Movie review - "Dr Gillespie's New Assistant" (1942) **1/2

 I've never seen a Dr Kildare movie - this was made after Lew Ayres had been given the boot for conscientiously objecting. So you had Lionel Barrymore interviewing three assistants - you kind of know that it's going to be Van Johnson, who got an early break in these movies, because he's the most regular guy, and he has charm. The other two are foreigners - Richard Quine as an Aussie (the movie's chief point of novelty, IMHO) and Keye Luke as an Asian (though born in Brooklyn).

Barrymore does his Barrymore thing in a wheelchair - kind of progressive to have a handicapped lead actor in a way, along with a prominent Asian actor. To make sure things don't get too commie Luke makes a joke about men being able to hit their wives and the doctors routinely betray female patient confidentiality.

There's a few subplots, a crusty old nurse, an admin guy, some orderly (nat Pendleton) up to no good. It's like a Student Nurses movie only without nudity.

The main plot involves patient Susan Peters - who is lovely - having memory loss, interfering with her marriage to some dude who I thought was going to be gaslighting her but it's benign and the docs figure it out via cobbled psychology.

Quine plays a doctor from Woolloomooloo and murders the Australian accent. I mean, he literally wrestles it to the ground. It's appalling and fascinating. He's studying tropical diseases. Cripes what a shocker of a performance.  But you can't stop watching. 

As an added bonus Shirley Ann Richards (billed without the "Shirley") pop up as an Aussie nurse. They meet, talk in slang, bond over how Americans can't understand them, which is funny actually, and fall in love straight away. I wish her part had been bigger or she'd played Quine's part. She's gorgeous and fun.

Luke is energetic. The handling of the film is clunky but it's done with MGM polish. Some attractive starlets in the background.

Movie review - "The Notorious Landlady" (1962) **

Odd fish. Jack Lemmon is an American diplomat in London who moves into a rental owned by landlady Kim Novak who is American. Fred Astaire is Lemmon's boss and Lionel Jeffries steals the film as a British cop. Turns out the rumour is that Novak killed her husband.

Some talented people - the script is credited to Larry Gelbart and Blake Edwards, Richard Quine directed. Lemmon acts his tail off. Novak tries as she always seemed to and is erratic in her way - charismatic, beautiful, poor then effective in the one scene and back again.  That English accent in her opening scene is pretty whiffy.

It doesn't work. I like these actors. It's a little all over the shop. Why is it in London? As a farce it's spread out. Is it funny? You could cut Astaire out of the film. Lemmon never believably falls for Novak, even if she does look good and goes topless in a bath (flashes a bare back - the times were a changin').

I mean it's got stars. It's not in colour. I don't know what to think or say. It annoyed me. Wasn't for me.

Movie review - "Strangers When We Meet" (1960) **1/2

 "Ah I'm successful at work but creatively dissastifised and my wife is a nagging bitch and I want to root my hot neighbour". There were a few films like these in the late 50s and 1960s based on best selling novels.

Kirk Douglas is the writer surrogate, a frustrated architect whose wife Barbara Rush has the gall to want him to do well in his career. He sees Kim Novak and pretty much puts the hard word on her straight away, asking her out to building sites. A less intense more "everyman" actor may have been more effective - someone like say Jack Lemmon or James Stewart or even old dying Gary Cooper.

It's got 1960 Hollywood gloss - widescreen, colour, stars, art deco, all that stuff. Richard Quine films from this period often offered such pleasures.

The Douglas character is a bit of a lech. I was pleasantly surprised how much sympathy the film showed the female characters. Novak says she's in love with Douglas, but it's clear she's lonely because her (gay? asexual?) husband doesn't want to touch her sexually. Novak's performance is variable as her performances tend to be. She's got that allure, body, insecurity, as well as the awkward line readings. There really was no star like her - charismatically awkward.

