LOST IN THE STRATOSPHERE

Edward J. Nugent, William Cagney

LOST IN THE STRATOSPHERE (1934). Director: Melville W. Brown. Colorized. 

Tom Cooper (William Cagney) and Richard "Woody" Wood (Edward J. Nugent) are pilots and pals who are often friendly rivals for the various women they encounter. Tom sets up Woody with an obese lady (June Gittelson) and Woody sends soap in Tom's name to officers' wives. But things take a serious turn when Woody's fiancee Evelyn (June Collyer of The Ghost Walks) hides her identity from a smitten Tom and uses the name of her maid, Ida (Hattie McDaniel). Before long Tom and "Ida" are in love and Tom thinks his buddy stole his gal. No longer friends, the two are chosen to take monitoring equipment up into the stratosphere in a balloon. What will happen if things go wrong?

Nugent with June Collyer

Lost in the Stratosphere would have been more interesting if the fellows did indeed get lost in the stratosphere, but nothing of that nature ever happens. Most of the movie deals more with romance than action, and never comes close to being science fiction. William Cagney was the lookalike brother of James Cagney. He had only a few acting roles and became his more famous brother's manager in addition to producing his pictures. Edward J. Nugent was a handsome second lead who amassed 85 credits from the silent era onwards and eventually became a television director. The acting in this is good and Hattie McDaniel as the wise maid Ida is as delightful as ever. 

Verdict: Minor military romance with interesting players. **1/4. 

REPENT AT LEISURE

Wendy Barrie and Kent Taylor

REPENT AT LEISURE (1941). Director: Frank Woodruff. 

Wealthy heiress Emily Baldwin (Wendy Barrie) runs off from her wedding to a greedy prince (Rafael Alcayde) and runs into Richard Hughes (Kent Taylor of The Crimson Key) on a bus. The two become instantly smitten, then Emily learns that Richard is a salesman at Baldwin's, her father's department store. She keeps her true identity a secret after they get married when Richard learns that all single men will be let go from the store due to dropping profits. The two go so far as to adopt a baby. Then Emily's father (George Barbier) invites the young man to dinner ... 

George Barbier with Michael Dunaway

Repent at Leisure is a minor but charming comedy that is consistently entertaining in its lightweight way with excellent performances to bolster the proceedings. Barrie and Kent have chemistry and make a good team, Barbier is delightful, and the picture is nearly stolen by the adorable baby (Michael Dunaway) --there's a hair-raising moment when this little charmer wanders off and nearly falls into an elevator shaft. Thurston Hall adds some fun as the owner of the rival department store, Buckingham's, who comes up with some sales strategies that backfire on him. Charles Lane is as dyspeptic as usual as Richard's boss, Cecil Cunningham (of The Hidden Hand) makes an amusing pill of his wife, and "Snowflake" Toones is charged with watching the baby -- big mistake! From RKO. 

Verdict: Adept players and an amusing script work wonders. *** 

THE HOUSEMAID

Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney

THE HOUSEMAID (2025). Director: Paul Feig. 

Millie (Sydney Sweeney), who is keeping a few secrets, gets a job as housekeeper to a young couple with a small daughter. Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried) seems warm and welcoming at first, but has a habit of throwing fits and becoming jealous. Her husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar of Drop), is handsome and charming and seems to do his best to keep Nina under control. But the Winchesters are keeping secrets, too, as Millie learns when Nina and her daughter go out of town and Andrew asks Millie to accompany him on an innocent excursion to the theater ...

Brandon Sklenar

During much of its length The Housemaid resembles another one of those Lifetime movies with couples and nannies and housekeepers and the like where you know nothing good is going to come out of this particular hire. The Housemaid is a little trickier than that, although nothing that is that out of the ordinary. It's no big surprise who the big bad person will turn out to be, as it's almost obligatory in this day and age. Despite that, the film is absorbing enough and very well acted by all. All told, it's entertaining but not that memorable, although it has several compelling -- and even sexy -- sequences. Paul Feig also directed A Simple Favor and Another Simple Favor. 

Verdict: Very good performances in a credible if minor suspense flick. **1/2. 

THE SWEET BODY OF DEBORAH

Carroll Baker and Jean Sorel

THE SWEET BODY OF DEBORAH (aka il dolce corpo di Deborah/1968). Director: Romolo Guerrieri. 

