Marjorie Hellen Movies
Green cheese? Men in the Moon? Nah, everyone knows that the moon is really populated by beautiful women wearing silk underwear and spiked heels. They are ruled by an evil temptress and share the moon with giant rock men and an enormous spider. Honest. Just watch this campy remake of Cat Women of the Moon and see for yourself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1958
This war drama is set during the Korean War and follows the exploits of four men and their tank as they fight their battles behind enemy lines. During their many skirmishes, they discuss their past romantic exploits. One of them is currently involved with an Army nurse. The four find themselves in a real bind when the tank breaks down against a cliff. One of the soldiers risks it all to sneak out and retrieve the needed part to fix the tank. It is a dangerous, exciting journey, but he succeeds and saves his buddies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Kelly, Marjorie Hellen, (more)
- 1956
The Opposite Sex is an opulent musical remake of Clare Booth Luce's The Women (1939). June Allyson stars in the old Norma Shearer role, playing the virtuous wife who loses her husband to scheming Joan Collins (as the Joan Crawford character). At first agreeing to a divorce, June decides to win hubby back by utilizing the same crafty feminine wiles that Joan had employed to lead him astray. Doloress Gray plays the counterpart to Rosalind Russell's vitriolic gossip. The original The Women boasted an all-female cast: the remake includes several male characters, played by the likes of MGM contractees Leslie Nielsen and Jeff Richards. Dick Shawn, Jim Backus and Harry James are also on hand, billed as "special guest stars." The satirical bite of The Women has been softened in The Opposite Sex, but musical fans should have a good time. Sammy Cahn, Nicholas Brodszky, Ralph Freed and George Stoll were among the songwriters; Collins, Allyson and Jeff Richards perform musical numbers in the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- June Allyson, Joan Collins, (more)
Having previously portrayed England's Queen Elizabeth I in 1939's The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, Bette Davis reprises the role in the Technicolor-and-Cinescope costumer The Virgin Queen. Harry Brown and Mindret Lord's screenplay proposes that Elizabeth's relationship with adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh (Richard Todd) was somewhat more than cordial. Raleigh is depicted as a charming opportunist, who deliberate leads the Queen on in order to further his chances of heading an expedition to the New World. Complications ensue when Sir Walter falls in love with lady-in-waiting Beth Throgmorton (Joan Collins). Not to be believed for a single moment, The Virgin Queen works well on a swashbuckler level, with Davis outacting everyone in sight-even such veteran scene-stealers as Herbert Marshall, Dan O'Herlihy, and Jay "Caligula" Robinson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Richard Todd, (more)
- 1955
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This 1955 period piece recreates the notorious events surrounding the murder of architect Stanford White by Harry K. Thaw. This famous homicide, later immortalized in E.L. Doctorow's novel Ragtime, transpired on the Winter Garden roof in full view of countless theater patrons. Joan Collins stars as Evelyn Nesbit Thaw, a single showgirl who grows enamored with the married White (Ray Milland). He takes her to his posh Manhattan loft and enjoys a dalliance with her that includes pushing her on the red velvet swing of the title. Later, Evelyn gets courted by Harry Thaw (Farley Granger, who - after whisking her off to Europe and wheedling her into marriage - suddenly turns out to be a complete nutcase, driven around the bend by violent jealousy and rage. He grows incensed at the memory of her affair with White, and decides to to take drastic action by shooting the architect; in the wake of the murder, Thaw builds a fantastic legal defense that permanently alters his fate. Few of the facts in this tawdry soaper are true to history, because, as Bosley Crowther famously pointed out in his Times review, Evelyn Nesbit Thaw was still alive at the time of this production and the filmmakers probably feared a libel suit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Milland, Joan Collins, (more)
