Audie Murphy Western which starts off fairly predictably - his father and brother are killed and Audie goes looking for revenge. But there's an unexpected lift when the local sheriff (who is dodgy) sends him to arrest a resident psycho gunman (played by the ever-reliable Dan Duyrea), and the two form an unlikely friendship. It's a great relationship, Duyrea and Murphy play off against each other well - you wish they'd done a better job on it (the movie still feels conventional). Still, be grateful for what you have.
There is a good support cast - in addition to Duyrea, there's Denver Pyle as a reverend, Gilligan's old professor Russell Johnson as a weak willed gunslinger (Johnson always played these sort of weak characters who were killed around the two-thirds mark), Susan Cabot as a woman who falls very quickly in love with Murphy despite being engaged to someone else (mostly, it seems, because her fiancee doesn't take her to a dance), Jack Elam as a baddie. Cabot's baddie fiancee has dark hair, as did most villains in Universal Westerns from this time. Murphy was born to play this sort of seemingly-wide-eyed-innocent-who-is-actually-deadly-with-a-gun, constantly underestimated by everyone, violence bubbling under the surface. It's one of his best performances from this time.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Movie review - "The Muppets" (2011) ****
A brilliantly successful to update the old franchise (a horrid word but appropriate nonetheless). They really pulled it off - it explains why the Muppets were important for a new generation, the characters are treated with respect but not reverence, the new songs and gags are really good, there's some great oldies, including 'The Rainbow Connection' and 'We Built This City on Rock and Roll', and a genuinely uplifting ending. I even liked Walter, the new muppet guy - they've learned from Pixar to give new characters decent backstory; after seeing what Walter went through growing up (wanting to grow, only feeling at home when he saw the Muppets) you are totally on his side.
All the fate of the Muppets make sense - Kermit lonely in a mansion, Fozzie playing Reno, Gonzo making a fortune in plumbing, Scooter at google, Ralph doing nothing, Piggy at Vogue, Sam the Eagle as a news reader. Jason Segel and Amy Adams are perfect for this sort of movie - they are muppets too in their way.
The plot embraces the spirit of the show and the first Muppet Movie. The voice work wasn't as good as the original (maybe it was as good - it just sounded too different for me that's all) and maybe the story could have done with a bit more logic (making fun of the fact the logic was weak doesn't quite make up for it). But it was wonderful.
All the fate of the Muppets make sense - Kermit lonely in a mansion, Fozzie playing Reno, Gonzo making a fortune in plumbing, Scooter at google, Ralph doing nothing, Piggy at Vogue, Sam the Eagle as a news reader. Jason Segel and Amy Adams are perfect for this sort of movie - they are muppets too in their way.
The plot embraces the spirit of the show and the first Muppet Movie. The voice work wasn't as good as the original (maybe it was as good - it just sounded too different for me that's all) and maybe the story could have done with a bit more logic (making fun of the fact the logic was weak doesn't quite make up for it). But it was wonderful.
Movie review - "Iron Sky" (2012) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)
There isn't really a justification for Australian tax payer money to be in this, but at least it's different - a very stupid, very fun, genuinely subversive take on Nazis on the Moon and their attempts to get Earth back. The special effects are pretty good, the central idea is so ridiculously high concept it deserves some sort of medal, the actors get into the whole thing with gusto, some of the jokes are really funny (e.g. the Nazis thinking The Great Dictator was pro Nazi because they've only seen the 10 minute version, every country in the world has satellites which are secretly armed with weapons - except for Finland).
The script is astonishingly lazy in places - they don't bother to explain great slabs of what happened (I was looking forward to hearing more about the history of Nazi life on the moon), things are overlooked wholesale (e.g. why doesn't the black astronaut ever contact her family), it feels mean (e.g. making the black astronaut a male model who can't even really fly a space ship), science and logic are completely ignored. But it's got the balls of 70s cinema - black men turning white, chunks of the moon being blown off, and ending with the Americans hogging energy supplies on the moon and starting World War Three!
The Queensland tax payer had money in this which is a joke - it barely mentions Australia, except for having Australia's armed satellite joining in on the fun.
The script is astonishingly lazy in places - they don't bother to explain great slabs of what happened (I was looking forward to hearing more about the history of Nazi life on the moon), things are overlooked wholesale (e.g. why doesn't the black astronaut ever contact her family), it feels mean (e.g. making the black astronaut a male model who can't even really fly a space ship), science and logic are completely ignored. But it's got the balls of 70s cinema - black men turning white, chunks of the moon being blown off, and ending with the Americans hogging energy supplies on the moon and starting World War Three!
The Queensland tax payer had money in this which is a joke - it barely mentions Australia, except for having Australia's armed satellite joining in on the fun.
Movie review - "Duel at Silver Creek" (1952) **
An early work from Don Siegel and you can feel his effort to make a decent film - there's energy in the staging, exciting tracking shorts of horses galloping across the plains, use of close ups, etc. It's not much of a story, though - there's lots of voice over narration explaining what's going on which suggests maybe test audiences were having trouble understanding it.
Audie Murphy is top billed but really he shares hero duties with Stephen McNally (the voice over dude), a local marshall fighting claim jumpers kicking miners off their land; Murphy is a gunslinger who is hired as deputy.
Really it's McNally's movie more than Murphy's, which doesn't feel right as Murphy has more of a personal stake in the action (the baddies killed his paw) and he always looks as though he's about to do something interesting in his all black outfit, but never does.
Howard Hughes protege Faith Domergue has a decent role as a woman who loves McNally but may not be entirely trustworthy; Susan Cabot plays a tomboy, one of several appearances she would make as a love interest for Audie Murphy. Lee Marvin has a small role as a baddie and I liked the sombrero wearing Mexican gunslinger but generally this is a pretty average Western.
Book review - "Cleopatra" (1889) by H Rider Haggard (warning: spoilers)
Not long after he wrote She Haggard came up with another tale set in an exotic land about a handsome man who falls for a beautiful, ruthless queen and pays the price. This of course is based on a true story, very well-trodden territory - but Haggard has come up with a great, fresh take: it's told from the POV of Harmachis an Egyptian who wants to be Pharaoh and is determined to have a coup to knock off the Greek Cleopatra. It starts after Julius Caesar but before Anthony and ends with Cleopatra's death.
Haggard loved his bewitching queens, and Cleopatra comes across well - hot, sexy, partial to a good looking guy, smart, human, patriotic in her own way... There's also another strong female character in the Egyptian lady who loves Harmachis so much her jealousy causes her to thwart Egypt. Harmachis is a bit of a drip through - he's got top plan to knock off Cleopatra which collapses at the sight of some boob; he allows himself to be pussywhipped, even leading Cleopatra to a secret tomb she raids for jewels (another similarity with She - going into a tomb with a hot queen). Then he gets involved in "revenge" against Cleopatra by throwing spanners in the wrench when she and Anthony are up against Octavian - this doesn't come across as particularly believable, because Cleopatra surely would have recognised him.
There's a lot of flowery dialogue and religious ceremonies and people talking to their Gods. Still, it's an enjoyable tale, helped along by an epic sweep, the fact it was an exciting time and it's told from the POV of an Egyptian as opposed to a Roman, some good sequences (invading the tomb, a shipwreck).
Haggard loved his bewitching queens, and Cleopatra comes across well - hot, sexy, partial to a good looking guy, smart, human, patriotic in her own way... There's also another strong female character in the Egyptian lady who loves Harmachis so much her jealousy causes her to thwart Egypt. Harmachis is a bit of a drip through - he's got top plan to knock off Cleopatra which collapses at the sight of some boob; he allows himself to be pussywhipped, even leading Cleopatra to a secret tomb she raids for jewels (another similarity with She - going into a tomb with a hot queen). Then he gets involved in "revenge" against Cleopatra by throwing spanners in the wrench when she and Anthony are up against Octavian - this doesn't come across as particularly believable, because Cleopatra surely would have recognised him.
There's a lot of flowery dialogue and religious ceremonies and people talking to their Gods. Still, it's an enjoyable tale, helped along by an epic sweep, the fact it was an exciting time and it's told from the POV of an Egyptian as opposed to a Roman, some good sequences (invading the tomb, a shipwreck).
Movie review - "Demetrius and the Gladiators" (1954) *** (warning: spoilers)
Hollywood didn't go in for sequels as back back in the 1950s, outside of official movie series, but The Robe made so much money, and had such potential for a sequel 20th Century Fox no doubt felt it was rude not to follow it up. Yes, Richard Burton and Jean Simmons went off to their unconvincing martyrdom (shown in reprise in the first minute here with Susan Hayward added in), but there's still Victor Mature, the robe and Jay Robinson's Caligula who hadn't received his comeuppance yet.
This has a great concept - Caligula hears that the robe has special qualities and asks for it to be tracked down. Having said that, this tends to get sidelined as the action progresses and we concentrate on the story of Mature, as he's forced to become a gladiator - at first he's reluctant (he won't fight humans but takes out a poor tiger), but after a good little Christian girl (Debra Paget) is manhandled by gladiators (Richard Egan mostly) and seems to die somehow, Mature takes to killing gladiators with a vengeance, and banging Messalina (Susan Hayward), going to parties with dancing girls and eating grapes. But he gets his faith back when Peter (Michael Rennie here) shows him that the girl isn't dead, just resting. (So Mature's faith is conditional upon miracles.)
People interested in Ancient Rome will enjoy depictions of gladiator life and portrayals of St Peter, Caligula, Claudius, Messalina, Macro, Cassius Chaera; film fans will get a kick out of seeing a young Richard Egan, Anne Bancroft and Julie Newmar.
There's also one of the most positive black characters who had appeared in a Hollywood film - William Marshall as the gladiator who gives Mature advice on how to survive, has to fight him in the ring, but unlike Woody Strode in Spartacus is allowed to live, get his freedom, become a Christian, and share the final frame walking alongside Rennie and Victor Mature.
A lot of this is campy e.g. slave girls, Hayward throwing herself at Mature, Hayward at the end of the film swearing she won't root around no more laughing gladiators. Ernest Borgnine was born to train gladiators and Hayward is beautiful, even if her character is all over the place (is she a tramp? religious? genuinely in love with Mature?)
Mature seems mostly tired and doesn't pull off the emotional requirements of his role, Jay Robinson got on my nerves as Caligula (it's a gift part but he's amateur hour) and some of the handling of action scenes was slack. But there's certainly plenty to keep you interested and there are some great bits like Caligula ordering a prisoner to be killed to test the robe.
Movie review - "The Criminal" (1960) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)
A fusion of the American and British gangster film - expat director Joe Losey has a high old time with this tale of hardened crim Stanley Baker who gets out of prison, where he is top dog, and sets about promptly going back to his old ways, organising a stick up of a race trek (shades of The Killing!), and winds up back there.
Baker is in his element here as a hard man, who thinks he's on top of it all, but winds up being outwitted by women, prison guards and his fellow crims. There's an interesting jazz soundtrack (Cleo Laine sings the title song), Aussies will love seeing a huge bald Aussie prisoner in gaol, an unflinching look at prison life, some effective riot sequences, funky cinematography.
Like a lot of Losey movies the female characters aren't that great - Baker is tormented by his over acting, drunken ex and sleeps with a gangster groupie. Also the plot feels repetitive - get out of gaol, rob something, wind up back in gaol, escape from gaol. But it's good, tough entertainment with fine work from Baker and the male support cast (including Patrick Magee as a sadistic warden).
Baker is in his element here as a hard man, who thinks he's on top of it all, but winds up being outwitted by women, prison guards and his fellow crims. There's an interesting jazz soundtrack (Cleo Laine sings the title song), Aussies will love seeing a huge bald Aussie prisoner in gaol, an unflinching look at prison life, some effective riot sequences, funky cinematography.
