Jerry's Movie Blog

Waltz with Bashir (2008)

2012-02-10T20:59:00.000-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
2009	Nominated	Oscar	Best Foreign Language Film of the Year Israel.

Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Ari Folman
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sundance)

An Israeli soldier attempts to unlock his memories of the war in Lebanon. He visits an old friend and fellow soldier in Holland in the hopes he will help. A series of interviews with other soldiers provides the narrative for flashbacks to the war. In particular, a massacre at a refugee camp holds much importance. Real footage of the aftermath of the massacre replaces the animation for the ending. Some occasionally haunting imagery, but it lacks a narrative focus and the animation is a bit clunky.

Incendies (2010)

2012-02-10T18:42:00.001-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
2011	Nominated	Oscar	Best Foreign Language Film of the Year Canada.

Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Starz)

Twins living in Canada appear at a notary for the reading of their mother's will. So begins a journey that takes first the girl, and eventually the boy, to Palestine in search of their past. The story alternates between that of the mother and the present-day. The mother is a Christian activist and revolutionary. She is eventually imprisoned for committing a shocking assassination, tortured and raped. In the present-day, the girl retraces the steps of her mother. She finds the prison, the people who knew her and ultimately her past. Exquisitely filmed, finely acted, but the unpleasant subject matter leaves a bitter taste.

Second Fiddle (1939)

2012-02-10T10:58:00.001-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
1940	Nominated	Oscar	Best Music, Original Song Irving Berlin For the song "I Poured My Heart Into a Song"

Twentieth Century-Fox
Directed by Sidney Lanfield
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Manufactured Hollywood nonsense about a schoolteacher in Minnesota picked to star in the next big movie production. Tyrone Power is the publicity agent sent to the snowy town where Sonja Henie spends her time ice skating with little kids. In Hollywood, he fabricates a romance with crooner Rudy Vallee to generate newspaper gossip. Somebody forgot to tell Sonja it wasn't real, and she goes crying back to Minnesota when she finds out. Don't worry, Tyrone is in love with her, for real!

The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1929)

2012-02-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
1930	Nominated	Oscar	Best Writing, Achievement Hanns Kräly No official nominees had been announced this year.

MGM
Directed by Sidney Franklin
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Spending quality time with Norma Shearer is about the only pleasure of watching this early talkie. She flirts with Basil Rathbone, makes eyes at an elderly Lord in order to obtain a marriage proposal and is friendly with a jewel thief. If only I were so lucky. Otherwise, it's long, tortuous dialogue scenes with a mostly static camera set in a few rooms of a grand British mansion and its stuffy inhabitants.

Hævnen (2010)

2012-02-09T21:57:00.000-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
2011	Won	Oscar	Best Foreign Language Film of the Year Denmark.

Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Susanne Bier
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Starz)

Two boys are bullied at school. One of them retaliates with a vicious attack and threatening to kill the bully with a knife. Later, the other boy's father is assaulted by a stranger after breaking up a playground fight. The father doesn't fight back, so the boys plan their own retaliation by building a pipe bomb. These serious but somewhat overstated themes are juxtaposed against scenes in Africa where one of the boy's father is a doctor. There he must decide whether or not to treat a killer and rapist, or let the locals retaliate. His crimes may be more heinous, but he is really just a bully grown up. Susanne Bier has written and directed a complex story, full of real characters, expertly acted by some of the finest Danish talent.

Lies My Father Told Me (1975)

2012-02-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
1976	Nominated	Oscar	Best Writing, Original Screenplay Ted Allan

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Jan Kadar
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

A young Jewish boy in Montreal idolizes his religious grandfather, much to the dismay of his father. The grandfather takes him along on his weekly ride through the streets collecting junk from residents. He takes care of the aging horse, whose stable causes many problems with neighbors. Meanwhile his father is busy with hair brained inventions, gambling and trying to debunk the religious stories told by the grandfather. A sometimes magical, sometimes forced, look at growing up and the shattered dreams of childhood.

Morning Glory (1933)

2012-02-09T11:09:00.000-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
1934	Won	Oscar	Best Actress in a Leading Role Katharine Hepburn Katharine Hepburn was not present at the awards ceremony.

Radio Pictures
Directed by Lowell Sherman
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Bros.)

Aspiring Broadway actress Katharine Hepburn looks for her first job in New York. She weasels her way into producer Adolphe Menjou's office, but he writes her off as a fast-talking flake. Later at a party, she gets drunk on champagne, performs Shakespeare and ends up sleeping with Menjou. She falls in love him but she means nothing to Menjou, that is until she successfully replaces his star actress on opening night. The precocious Hepburn is hard to warm up to in this role, you get the feeling that this might be the real Hepburn. I much prefer the 1958 remake Stage Struck with Susan Strasberg in Hepburn's role. Strasberg plays on the young actress's naivety rather than her pretentiousness, and the result is a character you care about rather than loathe.

Toy Story 3 (2010)

2012-02-09T08:53:00.000-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
2011	Won	Oscar	Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song Randy Newman For the song "We Belong Together".
	Won	Oscar	Best Animated Feature Film of the Year Lee Unkrich
	Nominated	Oscar	Best Achievement in Sound Editing Tom Myers Michael Silvers
			Best Motion Picture of the Year Darla K. Anderson
			Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay Michael Arndt (screenplay) John Lasseter (story) Andrew Stanton (story) Lee Unkrich (story)

Walt Disney Pictures
Directed by Lee Unkrich
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Starz)

Pixar continues to mine the Toy Story characters for every penny of merchandising. They keep the franchise alive by the crisis created by Andy growing up and leaving for college. Will he bring his toy cowboy? Not if he wants to get girls. Woody and the rest of the toys accidentally get left on the curb for the garbage truck, but in the first of many last minute escapes end up in a day care center instead. At first it appears they have landed in paradise, until the toddlers show up and nearly destroy them. Their political rights are stripped away by the ruthless Lotso, a stuffed bear dictator who controls the fates of every toy. Woody and friends manage another escape, including a harrowing encounter with a furnace. Only a sentimental ending where the toys are given away by Andy to a neighborhood girl manages any kind of real emotion, the rest is fabricated nonsense.

