Sun 11 Dec 2011
A Movie Review by Walter Albert: NIGHTMARE (1956).
Posted by Steve under Mystery movies , Reviews[7] Comments
NIGHTMARE. United Artists, 1956. Kevin McCarthy, Edward G. Robinson, Connie Russell, Virginia Christine, Rhys Williams, Gage Clarke, Marian Carr, Meade “Lux” Lewis, Billy May and His Orchestra. Screenplay by Maxwell Shane, based on a story by Cornell Woolrich. Director: Maxwell Shane. Shown at Cinecon 39, Hollywood CA, Aug-Sept 2003.
“We welcome Kevin McCarthy with a screening of this nifty noir mystery than (sic) crackles with the sense of paranoia that pervades much of Cornell Woolrich’s fiction.”
Oh, my. The film was scheduled when the program committee was unable to get permission to show Death of a Salesman. It was neither nifty nor did it crackle, but the Woolrich novel at least provided an interesting plot (musician/composer McCarthy dreams he’s committed a murder and eventually discovers the dream is apparently true), and Robinson, somewhat miscast but making the best of it, plays the detective brother-in-law of McCarthy who sifts through the damning scenario to unravel the plot that has ensnared and almost brings down McCarthy.
The location filming in New Orleans added some color to the film, and the appearance of Meade Lewis and Billy May spiced the film for their fans.
McCarthy was interviewed at some length about his film and theater career, and he was less obstreperous as an interview subject than he was reputed to be in his Hollywood years. He’s probably best known for Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but I don’t recall that he had much to say about the film.
December 11th, 2011 at 7:44 pm
NIGHTMARE is a remake of FEAR IN THE NIGHT, which was made in 1947 and also directed by Maxwell Shane, starring Paul Kelly and DeForest Kelley of Star Trek fame. I guess he wanted to do it over but I’ve seen both movies several times over the years and can’t make up my mind which is the better one. I’ve enjoyed them both.
December 11th, 2011 at 8:39 pm
What some enterprising entrepreneur really ought to do is put together a complete box set of all of the movies and TV shows based on Cornell Woolrich novels and stories — collector-to-collector only, if that’s the only way. In certain circles such as this one, I think it would sell like hot cakes.
December 12th, 2011 at 7:15 am
Always been a bit disappointed in both this and FEAR IN THE NIGHT, but then the Woolrich story has a lot to live up to.
December 12th, 2011 at 11:52 pm
Kevin was a friend of mine. Over the years we talked about many of his movies. He enjoyed making this film because he got to work with Edward G. Robinson, an actor he greatly admired. He said that Robinson was a pleasure to work with.
December 13th, 2011 at 5:40 pm
Ed: What was he like? I always liked him as an a actor, but like most people I only knew him as a series of characters on the movie and TV screen. I’d be fascinated to know what the person was behind characters.
December 13th, 2011 at 5:49 pm
I don’t think Ed will mind my reprinting the tribute he posted on his blog at the time of Kevin McCarthy’s passing:
http://newimprovedgorman.blogspot.com/2010/09/so-long-old-friend-kevin-mccarthy.html
Monday, September 13, 2010
I’ve written before about our friendship with Kevin and I do mean “our.” He was much taken with Carol and they had long talks when I was gone. Kevin was an old school gentleman and a very kind man. In the sixteen or seventeen years of our friendship I only heard him say something unkind about one person, a famous agent he’d encountered during the war. He knew everybody and everything. He’d absorbed a world of knowledge and wisdom in his seventy year acting career.
As he always said, he loved to work. When he was in his late eighties he had a recurring role on a CBS series that shot in Chicago. One day he flew out to see us. He had a lot more energy than I did.
Late in the game he got interested in the business of going to conventions to sign autographed photographs. He was a wry but never condescending observer of all that went on there. I think that as his health began to fail the conventions gave him a physical and spiritual boost. He was after all the star of the science fiction picture voted again and again one of the ten best of all time and was treated accordingly.
I last talked to him maybe a month and a half ago. He was confused part of the time and I could tell it was difficult for him to speak. When he laughed he was the old Kevin. When I described our conversation to Carol she was sad and said maybe we’d never hear from him again. As we didn’t.
So long, old friend. Your made our lives singularly better with your charm, your wit and your very agreeable take on life and all its foibles.
——
Kevin and I did a book about his life and Invasion of The Body Snatchers. I can’t be impartial but I will say that I’m proud of this book and and proud of the reviews we got. As I said a fair amount of the book is Kevin being interviewed about his career–his early days with Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift starting the early version of The Actors’ Studio are especially interesting–and then many well-known writers looking at Invasion of The Body Snatchers from various angles. There’s even a a sort of grudge match here between producer and director of a later version of the movie. You can order it from Stark House.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers: A Tribute
Edited by Kevin McCarthy & Ed Gorman
1-933586-07-9 $17.95
Features essays by Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Jon L. Breen, Tom Piccirilli & more, plus interviews with Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Philip Kaufman, Robert H. Solo, Abel Ferrara, Stuart Gordon and W. D. Richter. Completely revised from the original 1999 edition and includes many photos from the first two films.
December 14th, 2011 at 5:35 pm
Thanks very much for that. Much appreciated.