CALL NORTHSIDE 777

CALL NORTHSIDE 777 (1948). Director: Henry Hathaway.

"Did it ever occur to you that everyone might be selling that dead cop short? He might have had a mother who scrubbed floors, too."

Chicago Times reporter P. J. McNeal (James Stewart) is assigned to look into an ad offering a $5000 reward for information about an old murder case. Frank Wiecek (Richard Conte), a small-timer, was convicted of shooting a cop and has spent eleven years in jail. His mother, Tillie (Kasia Orzazewski), who scrubs floors for a living, has saved up her money in the hopes someone will come forward with info that may exonerate her son. Initially skeptical, and told by his editor, Kelly (Lee J. Cobb) to keep the human interest story going to sell papers, McNeal eventually comes to believe in Wiecek's innocence and does all he can to overturn his conviction. Call Northside 777, which was based on real-life events, features solid performances from the principals (with especially good work from Orzazewski), as well as Betty Garde [Mr. Lucky] as Wanda Skutnick, the primary witness against Wiecek, and Otto Waldis [Unknown World] as her husband, Boris. Joanne De Bergh has a nice turn as Wiecek's ex-wife, but Helen Walker [Impact] has hardly any screen time as Mrs. McNeal. The picture is briefly stolen by an uncredited actress who certainly delivers in her role as a drunken barfly who gives McNeal much-needed information. The film builds up much suspense as it goes along, has interesting details (even if some are suspect), and a nice score by Alfred Newman. However, you're left with the nagging feeling that this new evidence might well mean Wiecek should get a new trial, but it doesn't absolutely prove his innocence!

Verdict: Real-life suspense story holds the attention. ***1/2.

THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE (1962)

Glenn Ford and Ingrid Thulin with backdrop of Notre Dame

THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE (1962). Director: Vincente Minelli.

This remake of the silent film of the same title has been updated to WW Two. Argentinian Madriaga (Lee J. Cobb) is dispatched with rather quickly, and most of the story takes place in Paris, where an initially superficial Julio Desnoyers (Glenn Ford) has an affair with the married Marguerite Laurier (Ingrid Thulin of The Silence). Julio's father Marcelo (Charles Boyer) had deserted Army service years before and begs his son to fight the Nazis, unaware that Julio has already joined the resistance. This leads to the movie turning into a ersatz spy picture that has Julio going off on a suicide mission and a final confrontation with his cousin Heinrich (Karl Boehm of Sissi). Other characters include Julio's sister Chi Chi (Yvette Mimieux of Light in the Piazza) who joins the resistance much sooner; Marguerite's husband, Etinne (Paul Henreid); and Heinrich's father, Karl (Paul Lukas). It's amazing that adding all the excitement and peril of WW Two, plus technicolor and CinemaScope, has not resulted in a better movie than the original, but a far worse one. A middle-aged Glenn Ford is horribly miscast -- Minelli wanted a more appropriate Alain Delon but MGM nixed it -- and his love affair with Marguerite never for a minute seems passionate or believable. Scenes that should crackle with tension and drama are frittered away by Minelli's lacklustre direction. Not a single actor ever gets a close up, further distancing us from the characters, and Andre Previn's musical score can best be described as insipid. Milton R. Krasner's cinematography is a plus, but the sweeping vistas do little to pull us into the story. Other changes from the silent version include more wartime interaction between the two families -- one French, the other German -- and Etienne is not blinded. A bizarre sequence has Marguerite telling her husband she's leaving him for Julio the exact instant after he shows up, shattered by being tortured, after months away -- what perfect timing! Badly written and poorly made despite all the technological advances, this is a colossal bore. Of the cast, only Charles Boyer makes much of an impression. Like the silent version, this also has shots of phantom horsemen floating through the skies, and this time it seems even hokier.

Verdict: Stick with the original. ** out of 4.

IN LIKE FLINT

James Coburn, Thomas Hasson, Lee J. Cobb

IN LIKE FLINT (1967). Director: Gordon Douglas.

"By this time tomorrow, women will be ruling the world."

"Brain and hair-washing at the same time!"

"An actor as President?"

