Tuesday, July 31, 2018

CAFTAN WOMAN'S CHOICE: ONE FOR AUGUST ON TCM


"The movie with all the feels."
- Caftan Woman

Harold Lloyd could do no wrong with his feature films of the mid-1920s. Falling between the domestic comedy Hot Water and the romantic comedy For Heaven's Sake, 1925s The Freshman added to Lloyd's considerable lustre. Sam Taylor and Fred Newmeyer are the directors of this fine film. Newmeyer worked on Lloyd's pictures since 1916, and Taylor joined as a writer in 1921. The right team came together at the right time to provide laughs for generations. 

Harold Lloyd

Harold Lamb has been saving his money and preparing himself for college. One would imagine that preparing for college would entail some time spent hitting the books. Harold does hit the books, but they are novels filled with outlandish stories of the social life of the collegiate. Harold adds to this dubious self-help with multiple viewings of a popular film about a college hero. Harold believes that emulating the film character, including a fancy little jig he uses upon introductions, will ensure his social success. Harold has been practicing the routine and proudly shows it to his father. Harold's dad thinks his boy is a "lamb" to the slaughter. "I'm afraid, Ma, if Harold imitates that movie at college, they'll break either his heart or his neck!"

Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston

Jobyna Ralston worked with Harold in nine films, beginning with a bit part in 1921s A Sailor-Made Man. 1927s The Kid Brother was their last co-starring feature. In The Freshman Jobyna plays Peggy who helps her mother run a boarding house for students and works at the hotel frequented by that crowd. Peggy and Harold meet over a crossword puzzle on the train to Tate College. It is love at first sight. Love of the shy, awkward and unspoken variety. They are adorable. 

Brooks Benedict

Brooks Benedict plays the College Cad who, with malice aforethought, turns Harold into the butt of many less than amiable gags. Benedict has one of those familiar faces from movies although most often he went uncredited throughout his long career. Harold is coerced by the College Cad into giving a speech to the assembled students in which he is comically assisted by an errant kitten. Harold also unwittingly makes an enemy of the Dean of the College. Unexpectedly wasting a lot of his money on treats for all, Harold's budget takes a hit causing him to change accommodation plans. Since this puts him at Peggy's mother's boarding house it was a case of good luck following bad.

Harold Lloyd

James H. Anderson plays Chet Trask, the captain of the football team and the current college hero. He is a true hero, who quietly takes Harold under his wing. Chet convinces the coach to let the artless, but enthusiastic Harold remain on the team as a water boy. Deluded Harold believes that he is the real deal. Anderson is quite nice in this role, but did little acting, spending most of his career as an assistant director. Some titles you may recognize include Outrage, Private Hell 36, Nocturne, Crack-Up, My Favorite Spy, Dance, Girl, Dance, Room Service, Love Affair, Stage Door and Hell's Highway

Harold Lloyd

The Freshman is indeed a movie with all the "feels". Harold is so darn likeable you can't help but be on his side. He is also so darn gullible that you ache when he is taken advantage of by the bully. We share Harold's rollercoaster ride of emotions. His excited anticipation of social success at college, followed by his nervousness and bravado facing each new situation. His burgeoning romantic feelings for Peggy. His enthusiasm at the football tryout and his weariness from the pounding he takes, and his pride at being a chosen one. His satisfaction and worry as a party host with problems. His despair upon learning his social and sports success is a sham, and his determination to win against all odds. Oh, my!

Triumph will come to Harold "I'm just a regular guy, call me Speedy" Lamb at the (you guessed it) big game! Oh, how you will cheer and how you will laugh, and how glad you will feel in your heart. How you will wonder if Harold will be any the wiser the following year. Harold will probably live his life with his heart on his sleeve and Peggy will love him always.


Tuesday, August 7 is the day TCM gives Harold Lloyd the Summer Under the Stars treatment. The lineup includes a mix of classic shorts and features with each one a treasure full of laughs, thrills, and heart. Any attention you can give to this day will be amply rewarded with joy.












Friday, July 27, 2018

CHRISTIE CUTE: The Spider's Web (1960)


Glynis Johns stars as Clarissa Hailsham-Brown in the comedy-thriller The Spider's Web from Agatha Christie's play.

Margaret Lockwood, Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie had great success with her plays The Mousetrap and The Hollow and was preparing for the opening of Witness for the Prosecution when she was approached to write a play for Margaret Lockwood. The actress was looking for something removed from the screen villains for which she had become famous. 

