Na Voragem do Amor

Ann Margret and Michael Parks are two of the more underrated stars of the American cinema. Ann-Margret burst into stardom with her amazing rendition of "Bachelor in Paradise" at the Oscars, Ann set the house afire,and got a thunderous ovation. Ann-Margret worked non stop for years with stars such as Bette Davis and one of A-M's better movies was Universal's Bus Riley's Back in Town. Ann-Margret is perfect in this movie and I am so glad that movies today are being re evaluated. (In the old days movies were spun out for release quickly and then forgotten. Michael Parks is another much neglected star and he made quite a hit in the in John Huston's "The Bible" with Ava Garnder . This movie is based on William Inge's story and there was a sorta gay subplot in the script but Universal diffused the story and made it not so aware in the movie. I know I am hoping for a miracle but if Universal went back and restored the trims and the outtakes of this movie it might be the classic it deserves to be.

Viva sexy Ann Margret who is my candidate for the most under appreciated actress of modern times.

Williwaw

It's amazing that Ann-Margret had any friends left in Hollywood after she was put in the forefront of "State Fair", then the producers of "Bye Bye Birdie" geared that film around her then in this film, she was given top-billing and the story was re-structured to bring out her character more than was intended or necessary! It's not to say that she didn't do a good job on these movies, it's just that more than a few people involved got their feathers ruffled along the way and she seems to be none the worse for wear from it herself! Here, it was the author of the piece (William Inge) who tried to disassociate himself from the film when the producers decided to steer the production her way. The story is supposed to be about the title character (Parks) and the events that befall him when he comes home from a three year stint in the U.S. Navy. He has trouble finding his way and interacts with various locals and family members as he searches for purpose and the security of a bright future. Standing in the way of this is old flame Margret who, when he shipped out after a break up with her, married a wealthy older man. Parks and Margret have a great push-pull, moth-to-a-flame chemistry with Parks desperately trying to avoid what he knows will be his undoing. Fans of Margret will be doing backflips when watching this film as she purrs and slithers around in her Jean Louis dresses and tosses her lionesse mane of red hair. Her character makes little or no sense half the time (partly because it has been unduly featured as a starring part when it is actually just a plot device), but her followers won't care when she's writhing around and whispering romantic dialogue in lighting that would make Lucille Ball jealous. Parks can't quite shake the James Dean label entirely and the way he acts and looks sometimes, maybe he wasn't even trying, but he does give a thoughtful, often empathetic performance. The whole film is dotted with great character actors giving little doses of themselves. Sometimes, they get short shrift or their scenes don't add up to much, but their presence is enjoyable nonetheless. Brando gets one of her better roles as Parks' worried mother. The lovely Farmer plays his tarty, blonde sister while Darby does a fantastic job as his adoring younger sister. Her performance provides the film with a great deal of heart and realism. Other enjoyable work is done by Somers (she did something before "Match Game"?!) as a fussy boarder, Martin as a slovenly neighbor, Dexter as a slick salesman, Pearce as a dotty housewife and Griffies as a cantankerous mortician. Less showy, but just as good is Margolin as Darby's troubled friend. If the parts don't all add up to a brilliant whole, at least the film is pretty to look at and mostly entertaining. The characters are interesting enough to hold the viewers attention for the bulk of the time. Amusingly, the one hot pub in town (purportedly a straight bar) plays only Petula Clark songs until Margret slips a nickel in the juke box for one of her slinky come-ons. There's also a rather forward (for its time) scene of an older man attempting to make Parks his live-in "buddy". It would be interesting to see how the film played with Inge's perspective kept intact. As is, it's still a more than passable piece of entertainment.

There's a lot to like about this film, even though it's slight and, too often, dramatically crude. The director, Harvey Hart, went on to do mostly television in his career and that's a little surprising, because he frames scenes in very thoughtful, compelling ways. The story doesn't have quite the depth or psychological complexity to support all those hysterical camera angles, (he had to have been influenced by Elia Kazan's classic "East of Eden" - which interestingly, he later went on to direct the TV movie remake of) but it keeps the movie from getting boring - which it all too easily could have become.

The best thing about the film is the cast. Michael Parks. Ann-Margret. Kim Darby. Janet Margolin. They're all bright, young, attractive, appealing (and in Ann-Margaret's case scorchingly sexy) - you don't mind spending an hour and a half with these people. It's particularly interesting to watch Parks in one of his few fully fleshed out roles. He was often criticised for being a 2nd rate James Dean imitator, but there's very little of that here. As in "The Happening" which he would appear in a couple years later, he shows a real talent for physical, self-mocking comedy - sort of lampooning the expectations of his Dean-like appearance. In fact, you get the feeling he's struggling to shed all that "sensitive young rebel" baggage, and is much more comfortable just being a clown.

