Around the Blogosphere This Week

Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the Internet...

...Just got a copy of the 2009 book PALM SPRINGS HOLIDAY by Peter Moruzzi, which has a fantastic assortment of photos of mid-century Palm Springs. I became interested in adding this title to my collection of books on Southern California after seeing the Palm Springs location shooting in THE DAMNED DON'T CRY (1950) and 711 OCEAN DRIVE (1950).

...Dear Old Hollywood takes a look at the Sierra Madre, California locations of STRANGE INTRUDER (1956), starring Ida Lupino and Edmund Purdom.

...APACHE DRUMS (1951) sounds really interesting, a Val Lewton Western with what sounds like a marvelous action sequence near the end. It stars Stephen McNally and Coleen Gray, directed by Hugo Fregonese. You can read Colin's review at Riding the High Country.

...Greenbriar Picture Shows has a terrific photo essay on LLOYDS OF LONDON (1936), the film which first made Tyrone Power a star.

...A number of classic film bloggers had the chance to see TCM's satellite presentation of Hitchcock's THE BIRDS (1963) last Wednesday night. Check out the reviews by Raquelle at Out of the Past, Deb at Sidewalk Crossings, and Stephen at Classic Movie Man.

...I was glad Paul of Lasso the Movies enjoyed RAWHIDE (1951), an excellent Western starring Tyrone Power and Susan Hayward.

...Lou Lumenick reports that Robert Osborne will be cutting back on his on-air duties for Turner Classic Movies starting this fall.

...Here's a terrific new peek at LES MISERABLES (2012), which will be released this Christmas. As a fan of musicals from way back, I don't dig the filmmakers dissing singing to a prerecorded track -- does anyone really care Julie Andrews didn't sing "The hills are alive" live? -- but they used an interesting process in order to sing on set as the cameras rolled. More importantly, the clips are stunning and portend a very, very good movie coming our way.

...Another interesting upcoming film: HITCHCOCK (2012), starring Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren as Alfred and Alma Hitchcock. Scarlett Johansson and Danny Huston costar.

...Over at Sidewalk Crossings, Deb reviews a Stewart Granger film I haven't seen yet, MADONNA OF THE SEVEN MOONS (1945). Granger's frequent Gainsborough costars, Phyllis Calvert and Patricia Roc, also appear in the film.

...The New York Times ran a lovely tribute to some of my favorite children's books a few days ago, the BETSY-TACY series by Maud Hart Lovelace.

...I enjoyed Kim Morgan's thoughts on Robert Montgomery and RAGE IN HEAVEN (1941) at Sunset Gun: "He might be a genius."

...I'm looking forward to seeing Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams in TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE (2012), which received positive reviews from both Leonard Maltin and Kenneth Turan at the Los Angeles Times.

...Notable Passing: Character actor John Ingle, who succeeded longtime GENERAL HOSPITAL actor David Lewis as patriarch Edward Quartermaine and ended up playing the role even longer than Lewis, passed on September 16th at the age of 84. Ingle's last episode of the show, after a run of two decades, aired on September 11th. He's pictured here with his longtime costar Anna Lee, who passed away back in 2004. Ingle was also a teacher of many well-known actors at Hollywood High School. He will be missed.

...Sure wish I could have attended the 50th anniversary celebration for the TV series THE VIRGINIAN (1962-71) at the Autry this weekend!

...Attention Southern Californians: I remember seeing Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy in WAR GAMES (1983) when it first came out. It's funny to think about how primitive the computers seem three decades later! The movie is playing at the Egyptian this Thursday, September 27th, with director John Badham in attendance.

Have a great week!

Tonight's Movie: The Stalking Moon (1968)

Having watched THE LAW AND JAKE WADE (1968) last night, I decided to continue working my way through the Warner Western Classics Collection and watched THE STALKING MOON from the same set this afternoon.

THE STALKING MOON was recently recommended to me by both my father and by Colin of Riding the High Country, and I enjoyed the movie very much. You can read Colin's excellent review here.

Sam Varner (Gregory Peck) is an Army frontier scout retiring after 15 years. During his last job Sam helps to rescue Sarah Carver (Eva Marie Saint), who had been captured by the Apaches and lived with them for the past ten years.

Sarah, who has a young Indian son (Noland Clay), is in a sort of "no woman's land," having no family left, no money, no home, and a child who will not fit in easily in the East. Sam takes pity on Sarah and invites her to come to his farm in New Mexico to work as his housekeeper.

Sarah's Indian husband, Salvaje (Nathaniel Narcisco), intends to reclaim his son and proves to be relentless in his pursuit, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake and ultimately laying siege to Sam's cabin.

Given that the film was made in the late '60s, the violence is depicted in a restrained fashion, though I honestly would have preferred that the movie had a lower body count. A great many characters -- not to mention animals! -- die at the hands of Salvaje, a fearsome, tireless killer.

Otherwise, this is an excellent, very well-constructed film with outstanding lead performances by Peck and Saint. Neither character is much for talking, but they convey a world of emotion with their body language and expressions.

The scene where Sam keeps watching Sarah's sad little figure sitting on the train platform is marvelous, as he mentally argues with himself before making up his mind to offer Sarah a home. Likewise, his attempts to make Sarah and her son comfortable in his presence are quite sweet, as he invites them to eat with him and speak at will, and Sarah's slow attempts to use English for the first time in years are touching as well. The slow, tentative building of Sam and Sarah's relationship is thoughtfully and believably depicted, and the gradually increasing suspense in the film's second half is also extremely well done.

The Nevada locations, standing in for New Mexico, are absolutely stunning, beautifully filmed by Charles Lang. Among other things, the movie is a great visual treat.

Actor Frank Silvera, who plays Peck's army major boss in the early scenes, was a true chameleon. A Jamaican-born black actor, he had the ability to play a variety of ethnicities. His best-known part may have been his semi-regular role as the powerful Don Sebastian Montoya on THE HIGH CHAPARRAL (1967-71), a favorite TV Western I wrote about at length last weekend. After Silvera died in an accident in 1970, his character's passing was mourned in what turned out to be the final episode of the series, "The New Lion of Sonora."

The film's supporting cast also includes Robert Forster, Russell Thorson, and Lonny Chapman. Richard Bull (Mr. Oleson on LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE) plays the army doctor.

THE STALKING MOON was directed by Robert Mulligan. The Alvin Sargent screenplay was based on a novel by Theodore Olsen. The movie runs 109 minutes.

I wasn't wild about Fred Karlin's score, which at times seemed to place the film a little too firmly in the '60s, but otherwise this is a beautifully made film. Recommended.

March 2020 Update: This film is being released on Blu-ray this month by the Warner Archive.

Tonight's Movie: The Law and Jake Wade (1958)

THE LAW AND JAKE WADE has a lot going for it: two of my all-time favorite actors, Robert Taylor and Richard Widmark, starring in a Western filmed in beautiful Lone Pine, California. Additionally, it was directed by John Sturges, who made a number of films I've enjoyed. Given these credentials, I was hoping I'd really love this film, but instead I settled for simply liking it reasonably well.

The film starts off on an unsettling note with Jake Wade (Taylor) breaking Clint Hollister (Widmark) out of jail, repaying an old debt. It turns out that Jake and Clint were once an outlaw team, but Jake has reformed and is now a sheriff. Shortly after the jailbreak, Clint chooses to repay Jake's kindness by taking Jake and his fiancee Peggy (Patricia Owens) hostage, intending to force Jake to unearth some long-buried loot before he kills them both.

The two lead actors are excellent, with the garrulous Widmark playing well off the stoic Taylor; it's interesting observing the stark contrasts between characters played by a pair of fine actors.

Additionally, as Colin wrote a while back at Riding the High Country, the film has a bit of the look and feel of a Randolph Scott-Budd Boetticher film, what with a group of travelers in Lone Pine, a hero with a past, and a charming villain. As with the Scott-Boetticher films, director Sturges and cameraman Robert Surtees make excellent use of the entire area around Lone Pine, from the Alabama Hills to Death Valley, filling the wide screen with interesting landscapes.

While the film is beautifully made, I'm not more enthusiastic simply because I didn't care a great deal for the storyline. Although the film comes to the expected resolution, it wasn't particularly enjoyable watching Robert Taylor spend most of the movie literally with his hands tied!

Perhaps a bigger criticism is that I didn't get much of a sense of connection between Jake and his fiancee Peggy, especially as their first scene together is a quarrel. She shows some gumption as the movie goes on, killing an Indian when she has to, but she remains kind of a vague cipher. The viewer never really understands who she is or why, out of all the girls in the world, Jake wants to spend his life with her. Their perfunctory relationship undercuts the film; a stronger romance would have increased the stakes for both the characters and the viewer.

On the plus side, there's a nicely choreographed Indian battle partway through the film. On the negative end of things, some nighttime scenes are shot against terribly obvious soundstage settings, which take away from the film's otherwise strong sense of realism.

The William Bowers screenplay was based on a novel by Marvin H. Albert; the movie runs 86 minutes. The supporting cast includes Robert Middleton, DeForest Kelley, Henry Silva, Eddie Firestone, and Burt Douglas.

THE LAW AND JAKE WADE is part of Warner's Western Classics Collection, which also includes Sturges' ESCAPE FROM FORT BRAVO (1953) and the Robert Taylor films SADDLE THE WIND (1958), on which Sturges is said to have done uncredited work, and MANY RIVERS TO CROSS (1955). The set is rounded out by CIMARRON (1960) and THE STALKING MOON (1969). (Update: I've now reviewed THE STALKING MOON.)

