Reviews

Though it belies its stage origins this character study of a group of women who find a camaraderie in the local ladies steam bath that isn't available to them anywhere else keeps you involved thanks to Losey's firm directorial hand and superior performances by the cast.

The showpiece performance is from Patti Love as the combative Josie but both Vanessa Redgrave and Sarah Miles score sharply in more muted roles. This was the final film for Diana Dors before her far too early death and it provides her a lovely opportunity to exit on a fine grace note. Her fabled beauty while not a memory had by this point softened into a mature softness filled with character. As the motherly Violet she shows that the stunning good looks of her youth weren't all she had to offer.

Joan Davis isn't as well remembered today as she should be owing to her early death and the dominance in classic comedy shows of Lucille Ball.

Like the lovable redhead Joan was often up to wacky and ridiculous antics sometimes outlandish but often rooted in the everyday so that they could have happened to anybody, just not on the scale they usually did to Miss Davis.

This episode is a good example of that kind of situation. Joan and her loving, level-headed but often exasperated husband Brad, expertly played by Jim Backus, are giggling over an article in the paper about the latest hairdo fad-the Panda cut-and talking about his reunion which is in a couple of days. Oh and by the way they think we should both get our hair fixed up for that. You can probably see where this is going especially considering the episode's title but there is joy in the journey thanks to the facile shenanigans of expert farceurs Joan & JIm.

A fun show that may not be quite the eternal model for sitcoms that I Love Lucy is but very good on its own merits.

Silly fluff with a leading man who is hard to take at time but mixed in with all the inanity come surprising little flashes.

For instance the fictitious band in the movie is taking the train and suddenly there is Nat King Cole and his Trio as conductors singing a full version of "Straighten Up and Fly Right"! It's the best part of the picture without question but the rest is harmless enough and both Gloria Stuart and Dale Evans add a pleasant touch to the proceedings

Right here is a trippy exercise in "What the hell was that?!"

Feature length Westinghouse commercial that somehow managed to corral real stars as the voice of its various appliances! James Mason is a fridge!....Lucille Ball a washing machine!...Maureen O'Sullivan a dishwasher!....and on and on. If that weren't odd enough the salesman Ellis of the title is surrounded by mannequins come to life including Alan Hale, Jr. who even a dozen years before Gilligan's Island is unmistakably The Skipper. Then it all ends with a lavish musical number extolling the wonders of Westinghouse!!!

A very strange viewing experience all in 50's moderne furnishings and Technicolor!

Long ago now before Hallmark started mass producing mind-numbing romance pablum their Hallmark Hall of Fame productions were the benchmark for quality television. Either well crafted new material or renditions of classics, such as this, which drew the highest caliber of talent which invariably became award magnets.

In this case, taking into consideration of the limitations of the time and the newness of filming in color, this is an accomplished production with a cast, Julie Harris, Christopher Plummer, Hume Cronyn, Jason Robards and Eileen Heckert, of staggering skill at work on one of the masterworks of literature.

The actors, particularly Julie Harris as Nora will knock your socks off.

As a way to tie up the loose ends of the series this average entry is a passable movie but the old spark is gone. Easy to see why this was the final film of the run.

The clips hearkening back to previous Hardy adventures (really just an excuse to remind the viewer that Judy Garland, Lana Turner and Esther Williams had appeared in the films) only emphasizes how modest this one is. Nothing against the actress who plays Andy's wife but it is too bad that they couldn't convince Ann Rutherford to return as Polly Benedict as Mrs. Hardy which any fan of the series expected.

For series fans a nice piece of nostalgia but that's about it.

Somewhat sticky musical that served as minor star Gloria Jean's screen bow. While she has genuine talent she's not a strong enough screen presence to carry the burden of the film .

