BACK FROM ETERNITY

BACK FROM ETERNITY (1956). Director: John Farrow.

In this widescreen if black and white remake of Five Came Back (which was also directed by John Farrow), a motley group of passengers survive a crash in the South American jungle, only to realize that only a few of them can fly away and there are headhunters right around the corner. Back from Eternity could have been a terrific, gut-wrenching movie if only all of the dumb "Hollywoodisms" had been excised from the script. True, I've watched plenty of silly if entertaining dumb Hollywood movies, but what makes Eternity worse is that it had so much potential. True, the final few minutes are suspenseful, the acting isn't bad, and the conclusion has a certain power, but otherwise it's not a very good movie. Anita Ekberg [Screaming Mimi] got the lion's share of the publicity, and aside from being beautiful and busty, she's not a bad actress, either (by Hollywood standards, at least), although her American career didn't last long. (She appeared in this before her famous role in Fellini's La Dolce Vita.) Robert Ryan as the possibly tippling pilot is perhaps less effective in this than in other films, but Rod Steiger offers the best performance as a condemned man being brought back for execution. Phyllis Kirk and Gene Barry are effective enough as an engaged couple who have problems, and Beulah Bondi and Cameron Prud'homme are fine as an elderly professor and his wife. Jesse White is Jesse White.

SPOILER ALERT: Now let's talk about those "Hollywoodisms:" Fred Clark is taking Steiger back for execution, but he uses no handcuffs on a supposedly dangerous felon. Kirk and Ekberg have a completely ridiculous "cat fight" over a man that serves only to show the latter in a wet, clinging outfit. Worse still is the whole business with the lovely stewardess, Maria (Adele Mara of Night Time in Nevada). First let's make it clear that Maria is a friend and co-worker of the pilot and his co-pilot (Keith Andes), and is an attractive and really nice person. Saving a little boy (Jon Prevost) from falling out of the plane when a tank smashes open the door, she herself falls to her death in a horrifying moment. There is no scene when Andes tells Ryan what happened. After the plane lands in the jungle, Ryan says to Andes "everyone all right?" to which Andes replies that the passengers were only a little bruised. There's absolutely no mention of brave Maria and her horrible death throughout the rest of the movie, and these are her co-workers!  (A somewhat similar sequence occurred in another plane crash drama The Crowded Sky.) Admittedly, the passengers are having their own problems, but even during a quiet, contemplative moment much later on, when the pious professor and his wife lead everyone in the Lord's Prayer, nobody offers up a prayer for Maria. It's unbelievable, cold-blooded and illogical scenes like this (or the lack of them) and others that make me classify Back From Eternity less as drama than as schlock. Farrow's direction, although the plane scenes are well-handled, also does little to disguise/detour around some moments of really bad acting.

Verdict: The final quarter has its moments but then there's the rest of it ... **.

THE SECRET FURY

Claudette Colbert and Robert Ryan

THE SECRET FURY (1950). Director: Mel Ferrer. Colorized version.

Ellen Ewing (no relation to J. R. Ewing) is about to marry architect David McLean (Robert Ryan), when a strange man (Willard Parker) interrupts the ceremony and insists that he was present when Ellen married another man -- she is about to commit bigamy! Ellen insists that she never heard of her "husband," Lucian Randall (Dave Barbour). Although Ellen's Aunt Clara (Jane Cowl) seems to fear that her niece might have had a nervous breakdown, David has a more supportive attitude and sets off with his fiancee to find Randall and get to the bottom of this mystery. The couple get more than they bargained for when a murder is committed and Ellen is accused. Is she the victim of a far-reaching conspiracy, or is Ellen truly unhinged? 

