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493,715 | 342,623 | 24,906 | 6 |
young Loretta , young Cary , pre-code - who could ask for more ?
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Well , a little LENGTH might have helped . This is a short film but a fascinating one - it's pre-Code and Loretta Young plays a tramp . It's also a pairing of two of the golden era's stars before they really hit the big time . I don't think Young was the best actress in the world but boy , was she beautiful . A face like a cameo , and she was early 20s in this . She plays an unwed mother who lives off of sugar daddies . She sees the mother lode when her brat son gets hit by a truck . Though the con doesn't work , Loretta's child is adopted by millionaire Cary Grant and his wife - or soon to be ex-wife if Young , hot on another scheme , has anything to say about it . In her TV show , Young experimented more with " against type " characters . This hard , street smart woman is a departure for her in film , and she does a good job . Grant in this has not yet matured into his incredible looks or his screen persona , but he is effective . This film is worth seeing for a glimpse of these stars as they were before they " made it . " And for Young's clothes and rare , radiant beauty .
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493,867 | 342,623 | 40,798 | 6 |
Just okay
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Claudette Colbert doesn't realize her husband is out to kill her in " Sleep , My Love , " a film directed by Douglas Sirk and also starring Don Ameche , Robert Cummings , and George Couloris . Sirk , later known for some big dramas in the ' 50s , was clearly out of his element here in this derivative story . The film begins like a Pat O'Brien film from the ' 40s , " Crack-Up " - on a train with another train coming in the other direction , its light shining in the face of the main character - and ends on a terrace like " Gaslight . " " Crack-up , " " Gaslight " and " Sleep , My Love " all have similar premises , give or take a few elements . Colbert awakens on a train she doesn't remember boarding ; it soon is revealed to the audience that her husband ( Ameche ) is trying to kill her , get her money , and live happily ever after with a babe ( Rita Johnson ) . His accomplice is a photographer who works with Rita ( Couloris ) . Bob Cummings , however , who is a little smitten with Colbert , starts smelling a rat . The pacing of this film is off - what should or could be exciting just isn't . It just kind of moseys along . Partly this is due to some dull performances . The only interesting role is that of Colbert's ; the rest of them just stand around being cardboard . I don't dislike Ameche or Cummings - they were both two very likable actors , Ameche being quite versatile , but they don't offer much in the way of oomph . Derivative films can still be fun and thrilling . Because I like this genre so much , I was disappointed .
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494,655 | 342,623 | 48,393 | 6 |
Interesting , later Welles
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One of my favorite people to read about and watch is Orson Welles . So I watched " Mr . Akadin , " or " Confidential Report , " as it is sometimes known , with great interest . By 1955 , Welles was a Hollywood outsider , the great years behind him . He made films on a shoestring and hired himself out to get money to complete them . The most heartbreaking part of one of his biographies is the story of Welles having dinner with Spielberg , hoping the dynamic director could help him get a distributor for his latest movie . But Spielberg only wanted to talk about the past , about the legendary Orson Welles . No one would help him , not Warren Beatty , no one . " Mr . Arkadin " is the story of a man , Guy Van Stratten , who runs around the world on the basis of a few words heard as a man is dying , words , the man assures him , that are worth millions . Just seek out Mr . Arkadin and mention Bracco and Sophie . Van Stratten , a hood , and a woman , Mily , do just that , and Van Stratten meets and later falls in love with Arkadin's daughter ( played by Welles ' third wife , Paola Mori ) and gets inside the man's home and life . Arkadin claims amnesia and hires Van Stratten to find out about his past for him . This is a good story in a problematic film . There are the Welles touches of the odd camera angles and special lighting , but the film is disconcerting because the dubbing is way off - I at first thought it had been made in another language . Also , some of the acting is just horrible , particularly from Patricia Medina ( Mily ) and Robert Arden ( Van Stratten ) . However , Welles assembled a brilliant group of foreign character actors for the other roles - Akim Tamirof , Gert Frobe , Michael Redgrave , Mischa Auer , Katina Paxinou - incredible , and they probably did their roles as favors for Welles for very little . Welles himself plays Arkadin , and it's a broad performance we're used to seeing when , frankly , he's phoning it in , which he did here as he was busy with everything else involved in the movie . " Mr . Arkadin " looks like a student film , but it has some wonderful moments , both frightening and funny . A Welles film is always worth seeing even if it doesn't always exactly hit the mark . And he hit the mark so many times - you never know when something he did is going to turn into a masterpiece .
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494,735 | 342,623 | 94,843 | 6 |
Stars ' offspring in World War II drama
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This film was on a DVD with another film , " The Swiss Conspiracy , " so comparisons are inevitable . I gave this a 6 because I thought it was better than " The Swiss Conspiracy . " Which isn't saying much . But I actually liked this film a little better than most of the other people who commented on this board . Its stars are Jason Connery , son of Sean , and Francesco Quinn , son of Anthony , along with Glenn Ford , Donald Pleasance , Jean Sorel and Jinny Stefan . One thing that made me deeply regret watching this film was that I had never seen Glenn Ford in anything he did after Superman - until this 1989 movie . Though I give him credit for not wearing a hairpiece or getting a face lift , his appearance was an unwelcome shock . The story concerns getting Churchill to Casablanca via train . I am not the World War II expert that some of the other reviewers here are , so I can't speak to the inaccuracies . I found the action sequences , especially those concerning the train , exciting , suspenseful , and well directed . One thing that was somewhat stupid - one of the Germans goes through the train , shooting anybody in his way - we're talking men , women , or children . Then he tells his commander that one man , whose dead body the commander sees , came after him and he had to shoot in self defense . " I told you not to kill any civilians , " the commander says . So much for following orders - there was hardly anyone left alive or not wounded on the entire train of civilians ! As for the rest of the movie , forget it . I didn't feel that Quinn or Connery had any charisma or acting ability , though I notice that both men continue to rack up jobs . However , they are very handsome . Connery and Tyrone Power Jr . ( who isn't in this ) seem to come from the same Star Children Acting Academy - when they don't know what to do , they shake their heads and tighten their lips as a reaction to some event . This normally means that the camera is on them when they have no dialogue , and they think they have to do something . They do , but on film , often an internal thought that expresses itself in the eyes is better . Sometimes less is more . Of course , less can be less , too . Connery did this grimace / head business constantly , never changing expression . The film had that grainy , cheap look to it and poor color . Possibly the people in this movie have moved up to better quality projects . I don't know whether that's a good or a bad thing .
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494,510 | 342,623 | 36,426 | 6 |
George Sanders undercover
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They Came to Blow up America looks to be a B movie . It stars the suave , always reliable George Sanders as Steelman , an American of German heritage who is recruited by the FBI to infiltrate the Nazis as a spy . Even his parents believe that he has joined the Nazi movement . He is given the identity of someone else and sent to Germany , eventually ending up on a saboteur mission . The film is told in flashback , with the FBI man who recruited Steelman ( Ward Bond ) explaining to an underling what really went on . Sanders is good . He played villains well , so during the war , he was often cast as a Nazi ! The supporting cast includes Anna Sten and Ludwig Stossel , who plays Steelman's father . Ward Bond was a best friend of Clark Gable , and I couldn't help but notice the similarity of their voices in this film . Even their speaking rhythm was similar . Close your eyes , and you'd swear it was Gable .
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494,591 | 342,623 | 59,630 | 6 |
Adaptation of a John O'Hara novel
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Suzanne Pleshette has " A Rage to Live " in this 1965 potboiler also starring Bradford Dillman , Ben Gazzara , Linden Chiles , Carmen Matthews , Bethel Leslie and Peter Graves . The film is an adaptation of a John O'Hara novel , and I understand from people who have read the book that it's not a very good one . Pleshette plays Grace Caldwell , a young woman who feels validated and loved only when she's having sex . After an incident with a boy in her home town , Grace's mother ( Matthews ) suffers a heart attack . The two take a vacation , where Grace takes up with a waiter . While she's with him one night , her mother has a fatal heart attack and dies . Eventually Grace meets Sidney Caldwell ( Dillman ) . They fall in love , and Grace confesses her misdeeds to him ; he wants to marry her . They have a son , and for three years , all is well . Then construction worker Roger Bannon arrives to work on the Caldwell property and admits to Grace that he's always wanted her . The two have an affair , which Grace ends , only to have Roger beat up a hooker and call her Grace and talk about what a slut she is before he's killed in a car accident . Sidney finds out and wants to end the marriage ; she talks him into giving her one more chance . Then she's publicly accused of having an affair with an old friend ( Graves ) by his wife ( Leslie ) , which isn't true . The end of this film is not very satisfying . We are led to believe that Grace is finished . She probably is - after that public humiliation , it's doubtful Sidney will want to continue the marriage . However , certainly he is assured by the Graves character that nothing went on between him and Grace . So in the end , Grace is doomed because of something she didn't do . Suzanne Pleshette hit Hollywood about ten years too late - she would have had a chance to become a major star before the studios dissolved . She was beautiful with a gorgeous figure , a sexy voice and one other attribute - she was a wonderful , honest actress . Her big career would be in television , and it was a good one , but nothing like she could have had . Here she rises above some overblown material to give a strong , sympathetic performance . The rest of the cast is good . Bethel Leslie as the alcoholic Amy Hollister has some good scenes as Peter Graves ' insecure and unreasonable wife . Ben Gazzara does a fine job with an off-the-wall , obsessive character . In the book , Sidney dies before he can divorce Grace , and Grace moves away . I suppose having her cry in the middle of the road was more effective . " A Rage to Live " is good to see for Pleshette and for the way an explicit subject matter was handled in the ' 50s . With a lesser actress in the lead , it might have seemed very campy .
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494,024 | 342,623 | 48,510 | 6 |
Burton reciting Shakespeare , how can one go wrong ?
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Richard Burton plays Edwin Booth in " Prince of Players , " also starring Raymond Massey , John Derek , Maggie McNamara , and Charles Bickford . The story takes us through the young Edwin growing up , traveling with his famous actor father , and at times standing in for him . Eventually he himself becomes a great actor , and in fact , was known as the greatest Hamlet of his day . But personal tragedy strikes in his marriage and in his brother John's assassination of President Lincoln . John Derek makes a dashing John Wilkes Booth , handsome and charismatic . Massey , a man who played Lincoln on film and recording as well , is the elder Booth and is excellent as the flamboyant drunkard . And it's wonderful to hear him recite Shakespeare . " Prince of Players " was a showcase for Richard Burton . In 1955 , when this film was released , he was young , handsome , and extremely romantic looking . Classically trained , he possessed , as he always did , a magnificent voice and a great talent . To hear his Shakespearean recitation in this film is a real treat , and there is a lot of it , including Hamlet , Richard III , and Romeo & Juliet . Sadly , Burton came from a poor Welsh family and never got over it . In pursuing movie money , he took roles in mediocre films and did very little stage work , though he shined in " Camelot " and " Equus . " His last Broadway appearance , shortly before his death , was a disastrous " Private Lives " with his ex-wife Elizabeth Taylor . His fans , however , choose to remember this sweet and charming person as a glorious Prince Hal in Henry IV and as Hamlet . How wonderful that film audiences can hear his gifts forever in " Prince of Players . "
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494,358 | 342,623 | 59,557 | 6 |
Yet another ' 60s spy caper , this one pre-global warming
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James Coburn is " Our Man Flint " in this 1966 spy film . Flint is called in by our government to find and destroy the enemy's capability to control the weather . Given our current situation with global warming , it was actually quite interesting . The cool , perfect Flint is a derivative of James Bond , a gadget-ridden spy , unflappable in the face of certain death , totally brilliant , and a sex machine surrounded by gorgeous , buxom women . Played by the resonant-voiced , angular-faced James Coburn , Flint sails through his assignment , not only escaping death but faking death when it suits him . It's a fun movie , but it's amazing how many of this type of film and spy films in general were made in the ' 60s - not only the Bond films , but caper films like Topkapi , Gambit , the Harry Palmer films , Casino Royale ( where James bond was a character ) - these films and takeoffs of them , like The Glass-Bottomed Boat - abounded . It's always nice to reminisce about the ' 60s , and " Our Man Flint " has the music , the dancing , the gowns , the gadgets and the bustlines that will take you right back . A good time .
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494,891 | 342,623 | 28,695 | 6 |
Donald Woods is this film's Perry Mason
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Donald Woods stars as Perry Mason in " The Case of the Stuttering Bishop , " a 1937 film that also stars Ann Dvorak as a lively Della Street . Frank Faylen is also on hand to pep things up a bit . Both of them are needed , because Donald Woods isn't terribly exciting . Of the men who played Perry Mason in the films , he is perhaps the closest rendering to the actual character . But the book Perry Mason was just that - for books - and it would take Gardner himself to not only choose Raymond Burr ( the original Perry Mason was supposed to be Fred MacMurray until Gardner saw Mason at an audition for Hamilton Burger ) but oversee the scripts to make the translation to the moving image . The story concerns a mysterious bishop who asks Perry to help clear a woman accused of manslaughter many years earlier . From there , the story gets into mistaken identity - is a woman posing as an heiress or isn't she - and the solving of a murder . It's a very complicated plot , so pay attention . And Paul Drake is old . If you can sort it all out , you'll find it interesting . There's a little comedy to be had , which is helpful . I like watching the Perry Mason movies , if only to see the different interpretations of the various roles and the emphasis put into the stories , but in the end , it's best to forget who these characters are supposed to be - because after watching the TV show for years , none of them are . So don't expect much in that department , and you won't be disappointed .
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493,685 | 342,623 | 67,001 | 6 |
cute if dated
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This movie was the possible inspiration for the TV movie and series that followed , " The Snoop Sisters . " This cast is even more formidable than the Snoop Sisters - instead of two elderly ladies , this has four . And what a group ! Helen Hayes , Mildred Natwick , Sylvia Sidney , and Myrna Loy . Poor Vincent Edwards doesn't have a chance against them . The bored ladies decide to fill out a computer dating form , using an imaginary woman , of course , and wind up with a very eager Edwards . Computer dating has come a long way , but alas , it's still pretty easy to attract a character like Edwards . The four women are adorable and it's worth it just to have a chance to watch them in action . Hayes and Natwick went on to play elderly detectives in " The Snoop Sisters . "
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493,727 | 342,623 | 28,219 | 6 |
If you wanna stump it , bump it with a trumpet
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Boy , once Warner Brothers bought a property , they did everything but serve it for dinner . 1936's " Satan Met a Lady " is yet another version of " The Maltese Falcon , " which was finally given the classic touch by John Huston in 1941 . This particular version is out of control but manages to be a lot of fun at the same time . This time Sam Spade is named Shane , and he's played by ' 30s star Warren William . William was a tall , handsome man with sharp features and a refined speaking voice - by this time , he was the Warners version of William Powell , though he had started his career as an unsympathetic , precode villain . A more extroverted performer , he excelled at the William Powell-type vehicles . He even took over for Powell as Philo Vance . William was the movie Perry Mason , and if you think this is a wild " Maltese Falcon , " you should see what was done to Perry before the TV series . Put it this way - Della Street wore diamonds . In this version , the falcon is the Horn of Roland , a trumpet stuffed with jewels , and it's being sought by a young , pretty Bette Davis in the Bebe Daniels-Astor role , and now the Sydney Greenstreet character has had a sex change in the form of Madame Barrabas ( Alison Skipworth ) . Though there's no doubt Barrabas a ruthless character . and the usual people have been murdered by the usual people , this version is pretty much played for laughs . It moves faster than the Cortez version , and while Cortez played Spade as a delightful rogue , William has a ball , laughing at the whole thing as he collects money from everyone . In the Cortez version , Spade had some feeling for Ms . Wonderly ( Bebe Daniels ) ; here , William clearly enjoys playing the field and never takes the Davis character seriously . Shane's secretary in " Satan Met a Lady " is played by Marie Wilson , whose part is quite large . She's very funny . Davis is okay , but her sincerity isn't believable - at this point in her career , she's still a little stagey . The very tongue-in-cheek William runs this show , which is done in the style of " The Thin Man . " Though it was a bomb when it was released , today it's of interest for Davis , its handling of the material , and also as a chance to see William , who died in 1948 , in top form . After this film , he went into character roles . Recommended .
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495,098 | 342,623 | 41,847 | 6 |
Routine cop drama . . . and which came first ?
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Did , as some people think , " Scene of the Crime " invent the cop drama clichés that have been a mainstay of television and film for so long ? Or were they already established and just copied by this film ? Not being an expert in the genre , I don't know . I do know that despite attempts by some people to elevate this movie to film noir status , it's not that great . Dore Schary put this into production when he took over MGM . I guess he wanted MGM to be more like Warner Brothers . It stars Van Johnson , Arlene Dahl , John McIntyre , Leon Ames , and Gloria DeHaven . When a cop is killed with a roll of dough found on him , his fellow officers set out to investigate the crime and clear the man's name . " Scene of the Crime " is similar in its way to " Dragnet " - it shows the daily grind of detectives as they put together a case . There are a couple of very good scenes , including one in which Mike ( Van Johnson ) arrests a suspect , and shooting starts when they get outside of the apartment building . Still handcuffed to Mike , the perp jumps into a building stairwell . There's also a good car chase . For some reason , Van Johnson did these baby-faced tough guys well - perhaps it was his New York accent , but he pulls off the role of the dedicated Mike . He was set to be Elliot Ness in the TV " Untouchables " when his wife Evie called Desi Arnaz the night before and held him up for more money . Arnaz called Robert Stack and told him to report to the set the next day . A friend of mine who has lived in LA for over 50 years and socialized with many stars said that Arlene Dahl was the most beautiful woman of everyone he had met . Seeing her in this , you can believe it . She is a spectacular beauty if her acting in some spots isn't the best . Gloria DE Haven , usually a vibrant ingenue , plays against type as a tramp , which makes it interesting . " Scene of the Crime " is gritty-looking enough but suffers from being slow in spots and loaded with clichés . There isn't anything to make it truly special . That could be because by now , we've seen it all before . Perhaps in 1949 , it was fresh . But I have my doubts that even back then , it broke any new ground .
