QUEEN BEE

Joan as Eva Phillips

QUEEN BEE (1955). Written and directed by Ranald MacDougall. Colorized version.      

"Really that Dr. Pearson is absurd. He actually trembles when he talks to me. You'd think he'd never seen a beautiful woman before." -- Eva. 

Although dating Jud Prentiss (John Ireland of The Ceremony), the Yankee Eva (Joan Crawford) sets her cap for Jud's boss, Avery Phillips (Barry Sullivan of Pyro), a wealthy Southern gentleman, and follows him home. Eva lies and tells Avery that she's pregnant, and the "gentleman" literally leaves his fiancee, Sue (Fay Wray), at the church door to run off with Eva. Years later the two are trapped in a miserable, dysfunctional marriage with Avery spending most of his time in his bedroom getting drunk. Ironically, Avery is nicknamed "Beauty" but now has a large scar on his face due to a drunken driving accident. Meanwhile the aforementioned Jud has fallen for Avery's sister, Carol (Betsy Palmer), who positively loathes Eva. Into this miasma of Southern rage and scandal comes Eva's sweet cousin, Jennifer (Lucy Marlow of He Laughed Last), who is moving into the mansion completely unaware of the goings-on. When Eva, who never lets go of a man, finds out that Jud and Carol are engaged, things in the household will get even tenser, if such is possible ... 

Mrs. Vorhees meets Lucy Harbin

Queen Bee is certainly not a perfect movie, but it is a strangely compelling melodrama with a lot going on in the background. Joan Crawford dominates the picture, of course, as she should, and gives a highly effective performance as a rather nasty character who admits what she is but still can't help making excuses for her behavior. If you don't quite believe her when she's showing vulnerability, it's because you can't quite imagine Eva ever being vulnerable in any real sense, although she is not above playing on people's sympathies. 

Cocktails and savagery at the Phillips

As for the rest of the cast, Betsy Palmer stands out as Carol, standing up to Eva/Joan on occasion even as you realize she is just no match for her strong-willed, highly neurotic sister-in-law. Lucy Marlow, with her odd square face, has a couple of unconvincing moments but is basically solid as the ultimately disillusioned Jennifer. (You're not quite certain how or why she falls for the dissolute Avery, and any actress might have a hard time making that convincing.) Fay Wray has one scene as Sue, the jilted fiancee, who seems to have lost herself in never-got-over-it vagueness. Wray is good, but it's hard to imagine that she would ever want anything to do with this couple, let alone have cocktails with them in their drawing room. 

Barry Sullivan with Crawford

The men don't fare as well. John Ireland and Barry Sullivan give rather stilted, rushed line readings as compared to the ladies. William Leslie makes an impression, however, as the handsome and charming Ty, and Jennifer seems demented in preferring Avery, on the verge of cirrhosis of the liver, over this hunk. Katherine Anderson is suitably hard and unpleasant as the nurse who takes pleasure in being nasty to the little boy (Tim Hovey) who suffers nightmares, until the little guy knows "how [the nightmare] ends" at the violent climax. Hovey is as adorable and adept as ever. (A sobering postscript is that the fellow committed suicide at only 44.) Willa Pearl Curtis, as a maid, has a nice vignette when she expresses sympathy to Jennifer over being dumped and muses about her own romantic missteps. Years later Crawford and Palmer both played deranged murderesses, Crawford in Strait-Jacket (at the opening) and Palmer in Friday the 13th. Handsomely shot by Charles Lang. 

Verdict: Crawford in a compelling portrait of a woman who deservedly hates herself. ***. 

MAN AFRAID

George Nader

MAN AFRAID (1957). Director: Harry Keller.

A man sneaks into a child's bedroom window and runs into the boy's mother, hitting her in the face and temporarily blinding her. When her husband, minister David Collins (George Nader), comes to her rescue he winds up inadvertently killing the intruder. Although not charged with any crime, Collins learns that the dead man's father, Carl Simmons (Eduard Franz), is following his little boy, Michael (Tim Hovey), around town in a threatening manner. Collins' wife, Lisa (Phyllis Thaxter), feels helpless because her eyes are bandaged. As Simmons becomes more and more bold, going so far as to invade Collins' very home, the minister tries to get Lt Marlin (Harold J. Stone) to take some kind of preventative action. But will it all come too late?

Nader with feisty Mabel Albertson

Man Afraid is a solid suspense film with very good performances. Nader has always been under-rated because of his participation in such films as Robot Monster, but he's fine in this, as are Thaxter and little Tim Hovey, an appealing and talented child actor. Reta Shaw offers a little spice as a nurse hired to look after Lisa, and Mabel Albertson certainly makes her mark as Simmons' tippling and fairly obnoxious landlady. Stone also makes the policeman more obnoxious than he needs to be. Tom Nolan is also notable as Michael's friend, "Skunky," who is neglected by his father (Judson Pratt), an aggressive newsman. He tells the sympathetic Collins that his father claims he makes too much noise "but when I'm dead they'll wish I was able to make any kind of noise." Franz is effective in a near-silent role.

Nader with Phyllis Thaxter

Man Afraid is well-photographed in CinemaScope by Russell Metty, and has a very good score by Henry Mancini. Keller's direction is adroit, and the climax is tense and exciting. One odd sequence concerns a boxing match between little boys in an actual arena, a match that Michael participates in! Considering that the "burglar" entered the Collins' house when the couple was home, and immediately snuck into the boy's bedroom, one has to wonder exactly what the man was after, but this aspect goes unexplored. Harry Keller also directed Nader in The Female Animal and The Unguarded Moment. 

Verdict: Absorbing suspense film with good performances and a satisfying conclusion. ***. 

MONEY, WOMEN AND GUNS

Jock Mahoney

MONEY, WOMEN AND GUNS (1958). Director: Richard Bartlett.

Western detective "Silver" Ward Hogan (Jock Mahoney) rides into town and is immediately assigned the case of an elderly murdered prospector. Hogan discovers that the killer might be one of the people mentioned in the old man's will, so he sets out to find them and see what's up. The beneficiaries include a cute little boy named Davy (Tim Hovey), who lives with his widowed mother, Mary (Kim Hunter), and who ignites Hogan's cautious interest. Then there's the bearded Briggs (Don Megowan); the supposedly reformed crook Clinton Gunstone (William Campbell), who lives with his wife Mary (Judi Meredith); and the oldtimer Henry Devers (James Gleason), whose best pal is Art Birdwell (Lon Chaney, Jr.). Hogan also has a rival in bounty hunter Johnny Bee (Jeffrey Stone, who makes a good impression in a strange role).

The comically generic title of the movie, along with its poster, promises something that the flick doesn't quite deliver. One imagines Mahoney stumbling out of a dance hall with a smile on his lips and lipstick all over his face, but any dance hall gals in this movie are kept far, far in the background. Instead, Money, Women and Guns is a relatively serious and well-written western-mystery whose major flaw is its very abrupt wind-up. Smaller roles in the film are played by Phillip Terry as a lawyer, Tom Drake as the brother of two desperadoes, and Gene Evans [The Giant Behemoth] as an autocratic sheriff. Kim Hunter [The Seventh Victim] is fine if a bit out of place as Mary, little Tim Hovey is a scene stealer, and James Gleason [Racket Squad] arguably offers the best performance as Devers. Mahoney has charisma and is competent but is frankly out-classed by some of the other actors. From Universal-International, this is a color CinemaScope production.

Verdict: Entertaining, minor western with a good premise. **1/2.