Voice in the Wind (1944)

2012-02-08T20:58:00.000-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
1945	Nominated	Oscar	Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Michel Michelet
1945	Nominated	Oscar	Best Sound, Recording Mac Dalgleish (RCA Sound)

United Artists
Directed by Arthur Ripley
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Melancholy, tragic story of a Czech pianist who dares to play a patriotic song at a recital during the Nazi occupation. After a head injury at the hands of the gestapo, he becomes a walking zombie haunted by memories of his love for a beautiful girl. There is an awkward framing narrative that takes place on a Caribbean island. He is persecuted by Italians, or maybe they were Portuguese, for reasons that are unclear. The flashbacks to his past are much better, set to classical piano pieces expertly performed.

The Navy Comes Through (1942)

2012-02-07T20:52:00.001-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
1943	Nominated	Oscar	Best Effects, Special Effects Vernon L. Walker (photographic) James G. Stewart (sound)

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by A. Edward Sutherland
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Beyond the patriotic propaganda of WWII there is a decent little drama of a rag-tag Navy ship and her crew searching for German submarines. They use a captured sub's own device against them: a time delay bomb which they hide in torpedoes. They pose as a German supply ship to get them on board, then watch as the subs explode. A romantic subplot involving Jane Wyatt is not too intrusive. I'm not sure how this got nominated for a Special Effects Oscar, as there is obvious back projection and miniatures for the battle scenes.

The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944)

2012-02-06T20:53:00.001-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
1945	Nominated	Oscar	Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White John Hughes Fred M. MacLean
			Best Effects, Special Effects Paul Detlefsen (photographic) John Crouse (photographic) Nathan Levinson (sound)
			Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Max Steiner

Warner Bros.
Directed by Irving Rapper
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Long-winded biography of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as author and humorist Mark Twain, from his boyhood days on the Mississippi to his around-the-world speaking tour as essentially a stand-up comic. The film tries to include too many details of his life and suffers from an episodic plot. Cliche's are used to fill in the details, and the details are what should be the most interesting. Fredric March does his best in the title role, but when old Mark Twain's one-liners become tired and predictable you know something is wrong.

A Prophet (2009)

2012-02-05T19:29:00.000-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
2010	Nominated	Oscar	Best Foreign Language Film of the Year France.

Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Jacques Audiard
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Starz)

A teenage prisoner is sent to the "big house" where he becomes the pawn of an Italian mobster. He is forced to kill or be killed, and carries out a hit on another prisoner in cold blood. He is rewarded by the Italians by becoming a protected member of their gang. Later, he earns leave from the prison and uses his time to not only carry out more hits for the Italians but start his own criminal empire. Punctuated by graphic violence and populated by unlikeable characters, it is nonetheless a fascinating portrait of one young man's struggle to find his place in the hellish world of a French prison. Tahar Rahim gives a bravura performance.

Happy New Year (1987)

2012-02-05T10:59:00.000-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
1988	Nominated	Oscar	Best Makeup Robert Laden

Columbia Pictures
Directed by John G. Avildsen
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Jewel thief Peter Falk and his partner Charles Durning rob a posh jewelry store by wearing elaborate costumes and masks that lull the jewelry store manager into trusting them. Peter Falk gets completely made over into an old man and an old woman, quite convincing if a bit unnerving, as his unmistakeable eyes still peer through the layers of latex. He also falls in love with the much younger Wendy Hughes who owns an antique store next door. The heist does not go as planned and Falk goes to prison. Hughes supposedly waits over 5 years for him to get out and resume their romance. It's cute, it's romantic and completely lacking in style or imagination, more like a TV movie than theatrical film.

Holy Matrimony (1943)

2012-02-05T09:15:00.000-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
1944	Nominated	Oscar	Best Writing, Screenplay Nunnally Johnson

Twentieth-Century Fox
Directed by John M. Stahl
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Monty Woolley is a reclusive painter called back to England to be knighted. When his valet dies, he assumes his identity, apparently for no other reason than to disappear completely from the public. He also meets and marries his valet's intended bride. They lead a quiet life until he starts painting again and his paintings end up in the hand's of an art dealer. His true identity is revealed in a long court trial for the finale, in which his moles come under intense scrutiny. It's entertaining enough I suppose, but completely without substance.

Persepolis (2007)

2012-02-04T22:12:00.000-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
2008	Nominated	Oscar	Best Animated Feature Film of the Year Marjane Satrapi Vincent Paronnaud

Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Starz)

A rebellious girl grows up in politically repressed, war-torn Iran. She is sent to Vienna where she hangs out with punk rockers, lives with nuns and has her first love affair. They break-up, she has a nervous breakdown and goes back to Iran. More boredom and political repression sets in, so she gets married. They divorce, she goes to France. Teenage melodrama that resembles an episode of "Daria", and the animation is about of the same caliber.

The Prestige (2006)

2012-02-04T19:23:00.000-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
2007	Nominated	Oscar	Best Achievement in Art Direction Nathan Crowley (art director) Julie Ochipinti (set decorator)
2007	Nominated	Oscar	Best Achievement in Cinematography Wally Pfister

Touchstone Pictures
Directed by Christopher Nolan
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(HDNet Movies)

Two magicians in turn-of-the-century London take personal rivalry to a new extreme. They sacrifice their families, have no qualms about theft and eventually resort to murder, all to be the best magician in town. It's a sickening display of selfishness and the two men deserved their fates. The screenplay tries to be clever, it's full of misdirection and utilizes a non-linear time structure, but becomes more absurd as it progresses. Eventually we are supposed to believe that the magicians are producing clones of themselves and rising from the dead. Christopher Nolan and David Fincher seem to be in competition to see who can make movies with the most unlikeable characters.

Encounters at the End of the World (2007)

2012-02-04T10:14:00.000-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
2009	Nominated	Oscar	Best Documentary, Features Werner Herzog Henry Kaiser

Discovery Films
Directed by Werner Herzog
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sundance)

The inimitable Werner Herzog visits Antarctica. He is just as interested in the people as the place. The scientists that make up the population of McMurdo are a diverse and slightly eccentric group. Herzog has an eye for the absurd, so we get things like scientists with their ears on the ice listening to seals, scientists jamming on electric guitars at the South Pole, scientists wearing bucket heads to simulate white out conditions and let's not forget the insane, lost penguin. Herzog complements these vignettes with majestic imagery of the often surreal landscape, both above ground and under water, accompanied by dramatic music. However, the digital imagery is disappointing, lacking the smoothness and rich color that true film would have provided.

