Radio review – TGA#15 - “The Royal Family” (1945) **

Kaufman-Ferber play about a family based on the Barrymores – the intro tries to draw comparison with other actor families, like the Lupinos in England, but the fact the eldest son also has a film career and a capacity to get in the headlines leads one to assume it’s the Barrymores. Frederick March (who played the role on Broadway and film) is effective as John Barrymore equivalent – he’s the only name in a cast that really needs names to work, or at least big actors. The two main plots concern John B getting sued for breaching a movie contract and fighting off romantic entanglements, his sister being pursued by a rich man and hating acting, and her daughter romancing a young man and deciding whether to leave the stage. There’s also a grand dame character who loves acting – her death is genuinely moving. They didn’t get the timing of this right and finish early – the last five minutes is a classic music score.

Movie review – Nurses#4 - “The Young Nurses” (1973) **

The fourth of the nurses films was directed by someone called Clint Kimborough, an actor who was given a stab behid the camera but didn’t seem to make much of a career out it. The opening sequence isn’t bad exploitation – some bikini clad nurses are sunning on a boat when they’re perved on by some blokes, who then have an accident and fall in the water… the nurses then save their lives. It’s not Germaine Greer, but at least the women are active and smart – more than Private Duty Nurses (was this the influence of producer Julie Corman? Or Kimbrough’s one-time wife, Franes Doel who was script supervisor?). There’s even an actual operating scene in which the girls participate; they want to have sex for longer than seven minutes; and there’s some feminist stuff about a pioneering female clinic.

The plots include: black nurse (Angela Gibbs) investigates a mysterious death (right on) which might have something to do with her dodgy boyfriend; a brunette (Ashley Porter, the prettiest of the three but the worst actor) romances a surgeon and has ambitions to do doctor’s work and gets involved with a woman’s clinic (the best of the plots; a blonde (Jean Manson) romances another patient who insists on sailing despite his injuries (this is a dumb plot). Why no scenes of the three together, though? The cast includes Sally Kirkland, Dick Miller, Robert Ulrich... and Sam Fuller (as a doctor)!

Script review – “Red Heat” by Troy Kennedy Martin and Walter Hill

Martin and Hill are two of the most talented screenwriters to work in the 70s and 80s but their teaming on this cop film produced just another buddy cop film. The twist is one of the cops is Russian – glasnost didn’t just bring the Russians coca-cola, it also meant their fictitious cops could chase after drug dealers who’ve killed their partner by teaming up with a mismatched American. The American also loses his partner because of the same baddy – hijinks ensure. The American character Ridzik is a real nothing – just another American cop. Which is a shame, giving him more shade would have given more meat to his interaction with Danko.

Danko is super-strong, humorously dry, and studly (he bangs his female superior). There’s a very homoerotic opening sequence, a fight in a steam bath, but apart from that imagination is thin on the ground: the captain complains and threatens to take the heroes badhes, there’s drugs and black gang members and hookers who are topless when cops burst in, car crashes, banter. There’s not enough culture clash of Danko in America and not enough warmth, humour or interesting action sequences. A very dull buddy cop film.

Movie review – Nurses #2 - “Private Duty Nurses” (1971) *

The first follow up to The Student Nurses gave a directing opportunity to George Armitage, who’d written Gassss for Roger Corman. It uses a similar, with the difference being there’s three nurses as opposed to four. The black nurse romances a black doctor who is facing discrimination; a blonde has a fling with a Vietnam vet; a brunette helps a doctor fighting sea pollution. At the end they throw in a plot about a drug ring as well.

This isn’t a strong nurses film at all – you can tell its made by a man not a woman in that all the girls care about is helping men rather than do things themselves. There’s no sense of camaraderie between the women, either; and to make it worse, they’re bit even that hot – certainly not in the league of the girls in the other films in the series. And there’s another rape sequence and no “light” plot to give some laughs (unless you count that irritating water bed guy). I really enjoyed Amritage’s script for Gasss so this was a disappointment; his writing and direction is flat – the one lively moment was a jump cut involving a couple lying on bed – one minute they’ve got clothes on the next second they’re naked. Amritage is also credited as the script for the much better Night Call Nurses, but apparently it was heavily re-written. The only members of the cast you’re likely to recognise are Paul Gleason (the great 80s baddie) and Herb Jefferson Jn Boomer off the original Battlestar Galactica.

Movie review – “Hansie” (2008) **1/2

Enjoyable South African biopic about the corrupt cricketer. It is sympathetic to Hansie but it’s still clear he’s an idiot who couldn’t resist the money. Fun scenes with Indian bookmakers, and actors impersonating well known cricketers. I saw this on the cheapie pay TV channel and it was wasted – you could surely get decent ratings on Channel Nine or something, if only out of interest. The acting is serviceable, the Christian angle isn’t rammed down anyone’s throat, the production values are strong (they have some damn nice houses in South Africa). Interesting credit at the end which thanks cast and crew for being understanding re: payment while waiting for funding to come through.

Book review – “Light’s On at Signpost” by George Macdonald Fraser

Fraser’s second volume of memoirs after Quartered Safe Out Here is a weird sort of book – lots of short chapters, half of which concern his adventures in the screen trade, half which are essay-style rants about how bad things are in Britain, plus a final, bigger chapter where he gives an autobiographical sketch. 

 

The adventures section is charming: teaming up with Dick Lester on the Musketeers films, his admiration for Oliver Reed, script doctoring Superman (something I was unaware he did... he admits to not doing much, just defending what was a fine script... this was when Guy Hamilton was going to direct), working on Octopussy, dealing with Steve McQueen on an unmade Tai Pan (I wish this project had come to fruition – that and his William Tell script), discussing Crimson Pirate Two with Burt Lancaster. 

 

The essays section is a drag – lots of whining, very little of it surprising (he is opposed to British involvement in Afghanistan), some of it dim (political correctness ranks as a force of evil after fascism and communism – what about Islamic fundamentalism?; people in his day didn’t have to worry about sexual identity?), all of it relentless (TV is bad, newspapers are bad, parliament is bad, Blair is bad). 

 

Luckily the book is structured so you can skip this bit – you just wish he’d devoted these chapters to fleshing out incidents in his life he hadn’t written about in detail (life as a journalist in the 50s and 60s, his Canada years, etc). What a cranky old bugger. Great writer, though.

Movie review – “Obsession” (1949) *** (warning: spoilers)

Alec Coppel turned this story into a play, book (A Man about a Dog), radio play, novel and script – and why not? It’s an intriguing concoction, about a doctor determined to knock off his wife’s lover. After an odd scene at the beginning where some boffins at Newton’s club talk about England’s decline in the post-war period, we go to Newton’s house. He surprises his cheating wife (Sally Gray) and her American lover (Phil Brown), who were supposed to be at a concert – they thought he’d be out. He pulls a gun on them; Grey calls up a friend and tries to establish that she was at the concert, but it’s no good for Newton. He tells Brown he’s going to kill him. Grey grabs his gun, fires – it’s blank, Newton took the bullets out, Grey sooks off to bed. Apparently he did it to humiliate Grey and make her leave… which is convoluted, but then Coppel sometimes was. We leave Newton and Brown, then cut to some time later… after another scene at the Club, more talk about England’s decline, we establish that Grey has just received a letter from Brown – he’s not dead after all. Then we see Newton do some stuff in a lab and visit an isolated house… he’s got Brown chained up in the basement.

It turns out Newton has abducted Brown, kept him alive long enough so his disappearance is accepted, then will dissolve his body. He’s going to test it on his wife’s dog, Monty, who has followed Newton – but since this is a British film and there’s no way a dog is going to die, the dog escapes Then when the dog is reported missing, an inspector (Naunton Wayne, one of the duo from The Lady Vanishes) turns up investigating. This means Newton leaves Brown alive for a while longer.

This is an entertaining little B movie, with an intriguing if not quite believable set up, and an excellent cast. Newton is a great mad doctor, Gray a convincing tramp, Wayne a refreshingly different cop; the real surprise is Brown, who I’ve never seen in anything before – no matinee idol, but he’s very good, especially as he goes progressively crazy. Lots of dialogue along the lines of “this is how to commit the perfect murder” and Newton tormenting Brown and saying he’s got a reprieve… It’s certainly not as elegantly plotted as say, Dial M for Murder (you never quite buy it why Newton doesn’t knock off Brown), but it’s fun to watch.