Like a lot of Losey movies the female characters aren't that great - Baker is tormented by his over acting, drunken ex and sleeps with a gangster groupie. Also the plot feels repetitive - get out of gaol, rob something, wind up back in gaol, escape from gaol. But it's good, tough entertainment with fine work from Baker and the male support cast (including Patrick Magee as a sadistic warden).
Movie review - "Desperate Moment" (1954) **
The British film industry of the 1950s has a reputation for production "cosy", inward-looking films, but here's one made with foreign talent, about foreigners. Dirk Bogarde is a former Dutch resistance fighter accused of killing a British soldier in post-war Germany. With the help of his girlfriend Mai Zetterling, he goes on the run and tries to prove his innocent.
It's an odd combination of Hitchcock with a Third Man background (there's even a subplot involving the sale of penicillin). Bogarde's performance occasionally slides into snobbishness and superiority which isn't ideal when telling a story about a poor chap who we want to like. Zetterling is very engaging and it's not a bad mystery, if a little unbelievable and contrived at times. It's not that much of a movie, though - there's little atmosphere of post-war Europe (despite some location photography), the characters aren't particularly interesting.
It's an odd combination of Hitchcock with a Third Man background (there's even a subplot involving the sale of penicillin). Bogarde's performance occasionally slides into snobbishness and superiority which isn't ideal when telling a story about a poor chap who we want to like. Zetterling is very engaging and it's not a bad mystery, if a little unbelievable and contrived at times. It's not that much of a movie, though - there's little atmosphere of post-war Europe (despite some location photography), the characters aren't particularly interesting.
Movie review - "Gunsmoke" (1953) *** (warning: spoilers)
During the early years of his career Audie Murphy normally played aw-gee-it-isn't-his-fault kids, not very wordly, even though lethal with a gun. His performance here is totally different - he's cocky, enigmatic and confident gunslinger, comfortable with women and his ability as a killer, more along the lines of the ones Errol Flynn or John Wayne played. And he pulls it off, too - this was his tenth film and he was growing as an actor. There's a long scene with Murphy being bare chested - presumably Universal thought it was his turn to join their other beefcakes such as Jeff Chandler, Tony Curtis and Rock Hudson.
It's a clever script: the plot involves Murphy as a gunslinger who is hired to intimate a farmer... so the farmer deliberately loses to Murphy at poker so Murphy has to take over his ranch, and this fight the forces who Murphy was going to work for. The farmer's daughter (Susan Cabot) doesn't like him and is in love with her father's foreman, but he turns out to be a baddie. He has an old flame, a saloon singer (who sings 'See What the Boys in the Back Room While Have'), who wants him to kill a local tycoon she's going to marry so she can inherit it. Murphy's old gunslinging colleague Charles Drake turns up and we're not sure if he's bad or good.
The relationship between Murphy and the female characters feels undercooked - Murphy and Cabot fall in love too quickly and unconvincingly. And it loses points for Murphy being saved at the end by a demux ex machine. But there's lots of smart dialogue and this is a genuinely good Western.
It's a clever script: the plot involves Murphy as a gunslinger who is hired to intimate a farmer... so the farmer deliberately loses to Murphy at poker so Murphy has to take over his ranch, and this fight the forces who Murphy was going to work for. The farmer's daughter (Susan Cabot) doesn't like him and is in love with her father's foreman, but he turns out to be a baddie. He has an old flame, a saloon singer (who sings 'See What the Boys in the Back Room While Have'), who wants him to kill a local tycoon she's going to marry so she can inherit it. Murphy's old gunslinging colleague Charles Drake turns up and we're not sure if he's bad or good.
The relationship between Murphy and the female characters feels undercooked - Murphy and Cabot fall in love too quickly and unconvincingly. And it loses points for Murphy being saved at the end by a demux ex machine. But there's lots of smart dialogue and this is a genuinely good Western.
Podcast review - "The History of Ancient Rome" by Mike Duncan
Superb podcast, one of the best ones I've listened to yet - informative, funny, warm, entertaining. Mike takes us through 175 episodes of Rome from it's legendary beginnings to the fall of Romulus Augustus. His jokes are occasionally corny but always engaging and he has a strong speaking voice. I don't know if I'd agree with his claim that Diocletian was among the top three emperors - the guy was an idiot ("hey let's share being emperor", "let's make everyone do what their father did whether they want to or not") but that's just my opinion, and since all I really know about Diocletian is from this podcast, it's a tribute to Duncan's ingenuity.
For the record, my own top ten emperors
1) Augustus - not that great in war but didn't have to be as he had Marcus Agrippa, and magnificent in peace
2) Aurelian - reunited the Empire (with a nod to Probus)
3) Trajan - all round brilliance
4) Constantine - magnificent general, a real prick to his family though
5) Marcus Aurelius - smart, great Emperor, lousy son
6) Hadrian - smart, well-travelled, obsessed with his pretty lover
7) Vespasian - solid, sensible, professional - qualities incredibly rare at the top
8) Titus - like Vespasian only shorter
9) Antoninus Pius - you can rule for 20 years in peace
10) Claudius - intelligent, well-read, invaded Britain, perhaps the most inspirational personal story
And the ten worst:
1) Caligula - nutter who amazingly escaped assassination as long as he did
2) Elagabulus - cross dressing murderous Syrian who should be better known
3) Commodus - deranged fanatic and gladiator fan par excellence
4) Caracalla - Septimus Severus' son whose deranged killings outpaced Nero's and died urinating - great star quality, should be better known
5) Nero - he just wanted to be in a band but that didn't mean he had to kill his wives, mother and hundreds of strangers - his reputation has been rehabilitated a little lately but still stands as a great argument to keep power away from teenagers
6) Tiberius - started off okay but wound up a neglectful pedophiliac tyrant
7) Diocletian - a great survivor and fighter but his stupid Tetrarchy system, micro management and restrictive employee practices helped usher in the dark ages
8) Valens - didn't sound like a bad guy but dumb enough to lose the Battle of Adrianople which he should have won
9) Honorious - perhaps the most mediocre emperor but managed to hang on for years
10) Ricimer - the emperor in all but name who kept killing emperors when they looked competent
Honorable mentions for wackiness
1) Vitellius - for being joyously fat
2) Domitian - for nagging people so much about being assassinated they assassinated him
3) Nerva - for being grouped in the "five good emperors" even though he wasn't that good
4) Septimus Severus - for his military greatness and concise advice to his sons which was accurate and ignored
5) Macrinus - killed for being too chicken to fight
6) Severus Alexander - pussywhipped by his mum, actually not a bad ruler for a while considering he was a teen
7) Gordian I - rose to being Emperor because he held great games
8) Julian - a nerd becomes a great general
9) Valentian I - died because he got so angry at subordinates he had a stroke
10) Vetranio - emperor for a short time but managed to retire on a pension with his life
For the record, my own top ten emperors
1) Augustus - not that great in war but didn't have to be as he had Marcus Agrippa, and magnificent in peace
2) Aurelian - reunited the Empire (with a nod to Probus)
3) Trajan - all round brilliance
4) Constantine - magnificent general, a real prick to his family though
5) Marcus Aurelius - smart, great Emperor, lousy son
6) Hadrian - smart, well-travelled, obsessed with his pretty lover
7) Vespasian - solid, sensible, professional - qualities incredibly rare at the top
8) Titus - like Vespasian only shorter
9) Antoninus Pius - you can rule for 20 years in peace
10) Claudius - intelligent, well-read, invaded Britain, perhaps the most inspirational personal story
And the ten worst:
1) Caligula - nutter who amazingly escaped assassination as long as he did
2) Elagabulus - cross dressing murderous Syrian who should be better known
3) Commodus - deranged fanatic and gladiator fan par excellence
4) Caracalla - Septimus Severus' son whose deranged killings outpaced Nero's and died urinating - great star quality, should be better known
5) Nero - he just wanted to be in a band but that didn't mean he had to kill his wives, mother and hundreds of strangers - his reputation has been rehabilitated a little lately but still stands as a great argument to keep power away from teenagers
6) Tiberius - started off okay but wound up a neglectful pedophiliac tyrant
7) Diocletian - a great survivor and fighter but his stupid Tetrarchy system, micro management and restrictive employee practices helped usher in the dark ages
8) Valens - didn't sound like a bad guy but dumb enough to lose the Battle of Adrianople which he should have won
9) Honorious - perhaps the most mediocre emperor but managed to hang on for years
10) Ricimer - the emperor in all but name who kept killing emperors when they looked competent
Honorable mentions for wackiness
1) Vitellius - for being joyously fat
2) Domitian - for nagging people so much about being assassinated they assassinated him
3) Nerva - for being grouped in the "five good emperors" even though he wasn't that good
4) Septimus Severus - for his military greatness and concise advice to his sons which was accurate and ignored
5) Macrinus - killed for being too chicken to fight
6) Severus Alexander - pussywhipped by his mum, actually not a bad ruler for a while considering he was a teen
7) Gordian I - rose to being Emperor because he held great games
8) Julian - a nerd becomes a great general
9) Valentian I - died because he got so angry at subordinates he had a stroke
10) Vetranio - emperor for a short time but managed to retire on a pension with his life
Book review - "The Twelve Caesars" by Suetonius
Surely one of the most influential books of them all - a gloriously gossipy account of the first twelve Roman Emperors from Julius Caesar to Domitian: womanisers, rapists, matricides, bisexuals, maniacs, soldiers mocked for being gay, baldies, epileptics, pedophiles, sister marriers, castraters. They come across as very human: fall Caesar's genius he used a comb-over; Augustus the harried family man; unhappily married Claudius; Galba being so excited at the prospect of being emperor he has sex with his male lover in a tent; Nero desperate that his music be accepted. Great fun.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Book review - "Maiwa's Revenge" by H Rider Haggard
A short novel comprising of a very long anecdote told by Allan Quatermain which breaks into two parts - Quatermain on an elephant hunt, which is a little dull to be honest, and an adventure where he helps rescue a captured English hunter and avenge an African princess whose husband killed her baby. This is exciting and has novelty of Quatermain working on behalf of a black woman (another strong female character from Haggard) and leading black troops. As if out of fear this might seem liberal he emphasises he wouldn't have gone had it not been for the Englishman. Some good action and a lot of dead elephants.
Movie review - "The Golden Blade" (1953) **1/2
Joyously silly Eastern starring everyone's favourite Arab princess, red-headed Piper Laurie, who is one in a long line of female aristocrats who dress up as a boy and falls for handsome Rock Hudson, one in long line of poor but honest country men avenging their father's death. Rock looks a little odd when we first meet him in Arab head-dress but fortunately the filmmakers get him out of it as soon as possible. They also don't extend the thing of Rock thinking Piper is a guy so you can't read too much Rock Hudson stuff into it.
The plot borrows liberally from Arthurian tales - while Rock is avenging dad and Piper avenges her father from being knocked off by the perennial evil adviser, there's also an all-powerful sword which can cut up anything and gets stuck in a stone. There's even a jousting competition. It's done with energy, flair and lots of fabulous 50s Universal photography and colour. Oh, and a decent support cast too including George Macready. Rock is square jawed and charismatic and Piper very pretty. There's a weird dream dance sequence in the middle which was presumably inserted to pad out the short running time - or maybe such things were just popular.
The plot borrows liberally from Arthurian tales - while Rock is avenging dad and Piper avenges her father from being knocked off by the perennial evil adviser, there's also an all-powerful sword which can cut up anything and gets stuck in a stone. There's even a jousting competition. It's done with energy, flair and lots of fabulous 50s Universal photography and colour. Oh, and a decent support cast too including George Macready. Rock is square jawed and charismatic and Piper very pretty. There's a weird dream dance sequence in the middle which was presumably inserted to pad out the short running time - or maybe such things were just popular.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Radio review - "Suspense" - "The Lost Special" (1943) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)
Orson Welles hams it up in a funny foreigner voice as a man who's on death row for sabotage - he gives a farewell broadcast where he threatens to expose his collaborators. It's based on an Arthur Conan Doyle story updated which means this is a more imaginative adaptation but Welles' performance distracts.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Movie review - "Sierra" (1950) **1/2
Early Audie Murphy Western is a very likeable movie with the star well cast - he's a shy, isolated kid who lives up in the mountains with paw (Dean Jagger) because paw is wanted for murder. They break horses and his not so good with women so when Wanda Hendrix pops up he gets in a fluster. Paw gets sick so Audie has to go into town and he comes across some baddies.
The set up is actually better than execution, which has a very unconvincing denouement and slumps around the two-third mark - a problem I'm finding in a few of these Audie Murphy films. But Audie is very relaxed - he forms a cute couple with Hendrix (who plays a lawyer!), two little people falling in love. Audie wasn't always convincing as an on screen lover but he is here.
He also benefits from the presence of two veterans in support, Dean Jagger and Burl Ives (as a family friend). Ives sings a few songs, which is sweet, and the movie has a family feel, for all it's shoot outs and horses - Audie and Jagger have a bond, he has family throughout the valley who help him, his allies are an outlaw family (including the not-very-convincing cowboy Tony Curtis). There's some pleasing location work in the mountains - lots of nice green.
The set up is actually better than execution, which has a very unconvincing denouement and slumps around the two-third mark - a problem I'm finding in a few of these Audie Murphy films. But Audie is very relaxed - he forms a cute couple with Hendrix (who plays a lawyer!), two little people falling in love. Audie wasn't always convincing as an on screen lover but he is here.
He also benefits from the presence of two veterans in support, Dean Jagger and Burl Ives (as a family friend). Ives sings a few songs, which is sweet, and the movie has a family feel, for all it's shoot outs and horses - Audie and Jagger have a bond, he has family throughout the valley who help him, his allies are an outlaw family (including the not-very-convincing cowboy Tony Curtis). There's some pleasing location work in the mountains - lots of nice green.
Movie review - "The Cimarron Kid" (1952) **1/2
Audie Murphy impresses playing the sort of role he did best: a little guy who is picked upon and has the ability to explode into violence. We meet him at the beginning of the film getting out of gaol - the train he's going home on is robbed by his old childhood mates the Daltons, who recognise him. This causes Audie to get arrested, so he decides "stuff it" and joins their gang anyway. There's a nasty railroad cop and a good sheriff, and a girl who wants him to turn straight - all very reminiscent of the 1939 Jesse James.
For most of the part this is pretty good Audie Murphy Western. He's in good form, it's in colour, there's a bit of action, two scenes where people are talking in a barn and others stick guns through a hole. The gang he leads has a real family feel and there's a chance for other actors to shine (partly one guesses because Audie wasn't the best actor in the world): there's a black farmhand (at a time when there weren't many black people in Westerns), a Mexican girlfriend of one of the gang (easily the most emotional story line - and a fair bit of time is devoted to it), Hugh O'Brien as a bloodthirsty red head, James Best as a laid-back cowboy. She and Audie's girlfriend are stronger female characters than you usually see. Some erratic acting and the film slows down around the two thirds mark and never really gets back to it, but enjoyable.
For most of the part this is pretty good Audie Murphy Western. He's in good form, it's in colour, there's a bit of action, two scenes where people are talking in a barn and others stick guns through a hole. The gang he leads has a real family feel and there's a chance for other actors to shine (partly one guesses because Audie wasn't the best actor in the world): there's a black farmhand (at a time when there weren't many black people in Westerns), a Mexican girlfriend of one of the gang (easily the most emotional story line - and a fair bit of time is devoted to it), Hugh O'Brien as a bloodthirsty red head, James Best as a laid-back cowboy. She and Audie's girlfriend are stronger female characters than you usually see. Some erratic acting and the film slows down around the two thirds mark and never really gets back to it, but enjoyable.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Movie review - "The Brigand of Kandahar" (1965) ** (warning: spoilers)
Ronald Lewis was a handsome brylcreamed lunk who had a brief reign as a cinema leading man which ended with this film, one of the last of Hammer's Imperial adventures. The studio made a few of these, generally focusing on the savage practices of the locals (e.g. Terror of the Tongs, The Strangers of Bombay). This is more of a straightforward hero tale, with a racial slant, more along the lines of something like Zarak - footage from which is used liberally here.
Lewis plays a half caste British officer, which is a bit groovy even if it does mean it's time for the old boot polish. He returns from a mission without a fellow officer, who he informs is captured - when it emerges Lewis has been banging said officer's wife (who we meet bare backed gavin a bath - hey it is Hammer) he finds himself accused of cowardice and sentenced to ten years. He is busted out of prison and taken to a local ruler (Oliver Reed, also in boot polish) and starts fighting against his old mates.
This is full of confusing moments and incidents - Lewis is meant to be the hero, but we're actually never completely sure he is innocent; when he does meet the officer, he winds up shooting the guy (to "save him from torture" - but that could mean anything). We meet this nasty English officer who we think is going to be the main baddie, but then the commanding officer becomes the main baddie and this other guy gets forgotten. The evil officer gets to live at the end while Lewis dies. Lewis kills a few British officers escaping from prison but is reluctant to kill more. The only character with any sort of moral strength is Glyn Houston as a journalist. Maybe all this confusion this was intentional, an attempt to be complex - maybe it's just bad writing and handling. Lewis certainly isn't up the complexities of his role, playing it all with the one expression.
Oliver Reed has the time of his life as a cunning, insane ruler and Yvonne Romain is great fun as Reed's sexy, violent sister - who lusts/loves Lewis but is quite prepared to overrule him in the interests of her people. It's very colourful but looks cheap and stagey, and the action shot here doesn't incorporate well with the Zarak footage.
Lewis plays a half caste British officer, which is a bit groovy even if it does mean it's time for the old boot polish. He returns from a mission without a fellow officer, who he informs is captured - when it emerges Lewis has been banging said officer's wife (who we meet bare backed gavin a bath - hey it is Hammer) he finds himself accused of cowardice and sentenced to ten years. He is busted out of prison and taken to a local ruler (Oliver Reed, also in boot polish) and starts fighting against his old mates.
This is full of confusing moments and incidents - Lewis is meant to be the hero, but we're actually never completely sure he is innocent; when he does meet the officer, he winds up shooting the guy (to "save him from torture" - but that could mean anything). We meet this nasty English officer who we think is going to be the main baddie, but then the commanding officer becomes the main baddie and this other guy gets forgotten. The evil officer gets to live at the end while Lewis dies. Lewis kills a few British officers escaping from prison but is reluctant to kill more. The only character with any sort of moral strength is Glyn Houston as a journalist. Maybe all this confusion this was intentional, an attempt to be complex - maybe it's just bad writing and handling. Lewis certainly isn't up the complexities of his role, playing it all with the one expression.
Oliver Reed has the time of his life as a cunning, insane ruler and Yvonne Romain is great fun as Reed's sexy, violent sister - who lusts/loves Lewis but is quite prepared to overrule him in the interests of her people. It's very colourful but looks cheap and stagey, and the action shot here doesn't incorporate well with the Zarak footage.
Movie review - "Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter" (1974) **1/2
One of the last Hammer horrors isn't a complete success but at least tries to do something new, and some of it is very good. Horst Janson is handsome but a little bland in the title role, an aristocratic, rapier-wielding vampire hunter who investigates a spate of attacks in a European village that is leaving young people drained of all their youth - and dead.
Shane Briant and Lois Daine offer effective support as decadent aristocrats, John Cater is fun as Kronos' hunchbacked assistant, Caroline Munro sexy as a village girl they rescue from the stocks who Kronos beds then uses as bait (they have some funny dumb flirt dialogue). There are neat touches, such as trying to find a method that will kill their friend who has been infected, crosses changing shape, flows wilting in the presence of vampires, use of ancient medicines, and the sword play. In a rarity for Hammer, a male (Janson) is exploited as much as the females - he's always got his shirt off.
Often the handing feels like a crappy 70s TV show, though, complete with scenes that are dragged on too long and mugging character actors - this probably would have been better as a pilot for TV. The head vampire here claims descent from the Karnsteins, so you could link this to other Hammer Karnstein films such as The Vampire Lovers, Twins of Evil and Lust for a Vampire.
Shane Briant and Lois Daine offer effective support as decadent aristocrats, John Cater is fun as Kronos' hunchbacked assistant, Caroline Munro sexy as a village girl they rescue from the stocks who Kronos beds then uses as bait (they have some funny dumb flirt dialogue). There are neat touches, such as trying to find a method that will kill their friend who has been infected, crosses changing shape, flows wilting in the presence of vampires, use of ancient medicines, and the sword play. In a rarity for Hammer, a male (Janson) is exploited as much as the females - he's always got his shirt off.
Often the handing feels like a crappy 70s TV show, though, complete with scenes that are dragged on too long and mugging character actors - this probably would have been better as a pilot for TV. The head vampire here claims descent from the Karnsteins, so you could link this to other Hammer Karnstein films such as The Vampire Lovers, Twins of Evil and Lust for a Vampire.
Movie review - "We Bought a Zoo" (2011) ***
A film that is so sweet and good natured with such a big heart that at times you really don't mind it's flaws - the length (two hours), ambling narrative, the fact it really should have played greater attention to subplots and been made in England. That country seems to suit these stories more, with its animal love and abundance of character actors and great experience in ensemble drama, than Hollywood, with it's emphasis on heroes journeys. There's also the fact that Matt Damon isn't really that terrific in ordinary guy parts - there's nothing wrong with his acting, you just wish they'd found a young Tom Hanks or gotten Tom Cruise to do it - a star who can coast on their personality more.
But it is sweet, full of emotion, stuff like "all you need are 20 seconds of pure courage" really work, the love of a man for his dead wife is well conveyed (although it must be easier when Scarlett Johansson is there as a replacement). Cute kids and animals and young teen romance. Impossible to dislike.
But it is sweet, full of emotion, stuff like "all you need are 20 seconds of pure courage" really work, the love of a man for his dead wife is well conveyed (although it must be easier when Scarlett Johansson is there as a replacement). Cute kids and animals and young teen romance. Impossible to dislike.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Movie review - "Destry" (1954) **
This remake of Destry Rides Again (which in itself was a remake) normally gets short shrift by critics, and certainly Audie Murphy and Mari Blanchard are no James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich, but it's still an enjoyable 90 minutes.
The basic story has hardly been changed so that's good, it's in colour, the support cast impresses (including Thomas Mitchell, Lyle Bettger and Alan Hale Jnr) and I am fond of Murphy. He's not bad casting: a cherub-cheeked kid who looked like the boy next door but actually was a secret killer. He's not in Stewart's league as an actor (he doesn't have the voice, confidence or charm) but he works on his own level, and it's one of his best performances.
He's certainly more effective than Mari Blanchard, who does her best, is quite sexy and has black hair (so she must be a tramp), but isn't a star. You wish Universal had stumped up the cash for someone with more of a name to play against Murphy - Maureen O'Hara or someone like that. For some reason Joe Butterfly is considered Audie Murphy's only comedy, when this is clearly one too - I guess it's because it was a Western as well.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Book review - "Allan's Wife" by H Rider Haggard (warning: spoilers)
The early adventures of Allan Quatermain, covering his childhood, early years in Africa and very short lived marriage to the woman who gave birth to his son. It's not a major epic like King Solomon's Mines or Allan Quatermain but it doesn't containing some exciting and moving moments. Fans will enjoy reading about where Quatermain came from (mother died young, dad and he moved to South Africa, Dad was a clergyman), even if it's more of a prologue.
The story only gets going when Quatermain's dad carks it and Allan heads off on a trek. He meets a wise old African who performs a series of magic tricks, which is dull, and there's some shooting of local fauna, which is even duller but things perk up when they come across some Boers on a trek. There's a Zulu attack, most of the Boers are wiped out except one baby, Quatermain and his friend head off and discover an isolated kraal run by a white man and his beautiful daughter, Stella, Stella and Allan fall in love (well, it's not as though they've got a lot of choice if they're going to turn their noses up at the locals), and have some happiness before her pre-ordained demise.
Some of this is silly - did Stella really have to be a long-lost childhood playmate of Quatermain's? - and the magic powers of the wise old wizard feels like plot cheating too many times (e.g. creating visions to find where Stella has been taken), but there are some good action sequences (attack on the Boers, the rescue of Stella), and a terrific villain in the human raised by baboons who is obsessed with Stella. I'm surprised Haggard introduced this Boer baby who Quatermain and Stella look after and didn't bring her back for subsequent adventures. The ending is quite moving (although the time line took a while to wrap my head around - from my calculations it took Stella eight months to die at the kraal). Enough colour and movement to make you wonder why it was never adapted.
The story only gets going when Quatermain's dad carks it and Allan heads off on a trek. He meets a wise old African who performs a series of magic tricks, which is dull, and there's some shooting of local fauna, which is even duller but things perk up when they come across some Boers on a trek. There's a Zulu attack, most of the Boers are wiped out except one baby, Quatermain and his friend head off and discover an isolated kraal run by a white man and his beautiful daughter, Stella, Stella and Allan fall in love (well, it's not as though they've got a lot of choice if they're going to turn their noses up at the locals), and have some happiness before her pre-ordained demise.
Some of this is silly - did Stella really have to be a long-lost childhood playmate of Quatermain's? - and the magic powers of the wise old wizard feels like plot cheating too many times (e.g. creating visions to find where Stella has been taken), but there are some good action sequences (attack on the Boers, the rescue of Stella), and a terrific villain in the human raised by baboons who is obsessed with Stella. I'm surprised Haggard introduced this Boer baby who Quatermain and Stella look after and didn't bring her back for subsequent adventures. The ending is quite moving (although the time line took a while to wrap my head around - from my calculations it took Stella eight months to die at the kraal). Enough colour and movement to make you wonder why it was never adapted.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Movie review - "Anne of the Indies" (1951) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)
Anne Bonney, the famous female pirate (famous because she's a female, really) gets her own film and has some heavyweight talent (Phillip Dunne on script, Jacques Tourneur behind the camera) but is unfortunately let down by the disastrous miscasting of Jean Peters. She tries but is far too mild and uncharismatic in a role that cries out for someone with strength: Maureen O'Hara, Susan Hayward or Jane Russell. This was Peters' big chance and she fails.
It's a remarkable swashbuckler in that it really doesn't have a hero - Peters is a sympathetic anti-hero but is still a ruthless pirate who orders Louis Jourdan flogged and has prisoners killed; her ship's doctor Herbert Marshall is meant to be her conscience, but is really an alcoholic buffoon who is irritating; the British who fight the pirates are very ruthless, blackmailing Louis Jourdan into helping fight Peters. Jourdan I suppose is a nominal hero, but he's really mean - going undercover and making Peters fall in love with her, kissing her on the boat (surely they were having sex)... when he has a wife (Debra Paget) back at home who he prefers! I think we're meant to be on Jourdan's side when Peters kidnaps Paget and threatens to sell her into a harem, but, sorry, my sympathy's with Peters. So her about-face at the end when she comes to Jourdan and Peter's defence against Blackbeard (Thomas Gomez) isn't terribly convincing.
The chief attraction of this film is its difference to regular pirate movies: there's a female protagonist, the male romantic lead is French rather than British, Peters and Paget have some enjoyable squabbles. There's also a decent amount of colour and action plus some fun scenery chewing performances from Thomas Gomez and James Robertson Justice. But it still feels like a failure.
It's a remarkable swashbuckler in that it really doesn't have a hero - Peters is a sympathetic anti-hero but is still a ruthless pirate who orders Louis Jourdan flogged and has prisoners killed; her ship's doctor Herbert Marshall is meant to be her conscience, but is really an alcoholic buffoon who is irritating; the British who fight the pirates are very ruthless, blackmailing Louis Jourdan into helping fight Peters. Jourdan I suppose is a nominal hero, but he's really mean - going undercover and making Peters fall in love with her, kissing her on the boat (surely they were having sex)... when he has a wife (Debra Paget) back at home who he prefers! I think we're meant to be on Jourdan's side when Peters kidnaps Paget and threatens to sell her into a harem, but, sorry, my sympathy's with Peters. So her about-face at the end when she comes to Jourdan and Peter's defence against Blackbeard (Thomas Gomez) isn't terribly convincing.
The chief attraction of this film is its difference to regular pirate movies: there's a female protagonist, the male romantic lead is French rather than British, Peters and Paget have some enjoyable squabbles. There's also a decent amount of colour and action plus some fun scenery chewing performances from Thomas Gomez and James Robertson Justice. But it still feels like a failure.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Movie review - "The Las Vegas Story" (1952) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)
Howard Hughes reunites Jane Russell and Vincent Price from His Kind of Woman in another tale involving love and mystery in a slightly exotic location but instead of Robert Mitchum there's Victor Mature. The story fairly shamelessly rips off Casablanca - Russell returns to down after some time away with her new husband (Price), enters a nightclub where the pianist knows her (Hoagy Carmichael) and plays a theme song ('I Get Along Without You Very Well') which meant something for her and her ex (Victor Mature).
There are differences - instead of doing something interesting like running a casino or nightclub, Mature is a Vegas cop, which sounds interesting, but Mature doesn't do anything like bust heads or gangsters, he spends a lot of time stopping under age kids getting married. Price isn't a freedom fighter but a compulsive gambler. There's no political undercurrents, just people after money.
This is a frustrating film. It's got a lot of strong elements: Vegas, cops, crooks, Jane Russell, lounges, gambling, desert, location shooting. Russell is always fun, the songs are good, the support cast impresses, there's a terrific climax in a deserted airport out in the desert with the wind blowing hard and Mature trying not to get killed as he rescues Russell. But there's a lot of weak bits too - Russell and Mature (who I would have thought made a good team) have no chemistry, Mature looks bored, Price is set up as his major character and disappears for the last third (this is unforgivable - he's not even a real baddie). There are some odd bits which smack of Howard Hughes interference (I could be wrong), like Mature bringing Russell along with him as he deals with some under-age elopers; Carmichael singing a long song and the camera cutting back to Russell listening, smiling and nodding her head.
It's a bit of a mess - I enjoyed most of it, particularly the first third and the ending; it's certainly a bit of a curio. Never reaches the giddy heights of His Kind of Woman though.
There are differences - instead of doing something interesting like running a casino or nightclub, Mature is a Vegas cop, which sounds interesting, but Mature doesn't do anything like bust heads or gangsters, he spends a lot of time stopping under age kids getting married. Price isn't a freedom fighter but a compulsive gambler. There's no political undercurrents, just people after money.
This is a frustrating film. It's got a lot of strong elements: Vegas, cops, crooks, Jane Russell, lounges, gambling, desert, location shooting. Russell is always fun, the songs are good, the support cast impresses, there's a terrific climax in a deserted airport out in the desert with the wind blowing hard and Mature trying not to get killed as he rescues Russell. But there's a lot of weak bits too - Russell and Mature (who I would have thought made a good team) have no chemistry, Mature looks bored, Price is set up as his major character and disappears for the last third (this is unforgivable - he's not even a real baddie). There are some odd bits which smack of Howard Hughes interference (I could be wrong), like Mature bringing Russell along with him as he deals with some under-age elopers; Carmichael singing a long song and the camera cutting back to Russell listening, smiling and nodding her head.
It's a bit of a mess - I enjoyed most of it, particularly the first third and the ending; it's certainly a bit of a curio. Never reaches the giddy heights of His Kind of Woman though.
Movie review - "Son of Ali Baba" (1952) **
Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie are reunited in another Eastern after the success of The Prince Who Was a Thief but this isn't nearly as much fun. For one thing it doesn't have much of a story - instead of being an underdog Curtis is the pampered, womanising son of Ali Baba training to be a soldier; he falls for Piper Laurie who he thinks is a dancer, then thinks is a slave girl who's escaped, then realises is a princess. Oh and there's an uprising and his father is thrown in gaol. It lacks the clear drive and fun of Prince. Everett Sloan is missed too - there's no older characters with decent roles except the big villain (Ali Baba isn't in it much hardly). And the characters that Curtis and Laurie play aren't as clearly defined.
There are some perks - terrific sets and costumes, enough action, some funny lines (e.g. Laurie "imagine being forced into a harem" Curtis: "I could handle it"), youthful spirits, a promising character in Ali Baba's daughter (Susan Cabot) who likes to swash a buckle as much as her daughter. And Curtis' growing confidence is evident. But there's too many bland young people in support when what we need are character actors - Hugh O'Brien is a dull baddy, Curtis has this bland friend who helps out. And it never quite licks it's story problems.
There are some perks - terrific sets and costumes, enough action, some funny lines (e.g. Laurie "imagine being forced into a harem" Curtis: "I could handle it"), youthful spirits, a promising character in Ali Baba's daughter (Susan Cabot) who likes to swash a buckle as much as her daughter. And Curtis' growing confidence is evident. But there's too many bland young people in support when what we need are character actors - Hugh O'Brien is a dull baddy, Curtis has this bland friend who helps out. And it never quite licks it's story problems.
Movie review - "Sailor of the King" (1953) *** (warning: spoilers)
If I'm being honest there really isn't enough story here for a feature film - it doesn't go for much longer than 80 minutes as is, and there's a bit of padding: the opening prologue involving Brown's mother, setting up the big battle, the big battle... almost an hour has clocked in before Brown gets on the island with his rifle taking pot shots at the Germans, and this bit doesn't go for very long. To be fair, I couldn't see how much longer it could go - the action as it is works out logically (the Germans try big guns, then a boat crew, then have to bail because the British are coming). I think the material was suited more to an anthology series.
Having said that, I did like it. It's professionally handled by Roy Boulting, the navy stuff seems real to someone who knows very little about the Navy (e.g. the battle sequences, terms used), there's some good performances from Wendy Hiller (proper girl who's up for five days constant shagging), Michael Rennie (all craggy dignity and that great voice), Peter Van Eyck (the German captain) and Bernard Miles (the lower decks sailor who along with Brown is the only survivor of the sunken ship and conveniently speaks German).
Jeffrey Hunter isn't that great - he seems like such a nice chap and made all those John Ford films, I want to like him more than I do, but the fact is he's bland. He runs around without a shirt for most of the movie, as if the filmmakers were aware of this and wanted to ensure they at least got some teen girls along. It doesn't help he plays yet another Canadian in the British army (yes, I know there were some, but there were South Africans, Aussies, Kiwis, Indians, etc too).
The Germans come out of this fairly well - they're not sadistic, Van Eyck is reasonable and doesn't torture Hunter, an officer tells the Brits about Hunter being on the island, Hunter's guards are friendly to him, the doctor looks after Bernard Miles even though he's injured, etc.
There are two endings - the copy of the film I saw actually had one ending after another. The first one involves Hunter dying and Hiller posthumously receiving a VC - the second one has him surviving. The second one is much better - it felt really mean to kill him off after all he'd been through.
Having said that, I did like it. It's professionally handled by Roy Boulting, the navy stuff seems real to someone who knows very little about the Navy (e.g. the battle sequences, terms used), there's some good performances from Wendy Hiller (proper girl who's up for five days constant shagging), Michael Rennie (all craggy dignity and that great voice), Peter Van Eyck (the German captain) and Bernard Miles (the lower decks sailor who along with Brown is the only survivor of the sunken ship and conveniently speaks German).
Jeffrey Hunter isn't that great - he seems like such a nice chap and made all those John Ford films, I want to like him more than I do, but the fact is he's bland. He runs around without a shirt for most of the movie, as if the filmmakers were aware of this and wanted to ensure they at least got some teen girls along. It doesn't help he plays yet another Canadian in the British army (yes, I know there were some, but there were South Africans, Aussies, Kiwis, Indians, etc too).
The Germans come out of this fairly well - they're not sadistic, Van Eyck is reasonable and doesn't torture Hunter, an officer tells the Brits about Hunter being on the island, Hunter's guards are friendly to him, the doctor looks after Bernard Miles even though he's injured, etc.
There are two endings - the copy of the film I saw actually had one ending after another. The first one involves Hunter dying and Hiller posthumously receiving a VC - the second one has him surviving. The second one is much better - it felt really mean to kill him off after all he'd been through.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Movie review - "The Prince Who Was a Thief" (1951) ***
Terrific, joyous fun, full of youthful good spirits. This was Tony Curtis' debut as a star and Universal didn't stint - there seems to be an ample budget, plenty of starlets and extras, delightful production design and colourful photography. The story is solid, unoriginal and strong (from Theodore Dreiser!!) - a royal baby is about to be killed but the assassin (Everett Sloan) can't go through with it so raises him as his own to be a thief.
Curtis makes his debt bare chested and swimming, as if the filmmakers wanted to ensure he got off to a start that played to his strengths. But there's more to him than a healthy torso - he's got looks and a lot of charm. The Bronx accent isn't too distracting here - I think because it's set in such a fantasy Arabia (it jarred for me more in Kansas Raiders). Even better than he is Piper Laurie, wonderful value as a feisty red head, a sort of teen Maureen O'Hara, who is a nimble thief, cute as hell, and dead keen on Curtis.
The screenwriters have joyously raided the Koran, and Arabic histories and legends for names and incidents. I'm sure it's all distorted horribly but at least they made some vague stab at authenticity. Lots of action, silly dialogue, dancing girls, colour and youthful good spirits.
Curtis makes his debt bare chested and swimming, as if the filmmakers wanted to ensure he got off to a start that played to his strengths. But there's more to him than a healthy torso - he's got looks and a lot of charm. The Bronx accent isn't too distracting here - I think because it's set in such a fantasy Arabia (it jarred for me more in Kansas Raiders). Even better than he is Piper Laurie, wonderful value as a feisty red head, a sort of teen Maureen O'Hara, who is a nimble thief, cute as hell, and dead keen on Curtis.
The screenwriters have joyously raided the Koran, and Arabic histories and legends for names and incidents. I'm sure it's all distorted horribly but at least they made some vague stab at authenticity. Lots of action, silly dialogue, dancing girls, colour and youthful good spirits.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Movie review - "The Spanish Gardener" (1956) **1/2
A real hit and miss affair, which surely was made with the hopes of it resulting in another The Fallen Idol. Michael Hordern is a single father of Jon Whitely, working in Spain, who watches with concern as Whitely starts hero worshipping a gardener Dirk Bogarde. This eventually drives Hordern to frame Bogarde for a crime he didn't commit.
This movie is all over the shop, rather like Bogarde's performance - in parts effective, he's undermined by his dodgy accent (which pops in an out and he's never really remotely convincing as a Spaniard). (NB You know this would have worked just as well had Bogarde played an Englishman and the story been set in England - he could be very effective having control over people). It's not a bad performance, though - he's got the charisma and presence which is needed, and he works well with Whitely (with whom he made Hunted).
Hordern is superb - it's really his movie, a man suffering a mid life crisis (divorced, passed over for promotion), uncertain about his future, in a foreign country, poor relationship with his son and friends. He really goes all out and takes all his chances. The script does let him down, in part because of censorship - his attraction towards the gardener, a feature of the novel, cannot be conveyed. There are some odd bits like Geoffrey Keen telling off Hordern because he can't let people in (an Englishman telling another Englishman this) and saying that Whitely's relationship with Bogarde is perfectly healthy and normal (is it?).
There's some pleasing location work, such as a pelota game, and a refreshingly positive view of foreigners for a British film of the 50s (here it's the Poms who are the hypocrites - Maureen Swanson, whose pointy nose meant she normally always played bad girls is actually allowed to be a nice person). Muriel Pavlov is in it too and I always like her. But it feels flawed and half done - restricted by the censor, miscasting and the talents of the makers involved. A shame because it feels as thought it could have been something really good. Bogarde fans will want to check it out for novelty.
This movie is all over the shop, rather like Bogarde's performance - in parts effective, he's undermined by his dodgy accent (which pops in an out and he's never really remotely convincing as a Spaniard). (NB You know this would have worked just as well had Bogarde played an Englishman and the story been set in England - he could be very effective having control over people). It's not a bad performance, though - he's got the charisma and presence which is needed, and he works well with Whitely (with whom he made Hunted).
Hordern is superb - it's really his movie, a man suffering a mid life crisis (divorced, passed over for promotion), uncertain about his future, in a foreign country, poor relationship with his son and friends. He really goes all out and takes all his chances. The script does let him down, in part because of censorship - his attraction towards the gardener, a feature of the novel, cannot be conveyed. There are some odd bits like Geoffrey Keen telling off Hordern because he can't let people in (an Englishman telling another Englishman this) and saying that Whitely's relationship with Bogarde is perfectly healthy and normal (is it?).
There's some pleasing location work, such as a pelota game, and a refreshingly positive view of foreigners for a British film of the 50s (here it's the Poms who are the hypocrites - Maureen Swanson, whose pointy nose meant she normally always played bad girls is actually allowed to be a nice person). Muriel Pavlov is in it too and I always like her. But it feels flawed and half done - restricted by the censor, miscasting and the talents of the makers involved. A shame because it feels as thought it could have been something really good. Bogarde fans will want to check it out for novelty.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Movie review - "Kansas Raiders" (1950) ***
Bill Collins always thought highly of this Western, which isn't among the best known of the genre - certainly not compared to say the works of John Ford or the James Stewart-Anthony Mann films. But then none of Audie Murphy's Westerns seem too highly regarded by film buffs.
It's got a great story: the adventures of Jesse James and his brother and friends (Youngers, Daltons) as he joins Quantrill's Raiders during the Civil war. It's sort of like a 1950 version of Young Guns, with history used as a playground for Universal to use some of their spunky young actors.
Murphy maybe wasn't the best actor in the world but he had presence. There was no screen star really like him except maybe James Cagney: short, wired, with deadly eyes and his Texan accent, that violence bubbling underneath, quick on the draw, but capable of charm. He's completely convincing as a Southerner who'd do something like join Quantrill, face a man in a fight and kill him ruthlessly, be torn over his decisions. It's a very effective performance..
There's some decent support by Richard Long and James Best, plus very strong work from Brian Donlevy as Quantrill. It's fun to see Tony Curtis as Kit Dalton, but I've got to admit he stood out like a sore thumb, with his accent and inexperience (especially in contrast to Murphy who is so much at home). He just feels too modern.
Scott Brady looks as though he's going to be amazing as Bloody Bill Anderson, with a dopey, killer smile but he's never given that much to do. That's the problem with this film - it's got a great situation but they never really exploit it, or dig deep enough into the characterisations or the drama. Maybe it could be remade.
It's got a great story: the adventures of Jesse James and his brother and friends (Youngers, Daltons) as he joins Quantrill's Raiders during the Civil war. It's sort of like a 1950 version of Young Guns, with history used as a playground for Universal to use some of their spunky young actors.
Murphy maybe wasn't the best actor in the world but he had presence. There was no screen star really like him except maybe James Cagney: short, wired, with deadly eyes and his Texan accent, that violence bubbling underneath, quick on the draw, but capable of charm. He's completely convincing as a Southerner who'd do something like join Quantrill, face a man in a fight and kill him ruthlessly, be torn over his decisions. It's a very effective performance..
There's some decent support by Richard Long and James Best, plus very strong work from Brian Donlevy as Quantrill. It's fun to see Tony Curtis as Kit Dalton, but I've got to admit he stood out like a sore thumb, with his accent and inexperience (especially in contrast to Murphy who is so much at home). He just feels too modern.
Scott Brady looks as though he's going to be amazing as Bloody Bill Anderson, with a dopey, killer smile but he's never given that much to do. That's the problem with this film - it's got a great situation but they never really exploit it, or dig deep enough into the characterisations or the drama. Maybe it could be remade.
Movie review - "Yankee Pasha" (1952) **1/2
David Shipman once wrote of Jeff Chandler that it's hard to believe he really existed - he did have an aura of unreality about him, with that hawk nosed profile, beefy physique, grey wavy hair, magnificent booming voice (he was an old radio hand). So he was well suited for Universal's colourful action films of the 50s - technicolour, swords and sandals, dashing heroes, dusky maidens, comic support actors, cheerful raiding of history for characters and incidents, action and romance.
This is a rare swashbuckler with American heroes - what's more Chandler and Scott Brady play characters based on real American naval officers of the 19th century. This means hero duties are split between the two which I'm not sure was the right decision: Chandler is captain of the ship and gets to make most of the decisions whereas Brady is in danger more and gets the girl at the end. (It doesn't help that Chandler has the presence of a star whereas Brady doesn't, really.) The plot has their ship going undercover as a pirate to bust real pirates who turn out to be, as usual, the Spanish.
Russell Metty did the wonderful photography. It's the most colourful collection of pirates I can ever remember seeing in a film - everyone is in primary colours (Frank Tashlin would have been proud). The story feels awfully familiar, as if to compensate for the novelty of it's American heroes, and the handling is perfunctory rather than inspired. But if you want ships, swashbuckling, pirates and comically drunk first mates, this will tick a few boxes.
This is a rare swashbuckler with American heroes - what's more Chandler and Scott Brady play characters based on real American naval officers of the 19th century. This means hero duties are split between the two which I'm not sure was the right decision: Chandler is captain of the ship and gets to make most of the decisions whereas Brady is in danger more and gets the girl at the end. (It doesn't help that Chandler has the presence of a star whereas Brady doesn't, really.) The plot has their ship going undercover as a pirate to bust real pirates who turn out to be, as usual, the Spanish.
Russell Metty did the wonderful photography. It's the most colourful collection of pirates I can ever remember seeing in a film - everyone is in primary colours (Frank Tashlin would have been proud). The story feels awfully familiar, as if to compensate for the novelty of it's American heroes, and the handling is perfunctory rather than inspired. But if you want ships, swashbuckling, pirates and comically drunk first mates, this will tick a few boxes.
Book review - "The Unholy Three" by John Hamilton
A delightfully random collection of profiles - the lives of Dennis Price, Andre Morell and George Colouris, all grouped together under the one roof. Why? Well, I'm guessing the main reason is that the author just liked all those actors and felt accounts of their lives had been unrepresented - they aren't really linked in the way, say, George Zucco, Colin Clive and Lionel Atwill were (another "grouping" biography - all three were famous on-screen mad scientists). They were all English, dabbled in horror movies, were highly regarded.... It's not much of a link, really.
Nonetheless it's a fun book - there's not a tremendous amount of primary research but all three actors had interesting careers and so little is known about them (to me at any rate) I found it engrossing. Of the three Morrell seemed to have the happiest life - consistently strong and varied roles (it helped he played authority figures so convincingly, there's always parts for generals); he worked with truly top filmmakers all through his career (Kubrick, Lean - a good friend, Wyler); happy home life.
Colouris had a wonderful career too but always seemed grumpy about it - forever whinging. (He lived to a good age so presumably the whinging helped.) He struggled to established himself, having to move from England to American, where he worked extensively with Orson Welles on radio and of course Citizen Kane. He later returned to England where he had a very varied career, with steadily diminishing roles on screen but good ones on stage.
Price was more of a tragic, epic figure - from a wealthy family, a war time slacker who rocketed to sort-of fame for Gainsborough as a James Mason substitute; he was never really a star, because he lacked charisma; he wasn't much of a character actor either. But he was a personality, and found constant work playing villains, spivs, blackmail victims, etc. Although married he was gay and enjoyed rough stuff, which resulted in a suicide attempt and public disgrace, but he came back. He also loved drinking and gambling. So it's kind of a miracle he did as well as he did. This is the most interesting section and it finishes the book on a strong note. A good read.
Nonetheless it's a fun book - there's not a tremendous amount of primary research but all three actors had interesting careers and so little is known about them (to me at any rate) I found it engrossing. Of the three Morrell seemed to have the happiest life - consistently strong and varied roles (it helped he played authority figures so convincingly, there's always parts for generals); he worked with truly top filmmakers all through his career (Kubrick, Lean - a good friend, Wyler); happy home life.
Colouris had a wonderful career too but always seemed grumpy about it - forever whinging. (He lived to a good age so presumably the whinging helped.) He struggled to established himself, having to move from England to American, where he worked extensively with Orson Welles on radio and of course Citizen Kane. He later returned to England where he had a very varied career, with steadily diminishing roles on screen but good ones on stage.
Price was more of a tragic, epic figure - from a wealthy family, a war time slacker who rocketed to sort-of fame for Gainsborough as a James Mason substitute; he was never really a star, because he lacked charisma; he wasn't much of a character actor either. But he was a personality, and found constant work playing villains, spivs, blackmail victims, etc. Although married he was gay and enjoyed rough stuff, which resulted in a suicide attempt and public disgrace, but he came back. He also loved drinking and gambling. So it's kind of a miracle he did as well as he did. This is the most interesting section and it finishes the book on a strong note. A good read.
Movie review - "Hot Enough for June" (1964) **1/2
Breezy, light Ralph Thomas entertainment, like a glass of cool lemonade on a hot day - there's colour photography, location shooting in Europe and an amiable plot which has unemployed writer Dirk Bogarde forced to look for work and his skill at speaking Czech sees him wind up as a spy. Only the thing is he doesn't know he's a spy for a while, meaning he's passive - one of several problems this movie has if you're being picky.
It also lacks a genuine sense of danger, and humour - for it's basically a spy spoof (it starts with a file clearing out a the belongings of a dead agent, 007... how did they get clearance for that?). So the end result is it lacks an identity - not quite a spoof, not quite a thriller. It's probably best described as a very light entertainment.
Syvla Koscina is stunning - hot enough to be a Bond girl herself (I'm sure she was considered for the series), although Bogarde's never quite believably into her. There's an excellent support cast that England can pull out at times: Robert Morley, Derek Fowlds (a great bug eyed spy), Leo McKern (an ideal Commie baddie), John Le Mesurier, etc. It's worth watching if you like colourful entertainment and happen to catch it on television.
It also lacks a genuine sense of danger, and humour - for it's basically a spy spoof (it starts with a file clearing out a the belongings of a dead agent, 007... how did they get clearance for that?). So the end result is it lacks an identity - not quite a spoof, not quite a thriller. It's probably best described as a very light entertainment.
Syvla Koscina is stunning - hot enough to be a Bond girl herself (I'm sure she was considered for the series), although Bogarde's never quite believably into her. There's an excellent support cast that England can pull out at times: Robert Morley, Derek Fowlds (a great bug eyed spy), Leo McKern (an ideal Commie baddie), John Le Mesurier, etc. It's worth watching if you like colourful entertainment and happen to catch it on television.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Movie review - "The Blue Lamp" (1949) ***
On one hand you can see why this has come to be mocked - I can't recall a police movie where the police sung so much, the class system within the police force is well entrenched with its working class bobbies and educated detectives - but parts of it hold up very well. It feels real, there's some semi-documentary handling, Ted Willis always liked to research his movies and has clearly done so here There's also a dark underbelly: amiable cop Dixon's son has clearly died (one presumes it was the war) - and despite being brave and decent man she's shot by spiv Dirk Bogarde. I know this was going to happen but was surprised it happened so early - about half way through the movie. The rest is a chase.
The working class had rarely been so nobly treated in a drama by the British film industry and they responded by turning out to this in huge numbers. I think audiences also enjoyed being able to deplore the depravities of the new generation - the ones turned trashy and spoilt by the war (an interesting counter-point to the "Greatest Generation" line we got later on) - while going tsk tsk at them at the same time. That's one of the themes of the movie - these young kids who had no respect for law and order, or even professional criminals, were stuffing everything up with their violent ways. Dirk Bogarde is terrific as the wild youth -sunken cheeks, wild and doomed expression, out of control behaviour. It's a reminder that he really should have played villains more often, he suited them, especially with that air of superiority.
Jack Warner and Jimmy Hanley are bland as the main police bobbies, but Bernard Lee has easy authority as a detective. Anthony Steel has a small role as a (surprise) handsome police bobby - they do give him a prominent close up. Peggy Evans goes overboard as a hysterical girl who falls for Bogarde. Like most Ealing this is very socialist - there's no real one hero, the whole community pitches in to capture Bogarde at the end. It glories in communal joys like singing, living in flats, the cinema and greyhounds. An invaluable time capsule.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Movie review - "Death in Venice" (1971) *** (warning: spoilers)
It's hard to see a film about a middle aged man falling in love/becoming obsessed with a beautiful blonde boy being attended by Queen Elizabeth II these days but that's what happened back in 1971. A different time, no doubt: also it was based on a novella by Thomas Mann, starred Dirk Bogarde and was directed by Visconti.
Some people rave about this film, but I couldn't get into it - maybe the subject matter made me uncomfortable, but also it's very light on story. It goes for over two hours and not that much happens: Bogarde stares at the kid around Venice; we have some flashbacks to his old married life (he had a child who died); more flashbacks to chat to an old colleague who encouraged his art, and dyeing his hair.
The photography and composition of shots are superb - it looks beautiful, and Mahler's music is wonderful. Some of Bogarde's make up looked a bit funny, and for me robbed from his death scene. Bogarde himself is excellent in a role that brings together many of the qualities he had perfected on screen - tormented, soulful, etc. It's a tricky piece of play too because there's not much dialogue and an awful lot of looking.
Some people rave about this film, but I couldn't get into it - maybe the subject matter made me uncomfortable, but also it's very light on story. It goes for over two hours and not that much happens: Bogarde stares at the kid around Venice; we have some flashbacks to his old married life (he had a child who died); more flashbacks to chat to an old colleague who encouraged his art, and dyeing his hair.
The photography and composition of shots are superb - it looks beautiful, and Mahler's music is wonderful. Some of Bogarde's make up looked a bit funny, and for me robbed from his death scene. Bogarde himself is excellent in a role that brings together many of the qualities he had perfected on screen - tormented, soulful, etc. It's a tricky piece of play too because there's not much dialogue and an awful lot of looking.
Movie review - "The High Bright Sun" (1965) ***
A real curio, and a surprise to those who considered Ralph Thomas and Betty Box (myself included) solely committed to making purely commercial films. I'm sure they wanted to make money with this, but still it's a tough and unusual movie, a rare look at the disturbances in Cyprus under British rule in the 1950s. You won't get much of an analysis of the situation - it's mostly angry Greeks and occupying British; the presence of the Turks are barely mentioned except when Greek-Cypriot George Chakiris says he refuses to drink Turkish coffee.
But Thomas paints an evocative picture: there's some terrific location work, a memorable theme song (reminiscent in a little way of The Third Man's zither tune), shots of Greek Cypriot faces glowering at the Brits, the torn loyalties of the locals, the battered British officers.
Dirk Bogarde is mostly very effective as the tough, ruthless local intelligence operative - smart, misogynist, cunning. I say "mostly" though because there are these attempts to soften him. He calls Susan Strasberg a bitch and says he's going to force a confession out of her, then he apologises and confesses to being in love with her. He seems to know what's going on and be ruthlessly efficient but when you look at what he does it's not that smart. (The film would have been better if he had been straight out ruthless.)
Susan Strasberg's character is also confusing - she's an American whose father was from Cyprus; the plot involves her witnessing a murderous attack on British soldiers and realising her father's best friend (with whom she is staying) is hiding the leading Cyprus general. She seems to dilly-dally: she doesn't dob but falls for Bogarde and we're never clear why she does either. Strasberg is pretty, though, and her fragility suits the role.
The supporting cast features superb work from Denholm Elliot, as a seemingly drunk intelligence officer who has a rather convoluted history with Bogarde's wife, and solid work from George Chakiris. (While the film does depict Bogarde to be ruthless he does have a few shades whereas Chakiris is shown to be out-and-out-evil.) This movie is a little bit of a mess but I've always enjoyed it.
But Thomas paints an evocative picture: there's some terrific location work, a memorable theme song (reminiscent in a little way of The Third Man's zither tune), shots of Greek Cypriot faces glowering at the Brits, the torn loyalties of the locals, the battered British officers.
Dirk Bogarde is mostly very effective as the tough, ruthless local intelligence operative - smart, misogynist, cunning. I say "mostly" though because there are these attempts to soften him. He calls Susan Strasberg a bitch and says he's going to force a confession out of her, then he apologises and confesses to being in love with her. He seems to know what's going on and be ruthlessly efficient but when you look at what he does it's not that smart. (The film would have been better if he had been straight out ruthless.)
Susan Strasberg's character is also confusing - she's an American whose father was from Cyprus; the plot involves her witnessing a murderous attack on British soldiers and realising her father's best friend (with whom she is staying) is hiding the leading Cyprus general. She seems to dilly-dally: she doesn't dob but falls for Bogarde and we're never clear why she does either. Strasberg is pretty, though, and her fragility suits the role.
The supporting cast features superb work from Denholm Elliot, as a seemingly drunk intelligence officer who has a rather convoluted history with Bogarde's wife, and solid work from George Chakiris. (While the film does depict Bogarde to be ruthless he does have a few shades whereas Chakiris is shown to be out-and-out-evil.) This movie is a little bit of a mess but I've always enjoyed it.
Movie review - "The Password is Courage" (1962) **
POW movies had been a sure thing at the British box office in the 1950s, but the shine was starting to come off in the 1960s (though there was still some life in the genre, e.g. The Great Escape, King Rat, Hogan's Heroes). This is based on the true adventures of Charles Coward, a British soldier who was captured in 1940 and spent a fair bit of the subsequent years escaping and/or trying to make trouble for the Germans.
In common with many of these films, being a POW is a bit of a jolly jape - they try to get away with as much as you can from teacher, and occasionally cop a caning; there are stage shows, hi-jinks and escape attempts; the Germans are mostly silly idiots who can easily be outwitted. I'm sure this did happen every now and then but it feels vaguely offensive.