The Farmer's Daughter (1947)

2012-02-03T21:11:00.000-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
1948	Won	Oscar	Best Actress in a Leading Role Loretta Young
1948	Nominated	Oscar	Best Actor in a Supporting Role Charles Bickford

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by H.C. Potter
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Loretta Young leaves her family farm for the big city. She is immediately taken advantage of by a painter who gives her a lift from the bus stop. Penniless, she takes a job as a maid to wealthy politician Joseph Cotten and his mother Ethel Barrymore. Her impeccable moral character and work ethic impress the politician and his friends so much that she becomes a sort of political adviser, while Cotten falls in love with her. A sudden death leads to her improbable run for the vacant seat, but for the opposition, which causes problems for her developing romance. It's sort of a feminine variation of Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington. Then, as now, the Academy was impressed by a well-rehearsed accent which awarded her with an Oscar.

5 Fingers (1952)

2012-02-03T15:11:00.001-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
1953	Nominated	Oscar	Best Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz
1953	Nominated	Oscar	Best Writing, Screenplay Michael Wilson

Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Fox Movie Channel)

The eminently watchable James Mason portrays a servant to the British ambassador to Turkey. He exploits his access to the private chambers to photograph secret documents and sell them to the Germans for a huge profit, all in an effort to escape to Rio and live the good life. However, the Nazis don't trust him and the British are hot on his trail. A couple of plot twists towards the end can't overcome the fact that this is a long, talky spy drama that struggles to engage and is also dated.

The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933)

2012-02-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
1934	Nominated	Oscar	Best Writing, Original Story Frances Marion

MGM
Directed by W.S. Van Dyke
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Predictable yarn of bouncer Max Baer being "discovered" and rising to the top of the boxing world. Along the way he meets and marries pretty Myrna Loy. However, Baer has got an eye for the ladies and their marriage soon crumbles. Will they reunite at the big boxing finale for the championship title of the world? It's Rocky for the 1930's, I was half expecting Baer to break out in cries of "Adrian!". There is also one unintentionally hilarious scene of Baer in a Broadway show doing a dance routine set to his training regimen, which has to be seen to be believed.

Rasputin and the Empress (1932)

2012-02-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
Academy Awards, USA
1934	Nominated	Oscar	Best Writing, Original Story Charles MacArthur

MGM
Directed by Richard Boleslawski
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

The Barrymore family portrays Russian royalty who come under the influence of a pedophile priest with deluded ambitions of power. Lionel Barrymore overplays the part of the mad monk, who uses hypnotism on the youngest prince to gain entry to the royal chambers. He easily controls the weakest members, the women and children, but struggles with the men, particularly Prince Chegodieff, played by his brother John. All of the Barrymore's act in an overwrought manner, more suitable for silents than the new talkies. Nonetheless, there are some memorable scenes, particularly the final confrontation between Lionel, John and a poisoned cupcake.

Ride to Hangman's Tree (1967)

2012-01-31T15:24:00.000-08:00

Universal Pictures
Directed by Alan Rafkin
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Encore)

A trio of unlikeable outlaws rob a bank and get caught, but on their way to be hanged escape. Within minutes, they are robbing a stagecoach. They break up the gang only to rob each other. Years later, the "Black Bandit" is terrorizing California during the gold rush, one of the old outlaws. It just so happens the other two show up in the same town. They get jobs with Wells Fargo, only to make plans to rob it. Mostly, they fight each other over pretty saloon singer Melodie Johnson, who is really the only reason to watch this cliche-ridden western.

The Exile (1947)

2012-01-30T15:04:00.000-08:00

Universal-International
Directed by Max Opuls
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr, is the exiled king of England living incognito in Holland. He falls in love with a flower girl at a market and goes to work for her at her farm. He is found out by the dreaded "roundheads" from England, lead by the always menacing Henry Daniell. They have an exciting chase and duel involving windmills that would make Hitchcock proud. However, far too much of the film is concerned with the romance between Fairbanks and his women, including an appearance by Maria Montez as a royal French flame from his past.

The Happening (1967)

2012-01-29T18:35:00.000-08:00

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Elliot Silverstein
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

Bored teenagers in Miami wake up after an all-night party looking for "kicks". They stumble on Anthony Quinn in his mansion and decide to kidnap him. Quinn telephones all of the important people in his life asking for money but they turn him down. Dismayed, he turns the tables on the kidnappers and helps them extort even more money from his "friends". A good idea that is not fully developed, the film is content to play for laughs which are not really there instead of exploring the more serious themes it raises.

Safari Drums (1953)

2012-01-29T10:25:00.000-08:00

Allied Artists
Directed by Ford Beebe
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Sheffield was starting to outgrow his character by this point, the 9th Bomba movie since 1949. Here he is credited as "John" Sheffield instead of the usual "Johnny", a subtle acknowledgment of that very fact. This time around, a Hollywood crew is in Africa to get film of animals in action. Bomba reluctantly agrees to help after hearing that one of them is a murderer and the police are on the way to make an arrest. Unfortunately that leaves plenty of time to kill a few animals for the sake of entertainment. I'm not sure the producers of the real film realized that the plot condemns the very film they are making!

The Lone Wolf in London (1947)

2012-01-29T10:19:00.000-08:00

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Leslie Goodwins
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Gerald Mohr settles into the Lanyard role with old pro Eric Blore as his gentleman's gentleman Jamison. Lanyard gets involved with stolen diamonds while researching a book. The complicated plot involves a wealthy British collector, his daughter and her fiance as well as a pretty actress.

Texas Terror (1935)

2012-01-28T21:19:00.000-08:00

Lone Star Pictures
Directed by Robert N. Bradbury
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Encore)

John Wayne is a sheriff who finds a friend murdered by thieves. Blamed for his death, he quits and lives in a log cabin in the woods. The friend's pretty daughter shows up and wind up working as her ranch foreman. However, me must prove his innocence to win her love. Less action than most of the other Lone Star westerns with Wayne.

Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)

2012-01-28T17:54:00.000-08:00

Universal-International
Directed by Max Opuls
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Joan Fontaine develops a teenage crush on her neighbor Louis Jourdan, a concert pianist. Despite all indications that he is a nothing more than a ladies man, she allows him to seduce her one night. They get separated, she has the baby, and their lives go on apart. Ten years later, they meet again at an opera. She is married but throws it all away despite the fact that he doesn't even recognize her, and then walks away without telling him the truth. She and her son die of typhoid, the pianist left alone. Melodrama is still melodrama, no matter how well directed.

Gunplay (1951)

2012-01-28T10:02:00.000-08:00

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by Lesley Selander
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Encore)

Tim Holt and girl-crazy sidekick Chito are hired hands who get involved with murder in a dusty Arizona town. The local banker and hotel owner has a shady past that he will do anything to hide. A cute kid with zero acting ability drags the movie down to juvenile level.

The Huggetts Abroad (1949)

2012-01-28T08:49:00.000-08:00

Gainsborough Pictures
Directed by Ken Annakin
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

When Dad gets fired at his job the family decided to go to South Africa, by land! The buy an old truck and head off to Algeria. Unbeknownst to them, the passenger they took along to help pay expenses is smuggling stolen diamonds. When he gets wounded in a bad deal, they have to get him to a doctor in the middle of the desert. Absurd situational comedy that features young Petula Clark strumming ditties on her guitar and Dad wishing for an English pub in the middle of a sand storm.

Operator 13 (1934)

2012-01-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

MGM
Directed by Richard Boleslawski
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Marion Davies is a northern spy sent south during the Civil War. She dons black face and speaks in a ridiculous southern accent to pass herself off as a servant. Remarkably, no one doubts her identity, even the real southern slaves. She meets Gary Cooper, an officer in the Confederacy, and they have a mostly unspoken attraction for each other. Davies returns to the north and years pass. Near the end of the war, she is sent south on another mission and meets Cooper again, this time as a southern lady. The romance tends to dominate over the more interesting war drama, especially in the second half, but the film is undeniably entertaining despite its shortcomings, of which there are many.

Kipps (1941)

2012-01-26T20:53:00.000-08:00

Twentieth-Century Fox
Directed by Carol Reed
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Fox Movie Channel)

Dickensian tale of young boy who leaves his peasant home to become an apprentice in a fabric shop. Years go by and he becomes bored with his position. He also falls in love with the teacher at his after hours "self help" school. One day he inherits a fortune and they become engaged. While he has trouble adapting to his new-found status, she has none using his money to advance hers. Meanwhile his childhood sweetheart reappears and she leads him down the path to true happiness. The main problem with the film is the character Kipps, a rather shallow and not too bright fellow that his hard to care about. A minor effort from the future great director Reed.

The Stand at Apache River (1953)

2012-01-25T19:50:00.000-08:00

Universal-International Pictures
Directed by Lee Sholem
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Encore)

Stand-off between group of men and women at a remote stage depot and renegade Apache Indians has good action scenes and an intelligent script. A sheriff and his prisoner, accused of murder, argue with a Cavalry officer about the ethics of violence, but when the Indians attack it's kill or be killed. However, romantic subplots involving the women are not nearly as interesting and detract from an otherwise excellent western from Universal-International.

A Royal Scandal (1945)

2012-01-24T20:51:00.000-08:00

Twentieth-Century Fox
Directed by Otto Preminger
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Fox Movie Channel)

Tallulah Bankhead is Catherine the Great of Russia. She seduces a loyal member of her army and promotes him to leader of the palace guards. He must deal with not only her fickleness, but an incipient coup. It reveals its theater origins by the confined quarters and stagey feel, but does offer up some choice, fast-paced dialogue by Tallulah and her costars.

Charge of the Lancers (1954)

2012-01-23T20:56:00.000-08:00

Columbia Pictures
Directed by William Castle
My rating: BOMB
IMDb
(DVD, Sony Screen Classics by Request)

Cheap Sam Katzman-William Castle production that pits Russians against Englishman posing as gypsies in the Crimean War. The characters are little more than cardboard stereotypes and the sets obvious California back lots. Paulette Goddard as the gypsy woman Tanya is not only one of her worst performances, but one of the worst performances by anyone I've seen in quite some time.

Crime Against Joe (1956)

2012-01-23T18:34:00.000-08:00

United Artists
Directed by Lee Sholem
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, MGM Limited Edition Collection)

Drive-in schlock suffers from poor acting and a predictable script, from the director of several Jungle Jim movies. "Joe" is a painter living at home with mom. One night he gets drunk and implicated in a murder. Julie London lies to the police to give him an alibi and then helps him track down the real killer. You will guess his identity long before they do.

The Star Packer (1934)

2012-01-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

Lone Star Pictures
Directed by Robert N. Bradbury
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Reel Enterprises)
(Encore)

Early John Wayne western borrows many of its outlandish plot devices from serials. In a dusty western town a villain by the name of "The Shadow" gives orders to his henchman via a fake wall safe. Underground tunnels lead to a hollowed-out tree stump where a gunman gets the upper hand. The final chase scene has Wayne garbed in a white bandana on a white horse following a runaway stagecoach over a cliff to save the girl.

Just Off Broadway (1942)

2012-01-22T17:37:00.000-08:00

Twentieth-Century Fox
Directed by Herbert I. Leeds
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Fox Movie Channel)

Lloyd Nolan is Detective Michael Shayne. As a juror on a murder trial, he gets away with: hiding a murder weapon in the courtroom, drugging his roommate and leaving the hotel, sending letters and hand signals to the DA during the trial, interrupting the trial on numerous occasions to ask his own questions, introducing new evidence, including knives, hidden under his jacket and calling the prosecuting attorney to the witness stand. All believability is tossed right out the window.

Bomba and the Jungle Girl (1952)

2012-01-22T10:51:00.000-08:00

Monogram Pictures
Directed by Ford Beebe
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Bomba goes deep in the jungle in search of his parents where he finds a tribe being ruled by a false king. I'm not sure if the jungle girl of the title was supposed to be white teenager Karen Sharpe or the black woman trailing Bomba, neither of whom are very important to the plot. Anyway, Bomba finds his parents buried in a cave. A diary explains everything, including Bomba's last name, which was "Hastings", but his first name is not revealed.