Obviously groomed to be the next Shirley Temple or Deanna Durbin (she's styled to resemble both) the camera doesn't love her the way it did those other two and where they sparkled and POPPED on screen she is a sweet nonentity. It doesn't help her cause that one of the actresses who is supposed to be supporting her, the charismatic Virginia Weidler, dominates their scenes and possessed that extra element Gloria lacked.

Stacked with a solid supporting cast this is a harmless diversion, however you will be longing for Deanna Durbin before its over, but it's about 15 minutes too long for the story its selling.

What an odd picture. An Overwrought Melodrama with a capital O and a capital M this breaks out of the starting gate hitting high C and continues at a fevered pitch right up to its conclusion.

Unhappy Laraine stabs caddish Franchot by accident then rambles hysterically while the callously odious Dane Clark circles around making her life hell. The one beacon of restraint in the entire enterprise is Agnes Moorehead who shows up none too soon and steals the picture with a controlled and dignified performance while all around her her cast-mates are swallowing scenery whole.

A conman and his pals bulldoze their way into a studio and make a young girl a star by way of a deception. Harmless, except for a semi-musical the songs and production numbers are horrid, but run of the mill programmer would be forgotten totally if it wasn't headlined by Spencer Tracy. He's far better than the material as is Thelma Todd who lights up the film the few times she appears as a back stabbing starlet. It makes you wish the two of them had been teamed in a better script.

Third and last in the series that started with Three Smart Girls Deanna returns as Little Miss Fix-It Penny Craig all grown up and faced with a problem she can't fix, her love interest is headed off to war, and she has to face the situation like an adult. Deanna is full of her usual snap and vigor and by this point had become a very beautiful woman who had matured in her reactions so she doesn't come across as quite such an eager beaver.

As with all her films this provides several opportunities for her to sing which she does with angelic clarity and grace.

Covers much the same ground as the Elvis opus Speedway, hardly a high water mark in Presley's filmography, only without the songs or a magnetic presence like the King of Rock & Roll. Basically a bunch of stock footage of cars going in circles intercepted with some badly acted scenes of backstage shenanigans.

The ill-fated Brenda Benet is lovely even saddled with an enormous helmet of ratted hair and there's 50's sci-fi queen and failed Howard Hughes discovery Faith Domergue as one character's mother to spur some interest in the film but it's a minor enterprise.

In a woefully inept performance almost completely absent of charm and nuance Mary Pickford embarrasses herself in her second to last feature. Utterly miscast as a Parisian floozy she does everything but stand on her head to try and make us believe the unbelievable. She has one cute dance/clown number although even there she relies on googly eyed exaggeration to get the point across that the audience is to find her adorable. In this instance she isn't.

For a goodly portion of the movie she wears a stupid hat with a feather that seems to form a question mark, she should have looked in a mirror used that as a cue and asked herself why she'd agreed to disgrace herself in this dog of a film. Stay away!

Full of Borgaze's trademark swoony romanticism mixed with a touch of pre-code decadence. This tale of a struggling young couple also boasts Margaret Sullavan's enchanting sensitive performance, she seems to carry a gossamer glow with her where ever she goes. Alan Hale also adds much to the film as a sprightly good-hearted charlatan but what drags it down almost fatally is Douglass Montgomery in the male lead. To put it plainly, he stinks. He's a stiff blank slate that stops the film dead in its tracks whenever he's the focal point of the scene. You're left to wonder what a more effective actor such as Jimmy Stewart or Cary Grant could have made of the part and how much better the movie would have been because of their casting.

Mild low-budget musical version of what was once a popular radio program tries to tell too many stories during its running time.

What it does show is how some people were perfect for the airwaves and wrong for film. For instance singer Andy Russell, who sings his biggest hit Besame Mucho, has a beautiful expressive voice but when the camera focuses on him his face is a blank and he exudes minimal charisma. The same can be said for the program's host Tom Breneman whose only film appearance this was, he's bluff and gregarious and it's not hard to imagine him being entertaining on radio but he wasn't suited to film.

