reelguy2 Reviews

Five Gates to Hell (1959)

Shabby little shocker

[1/10 · 17 January 2005]

George Bernard Shaw once referred to Puccini's Tosca as that "shabby little shocker." That's an apt description for this Vietnam war film written and directed by James Clavell. Every manner of atrocity is committed in this unredeemable mess: garroting, rape, human boiling, crucifixion, pick-ax murder, and of course point blank shooting. Sure, it's a bloody war, but Clavell goes for the obvious sensational effect, without meaningful human values, much in the same way we've seen more recently in slasher pics.

Clavell manages to elicit terrible performances from his usually-commendable team of actors. Patricia Owens as a cynical nurse and Shirley Knight as a sanctimonious nun win the awards for bad acting against fierce competition. And for all the murders he commits, the usually tough Neville Brand is surprisingly innocuous, although it doesn't help that he's forced to play a Vietnamese leader. Greta Chi gives the best performance; doesn't that say it all?

There's some consolation at the end of the film when the women take arms against their captors. It's rather cathartic, I have to admit. But for sheer unpleasantness for most of its running time, this is a movie to avoid.

Yes, My Darling Daughter (1939)

Likable cast in once-racy comedy

[8/10 · 20 December 2004]

Jeffrey Lynn gets a real bum rap by one reviewer on this site. He has an impossible part to play here, in which he's subjected to Priscilla Lane's endless platitudinous chatter. It's certainly refreshing to see a liberated woman in an old movie, but Lane's character is positively emasculating. Under the circumstances, Lynn does very well. Based on a popular play, this film was considered racy in 1939. Seen today, it's so innocuous, it's almost offensive! Needless to say, Lane retains her virginity even though she goes away for the weekend with boyfriend Lynn.

Forget the sociological implications, however, and you have a reasonably witty entertainment, successfully "opened up" from its stage origins.

The Proud Ones (1956)

A Cinemascope reworking of "Red Skies of Montana"

[9/10 · 19 December 2004]

Twentieth-Century-Fox was second only to Warner Bros. in rehashing the plot lines of its earlier films. "The Proud Ones" was made a mere four years after "Red Skies of Montana" - but the similarities between the films are only too obvious. The newer film even features the same star, Jeffrey Hunter. Not only that, "The Proud Ones" incorporates music cues that Sol Kaplan composed for "Red Skies of Montana." The story of the Cinemascope picture is bound to evoke deja vu: a young upstart seeks vengeance on an older man he believes is responsible for the death of his father. As the young man, Jeffrey Hunter deserves credit for lending credibility to a character whose actions are anything but credible. He did the same miraculous job in "Red Skies of Montana." If anyone thinks Hunter was just a pretty face, his subtle work in these films should prove he had much more to offer.

The rest of the cast in "The Proud Ones" is also excellent, helping to make this one heck of a movie. Unlike its also good predecessor, this "remake" is a western. The genre was obviously chosen to make it seem different from the original. But make no mistake, the two movies are essentially the same. Watch them both and enjoy!

The Unguarded Moment (1956)

George Nader is the perfect man to solve the case

[10/10 · 19 December 2004]

In her first nonaquatic role, Esther Williams plays a school teacher who's the victim of sexual assault. She gives a fine performance, proving she could be highly effective out of the swimming pool. As the detective out to solve the case, George Nader gives perhaps his finest performance. And he is so handsome it hurts! John Saxon is the student under suspicion, and although he gets impressive billing in the credits, it's Edward Andrews as his overly-protective father who is the standout.

Bathed in glorious Technicolor, The Unguarded Moment is irresistible hokum and at times compelling drama.

Design for Living (1933)

Torn between two lovers

[10/10 · 18 November 2004]

Miriam Hopkins finds herself in love with both Gary Cooper and Fredric March (who can blame her?), so she does what any sensible Pre-Code woman would do: she decides to live with both of them!

It's a tribute to movie audiences of the early 1930s that a sophisticated comedy like Design for Living could a.) Get produced, and b.) Be a success at the box office. The dumbing down of current films means that the delicious innuendo in Design for Living would go over the head of most of today's audience.

The key to the Lubitsch Touch was in the perfect timing of physical gestures and the delivery of the lines. Trouble in Paradise and Design for Living were the best in this respect. Personally, I prefer the lack of music in Design for Living. I think it dates the film less than Lubitsch's other efforts.

I don't mind that Ben Hecht wrote most of the film's dialog rather than Noel Coward, who wrote the original play. All I know is that the dialog is very very funny and quite naughty, making this the ultimate Pre-Code film.

Miriam Hopkins could do no wrong in a Lubitsch film, and her work here is brilliant. She's intelligent and uncompromisingly honest. Her leading men, Gary Cooper and Fredric March, are both sexy and hilarious. Gary Cooper is a particular revelation, displaying a flair for comedy that is quite unexpected. As Cooper's friend and rival for the affection of Hopkins, March is also very funny, which comes as no surprise after his brilliant parody of John Barrymore in The Royal Family of Broadway (1930).

Prepare to laugh yourself silly during what may be the funniest film ever made.

Johnny Eager (1941)

Van Heflin shines in this MGM gangster film

[10/10 · 17 November 2004]

MGM produced this well-written, well-produced gangster saga, a type of film that was very unusual for the studio.

As the alcoholic, self-loathing, philosophizing buddy of Johnny Eager (Robert Taylor), Heflin steals the show. He plays his role with great intensity and complexity, making his performance one of the most deserved Best Supporting Actor Oscars in the history of the Academy Awards. His crying scenes are enough to choke a person up, and his possible suggestion of a homoerotic attraction to Eager is unique in a film of this era.

It's unfortunate that Heflin's subsequent roles and performances were generally dull. This actor needed roles that put him emotionally on the edge and exploited his intensity. But at least in Johnny Eager, Heflin set a standard for screen acting that remains a role model to this day.

Robert Taylor plays his scenes with Heflin with some dramatic tension and a hint of subtext, while still remaining comfortably within the confines of a handsome Hollywood leading man. Turner delivers her lines very artificially, coming across as insincere, and her face seems incapable of expressing emotion. Beautiful she is, but given the taut script, the director had the potential of eliciting less formulaic playing from her. Luckily, the rest of the cast is excellent -especially Edward Arnold and Robert Sterling.

Watch this one and you won't be disappointed. Heflin's performance is worth it all.

An American Tragedy (1931)

More faithful to the novel than the remake

[10/10 · 10 November 2004]

Josef von Sternberg brings an uncompromising quality to Theodore Dreiser's most American of novels. The drowning scene is appropriately ambiguous. The unusual upbringing of Clyde Griffiths, whose name is even changed in the remake to something supposedly less mundane, is also more faithful to the novel, delineating the mother-son relationship in detail. George Stevens' remake, A Place in the Sun, is highly romanticized, which is seriously at odds with the naturalistic character of the novel.

Lee Garmes' shimmering photography is a perfect example of chiaroscuro. The opening credits immediately establish the water motif that is to figure so prominently later in the story.

Phillips Holmes excels at portraying his character's ambition as he climbs the social ladder. He goes beyond portraying your typical "weak youth" and suggests an attachment disorder that is all the more disturbing to see because not even a modern film has gone into this psychological territory. Although her role is short, Frances Dee is infinitely better than Elizabeth Taylor in the remake. As the put-upon character, Shelley Winters overplays her pathetic qualities in the Stevens version and is more irritating than Sylvia Sidney. As terrible as it sounds, Winters almost explains her boyfriend's decision to drown her. But that's hardly the point of the event.

The courtroom scene has been criticized for being overacted, but it convincingly depicts Holmes' total loss of control as his attorney (Charles Middleton) concocts a bogus excuse for the drowning. And I wouldn't give up Middleton's flamboyant performance for anything!

If you want a more faithful adaptation of Dreiser's novel - and a more complex if less slick movie than the remake - von Sternberg's film is the one to see.

Four Daughters (1938)

A great John Garfield and an underrated Jeffrey Lynn

[10/10 · 10 November 2004]

What starts as a homespun comedy-drama and then halfway turns into a melodrama made a major star of John Garfield - and justly so. But Jeffrey Lynn is not to be dismissed as the object of affection of the four daughters. Lynn is very handsome and is so charming it's easy to believe that all four daughters could fall for him. Although Garfield received most of the kudos, Lynn became a major leading man at Warner Bros. as a result of this film.

Michael Curtiz insisted on location shooting for the picnic scene, making it the highlight of the film. Throughout, the craftsmanship is enough to inspire awe. A soap opera by Fanny Hurst has been turned into a cinema masterpiece.

I Married a Doctor (1936)

Fine adaptation of Sinclair Lewis's Main Street

[10/10 · 9 November 2004]

For some inexplicable reason, Warner Bros. took Sinclair Lewis's acclaimed novel Main Street and gave it one of the most inane titles in screen history. The film is nonetheless a fine adaptation of the novel, telling the story of a sophisticated woman from the city at odds with the conventional values in a small American town.

Class act Josephine Hutchinson is perfectly cast as the discontented wife, and Ross Alexander is outstanding as the malcontent with artistic sensibilities who falls for the married Hutchinson. (Alexander's career was tragically cut short when he committed suicide in 1937. Ronald Reagan was allegedly chosen by Warner Bros. to replace Alexander, but in terms of talent, there's no comparison.) Pat O'Brian underplays the role of the doctor admirably, but he is still somewhat miscast, as he comes across as more sensitive than the at-times obtuse character depicted in the novel.

Well photographed, the film only disappoints with its cop-out ending, which tends to negate the quality of the rest of the film. However, if you think of the film's title as Main Street rather than I Married a Doctor, you should appreciate this unjustly neglected gem from the '30s.

Everything I Have Is Yours (1952)

Marge and Gower Champion's Best Vehicle

[10/10 · 23 October 2004]

This bright Technicolor vehicle for Marge and Gower Champion is chock full of well-choreographed musical numbers - especially the very sexy "Cairo." The film had a high rating on IMDb until it received a (well-written) negative review.

The divorce drama doesn't get in the way of the music, and Dennis O'Keefe is excellent as the divorce lawyer. Marge and Gower are also good. Especially Gower - who's as cute as a button - as a hypochondriac.

Every other film that featured Marge and Gower Champion had so-so choreography at best, which makes this one a welcome pleasure.

This *is* a small musical compared to a film such as "The Band Wagon," but it's enormously entertaining in its own right.

No Man Is an Island (1962)

One man's spiritual odyssey

[10/10 · 28 May 2004]

No Man is an Island is best seen not as a war film but as one man's spiritual odyssey. I fully agree with rsoonsa's comments that the film suffers from shoddy production values and a serious lack of logic. But get through the first half of the film and you have a tremendously moving experience.

Why should one man's life be spared when all of his comrades are killed? This is the question that the main character struggles with, and it's mainly through the local priest that he learns to accept the sacrifice of the people of Guam.

Jeffrey Hunter understands that his role doesn't call for the tough, gritty approach that he essayed so brilliantly in Hell to Eternity. Rather, he calls upon his unique qualities of masculinity and sensitivity to suggest his character's growing spiritual awareness. Some of Hunter's closeups are of heartrending beauty, bringing a spiritual quality that no actor today could touch.

There's a reason why No Man is an Island has been released on DVD - albeit in a misguided widescreen transfer that crops crucial information from the top and bottom of the frame. It speaks to a lot of people and transcends its various flaws through the sheer inspiration of its message.

Spring Parade (1940)

There's a good reason it's not on home video

[3/10 · 5 January 2004]

Despite some of Durbin's best songs and technical proficiency all the way around, this is a major disappointment for a Durbin fan who adores every film the musical star made up to 1940. It's BORING - poorly paced and dogged by a weak story line. (I was privileged to see a superior transfer, so I attribute my lack of enjoyment to the film itself.) Romance is given short shrift, with leading man Robert Cummings showing up very late in the film.

Not as bad as Up in Central Park, which Universal Home Video somehow did release, but not a film one should be praying to see released on home video.

About Schmidt (2002)

Lack of focus in potentially fine film

[2/10 · 9 September 2003]

About Schmidt starts out promisingly but quickly loses focus from the issues it establishes early in the film - specifically, Nicholson dealing with retirement and the sudden death of his wife. There's so much more to say about aging and loss, but this film digresses from its initial premise before barely touching on it.

The dramatic device of Nicholson corresponding with a boy he's sponsoring through a charitable organization is wholly unconvincing. There's no way a sponsor would share such adult and personal information with a six-year old from Africa.

The second half of the film is an unwitty variation on Father of the Bride, which leads one to ask, what is this film really trying to say?

