Mister Cory

I love this movie! Curtis plays it to the hilt. You see him scheming, you see him analyzing, you see him schmoozing & it all works. Leaving the slums behind & wanting a girl who's out of his league (but not her sister, who's clearly in love w/him), Mr. Cory creates a name for himself as the business-guy of a gambling house where said rich girl can cavort with him under wraps whilst still keeping up appearances. When Curtis sees the real deal with her, he lets her have it, but good! She deserves it. She actually makes HIM feel cheap when she's really the one who's worth nothing! See this for Mr. Curtis' snappy style & how great he looks in a suit! He's usually such a talker in his films. In this, you can SEE him thinking & it all works.

Sorry, but you are not going to get a standard review. The real star of this movie for me was Huntington Lake, which is high in the Sierras above Fresno California. As a sailor, Huntington is famous for it's consistently windy conditions that you can set your watch by. Every day at 10am, the lake is glassy calm. By 11am however, it is really blowing. Quite a bit of the movie uses the lake as a stand in for its presumed location in Wisconsin. I have sailed a lot of races on that lake and it is funny to observe that, in the background of each scene, you can clearly see that, even back in 1957, the wind is always absolutely cranking. Very amusing were the scenes which cut back and forth between the lake, where the wind is howling creating the usual Huntington Lake chop, and the boat in which they are sitting, which is clearly in a glassy calm swimming pool. It is actually not bad for a film shot in the 1950's. In a fun plot reversal, Tony hires the guy who was so hard on him as a bellboy, to work for him when he ends up with his own resort. But, for anybody who has ever raced on Huntington Lake, this movie is a must see!!!

Too bad Mister Cory isn't given a first name; he deserved one...especially when expertly portrayed by Mr. Tony Curtis.

About the time this film was done, in 1957, Curtis was gaining rapid momentum in what would become a memorable career. "Mister Cory" was bookcased by excellent mid/latter Fifties' Curtis films such as "Trapeeze", "The Vikings", "The Defiant Ones", "The Sweet Smell of Success", "Kings Go Forth" and "Operation Petticoat." Each of these Curtis efforts received critical acclaim...particularly "The Defiant Ones," for which he won an Oscar nomination, and "Sweet Smell of Success", for which he should have been nominated.

"Mister Cory" rarely is listed among Curtis' major early efforts. It should be. It is a real "sleeper." The actor, and those around him here, lift the film multiple steps above its melodramatic flavor, into the realm of something quite riveting.

Curtis was 32 when "Mister Cory" was done, but his boyish good-looks and trim physique make him quite believeable as the story's young man just out of the Navy, seeking his future. However, if anyone believes Curtis became successful on the screen just for those elements need only to watch performances as this to learn otherwise.

Cory is a complex character study, with volatile undercurrents beneath his attractive, agreeable surface. Curtis expertly handles the various nuances of the role. He makes the viewer believe he IS the tough kid just out of Chicago, seeking to escape his seamy roots. First, in the verdant Wisconsin resort locale, and later as a manager/host for a glittering Lake Shore Drive gambling house catering to the wealthy and snobbish.

In reality, Curtis was a tough kid seeking to escape his Bronx roots. He certainly could identify with Cory. But merely identifying with a character isn't sufficient for a believeable screen performance. Curtis demonstrates that he brought much more to the table than attractiveness and a pleasing personality. "Mister Cory" is only one such example.

Joining Curtis in "Mister Cory" are a wealth of outstanding supporting people. Twenty-two year old Kathryn Grant, less an a year from marrying Bing Crosby, is the saucy, outdoorsy, girl-next-door Jen Vollard who makes little doubt of her interest in Cory. In the role, Grant is adorable. She favored marriage over a screen career, a choice unfortunate for viewers.

Martha Hyer likewise is effective as the lacquered, polished Abigail Vollard, Jen's sister. Like most males who come into contact with her, Cory is taken. Unlike others, he is not overwhelmed. Ultimately, he learns that her smooth veneer merely whitewashes over unattractive beneath-the-surface elements.

Veteran character actor Charles Bickford is excellent as the stolid Jeremiah Caldwell, Cory's friend/mentor. Russ Morgan also turned in a fine performance as Ruby Matrobe, the suggestively shady force behind the gambling house.

But, with Curtis and Grant, the film is stolen by British stage/screen veteran Henry Daniell.

As Mr. Earnshaw, Daniell initially is boss to Cory's busboy at the resort. Later, he is recruited by Cory to tend to customers' needs at Matrobe's establishment. It is Earnshaw's "air of snobbery" that is his most marketable quality to Cory. Daniell carries off the stuffy, Mr. Manners role with enjoyable aplomb. With an O Henry-like twist near the film's conclusion, Cory learns that stiff, protocol-spouting Earnshaw once was arrested...for bigamy.

The film's most thankless role is that of Abigail's long-time suiter, Alex Wyncott. He has spent much of his life eagerly, if a bit wearily, fending-off numerous would be-rivals for her. William Reynolds handles the role well, and deserves credit for undertaking it. Not only is Wyncott portrayed to be a rich man's apparently inept son, he verbally is accosted by Cory in witheringly demeaning fashion. Only near the the 92-minute film's conclusion is Wyncott finally allowed to demonstrate backbone: he shoots Cory in the arm. Curtis responds: "...I didn't think he had the guts."

Upon viewing "Mister Cory," those unfamiliar with the film might likewise reply, "Where has this been all this time?"

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Finally found a copy of it - a $5 download. Hadn't seen it in years so was fun to finally see it last evening. All of the major "players" are fabulous - Tony's hair is to die for - but I particularly enjoyed Henry Daniell as Tony's boss - and then employee - in what must have been one of his last roles. Kathryn Grant Crosby was almost too good to be true - but fun (and you can definitely see the resemblance to her daughter Mary). The dress/coat ensemble she wore to the opening of Cory's club was fabulous - classic '50s evening wear. I just read that the locale of the Wisconsin beach was really California , which was sort of a disappointment. But just today I crossed "South Sangamon Street" while doing errands. Martha Hyer's beauty precedes her - fun little fact: my mother was president of the Pi Beta Phi house at NU when Martha - and Patricia Neal - pledged. Ms. Hyer was a brunette/redhead in those days, from sorority pics I've seen. My mother recalled that she was indeed a beauty!

Unfortunately the DVD I just purchased from Amazon does NOT have this film as it was made to be in CinemaScope. It is on standard screen and loses so much of the intention the Director, Blake Edwards made it to be.

As for Tony Curtis he is very good in his role and I am looking forward to viewing the other 9 dvds I purchased in the same box set however I will wait to see how many more are in their original format. With today's big screen TVs I cannot understand while a movie has to be ruined by not allowing us to se it in its original format.