TV series - "Andor" (2022) ****

 Some good Star Wars! Takes it seriously. Plays it politically. Drags a little in spots but very compelling. Brilliant prison break.

Movie review - " Omar Khayyam" (1957) **

 Universal pumped out a bunch of Easterns in the 40s and 50s with stars like Tony Curtis and Maria Montez. Columbia made some too including One Thousand and One Nights which like this starred Cornel Wilde.

This one is from Paramount and it's a sluggish piece - William Dieterle was towards the end of his Hollywood career, and I sense he had ambitious above the station of this material, which should be a junky fast paced action film that joyously distorted history. This one tiredly distorted history. I don't recall a film that discussed military tactics so much. Like, wh cares?

Dieterle was famed for his Warners biopics and maybe that approach would have worked here but they've gone the action/romance route.

Wilde plays the title role who impresses ruler Raymond Massey with some poems but also his military strategy.

John Derek is fourth billed in a thankless role as Massey's son. You could cut him out of the film.

A much better part is Michael Rennie's villain - based on a real dude, head of the order of assassins... and a film focusing around that would've been more fun. Debra Paget is The Girl. 

Cornel Wilde's career had interesting parallels with John Derek incidentally - both starred in Easterns, both under contract to Columbia and Fox, Wilde turned down the part Derek played in Ten Commandments, both did swashbucklers, both turned director.

Dull.

Movie review - "The Flesh is Weak" (1957) **1/2

 For someone who looked like a cad, John Derek didn't play a lot of them - he started off as a weakling type them became a hero but he's effectively cast here as a pimp, working in London's red light district. He seduces gals and turns them to a life of crime. 

The main gal here is Italian actress Milly Vitale, who I didn't know that well. His seduction of her is well done with racy-ish scenes, for the time - she's kissing his bare chest in bed. Vitale is okay but I wish Diana Dors played the lead.

Derek is fine. He's well cast. He gets a showy scene where he verbally abuses Vitale and does fine. Derek poo-pooed his acting career but he could be seen to be trying hard and he definitely does here.

William Frankyln is a journo investigating the racket. He makes some pleas for decriminalising prostitution.

Producer Raymond Stross made this - he specialised in sexier movies.  The director was Don Chaffey. He and Stross then made A Question of Adultery.

Movie review - "Glass Onion" (2022) **** (warning: spoilers)

 Glorious music. Clever. Similar in structure to the first in many ways - the second biggest star after Daniel Craig did it, the new girl in town does the bulk of investigating, some social commentary at the end. Cameos have started now (Ethan Hawke, Hugh Grant) but smugness is held at bay.

TV review - "The White Lotus" Season 1 and 2 ****1/2

 Wonderful. I don't have much to add. A slow burn. Pretty pictures, pretty people, some actors I never thought much of really sign, a lot of different types of sex, a bit of violence at the end.

TV review - "Barry" Season 3 (2022) ****

 It took me a while to get into this but the second half of the season was very strong. Some superb action sequences and it benefits by pushing its leads into darker territories and shedding a light on the victims of the murders.

TV review - "Colin from Accounts" (2022) ****

 Funny, lovely, warm rom com which doesn't overstay its welcome (I would've liked to have met her dad). Very well done.

Movie review - "The Bank Raiders" (1958) **

 British B movie from the late 50s - I'm surprised they were still making them when TV came in.

Sidney Tafler, who is in a bunch of these films, like Wide Boy, is a crime boss. Peter Reynolds is a gigolo who works for Tafler as a getaway driver. Aussie Lloyd Lamble is the detective on the case. Arthur Mullard, a burly type in lots of roles, is a hood. Sandra Dorn is a trash gal.

Directed by Maxwell Munden for "The Film Workshop". It's cheap, cheap looking (apart from location work). Poor acting from minor roles.

Some bits are good like Lamble interrogating Reynolds.

Movie review - "Fury at Showdown" (1957) **

John Derek's 50s Westerns were usually surprisingly interesting but this is dull. He comes back to a town where he shot someone a while ago. There's a lot of talk - so much talk. It plays like an episode of a TV series, with extra dollop of angst.

Derek's got angst, so has Nick Adams as his brother. John Smith from Laramie is lively as a gunman. The film coud've done with more of it.

I think the filmmakers were trying to do something different but they missed and what's more didn't replace with interesting characters or tension.

Derek emotes effectively in some scenes. The thought of him and Adams palling around off screen is fun - more fun than the film.

Movie review - "Ha'penny Breeze" (1950) ** (warning: spoilers)

 The first film from Don Sharp, who co-wrote and co-produced as well as starred. It's a DIY effort for its time - low budget but a big enough budget to cover studio filming and location work. Apparently he and his mate Frank Worth (who directed) came up with the idea by going to the location and writing a film about it.

So it's a tale about a little village where they used to sail but don't because it's unmanly compared to fishing or something. The plot is a little fuzzy - well, maybe dull more than fuzzy.

It's full of novelty, though. The photography is lovely, as is the location work. It does have a nice small town feel and is affectionate. 

Sharp plays an Aussie and there's lots of comments on the fact he's Australian (he and his friend were POWs together).  He's not really handsome enough for a leading man (mind you, neither is his co star Edwin Richfield) and he's a little awkward, but it's fun seeing Don Sharp in the lead of a film. Gwynneth Vaughan in Sharp's love interest, Richfield's sister.

The ending has Sharp walking off into the sunset whistling 'Road to Gundagai' which is cool. And there's reference to Australia beating England in the cricket which was sweet.

Movie review - "The Leather Saint" (1956) **

 I think this movie proved John Derek wasn't a star. Not really. He was a good looking leading man.

The material would seem to be surefire. A priest who boxes. A gangster's gal falls for him. The priest is raising money for a hospital.

But nothing is at stake. If he's revealed as a boxer, so what? The woman is fond of him but doesn't fall in love with him. Cesar Romero's gangster threatens to be interesting but isn't. Ditto Paul Douglas' trainer. 

Romero needed to start beating people up. Douglas needed to have a gambling problem or something. Jody Lawrance (Derek's old co star from a swashbuckler and quite good as an ageing boozy blond) should have fallen for him, hard - and gone mad when she found out he was a priest. He should've been attracted to her - make her a former lover from before he was a priest or something. Derek's health needed to be at stake. Lawrence doesn't get to know Derek until 50 minutes in.

But a real star could've got it over the line. Like a Clark Gable or Bing Crosby. Even say a Glenn Ford who had a warmer presence. Derek isn't bad but he couldn't hold the film. I think this movie stopped his mini career spark from the mid 50s when he did Prince of Players and The Ten Commandments.

Movie review - "An Annapolis Story" (1955) **

Another services film where John Derek is in love with the same woman as his buddy. According to Don Siegel, who directed, Derek insisted on swapping roles with Kevin McCarthy. This means Derek pinches Diana Lynn off McCarthy but then is heroic saving McCarthy's life only to see Lynn get back with McCarthy. It didn't really make much difference.

There's documentary footage of training and stuff at sea. Derek and McCarthy go up in jets. It's a surprise to see Siegel directed this.

This is dull. Sam Peckinpah worked on it as dialogue supervisor - he did a bit of work for Allied Artists around this time.

Book review - Grease Scrapbook by Randal Kleiser

 Fun look back at the film from Kleiser's point of view. It seems like a happy accident although everyone was collaborative and have a great piece of material to work with. The emphasis on choreography- getting dancers to play characters - paid off in the depth of the film.

TV series "Frontier Circus" (1961) Ep 1 **1/2

 There were so many Westerns on TV at this stage they were desperate to vary the formula. This one is about a circus, which is cute. The ostensible stars are Chill Wills, Richard Jaekel and John Derek but the bulk of the story involves guest star Aldo Ray - who plays a drunken former lion tamer. Knowing Ray was an alcoholic gives this tremendous resonance - we see scenes of him being boozing and self loathing. It's a good performance.

(Derek and Ray made Saturday's Hero together as well which gives it an extra layer.)

On the concept front, Wills is ideal in this show but Derek and Jaekel are too stock I feel - nothing wrong with them as actors they're just a little too Wagon Train when the show would've benefited from some more obviously showbiz style stars I think - like a brassy showgirl or something.

Movie review - "Prince of Players" (1955) **1/2

 A dream team in a way - Moss Hart wrote the script, based on a best selling novel, with CinemaScope, Richard Burton fresh off The Robe playing a great actor, Maggie McNamara coming off Three Coins in the Fountain and The Moon is Blue, Philip Dunne as producer and director (well, it was his first film as a director but he was associated with "A" product as a producer and writer).

There's great material here - Edwin Booth had a controlling brother, a wife who died, a brother who shot Lincoln. But the material is treated like a musical biopic with renditions of Shakespeare instead of musical numbers. It's interesting to see Burton recite the verse but that's what he does - recite rather than act. McNamara isn't much as the wife. Derek livens up every scene he's in but it's the part more than the actor - still Derek doesn't disgrace himself. Really the film should've just been about the brothers.

Movie review - "The Adventures of Haji Baba" (1955) ***

 Allied Artists got CinemaScope for this and The Warriors with Errol Flynn. This is the more fun - it was produced by Walter Wagner, returning to Easterns which gave him such success with Arabian Nights. This was a hit too - maybe the most profitable film starring John Derek? He's not bad in the lead, a barber (?) who goes off to seek his fortune. He crosses with an escaped princess - Elaine Stewart, who I'm not that familiar with, but is terrific, long limbed and full of fun. Also fun are the all girl tribe of bandits.

The other roles feel slightly undercast but it has nice colour, a Nat King Cole theme song, plenty of action, with torture and dancing girls. Don Weis directed.

Movie review - "The Outcast" (1954) ***

 John Derek's Westerns are proving consistently interesting. This is directed by Tarantino fave William Witney and is full of action - people are always climbing through windows and pulling guns and double crossing. It's a decent script, if a familiar story - John Derek seeks revenge on his uncle Jim Davis.

Derek normally played spoiled weaklings, young things teamed with crusty older stars. Here he plays someone with balls, tough, a womaniser, flirty, ruthless, hires gunmen (who kill people). It's pretty good work. He romances a hayseed girl who gets whipped for kissing him which is full on but the guy who does it dies.

Vigorous entertainment.

Movie review - "Sea of Lost Ships" (1953) **

Republic Films borrowed John Derek from Columbia to star in the sort of services movie he made for Harry Cohn - and also Republic, in Thunderbirds. It's about duty and service and family members who die, and two friends are in love with the same gal.

Barton MacLane pops up at the top to play Derek's dad and die, Richard Jaekel is the guy he has to compete with over Wanda Hendrix, Walter Brennan is a bosun.

There's stock footage of planes crashing and ice bergs but it's dull. Really dull. I struggled to finish this.

Some fun in Hendrix assuming she and Derek are on from the get go. Those scenes have some life.

Derek and Jaekel are dull.

Movie review - "Track of Thunder" (1967) **

 Ambassador Films was a Nashville based outfit that made a few movies. This one was directed by old hand Joseph Kane, and is a stock car movie - that genre that flared briefly in the late sixties. "Tom" Kirk (as he's billed) and Ray Stricklyn are two mates who race and both are keen on Brenda Benet. This is interrupted when track owners combine with a journo to whip up a rivalry.

There's not a lot of car action. Plenty of serious drama. The story is flawed because the two heroes really could just have a chat and sort it out.

Kirk is quite good - looks a little zonked in some scenes, but not too zonked. I may be projecting. Some value in to see him play besties with Ray Stricklyn, who was another youthful juvenile who kept his sexuality secret - they're more keen on each other than Benet, but that's par for the course for this sort of movie.

Faith Domergue plays Kirk's mom who wants him to run the farm.

Movie review - "The Last Posse" (1953) *** (warning: spoilers)

 Medium budget Western from Columbia which marked the third teaming of Broderick Crawford and John Derek. It's got a different sort of set up - telling the story of a posse coming back to town after pursuing some outlaws and we flashback to the build up.

Posse members include Derek and Crawford. The cast also features Charles Bickford and Wanda Hendrix so that's pretty good. I'm not wild about Henry Hull, playing yet another reporter, but people like him.

The black and white photography is wonderful. There's too many characters - the film would've been better off having less, and developing them all. But it's an adult story, surprisingly downbeat. Crawford gets a chance as a boozy but principled sheriff. He dies at the end which is a shock.

Movie review - "Mission Over Korea" (1953) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)

 A film that kept surprising me. On one hand there's a lot of rah-rah ness - unfunny military comedy, talk about sacrifice, Maureen O'Sullivan winsome and tired looking as John Hodiak's wife, John Derek being lecherous with women, Korean orphans, much of it feels rewritten/recut/made up as it goes along.

And yet... the fact it focuses on spotter planes is different, there's plenty of documentary style footage, the consistent action in the middle is fairly gripping, scenes like the arrival of a base that has been wiped out are tense.

There's camp (Derek talking about wanting to napalm the commies), surprisingly interesting characterisation (Audrey Trotter's tired, traumatised nurse), emotional ending (Hodiak dies), some 50s novelty (Harvey Lembeck and Richard Erdman reteaming from Stalag 17, a black soldier sings a song), Rex Reason has this random deep voice.

The film was so much better than I thought it would be.

Hodiak and the director, Fred Sears, would both be dead within a few years.

Movie review - "Ambush at Tomahawk Gap" (1953) *** (warning: spoilers)

 Lovely colour photography and decent set up - four outlaws leave prison, one (John Hodiak) gets dumped so the other three go looking for some money. The story moves at a solid pace. It maybe could've done with a little more character differentiation, although there is some: big baddie, baddie kind of in love with Derek, Derek as young kid baddie, tormented Hodiak, some trusty old prospector with a Walter Brennan type voice. And the complications work - there's a government agent, a Navajo woman (Derek love interest), rampaging Apaches. High death toll - most of the cast die, including (genuine surprise) Hodiak... allowing Derek and the Navajo to live. It's quite a brutal tale full of cynical characters - kind of like a Western noir, including an ending where they don't wind up with money. The Navajo woman was a prisoner of the Apache.

Intense. Interesting. Low budget.

Movie review - "Prince of Pirates" (1953) ***

 I watched this right after Thunderbirds and it was so much better - lively, full of colour, a very good Sam Katzman swashbuckler. John Derek is fine as a prince of some random country fighting Spain - he's a prince and the baddy is his elder brother who has inherited the throne. 

Barbara Rush has a decent part as the woman who goes along and takes part in the fighting.

Maybe it was a reaction to Thunderbirds but I really had a good time - animated, colourful, the cast are commiting, a tough enemy (there's a cut to a shot with two legs from a hanging corpse), Derek is animated, Rush is heaps of fun.

Movie review - "Thunderbirds" (1952) **

 Republic Pictures splashing a bit of cash for them, borrowing John Derek from Columbia. He appears opposite John Drew Barrymore - they're two mates in love with the same gal (Eileen Christy), and there's tough sergeant (Ward Bond), and another tough sergeant (Gene Evans).  Mona Freeman is a gal who rocks up very quickly after Christy picks Derek.

Support cast features people like Barton MacLane and Slim Pickens.

Some novelty in that the lead two are members of the Oklahoma National Guard and they have Indian mascots and there's an Indian motif going through the film.

The film seems to go for a long time. It was dull.

Movie review - "The Church of Baseball" by Ron Shelton (2022)

 Terrific book, read it in one sitting. Extra good because it covers Shelton's life in the minors, and his early days of filmmaking. I knew a fair bit about the 

Loved script stuff especially:

- writing the opening monologue he made sure he after Annie's lofty speech he then went low brow at the ball park

- an Annie/Crash scene where she talks about her past was loved by everyone, on stage and on film, but held up the film - and once he cut it the film flowed - he realised it was because it was too intimate between the characters when they hadn't reached that spot yet

- his ins and outs behind various creative decisions.

The film on one hand was easy - Thom Mount liked the pitch, agreed to make it, Kevin Costner came on - but was also very difficult: it was saved solely by a good review about No Way Out. Shelton punched out a producer who told Susan Sarandon the rushes made her look bad - he was lucky not to get fired. Didn't realise Shelton was open to Anthony Michael Hall - it was Hall who blew it not reading the script. The suits sacked the DOP just to throw their weight around. Costner was a prince, the cast was divine. Laura San Giacomo was cast as Millie but had to pull out, JT Walsh was the manager but got a better offer, they wanted Charlie Sheen but he was attached to Eight Men Out.

Movie review - "Friday the 13th Part 3" (1983) **

 The one in 3-D. It's cheesy, but the 3D effects are fun - brooms shoved forward, an eye, poles, apples. Some of the female cast have a bit of spunk about them and I hope they went on to have a career. The men not so much.

I enjoyed that random gang who appeared to harras the kids then turned up at the house to be murdered. 

Lots of bits feel unfulfilled - like an idea they wanted to develop but didn't. Such as the kids all eating marijuana (why not have that pay off), Tracie Savage's character being pregnant (she's still murdered, in a Psycho homage), having two of the group be stoners.

Full of odd things like two male characters go to the toilet and get killed, neither having wiped; the history of the final girl returning to Crystal Lake - was she meant to have been attacked by Jason? (I think the script was meant to focus around the survivor of Part 2, which would've made more sense - but if the actress didn't want to return why not change it more. I've also heard the character was meant to have been raped. This is unclear).

Directed by Stephen Miner. I got a few jolts.

Movie review - "Scandal Street" (1952) ***

 In the early 1950s Columbia (and a few other Hollywood studios) used to like to team old stars with new stars. This one reunites Broderick Crawford and John Derek, who'd been in All the Kings Men together - though Derek had become a slightly bigger 'name' since.

It's directed by Phil Karlson who made Mask of the Avenger with Derek, and produced by Edward Small. Based on the novel 'The Dark Page" by Sam Fuller.

It's a decent thriller. Crawford kills his ex wife and Derek investigates it. Reed is the voice of reason. Derek is alright - someone like John Payne would've been better. Crawford is one note but has great presence. Stylish photograph. Well handled by Karlson.

Fuller complained about what was done to his book and I'm sure he would've done a better version but this was entertaining.

TV review - "Playhouse 90: Massacre at Sand Creek" (1956) **1/2

 Every four weeks on Playhouse 90 they would do an all film version - Errol Flynn was in one, Without Incident. This is a little similar to that - it feels like it was written to be a cheaper Western rather than a glossy Playhouse 90, though it's got a tough subject: the Massacre at Sand Creek. Edward Everett Sloan is the Colonel Chivington character, here not called that. It changes from the lead facts - the lead officer is motivated more by ambition, less by racism. We hear about things rather than seeing them (soldiers scalping, wearing ears, shooting innocents). Still, it's quite strong.

John Derek is a decent man, a lieutenant, who winds up blamed for the whole thing somehow. Derek has a few heroic things to do - win a brawl, flash a blade, die heroically - but is basically weak and passive. Which suits Derek's persona - he gave off a sense of weakness.

Gene Evans is good as a sergeant.

It's not that well written, and is unable to shake a B Hollywood Western vibe, but is of interest.

Arthur Hiller directed this.

Movie review - "The Family Secret" (1951) **

 Made by Santana Productions, the company of Humphrey Bogart, although Bogart isn't in this one there's clearly a role for him - the lawyer played by J Lee Cobb whose son John Derek commits a murder. Derek leapt to fame in a Sanata film with Bogart, Knock on Any Door. Cobb had made Sirocco fot Santana.

The set up is interesting. Derek has accidentally killed a friend and confesses to Cobb. Dad reckons he should come clean, mum reckons he should be quiet especially after an innocent man is arrested for the crime.

The thing with this sort of material is it has a strong dramatic situation - family love, murder - but it needs to go dark. Cobb is so strong and self righteous there's no drama there. He just sort of hangs around and waits for Derek to confess. The mother is very "don't confess" then her role sort of vanishes.

Instead we get Derek feeling bad. There's some scenes that feel real like him drinking and hitting on the secretary who likes him (Jody Lawrance, good value again) - she likes him but knows he's drunk and pushes him away.

I went with his for a bit but when Cobb actually defends an innocent man I started to hate the characters. Cobb isn't even that much of a defence lawyer.

So many scenes happen off camera - the opening killing (Derek could have killed him in cold blood, incidentally, we only have his word for it that he didn't), the heart attack death of the innocently accused.

Derek does better than can be expected, as the Variety review said.  His weakness works here as does his looks. You beleive him as a spoilt rich kid even though this is more evident in dialogue than seen on screen. The film does have a through line... it's about Derek being a spoilt brat who is forced to stand on his own feet. It's thrown by Cobb who is the dad and is clearly so decent and principled. Really the film should be Derek redeemed by the love of Lawrence with Cobb/mother going "cover it up cover it up".

Henry Levin directs sluggishly.

