PEYTON PLACE

PEYTON PLACE (1957). Director: Mark Robson.

This is a surprisingly entertaining film version of Grace Metalious' once-notorious novel with a screenplay by John Michael Hayes. Constance MacKenzie (Lana Turner), who has a secret and a "past," is afraid that her daughter Allison (Diane Varsi) will follow in her footsteps and become like the town "bad girl" Betty (Terry Moore). "Roddy liked flashy girls so that's what I became," Betty says. Alison's friend Selena (Hope Lange) is raped by her step-father and the town seems to blame her. Norman (Russ Tamblyn) has a domineering mother and may have been intended to be a stereotypical gay character. School teacher Elsie Thornton (Mildred Natwick) is passed over in her hoped-for promotion to principal when the town hires much younger Michael Rossi (Lee Philips) instead. (This sub-plot, unfortunately, isn't developed.) Along with Natwick, Varsi, Lange, and Moore come off best, with nice turns by Arthur Kennedy, Lloyd Nolan, little Scotty Morrow as Joseph, and Lorne Greene as a prosecutor. Contrived at times; admirably frank at others. Beautifully photographed by William Mellor, and Franz Waxman's theme music is a classic. The only problem with the movie is that it's supposed to take place pre-WW 2, but it hardly has any late 30's period atmosphere at all.

Verdict: Sex and suffering soaked in classy sounds and images. ***

SAMSON AND DELILAH

Hedy Lamarr and Victor |Mature

SAMSON AND DELILAH (1949). Produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille.

In Gaza in 1000 B.C. the Danite Samson (Victor Mature), who is a hero to his people, dares to fall in love with Semadar (Angela Lansbury), even though she is a Philistine. Semadar's younger sister, Delilah (Hedy Lamarr) wants Samson for herself, and she is embittered over his rejection of her. When Samson's wedding to Semadar doesn't quite come off, it leads to violence and bloodshed, and Delilah vows to have her revenge.

Lamarr as Delilah

Samson and Delilah is an entertaining movie, but for most of its length it's curiously flat. Some of the minor supporting actors speak their lines as if they were in an old Republic serial and even for 1949 the whole production has an old-fashioned, even cheesy, tone to it. Neither Victor Mature nor even the beautiful Lamarr are especially well-cast. Their performances are good enough by old Hollywood standards, but there are other actors who could have done much, much more with the roles. (Mature would do more costume dramas such as The Robe in the future and his work in them would greatly improve.) Supporting players such as Lansbury; Henry Wilcoxon (as Ahtur, another of Semadar's suitors); Fay Holden as Samson's mother; Olive Deering [Caged] as Miriam, who loves Samson unrequitedly; Julia Faye as the maid Hisham; little Russ Tamblyn [Tom Thumb] as young Saul; and most notably, George Sanders as the Saran of Gaza, come off much better, with Sanders pretty much stealing the show.

The best acting comes from George Sanders

However, Samson and Delilah is worth the price of admission for no other reason than the last ten minutes, in which a humiliated Samson gathers his strength (why did the Dagon-worshipping Philistines let him grow his hair back?) and manages to literally bring the house down on the Philistines. Well-directed and edited, with good FX work, this sequence is a stunner even today. If only the whole movie had been on this level! Victor Young's score is disappointing, but the Oscar-winning costume designs by Edith Head and others are exquisite. The art direction also won an Oscar.

Others in the huge cast include Tom Tyler, Nils Asther, Claire Du Brey, Dorothy Adams, and -- of course --Pierre Watkin. George Reeves shows up as an injured messenger and is good, but he looks so different that I didn't even think this was the same actor who would play Superman a few years later. DeMille himself does the pompous narration that opens the film.

Verdict: Wait -- and wait -- for that great temple sequence! **3/4. 

SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS

Jane Powell rules the roost: 7 brothers instead of dwarves

SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (1954). Director: Stanley Donen.

