Category Archives: 1956

Indestructible Man
Directed by Jaack Pollexfen
Written by Vy Russell and Sue Dwiggins
1956/USA
C.G.K. Productions
First viewing/Amazon Prime

[box] Charles ‘Butcher’ Benton: Remember what I said. I’m gonna get you. All three of you.

Paul Lowe, Attorney: Even for you, Butcher, that will be quite a trick. So long, dead man.[/box]

This movie is 90% typical B-movie crime drama.  The other 10% is the awesome ending.

Butcher Benton (Lon Chaney Jr.) is about to be get the chair. He took the rap for a robbery and murder orchestrated by his attorney and a couple of associates.  He is the only one who knows where the loot is and it looks like he will take his secret to the grave.  Yet he is eerily confident that he will return to kill those who did him wrong.

Coincidentally, a couple of scientists are doing an experiment on a new technique that may cure cancer.  This involves high voltage electricity.  They need a corpse and the one furnished just happens to be Butcher Benton’s.  He comes alive with superhuman strength and no voice.  Bullets cannot touch him.  The rest of the movie settles down into a humdrum police procedural as the Butcher terrorizes Los Angeles and his former colleagues.  As the police close in it builds to a brief but effective climax.

I liked this better than I thought I would based on its 3.7/10 IMDb user rating.  It’s not amusing or incompetent enough to be a good “bad” movie.  Chaney is good.  We have all seen the story before.  I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the special effects and make-up lavished on the ending though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDOQ2GIQkxw

Trailer

Come Next Spring
Directed by R.G. Springsteen
Written by Montgomery Pittman
1956/USA
Republic Pictures/Robert Alexander Productions
First viewing/Amazon Prime

“Is the spring coming?” he said. “What is it like?”… “It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine…” ― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

This is a heartwarming story about family life in the rural South.  The acting carries it.

Matt Ballott (Steve Cochran) returns to his family farm after eight years on the road.  Before he left he was known as the town drunk.  His two children, Annie (around 12) and Abraham (around 8) are glad to see him.  His wife Bess (Ann Sheridan) is not so sure.  But when she sees how much the kids need him and notices a change, she takes him on strictly to help out around the place.  Neighbor Mr. Canary (Edgar Buchanan) is willing to give him a chance too.  The rest of the people that knew him basically want nothing to do with him, especially Leroy Hightower (Sunny Tufts) who has been unsuccessfully attempting to court Bess.

Most of the film revolves around Matt’s journey in reestablishing relationships with all these people.  We also get a tornado, a big slugging match, and a dramatic rescue for good measure.  With Walter Brennan as Bess’s sharecropper.

I have always liked Steve Cochran and Ann Sheridan and both are excellent here.  This is a rare good guy part for Cochran, who usually plays the heavy.  The plot is somewhat  contrived — Annie has been a mute since Matt drunkenly crashed the family car when she was a toddler — but I forgave it because of the fine cast and the genuine emotion in the writing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWxSrlGCT-A

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Patterns
Directed by Fielder Cook
Written by Rod Sterling
1956/USA
Jed Harris/Michael Myerberg
First viewing/Amazon Prime

[box] Walter Ramsey: I’ll see you in the morning, Fred. Remember, you didn’t steal that promotion. You won it![/box]

This excellent, powerful look inside a big corporation shows Rod Serling could do more than write twist endings.

Fred Staples (Van Heflin) has been hired as the newest executive at a New York conglomerate.  Fred’s ambitious wife Nancy (Beatrice Straight) is thrilled with the move. When CEO Mr. Ramsey (Everett Sloane) first spotted him, he was working as plant manager of an Ohio company the corporation acquired.    The corporation rolls out the red carpet for Fred, providing him with a beautifully decorated office and a fully equipped house.  Fred is told that he will be working closely with Vice-President Bill Briggs (Ed Begley).  Soon he finds that he is getting Bill’s long-time secretary, who is not too thrilled to be leaving her boss.

The affable Fred quickly makes friends with Bill.  He is torn between his ethics and his ambition when he learns that he is being groomed as Bill’s replacement.  Fred’s angst becomes worse when Ramsey mercilessly rides Bill in an effort to make him so miserable he will quit.

I had never heard of this film before I did my research on 1956.  It was based on a teleplay by Serling and should be much better known.  The acting is fantastic.  I don’t think I have ever seen Begley in a sympathetic part and he is just wonderful.  There’s a lot to think about here.  Serling makes Ramsey despicable but at the same time you see the logic behind his every move and Fred’s decisions are believable every step of the way.    Highly recommended.

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Pursuit of the Graf Spee (“Battle of the River Plate”)
Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Written by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
1956/UK
The Archers
First viewing/Netflix

Captain Langsdorff ‘Admiral Graff Spee’: [to Captain Dove] Every commander is alone, Captain.

This, the last of Powell and Pressburger’s true collaborations, is a colorful account of the British effort to hunt down and destroy a German pocket battleship that was sinking merchant shipping in the South Atlantic during the first months of WWII.

The speed and firepower of the Graf Spee made its commander, Captain Lansdorff (Peter Finch), believe the ship was invincible and gave her free reign over merchant shipping in the South Atlantic.  The film begins with the sinking of a British naval vessel off the coast of Portuguese Africa.  Landsdorff takes its captain (Bernard Lee) prisoner aboard ship and releases the crew on land.  Many other British prisoners are transferred to the Graff Spee later.  The ship is due to return for repairs and leave to Germany but Lansdorff decides on one final mission to disrupt shipping out of Buenos Aires.

He is intercepted by Commodore Henry Harwood (Anthony Quayle) and his squadron of three cruisers.  Against the odds, the British manage to cripple the vessel, which takes refuge in the harbor of Montevideo, Uruguay.  The rest of the movie follows the media attention to the Graf Spee’s plight and the British naval and diplomatic strategy to put an end to her threat.

This film does not begin to measure up to the Archer’s masterpieces but is a solid naval drama.  Most of the footage was taken using real British cruisers with an American ship standing in for the Graf Spee.  The movie held a particular interest for me as I lived in Montevideo for a couple of years and this story was often told there.

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Reach for the Sky
Directed by Lewis Gilbert
Written by Lewis Gilbert and Vernon Harris from a book by Paul Brickhill
1956/UK
The Rank Organization/Angel Productions
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Equipment Officer: I’m sorry, the book says I must wait three months before I can initiate the procedure for hastening new issue.

Bader: Fine! We’ll send Goering a telegram, and ask him not to come over for *three months”![/box]

This inspirational movie about a couple of different kinds of courage is based on a true story.

The setting is England in the run-up to and during WWII.  In the early 30’s Douglas Bader (Kenneth Moore) is sent to flight school for training as an RAF pilot.  The brash young man is not strong on the academics but is a great sportsman and an able flyer.  He gets into scrapes in which he crashes his car and finally crashes a plane doing unauthorized stunt flying.  In this later accident, he loses both of his legs.

Thereafter he devotes himself to a full-time effort to walk again on tin prosthetic legs without a cane.  He is proclaimed unfit to fly and leaves the RAF for a time.  When WWII starts, the military takes a different attitude and Bader gets his wings back.  He goes on to be a resourceful and courageous squadron leader.

Bader had a pilot’s arrogance, which tended to make his character annoying at times.  Moore makes him sympathetic despite that and does very well with the physical challenges of the part.  I found the film quite watchable.

Trailer

Attack
Directed by Robert Aldrich
Written by James Poe from a play by Norman Brooks
1956/USA
Associates & Aldrich Company
First viewing/Amazon Prime

[box] Costa: Listen to me, Cooney! If you put me and my men in a wringer – -if you send us out there and let us hang – -I swear, I swear by all that’s holy, I’ll come back. I’ll come back and take this grenade and shove it down your throat and pull the pin![/box]

This ushers in a new era in war films — one where the worst enemy can be the GI’s own brass.  I loved it.

