Harrison's Reports (1958)

2 HARRISON'S REPORTS January 4, 1958 "The Female Animal" with Hedy Lamarr, Jane Powell and George Nader (Univ.-Int'l, April; time, 84 mm.) Plentiful sex is dished out in this adult drama, which holds one's attention throughout, despite its shortcomings. Centering around a glamorous but aging motion picture star who falls madly in love with a handsome but much younger movie extra, only to lose him when he falls in love with her pretty adopted daughter, the story has a synthetic, soap-opera quality and is handicapped by loosely drawn characterizations. It should, however, go over fairly well with the general run of picture-goers, for, even though the story lacks genuine dramatic power, the doings of the characters are interesting. Hedy Lamarr is effective as the top Hollywood star who has a yen for younger men, and George Nader wins some measure of sympathy as the handsome extra who resists her love and favors lest he be regarded as her gigilo escort. The small but well proportioned Jane Powell exploits her physical attributes to the full as Miss Lamarr's emotionally disturbed adopted daughter but she is handicapped by a characterization that is vaguely motivated. The story's Hollywood background and the scenes on a movie set are fascinating. The photography, which is in black-and-white CinemaScope, is good: — When Nader, an extra, saves Hedy from a serious accident at the studio, it makes news. Pleased with the publicity, she invites him to escort her to an important premiere, after which she takes him to her hideaway beach house in Malibu and entices him into making love to her. Their romantic evening is interrupted by a phone call from Hedy's housekeeper, who informs her that Jane is ill. Hedy rushes home and finds Jane intoxicated. She remonstrates with the girl, who bitterly accuses her af adopting her to satisfy her own emotional cravings. On the following morning, Hedy visits Nader at the bungalow court where he lives and talks him into becoming the caretaker at her beach house. One night, while having a drink at a local bar, Nader encounters Jane in a drunken condition and goes to her rescue when Gregg Palmer, her escort, pushes her into a mud puddle for resisting his advances. Unaware of her identity, Nader takes her to the beach house to get clean and sober up. Jane thanks him for his help but gives no indication that she had been to the house before. When Hedy sends Nader a new wardrobe and becomes possesive, he objects lest he be looked upon as a gigilo, but she calms him down by convincing him that her love is sincere. Complications arise several days later when Jane visits Nader at the beach house, entices him into embracing her and then laughingly reveals that she is Hedy's daughter. A quarrel between them leads to a better understanding of each other's problems and the realization that they had truly fallen in love. Later, Hedy visits the beach house and finds evidence of another woman's presence. Although heartbroken by the discovery, she cannot give up Nader and announces plans to marry him. But this hits a snag when Jane reveals to Hedy that she and Nader had fallen in love. Overwrought, Hedy drinks too much prior to going through a dangerous scene in her latest movie. She loses her footing on a rope bridge and is saved from drowning by Nader. Jane and Nader are at Hedy's bedside when she regains consciousness. Facing reality, she sends them away with her blessings. It was produced by Albert Zugsmith and directed by Harry Keller from a screenplay by Robert Hill, based on a story by Mr. Zugsmith. Adult fare. "Cyclops" with James Craig, Gloria Talbott and Lon Chaney, Jr. (Allied Artists, July 28; time, 75 mm.) This is a minor program science-fiction tale. Its only distinctiveness — and a negative one at that — is the horribleness of the face of the cyclops (a one-eyed giant), which is accentuated by numerous close-ups. It is, in fact, such a distasteful sight that it might give children nightmares. Although deft use has been made of special effects, the story itself provides few thrills and little action. Since the cast contains no strong names and the production values are modest, the picture is best suited for the lower-half of a science-fiction-horror double bill : — Gloria Talbott organizes a searching party to fly into a forbidden area of Mexico to look for her sweetheart, who had disappeared there three years previously. She is aided by James Craig, a scientist; Lon Chaney, Jr., who helps finance the expedition in hopes of finding uranium; and Tom Drake, an airplane pilot. They take off without official permission and in due time their plane is forced down in a strange canyon, where they find gigantic animals whose growth never stops because of over-stimulated glands, caused by an unusually high radiation emanating from the earth. Theorizing that they, too, will start to grow unless they leave the area, they decide to abandon the search. Before they can do so, however, they are captured by a 2 5 -foot, one-eyed giant. After two days and a night of terror, they escape and try to reach the safety of their plane. The monster is upon them before they can take off, and Craig tries to decoy the beast away. Cornered on a mountain ledge by the monster, Craig saves himself and the others by hurling a flaming spear into its eye, inflicting a mortal wound. As the party escapes, Gloria realizes that the monster had once been her sweetheart. It was written, produced and directed by Bert I. Gordon. Too horrific for children. "The Hard Man" with Guy Madison and Valerie French (Columbia, J\Joi>.; time, 80 min.) Routine program western fare is served up in this outdoor melodrama, which is enhanced by Technicolor photography. Centering around a trigger-happy Texas Ranger whose actions make his associates wonder whether or not he is more of a killer than a law officer, the story is no more than mildly interesting because of the fact that the characterizations are not too clearly defined. It should satisfy the dyed-in-thewool western fans, however, for is has plenty of fast action and gunplay, and the color photography gives it visual appeal. Guy Madison is effective in the leading role, and the popularity he has gained on television should be helpful at the box-office: — Madison, a Texas Ranger whose father had been an outlaw, invariably brings in wanted men dead, claiming that he had to kill them in self-defense. When his captain remonstrates with him and points out that he was gaining a reputation as a ruthless killer who used his badge to cover up his murderous tendencies, Madison quits the Rangers in a huff. In the course of events, he drifts into the cowtown of El Solito, which was dominated by a lawless clement headed by Lome Greene, a cattle baron. Robert Barton, the town's aging sheriff, shrinks from violence and he hires Madison as his deputy to restore law and order. Madison's fearlessness comes to the attention of Valerie French, Greene's beautiful wife, who was