Deborah (Carroll Baker) marries handsome Marcel (Jean Sorel) after only knowing him a few weeks. Marcel had been practically engaged to a woman named Suzanne (Ida Galli) who committed suicide when he left her. Visiting his hometown, Marcel sees signs that his former lover is either still alive or someone is trying to make it look that way. Deborah begins to receive unsettling phone calls and fears for her life. Then there's the angry Phillip (Luigi Pistilli of A White Dress for Mariale), who was in love with Suzanne and is furious at the way Marcel treated her. After Deborah and Marcel rent a truly fabulous house, they run into their neighbor, Robert Simack (George Hilton of The Dark is Death's Friend), who seems to have his own agenda. But then maybe everyone in this movie does -- a sinister plot eventually unfolds ... 

Jean Sorel

The Sweet Body of Deborah is a smooth if minor bit of romantic suspense that has some plot similarities to, of all things, Midnight Lace with Doris Day. Baker is so beautiful, and her character seems so completely appealing,  that it's a wonder anyone would think all she had going for her was her money. As usual Baker and Sorel make a good and sexy team; the couple also appeared together in Paranoia. Galli, Hilton and Pistilli all appeared together in The Case of the Scorpion's Tale. 

Verdict: Reasonably absorbing Italian mystery with an attractive cast. **3/4. 

ISLAND OF LOST WOMEN

Jeff Richards and John Smith

ISLAND OF LOST WOMEN (1959). Director: Frank Tuttle. Colorized.

Radio commentator Mark Bradley (Jeff Richards) and his pilot Joe Walker (John Smith of Hot Rod Girl) run into engine trouble and make a landing on what appears to be a deserted island. However, there are several occupants, including three beautiful women: Venus (Venetia Stevenson of The Big Night); Urana (Diane Jergens); and Mercuria (June Blair). Their father, Dr. Paul Lujan (Alan Napier of The Mole People) ran away from the world with his now-dead wife and small daughters because he could see what was coming, as he was an associate of Einstein's and an expert in nuclear fission. When the two men discover who he is, Bradley wants to break the story of the missing scientist when he gets back to civilization, only Lujan wants to hold them prisoner. After Lujan destroys their plane with a flame-thrower gun, Mark and Joe concoct a plan to build a raft and leave the island. But then the gals want to go with them ... 

John Smith with the women

Island of Lost Women is a mediocre timewaster with an interesting premise, but not that much is done with it. The performances are all competent, although Richards has been seen to better advantage elsewhere, and the talented Venetia Stevenson is pretty much wasted. John Smith makes a better impression, even if he's getting by mostly on charm. The other gals are cute and Napier does the best he can with an under-written and rather sappy role. This reminds one a bit of Fire Maidens of Outer Space -- a father and daughters in an isolated habitat -- but even that was more fun than this!

Verdict: At least there's a rather good-looking cast! **. 

SENIOR PROM

Carter (Tom Laughlin) and his chipmunk (Jill Corey)

SENIOR PROM (1958). Director: David Lowell Rich. 

College student Gay Sheridan (Jill Corey) is practically engaged to childhood buddy and equally wealthy Carter Breed III (Tom Laughlin) but her heart starts going pitter patter when she meets aspiring singer Tom Harper (Paul Hampton). It makes some sense that she would go for Tom, but little sense that Carter -- who is handsome, suave and rich -- would go for Gay, who looks like a chipmunk. Gay's friends include Dog (James Komack), who drags his bass everywhere, and his gal pal, Flip (Barbara Bostock), who is not even as attractive as Gay. Trying to impress Gay, Carter promises the senior prom entertainment committee that he can get "the hottest act in show biz" -- Louis Prima and his wife (one of several) Keely Smith -- to perform. But does Gay really prefer Tom to dreamy Carter? 

Paul Hampton and James Komack

Senior Prom eschews rock music in favor of pastiche show tunes that are pleasant enough but wouldn't make Rodgers and Hammerstein lose any sleep. One of the numbers, "Big Daddy," is a rather snappy and memorable tune and it is very well performed by Jill Corey, who is not untalented. She was primarily a singer and had only a few film and TV credits. Paul Hampton, who is primarily a composer as well as an actor, amassed quite a few credits after this, his first film. James Komack had many credits as actor, writer and producer. Barbara Bostock was the beatnik dancer in Jerry Lewis' Visit to a Small Planet. Tom Laughlin later became "Billy Jack" in several hit movies.

Chipmunk in love!

An actor who somewhat classes up this cheap Columbia production is Freida Inescort (of The She Creature), who plays Gay's mother, and who doesn't think Tom can take care of her in the style to which she is accustomed. But Tom winds up with a hit record and even appears on the Ed Sullivan Show. The climax is the performances of various entertainers at the senior prom, most of which you can easily miss. Louis Prima is not much to speak of, but Keely Smith had a terrific voice and a lot of energy. When he sings in this Paul Hampton comes off like a California beach boy who is trying to be a Latin Lover boy! David Lowell Rich also directed The Horror at 37,000 Feet. 