In the Oregon territory of 1850 rugged farmer Adam (Howard Keel) comes to town and is instantly smitten with a busy waitress named Milly (Jane Powell), and vice versa. The two get hitched and Milly discovers that she now has six brothers-in-law that she has to attend to. The crude brothers, who are taught manners by Milly, go a-courtin', but when things don't proceed as fast as they want, they resort to kidnapping potential brides upon the advice of Adam. Milly is outraged and orders the men into the barn while Adam goes off to a cabin to wait out the winter, unaware that Milly is pregnant ... Seven Brides has been denounced as misogynous in some quarters, but while some of the characters may be misogynous, I don't really think the film is. Sure, it's handy that the brothers all turn out to be gentlemen who never molest the ladies, and even handier that all of the women fall in love with the boys (it might have added some dramatic conflict if one or two of the gals had preferred their old boyfriends or just found none of the brothers appealing), but I don't believe any of this is meant to be taken seriously. In any case, the main thing about the vastly entertaining Seven Brides is not the plot but its sheer enthusiasm, its embrace of life, its excellent performances, and the wonderful singing and dancing throughout. Powell and Keel are perfection and they're nearly matched by the other players, including Ian Wolfe [Dressed to Kill] as Reverend Elcott; and Russ Tamblyn, Jeff Richards [Born Reckless] and the other brothers as well. (Ruta Lee -- billed as Ruta Kilmonis -- and Julie Newmar -- billed as Julie Newmeyer -- are two of the wives.) Seven Brides is also distinguished by the fact that it has one of the best scores for a movie musical that is not based on a Broadway show (although decades later Seven Brides was turned into a musical for the London stage). Johnny Mercer and Gene de Paul provided genuinely memorable tunes such as"Lonesome Polecat" "Sobbin' Women;" "Bless Your Beautiful Hide;" "When You're in Love;" and especially the beautiful "Wonderful Day" and infectious "Spring, Spring, Spring."  Wonderfully photographed in CinemaScope and Technicolor by George Folsey. The choreography is by Michael Kidd, who was also an actor [It's Always Fair Weather].

Verdict: Whatever its peculiarities, this is a top-flight musical. ***1/2. 

HIT THE DECK

HIT THE DECK (1955). Director: Roy Rowland.

Young sailor Danny (Russ Tamblyn of Follow the Boys) is the son of rear admiral Smith (Walter Pidgeon). When Danny thinks that his sister, Susan (Jane Powell), a show business aspirant, may be taken advantage of by theater star Wendell Craig (Gene Raymond), he and his Navy buddies Rico (Vic Damone of Athena) and Bill (Tony Martin) break into his apartment where he sits with Susan and assault him. Their stupid actions result in the sailors being chased all over Manhattan by the shore patrol (including Alan King in an early role). Meanwhile Danny falls for Carol (Debbie Reynolds), who appears in Craig's show, and Ginger (Ann Miller) despairs that long-time fiance Bill will ever marry her. Rico's mother (Kay Armen of Hey Let's Twist) finds that her fiance, Peroni (J, Carrol Naish), may find her too old when he sees she's got a grown son. The "plot" is just an excuse to hang some songs and dance numbers on, so we've got Powell doing the snappy "Sometimes I Love You," Armen and the cast doing "Sing, Hallelujah!" and other numbers. Miller is typically saucy, Martin and Powell can sing, but Naish, Armen, and especially Gene Raymond make the best impressions. The silly  picture aspires to funniness but never quite gets there.

Verdict: More widescreen Technicolor twaddle. **.

FOLLOW THE BOYS (1963)

Russ Tamblyn and Paula Prentriss

FOLLOW THE BOYS (1963). Director: Richard Thorpe.

Liz (Janis Paige) and Bonnie (Connie Francis) are "sea gulls" who follow their Naval husbands around from port to port, grabbing what moments of intimacy they can. Bonnie is a newlywed married to Billy (Roger Perry of Count Yorga, Vampire), while Liz's husband is a Lt. Commander (Ron Randell of Most Dangerous Man Alive). who hopes to become admiral. Unfortunately, Liz is more interested in settling down with him and starting a family. In the meantime Toni (Paula Prentiss), a wealthy woman, shows up claiming she is engaged to playboy Lt. Langley (Richard Long); her parents hope to make a strictly business match that will increase everyone's coffers. Finally Michele (Dany Robin) is anxious to meet up with Langley herself, although for unexpected reasons. Assigned to escort Michele, seaman Smitty (Russ Tamblyn) winds up falling for Toni and vice versa. The actors are all professional, with Tamblyn [The War of the Gargantuas] and Prentiss making an appealing couple, and while the movie threatens to become another Connie Francis Movie it never quite gets there, despite a couple of song numbers. Francis is too self-consciously "cute" by far in this, and while it has some good scenes and entertaining moments, Follow the Boys eventually becomes an effort to sit through. The most interesting thing about the movie is Langely's recipe for a Torpedo: one part each of rum, vodka, brandy and creme de menthe, with a maraschino cherry, cucumber slice, lemon peel, a piece of orange, and bitters added for good measure. Having two of these beforehand may definitely make this or any other movie more entertaining!

