Spaghetti Western starring Lee Van Cleef (who also sings songs on the soundtrack!) as a native American cavalry officer investigating a murder... and eventually uncovers a plot to assassinate President Grant. You don't find that out until towards the end of the movie but I'm telling you up front because it'll make this easier to follow - it's a bit over the shop, the sort of early 70s crazy movie that Quentin Tarantino likes.
There's a lot of non-traditional Western features to this movie - the finale mostly takes place on a train, there's a long hallucination sequence, odd camera angles. Stuart Whitman (mysterious businessman) and Carroll Baker (shady lady who has a series of lovers and winds up with Van Cleef) give the support cast genuine class. Philip Yordan was one of the screenwriters.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Book review - "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" by J.K. Rowling (2003)
Number five in the series starts interestingly enough with Harry getting expelled, but then it's rescinded, and Harry joins a creepy secret society, the Order of the Phoenix and takes part in some exceedingly dull adventures. This book felt as though it went on forever, and was agonising to get through and I was becoming really annoyed at the series love for Imperial adventure (complete with forelock tugging servants and Bulldog Drummond style secret societies)... when, towards the end, all hell breaks loose and it becomes awesome.
Movie review - "So Sweet So Peverse" (1969) ** (warning: spoilers)
Carroll Baker was usually the biggest name in the European thrillers she made in the late 60s and early 70s but here she's matched with Jean Louis Trintignant, that French film star from Z and A Man and a Woman who always looked like a chartered accountant.
He plays a married financier who falls in love with the mysterious Baker, who then claims her boyfriend (Horst Frank) wants to murdered Trintignant. Trintignant's wife Erika Blanc also gets involved.
There's some great giallo craziness: montage sequences of water skiing and dancing in night clubs, a black woman (Beryl Cunningham) dances and strips at a party and demands that a couple kiss.The second half it settles down to a standard rip off of Les Diabolique - husband dies, everyone's in cahoots, the two women are having an affair, the wife is driven ga-ga, the police inspector gets them at the end... Actually listing the story elements like that, this really is a rip off.
Very erratic acting: I normally like Baker but while she has some sexy moments and is good with Trintignant, she's bad in the second half off the movie, with some awful dialogue delivery. She does a little bit of nudity though not as much as in other films. Erika Blanc is alright. Some groovy music and photography.
He plays a married financier who falls in love with the mysterious Baker, who then claims her boyfriend (Horst Frank) wants to murdered Trintignant. Trintignant's wife Erika Blanc also gets involved.
There's some great giallo craziness: montage sequences of water skiing and dancing in night clubs, a black woman (Beryl Cunningham) dances and strips at a party and demands that a couple kiss.The second half it settles down to a standard rip off of Les Diabolique - husband dies, everyone's in cahoots, the two women are having an affair, the wife is driven ga-ga, the police inspector gets them at the end... Actually listing the story elements like that, this really is a rip off.
Very erratic acting: I normally like Baker but while she has some sexy moments and is good with Trintignant, she's bad in the second half off the movie, with some awful dialogue delivery. She does a little bit of nudity though not as much as in other films. Erika Blanc is alright. Some groovy music and photography.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Movie review - "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) *****
A movie that has aged incredibly well, in part because it was envisioned as a period piece - stunning production design take us back to a never never land of 1936, when Nazis roamed the globe and Americans could still be described as innocent, when all Arab extras gibbered wildly (actually that hasn't changed much in Hollywood) and bars in Nepal were run by tough talking dames who could drink men under the table, and saloons in the third world had ventian blinds.
It's a world of Charlie Chan, Mr Moto, Howard Hawks, Casablanca, Charlton Heston in Secret of the Incas, Tarzan, Only Angels Have Wings, Torrid Zone, His Girl Friday, 30s serials, Zorro, Stagecoach, Gunga Din, Valley of the Kings, Lawrence of Arabia, Alan Ladd in China. A brilliant, beautiful pastiche, even more effective than Star Wars, made with love, humour and passion, and perhaps the best ever adventure script courtesy of Lawrence Kasdan.
Gripe time - it's annoying we never saw how Indy survived the submerging submarine, or Marian survive the explosion, and once or twice when rewatching this it dragged (particularly the jeep chasing scene). It is extremely violent even by today's standards.
But Harrison Ford is a perfect hero, handsome and stressed out (and a lot more of a prick than I remembered), Karen Allen a feisty, likeable heroine in the Ann Sheridan mode (although how young is she when Indy had her way with her? She says she was a child!), John Rhys Davis and Denholm Elliot perfect sidekicks, Paul Freeman a wonderful villain. It is wonderful fun.
It's a world of Charlie Chan, Mr Moto, Howard Hawks, Casablanca, Charlton Heston in Secret of the Incas, Tarzan, Only Angels Have Wings, Torrid Zone, His Girl Friday, 30s serials, Zorro, Stagecoach, Gunga Din, Valley of the Kings, Lawrence of Arabia, Alan Ladd in China. A brilliant, beautiful pastiche, even more effective than Star Wars, made with love, humour and passion, and perhaps the best ever adventure script courtesy of Lawrence Kasdan.
Gripe time - it's annoying we never saw how Indy survived the submerging submarine, or Marian survive the explosion, and once or twice when rewatching this it dragged (particularly the jeep chasing scene). It is extremely violent even by today's standards.
But Harrison Ford is a perfect hero, handsome and stressed out (and a lot more of a prick than I remembered), Karen Allen a feisty, likeable heroine in the Ann Sheridan mode (although how young is she when Indy had her way with her? She says she was a child!), John Rhys Davis and Denholm Elliot perfect sidekicks, Paul Freeman a wonderful villain. It is wonderful fun.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Book review - "Legends on the screen: the Australian narrative cinema, 1919-1929" by John Tulloch (1981)
An important book on a (to me, anyway) fascinating period in history: the Australian film industry of the 1920s. It was a period of high drama, possibilities and ultimate failure; it started so promisingly with the end of World War I, and the flowering of Raymond Longford's talent, producing The Sentimental Bloke and many other fine films, plus the popularity of Beaumont Smith's cheerful comedies and pizazz of Snowy Baker's movies with Wilfred Lucas and Bess Meredyth.
Thereafter things got rockier: difficulty in cracking overseas markets and achieving a decent return, struggles with distribution. Tulloch doubts the existence of the evil Combine so often invoked by Raymond Longford but points out the much more real, crippling influence - the simple reluctance of distributors and exhibitors to invest and/or support local production. Why would they, really? Too uncertain, too erratic. Better to simply import films from the US.
Filmmakers managed to create enough support for a Royal Commission in 1927 but in the long run it didn't do much except provide an excellent resource for later historians. All our leading filmmakers found it too hard to keep at it: Longford, Barrett, Smith, the McDonagh sisters. A quota could have saved them, or others like them, but it never got the industry support it needed.
The book draws heavily on several sources - trade papers like Everyone's and Picture Show, as well as the Royal Commission. It's a shame there weren't more interviews, which would have been an option in 1981 surely. But still, what's here is pretty good.
It's also a shame this had to be an academic text - far too much time for my liking was spent analysing how the media depicted events and construction of myth and all that instead of just telling the story. (I had the same problem with Stuart Cunningham's book on Charles Chauvel). So this isn't in the class of the canonical books on Australian cinema, like Pike and Cooper and Shirley and Adams.
Still, it's pretty good, especially the middle section, with great segments on Snowy Baker, Franklyn Barrett, Longford and Lyell, Australasian Pictures, the young Charles Chauvel, the McDonaghs (I felt Tulloch was a little mean about the favourable treatment these sisters received in the trade press), Beaumont Smith, etc.
Thereafter things got rockier: difficulty in cracking overseas markets and achieving a decent return, struggles with distribution. Tulloch doubts the existence of the evil Combine so often invoked by Raymond Longford but points out the much more real, crippling influence - the simple reluctance of distributors and exhibitors to invest and/or support local production. Why would they, really? Too uncertain, too erratic. Better to simply import films from the US.
Filmmakers managed to create enough support for a Royal Commission in 1927 but in the long run it didn't do much except provide an excellent resource for later historians. All our leading filmmakers found it too hard to keep at it: Longford, Barrett, Smith, the McDonagh sisters. A quota could have saved them, or others like them, but it never got the industry support it needed.
The book draws heavily on several sources - trade papers like Everyone's and Picture Show, as well as the Royal Commission. It's a shame there weren't more interviews, which would have been an option in 1981 surely. But still, what's here is pretty good.
It's also a shame this had to be an academic text - far too much time for my liking was spent analysing how the media depicted events and construction of myth and all that instead of just telling the story. (I had the same problem with Stuart Cunningham's book on Charles Chauvel). So this isn't in the class of the canonical books on Australian cinema, like Pike and Cooper and Shirley and Adams.
Still, it's pretty good, especially the middle section, with great segments on Snowy Baker, Franklyn Barrett, Longford and Lyell, Australasian Pictures, the young Charles Chauvel, the McDonaghs (I felt Tulloch was a little mean about the favourable treatment these sisters received in the trade press), Beaumont Smith, etc.
TV review - "Orange is the New Black - Season 2" (2014) ****
Season starts off brilliantly, with a terrific first episode (Piper in a Kafka novel), and the introduction of some evocative new characters: the black master villain, the kooky obnoxious brat. It stumbles around the middle mark - Piper's furlough, the return of the guard, a feeling of camp.... and to be honest the series never quite recovers.
