The Wrong Man (1956).

The Wrong Man (1956). Alfred Hitchcock film which stars Henry Fonda and Vera Miles. The film is based on a true story of an innocent man charged for a crime he did not commit. The story was based on the book The True Story of Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero by Maxwell Anderson and the article "A Case of Identity" (Life magazine, June 29, 1953) by Herbert Brean. It was one of the few Hitchcock films based on a true story, and unusually for Hitchcock, the facts of the story were not changed much.

The story begins when Manny, a Stork Club bass fiddle player, returns home to find his wife Rose still awake, with a toothache. Manny suggests, that they borrow against her insurance, to pay for the dentist.

Knowing, that he has to be home at 5:30 to give his two sons music lessons, Manny visits the insurance company to see about the loan. There, the clerks believe that he looks like the man who robbed them a month ago. They call the police, who wait outside Manny's home to pick him up and drive him to the station. After.. asking Manny about his finances, the police believe that he has a motive to steal money.

They drive him to the places that have been robbed and ask the clerks if he is the man who robbed them. Many of the victims are not sure if Manny, is the thief, so the police ask the insurance clerks to identify him.

Because Manny's printing is similar to the robber's, they ask him to print out a note. Manny, misspells the word "drawer" as "draw," which is the same way the robber spelled the word and they take him into custody.



Rose, worries that he has been in an accident, because has never been late before. By the time the police notify Rose, Manny's mother and sister and brother-in-law, Gene are waiting with her.

The next morning, Manny is taken to the felony court where a trial date is set. Even with his attorney's request for leniency, the judge sets the bail at $7,500. After she raises the money for Manny's bail, Rose calls lawyer Frank D. O'Connor, who has been recommended to Manny's mother.

O'Connor, asks Manny, to try to remember where he was on the dates of the robberies. The Balestreros, remember that they were vacationing in Cornwall, New York playing cards with three men.

Rose and Manny, try to track down the three men with no luck. Manny, then remembers at the time of the second robbery, he was at his dentist, who confirms that he was there. They hope to use the information in court.

Rose, becomes extremely depressed and when her behavior deteriorates, Manny takes her to a doctor, who admits her to a sanitarium for her own good.

As Manny's trial begins, one of the jurors, who has already made up his mind about the case, asks the judge if they "have to sit and listen to this?", the judge calls for a mistrial.

Soon after, a man holds up a delicatessen. The owner signals to her husband, who holds him, while she phones the police. The robber is arrested and brought into the police station, where, in the hallway, he passes a detective working on Manny's case. The robber looks a lot like Manny and the detective follows up on his hunch. Will The charges against Manny be dropped and the right man be charged with the crime?

Henry Fonda, gives one of his grimmest performance and Bernard Herrmann's score is very effective building on the suspense.

Fun Facts:

When Manny (Henry Fonda) is taken to prison was filmed in a real prison...as he is led to his cell , you can hear one of the inmates shout, "What'd they get ya for, Henry?" and several of the other prisoners laughing.

Alfred Hitchcock: narrating the film's prologue. The only time he actually spoke in any of his films.

Sir Anthony Quayle (7 September 1913 – 20 October 1989). His first film role was a uncredited Italian wigmaker in the film, Pygmalion(1938). Other film roles include: Alfred Hitchcock's The Wrong Man, The Battle of the River Plate (both 1956), Ice-Cold in Alex (1958), Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959), The Guns of Navarone (1961), H.M.S. Defiant, David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia (both 1962) and The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1969 for his role as Cardinal Wolsey in, Anne of the Thousand Days.

For the Boys Blogathon

Participating blogs:
As Time Goes By
Backlots
Bette’s Classic Movie Blog
Blame Mame
Comet Over Hollywood
Dear Mr. Gable
Frankly, My Dear
Hollywood Revue, The
Jeremy Gurto
lilliangish.net
Most Beautiful Fraud in the World, The
Noir and Chick Flicks
Pussy Goes Grr
Sinamatic Salve-ation
Sittin’ on a Backyard Fence
Tales of the Easily Distracted
True Classics
Undy a Hundy

What I think men most like about the western/film noir actor Robert Mitchum, is how he swaggered through the wildness of his youth and became very independent man. Without a doubt, one of Mr. Mitchum's best films is also his favorite performance, The Night of the Hunter (1955). His performance as Reverend Harry Powell, is considered by many to be one of the most suspenseful of his career.

The film begins when family man Ben Harper, is sentenced to hang for his part in a robbery in which two men were killed. Before he is caught he hides the stolen money, telling only his son John, where the money is.

Reverend Harry Powell, a serial killer and posing as preacher with the two words "LOVE" and "HATE" tattooed across his knuckles, shares a prison cell with Harper. While Harper sleeping, Powell over hears him say: "And a little child shall lead them."

Powell, now believes that Harper's children, are the only ones who know the secret of where the money is and to win their trust, marries their mother, Willa. Powell, asks the children about the money and John becomes suspicious of Powell and does not trust him. Willa, overhears her new husband questioning the children and now that she knows the truth, he kills her.

After Powell dumps her body, you see a beautiful/horrific under water scene of her sitting in the car at the bottom of the pond. He learns where the money is and the children escape down the river with the money. The river scene is one of many moments of pure beauty and the music keeps you drifting along.



 They find safety with an eccentric old woman named, Rachel Cooper. Powell, eventually catches up with them, but Rachel knows that he is evil and takes matters into her own hands.

The cat and mouse game, between Reverend Harry Powell and young John, will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat.

Some Like It Hot(1959).

Some Like It Hot(1959). Directed by Billy Wilder. Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and George Raft.

Two struggling musicians, Joe and Jerry, witness a gang murder. When the Chicago gangster, "Spats", sees them, the two friends run for their lives and decide it is time to leave town. Finding a job, in a all woman band, they have to disguise themselves as women.

Calling themselves Josephine and Geraldine, they board a train headed for Florida. Joe and Jerry both become charmed by "Sugar Kane", the band's vocalist and ukulele player. Joe woos Sugar while wearing second disguise as a millionaire heir to Shell Oil, mimicking Cary Grant's voice perfectly.

Millionaire, Osgood Fielding III, woes Jerry in his Daphne disguise. One night, Osgood asks Daphne out to his yacht. Joe talks Daphne, into going on a date with Osgood while he goes on the yacht with Sugar. That night Osgooing proposes to Daphne who, is flattered, accepts, hoping he can receive a large settlement from Osgood after their wedding ceremony.

When the gangsters arrive at the same hotel, Spats and his gang see Joe and Jerry. After several humorous chases and witnessing Spats and his gang murdered, Jerry, Joe, Sugar, and Osgood escape to the millionaire's yacht.

Joe, thinks it is time to reveal his true identity to Sugar, telling her that she would be getting the "fuzzy end of the lollipop". Jerry, tries to break it off with Osgood, telling him that, he can "never have children." Osgood, still is determined to go through with the marriage. Finally, Jerry removes his wig and shouts, "I'm a man!", where Osgood says... "Well, no body's perfect."

Video: Train scene.

Fun Facts:

Billy Wilder referring to Marilyn Monroe while making the movie: "We were in mid-flight, and there was a nut on the plane." Indeed, Wilder publicly blasted Monroe for her behavior, and she was not invited to the wrap party.

The resort scenes were filmed entirely at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, California. One reason why Billy Wilder chose this location was Marilyn Monroe's ongoing personal problems. He wanted a location where she could live on site and not have to be transported.

Tony Curtis has said that he asked Billy Wilder if he could imitate Cary Grant for his stint as the millionaire in the movie. Wilder liked it and they shot it that way. Apparently, Grant saw the parody of himself and stated, "I don't talk like that."

Marilyn Monroe was pregnant during the filming, as a result she looked considerably heavier. She had no known children and several miscarriages in her life. Due to her pregnancy, most of the publicity still photos were posed for by both Sandra Warner (who had an uncredited role as one of the band members) and Monroe's frequent stand-in Evelyn Moriarty with Monroe's head superimposed later.

The railroad passenger car that was used in this movie (Clover Colony) is now at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee where it can be used in excursion/local service.

When Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon first put on the female make-up and costumes, they walked around the Goldwyn Studios lot to see if they could "pass" as women. Then they tried using mirrors in public ladies rooms to fix their makeup, and when none of the women using it complained, they knew they could be convincing as women. There is a scene on the train recreating this moment.

Jerry Lewis was offered the role of Jerry/Daphne but declined because he didn't want to dress in drag. When Jack Lemmon received an Oscar nomination for the role that Lewis gave up, Lewis claims he sent him chocolates every year to thank him and now regrets not taking the part.

Monroe's Sugar, is very lovable, especially when she sings: Running Wild, I'm Through With Love and "boop-boop-a-doop" her signature song, "I Wanna Be Loved by You."

Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, were tastefully, hilarious playing a couple of drag queens.

Joan Shawlee (c.1929 - March 22, 1987). Her best known roles were small roles in Jack Lemmon and Billy Wilder films. Her most famous role was as, Sweet Sue in the 1959 comedy classic, Some Like It Hot, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon. She also performed as Sylvia in the 1960 classic, The Apartment, which also starred Lemmon. She performed as Amazon Annie in the 1963 sex comedy, Irma La Douce, which starred Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. She had a recurring role on TV in The Dick Van Dyke Show as Buddy's wife Pickles.

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956). The film, considered film noir, was the last American film directed by Lang.

Newspaper publisher Austin Spencer, who is against capital punishment, invites, novelist Tom Garrett, to witness an execution. Later, Austin explains to Tom, that he believes that Thompson, is using circumstantial evidence to win death sentences, because he wants to be the next governor.

Tom proposes to Austin's daughter Susan, and she wants to announce the wedding date, but Tom editor wants him finish his novel first. Austin, wants to find an unsolved crime, plant evidence that will point at a innocent man, then reveal at last minute that the evidence was planted.

Soon after, Austin reads in the newspaper that an exotic dancer, Patty Gray, has been strangled. Austin learns from a police detective, that Patty's friends, Sally Moore and Terry LaRue, saw her drive away with a man.

Tom meets Sally, after spilling a drink on her on purpose and later visits her at the club to offer to pay for cleaning her dress. Sally, is so thrilled to have a wealthy boyfriend that she does not notice when Tom takes her body makeup. Susan sees a picture of Tom and Sally, in the newspaper and questions him about the picture, then breaks off their engagement.

Tom and Austin, go to the scene of the crime, where Austin takes a picture of Tom leaving his cigarette case as a false clue. That night at the club, Terry worries that Tom may be Patty's killer, she decides to call police lieutenant Kennedy, to inform him about her upcoming date with Tom.

Austin, takes pictures of all his activities as proof of his innocence, Tom cleans his car of all fingerprints, applies body makeup to the car seats and leaves a stocking in his glove compartment. When Tom picks up Sally for their date, the police arrest him. The police interrogate Tom, who answers their questions truthfully. When he is indicted for murder, Susan wants Austin to intervene, and wonders why her father does not seem concerned.

Thompson is ready to try the case in court, but his assistant, Bob Hale, is in love with Susan and wants to help her prove Tom's innocence. At the trial, Thompson tells the court that Tom, proposed to Susan just five days before Patty's murder, and killed the dancer to hide his affair with her.

As "evidence," he talks about a large cash withdrawal Tom made from his bank on the same day that Patty went to work with a lot of cash, as well as pipe ashes found in Tom's garbage, even though Tom does not smoke.

As the jury deliberates, Austin heads over to Thompson's to reveal their plot, but.. along the way is hit by a car and all the evidence is burned. After Austin's death, Tom tells the true story to his lawyer, Jonathan Wilson, who tells the judge, but the judge cannot stop the trial. Susan and Jonathan, search Austin's safe for the pictures, but find none. When the police go through the burned photographs, Susan is convinced of Tom's innocence, and tries to convince the newspaper editors to sway public opinion in Tom's favor.

