THE DAY OF THE JACKAL

THE DAY OF THE JACKAL (1973). Director: Fred Zinnemann. Based on the novel by Frederick Forsythe.

In 1962 French President DeGaulle has been targeted for assassination by the terrorist group OAS because of the issue of Algerian independence, which he supports. Since DeGaulle is heavily guarded and many of the members of the OAS are well-known to the government, the group decides it would be safer to bring in an outsider and foreigner, and hire a contract killer who becomes known as the Jackal (Edward Fox of The Mirror Crack'd). The film details this sociopath's meticulous planning even as French officials convene under the direction of the Minister (Alan Badel of Salome) and assign Commissioner Lebel (Michael Lonsdale) to track him down. Using his quick wits and ruthless nature, the Jackal manages to stay one step ahead of the police, until they figure just when the man is going to strike. But will they be able to prevent disaster? Obviously, they do, but the interest in the film is in exactly how the Jackal will be stopped and when. 

     

Michael Lonsdale

The Day of the Jackal proceeds almost like a documentary. It has no real musical score (until the closing credits) and hasn't much style. There is one memorable sequence in which the Jackal murders a man whom he meets in a Turkish bath. This is handled in a low-key, matter-of-fact fashion that makes it all the more chilling. (The assassin is shown having sex with a woman he picks up, but whether or not he gets it on with the guy is left to the imagination, although he does apparently spend the night.) Edward Fox really isn't given a lot to sink his teeth into as his character is virtually unemotional and is given no real background or identity, but he manages to make a positive impression in spite of it. The other actors, mostly unknown, are all professional and adept. Jackal is one of those movies that keeps you perfectly absorbed even as you think afterward that it wasn't all that great. There's no real nail-biting suspense to the film. The only familiar faces in this, besides Lonsdale (who was later the villain in Moonraker), are Derek Jacobi [Breaking the Code] as his assistant, Caron, Jean Sorel [Sandra] as Bastien-Thiry, an OAS man who is executed at the opening of the film, and perhaps Delphine Seyrig, as Collette, a wealthy married woman who dallies with the Jackal and comes to regret it. 

Verdict: It entertains, but it sure could have used a musical score. **3/4. 

OSS 117 UNLEASHED

Kerwin Mathews

OSS 117 UNLEASHED 

(aka OSS 117 se dechaine/1963) 

Director: Andre Hunebelle.

An American agent with the Office of Strategic Services is searching for the prototype of a device that can detect atomic submarines and thinks he's found it in a grotto when he is killed. Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, also known as OSS 117 (Kerwin Mathews of The Viscount), is sent to replace the dead man, and investigates a scuba instructor, Renotte (Henri-Jacques Huet), and his girlfriend, Brigitta (Nadia Sanders), who is keeping secrets. A nasty character named Mayan (Roger Dutoit) is out to keep 117 from finding the detector and employs various unsavory agents, male and female, to stop him. The climax takes place at a spooky estate located above the grotto where 117 will either destroy the device or die trying. 

Irina Demick holds a rifle on 117

OSS 117 was introduced in a series of French novels and made his first film appearance in 1957 where the character had a different name and was a French agent. When Dr. No became a sensation in 1962 filmmakers in France decided to revive the character and make him more like James Bond. Hence Mathews' adroit performance is clearly cut from the same cloth: a man with an eye for the ladies, callous and ruthless, and not at all bothered by the death of anyone, good guy or bad. The movie is fast-paced and suspenseful, with some colorful supporting characters. It cries out for a much better score, however, and the pop song that opens the film is especially bad. Followed by Panic in Bangkok. In French with subtitles. Director Hunebelle directed most of the succeeding 117 films in the sixties as well as Fantomas. 117 still appears in movies made in the 21st century. 

Verdict: Acceptable Eurospy film with handsome Mathews quite effective as the spy. **3/4. 

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. ***. 

SATURN 3

Harvey Keitel, Kirk Douglas, Farrah Fawcett

SATURN 3 (1980). Director: Stanley Donen. 

Adam (Kirk Douglas) and his assistant and lover, Alex (Farrah Fawcett), work on Titan, a moon of Saturn, in an experimental food research station. One day along comes "Captain Benson "(Harvey Keitel), who has apparently murdered and taken the place of the real Captain Benson for unknown reasons. Benson also brings along with him a robot, Hector, that is linked to his own brain, follows his orders, and seems to lust for Alex just as he does. Obviously things are going to go wrong. Benson seems to think he has a right to sleep with Alex, suggests that Adam is over the hill, and sets about making trouble and being obnoxious. Then the robot begins to go berserk ... 