The most notable flaw of season one - prisoners too often sounding like writers, with "zinger" one liners - is even worse here, and there are too many scenes which seem lazy, or over the top: cheap gags about the nun character, the Australian, the surprise wedding. Episodes which you'd think would be sure fire aren't eg Piper's furlough - and Poussey is becoming irritatingly perfect.
Still there is brilliance - Vee, the elders, Natasha Lyonne's dialogue, the lesbian sex bet, the revelation about Lorna's past. Even if flawed, remains one of the best series on TV>
The most notable flaw of season one - prisoners too often sounding like writers, with "zinger" one liners - is even worse here, and there are too many scenes which seem lazy, or over the top: cheap gags about the nun character, the Australian, the surprise wedding. Episodes which you'd think would be sure fire aren't eg Piper's furlough - and Poussey is becoming irritatingly perfect.
Still there is brilliance - Vee, the elders, Natasha Lyonne's dialogue, the lesbian sex bet, the revelation about Lorna's past. Even if flawed, remains one of the best series on TV>
Movie review - "Knife of Ice" (1972) **
Another teaming of Carroll Baker and director Umbert Lezni, who had previously made Orgasmo and Paranoia together. She plays a mute traumatised by the death of her parents years ago who encounters a killer. (Shades of The Spiral Staircase).
This is less exploitative than previous Baker vehicles - no nudity, less violence, more suspense. Not as trashy - or, to be blunt, as interesting. There is some camp, notably the presence of a devil worshipper who looks very Charles Manson.
Baker is excellent; I have no idea what she thought of all these giallos she made around this time, but they gave her a chance to really act: she's completely convincing, conveying emotion mostly via her face and eyes (ironic since Baker was so renowned for her voice).
The rest of the film isn't up to her standard; no other character we can really engage with, too many bad actors and red herrings. The script lacks decent twists and/or memorable moments . It is worth checking out for Carroll Baker fans, though.
This is less exploitative than previous Baker vehicles - no nudity, less violence, more suspense. Not as trashy - or, to be blunt, as interesting. There is some camp, notably the presence of a devil worshipper who looks very Charles Manson.
Baker is excellent; I have no idea what she thought of all these giallos she made around this time, but they gave her a chance to really act: she's completely convincing, conveying emotion mostly via her face and eyes (ironic since Baker was so renowned for her voice).
The rest of the film isn't up to her standard; no other character we can really engage with, too many bad actors and red herrings. The script lacks decent twists and/or memorable moments . It is worth checking out for Carroll Baker fans, though.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Movie review - "Superman" (1978) ****
The first hour - the origin story - is magical, helped immensely by John Williams' rousing score (yes the theme is marvellous but I also get chills up my spin especially with "The Planet Krypton" tune). The stakes start off big - Marlon Brando (so not phoning it in) telling the council that the planet will be destroyed, having to send off his son in a little capsule across the galaxy (though where are he and Susannah York running to when the planet starts exploding - it's like there's somewhere they need to go).
Then little Superman meets Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thaxter (very well cast as all American types), and grows up to be Jeff East, in some touching all-American stuff, wanting the girl and being picked on by the bully, etc. (NB what if Superman had landed in Stalinist Russia?) It builds satisfactorily to the visit to the Fortress of Solitude - every teenager needs one!
The middle action in Metropolis is also a lot of fun. This is mostly rom com stuff between Lois and Clarke - director Richard Donner made the completely accurate decision to focus on the love store, and pays off in spades. Chris Reeve is perfect, the best ever Superman, and I've never seen a more spot on Lois than Margot Kidder's, a superb combination of wise cracks and big heart. It beautifully culminates in that perfect flying sequence - okay, well, perfect except for the Margot Kidder song and some iffy effects.
The last section is the least good - Lex Luthor's plan. It's a decent plan, and there's some fine playing by Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty and Valerie Perrine, but it's too much like a not particularly good Bond film: complete with Luthor trapping Superman, explaining his plot, then leaving him alone, thereby enabling him to be conveniently rescued by Perrine. And the ending involving time travel and Margot Kidder is a downright cheat.
Still, as comic book movies go, this one is hard to beat.
Then little Superman meets Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thaxter (very well cast as all American types), and grows up to be Jeff East, in some touching all-American stuff, wanting the girl and being picked on by the bully, etc. (NB what if Superman had landed in Stalinist Russia?) It builds satisfactorily to the visit to the Fortress of Solitude - every teenager needs one!
The middle action in Metropolis is also a lot of fun. This is mostly rom com stuff between Lois and Clarke - director Richard Donner made the completely accurate decision to focus on the love store, and pays off in spades. Chris Reeve is perfect, the best ever Superman, and I've never seen a more spot on Lois than Margot Kidder's, a superb combination of wise cracks and big heart. It beautifully culminates in that perfect flying sequence - okay, well, perfect except for the Margot Kidder song and some iffy effects.
The last section is the least good - Lex Luthor's plan. It's a decent plan, and there's some fine playing by Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty and Valerie Perrine, but it's too much like a not particularly good Bond film: complete with Luthor trapping Superman, explaining his plot, then leaving him alone, thereby enabling him to be conveniently rescued by Perrine. And the ending involving time travel and Margot Kidder is a downright cheat.
Still, as comic book movies go, this one is hard to beat.
TV review - "Silicon Valley - Season One" (2014) ****1/2
Brilliant comedy, a sort of Office Space applied to the world of computer start ups - a field ripe for satire and superbly realised. Extremely well acted too by a mostly unknown cast - I was familiar with Martin Starr but had never seen Thomas Middleditch in anything. Chris Evan Woods and Matt Ross are memorable as duelling tycoons - actually everyone is good. There's only one female role in the whole thing, which may be off putting to some. Favourite moments: Miller smacking the little kid.
Book review - "Victory" by Joseph Conrad
Victory has been much filmed and is one of Conrad's best known novels in part because of the beautiful simplicity of its plot - a loner lives on an isolated island, persuades a woman to run away with him, rejected suitor tells three dodgy types that the man has a stash of cash. It's a great romance/ thriller template that could easily adapt to a Western, sci-fi etc.
I've got to admit though, I wasn't wild about the writing - far too many detours and too much rambling, I kept losing the thread of what was going on. It did have some tremendous moments and sequences, as well as vivid characters - Heyst, Mr Jones, Ricardo, Wang, Schomberg. Lena is a bit of a fantasy figure (nubile young thing who needs to be rescued).
I've got to admit though, I wasn't wild about the writing - far too many detours and too much rambling, I kept losing the thread of what was going on. It did have some tremendous moments and sequences, as well as vivid characters - Heyst, Mr Jones, Ricardo, Wang, Schomberg. Lena is a bit of a fantasy figure (nubile young thing who needs to be rescued).
Movie review - "Paranoia" (1970) aka "A Quiet Place to Kill" **1/2 (warning: spoilers)
Another Carroll Baker European thriller involving murder and sex. She's a racing car driver (!) who is injured in an accident, and goes to stay at the home of her ex husband, Jean Sorel (who was in an earlier Baker thriller, The Sweet Body of Deborah). Sorel has remarried, to Anna Proclemer, who suggests to Baker they team up and kill Sorel.
That's a good idea for a thriller and this is pretty good, at least by the admittedly low standards of the genre. It has what Orgasmo lacked, a strong third act, with the arrival of Marina Coffa, as Proclemer's daughter. Everyone is sleeping with everyone else, there is plenty of story and some decent acting from Baker, Sorel (who spends most of the film in swimmers and whose physique is exploited almost as much as Baker's), Proclemer and Coffa - the last named I hadn't seen before but she felt familiar. Coffa and Baker are particularly beautiful.
There are elements of earlier Baker thrillers: she dances in a night club, takes a nude shower, lolls about in bed without any clothes on; there's even a reprise of the song "Just Tell Me" which was heard incessantly during Orgasmo. But it's clearly one of the better ones.
That's a good idea for a thriller and this is pretty good, at least by the admittedly low standards of the genre. It has what Orgasmo lacked, a strong third act, with the arrival of Marina Coffa, as Proclemer's daughter. Everyone is sleeping with everyone else, there is plenty of story and some decent acting from Baker, Sorel (who spends most of the film in swimmers and whose physique is exploited almost as much as Baker's), Proclemer and Coffa - the last named I hadn't seen before but she felt familiar. Coffa and Baker are particularly beautiful.
There are elements of earlier Baker thrillers: she dances in a night club, takes a nude shower, lolls about in bed without any clothes on; there's even a reprise of the song "Just Tell Me" which was heard incessantly during Orgasmo. But it's clearly one of the better ones.
Friday, October 24, 2014
Movie review -"Something Wild" (1961) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)
A fascinating, confronting movie, genuinely different, that remains largely unknown, despite the fact the lead role is played by Carroll Baker. It was directed by her husband, Jack Garfein, an Actors Studio alumni who had previously made his debut with The Strange One; this was his second and, to date, last feature.
Baker plays a young student who is raped one night while walking home, but decides not to report it. She drifts aimlessly through her days, gets a new job and place to live, struggles to connect.... this section of the movie is very powerful, mostly without dialogue, aided by some superb photography, location shooting in New York, and Aron Copland's score.
The second half kicks off when Baker tries to kill herself and is rescued by Ralph Meeker - who then sets about taking her home and locking her up at his place. It's a flip of the kind we later saw in Pulp Fiction: the movie shifts to a psychological study with Meeker tormenting Baker, Baker fighting back but eventually developing Helsinki syndrome and being unable to leave him. That's the sort of ending that will upset a lot of people - if you consider the film endorsing Baker's actions, which I don't think it does. I would say though that the second half is less effective than the first, in part because there is so much "acting" going on between Baker and Meeker, and the actions of the characters become increasingly bewildering (which was probably the point but does tend to distance them from the viewer).
It's a superb showcase for Baker, who is excellent, and looks terrific. There's really no other movie quite like it.
Baker plays a young student who is raped one night while walking home, but decides not to report it. She drifts aimlessly through her days, gets a new job and place to live, struggles to connect.... this section of the movie is very powerful, mostly without dialogue, aided by some superb photography, location shooting in New York, and Aron Copland's score.
The second half kicks off when Baker tries to kill herself and is rescued by Ralph Meeker - who then sets about taking her home and locking her up at his place. It's a flip of the kind we later saw in Pulp Fiction: the movie shifts to a psychological study with Meeker tormenting Baker, Baker fighting back but eventually developing Helsinki syndrome and being unable to leave him. That's the sort of ending that will upset a lot of people - if you consider the film endorsing Baker's actions, which I don't think it does. I would say though that the second half is less effective than the first, in part because there is so much "acting" going on between Baker and Meeker, and the actions of the characters become increasingly bewildering (which was probably the point but does tend to distance them from the viewer).
It's a superb showcase for Baker, who is excellent, and looks terrific. There's really no other movie quite like it.
Movie review - "Orgasmo" (1969) ** (also known as "Paranoia") (warning: spoilers)
After her success playing a wealthy American in Europe who has a racy shower sex scene in psycho thriller The Sweet Body of Deborah, Carroll Baker plays a wealthy American in Europe who has a racy shower scene in the psycho thriller Orgasmo. This time she's a widow, living in a villa, who gets hot for a drifter (Leo Castel), with whom she has the aforementioned sex scene - quite racy it is too with Castel going down on Baker in the shower.
To make things more complicated, Castel's sister (Colette Descombes) turns up, making flirty eyes at Baker and Castel - it turns out they're not blood relatives, so Descombes winds up in bed with Castel, then the three of them in bed together, then Descombes with Baker alone, so it's all pretty hot stuff which could have been remade for DVD in the 1990s.
Descombe and Castel then set about trying to drive Baker insane, meaning the star can cut loose with some fine acting - she gives a good performance. And it's a surprisingly good movie for the most part - junky to be sure, and the production design could have been more opulent, but enjoyable in its twisted, sexy way with Baker boozing it up and various couples rolling around in bed.
The big problem with the movie comes in the last act -normally in this sort of movie you hope for a couple of more twists, but this movie doesn't have done, apart from the lawyer being in on it - which isn't much of a twist since he didn't have much of a character. Instead Baker goes bonkers, then more bonkers, then even more bonkers... then dies. You wait for some revelation: that she faked her death, it was a plan all along, some other character to come in and avenge her - but nope. Then the lawyer gets arrested and the brother and sister die in a car accident a la Postman Always Rings Twice. It's disappointing.
To make things more complicated, Castel's sister (Colette Descombes) turns up, making flirty eyes at Baker and Castel - it turns out they're not blood relatives, so Descombes winds up in bed with Castel, then the three of them in bed together, then Descombes with Baker alone, so it's all pretty hot stuff which could have been remade for DVD in the 1990s.
Descombe and Castel then set about trying to drive Baker insane, meaning the star can cut loose with some fine acting - she gives a good performance. And it's a surprisingly good movie for the most part - junky to be sure, and the production design could have been more opulent, but enjoyable in its twisted, sexy way with Baker boozing it up and various couples rolling around in bed.
The big problem with the movie comes in the last act -normally in this sort of movie you hope for a couple of more twists, but this movie doesn't have done, apart from the lawyer being in on it - which isn't much of a twist since he didn't have much of a character. Instead Baker goes bonkers, then more bonkers, then even more bonkers... then dies. You wait for some revelation: that she faked her death, it was a plan all along, some other character to come in and avenge her - but nope. Then the lawyer gets arrested and the brother and sister die in a car accident a la Postman Always Rings Twice. It's disappointing.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Movie review - "Baby Doll" (1956) ***
After a series of heavy dramas, Tennessee Williams and Elia Kazan kicked off their shoes and had a bit of fun with this twisted Southern comedy. There's no other film quite like it, with its combination of sexual frustration, seediness and jail bait sexual attraction.
Carroll Baker plays the title role, a 19 year old who still sleeps in a cot and sucks her thumb and is yet to be deflowered by hubby Karl Malden (in his most "yelling" performance yet, which is saying something for this actor). When Malden burns down a cotton gin owned by Eli Wallach, Wallach seeks for revenge by seducing Baby Doll.
It goes on too long - almost two hours - but there is plenty to enjoy once you get into the mindset of the filmmakers. While Elia Kazan later claimed he wondered what the fuss was about surely he must have known it was racy material - or maybe he was unaware of the whole tone of what he'd made until it was all cut together.
It's very well acted; Baker makes an impressive star debut as the evocative yet naive Baby Doll; Wallach has one of his best film roles as the outsider "wop" - hardly a lady killer (let's be honest) but it's not as though Karl Malden gave him much competition. Mildred Dunnock is very good and there's some terrific southern faces among the support cast. I would have enjoyed a little less ambiguity and more certainty over what happened.
Carroll Baker plays the title role, a 19 year old who still sleeps in a cot and sucks her thumb and is yet to be deflowered by hubby Karl Malden (in his most "yelling" performance yet, which is saying something for this actor). When Malden burns down a cotton gin owned by Eli Wallach, Wallach seeks for revenge by seducing Baby Doll.
It goes on too long - almost two hours - but there is plenty to enjoy once you get into the mindset of the filmmakers. While Elia Kazan later claimed he wondered what the fuss was about surely he must have known it was racy material - or maybe he was unaware of the whole tone of what he'd made until it was all cut together.
It's very well acted; Baker makes an impressive star debut as the evocative yet naive Baby Doll; Wallach has one of his best film roles as the outsider "wop" - hardly a lady killer (let's be honest) but it's not as though Karl Malden gave him much competition. Mildred Dunnock is very good and there's some terrific southern faces among the support cast. I would have enjoyed a little less ambiguity and more certainty over what happened.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Movie review -"The Sweet Body of Deborah" (1968) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)
Carroll Baker's career hit a slump in the late 60s so she decided to high tail it over to Europe where she found employment in a series of sexy thrillers, of which this is the first. She plays a woman honeymooning with Jean Sorel throughout Europe (cue lots of canoodling and A Man and a Woman type music on the soundtrack) only to be haunted by memories of his first love, who may or may not have been murdered. There are some mysterious sightings and phone calls and visitors who may or may not know what's going on.
This isn't a bad little film - Baker shows a little bit of skin (including a shower scene with Sorel), and has good chemistry with Sorel. There's not that much plot in the first hour, just a bunch of creepy events - but then it comes at a rush at the end with attempted murders, and seeming murders, and faked suicides, and voyeurs. There's plenty of double crosses and what-not and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
Lovers of sixties camp will enjoy scenes set at various discos and a classic one where Baker and Sorel play twister.
This isn't a bad little film - Baker shows a little bit of skin (including a shower scene with Sorel), and has good chemistry with Sorel. There's not that much plot in the first hour, just a bunch of creepy events - but then it comes at a rush at the end with attempted murders, and seeming murders, and faked suicides, and voyeurs. There's plenty of double crosses and what-not and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
Lovers of sixties camp will enjoy scenes set at various discos and a classic one where Baker and Sorel play twister.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Movie review - "A Bridge to the Sun" (1961) **
Did MGM ever really think audiences would want to see a movie about an American woman who married a Japanese diplomat and lived in Japan during World War Two? Well, the memoir on which this was based was a best seller and A Majority of One had been a hit on Broadway... but still, this flopped.
Truth be told it might have done better if it was more effective as a drama. This sounds like it has the material of an interesting film - Tennessee girl Carroll Baker falls in love with Japanese diplomat James Shigeta, and moves to Japan in the 1930s; they return to the US before Pearl Harbour then return to Japan during the war and have a horrid time.
But it's dull. First of all Baker and Shigeta don't have much chemistry as a couple, so it doesn't work as a love story; I've liked Baker and Shigeta in other movies, but I never got a sense here of what they saw in each other or why they were together. Shigeta's character was a little on the dull side - a worthy, conscientious Japanese opposed to the war, but Baker's wasn't that much more interesting.
There are scenes which should have worked but don't - Baker facing racism in the US and Japan, Shigeta under threat from Japanese militaristic forces (as exemplified by Testuro Tamba who was James Bond's sidekick in You Only Live Twice), Baker seeing the faces of US POWs while in a train. Maybe director Etienner Perier was miscast - it feels like a movie where everyone's going through the emotions but it's made without passion.
The biggest thing in the movie's favour is its novelty - there are hardly Hollywood movies which tell the story of a Western woman in Japan. But that doesn't sustain the viewer the whole time.
Truth be told it might have done better if it was more effective as a drama. This sounds like it has the material of an interesting film - Tennessee girl Carroll Baker falls in love with Japanese diplomat James Shigeta, and moves to Japan in the 1930s; they return to the US before Pearl Harbour then return to Japan during the war and have a horrid time.
But it's dull. First of all Baker and Shigeta don't have much chemistry as a couple, so it doesn't work as a love story; I've liked Baker and Shigeta in other movies, but I never got a sense here of what they saw in each other or why they were together. Shigeta's character was a little on the dull side - a worthy, conscientious Japanese opposed to the war, but Baker's wasn't that much more interesting.
