Secret Ceremony (released in 1968) - A tragic film starring Elizabeth Taylor, Mia Farrow, Robert Mitchum, and Peggy Ashcroft

'Ceremonia Secreta', the 1960 novel by Argentinean author Marco Denevi is the inspiration for the film Secret Ceremony, directed by Joseph Losey. The film opens with a blonde Elizabeth Taylor, who takes her wig off to reveal her lush black hair, as she places the hair piece on its stand; she caresses the black and white photograph of a young child - a girl, which is placed on the dresser. The character of Liz is Lenora, a prostitute, who a year ago has lost her daughter to death. As she boards a bus one day, a young girl (played by Mia Farrow) sits by her side, looking at her longingly, and whispering audibly ‘Mummy’ as Lenora alights from the bus; the girl follows her into a church - where she stands looking at Lenora from behind a pillar, as she kneels in a pew. Lenora looks slowly walks out of the church, into the cemetery, where she stops by the grave of a child, placing a bunch of blue forget-me-nots at the tomb. Lenora turns to find the girl from the bus standing behind her, when she looks into her eyes, in her mind; she sees the eyes of the child in the photograph. Shocked, she willingly lets the girl lead her away from the graveyard, to an opulent  Gothic style apartment.
Once there, Lenora sees photographs of the girl with her mother, who bears a strong resemblance to her. The man standing beside her - his face is blackened. Suddenly, the girl clutches her and cries out ‘mummy’ - stunned, Lenora pushes her away and tells her she’s not who she thinks she is. The girl just looks at her and when asked if she’d like some breakfast, she says yes, and when left alone, decides to pocket a silver coin and ermine coat - she even tucks into the breakfast hungrily. When the girl tells her that she lives all by herself - no cook, no nanny, no father - Lenora seizes the opportunity to take advantage of the child’s lapse of memory and plays along, fitting perfectly into the role of her mother. The girl reveals how Albert (apparently Lenora’s husband, and Cenci’s step-father) had behaved inappropriately - upon hearing which, Lenora slaps her - and shocked with her behavior, she apologizes to the crying girl. They both decide that she needs to take care of her - and so, Lenora settles in, making herself at home.




Once, when they are in the bath together, Cenci pretends her duck is drowning – this upsets Lenora, who asks her ‘what do you know about drowning?’ and starts to cry hysterically. In bed, Cenci says her prayers with her ‘mother’, and they settle down for an afternoon nap. When she awakens, she goes down to the kitchen, to see Cenci carrying out an animated conversation to … an empty chair. She appears to be warding off the advances of the ‘person’ in the chair - asking ‘him’ to take his hands off of her - Lenora is scared to see this crazed, psychotic banter.
Two nosy women - former sisters in law, come to pilfer on the pretext of looking up Cenci; as Lenora hides, the women get suspicious that there is someone in the house besides the girl - but who? They leave hurriedly.
In this surreal world, enter Albert (Robert Mitchum) - who may well be the reason why Cenci is a disturbed child. When she gingerly peeps through a window one morning after hearing the bell ring - she sees an almost derelict and unkempt man in the front lawns. He leaves when she doesn’t let him in. One morning, Leonora pays a visit to Cenci’s aunts who had come to the house - telling them she was a cousin of their sister-in-law Margaret. She learns a lot from them, especially that Albert and Cenci had an incestuous relationship, which probably drove the girl mad and killed Margaret with grief. The aunts, of course, think the girl’s crazy - Leonora is hurt by this observation, and tells them that if they were to visit again - she would tell the police. While she was out, Albert comes home, telling Cenci he cannot help himself, as he kisses her. Leonora goes to church and  prays for strength to go back to the house, not for the money, but for the fact that she wants to protect Cenci - she wants to be there to ‘save’ her, unlike her own child. But after being abused, Cenci orders that Leonora leave the house -killing herself by overdosing on sleeping pills, which she downs with milk.
When Leonora attends the funeral, visibly shattered, Albert tells her that Cenci was responsible for the break - up with Margaret - that the child-woman had nymphomaniacal tendencies - this is the final straw for Leonora, who lashes out at the man and tries to kill him. Macabre, disturbing and sad, the movie does play on the audience sentiment, and one feels sorrier for Leonora, for having lost two ‘children’. Serious watch.