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494,779 | 342,623 | 36,922 | 6 |
Hollywood showcase
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Hollywood Canteen is the story of the actual organization that fed and entertained soldiers during World War II , started by Bette Davis and John Garfield , both of whom appear in the film . Actual female movie stars served as hostesses and danced with the lonely soldiers . In this story , Slim ( Robert Hutton ) meets his fantasy woman , Joan Leslie , at the Canteen , and when he later becomes the one millionth man to enter the Canteen , he's allowed to choose her as his date for the weekend . Dane Clark plays his buddy . If you were at Warner Brothers in the ' 40s , you were in this movie , with very few exceptions . There was some wonderful musical performing as well , tops in my book being Carmen Cavallaro and Jack Benny's duet on the violin with Joseph Szigeti . You can also hear the Andrews Sisters , Roy Rogers and Trigger , Eddie Cantor , Benny Goodman and many others . All of the women looked stunning , including Davis , Alexis Smith , Eleanor Parker , Jane Wyman , Joan Leslie , Barbara Stanwyck , Ida Lupino , Joan Crawford , and an unbelievably young and gorgeous Janis Paige . There were also appearances by Dennis Morgan , Jack Carson , Sidney Greenstreet , Helmet Dantine , Paul Henried , and Peter Lorre . It was all very interesting but some of the numbers went on a bite long . However , if you're of that era , it will bring back some tremendous memories . Hutton ( Barbara Hutton's cousin ) was an interesting actor , likable and very reminiscent of Jimmy Stewart . He continued to work in Hollywood for another 30 years but never achieved stardom . Most fascinating to me was seeing and hearing Kitty Carlisle as she performed " Once to Every Heart , " realizing that this film was made 62 years ago - and Kitty just performed her nightclub act , at 95 , in New York City . God bless her . By the way , female servicewomen were not allowed in the Hollywood Canteen . I can't remember who it was , but eventually someone started tea dances for the women soldiers to give them someplace to go on leave . For shame .
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494,995 | 342,623 | 32,539 | 6 |
There's gold in them thar hills
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Gold Rush Maisie has Maisie ( Ann Sothern ) prospecting in this 1940 entry into the series . Maisie's car breaks down , and she becomes stranded and has to ask for help from an isolated , nasty rancher ( Lee Bowman ) who shares his house with another sourpuss ( Slim Somerville ) . These films all followed the same formula - Maisie's charm , no-nonsense attitude and warmth melt the icebergs she meets . Later on , she meets a family of farmers who have lost their farm and become migrant workers . Now they're on their way to prospect for gold . Maisie is stunned at how little they have and sets out to help them . The atmosphere of " Gold Rush Maisie " is a little more down than usual , and the actions of the rancher played by Lee Bowman are inexplicable . First he's nasty , then he abruptly puts the moves on Maisie , becomes nasty again and later , after she tells him off , he becomes nice . Bowman was Sothern's leading man in the series more than once , as was James Craig - I prefer James Craig , who had more energy and variety in his acting . One does really feel for the family , and that helps to hold one's interest . Sothern does her usual bang-up job . The previous reviewer has it right - she would have been a bigger star in an earlier era . But if huge movie stardom eluded her , she still played some wonderful roles , and her two series are a treasure , as is the actress herself .
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494,133 | 342,623 | 32,556 | 6 |
When life mocks you , mock it back
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Some classic age actors , when seen today , appear hammy and using old-fashioned technique . And some are timeless . John Barrymore is timeless and , in one of his last films , " The Great Profile , " he lampoons himself mercilessly - in the role of a ham with old-fashioned technique . The story is based on what really happened to the actor during a play called " My Own Children . " The actor Evans Garrick ( Barrymore ) has been missing for three days . When he arrives home drunk , he's in costume and he's reciting Shakespeare , believing that he just left a film set an hour earlier . Infuriated , his wife Sylvia ( Mary Beth Hughes ) leaves him . Then pretty Mary Maxwell ( 17-year-old Anne Baxter ) arrives with a play she is desperate for Garrick to do . He gets rid of her by saying he will meet her in his agent's office the next day . His agent ( Gregory Ratoff ) owes some mobsters $8200 and when he hears that Ms . Maxwell has a wealthy fiancée , Richard Lansing ( John Payne ) who will back the play , he's all for it . It's a complete disaster , but it gets Sylvia back from Reno as soon as she hears about it , and she wins back her role . Totally polluted by the second act , Garrick makes the play a hit by ad-libbing and finally rolling off of the stage in a wheelchair . Ms . Maxwell is finally convinced to take what she considered her serious drama into New York , where it's been booked for a six-month run , but she takes Garrick in hand to sober him up . Everyone's unhappy - her fiancée and Garrick's agent in particular , since the play is deathly if Garrick isn't drunk . Strangely enough , most of this actually happened to Barrymore in real life , including his wife leaving him and returning to get her part back in New York . And she did hide in Barrymore's wardrobe as Garrick's wife does in the film , though in real life , Barrymore's daughter Diana tried to keep her from doing so . Barrymore is extremely dissipated in " The Great Profile " and reads his lines off of cue cards , which toward the end , he did often . For people who say he's a ham , I say he was playing one . He does Hamlet with a quivering sing-song voice . Does anyone believe this is actually how he played his famous Hamlet ? He was Olivier's inspiration for the role . Olivier first played Hamlet in 1937 and was known for speaking the dialogue instead of singing it . There are some very funny moments in " The Great Profile " but in the end , it's a bizarre movie , enlivened by Barrymore's presence . If you want to see a non-hammy Barrymore , I suggest " The Great Man Votes " or " Bill of Divorcement . " He was a great actor with a big personality - if that seems strange by today's standards , well , it's the pictures that got small .
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495,138 | 342,623 | 45,669 | 6 |
lots of fog , a little Donna Reed Show , some Gaslight thrown in
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Jeanne Crain was under contract to Twentieth Century Fox in the ' 40s and ' 50s and , as a pretty ingénue , made some big films . In fact , the studio wanted Joseph Mankiewicz to give her the role of Eve in " All About Eve . " Not considering her much of an actress , Mankiewicz refused to use her in the film . He was right and he was wrong . She wasn't much of an actress - but her youth , prettiness , and sweetness would have made her a great foil for Bette Davis , would have made Margo seem even more unreasonable , and her jealousy , given Crain's vibrant looks , would have even been more understandable . Where Crain would have been less effective is after Eve is found out - that's where Baxter's rightness for the role kicked in . All that being said , Crain is the star of " Dangerous Crossing . " She plays a woman on a honeymoon cruise who can't seem to find her husband . If she had a husband , that is . Elegant Michael Rennie is the ship's doctor who half believes her and wants to help . It's actually a very good , suspenseful movie , and if you've seen Fox's " Titanic , " you'll recognize the ship . Carl Betz of " The Donna Reed Show " plays the missing husband . Crain doesn't do paranoid very well , employing a lot of stock " crazy " mannerisms in her closeups . It would have been interesting to see what she could have accomplished with a strong director and a powerful cast surrounding her . Ah , what might have been .
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494,150 | 342,623 | 23,891 | 6 |
Early Hepburn
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Katharine Hepburn is a beautiful and accomplished aviatrix in " Christopher Strong , " a 1933 film also starring Clive Owen and Billie Burke , and directed by Dorothy Arzner . Hepburn's role of Lady Cynthia is loosely based on Amelia Earhart , a young , ambitious career woman who is not interested in marriage and home but rather accomplishment . She's an early feminist , and the role is perfect for Hepburn , who with her androgynous looks and strong performances would go on to play many such roles in her very long career . " Christopher Strong " is of interest because it's early Hepburn , has a feminist theme in the early ' 30s , and also because it's pre-Code . Arzner does a great job depicting the love affair of Hepburn and Owen and yet shows nothing , with a hand reaching up and checking the time on a small clock . . . then the light is turned off and plunges the room into darkness after the lovers exchange a few words . The problem with the movie is that it's badly dated , a ' 30s melodrama with tremulous , " we must be honorable , " pip-pip and all that rot dialogue . Owen tells everyone at a party that he will never be unfaithful to his wife , that it is a moral charge he holds high - and seconds later he meets Hepburn and you can tell he's already falling . Owen is an odd choice of a romantic partner - he's not exactly the man one would give up everything for . A bigger problem is the performance of Billie Burke , a fine actress . She is extremely sympathetic as the suffering wife - so sympathetic , in fact , and Hepburn seems so callous about the whole thing for most of the film , that one sides with what I'm sure is the wrong person . Also , putting up with your husband's infidelity and not saying anything brings us right back into aggressive non-feminism . I am forced to agree with one of the other comments - yes , it is directed by an important director , yes , it stars an important , legendary star , yes , it's early feminism , and yes , it's not that great a movie , rather , an artifact . Worth seeing ? To catch Hepburn in that moth costume - absolutely .
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494,497 | 342,623 | 36,881 | 6 |
Trite and light musical comedy
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Greenwich Village is a musical from Twentieth Century Fox starring Don Ameche , Vivian Blaine , Carmen Miranda , and William Bendix . The film seems a bit slapped together , especially in light of the fact that one of the numbers was actually footage from " Springtime in the Rockies " that was cut . There's not much of a story - it concerns a young composer , Kenneth Harvey ( Ameche ) who meets Blaine and Bendix in a speakeasy . Bendix jazzes up Kenneth's concerto , intending to use it for a show , while Kenneth hopes to have it performed in a classical genre . He also falls in love with Blaine , whom Bendix considers his girl . Miranda is a multipurpose performer at the Danny's Den , and has some cute numbers - " Give Me a Band and a Bandana , " " I Like to be Loved By You , " and " I'm Just Wild About Harry , " all energetically performed in some wild costumes . Vivian Blaine looks absolutely beautiful and sings well . Ameche gives a pleasant performance as someone experiencing New York and the Village for the first time . A great deal is made here of Greenwich Village as a haven for artists , and the sets are very much like the neighborhood as it must have been in those days - crowded and brightly lit . The street that Danny's Den was on looks like West 8th Street , and it was fun to see . " The Revuers " who included Judy Holliday , John Frank , Betty Comden and Adolph Green , alas , were cut from the film , and the best number was " It Goes to Your Toes " performed by " untitled black musicians " who were fantastic . They were possibly The Layson Brothers . The DeMarcos turned in some sprightly dancing . This isn't one of Fox's blockbusters , but it has the tell-tale vibrant Fox colors , likable cast , and good musical numbers normally associated with musicals from that studio .
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494,044 | 342,623 | 33,107 | 6 |
Bizarre little noir
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Peter Lorre is the " Stranger on the Third Floor " in this B movie from 1940 that stars John McGuire , Maria Tallichet ( Mrs . William Wyler ) and Elisha Cook , Jr . McGuire plays Mike Ward , a reporter who is the key witness in a murder trial that ends with the defendant ( Cook ) being found guilty . The man's protestations of innocence make an impression on Ward's fiancée , Jane , and it causes a rift between them . Back in his rooming house , Mike realizes that his nemesis next door isn't snoring as usual . Looking out of his room , he sees a man ( Lorre ) hanging around on his floor . Unnerved from the trial and from Jane's attitude , he begins to think his neighbor is dead and fantasizes that he could , though innocent , be put in the same position as the man he testified against and accused of murder . Then the nightmare turns into reality , and it's up to Jane to try and find the stranger - who killed in the same manner as was used in the murder case just tried . This is a pretty interesting story with decent performances by McGuire and Tallichet , who retired after the birth of her second child with Wyler . Facially , she is a cross between Ella Raines and Jane Russell , though she gets no glamor treatment in this . Sitting down to watch the film , I was visualizing something like " M " or " The Lodger " - in reality , Lorre doesn't have much to do at all . He does , however , act strangely very well . Some wonderful photography and interestingly filmed sequences , and a really sweet ending . Catch it the next time it's on TCM .
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494,009 | 342,623 | 28,269 | 6 |
enteraining , featuring a small town actor who soon goes to the big city
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Small Town Girl is a light , entertaining piece starring Janet Gaynor and Robert Taylor . Gaynor is a young woman sick of her humdrum life . When she meets playboy Robert Taylor , she's enchanted by him , as most women of the ' 30s were . While they're together , he gets smashed and proposes . Thinking of her family and what she's got to go back to , she accepts . He's engaged already , so his family encourages him to wait six months before divorcing the stranger he married . You can figure out the rest . The two stars are very appealing . Gaynor always had a sweet , charming , and innocent demeanor ; Taylor is elegant and handsome . James Stewart plays a neighborhood boy who likes Gaynor . He doesn't have much of a part and very little function in the movie , but he's cute . Seeing him in some of the early films and realizing what a mega-star he became , it's hard to believe he was ever subjected to these tiny roles , but he was . He has more to do in " Murder Man , " which is actually earlier than this film . MGM seemed to just stick him where they needed him , as they did Spencer Tracy in his early years . You can't argue with their formula , as it yielded two great stars .
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494,972 | 342,623 | 28,270 | 6 |
typical ' 30s comedy
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The Smartest Girl in Town is a typical 1936 film with a typical plot . A wealthy man ( Gene Raymond ) falls for a model named Cookie ( Ann Sothern ) who mistakes him for a model . He has his butler ( Erik Blore ) call Cookie's booker and claim he's from an advertising agency so he can book her again and get close to her during the shoot . Meanwhile , Cookie's sister ( Helen Broderick ) is trying to marry her off to a supposedly rich foreigner ( Erik Rhodes ) whom Cookie not only doesn't love but can't understand . The actors are all good - Helen Broderick always had great line delivery , and Eric Blore is in his usual role . Ann Sothern is beautiful and Gene Raymond is charming . It just doesn't add up to much with its very thin plot . I assume this was a B film since it only ran an hour . It's cute , but nothing special .
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494,886 | 342,623 | 37,040 | 6 |
Maisie tries to stop a divorce
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In " Maisie Goes to Reno , " our usually effervescent Maisie is burnt out working in a wartime factory and is sent on a vacation by her doctor . She accepts an offer to sing with her old band in Reno and relax by day but finds that in order to get there , she has to buy the ticket of a woman who's decided not to go . A soldier sees the transaction and begs Maisie to help him . Initially , he wants her ticket but when an MP informs him that his unit has been called in , he asks Maisie to take a note to his soon to be ex-wife in order to stop the divorce . In Reno , Maisie discovers that the man's wife ( Ava Gardner ) is being duped by two con artists into believing her husband just wants her money . Maisie herself becomes involved with an employee in the hotel casino ( John Hodiak ) . Sothern does a fun rendition of " Panhandle Pete , " Gardner is ravishing , and John Hodiak was never handsomer . Most of the " Maisie " series was pleasant without being overwhelming , though perhaps some of the earlier films were better . This one is okay , worth it to see Gardner and Hodiak in early roles - and of course , the always wonderful Sothern .
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494,752 | 342,623 | 370,987 | 6 |
pilot for the " Hallmark Mystery Series " entry
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This was evidently the pilot for the " Mystery Woman " series starring Kellie Martin , which rotates with " Jane Doe " and " McBride " on the " Hallmark Mystery Series . " I'm a fan of Kellie Martin and of this concept , but thanks to the direction of this pilot , the minutes flew like hours . This was an extremely slow-moving , poorly acted mystery . Martin was the only one kept of the original cast ; the characters of Cassie and Philby were recast . One character who does not appear in the series is Samantha's ex-husband , played by handsome Steven Brand . Frankly , I think they could use him on the show . The producers put some money into this pilot , which concerned an unsolved , 10-year-old murder and a mystery novelist who threatens to reveal the killer in his next book . Robert Wagner plays the novelist , and Joan Severance , whose career I guess we can assume is not what it was , played his wife . With her beauty and outrageously gorgeous figure , Severance looked to be headed towards big things in the ' 80s . Who can forget her with Kevin Spacey in the " Mel Profitt " " Wiseguy " story arc ? Anyway , William Moses plays a police detective who is the partner of Wagner's son . I found the story very far-fetched ( not to mention given away in the first twenty minutes ) but with some elements that I wish they would put into Mystery Woman now . The idea of Samantha referencing mystery books to solve a crime is similar to what Pierce Brosnan's Remington Steele did with movies , and it's a fun concept . What I found frustrating was , first of all , the pacing , which particularly in Mystery Woman is very slow - it seems less of an issue in Jane Doe and McBride , and in the pilot , it was deadly . I thought it funny that , though in 2003 Wagner was using a standard typewriter , no one commented on it . The DA never asked why Wagner hadn't brought the police the evidence he had for an unsolved murder . A blackmailer claims that at the author's book party , she revealed to someone that she was that person's real mother - does anyone else think a book party is a strange place for that type of discussion ? Samantha didn't even blink . The adopted person never commented on it . And how is it that everyone knows the date of a murder that took place ten years earlier ? It seemed to be right up there with the Pearl Harbor bombing and . Bad script . I'm surprised on the basis of this , the series was picked up . I'm glad it was , though , and I hope they get some better directors and scripts as time goes on . Not to mention a few customers for the Mystery Woman bookstore .
