Copyright 19 April 1961 by 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York opening at neighborhood cinemas: 17 May 1961. U.S. release: May 1961. U.K. release: 17 April 1961 (sic). 8,280 feet. 92 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: Horace Tobey (Robert Casper), son of a rich Pasadena family, who is bent on making it on his own as a scenic designer, picks up Ursula Poe (Juliet Prowse), a rather tired carhop at Pappy's Drivin In. Ursula would not have dated him, but she has been informed of his wealthy background. She is annoyed when he takes her in his old car to "The Hut", an abandoned restaurant turned into the living quarters for a number of young men. Horace gets nowhere with Ursula. She is looking for security, spell "cash". Outside "The Hut" the red light burns, as the other lads forgather. When the signal rouge is on, it is the order of the night not to disturb the man on the make inside. The waiters are Mitch (Steve Harris) and Granny (Paul London), who are joined by medical student, Bill (David McLean), who was the bunch's sergeant in the army. Mitch mentions that his brother, Leo (Frankie Vaughan), is playing in a show in San Francisco. Bill offers to rob the kitty to pay Mitch's fare to visit his brother, but Mitch declines.
NOTES: "The Live Wire" opened on Broadway at the Playhouse on 17 August 1950. A 28-performance flop, it was produced by Mike Todd in the days before he bankrolled Todd-AO and married Liz Taylor. Playwright Garson Kanin himself directed a cast that included Scott McKay (Leo), Sheila Bond (Ursula), John Drew Colt (Rip), Jack Gilford, Peggy Cass, Pat Harrington, Murvyn Vye, Peter Turgeon, Elliott Reid and Rex Williams.
COMMENT: Passable entertainment. David Butler's direction seems tired and undistinguished. This was one of his last three films, the others being "The Girl He Left Behind" (1956) and "C'Mon Let's Live a Little" (1967). As for the acting, to say it lacks zest would be an understatement. Most of the players walk through their parts like somnambulists. Only Jesse White in a delightful caricature of a typical Hollywood agent and former child star Jane Withers as a down-to- earth photographer, give their lines any punch.
Although some far from gallant critics complained that Miss Prowse came across in CinemaScope as too plump, I did not join them. In fact I thought that both Misses Prowse and Hyer were nicely costumed and would look decorative enough were their expressions not so sulky. On the other hand, Frankie Vaughan does not display any stellar personality at all, either as actor or singer.
The script too often betrays its stage origins in its slow, deliberate pace. Most of the plot twists are pure soap opera. Only when the script gets on to the real Hollywood set does it become incisive. What a shame there are not more scenes like the one in which Vaughan up-stages the TV hero, or the coming-out party which the agent throws!
Sam Leavitt's black-&-white photography is well below his usual standard.
SYNOPSIS: Horace Tobey (Robert Casper), son of a rich Pasadena family, who is bent on making it on his own as a scenic designer, picks up Ursula Poe (Juliet Prowse), a rather tired carhop at Pappy's Drivin In. Ursula would not have dated him, but she has been informed of his wealthy background. She is annoyed when he takes her in his old car to "The Hut", an abandoned restaurant turned into the living quarters for a number of young men. Horace gets nowhere with Ursula. She is looking for security, spell "cash". Outside "The Hut" the red light burns, as the other lads forgather. When the signal rouge is on, it is the order of the night not to disturb the man on the make inside. The waiters are Mitch (Steve Harris) and Granny (Paul London), who are joined by medical student, Bill (David McLean), who was the bunch's sergeant in the army. Mitch mentions that his brother, Leo (Frankie Vaughan), is playing in a show in San Francisco. Bill offers to rob the kitty to pay Mitch's fare to visit his brother, but Mitch declines.
NOTES: "The Live Wire" opened on Broadway at the Playhouse on 17 August 1950. A 28-performance flop, it was produced by Mike Todd in the days before he bankrolled Todd-AO and married Liz Taylor. Playwright Garson Kanin himself directed a cast that included Scott McKay (Leo), Sheila Bond (Ursula), John Drew Colt (Rip), Jack Gilford, Peggy Cass, Pat Harrington, Murvyn Vye, Peter Turgeon, Elliott Reid and Rex Williams.
COMMENT: Passable entertainment. David Butler's direction seems tired and undistinguished. This was one of his last three films, the others being "The Girl He Left Behind" (1956) and "C'Mon Let's Live a Little" (1967). As for the acting, to say it lacks zest would be an understatement. Most of the players walk through their parts like somnambulists. Only Jesse White in a delightful caricature of a typical Hollywood agent and former child star Jane Withers as a down-to- earth photographer, give their lines any punch.
Although some far from gallant critics complained that Miss Prowse came across in CinemaScope as too plump, I did not join them. In fact I thought that both Misses Prowse and Hyer were nicely costumed and would look decorative enough were their expressions not so sulky. On the other hand, Frankie Vaughan does not display any stellar personality at all, either as actor or singer.
The script too often betrays its stage origins in its slow, deliberate pace. Most of the plot twists are pure soap opera. Only when the script gets on to the real Hollywood set does it become incisive. What a shame there are not more scenes like the one in which Vaughan up-stages the TV hero, or the coming-out party which the agent throws!
Sam Leavitt's black-&-white photography is well below his usual standard.