If you are the type of person who seeks out this movie, you are likely familiar with the paperback fiction of the 50s. You know the kind -- the ones with some underclad girl on the cover who is in the process of losing the rest of her clothing. Depicted, luridly, is a hot sweaty low class Southern locale -- a log cabin or a mangrove swamp or the outbuildings of a declining old plantation. Meanwhile, the story inside the outrageous covers isn't exactly what's promised on the cover. There are no naughty bits, really, in the prose. There is usually a somewhat erratic plot that goes from tough talk, to lynchings, to odd encounters with rough tough sheriff types. Sometiomes the writing is pretty good -- a lot of the paperbacks bring an unexpected sense of place (Florida, Georgia, Mississippi) to the goings on, or manage an unexpected turn of phrase, or being out a memorable character or two, or some plot twists.
Well, this film is much like those paperbacks. The actors ain't memorable, and the photography is nothing too great. (It is always good to see location photography from this era, and there are some good looks at at Florida town that, as of 1959, was still "old South") But the story -- which starts out as a boy from the wrong side of tracks knocks up a rich girl narrative -- takes a series of unexpected twists which lead to a rather surprising (if slightly outrageous) ending. Every now and then, we also get to see shots of of the two female leads in their underwear, offering themselves up to our somewhat lunkheaded hero. If you are in the right mood, this is a good way to spend 72 minutes. I am curious whether the scriptwriter did other movies, because the plot is the best thing here.
Well, this film is much like those paperbacks. The actors ain't memorable, and the photography is nothing too great. (It is always good to see location photography from this era, and there are some good looks at at Florida town that, as of 1959, was still "old South") But the story -- which starts out as a boy from the wrong side of tracks knocks up a rich girl narrative -- takes a series of unexpected twists which lead to a rather surprising (if slightly outrageous) ending. Every now and then, we also get to see shots of of the two female leads in their underwear, offering themselves up to our somewhat lunkheaded hero. If you are in the right mood, this is a good way to spend 72 minutes. I am curious whether the scriptwriter did other movies, because the plot is the best thing here.