Robert Ryan questions Vivian Vance

Although there are some holes in the plot -- the whole logistics of the murder, for instance -- The Secret Fury proceeds at a fairly swift pace and maintains suspense for its entire length. You'll find yourself being suspicious of virtually everyone in the picture. The acting can't be faulted. Although Ryan has the less showy role of the two stars, he never reveals too much nor too little about David. Colbert is excellent, particularly in a courtroom sequence when she has a positive meltdown (and gives Doris Day of Midnight Lace a run for her money!) Paul Kelly is wonderful as a former flame of Ellen's, although it is highly unlikely that he would be the prosecutor on the case. Philip Ober is given one of his all-time best roles as Ellen's defense attorney and friend, and his then-wife Vivian Vance makes an impression as a maid who swears that she met Ellen and her husband, the aforementioned Randall, before. (The following year Vance wound up as Ethel on I Love Lucy.) Jane Cowl is also excellent as the aunt who hardly seems like she's that much on her niece's side. Percy Helton, Paul Picerni and Elisabeth Risdon also make an impression in smaller roles. This is one of ten or so films directed by actor Mel Ferrer; his work on this is efficient enough if hardly Hitchcock level. Jose Ferrer (no relation to Mel) has a small role in the film as a wedding guest. 

Verdict: Very suspenseful thriller with some excellent performances. ***. 

THE LOVE MACHINE

John Phillip Law as Robin Stone, the "Love Machine"

THE LOVE MACHINE (1971). Director: Jack Haley Jr.  

Newscaster Robin Stone (John Phillip Law of The Sergeant) attracts the attention of both Network head Greg Austin (Robert Ryan) and his lustful wife, Judith (Dyan Cannon), leading to him getting more than one promotion both on-camera and in the executive suite. Meanwhile Robin beds numerous ladies, including a model named Amanda (Jodi Wexler) and Judith, both of whom become much too possessive. Recognizing that Robin has become too big for his britches and is a threat both to his job and his power, Austin wonders if a morals clause might be one way to get rid of the threat. It's well known that Stone has had many ladies in his bed, but is he also involved with his good friend, the flamboyantly gay photographer and producer Jerry Nelson (David Hemmings of Deep Red)? Judith causes a scene at a Hollywood party that may have them all out on the street. 

Dyan Cannon and Robert Ryan

Robin Stone was originally to be played by Brian Kelly, but just before filming began he was involved in an accident which ended his acting career (although he went on to become a successful producer). John Phillip Law then took over as Stone but was given a very underwritten role to play. Law is handsome and okay in the part, but he lacks that certain charisma, that all-important X Factor, at least in this picture, and Stone remains a bit of a cypher anyway. In the Jacqueline Susann potboiler that this was based on, Stone not only gets involved with Amanda and Judith, but with an actress named Maggie. This character has been reduced to a bit, well-played by Sharon Farrell. Robert Ryan gives the movie a touch of class as Austin, and manages to maintain his dignity. Hemmings is quite good and sharp as Jerry, although he was understandably criticized for perhaps overdoing the swishiness of his performance. (Jerry is neither gay nor a photographer in the book.)  Dyan Cannon, an actress who for some reason always looks as if she should have a mustache, is also good as Judith. 

Jodi Wexler and David Hemmings

Jodi Wexler was introduced in this film, both her first and last screen credit. I did not think her performance was bad, as she was playing a sweet and naive young lady, but Love Machine was a major bomb that didn't do much good for anyone's career. Jackie Cooper makes the most of his role as Danton Miller, the network head of programming. Shecky Greene is a second-rate comedian basically playing a version of himself, and there are good turns from Maureen Arthur as a promiscuous publicity agent and William Roerick as another executive who councils both Austin and his wife. 

Jackie Cooper and David Hemmings

Both the novel and the film adaptation were utterly excoriated by the critics. The odd thing is that the movie isn't truly awful, it's entertaining and has some vivid performances and sequences. There's Judith discovering Robin in the shower with two nubile and busty twins (the Collinsons of Twins of Evil) and setting fire to the bedroom by pouring vodka all over their clothing, and a four-way fight scene between Robin, Judith, Jerry and a boyfriend, Alfie (Clinton Greyn), over a supposedly incriminating inscribed bracelet that Judith thinks will utterly ruin Robin as they all desperately scrabble to get it and slap, pummel and kick anyone who gets in their way. These scenes are deliberately amusing if not hysterical. While the knocks at the TV industry may not rise to the level of Network, the gay material is a bit tiresome, Stone is never sufficiently developed even though he's the main character, and the film just sort of ends abruptly without any major resolution, much of the picture actually plays quite well.  Law, however, was seen to better advantage in Danger:Diabolik. 

