GO NAKED IN THE WORLD

Anthony Franciosa and Gina Lollobrigida

GO NAKED IN THE WORLD (1961). Written and directed by Ranald  MacDougall. NOTE Some plot points are revealed in this review.

"I'd like to think someone in this family could be kind to women." -- Mary.

Nick Stratton (Anthony Franciosa) keeps re-enlisting in the Army because he is resistant to his father, Pete's (Ernest Borgnine), plans for him in the construction business. Pete feels a need to run his son's life, and in truth Nick does seem a little unfocused. But he develops a very clear focus when he falls in love with the beautiful Julie (Gina Lollobrigida), and vice versa, although she resists as long as she can. It seems Nick doesn't know that Julie is a highly-successful call girl, and Nick's father is one of her clients! 

Franciosa with Ernest Borgnine

Go Naked in the World  -- love that title! -- is an entertaining melodrama that boasts two terrific lead performances by Franciosa and Lollobrigida, who proves in this that she is more than just a very pretty face. (The only problem with Franciosa is that he seems much too sophisticated not to realize what profession Julie is in from the first.) As Pete, Borgnine gives a generally strong if imperfect performance, which is also true of Nancy R. Pollock as Pete's wife, Mary. There are nice turns from Luana Patten as Nick's sister, Yvonne, and Will Kuluva as a rather sleazy restaurant owner and friend (of sorts) of Pete's. Philip Ober, former husband of Vivian Vance, has some good moments as a former client of Julie's who takes her dancing. 

Gina as Julie

One of the best scenes in the movie has Nick going up high at a construction site -- twenty stories up -- to ask Pete for money. Pete, way out on a ledge, shows him the money, and tells him he has to come out to get it. There are a few tense moments as Nick makes his way out on the ledge. Pete's employees are not at all thrilled with his actions. 

Pollock, Borgnine, Patten, Franciosa

Although Pete can certainly be loud and overbearing -- his daughter hates him and his wife feels understandably unloved -- one can see why he would be irritated with Nick. (If Nick doesn't want his father controlling his life, he has the option of getting a job and his own place and telling him to go to hell.) Somehow Nick and Julie manage to get the money to go off to what appears to be Acapulco even though Julie has given up hooking. A hilarious moment has Pete telling Julie that she and Nick are "living in back alleys" when they're actually in an ultra-luxurious hotel room at the time! As for the tragic ending, the production code wouldn't allow redemption, as such, for Julie or a happy ending for the couple. The script is reasonably good, although the classic line from Mildred Pierce -- "leave something on me, I might catch cold" -- should never have been re-used. 

Verdict: Good performances help put over this absorbing if somewhat synthetic romance. ***. 

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 CHRISTINE JORGENSEN STORY

John Hansen 

THE CHRISTINE JORGENSEN STORY (1970). Director: Irving Rapper.

From his early childhood on, George Jorgensen (John Hansen) has felt like he was different, and identified much more as a girl than as a boy. Mistaken for being gay, he decides to discover more on his "condition" and is told that he has an excess of estrogen. George travels to Denmark where he is given permission to have what today we would call sexual realignment surgery. His story makes headlines in the New York Daily News ("Ex-GI Becomes Beautiful Blonde") and both he and his family have to deal with the fall-out of the disclosure. Christine Jorgensen was a true pioneer, and this fictionalized version of her story is interesting, but not all that well done, with a cheap look and tedious exposition. John Hansen is an effective lead, portraying both George and Christine equally well, although at times he's somewhat amateurish. Quinn K. Redeker (of The Young and the Restless) plays a reporter who falls for Christine and gives her her first kiss (which is actually a male-male kiss since Hansen was only playing a woman); Pamelyn Ferdin [The Beguiled] is George's sympathetic sister as a child; Elaine Joyce is a bitchy, homophobic model; Joyce Meadows [The Girl in Lovers Lane] is another, friendlier model; Joan Tompkins is George's ahead-of-her time Aunt Thora; and Will Kuluva [To Trap a Spy] is Professor Estabrook, who sets George on the correct path.

Another character is George's boss, Jess (Rod McCary), who turns out to be gay and gets angry when George denies his homosexuality. Jess nearly winds up assaulting George. A scene that could have been positive, showing a bond between two sexual minorities (however different), is instead thrown away for a bit of ugly, almost homophobic sensationalism. It's especially egregious because Jess is a likable character who tells George of many well-known gay men throughout history.

Irving Rapper also directed another famous movie about an amazing transformation: Bette Davis' Now, Voyager.

NOTE: Chistine Jorgensen's operation was not the first of its kind, but the first that was heavily publicized. There were some differences from earlier operations, and I've no doubt attitudes towards transsexualism and its origins have changed since this film was made nearly fifty years ago.

Verdict: Compelling at first, with a sensitive lead performance, but it drags a bit and, surprisingly, lacks dramatic intensity. **1/2.

PERRY MASON SEASON 8

Raymond Burr

PERRY MASON Season 8. 1965.

Perry (Raymond Burr) and the gang are back for another season of this highly popular courtroom drama -- one of the best seasons in the series' long history. Phyllis Hill and Robert Brown give outstanding performances in "The Case of the Sleepy Slayer," a clever story in which a woman must live with her hated uncle. "Wooden Nickles" with Will Kuluva features skulduggery over a valuable confederate coin. "Ruinous Road" examines the hoopla over tearing a house down to build a needed thoroughfare. Joyce Meadows [Brain from Planet Arous] and Gary Crosby appear in "Frustrated Folksinger," about a show biz dilettante accused of murdering an exploitative agent. "Thermal Thief," in which a woman tries to honor her late husband despite complications, features fine performances from Joyce Van Patten and Barry Sullivan [Queen Bee]. Jeanne Bal scores as a viciously scheming woman in "Tell Tale Tap." Minerva Urecal [Who's Guilty?] shows up in "Lover's Gamble" about a doctor with romantic issues. "Murderous Mermaid" has an Esther Williams-type dealing with a show biz hopeful and a strange publicity plot. In "Careless Kitten," in which there is no trial or even a courtroom sequence, Perry investigates whether or not a man missing for ten years is still alive, and confronts suspects in a living room; Percy Helton and an excellent Louise Latham [Marnie] are in the cast. In the season's most bizarre moment, Perry faces down a big ape in "Grinning Gorilla" with Victor Buono [Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte] and Lurene Tuttle [The Manitou]. And there were many other memorable episodes.

