Cinderella Liberty

Uneven semi-comic look at a sailor's romantic adventures while ashore in Seattle, falling in with pool-hustling hooker Mason and her delinquent mulatto son. Based like The Last Detail on a novel by Darryl Ponicsan, it starts off well enough, with the offbeat atmosphere and characterisation reminiscent of Altman (Rydell had played Marty Augustine in The Long Goodbye), but things steadily turn to mush as crusty exteriors crack to reveal hearts of gold.