There are scenes which should have worked but don't - Baker facing racism in the US and Japan, Shigeta under threat from Japanese militaristic forces (as exemplified by Testuro Tamba who was James Bond's sidekick in You Only Live Twice), Baker seeing the faces of US POWs while in a train. Maybe director Etienner Perier was miscast - it feels like a movie where everyone's going through the emotions but it's made without passion.
The biggest thing in the movie's favour is its novelty - there are hardly Hollywood movies which tell the story of a Western woman in Japan. But that doesn't sustain the viewer the whole time.
Movie review - "Station Six Sahara" (1962) ** (warning: spoilers)
That old throwback, a bunch of hard bitten men in some desolate outpost (here a mining station in Saharan Africa... I wasn't sure what country) who are thrown into turmoil when a sexy dame turns up in the form of Carroll Baker. This was based on a play and you can tell - the men never seem to do any work (which would have made things seem more cinematic and the scenes more visually interesting) but mostly sit around, sweat and be nasty to each other.
The main problem with this is it goes on too long - the subplot about Denholm Elliott selling one of his letters to Ian Bannen starts off well but drags. Carroll Baker flounces about and is good looking but plays it too obviously sexy, eating fruit provocatively and wearing towels and the like. Peter Van Eyck and Harsjorg Felmy always look as though they're about to do something interesting but it never happens. Every character's back story is hinted at but never really explored. Every scene felt as though it could have done with a tighten.
Ian Bannen plays, hammily, a drunken Scott called Fletcher who has seemingly been to Australia (there's reference to Bondi Beach). Felmy is smug and superior as a mystery man German who seems as if he's going to be set up as the hero (he has this self-contained air of competence about him) but in the end he doesn't do much. Peter Van Eyck runs the operation and gets to bang Carroll Baker; Mario Adorf is a taciturn Spaniard. There's also a black delivery driver (Henry Baird) and a scene where the men look at a topless photo spread and the woman in question was actually topless, which gave me a bit of a jolt. It felt horribly misogynistic with Baker getting the boys hot under the collar and her husband stabbing her to death. (Another problem with the movie - if Baker was going to be killed then why not get one of "our people" to do it instead of a visitor like Baker's husband?)
The movie was directed by Seth Holt, who has a bit of a cult horror reputation based on The Nanny and Scream of Fear; the movie always looks good, and the use of sound is effective, but really this isn't much of a film.
The main problem with this is it goes on too long - the subplot about Denholm Elliott selling one of his letters to Ian Bannen starts off well but drags. Carroll Baker flounces about and is good looking but plays it too obviously sexy, eating fruit provocatively and wearing towels and the like. Peter Van Eyck and Harsjorg Felmy always look as though they're about to do something interesting but it never happens. Every character's back story is hinted at but never really explored. Every scene felt as though it could have done with a tighten.
Ian Bannen plays, hammily, a drunken Scott called Fletcher who has seemingly been to Australia (there's reference to Bondi Beach). Felmy is smug and superior as a mystery man German who seems as if he's going to be set up as the hero (he has this self-contained air of competence about him) but in the end he doesn't do much. Peter Van Eyck runs the operation and gets to bang Carroll Baker; Mario Adorf is a taciturn Spaniard. There's also a black delivery driver (Henry Baird) and a scene where the men look at a topless photo spread and the woman in question was actually topless, which gave me a bit of a jolt. It felt horribly misogynistic with Baker getting the boys hot under the collar and her husband stabbing her to death. (Another problem with the movie - if Baker was going to be killed then why not get one of "our people" to do it instead of a visitor like Baker's husband?)
The movie was directed by Seth Holt, who has a bit of a cult horror reputation based on The Nanny and Scream of Fear; the movie always looks good, and the use of sound is effective, but really this isn't much of a film.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Movie review - "But Not For Me" (1959) **
Samuel Raphaelson's play "Accent on Youth" has been filmed several times, no doubt in part because it appeals to the vanity of middle aged male movie stars - the plot concerns an aging Broadway producer who discovers his secretary, young enough to be his daughter, is in love with him, which reinvigorates his career. Did audiences ever like these stories? Really?
Anyway here the old man is played by Clark Gable, not far away from death, but still raffish Clark with a twinkle in his eye. He plays a producer who is drowning in debt (he's a spendthrift), hassled by his drunken playwright (Lee J. Cobb) and ex wife (Lili Palmer) but secretary Carroll Baker gives him material and lines for Cobb to replot and rewrite the play. You know, just like real life.
Baker goes on to act in the play, along with a fellow young actor (Barry Coe) who loves her. The play is a hit and Baker and Gable get together... but does he really love her?
It's a horrible story which is given some bright lines in John Michael Hayes' script (at least I'm crediting them to Hayes - I haven't read Raphaelson's play) and vigorous handling from Walter Lang, a director little remembered today but who has strong credits.
The cast is also (on the whole) extremely good, despite the not-particularly-interesting characters they play - Cobb even makes something interesting of that old throwback, the boozy washed up playwright. Baker is sexy and likeable and I just bought her going for Gable, mainly because she acts with intensity and Gable is still the king.
The big let down in the cast is Barry Coe, a bland actor who I vaguely recognised (I googled him - he was Rodney Harrington in Peyton Place); in his defense his character is particularly poor - an obnoxious self righteous young actor who wants Baker to leave New York and go live in Texas.
The title tune is sung by Ella Fitzgerald and there's some snappy widescreen photography of New York. And it's about Broadway producers and directors and theatre people - if you like those sort of movies and Gable/Baker you'll enjoy it.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Book review - "Brekkie Central" by Adam Boland (2014)
The story of Adam Boland and his (and Channel Seven's) success with Sunrise got an awful lot of publicity in the 2000s, especially considering breakfast shows don't really rate that highly. There's a lot of talk about how important breakfast TV is for a network but I think the showbusiness media loved the fact it was a good old fashioned success story about networks versus networks, and brought the barons back to the days of the 80s and 90s when TV really counted.
For someone who left the media Boland has kept a high profile since, appearing in Australian Story and various magazines going on about being bipolar, and now writing his memoir. It's an entertaining read it must be said, covering the rise of Sunrise, reminding us of the role that show played in the rise of both Kevin Rudd and Joe Hockey, it's successes covering Beaconsfield and the Asian tsunami charity concert, an Anzac Day scandal, its stoushes with Media Watch, it's more humanistic agenda (in a News Limited dominated environment, Sunrise was practically left wing).
There's a hilarious chapter on how a Justin Bieber concert went haywire, funny insights into the dick swinging antics of Big Apes such as David Leckie. I had forgotten Boland had a crack at a late night show - it's a shame he wasn't given more time to work on this. Good on him for devoting time to his failures - he discusses in detail his unsuccessful sojourn into Channel Ten and attempt to set up a bathhouse.
There is a disappointing lack of scandal in the book - some references to a feud between Chris Bath and Sam Armytage but that only goes for a paragraph, a few snipes at Armytage, boorish behaviour from Leckie, some "enemy" at Sunrise who leaked his emails to the media. There was no reason for Channel Seven to fear this book.
Description of Boland's private life is surprisingly scant - he shacked up with one of his female producers, then fell for a male producer (who was living with a girl), then they got together, broke up, and he took over Boland's old job... that's a novel in itself right there. But he doesn't go into it in much detail; there is relatively little on his sexuality and personal relationships (he does allude to some orgies in his apartment), his exes are discussed with the greatest respect (and, to be honest, lack of colour), his mother barely figures in the book, ditto his upbringing.
One can't help wondering what now for Boland. Has he already peaked, like many a wunderkind? Is he destined just to rehash the same old ingredients on other shows following his inevitable return to television? (Once show biz is in your blood it never leaves). Time will tell...
For someone who left the media Boland has kept a high profile since, appearing in Australian Story and various magazines going on about being bipolar, and now writing his memoir. It's an entertaining read it must be said, covering the rise of Sunrise, reminding us of the role that show played in the rise of both Kevin Rudd and Joe Hockey, it's successes covering Beaconsfield and the Asian tsunami charity concert, an Anzac Day scandal, its stoushes with Media Watch, it's more humanistic agenda (in a News Limited dominated environment, Sunrise was practically left wing).
There's a hilarious chapter on how a Justin Bieber concert went haywire, funny insights into the dick swinging antics of Big Apes such as David Leckie. I had forgotten Boland had a crack at a late night show - it's a shame he wasn't given more time to work on this. Good on him for devoting time to his failures - he discusses in detail his unsuccessful sojourn into Channel Ten and attempt to set up a bathhouse.
There is a disappointing lack of scandal in the book - some references to a feud between Chris Bath and Sam Armytage but that only goes for a paragraph, a few snipes at Armytage, boorish behaviour from Leckie, some "enemy" at Sunrise who leaked his emails to the media. There was no reason for Channel Seven to fear this book.
Description of Boland's private life is surprisingly scant - he shacked up with one of his female producers, then fell for a male producer (who was living with a girl), then they got together, broke up, and he took over Boland's old job... that's a novel in itself right there. But he doesn't go into it in much detail; there is relatively little on his sexuality and personal relationships (he does allude to some orgies in his apartment), his exes are discussed with the greatest respect (and, to be honest, lack of colour), his mother barely figures in the book, ditto his upbringing.
One can't help wondering what now for Boland. Has he already peaked, like many a wunderkind? Is he destined just to rehash the same old ingredients on other shows following his inevitable return to television? (Once show biz is in your blood it never leaves). Time will tell...
