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Reviews
You Have to Run Fast (1961)
Cheap B pic with fitting title: run fast... from it!
Director Edward L Cahn walked the line of mediocrity and YOU HAVE TO RUN FAST only provides incidental confirmation of that assertion: shoddy direction, childish script, amateurish acting by the leads Craig Hill and Elaine Edwards (who was she? I do not recall seeing her name on any film before!), paralytic retired US Army colonel Willis Bouchey who proves his lethal sniping from the comfort of his lounge's window sill after just turning over his handgun to the outlaws a minute earlier, rather rotund-bellied and inadvertently comic top villain Grant Richards as "Big Jim" Craven who has been searching for goody two shoes doctor Craig Hill all over the USA and gets to find him at Buckhorn Motel in tiny backwater town Summit City that does not even have a full-time medical doctor...
Poor Craig Hill can see the writing on the wall when even a local cop recognizes Craven but allows himself to be overpowered and shot through his chest before being placed against a tree. Amazingly, while drowning in his own blood, that superhuman cop manages to walk some distance to a makeshift operating table. Wonders never cease...
At least the title is spot on: you have to run fast... before you drown in all the senseless BS in this movie! An extremely generous 5/10 for the lovely 1950s cars on show.
Stalag 17 (1953)
Grandaddy of POW flicks with masterful direction, acting
Billy Wilder definitely deserves a place among the 10 best film directors ever, with opuses like SUNSET BOULEVARD, THE APARTMENT, SOME LIKE IT HOT in his resumé. STALAG 17 is not as famous, or as good, as any of those, but it comes darned close. In all frankness, the only flaw separating it from such sublime quality is the refrain-like presence of a duo who are supposed to function lilke comic relief. Sadly, in my view they fail in that mission in spite of conveying the film's most famous and best line: "Sprachen sie Deutsch, droppen sie dead". (Sorry about my poor spelling)
Otherwise, STALAG 17 deserves every commendation: superior direction by Wilder, script (by Wilder and others), in turns claustrophobic and open cinematography by the great Ernest Laszlo, and, above all, acting: golden boy William Holden deservedly picked up the best actor Oscar, Otto Preminger is caustically funny as commander Oberst von Scherbach, Sig Ruman very nearly steals the show as German Sergeant Schultz, and Peter Graves never performed better.
Sad to see some comments compare this to a film that came out a decade later, THE GREAT ESCAPE. STALAG 17 not only preceded it, its budget was shoestring by comparison. Even sadder to see comments that STALAG has not aged well. Back in 1953 the cinema industry did not have the artifacts that would appear over the course of time, including 70 mm cinerama, CGI, etc. It is as unfortunate to say that a film has not aged well as to say that a human being should not be in society because he/she has wrinkles brought on by the inexorable aging process.
Enjoy cinema for what it is, not for what it purportedly should be. STALAG 17 is a work of art that shows humans at close to their very worst... and best. Strongly recommended viewing. 9/10.
5 Card Stud (1968)
Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord - Mc&M&M in good form
I like Director Henry Hathaway. Whether it be Westerns like TRUE GRIT or 5 CARD STUD, adventures like NORTH TO ALASKA or THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE, his films stir with action and funny moments in the midst of serious situations. In 5 CARD, he makes the most of a strong dialogue script by Marguerite Roberts and yet another superb if atypical score by Maurice Jarre (in which Martin even gets to sing), effective cinematography by Daniel Fapp and James King and, above all, superior acting by the three M's: Mitchum revisiting his preacher of NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, Martin in his best form since RIO BRAVO, and McDowall as the smilingly sinister baby-faced murder orchestrator.
Beauties Katherine Justice and Inger Stevens make it sweet on the eye. 7/10.
Death of a Gunfighter (1969)
Waste of in form actors on illogical script
Someone by the name of Joseph Calvelli is credited with the screenplay of DEATH OF A GUNFIGHTER - I know him not from the proverbial bar of soap, and on the strength of the illogical, awful script, I hope not to see his name again.
Director Alan Smithee is in fact bipolar: he is the name used by Directors Don Siegel - whom I admire very much - and Robert Totten, whose film GUNSMOKE I watched so long ago that I do not have a firm opinion on its merits anymore.
With a bipolar Alan Smithee and a substandard script writer, things inevitavly go south with this production and Andrew Jackson's pedestrian cinematography does not function as Deus Ex Machina either. Sadly, those failures pull the rug from under the feet of the acting ensemble.