Nicholson gives a highly sympathetic performance, but good scripts are difficult to come by nowadays even for our finest actors. For a truly great film about aging and loss, look no further than Leo McCarey's 1937 masterpiece Make Way for Tomorrow.

Intimate Encounters (1986 TV Movie)

The first G-rated soft porn made-for-TV movie

[6/10 · 9 September 2003]

Bored housewife Donna Mills is frustrated by husband James Brolin's lack of attention, so she indulges in sexual fantasies about other men. Her fantasies are accompanied by light FM music that makes the scenes reminiscent of a soft porn flick, except for the fact that not a hint of flesh below her neck is exposed.

It's difficult to feel sympathy for Donna Mills' character here. She's a knockout, and she has a stable of handsome young studs who flirt with her throughout the movie and appear only too willing to take Brolin's place. Mills' concerns around getting older are expressed when she stumbles during an attempted cartwheel. Pretty lame!

The dialog is appalling, marked by inane psychobabble. The only scenes that register convincingly are toward the end when Brolin rages over his wife's infidelity.

The casting director was obviously doing his job, however, ensuring that this effort is at least good to look at. Just be sure to turn down the sound!

Hell to Eternity (1960)

A true World War II story of tremendous emotional impact

[10/10 · 9 September 2003]

World War II hero Guy Gabaldon's story could hardly have been entrusted to a more suitable director than Phil Karlson. Karlson brings a tough masculine style, as well as an emotional impact that would have eluded many a director of action films. Operating as usual on a less-than-A budget, Karlson nonetheless makes the most out of every scene and elicits excellent performances from his cast.

Hell to Eternity is by far the most violent war film made up to that time. But Karlson's outbursts of violence are always tied to a strong emotional response, making the violence anything but gratuitous.

The film is also notable for a surprisingly provocative striptease by Patricia Owens and and an equally provocative kiss between her and Jeffrey Hunter. In terms of its violence and sexual content, Hell to Eternity probably went as far as the censors would allow in 1960.

As Gabaldon, Jeffrey Hunter gives a performance of great sympathy, but also one of considerable edge in his battle scenes. It's a difficult role, because he has to express the moral dilemma of a man raised by a Japanese-American family who is tasked with fighting the Japanese during WW2. The fact that Hunter made King of Kings only one year after this film and also offered diverse characterizations in Key Witness and Sergeant Rutledge the same year as Hell to Eternity is a testament to his versatility as an actor.

Leith Stevens provides an outstanding dramatic score, which unfortunately was poorly represented by the soundtrack album, which contained mainly his jazz-oriented incidental music.

The lower-than-A budget for this film more than likely accounts for it not being better known. But make no mistake about it - it's one of the most powerful war films ever made.

Key Witness (1960)

Riveting noir by Phil Karlson

[8/10 · 17 June 2003]

Key Witness verges on the point of hysteria, and lacks credibility throughout, but it's still a riveting drama, directed by Phil Karlson in typically tough fashion.

Most of the performances are over-the-top, but as the witness to a gang stabbing, Jeffrey Hunter gives a standout performance. Without overacting, he brings plenty of energy and intensively to his role, playing an Everyman driven to the breaking point by the mob terrorizing him and his family. Next to Brainstorm (1965), this is his best work.

Although the film may infuriate you with its pat ending, you shouldn't be bored for an instant.

Life Begins at 17 (1958)

Fascinating document of its era

[17 June 2003]

If it happens that Life Begins at 17 even faintly resembles the domestic and social values it depicts, then this seemingly harmless teen pic has to be reckoned one of the most horrifying documents of the Fifties. Deception, parental neglect, and emotional blackmail are at the heart of a story that has frat brat Damon pretending to be interested in Anders in order to get her gorgeous sister to fall for him. Once she learns of his deceit, Anders retaliates in a bizarre and unexpected way.

While this is obviously an exploitation picture, there are domestic scenes that sensitively capture the strained parent/child relationships. Particularly moving is the scene between Mark Damon and his father, in which Damon expresses betrayal from his father for not believing him. Damon is superb in this scene, bringing an emotional depth rare in a picture of this sort.

Don't get the impression that this is a good movie. It's not. But it's a fascinating document of its era - one that could generate hours of discussion on its sociological implications.

Remember the Day (1941)

A nostalgic piece of great artistry

[17 June 2003]

Henry King has directed a nostalgic piece of great artistry that accurately evokes the World War One era in America. Claudette Colbert's wit and charm effectively offsets the potential sentimentality of the story, and handsome John Payne gives one of his finest performances as her love interest.

Lovingly photographed, Remember the Day is a charmer from start to finish.

The Idle Rich (1929)

One of the finest of MGM's early talkies

[8/10 · 17 June 2003]

William DeMille, brother of Cecil, directed one of the finest of MGM's early talkies. Conrad Nagel plays a millionaire who marries his secretary and then sets out to change her middle-class family's bias against the upper class.

Although the film - based on a play - is confined to mainly one set, it never appears stagy, thanks to a good variety of camera setups and seamless editing. And the cast is uniformly excellent, with Nagel again proving why he was one of the most in-demand actors of the early talkies, with his strong speaking voice. The recorded sound is also very clear.

As far as I know, TCM has shown this gem only once, but it's high time they make it available again

I Sailed to Tahiti with an All Girl Crew (1969)

Worst movie ever made?/Retro masterpiece?

[9/10 · 11 June 2003]

Incredibly bad by most standards, I Sailed to Tahiti With An All-Girl Crew is enormously enjoyable if you're in the right retro mood. The film was probably the main factor in Gardner McKay abandoning his acting career and turning to writing. He certainly lets his hair down in this one - especially when he fantasizes about being a pirate a la Captain Blood. I also like when McKay corrects one of his crew members who calls him "skippy" by insisting "It's skipper - SKIPPER!" Apart from a bevy of gorgeous women playing the All-Girl Crew, McKay looks terrific in his mid-thirties, which for many viewers is reason enough for seeing this film.

Reprisal! (1956)

Seriously underrated western

[10/10 · 19 February 2003]

As Frank Madden, Guy Madison has a past more mysterious than Shane's. When he buys a ranch in the Midwest as part of a long-time dream to be a respected land owner, he encounters obstacles at every point.

George Marshall directs this B western with a master's touch. His handling of the mob scene, the near-lynching, the moving confrontation between Guy Madison and the Indian patriarch, and the final shootout are electrifying. Guy Madison gives one of his best performances in what is largely an unsympathetic role.

In 74 minutes this western makes a statement about prejudice against native Americans that is both moving and relevant today. A-budget pictures should be as good.

Mrs. Parkington (1944)

Is the story worth telling? - SPOILERS

[2 November 2002]

This superficial, ultra-glossy family saga features an outstanding cast, but like so many MGM efforts, that does not a good film make. Garson is unconvincing in her scenes as the aged matriarch, and her usual warmth is missing in one crucial scene: The maid has just told Agnes Moorehead how Mrs. Parkington is still, after a a year, despondent over the death of her son, when we see Garson, pouting like a young girl who's been told to get off the telephone.

Walter Pigeon, however, is quite good in a rare role as a less than perfect gentleman. Overall, solid story telling. But is the story worth telling?

Another Dawn (1937)

Prosaic for the most part

[2 November 2002]

Offsetting the awkward and embarrassing elements of the triangular love story are Korngold's gloriously exotic (if at times obtrusive) score and some occasional poetry in the dialogue. And, for the last two minutes of the film - finally - inspired direction from William Dieterle who, as we know from his better films (Devil and Daniel Webster), was perfectly capable of such things.

Petticoat Fever (1936)

Diverting, atypical screwball comedy

[2 November 2002]

This diverting little comedy is refreshingly different from the standard rich boy-wolf chases girl comedies of the 30s. It's set in the Alaskan wilderness instead of of swanky night clubs and penthouses, the situations are set up to be amusing rather than hilarious, and it's played by Montgomery and Loy with a kind of knowing delicacy rather than wryness or zaniness.

Millie (1931)

Poor Millie!

[2 November 2002]

Poor Millie! She marries for love - not money - and still ends up unlucky in love. There's something intriguingly contemporary about her consistently entering into bad relationships. Also contemporary is her decision to live with her boyfriend instead of marrying him - even though he does offer to marry her.

Helen Twelvetrees has the ability to make the heroine's story somewhat compelling despite the film's plodding structure. John Halliday is very appealing as Twelvetrees' suitor until his character turns surprisingly into a cad.

So what's the moral of this "woman's picture?" Millie is so hurt by her broken marriage that perhaps she errs in writing off her unfaithful husband so quickly. In him she may have found the only decent male character in the story.