FilmFanatic.org

Synopsis:
While at her funeral in Italy, a movie director (Humphrey Bogart), a press agent (Edmond O’Brien), and a count (Rossano Brazi) recall the mysterious life and motivations of a beautiful Spanish woman (Ava Gardner) who became an internationally beloved superstar.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Actors and Actresses
• Aspiring Stars
• Ava Gardner Films
• Edmond O’Brien Films
• Flashback Films
• Hollywood
• Humphrey Bogart Films
• Joseph L. Mankiewicz Films

Review:
Joseph L. Mankiewicz wrote and directed this beautifully photographed (by Jack Cardiff) but narratively stilted homage to a gorgeous movie star with inscrutable tastes and motivations.

Gardner — who struggles to maintain a semblance of a Spanish accent — is a woman who easily resists the lure of money and fame, as presented in the opening sequence by a caddish first-time producer (Warren Stevens) who wrongly assumes Gardner will accept his offer to become Hollywood’s next great discovery:

Instead, Gardner is drawn to the honest friendship of Bogart (whose voiceover perspective opens the film), a jaded but happily married director who is willing to mentor Gardner and help her learn to act.

Edmond O’Brien won an Oscar for his brief work as an enthusiastic promoter:

but his role is minimal, despite taking on voiceover duties for awhile in the middle of the flashback-filled screenplay.

Finally, Gardner’s widowed husband (Brazi) tells his perspective as the first man Gardner falls for and is willing to marry, not knowing he holds dark secrets that will doom her to unhappiness yet again. During this portion of the episodic film, Valentina Cortese — so effective in Jules Dassin’s Thieves Highway (1949) — plays a thankless, underwritten role as Brazi’s concerned sister.

Since we know from the get-go how this tragic tale ends, there’s ultimately little to do but enjoy Jack Cardiff’s predictably beautiful cinematography.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Gorgeous cinematography
  
  
  

Must See?
No; you can skip this one unless you’re a diehard Gardner fan.

(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die)

Links:

• IMDb entry
• TCM Article
• Spinning Image Review
• NY Times Original Review
• CineSavant Review

Synopsis:
A pair of college students (Bradford Dillman and Dean Stockwell) challenge each other to commit the “ultimate crime”, believing they can get away with murder given their “superior intellect” — but a local policeman (E.G. Marshall) is convinced that a pair of glasses found left on the scene belong to Stockwell, and soon the men have confessed. Will an infamous lawyer (Orson Welles) be able to defend them from the death penalty?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Courtroom Drama
• Dean Stockwell Films
• E.G. Marshall Films
• Orson Welles Films
• Psychopaths
• Richard Fleischer Films

Review:
Richard Fleischer directed this adaptation of a novel about the infamous Leopold and Loeb murder case, based on a 1956 novel of the same title. While the names of the main characters have been changed, it is more faithful to the true facts of the crime than Hitchcock’s adaptation of Patrick Hamilton’s play Rope (1929) — thus providing viewers with a more realistic look at how such a heinous event played out (though the crime itself, thankfully, isn’t shown on screen). Top-billed Orson Welles deserves his status, turning in a noteworthy performance in what can only be described as a challenging role (how in the world do you successfully defend these two psychopaths?). However, Stockwell and Dillman are also perfectly cast, with Dillman fiendishly reveling in the power he believes he wields through his intelligence, and Stockwell clearly under his sway but also showing stark evidence of his own moral disturbances. This one remains worth a look.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Orson Welles as Jonathan Wilk
  
• Dean Stockwell as Judd Steiner
  
• Bradford Dillman as Arthur Straus
  
• Fine cinematography
  

Must See?
Yes, once, as a powerful courtroom drama. Listed as a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Categories

• Good Show

Links:

• IMDb entry
• TV Guide Review

Synopsis:
A German soldier (John Gavin) on leave in his bombed-out hometown falls in love with and marries a beautiful young woman (Lilo Pulver); but what will happen when he’s called back to war on the Russian front?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Douglas Sirk Films
• Keenan Wynn Films
• Romance
• Soldiers
• World War II

Review:
Douglas Sirk’s next-to-last feature film before directing Imitation of Life (1959) and then retiring from film-making was this colorful CinemaScope adaptation of a novel by Erich Marie Remarque (who plays a small supporting role as a persecuted professor).

A Time to Love and a Time to Die (the title is succinct and direct) is essentially a wartime romance:

… taking place within Germany’s deadly final days during World War II, when soldiers felt defeated by the inevitability of their country’s loss, and unsure what moves to make next — other than simply continuing to follow instructions and seek joy where they could find it. Upon arriving in his hometown, Gavin accepts an invitation from a former classmate (Thayer David) — now a high-level Nazi — to refresh himself in David’s palatial home:

Despite his discomfort, he realizes that maintaining appearances and not rocking the boat too much will ultimately help him in his quest to locate both his own missing parents, and Pulver’s father — who’s been sent to a concentration camp. Meanwhile, he uses connections and a spiffy suit from a high-class lieutenant (Keenan Wynn):

… to gain entrance to a secret nightclub, where he’s able to offer Pulver a glorious night on the town:

— at least until the club is directly bombed and they must flee for their lives.

Other than Gavin and Pulver taking a chance on love and happiness in the midst of chaos and uncertainty:

… the storyline centers on Gavin’s gradually shifting sense of moral responsibility; to his credit, Sirk doesn’t overplay this theme, instead allowing it to unfold somewhat naturally (with a surprise ending). While this isn’t must-see viewing for all film fanatics, Sirk fans will surely want to check it out.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Russell Metty’s cinematography
  
• A bold look at highly varied German stances during WWII
  

Must See?
No, but it’s recommended for one-time viewing.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• TV Guide Review

Synopsis:
A young woman (Jennifer Jones) from the “wrong side of the tracks” — who has been adopted by businessman Jim Gentry (Karl Malden) and his sickly wife (Josephine Hutchinson) — is dismayed when her lover (Charlton Heston) decides to marry a wealthy socialite (Phyllis Avery). Ruby (Jones) makes the best of things by marrying Malden once his wife passes away, but society still won’t accept Ruby — and when a tragic accident ensues, the town’s relentless disparagement drives Ruby to seek revenge.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Charlton Heston Films
• Class Relations
• Cross-Class Romance
• Deep South
• Jennifer Jones Films
• Karl Malden Films
• King Vidor Films
• Revenge
• Strong Females

Review:
Peary doesn’t review this King Vidor-directed melodrama in his GFTFF, but he designates it as a Personal Recommendation in the back of his book, and names Jones one of the Best Actresses of the Year in his Alternate Oscars. Unfortunately, I’m more in alignment with DVD Savant’s critical review of the film, which he refers to as a “ragged bush-league soap opera” in which “a lusty female is the source of all evil”. Savant writes that while “Jones had great gifts as an actress,” her “roles in many of her American films post-Duel in the Sun” — including this one — “are gross caricatures”; and he notes that while “the forced theatrics are not quite as exaggerated as Pearl Chavez’ antics in Duel in the Sun,” “they’re also not as entertaining” — though “fans of champion scenery chewing will find plenty of delight amid Heston’s strutting and Jennifer Jones’ over-emphatic presence.” Indeed, there’s very little to recommend about this clunker, which seems poorly conceived on every level. The voice-over narration by a timid doctor (Barney Phillips) secretly in love with Ruby feels out of place, and Ruby’s character veers wildly from beginning to end. She’s most enjoyable about an hour into the film, when things suddenly get a lot more interesting — though at this point there are only 20 minutes left in the all-around unbelievable storyline, and we’re simply waiting to see how things will resolve.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Russell Harlan’s cinematography
  
  
  

Must See?
No; you can skip this one. Listed as a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Time Out Capsule Review
• DVD Savant Review
• Movie Diva Review
• Spinning Image Review
• NY Times Original Review

Synopsis:
An ex-con (Farley Granger) who has just escaped from prison with two compatriots — Chickamaw (Howard Da Silva) and T-Dub (Jay C. Flippen) — falls in love with the daughter (Cathy O’Donnell) of a collaborating gas station owner (Will Wright) and they are quickly married by an officiant (Ian Wolfe) who knows they’re on the run. Will Keechie (O’Donnell) and Bowie (Granger) — who is pressured into committing more crimes with Chickamaw and T-Dub — have a chance at happiness together, or will the determined wife (Helen Craig) of Chickamaw’s still-imprisoned brother take advantage of her knowledge of the criminals’ whereabouts?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Criminal Couples On the Run
• Ex-Cons
• Farley Granger Films
• Newlyweds
• Nicholas Ray Films

Review:
Nicholas Ray’s feature debut was this adaptation of Edward Anderson’s Depression-era novel Thieves Like Us (remade under its original title by Robert Altman in the 1970s). At this point in his young career, Farley Granger had just three films under his belt — The North Star (1943), The Purple Heart (1944), and Rope (1948) — while Cathy O’Donnell was best known for her breakthrough role in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946); together, they present an authentically fresh-faced couple who clearly can’t get a break, yet are given the gift of each other — for at least a short while.

