THE DIARY OF A HIGH SCHOOL BRIDE

Can this marriage be saved? Ron Foster, Anita Sands

THE DIARY OF A HIGH SCHOOL BRIDE (1959). Produced and directed by Burt Topper.  

17-year-old Judy (Anita Sands) and 24-year-old Steve (Ron Foster of Ma Barker's Killer Brood) get married in Las Vegas and move into an apartment. Although Steve, studying to be a lawyer, seems like a perfectly upright and solid fellow, Judy's parents are appalled. Judy's mother (Louise Arthur) wants the marriage immediately annulled, but her father (Frank Biro) insists that she will move back home when she gets tired of playing housewife. Meanwhile Judy's nasty ex-boyfriend, Chuck (Chris Robinson), the spoiled son of a movie executive, is out to cause trouble for the couple any way he can. 

Chris Robinson and Wendy Wilde

If there is any problem with Diary of a High School Bride it's that the leading characters are actually perfectly nice and decent, which, alas, does not add up to perfect melodrama. There is so little plot to the movie that any "drama," if that's the word, comes from the actions of sleazy Chuck as he tries to cause an accident on the highway, gets clobbered by Steve, and even attempts the rape of Judy at the climax. The audience probably cheered when he got his final comeuppance, although they might have just been grateful that this lousy flick was over. Handsome and talented, poor Ron Foster often found himself in turkeys like this. After making her debut in this film, Sands had a few television credits. Her performance is nothing to rave about but Chris Robinson does a nice job as the fellow who just won't take no for an answer. John Hart shows up briefly as a police officer and Elvis imitator Tony Casanova sings the title song and does another number in a coffeeshop. Wendy Wilde plays Chuck's monkey-faced wannabee girlfriend. 

Verdict: Barely passable. *1/2. 

MA BARKER'S KILLER BROOD

Family portrait

MA BARKER'S KILLER BROOD (1960). Director: Bill Karn. 

Ma Barker (Lurene Tuttle) is a no-nonsense, vulgar, cop-hating termagant who wants the best for her boys -- and for herself. Against her weaker husband's wishes, she encourages her boys to go out and commit jobs at an early age. She has no patience with young Herman (Don Grady), who would prefer to play his fiddle like a "sissy." Herman is the first of the gang to come to a bad end. Before long, Ma is involved with the likes of Machine Gun Kelly, Pretty Boy Floyd, and John Dillinger. After robberies, murders and kidnappings, she holds off the Feds in an hours-long battle at her farmhouse, but crime does not pay ... 

Tuttle with Ron Foster

This low-budget film probably came about because of the success of the TV show The Untouchables, which in its first season had an episode on Ma Barker played by Claire Trevor. Tuttle is just as good and as tough as Trevor, but Killer Brood is not as good as that TV episode, although both vehicles are similarly brutal. Nowadays people claim that Ma Barker was at worst an accessory, that she knew her boys were criminals but took no part in their crimes and certainly didn't plan them. Whatever the case, she has entered folklore as "the most murderous mother of them all." (Shelley Winters also played the part in Bloody Mama.) Other cast members include Ron Foster as handsome son "Doc," and Byron Foulger as a crooked physician who comes afoul of nasty Ma. Tristram Coffin has a good if small role as Barker's second husband, and he is given a notable death scene. The film follows the basic facts along with much embellishing, and has an exciting enough climax. 

Verdict: Lurid, low-budget, and really not very good despite an effective turn by Tuttle. **. 

THE WALKING TARGET

Ron Foster

THE WALKING TARGET (1960). Director: Edward L. Cahn. 

"Why would anyone want to live in a cemetery like this -- before they die?" -- Arnie

Nick Harbin (Ron Foster) is released from a five-year spell in prison after a robbery and everyone wants to know what he did with the money, all $260,000 of it. His old girlfriend, Susan (Merry Anders of Legacy of Blood), who has taken up with pal Dave (Robert Christopher), in the interim, is after the loot, as is the crook Arnie Hoffman (Berry Kroeger of Atlantis the Lost Continent), who is working with Dave. The cops would also like to find out where the money is, but Nick's plans are to give at least half of it to Gail (Joan Evans), the widow of the man, Nick's cohort, who was killed fleeing from police. But whatever Nick wants may take a back seat to what Arnie and his nasty buddies have in mind. 

Joan Evans and Ron Foster

The Walking Target is an acceptable if over-familiar crime thriller that features a charismatic lead performance from smooth and good-looking Ron Foster, a frequent player in director Cahn's "B" features. When Susan tells Dave that she is repulsed by Nick's advances, one has to assume she is lying to Dave, as few people would find Ron Foster exactly "repulsive." The other cast members are all on target, with Kroeger impressing with his usual oily and adept delivery. If there's any problem with the movie it's that it's surprisingly slow-paced at times, and it loses steam before a reasonably exciting climax in a diner. 

Verdict: Okay melodrama with a good lead performance and a game supporting cast. **1/2.