Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Movie review - "No Down Payment" (1957) **

 Sex in the suburbs - at least that's what I'm assuming Phil Yordan wrote and attracted producer Jerry Wald, but director Martin Ritt was more interested in the economics. 

Lots of acting. Mixes older Fox contract players (Jeffrey Hunter, Sheree North) with newer ones (Joanne Woodward) and method types (Pat Hingle). Fun to see Tony Randall in a serious role. 

The male roles are better than the female - Randall is a drunken salesman, Cameron Mitchell a war veteran, Pat Hingle worries whether to help an Asian workmate. Woodward has some fun as Mitchell's boozy wife. Patricia Owens has a full on breakdown scene after she's raped by Mitchell.

Too diffuse to be effective -too many characters to follow. Still, of interest, especially the characters of Mitchell and Randall.

When Owens is raped Hunter listens for about five secods then goes to attack Mitchell - but Mitchell easily overpowers him. That's interesting. 

The ending has all the characters go to Church. Life in the suburbs seems very depressing.

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