Ray effectively portrays a hard-edged world in which the future happiness of a young criminal (Granger insists he was innocent when sent to jail as a teenager) is dependent on his collaboration with career-long crooks, who have no interest in giving up their life of crime, and ineluctably draw Granger back in time and again. O’Donnell, meanwhile, has been stuck living with criminals her entire life:

… and is naively desperate for a viable chance at romance and a “normal” life. Of course, everything about their courtship and marriage is tinged by the inevitable fatality of living life on the lam, so we mostly watch their travails with a sense of sadness and doom.

The film is atmospherically shot throughout, presenting a shadowy world of criminality and deception, but also moments of tentative intimacy. O’Donnell’s loyalty to Granger exists in parallel with that of Helen Craig’s Mattie, who will stop at nothing to secure the funds needed to free her own man, and plays a pivotal role in the film’s resolution.

Other supporting performances are strongly drawn as well — most notably Howard Da Silva as malicious yet insecure one-eyed Chickamaw:

… Ian Wolfe as a man used to marrying couples under all kinds of hurried circumstances:

… and Byron Foulger as an innkeeper eager to tutor his young son (Teddy Infuhr) in the ways of his craft.

Many have pointed out that this film bears similarities to Fritz Lang’s You Only Live Once (1937), and it is also often cited as the forerunner to Bonnie and Clyde (1967) — but Ray brings his own unique sensibility to the genre of “criminal couples on the run”; this one remains worth a look.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Farley Granger as Bowie
  
• Cathy O’Donnell as Keechie
  
• Many memorable supporting performances
  
  
  
  
• Highly atmospheric cinematography
  
  

Must See?
Yes, as a powerful noir debut by a master filmmaker. Listed as a Cult Movie and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book. Nominated as one of the Best Pictures of the Year in Peary’s Alternate Oscars.

Categories

• Genuine Classic
• Important Director

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• TCM Article
• TV Guide Review
• DVD Savant Review

Synopsis:
When smooth-talking salesman Elmer Gantry (Burt Lancaster) falls for a beautiful evangelist (Jean Simmons), he quickly finagles his way into a job with her revivalist group, which is being covered by a skeptical journalist (Arthur Kennedy) — but will Gantry’s past relationship with a prostitute (Shirley Jones) impede his chances at success with Sister Sharon (Simmons)?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Arthur Kennedy Films
• Blackmail
• Burt Lancaster Films
• Dean Jagger Films
• Hugh Marlowe Films
• Jean Simmons Films
• John McIntire Films
• Journalists
• Missionaries and Revivalists
• Prostitutes and Gigolos
• Richard Brooks Films
• Shirley Jones Films

Review:
Peary doesn’t review this adaptation of Sinclair Lewis’s 1927 satirical novel in his GFTFF, but he discusses the lead performances in Alternate Oscars, where he names Simmons Best Actress of the Year. In describing Lancaster’s Oscar-winning title role, Peary notes that with his “booming voice, toothy grin, boundless energy, dauntless spirit, exaggerated gestures, two-fisted masculinity, the slickness of a snake-oil salesman, the showmanship of the Mighty Barnum…, and strong doses of tenderness and intelligence”, Lancaster “gave a bravura performance” worthy of acclaim (though Peary hands the actual Alternate Oscars award to Anthony Perkins in Psycho). Regarding Simmons, Peary laments her (relative) career-long lack of recognition by Hollywood in terms of awards, and notes that she’d “been impressive since the mid-forties” but “peaked in Elmer Gantry, giving her most self-assured performance in her most difficult role” as a character based on Aimee Semple McPherson.

Peary writes that “it is the hard, naughty edge Simmons gives her character that makes her exciting”: while “Sharon’s a good person” (she’s a true believer, not a con-artist), “she’s no goody-goody, and no prude”; indeed, “she has as much fight in her as Gantry.” Simmons is indeed luminous and refreshingly tough — and is well-matched by finely cast Lancaster, who apparently stated, “Some parts you fall into like a glove. Elmer really wasn’t acting. It was me.” I’m less a fan of Shirley Jones’s Oscar-winning supporting performance as a blackmailing prostitute (Jones is trying a tad too hard to throw off her peaches-and-cream starring roles in Oklahoma! and Carousel):

… but I appreciate Arthur Kennedy’s convincing portrayal as a journalist who finds himself more deeply involved in his story than he anticipated. Meanwhile, John Alton’s cinematography is beautiful, vividly bringing this specific era of American history to life.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Burt Lancaster as Elmer Gantry
  
• Jean Simmons as Sister Sharon
  
• Arthur Kennedy as Jim Lefferts
  
• John Alton’s cinematography
  

Must See?
Yes, once, for the lead performances. Nominated as one of the Best Pictures of the Year Alternate Oscars.

Categories

• Noteworthy Performance(s)
• Oscar Winner or Nominee

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• FilmSite Review
• TCM Article

Synopsis:
A young woman (Shirley Jones) living with her aunt (Charlotte Greenwood) debates whether to go to the local dance with her cowboy-boyfriend (Gordon MacRae) or the sinister hired hand (Rod Steiger) who’s offered to drive her there; meanwhile, a local flirt (Gloria Grahame) is unsure whether her father (James Whitmore) will force her to settle down with a cowboy (Gene Nelson) or a travelling salesman (Eddie Albert).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Eddie Albert Films
• Fred Zinneman Films
• Gloria Grahame Films
• James Whitmore Films
• Musicals
• Play Adaptation
• Rivalry
• Rod Steiger Films
• Shirley Jones Films

Review:
This adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s enormously popular 1943 Broadway musical (their first collaboration) is notable for featuring Shirley Jones in her screen debut, for being filmed simultaneously in Todd-AO and CinemaScope, and for bringing the stage experience as directly as possible to the screen (i.e., all original songs were kept and no new ones added, though there were slight modifications to the timing and location of the songs). Speaking of the songs, all the musical numbers — including “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'”, “The Surrey With the Fringe On Top”, “Kansas City”, “The Farmer and the Cowman”, and “Oklahoma” — are beautifully staged and sung, with one exception: Grahame as Ado Annie squeaking out “I Cain’t Say No”. (Everything about Annie’s love triangle dilemma — including Eddie Albert’s demeaning portrayal of a Persian travelling salesman more interested in bedding than wedding women, and Gene Nelson’s impossibly stupid besotted cowboy — is simply silly.) Meanwhile, Rod Steiger’s performance as a dangerously sullen hired hand — as well as a nightmare dance sequence indicating that Jones is right to be wary of him — are completely out of place in this otherwise light-hearted musical; it’s painful watching MacRae singing a song to Steiger early on about how he’ll finally be remembered once he’s dead, so he might want to consider suicide (“Pore Jud is Daid”). This film remains worth a one-time look for the musical numbers, but otherwise hasn’t held up well.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Highly memorable Rodgers and Hammerstein songs
  
  
• Beautiful cinematography
  
• Fine dance numbers
  
• Charlotte Greenwood as Aunt Eller
  

Must See?
No, but it’s worth a look for historical purposes, and certainly a one-time must-see for musical fans.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• TCM Article
• DVD Savant Review
• NY Times Original Review

Synopsis:
A man (Gordon MacRae) who has been dead for 15 years reflects back on his troubled marriage to a girl (Shirley Jones) he met while working as a carousel barker, then negotiates with a starkeeper (Gene Lockhart) to go back down for Earth for one day to make amends with his wife and teenage daughter (Susan Luckey).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Cameron Mitchell Films
• Henry King Films
• Life After Death
• Marital Problems
• Musicals
• Play Adaptations
• Shirley Jones Films

Review:
This adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1945 Broadway musical — directed by Henry King — tells the problematic tale of a handsome but unemployed loser named Billy (MacRae) who manages to marry one of the sweetest girls in town (Julie) and causes her little but heartbreak before leaving her pregnant and widowed. The culminating moral, believe it or not, is that Billy doesn’t really mean to hurt Julie (Jones) when he hits her — and gosh darn it, it’s just too bad he had to go and get killed while participating in a robbery with his no-good accomplice (Cameron Mitchell). The narrative counterpart to Julie and Billy’s marriage is Julie’s friend Carrie (Barbara Ruick), who marries a pompous but stable fisherman (Robert Rounseville) and eventually produces a prodigious brood — though it’s not exactly clear whether we’re supposed to wish Julie had made a similar choice (?). There is so little to this flimsily told tale — framed by MacRae being given an opportunity to go down to Earth for just one day, at which point he attempts to convince his daughter that she shouldn’t feel held back by what a louse her dad was — that one watches simply to enjoy the colorful cinematography and musical numbers, including the infectiously choreographed “June is Bustin’ Out All Over”. Feel free to skip this one unless you’re a diehard Rodgers and Hammerstein fan.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Colorful cinematography
  
• Some enjoyable musical numbers
  

Must See?
No; this one isn’t must see.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• DVD Savant Review (scroll down)

Synopsis:
After beating up the john (Bruce Yarnell) of a popular Parisian prostitute (Shirley MacLaine), a strait-laced policeman (Jack Lemmon) falls in love with Irma (MacLaine) but soon finds himself increasingly jealous and intolerant of her work. With the assistance of a local bar owner (Lou Jacobi), Lemmon concocts an elaborate plan to pretend to be a wealthy British nobleman who will pay her simply to play solitaire — but how long can the ruse last?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Billy Wilder Films
• Feminism and Women’s Issues
• Jack Lemmon Films
• Mistaken or Hidden Identities
• Play Adaptation
• Police
• Prostitutes and Gigolos
• Romantic Comedy
• Shirley MacLaine Films
• Strong Females

Review:
Three years after co-starring in Billy Wilder’s The Apartment (1961), Lemmon and MacLaine reunited as a romantic couple in this decidedly lighter fare, based on a 1956 French musical play. Unfortunately, the shift from musical to romantic comedy doesn’t do the awkward storyline any favors: we can tell from the get-go that challenges will arise if Lemmon allows himself to seriously fall for Irma (MacLaine), given her self-selected profession — and her sincere lack of desire to stop “working for her man”. The characters are so broadly drawn — and the scenes so farcically sketched — that we know we should laugh, but the situation simply isn’t funny. Irma is being duped on multiple levels — not just by Lemmon’s refusal to admit that he can’t stomach her career, but by his duplicitous enactment as Lord X (which, of course, implies that Irma is too clueless to recognize her own boyfriend-in-disguise for hours on end).

While the colorful cinematography and sets are pleasant to look at, you can feel free to skip this one; it’s not essential viewing.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Shirley MacLaine as Irma
  
• Jack Lemmon as Nestor
  
• Joseph LaShelle’s cinematography
  

Must See?
No; you can skip this one.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• DVD Savant Review
• TCM Article
• Spinning Image Review
• NY Times Original Review

Synopsis:
A boozy reporter (Rock Hudson) covering a carnival barnstorming event falls for the sexy wife (Dorothy Malone) of a daredevil pilot (Robert Stack), and quickly becomes enmeshed in their lives and marital drama — including rumors that their mechanic (Jack Carson) may be the father of their son (Christopher Olsen), and attempts by Stack to bribe an airplane owner (Robert Middleton) into letting him use his questionably functional plane.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Airplanes and Pilots
• Carnivals and Circuses
• Dorothy Malone Films
• Douglas Sirk Films
• Jack Carson Films
• Journalists
• Marital Problems
• Robert Stack Films
• Rock Hudson Films
• Troy Donahue Films

Review:
Douglas Sirk’s adaptation of William Faulkner’s 1935 novel Pylon reunited the stars of his previous melodrama — Written on the Wind (1956) — for yet another potboiler about fiery-tempered individuals living life at the extremes. Sexy Malone serves as the emotional core of the story, sucking Hudson into her sad saga without necessarily meaning to, while Stack is presented as a flying addict whose need for aerial freedom trumps all else (including the sanctity of his marriage), and Carson simply waits in the wings to provide support in whatever way he can. While the cinematography is beautiful and the performances are fine, I can’t recommend this as must-see for anyone other than Sirk fans — who consider it among his best.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Robert Stack and Dorothy Malone as the conflicted but loving stunt couple
  
• Exciting aerial sequences
  
  
• Fine cinematography
  

Must See?
No, though Sirk fans will of course want to check it out. Listed as a Cult Movie and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• DVD Talk Review
• Combustible Celluloid Review
• Spinning Image Review
• NY Times Original Review
• TCM Article