Monday, October 13, 2014
Movie review - "Harlow" (1965) **
Joseph E. Levine enjoyed a big hit with The Carpetbaggers, where Carroll Baker played a trashy movie star based on Jean Harlow with a script by John Michael Hayes, so it made sense for him to follow it up with a biopic starring Baker as Harlow with a script by John Michael Hayes - though this movie isn't that much more a realistic depiction of Harlow's life than The Carpetbaggers.
It doesn't help that much of the film is fictionalised - you have to do some extra reading to realise that Leslie Nielsen is meant to be Howard Hughes (who was also in The Carpetbaggers), Martin Balsam is meant to be Leo B. Mayer, Majestic is meant to be MGM, Jack Harrison is William Powell. Red Buttons plays Arthur Landau, the kindly agent who promotes her - depicted as a saintly Santa Claus type figure who loves his wife and is completely platonic about Harlow. Peter Lawford is allowed to play the real Paul Bern, Angela Lansbury her real mother and Raf Valone her real step father.
Most of the film centers on men trying to get Harlow into bed - the first assistant director (Peter Hensen), the impresario (Nielsen), movie star (Mike Connors), producer (Lawford). And she's tempted a lot of the time but is afraid to give into her cravings. It's that sort of level of trash. Harlow doesn't get dick from Lawford so she seeks it from Vallone, who says no; Connors wants to give it to her first then changes his mind; Nielsen is willing to do it, then she gets it whenever she can.
I've always had time for Carroll Baker as an actor - she had this great deep throaty voice and a vivacious presence. She's not much like the real life Harlow, who was sparky, naive and a lot more voluptuous - you have to enjoy her on her own terms. Which is as a campy over the top ham.
Lovers of camp will enjoy some of the ripe dialogue, Baker's monologues, Harlow's search for sexual satisfaction, and the elaborate decor. There's some real "am I watching this?" stuff here, like a sequence where Baker tries to seduce Vallone, Connors and Nielsen in succession, and is knocked back by the first two. However Nielsen does the deed and then Harlow winds up picking up men in bars, waking up in hotel rooms with flashing neon signs outside. It's entertaining on some level and it's consistent awfulness and his quality cast do keep you watching, but in the end I was just offended for poor old Jean.
It doesn't help that much of the film is fictionalised - you have to do some extra reading to realise that Leslie Nielsen is meant to be Howard Hughes (who was also in The Carpetbaggers), Martin Balsam is meant to be Leo B. Mayer, Majestic is meant to be MGM, Jack Harrison is William Powell. Red Buttons plays Arthur Landau, the kindly agent who promotes her - depicted as a saintly Santa Claus type figure who loves his wife and is completely platonic about Harlow. Peter Lawford is allowed to play the real Paul Bern, Angela Lansbury her real mother and Raf Valone her real step father.
Most of the film centers on men trying to get Harlow into bed - the first assistant director (Peter Hensen), the impresario (Nielsen), movie star (Mike Connors), producer (Lawford). And she's tempted a lot of the time but is afraid to give into her cravings. It's that sort of level of trash. Harlow doesn't get dick from Lawford so she seeks it from Vallone, who says no; Connors wants to give it to her first then changes his mind; Nielsen is willing to do it, then she gets it whenever she can.
I've always had time for Carroll Baker as an actor - she had this great deep throaty voice and a vivacious presence. She's not much like the real life Harlow, who was sparky, naive and a lot more voluptuous - you have to enjoy her on her own terms. Which is as a campy over the top ham.
Lovers of camp will enjoy some of the ripe dialogue, Baker's monologues, Harlow's search for sexual satisfaction, and the elaborate decor. There's some real "am I watching this?" stuff here, like a sequence where Baker tries to seduce Vallone, Connors and Nielsen in succession, and is knocked back by the first two. However Nielsen does the deed and then Harlow winds up picking up men in bars, waking up in hotel rooms with flashing neon signs outside. It's entertaining on some level and it's consistent awfulness and his quality cast do keep you watching, but in the end I was just offended for poor old Jean.
Movie review - "Ghostbusters" (1984) ****
The film that got me into movies in a big way - not from seeing it, but rather the publicity build up, and the idea that someone had made a film about people who catch ghosts. What an awesome idea! It was great then, it's still wonderful.
It came from the fertile mind of Dan Aykroyd who wrote half the script and produces his best performance - relaxed, funny, unselfish. He gives the best lines to Bill Murray yet still provides the heart and soul of the movie, with his child like enthusiasm for ghosts, the paranormal, the old fire station with the pole - plus his genuine affection for Murray's character.
Harold Ramis is a very strong foil too (I'd forgotten how thin he and Aykroyd used to be) - wiry, whip smart, dry. Sigourney Weaver is a splendid female lead, all magnificent hair and legs, bouncing wonderfully off Bill Murray. And there never was a better on screen depiction of an accountant than Rick Moranis. Ernie Hudson is alright; his part isn't really necessary on any grounds other than adding a bit of colour to the cast (all that exposition could have been delivered to Weaver) and I didn't like how he tried to dump the other Ghostbusters when they got arrested towards the end, but I don't mind him.
But of course the real star is Bill Murray, wry, sarcastic, confident, surprisingly affectionate with his friends. He was a sensational comic leading man at his peak, holding the screen, yet still allowing others the chance to shine.
At its heart the movie is about three big kids being naughty - rorting scientific experiments, getting kicked out of uni, wearing uniforms with cool logos, firing lasers, catching ghosts, wrecking havoc that they're allowed to wreck, being told they're naughty by a stuck up prig who gets his come-uppance (William Atherton in a brilliant comic villain part), saving the day and getting the girl.
The screenplay held up a lot better than I remembered - it moves along at a fair clip, except towards the end when it gets bogged down with special effects. It is smart, with plenty of scientific and religious mumbo jumbo to make it seem realistic - I was surprised with the amount of religious references, including talk of judgement day, appearances by rabbis and a cardinal has a speaking part.
Kudos as well to the music - not just Ray Parker Jnr's famous theme tune (this movie lucked out in several ways - the song, logo, Moranis' casting), but Elmer Bernstein's score and the songs "Magic" and "Saving the Day. The special effects on the whole are impressive, except that involving the demon dogs. Love the Stay Puft Marsh-mellow Man. A lot of fun.
It came from the fertile mind of Dan Aykroyd who wrote half the script and produces his best performance - relaxed, funny, unselfish. He gives the best lines to Bill Murray yet still provides the heart and soul of the movie, with his child like enthusiasm for ghosts, the paranormal, the old fire station with the pole - plus his genuine affection for Murray's character.
Harold Ramis is a very strong foil too (I'd forgotten how thin he and Aykroyd used to be) - wiry, whip smart, dry. Sigourney Weaver is a splendid female lead, all magnificent hair and legs, bouncing wonderfully off Bill Murray. And there never was a better on screen depiction of an accountant than Rick Moranis. Ernie Hudson is alright; his part isn't really necessary on any grounds other than adding a bit of colour to the cast (all that exposition could have been delivered to Weaver) and I didn't like how he tried to dump the other Ghostbusters when they got arrested towards the end, but I don't mind him.
But of course the real star is Bill Murray, wry, sarcastic, confident, surprisingly affectionate with his friends. He was a sensational comic leading man at his peak, holding the screen, yet still allowing others the chance to shine.
At its heart the movie is about three big kids being naughty - rorting scientific experiments, getting kicked out of uni, wearing uniforms with cool logos, firing lasers, catching ghosts, wrecking havoc that they're allowed to wreck, being told they're naughty by a stuck up prig who gets his come-uppance (William Atherton in a brilliant comic villain part), saving the day and getting the girl.
The screenplay held up a lot better than I remembered - it moves along at a fair clip, except towards the end when it gets bogged down with special effects. It is smart, with plenty of scientific and religious mumbo jumbo to make it seem realistic - I was surprised with the amount of religious references, including talk of judgement day, appearances by rabbis and a cardinal has a speaking part.
Kudos as well to the music - not just Ray Parker Jnr's famous theme tune (this movie lucked out in several ways - the song, logo, Moranis' casting), but Elmer Bernstein's score and the songs "Magic" and "Saving the Day. The special effects on the whole are impressive, except that involving the demon dogs. Love the Stay Puft Marsh-mellow Man. A lot of fun.
Friday, October 10, 2014
Movie review - "Elvira Madigan" (1967) ***
You can't say the film isn't upfront - the opening credits say this is the real life tale of a couple who kill themselves while on holiday in Denmark. We cut to said couple canoodling in the fields - we never see the couple fall in love, or how they met, bang we're straight in there. This does however set us up very effectively for the rest of the movie, which mostly consists of the couple canoodling before they decide to kill themselves.
That's not all, of course - they argue, make up, make love, he's visited by a colleague from the army, she runs into some old musician friends, she tries some poisoned strawberries, they try to make money (not very hard, it should be said - ever heard of labouring work?)
The photography and locations are beautiful, Pia Degermark is beautiful in the title role (in real life she was a tight-rope walker and good on her, Pia has a go at doing that too in one scene). Thommy Berggren gives a strong performance as the tormented soldier.
It could have done with more story - seeing his wife and kids maybe, or how they met. Still, that's the vision the filmmakers had, and it does work. It probably glamoroises murder-suicide. The final freeze frame shot may have inspired the end of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
That's not all, of course - they argue, make up, make love, he's visited by a colleague from the army, she runs into some old musician friends, she tries some poisoned strawberries, they try to make money (not very hard, it should be said - ever heard of labouring work?)
The photography and locations are beautiful, Pia Degermark is beautiful in the title role (in real life she was a tight-rope walker and good on her, Pia has a go at doing that too in one scene). Thommy Berggren gives a strong performance as the tormented soldier.