Verdict: Torpedo this one! **.

HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL

HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL (1958). Director: Jack Arnold.

Russ Tamblyn plays a new student at the local high school who gets involved with the gang known as the Wheelers and Dealers, a girl named Joanie (Diane Jergens), a teacher named Arlene (Jan Sterling), all the while fending off the advances of his trampy Aunt Gwen (Mamie Van Doren). Is Tamblyn bad news for everyone, or does he have a secret having to do with the drug trade and the evil weed that's destroying so many young lives? At first the film is fun -- especially sexy Van Doren -- but it isn't long before tedium sets in. John Drew Barrymore, son of John and father of Drew, co-stars as "J.I.," the leader of the Wheelers and Dealers. As usual, most of the high school students look as if they've been out of college for a couple of years. A far cry from director Jack Arnold's sci fi classic The Incredible Shrinking Man and others. Jerry Lee Lewis guest stars and sings the title tune. You can miss it.

Verdict: Not as much fun as you might imagine. *1/2.

WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM

WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM (1962). Directed by Henry Levin. Fairy tale sequences directed by George Pal. 

Over-length and the occasional cloying moment are the only deficits to this otherwise excellent fantasy film inspired by the lives of the Brothers Grimm. The biographical sections – which probably have to be taken with a grain of salt – are interrupted by the telling of three classic fairy tales. In the first, Russ Tamblyn is a woodsman who tries to find out why a princess (Yvette Mimieux) wears out her shoes every night, and discovers that she runs out a secret door to dance all night long with a bunch of gypsies. A cloak of invisibility helps him in this task. In the second a weary cobbler's figurines come to life to help him finish up his work in time for Christmas [he spent too much time making toys for the poor children of the neighborhood]. The last story has to do with a knight (Terry-Thomas) and his put-upon servant (Buddy Hackett) who set out to destroy a dragon that has been terrorizing Otto Kruger's kingdom. When Hackett manages to slay the dragon, his master kills him and takes the credit, but the servant manages to have the last laugh. As Wilhelm Grimm attempts to collect fairy tales to preserve for future generations, he and his brother Jacob struggle to finish a family history that they have been hired to write.

You wouldn't think Laurence Harvey would be the right actor for this kind of stuff but he's excellent as Wilhelm Grimm, and also scores as the elderly cobbler in the second tale. Karl (Peeping Tom) Boehm also strikes the right note as Jacob. The many actors in the assorted supporting roles – everyone from Beulah Bondi as an old gypsy woman to Jim Backus as the father of the dancing princess – are all in top form. The settings and cinematography are of a very high order [the film was originally released in Cinerama and MUST be seen in letterbox format.]. The “puppetoon” animation in the second story is charming, expressive and fluid. The dragon with the bejeweled body in the third story is deliberately dopey-looking for comedic effect and the stop-motion animation used to bring it to life isn't bad at all, if not quite on the Ray Harryhausen level. [At one point Hackett interacts with a full-size mock-up of the monster's feet and stomach as the creature tries to crush him.] The dream sequence near the end when Wilhelm is ill and sees visions of Cinderella, the Frog Prince etc. may have been required to remind viewers of all the tales the Grimms made famous, but it becomes tiresome very quickly. Still, this is a very worthwhile picture with many memorable sequences. 

Verdict: Lots of fun. ***. NOTE: This is about a thousand times better than the recent godawful Brothers Grimm with Matt Damon and Heath Ledger, which actually has little to do with the brothers or their stories and is a big, tedious, mess with rubbery special effects and little coherency. Skip it!