Jane Russell in Fine Form as ‘Mamie Stover’ 1956

Richard Egan & Jane Russell teamed for "The Revolt of Mamie Stover."

Jane Russell became a redhead as tart with a heart 'Mamie Stover.' 

Away from Howard Hughes’ RKO, Jane Russell usually fared better, with more focus on her acting than her more obvious attributes. At Fox, The Revolt of Mamie Stover ’56 film was very toned down from the novel. Still, material girl Mamie fits Jane like one of her Travilla-designed gowns.

At the movie's opening, brunette Russell gives her famed sneer before leaving San Francisco.

The movie Mamie is the “lite” version of the novel. William Bradford Huie wrote unvarnished looks at WWII and post-war American life, including The Americanization of Emily. On the page, Mamie Stover is a most pragmatic prostitute. She’s been battered in Hollywood and books to Honolulu. In Mamie Stover, the movie, she’s been busted by the cops (no specifics) and they are escorting her out of San Francisco.

The novel's revolt was far more overt.

Mamie meets Jim Blair, a writer who likes and doesn’t judge her. While they have a shipboard romance, they’re realistic. He has a steady fiancée; her finances are a mess. So, Mamie heads to work for Bertha, bar/dancehall proprietor.  Bertha’s a taskmaster, with draconian rules for the “girls,” which leads Mamie to break a few, natch. Despite missteps, Mamie’s making a mint, but her romance with Egan doesn’t progress. And it’s not because Mamie is a “hostess” or that he already has a girlfriend, but because Jim thinks she’s a mercenary.

In the Huie novel, Stover’s a steamroller, defiantly breaking rules, bringing in big bucks, and later buying out the madam, while snapping up real estate. The movie Mamie does the same, but it’s way watered down, like the drinks at her bar.

A blonde Agnes Moorehead and Michael Pate are the madam and her enforcer.

At Mamie’s finish, she parts ways with Bill, and gives away all her money. Mamie travels through San Fran on the way back home to Mississippi. A far cry from the literary Mamie, but at least she didn’t die for her sins, as typical of the movie era.

Beach scenes were big after 'From Here to Eternity,' and with Egan & Russell's fine forms, a must!

In the opening scenes, Jane is her usual brash brunette. Once she works at the club, Russell goes Rita Hayworth red. And Jane looks great, softer. This also draws comparisons to Rita’s then-recent take on Sadie Thompson, literature’s infamous shady lady. What’s refreshing about Mamie Stover, is that there’s no judging in director Raoul Walsh’s storytelling, especially given the censorship code. Much like the recent From Here to Eternity, the brothel becomes a dancehall/bar, where soldiers can “fraternize” with the “hostesses.” Back then, audiences were good at reading between the lines.

Put the blame on Mamie! Designer Travilla does Jane.

Russell was not an emotionally fluid actress like other bombshells, such as Sophia or Marilyn. But Jane’s good natured humor and straightforward performing is a plus. This suits Mamie Stover’s character quite well.

Richard Egan is strong enough to hold his own against Jane, as Jim Blair. Egan’s rugged features, blue eyes, big smile, imposing body, and that resonant voice were his calling card. His mellow nature and laid-back humor makes him a compatible pairing with Russell.

Agnes Moorehead, as Bertha, goes from her usual redhead to blonde! She’s brittle as always, but Agnes’ madam eventually treats Mamie as an equal. Australian actor Michael Pate makes a menacing “enforcer” for Bertha. Poor Joan Leslie, whose career collapsed after leaving WB, has nothing to do as the patient fiancee.

Jane Russell & Richard Egan make a handsome pair, and don't you love his car?!

The solid team of Russell and Egan and great Hawaiian locations are pleasant to watch, and even with the streamlined story, Mamie is a moderately entertaining movie.

FYI: I put all the movie overflow on my public FB  movie page. 

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