The Unguarded Moment (1956)

After the murder of a woman in the city of Ogden, high school music teacher Lois Conway (Esther Williams) becomes the target of an anonymous admirer. Receiving notes that quickly go from flirtation to veiled threats, Conway is convinced it’s one her students playing a prank. When she receives an invitation to meet the admirer one night in the school's deserted gym, she goes willingly, hoping to confront the offender and have him desist. Annoyance turns to fear when she is attacked in the locker room by the culprit. When the police catch her fleeing from the scene she is questioned by Lt. Harry Graham (George Nader) who informs her that a rapist/murderer is on the loose. At first Conway is not convinced that her student is one and the same. She still thinks she can break through to whoever it is, and much to Lt. Graham’s dismay, she doesn’t divulge much information. However, the admirer becomes more brazen, even breaking into her home to steal the letters he wrote. Things become even more difficult when she suspects it is the high school football star, Leonard Bennett (John Saxon), whose father, Mr. Bennett (Edward Andrews) is rich and influential.  Having no real proof of being threatened and suddenly being accused of being the pursuer, Conway finally enlists the aid of Lt. Graham. The tension between them is lessened when they realize part of it comes from being attracted to one another. Together, they go after their target revealing that despite certain appearances, much lays below the surface of this particular culprit.

Having made a name off her talent as a swimming beauty, by 1955 Williams had completed her contract with MGM and found her watery vehicles on the wane. So, it was quite a gutsy move to accept the offer from Universal to do this sex infused psychological thriller. Unfortunately, it didn’t pay off for Williams. Which is unfortunate because this is actually a very good B film with a very good plot line. However, though Williams is great in the film, the real star is Edward Andrews. His portrayal as the creepy, misogynistic father of Leonard is a far, far stretch from the Andrews I grew up knowing: “Dong (clap, clap), Dong! Where is my automobile?” The only issue I have with The Unguarded Moment is the constant barrage of sex between Conway and Graham. It’s too much to expect from a single woman who is being violently threatened by another man to be willingly manhandled as she is throughout the film.  Their quick and sexual report is too inconsistent and since it’s a big element in the film, it gets in the way of a truly good story.

Trivia: Guess who helped to write it?
In her own autobiography (which is actually quite good), Rosalind Russell revealed, "I've often worked on the material, on movie scripts (as I did with the play version of Auntie Mame), but only once did I actually get screen credit as a writer. A young man named Larry Marcus and I had an idea for a story about a schoolteacher who's attacked by one of her students. We sold it to a man who later sold it to Universal who made it with Esther Williams, who was very good in it. I had fun with Larry Marcus. So that we could concentrate without a thousand interruptions, I finally dragged him off to the Hotel Del Coronado, down at the beach, and sequestered him there until we'd finished our story. I knew we'd never get it done otherwise. We spent a week working, and I only let him go to his room to sleep. About five o'clock every afternoon I'd take him out on the beach and walk him up and down - it was winter - like he was a puppy "This is all you get, Larry, this air," I'd say. "Breathe in a lot of it, because after dinner, we start work again." The picture was called The Unguarded Moment. I wish I could tell you it was Gone with the Wind." - TCM

Tonight on TCM!
Mildred Pierce (1945)
A woman turns herself into a business tycoon to win her selfish daughter a place in society.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott. --If you haven't seen this, I kindly ask you to remove yourself from under the rock you are living under and do so.

Sitting Pretty (1948)

Harry and Tacey King (Robert Young and Maureen O’Hara) have a pleasant life on Hummingbird Hill despite their nosy neighbors The Appletons (Richard Haydn and Grayce Hampton). When the King’s maid quits because she can no longer stand their three unruly sons Larry, Tony and Roddy, Tasey puts out an advertisement for a resident nanny. Lynn Belvedere (Clifton Webb), who has an impressive list of qualifications, promptly responds and is hired sight unseen.
Assuming Lynn is a woman, the Kings are shocked and a bit reluctant to welcome the gentleman who claims to be a genius who has mastered many professions. However, they are impressed when within a day Mr. Belvedere has won over and tamed the children and the King’s unruly dog. He also found time to fix the icebox.

Once Belvedere establishes himself on Hummingbird Hill, Appleton and his mother set their curious sights on him. Things take a turn for the worse when Harry must go on a business trip but does not want to leave Tasey alone in the house with Belvedere. Though she thinks it silly, Tasey arranges to sleep at their neighbor Bill and Edna Philby’s (Louise Allbritton and John Russell) house. This arrangement works well until one night Tony wakes up with stomachache and wants his mother. While she is there Appleton drops by feigning concern when he saw all the lights on in the house. Really, he’s hoping to catch some gossip and Tasey and Belvedere don’t disappoint- both are in their robes and Belvedere is guzzling water from the gin bottle that’s being used since the King’s water bottle is broken.

