Henry Sharp Movies
The meteoric popularity of Arthur Godfrey was allegedly the basis of the 1957 drama Face in the Crowd. Andy Griffith makes a spectacular film debut as Lonesome Rhodes, a philosophical country-western singer discovered in a tanktown jail by television talent coordinator Patricia Neal and her assistant Walter Matthau. They decide that Rhodes is worthy of a TV guest spot, the result being that the gangly, aw-shucks entertainer becomes an overnight sensation. As he ascends to stardom, Rhodes attracts fans, sponsors and endorsements by the carload, and soon he is the most powerful and influential entertainer on the airwaves. Beloved by his audience, Rhodes reveals himself to his intimates as a scheming, power-hungry manipulator, with Machiavellian political aspirations. He uses everyone around him, coldly discarding anyone who might impede his climb to the top (one such victim is sexy baton-twirler Lee Remick, likewise making her film debut). Just when it seems that there's no stopping Rhodes' megalomania, his mentor and ex-lover Neal exposes this Idol of Millions as the rat that he is. She arranges to switch on the audio during the closing credits of Rhodes' TV program, allowing the whole nation to hear the grinning, waving Rhodes characterize them as "suckers" and "stupid idiots." Instantly, Rhodes' popularity rating plummets to zero. As he drunkenly wanders around his penthouse apartment, still not fully comprehending what has happened to him, Rhodes is deserted by the very associates who, hours earlier, were willing to ask "how high?" when he yelled "jump". Written by Budd Schulberg, Face in the Crowd was not a success, possibly because it hit so close to home with idol-worshipping TV fans. Its reputation has grown in the intervening years, not only because of its value as a film but because of the novelty of seeing the traditionally easygoing Andy Griffith as so vicious and manipulative a character as Lonesome Rhodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, (more)
- 1957
Produced by Himan Brown (of radio's Inner Sanctum) and directed by John Newland (of TV's One Step Beyond), The Violators stars Arthur O'Connell as a rule-bound probation officer. When O'Connell refuses to loan $500 to his prospective son-in-law Fred Beir, the latter cooks up a swindling scheme to raise the money. This rash act causes O'Connell to realign his thinking insofar as his strained relationship with daughter Nancy Malone is concerned. The plight of the central character is subjugated to the film's central "juvenile delinquent" storyline, involving Beir and his youthful cohorts. Produced by RKO Radio, The Violators was distributed by Universal-International. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arthur O'Connell, Nancy Malone, (more)
- 1956
Yiddish Theater favorite Moishe Oysher heads the cast of the English-language Singing in the Dark. Oysher plays Leo, a concentration-camp survivor suffering from amnesia. He manages to ayed by Evelyne Cormand (acting) and Annie Feibermeyer (singing), and so forth. Because director H. W. Kolm-Vetee can't seem to make up his mind what approach to take with the material at hand, the audience is likewise confused. The English subtitles for Don Juan were written by film historian and essayist Herman G. Weinberg, best known for his biographical studies of Ernst Lubitsch and Erich von Stroheim. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Moishe Oysher, Joey Adams, (more)
- 1945
One of the most successful filmed biographies of the 1940s, A Song to Remember alleges to be the true story of Polish composer Frederick Chopin. Actually, it has about as much relation to truth as a Heckle and Jeckle cartoon, but with such gorgeous creatures as Cornel Wilde and Merle Oberon in the leads, who cared? Though Wilde, as Chopin, is the nominal lead, top billing goes to Paul Muni, hamming his way through the role of Chopin's mentor Professor Joseph Elsner. Reportedly, Muni developed his characterization long before shooting started, refusing to allow the performances of the other actors to alter his interpretation in the slightest. This may explain why Muni seems to be acting in a vacuum, frequently completely out of rhythm with the film and its characters. Otherwise, Cornel Wilde does a nice job as the tempestuous Chopin, whose patriotic fervency frequently takes priority over his music. Merle Oberon plays novelist George Sand, who despite her preference for male clothing proves to be "all woman" during her torrid, decade-long affair with Chopin. The film's money scene--the one that everyone talked about, keeping the picture "alive" long after its original release--occurs towards the end, when the tubercular Chopin begins hemorrhaging as he performs his Polonaise for the first time (Jose Iturbi is heard on the soundtrack, "doubling" for Wilde's ivory-tickling). Sumptuously photographed in Technicolor by Tony Gaudio and Allen M. Davey, A Song to Remember was the usually penurious Columbia Pictures' top production of 1945. Fifteen years later, the studio hoped to make lightning strike twice with its Franz Liszt biopic Song Without End, but the magic just wasn't there. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Muni, Merle Oberon, (more)
- 1944
One of Hollywood's favorite film titles (next to Never a Dull Moment and The Man Who Dared) is given another go-round with 1944's Till We Meet Again. Ray Milland stars as an American combat pilot forced to crash-land in occupied France. He is sheltered by nun Barbara Britton, who finds herself attracted to the brash flyboy. Britton poses as Milland's wife when the twosome becomes involved with the activities of the French underground. This being a 1944 film, it wouldn't do for Britton to renounce her vows in favor of connubial bliss, so someone (guess who?) has to conveniently die before the climax of Till We Meet Again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Milland, Barbara Britton, (more)
