The Tattered Dress

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source: The Tattered Dress

The introductory murder is just a trademark. There is some more violence, to be sure, but the important dominating part of the film is a splendid trial of integrity standing alone against mobster violence, corruption, foul play conspiracy, lies and relentless vengefulness. Jeff Chandler plays the lawyer ultimately defending himself and the truth, admitting all his mistakes, and that's the crucial turning point. He knows the truth of the case, he suspects the anatomy of the set-up, and he knows he is battling against an overwhelming enemy of evil in full power. The character of the film and the structure of the plot is very remindful of Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil" from one year later, and it's possible that Welles could have been influenced and inspired by this film. Jeff Chandler was always a great and good actor, but this is maybe his greatest performance, well supported by Jeanne Crain, who is equal to his poise. I loved this film, it is consrructive and gives you much to think of, and most of all to beware of hidden enemies - like in all American films of crime and noirs there are some good people committing unnecessary and meaningless mistakes, which helps in building up the terrible ordeal of the drama, but if there is anyhting you will learn something of, it's your mistakes.

I'm not really a crime drama fan, but some of these movies are good, and this is one of them. The title seems a bit misplaced, as the dress in question is just a small part of the story (worn in the beginning by Elaine Stewart, who plays socialite adulteress Charlene Reston), but it triggers the events that come after. Jeff Chandler plays defense attorney James Blane, who has a Perry Mason reputation and seems to bask in the glory, although his celebrity, as well as his infidelity, have estranged him from his wife, Diane (Jeanne Crain). In his latest case, his defense of wealthy Michael Reston (Phillip Reed), for the murder of his wife's lover, his tough questioning of the town sheriff Nick Hoak (Jack Carson) leaves Hoak feeling embarrassed as well as angry, so he gets revenge by setting Blane up to make it look like he bribed witness Carol Morrow (played by Gail Russell), who has secretly been seeing Hoak. As the story progresses, and Blaine tries to find a way to prove his innocence, he starts to rethink his life and the path it's taken. There are some familiar faces in this movie that you'll recognize from classic TV, like George Tobias, who plays Blane's friend, Billy, Edward Platt (reporter Ralph Adams) and William Schallert, who plays a court clerk. A movie worth taking a look at.

Jack Arnold have always amazed me except in his last films, in the seventies, when he lost all ambitions and maybe also talent. But in the fifties, he is one of my favourites, besides Nathan Juran, his alter ego for me. Both worked mainly for Universal Pictures, though Juran was alsio hired by Columbia Pictures, and both were pretty good professionals in any domain: science fiction, western, crime.....Their films have great charm, and in this one, I was a bit stressed before seeing it, because it is a thriller drama, not really crime, but shot in the western more: small desert area town, a man arriving - a lawyer instead of a sheriff ( Jeff Chandler) but that where the comparison stops. It becoms a court drama and so on. Some scenes may be seen as some kind of tribute to other Jack Arnold's films: a beautiful lady dives into a swimming pool and swims underwater - CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON - and Jeff Chandleer shown driving in the desert - TARANTULA and if my memory doesn't fail IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE. This drama is full of the fifties charm and Universal Studios always gave me this feeling.

Big-shot trial lawyer Jeff Chandler gets a client off for a murder in Nevada. The murdered man had been a friend of sheriff Jack Carson. Carson frames Chandler for bribing a juror. When the attorney Chandler and long-suffering ex-wife Jeanne Crain hire begins to talk about plea deals, Chandler fires him and conducts his own defense. It's directed by the under-rated Jack Arnold, who is best remembered for some fine, subtext-laden monster movies of the era. With Chandler's dramatic, rumbling voice, however, it turns into a well-told soap opera, with undertones of danger from Carson, who is very good in his part. I'm afraid I was put off by the slovenly-lawyered courtroom scenes, in which attorneys accepted hearsay evidence without a whimper, and verdicts that seem unlikely. Other cast members include Edward Platt as a reporter whose job seems to be to follow around Chandler, George Tobias as a not-too-funny comic, Gail Russell as the woman who accuses Chandler of bribery, and Elaine Stewart as a rather dumb blonde.

Universal Studios -- known for colossal stupendous productions like "Francis The Talking Mule" and "Abbott And Costello Meet The Invisible Man" -- presents a rather neat little courtroom drama directed by Jack Arnold, who gave us such compelling art films as "Tarantula." I'm kind of making fun of it but I really shouldn't, because, if it lacks poetry, it's still not bad. Briefly, Jeff Chandler is a high-priced New York criminal lawyer who comes to the little town of Desert Valley to defend some potentate who murdered his luscious wife's rapist. At least we think she was raped. Elaine Stewart, of Montclair, New Jersey, is an outrageous flirt. She's hardly a receding type of personality, and the only evidence is her testimony and her tattered dress. Chandler gets the killer off but the town is enraged because they liked the murder victim. The local corrupt sheriff (Carson) and his consort (Russell) concoct a frame and charge Chandler with jury tampering, obstruction of justice, bribery, and ordering rare steak for strange women on trains. He defends himself but, as his wife, Jeanne Crain, points out, a lawyer who defends himself has a fool for a client. For a smart lawyer, he's pretty clumsy. He shouts at Gail Russell on the stand until she faints, or pretends to, winning the sympathy of the jury. Chandler gives the role everything he's got but there's not much there. When he's not shouting staccato at the witnesses, his only other approach to acting is a deep nasal baritone that indicates deep thought. He has strong features, in addition to that masculine voice, and his skull is brachycephalic, shaped rather like a bowling ball. Jeanne Crain is slender and lovely. The reason she's here, as Chandler's estranged wife, is to return to him when he needs comforting. "When pain and anguish wring the brow, a ministering angel Thou!" Gail Russell was improbably beautiful, vulnerable, and sexy ten years earlier but she'd been pounding a lot of booze lately and it had begun to show, though she was only in her early 30s when this was shot. She died miserably a few years later, a shame. Lamentably, Jack Arnold is stuck with a plot-driven script with no nuance at all. In "Tarantula", John Agar is allowed to muse after hearing a strange sound in the Mojave: "Everything that has ever walked or crawled has left its mark on this desert." Nothing like that here. George Zuckerman, the writer, hasn't given Arnold much wiggle room with the characters or the narrative. Carson as the murderous sheriff is immediately recognizable for what he is -- a "Southern" type sheriff, you know; the kind that smiles in a friendly-like way while he thrusts his fist down your throat and yanks out your pyloric sphincter. And George Tobias as the worn-out Las Vegas comic is there only to be killed. I kept waiting for it. The direction, on the whole is pretty slack. When giving his summation to the jury in what appears to be one unending take with few reaction shots, Chandler has a habit of lacing his fingers together as if about to crack his knuckles. He rarely DOESN'T do it. All Jack Arnold had to do was say, "Jeff, do something else with your hands."

"The Tattered Dress" is an excellent mystery and crime story that will keep one on the edge of her or his seat from halfway through to the end. And, what a tremendous cast of top actors of the day. The leads all gave great performances - Jeff Chandler as James Blane, Jeanne Crain as his wife, Diane, and Jack Carson as Sheriff Nick Hoak. And a supporting cast of well known actors who also shine - George Tobias as Billy Giles, Gail Russsell as Carol Morrow, Edward Platt as Ralph Adams and Edward Andrews as Lester Rawlings head up that bunch. I don't recall ever having seen this film as a teenager when it came out, or on late night movies after that. The plot is very original and very interesting. The only fuzzy thing about this is the portrayal of the murder case that big city attorney James Blane wins in getting his wealthy client, Michael Reston (played by Phillip Reed) acquitted. The film just has Blane cross examining the sheriff and pretty much making a fool of him. The next thing is a jury verdict of innocent. But that then opens onto the meat of this movie when Blane is served with a summons for a grand jury trial. Anyone who enjoys good mystery films should like this one from way back in the middle of the 20th century. Here are a couple of favorite lines from this film. Michael Reston, "You sound like a prosecutor." James Blane, "Another acute observation. You're cleverer than I imagined." Charleen Reston, "I'll pick you up at the courthouse at eleven." James Blane, "Slight correction - I'll see you in court Monday morning."