THE LAW AND JAKE WADE DVD can be rented from Netflix. This film also had a release on VHS.

THE LAW AND JAKE WADE can also be seen on Turner Classic Movies, which has the trailer available online.

For another take on this movie, visit my friend Deb's blog, Sidewalk Crossings.

October 2017 Update: THE LAW AND JAKE WADE is now available on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive. My review of the Blu-ray is here.

October 2019 Update: I visited the site of the film's ghost town location at the 2019 Lone Pine Film Festival.

May 2020 Update: This movie has now been reissued on DVD by the Warner Archive.

Repost: Tonight's Movie: For the Love of Mary (1948)

NOTE: FOR THE LOVE OF MARY may not be one of Deanna Durbin's best-known films, but I rank it among my top six or seven favorite Durbin movies. It's simply a delightful feel-good romantic comedy with a marvelous cast, including Edmond O'Brien, Deanna's costar from another favorite, THE AMAZING MRS. HOLLIDAY (1943). Since I first reviewed the movie on VHS nearly four years ago, it's come out on DVD in a lovely print which I enjoyed this evening. Below is my review from October 2008, augmented with additional images.

FOR THE LOVE OF MARY is a delightful romantic comedy which finds Deanna Durbin starring in the title role as Mary Peppertree, a White House switchboard operator.

Mary has recently left her job at the Supreme Court switchboard and jilted her fiance, Philip (Jeffrey Lynn of the FOUR DAUGHTERS series), prompting several Supreme Court justices to attempt to play matchmaker and reunite Mary and Philip.

Meanwhile, the never-seen President takes an interest in Mary after speaking to her on the phone, and he fixes her up with a dashing Naval aide, Tom (Edmond O'Brien). Complicating matters yet further is David (Don Taylor), a scientist who repeatedly calls the switchboard in his quest to speak directly to the President.

It's grand fun, with a most entertaining setting and premise. The excellent supporting cast includes Harry Davenport as a Supreme Court justice, Griff Barnett as Mary's father, Katharine Alexander as Mary's White House supervisor, and Ray Collins as the President's secretary.

Durbin and O'Brien had previously been teamed in THE AMAZING MRS. HOLLIDAY, along with Harry Davenport. Deanna looks lovely in costumes by Orry-Kelly, and of course she sings several songs along with juggling her suitors. She always had such a pleasing screen personality; as I've gotten to know her work over the past year, not one of her movies has let me down.

It's rather sad that FOR THE LOVE OF MARY was Deanna's last film. She retired from the screen at the age of 27, ultimately moving to France, where she still lives. She'll be 87 this December.

Jeanine Basinger's superb book THE STAR MACHINE has an excellent chapter on Deanna Durbin.

FOR THE LOVE OF MARY was directed by Frederick De Cordova. It was shot in black and white and runs 90 minutes.

This movie is available on VHS. The video includes 8 minutes of an alternate ending at the end of the tape.

Previous reviews of Deanna Durbin movies: FIRST LOVE (1939), HIS BUTLER'S SISTER (1943), and NICE GIRL? (1941).

Update: FOR THE LOVE OF MARY is now available on DVD.

2021 Update: FOR THE LOVE OF MARY will be released on Blu-ray by Universal in September.

Tonight's Movie: Miss Pinkerton (1932)

MISS PINKERTON is a mildly amusing "old dark house" mystery starring George Brent and Joan Blondell. It's part of Warner Archive's Forbidden Hollywood Volume 5 pre-Code collection.

The movie is based on a novel by Mary Roberts Rinehart. Blondell plays Nurse Adams, who gets a break from her usual hospital routine by attending to a shaken elderly lady (Elizabeth Patterson) in a mansion where a murder has just occurred.

Young Police Inspector Patten (Brent), working his first big case, asks Miss Adams to keep her eyes open for anything suspicious going on in the house. He jovially dubs her "Miss Pinkerton," after the famous detective agency.

Blondell is perky, Brent is cute, and their scenes together are charming. That said, it's a fairly creaky storyline, with far too many creepy-looking people sneaking up and down stairs and in and out of doorways, accompanied by screams and gunshots galore. Poor Nurse Adams is knocked to her feet a couple three times before it's all done. If I were her I would have high-tailed it out of the house, but of course if she'd done that there wouldn't have been a movie!

The Warner Archive DVD is said to have been remastered, although unfortunately the information seems to be missing from the Warner Archive page. The disc itself does have the "marquee" menu card which is supposed to be indicative of remastering.

The print is downright beautiful at times. I was particularly wowed by an early scene with Lyle Talbot, in a bit part as a newspaperman; the picture's sharpness in that scene was quite impressive, with gorgeous blacks. There are some equally beautiful scenes later in the film, and on the whole it looks very good.

In addition to Talbot, look for a very young Walter Brennan as a police dispatcher in an early scene.

The cast also includes Ruth Hall, C. Henry Gordon, John Wray, and Mary Doran. The film, directed by Lloyd Bacon, runs a quick 66 minutes. Cinematographer Barney McGill includes some shots taken at unique angles; a scene where Blondell sees Brent approach in a bathroom mirror is especially striking.

This film has also been shown on Turner Classic Movies.

Update: I've also reviewed a remake of MISS PINKERTON, THE NURSE'S SECRET (1941).

Tonight's Movie: Buchanan Rides Alone (1958)

In recent years I've thoroughly enjoyed becoming familiar with the films made by the team of Randolph Scott and director Budd Boetticher. Of the half dozen films seen to date, all have been interesting, and two of the movies, SEVEN MEN FROM NOW (1956) and RIDE LONESOME (1959), I rank among my very favorite Westerns. I also particularly liked COMANCHE STATION (1960).

Tonight it was time to catch up with the only film by this partnership I'd not yet seen, BUCHANAN RIDES ALONE. And in all honesty, I have to say this one was pretty lame. (Sorry, Randy!) I'd rank it not only at the bottom of the seven Scott-Boetticher films, but below a number of films Scott made with other directors.

Scott's title character rides into Agrytown, California, just across the border from Mexico. The town is run by several members of the venial Agry family, and before Buchanan knows what's happened he's been robbed and framed for murder, with a hanging imminent. The rest of the movie depicts how Buchanan gets out of the fixes he repeatedly gets into.

The movie has a number of problems, chief among them being that virtually all of the supporting characters are incredibly boring, even downright unpleasant. Craig Stevens' ambiguous character, a sort of "fixer" for the Agrys, has potential, but it's never really fulfilled until the final scene, and Buchanan's fellow Texan, Pecos (L.Q. Jones), has a couple of good moments, but his character is snuffed out too soon. Juan de la Vega (Manuel Rojas) never really explains his actions so again the audience is left with a poorly motivated character for whom we're nonetheless supposed to feel some sympathy. Otherwise, the characters are all a motley lot of losers.

The other "Ranown" films were generally distinguished by interesting villains who were at times surprisingly charming; no one will ever forget Lee Marvin in SEVEN MEN FROM NOW, Richard Boone in THE TALL T, or Pernell Roberts' wonderful antihero in RIDE LONESOME. However, one more look at Peter Whitney's Amos would have sent me off the deep end. What a repulsive fellow. Tol Avery and Barry Kelley's larcenous characters fare little better. They have no motivations, nothing whatsoever to distinguish them as unique; they're incredibly uninteresting characters with far too much screen time.

Another issue is that Scott's Buchanan, while a genial fellow, lacks smarts, which is not what one expects from a Randolph Scott hero. There's just no excuse for leaving a bunch of bad guys loosely tied up with their horses at the ready, and Buchanan and his allies pay the price. Why didn't they at least drive the horses off? Buchanan just seems to go in circles -- he's free, he's caught, he's free, he's caught, he's free, he's caught...  Yawn.

The Old Tucson setting is fairly colorless, which is somewhat ironic as just yesterday I wrote about one of my favorite TV Westerns, which makes excellent use of the same environment. Moreover, there's a shot of Craig Stevens talking to someone in the saloon doorway with the most amazingly phony painted backdrop in the background, which seems to be of some tall brick buildings -- certainly not a match for the dusty main street of Agrytown!

Posters prominently feature the name of actress Jennifer Holden, but she only had a bit part. The picture suffers from the lack of a significant female role, especially as most of the male characters are such duds.

One of Boetticher's favorite screenwriters, Charles Lang, wrote the screenplay; another Boetticher favorite, Burt Kennedy, is said to have worked on polishing it, but there just wasn't much to be done with this repetitive mess, which runs for 78 long minutes. The film is based on a Jonas Ward novel, THE NAME'S BUCHANAN.

Given how much I admire him, I feel somewhat disloyal criticizing a Randolph Scott film this strongly, but I really don't know what they were thinking on this one!

BUCHANAN RIDES ALONE is part of the otherwise excellent DVD set The Films of Budd Boetticher.

Additional reviews of Scott-Boetticher films: THE TALL T (1957), DECISION AT SUNDOWN (1957), and WESTBOUND (1959).

2018 Update: BUCHANAN RIDES ALONE is now available on Blu-ray from Indicator.

Around the Blogosphere This Week

Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the Internet...

