Jon Cleary once referred to this period in Alistair MacLean's writing career as when he was writing first draft movie scripts after having tried to turn himself into an alcoholic. This does feel like a novelisation of a film script - like Where Eagles Dare. It's in marked contrast to Guns of Navarone although it's a sequel - three surviving characters go on a mission to Yugoslavia, although the mission isn't as clear or ticking clock worthy... it's to draw Allied forces away from Italy.
There's less tension because we know Andreas, Mallory and Miller now, there's no way any could be bad like in Where Eagles Dare - Andreas' whole arc seems silly, leaving his new bride (they changed it from the book where he had no love interest), to go on this mission, and he's indestructible the whole time. Miller could be cut out of the whole book and Mallory is dull - there's an occasional reference to him being New Zealander but MacLean argues really he's Scottish.
The book would have been better off focusing on the support guys - Reynolds, Saunders and Groves - more because they are wild cards and they die at the end. The one moving bit is when Reynolds dies because we got to know him - we don't know anything about Groves or Saunders.
The villains are too obvious - German officer, burly Chetnik - the girl (Maria) underused. I like the blind brother who was an agent, it has good pace, and some twists and decent action. You can see it being an alright movie - the novel is better than the film but it's still not much of a novel.
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Friday, February 28, 2020
Book review - MacLean#18 - "Breakheart Pass" by Alistair MacLean
An unusual setting for a MacLean film - a Western on a train. I wonder if he wrote this after seeing/reading Murder on the Orient Express. It took me a while to get into this - all the characters blurred on a train, there was an old guy, another old guy, an outlaw, a sheriff, a girl (MacLean struggles to bring himself to have two girls). The action occasionally cuts away to other people meaning this feels like it was drafted originally as a screenplay or treatment.
I liked it once I knew what the mystery was - the outlaw is a detective, the dead person was his partner etc, the stakes are gold, the Indians. But it seems a bit too easy for his people. Early MacLeans the struggle is so hard - the elements are tough, it's brutal, they are constantly up against it. Here baddies are constantly getting the drop on heroes and then being rescued quickly by hidden guns/allies.
I did quite like the bantering relationship with hero had with the girl, Marcia. The fort and Indians are underused. It is decently paced and the setting is novel.
I liked it once I knew what the mystery was - the outlaw is a detective, the dead person was his partner etc, the stakes are gold, the Indians. But it seems a bit too easy for his people. Early MacLeans the struggle is so hard - the elements are tough, it's brutal, they are constantly up against it. Here baddies are constantly getting the drop on heroes and then being rescued quickly by hidden guns/allies.
I did quite like the bantering relationship with hero had with the girl, Marcia. The fort and Indians are underused. It is decently paced and the setting is novel.
Movie review - Godzilla#10 - "All Monsters Attack" (1969) **
There's nothing wrong with centering a Godzilla film around a little kid - and the actor who plays the kid is good. Some reliable tropes like bullies, and parents not being around, to make sympathy. I love the idea of the kid befriending Minilla.
But the film lost me when the kid dreamed of going to Monster island. It make the whole thing fake, there were no stakes. They throw in some robbers in the real world and I like how the experience of dreaming of the monsters encouraged the kid to take on the bullies, but mostly this was annoying.
But the film lost me when the kid dreamed of going to Monster island. It make the whole thing fake, there were no stakes. They throw in some robbers in the real world and I like how the experience of dreaming of the monsters encouraged the kid to take on the bullies, but mostly this was annoying.
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Movie review - Godzilla#9 - "Destroy All Monsters" (1968) **
A legendary Godzilla film because of the audacity of its central concept - 30 years in the future all the monsters are shoved on to one island. Monster Island! This is great - but it totally wastes that idea to focus on a story about aliens invading. They use the monsters sure but there's very little monster stuff. There's a lot of aliens and the standard large group of men and a smurfette girl and a hot alien chick. It has its moments but it's an opportunity missed.
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Book review - "Life Isn't Everything: Mike Nichols, as Remembered by 150 of His Closest Friends" – by Ash Carter and Sam Kashner (2019)
Mike Nichols was one of the giants of late 20th century entertainment - he deserved a bio but this, while there's lots of good stuff about it, isn't it. I think so much of what Nichols did needs to be placed in context - which is kind of there but there's not enough.
Nichols was a refugee from Germany, dad was a doctor but died young, Mike had a skin condition that meant he lost all his hair. His rise was fairy rapid - at university he met Elaine May and discovered impro. He and May became stage stars, Broadway stars then he turned into a giant director of theatre and film.
There were dark periods - a difficult childhood, a lack of faith in his abilities as a film director in the 70s, an addiction to medication that contributed to depression and a mental breakdown - and less flattering aspects such as a lust for money and compulsive womanising. But the picture is overwhelmingly positive - intelligent, charming, a firm decision maker, a long legacy of great work.
The book is long, at times fascinating, at other times a slog. There's too many comments from actors, who tend to gush at the best of times - I mean, they're smart actors but still actors, we don't hear as much from say editors, DOPs or executives
There are big gaps on the personal front - his three kids barely get a look in, neither do his first three wives (outside of reference to his womanising), but we do get pages and pages on Diane Sawyer. There are pages on the influence of Nichols and May - I think like a lot of comedy you just had to be there - plus The Graduate, Annie, Spamalot - but notable gaps: nothing on Luv, Plaza Suite, Fools, The Apple Tree, Streamers, Comedians, Family and disappointingly little on films like Wolf, Regarding Henry, What Planet are you from?
At first I was understanding of these omissions but I gradually became annoyed especially as so many pages were devoted to other stuff.
Nichols was a refugee from Germany, dad was a doctor but died young, Mike had a skin condition that meant he lost all his hair. His rise was fairy rapid - at university he met Elaine May and discovered impro. He and May became stage stars, Broadway stars then he turned into a giant director of theatre and film.
There were dark periods - a difficult childhood, a lack of faith in his abilities as a film director in the 70s, an addiction to medication that contributed to depression and a mental breakdown - and less flattering aspects such as a lust for money and compulsive womanising. But the picture is overwhelmingly positive - intelligent, charming, a firm decision maker, a long legacy of great work.
The book is long, at times fascinating, at other times a slog. There's too many comments from actors, who tend to gush at the best of times - I mean, they're smart actors but still actors, we don't hear as much from say editors, DOPs or executives
There are big gaps on the personal front - his three kids barely get a look in, neither do his first three wives (outside of reference to his womanising), but we do get pages and pages on Diane Sawyer. There are pages on the influence of Nichols and May - I think like a lot of comedy you just had to be there - plus The Graduate, Annie, Spamalot - but notable gaps: nothing on Luv, Plaza Suite, Fools, The Apple Tree, Streamers, Comedians, Family and disappointingly little on films like Wolf, Regarding Henry, What Planet are you from?
At first I was understanding of these omissions but I gradually became annoyed especially as so many pages were devoted to other stuff.
Movie review - Jungle Jim#3 - "Mark of the Gorilla" (1950) **
Johnny Weismuller is a terrible actor in these films - lumbering, awkward, uneasy with dialogue. Was he drunk? Lazy? Did he not care?
Still he is Johnny Weismuller and brings his size, heft and legacy in this Tarzan esque tale. There's an expedition, a mystery, baddies.... who dress up as apes to commit crimes which is wonderful and goofy and stupid and makes this pretty fun to watch. Onslow Stevens gives the support cast some extra heft.
Still he is Johnny Weismuller and brings his size, heft and legacy in this Tarzan esque tale. There's an expedition, a mystery, baddies.... who dress up as apes to commit crimes which is wonderful and goofy and stupid and makes this pretty fun to watch. Onslow Stevens gives the support cast some extra heft.
Movie review - Godzilla#8 - "Son of Godzilla" (1967) ***1/2
Every Godzilla movie at this stage tried to add something new - a battle, aliens, a sea monster. This one adds a son, which is a cute idea. There's some funky music, a sexy island girl, an island setting, some bugs (I think), weather scientists, a special web, a killer spider, an American submarine, a weather device that unleashes snow.
But the best thing about it is Minilla, the little Godzilla. Yes it's a silly and over the top creature, looks like it was designed by a six year old as does Godzilla (this was pointed out by Justin Decloux, I think) but it has a great deal of personality. He adds to the excitement as he's little and often struggles in the battles - you know Godzilla is going to be okay but not the little one.
And the ending is genuinely moving - the human induced snow falling, the battle with the spider, Godzilla walking off, Minilla stumbling and crying out and Godzilla coming back to hug the little one as they freeze in hibernation. Sniff.
But the best thing about it is Minilla, the little Godzilla. Yes it's a silly and over the top creature, looks like it was designed by a six year old as does Godzilla (this was pointed out by Justin Decloux, I think) but it has a great deal of personality. He adds to the excitement as he's little and often struggles in the battles - you know Godzilla is going to be okay but not the little one.
And the ending is genuinely moving - the human induced snow falling, the battle with the spider, Godzilla walking off, Minilla stumbling and crying out and Godzilla coming back to hug the little one as they freeze in hibernation. Sniff.
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Book reivew - "Lawrence of Arabia" by Alistair MacLean
MacLean occasionally turned out books other than his regular thrillers - this is a short-ish, totally adequate biography of the famous warrior. It is fairly uncritical and recaps Lawrence's main achievements. It focuses on his war service, touches on other stuff. It's more a recital of facts than anything else. It's fine.
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Movie review - Jungle Jim#2 - "The Lost Tribe" (1949) **1/2
A very Tarzan-esque entry - it even starts with Johnny Weismuller diving off a cliff into a lgaoon for a swim and rescuing a native girl from an attack, and there's a lost city determined to keep out whites and whites determined to rob it.
A surprisingly large amount of this is set on the coat - at a port town, where Jim/Weismuller does a lot of diving into the sea and fights underwater.
There is plenty of action, Weismuller is dreadful, the support cast is strong and the handling is vigorous. If you get in the mood its kind of fun - Ray Corrgian in a gorilla suit, Weismuller being strung up not once but twice (smashed in the face too), a big battle at the end in the forgotten city, a native leader with a white beard and beautiful speaking voice dressed like he's out of a H Rider Haggard novel, the gorilla coming in at the end to save the day, a surprise death of the blonde femme detale.
A surprisingly large amount of this is set on the coat - at a port town, where Jim/Weismuller does a lot of diving into the sea and fights underwater.
There is plenty of action, Weismuller is dreadful, the support cast is strong and the handling is vigorous. If you get in the mood its kind of fun - Ray Corrgian in a gorilla suit, Weismuller being strung up not once but twice (smashed in the face too), a big battle at the end in the forgotten city, a native leader with a white beard and beautiful speaking voice dressed like he's out of a H Rider Haggard novel, the gorilla coming in at the end to save the day, a surprise death of the blonde femme detale.
Movie review - Jungle Jim#1 - "Jungle Jim" (1948) **1/2 (re-viewing)
Johnny Weismuller got too fat to play Tarzan so Sam Katzman snapped him up to play the clothed adventurer Jungle Jim. There's plenty of similarities to Tarzan - the studio jungle, a plot involving an expedition, a woman coming along, ending up with some natives, woman getting attacked by crocodile while swimming, a swim, a treacherous white looking for gold, cute cutaways to an animal (a chimp was presumably too expensive so here it's a dog). The low budget is covered by stock footage of animals stampeding.
Weismuller isn't very good - leaden footed, struggles with dialogue, seems dopey. Contemporary reviews commented on his weight a lot. He takes his shirt off to go for a swim and is sucking in his gut. Still, he's Johnny Weismuller!
The film has two strong support performances - Virginia Grey, a real cutie as a glasses wearing scientist trying to find a cure for polio and being annoyed when men assume she's a woman (of course she needs to be rescued, and goes for a high dive to show up a native minx who is along and takes off her glasses to appreciate beauty... but she still has a job); there's also George Reeves, who has a lot of bounce and energy as the white who keeps trying to push Jim off cliffs and is after gold.
The final battle has some decent spectacle.
Weismuller isn't very good - leaden footed, struggles with dialogue, seems dopey. Contemporary reviews commented on his weight a lot. He takes his shirt off to go for a swim and is sucking in his gut. Still, he's Johnny Weismuller!
The film has two strong support performances - Virginia Grey, a real cutie as a glasses wearing scientist trying to find a cure for polio and being annoyed when men assume she's a woman (of course she needs to be rescued, and goes for a high dive to show up a native minx who is along and takes off her glasses to appreciate beauty... but she still has a job); there's also George Reeves, who has a lot of bounce and energy as the white who keeps trying to push Jim off cliffs and is after gold.
The final battle has some decent spectacle.
Saturday, February 22, 2020
Movie review - "Escape to Witch Mountain" (1975) ***
One of the more successful efforts from the Ron Miller era at Disney - this has slack TV handling (it fees like a TV movie) but benefits from a strong story and has some excellent actors, such as Donald Pleasance, Eddie Albert and Ray Milland. The kids are pretty good - Kim Richards is one - and it helps that they're genuinely young because the stakes are so high.
It's wonderful wish fulfilment for kids - you might be little but you can read minds and move things telepathically. The filmmakers cleverly stack the deck against them - it shows creepy rich billionaires can pluck you out of orphanages by forging documents, and that townsfolk can call you witches and whip up a mob to shoot you dead.
The effects are dodgy, but it has charm and pace.
It's wonderful wish fulfilment for kids - you might be little but you can read minds and move things telepathically. The filmmakers cleverly stack the deck against them - it shows creepy rich billionaires can pluck you out of orphanages by forging documents, and that townsfolk can call you witches and whip up a mob to shoot you dead.
The effects are dodgy, but it has charm and pace.
Movie review - "The Pirates of Tortuga" (1961) **
Sam Katzman worked mostly at Monogram, Columbia and MGM - this was part of a brief sojourn at 20th Century Fox. It's not a bad story and has decent production values - shot on the Fox backlot, decent extras, costumes, sets, etc if not a lot of sea action. It is let down by the casting.
Ken Scott is a bland hero, a privateer tasked with attacking Sir Henry Morgan (Robert Stephens, good in a better role but we don't see enough of them). Letica Roman has a decent subplot as tavern girl who stows away with Scott, throws herself at him, he's not keen until she goes off and pretends to be a lady who a rich noble falls in love with. Her plot is actually a lot of fun and probably she should have been the lead - Roman isn't much of an actor though. Were there no better stars under contract to Fox at the time?
Maybe John Richardson, later Hammer leading man, who plays a pirate who pants over Roman - so does singer Dave King, who is another pirate. Athlete Rafer Johnson is a pirate so it has some multiculturalism (not that much though - Johnson is not allowed to be one of the pirates keen on Roman).
