Mary Loos Movies

This forgettable piece of 1950s sleaze stars Cleo Moore as a voluptuous blonde who becomes a successful commercial photographer. Richard Crenna, making a major break from his TV image as Our Miss Brooks' Walter Denton, plays a reporter who takes a special interest in Moore's career. The beauteous picture taker becomes involved in a blackmail plot when she goes to work for a Confidential-type magazine, nearly losing her life to mobsters. It was the opinion of many contemporary reviewers that the title Over-Exposed referred not to the photographs taken by Moore but to the generous amounts of cleavage displayed by the actress' low cut gowns. Though Cleo Moore has become a "cult" favorite thanks to her appearances in the turgid melodramas directed by Hugo Haas, Over-Exposed demonstrates that her minimal acting talent vanished altogether without Haas' guiding hand. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Like so many other films that were once considered "lewd" and "scandalous", The French Line seems as harmless as Pollyanna when seen today. Essentially a remake of The Richest Girl in the World, the film stars Jane Russell as Mary Carson, an incredibly wealthy Texas oil heiress. Lucky in investments but unlucky in love, poor Mary can never keep a fiance: either they're fortune-hunters or they don't want to marry anyone so rich and powerful. Thus, while on an ocean voyage to France, Mary poses as the model of dress designer Annie Farrell (Mary McCarthy), hoping to attract a man who is interested in her for herself, and not her millions. That man turns out to be dashing stage star Pierre (Gilbert Roland), but there's many comic complications and misunderstandings before the happy ending. What shocked the censors in 1954 was Jane Russell's sizzling musical number "Lookin' for Trouble", in which she performed an uninhibited bump-and-grind while wearing nothing more than a seven-ounce glorified bikini. While Ms. Russell herself was offended by her skimpy costume, she saw nothing wrong with the dance itself, pointing out that she intended it as a parody of a "burleycue" number. The professional blue-noses disagreed, however: the film was condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency and denied a Production Code Seal. Eventually, producer Howard Hughes got the Seal--along with a million dollars' worth of free publicity, which is what he intended all along. Filmed in 3D, The French Line is the film that was ballyhooed with the classically tasteless ad campaign "J.R. in 3D--It'll knock both your eyes out!" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This tuneful remake of 1937's The Awful Truth centers on the rocky marriage of a philandering composer and the wife who has her fill and decides to get even by having an "affair" of her own. Actually, hers is quite innocent. Unfortunately, her husband doesn't known this and the couple get a divorce. But somehow, beneath all their anger, the two are still in love and show it by trying to make the other jealous at every opportunity. The wife allows a handsome Alaskan tycoon to court her while the composer uses a pretty young woman. Of course, it doesn't take the pair too long to realize the awful truth and reunite. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

I'll Get By is an updated remake of the 1940 20th Century-Fox musical Tin Pan Alley. William Lundigan and Dennis Day play William Spencer and Freddie Lee respectively, successful song publishers who make hits out of such numbers as "I Got a Gal in Kalamazoo", "Deep in the Heart of Texas", "You Make Me Feel So Young", "There Will Never Be Another You", and other favorites (the rights to all of these songs were conveniently held by 20th Century-Fox). The partnership has some hard times, especially during the feud between ASCAP and the radio networks, when only public-domain songs like "I Dream of Jeannie" were permitted to be broadcast. Still, Spencer and Lee remain pals throughout, while the boys' romances likewise weather the years. Steve Allen makes a rare film appearance as a wisecracking disc jockey (what a stretch!) while Harry James, Jeanne Crain, Reginald Gardiner, Victor Mature and Dan Dailey show up in uncredited cameos. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A rare comedy from director John Ford, this story about a WWII soldier trying to gain some respect is based on the published war memoirs of Sy Gomberg. Bill Kluggs (Dan Dailey) is the first man in his small West Virginia town to enlist, and his father Herman (William Demarest) and the locals give him a big sendoff. But Bill returns from boot camp, assigned to be a gunnery instructor at a new air base in his hometown. While other boys go off to war, Kluggs becomes a local laughingstock. When a bomber pilot falls ill, however, Kluggs replaces him on a secret mission. He falls asleep on the plane and bails out over the French countryside. Found by Resistance fighters, Kluggs accompanies them on a dangerous mission to take pictures of a German V-2 base. To get him out of the country, the Resistance fighters then stage a mock wedding between Kluggs and the fetching Yvonne (Corinne Calvet), whom Kluggs hates to leave behind when he flees to London. Returning home after only a few nights away, Kluggs is attacked by his own father, who mistakes him for a spy. The townsfolk suspect that he deserted the service and heap more scorn on him. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Clifton Webb recreates his Sitting Pretty role as Mr. Lynn Belvedere, the World's Greatest Genius. Belvedere discovers that he is ineligible for an honorary award because he never attended college. So he enrolls as a freshman in a major university, becoming the target for "hazing" from obnoxious upper classman Alan Young. The middle-aged Belvedere rapidly builds himself into Big Man on Campus, which complicates his intention of remaining incognito while attending college. Journalism major Shirley Temple likewise threatens to blow Belvedere's cover by writing an article about him for a major magazine. Before earning his college degree (four years' worth of study in six months!), Belvedere plays Cupid for Temple and her estranged boyfriend Tom Drake. Mr. Belvedere Goes to College proved successful enough for a follow-up film, 1951's Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western comedy, a milquetoast gunsmith from the East Coast goes to Arsenic City, Arizona because he has heard that everybody their carries guns. His trip West is an exercise in misfortune. Everything that could go wrong on the journey, does. At least he meets a pretty woman, also en route to Arsenic City. She goes there in search of her late father's gold mine. They fall in love and work together to find her father's killer and reclaim the mine. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this musical, the fourth entry in a five-film series, three singers come together to form a nightclub act. Their songwriter falls for the female. They become a hit and are soon signed to appear in Hollywood musicals, but when the female becomes a star, the group disbands. Songs include: "Chiquita from Santa Anita," "Is There Anyone Here from Texas?" "I Guess I'll Have That Dream Right Away," "Couldn't Be More in Love," "The Customer is Always Wrong," "The Cats Are Going to the Dogs," "Brooklyn Buckaroos," and "Out California Way." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Allan Dwan directs the family-oriented drama Driftwood, starring nine-year-old Natalie Wood. Orphan Jenny Hollingsworth (Wood) is found in a rural small town in Nevada that is ravaged by Rocky Mountain fever. She meets the local doctor, Steve Webster (Dean Jagger), who is working on a research project. Steve plans on leaving the girl with his girlfriend, Susan Moore (Ruth Warrick), while he goes to San Francisco to do research. However, enny's dog attacks a little boy and gets taken away by Sheriff Bolton (James Bell). Jenny develops Rocky Mountain fever from the dog and gets deathly ill. Also starring Walter Brennan as Murph, Charlotte Greenwood as Mathilda, and Jerome Cowan as Mayor Snyder. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Student Tour looks like an MGM musical two-reeler that was expanded to feature length as it went along. Charles Butterworth and Jimmy Durante are teamed respectively as fey philosophy professor Lippincott and brash athletic coach Hank. The two comics shepherd a co-ed college rowing team on a world tour, with orders to keep the team's rowdy captain Bobby (Phil Regan) out of trouble. Lackluster leading lady Maxine Doyle co-stars as Ann, a plain-jane who takes off her glasses at a Monte Carlo masquerade ball and wins BMOC Bobby for her very own. Ann also brings the story to a rousing conclusion by substituting for the cockswain in the climatic rowing race, urging the team to victory with a peppy song-and-dance. Nelson Eddy also shows up to sing "The Carlo," a pulsating number obviously inspired by "Bolero." The film's giddy highlight is "Taj Mahal," in which a group of pretty students (including a young Betty Grable) go swimming in the pool of the famous Indian shrine! According to studio publicity, a crop of genuine college coeds were hired to play the students in Student Tour, but to the trained eye they sure look like standard Hollywood extras and bit players. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide