Reviews

Robert Wise is perhaps better known as a director of musicals - West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Star!,etc. However, he was also adept at grabbing our attention and holding it, as with The Day The Earth Stood Still (classic sci-fi) and Somebody Up There Likes Me (launching Paul Newman as a prize fighter). Here, he takes an incredible cast, gives them each something to chew on and let's us in on the fun. It also won Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction, costumes and Cinematography. It won a special jury price at the Venice Film Festival and Golden Lion and WGA nominators for director and writer, so there's some laurels attached. There are many standout scenes and performances -- June Allyson proving she can make more out of the generic housewife and a negligee, Frederic March as a scheming, palm sweating numbers man, Shelley Winters in her bombshell mode, but remarkably restrained(and no one wants to kill her in this movie!), and then there are the standouts of Walter Pidgeon (& that voice)behind leaded glass spectacles and a wild mop of hair, Barbara Stanwyck stealing the thunder away from the major roles just by listening in her chair, with William Holden blustering his way into a couple of decent monologues(his angry white man bit isn't always as compelling from movie to movie)but Nina Foch won a best supporting actress nod for her caring and steadfast senior admin. Only Paul Douglas doesn't seem to be completely connected with his head salesman caught in a scandalous jam. Never one for a subtle role, he doesn't quite have the hang of pretending to talk to someone on a phone, but he does bring a gravitas to his situation once it's a Sword of Damocles over his head. Despite all of this mincing about characters, EXECUTIVE SUITE is a remarkably fascinating power struggle that holds up nearly fifty years later. The few quirks of the film that ground it in the the 50s are easily overpowered by a brilliant ensemble. Wise allows that none of these characters is perfect, but that makes them all the more watchable as they try to wend their way thru the maze put before them. Who needs a Max Steiner soundtrack when there's so much more to the silences between great actors. Four stars out of five - MDMPHD

This is a prime example of 50s excess, as it seems the notion of how gambling is detrimental to a new marriage is lost in a jumble. I suspect Graham Greene wanted to do a screwball comedy but it winds up an excuse to set two winsome but entirely mismatched stars loose in a romantic, foreign locale, filmed in Color and Cinemascope. Glynnis Johns had been getting really good roles in England and had just come out of Around the World in 80 Days. She'd played plenty of roles but here, she's inexplicably floating thru the movie like an excited child. Rozanno Brazzi was barely the bigger star, already a sensation in Italy from the early 40s and having made Three Coins in the Fountain, Summertime and the professor in the June Alyson version of Little Women. He plays a man good with numbers, but by all appearances is too old for his wife - she wears him out just by talking and he seems frustrated by his inability to keep up when she's on the fly. There are some cute, albeit brief glimpses of why this couple are together, but at heart, I didn't buy Brazzi, a master brooder, as an accountant in love with a numbers system that gets them wads of cash. They don't seem to be able to connect as a team most of the time and hence, we don't really care if they get out of their gambling troubles or not. There's a little screwball suspense around an imagined gambling debt and how they'll get out of their expensive hotel bill, and Robert Morley wanders in and out, barely blinking. Altho Glynis's wardrobe may have been eye catching and the casinos were put to good use for publicity, what we bankroll is a whitewashed Monte Carlo, complete with the two stars whisking by on a moped. Must've been charming in 1956, but today it's a test of endurance. I give this one and a half stars out of five. - MDMPHD (PS - You'll notice it's never mentioned as one of the great romantic comedies, much less as a film of note in any article or text. You'd do better with Brazzi in SUMMERTIME and Johns in NO HIGHWAY IN THE SKY to get these talented actors in their prime.)

