Showing posts with label Lana Turner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lana Turner. Show all posts
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| Lana Turner and Richard Carlson |
"She stinks!"
Just when the Dancing Tobins are to begin a new film, Toddy Tobin (a barely-seen Mary Beth Hughes) gets pregnant, and the search is on for someone to co-star with her husband, Freddy (Lee Bowman sans mustache). Learning that the studio is to conduct a talent search on college campuses, Freddy protests that he needs a professional, so it is decided to fix the contest, send talented Patty Marlowe (Lana Turner) to one of the institutions, and make damn certain that she is the winner. Patty gets involved with the editor of the school paper, "Pug" Braddock (Richard Carlson), who figures there has to be a "plant" and decides to ferret out who she is even as Patty assists him as a way of hiding the truth. Will Patty go to Hollywood, or will her scheme come undone? The movie begins well, but the fun peters out halfway through or earlier, and you'll find that you couldn't care less how it comes out. The script lets down the players, who are game and enthusiastic throughout, with Turner [Love Has Many Faces] and Carlson [All I Desire] swell in the leads, Ann Rutherford perky as a secretary who helps Patty, Leon Errol his usual fun self as Patty's father, and Thurston Hall and Monty Woolley also briefly on hand as well. I think I spotted drummer Buddy Rich a couple of times. Band leader Artie Shaw, playing himself, is third-billed but only gets one line of dialogue! He must have impressed Lana Turner, however, because she married him the following year [he also married Ava Gardner and Evelyn Keyes, among others]. Hal Le Sueur, Joan Crawford's brother, plays a handsome college student but has no lines. S. Sylvan Simon also directed the far superior The Fuller Brush Man.
Verdict: Picture could have been cute but it turns into a stink bomb.**
Wealthy Kit Jordan (Lana Turner) is living in Acapulco and married to ex-beach bum, Pete (Cliff Robertson of Obsession). When an old flame of hers, another beach bum named Billy, washes up dead on the shore, it causes tension in her marriage, a situation that isn't helped by the arrival of Carol (Stefanie Powers of Die, Die My Darling), who once cared for Billy, and who attracts the attentions of Pete. Meanwhile half-naked hustler Hank (Hugh O'Brian) and his buddy, Chuck (Ron Husmann), zero in on two middle-aged tourists, Margot (Ruth Roman) and Irene (Virginia Grey). Although the movie is in general well-acted [by Hollywood standards] -- with an especially noteworthy and reptilian O'Brian -- the actors still aren't brilliant enough to make these stereotypes come to life. Marguerite Roberts' thrice-removed screenplay moves the characters around in allegedly interesting tableaux but nothing of consequence ever happens, and the dialogue is as empty as the people. The sub-plot with O'Brian and the ladies really goes nowhere.
Verdict: Go to the beach instead -- or Acapulco! *1/2.
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| Lana Turner and Lew Ayres |
"Darling, I'm in the most awful man-jam!"
Upper-crust Philip (Lew Ayres) sort of has a fiancee, but when he's inebriated he invites a dance hall girl, Jane (Lana Turner), to the big dance on campus over the weekend. It's a little awkward when she actually shows up where she has to deal with all the college snobs. Other characters include man-hungry Daphne (Anita Louise); stalwart Carol (Jane Bryan); chatty Mary Rose (Ann Rutherford); Jane's roommate, Mavis (Dennie Moore); Betty (Marsha Hunt), who hangs around college in desperate fashion even though she's older than the rest; and Joe (Richard Carlson), who isn't too proud to be a waiter in the dining hall. The movie leads into highly melodramatic developments concerning the character of Betty. Most of the performances are good, with Turner, Hunt [Raw Deal], and Moore getting top honors. Rutherford [Fighting Marines] basically plays Polly Benedict in college -- where's Andy? Simon also directed The Fuller Brush Man and many others.
Verdict: This glamor you can keep. **.
FALCON CREST Season 3. 1983. CBS-TV.
This nighttime soap opera continued to be very entertaining for its third season, and netted star Jane Wyman a well-deserved Emmy for her role of ruthless, if somewhat human, Angela Channing. This season introduced two new major characters, only one of whom would prove long-lasting: Cliff Robertson was brought in to play Chase Gioberti's cousin, Michael, and Laura Johnson was cast as Maggie Gioberti's younger trouble-making sister and ex-call girl, Terry. Many scenes were devoted to the [literal] trials and tribulations of Angela's daughter, Julia (Abby Dalton), both in and out of prison, and a battle over a race track that Richard Channing (David Selby) wants to build. The sinister secret organization, the Cartel, rears its ugly head and makes trouble for Richard and his new personal assistant, Pamela (Sarah Douglas), and there's an ugly custody battle for little Joseph, the son of Cole (Billy Moses) and Melissa (Ana Alicia). Although more "moral" than his half-brother Richard, Chase (Robert Foxworth) proves to be a bit priggish and hypocritical, and at times almost as "it's my way or the highway" in his attitude as his Aunt Angela, while both he and Maggie (Susan Sullivan) develop serious health issues [all of which are dispensed with rather quickly]. Terry and Angela's likable if odd daughter Emma (Margaret Ladd) struggle for Michael's love, but it's really no contest. In other developments Angela's lawyer Philip (Mel Ferrer) has quite a few tricks up his sleeve, and handsome sheriff Dan Robbins (Joe Lambie) gets more to do than in previous seasons, as does Chao Li-Chi as Angela's very helpful manservant. There's skulduggery regarding the late Jacqueline Perrault's (Lana Turner) will and rather hateful background, and more intrigue surrounding Chase's doctor, played by Ron Rifkin of Alias. Other guest-stars include Pat Crowley as an anesthesiologist, Ken Tobey as a family court judge, Geoffrey Lewis as a boyfriend of Julia's, and Whit Bissell as a businessman who is threatened by the loathsome Lance (Lorenzo Lamas) during the custody hearing. The most hilarious scene has the nutty Julia going to confession [talk about the blind leading the blind!] and the most tiresome storyline has to do with a kidnapping late in the season. The performances are all pretty solid, with Robertson doing a good job as Michael, but Wyman as Angela definitely rules the roost. Dalton is okay delineating the twists and turns of her weird character, but ultimately she's just not that impressive.
Verdict: This soaper continues to be much fun. ***.