IN THE COOL OF THE DAY

Lansbury, Fonda and Finch amidst scenic Grecian splendor

IN THE COOL OF THE DAY (1963). Director: Robert Stevens.

"Murray and I already call each other by our first names. It happens fast in America." -- Christine

"I hear everything does." -- Sybil

Murray Logan (Peter Finch) is married to a bitter woman, Sybil (Angela Lansbury), who was scarred in the car accident in which their son was killed. Murray becomes friendly with Christine (Jane Fonda), the wife of his old friend Sam Bonner (Steven Hill); both men are in the publishing business. Sam treats Christine, who has major medical problems, as if she were a fragile child, and this is threatening their marriage. Christine gets the idea that the two couples should go off to Greece and have a great vacation. Surprisingly, Sybil agrees, but at the last minute Sam can't make it. Will the attraction that Murray and Christine feel for each other move up a notch when they're in Greece? What do you think? In the Cool of the Day could be dismissed -- and probably was -- as a soap opera or travelogue or both, but it's actually not a bad movie, in large part due to the interesting characters and the performances of the ladies; Fonda is simply outstanding and Lansbury, although she has a less sympathetic role, is also excellent. Finch was a fine actor but he doesn't have that much chemistry with Fonda (luckily she makes up for this) and at times seems completely disinterested in the proceedings. Constance Cummings is Christine's mother and Alexander Knox plays Sam's father, Frederick. If you don't care for the story you can always enjoy Peter Newbrook's photography of Athens and Delphi, as well as Francis Chagrin's flavorful musical score. It's hard for movies like this, based on novels where the author can describe the internal feelings of the characters, to work, but this is quite effective at times.

Verdict: Very interesting picture with a wonderful lead performance from Fonda. ***.

LOST HORIZON (1973)

Peter Finch seems to be asking: how did I get in this movie?

LOST HORIZON (1973). Director: Charles Jarrott. Produced by Ross Hunter.

A plane carrying several passengers, including peace envoy Richard Conway (Peter Finch) and his brother, George (Michael York), wind up kidnapped to a lamasery called Shangri-La in this musicalized remake of the 1937 Lost Horizon. Larry Kramer [The Normal Heart] seems to have ignored (or never read) the source novel and simply turned in a very slightly modified version of the original screenplay. For instance, in both film versions the two main male characters are brothers, which is not true in the novel. In the book the sole woman on the plane is a prissy missionary, while in both films she's a world-weary gal who's either dying or tired of living; in the color version she tries to commit suicide. This version eliminates a scene when Catherine (Liv Ullmann), who lives in Shangri-La, tells Richard how she wanted him brought to Shangri-La; in fact Ullmann gets few dramatic scenes. Olivia Hussy [Black Christmas] essays Maria (played by Margo in the first version) and is slightly more dimensional than in the original film. George Kennedy's character is very similar to Thomas Mitchell's, but Edward Everett Horton's comedy relief paleontologist has been replaced by an entertainer played by Bobby Van. James Shigeta has a very small role, while John Gielgud and Charles Boyer, of all people, are even better than the actors who played Chang and the High Lama, respectively, in the original film. All of the actors are quite good, in fact. And then there's the music.

Actually aside from a couple of numbers about to be mentioned, Burt Bacharach's score is not bad. His frequently dissonant dramatic music adds much to the picture, and the songs, which might be described as more like lyrical minor arias than show tunes, are generally lilting if on the downbeat side (which may be why so few liked them). Although Liv Ullmann [Cries and Whispers] sang on Broadway in Richard Rodgers I Remember Mama, her songs in this --  "The Circle" and a duet with Finch -- appear dubbed, and so is Finch. Sally Kellerman [Reflection of Fear] seems to be doing her own singing, but I'm not sure about Olivia Hussey when they do a creditable duet, "List of Things I Will Not Miss," in which the former tells of how glad she is to be away from civilization and the latter pines for all the places she's never been (if only more had been made of this aspect of the film). "Peaceful Joys" is a nice enough number, but the decided low-lights of the score include Kellerman's forgettable song, "Reflection," sung to George Kennedy, and Bobby Van's terrible "Question Me An Answer," which is not Van's fault but Bacharach's; this is one number that should have stayed inside his piano bench. Hal David contributed the awful lyrics. [One doesn't expect another "Getting to Know You," but this is just too much!]

