jromanbaker

Banned initially in the UK this film was given an ' H ' certificate for adults only in 1941. The story of apes from ' King Kong ' afterwards was a staple subject for horror films, This one filmed in 1932 is in my opinion a very offensive film, but no spoilers as I think viewers maybe able to work out what makes it so. The acting is not bad, and of course it takes place in n old dark house with an ape in a cage in the cellar. We get to know why, The film lasts for just one hour but until the end moves at a snail's pace. It is available to see on YouTube. The ending is quite violent and children I think would still find it scary to watch.

I think ' Kismet ' is one of the most ridiculous films ever made, and still I find it very watchable. Set in Baghdad which is silly to say the least, so in watching it I just imagined some fevered dream of a place in a nowhere place where hands can be chopped off, and many wives are abused by rather sadistic men. In this mishmash Howard Keel lustily sings, and Ann Blyth as his daughter excels with her presence and her voice. Vic Damone is good enough but pallid and uninteresting when he acts. Dolores Gray steals a lot of the film and she is camp in the gayest meaning of the word. She seems to be mocking the film as she plays up to it, and I would like to know what went on in her mind during her scenes. No spoilers but the ending is weak, and ' Stranger in Paradise ' and ' This is My Beloved ' are worth the 6 that I am giving the film. I am not a great fan of Borodin's music, so I won't blame anyone for let us say borrowing. That is a terrible line to write but it is a good/bad Cinemascope experience, and the dialogue doesn't exactly excite the ear. It ideally fits the Cinemascope format and a lot of people would have loved it in 1955.

Although classed as an adult film this hour long film has a great deal of beauty in it, and is beautifully filmed. It has echoes of an erotic Edwardian dream, and the only error in it is the last part which is set clearly in the last part of the 20thc. Other than that it flawlessly conveys the freedom of same sex loving, and the music that accompanies it is based on English Pastoral music of the late Victorian and Edwardian period. It resembles a kind of gentle ' La Ronde ' of various couples meeting, loving then finding a brief joy in the haze of a Summer's day. There are to my knowledge two versions of it, one cut for the UK and the other freer in its depictions from the US which seems to me uncensored. In my opinion one of the finest erotic films of its genre, not for everybody, but in my opinion in no way offensive.