Barrie Chase Movies
Barrie Chase entered movies professionally in the second half of the 1950s, and was the last performer to achieve stardom as a dancer for the next two decades -- until Debbie Allen came along. The daughter of screenwriter and novelist Borden Chase, Barrie was born in 1934 in New York, before her father had made his move to Hollywood (and, in fact, before he was Borden Chase). Her mother was the pianist Lee Keith. Raised in California after her father entered the movie business, she attended the Westlake School and thought there was little special about working in movies. Her main interest from the age of three was dancing and athletics, including swimming, and while still a student at a local ballet school (and barely into her teens), she was picked out of a group of girls to appear in a dance sequence in the MGM Technicolor swashbuckler Scaramouche (1952). The experience left her unimpressed and she ultimately settled on dancing as a career, but her shy nature prevented Chase from pursuing it too diligently. She turned up in the Goldwyn production of Hans Christian Andersen (1952) and the dream sequence in Daddy Long Legs (1955), where she first worked (albeit very briefly) with Fred Astaire.It was director/producer Dick Powell who first took note of Chase and pulled her out of the chorus in The Conqueror and gave her a small role in You Can't Run Away From It (both 1956), his musical remake of It Happened One Night. She was then back in the chorus for the Fred Astaire/Cyd Charisse vehicle Silk Stockings when choreographer Jack Cole came to her and said that Astaire wanted to meet with her. The veteran actor/dancer/singer was preparing his first network television special, An Evening With Fred Astaire. The performing legend was so pleased with the results that he invited Chase to work with him on his next special; in effect, she became Astaire's last dancing partner in a series of broadcasts that were seen by tens of millions. She did a stage act in Las Vegas that was choreographed by no less a figure than Hermes Pan, and 20th Century Fox used her in a short sequence in Mardi Gras (1958) with Pat Boone. After that, she was offered a seven-year contract, which Chase accepted, and she next worked in Can-Can (1960).
Alas, Chase had the bad fortune to come to Hollywood just at the point when dancers were becoming unnecessary to most of the productions. She was in The George Raft Story (1961), starring Ray Danton, and that was all she did that year. It fell to Gregory Peck, who had seen her on television, to request Chase for a small part in Cape Fear (1962); Stanley Kramer also used her for a dance number involving Dick Shawn in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). She was in a dream sequence -- and, for all of that, was the only woman in the movie -- in Robert Aldrich's adventure film The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), and did occasional television work, including an episode of Bonanza entitled "The Ballerina," written by her actor/screenwriter brother Frank Chase. She left movies later in the '60s after marrying a wealthy medical entrepreneur, but reappeared in the public eye briefly in the late '70s, when John Travolta -- after watching some of Astaire's TV specials -- approached her about working with him during the making of Grease (1978). ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1989
A dance instruction series from the Fred Astaire Studios, with instructors Lee and Peggy Santos. ~ All Movie Guide
Based on Elleston Trevor's novel, The Flight of the Phoenix opens with a well-staged plane crash in the middle of the Sahara desert. The pilot (James Stewart) and the navigator (Richard Attenborough) do their best to maintain order among the survivors, a group of oil men not well-suited for survival in the desert wastes. Some of those who appear to be the most resourceful reveal themselves to be inept or cowardly, while other less prepossessing types -- notably bespectacled Standish (Dan Duryea) -- demonstrate surprising inner reserves of strength. The ultimate fate of the survivors rests in the hands of Heinrich Dorfmann (Hardy Kruger), who uses the wreckage of the old plane to design a new one. The Flight of the Phoenix was dedicated to the memory of veteran stunt pilot Paul Mantz, who was killed while filming the take-off scene of the new plane. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, (more)
- 1965
Dancer Barrie Chase, best known for her appearances on the TV specials of Fred Astaire, guest-stars in this Bonanza episode, written by her brother Frank Chase. Hoss Cartwright takes it upon himself to rescue racuous Kellie Conrad (Barrie) from dancing in saloons as her father Ned (Douglas Fowley) fiddles. Thanks to Hoss, Kellie realizes her dream of becoming a prima ballerina, with famed ballet master Paul Mandel (Warren Stevens as her mentor. One of the weaker Bonanza episodes, "The Ballerina" first aired January 24, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
- 1963
- Add It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World to QueueAdd It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World to top of Queue
With this all-star Cinerama epic, producer/director Stanley Kramer vowed to make "the comedy that would end all comedies." The story begins during a massive traffic jam, caused by reckless driver Smiler Grogan (Jimmy Durante), who, before (literally) kicking the bucket, cryptically tells the assembled drivers that he's buried a fortune in stolen loot, "under the Big W." The various motorists setting out on a mad scramble include a dentist (Sid Caesar) and his wife (Edie Adams); a henpecked husband (Milton Berle) accompanied by his mother-in-law (Ethel Merman) and his beatnik brother-in-law (Dick Shawn); a pair of comedy writers (Buddy Hackett and Mickey Rooney); and a variety of assorted nuts including a slow-wit (Jonathan Winters), a wheeler-dealer (Phil Silvers), and a pair of covetous cabdrivers (Peter Falk and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson). Monitoring every move that the fortune hunters make is a scrupulously honest police detective (Spencer Tracy). Virtually every lead, supporting, and bit part in the picture is filled by a well-known comic actor: the laughspinning lineup also includes Carl Reiner, Terry-Thomas, Arnold Stang, Buster Keaton, Jack Benny, Jerry Lewis, and The Three Stooges, who get one of the picture's biggest laughs by standing stock still and uttering not a word. Two prominent comedians are conspicuous by their absence: Groucho Marx refused to appear when Kramer couldn't meet his price, while Stan Laurel declined because he felt he was too old-looking to be funny. Available for years in its 154-minute general release version, the film was restored to its roadshow length of 175 minutes on home video; the search goes on for a missing Buster Keaton routine, reportedly excised on the eve of the picture's premiere. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, (more)
After an eight-year prison term for rape and assault, Max Cady (Robert Mitchum) is set free. Immediately making a beeline to Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck), the former prosecutor responsible for Cady's conviction, Cady laconically informs Sam that he intends to "pay back" the attorney for his years behind bars. Conducting a meticulous campaign of terror, Cady is careful to stay within the law. Sam, realizing that Cady intends to wreak vengeance by raping the attorney's wife (Polly Bergen) and daughter (Lori Martin), tries to put the ex-criminal behind bars, but has no grounds to do so. Chief Dutton (Martin Balsam) tries to help Sam with a few strong-arm tactics, but succeeds only in having the courts take Cady's side in the matter. Things come to a head when Sam moves his family to the "safety" of a remote houseboat on Cape Fear river. Cady shows up unannounced and is about to ravage Bowden's wife and daughter and when Sam turns the tables. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, (more)
- 1961
This is an interesting biography of the actor known for his gangster roles in films, and though Ray Danton plays the part of George Raft without looking like him in the least, he is still convincing in his mannerisms. Without getting into any in-depth plumbing of the actor's life, the story begins with the young Raft making his way in New York as a dancer and rubbing shoulders with underworld figures. Then he goes to Hollywood where he eventually finds fame in the film Scarface and gets typecast as a gangster. Tiring of this persona but unable to do very much about it, Raft's career starts to decline for quite a awhile before his success in Some Like It Hot. Along the way, his relationships with five different women are pictured in the briefest fashion. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Danton, Jayne Mansfield, (more)
- 1958
Vicki Gaye (Cyd Charisse) is a dancer at a night club in early 1930's Chicago. A healthy cynic who still possesses some ideals, she entertains no illusions about the "invitation" (or the $100 that goes with it) that she gets to a party hosted by mob kingpin Rico Angelo (Lee J. Cobb) -- but she still won't let Angelo's head torpedo Louis Canetto (John Ireland) get near her. Angelo's attorney Thomas Farrell (Robert Taylor) is another story -- he's a more complicated than the men he defends, and still enough of an idealist so that when he and Vicki cross swords about who is the worse hypocrite, it actually affects him. Farrell, whose right leg has been crippled from birth and getting worse, took the easy way to success by pursuing a criminal practice, including getting Canetto off a murder rap -- but after meeting Vicki he starts to see another path to take, and also embarks on a year of surgical procedures to cure the worst of the pain in his leg. And he comes out a new man, with a new plan in life, including starting over in a practice that doesn't involve criminal law. But Angelo plans on having Farrell fight an old friend, prosecutor Jeffrey Stewart (Kent Smith), who is trying to indict Angelo's associate Cooky La Motte (Corey Allen). Farrell resists, until Angelo threatens to harm Vicki -- and when the case and the trail blow up in both sides' faces, he finds himself caught between the mob and the law, with Vicki urging him to do the right thing. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Taylor, Cyd Charisse, (more)