You know something? This would've been better as a western. Outlaw justice - Cobb could've been tougher. Shoot outs. All that stuff.

Movie review - "Mask of the Avenger" (1951) **

 Phil Karlson is known for his tough crime films and Westerns but at Columbia he made some swashbucklers - this and Lorna Doone. It's a sort of sequel to The Count of Monte Cristo - John Derek is the son of a count (I don't think it's the count, but we see a statue of the count so it's in that universe) who is murdered by Anthony Quinn, who the count discovered was embezzling. John Derek pretends to go along with it but then puts on a mask and gets busy with derring do.

Quinn acts with panache, clearly well aware he should be playing the lead but also that he has the best part. Jody Lawrance is fun as the girl. In the final sword fight between Derek and Quinn there's a bit where Lawrence takes over sword fighting duties while Derek is momentarily injured - that's cute never seen that before. I think Karlson had a soft spot for Lawrence. Or maybe he felt she had more life than Derek, who is pretty though not that lively.

In Derek's defence he doesn't have much to play. When it started off and he was pretended to be injured yet running around swashbuckling I thought 'oh he's going the Zorro route' and that would've given him something to play - pretending to be cowardly, falling in love with Lawrance who doesn't know the truth, etc. But he just puts on a mask and tells Lawrence who he is pretty quickly.

This is fine. Decent production values.

Book review - "The Pirates Lafitte" by William C. Davis

 My knowledge of Lafitte was limited to The Buccaneer. That romanticised it but Lafitte was still pretty exotic - there were two of them, Frenchmen who worked in the Gulf off New Orleans. They smuggled items, particularly slaves, set up their own kingdoms, had mistresses and love children. They took part in the Battle of New Orleans but that was self serving - as was their spying for Spain, their involvement with freebooters. They were handsome, charismatic and met their deaths in battle. 

A lot of detail here. I occasionally got lost following the names. Superbly researched.

Movie review - "Saturday's Hero" (1951) ***

John Derek's first few credits were pretty high brow - Nicholas Ray film starring Bogart, Robert Rossen political drama - that Columbia started building vehicles for him from the get-go. They put him in swashbucklers but also this sports drama, where Derek is a top football player from a poor mining town sought out by colleges. Years before All the Right Moves and Varsity Blues!

Plenty of cliches - dim ethnic dad, wise cynical journalist, third act injury. It might've been a bigger it if it had a few more of them - sweet girlfriend, cruel coach, the big game at the end.

It doesn't do these things. Which is interesting. Gal next door Donna Reed is the love interest - but not a sweet thing rather this rich girl who is a bit wild and has a possibly incestuous relationship with her rich uncle. That's kind of interesting. 

They might've been better off having the wise journo as his hometown girlfriend and Reed as a glory hunting rich gal. But the fact this is different means you're not sure how it's going to end.

Derek's father dies off screen - why not have him do it on screen? I kept expecting the brother to do something interesting.

The film has guts. It takes on the corruption of college ball - the benefactors, the way they treat players like garbage. The film was made by left wingers - Sidney Buchman, etc - and it's got a Marxist take. But a lot of it feels reshot, rewritten - like the finale with Derek deciding to go to night school and Reed sends a telegram that she'll be with him as opposed to seeing it on screen.

Aldo Ray has an early role as a fellow football player - he has ease and comfort on screen that Derek never quite matched for all Derek's beauty. But Derek is quite good here.

The film doesn't get there. It's too over the shop feels too uncertain. But it tries to be a good movie. It tries. And that does count.

Movie review - "The Rogues of Sherwood Forest" (1950) **1/2

 Columbia had a big hit with a son of Rob Hood story, The Bandit of Sherwood Forest, so they remade it (basically) as a vehicle for their new hearthrob star, John Derek. He's Robert Jnr, back from the Crusades, fighting King John. Alan Hale is Little John, Diana Lynn the Lady Marian type.

It's a little stock, competently handled by Gordon Douglas, with some historical touches at the end with King John sealing the Magna Carta. Derek is alright - his pretty looks and moustache are reminiscent of Errol Flynn though he doesn't have Flynn's swagger. Diana Lynn is an average Marian type. George Macready shines as King John with that great noice. There's some nice Cardinal.

