CONDUCT UNBECOMING

Michael York

CONDUCT UNBECOMING (1975). Director: Michael Anderson.

In Colonial India, two young British men whose fathers were also in the military, arrive to begin a three month probationary period in their distinguished regiment. Arthur Drake (Michael York) is anxious to make good while blase and cynical Edward Millington (James Faulkner) hopes to get thrown out as soon as possible. But there may be more serious consequences when Millington is accused of assaulting Marjorie Scarlett (Susannah York), widow of a legendary hero, and Drake is tapped to defend him in a special private hearing. As the trial progresses, many disturbing revelations come to light ...

James Faulkner and Susannah York

Although based on a stage play, Conduct Unbecoming is not stage-bound or overly talky but is suspenseful, intriguing, and holds the attention throughout. Part of this is due to a compelling story line, and part to some excellent performances.  Michael York and Faulkner are perfection, and Georgia-born Stacy Keach does a dead-on English accent and is absolutely splendid as Captain Harper, who oversees the private hearing. Christopher Plummer, Michael Culver [Goodbye, Mr. Chips], and Richard Attenborough offer riveting portraits of various officers, and Trevor Howard makes a strong and convincing Colonel Strang. Persis Khambatta of Star Trek: The Motion Picture appears briefly as a woman who may have been another victim.

Stacy Keach and Michael York

Susannah York [The Killing of Sister George] is not quite up to the level of the gentlemen, unfortunately, and a stronger actress should have been chosen. York just does her scenes as written in the script but never adds any nuances or layers -- she doesn't make the most of her one big climactic outburst; she has given better performances elsewhere. One could also argue that the inexperienced Drake manages to arrive at certain conclusions as if he were a veritable Perry Mason! -- undoubtedly he has a legal career in front of him. An interesting touch is the role reversal between the two young soldiers, as well as the examination of how keeping one's "honor" is not always so honorable. Director Michael Anderson directed the much less successful Doc Savage the same year and worked with Michael York again the following year on Logan's Run.  By the way, Michael York and Susannah York were not related and were never married to one another.

Verdict: Absorbing, very well-acted courtroom-military drama with some interesting twists. ***. 

THE THIRD SECRET

Pamela Franklin and Stephen Boyd

THE THIRD SECRET (1964). Director: Charles Crichton.

"Look around the world, doctor. What's so special about madness? What's so special about murder?" 

Alex Stedman (Stephen Boyd of Fantastic Voyage), an American TV personality working in London, refuses to believe that his friend and psychiatrist Leo Whitset (Peter Copley) committed suicide. Whitset had helped Alex get over the death of his young daughter, and the latter feels that suicide would go against everything the man believed in. Stedman's belief that Whitset's death had to be homicide is shared by the latter's daughter, Catherine (Pamela Franklin), who reminds Alex of his own daughter and helps him to bond with her. Alex thinks the killer must be one of Whitset's patients, and he goes to see each of them: neurotic art dealer and artist Alfred (an unrecognizable and excellent Richard Attenborough of 10 Rillington Place); lonely Ann (Diane Cilento), with whom he sleeps; and Sir Frederick (Jack Hawkins), who has a secret buried in his past. The "third secret" -- the real truth -- is unveiled at the climax. Boyd gives an excellent performance in this, as does Pamela Franklin [The Nanny], Cilento [The Wicker Man], and Hawkins [She Played with Fire], but the movie never really catches fire, and the solution seems fairly obvious from the first. Judi Dench has a small role as Attenborough's assistant.

Verdict: Somewhat intriguing, but a little too gloomy and flaccid. **1/2.

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. ***.