There is some action and colour and undemanding pirate film fans will get something out of it. I just wish the casting had been stronger.
Ken Scott is a bland hero, a privateer tasked with attacking Sir Henry Morgan (Robert Stephens, good in a better role but we don't see enough of them). Letica Roman has a decent subplot as tavern girl who stows away with Scott, throws herself at him, he's not keen until she goes off and pretends to be a lady who a rich noble falls in love with. Her plot is actually a lot of fun and probably she should have been the lead - Roman isn't much of an actor though. Were there no better stars under contract to Fox at the time?
Maybe John Richardson, later Hammer leading man, who plays a pirate who pants over Roman - so does singer Dave King, who is another pirate. Athlete Rafer Johnson is a pirate so it has some multiculturalism (not that much though - Johnson is not allowed to be one of the pirates keen on Roman).
There is some action and colour and undemanding pirate film fans will get something out of it. I just wish the casting had been stronger.
Movie review - Godzilla#7 - "Ebirah, Horror of the Deep" (1966) ***
Probably my least favourite Japanese Godzilla to date. It's cheaper which is a shame - but I don't think a lower budget is part of the problem. It's not that dramatic - too many scenes of characters poking around the island base. And too many characters. I like that it's an island movie but feel more could have been done with the robbery plot and with the James Bond like bad guys on the island - I mean, they had real potential, but it's not exploited.
The twins in the pearl who look after Mothra are back but played by different actors who aren't as good. I wish the leads on the yacht were differentiated more . The concept of a sea monster taking on Godzilla is great but they don't do enough with the water factor.
Still there are good things - that lovely 60s colour, the concept of an island Godzilla movie, the basic story is actually pretty good (it's potential is not realised), Kumi Mizuno is a winning native girl, I liked that the baddies were making heavy water for a nuclear bomb and the ticking clock was literally a bomb, I loved Mothra coming to the rescue picking up people in a net and how she and Godzilla still didn't get along, the lobster sea monster is charming (if funny rather than scary). So I'm giving it three stars even though in it's heart this is probably more two and a half stars.
The twins in the pearl who look after Mothra are back but played by different actors who aren't as good. I wish the leads on the yacht were differentiated more . The concept of a sea monster taking on Godzilla is great but they don't do enough with the water factor.
Still there are good things - that lovely 60s colour, the concept of an island Godzilla movie, the basic story is actually pretty good (it's potential is not realised), Kumi Mizuno is a winning native girl, I liked that the baddies were making heavy water for a nuclear bomb and the ticking clock was literally a bomb, I loved Mothra coming to the rescue picking up people in a net and how she and Godzilla still didn't get along, the lobster sea monster is charming (if funny rather than scary). So I'm giving it three stars even though in it's heart this is probably more two and a half stars.
Script review - "Nightcrawler" by Dan Gilroy
I held off seeing/reading this in part because it was Dan Gilroy not Tony (Tony helped produce it) and also I wasn't that thrilled about another "ooh the media is out of control" story. But really it's not so much about the media as the story of a sociopath who finds a niche, uses modern business speak to construct this thoughts, and follows everything logically to its end result.
The script is done in sparse haiku-ish style not far from Tony Gilroy's. It's a memorable character study - no wonder Jake Gyllenhaul went for it in a big way, with some excellent support parts.
The script is done in sparse haiku-ish style not far from Tony Gilroy's. It's a memorable character study - no wonder Jake Gyllenhaul went for it in a big way, with some excellent support parts.
Movie review - "Dad and Dave Come to Town" (1938) ***1/2 (warning:spoilers) (re-viewing)
This was on the plane on a Qantas flight. Good old Qantas. It was fun to see again.
It doesn't start particularly well - the opening reels creak, the pacing isn't quite there, it's not that well conceived or edited. Hall was a better producer than director. Some of the gags didn't work for me - the busman's holiday and what not.
But as it went on it got better. There were so many subplots but they were well juggled - Dad taking over the dress shop, Dad's squabbling with a neighbour, the neighbour's son (Peter Finch) romancing Dad's daughter, Dad's other daughter wanting to run a dress shop, the housekeeper being possessive of the house, Dave lecherous in the dress job, the gay floor walker, the treacherous manager, the opposition dress shop owner, the PR guy who changes sides.
The film has a nice heart - Dad is very inclusive as long as you're not a treacherous snot (and wear a moustache - two villains have moustaches). Shirley Ann Richards is chirpy and talks like she went to a post school. Bert Bailey, Fred MacDonald, Sidney Wheeler and Alec Kellaway all act like they've done a LOT of theatre. Which is part of the film's appeal. Billy Rayes plays possibly the most sympathetic PR guy in film history.
It doesn't start particularly well - the opening reels creak, the pacing isn't quite there, it's not that well conceived or edited. Hall was a better producer than director. Some of the gags didn't work for me - the busman's holiday and what not.
But as it went on it got better. There were so many subplots but they were well juggled - Dad taking over the dress shop, Dad's squabbling with a neighbour, the neighbour's son (Peter Finch) romancing Dad's daughter, Dad's other daughter wanting to run a dress shop, the housekeeper being possessive of the house, Dave lecherous in the dress job, the gay floor walker, the treacherous manager, the opposition dress shop owner, the PR guy who changes sides.
The film has a nice heart - Dad is very inclusive as long as you're not a treacherous snot (and wear a moustache - two villains have moustaches). Shirley Ann Richards is chirpy and talks like she went to a post school. Bert Bailey, Fred MacDonald, Sidney Wheeler and Alec Kellaway all act like they've done a LOT of theatre. Which is part of the film's appeal. Billy Rayes plays possibly the most sympathetic PR guy in film history.
Friday, February 21, 2020
Book review- "Steel Bonnets" by George MacDonald Fraser
When the film sale of Flashman enabled Fraser to quit journalism and take up writing full time, he had so much energy he not only churned out more Flashmans and the McAuslan stories, but did this very long, extremely readable history of the Borderers. It was a labour of love, he says in the afterword, but is still an impressive peace of scholarship - trudging through all those old records to find out what happened.
Fraser is a wonderful writer and his prose is clean, evocative and concise. I admit I did get lost in the last third of the book keeping track of who was who - all the Careys and Howards and Grahames.
But he has a real feel for the subject particularly the people on the Border - their bravery, shiftiness, sense of loyalty, love of sport and fighting, and so on. I'm surprised British filmmakers haven't turned to this period more - it's full of blood, thunder, romance and action, you could truly make British Westerns here.
Fraser is a wonderful writer and his prose is clean, evocative and concise. I admit I did get lost in the last third of the book keeping track of who was who - all the Careys and Howards and Grahames.
But he has a real feel for the subject particularly the people on the Border - their bravery, shiftiness, sense of loyalty, love of sport and fighting, and so on. I'm surprised British filmmakers haven't turned to this period more - it's full of blood, thunder, romance and action, you could truly make British Westerns here.
Book review - MacLean#3 - "South by Java Head" by Alistair MacLean (1958) (warning: spoilers)
From MacLean's great period - excellently written, exciting, gruelling. I sometimes got lost exactly what was happening - I'm not great on nautical descriptions - and how many people were on the run ("people fleeing the baddies" stories tend to work better when it's a small tight group) but it's very good.
The characters really suffer - they're on one ship, it sinks just as they get on another ship, which sinks, so they get on a lifeboat, which takes them to an island, they sink it, get captured, get on another boat, it sinks, they get captured. People go crazy drinking salt water, there's suicide bombings, strafings.
Rather oddly MacLean gives us the Macguffin up front (plans to the invasion of Australia!) - there are also diamonds later on, but really the plans are the Big Deal. I wonder if the first chapter was added later on at the request of publishers or something because it doesn't feature the true hero , Nicholson.
I read Alec Guinness was meant to star in a film version. I'm not surprised a film wasn't made - most of the action takes place on water, it would be expensive. At first I recoiled about Guiness as this tough, ultra efficient boat officer but as the book went on, reading it, I could imagine Guinness playing it, with his sense of un-worldiness.
There are a lot of characters and at times I forgot who was who. Conversely, the lead characters are among MacLean's most memorable - the blimpish officer who turns out to be a cool shot and ruthlessly efficient agent, the nanny who is his wife, the reveal of the German agent (didn't pick it).
There is an unpleasant strand of racism through the book - I know this was typical of the time, but there's none of the empathy shown to Commies and Nazis in other MacLean novels. The Japanese are efficient and ruthless - and one, an officer, is so sadistic, keen to torture women and kids, that the German agent changes sides. And there's a Malay who is treacherous at the start and continues to be so. The nice non whites are friendly villagers. So there's that.
The characters really suffer - they're on one ship, it sinks just as they get on another ship, which sinks, so they get on a lifeboat, which takes them to an island, they sink it, get captured, get on another boat, it sinks, they get captured. People go crazy drinking salt water, there's suicide bombings, strafings.
Rather oddly MacLean gives us the Macguffin up front (plans to the invasion of Australia!) - there are also diamonds later on, but really the plans are the Big Deal. I wonder if the first chapter was added later on at the request of publishers or something because it doesn't feature the true hero , Nicholson.
I read Alec Guinness was meant to star in a film version. I'm not surprised a film wasn't made - most of the action takes place on water, it would be expensive. At first I recoiled about Guiness as this tough, ultra efficient boat officer but as the book went on, reading it, I could imagine Guinness playing it, with his sense of un-worldiness.
There are a lot of characters and at times I forgot who was who. Conversely, the lead characters are among MacLean's most memorable - the blimpish officer who turns out to be a cool shot and ruthlessly efficient agent, the nanny who is his wife, the reveal of the German agent (didn't pick it).
There is an unpleasant strand of racism through the book - I know this was typical of the time, but there's none of the empathy shown to Commies and Nazis in other MacLean novels. The Japanese are efficient and ruthless - and one, an officer, is so sadistic, keen to torture women and kids, that the German agent changes sides. And there's a Malay who is treacherous at the start and continues to be so. The nice non whites are friendly villagers. So there's that.
Movie review - Godzilla#6 - "Invasion of the Astro Monster" (1965) ***
The Godzilla series keep coming up with fresh angles - this one goes into outer space and has a Hollywood actor, Nick Adams, who made a few Japanese movies around this time. He's dubbed into Japanese and plays an astronaut who, along with his mate, gets a call from some aliens. They're having troubles with Ghidorah the three headed animal who ran amok in Japan and ask for Earth's help bringing Godzilla and Rodan out of retirement which is just too cute.
There's a subplot involving an inventor who falls for one of the sisters of an astronaut and Nick Adams has a hot alien girl fall in love with him - so much so she turns traitor for her people. Oh, Nick, you smooth talker.
The effects are charming - maybe the model work in some scenes are too obvious. Godzilla seems to take a back seat in this one... one gets the feeling he was inserted into the action down the development process, though I could be wrong. It's a lot of fun - an enjoyable light tone, decent production values, impressive look at the future, aliens and Godzilla.
I'm really enjoying these Godzilla movies haven't hit a dud in the bunch.
There's a subplot involving an inventor who falls for one of the sisters of an astronaut and Nick Adams has a hot alien girl fall in love with him - so much so she turns traitor for her people. Oh, Nick, you smooth talker.
The effects are charming - maybe the model work in some scenes are too obvious. Godzilla seems to take a back seat in this one... one gets the feeling he was inserted into the action down the development process, though I could be wrong. It's a lot of fun - an enjoyable light tone, decent production values, impressive look at the future, aliens and Godzilla.
I'm really enjoying these Godzilla movies haven't hit a dud in the bunch.
Movie review - "Hot Mess" (2019) **1/2
Sweet low budget Australian comedy about a young woman who wants to be a playwright, lives at home, works as a cleaner, gets distracted by a boy who might be her deliverance. Some funny scenes and naturalistic playing. I did feel her school friend was more of a hot mess - sleeping with her boss and hooking up with randoms at first opportunity. The lead felt more like a slack mess.
aSarah Gaul has a lovely singing voice and I would've liked to have heard more. Marshall Campbell has an easy going masculinity that is very winning - others in the cast are good too.
aSarah Gaul has a lovely singing voice and I would've liked to have heard more. Marshall Campbell has an easy going masculinity that is very winning - others in the cast are good too.
Movie review - "Judy" (2019) ***1/2
Decent biopic which wisely focuses on a specific period of time - Garland's last tour of London, which included her romance with Mickey Deans. At times it feels like a play, notably in the scenes with Louis B Mayer, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing and it's well written and constructed.
The stuff with Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock) and Sid Luft (Rufus Swell in a wig and very good) is excellent as are the glimpses of her kids (the one who plays Lorna is especially excellent) and her encounters with two gay fans.
Less successful are Garland's relationship with the Bernard Delfont go between girl and the band leader Burt... I kept wondering what the point of these were. They both got all these close ups but the characters seemed little more than "polite to erratic star" - I never got the sense Garland meant much to either, whereas the other characters it was clear.
Rene Zellweger is excellent in the lead - I mean it is a gift part but she's still very good. I'm surprised the film didn't end with her death - I mean she did die in London - but cuts out six months before she went.
I wonder if anyone's ever tried to get up a film about Garland's disastrous Australian tour?
The stuff with Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock) and Sid Luft (Rufus Swell in a wig and very good) is excellent as are the glimpses of her kids (the one who plays Lorna is especially excellent) and her encounters with two gay fans.
Less successful are Garland's relationship with the Bernard Delfont go between girl and the band leader Burt... I kept wondering what the point of these were. They both got all these close ups but the characters seemed little more than "polite to erratic star" - I never got the sense Garland meant much to either, whereas the other characters it was clear.
Rene Zellweger is excellent in the lead - I mean it is a gift part but she's still very good. I'm surprised the film didn't end with her death - I mean she did die in London - but cuts out six months before she went.
I wonder if anyone's ever tried to get up a film about Garland's disastrous Australian tour?
Movie review - "Godzilla King of the Monsters" (2019) **1/2
It's a very good story and I love how respectful it was of the Godzilla cannon - not just him but also Mothra, Rodan, the three headed monster etc. The cast was very high quality and the effects were tremendous - there was some impressive destruction.
But it didn't work for me - at least as not as well as I would have liked. I've been trying to figure out why. I think it's mostly because it didn't work as drama. There's too many characters who are too much alike, which I know was symptomatic of many classical Godzilla films but surely was easily fixed.
Stuff like the kidnapping of Vera Farmiga felt functionary. Dramatic opportunities seemed thrown away - like Farmiga being someone who wants slabs of the world's population wiped out, or Charles Dance being this manic eco terrorist (never believed it) or Millie Bobby Brown being involved in stuff. Kyle Chandler hangs around and guesses accurately without doing that much heroic stuff. Thomas Middleditch says lines. It's like half the characters could have been merged or something.
