For Men Only *** (1952, Paul Henreid, Margaret Field, James Dobson, Douglas Kennedy, O Z Whitehead, Robert Carson, Robert Sherman, Russell Johnson) – Classic Movie Review 11,723

Paul Henreid (January 10, 1908 – March 29, 1992).

Producer-director Paul Henreid’s 1952 American film noir drama about hazing on college campuses For Men Only [The Tall Lie] stars Paul Henreid, Margaret Field, James Dobson, Douglas Kennedy, O Z Whitehead, Robert Carson, Robert Sherman and Russell Johnson.

For Men Only is a very creditable effort by Henreid, who directs as well as stars in this interesting, soberly handled minor melodrama about college medical professor Dr Stephen Brice (Henreid) dealing with accidental death after a foul-up in a college initiation ritual in which both a dog and a student are killed.

Robert Sherman plays tough college student Tod Palmer who suffers increasingly severe hazing by sadistic Ky Walker (Russell Johnson) while pledging a fraternity at Wake College. Tod dies accidentally after fleeing from angry fraternity brothers and Dr Brice (Paul Henreid) then tries to end the practice of hazing.

It is consistently involving and quite well done on a low budget.

Henreid had directed in theatre but this was his first film as director. Henreid set up the project with Edward Nassour as HN Productions, arranging finance through Robert L Lippert. They were secretive about the subject matter, merely describing it as topical and controversial so no other producer would beat them to cinemas with a similar story.

Filming started for 16 days on 5 September 1951 at the General Service Studio after a week’s rehearsal. Henreid said getting the script and finance together and then making the film took him a year. He said the film was very successful and launched his directing career.

It is the film debut of Russell Johnson.

For Men Only was the subject of much controversy and protest, along with another film critical of fraternities and sororities, Take Care of My Little Girl (1951).

The cast are Paul Henreid as Dr Stephen Brice, Margaret Field as Julie Brice, James Dobson as Bartholomew “Beanie” Brown, Douglas Kennedy as Colin Mayberry, Robert Carson as Jesse Hopkins, Virginia Mullen as Mrs. Palmer, O. Z. Whitehead as Professor Bixby, Kathleen Hughes as Tracy Norman, Vera Miles as Kathy, Russell Johnson as Ky Walker, Steven Clark, Chris Drake, Bob Chapman, Arthur Marshall, and Frank Mathias.

Paul Henreid (January 10, 1908 – March 29, 1992) was an Austrian-British-American actor best remembered as Victor Laszlo in Casablanca and Jerry Durrance in Now, Voyager. He was strongly anti-Nazi and designated an ‘official enemy of the Third Reich’ and all his assets were seized. Though Henreid was at risk of deportation or internment as an enemy alien on the outbreak of World War Two, Conrad Veidt spoke for him and he was allowed to remain in the UK and work in British films.

 © Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,723

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