sideways8 Reviews

Platinum Blonde (1931)

A lost hem.

[9/10 · 26 November 2008]

The ratings and reviews of this flick are a joke!!! I rated it a (9)chiefly because of Williams. His performance was brilliant. Maybe be it was because of Capras's direction. It makes me think the reviewer didn't really look at the film. Criticism of the camera work was likely the same. The shot of Harlow coming at a continuously retreating camera, room by room, was bold. And she never looked back. Never saw that before this. Harlow looked terrific, and she was great. This made her then. She was truly beautiful. I'd love to see that nude portrait of hers. How come it's never been found?? I know it's been looked for. A truly lost gem. This review was posted first to Devotion by mistake.

Ladies' Night in a Turkish Bath (1928)

A Mackailll comedy as a surprise

[8/10 · 27 June 2007]

Saw this last month at the UCLA film Library along with 3 others. It shows Dorothy in a comic plot which is very different her usual milieu. She pulls it of with the aid of very amusing story. James Finlayson with his movie affectation, his bushy handlebar mustache, was a scream. The scrambling around in and around the ladies bath, by Dorothy, Jimmy and her mother was very inventive. I gave this an 8. Why this library does not release this and their other Mackaill flicks to TCM is very annoying. There has to be many that UCLA has that, some in nitrate form which can be very delightful to the army of Mackaill fans nationwide.

Very inventive for its time,not the usual unfunny Chaplin stuff, and way better than the Arbuckle boring attempts at humor.

Spring Is Here (1930)

A pa en to romance by John Francis Dillon

[9/10 · 14 October 2006]

I was pleased that TCM had this on the other morning. Bernice Claire and Lawrence Gray sang beautifully. The old man got off a few great one liners, but the singers and especially the lyrics stole the show. Such beautiful sentiments. This show had the feel and atmosphere of one of my favorite movies, "Sally", so I looked it up in my 4/03 Now Playing and "Sally" was directed by John Fracis Dillon too. If they show this again, and they inevitably probably will, I will tape it to keep. Dillon was a master at these early 30s musicals. I've kept "Sally". TCM is to be thanked for putting this on. It is much appreciated. I never miss any pre-7/34 precode movies they show and they are the main reason that TCM is the greatest station showing.

The Story of Temple Drake (1933)

A great precode classic that even TCM doesn't show

[9/10 · 5 September 2006]

This is probably the most daring precode picture made. Miriam Hopkins starred and I can't think of anyone else who would have been just as good. Even Harlow wouldn't have worked. She never played such an amoral C.T. as Temple. Jack LaRue was absolutely perfect as Trigger. Such a face. Extraordinarily good looking and yet resolutely menacing. I'll never understand why he never was used as a romantic lead in any of his movies that I know. Read the other reviews for plot details. They are precise. I purchased my copy privately on DVD. I've always wanted to see it. It was worth it. The settings and lighting were extremely good for the story and time in cinema history. Hooray for the director and all of the technicians,

Vengeance Unlimited (1998–1999)

Best ever TV show

[10/10 · 25 August 2006]

My wife and I thought this the best ever TV show we've ever seen. Chapel was clever, witty, ruthless, unflappable and inexorable in his desire for justice for the afflicted. You could not stop watching this show. ABC confirms the rock headedness of the average TV bigwig. They just don't get what really grabs us. Putting it on opposite Friends and Frazier (both drek) just confirms that they wanted this series to fail. I got my DVD copies from the listing at the bottom of it's IMDb.com web page and they are not bad. Go get 'em.

Oh by the way, TCM showed "The Public Defender", Richard Dix (1931), and if you look at that you will see that Vengeance is loosely based on the ideas expressed in that flick.

Days of Heaven (1978)

My Favorite Movie

[10/10 · 10 July 2006]

This is, as it has been for more then 20 years, my favorite film. It's not the best; I reserve that honor to "A.I.". I saw it again as a revised print at an Art house, a few nights ago. The photography is easily the best I've ever seen and has made me a Mallick freak. "Badlands", "Thin Red Line" and "The New World" only give you a glimpse of his greatness. The man's a genius of Kubrick quality. The music was superbly appropriate and moving. The story was great. The acting was terrific. Brooke Adams, Linda Manz and Robert Wilke have never achieved to this level before or since. I have my letterbox copy and it's among my most valued.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

How unfortunate we never reached Clarke's vision by 2001.

[9/10 · 19 July 2005]

On May 1st 1968, I attended the World Premier at the Casino Cinerama Theatre in Soho, London. It was for the Printers Pension Corporation. I still have the ticket and program. It was in Cinerama and was appx. 20 mins. longer than the version released in New York and now available. I believe the 20 mins. consisted of the hum-drum life on the ship which added greatly to the flavor of the picture. It was a true director's cut. For the life of me, I don't understand why MGM does not release it full length for sale and put it out in theaters that can handle Cinerama. I know I'd buy it and I know I'd go. It is a great mystery of cinema and MGM is really blowing it

Independent Lens: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) Season 8, Episode 22

Hey, it's capitalism. What do you expect.? Hooray for Duhb'ya.

