PARIS MODEL

Eva Gabor and Tom Conway 

PARIS MODEL (1953). Director: Alfred E.  Green.

Four women who pick out a fancy dress -- a "Paris model" or a cheaper copy of it -- want to wow their men but wind up getting their comeuppance, except in the last instance. Gogo (Eva Gabor) hopes to hook the wealthy Maharajah of Kim-Kepore (Tom Conway) but her billing the dress to another man may cause a problem -- not to mention the appearance of a gorgeous brunette (Laurette Luez). Betty Barnes (Paulette Goddard) is in love with her boss (Leif Erickson), but his wife, Cora (Gloria Christian), may out-do the grasping secretary in the fancy dress sweepstakes. Marion Parmalee (Marilyn Maxwell) pulls out all of the stops with her husband's flirty boss Sullivan (Cecil Kellaway) in the hopes of getting hubby (Robert Bice of Invasion U.S.A.) the new presidency when the boss retires, but she doesn't reckon with Sullivan's formidable wife (Florence Bates). Marta (Barbara Lawrence) hopes that boyfriend Charlie (Robert Hutton) will propose to her for her 21st birthday dinner at Romanoff's and she may get a little help from "prince" Michael Romanoff [Arch of Triumph] himself.

Secretary vs wife: Paulette Goddard and Gloria Christian

I confess I nearly dumped Paris Model in my latest collection of "Films I Just Couldn't Finish" because the first episode with Gabor and Conway is so lame -- aside from a modestly amusing wind-up -- that I couldn't see spending much more time on it. (One can't imagine either of the Gabor sisters being crazy about having their thunder stolen by another woman.) But once I understood the point of the film, that it dealt with the dress and the stymied manipulations of its wearers -- not to mention that the later segments were more entertaining -- I found this quite enjoyable. The performances are generally good (although Eva Gabor is just plain weird, like a dopey showgirl from another dimension), with Kellaway and Bates taking the acting honors. The film comes full circle with a very funny ending when Tom Conway shows up again as the horny Maharajah. Alfred E. Green directed everything from science fiction (the aforementioned Invasion U.S.A.) to old Bette Davis movies [Dangerous] to Copacabana and everything in-between. Tom Conway's brother, George Sanders, was married to both Zsa Zsa and Magda Gabor, but somehow he never got around to Eva.

Verdict: More fun than you first imagine it will be. ***.

NAKED YOUTH

John Goddard and Carol Ohmart

NAKED YOUTH (aka Wild Youth/1960). Director: John Schreyer.

Frankie (Robert Arthur of September Affair) and "Switch" (Steve Rowland) run off from the State Boys Honor Farm and hook up with Frankie's girlfriend, Donna (Jan Brooks). On the road they run into a couple who have rapidly exited Mexico with thousands of dollars worth of heroin secreted in a doll. Rivas (John Goddard) is a drug dealer and causal murderer and Madge (Carol Ohmart) is his junkie girlfriend, who undoubtedly got hooked on the stuff by the not-so-loving Rivas. In the meantime, a Treasury agent named Maddo (Robert Hutton) is trailing after Rivas. Eventually everyone intersects in an isolated warehouse where the final battle ensues. Naked Youth is not really a study of juvenile delinquency; "Switch" may be a creep, but the other kids are pretty decent, as is the pathetic Madge. The picture is a standard crime drama with a few minor suspenseful moments, and it manages to hold the attention without being riveting. Ohmart  [House on Haunted Hill] gives her usual adept performance, and the other actors are more than satisfactory. Goddard was "introduced" in this film even though it was his 39th credit, and he had many more roles afterward. Hutton [Hollywood Canteen] is top-billed with Omhart but he has little to do in the film. Steve Rowland makes a pretty good impression as the resident junior bad boy. The musical score is an odd hodge podge that even rips off Vertigo at certain points.

Verdict: An effective Ohmart and some other good performances help a bit. **.

HOLLYWOOD CANTEEN

Davis, Leslie, Garfield and Hutton

HOLLYWOOD CANTEEN (1944). Director: Delmer Daves.

Corporal Slim Green (Robert Hutton) and his buddy Sergeant Nowland (Dane Clark) are on leave in LA when they drop by the Hollywood Canteen. The canteen was started by Bette Davis and John Garfield, and both stars play a prominent role in the film, which is basically built around Slim wanting to meet actress Joan Leslie, playing herself, and the romance that ensues. During this, a number of stars either appear or do numbers. Among the highlights: Dennis Morgan and Joe E. Brown sing "You Can Always Tell a Yank;" The Andrews Sisters perform "We're Getting Corns for Our Country;" Jack Benny and Joseph Szigeti have a comical duel of violins; Joan McCracken does a jazz ballet production number; a Spanish dance number from Rosario and Antonio; and Kitty Carlisle singing "Sweet Dreams, Sweetheart." Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet have an amusing cameo, and there are lots of guest appearances by a host of stars, some of whom you may miss if you blink (Eleanor Parker, for instance). Davis and Garfield are wonderful playing themselves; Dane Clark has an affecting moment when his character realizes that he no longer needs to use his cane; and Robert Hutton is excellent as the shy, sensitive small-town fellow who develops quite a crush on Leslie, who gives a winning performance as well. Zachary Scott and Barbara Stanwyck have notable cameos, and Janis Paige makes a decided impression as a studio messenger who pretends to be an actress. Corporal Green addresses his fellow fighting men and allies at one point, and mentions "our own colored boys" as it flashes to a shot of several black soldiers. Good. Although Hutton never became a major star (this was his fourth picture) he did amass 90 credits in his long career. However, the one single actor who has the most sheer presence in the two hour film is the formidable Joan Crawford.

Verdict: Entertaining, and ultimately quite moving. ***.

GOBS AND GALS

Robert Hutton and Florence Marly

GOBS AND GALS (1952). Director: R. G. Springsteen.

At an isolated military base Sparks (George Bernard) and Salty (Bert Bernard) have cooked up a scheme in which they use their captain's picture to get women to send him what today we would call "care packages." Captain Smith (Robert Hutton of The Vulture) has no idea of this, nor of the fact that the two buddies have opened a store at camp to sell all of the goodies the ladies think they're sending Smith. When the men all return to the U.S., Smith finds himself mobbed at the dock by dozens of lustful ladies who plaster him with hugs and kisses as his fiancee, Betty (Cathy Downs of The Dark Corner), watches in dismay. Now while Smith is nice-looking, he is not a famous singer or matinee idol, so you'd think that Cathy would understand that something strange is going on, maybe a practical joke, but instead she instantly cancels their engagement. Smith pursues Cathy to a train upon which she and her father, a senator (Emory Parnell), are travelling and tries to mend fences with her even as Sparks and Salty, the men responsible for all of his troubles, are supposed to guard a trunk of papers that are also on board. During the ride they encounter a beautiful Russian spy, Sonya (Florence Marly of Queen of Blood); a cute little kid and trouble maker named Bertram (Tommy Rettig); a termagant (Minerva Urecal) who thinks CPO Donovan (Gordon Jones) keeps stealing her purse; not to mention the peppery and dithery conductor (Olin Howlin). Gobs and Gals is a silly but often amusing movie with some good performances and a highly interesting cast. Brothers George Bernard and Bert Bernard were an American comedy team who never rose to any particular prominence -- they appeared in only four films --  and while they aren't bad, the movie could have used the presence of Bud and Lou or Lewis and Martin. Jean Willes, Donald MacBride, and Marie Blake are also in the movie in smaller roles. Marly is rather reminiscent of "Natasha" of the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon show which debuted several years later.

Verdict: Amiable train farce. **1/2.

THE BIG BLUFF

John Bromfield

THE BIG BLUFF (1955). Director: W. Lee Wilder.

Valerie Bancroft (Martha Vickers) doesn't know that her doctor (whom I wouldn't trust to diagnose a dog!)  has told her secretary-companion, Marsha (Eve Miller), that she has a weak heart and only a few months to live. While Marsha bonds with Valerie's new doctor, Peter Kirk (Robert Hutton), Valerie is quite taken with a sexy dark-haired fellow named Ricardo De Villa (John Bromfield), who is already involved with an attractive dancer named Fritzie (Rosemarie Stack). Ric romances the very wealthy widow Valerie even as he keeps time with Fritzie and tries to avoid the latter's jealous husband, Don (Eddie Bee). Then he cooks up a scheme to get his hands on all that loot with a smitten Fritzie's help ... The Big Bluff is not a world-beater but it holds the attention and Bromfield and Stack give flavorful performances. Vickers' performance is mediocre, but Miller and Hutton are better. The ending is ironic if unconvincing. Robert Bice is the original doctor who makes the fatal diagnosis. Handsome Bromfield usually starred in movies like this and Curucu, Beast of the Amazon, but he also appeared in The Furies with Barbara Stanwyck and other better-known films in smaller roles. Stack, originally known as Rosemarie Bowe (as she's billed in this picture), married Robert Stack the following year, but she didn't use his last name professionally until the 70's. Vickers was better in Alimony.