It could have done with more story - seeing his wife and kids maybe, or how they met. Still, that's the vision the filmmakers had, and it does work. It probably glamoroises murder-suicide. The final freeze frame shot may have inspired the end of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Movie review - "The Student Prince" (1954) ***
The film responsible for the brief stardom of Edmund Purdom, which was quickly undone by The Egyptian, Athena and The Prodigal. And you know something? Purdom never should have been considered a star anyway - he fluked it with this movie, which became a hit, not because of its dopey star, but the colour, story, support cast and Mario Lanza versions of the songs.
I am sympathetic to MGM having to deal with Lanza, he sounds like a handful, and no doubt was a human resources nightmare, but still... you can't help wish he played the title role. He would have been a natural, with the arrogance, charisma and kindness required by the part. At least we have the songs, which he sings the hell out of.
Ann Blyth has a pretty smile but isn't that awesome a co star. However there's a very strong array of character actors: Cuddles Sakall, Louis Calhern, John Williams, Edmund Gwenn, plus impressive colour and production design. The story is hokey but effective and the music first-rate.
I am sympathetic to MGM having to deal with Lanza, he sounds like a handful, and no doubt was a human resources nightmare, but still... you can't help wish he played the title role. He would have been a natural, with the arrogance, charisma and kindness required by the part. At least we have the songs, which he sings the hell out of.
Ann Blyth has a pretty smile but isn't that awesome a co star. However there's a very strong array of character actors: Cuddles Sakall, Louis Calhern, John Williams, Edmund Gwenn, plus impressive colour and production design. The story is hokey but effective and the music first-rate.
Movie review - "Come Spy with Me" (1967) *
Badly made, dull spy spoof which depends heavily on narration to tell it's story, never a good sign. The plot involves spy shenanigans on an island; it took me ages to figure out what was going on - there was a secret agent, someone brainwashing someone, an agent investigating the deaths of some Americans in the Caribbean, a skindiving competition, a woman mistakenly kidnapped.
The photography isn't the best but the locations were pretty and the cast interesting: Andrea Dromm from The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming in the lead, Troy Donahue (looking handsome in some scenes, and bloated/puffy in others) as the sort of male lead (although it's not a very big part - he seems to spend a lot of it dancing puffily), Valerie Allen (who Donahue later married) and Albert Dekker, shortly before his death from auto-erotic asphixiation.
Smokey Robinson sings the enjoyable title track, there are some good looking physiques running around and a decent credit sequence. But it's confusing, there are too many characters, and it lacks a consistent tone.
The photography isn't the best but the locations were pretty and the cast interesting: Andrea Dromm from The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming in the lead, Troy Donahue (looking handsome in some scenes, and bloated/puffy in others) as the sort of male lead (although it's not a very big part - he seems to spend a lot of it dancing puffily), Valerie Allen (who Donahue later married) and Albert Dekker, shortly before his death from auto-erotic asphixiation.
Smokey Robinson sings the enjoyable title track, there are some good looking physiques running around and a decent credit sequence. But it's confusing, there are too many characters, and it lacks a consistent tone.
Movie review - "Goodbye Charlie" (1964) **
Was Paul Thomas Anderson inspired by this film when making Boogie Nights? It opens with a long tracking shot at a wild party which results in a middle aged man getting annoyed that his wife is having it off with a younger hunk, taking out his gun and shooting at the guy. Stranger things have happened.
That was one of several surprisingly interesting things about this movie, which is little remembered today. That's probably because people dismiss it as a standard 60s sex comedy - it was based on a play by George Axelrod, stars Tony Curtis, has an animated credit sequence and Andre Previn score, Walter Matthau is in support cast etc. But there's more to it than that.
You never really hear about it in discussions of queer cinema, but the premise is really bold - a womanising man is killed and reincarnated as a pretty woman (Debbie Reynolds), who then visits the dead man's best male friend (Tony Curtis). Reynolds seems to fall for Curtis and vice versa; Reynolds tries to blackmail some of "her" exes and gets involved in dealing with "her" murderer (Matthau); she also romances a millionaire (Pat Boone).
That's a fairly racy storyline. The action has been rendered sexless by the casting of Debbie Reynolds in the lead - she gives a professional "get-in-there-and-try" performance, which can't mask the fact she's miscast, and out of her league, never convincing as a former man, or rogue. (It's fascinating to imagine what Marilyn Monroe, originally announced as star, would have done with the material.)
Curtis doesn't do much either, basically playing the straight part, reacting to things. Matthau hams it up outrageously and it's fun to see Ellen Burstyn in an early role - though not as fun as it is seeing Pat Boone romance a former guy. Good old Christian Pat, sitting in a car and trying to make out with Reynolds, even proposing marriage - it's bizzare.
Entertainment wise the movie is too long for a farce (it's almost two hours), and lacks decent story development - the set up has so much potential but the writers don't do anything with it. Censorship would have been a big reason for this, but the lack of imagination didn't help.
Vincente Minnelli wasn't the best director of this kind of thing either, although the production value is impressive.
Movie review - "The Perils of Pauline" (1967) **
This was a pilot for a TV series that never eventuated - the producers shot some extra footage and released it as a feature instead. I didn't know much about it except it starred Pat Boone - although the actual lead is someone called Pamela Austin, a model turned actress who plays the title role. Austin is pretty, likeable and lively as the orphaned girl who has a series of adventures throughout the world, all shot on the backlot - the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Russia, the US.
The basic story has Austin and Boone as childhood sweethearts at the orphanage - he goes off to make his fortune to marry her, and spends the rest of the running time of the movie trying to be reunited with her. They are constantly thwarted by the fact men keep falling in love with Pauline.
There's a surprisingly strong emotional undercurrent to the story - Austin and Boone are soulmates, and just want to get married, but others stop them: lecherous sheiks, pukka sahibs (Terry Thomas!), Russian secret agents, Italian film directors, cosmonauts, gorillas, etc. It's a repetitive storyline, though - Boone and Austin are about to get together, but something stops them - and has the cheerful racism of films of this era (horny Arabs, midgets in Africa).
It is is full of energy and never lets up. The movies it most reminded me of were the 60s AIP beach party comedies, with Frankie, Annette and Buster. Boone throws himself into his silly role with much enthusiasm (although was he losing his hair) and everyone hams it up. Little kids will like it, especially girls who might identify with Pauline.
The basic story has Austin and Boone as childhood sweethearts at the orphanage - he goes off to make his fortune to marry her, and spends the rest of the running time of the movie trying to be reunited with her. They are constantly thwarted by the fact men keep falling in love with Pauline.
There's a surprisingly strong emotional undercurrent to the story - Austin and Boone are soulmates, and just want to get married, but others stop them: lecherous sheiks, pukka sahibs (Terry Thomas!), Russian secret agents, Italian film directors, cosmonauts, gorillas, etc. It's a repetitive storyline, though - Boone and Austin are about to get together, but something stops them - and has the cheerful racism of films of this era (horny Arabs, midgets in Africa).
It is is full of energy and never lets up. The movies it most reminded me of were the 60s AIP beach party comedies, with Frankie, Annette and Buster. Boone throws himself into his silly role with much enthusiasm (although was he losing his hair) and everyone hams it up. Little kids will like it, especially girls who might identify with Pauline.
Saturday, October 04, 2014
Book review - "Fred MacMurray: A Biography" by Charles Tranberg (2014)
Some movie stars only get there after plugging away at their craft for years in bit parts and on stage - Fred MacMurray catapulted to stardom in something like five seconds. Well, maybe that is an exaggeration but still it was very quick - he was attending college, playing in bands for some spare change, when his looks and natural charm saw him get selected in a choice part in the stage hit Roberta (with Bob Hope), which led to a Paramount screen test and - very quickly - stardom in The Gilded Lily. It was even quicker than Errol Flynn (with whom MacMurray un-memorably co-starred with once).
It's easier for male film stars, of course - at least, handsome ones with natural charm who come across on screen as virile. MacMurray had height and a decent voice and could hold his own against female stars - which was important because Paramount had an abundant supply of female stars at this time, but lacked men. He also had a natural gift for comedy, which saw him successfully teamed with Claudette Colbert, Carole Lombard, Katherine Hepburn and the like.
MacMurray did the occasional Western and war film but comedy was his bread and butter throughout his career right up until the end. It's ironic then that his two really outstanding performances were in dramas for Billy Wilder - Double Indemnity and The Apartment - where MacMurray's confidence was exploited brilliantly into creepiness. (Astonishingly MacMurray turned down a chance to work with Wilder again in Sunset Boulevard - although maybe for the best, since he wouldn't have been as believable as Bill Holden as a gigolo). He also made a superb black hat in The Caine Mutiny and noir lead in Pushover. Fred MacMurray the great lost dramatic star, maybe? Who knows.
Anyway by the late 50s he was happily ensconced at Disney, and then had a record long spell on My Three Sons, where he had one of the sweetest deals in sitcom history (not only was he highly paid and the work not particularly taxing, the whole show was arranged to ensure he worked as little as possible - they called it "The MacMurray system").
If MacMurray had been very lucky at the start of his career, he was savvy about maintaining it, living very thriftily and amassing a fortune - up to $500 million, it has been said. His life was remarkably devoid of scandal for a movie star but there was trauma there - dad bailed on him and his mother when he was only young and never returned; his first wife was probably bulimic and died young; his second wife, June Haver, had served time in a convent before quitting and marrying Fred (part of me was hoping for some sort of Double Indemnity style twist here but it seems wife two left the convent well before she got to know Fred well); he had troubles conceiving children and had to adopt; there were health problems towards the end of his life.