- 1958
The only reason for the existence of the colorful musical 3DMardi Gras3D is the star power of Pat Boone. The plot is set in motion when a group of Virginia Military Institute cadets organize a raffle: the "prize" is French movie star Michelle Marton (Christine Carere), queen of the New Orleans Mardi Gras. On his own, cadet Pat Newell (Pat Boone) meets and falls in love with Michelle, not knowing her true identity. The cause of True Romance is nearly compromised by the raffle and by Hollywood publicity hacks, but by film's end everything works out fine. The film is deftly stolen by supporting actress Sheree North, who also performs the film's best musical number, "That Man." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat Boone, Christine Carère, (more)
- 1958
Bing Russell, the father of film star Kurt Russell, is here cast as Andy Dawes, a mentally retarded man who is accused of murder. Hoping to save Andy from a lynching, the town's sheriff (Kurt Swenson) turns to Paladin (Richard Boone) from help. It soon develops that Andy has little idea why he has been jailed--but the sheriff's lady friend Julia Grayson (Barrie Chase) knows more than she is letting on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Silk Stockings, a musical version of the 1939 Greta Garbo film Ninotchka, was adapted for the stage by George S. Kaufman, Leueen McGrath (the then-Mrs. Kaufman) and Abe Burrows, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The Broadway production, starring Hildegarde Neff and Don Ameche, ran 478 performances. The 1957 film version cast Fred Astaire as a movie producer and Cyd Charisse as dedicated communist functionary Ninotchka. In the original 1939 film, Ninotchka was sent from Mother Russia to Paris to check up on three commissars, who in turn had been ordered to retrieve a fortune in Czarist jewels. This time the commissar trio, played by Peter Lorre, Jules Munshin and Joseph Buloff, have been dispatched to Paris to reclaim defecting Soviet composer Wim Sonneveld. Since Astaire wants the composer to write the songs for his newest musical, he plies the commissars with wine, women and song, dissuading them from their mission. When Ninotchka shows up to retrieve the errant Russians, Astaire turns on the old charm with her as well. She gradually succumbs to the combined lures of romance and capitalism, but returns to Russia when she believes that Astaire has thrown her over for film-star Janis Paige (delivering a hilarious take-off of swimming star Esther Williams). But Astaire convinces her that he truly loves her, and all is well. Most of the Cold-War comedy in the Broadway production of Silk Stockings remains intact in the movie version (Soviet official George Tobias, seeking information on his predecessor, looks up the man's record in "Who's Still Who"). Also surviving virtually untouched is the Cole Porter score, including "All Of You," "A Chemical Reaction," "Without Love," "Satin and Silk," "The Red Blues," "Stereophonic Sound," and the rollicking "Siberia" (which offers the spectacle of a singing, dancing Peter Lorre!) Watch for Fred Astaire's future TV-special partner Barrie Chase as one of the dancers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, (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)
White Christmas, Paramount's belated follow-up to the 1942 hit Holiday Inn, was the studio's first VistaVision production. A veritable warehouse full of oldie-but-goodie Irving Berlin tunes are woven into the film's simplistic plotline, along with a handful of new songs, of which "What Can You Do With a General?" is the least memorable. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye (replacing an ailing Donald O'Connor) play nightclub entertainers Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, while Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen are cast as singing-sister act Betty and Judy. The foursome travel to Vermont to visit Bob and Phil's WII commanding officer, General Waverly (Dean Jagger, who looks and sounds like Dwight D. Eisenhower!), who now runs a rustic old inn. Discovering that the general is in dire financial straits, the four entertainers secretly make plans to bail the old guy out with a big musical show, enlisting the aid of Bob and Phil's army buddies. Corny in the extreme, White Christmas evidently struck a responsive note with film fans; it was the high-grossing picture of 1954, and a decade later proved to be a ratings bonanza when it was given its network-TV premiere. Of the four stars, Crosby comes off best, especially when singing the title song at the beginning and end of the film; Kaye is a bit overshadowed this time out, though he's quite funny camping it up in a "drag" version of Irving Berlin's "Sisters." Still a big favorite on the home-video circuit, White Christmas may not be the best Bing Crosby musical on the market, but it's certainly one of the most heartwarming. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, (more)