Richard Widmark posts his trademark quality performance as the trigger happy Marshall Patch (a fitting name, the unfortunate lawman is going through a bad patch despite his basic decency); capably assisted by main villain Carroll O'Connor (then famous for his comic TV show, ARCHIE BUNKER'S PLACE), suicidal Kent Smith, and David Opatoshu as leader of the city elders trying not just to oust but to actually kill Widmark.
I have always liked Don Siegel for his respet of cause and efffect in the plot, but here he must have allowed the other part of Alan Smithee to smite his ass, and the final scenes of a moribund Widmark marrying Lena Horne and staggering about the town with a shot in the leg and another in his left shoulder just reek of impossibility. 6/10 is actually generous, as I really like Widmark and Siegel.
Billy Two Hats (1974)
Well directed, shot, acted revisionist Western
By 1974, when BILLY TWO HATS came out, Ted Kotcheff had already directed major films like LIFE AT THE TOP (UK 1965) and WAKE IN FRIGHT (Australia, 1971), among other highly enjoyable and brain-stirring films.
BILLY is a deceptively simple film, portraying the relationship between Arch, an American with a heavy Scottish brogue, well portrayed by Gregory Peck, and half-breed Desi Arnaz Jr, playing the role of Billy Two Hats.
Without ever rubbing your face in it, this film - unusually for 1974 - scalpels issues such as a sheriff (Jack Warden, who I do not recall seeing in any other Western) who believes he acts fairly with everyone while voicing considerable racism in his views of half-breeds and Indians; David Huddleston, who lives with a squaw in the boondocks, had a daughter with her but handed the child to the Indian reservation, and he lives in hopes that some railroad will create a station there (ironically, he refers to it as sweetwater, the name of the property that causes all the problems in ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, Leone's 1968 spaghetti Western); Greg and Desi have a good, respectful, almost father-son relation in contrast with all the less than social behavior by others around them, including a foursome of Apache Indians out for scalps and trophies.
The buffalo gun shot fired by David Huddleston that hits Peck's horse at the start deserves to be remembered for its excellent cinematographic and sound execution, but the whole film is extremely well filmed. The acting - by all, down to the small parts - warrants plaudits, as does the taut script.
Definitely worth watching 8/10.
Max et les ferrailleurs (1971)
Excellent direction & script from Sautet, acting by Piccoli, Schneider
Claude Sautet emerged at the tail end of the Nouvelle Vague and was undoubtedly one of the most gifted directors to have surfaced in the late 1960s, having first cut his teeth as script writer, cameraman, assistant director. Such complete knowledge of the entire cinema spectrum only assisted Sautet in cranking out wonderful flicks like MAX, UN COEUR EN HIVER. LES CHOSES DE LA VIE, QUELQUES JOURS AVEC MOI, among others.
In MAX, he is assisted by very effective cinematography by René Matelin, and Sautet himself had an important hand in the script, which is logical and credible, with always impeccably dressed detective Max paying protitute Schneider out of his own pocket to win his way to a potential thief's heart. NB - the reason I dock a star is that initially the aim of Max's operation was to catch in the commission of crime a certain Carmona, but the latter is never seen and after a while seems to have been forgotten.
Through the exceedingly sexy Schneider, we see Max sell the plan of a possible bank robbery to Schneider who in turn passes it on to non-customer, regular lover Bernard Fresson, a poor devil who earns his living from brute strength work and leaps at the opportunity of scoring easy dough. Georges Wilson is superb as Max's boss, aware of the consequences and injustice of forcing a criminal situation but willing to help one of his best detectives after the latter had bungled a previous operation.
The whole film turns around the relationship between Piccoli and Schneider, a prostitute who is happy to earn money without having to move her hips but who begins to get frustrated by Max's distant behavior, even if they kiss and you sense true love between them.
Ultimately, this well done film is about loyalty and betrayal, about overstepping the boundaries of legal and police work, and sticking to those cornerstones of justice, and it certainly had me thinking about those variants for several days.
Highly recommended. 9/10.
La maison des bories (1970)
Un rêve de femme loyale dans un triangle d'amour - or how love triumphs over meanness, deceit, envy
All I know about Director Jacques Doniol-Volcroze is that François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Goddar regarded him as a fellow member of the Nouvelle Vague that rolled over French cinema over the late 1950s, through the 1960s. Ironically, LA MAISON DES BORIES bears none of the usual traits of a Nouvelle Vague flick with its classically composed bucolic cinematography, exceedingly beautiful musical score (the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto 21 is put to more inspired use here than in ELVIRAN MADIGAN), restrained acting, and a deceptively simple screenplay that hides immense spiritual complexity.
The serenely beautiful Marie Dubois plays the loyal wife and mother who has fallen in love with a handsome young visitor but know better than to cheat while her husband is away on a job interview. Maurice Garrel plays her rather boring, disciplinarian, conservative university professor of a husband, who rules over the house with a tight grip, but ultimately proves able to change.