Verdict: If you take this in the right spirit and don't expect Citizen Kane, but the book is much better ... ***. 

CITY BENEATH THE SEA (1953)

Robert Ryan and Mala Powers

CITY BENEATH THE SEA (1953). Director: Budd Boetticher. 

Brad Carlton (Robert Ryan) and Tony Barlett (Anthony Quinn) are salvage divers hired to look for a million dollars worth of gold on a ship that went down with all hands off the coast of Jamaica. Initially, they are told to call off the search as hopeless, but a variety of interested parties know the location of the ship -- right near the undersea ruins of Port Royal, destroyed by earthquake in 1692. When Tony throws in with some suspicious characters, Brad decides to mount his own above-board operation to keep his pal out of jail. But if the misunderstanding between them wasn't enough, they also have a new undersea quake to contend with ... 

Robert Ryan with Anthony Quinn

If City Beneath the Sea sounds exciting, be forewarned that it is nearly a complete stinker. It's hard to imagine that two major stars like Ryan and Quinn could have wound up in such a tacky, dull, below-routine affair that nearly talks itself to death and is even boring during the climax! The FX budget looks like it might have amounted to $1.99. Admittedly, Universal was no MGM, but the production values for this -- considering the players -- are shockingly poor. Ryan and Quinn give good performances, as do the ladies in their lives, Mala Powers [Unknown Terror] as the owner of a charter boat, and Suzan Ball as the sexy singer, Verita (who saucily delivers "Handle with Care") -- and there are some decent supporting players (including Woody Strode who gets very little to do) -- but the movie spends too much time on extraneous matters and not enough on the matter at hand. 

Can the excitement never end?

The surprising thing is that City Beneath the Sea isn't any better than a knock-off entitled Port Sinister that came out the same year. It's been years since I saw the latter -- and I remember that it was hardly a great movie -- but it had more atmosphere and more interesting elements than this dull picture does. In Port Sinister the city of Port Royal (actually a whole island) rises from the watery depths and there is not only a search for treasure and the usual complement of desperadoes, but even a couple of nasty dog-sized crabs that try to snack on people. In any case, it was more fun that this dog of a movie. Ryan and Quinn (admittedly his best work was ahead of him) must have read the script but perhaps they were hoping it could all be put together in the editing room. It wasn't.

Verdict: This could have used some giant crabs. **. 

THE SET-UP

Robert Ryan

THE SET-UP (1949). Director: Robert Wise.

Bill Stoker (Robert Ryan) is a 35-year-old boxer at the end of his game. He rarely if ever wins his matches, but he still has dreams even though he knows that 35 is old for a fighter. His wife, Julie (Audrey Totter), whose heart breaks for him, can't stand to see him being literally and figuratively beaten up in the ring and wishes he'd do anything else for a living. Although Bill wants her there, Julie resists going to the ring -- Paradise City in Atlantic City -- that night. Unbeknownst to Bill, his manager, Tiny (George Tobias), has made a deal with fight promoter "Little Boy" (Alan Baxter) for Bill to take a dive during his fight with newcomer Tiger Nelson (Hal Baylor of This Is My Love). Tiny is sure that Stoker hasn't got a chance against Tiger, but the determined Stoker may give everyone a surprise. But this may come with a terrible cost.

Audrey Totter and Ryan

The Set-Up, beautifully directed by Robert Wise, is one of the best boxing films ever made. With sharply observed vignettes of other boxers and hangers-on, fight fans, promoters and others, it pulls us into this insane bloody world of triumph and defeat and never lets go. The film is supposed to take place in real time -- 73 minutes for both him and the audience -- although this may not be entirely accurate. Whatever the case, Robert Ryan, who was actually forty at the time of filming, gives perhaps his most outstanding performance. Whether he's mirroring the disappointment he feels when he sees his wife's empty chair or dredging up untapped reserves in order to fight his much younger opponent, he is on top of every scene. Tall and handsome, with the look of a winner, Ryan is still able to get across his character's desperation and fear of being a loser. Totter is also excellent, especially in a silent sequence over a railroad track when you can nonetheless tell everything that she must be feeling as she ponders her future with the man she loves and seems unable to help. Her smile when she sees something amusing in an arcade, a smile that fades when things remind her of her life and marriage, is touching.