The overstuffed narrative at least provides the chance to see three excellent character actresses, Billie Burke, Beulah Bondi and ZaSu Pitts and then proceeds to waste them in plot lines that go nowhere or are foolish.

Really the best recommendation for the film is that it allows the audience two performances by the Nat King Cole Trio who unsurprisingly are wonderful. One element that was a simple throwaway shot at the time but now is a jaw dropper is the sign outside the nightclub where we first see the Cole Trio advertising that they are appearing with no cover charge. Considering the ludicrous prices now to see even the most average musicians the idea of being able to just walk in and see Nat King Cole for free is mind boggling.

Watch it for the music and occasional glimpses of Hedda Hopper and her crazy hats but don't expect too much.

If you want to see a crystal clear example of star quality this little B is a perfect place to look.

It's a cute comedy with a wonderful cast of supporting actors and it moves along well enough with its nominal leads James Craig, a second string Clark Gable wannabe, and Frances Gifford, an efficient if somewhat colorless leading lady, getting the job done.

But then suddenly a breathtaking on the rise Ava Gardner turns up and wipes both of them off the screen. Where they function within the story she pulls the camera's focus to her and holds it in a way only a born star can. While they work to put their scenes over she just seems so comfortable with the lens's gaze she just owns her scenes. You wait for her to show up and miss her terribly when she's gone. She's the reason to seek this out.

Your enjoyment of this will depend on your ability to swallow the preposterous liberties the studios took with casting in the 50's. In this instance we have the Irish Maureen O'Hara, slight lilt intact, and the Jewish Jeff Chandler playing an Arabian princess and a Bedouin chieftain respectively racing around what is obviously the California desert standing in for the Sahara.

Queen of Technicolor Maureen is breathtaking and Jeff properly rugged but most of the acting tends towards woodenness. If you appreciate the campiness of that scenario than this is harmless fun, all others beware.

Airy comedy of a man a woman and the lengths they'll go to for a really great apartment! Located in the center of Rome with amazing views both want it and strike the compromise of marrying each other platonically to get it. The woman still hopes for true love and the man agrees to step aside should that special someone come along but he is secretly smitten with her and surreptitiously makes her various suitors look like fools. All goes well until he comes up against Rosanno Brazzi and finds him a tough challenge to overcome.

Linda, as ravishing as she ever was, and the dashing De Sica make a very handsome couple and share a refreshing spiky chemistry adding an extra bit of snap to the proceedings. Frothy and you can see where it's headed from a mile away but the stars, and Linda's New Look wardrobe, make it a very engaging diversion.

Somewhat overwrought sudser is aided by gorgeous location filming in the sort of fortress-like home that people only live in either on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous or movies like this and a superior cast.

Ralph Richardson is wonderful as the old codger, irascible and crotchety but sly and no one's fool. Gina full of fire-smoldering and volcanic while parading a series of knockout outfits and a cyclone of hair. Then there's Sean Connery suave and silky in an atypical role as a reprobate with a yen for Gina and larceny in his heart.

Not great cinema but fun in a melodramatic way.

Definitely downmarket reworking of The Major and the Minor was meant to be the launching pad to stardom for doomed wild child Diana Barrymore.

She shows promise which had she been able to wrestle her demons and not self destruct might have lead her to a decent career. She and the slipping Kay Francis make an excellent physical match as mother and daughter and Diana handles the comedy demands of the script well but leading man Bob Cummings is no Ray Milland and director Henry Koster is by no means Billy Wilder.

Also the original's sense of whimsy has been replaced by a thudding foolishness which robs the situations of much of their charm.

Snappy musical is a study in proposed star building. While Alice Faye is top billed along with George Raft her role is secondary to Frances Langford who the studio was trying to build up.

But while Frances sings like a angel she doesn't pop on screen in the way Alice does nor is she able to radiate a comic persona as Patsy Kelly, the other part of the singing trio, does. She's also hindered by some REALLY unfortunate styling in makeup and especially hair-dress. She eventually had a hugely successful music career and was an tireless touring entertainer during WWII who had a minor screen career in B pictures but never at the level that Alice Faye achieved.