In this sequel to Our Man Flint, super-adventurer Derek Flint (James Coburn) is contacted by Lloyd Cramden (Lee J. Cobb) of Z.O.W.I. E. when he realizes that he was blanked out for three minutes during a golf game with President Trent (Andrew Duggan). During that time Trent was replaced by a double, a plot engineered by a group of women who plan to sabotage missiles -- Project Damocles -- to gain their ends. The main representative of this women's group is Lisa Norton (Jean Hale), who runs a cosmetic outfit called Fabulous Face that has its headquarters in the Virgin Islands, adjacent to the missile base. Unfortunately for the ladies, General Carter (Steve Ihnat), is only pretending to be an ally and turns on them, forcing the women to engage in Operation Smooch ... In Like Flint is sillier than the worst episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., slow-paced, unfunny for the most part, and with a climax that seems to go on for four hours. Coburn isn't bad in the part, although both Duggan and Cobb make more of an impression. Anna Lee is fine as Elisabeth, one of the older women in the group, but Jean Hale, while very pretty, isn't much of an actress. Searching for two missing lady cosmonauts, Flint winds up in Moscow, where he gets a standing ovation after dancing in a ballet! Yvonne Craig of Batman fame plays a Russian gal who offers Flint a doped cigarette. That same year saw the release of The Thousand Eyes of Sumuru, which was also about a group of women plotters and which was even worse than In Like Flint. The ladies in Flint never seem very menacing, probably due to typical sixties sexism.

Verdict: This could have killed the parody spy genre altogether. **.

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. ***. 

DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1973)

Samantha Eggar

DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1973 telefilm). Director: Jack Smight.

In one of television's more pointless exercises, this TV movie is a remake of the Billy Wilder 1944 classic. The story, based on James Cain's novel, remains the same. Insurance salesman Walter Neff (Richard Crenna) and Phyllis Dietrichson (Samantha Eggar) conspire to do away with her husband (Arch Johnson), hoping to invoke a double indemnity clause in his insurance by making it look like an unusual accident. If you've never seen the original movie, or even if you have, this version will still prove entertaining because of the suspenseful storyline, but compared to the Wilder version with Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson, this is like a high school production. The actors aren't bad, with Eggar making a suitably sociopathic Phyllis and Lee J. Cobb as good as ever in the Robinson role [if not as good as Robinson, whom he apes to some degree]. As for Richard Crenna? He rushes through the opening and closing scenes like a complete amateur [possibly he was directed that way as this telefilm is only 75 minutes long!] but for the rest of the movie he's okay, and was probably cast for the same reason MacMurray [who was much better] was, that likability factor that makes the unpleasant character more palatable. Jack Smight's direction is strictly by the numbers, completely devoid of style, and he does nothing to increase the tension. The murder scene itself might as well be  a trip to the supermarket. It also has to be said that this kind of noirish material plays better in the right time period, the forties, than updated to the seventies.

Verdict: Stick to the original. **1/2.

GREEN MANSIONS

GREEN MANSIONS (1959). Director: Mel Ferrer.

Abel (Anthony Perkins) comes to South American looking for treasure, and learns that a certain forbidden area in the jungle is home to a mysterious bird-girl, Rima (Audrey Hepburn), whom the natives see as a kind of witch and wish to destroy. Abel finds the real woman behind the legend and the two fall in love to face danger and tragedy together. This adaptation of the novel by William Henry Hudson has always had the reputation of being a stinker [by people who have never seen it] primarily due to the miscasting of the leads. Sensitive Tony Perkins as a fortune-hunting adventurer? Sophisticated Audrey Hepburn as a South American native girl? The casting is slightly ridiculous, but both actors manage to rise above it and give not only decent but effective performances, as do Lee J. Cobb (the old man who raised Rima), Nehemiah Persoff, Sessue Hayakawa (king of the natives), and especially Henry Silva, in perhaps his most memorable role, as the rather malevolent Kua-Ko. Joseph Ruttenberg's cinematography is stunning, as is the art direction by E. Preston Ames and William Horning. [Although the credits boast that this was filmed in South America, most of the sequences were shot on colorfully dressed sound stages.] Bronislau Kaper did the score, with some additional music from Heitor Villa-Lobos. Perkins sings "Green Grow the Mansions" not too badly. One particularly memorable scene details the natives' trial-by-insect! Director Mel Ferrer, better known as an actor, was married to Hepburn at the time of filming, and crafted a creditable showcase for his lovely wife.

Verdict: Incurable romantics will probably love the movie; others approach with caution. ***1/2.

THE MAN WHO CHEATED HIMSELF

THE MAN WHO CHEATED HIMSELF (1950). Director: Felix E. Feist.