Verdict: Like an extended TV mystery but it's fun. **1/2.

THE VULTURE

THE VULTURE (1967). Writer/producer/director: Lawrence Huntington.

A woman (Annette Carrell) sees a grave opening from below and then a huge bird-like monster with a human head and hands emerges. Everyone thinks she must be crazy except for Dr. Eric Lutens (Robert Hutton) of the Atomic Energy Commission. Lutens, who is married to the niece, Trudy (Diane Clare), of two men named Stroud who live in the area (Broderick Crawford, Gordon Sterne), is immediately convinced -- without a shred of evidence -- not only that the creature is real but that it is the product of "nuclear transmutation." In other words an unknown person, seeking treasure, used energy to change places with the skeleton in the grave, but was unaware there was a vulture buried in there as well, so the result is a half-man/half-bird mutation [a la The Fly]. Surely there would have been easier ways to get treasure out of a grave! Anyway, this monster sets out to destroy its enemies one by one. Okay, the plot is patently absurd even for a low-budget British horror movie, but the movie is still fun and works up some suspense and creepiness. Crawford, as gruff as ever, is fine, Hutton is okay, but the picture is stolen by wily old Akim Tamiroff as Professor Koniglich. This was the last film  for Huntington, who died the following year. Hutton was also in The Man Without a Body.

Verdict: Utterly illogical but amusing. ***.

THE MAN WITHOUT A BODY

Robert Hutton and Julia Arnall with the head of Nostradamus

THE MAN WITHOUT A BODY (1957). Directors: W. Lee Wilder; Charles Saunders.

When wealthy businessman Karl Brussard (George Coulouris) discovers he has a brain tumor he somehow gets the idea that if he can have the brain of Nostradamus transplanted into his head, he will take over the famous man's mind with sheer will power -- or something like that. Robert Hutton is the doctor, Merrick, who gets involved in this ridiculous experiment, Michael Golden is Nostradamus, Nadja Regin is Brussard's sexy girlfriend Odette, and Sheldon Lawrence [Bluebeard's Ten Honeymoons] is the equally sexy Dr. Lew Waldenhouse, who has a fling with Odette. Julia Arnall plays Jean, Merrick's assistant. Kim Parker from Fiend Without a Face has a small role as a maid. This is watchable but absurd, and not nearly as much fun as it sounds. Coulouris appeared in everything from Citizen Kane to Womeneater, not to mention the aforementioned Bluebeard's Ten Honeymoons, The Verdict (1946), and many others. This movie is not to be confused with other living head films such as The Thing that Couldn't Die or The Brain that Wouldn't Die.Wilder also directed Phantom from Space, Killers from Space and Manfish with Lon Chaney Jr. Far and away his best film was Bluebeard's Ten Honeymoons.

Verdict: Anyone with half a brain will probably not want to see this. **.

SMART GIRLS DON'T TALK

SMART GIRLS DON'T TALK (1948). Director: Richard L. Bare.

Linda Vickers (Virginia Mayo, pictured) gets involved with gambling bigwig and shady character Marty Fain (Bruce Bennett) -- but so does her brother, "Doc" (Robert Hutton), who patches Fain up when he's shot and pays the ultimate price. This seems like a remake of an old Bette Davis movie that wasn't all that great in its original incarnation. Tom D'Andrea as Sparky Lynch adds a little spice, but not enough to save the movie. Mayo is competent enough but she seems to play everything in one note, although the script hardly gives her many opportunities to shine. Richard L. Bare also directed the much more interesting Wicked, Wicked many years later.

Verdict: Smart people stay away from movies like this. *1/2.

THEY CAME FROM BEYOND SPACE

THEY CAME FROM BEYOND SPACE (1967). Director: Freddie Francis.

Dr. Temple (Robert Hutton) is disturbed when colleagues of his, including his lady love, Lee (Jennifer Jayne), begin behaving strangely, violently warning him away from a mysterious project that they're working on. It's pretty clear from the first that their minds have been taken over by extra-terrestrial forces. Another problem is that people are dying of a "scarlet plague" that makes them break out in red blotches and keel over. There are some stylish sets in this, but the pace drags, the story is derivative and dull, and there's a lot of tedious running about to little purpose. If this was trying to come off like another Professor Quatermass adventure it failed miserably. Late in the movie the florid Michael Gough shows up as a character called "The Master of the Moon." This could be the worst movie directed by the prolific Freddie Francis. Jennifer Jayne of the big pursed lips also appeared in The Crawling Eye and Hysteria. Very little entertainment value in this.

Verdict: Definitely miss it if you can. *.