Act of Violence (1948)

Former POW Joe (Robert Ryan) stalks his war hero CO Frank (Van Heflin) because of things that happened during the war.

Young Janet Leigh is Hero Frank’s wife. She turned 21 while filming. Mary Astor has a small but interesting role as a helpful hooker. Six years after The Maltese Falcon, romantic lead roles are squarely in the past for her now.

I had only seen Heflin in Shane but Ryan will show up occasionally as a villain. Barbara Billingsley is uncredited in a voice only role. I didn't catch it so I can't confirm whether or not she was speaking jive.

Neither Heflin nor Ryan make for a traditional protagonist. As we learn about Frank’s history, it becomes problematic to root for him. And with Joe giving off Night of the Hunter vibes, he is a hard sell as well. It’s only Leigh’s Edith we really feel for. The studio wanted Gregory Peck and Humphrey Bogart in the lead roles. That would be an entirely different film.

Act of Violence is an unconventional and fascinating noir. I don't imagine that 1948 audiences were particularly keen to see war hero's depicted in less than glorious light, but this film successfully pulls off a story with complicated characters. AMRU 3.5.

Night of the Lepus (1972)

An Arizona ranch is being overrun by Lepus. Wanting to avoid the indiscriminate spraying of poison, they turn to a well-meaning scientist who injects … something … into one of the Lepus. It escapes and later that day, giant Lepus are attacking the town and killing people. What’s a Lepus? Oh, they are bunny rabbits.

That’s right, this is the famous giant rabbit horror movie, three years before The Holy Grail. How do you make bunnies terrifying? Simple. Take close up shots of real bunnies on miniature sets, slowed down and shot at a low angle. Adding fake blood and a menacing growl made them genuinely terrifying fuzzy widdle baby-boos! Who’s a fuzzy boy! You are! Yes, you are!

Yea, this didn’t work. But the low rent special effects are not the worst part. Not even close. The pacing is slow and plotting, the story underdeveloped, and the acting … oh, the acting. I would periodically check to see if this was made for TV.

Films like this follow a certain format. The monster is introduced, there are initial incidents, the people try to figure out what is going on, things escalate, a plan is formulated, and conclusion. Them!, The Blob, The Birds, Jaws, they all progress the threat while exploring the people’s reaction to it. It should come as no surprise that the movie featuring giant, murderous bunnies does this very poorly. Things just happen and people just do things. There is very little logic. I mean, considering.

So, with this low budget, poorly conceived film, how did they manage to get former A-Lister Janet Leigh? Well, it was ten years since her last big film. And it was filmed near her house. Also here is Rory Calhoun. Perhaps you remember him from such films as Rogue River, Massacre River, and River of No Return. Oh, and How to Marry a Millionaire. And hey! Look, it's Doctor McCoy! Nice to see him get work.

The studio knew this wouldn't work, keeping the bunny angle a secret. Clunky, drab, and poorly acted, the effects just may be the best part of the film. There is an environmental Silent Spring message that may have won points with some viewers, but felt out of place. And the conclusion would take those points right back. AMRU 2.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Korean war heroes return home but soon realize that something isn’t right. Major Marco (Frank Sinatra) slowly figures out that they all were brainwashed with some nefarious goal in mind. Oh, and Janet Leigh is here for some reason.

Six foot 2 Henry Silva played Korean man-servant Chunjin. He has a fight scene that apparently broke Sinatra’s hand. Angela Lansbury plays our brain-washed main character’s less-than-motherly mother, despite being only three years his senior. Inspector Luger (James Gregory) is his McCarthyesque step-dad.

The Manchurian Candidate is a fantastic film, but not without its flaws. Characters would sometimes behave illogically and Janet Leigh’s character made no sense at all. But it deserves its reputation and stands the test of time.

Avoidance of spoilers keeps me from discussing further. The brainwashing is established early on but there still are mysteries to solve. Sinatra again proves he was a real actor and Lansbury was, well, amazing. It's a slow burn with a solid finale. It should have been higher on my priority list. Oh, and if anyone asks, my uncle did not appear in this film. AMRU 4.

Holiday Affair (1949)

Hot war widow Connie (Janet Leigh) is a ‘comparison shopper’, meaning someone who buys items for examination by a competing department store, and then returns them. She is caught by hunky Steve (Robert Mitchum) who must ban her from the store, effectively costing her the job. But he shows compassion and doesn’t report her, costing him HIS job. They keep accidentally meeting up causing friction with her safe and boring boyfriend/fiance Carl (Wendell Corey). Guess who gets the girl? Good money is on Steal-yo-girl Mitchum.

Good old Corey was Jim/Jeff’s cop buddy from Rear Window. He was ready for a long, successful career in Hollywood, and what’s better than that? Booze, that’s what. Wendell Corey, dead at age 54. His last few films include such gems as Cyborg 2087, The Astro-Zombies, and Women of the Prehistoric Planet. I'm not ashamed to say I kinda want to check them out. Hey, look! It’s Colonel Potter himself, Harry Morgan! As a cop no less!