Wealthy Lois Frazer (Jane Wyatt) shoots the husband she's divorcing right in front of her boyfriend, Lt. Ed Cullen (Lee J. Cobb). She claims the dead man intended to kill her, and it was only self-defense, but even Cullen doesn't quite seem to buy it [the film sort of drops this angle early on]. Nevertheless, he helps Lois cover up the murder, dump the body, and then gets assigned to the case. Assisting him is his younger brother -- and new cop -- Andy, (John Dall of Atlantis, the Lost Continent), which turns out not to be good news for Cullen. Andy isn't as dumb as he looks. Well ... there are lost gems, and there are movies like The Man Who Cheated Himself, which is in no way a classic like D.O.A. The premise is swell, but the script is superficial, with one-dimensional characters, and the only tense sequence is at the climax. The acting is surprisingly mediocre. At first it's fun to watch Wyatt from Father Knows Best acting like a bitchy murderess, but her performance is ultimately odd. Lee J. Cobb walks through the movie with so little passion and nerves that it's as if his character were drugged with a dozen sedatives. Considering what's at stake -- his entire career and jail time --  his laid-back quality is bizarre to say the least. [If Cobb was hoping to suggest that Cullen was supremely confident and above it all, it just doesn't work -- he's simply unemotional.] Dall is such a laughing lightweight in the first half that it's completely unconvincing when he suddenly accuses his brother [on very little solid evidence] and turns all grim and serious. The movie is watchable but little else.

Verdict: This could have been a classic. **.

THE VANISHING SHADOW

Ada Ince with affectionate robot

THE VANISHING SHADOW (12 chapter Universal serial/1934). Director: Louis Friedlander [Lew Landers].

Stanley Stanfield (Onslow Stevens), the son of a man ruined by the wicked Ward Barnett (Walter Miller) finds himself an unexpected ally in the person of Barnett's daughter, Gloria (Ada Ince), who strongly disapproves of her father's activities and hopes to reform him. Fat chance. In the meantime Stanfield -- whom Barnett has framed for murder -- has another ally in weird Professor Van Dorn (James Durkin) who has invented a machine that can make a man vanish, leaving behind only his shadow [hence, the "vanishing shadow"]. Virtually the entire cast disappears using this device at one point or another. Van Dorn has also invented a death ray that can zap plants, buildings and people, and a big robot that runs wild and is almost as much of a threat as the bad guys. There are some lively fist fights in this, and exciting cliffhangers as well: a car is smashed by a train; the death ray runs amok; Gloria walks into an electro-field; and so on. The Vanishing Shadow is not badly acted [look for Lee J. Cobb in a small role] and is a fun if very silly serial.

Verdict: Enjoyable hokum. ***.

GORILLA AT LARGE

GORILLA AT LARGE (1954) Director: Harmon Jones.

When people start getting murdered at a carnival, the police wonder if the culprit is the star attraction, Goliath the gorilla, or someone in an ape suit. Suspects for the latter include the owner Cy Miller (Raymond Burr); his wife, Laverne (Anne Bancroft), who is a trapeze artist who works with Goliath; Joey Matthews (Cameron Mitchell), who has a crush on Laverne; Kovaks (Peter Whitney), Laverne's ex-husband; and a few others. The cops on the case include Lee J. Cobb (The Exorcist), Lee Marvin (Raintree County), and Warren Stevens (Phone Call from a Stranger). [Clearly this is one low-budget movie that has a very interesting cast.] This is a modestly entertaining, generally well-acted thriller that holds the attention if nothing else. Director Hrmon Jones did mostly television work, including a few episodes of Perry Mason. NOTE: Midnite [sic] Movies' remastered DVD looks great in high definition.

Verdict: Fun, even if most of the cast went on to much better things. **1/2.

THIEVES' HIGHWAY

THIEVES' HIGHWAY (1949). Director: Jules Dassin.

Nick Garcos (Richard Conte) comes home from the war and discovers that his father, a trucker, was crippled in a horrible accident caused by a corrupt man named Figlia (Lee J. Cobb). Nick enters the trucking business himself by hauling apples with a partner named Ed (Millard Mitchell) and gets involved with two women, a "good" girl named Polly (Barbara Lawrence), and a hooker named Rica (Valentina Cortese). Conte gives a terrific lead performance but the drama is kind of weak; relationships are not well-delineated. It's no surprise that the most memorable scenes have to do with action: the suspenseful business when Nick is nearly crushed under his truck when he tries to change a blown out tire; and the harrowing moments with Ed's runaway truck when his brakes fail. There's way too much talk about apples early in the picture. Cobb is as good as ever in a typical role for him, but Millard Mitchell nearly walks off with the movie as Ed. The two ladies would have made more of an impression had their roles not been so under-written. Jack Oakie, of all people, makes a strong impression in a serious role as a trucker named "Slob."

Verdict: On the Waterfront it ain't. **.

BOOMERANG

BOOMERANG (1947). Director: Elia Kazan.