The Notorious Lone Wolf (1946)

2012-01-22T09:14:00.000-08:00

Columbia Pictures
Directed by D. Ross Lederman
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Lanyard returns from the war and wastes no time getting involved in a far-fetched plot to recover a stolen sapphire. Lanyard and Jameson spend most of the movie dressed as royal Arabs, complete with turbans and fake facial hair. Lanyard's "wolf" side is played up more than usual, as he tries to seduce pretty Janis Carter. Gerald Mohr replaced Warren William as the Lone Wolf and the result is an embarrassing drop in quality.

Night in Paradise (1946)

2012-01-21T22:42:00.000-08:00

Universal Pictures
Directed by Arthur Lubin
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

High-school level drama set in ancient Greece stars Merle Oberon as a Persian princess. She is engaged to marry the miserly King Croesus but falls in love with Aesop who is a political prisoner in his kingdom. Aesop is disguised as an old and infirm man, but really is young and handsome. The King is also being tormented by a sorceress who appears in mirrors, flames, etc. About the only thing that kept me interested was Merle's costume changes.

Screamers (1995)

2012-01-21T18:31:00.000-08:00

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Christian Duguay
My rating: BOMB
IMDb
(DVD, Sony)
(Encore)

Philip K. Dick story is bastardized by Hollywood into cliche-ridden, macho-military characters who wander around a post-nuke planet inhabited by robots. The tired plot device of is-it-human or is-it-a-robot is run into the ground by multiple false endings. It is hard to care for any of these characters, human or robot. The computer generated special effects are laughably primitive, although there is an all-too-brief stop motion animated sequence.

Joe Dakota (1957)

2012-01-21T11:24:00.000-08:00

Universal-International Pictures
Directed by Richard Bartlett
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Encore)

Stranger Jock Mahoney arrives in an isolated town where all the residents are working at an oil well. They treat him with suspicion and disrespect, but Mahoney is not intimidated. It turns out the town has got a secret and Mahoney is going to uncover it. Another solid drama from the always reliable Universal-International western factory.

Vote for Huggett (1949)

2012-01-21T09:32:00.000-08:00

Gainsborough Pictures
Directed by Ken Annakin
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

The typical English family the Huggetts are back in another leisurely entry in the series. This time Dad writes a letter to the editor which gets him embroiled in local politics. He ends up running for councilman, much to the chagrin of Mom who worries about the responsibilities of being a councilman's wife, such as public speeches or entertaining royalty. Susan Huggett uncovers a plot to slander Dad's name by way of a bogus land deal. Little Petula Huggett organizes a poster campaign. It's all innocent fun from a bygone era in suburban England.

Youth Without Youth (2007)

2012-01-20T20:51:00.000-08:00

Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-Ray, DVD, Sony)
(Starz)

Tim Roth is struck by lightning one day in Bucharest. After a recovery in the hospital, he finds he is half his age and possesses supernatural powers. The Nazis are after him for biological experiments while philosophers want him for his intellect. He meets, or rather re-meets, his soul mate one day on a mountain. She too is struck by lightning, but instead of youth she finds herself possessed by an ancient Indian mystic and speaking in strange tongues. Together they search for the origins of language. Laughable attempt at filmization of an impossible-to-film story by Mircea Eliade. Coppola indulges in gimmicky camerawork, such as meaningless upside-down shots. The pervasive digital effects give it a cold, steely, soul-less feeling, much like the characters which populate it.

Don't Play Us Cheap (1973)

2012-01-20T15:09:00.000-08:00

Directed by Melvin Van Peebles
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Xenon)
(Encore)

Amateur production from Melvin Van Peebles is essentially a filmed play: it all takes place in one small apartment in Harlem. The occasion is the birthday party of a naive 20-year-old girl. A couple of "bats out of hell" (literally) show up to spoil the fun by tempting her with love and other diversions. The guests of the party laugh, drink and eat, but mostly sing songs with blues and gospel influences. The songs save it from being a complete disaster.

Cast a Dark Shadow (1955)

2012-01-19T15:51:00.000-08:00

Eros Films
Directed by Lewis Gilbert
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(VHS, Madacy)
(Turner Classic Movies)

Dirk Bogarde is a young playboy who preys on lonely middle aged women. He lures them into marriage and then murders them for their money. He bumps off his current wife by getting her drunk and faking an accident. However, he is left out of her will and must find a new victim. In steps Margaret Lockwood, recently widowed and wealthy. Complicating the issue is another woman who appears on the scene and appears to be after his affections as well. It all leads to a rather unpredictable unraveling for the denouement.

Laramie (1949)

2012-01-18T14:44:00.000-08:00

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Ray Nazarro
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Sony Screen Classics by Request)

An Indian scout for the Cavalry is killing men on both sides to stoke the flames of war and sell guns for profit. Steve Starrett is a government man trying to negotiate peace, but he also has a secret identity as the Durango Kid and goes after the traitor with his guns and fists. This B western has a high quota of songs, including Elton Britt with virtuoso yodeling and Smiley Burnette with gimmicky ballads.

Once a Thief (1965)

2012-01-17T15:46:00.000-08:00

MGM
Directed by Ralph Nelson
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Alain Delon and Ann-Margret are a sexy couple living in San Francisco. He's a reformed thief working on the docks. One day he is framed for murder and arrested by diligent police officer Van Heflin. He is released due to lack of evidence. However he loses his job and is turned down for unemployment. In steps his long lost brother Jack Palance who offers him a piece of a million dollar platinum heist. The job goes off without a hitch, until the split when one of the other henchmen decides he wants it all. Character actor John Davis Chandler is brilliant as the sleepy-eyed thug. An overlooked and under appreciated gem that is well-written, well-acted and has a cool jazz soundtrack.