Then wunderkind Mathieu Carrière, handsome and fit, fans change into the household as he gets on with his job of translating Garrel's geology work to German, plays with the kids, falls in love with Dubois and ensnares her emotionally. However, the evil mendacity of manservant Ludovic in the house of dry stone huts (i.e. Bories, a construction style typical of southeastern France) enlightens her as to the straight and narrow path for a clean and balanced approach that saves the family unit and gives it a future, as Garrel returns with good news: a job in Paris that will prevent having to place the kids in boarding schools away from home.
I found the film stunningly beautiful and its moral etiquette delightful. Heartily recommended viewing. 9/10.
The Moon Is Blue (1953)
Great male actors, lovable McNamara but... too much fluff
Director Otto Preminger needs no introduction with films like LAURA (1944), BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING (1965), ADVISE & CONSENT (1962) and others under his belt. As it turns out, William Holden had already served as his male lead in STALAG 17 the previous year, and deservedly won the best actor Academy Award.
In light of that, it surprised me to watch Holden in a comparatively tame role, as a young man with a girlfriend who feels almost cosmically pulled into the orbit of the openly frank, nothing to hide, deliciously elegant Maggie McNamara. That part I well understood.
I had far more difficulty swallowing the rather older David Niven, father of Dawn Adams - who plays the minimal part of Holden's first girlfriend, Cynthia - actually asking the very young Mc Namara to marry him. I also had to suspend my disbelief to uncomfortable lengths to accept McNamara sitting on Niven's lap and kissing him after accepting a $600 cash gift - I realize she is supposed to be adorably screwball but even today that sounds like devious behavior and back in 1953 it must have startled many.
THE MOON IS BLUE is almost wholly shot indoors, no sight of the moon, hardly any outside views at all, and the characters rather left me with the impression that I was watching a substandard play. That said, Niven steals the show with his underhand class and fake wide-eyed innocence, Holden's dry but yet nuanced delivery is perfect, McNamara's waif-like figure and beautiful eyes are to die for, and Tom Tully stands out as her daddy with a shiner punch.
Ultimately, though, there is not much to remember about this flick, possibly because the cinematography is pedestrian and the screenplay not screwball enough. 6/10.
Christmas in July (1940)
Vile joke turns into happy ending
By 1940, when CHRISTMAS IN JULY came out, Preston Sturges already had some treasures to his name, including assisting with the screenplay of IF I WERE KING, and directing THE GREAT MCGINTY. Needless to say, greater successes awaited him.
CHRISTMAS IN JULY has the great advantage of running a brief 67 minutes and having the beautifulk leading couple - Dick Powell and Ellen Drew - in great comic form. That said, the prank that a trio of work colleagues play on the daydreaming James MacDonald rates out and out vile, and nearly caused me to stop watching.
Glad I persisted, though. Despite living now in a telecommunications age that would not permit forged telegrams to be accepted as evidence of prize-winning, CHRISTMAS carries a positive energy to its happy ending, and it warrants watching. 7/10.
The Favourite (2018)
Endlessly pointless, petty, psychotic, un-comic female pederasty - but attacks on Brit monarchy do sell!
Since coming out in 2018, THE FAVOURITE has clearly lost favor with viewers and if you take the time to go through these 1,340 reviews on IMDB you will find that the bad ones are pretty much all stacked up at the end, where they are harder to find. Why, I have no inknling but it certainly seems that way.
Queen Anne, the main figure in this purported plot, is not anyone I have any interest in learning anything about, even for the purpose of historic correctness, because she left no worthy legacy in any terms that could have helped England, let alone mankind. Instead, we get a fisheye voyeuristic seat on her sexual and other vagaries while supposedly leading her kingdom -- though Lady Marlborough (Weisz) is the real power behind the throne, and the queen's firm favourite and sexual consort.
That is, until the character played by Emma Stone bursts upon the mud; Stone has fallen out of grace because of her family's misfortunes and she is a distant cousin to Lady Marlborough. She rapidly surmises that the queen is the only way out of menial service, and she jostles to become the queen's favourite, and in the process engages in personal war with her cousin, with ravaging consequences for both.
Overlong, very pretentious, pointless from a historic and didactic standpoint, this film is something of a psychotic foray, and its greatest attempts at shocking are the use of profanities and expletives. It is also a sexist film, with males depicted as relentlessly stupid, vain, irrelevant, powerless and laughable.