Ms. Christie came up with Spider's Web, a concoction of misunderstandings at a country estate with a touch of voodoo, a dash of diplomatic intrigue, a disappearing corpse, dark secrets and good intentions. The critics were not particularly kind to this entertainment, but it must have found its audience because it ran for 774 performances. Margaret Lockwood reprised the role in a 1955 television production, and Penelope Keith starred in a further TV movie in 1982.

Glynis Johns, John Justin

In 1960 it was Glynis Johns turn to play Clarissa in a screenplay by Eldon Howard and Albert G. Miller directed by Godfrey Grayson for Danzinger Productions. The Spider's Web played as a second feature in Britain and appeared on American television as an episode of Kraft Mystery Theater.

The Hailsham-Browns, Clarissa and Henry played by Ms. Johns and John Justin, have been married for just over a year and a few months ago they settled into the charming country estate of Copplestone Court at a bargain price. Here they have been happily creating a family for themselves and Henry's teenage daughter Pippa played by Wendy Turner.

Thes eventful day of our story begins with Henry being called into the city for his work at the Foreign Office. Clarissa remains at home to care for Pippa and entertain their guests; her former guardian Sir Rowland Delahaye played by Jack Hulbert, Hugo, a magistrate played by Basil Dignam, and Jeremy Warrener played by Ronald Howard.

There is three staff on hand, the butler Elgin played by David Nixon, Mrs. Elgin played by Joan Sterndale-Bennett, and Miss Peake the gardener played by Cicely Courtneidge. Later, the company will be burdened by the presence of Inspector Lord played by Peter Butterworth and Sergeant Jones played by Anton Rodgers.

Wendy Turner, Glynis Johns

Unexpectedly, Pippa's hated stepfather Oliver played by Ferdy Mayne turns up. Oliver shuffles off this mortal coil after threatening to return Pippa to her mother where she was very unhappy. Pippa believes it was her experiments with dark arts which caused the demise of the odious Oliver. Clarissa doesn't understand the reason behind Pippa's proclamation of guilt but nonetheless vows to keep the whole thing a secret. To that end, she enlists her friends/guests in a plan to hide the body.

Sir Rowland wants to call the police, but beyond protecting Pippa, Clarissa wants to protect Henry. He is arranging for a high-level, hush-hush meeting between his boss Sir John and an important foreign diplomat tonight at Copplestone Court. Well, it just won't do to have a nasty corpse and nastier policemen about when one is about to host high-level hush-hush diplomatic meetings.

Glynis Johns, Peter Butterworth

Well, take it from there, me hearties. There are sliding panels, secret drawers, and hair-brained plots aplenty until all is set aright. And there is Clarissa! Clarissa is not exactly the girl who cried wolf, but she is a woman of immense and easily accessed imagination. She is always "supposing" something or other and now she needs to call on all of that unusual skill to ferret out a murderer and save the day.

I find a lot of wit and fun in the machinations of the fanciful Clarissa, and the various characters trapped in this web. If you are looking for a little escape or possibly something for next year's community theatre lineup, I suggest you pour a cuppa and relax with The Spider's Web. I found it on the inestimable YouTube and wiled away a pleasant 90 minutes.


In case you don't get that this is all in fun, murder, and criminal enterprise aside, take your cue from Tony Crombie's soundtrack. The jazzy score is as bright as the Technicolor and as frothy as Glynis' personality. The album pictured above features Clarrisa's theme, Supposing.










Saturday, July 21, 2018

THE FRED ASTAIRE AND GINGER ROGERS BLOGATHON: Follow the Fleet (1936)


Crystal of In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood and Michaela of Love Letters to Old Hollywood are hosting The Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Blogathon on July 20th - 22nd. It's like a party on the internet!


You can find the contributions by clicking HERE or HERE.


Randolph Scott, Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Irving Berlin, and Mark Sandrich were awfully good to RKO Studios. Their 1935 release Top Hat was the biggest money maker from the Astaire-Rogers pairing, which would eventually total nine films for the studio. The 1936 release Follow the Fleet was almost the equal of the earlier movie, in creative talent and critical and box office return.

Ginger Rogers, Harriet Hilliard

Canadian born playwright Hubert Osborne had a Broadway hit in 1922 with Shore Leave which focused on the romance between characters Connie Martin and Bilge Smith The play was filmed as Shore Leave in 1925 starring Richard Barthelmess and Dorothy Mackaill. It was also the basis for the 1926 Broadway musical and 1955 movie Hit the Deck, as well as Dwight Taylor and Allan Scott's screenplay for our movie, Follow the Fleet. Taylor and Scott also wrote the screenplay for Top Hat. Taylor also wrote The Gay Divorcee and Scott worked on Roberta and Swing Time. They certainly knew what worked for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Lucille Ball, Harriet Hilliard, Betty Grable

Like the Taylor and Scott screenplay for Top Hat, theirs for Follow the Fleet works beautifully as a romantic comedy. The superb acting talents of our leads are put on display with amusing wit and sparring. Add the wonderful music of Irving Berlin, dances staged by Fred and Hermes Pan, and you have a magical entertainment from the Golden Age of musicals.

Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard

RKO had originally intended reuniting the star team of 1935s Roberta, Astaire and Rogers, and Irene Dunne and Randolph Scott. Irene Dunne declined due to playing the lead in Show Boat, a role she had played on stage earlier in her career. Harriet Hilliard, the vocalist with the Ozzie Nelson orchestra, and newly the bandleader's wife, was cast in the plum role of Connie Martin.

Ginger Rogers and friend

Connie is the sister of Sherry Martin played by Ginger Rogers. Sherry is a showbiz working stiff who used to do a double act with "Bake" Baker played by Fred Astaire. The duo came to a parting of the ways due to a disagreement. Bake wanted to marry Sherry. Sherry was of a differing opinion. Bake joined the Navy to see the world and forget his romantic disappointment.

Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard

Shore leave in San Francisco brings Bake and Sherry back together. Bake's pal "Bilge" Smith played by Randolph Scott meets Connie. Bilge has definite ideas when it comes to women. He wants "something with spangles" because he seems to get "stuck with schoolteachers." What he doesn't know is that schoolteacher Connie had been glammed up by Sherry's friends. Fate is funny that way. Connie falls hard for the ambitious sailor.

Ray Mayer, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers

Sherry and Bake make plans to revive their performing partnership after his enlistment ends. Connie makes plans and invests money in refurbishing her father's ship, all with Bilge in mind. Will he break her heart? How can Connie and Sherry get the money they need to save the ship and their friend Captain Hickey, who's been helping them? Bake has a great idea; they'll put on a show. Bake's a bright lad. He not only plans on saving the ship, he is going to save Bilge and Connie's romance, as well as getting Sherry to propose to him this time.



THE SOUNDTRACK, SONGS BY IRVING BERLIN



WE SAW THE SEA

"Bake" does his own version of a sailor's hornpipe and the band takes time out during rehearsal to sing a sailor's lament.

We joined the navy to see the world
And what did we see? We saw the sea
We saw the Pacific and the Atlantic
But the Atlantic isn't romantic
And the Pacific isn't what it's cracked up to be



LET YOURSELF GO

Come, get together
Let the dance floor feel your leather
Step as lightly as a feather
Let yourself go



This peppy tune is a grand solo for Ginger as a singer at a dance club. Her backup singers include future star, Betty Grable. When Sherry's old dance partner Bake gets her to dance during the club's dance contest for guests, she ends up losing her job. Not good for Sherry, but great fun for us.



GET THEE BEHIND ME, SATAN

Get thee behind me, Satan
I want to resist
But the moon is low and I can't say "no"
Get thee behind me

This lovely Berlin ballad was dropped from Top Hat and is perfectly suited for the character of Connie. She's met a guy she's crazy about and her inexperience leads to worry, but her excitement leads her to make plans.



I'D RATHER LEAD A BAND

I haven't ambitions for lofty positions
That wind up with the wealth of the land
I'll give you the throne that a king sat on
For just a small baton
Providing you included a band

Back on shipboard, Bake leads the guys in a jazzy routine that includes a dance with a line of sailors shadowing his moves. It's like that bit with the tuxedoed chorus in Top Hat, only with different outfits. There's a spot of trouble when the noise they make masks official calls to action, but it works out when shipboard guests are enchanted by the talent.



BUT WHERE ARE YOU?

The moon is high, the sky is blue
And here am I, but where are you?
A night like this was meant for two
And I am here, but where are you?

Another lovely ballad put over beautifully by Harriet. Connie's romance has taken a wrong turn, but she's committed to singing at this party. Her heart is poured out for all to see. Connie may be in a miserable emotional state, but look at that Bernard Newman gown! It is one of my all-time favourites from any movie.


I can't decide if the back is more beautiful than the front or vice-versa.