Hector goes after Alex

Saturn 3 may or may not have been influenced by Alien, which came out the year before, but S3 suffers in comparison because the mechanical villain of the piece is nowhere nears as interesting as the monster in Alien. The film shows signs of much post-production tampering as well. The original director left and was replaced by Stanley Donen, of all people, hardly a Sci Fi specialist. Kirk Douglas is as charismatic as ever -- even showing off his naked butt (yet again!) -- while Fawcett Of All The Hair is acceptable but no more. It's impossible to judge Keitel's performance. He seems to be the best thing in the movie until you learn that producer Lew Grade didn't care for Keitel's Brooklyn accent and wanted the actor to redub his lines -- instead the lines were dubbed by Roy Dotrice, whose readings are excellent. 

Verdict: Some exciting scenes and interesting sets but relatively minor sci fi. **3/4. 

SAY ONE FOR ME

Debbie Reynolds and Robert Wagner

SAY ONE FOR ME (1959). Produced and directed by Frank Tashlin. 

Father Conroy (Bing Crosby) has a parish in the middle of the theater district and holds services at two in the morning. When one parishioner, Harry (Les Tremayne), falls ill and can't work, his daughter, Holly (Debbie Reynolds), takes up the slack. Harry and Father Conroy think she's working as a secretary, but Holly is actually appearing in a nightclub with her smooth and handsome partner and boss, Tony Vincent (Robert Wagner). Now the trick is to keep that wolf Tony at bay while both of them jockey for stardom. When Father Conroy gets a chance to put together a TV special, Tony thinks he's In Like Flynn -- but is he?

Ray Walston with Der Bingle

Say One for Me is artificial from the first frame to the last, and comes off more like something out of the 1930s than the 1950s. Bing doesn't strain too much to put over his familiar portrayal of Father Conroy, and Reynolds and Wagner are perfectly professional. Wagner sings and dances in this, but he's no threat to Fred Astaire. The supporting cast is perhaps of more interest: In addition to Tremayne, we've got Connie Gilchrist as the priest's cook and housekeeper; Joe Besser -- "Stinky" on The Abbott and Costello Show -- as Tony's manager; and especially Ray Walston in a terrific turn as an alcoholic associate of Tony's. Father Conroy cures the man of his addiction overnight! 

Judy Harriet as June January

There are a few songs by Cahn and Van Heusen, most of which are forgettable, with the exception of Bing's "I Couldn't Care Less" and "Christmas All Year Through." Judy Harriet plays a girl who is rejected for the nightclub by Tony and tells him in a year she'll be a star, which happens at the end of the movie as she warbles her hit record, "The Night Rock n Roll Died" -- also forgettable. The best music in the movie is actually the theme music by Lionel Newman. If the movie weren't treacly enough, it also throws in a baby and an unwed mother. Sebastian Cabot shows  up briefly as a fat Monsignor, and Herb Alpert is the sexy trumpet player in the background of one of the numbers.

Verdict: You can stand this for about an hour but unfortunately it's two hours long! **.   

CLAUDELLE INGLISH

Arthur Kennedy, Diane McBain, Constance Ford

CLAUDELLE INGLISH (1961). Director: Gordon Douglas.

Claudelle (Diane McBain) lives in a rented farmhouse with her father, Clyde (Arthur Kennedy), and her unhappy mother, Jessie (Constance Ford). Jessie is horrified at the thought of her daughter marrying a poor man, Linn (Chad Everett, who was 24 but looks about 12), and living the same kind of deprived life that she has. Claudelle has nothing to worry about on that score, however, as Linn falls in love with somebody else and she is devastated. Determined not to ever marry anyone, Claudelle embarks on a campaign to date very many boys and acquire gifts from all of them in exchange for you-know-what. In this amusingly lurid soaper, Claudelle's sensuality pits fathers against sons, inflames the lust of her father's boss (Claude Akins), and even starts her mother on the pathway to back seat action! 

Chad Everett, Diane McBain, Will Hutchins

Claudelle isn't really "evil," but the production code insures a "sin and suffer approach" to the proceedings. McBain [Parrish] was very appealing in some roles, and perhaps her casting prevents her from being too slatternly, but she doesn't quite throw herself into the difficult part as other actresses might have done; she's simply a bit too lightweight (although one could argue that she underplays). Arthur Kennedy was always a good actor but sometimes, as in this, he just seems to be going through the motions; Constance Ford is better as his rather desperate wife, and Claude Akins [Tentacles] is just terrific as horny, old Crawford. Claudelle's "suitors" include Will Hutchins, Robert Colbert, Frank Overton, Jan Stine, and an especially charming Robert Logan [77 Sunset Strip]. Claudelle Inglish is trashily entertaining, but it lacks the good dialogue and characterizations that might have lifted it above a soap opera level. Based on the novel by Erskine Caldwell, who also wrote "Tobacco Road." Gordon Douglas also directed the excellent creature feature Them.

Verdict: Lots of fun in spite of itself, but it might as well have been even trashier. ***.

ASH WEDNESDAY

Lovely Liz

ASH WEDNESDAY (1973). Produced by Dominick Dunne. Directed by Larry Peerce. 

Sixtyish Barbara Sawyer (Elizabeth Taylor) fearing that her husband, Mark (Henry Fonda), will leave her for a younger playmate, goes to Switzerland and has cosmetic surgery (graphically depicted) to make her look like -- gorgeous, 41-year-old Liz Taylor! After the bandages come off, Barbara goes to the resort of Cortina, Italy, staying in a fabulous hotel and wearing expensive fashions. She also turns the head of a playboy named Erich (Helmut Berger, again miscast as a heterosexual). Should Barbara succumb to her romantic feelings for Erich, and what will Mark think of her new look when he finally arrives in Cortina. She may learn that her marriage had more problems than her aged appearance ... 

Helmut Berger

With its superficial and one-dimensional characters, one really has to wonder why anyone thought making this movie was a good idea. Sure, lots of people might have loved looking at glamorous Liz (although probably not at distasteful surgery), but an actual  story might have helped. Half of the movie is taken up by scenes at the clinic, and the surgery sequence seems to last as long as the actual operation. When Barbara/Liz puts on her sweeping ultra-chic winter coat/robe that looks like it must have cost a thousand dollars, the film just suddenly seems to turn into a comical parody. Taylor's performance is generally on target, although it's not one of her best. Helmut Berger is Helmut Berger and doesn't really have to act just look enigmatic. Fonda is actually good in this -- his assorted reactions are perfect -- and Margaret Blye [The Entity] is fine as their daughter, Katie. Keith Baxter adds some zest as David, a (possibly gay?) fashion photographer who is also getting work done and befriends Barbara at the clinic and elsewhere. Monique van Vooren [What Makes Sammy Run?] plays a German celebrity who briefly chats with David at the clinic. 

Verdict: Another entry in the "Oh, how the rich suffer!" sweepstakes! **1/4. 

THAT BRENNAN GIRL

Mona Freeman

THAT BRENNAN GIRL (1946). Produced and directed by Alfred Santell.

"Who you calling as cold as an igloo? You're not exactly a heatwave yourself!"

Ziggy (Mona Freeman of Angel Face) is an attractive if somewhat hard-boiled young woman  whose mother, Natalie (June Duprez), pretends to be her older sister. Ziggy gets in with a con artist named Denny (James Dunn of It's a Great Life) who has her working for him, but falls for a handsome sailor, Martin (William Marshall of Belle of the Yukon), whom she marries. Martin's wartime death leaves Ziggy with a baby girl and little life of her own, while Denny goes off to jail. Will these two highly imperfect individuals find their way back to each other, and will Ziggy get to keep her baby? 

Freeman with William Marshall

That Brennan Girl is an interesting study of two not entirely admirable or even likable people who turn out to have qualities that ultimately redeem them. Freeman gives a strong lead performance, and she gets excellent support from the pleasant and competent Dunn -- who makes his character more palatable than he could have been -- and a very charming and adept Marshall. June Duprez makes her mark as the mother who set her daughter on the wrong course right from the start, and Dorothy Vaughan is lovely as Denny's very loving Irish mother. Duprez, who reminds one a bit of Linda Darnell, was in everything from The Thief of Bagdad  to the serial Don Winslow of the Coast Guard and had many other credits as well. Watch for the cute sequence when a little baby boy slowly climbs backwards down the staircase!

Verdict: An oddball romance with very good performances. ***. 

THE NIGHT DIGGER

Patricia Neal and Nicholas Clay

THE NIGHT DIGGER (1971). Director: Alastair Reid. Screenplay by Roald Dahl, from the novel "Nest in a Falling Tree" by Joy Cowley.  

Maura Prince (Patricia Neal of The Hasty Heart) lives with her blind and difficult adoptive mother, Edith (Pamela Brown of Personal Affair), in a rambling mansion in England. Maura also works with stroke patients part-time at the hospital, and the doctor, Ronnie (Sebastian Breaks), wishes she would work full-time and hire a companion for her mother. Both mother and daughter do wind up with a companion when a young man named Billy (Nicholas Clay of Evil Under the Sun), shows up wanting room and board in exchange for gardening and fixing up the house. Maura is opposed to the idea but the contrary Edith agrees to take him in. As time proceeds Maura comes to care deeply for Billy, but she has no idea of what he's getting up to in the nighttime. It all comes to a head when Edith, after an accident, insists that Billy leave, and Maura comes to a fateful decision. 

Nicholas Clay

The Night Digger is the rare suspense-thriller -- if that's what you can call it -- that presents three-dimensional characters with back stories and idiosyncrasies (of course Billy's character takes it a step farther). The movie eventually turns into a dark and twisted romance between a lonely woman who looks years older than her age, and a young man whose psychological problems are far worse than she could ever imagine. The film is bolstered by three excellent lead performances -- as well as a sharp turn from Jean Anderson as friend and neighbor, Millicent, among others --  and moody cinematography from Alex Thomson. Bernard Herrmann's score is a bit problematic, as apparently the film was cut after completion and some of the score was inadvertently jettisoned. What we're left with sounds like snippets from previous Herrmann movies. A bit of politically-incorrect humor -- by today's standards -- has to do with one character suggesting that the minister's wife (Yootha Joyce), who has more on the ball than he does, should have been born a man, leading to Edith wrongly assuming that she and her husband are both going to have sex-change operations. Roald Dahl and Neal were still married when this film was made.

Verdict: Unusual dark if strangely poetic psychological study with great performances. ***.   

DELIGHTFULLY DANGEROUS

DELIGHTFULLY DANGEROUS (1945). Director: Arthur Lubin. 

15-year-old Sherry Williams (16-year-old Jane Powell) lives in a girls' school that is paid for by her sister, Josephine (Constance Moore of Buck Rogers), a big Broadway musical comedy star -- or so Sherry thinks; Josephine is actually a burlesque queen known as "Bubbles" Barton. Things come to a head when Broadway producer Arthur Hale (Ralph Bellamy) comes to the school and is impressed with Sherry's talent, but not with her youth. As for her sister, he just can't see putting a burlesque star in one of his "classy" shows. But this being Hollywood, chances are good that one or both ladies will wind up starring in a Broadway show. 

Ralph Bellamy and Jane Powell

Delightfully Dangerous features some excellent performances, with a very young Powell on top of things even at that early stage of her career (this was only her second film). Constance Moore has such style and class that one can't imagine anyone objecting to putting her on Broadway. Ralph Bellamy is Ralph Bellamy, his lack of sex appeal stripping the film of any sexual tension. Arthur Treacher and Louise Beavers are fun as Bellamy's butler and Moore's maid, dresser, and confidante. Ruth Tobey is cute as Sherry's best friend, Molly, and Shirley Hunter makes her mark as a bitchy classmate named Nadine. Christian Drake is appealing as Jimmy Burns, a young sailor and friend of Hale's who is attracted to Sherry when she's all dolled up and looks older than her years. 

It's interesting that at one point Josephine does a parody of the high-pitched soprano style of singing when that's just the sort of thing Powell specialized in. The show that Hale finally puts on is a combo of the old and new, with Straussian melodies interspersed with jive. While some of the production numbers are just plain weird and even a bit dull, the finale is colorful and features some excellent dancing. By far the best number features "Bubbles" on the stage at the burlesque house, doing a sharp, fun and sexy rendition of "I'm Only Teasing." There are some plot similarities to Doll Face which also came out that year.   

Verdict: Another typically unreal but somewhat entertaining Hollywood musical. **1/2. 

BROOKLYN ORCHID

BROOKLYN ORCHID (1942). Director: Kurt Neumann.

Tim McGuerin (William Bendix) and Eddie Corbett (Joe Sawyer) are partners in a cab company. McGuerin is married to Sadie (Grace Bradley of The Invisible Killer), a former burlesque queen who now acts like she's To the Manor Born. Sadie can't stand Eddie's fiancee, Mabel (Florine McKinney of Beauty for Sale), who always needles her about her past. Ducking out from a party honoring the rather obnoxious pianist, Ignatz Rachkowsky (Leonid Kinskey), the two fellows try out Tim's anniversary gift of a fishing pole, and they net themselves a gal who has just tried to commit suicide. This gal, Lucy (Marjorie Woodworth), is angry that they saved her and insists that they take care of her, going so far as to try to move into the McGuerins' high-tone apartment. Tim and Eddie do their best to keep their respective ladies from finding out about Lucy, but she follows them on vacation, where she is pursued by an amorous wealthy man named Goodweek (Skeets Gallagher of The Meanest Gal in Town). Then Lucy runs into Sadie and Mabel and they all compare notes ... 

Brooklyn Orchid -- the title refers to a flower girl contest won by Lucy -- is the second of three comedies featuring Bendix and Sawyer as McGuerin and Corbett. (Brooklyn Orchid is wrongly listed as the first in some sources). The players are all game and adept at this kind of farce -- Kinskey is a riot and Jack Norton (of Fashion Model)  nearly steals the show as an inebriated music critic -- and there are a few laugh-out-loud moments, but the ultimate result is like a TV sitcom that treads overly familiar territory. As good as they are, Bendix and Sawyer are no Laurel and Hardy. 

Verdict: Some limited fun in this amiable comedy. **1/2. 

MURDER IN THE MUSIC HALL

William Marshall and Vera (Hruba) Ralston

MURDER IN THE MUSIC HALL (1946). Director: John English.

Lila Leighton (Vera Ralston) is a figure skater who appears in an ice show on the stage of a music hall. She is contacted by Carl Lang (Edward Norris), who spent five years in the penitentiary for killing a man named Douglas. Now Carl tells Lila that he was only covering for her, that he knows she killed Douglas out of jealousy. Lila is still digesting this absurd accusation when Carl himself is murdered, literally stabbed in the back in his penthouse. With the aid of her boyfriend, handsome conductor Don Jordan (William Marshall), Lila tries to ferret out who killed Carl before she herself is accused of the crime by Inspector Wilson (William Gargan). The suspects include Lila's fellow performers -- Millicent (Helen Walker of Nightmare Alley), Diane (Julie Bishop of Why Men Leave Home), and Gracie (Ann Rutherford) -- as well as Rita Morgan (Nancy Kelley of The Bad Seed), the wife of gossip columnist George Morgan (Jerome Cowan). 

Suspects: Helen Walker, Ann Rutherford, Julie Bishop

Murder in the Music Hall is a well-turned-out mystery from Republic studios starring the wife, Ralston, of the studio head. The plot has interesting aspects, especially concerning a certain blind stranger, although the true identity of this person is obvious from the first. The identity of the murderer, however, is by no means certain but won't come as that much of a surprise, either. Never a particularly great actress, Ralston generally manages to be appealing, as she is in this. Marshall, Norris, Gargan and the ladies are all adept. There are some skillful real-life figure skaters who put on brief acts as well. James Craven, Jack La Rue and Anne Nagle are also in the cast in small roles. Director John English also helmed a number of serials.

Verdict: Acceptable Republic murder mystery with an interesting cast. **1/2. 

BRIEF ENCOUNTER -- Another Viewing

Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard

BRIEF ENCOUNTER (1945). Director: David Lean. Produced and written by Noel Coward from his play. 

"So easy to lie when you're trusted implicitly. So easy -- and so degrading."

"Thank you for coming back to me."

Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson) is happily married to husband Fred (Cyril Raymond), with whom she has two children. One afternoon at a train station a helpful doctor -- also married with children -- Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard) gets something out of her eye for her. They meet again quite accidentally, but sparks strike, and romantic feelings develop. Although the relationship remains emotional and never becomes sexual -- although it almost does -- both Laura and Alec are convinced they are in love. But the guilt they are feeling over their respective spouses almost ruins whatever happiness the relationship is giving them. Finally a choice has to be made. But will Laura be able to accept it?

Johnson and Howard

Brief Encounter is no cheap soap opera but a brilliant examination of a difficult situation that is all too common now as it was back then. Laura and Alec are decent people who do love their spouses, but who can't help but react to a sudden and intense romantic infatuation that seems to come out of nowhere and is nearly overpowering. (Is it really true love? Possibly not.) The movie neither accepts nor judges, but merely presents this situation and its joys and agonies primarily from Laura's point of view. This is not about the heartbreak of the spouses because they don't know what's happening. This is one movie in which the narration is not intrusive but only adds to our understanding. What makes Brief Encounter a masterpiece is not only the sensitive direction, the superb performances from Johnson and Howard and indeed the entire cast, but Robert Krasker's first-rate cinematography. It doesn't hurt that everything is soaked in the strains of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2. 

Stanley Holloway and Joyce Carey

The humor in the film comes from the antics of station master Stanley Holloway and the lady who runs the food and drink counter, Myrtle (Joyce Carey). Holloway does his best to charm the lady, who is rather common but tries her damnedest not to appear that way. There is also fine work from Everley Gregg as Dolly, the chatty and annoying woman who ruins Laura's last moments with her lover, and Valentine Dyall has a splendid scene with Alec as his friend Stephen, whose flat Alec is using temporarily. "I'm not angry," Stephen tells Alec when he realizes a woman ran out of the flat just before he entered, "just disappointed." One of the film's most trenchant observations is when Laura realizes that even if she were to only tell Fred about Alec decades later when they were both old and gray, it would still hurt him horribly. The movie has a lovely and moving conclusion. 

Verdict: Truly another great movie that just seems to get better and better each time you see it. ****. 

THE ADVENTURES OF FRANK MERRIWELL

Donald Briggs as Frank Merriwell

THE ADVENTURES OF FRANK MERRIWELL (12-chapter Universal serial/1936). Directors: Clifford Smith; Lew Landers. Colorized version.

Famed college athlete Frank Merriwell (Donald Briggs) is beloved by most of his classmates aside from the jealous and bitter House Peters (House Peters Jr.) Merriwell's father has been missing for two years, but Frank learns of a ring that may lead to a treasure. While Frank and his pals ponder this, an evil man named Daggett (Ben Hewlet), who always wears a weird mask, is out to get the treasure for himself. Frank and a whole host of classmates -- and his girlfriend, Elsie (Jean Rogers of Flash Gordon) -- travel by boat in pursuit of clues to the treasure. They eventually find the gold but it is alternately stolen by and taken back from Daggett and his desperadoes. Along the way Frank and his buddies find themselves in mortal danger ... 

