STARLIFT

Ruth Roman and Dick Wesson

STARLIFT (1951). Director: Roy Del Ruth.

Movie star Nell Wayne (Janice Rule of The Swimmer) gets the notion that Air Force Corporal Rick Williams (Ron  Hagerthy) and his buddy Sgt. Mike Nolan (Dick Wesson) are being shipped overseas for combat in Korea when they are merely picking up wounded soldiers and piloting them home. Nell feels betrayed when she learns the truth, but the press come to the conclusion that she and Rick are engaged and the two are forced to go along with the deception. Meanwhile Nell and other celebrities take part in "Operation: Starlift," which brings movie stars and others by plane to visit wounded servicemen.

Ron Hagerthy and Janice Rule

This is the slender plot for another all-star war movie that starts out as a Doris Day film -- Day plays herself and does a couple of numbers -- but then dismisses her in favor of Ruth Roman (also playing herself) and assorted guest-stars. These include everyone from Louella Parsons to Peter Marshall to Patrice Wymore. Jane Wyman warbles a pleasant tune and is acceptable. Gene Nelson dancers with his customary flair and aptitude in a ballet with Rule. Phil Harris [The Patsy] shows up and does little but repulse everyone with his hideous smile. He also appears in a singing sketch with Gary Cooper playing a Texas Ranger. James Cagney puts in a brief appearance and there is a sketch about a chef that you can miss.

Virginia Mayo does her dance

Starlift does have a couple of highlights, however. There's Gordon MacRae splendidly singing "Good Green Acres of Home" backed by a military chorus. And Virginia Mayo [The Kid from Brooklyn] does a kind of Polynesian dance number and proves herself to be quite skilled in the terpsichorean arts. Ruth Roman is on screen almost as long as Janice Rule but she apparently can neither sing nor dance. As for the two Air Force men, Dick Wesson was generally comedy relief in a few movies and TV shows. After this film, most of Ron  Hagerthy's many credits were on television. Others in the cast include Richard Webb as Colonel Callan and William Hudson as a soldier.

Verdict: Some memorable moments, but generally not one of the better "all-star" war films. **1/2. 

THE BOTTOM OF THE BOTTLE

Van Johnson and Ruth Roman

THE BOTTOM OF THE BOTTLE  (1956). Director: Henry Hathaway.

Near the Mexican border, lawyer "P. M." Martin (Joseph Cotten) gets an unwelcome visitor, his brother Donald (Van Johnson), who has just escaped from prison with five years to serve on a sentence for manslaughter. Donald can't cross the border to Mexico, where he wants to be reunited with his wife and children, because of rushing flood waters, and hopes PM will somehow get money to his family who are about to be put out on the street. Meanwhile Donald, using a fake name, meets his ultimately sympathetic sister-in-law, Nora (Ruth Roman of Lightning Strikes Twice), and the partying neighbors, while PM hopes Donald can resist temptation and not take a drink, the very thing that got him into trouble in the first place ...

Joseph Cotten and Ruth Roman

The Bottom of the Bottle certainly sets up an interesting situation, but at times it comes close to sinking under its contrivances. While not perfect casting for the rough-hewn, stupid, and rather unlikable and self-justifying Donald, Van Johnson [The Big Hangover] gives an excellent performance, with Cotten and Roman just a cut below in their portrayals. Johnson has an especially good scene when he's talking to his wife and small children on the phone, his heart clearly breaking from his being separated from them as well as his desperate circumstances.

Jack Carson, Van Johnson and Margaret Hayes

Jack Carson and Margaret Hayes are cast as neighbors, the Breckinridges, who hold frequent parties, with the wife almost recoiling from her husband's touch, setting up the dime store psychological notion that he's out to get Donald (when the latter robs a store of guns and liquor) out of some kind of sexual frustration. (Carson briefly affects a limp wrist as he leads the posse, whatever the heck that means.) There is an unintentionally comical moment when Johnson has a positive, even scary screaming meltdown in front of the Breckinridges and their reaction to this -- because the script has him being thrown out of their home at a somewhat later point -- is hardly what one would expect given his behavior. One gets the sense that most of the characters in this are acting the way they do because the script demands it of them, not because they are real people behaving in a realistic fashion. For instance, Nora's motivations for some of her lines and actions are not satisfactorily explained by her dissatisfaction with her marriage.