One of my favorite films of the forties and, I believe, one of Barbara Stanwyck's best. Fonda also gets a chance to show some comedic chops as well as the foil for her Eve. It's apparent everyone involved knows they're in something good and enjoys it - Eugene Palette as Fonda's wealthy Father, William Demarest(think Uncle Charlie in My Three Sons)in one of his best supporting roles as Fonda's crusty valet, and Charles Coburn and Eric Blore doing brilliant comic character turns as card sharks on Eve's side. Stanwyck hadn't really cared about clothes before(see Mad Miss Manton) but this time Edith Head came up with some innovations that suddenly made her a fashion hit as well. Her bolero jackets, evening dresses, wedding gown and cap hats were big fashion successes, tailored to Stanwyck's tiny form. But the real star is the sparkling dialogue, delivered flawlessly by everyone. Plenty of one liners, double entendres and an incredibly sexy seduction in one long take where Stanwyck simply toys with Fonda's hair as he reclines, uncomfortably, on the floor beside her. There are other scenes - Stanwyck sizing up the room with commentary as seen thru her makeup mirror...the dinner party where Fonda can't get over how much Eve looks like the girl he left on the ship...a sequence where Fonda's horse started to move in on a romantic scene so Sturges rewrote and reshot other parts, making Fonda the foil of the intrusive horse. See if you can spot the take where the horse actually nibbles on Fonda and watch Stanwyck glide thru it all like a pro. BRILLIANT film -- can't recommend it highly enough - five stars of five - MDMPHD:>

A really well done piece from two top notch stars, three years before they would be paired again as one of film noir's classic doomed couples in DOUBLE INDEMNITY. After working on this film, Stanwyck gave Sturges an automatic 'Yes!' when he asked her to be in THE LADY EVE. MacMurray and Stanwyck would be paired in two others, THE MOONLIGHTERS (a western in 3-D, no less) and the soapy THERE'S ALWAYS TOMORROW, but REMEMBER THE NIGHT is their best romance, both of them bringing a fast patter and no nonsense attitude to their characters that is both winning and believable. There are some charming Christmas scenes when they reach his home - a square dance, a dear gift giving sequence and some great supporting work from Beulah Bondi, Sterling Holloway and Elizabeth Patterson. However, I think the previous comment hit it on the nose - it's as close to a noir holiday comedy as you can get. Highly recommended to get you into the holidaze...MDMPHD

The stars of this film were paired twice before striking gold in Preston Sturges' The Lady Eve, appearing in a rather humorless comedy called You Belong To Me and two years prior in Mad Miss Manton. MMM was a combination of murder mystery and madcap heiress nonsense with aspects of screwball comedy before it had been defined as such. Stanwyck had been nominated for an Oscar in Stella Dallas the year before, and was given this role to add some glamour, as recent roles in Internes Can't Take Money(the first Dr.Kildare) and the fluffy Breakfast for Two were A list fillers. Stanwyck was just a film away from better vehicles as Golden Boy, Union Pacific, Remember the Night, Lady Eve, Ball of Fire, etc.(she survives earlier films by committing to realism, making pap pictures better than they deserved, and was Frank Capra's favorite actress). Fonda, on the other hand, had just made waves in Jezebel, with Young Mr. Lincoln, Jesse James and Grapes of Wrath ahead in the next few years. So you have two great, popular actors, thrown into a contrived script about Stanwyck as the heiress who sees someone slipping away from a murder scene, only to have the body missing when she calls the police. Fonda is the newspaper hack who slams her in the papers and of course, when they meet, there's supposed to be fireworks. The stars try, but there's really nothing for them to play on. It would take script writers a few more years to learn you shouldn't make Hank Fonda speak quickly and Stanwyck, much as I love her, never really does manage the glamour. She and her friends tend to play a brainless and unchallenged group, excited to solve the murder mystery as a relief from the boredom of wealth and society and a chance to "prove" themselves. Of course, it's not as bad as I write - it's entertaining fluff with hints of each stars' future in several scenes. This is the film where Hattie McDaniel gets to throw a vase of water in Fonda's face, and there's some genuine suspense when Stany sits down with the unbalanced murderer for the denouement. However, Double Indemnity was years away and as this was supposed to be a comedy, Hollywood rules with a happy ending. It was never meant to be social commentary and as such, is an enjoyable watch for three to three and a half stars out of five. However, for both performers at their peak and a truly magnificent supporting cast, see the 5 star THE LADY EVE, a screwball classic.-MDMPHD:

