Cinema: Skin Game

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The only real suspense in If He Hollers, Let Him Go, which calls itself a thriller, is waiting for the comely costar, Negro Singer Barbara McNair, to take her clothes off. Since she doffs her duds during the first half-hour, voyeurs can feel free to leave immediately afterward. There is nothing more for them—or anyone else, really—to see.

The story, such as it is, concerns a black convict named Lake (Raymond St. Jacques) who escapes from prison, where he has spent five years on a trumped-up charge of rape and murder. Lake lights out to bring the real culprit to justice, only to be sidetracked by a jealous psychopath (Kevin McCarthy) who wants him to bump off his wealthy wife (Dana Wynter).

Before Lake does so, the action stops every few minutes, the screen turns a noxious color, and there appears a flashback showing how Lake got into this ghastly mess. It is in one of these scenes that Miss McNair turns up as Lake's girl Lily. No sooner has she appeared on-screen than she is writhing in St. Jacques' embrace. To make a film debut this way may have been a tactical and professional error. Except for her stylish vocalizing, Miss McNair displays more photogenic than histrionic talent, and in her first screen role she has already given it exhaustive display. Ungallant as it may be to suggest it, her scenes seem to have been designed solely to provide Playboy with some steamy stills.