Baylor vs. Ryan

There are also good turns from George Tobias, Baxter, and Baylor, as well as Wallace Ford [The Breaking Point] as Gus, who oversees things backstage; David Clarke as the sadly defeated Gunboat; Percy Helton cast in another sympathetic part as Tiny's associate, Red; Darryl Hickman as young boxer Shanley; and James Edwards as black boxer, Luthor Hawkins; among others. The film also benefits from Milton R. Krasner's expert cinematography. Absorbing and well-detailed, The Set-Up also boasts a satisfying and moving conclusion, and the match itself is quite exciting and even suspenseful -- both Ryan and Baylor had done some boxing in real life. The script was inspired by a poem about an African-American boxer.

Verdict: More powerful than Raging Bull and half as long. ***1/2. 

ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW

Harry Belafonte and Ed Begley

ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW (1959). Director: Robert Wise.

With some difficulty ex-cop Dave Burke (Ed Begley of Sweet Bird of Youth) puts together a small team to pull a bank job in the town of Melton. There is initial resistance from musician Johnny Ingram (Harry Belafonte), and especially Earle Slater (Robert Ryan), a racist who at first refuses to work with a black man. But Ingram's family has been threatened by Bacco (Will Kuluva of To Trap a Spy), to whom he owes money, and Slater is tired of his wife, Lorry (Shelley Winters) paying all the bills, so they ultimately decide to go along with the plan. Everything seems to go like clockwork, until the actual robbery.

Robert Ryan and Shelley Winters

Odds Against Tomorrow, like all good caper films, spends a lot of time concentrating on its characters, so their fates have a little more meaning. There are still things we don't learn about these three men, however. The performances help make them three-dimensional: Begley is superb; Ryan again proves what an excellent and under-rated actor he was; and Belafonte also proves that there's more to him than just good looks and musical ability. Shelley Winters, in the early phases of her slovenly phase, is also excellent, and there is a very, very well-played scene between Ryan and Gloria Grahame [Blood and Lace], playing a lusty neighbor, in the former's apartment. Will Kuluva scores big in a fine turn as the menacing Bacco.  Richard Bright is cast as Coco, an associate of Bacco's who is clearly meant to be an old-fashioned pre-Stonewall "faggot" -- nasty and queeny -- not the only element that at times makes Odds seem a bit dated. Coco makes flirtatious comments to Johnny, who only looks upon him with homophobic disdain. (Not the first or last time a movie looks at one minority group with sympathy while being unsympathetic towards another.)

Robert Ryan

Kim Hamilton, a lovely actress, makes an impression as Ingram's ex-wife, who couldn't put up with his gambling and the type of people it put him into conflict with. There are also smaller roles played by people who would go on to bigger parts: Wayne Rogers as a tippling soldier, and Zohra Lampert as a young lady he's trying to impress in a bar. Hefty black songstress Mae Barnes also has a good scene when Belafonte cuts into her act. I also spotted Cicely Tyson as a bartender. Joseph C. Brun's cinematography of New York City and environs, including the Hudson river and Melton, is of a high order, and there is an interesting and quirky score by John Lewis, full of dissonance, which occasionally veers into uncomfortable shrillness. Odds is fast-paced but conversely takes its time telling its story. It has a literally explosive finish, although at the end some viewers, along with the characters, might think it was all a little pointless. A slightly jarring note is the too comic delivery of an actor who plays a man whose car is somewhat demolished during a gun battle. Watching the scenes in "Melton," I was pretty sure they were filmed in Hudson, NY, and it turns out I was right.

Verdict: Highly interesting, absorbing and extremely well-acted caper film with a difference. ***. 

THE NAKED SPUR

Jimmy Stewart and Ralph Meeker

THE NAKED SPUR (1953). Director: Anthony Mann.

After the Civil War Howard Kemp (James Stewart) lost his farm to a faithless, greedy woman and is determined to buy it back with $5000 reward money for a murderer named Ben Vandergroat (Robert Ryan). Ben has been traveling with the daughter, Lina (Janet Leigh), of one of his deceased best friends, and he is equally determined to stay one step ahead of Kemp. Kemp enlists the aid of old prospector Jesse Tate (Millard Mitchell of Singin' in the Rain) and unsavory and dishonorable ex-soldier Roy Anderson (Ralph Meeker) to capture Ben, but now his two "partners" each want a third of the loot. The whole group begins a trek to Abilene where Ben is to be hung, but it's anybody's guess if they will all make it there in one piece, and if Ben will remain their captive ...

Robert Ryan and Janet Leigh. 

The Naked Spur sets up an interesting and harrowing situation -- the three captors are not just pitted against Ben and possibly Lina, but also each other -- and sustains suspense and tension all the way through. Admittedly, some scenes are not handled as dramatically as they might have been, and there's a disturbing sequence when a whole bunch of Indians are slaughtered when they are really just trying to get justice for a maiden who was apparently raped by Anderson. Stewart gives another impassioned and first-rate performance as Kemp, and Janet Leigh [Act of Violence] proves yet again that she was far more than just a pretty face. Ryan [Caught] plays in an unusual sardonic style considering what he's facing, but he pulls if off, and Meeker, as cocky as ever, makes the most of his turn as the rather sleazy Anderson. The ending seems tacked on to make Stewart's character more palatable, but it only makes him seem like an idiot. It's nice that character actor Millard Mitchell, who also gives a fine performance, is billed above the title with the four stars.

Verdict: Zesty if imperfect western with terrific cast. ***. 

ACT OF VIOLENCE

Robert Ryan

ACT OF VIOLENCE (1949). Director: Fred Zinnemann.

Frank Enley (Van Heflin) is a respected man with a wife, Edith (Janet Leigh), and an infant son. Into their lives comes Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan), a friend and associate of Frank's during the war. Trying to save the lives of his men in a German POW camp, Frank made a terrible mistake, and these same men died torturous deaths. Joe is one of the survivors and has come to kill Frank, whose guilt and shame is at times overpowering. A woman Frank encounters named Pat (Mary Astor), puts him in touch with someone who can help, but then he learns that the plan is to murder Parkson ...

Van Heflin, Mary Astor, Berry Kroeger

Very well directed by Fred Zinnemann, Act of Violence is a superior crime film with some excellent characterizations and performances. The film doesn't offer easy answers, as even Frank himself wonders how noble or base his motives may have been during the war. Heflin turns in another sharp turn as Frank, and I don't think I've ever seen Janet Leigh better. Ryan has less to do than the others but he is effective and is given some fine moments. Phyllis Thaxter also makes an impression as Ann, a woman who is in love with Joe and tries to talk him out of murdering Frank. Strangely, the only performance that doesn't work at all is Mary Astor's, herein miscast as a middle-aged barfly, one of the few if only times I haven't been impressed with her work. (Her introduction into the story is rather contrived as well). Berry (sic) Kroeger [Atlantis the Lost Continent] certainly scores as the sinister Johnny, who plans to kill Joe for money.

Van Heflin and Janet Leigh

There are some comparatively minor problems with Act of Violence. It makes little sense that Edith wouldn't have had Joe arrested when he forces his way into the house, at gunpoint no less. That would certainly have gotten him off the streets for quite a while. The ending of the film is ill-conceived as well, although it gives Frank a chance at redemption. Unusual for a film made in the forties, there are no opening credits except for the title, with the rest of the credits coming at the very end. An interesting question: by refusing his superior officer, Frank's orders, was Joe more responsible for the men's deaths than Frank was?

Verdict: Worthwhile forties melodrama with more depth than usual. ***. 

LONELYHEARTS

LONELYHEARTS (1958). Director: Vincent J. Donehue.