Parks unfortunately slogged and mumbled his way through a lot of wretched movies throughout his career but here he IS an actor. There is one key exchange which illustrates this perfectly. He walks into a bar after a disillusioning encounter with a Mortician friend he thought was going to give him a job, no strings attached and has the following conversation with the bartender: "Bus, you look like you just got back from a funeral." "I did." "Whose?" "Mine, I guess." Not especially original dialogue, but Parks is able to put a spin on that last line which makes it sound fresh and, more importantly, real.

For a film that never quite comes together, (and in fact falls apart in the 2nd half) it boasts an unusually high number of memorable scenes: Parks' early morning, exhilarating embrace of his kid sister (Darby) his first day back; A-M deliberately running her expensive car into his new convertible so that he'll have to notice her; and my favorite - Parks walking out on her in some club, and A-M following him slowly in her car as he mills through the deserted streets of his hometown. The two of them really connect in some of their early scenes together (they're as good as anything between Beatty and Wood in "Splendor in the Grass") so it's really disappointing when the decision is made to reduce A-M from a 3 dimensional character to 2 dimensional as the story unfolds. The relationship simply isn't explored in a satisfactory or believable way.

Nevertheless it's fascinating watching this curiosity, through the miracle of video, that's been virtually buried for 35 years.

Writer William Inge took his name off the credits for this Ann-Margret/Michael Parks dud about serviceman returning home to family and friends, only to find everything has changed while he's been away. The screenplay, now credited to Walter Gage, hints at provocative themes (an older gentleman whom Parks sees about a job actually comes on to him, eyebrow-raising for 1965!), but the characters don't make much sense. Ann-Margret does everything she can to bring life to the proverbial ex-girlfriend role, but her Laurel is an unconvincing, mercurial concoction--you cannot get a grip on this woman--and A-M has no choice but to fall back on her patented sultriness. A slight, watchable movie with bad editing and drab cinematography, however it's a curious attempt at modernizing a "Picnic"-like scenario. *1/2 from ****

I have watched this classic and contemporary film at least three (3) times over the past fifty-two (52) years. I will most certainly watch it again when the Criterion Collection eventually come to realize how important this film is to the North American culture of the second half of the last century. I am quite sure the Criterion Collection will eventually release this beautiful contemporary film on an extended Blu Ray format fully restored with extras that will include historical interviews with Director Harvey Hart and many of the key actors in this Peyton Place kind of small town atmosphere.

Michael Parks and his chiseled good looks plays the returning home from over seas navy seaman Bus Riley. Bus displays his own unique moody yet still charming persona that emulated the likes of James Dean and a younger Marlon Brando. Bus Riley's solemn temperament matched wildly and sexually against the 24 year old married vixen Laurel played by Ann-Margret. Director Harvey Hart brings to the screen the warmth and loving charm of the three (3) family members who Bus Riley lives with who are his mother played by Jocelyn Brando (the older sister of Marlon Brando), and his two sisters the younger Gussie, (played so lovingly and filled with innocence by Kim Darby) who is filled with life and yet still empty of any jealousy towards either brother Bus or older sister Paula, played by the attractive Mimsy Farmer.

There are many lonely ladies in this Peyton Place sort of town, one of which happens to be the divorced mother of Judy who who lays around on her couch watching romantic movies, and drinking herself into a state of stupor. Then one day the young and rather naive Bus Riley knocks on her door to sell her one of his new "top secret atomic" vacuum cleaner which he quickly gets her to sign a contract for in exchange for providing her a handsome young shoulder to cry on. But Bus does have a conscience and when he discovers that this lonely lady is Judy's mother who is her mothers sole caregiver and housekeeper and he recognizes Judy as his own sister Gussie's best friend, he quickly finds a way to dissolve the just signed contract and save Judy's drunkard mother from going further into debt.

The film is about young love, old love, personal financial gain, parental disdain, deception, heart break, the sexual revolution, it even touches on homosexuality which was a taboo topic in 1965. The Riley family has its own share of despair as we wonder why Bus's father is not in the picture, nor present in the household. Bus just returning from a three (3) year overseas tour serving in the U.S. Navy appears to have left abruptly after breaking up with his younger seventeen (17) year old virginal girlfriend Laurel, only to discover upon his return home to find out she has married a very wealthy but much older man.

There are many good actors in this film and multiple story lines. I believe that Ann-Margret's and Michael Park's performances were worthy of at least an Academy Award nomination for best actress and best actor respectively. This film moves along seamlessly from the opening scene to the last scene where the Riley's kitchen door closes behind us, the audience. It is a film filled with regrets, but more importantly it is also a film filled with compassion, awakenings, second chances and redemption.

I love this picture and therefore I give Bus Riley's Back In Town a perfect 10/10 rating. I trust the Criterion Collection has this beautifully directed and acted 1965 film on their short list for a new restored release before the end of this quarter century.