5 Card Stud (released in 1968) - Starring Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum and Inger Stevens

“Five card stud” is the earliest known game of card poker, so no guesses with regard to what the plot is: Cards and a few handsome men thrown in for good measure! Directed by Henry Hathaway, the story of the movie is sourced from a book by Ray Gaulden and is also a remake of a Charlton Heston debut film ‘Dark City’ (1950). In the current movie, Dean Martin plays the role that Heston assayed in the original film; Martin’s character is similar to the one he played in ‘Some Came Running’. The story of the film bears resemblance even to two works by Agatha Christie. Yet, the movie was captivating, although the story line was not unique, it was accepted and appreciated by movie going audiences of the time.
The film opens with seven men at a game of cards, in a typically western saloon, in 1880 in a town in Colorado. Van Morgan (played by Dean Martin) chooses to spend Saturday evening with the boys - his partners are Nick Evers (his girlfriend’s brother, played by Roddy McDowell), stableman Joe Hurley (played by Bill Fletcher), Mace Jones (played by Roy Jenson), storekeeper Fred Carson (played by Boyd Morgan) and Nick’s ranch hand Stoney Borough (played by George Robotham). They have a new partner, Frankie Rudd (played by Jerry Gaitlin); all’s well up until the time that Nick catches Rudd cheating, although the barkeeper – George, warns him - Frankie earns himself a cruel fate, meted out by  none other  than the men at the table - they drag him out to  stream and hang him near a bridge. "You don't hang a cheat," Morgan growls, "you kick him out of town." But the men ignore Morgan, who is knocked out cold. He is left on the boardwalk, where Mama Malone (played by Ruth Springford) finds him in the morning – she calls George who helps the weather-beaten Van to his room. Lacking courage to inform the town marshal, he leaves for Denver.




Sometime later, Morgan returns, and to his horror, learns that there have been two deaths – of the men who were at the game that night; it seems like they are revenge killings: strangulation by barbed wire, stuffed into a barrel of flour (ingenious!), each death more horrific than the other, till only he would remain alive, the others were all about to be strategically bumped off! Also, the town has acquires a gun slinging priest Jonathan Rudd (Robert Mitchum) - who, Van discovers later is none other than the murdered man Frankie’s brother. On the other hand, Nick is convinced that the killer was in some way related to the man he killed: so, it seems logical that he try and hunt him down. Who could it be - there’s a gold rush on, and with so many strangers in town, it’s hard to tell!
Although they were together that evening at the game, Nick has no love lost for Van Morgan, who happens to be dating his sister Nora (Katherine Justice). But it isn’t brotherly love or concern that he is seething with - in fact he hates Nora and his father. His angst is that if Nora were to marry, the rambling ranch and all its wealth would be inherited by his sister - leaving him out in the cold. He’d rather that Nora married someone he, Nick, chose. That way, the poor unsuspecting creature could easily be put out of the way and Nick would have no worries. A string fella like Morgan wouldn’t be that easily taken care of!
Nick chooses to play dirty, and discloses the names of the perpetrators to Jonathan, hoping he’d kill Van Morgan, making his life easier! He even beguiles Rudd by telling him a far fetched version of that night where it was Nick who tried to talk sense into the men and he who was knocked out trying to save Frankie. Is the real killer brought to justice? Is Frankie’s spirit finally at rest? Western-mystery-thriller-noir- an interesting package, worth the watch!

Anzio (released in 1968) - War film starring Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan and Peter Falk

The film is based on Operation Shingle, carried out in 1944 by the Allied Troops on the port of Anzio on Italy’s west coast, in WWII. Details have been sourced from the book of the same name by former BBC War Correspondent and author Wynford Vaughn-Thomas. Directed by Edward Dmytryk and Duilio Coletti, it is an Italian-American co-production. Dick Ennis (played by Robert Mitchum) is a war weary, yet battle hardened reporter, through whose experienced eyes we see the plot unfold. The film opens with Ennis being dropped off in a jeep, uniformed with purpose-ridden strides; he climbs a flight of stairs and crosses opulent halls, the décor and ambiance reek Italian Renaissance sophistication. But out of the blue, GIs and their girls dot the scene in sizable numbers, one in a bid to defy gravity, hanging from majestic chandeliers, while others egg him on. Just then the Canadian Rangers along with Corporal Jack Rabinoff (played by Peter Falk) enter the chaotic hall, only to be welcomed by some GI-style muscle flexing.
Elsewhere, the sullen and cynical journalist Dick Ennis, enjoys a long swig out of a long necked bottle of wine, and he has for company Technical Sergeant Abe Stimmler (played by Earl Holliman) with the two of them seem wrapped in heavy discussion, as if the revelers never existed! The movie is about American's invasion of Anzio as seen through the eyes of a pacifist journalist (this was like real battle, not the movie style where things move only as the heroes want - read more about the Operation Shingle, the invasion of Anzio). The landing is unopposed, and Mitchum requisitions a jeep and, along with Falk, discover that the road to Rome, the ultimate destination, is open. Rome can be in Allied hands in a few days, if they move fast enough.




It is Ennis’s assignment to do a story about the US Rangers and their strategy to break down defenses of the enemy. Lieutenant General Carson (played by Robert Ryan) is commanding the Fifth Army, and strategizing their move behind enemy lines; news is that the Allied Troops are being hammered by the Germans at the Gustav Line, lead by the almost invincible Monte Cassino. Maj. General Jack Lesley (played by Arthur Kennedy) orders a drive inland to the Alban Hills that provide a vantage point, from where the beachhead (discovered by Ennis to be virtually trouble-free) provides direct access to Rome. However, Lesley is way off the mark since he realizes he lacks the resources needed to march and capture Rome.
The German commander Kesselring (played by Wolfgang Preiss) re-musters forces and ambushes the Allies, at the Battle of Cisterna, the Germans won hands down. Almost 400 American POWs were captured by the Germans, in real life. The movie is about Ennis’s battle to escape alive from behind enemy lines; however, most of the men are killed or captured, whilst a few escape, after a near brush with death in the guise of a minefield.
Dick Ennis questions, then, publicly the decisions taken by the higher command, to gamble away the lives of the American and Allied Troops - he questions why humans fight one another? The New York Times review remarked that Anzio was “Standard War Fare” - a fair view considering that the battle at Anzio was bloodied beyond belief, and was avoidable, the film seems to allude to the genre of usual ‘good guys beat the hell outta the bad guys’ ploy - but it fails miserably, as in reality, the good guys were outnumbered and out maneuvered.

Villa Rides (released in 1968) - Starring Yul Brynner, Robert Mitchum and Charles Bronson

Francisco Villa or Pancho Villa was a famous Mexican Revolutionary general, who was active in the years between 1910 and 1919. Directed by Buzz Kulik, the film is a biographical montage of the life of José Doroteo Arango Arámbula - a famous figure in Mexican history and legend. In reality, Villa was treated contemptuously by the law, although the peasant folk, commoners and soldiers respected him for his Robinesque mentality - he would steal from the rich to fill the stomachs of the poor. The film is sourced from William Douglas Lansford’s biography titled ‘Pancho Villa’ (1965); Douglas even assisted in the early draft of the film in 1968.
The year is 1912, and the Mexican Revolutionaries are fighting battles on many fronts - including the moral; caught in this crossfire is American pilot and adventurer Lee Arnold (Robert Mitchum) - who, in true capitalist spirit, sees no harm in supplying arms and ammunition to counter-revolutionaries like Capt. Francisco Ramirez, smuggling the contraband across the border from Texas, in his WWI pursuit plane, he is paid in gold for his aid. On one such mission, as he is awaiting the repair of the landing gear of his plane, Lee is witness to the violent attack and razing of a village by the Captain and his men (because the villagers curried favor with the insurrectionist Pancho Villa).