Verdict: Still one of the most enjoyable and well-acted programs ever made. ***1/2.

CRIME IN THE STREETS

CRIME IN THE STREETS (1956). Director: Don Siegel. 

Frankie Dane (John Cassavetes) is a troubled, aimless youth full of rage that has nowhere to go. Annoyed by an older man (Malcolm Atterbury) who snitched on one of his pals, Dane importunes two buddies to help him fulfill a plot to murder the guy. These friends include young Angelo (Sal Mineo, fine as usual) and Lou (Mark Rydell, who plays the character somewhat stereotypically gay). James Whitmore is fine as a social worker who tries to help Dane and the other boys, and Virginia Gregg gives the performance of her career as Frankie's mother, who just doesn't know how to deal with him. Will Kuluva is also notable as Angelo's troubled father, Mr. Gioia. Cassevetes, in his film debut, offers a knock-out portrayal, and Peter Votrian as his sensitive little brother, Richie, is also memorable. Reginald Rose's script is full of interesting characters and heart-felt moments, although the film may seem dated in its seeming belief that there are no sociopaths but just "misunderstood" boys. [A lot of viewers may feel that what nasty Frankie needs is not understanding but a good swift kick in the derriere.] Still, this is an interesting film with many good moments, an excellent Cassevetes, and an absolutely outstanding Gregg. NOTE: This has just been released on DVD as part of Warner Brothers Film Noir Classic Collection Volume 5. 

Verdict: Raw emotion served up with relish -- and possibly Gregg's finest hour. ***.

TO TRAP A SPY

TO TRAP A SPY (1964). Director: Don Medford. 

"What's that got to do with me? I'm just a housewife with two children." 

Before the sixties spy show The Man from U.N.C.L.E. hit the airwaves, a pilot episode was filmed under the name Solo. When the show became a big hit, it was decided to increase the coffers a bit by expanding the first episode into feature-length and releasing it to theaters in color instead of black and white as it was shown on TV. To further make it a little different, it was decided to use the Solo pilot instead of the subsequent U.N.C.L.E. episode [Both of which were "The Vulcan Affair" with some changes]. Therefore the sinister organization in To Trap a Spy isn't Thrush but Wasp, and Solo's boss isn't Alexander Waverly but Mr. Allison (Will Kuluva). Sexy Luciana Paluzzi, who was a hit woman in Thunderball, figures in the added footage, which includes an after-bedroom scene with Solo. [Actually Paluzzi gives a good and more nuanced performance than she did in the Bond film.] 

The plot has Solo (an excellent Robert Vaughn as a very classy spy) importuning a pretty housewife, Elaine May Bender (an equally good Patricia Crowley) to distract old boyfriend Andrew Vulcan (Fritz Weaver), who is planning an assassination of African dignitary Ashumen (William Marshall). But things are never as they seem, and complications arise, leading to desperate circumstances for Solo and the fish-out-of-water Elaine. Weaver and Marshall are both in good form, and Kuluva, frankly, makes a more realistic head of a super-spy agency than the lovable but rather dithery Leo G. Carroll. Some very good scenes and Vaughn and Paluzzi especially play well together. NOTE: David McCallum/Ilya doesn't have much to do in this. Click here for more on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. 

Verdict: The Birth of UNCLE. ***.

THE SPY IN THE GREEN HAT

THE SPY IN THE GREEN HAT (1966). Director: Joseph Sargent. 

The Spy in the Green Hat was the European theatrical version of the two part Man from U.N.C.L.E. episode "The Concrete Overcoat Affair." Thrush has decided upon a crazy plan to turn Greenland into "Thrushland" and is planning to use deadly missiles in their scheme. Louis Strago (Jack Palance) is the person Thrush has assigned to this plan and he is assisted by a sadistic secretary/assassin played by Janet Leigh. While investigating the operation, UNCLE agent Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) is caught in the bedroom of a pretty young Italian girl , Pia (Leticia Roman). Her relatives, prohibition mobsters who are now elderly men (Eduardo Ciannelli; Allen Jenkins), go after Solo to force him to marry her, but wind up teaming up with him when they learn that Pia has been taken captive by Strago. Jack Palance's performance is just a little over the top even for this kind of material, but Janet Leigh strikes just the right note as the psychotic hit woman and she has a nifty (if too brief) cat-fight with Letitia Roman. Ludwig Donath is the ex-Nazi who is working with Thrush and even Elisha Cook shows up as another petty, aging mobster. This is an entertaining UNCLE movie, with the usual quota of excitement and humor. "The Spy in the Green Hat" turns out to be Mr. Thaler, an emissary from Thrush Central, who comes to see Strago carry out the operation successfully. Thaler is well played by Will Kuluva, the actor who was first chosen to play the head of UNCLE [Mr. Allison] before it was decided to go with the better known Leo G. Carroll. [Kuluva also appears in the first UNCLE film To Trap a Spy.] Vaughn and David MaCallum are in good form as Solo and his fellow agent Illya Kuryakin. 

Verdict: As theatrical telefilms go, this isn't bad -- if you're an UNCLE fan. ***.