Heller in Pink Tights (1960)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Walter Bernstein (writer)
Louis L'Amour (novel)

Release Date:

1 March 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | Western

Tagline:

One foot on the stage... And one step ahead of the law!

Plot:

Story of theatrical troupe that travels through the Old West.

Plot Keywords:

Theater | Nineteenth Century | Theater Owner | Wyoming | Wild West

Cast

Sophia Loren	...	Angela Rossini
Anthony Quinn	...	Thomas 'Tom' Healy
Margaret O'Brien	...	Della Southby
Steve Forrest	...	Clint Mabry
Eileen Heckart	...	Mrs. Lorna Hathaway
Ramon Novarro	...	De Leon
Edmund Lowe	...	Manfred 'Doc' Montague
George Mathews	...	Sam Pierce
Edward Binns	...	Sheriff Ed McClain
Warren Wade	...	Hodges (a creditor)
Frank Silvera	...	Santis (a miner)
Robert Palmer	...	McAllister
Leo V. Matranga	...	Gunslinger #2
Cal Bolder	...	Goober (De Leon's man)
Taggart Casey	...	Gunslinger #1

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (2005) | West Germany:16 | Spain:7 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:16

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The novel and the film are inspired by the life of vaudeville actress Adah Isaacs Menken (1835-1868).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Who Is Alan Smithee? (2002) (TV)

Bringing Culture to the Wild West

For the only western in the film credits of George Cukor he sure couldn't be faulted for the source of his material. This film is taken from one of the books by the great western novelist Louis L'Amour. It concerns the escapades of a traveling theatrical troupe in the west headed by Anthony Quinn with the leading lady being Sophia Loren. This was her only trip to the American west on film also.

Theatrical people did not exactly have the same kind of prestige back in those days as they do now. We first meet our players fleeing across the state/territorial boundaries of Nebraska and Wyoming evading a sheriff with a writ. They arrive in Cheyenne and get themselves involved with the villainous doings of Ramon Novarro and his hired gunman Steve Forrest.

After Forrest does a couple of jobs for him, Novarro tries a doublecross maneuver similar to the one Laird Cregar tried on Alan Ladd in This Gun For Hire with the same sorry results. Forrest of necessity joins the theatrical troupe and both get an opportunity to use their respective skills to help each other out of some tight spots.

This film had potential to be better. Maybe in the hands of someone like George Marshall or John Ford it might even have become a classic. George Cukor was not the director for it.

The film marked the last feature film appearance of both Ramon Novarro and Edmund Lowe. Novarro did do some television work until his tragic murder in 1968. Here he's a smooth and polished villain. Edmund Lowe does quite well as an old ham actor which at that point in his life was I'm sure one easy role for him.

Heller in Pink Tights is enjoyable enough, but no classic.