Yul Brynner assays the role of Villa; his famous bald pate is given a miss in the film as he sports a toupee and moustache. As in real life, Villa assists General Huerta (Herbert Lom), and has a brutal sidekick in the form of Lt. Rodolfo Fierro (Charles Bronson). Ramirez and his men are defeated by Villa, and even Lee Arnold is taken captive by Fierro - who longs for nothing more than to kill him. He is sentenced for gun-running, to face a firing squad. In order to save his skin, Lee strikes a deal to aid the insurrectionists in their revolution - he would provide them with the guns, instead, fighting on their side. On one such revolutionary escapade, Lee provides air cover to the guerillas as they capture an enemy train carrying troops, and eventually as they make captive an entire town.
There are cracks in every revolution - General Huerta deeply dislikes Villa, believing him to be manipulative and success-seeking. He is furious when Villa captures the town despite the General’s orders not to - causing heavy casualties. Soon after, Huerta plots to send Villa on a doomed mission to capture Conejos, in a bid to ensure he is not around when the General overthrows the government and President Madero - however, Arnold’s aerial assistance saves the day, even though Villa loses many men. And to the General's delight - Villa is captured by him, and Lee crosses the border into El Paso, saving his skin in time!
Now clear about his boss’s intentions, Pancho escapes imprisonment and hunts down Lee, on whose support he has come to rely deeply. A reluctant Arnold agrees to help Villa once more - the Revolutionaries have a new cause: to do away with Huerta, now a self styled dictator after he has assassinated the Mexican president and seized power. Later Arnold also helps Villa raise an army against another enemy of the Mexican state - Emiliano Zapata.
Criticized for its cosmetic portrayal of the Revolution and for not really exploring the many perspectives there exist with regard to it, the film may at least be applauded for its precise portrayal of Villa, who was less a hero and more a man on the run, a hardened criminal known for his thirst for violence.

The Way West (released in 1967) - Starring Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum and Sally Field

A truly epic movie directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, sourced from the novel of the same name by A.B Guthrie Jr. With stirring performances from all the actors, The Way West is a heartrending and touching story of the early Pioneers.
1843. US Senator William Tadlock (played by Kirk Douglas) is following the Oregon Trail with his family from Missouri, and to help him get there safely - is Dick Summers (played by Robert Mitchum), a scout. His son and help are also accompanying Tadlock. Although Summers advises William not  to go ‘especially if you’ve never been there’- the Senator thinks otherwise, he tells Dick he knows that he is grieving for his dead Indian wife, he asks William to leave. Tadlock, also a widower, thinks that the scout’s grief has corrupted his guts.
Meanwhile, the others accompanying William on the trail are a peasant couple from Pennsylvania, Lije Evans and Rebecca (played by Richard Widmark, Lola Albright). Becky isn’t happy about the move, though. They have a sixteen year old son Brownie (Michael McGreevy), who is funny and brimming with the joie de vivre of youth - impressing young Mercy McBee with a red fox kitten. Others include a newlywed couple, the Fairmand and the McBee family.
That day, when Summers suggests they camp for the night, William notices another wagon trail, and insists they keep moving. The trail races into the creek, and everyone puts their back into making it first. A fist fight ensues when Tadlock tells the rival trail members that his trail will cross first - considering it might rain that night. Summers breaks up the fight and points out that Tadlock knew all along that the rivals weren’t travelers, but part of a cattle train - offended, William asks him not to gall him with his ‘truthful  opinions’ - he is paid after all, to only point the way. (Cattle may drown if the rain-filled river were to overflow).
Meanwhile they welcome a stowaway - Brother Weatherbee - slave to the Holy Ghost, who has only the spirit of Christ and the shirt on his back in lieu of supplies! The others are happy with the decision, for a preacher ‘will overcome the calamities of human nature - such as weddings, babies…’ ‘…funerals…’  Dick Summers volunteers to look after him, much to Tadlock’s chagrin and consternation.




The wagon trail’s first tragedy strikes, when Tadlock in his quest for speed, forces the oldest member of the group to cross the creek - he loses his life by drowning. Things get worse when William holds the old man responsible for his end, to which Lije vehemently puts up a denial, saying it was speed that killed him. The Senator even asks McBee to hurry with the burial and not bother with a Christian funeral - a waste of time. His apathy shocks the trail. But William proves his point that greed was responsible for the tragedy - the man had a heavy belt with money tied to his waist, which prevented him from coming to the surface. He asks if anyone cares to have a share of ‘dead man’s money’ - he flings the belt back into the creek.
The Prairie gives way to the inhospitable and hot desert terrain, but the love lorn lads sing ballads for Mercy McBee - whilst Johnnie and Amanda Mack (played by Michael Witney, Katherine Justice) unsuccessfully try consummating their marriage in a crowded train. This distresses Amanda, who does not want to get pregnant on the train - and frustrates her young husband. Whilst the members cast their cares to the wind and enjoy a morning of revelry, Tadlock shows Rebecca Evans the map of a city – yet to be built in Oregon. He tells her he might’ve been president, save for the fact that he fell in love with a woman, married her, but she died. William goes onto tell her that none in the present company would understand her vision - save for Becky. Disturbed by the depth of his emotions, Rebecca leaves his tent in a hurry.
Elsewhere, young Brownie has wandered far from the train, he stands on an outcrop - carving his name and Mercy’s - when unbeknownst to him - Sioux Indians hiding beneath the rock - take him captive. Dick Summers comes to his rescue - speaking to the men in their native tongue. The Sioux escort them back to the train. Summers offers them supplies - they ask for whiskey, instead!
That night, while the Sioux are in a state of drunken partying, Mercy and Mack find an opportunity to bond- he eventually seeks solace in Mercy’s willing arms - who tells him she does not regret what has happened. He asks her to return to her parents. Hearing a rustle in the bushes, he looks up to see a wolf - without preamble, Mack shoots it down. When he inspects to see what it is - he runs.
Meanwhile, Summers and Tadlock discover that the wolf was actually a little boy - the Chief’s son. They have no clue who is responsible. The next day, Dick and Lije distract the Sioux, leading them on a wild goose chase - so that the train can move ahead smoothly, through a herd of bison. Mercy, deeply in love with Mack, is saddened by his refusal to reciprocate the same for her.
The Sioux come again to the camp - this time, bearing the dead child on horseback - hungry for the blood of the murder. Tadlock tells him that he will fulfill their wishes, if they let the train go free. William tells the people present that if the perpetrator does not give himself up - Brownie Evans will be hanged, for it was he who brought this calamity today. However, he asks all the men who own shotguns - to step up and own up. Just then Johnnie Mack confesses - his wife lies on his behalf, saying he was with her all that night. But Mack sticks to his story - and is hung. A grief stricken Mercy flings herself off of her wagon, Brownie saves her, and he asks her to marry him - she refuses at first, because she doesn’t love him, however agrees since she is pregnant.
Tadlock and Summers labor on, and one day, he loses his son in a mad stampede. He buries him in the wilderness, as wagons drive over the burial mound, so that wolves and Indians find no trace of the grave. So sad and distraught is the man, that he asks his slave to whip him. The wagon train finally reaches the periphery of Fort Hall, Oregon, where other pioneers welcome them, they stop for the night - and Brownie and Mercy get married. One last hurdle is the soldiers who try and stall them at the Fort, bribing them with money and animals - William tells them to let them go, since a woman has been infected with small pox. The colonel orders them out.
Winter falls upon them, and the travelers face many hardships. Lije Evans turns on Tadlock, wanting charge of the train. When William tries shooting Evans, the mob falls upon him - as Becky shouts out to them that he ought to be hanged like Mack. Tadlock jeers at them, saying they lack the courage to do so - meanwhile, Becky shares Tadlock’s vision, when the train hits a ravine, as Evans contemplates turning back. Summers tells them that if they cross the gorge - they’ll be closer to Oregon. And so, they devise a pulley to lower people down the gorge, with success; however, as Tadlock rappels down - Becky cuts away the rope - he falls to his death: Captain William Tadlock, who led the Oregon Liberty Company.

Reunion At Fairborough (released in 1985) - Starring Robert Mitchum, Deborah Kerr and Judi Trott

The  bitter sweet emotions of star crossed lovers, the sentimentality lent to celluloid by the script, backdrops and background score - makes you want to grab a handkerchief and a bowl of popcorn. Many movies of the war-romance genre have been made through the ages, the return of the war veteran, a recurrent and beloved theme in Hollywood is extended to the much latter part of the veterans lives as well - they seem to be in a constant search for fellow comrades-in-arms, and seeking lost loves of their lives on distant shores.
WWII saw some of the worst atrocities that mankind would ever witness, and the Allies suffered many setbacks before the White Cliffs of Dover and the sandy beaches along the seas were truly free. And whilst they were at the bidding of their respective motherlands, officers and men alike would remember lovers and wives, carry faded pictures of their sweethearts, drown their sorrows in wine and rekindle romance in the arms of exotic foreign beauties.
Casablanca was undoubtedly the most memorable movie in this genre, A Farewell to Arms, sourced from Hemingway’s book of the same name starring Rock Hudson was also a real tear jerker. And then there is Reunion at Fairborough (1985), directed by Herbert Wise and written by Albert Ruben, this is the story of Carl Hostrup (played by Robert Mitchum). Carl is a WWII veteran, who flew with an Air Force Squadron as Captain of a fleet. He is currently leading an apparently cushy life as a high level executive, however, beneath the surface of success are the remnants of a bitter divorce and unrequited love.




Misery and loneliness drive him almost to the point of suicide, when fortunately, his macabre decision is stalled by a phone call from his old crew mate from the War Nathan Barsky (Barry Morse), who is now a professor and has organized a reunion for the 8th Air Force, 323rd Bombardment Squadron, in Fairborough, England where the old base was.
Carl is hesitant to go, but eventually agrees, and when they reach Fairborough, memories of an old love, from forty years ago. Sally Wells Grant (Deborah Kerr) is a shopkeeper is not pleasantly surprised to find Carl at her doorstep, memories of yesteryear flood her mind, and she is vocally bitter about how she was left by him, and how it has taken her years to become emotionally stronger, despite the heartbreak.
Sally also confronts Carl with two shockers - one, he is the father of a daughter, and two - he is grandfather to a granddaughter. Stunned by the revelations, and hurt by her caginess, Carl decides to make headway with the youngest woman in his life: Sheila, his grandchild. The film follows the relationships of the three, Sally and Carl light up the moments with their easy charm and panache, so readily on hand for older stars. Sheila is the young rebel with a cause, whom Carl has to tame.
Mitchum and Kerr deliver one of the most touching performances, her quiet dismissal in the face of reality - at conflict with the love she has secretly harbored for Carl - are easily portrayed by Kerr, whereas the American businessman with nothing–to-look-forward-to-in-life war veteran Carl is convincingly real.
A poignant, emotive and sweet movie – about how love can change lives, and remains alive no matter what the distances in space or time.

Promises to keep (released in 1985) - Starring 3 generations of Mitchums - Robert, Christopher and Bentley

Directed by Noel Black, the film stars three generations of Mitchums - Robert, Christopher and Bentley. Jack Palmer (Robert Mitchum) is the patriarch who abandoned his family three decades ago, a true blue roustabout, who ends up being a foreman at a Wyoming ranch. His son Tom Palmer (played by Christopher Mitchum) resents his father for having walked out on them. Going through a difficult time, Tom is the captain of a boat called the Genoa. A fisherman by trade, he is having an engine problem, which threatens to shut down the Genoa. To make matters worse, the catch that season has been dismally low - top it with having wages to pay, its no surprise that Tom is having a harrowing time. Staying abreast of the other competition in Santa Barbara is now an impossible feat he somehow must accomplish. Meanwhile, the father Jack Palmer discovers he is terminally and like most people who discover the end is near - he is inevitably drawn to his roots, back home in Santa Barbara, delaying his treatment by a week or so in Wyoming.
“There he was, the mystery man, he’d come back.”
As he would already have anticipated, Jack’s homecoming is met with cool indifference and extreme scorn by Tom; his wife Sally (Claire Bloom) retains her dignified composure, though she still gets misty eyed thinking of him. Tom has many other demons to battle, the worst being the fact that Gwen (Tess Harper), his wife, is forced to put their home up for sale. Johnny is in rebel mode, a typical teenager who wants to have to do nothing with an old grandparent; he doesn’t realize how he has in common with Jack. He has undoubtedly inherited his streak for adventure and wanderlust -Tom has a difficult time reining in his son’s wild dreams.




Their adversities seem to get the better of them, as their relationships are compromised at the altar of the past. Jack’s decisions of yesteryear haunt the present, and he sees his family’s fabric disintegrate before him - united only in their resentment and scorn. Tom refuses to reconcile with the father he hardly knows, and would rather hold his son close to him - trying hard to keep him from following his dream. Johnny is at loggerheads with his father and girlfriend for wanting to harness him with the cares of the world.
All in all it is the usual family pot boiler, with the mundane frustrations of three generations of Palmers reflecting what most people in life have to face. The ‘blood is thicker than water’ message of the film is obvious, a tear jerker through and through, it is a true blue HBO TV movie, melodramatic and sentimental.
Robert Mitchum is known for his cameo characters, although ‘The Ambassador’ and ‘Promises to Keep’ are two films in which we see him assay the lead roles. Although Mitchum is believed to have commented on the actual purpose of making the film because he ‘…thought it would be good for the family bank account.’ Caring not for the business of the film, but the moolah it rakes in for him and his - Mitchum, in known for his characteristic forthrightness – just believed in the fun he had with the film, that and the er.., bank account bit, of course!