Reviews

Here is an unusual story about a girl and her father, who take refuge in the Georgia swamps as they try to evade a linching mob. The father (excellently played by Walter Brennan) had been wrongly accused of murder in a small neighboring town. The girl (who turns out to be the beautiful -and quite athletic - Jean Peters)grows up in the swamps, away from civilization, until a man (handsome Jeff Hunter) arrives at their campsite looking for his stray dog. Of course the two young actors eventually fall in love, but even this is believable and interwined into the action and adventure of this highly intersting film. Director Jean Negulesco offers us a well balanced and magnificently edited film that deals with prejudices and lies - which can be abundant in any small town. Very well acted by Peters, Hunter, et all...who award us with quite authentic southern accents, for a change.

Although heavy set Paul Douglas is no match for a pretty young thing like Jean Peters, the movie works. Peter Price, the wise-cracking youngster - whom Douglas hires to pass as his son in order to get Peters's attention - is probably the funniest kid that has ever appeared on the big screen. There's a well choreographed musical number, which Miss Peters and some eight men in tux perform. Telling too much about the movie may give away the element of surprise at the end. It takes place in the roaring twenties, complete with gangsters and molls. Arthur Treacher does his famous butler, Joan Davis is quite funny, and Cesar Romero (who played the main character in the original version TALL DARK AND HANDSOME) is great as Doublas's foe. Even the romantic elements are a joy to watch and make you laugh. I hope Fox markets this one on VHS soon.

Jean Peters, as has been reported by 20th Centyury Fox,was scheduled to play the part Marilyn Monroe played in NIAGARA. Anne Baxter was hired to play the part Jean Peters eventually played, but she became pregnant. Peters replaced Baxter and Monroe was hired for the role of the sexy wife (intended for Jean Peters.) Having seen Miss Peters in PICK-UP ON SOUTH STREET (with Dick Widmark), there's no doubt the actress could have done a tremendous job with Marilyn's part. The picture, nontheless, is full of suspense and director Henry Hathaway gives us some fabulous panoramic views of the falls. Marilyn is okay in this one, and Cotten does his best, but it is Jean Peters - in the less enticing role of the newlywed - that looks the most beautiful and does the greatest acting job on this one. Try to catch it on one of the classic film channels. It's worth seeing!

I give it three and a half stars. The Moneychangers is a great adaptation of the Hailey novel, but the greatest claim to fame in this action packed story, is its cast, the fact that Christopher Plummer won an Emmy Award as best actor for it, and the return of actrress Jean Peters to the screen. You'll see pros Like Kirk Douglas and Christopher Plummer in a quite credible battle over the presidency of a bank. The rest of the cast is incredibly good, with a lot of big names in supporting roles. Joan Collins plays the vamp who steals Plummer from Jean Peters (looking radiant in her comeback after years of absence from the screen). Marisa Pavan is Douglas's wife. She plays a mental case and her psychiatrist is none other than Helen Hayes. Anne Baxter is head of personnel at the bank and becomes concerned when one of her tellers (Timothy Bottoms) is suspected of credit card fraud. Others in the cast include James Shighetta, Mikko Takka, Percy Rodriguez, Susan Flannery, Hayden Rourque, Virginia Field, Lorne Greene, Patrick O'Neal, and another dozen very recognizable faces. All these fine actors deal with a number of serious topics - infidelity, ambition, battle for success, madness, police investigations, jail, homosexuality, riches and poverty. Good show!

Richard Todd and Jean Peters were the best choices for the roles of Peter Marshall and his wife, Catherine. Based on the best selling biographical novel (by Mrs. Marshall)the movie is both inspirational and well acted. The two main actors (Peters and Todd) have been very underrated by the Hollywood fanzines and - along with Marjorie Rambeau - they give Oscar deserved performances.

Why this film, which educates us in good morals and allows us to appreciate religious beliefs on a grand scale, has not been given more publicity is a puzzlement. It approaches audiences from an adult level and offers a piece of Americana that is rarely seen on the screen. I highly recommend this film. See it with the entire family and perhaps you too will be totally fullfilled - as my family was. I believe A Man Called Peter is the best film of its kind. A great, although hardly publicized movie!

Pert Jean Peters is in charge of an orphan boy (played by Dean Stockwell). Dana Andrews is a fisherman in a small town in Maine. He is highly attracted to Peters (who can blame him). However, when the orphan boy shows a distinct passion for the sea, Peters and Andrews find themselves at odds. Cesar Romero and Anne Revere co-star in this un-pretentious flick about romance, adventure and a boy's love for the sea. It's worth seeing at least once, but Fox does not offer it in VHS. Try looking for it in one of the movie classic cable channels. The Maine locations are quite impressive and the acting is fine.