SPRING REUNION

Betty Hutton and Dana Andrews

SPRING REUNION (1957). Directed and co-written by Robert Pirosh.

A small town is the location of a 15 year reunion for the high school class of 1941. The most popular girl in school, Maggie Brewster (Betty Hutton) is unmarried and works in her father's real estate office. Maggie has been trying to sell off a house owned by old classmate Fred Davis (Dana Andrews) -- "most likely to succeed" -- when he comes back to town and changes his mind. A romance begins between the two even as Maggie's friend, Barna (Jean Hagen of Singin' in the Rain), who has a husband and children, finds herself attracted to married former football hero, Jack Frazer (Gordon Jones of The Green Hornet), who seems to exist on reflected glory. Spring Reunion is a pleasant surprise, a light romantic drama greatly bolstered by some excellent performances. Betty Hutton, who I can find overbearing in some of her comedies, is not only lovely and comparatively subdued in this, but gives one of the best and most poignant performances of her career. Andrews is similarly excellent, as are Hagen and Jones, and Laura La Plante [Show Boat] and Robert F. Simon are wonderful as Maggie's parents. Spring Reunion is full of interesting scenes, such as one when Maggie's father makes it clear to her mother that he doesn't like the idea of taking a vacation without his daughter along, that it won't be much fun, and the mother's expression speaks volumes. In another good sequence, Maggie and Fred try to figure out why their lives didn't quite turn out the way they'd intended. James Gleason (billed as "Jimmy") is fine as a lighthouse keeper, and Sara Berner is fun as an impressionist who performs at the reunion. Irene Ryan (Granny from The Beverly Hillbillies) plays a high school official who doesn't know what "Smirnoff" is yet loves the spiked punch, but she isn't given enough to do. Hutton sings "That Old Feeling" and nails it, and Chopin's "Nocturne in E Flat Major" is used as an evocative theme.

Spring Reunion does reflect the attitudes of the time it was made in. Many single women in the fifties probably did feel like "old maids" because they were unmarried in their thirties, but even today women -- and men -- still hope to find someone special to share their lives with. As for Spring Reunion, many of Hutton's fans were disappointed that she wasn't the overly zany Betty Hutton they remembered. Subsequently, this was her last film, although she starred in her own TV show and had other television credits. This was also the last film -- and last credit -- for silent movie star Laura La Plante.

Verdict: Nice romance with some unpredictable touches. ***. 

THE GIRL RUSH

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The forgettable "Hillbilly Heart"

THE GIRL RUSH (1955). Director: Robert Pirosh.

Kim Halliday (Rosalind Russell) works at the Providence Historical Society wherein she learns that she co-owns a Las Vegas hotel with an old friend of her father's, Ferguson (James Gleason). Unfortunately, she mistakes the glamorous Flamingo casino, owned by Victor Monte (Fernando Lamas), for the dilapidated, closed place next door that she actually owns. Then she learns that Ferguson gambled the place away to Monte, who will claim it unless they come up with the money Ferguson owes him. A possible savior comes along in the form of hotel man Elliott Atterbury (Eddie Albert), whose father is looking for a property in Vegas. Kim balances both men romantically while her Aunt Clara (Marion Lorne) tries to jitterbug or something with Ferguson. Well ... The Girl Rush is one of those silly old musicals with mostly lousy music and a lead actress whose singing voice sounds like an out-of-tune foghorn; her dancing is slightly better but she can't compare to the chorus boys, who include Don Crichton. Albert and Lamas can sing in tune, however, and both are in fine fettle, especially the latter, whose amiable personality helps the movie no end. When she's not butchering a song, Russell is swell, but hardly anyone could save this third-rate material, which goes for the songs by Martin and Blane, although "Out of Doors" and "Alone" at least have respectable melodies. The film's nadir is the terrible production number "Hillbilly Heart," which even the chorus boys can't save. Gloria DeHaven and Robert Fortier are perky and talented as a dancing brother and sister act. Marion Lorne's "Aunt Clara" is exactly like the Aunt Clara she played years later on Bewitched [without the magic] so one might imagine that her performance in this movie won her that role. Pirosh also directed Valley of the Kings.

Verdict: Makes So This is Paris seem like West Side Story. **.

VALLEY OF THE KINGS

VALLEY OF THE KINGS (1954). Director: Robert Pirosh.

In Cairo in 1900 archaeologist Robert Taylor teams up with Eleanor Parker to find the tomb of Rahotep so that Parker can prove her late father's theories. Kurt Kaznar, as the sinister, knife-wielding Ahmed, is in league with Parker's slick husband, “Philip Mercedes,” a tomb-robber. In addition to some beautiful scenic vistas and good photography, the picture features scuttling scorpions under the bedsheets, a spectacular sand storm that seems to wipe away half of the cast, and a fist fight between Taylor and Parker's husband high on top of a majestic sphinx that ends, naturally enough, with a fatal fall. This last sequence is completely silent – except for grunts and punches – and could have used some musical background. There's also a growling, bad-tempered camel for good measure. The picture is by no means a classic, but it holds the attention and has some very good sequences. Taylor handles the derring-do nicely enough, and Parker is generally fine, although a bit wasted in this kind of material.

Verdict: Not bad timepasser. **12.