Julie by Andrew L. Stone

Chilling suspense was not Doris Day's forte, but she did her best in the 1956 film Julie, based on this story. One of the first films about a maniacal stalker, it was the first to feature a stewardess landing the plane—no matter what Karen Black says.

Julie's new husband Lyle terrifies her with his jealous anger after she speaks to her first husband's cousin at the country club. Cliff never believed Bob hung himself—someone killed him and made it look like suicide. When Julie tries to get away from him, Lyle nearly forces their convertible off the cliffside road, apologizing afterward. He loves her so much, he is overcome.

"Julie, don't ever try to leave me."

It dawns on Julie that Cliff may be right, so she softly tricks Lyle into admitting he killed Bob to have her. Hysterical, she packs a bag and slips from his control, eventually reaching the police. They can do nothing to support her. "Julie... Julie... You're going to die..."

Julie attempts to disappear, returning to her old job as a stewardess for Amalgamated Airlines. Blatantly taunting, Lyle tracks her down and stalks her through the night streets, aiming to shoot her. At the airport, he slips aboard her overnight flight, just ahead of a police dragnet. His only escape is to die with Julie—it gives him a strange erotic pleasure. "If I can't have you, no man can." After a deadly shootout, Julie is the only one who can safely land the plane!

I like reading the source novels of films (this author also wrote the screenplay), but I was disappointed to find this a screenplay novelization. Often the original novel expands the story; however, Julie is a rote copy of the film. The only thing recommending this is the breakneck plot, as the writing is merely perfunctory. For disaster-in-the-sky fans, a nice addition to the collection.

Produced by her own production company, Doris Day starred with Louis Jourdan when she was one of the biggest stars in the world. Written and directed by Andrew L. Stone, it was nominated for two Oscars - Best Song sung by Doris, and Best Original Screenplay (losing to herself singing "Que Sera, Sera" in Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much). Both Doris and Louis played against type and it was popular. Everyone gave it their all and the over-the-top suspense finale has been copied many times. Julie has achieved the status of one of the 100 bad movies of all time.

1956 / Paperback / 128 pages