I'M PUTTING ALL MY EGGS IN ONE BASKET

This is a grand number where we get to see Fred on the piano, Fred and Ginger singing a delightful duet, and then a fun dance from the pair. This tune had also been dropped from Top Hat. It was one of Irving's "round" songs; something that came to him easily in one day.



I'm putting all my eggs in one basket
I'm betting everything I've got on you
I'm giving all my love to one baby
Heaven help me if my baby don't come through




THE FINALE



LET'S FACE THE MUSIC AND DANCE

The finale of the show within the show is this marvelous set piece. Fred's character is a gambler who has taken a fall. Ginger is a distraught woman seeking to end it all. The easy-come, easy-go fellow challenges his companion to look to the future. Ginger's beautiful beaded Bernard Newman gown doubled as an inadvertent weapon when the sleeve hit Fred's head during the first take of this number.

There may be trouble ahead
But while there's music and moonlight
And love and romance
Let's face the music and dance





Follow the Fleet has been a personal favourite of mine for many years. The family teases that it is because I think of it as a Randolph Scott movie, but it all began with my fondness for Irving Berlin. Over time the humour in the screenplay, the fun in the presentation of the musical numbers and the talent of all involved have added a glow to my admiration and affection for the movie.









Friday, July 20, 2018

THE DAVID LEAN BLOGATHON: Great Expectations (1946)


Maddy Loves Her Classic Films and her blogathonsThe David Lean blogathon is in full swing on July 20th and 21st. Click HERE to read the tributes to the master filmmaker.

Charles Dickens' 13th novel, Great Expectations was serialized in 1860-1861 and found a welcome home on many bookshelves. Like many of Dickens' fascinating stories and characters, Great Expectations also found its way to the screen. The first movie adaptation was produced in 1917, and by my count, there have been seven films and eleven television versions of the tale thus far.

Anthony Wager, David Lean, Jean Simmons

Director/writer/editor David Lean proved a sure hand with this, his first foray into Dickens. Sadly, for this fan, his 1948 version of Oliver Twist would be his last trip to the Dickens well. Other stories and films would capture his interest.

Great Expectations, released in 1946, was the work of Lean's felicitous collaboration with writers Ronald Neame, Anthony Havelock-Allan, and his wife of the decade Kay Walsh, uncredited. The screenwriting team was nominated for an Oscar, as was Lean as director, and the film.

Brilliant cinematographer turned director Guy Green was most deserving of his Oscar for Black and White Cinematography. John Bryan and Wilfred Shingleton won the Oscar for Best Set Design-Art Direction. Actors who were frequent collaborators of David Lean, John Mills and Alec Guinness star in Great Expectations.

The collaborative work of the above-named creative minds gave us In Which We Serve, This Happy Breed, Blithe Spirit, Brief Encounter, Oliver Twist, The Passionate Friends, Hobson's Choice and Ryan's Daughter.

Finlay Currie, Anthony Wager

"Pip, the making of a mensch" is how I think of Great Expectations. The young Pip we meet in the graveyard has a long way to go in life, and with each blessing there comes an obstacle.

The orphaned Pip played by Anthony Wager is taken in by his bitter older sister and her easy-going husband, blacksmith Joe Gargery. The couple is played by Bernard Miles and Freda Jackson, and through young Pip's eyes each characteristic is heightened and exaggerated.

A childhood encounter with an escaped convict, Magwitch played by Finlay Currie, is a frightening and important incident in Pip's life. The scenes between these two characters as filmed by Lean and Green are beautiful, nightmarish, and unforgettable.

Martita Hunt, Anthony Wager

Through the auspices of an upper-middle-class relative, Pip becomes known to a reclusive wealthy woman, Miss Havisham played by Martita Hunt. Pip has been asked to be a companion to Miss Havisham's adopted daughter Estella played by Jean Simmons. Miss Havisham and Estella are a strange pair, living in a mansion left to go to wrack and ruin, and using their position and power to make their inferiors cower. Nonetheless, Pip is besotted by the pretty Estella and feels he has reason to be beholden to Miss Havisham.

Upon reaching the age of majority an anonymous benefactor has bestowed upon Pip the wherewithal to live the life of a gentleman. Miss Havisham is the only wealthy person of his acquaintance, and her lawyer Mr. Jaggers played by Francis L. Sullivan being the bearer of the news of Pip's good fortune, lead Pip to believe she is his patron. The truth will be Pip's ultimate test of manhood.