But generally he seems to have been happy, dull and a bit smug - idyllic small town upbringing, sensible attitudes to money, stingy, spending his spare time hunting and fishing and fixing things, hanging out with his family, not being particularly friendly, a little homophobic, minimal war service, a die hard Republican who never seems to have been particularly generous with his time or money to good causes.
Still, he deserved a biography and Tranberg does a very good job - solid research, the book is full of interesting stuff I didn't know: My Three Sons saga, the importance of Claude Binyon and Wesley Ruggles to MacMurray's career, a sweet account of his romance with June Haver, a great interview with Tommy Kirk. I never really enjoyed MacMurray as an actor that much in his comedies - too smug for me - but found this book fascinating and very enjoyable.
It's easier for male film stars, of course - at least, handsome ones with natural charm who come across on screen as virile. MacMurray had height and a decent voice and could hold his own against female stars - which was important because Paramount had an abundant supply of female stars at this time, but lacked men. He also had a natural gift for comedy, which saw him successfully teamed with Claudette Colbert, Carole Lombard, Katherine Hepburn and the like.
MacMurray did the occasional Western and war film but comedy was his bread and butter throughout his career right up until the end. It's ironic then that his two really outstanding performances were in dramas for Billy Wilder - Double Indemnity and The Apartment - where MacMurray's confidence was exploited brilliantly into creepiness. (Astonishingly MacMurray turned down a chance to work with Wilder again in Sunset Boulevard - although maybe for the best, since he wouldn't have been as believable as Bill Holden as a gigolo). He also made a superb black hat in The Caine Mutiny and noir lead in Pushover. Fred MacMurray the great lost dramatic star, maybe? Who knows.
Anyway by the late 50s he was happily ensconced at Disney, and then had a record long spell on My Three Sons, where he had one of the sweetest deals in sitcom history (not only was he highly paid and the work not particularly taxing, the whole show was arranged to ensure he worked as little as possible - they called it "The MacMurray system").
If MacMurray had been very lucky at the start of his career, he was savvy about maintaining it, living very thriftily and amassing a fortune - up to $500 million, it has been said. His life was remarkably devoid of scandal for a movie star but there was trauma there - dad bailed on him and his mother when he was only young and never returned; his first wife was probably bulimic and died young; his second wife, June Haver, had served time in a convent before quitting and marrying Fred (part of me was hoping for some sort of Double Indemnity style twist here but it seems wife two left the convent well before she got to know Fred well); he had troubles conceiving children and had to adopt; there were health problems towards the end of his life.
But generally he seems to have been happy, dull and a bit smug - idyllic small town upbringing, sensible attitudes to money, stingy, spending his spare time hunting and fishing and fixing things, hanging out with his family, not being particularly friendly, a little homophobic, minimal war service, a die hard Republican who never seems to have been particularly generous with his time or money to good causes.
Still, he deserved a biography and Tranberg does a very good job - solid research, the book is full of interesting stuff I didn't know: My Three Sons saga, the importance of Claude Binyon and Wesley Ruggles to MacMurray's career, a sweet account of his romance with June Haver, a great interview with Tommy Kirk. I never really enjoyed MacMurray as an actor that much in his comedies - too smug for me - but found this book fascinating and very enjoyable.
Book review - "Love is the Reason for It All: The Shirley Booth Story" by Jim Manago (2014)
Shirley Booth is not very well remembered today but had an impressive Broadway career, with hits including The Philadelphia Story, My Sister Eileen, Tomorrow the World, Goodbye My Fancy, Time of the Cuckoo and Desk Set - all of which were filmed, none with Booth in the roles. Had she done so she'd no doubt have more fans - however she did repeat her performance in Come Back Little Sheba which won her an Oscar. She also starred in The Matchmaker on the big screen and Hazel on the small one... those three roles are the ones most film buffs I think would recall when the name Shirley Booth comes up. (She also had radio success as a sidekick on Duffy's Tavern).
This is an affectionate biography, with solidly sketches details of her life - her parents marriage broke up, she was stage struck early, put in lots of years in stock before making it, cut several years off her age for the press, had a bad marriage to a drunken idiot then a good one to a guy who died of a heart attack very young, was dedicated to her craft, had health issues later in life, lived on her own in retirement, then died of a great old age.
To be honest, Booth doesn't seem to be that interesting a person, and the book could be a little dull at times. Occasionally it felt as though the writer was just reeling off performance statistics and reviews rather than telling a story or analysing her acting ability. The book is strongest in sections on Come Back Little Sheba and Hazel - there is a lot on Hazel.
This is an affectionate biography, with solidly sketches details of her life - her parents marriage broke up, she was stage struck early, put in lots of years in stock before making it, cut several years off her age for the press, had a bad marriage to a drunken idiot then a good one to a guy who died of a heart attack very young, was dedicated to her craft, had health issues later in life, lived on her own in retirement, then died of a great old age.
To be honest, Booth doesn't seem to be that interesting a person, and the book could be a little dull at times. Occasionally it felt as though the writer was just reeling off performance statistics and reviews rather than telling a story or analysing her acting ability. The book is strongest in sections on Come Back Little Sheba and Hazel - there is a lot on Hazel.
Movie review - "Liza" (1972) **
Really stupid movie despite considerable star power: Marcello Mastroianni is a painter living on an island with his dog who is visited by Catherine Deneuve, a bored sort of model/rich girl (I wasn't sure). She decides to stay, they have an affair and it's all kind of tormented and weird. Basically Deneuve ends up replacing his dog, licking his hand and chasing sticks.
Movies about messed up relationships can work well, even if they go into super weird territory - The Servant, Secretary - but everything's got to come together for the filmmakers to pull it off, and it didn't here, least not to me. Maybe the demands of the role were beyond Deneuve's capabilities, although she does look very hot here, even by her own ridiculously high standards - running around on beaches, hair flowing, going topless every now and then - and she has decent chemistry with real-life love Mastroianni.
Maybe more work needed to be done on the two lead characters to flesh them out more - the scenes involving Mastroianni's family weren't that compelling. Fans of the lead two actors will get something out of it.
Movies about messed up relationships can work well, even if they go into super weird territory - The Servant, Secretary - but everything's got to come together for the filmmakers to pull it off, and it didn't here, least not to me. Maybe the demands of the role were beyond Deneuve's capabilities, although she does look very hot here, even by her own ridiculously high standards - running around on beaches, hair flowing, going topless every now and then - and she has decent chemistry with real-life love Mastroianni.
Maybe more work needed to be done on the two lead characters to flesh them out more - the scenes involving Mastroianni's family weren't that compelling. Fans of the lead two actors will get something out of it.
Movie review - "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014) ***1/2 (warning: spoilers)
Enjoyable, overlong, irreverent-but-not-really shaggy dog sci fi epic. Like Pixar, Marvel have cracked the code on how to make blockbusters - have a simple story at heart, some likeable characters and plenty of emotion. This one piles on the exposition (there's an awful lot of "world" to set up) but at its basic essence it's about the guardian chasing after a thing, the most powerful thing in the galaxy - which, come to think of it, is the plot of Thor and The Avengers and other Marvels.
But the writers also ensure there's always powerful emotional stakes underpinning everything - the opening sequence has Peter Quill see his bald, cancer-riddled mother die and then be abducted from earth; Rocket the raccoon has clearly suffered great torture and has a chip on his shoulder; Groot gives his life to save his friends; Drax is avenging his family and struggles to communicate; the emotional core of the movie is about these loners finding friendship and a family. It is quite moving in places.
The cast is strong - Chris Pratt is very likeable (even if he's really not that unconventional a hero - for all his self deprecating humour he's still super capable, brave and all that); Zoe Saldana always makes a good alien, Lee Pace and Karen Gillan are first-rate villains. It does drag - surely it could have been cut down to under two hours? - and the admittedly well-done special effects got wearying after a while. My age, no doubt.
But good on Marvel for taking a chance - this wasn't that well known a comic book and it didn't feature stars, and they've been rewarded in spades. Of course, there was a star - the Marvel name. That really should be counted on the Quigley annual polls.
But the writers also ensure there's always powerful emotional stakes underpinning everything - the opening sequence has Peter Quill see his bald, cancer-riddled mother die and then be abducted from earth; Rocket the raccoon has clearly suffered great torture and has a chip on his shoulder; Groot gives his life to save his friends; Drax is avenging his family and struggles to communicate; the emotional core of the movie is about these loners finding friendship and a family. It is quite moving in places.
The cast is strong - Chris Pratt is very likeable (even if he's really not that unconventional a hero - for all his self deprecating humour he's still super capable, brave and all that); Zoe Saldana always makes a good alien, Lee Pace and Karen Gillan are first-rate villains. It does drag - surely it could have been cut down to under two hours? - and the admittedly well-done special effects got wearying after a while. My age, no doubt.
But good on Marvel for taking a chance - this wasn't that well known a comic book and it didn't feature stars, and they've been rewarded in spades. Of course, there was a star - the Marvel name. That really should be counted on the Quigley annual polls.
Friday, October 03, 2014
Movie review - "Rocco and His Brothers" (1960) ***1/2
Italian epic from Visconti which has a premise that would make a great soapie - a widowed mother and four hot sons move from the south to Milan in order to find work and live with a fifth hot son. They have various adventures, squabble over women, try different jobs. The main story involves sensitive Alain Delon (in a star making debut - he's awesome) and tougher Renato Salvatori, both of whom love the same woman, Annie Giradot, a hooker with a heart of gold.