Great Catherine (1968)

2012-01-16T17:55:00.000-08:00

Warner Bros/Seven Arts
Directed by Gordon Flemyng
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

British diplomat Peter O'Toole goes to St. Petersburg to see Russian empress Catherine the Great, played by Jeanne Moreau. She lives in an absurd world within a great castle attended by hundreds of courtesans, her every word law. Zero Mostel overplays his role as a high-ranking guard with a ravenous appetite for food and drink. He dominates the early scenes and is a disgusting sight to behold. However, his character fades and the relationship between O'Toole and Moreau becomes the focus. The film is uneven, the scenes during the royal ball feature some spectacularly choreographed and hilarious native Russian dancing. However, it can also be juvenile, such as the Battle of Bunker hill fought in miniature in the bathroom or the tickling episodes. Reminiscent of the earlier Tom Jones, in fact I would even say it's slightly better than that much lauded film.

African Treasure (1952)

2012-01-16T10:41:00.000-08:00

Monogram Pictures
Directed by Ford Beebe
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Bomba tracks down diamond miners who are using the father of a native girl and others as slaves. Bomba's pet chimp Kimbbo helps out more than usual and there is extensive use of talking jungle drums for communication. The African river looks more like a lagoon on a California golf course.

Passport to Suez (1943)

2012-01-16T09:10:00.000-08:00

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Andre De Toth
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Sony Screen Classics by Request)
(Turner Classic Movies)

Lanyard and butler Jameson deal with spies while in Alexandria, Egypt. The Nazis want a map of the mine field in the Suez Canal. Jameson's new daughter-in-law may be the key to finding it. Despite the dated plot, this Lone Wolf entry is fast paced and very entertaining. I never knew Lanyard could fly a biplane.

The Liquidator (1965)

2012-01-15T21:52:00.001-08:00

MGM
Directed by Jack Cardiff
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

American GI Rod Taylor is hired by the British secret service as an assassin. It's and odd choice, because he abhors violence. Rod finds the money, and the girls, irresistible so takes the job anyway. He hires another hit man to carry out the killings while romancing as many sexy spies as possible. He goes to the Cote D'Azur where he gets duped into carrying out a hit on a British royal. It's a poor spoof of James Bond, complete with obnoxious theme song by Shirley Bassey.

Just You and Me, Kid (1979)

2012-01-15T19:06:00.000-08:00

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Leonard Stern
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

George Burns is basically playing himself, a retired comedian living alone in his posh mansion, when he finds Brooke Shields naked in the trunk of his antique car. She is on the run from her pimp after stealing 20K in cash. Burns finds something to give his life meaning, but Brooke is slow to warm up to the idea. Well, the pimp eventually shows up and it is up to Burns and some of his aging friends to save her. An old fashioned movie built around cliched characters and predictable situations, but stirs up nostalgia for old, forgotten Hollywood, much like George Burns himself.

The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960)

2012-01-15T11:53:00.000-08:00

MGM
Directed by John Guillermin
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

American Aldo Ray agrees to help Irish revolutionaries rob the Bank of England to make a political statement. Although it seems impossible at first, Ray concocts a plan to dig into the bank through the old London sewer system. They choose a long weekend to dig the tunnel and actually succeed in breaking through. However, the Irish call off the plan leaving the diggers with millions in gold bullion but no way to get it out. This anticlimactic ending is perhaps the film's greatest weakness.

Here Come the Huggetts (1948)

2012-01-15T09:46:00.001-08:00

Gainsborough Pictures
Directed by Ken Annakin
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

The Huggetts are a typical suburban English family at the end of WWII. Dad works at the factory, mom is a housewife and their three daughters are going through various growing pains. Enter bombshell Diana Dors, a troubled cousin dropped onto their doorstep. She gets an office job at Dad's factory but bungles an order and almost gets him fired. The youngest daughter suspects her of breaking up her parent's marriage. She goes dancing with another daughter's boyfriend. Enjoyable if predictable fluff whose main interest today is a glimpse at the daily life of a bygone era.

Pioneer Justice (1947)

2012-01-14T23:17:00.000-08:00

PRC
Directed by Ray Taylor
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Encore)

Gamblers are swindling the homesteaders in a dusty western town. Lash La Rue and Fuzzy St. John root out the gang responsible and hunt for their boss. Lash is quite good with not only his gun but his whip. However, Fuzzy gets the best scene as the new sheriff at the end.

Mindwarp (1992)

2012-01-14T21:46:00.000-08:00

Fangoria Films
Directed by Steve Barnett
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(VHS, Sony)
(Encore)

In the near future people lead dream lives plugged in to computers. A girl decides she wants to see the "real world" and wakes up in a barren, post-nuke landscape inhabited by cannibal mutants. She meets loner Bruce Campbell but they get captured and spend most of the movie in a hellish underworld ruled by Angus Scrimm. There are bloody sacrifices, torture and other unpleasant scenes using slimy, gooey special effects. Don't worry though, in a predictable plot twist it all turns out to be a dream-within-a-dream.

Drum Beat (1954)

2012-01-14T09:39:00.000-08:00

Warner Bros.
Directed by Delmer Daves
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(VHS, VCI)
(Turner Classic Movies)

Alan Ladd is an Indian fighter trying to make peace with Indians on the war path in Oregon. They are lead by Charles Bronson as "Captain Jack", a murderous Indian who likes to steal the medals and uniforms of his victims. After Bronson shoots unarmed peace negotiators, Ladd has no choice but to resort to violence to reign in the renegade Indians. A romantic subplot adds unnecessary complications. While the location shooting is good, it is obviously Arizona and not Oregon.

Ice People (2008)

2012-01-13T22:23:00.001-08:00

Milestone Film
Directed by Anne Aghion
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Gacaca Productions)
(Sundance)

Geologists in Antarctica dig around in the dirt for clues about the past. For this privilege, they endure harsh cold, cramped living conditions and virtually no other people. The two experienced professors justify it mainly as a chance to solve a great puzzle. Their two undergraduate students may not be so sure. You can hear it in the voice of the girl while talking on satellite phone to her grandmother on Thanksgiving. The other undergrad is wondering how his religious views are going to fit in with his career as a scientist. However, most of the running time is spent with long takes of the wind and snow swept landscape. The cold digital photography does not do it justice.

Little Darlings (1980)

2012-01-13T20:18:00.000-08:00

Paramount Pictures
Directed by Ronald F. Maxwell
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(VHS, Paramount)
(Turner Classic Movies)

Tatum O'Neal and Kristy McNichol bow to teenage peer pressure and make a bet at summer camp, the winner being the first to lose their virginity. O'Neal falls for camp teacher Armand Assante. She visits him in his cabin, where he keeps plenty of beer and wine on hand, but she can't convince him to seduce her. Meanwhile, McNichol pursues Matt Dillon, the bad boy across the lake. They eventually do have sex in a boathouse, but she doesn't tell anyone because she really is in love with him. It's melodramatic teen nonsense, with McNichol turning on the water works not once but three times in an effort to "act". Dillon mumbles his lines while taking off his shirt and O'Neal, well I can't quite figure out what she does in this movie.

The Silver Bullet (1942)

2012-01-13T11:15:00.000-08:00

Universal Pictures
Directed by Joseph H. Lewis
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(VHS, VCI)
(Encore)

Johnny Mack Brown may be my favorite B-western star. He's tough, he's real, there is never any doubt it's him doing the fighting and other stunt work. This production has a couple of entertaining fight scenes, including one in a saloon towards the beginning which incorporates unusual point of view angles. Great fun to see Brown staring right at you and throwing a punch. Fuzzy Knight's support work as the stuttering sidekick, though, leaves a lot to be desired. You know you are in trouble when you have to resort to dressing in drag to get laughs. Pretty Jennifer Holt is the romantic interest.

Arrow in the Dust (1954)

2012-01-13T08:52:00.000-08:00

Allied Artists
Directed by Lesley Selander
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Sterling Hayden is a deserter who assumes command of a Cavalry unit when their replacement is killed en route. His plan is to tag along with a wagon train to Oregon but he gets more than he bargained for when they are relentlessly attacked by Indians. After awhile it becomes clear the Indians are after something in the wagon train, either a load of whiskey or perhaps something else. Coleen Gray is the pioneer woman that provides the romantic subplot. Action scenes are mostly borrowed stock footage that show up in other films. For example, I spotted the same hilarious scene of flaming toy Indians going over a cliff in 1955's Seminole Uprising.

Assignment - Paris (1952)

2012-01-12T20:07:00.000-08:00

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Robert Parrish
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Sony Screen Classics by Request)

Dana Andrews is an American newspaper reporter in Paris. He gets involved with spies behind the Iron Curtain and goes to Hungary to investigate. He is arrested and sentenced to death. However, back in Paris his editor arranges an exchange with a Hungarian revolutionary. Despite some location shooting with the actual actors in long shots, it still relies on back projection for close-ups. The film simply lacks style and feels like a manufactured Hollywood product.

Knight Without Armor (1937)

2012-01-11T19:44:00.000-08:00

United Artists
Directed by Jacques Feyder
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(VHS, Samuel Goldwyn)
(Turner Classic Movies)

Robert Donat is a British spy in Russia. He is captured during the days leading up to WWI and sent to Siberia. After the war, he saves princess Marlene Dietrich from revolutionaries. They go on the run disguised as peasants and naturally fall in love. A talky drama that paints in broad strokes, covering too much history via too many characters. Still, it does have its moments, such as nicely photographed scenes of trains overloaded with refugees. Marlene gets a classic line filled with sexual innuendo after bathing in the great outdoors when she says to Donat: "Do you like my forest?" His reply? "I adore it".

By Love Possessed (1961)

2012-01-10T19:26:00.000-08:00

United Artists
Directed by John Sturges
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, MGM Limited Edition Collection)

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., is a lawyer in a typical American town. He's the "pillar of the community" and straight as an arrow. However, it's all a sham and his personal life is falling apart. He's having an affair with the wife of his law partner, an impotent cripple. Even worse, his son is accused of raping the local tramp. The unpleasant complications just go on and on...suicide, embezzlement....accompanied by soaring violins and dramatic piano flourishes. Perhaps the worst example of the kind of trashy soap opera that was coming out of Hollywood following the success of co-star Lana Turner's similar travesty Peyton Place in 1957.

Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

2012-01-09T19:41:00.000-08:00

TriStar Pictures
Directed by Robert Longo
My rating: BOMB
IMDb
(Blu-Ray, Image Entertainment)
(Starz)

Keanu Reeves carries the cure for a worldwide virus in a brain implant. The pharmacy company that discovered it wants it back, while underground fighters with face tattoos in a crumbling Newark, NJ, want to share it with the rest of the world. It's all an excuse to glorify hopelessly outdated technology, indulge in clunky computer animated dream sequences and torment the audience with gory death scenes. Keanu is wooden and the supporting cast includes non-actor musicians like Henry Rollins and Ice-T. Absolutely dreadful.

Julie (1956)

2012-01-08T20:57:00.000-08:00

MGM
Directed by Andrew L. Stone
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Doris Day spends the entire movie running away from her homicidal husband. The characters are so unconvincing that it becomes almost comical at times: her husband sits at the piano and plays dramatic music while Doris provides running narration about her doubts of his sanity. He eventually catches up with her on an airplane where she works as a stewardess. He kills the pilots leaving who else but Doris to bring the plane in for a landing. Blatant attempt to rip off Hitchcock-style dramatics fails in every department other than unintentional laughs.

Elephant Stampede (1951)

2012-01-08T12:50:00.000-08:00

Monogram Pictures
Directed by Ford Beebe
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Bomba fights ivory poachers in the jungle. Meanwhile, he is oblivious to the romantic overtures of a girl trying to teach him to read. Can you spell "juvenile"?

Counter-espionage (1942)

2012-01-08T09:34:00.000-08:00

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Edward Dmytryk
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Sony Screen Classics by Request)
(Turner Classic Movies)

The Lone Wolf turns undercover Nazi spy hunter in blitzkrieg-era London. He uses secret plans for a "beam detector" as bait. However, Scotland Yard and his old American nemeses are hot on his trail, convinced he is really working for the Nazis. It's badly dated and relies on stereotypes for characterization.

