Suzanne Alexander Movies

This Spanish only film tells the age old story of a young woman falling for an older man. ~ All Movie Guide

The Solid Gold Cadillac was adapted from the George S. Kaufman-Howard Teichmann Broadway hit of the same. Both the play and film were predicated upon the notion of a humble ten-share stockholder triumphing over a corrupt big-business board of directors, but there was one significant difference. In the stage version, septuagenarian Josephine Hull starred as Laura Partridge, a sweet little old lady who asks several embarrassing questions at a stockholder's meeting. In the film version, Laura's age is lowered by at least four decades to accommodate star Judy Holliday. In both versions, a romance develops between Laura Partridge and Edward L. McKeever, the owner of the corporation she takes on. McKeever (played in the film by Paul Douglas, Holliday's co-star in the Broadway version of Born Yesterday) is an honest man, which is more than can be said for his self-serving board of directors (Fred Clark, John Williams, Ray Collins et. al.) With McKeever's covert help, Laura, who has been given a dummy executive position in the corporation in hopes that she'll shut up, forms a stockholder's association intent upon throwing the rascals out. Though the dialogue in Solid Gold Cadillac is consistently entertaining, the film's best line goes to Judy Holliday: Describing her brief career as an actress in a Shakespearean troupe, she recalls ruefully that "No one's allowed to sit down unless you're a king." George Burns, taking over from the stage version's Fred Allen, provides the wry scene-setting narration. Currently available TV prints of The Solid Gold Cadillac have restored the original Technicolor final shot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Evelyn Nesbit Thaw, the real-life personality so brilliantly (albeit briefly) portrayed by Elizabeth McGovern in Ragtime (1981), is given the full biopic treatment in 20th Century Fox's The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing. Since the real Mrs. Thaw served as technical advisor for the film, it isn't surprising that the controversial Evelyn comes across as being more sinned against that sinning. Joan Collins stars as Evelyn, the gorgeous chorine and original "Gibson Girl" who becomes the romantic bone of contention between ageing architect Stanford White (Ray Milland) and slightly unbalanced young millionaire Harry K. Thaw. Setting up Evelyn in a plush apartment, the lecherous White insists that she "perform" for him on the red velvet swing of the title (allegedly, Evelyn swung naked above the slavering White, though she's fully clothed in the film). Eventually, Thaw marries Evelyn, but cannot prevent White from continuing his romantic overtures. Things come to a head in 1906, on the roof of Madison Square Garden. As Evelyn sings and dances in a stage musical, the insanely jealous Thaw walks up to White, pulls out a pistol, and, in full view of the audience, pumps several bullets into the older man. Though Thaw manages to avoid the gallows by pleading insanity (he was eventually released), Evelyn's reputation is permanently besmirched, leaving her little choice but to capitalize upon her notoriety on the vaudeville stage (actually, Evelyn pursued a moderately successful film career before losing all her money to bad investments in the 1920s). By purifying the character of Evelyn Nesbit and thoroughly vilifying Stanford White, The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing is hardly 100 percent accurate; still, the film is immensely entertaining, thanks to the enthusiastic performances of the three stars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Coadapted by The Gordons from their novel Case File FBI, Down Three Dark Streets stars Broderick Crawford as a no-nonsense FBI agent. Hoping to avenge the death of his partner Kenneth Tobey, Crawford almost single-handedly takes on the three investigations which Tobey had been pursuing. One involves a gang of car thieves; the second concerns a fugitive gangster; and the third deals with an extortion racket. Of the three leading ladies--Martha Hyer, Ruth Roman, Marisa Pavan--Ms. Pavan turns the most fascinating performance as the blind witness to a murder. The climax is staged around the fabled "Hollywood" sign that dominates the hills bordering the film capital. Most of the production personnel involved with Down Three Dark Streets would later set up shop at Dick Powell's Four Star Productions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lana Turner stars in this musical/romantic comedy amalgam from director Mervyn Leroy. Turner plays Nora Taylor, a wealthy heiress who finds herself seeing a psychiatrist because she can't decide whether she is loved for herself or her money. When her rich boyfriend (John Lund) takes off for Brazil, Nora tags along with him, hinting that the trip will improve their relationship. But once in Brazil, her boyfriend seems more interested in business dealings than love. As she waits around for her disinterested suitor, she meets a handsome Latin millionaire (Ricardo Montalban), and his charm makes her fall for him immediately. While this relationship is coalescing, Nora's boyfriend is beginning to notice her vivacious secretary Anne Kellwood (Jean Hagen). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide