Christina Gregg was back in last night's film, a crime drama called "Rag Doll"(1961). Gregg plays "Carol", an inexperienced teenager, who works for her drunken stepfather in his cafe in small town England. As the movie opens, a leather-jacketed thug enters the establishment. He's big, has a smirk on his face, and grabs Carol by the waist before laughing and moving on to the counter, where her stepdad "Flynn" (Patrick Magee of "Clockwork Orange" fame) is drying dishes.
The thug hands Flynn a bottle, his payment for looking the other way, then waits for Carol to enter the back room, where he tries to rape her. Fortunately for Carol, a Good Samaritan is near. "Wills" (Patrick Jordan), a regular customer, is eating his supper in the corner when he hears Carol's screams. Rushing back there, he pulls the thug off her, and after the Ensuing Punchout - in which the thug is knocked cold - he returns to finish his supper.
Carol quits on the spot, telling her stepdad off. "And I'm leaving here, too. You've got no hold on me; you're not even my real father". Wills offers her a ride in his truck. "I'm going to London, but do you know anyone there"? Carol doesn't. She's never been to London, nor anywhere outside her environs, but she tells Wills not to worry. "I've got 150 bob, I'll be okay. And I've always worked, I know I'll find a job". It's not Carol's work ethic that worries Wills, however, but her naivete about people. "Remember, I'm just over in Soho if you need me", he says when dropping her off, giving her his home address. "Thanks, and thanks for everything", she replies. "If you hadn't been there, back at the cafe, I don't know what I'd have done".
Tentative amid the bright lights of London, Carol walks toward a kitchy section for tourists. Ahead is a fortune teller's stall. She enters. "Auntie Sophista" (Hermione Baddeley) is closing for the night, but promises to read her fortune in the morning. As she's escorting Carol out, a watchful policewoman gives them the eye. "Auntie", a protective sort, immediately switches to familiar conversation, pretending she's Carol's relative. She knows Carol is a runaway. "They'll take you in if you've been reported", she informs her.
Auntie offers to let Carol stay at her flat. She's a genuinely nice woman from the carnival trade. Carol accepts, but before going home, Auntie takes her to a club, run by a friend of hers named "Mort Wilson" (Kenneth Griffith). Mort is struck by Carol's innocence and afraid for her welfare. He wants to protect her, but he's also smitten. After hiring her as a waitress at his club, he starts to make advances. Mort's a gentleman, not pushy, but he's twice Carol's age, balding, and lacks pizazz. He does have plenty of money, however (he owns four clubs), and thus represents stability. She falls for Mort temporarily, until one night when "Johnny Shane" (Jess Conrad) walks in.
Johnny's an aspiring pop singer, tall and very handsome (resembling a beefcake Tom Cruise). The look in his eye indicates he's entirely sure of himself, and when he sings his latest song Carol's entranced. Later, they meet and fall madly in love. Mort tries to warn her, "that Johnny boy's not genuine. He's not telling you what he's up to". Auntie is also outraged : "My god girl! Are ya gonna throw away your life for that pretty boy"?
But in true teen angst fashion, Carol won't listen to a word. Soon she's engaged to Johnny and pregnant with his child. Then they marry. Too late she discovers he's a thief, a B&E artist. He tells Carol, "you'll never have to worry about money". "But Johnny, I don't want it that way", she replies. "What about your singing career"? "Carol, you don't understand the business. Now that we're married, the agents will push me aside. They can't sell me to hopeful teenage girls. But it doesn't matter, don't you see? Because money has never been my problem. I can get us all we'll ever need".
Mort tries to warn Carol that Johnny's an ex-street gang member, and possibly violent, but it's too late. Johnny sets up a robbery to net them enough cash to move to France, "where we'll live happily ever after! And you'll never have to work again". He wants her to see him as a "good provider". But when he heads out to pull off the burglary, we see he's at Mort's mansion. Johnny despises Mort and vice versa. Now he's gonna get his revenge by stealing Mort's money (cash in the safe) and run off with the girl Mort covets.
But it won't be quite so simple when Mort catches him in the act and pulls a gun.
"Rag Doll" is a crime drama rather than a thriller, but like "Don't Talk To Strange Men", which we saw and reviewed last week, it's a vehicle for Christina Gregg. She's exceptionally beautiful and good in these types of roles, playing sweet but naive young girls. One thing worth mentioning : when Johnny first appears at Mort's nightclub to sing his new song, he's backed by a combo of two guitars, piano, bass and drums. They look and sound professional, playing the kind of light pop that dominated in the late 50s and early 60s, before The Beatles changed the world. Christina Gregg's character "Carol" even remarks, "what a great band". After the movie was over, I checked the credits on IMDB, wanting to see who they were, and lo and behold it was The Dave Clark Five. That's reason to see the film right there! And this was in 1961, when The Beatles had not yet been signed. They were still in Hamburg, so the DC5 were in the movies first. Two Big Thumbs Up for "Rag Doll". See it on a double bill with "Don't Talk To Strange Men". These British crime flicks of the early '60s are top notch. /////
The previous night's movie was "Panic"(1963), a thriller that focused on the human element rather than plot twists and turns. It was gritty rather than eccentric, and there were no tone shifts into playful comedy or black humor as we've seen in other recent films of the genre. As it opens, we're given a foreshadowing of the conclusion - a young woman, eyes wide, runs down a darkened street. Her head turns side to side, is someone behind her? She runs toward the camera, then turns in another direction, arms flailing. She's in a state of panic. A jazz score wails away to emphasize this point.
In the next scene, we're back in real time. The same woman is in an apartment she shares with her boyfriend, a sullen lout who plays the trumpet. You surely wouldn't want him for a neighbor, as he blares full-blast bleats that could shatter an eardrum. After declaring his love to "Janine" (Janine Gray), by telling her he'd kill any man who tried to steal her, he tells her of his latest scheme : "Look, I can make 6000 pounds a year blowin' my horn, which ain't bad. But it's chicken feed compared to this job I've got lined up. I'll never have to work again, and neither will you". Sound familiar? That's exactly what Johnny told Carol in "Rag Doll". The trumpeter is also named "Johnny". I sense a theme here....
Janine's aware that Johnny's a small time crook, but this time his scam involves her and she isn't happy. She tries to talk him out of it, to no avail. His plan is to rob the jewelry exchange where Janine works as a secretary. Being as she's half-German and is fluent in the language, Johnny gets the brilliant idea to have two of his associates impersonate German jewel merchants. Because Janine's boss - the exchange owner - doesn't speak German, he will need to have her present to interpret. A rare and valuable diamond is presently stashed in the safe. She will tell the boss the "merchants" wish to see it. When it's brought out, they will produce their guns and make off with the priceless gem. Janine will not be suspected because she was merely "interpreting".
The scam goes wrong, however, when the German impersonators kill the exchange owner. There wasn't supposed to be any shooting, but now that it's happened they decide to knock Janine unconscious. When she awakens, she has no memory of what's happened, but finds an envelope on the floor. One of the thugs must've dropped it on his way out. It's got an address on it. Janine pockets it and leaves, her mind still fuzzy. She takes a bus to the address on the envelope, and cautiously knocks on the door. A man answers, looking scruffy and wearing a Van Dyke beard. He's an artist and this is his studio. "Excuse me", Janine begins, "but I was asked to deliver this envelope". She's making it up as she goes along. "Oh"?, he replies. "And who sent you? Who's it from"? "That's just it", Janine tells him. "I got hit on the head and can't remember". It sounds fishy to the artist, who invites Janine in for a cuppa tea, but after opening the envelope he gets rid of her. "Where's the rest of it? Where's the rest of it"!?, he mutters to himself. The artist is Johnny's brother. He was going to act as the fence for the stolen diamond. But the envelope only contained part of his payment. He's pissed off, and eager to get in touch with Johnny. Meanwhile, Janine is wandering the streets, uncertain of even her name.
Her first stop is a seedy hotel, where she signs in with a "Jane Doe" alias. The owner, thinking she's a prostitute, tries to take advantage of her. Luckily there's a behemoth present to knock him out.
On the run now, Janine enters a cafe. Some Beatniks start to hit on her, and get grabby. Lucky for Janine, there's a Good Samaritan present (sound familiar?). "Mike" (Glyn Houston) has been drinking in the corner, but gets up and dispatches the hipsters in rapid fashion. Turns out he's a professional boxer. Mike takes Janine under his wing, and back to his apartment, where - instead of exploiting her for sex - he tries to help her regain her memory.
You keep waiting for twists (is Mike really a good guy?) but there aren't any. It's not that kind of film; it's earnest. Mike is offered a boxing match where he's supposed to take a fall, a crooked fight, but he doesn't cooperate and ends up getting the daylights beaten out of him going the distance. He does this to win a wager and get some money for Janine. He's a sincere man, in opposite to the trumpeter Johnny, a lowlife scrounger of the first order.
The coppers are on the trail as well, and have discovered the body of Johnny's brother, the artist and jewel fence. He's been murdered, but by whom? A figure model gives them eyewitness testimony.
The bottom line? "Panic" isn't like the other thrillers we've seen. It's going for realism over style, and has the element of the beaten hero, like in "On the Waterfront" where the guy coulda been a contendah. In short, there's no cleverness involved, it's just a straightforward story, but a good one.
Directed again by John Gilling, who would go on to make the all time horror classic "Plague of the Zombies". I give "Panic" Two Big Thumbs Up and loved it's gritty tenor. Glyn Houston is forthright as Mike, Dyson Lovell surly as Johnny, and Janine Gray carries the picture as her namesake. ////
That's all for the moment. I'm behind in the blogging schedule but once again I'll get caught up. I'm off work now for several days, which will allow for ample writing time, and some hiking too (oh boy!). Hope you're having a great day. I send you tons and tons of love as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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