Heller in Pink Tights
Tags: romantic

Plot synopsis:
In the 1880s, followed by bill collectors, the Healy Dramatic Company arrives in Cheyenne to play at the west’s grandest theater. Continental actress, Angela, and owner-manager, Tom Healy, head a troupe that includes Della as ingenue, her mother, a character actress, Lorna, and a grand old Shakespearean ham, Doc Montague. After a creditor arrives, Angela collects a night’s receipt from a man named Pierce, the theater owner. She risks it all in a poker game with gunslinger Clint Mabry, puts herself up as collateral, and loses.
That night, the drama company left Cheyenne, with Mabry following them on his own horse. After meeting on the road in Indian country, in spite of Angelia's objections, Tom Healy agrees for Mabry to join them. During the halt, everyone would likely be killed by three Indians, but, at the last moment, Mabry guns down two of them and the last one escapes. With no time to spare, the team leaves along with the horses, leaving the cart and other things behind. Soon, the Indians return to attack after receiving news about them from the one that got away. After a long trek, the fleeing theater team finally reach the mountains.
Meanwhile, De Leon of Bonanza, who hired Mabry to kill three persons in Cheyenne for a contract of $5000, refuses to pay the money to him. De Leon hires another three people to kill Mabry before he can return to take care of him. One of them comes through the mountain road in search of Mabry, while the other two wait at another location.
After crossing the mountain peak, the team stops for a rest near a water fountain. Tom, Angela, and Mabry become involved in a quarrel, and Angela confesses that she lost herself to Mabry in a poker game. Consequently, Mabry claims her as his property, which upsets Tom.
When Angela is by the fountain, Mabry approaches her, as does Tom. From a distant spot, one of the gunman, hired by De Leon, shoots Tom, thinking he is Mabry. Mabry catches up with him and learns of the De Leon contract on his life.
Finally, they reach a nearby city where Tom suffers from a high fever due to his wound. Tom decides to break up the drama company and tells Angela to go back to her own place, where, after selling the horses, he will send her share of the money to her.
Mabry asks Angela to help him get the $5000 from De Leon. She collects the money and decides to wait in Bonanza for a suitable time when Mabry can join her. Out of the $5000, Mabry tells her to keep what she lost in the poker game.
However, De Leon instructs his two spies to follow her and get the address where she is staying. As she comes out of De Leon's office, on the opposite side of the road she sees that the theater is for sale. She purchases it with the $5000, and decides to name it after Tom, or “Healy’s Theater”.
After recovering from his wounds, Tom, and the other team members, come to Bonanza. With great surprise, they see the theater. Upon entering, they observe Angela rehearsing. They all share a happy reunion and eventually stage the drama "Mazeppa" to great success.
Mabry arrives to claim his money from Angela and she confesses that she spent it all on the theater. As a result of the success of their production, she eventually returns the original money to Mabry. However, Mabry is eventually noticed by De Leon's henchmen and Tom aids his escape.
Finally, in the empty theater, Tom impatiently waits for Angela, as she is missing along with Mabry. She finally arrives and assures Tom that she settled all monetary differences with Mabry by mortgaging the theater. Surprised, Tom asks her how she could do this when it is in his name. She replies that she signed the contract as Mrs. Thomas Healy. Tom takes her into his arms and they happily depart.

Review: A Western Cukor Style.
Sophia Loren is as good as when she's directed by a great actor's director, this time is not Vittorio De Sica but George Cukor and her timing, her intention as a character is total perfection.
The Art Direction is superb and the film shouldn't be dismiss because it doesn't fulfill the rules of the genre.
This is a Cukor film and that in itself makes it a cut above most movies.
Anthony Quinn is also traveling unknown territory very successfully.
Eileen Heckart is, as usual, a scene stealer: "She's only sixteen!, only sixteen, do you hear?" she shouts trying to protect her most valuable asset, her daughter, played by Margaret O'Brien wanting to be accepted as a 20 year old.
An extra plus for film lovers is a glimpse of Ramon Novarro one of the biggest stars of the silent era..
Director George Cukor's only western, this is about a traveling stage show that keeps getting into trouble because of the escapades of their leading star, Angela Rossini, deliciously played by Sophia Loren, quite fetching as a blonde.
She is top billed along with Anthony Quinn.
It also stars an adolescent Margaret O'Brien (a child in "Meet Me in St. Louis"), whose mother does not want her to grow up.
I thought O'Brien was as charming in this as she was in "St. Louis."  I had never seen "Heller" in its complete form, never in any quality print, and this DVD looks great.
The film is top notch Cukor, ranking as one of the most entertaining westerns of the 1960s.
The director also got a full- blooded and emotional performance from Loren, perhaps one of her most natural, and the director even held the reins on Quinn, who could overdo his roles on occasion.
Actor Steve Forrest also has a well-integrated part, and his character appears at just the right moments to thrust the story forward or change its direction.
Ramon Novarro (Judah in the silent "Ben-Hur," opposite Garbo in "Mata Hari") appears on screen for the last time, effectively playing a conniving banker.
If you go into this film with an open mind, I think you'll find that it is funny, exciting, romantic and often surprising.
There's also a fine score by Daniele Amphitheatrof, a far too unappreciated composer.Give this film a try.
This is George Cukor's sole attempt at a western.
As is typical of Cukor, instead of doing a western like Ford or Hawks or Curtiz as a look at men fighting men against pure nature backgrounds we have Cukor looking at the coming of culture to the West (here in the acting troop led by Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren), and how it is doomed to triumph over the individualist (here Steve Forrest, a desperado who ends up accepting his defeat).
It is not a great western (Ford and the others were better at that type), but it a worthy exception to the rule (Ford did deal with culture twice, using Alan Mowbray in "My Darling Clementine" and "Wagon Master" as a fading Shakespearean - although he pulls himself together in the second film).
Cukor loves the theater (his one film noir, "A Double Life" is set in a theater in New York City).
But what is most interesting is their guaranteed show stopper - "Mazeppa".It was a popular play in the middle 19th Century, based on an incident of the wars between Peter the Great and Charles XIV of Sweden.
Mazeppa, a "hetman" of the Ukranian Cossacks, was captured by his enemies, tied naked to a wild horse, which was released into the forest.
The play was a big success for Adah Mencken, a poet and actress who was prominent in the 1860s on both sides of the Atlantic, and was briefly married to John Heenan, the leading heavyweight champ of America (bare knuckles days).
To tittle-late the men in the audience she wore skin colored clothing, so that it looked like she was naked.
Sophia Loren puts on similar (pink colored) tights - hence the films' title - and does the scene on a real horse and a moving stage.
The film is the story of an acting troupe (Anthony Quinn, Sophia Loren, Eileen Heckart, Margaret O'Brien) who run into various monetary and Indian problems as they travel across the Western United States.George Cukor, who directed this film, supposedly never liked how the usual western looked.
They lacked color, according to him, and in "Heller in Pink Tights," Cukor set out to remedy that.
The film is full of vivacious color.
From Eileen Heckart's orange hair to Sophia Loren's platinum blonde wig and the various pieces of clothing that they wear.
Visually the film is quite arresting.
It mixes such loud, bright colors with the colors of such a rigid and tough landscape.While the use of color is certainly interesting, the film never gets quite as far.
The chemistry between Loren and her two love interests (Quinn and Steve Forrest) is non-existent.
She also looks totally uncomfortable with the blonde wig she is saddled with.
Eileen Heckart is fun as the loudmouth actress/stage mother to O'Brien's character, and Anthony Quinn is his usual "dramatic" self."Heller in Pink Tights" certainly is a different kind of Western.
I just only wish the film's story would have been as interesting as its use of color..
For the only western in the film credits of George Cukor he sure couldn't be faulted for the source of his material.
This film is taken from one of the books by the great western novelist Louis L'Amour.
It concerns the escapades of a traveling theatrical troupe in the west headed by Anthony Quinn with the leading lady being Sophia Loren.
This was her only trip to the American west on film also.Theatrical people did not exactly have the same kind of prestige back in those days as they do now.
They arrive in Cheyenne and get themselves involved with the villainous doings of Ramon Novarro and his hired gunman Steve Forrest.
After Forrest does a couple of jobs for him, Novarro tries a doublecross maneuver similar to the one Laird Cregar tried on Alan Ladd in This Gun For Hire with the same sorry results.
Forrest of necessity joins the theatrical troupe and both get an opportunity to use their respective skills to help each other out of some tight spots.This film had potential to be better.
Maybe in the hands of someone like George Marshall or John Ford it might even have become a classic.
George Cukor was not the director for it.
The film marked the last feature film appearance of both Ramon Novarro and Edmund Lowe.
Edmund Lowe does quite well as an old ham actor which at that point in his life was I'm sure one easy role for him.Heller in Pink Tights is enjoyable enough, but no classic..
This is a western made by George Cukor, who would not dream about making a western unless it would really be about something else.
Anthony Quinn leads a theatrical troupe formed by Sophia Loren, Margaret O'Brien, Eileen Heckart and the legendary Ramon Novarro through the west.
Loren, using her charms, is a big help, but this is hard for Quinn who is in love with her to accept.