Lanthimos' deliberately disordered and perverse direction repeats lugubrious scenes in the palace's corridors; repetitive and idiotic dialogue; and, worst of all, the annoying and anachronistic soundtrack, including what appears to be the jarring beat of a pendulum. Out of respect for my wife and mother in law I did not not walk out but I sure as hell felt like it after the first 15 minutes.
Lanthimos also shamelessly borrows ideas from TOM JONES (UK 1963), which showed England's royal court as a place of carnal and other excesses - but at least TOM JONES posted superb acting and a crisp pace, running on zany comedy interspersed with shocking reality; and it did not need offensive language to make its point.
Ultimately, the caged rabbits are the queen's real favourites and they reflect the film's level of intelligence (rabbits reportedly have little memory). The vague, totally meaningless ending only emphasizes the mental vacuum of the entire exercise.
Best avoided waste of time. Pity I cannot award it a big fat ZERO out of 10.
The Apartment (1960)
Wilder's finest after SUNSET BOULEVARD, SOME LIKE HOT
Billy Wilder is one of my absolute favorite directors, surpassed only by William Wyler and Alfred Hitchcock. And, as it turns out, THE APARTMENT is one of his best films: in my view, only the unique SUNSET BOULEVARD and the brilliantly comic SOME LIKE IT HOT rate higher.
Jack Lemmon had recently completed SOME LIKE IT HOT, which had rocketed it him to planetary fame, and Wilder saw him as the right specimen as an overworked, underpaid, pliable clerk who loans his flat for extramarital sex to his boss, a smarmy Fred MacMurray in one of his best roles.
The girl sleeping with the boss is none other than Lemmon's crush, the elegant Shirley MacLaine who keeps him at arm's length, clearly in love with MacMurray. That triangle is tough to accept even in this 21st Century, back in 1960 it must have rated close to improper if not downright scandalous. However, that must be seen as one of Wilder's principal premises: how an individual is used by someone more powerful (consider Swanson's power over Holden and von Stroheim in SUNSET BOULEVARD, or Kirk Douglas' over the village in ACE IN THE HOLE).
It is an indictment of modern society but, as Wilder said once, "things are not as you idealize them." Sharp dialogue, wonderful cinematography and - best of all, in my view - the sublime score by Adolph Deutsch warrant full marks for this masterpiece. 10/10.
Scrooge (1970)
Ebenezer screws you... then becomes a Dickensian saint!
The famous but - in my view - unlikely tale of moral and monetary redemption by that great British writer, Charles Dickens, comes to life with some fine acting and cinematography! The original A Christmas Carol, was written in the mid 19th Century as the industrial revolution swamped England and 5% of the population accrued immense wealth, while the other 95% slogged and suffered to stay alive.
The Dickensian seal of poverty and squalid surroundings is present at the start but Director Ronald Neame rapidly introduces singing children far better dressed than I would have imagined when I first read A Christmas Carol, and so the greedy, avaricious figure of Ebenezer Scrooge emerges in grand eerie malevolence, refusing family time to Bob Crachit, his clerk, and denying extending a loan by two weeks while counting and hiding rows and rows of pennies in his vaults.
Charles Dickens lived a short 58 years but put out about as many famous books as he did children - you have to wonder where he, slight figure of a man, found such supermannish energy!
I know the value of money, saw my grandfather squander a fortune at gambling, so I am uneasy about people giving away money. Forgive me for not believing it possible for a stingy old man to undergo the spiritual and monetary redepemption Scrooge does, but then the economy could not really move and thrive if the 5% of rich society did not allow pennies to trickle down to the impoverished 95%, and the Dickens of such bleak tales as Hard Times, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Nicholas Nickleby and others, always produces a kind of social miracle whereby the protagonists end up better off financially, as if pointing the light at the end of the economic tunnel to his readership.
Scrooge's stinginess obviously harms society, his clerk Crachit's child even perishes out of hunger and lack of medical care - and that is when guilt demons in the shape of ghostly Alec Guinness and Edith Evans start to sting his conscience and, amid a great deal of rather mediocre music and singing, he is saved from his personal hell by becoming generous. Albert Finney provides an appropriately unkempt, withdrawn portrayal of the scrimp & save social fiend who finally redeems himself by realizing the negative impact he has on the community, and buying presents for all kids in the village, in addition to other generous deeds after a life of hoarding away money.
Well... Merry Christmas all! 7/10.
Gumshoe (1971)
Finney stands out as comic PI in Frears-directed British noir
I have always admired the quality and versatility of British-born Director Stephen Frears' work, ever since watching DANGEROUS LIAISONS. Subsequently, I saw FILOMENA, THE QUEEN, and THE SNAPPER, and all helped cement my high opinion of his style, attention to dialogue and acting, and fluid cinematography.
GUMSHOE is an early Frears opus and, although very different from any of the above mentioned films, it already reflects his concern with extracting quality acting: Finney is verily superb as Ginley, the standup comedian chancing it as Private Investigator, and he is ably assisted by Billie Whitelaw - to whom Ginley refers "sister in law", as she is his former wife now married to his brother, taciturnly played by Frank Finlay, and with the nefarious but strikingly beautiful Janice Rule lurking in the background.
The underground sequences are quite good, those above ground not quite as effective. I also felt let down by the ending, but all told GUMSHOE is definitely worth watching.
Driftwood (1947)
Uneven but right-hearted tale about delightful button and her mutt
I wish I knew more about Director Alan Dwan: I enjoyed watching the only two films I can distinctly connect to him: TENNESSEE'S PARTNER, with an in form Ronald Reagan, and SLIGHTLY SCARLETT, with John Payne - neither exceptional, both well made.
The same characteristics of fine visual composition, adroit close-ups, and generally pleasant/effective cinematography are brought to DRIFTWOOD under the experienced hand of the great John Alton. My sole qualms lie with the rather uneven script - still, Dwan wisely elected to keep it short, which leaves the quick-minded viewer to fill the blanks (the not so quick will understandably give DRIFTWOOD a low assessment!)
Still, the best part of DRIFTWOOD is the acting: in rampant form with MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET and TOMORROW IS FOREVER fresh entries on her CV, Natalie Wood steals the show with her innocent child's in your face truth-telling approach, having learned many biblical quotes from her grandfather, who dies in her presence at the beginning. A miracle collie dog joins her from a crashed aircraft and she miraculously lands up in the local doctor's house... none other than the kind, handsome Dean Jagger, with beautiful Ruth Warrick at his side, and spinster Charlotte Greenwood ready to impart her surface bitterness, which really conceals a heart of gold. Last, but by no means least, the wonderful Walter Brennan, the only actor to have won three Best Supporting Oscars (but sadly these days the target of a smear campaign labeling him "the most evil man in Hollywood," among other cowardly efforts condemning his opposition to the civil rights movement, as if all should think the same).
DRIFTWOOD deserves praise for its kindhearted, positive approach. I have only just discovered it but hope to rewatch it, and not just once. 8/10.
Le silence de la mer (2004)
Well done reprise of Melville's famous 1949 debut
I regret to admit that I know very little about Director Pierre Boutron, having only seen one of his works before - LES ANNÉES SANDWICHES, which I so enjoyed that I eagerly pounced on the opportunity to watch this 2004 effort, a reprise of the debut of one of my all-time favorite French directors: Jean-Pierre Melville.
I am no fan of remakes, so I approached Boutron's film with some misgiving and uncertainty, promising myself that I would stop the moment I found that it clearly the inferior of the famous original.
I am happy to say that I did not. In fact, I found it an improvement on the Melville effort. It flows better and acting is definitely more polished. Julie Delarme, who was 26 at the time but plays a young woman in her late teens, carries a great deal of feeling, conveyed mainly through glances, silences, and repressed emotions. Galabru also deserves plaudits, although his is a much smaller and less demanding part. Thomas Jouannet, portraying Werner, the respectful, well-mannered, music- and art-loving German officer who occupies one of the rooms in the house owned by Galabru, emerges as a honest, civilized figure as France sinks deeper and deeper under the grip of German occupation. Unlike Vernon Howard in the 1949 original, he does not try to atone for his fatherland's faults, he does not wander through the streets of Paris admiring the architecture and what it expresses about the French "soul" that Germany purportedly sought to eradicate through occupation and brainwashing. Jouannet sensitively tunes in to the human beings whose house he occupies against his own will. Marie Bunel also delivers a fine performance as the woman who places geraniums on her window sill when she receives Resistance fighters.
Effective, simple, well done cinematography by Alain Levent. Great script by Anne Giaferi, keeping dialogue to short sentences. Through looks, tears, and silence, Boutron fills in the viewer on emotions and deeper states of mind.
Definitely worth more than one viewing. 9/10.
The Bounty Hunter (1954)
Scott shines in de Toth-directed Western
THE BOUNTY HUNTER was the final collaboration betwixt Randolph Scott and Director André de Toth, and it might well rate the best. Very steady, unrelenting Wewstern with Scott going after three men who repoortedly stole government money and have used none of it so as to keep untraced by the law.
With info from people on whom he places various types of squeeze, he comes to the conclusion that the three thieves (who took $100,000 and are also proficient at icing people) must have sought sanctuary in the town of Twin Forks, all the more so because one of them may have been shot in the leg, and sought the care of the town doctor.
