Photoplay (Jul-Dec 1957)

VVW EXCELLENT VW VERY COOD W COOD V FAIR A— ADULTS F — FAMILY For fuller reviews, see Photoplay for the months indicated. Full reviews this month are on page 10. HELEN MORGAN STORY, THE— Warners; CinemaScope: Drama full of nostalgic music casts Ann Blyth as the torch singer of the ’twenties, driven to drink by her unhappy love for racketeer Paul Newman. (A) November INTERLUDE— U-I; CinemaScope, Technicolor: Sentimental romance, handsome German locales. American June Allyson falls in love with suave Rossano Brazzi, whose wife (Marianne Cook) is mentally ill. (A) October V'V'V' V JOKER IS WILD, THE— Paramount; VistaVision: Strong, frank biography of night-club comic Joe E. Lewis, who’s splendidly portrayed by Frank Sinatra. Socialite Jeanne Crain can’t win him; dancer Mitzi Gaynor marries him. Eddie Albert’s a loyal pal. (A) November VVVV MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES— U-I; CinemaScope: James Cagney scores in the affecting story of Lon Chaney, silent-era character star. Dorothy Malone and Jane Greer play the women in his life. (F) November VVVV NO DOWN PAYMENT— 20th; CinemaScope: Searching closeup of young couples living in each other’s laps in a suburban housing development. Cameron Mitchell, Joanne Woodward are the most dramatic pair. (A) October pW NO SLEEP TILL DAWN— Warners; CinemaScope, WarnerColor: In a brisk service picture, Karl Malden’s a humble hero of the modern Air Force. Natalie Wood snobbishly opposes her dad’s career as sergeant. (F) November V'V'V V PAJAMA GAME, THE— Warners; WarnerColor: Hearty Doris Day musical, full of life and laughter. In a Midwestern pajama factory, union representative Doris falls in love with management’s John Raitt. (F) October k^W STORY OF ESTHER COSTELLO. THE— Columbia: Bitter account of a charity racket. Rossano Brazzi scents profits as wife Joan Crawford aids lovely Heather Sears, Irish girl who is deaf, blind and mute. (A) November VW SUN ALSO RISES, THE— 20th; CinemaScope, De Luxe Color: Lavish, honest film version of the Hemingway classic. Ava Gardner, Tyrone Power, Mel Ferrer, Errol Flynn are fine as drifters in Europe — the “lost generation” of days after World War I. (A) November k/pV THREE FACES OF EVE, THE— 20th; CinemaScope: Joanne Woodward’s bravura performance highlights the case history of a woman with a split personality. (A) November VVW 3:10 TO YUMA — Columbia: Taut, wellwritten, far superior to average horse operas. It’s a duel of character between captured outlaw Glenn Ford and captor Van Heflin, rancher driven into poverty by drought. (F) October VVV UNHOLY WIFE, THE— U-I: Neatly plotted suspense story finds Diana Dors scheming to get rid of husband Rod Steiger, for love of rodeo rider Tom Tryon. (A) November helped me with the dishes, as she used to when she lived at home. After supper, we would sit down and talk for hours and hours in intimate, mother-daughter fashion. Things happened swiftly for Jayne after that. She was given the feminine lead in the Broadway comedy hit, “Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?” and became the toast of New York. And, as a result of her mounting publicity, she was signed to a wonderful contract by 20th CenturyFox. Since then, I have seen my daughter develop into one of the most publicized girls in the country. Scarcely a day goes by that I don’t see her name or picture in print. Usually, I must admit, in a revealing gown that is a far cry from the simple things she wore when she lived at home. How does it feel to be the mother of such a talked-about girl — a girl who is known all over the country as “a sexpot?” It is both fascinating and frightening. While I am glad that Jaynie is doing the work she loves and is achieving a measure of success in that work, I pray to God that she will not be hurt. When I was in New York with her, while she appeared in the play, I became alarmed at the fervor with which hundreds of fans waited for her outside and sometimes tore at her clothes and her furs in order to be near her. Sometimes it took us all of an hour to walk the ten feet from the dressing room door to the waiting taxi, while Jayne signed autographs and posed for the kids. I would become slightly panicky when the crowds milled around us, but Jayne, flattered by the attention, was calm and smiling, displaying remarkable patience. “Bless them,” she’d say to me when we’d reached the safety of the cab. “They’re all for me, and I don’t want to let them down.” Not a hair of hers was out of place — but I was a complete wreck! I remained with my husband in Dallas during Jayne’s first few months back in Hollywood again, when she was making “The Girl Can’t Help It” and “The Wayward Bus.” Her star was rising high, and I was elated at the glowing predictions the studio made for her. But fears were mingled with my elation when I’d read things in the papers that made Jayne seem like anything but the girl I know as my daughter. For instance, I was very upset when I read that she had met Mickey Hargitay when she saw him in a night club revue and ordered him to her table as she would order a bone for her dog. According to the stories I’ve read, she is supposed to have said imperiously, “I’d like a steak for my dog and that man on the right for myself. I’m a star and I’m supposed to be happy.” It didn’t happen that way at all. I should know. I was there, right at the Latin Quarter, with Harry and Jayne and her escort, Jules Styne. It was Mr. Styne who suggested it might be fun to have Mickey join us, and he introduced Mickey to all of us in a most decorous way. Since meeting, Mickey and Jayne have become close friends and I think Mickey is very good for Jayne. He is deeply in terested in everything that she does, understands her life as a busy and ambitious actress and eases many of her burdens and responsibilities. Although he is a husky, muscular young man, there is a gentle, patient quality about him that helps Jayne find more serenity than she ordinarily would in the hectic life she leads. He regards Jayne the way I do, as a child who needs protection. Since my home is 1,500 miles away from Jayne, I find it very reassuring to know that she has someone as devoted and thoughtful as Mickey to look after her. That part makes me feel good. But I don’t always feel good when I see Jayne involved in publicity that is undignified. Like the time when I saw a picture of Jayne hoisted in mid-air by Mickey during a recent Hollywood premiere. I was so startled I got on the phone to talk to her again. Jayne assured me that it was a whim that occurred on the spur of the moment. “The fans have been so good to me,” she said, “that I wanted to do something to stir things up a bit.” On one hand, it’s no fun to read of these foolhardy escapades, and publicity stunts day after day. But on the other, there’s Jayne reassuring me that she knows exactly what she is doing, and I realize she’s a mature girl who has thought things out well enough to know where she’s headed. As disturbed as I am at these antics, which seem to be such an integral part of her publicity, I was even more disturbed to discover the lightning pace at which Jayne skims through the day. I spent several weeks with her recently in Hollywood. In the morning, Jayne would breeze out of her bedroom, kiss Jayne Marie, gulp down a cup of coffee and dash off. She’d be on her way either to the studio or to the photographers or to do an interview or make a public appearance or to keep numerous other appointments that had been set up for her. She’d fly in again in the evening, play with Jayne Marie, bathe and make a whirlwind change into one of her fabulous gowns and furs, rush off with Mickey to a dinner party, a film premiere, some kind of movie opening or other film function. All of her waking hours she was on the go. While I am deeply grateful that my daughter is so much in demand, like any mother, I wish she could slow down, for the sake of her health. I have every confidence that Jayne can handle herself well, no matter what situation comes along. She has a fine, middle class background and she has proven many times in the past that she cannot be swayed from doing anything she believes is right. When I told her recently that I wish the time would come when she didn’t have to depend so much on the sexboat type of publicity but could be herself, Jayne smiled, and with a twinkle in her eyes, said, “You know, Mama, some day I’ll cut my hair short, let it grow in natural, wear high necked dresses and never pose in another sexy gown again.” Maybe she was kidding, but some day she’ll mean it, and when she does, look out. Because she’ll do it! Jayne’s always done what she really wanted to do no matter what. The End COMMUNITY CAMPAIGNS 6ive...the United way 74