...Yesterday was the birth date of the wonderful British actress Margaret Lockwood, who was born in 1916 and passed on in 1990. Lockwood films reviewed here to date include BANK HOLIDAY (1938), THE LADY VANISHES (1938), RULERS OF THE SEA (1939), SUSANNAH OF THE MOUNTIES (1939), NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH (1940), THE MAN IN GREY (1943), and LOVE STORY (1944). She's terrific in all of them, with LOVE STORY, costarring Stewart Granger, Patricia Roc, and the memorable melody "Cornish Rhapsody," being a personal favorite. Lockwood will be featured in two films in the upcoming Criterion set Three Wicked Melodramas From Gainsborough Pictures.

...TV's MAVERICK star Jack Kelly was born 85 years ago today. He passed away far too young, just about two decades ago. There's a terrific new interview with Kelly's biographer, Linda Alexander, which I enjoyed reading today. I reviewed her fine book A MAVERICK LIFE: THE JACK KELLY STORY earlier this year.

...I loved reading that thanks to cable TV and DVD's, Clint Walker of CHEYENNE still has lots of young fans. Next weekend Walker will be part of a "Retro Action-Adventure-Thon" at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, cosponsored by the Warner Archive. The website includes the great news that the remaining seasons of CHEYENNE should be released by the Warner Archive by the end of this year.

...Over at Greenbriar Picture Shows, John muses on a lifetime projecting film and the positive changes of the digital revolution. While you're there, stick around for his latest minireviews which include some gorgeous photos from a movie I really liked, HOLD BACK THE DAWN (1941). HOLD BACK THE DAWN stars Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland, and Paulette Goddard, with a lovely supporting performance by Rosemary DeCamp.

...Reviews, reviews, and more reviews: Dorian takes a look at Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck in THE MAD MISS MANTON (1938) at Tales of the Easily Distracted. A couple years later they would go on to star in the classic THE LADY EVE (1941)...Anthony Quinn and his wife Katherine DeMille starred in BLACK GOLD (1947), reviewed at Kevin's Movie Corner...Moira reviews a "bad movie" she loves, WHERE LOVE HAS GONE (1964), at The Skeins. It stars Susan Hayward and Bette Davis...At 50 Westerns From the 50s Toby has the news that there's a new DVD of FURY AT SHOWDOWN (1957), starring John Derek and Nick Adams; sounds interesting...Films on the Box reviews Randolph Scott in RIDE LONESOME (1959), which I absolutely loved...and Colin writes about THE LAST HUNT (1956), starring Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger, at Riding the High Country. Taylor and Granger had previously starred in the colorful seagoing drama ALL THE BROTHERS WERE VALIANT (1953). Don't miss the long conversation in the comments, which includes contributions by my friend Blake Lucas.

...Have you seen the trailer for Daniel Day-Lewis in LINCOLN (2012)? The film opens this November, with Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field costarring. I'm tickled that Hal Holbrook plays one of my ancestors, Frances Preston Blair; Lincoln's Postmaster General Montgomery Blair, another of my ancestors, is played by Byron Jennings. My paternal grandmother was a Blair descended from this line.

...Is it currently harder being hired by Target than getting into Harvard? The headline caught my eye since my son was fortunate to have a summer job at Target this year, stocking shelves in the early morning hours.

...Speaking of stores, I was concerned to read that one of First Lady Michelle Obama's goals for their hoped-for second term is to "impact the nature of food in grocery stores," reducing sales of items with sugar, salt, and fat. Please...just no. Educate the public, but don't remove choices. Given the bans already taking place elsewhere in the country, I suspect the day is coming when the government is going to try to take away my whole milk, or at least heavily tax it. Or maybe follow the New York City model and only sell it in containers smaller than a gallon?! And what about butter? And bacon? And... A free people should be able to make their own food purchase decisions, free of governmental interference, and this strikes me as an issue which should cross party lines.

...One of the reasons I care about "food freedom" is I love to cook! And speaking of cooking, the fifth season of the PBS series COOK'S COUNTRY begins Friday, September 21st.

...TCM sponsors THE BIRDS (1962) playing nationwide Wednesday evening, September 19th. Here's a list of participating theaters.

...E.T. (1982) will return to theaters for one night, on October 3, 2012. And it will be the original theatrical version, not the one with the guns digitally excised. This movie had a profound impact on me when I first saw it three decades ago; I wonder how it holds up?

...Here's a heartwarming story about actor Christian Bale. The photos accompanying the article were taken in Disneyland's Club 33.

...The latest edition of Leonard Maltin's indispensable film guide is now available. There's more info on the new edition at Leonard's website.

...Notable Passings: Lance LeGault, a guest star on countless Universal TV shows of my childhood, has died, according to Boot Hill and LeGault's personal website. He appeared in BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, THE BLACK SHEEP SQUADRON, THE ROCKFORD FILES, and countless other shows. He was 77...Singer Dorothy McGuire has passed on at the age of 84.

