Last night's movie was "Never Look Back"(1952), an English courtroom drama about love, loyalty and a woman's honor. In earlier decades, England, even more than America, was very conservative when it came to the social mores of unmarried women. Solicitor "Anne Maitland" (Rosamund John), serious about her career, turns down the marriage proposals of colleague "Nigel Stewart" (Hugh Sinclair). "I wouldn't make a good wife for you. I'd be too busy in court." Nigel doesn't give up, however. "All right, my dear. I'll propose again tomorrow." He's clearly in love with her, but she seems to have a man in her past who's still on her mind, and lo and behold, that man, "Guy Ransome" (Guy Middleton) lets himself into her flat shortly after Nigel leaves, using a spare key hidden in her planter.
Guy seems a self-assured chap, tall and thin with a Bridge Over the River Kwai mustache. We gather that he and Anne were once an item; she's not shocked that he let himself in, and though she asks him to leave as soon as he finishes his drink (which she willingly pours), she ends up offering him to stay the night, provided he sleeps on the couch.
He's got a scratch on his face, which she treats with ointment. Knowing he's a ladies man, she asks, "Which alley cat gave you that one?" The culprit was his actress girlfriend, a tempestuous type. Guy departs in the morning, but comes rushing back just as Anne leaves for work. "Anne! I have to talk to you right away! She's dead! I just found her body!" He's referring to his girlfriend, the one who scratched him, but when Anne asks him, "Did you call the police?" Guy answers that he did, but only after hesitating and walking around "in a daze" for half an hour. Then he lied to them, telling them he slept in the park the night before, instead of the truth that he spent the night at Anne's apartment. "I did it to protect you. Your career would be ruined if it came out you were with a murder suspect." Yes, it's a murder. The gitlfriend has been shot, and the cops suspect Guy, because of his scratched face. Also, he was seen arguing with the woman at a party earlier that night. Soon he's charged with her murder. Anne becomes his defense lawyer, and in so doing, further alienates her suitor and fellow lawyer Nigel Stewart, who - in a screenwriter's twist, becomes the prosecutor in the case. Now, he's working directly against Anne and her client Guy, with extra motivation to convict him, as he sees Guy as his romantic rival.
The last 45 minutes of the 73 minute film takes place in the courtroom, with Anne skillfully defending (and protecting) Guy. They agree to keep their night together a secret, even though he only slept on her couch. Prosecutor Nigel has all the witness testimony on his side, including the fact that it was 34 degrees on the night in question, not conducive to sleeping in a park (as Guy claimed), and not one single person saw him there anyway, including the night watchman. But several witnesses saw him at the party, including a female impersonator. Finally, a brash bimbo is brought in as an undeclared witness to say that she saw him enter Anne's building! Now she has to recuse herself from the case, which is taken over by her assistant, and she becomes a defense witness and admits, at the stake of her reputation, that she and Guy spent the night of the murder together. That's what the film is really about, more than the crime. This is 1952, and unmarried women, especially in England, and especially professional women, absolutely did not have a man overnight (or if they did, they made sure no one saw).
I won't reveal the jury's verdict on Guy Ransome, but the mystery is riveting and warrants Two Big Thumbs Up with a very high recommendation. Who doesn't love a good courtroom drama? The picture is very good. ////
The previous night, we began one of the most legendary of chapter serials,"Radar Men from the Moon"(1952), which introduced Commando Cody to a nation of wide-eyed matinee-aged boys. Man, what a time to be alive: 1952! The Cold War was heating up, Ivy Mike was detonated, Ike was in the White House and Joseph Stalin was still alive. Accordingly, what an opening chapter! Things are looking bad on Earth: Electrical towers are being downed by the dozen. Dams are blown up, trains derailed. It's positively Mabusian. Who is doing it, and with what weapons? Washington thinks it's atomic bombs and ray-guns, but from what country? "Commando Cody" (George Wallace) advises the generals otherwise. From the trajectory of the blasts, he thinks the attacks are coming from "One of the cities on the Moon". Cue Richard Hoagland: "Told ya so!" He's been writing about the Ancient Glass Domes for a while now (and it's no joke). But yeah, Commando Cody agrees, and schedules a trip up there in his rocket ship. His crew includes his sidekick "Joan Gilbert" (Alice Towne), who some of the men don't want along on the trip (they think it's too dangerous), until she reminds them she can cook: "How else are you going to eat?" But before they can leave, someone starts blasting away at trains coming out of the Chatsworth Park tunnel. We see two gents in cheap suits hidden under a tent with a large ray-gun on a tripod. They blast one train, then drive to the Simi Valley side to blast another. Commando Cody actually says, "Someone's just destroyed a train in the West Valley." Wow!
He puts on his rocket suit and flies there, beats the two guys up, finds out they're hired hench-humans for the men on the Moon, and he flies to the Moon (with crew) to confront their leader "Retik" (Roy Barcroft), who wears a body hugging guru get-up that looks like he's trying out for The Seeds in 1963. Retik the Moon Guru explains that the atmosphere there is too thin to grow food, so they plan on taking over our joint: "And there's little you can do to stop us. Our lunarium (a radioactive element) is far more powerful than your uranium." Several big-league punchouts ensue as the Commando and his troupe try to foil the Moon men (and I love how, with all this technology, they always resort to fistfights and pistols). This is only the first chapter, but man...it's some legendary stuff that gets Two Huge Thumbs Up. The picture is razor sharp. ////
I'm now entering the final draft of each of my two upcoming books, which are companion pieces you might say. Each final edit (the third draft of both) will take a month to six weeks. One book clocks in at about 260 pages, the other will be around 300-325. One is a true story, the other a novel based on true stories. Both should be ready for publication as early as mid-July, but probably mid-August is more like it. And that'll be the hard part because I know absolutely nothing about getting a book published. Still, we'll get it done one way or the other. And then we'll start a new book in September. That's the schedule, and I can't wait til people get a chance to read the two upcoming ones, because they aren't at all what anyone might expect from yours truly. Anyway, that's all the advance notice for now. The next notice will come when they are done. In the meantime, anyone know any agents?
My blogging music tonight is "Demons and Wizards" by Uriah Heep (one of the greatest albums ever made), and my late night is Handel's Acis and Galatea Opera. I wish you a great start to your week and I send you Tons of Love as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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