The lead role really requires a jaunty, British Jimmy Cagney type - maybe a comic. Dirk Bogarde isn't really idea but he's better than Jack Hawkins, Anthony Steel, Stanley Baker, John Mills, Alec Guiness, etc. would have been. Actually maybe that's not right - Mills and Guiness could play convincing cockneys. Nonetheless Bogarde puts on a lower class accent and doesn't do too badly - he really throws himself into it. This was a number of old style British movies Bogarde made in the 60s where he kept one hand on the types of films that made him a star (e.g. Doctor in Distress, The High Bright Sun) while also doing artier stuff with Losey and Visconti. It feels a couple of years too late.
I admit to being in a mixed mind about this film - I kept changing my mind about it as I watched it. Just as I was about to write it off it would come back with an interesting scene or bit of business. But overall it didn't quite work.
The film feels as though it struggles to get a fix on a story: Coward keeps escaping and getting captured again, some of which was is interesting (I loved all the detail of the things they do) but it like happens three times.
There is a big central escape sequence, which feels very familiar to that in The Great Escape (there's lots of tunnelling and the tunnels come out short of the forest and all the prisoners are captured and put on a train together).
There is a woman's part which is not convincingly shoe-horned into the action - I didn't mind her at first when she's with the resistance, but for her to appear towards the end when he had escaped felt silly. Coward's adventures near Auschwitz (he helped save several Jews) are mentioned in a throw away line towards the end of the movie - they're too scared to even say the word "Auschwitz". (Apparently a sequence was filmed but cut).
Aussies will be interested in the presence of Ed Devereaux as a scowling Aussie soldier. Alfred Lynch plays Coward's best friend, a very large part.
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Movie review - "Reach for the Sky" (1956) ***
An interesting "what if" for fans of 50s British cinema - would this movie, the most popular of it's year in Britain, been as well received had Richard Burton played the lead role, as originally intended? Burton was talented, no doubt - good looking, charismatic and all that - but he had a gloominess about him. Kenneth More had a persona of cheerful determination - the plucky, happy, stiff upper lip - that makes this less depressing than Burton surely would have made it. It also feels more realistic and less self-pitying. The result was the biggest hit of More's career.
The basic material is fascinating of course: Douglas Bader the legless war ace. He starts of the movie as a cocky, bouncy brat who is hugely confident in his own abilities and distrustful of authority... and kind of ends up that way. The difference is he finds a worth challenge to sink his teeth into: first adjusting to life without legs, then fighting the war, then escaping.
The treatment is very much 50s British war film: lots of bland character actors, black and white photography, and forced cheeriness. Muriel Pavlov is sweet and warm in a role that doesn't require her to be much more than that (but is still important). It goes on far too long - the training sequence with the Canadians drags especially (was this put in to hopefully appeal to the North American market?)
It also seems to get less serious as the story progresses - losing legs and the subsequent struggle is treated dead seriously, but the war is mostly fun and games, and being a POW is a lark (the final bit has Bader/More mocking German guards and his fellow prisoners laughing). And I wish Bader hadn't repeated that nurse's name Brace so much during his recuperation sequence (they set her up as this possible romantic interest but it's not taken up - maybe she got sick of him hearing him say "Brace", "Brace" all the time).
The basic material is fascinating of course: Douglas Bader the legless war ace. He starts of the movie as a cocky, bouncy brat who is hugely confident in his own abilities and distrustful of authority... and kind of ends up that way. The difference is he finds a worth challenge to sink his teeth into: first adjusting to life without legs, then fighting the war, then escaping.
The treatment is very much 50s British war film: lots of bland character actors, black and white photography, and forced cheeriness. Muriel Pavlov is sweet and warm in a role that doesn't require her to be much more than that (but is still important). It goes on far too long - the training sequence with the Canadians drags especially (was this put in to hopefully appeal to the North American market?)
It also seems to get less serious as the story progresses - losing legs and the subsequent struggle is treated dead seriously, but the war is mostly fun and games, and being a POW is a lark (the final bit has Bader/More mocking German guards and his fellow prisoners laughing). And I wish Bader hadn't repeated that nurse's name Brace so much during his recuperation sequence (they set her up as this possible romantic interest but it's not taken up - maybe she got sick of him hearing him say "Brace", "Brace" all the time).
Movie review - "The Avengers" (2012) **** (warning: spoilers)
To think we were stuck with all those David Koepp adaptations over the years when Joss Whedon was around to bring comic book adaptations to life. It's one of the best big screen versions of a comic book I can think of - smart, funny, and it mostly spanks along. It does drag for a bit around the two thirds mark - there was a lot of hanging around on that big ship, and in common with many of these spectacles I found the destruction and action wearying after a while because it didn't seem wedded to anything real.
One of the unwritten rules about blockbusters is a friend of the hero needs to die around the two-thirds mark - since we know none of the Avengers are going to cark it, I figured it would either be Clark Gregg or that woman from How I Met Your Mother (who I didn't spot straight away - I had to google her afterwards), and I was right. They don't do much with the concept of Captain America being in the modern era, which one would have thought was rich fodder, but maybe they're holding that off for his own sequel. Thor is good for a few laughs, but he's a foreigner so doesn't have that much stake in Earth.
The meatiest roles go to Iron Man (which is the best part really because it's got the best lines - he also gets a romance plot with Gwyneth Paltrow), Hulk and Black Widow. The Black Widow stuff with Hawk seemed a little under developed but then I haven't seen Iron Man 2.
Scarlett Johansson is sexy but not terribly convincing as a woman of action. Mark Ruffalo is superb at the Hulk, and gets to take part in the best action sequence - despatching Loki. Great to see on the big screen. Hopefully Whedon will make several blockbusters, as I feel he's more needed in the movies than TV as there are plenty of good TV shows still out there but few films.
Movie review - "Caravan" (1946) *** (warning: spoilers)
Gainsborough really stopped caring with this one... actually maybe that's not fair, but they did stop taking their stories seriously. I know this is relative when talking about 40s melodrama but there's scenes in this which would be laughed at in a Christmas panto e.g. Robert Helpmann trying to push Stewart Granger off a boat (you can practically hear little kids yell out "behind you behind you"), a ridiculous amount of flashbacks in the first half hour as Stewart Granger tells stories of his childhood, the camp acting, ripe dialogue.
Denis Price was kept in by Gainsborough as a reserve villain in case James Mason wasn't available and this gives him his best chance - he's not remotely in Mason's class, even though (or because) he apes Mason's voice at times. Granger does his best in what is a terrible role - but he's fine, and Helpman is terrific as a snivelly assassin, as is Jean Kent as a gypsy girl.
Anne Crawford is the biggest debit: she's stuffy and bland as the aristocrat Granger is in love with (you long for Pat Roc or Phyllis Calvert). Honestly, Granger's better off with Kent, who loves him unconditionally, is brave and sexy as hell, can dance up a storm, dives naked off rocks into the water in front of him, has hundreds of fans panting over her but picks him, and eventually gives up her life for him. You kind of feel depressed at the end when he winds up with this spoilt, not particularly attractive brat.
This is more action orientated than the usual Gainsborough - it starts with a brawl, there's a kids hanging off cliff tops, an extended assassination sequence (which ends very effectively with Granger being shot when we think he's safe), not one but two scenes in quicksand, a coach chase. There's also camp - lots of dancing, a weird scene where Price invites all these prostitutes to dine with Crawford, Kent's nostril flaring performance and famous lines such as "what do you cold English women know about love" (I'm paraphrasing). Stupid, messy, fun, over the top - you can hardly believe they made it.
Denis Price was kept in by Gainsborough as a reserve villain in case James Mason wasn't available and this gives him his best chance - he's not remotely in Mason's class, even though (or because) he apes Mason's voice at times. Granger does his best in what is a terrible role - but he's fine, and Helpman is terrific as a snivelly assassin, as is Jean Kent as a gypsy girl.
Anne Crawford is the biggest debit: she's stuffy and bland as the aristocrat Granger is in love with (you long for Pat Roc or Phyllis Calvert). Honestly, Granger's better off with Kent, who loves him unconditionally, is brave and sexy as hell, can dance up a storm, dives naked off rocks into the water in front of him, has hundreds of fans panting over her but picks him, and eventually gives up her life for him. You kind of feel depressed at the end when he winds up with this spoilt, not particularly attractive brat.
This is more action orientated than the usual Gainsborough - it starts with a brawl, there's a kids hanging off cliff tops, an extended assassination sequence (which ends very effectively with Granger being shot when we think he's safe), not one but two scenes in quicksand, a coach chase. There's also camp - lots of dancing, a weird scene where Price invites all these prostitutes to dine with Crawford, Kent's nostril flaring performance and famous lines such as "what do you cold English women know about love" (I'm paraphrasing). Stupid, messy, fun, over the top - you can hardly believe they made it.
Friday, May 04, 2012
Movie review - "The Ides of March" (2011) ***1/2 (warning: spoilers)
No classic, and the writers are unable to come up with a better twist than "he had sex with an intern" but it's done with panache, with a superb cast: Paul Giamanti and Philip Seymour Hoffman are especially stunning as old-time political operators, both of them with their own integrity despite oozing corruption (Hoffman hangs on to loyalty, Giamanti loves the fight but also encourages young people to give up the game).
George Clooney is appropriately charismatic as the Governor, a dream Democrat (war hero, small "l" liberal) with the disappointingly usual flaw (he can't keep his fly up), and Ryan Gosling solid. Evan Rachel Wood was so confident in seducing Gosling and the way she carried herself I had trouble believing that she'd commit suicide, even after having had an abortion - I also had trouble buying a character like her (educated, well connected) would have difficulty raising five hundred dollars for an abortion.
That aside there are some first rate scenes, it isn't overly political, there is much to mull about on the nature of corruption, Clooney's direction impresses (it reminded me of The Parallax View at times).
George Clooney is appropriately charismatic as the Governor, a dream Democrat (war hero, small "l" liberal) with the disappointingly usual flaw (he can't keep his fly up), and Ryan Gosling solid. Evan Rachel Wood was so confident in seducing Gosling and the way she carried herself I had trouble believing that she'd commit suicide, even after having had an abortion - I also had trouble buying a character like her (educated, well connected) would have difficulty raising five hundred dollars for an abortion.
That aside there are some first rate scenes, it isn't overly political, there is much to mull about on the nature of corruption, Clooney's direction impresses (it reminded me of The Parallax View at times).
Movie review - "The Lost Continent" (1969) ***
Hammer fantasy which serves to show that Michael Carreras really isn't much of a writer or director but is a lot of fun. It's got something for everyone really: a ship containing an assortment of passengers (frizzy haired man with pencil moustache who looks like a pimp, a mysterious woman with an accent who looks like a man, slutty blonde who just wants to be rooted, alcoholic jazz playing pianist, molesting doctor) led by some odd sailors (an officer with unconvincing blonde dyed hair, Eric Porter as a harsh captain with a taste for beating people to a pulp), gets in a storm and wind up in a lost swamp area.
They hop off the ship then hop on again, a repetitive story beat which is just one of the many story problems this film has. The land they arrive in is populated by weird deadly sea creatures, a woman with large breasts and several of her friends who kept above the water with balloons and oppressed by descendants of the Spanish inquisition led by a crazed child.
It's kind of an insane, mad film that probably needed to be done with greater gusto. It definitely needed to get to the Lost Continent earlier - they could have started the movie with the main characters in the life boat waiting to see if the boat was going to blow up. Their adventures once they get there seem rushed. Also there's some silly decisions like inserting an awful theme song.
It also lacks some Hammer star power - Eric Porter was okay but no Cushing, Lee or Andrew Keir. Suzanna Leigh is a delight in low-cut outfits as an aspirational tart who looks as though butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, the support cast seem to be having a high old time. Not top rank Hammer fantasy but worth checking out as a slightly classier version of Slave Girls.
