Interesting idea - a prequel to the events in Turn of the Screw - which is logically developed. It's a simple story with complexity and the casting of the adults can't be faulted - Marlon Brando, Stephanie Beacham, Thora Hird.
Michael Winner wasn't up to the demands of directing it. His great strengths as a director were energy, pace and location shooting - this is a character driven piece, which needed atmosphere. Someone like Seth Holt or Freddie Francis, who did those excellent psycho thrillers for Hammer and Amicus would have been ideal. Winner is not up to it. That isn't a Winner bash, it's an honest opinion.
He lets Marlon Brando clearly do what he wants including a silly accent and endless scenes of him telling dumb stories which the kids are meant to find entertaining. There's a sado masochistic sex scene with Beacham which is unsettling because Becham clearly isn't into it. This is clearly an abusive relationship with all the complexities that involves but Winner can't pull it off.
The kid actors aren't good - I don't think Winner was strong with them either. Still, it is interesting, it tries, it's different. Beacham is gorgeous. Even when Brando is bad he's still compelling.
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Movie review - "Lawman" (1971) **
There's an interesting idea at the core of this movie - lawman Burt Lancaster is so determined to see justice done he runs around blasting away everyone while ostensible baddy Lee J Cobb is actually more reasonable and businesslike.
That isn't really developed - subplots should accentuate this theme fail to do so.There are some strong actors around like Richard Johnson, John Beck, Robert Ryan, Robert Duvall - but generally they play tropes (whimpy sheriff etc) without going into too much detail.
The handling is vigorous at first but then the film seemed to run out of puff half way. Technical stuff is adequate. Burt Lancaster is fine - Charles Bronson would have been more interesting. Or actually come to think of it Kirk Douglas. Lancaster doesn't seem that interested in what's going on.
Sheree North is the smurfette character, an ex of Lancaster's.
Monday, April 27, 2020
Movie review - "Chato's Land" (1972) **1/2
Decent enough Western with Charles Bronson well cast as an avenging Indian. Well, he doesn't start out that way - he kills a sheriff who is going to kill him and a posse go to get him. His wife is raped around the half way mark to give him extra motivation - this would have been better up the front.
Bronson doesn't do that much in the movie - most of the action focuses on the posse, led by Confederate uniform wearing Jack Palance, and some black hat rapists (including Richard Jordan and the dad from The Waltons) and a liberal. Strong cast, including Victor French and James Whitmore and Richard Basehart. The female "character" basically smiles and gets raped. There would be a lot more rape from Winner.
Aside - for some reason a lot of early 70s Westerns were made by Poms: Euan Lloyd, Winner, Gerald Wilson, Alan Sharp...
Bronson doesn't do that much in the movie - most of the action focuses on the posse, led by Confederate uniform wearing Jack Palance, and some black hat rapists (including Richard Jordan and the dad from The Waltons) and a liberal. Strong cast, including Victor French and James Whitmore and Richard Basehart. The female "character" basically smiles and gets raped. There would be a lot more rape from Winner.
Aside - for some reason a lot of early 70s Westerns were made by Poms: Euan Lloyd, Winner, Gerald Wilson, Alan Sharp...
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Movie reivew - "Walk into Paradise" (1956) *** (re-viewing)
It's not a classic, far from it, a traipse through the bush. Lee Robinson and Chips Rafferty never mastered the art of dramatic writing - they keep missing opportunities to make this more interesting, introducing the crocodile hunter hero too late, not doing enough with Reg Lye who really should be more of a baddy.
The girl is fine, so are the other actors - Chips is Chips. The big appeal is the location photography. Something is always happening. Locals getting sick. A shoot out. People being bitten by wild life. It's a decent trek film with a very novel setting.
The girl is fine, so are the other actors - Chips is Chips. The big appeal is the location photography. Something is always happening. Locals getting sick. A shoot out. People being bitten by wild life. It's a decent trek film with a very novel setting.
