SCUDDA HOO! SCUDDA HAY!

Walter Brennan, June Haver, Lon McCallister

SCUDDA HOO! SCHUDDA HAY!  (1948). Written and directed by F. Hugh Herbert. 

"Snug" (Lon McCallister) lives with his father, Milt (Henry Hull), termagant stepmother (Anne Revere), and nasty stepbrother, "Stretch" (Robert Karnes) on a farm. Fed up with his horrible wife, Milt goes back to sea while Snug goes to work for the dyspeptic farmer McGill (Tom Tully). McGill has two daughters: the adorable little "Bean" (Natalie Wood), and the older, curvaceous "Rad" (June Haver). Snug makes a deal with McGill for two mules that the farmer doesn't want, and with the help of old Tony (Walter Brennan), turns the mules into a team that will bring in good money. But McGill and Stretch cook up a nasty scheme to get the mules back -- or will they? 

Is that June -- or Marilyn?

I had heard of this oddly-tilted movie -- the title is actually a kind of mule call -- for decades, but never had that much desire to see it until I discovered the "adorable one" -- Marilyn Monroe -- was in the cast. Alas, her part was cut down so drastically that I couldn't even spot her until I checked again and saw her say hello to June Haver while coming out of church. And that's it! The poster tries to make the flick look as sexy and exciting as possible, and wouldn't you know that June Haver actually looks a lot like Marilyn Monroe in the ad! As for the film itself, it does have some good moments (the two step brothers have a rip-roaring fight; Rad tells off her father) and even a bit of suspense at the end as our hero sort of "bets the farm" on whether or not his mules can pull a tractor out of the mud, but other than that it gets a little tedious. As ever June Haver is bland, pretty, and professional, while Lon McCallister is a combination of charm and petulance. At times Snug hardly seems much nicer than Stretch. Brennan and the rest of the supporting cast are all terrific, and Natalie Wood nearly steals the movie in her very cute turn as the precocious and intelligent Bean. Geraldine Wall subdues her usual feistiness as McGill's wife but is good. Lee MacGregor has a nice scene when he comes to tell Rad that Snug's father died at sea. 

Lon McCallister was an appealing actor who was often cast in these kind of roles. He was the boyfriend of actor William Eythe, who co-starred with Tallulah Bankhead in A Royal Scandal. In this film you will learn that mules are a combination of horses and donkeys but are actually more intelligent than either -- yes, it's true!

Verdict: Way too much about mules! **1/4. 

LADY IN THE LAKE

Audry Totter and Robert Montgomery's reflection

LADY IN THE LAKE (1946). Director: Robert Montgomery.

Philip Marlowe (Robert Montgomery) submits a short mystery story based on truth to a pulp magazine and is invited in to meet the editor, a woman named Adrienne (Audrey Totter). She is more interested in hiring Marlowe to look for her boss, Derace Kingsby's (Leon Ames), wife, who has supposedly run off with a man named Chris (Dick Simmons of Man with the Steel Whip). This leads into a series of murders and a kind of strange affair between Marlowe and Adrienne, whom the private eye doesn't quite trust. Then he starts tripping over bodies ...

Man in the mirror: Marlowe gets first aid

Lady in the Lake is one of six films directed by star Montgomery, who decided to shoot this as an ill-advised stunt. Except for three brief sequences in which he addresses the camera to move the plot along, Marlowe/Montgomery is only seen in mirrors. While the plot and acting is interesting enough to keep the viewer entertained for most of the film's length, the gimmick gets a little tiresome and one longs for a more traditional approach. Another problem is that Montgomery is miscast as Marlowe (the detective's first name is misspelled as "Phillip"); he's as gruff and obnoxious as the script requires but he doesn't make a convincing Marlowe.

Audrey Totter and Leon Ames

On the other hand, Audrey Totter steals the picture as Adrienne, giving a fascinating and multi-leveled performance, a snarling bitch one minute, a cloying child the next, belting out orders and disdain in equal measure with one hand, and purring kittenishly with the other. She lacks the raw sex appeal of, say, Veronica Lake, but she's extremely effective nevertheless. Leon Ames, Tom Tully [A Kiss for Corliss] as a police captain, and especially Lloyd Nolan [Sergeant Ryker] as a vicious cop are all terrific. Jayne Meadows also has some fine moments, although she isn't always completely convincing in her portrayal. Dick Simmons makes a positive impression as the oddly likable gigolo, Chris.

One has to pay careful attention while watching this picture, because at the end you still may not be certain who did what to whom and why. Raymond Chandler's source novel undoubtedly spelled it out in more detail. In any case, the movie is suspenseful, and there's at least one creepy scene when Marlowe searches inside a bathroom.

