Parrish

I recall a review of this one in which the cinematographer, Harry Stradling, Sr., was given high marks for his very classy showcasing of the young Diane McBain's ravishingly blonde beauty. She gave a riveting performance in this one, amidst some rather high-powered competition from the likes of Karl Malden, Dean Jagger, Claudette Colbert, and Connie Stevens getting some well-earned sympathy as a poor young thing besotted with her yearning for pretty-boy Troy Donahue. Miss McBain's filmography is a sorry testament to how Hollywood could take an extraordinarily attractive young actress, possessed of some genuine talent, and misuse and disuse her until everyone within the industry eventually believed that she had nothing worthwhile to offer.

The story was quite a mish-mash and I remember being quite upset that the lovely Miss Colbert had come out of retirement to play a role that reinforced the old cliche that "It's a man's world and you women better kowtow or else!" I wanted her to give that greedy old brute, mercilessly enacted by Karl Malden, and his bullying sons some kind of a comeuppance, which certainly shouldn't have been beyond the screenwriters, whose contrivances were about as convoluted as one could get away with before the revolutions in social mores, just a few years away when this was filmed, overwhelmed us.

But it's a guilty pleasure nevertheless. Delmer Daves really knew how to maneuver the elements to give audiences back then a good measure of mindless satisfaction. It's worth a not-too-demanding look-see.

Last weekend I wanted to watch a film from my teen years... something that would take me back to those years of wonderment and yearning. I looked through my collection, spotted "Parrish" and knew I had found what I was looking forward. The story of a young man and his mother who move to Connecticut and involve themselves in tobacco farming, meeting a ruthless man and his family and a kind man and his spoiled daughter, it was a feast of young actors and respected mature stars. There wasn't a teen girl of those days and I dare say a few boys whose hearts didn't beat faster at the sight of Troy Donahue. His acting was pouty and wooden but there were those slim, handsome, blond looks, often wearing a red jacket that made teens break their clinches and sit up and pay attention. Whether he was romancing Connie Stevens (the first of their three films together) or Diane McBain (she hooked up with Donahue on the tube) or brunette Sharon Hugueny or whether he was emoting with Claudette Colbert (who came out of retirement for "Parrish" and then promptly retired again) or the esteemed Karl Malden and Dean Jagger, Donahue always came out second best in the acting department. This was Donahue's second of four straight films with director Delmer Daves and the older man certainly learned how to showcase the young blond hunk. The film has a bright and shiny look, plenty of melodrama and a gorgeous Max Steiner score. Get yourself some popcorn, put your feet up on the table and sit back and enjoy "Parrish."

There is an extreme close-up of Diane McBain fairly early in the picture, when she runs into Troy on the lawn of the manor house. It is still one of the most beautiful close-ups I have seen, ever. It never fails to take my breath away, even when I know its coming.

McBain was equally beautiful in "Claudelle English". Of the three women, McBain, Connie Stevens and Sharon Hugeny, it is Connie who takes the acting honors. She was even better in her follow up, "Susan Slade".

How strange that McBain's career would end with weird films like "Thunder Alley" and "Mini-Skirt Mob". By then her acting was excellent and there is a powerful scene in "Mini" when she describes a snake eating a mouse. But her looks had become shockingly hard.

Connie became more and more beautiful, but too Vegas and cartoon-like to play real people.

This is a semi-guilty pleasure. In some ways it retains the sheen and talents at the waning days of the big studio machine, and that's a plus. It's soapy, melodramatic and over-the-top, which is certainly entertaining if you don't look for Art with a capital A. And there is a visual lushness in the cinematography not to mention the emphasis on physical lushness, eg Troy Donahue and Diane McBain, and some of the other characters, all dressed to the nines in suits, ties, contrasting sharp vests, crinolined party dresses, preppy red v-neck sweaters backdropped against a blue sky on an impossibly handsome blond Adonis. I can't even say anymore if Troy Donahue is a good actor. I just like watching and listening to him, and I think he does have a certain conviction- his earnestness - which lends authenticity to his performances. Others call him wooden. I think he's more than good, and under-rated. (And my eyes can't get enough of his physical beauty.) Then there's Diane McBain, who I scantly know but is right up there with Donahue - breathtakingly beautiful. Claudette is okay, but the part itself is anachronistic and annoying - a bit long-suffering and stoic, as her parts often are - in a role that demands she ignore a cruel, brutish, crass man she marries. And rounding out the pluses, I love Max Steiner's lush, anachronistic score. The negatives do abound: the script is a bit shrill and melodramatic, which you expect of soap operas of that period. I can't decide if Karl Malden is dynamic or excessive, though he's always effective. Connie Steven was never my perky cup of tea. Dean Jagger caught my attention as a gentle father-figure, and touched me deeply. Ultimately, my feelings are colored by the bias of nostalgia. I very young when it was released, and have some residual nostalgia for what I remember and miss from that era. Someone twenty years old would find it mostly silly, I think.

They do not do movies like "Parrish" anymore nowadays ;and even if they made a remake ,they could not locate the action on tobacco fields anymore:tobacco has become uncool ."Parrish" ,like "a summer place" "Peyton Place" or "imitation of life " (the latter being the best of the genre ,surpassing the first version in several respects) is this kind of giant melodrama for which 135 min are not enough;there are so many characters it would take a miniseries to make them all really live ;anyway this kind of story lives on in miniseries such as "Dallas" ,"Dynasty" and others .When the movie ends ,it could actually go on and on and on for two more hours .

"Parrish" is certainly enjoyable if you like this kind of long tale .They say Troy Donahue was a limited actor but he carries the weight of a two hours and a quarter movie on his shoulders for his time on screen is twice as long as veterans Claudette Colbert (last role) and Karl Malden who overacts all the way and his three (count'em) loves appear only now and then ,the first one (Connie Stevens) almost absent in the last hour.And he manages quite well:James Dean ,he was not ,but he was more than a pretty face (more expressive than in "a summer place" )and he turns his scenes opposite Malden and son to his advantage .

It's love at first sight all the way :there's a kiss in Donahue's first scenes with the first two girls ;and Colbert and Malden fall for each other just after they met for the first time.The part of the mother (and stepmother) is underwritten and does not do Colbert justice .Sometimes it seems that Parrish is in fact in love with her,she's the only one he really fights for (during the scene of the ball,he forces Malden's evil son to make an announcement to welcome his stepmother;he tells him that when she offers to shake hands with him ,he MUST do it)

The cinematography is splendid ,with a great use of wide screen ,particularly during the scene of the fire in the night.So you forget how stereotyped the characters are : the ruthless tycoon,his lazy offspring,the field hand pregnant by her secret date,the wise man who gives the young rebel pieces of advice and who considers him his son after Alison's money match.

It's amazing that Delmer Daves ,who excelled at western and gave classics such as "broken arrow" and "3:10 To Yuma " gave up after "the hanging tree" (1959).From "A summer place" (in which Donahue starred too) to "the battle of the Villa Florita" ,melodrama rules.

That said "Parrish " has stood the test of time quite well and remains eminently watchable today.You simply haven't got the time to get bored!