Monthly Archives: June 2016

Jailhouse Rock
Directed by Richard Thorpe
Written by Guy Trosper; story by Nedrick Young
1957/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Avon Productions
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Vince Everett: That ain’t tactics, honey. It’s just the beast in me.[/box]

This better-than-average vehicle for Elvis is a lot of fun.

Vince Everett (Elvis Presley) is minding his own business in a bar when he is forced to come to the defense of a lady who is being manhandled by her boyfriend.  In the ensuing fistfight, the man dies and Vince is convicted of manslaughter and sent to the pen.  There, he shares a cell with the prison’s deal-maker Hunk Houghton (Mickey Shaughnessy), an ex-country singer.  Hunk shows him the ropes.  Vince eventually shows some talent for singing.  Hunk contrives to hide his popularity from him and they agree to become 50-50 partners after their release.  A whipping makes Vince hard and bitter.

After Vince is released, he looks up Hunk’s old manager, who refuses to give him a chance.  He gets on stage to prove his stuff and Peggy Van Allen, a pretty record promoter, takes him on.  They are clearly on the road to romance but Vince’s obsession with fame and money stands in the way.  Vince’s stardom makes him more obnoxious than ever.  When will he ever see the light?

This has more of a plot than a lot of these things, some classic songs by Lieber and Stoller (the title tune, “You’re So Square”, and “Treat Me Nice”) and the “Jailhouse Rock” production number, in which Elvis shows off some pretty impressive dance moves.  I had fun watching it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qka6JrKUM5U

Clip

Pyaasa
Directed by Guru Dutt
Written by Abrar Alvi
1957/India
Guru Dutt Films Pvt. Ltd.
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Vijay: Apne shauk ke liye pyaar karti hai aur apne aaram ke liye pyar bechti hai. [Love, for her, is a hobby that she can barter for material pleasures][/box]

IMDb users rate this Bollywood extravaganza very highly (8.5/10), so I was hopeful.  Alas, it was not for me.

Vijay is a poor, struggling poet.  He has written a book dedicated to his college love Meena.  When he tries to sell his manuscript, the publisher sells it as waste paper.  A rich girl buys the book from the waste paper seller and falls in love with Vijay from afar but his heart still belongs to the venal Meena, who has married an evil rich guy.  Vijay has some evil brothers.  There is also a comic character who peddles scalp massages in the street.  A lot of singing and two hours of plot precedes the happy ending.

I don’t have a lot to say about this one.  Nothing about it grabbed me.  On the other hand, if you are looking for a Bollywood musical you could definitely do worse.

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

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The Three Faces of Eve
Directed by Nunnally Johnson
Written by Nunnally Johnson from a book by Corbett Thigpen and Hervey M. Cleckley
1957/USA
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Eve Black: Honey, there are a lot of things you’ve never seen me do before. That’s no sign I don’t do ’em.[/box]

The psychiatry is perhaps a little dated but Joanne Woodward is worth the price of admission.

Ralph White (David Wayne) is concerned about his mousey wife Eve (Woodward).  She has been having spells she can’t remember, during which she has been behaving very oddly.  Her doctor refers her to a psychiatrist, Dr. Curtis Luther (Lee J. Cobb).  Despite his misgivings, Ralph takes her.  Luther treats Eve for some time.  Suddenly, he witnesses one of her spells and Eve Black introduces herself.  The extroverted, hard-drinking, provocative Eve Black says she is the one responsible for the odd behavior.  She knows all about Eve White but Eve knows nothing about her.  Thus, Eve is finally diagnosed with multiple-personality disorder and hospitalized.  Luther explains her condition to Ralph but Ralph is a sceptic, believing that his wife may be faking to get away with forbidden behavior.

The road to health for Eve is a long one.  Eve Black’s encounter with Ralph eventually leads to the couple’s divorce.  Before the story is over, a third personality will emerge.

Woodward, a new-comer at the time, is pretty spectacular.  I think Eve Black is supposed to be the scary villain of the piece but Woodward makes her so much fun you are almost sad to see her go.  One gets the feeling that Eve’s problems and treatment must have been much more complicated than could be portrayed here. The film succeeds in entertaining – all anyone can really ask.

Joan Woodward won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Three Faces of Eve.

Trailer

The Wings of Eagles
Directed by John Ford
Written by Frank Fenton and William Wister Haines based on the life and writings of Frank Wead
1957/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Frank W. ‘Spig’ Wead: [while trying to regain nerve control of his toes in the hospital] I’m gonna move that toe![/box]

Obviously, the filmmakers thought a lot of Spig Wead.  Pity they couldn’t make his story more exciting.