Thursday, May 03, 2012
Movie review - "Raiders in the Sky" (1953) **1/2
There's a sub genre of war film known as the "bomber movie" about crews which go on constant raids and wind up having a nervous breakdown - Twelve O'Clock High, Command Decision, this. It's got the benefit of a story by a real bomber who flew over a hundred missions and feels a lot more real: the briefings with airmen where people up the back ask the officers to speak up, the easy camaraderie in the mess, the elaborate drinking ceremonies with everyone chanting and airmen putting paint dripped feet on the ceiling, the final bombing raid with its radio reports and anxiousness, the sense of routine mixed in with danger.
There's also a strong cast. Dirk Bogarde's youthful good looks and ability to convey neuroticism mean he's ideal in the lead. Old Hollywood standby Ian Hunter pops up bald as a superior officer; Bogarde's crew includes Aussie expat Bill Kerr and future director Bryan Forbes. William Sylvester plays the Bonar Colleano role as an American observer on the plane and Dinah Sheridan is perfect in the sort of part she plays here (widowed, sensible love interest). Kerr is very touching as a softly spoken Aussie who dreams of a sheep farm.
An early foreshadowing of Top Gun - Bogarde meets and flirts with Dinah Sheridan in a bar, then the next day at a session finds himself briefed by Sheridan who is in uniform. At times it's a little too realistic and British and drifts into dullness but it's a strong British war movie.
There's also a strong cast. Dirk Bogarde's youthful good looks and ability to convey neuroticism mean he's ideal in the lead. Old Hollywood standby Ian Hunter pops up bald as a superior officer; Bogarde's crew includes Aussie expat Bill Kerr and future director Bryan Forbes. William Sylvester plays the Bonar Colleano role as an American observer on the plane and Dinah Sheridan is perfect in the sort of part she plays here (widowed, sensible love interest). Kerr is very touching as a softly spoken Aussie who dreams of a sheep farm.
An early foreshadowing of Top Gun - Bogarde meets and flirts with Dinah Sheridan in a bar, then the next day at a session finds himself briefed by Sheridan who is in uniform. At times it's a little too realistic and British and drifts into dullness but it's a strong British war movie.
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Movie review - "The Mind Benders" (1963) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)
A reunion of Dirk Bogarde and Basil Dearden, the team that gave us Victim, results in something that isn't as good, but tries to be, and is at least at bit different. The hot social issue Dearden takes on here is brain washing - which has driven an old colleague of Bogarde's to kill himself. So Bogarde immerses himself in a sensory deprivation tank (years before Altered States)... under the supervision of a military man (John Clements, looking really old) who decides to test it's effectiveness by brainwashing Bogarde into thinking that he doesn't love his wife (Mary Ure). It's a really effective, creepy, horrid scene and even though it doesn't take place until 40 or so minutes in you think this is going to kick off into something really special.
Only it never does, not really. Part of the problem is Bogarde was never that convincing as a man devoted to a woman, and his great love for Ure before his brainwashing isn't as believable as his contempt for her afterwards - so his reformation doesn't strike true. Also the film goes really easy on Clements - instead of having this prick locked up at the end, Bogarde thanks him! The spy plot feels underused and there's all this Bogarde-Ure complex stuff which never feels quite right.
Still, it keeps you watching: Ure is very good as the woman who is emotionally pummelled, there's this random climax which involves her giving birth (we go through most of the process, even though it's not too graphic it's certainly more detailed than we normally get in movies), there's a great brainwashing sequence, and it's definitely different.
Only it never does, not really. Part of the problem is Bogarde was never that convincing as a man devoted to a woman, and his great love for Ure before his brainwashing isn't as believable as his contempt for her afterwards - so his reformation doesn't strike true. Also the film goes really easy on Clements - instead of having this prick locked up at the end, Bogarde thanks him! The spy plot feels underused and there's all this Bogarde-Ure complex stuff which never feels quite right.
Still, it keeps you watching: Ure is very good as the woman who is emotionally pummelled, there's this random climax which involves her giving birth (we go through most of the process, even though it's not too graphic it's certainly more detailed than we normally get in movies), there's a great brainwashing sequence, and it's definitely different.
Book review - "You Couldn't Forget Me If You Tried" by Susannah Gora
Not the definitive account of the Brat Pack/80s teen era, but more a look at specific films: Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Some Kind of Wonderful, St Elmo's Fire and Say Anything. So we get a lot on John Hughes (though it's not a bio), a bit on Cameron Crowe, and a fair amount on the actors. Basically this feels like six long individual pieces stuck together - there's kind of the link of Hughes, but a third of it deals with films he didn't make, and it pretty much ignores Weird Science. So there is something slightly unsatisfactory about it.
Still, what's here is pretty good, helped by interviews with most of the key players - well, actors, mostly, and a few executives, critics, academics and record company people, not so much from editors, cinematographers, etc. There were a lot of things I didn't know - the extent of troubles on Some Kind of Wonderful (which sounds hellish to make), the casting process of the various movies, the story of the writing of the Brat Pack article in New York magazine, the fact that all the actors blame that article for ruining their careers.
I have, like so many, strong memories of the John Hughes films. I had heard about Sixteen Candles before it hit cinemas - the advance word was it was a more serious teen movie. I first saw it on VHS and was delighted to find most of the comedy was very broad, like Meatballs or Vacation - there was a bit of sap but not too much. The others I saw in a cinema (including Weird Science) - except Some Kind of Wonderful which didn't get much of a release. The Breakfast Club blew me away - I remember talking about it with total strangers at McDonalds after seeing it in the cinema. Pretty in Pink was less impressive, though good - it was incredibly serious (like Breakfast it seemed to be a drama, only with a lot less laughs). Ferris was comedy with some great dramatic bits; Some Kind of Wonderful remains my favourite with great personal resonance. These movies were all flawed (e.g. broad racist caricatures in Candles, unconvincing romantic pairings in Breakfast, overly smug hero in Some Kind of Wonderful) but they all had wonderful moments, even Weird Science.
They were all beautifully cast too - Hughes seemed to have a knack of picking young actors who'd done maybe one memorable role before hand e.g. Anthony Michael Hall (Vacation), Mia Sara (Legend), Matthew Broderick (Wargames), Andrew McCarthy (Class). But also he took people who seemed to come out of nowhere, e.g. Jon Cryer, Alan Ruck. And the music was always great - Yello, OMD, Spandau Ballet, Simple Minds, Psychedelic Furs...
Gora is an engaging writer and doesn't deify the films. She could have perhaps put them in a more historical context - while she's strong on the films that Hughes influenced (Kevin Smith, Judd Apatow, etc) she's not as good on the films that influenced him. Surely he was affected by teen tales like Summer of 42 and American Graffiti - or was it the Sandra Dee movies of the 60s? The Hughes tales didn't just drop from the sky.
On one hand you feel some sympathy for the actors being labelled as part of a pack. But did it wreck their careers? A label surely didn't send Molly Ringwald to France, or drive Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, and Rob Lowe to drinking problems, or Ally Sheedy to an eating disorder. Do they really think the label made Ringwald turn down Blue Velvet and Pretty Woman and Some Kind of Wonderful, Hall and McCarthy Some Kind of Wonderful? Also most of them had one or two post Brat Pack hits - Nelson (From the Hip), McCarthy (Mannequin), Lowe (About Last Night, Bad Influence), Sheedy (Short Circuit), Estevez (Young Guns), Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing) - they just had trouble sustaining it. But most of them had decent careers - Nelson, Lowe, Hall, Ruck and Cryer all enjoyed a successful run on the small screen, none of them are washed up junkies.
A great read but you can't help wishing there was something more.
Still, what's here is pretty good, helped by interviews with most of the key players - well, actors, mostly, and a few executives, critics, academics and record company people, not so much from editors, cinematographers, etc. There were a lot of things I didn't know - the extent of troubles on Some Kind of Wonderful (which sounds hellish to make), the casting process of the various movies, the story of the writing of the Brat Pack article in New York magazine, the fact that all the actors blame that article for ruining their careers.
I have, like so many, strong memories of the John Hughes films. I had heard about Sixteen Candles before it hit cinemas - the advance word was it was a more serious teen movie. I first saw it on VHS and was delighted to find most of the comedy was very broad, like Meatballs or Vacation - there was a bit of sap but not too much. The others I saw in a cinema (including Weird Science) - except Some Kind of Wonderful which didn't get much of a release. The Breakfast Club blew me away - I remember talking about it with total strangers at McDonalds after seeing it in the cinema. Pretty in Pink was less impressive, though good - it was incredibly serious (like Breakfast it seemed to be a drama, only with a lot less laughs). Ferris was comedy with some great dramatic bits; Some Kind of Wonderful remains my favourite with great personal resonance. These movies were all flawed (e.g. broad racist caricatures in Candles, unconvincing romantic pairings in Breakfast, overly smug hero in Some Kind of Wonderful) but they all had wonderful moments, even Weird Science.
They were all beautifully cast too - Hughes seemed to have a knack of picking young actors who'd done maybe one memorable role before hand e.g. Anthony Michael Hall (Vacation), Mia Sara (Legend), Matthew Broderick (Wargames), Andrew McCarthy (Class). But also he took people who seemed to come out of nowhere, e.g. Jon Cryer, Alan Ruck. And the music was always great - Yello, OMD, Spandau Ballet, Simple Minds, Psychedelic Furs...
Gora is an engaging writer and doesn't deify the films. She could have perhaps put them in a more historical context - while she's strong on the films that Hughes influenced (Kevin Smith, Judd Apatow, etc) she's not as good on the films that influenced him. Surely he was affected by teen tales like Summer of 42 and American Graffiti - or was it the Sandra Dee movies of the 60s? The Hughes tales didn't just drop from the sky.
On one hand you feel some sympathy for the actors being labelled as part of a pack. But did it wreck their careers? A label surely didn't send Molly Ringwald to France, or drive Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, and Rob Lowe to drinking problems, or Ally Sheedy to an eating disorder. Do they really think the label made Ringwald turn down Blue Velvet and Pretty Woman and Some Kind of Wonderful, Hall and McCarthy Some Kind of Wonderful? Also most of them had one or two post Brat Pack hits - Nelson (From the Hip), McCarthy (Mannequin), Lowe (About Last Night, Bad Influence), Sheedy (Short Circuit), Estevez (Young Guns), Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing) - they just had trouble sustaining it. But most of them had decent careers - Nelson, Lowe, Hall, Ruck and Cryer all enjoyed a successful run on the small screen, none of them are washed up junkies.
A great read but you can't help wishing there was something more.
Movie review - "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" (2011) ****
Comfortably the best movie in this series - incredibly well done, with a first rate script, superb direction, lots of flair and a terrific cast. Tom Cruise is yeah whatever - Ethan Hunt really isn't much of a role - but he is a movie star and he fills the screen. Simon Pegg gives this genuine humour and warmth, Paul Patton is a terrific new star (sexy, enigmatic, believably physical with the action stuff), Jeremy Renner impresses in the is-he-really-a-traitor part.
The settings and characters reflect the shifting world economy - it's hardly set in America, the big money is in Russia, India and the Middle East. It pays very good continuity tribute to Mission Impossible 3 even though this is far superior. Great old fashioned action entertainment in the best sense - there's even a race against time to stop a nuclear war.
The settings and characters reflect the shifting world economy - it's hardly set in America, the big money is in Russia, India and the Middle East. It pays very good continuity tribute to Mission Impossible 3 even though this is far superior. Great old fashioned action entertainment in the best sense - there's even a race against time to stop a nuclear war.
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