John Mills

John Mills plays the adult Pip and let's get this out of the way. At 37 years of age, Mr. Mills is hardly decrepit, but neither is he as young as the character he plays. There are moments when you are aware of the actor's age, but only in his looks. In every respect, John Mills plays young Pip as he thinks and behaves. His off-screen narration of the story is full of a clear-eyed self-awareness.

John Mills, Valerie Hobson

Valerie Hobson plays the adult Estella, raised by Miss Havisham to break men's hearts. Any trace of sentiment and affection has been bred out of the girl. However, she goes far enough to extend a warning to her youthful companion Pip that any hope for reciprocal kindness is out of reach.

Alec Guinness, Finlay Currie, John Mills

Pip is fortunate in his case of a companion. The young gentleman with whom he shares lodgings and who will teach him the proper way to waste time and money in the big city is Herbert Pocket played by Alec Guinness. This very picture of a wastrel will prove to be an invaluable and loyal friend in time of dire need.

Valerie Hobson, John Mills

The fabulous and outlandish Dickens characters are brought to life by a series of perfectly cast actors with a thoughtful script and a director who understands how to project the emotional depth of the story he is telling. Through tragedy, loss, fear and fearful revelations Pip goes through the trial by fire to discover his soul and the soul to be discovered in others.

Winner of two Academy Awards and accolades from the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, Great Expectations is worthy of its reputation as a classic in the filmography of David Lean and the history of Dickens on screen.



















Friday, July 13, 2018

THE WINTER IN JULY BLOGATHON: Day of the Outlaw (1959)


Debbie Vega is at it again as Moon in Gemini hosts The Winter in July Blogathon on July 13, 14 and 15. It's all about films that take place in the winter so click HERE to get your chills.


"You don't find much mercy anywhere in Wyoming."
- Blaise Starrett

Rancher Blaise Starrett (Robert Ryan) has come to town. The town of Bitters, Wyoming is a collection of buildings and twenty or so citizens from outlying farms. A warm breeze brings the promise of springtime, but there will be one last storm before the end of this long winter.

"What have you been thinking about all winter? Barbed wire or Crane's pretty wife, Helen?"
- Dan

Starrett is a rage-filled man. A farmer named Hal Crane plans to fence his land with barbed wire. The brooding Starrett will kill Crane before he lets that happens. Dan (Nehemiah Persoff), Starrett's trusted friend and foreman is heartsick over Starrett's intention.


"You back your orders with guns. You want another man's wife but the man has to be dead before you'll take her."
- Helen Crane

Starrett and Helen Crane's (Tina Louise) affair ended practically before it started, but they have let their illicit feelings simmer over the past months and now the entire town knows a showdown is coming. The people of Bitters are neither innocent bystanders nor salacious gossipers. Blaise Starrett was a man who tamed the land and is a leader in the community. They want to be his friend and they want him to be a good neighbour. They will not stand for a killing.


"Now listen, do as you're told and you can go about your business just like we're not here, almost."
- Captain Jack Bruhn

The private squabbles in the town take a back seat to the arrival of a gang of outlaws. Former Captain Jack Bruhn (Burl Ives) leads a gang that is on the run from the Cavalry. They have loot in the amount of forty thousand dollars, and more than one murder victim left on the trail. Bruhn lets the populace know that the kind of men he commands could tear the town apart, and only he can handle them.


"Strange how one word can change a man's life. I could have ordered "Retreat"! My command was "Fire!"
- Captain Jack Bruhn

Bruhn's powers of command over his men and the town are displayed early. He demands that the liquor be locked up and his men must keep away from the four women in Bitters. Amazingly, Bruhn, for all his control and bluster, has a bullet lodged in his chest. The only doctor in town is a veterinarian who agrees to remove the bullet. Not the best of circumstances and there is no anesthesia. We learn in a conversation of distraction during the operation that while serving in the Army, Bruhn was the commander under something now known as the Mormon Massacre.

Bruhn is in bad shape after the operation. Morphine is helping with the pain but Doc Langer (Dabbs Greer) explains to Starrett that once morphine no long helps, Bruhn will start coughing and then it is a matter of time before his lungs rip and he dies. Without Bruhn, the gang will ravage the town.


"I don't think you want those women to get hurt. I don't think Bruhn wants it either."
- Blaise Starrett

Desperation leads to a plan to get the women out of town. Delayed by the guard just long enough for the other outlaws to recognize that something is wrong, the hastily made plan was marked for failure. Bruhn demands a reckoning but it doesn't work out as planned. It is Blaise Starrett who lays a beating on the biggest bully in the gang, Tex (Jack Lambert). In retaliation, Starrett is then beaten by two of the gang.


