Vice Raid
Director: Edward Cahn
Year: 1960
Rating: 5.0
When I was about 10 years old in 1963 living in a suburb of Washington DC
I knew nothing about sex, breasts and women. Some might say that was still
true 55 years later. It was a working class suburb that was slowly changing
into a more affluent neighborhood with government workers moving in and building
new bigger residences or renovating the old houses that were prevalent. It
was a good place to grow up with enough empty lots still there to play baseball
in and to talk about girls, of which we knew little but imagined a lot. I
recall that Mamie Van Doren along with Jayne Mansfield were often subjects
that were brought up by us to pretend we were more sophisticated than we
were. Every young boy knew who Mamie was. Va Va Voom. 38-22-38. Numbers we
knew better than our math assignments. I doubt if I could have picked her
out of a line-up but you knew the name and you knew what she stood for. Sex.
Whatever the hell that was.
Mamie (her stage name derived from Mamie Eisenhower of all things) never
really made it in the film business working in nearly all B-films in her
career, but she made it as a personality - the way so many people do today
with no discernible skills. Her life off the screen was a lot more interesting
than her life on it - being married five times and having well-publicized
affairs with a lot of big names in sports (Jack Dempsey, Bo Belinski, Joe
Namath), music (Elvis, Eddie Fisher, Johnny Rivers) and of course actors
(the usual suspects - Burt Reynolds, Clint Eastwood, Warren Beatty, Steve
McQueen, Tony Curtis). Her films might have been B but her targets were clearly
the A List. She knew how to get her name in the papers. She is still alive
today - one of the only blonde Marilyn Monroe wannabees who are.
She was discovered by Howard Hughes who had a good eye for large planes and
good looking women (Jane Russell being another of his discoveries as well
as Jean Harlow and Faith Domergue). Hughes never did much for Mamie other
than date her and she moved on to other film studios making a number of films
in the 1950's but none of them were hits though a few like Untamed Youth,
High School Confidential, Vice Raid and Girl's Town are remembered fondly
by her now aged fans. She really is stunning - when she walks you feel like
you are watching a swing band at full swing and she has the face of a fallen
angel. But there was only so much room for busty blondes and Marilyn and
Mansfield led the field.
In Vice Raid she looks great and does a fair amount of acting but she is
surrounded by a cast and a leading man that have the spark of a wet match.
Policeman Brandon (Richard Coogan, who may be the only actor Mamie didn't
have an affair with) is out to get the girls run by the syndicate and he
is causing trouble even with a partner bought by the gang. So their solution
is to bring in a Public Relations girl (i.e. high priced hooker) from Detroit
to snare him in a frame-up. One photo session with her in a bathing suit
later and she has accomplished her mission. He is bounced out of the force
but he is not done yet. The film is by the numbers and if not for Van Doren's
appearance would be totally forgotten. She gives it longevity. And sex appeal.