A minister in a small town in Connecticut is shot in the back of the head and killed in broad daylight. A lot of pressure is put on the police chief (Lee J. Cobb) to make an arrest, but suspects are in short supply until witnesses identify a serviceman named John Waldron (Arthur Kennedy). Complicating matters is the fact that there are unethical political forces in town, some of which need for Waldron to be convicted, and others who want him to get off even if he's guilty. Prosecuting attorney Henry Harvey (Dana Andrews) is prepared to try the case, but he has nagging doubts about the man's guilt. In a bizarre twist in the courtroom during a preliminary hearing, Harvey tears apart his own arguments and re-interviews the witnesses. But is Waldron really innocent?

Boomerang begins slowly, with the documentary approach being a mite talky and dull, but eventually it becomes quite absorbing. There are some highly interesting situations in the film, but it's probably the acting that puts it over. Under Kazan's guidance, Dana Andrews gives one of his best performances. Lee J. Cobb, Arthur Kennedy, Jane Wyatt, (as Mrs. Harvey) and Sam Levene, are all solid. Ed Begley nearly steals the picture as the chicanerous Paul Harris, and Cara Williams has a notable small role as a waitress who insists she saw Waldron not far from where the minister was murdered. George Petrie, who appeared with Jackie Gleason in many episodes of The Honeymooners, scores as the pubic defender, Harry O'Shea.

Verdict: Suspenseful and intriguing. ***.

12 ANGRY MEN

12 ANGRY MEN (1957). Director: Sidney Lumet.

12 men have to decide the fate of a young man who's been accused of murdering his father. One of the jurors (Henry Fonda) is a doubting Thomas when it comes to the defendant's guilt right from the get-go and slowly he encourages the others to take another look at the purported evidence. While well-meaning and very well acted (Martin Balsam, Lee J. Cobb, E. G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Jack Warden etc. are also in the cast), the picture is too theatrical, a bit cliched, and rather superficial all told. The implication that a death penalty advocate is a secret sadist is simply dime store psychology at its worst. It's also odd that no one ever brings up the simple notion of self-defense, which of course would make the defendant not guilty.

NOTE: I watched this on TCM with a friend who is hard-of-hearing, so I had the closed captioning turned on. I was appalled at the difference between what was being said by the actors and what I read in the captions. For instance, a line about the "electric chair" was changed to "lethal injection." Another pivotal line had its meaning carelessly reversed. It was as if the person doing the captioning just felt like writing whatever the hell they wanted instead of sticking to the script. I recognize that dialogue is often changed in a caption to make it shorter and more easily and quickly read, but that's not what was going on here. TCM should get another company to do its captions or whoever captioned 12 Angry Men should find work elsewhere.

Verdict: Movie -- **. Captions -- 0 stars.

THE EXORCIST

THE EXORCIST (1973). Special Edition DVD with extra footage. Director: William Friedkin.

Although billed as “the scariest movie ever made,” I have never found The Exorcist to be especially chilling (although the novel did give me the creeps). There had been many movies of demonic possession made before The Exorcist, but William Peter Blatty's novel and Friedkin's film version took such stories out of haunted castles and ghostly manors and placed one in prosaic, sun-lit Washington D.C. -- and made the possessed person an innocent little girl who not only acts differently but looks different as well. [In fact, that is one major flaw in this movie among many. Even when we take into account that medical science is at a loss to explain what has happened to Regan (Linda Blair), I can not believe that any mother, seeing her child covered in suppurating sores and turning green and nasty, wouldn't insist she be placed in a hospital with around the clock care!] The reason why the novel worked better than the film is that the movie is simply too literal. It's one thing to read about what happens to Regan, quite another to actually see her ramming a crucifix you-know-where and all the rest. In fact, at times The Exorcist turns into a vulgar burlesque of a horror movie, just as silly as the endless imitations that followed in its wake (such as Abby). At the same time, the story remains fascinating (but only in an unbelievable 'horror' fashion) and some of it is quite well done and generally well-acted (although Jason Miller, who is otherwise fine in the movie, shows absolutely no reaction to Regan's appearance when he enters her bedroom!) The good performances of Ellen Burstyn, Lee J. Cobb, and others certainly help. Jack MacGowran is excellent in the small role of the drunken director, Burke Dennings, whom Regan/Pazuzu throws out her second story window. Kitty Winn, who plays Burstyn's assistant, co-starred with Al Pacino in The Panic in Needle Park (and was superb), but, sadly, faded out into small parts like this thereafter. Of the new footage included in this edition, Regan's walking down the stairs backward like a scuttling crab is effective but perhaps they thought it looked too comical. The opening sequence with Max von Sydow (rather wasted in this part) seems rather slow. Despite my many quibbles, I have to say that The Exorcist is a good, entertaining flick and was – for better or worse – highly influential. Friedkin continued his examination of the transferal of evil in – of all things -- his film version of Cruising with Al Pacino.