Book review - "Flashman on the March" by George MacDonald Fraser
Just as Fraser teased us by doing an America story in Flashman and the Angel of the Lord that mentioned the Civil War but ended up just being John Browns' Raid, so too with this he teases us with a really interesting story - Flashman in Mexico under the time of Maxmilian - and gives us a boring one, of the Abssyinian Campaign.
This is a slog. Hard to read. I tried to figure out why. Fraser's descriptions of time and place remain strong. But the story is slow. Flashman could have gotten out of having to do this mission, several times - like in Flashman and the Angel of the Lord he's too brave. Even at the end when Theodore lets free the prisoners, he hangs on "for his credit". That's not Flashman. Flashman is a coward.
It lacks interesting characters. Napier is dull. So is the Ethiopian princess. The characters mentioned from his Mexico adventure are far more interesting. There is the Emperor but he never quite comes alive. Napier is just decent and smart.
Fraser/Flashman refers to other adventures too much, and Flashman also refers to historical references too much - a younger Fraser would surely have cut these.
I got the impression from reading the introduction that this was going to be tough going - instead of being brief and witty, Fraser rants on about how better the 19th century was than today, and how more honorable this mission was than the recent Iraq War. Like, who cares. Fraser always read young and energetic - here he writes like an old man.
I wonder if this was meant to be a two parter like Flashman's Lady with Mexico being the first half and Abyssinia the second?
It's one advantage is that I knew very little about this campaign so it has freshness. This ended the series on a weak note - I easily would have preferred the Civil War, Khartoum, a longer Zulu War, the Boxer Rebellion... any of those.
This is a slog. Hard to read. I tried to figure out why. Fraser's descriptions of time and place remain strong. But the story is slow. Flashman could have gotten out of having to do this mission, several times - like in Flashman and the Angel of the Lord he's too brave. Even at the end when Theodore lets free the prisoners, he hangs on "for his credit". That's not Flashman. Flashman is a coward.
It lacks interesting characters. Napier is dull. So is the Ethiopian princess. The characters mentioned from his Mexico adventure are far more interesting. There is the Emperor but he never quite comes alive. Napier is just decent and smart.
Fraser/Flashman refers to other adventures too much, and Flashman also refers to historical references too much - a younger Fraser would surely have cut these.
I got the impression from reading the introduction that this was going to be tough going - instead of being brief and witty, Fraser rants on about how better the 19th century was than today, and how more honorable this mission was than the recent Iraq War. Like, who cares. Fraser always read young and energetic - here he writes like an old man.
I wonder if this was meant to be a two parter like Flashman's Lady with Mexico being the first half and Abyssinia the second?
It's one advantage is that I knew very little about this campaign so it has freshness. This ended the series on a weak note - I easily would have preferred the Civil War, Khartoum, a longer Zulu War, the Boxer Rebellion... any of those.
Movie review - "Hannibal Brooks" (1969) ***
Entertaining POW movie with a difference: Oliver Reed busts out with an elephant. Reed is a dynamic imposing actor but he does feel miscast as an elephant lover. As has been pointed out he probably should have swapped roles with Michael J Pollard who plays an American working with the partisans.
The locations are lovely - it was shot n Austria - with those snow capped mountains and green fields. It's got that great late 60s war movie color photography. A pretty girl, some Germans are killed. It moves fast.
If I'm being brutally honest the elephant doesn't have that much personality and her relationship with Reed doesn't really come across. I wanted it to but it doesn't. Maybe if Michael Crawford had starred. But I'm not sure Winner was the one to put in those character style scenes.
The locations are lovely - it was shot n Austria - with those snow capped mountains and green fields. It's got that great late 60s war movie color photography. A pretty girl, some Germans are killed. It moves fast.
If I'm being brutally honest the elephant doesn't have that much personality and her relationship with Reed doesn't really come across. I wanted it to but it doesn't. Maybe if Michael Crawford had starred. But I'm not sure Winner was the one to put in those character style scenes.
TV review - "Adventures of Long John Silver" ep 5 "The Eviction"
Purity gets kicked out of her tavern because of an annoying aristocrat who is secretly dodgy so she goes to live with Silver. Strong episode, all the three leads have something to do, decent twists.
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