...Good news for Southern Californians: There's a series of films directed by Mitchell Leisen coming to UCLA this November! Details as they become available.

Have a great week!

Tonight's Movie: Secret Agent of Japan (1942)

Tonight I watched my first DVD in the new Fox Cinema Archives line, SECRET AGENT OF JAPAN.

SECRET AGENT OF JAPAN stars two favorites of mine, Preston Foster and Lynn Bari. It's strange to think that their names are doubtless completely unknown to most modern-day filmgoers, but I always smile when I see one of their names turn up in a film's opening credits, as I know they'll add a little "something extra" to the movie at hand. Having them teamed as the leads in this film is even better.

The film is set in 1941, with Foster playing the mysterious Roy Bonnell, who always wears gloves. Bonnell operates Bar Dixie in Shanghai; think of it as a variation on Rick's Cafe Americain, as everyone in Shanghai comes to Bar Dixie! "Everyone" includes Kay Murdock (Bari), who might be a spy; Doris Poole (Janis Carter), who turns up dead early on; and Captain Larsen (Ian Wolfe), who's expecting a letter addressed to him at the bar.

There are lots more people lurking about, including pianist Alecsandri (Steve Geray), a pair of British agents (Leyland Hodgson and Leslie Denison), and most amusingly a young man (Victor Sen Yung) who anticipates Bonnell's every need, for a small "commission."

In all honesty the plot, featuring a large cast of characters and a great deal of back and forth about jade, a letter, and a code, gets more than a little murky at times. I didn't concern myself overly much about keeping up with the details and simply enjoyed being along for the ride for this brisk 72-minute film, which concludes with news of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

I somewhat anticipated the surprising ending, but it was very satisfying, nonetheless, and helped make the film worthwhile. All in all, it's only a moderately entertaining movie, but the leads and the interesting look at early WWII propaganda made it worth seeing for a "B" movie fan such as myself.

Foster and Bari were regular costars at Fox, as I learned from some Mystery File reviews of their movies NEWS IS MADE AT NIGHT (1939) and CHASING DANGER (1939). I'll hope to see these films in the future. The same site also reviewed SECRET AGENT OF JAPAN.

A nice bit of Preston Foster trivia: He was the first actor to have a star in a demonstration project for the Hollywood Walk of Fame, though he's not considered the "official" first star.

SECRET AGENT OF JAPAN was directed by Irving Pichel from a script by John Larkin.

I was quite pleased with the Fox Cinema Archives print, which was crisp and clear, doing a nice job showing off Lucien Andriot's black and white cinematography.

High Chaparral Musings

Some great news for fans of the 1967-71 TV Western THE HIGH CHAPARRAL: Henry Darrow, one of the show's stars, has written an autobiography, HENRY DARROW: LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE.

This book from Bear Manor Media was cowritten by Jan Pippens. I learned about it from a wonderful article on Darrow by Susan King which just appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

Darrow is in Southern California this weekend; yesterday he appeared at the Autry Museum. I wish I'd been able to attend! Tonight he'll be honored with the Ricardo Montalban Lifetime Achievement Award at the ALMA Awards, which celebrate Latino actors.

Yesterday I had the chance to watch some of the HIGH CHAPARRAL marathon on the Inspiration Network, and -- combined with some recent viewing of the show on YouTube -- I was struck anew by what a good series it is, and how different it was from other TV Westerns of its era.

I hadn't seen the show for years but have always considered it my second-favorite TV Western, after MAVERICK and just ahead of THE VIRGINIAN. I've always especially remembered how "real" the show seemed, thanks to its extensive location shooting in Tucson. The characters are hot, sweaty, and dirty, and for the most part it's not faked in a soundstage. Occasionally exterior closeups are obviously done on a soundstage, but a huge percentage of the show's exteriors were actually filmed in Arizona. It's hard to believe this rugged series, with characters whose relationships change over time, was created by the same producer who was behind the much more phony and static BONANZA.

THE HIGH CHAPARRAL is considered a groundbreaker for its leading Latino characters and respectful treatment of Indians; the Apaches are often the enemy yet they are approached in a complex way, as people also simply trying to survive in a harsh land. I like that, when appropriate, characters often speak in Spanish or in Indian dialects. Siblings Victoria (Linda Cristal) and Manolito (Darrow) often break into Spanish when communicating directly with one another, and the audience simply infers the meaning. In one of my favorite episodes, the Thanksgiving story "For What We Are About to Receive," the exasperated Victoria begins yelling about her bullheaded husband (Leif Erickson) in Spanish, and he calls back "I can understand every word you're saying!" to which she huffily replies "I am glad!" Love that, especially as the characters in question seemed to enjoy their often fiery relationship.