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493,917 | 342,623 | 24,025 | 6 |
Debut of a great screen pair
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If you watch " Flying Down to Rio " expecting it to be a Rogers and Astaire film , forget it - but it was their debut as a team , dancing the Carioca . This is a 1933 movie short on plot and , as is often the case with the early talkies , a little slow in parts due to the pace of the dialogue . It is nevertheless a fun movie , with Astaire doing some wonderful solo dancing and of course , his dance with Ginger , which sent them on their way to movie history . The stars of the film are Dolores Del Rio and Gene Raymond . After bandleader Raymond meets del Rio in the U . S . , he ends up in Rio where he competes for her attentions with her fiancé Julio ( Raul Roulien ) , his best friend . The plot concerns the opening of a hotel in Rio and its planned takeover by another group . When the opening date is changed , the owner cannot get another performing license , so all seems to be lost . Thus the number " Flying Down to Rio " with chorus girls doing maneuvers on the wings of flying planes . It's a spectacular part of the film , though in spots you can really seek how fake it was . It doesn't really matter - it was early film-making where , without the use of computers , artistry and imagination were needed instead , and much was accomplished . There are some interesting editing experiments noticeable as well , particularly during a big nightclub scene . It was precode , so some of the numbers are pretty darn steamy . Dolores del Rio was surely one of the most stunningly beautiful women ever to appear on screen . Growing up , I remember seeing Sunday supplements with articles and photos about her current life - it was a good 30 years after this film - and her beauty remained awesome without the plastic surgery techniques available today . She was a true , fantastic beauty , and this film really showcases it . This isn't the most wonderful musical you'll ever see but it's important nonetheless : It launched Rogers & Astairs , it's an interesting example of early editing , and it's precode . And if you watch it with the wonder that the depression audiences must have had , you'll enjoy it even more .
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494,673 | 342,623 | 284,028 | 6 |
When the child is the abuser
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This is an interesting movie starring Delta Burke , one of my favorites , and Ryan Merriman , who does an excellent job as a teenager who turns on his mother . Burke is divorced from a verbally abusive and belittling man , and she has custody of their two children . The older boy becomes less and less able to cope with his emotions and begins to act violently against his mother . He's jealous of a man she's seeing , he has anger issues over the divorce , and in his father , there's an excellent role model to blame his mother . She can't handle him so she covers for him by lying . This leads to a near fatality . Merriman plays a boy who's obviously a good albeit extremely troubled kid , and Burke is excellent as a frustrated and helpless mother . It's an all too typical situation today , unfortunately . The film handles the issues well , especially by pointing out that the boy's behavior was not learned overnight , and it won't go away instantly either . Fairly absorbing , and I always love seeing Delta .
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494,184 | 342,623 | 33,246 | 6 |
All this for $26 . 50 a week
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John Shelton and Lana Turner star are " We Who Are Young , " a 1940 film also starring Gene Lockhart . Turner and Shelton are newlyweds who work in the same office ; she's fired as soon as the boss ( Lockhart ) finds out . Married women can't work there ; it seems they're taking the jobs away from the more deserving men , and after all , a husband should be able to support his wife . I don't know about the work rule , but it was the prevailing attitude that if your wife worked , you couldn't support her . The couple has trouble meeting their furniture payments , so hubby takes a loan . When he can't make those payments , his salary his attached . His boss fires him for that ; you can't be an upstanding citizen if your salary is attached . Meanwhile , his out of work wife becomes pregnant , the furniture is gone , his job is gone , and he can't find another one . On one hand , it shows you how times have changed in the workplace for the better at least as far as employment laws ; on the other hand , at least the Lockhart character has qualms of conscience , which no employer in this day and age would have . Firing at Christmas doesn't bother them , nor does firing someone without notice and having security escort them out , lest they steal a paper clip , nor does spending $250 , 000 to have their offices redecorated , only to tell employees there's no money for even a cost of living raise . John Shelton chews up the scenery as the husband . He's not particularly good , and though she doesn't get to emote like Shelton , MGM decided Lana Turner was going to be a star . She's very sweet , beautiful and fragile appearing here . Shelton I guess went into the service and lost what little grooming the studio was giving him . It looks like he quit show business in 1953 . Extremely dated , not great , interesting for Turner and a look at the workplace in the 1939-41 era .
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495,140 | 342,623 | 116,528 | 6 |
excellent story , if not as harrowing as the real-life events
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I saw the actual heroine of this story on Oprah . She was accompanied by her dentist husband and her son . Her husband was one of the men she hid in her wall during the war . He jumped off a train en route to a concentration camp , and the bread he hid in his chest broke his fall . He went to this young woman's home because he knew her family . She was at that time , I believe , 15 , and her parents were away working . She herself was working in a factory . In the film , the wall seemed to be an extension of the attic and was fairly large . But the real people lived in an enclosure in an actual wall . One of them had to stay awake each night to make sure no one snored . In order to use the bathroom , they had to ease their way down onto the next floor . The nurses in the next apartment dated Nazis , and at one point , the Nazis wanted the house . All of the escapees advised the young woman to save herself . However , the Nazis decided against commandeering the building . The heroine , called Fusia in this story , had to sneak food home and be very careful . People were watching everywhere . Though this is one World War II story that ultimately has a happy ending , the actual terror and anguish of what really happened during the war to these people is not fully realized in this movie . Kellie Martin is very good , as is Marion Ross as a neighbor . It was interesting to see it dramatized . No one who watched this amazing family on Oprah could have failed to be moved by them . Fusia and her husband came to this country in 1948 and made good lives . She had been dating someone else , but of course , having all these people in her wall , her social life was somewhat curtailed . When the war was over , the man who became her husband turned to her and said , " You're with me , and that's it . " My feeling for this movie is diminished by having heard the real people talk about their experiences , but it is another good example of people helping one another during the war .
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494,345 | 342,623 | 23,993 | 6 |
pre-code early Bette programmer
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Well , well , imagine my surprise when I saw two people in a double bed . That's right - precode , no whitewash . Bette Davis and Gene Raymond star in " Ex-Lady , " about talented illustrator Helen Bauer , a career girl with very definite ideas about marriage - she's against it . Don ( Raymond ) has a key to her apartment , but he finally talks her into marriage . After a wonderful Havana honeymoon , the two return to find his ad agency , at which she now works , is in shambles . The two seem to grow unhappier until they decide it's just not working . But while separated , he and Helen find that the emotions they thought they left behind in marriage are still very much present . I wasn't as enthusiastic about " Ex-Lady " as some of the other posters . It's slow-moving and stagy . It's based on an unproduced play , and it's not hard to see why it wasn't produced . Still , it's fascinating - Davis is all of about 28 , tiny and pretty , and her screen persona is as yet unset . The feminist premise is very interesting , as are all of the precode elements . Davis and Raymond display quite a bit of chemistry , and talk about not having your screen persona - Frank McHugh wanders around as if he's on another planet ! There's also a rendition of a cut version of Wagner's " Dich , teure Halle " at a party . Davis does fine in her role , but of course , this isn't the type of thing she would shine in once Warners caught on . Raymond has never impressed me much , but if Jeannette MacDonald was forced to marry him , apparently he impressed Louis B . Mayer . All in all , " Ex-Lady " is worth seeing for early Davis and as a pre-code film , which makes some of the movie seem quite modern .
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494,595 | 342,623 | 59,224 | 6 |
Elvis in Fort Lauderdale
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Elvis Presley and his band are " Girl Happy " in this 1965 film starring Shelley Fabares and featuring Gary Crosby , Mary Ann Mobley , Harold Stone , Nita Talbot , Joby Baker and Fabrizio Mioni . Presley and his band are hired by the club owner ( Harold Stone ) they work for to go to Fort Lauderdale and make sure that his daughter ( Fabares ) doesn't get into trouble . This often means cutting the romantic evenings of the band short , but Rusty ( Elvis ends up combining business with pleasure . This is pleasant enough Elvis fare . It's not the kind of movie he wanted to make , but thanks to Colonel Parker , we have a slew of them , part travelogue , part music video . Elvis looks great ; the film has a lot of youthful energy and catches the spring break atmosphere . After the success of Ricky Nelson on television , TV stars had to sing , and Fabares is no exception , and she makes a darling costar for Elvis . ( Her description during an interview of being told she had to sing by the producer of " The Donna Reed Show " is quite funny . She refused and was asked , " Do you want to do the show next year ? " ) Former Miss America Mary Ann Mobley is the knockout Rusty tries to romance while on guard duty . Rusty's band , consisting of Crosby , Baker and Hawkins , do well in their roles as lascivious lads . I wasn't as taken with the music as some on the board . It was nice , but I missed a big hit like " Return to Sender . " Elvis wanted to leave a more important film legacy . I for one am grateful for any chance to see him perform .
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493,463 | 342,623 | 457,410 | 6 |
Laroquette is great but oy , the script
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The Hallmark mystery series needs better mysteries . This one , " Tune in for Murder " in the McBride series is rotten . I mean , the evidence - hello . So obviously fake . John Laroquette is delightful as McBride , and I think he does a bit of ad-libbing as well , but this sort of thing is beneath him . It's definitely for the Perry Mason crowd and might be entertaining if they could spiff up the script some . In this episode , a shock jock hated by all is murdered , and his nice guy partner is accused . McBride is brought in as the defense attorney for what his some time girlfriend , a homicide investigator portrayed nicely by Marta Dubois , claims is a slam-dunk case . She's got some nerve . McBride , of course , discovers plenty that the police missed . Other episodes in the McBride series have been better . There is a nice device where , while someone is relating a past situation pertaining to the murder , McBride actually appears in the reliving , asking questions . Unlike " Mystery Woman , " the pace of McBride is okay , but if I were Laroquette , I'd ask for tighter scripts . I don't care how desperate a D . A . is for a conviction - even they wouldn't have accepted this evidence as the real thing .
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494,373 | 342,623 | 422,720 | 6 |
Beautiful bore
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Kirsten Dunst is " Marie Antoinette " in this anachronistic 2006 film directed by Sofia Coppola . The other stars include Jason Schwartzman , Rip Torn , Judy Davis , Marianne Faithful and Molly Shannon . I can only guess that the reason for making this film was to show a teenage Queen of France cavorting with her girlfriends and shopping until she dropped while remaining oblivious to the plight and unhappiness of the French people . In actuality , that's probably pretty close to the truth about this historical figure . Norma Shearer was very good as Marie Antoinette , but she wasn't a kid . I think this version had the right idea . The only thing Coppola omitted was Marie's story , so the movie is instead about the above-mentioned teen partying , shopping , being unfaithful , wandering the grounds , while giving us a look at royal tradition , gorgeous costumes and dazzling scenery . Little else . Marie Antoinette's life was full of drama - her liaisons with Axel von Fersen , the Affair of the Necklace , her husband's medical problem which prevented the couple from having children for so long , the revolution , the family being taken to prison , and the guillotine . Some of this is touched on or mentioned in passing ; most of it is left out . There are five exciting minutes or so toward the end of the film . In a way , it's a shame , because this film could have given us great insight into Marie Antoinette by having a very young woman play the Queen as these events swirled around her . But in order to do that , characters would have to have been developed , and there didn't seem to be any interest in that . If you love color , beautiful costumes and scenery , this is the film for you . Don't bother if you're looking for any kind of content ; like the vacuous queen , there's no there there .
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493,925 | 342,623 | 41,871 | 6 |
A parole officer falls in love with one of his charges
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Shockproof is a 1949 Douglas Sirk film starring Cornel Wilde and Patricia Knight . Wilde is Griff Marat , who gets a paroled prisoner , Jenny Marsh ( Knight ) on his caseload . She refuses to give up the bad acquaintances that got her into trouble in the first place ; this includes her old boyfriend , Harry ( John Baragrey ) whom she continues to meet secretly . Griff has taken Jenny into his home to care for his blind mother ( Esther Minciotti ) , and over time , they fall in love . Though she's still pulled toward Harry , she balks when Harry wants her to convince Griff to marry her , a clear violation of his job ethics and her parole . Because Griff has political ambitions , they will then have them where they want him . Gradually Harry realizes that Jenny is not going to cooperate , and he ends up gravely injured . Griff and Jenny go on the run to avoid her arrest . This is a pretty good noir with two heavyweights attached , Sirk , the director , and Sam Fuller , who co-wrote the script . Unfortunately , the characters aren't fleshed out enough so that we understand their sudden turnarounds - a man on the side of the law with political ambitions decides to throw it all out the window , marry a client secretly , and go on the run riding in boxcars and living in shacks because though the shooting was accidental , Griff feels Jenny won't be believed . That's just Griff - in reality , all three of the main characters do complete reversals during the course of this film with little or no justification . Wilde does a good job here , and Knight , a new actress to me , is beautiful and has good chemistry opposite her then husband Wilde . She didn't work much longer , as after their divorce , her career dried up . Entertaining .
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493,772 | 342,623 | 120,828 | 6 |
fails the litmus test
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The litmus test is - - if [ big star ] weren't in this film , could it be a TV movie ? Alas , the answer is yes . Though very entertaining with good performances , how Six Days Seven Nights made it to the big screen eludes me . It is not original and doesn't have the kind of script one demands of a feature film . I was just glad I didn't pay $8 . 50 or more to see it in the theater - but it will do well in video , where it should have gone directly in the first place .
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495,125 | 342,623 | 45,932 | 6 |
blink and you miss it
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Jeopardy is a B movie , and it's sad to see the wonderful Barbara Stanwyck reduced to doing it . It is , however , not without merit . Stanwyck plays a wife and mother trying to get help for her trapped husband , Barry Sullivan . She runs afoul of Ralph Meeker en route . Now , here's the thing . He refuses to help her husband unless she has sex with him . As you can imagine , this being the 1950s , this is in the subtext and so far down that if you're not paying attention , you miss the implication . This makes Jeopardy a cut above your standard B , especially because of the presence of Stanwyck . She's certainly desperate to save her husband , but the film raises some interesting questions . Meeker was more rough and tumble than her husband - was she perhaps attracted to him ? Definitely worth seeing .
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494,531 | 342,623 | 63,452 | 6 |
glossy ' 60s sci fi
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This interesting sci fi film stars George Hamilton and Suzanne Pleshette , and features some former stars / near stars who had seen better days : Yvonne DeCarlo , Richard Carlson , Aldo Ray , and Gary Merrill ( in a real stepdown from All About Eve ) . Among the older stars , Michael Rennie has a larger supporting role . The cast , a good budget , and an intriguing script make for an entertaining film about the attempt of one megamind to ferret out who's a threat to him among a group of scientists . One of them has telekinesis , and after the murder of the whistle-blower , played by Arthur O'Connell , Hamilton tries to find O'Connell's old friend , whose name was written on a piece of paper , suspecting him of somehow being involved . This is a neat drama , all the more interesting in seeing the young stars , Hamilton and Pleshette , play against the older Hollywood types .
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493,601 | 342,623 | 54,710 | 6 |
By soap possessed
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Lana Turner , Efrem Zimbalist , Jr . , Jason Robards , Barbara Bel Geddes , Susan Kohner and George Hamilton are - if we are to believe the title - " By Love Possessed " in this 1961 film which also stars Thomas Mitchell and Yvonne Craig . As the name of the movie indicates , this is a huge , glossy , color soap opera featuring beautiful fall scenery , huge homes and the attractive people in them , fancy cars and lots of driving scenes . The only house which isn't sumptuous belongs to the supposedly super-wealthy Helen - in her scenes , she looks like she lives in a Motel 6 . BLP is supposed to be about SEX . Hamilton gets it ; Lana can't get it so she rides horses ; Efrem can't get it so he works late at the office ; Kohner can't get it so she looks at papers in her safety deposit box ; Mitchell can't get it because he's too old ; Robards can't have it because he's a cripple ; Bel Geddes can't get it because she's in a marriage where the couple has drifted apart ; and Craig has enough for all of them . The couples - - Marjorie and Julius ( Lana and Jason ) , Clarissa and Arthur ( Bel Geddes and Zimbalist ) , Helen and Warren ( Kohner and Hamilton ) do a lot of talking and Warren and Veronica ( Craig ) do a lot of making out . It all adds up to a big zero that obviously was meant to cash in on Turner's big success with " Imitation of Life , " as was " Portrait in Black " but in both films , they forgot to have Douglas Sirk direct . The acting is fairly superficial except for Jason Robards and Barbara Bel Geddes . Bel Geddes , a wonderful actress , creates a real character with real emotions , sticks with it , and is a success . Robards , famous for his performances in Eugene O'Neill works , is out of place here ; he has no one to play off of , as he has to act with Zimbalist and Turner . The very pretty Yvonne Craig , who would have better success in television , pouts well . Susan Kohner has none of the allure she displayed in " Imitation of Life " but with the help of an ugly wig , creates a sad character nonetheless . Hamilton is in the Tony Perkins role , which Perkins would have done a lot better . Hamilton is someone I prefer as a personality who parodies himself . When he attempts to act , it's painful . Zimbalist , who always comes off as a rich society person , comes off as a rich society person here . Very handsome , with a fine speaking voice , he never has had much range . Not that he needed a lot here , but he needed more than he had . Lana Turner looks lovely , though her fashions don't register as they have in past films . She could always pull off an adulterous drunk - I personally don't think she has enough to do . There are too many other characters . If you're going to do a Lana Turner movie , I say make it a Lana Turner movie and let's see us some more Lana ! The end of the film is pure Hollywood hokum . So are the beginning and the middle . This type of film is usually fun if nothing else ; this one is tedious .