Despite its flaws, The Bottom of the Bottle isn't too easily dismissed, not just because of Johnson's performance, but because of the high-quality of Lee Garmes' widescreen cinematography and an effective score by Leigh Harline. There is some amazing stunt work when Donald is nearly run over by a train, and an exciting climatic battle between the two brothers on horseback in the raging river. The film also has a moving wind-up, although many things have not quite been resolved.

Verdict: Not exactly East of Eden, but not without its interesting aspects, and a fine dramatic performance from Van Johnson. **3/4. 

JOE MACBETH

Paul Douglas as Joe Macbeth

JOE MACBETH (1955 ). Director: Ken Hughes.

Gangster Joe Macbeth (Paul Douglas) is made the number two man in an outfit run by DeLuca, "the Duke" (Gregoire Aslan), but his wife, Lily (Ruth Roman of The Baby) thinks he ought to be number one himself. Mrs. Macbeth importunes her husband to knock DeLuca off when he comes for a visit at their estate, and this is only the first of several murders as the Macbeths opt for power and try their damnedest to hold on to it. But when Macbeth has his suspicious friend, Banky (Sidney James of The Man in Black), taken care of, he'll have to face the wrath of Banky's furious son, Lennie (Bonar Colleano of Pool of London).

Bonar Colleano

Joe Macbeth is an obvious updating and vulgarization of Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth, but even on its own terms it just doesn't work. Douglas has been seen to better advantage in other pictures, Roman is not that convincing as a Lady Macbeth type, and even the highly talented British actor Bonar Colleano, although he has some fine moments, is somewhat lacklustre as Lennie (his character is actually a combination of Macduff -- although another guy is named "Duffy" -- and Banquo's son, Fleance). Joe Macbeth is also a disappointment as a gangster movie, lacking the tension, suspense, and excitement that the genre requires. As others have noted, you keep waiting for the Shakespearean "moments" instead of being gripped by the story. Another problem are those moments of black comedy that don't fit the tone of the picture (most of these have to do with an ever-hungry rival mobster named Dutch, played by Harry Green).

Verdict: Stick to the original. **.  

THREE SECRETS

Eleanor Parker and Patricia Neal

THREE SECRETS (1950). Director: Robert Wise.

"Is he going to be surprised! You know what his grounds [for divorce] were? He said I wasn't a woman!" -- Phyllis, on learning that she's pregnant.

A plane crashes on a mountain and the only survivor is a little boy. As rescue workers prepare for the dangerous two mile ascent, three women arrive on the scene, all of them wondering if the child is the one they gave up for adoption. The little boy was born on the same day as their child, and came from the same orphanage. Susan (Eleanor Parker) is afraid her marriage may not survive if her husband (Leif Ericson) learns she had a child out of wedlock. Phyllis (Patricia Neal) was a war correspondent whose husband (Frank Lovejoy) left her because she was never home and wouldn't conform to being a traditional wife; she learns she is pregnant after he remarries. Ann (Ruth Roman) gave birth to a boy fathered by a conscienceless wealthy man who paid the ultimate price for his callousness. Three Secrets concentrates on the emotional turmoil of the women's lives and not on the harrowing details of the rescue of the boy, which would have been a completely different picture. The three leading ladies all give fine performances, with Parker and Neal being especially notable. Katherine Warren is also good as Susan's mother, and Kenneth Tobey appears briefly as an army officer who catches Susan with her soldier boyfriend (Arthur Franz). The film's premise is contrived but irresistible, but some of it has to be taken with a grain of salt. An orphanage might acquire three baby boys on the same day in a big city, but all three women basically arrive there at the same time, and how likely is it that Phyllis will remember Susan, who she barely speaks to, five years later, reporter or no. But these are minor concerns: the picture plays beautifully, is very well-acted and well-directed, and has a very moving conclusion. David Buttolph's score disconcertingly reworks the melody of "I Get a Kick Out of You." Although it's been unfairly compared to it, this is completely different from A Letter to Three Wives. This was remade for television in 1999.