Hot hot Janet Leigh was charming as the hard working widow trying to do right by her son, although at 22 maybe a little too young for the role. She was fourteen years older than little Timmy. We don’t feel too sorry for poor Carl. He isn’t made out to be a bad person but clearly not right for our Miss Leigh. And he may have been a little too understanding.

Holiday Affair is a decent little Christmas story but otherwise unspectacular. Wasn’t a success upon release but apparently is remembered well thanks to TCM. It was on my list to watch with Mom and I think she would have loved it. AMRU 3.

“Carl isn't the real threat to me. Maybe I'm not to him. This isn't two fellows and a girl, you know. This is two fellows, a girl and her husband. I can't fight a shadow - I tried - competition's too tough. You were even going to play it safe and settle for someone you didn't love so you wouldn't be unfaithful to your husband.”

Touch of Evil (1958)

A car carrying a rich old man and his hot young girlfriend, driving over the US-Mexican border, blows up killing them both. On the scene is Vargas (Charlton Heston), an educated, politically connected (totally non-rapist) Mexican police detective. He works with fat, sloppy American police captain Quinlan (Orson Welles) to solve the murder. At this time his hot anglo wife (Janet Leigh) starts being harassed by family members of the people Vargas has been prosecuting. Things get complicated.

This movie could be about finding the bomber, or about the crime family tormenting the hot Leigh, but it’s really about the culture clash between two nations so close to each other, and the prejudice that permeates their relationship. Quinlan is suspicious of Mexicans and disrespects Vargas, the Mexican crime family has a complicated relationship with America, and the Vargas’ themselves are torn between both worlds. All this in the late 50’s.

Heston agreed to the role because he thought Welles was going to direct. When he found out that the director hadn’t been selected yet, he insisted on Welles, and the studio agreed. It was Welles’ presence that also convinced Leigh to accept the roll, despite the low pay.

Upon completion the studio chopped up the film in editing. Welles was upset, and wrote a 58 page letter to the studio head. The version I saw was a recreation of Welles’ original vision, as can be determined from his letter.

The movie features Dennis Weaver (Gunsmoke, McCloud) in an early role. Zsa Zsa earned a bit part by being the producer’s boyfriend. Marlene Dietrich had a small but important role, and if you blinked you’d miss Welles buddy Joseph Cotten’s cameo.

Touch of Evil is a brave film, confronting racism head on. It’ll be remembered as having a Mexican played by Red Blooded, US ‘Merican Charlton Heston with a US ‘Merican accent, but its message that citizens on both sides of the border can be despicable and honorable alike may have been lost otherwise. The difference between art and craft is that craft needs to know we are ready to accept change while art tells us we must. The problem with putting minorities in lead roles is that studios want established stars, and until there is a large pool of established leading man minorities, it is hard to get the studio on board with hiring them. Catch-22. Maybe, in some small way, Touch of Evil slightly acclimated 50’s audiences to considering a lead minority. Either way, putting an unknown Mexican in the lead may have resulted in the film not being made, or at least not seen very much. At any rate, I find it easy to forgive the whitewash casting because of the its progressive message. AMRU 4.

“She don’t look Mexican either.”

Psycho (1960)

Poor Marion (Janet Leigh)! Her boyfriend is too poor to get a divorce, so she makes a rash decision. She grabs forty grand from her employer and makes a mad dash for California. Along the way she takes shelter at the Bates motel. Young Norman (Anthony Perkins) is quite fond of the Milfish Marion, but Mother disapproves. So after a brief rendezvous in the shower, Norman is left to clean things up.

Soon Marion's boy toy and her cuter sister Lila (Vera Miles) are on the hunt for the naughty girl. Also in hot pursuit is a detective looking for the cash.

In the past I've summed up the kind of horror movies I like as being "Pre-Psycho". It seemed to me that horror made a dramatic shift, one towards a more psychological form. I still believe this, but this boys film education has me to reconsidering my appreciation. What Psycho did was progress styles and themes already in existence, case in point Diabolique. The signature Hitchcock style makes every tense scene seem so much more so, almost unbearably so. He just drags the emotion out of you. Here it worked.

Perkins' acting is worth a second look. Creepy, frightened, timid, and sexually repressed, his nuanced performance was out of this world. He deserved a nomination. Leigh got one her shower scene, which is nice. It was one hell of a scene. I remember seeing it on television back in the day. I don't remember being scared, but I do remember seeing something a young boy seldom saw back then. Leigh's out of focus breasts. I didn't see it this time. Can't explain it. Also in the scene was another American film first: a toilet. John Waters thanks you, Mister Hitchcock.

Now, this is Hitchcock, so there's a twist, and it's a twist just about all of the pulse wearing public is aware of. But I say no more of the plot. Respect. AMRU 4.

"A boy's best friend is his mother."