This is where this Western turns into a clever whodunnit with a surprise denouement in respect of one of the threesome planning to flee with the dough. Well worth watching with Scott delivering a contained but highly effective performance. 8/10.
A Man Alone (1955)
No frills direction, good acting, beautiful leading lady
I feel uneasy about Ray Milland: he delivered top quality performances in LOST WEEKEND, DIAL H FOR MURDER, THE BIG CLOCK, and he is very good here, but most of his other stuff - including his role in LOVE STORY - is immediately forgettable.
In A MAN ALONE he does more than just act credibly - he directs, and does it well! Of course he is assisted by John Battle's believable script, including some sharp dialogue, simple but effective cinematography by Lionel Lincoln, and a sensitive score by the great Victor Young.
That said, the acting is the real asset: Raymond Burr makes a disquieting villain as town elder, Arthur Space is no waste as the doctor who steps up when his patient is scheduled for clearly unhealthy hanging, Ward Bond posts his usual small but dependable part (with a sting in the tail, too), and Mary Murphy... what a beautiful face, such caring eyes. 'Love that woman.
Great ending, too. 8/10.
The Incident (1967)
Timely screenplay; superb camera work, acting
By 1967 most films were in color, but Director Larry Peerce wisely elected to shoot THE INCIDENT in B&W to give it greater authenticity against the dingy/sleazy/trashy backdrop of New York streets and train stations.
A cross section of Americans appears in a train, ranging from a racist black man bent on revenge against whites, his decent girl friend who sees the pointlessness of rage, a gay man, a couple with a daughter, an older couple (Thelma Ritter in great slapping form!) to two US Army soldiers reluctant to get involved in stopping two marauding criminal youngsters who have just robbed and killed an elderly family man.
The burgeoning crime wave in NY, the country's largest city, by the late 1950s already worried the US authorities and only seemed to spiral further out of control, and THE INCIDENT turns out to be a brutally honest film about that problem, and attendant ones such as civil rights, the Vietnam war one hears nothing about but sees men in uniform clearly unfit for battle, and myriad other issues. That the film hardly bleeped at the box office and few people I know born in the 1950s or earlier knew at all about its existence, reflects its uneasy reception with censors and public alike.
The excellent screenplay by Nick Baher deserves every plaudit for its superb and sharp dialogue, despite the occasional needlessly repeated line. Extremely effective cinematography by Gerald Hirschfeld, thanks to the expert use of B&W, clever angles inside the train.
Finally, the acting. Tony Musante steals the show with his in your face demon-like rage, racism and unrepentant malevolence. Baby-faced Martin Sheen begins startlingly enough, but then his part fizzles down. Brock Peters, as the racist black man who suffers abuse and is the first to be suspected and frisked by police when they arrive in the box car, ultimately reflects the outrageous treatment meted out to black persons by society at large and law enforcement in particular, and the black person's inability to break out of it back in 1967. As the character played by Ruby Dee correctly forecasts, things were changing and could not be achieved overnight, but they were happening - Brock Peters wants it immediately, but can only suffer indignity in tears.
The two US Army soldiers provide a most interesting angle: they represent the government but neither wants to get involved, and in fact one of them never does. Out of sheer decency, it falls to Beau Bridges, the Oklahoma-born soldier with the broken arm, to take on knife-wielding Tony Musante, and restore order and a measure of self-respect to the passengers on the train.
Despite aging performers like Thelma Ritter, Gary Merrill, Mike Kellin, THE INCIDENT feels very modern, a far advanced movie for 1967 intelligently examining racism, civil rights, crime, gays, social cowardice and other issues. Absolute must-see. 9/10.
In Broad Daylight (1971)
Blind man makes unfaithful wife pay
John Marley must have played his role in IN BROAD DAYLIGHT just before his most famous role of all as Jack Woltz in THE GODFATHER. As is well known, criminals always think themselves cleverer than the policemen investigating them, and that is exactly the case here: Richard Boone, portraying fairly convincingly an actor and movie director who has gone blind, catches his wife having intimacy with his best friend and decides to ice her and make the adulterous pal the culprit.
Needless to say, a blind man is bound to make more mistakes than a normal person, even one of poor eyesight, and in this instance he makes the mistake of taking his therapist's umbrella.
Suzanne Pleshette plays that therapist - a small and largely meaningless part, rather sad to watch. She helps with advice and a guide dog, but ends up compromising her client twice by speaking too much and coming back searching for her brolly.
That is where Marley proves the superior intelligence of the copper, immediately pouncing on the fact that Pleshette had lost her umbrella and linking it to the Greek fella who went into Boone's wife's hotel with the umbrella that only the porter saw. (Puzzled as to the reason for linking a missing brolly to a fellow no one could identify? So am I!)
Of course, blind Boone makes the classical mistake of returning to the scene of the crime... and catching the wrong taxi.
Passable TV entertainment that does not tax your brain cells.
Split Second (1953)
Dick Powell directs furious atomic bomb-timed plot
I had seen Dick Powell in MURDER, MY SWEET, CORNERED and YOU NEVER CAN TELL... always as the leading actor, not the director, and what a joyous surprise I have had!
As any Hollywood Golden Age movie lover knows, Dick Powell deserves the label of one of the most multi-hatted, accomplished artists ever to grace the screen - not only did he serve as message boy at the start, he reached stardom as a singer - tenor, no less! - then comedian, and finally film noir specialist both as leading actor and director.
He does not appear as actor at all in SPLIT SECOND, but he certainly makes splendid use of his cast. Stephen McNally, in a fairly rare lead, made some memorable villains and emerged as one of the finest character actors of the 1950s with WINCHESTER '73, CRISS CROSS, NO WAY OUT under his belt.
A serious, no frills actor, McNally carried menace in his eyes. In SPLIT SECOND, he certainly means business from the superb opening sequence in which we see him run from the clinker in a parched desert. Soon we will learn that that desert is the place for atomic bomb experiments and explosions.
Alexis Smith plays the female lead, a deceitful wife who changes men like underwear. In the 1950s, with the Hays Production Code still in force, this role could only go to a woman of Smith's courage and beauty, and she delivers so convincingly that I, as a male, felt insulted.
Richard Egan also does splendidly with a minimal part as the medical doctor in the process of divorcing Smith. Not only is he a responsible enough hubby to come to his wife's aid, he meets his Hippocratic oath under atomic bomb threat which gives the film its time/urgency edge, and ultimate justice. Egan also delivers the film's final and prophetic words: "Let's take a look at the world of tomorrow!" as the atomic mushroom hangs over the skyline.
Superior cinematography by Musuraca, great screenplay with simple, objective dialogue by Irving Wallace and William Bowers. 8/10.
Red Dog (2011)
Fun Aussie flick with cute canine
The really good thing about RED DOG is that director Kriv Stenders manages to bring in many Aussie characters such as you would find in Dampier and other places along the desert-like Australian northwest, and, at the same time, he shows its incredible landscape beauty. Another massive plus is the musical score, including Suzi Quattro's "Stumbling in" of the late 1970s.
The not so good aspect - in my view, of course - is that characters are hardly developed, sometimes seeming like a series of short adverts. That said, you sense that the aussies really enjoy their world, work hard to keep it, and care about fellow human beings in a place where nature gives you few breaks.
Though no masterpiece, RED DOG posts catchy sequences - such as the fight between Red Dog and Red Cat, Red Dog hitch-hiking all over the northwest, the Hachiko-like statue in his honor and lovely Rachael Taylor.
Kill Me Three Times (2014)
Pegg plays impeccable murder pro in luminous Aussie noir comedy
Well, nothing quite prepared me for KILL ME THREE TIMES. I always like to learn about the director, but not even IMDB tells when or where he was born - though I suppose it safe to guess Australia in the 1960s or 1970s.
The script by James McFarland presents nothing really new and even seems to borrow structurally from Quentin Tarantino, with several characters interacting at different times in the plot. What makes it special is that all characters look and behave normally, apart from planning theft and murder, and the details of their criminal modus operandi keep rocking the unsuspecting viewer.
Let me also confess that one of the hardest things for me to watch in a film, let alone in real life, is money being gambled away, misspent, or stupidly lost - something to do with my youth in poverty. So I did not like the part where the bag with the bucks was dangerously changing hands and could so easily end up burned, damaged or ill-used. On the other hand, I liked the perfection of Pegg's execution of his duties - and targets - while others also iced people in far clumsier ways.
Bryan Brown, as a bent copper, and Sullivan Stapleton as the deceived hubby of scheming Teresa Palmer, are a hoot - though, of course, the cool, calculating, businesslike Pegg steals the show.
Yes, it is a movie of twisted morals, but well acted and with truly gorgeous and luminous Aussie locations - the odd dead kangaroo notwithstanding.
I enjoyed KILL ME and no doubt will rewatch. 7/10.
Bad Lieutenant (1992)
Drug addict degenerate cop Keitel undetected by the force
Director Abel Ferrara likes to stir and get the fan to spray it far and wide, so up he comes with this shocker about a bent, womanizing, drug-sniffing and -injecting, gambling copper - Harvey Keitel, dick showing in intimate scenes and completely stoned in others - and I watched in disbelief as that dirty copper broke every law and police rule without his partners and especially his superiors apparently having an inkling.