There's some great noir-ish lighting, too, plus music from Nina Rota. The censor’s influence is presumably why at the end Newton doesn’t kill himself and Brown survives – and there’s a comic beat where Brown is reunited with the dog. Coppel also served as dialogue director. (Oh and Stanley Baker apparently has a small role but I must have blinked and missed him.)

Movie review – “The Other Guys” (2010) ***

Many hilarious moments in this: the deaths of Sam Jackson and the Rock, the TLC running gag (even if to be honest I only recognised some of the lyrics), Will Ferrel listening to Little River Band all the time, Will Ferrell’s history as a pimp. And there’s a strong satirical point – the end credits sticks it to the irresponsibility that contributed to the GFC. But for some reason this doesn’t work. The best bits feel like add-ons rather than stemming from the actual story; it seems to lack heart, or purpose or something. Maybe I’m just not a fan of the buddy cop genre, or maybe it’s something else – I’m not sure. I laughed out loud, the cast is outstanding (though Michael Keaton doesn’t really suit his role – needed someone crustier)… but it dragged.

Movie review – “Forty Thousand Horsemen” (1940) ***1/2

Terrific Aussie war flick which was a deserved international success – the biggest, I believe, of any Australian film up until that time. It gets off to a flying start with some evil Germans (led by an over-acting Eric Reiman) knocking over furniture and hanging a Frenchman in front of his daughter (the pretty Betty Bryant)… full on! Then we have some Germans and Turks discussing Aussie soldiers – while the German officer makes fun of their uniform and courage, the Turkish one speaks up for their courage at Gallipoli (this sympathetic depiction came about because the Turks were neutral during World War Two.)

Then we meet the Aussies: three diggers on leave, outsmarting Arab vendors, riding donkeys through the streets, being admired by English grand dames and belly dancers. They’re played by Grant Taylor, Chips Rafferty and Pat Twohill; Taylor was a juvenile lead discovered by Cinesound in Dad Rudd MP who became what could be described as an Aussie film star with this movie. He’s good looking, charismatic and masculine, with a terrific physique, relaxed demeanour and confidence, even if his hairline is already receding – it’s a shame he didn’t make a bunch more movies. He did like a drink – he was physically disintegrating by the time of Rats of Tobruk, and later lost his looks and hair and became chubby. The cigarette's he's constantly puffing on here (even while shaving!) probably didn't help either. But he's the most effective Australian "macho sex symbol film star" until Jack Thompson came along. (Better than, for instance, Frank Leighton).

Rafferty had a more notable film career, in part because he was more unique – the gangly string bean with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Full marks to Chauvel for giving him such a prominent part (especially one that Pat Hanna was interested in playing); Rafferty’s inexperience is evident, but its made up for my his presence – also he has a charming speech about Why We Are Fighting the War. Pat Twohill is some Kiwi who had extensive stage experience; it’s a nothing part and he does nothing much with it. (I always forget he's in the movie, and even watching him, trying to concentrate on the guy's performance, he felt anonymous).

The most recent copy of the film I saw had an extended belly dance sequence, with a dancer drooled over by Rafferty. But more fun is when Taylor and Rafferty sing “Oh, You Beautiful Doll” – interrupted by a call to arms after the Battle of Romani. “The Tommy’s fight is our fight” says Taylor, who is then shown traipsing over sandhills on horseback in some beautifully-composed shots. Eventually he gets cut off from his men after a battle (they call it the Battle of Suez here), but is nursed back to health by Betty Bryant, dressed as a boy. She returns him to his regiment, and he runs into him later on as a boy… then dressed as a girl. They start a romance, before he’s called off to fight again.

Another battle – one of the Battles of Gaza - sees Twohill and Rafferty killed (a surprise to see both of them knocked off) and Taylor is captured and sent to Beersheba. He tries to escape, is captured, then escapes again (okay, so the script isn’t perfect - it got really bogged down around this time).

He meets up with Bryant and the two of them share a very hot, sexy scene in a deserted hut during a rain storm – both of them wearing nothing but towels and they wind up having sex. No kidding – you don’t see it, but it’s heavily implied, a lot more so than Hollywood films of this era. Australian films have a reputation for being about platonic love affairs between men (i.e. Gallipoli) but this one is very hetero. Taylor eventually leaves Bryant, manages to rejoin his army just prior to the charge at Beersheba – which is spectacular.

It’s easy to see why this was such a hit – it’s full of energetic spirits, action and romance, plus unabashed nationalism (‘Waltzing Matilda’ plays constantly, everyone loves Australians, Aussie soldiers are brave, loyal, admired by their enemies and allies and get to have sex with hot French girls, etc, etc) and beautiful photography. We see the emergence of several names – Bryant is very pretty and winning – and the hokiness is excusable. It’s strikingly pro-Arab. On the debit side, Reiman overacts, the character of Twohill is underdeveloped and there’s some repetition in the story.

Book review – “Errol and Olivia” by Robert Matzen

I wasn’t sure what to expect about this book; it had some decent reviews but the concept wasn’t overly impressive (a look at the career of Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, concentrating only on their relationship). And when the book arrived it seemed slim. But to my delight it turned out to be a terrific piece of work. 

 

The best books about Errol Flynn seem to be the ones that concentrate on a portion of his career – Errol Flynn in Northampton, Young Errol Flynn – and this one joins that small group. It’s highly entertaining, excellently researched with some wonderful photos. My only real gripe is some occasional over-ripe writing and the fact Matzen is so dismissive of the Aleutians campaign, in which thousands of Allies died and was important strategically.

 

Fascinating stuff: Hal Wallis was always bagging de Havilland’s performances in memos and arguing Anita Louise should be cast instead of her; Flynn and de Havilland went out on a date during a ball for the coronation of George VI; Frederick March was considered for many parts Flynn went on to play; the amount of meddling done by the studio on studio films (constant memos, replacing directors as easily as screenwriters, the amount of fighting and sniping).

 

I knew many of the stories concerning Captain Blood or Robin Hood but not the other films made by Olivia and Errol, particularly ones like Four’s a Crowd. Charge of the Light Brigade was physically tough, with an awful role for de Havilland; she loathed making Dodge City, being anxious throughout filming that she could make Gone with the Wind; she was cast in Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex to be shown who was boss by Jack Warner (he basically instructed everyone to ignore her during filming, which they did); Flynn freaked out on Elizabeth and Essex with all the dialogue, Bette Davis hassle and unsympathetic direction (I wondered why his performance was so weak when it was a role he could have hit out of the park); Santa Fe Trail saw Flynn become jealous of Ronald Reagan and de Havilland, contributing to Flynn storming off set and refusing to work with her again – but they later made up on a train trip to Santa Fe to promote the film (there are some charming photos of this); They Died with their Boots on saw some of their best ever work as a team (a strong case is made for Raoul Walsh being the inspiration behind this), and they dated for a time after filming… but then had a major falling out, the cause of which has never been known (my theory: he had sex with her and treated her badly after). But this meant plans to co-star them in Saratoga Trunk, which might have been a really good film, didn’t work out.

 

 The impression I got from the book is of two massively attractive kids who became famous together, was stressed out by what it brought them, who loved flirting and squabbling with each other, and were never really serious about being romantic, but liked the idea of it. When things got serious, Flynn probably freaked out and dumped her – and de Havilland went running off after a similar literary womaniser, John Huston. It’s a shame she and Errol never worked together after 1942, but eight films is pretty good, and They Died With Their Boots On was a particularly apt one to go out on. Excellent value for Flynn/de Havilland fans.

Movie review – “Black Swan” (2010) ****1/2

Excellent horror film/psycho thriller, reminiscent of those Jimmy Sangster-written films of the 60s, and works of Roman Polanski. Natalie Portman deserves every award she gets for her impressive work here as the ballerina who goes bonkers (NB are there any films out there about well-adjusted ballerinas?); there’s wonderful support by Barbara Hershey (crazy stage mother), Vincent Cassel (sexually harassing director), Winona Ryder (don’t buy her as a ballerina but we don’t see her dance and she does great crazy) and Mila Kunis (the best-adjusted of the lot). I felt it slumped around the middle; I couldn’t quite put my finger on why, maybe it was the fact Portman was so passive most of the time, just deteriorating and going mad, it dragged a bit. But once her descent gets going it’s tremendously gripping; I was on the edge of my seat a lot of the time. Extremely well directed, powerful atmosphere, very hot lesbian love scene.

Radio review – TGA#14 – “Ned McCobb’s Daughter” (1945) **

Alfred Lunt’s appeal continues to escape me – again, he overacts as a New York gangster who winds up in a small New England town, at an inn run by his sister in law (played by Shirley Booth). I think this is meant to be a charming culture clash, but it’s not very enjoyable, and lacks laughs. There’s no romance between Lunt and Booth; the real villain is Booth’s useless husband; Lunt smacks Booth in the mouth on one scene but is meant to be charming. I do wonder why this was never filmed by Warners as a vehicle for one of their gangster stars (apparently Edward G Robinson supported Lunt on Broadway). The play was written by Sidney Howard, the famous tractor victim.

Movie review – “The Old Dark House” (1963) **

Hammer made its reputation with fresh versions of stories done by Universal – Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, the Phantom of the Opera. So here’s their take on the JP Priestley novel which was filmed by James Whale in 1932 – it’s considerably different from that movie, not to the good. The director of this one was William Castle, who plays it all for laughs.
The plot has been changed so it’s about a dopey American car salesman (Tom Postyn, who you might recognise as Newhart’s dumb friend on Newhart), delivering a car to an associate (Peter Bull) in a mansion. He turns up and Bull is dead, but his weird family is there. Then the film turns into a version of The Cat and the Canary, i.e. people must stay alive in order to inherit money.

This is an odd movie – not really scary, or funny, though I think it’s meant to be both. Kids might like it (eg the Noah’s arc sequence where Postyn stumbles upon a bunch of animals); it will also help I you’re a fan of Postyn, who takes up most of the running time mugging and reacting bug-eyed. Personally I found him irritating, and wished bigger parts were played by the more talented support, including Peter Bull, Robert Morley and Jeanette Scott. Some perks: enjoyable photography and design, interesting death with a woman impaled with kitting needles (it needed more people to die – or a greater threat), the drawings for the credits are done by Charles Addams. Not a success at the box office, partly because censorship meant it couldn’t be seen by young kids.

Radio review - TGA#13 - "Elizabeth the Queen" (1945) **

The Lunts were a famous husband and wife theatre team - Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontanne - who were acclaimed on Broadway for many years. Maybe they had a magic on stage which defies recreation, because they're both awful in this adaptation of Maxwell Anderson's play (which was filmed as The Private Lives of Elisabeth and Essex). 

Both ham it up and go over the top, especially during anything emotional - neither are as good as Bette Davis or Errol Flynn. It's still a decent enough story; yes, it elaborates the relationship between Elizabeth and Essex, but why not? And it gets the basics of their character right: Essex is a sulky, spoilt idiot, constantly under-estimating Elizabeth, who is imperious, smart and love-starved. There's a scene where it seems Essex is going to torture someone, but no Irish sequence, like there was in the film. Solid structure, strong ending, bad acting.

TV review – “Law and Order – Season 9” (1998-99) ***1/2

The first two hot female ADAs have been liberal feminists, so for variety the third one is a pro-life, right winger (Angie Harmon), who even makes Jack McCoy recoil. It’s a good idea and helps spice things up; Harmon is very good looking, but she’s annoying. Her character is far too arrogant – she hasn’t earnt the right to be that cocky, especially as she can’t really act. Also the more we get to know the character, the less likeable she becomes: pro-life, woman-hater, Canada-basher, affirmative action-basher; during an affirmative action episode she once comments “I’d like to think I got where I did on my own merits”… - Harmon, you got you were because you’re hot.

A lot of the stories have a family theme: incestuous con artists, fathers who kill babies, desperate childless couples, fathers who abduct children. There’s an un-enjoyable episode where the DA’s office (and Harmon) try to bully Canadians – Harmon can’t believe they oppose the death penalty (“Great Britain and Canada have nothing to tell us about human rights”). But its followed by a strong episode about a hate crime, which centers around the inflammatory speeches of white supremacists – this has special resonance in the wake of the Sarah Palin assassination controversy. (This ep is dedicated to some DA called Charlie Rose, who “made the world a safer place”.) Then to show how balanced they are there’s an ep on how affirmative action drives a black to murder.

The quality of episodes in this series are solid rather than sensational – there’s few eps where you go “wow, that was amazing”, like I used to in the earlier seasons. I did enjoy seeing Julia Roberts as a femme fetale who flirts with her then-boyfriend Benjamin Bratt; she’s a good actor, and gives a strong performance (I’m not just saying that because she’s a star either because she’s presented in Law and Order style). And there’s a terrific double-part finale, about the Russian mafia – like other Russian mafia eps the death toll is large and it contains some really shocking moments; it also has Benjamin Bratt’s touching farewell.

Movie review –“Morning Glory” (2010) ***1/2

Really enjoyed this rom com – Rachel McAdams is very likeable, and exactly like the sort of women who work behind the scenes in television: bubbly, workaholics, love-life’s a mess. The depiction of morning TV is spot on, with it’s agonisingly early starts, temperamental stars (love measuring the difference between the offices), camaraderie, panic about ratings mixed with moments of exhilaration and laughter. The script was bright and tight, although I felt it lacked a subplot for Dianne Keaton – most of the running time involves Harrison Ford and McAdams, which is fine, I just felt Keaton could have done a little more. Ditto for the guy who plays McAdam’s second-in-command and Jeff Goldblum’s character.

Radio review – Lux – “Phantom of the Opera” (1943) ***

Basil Rathbone substitutes excellently for Claude Rains as the Phantom – but unfortunately his role is downplayed in this version in favour of Susannah Foster singing numbers and shenanigans involving Nelson Eddy and his romantic rival. More opera than horror, which was a feature of the Universal feature – it’s a shame in a way, radio can be a spooky medium and one imagines the Phantom on radio could have been really scary (kind of like The Shadow). Still, it’s enjoyable.

Radio review – Suspense – “Lazarus Walks” (1946) **1/2

Great title, interesting idea – man who “died” for four minutes goes to a doctor seeking to be cured – but it doesn’t quite catch fire. Some over-acting by the bloke who plays the dead man; Brian Donlevy is the doctor.

Movie review – “The Black Rose” (1949) **

During the post-war period, Tyrone Power was often found in Technicolor historical epics – The Captain from Castile, Prince of Foxes, The Black Rose, Untamed – managing to seem miscast in all of them. Come to think of it, he was Mr History throughout his career – Lloyds of London was his first film as a star, Solomon and Sheba his last.

 

Here he’s meant to be a Saxon noble in the 13^th century who’s still bitter about Norman occupation and who, like many Power historical characters, has hang ups about his father. He goes off on a journey with fellow Saxon Jack Hawkins across Europe and winds up joining the army of a Mongol warlord… played by Orson Welles. They also wind up in China.

 

Welles looks silly in his hat and outfit, but he’s got plenty of humour, charisma and presence – his character has a bromance with Powers’ character (he likes the Englishman for his intelligence and bravery and, um… let’s face it, because he’s the star). His absence in the last half hour or so of the film is badly missed because the story isn’t that interesting. 

 

There’s lots of colour and adventure; not really enough action or compelling drama, regardless of it's unusual setting. It also needed better locations – something that looked more like China and Mongolia.

 

Power also has a bromance relationship with Hawkins, who is a devoted Englishman, a long-bow lover who wants to bring back benefits of Chinese civilisation (well, items of war, really – a compass and gunpowder). But just so we don’t think Power plays someone gay, there’s a French girl who’s dressed like a boy (Cecile Aubrey).

 

Power does his best, which was never that much in these sort of movies (he could act, as Razor’s Edge showed, but suffered when there wasn’t sword fighting, a decent script or gun play involved). Hawkins is imposing, as is a trusty English support cast: James Robertson Justice, Felix Alymer, and Michael Rennie (as Edward I, easily the most sympathetic depiction of that character ever – one of England’s most ruthless monarchs is turned into a kindly man who just wants Saxons and Normans get along). 

 

Aubrey is truly dreadful, you’ll cringe every time she opens her mouth – the bloke who plays the oriental servant is bad, too. Herbert Lom gives good value as a dodgy Muslim (a part he was destined to play for the rest of the decade); Bobby Blake turns up as a servant boy and Laurence Harvey as a small role as Power’s half-brother.

Movie review – “Ferry to Hong Kong” (1959) **

Orson Welles went on record complaining that this film ruined him as a leading man – but he’s really got no one to blame but himself, for he gives a truly dreadful performance here: bad fake nose, horrid accent, dumb character, mugging.

Welles said he was inspired to play comedy because this story had an essentially silly idea – it is a silly idea (about a man not allowed in Hong Kong or Macau and thus forced to live permanently on a ferry going back and forth between the two), but it doesn’t excuse Welles’ wacka-wacka acting. (NB the idea’s similar to that later used in The Terminal).

Better than Welles – although not by that much – is Curt Jurgens, as the international tourist stuck on the ferry. It’s the sort of role that would have been great for Welles ten years earlier –all cocked eyebrows and Harry Lime charm; but by now he was far too fat to be believably attractive to Sylvia Syms (Jurgens is a stretch as it is).

This is an odd sort of movie – lots of comic stuff, but also drama in that Jurgens is an alcoholic (so why does Syms buy him drinks?) and action in the last third when pirates take over the ferry. For some reason all these Chinese characters speak in American accents. The chief attraction is some impressive location photography.

TV review – “Treme – Season 1” (2010) ***1/2 (warning: spoilers)

It took an ep or two for this to kick in for me, but once it did, I enjoyed it: it’s a soap – sorry, serial drama - set in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. So the drama is on the heavy side, but it’s still serial drama – with a very heavy slant on music. Indeed, if your impression of New Orleans life was they were a people only interested in music, sex, dancing, hand outs, corruption and culture - as I was – that will be confirmed by this series. The stories aren’t that interesting (a woman looks for her missing brother, the relationship between buskers, a musician can’t keep it in his pants, a man tries to inspire people to move back into houses) – but it has terrific atmosphere an authenticity. Lots of references to New Orleans icons: Lafitte, Battle of New Orleans, The Big Easy, King Creole. Terrific acting done by people who seem to have a lot going on even if it probably isn’t (eg Kim Dicnes as a chef, the black trombone player, the woman looking for her brother). The best moment was the suicide of John Goodman – I totally didn’t see that happening. A few more moments like this an the series might have been more memorable.

Radio review – Suspense – “The Hunting Trip” (1946) ***1/2 (warning: spoilers)

Terrific suspenser with two of radio’s greatest actors, Lloyd Nolan and Vincent Price (both of whom pop up for a chat at the end, rare for Suspense – maybe the ep ran short and they were scrambling around for things to do). They play friends who go on a hunting trip; Nolan becomes convinced that Price wants to kill him. Great atmosphere and a double twist ending – Price saves Nolan’s life, but is then revealed to want to kill him… but does it by poisoning Nolan’s coffee, which Nolan has inadvertently given Price. This would be a good intro for someone discovering this program.

Radio review – CP#49 – “Mr Deeds Goes to Town” (1940) **

The lead roles are utterly miscast –Orson Welles standing in for Gary Cooper, and Gertrude Lawrence subbing for Jean Arthur. Stars whose personas fit with sophistication, culture trying to pass off as a gee, aw shucks, Americana innocent and wisecracking reporter respectively. It doesn’t work – it might have, had the script be reworked to accommodate them, but it doesn’t. Welles and Lawrence were stars rather than actors – versatile, but within their range.

Script review – “All About Eve” (1950) by Joseph Mankiewicz

It’s not really believable that a stalker goes from dresser to understudy to star within the space of a year, but such is the confidence and quality of the writing you don’t really notice. It helps that the theme of the story is archetypal: a young understudy wanting to knock off the magnificent yet aging champ. Reading this again I’m struck how many great lines and speeches belong to supporting characters like Birdie, Addison, Karen (love her description of her husband – “he looks so pathetic whenever he does anything physical”) and Bill (whose speeches about the theatre are perhaps the best ever on the topic); even Lloyd, who you don’t remember as being great because of Hugh Marlowe’s dopey performance, but he’s got some crackers, including calling Addison a venomous fishwife .

 The characters are amazing: the bulk of attention goes to Margot, prima donna, likeable, funny, aging, but the others are good too: the possibly psychotic Eve, all Uriah Heep fawning and ambition, who seems to believe the lies she says (a lesbian too? She walks upstairs with her roommate, “arm in arm”); dopey Lloyd, clever with words but a babe in the woods in the real world, totally susceptible to the charms of the writer; cocky Bill, super director, not necessarily faithful to Margot provided he does the chasing; Machiavellian Addison, who enjoys Eve for her evilness, but is hurt and angered when she laughs at him. 

It's not a perfect script: Why did Mank have two party scenes in a row? The ending sequence goes on far too long – with Eve thanking everyone, then meeting Phoebe.

It’s worth reading the script for some wonderful big print, such as the description of Bridie “She was conceived during a split week in Walla Walla and born in a carnival riot”. Also of the ladies room in the Stork Club – “having never been there I can’t imagine what it looks like, but I imagine…” etc.

Script review – “Streets of Fire, Second Draft” (1983) by Walter Hill and Larry Gross

The full title is “The Adventures of Tom Cody, Book One: Streets of Fire” – Hill was clearly hoping for a franchise (the ending indicates two sequels, “The Far City” and “Cody’s Return”), but the disappointing box office response of this meant there were none. 

 

There’s nothing quite like this film, a rock and roll fantasy, as it proclaims itself – the opening page says it takes place “in the Other World, a far off place where Genres collide – in this case, Futuristic Fantasy meets the Western, gets married and has rock and roll babies. And, in a rather special way, it’s meant to be comedy.” It also had a big budget and no stars; Hill only managed to get it up off the back of his massive success with 48 Hours.

 

The script starts off with pictures of a rotting town, Richmond, and narration from Reba about how tough things are. This has a flowery tone to it – did Gross write it? It's in contrast to the big print, which is done in Hill’s patented, sparse style. Reba goes on explaining about Ellen, and Raven – and it’s all stuff that pictures would show. Raven doesn’t abduct Ellen until the second song finishes but then the script pretty much follows the film, the big difference being the film has lots of dialogue which has been trimmed. (There are plenty of omitted scenes too – I wonder if some of them fleshed out what Cody was doing before he came back to town.) This must be a later draft since McCoy has been changed into a woman, something I understand didn’t happen until the casting process.

 

The script doesn’t shed any more light on the point of having the Baby Doll character. It does have Billy refer to the Sorels as “boogies” – Hill’s scripts always have racist characters in them. Some other differences – there’s a specific reference in the script to Ellen singing “Streets of Fire” at the end, which didn’t happen; Cody gives Ellen a quick, abrupt kiss here instead of the romantic, passionate one in the film.

 

A random notes – when Cod and Raven are fighting with fists, Greer throws Raven a sledgehammer and implores him to use it - but in a mirror image of Cody tossing aside the sledgehammer, Raven doesn’t (it’s like in Hard Times).

Script review – “Apocalypse Now” (1969) by John Milius (first draft)

This was the first draft of what became a legendary film. Milius nails his colours to the mast with an opening story about some paratroopers waiting to go to Vietnam; a hippy tries to talk them out of it and a soldier smashes him in the head. When asked who did it all the paratroopers reply, “I did.” Imagine reading that in a script in 1969!

It opens with the ambush of some Vietnamese soldiers by some American irregulars – shirtless, covered in paint. They return to their base, run by Kurtz, who wears a beret, sunglasses and a loincloth, and has his arm around a native girl in a loin cloth – he orders “Sunshine of Your Love” played over loudspeakers to celebrate. Full on! Years before Platoon you’ve got Milius – who never served in Vietnam – evoking the craziness of that war.

Cut to China Beach, where Willard is chilling out, rather than having a nervous breakdown. Some soldiers arrive to collect him for his mission to kill Kurtz. (“Terminate with extreme prejudice” is here.) It’s made clear that Kurtz has been attacking the South Vietnamese as well as the Viet Cong. He gets on the boat, meets Chief, Clean, Chef and Lance then goes up river. During the trip characters do monologues about their past which didn’t make the final film: Clean talks about his history as a chef, Lance about his love for a girl from school driving him to join the army.

There’s still the attack by the cavalry division – only Kilgore here is called "Kharnage". He puts cards on Vietnamese corpses and admires Lance’s surfing (“Charlie don’t surf” is here), then launches an attack the next day, hoping to drop off Willard and get a good surf break, and the loudspeakers playing Wagner is already here. So too is the line “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” – and the colonel wanting to retrieve his surf board.

Then there’s finding the tiger in the jungle, visiting the massive base where they have a playboy bunny show. Kurtz gets a letter from his wife who talks about their kids. They’re attacked on the river by unseen assailants, fight them off, then arrive ata French plantation., where Willard sleeps with a French lady, and the French take half their ammo. Then they reach another outpost where the playboy bunnies and their agent are stranded – Willard gets the women to sleep with his men in exchange for help getting back (Milius was never one to create three-dimensional female characters - the bunnies and the French are whores). They arrive at another base, this one under even more attack – this is where the superhuman soldier Roach manages to blow up VC soldiers in the distance.

They reach Kurtz’s compound – a horrific place, with skulls and native warriors, and Americans who’ve gone native. He’s met with Kurtz, who is clearly mad – scarier and more believable that a fat, bald Marlon Brando. Kurtz has concubine slaves and servants; he feeds prisoners to his men, who are also supplied with abundant amounts of drugs. He’s still smart enough to clock Willard as an assassin but doesn’t kill him; instead, he shows him around, perhaps trying to convert him. Then the VC attack – we intercut between Kurtz whipping up his troops and a VC officer whipping up his. (It isn’t much but it’s more humanising of the enemy than in the final film or Platoon). The final attack takes place in which Clean, Lance and Kurtz die (the latter like Davy Crockett, swinging his rifle as he goes down) but the others survive. When the helicopters arrive to pick up Willard, he fires a gun at them.

It's overwritten in places with perhaps too much dialogue, but even after all these years, this is a remarkable script - bold, passionate, insane. It's a masterpiece and Milius has never been given enough credit for it.

Play review – “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare

My favourite Shakespeare – powerful, exciting, stripped down, epic. So many brilliant moments: Cassius “seducing” Brutus; Caesar’s description of Cassius, the lean and hungry look; the shock of finding the two tribunes at the very beginning are dead; Brutus trying to rationalise his assassination of Caesar (killing someone the liberal way); Caesar’s talk about impending death; the tension of the assassination (will Caesar turn up, will Anthony be around, etc); Anthony lying to the killers in order to escape death then doing his soliloquy where he demands revenge; the stunning funeral sequence; Cinna the poet’s shocking death; Antony, Octavian and Lepidus deciding who will live and die;, followed bu Anthony’s dismissal of Lepidus; Cassius and Brutus argue over corruption (I never realised every time that Cassius advises something to Brutus and is ignored, it’s the wrong move: not killing Anthony, fighting at Philippi). Masterpiece.

Script review – “Southern Comfort” (1981) by Walter Hill, David Giler, Michael Kane, Gordon Carroll (warning: spoilers)

This feels different to the film - it doesn’t seem to be set in the past. And it seems to take longer to get going (it’s a little confusing meeting all these different people). But the structure is the same: go on tour; discover boats and steal two; run-in with Cajuns, resulting in death of leader and loss of radio; discovering and kidnapping a trapper; destruction of the trapper’s hut; boobytrap; the knife fight where one of the sensible men kills a maniac; the arrival of a helicopter; the final three cut off, then two; visiting the village.

From memory, the movie didn’t have a young boy watch the soldier die in quicksand, but it did have the trapper who was kidnapped come back at the end to let the final two (Atwater and Cavelli) live, which isn’t in the script – this was a good addition because it helped explain why they didn’t kill Atwater and Cavelli. The final fight is very different – in the film it takes place in the village whereas here the soldiers go outside into the bushes – I think Hill made the right decision for the film. Also in the script, Cavelli is killed while killing a Cajun; Atwater survives after killing the other Cajun, and goes back to the village, to be met by a bunch of National Guardsman having a party. I preferred the ending of the movie, where both Atwater and Cavelli survived but we didn’t know they were safe until the very last shot.

A very solid action script, even if the characters try sympathy: most the of the guardsmen are such idiots that they kind of deserve to die. The best lines are given to Atwater – who has a different name in the film, as do all the other characters (this is a standard Hollywood trick used by screenwriters who come on to a project to make it seem they’ve made more changes than they have.)

Radio review – CP#45 – “Theodora Goes Wild” (1940) **

Years before Loretta Young and Orson Welles teamed on The Stranger they played together in this radio version of the 1936 screwball comedy. Young stars as the quiet small town girl who has secretly written a racy best-seller and Welles is the cover artist who falls for her. He tries to bring her into honesty but then when he starts getting somewhere she backs off – it turns out he’s secretly married and can’t get divorced because the fear would upset his politician dad. Which means they’re not really using the premise, and it also doesn’t make sense – would Welles’ character go to all this trouble when he himself is hiding such a big secret. 

It is interesting to hear an old style Hollywood film about sexual hypocrisy and with a male hero who gets divorced. 

Welles wasn’t always comfortable in screwball comedy and that proves to be the case here; he’s outshone by Young comfortably (the role has resonance with her, the good Catholic girl who raised Clark Gable’s love child).

NB at the end Welles refers to this being Young’s fifth appearance on the show, the first back in 1934 – well before Welles became involved in Campbell’s Playhouse.

Script review – “Clerks” by Kevin Smith

This holds up extremely well – probably more so than the film, which was hurt by some bad acting. It’s a great example of “write what you know” and also “write within what you can make” – one day in a convenience store. But it also gives us reasons to watch; there is a story – whether Dante should go to school and get back with his ex. There is emotional undercurrent – his relationship with his current girlfriend and ex. And there is wonderful arias of dialogue.

 

It breaks into sequences: the anti-smoking campaigner; the how-many-times-have-you-have-sex (ending with the brilliant "37 dicks”); the arrival of Randall – insulting the video customer; Dante and Randall talk about Caitlin’s cheating; Randall reads out a list of porno names; Jay and Silent Bob and Olaf; Randall talks about Return of the Jedi; Randall and an indecisive customer; the egg man; Randall and Dante talk annoying customers;Randall decides to play hockey on the roof; the old man borrows some porno mags; visiting the wake; Randall borrows Dante’s car and talks about being master of destiny; Dante meets Ric Derris; Caitlin arrives; Caitlin has sex with the dead guy; Randall gives Dante a rocket; talking to Jay makes Dante realise he loves Veronica; Randall tells Veronica about Caitlin; Veronica attacks Dante; Dante attacks Randall; they reconcile – then Dante is killed. A bad move and I’m glad they cut it.

 

Smith is brilliant with dialogue and good on emotion, particularly bromance; his women are smart too. You could still film this and it would work.

Radio review – Lux – “Million Dollar Mermaid” (1953) **1/2

Most Esther Williams vehicles didn’t have enough plot to warrant adaptation on radio, but this one did – a biopic of Australian swimming star, Annette Kellerman. It’s highly fictionalised and not very Australian – her life there is dealt with very quickly, although they keep a gag from the film where she says she’s cooking Australian stew, “it’s just like Irish stew except the beef’s down under”. 

She does this on the trip to England, where she meets a promoter, who makes her a star with some well-publicised swims. He falls in love with her but when she wants to try other businesses he sooks off and is mean to her – I think we’re supposed to find this cave man stuff charming. She falls into the arms of a rival promoter but can’t forget the sook. 

Victor Mature wasn’t on hand to reprise his film role but Williams and Walter Pidgeon do – only Pidgeon plays her false love interest instead of her father (as in the film), which is a bit yuck. More of this was truthful than I thought: she did swim at the hippodrome, help pioneer the one-piece, marry her manager, become a film star. No mention of her being the first established film star to do a nude scene, though!

(NB MGM also enjoyed success in the 50s with a biopic of another famous Aussie, Interrupted Melody, the story of Marjorie Lawrence.)

Script review – “Cleopatra” (1962) by Joseph Mankiewicz

This film became perhaps the most notorious fiasco of all time – all the off screen drama (Dick and Liz, spiralling costs, illness, the Zanuck return) having tended to obscure the fact that the resulting film wasn’t too bad. Mankiewicz was a major talent and this includes some excellent writing, in the first half at least, when it concentrates on Cleopatra and Caesar. Cleopatra is a great role – sexy, ambitious, smart, vicious, brave – and she has some terrific exchanges with Caesar, who desires, admires and distrusts her. There’s a really racy moment where she’s naked under a sheet and she takes his hand and makes him feel her body. The initial Cleopatra-Caesar scenes in Africa are reminiscent of Shaw (such as the inclusion of the Apollodorus character). As the later HBO series Mankiewicz deliberately avoids showing Anthony’s funeral oration (he admits this is big print), taking the action up immediately afterwards.

The second half – which deals with Anthony and Cleopatra after Caesar’s death – is less strong. This is partly because in many respects it’s a repeat of what happens in the first half – to wit, a visiting Roman conqueror falling under Cleopatra’s spell, who encourages his ambitions. Yeah, I know, there’s the additional stuff of them genuinely falling in love – but the first half was more interesting, with Cleopatra struggling for her throne, and seducing Caesar for political reasons rather than love. Anthony

is far less compelling than Caesar; we never get to see him do much impressive (sure, he fights a bit during the battle of Actium, but during that he’s also duped). He spends most of his time being pussy-whipped, drinking, moaning about how he’s not good enough for Caesar, doing everything that Cleopatra tells him to do. We hear from his men and Cleopatra how loved and talented he is but we sure as hell don’t see it. Cleopatra would have been much better off with Octavian (who is treated a little unfairly; shown to be intelligent but they constantly make digs at his “unmanly” lack of physical courage, seasickness, etc). Scenes are repetitive and go on for too long – it’s a real shame Mankiewicz didn’t have time to knock part two into shape a bit more. (Or was that even possible, considering Anthony? The HBO series did it wonderfully - could Mankiewicz?)

The supporting roles have some decent meat: Octavian is the stand out, but I also like Rufio, whose loyalty to Caesar and Anthony can’t stop him killing himself when Anthony’s final legions desert; career soldier Agrippa whose main devotion is to Rome; Octavian’s sister, who allows herself to be a pawn; Ptomley the idiot king. Apollodrous could have been fleshed out a little more –he seems to do everything because he loves Cleopatra. It's no masterpiece, but it's one of the more thoughtful efforts and Mankiewicz has nothing to be ashamed about.

Radio review – CP#52 – “Rabble in Arms” (1940) **1/2

Based on a novel by Kenneth Roberts, author of Northwest Passage – this is another historical piece centering around a flawed figure in American revolutionary history, in this case Benedict Arnold. The novel – along with many of Roberts’ works – was edited by Booth Tarkington, who wrote Magnificent Ambersons. 

It’s all fairly restrained and sober, with Welles underplaying as Benedict Arnold; it’s also a bit dull, to be honest, although it’s interesting to hear Welles take on history (he often played historical figures when working in an actor-only capacity, but it never seemed to interest him that much as a director). Frances Dee plays the female lead.

The story is concerned with Arnold's actions at the beginning of the war, i.e. his heroism at the Battle of Saratoga before he turned traitor. He's not even that big a character though - the guts of the story concerns two brothers who fight in the Revolution. Its interesting rather than engrossing; Welles isn't in it that much, a kind of fore-runner to the cameo performances as Famous Man In History he would later become known for in the 50s and 60s.

Script review – “48 Hours” (1982) by Walter Hill and Larry Gross

This hasn’t aged very well, mostly because it’s been copied so often. Several scenes feel very tired, eg Cates (tough cop) getting told off by his boss for breaking rules, the squabbling partners. Some claim this as the first buddy cop film – but what was Starsky and Hutch and Chips, etc? It borrows from The Driver the idea of having three lead characters described in short sentences at the beginning but isn’t written in a style as sparse as that earlier film. The character of Elaine, Cates’ girlfriend, is thrown away – there are some “character scenes” between them (quite wordy – Gross’ influence?); she could easily have been cut out of the film altogether (she does suggest where they might find the baddies at the end, but anyone could have done that). It’s striking how racist Cates’ character is – he really gets stuck into Reggie with several racist remarks.

Radio review – Lux – “Lady in the Dark” (1953) **1/2

Judy Garland steps into the lead and is much better than Ginger Rogers – not only a more accomplished actor and singer, she has that “open wound/nerve ending” factor which suits the role, as well as being totally at home on a psychiatrist's couch. Unfortunately, her excellence further highlights the dodginess of the rest of this story: the all-wise, all-knowing shrink, who picks Judy as having a father complex; her horrid co-worker (John Lund) who says he wants Judy’s job, and that she’s a failure as a woman… he’s supposed to be the true love interest. Judy sings a couple of songs. There’s some interesting patter at the end where she refers to her nine year old daughter Liza, and where Lux advertises some new toothpaste that’s been tried out on the kids at Boys' Town (what a good concept for a horror movie).

Radio review – CP#54 – “Huckleberry Finn” (1940) ***

Charming version of the classic tale, with Orson Welles thankfully not playing the title role – that’s given to Jackie Cooper – although he does narrate some of it as Huck (they make a joke out of it, Welles joking: “see, I’m aware I have an ego but I'm pulling back - see, I can make fun of myself - see, see!”). He also pops up as a pompous actor, an entertaining section perhaps given a bit too much time in this adaptation in order to accomodate the star. It's still a fairly lively adaptation, another example of Welles' interest in Americana. Clarence Muse plays Jim.

Play review – “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare must have come across another great feisty female star around 1599, for this was the time he created Portia in Merchant of Venice and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. This is a lot more enjoyable romantic comedy than Taming of the Shrew or Loves Labor Lost, although it has elements of both: a squabbling couple, three male friends who get up to romantic adventures, Italian setting, etc. It’s full of good nature and fun, with plenty of action and a wonderful romantic pairing in Beatrice and Benedick. I’m surprised they haven’t adapted this into a teen film yet (surely there’s a script doing the rounds somewhere).

It’s misogynistic – look at the treatment of poor Hero when she is accused of adultery, not only from Claudio but also her dad (at least dad doesn’t kill her, like Titus). Some tidbits: Beatrice was Hero’s bedfellow for twelve months (maybe that’s why Beatrice took so long to get married; once Hero decided to tie the not she gave in. You could argue Beatrice doesn’t like Benedict at all and only goes along with it to get him to kill Claudio; Beatrice and Benedick go very quickly from “I love you” to “please kill your friend for me.”). The character of Don Pedro is interesting- he’s keen on Beatrice, but gets snubbed; you’re never really sure what his true motivation is. The mystery is resolved quite quickly by Dogberry; I think we miss out not seeing the fate of Don John, the villain. Claudio thinks Hero is dead, and when he realises his mistake he agrees to marry her cousin - only to find out Hero is alive. (Again, a Friar is involved in faking a death.)

Movie review – “Three Men and a Baby” (1987) ***

Some stories always seem to work with audiences: Cinderella, Robin Hood, The Three Musketeers. To that list I’d add, “comedies where an all-male house has to raise children”; look at the phenomenal success of this, Full House and Two and a Half Men. It’s got basic fish out of water comic value (a reflection of our times still), plus women seem to find it cute that hot guys changing nappies – and domesticated men enjoy swinging bachelors realising that true happiness comes not through constant parties and sex with hot women, but through preparing milk bottles and singing bed time songs.

There are some solid comedy moments – Selleck offering a thousand dollars to change a nappy and later reading a sports report to a baby; the three men singing – plus a terrific “spine” with the drug dealers getting involved. There’s some terrible 80s movie music and Nancy Travis’ English accent isn’t very convincing. The three leads are very likeable: three B-list stars adding up to a very potent one.

Movie review – “Indiscreet” (1958) **

Ingrid Bergman followed up her “rehabilitation” in Anastasia by reuniting with Cary Grant in a romantic comedy. It’s based on a play by Norman Krasna, which means it’s based on a deception – in this case, actor Bergman thinks that diplomat Grant is married, but he’s only pretending to keep the spark alive. Things had gotten ore racy in Hollywood by this stage: even though Grant says she’s married, still keen to have a fling with him (they head into her flat together for a night cap, fade down, cut to next day). They are even shown in bed together – via split screen, talking on the phone, wearing nightclothes that cover most of them.

Bergman doesn’t age as well as Grant – but then no one did. If you like both these stars you’ll like the film, because most of the running time consists of them coo-cooing each other (Grant dances a highland jig too). If you don’t, you’ll find it heavy going because it’s not exactly strong on plot – we don’t find Grant’s deception until 50 minutes in – Bergman takes around 15 minutes to try and make Grant jealous, and her plan only kicks in with five minutes to go. So the potential in the premise is not exploited. Director Stanley Donen piles on the costumes and glamour. Phyllis Calvert, the old Gainsborough star of the 40s, pops up as Bergman’s sister and Cecil Parker plays her husband, but it’s really the Grant and Bergman show.

Radio – Lux – “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1954) ***

I never realised the Christ parable of this story until now – a visionary man (Michael Rennie, in the role that turned him into a star for about two seconds) arrives on the planet earth, is hounded almost immediately by hostile forces, escapes and walks among the general population, tries to communicate with top leaders, is killed for his pains, rises from the dead to spread the message: do what I do or you’re all doomed. Jean Peters takes over the Patricia Neal role of the widowed mother who shares a house with Rennie and is happy to let him take her young son out for the day when she hardly knows him. 

Thought-provoking an entertaining – the radio version unfortunately (though unavoidably) has to minimise the role of the robot.

