Foxfire

For the era of filmmaking, I felt that the subject of racial/cultural discrimination was handled well. Also, the director/writer explored the character, Dartland's, self-loathing and fear of being rejected because of his Native-American heritage -- all this intermingled with his life that is based on secrets, the desire to belong to an acceptable social class, dealing with a flourishing career, and the strained marriage with Russell. Loved it!

I think it's the sensational color and the locations that lure me to this film. The time period fits well into it also. The deeply saturated blue sky and the arid desert draw me in like a magnet. In 1955 I was ten years old, and numerous rail trips through the west, with stops in Tucumcari, New Mexico, are brought to mind with films like this one. I recently visited Oatman, Arizona, where much if not all of this film was shot, only because of the film. Of course as would be expected, I found nothing in Oatman identifiable with the film after all these years, except the deep blue sky and the arid desert. Jeff Chandler was always a favorite, and his role as a strong silent mining engineer of American Indian heritage, plays well with Jane Russell's role as a rich bored adventurous young woman, almost a forerunner of "Green Acres" without the laughs. All of these sensory elements entice my 10 year old's psyche to the surface. The film offers great release for me. In 1955 one of the railroads used a young Indian boy's image as a logo, and General Motors Pontiac division used a similar theme. I was fascinated by Indian lore at the time, and the mystery and remembrance of it all comes into relative focus with this film. Not a film for everyone, but as far as I am concerned, they made this one for me.

Rich Eastern socialite Jane Russell is out West, where she meets half-Apache mining engineer Jeff Chandler. They fall into lust, which in this 1950s Universal drama means they get married quick - Chandler only being half-Indian is why this is acceptable, far more so than if he had been playing a Jew, which he was. Miss Russell is happy to live in a bug-infested shack, but she doesn't take to being a bedtime hobby for her husband.

There's a bit of sociology and psychology that gives this movie some depth, but under the direction of Joseph Pevney it turns into another soaper about "love on my terms." Miss Russell seems the nobler for having to chase cockroaches down the sink, but Chandler's obsession is getting an old gold mine up and profitable on the reservation, creating job and wealth for his mother's people. That seems more useful to me; one contemptuous character remarks he has turned down good jobs back East in his futile-seeming quest.

William H. Daniels gets some gorgeous photography out of the beautiful leads and land around Kingman, Arizona. The cast is padded with Dan Duryea in a subplot that does nothing, Mara Corday as the woman who loves him, and the always worthwhile Barton MacLane.

The pretty pictures will keep you interested, but for me the ending, in which Miss Russell returns to Chandler, seems more a matter of what the audience expects than anything else. They appear to have both realized what's wrong with their relationship, but knowing it and doing something about it are two very different things.

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.

1955's "Foxfire" has several things going for it -- mainly the star power of Jane Russell and Jeff Chandler. They are very sexy together and their chemistry permeates this film. Their performances are subtle yet resonate with honest emotion. Both actors have a natural style of acting which allows the viewer to swallow the script's melodramatic clichés without rejecting the whole scenario of a New York socialite impulsively marrying an Arizona miner. Here Russell once again shows that she was in the ranks of Mitchum & Gable -- two of her screen co-stars -- and that she knew how to make her acting look effortless and completely natural. However, given all the salacious publicity she received, rarely was her talent or her charismatic screen presence truly appreciated during her heyday. Here her usual tough and hard-boiled persona is toned downed and she gives a performance showing sensitivity and vulnerability. She is completely believable in a role that was originally intended for June Allyson! Chandler too is quite good: silent yet complex and he shows these characteristics without the histrionics typically used by actors in similar roles (i.e. Robert Stack). The gorgeous Technicolor enhances the Arizona scenery and the great Dan Duryea offers fine support as an alcoholic doctor in love with Russell. Mara Corday also shines in the small role of Duryea's nurse. "Foxfire" is not as stylistic or as over-the-top fun as Douglas Sirks' classic Universal sudsers, but very good in it's own right. The opening credits with Chandler singing the theme song (co-written by Chandler and Henry Mancini) sets the tone for a very good romantic drama starring two of the 1950s most underrated and sexiest stars.

This film needs to be released on DVD!!