Last night we found an interesting psychological noir entitled "A Life at Stake"(1955). Keith Andes (father of Mark Andes, of Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne fame), stars as "Edward Shaw", a building contractor and architect. He's down on his luck when we meet him, living in a rooming house with only a hotplate to cook on, following the collapse of his company due to bad investments. He's brooding but buff, making his shirtlessness mandatory in the opening scene. He keeps a framed one thousand dollar bill as a reminder of flusher times, and also as a "break glass in emergency" source of funds if he wakes up and finds his wallet empty.
His fortunes rise when a man comes calling, representing "Gus Hillman" (Douglad Dumbrille) a wealthy real estate magnate who wants him to build a tract of homes in San Diego. The rep tells him he can make a bundle, but Shaw is skeptical. "The last man who told me that put me out of business." Nevertheless, the rep has a convincing spiel, and Shaw is talked in to meeting with Hillman's wife, "Doris" (Angela Lansbury, who was pretty slinky in her younger days.)
When Shaw arrives, the Hillman's maid answers the door. "Miss Doris swims in the nude. You'd better announce yourself before going to the pool." This of course serves to set up coy dialogue and immediate sexual tension. But Doris has more on her mind than lust. Concerning Lansbury, you can call this "Murder, She Planned" rather than Wrote. After seducing Edward Shaw (because her husband is old and disinterested) she sets up the housing deal. Husband Gus is out of town, but reappears when Doris advises Shaw of a necessary clause in his contract: "We need you to have life insurance." When he asks why, she says, "Well, because you're an irreplaceable designer. Me, I'm just a real estate agent. Anyone can replace me, but you? You're an artist, so to guarantee the deal, we've got to have you insured, it's common practice." A negotiation over how much coverage he'll accept takes place amid a make-out session. They settle on 175 Thousand Gees.
But then, Shaw is introduced to Doris Hillman's 21 year old sister, "Madge" (Claudia Barrett), a motormouth cutie who spills the family beans when Doris fails to meet her and Shaw for dinner at Don the Beachcomber. I mean, get outta town. Don the Beachcomber! How much cooler can things get?
Well anyhow, according to sister Madge, the deal with Doris Hillman is that she was married before, and that husband died by driving off a bridge. He had life insurance too, and she collected. "Oops, I said too much" says Madge. But now, Shaw suspects he's next, and being a paranoid guy to begin with, he starts checking the brakes on his car. Doris swears she loves him and isn't out to get him, and at first he believes her, but once he meets her creepy, garrulous husband he thinks they're in it together. He should've known you never take out a life insurance policy at someone else's insistence.
The key to this movie is Shaw's inward-directed suspicion of others. He doesn't trust people, and he doesn't trust that he doesn't trust them. Actor Andes has a good combination of eyes and forehead and uses the Furrowed Brow Effect to maximum advantage. When he and Lansbury make out, which is often, it looks like they're at war. As a side note, doesn't it drive you crazy when people pronounce it "IN-surance"?
Doris and her hubby have a chalet way up in Big Bear, with a patio that has a precipitous drop to your death. I've recently been Youtubing videos with drives over Decker Canyon and Angeles Crest Highway, two roads that have scared the beejeezus out of me in the past, and which I will never drive again, and this mountain road of the Hillmans should be a clue to Edward Shaw. You don't drive up on a road like that to meet about canceling your insurance policy. Gus Hillman then drugs Shaw's coffee. Good luck to him trying to drive home.
There are some really cool cars in this production, and good location shooting. The direction could be a little more taut, but the performances are very good. Two Big Thumbs Up and a strong recommendation. The picture is razor sharp. ////
The previous night, we had an unknown cult classic, "Devil Girl from Mars"(1954), which sounds As Corman As It Gets, but is actually an English knockoff of "The Day the Earth Schtood Schtill". A meteor has hit Skeertland, near Inverness, drawing a scientist and the reporter who gives him a ride. Adding to the surprise, a murderer has escaped from the nearby prison the same night. He runs through the fen to the Bonnie Charlie Inn, where he knows the barmaid and asks if she will hide him. "I'm innocent, I never killed anyone."
The meteor has also forced a hovering flying saucer to land. The special effects are good here, it's an awesome ship, complete with spinning ring atop and high-whine turbine sound. The patrons at the Inn are terrified. The reporter has only just now recognised the murderer, "Albert Simpson" (the excellent Peter Reynolds) who is using an assumed name, and now here comes the Martian gal "Nyah" (the angular Patricia Laffan), striding off her spaceship's ramp looking all dominatrix in a black latex cape, cowl and mini-skirt (in 1954!). Laffan has got a one-of-a-kind face, all eyes, cheekbones and long, blade-like nose. Here, as in the movies we've previously seen her, she's humorless but sexy and praying mantis deadly. She'll kill and devour you, after she's done ridiculing your existence.
In this case, she's come from Mars, because, as usual, they're running short on babies. Wars and atmospheric changes have depleted the population. One of the male patrons will be taken back to be used as a breeder. The rest of the patrons will be killed. Actress Laffan plays it straight and robotic/vampiric; she's all arched eyebrows and rigid posture but fluid motion. She's definitely not amused by silly humans, especially the geology professor who suggests Earth might have a science that's comparable to Mars. This really pisses her off: "You cannot compete with Mars!"
She's kind of a braggart, childlike almost: "Mars has this, Mars has that, na-nah-na-nah-nah."
She's also got a remote control that commands her big-ass robot, who - like Klaatu - has a refrigerator-sized body and can shoot photon balls that vaporize their targets. He walks mighty slow, but like The Mummy, he's unstoppable.
In the downtime (which is considerable; the movie should be 65 minutes instead of 76), Lives Converge as the Inn patrons square off to drink or fall in love. The barmaid (Adrienne Corri) has already fallen for Albert Simpson, the escaped killer. The reporter chooses "Ellen Prestwick" (Hazel Court), an American actress who just happens to be at a remote Scottish Inn when a UFO lands. The innkeepers have a crippled workman who Nyah vaporises with her ray gun, "because he was an unworthy specimen". Talk about your un-PC dialogue.
In the end, one man will have to sacrifice himself, to volunteer to go with Nyah back to Mars to make babies. She's already kidnapped the bar owners' little grandson to force their hand, but he escapes. The volunteer will attempt crash the spaceship. Two Bigs, but it needs 10 minutes cut. It's Patricia Laffan's movie which makes it a must-see, a sci-fi gem in its weird little way. The picture is widescreen and razor sharp. ////
Now, back to 1989 once again, an interesting post-Event detail is that Lillian wore a neck brace in December of that year. I was reminded of it after looking through an old photo album with pictures that show Lilly (looking very beautiful, serene and ladylike) holding two or three of Alice's puppies, Trixie mostly, in various pictures. The pups are in the palm of her hand, eyes still closed. They are tiny and certainly no more than a few days old. This would place the date of the photos at around Saturday December 2nd, as Alice had her litter on November 27th, 1989. In a side note, when word got out that Alice was delivering, a whole bunch of people showed up to watch, like Debbie L., Steve P., and the evil David Friedman. It was mostly my brother Chris's friends. I think Paul S. was there. Dennis was probably there too. Anyhow, the kitchen was full of 'em. I was on the floor with Alice, acting as a midwife (one puppy slipped under the refrigerator!) Alice had ten in all. But Lilly came over, very likely on the weekend of Friday Dec. 1 or Saturday Dec 2nd, and she had her neck brace on. I took photos of her holding the puppies.
She explained that she'd been rear-ended by (verbatim) : "Some Air Force guy", who she said "slammed into" her car. She said he was "really pissed off" at her for what he perceived as some driving mistake on her part. That's all she said about it, but in light of the fact that I was taken to Edwards North Base after being rescued from Jared Rappaport's house, it's interesting, to say the least, that Lillian was subsequently rear ended by Some Air Force Guy in such a close time frame. Was the rear-ending deliberate, and done as a threatening measure? Quite possibly, and probably without a doubt. Keep in mind that in 1994, five years later, the late, great, but extremely deceptive Dave Small was convinced that people were following him around. He wound up in the Northridge Hospital psych ward over it (and for other reasons), but that doesn't mean his suspicions were unfounded.
Was Lillian's accident with the Air Force Guy a coincidence? Not hardly not even, when one considers the involvement of the military at the Wilbur Wash (weird but true), and - again - the Edwards Air Force Base connection. Somebody was messing with her in the aftermath of The Event. I'm glad she was ultimately left alone, or at least I hope she was.
At any rate, another interesting detail, brought back by the perusal of old photos. ////
My blogging music tonight is Soft Machine's "Volume Two". My late night is Handel's Alessandro Opera. I hope your week is off to a good start and I send you Tons of Love as always.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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