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493,948 | 342,623 | 23,601 | 6 |
military school story featuring some future stars
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Though it might not sound like it , " Tom Brown of Culver " is about some military school lads , mainly Tom Brown , who is played , interestingly enough , by Tom Brown . Brown goes from the fight ring into military school on scholarship because his father was a war hero . After a tough time , he goes on to be an excellent cadet , only to meet a man he never knew , his father , and comes to grips with his father's secret . This is a fairly good melodrama , though clichéd by today's standards , and is especially interesting for the appearance in a small role of 17-year-old Tyrone Power . Alan Ladd is also in the film , but I didn't spot him the first time around . What's fascinating about Power's appearance is his eyebrows . Film lore has it that his boss at Fox , Darryl F . Zanuck , turned him down a few years later because of his distractingly long , large eyebrows , and it was only Mrs . Zanuck who convinced her husband to give the young man a chance . Zanuck loved telling these stories on himself - that he refused to give Clark Gable a contract because of his ears , that his daughter told him about her young friend , Elizabeth Taylor , and he ignored her - why he wanted everyone to think he wasn't good at his job is anyone's guess . The fact is , Power's eyebrows are exactly the same as ever in this film and were the same in photos of him as a child and as an movie usher in Cincinnati . Why would he want to draw them to meet across his nose on the day of a screen test ? I guess Zanuck thought these little stories of just stumbling along made him more interesting as a studio head . Eyebrows aside , there are some very nice performances in this movie from Brown , Eugene Palette ( uncredited ) , Sidney Toler , Richard Cromwell , and Ben Alexander . H . B . Warner , as Tom's father , is clearly from another era - his acting style is over the top , but he is still effective . I have to go back and see if I can find Ladd . William Wyler directed , and Tyrone Power IV's middle name is William in honor of Wyler , so Power was grateful for the break . However , it didn't lead to anything at that time . He left Hollywood for Broadway and returned later to great stardom , despite his eyebrows .
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494,804 | 342,623 | 23,581 | 6 |
Gotta love these pre-code Loretta Young movies
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They Call it Sin is a 1932 film starring Loretta Young , George Brent , Una Merkel , Louis Calhern and David Manners . It's about a small-town beauty named Marion who falls in love with a man , James Decker ( Manners ) passing through town . He is engaged to another woman . It doesn't stop him , however , from falling in love with Marion . After a row with her parents and finding out she's adopted , Marion heads for New York , hoping to do something with her musical talent , and looks up Decker . Disillusioned upon learning he's engaged , she eventually takes up with a producer ( Louis Calhern ) who has a bad reputation as far as women are concerned . When he realizes she's in love with someone else , he fires her from his show and steals the music she wrote . Trouble follows . Una Merkel plays dancer Dixie Dare , Marion's roommate , and she's a riot - wait until you catch her dance act sans the cartwheels she was hired to do . George Brent is a doctor friend of Manners who finds himself falling for Marion . All in all , it's a very attractive cast . As was the style in the early ' 30s , Loretta is blonder here than most people will remember her . The luminous Young is gorgeous in a series of outfits . Some people criticize her acting - I have always found her very natural and believable . There was nothing new even in 1932 about the young girl in the big bad city , but the cast makes this film fresh and holds one's attention . It's not a long movie , but for the time it lasts , it's entertaining .
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493,824 | 342,623 | 23,583 | 6 |
A haunted house , an unlucky number
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A very young Ginger Rogers stars in " The Thirteenth Guest , " a 1932 film also starring Lyle Talbot . Thirteen years earlier , a dinner party took place in an old house , but the 13th guest never appeared . Now the owner of the house is dead and left his estate to this 13th guest . Someone is murdering the original party guests and putting each dead body in his or her original seat at the table . Rogers plays Marie Morgan , whom we think has been murdered early on . It turns out that it was someone else whose face was altered to look like hers . Detective Phil Winston ( Talbot ) investigates the situation . This is a good haunted house mystery , but unfortunately suffers from a terrible print and bad sound . Nevertheless it's fun to see Ginger and Talbot , both of whom are very good . If you can tolerate the print , you'll enjoy it .
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493,547 | 342,623 | 41,473 | 6 |
Sweet
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Janet Leigh is a war widow who has two men after her in " Holiday Affair , " a 1949 film also starring Robert Mitchum and Wendell Corey . Leigh plays Connie , a comparison shopper who meets Steve Mason when he waits on her . Steve pegs her as a comparison shopper - and he pegs a few other things about her too . She's been proposed to by an attorney , Carl , but she's hesitant - until her attraction to Steve so upsets her life plan that she sets the date . This is a very sweet story of a woman who lost her husband two years earlier and can't move on because she doesn't want to forget him . Janet Leigh ( who looks a little like Terry Moore in this ) is vibrant , pretty and totally believable as Connie . Wendell Corey as her staid suitor is good , but really , there is no contest between Corey and Mitchum - the minute you see him , you know what's going to happen . Mitchum is handsome , sexy , and mysterious as the generous , adventurous Steve , a man who has a way with people , particularly Connie's young son . Mitchum's acting is excellent and he is especially good in the scenes with the boy , Timmy ( Gordon Gebert ) . As nice as this movie was , it dragged for me a little . But the script , characters , and acting are very good . I think it's a lovely , light film for the holidays .
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493,758 | 342,623 | 28,587 | 6 |
okay musical
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Jack Benny , Ida Lupino , Gail Patrick , Judy Canova and Ben Blue star in " Artists & Models , " a 1937 film directed by Rapul Walsh . Benny plays Mac Brewster , the owner of an advertising agency who lands the Townsend Silver Account . Mac has a ball planned , the Artists and Models Ball , and the " Townsend girl , " who is to be their model , will be queen of the ball . Mac wants his girlfriend Paula ( Lupino ) to be the model , but Townsend ( Richard Arlen ) wants a society girl . Paula takes off for Miami , where Townsend is going , and poses as a society girl . Townsend offers her the job . Mac , meanwhile , has met a bona fide society girl , the beautiful Gail Patrick , who has approached him about helping with a charity . He shows up in Miami with her . This movie is loaded with musical numbers that , in this writer's opinion , aren't great , with the exception of the last one , a number set in Harlem . That one , featuring Louis Armstrong , would have been better if they'd hired a black woman to sing the lead instead of putting Martha Raye in dark makeup . Ben Blue and Judy Canova are a little bit over the top , and those numbers seem very dated today . Ida Lupino looks beautiful and always turned in a good performance . When one sees her here as an ingénue , it's easy to appreciate her many accomplishments playing tough-gal roles and her work as a director . Benny is funny , but frankly , he doesn't have great material to work with . Gail Patrick , with her beautiful looks and voice , is her usual classy self . Cecil Cunningham , as Mac's secretary , is a standout with her dry wit . All in all , not fabulous . I usually don't think of Raoul Walsh and musicals in the same thought process for a reason .
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493,454 | 342,623 | 32,943 | 6 |
entertaining adaptation
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This is one of the many adaptations of the novel " Pride and Prejudice , " the best probably being the miniseries that appeared on A & E . This one stars Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier . Garson , of course , is not the 19 that Elisabeth is supposed to be , and any talent that she had as an actress has long been dismissed for some reason . Though a very popular star in her day , her work now is very heavily criticized . Greer Garson was a beautiful woman and a good actress who was at times cast in roles not quite right for her , no different from any other Hollywood star , but perhaps it is her tendency toward an austere manner that makes people hate her so much . She is possibly miscast in this film , and perhaps she was a limited actress , but I don't see any reason to vilify her . Laurence Olivier is drop-dead gorgeous as Mr . Darcy , though he gives very stylized performance that might not be to everyone's taste . The sisters were played by the absolutely gorgeous Maureen O'Sullivan , Ann Rutherford , Marsha Hunt , and Heather Angel . The support players are terrific : Hugh Herbert , Edmund Gwenn , Mary Boland , and Edna May Oliver . In true Hollywood fashion , there are differences from the book and some historical inaccuracies , but all in all , this is a palatable version of Pride and Prejudice with a great cast .
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494,265 | 342,623 | 58,981 | 6 |
French bedroom farce , American style
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1965's " Boeing Boeing " is a dated but mildly amusing film starring Tony Curtis , Thelma Ritter , Jerry Lewis and Dany Saval . Curtis is a swinging bachelor living in Paris who is juggling three flight attendants at one time , all of whom live with him , and all of them are his fiancees . He's able to do this with the help of his able housekeeper ( Ritter ) and his carefully worked-out airline schedules . Unfortunately , the new fast planes are goofing up the schedules . Adding to the confusion is a visit by his friend Robert ( Lewis ) , a reporter . The two men and an exhausted Ritter try to keep the women from running into one another at the apartment as their arrivals overlap . " Boeing Boeing " was originally a play that had a very brief run on Broadway in the 1960's and went on to become the mainstay of dinner theaters throughout the U . S . After a very successful run in London , it has recently been revived on Broadway starring Christine Baranski as the maid , Bradley Whitford in the Tony Curtis role , Gina Gershon as an Italian flight attendant and Maureen McCormack as a German one . Not having seen the original play , it's hard to know what if anything in the film was changed from the play . In the current Broadway production , the Jerry Lewis character , done to great acclaim on both continents by Mark Rylance , is totally different - he's a shlub who's never seen a woman before . Lewis would have been perfect playing it that way - instead , in the film , the character of Robert is very against type , quite serious . The handsome Curtis does comedy well and is a perfect playboy . Baranski currently does the Ritter role with a French accent , which wrecks most of the dry humor that Baranski , like Ritter , brings to a role . Ritter is very funny as she changes the photograph on the desk , cooks sauerkraut for the German flight attendant , tosses it when the French flight attendant arrives and makes a soufflé instead and basically wears herself out . " Boeing Boeing " is pleasant and fun to watch as an example of that great comedy form , the farce .
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494,984 | 342,623 | 45,961 | 6 |
sweeping epic
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Director Henry King and star Tyrone Power teamed up for their ninth film , almost 20 years after King helped Power shoot to stardom when he chose him as Jonathan in " Lloyds of London . " Why do I think Power was somewhat less ebullient this time around . By 1953 , he was surely in a mad rush to finish his contract with Fox , as he had already formed his own production company . " King of the Khyber Rifles " gets the full major picture treatment , in CinemaScope , and it is a film filled with battles , adventure , panaromas , and a little romance thrown in . You can't have Tyrone Power in a movie without some of that ! He plays a half-caste who is put in charge of the Khyber Rifles . Eventually , he is given the assignment of putting down a rebellion led by a childhood friend , Karram Khan , menacingly played by Guy Rolfe . Terry Moore plays the British daughter of the brigadier general ( Michael Rennie ) who falls in love with Power , and that's a forbidden love . In real life , when she first saw the actor , she was so staggered that she developed a facial tic . Power asked King if they could sit quietly and run lines before shooting the scene , which allowed her to calm down . She's fairly vapid in the role . The last part of the movie is very exciting and beautifully photographed . The film definitely hold's one's interest . Power looks great - handsome and tanned , as Lieutenant King , but it's really not much of a role . The romantic scenes are marvelous , and he does display a lot of physical prowess . He was unfortunately one of the huge stars of the golden era who did not do a lot of great pictures . Ironically , some of his films not highly thought of at the time have found appreciative audiences today , 47 years after his death . Too bad he's not here to see it .
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494,217 | 342,623 | 33,596 | 6 |
Erratic screenplay hampers a good cast
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Any old film aficionado would be drawn to a film starring Rosalind Russell , Don Ameche , Van Heflin and Kay Francis , so it's no surprise that this poster tuned into " The Feminine Touch , " a 1941 comedy . The story concerns a college professor , John Hathaway ( Ameche ) who has written a very intellectual book on jealousy and travels with his wife ( Russell ) to meet his publisher Elliot ( Heflin ) and editor Nellie ( Francis ) . Elliot likes to play around , and Nellie is in love with him . Julie keeps trying to make her husband jealous , not by deed but by hints that a certain man likes her , for instance , and is he worried - thinking that a jealous outburst would be proof of his love . However , he trusts her unreservedly and never suspects her of anything . He's especially sure that despite Elliot's interest in her , Julie would never reciprocate - because Elliot has a beard , and Julie hates them . This film is a case of too many cooks , as this screenplay was worked over by several writers . The premise is flimsy , for starters , and I fear Russell is miscast . Rosalind Russell in films is a beautiful woman , but she has a strength and intelligence about her as well . It's not an ingénue beauty . In the world of " The Feminine Touch , " despite her tailored suits , every man who meets her falls madly in love with her . I could have bought it if it had been Lana Turner . I'm not buying it here . Women like Russell are the " whole package " and men fall for her in a different way and probably after a conversation or two - not on sight . And then , to have a smart woman like Julie upset because her husband never gets jealous is ridiculous . It might bother an immature 18-year-old , but this character ? The end of the film - - which comes about 15 minutes later than it should have - is the best part , as it turns into a more screwball comedy with Julie setting fire to Elliot's beard and other crazy things happening . Otherwise , the film drags on with too much dialogue . I'm not opposed to dialogue - All About Eve has a large amount of dialogue . This dialogue was superfluous , probably because a scene or two could have been tossed . Heflin proves himself as adept at comedy as he is at drama , Francis is delightful , as is Ameche , who makes a good professorial type . Someone mentioned the clothing - Francis wears one hat that looks like a rendition of the Mickey Mouse Club ears , except with taller ears and the entire hat covered in fur . It was one of the funniest things in the movie .
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494,135 | 342,623 | 37,386 | 6 |
Der Schlechte Samen , deutscher Stil ( that's The Bad Seed , German Style )
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Lately I've been wondering about TCM's rating system . This is the second time I've been burned by a bunch of stars next to a film . I think they need to relook at some of these movies . " Tomorrow , the World ! " is based on the Broadway play . The film stars Frederic March , Skippy Homeier , Betty Field , Agnes Moorhead and Joan Carroll . Skippy is Emil ( recreating his Broadway role ) , a German boy who comes to America to live with a scientist , Mark Frame ( March ) , his sister ( Moorhead ) and his daughter ( Carroll ) - she's the same age as Emil . Field plays Leona Richards , a schoolteacher who is engaged to Mark . Emil has been indoctrinated by the Nazis to hate and to be prejudiced and also to lie and manipulate . The fact that Leona is Jewish and that Mike's insecure sister seems uncomfortable about the marriage plays right into Emil's hands , as he doesn't want Leona around . Skippy was Skip by the time I became aware of him , and he was always a very likable actor and for baby boomers , a constant television presence . This was my first exposure to him as a child . He was a beautiful young boy , with a mane of blondish hair and enormous eyes . " Tomorrow , the World ! " a propaganda film directed with a sledgehammer , is his screen debut . In the beginning I was suspicious that it might be a comedy due to Skippy's totally outrageous performance as a Hitler Jugend . For one thing , tiny Natalie Wood could have taught him something about German accents and speaking German - she was perfect in " Tomorrow is Forever . " He says his lines in a sing-song voice , often sounding Swedish , sometimes American ; only sometimes is there a hint of German , and he speaks German like an American . In the second part of the film , however , he's very effective , really showing what he can do acting-wise . It's just a shame he was directed as he was . In his faux nice moments , he comes off like a German Eddie Haskell or a male Patty McCormick - you just don't buy it . The biggest bone I have to pick with this film is the stupid soap opera part , which is the argument between Leona and Mark . Mark for reasons known only to himself thinks that Emil is becoming nicer and more acclimated to the American way ; Leona disagrees with him passionately and says she cannot live in the house with the boy , thus breaking their engagement . Mark feels she's being unreasonable . Now , if only she'd thought to mention that precious little Emil had written " Miss Richards is a Jewish tramp " on a bunch of sidewalks , Mark might have understood that Emil's attitude wasn't improving as rapidly as he thought . But she fails to mention this nugget of info . The second part of the film is far superior to the first . March , Field , and Carroll are very good in their roles . I agree with several posters here that Skippy dominates the film , but that isn't always for the right reasons . The ending is too pat - that often happens when you only have less than two hours to make a point and you've spent most of it talking about America and its strengths . I suspect " Tomorrow , the World ! " had more impact in 1944 , though it's hard for me to accept that anyone ever believed Herr Skippy in his sweet , friendly moments .
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494,012 | 342,623 | 45,162 | 6 |
A downer
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Gregory Peck leads an all-star cast in " The Snows of Kilimanjaro , " a big 1952 film directed by Henry King and produced by Darryl F . Zanuck . With a cast that includes Ava Gardner , Susan Hayward , Hildegarde Neff and Leo J . Carroll , and a story based on a story by Ernest Hemingway , one expects something more - much more - than what is delivered by this plodding film . Peck plays a writer with a severe leg infection . As he lays in Africa waiting for a transport while his wife ( Hayward ) cares for him , he believes he's dying . He goes over his past life and loves - a girl he disappoints in his youth , then Cynthia ( Gardner ) the love of his life , followed by Neff , and Hayward , whom he mistakes for Cynthia when he first meets her . Henry King mixes some beautiful scenery with stock footage of Africa . Since it's Hemingway , the movie has a macho sensibility - a lot of hunting , drinking , implied sex , and a bullfight . It's only in the last couple of scenes that the film's energy picks up - but by then , it's too late . The performances are okay - strangely , Gardner's character seems the most fleshed out . That isn't saying much - one gets the impression a lot was cut , leaving holes in characterizations and the viewer completely detached from them . Altogether , a disappointing experience .
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493,999 | 342,623 | 27,656 | 6 |
another Philo , another mystery
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Now it's Edmund Lowe as Philo Vance as he tackles " The Garden Murder Case . " It's a neat story concerning murder by hypnosis - which , as other posters point out , is a fairly obvious one , although the murder is not . The denouement makes for an exciting last minutes of the movie . Virginia Bruce costars and serves as a love interest for Vance . Lowe is certainly very attractive and extremely likable as Philo . It's a good fit , and to me , better than either Paul Lukas or Basil Rathbone . I haven't read the books , so I am just going by the films and the fact that the definitive Philo seems to have been William Powell . " The Bishop Murder Case " features a good performance by Rathbone , but it is an early talkie and the actors are still making the transition , so the film is rather awkward . Lukas was enjoyable and certainly embraced his character but his accent got in the way . This is an enjoyable entry in the exploits of a character who certainly served Hollywood well .
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494,977 | 342,623 | 45,128 | 6 |
B movie starring Cesar Romero
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Lady in the Fog is a 1952 film starring Cesar Romero as an amateur detective , Philip O'Dell , an American currently in London . He helps a woman ( Lois Maxwell ) whom he meets in a bar - her brother was run down by a car in the heavy London fog , but she is convinced that it wasn't accidental . O'Dell investigates , and finds himself involved with an old case , a mental hospital , a filmmaker , and a nightclub . Romero is a delightful actor , and this story has a lot of comedic elements which he acquits very well . He was very underrated , which is clear if one sees him in " The Captain from Castile " and " Julia Misbehaves . " The story of " Lady in the Fog " is about as lame as it gets and pretty easy to figure out . It's made on the cheap . Romero is always worth seeing , though .
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494,224 | 342,623 | 24,421 | 6 |
The immoral behavior of British society
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Constance Bennett is a disillusioned socialite in " Our Betters , " based on Somerset Maugham's play . Bennett plays a beautiful woman ( in absolutely knockout gowns ) who , on her wedding day , discovers that her husband has a mistress , a Charles-Diana-Camilla thing . Bennett's got the cash , and the girlfriend's poor . Constance , who plays Lady Pearl , throws herself into the London social scene , where nobody behaves . Her husband is always off with his girlfriend , and she has a lover who keeps her since her husband went through her money . And everyone else behaves the same way . The only thing that matters is knowing the right people , having money , getting invited to the right parties , and marrying titles . When Pearl's sister arrives from America , she's dazzled by the life and brushes off an old beau , played by Charles Starrett , who is the moral voice of the movie . This was the world of Elliot Templeton in " The Razor's Edge " and it's visited here fully with a brittle humor but not a great deal of energy . Bennett is perfect in her role . There are some scenes between Violet Kemble , who plays Minnie , and her much younger gigolo boyfriend , Gilbert Roland , where he manipulates her , that are overly long but quite funny . The final scene , with the dancing Ernest , is the best in the film .
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494,521 | 342,623 | 27,686 | 6 |
Amusing but not great as a musical
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Dick Powell is an insurance salesman who sells a million dollar policy to a producer in " Gold Diggers of 1937 " also starring Joan Blondell , Victor Moore , Osgood Perkins and Glenda Farrell . Due to bad investments by his staff , producer / hypochondriac Hobart ( Moore ) has no idea that the show he's planning to put on can't be financed . The men responsible for losing his money get Rosmer ( Powell ) , an insurance salesman , to sell Hobart a $1 million policy , figuring he won't live and then the show can be done . The funniest part of the movie is when Rosmer tells his fellow insurance salesmen of his coup and then announces that Hobart is 59 . " 59 ! " one of them exclaims . " He'll never pass the physical . " " We sold a policy to a 68-year-old last year , " someone says , " and he passed . " " Yeah , " the reply is , " passed OUT . " Interesting that 59 was thought of as more than 79 in the ' 30s . Coincidentally , Dick Powell himself died at the age of 59 . It's Rosmer's job to keep Hobart alive and it's his partners ' job to help him to the pearly gates . They send in Glenda Farrell to break his heart , figuring he'll want to end it all , but things don't work out as they planned . They throw him in a pool at a party ; he doesn't catch cold , nor does he drown . It's actually pretty funny . There are some pleasant songs which Powell sings beautifully , and a big Busby Berkeley number at the end , but I imagine as this is part of a series of " Gold Digger " films , audiences wanted something more . The performances are good - chameleon Powell is a great , earnest salesman , Joan Blondell ( who was either Powell's wife or about to become his wife ) is adorable as a showgirl and Moore is hilarious . Glenda Farrell is a real scene-stealer with her great line delivery . Pleasant but not much as far as musical values .
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494,020 | 342,623 | 32,018 | 6 |
Lana gets a glimpse of lifestyles of the rich and snooty
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How pretty , sexy , and vivacious Lana Turner was , and she's shown to great advantage in " These Glamour Girls , " a 1939 film about a weekend of house parties at an upper-class college . Turner plays a Jane , a taxi dancer at the Joy Lane Dance Hall who meets Phil ( Lew Ayres ) , a college student from an old family who's at the Joy Lane slumming with his pals . While drunk , he invites her to the big weekend at Knightsbridge College . When she arrives , he's forgotten who she is and he already has a date . He convinces her to stay anyway , and while having a good time , she gets a glimpse of what the upper class is really like and what's important to them : background , the right schools , social standing , and money . And don't forget the booze . This is an okay story with some good performances from Turner , Ayres , Richard Carlson , Marsha Hunt , Ann Rutherford , Tom Brown , Jane Bryan , and Anita Louise . Rutherford's with a man who doesn't want her , and Louise is the resident bitch . Bryan is dating Ayres , but it's obvious she's in love with Carlson . Marsha Hunt plays Betty , a 23-year-old still hanging with the college crowd in the hopes of nabbing a man . When she overhears someone say she should get married soon before she misses the boat , she panics . It's themes like this in the ' 30s-'50s that are hard to stomach , and frankly , it brings down this film . The resolution of the Betty arc is very out of place . Most of the actors were in their twenties , but Turner was only 18 and Ayres was 30 , a little old for a college kid - but he was always a very likable actor . Except for Turner , whose charisma leaps out of the screen , there isn't anything special about " These Glamour Girls . "
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494,829 | 342,623 | 33,650 | 6 |
First of the Falcon series
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George Sanders is " The Gay Falcon , " a 1941 film , the first entry into the Falcon series . The title has a double meaning , as the Falcon's first name is Gay . Though it's a programmer , " The Gay Falcon " has quite an uptown cast , including Gladys Cooper , Allen Jenkins , Turhan Bey , and Wendy Barrie . The Falcon and his sidekick Goldie ( Jenkins ) are insurance brokers in this , and Gay is , as usual , engaged . After turning down an invitation to a fancy party , Helen , secretary to a Perle Mesta type named Maxine who is giving the party , begs him to attend in order to prevent a jewel robbery . Maxine's events have been the scene of a string of jewel robberies . So Gay attends . A woman who insisted on wearing a huge diamond is murdered . Gay is on the case . George Sanders makes a very appealing Falcon - he's tall , elegant , and smooth , with a great voice and off-the-cuff delivery . He gives the role a light , breezy quality . The rest of the cast is very good . Turhan plays a swarthy , suspicious type - this was pre-Maria Montez and Sabu . It's always great to see the Turhan Bey , one of the actors who benefited from the man shortage in Hollywood during World War II . Though he eventually returned to his native Vienna to work as a photographer , he did quite a few television appearances in the ' 90s . Alas , there is a bit of casting that sort of gave the denouement away for this viewer , but the mystery is not really the point of The Falcon series . The point is to have fun , which you will .
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494,744 | 342,623 | 45,094 | 6 |
The boys search for sunken treasure
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1952's ROAD TO BALI is my first " road " picture , and I don't think it's the one I should have started with - after all , by 1952 , this shtick had to be getting pretty old . I admit to being a fan of Bob Hope , especially in his ' 40s films ; I'm not a particular fan of Bing Crosby as an actor . I'm more a fan of his incredible singing in the early ' 30s . But having heard a lot about these " road " movies , I wanted to see one . ROAD TO BALI isn't as highly rated as some of the others . The premise has to do with Bob and Bing , two vaudevillians who escape from Australia to avoid the father of the woman they're both engaged to for some reason . They eventually meet Dorothy Lamour , Bob dives for treasure and is almost killed by a giant squid , and then the three of them plus the treasure head for Bali . Along the way , there's music , corny jokes and beautiful women . The scene where a widowed ape decides Bob is her next mate is very funny ( " Why am I always attracted to young widows ? " he asks ) , and there are a few more laughs along the way . Just not enough . Dorothy Lamour is lovely and has a great figure . Many years ago , a friend of mine was in a revue where Lamour was scheduled to appear . Everyone looked for her , ignoring the old lady in the corner , who turned out to be Lamour . When costumes and makeup got through with her , she looked exactly as she did in the Road pictures . Good for her . I look forward earlier installments of this series .
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494,377 | 342,623 | 95,654 | 7 |
An actor becomes the dictator of a country
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Richard Dreyfuss stars in " Moon Over Parador , " a 1988 Paul Mazursky film also starring Raul Julia , Sonia Braga , Jonathan Winters and Charo . Dreyfuss plays a New York actor , Jonathan Nolan , in the Caribbean country of Parador to make a film . When the dictator dies suddenly , the Secret Police Chief ( Julia ) who is the one actually controlling the dictator and the country , drafts Jonathan to play the dictator , having noticed the resemblance between them . Soon Jonathan is ensconced in the palace as Alphonse Simms , and Simms ' prostitute girlfriend Madonna ( Braga ) who realizes the switch promises to help him in any way she can . Mazursky , who appears in drag as Simms ' mother , gives us a look at how the CIA operates in third world countries . The Winters character , supposedly a salesman , is actually a CIA operative . The film , however , flirts with but doesn't really tread on very serious ground and is more of a send-up , and a funny one at that . Richard Dreyfuss does a fabulous job as Jonathan the actor and Alphonse the dictator , creating two separate characters and nailing both . The gorgeous Sonia Braga is great as Madonna , and Raul Julia hands in a wickedly funny performance as Strausmann , the man behind the dictator . It's one of those performances where you never quite know what the character is thinking - he can be pleasant or turn psycho at any moment . Charo is on hand as a maid and manages to be funny and unobtrusive at the same time . A very good film , not a big blockbuster , but very entertaining .
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493,623 | 342,623 | 112,864 | 7 |
frightening for all the wrong reasons
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Unfortunately I just saw this film . I don't want to put in a spoiler so I'll just say - recent events make watching this movie terrifying and spooky , mostly because of the film's use of location . One scene in particular today takes on new meaning . It's interesting how the minute you put something on film , you date it so that even a few years later , it has ramifications beyond its original intent . Watch this if you dare and you'll see what I mean . As an entry into the " Die Hard " series , it's very good - Bruce Willis is always attractive and can keep a film going , and Jeremy Irons is an excellent villain . But the real villain here is history .
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493,891 | 342,623 | 56,447 | 7 |
okay drama
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William Holden and Clifton Webb star in " Satan Never Sleeps , " a 1962 drama also starring France Nuyen . It's directed by Leo McCarey - it's his last film . The story concerns a priest , Father O'Banion ( William Holden ) who comes to a mission in China to relieve an elderly priest , Father Bovard ( Clifton Webb ) . A young girl , Siu Lan ( Nuyen ) is in love with O'Banion and has followed him . The Communists seize the mission , and the leader rapes Siu Lan , who becomes pregnant . The priests have to make an effort to flee China before it becomes too late . Beautiful scenery is the highlight of this rather slow-moving story , as well as the beauty of young France Nuyen , who plays her part very well . Clifton Webb , as usual , does an excellent job as a tired old priest who is seeing his efforts at Christianity being rubbed out by the Communists , the leader being one of the boys he taught . Holden makes a handsome priest , but let's face it , there was never really anything very priestly about William Holden . One can never imagine such a man being celibate , which is probably why Siu Lan was following him all over the place . There is a major personality change toward the end of this movie that really renders it foolish - not that such a thing couldn't happen , but not in that short period of time . " Satan Never Sleeps " is not up to the standards of Leo McCarey , whose 43-year-career included " The Awful Truth , " " Bells of St . Mary's " and " Going My Way . " There are some good scenes , though , and the actors are likable .
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494,425 | 342,623 | 44,013 | 7 |
Shades of Rebecca
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Robert Young is one seemingly unlucky guy in " The Second Woman , " a 1950 film also starring Betsy Drake , Morris Carnovsky , John Sutton , Florence Bates and Henry O'Neill . This was probably a ' B ' noir ; like " Shining Victory " and " The Uninvited , " it is reminiscent of " Rebecca " - in fact , the beginning narration is basically a paraphrase of " Last night I dreamt I went to Manderlay . " This film even goes so far as to have Florence Bates playing Drake's aunt ; she was Mrs . DeWinter's employer in " Rebecca . " Drake is Ellen Foster , a young woman en route by train to visit her aunt when she meets her aunt's attractive neighbor , Jeff Cohalon ( Young ) . He's built a fantastic house that , her aunt informs Ellen , no one has ever been in . He built it for his bride-to-be , and she was killed in a car accident before the wedding . Since then , several people - his almost father-in-law , Ben ( O'Neill ) , to whom Jeff is like a son , and a psychiatrist , Dr . Hartley ( Carnovsky ) have been concerned about Jeff . He seems absent-minded and moody . Then strange things begin to happen to Jeff - he has to shoot his horse when it breaks its leg apparently while in its stall ; his dog dies ; the color on a painting he owns suddenly fades ; and roses he brings into the house die immediately . Ellen , who works with actuarial tables , is darn suspicious - there is too much bad luck , and either Jeff himself or someone who wants him destroyed is behind it . " The Second Woman " is a decent film with good , if unexciting , acting . Robert Young made several noirs in the ' 40s , and he did them well - you really don't know here if he's sinister or if he's a victim . Drake is a bland costar . Carnovsky , O'Neill , Sutton and Bates give good support . Sutton strikes the right note as a man who hates Jeff . Like dozens and dozens of post-World War II , there is an emphasis on psychology . Considering what our soldiers went through in World War II , it's not surprising that it was a hot topic . Here the big word is paranoia . But as anyone will tell you , just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone's not out to get you .
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494,505 | 342,623 | 95,665 | 7 |
You do something to me
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Anthony Edwards is " Mr . North " in this 1988 film with a star-studded cast that includes Lauren Bacall , Robert Mitchum , Tammy Grimes , Angelica Huston , Virginia Madsen and Harry Dean Stanton . North is a young Yale graduate who comes to Newport in the 1920s and changes the lives of those he meets in a positive way while working odd jobs . With his peculiarity of having a body that can store electrical charges , he gets the reputation of a healer , something he attempts to run from but can't escape totally . With his help , one man ( Mitchum ) with a bladder problem is able to finally leave his house after years of being an invalid ; a young housemaid ( Madsen ) is reunited with her wealthy boyfriend , an elderly woman gains comfort from his words , and a young girl ( Mary Stuart Masterson ) is cured of her migraines . This is a small and entertaining film with a delightful performance from Edwards as a sincere person who cuts through all of the Newport shallowness and class distinctions . The dialogue is somewhat flowery , which Mitchum had a bit of trouble handling - that kind of dialogue really needs an accent of some kind , which just about everybody else possessed . What made Anthony Edwards so good on " ER " was his naturalness and likable personality - Mr . North is definitely a role well-suited to him .
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495,145 | 342,623 | 88,036 | 7 |
Hot Samson , shorn or unshorn
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This movie heralded the " introduction " of bona fide Australian adonis Antony Hamilton , though he had done television and a low budget cult film , " Nocturna " previously . Hamilton in various stages of undress is the only reason to watch this film - - which is a good enough one - - though in the version I saw some of the body parts were vaselined out . The dialogue is 20th century American dreck ; Victor Mature , the movie star Samson , gives an embarrassing performance eating a chicken leg ; and Belinda Bauer is no Hedy Lamarr and let's face it , Hedy Lamarr was not the most exciting actress to hit the screen , even if she was one of the most beautiful . This movie concentrates on bodies making out in the pool , a near-naked Samson getting tossed into the lake by his buddies , love-making between nearly naked Samson and nearly naked Delilah and good looks at Samson's muscles throughout . As far as I'm concerned , this is a no miss , having nothing whatsoever to do with the story . It is depressing , however , to realize that Hamilton died at such a young age and , all kidding aside , that is a very sad loss .
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495,114 | 342,623 | 35,250 | 7 |
Joan as patriot
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Decked out in gowns and outfits designed by Irene , Joan Crawford plays the French version of Scarlett O'Hara with her " Oh , war , war , war " grumbling until she has to duck a bomb while on vacation . Returning to Paris , she finds her house commandeered by the Nazis . She gets only one room for herself and those gowns . In the meantime , her boyfriend , played by Philip Dorn , seems to have gone over to the dark side and is living high . Once she realizes that , she refuses to have anything to do with him . Her patriotism for her country comes to the surface when she helps an RAF pilot on the run , played by John Wayne . Despite some of the other comments on the film , I rather enjoy the handsome Wayne out of his spurs and boots . Because of Wayne , Crawford has to make it look like she's reuniting with her old beau , who has the power to arrange to get him out of the country . Very entertaining .
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493,810 | 342,623 | 78,163 | 7 |
Peter Sellers ' last Panther
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Peter Sellers is once again Inspector Clouseau in " Revenge of the Pink Panther , " a 1978 film also starring Herbert Lom , Dyan Cannon , Robert Webber and Robert Loggia . A mobster decides to get Clouseau out of the way with disastrous results for everyone around the clumsy detective . In one of the best scenes , Clouseau picks up a good-looking woman , ladies man that he is , but she turns out to be a transvestite . Clouseau is forced to change clothes with her and is left on the highway . When the car crashes , the dead body is identified as Clouseau's , and the world mourns , with one exception - Clouseau's superior , Dreyfus ( Lom ) who feels that now , he can start living again . Forced to give the eulogy and on the verge of a psychotic break , Dreyfus keeps laughing as he speaks . A great scene . When Clouseau returns to his house , he finds that Cato , believing him dead , has turned it into an Asian brothel , making for more hilarity This isn't the best Blake Edwards-Peter Sellers collaboration , but it has some great moments . There is a tremendous amount slapstick ; some of it is funny , and some goes a long way . Seeing Sellers as Clouseau , however , is always worth it .
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493,646 | 342,623 | 26,261 | 7 |
Bette Davis as a jinx in ' 30s melodrama
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Bette Davis plays a down and out actress who believes she curses everyone she becomes involved with in " Dangerous , " one of Davis ' Oscar-winning performances . It is in this film and the earlier " Of Human Bondage " that the Davis image really solidifies - high energy , strong , smoking , and smokin ' . If she seems at times a little over the top , it can be attributed to the acting style of those days , which was a carryover from the stage . What Davis gives is very much a stage performance - with the invention of talkies , the studios raided the theater for actors who could speak , and Bette Davis was among them . Over the years , with the advent of television , acting has become more intimate , more natural , and Davis ' complaint about the newer approach was that it can also be boring . She never was . Davis costars in this film with Franchot Tone , who plays an architect that brings the Davis character out of the gutter , only to find himself face down in it himself . Smooth and classy , he's the type of leading man that one doesn't see anymore , and he's a good romantic lead for her . The lovely Margaret Lindsay is Tone's discarded fiancé , and there's a wonderful performance by Alison Skipworth as Tone's housekeeper . Davis , of course , draws all of the focus , with the fire in her eyes , the bite in her voice , and those flashes of vulnerability . She was always a fascinating screen presence , and she won't disappoint you in " Dangerous . " " Dangerous " is a little bit dated , but what isn't , 70 years later .
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494,845 | 342,623 | 26,264 | 7 |
World War I love triangle
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Frederic March , Merle Oberon , and Herbert Marshall comprise a love triangle in " The Dark Angel , " set in the grimness of World War I . Kitty ( Oberon ) has grown up with both Alan ( March ) and Gerald ( Marshall ) and knows the day will come when she must choose between them . She chooses Alan , but before they can be married , he's called back into service . With just a few hours left , she accompanies him to the meeting point for his troop and stays with him at the hotel . When Gerald , in the same troop , finds out that Alan was at the hotel with a woman , he turns against him , believing that he cheated on Kitty . He refuses him leave and sends him into treacherous battle . Merle Oberon gives a touching performance as Kitty . She's very beautiful and has a lovely presence . Both March and Marshall are very good , March having the more histrionic role . " The Dark Angel " comes off as dated and there's very much a " stiff upper lip , old chap " feeling about it . It's frustrating to see the Alan character behave as he does , but this of course keeps the viewer interested , and Oberon and the supporting characters infuse the atmosphere with warmth . Worth it to see these classic stars . " The Dark Angel " is an old chestnut but a worthy one .
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494,999 | 342,623 | 35,272 | 7 |
The forerunner of Chicago
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There was a real Roxie Hart , and in 1942 , she was played by none other than Ginger Rogers with red hair . It's basically the same story as " Chicago " with some changes . What remains the same is that Roxie is a darling of the press , and her trial is a media circus . The difference here is that Roxie didn't shoot anyone , and she and her husband do divorce . Also , the matron doesn't have a song . Roxie's story is told in flashback by a reporter ( George Montgomery ) who has avid listeners in a coffee shop , particularly the man behind the counter ( William Frawley ) - who we see as the story continues was actually on the jury ! As in " Chicago , " Roxie loses the limelight when a fresh news story comes along , but she manages to get the crowd back when she announces she's pregnant . Ginger is great as Roxie and dances " The Black Bottom " and taps up a storm . She's very sassy and flirtatious , seemingly having a good time . Adolphe Menjou is just right as Billy Flynn , who knows every trick in the book to get Roxie declared not guilty . The film has a wonderful group tap number , too , which is excellent . All in all , a fun ride , with a great ending . Fans of " Chicago " will find the film interesting and entertaining .
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494,103 | 342,623 | 43,959 | 7 |
Two pros in a lively western
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Tyrone Power and Susan Hayward star in " Rawhide , " a 1951 western about convicts who take over a stagecoach station and plan to rob a morning stage carrying gold . The film sports an excellent cast , including Edgar Buchanan , Hugh Marlowe , Dean Jagger , and Jack Elam . Hayword and her niece are held over at the station because of possible danger ahead . When she and the child go into the canyon to bathe , she takes Power's gun . When the robbers come on the scene , she hides behind the cattle troth , but the baby cries and reveals her position . She drops the gun there . Back at the station , the criminals assume that Power is her husband . The two now have to figure out how to get out of their situation with no gun . This is a very suspenseful , sometimes violent , sometimes scary movie with Marlowe in the unusual role of being an educated , cold-blooded killer trying to manage his motley crew . Elam is menacing as a foolish , oversexed villain , with Dean Jagger and George Travis being appropriately moronic . Edgar Buchanan has a small role , appearing only in the beginning of the film . Susan Hayward is beautiful and a real firecracker in her role . She and Power worked well together , appearing also in " Untamed " later on . Power is 10 years too old for his part - he's supposed to be a young man learning the business . " When the green wears off and you get a little older . . . " Hugh Marlowe says to him - Power was 37 and , by old west standards , not young . The script was not changed to accommodate him . At this point in his career , he was anxious to fulfill his obligations to Fox and probably didn't make a fuss about it . He does an excellent job in the role of a man in a difficult situation nevertheless and looks very handsome . The character is a bit of bumbler at first , and Power carries this off in an amusing manner . Surprisingly good , and I think non-western fans like myself will enjoy it , and the final scene will keep you on the edge of your seat .
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493,754 | 342,623 | 43,955 | 7 |
Crime film based on play
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The Racket is a 1951 film based on an old play . It was first made in 1928 . This time around , it stars Robert Ryan and Robert Mitchum and is directed by James Cromwell . The other stars are Lizabeth Scott , Robert Hutton , Ray Collins and William Talman ( both of whom were regulars on " Perry Mason " ) . Robert Mitchum plays McQueeg , a police officer trying to keep his city and force free of corruption . It isn't easy with a crooked DA ( Collins ) and a loose cannon like thug Nick Scanlon ( Ryan ) around - even the other mobsters don't want him . When one of his best officers ( Talman ) is killed at headquarters , McQueeg becomes all the more determined to get Scanlon . The corruption in the city is shown as going right up to the top , with Don Porter giving orders for " the old man " and making sure that the machine stays well oiled . A dedicated , honest police commander is the last thing they want . Lizabeth Scott portrays a lounge singer in her usual smoky way , and Robert Hutton is a reporter who falls for her . Scott was beautiful and had a great screen presence , but she wasn't a big dramatic actress . Believe it or not , she was only 29 in 1951 and her " big " career days were over - that's the way it was back then if you were a beauty . Hutton ( Barbara Hutton's cousin ) , who always reminds me a little of Jimmy Stewart , was an okay actor , but his career never really took off . Nevertheless , he worked constantly and said his life in Hollywood was a wonderful fantasy . Mitchum is stalwart in the lead . It's said that as RKO players , the scripts would be brought into the annual Christmas party , thrown on a table , and Mitchum would take half and Robert Ryan would take the other half . The actors weren't really interchangeable , but you can see how they would be in some of the films they did . Interesting film .
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494,709 | 342,623 | 56,347 | 7 |
Another take on the famous Leroux novel
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Each " Phantom of the Opera " deviates somewhat from the Leroux novel - with the original silent film with Lon Chaney perhaps being the exception . In the ' 40s Nelson Eddy version , the police chief and an operatic baritone are Christine's suitors instead of Raoul ( though the baritone is named Raoul ) and it's hinted that the Phantom is her father . His acid in the face was the result of a misunderstanding at the music publisher's . In this particular " Phantom , " from Hammer Studios , the Phantom ( Herbert Lom ) has an Igor-type assistant , and here Christine's suitor is the manager of the opera house ( Edward de Souza ) . There is also a real villain , a plagiarist in the form of Lord d'Arcy ( Michael Gough ) . Most notably , it has a production of " Joan of Arc " with music written by Edwin T . Astley that is actually very pretty and beautifully sung . Everyone does a terrific job in this - Gough is hateful as the supposed composer of the opera ; de Souza is a hunk and a good romantic interest for Christine ; and Heather Sears as Christine is very sweet and , like all Christines , lacking the diva quality her rival has . In this film , the rival singer is a very minor role . The dubbing of the voices is wonderful . Herbert Lom , normally a comic character in the " Pink Panther " series , is a great phantom , performed at a time when the Phantom didn't have to be better-looking than the ingénue . The Phantom is not a huge role in this film , but an effective and highly sympathetic one . He seems a little less nuts than some of them , though he's clearly not completely there . The final scene of this film is very exciting , and the final picture very powerful and sad . This is a really excellent version with not much emphasis on the horror aspects of the Chaney film . It has good production values and is very well directed .
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495,199 | 342,623 | 35,317 | 7 |
Sherlock Holmes in World War II
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For the sake of propaganda during World War II , Sherlock Holmes was moved into the then-present . One of the results is " Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon , " starring a top Holmes , Basil Rathbone , along with Nigel Bruce , Lionel Atwill , Dennis Hoey and Kaaren Verne . It is Holmes ' assignment to deliver a scientist , Dr . Franz Tobel ( William Post Jr . ) and his weapon design to the British government before the Germans can get him . Once the man reaches England , however , his troubles are just beginning . Can Holmes decode the message Dr . Tobel left before falling into the hands of the vicious Moriarity , save the weapon and possibly the scientist too ? This is an effective Holmes story , set in the atmosphere of Switzerland and blackout England . The series worked just fine in the present day . It was not without its problems , but those problems had nothing to do with the time period . Whose idea was it to make Watson an idiot ? Nigel Bruce's characterization - aided and abetted by the scripts - has always been the false note . I much prefer the characterization of Edward Hardwicke in the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes series - there , he's attractive , intelligent and a believable companion for Holmes . In the Rathbone series , Holmes is often condescending and treats Watson like the bumbling fool that he is . However , in this particular film , Watson has a chance to be quite helpful in several parts . I admit to being a complete sap for Rathbone's recitation from Richard II - " . . . this blessed plot , this earth , this England " - I can't imagine how much it meant to the Brits watching the film in 1942 . Sherlock Holmes really served his purpose .
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493,726 | 342,623 | 39,110 | 7 |
An author meets her fictional hero in person - so she thinks
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Claudette Colbert chases a soldier " Without Reservations " in this 1946 film which also stars John Wayne , Don DeFore , and Ann Triola , with cameos by Louella Parsons , Cary Grant , Jack Benny , and Delores Moran as themselves . Colbert plays a best-selling author , Christopher Madden , who has written a book about the world post-war - it looks to be a combination of " Gone with the Wind " and " Atlas Shrugged . " En route by train to Hollywood to do the screenplay , she is extremely distressed to learn that Cary Grant will not be available to do the movie version and is writing a telegram to the producer when she comes face to face with her fictional hero in the flesh . He's a soldier named Rusty ( Wayne ) going to San Diego with his pal , Dink ( DeFore ) . She doesn't tell them her identity , giving her name as Kit Klatch . Kit decides she has to have Rusty star in the film so instead of boarding the train that will take her to L . A . , she gets on the train going to San Diego . This leads to all sorts of adventures for the threesome , and it's obvious that Kit and Rusty , despite very opposing political views , have fallen in love . Colbert is delightful as usual , and DeFore , kind of a Jack Carson type , is always pleasant to watch . The surprise for some will be John Wayne who's not riding a horse or wearing a cowboy hat . Frankly , this writer has always preferred him that way . I'm not a particular fan of westerns , and the plainclothes Wayne seems handsomer and less stiff somehow . He's playing the role of someone whose beliefs are close to his own in real life , i . e . , somewhere to the left of Genghis Khan , while the Colbert character is a socialist . Tall and handsome , he does the romantic scenes well ; one wishes he'd stayed out of the saddle more often . This is a light , fun comedy that takes place in a world that , like Kit , doesn't quite know which direction to take post-World War II . Sixty-one years later , we still haven't figured it out , and " Without Reservations " remains an entertaining film .
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494,917 | 342,623 | 35,082 | 7 |
Out of the nowhere , into the no place
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Director Fritz Lang was replaced by Archie Mayo as director of the 1942 " Moontide , " and one wonders if the film would have been any better with Lang at the helm . With a script by John O'Hara , it's all dry ice , cheap sets , night shots and little action . The great French film star , perhaps the greatest , Jean Gabin , plays Bobo , a dockworker who enjoys being a free spirit . He suffers from blackouts when he's drunk , which is used to advantage by a so-called friend of his , Tiny ( Thomas Mitchell ) , who gets money out of Bobo by hinting that he strangled a man in another town . When a waitress ( Ida Lupiho ) is rescued from the ocean after trying to commit suicide , Bobo covers for her so she won't be arrested . Eventually they fall in love . This doesn't fit in with the threatening Tiny's plans , as he wants Bobo to seek work elsewhere . The movie drags along , and it's easy to see the cheapness of the production throughout . It has a certain atmosphere , but it grows tired . It's a shame that Hollywood had no clue what to do with Jean Gabin , but seeing " Moontide , " it's easy to figure out why . With his thick build , weathered face , unruly hair and large nose , he wasn't the leading man material Hollywood was used to , and he was too much a star to be a character actor . Few actors possessed his raw sexuality and charisma , seen much more clearly in Pepe LeMoko and as his signature role , Maigret . It's not for nothing that Marlene Dietrich chased him all across Europe during World War II . He only stayed in Hollywood until 1943 and worked in France as a national institution until his death in 1976 . Lupino is very young , frail and pretty here and does a good job . Claude Rains as Nutsy , Bobo's friend , is good but wasted . Thomas Mitchell has the best role among the supporting players . It's a departure from his usual thick nice guys . If you're interested in Gabin , you'll want to see this . Otherwise , skip it .
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495,121 | 342,623 | 30,491 | 7 |
Lassie's producer as the heroine of many young girls
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Bonita Granville plays smart , courageous , spunky Nancy Drew in this programmer based on the novels by Caroline Keene . It's been a long time since I read any Nancy Drews , or since my mother read the books , but one remembers every detail . The roadster , her friend named George , her boyfriend named Ned , and the Drew housekeeper named Hannah . For reasons known only to the studio , Ned is now Ted ( guess they didn't like the alliteration ) , there's no George ( guess they didn't want a girl with a boy's name ) and the housekeeper is named Effie ( you tell me why ) . Nancy still has her roadster . The Nancy Drew mysteries are wonderful reads , and this film was fun to watch , even with the little changes . Bonita Granville , who , as Bonita Granville Wrather became the producer of the " Lassie " TV series , certainly looks like Nancy ( who in the books was always having " luncheon " ) . I had always envisioned while reading the books a more sophisticated , less madcap Nancy , but Granville's energetic ( almost hyper ) characterization fits a film portrayal well . Ned is a little bit of a goof , but a smart one . John Litel was right casting as Carson Drew , Nancy's father , a widower who didn't date . The plot can be figured out in the first ten seconds , but these movies were for the teen-aged audience who knew the books . Very enjoyable , and a slice of ' 30s life which is no more .
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494,578 | 342,623 | 52,700 | 7 |
Another version of the Leopold & Loeb case
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The murder committed in the 1920s by two young men , Leopold & Loeb , has been story fodder for years . There was , of course , Hitchcock's ROPE , the independent film SWOON , and a musical , THRILL ME , which recently played at the York Theater in New York . This version stars Dean Stockwell and Bradford Dillman as the killers who believed that they were supermen as described by Nietzsche . Though their homosexuality can only be hinted at , it's pretty apparent . Stockwell likes Dillman to order him to do things , and at the beginning , the Dillman character orders him to run someone over . He does it . They move on to kidnapping and murder next . They have no emotional attachment to their crime , no sense of morality , and no remorse . As brilliant as they believed they were , they're caught pretty quickly . Clarence Darrow is brought in to defend them . They get a life sentence instead of death by hanging . Loeb was murdered by another inmate in 1936 ; Leopold died in 1971 . The two remained very much attached to one another . " Compulsion " is a fictionalized version of this story . Though set in the ' 20s , it somehow has a modern feel to it - perhaps it was the dialogue , the demeanor of the young men , but I never bought for a single second that we were in the ' 20s . The cast is uniformly excellent . Bradford Dillman is sharp , cocky , energetic , and totally unlikeable as " Arthur Strauss , " the brains of the operation , and Dean Stockwell is excellent as the submissive genius Judd . E . G . Marshall plays the district attorney , and Martin Milner gives a good performance as a reporter . Diane Varsi is Milner's love interest who takes pity on Judd . She is not very effective . Orson Welles shows up as the Darrow character , renamed here as Wilk , toward the middle of the film . He gives a powerful performance and has a huge speech to the judge at the end . Apparently , Welles only cooperated up to a point . Everything was fine until the IRS took his salary . He left before the looping for the film was finished , and the director , Richard Fleischer , had to put the missing part of the speech together from other parts of the movie , using words and even syllables . Welles was probably as detached from " Compulsion " as the characters were to their crime , but he has the technical ability to be very convincing in his role . " Compulsion " is an unsavory story , but the acting is good and the film won awards at Cannes . It's worth watching .
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493,641 | 342,623 | 35,100 | 7 |
very funny Bob Hope movie
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After swooning for quite some time on his radio show about Madeline Carroll , the actress , enjoying the publicity , approached him about being a guest on his show . Hope suggested that instead , they do a film together . The result is the delightful " My Favorite Blonde " about a British spy , Carroll , trying to deliver a coded message to Los Angeles . Attempting to escape German agents , she barges into a theater dressing room inhabited by Hope , who is performing as straight man to a penguin . Hope is a riot , with the wisecracks coming quickly throughout the film , and Carroll is a good leading lady for him - classy , serious , and the character she plays is game for anything to reach her goal . Gale Sondergaard has precious little to do - one wonders if her role was cut ; Dooley Wilson has an unspoken bit on the train ; and Bing Crosby directs Hope to a bus in one scene . Hope starts to walk away from him , stops , takes a beat and says to himself , " No . It couldn't be . " There are other in jokes as well - Hope turns the radio to his own show and turns it off , commenting , " I can't stand that guy . " As someone who was a young adult in the ' 60s , it wasn't kosher to like Bob Hope because of his politics , but I've always enjoyed his film performances . " My Favorite Blonde " is one of his best .
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494,594 | 342,623 | 52,713 | 7 |
Asian detective and white partner fall for the same woman
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Sam Fuller directed " The Crimson Kimono , " starring Glenn Corbett , James Shigeta , Victoria Shaw and Anna Lee , and this 1959 film is not your usual detective noir . Corbett and Shigeta are Charlie Bancroft and Joe Kojaku , buddies from the Korean war and now partners in the LA Police Department , investigate the death of a stripper . In the course of that investigation , they meet a beautiful artist ( Shaw ) and both men fall for her ; she in turn falls for the gentle and intelligent Joe . This tests the relationship of the two men , and when Joe sees Charlie's reaction , he assumes it comes from Charlie's latent racism . This is an odd film , not as good or as well done as Fuller's Pickup on South Street , but good nonetheless . Part of its success is due to the persona and performance of James Shigeta , for a time one of the biggest Asian-American stars ever . " The Crimson Kimono " was the first feature film for both Shigeta and Corbett , and they handle their assignments well . Fifty years later , Shigeta is still working ; Corbett worked steadily until his death in 1993 . Anna Lee is on hand giving a vigorous performance as an alcoholic artist ; the late Victoria Shaw is beautiful but doesn't register much as Chris , the love interest of both men . There are a couple of problems with this ambitious script , one being Joe's claim that he had never experienced racism . That's impossible if he was in California when World War II broke out ; it's a naive statement he wouldn't have made . The other problem is that all of the love connections seem instantaneous , though that seems to be a very " noir " thing . Nevertheless , the story holds interest , the performances are good , the atmosphere authentic , and Sam Fuller always has something to say , if only we'd listen
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493,928 | 342,623 | 87,932 | 7 |
Good acting and gritty atmosphere the stars of this film
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Mickey Rourke is " The Pope of Greenwich Village " in this 1984 film also starring Eric Roberts , Geraldine Page , Kenneth McMillan , Darryl Hannah and Burt Young . Rourke is Charlie , who , with his cousin Paulie , rob a mobster with the help of a safecracker ( McMillan ) . Both Rourke and Roberts are in fine form against the New York background . Everything about this film is seedy . The detectives all look out of shape and overtired , everybody has smoker's skin or a drinker's red nose . As Charlie , Rourke wants a big score so he can buy a restaurant , but his fatal flaw is listening to his idiotic cousin Paulie , a total loser and a weakling , who gets him involved in the robbery of a vicious mobster where a cop is killed at the scene . The attractive Rourke uses his sweet smile to good advantage and underplays ; it's a shame he underwent such severe plastic surgery and took his career off track . Roberts plays Paulie as completely pathetic , so pathetic that at times , he's funny , even when his circumstances aren't . The mob movies were in their heyday when " The Pope of Greenwich Village " was made , so it probably got lost in the shuffle . It's not a big film , but the acting and locations are impressive . Look for Geraldine Page in a small but showy role as the dead cop's mother , a woman who can handle the police better than anyone .
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494,912 | 342,623 | 38,922 | 7 |
Slow and very sentimental
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Sentimental Journey is a 1946 film starring Maureen O'Hara , John Payne , Connie Marshall , Cedric Hardwicke and William Bendix . Set in New York City , it's the story of an actress , Julie Beck ( O'Hara ) and her director / producer husband Bill Wetherly ( Payne ) . They have an idyllic marriage , but Julie has a precarious heart condition . Realizing she may die and leave her husband alone , she wants to adopt a child . She meets Hitty ( Marshall ) , who was very much like her as a child , filled with fantasies and dreams , and the two hit it off immediately . However , her spoiled and somewhat jealous husband finds he isn't totally happy with the arrangement . " Sentimental Journey " is a slow-moving film with a very attractive cast . It's not for people who , as Margo Channing said , " detest cheap sentiment . " Whether you like the movie or not , you'll find yourself drawn into the story , so have a box of tissues nearby . I blubbered like a baby . Maureen O'Hara is stunningly beautiful and gives a very gentle performance as Julie ; handsome John Payne is just right as her husband , a man whose world centers around his wife . William Bendix has a film-stealing role and is terrific as Donnelly , an associate of Bill's and friend of the family . His sense of comedy is great . Cedric Hardwicke is too much of a big gun to play a small part like the doctor ; he plays it beautifully , but he's wasted . Connie Marshall is Hitty . She's not only adorable , but she has to run a gamut of emotions and pulls it off very well . Nice movie .
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494,042 | 342,623 | 38,924 | 7 |
British psychological drama
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Ann Harding is a young girl who must take off " The Seventh Veil , " referring to the last veil of Salome , in this 1945 psychological drama also starring James Mason and Herbert Lom . Harding plays Francesca , who becomes the word of Nicholas ( Mason ) , a friend of her father's , when she is a young girl . Learning of her musical talent , Nicholas molds her into a first-class concert pianist , and she launches on a career . All the while , she is completely under his control . When she fell in love with a jazz musician , Nicholas took her to Paris to study . Once her career is in full bloom and she is of age , she falls in love with an artist and runs away with him . A terrible accident hospitalizes her , and after a suicide attempt , a psychiatrist ( Lom ) begins to work with her , as she now believes she cannot ever play the piano again . This is a very well-done film with excellent performances . Mason is passive , mysterious and intimidating as Nicholas , a man who also has an edge of violence when pushed too hard . There is a scene where he stands backstage and watches Francesca play the piano ; his face softens as he smiles , and the character reveals more of himself . As Francesca , the pretty Harding has the right mix of submission and then passion when she needs it . Lom , ever the chameleon , does a wonderful job as the psychiatrist . The music played by Francesca throughout the film is fantastic as is the somewhat dreary atmosphere in which Francesca lives . The ending is too abrupt but also in a way satisfying . One hopes that both Francesca and Nicholas are on their way to becoming whole people . Highly recommended .
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493,661 | 342,623 | 233,322 | 7 |
An entertaining look at the life of a legend
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I must admit before my critique that I have a bias . It's because of Bette Davis that I fell in love with film . The movie was " Dark Victory , " and I only saw Part 1 on television , but it was enough . When I went to college , I was able to see many of her greatest films with my friends , and those movies stand side by side with some wonderful memories . Before her debilitating stroke , Bette Davis gave a highly entertaining interview which is incorporated into this British documentary . The portions in which she discusses her life and career are the best parts . The film clips are so grainy as to be distracting . Besides Davis , Geraldine Fitzgerald , Anne Baxter , Olivia de Havilland , and Joseph Mankiewicz are interviewed . The funniest section is Davis ' description of making the dreadful Beyond the Forest , about an unhappy woman who wants to get away from the husband and the town in which she lives . " My husband , " she says , " should have been Eugene Palette , a big fat character actor . Instead it was Joseph Cotten . Now , who could leave Joseph Cotten ? " Davis states she was too old for the character , but doesn't add some other problems ( besides the script ) : the character's name was Rosa Moline , so she had to wear a black wig . She also had to walk on hills and rocks wearing high heels . Age was the least of her problems .
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493,451 | 342,623 | 66,181 | 7 |
an old soul in a ' 60's musical
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Barbra Streisand , with no screen test , signed a three-film contract after her enormous Broadway success . " On A Clear Day , " based , of course , on the Broadway musical , was one of her projects . Streisand plays Daisy , a psychic young woman who , under hypnosis , reveals a different personality who lived in England in the 1800s . Yves Montand is her confused psychiatrist , who finds himself falling for Melinda , Daisy's Other . This is a fun film , which co-stars an absurdly young Jack Nicholson . The songs are great , particularly " Come Back To Me , " " What Did I Have That I Don't Have ? " and the title song . Not all of the songs from the show are in the movie , and there were some new songs added . Streisand is an adorable Daisy and an effective Melinda , mastering a British accent and wearing costumes only rivaled by Adrian's masterpieces in " Marie Antoinette . " She looks spectacular in all of them . The color in this film is eye-popping throughout , and the sets AND color in the period sections of " On a Clear Day " are amazing . Though a little on the long side , it's highly recommended .
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494,955 | 342,623 | 256,459 | 7 |
Very good performances highlight the story of " coming out "
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Ellen Muth is a teen who comes out as a lesbian , and Stockard Channing and James Naughton are her parents in " The Truth About Jane , " a Lifetime movie . This was an excellent movie dealing with the shame and pain of being different , the realization of who you are , and the difficulty in telling your loved ones you're gay . Jane is terrified of losing her parents ' love so she can't tell them the truth about her friendship with a lonely , unhappy girl , even after her parents are told they were spotted kissing . When she finally comes out , there is anger and denial at first . The performances in this movie are excellent all around , as is Muth's voice-over of the girl telling her story . The emotions ring true . Unfortunately , it's all a little too pat and probably not the actual experience of many young people acknowledging their gayness . Jane's mom has a best friend ( RuPaul ) who is a gay , and she also has a female teacher who admits that she is gay . So she has lots of support , and , since this is Lifetime , her parents come around . Definitely worth seeing and discussing , and I'm sure the film would be helpful to anyone faced with this situation . But as we know from real life , acceptance often comes at a higher price .
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494,492 | 342,623 | 43,813 | 7 |
Matchmaker , matchmaker
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The Model and the Marriage Broker is a great film find . It has one thing few films have - Thelma Ritter in the lead ! In this , she plays a marriage broker trying - and often succeeding - at matching up misfits . When she takes a model's ( Jeanne Crain ) purse by mistake and vice versa , the two end up in each other's lives , with Ritter dissuading Crain from a relationship with a married man by getting her involved with an eligible bachelor ( Scott Brady ) . Yes , believe it or not - even bald , fat character actor Scott Brady had his palmy days when he was considered a hunk . He was a slightly rougher version of Robert Wagner , in fact , and even had a fan club . Thelma is fantastic as a woman with a sad past who tries to make the future of others happier . The film is wonderfully directed by George Cukor and written by Charles Brackett . It's one of those dozens of films churned out by the studio back then . Nowadays , when the studios churn them out , they're $20 million flops and not little gems like this one . Jeanne Crain is lovely and the rest of the cast ably supports the leads : Jay C . Flippen , Zero Mostel , Michael O'Shea , Frank Fontaine , Nancy Kulp , and John Alexander . One comment disliked the character played by Brady , but you can't judge men by the standards of today . Like it or don't , the character was pure ' 50s . A delightful , heartwarming movie with a marvelous turn by Thelma , who no matter what part she had , was always a star .
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494,390 | 342,623 | 39,017 | 7 |
One of the more interesting entries in the series
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Terror by Night was made in 1946 and is a modern-day Sherlock Holmes film starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce . Since it's 1946 , there's no need for the usual war propaganda , which was the actual reason for this series . In this adventure , Holmes is on a fast-moving train to protect the famous " Star of Rhodesia " ( pronounced in that delightfully British way , " Rhodezia " ) . Almost immediately , murder and suspects abound when the Star is stolen . " Terror by Night " moves as quickly as the train , which we often see in shots as it races along the track . The problem that I have with this series is the character of Watson as portrayed by Bruce . He's portrayed as a dimwit and the object of derision . When Holmes pretends to be taking him seriously , it's the worst , and it makes Holmes look bad . It's not that way in the books , and it certainly isn't that way in the superior Jeremy Brett series , where Watason is played by an attractive man a good deal younger-appearing than Bruce whom one can believe is a doctor and a writer . Watson is especially dumb in this one , and the script has built into it a comic scene between him and a train passenger he comes up against . What these films always had going for them was atmosphere , interesting acting , and of course , Rathbone , whose age is starting to show in this one . He makes a wonderful Holmes , right up there with Brett , whose Holmes was given sumptuous productions and color . Rathbone makes it work on a small budget in black and white . Always enjoyable .
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494,822 | 342,623 | 47,679 | 7 |
A great look at being a career woman in the ' 50s
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Witness to Murder is a small but interesting film starring Barbara Stanwyck , George Sanders , and Gary Merrill . By 1954 , Stanwyck was 47 and no longer considered leading lady material . However , because she was such a great star and actress , she could still get good roles in big films , " Titanic " and " Executive Suite " being two that leap to mind . She could also , like Loretta Young , get stuck in B movies like this one and " Jeopardy . " " Witness to Murder " isn't so much a B movie as it is closer to what one was seeing on television by 1954 . And it's not a B cast . Stanwyck plays a career woman , Cheryl , of a certain age who sees a woman murdered in the apartment across from hers . The apartment belongs to an author , Albert Richter , who emigrated to America after the war . Cheryl reports the murder but no one believes her . Richter is too smooth and always one step ahead of her with the police . Cheryl is considered an hysterical single woman who has delusions because she isn't married and probably going through menopause , though this isn't out and out stated . Completely outrageous and no doubt what actually went on at the time . These assumptions were just taken for granted in the ' 50s . There was something really wrong with a woman who never married . Read LOSER . A woman's goal in life was marriage ; the career was just a stopgap until the ring was on the finger . What must it have been like for an intelligent woman to have that mantle put on her . In this film , the police detective ( Gary Merrill ) is interested enough in her to at least follow the case . All of the acting is very good , with Stanwyck really shining as someone determined to get the truth out , even if she has to do a little detective work herself . Sanders is very effective as the villainous Richter , and he's pretty scary at the end of the film . The last 15 minutes or so are exciting and will have you on the edge of your seat . This is actually a fairly derivative film bolstered by its stars . And you can't beat the opportunity to see the attitudes toward women played out in a realistic manner . Alas , there are still touches of it today .
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494,100 | 342,623 | 837,119 | 7 |
Actually one of the better episodes
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I had to chuckle at the previous review of this - obviously , the reviewer isn't familiar with this series and therefore can't possibly know that this is one of the better entries . Cathy Davis ( Lea Thompson ) ( Jane Doe in her role as a CSA agent ) is called by Darnell ( Joe Penny ) to help investigate the theft of a $150 million Vermeer painting at a Los Angeles museum , which previously belonged to a Jewish family and was taken by the Nazis . The daughter in the family , the only survivor and now quite elderly , has sold the painting to the museum . Discovering what happened to the original involves an insurance agent ( Elaine Hendrix ) , an art collector ( Phil Casnoff ) and a waitress ( Julianna McCarthy ) , a neo-Nazi ( Mark Rolston ) and a few others . The plot isn't bad , though elements of it can be figured out . The good thing about this episode is that there is very little of Cathy's banal family life - the fewer scenes at home , the better . If the series is to continue , let's hope that's a trend .
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493,766 | 342,623 | 43,782 | 7 |
A small drama with big names
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Joseph Cotten , Barbara Stanwyck , Louis Calhern , and Leslie Caron star in " The Man with a Cloak , " a 1951 thriller set in 1848 New York . A young woman ( Caron ) comes to New York to get money for her boyfriend's political cause from his grandfather ( Calhern ) . Grandpa is in the clutches of his ex-girlfriend turned housekeeper ( Stanwyck ) and a surly butler ( Joe De Santis ) who are waiting for the old man to die so they can get his money . The Caron character thinks they are trying to kill him , so she appeals to an apparent ne'er do well who hangs at the local bar , Dupin ( Cotten ) for help . This is a slow-moving story for sure , but Cotten has some great dialogue nonetheless . Stanwyck looks beautiful and is very good as the duplicitous woman . Alas , these are film careers on the wane , as evidenced by the smallness of the film . Caron is quite young and appealing , and of course , her star would go up and up . The ending has a twist that is quite fun . I have no idea if it's historically preposterous or not , but this movie needed a kick and it was a good one . Certainly worth seeing for its stars .
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494,262 | 342,623 | 21,778 | 7 |
Lots of fun and precode , too
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Dance , Fools , Dance is an early Crawford-Gable vehicle from 1931 . Crawford plays a Bonnie Jordan , a wealthy young woman whose life consists of parties , booze , and stripping off her clothes to jump from a yacht and go swimming . This all ends when her father dies and leaves her and her brother ( William Blakewell ) penniless . Bonnie gets a job on a newspaper using the name Mary Smith ; her brother goes to work for bootleggers . The head man is Jake Luva - portrayed by Clark Gable as he plays yet another crook . Later , of course , he would turn into a romantic hero , but in the early ' 30s , MGM used him as a bad guy . Not realizing that her brother is involved in illegal activity , Bonnie cozies up to Luva . Gable and Crawford made a great team . Her facial expressions are a little on the wild side , but that , along with her dancing , is one of the things that makes the movie fun . Look for Cliff Edwards , the voice of Jiminy Cricket , as Bert . It's always interesting to see the precode movies , and " Dance , Fools , Dance " is no exception .
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494,445 | 342,623 | 38,988 | 7 |
You can't go home again
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Due to a car accident , Van Heflin has to return to his home town in " The Strange Love of Martha Ivers , " and walks into a world full of blackmail and murder . 18 years earlier , he ran away from home the night his friend Martha's aunt was murdered while Martha , her friend Walter , and Walter's father were in the Ivers house . Now he returns to find Walter ( Kirk Douglas ) is the drunken district attorney and married to Martha ( Barbara Stanwyck ) , the richest woman in town - Iverstown is , after all , named after her family . Though Martha has never fallen out of love with Heflin , her husband thinks he's there to blackmail them because , though a man was hung for killing her aunt , it was Martha who did so while her aunt ( Judith Anderson ) was beating Martha's cat . In my opinion , she deserved to die . D . A . Douglas uses a troubled woman Heflin has met , played by sultry Lizabeth Scott , to attempt to drive Heflin out of town . But it doesn't work . A top-notch cast carries this intriguing story along . Heflin was evidently considered a matinée idol in his day - in both this and Possessed , women swoon over him . My mother loved him , so he must have had something . He was a good actor , with a smoothness and an engaging smile . And he plays the part with a certain ambiguousness - up to a certain point , you're not sure if he knows Stanwyck's guilty secret or not . Stanwyck , beautiful and elegant as the troubled Martha , does a great job playing a twisted sister if there ever was one ( though I still don't blame her for killing that miserable Judith Anderson ) . Douglas , in an early performance , holds his own well as the pathetic , wimpy Walter . Lizabeth Scott is lovely , sad , and vulnerable as Toni , the woman Heflin meets while in town . Very good mid-'40s film .
