OPERATION BULLSHINE

OPERATION BULLSHINE (1959). Director: Gilbert Gunn.

On a remote English Army base during WW2, there is a full complement of female soldiers as well as men. Lt. Gordon Brown (Donald Sinden) is secretly married -- against orders -- to one of the lady soldiers, Betty (Barbara Murray), which causes complications when she arrives at the base. The chief complication is private Marge White (Carole Lesley), a vivacious blonde who has set her sights on Gordon. When the two ladies both wind up in a hotel room with Gordon, his commanding officer, Major Pym (Naunton Wayne of The Hidden Room/Obsession) is appalled. Can everything be straightened out? Operation Bullshine is not as smarmy as you might imagine, although it can't avoid the usual condescension towards women of this era. The three leads are all attractive and capable, although the movie never actually erupts into hilarity. Except for one brief sequence, you would never know there's a war going on. This is really a drawing room/mistaken identity picture disguised as a military comedy. Pretty Lesley could have been considered England's answer to Marilyn Monroe, whom she resembles, only she doesn't quite have Monroe's mystique or panache; tragically she committed suicide at 38. John Cairney, who was in Jason and the Argonauts, plays Gunner Willie Ross, who sings with a dubbed voice more than once. Gilbert Gunn also directed The Cosmic Monsters/Strange World of Planet X.

Verdict: Appealing cast puts this over. **1/2.

OBSESSION aka THE HIDDEN ROOM

Triangle: Newton, Brown and Gray

OBSESSION (aka The Hidden Room/1949). Director: Edward Dmytryk.

Psychiatrist Clive Riordan (Robert Newton of 1952's Les Miserables) discovers that his wife Storm (Sally Gray) is carrying on with a sort of cousin, Bill (Phil Brown of Weird Woman), and decides to take matters in hand. He kidnaps the latter at gunpoint and takes him to an isolated location and chains him up. The two men have most civilized discussions about when and how Clive is going to murder Bill and how he's going to get rid of the body, wanting to experiment on Storm's little doggie at one point, which Bill strenuously objects to. Meanwhile, Storm doesn't go to the police to avoid a scandal -- what a gal! This doesn't stop Superintendent Finsbury (Naunton Wayne) from investigating Bill's disappearance, however. Will the headshrinker be found out before he has a chance to do away with his rival?  Obsession is low-key [like Newton] and unexceptional, but manages to be entertaining in spite of it, with fairly good acting, although most of the time Phil Brown doesn't seem nearly as harried, hungry or upset as he ought to be. Stiff upper lip is one thing, but most people in his situation would be literally crawling the walls. Dmytryk also directed Captive Wild Woman and many, many other films.

Verdict: Okay low-budget British suspense film. **1/2.