Verdict: Watch for Totter if nothing else. **3/4. 

A KISS FOR CORLISS

Tom Tully, Shirley Temple and Gloria Holden

A KISS FOR CORLISS (aka Almost a Bride/1949). Director: Richard Wallace.

In this sequel to Kiss and Tell, Corliss Archer (Shirley Temple) gets in more hot water when her father, Harry (Tom Tully), represents the wife of a much-married man in a divorce action. Kenneth Marquis (David Niven), the husband in the case, hates Harry Archer and begins playfully courting his daughter for spite. Meanwhile Corliss writes fake stories about her involvement with Kenneth in her diary in order to make boyfriend Dexter (Darryl Hickman) jealous, resulting in the engagement of Kenneth and Corliss hitting the papers and Harry having conniption fits!.A Kiss for Corliss has an amusing script, but the problem is in the casting. Temple is fine as Corliss, but I can think of a dozen actors who could do more with the part and be a lot funnier than Tully (who played the role of a neighbor in the earlier film). Gloria Holden as Corliss' mother is most famous for playing the lead in Dracula's Daughter, but again she's hardly a skilled comedienne. Niven's role is completely one-dimensional but he displays his customary charm. Hickman, also cast in another role in the earlier film, takes over from Jerome Courtland as Dexter, and Kathryn Card returns as the Archer housekeeper, as does Virginia Welles as Corliss' friend, Mildred Pringle -- all are fine. Oddly, Mildred got married to Corliss' brother in Kiss and Tell, but seems to be single -- with no husband or brother in sight -- in the sequel. Robert Ellis [Space Master X-7] is fun as the nasty little teen Raymond Pringle; later he played Dexter in the 1954 TV series Meet Corliss Archer. This was Shirley Temple's last film, retiring from movies at the ripe old age of 21.

Verdict: Goodbye Shirley! **1/2. .

THE TURNING POINT (1952)

Alexis Smith and William Holden

THE TURNING POINT (1952). Director: William Dieterle.

"I don't need a speech about honor or integrity -- from either one of you." -- John Conroy.

John Conroy (Edmond O'Brien) is a special prosecutor determined to break the hold that the rackets have on his city. Unfortunately, his good friend, reporter Jerry McKibbon (William Holden), has discovered that Conroy's own father, Matt (Tom Tully of Where the Sidewalk Ends), is a crooked cop in the employ of mobster Neil Eichelberger (Ed Begley), Conroy's chief antagonist. Adding to Conroy's troubles is the fact that his girlfriend and co-worker Amanda (Alexis Smith of Whiplash) is falling for Jerry and vice versa. There's a lot going on in The Turning Point -- a "B" movie with an "A" cast from Paramount and not Republic-- but much of it is handled in so perfunctory a manner that you wonder why the sub-plots -- Conroy's father being secretly corrupt; the love triangle -- were even introduced; Jerry is especially under-developed as a character. Still, the movie has interesting aspects and is well-acted, especially by Begley and Adele Longmire as the terrified witness, Carmelina. Carolyn Jones has a nice turn as another ditsy witness, and Russell Johnson [Attack of the Crab Monsters] briefly plays a cold-blooded hit man, as does Neville Brand. O'Brien's unemotional, reigned-in performance may fit the stoic character, but it also makes it harder to sympathize with someone who's having a really lousy year. The movie cries out for a good musical score, which it doesn't get.

Verdict: Borderline film noir with intriguing situations but it's perhaps less effective than some cheaper movies without major stars. **1/2.

WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS

Dana Andrews confronts Gary Merrill

WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS (1950). Producer/director: Otto Preminger.

Detective Mark Dixon (Dana Andrews) is a tough cop who has been warned once too often to use less force when "interviewing" suspects, but he goes too far and inadvertently kills a war hero with a plate in his head (Craig Stevens of Peter Gunn), then covers it up. As part of his investigation he meets the dead man's estranged wife, Morgan (Gene Tierney), whose father (Tom Tully) is arrested for the crime. Mark's guilt increases as he and the lovely Morgan are drawn to one another, and she worries terribly about a man whom Mark knows is innocent. Will he do the right thing? Where the Sidewalk Ends reunites the director and leads of Laura and is good enough that you don't even miss Clifton Webb. Andrews, Tierney, Gary Merrill (as a crook Mark has been trying to ensnare), and even Craig Stevens all give adept performances, and there is good support from Tully, Karl Malden and Bert Freed as cops, Eda Reiss Merin as Freed's wife, and Ruth Donnelly as a restaurant owner and friend of Mark's. More proof that Dana Andrews was an under-rated actor.

Verdict: Smooth romance-suspenser with some fine performances. ***.