That made me feel like a clever voyeur, who knew more than the dumb authorities. That was about the sole feel good sensation I had about this film, after the repulsion of watching a nun get raped and Keitel wanking in front of two young girls without a drivers' license.
I certainly took no moral lesson from this flick. Keitel's cop from hell deservedly gets shot to death and I hope this cheapie flick served as cautionary tale to anyone in law enforcement thinking of doing 1/100 of what Keitel does.
The Texas Rangers (1951)
Well filmed 1950s Western
Truth to tell, the only thing I had seen directed by Phil Karlson before catching THE TEXAS RANGERS on TV was a 1970s flick entitled WALKING TALL, which was neither good nor bad but somehow stayed in my memory.
As other viewers have pointed out, the great thing about THE TEXAS RANGERS is that famous names bunch together so you almost feel you are watching history unfold. In this case, you have baddies like Sam Bass,John 'Wes' Hardin, the Sundance Kid, Butch Cassidy, and more all planning and riding hard to carry out train robbery that would set the government back quite a lotta dough.
Good old John Carver (played by George Montgomery) plays the fake bandit with sheriff and Pinkerton detectives in the background, assisted by pretty Gale Storm (sounds tempestuous!) and they somehow sink that gang of evil doers. Carver gets shot up in his left arm but is still nimble and strong enough to go around the train and take care of Rudabaugh and other heavies.
Pleasant Western with solid cinematography and competent stunt work, bringing back memories of the 1950s to anyone who lived in those days when the Western began to undergo re- and de-construction, paving the way for spaghetti. 7/10.
Limelight (1952)
Chaplin's genius lights personal, philosophical opus
I first watched LIMELIGHT in the 1980s, when VHS took the market and I bought the entire Chaplin collection of full films. At the time, I found LIMELIGHT rather self-serving, a homage to Chaplin himself.
I had watched THE GOLD RUSH at the age of 6, THE KID about two years later, and I had been impressed by Chaplin's antics. In fact, I liked those so much that I rewatched them during a Chaplin festival in my teens. By that point, though, THE CIRCUS and CITY LIGHTS had moved up to compete with THE GOLD RUSH... and MODERN TIMES was now my favorite Chaplin.
Then came the VHS revolution and the chance to watch LIMELIGHT. I had first heard about it when I listened to the Frank Chacksfield Orchestra play the Terry theme (Terry being Claire Bloom in the film). I often whistled that tune and was disappointed that the film only played it in the beginning and its notes came up briefly twice, at the most thrice more. Which paved the way for my overall disillusionment.
Now, I know more about Chaplin and his life, I have seen pretty much his entire output, and the film has gained new stature for me. For instance, when I watched it in the 1980s I knew very little about what had caused Chaplin to leave the USA - not so much his refusal to testify before Senator McCarthy and HUAC, but the continued spotlight on his affairs with younger women, including allegations of rape.
Significantly, Claire Bloom plays Terry, the young ballerina that Calvero (Chaplin) rescues from street misery and ill health. His relationship with this young woman reflects the thorny side of being in the public eye, of the rather puritan morals (for instance, the Hays Production Code) governing US mentality in general, and Hollywood in particular, and of society's readiness to guttersnipe with figures like Hedda Hopper and her likes at the head.
Chaplin would answer those intrusions in his personal life even very effectively by marrying Oona O'Neill, and having a long, happy, and children-filled marriage with her, but in the film Calvero is the image of the decent, respectful older man, who knows that it would be very selfish to accept Terry's love.
To me, that is the main point Chaplin wished to convey as he prepared to leave the USA, his reputation in tatters by allegations of communist leanings and misconduct with young women. Of course, that is personal, even self-centered, but a man of Chaplin's visibility must have felt the need to clear his name, and he certainly does it in style, with a touching personal performance, humor, and extracting superb contributions from the beautiful Bloom, and from a very competent support cast, including Buster Keaton in a memorable clown routine sequence at the end.
It is definitely Chaplin's finest talkie, and, as ever, he acted, directed, and wrote the musical score. Can anyone honestly give 1 or 2 out of 10 to such a magnificent multi-hatted effort? I think not, and I pity those who do because they miss one of the points of great art: the self-portrait.
Given that if IMDB existed in the 1980s, I would probably give it 7, I have docked one star to kind of balance my perceptions then and now. However, today my view is that LIMELIGHT is a work of genius and humane philosophy, a bona fide masterpiece that warrants many viewings - one will definitely not suffice. 9/10.