HeathCliff-2

I was so enthused by Agatha All Along when it first started - eagerly looking forward to the next episode. I loved the cast, and the premise. It had style and wit, a little bit of camp and interesting, stunt casting.

But the show has gotten progressively sillier, more broad and all over the place - and has finally jumped the shark by episode 5.

I get that it's geared to a gay, camp sensibility - (and I am gay) - but it has aimed lower and lower to the lowest-hanging fruit of wit and humor.

After the 5th episode, I've given it a hard pass. Too bad. It's always a (rare) treat to see Patti Lupone.

Impressive on many counts, not the least of which is that director Dutch Marich, on an indie budget, weaves his magic to manifest cinematography, lush scoring, superb casting and dread to match a 10x bigger budget film. While I might quibble with his choice of the film's resolution, I have no quibble with the uniqueness of the story - women who are assigned a work release program after getting out of prison mysteriously disappear - or other exceptional attributes.

The casting is quite singular, especially for an indie, which tends to populate films based on good looks to the detriment of character or backstory. There is not an actor in the film who is not interesting to watch, authentic to the role, and charismatic.

The cinematography, combined with the scoring, are the first things we notice, with sweeping pans over the town and vista, moving to the railyards where the action is centered. The music evokes the lush scoring of Bernard Herrmann or Elmer Bernstein from Hollywood's golden era, underscoring the lushness of the cinematography.

This director has the maturity and instinct to let the story take its time, and build up the suspense and dread, which reaches nail-biting moments as it reaches the apex, near the end.

Many idiosyncratic touches also add to the director's taste and confidence in his craft - from the vintage tape recorder to the casting of the newspaper editor and reporter to the use of an intriguing railyard museum in a desolate Nevada town as backdrop.

And the expert use of drones to provide the panoramic sweep and enhance the suspense and dread, as well as the subtly of the drone movements, is impressive even on its own terms.

Many idiosyncratic touches also add to the director's taste and confidence in his craft - from the vintage tape recorder to the casting of the newspaper editor and reporter to the use of an intriguing railyard music in a desolate Nevada town as backdrop.

There are so many ways to approach a film: on cinematic terms alone, like "great film" or "average film" or "B-Minus" etc.

There are films that have flaws but have virtues. This is one of them.

I know it's a B-film from the 50s, when Betty Hutton and Dana Andrews were past their prime.

But: for those who like those actors professionally and as people, there are lovely virtues that are unique.

I LOVE Betty Hutton in her bombshell, younger days - when she was on fire - a firecracker who couldn't stand still -notably in one of my favorites, Miracle of Morgan's Creek.

And I really like Dana Andrews for his understated performances, especially in The Best Years of Our Lives.

And while most of Dana Andrews 50s films are pretty uninteresting, I loved the pairing between him and Betty. They are both vulnerable, in their professional life journey more vulnerable to the downward trajectory. But that gives their performances immediacy and sensitivity. They are both players characters who life has battered down a bit or more - and WHO doesn't know how THAT feels - and they bring that to their roles.

I really liked when the two of them are on screen, interacting with each other. You feel their connection to each other. Both of them are very good in their maturer, vulnerable state. To me, that's a highlight of the film- to see the two of them interact.

Everything else is secondary. The schools scenes are okay. Jean Hagen, who I like, has to struggle with an ill-defined role, and does well, as always. Her jock paramour has an even more illdefined role, and is okay.

Betty's parents do okay, in dated roles - the possessive father and doting repressed mother.

Again: if you want to see mature Betty Hutton and mature Dana Andrews bring their life experience to their work, you will enjoy their on-screen duo.