Jack Moss Movies

There were some theatres in 1946 that refused to display the anagramatic title of this film on their marquees: it was, after all, no secret that the letters S.N.A.F.U. did not precisely stand for "Situation Normal, All Fouled Up" as the studio insisted. Based on a stage play by Louis Solomon and Harold Buchman, Snafu details the misadventures of Ronald Stevens, a teenaged boy who is honorably discharged from the Army when it is revealed that he was too young to enlist. By the time he returns home, Ronald has become so acclimated to the military that he can't readjust to civilian life. In his final film appearance, Robert Benchley does a nice, subtle job as Ronald's flustered father, but Vera Vague (aka Barbara Jo Allen) seems to be having trouble with the role of the the mother. And yes, that is the same Conrad Janis who later played Pam Dawber's dad on TV's Mork and Mindy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Orson Welles' followup to Citizen Kane (1941) was utterly different from Kane in style and texture, but just as brilliant in its own way. Writer/director Welles does not appear on camera, but his voiceover narration superbly sets the stage for the movie's action, which fades in valentine fashion on Amberson Mansion, the most ostentatious dwelling in all of turn-of-century Indianapolis. Its mistress is the haughtily beautiful Isabel Amberson (Dolores Costello). When Isabel's beau, erstwhile inventor Eugene Morgan (Joseph Cotten), inadvertently humiliates her in public, she breaks off the relationship and marries colorless Wilbur Minafer (Donald Dillaway). The neighbors are certain that, since Isabel can't possibly love Wilbur, she will spoil her children rotten. As it turns out, she has one child, George Minafer (Tim Holt), and that one is enough as far as the rest of Indianapolis is concerned. There are those who live for the day that the arrogant, insufferable George will get his comeuppance. When George returns home from college, his mother and grandfather (Richard Bennett) hold a gala reception in his honor. Among the guests is the older-and-wiser Eugene, now a prosperous automobile manufacturer, and his pretty daughter Lucy (Anne Baxter). George takes to Lucy immediately, but can't warm up to Eugene, especially after learning from his uncle Jack Amberson (Ray Collins) and his maiden aunt Fanny (Agnes Moorehead) that Eugene and Isabel had once been sweethearts. After the death of Wilbur Minafer, the widowed Eugene feels emboldened enough to propose to Isabel again. This time she is willing, but the obstreperous George refuses to allow his mother to see Eugene. His imperious bullheadedness will lead to tragedy for all concerned--and, at long last, a chastened George Minafer will indeed receive his comeuppance. The film's real villain is not George but that old intangible bugaboo called "Progress." As the automobile age comes to fruition, the elegant, cloistered lifestyle of the Ambersons fades from view, finally disappearing altogether. This is superbly foreshadowed in the "winter outing" sequence (filmed in an L.A. icehouse) in which George's two-horse sleigh is abandoned in favor of Eugene's clunky horseless carriage. Welles evokes performances that his actors seldom (if ever) matched in later years; even the very limited Tim Holt is wholly believable-and even a bit pitiable-as the blinkered George Amberson Minafer. The current version, however, is but a pale shadow of Welles' original concept. Out of time and overbudget, the movie previewed badly and was eventually sliced down to an abrupt 88 minutes (by, among others, editor Robert Wise, who would go on to direct such films as West Side Story and The Sound of Music). Even though the film therefore must be regarded as a marred masterpiece, the remaining two-thirds of Welles' original concept is still a thrilling cinematic experience, especially whenever Agnes Moorehead is on the screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the most schizophrenic films ever to come out of the Paramount "B" mill, The Monster and the Girl starts out as a white-slavery melodrama and ends up as a horror picture! Emerging from the fog, heroine Susan Webster (Ellen Drew) tells her woeful tale to the audience. A young innocent from The Sticks, Susan arrives in New York to seek work as an actress, but instead is tricked into a sham marriage with Larry Reed (Robert Paige). Awakening "the morning after", Susan is informed that her missing husband is not her husband, and that, as a fallen woman, there is only one avenue of livelihood open to her-as one of the "paid hostesses" in the stable of gangster Bruhl (Joseph Calleia). Learning of his sister's plight, church organist Scot Webster (Philip Reed) shows up in town to set things right, only to be framed for murder by Bruhl and his mob. After his execution, Scot's body is appropriated by mad scientist Dr. Parry (George Zucco), who hopes to transplant the dead man's brain into the body of a gorilla. Driven by impulses it can't resist, the big ape escapes from his cage to kill off all those responsible for Susan's ruin and Scot's death. Undeniably fascinating, The Monster and the Girl is also undeniably silly at times, especially in the opening scenes, in which the censor-plagued screenwriters work overtime not to overtly state that Susan Daniels has been forced into prostitution. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Biscuit Eater is what is known in Hollywood as a "sleeper"--a small, unpretentious film that catches on with the audience and turns into an unexpected hit. Child actor Billy Lee plays the son of southern bird dog trainer Richard Lane. Lee adopts a dog named Promise, who turns out to be a "biscuit eater"--a dog that refuses to hunt for anything but its own food. Ordered by his father to get the dog off his property, Lee and his African-American friend Cordell Hickman secretly train Promise, hoping to enter the pooch in the annual field trials. Just when Promise is on the verge of winning, Lee discovers that he's in direct competition with his own father--who, if he loses the trials, will lose his farm. Lee demoralizes Promise by calling him a no-good biscuit eater, thereby assuring that Lane's dog will win. Realizing the sacrifice his son has made, Lane apologizes to the boy; Lee in turn tearfully begs forgiveness from Promise, just before the dog dies from an accidental gunshot. This 1940 version of James Street's The Biscuit Eater is a genuinely moving experience; when remade by the Disney Studios in 1972, it became just another boy-and-his-dog yarn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide