Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)

Chance Wayne never gets a break in Sweet Bird of Youth.

Wayne (Paul Newman) dreams of making it big in Hollywood. But sure things he's confident will lead, he thinks, to something big always fizzle out. He talks about scaling the wall into the moviemaking, castle. But there's no ladder to help him on the way up and over.

His latest meal ticket is washed up actress Alexandra Del Lago (Geraldine Page). While Chance dreams of stardom, Alexandra's days of glory are long past. "The camera doesn't know how to lie," Del Lago laments. She's a drunk and drug addict. With an oxygen bottle nearby, she also appears to be a hypochondriac.

But Del Lago is also the closest thing to a break Chance has. A prospect of a contract for a film role through Del Lago has Chance motivated. And desperate. "All my life I've been on the outside and time is running out," he notes. Del Lago is more interested in his good looks. "Let's comfort each other," she suggests.

With the former star crashed out in the back of his convertible, Chance heads home. He wants to reunite with Heavenly Finely (Shirley Knight). She's still sweet on him, even though Wayne has essentially worked as a male escort to survive.

His return doesn't sit well with local politician 'Boss' Finley (Ed Begley). He's your typical political heavy, using whatever tricks he can to get what he wants. Finley has long had a mistress, Miss Lucy (Madeleine Sherwood), who he puts up in a fine hotel suite.

Finely is prepared to use a little muscle to keep Wayne away from his little girl. That's where his son, and henchman, Thomas (Rip Torn) steps in.

Political opponents eager to take 'Boss' Finley down, an ultimatum for Wayne to clear out of town and the young hopeful's crumbling relationship with Del Lago all come to a boil at a political rally.

Sweet Bird of Youth earned three Oscar nominations, with Begley taking home an Academy Award as best supporting actor.

Newman's character here as a few things in common with Hud, reviewed on this site last week. Both have numerous female lovers, but neither is happy. Hud, drowning in drink, doesn't have the brains, or the wisdom, to manage a cattle spread like his dad can. Chance's window of opportunity to making his mark in Hollywood is over. His good looks won't help him with ladies who can support him much longer.

Sweet Bird of Youth boasts a fine cast with some nice support work from Canadian Sherwood as 'Boss' Finley's lover. Her showdown with him over public comments about his, uh, poll performance is a memorable one.

Paul Newman, you rock. Hud and The Hustler rock. The Color of Money, not so much. But a copy of The Verdict arrived in the mail. I haven't seen this 1982 drama from director Sidney Lumet since I saw it on the big screen 32 years ago. That review is coming up.

RATING: 8/10

FUN FACTS: Richard Brooks, director of Sweet Bird of Youth, also directed Blackboard Jungle and In Cold Blood.

Geraldine Page was nominated for eight Oscars. She didn't win until that last nod, for The Trip to Bountiful.

Ed Begley was Juror No. 10 in 12 Angry Men.

Mildred Dunnock, the kindly Aunt Nonnie who supports Chance, starred in the stage and film versions of Death of a Salesman. Her last role was with Molly Ringwald and Robert Downey, Jr., in The Pick-up Artist.

You're in the Navy Now (1951)

This comedy isn't quite ship-shape.

That's too bad because look at the talent associated with this 1951 release - director Henry Hathaway (Call Northside 777, True Grit) and actors Gary Cooper (high noon, Meet John Doe), Eddie Albert (The Longest Day) and, in his film debut, Charles Bronson.

You're in the Navy Now is based on a true story from the Second World War. The United States Navy experimented with a steam engine that would boost the speed of a sub chaser by 10 knots. Project XP11204 is pretty neat, a slice of WWII history this history buff didn't know about.

Said engine never seems to work for long, prompting numerous replacements and returns to sea to make it right. Dubbed the Tea Kettle, the boat and its crew becomes the joke of the navy. Morale is poor. Skipper Lt. John Harkness (Gary Cooper) is flustered. He's an engineer who was quickly educated in the ways of the military and pressed into service. Almost all of the crew is also new to the navy too, save George Larrabee (Millard Mitchell), an old salt who wonders what he's done to get his latest assignment. He calls his comrades "a lot of misfits."

There are numerous problems with this film. Let's start with Harkness' wife, Ellie (Jane Greer). She's way too young for him. Cooper would have been about 50 when he made this film. Greer was half her age. I complained about a wide age difference last week with The Pink Panther. The same argument stands here. It's hard to believe these two are a couple. There's no chemistry. I'd suggest not offering this line to your better half, "You smell better than an engine room."

Some of the acting is just plain bad. I'm a big fan of Mitchell, who I first discovered in the excellent war film twelve o'clock high. But there's a scene in this film where he reacts with laughter that makes him look like he's making his debut in a high school drama production. My beef isn't just with Mitchell. There are other scenes in this film that look like they involve a bunch of amateurs, not a major studio effort from 20th Century Fox and a decent talent like Hathaway.

Here's another complaint which isn't really fair since this movie was made in 1951. But I think viewers will definitely notice. The funniest scene in the film involves the Tea Kettle racing along at an unstoppable speech. Numerous collisions appear imminent. But, to a viewer in 2013, it's so obvious scenes of other ships, or structures, are cut in. Sigh. But I do love how the brass react to the bumpy ride along the way.

And, how about the top secret angle associated with the project. Doesn't that make things hush-hush? Yet everyone and his brother on the naval base knows what's going on with the Tea Kettle. New steam engines are loaded on in broad daylight. Loose lips sink ships. Wouldn't the Germans and Japanese figured out what the Americans were up to with all that chit chat?

There are funny moments in the film. Efforts to move the ship from its berth with an impatient port commander (Ed Begley) are quite well-done.

But You're in the Navy Now comes close to being a shipwreck.

RATING: 5/10