It's all quick and competent rather than inspired - you feel they're rushing through the tropes (" now he's back from the Crusades", "now he's with Prince John", "now there's torture") but it is in colour.

This was Alan Hale's final film and he gets the last line of dialogue "Everything has been said, and everything has been done." (It doesn't seem like his last film because his lookalike son continued to play Alan Hale type parts).

Book review - "Top of the Rock: Inside the Rise and Fall of Must See TV" by Warren Littlefield (2012)

Want proof rich people in Hollywood are addicted to rags to riches narrative? Every second person in this book was starving/broke/down and out before rallying to a comeback. NBC was down and out in the 90s apparently - er, apart from Cheers. Still there's some interesting stories here about the inceptions of mega hits - Cosby Show, Cheers, Frasier, Friends, Seinfelf, Will and Grace, Mad About You, ER. Lots of love for Jim Burrows.  Lots of whining - money, time slots.

Movie review - "All the King's Men" (1949) ***1/2

 Engrossing account of a Huey Long style politician memorably portrayed by Broderick Crawford. Everyone scores - Crawford in the role of a lifetime, John Ireland as the journo who works for him. 

The first section is great as we get to know Crawford, John Ireland, Mercedes McCambridge (political operator). Crawford is decent, learns to read, learns to speak, becomes a star. His conversion to corruption happens in five seconds on film - we cut to four years later and he's corrupted. We never sense he believes in the message anymore there's no complexity, he comes across as a gangster - reassuring for all those left wing things his character believes in.

Ireland gets disgusted by him pretty quickly but is required by the plot to stay with him - even after discovering he's sleeping with Dru, is mean to son John Derek, covers up Derek's drink driving manslaughter of a girl, forces Derek to play football and he gets crippled, gets material to blackmail a judge. We don't get a sense of Ireland's idealism to torture him i.e. to see all the good Crawford is doing. Ireland just kind of whinges which is frustrating. 

And what happens to Mercedes McCambridge? (Apparently this film went through torturous post production).

Still, the film's depiction of American society - corrupt, with a dodgy press, easily swayed crowds - gets it some points.

Derek isn't bad. Ireland is good even is his character is frustrating - ditto Dru. Ireland could've played Crawford's role you know. It's a gift role. He's not a very nuanced actor. Imagine John Wayne or Charles Laughton.

Movie review - "Knock on Any Door" (1949) *** (warning: spoilers)

 The fame of this lingers a little. First film from Bogart's company, Santana. Star debut of John Derek. Introduced the line "live fast die young and leave  a good looking corpse".

Good on Bogart for trying to expand his range. He plays a lawyer, from the slums, defending Derek, a kid from the slums. We flash back to various events. See the circumstances that led to the "creation" of this kid.

It was filmed at Columbia (who did a deal with Santana). Columbia reliable George Macready is the prosecutor.

Derek is very very pretty. Not much of an actor. The concept of the film is a spunky Dead End Kid. The novel twist is the kid did it... and winds up in the electric chair. That's full on. But we lose sympathy. 

Who else could've played this? James Dean then too young. Farley Granger? Robert Wagner? Tony Curtis? Actually you know Tony Curtis would've been amazing.

You can feel the censors working on this. Still, well directed by Nicholas Ray - handling of the minor roles is strong, visuals are good, and Bogart is reliable. His character isn't that important - maybe if his daughter had fallen for Derek and been the girl who kills herself. Give Bogart some stakes there.

Interesting. With a knock out young star this would be a lot more famous.

Peter Hyams Top Ten

1. Capricorn One (1978). His best film. Everything works. 

2. Outland (1981). Not everything works. But lots of fun.

3. 2010 (1984). Thankless task. But it's fun and it's remained vivd for me.

4. Running Scared (1986). Fun buddy cop film.

5. Narrow Margin (1990). No one saw this when it came out but it's fun.

6. Our Time (1974). Sweet. Female writer. Not perfect but interesting.

7. Goodnight My Love (1972). Overrated but still entertaining.

8. End of Days (1999). Silly. But it has the courage of its silliness.

9. Enemies Closer (2013). Terrific Jean Claude Van Damme performance.

10. The Presidio (1988). Cheerful slick 80s Hollywood stuff with Meg Ryan as Sean Connery's trashy daughter.

Movie review - "No Good Deed" (2002) **

 Samuel L Jackson does a favour for a friend, looks for a missing daughter, and finds himself with a bunch of whackos about to commit a robbery. They include Stellan Skarsgaard, Joss Ackland, Mila Jovovich... and Jackson might've had more fun in those parts than a more conventional leading man role.

This was dull. I wanted it to be fun. Maybe it would've worked at 70 mins at Warner Bros or RKO in black and white with their stock company. The cast was good enough. Everyone hams it up. I don't know it just annoyed me I got bored.

Based on a Dashiell Hammett short story.

Was Rafelson a good director? He was a good producer - look at The Monkees, BBS. He had an eye for talent - Bogdanovich, Jack Nicholson, Sally Field in a different role, Jessica Lange in a different role, Arnie, Laslo Kovacs. Maybe the life went out of him after Mountains of the Moon.

Movie review - "Poodle Springs" (1998) **

 It's got Bob Rafelson, Chandler, Caan, Tom Stoppard, HBO... but it's not very good. The story wasn't the best, this doesn't nail it. Caan is too old for Dina Meyer (who suits period movies). Brian Cox and Joe Don Baker add the right tone but there's not enough of them.

Book review - "Cinema Speculation" by Quentin Tarantino

 Loved it. Full of genuinely fresh takes, fascinating autobiographical insights, so much love for cinema. In depth pieces on filmmakers like Brian de Palma, Don Siegel, Sam Peckinpah. Tobe Hooper. Jim Brown. Kenneth Thomas of the LA Times (who he attributes a lot of the success of the Corman school to - he'd give them a good review and they'd get an agent out of it.) Very seventies. I could read books by him on every decade.

Book review - "Directed by James Burrows" by James Burrows

 Terrific memoir. Son of Abe Burrows, so that's interesting. Did a lot of theatre, including the legendary Breakfast at Tiffany's. Formed a relationship with Mary Tyler Moore that led to a big time sitcom career. Stayed in the three camera space for most of the time.

Very positive and upbeat. Lots of good tips. Insight into hits like Taxi, Cheers, Friends, Will and Grace. Would've liked to have heard more about the flops. On Patrners he points out the cop wasn't macho enough and says Ryan O'Neal would've been perfect as the gay cop - good idea. Ditto Matthew Perry should've played Felix in The Odd Couple. Didn't like Rob Schneider in Men Behaving Badly - said that needed a loveable person to make it watchable like the British version. On Frasier they had to tone down Frasier and make Niles the real Frasier. They sacked Lisa Kudrow from that show.

Great read.

Movie review - "Blood and Wine" (1996) *** (warning: spoilers)

 Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson return to surer material than Man Trouble - a plotty thriller about a heist that goes wrong, done by Nicholson. Stephen Dorff has a big role as Nicholson's stepson. Watching him tee off against Nicholson you can see why Dorff never became a star. He's TV. You can see why Jennifer Lopez (Nicholson's mistress, directed in pervy fashion by Rafelson) did. And Michael Caine. 

Film would've been better had Judy Davis or J Lo squared off against Nicholson.  Film has a strong middle but runs into problems when Judy Davis and Michael Caine die.

Book review - "Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing" by Matthew Perry

 The extracts made play of the juicy stuff - making out with Gwyneth Paltrow, dating Julia Roberts, losing virginity to Tricia Fisher. Lizzy Kaplan is not named but referred to. There's some stuff on Friends. Mostly he goes on about his addictions. Perry is a lot like Chandler only without network notes to make him likable. The lack of commitment, the snark (there are two separate cracks about Keanu), the never being happy.

He says it's all his fault but always mentions factors to blame - his parents divorced, dad moved, mum was  busy, he felt different from his sisters. He likes to whine - never got the good movies, never got the Emmies, never became a proper movie star. He prays for Bruce Willis every day - does he actually visit him.

Perry doesn't seem to like anything - acting, fame, writing. He's got no passion. He's clearly got a brain and is smart. Interesting he was discovered in a way like Lana Turner, at Cafe 101 talking to girls - a passing Bill Richert saw him, wrote a note which led to Jimmie Reardon. It's a fascinating book. He doesn't mind portraying himself as a dipshit. It reads like he's going to star using again too.

All the things Perry could've done with his fame and money. He's not really doing anything with them.