Ben Hewlet as Daggett

Frank Merriwell, whose adventures originally took place around the 1890s, was once a very famous fictional character with dozens of stories detailing his exploits. These translate well to the serial medium, and make use of several good cliffhangers: a train smashes into an uncoupled runaway engine; Frank and Elsie are nearly crushed by a towering tree when it crashes downward; Frank is attacked by an escaped lion at the circus etc. The pace of the serial is generally swift, but there are duller detours showing us stage acts, assorted parties, and the unfunny antics of class cut-up, the dufus Harry (Sumner Getchell). 

John King and Jean Rogers

There is some strange casting in the serial. As mentioned the character of House Peters is played by House Peters, Jr., the son of silent film star House Peters. Other classmates of Merriwell's are also played by the sons of (at the time) well-known actors, including Wallace Reid Jr. and Edward Arnold Jr. However, Frank's best buddy, Bruce, is played by John "Dusty" King, who displays an excellent baritone singing voice and later went on to play the lead in the serial Ace Drummond. Adventures of Frank Merriwell, even when colorized, remains a bit creaky and forgettable, despite a couple of decent moments. The villain in this is utterly colorless. 

Verdict: You may be wishing this was over long before it's over! **1/4. 

TRAIL OF ROBIN HOOD

Roy sings to dog Bullet

TRAIL OF ROBIN HOOD (1950). Director: William Witney. Filmed in TruColor.

Retired actor Jack Holt, playing himself, hopes to sell a batch of Christmas trees at cost so all the little children can have one. Businessman Aldredge (Emory Parnell) sees this as a good way for him to lose money, so his daughter Toby (Penny Edwards of That Hagen Girl) goes out west to see what she can do. She can't convince Holt to change his methods, and comes into conflict with Roy Rogers (Roy Rogers), who heads the Soil Conservation Service. When Jack is injured in a bad fire, little Sis McGonigle (Carol Nugent of Vice Raid) rounds up a bevy of cowboy stars to bring the Xmas trees to market even though the bridge out of town has been set on fire!

Rex Allen yells at Sis to move her ass -- sort of

Republic studios would occasionally bring together many of its western stars in one movie but fans must have been greatly disappointed -- as I was -- to see how little screen time they get in this, which is, after all, a Roy Rogers and Trigger picture. Monte Hale doesn't even get a close up, although Rex Allen and Allan "Rocky" Lane have a little more to do (but not much). Lesser lights such as Tom Tyler, Crash Corrigan, Tom Keene, and Kermit Maynard at least get a little dialogue. Rex yells at Sis to go ahead and plough over the bridge even though it's on fire and collapses just a second later -- good idea, Rex! 

Jack Holt

Jack Holt appeared in only two more movies and died the year after Trail was released. He had started out in silent films in 1914 and amassed nearly 200 credits, including the serial Holt of the Secret Service. George Chesbro, who was a bad guy in many of Holt's movies, also appears in Trail. The title of this flick makes no sense as there's no Robin Hood, and it's stretching things a bit to suggest that Holt is like Robin Hood in his giving his Christmas trees to the poor. The dog Bullet also appears in the movie, and there's a talented turkey named Galahad who is spared the carving knife. Gordon Jones, who played The Green Hornet, is cast as Sis' big brother, and Clifton Young, who began as a child actor in "Our Gang" comedies, makes an impression as the bad guy Mitch McCall. Young was especially notable in Dark Passage with Bogart.

Verdict: Boo! Hiss! Let's see more of Monte Hale! **. 

THE MEANEST GAL IN TOWN

Zazu Pitts and El Brendel

THE MEANEST GAL IN TOWN (1934).  Director: Russell Mack. 

Tillie Prescott (Zazu Pitts) owns a small town clothing store and has been keeping company with barber Chris Peterson (El Brendel) for a decade. Chris tells her he won't marry her until he can afford a second barber chair. Tillie decides to splurge on $300 for the chair, but discovers that Chris has installed a sexy lady -- a stranded actress named Lulu (Pert Kelton) -- as his manicurist. Tillie stops speaking to Chris and winds up being taken advantage of by a slick salesman named Jack (Skeets Gallagher). Chris determines to get Tillie's store back for her while Jack and Duke Slater (James Gleason) compete for the favors of Lulu. Will true love win out in the end?

Pert Kelton as Lulu

 The Meanest Gal in Town is a cute picture with good performances and many funny moments. Pert Kelton was the original Alice on The Honeymooners -- first playing the character on Cavalcade of Stars -- and also played Marion the Librarian's mother in The Music Man. Mae West had appeared in two or three films by 1934 and Kelton at times seems to be channeling her (perhaps deliberately), although in general Kelton has her own style. 

Verdict: Amiable comedy with gifted players. ***. 

GREAT OLD MOVIES

GREAT OLD MOVIES is taking it's summer-starts break. We will be back in two weeks. 

In the meantime check out B MOVIE NIGHTMARE if you haven't already. 

Thanks!