Structure of dramatic scenes seems off - one minute there's one or two creatures, then there's seventeen. There's too many scenes of actors standing around in that plane looking at scenes- which again is admittedly close to the original, but why not try to improve that, get in some pace, and drama.
I think that's the main problem - the filmmakers don't miss the drama. They've got actors and effects and noise and spectacle but they can't create scenes or build narrative tension. Sometimes it works like Ken Watanabe's death or the final battle but too often things are thrown away. It means too little and as a result I didn't care.
But it didn't work for me - at least as not as well as I would have liked. I've been trying to figure out why. I think it's mostly because it didn't work as drama. There's too many characters who are too much alike, which I know was symptomatic of many classical Godzilla films but surely was easily fixed.
Stuff like the kidnapping of Vera Farmiga felt functionary. Dramatic opportunities seemed thrown away - like Farmiga being someone who wants slabs of the world's population wiped out, or Charles Dance being this manic eco terrorist (never believed it) or Millie Bobby Brown being involved in stuff. Kyle Chandler hangs around and guesses accurately without doing that much heroic stuff. Thomas Middleditch says lines. It's like half the characters could have been merged or something.
Structure of dramatic scenes seems off - one minute there's one or two creatures, then there's seventeen. There's too many scenes of actors standing around in that plane looking at scenes- which again is admittedly close to the original, but why not try to improve that, get in some pace, and drama.
I think that's the main problem - the filmmakers don't miss the drama. They've got actors and effects and noise and spectacle but they can't create scenes or build narrative tension. Sometimes it works like Ken Watanabe's death or the final battle but too often things are thrown away. It means too little and as a result I didn't care.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Movie review - Godzilla#5 - "Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster" (1964) ***1/2
I'm really enjoying these Godzilla movies they've got so much stuff in them. This one as Ghidorah a - you guessed it - three headed monster running rampant so the humans come up with the idea of uniting Rodan, Godzilla and mothra to take it on. What's more Mothra has to act as a peacekeeper for Rodan and Godzilla.
If that's not enough there's a subplot about a princess whose uncle his trying to kill her - she falls for a cop who protects her only she loses her memory and is convinced she's from Venus.. and she is. And she's played by Akiki Wakabayashi who was Aki in You Only Live Twice (she was also in King Kong vs Gozilla).
And there's the return of the singing little twins who protect Mothra from Mothra vs Godzilla.
If that's not enough there's a subplot about a princess whose uncle his trying to kill her - she falls for a cop who protects her only she loses her memory and is convinced she's from Venus.. and she is. And she's played by Akiki Wakabayashi who was Aki in You Only Live Twice (she was also in King Kong vs Gozilla).
And there's the return of the singing little twins who protect Mothra from Mothra vs Godzilla.
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Movie review - "Twenty Million Miles to Earth" (1957) **1/2
I enjoyed this more than Earth vs the Flying Saucers because there's no Hugh Marlow and it had a creature running amok. It follows from the King Kong playbook - creature goes berserk, is captured, escapes, military called in - but lacks that film's characters. Is it so hard to create some? There's William Hopper as standard military man and the girl as standard.
The film gets extra points though for being set in Italy and have the monster going crazy among the ruins. Why not have the creature have a personality - fall in love with the girl? Or have some goal? Or give the humans some personality?
I liked Harryhausens effects and the build up was very good. But the writers didn't put flesh on the bones.
The film gets extra points though for being set in Italy and have the monster going crazy among the ruins. Why not have the creature have a personality - fall in love with the girl? Or have some goal? Or give the humans some personality?
I liked Harryhausens effects and the build up was very good. But the writers didn't put flesh on the bones.
Movie review - Godzilla#4 - "Mothra vs Godzilla" (1964) ***1/2 (warning: spoilers)
After audiences loved King Kong taking on Godzilla, Toho decided to match big G with Mothra, star of their 1961 Kaiju. This is a fun movie with gorgeous 1964 colour photography and entertaining effects. It's a decent story too with Godzilla back on the rampage and lazy/desperate humans getting mothra to fight their battles.
The heroes are two guys and a girl - I think that was becoming formula around this time? The film is full of cool stuff like the two girls who are little people who want the mothra eggs, the islanders who worship mothra, the fact mothra dies fighting Godzilla but his kids come back to get revenge after being hatched, the army killing Godzilla. A very strong entry, high quality.
The heroes are two guys and a girl - I think that was becoming formula around this time? The film is full of cool stuff like the two girls who are little people who want the mothra eggs, the islanders who worship mothra, the fact mothra dies fighting Godzilla but his kids come back to get revenge after being hatched, the army killing Godzilla. A very strong entry, high quality.
Movie review - "Doolittle" (2020) **
A film that hasn't gotten a lot of love and it's certainly flawed but I watched it with my five year old who loved it and we had a grand time.
The debits are easy to spot - Downey Jr's Welsh accent which is badly dubbed in, the undercast kids, the failure to milk dramatic moments (especially with the boy, why not have people trying to kill Doolittle more?), the not particularly good effects. I think a few more reshoots and clarifying of the drama would have worked wonders.
Still, it's a quest, and an adventure, and Antonio Banderas and Michael Sheen ham it up with the right tone - this film needed more adult actors to play it that way. And my daughter laughed a lot.
The debits are easy to spot - Downey Jr's Welsh accent which is badly dubbed in, the undercast kids, the failure to milk dramatic moments (especially with the boy, why not have people trying to kill Doolittle more?), the not particularly good effects. I think a few more reshoots and clarifying of the drama would have worked wonders.
Still, it's a quest, and an adventure, and Antonio Banderas and Michael Sheen ham it up with the right tone - this film needed more adult actors to play it that way. And my daughter laughed a lot.
Monday, February 17, 2020
Book review - Maclean#4 - "The Last Frontier" by Alistair MacLean (1959)
It throws you right into the action - an agent, Reynolds, hiding out in Communist Hungary where he's come to retrieve a scientist. The environment is harsh, the opposition tough and clever, the hero dogged and ruthless and closer to his enemies than he might like to admit.
He also makes a few mistakes, which surprised me. A lot surprised me about this book - it easily has the most vivid characters of any MacLean to date that I've read - Reynolds the agent without a conscience who learns to develop one and forms a strong attachment to the crew he meets, Jansci the Ukranian who has suffered terribly but has evolved to develop an almost Buddhist like philosophy, Jennings the humanist scientist who undergoes a political conversion, the Polish count who has endured incredible suffering. There are too huge William Bendix like killers, Sandor and Coco and the female interest, Julia.
The book has great empathy for those whose suffered under Communism - though it gets communists too. Powerful finale with Jansci's wife being rescued.. then killed, the Count being killed. I was unsure if the big baddie got away or not.
Reynolds has to be rescued a few times. I think Maclean was aware of this, hence the exciting train rescue sequence where Reynolds is the star. He stuffs up at the end though.
This is a lot of people's favourite MacLean. I wouldn't go that far but I recognise its excellence.
He also makes a few mistakes, which surprised me. A lot surprised me about this book - it easily has the most vivid characters of any MacLean to date that I've read - Reynolds the agent without a conscience who learns to develop one and forms a strong attachment to the crew he meets, Jansci the Ukranian who has suffered terribly but has evolved to develop an almost Buddhist like philosophy, Jennings the humanist scientist who undergoes a political conversion, the Polish count who has endured incredible suffering. There are too huge William Bendix like killers, Sandor and Coco and the female interest, Julia.
The book has great empathy for those whose suffered under Communism - though it gets communists too. Powerful finale with Jansci's wife being rescued.. then killed, the Count being killed. I was unsure if the big baddie got away or not.
Reynolds has to be rescued a few times. I think Maclean was aware of this, hence the exciting train rescue sequence where Reynolds is the star. He stuffs up at the end though.
This is a lot of people's favourite MacLean. I wouldn't go that far but I recognise its excellence.
Movie review - 'The Valley of Gwangi" (1969) **
Lesser known Ray Harryhausen in part because a lot of it was just plain annoying - to me, at any rate - it's got this irritating opening sequence in turn of the century Mexico (presumably to accommodate filming in Spain), which sets up all this storyline about a rodeo rider (James Franciscus, uncharming here) visiting a rodeo, renewing a relationship with a fellow rider (Gina Golan) and some boring old idiot.
They discover a secret valley where there are dinosaurs running. The film improves with some typically strong Ray Harryhausen creatures but it never hits the top rank for me. In part this is because the humans are so dull - they're not really on a mission to find dinosaurs,Laurence Naismith is a dull professor digging in the area but not on an expedition, and there's all this rodeo storyline, with Franciscus wanting to buy a ranch and not wanting to settle down with Golan then wanting to settle down, and then the cowboys thinking of exploiting the aliens and... urgh.
In King Kong the dramatic lines were clear and the characters vivid - Robert Armstrong wanted to make a movie, Fay Wray wanted to act, Kong fell in love with Wray, Armstrong wanted to exploit him. Here it's all fuzzy. Also Kong was kind of mean, beating up humans on Skull Island and terrifying creatures... here the poor old Gwangi is minding his own business when lassoed, and he doesn't deserve to be captured, he doesn't fall in love with anyone and is killed after understandably going on a rampage.
For some reason the scenes of horses travelling with loud clip-clop dubbed sounds really got on my nerves. It was as if "oh we've got to get these horse sounds right" and they ignored the script.
I'm not sure cowboys plus dinosaurs work but this definitely doesn't.
They discover a secret valley where there are dinosaurs running. The film improves with some typically strong Ray Harryhausen creatures but it never hits the top rank for me. In part this is because the humans are so dull - they're not really on a mission to find dinosaurs,Laurence Naismith is a dull professor digging in the area but not on an expedition, and there's all this rodeo storyline, with Franciscus wanting to buy a ranch and not wanting to settle down with Golan then wanting to settle down, and then the cowboys thinking of exploiting the aliens and... urgh.
In King Kong the dramatic lines were clear and the characters vivid - Robert Armstrong wanted to make a movie, Fay Wray wanted to act, Kong fell in love with Wray, Armstrong wanted to exploit him. Here it's all fuzzy. Also Kong was kind of mean, beating up humans on Skull Island and terrifying creatures... here the poor old Gwangi is minding his own business when lassoed, and he doesn't deserve to be captured, he doesn't fall in love with anyone and is killed after understandably going on a rampage.
For some reason the scenes of horses travelling with loud clip-clop dubbed sounds really got on my nerves. It was as if "oh we've got to get these horse sounds right" and they ignored the script.
I'm not sure cowboys plus dinosaurs work but this definitely doesn't.
Movie review - "Earth vs the Flying Saucers" (1956) **
Not a fan despite the involvement of Ray Harryhausen, Charles Schneer, and Sam Katzman. Too many 50s American military men and flying saucers and men standing around being 50s.
There's too much Hugh Marlowe, who I've never liked - smug, dull. For a moment it looked like his brain was taken over by aliens and I was hopeful but alas no he was being heroic. There's unpleasant romantic scenes which seem to feature in too many 50s sci fi. Joan Taylor is a regulation brunette, Donald Curtis returns from It Came from Beneath the Sea, there's lots of narration and scenes of people fleeing.
The effects are decent enough - it was Harryhausen.I liked monuments being blown up. But for me this lacked magic. It started off promisingly but just got annoying. Maybe it was just the Marlowe factor.
There's too much Hugh Marlowe, who I've never liked - smug, dull. For a moment it looked like his brain was taken over by aliens and I was hopeful but alas no he was being heroic. There's unpleasant romantic scenes which seem to feature in too many 50s sci fi. Joan Taylor is a regulation brunette, Donald Curtis returns from It Came from Beneath the Sea, there's lots of narration and scenes of people fleeing.
The effects are decent enough - it was Harryhausen.I liked monuments being blown up. But for me this lacked magic. It started off promisingly but just got annoying. Maybe it was just the Marlowe factor.
Movie review - "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963) ****
The leads are not memorable - I'm not surprised that Todd Armstrong failed to have much of a career - and it lacks star power. But it's easy to see why this would have gripped imaginations of its youthful audience so. It has a smart script - literate, not playing down to its audience, full of Classical references. The characters of the Gods are entertaining complex and human, and while Jason is dull a few other humans are allowed to shine eg Nigel Green's Hercules.
Some fantastic moments like the boat going through the cliffs and the final battle with skeleton soldiers. It's got an impressively heavy tone too - all these kids are wiped out at the beginning.
Some fantastic moments like the boat going through the cliffs and the final battle with skeleton soldiers. It's got an impressively heavy tone too - all these kids are wiped out at the beginning.
Movie review - "First Men in the Moon" (1964) ***1/2 (re-viewing)
I liked this even more the second time I watched it - period pieces have charm and I think make the "dynamtion" of Ray Harryhausen more believable. Lionel Jeffries is fun as the professor running his own space program in 1899 - the two who go up there with him are Edward Judd and Martha Hyer, both fine.
They needed another character or two though because when they get to the moon the creatures they meet don't really have a personality - they are creepy, and it's great, and there's wonderful atmosphere. The film needed a subplot - a traitor on board, or people going mad in space, or something. Or to give more to Martha Hyer who is a competent game actor but she has to spend most of her time whingeing about Judd not wanting to marry her.
But the colour is lovely, the opening sequence is a delight, is has a feel of Victoriana and adventure, the moon is mysterious and strange, Harryhausen's effects are charming. I just really liked it.
They needed another character or two though because when they get to the moon the creatures they meet don't really have a personality - they are creepy, and it's great, and there's wonderful atmosphere. The film needed a subplot - a traitor on board, or people going mad in space, or something. Or to give more to Martha Hyer who is a competent game actor but she has to spend most of her time whingeing about Judd not wanting to marry her.
But the colour is lovely, the opening sequence is a delight, is has a feel of Victoriana and adventure, the moon is mysterious and strange, Harryhausen's effects are charming. I just really liked it.
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Movie review - "It Came from Beneath the Sea" (1955) **1/2
Early collaboration of Ray Harryhausen and producer Charles Schneer. It's not as good as their later works being a bit too 50s Eisenhower Era military for me. There's too much romance between Kenneth Tobey and Faith Domergue - I don't mind romance but this one is unpleasant because Tobey is this lecherous fool who is always putting Domergue down and groping her and making sexist cracks. And he's not even good looking.
Domergue isn't bad - beautiful, smart and spirited - she deserves better than Tobey. She'd be better off with fellow scientist Donald Curtis who swam out to kill the octopus.