[10/10 · 11 May 2005]

When Jeff Skilling was a graduate student in business he was posed a question by his professor.

If you ran a company that made a very highly profitable item that was later shown to be dangerous or even deadly, would you pull it off the market thus damaging your shareholders interests or lie to prevent it's exclusion from the marketplace thus protecting the financial interests of your shareholders??

Skillings answer?? After seeing this movie if you think he wouldn't put the financial interests of his shareholders first, then you are crazy, because that is what he answered.

The Flapper (1920)

Small town girls breaks out, meets crooks and the big life but returns to her roots

[7/10 · 27 April 2005]

This movie is now available from several vendors on DVD. ATTENTION IMDb.

Olive Thomas was, in the 1917-20 era, considered the most beautiful girl in Hollywoodland. She was certainly very good looking. She is said to have violet-blue eyes, the same a Liz Taylor. Men were utterly enthralled with her. She married the brother of Mary Pickford, who she certainly was prettier than. She had a very horrible and accidental, I feel sure, young death, but could have gone on to be a real giant in the industry. Her acting was good but may have been great in time.

The flick opens with her at school the product of a very strict father but a loving family. She is sent away to school for her own good. She uses a vacation to sew some wild oats and meets 2 crooks who were out to steal from her school. They try to plant the goods on her when she comes home but they're found out. After they were apprehended the story ended happily ever after.

Worth a view if you can ever see it (buy it that is). The life documentary that comes with it is ripe for TCM.

Sing and Like It (1934)

This one's a real sleeper

[8/10 · 9 February 2005]

I was very surprised by this. It's genuinely funny. Nat Pendelton was at the top of his game in 1934. (The Thin Man - 1934) The scene where he winds up with a mouthful of gum after kissing his girlfriend was a scream.

I would really like to see more of Nat. He is a real discovery (like Warren William) capable of many faceted parts. He was a Silver medalist at the 1920 Olympics.

The entire cast was sharp as was the dialog. Zasu Pitts had her typical part and her hand movements were as always (and that mother song). Ned Sparks was also as always. Pert Kelton was looking good. A flick to really have a laugh at. you gotta' see it.

Paid (1930)

A girl seeking revenge finds love

[8/10 · 14 January 2005]

This was a find. Good acting, a good plot and dialog way ahead of its time. I know of no other 1930 movie with its sophistication of dialog. Great directing by Sam Wood making sure that all of the intricacies of plot were brought out.

Joan Crawford was a wrongfully convicted convict out to exact revenge upon the store owner/magnate who sent her up the river who teams with Robert Armstrong to become rich shadily but by means "Within the Law".

The final confrontation in the DA's office requires that you pay attention. This movie is ripe for a remake. I see George Clooney as Robert Armstrong's character and Leonardo De Caprio as the son. Robert Armstrong was very strong in this role.

It's TCM keeper.

The Secret of My Success (1965)

A very underrated flick

[8/10 · 1 April 2004]

A bumbling bobby, with the aid of his mother, rises through the P.D., becomes the leader of a Latin-American revolution and inherits a fortune. 1st Stella murders her husband and buries him in the basement, then Honor raises St.Bernard size spiders and commits her spouse to a mental institution and Shirley cons the hero into the revolution. All without the knowing sense of the hero, aided and abetted by his mother plottings.

What a wacko plot! The should have made this with John Cleese as the star and it would have been a bigger hoot.

Safe in Hell (1931)

A reflection of it's time, or so Wellman thought.

[9/10 · 18 February 2004]

Dorothy Mackaill was very good in this. Charles Middleton also gave a good effort. To think that a woman could be so abused by the attitudes of her time is hard to truly appreciate. Here she was stopped from working by a rotten man and forced into life as a call girl. Then she encounters a "trick" who happens to be that man and accidentally (and erroneously, as it turns out) kills him defending herself. She flees with her boyfriend, who at 1st rejects her for her wanton ways, to Tobago , an island ruled by a sheriff of vile intent. She is housed as the only white woman on the island, in a dive filled with real scum of the earth men.

After she goes crazy with boredom, awaiting the return of her boyfriend, the "murdered" man shows up and puts moves on her and she really kills him with a gun planted on her by the sheriff. Just as she is about to be acquitted, the sheriff informs her he plans to keeps her as his object in his private jail for 6 months on the gun rap. She then falsely confesses to the new killing in order to avoid that fate and, after leaving a love message to her boyfriend, marches off to be hanged.

That Wellman believed that his audience would find such a story and plight acceptable is real indictment of the audience and the times.

The Penalty (1920)

A masterpiece

[9/10 · 24 January 2004]

You know, I have about 10 or 12 Chaney flicks. The "Unknown" was a strange one, but I have rarely been as REALLY creeped out by a story and a character in any flick, even in modern days, as I have by this movie and Blizzard. Blizzard is truly diabolically evil incarnate. He makes your back crawl. Chaney was fantastic and the Kino edition is masterfully reproduced. Few silent movies "capture" me, but this one riveted me. I am truly impressed.

Coquette (1929)

1st half very dull, then the acting excels

[8/10 · 5 January 2004]

The 1st half of this flick is very dated. Then John Mack Brown takes over and Pickford responds. I've never seen Brown in anything I thought he excelled in, but in his confrontation scene with the father the movie turns compelling. I have seen a lot worse flicks of the period but the acting and the plot for the last 1/2 of the flick, although the ending was predictable, made it a memorable movie. I rated this an 8 for that reason. John Mack Brown saves the flick and he should have gotten an award along with Pickford.

Glorifying the American Girl (1929)

A primitive musical

[6/10 · 4 January 2004]

The girls were chunky in those days.

I rated this a 6. It was probably a 9 in 1929. Marilyn Miller was NOT the star. The costumes were revealing for the time. I don't know if that was Zeigfeld's or Paramount's influence. Paramount could make some racy stuff. All the performances were totally unmemorable, but it was a real study in what was popular at the time.

The Matrimonial Bed (1930)

Very well written pre-code farce

[8/10 · 30 December 2003]

The complications in this plot are myriad. This was a very funny movie. The plot was truly improbable. It probably started as a French stage play. The ending was the only real way out for Fay and I suppose was inevitable. The relationship complications were remarkable and are what made this flick memorable.

Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)

Truly funny

[9/10 · 18 November 2003]

You know, a cartoon that the kids will miss the funniest parts of is sad, but good for adults. The gang at W.B. created the funniest cartoons ever in the 1935-55 era. They were made for adults. The cracks and asides in this one are as good as ever. The MGM ones were a tad more perfect animation-wise but the W.B. ones were the funniest. Good plot and all the W.B. characters are there including my favorite, Yosemite Sam as a Vegas casino operator. The idea of the Acme Corp as the W.B. equivalent of Halliburton is brilliant. Steve Martin must have had a ball. I wish there were more of Porky or I'd given the movie a 10 instead of a 9. (No Petunia either, but who cares.) More Sylvester too. Breaking into all of those paintings at the Louvre was genius.

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1943)

Preston Sturges Gem

[8/10 · 23 October 2003]

I never appreciated anyone associated with this flick, except Betty Hutton, but this was very good. It starts out amusing, then becomes very funny, then for the last 20 mins. is hilarious. Loads of vocal and sight gags. I'm not going to go into plot here but I recommend it. TCM is rerunning it again later this and then next month (11/03).

School of Rock (2003)

What a bomb

[3/10 · 12 October 2003]

I rated this a 3 only because of Jack Blacks good work. Ya' gotta' be kiddin'. To believe any one could believe this plot or believe that Dewey believed himself is an insult to the audience. Incredibly dissapointing!!

Alf 'n' Family (1968)

Dissapointing for a fan of the series

[6/10 · 12 October 2003]

I gave this a 6, cinemawise. For those of you who saw the series, it was a 3 or 4. I got 12 episodes of later years from Canada. The earlier years were a scream on the BBC, but then I was younger. This movie had little of its zip.

Goodbye Again (1933)

A very surprising delight. Totally wacko.

[8/10 · 12 October 2003]

Warren William has to rank up there with the fine comic actors. He has the wrong face for it, but he brilliant in this one. He and Cagney and Blondell and Farrell did a of good things in the early 30s. The plot is completely zany and well written. The relationship with his ex-girlfriend(and her behavior) and her messed up family was fascinating in its complexity. The end with him standing on a widow ledge after faking suicide and proposing to Joan was clever. Early Curtiz work. Great!

Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)

The original House of wax with an interesting twist

[7/10 · 7 October 2003]

Surprisingly, 1933 in 2C color. If you've seen House of Wax, you've seen this one. The scenes are almost identical. The assistant is a junkie instead of an alkie in this one and the Glenda Farrell character is an interesting idea not present in the later edition. (Her decision to marry at the end was out of the blue, however.) It's 10 mins. shorter but just a good except for the absence of the 3D which was amazing in the later edition. Saw it today on TCM. I recommend it.

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

Classic 50s sci-fi

[7/10 · 27 August 2003]

Saw this again tonight in 3D (outdoors). Saw it when it came out when I was 7. 3D effects (are far from IMAX 3D) are fine and had depth. Good flick which I've seen many times. Better than It Came From Outer Space which was also shown.

You know, how come this is not released in DVD in 3D with glasses?? Somebody's missing the boat. Wake up out there.

I'd also like to see House of Wax in 3D again. Vincent Price was really good in that, as were the 3D effects. In color, the best 3D movie of its time.

Operator 13 (1934)

Strange, strange movie

[5/10 · 13 August 2003]

I can't believe that Gary Cooper made this movie even in those days. It showed the wonderful lives of blacks in the Confederacy. I betcha' some of Duh-bya friends were brought to yearning for the good ol' days. It showed William Randolph Hearst wife in blackface. Unbelievable!!! Henry Long was seen by me for the 1st time in a straight part. Interesting. The Mills brothers were OK, but not nearly as good as in "Twenty Million Sweethearts".