Adam White (Montgomery Clift) importunes publisher William Shrike (Robert Ryan) to give him a job on the paper, but all he winds up with is doing the "Miss Lonelyhearts" column. Shrike verbally abuses his wife Florence (Myrna Loy) because of an indiscretion in her past, despite the fact that Shrike has had numerous infidelities of his own. Adam is engaged to Justy (Delores Hart) -- short for Justine, one supposes -- but he has an indiscretion of his own when unhappy wife Fay (Maureen Stapleton) discovers that he's "Miss Lonelyhearts" and asks if she can come see him at his apartment to talk about her troubles ... The best thing about Lonelyhearts is the acting, with Clift giving a superb performance, and Loy, Stapleton, Ryan and Hart providing excellent support. Ryan's character is in some ways incomprehensible, and while his performance may lack the spontaneity of Clift's, it is still quite effective. One can't quite understand why Florence stays with Shrike, however. The whole business with Stapleton seems contrived, and the story, despite some minor incidents, never seems to go anywhere. This is a shame because the characters are compelling and the acting memorable. There are interesting parallels in the picture, however: Adam's father (a very effective Onslow Stevens) is in jail because he murdered his adulterous wife and her lover; Florence cheated on her husband and Fay wants to do the same. Stapleton had done mostly television and stage work before being "introduced" in this film. Despite its flaws, this is better than The Day of the Locust, another movie taken from a Nathaniel West novel.

Verdict: A mesmerizing Clift easily outshines his material. **1/2.

CAUGHT

Robert Ryan, Barbara Bel Geddes, James Mason

CAUGHT (1949). Director: Max Ophuls. 

The wealthy industrialist Smith Ohlrig (Robert Ryan) meets and dates model Leonora (Barbara Bel Geddes) and is on the verge of dumping her, when instead he asks her to marry him simply because he's annoyed with his psychiatrist. Ohlrig has no love for Leonora, and treats her as just another possession. When she can't take his neglect and nasty attitude any longer, she tries to make her own way in the world by becoming a receptionist to Dr. Larry Quinada (James Mason), with whom she falls in love and vice versa. But dealing with her neurotic husband may not be easy. Caught sounds like an interesting story, but the movie borders on the dull, and despite a couple of well-handled scenes -- Mason's confrontation with Ryan, for instance -- this never really comes alive. Talented Bel Geddes [The Long Night] doesn't quite have the presence in this to handle the lead role, Mason is fine, and while Ryan could be accused of underplaying too much at times, he's good as well, but greatly under-utilized -- of the two men, Mason [East Side, West Side] gets the lion's share of the footage. Too many scenes are glossed over -- the courtship and wedding, for instance -- and the whole effect of the movie is just blah. Natalie Schafer all too briefly plays a teacher in a charm school which she would also do a few years later in a classic I Love Lucy episode. Ohlrig's assistant Franzi Kartos (Curt Bois) calls everybody "darling," even Ryan. Director Ophuls had little luck with dark melodramas -- The Reckless Moment, also with Mason, is even worse -- but his Letter from an Unknown Woman is a real gem. 

Verdict: Less here than meets the eye. **1/2. 

THE LIVES OF ROBERT RYAN

THE LIVES OF ROBERT RYAN. J. R. Jones. Wesleyan University Press; 2015.

Robert Ryan was never quite in the front rank of iconic movie stars such as Newman or Redford, but he was definitely a movie star and left a long body of work behind him. This excellent biography takes a discerning eye to the actor and his films, and uncovers some difficulties in his long-time, mostly happy marriage. Although some critics unfairly saw him as "wooden," he could be extremely effective in such films as Clash By Night, Born to Be Bad with Joan Fontaine, About Mrs. Leslie with Shirley Booth, and especially On Dangerous Ground with Ida Lupino, although he could be defeated by bad material such as Back from Eternity with Anita Ekberg. As he got older, Ryan offered fine character parts in such films as The Outfit and Executive Action, and was often the only good thing about the movie. Despite his gruff appearance and the conservative roles he often played, Ryan was a liberal, taking a stance against the blacklist when it wasn't quite safe to do so, and espousing liberal causes throughout his life. Always wanting to be seen as a serious actor and not just a movie star, Ryan even appeared in Shakespeare and many good theater pieces. Ryan had occasional affairs, most famously with Merle Oberon.

Verdict: Highly interesting and readable book on a very interesting actor. ***1/2.