Oh, that's right - the story is about an octopus going on a rampage after busting out of the ocean, and winding up wrapping around the Golden Gate bright. It plods along in the first section, then takes off in the second half.
There's some decent-for-the-time Ray Harryhausen effects but something about the atmosphere of this put me off. No doubt it would be different if I'd seen it as a child.
Domergue isn't bad - beautiful, smart and spirited - she deserves better than Tobey. She'd be better off with fellow scientist Donald Curtis who swam out to kill the octopus.
Oh, that's right - the story is about an octopus going on a rampage after busting out of the ocean, and winding up wrapping around the Golden Gate bright. It plods along in the first section, then takes off in the second half.
There's some decent-for-the-time Ray Harryhausen effects but something about the atmosphere of this put me off. No doubt it would be different if I'd seen it as a child.
Movie review - Godzilla#2 - "Godzilla Raids Again" (1955) ***
Lesser known Godzilla movie, the first sequel which holds up very well. The tone is similarly grim and downbeat though not quite as hopeless as the first movie - this one is more an army film as the Japanese defence force especially the air force do their thing. It's actually a little unsettling to watch the pilots at work.
Godzilla gets his first non human enemy - Anguiris, who has been forgotten in time... I think because he doesn't do much, just sort of fights Godzilla, gets killed, and allows Godzilla to go on his rampage.
Great scenes like the pilots crashed on the island trying to get off in time. There's a prison truck hijack and Gozilla is buried in snow which is interesting. Solid acting, plenty of dinosaur action - I mean, there's heaps. This should be better known.
Godzilla gets his first non human enemy - Anguiris, who has been forgotten in time... I think because he doesn't do much, just sort of fights Godzilla, gets killed, and allows Godzilla to go on his rampage.
Great scenes like the pilots crashed on the island trying to get off in time. There's a prison truck hijack and Gozilla is buried in snow which is interesting. Solid acting, plenty of dinosaur action - I mean, there's heaps. This should be better known.
Movie review - Godzilla #1 - "Godzilla" (1954) ***1/2
The original is strikingly different from the many sequels that followed. It's dark, gloomy and pessimistic, with the nuclear war metaphor fairly throbbing - ships are wiped out, people worry, everyone freaks. It's a powerful, haunting movie. I'm talking the Japanese version not the American one. You can sense the devastation of war.
There's a thumping soundtrack, some decent acting, and a solid third act emotional pull as someone invents a device that could take out the big guy but isn't sure whether to unleash it. Strong effects for the time. A memorable experience. Godzilla really goes on a rampage in this one.
There's a thumping soundtrack, some decent acting, and a solid third act emotional pull as someone invents a device that could take out the big guy but isn't sure whether to unleash it. Strong effects for the time. A memorable experience. Godzilla really goes on a rampage in this one.
Movie review - "Iron Man 3" (2013) ***
The end credits of this are terrific - bright, poppy, comic booky, irreverant, with a bouncy music score. The actual movie isn't up to the fun and pace of these credits but it's still a fun time, with everyone quipping away and Shane Black clearly bringing a lot to the party.
There's a lonely kid who pops up - there's a few in Black movies eg The Nice Guys, The Last Boy Scout - but he's fine. The emotional core of the movie is Iron Man dealing with a stress attack which is different, or was then.
There's lots of quips, some decent twists, some fantastic action sequences (especially the attack on Stark's house), the regular decent effects, the regular overlong bland final action scene, Ben Kingsley is fun once the reveal comes through (was this controversial? It was fun).
I like Rebecca Hall and just bought Gwyneth turning into a superhero; Don Cheadle had an amusing subplot. It was a good time. Not a billion dollar good time but enjoyable.
There's a lonely kid who pops up - there's a few in Black movies eg The Nice Guys, The Last Boy Scout - but he's fine. The emotional core of the movie is Iron Man dealing with a stress attack which is different, or was then.
There's lots of quips, some decent twists, some fantastic action sequences (especially the attack on Stark's house), the regular decent effects, the regular overlong bland final action scene, Ben Kingsley is fun once the reveal comes through (was this controversial? It was fun).
I like Rebecca Hall and just bought Gwyneth turning into a superhero; Don Cheadle had an amusing subplot. It was a good time. Not a billion dollar good time but enjoyable.
Saturday, February 15, 2020
Movie review - "The Howling" (1981) ***
I don't think Joe Dante is a great visual stylist - not up with say Spielberg or Carpenter - but his films always have a lot of neat stuff in them. They tend to be smart because he uses good writers like John Sayles, there are plenty of film in jokes (eg several characters here named after werewolf movie directors, cameos from Roger Corman), and there's lots going on. So you forgive the odd dodgy blocking of scenes.
The basic story isn't bad - reporter Dee Wallace is almost killed in a sting operation so to recover she goes to a colony run by doctor Patrick Macnee. There is a central theme of natural instincts vs being able to control them which actually could have been treated seriously and been entertaining but the film only touches on it - there's more satire of self help movements, which does fit in the theme.
Wallace shares hero duties with three others - the couple Dennis Dugan and Belinda Balaski who have surprisingly large roles, and Chris Stone, who plays her husband. Stone turns, giving the piece good drama - though it's Dugan who becomes the hero at the end. Progressive Sayles ensure the women have plenty to do.
The first half is slow but there's plenty of werewolf action at the end. The leads are solid but the stand out parts are the support cast - Dick Miller as a book salesman who lists the rules, Elisabeth Brooks as a nympho (I swear she was nude in some versions but wasn't in the one I saw), Patrick Macnee as the doctor, John Carradine as a crazy old codger, Robert Picardo as a rapist. I can't believe Brooks didn't come back for any sequels she has a great horror movie presence.
Rob Bottin's effects are fun.
The basic story isn't bad - reporter Dee Wallace is almost killed in a sting operation so to recover she goes to a colony run by doctor Patrick Macnee. There is a central theme of natural instincts vs being able to control them which actually could have been treated seriously and been entertaining but the film only touches on it - there's more satire of self help movements, which does fit in the theme.
Wallace shares hero duties with three others - the couple Dennis Dugan and Belinda Balaski who have surprisingly large roles, and Chris Stone, who plays her husband. Stone turns, giving the piece good drama - though it's Dugan who becomes the hero at the end. Progressive Sayles ensure the women have plenty to do.
The first half is slow but there's plenty of werewolf action at the end. The leads are solid but the stand out parts are the support cast - Dick Miller as a book salesman who lists the rules, Elisabeth Brooks as a nympho (I swear she was nude in some versions but wasn't in the one I saw), Patrick Macnee as the doctor, John Carradine as a crazy old codger, Robert Picardo as a rapist. I can't believe Brooks didn't come back for any sequels she has a great horror movie presence.
Rob Bottin's effects are fun.
Movie review - Godzilla#3 - "King Kong vs Godzilla" (1962) ***1/2
The film that brought back both King Kong and Godzilla after a break - King Kong's was longer. This is the Japanese version - apparently the US one isn't as good - and it's great fun. The first section is mostly a Kong story, with a wacky TV producer sending a comedy duo on an expedition to go to a mystery island. We get Japanese actors in brownface playing islanders, which was unusual to my eyes, but it works on a junky level as they discover Kong, Kong fights a squid and is captured. There's a subplot about a US sub crashing into the ice and unleashing Godzilla and then Godzilla goes on a rampage and becomes the main plot. Fortunately Kong comes along.
Monster mash ups can be great fun - eg Frankenstein versus the Wolf Man - and this one is. I enjoyed the comic relief (no one ever admits that about monster movies as if admitting to some impurity or something). I love how they keep cutting back from monster rampages to various characters discussing them wondering what the creatures will do. And how the humans give up and get King Kong to do battle for them.
Very satisfactory final battle between Godzilla and Kong.
Monster mash ups can be great fun - eg Frankenstein versus the Wolf Man - and this one is. I enjoyed the comic relief (no one ever admits that about monster movies as if admitting to some impurity or something). I love how they keep cutting back from monster rampages to various characters discussing them wondering what the creatures will do. And how the humans give up and get King Kong to do battle for them.
Very satisfactory final battle between Godzilla and Kong.
Seeing Joe Dante and John Sayles Talk - Egyptian 14 Feb 2020
They gave a chat introducing Piranha then did a Q and A in between that film and The Howling. Both are very experienced Q and A people and told stories with the skill of old vaudevillians. I had heard a lot of the stories but it was still fun to hear about Dick Miller, how Sayles wrote it (mainly process of elimination), the joy of working with a pro like Bradford Dillman who knew how to match all his shots, shooting test scenes at USC pool in a wetsuit. Sayles talked about writing The Mummy and Jurassic Park 4. It was fun and there was deservedly a lot of love in the room for the filmmakers.
Movie review - "Piranha" (1978) ***
A joyous, smart Jaws rip off where Roger Corman made the smart decision of giving the job of directing to uber passionate Joe Dante, then they had the luck (or rather Frances Doel's talent spotting) of getting John Sayles to rewrite the script. Sayles' writing really was the X factor here - logical (where the piranhas go and why), giving the actors something to play (Bradford Dillman's drunken loner who no one believes, Heather Menzies' plucky skip tracer, Paul Bartel's pompous camp owner, Dick Miller's greedy resort manager, Barbara Steele's enigmatic scientist, Kevin McCarthy's mad scientist), some progressive social commentary (the fish were developed as a weapon in the Vietnam war, the military corruptly sold land to the resort... which is good as it gives them motive to keep it secret) and humour.
While the movie is tongue in cheek it "goes there" - a young boy sees his father eaten in front of his eyes, kids are killed at camp, a nice counselor is killed at camp. The death toll is high and nice people die.
The low budget is artfully disguised - lots of close ups, limited use of the piranhas, setting it in the bus - but the production values are high (lots of scenes on water, extras at the resort and camp). The boobs feel obligatory eg Heather Menzies flashing (I assume that's a body double).
While the movie is tongue in cheek it "goes there" - a young boy sees his father eaten in front of his eyes, kids are killed at camp, a nice counselor is killed at camp. The death toll is high and nice people die.
The low budget is artfully disguised - lots of close ups, limited use of the piranhas, setting it in the bus - but the production values are high (lots of scenes on water, extras at the resort and camp). The boobs feel obligatory eg Heather Menzies flashing (I assume that's a body double).
Friday, February 14, 2020
TV review - "Silicon Valley "- final season (2019) ***
The plotting remains strong and there's some superb moments and a very clever wrap up but for some reason this didn't fire as well for me. Some episodes felt tired, like the cast and crew were going through the motions. TJ Miller was missed, they did a little more with Amy but couldn't really think of much to do with her. It lacked another character and there was a bit too much Thomas Middleditch stuffing up - I wish they'd given him a girlfriend or something. Still, some magnificent moments.
Movie review - "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad" (1973) ***
Seventies fantasy films that aren't sci fi don't have the high reputation of say the 50s and 60s ones but this is grand fun - family entertainment in the best sense. Jon Phillip Law isn't terribly charismatic as Sinbad - he could do a bland-off with Kerwin Matthews. He ads a beard and an accent but it doesn't help.
However Caroline Munro is fun as the slave girl with a shapely figure and perennial pout and Tom Baker was born to play the villain in this sort of movie (presumably he liked the fact so many of his scenes were shot in one room, conjuring spells and sending evil things off to do his bidding... but he does join in the action at the end.) Martin Shaw is Sinbad's BFF.
I wish Munro had been given more to do - after an introduction which seems to promise she'll be prominent, she drops out of the action - and less screen time had been devoted to Takis Emmanuel who is meant to be wacky cowardly comic relief but doesn't quite pull it off, at least not to me.
Strong production value, fun effects and like most of these Harryhausen movies they cleverly stack the action at the end so the last third is almost pure action. Memorable stuff too including a fight with multi-armed Kali.
However Caroline Munro is fun as the slave girl with a shapely figure and perennial pout and Tom Baker was born to play the villain in this sort of movie (presumably he liked the fact so many of his scenes were shot in one room, conjuring spells and sending evil things off to do his bidding... but he does join in the action at the end.) Martin Shaw is Sinbad's BFF.
I wish Munro had been given more to do - after an introduction which seems to promise she'll be prominent, she drops out of the action - and less screen time had been devoted to Takis Emmanuel who is meant to be wacky cowardly comic relief but doesn't quite pull it off, at least not to me.
Strong production value, fun effects and like most of these Harryhausen movies they cleverly stack the action at the end so the last third is almost pure action. Memorable stuff too including a fight with multi-armed Kali.
TV Series - "The Crown Season 3" (2019) ****1/2
It must be rough for the cast of season 1 and 2 to be so good and then to find themselves topped by their replacements - as excellent as Claire Foy, Matt Smith, Vanessa Kirby etc were they are topped by Olivia Coleman, Helena Bonham Carter. The stand out star though is the woman who plays Princess Anne - she's sensational. And hot as hell.
Some amazing episodes - the death of the kids in that landslide especially. Fantastic television that is consistently surprising.
Some amazing episodes - the death of the kids in that landslide especially. Fantastic television that is consistently surprising.
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Movie review - "Clash of the Titans' (1981) ****
I know I'm biased because I loved this as a kid but for me this has such magic about it. It helps that producer Schneer got top British actors to play the Greek Gods, as well as Burgess Meredith in the Obi Wan role. Harry Hamlin and Judi Bowker are engaging leads - he's handsome and polished and should have done more of this stuff. Bowker is pretty; she doesn't get too much to do except stare either vacantly or wistfully but she has a look perfect for the part.
There's a surprisingly amount of nudity - Perseus' mother breast feeds him and walks nude along the beach. Judy Bowker's bare bum coming out of the bath.
The momentum suffers in the middle when Hamlin and Bowker get engaged, but it recovers for a tremendous second half which has some amazing action sequences - particularly the raid on Medusa's lair. Then this it followed by more exciting battles including taking on Calibos and scorpions and a race against time to stop a sacrifice.
There's so much good stuff - the mechanical owl (much whinged about but I liked), the depth of characterisations (the villains - Maggie Smith and Calibos - have complex, three dimensional motivations), the all too human Gods, a magical sword and helmet, "release the Kracken" (I did think about people taking a shit when this was mentioned), giant vultures,the three witches, Medusa's two headed dogs, the Kraken (actually he's a little too much like Godzilla).
It's a very strong script with a marvellous sense of adventure. No wonder people love Harryhausen seeing this again took me back to childhood.
There's a surprisingly amount of nudity - Perseus' mother breast feeds him and walks nude along the beach. Judy Bowker's bare bum coming out of the bath.
The momentum suffers in the middle when Hamlin and Bowker get engaged, but it recovers for a tremendous second half which has some amazing action sequences - particularly the raid on Medusa's lair. Then this it followed by more exciting battles including taking on Calibos and scorpions and a race against time to stop a sacrifice.
