Christopher Lee is tantalizing in draggy drama

 ALIAS JOHN PRESTON (1955)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Forgettable, cheaply made Elstree Studios effort that will be only of interest to Christopher Lee fans. At 66 minutes, it is still an endurance test.

Lee is a wealthy businessman, John Preston, who arrives in the English town of Deanbridge. He matriculates himself in this sleepy area rather seamlessly as he buys a vast amount of real estate. Preston also has his eye on the bewitching Sally (Betta St. John) who is rather frigid with her former beau (Peter Grant), an amateur golf player. Sally is taken by Preston yet something is off about him - he snaps at her, snaps at the maitre-d of a local restaurant, and is always nervous, sweaty and anxious. Preston claims to have fought in World War II and hates France - the assumption being that he was a soldier during its German and Italian occupation. He intends to marry Sally yet is inclined to see a psychoanalyst (Alexander Knox) to deal with his recurring nightmare of a murder he may have committed under a different identity.

It does not take a genius to see where this is headed and thus suspense for this cumbersome drama is minimal. As an albeit brief psychological study of a man slowly losing his marbles, "Alias John Preston" has some tantalizing moments thanks to Christopher Lee's towering performance - he seems too big for this TV-style play yet is sometimes terrifying to watch. Alexander Knox is dead-on as the analyst who sees a lot more than he lets on. The film does drag a bit and most of it is as visually flat as a desert, yielding little surprise or imagination with its predictable story structure. For Christopher Lee completists, well worth checking it out at least once. Drink plenty of caffeine. 

Sleuthing through planes, cows and greenhouses

 NANCY DREW...TROUBLE SHOOTER (1939)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Bonita Granville has the charm, the spirit, the joy and pure liveliness to play the favorite female sleuth of murder mysteries, Nancy Drew. Though Granville starred in only four Nancy Drew films, they are all fun and infectious. Although she is a little more ditzy than in the books, Granville still holds her own and has enough intelligence to find the clues to solve a mystery.

In "Trouble Shooter," she wants to clear her "Uncle" Adams, a farmer, who is suspected of murder. Naturally, stubborn Uncle Adams knows he is innocent and procures help from attorney Carson Drew (John Litel). Carson pretends to be going on vacation out in the country until the tight-lipped housekeeper lets the cat out of the bag to the curious Nancy (Granville). Nancy spends time uncovering a rare tropical plant on the grounds where the murdered victim, a ranch owner, is found. She and her semi-boyfriend Ted (Frankie Thomas), a typical klutz, go off gathering information on this darn plant that leads to a burning greenhouse and the pair trying not to fly a crop duster plane into the ground! There is also Nancy trying to clumsily make dinner for her father and his guest, a practically next-door neighbor he has a romantic interest in.

"Nancy Drew...Trouble Shooter" has enough laughs and action overall to please anyone, though the plot is rather flimsy and the whodunit is not exactly something that will leave you scratching your head. The racist caricature of Willie Best as the farm hand who steals chickens is obviously done for comic effect but it will prove deleterious and cringe-inducing to most (he was used to far more execrable effect in Harold Lloyd's "Feet First"). "Trouble Shooter" is still a pleasant diversion with the added treat of an angry cow.