A young man returns home after a few years to find nasty gunhands after his Pa's ranch and pretty young barmaid girlfriend. Davis is pretty much a cipher as the young man with a past - he's made out to be a rebel who left home vowing never to be taken advantage of again. One suspects he was attractive and charismatic as a real person, because the camera barely notices him, much less likes him. He only comes to life when teamed with his old flame, a winsome Anna Maria Alberghetti - the camera DOES like her. So do the makeup artist and the costumer, giving her plenty of pastel lipstick, a pointy bra and low neckline. She doesn't do much as a catalyst, but she does have the most effective close ups. The other star, if you're not seeing a scoped version, would be the Cinemascope shots of the old West. Camerawork is not complicated, as if it were more important to focus on frame content than using a pan or swoop close up. However, all of the elements of a low grade western are evident, right down to the "duel" of the title. Good for a rainy afternoon if nothing else is on, otherwise mostly forgettable unless you're an Anna Maria fan.

Paul Heinreid was moved enough by this script and recent college deaths due to hazing that he produced, starred and directed this B picture. It's surprisingly good, not only for the snapshot of the early 50s, but also for some of the supporting players. This film introduced a gorgeous Vera Miles in her first big role(The Searchers,Psycho and tons of tv work came later) - also Russell Johnson, later in This Island Earth and Gilligan's Island, practicing his sneer. Robert Johnson also debuts, altho he had better claim to fame as a writer for classic tv like Rawhide, The Invaders, Kung Fu and MacGuyver among many others. (I had to look that up here, but I recognize the face). For its time, this was a fairly advanced social picture when the genre wasn't doing well against monsters, Westerns and the 50s gimmicks of 3-D, Cinemascope and the like. It even manages to sneak in some anti-Semitism and homoerotic tension during some of the college "boys" hazing(back when "boys" were in their 20s). Johnson is particularly interested in a hairy,wet barechested Sherman during opening credits, proving to be a sadist in the making thruout. However, Heinreid is clearly 'the star', trying to ease his accent into the dream of 50s suburbia, with a wife in pleated skirts, slippers and martinis. His trademark staring into the corner of the room with honor and morality (aka Casablanca, Now Voyager,etc.)comes into play thruout. In the plot, a young man going thru a grueling hazing balks at the last step, which involves a horrible cruelty to an animal. For this, he is hounded out of school and to his death. Heinreid, the good chemistry professor, finds out the death wasn't accidental and starts digging, unearthing more than his marriage or social position can shoulder. I saw this once on 16MM ,remember many key scenes and would recommend a viewing to recall how much the 50s were hiding and what they couldn't hide. Three and a half to four stars of five. - MDM

This early B entry into the patriotic category slapped a gorgeous young Gene Tierney on the ads and posters, but you have to wait a good time before you glimpse her, riding in a Hollywoodized camel train. Previously, we've set up George Sanders and Bruce Cabot in the desert as guys who barely get along, but must rally in the face of attack. I've seen Sanders as so many enjoyable cads that it was fun to witness a rare good guy turn. However, Bruce Cabot's allure is pretty much a mystery to me - he's base and unsubtle in comparison, but I've always felt he'd just emerged, smiling, from under a car, covered in grease and a sixth grade education. Some people like 'em that way, as did Gene's gypsy queen character. This is an action adventure filler, tho, and just as we've been warned of invading locals with guns, ready to sabotage and attack the Brits in their land, there is a final gun battle in which we must lose a main character for the good of all. This feature requires nothing more than your barest attention on a Saturday afternoon, a programmer that made whatever else it was paired with better. It was almost more interesting identifying the great supporting cast and a surprise appearance by Dorothy Dandridge in one of her first roles. A two or two and a half stars out of five.-MDM