FRANKIE AND JOHNNY

Harry Morgan, Elvis, Nancy Kovacks

FRANKIE AND JOHNNY (1966). Director: Frederick De Cordova. 

Frankie (Donna Douglas) and Johnny (Elvis Presley) are entertainers on the riverboat-casino S. S. Mississippi Queen. Frankie's jealousy is ignited when a gypsy fortune teller tells Johnny that a redhead will bring him good fortune, so he zeroes in on Nellie Bly (Nancy Kovak of Jason and the Argonauts). All he wants from Nellie is for her to accompany him when he gambles, but both Frankie, and Nellie's boyfriend -- also Johnny's boss -- Braden (Anthony Eisley), get the wrong idea. Things come to a head when Frankie, Nellie, and showgirl Mitzi (Sue Ane Langdon) all dress up as Madame Pompadour for a masquerade ball, and Braden's associate Blackie (Robert Strauss) comes up with a criminal way of eliminating Johnny as a rival during a rendition of the title tune. 

Sue Ane Langdon and Donna Douglas

Frankie and Johnny could have been a really interesting look at the riverboat scene of the 19th century as well as a trenchant observation of what unruly passions can lead to, but instead it's just an Elvis Presley Picture, although on that level it's fun and entertaining. Elvis doesn't so much act as exude personality, and Donna Douglas -- who just can't eliminate that Elly Mae Beverly Hillbillies accent entirely -- while adequate, pretty much shows why she made no further theatrical movies after this one. On the other hand Nancy Kovack is classy and sexy as Nellie, Langdon is a lot of fun as Mitzi, who also loves Braden, and Harry Morgan [All My Sons] and Audrey Christie [Splendor in the Grass] score as Cully and Peg, a married couple who are friends and co-workers of the title duo. Anthony Eisley of Hawaiian Eye is also very good as boss Braden, and Joyce Jameson has an excellent turn as a drunken redhead whom Johnny thinks might temporarily substitute for Nellie. 

Douglas with Nancy Kovack

Frankie and Johnny comes pretty close to being a bona fide musical -- as opposed to just an Elvis Presley Musical -- because its score has quite a variety of music. The classic title tune is reinterpreted and there's a fine version of When the Saints Go Marching In. Elvis does a superlative job delivering such memorable ballads as Please Don't Stop Loving Me and Angel at My Side. He also has a charming number with a harmonica-playing shoeshine boy, Hard Luck, and a bouncy piece called Look Out, Broadway. (Jerome Cowan appears uncredited as a Broadway producer who likes F and J's act.) Except for Elvis, everyone's singing voice seems to be dubbed. Forget the gorgeous gowns of the ladies, Elvis himself wears one striking and beautiful ensemble after another! 

Verdict: The plot gets a bit bogged down and slightly tiresome, but it's hard to dislike the flick and even harder to dislike Elvis. ***. 

BELLE OF THE YUKON

Randolph Scott and Gypsy Rose Lee

BELLE OF THE YUKON (1944).  Director: William A. Seiter. 

Former con man "Honest" John Calhoun (Randolph Scott of Captain Kidd) owns an Alaskan nightclub and saloon which is managed by Pop Candless (Charles Winninger). Pop's daughter, Lettie (Dinah Shore), is breathlessly in love with handsome piano player, Steve (William Marshall), but there is a rumor that Steve may have a wife and children. Then John's old girlfriend, an entertainer named Belle De Valle (Gypsy Rose Lee), turns up as the star attraction at the saloon  -- and with marriage in mind. When Honest John decides to open a bank and importunes everyone to put their money in it, the trouble really begins. 

Dinah Shore and William Marshall

Belle of the Yukon is one of those movies that is perfectly pleasant while it's unfolding, but when it's over you realize that there really wasn't much to it. There's no great plot to speak of aside from the misunderstandings between Lettie and Steve and John and Belle, and attempts to make off with the bank's gold engineered by George (Robert Armstrong) and Sheriff Maitland (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams). The songs by Burke and Van Heusen [Duffy's Tavern] are no great shakes although "A Slay Ride in July" is one that could grow on you. Scott is stalwart but not really a deft comedian; Gypsy Rose Lee (the subject of Gypsy) is okay but nothing that special; Dinah Shore sings quite well and is reasonably appealing; and William Marshall has little to do but look quite dreamy and now and then punch out the sheriff. Charles Winninger and Florence Bates as Lee's companion easily walk off with the movie, which so often was the case. 

Verdict: Amiable if minor-league piffle with some good performances. **1/2. 

YUL BRYNNER: THE INSCRUTABLE KING

YUL BRYNNER: THE INSCRUTABLE KING. Jhan Robbins. Dodd, Mead; 1987.

Yul Brynner was a man who liked to make up stories about his past life, resented reporters digging into his private affairs, and loved creating an air of mystery about himself. So it's no wonder that this biography fails to get that deep inside  the man, although it is also a problem that there seem to be no major interviews with the people who knew him best. In this book Brynner comes off as a talented if childish man who has many admirable qualities -- a distaste for prejudice and a love of children, for instance -- but was also insecure (giving him a superiority complex), boastful, and a bit selfish. He was married four times, apparently discarding each wife as he found a new lover, but the book never really goes behind the scenes in any of these marriages. Brynner's most famous role was as the king in Rodger's and Hammerstein's The King and I, which he played in Broadway, London and touring productions as well as in the motion picture adaptation. He himself felt that Hollywood did not make the best of his abilities, although he gave excellent performances in such films as Anastasia in which he was "dynamic and sexy." The book is entertaining and provides an overview of Brynner's career, but it is rather superficial all told.

Verdict: Hopefully not the last word on Brynner. **1/2. 

AMICA

Camoine and Amica

AMICA. Composed by Pietro Mascagni. Conductor: Manlio Benzi. Director: Alessio Pizzech. Singers: Anna Malavasi; David Sotgui; Pierluigi Dilengiti; Marcello Rosiello; Francesca De Giorgi. 2008. 

Performed at Mascagni's birthplace, Livorno Italy, this production, while hardly of Met quality, is admirable. Amica is a young woman who has been raised by her uncle, Camoine, who insists that she marry Giorgio, who adores her but whom she doesn't love. Instead she loves his brother, Rinaldo, whom her uncle banished some time before. Amica runs off into the mountains with Rinaldo after he returns, followed by Giorgio, who has no idea who her lover is, just as Rinaldo doesn't know that she was supposed to marry Giorgio. When the two men meet up in the high hills, they are each astonished to learn the truth. Rinaldo realizes that his running off with Amica will utterly destroy his brother, whom he has cared for since childhood, but Amica simply can't accept his decision for the two to part forever, leading to tragedy.

Mascagni responded to this story with music of great emotional power, melodiousness, and symphonic beauty. Some have noted that the music of the climax is so dramatic that it's as if the world had ended in a cataclysm, but this is exactly what has happened in the minds of the three lead characters and Mascagni expresses their torment in striking musical terms. With a clearly limited budget, the production is still effective, and the singers, while not necessarily world-class, deliver generally good vocal and dramatic performances. 

Verdict: Women just can't get a break! Another verismo masterpiece from Mascagni. ***1/2.   

GOLDEN GIRL

James Barton and Mitzi Gaynor

GOLDEN GIRL (1951). Director: Lloyd Bacon. Produced by George Jessel.

When tippling and irresponsible John (James Barton), loses the family boarding house in a casino, his wife, Mary Ann (Una Merkel of The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown) and daughter, Lotta (Mitzi Gaynor), along with singing boarder Mart (Dennis Day of I'll Get By), take off to tour the west as a stage troupe during the Civil War. Lotta, who becomes a celebrated entertainer, falls in love with a man named Tom Richmond (Dale Robertson of The Outcasts of Poker Flat) who may be keeping more than one secret. Meanwhile Mary Ann, Lotta and John are reunited in a surprising and unexpected fashion. 

Mitzi Gaynor and Dale Robertson

Golden Girl is the first of two films (both produced by George Jessel and directed by Lloyd Bacon) in which Mitzi Gaynor starred as an entertainer of the past, the second being The I Don't Care Girl. Lotta Crabtree actually existed, and her mother was her manager and looked out for her and her money. Her father was quite different from the way he is portrayed in the movie, and Tom Richmond is an entirely fictional creation as Lotta never married. She became a household name in the 19th century and acquired a fortune, much of which she gave to charitable causes. Aside from the character of Richmond, Golden Girl is a bit more faithful to the facts than was I Don't Care. In Golden Girl the real-life dancer Lola Montez arrives in town in a flurry of excitement, but Lotta was already a friend of the woman's at the time. Golden Girl pretty much ignores the realities of the war until Lotta is asked to transport Union gold in her wagon, and when she sings Dixie to the initially unreceptive audience, after the North has defeated the South, because she thinks Richmond, a rebel, is dead. 

Una Merkel and Dennis Day

As usual, Gaynor gives an excellent performance playing a somewhat self-centered character who is not entirely likable. Barton, who appeared on Broadway in Lerner and Loewe's Paint Your Wagon (and many other stage shows), is wonderful as Pop Crabtree, matched in perfection by the feisty Una Merkel. Dennis Day reveals a sterling operatic tenor voice when he gets to burst out in song by himself. His somewhat goofy looks doomed him to playing second fiddle and comedy relief -- mostly as foil to Jack Benny --  but there was much more to the man than that. As for Dale Robertson, well he's handsome and competent enough, but even he would have been the first to admit that he was more of a personality than an actor. He had his greatest success on television as the star of Tales of Wells Fargo. 

Verdict: Entertaining Hollywood look at the life of the once-famous Lotta Crabtree. ***.