Meu Sangue Ficou Gelado

Young 21-year-old Julie (Joey Heatherton) is dating old but dependable Harry (Nicholas Coaster). Then she meets young hunky Ben (Troy Donahue) who seems instantly smitten with her. It seems he thinks she's the reincarnation of a woman he loved in another life! He knows a lot about her family that there's no way he could have known. Is it true?

Obscure little thriller. The basic plot is interesting and it moves quickly enough. Donahue and Heatherton are certainly an attractive couple and shown in their bathing suits often. But this movie has problems. It's flatly directed and Barry Sullivan and Coaster are dreadful in their roles. Donahue and Heatherton are bad too but Donahue tries and is actually very good at times. Old pro Jeanette Nolan however is superb as Aunt Sarah. The ultimate resolution was disappointing but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't entertained. I give it a 6.

Plot—A polite but obscure young man gains entrée into a wealthy household by claiming he and the family's daughter are reincarnations of past lovers. He's got just enough family secrets to lend some credence to the outlandish claim.

For a psychological thriller (why else the title) the film never achieves needed menace. Frankly the role is outside actor Donahue's limited range. Here he comes across more as a blandly mixed up beach boy than anything psychopathic. Thus the narrative unfolds rather than rivets. Heatherton is okay as the object of Gunther's (Donahue) obsession; at the same time, I almost forgot my Gidget flashbacks during the beach scenes. Actually I was most impressed with the unknown Coaster as the buttoned-down attorney, Harry. His sudden turnabout in that showdown scene with Merrivale (Sullivan) is impressive. Harry goes from a passive yes-man to a razor sharp critic in a scene that is both well scripted and acted, and may very well be the film's best.

Too bad RKO of the late 40's didn't get the project first. For b&w photography, they would have known what to do with noir material like this. Here the narrative is unfortunately filmed in flat style, at the same time the direction remains largely impassive. Consider what Anthony Mann or John Brahm could have done with, say, the boyish Robert Walker of Strangers on a Train (1951) as Gunther. Perhaps that's not very fair. But considering the potential this film shows, some such comparison is irresistible. Anyway, Donahue's rather sad career again shows the hazards of Hollywood. After all, like many youngsters, his brief moment depended more on youthful good looks than on talent. Too bad he didn't transition into a post-Hollywood career or marriage as many of his peers managed to do. All in all, I prefer to remember him from A Summer Place (1959) rather than for this obscurity.

(In passing--The topic of reincarnation briefly seized public attention in 1956 when a Colorado housewife, under hypnosis, claimed to be a reincarnation of an Irish girl, Bridey Murphy, from a century earlier. Apparently, the housewife had the brogue down pat and was just convincing enough to invite serious attention. For a while, many folks were undergoing hypnosis to maybe investigate their own previous lives. Anyway, the fad soon died out, but, for better or worse, I'm reminded of it by this movie.)

If you go in with your expectations adjusted to the fact that the stars of this are Troy Donahue and Joey Heatherton, hardly renown for their thespic abilities, then you should enjoy this rather overwrought drama that wants to be a thriller but isn't very chilling at all.

Troy shows up out of the blue when heiress Joey almost runs him down and is transfixed from the beginning telling her she's the reincarnation of his long lost love, Joey's great, great grandmother. This gives her understandable pause until he shows her a locket of the woman that Joey is a dead ringer for, apparently they had bottle blonds in the 17th century! It doesn't get any more believable from that point on but if you like 60's potboilers this has its charms.

Jeanette Nolan as Joey's aunt who knows most if not all the secrets gives the best performance and her hairpieces have to be seen to be believed! One is so mountainous that it's bigger than her head!

A great deal of fun in an over the top ridiculous kind of way.

Troy Donahue plays a most unusual role. In "My Blood Runs Cold", he plays Ben...a man obsessed with Julie (Joey Heatherton) and insists they knew each other in a previous life. The closest thing to proof is a locket with a portrait of Julie's great-great grandmother who apparently was the spitting image of her. But he insists they are destined to be together forever...which really creeps out Julie's father as well as her boyfriend. Inexplicably, Julie falls for Ben...and you can't help but think she's in for trouble as Ben is most likely psychologically imbalanced. Again....this is most unusual for Donahue as he usually played heartthrob roles that were a bit bland. Here, he's anything but bland!

So is it any good? Yes...but not great. One big problem I have about the story is that Julie comes from a rich family who is worried about Ben. Yet, they never have a private investigator look into who he is...had they even done a quick examination of his past, they would quickly learned the truth. A minor problem is that Julie is a really annoying character--impulsive and selfish. Heatherton's acting, especially at the end, was 'different'. So, worrying about her character's plight isn't very likely. Making her character more naive, less whiny and more likable would have helped the film. And, the ending was...well...a bit weak (that's putting it nicely!). Apart from these things, it's not bad and Donahue is a bit better than you'd expect. Worth watching mostly because it's different.

Cookie Cutter Supernatural Thriller that Reeks of Anthology TV, like "The Twilight Zone" or "Thriller". Popular Shows in the Late Fifties and Early Sixties.

Troy Donahue who was Almost but Not Quite a Major Hollywood Star that Shined for a Few Films and then Burned Out on TV Gigs and Booze. William Conrad Directs without much Enthusiasm and the Movie Suffers from Bland Cinematography, Sets, and Dialog and is only the Least Bit Interesting Outdoors.

Joey Heatherton was a Cutie that Never Attained a Long Career but was a serviceable Actress with a High Pitched Voice and a Highly Curvaceous Body. Barry Sullivan Chews the Scenery Playing the Domineering Father and Cutthroat Capitalist. He Thrashes about and Yells a lot, but is still Upstaged by Jeanette Nolan as a Sympathetic and all Knowing Aunt. Nicolas Coaster is the Third Wheel of the Reincarnation Romance between Troy and Joey and it's a Pretty Good Performance.

But its all so Routine without as much as a Boo and the End Chase Scene goes on Forever where Nothing much Happens and is very Predictable.

Overall, the Movie Barely makes Passable Entertainment, with just Enough Talent hanging around the Set to make this Watchable, but In the End it is a Styleless and somewhat Silly Misfire.