Maclean’s Movies

CLYDE GILMOUR

BEST BET

Although it was

hurried into the theatres to coincide with October’s World Series fever, Hollywood’s version of Broadway’s baseball fantasy-musical is a delightful show worth seeing at any season. Tab Hunter does surprisingly well as a Washington Senators fan who sells —or, anyway, leases—his soul to the devil and is transformed into a young home-run king mighty enough to wrest the pennant from the hated New York Yankees. Gwen Verdón duplicates her stage success as Lola, a hellcat with a heart; and Ray Walston is immensely funny as Mr. Applegate, whose first name is Lucifer.

CARRY ON, SERGEANT: An army-camp farce from Britain. It offers two or three genuinely satirical moments in the midst of a welter of tired musichall slapstick. Rating: fair.

THE DECKS RAN RED: Skipper James Mason runs into a mutinous bloodbath on the high seas, with Broderick Crawford as an arch-villain in the crew and Dorothy Dandridge as a sensuous mulatto stewardess. Lots of action and suspense here, but much of the acting and dialogue is ludicrously overwrought.

THE HUNTERS: As often happens in Hollywood’s aviation thrillers, the excitement aloft is considerably more interesting than the grounded private problems of the characters. Producer-director Dick Powell, however, makes the sky over Korea blaze with fury and the film as a whole is an item worth catching. With Robert Mitchum, Richard Egan, May Britt. Robert Wagner.

MAN OF THE WEST: A big brutal western, with “epic” pretensions, starring Gary Cooper as that much-too-familiar stereotype, the reformed gunfighter who’s trying to go straight. With Lee J. Cobb, Julie London, Arthur O Connell. Rating: fair.

WIND ACROSS THE EVERGLADES: Canada’s Christopher Plummer is suitably heroic and rock-jawed in this lively but chaotic action drama. He’s a dedicated conservationist who invades the Florida swamps and tries to stop red-bearded Burl Ives from slaughtering the wild birds.

GILMOUR’S GUIDE TO THE CURRENT CROP

Andy Hardy Comes Home: Domestic comedy. Fair.

Attack of the Puppet People: Science fiction. Poor.

Attila: Historical melodrama. Fair.

The Badlanders: Western. Good.

The Bit; Country: Western. Excellent.

The Bravados: Western. Good.

Buchanan Rides Alone: Western. Fair.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: Sexy drama.

Good — but oppressive.

Cry Terror!: Suspense. Good.

The Defiant Ones: Drama. Tops.

Don Quixote: Russian film of famed

Spanish novel. Good.

The Fearmakers: Drama. Good.

The Fiend Who Walked the West:

“Horror” western. Fair.

The Fly: Science-horror. Fair.

Gist: Musical. Excellent.

God’s Little Acre: Comedy-drama of

Deep South. Good.

High Cost of Loving: Comedy. Good.

Indiscreet: Romantic comedy. Excellent.

Intent to Kill: Suspense. Good.

Kathy O’: Movie-town comedy. Good. The Key: War-and-love drama. Good.

A King in New York: Charles Chaplin comedy. Fair.

The Matchmaker: Comedy. Fair.

Me and the Colonel: Comedy. Good.

A Night to Remember: True shipwreck drama. Good.

The Old Man and the Sea: Action drama. Fair.

Once Upon a Horse: Comedy. Fair. Orders to Kill: Drama. Excellent.

Paths of Glory: Drama. Excellent.

Proud Rebel: Frontier drama. Good.

Queen of Outer Space: Fantasy and

farce. Fair.

Raw Wind in Eden: Drama. Poor.

The Reluctant Debutante: Comedy. Fair. Rock-a-Bye Baby: Comedy. Poor. Rooney: Dublin comedy. Good.

The Silent Enemy: War drama. Good. South Pacific: Musical. Good.

Stage Struck: Drama. Fair.

A Tale of Two Cities: Drama. Good. Tarzan’s Fight for Life: Jungle comedy-drama. Fair.

10 North Frederick: Drama. Good.

A Time to Love: War drama. Fair. Twilight for the Gods: Drama. Poor.

The Vikings: Historical adventure-drama.

Violent Playground: Drama. Fair.

Voice in the Mirror: Drama. Fair.

White Wilderness: Nature documentary. Excellent.

The Whole Truth: Mystery. Good.