Troy Donahue is "Parrish" in this 1961 Delmar Daves production, also starring Diane McBain, Connie Stevens, Claudette Colbert, Dean Jagger, Karl Malden, and Sharon Hugueny.
It's the story of competing tobacco farmers in Connecticut, and Parrish's mother Ellen (Colbert) is hired by Sala Post (Dean Jagger) to watch over his wild daughter Alison (McBain). He doesn't want Parrish living with her, so Parrish gets a job working on the tobacco farm and moves in with a bunch of the workers, one of whom is Lucy (Stevens). Lucy has been around the block and soon takes Parrish with her, even though she has a secret beau whom she sees from time to time.
However, Alison gets a look at the blond hunk and wants him for herself.
Sala Post is one of the few independent tobacco growers in the area, thanks to the long reach of Judd Raike, who is unscrupulous and encourages his two sons Edgar and Wiley (Hampton Fancher and David Knapp) to be the same way. The lives of Parrish, Ellen, and the Raikes merge when Ellen and Judd fall in love.
Ellen is Colbert's last film role. At one time the highest-paid actress in Hollywood, when a reporter asked her why she wasn't making movies, she replied, "There haven't been any offers." By the time she was 51, her film career was pretty much over, and she basically worked on stage and television. Always good-looking and lovely, her last appearance was in the miniseries The Two Mrs. Grenvilles in 1986. Based on the real-life killing of William Woodruff, Jr., many who knew Alice, his mother, said that Colbert played the role to perfection.
Troy Donahue was a favorite of Daves for these early '60s films with young casts, probably marketed to teens. Tall, blond, and good-looking Donahue had a nice speaking voice, but he was basically eye candy and not much of an actor. And in fact, the younger stars were chosen for their blond good looks: Donahue, McBain, and Stevens, though Stevens acquits herself well. McBain is gorgeous, and it's highly unlikely that at the age of 19 or so, she needed to be photographed through that much gauze.
The real stars, as stated, are the character actors. Some of the young people found their careers tough going. Sadly, Sharon Hugeny, who plays Paige Raike, died of cancer at the age of 52. And despite her film career fizzling, Diane McBain continued to work on stage and television. A rape victim in 1982, she has devoted a great deal of time working as a rape counselor.
Like most Delmar Daves films, Parrish is opulent-looking, soapy and maybe 10-15 minutes too long. In this case, there's quite a bit on how to grow tobacco, which is quite interesting. There are also some wonderful performances particularly by Malden, Jagger, and Colbert.
Entertaining.
It's the story of competing tobacco farmers in Connecticut, and Parrish's mother Ellen (Colbert) is hired by Sala Post (Dean Jagger) to watch over his wild daughter Alison (McBain). He doesn't want Parrish living with her, so Parrish gets a job working on the tobacco farm and moves in with a bunch of the workers, one of whom is Lucy (Stevens). Lucy has been around the block and soon takes Parrish with her, even though she has a secret beau whom she sees from time to time.
However, Alison gets a look at the blond hunk and wants him for herself.
Sala Post is one of the few independent tobacco growers in the area, thanks to the long reach of Judd Raike, who is unscrupulous and encourages his two sons Edgar and Wiley (Hampton Fancher and David Knapp) to be the same way. The lives of Parrish, Ellen, and the Raikes merge when Ellen and Judd fall in love.
Ellen is Colbert's last film role. At one time the highest-paid actress in Hollywood, when a reporter asked her why she wasn't making movies, she replied, "There haven't been any offers." By the time she was 51, her film career was pretty much over, and she basically worked on stage and television. Always good-looking and lovely, her last appearance was in the miniseries The Two Mrs. Grenvilles in 1986. Based on the real-life killing of William Woodruff, Jr., many who knew Alice, his mother, said that Colbert played the role to perfection.
Troy Donahue was a favorite of Daves for these early '60s films with young casts, probably marketed to teens. Tall, blond, and good-looking Donahue had a nice speaking voice, but he was basically eye candy and not much of an actor. And in fact, the younger stars were chosen for their blond good looks: Donahue, McBain, and Stevens, though Stevens acquits herself well. McBain is gorgeous, and it's highly unlikely that at the age of 19 or so, she needed to be photographed through that much gauze.
The real stars, as stated, are the character actors. Some of the young people found their careers tough going. Sadly, Sharon Hugeny, who plays Paige Raike, died of cancer at the age of 52. And despite her film career fizzling, Diane McBain continued to work on stage and television. A rape victim in 1982, she has devoted a great deal of time working as a rape counselor.
Like most Delmar Daves films, Parrish is opulent-looking, soapy and maybe 10-15 minutes too long. In this case, there's quite a bit on how to grow tobacco, which is quite interesting. There are also some wonderful performances particularly by Malden, Jagger, and Colbert.
Entertaining.