This is the story of a man who championed Naval aviation both in the sky and in Hollywood.  As the story begins, Spig (John Wayne) is a cadet in the first class of naval aviators.  He married to Min (Maureen O’Hara) and has a baby son.  Before he has qualified to solo, he takes the controls in a “borrowed” plane with an army pilot and then crash lands into the admiral’s tea party. As we follow his story, we learn that Spig is big on brawling, drinking and insubordination.  Despite this, he is universally loved – even by the brass.

The one person who is not a total fan is his long-suffering wife.  She hates the Navy and refuses to move to Washington when Spig is assigned there.  Nevertheless, it is obvious that she loves him passionately.

Spig had been scheduled to participate in an Army v. Navy contest to fly around the world.  The Navy is forced to drop out.  He is on the winning team in another competition.  Then he reunites with Min and his two girls but a tragic accident means his flying days are over.

We watch his lengthy struggle to walk again.  He is retired from the Navy and becomes a novelist.  Then he is called to Hollywood to write pictures about the Navy.  World War II gives him an opportunity to return to active duty.

The plot has several strands but each of them just kind of peter out in the end.  Ford is in comic mode for most of the film – not his forte.  The stars are their usual charming selves.

No good clip or trailer so here is a tribute to the collaborations of Wayne and O’Hara

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison
Directed by John Huston
Written by John Lee Mahin and John Huston from a novel by Charles Shaw
1957/USA
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Cpl. Allison, USMC: Whatcha gotta be a nun for?[/box]

When I was about 12 years old, I decided Robert Mitchum was the sexiest man alive.  This movie was the reason why.

As the movie begins, a Marine, Mr. Allison (Mitchum), is drifting at sea in a life raft.  In the nick of time, he spots a tropical island.  He rows to shore and looks around.  He can see from a graveyard and church that Christians have been here.  He explores further and discovers a young Irish nun, Sister Angela (Deborah Kerr).  He finds she is the lone inhabitant, having been abandoned when she and an old priest went to fetch the church’s priest.

Sister Angela proves to be a real team player with a sense of humor.  She helps Allison gather food and construct a shelter.  They plan to improve the life raft for a long and dangerous voyage to Fiji.  Then Japanese troops return, destroy the raft and the fruit trees on the island.  The two are forced to hide inside a cave.

Allison eventually declares his love to Sister Angela but she has already given her heart to Jesus.  One night, he gets drunk on stolen sake and makes advances.  She runs, terrified, into the rain.  Now he must nurse her back to health, all the while dodging ever more Japanese.

I was a pre-teen at the time movies of the late 50’s were making an appearance on my local TV station, Channel 9 in Los Angeles. Channel 9 had a feature called The Million Dollar Movies where they would show one movie nine times in a week.  I watched this one over and over.  My catechism-trained heart thought the story was utterly romantic and Mitchum made my blossoming hormones go pitter-patter.

Now, of course, it all seems pretty tame.  Mitchum and Kerr retain their basic appeal though and I think Huston did as well as possible with a rather contrived plot line.  I’ve always envisioned the picture in B&W like on our family’s TV set but it is actually in vivid color.  The South Seas look beautiful.  Worth seeing.

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957) was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Actress and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

This post is part of the Second Annual Sex! (now that I have your attention) Blogathon on MovieMovie blog.  For excellent posts on the theme go here and here.

Trailer

Man of a Thousand Faces
Directed by Joseph Pevney
Written by R. Wright Campbell, Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts; story by Ralph Wheelwright
1957/USA
Universal International Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Creighton Chaney at 13: Say, Pop! There’s a great new joke going around school. “Don’t step on that spider. It might be Lon Chaney.”[/box]

Man of a Thousand Faces is a solid biopic featuring one of James Cagney’s classic performances.  If the story is true, poor Lon Chaney Jr. had one messed up childhood.

Lon Chaney Sr.’s (Cagney) parents were both deaf-mutes.  He was born with a chip on his shoulder, a fighting spirit, and sympathy for those who are “diffferent” due to all the teasing he took.  When he is grown he goes on stage on the vaudeville circuit, teaming up with Cleva Creighton (Dorothy Malone).  They marry and she announces she is pregnant.  Only then does he take her home to meet his parents, never having revealed their deafness.  He had been rightly afraid of her reaction, which is something akin to discovering they have leprosy.  The neurotic Cleva is convinced their baby will be deaf as well and announces she no longer wants the baby.

To everyone’s relief, Creighton (the future Lon Chaney Jr.) can hear.  Nevertheless, Cleva never does become a doting mother.  Half the time, she leaves the boy backstage with Chaney, where he is doted on by Hazel Bennet (Jane Greer).  Over the vehement objection of her husband, Cleva finally gets work as a singer and hits the big time.  Eventually, after considerable drama, she disappears, and Chaney sues for divorce.  The judge decides the single Chaney cannot provide his son with a “proper home”, makes him a ward of the court, and puts him in a sort of orphanage.

Cheney is desperate to make money for a better life for Creighton and learns that Hollywood may offer that opportunity.  His talent for changing his appearance leads to lots of work as an extra which blossoms into leading roles.  Nothing changes the court’s mind however until Hazel Bennet puts in an appearance and offers the oblivious Chaney her hand in marriage.

Creighton is reunited with his family and is told his mother is dead.  There are some happy years before the boy is faced with the truth – a truth that threatens to permanently sever ties with his father.

Cagney is excellent, particularly where he performs as Chaney in his vaudeville act and movie roles.  His leading ladies are also good.  (It took me awhile to figure out where I had seen Greer before!).  This movie does not give one warm and fuzzy feelings about Chaney as a person though.  He seems to have been a bit of an autocrat and a fairly cold fish despite, or perhaps because of, his genius.  It was very sad to see that deaf people were treated like freaks at one time.

Man of a Thousand Faces was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen.

Make-up Artist Rick Baker – Trailers from Hell

The Pajama Game
Directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen
Written by George Abbott and Richard Bissell
1957/USA
Warner Bros.
Repeat viewing/DVD Collection

Seven and a half cents doesn’t buy a hell of a lot,/ Seven and a half cents doesn’t mean a thing!/ But give it to me every hour,/ Forty hours every week/, And that’s enough for me to be living like a king! — Lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross

This musical was a childhood favorite and I still love it.

The workers in an Iowa pajama factory have been petitioning management for a 7 1/2 cent raise.  Workers for other companies received this months ago.  Management has refused, citing high costs and low profits.  As the story begins, Sid Sorokin (John Raitt) is hired as a floor superintendent.  He is eager to make good.  The workers are uncooperative and he is soon brought before the Grievance Committee headed by Babe Williams (Doris Day).  She is a passionate union activist.  Obviously, the two will fall in love.

Meanwhile, secretary Gladys Hotchkiss (Carol Haney) is pestered constantly by her jealous boyfriend Hinesy (Eddie Foy Jr.), an efficiency expert.  As the workers move ever closer to striking, the relationship between Sid and Babe is threatened.  He takes drastic action to achieve a compromise.

As far as I am concerned, this is a practically perfect joyous experience.  I feel sorry for the IMDb users who disagree.  It has great songs (most famous I think is “Hernando’s Hideaway”) and wonderful choreography by Bob Fosse.  I love Day when she is brassy like this.  The rest of the cast come from the Broadway show and look like they actually could be factory workers.  The production is fairly stagey but I think that suits the story.  Recommended for musical lovers.

Day and company sing “I’m Not at All in Love”

A Face in the Crowd
Directed by Elia Kazan
Written by Budd Schulberg
1957/USA
Newtown Productions
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Marcia Jeffries: You put your whole self into that laugh, don’t you?

Lonesome Rhodes: Marcia, I put my whole self into everything I do. [/box]

This is must-see viewing during any U.S. political campaign but is fantastic any time.

Marcia Jeffries (Patricia Neal) has just graduated from Swarthmore and is aiming to take her uncle’s Arkansas radio station to new heights.  She has started a morning program called “A Face in the Crowd” in which she does man-in-the-street interviews.  This particular Fourth of July day she decides to do her program from the local jail.  The inmates aren’t too eager to participate.  Finally, the sheriff wakes up a guitar-playing drunk and offers to let him out the next day if he will perform.  Taking the bait, the inmate (Andy Griffith) sings and joshes on the radio.  Marcia dubs him Lonesome Rhodes and recognizes his charisma and talent.  The station gives him his own show.  Lonesome sets about attempting to seduce the reluctant Marcia.

Lonesome swiftly builds quite a following with his down-home humor and straight talk.  He is uncontrollable however and throws out his advertising copy, frequently belittling the sponsor.  Despite this, ratings and sales of the sponsored products continue to rise until Lonesome makes another smash hit on TV in Memphis.  He begins to realize he has his audiences in the palm of his hand.  Marcia surrenders.

Lonesome’s show moves on to New York where he becomes much sought-after as an advertising and campaign consultant.  His vices and ego start spinning out of control.  With Walter Matthau as a disillusioned scriptwriter, Lee Remick as a sexy teenaged baton twirler, and Anthony Franciosa as an office boy turned agent.

I love this scathing expose of mass media.  You can’t help wondering what some of our candidates talk about when the cameras and microphones are turned off.

The performances, particularly by Griffith and Neal, are perfection.  Griffith was never seen like this before or since and is a positive revelation.  He can actually be quite sexy and he has the hypocrite nailed.  Apparently, the man himself was more like his TV persona, however.  I’ve never seen Neal give a bad performance and here, coming off a 4-year break from acting and nervous breakdown, she is particularly vulnerable and affecting. Highly recommended.

Andy Griffith, Lee Remick, and Anthony Franciosa made their film debuts in A Face in the Crowd.

Trailer

Monkey on My Back
Directed by Andre de Toth
Written by Paul Dudley, Anthony Veiller, and Crane Wilbur from biographical material
1957/USA
Edward Small Productions
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Rico, Drug Pusher: Start scratchin’. You see, you don’t seem to understand. I’m risking ten years of my life with every move I make. I wanna get paid for it. And if I don’t, my friends will break your wrists.[/box]

By 1957, we had seen this story before.  We would go on to see it many more times.

This is a biopic and told mostly in flashback as ex-boxing champion Barney Ross is admitted to the withdrawal ward of a Veterans hospital for morphine addiction.  He sits in his sparsely furnished room and reflects on his life.

He starts out more or less addicted to being a big shot.  Barney Ross (Cameron Mitchell) wins fight after fight and generally cashes in doubly by betting on himself.  He also makes extravagant wawers on the ponies and any other event on which he can get odds.  He loves making lavish presents.  Finally, a girl catches his eye in the chorus line.  Cathy turns out to be a down-to-earth single mother.  They fall in love but Cathy fears marrying such a big spender.

She proves herself right.  Barney’s luck changes.  He quits fighting after losing the title and opens a saloon.  But his continued gambling and lavish spending eventually puts him out of business.  Before that happens, Cathy gets disgusted and walks out on him.  At age 33, Barney joins the Marines.

Cathy marries Barney shortly he is shipped to the hell of Guadalcanal.  After heroic action to save a comrade, he contracts malignant malaria.  Military doctors treat his severe headaches with morphine.  He is returned to the States where he does further service selling War Bonds.  The father of the man he saves gives him a great job at an advertising agency.  Then the doctors cut off his morphine.

The rest of the film follows Barney’s gradual destruction by his habit.

This movie is OK but nothing special.  I like Cameron Mitchell but I did not quite believe his withdrawal scenes.  I don’t know whether that should be laid to the actor or the director.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34VnBeQPr7E

Trailer

He Who Must Die (Celui qui doit mourir)
Directed by Jules Dassin
Written by Ben Barzman, Jules Dassin, and André Obey from a novel by Nikos Kazanzakis
1957/Italy/France
Indusfilms/Prima Film/et al
First viewing/YouTube

[box] Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. — Proverbs 14:31, NIV[/box]

Not all religious allegories work as well as this one.

The story takes place in the 1920’s when parts of Greece were still occupied by Turkey.  As the film opens, we see a village burning and villagers grieving somewhere in Greece.  Nothing is left for them here after many of the men have been massacred and all their homes destroyed.  They set off singing to find a new home under the charismatic leadership of Priest Fotis (Jean Servais).

We move on to a prosperous village where Greeks have reached an accomodation with the Turks.  Each year the village puts on a Passion Play.  Priest Patriarcheas (Gert Fröbe) casts the parts.  He picks the son of the wealthiest man to play the Apostle John, the postman to play Peter, the town prostitute Katerina (Melina Mercouri) to play Mary Magdalene, one of her reprobate customers as Judas and a stuttering shepherd  to play Jesus.

The dispossessed villagers arrive in town.  Patriarchais and the wealthy man tell the villagers that they will never get rid of these “beggars” if they help them.  Finally one of the women collapses dead and Patriarchais declares that the people have cholera and no one should go near them.  Fotis knows these people have plenty of uncultivated land and takes his flock into the hills nearby where they continue to starve.  He refuses to move on.

Finally, the villagers playing Jesus and John go up to the hills.  They discover the people there do not have cholera and need help.  The greed and fear of reprisal by the establishment makes Patriarchais fight them every step of the way.  The tragedy plays out a lot like the Passion Play.

The story is simple but very moving and well filmed by Dassin.  The message is timeless. Unfortunately, the print on YouTube does not measure up in quality.

Clip