"Don't worry about the boy. I'll take care of him. I promise."
- Gene

Now that the acknowledged leader of the townsfolk is out of commission, Bruhn takes a young boy, Bobby (Michael McGreevy) the son of Vic who runs the General Store, as a hostage to keep folks in line. Bobby's older sister Ernine (Venetia Stevenson) is concerned about him and sneaks into the hotel  where the outlaws have holed up. She only succeeds in putting herself and others in danger. It appears she really can trust the youngest and newest member of the gang, Gene (David Nelson). He worships Bruhn but keeps himself apart from the others.


"We've got this town under our thumb but we ain't gettin' no pleasure. Two more days like this is gonna seem like two more years. Maybe not even you can keep us in line, Bruhn."
- Tex

Bruhn, in his weakened condition, is cajoled by the gang into letting the women come over to the hotel for a party. There is no way this won't get out of hand. The raucous music and shouting from the hotel draws the bedridden Starrett's attention. Bruhn still has the upper hand over his men, but this time he had to draw a gun.


"There's another way through the mountains. No trail, no pass, but there's a way. I've been through it."
                                                                                                                                         - Blaise Starrett

Starrett has a bold and reckless plan to lure the gang out of Bitters by promising to guide them to a trail through the mountains. Bruhn has no other option but to follow him into the wilderness. Behind them is the Cavalry; they can only go forward. Bruhn, five henchmen and their guide ride into the snowy mountains.


"If you go, you'll never come back. There's no way through that mountain."
- Ernine

A moment of weakness leads Ernine to tell young Gene that he was doomed if he left. Out of loyalty, Gene tells Captain Bruhn who then confronts Blaise Starrett. Of the seven men riding into the storm, only those three are aware they are on a trail to nowhere.

Bruhn was also aware that he did not have long to live because of his wound. Men can create their own destiny and destiny can play its own hand of cards. In the case of these characters, actions and events will lead to redemption in very strange and ironic ways. Redemption through love and redemption in its truest sense of cleansing the soul.

Burl Ives

Day of the Outlaw was written by Philip Yordan and based on a novel by Lee E. Wells. Director Andre De Toth used Oregon and Arizona for location shooting of this spare and engrossing film. Together with Russell Harlan, a three-time Oscar nominee for his black and white cinematography, they captured the outer world of the winter elements working its oppressive power on the inner world of fear, doubt and anger welling within the characters. Alexander Courage's score is sweeping and emotional, with an interesting motif of a gentle, yet insistent timing at a key moment in the finale. The movie feels both open and claustrophobic as the far mountains seem a million miles away, yet right on top of Bitters.

Robert Ryan

Robert Ryan and Burl Ives are the leads in this story as two men with a lot to atone for in their lives. They are more alike than they could first imagine. Tina Louise is lovely to look at, as the character of Helen should be, and subtly portrays that character's conflict and her integrity.

Helen Westcott, Nehemiah Persoff, Alan Marshal
Betsy Jones-Moreland, Tina Louise, Michael McGreevy, Don Elson

The ensemble of townspeople played by Dabs Greer, Robert Cornthwaite, Donald Elson, Elisha Cook Jr., Venetia Stevenson, Michael McGreevy, Betsy Jones-Moreland, Helen Westcott, Nehemiah Persoff as Dan, and Alan Marshal as Hal Crane are achingly believable.

Jack Lambert

Bruhn's gang of outlaws is comprised of familiar-faced character actors of substance and ability. Jack Lambert as Tex is outstanding. Also, Frank DeKova, Lance Fuller, Paul Wexler and Jack Woody. David Nelson is young Gene, a character out of place with these cutthroats, who will play a major role in the life of his Captain.

Winter is also a character in Day of the Outlaw; omniscient and menacing. People are buried beneath cloaks and coats. The breath of humans and animals alike is clearly visible. Snow in drifts and falling and blowing impedes movement. The wind can be seen even in set-bound locations and when we are brought inside the buildings, the sound of the wind is the background music for conversations and fear. Winter is here.


















PERRY MASON: THE CASE OF THE SAUSALITO SUNRISE

Terence Towles Canote at A Shroud of Thoughts is hosting The 8th Annual Favourite TV Show Episode Blogathon . The popular blogathon is runn...