L'extravagant Mr Cory

Sorry, but you are not going to get a standard review. The real star of this movie for me was Huntington Lake, which is high in the Sierras above Fresno California. As a sailor, Huntington is famous for it's consistently windy conditions that you can set your watch by. Every day at 10am, the lake is glassy calm. By 11am however, it is really blowing. Quite a bit of the movie uses the lake as a stand in for its presumed location in Wisconsin. I have sailed a lot of races on that lake and it is funny to observe that, in the background of each scene, you can clearly see that, even back in 1957, the wind is always absolutely cranking. Very amusing were the scenes which cut back and forth between the lake, where the wind is howling creating the usual Huntington Lake chop, and the boat in which they are sitting, which is clearly in a glassy calm swimming pool. It is actually not bad for a film shot in the 1950's. In a fun plot reversal, Tony hires the guy who was so hard on him as a bellboy, to work for him when he ends up with his own resort. But, for anybody who has ever raced on Huntington Lake, this movie is a must see!!!

While not one of the greatest of actors, Tony Curtis was always watchable and gave good performances (truly great actually in 'Some Like it Hot' and 'Sweet Smell of Success') in a fair share of good films. That 'Mister Cory' was directed by talented Blake Edwards, very early on in his career (his third film as director), and had a promising cast were also good reasons to see it.

It is sad that 'Mister Cory' isn't better known, for it really to me is a very good film and easily among Curtis' best early films and roles that sees a big growth as an actor. It is also a very good collaboration with Edwards. Of their collaborations together, the only one that underwhelmed was 'The Perfect Furlough' and that was hardly unwatchable. 'Mister Cory' really should be seen more and more accessibly available, it may not be extraordinary or among the best films ever made but it's entertaining and well made and crafted.

Can't really say much wrong actually. Would have liked more depth to William Reynolds' character Alex, written here rather thanklessly.

And maybe a darker colour palette may have worked slightly better in the photography and production values to match the sharpness and sometimes cynicism of the material.

That is not a knack really, because 'Mister Cory' does look great. The photography is full of style and elegance the CinemaScope gorgeous, and the settings/locations are like beautiful stars of their own. The music has energy and is really pleasant to listen to, not at odds with the film's tone.

'Mister Cory's' script is witty and sharp, with a sophistication and not heavy-handed use of cynicism. The story has a light heart as well as a darker edge that stops it from being glossy froth. Edwards' direction shows an ease, engagement with the material and a stylishness. The film works very well as a character study, with an interesting lead character.

A lead character played extremely well by Curtis, who brings a boyish charm, cocky arrogance, intensity, likeability and panache, the character is not purposefully a likeable one but one cannot hate him completely. Kathryn Grant and Martha Hyer are adorable and charming, while Charles Bickford and Henry Daniell give the standout supporting performances. William Reynolds excels with a character that could have been written better.

Overall, very well done and worthy of more credit. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Too bad Mister Cory isn't given a first name; he deserved one...especially when expertly portrayed by Mr. Tony Curtis.

About the time this film was done, in 1957, Curtis was gaining rapid momentum in what would become a memorable career. "Mister Cory" was bookcased by excellent mid/latter Fifties' Curtis films such as "Trapeeze", "The Vikings", "The Defiant Ones", "The Sweet Smell of Success", "Kings Go Forth" and "Operation Petticoat." Each of these Curtis efforts received critical acclaim...particularly "The Defiant Ones," for which he won an Oscar nomination, and "Sweet Smell of Success", for which he should have been nominated.

"Mister Cory" rarely is listed among Curtis' major early efforts. It should be. It is a real "sleeper." The actor, and those around him here, lift the film multiple steps above its melodramatic flavor, into the realm of something quite riveting.

Curtis was 32 when "Mister Cory" was done, but his boyish good-looks and trim physique make him quite believeable as the story's young man just out of the Navy, seeking his future. However, if anyone believes Curtis became successful on the screen just for those elements need only to watch performances as this to learn otherwise.

Cory is a complex character study, with volatile undercurrents beneath his attractive, agreeable surface. Curtis expertly handles the various nuances of the role. He makes the viewer believe he IS the tough kid just out of Chicago, seeking to escape his seamy roots. First, in the verdant Wisconsin resort locale, and later as a manager/host for a glittering Lake Shore Drive gambling house catering to the wealthy and snobbish.

In reality, Curtis was a tough kid seeking to escape his Bronx roots. He certainly could identify with Cory. But merely identifying with a character isn't sufficient for a believeable screen performance. Curtis demonstrates that he brought much more to the table than attractiveness and a pleasing personality. "Mister Cory" is only one such example.

Joining Curtis in "Mister Cory" are a wealth of outstanding supporting people. Twenty-two year old Kathryn Grant, less an a year from marrying Bing Crosby, is the saucy, outdoorsy, girl-next-door Jen Vollard who makes little doubt of her interest in Cory. In the role, Grant is adorable. She favored marriage over a screen career, a choice unfortunate for viewers.

