Olga Fabian Movies

The first person the audience sees in Ship of Fools is dwarf Michael Dunn, who speaks to viewers directly and acts as a Greek chorus throughout the film. It begins on the deck of an ocean liner travelling from Vera Cruz to Bremerhaven. The time is the 1930s, so close and yet so far from war. The cross-section of humanity on board includes ship's doctor Oscar Werner, Spanish political activist Simone Signoret, aging coquette Vivien Leigh, hedonistic baseball player Lee Marvin, philosophical Jew Heinz Ruhmann, a smattering of pro- and anti-Hitlerites (Jose Ferrer plays the nastiest and most vocal "pro") and young lovers George Segal and Elizabeth Ashley. Yes, it's Grand Hotel at sea, a feast for stargazers and an endurance test for those who aren't comfortable with non-stop speechmaking. Despite such lines as "What can the Nazis do? Kill all six million of us?," Ship of Fools manages to stay afloat throughout its 148 minutes. Michael Dunn was nominated for an Academy Award for his interlocutory characterization; the rest of the performances range from brilliant to merely filling up the room. Other Oscars were presented to cinematographer Ernest Lazslo and to the art-direction staff. Ship of Fools was adapted by Abby Mann from the novel by Katharine Ann Porter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director Alfred Hitchcock lets us know from the outset that The Wrong Man is a painfully true story and not one of his customary fabricated suspense yarns, through the simple expedient of walking before the camera and telling us as much (this introductory appearance replaced his planned cameo role as a nightclub patron). The real-life protagonist, musican Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero, is played by Henry Fonda. Happily married and gainfully employed at the Stork Club, Balestrero's life takes a disastrous turn when he goes to an insurance office, hoping to borrow on his wife's (Vera Miles) life insurance policy in order to pay her dental bills. One of the girls in the office spots Balestrero, identifying him as the man who robbed the office a day or so earlier. This, and a few scattered bits of circumstantial evidence, lead to Balestrero's arrest. Though he's absolutely innocent, he can offer no proof of his whereabouts the day of the crime. Lawyer Frank O'Connor (Anthony Quayle) does his best to help his client, but he's up against an indifferent judicial system that isn't set up to benefit the "little man". Meanwhile, Balestrero's wife becomes emotionally unhinged, leading to a complete nervous breakdown. As Balestrero prays in his cell, his image is juxtaposed onto the face of the actual criminal-who looks nothing like the accused man! Utilizing one of his favorite themes-the helplessness of the innocent individual when confronted by the faceless bureaucracy of the Law-Hitchcock weaves a nightmarish tale, all the more frightening because it really happened (the film's best moment: Fonda looking around the nearly empty courtroom during his arraignment, realizing that the rest of the world cares precisely nothing about his inner torment). Hitch enhances the film's versimilitude by shooting in the actual locations where the real story occured. His only concession to Hollywood formula was the half-hearted coda, assuring us that Mrs. Balestrero eventually recovered from her mental collapse (she sure doesn't look any too healthy the last time we see her!) Watch for uncredited appearances by Harry Dean Stanton, Bonnie Franklin, Tuesday Weld and Charles Aidman. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Originally slated for PRC release, Voice in the Wind was eventually distributed by United Artists. The film was directed by the estimable Arthur Ripley, a graduate of 2-reel comedies who aspired to bring art with a capital "A" to the cinema. Francis Lederer stars as Jan Foley, an amnesiac Czech musician who has suffered mightily under Nazi tyranny. Living under a new identity on the island of Guadalupe, Jan tries to recall his past life while working for crooked refugee-smuggler Angelo (Alexander Granach). During a moment of crisis which results in Angelo's death, Jan suddenly regains his memory. He hurries back to the bedside of his ailing wife Marya (Sigrid Gurie), hoping against hope that he won't be too late to start life anew with her. As one critic put it, the film "could be bluntly described as one of the pictures that is considered brilliant because everybody dies at the end." Though Arthur Ripley's self-conscious symbolism doesn't wear too well, Voice in the Wind deserves credit for going against the grain of conservative Hollywood assembly-line entertainment. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

With such charismatic villains as John Carradine and J. Carroll Naish on hand in PRC's Waterfront, who cares about nominal leading man Terry Frost. The story is set in the docks of San Francisco, where Nazi spy Carl Decker (Naish) poses as a harmless optometrist. Decker is aided and abetted by fellow goose-stepper Victor Marlowe (Carradine), who keeps the local German-Americans in line by threatening them with reprisals against their families. The film's "Maguffin" is a code book, which briefly falls into the hands of hapless hero Jerry Donovan (Frost) and helpless heroine Freda Hauser (Maris Wrixon). Evidently the only thing that can save Democracy is a falling out between Decker and Marlowe, and that's just what happens in the final reel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi