Movie review - "Where the Boys Are" (1960) **** (rewatching)

 This just works. Location photography, lovely cast, splendid camraderie - the four girls are friends, but they befriend other girls, find boys, the boys become mates.

Dolores Hart has perhaps her best role - spirited, smart, liberated, attracted to George Hamilton. Hamilton brings some second tier star power. Jim Hutton v affable, Paula Prentiss hugely likable, as is Connie Francis who isn't asked to do too much - she gets Frank Gorshin who is engaging, though I'm sure Francis wanted someone better looking. The sexual assault done on Yvette Mimieux is very well handled. The film shows aspects of its time but has aged far better than other movies from this era. 

Book review - "Flashman" (1969) by George MacDonald Fraser (re-reading)

 Re-read this. Totally works. Fraser had great control from the start. Full knowledge of his character and tone. Full of memorable set pieces - I think his journalism training really paid off. The duel sequence, the riots in Scotland, the initial days in India, the attack that gave rise to Bloody Lance, the fighting in the cell with the pit of snakes, the murder of Sekundar Burnes, the murder of McNaughten, the spectacular collapse of the British army retreating from Kabul., the final battle.

Would it be possible to do this at anything approaching a reasonable budget? Well, the London scenes could be done indoors. You could condense India. There are some Afghans scenes that don't have to be huge budget - stuff in prison cells, the final fort battle. The murder of McNaughten could be done off screen. The retreat itself though that would be hard. 

Book review - "The Ear of the Heart: An Actress' Journey from Hollywood to Holy Vows" by Dolores Hart

 Great book. Fascinating. More than half is nun stuff. I got lost in some Catholicism but there's plenty of human conflict in those abbeys. 

She seems like a nice person. Not without desire - she was up for kissing Stephen Boyd (they later clashed over his scientology). Henry Levin's wife was jealous of her and wrote a letter in the abbey calling her selfish. She had boyfriends. Said she wanted to kill Debbie Reynolds when she found out Reynolds had been cast in the film.

Full of interesting sketches - George Peppard looked down his nose at her during Pleasure of His Company,  Elvis was shy and awkward, Anna Magnani was terrifying but then nice, Where the Boys Are was a dream, Lois Nettleon became a friend as did Karl Malden and Patricia Neal, she helped Neal get back in the saddle after Roald Dahl left her, Paula Prentiss was a mate, Michael Curtiz was a bully on King Creole.

Seems like a nice person. Not in a two dimensional way. Her parents sound like pieces of work. 

Movie review - "Wild is the Wind" (1957) **

 Hal Wallis' follow up for Anna Magnani after The Rose Tattoo. There's lots of emoting and yelling. tThe plot has Magnani marry Anthony Quinn but be hot for his surrogate son Tony Franciosa - they have decent chemistry.

It's just not a very interesting movie. Needed a murder or something. There's some horse capture scenes. Only... who cares? Who cares if she stays with Quinn or goes off with the younger guy? That was my main problem.

Dolores Hart is enjoyable mostly by not over acting. I wish her part had been bigger. 

Movie review - "A Co-respondent's Course" (1931) **

 Short film (40 mins) about shenanigans involving people going to Portsea and men thinking their women are cheating. Not funny or even that logical but nice shots of Portsea and photograph over all. From FW Thring.

Movie review - "The Haunted Barn" (1931) **

 Silly, dumb but endearing short feature from FW Thring in the vein of Seven Keys to Baldpate about various people in a haunted barn - eloping lovers, woman with a gun, swagmen, rich dude, mystery body. Not good but it tries. It was banned for kids for a brief moment.

Movie review - "Lonelyhearts" (1958) *1/2

 Terrible. Dore Schary at his worst. I was going to give it two stars due to the professionalism of Myrna Loy, Robert Ryan, Dolores Hart and Maureen Stapleton but it's just too annoying.

Monty Clift's performance is full of ticks and eyes. He seems wasted. If Schary had leaned into that this might have worked.

Smug views. Everything heavy. Subplots about Ryan tormenting Loy because she once had an affair - she could've been cut out of the film. Lots of talking about reading letters. Terrible journalist characters crapping on. So much reportage. Only one story dramatised - Stapleton's husband is impotent in the war, she's horny, Clift roots her, doesn't want to to do it again, he pulls a gun... the one exciting bit. But doesn't kill Clift. Clift should have died.

Hart pines. Her dad tells her to stop looking after him and go and get married to Clift. You know like a real option. Even after Clift's lied about his dad being in prison (for shooting his cheating wife - this film is consistently misogynistic). And Clift has shagged Stapleton.

Hart tries. Ryan has a nothing character. 

I hated this film.