Radio review – Lux – “Strangers on a Train” (1954) ***

Bob Cummings in the Robert Walker part – and what do you know, he really steps up. There could be something creepy about Cummings’ performance at times (eg The Carpetbaggers) and he’s excellent as the murderous Bruno. Dana Andrews is solid in the Farley Granger part – although I prefer Granger’s weakness, it made the story more believable. Virginia Mayo takes over the Ruth Roman role as Andrews’ love interest. But during it I kept thinking of the visuals of Hitchcock’s film – the murder in the park, the tennis game, the finale with the carousel.

Radio review – Lux – “The Winslow Boy” (1954) ***

Ray Milland is excellent as the uppity lawyer based on Sir Edward Carson in this decent adaptation of the famous play. I wonder why they still kept the finale courtroom stuff as reportage like it was in the play – you think they’d open this up. Dorothy Macguire and Brian Aherne are solid in support – being an American version this is a lot less golly gee whiz spiffing in its execution.

Radio review – Lux – “You Came Along” (1945) **

Van Johnson is extremely well cast as one of three very close army buddies who go on a bond raising tour – their guide is Lizabeth Scott and romance ensues. Most of this is bright slangy dialogue, little plot – that only kicks in when it turns out Johnson is terminally ill. Lots of talk about living for the moment, etc – Scott doesn’t seem very interested in Johnson. The screenplay was originally written by Ayn Rand! When Johnson is introduced at the end some bobby soxers in the audience squeal – that’s the second time I’ve heard that on a radio show.

Radio review – Lux – “No Highway to the Sky” (1952) **1/2

I remember hearing the synopsis of this thinking “that sounds exciting, but how do they get a feature out of it” – an engineer who has a theory about a certain plane falling apart after X number of hours in the air, finds himself aboard that type of plane and the hours are about to be exceeded. Well, it turns out that’s only a portion of the story – the engineer throws a tantrum on board, but the flight goes ahead and lands safely, and the engineer finds himself arguing against people who think he’s crazy, Mr Deeds style. So it's appropriate that former Capra leading man James Stewart is in the lead; he's a believable boffin – though the role really should be played by an English star to have been more effective. There’s a weird subplot where he chats with an aging starlet on the flight and strikes up a friendship – though he has his romance with a stewardess.

Radio review – Lux - “Tomorrow is Forever” (1946) **

This was one of Orson Welles’ most popular films as a star, but unfortunately he wasn’t on hand to repeat his role – that task goes to Van Heflin, as a man so disfigured during World War I he decides to stay on in Europe, pretending to be dead… only to come back later and run into his wife (Claudette Colbert) and son (Richard Long). He’s got a kid in tow – played by Natalie Wood, who like Colbert and Long were in the film (Long was also in The Stranger). 

 

It’s sudsy melodramatic stuff which would have had more resonance at the time, with so many people going missing during the war.

Book review - "Blade Runners, Deer Hunters And Blowing The Bloody Doors Off" by Michael Deeley

Deeley was a giant in the British film industry of the 1970s - kind of like being a fantastic cricket player for New Zealand... His name always seemed to be associated in various books with disasters and bitterness (eg Stanley Baker losing all his money after they sold a building and being in business with Deeley, re-cutting The Wicker Man) - so it was good to hear Deeley's side of the story. And when you look at it, his credits really stack up - as he points out, no sequels or crappy rip offs. Deeley obviously had a lot of get up and go, tenacity and an eye for talent. He also seems to have had a great ability to annoy people - he's not a particularly likeable raconteur. But the British film industry would have been better off keeping him in charge of EMI.

Some decent anecdotes: raising funds for the mega-flop Where’s Jack? ("the star of Zulu, the director of To Sir With Love, the writers of Point Blank equals a hit"); Warren Beatty trying to have the love scene cut from Don’t Look Down; David Bowie being anti social but professional on The Man Who Fell to Earth; Vanessa Redgrave was going to star in Robbery; adding Jason Robards to Robbery as the as the mastermind of the robbery at the request of Joe Levine (to appeal to US audiences) but then cutting him out because it was silly; Peter Collinson’s disregard for safety on The Italian Job, resulting in the near death of some of the crew; just missing a plane flight which blew up while shooting Murphy’s Law; Peter Yates turned down The Godfather; taking Convoy off the hands of Sam Peckinpah (a big box office name for distributors in the 70s); dealing with Michael Cimino’s arrogance on Deer Hunter and Noel Coward’s infirmity on Italian Job.

Deeley doesn't try to sugar coat himself. He was friends with Peter Yates, but that ended after Murphy’s Law; friends with Stanley Baker but that ended when Baker was turfed from British Lion; friends with Barry Spikings but that ended. He bags Julia Ormond for being a pain on Young Catherine; Christopher Lee for bagging him over the cutting of The Wicker Man; Lew Grade for his crap films; Michael Cimino for being an arrogant, lying prat. Very entertaining read if you're interested in any of his films or the British industry of the 70s.

Movie review – “Facing Ali” (2009) ***

A different sort of take on the legend of Ali – this focuses on his opponents. Well, some of them – about ten, I think. Aussie Joe Bugner doesn’t make the cut or does that Chuck bloke who inspired Rocky, but there are ones like Joe Frazier, Leon Spinks, George Foreman, Ken Norton, Henry Cooper. None of them are as charismatic as Ali – no one has the same gift of the gab, or is as good looking, but they have interesting stories. Canadian George Chuvalo lost sons to drugs and suicide, George Foreman comes across as confident and happy (When We Were Kings says he was destroyed by the Rumble in the Jungle, but he came back), Leon Spinks looks like a mess, Ken Norton was an amnesiac for a number of years. A genuinely different sort of sports documentary.

Movie review - “Hot Tub Time Machine” (2010) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)

John Cusack rarely looked more bored than in this half-successful attempt to do a Gen X Back to the Future. It’s got a decent enough set up – four friends find themselves transplanted back to 1986 at what was a key weekend in the lives of all four – and some very effective moments: the baddies being convinced our heroes are Red Dawn style commies, Cusack’s sister being a tramp, Crispin Glover constantly almost losing his arm, some of the darkness, Jessica Pare in the hot tub, Cusack’s dream girl turning out to be an idiot.

 

 But they waste too much time with stupid vile humour (catheters, urine, etc), Cusack brings it down, they don’t figure out they need to get the special drink until too late in the film (Marty McFly in Back to the Future always had his goal of getting back). 

 

Also it’s really annoying that Cusack decides to go back to the future at the end – he had a horrible life. So he goes back and misses out on falling in love with Lizzie Caplan, having a great career and all this fun… He should have stayed in the past. It made sense the black dude went back because he loved his wife and the young kid had his life in front of him… but not Cusack. 

 

Also Michael Sheen’s character in 30 Rock was right – the science is dodgy.

Movie review - “Sword of Sherwood Forrest” (1960) **1/2

Hammer were famous for their horror films but they actually had a longer history of adapting stories from TV and radio into films – Dick Barton, Quatermass, Man About the House, etc. Here we have Richard Greene reprising his role as Robin Hood, which he played to great success during the 50s. Its bright and colourful, with a bland Maid Marian and undercooked plot, but plenty of action, impressive production design and a support cat that includes Peter Cushing (as the Sheriff of Nottingham – killed off too early) and Oliver Reed.

Radio review – SGT - “Torrid Zone” (1942) **

A rehash of Only Angels Have Wings with Jimmy Cagney as a tough talking fruit manager in Central American – yep this is a glorification of United Fruit, perhaps the most notoriously evil corporation in American history. Despite that nasty undercurrent there is fun to be had with squabbling show girls, bandits, etc.

Radio review – SGP – “Mr and Mrs Smith” (1942) **

Neither Errol Flynn nor Lana Turner were known for their comedy skills, but both scrub up well enough here, Errol in particular. It’s not the strongest material, even though from Norman Krasna – a married couple find out they’re not really married and they wind up squabbling, helped along by a friend of Errol’s who’s always wanted Mr Smith. Even at only half an hour it feels long going at times; Errol really tries – I’ve found myself saying that a lot about his comedies. It’s a back handed compliment – but still a compliment.

Movie review – “Kings Row” (1941) ****1/2

I have such a powerful memory watching this film on a hospital TV screen when my girlfriend was in intensive care following an accident. It was only then I realised the power of soap – tragedy hits people, but they go on, finding happiness when and where they can. This is a rich film of epic sweep and adult themes, one of the best depictions of the joys and pains of small town living. 

 

I’ve never forgotten the bit where Robert Cummings asks Claude Rains about doctor Charles Coburn, who is looking after Cummings’ grandmother; Cummings knows that Coburn is a sadist and asks Rains for his opinion – Rains goes quiet for a moment then says in his grandmother’s case Coburn will do a good job. That’s what you do in small towns – get along with people as best you can, even when you know their secrets.

 

It gets off to a great start with adventures among the kids – the heartbreaking moment where no one turns up to the girl’s party, the early signs of Coburn’s sadism. The scenes involving Maria Ouspensaka are schmaltzy but you kind of need that considering the hard edge of stuff that follows. Then when the kids grow up it raises a notch; you expect Ann Sheridan to be good, and she’s excellent, but Cummings and Ronald Reagan really step up to the plate, too. 

 

There are superb supporting performances by Claude Rains (a monster with a heart), Charles Coburn (a plain monster – terrifying), Judith Anderson (mother ignorant of her husband's evilness), Betty Field (crazy girl#1) and Nancy Coleman (crazy girl#2). There’s a touching romance between Field and Cummings, and Reagan and Sheridan – both cases it’s heavily implied they have pre-martial sex. 

 

You can easily read a homo-erotic relationship in between Reagan and Cummings, and an incestual one between Rains and his daughter – okay, yes, that’s because that was in the original book, but there are implications of it here. (This film stands as a rebuke to all those who think you can handle heavy stuff in a G rating.)

 

Many wonderful moments: the kids party; Rains having a quiet smoke the night he goes on to kill his daughter and himself; Sheridan asking her portly brother if Reagan can stay; Reagan discovering about his legs; Cummings coming home. The last twenty minutes do feel a little tacked on, particularly the romance with the new girl – I think this was unavoidable really if they wanted to give Cummings a romantic ending. But its generally superb work from everyone – what a marvellous adaptation from Casey Robinson, direction from Sam Wood and James Wong Howe’s photography.

Movie review – “Bury Me an Angel” (1972) *

Famous for being a biker movie directed by a woman, Barbara Peeters, and you can tell a woman’s touch: it has an empowered female heroine, boys are objectified as much as girls, the women aren’t victims, a witch character isn’t treated disdainfully, due deference is paid to the trauma of rape and murder, lots of talk about the bad karma of seeking revenge (the plot is a girl avenging her brother’s murder), a sensitive art student (Dan Haggerty) as a lover. There’s a kind of twist where it’s said the sister and brother had incest, but too much of this is boring shots of driving and flashbacks where nothing much happens.

Radio review – TGA#36 – “Payment Deferred” (1946) ***

This helped Charles Laughton make his name as an actor in the early 1930s so it’s a delight to hear him repeat the role, especially with Elsa Lancaster playing his wife. He’s a greedy lower middle class type driven to murder of a long-lost cousin, who’s loaded – and from Brisbane, Australia! He doesn’t get away with it, due to his wife’s sincerity and the sluttishness of his daughter. Very entertaining with Laughton giving a strong performance, and memorable ending with Lancaster arranging for Laughton to be blamed for her death.

Movie review – “Final Cut: The Making and Unmaking of Heaven’s Gate” (2004) ***1/2

One of the most famous – if not the most famous – movie flops of all time deserved a good making-of doco and it got one. Some great interviews: Jeff Bridges, Brad Dourif, Steven Bach, David Field (UA exec at the time), Kris Kristofferson, various crew. Michael Cimino didn’t agree to be interviewed but there’s plenty of archival footage involving him. This isn’t a Cimino bash by any means – everyone comments on his dedication and determination to make the best possible film, but also point out this meant he didn’t really care about things like budget and schedule. The executives at UA such as Bach acknowledge their inexperience – I can see why they let things go overboard in Montana, but even after they cracked the whip, why did they then let Cimino shoot the Harvard sequence. It makes no sense. I hate the way critics tore the film a new one when it came out then turn around and say the re-cut version was better; blaming everything on the studio was incredibly childish.

Radio review – BP#23 – “Skylark” (1952) **

A popular 1940 stage hit, and you can see why, even if it isn’t very funny. No doubt New York audiences lapped up this tale about a well-off married couple, trying to keep the fire going after ten years; the woman can’t have kids, and would love for hard working hubby to take some time off – she’s tempted into a dalliance with a dashing lawyer who’s also the lover of a powerful married woman. This is quite saucy stuff from American theatre, with all it’s talk of affairs – it’s set in the world of advertising, and all the talk about sex and accounts reminded me of Mad Men. Very light and frothy, lacks some decent jokes and is heavily cast dependent; the playing here by June Havoc and Donald Cook isn’t that good.

Radio review – Lux – “Tom, Dick and Harry” (1941) **1/2

After listening to a couple of Ginger Rogers performances I thought she was under-rated, but then I heard this, where she mugs and has an attack of the cutes, with a silly voice. Maybe she was trying to give a bit of variation to her career girl performances; her character is less hard edged than other Rogers roles. 

She plays a girl given to day-dreaming who is torn between three men: ambitious Tom, rich Dick (played by Aussie Allan Marshall) and man of the people Harry (Burgess Meredith, not the first actor you’d think to play a romantic lead, but effective). No doubt shop girls and secretaries lapped this up at the time – a girl next door having three men fighting over her - as their equivalents would do if the film was remade today. Presumably they didn’t mind Ginger going off with a poor guy at the end. 

The fantasy sequences don’t work as well on radio.

Radio review – Lux – “Now Voyager” (1943) ***

If you needed proof of the differing abilities of Ida Lupino and Bette Davis check out this version of the famous woman’s film, which has Lupino in the lead. The basic story is still good – it’s different she doesn’t wind up with the guy at the end, but the child. (It’s very possible to do a gay reading of this film, with it’s repressed spinster heroine, forbidden love, oppressive mother figure.) Paul Henreid repeats his film role and is a bit bland to be honest – but then he tended to be bland on screen as well. Claude Rains’ absence is felt in the role of the shrink; for some reason, Warners made a couple of shrinks-are-good films around this time, such as Kings Row. Shrinks are often good in women’s films, I guess.

Radio review – Lux – “Stage Door” (1939) ***1/2

The Kaufman-Ferber play was altered substantially on its way to the big screen, although the central situation remains: conflict in an actor’s boarding house, the desperate and struggling girls, leading up to the suicide of one of the girls. Ginger Rogers repeats her film performance, and she’s really good – listening to a couple of Ginger Rogers’ performances on air, it struck me she never got her due as an actor, maybe because she played a lot of girl next door parts at a time when grand acting was thought to be dead queens and terminally ill (nothing’s changed, really). Garson Kanin once commented that Ginger Rogers could play any role as long as she understood it, and she’s very good here as the loyal, tough up and coming actor; Rosalind Russell plays Kate Hepburn’s part as the rich girl who’s slumming it – she’s okay but simply not as well cast as Hepburn. Adolphe Menjou is the producer and they include the suicide scene, which packs a wallop and gives the piece depth.

Radio review – Lux – “She Married Her Boss” (1939) ***1/2

Unexpectedly good career girl tale played by late 30s career specialist Ginger Rogers, better casting in a way than Claudette Colbert from the film. She’s a super-efficient secretary in love with her boss (George Brent) who winds up marrying her because he wants to keep her as secretary more than anything else. 

This has dated surprisingly well – the battle between career and family is still one that goes on and 30s career girl films tended to be less sexist than ones done in the 50s, although this does have a third act which involves Brent getting drunk and dragging Rogers off to his metaphorical cave, to her delight. 

The kid who plays Brent’s horrible daughter (the source of second act conflict) is great and for the most part this is a lot of fun.

Article on "The Conqueror"

Great article from People magazine from 1980 about The Conqueror - the film that killed. How many of them smoked though?