By the time Harry returns home, his boss Hammond (Ed Begley) has heard the news being spread around town and warns Harry to fix the situation or lose his job as one of his lawyers. Though Harry accepts Tacey's explanation, he thinks Belvedere should leave to avoid further complications. But the boys protest and Belvedere stays. Things flare up again however, when after attending a lecture Tacey and Edna stop at the hotel restaurant for a meal. Mr. Belvedere is there with one of Hammond’s secretaries, Peggy (Randy Stuart), who has brought him some papers. Mr. Belvedere invites Tacey to rumba and is spotted by Appleton and his mother. The gossip results in Hammond giving Harry another lecture and Harry and Tacey getting into a fight. Tacey leaves with Roddy to stay at her parents. Both are too stubborn to apologize and it isn’t until the publication of Belvedere’s book Hummingbird Hill, which results in both Harry and Bill getting fired from the firm, that Tacey rushes home. Hummingbird Hill contains thinly disguised portraits of the townspeople in a bad light including Appleton and Hammond. Everyone is in an uproar.

When Hammond, Appleton and a few other neighbors threaten to sue, Belvedere is delighted knowing this will help the sales of his book. He requests that Harry and Bill represent him and when Hammond demands to know the source of his information, Belvedere identifies Appleton who promptly retreats. Later, Harry and Tacey are surprised to find that Belvedere will stay on and perform his duties. Belvedere predicts he could get another two volumes to complete his trilogy if he stays on. Tacey warns him that she is expecting another child, however Mr. Belvedere is unfazed. He states he has also been an expert obstetrician as he takes out his knitting needles and continues to work on the baby sweater he’s making. .


What do you get when you plop a strictly refined, sardonic, narcissistic man into middle-class suburbia? Pure genius. That’s why Webb’s Belvedere not only won him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor but also spawned two more movies based on the same character. Basically playing himself onscreen, Webb with subtle actions and razor sharp dialogue is wickedly funny. Watching him go head to head with Appleton is a treat. I would definitely like to see the sequels!

Some of you may recall I did a small piece on Sitting Pretty before... :)

Auntie Mame (1958)

When Patrick Dennis’ (Jan Handzlik) father passes away, he is sent to live with his liberated and free-spirited aunt Mame Dennis (Rosalind Russell). However, the executor of Patrick’s father’s estate has been given the responsibility of keeping Patrick on the path of the straight and narrow. Ordered to keep Mame’s wild ideas about education and social life from tainting Patrick’s ultimately successful future, Dwight Babcock (Fred Clark) puts him in a boarding school right before the Depression hits.

With no money to sneak him away, Mame goes to work to make money, first as an actress, then a telephone operator, and finally a clerk at Macy’s. Each venture turns out to be a disaster culminating with her getting fired from Macy’s right before Christmas. However, she has caught the eye of Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside (Forrest Tucker) a rich oilman who’s totally smitten with Mame. With a change of hair color and an affected southern accent, she sets off to win over the family. Which she does, hilariously.

The next few years are spent traveling the world with Beauregard and sending exotic gifts to the fast growing Patrick back at the boarding school. Beauregard, fond of taking pictures of Mame, eventually meets his end on a Swiss Mountain having lost his footing. Mame then returns to her apartment in New York and is encouraged by her friends Lindsay (Patric Knowles) and Vera (Cora Browne) to write her own memoirs. With the apt attention of the socially awkward secretary Agnes Gooch (Peggy Cass) and the occasional help of freeloading poet Brian O’Bannion (Robin Hughes), Mame manages to buy a best seller.

With those funds she plans on opening an art school for Jewish children, namely to spite the Upsons (Lee Patrick and Willard Waterman), the parents of Gloria (Joanna Barnes), Patrick’s fiancée. Boarding school has turned Patrick into what Mame always feared, a stick in the mud. Deciding to investigate Gloria’s parents, she realizes they are really after Patrick’s trust fund. Basically Babcock pimped Patrick out to Gloria. Hoping to have Patrick avoid marrying Gloria, Mame throws an intimate party inviting particular guests she is sure that Babcock and the Upsons will disapprove of. Hopefully Patrick will see Gloria for what she truly is.

Auntie Mame is a great film, full of cocktail party bonhomie, wise cracks and a relationsship between Russell and Browne any pair of BFF's would envy, it's definitely a must see!

Tonight on TCM! Good movie!

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) Illicit lovers plot to kill the woman's older husband.
Cast: Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn Dir: Tay Garnett

Christmas is coming!

Trim, trim, trim away!

 Grace Bradley

 Joe E. Brown getting some help from the big man, himself!

 Jayne Mansfield is "busting" out...her ornaments!

 Norma Shearer

 Paulette Goddard

Jane Russell

Picnic (1955)

On the morning of a small town Labor Day picnic, drifter Hal Carter (William Holden) arrives in town to visit his old college buddy Alan Benson (Cliff Robertson) hoping to get a high paying job or at least some sort of hand out. Hal is a man full of bravado with a penchant for tall tales and bragging. His biggest desire is to get rich and live the easy life but he’s lazy, impatient and quick tempered- not a good combination for holding down any sort of real work. Underneath it all, there is a really sensitive side to Hal who hasn’t had an easy upbringing and lives in fear of being a loser like his alcoholic father. However, when he meets Madge Owens (Kim Novak), the town beauty queen and girlfriend of Alan, he feels, for the first time, a desire to earn a living honestly, not for himself but for her.
William Inge’s play is full of complex characters. Madge is tired of being known and loved only for her beauty, tired of her mother, Flo (Betty Field) pressuring her to marry Alan simply because he has money. Flo’s a lonely woman who has struggled to bring up two children after her husband abandoned them. She is so blinded by the security that Alan can offer Madge, security that she has always desired, that she doesn’t see that Madge doesn’t love Alan and that her younger daughter Millie (Susan Strasberg) is suffering from all the attention Madge is getting. It’s hard being the younger, tomboy sister to the town beauty. Millie feels like an ugly duckling and she sees in Hal a kind man who gives her an ego boost by being her date to the picnic. However, that much needed attention falls to the wayside when Madge comes around. Hal only has eyes for her. Then there is schoolmarm Rosemary Sidney (Rosalind Russell), a renter in the Owens home. She’s a self-proclaimed spinster who brags much about the love she would have had if she weren’t so independent. She’s as full of bravado as Hal is and after getting drunk at the picnic and giving Hal a piece of her mind, she begs her longtime beau Howard (Arthur O’Connell) to marry her, admitting that she lives a miserable existence. Long suffering Howard does not know how to handle this side of Rosemary. She’s always been so upright, prudish, and fiercely independent. He’s come to count on that and is settled in his own ways. And lastly there is Alan, the rich boy in a small town with responsibilities to his father’s company and a reputation to uphold- at least according to his father. But Alan loves Madge, wants to marry her and doesn’t care how his family feels about it.




Adapted from William Inge's Pulitzer prize-winning play, Picnic, a box office draw and star -making vehicle for Kim Novak, was highly acclaimed and considered quite racy for 1955 but in my opinion, quite disappointing. It's one of those movies that was ill adapted for the screen, playing more like a play than a film. Despite its potential the movie is full of overdramatic moments seriously overacted and slightly embarrassing to watch. Disappointing too is Holden's Hal Carter, who is much like Holden's Joe Bonaparte from Golden Boy (1939), tempermental, desperate, and at times downright childish. Though this would have been a good part for Newman (who performed this role onstage), Brando, or Dean- it's definitely not a part suited for Holden who was too old and in my opinion, established for the role. When I see him in films like Stalag 17 (1953), Executive Suite (1954), and The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954) I have to wonder who thought it was a good idea to put him in a vehicle like Picnic...or who said these pictures would really sum up the film. What?



As for Kim Novak, besides Vertigo (a film I believe she is best known for), this is the only film I have seen her in. I think she is better known for her beauty than her acting, Picnic helped prove that. Her super wicked mullet caught more of my attention than anything else.



Tonight on TCM!
The lovely Lauren Bacall!

Stiff Competition!

Knit It!

It takes two to make a thing go right
It takes two to make it outta sight
Knit it!

Ingrid Bergman

Greer Garson

Sylvia Sidney

Rosalind Russell

Jayne Mansfield

Katharine Hepburn

In through the front door,
Once around the back.
Peek through the window,
And off jumps Jack!
-Susan Kranz-

Audrey Hepburn

Mae Marsh

Bette Davis

Ann Sheridan

And the Queen Bee of knitting, Ms. Joan Crawford!

On the set of Reunion in France

On the set of Humoresque

On the set of Mildred Pierce

Now if I only I had one of her on the set of The Women. Reportedly while George Cukor filmed Shearer, Crawford sat on the sidelines knitting an afghan with the loudest needles available, until Shearer complained of the distraction to Cukor who then ordered Crawford back to her trailer.

Tonight on TCM!

It's Elvis' birthday and though the man could sing, I preferred he simply stuck to that. Watch his movies at your own risk. ;)