No pardon is granted and the night before Tom's execution, Susan begs Bob to investigate further. He learns that Patty, stole money from her boyfriend who then threatened to kill her. Unfortunately, the boyfriend died years earlier. A lawyer arrives at Thompson's office, with a just-discovered note that Austin left in his safe-deposit vault, which clears him of all guilt. But.. is he really Innocent?

I thought this was a very interesting film that it gets you thinking about how someone really could be killed for something they didn't do. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, also has one of the best final twists which comes as a complete surprise.

Please click here to read Patti's review on the film Beyond Reasonable Doubt.

Barbara Nichols (December 10, 1928 – October 5, 1976), began modeling for pinup magazines in the early-1950s. In the mid-1950s, she moved to Hollywood and began performing as second leads in films: Miracle in the Rain (1956), The King and Four Queens (1956), The Naked and the Dead (1958), The Pajama Game (1957), Pal Joey (1957), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), That Kind of Woman (1958), Where the Boys Are (1960).

Nichols was considered a minor rival to Marilyn Monroe, along with Jayne Mansfield, Mamie Van Doren, Cleo Moore, Greta Thyssen, Diana Dors and Sheree North. One of her few starring roles was in the 1965 science fiction film, The Human Duplicators.

Nichols was also a frequent guest star on many television series including: It's a Great Life, The Jack Benny Television Show, The Twilight Zone, The Untouchables, Batman, and The Beverly Hillbillies. Her last film was Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood in 1976.

The Green Glove(1952).

The Green Glove (1952). Starring: Glenn Ford, Geraldine Brooks and George Macready. Directed by Rudolph Mate. The movie was shot mostly on location in France and Monaco. It was based on actions that took place during Operation Dragoon.

In the village of St. Elizar, Father Goron, is happy to hear the church bells ring for the first time since they were stolen during World War II. As the villagers head towards the church, the priest finds a dead man in the bell tower.

Years earlier, just after the invasion of France, American paratrooper Lt. Michael Blake, hides an abandoned building where he finds German art dealer, Count Paul Rona. When Michael tries to arrest him, Rona bargains for his life, by telling him that the German Army will attack at dawn and he hides the bejeweled green glove, in Michael's backpack. A bomb explodes knocking Michael unconscious, when he comes to he finds that agents Countess and Pierre, have brought him back to their chateau. Michael, has the Countess's son, Robert, inform his Allies about the German's plans for attack. They hear the Germans have retreated and Michael realizes Rona lied to him. Soon after, people carry in Robert's dead body. Michael, insists that they keep his bag with the green glove.

Years later, Michael returns to Paris, hoping to find the green glove and sell it. On the Eiffel Tower, tour guide Chris Kenneth helps him escape from, Conrad Verno. When he sees her later, they spend the night together. Verno's dead body is found in Michael's hotel room. Soon after, Michael leaves for the train station. Faubert, has him followed, as does Rona, who is also searching for the glove. Chris surprises Michael by joining him on the train. They soon realize they are being followed, while on board, Pepe, kills Faubert's detective. Michael travels to the Countess's chateau and blames himself for its ruin. Rona, arrives with four of his men and tells them that they are suspected of the detective's murder. When, police arrive Rona's men make a run for it and Michael falls into one of the hidden rooms of the Countess and Pierre, who have rescued Chris. When Pierre hands Michael's bag back to him, the Countess, who still believes that Robert will return, sees the gauntlet and snaps back to reality.

Back on the road, the rain forces them to take shelter at an inn, where he sees Chris's picture in the newspaper. When he tells her he is going to turn himself in to save her, she locks him her room. The next day, he sends her to Monte Carlo, to find Rona and trick him into following Michael while he returns the gauntlet to the church. She is then to call Faubert, so he can catch Rona in the act of stealing the glove. Things do not go as planned and she is abducted by Pepe while Rona and his men go after Michael, who manages to jump the church wall and ring the bells. Rona, tries to stop him but, he is accidentally shot by his own men. As the priest finds Rona's dead body, Michael replaces the glove.

The settings and scenery of the mountains and the villages are my favorite part of the movie. The scenery of southern France creates a beautiful atmosphere.

Video: First of 5.

Geraldine Brooks(October 29, 1925 – June 19, 1977). Her father, James Stroock, owned a top costume company and mother, Bianca, was a costume designer and stylist. She attended the Hunter Modeling School as a young teen and graduated from Julia Richman High School in 1942 as president of her drama club. Older sister, Gloria Stroock, also became an actress.

In New York, Geraldine studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Art and the Neighborhood Playhouse before apprenticing in summer stock productions. In a pre-Broadway tryout of "Follow the Girls" (1944). Following her role, she was signed by Warner Bros. and made her film debut in the mystery thriller, Cry Wolf (1947) starring Barbara Stanwyck and Errol Flynn. In her second movie, Possessed (1947), she is at odds with Joan Crawford, but shows more sensitivity in this film-noir chiller.

Geraldine moved into dramatic lead with, Embraceable You (1948) opposite Dane Clark, and played daughter to real wife-and-husband team Fredric March and Florence Eldridge in, An Act of Murder (1948). Less impressive was the Warner Bros. "B" western, The Younger Brothers (1949) and her MGM loan out performance, Challenge to Lassie (1949).

After, she became a member of the Actor's Studio she performed in only two films, Street of Sinners (1957) and Johnny Tiger (1966). She made many performances guesting on popular TV series: "Perry Mason" (1957), "The Defenders" (1961), "Bus Stop" (1961) (for which she earned an Emmy nomination), the pilot of "Ironside" (1967) and the last final episode of "The Fugitive" (1963). A regular as Dan Dailey's secretary on, "Faraday and Company" (1973), she also appeared in, "Kung Fu" (1972), "Cannon" (1971), "Barnaby Jones" (1973) and "McMillan and Wife" (1971), the last in which sister, Gloria Stroock, had a recurring role as Rock Hudson's secretary. Her final movie was, Mr. Ricco (1975) alongside Dean Martin.

Act of Love(1953).

Act of Love(1953). Romantic drama directed by Anatole Litvak. Cast: Kirk Douglas, Dany Robin and a very young Brigitte Bardot. It is based on the novel, The Girl on the Via Flaminia by Alfred Hayes.

After Robert Teller, arrives in a small town on the French Riviera, he reaches the Hotel Belle Rive, where he requests a specific room. Soon, a woman, who happens by, joins him at an outdoor cafe table, where Bob, tells her about the first time he visited France during the U.S. Army liberation of Paris:

After fighting in the war, Bob returns to Paris, working as a clerk, in an Army office. Bob locates his friend Nina, who trades his German camera on the black market so he can pay for private room. When Nina, makes plans to move to Cannes, with an American captain, she tells Bob he can rent her apartment, as long as he will share it with her friend, Lise, a woman who has lost her family in the war. Lise, is not too happy that they must pretend to be married so that the owners, will allow them to stay there.

Lise, can not find employment and is about to pawn her necklace when she is caught up in a police round-up, but.. she is quickly released. Bob, has been pacing the floor in hopes that Lise will return home. Now, a couple, they visit the palace at Versailles and later attend a USO square dance.

While traveling home by subway, Lise tells him that the happiest time of her life, was during a family vacation at the Hotel Belle Rive and dreamed some day she would return.

Bob, is forced to return to the barracks, leaving Lise alone on the dark streets where she is rescued by Claude, who gives her a gift of a German bullet hanging on a chain.

The next day, military police come to the cafe and Lise, is ordered to show her documents with a magistrate. When Lise does not return, Fernand goes to see Bob at his office and tells him what must have happened to her. Meanwhile, Lise is documented and released. When, Lise returns home in a daze, she is attacked by Claude, who grabs her by the hair and threatens to cut it off. Bob, comes to Lise's rescue and promises to marry her.



When Bob, goes to get permission from his commanding officer Henderson, he refuses, thinking that Bob is making a mistake and has him transferred immediately. Bob, jumps off the transport truck, but.. is caught and is unable to meet Lise. A military police officer agrees to call Lise, to tell her what happened but.. Claude interferes and tells her she has been used. Broken hearted, Lise, walks to a bridge by the river and is gone. Kirk Douglas, gives a unforgettable performance and the ending was very sad and moving.

Fun Fact:

Kirk Douglas met his German wife-to-be, Anne Buydens, when she applied for a job as his assistant on the French location shoot for this film.

Dany Robin (14 April 1927 – 25 May 1995) was a French actress of the 1950s and the early 1960s who was married to actor, Georges Marchal.

She performed in the films: The Waltz of the Toreadors, Act of Love(1953), Follow the Boys (1963), and in Alfred Hitchcock's, Topaz (1969).

The Tall Target(1951).

The Tall Target(1951). Thriller. Directed by Anthony Mann. Cast: Dick Powell, Paula Raymond, Adolphe Menjou, Marshall Thompson.

Soon after the Presidential election, John Kennedy, a New York police officer, who also was Abraham Lincoln's bodyguard, believes there will be an assignation attempt, on President Lincoln's life, while he is traveling by train, on his way to his inauguration in Washington, D. C. Simon G. Stroud, his supervisor does not share his belief, so John takes matters into his own hands by boarding the, Night Flyer Express, headed for Baltimore and Washington. Kennedy's friend, Inspector Tim Reilly, was to meet him with his ticket and suitcase, but when Kennedy arrives, only his suitcase is there waiting for him.

When he goes to buy his ticket, Kennedy finds that they have all been sold out. As the train pulls out of the station, Kennedy sneaks on board. It is not long, before Kennedy, finds his friend's body. While searching the train for the killer, Kennedy meets Col. Caleb Jeffers, a Northern officer who, is also traveling to Baltimore.



Kennedy, sees a man wearing his coat and holding his gun. The man tells the conductor that he is Kennedy, the real Kennedy takes the conductor to Caleb's compartment, where Caleb identifies him as the real Kennedy. Soon after, he feels a gun in his back. The man then pushes Kennedy, to the rear of the train and when the train stops, tells him to get off. Kennedy, and the man get into a fight and Kennedy manages to get the gun from him.

As the train is about to leave, Caleb hears the sounds of the fight and shoots the man. After Kennedy and Caleb are back on the train, Caleb hands him a pistol and Kennedy tells him that before dying, the man said that he was to meet someone in car 27.

When they arrive, Kennedy and Caleb find Mrs. Charlotte Alsop, interviewing Rachel, the slave of Lance and Ginny Beaufort. Lance, is a officer in the Confederate Army, who shares his hatred for Lincoln. After the train stops in Philadelphia, Caleb and Kennedy return to their compartment, Caleb tries to shoot him, but Kennedy's gun is empty.

Shocked to find out that the man was Caleb's partner, and that Caleb was aiming at Kennedy, but.. hit his own man instead, Kennedy takes Caleb, into custody and turns him over to the Philadelphia police. Caleb, shows his military credentials and says that Lt. Coutler, at police headquarters, will vouch for him.

Lt. Coulter, arrives with a message from Stroud, saying that Kennedy, is not a member of the police force. After which, Kennedy goes into hiding, as the train starts moving, Rachel motions for Kennedy, to come to her cabin and tells him that Lance, is carrying a rifle with a scope. Ginny overhears them, slaps Rachel and then grabs the gun from Kennedy. After Ginny knocks Kennedy unconscious, he admits that he is one of the assassins plotting to kill Lincoln. Lance, then drags Kennedy to Caleb's compartment, where they tie him up.

When the train stops at Wilmington, a barber boards the train to shave Caleb. The barber, turns out to be an accomplice and explains the details of the assassination plot. As the train arrives in Baltimore, word comes that Lincoln's train has been diverted. Leaving Kennedy in Lance's custody, Caleb soon realizes that Lincoln, is hiding in Mrs. Gibbons' compartment. Caleb, writes "the man is on the train" in the dust of Lance's car window. After reading the message, Lance places Kennedy in Crowley's custody and leaves to find his rifle. Kennedy, overpowers his guard and goes to find Lance. As they struggle, Kennedy pushes Lance off the train . Soon after, Mrs. Gibbons identifies herself as an undercover agent with the War Department and congratulates Kennedy, on saving Lincoln's life.

If you are a Dick Powell fan, I think you will enjoy watching this exciting film, and what a strange coincidence that the policeman investigating a plot to kill Lincoln is named, John Kennedy.

Paula Raymond (November 23, 1924 – December 31, 2003). Earlier in her career, Raymond acted in many film noir thrillers such as, City That Never Sleeps, later in her career she went on to perform mostly in horror films.

In 1952, she performed in the film, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms. In the late 1950s and 1960 Raymond appeared in many television shows and low-budget horror movies including: Perry Mason, Hawaiian Eye, 77 Sunset Strip, and Blood of Dracula's Castle with Alexander D'Arcy and John Carradine. She turned down the role of saloon keeper Kitty, in the  western classic series Gunsmoke, the role went to Amanda Blake.

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957).

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957). Cast:Jayne Mansfield, Tony Randall, Betsy Drake, Joan Blondell, John Williams, Henry Jones, Lili Gentle, Mickey Hargitay, and a cameo by Groucho Marx. It was produced and directed by Frank Tashlin, who also wrote the original screenplay. The Broadway play ran from 1955–1956 and also starred Jayne Mansfield as Rita.

The film has many references to several of Jayne Mansfield's other roles: The Girl Can't Help It, Kiss Them for Me, and The Wayward Bus. The book Mansfield reads in the bathtub scene is, Peyton Place by Grace Metalious, which became a movie and a popular TV series, that is one of the first prime time soap operas.

The story begins when, a advertising agency is about to lose a very important account, Stay Put Lipstick. Rock comes up with the idea to get the most famous actress with the "oh so kissable lips", Rita Marlowe. But... to get Rita to endorse the lipstick, Rock has to pretend to be her new boyfriend to make her real boyfriend, Bobo Branigansky , the star of a TV Tarzan show, jealous. Bobo leaks the news of Rita's new romance to the tabloids and Rock Hunter, now becomes known as Marlowe's, "Lover Doll".

It does not take long before Marlowe, thinks she is falling in love with Hunter, but.. her true love is, George Schmidlap. Not being able to find Schmidlap, she goes after Hunter, even though her Secretary Vi, warns her that she is playing a dangerous game.

After Rock, becomes the company president, he quickly finds it is not what he really wants and goes back to his fiancee.

As Rita Marlowe opens her television spot for Stay Put Lipstick, she is surprised by the shows "surprise" guest star, George Schmidlap. Hunter, now free decides to become a chicken farmer, living happily ever after.

Tony Randall, was wonderful playing the everyman. Mansfield, is hilarious with her little high-pitched squeal, it's very cute and always funny. The supporting cast is also wonderful, especially Joan Blondell, who.. I absolutely love.

Fun Facts:

The name of Jayne Mansfield's character, "Rita Marlowe", is a combination of  Rita Hayworth, Jean Harlow, and Marilyn Monroe.

Rita Marlowe's screen credits - "The Girl Can't Help It", "Kiss Them For Me" and "The Wayward Bus" - have the same titles as three of Jayne Mansfield's films - The Girl Can't Help It, Kiss Them for Me and The Wayward Bus.

Rita's poodle is named "Shamroy," a reference to long-time Fox cinematographer Leon Shamroy - who, ironically, did NOT photograph this picture!

Adapted from a Broadway play that also starred Jayne Mansfield. "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" opened on Oct. 13, 1955 at the Belasco Theatre in New York and ran for 444 performances. The original Broadway cast included Orson Bean, Walter Matthau and Jayne Mansfield. Tina Louise and Tom Poston were replacement cast members.

Mamie Van Doren turned down the role of Rita Marlowe.

Jayne Mansfield (April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) . One of the leading blond sex symbols of the 1950s, Mansfield starred in several popular Hollywood films that emphasized her platinum-blond hair and figure.

While Mansfield's film career was short-lived, she had several box office successes. She won the Theatre World Award, a Golden Globe and a Golden Laurel. She's well-known for her starring roles in, The Girl Can't Help It (1956) and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957).

As the demand for blond bombshells declined in the 1960s, Mansfield performed in low-budget film dramas and comedies, but remained a popular celebrity. She is best known for the romantic-comedy, Promises! Promises!(1963), in which she appeared nude.

In her later career she continued to attract large crowds in foreign countries and in nightclubs. Mansfield had been a Playboy Playmate of the Month and appeared in the magazine several times.

The Second Woman (1950).

The Second Woman (1950). Film noir, directed by James V. Kern. Cast: Robert Young, Betsy Drake, John Sutton and Florence Bates.

The story begins when Major Badger, stops by one Sunday to warn Amelia Foster and her niece Ellen, that Jeff Cohalan, is a dangerous criminal. They find him unconscious in the garage, with the car engine running. Ellen remembers their first meeting: On a train to Pine Cliff, where Jeff meets Dr. Hartley, who is concerned about Jeff's problems with depression. In the dining car, he meets Ellen, who is going to visit her aunt, who lives next door to Jeff.

Later, at Ben Sheppard's office, where Jeff works there as an architect, another employee Keith Ferris, notices his forget fullness. Ellen meets with Jeff, on the beach and asks him to show her the house "Hilltop". Later, Ellen finds out that Jeff built the house for his fiancee, Vivian Sheppard, who was killed in a car accident, the night before their wedding. Ellen, finds herself attracted to Jeff, who's being haunted by unexplainable, harassment...or is it.. paranoia?

This is a better-than-average psychological thriller, where Robert Young gives a wonderful performance. The Second Woman, is a cross between the films, Rebbecca, Gaslight and Fountainhead, one of those movies you like to watch in the middle of a stormy night...

Video: Is the complete movie.

Florence Bates (April 15, 1888 – January 31, 1954) was a character actress who often played grande dame characters in her films.

Bates showed musical talent as a child, but a hand injury stopped her from continuing her piano studies. She graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in Mathematics in 1906, after which she taught school. In 1909 she met and married her first husband and gave up her career to raise their daughter. When her marriage ended in divorce, she began to study law and passed the bar in 1914, becoming at the age of 26 the first female attorney in her home state.

After the death of her parents, Bates left the legal profession to help her sister manage their father's antique business. She became a bilingual radio commentator whose program was designed to foster good relations between the United States and Mexico. In 1929, she closed the antique shop and married wealthy oil baron William F. Jacoby. When he lost his fortune, the couple moved to Los Angeles and opened a bakery.

In the mid-1930s, Bates performed in Jane Austen's, Emma. When she decided to continue working with the theatre group, she changed her professional name to that of the first character she played on stage. In 1939 she was introduced to Alfred Hitchcock, who cast her in her first major screen role, Mrs. Van Hopper, in the film, Rebecca.

Bates performed in more than sixty films over the next thirteen years. Among her credits are: Kitty Foyle, The Moon and Sixpence, Mr. Lucky, Heaven Can Wait, Mister Big, Since You Went Away, Kismet, Saratoga Trunk, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Winter Meeting, I Remember Mama, Portrait of Jennie, A Letter to Three Wives, On the Town, and Les Misérables. Bates had a regular role on The Hank McCune Show and made guest appearances on I Love Lucy, My Little Margie, and Our Miss Brooks.

Madeleine (1950). Based on a True Story.

Madeleine(1950) Directed by David Lean, based on a true story about Madeleine Smith, a young woman from a wealthy family who was tried in 1857 for the murder of her lover, Emile L'Angelier. The trial was "the trial of the century." Lean's adaptation of the story stars his then wife, Ann Todd with Ivan Desny as her French lover. Norman Wooland played the suitor, and Leslie Banks the father, who are both unaware of Madeleine's secret life.

The film begins with the purchase of a house in Glasgow by a well to do Victorian family. Their daughter, Madeleine, picks the bedroom in the basement. Here she will be able to secretly entertain her lover, Frenchman Emile L'Angelier.

It is not long before the couple becomes secretly engaged and L'Angelier asks Madeleine to tell her father so that they can marry. Madeleine, frightened of her father,  visits L'Angelier to say that she will run away with him. L'Angelier, says that he could never marry her in this way, and Madeleine realises that he does not love her for herself. She breaks off their relationship and asks him to send her letters back.

Madeleine's father has been encouraging her to accept the wealthy, William Minnoch, marriage proposal. L'Angelier, threatens to show her father the letters unless she continues to see him, Madeleine agrees.

Some weeks later, L'Angelier becomes ill, although he recovers, he later has another attack of the same illness and this time dies from arsenic poisoning.  L'Angelier's friend, points the finger at Madeleine, who is found to have had arsenic in her possession .

The remainder of the film covers the court case, at the end of which the jury bring the verdict.

The camera-work in this film is amazing, especially in the low camera angle on a closeup of the bottle of poison to make it menacing, while a girl sings a song about the death of a bird. I really did not see the chemistry between Madeleine and her two lovers, which makes it difficult to pick sides. Although.. I still think that the film is worth viewing.

Dorothy Anne Todd (24 January 1909, – 6 May 1993). Performed in films:  Perfect Strangers (1945), The Seventh Veil (1945). She maybe best known as Gregory Peck's wife in, Alfred Hitchcock's The Paradine Case (1947). She later produced a series of travel films. Todd was known as the "Pocket Garbo". She married director Lean in 1949 and starred in his films, The Passionate Friends (1949), Madeleine (1950) and The Sound Barrier (1952).

Hitchcock in the "50s"

I think my favorite Hitchcock films were made in the 50's. The first on the list being: Stage Fright( 1950). A British crime film directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock starring Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Wilding and Richard Todd, Alastair Sim, Sybil Thorndike, Kay Walsh, Hitchcock's daughter Patricia Hitchcock in her movie debut and Joyce Grenfell. The story was adapted for the screen by Whitfield Cook, Ranald MacDougall and Alma Reville (the director's wife), with additional dialogue by James Bridie, based on the novel, Man Running by Selwyn Jepson.

The story begins when actress Eve Gill, is interrupted during rehearsal by her good friend, actor Jonathan Cooper, who tells her that he is having a affair with stage actress/singer, Charlotte Inwood. He also tells her that Charlotte visited him after killing her husband wearing a bloodstained dress and he agreed to go back to her home to get her a clean dress. When he gets there he finds the body of Mr. Inwood then tries to simulate a burglary gone wrong, only to be seen by Charlotte's maid, Nellie Goode.
Eve, takes him to hide in a house near the coast owned by her father Commodore, who notices that the blood on Charlotte's dress has been smeared on deliberately and he and Eve believe that Jonathan has been framed. He does not believe them, destroying the dress the only evidence they have on Charlotte.



Eve posing as a reporter, bribes Nellie Goode to say that she has fallen ill and cannot work for Charlotte for a couple of days. Eve, then takes the temporary job. Soon after, Eve meets Detective Inspector Wilfred Smith. Even though they have become fast friends Eve, has not been able to get much info. about the case from him. Smith visits Eve and her mother at their home in London. They are later joined by the Commodore who drops hints that Jonathan has left their house by the sea.

Meanwhile... Charlotte continues to perform in her musical and is secretly visited by Jonathan who wants her to go away with him. Then tells her that he still has the dress with the bloodstain. Charlotte, tells him that she will not give up her career. The truth is she is having an affair with her manager, Freddie Williams.

Jonathan, goes back to thank Eve for her help, but she feels torn because she has fallen in love with, Wilfred Smith. Will she continue to help Jonathan prove his innocence, or is he...

I thought Jane Wyman, gave a very charming, interesting performance. Marlene Dietrich, also plays her part well, and Alastair Sim gives nice comic relief as the father to Wyman's character. Loved the scene of Eve and the Inspector in the back of the taxi and Hitchcock fans will love the surprise ending...

Fun Facts:

Featured is an original Cole Porter song, The Laziest Gal In Town performed by Dietrich in a sultry fashion. Costumes were designed by Christian Dior.

Stage Fright gained some adverse publicity upon its initial release due to the "lying flashback" which is seen at the beginning of the film. However, some film critics, including those of Cahiers du cinéma, see the flashback as simply being an illustration of one person's version of the events: the events as recounted by the character whose voice-over we hear, which was presumably Hitchcock's intention.

The film has a few extra-long takes, reminiscent of those that Hitchcock used in Rope (1948) and Under Capricorn (1949).

In the biography of Dietrich by her daughter Maria, she shares how Dietrich did not like Jane Wyman, because they were such opposites. Hitchcock, however, may have used this animosity to the film's advantage. At one point in the film, Dietrich compliments Wyman for a change in the way she dresses, when Wyman appears at the garden party.

Alfred Hitchcock's cameo is a signature occurrence in most of his films. In Stage Fright he can be seen 39 minutes into the film as a man on the street turning to look at Eve as she rehearses her scripted introduction speech to Mrs. Inwood.

Patricia Hitchcock O'Connell (born July 7, 1928). Born in London as the only child of film director Alfred Hitchcock and film editor Alma Reville, the family moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1939.

As a child, Hitchcock knew she wanted to be an actress. In the early 1940s, she began acting on the stage and doing summer stock. Her father helped her gain a role in the Broadway production of Solitaire (1942). She also acted in Violet (1944).

After graduating from Marymount High School in Los Angeles in 1947, she attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and also performed on the London stage. In early 1949, her parents arrived in London to make Stage Fright, Hitchcock's first English-made feature film since moving to Hollywood. Pat did not know she would have a walk-on in the movie until her parents arrived. Because she had a resemblance to, Jane Wyman. Her father asked if she would mind also doubling for Wyman in the scenes that required "danger driving."

She had small roles in three of her father's movies: Stage Fright (1950) in which she played a jolly acting student named Chubby Bannister, one of Wyman's school chums, Strangers on a Train (1951), playing Barbara Morton, future sister-in-law of Guy Haines (Farley Granger), and Psycho (1960), playing Janet Leigh's plain-Jane office-mate, Caroline, who generously offers to share tranquilizers that her mother gave her for her wedding night.

Pat Hitchcock also worked for Jean Negulesco on The Mudlark (1950), which starred Irene Dunne and Alec Guinness, playing a palace maid, and she had a bit-part in DeMille's The Ten Commandments.

As well as appearing in ten episodes of her father's half-hour television program, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Hitchcock worked on a few others, including Playhouse 90, which was live, directed by John Frankenheimer. Acting for her father, however, remained the high point of her acting career, which she interrupted to raise her children. (Hitchcock has a small joke with her first appearance on his show - after saying good night and exiting the screen, he sticks his head back into the picture and remarks: "I thought the little leading lady was rather good, didn't you?") She also served as executive producer of the documentary The Man on Lincoln's Nose (2000), which is about Robert F. Boyle and his contribution to motion pictures.

Next on the list.. Strangers on a Train (1951). By a chance meeting on a train, two men meet and talk about getting rid of people who are causing them problems in their lives. Problem is.. one of the men is serious. Farley Granger uses some elements of his performance in Rope, Strangers continued the director's interest in the possibilities of blackmail and murder. Robert Walker, was best known for "boy-next-door" roles, plays the villain in this film.

Fun Facts:

The stunt where the man crawled under the carousel was not done with trick photography. Alfred Hitchcock claimed that this was the most dangerous stunt ever performed under his direction, and would never allow it to be done again.

Alfred Hitchcock originally wanted William Holden to play the part of Guy Haines.

The train station scenes in Metcalf were filmed at the former New Haven Railroad station, Danbury, Connecticut, which is today the home of the Danbury Railroad Museum.

This was the last full feature for Robert Walker who died eight months after filming from an allergic reaction to a drug.

The character of Bruno was named after Bruno Richard Hauptmann, the convicted kidnapper/killer of the Lindbergh baby.

Film debut of Marion Lorne.

This is the movie that determined the location of Carol Burnett's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1951, she was working as an usher when this film was playing at the Warner Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. A couple arrived late, and Burnett, having already seen the film, advised them that it was a wonderful film that should be seen from the very beginning. The manager of the theatre very rudely fired her for this. Years later, when Carol Burnett was asked where she would like to have her star placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, she requested that it be placed in front of that theatre

Three very popular films starring Grace Kelly followed the first: Dial M for Murder (1954). was from the popular stage play by Frederick Knott. Ray Milland plays the villain, an ex-tennis pro who tries to murder his unfaithful wife Grace Kelly for her money. When she kills the hired assassin in self-defense, Milland manipulates the evidence to pin the death on his wife. Her lover, Mark Halliday, and Police Inspector Hubbard, try and save her from execution.





Fun Facts:

One of the best scenes is when Tony Wendice at a party, frequently looking down at his watch. It is already past eleven when he notices that it has stopped. He gets up from the table, hurries to the phone booth, has to wait there, and eventually calls his apartment after eleven o'clock, at the very moment Lesgate is about to leave. This is a race against time full of dramatic music, complete with a cut to the telephone exchange.

The courtroom scene: the camera is on Margot, using only various colored lights, and the people at a trial are only there in voice-overs, other than the judge when he is receiving his black cap.

The claustrophobic atmosphere of other Hitchcock films (Lifeboat, Rope, Rear Window) can also be found here. Most of the action is performed on a single set. The angle of the camera is also of interest, several times shot from a bird's eye view, other times shot low, so that the scene shows where the body was found.

Alfred Hitchcock's cameo, can be seen thirteen minutes into the film in a black-and-white reunion photograph sitting at a banquet table among former students and faculty.

Hitchcock then filmed, Rear Window (1954), starring James Stewart, Kelly, Thelma Ritter and Raymond Burr. Stewart's character, a photographer, is layed up with a broken leg and out of boredom he watching his neighbours across the courtyard, and becomes convinced one of them has murdered his wife. Stewart tries to convince both his girlfriend, and his policeman friend to to believe him, and eventually succeeds. Hitchcock used closeups of Stewart's face to show his character's reactions to all he sees, "from the comic voyeurism directed at his neighbors to his helpless terror watching Kelly and Burr in the villain's apartment".



Fun Facts:

The film was shot entirely at Paramount studios. There was also careful use of sound, including natural sounds and music drifting across the apartment building courtyard to James Stewart's apartment. At one point, the voice of Bing Crosby can be heard singing "To See You Is to Love You", originally from the 1952 Paramount film Road to Bali. Also heard on the soundtrack are versions of songs popularized earlier in the decade by Nat King Cole ("Mona Lisa", 1950) and Dean Martin ("That's Amore", 1952), along with segments from Leonard Bernstein's score for Jerome Robbins's ballet Fancy Free (1944), Richard Rodgers's song "Lover" (1932), and "M'appari tutt'amor" from Friedrich von Flotow's opera Martha (1844).

Hitchcock used costume designer Edith Head on all of his Paramount films.

Although veteran Hollywood composer Franz Waxman is credited with the score for the film, his contributions were limited to the opening and closing titles and the piano tune ("Lisa") played by one of the neighbors, a composer (Ross Bagdasarian), during the film. This was Waxman's final score for Hitchcock. The director used primarily "natural" sounds from the normal life of the characters in the film.

The third Kelly film, To Catch a Thief (1955), set in the French Riviera, paired Kelly with Cary Grant, who plays retired thief John Robie, who becomes the prime suspect for the robberies in the Riviera. An American heiress played by Kelly knows his true identity. The witty script and the good-natured acting proved a commercial success." It was Hitchcock's last film with Kelly. She married Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956, and the people of her new land were against her making any more films.

Fun Facts:

This was Hitchcock's first of five films in the widescreen process VistaVision. To Catch a Thief is unique in that it is the only Hitchcock film released by Paramount that is still owned and controlled by Paramount. The others were sold to Hitchcock in the early 1960s and are currently distribution with the exception to the "reversion to Hitchcock" rule was Psycho, which Universal bought directly from Paramount in 1968.

In this film Jessie Royce Landis plays Cary Grant's potential mother-in-law. In North by Northwest she would play his character's mother. In fact Grant was 10 months older than her.

This was Grace Kelly's final film for Hitchcock; she became Princess Grace of Monaco in 1956. Edith Head designed Kelly's clothes for the production, including a memorable golden ball gown. Hitchcock later tried to cast Princess Grace in Marnie (1964), but the citizens of Monaco expressed disapproval in her acting in another film; she later served as a narrator for at least two films.

Video: Alfred Hitchcock's cameo is a signature occurrence in most of his films. In To Catch a Thief he can be seen (10 minutes into the film) as a bus passenger sitting next to Grant.

Hitchcock remade his 1934 film, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), starring Stewart and Doris Day, play a couple whose son is kidnapped to prevent them from interfering with an assassination.

Fun Facts:

Music plays an important part in this film. Although the film's composer, Bernard Herrmann, wrote little "background" music for this film, the performance of Arthur Benjamin's cantata Storm Clouds, conducted by Herrmann, is the climax of the film. In addition, Doris Day's character is a well-known, now retired, professional singer. Several times in the film, she sings the Livingston and Evans song "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" which won the 1956 Best Song Oscar under the alternate title "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)." The song reached number two on the U.S. pop charts and number one in the UK.


Herrmann was given the option of composing a new cantata to be performed during the film's climax. However, he found Arthur Benjamin's cantata Storm Clouds from the original 1934 film to be so well suited to the film that he declined. Herrmann can be seen conducting the London Symphony Orchestra and singers during the Royal Albert Hall scenes. The sequence in Albert Hall runs 12 minutes without any dialogue, from the beginning of Storm Cloud Cantata until the climax, when Doris Day screams.

The Wrong Man (1957), was a black-and-white film based on a real-life case of mistaken identity reported in Life Magazine in 1953. This was the only film of Hitchcock's to star Henry Fonda. Fonda plays a Stork Club musician mistaken for a liquor store thief who is arrested and tried for robbery. Hitchcock told Truffaut that his lifelong fear of the police attracted him to the subject and was added to many scenes.



Fun Fact:

Alfred Hitchcock narrating the film's prologue. The only time he actually spoke in any of his films.

Vertigo (1958), starred Stewart, this time with Kim Novak and Barbara Bel Geddes. Stewart plays "Scottie", a former police investigator suffering from acrophobia, who develops an obsession with a woman he is shadowing. Scottie's obsession leads to tragedy.Vertigo, marked the last collaboration between Stewart and Hitchcock.

The film North by Northwest (1959). Thriller film, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason, and featuring Leo G. Carroll and Martin Landau. The screenplay was written by Ernest Lehman, who wanted to write "the Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures".

North by Northwest is a story of mistaken identity, with an innocent man pursued across the United States by agents of a organization who want to stop his interference in their plans to smuggle out microfilm containing government secrets .

This is one of several Hitchcock movies with a music score by Bernard Herrmann and features a opening title sequence by graphic designer Saul Bass.