There's lots of angst, beautiful photography, homo eroticism (the boys taking showers, a lecherous boxing manager, boxing), misogyny, gorgeous Nino Rota score. Claudia Cardinale pops up in a relatively small role, as the fiancee of the eldest brother (who isn't in it that much - neither are the two brothers who aren't Delon or Salvatori; while Giradot is fine, I'm a big Cardinale fan and wish she'd played that part). Their mother Katina Paxinou wails and carries on and I kept wishing she'd be shot or would die - the film would have been better if this character had been stronger or more interesting.
There are two stand out sequences, which really hit you in the gut - Giradot's rape, and, later, murder, with Delon finding out about it. These are devastating. The movie could have been shorter.
There's lots of angst, beautiful photography, homo eroticism (the boys taking showers, a lecherous boxing manager, boxing), misogyny, gorgeous Nino Rota score. Claudia Cardinale pops up in a relatively small role, as the fiancee of the eldest brother (who isn't in it that much - neither are the two brothers who aren't Delon or Salvatori; while Giradot is fine, I'm a big Cardinale fan and wish she'd played that part). Their mother Katina Paxinou wails and carries on and I kept wishing she'd be shot or would die - the film would have been better if this character had been stronger or more interesting.
There are two stand out sequences, which really hit you in the gut - Giradot's rape, and, later, murder, with Delon finding out about it. These are devastating. The movie could have been shorter.
Movie review - "Deep End" (1970) ****
Cult movie which was very hard to see for a number of years, harming its reputation. It's about a 15 year old boy, John Moulder-Brown, who goes to work at a public swimming pool and becomes infatuated with co-worker Jane Asher. It was directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, who isn't very well known but has made something really unusual and special.
Most of the film is a two hander between Moulder Brown and Asher. Both are excellent - Mouler-Brown as the anxious, cocky, mixed up teen and Asher luminous as the sexy, charismatic, smart elder girl. I mainly knew about Asher from her "pretty girl" performances in various 60s films so this was a bit of a revelation; she's got presence and power, very seductive but likeable, and with a great monologue where she tells off a teacher who molested her. There's also some flashy support performances, including from a bloated Diana Dors.
There's this feeling of seediness and "wrong-ness" that permeates the film - bloated figures, dingy change rooms, porn cinemas, hookers with broken legs, dirty teachers who feel up kids, dirty swimming pools - plus trippy moments such as the long sequence where Mouler-Brown stalks Asher through the back streets. The women are mainly seductive sluts (even the teens) but the men are mainly lecherous exploiting beasts so it sort of evens out.
The tone of this varied - campy comedy, sensitive analysis of teenage crush, arty use of colour, tragic ending. It has aged very well, apart from the visits to dingy Soho - there's nothing else quite like it.
Most of the film is a two hander between Moulder Brown and Asher. Both are excellent - Mouler-Brown as the anxious, cocky, mixed up teen and Asher luminous as the sexy, charismatic, smart elder girl. I mainly knew about Asher from her "pretty girl" performances in various 60s films so this was a bit of a revelation; she's got presence and power, very seductive but likeable, and with a great monologue where she tells off a teacher who molested her. There's also some flashy support performances, including from a bloated Diana Dors.
There's this feeling of seediness and "wrong-ness" that permeates the film - bloated figures, dingy change rooms, porn cinemas, hookers with broken legs, dirty teachers who feel up kids, dirty swimming pools - plus trippy moments such as the long sequence where Mouler-Brown stalks Asher through the back streets. The women are mainly seductive sluts (even the teens) but the men are mainly lecherous exploiting beasts so it sort of evens out.
The tone of this varied - campy comedy, sensitive analysis of teenage crush, arty use of colour, tragic ending. It has aged very well, apart from the visits to dingy Soho - there's nothing else quite like it.
Thursday, October 02, 2014
Movie review - "Maryjane" (1968) *1/2 (warning: spoilers)
Its bewildering to think that AIP made The Trip a year before this one... but then Arkoff and Nicholson were concerned about the former movie being too pro drug so maybe they churned this out to cover their bases. Maury Dexter's handling is generally quite lively and there is some decent enough acting but this is just silly.
Fabian is teaches art and coaches football at a high school gripped by a marijuana plague - gangs of kids puffing weed and driving off cliffs, just like in Reefer Madness. The school is in thrall of a cool kid who runs a gang that deals in grass; one of Fabian's students tries to join the gang to disastrous consequences. (There's an unexpectedly touching scene where this student's father tries to reach out to him but fails).
Fabian gets on the case of the baddies but is hampered by his old employers, who don't like the fact Fabian admits he smoked pot (which does update the movie I guess). It's a little odd seeing Fabian play the teacher; he's alright, but it's a shame this wasn't made a few years earlier when he could have played the charismatic bad student.
Diane McBain (who I always like in 60s films) is a fellow teacher who Fabian romances and who turns out to be the crime king pin - not very believable but it does give this some sort of ending. And truth be told it's energetically done with some funky music and photography - I just wish the script had been stronger.
Fabian is teaches art and coaches football at a high school gripped by a marijuana plague - gangs of kids puffing weed and driving off cliffs, just like in Reefer Madness. The school is in thrall of a cool kid who runs a gang that deals in grass; one of Fabian's students tries to join the gang to disastrous consequences. (There's an unexpectedly touching scene where this student's father tries to reach out to him but fails).
Fabian gets on the case of the baddies but is hampered by his old employers, who don't like the fact Fabian admits he smoked pot (which does update the movie I guess). It's a little odd seeing Fabian play the teacher; he's alright, but it's a shame this wasn't made a few years earlier when he could have played the charismatic bad student.
Diane McBain (who I always like in 60s films) is a fellow teacher who Fabian romances and who turns out to be the crime king pin - not very believable but it does give this some sort of ending. And truth be told it's energetically done with some funky music and photography - I just wish the script had been stronger.
Movie review - "On an Island with You" (1948) **1/2
Esther Williams was a likeable star - non-threateningly pretty, sexily athletic, full of bounce. Maybe not the best actor in the world but she had personality - plus technicolour and MGM sheen. It's a shame she didn't have a stronger co star than Peter Lawford or, it must be said, Ricardo Montalban, both of whom have impressive torsos but are a little bland, especially Lawford (who has such a whimpy voice).
The plot is a kind of send up of old Dorothy Lamour/Maria Montez South Sea island films, only its dimmer than anything either of them made: Williams plays a movie star making a south seas film co-starring real life fiancee Montalban and Cyd Charisse, who secretly loves Montalban. The naval advisor is Peter Lawford, who has long loved Williams - so he "charmingly" abducts her, flies her to an island, and insists she dance with him.
I think we're meant to find this stalking harassment adorable; so too is Williams, but we never really see why. Lawford isn't charming, and doesn't deserve her love. I mean, if his character brought something to the relationship - if he treated her like a normal person, or made her laugh, or something, it might work. But he just abducts and harasses her, and despite seemingly being happy with Montalban she falls in love with him. It's okay though because Montalban chucks her over for Charisse. Then at the end Williams tries to help out Lawford and he gets all upset with her for no reason and says things like "have you forgotten to be a woman?" (It's like they just threw in scenes from old Clarke Gable movies without bothering to make sure they flowed.)
The thing is, the whole story could have been easily improved - just make Williams a temperamental bitch, or have something in common with Lawford. It wouldn't have been hard. But they got lazy.
MGM try to distract the audience with other things - Esther in the water of course, dancing and doing numbers but having frolics with Lawford and Montalban which were a little steamy; Charisse flashes those spectacular legs in some dance numbers; Jimmy Durante provides some tiresome (to me anyhow) comic schtick and songs; Leon Ames does blustering comic naval officer stuff and Xavier Cugat does comedy and conducts his orchestra; there's also some tiresome antics involving a child actor which I think is meant to be funny. Esther and Charisse run around in brown face, the photography and production design is impressive.
The plot is a kind of send up of old Dorothy Lamour/Maria Montez South Sea island films, only its dimmer than anything either of them made: Williams plays a movie star making a south seas film co-starring real life fiancee Montalban and Cyd Charisse, who secretly loves Montalban. The naval advisor is Peter Lawford, who has long loved Williams - so he "charmingly" abducts her, flies her to an island, and insists she dance with him.
I think we're meant to find this stalking harassment adorable; so too is Williams, but we never really see why. Lawford isn't charming, and doesn't deserve her love. I mean, if his character brought something to the relationship - if he treated her like a normal person, or made her laugh, or something, it might work. But he just abducts and harasses her, and despite seemingly being happy with Montalban she falls in love with him. It's okay though because Montalban chucks her over for Charisse. Then at the end Williams tries to help out Lawford and he gets all upset with her for no reason and says things like "have you forgotten to be a woman?" (It's like they just threw in scenes from old Clarke Gable movies without bothering to make sure they flowed.)
The thing is, the whole story could have been easily improved - just make Williams a temperamental bitch, or have something in common with Lawford. It wouldn't have been hard. But they got lazy.
MGM try to distract the audience with other things - Esther in the water of course, dancing and doing numbers but having frolics with Lawford and Montalban which were a little steamy; Charisse flashes those spectacular legs in some dance numbers; Jimmy Durante provides some tiresome (to me anyhow) comic schtick and songs; Leon Ames does blustering comic naval officer stuff and Xavier Cugat does comedy and conducts his orchestra; there's also some tiresome antics involving a child actor which I think is meant to be funny. Esther and Charisse run around in brown face, the photography and production design is impressive.
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