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495,036 | 342,623 | 61,405 | 7 |
So sixties
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Michael Caine as Harry Palmer comes up against the " Billion Dollar Brain " in this 1967 film also starring Karl Malden , Oscar Homolka , Francoise Dorleac and Ed Begley , directed by Ken Russell . Harry is dragged back into MI-5 , this time to get biological warfare out of the hands of the enemy . The enemy in this case is the lunatic Texas oilman Midwinter ( Ed Begley ) who's funding his own army to beat down Communism . He's planning on attacking Latvia , and one of the men working for him , Newbigen ( Karl Malden ) is controlling the movements of 30 agents working there . Except there aren't - Newbigen is pocketing the money . That's 30 agents at $30 , 000 a week . Midwinter also has these enormous computers that have tons of paper coming out of them and get fed info with punch cards - oh , the memories ! Bizarre and very sixties in its style , " Billion Dollar Brain " is filled with wild camera angles and lunatic crowd scenes , as well as some gorgeous Finnish scenery . The finale is fantastic . It's all completely insane and yet futuristic - the biological warfare , the bad intelligence , the Texas warmonger - let's face it , you could have those elements in a film today and they would all seem pretty timely . The anchor for all this madness is Michael Caine , whose underplayed Harry is laid back as he tries to figure out who's working for whom . Homolka is great as Stok , and Ed Begley portrays the mad Midwinter way over the top , which is totally appropriate for such a character . Smiling Karl Malden is effective as a man in love who only cares about getting his . Fast-moving and enjoyable .
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494,511 | 342,623 | 26,205 | 7 |
Red Dust and Mogambo waterlogged
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A good cast and lots of action highlight " China Seas , " a 1935 film directed by Tay Garnett and starring Clark Gable , Jean Harlow , Wallace Beery and Rosalind Russell . Gable plays Alan Gaskell who is captain of a ship sailing from Hong Kong to Singapore . He's in love with the refined Sybil Thorndike ( Russell ) and attempting to reform his some of his bad habits . He has a constant reminder of his former life , however , and that's his old girlfriend Dolly ( Harlow ) who wants him back . When the ship is hijacked by pirates looking for gold , Gaskell wonders how involved Dolly and her drinking buddy , MacArdle , were involved . Gable and Harlow worked extremely well together and give good performances here , and there's a lot happening - a typhoon and the pirate attack - which make for good adventure . Derivative but very enjoyable .
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494,592 | 342,623 | 70,653 | 7 |
No coming in from the cold for this crowd
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Handsome Alain Delon is " Scorpio " in this 1973 spy film starring Burt Lancaster and Paul Scofield , and featuring John Colicos , Arthur Hil and Joanna Linville . Cross is an old CIA agent who assassinates foreign officials the U . S . needs out of the way . His some time parter is Jean Laurier , aka Scorpio , a freelancer . Scorpio is given the order to kill Cross - the agency feels he knows too much . Cross is very clever , but Scorpio knows him well enough to anticipate some of his moves . The two men play an international game of cat and mouse , and along the way , there are casualties . This is a compelling if somewhat slow thriller , very typical of the spy films one saw in the ' 60s and ' 70s . What makes this one is the locations - having been to Vienna , I sat across from the opera house in the exact place where one scene was shot . The streets , the hotel lobbies and the rooms were unmistakably European . The cast is excellent , with Lancaster doing a great job - and his own stunts at the age of 59 - as a down to earth , tired agent . Scofield is effective as Zharkov , a Communist friend who helps Cross , and John Colicos is very good in a typical role for him as Cross ' cold-blooded boss . Delon isn't quite in the league of these actors - he brings a kind of lethargy to his role and is almost too internalized , plus his accent is quite thick , so some of his dialogue is difficult to understand . You can't beat him for eye candy , though . I've enjoyed other spy films better , but this one , written by David Rintels ( my cousin's brother-in-law ) is good with the right atmosphere and some dandy performances .
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495,188 | 342,623 | 43,769 | 7 |
Story of an early film pioneer
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There were undoubtedly many people working on some of our most important inventions around the time they became prominent . William Friese-Greene spent his life working on the motion picture camera , and though he isn't the official inventor , he is someone who contributed his work to what became the final product . His story is told by an all-star cast ( even in tiny roles ) in 1951's " The Magic Box " starring Robert Donat and Maria Schell . Greene held the first patent on a motion picture camera , and financial problems , by which he was beset his entire life , caused him to sell his patent for 500 pounds . He also created a " Biocolor " system which won in a lawsuit against a system called Kinemacolor . This early color process was too expensive for commercial use , however . From what I can gather , Greene had good ideas that weren't very practical , and the film is basically about how he went from a highly successful photographer to a bankrupt inventor , and how his obsession with film and color controlled his life . Not mentioned is the fact that his son Claude Friese-Greene became a cinematographer and was very prolific in British films until his death in 1943 . He continued to develop his father's color process and produced a series of travelogues in the 1920s using this system . Robert Donat is excellent , but the film is not very interesting except to spot all of the huge British stars in minor roles , such as Laurence Olivier as a bobby . Some people are fairly dismissive of Friese-Greene , and his place in the creation of the moving picture is controversial . There's no question that today he is considered an early pioneer in moving pictures and in working with color . He was in touch with Edison regarding his work , and just because the credit goes to the individual who makes a product commercial is no reason to ignore the work of others . If this film makes people aware that a credited inventor isn't always the only inventor , so be it .
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494,564 | 342,623 | 39,337 | 7 |
Two tragic stars in a delightful fantasy
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There were many beautiful women during Hollywood's golden years , but only a small percentage would qualify as goddesses . Rita Hayworth was definitely one of that elite group , possibly never more stunningly beautiful as she appeared in " Down To Earth . " As Terpsichore , goddess of music and dance , she comes to earth to star - - and correct - - a Broadway show about Terpsichore . Several characters from " Here Comes Mr . Jordan " appear , with Roland Culver taking the Claude Rains ' role of Mr . Jordan . Larry Parks plays the producer-director-star , Danny Miller , who has to pay off a gambling debt with this show or die . Though the music isn't that memorable , the story is charming , and the film contains a lovely performance and great dancing by Hayworth ( whose voice is dubbed by Anita Ellis ) , and she's given excellent support by James Gleason , Culver , and Edward Everett Horton . Larry Parks , fresh from his star-making role in " The Jolson Story " does a good job but one wonders , had he not been blacklisted , what would have happened to his career . He wasn't a particularly strong leading man . But we'll never know , because a few years later , he was finished . As for Hayworth , it's a shame that someone so incredibly beautiful and vivacious , who brought so much happiness through her work , could have had such a miserable life - abuse by her father , a string of bad marriages , and finally Alzheimer's . It was her Alzheimer's that helped to bring the disease to national attention . Princess Yasmin Khan , Hayworth's daughter , has become an internationally known spokeswoman and active fund-raiser to increase awareness and finance research to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease . Besides her glorious presence , Rita had one more gift for the world .
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494,433 | 342,623 | 373,024 | 7 |
Derivative script lacks some punch
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Imaginary Heroes is a 2004 film starring Sigourney Weaver , Jeff Daniels , Emile Hirsch , Michelle Williams , and Kip Pardue . The story concerns a dysfunctional family that becomes even more dysfunctional when the oldest child ( Pardue ) commits suicide . " Ordinary People " has been mentioned often in relation to this film ; it's sort of " Ordinary People " with a role reversal . The mother in this case , Sandy Travis ( Weaver ) is more accessible than the father , Ben ( Daniels ) who is clearly devastated and unable to cope . Like " Ordinary People , " the younger son Tim ( Hirsch ) is the focus of the film . For me , the film was absorbing enough to keep watching but has a curious detachment about it . There were some wonderful interactions - mother and son , mother and neighbor , brother and sister ( Williams ) and some good offbeat moments . What never clicked was Ben being any part of that family or having any chemistry with Sandy . This seems to have been the goal of director / writer Dan Harris . In one scene in a grocery store , the checkout kid assumes Sandy is " about 30 " and gives her his phone number . In almost the next scene , Daniels asks Sandy if she wants plastic surgery for her birthday . Weaver was 55 when this film was made , actually probably 54 , and looks phenomenal . So what is Ben looking at ? However , there's something askew about Ben's complete detachment because the viewer doesn't really see how Daniels ever WAS attached to that family . The end has a couple of twists and also some very touching scenes . Everyone is very good , with Weaver and Hirsch being the standouts . There's not a tremendous amount of dialogue in this movie and lots of stares . The script could have been sharper . But " Imaginary Heroes " is a good effort .
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494,667 | 342,623 | 412,019 | 7 |
A man travels into his past to find an answer
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Bill Murray is a despondent bachelor who takes a trip into his past relationships in " Broken Flowers , " a 2005 film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and also starring Jeffrey Wright , Sharon Stone , Tilda Swinton , Jessica Lange , Christopher MacDonald , Chloe Sevigny , and Frances Conroy . I've been a fan of Jarmusch for many years , after seeing his brilliant , low-budget film " Stranger than Paradise . " I like his quirky characters and his humor , both of which are evident in this film . Murray plays Don Johnston ( people always think it's Johnson and giggle ) who is an emotional void - his expression never seems to change . After his last girlfriend leaves him , he receives a letter from an ex-girlfriend of 20 years ago , though he doesn't know which one , telling him they had a son together . His neighbor Winston ( Jeffrey Wright ) , a man with three jobs and five kids , is an aspiring detective , so he researches the past girlfriends and sets up an itinerary for Don to visit one and figure out which one had the child . The clues to look for are the color pink and an old typewriter . Like past films of Jarmusch's that I've seen , we meet a bunch of interesting people . There's the gorgeous widow Laura ( Stone ) and her daughter Lolita , who walks around nude in front of Don ; Dora ( Conroy ) , a nervous real estate broker with a pink business card and an exuberant husband ( MacDonald ) ; Carmen ( Lange ) , a divorced ex-lawyer who talks to the animals - for a living ; and Penny ( Swinton ) , somewhat of an ex-hippie who lives on a farm . Each ex has something pink in her life , making pinning down the mother difficult . Though he complains to Winston that he doesn't want to be on the trip , nevertheless , he keeps at it . " Broken Flowers " sounds like a beautiful film about China - so the title doesn't really tell you much - and what are broken flowers anyway ? Dead flowers . . . but broken ? The broken perhaps refers to the ex-girlfriends - but in most cases , we really don't learn enough about them to see why they're broken or even if they're broken . I didn't enjoy this film as much as Jarmusch's " Mystery Train , " the story of people going to Graceland who all stay in the same hotel . For one thing , it isn't anywhere nearly as beautifully photographed . There is some beautiful scenery and one stunning shot , when Don sits by a tree , flowers in his hand , near the gravestone of his ex-girlfriend Michelle . Most people will find this film way too slow , which it is , but somehow it is also intriguing . There is some very good acting - Murray is perfect for Don , and Jeffrey Wright gives a funny performance as the enthusiastic Winston . The women are all good but they have a problem in that their roles aren't suitably fleshed out . Perhaps this is the way Don sees them - but I have to agree with one of the posts , that there's just not enough story . An admirable effort but Jarmusch could have done a lot better . What he always has going for him are humor and characterizations ; what he often doesn't have is a great script so the results are at best inconsistent . If you want to become more familiar with his movies , I suggest " Stranger than Paradise " and " Mystery Train . "
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495,179 | 342,623 | 87,747 | 7 |
sweet film about immigrants in America
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Robin Williams is a Russian musician who defects in Bloomingdale's in " Moscow on the Hudson , " a film directed and co-written by Paul Mazursky . This is a warm , funny yet melancholy film about the experiences of immigrants trying to adjust to American life , focusing mainly on Robin Williams as Vladimir . Williams is excellent in depicting the wonder , the loneliness , the sadness , and the paranoia he experiences in his new country . He meets many other immigrants who have been in the U . S . for a longer time , including Maria Conchita Alonso , who plays an Italian salesgirl with ambitions of becoming a newscaster , and his immigration attorney , Alejandro Rey , in a marvelous performance . Once the honeymoon is over , Vladimir has to come to terms with never seeing his family again , the frustration of not yet being able to find work as a musician , the mean streets - and Russia starts to look good to him . This is a wonderful movie that depicts what newcomers to our country go through as they adjust to life here and gives one a new respect for our ancestors and for those immigrants we meet today .
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494,412 | 342,623 | 39,357 | 7 |
okay romance
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Ida Lupino is in love with Errol Flynn but Errol loves his brother's fiancé in " Escape Me Never , " a 1947 film from Warner Brothers . Flynn and Gig Young play brother composers Sebastian and Caryl Dubrok . Lupino plays Gemma , a poor young woman with a baby she calls Piccolo . She's in love with Flynn , and tells the beautiful , well-bred Fionella ( Eleanor Parker ) , Caryl's fiancé , that she's going to marry the composer Dubrok . Parker thinks it's Caryl and takes off . Carly , Gemma , Piccolo , and Sebastian set off to find her , singing and playing instruments for money as they go . Once they find Fionella , she falls for Flynn and vice versa . This movie is a remake of a film starring Elizabeth Bergner , and I have no idea why Warners chose it . The performances are good , with Flynn very handsome and charming , though signs of seediness were beginning to show . He plays a self-involved playboy with no practicality very well . Young has a somewhat thankless role as the less flashy brother . Lupino gives a sympathetic portrayal , though she's slightly miscast . The character is feisty but also more of an ingénue than Lupino , whose strong appearance and voice made her a leading lady almost out of the box . Unfortunately because she was at Warners , she had to take a back seat to Bette Davis much of the time . She had more in her than this role requires . Parker is excellent as a cool but lovely socialite . There's some great music by Wolfgang Korngold of Sebastian's opera " Primavera , " and some nice dancing . All in all , it's a small film that used sets rather than location . Not a great entry but some lovely moments from the stars .
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494,887 | 342,623 | 43,728 | 7 |
Entertaining comedy
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Greer Garson is the lady in question in " The Law and the Lady , " a 1951 film also starring Michael Wilding , Marjorie Main and Fernando Lamas . It's a loose remake of " The Last of Mrs . Cheyney . " Here , Garson plays a former British household maid at the end of the 19th Century who hooks up with the brother of her ex-employer . They sort of fall into a con game and decide to keep going with it . After being asked to leave several countries when they're discovered cheating at gambling , they travel to America and San Francisco high society . They set their sights on a wealthy woman ( Main ) and her necklace . Complications arise . This is a good movie with some very funny dialogue , especially in the beginning - when the lady of the house informs Garson she won't get a reference , she replies , " I won't be needing one . I intend to become a lady , and there are no character references necessary for that . " Garson plays her role in a very cool , offhanded manner that is very effective . Wilding is amusing as her partner in crime , and Main is a riot as a tough old rich widow . All in all , a very charming movie and worth seeing .
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494,753 | 342,623 | 39,305 | 7 |
entertaining post-war noir
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Dead Reckoning is a good , if not very original , film noir starring Humphrey Bogart as a paratrooper investigating his buddy's death . William Prince , who later was a more visible actor as a white-haired older man , has a small role as the buddy , who runs away when he learns he's about to receive the Medal of Honor . Later , he's found dead in his home town . There are the usual ethnic stereotypes - the de riguer black maid , the thug of Italian descent , and the torturing thug of German descent . The thug in this case is Marvin Miller , who later became the assistant of John Beresford Tipton on the TV show , " The Millionaire . " He got to give people $1 million tax free . With prices today , they'd probably all laugh in his face . Lizabeth Scott is the woman " Johnny " ( Prince ) was in love with . She's an actress I always found heavy on style and slight on substance . Beautiful , with a warm smile , and one of the best voices in films , she never exhibited the acting range of , say , Bacall , whom she seemed groomed to follow . In this role , she's not very believable , which is great for the noir films , in which she excelled . You really didn't know how involved she was or wasn't in the crime at hand . All in all , a very entertaining film with a solid performance by Bogart . Regarding the film's reference to the " Geronimo " cry that paratroopers made as they jumped , I asked an actual war paratrooper about this , and he said , " We were usually so scared we couldn't make a sound . "
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495,117 | 342,623 | 91,572 | 7 |
a lesser TV adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel
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Having read all of the Agatha Christie books , I have to say that David Suchet was the ultimate Hercule Poirot as written by Agatha Christie . But my favorite Poirot , having nothing whatsoever to do with either Poirot or what Ms . Christie wrote , is Peter Ustinov . It always reminds me of what someone once said about Zero Mostel in " Fiddler on the Roof " - " He's fabulous . . . but what he does has nothing to do with Fiddler . " Ustinov is a sheer delight in every way - he's funny , he's charming , he's warm , he's relaxed - all things that , frankly , Agatha's Hercule just wasn't . " Murder in Three Acts " is a slapped together TV movie without the usual star power except for Tony Curtis and several TV actors - the gorgeous Emma Samms , who was a big TV star in the ' 80s , Diana Muldaur , Concetta Tomei , Dana Elcar , Nicholas Pryor , and several others . The characters have been Americanized , and though set in Acapulco , aside from a few exterior shots , you don't get much atmosphere . Though the story is very interesting ( it is , after all , based on an Agatha Christie novel ) , the production has a certain blandness to it . You know there's a problem when Diana Muldaur announces that she and the Tony Curtis character did " Private Lives " together . Now , I happen to be very fond of Tony Curtis - I did research for his autobiography , he's on the cover of a book I wrote , I found him a very charming man - but come on , PRIVATE LIVES ? With that New York accent ? I don't think so . He does , however , look really fabulous , and if you watch the scenes in his house carefully , you'll catch some fantastic photos of him on the wall . It's an okay way to pass the time , and the plot is intriguing , Tony's Tony , Emma's beautiful and sexy , Nicholas Pryor is funny , and Ustinov is - well , he's Poirot even if he's not what Dame Agatha had in mind .
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