There's so much good stuff - the mechanical owl (much whinged about but I liked), the depth of characterisations (the villains - Maggie Smith and Calibos - have complex, three dimensional motivations), the all too human Gods, a magical sword and helmet, "release the Kracken" (I did think about people taking a shit when this was mentioned), giant vultures,the three witches, Medusa's two headed dogs, the Kraken (actually he's a little too much like Godzilla).
It's a very strong script with a marvellous sense of adventure. No wonder people love Harryhausen seeing this again took me back to childhood.
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Movie review - "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" (1958) *** (re-watching)
It's not hard to see how this captured the hearts and minds of baby boomers who saw it as children - I think if you didn't see it then you'll be less impressed but it has plenty of charm, gorgeous colour and the Harryhausen effects are great fun.
Kerwin Matthews is a little bland as the hero but he's fine. Kathryn Grant is a cutey as his love interest - she gets to be more involved, going along on the trip, although it's because she's shrunk. Torin Thatcher is a glowering magician - he's not very nice!
The film starts off like a sequel - Sinbad is with his love, he's engaged, he's respected. Then he gets sidetracked with monsters. The film doesn't really get going for me until Grant is shrunk and the stakes shoot up. The stuff hanging around the palace was dull but once the expedition started this was solid.
It has a serious, adult tone at times - several of Sinbad's men are killed, they mutiny, people are roasted on a spit, you're constantly expecting Thatcher to betray Sinbad, the men kill a bird by roasting it and are killed by the bird's mother.
There's always something happening - Cyclops, a sword fight with a skeleton, a boy genie, an egg with a creature inside, fights between creatures, caverns, dragons, magic lamps, huge crossbows. It's a lot of fun.
Kerwin Matthews is a little bland as the hero but he's fine. Kathryn Grant is a cutey as his love interest - she gets to be more involved, going along on the trip, although it's because she's shrunk. Torin Thatcher is a glowering magician - he's not very nice!
The film starts off like a sequel - Sinbad is with his love, he's engaged, he's respected. Then he gets sidetracked with monsters. The film doesn't really get going for me until Grant is shrunk and the stakes shoot up. The stuff hanging around the palace was dull but once the expedition started this was solid.
It has a serious, adult tone at times - several of Sinbad's men are killed, they mutiny, people are roasted on a spit, you're constantly expecting Thatcher to betray Sinbad, the men kill a bird by roasting it and are killed by the bird's mother.
There's always something happening - Cyclops, a sword fight with a skeleton, a boy genie, an egg with a creature inside, fights between creatures, caverns, dragons, magic lamps, huge crossbows. It's a lot of fun.
TV review - "Watchmen" (2019) *****
Excellent take on the comic book which doesn't wrap itself up in being faithful but is a sequel and manages to be more faithful. Simply well done across the board - superb acting, writing, design, all that. Sometimes I had trouble figuring out what was doing on but I figured it out eventually.
Movie review - "Alcatraz Express" (1962) ***
Two episodes of The Untouchables put together for a cinema release and it makes a strong movie in part because the story is ideal - it's about Al Capone being sentenced to prison and his plan to escape while being transferred to newly-formed Alcatraz.
Robert Stack's sincere, intense performance and sing-song-y delivery adds to the camp fun - particularly when he talks about isolating vermin in a place like Alcatraz (they talk a lot about construction costs which is a nice realistic touch), tells a guy who has been shot that he's going to die soon so may as well tell the truth, spends a lot of time hanging around his office with the anonymous other Untouchables.
Walter Winchell's infomation packed narration adds to the fun as does Neville Brand's performance as Al Capone and the very high death toll. I mean, seriously, people were always being offed in this show.
Its well done and a lot of fun.
Robert Stack's sincere, intense performance and sing-song-y delivery adds to the camp fun - particularly when he talks about isolating vermin in a place like Alcatraz (they talk a lot about construction costs which is a nice realistic touch), tells a guy who has been shot that he's going to die soon so may as well tell the truth, spends a lot of time hanging around his office with the anonymous other Untouchables.
Walter Winchell's infomation packed narration adds to the fun as does Neville Brand's performance as Al Capone and the very high death toll. I mean, seriously, people were always being offed in this show.
Its well done and a lot of fun.
Movie review - "Death Race" (1973) *** (warning: spoilers)
Taunt, well structured little TV movie produced by Harve Bennett who made a fair few of these. It's about the cat and mouse duel between a German tank and an American plane in the African desert in World War Two. Well it starts off with two planes - piloted by Roy Thines and Doug McClure. The tank meets up with German general Lloyd Bridges who shoots down one plane and becomes obsessed with getting the other one; the surviving plane is wounded.
It's well structured and exciting in part because McClure has weird billing so you expect him to die at any moment. Bridges almost wrecks the whole film with his outrageously hammy accent - was director David Lowell Rich too scared to tell him to stop?
It's well structured and exciting in part because McClure has weird billing so you expect him to die at any moment. Bridges almost wrecks the whole film with his outrageously hammy accent - was director David Lowell Rich too scared to tell him to stop?
Monday, February 10, 2020
Book review - "Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order, 1940-1944" by Robert Paxton (1972)
Excellent look at the Vichy regime in France in World War Two - some military stuff, but more political and social, in particular demonstrating convincingly how much Vichy was very much part of a French tradition. Indeed some of Vichy's leaders wanted to become fully fledged allies of the Germans but the Germans held off in part because of Hitler's snobbery towards them. An important book.
Book review - "The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn' by Nathaniel Philbrick (2010)
Well done account of the Battle of Little Big Horn, which has the difficult job of trudging through so many myths and agendas and lack of verifiable historical resources. It helps that it is focused on the one event but there's a lot to incorporate - the character of Custer but also Sitting Bull and other Indians, the vicious politicking and bitchiness among the soldiers, the politics in Washington. It's handled very well in this book. I think I still prefer Flashman and the Redskins.
Book review - "Culloden: Scotland’s Last Battle and the Forging of the British Empire" by Trevor Royle
Not just a book about Culloden - it does over the 1745 campaign and battle but is actually more about the impact of that battle, how it shaped British military thinking and strategy, especially in the hugely important Seven Years War. The book feels very fair and even handed - it does lack occasional dash which seems a pity when there were so many colourful characters, but it is worth a read if you're into this period.
Movie review - "Nocturne" (1946) *** (re-viewing)
The film never recaptures the excellence of its opening sequence when a pianist is killed but this is a fine programmer - Joan Harrison produced a lot of above average stuff -which has the pleasures of its time and genre: tough dialogue, crisp black and white photography, slangy dialogue.
There's also George Raft, had his last peak, walking around being tough - shoving muscle men in swimming pools - but also having scenes with a little old lady (was this Raft's idea?) Lyn Bari is fun as always as the girl. Bright dialogue from Jonathan Latimer - slightly confusing plotting. Enjoyable.
There's also George Raft, had his last peak, walking around being tough - shoving muscle men in swimming pools - but also having scenes with a little old lady (was this Raft's idea?) Lyn Bari is fun as always as the girl. Bright dialogue from Jonathan Latimer - slightly confusing plotting. Enjoyable.
Sunday, February 09, 2020
Movie review - "Johnny Angel" (1945) *** (re-watching)
I'm rewatching a bit of George Raft especially his 40s thrillers. This was an unexpected hit for RKO - I think audiences were going to anything but they also simply liked Raft in this sort of movie. He's a sea captain, it starts on a boat, he's investigating his dad's murder, there's slinky Claire Trevor and various others. No classic just tight unpretentious stuff with some flourishing support cast performances. RKO made very good B movies.
Movie review - "The 317th Platoon" (1965) ****
Excellent French war film shot like a newsreel done with matter of fact-ness telling the story of a patrol in an outpost around the time of Dien Bien Phu. They run into Viet Minh, clash, clash again, come across a village, fight again. There's three main characters - the second lieutenant, warrant officer and sergeant. Not all of them survive - neither do the Laotian troops they command.
Surely an influence of Saving Private Ryan. The one member of the cast I recognised was the steely eyed Bruno Cremer who was in Sorcerer.
It doesn't judge the characters. There is matter of fact swearing, referring to locals as "gooks" and assuming the village girl gives good head. It doesn't have a typical dramatic build and none of the non white characters get that much of a look in. But a striking movie, well worth seeing.
Surely an influence of Saving Private Ryan. The one member of the cast I recognised was the steely eyed Bruno Cremer who was in Sorcerer.
It doesn't judge the characters. There is matter of fact swearing, referring to locals as "gooks" and assuming the village girl gives good head. It doesn't have a typical dramatic build and none of the non white characters get that much of a look in. But a striking movie, well worth seeing.
Movie review - "Whistle Stop" (1946) **1/2
I wanted to enjoy this more than I did. Great things about it - small town atmosphere, some slangy Phil Yordan dialogue, atmospheric direction, and a top cast: George Raft, Ava Gardner, Tom Conway, Victor McLaglen.
Raft is really too old to play a loser who is so irresistible to Gardner - either that or Gardner too young because she's beautiful and vivacious and way way too good for Raft's character. It would make sense if she hadn't left town but she'd been to Chicago and still wanted this guy back. A Raft ten years younger who still danced maybe....
But anyhow, it is good to see him. The plot felt patchy - McLaglen tries to persuade Raft to kill Conway, Gardner stops it, then Conway tries to frame McLaglen and Raft. Raft acts like an idiot for a long time. Really his character should have died.
The story was confusing - it probably should have been turned into a film noir, but they had this happy ending and all this set up. Or it could have been a melodrama built around Gardner but they had to give Raft a big part I guess. Still it's of interest in part because they don't make movies like this any more and the cast is full of so many icons.
Movie review - "Babette Goes to War" (1959) ***
Brigitte Bardot became famous as a sex bomb but some of her most popular movies used her simply as a cutie. This one such flick - a big hit in France at the time, it casts her as a girl who feels France in 1940 and joins the Free French Forces - no Vichy for her.
They get her cleaning floors and working on the phones but Bardot is keen to help out behind enemy lines.She dated a German officer so she's parachuted back into France to help to try and stop the German invasion of England.
That's a fantastic idea and Bardot is immensely appealing with her pout and cuteness as she wears tin helmets, does pratfalls, tries on wigs. The second half of the movie makes the mistake of veering away from her and spending too much time on a chubby German comic. Apparently Roger Vadim was meant to direct this and was put on another project and I think he would've used Bardot better.
It's cheerful enough - Jacques Charrier the male lead later married Bardot. Leslie Howard's son Ronald is a British officer - I assume he was cast in part because of his ability to speak French.
Gorgeous colour, and the budget is decent. I just wish the second half was tighter. It needed another female in there, a bigger role for the French officer, or something. There was too much poking around.
They get her cleaning floors and working on the phones but Bardot is keen to help out behind enemy lines.She dated a German officer so she's parachuted back into France to help to try and stop the German invasion of England.
That's a fantastic idea and Bardot is immensely appealing with her pout and cuteness as she wears tin helmets, does pratfalls, tries on wigs. The second half of the movie makes the mistake of veering away from her and spending too much time on a chubby German comic. Apparently Roger Vadim was meant to direct this and was put on another project and I think he would've used Bardot better.
It's cheerful enough - Jacques Charrier the male lead later married Bardot. Leslie Howard's son Ronald is a British officer - I assume he was cast in part because of his ability to speak French.
Gorgeous colour, and the budget is decent. I just wish the second half was tighter. It needed another female in there, a bigger role for the French officer, or something. There was too much poking around.
Movie review - "The Glass Key" (1935) **1/2 (re-watching)
Inferior to the Alan Ladd version which has overshadowed this in film buff memory but a decent tale. I didn't like George Raft the first time I saw him in it but enjoyed him more the second time around - he's very well cast as the enforcer of political poss Ed Arnold. Raft doesn't seem that close to Arnold or terribly interested in Claire Dodds but the film moves (it was directed by Frank Tuttle, who ironically turned Ladd into a star) and the atmosphere of corruption helps the movie age well, with its easily influenced press editors and covered up criminal cases.
Ray Milland pops up. Ann Sheridan has a small role as a nurse who tends Raft after he's smacked around by Big Boy Williams - that was a brilliantly effective scene in the Ladd version and works well here too. I got confused by the story in some places.
Ray Milland pops up. Ann Sheridan has a small role as a nurse who tends Raft after he's smacked around by Big Boy Williams - that was a brilliantly effective scene in the Ladd version and works well here too. I got confused by the story in some places.
Saturday, February 08, 2020
Movie review - "Idol of the Crowd" (1937) **1/2
One of several non-Westerns John Wayne at Universal of which Arthur Lubin directed a few like this one. It's brisk, unpretentious and spanks along with an hour's running time - I'm surprised it didn't do better. Wayne is believable as a hockey star even though he wasn't familiar with the sport - he's a chicken farmer who accepts an offer to play for a team to earn money for his farm. There's a dame who turns out to be No Good, a cute kid, some comic relief and third act gangsters who help provide the action. I enjoyed this. You have to take it on its terms. The leading lady was ideal.
Wednesday, February 05, 2020
Script review - "The Last Gun" by Walter Hill and Roger Spottiswoode (undated draft but I think 1979) (warning: spoilers)
A script I've always wanted to read, as Walter Hill tried to make it after Hard Times and came close - I think he only did The Warriors when this fell over. I'm not sure why he couldn't get finance - maybe the time period of 1915 scared people off. Maybe he couldn't get a star. Westerns weren't terribly fashionable in 1979 - but then Hill did get to make The Long Riders.
Anyway it's written in Hill's staccato haiku style - short sentences, one sentence paragraphs. (I will say "Hill" even though the script is him and Roger Spottiswoode). This makes the script very easy to read - even if page length blows out to 124 pages it fairly skips along. It's a simple story with not that many characters and it is very easy to cast in the mind - you can see why Hill was a successful screenwriter for so long.
The script is divided into parts with each part getting a title page plus a quote from the book of bushido. Classy!
Part One
It is set in 1915 though really could have been set in the old West - characters do often reference things like "we don't hang anymore" and "we don't use bounty hunters any more" and there are some cars and phones.
The lead character is Ronin - and there's a brief explanation at the front of the script as to what ronin were, as presumably they weren't that well known in 1979 Hollywood. The hero here isn't a Japanese (well, presumably isn't as no one comments on it) but he's still called Ronin. This is the star part, easily playable by Clint, or Steve McQ or Charles Bronson... reading this it feels a natural especially for Bronson and I got angry at old Charles for sooking over Hill's trimming of Jill Ireland's scenes in Hard Times because Bronson and Hill should have made more movies together.
Lovely character descriptions of him: "He's been there. Saw it happen. Usually took part. Veteran of undeclared wars. Survivor of unnamed battles. Unspoken code, interior grace. By his walk and manner he's one of the special ones."
That's how you describe a star part!
Ronin arrives in Monroe City in the south west. He meets police chief Harry Walker (dapper man in his early 30s - juicy role) and patrolman Moon Grady. He's in town to collect Gishboy Combs, who raped a girl, got two years in work gang but only served five months. Problem is, Gishboy is the son of wealthy Preston Combs. Ronin is a bounty hunter wanting a thousand dollars reward.
Like Ronin, Preston is a familiar type - the wealthy rancher, worthy of respect as an adversary, sticking up for his useless rape-happy son. Preston actually tells Ronin "now get off my land".
Ronin goes and buys a horse, Preston warns his son about Ronin then sends people to warn off Ronin, and Ronin beats them up. Ronin then goes looking for Gishboy. He crosses with an old boozer called Sloane whose daughter Aggie has run off with Gishboy. Ronin finds Gishboy and his mates, who are with Aggie. After a shoot out he gets the kid and Aggie. Preston steps into action and gets a posse of men to go rescue his son.
Ronin and the others cross through a town of Eloy where they meet Arthur Dempsey, "a big aging man with a lot of weather in his face." Dempsey guesses Ronin's identity by his habit of putting a rope around his prisoner's neck. Ronin recognises Dempsey's name - he almost went after him once. Dempsey is I guess the Warren Oates part - a flashy support role and the most interesting because you're genuinely never sure if he's going to betray Ronin or not.
Meanwhile Preston crosses with Sloane who waves a gun at him to Preston shoots him. It's not exactly a bad ass act on Preston's part. Dempsey offers Ronin to help and Ronin agrees.
Part Two
Our heroes cross with some hired guns and there's a shoot out - involving a truck, which is novel. They arrive back in Monroe, where Walker (the police chief) isn't exactly excited to see them - he knows this will mean a shoot out. Walker is the other good role in this script because like Dempsey you're not sure if he's going to be good or bad. Aggie, the girl, isn't as memorable maybe because she's just feisty and hangs around a little like Deborah Van Valkenberg's part in The Warriors. I did like Ronin's brief no-nonsense fling with the landlady Mrs Applegate.
Preston arrives in town, sees his son who he clearly has little time for, but family is family, so he tells Ronin he's going to come in and get the little turd, with guns. Dempsey has offered Walker to steal the son for Preston but Walker refuses. Dempsey decides to fight it out.
There's a lovely night-before-the-battle sequence where Dempsey goes off to a brothel, Preston reflects on his dead wife, Aggie asks Ronin if he can go to her father's funeral even though she didn't like her dad, and Walker is wistful to Ronin about the upcoming battle.
Part Three
Preston rides into town. Ronin attends the funeral of Aggie's dad. Ronin and Walker take Gishboy out of the cell, have him shaved, Dempsey puts on a deputy's badge, we cross between various parties.
There's a big shoot out with Ronin kicking a lot of arse, helped out by Dempsey and Walker. I was hoping for Aggie to join in a little and thinking one of Aggie, Walker or Dempsey really should have died and/or turned traitor - it would have seemed more fitting, and/or made things a little harder for Ronin who at times is a bit too much of a superman.
There's a neat finale where Ronin puts up Gishboy on the gallows in a stand off with Preston - making Walker shoot at Ronin because hanging Gishboy is against the law (a neat dilemma for Walker but Dempsey persuades him not to go all the way). Ronin ends up shooting Preston dead then hanging Gishboy - only it's deliberately an extra long rope so Gishboy lives.
In the end Ronin hands over Gishboy to Dempster to collect the reward, suggesting he give some of it to Aggie (who has kind of a burgeoning romance with Moon, the patrolman). There's vague hints that Ronin had some personal stake in this quest to do with the girl that Gishboy raped (Preston asks him the question early on but it's avoided) but the writers keep it a mystery.
Ronin goes off into the sunset via train. No departing scene with Walker or Mrs Applegate but one with Aggie, Dempster and Moon.
An exciting tight script. I wish Aggie had done more and it had been harder for Ronin but you can definitely see the movie. It's better than, say, Last Man Standing.
Anyway it's written in Hill's staccato haiku style - short sentences, one sentence paragraphs. (I will say "Hill" even though the script is him and Roger Spottiswoode). This makes the script very easy to read - even if page length blows out to 124 pages it fairly skips along. It's a simple story with not that many characters and it is very easy to cast in the mind - you can see why Hill was a successful screenwriter for so long.
The script is divided into parts with each part getting a title page plus a quote from the book of bushido. Classy!
Part One
It is set in 1915 though really could have been set in the old West - characters do often reference things like "we don't hang anymore" and "we don't use bounty hunters any more" and there are some cars and phones.
The lead character is Ronin - and there's a brief explanation at the front of the script as to what ronin were, as presumably they weren't that well known in 1979 Hollywood. The hero here isn't a Japanese (well, presumably isn't as no one comments on it) but he's still called Ronin. This is the star part, easily playable by Clint, or Steve McQ or Charles Bronson... reading this it feels a natural especially for Bronson and I got angry at old Charles for sooking over Hill's trimming of Jill Ireland's scenes in Hard Times because Bronson and Hill should have made more movies together.
Lovely character descriptions of him: "He's been there. Saw it happen. Usually took part. Veteran of undeclared wars. Survivor of unnamed battles. Unspoken code, interior grace. By his walk and manner he's one of the special ones."
That's how you describe a star part!
Ronin arrives in Monroe City in the south west. He meets police chief Harry Walker (dapper man in his early 30s - juicy role) and patrolman Moon Grady. He's in town to collect Gishboy Combs, who raped a girl, got two years in work gang but only served five months. Problem is, Gishboy is the son of wealthy Preston Combs. Ronin is a bounty hunter wanting a thousand dollars reward.
Like Ronin, Preston is a familiar type - the wealthy rancher, worthy of respect as an adversary, sticking up for his useless rape-happy son. Preston actually tells Ronin "now get off my land".
Ronin goes and buys a horse, Preston warns his son about Ronin then sends people to warn off Ronin, and Ronin beats them up. Ronin then goes looking for Gishboy. He crosses with an old boozer called Sloane whose daughter Aggie has run off with Gishboy. Ronin finds Gishboy and his mates, who are with Aggie. After a shoot out he gets the kid and Aggie. Preston steps into action and gets a posse of men to go rescue his son.
Ronin and the others cross through a town of Eloy where they meet Arthur Dempsey, "a big aging man with a lot of weather in his face." Dempsey guesses Ronin's identity by his habit of putting a rope around his prisoner's neck. Ronin recognises Dempsey's name - he almost went after him once. Dempsey is I guess the Warren Oates part - a flashy support role and the most interesting because you're genuinely never sure if he's going to betray Ronin or not.
Meanwhile Preston crosses with Sloane who waves a gun at him to Preston shoots him. It's not exactly a bad ass act on Preston's part. Dempsey offers Ronin to help and Ronin agrees.
Part Two
Our heroes cross with some hired guns and there's a shoot out - involving a truck, which is novel. They arrive back in Monroe, where Walker (the police chief) isn't exactly excited to see them - he knows this will mean a shoot out. Walker is the other good role in this script because like Dempsey you're not sure if he's going to be good or bad. Aggie, the girl, isn't as memorable maybe because she's just feisty and hangs around a little like Deborah Van Valkenberg's part in The Warriors. I did like Ronin's brief no-nonsense fling with the landlady Mrs Applegate.
Preston arrives in town, sees his son who he clearly has little time for, but family is family, so he tells Ronin he's going to come in and get the little turd, with guns. Dempsey has offered Walker to steal the son for Preston but Walker refuses. Dempsey decides to fight it out.
There's a lovely night-before-the-battle sequence where Dempsey goes off to a brothel, Preston reflects on his dead wife, Aggie asks Ronin if he can go to her father's funeral even though she didn't like her dad, and Walker is wistful to Ronin about the upcoming battle.
Part Three
Preston rides into town. Ronin attends the funeral of Aggie's dad. Ronin and Walker take Gishboy out of the cell, have him shaved, Dempsey puts on a deputy's badge, we cross between various parties.
There's a big shoot out with Ronin kicking a lot of arse, helped out by Dempsey and Walker. I was hoping for Aggie to join in a little and thinking one of Aggie, Walker or Dempsey really should have died and/or turned traitor - it would have seemed more fitting, and/or made things a little harder for Ronin who at times is a bit too much of a superman.
There's a neat finale where Ronin puts up Gishboy on the gallows in a stand off with Preston - making Walker shoot at Ronin because hanging Gishboy is against the law (a neat dilemma for Walker but Dempsey persuades him not to go all the way). Ronin ends up shooting Preston dead then hanging Gishboy - only it's deliberately an extra long rope so Gishboy lives.
In the end Ronin hands over Gishboy to Dempster to collect the reward, suggesting he give some of it to Aggie (who has kind of a burgeoning romance with Moon, the patrolman). There's vague hints that Ronin had some personal stake in this quest to do with the girl that Gishboy raped (Preston asks him the question early on but it's avoided) but the writers keep it a mystery.
Ronin goes off into the sunset via train. No departing scene with Walker or Mrs Applegate but one with Aggie, Dempster and Moon.
An exciting tight script. I wish Aggie had done more and it had been harder for Ronin but you can definitely see the movie. It's better than, say, Last Man Standing.
Script review - "The Chill" by William Goldman draft dated March 15, 1967 (warning: spoilers)
Based on a novel by Ross D. MacDonald, who wrote The Moving Target which Goldman adapted into Harper. It's a real shame this film wasn't made afterwards as it's a very good PI story, as solid a script as Harper - maybe without that film's central betrayal-of-friendship plot but TBH they tend not to mean much in PI stories because you usually just meet the friend.
We have the return of Harper's ex wife Susan who is trying to get over him - in the funny opening sequence she's at a party having served him divorce papers so he pretends to be in bed with someone which makes her jealous. You can totally imagine Paul Newman playing the hell out of this - actually the whole role is perfect for Newman, no wonder he wanted to repeat it in The Drowning Pool and it's pity he didn't do this one too.
The script is written in Goldman's lively, crisp style, lots of funny pungent dialogue and use of "..." and "--" in dialogue. He does a lot of scene transitions where we cut to close up of an object or a person then pull back to reveal the scene - this took me a little while to get used to but it did add to the pace.
The story has Harper go visit an old friend of his Dr Godwin, a shrink. Godwin lives near some 60s college students, which means they protest and the girls are hot - Goldman's writing often took on a pervy middle aged man tone and that's the case here. Harper crosses with Dolly, a hot young thing who looks like a young version of his wife, who wants to hire him. (There is no clear and obvious "hiring" moment though.) Dolly is then beaten up by a large man who looks like Santa Claus, a very scary scene.
Harper meets Mrs Bradley, mother of Roy Bradley, the dean. The script is full of these terrific character parts like in Harper - you can imagine it wouldn't be hard to cast good actors, as in that film. Other juicy parts include Roy Bradley, an aging handsome man who would love to be a detective (the Robert Wagner part), and the harsh academic Laura. Dolly blames her attack on Harper. No one really believes Dolly which I feel was a mistake - it would be more exciting if Harper was genuinely at threat of being arrested for this.
Harper then meets Kate Flynn, Dolly's advisor, a sensuous middle aged woman who promptly tries to seduce Harper (the Joanne Woodward part maybe?). Kate tells Harper that Dolly lied and that she was beaten up by a bearded man. Kate also tells Harper she needs a bodyguard and that someone is trying to kill her and they have been tracking her for twenty years. She offers Harper her body ("it's still good, I swear- it may not be as young as once upon a time, but the flesh retains a certain elasticity") but he says no. Kate refers to her old man being a corrupt cop and it causing her a great deal of distress.
Harper goes to visit the bearded man who beat up Dolly. He admits to hitting her, explaining he's Dolly's father Tom, angry that Dolly testified against him for the murder of Tom's wife, resulting in Tom going to prison for ten years. Tom Smith is an awesome character - terrifying, witty, a complete psycho, physically imposing. Tom wants to know who killed his wife. His sidekick Baby helps beat up Harper.
Harper goes to the Bradley house to find Dolly covered in blood, but alive. He takes her to Godwin. There is some entertaining by play between Dean Bradley and his mother (the tone is of favoured-but-long-suffering-son-and-his-overbearing-mother kind). Dean Bradley and Harper go to visit Kate, see a car drive past with a Nevada plate, then they discover Kate's dead body. That is a shocking scene - to see this likeable sexy girl dead. I wonder if that is why this didn't get made - she asked Harper for help, he said no, she winds up dead...? It gives the whole script a gloomy feel. Anyways...
Dolly is a suspect for the murder; Harper takes her to stay with Godwin. Harper then drives to Sacramento to meet Alice Jenkins, Dolly's aunt, who says Dolly saw Tom Smith murder her sister, Dolly's mother. He then goes to visit Kate's father, a cop and questions him about the death of Cliff Malone, which Kate thought was murder covered up by her dad but the father insists was an accident. The father admits the death was suspicious, that he got an order to ignore it, and that he hit Kate when she confronted him about it years ago. There's a great moment when Kate's dad literally beats himself up.
Harper then visits the widow of Cliff Malone, a snooty type, who says her husband committed suicide. Harper discovers the driver of the car with Nevada plates was a blackmailer called Foley. Susan appears to ask Harper if they can back together and he agrees but says he has to solve this triple murder first. (Their relationship will remain unresolved at the end.)
Harper visits the blackmailer Foley who lets slip he saw Kate because of Dean Bradley. They wind up having a fight with Foley plunging the room into darkness. (This fight scene is excellent.) Harper win this one forcing Foley to admit he's an ex of Kate's, that she told him she was worried someone would kill her and that Bradley knew him and had been asking why he was at Kate's.
Harper visits Bradley to find him in bed with Laura, who is his secret wife. Foley knew Bradley was living in sin with Laura and was worried his mother would find out.
Harper discovers Bradley divorced a lady called Tish Macready, who he married twenty years ago. He confronts Mrs Bradley with this. She refuses to believe him and it becomes apparent Mrs Bradley is cray-cray. Harper gets Mrs Bradley to admit there was a Tish claiming she tricked him into marriage and Mrs Bradley had to pay her off.
Harper calls Godwin, senses something is wrong - it turns out Tom Smith and Baby are holding him at gun point to get at Dolly. Smith goes to visit Dolly. Harper goes to Godwin and knocks out Baby. Then Harper goes to Dolly who is being beaten by her father and rescues her (all this stuff is exciting). Dolly admits she was coached in what to say at the trial by her aunt and that her mother was having an affair with Roy Bradley and wanted to marry him.