The snow/adventure scenes in this are actually inferior to the ones in the original movie, although the trip to Shangri-La seems a bit more realistic. Essentially Lost Horizon in any form comes off like a paean to small-town mentalities, and the High Lama, who has people kidnapped to repopulate his dying city, is not much better than Fu Manchu. The biggest trouble with the movie isn't "Question Me an Answer" but the fact that in both movies -- and I daresay Hilton's novel -- none of the often interesting ideas are explored with any depth.

Verdict: The same length as the original film, although both seem twice as long. **.

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.

THE LEGEND OF LYLAH CLARE

THE LEGEND OF LYLAH CLARE (1968). Director: Robert Aldrich.

"I make movies -- not films!"

Apparently this movie was based on an old TV drama, with the script rewritten and turned into a theatrical feature. Dying agent Bert Langner (Milton Selzer) has discovered another young woman, Elsa (Kim Novak), who resembles the late, great [Garbo-like?] movie star Lylah Clare (also Novak). He takes her to Lylah's old producer, Lewis Zarken (Peter Finch), who lives with Lylah's old dialect coach Rossella (Rossella Falk), and they concoct a scheme to have Elsa play Lylah in a filmic biography of her life. But what to do about Lylah's death scene? Apparently she fell off of a balcony after discovering that the man she was about to go to bed with was actually a woman, but that's too scandalous to ever tell the truth about. Making matters worse, Elsa seems to be possessed by the spirit of Lylah at inopportune moments. There's a lot of intriguing material in Lylah Clare, but it's all junked up by a very trashy and utterly superficial screenplay. The sexual ambiguity of many of the characters makes the film seem dated instead of hip. Lewis and Rossella, both of whom seem to have been in love with Lylah, make disparaging remarks about each other's sexuality. [When it comes to the subject of homosexuality, this movie is definitely of the "sick, sad, ashamed and repressed" variety.] Another problem with Lylah Clare is that it says cynical things about Hollywood that have been said many times before even by 1968.

Kim Novak is not bad as Elsa/Lylah -- she appears to have been dubbed as Elsa -- but she's saddled with the fact that both characters are one-dimensional. Peter Finch has just a little more to work with as Lewis, and he's fine, as is Milton Selzer, who was probably given one of his best movie roles in this. Ernest Borgnine as a hollering producer is excellent, and Rossella Falk is equally vivid, but the actor who makes the best impression is Coral Browne, who plays venomous entertainment/gossip columnist Molly Luther (modeled on The Hollywood Reporter's Radie Harris, who also had a leg brace).The scene when Elsa/Lylah tells off Molly at a party is the best one in the movie, but, sadly, Legend of Lylah Clare is generally not even as entertaining as it should be.

Verdict: More a freak show than a serious drama. **.

THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX

THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX (1965). Producer/director: Robert Aldrich.

"The little men with the slide rules and computers are going to inherit the earth."

This movie gets right into the action, without taking time to even introduce its characters, as a plane develops problems and then crash lands in the desert with veteran pilot Frank Towns (James Stewart) at the helm. However, there's plenty of time to meet the survivors during the rather slow early sections of the film: Towns second-in-command, Lew Moran (Richard Attenborough); by-the-book but admirable Captain Harris (Peter Finch); crazy Cobb (Ernest Borgnine); haughty engineer Dorfmann (Hardy Kruger); and others. During the strangely uninvolving first half of the film you keep hoping that Ursula Andress or Raquel Welch will come parachuting into the scene and all of the men can fight over her, and at least something will happen, but it's not that kind of movie. Instead the film develops an interesting plot line wherein Dorfmann insists that by using the remaining parts of the plane he can build another craft that will take the men out of the Sahara before they die of thirst or starvation. Towns thinks that the plane he'll build won't ever get off the ground. Dorfmann has a rather startling and darkly amusing secret, however. There's a tense sequence involving some Arabs who may or may not be friendly, but the climax when the "phoenix" takes off is surprisingly brief. And there's a lot more that you could quibble about. Stewart seems a bit miscast and out of his element -- although certainly not bad -- as the somewhat defeatist Captain Towns, but Attenborough, Finch, and Kruger are superb, and Dan Duryea, George Kennedy, Ronald Fraser and the others aren't exactly slouches. Like Lifeboat, The White Tower and many other movies Phoenix deals with the cliche of ruthless German efficiency, an aspect that was kind of tiresome, being done to death, by the sixties.   

Verdict: Eventually builds in intensity and interest; some wonderful performances don't hurt. ***.