Man Manipulates Money and Women
In the Mid 1950's Hollywood Studios were Still doing what they Always did, putting Together People with Talent and "Directing" Them to do Their Thing. OK, Actors Act, Writers Write, Composers Compose, Photographers Photograph. They would Tie Up the Package and Release. It was Called Formula, it was Safe.
But it Stifled Creativity and was Hardly High Art. It was Product and the Conservative Fifties was Fine with that. But Not Everybody. That Movie Making Style was Beginning to Show Signs of Wearing out its Welcome as the Culture Gradually Changed and Drastically, these Things Looked Like Boring and Insipid Anachronisms in Retrospect.
But it could be an Entertainment, in a Shallow Sense, and this one is a Good Example of a Studio Film that was a "Professional Product" with a Leading Man (George Sanders), some Fine Looking Leading Ladies (Decarlo, Gabor, and Gray), some Competent Cinematography (Howe), Mainstream Musical Score (Steiner) and let's Call it a Wrap.
"Pulled from the Headlines" they used to say and this Story of a Financial Fraud Meister and a Master Womanizer was from a Real-Life Financier who may have Cheated on One Person too many. Overall it is Worth a Watch for its Better Parts but the Conclusion is a Hollywood Contrivance of Soulful Redemption that was Safe and Saccharine to Say the Least.
Note...The aforementioned Hollywood Studio System was about a Decade away from becoming obsolete and it was this type of Product that was instrumental in the need for an evolutionary change.
But it Stifled Creativity and was Hardly High Art. It was Product and the Conservative Fifties was Fine with that. But Not Everybody. That Movie Making Style was Beginning to Show Signs of Wearing out its Welcome as the Culture Gradually Changed and Drastically, these Things Looked Like Boring and Insipid Anachronisms in Retrospect.
But it could be an Entertainment, in a Shallow Sense, and this one is a Good Example of a Studio Film that was a "Professional Product" with a Leading Man (George Sanders), some Fine Looking Leading Ladies (Decarlo, Gabor, and Gray), some Competent Cinematography (Howe), Mainstream Musical Score (Steiner) and let's Call it a Wrap.
"Pulled from the Headlines" they used to say and this Story of a Financial Fraud Meister and a Master Womanizer was from a Real-Life Financier who may have Cheated on One Person too many. Overall it is Worth a Watch for its Better Parts but the Conclusion is a Hollywood Contrivance of Soulful Redemption that was Safe and Saccharine to Say the Least.
Note...The aforementioned Hollywood Studio System was about a Decade away from becoming obsolete and it was this type of Product that was instrumental in the need for an evolutionary change.
- LeonLouisRicci
- Jul 3, 2014