The real surprise is Barbara Rush who actually has the best part. I thought she'd be a nagging wife but she's not. She wants to do what's best for her husband's career and family, and she stresses their marriage is going wrong, Walter Matthau (who steals the film) sleazes all over her, she figures out what's going with Novak.

It's really hard to care about Douglas, with his hot wife, hot lover, famous client who agrees to his design, boss who offers him a dream job in Hawaii. I don't get the sense he and Novak love each other but it works dramatically because I think he wanted a root, and she was lonely.

Ernie Kovacs is Douglas' client. There's some odd subplots that don't quite work - Novak's mother had an affair and when Novak starts doing it she goes "it happened to you". The plot about a truckie who sort of date rapped Novak but not really (I think) and becomes obsessed with her feels underserviced.

Other things work better like the device of Douglas building Kovacs' house through the story.

So an interesting movie. Flawed. But there's stuff in it.

Movie review - "Bell Book and Candle" (1958) **1/2

 Kim Novak makes a very good witch for most of this - all sultry eyes and ethereal nature. She sets her cap at James Stewart and puts him under a spell and shenanigans ensue involving his fiancee (Janice Rule), her brother (Jack Lemmon), a wacky writer (Ernie Kovacs), and a housekeeper who is also a witch (Elsa Lanchester). 

Novak struggles a bit in the third act when she's required to actually fall in love with Stewart, but is she a film star as is he. It's got a glossy look, reminds me of the sort of thing my grandma used to love, old style sophistication. There's a comic cat.

Movie review - "Pushover" (1954) **1/2

 I thought this film was about cuddly Fred MacMurray being taken in by slinky dame Kim Novak but actually it's about stud muffin cop MacMurray seducing gangster moll Novak to try and find if her boyfriend robbed a bank. That's a strong idea as is the fact Novak may be playing him. She became a star with this and while her lack of ability is clear she also has charisma and is well protected by director Robert Quine.

There's a dull subplot about MacMurray's fellow cop Phil Carey romancing Dorothy Malone - one of these should've been shonky. I like the subplot about the drunken cop who has morals and EG Marshall is superb as the head cop.

Surprisingly little of Novak on screen - she's a lot at the beginning not so much later on. Lovely black and white photography.

The film is decent. Lacks another plot. Like Double Indemnity had the daughter and her boyfriend - something like that. The gangster boyfriend maybe vanishes too early - they could've used him more. Or made Dorothy Malone bad, like I suggested.

Movie review - "The World of Suzie Wong" (1960) **1/2

 Big hit for William Holden - and actually I think it was his last one until The Wild Bunch. He scored with interracial romance in Love is a Many Splendored Thing only here the race is a genuine non white actor, Nancy Kwan, stepping in for Frances Nyen.

It's glossy, in colour, widescreen, location filming in Hong Kong. The sexiness was, at the time for a Hollywood film, cutting edge although apparently reduced from the play. It helped that it was set in Hong Kong - not too confronting, what goes on tour etc. 

The piece struck a chord as a novel, play and film. There's a fantasy I think of running off to the Orient, painting and having a hot Asian hooker fall in love with you. And the girl is such a child like idiot maybe she's  not too threatening to white female audiences. That's just a theory - but I know some women who enjoy this film. Feels mean to kill her baby at the end. It gives the piece some emotional kick I suppose but strewth.

There's some racist Poms for Holden to be superior to - and some nice Poms so the British market doesn't get too upset. Michael Wilding is quite funny as a businessman who visits the brothels (Ron Randell played this role on Broadway). Sylvia Syms copes well in a thankless part as Woman in love with Holden. She just kind of hangs around and is encouraging. 

Nancy Kwan does have charisma. Holden was starting to look old but he's got X factor too. Weird to imagine a young William Shatner played that role on Broadway - a young person would've given it a totally different dimension.

It drags in places but there's enough nice photography and colour. I have nostalgic affection for these pieces they remind me of Saturday night movies from Bill Collins.