Watching anew, I appreciated other details of the depiction of frontier life in 1870s Arizona, such as the outdoor kitchen and eating area as a way to deal with the heat. The ranch is under constant threat of attack from Indians, banditos, or the elements, and there's usually a lookout on patrol on the roof of the main house -- note the ladder inside the house, next to the front door -- or on a tower; there's also often an armed man stationed as the first line of defense at the ranch entrance.

Another aspect I like is that the "bunkhouse boys" aren't extras, but appear in every episode and occasionally get a real chance to shine. A couple of the actors, including Bob Hoy, doubled as stuntmen on the show. I especially enjoy Don Collier, who plays the ranch foreman Sam, older brother to Hoy's Joe.

One of my favorite descriptions of the show says it's about a "a mixed ethnicity step-family with relationship challenges." The characters are all flawed, fully rounded human beings who grow and change over time. The weathered, indomitable Big John Cannon (Erickson) is a powerful force of nature, an honorable man tough enough to build a successful ranch in an unforgiving land, but he's also perpetually cranky and has a rocky relationship with his sensitive son, Billy Blue (Mark Slade).

John's temperament on the show is balanced out by his devilish, charming brother-in-law Manolito (Darrow), who has a permanent twinkle in his eye, as well as by John's own rascally, sometimes immature brother, Buck (the irrepressible Cameron Mitchell). Uncle Buck also provides Blue with the understanding he often doesn't get from his own father.

It has been common in Hollywood to pair leading men with younger actresses, occasionally with uncomfortable results, but it works beautifully on HIGH CHAPARRAL because it's actually a believable part of the story. After his first wife Annalee (Joan Caulfield) dies, John enters into a mutual defense pact with Don Sebastian Montoya (Frank Silvera) which is cemented by the arranged marriage of John with Montoya's much younger daughter, Victoria (Cristal).

John and Victoria's relationship is awkward for some time, with John formally calling his wife "Mrs. Cannon" and Victoria battling John's memories of his late wife for her rightful place in his life; Victoria must also deal with the resentment of her stepson, Blue. Initially unknown by John, Victoria had agreed to the marriage because she truly admired him and believed she would have an exciting life as his wife. As time passes, John and Victoria's relationship turns to deep love, despite the marriage's inauspicious beginning and their differences in background and age.

The show also boasts one of TV's all-time greatest themes; the evocative opening credits certainly rank up there with THE VIRGINIAN, HAWAII FIVE-0, THE ROCKFORD FILES, and a handful of other shows as TV's finest.

The High Chaparral website is perhaps the best site devoted to a TV series I've yet come across. Its detailed episode descriptions are just the tip of the iceberg; there's info on the show's stuntmen, costumes, publicity stills, cast reunions, and much, much more.

Speaking of reunions, a High Chaparral Reunion is scheduled for March 2013 in Tucson. Around the early '80s I had the pleasure of visiting the original ranch set of the High Chaparral at Old Tucson, as well as visiting Mission San Xavier del Bac, which doubled as the exterior of Don Sebastian Montoya's estate.

I wish I could say the Inspiration Network is airing the show as it deserves; while I'm glad to have it available on cable and willing to accept commercials for the privilege of seeing it again, the amount of onscreen clutter during the show itself, advertising upcoming shows, is ridiculously distracting. The network also cut out the end credits, at least for the marathon, printing them in unreadable white over each episode's final scene. This show cries out for a complete series DVD release, but in the meantime, I think the viewing experience is probably better online. Either way, I hope this fine Western series will find new audiences to appreciate it.

Update: Here's a few more thoughts on the series from Ivan at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear, with my thanks for both the link and the very nice compliment!

June 2018 Update: Season One of this show is on the way to Region 1 DVD at long last, thanks to Shout! Factory!

2020 Update: Linda Cristal Passes On.

2021 Update: An obituary for Henry Darrow, who has died at 87.

September 2021 Update: Actor Don Collier, who played ranch foreman Sam Butler, has passed away at the age of 92.

Tonight's Movie: Cow Country (1953)

COW COUNTRY is a very enjoyable Western starring Edmond O'Brien and directed by Lesley Selander. I liked it a great deal.

O'Brien is very appealing as a Western hero. He plays Ben Anthony, a good-hearted cowboy who runs a successful freight business in an area where ranchers are struggling due to a depressed cattle market.

Ben's childhood friend Harry (Robert "Bob" Lowery) plots with others to drive the ranchers out of business and take over their land. Harry also becomes engaged to Linda (Helen Westcott), though it seems she might be happier with Ben, judging from the sparks which fly when he kisses her while offering congratulations on the upcoming wedding.

