| Vintage Pulp | Dec 16 2020 |
A rag is a gown, 'til a man comes around.
Above is an Italian poster for Il vestito strappato, better known as The Tattered Dress, starring Jeff Chandler, Jack Carson, Jeanne Crain, Gail Russell, and the lovely Elaine Stewart. The art, depicting an evening gown reduced to a useless rag by a disembodied male hand, is actually accurate in terms of the film's visuals. We mean a dress is ripped and you don't get a good look at who's attached to the hand. We talked about it a while back. Shorter review: disorder in the court.
ItalyThe Tattered DressIl vestito strappatoJeff ChandlerJeanne CrainJack CarsonGail RussellElaine Stewartposter artcinema
| Vintage Pulp | Mar 14 2020 |
Big shot attorney finds his defense strategy in tatters.
Above is a poster for The Tattered Dress, an unexpectedly entertaining flick about a craven New York City lawyer who ventures to smalltown Nevada to defend a local big shot against murder charges, only to find that the acquittal breeds a dangerous new enemy. The film stars Jeff Chandler, and amazingly this was the first thing we've seen him in. We were thinking, “Why wasn't this guy a huge star?” He could act, he had presence, and he was great looking. And then we internetted him and learned that died at age forty-two after complications from back surgery. Apparently his surgeon botched the job, cut an artery, and Chandler only survived the operation with the help of 55 pints of infused blood. But he never made it out of the hospital, as subsequent side effects laid him low. What a way to go.
You'd almost think Chandler originally hurt his back carrying The Tattered Dress, because the movie rides almost entirely on him. He gets a nice assist from Jack Carson, and co-stars Jeanne Crain, Gail Russell and super-hottie Elaine Stewart certainly don't hurt, but it's Chandler who's asked to handle all the toughest elements of this heavy courtroom drama, including two long cross-examinations and an emotional closing argument. And it's no wonder he's emotional—thanks to his new enemy that closing argument comes as he's serving as his own counsel, defending himself in court against bribery charges. They say the man who serves as his own counsel has a fool for a client. Chandler has to prove that adage wrong or he's prison toast.
The Tattered Dress goes the route of portraying defense lawyers as devoid of morals, when in the real world it's often prosecutors that are the dodgy ones, but it's still fun to see Chandler progress from pure mercenary to a man with newfound respect for his profession. The “tattered dress” of the title at first seems to refer to a torn dress worn by co-star Elaine Stewart that becomes crucial in the opening case, but we later learn it really refers to dress worn by Lady Justice. Chandler finally understands that the law needs to be protected above all. Too bad it doesn't seem to work that way anywhere except on the silver screen. The Tattered Dress premiered in the U.S. today in 1957.
Don't worry, baby. We have a stand-your-ground law in this state, so theoretically my stalking and murdering this guy shouldn't be a big deal.
Don't worry, baby. We have a stand-your-ground law in this state, so theoretically my stalking and murdering this guy shouldn't be a big deal.
Hypothetically speaking, if I botched your husband's defense, would that increase or decrease the odds of the two us having hot filthy sex?
So, long story short, banging guys in this convertible has become sort of a way of life.
Objection! Melodramatic!
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my client is extremely rich. Defense rests.
The Tattered DressJeff ChandlerJeanne CrainJack CarsonGail RussellElaine Stewartposter artcinemamovie review
| Femmes Fatales | Feb 12 2020 |
She's the reason you should have disaster insurance.
Above, a great promo image of U.S. actress Gail Russell from the 1957 drama The Tattered Dress, in which she co-starred with Jeff Chandler, Jeanne Crain, and Elaine Stewart. We aren't kidding about disaster insurance, by the way—she once crashed her car into a bar.
| Femmes Fatales | Nov 14 2012 |
Having a merry go ’round in Hollywood.
American actress and model Elaine Stewart first caught Hollywood’s attention as See magazine’s Miss See for the month of January 1952. She immediately launched a film career, winning small roles in seven movies that year, and eventually appearing in The Tattered Dress, Night Passage, High Hell, The Bad and the Beautiful and other productions, as well as in several television shows. This shot was made in 1954 when she was filming MGM’s musical classic Brigadoon.
BrigadoonNight PassageHigh HellBrigadoonThe Bad and the BeautifulThe Tattered DressSee MagazineElaine Stewartcinema