Martha Hyer likewise is effective as the lacquered, polished Abigail Vollard, Jen's sister. Like most males who come into contact with her, Cory is taken. Unlike others, he is not overwhelmed. Ultimately, he learns that her smooth veneer merely whitewashes over unattractive beneath-the-surface elements.

Veteran character actor Charles Bickford is excellent as the stolid Jeremiah Caldwell, Cory's friend/mentor. Russ Morgan also turned in a fine performance as Ruby Matrobe, the suggestively shady force behind the gambling house.

But, with Curtis and Grant, the film is stolen by British stage/screen veteran Henry Daniell.

As Mr. Earnshaw, Daniell initially is boss to Cory's busboy at the resort. Later, he is recruited by Cory to tend to customers' needs at Matrobe's establishment. It is Earnshaw's "air of snobbery" that is his most marketable quality to Cory. Daniell carries off the stuffy, Mr. Manners role with enjoyable aplomb. With an O Henry-like twist near the film's conclusion, Cory learns that stiff, protocol-spouting Earnshaw once was arrested...for bigamy.

The film's most thankless role is that of Abigail's long-time suiter, Alex Wyncott. He has spent much of his life eagerly, if a bit wearily, fending-off numerous would be-rivals for her. William Reynolds handles the role well, and deserves credit for undertaking it. Not only is Wyncott portrayed to be a rich man's apparently inept son, he verbally is accosted by Cory in witheringly demeaning fashion. Only near the the 92-minute film's conclusion is Wyncott finally allowed to demonstrate backbone: he shoots Cory in the arm. Curtis responds: "...I didn't think he had the guts."

Upon viewing "Mister Cory," those unfamiliar with the film might likewise reply, "Where has this been all this time?"

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I love this movie! Curtis plays it to the hilt. You see him scheming, you see him analyzing, you see him schmoozing & it all works. Leaving the slums behind & wanting a girl who's out of his league (but not her sister, who's clearly in love w/him), Mr. Cory creates a name for himself as the business-guy of a gambling house where said rich girl can cavort with him under wraps whilst still keeping up appearances. When Curtis sees the real deal with her, he lets her have it, but good! She deserves it. She actually makes HIM feel cheap when she's really the one who's worth nothing! See this for Mr. Curtis' snappy style & how great he looks in a suit! He's usually such a talker in his films. In this, you can SEE him thinking & it all works.

"Mister Cory" is a fast-moving and very engaging Cinemascope movie about a slick go-getter who cuts corners to get to the top. As played by Tony Curtis, Mister Cory - we never learn his Christian name - is charming and amusing, and the audience never dislikes him.

Mister Cory leaves his Chicago slum home and starts work as a busboy in a lake-side holiday resort for the very rich. Quickly he makes extra money by various games of chance. When he sees the elegant and beautiful Abigail Vollard (Martha Hyer) he decides he must have her, even though he is warned that she is a practised heart-breaker. Cory pretends to Abby that he is a rich guest at the resort, but his tactics come to nothing when a jealous colleague lets Abby know that Cory works in the kitchen. Cory leaves and becomes a small-time professional gambler. He teams up with Jeremiah Caldwell (Charles Bickford) who introduces him to big-league gambling. (N. B. "Mister Cory was made a few years before "The Hustler" which had the same premise.) They open up their own gambling house and invite Abby and her fiancé. Mister Cory and Abby re-start their liaison with dramatic consequences.

"Mister Cory" is an early Blake Edwards movie, and incorporates his usual fascination with the difference between appearance and reality. That difference is obvious with Cory but is much more real and important with Abby. This was one of the best parts Martha Hyer ever had, and she plays her role well, bringing out both the sexual hypocrisy and the smooth good manners of a well brought-up beauty from a privileged background. Hair stylist Joan St. Oegger and cinematographer Russell Metty made Martha Hyer very glamorous indeed, and the audience has no difficulty accepting that all men find Abby irresistible.

Other supporting players give good performances. Charles Bickford was always a strong screen presence and is so in "Mister Cory". Kathryn Grant is extremely likable as Abby's boisterous younger sister, and the remarkably handsome William Reynolds does well as Abby's rich and duped fiancé. Henry Daniell almost steals the movie playing the prim and snobbish resort manager.

The IMDb incorrectly credits the music to Henry Mancini. As Mancini himself carefully explained in his autobiography, it was the penny-pinching policy at Universal-International in the mid-fifties not to write new music for a movie, but instead to re-use music from previous Universal films. Mancini writes about "Mister Cory": "I didn't write the score for that picture, but as often happened when they needed music in a pop vein, I had been brought in for some source cues."

For some reason, "Mister Cory" is rarely screened today, even on television. An enhanced widescreen DVD would be very welcome.

UPDATE 2012: Mister Cory has now been released on DVD in Spain under the title "El Temible Mister Cory" Although in anamorphic widescreen, the picture quality is mediocre.