I recently saw O'Brien in the Western SILVER CITY (1951) and thought he was even better in COW COUNTRY. This black and white Allied Artists film may have had a lower budget than SILVER CITY, but it's a stronger movie. O'Brien is excellent as a smart, ethical man of action. I wish he'd made even more Westerns than he did; I really like him in this genre.

This 82-minute film has an involved story with a large cast, but the plot moves along quickly and gives its characters a chance to shine as it unfolds. Character actor Don Beddoe is particularly good as a soft-hearted grocer who becomes Ben's partner, with Robert J. Wilke effective as one of the villains.

Westcott is decorative as a traditional Western leading lady, but it's Peggie Castle who really has the chance to shine as Melba, the daughter of a poor squatter, who dreams of financial security and living in a fine house. Melba believes that nasty Harry intends to marry her, having no idea he's engaged to Linda...and she fails to notice that the very nice Fritz (James Millican), a farmer, is in love with her.

Castle has ample screen time, with some terrific moments, and she just about steals the movie. My only significant complaint regarding the film is that she should have had a final scene to wrap up her story.

James Millican is moving as the devoted Fritz, an immigrant to the United States who dreams of marrying Melba, and his final scene is extremely satisfying. Millican was a USC grad who had over 180 film credits, but sadly he passed on in 1955, only 45 years of age.

The supporting cast also includes Barton MacLane, Chuck Roberson, Charles Courtney, Robert Barrat, and Raymond Hatton.

The screenplay by Adele Buffington and Tom Blackburn was based on the novel SHADOW RANGE by Curtis Bishop.

This film was recently shown on Turner Classic Movies as part of a tribute to Edmond O'Brien. To my knowledge it has not had a video or DVD release.

COW COUNTRY is a likable Western which should particularly appeal to fans of Westerns, Edmond O'Brien, or Peggie Castle. I was glad I'd recorded it as it provided a really solid evening's entertainment.

August 2017 Update: COW COUNTRY is now available on DVD from the Warner Archive. My review of the DVD is here.

Tonight's Movie: Criminal Court (1946)

Years before Robert Wise was an Oscar-winning director of films such as WEST SIDE STORY (1961) and THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965), he got his start as an RKO editor (CITIZEN KANE) and then as the director of movies such as CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE (1944), MYSTERY IN MEXICO (1948), and tonight's movie, CRIMINAL COURT (1946).

CRIMINAL COURT stars "B" movie favorite Tom Conway, the older brother of George Sanders who in the '40s was the star of RKO films such as the FALCON series, I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943), and TWO O'CLOCK COURAGE (1945).

This time around Conway stars as Steve Barnes, a defense lawyer planning to run for district attorney. Barnes's campaign is nearly derailed when his beautiful girlfriend, a nightclub singer named Georgia (Martha O'Driscoll), is erroneously charged with murder -- a murder that Steve himself was accidentally involved in! Unfortunately no one believes Steve's story and Georgia goes on trial for murder, with Steve defending her.  Only Steve's secretary (June Clayworth) has the power to save Georgia; she saw the whole thing, but her life has been threatened if she testifies.

It's a short and sweet film running only an hour. It gets a touch draggy in the middle, but it builds to a nice conclusion. As a fan of "B" crime and noir films, I found CRIMINAL COURT satisfactory, though not top drawer.

My favorite scenes were Georgia performing in the nightclub. The McHugh-Adamson songs she sings, "A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening" and "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night," seemed very familiar to me, and then it dawned on me they'd been "borrowed" from an earlier RKO film, HIGHER AND HIGHER (1943). HIGHER AND HIGHER is an early Frank Sinatra musical I saw several times as a child but haven't seen for decades, and it just so happens that the DVD is sitting in my stack of old favorites I'd like to revisit soon. (Update: Here is my review of HIGHER AND HIGHER.)

Martha O'Driscoll was a lovely young actress who appeared in over three dozen films in the 1940s. She starred in "B" movies and also had supporting roles in "A" pictures such as THE LADY EVE (1941) and REAP THE WILD WIND (1942). According to her IMDb biography, she retired after marrying a successful businessman in 1947; they had four children, and Martha was additionally busy on the boards of her husband's companies, volunteering at various civic events in Chicago, and cofounding a thoroughbred horse farm in Florida. She passed on in 1998 at the age of 76.

The supporting cast of CRIMINAL COURT includes Robert Armstrong, Steve Brodie, Robert Warwick, Joseph E. Bernard, and Phil Warren.

This movie isn't available on DVD or VHS; it seems like a Robert Wise "B" movie double bill, pairing this title with something like MYSTERY IN MEXICO, would be a great idea for a Warner Archive release. We can hope! (June 2015 Update: CRIMINAL COURT is now available on DVD from the Warner Archive!)

CRIMINAL COURT was just shown on Turner Classic Movies, so watch for it to turn up there again.