The story of the picture is a stock scenario for 30's musicals. Three plucky girlfriends who sing meet a brash scrapper who is trying to make it as a bandleader they join forces and before you know it they hit the Big Time but there is dissension in the ranks all set aright by the fade-out.

Messy mishmash of a man who somehow becomes involved with kidnappers with cloudy motives.

Everything in this thing is ill-defined and suggests heavy cutting before release. The whole subplot that involves Anne Baxter and Nehemiah Persoff makes no sense to the story and they vanish without an explanation or trace in the middle of the movie. Two name actors of their stature MUST have had more substantial parts than what is here for them to waste their time. Anne's blonde wig however is something to see.

As to the rest of the picture-most of the acting is amateurish at best, the photography poor and the direction practically nonexistent.

Never heard of this? No wonder.

Engaging comedy with a rather nutty premise but the skillful playing of the cast make it work. Ann Blyth embraces her inner ditz as the bubbly, forward teen who is instantly smitten with Montgomery on sight. Montgomery, one of the best light comedians of Golden Age Hollywood, carries the film right along with an air of deer in the headlights helplessness at the onslaught of ardor that Ann's character unleashes his way. Theatre great Jane Cowl is also highly amusing in one of only four film appearance's as Bob's mother.

One small drawback. Montgomery is a perfect choice for the breeziness necessary to make his character work but he was 45 at the time this was made and looks it, whereas Ann Blyth was 24 playing 19 and is convincing as such making their pairing a bit off. They would have been better paired as a father and daughter at this point. Be that as it may this is still a pleasant little known film.

Fred's back from the service looking to retrieve the pearls he was smuggling before Singapore was invaded and is haunted by the memory of what he thinks is his lost love Ava. One day she reappears but she doesn't remember him. What's the answer to the mystery?

Studio bound adventure is entertaining enough but serves more as a study in star building.

This was Ava Gardner's last film before she moved into the top tier of MGM stars with her next film, One Touch of Venus. Having scored heavily in two supporting roles for her home studio, The Killers & The Hucksters, they loaned her to Universal for the female lead in this alongside the established Fred MacMurray to test her lead appeal with minimal risk. She seems a bit cautious at times but radiates star quality every second she's on screen.

Considering the magnitude of the stars in the leads this is curiously obscure but if you enjoyed Gilda or similar fare it's worth the time.

Charming Damon Runyon flavored semi-musical crime comedy driven by Cagney's magnetism.

Only Jimmy could make the strong arm racketeer he's playing so appealing and he sails through this minor film with the assurance of the star he was. Shirley Jones is lovely and sings beautifully but it's the brassy Cara Williams who really stands out.

The songs may not be too memorable but they fit the spirit of the story well and the zippy "I Want a Ferrari" duet between Cagney and Cara Williams is a classic car lover's dream.

Special mention should also go to the production designer who uses an almost exclusively muted palate of colors to create a rich harmonious look that gives the film a very stylish appearance without ever drawing the audience's eye away from the action.

Full of wonderful character actors and a jaunty attitude this is an under-known gem from the latter part of Cagney's career and he owns the film.

That rarest of birds, a Revolutionary War comedy.

Lederer is for once in his American career cast sensibly as a Hessian soldier conscripted into service who comes over to the patriots side but runs into multiple problems with the natives along the way. He happens upon the household of a tippling farmer, her bossy wife, their fair daughter and saucy serving girl. During his pursuit of the daughter he crosses swords, figuratively, with a blowhard militia man who is interested in her as well and the self righteous reverend of the community.

Pleasant story is buoyed by the presence of expert comic actors Charlie Ruggles and Mary Boland as the parents of the young lass who catches Lederer's eye, a lovely and very blonde Joan Bennett.

Hard to find but a pleasure to watch if you happen upon it.