Harper meets Laura and tells her that her marriage to Roy isn't legal if he's still married to Tish; she sticks up for Roy. He visits Mrs Cliff Malone who is with Roy Bradley. Mrs Malone admits Tish was her sister who she loved and is dead. Bradley says Tish is alive and living in a special place where she can do no harm - he says she's a crazy who killed Kate, and who shot Dolly's mother, who he was having an affair with.
Roy Bradley says he was in love with Tish, met her when she divorced Macready. Tish and Mrs Malone's father was a senator. Roy explains when he slept with Tish, Cliff Malone busted them and went wild, beating up both of them, resulting in Tish shooting him. Roy says he befriended Kate, gave her a job - he took her out in public so Tish would kill her.
Harper sees a photo of Mrs Malone's father then is knocked out by Bradley. He wakes up with Mrs Bradley and Roy. Harper realises that Mrs Bradley is Tish. She wants to kill Harper. Dean Bradley is reluctant. They fight. There's a gun shot. It's Harper who is wounded. Harper recovers to make a phone call. The phone is dead. Mrs Bradley is triumphant. Harper keeps collapsing and rising. At the end he rises and the picture freezes. It's unclear whether he survives, or calls the police or whatever. He's got a gun so he's got that in his favour.
It's a great mystery, plenty of twists and turns and would've done well if shot with the same money and quality of cast as Harper. I'm not so sure you could make it now it feels inherently late sixties.
We have the return of Harper's ex wife Susan who is trying to get over him - in the funny opening sequence she's at a party having served him divorce papers so he pretends to be in bed with someone which makes her jealous. You can totally imagine Paul Newman playing the hell out of this - actually the whole role is perfect for Newman, no wonder he wanted to repeat it in The Drowning Pool and it's pity he didn't do this one too.
The script is written in Goldman's lively, crisp style, lots of funny pungent dialogue and use of "..." and "--" in dialogue. He does a lot of scene transitions where we cut to close up of an object or a person then pull back to reveal the scene - this took me a little while to get used to but it did add to the pace.
The story has Harper go visit an old friend of his Dr Godwin, a shrink. Godwin lives near some 60s college students, which means they protest and the girls are hot - Goldman's writing often took on a pervy middle aged man tone and that's the case here. Harper crosses with Dolly, a hot young thing who looks like a young version of his wife, who wants to hire him. (There is no clear and obvious "hiring" moment though.) Dolly is then beaten up by a large man who looks like Santa Claus, a very scary scene.
Harper meets Mrs Bradley, mother of Roy Bradley, the dean. The script is full of these terrific character parts like in Harper - you can imagine it wouldn't be hard to cast good actors, as in that film. Other juicy parts include Roy Bradley, an aging handsome man who would love to be a detective (the Robert Wagner part), and the harsh academic Laura. Dolly blames her attack on Harper. No one really believes Dolly which I feel was a mistake - it would be more exciting if Harper was genuinely at threat of being arrested for this.
Harper then meets Kate Flynn, Dolly's advisor, a sensuous middle aged woman who promptly tries to seduce Harper (the Joanne Woodward part maybe?). Kate tells Harper that Dolly lied and that she was beaten up by a bearded man. Kate also tells Harper she needs a bodyguard and that someone is trying to kill her and they have been tracking her for twenty years. She offers Harper her body ("it's still good, I swear- it may not be as young as once upon a time, but the flesh retains a certain elasticity") but he says no. Kate refers to her old man being a corrupt cop and it causing her a great deal of distress.
Harper goes to visit the bearded man who beat up Dolly. He admits to hitting her, explaining he's Dolly's father Tom, angry that Dolly testified against him for the murder of Tom's wife, resulting in Tom going to prison for ten years. Tom Smith is an awesome character - terrifying, witty, a complete psycho, physically imposing. Tom wants to know who killed his wife. His sidekick Baby helps beat up Harper.
Harper goes to the Bradley house to find Dolly covered in blood, but alive. He takes her to Godwin. There is some entertaining by play between Dean Bradley and his mother (the tone is of favoured-but-long-suffering-son-and-his-overbearing-mother kind). Dean Bradley and Harper go to visit Kate, see a car drive past with a Nevada plate, then they discover Kate's dead body. That is a shocking scene - to see this likeable sexy girl dead. I wonder if that is why this didn't get made - she asked Harper for help, he said no, she winds up dead...? It gives the whole script a gloomy feel. Anyways...
Dolly is a suspect for the murder; Harper takes her to stay with Godwin. Harper then drives to Sacramento to meet Alice Jenkins, Dolly's aunt, who says Dolly saw Tom Smith murder her sister, Dolly's mother. He then goes to visit Kate's father, a cop and questions him about the death of Cliff Malone, which Kate thought was murder covered up by her dad but the father insists was an accident. The father admits the death was suspicious, that he got an order to ignore it, and that he hit Kate when she confronted him about it years ago. There's a great moment when Kate's dad literally beats himself up.
Harper then visits the widow of Cliff Malone, a snooty type, who says her husband committed suicide. Harper discovers the driver of the car with Nevada plates was a blackmailer called Foley. Susan appears to ask Harper if they can back together and he agrees but says he has to solve this triple murder first. (Their relationship will remain unresolved at the end.)
Harper visits the blackmailer Foley who lets slip he saw Kate because of Dean Bradley. They wind up having a fight with Foley plunging the room into darkness. (This fight scene is excellent.) Harper win this one forcing Foley to admit he's an ex of Kate's, that she told him she was worried someone would kill her and that Bradley knew him and had been asking why he was at Kate's.
Harper visits Bradley to find him in bed with Laura, who is his secret wife. Foley knew Bradley was living in sin with Laura and was worried his mother would find out.
Harper discovers Bradley divorced a lady called Tish Macready, who he married twenty years ago. He confronts Mrs Bradley with this. She refuses to believe him and it becomes apparent Mrs Bradley is cray-cray. Harper gets Mrs Bradley to admit there was a Tish claiming she tricked him into marriage and Mrs Bradley had to pay her off.
Harper calls Godwin, senses something is wrong - it turns out Tom Smith and Baby are holding him at gun point to get at Dolly. Smith goes to visit Dolly. Harper goes to Godwin and knocks out Baby. Then Harper goes to Dolly who is being beaten by her father and rescues her (all this stuff is exciting). Dolly admits she was coached in what to say at the trial by her aunt and that her mother was having an affair with Roy Bradley and wanted to marry him.
Harper meets Laura and tells her that her marriage to Roy isn't legal if he's still married to Tish; she sticks up for Roy. He visits Mrs Cliff Malone who is with Roy Bradley. Mrs Malone admits Tish was her sister who she loved and is dead. Bradley says Tish is alive and living in a special place where she can do no harm - he says she's a crazy who killed Kate, and who shot Dolly's mother, who he was having an affair with.
Roy Bradley says he was in love with Tish, met her when she divorced Macready. Tish and Mrs Malone's father was a senator. Roy explains when he slept with Tish, Cliff Malone busted them and went wild, beating up both of them, resulting in Tish shooting him. Roy says he befriended Kate, gave her a job - he took her out in public so Tish would kill her.
Harper sees a photo of Mrs Malone's father then is knocked out by Bradley. He wakes up with Mrs Bradley and Roy. Harper realises that Mrs Bradley is Tish. She wants to kill Harper. Dean Bradley is reluctant. They fight. There's a gun shot. It's Harper who is wounded. Harper recovers to make a phone call. The phone is dead. Mrs Bradley is triumphant. Harper keeps collapsing and rising. At the end he rises and the picture freezes. It's unclear whether he survives, or calls the police or whatever. He's got a gun so he's got that in his favour.
It's a great mystery, plenty of twists and turns and would've done well if shot with the same money and quality of cast as Harper. I'm not so sure you could make it now it feels inherently late sixties.
Tuesday, February 04, 2020
Movie review - "It Had to Happen" (1936) **
Odd melodrama from Fox which feels as thought it was rewritten a lot though I could be wrong. George Raft plays an Italian immigrant who arrives in America with a whatsa-matta-mamma accent and crosses with aristocrat Rosalind Russell and then four years later he's a political boss in the city, accent gone, and he sees her again only now she's married.
Raft does stretch himself in this one, with the accent, and having a few big monologues, notably at the end when he's fighting a charge of blackmail.. The movie kept surprising me - Raft acted like a gang boss but apparently he wasn't a gang boss, and he took four million dollars but it wasn't a bribe, and he falls for ice cool Russell who is married and... they get together at the end! I mean, she's married. And she's ice cold and doesn't seem to like him genuinely more his interest in her.
I kept expecting him to go back to Aline Judge as his secretary who is a lot of fun. The movie would have been more fun if Raft was a proper gangster and Russell was in to rough trade and it all ended tragically but I'm guessing Raft didn't want to play a crook so they softened it. I am thrown that married Russell was allowed to wind up with him at the end.
It's not dramatically satisfying but if you're a fan of Russell and/or Raft there's plenty of both.
Raft does stretch himself in this one, with the accent, and having a few big monologues, notably at the end when he's fighting a charge of blackmail.. The movie kept surprising me - Raft acted like a gang boss but apparently he wasn't a gang boss, and he took four million dollars but it wasn't a bribe, and he falls for ice cool Russell who is married and... they get together at the end! I mean, she's married. And she's ice cold and doesn't seem to like him genuinely more his interest in her.
I kept expecting him to go back to Aline Judge as his secretary who is a lot of fun. The movie would have been more fun if Raft was a proper gangster and Russell was in to rough trade and it all ended tragically but I'm guessing Raft didn't want to play a crook so they softened it. I am thrown that married Russell was allowed to wind up with him at the end.
It's not dramatically satisfying but if you're a fan of Russell and/or Raft there's plenty of both.
Monday, February 03, 2020
Book review - MacLean #5 - "Night WIthout End" by Alistair MacLean
Excellent action thriller with the advantage of inherent tension in the location - Greenland, where a plane crashes, so there's constant cold and wind and Maclean's doctor hero writing "I never thought it was possible to be so cold" a lot.
The hero isn't a professional agent, just a doctor, but he's brave and tough... although he does make a few mistakes, which for me added to the tension (he's unduly hard on himself). The surviving passengers on the plane do feel influenced by movies - the movie star, the rich woman and her maid, the hot airhostess, the ex boxer, the elderly Jew, the reverend - but it helps they are different and so you can keep track of them.
I couldn't pick who the villains were - MacLean does a neat line in misdirect. The last segment of chasing after the bad guys is well done - I thought it would lose momentum after they were rescued but he got it back again. The villains maybe do leave the hero alive longer than they should.
But great cat and mouse stuff and it's a shame it was never filmed.
The hero isn't a professional agent, just a doctor, but he's brave and tough... although he does make a few mistakes, which for me added to the tension (he's unduly hard on himself). The surviving passengers on the plane do feel influenced by movies - the movie star, the rich woman and her maid, the hot airhostess, the ex boxer, the elderly Jew, the reverend - but it helps they are different and so you can keep track of them.
I couldn't pick who the villains were - MacLean does a neat line in misdirect. The last segment of chasing after the bad guys is well done - I thought it would lose momentum after they were rescued but he got it back again. The villains maybe do leave the hero alive longer than they should.
But great cat and mouse stuff and it's a shame it was never filmed.
Book review - "The Brothers Mankiewicz" by Sydney Stern (2019)
There have been biographies of Joe and Herman but they came out when key people were alive so it's an ideal time to revisit both. Joe inevitably overshadows his brother because he lived longer, did more, and was a director, so more of his work was clearly his, whereas Herman was often rewritten or rewrote... but it was Herman who paved the way, whether establishing himself in journalism, or in Berlin, or Hollywood, while Joe followed.
People seemed to adore Herman with his quick wit and genuine talent - he also got a lot of gigs because people felt sorry for his long suffering wife Sarah (who he seems to have been faithful to). A witty columnist, writer and guest he seemed to struggle to write anything of substance on his own - no truly memorable play or novel for instance. He thrived in the collaborative environment of Hollywood and was promoted to writer-producer, having a long run at Paramount. Actually he kept employed for a long time, turning out Citizen Kane of course (which earned him an Oscar) as well as fun pictures like The Spanish Main.
Joe also thrived in Hollywood, working as a producer at MGM. He must have been very charming - all the top stars wanted to work with him. He was more manipulative and destructive than possibly even he realised - he was constantly having affairs with insecure, self destructive women, and while sending them to psychoanalysis and treating them as smart, and leaving them loving him, in the long run they didn't turn out well: Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, his second wife Rose Strander, Gene Tierney, Linda Darnell.
The book is well written and excellent researched, accessing some private letters and what not. He clearly has tremendous admiration for his subjects but doesn't worship them - Herman's drinking and Joe's gaslighting get appropriate criticism.
It helps that so many of the films the brothers worked on were interesting - for Herman there's Citizen Kane of course but he caused entertaining trouble at Paramount. Some of Joe's films had memorably chaotic productions - The Barefoot Contessa, The Quiet American and of course Cleopatra. Worth a read.
People seemed to adore Herman with his quick wit and genuine talent - he also got a lot of gigs because people felt sorry for his long suffering wife Sarah (who he seems to have been faithful to). A witty columnist, writer and guest he seemed to struggle to write anything of substance on his own - no truly memorable play or novel for instance. He thrived in the collaborative environment of Hollywood and was promoted to writer-producer, having a long run at Paramount. Actually he kept employed for a long time, turning out Citizen Kane of course (which earned him an Oscar) as well as fun pictures like The Spanish Main.
Joe also thrived in Hollywood, working as a producer at MGM. He must have been very charming - all the top stars wanted to work with him. He was more manipulative and destructive than possibly even he realised - he was constantly having affairs with insecure, self destructive women, and while sending them to psychoanalysis and treating them as smart, and leaving them loving him, in the long run they didn't turn out well: Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, his second wife Rose Strander, Gene Tierney, Linda Darnell.
The book is well written and excellent researched, accessing some private letters and what not. He clearly has tremendous admiration for his subjects but doesn't worship them - Herman's drinking and Joe's gaslighting get appropriate criticism.
It helps that so many of the films the brothers worked on were interesting - for Herman there's Citizen Kane of course but he caused entertaining trouble at Paramount. Some of Joe's films had memorably chaotic productions - The Barefoot Contessa, The Quiet American and of course Cleopatra. Worth a read.