After a member of the town upper crust Michael Reston and his wife get mixed up in a surly murder they reach out to top shelf lawyer James Gordon Blaine (Jeff Chandler) for defense. Blaine blows into Desert Nevada with his major rep that rankles the local common folk who see money buying Reston out of the rap, especially the local sheriff, Nick Hoak (Jack Carson), a friend of the murdered one time football hero gone town drunk. When Blaine gets Reston off the vitriol flows and the lawyer is accused of bribing a juror ( Gail Russell) on trumped up charges orchestrated by the sheriff and when that comes undone he resorts to more brazen tactic. The Tattered Dress is a sensationalist piece whose selling point (coming attractions, lobby cards) centers around the sluttish opening scene presence of hyper tease Charleen Reston luring the boozy dumb jock to his demise. Things get staid after the fireworks though Ms. Reston likes what she sees in Blaine when his estranged wife (Jeanne Crain) shows up for support. The script remains perfunctory most of the way and Jack Arnold's direction is lax though Bernie Guffey's lensing lends visual support especially in the early moments where the Restons' throw the has been halfback for a final loss. What does give the film authority is the the unsympathetic surly Reston's cynicism and the fact that he walks on what is no more than an execution. Instead Arnold wastes time on Blaine's tenuous marriage with a wasted Jeanne Crain and a heavy handed finale. Chandler offers a decent lead and the supporting cast of Jack Carson, Gail Russell and Phil Reed with Elaine Stewart turning the heat up make their presence known but it is Edward Andrews in one brief scene as a lawyer about to defend Blaine who has the best moment, once again coldly cynical. In the hands of a more daring director and with tighter script and dialogue Dress might have made for a nice dark noir but given its cinemascope first run backing it wastes it's time with lookers Chandler and Crain in clinches when a similar scene between the weighty shirtless Carson and the dissipated Russell resonates with far more power. Then again Hollywood film remains a business before artistic consideration in most cases and it does so to the detriment of this picture aesthetic possibilities in favor of box office. Sounds logical.

Jeff Chandler plays James Gordon Blane, a hot-shot lawyer from New York City who comes to a small town to defend some rich folks accused of murder. Blane is able to get a acquittal and almost immediately is arrested for paying off one of the jurors. The accusation is that he paid her $5000 to vote not guilty...and money Blane lost the night before playing cards is submitted as evidence of the bribe. Obviously, Blane's been set-up and no one seems particularly upset by that-- least of which the Sheriff (Jack Carson), who was torn to pieces on the witness stand in the previous case. It's a vendetta and he'll apparently stop at nothing to get Blane....and that might even include murder! This was a great film in many ways...up to a point. Rarely have I seen a film go from exceptional to crap so quickly! The first time was late in the film when Blane gets his accuser on the witness stand...she implicates herself (yet oddly folks seem to think the opposite) and then wildly stands up and faints right in the middle of the scene!! This is histrionic and stupid. Then, only moments later when a guy (George Tobias) finds a hole in the prosecution's case, the scene involving the sheriff killing this witness is also overdone and like a cliché...a bad one at that. Later, when the Sheriff is on the stand...well, it's pretty ridiculous as well! And, the summation by Blane near the end is just ridiculous! Sadly, the film had been humming along marvelously...only to sink due to some seriously bad writing that should have been edited out! And, it's frustrating that you like a movie this much and invest this much into it...only to have sloppy writing practically ruin it. The first half, I'd score an 8...the last portion a 2! As a result of a very weak second half, I'd say don't waste your time with this one.