Verdict: Oh a higher plateau than the usual soap opera. ***1/2.

BLOWING WILD

BLOWING WILD (1953). Director: Hugo Fregonese.

When Mexican bandits drive them off from their new well, Jeff Dawson (Gary Cooper) and Dutch Peterson (Ward Bond) look for work. They get hired to drive some nitro over bumpy roads. Before this can turn into The Wages of Fear or Violent Road, they next run into old pal Paco (Anthony Quinn), a wealthy fellow who hires them to work on his latest well. Two women get involved in the action: Paco's wife Marina (Barbara Stanwyck), who still has a hankering for her former lover, Jeff;  and stranded nice gal Sal (Ruth Roman), who develops feelings for Jeff as well. This domestic situation is not a good one, and there are still those pesky bandits to deal with. Blowing Wild has its moments -- the bandits chasing after Jeff and Dutch as they careen inside their truck with the nitro; a race between Paco in his car and Marina on her horse -- but the movie can't overcome the fact that the storyline has been done too often and is a little stale. At fifty-two Cooper looks and acts much older, and his semi-love scenes with Stanwyck are never convincing. As for Stanwyck, she really delivers in key scenes, but by and large she (surprisingly for her) just walks through her other sequences with that typical once-removed "Hollywood" acting that often afflicted other stars. Roman and Bond are okay, while Quinn almost walks off with the picture. Juan Garcia is vivid as the slimy bandit leader. Dimitri Tiomkin's score is a decided asset. Frankie Laine sings the title song in his usual over-wrought style.

Verdict: The script nearly defeats this before it begins. **1/2.

LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE

LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE (1951). Director: King Vidor.

"You're not in love with him, you're in love with the smell of murder."

Shelley Carnes (Ruth Roman) is a struggling actress who has somehow saved up enough money to go west for her health. There she encounters Richard Trevelyan (Richard Todd), a man who was acquitted of murdering his unfaithful spouse. Shelley stays at a ranch with Liza (Mercedes McCambridge) a friend who is in love with Richard and who inexplicably wound up on the jury that acquitted him [!], and her weird younger brother, "String" (Darryl Hickman). Shelley is also befriended by Richard's father figure, J. D. (Frank Conroy) and his wife, Myra (Kathryn Givney), as well as their friend, Harvey (Zachary Scott), not to mention the family priest, Father Paul (Rhys Williams). As Shelley begins to fall in love with Richard, she must determine if he is guilty or not -- did one of the aforementioned actually murder his wife? The previous year's Stage Fright also starred Richard Todd as a man mixed up in murder, making Lightning Strikes Twice a significant title for this mostly tiresome retread of sorts, albeit it has a different plot. King Vidor manages to keep things moving, but that's about all, and the suspense is minimal. The actors all acquit themselves nicely, however. The most interesting scene has McCambridge [Giant] going on to Roman about women who, in essence, develop a "thing" for convicts and murderers, even wanting to marry men locked up in jail. The storyline in this actually isn't bad, but there are some jaw-dropping moments of illogic and the whole thing just doesn't hold together. The ads for this film virtually ignored Todd in favor of Roman. Max Steiner's music, which is somewhat recycled, is surprisingly unmemorable. King Vidor also directed the much zestier melodrama Beyond the Forest, which also had a better Steiner score.

Verdict: Half-baked melodrama. **.

MARA MARU

MARA MARU (1952). Director: Gordon Douglas.

In the Philippines Andy Callahan (Richard Webb of The Invisible Monster) tells his partner, Gregory Mason (Errol Flynn), that he's found a big score and will likely make a million dollars. Not much later, Andy is murdered, and a man named Benedict (Raymond Burr) wants to hire Mason to help him find a batch of diamonds lost in a shipwreck. After some minor misadventures, Mason, Benedict, Andy's widow Stella (Ruth Roman), who was once involved with Gregory, a shady character named Ranier (Paul Picerni), and some others set sail on Benedict's boat, the Mara Maru, in hopes of finding the treasure. Any hope that there might be some excitement or suspense in the movie itself goes pretty much unrealized in this distinctly minor adventure that suffers from undeveloped characters, a weak script, dull direction from Gordon Douglas, and an ending that is so sanctimonious you could choke on it. The acting is okay, with Picerni [The Brothers Rico] and Burr [Pitfall] making the best impression. An unintentionally comical scene has Gregory and Stella practically making out when husband Andy's body is still warm. The best thing about Mara Maru is the score by Max Steiner, who gives the picture a lot more than it deserves. Bar Owner "Big China" is well-played by Michael Ross, who later was the alien giant and the bartender in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

Verdict: Manages to make love triangles, murder, undersea exploration, and sunken treasure pretty boring. *1/2.

THE BABY

David Mooney (Manzy) and Ruth Roman

THE BABY (1973). Director: Ted Post.

Social worker Ann Gentry (Anjanette Comer) is a widow who lives with her mother-in-law, Judith (Beatrice Manley). She asks to be assigned to the case of the Wadsworth family, who live in a big rundown house and live off the money given them by the state for the care of a member they call "Baby." Although he has the mind of an infant and sleeps in a crib, Baby (David Mooney/Manzy) is actually a grown man. Ann comes to believe that his problem isn't true retardation, but that for some reason his mother (Ruth Roman) is holding him back developmentally. In the meantime Baby is poked with an electric prod by his sadistic sister Alba (Suzanne Zenor); his other sister Germaine (Marianna Hill of The Astral Factor) takes off her clothes and climbs into the crib with him; and in an even more tasteless scene -- if that were possible --  his babysitter abuses him. But as awful as the Wadsworths may be, is it possible that Ann Gentry is even worse and has her own plans for Baby ...? The Baby is well-acted, especially by Mooney, but it is so exploitative of the mentally ill that it's rather hard to take at times. The movie gets points for originality, but little else. Even the plot twists are pretty sick. This is the kind of movie that does no one's career any good. Tod Andrews, who plays a doctor, was the star of From Hell It Came.

Verdict: Too repellent to be entertaining. For a more sensitive look at the mentally-challenged see A Child is Waiting. **.

LOVE HAS MANY FACES

LOVE HAS MANY FACES (1965). Director: Alexander Singer.

Wealthy Kit Jordan (Lana Turner) is living in Acapulco and married to ex-beach bum, Pete (Cliff Robertson of Obsession). When an old flame of hers, another beach bum named Billy, washes up dead on the shore, it causes tension in her marriage, a situation that isn't helped by the arrival of Carol (Stefanie Powers of Die, Die My Darling), who once cared for Billy, and who attracts the attentions of Pete. Meanwhile half-naked hustler Hank (Hugh O'Brian) and his buddy, Chuck (Ron Husmann), zero in on two middle-aged tourists, Margot (Ruth Roman) and Irene (Virginia Grey). Although the movie is in general well-acted [by Hollywood standards] -- with an especially noteworthy and reptilian O'Brian -- the actors still aren't brilliant enough to make these stereotypes come to life. Marguerite Roberts' thrice-removed screenplay moves the characters around in allegedly interesting tableaux but nothing of consequence ever happens, and the dialogue is as empty as the people. The sub-plot with O'Brian and the ladies really goes nowhere.

Verdict: Go to the beach instead -- or Acapulco! *1/2.

BEYOND THE FOREST

Rosa and the saw mill: "If I don't get out of here I'll die."

BEYOND THE FOREST (1949). Director: King Vidor.

"There's only one person in this town who does anyone a real favor. That's the undertaker -- carries them out." -- Rosa Moline.

"No more dead cat for me! Mink!" -- ditto.

NOTE: Some plot points are given away in this review. Based on a novel by Stuart Engstrand, this vivid melodrama, a kind of poor man's Madame Bovary, has always polarized Davis fans and general movie-goers alike. Davis plays Rosa Moline, a self-absorbed, aging woman in the small town of Loyalton, Wisconsin, which has one industry -- a sawmill constantly issuing smoke and stench -- and one doctor, Rosa's gentle husband, Louis (Joseph Cotten). Bored Rosa, who wants much more out of life than Louis can give her, is having an affair with wealthy businessman Neil Latimer (David Brian of The Damned Don't Cry). Things run hot and cold with Rosa and Latimer for some time, but just when things look perfect Rosa is confronted by Latimer's caretaker, Moose (Minor Watson), who threatens to divulge information to his boss that will utterly ruin things for Rosa. Before she knows it, Rosa is put on trial for murder ...

Hardly anybody, including me, likes Beyond the Forest the first time they see it, perhaps because Davis and the movie seem overblown and slightly grotesque, but the damn thing grows on you and actually has quite a bit going for it. First there's Vidor's direction, which makes the most of Rosa's claustrophobia and frustration, and pulls the viewer along from the very first moment until the highly dramatic climax. Davis has been criticized for supposedly playing a teenager when she was in her forties, but nowhere is it said in the film that Rosa is that young, and one can't assume she is just because the character was younger in the novel. [The characters in the novel "The Postman Always Rings Twice" may have been teenagers or at least very young, but no one has suggested that Turner and Garfield were playing teens in the movie.] Davis comes off like the middle-aged woman whose opportunities are running out just as time is, and who does her best to look and act much younger, and her performance, despite some odd moments perhaps, is vital and effective. Robert Burks' photography makes the most of the bucolic locations and grim situations. Max Steiner's snappy and attractive score was nominated for an Oscar.

Rosa's dilemma is that she fancies herself a non-conformist, different from and superior to the other townspeople, but she hasn't the gifts that would enable her to get away without latching on to some man. The odd thing about Beyond the Forest is that while it's hard to like Rosa, you can't help but find yourself sympathizing with this somewhat sociopathic female who just has to get to Chicago or die [and this has much to do with Davis' performance]. The ending, in which a feverish, dying Rosa literally drags herself inch by inch and step by step to the train station, is not only operatic, but extremely well-handled by Vidor, superbly acted by Davis, and whatever else you think of the film, is just plain good movie-making. The stylized scene when Rosa gets lost in the big city and encounters weird characters is a bit problematic, but sort of works anyway.

Joseph Cotten (Shadow of a Doubt) perhaps makes Louis even more placid than he needs to be. [Some people writing about this movie don't seem to get that it doesn't matter if Louis is "nice" and "pleasant" and forgiving and so on. To Rosa his placidity is deadly.] Dona Drake (Valentino) is excellent as the Native American maid who is so mistreated by Rosa but gives as good as she gets. Minor Watson, a fine actor, played a very different role from Moose, a studio executive, in his next film with Davis, The Star, and is equally convincing in both pictures. Ruth Roman (Invitation) is lovely as Moose's daughter; Davis has a fine moment putting on Roman's mink and looking at herself in the mirror. David Brian is probably the weakest of the cast members, but he's perfectly competent as the rugged Latimer, who's used to getting what he wants, including Rosa. The ubiquitous Ann Doran is one of Loyalton's disapproving [of Rosa] housewives.

Verdict: Love it or hate it, it plays. ***.

JUNGLE QUEEN

JUNGLE QUEEN (13 chapter Universal serial/1945). Directors: Lewis D. Collins; Ray Taylor.

"They're walking into their graves and don't know it."

In 1939 on the eve of WW II, the Nazis have sent agents to the "dark continent" believing it is a necessary strategy to take over Africa, and are using "Tambosa" as their base of operations. One of the German agents is Dr. Elise Bork (Tala Birell) who runs an experimental farm, and works with another Nazi named Lang (Douglass Dumbrille). On the side of the angels are Bob Eliot (Edward Norris) and his buddy Chuck (Eddie Quillan), who go on a mission to Africa and share a plane with Pamela Courtney (Lois Collier), whom they suspect of being an imposter until they all wind up lost in the jungle after the plane crashes. The Nazis are trying to force control upon the natives, but they are less successful with a weird white queen named Lothel (Ruth Roman), who shows up unannounced  to make pronouncements, give advice to the natives, and rescue the boys and Pamela; Lothel is also impervious to bullets [where the hell she came from is never explained]. Then there's the "Sword of Tangu," which has a supposed secret, and is coveted by some of the characters. This is a fairly ridiculous serial but it's often entertaining, the leads are all competent, and it has everyone from Cyril Delevanti to Cy Kendall [the untalented Charles Laughton] in the supporting cast. Pamela is nearly eaten by hungry gators and mauled by a lion, there's a volcanic eruption that sends buildings and statues toppling, and Bob is pursued by dozens of salivating crocs in a river, nearly falls into a pit of lions, and is subjected with the others to a deadly gas attack. Birell had a notable role in The Monster Maker and Collier was in Flying Disc Man from Mars and many other movies.

 Verdict: For all of its flaws, it's one of the better Universal chapterplays. ***.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE Season 3

Barbara Bain and Torin Thatcher

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE Season Three. 1968.

The Impossible Missions Force is back with the usual suspects for a third season of highly illegal action, intrigue and phoney accents [one size fits all]. This was a solid season with more than its share of above average and a few excellent episodes. Among the most memorable: "The Cardinal," in which the team has to switch a real cardinal for a communist impersonator; "The Elixir," in which a despotic woman (Ruth Roman) is undone by her own vanity; "The Diplomat," with Lee Grant and Fernando Lamas in a suspenseful tale of stolen missile plans and deadly poison; the very clever "The Cage," in which a political prisoner must be freed from a top security prison; "The System," with a casino dealer manipulated into squealing on his boss with violent results; and "Doomsday," in which the team must stop the sale of a hydrogen bomb to the bad guys. The cast is good, with Martin Landau taking top honors. Barbara Bain remains glacial, but Cinnamon does show some emotion in another excellent episode, "The Exchange," in  which she's actually caught during a mission and winds up in an iron curtain prison. There seem to be less episodes in which the bad guys instantly fall in love or lust with Cinnamon [surely some of them would prefer a less classy, overtly sexy 19-year-old?], and Bain continues to do fair-to-middling "character" impersonations, such as her "Anastasia" turn in "The Heir Apparent" with guest-star Torin Thatcher. Bain does an amusing imitation of Marlene Dietrich, bad singing and all, in "The Illusion." Robert Conrad of The Wild, Wild West shows up briefly in "The Contender."

Verdict: When this show cooks, it cooks. ***.

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN Preview Version

A dramatic moment from "Strangers"

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951). Director: Alfred Hitchcock.

Guy Haines (Farley Granger from Rope) is a well-known tennis player who is recognized on a train by an alleged fan named Bruno (Robert Walker). During conversation with Guy, weird Bruno suggests they swap murders -- "criss cross" -- so they can each get away with killing the person they most hate in the world. For Guy it's his estranged wife, Miriam (Laura Elliott), while for Bruno it's his wealthy and disgusted father (Jonathan Hale). Guy doesn't take either Bruno nor his suggestion seriously, but that won't stop Guy from carrying out his part of the plan ... and making it clear that if he doesn't kill Bruno's father he will be framed by Bruno for Miriam's murder. Strangers on a Train has an excellent premise [from a novel by Patricia Highsmith], some compelling and imaginative sequences, and a knock-out lead performance by Walker, but somehow ... Strangers on a Train is the type of film that can give you a different impression each time you see it. This is the version that was first shown in previews [also known as the "British" version although it was never really shown anywhere except during previews], and it isn't much different from the release version aside from a few minor cuts. Granger is also quite good, Hitch's daughter Patricia scores as the sister of Guy's new fiancee (Ruth Roman), but Roman's thankless part has her mostly reacting to others and looking perturbed. Marion Lorne, who was later memorable as dithery Aunt Clara on Bewitched, is notable as Bruno's rather pixilated mother, and Leo G. Carroll has yet another good appearance in a Hitchcock film [in between Spellbound and North by Northwest.] Norma Varden of Witness for the Prosecution figures in a highly interesting scene in which Bruno displays his strangulation technique for a party guest and things get a little out of hand [see photo]. The film's highlight is the climax involving a runaway merry-go-round, more on which below. Walker plays in a more epicene fashion than usual, probably to underline Bruno's ambiguous sexuality; while it would be offensive in the 21st century, it works for the movie and is not that overt. Laura Elliott, who is very good as Miriam, who needs attention from men due to her own insecurities [and Guy's falling into an upscale circle without her], also appeared on Bewitched years later playing Louise Tate under the name "Kasey Rogers." She appeared in Two Lost Worlds the same year as Strangers.  

The last time I saw Strangers I thought Hitchcock spent too much time covering Guy's tennis match just before the climax, but this time I was bothered by something else. STOP READING IF YOU'VE NEVER SEEN THE FILM. Let's look at the ending. First, one of the cops pursuing [the wrong suspect] Guy, shoots at him and stupidly hits the elderly operator of the merry-go-round. The cop doesn't even look embarrassed. Another old man crawls under the out-of-control merry-go-round to get to the controls, and when he gets there pushes the switch to STOP in one sudden motion instead of doing it slowly so that the merry-go-round will safely grind to a halt. Of course the sudden stop causes a disaster, which suddenly seems a lot more important than the main storyline. [This makes for a bravura bit of excitement but one can only imagine that the old man is an "idjit."] We never learn what happened to him, the operator who was shot, the cute little boy Guy rescues after Bruno tries to throw him off the revolving platform, nor the other children on the merry-go-round. We see rescue workers in the background, but Hitch focuses on the two principals [understandably]. The cop who inadvertently caused the whole tragedy seems to show no concern over the injured and presumably dead people in the background and still doesn't even look embarrassed. By creating this disaster scene, Hitch has over-powered the main storyline! Another problem is that while the merry-go-round scene is very well done, the editing isn't quite as sharp as it could have been. But let's face it. We Hitchcock fans are always ultra-critical because we expect so much of The Master.

Verdict: Just misses being top-drawer Hitchcock, but next time I watch it I may disagree! ***.

INVITATION (1952)

INVITATION (1952). Director: Gottfried Reinhardt.

"I'm going to be a spinster, father, all of my life -- but there's an awful lot to be said for it."

Ellen Pierce (Dorothy McGuire) is happy in her marriage to Dan (Van Johnson), but she's disturbed by bitchy comments made by Dan's old girlfriend, Maud (Ruth Roman), as well as a medical condition that often saps her energy. Dan and Ellen's father (Louis Calhern), as well as her doctor (Ray Collins), share a secret that would devastate Ellen if she knew, and which Maud is apparently determined she find out. Although like most movies of this nature you have to take Invitation with a grain of salt, it does present an interesting situation and is well-acted. All of the principal actors underplay effectively (although at times they may underplay too much), which may be attributed to director Reinhardt. This makes Maud seem like less of a caricature, although Roman's good performance might have been more fun if she played it in venomous mode, spitting out her lines; McGuire and Johnson are both fine, and Calhern is as excellent as ever. A difficult scene when Ellen's father makes a certain proposition to Dan is extremely well-played by both actors. Bronislau Kaper's overly brassy score is a disappointment and somewhat weakens the picture.

Verdict: Intriguing soap opera/drama. ***.