Verdict: A mixed bag but entertaining. ***.

THE FAMILY SECRET

THE FAMILY SECRET (1951). Director: Henry Levin.

David Clark (John Derek, pictured) kills his drunken, knife-wielding best friend in self-defense but he and his father Howard (Lee J. Cobb) decide to keep quiet about it. Unfortunately, an innocent man (Whit Bissell) is arrested for the crime and Howard winds up defending him. The Clarks' silence ultimately proves tragic. Interesting, but irritating, drama has some good performances and situations, but never quite comes to grips with the moral questions and dilemmas it poses. Erin O'Brien-Moore is David's concerned, over-protective mother, and Dorothy Tree is the wife of the man put on trial for David's crime. This could have used a few more plot twists. For one thing, we have only David's word that it was self-defense. Jody Lawrance is appealing as Lee, Howard' secretary and a romantic interest for David.

Verdict: Unsatisfactory but holds the attention. **1/2.

THE GARMENT JUNGLE

THE GARMENT JUNGLE (1957). Director: Vincent Sherman.

Soon after the terrible death of his partner in a freight elevator "accident" -- a horrifying, well-handled sequence -- Walter Mitchell (Lee J. Cobb) welcomes his son Alan (Kerwin Mathews) into the garment business. Alan is disturbed to learn what a hold the mob has on the business with its protection racket, and how they've been terrorizing union organizers. This is basically a poor man's On the Waterfront, and not at all in the same league as that classic. However, there are several good scenes, and there's an interesting cast. Cobb is as good as ever, and Mathews gives it a good try, but his forte was swashbuckling costume heroes like in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, not realistic drama. Richard Boone is more on the mark as a mob boss, as is Robert Loggia as a union organizer and Joseph Wiseman (Dr. No) as one of the garment workers. Wesley Addy has an unusual role as a vicious associate of Boone's. Gia Scala and Valerie French are effective as the ladies involved with the garment workers.

Verdict: Overbaked melodrama. **.

ON THE WATERFRONT

ON THE WATERFRONT (1954). Director: Elia Kazan.

Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando), a once-promising boxer, is (somewhat) innocently involved in the death of a young man who dared to speak out against mob control of the waterfront union. Confused and guilty, he begins a relationship with the man's grieving sister, Edie (Eva Marie Saint). Wanting to do the right thing but not wanting to go up against the brother he loves (Rod Steiger), Terry struggles to decide whether or not to testify against crooked boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb), knowing it may destroy his brother (who in a sense destroyed Terry's life) and himself in the process. This is a trenchant study of good versus evil -- with shades of gray -- and features many excellent performances. Brando may not be to everyone's taste, but he gives an undeniably expert performance in this. Eve Marie Saint, who was introduced in this film, is lovely and affecting and totally believable as Edie. The other cast members are also very effective, especially Pat Henning as "Kayo" Dugan. Strong, unsentimental script by Budd Schulberg (one possible flaw -- we never get to know much about the man whose death precipitates the story. Also Karl Malden's priest character, while well-played, is perhaps too stereotypically saintly to be believed.) Strikingly photographed by Boris Kaufman and expertly directed by Kazan. Interesting score by Leonard Bernstein. Brando's "I coulda been a contender" speech to his brother remains one of the best sequences in the movie. Highly influential on many subsequent movies, including Raging Bull, which is nowhere near as good.

Verdict: A masterpiece. ***1/2.

ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM

ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM (1946). Director: John Cromwell.

This features wonderful performances by Irene Dunne as Anna; Rex Harrison as the King (once you get used to him); Gale Sondergaard as the first wife; Lee J. Cobb as the King's second-in-command; and Linda Darnell as the first concubine, Lady Tuptim, who is a bit of a bitch. She has her own slave, whom she (at first) refuses to set free. Tuptim and her (apparently “sin”-free) “lover” are burned at the stake in a more graphic treatment than in “The King and I.” One wonders: How can Anna teach the wives English if she can't speak Siamese? The very moving conclusion shows the son of the dead king telling the slaves to stand upright instead of kneeling. In this original version, the king dies many years after the main storyline ends and is much older than in the musical. An odd note is that Anna's young son is killed riding a horse, which apparently did not occur in the book nor in real life! Dunne's reaction to this tragedy is perhaps not quite strong enough. Bernard Herrmann's score has some lovely touches.

Verdict: Certainly worth a look. ***.