Verdict: Smooth if forgettable. **. 

DADDY-O

Sandra Giles and Dick Contino

DADDY-O (1958). Director: Lou Place. 

Trucker Phil Sandifer (Dick Contino) has an unfriendly encounter with Jana Ryan (Sandra Giles) on the highway. Later she meets up with him again in a club where he's asked to sing a number and later agrees to actually race Jana in Griffith Park. This results in Phil losing his driver's license, so he goes to work for the portly Sidney Chillas (Bruno VeSota of Female Jungle), as a singer. He is also hoping to get a line on what happened when his best friend, Sonny (Robert Banas), died in a car accident on the same night as the race. Phil and Jana continue to have a love-hate relationship as he investigates Chillas and his menacing gunsel, Bruce (Tipp McClure). Then Chillas tells him he wants him to deliver a package for him ... guess what's inside? 

Bruno gets a rubdown: VeSota and McClure

Daddy-O is not a very good movie but it's of interest because of the presence of Dick Contino, who gained more fame as an accordionist on Ed Sullivan than as an actor. This is too bad, because the big, handsome lug has a lot of charisma and screen presence, and gives a very good performance in the movie. He has a decent voice, and while his singing style might be considered a bit hokey today, he has a great bit when he jumps off the stage, gives manicurist Marcia (Gloria Victor/Joanne Arnold) a hot and passionate smooch, and turns triumphantly and sexily back to the audience. Bruno VeSota is also notable as the smooth-talking, pseudo-cultured Chillas and even gets a rubdown from his gunsel Bruce at one point. Alas, Sandra Giles is strictly from the Mamie Van Doren School of Acting, and makes little impression despite her physique. Sultry Gloria Victor makes much more of an impression as she stands by the bar literally smoldering with lust for Phil -- who calls himself "Daddy-O" -- as he's singing. This was the first score by the prolific John Williams of Jaws fame. 

Verdict: See it for Big Phil! **1/2. 

 

THE LOVE MACHINE Jacqueline Susann

THE LOVE MACHINE. Jacqueline Susann. Simon and Schuster; 1969. 

Jacqueline Susann followed up her smash bestseller -- a highly entertaining potboiler -- Valley of the Dolls with this well-plotted anti-romance. Although the main character, TV personality and producer Robin Stone, is a man, Love Machine follows the Dolls formula with its story of three women who fall in love with Robin. Robin describes television itself as being a "love machine," but the term is used by the press and gossip columnists for Stone himself. 

Susann was excoriated by the critics, not only for her unapologetically undistinguished if functional prose style, but for the fact that a woman dared to write about sex in all its facets and employ four-letter words to boot. Admittedly Harold Robbins was never seen as any kind of great writer, but he was not necessarily taken to task for any vulgarity, as Susann was. Whatever her flaws as a writer, Susann was an excellent storyteller, kept things moving in a generally unpredictable fashion, and created believable, three-dimensional characters. Her dialogue also rings true more often than not. 

The three women who fall for Robin include the model Amanda, the actress Maggie, and the bosses wife, Judith. My favorite character, however, is Ethel, a plain publicity woman determined to have it all despite her lack of beauty, and who hooks up with a second-rate singer, Christie Lane, who becomes a TV star. As for Robin, you get the impression that Susann doesn't quite understand him any more than Robin understands himself, and there are chapters where he undergoes psychoanalysis and even travels to discover more of his background and what makes him tick. He has qualities that are both admirable and just the opposite. 

Although Robin is neither gay nor bisexual, there is some interesting LGBT stuff, especially as Love Machine was published the very year of Stonewall. Robin becomes friends with a handsome gay Italian, Sergio, who is the caregiver for Robin's adoptive mother. He basically has a positive if somewhat patronizing attitude towards this character. Learning that Sergio undressed him after he passed out, he implies that Sergio may have had his way with him. Sergio asks Robin if he would take advantage of a drunken woman, and wonders why he would assume that he, Sergio, would. In another sequence, Robin has hot sex with a woman who turns out to be transgender, but learning the truth does not anger him. The book is, of course, full of a lot of typically sixties negativity about LGBT matters -- and the word "faggot" is used far too often -- but in other ways Susann was a bit ahead of her time. 

