Foxfire

I have just seen this film for the first time on TV. I thought it was a little gem of a film, with excellent roles filled by Jeff Chandler and Jane Russell. The authentic settings in Arizona also helped to make this an enjoyable and convincing film.

I am a particular fan of films made in the 1950's and 1960's which I regard as the golden years, when films contained real 'stars' and this one certainly fits the bill for me. I am just surprised that I have not come across this film before. I can recommend it as an ideal film to watch on a wet afternoon. Pity it is not available on DVD. The storyline also deals sensitively with racial prejudices arising from relationships between white people and the native Indians even in the modern times in which the story is set.

I stumbled into this movie (thanks TCM) and figured I'd give it 5 minutes to see if caught my attention. I stayed until the end. From the very beginning, this is a movie full of stereotypes, melodrama, and over-the-top acting. The story ends up providing most answers (and a bit of education) over the course of 92 minutes. Chandler and Russell create steam and energy that propel the movie at a very entertaining pace. Taking it in context, this is a wonderful period piece.

Universal-International was a busy little hive of audience-pleasing eye candy back in the Fifties and it probably employed more "starlets" and up-and-coming hunks in its stable of contractees than all of its major studio rivals combined. Some of U.-I.'s output contained some very worthwhile elements amidst the Technicolored trappings. This one offered some fairly well-considered insights on the marital tribulations encountered when two people from very dissimilar backgrounds and outlooks on life attempt to make of their marriage vows more than just a ritual they once pronounced when their union began.

Jane Russell seemed well paired with the tall and handsome Jeff Chandler and the locations look authentic enough for the story to hold one's interest. Celia Lovsky, always an actress who could win an audience's favor in the briefest of roles (and, alas, she was never allotted more than a few scenes in most of her films), scores once again in "Foxfire." This is one to watch for if you notice it scheduled on a late-night or early afternoon TV broadcast.

Hot-blooded potboiler with facetious, flirtatious undermining has New York socialite Jane Russell vacationing at Arizona spa near Tucson; a flat tire brings her together with worldly half-breed Jeff Chandler (Apache on his mother's side, white on his professor father's). Their whirlwind marriage seems like a good idea at first, until Russell learns her engineer husband is beset with prejudice and Indian superstitions at the mine, that the tippling small town doctor wants her for his own, and the gossipy neighbors have their own version of a snobbish pecking order. Entertaining star-vehicle doesn't do much with Dan Duryea's role as the drunken doc (he keeps popping up unannounced, and the finale leaves his character stranded); however, Russell--with her incredulous witticisms--and strong, sexy Chandler are a good match (no big romantic sparks, though with lots of chemistry). The picture doesn't always add up on a logical level, yet emotionally it is intriguing. Handsome production (with rich color), unobtrusive direction, nice theme song co-written by Chandler and Henry Mancini. **1/2 from ****

I expect Russell was the Technicolor draw for this rather tame installment of passion in the desert. Her box-office was peaking as thousands of men fantasized over certain Amazonian endowments. Still, she's quite good as the conflicted-wife, breathing life into a sometimes slumping narrative.

Will she and Chandler stay together once they decide to get hitched. That's basically the plot-line, so get interested if you can. Trouble is he's also married to his job at the gold mine; plus, being the swarthy Chandler from a hundred previous Westerns, he's also half- Apache. But more difficult for them, she's a rich girl from the East with a snooty mother, so you get the culture clash idea.

Duryea as the dipso doctor looks like he's having fun. But you do have to believe that somehow he handles the booze bottle with one hand and his patients with the other. Seems like a real stretch to me. Then too, there's the shapely Corday in a tacked-on role. Somehow she manages a fashion wardrobe on a nurse's salary. Oh well, she does have to carve out a glamour spot from the formidable Russell.

Not much really happens in the 90-minutes. But there is a lot of eye candy, especially the bright colors that show up like neons against the desert backdrop. Otherwise, except for the attractive stars, this desert soap opera is pretty much forgettable.