christine is convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to two years in jail, then is contacted by a mysterious employer who wishes to hire her services. The employer turns out to be Stephen Dane  -- of course, as Finch is Hayward's co-star --  who wants Christine to look after his emotionally-disturbed wife, Liane (Diane Cilento of The Wicker Man). But Christine senses there are other things wrong in this strange household. Were it not for its upper-class cast, I Thank a Fool would come off like one of those twisty Jimmy Sangster Hammer psycho-thrillers, and frankly, it might have worked better if that's what it had been. The three leads are all excellent, and there's nice work from Kieron Moore [Crack in the World] as the stable keeper, Cyril Cusack as Liane's father, and Athene Seyler as Aunt Heather. The main problem with the movie, which holds the attention without being terribly suspenseful and has some interesting if suspect plot elements, is that it tries to be too clever for its own good. There is -- I think -- a murder finally committed in the final quarter of the film, but the solution to the alleged mystery is completely inexplicable. The sequence (and scenery) when Christine takes Liane on a trip back home to her village in Ireland is quite good. Robert Stevens also directed Finch in In the Cool of the Day.

Verdict: Hayward gives her all but it's not really a worthy project for her -- or Finch. **1/2.

CRACK IN THE WORLD

Kieron Moore and Janette Scott

CRACK IN THE WORLD (1965). Director: Andrew Marton.

Dr. Stephen Sorenson (Dana Andrews) and his team have developed a way to bring magma to the surface for a variety of energy needs, but an atomic bomb must be shot down into the core for it to work. Dr. Ted Rampion (Kieron Moore) is opposed to the idea, sure that it will cause massive earthquakes and severe structural damage to the earth. Guess who's right? A fissure is formed in the Mercedo trench which threatens to stretch at 3.5. miles an hour and could literally tear the world apart. Complicating matters is the fact that Rampion used to be the lover of Sorenson's wife, Maggie (Janette Scott), herself a scientist. Crack in the World sets up an exciting premise but has too low a budget to do it justice, relying on stock footage and only really coming alive in the final few moments. The performances are fine, however, with the under-rated Dana Andrews [Where the Sidewalk Ends] giving another good account of himself, and Moore [Satellite in the Sky] and Scott [Paranoiac] on top of things. Alexander Knox is also fine as Sir Charles Eggerston, who heads the committee that determines whether or not the rocket should be fired. Most of the film's excitement comes from the score by John Douglas. The love triangle business isn't especially convincing.

Verdict: An early disaster film that didn't start a trend. **1/2.

SATELLITE IN THE SKY

SATELLITE IN THE SKY (1956). Director: Paul Dickson.

An aircraft that can fly higher than ever before, dubbed the "Stardust," is sent on a test flight, and along with it comes a bomb that is also to be tested -- that is, exploded in space. There is some disagreement as to the wisdom of doing this, but things really get out of hand when it is discovered that the bomb, which was supposed to be jettisoned from the ship, is clinging to it magnetically instead. The crew realizes that if they return to Earth without dislodging the bomb, it will explode on the surface and kill thousands of civilians. The players in this tense situation include Commander Mike Hayden (Kieron Moore), Professor Merrity (Donald Wolfit), and reporter Kim Hamilton (Lois Maxwell, Miss Moneypenny of the Bond films), who is a stowaway on the ship. Bryan Forbes plays one of the technicians. There is some attempt at drama in the earlier sections of the film -- Kim thinks space exploration is a waste of time, to Hayden's consternation, and one of the scientists has a neglected wife -- but the movie only really comes alive with the business with the bomb.

Verdict: Acceptable, minor science fiction sans monsters. **1/2.