It is 1944, France.  Fox Company is fighting the Germans.  It is headed in the field by Lt. Joe Costa (Jack Palance).  Drinking heavily in headquarters is the cowardly Capt. Erskine Cooney (Eddie Albert).  He is laughing it up with his superior, Lt. Col. Clyde Bartlett (Lee Marvin) of the White Battalion.  Cooney and Bartlett were good old boys at home, where Cooney’s father is a respected judge.  As the film begins, Fox Company is under fire. When Costa calls for reinforcements, Cooney doesn’t send them.  Men are killed and Costa’s rage will fill the rest of the movie.

Col. Bartlett defuses the anger with the speculation that this will be the company’s last combat.  How wrong he is and they are sent out to capture a town.  The brass think that there is a 50-50 chance that it is occupied by Germans.  In the end, not only is it occupied but Costa and his men end up trapped amid heavy artillery fire.  Once again, Cooney is reluctant to send reinforcements.  Even Bartlett loses all patience with him.  The rest of the movie is devoted to combat and Costa’s revenge plans.  With Buddy Ebsen as Costa’s sergeant, Struther Martin as another sergeant, and Robert Strauss and Richard Jaeckel as enlisted men.

I thought this was terrific.  It has the lurid edge of a Samuel Fuller film but is more realistic.  It is brilliantly shot and edited. The acting is fantastic.  I thought Eddie Albert deserved an Academy Award nomination. It’s fast moving and builds to a devastating conclusion.  Palance is, as usual, over the top but it works so well here.  Recommended.

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Friendly Persuasion
Directed by William Wyler
Written by Jessamyn West and Michael Wilson (uncredited due to blacklist)
1956/USA
Allied Artists Pictures/B-M Productions
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Jess Birdwell: I’m just his father, Eliza, not his conscience. A man’s life ain’t worth a hill of beans except he lives up to his own conscience.[/box]

My husband says this film is not realistic.  He may be right but I find it very charming.

The story is set in 1862 Indiana.  The Birdwells are a farming family of Quakers.  Father Jess Birdwell (Gary Cooper) is not as strictly religious as his wife Eliza (Dorothy McGuire), a minister in the church.  They have three children, teenagers Josh (Anthony Perkins) and Mattie and youngster Little Jess.

Much of the story recounts amusing incidents from daily life.  We see Jess’s running battle to best a neighbor in a horse race while hiding the actual racing from his wife; Eliza’s reaction to Jess’s purchase of an organ; and Mattie’s courtship with a soldier.

A crisis comes as Confederate soldiers near the farm.  The Quaker belief in non-violence is tested to the limit as the family and it all it holds dear is under threat.  With Marjorie Main as a rural woman with a house full of marriageable daughters.

I generally like Gary Cooper and he is perfectly cast here, bringing uprightness and humor to his part.  The other acting is very good, with Perkins the standout as the troubled, sensitive eldest son.  He was hailed by the studio as the next James Dean but it was not to be.  There are some wonderful Wyler touches here.  I loved the family’s pet goose.

Friendly Persuasion was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Picture; Best Director; Best Supporting Actor (Perkins); Best Writing, Best Screenplay – Adapted; Best Sound, Recording; and Best Music, Original Song (“Friendly Persuasion” (Thee I Love)).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9joZubh9gvo

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Slightly Scarlet
Directed by Allan Dwan
Written by Robert Bleese from a novel by J.M. Cain
1956/USA
Benjamin Bogeaus Production/RKO Radio Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] “No matter how corrupt, greedy, and heartless our government, our corporations, our media, and our religious & charitable institutions may become, the music will still be wonderful.” ― Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country[/box]

The main reason to watch this Technicolor film noir is for Arlene Dahl’s delicious performance as a nymphomaniac shoplifter.

June Lyons (Rhonda Fleming) is secretary to the reform candidate for mayor, Frank Jansen, who is in love with her and has set her up in posh digs.  She keeps dodging and weaving on his marriage proposals though.  June has been obsessed for years with caring for her nut-job sister Dorothy (Dahl).  As the movie opens, June is picking Dorothy up after her release from prison.  A man is taking photos from his car.  He turns out to be Ben Grace (John Payne).

The opportunistic Ben is staging a war of wills with gangster and kingmaker Solly Caspar. Solly will be out of business if Frank Jansen is elected and Ben starts feeding incriminating info to Jansen through June.  Then things start getting hot and heavy between Ben and June and Dorothy wants in on the action.

The story betrays its origins in a James M. Cain novel with its bleak view of human nature and its larger-than-life characters.  Dahl is a kick in the pants!  Payne is definitely the weak link here. The great John Alton did the cinematography.  I enjoyed this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_XvPv0dNnM

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The Mountain
Directed by Edward Dmytryck
Written by Ranald MacDougall from a novel by Henry Troyat
1956/USA
Paramount Pictures
First viewing/Netflix

[box] Zachary Teller: You’re sweating! Thinking of the dead men’s money is making you sweat! I blame myself. It’s my fault for you being like this. Somewhere I must have done something wrong for you to be like this.[/box]

Spencer Tracy channels Manuel from Captains Courageous in portraying an ancient mountaineer.  It’s an excellent performance.

Before the credits roll, we see a plane crashing on a mountain peak.

Zachary Teller (Tracy) raised his much younger brother Chris (Robert Wagner) from birth. Zachary used to be a mountain guide but quit when a client was killed on one of his climbs.  He now confines himself to herding sheep.  Chris has grown up to be a spoiled brat and works at a ski resort.  He has had an affair with a wealthy woman.  Her husband disses him by offering him money and calling him “boy”.  He is now obsessed with the need to get money of his own.  It does not occur to him to work for it.

Zachary refuses to guide a search party up the mountain to retrieve mail from the plane. The search party is eventually forced to turn back and decides to wait for better weather.  Chris wants Zachary to guide him on his own mission to retrieve all the valuables of the passengers.  Zachary initially refuses but relents when it becomes clear that Chris will go on his own and perish without him.

The rest of the film follows the arduous and dangerous climb.  With Claire Trevor as Zachary’s lady friend and William Demerest as a priest.

I thought this was one of Tracy’s better performances.  Not only does he portray Zachary with a very touching simplicity but he also is convincing as an experienced mountain climber.  There are many white-knuckle moments in this film with people dangling from ropes and reaching to grab very tenuous hand-holds. It was fun to see Trevor and Demerest after several years without them.   I have a touch of acrophobia but enjoyed the film anyway.

Fan trailer

Kabe atsuki heya (The Thick-Walled Room)
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
Written by Kôbô Abe
1956/Japan
Shinei Productions/Shochiku Eiga
First viewing/Hulu

[box] The Tribunal shall have the power to try and punish Far Eastern war criminals who as individuals or as members of organizations are charged with offences which include Crimes against Peace. The following acts, or any of them, are crimes coming within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal for which there shall be individual responsibility:

a. Crimes against Peace: Namely, the planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a declared or undeclared war of aggression, …;

b. Conventional War Crimes: Namely, violations of the laws or customs of war;

c. Crimes against Humanity: Namely, murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, before or during the war, or persecutions on political or racial grounds … — Tokyo Charter, Article 5 [/box]

Here is an interesting look at post-War Japan’s conflicted views of WWII as seen in the microcosm of a prison for convicted war criminals.

We look at many different prisoners in turn.  We are primarily interested in Class B prisoners who were convicted of war crimes as enlisted men following orders.  The film flashes back to the crimes themselves.  One man was ordered to shoot a Filipino who fed his troop in the suspicion that he was a guerrilla that would reveal their movements.  An American was shot for stealing food.  Many of the prisoners are angry because they feel like the people responsible for the war were treated less harshly than they.  A few still believe in the Emperor and the Japanese cause.  One is a Communist.  One seeks atonement and peace.  All are disappointed when the peace treaty finally signed between Japan and the U.S. does not mean their immediate release.

This was interesting, if not a masterpiece.  Kobayashi is still coming into his own.  His anti-war, anti-military theme is taking hold and he is beginning to use some of the stylistic flourishes that would characterize his later work.  There are some dream-like sequences.

Clip (poor quality)