An ex-prostitute (Constance Towers) relocates to a small town where she hopes to live down her past and start a new life. Written, produced and directed by Samuel Fuller. Films about small town hypocrisy and the moral rot hiding under the surface of a wholesome community have been done before, KINGS ROW and PEYTON PLACE being two notable examples. But Fuller's take is less polished and more raw than those two movies. It's pulp to be sure but there's more Art in this piece of pulp than most "prestigious" Oscar bait movies. It's an odd little film in many ways, tough minded in its tabloid approach yet incredibly mawkish in spots. For example, one minute the film stops in its tracks while Towers and a room full of crippled children sing a sentimental ballad then Towers barges into a brothel and shoves a bunch of money down the madam's (Virginia Grey) throat! But the film is pure Sam Fuller! He draws a marvelous performance from Towers that no other director was able to do, not even John Ford. With Anthony Eisley, Patsy Kelly, Michael Dante and Betty Bronson.
A single mother (Doris Day) raising two children (Teddy Rooney, Gina Gillespie) runs a fresh lobster business in Maine. But when a railroad tycoon (Ernie Kovacs) causes a delivery of her lobsters to die, she files a lawsuit. This small lawsuit barrels into a national case of her David against his Goliath. Directed by Richard Quine (BELL BOOK AND CANDLE), this folksy comedy about the little man (or woman in this case) against the machine is too Frank Capra-ish for my taste and it's one of Day's weakest star vehicles. The film was a box office failure but fortunately she was rescued later in the year with her biggest success, PILLOW TALK and her career took on a new trajectory. Day veers toward shrillness here and the script doesn't allow either she or Jack Lemmon as her boyfriend to shine. Indeed, the pedestrian screenplay muffles their star power. With Steve Forrest, Mary Wickes, Jayne Meadows, Betsy Palmer and Max Showalter.
The six year old son (Vincent Winter) of a bank employee (Lee Patterson) is accidentally sealed in a bank vault with a 63 hour time lock. The vault cannot be opened manually and with less than ten hours of oxygen left inside the safe, it becomes a race to save the boy. Based on a television play by Arthur Hailey (AIRPORT) and directed by Gerald Thomas. The movie starts off promisingly and the first half hour is very tense and very good. But after that it sinks into obvious melodrama and I began losing interest. It's pity that it couldn't follow through with that earlier intensity. If it had, the film might have been a minor classic of its type. As it is, it's highly watchable but not something that will linger much. Notable for an early film appearance by a young Sean Connery as a welder trying to blow his way into the vault. With Robert Beatty, Betty McDowall, Robert Ayres and Sandra Francis.
Unaware that she is a woman, a Chicago police detective (Dennis O'Keefe) doggedly pursues a criminal mastermind (Judith Anderson) to New York with a plan to trap her. But an innocent pair of newlyweds (Rand Brooks, Mildred Coles) accidentally get mixed up in the trap when they are mistaken for members of her gang. Directed by Frank Woodruff (TWO SENORITAS FROM CHICAGO), this pulp programmer is modestly enjoyable on its own B movie terms. Coming in at a refreshingly short hour and six minutes, it doesn't have a chance to wear out its welcome. Despite playing the title role, Anderson is given little screen time with the focus on the detective played by O'Keefe and the feisty girl reporter (Frances Neal) right on his heels. Nothing special at all but if you come across it, it's not an unpleasant way to spend the time. With Eric Blore, Marion Martin, Arthur Shields and Marc Lawrence.
A young lawyer (James Stewart) fresh out of law school is on a stagecoach when it is held up by the notorious Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). When he attempts to rescue a woman (Anna Lee) from being molested, he is brutally beaten and whipped by Valance. When rescued, he is taken in by a family of Swedish immigrants but he is stunned to find the town's populace weak and helpless against Valance's thuggish ways. Directed by John Ford. One of Ford's highly regarded films, I find it a decent film but remain perplexed at the esteem in which the film is held in certain critical circles as well as western fans. There's simply too much that's wrong with it. There's the length for one thing. It feels padded out and could easily lose some twenty minutes. The casting of a 53 year old Stewart as a young law school graduate is impossible to surmount. And a good amount of the acting is just bad. Notably Edmond O'Brien's scenery chewing alcoholic newspaper publisher. He makes John Carradine's pontificating orator almost subtle by comparison and you can add Marvin's snarling villain to the list too. And the dialogue is often stuffed with cliches, John Wayne actually tells Vera Miles, "You look beautiful when you're mad". On the plus side, Wayne is very good in one of his best performances and William H. Clothier's pristine B&W cinematography is to be savored, even if much of its exteriors are filmed on sound stages. Still, I'm in the minority in my lack of enthusiasm. With Andy Devine, Jeanette Nolan, Lee Van Cleef, Woody Strode, John Qualen and Ken Murray.
Set during WWII, major league baseball is suffering a setback with men at war. The owner (Garry Marshall) of a candy company also owns a baseball team and persuades the co-owners to bankroll a a woman's league for the duration of the war. Directed by Penny Marshall, this is a fictionalized account of the All American Girls Professional League which lasted from 1943 to 1954. It's hard not to fall under the movie's spell as it chronicles an important part of sports and feminist history. The film's story is strong enough to overcome the frequent lapses into mawkishness which threaten to undermine the good will engendered by the subject matter. Two things stand out that bothered me. The whiny "blame everybody else but you for your problems" character played by Lori Singer gets a pass by the film makers and the fact that Tom Hanks (who I adore) isn't quite believable as an alcoholic washed up baseball player reduced to coaching girls baseball. I kept on thinking how much better a James Caan or a Burt Reynolds would have been in the part. Hanks is a sweetie, there's no getting around it and the role calls for an edgier actor. With Geena Davis, Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell, Bill Pullman, David Strathairn and Jon Lovitz.
Set during WWII in 1944, three Navy pilots (Cary Grant, Ray Walston, Larry Blyden) orchestrate a 4 day leave in San Francisco where they plan to celebrate with booze and broads! Based on the Broadway play by Luther Davis which in turn is based on the novel SHORE LEAVE by Frederic Wakeman and directed by Stanley Donen (CHARADE). A bit of a slog to get through. Why anyone thought to resurrect an unsuccessful play which closed in four months on Broadway in 1945 is anybody's guess. It's not as if it was a critically acclaimed gem waiting to be rediscovered. A miscast Cary Grant is a bit mature for the role of a hot shot pilot out for a good time (a young Richard Widmark played the role in the play) and the film accomplishes something one wouldn't think possible. It renders Grant utterly charmless. Nothing works except for the occasional spark Jayne Mansfield (playing Judy Holliday's stage role) brings to the film. With Suzy Parker, Leif Erickson, Werner Klemperer, Kathleen Freeman, Nancy Kulp and Richard Deacon.