They come to a town and are going to perform Offenbach's 'La Belle Helene', but the owner of the theater thinks the townspeople will never accept a young woman leaving her old husband for the young Paris.
Loren gets involved unwillingly with a gunfighter, Steve Forrest, who seems so tough compared to Anthony Quinn, but as the film goes along we start learning how much courage the whole troupe must have to remain in show business.
An unusual film, with a lot of meaning..
This film is introduced with the words: "When the great American frontier was resounding with the names of such gunman and outlaws as Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Bat Masterson and Doc Holliday - a beautiful and flirtatious actress swept through the west with her theatrical troupe.
A 'hellion in pink tights,' she was the toast of every settlement from Cheyenne to Virginia City - and became a legend of the old west.
This is her story." And, after a creative title sequence, we meet beautiful actress Sophia Loren (as Angela "Angie" Rossini) in a blonde wig, running lines with co-star Anthony Quinn (Thomas "Tom" Healy)...As the theatrical troupe arrives to perform in Cheyenne, Ms. Loren and ruggedly handsome Steve Forrest (as Clint Mabry) exchange mutually sexy glances.
However, Loren decides to remain faithful (at least temporarily) to Mr. Quinn.
Their relationship is threatened when Loren loses herself to Mr. Forrest in a poker game.
When Loren, Quinn and company are suddenly run out of town, Forrest joins them, protecting his "property." They are threatened by bloodthirsty Native American Indians and respectable gangster Ramon Novarro (as De Leon).
Forrest helps with the Indians, but has trouble with Mr. Novarro...Loren and Quinn are okay, but surprisingly lack chemistry as a couple.
Despite his lower billing, Forrest comes across as more like the story's leading man.
The supporting cast is very strong: Novarro, a former "silent screen" idol, is exceptional as the main villain; former child star Margaret O'Brien and Eileen Heckart are a delightfully naughty mother/daughter duo; and Edmund Lowe (as Manfred "Doc" Montague) is a bonus, in his last acting appearance.
Director George Cukor and his team make it very stylized, with an emphasis on garish color.
The film's jarring attitude was later common on television.******* Heller in Pink Tights (1/1/60) George Cukor ~ Sophia Loren, Steve Forrest, Anthony Quinn, Ramon Novarro.
Surprisingly bad film from Cukor..
This film is really very badly directed - which is amazing given Cukor's excellent filmography.
I wonder if Carlo Ponti interfered a lot here - as Sophia is rarely out of shot, to the detriment of the other characters and the film.
This is one of Sophia's worst performances - she seems to be struggling with her lines - although she looks good blonde.
The excellent supporting cast is wasted - even Anthony Quinn is allowed little screen time.
Eileen Heckhart is allowed even less time, but it's interesting to see child actress Margaret O'Brien in a rare adult role.
The only reason to see this film is to witness the final performance of the legendary Ramon Novarro.
He is splendid and stylish as the villain - a great lesson in screen acting, although again we don't see enough of him.
Is there a story about the making of this film?
I wonder if Cukor had to battle the Ponti-Loren partnership and was forced to give too much screen time to Sophia.
Heller in Pink Tights is directed by George Cukor and adapted to screenplay by Walter Bernstein from the novel "Heller With a Gun" written by Louis L'Amour.
It stars Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn, Margaret O'Brien, Steve Forrest, Eileen Heckart and Ramon Novarro.
Music is by Daniele Amfitheatrof and cinematography by Harold Lipstein.In simple terms this is Cukor trying to be clever whilst doing his only Western film.
Plot basically follows The Great Healy Dramatic and Concert Company as they represent civilisation and culture coming to the Wild West.
The costuming and colour lensing are sublime, undeniably, but these can't compensate for such a turgid story being performed by miscast stars.Quinn called the picture unfortunate, Loren (looking painfully thin and sporting an unfortunate blonde mop on her head) was unhappy with the direction she received and serves solely as a clothes horse, while Cukor himself bemoaned cuts made by Paramount that further damaged what he thought was already a weak story.
Even if there's some value for Loren and Edith Head (costumes) fans.
Non-western stars and director looking mighty uneasy on the range....
In Old West Wyoming, a traveling troupe of dramatic actors is on the run from bill collectors; a cocky gunslinger comes to their rescue once the caravan hits hostile Indian territory--sticking around to settle a bet with the beautiful leading actress, whom he's smitten with.
George Cukor western, adapted from the novel "Heller With a Gun" by Louis L'Amour, has a shaky beginning, a not-bad first act, but absolutely nothing to offer after the first 50 or so minutes.
Sophia Loren, in peculiar blonde and red wigs, has a charming early scene getting herself into a poker game (bluffing with 4 sevens), and there's also a stunning, beautifully accomplished sequence wherein the dramatists give an action-filled performance in a packed theater (complete with Loren riding through the crowd on a horse).
Still, Anthony Quinn's relationship with Loren never catches fire, and Sophia and Steve Forrest create little chemistry.
This may be due to Cukor's direction, which has no magic (and he's particularly insulting to the Indian tribe, who hoop and holler over the left-behind costumes like a bunch of drunken rowdies at a frat-house).
This strangely titled western follows the adventures of a group of stage actors who participate in a traveling theatrical troupe.
It is an unusual subject for a western - one rarely portrayed on screen - and novelty value alone almost makes the film worth a look.
The film is, however, never quite as fascinating it sounds.
There is a nail- bitingly intense poker game in the mix, and all of the troupe's stage performances are excellent with some surprisingly raunchy costumes courtesy of Edith Head, plus lead actress Sophia Loren playing all the important male (!) stage roles needs to be seen to be believed, however, everything off-stage is less engaging.
Loren lacks chemistry with lead actor Anthony Quinn and only has slightly more chemistry with Steve Forrest as a crooked gunslinger who takes to protecting the troupe to get closer to her.
The film has a couple of great supporting characters in Margaret O'Brien as an upcoming young actress and Eileen Heckart as her overbearing, over-protective mother; the banter between the pair is always very real and O'Brien's struggle to break out as an actress of her own (asking Quinn whether he finds her attractive at one point) is encapsulating.
The film is, however, a Loren vehicle through and through and there is a limit to how far the filmmakers can push her story, unusual subject matter or not.
That said, there is enough that it is worthwhile here, but on the same note, it is understandable why director George Cukor was disappointed with the final product.
With all the colorful costumes and sensational outdoor cinematography, we never do get around to the 'pink tights' of the title, a bit of misdirection there I'd say with Sophia Loren in the cast.
Nominally a Western, it really doesn't satisfy in terms of an adventure film and most of the scenes plod along waiting for things to happen.
It was a bit visually jarring too, to see Sophia Loren as a blonde, although an early scene with Anthony Quinn introducing the characters lent new meaning to the definition of having an hourglass figure.
Whatever tension there is, is provided by the subtext of Clint Mabry (Steve Forrest) fulfilling a contract for Bonanza town villain De Leon (Ramon Novarro), while trying to avoid getting greased himself by the bad guy's double cross.
His play for Angela Rossini (Loren) basically went nowhere, and if you want to believe he collected on the poker bet with the actress, you have to fill in the blanks yourself.
However he does have that exciting exit from the theater stage to help set up the finale, with a happily ever after ending for Quinn's Tom Healy and the beautiful Angie Rossini, something neither one was really counting on when the story started..
The plot revolves around a traveling show in the old West.
Sophia Loren is the star and is in almost every scene, but not even she can save Heller in Pink Tights from achieving nothing more than mediocrity.
Anthony Quinn is also top billed, but he is terribly underutilized and looks like he's just going through the motions.
The only bright spot in the cast is Eileen Heckart who, as usual, steals every scene in which she appears.
Director George Cukor shot Heller in Pink Tights in the most gaudy of color schemes that hardly seems natural give the time period in which the movie takes place.
I'm not sure what Cukor was going for, but he failed at almost every turn.In short, this one should be reserved for Cukor or Loren completists only..
Don't expect 100% comedy in this western about the trials of an acting troop making their way through the old west.
It's not all feather boas and sequins in this sometimes light- hearted but often dangerous lifestyle where troop leader Anthony Quinn, leading lady Sophia Loren and the remainder of their ensemble face bill collectors, irate or amorous hotel proprietors and Indians as they go from gig to gig.
Often, there's a lit more lustful eyes made at the voluptuous Loren with Quinn struggling to keep it altogether.
Among the supporting cast are Margaret O'Brien as a supposed 16 year old girl with a mother (Eileen Heckart) who seems to want to sell her off to matrimony, Edmund Lowe as the company villain and Steve Forrest who makes a gamble for Loren's heart.
I wanted to like it more than I did, although this is a subject matter that doesn't crop up as part of major western plots.
The look on the audience's eyes as they watch the goings on stage is thrilling however while the confrontation with the natives is rather frightening.O'Brien seems to be trying to remind everybody that she was "Meet Me in St. Louis's" Tootie, obviously not 16 as Heckart insists and certainly not 20 as she claims to be.
Heckart gets some good lines, but I wouldn't call this one of her better parts.
Loren, as a platinum blonde, is still enticing, while Quinn just seems to get sexier as he ages.