Movie review - "Hammersmith is Out" (1972) *
The seventies must have been wild. A parable about the Faust legend with white trash Beau Bridges busting Richard Burton out of the lunatic asylum, and they travel across the country with white trash waitress Elizabeth Burton.
I always thought the Faust story was about selling your soul but Bridges plays a moronic good old boy who seems to have no ambition so what is the point. And Taylor's character doesn't seem to care.
Everyone seems miscast - Bridges in one of those young southern stud parts pioneered by Tennessee Williams, Taylor as a Southern waitress, Burton as a charismatic nutter (he just seems tired). Peter Ustinov does some funny accent acting as a shrink. I think Ustinov was miscast as a director - it's got a late 60s American smart arse feel.
It's not funny, lacks life or verve or point. The basic story has point but the characters and their interactions are underwhelming.
Maybe it would have worked as a play or a novel. I get the feeling during filming everyone sat around and laughed at how off beat it was. But it's horrible. Bridges farts in Ustinov's face (I read an interview where he said this was Taylor, perhaps he mis-remembered), Taylor jaunts around by a pool in a bikini and has a very dark tan, Bridges winds up running a corporation and breaks his back water skiing, and there's a topless dancer at a bar and... ugh. Oh there's a good moment where Burton is going to kill Taylor - that's affecting.
George Raft pops up as a nightclub owner. It' nice to see him.
I always thought the Faust story was about selling your soul but Bridges plays a moronic good old boy who seems to have no ambition so what is the point. And Taylor's character doesn't seem to care.
Everyone seems miscast - Bridges in one of those young southern stud parts pioneered by Tennessee Williams, Taylor as a Southern waitress, Burton as a charismatic nutter (he just seems tired). Peter Ustinov does some funny accent acting as a shrink. I think Ustinov was miscast as a director - it's got a late 60s American smart arse feel.
It's not funny, lacks life or verve or point. The basic story has point but the characters and their interactions are underwhelming.
Maybe it would have worked as a play or a novel. I get the feeling during filming everyone sat around and laughed at how off beat it was. But it's horrible. Bridges farts in Ustinov's face (I read an interview where he said this was Taylor, perhaps he mis-remembered), Taylor jaunts around by a pool in a bikini and has a very dark tan, Bridges winds up running a corporation and breaks his back water skiing, and there's a topless dancer at a bar and... ugh. Oh there's a good moment where Burton is going to kill Taylor - that's affecting.
George Raft pops up as a nightclub owner. It' nice to see him.
Sunday, February 02, 2020
Movie review - "If I Had a Million" (1932) ***
These films work better I feel if you recognise all the stars - some I did, others not so much, but it did come out in 1932. Because there's something like eight chapters it's hard to dig in to any of them - but they were generally entertaining and full of variety.
There's quite a few with older protagonists, befitting a time when Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery were big draws - Charles Ruggles smashes up china, Charles Laughton blows a raspberry, May Robson leads a mutiny in an old folks home. Alice Skipworth and WC Fields amble about. George Raft is quite funny as a con man who can't cash his check; Gary Cooper, for all he irritates me, does radiate charisma as a soldier on leave with Jack Oakie and another mate. Gene Raymond is touching as a man on death row - I liked the seriousness of this. Because it's pre Code they are allowed to do one about a hooker who gets to go to bed alone.
There's quite a few with older protagonists, befitting a time when Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery were big draws - Charles Ruggles smashes up china, Charles Laughton blows a raspberry, May Robson leads a mutiny in an old folks home. Alice Skipworth and WC Fields amble about. George Raft is quite funny as a con man who can't cash his check; Gary Cooper, for all he irritates me, does radiate charisma as a soldier on leave with Jack Oakie and another mate. Gene Raymond is touching as a man on death row - I liked the seriousness of this. Because it's pre Code they are allowed to do one about a hooker who gets to go to bed alone.
Book review - "Captain in Calico" by George MacDonald Fraser (1950s)
Discovered after Fraser's death this was his first novel (unless there's another one). It's professionally written but is not near the quality of the work published in his life time. It has the stories and characters - pirates running around the Caribbean, Jack Rackham going on a mission for Woodes Rogers and turning pirate with Anne Bonney being wonton - but it never comes alive. It doesn't have things that made later Fraser works so delightful, such as a feeling for time and place, humour, sketches of characters. It's too formal, unsure of itself, as if it was written for a school assignment. There's no life, dash to it.
Movie review - "Quick Millions" (1931) *** (warning: spoilers)
Early Spencer Tracy film when he was at Fox. He's good but he's not a particularly memorable gangster - those roles are always better when played with more ham eg Al Pacino, Cagney.
This was written and directed by Rowland Brown, who has a small cult around his relatively small output. He does a pretty good job especially considering it was an early sound film - imaginative compositions, brisk editing... such as an assassination shot from the POV of people's legs, and a montage of time.
The plot has trucker gangster Tracy go into crime, and get hung up on a society dame. Because its pre Code the dame can be a bit of a bitch, and when Tracy is knocked off by one of his own men, Warner Richmond, the man gets away with it.
George Raft has his first significant role. Scarface got all the credit for launching him but this one really set the Raft template of "seductive menace". As in Scarface he's a chief gunman for the lead actor who looks sinister and is a womaniser, who betrays his boss and is killed accordingly (only here it's not because he steals a woman that his boss is interested in... he just wants more money... the romantic connection is more dramatically satisfying which is why Scarface is better remembered... that and the coin toss and it being a better movie). Raft does a dance at a party too. He's awkward with dialogue but makes an impact.
Not a major league gangster flick - I think because Tracy underplays - but still worth seeing.
This was written and directed by Rowland Brown, who has a small cult around his relatively small output. He does a pretty good job especially considering it was an early sound film - imaginative compositions, brisk editing... such as an assassination shot from the POV of people's legs, and a montage of time.
The plot has trucker gangster Tracy go into crime, and get hung up on a society dame. Because its pre Code the dame can be a bit of a bitch, and when Tracy is knocked off by one of his own men, Warner Richmond, the man gets away with it.
George Raft has his first significant role. Scarface got all the credit for launching him but this one really set the Raft template of "seductive menace". As in Scarface he's a chief gunman for the lead actor who looks sinister and is a womaniser, who betrays his boss and is killed accordingly (only here it's not because he steals a woman that his boss is interested in... he just wants more money... the romantic connection is more dramatically satisfying which is why Scarface is better remembered... that and the coin toss and it being a better movie). Raft does a dance at a party too. He's awkward with dialogue but makes an impact.
Not a major league gangster flick - I think because Tracy underplays - but still worth seeing.
TV review - "The Mandaolorian - Rest of Season 1" (2019) ***1/2
I didn't like this to start off with but then it sunk in what this actually was, as opposed to what I expected it to be, and enjoyed it a lot. It's really a collection of short films as opposed to a traditional TV show, with most of those short films reinventing Westerns (or samurai films inspired by Westerns). Great production values, decent acting, plenty of action. This didn't reinvent the mold but it was far more satisfying than the last two big screen movies for me.
Movie review - "Pick Up" (1933) **
Early work from Sylvia Sidney and George Raft as a young couple in love- shes out of prison and constantly having men proposition her, thinking she's a hooker, he's a cab owner who thinks she's a hooker but looks after when she needs a place to stay. They fall in love. I'm pretty sure they are sleeping together - they live together, and its implied he sleeps with her before he even knows her name. She helps him but the third act involves the return of her no good husband, and a society dame panting over Raft.
Sidney was ideal in these little waif sort of roles. Raft is wooden - at the end when he pleads for a lawyer to help Sidney it's awful - but he teams well with Sidney.
It's more adult, being pre-Code, which helps.
Sidney was ideal in these little waif sort of roles. Raft is wooden - at the end when he pleads for a lawyer to help Sidney it's awful - but he teams well with Sidney.
It's more adult, being pre-Code, which helps.
Saturday, February 01, 2020
Movie review - "The Upper Hand" (1967) ** aka "Du rififi à Paname"
Jean Gabin being old, honourable and ruthless as a gangster - well, a smuggler. He does his Gabin thing - friendships with old timers (Gert Frobe), rivalry with newer gangsters who aint got no respect, mentoring a young thing who betrays him.
The "hero" is an American undercover agent played by a Mexican actor, Claudio Brook - but the film's heart is with Gabin, I dont think it likes sneaks. Some action, a funky opening credits, the influence of Bond films is felt (a bit of globe trotting including scenes in Tokyo, sexy dames, some topless women in a bar.
George Raft has a small role (though billed second) as a mafia guy - his scenes with Gabin are a lot of fun and I wish his part had been bigger. The best scene is Frobe's death scene - Frobe is excellent. Mireille Darc is attractive as the blonde. Enjoyable colour. Its not amazing but it's not bad.
The "hero" is an American undercover agent played by a Mexican actor, Claudio Brook - but the film's heart is with Gabin, I dont think it likes sneaks. Some action, a funky opening credits, the influence of Bond films is felt (a bit of globe trotting including scenes in Tokyo, sexy dames, some topless women in a bar.
George Raft has a small role (though billed second) as a mafia guy - his scenes with Gabin are a lot of fun and I wish his part had been bigger. The best scene is Frobe's death scene - Frobe is excellent. Mireille Darc is attractive as the blonde. Enjoyable colour. Its not amazing but it's not bad.
Book review - Maclean#11 - "When Eight Bells Toll" by Alistair MacLean
First rate exciting adventure much better than the movie - even though the movie was quite faithful. This is in part because the first person narration is well done - he has a wry self deprecating sense of humour; the character's mind is a lot more effective than when people talk to him. Also because MacLean's description of the Scottish coast is excellent, full of atmosphere and evocative flavour - you really feel like you're clambering over those rocks, swimming through that freezing ocean, copping those winds, etci.
You can feel the influence of James Bond on this book - the lead, Calvert, is an agent, and he has an "M" type figure, Uncle Arthur, who at times is amusing at other times is annoying. There's a couple of girls - a one time film star and a hot young thing - who recoil from Calvert's violence but understand. There is a reveal of a traitor (is it the millionaire? the film star? Uncle Arthur? There's only a few suspects), some very smart ruthless opponents who manage to get busted, an awful lot of people being kidnapped to make other people keep silent. Entertaining.
You can feel the influence of James Bond on this book - the lead, Calvert, is an agent, and he has an "M" type figure, Uncle Arthur, who at times is amusing at other times is annoying. There's a couple of girls - a one time film star and a hot young thing - who recoil from Calvert's violence but understand. There is a reveal of a traitor (is it the millionaire? the film star? Uncle Arthur? There's only a few suspects), some very smart ruthless opponents who manage to get busted, an awful lot of people being kidnapped to make other people keep silent. Entertaining.
Movie review - "Stoner" (1974) **
The movie George Lazenby made in Hong Kong instead of one with Bruce Lee (which would have been Game of Death). It is of some interest especially as he plays an Australian (well, we meet him driving over the Harbour Bridge) who goes to Hong Kong to investigate the death of his sister in a weird sex cult - the reverse of Man from Hong Kong. Only this film doesn't have any of that film's culture clash.
It's an odd movie - feels made up as it went along. In addition to Lazenby investigating there's also Angela Mao investigating (her part is as big as Lazenby's but they rarely cross) and the cult gives it a Fu Manchu feeling. Lazenby beds a few babes and shaves his moustache off half way through. He was a good on screen fighter but it doesn't quite feel realistic that he can beat off these kung fu henchmen who attack him. Samo Hung is in it.
Still, it's definitely of interest, particularly as it offers Lazenby a rare lead role, even if he does have to share it with Angelo Mao.
It's an odd movie - feels made up as it went along. In addition to Lazenby investigating there's also Angela Mao investigating (her part is as big as Lazenby's but they rarely cross) and the cult gives it a Fu Manchu feeling. Lazenby beds a few babes and shaves his moustache off half way through. He was a good on screen fighter but it doesn't quite feel realistic that he can beat off these kung fu henchmen who attack him. Samo Hung is in it.
Still, it's definitely of interest, particularly as it offers Lazenby a rare lead role, even if he does have to share it with Angelo Mao.
Movie review - "The Spanish Main" (1945) *** (re-watching)
Rewatched this off the back of the Mankiewicz biography I read - the script is very solid (Aeneas MacKenzie wrote the original but Herman Mankiewicz punched it up) and has some funny dialogue. Walter Slezak is a strong villain - he often played comic but while the guy he plays here is funny he's very dangerous and smart.
I'm not wild about Paul Henreid - he struggles with his English - but he has some dash. Maureen O'Hara is an old reliable in this stuff. Binnie Barnes has a dream part, a female pirate who is mates with Henreid, and is never any more than average. Actually come to think of it, there's a lot of undercasting in this - Henreid, Barnes and John Emery as a treacherous pirate.
There is colour, decent structure, impressive production values including a ship boarding, the novelty of a Dutch pirate hero, and a different ending where Henreid and O'Hara try to sneak out instead of blasting. There is a rapey subtext often found in O'Hara movies - Henreid forces a kiss on her and forces her to marry him; she gets into it but still too much of it is yuck. That and the casting holds this back for me but there's other things to enjoy.
I'm not wild about Paul Henreid - he struggles with his English - but he has some dash. Maureen O'Hara is an old reliable in this stuff. Binnie Barnes has a dream part, a female pirate who is mates with Henreid, and is never any more than average. Actually come to think of it, there's a lot of undercasting in this - Henreid, Barnes and John Emery as a treacherous pirate.
There is colour, decent structure, impressive production values including a ship boarding, the novelty of a Dutch pirate hero, and a different ending where Henreid and O'Hara try to sneak out instead of blasting. There is a rapey subtext often found in O'Hara movies - Henreid forces a kiss on her and forces her to marry him; she gets into it but still too much of it is yuck. That and the casting holds this back for me but there's other things to enjoy.
Movie review - "Madame Racketeer" (1932) **
You might enjoy this more if you're a fan of Alice Skipworth, a character actor who did a bit with WC Fields. I think she got the lead off the back of the success Marie Dressler was having and it's neat to see an older woman in the lead but she isn't very good and neither is the movie. The set up isn't decent - Skipworth is out of prison and trying to con men and she hooks up with her two estranged daughters both of whom seem very anonymous.
I also saw this for the appearance of George Raft who has a decent support role - this was for Paramount and was made after Scarface but before that movie had been released. He livens up the film because he's got sexy appeal and seems like a genuine gangster - he does a dance with a girl in a swimming pool. Oh it's alright I guess.
I also saw this for the appearance of George Raft who has a decent support role - this was for Paramount and was made after Scarface but before that movie had been released. He livens up the film because he's got sexy appeal and seems like a genuine gangster - he does a dance with a girl in a swimming pool. Oh it's alright I guess.
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