THE OUTFIT

Tom Reese and Duvall with Karen Black in the background

THE OUTFIT (1973). Director: John Flynn.

Earl Macklin (Robert Duvall) gets out of prison to discover that his brother was murdered. It seems the two of them knocked off a bank that was owned by the crime cartel, the "Outfit." Macklin decides to pay back and wage war on the Outfit by carrying out heists -- with his pal, Jack (Joe Don Baker) -- that will hit the Outfit where they live. His main antagonist is Outfit bigwig Mailer (Robert Ryan), who lives in a big mansion with bodyguards and has a fairly disinterested wife (Joanna Cassidy). The Outfit is loosely based on the third "Parker" novel by Richard Stark (Donald Westlake), a series of books in which a career criminal is the protagonist. [Another Parker adaptation was The Split.] Frankly, the book is much more entertaining than this indifferently directed "thriller" in which only Robert Ryan gives an especially memorable performance. Baker isn't bad, Karen Black [Trilogy of Terror] has her moments as Macklin's girl, and Duvall is Duvall. Sheree North [Mardi Gras] also has some flavorful moments as the wife of an associate, but Jane Greer isn't very good as Macklin's sister-in-law. Richard Jaeckal, Marie Windsor, and Henry Jones aren't on screen long enough to register much but are all effective. John Flynn also directed The Sergeant.

Verdict: Indifferent adaptation of a gritty Parker novel. **.

ABOUT MRS. LESLIE

Robert Ryan and Shirley Booth

ABOUT MRS. LESLIE (1954). Director: Daniel Mann.

Vivian Leslie (Shirley Booth) operates a boarding house out of her suburban home and tries not to get too involved in the lives of her tenants. After Pixie (Eilene Janssen), the spoiled teenage girl next door, tells her she should mind her business because she's never been married or had children, Vivian thinks back to her relationship with a man named George Leslie (Robert Ryan), who is a Civil War aficionado. Was he her husband, or wasn't he? .. Since the movie is unpredictable I won't say any more about the plot, but the picture holds the attention. After winning both a Tony and an Oscar for her role in the stage and screen versions of Come Back, Little Sheba, Shirley Booth co-starred in this interesting soap opera although her performance is a trifle uneven. She and Ryan play well-together even if you can't quite see them as a couple. Interspersed with the flashbacks is the secondary love story of dancer Lan McKay (Alex Nicol) and aspiring actress Nadine (Marjie Millar). Although About Mrs. Leslie is in many ways a nice picture, the fact remains that much of it is superficial and doesn't ring true -- some scenes haven't the required impact -- and Ryan's character is not altogether commendable. Great Old Movies' favorite Percy Helton figures in a funny scene wherein he plays a restaurant owner. Alex Nicol [Because of You] gives a good performance, but Marjie Millar, who had a tragic life and early death, can't act, sadly. Nicol later directed The Screaming Skull.

Verdict: Unsatisfying but intriguing soaper. **1/2.

CLASH BY NIGHT

Barbara Stanwyck and Paul Douglas in a tense moment

CLASH BY NIGHT (1952). Director: Fritz Lang. Based on the play by Clifford Odets; screenplay by Alfred Hayes.

"Home is where you come when you run out of places."

"I'm tired of looking after men. I want to be looked after!"

"I guess it's terrible to get old and lonely. I guess that's what everyone's afraid of."

"You impress me as a man who needs a new suit of clothes or a new love affair, but he doesn't know which." 

Mae Doyle (Barbara Stanwyck) returns to the fishing village where she was born to escape unhappy memories of her failure to find lasting love and success in New York. She begins dating fisherman Jerry D'Amato (Paul Douglas) but can't stand his insolent friend Earl (Robert Ryan) and at first fights her attraction to him. Mae eventually marries one of those men, and an unpleasant triangle situation develops. The basic plot may be nothing new, but this is based on a play by Clifford Odets and has a richness of character and detail that lifts it far above the usual marital infidelity drama. Stanwyck and Douglas are superb and Ryan gives one of his finest performances which calls on him to be both hard and pathetically vulnerable. J. Carroll Naish gives another of his exemplary performances as Jerry's uncle, and Silvio Minciotti also scores as his old papa. There's also very nice work from Keith Andes [introduced in the film] and Marilyn Monroe [in her pre-stardom days] as, respectively, Mae's somewhat disapproving brother and his rather independent girlfriend. The film is very well directed by Fritz Lang, and beautifully photographed by Nicholas Musuraca. The only negative thing about the movie is the phoney Hollywood happy ending forced on it by the production code.

