Movie review - "Casino Royale" (1967) **

 It's not fun but it's like a colourful museum and every Bond fan should see it. And because there is so much happening with so many actors I like I got something out of it.

Where to start:

- Woody Allen has genuinely funny gags with the firing squad

- I liked Peter Sellars as a Bond type

- Orson Welles is a terrific Bond villain

- quite a few women have agency: Ursula Andress as Vesper, Barbara Bouchet as Miss Moneypenny, Joanna Pettet is the hero of her own segment

- Terence Cooper gets a big intro then disappears

- Deborah Kerr really really overacts

- I don't think David Niven was anything like Bond, in the books or movies

- Bouchet and Jackie Bisset should have been real Bond girls they are gorgeous

- there is a lot of genuine cleverness

- there is a lot more laziness

- it piles it on but then many 60s comedies did (The Great Race, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World)

- the music score is great - the theme and "The Look of Love"

- there's genuine emotional moments which could have (don't laugh) been more mined: Andress falling for Sellers, Pettet and dad Niven

Movie review - "The Blue Max" (1966) ***

I'm surprised it took me so long to watch this, it was always on Foxtel - maybe the running time. It's beautifully shot, the Irish locations make it seem like World War One Europe, there's some excellent music and plane stuff - I think plane heads love this movie.

The central story is solid drama but it's been mercilessly dragged out to a Roadshow - I mean it's two and a half hours, and has an intermission.

It feels like a sports movie at heart - cocky kid George Peppard wants to be the champ, and doesn't care about anything else really. The film is on Peppard's shoulders and he carries it - he was ideal in these big movies as he proved in The Carpetbaggers and How the West Was Won, especially if he played a bastard.

There is some juicy melodrama with him being promoted by General James Mason and having an affair with Mason's wife Ursula Andress. The ending is very satisfying with Mason sending Peppard to his death. But that all comes in a rush. There's not nearly enough Mason-Andress-Peppard stuff - Mason doesn't appear until over 40 minutes in and there's too little of him.

I think this would have made a fantastic 90 minute movie. As it is it's too long - too many scenes of hitting the same beat ("you're ruthless!").

The Andress scenes are electric - she gets these zooms when she appears. There's some racy scenes with her in bed with Peppard-  one where she's topless with a towel draped strategically around her neck and over her chest which must have tested the censor.

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.

Movie review - "Up to His Ears" (1965) **1/2

This was so frustrating because so much was good about it - fantastic locations, colour, action, stunts, plus Jean Paul Belmondo having a great time, ditto Ursula Andress. They make a great on screen couple. The action gets particularly good once she joins him on his adventures.

But it's a dumb story. That Man from Rio was simple, and clear - girl's father goes missing, boyfriend helps out. Sympathetic protagonist, strong stakes, clear goal. This is a mess - Belmondo is a a millionaire who is bored so tries to kill himself but fails - he arranges for someone to kill him then changes his mind.

I'm not a big fan of this over used plot, especially not here - who cares about a bored millionaire? They just should have had his relatives try to kill him.

Andress is stunning and good fun. Belmondo too. The support cast all go for it.

This is set in the present day but at times feels like it's the 19th century. It's so frustrating because so much of this is good.

Movie review - "The Southern Star" (1969) ***

I'd never heard of this film despite it starring a couple of my favourites, Ursula Andress and Orson Welles. It's the sort of movie I'm surprised didn't play on TV more when I was growing up because it's a fun adventure film (presumably there was a rights issue).

It's also one of the very few English language movies to my knowledge that have been made in West Africa - in particular Senegal (which admittedly is a former French colony). The locations are consistently interesting. And the time period - 1912 - is novel.

The story is taken from a little know Jules Verne novel. It's adventure more than sci fi  - a diamond is discovered in Africa, and is stolen. George Segal, an adventurer who is engaged to the daughter (Andress) of the company boss (Harry Andrews) sets out looking for it along with the daughter with Ian Hendry in hot pursuit and Orson Welles as a neighbouring official making life difficult. Johnny Sekka is Segal's black friend who everyone thinks pinched the diamond.

Welles part isn't that big - I'm guessing they couldn't afford him for that long - but he makes an impact. Hendry is good fun.

Sega was a revelation - not so much his acting just seeing him in this sort of movie. He actually fits in well. Andress is great - she actually has a character to play, and goes along on the adventure. She fires guns, and helps save the day a few times. She has a nude swim - we see a bare bum which is a bit racy for what is basically a kids film.

I think the writers made a mistake by having Segal and Andress as a couple from the get go. Would have been better if they'd fallen in love during the course of the movie.

And of course the black African characters are pretty much backgrounded - though Sekka has a decent part.

Still the locations remain fresh, it has a decent tone. I'm surprised this isn't better known. Ideal kids film.

Movie review - "Once Before I Die" (1966) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)

Like Roger Vadim, John Derek's reputation as a filmmaker is eclipsed by his fame as a man who managed to constantly attract hot women, but his debut effort isn't that bad. It's a decent story, a strong cast and some interesting touches - a few flashy montages, use of freeze frames during battle scenes and so on. (I remember another war film shot by a former actor around this time, Beach Red, was also quite groovy in its presentation.)

It's set immediately after Pearl Harbour, with a team of US soldiers trying to flee for safety. Their lieutenant (Derek himself) takes along his fiancee (Andress). In a shock, Derek dies half way through - an accidental grenade going off which feels real - and Andress is left with the others: Rod Lauren, Ron Ely (Tarzan) and Richard Jaeckel.

It's interesting to watch the Derek-Andress relationship on screen - he basically treats her like a baby and she responds in kind, wanting to go and get her puppies, and not wanting to be alone, and suggesting he get a hair cut.

Sometimes you forget there's a war on - it's more an amble - when more tension would've been ideal. The locations aren't that pretty. (I say that a lot about films in the Philippines).

But it's bold and full on. Jaeckel acts up a storm as a shaven headed war lover. Lauren and Ely are fine. The plot where Andress sleeps with Lauren works for me and wasn't as exploitive as I'd been lead to believe. Andress was never shot more beautifully - Derek really knew how to frame her face - and her acting is fine. This film surprised me in a pleasant way.

TV review - "Thriller" episode "La Strega" (1961) ***1/2 (warning: spoilers)

I only watched this because Ursula Andress was in it - it was her one sizeable role in Hollywood prior to being cast in Dr No. She's striking and charismatic as ever as a woman who is accused of being a witch, and thrown in a river... she winds up at the house of a painter (Alejandro Rey), with a witch (Jeanette Nolan) nearby.

This is a very "foreign" episode - the leads are non Americans and everyone is playing a European. Ramon Navarro pops up in it. Andress really suits costume horror pictures - it's a shame she didn't do more. Nolan is a superb witch.

It was directed by Ida Lupino who does a good job. The ending - with Andress buried alive - is a real jolt. I'd never seen an episode of Thriller before and it's a really good show.

Movie review - "The Tenth Victim" (1965) **1/2

A film that predicted a remarkable number of tropes that would become fashionable. True the idea of hunting humans as a sport had been around since The Most Dangerous Game but this was set in the future, with the killings televised and done as a sport, and lots of satire and groovy fashions - way before .Death Race 2000  and The Hunger Games and Turkey Shoot and The Running Man.

There's lots of good stuff - Ursula Andress looking sensational, great costumes, interesting set design, Marcello Mastroianni as the male lead, juicy satire (with an anti-American slant). The plot has a lot of twists, particularly towards the end and is progressive in a way because Andress drives a lot of the action and is as ruthless as Mastroianni. Elsa Martinelli as Mastroinanni's nagging girlfriend. And there's classic moments like Andress shooting people with a gun in her bra and being sponsored by a tea company.

It's never as much fun as you want it to be though. It's not particularly exciting - the action isn't great. There's a lot of standing around talking - it's more a chatty movie than a chase one. I got confused by the plot too every now and then even though the story is at its core quite simple.

It does give some iconic Andress moments though - who I'm coming to appreciate as a genuine star - and she's well matched with Mastroianni.

Movie review - "She" (1965) ***1/2 (re-watching)

Some observations
- it was a mistake I feel to introduce Ayesha so early - having her turn up at an apartment near the town just feels silly... I know why they did it, to get her in sooner (otherwise she doesn't appear til the 45 minute mark) but they didn't do it right... maybe it could've worked as a dream?
- Peter Cushing is very good but wasted as Holly - he should've done more, fell for Ayesha himself
- I was surprised how much screen time John Richardson gets - it's really his film more than Ayesha's... he's okay... he's a funny looking guy with that blonde hair and sun tan and tormented look - not easy to cast, I imagine
- Bernard Cribbins is very good as Job - so too Andre Morrell.
- Ursula Andress is an outstanding Ayesha
- I forgot how many scenes consisted of Andress and Richardson just sitting around talking.

This remains an entertaining, full blooded adventure - location filming in Israel really helps as does the superior cast and score. There's decent action - the brawl at the beginning (I wonder if the shift to 1918 Palestine was inspired by Lawrence of Arabia), the final uprising - and some good set design. The Roman Empire uniforms on Ayesha's guards look silly - presumably Hammer got a deal on them from Cleopatra or something.

Some memorable moments such as Morell being presented with his daughter's ashes and Ursula Andress being transformed into a withered old thing.

Movie review - "Nightmare in the Sun" (1965) ** (warning: spoilers)

After leaping to fame in Dr No Ursula Andress appeared in two decently budgeted studio films, Fun in Acapulco and Four For Texas before winding up in this cheapie thriller. I assume she was talked into it by her then husband John Derek who has the lead role.

But it must be said this isn't bad. It's directed by Marc Lawrence, best known as an actor, and presumably it was he who attracted the top level cast - Andress is a saucy minx married to small town tycoon Arthur O'Connell, who is having a fling with sheriff Aldo Ray, and she tries it on with hitchhiker Derek who gets dropped off in town by Sammy Davis Jnr; Richard Jaekel and Robert Duvall are travelling through, locals include Allyn Jolyson, Keenan Wynn and Chick Chandler.

Derek looks a bit old - still handsome, but the hair is flecked with grey. He's okay - in the scenes where he's pursued for murder he's convincingly worried, but other moments he's more awkward. The character isn't much - he wants to get home with his wife. Would've been better drama had he been more shifty - and slept with Andress, say, or did a little light thieving.

Andress is a star. She's relaxed and comfortable and vivacious and gives a good performance. But she dies 21 minutes in. A great scene - O'Connell shoots her and Lawrence cuts to a doll reverberating. 

There's a few other neat touches in this - a dust storm, Stanley Cortez' striking photography. I feel the movie would've been better had Andress stayed alive more. Also Derek gets out of it by a deux ex machina - Ray persuades O'Connell to blame the murder on Derek but O'Connell then changes his mind.

Good quality acting, patchy script... but a surprisingly enjoyable B film. Andress holds her own in a top level cast by virtue of sheer charisma and beauty. I think acting with Derek made her relax more but he's awkward.

Movie review - "The Mountain of the Cannibal God" (1978) ** (spoilers)

I'd never seen an Italian cannibal movie - apparently there's enough for form a sub-genre - and only watched this because of Ursula Andress. It surprised me - no classic, a lot of it was off putting, but it did consistently surprise me.

It benefitted from location filming - the jungles and rivers are real, the actors are there, and it looks great. It also has two Hollywood names - Andress and Stacy Keach.

The plot is a riff on King Solomon's Mines with Andress and her brother Antonio Marsina going on an expedition with professor Stacy Keach to find Andress' missing husband. Explorer Claudio Cassinelli goes along.

The first half of this seemed fairly straight forward - a traipse through the jungle, battling the elements, with Marsina being a brat and Andress making eyes at Cassinelli. I was surprised why they had Keach and Cassinelli in the film. There was lots of footage of animals being killed, which I understand was a thing from exploitation Italian films of the time.

It gets weirder and weirder - a woman sleeps with Marsina and is stabbed by a cannibal, Keach dies at a waterfall (a real shock), they stumble upon a cannibal lair. The husband is dead with a geiger counter that's being worshipped by the cannibals; they kill and east Marsina, and strip Andress and oil her up and start shoving lizars into Marsina. Some natives have sex and masturbate, and one has sex with a pig, and someone gets their dick cut off and it all gets pretty wild and Andress and Cassinelli escapes.

It's bizarre and weird and certainly not what I was expecting.

Ursula Andress Top Ten

It occurred to me the other day that Ursula Andress has been in a lot of entertaining films:
1) Dr No (1962) - of course, but also...
2) Fun in Acapulco (1963) - an above average Elvis film
3) Four for Texas (1963) - a comic Sinatra-Martin Western I really like
4) She (1965) - ideally cast in the lead
5) The Tenth Victim (1965) - cult sci fi romp
6) The Blue Max (1966) - entertaining WW1 film
7) Casino Royale (1967) - okay maybe this actually isn't very good but she is
8) Perfect Friday (1970) - heist shenanigans with Stanley Baker
9) Red Sun (1972) - bizarre Western with Charles Bronson
10) Clash of the Titans (1981) - great fantasy film though Andress' part isn't very big

It's an easy top five - Dr No, Acapulco, She, Blue Max, Casino Royale... after that maybe pickier but she's better than gets credit for...

Movie review - "Red Sun" (1972) **1/2

In the 70s this film was help as as an example of the most international of international co productions - with its Europudding finance, and casting including Charles Bronson, Toshiro Mifune, Alain Delon and Ursula Andress... something for everyone, except maybe Americans, where the general public didn't take to it.

It's not much of a movie. There is a great novelty in the basic idea - outlaws in the American west pinch a samurai sword intended for the President Grant so Mifune, who was assigned to look after it, goes after him. And it's a good complication to have him accompanied by an outlaw, Bronson, seeking to take down his treacherous deputy, Delon. There is, as you could expect, plenty of star power. Andress goes topless and is lively. Capucine even pops up as a hooker who sleeps with Bronson.

But Bronson and Mifune don't make a good team - both are stoic, silent types but because Mifune's English is so poor, Bronson is forced to be chatty. The film is at heart a buddy movie between these two but I never got a firm grip on their characters. 

Maybe more could've been done with Andress, who accompanies them. Delon's part isn't very big - he's a strong villain, I wish he'd had more to do.

The action scenes are patchy - this is frustrating. It also lacks suspense. I mean, this movie is okay... it's not a disaster. It's more dull. I kept feeling opportunities for culture clash (comedic, whatever) were missed. Action scenes are only so-so. 

I'm glad it exists, though!

The Key Films in the James Bond Series

1) Dr No - the one that really established it all. Funny enough, I don't think it ever gets the credit it deserves - overshadowed by From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Casino Royale or On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Absolutely, there would be bigger budgets, memorable moments to come - but the template of Bond as a sophisticated, debonair assassin was struck from the first film, a magical accident of Sean Connery, Ian Fleming, Terence Young, Ken Adams, Broccoli/Saltzman, etc coming together. Connery proved stunningly right as Bond, the story was excellent (it's a good fall back structure to borrow even now), Joseph Wiseman an expert villain, Ursula Andress an incredible Bond. A sidekick, a treacherous girl, combination of comedy and violence... It was there from the get go.

2) Goldfinger - for many this is THE Bond film, even now, a beautifully structured piece of entertainment, with perhaps the best villain, best use of gadgets, best theme song, and best plan of all time. Terrific fun.

3) On Her Majesty's Secret Service - the first Bond without Connery, the first box office disappointment, the first unhappy ending... and now many (myself included) see it as the greatest Bond of them all... I'd say it comfortably has the biggest "cult" of any Bond film.

4) Live and Let Die - Diamonds Are Forever restored the box office health of the Bond films, but a lot of that was attributed to Connery. Live and Let Die showed the series could thrive with a new Bond if that Bond was a better established actor - and few had the pedigree of Roger Moore, whose Saint TV series was an excellent training ground for the part. It's a flawed movie that hasn't aged very well, but its rock soundtrack is superb and there are some good moments.

5) The Spy Who Loved Me - Harry Saltzman's financial problems resulting in him leaving the series, and this showed that Cubby Broccoli could handle things fine on his own very much thank you with a movie that admittedly pinched most of its key elements from earlier films (Russian agent female lead, spectacular villain, wordless henchman) but rehashed them to a brilliant degree, making it an artistic high point of the Bond rein.

6) Goldeneye - the Bonds took their longest break before Pierce Brosnan showed their was life in the series yet. I don't think anyone remembers this film with that much fondness, but it was a well made entry which revitalised things.

7) Casino Royale - a major shot in the arm, Daniel Craig being the best challenger to Connery's crown. It's an origin story though oddly the film didn't need to be.

Movie review - "Perfect Friday" (1970) ** (warning: spoilers)

In the late 60s and early 70s famed theatre director Peter Hall took a brief stab at being a film director; none of the films are that remembered today but this piece has its pleasures, particularly a lively trio of star performances.

Stanley Baker is kind of cast against type as a mousy deputy bank manager - I say "kind of" because said bank manager plans a bank robbery and is a big time stud with Ursula Andress so he's not that mousy. The film might have worked better with a more obviously whimpy actor in this role, someone who stinks of being a little coward (eg Alec Guiness, Tom Courtney) - it may be have given this more tension instead of Baker standing there in his hairpiece practically going "hey I'm cast against type". (I will say though that this is among his better 70s movies.)

Andress is a spendthrift girl about town married to decadent aristocrat David Warner. She  is surprisingly good as the girl who sleeps with both men, whose loyalties we are never sure about. She rolls around in sheets, shows of boob and breasts (Peter Hall said this was a "send up of sex films" but I kind of don't think so) and displays a lot more energy than we're used to seeing from her.

Warner is a lot of fun as an impoverished, self entitled lord who takes to robbing banks like a duck to water.  There is an element of ham in Warmer and he pitches his performance just right; I don't always like him as an actor but he was good here.

There are a few twists - we presume that everyone is going to try and rip off everyone else, but because no one is an obvious star there is good tension. The theme music was overly jaunty and there are stretches where I got bored.

The last third was good (the robbery) when narrative took over. I really liked the idea of Dave Warner and Stanley Baker deciding to try robbing a bank again at the end of the film and wouldn't have minded a sequel.

Movie review - "What's New Pussycat?" (1965) ***

The sixties at its most swinging - Peter O'Toole in the lead, Charles Feldman producing, Woody Allen writing but being rewritten, Clive Donner directing (there was a time when Donner was one of the leading British directors in the world), Tom Jones singing the title song, Peter Sellers in a wig, European leading ladies, Richard Williams animated credit sequence.

It's a mess but it's fun, bright and colourful. Not all the jokes work, in fact most of them don't, but there are so many of them you can count on some hitting their mark, and I've got a soft spot for movies which end in a slapstick chase on small cars (it has an almost Beach Party vibe about it).

There's a massive race as to who can ham it up the most - Sellers of course through sheer Sellers-ness but O'Toole tries to match him and Woody does his schtick; Romy Schneider plays things relatively straight, which is probably for the best (the plot has O'Toole try to give up womanising to settle down with her), but Paula Prentiss is brilliantly hilarious as a stripper who likes to commit suicide after bad dates (she's sexy too), Edra Gale goes OTT as Sellers' wife (wearing a viking outfit lot of the time), Ursula Andress lots of fun as a woman who parachutes from the sky (though she only appears in the last half hour) and Capucine again impresses with her comedy chops.

The women are very good looking and it's all full throttle.

Movie review -Bond#1 - "Dr No" (1962) ****1/2

Someone once described Casablanca as the happiest of happy accidents but a good argument could be made for Dr No as well: the well-established James Bond series of novels had been sniffed around by producers for years, turned into one TV show, but never made until the early 60s... when censorship had relaxed enough to allow enough sex and violence to do justice to the stories; it was British at a time when the Empire was in decline, which made it reassuring yet non-threatening; the producers were North Americans with experience in the British film industry, so they knew how to export "Britishness" to the world; the key creatives had worked together for several years making action flicks for Warwick Productions; the cold war was morphing; the sexual revolution was taking hold; colour location photography became the norm.

Consider the incredible group of people here: Terence Young, whose sophistication added so much to the role of Bond and whose brisk handling has probably been underrated (due in part to his lack of decent non-Bond credits); Richard Maibaum the screenwriter who worked on the series until the late 1980s, who had a wonderful wry sense of humour; Ken Adam's set designing genius (this is meant to be a low budget movie - it did cost over a million dollars - but it looks like a blockbuster with these incredible wide rooms); Broccoli and Saltzman who brought it all together; Peter Hunt's dynamic editing; Maurice Binder's groundbreaking titles; that music score.

Also the cast. First and foremost there is Connery's Bond - his combination of sexuality, polish, intelligence, sadism and animal violence has ever been matched. Does anyone seriously think the series would have been as successful with Richard Johnson, Patrick McGoohan or David Niven? Who else could be introduced in a casino, seduce a woman straight away (Eunice Grayson), smoke so elegantly, karate chop villainous henchmen send to kill him, seduce a woman who has arranged to kill him then arrange for her to be arrested, befriend local fisherman and CIA man, outsmart and outfight Dr No... it's an incredible star performance.

In support is the magnificent Ursula Andress (Honey Rider randomly coming out of the surf in a bikini with a knife while singing is everything we love about Bonds), so sexy and matter of fact deadly (a rape victim who killed her attacker), if a bit of a native girl fantasy, following Bond around like a puppy dog. Joseph Wiseman is a very effective villain, ice calm and dodgy hands (I wonder what Noel Coward would have been like?). Jack Lord is the first in a long, long line of "whatever" Felix Leiters but Anthony Dawson is a terrific traitor and John Kitzmiller a lively Quarrel, a faithful black servant (interestingly sadistic in his treatment of that photographer at the nightclub and more conventionally scared of dragons). Throw in Bernard Miles and Lois Maxwell who would become so iconic.

Let's look at the film as a film and not a piece of history: Jamaica seems a ugly in places (lots of dirt roads); the women are good looking (not just Andress but also the support); the colour is gorgeous; the story is relatively simple but effective with memorable set pieces - the opening murder by the three blind mice, the tarantula attack, visiting Crab Key. It is a bit racist, with its white man's burden, tropic outpost setting, Fu Manchu villains, superstitious black friends, half-caste femme fetales, etc; the finale isn't as good as the build up (things exploding really, no decent henchman to kill).

But it's gripping and very entertaining; people sometimes say it was Goldfinger that set the template, but really Dr No had it all from the beginning.

Movie review – “Countess Dracula” (1970) **

Ingrid Pitt made such a splash in The Vampire Lovers she was given the lead in another film, based on Elisabeth Barony, who would kill girls out of the belief their blood would make her seem younger. Pitt starts off old then discovers the blood regime and pretends to be her own daughter. The pressure gets on when she falls for a spunky young officer. This is reminiscent of the 1965 She, including a woman worried about nabbing a younger man and transformation from young to old.

There are lots of good ideas here – it must have sounded great at pitch level – with Pitt arranging for her own daughter to be kidnapped, having to get blood from virgins, Nigel Green as Pitt's old lover who gets jealous. There is some colourful production design, including several gypsy dances, Lesley Ann Downe (Pitt’s daughter) is stunningly pretty, Pitt looks great (though not as good in Vampire Lovers), there’s some nibbling on Pitt’s nipples, a great moment where Pitt gets busted having a virgin blood bath.

But it never really takes fire. The script gets a bit repetitive – Pitt kills someone, gets younger, then older, then kills someone again, etc. It lacks an antagonist, someone out to get Pitt (Green ultimately does what she says, Maurice Denham’s priest you think might go against her but he just ends up helping her out, the male lead is a whimp). It never really digs into Pitt’s character that much. It’s also not very erotic. With it’s older woman lusting after a young man and obsessed with her looks this would be ripe for a gay remake.

Movie review – “She” (1965) ***1/2

I have great affection for this adventure tale, where Hammer tried to depart from their normal horror. They have old faves Peter Cushing and Chris Lee and throw in heartthrobs Ursula Andress and John Richardson. Andress is stunning as She, the beautiful despot who at the end of the day just wants a boyfriend.

I liked the setting of post World War I Palestine, but it was a mistake to introduce She in the first ten minutes – I think they should have held off on her. Also, like the 1935 version for some reason they don’t use the Holly-Leo clash over She – Holly jut sort of hangs around whereas in the novel he’s really important. (And they have Peter Cushing to play him too – why do they never do this in the books?)

On the sunny side, Bernard Cribbins is an excellent Job (who is a bit whimpy in the novel) and Christopher Lee provides menace and a decent subplot as one of She’s guards who is in love with her. It improves on the 1935 version by not having Leo fall in love with the ninny who rescues him (Rosenda Monteros is pretty but is no Ursula Andress). Richardson looks a bit funny with his blonde hair in modern British outfits, but totally suits a toga – maybe this is why he never had that great a career.

Book review – “Stanley Baker: A Life in Film” by Robert Shail

Baker was one of the most imposing actors in British cinema. Dark, brooding, intense, he was a natural for villainous parts. Indeed, this meant his rise to regular, well-paid work was quite rapid: he came out of the army in 1948, struggled for a year or so but then got a good part in a Chris Fry play which took him to Broadway, began to work steadily, made a terrific impression in The Cruel Sea, and then was being nasty to various stars in a series of Hollywood-financed films shot in Britain. Like Bogart, his bad guy performances were often the most striking thing about the movies he was in; also like Bogart, he was ambitious and intelligent and wanted to play better roles. Bogie had John Huston and High Sierra/Maltese Falcon, Baker had Cy Endfield (and later Joe Losey) and Hell Drivers.

By the late 50s he was established as a second-tier star as the tough guy hero of a series of thrillers and detective films which never seemed to be large hits and are little remembered today. (Hell Drivers seems to be the exception). By the very early 60s he was the third most popular British star after Sean Connery and Cliff Richard. He was able to use this popularity to produce and star in Zulu, which remains the film for which he is best remembered.

I’m surprised Baker never really recaptured the success of Zulu after he made it. Tough guy actors never really go out of fashion, he worked well with top directors like Losey and Robert Aldrich. But he followed up Zulu with the unpopular Sands of the Kalahari; he semi-bounced back with Robbery, and Accident for Losey, as well as producingThe Italian Job as well as being part of a consortium that set up Harlech Television. But he then went on to produce and co-star in a big flop, Where’s Jack?, and his career went into decline – he starred in a series of dud films that no one seems to care much about (even Shail has little good to say for them apart from Perfect Friday), and to make matters worse he lost a huge whack of his fortune in an ill-advised attempt to take over British Lion. (I know it’s all very well to be wise in hindsight but come on, Stanley, British Lion always lost money)

Maybe the problem was at the bottom of it Baker the film star hero never really graduated to the A league – he was an A-league villain, but he tended to be associated with B-picture heroics. Maybe B-picture isn’t the right word – but his leading man stardom was based on second-tier crime films, and those sort of pictures pretty much died out in Britain during the 60s (they were replaced by television). (I don’t understand why he didn’t do more action pictures in the wake of Zulu and Guns of Navarone – maybe they weren’t offered). Baker’s reluctance to work in America also may have hurt him – plus the fact that down deep I don’t think he really wanted to be a big star. He was obviously a smart cookie, but there was a limit to his ability as businessman, as exemplified by the British Lion experience. (Just because you are a good producer doesn’t mean you’re a good executive – just ask Bryan Forbes).

Baker continued to do good work on television and had he lived I think he would still be a major name today, probably as a television star who keeps featuring in the occasional juicy support role in a blockbuster and stealing the notices. Who knows, he could have even become a Welsh MP. But Baker was blessed with family genes that lacked longevity (his father died young) and the heavy drinking and chain smoking wouldn’t have helped – he died in his 40s.

Shail is an academic and at times you can tell. He has been careful to ensure his work is devoid of jargon, but it's heavily reliant on secondary sources and he doesn’t seem to have done many interviews (just Ellen Baker and a few locals; oddest anecdote: Lady Baker told Shail that after Baker would perform sexy love scenes with Ursula Andress in Perfect Friday he’d come home an act the town bull with his missus.) We get glimpses of the man - the fact he wore a toupee, his fondness of gambling and boozing, his early years as a lady killer - but not a thorough picture.

Shail is however excellent when analysing Baker’s acting and image and how it fit into British society and cinema at the time, and also in terms of Welsh nationality. He’s not as crash hot on the nuts and bolts of filmmaking, mostly drawing on the established histories like Alexander Walker’s and Sheldon Hall’s account of Zulu. Still, if you're interested in Baker definitely worth a read.