Richard Chatten 'The Tattered Dress' is the second of four programmers released by Universal in 1957 directed by Jack Arnold, who had started the year extremely auspiciously with 'The Incredible Shrinking Man'. 'The Tattered Dress' was the first of two films he made set in the deep south: the latter being 'Man in the Shadow', in which Jeff Chandler played the honest sheriff of a fictitious cow town called Spurline who crosses swords with a ruthless local ranch owner played by Orson Welles. In 'The Tattered Dress' it's the sheriff (played by Jack Carson) who's the heavy; and Chandler the lawyer from New York come to defend a wealthy local spiv for the murder of a popular local sports hero to whom his trashy wife had lately taken a shine. After a glorious opening sequence resembling a series of dime novel covers of the period, Chandler arrives in Desert View, Nevada; and the moment he steps off the train the unfriendly looks he gets tell us we're in 'Mississippi Burning' territory. Like most Hollywood films since time immemorial it takes a remarkably cynical view of lawyers and the law ("I could spend hours telling you of innocent men imprisoned and executed because of clumsy and uninspired defences"), but treats its often lurid subject matter in a rather lacklustre and talky fashion. Jeffrey Chandler isn't the most convincing of casting as a cynical and ruthless lawyer whose motto is "If you're guilty get James Gordon Blane" (it would have been perfect for Carson, actually); and most of the excellent supporting cast aren't really at their best, with the notable exception of Edward Andrews in a very small part and Gail Russell (whose vulnerable appearance is enhanced by the regrettable fact that she was in reality drinking herself to death at the time) as a pawn in a dastardly plot by crooked sheriff Jack Carson to cook Chandler's goose.Two nice uses by Arnold of the Cinemascope screen were the way Chandler's until now estranged wife Jeanne Crain signals that their conjugal relations are about to resume by pulling shut the curtains in his hotel suite; and the slight but perceptible little sigh of relief visible on the part of the court stenographer (played by Robert Haines) when Chandler's passionate summary to the jury finally ends.

Robert J. Maxwell Universal Studios -- known for colossal stupendous productions like "Francis The Talking Mule" and "Abbott And Costello Meet The Invisible Man" -- presents a rather neat little courtroom drama directed by Jack Arnold, who gave us such compelling art films as "Tarantula." I'm kind of making fun of it but I really shouldn't, because, if it lacks poetry, it's still not bad.Briefly, Jeff Chandler is a high-priced New York criminal lawyer who comes to the little town of Desert Valley to defend some potentate who murdered his luscious wife's rapist. At least we think she was raped. Elaine Stewart, of Montclair, New Jersey, is an outrageous flirt. She's hardly a receding type of personality, and the only evidence is her testimony and her tattered dress.Chandler gets the killer off but the town is enraged because they liked the murder victim. The local corrupt sheriff (Carson) and his consort (Russell) concoct a frame and charge Chandler with jury tampering, obstruction of justice, bribery, and ordering rare steak for strange women on trains. He defends himself but, as his wife, Jeanne Crain, points out, a lawyer who defends himself has a fool for a client.For a smart lawyer, he's pretty clumsy. He shouts at Gail Russell on the stand until she faints, or pretends to, winning the sympathy of the jury. Chandler gives the role everything he's got but there's not much there. When he's not shouting staccato at the witnesses, his only other approach to acting is a deep nasal baritone that indicates deep thought. He has strong features, in addition to that masculine voice, and his skull is brachycephalic, shaped rather like a bowling ball.Jeanne Crain is slender and lovely. The reason she's here, as Chandler's estranged wife, is to return to him when he needs comforting. "When pain and anguish wring the brow, a ministering angel Thou!" Gail Russell was improbably beautiful, vulnerable, and sexy ten years earlier but she'd been pounding a lot of booze lately and it had begun to show, though she was only in her early 30s when this was shot. She died miserably a few years later, a shame.Lamentably, Jack Arnold is stuck with a plot-driven script with no nuance at all. In "Tarantula", John Agar is allowed to muse after hearing a strange sound in the Mojave: "Everything that has ever walked or crawled has left its mark on this desert." Nothing like that here. George Zuckerman, the writer, hasn't given Arnold much wiggle room with the characters or the narrative. Carson as the murderous sheriff is immediately recognizable for what he is -- a "Southern" type sheriff, you know; the kind that smiles in a friendly-like way while he thrusts his fist down your throat and yanks out your pyloric sphincter. And George Tobias as the worn-out Las Vegas comic is there only to be killed. I kept waiting for it.The direction, on the whole is pretty slack. When giving his summation to the jury in what appears to be one unending take with few reaction shots, Chandler has a habit of lacing his fingers together as if about to crack his knuckles. He rarely DOESN'T do it. All Jack Arnold had to do was say, "Jeff, do something else with your hands."

Charles Reichenthal THE TATTERED DRESS has so many fascinating elements within it that it deserves to be elevated to the class of forgotten, but major, works. Jack Arnold's direction of a potentially overly-melodramatic plot manages to sidestep most of the problems, but it is the acting that is most memorable. The film's beginning uses Elaine Stewart to enormous advantage. She may have had a short film career, but you could not take your eyes off her when she was on screen (THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, SKY FULL OF MOON, HAJJI BABA, etal). She had quite a bit of talent that never saw stardom, partly because of a dog attack that left her out of the biz for a while. GAIL RUSSELL is superb...totally wonderful... in a supporting role, and the scene in which she breaks down in the courtroom deserved a Nomination. And how splendidly she handles the line about drinking!! JACK CARSON is cagey and sneaky and superbly threatening. In the lead, JEFF CHANDLER, as a lawyer, is always convincing. Low-keyed, you can tell when his character is confronted with an insurmountable problem. JEANNE CRAIN has little to do as his wife, but she is always lovely to watch. Catch this underrated film. It's worth searching for.

Sleepy-17 The first 20 minutes are quite vivid and garish, and Elaine Stewart is lovely and electrifying as the well-married tramp. Later it bogs down in pompous courtroom scenes that magnify Jeff Chandler's tendency toward two-note delivery. Note: The review in TV Guide slams Jack Arnold, implying that he's a poor director and that the "Incredible Shrinking Man" was a poorly-directed film. (!?!) Hey! Please study your film history! Take it from someone who thinks that 50's pop culture is important, that it is reflected in almost everything we think, do, and watch today, from the cars that we drive to the presidents that we elect! Jack Arnold was a master, and the films (and TV shows) that he directed have been a major influence.