TV review – “Community – Season 1” (2009-10) ****1/2

Brilliant new sitcom, which shows there is plenty of life in the genre. The pilot was a bit wonky, with Joel McHale seeming to ape Bill Murray and the show an 80s comedy – but after a few eps it really found its feet. The title is totally apt: this show has a real sense of community, with the strong friendship of the study group at it’s core, plus an enjoyable world around it. This really makes you want to go to community college – even if no one seems to spend much time studying or even working at jobs.

The lead cast is strong except for Don Glover, the black guy – he’s okay, just not up to the standard of the others. McHale found his groove pretty quickly; I was delighted to see Alison Brie, Pete’s wife from Mad Men, get a gig (she’s great); Chevy Chase is back in a big way (it’s not so much he’s funny as his character – which you sense is very close to the real Chevy, full of inappropriate comments). The support cast was also outstanding, especially the guy who played the Dean – he makes every post a winner. The writing is clever, often brilliant; the direction is good too (they have so much fun with the paint ball episode).

TV review – “Boardwalk Empire - Season 1” (2010) ****1/2

You get the feeling this was going to be good, without even seeing it, based purely on it's CV: Martin Scorsese, Steve Buscemi, writers from The Sopranos, HBO, multi-million dollar budget, setting in Atlantic City 1920s, Prohibition. And it is good. The period is rich with material and characters: Arnold Rothstein, the suffragette movement, Warren Harding and the Ohio gang (and his mistress), Eddie Cantor, Al Capone, the Klan – there’s dancing girls and corrupt officials and migrants and black gangsters. And whenever things get slow they can liven it up with someone being executed.

Strong acting across the board – Buscemi is great as a crooked politician who tries to do the right thing; Kelly McDonald is very winning as the woman who becomes his mistress (no nude scene from her, even though it was HBO); Michael Pitt is good too in a showy part as Buscemi’s protégé, college educated and war-shocked; Gretchen Mol is terrific as Pitt’s mother! (plenty of nudity from her); Michael Shannon is outstanding as the tormented federal agent. Other parts are good, too: Buscemi’s bitter brother, the black gangster, the war veteran with half his face shot off, the doomed prostitute, Harding’s stupid mistress. The production values are terrific and the story has some genuine shock. There’s no reason why this shouldn’t run for the whole 1920s.

NB Even though it’s mostly set in Atlantic City, they can’t resist going a few times to Chicago. It's as if the writers were going, "please, please, can we visit, just for a bit...?"

Script review – “The Warriors” (1979) by Walter Hill

Like Hard Times and The Driver, this is done in terse Hill style. It’s another great script from that writer-director’s golden period of 1975-85: fast-paced, vivid, exciting, with decent characters and plenty of thrills. 

 

Fans of the film will be particularly interested by the changes. There’s an opening sequence which takes place in Coney Island – we have a bit of character set up (eg Cleon, the leader of the gang, has a girlfriend). But who really cares about character depth in The Warriors? It was a shame they had to lose the exciting bit where Warriors nervously pass though territory of a gang, Mongols (this was filmed; it was a good cut, it's still a shame).

 

The script gave a bigger role to Fox, the one who sees Luther shoot Cyrus – he was meant to romance Mercy but the actor who played the part was a pain, so Hill killed him off during the sequence where they’re pursued by the police. He gave the Mercy romance to Swan, which meant the loss of a sequence where he’s captured by a gang of bodybuilders called the Dingos – his escape is a very exciting sequence, and it’s a great moment when he rejoins the gang at the end, but as the Dingoes are these camp gays, it would have been a little yuck.

 

Other things in the script which weren’t in the final film: Cochise was killed by the Furies in the run through the park sequence; after the final fight with the Punks (the creepy guy on rollerskates is not in the script but the toilet stall, etc is all there), there’s a bit where Cowboy, Mercy, Fox and Rembrandt talk on the train about wanting something better – Fox encourages Rembrandt to make a career out of spray cans as a passport out (this is a slightly naff scene and was a good cut); Vermin is killed by the girl gang. The scene where they meet the kids from the prom is in the script – only with Fox instead of Swan. There’s also a Warrior called Snowball who remains silent until the end – I don’t remember him. (I checked the film credits later on - he was.)

 

Hill known for tense, terse dialogue but he’s great with flamboyant, eloquent Cyrus. The characters are misogynistic, which makes for uncomfortable reading at times; I know that it’s probably being truthful, but to have Mercy as such a man eater with no other female characters… I realise this is PC of me, that’s just my reaction.

Script review – “The Driver” by Walter Hill

I wonder whether Michael Mann ever crossed paths with Walter Hill – not only were both writer-directors good at both tasks (not very common), they worked on similar sides of the street, i.e. male-orientated action stories. They were also attracted to similar themes- professionalism, style, the blurred line between law and order (not so much a difference in their worlds as "professional" and "amateur".) Like Heat, this is about the rivalry between a super-crook and a super-cop, both of them excellent and their job, and the cop determination to bust the crook verges on obsession.

Hill said this script was the purest example of his pared-back writing style: the lead characters are called “The Driver”, “The Detective” and “The Player” – although the support cast are given names. The Driver is a getaway driver; the Detective is convinced (correctly) he’s involved in a recent casino robbery, so he blackmails some crooks into hiring him. The Driver doesn’t like the crooks, so says no – but then the Detective dares him into doing it so he says yes, which is silly. The crooks do the gig, try to double cross him but it doesn’t work.

A lot of this is reminiscent of The Getaway – a robbery that goes wrong, with crooks double-crossing each other; the hero crook has a moral code, but the other crooks are loathsome. There’s even a bit where a pickpocket steals a bag during a crucial exchange and the man has to get it back. But it’s a very exciting script, with sufficient twist and turns to justify the car chases. The best scene is where the Connection is killed – this is really good. You read it and the part of the Driver fairly cries out to be played by Steve McQueen, not Ryan O’Neal.

Radio review – Mercury – “The Merchant of Venice” (1938) **

Orson Welles had a fondness for this play – he tried to make a film version of it during the late 60s – but he’s dreadful as Shylock here. It’s a run of the mill production as it is, but Welles drags out his lines far slower than any other members of the cast (listen to me act!! Act, do you hear?!!!), and it doesn’t have any life or zing. Some of the other acting is fairly ordinary, too.

TV review – “Bored to Death – Seasons 1 and 2” (2009-10) ***1/2

Highly enjoyable shaggy dog series with Jason Schwartzman very well cast as a pot-smoking, wine-drinking novelist who moonlights as a private detective. There’s really nothing else quite like it on TV: Schwartzman investigates these light cases, has romances and deals with his ex, befriends a publishing millionaire with whom he shares a love of marijuana (Ted Danson), and hangs out with his comic book writing best friend (Zach Galifianakis). The series is clever and highly literate, with references to the New Yorker in amidst the masturbation jokes. Surprisingly, Danson ends up outshining Galifianakis – always up for something new and exciting.

TV review – “Mad Men – Season 2 to 4” (2008-2010) ****1/2

Excellent run of episodes which I’m reviewing all in one lot since the quality was so consistently high across the board.

Highlights of season 2 include Jimmy Barrett, the obnoxious comedian (a brilliant character - where did that actor come from?), Joan mentoring Peggy, Jimmy’s wife and Don getting involved in a car accident and Peggy having to come to the rescue, Joan being affected by the death of Marilyn Monroe, Freddy’s alcoholism causing an embarrassment at work.

Season 3 explores Sal’s love life movingly – I’m surprised that they drop this character at the end of the season. Don has another serious relationship, this time with his kid’s teacher (what happened to her?); an outlandish plot twist – someone having their foot severed – works surprisingly well; Roger has a shock marriage (this was terrific and very believable); the JFK assassination is done very cleverly. There is also a very exciting “office politics” finale, with our heroes battling against unsympathetic bosses.

Season 4 goes up to 1964 at which point you might think the fun starts to fade – but not here. Don keeps having affairs (increasingly close to home) and freaking out; his daughter Sally freaks out (really good acting from the little girl); Don hooks up with a really nice, appropriate lady, a shrink, but goes off a secretary (Jessica Pare), just like Roger; Peggy finally finds love. The season finale isn’t as strong as in previous seasons, although there’s a lovely scene between Peggy and Joan after the find out Don’s getting married to his secretary.

Radio – CP#51 – “Only Angels Have Wings” (1939) **1/2

The story works well on radio, because most of it is set in a bar and in cockpits – you have the wind and rain, and lots of tough-talking American pilots working in South America. It’s fun listening to Orson Welles play a Hawksian hero – he’s not the first actor you think of for such parts, and doesn’t quite work a hundred percent here, but he could have been effective with a bit more reworking. Welles liked to crack wise, talking fast with overlapping dialogue, etc – he just had a different tone to the world of Hawks. Joan Blondell steps into the Jean Arthur role very well.

Radio – Lux – “Appointment with Danger” (1952) **1/2

Screenwriter Blake Snyder promotes the theory that good scripts should have a “fun and games” section in Act two, i.e. were the script delivers on the promise of it’s premise. It’s certainly something lacking here; there’s a decent enough set up – a tough, misanthropic postal detective investigates the murder of a colleague, and the key witness is a nun – but they don’t do nearly enough with it. The nun disappears for great slaps of the story – far too often – and is replaced with more run-of-the-mill stuff about the cop going undercover with crooks. (There is a nice bit where the cop quotes something wise which sounds like scripture; the Nun asks what it is, and the cop says “Martin Luther.” “From his early years, I suppose,” says the nun.)

Alan Ladd played the role of the cop on film, but William Holden steps in here. The similarities between Ladd and Holden never struck me until I heard this, even though both actors were under contract to Paramount around the same time, and had similar tough, don’t-talk-to-me personas. Holden became a star first with Golden Boy, but stayed on the second tier level until 1950 – Ladd leapt right past him with This Gun for Hire. However, Holden’s career thrived in the 50s whereas Ladd’s stalled and went gradually downhill, even though Ladd could have played pretty much every Holden role I can think of. There were two main reasons: Holden worked with much better filmmakers (especially Billy Wilder), and appeared with co-stars who were as big a name as him, whereas Ladd usually liked to star in Ladd vehicles. Both men had big drinking problems, incidentally. The role of the nun is played by Colleen Grey.

TV review – “Law and Order – Season 8” (1997-98) ****1/2

The high standard remains – was this the best ever cast combo in the history of the show? Everyone is very comfortable in their roles, the show is at the height of its powers.

There’s a few more serial strands in this one: Van Bruren is suing the department for discrimination, Ray’s wife gets MS and starts suffering badly, Lenny’s daughter is involved in a drug deal and gets killed (apparently because Jerry Orbach wanted a scene where he hugs his dead daughter’s body), Adam Schiff faces a tough re-election battle, Jaime has a custody battle and gets remarried. This was to prepare the way for some of them leaving, apparently – although in the event, only Carey Lowell did.

There are some great episodes: an abortion that goes horribly wrong; a dodgy doctor (Michael Nouri) who pinches organs; a terrifying militia with an arsenal under the stairs; a black man who passes as white (this was particularly brilliant); some female genital cutting; impregnated comatose women; a mob boss who plays dumb; a woman who claims to be stalked but is pooh-poohed by the cops – then she ends up dead. Alec Baldwin gets a co-story credit for the episode “Tabloid”, and episode 15 has an Aussie character, an author (I didn’t recognise the actor). There’s also a cross-over episode with Homicide: Life on the Streets – part one is an official Law and Order ep, with credits and shot in Law and Order style; part two is done as a Homicide episode, in their style. (This was repeated in the next season.)

Guest stars include Tony Roberts, Jill Clayburgh, Michael Pitt (acting just like he would later on in Boardwalk Empire), John Slattery. We have semi-recurring guest stars, including JD Simmons (who’s replaced sexy Carolyn McCormack as the shrink), the fat black haired cop (he’s been on the show for years now), and my favourite, the bald, fat, wise-cracking judge.

TV review – “Tales of Frankenstein” (1958) **1/2

The success of Curse of Frankenstein saw many offers from the US for Hammer, including a possible TV show. This was the pilot for a series which never eventuated with Screen Gems (Columbia’s TV arm) and it’s fascinating viewing for the Hammer fan. It’s in black and white, unfortunately, and only runs 30 minutes, but the sets are fine and Anton Diffring is in good form as the Baron.

The plot concerns a couple who visit the Baron, asking for his help; he declines (busy with experimenting on his creature in the basement), and the husband dies. Then the Baron digs up the body, and puts it in the creature. Creature goes on rampage. The end. I guess that is your standard Frankenstein film at the end. This feels a bit more Universal horror than Hammer – the make up is similar to Universal, as are the sets (it was shot in Hollywood and directed and co-written by Curt Siodmak). There’s a good scene at the end where the wife tries talking to her husband in Frankenstein’s body.

Radio review – Lux – “Union Station” (1951) **

I listened to this thinking it was an adaptation of a famous Western – which I realised later was actually Union Pacific. This is a run-of-the-mill thriller set in a train station which reunites William Holden and Nancy Olson from Sunset Boulevard. Apparently Paramount tried this combination a few times – they should have used him with Gloria Swanson again.

Holden is a cop at the station who investigates a kidnapping – Olson is a spunky girl, the secretary of the kidnapee’s father, who helps him. This might have played ok on the screen with some location shooting, or done in some impressive Hollywood set, but here it’s just an episode of Water Rats with a comic Irishman thrown in (the original film had Barry Fitzergald in it), and come police brutality (Holden threatens to beat a confession out of a baddie). If I’m not mistaken the blind kidnap victim says “I can’t see” during the finale.

Book review – “Hollywood” by Garson Kanin

Fun, but surprisingly not as good as Kanin’s books about Maugham and Hepburn/Tracy. Maybe Kanin is uncomfortable writing about himself – he seems drawn to personalities stronger than himself (although as a highly successful writer-director he must have had strength); more time seems devoted to characters like Harry Cohn and Sam Goldwyn than Kanin himself. 

 

And sometimes having characters in the book telling stories via dialogue doesn’t feel real, at least not in the way it did in the Maugham and Hepburn/Tracy books (eg Carole Lombard). (Could this be because Kanin wasn't keeping a journal back then?

 

Still, there are some great stories, like getting John Barrymore to lift his game by having all the crew on The Great Man Votes refer to him as “Mr Barrymore”; Barrymore getting annoyed at a child actor who was pulling focus and throwing her across a sound stage; Goldwyn saying “no one knows anything” (‘you believe, you feel, but you don’t know’) years before William Goldman; Vivien Leigh being jealous of Greta Garbo talking to Laurence Olivier; negotiating contracts with Harry Cohn and Goldwyn; dealing with the temperamental Charles Laughton on They Knew What They Wanted (constantly afraid of saying the wrong thing, “finding” a performance in the vineyards the night before a shoot and having to go back during the shoot to find it again – only to have Kanin ruin the takes by constant sneezing); Ginger Rogers aggressively going after the role of Elizabeth in John Ford’s Mary of Scotland (you know something? She wouldn’t have made the film worse); Sam Goldwyn on the importance of story; Kanin visiting a brothel where all the hookers look like movie stars (years before LA Confidential – Kanin even admits he’d sleep with the hookers); Ginger Rogers being distracted by an extra on the set of Tom, Dick and Harry and asking him to be removed, only to marry him later on; MGM executives at lunch all comparing pills.

Book review – “Paddy Chayefsky Scripts Vol 2 – Hospital, Network, Altered States” by Paddy Chayefsky

A reminder – if any were needed – of Chayefsky’s brilliance. These are three superb scripts, full of passion, humour, rich characters, dynamic dialogue and research (they’re all really well researched) – they could all be greenlit tomorrow. Okay, they’re not perfect – Chayefsky really had an obsession with young women falling in love with middle aged men: The Hospital, Network, Middle of the Night…

 

The Hospital is dynamite social satire – it’s a bit more (though not much more) realistic than Network, which was more prophetic. The through line concerns a spate of mysterious deaths which are afflicting a large hospital. In a way it’s a monster film – so too is Network, with the Peter Finch character as the monster. I didn’t notice until reading this that you didn’t need the William Holden character – he doesn’t do anything except have a fling with Faye Dunaway.

 

I was particularly interested to read Altered States because I’ve never seen the film – shooting was an incredibly turbulent time, with Chayefsky being devastated by the result, despite having a clause which ensured not a word of his script could be changed. (He even sacked a director, only to replace him with Ken Russell.) It’s a version of the Jekyll and Hyde story about a uni professor, Jessup, determined to experiment with different states of being. Brilliantly researched, full of far out concepts, it’s something special. And what’s more it has a happy, positive ending. No middle aged-young woman romance here – although there is a professor-student one, and there’s lots of sex.