Verdict: It's a shame this lovely, intense adult drama isn't better known. ***1/2.

EXECUTIVE ACTION

EXECUTIVE ACTION (1973 ) Director: David Miller. Written by Dalton Trumbo.

This interesting if little-seen movie -- which today we would call a "docudrama" -- utilizes stock footage of JFK and other key figures as it presents the fictionalized behind-the-scenes story of how a group of ultra-conservative politicians, [played by Burt Lancaster (Farrington), Robert Ryan (Foster), Will Geer (Ferguson), and others] conspired to have President Kennedy assassinated, using Lee Harvey Oswald as the perfect dupe. It's interesting to see the liberal Lancaster playing such a super right-wing character. Dick Miller has a small role of one of the riflemen. The movie is chilling and depressing in equal measure. Although there have always been conspiracy theories about the shooting of JFK, Executive Action disappeared from theaters fairly quickly, although a similar film, The Parallax View with Warren Beatty, didn't suffer the same fate.

Verdict: Interesting take on a significant moment in world history. **1/2.

ON DANGEROUS GROUND

ON DANGEROUS GROUND (1952). Director: Nicholas Ray. 

"Sometimes people who are never alone are the loneliest." 

Two lonely, tormented individuals -- Jim, a sadistic cop (Robert Ryan) and Mary, a blind woman (Ida Lupino) -- are brought together in an unusual, heart-breaking fashion in this unusual love story/crime thriller. Tough cop Jim Wilson is advised by his colleagues and his boss (Ed Begley) that he's losing control and is assigned to a murder in a small upstate town. There he meets the vulnerable if strong blind woman whose brother may be the chief suspect. While Lupino is perhaps a bit too restrained as Mary, Robert Ryan is terrific as Jim, and Ward Bond is also outstanding as the overwrought father of the murdered girl. Sumner Williams also makes an impression as the mentally-disturbed Danny. Nita Talbot has a brief but compelling bit as a sexy underaged gal in a bar who asks Ryan for a drink. This is a moody piece, full of poignant moments, held together by an excellent score by Bernard Herrmann. It's too bad some of the romantic strains are muted; Herrmann wrote a nocturne based on this score that is just beautiful. 

Verdict: Not for all tastes, but compelling and different. ***.

BORN TO BE BAD

BORN TO BE BAD (1950). Directed by Nicholas Ray.

Joan Fontaine is Christable Caine, a scheming blonde who steals away the wealthy fiancé (Zachary Scott) of a friend, Donna (Joan Leslie), but who dallies with her true love, Robert Ryan, even after her marriage. A part that seems tailor-made for Bette Davis or Joan Crawford – even Barbara Stanwyck – works beautifully with the less "bitchy" (but equally talented) Fontaine because she’s able to exude an innocence that makes her conniving ways seem even more atrocious. She sends her lonely and loving aunt away even though Scott is happy to have her in his home, and refuses to go see her when she’s ill because of a party. Ryan, playing a novelist on the verge of success who can’t compete financially with Scott, gets some of the best lines. Regarding Scott (after he marries Fontaine) he says, "How can anyone be happy with a hook in his throat?" and says to Christabel "I love you so much I wish I liked you!" Mel Ferrer plays Gobby, a painter who may have been intended to be a gay character, based on certain remarks he makes about his "harmlessness" to wives and his complete lack of interest in the women in the cast (although he paints Fontaine’s portrait he exudes absolutely no romantic or sexual interest in her). When a man pokes his head into the gallery where Gobby’s paintings are exhibited, and rapidly retreats, Ferrer yells after him "Peasant!" This is a pretty classy, entertaining, well-acted soaper, it’s only deficit being the fact that the characterizations are rather superficial. RKO.

Verdict: Watchable and well-acted. **1/2.