Although Susann can't resist going the soap opera route in certain areas -- one major character is a Kay Kendall-type whose fatal illness is hidden by her loved ones -- the book contains some sharp and satirical observations. I even confess I found the ending moving. 

Verdict: No literary genius, perhaps, but the woman could tell a good story. Much better than the film adaptation. ***. 

THE GOLDEN MISTRESS

THE GOLDEN MISTRESS (1954). Director: Joel Judge (Abner Biberman). 

In Haiti Bill Buchanan (John Agar of Bait) is behind in payments for his boat. He is beloved by some of the people for bringing an anti-toxin to them and saving lives. A scoundrel named Carl Dexter (Abner Biberman) has stolen an idol from natives and wants to team up with Bill to find a lost treasure. Carl sends his daughter, Ann (Rosemary Bowe), to talk to Bill and he winds up dumping her in the ocean. Eventually, after her father's death at the teeth of a shark, Ann and Bill do team up to see if they can find the treasure on a mysterious island that may not even exist. But there's no guarantee that either of them will come back alive. 

John Agar and Rosemary Howe (Stack)

The Golden Mistress is a 99 cent item filmed in Haiti, and for much of its length it resembles a travelogue with some interesting locations. Soaking up local color is one thing, but Mistress doesn't know when to end a scene and move on to something more entertaining. The picture meanders -- it's full of incident but the story isn't told in a compelling fashion, and after awhile you may lose patience. There's a brief flurry of excitement at the very end, but this doesn't last long.  John Agar gives a charismatic and solid performance as the captain, who like most men in these old adventure movies, is chauvinistic. Rosemary Howe was a former model who in this is barely passable as an actress. (She has trouble showing emotion when her father is eaten by a shark.) She gave a much better performance in The Big Bluff but wisely married actor Robert Stack the following year and left the business. 

The supporting cast is of more interest. Jacques Molant is Ti Flute, a likable teen native who is the cabin boy or first mate, depending on who's asking. Andre Narcisse is Iznard, the Houngan or high priest whose son, Christofe (Kiki), is saved by Bill when the boy's foot is caught inside a clam. Abner Biberman, who plays Carl Baxter, also directed the film under a pseudonym. His credits were mostly in television. Considering the location, some of the native cast members and other elements, it's a shame that Golden Mistress doesn't emerge as a more memorable motion picture. 

Verdict: Not much more exciting than a bad Jungle Jim movie. **. 

THE BERMUDA DEPTHS

monster from the depths

THE BERMUDA DEPTHS (1978 telefilm). Director: Tom Kotani. 

Now here's an odd one. As a boy Magnus Dens (Leigh McCloskey) lost his father when their house and laboratory in Bermuda was destroyed by something unseen. Years later, the still befuddled young man returns to Bermuda and encounters an old playmate, a woman named Jenny (Connie Sellecca). He also reunites with his pal, Eric (Carl Weathers) and Prof. Paulus (Burl Ives), who worked with Magnus' father. Eric and Paulus are on the hunt for a creature that may be responsible for the disappearance of ships in the Bermuda Triangle. But Paulus tells Magnus that the woman named Jenny is not real -- she is either a figment of his imagination or the ghost of a woman who died at sea many years before. She apparently lives forever because she sold her soul to a sea god in the hopes he would spare her. And what is her connection with the huge marine animal that pops up sporadically? Is it the sea god? 

Intense: Leigh McCloskey

The Bermuda Depths can't make up its mind if it's a monster movie, a ghost story, or an outre romance, and it doesn't quite work as any of them. It would be easy to just dismiss this as an awful mess, but it's also strangely absorbing and one could argue that at least it's something different. The monster is a big prop and it has a decided connection to Gammera as well as with a pet that Magnus had as a boy. As for the actors, they all play with conviction, with McCloskey etching a portrait of a man with decided emotional issues who is quick to anger. Julie Woodson is given some very effective moments as Eric's wife, Doshan, and Ruth Attaway is fun as the peculiar old cook, Delia. You might wonder how Burl Ives wound up in this but he's fine. 

Big Daddy: Burl Ives

According to Paulus, Magnus' father was trying to come up with the cause of mutations that create gigantism in sea life. Huh? Would anybody actually do that in real life? Apparently his research into gigantism created a monstrous organism that is now romping off the coast of Bermuda. Unfortunately we don't see nearly enough of this creature, although it does figure in an exciting climax. The film takes advantage of beautiful Bermuda locations. Apparently this rather silly if engaging movie has a lot of fans, and a film entitled Back from the Bermuda Depths is in development! 

Verdict: Too weird for its own good. **1/2.