Mail Order Bride (1964)

2012-01-07T22:55:00.000-08:00

MGM
Directed by Burt Kennedy
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)
(Turner Classic Movies)

Contrived comedy-western with Buddy Ebsen playing matchmaker to Keir Dullea and Lois Nettleton in Montana. Ebsen is fine if subdued in his role as the reluctant caretaker of the son of a dead friend. Dullea, however, is out of his element here as a rambunctious cowpoke: he is loud, annoying, never funny and has zero chemistry with the mail order bride Nettleton, even after they are supposed to fall in love. Beaver Cleaver's kid brother is the cute kid.

Westward the Women (1951)

2012-01-07T10:37:00.001-08:00

MGM
Directed by William A. Wellman
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(VHS, MGM)
(Turner Classic Movies)

Rod Taylor leads a group of over 100 women from Chicago to California, to be brides for lonely men on a ranch. Their trek by wagon train across the country is chronicled in detail. Some of them leave in the middle of the night with the men hired to help them make the crossing. Those left must do the heavy work required to cross harsh desert landscapes, defend against Indian attacks and deal with internal strife. Written by Frank Capra, characters are believable and the story well-paced. However, with this many women involved it's hard to avoid certain melodramatic trappings, such as the eye-rolling conclusion with the men and women pairing off in California.

Ghost of Hidden Valley (1946)

2012-01-06T21:46:00.000-08:00

PRC
Directed by Sam Newfield
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Encore)

Buster and Fuzzy help a greenhorn from England deal with rustlers on the dilapidated ranch he inherits. A butler named Tweedle provides comic relief while pretty neighbor Jean Carlin is the romantic interest. The ghost angle is hardly mentioned at all.

Belle Starr (1941)

2012-01-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

Twentieth Century-Fox Film
Directed by Irving Cummings
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Southern spitfire Gene Tierney joins up with Rebels lead by Randolph Scott in Reconstruction-era Missouri. It's sort of like Gone With the Wind in a western setting. There is even a "Mammy" character, here played by Louise Beavers. Unfortunately the film turns melodramatic as Tierney and Scott fall in love, only to be separated by rogues within the ranks of the Rebels. A predictable tragic ending follows. Still, the 21-year-old Tierney is radiant in Technicolor.

The Steel Trap (1952)

2012-01-05T20:14:00.000-08:00

Twentieth Century-Fox Film
Directed by Andrew L. Stone
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Assistant bank manager Joseph Cotten steals a million dollars and then attempts to leave the country with his wife before the bank reopens on Monday morning. His poorly thought-out plan begins to unravel almost before it begins: he has to break into the consulate for their passports because he is late getting there. This leads to a series of complications involving airplane flights and they are stranded in New Orleans. His wife eventually figures out what is really happening and leaves him. Cotten must choose between living on the run as a thief and his tidy, predictable life at home.

House of Women (1962)

2012-01-04T19:58:00.000-08:00

Warner Bros.
Directed by Walter Doniger
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Ridiculous women's prison melodrama with Shirley Knight a convict having a baby and raising it behind bars. She tries to influence the warden by letting him fall in love with her, but it backfires when he stops her parole. The prisoners riot and take hostages. Loaded with cliches and stereotypes, the only enjoyment comes from occasional "so bad it's good" moments.

Battle of the Coral Sea (1959)

2012-01-03T20:11:00.000-08:00

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Paul Wendkos
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Sony Screen Classics by Request)

Uneven war drama featuring Cliff Robertson as a submarine captain sent on a top secret reconnaissance mission. The sub is destroyed and crew sent to an island interrogation camp where they must endure psychological and occasionally physical torture at the hands of the Japanese. A woman who acts as an interpreter helps them escape. Unfortunately these interesting scenes on the island are surrounded by stock footage and boring documentary-style accounts of the famous sea battle.

The Beginning or the End (1947)

2012-01-02T18:39:00.000-08:00

MGM
Directed by Norman Taurog
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Dramatic retelling of the American quest for the atomic bomb. In an interesting twist, the people of the 25th century are the intended audience, as the movie we are watching is supposed to be buried in a time capsule, along with a projector, which was probably a smart move. Tom Drake is a civilian physicist and the story is mostly told through his eyes. We meet all of the great personalities involved, from Albert Einstein to Enrico Fermi, Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, Robert Oppenheimer and others. In an attempt to personalize the story, Drake's new wife Beverly Tyler is brought along from one military outpost to another, but she comes off mostly as a sex crazed new bride. There are two memorable scenes: one happens in Fermi's Chicago lab as they experiment on a large atomic pile and attempt to create the first atomic chain reaction, the other is the bombing of Hiroshima. A sentimental ending at the Lincoln Memorial, though, pours it on a little too thick.

Holiday Camp (1947)

2012-01-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

Gainsborough Pictures
Directed by Ken Annakin
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Fascinating portrayal of Brits on "vacation" in post war England. Hoards of people are bused to a camp consisting of endless rows of tiny huts. A disembodied voice on the loudspeaker directs them to the dining hall, morning exercise routines and various leisure activities. This camp is more like a carefully controlled military facility. The favorite pastimes are walking around in revealing swimsuits, doing the hokey pokey at one of the nightly dances, losing money in card games or contemplating jumping off a cliff due to an unwanted pregnancy. Oh, did I mention the homicidal maniac on the prowl for his latest victim? You'll have fun at "holiday camp"!

The Warrior (2001)

2012-01-01T18:47:00.000-08:00

Miramax
Directed by Asif Kapadia
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Miramax)
(Starz)

Indian production about a warrior for a brutal warlord who abandons his violent lifestyle. He is relentlessly pursued by another warrior, since simply walking away is forbidden. After witnessing his own son's murder, he befriends a young thief whose family he may or may not have killed during his old life. Together they walk through sumptuous landscapes and meet interesting people on the way to the mountains, an oasis of sorts of which he has visions of a girl in the snow. The cinematography is undeniably beautiful, especially compared to modern Hollywood epics bloated with CGI, of which this has none. However, the visuals tend to obscure the fact that the story is not that compelling, or at least not compellingly told.

The Prince of Thieves (1948)

2012-01-01T09:37:00.000-08:00

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Howard Bretherton
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Sony)

Medieval swashbuckler is a lot of fun for a Saturday afternoon matinee, although it lacks a compelling story. Robin Hood and his merry men raid the castle of a selfish lord not once but twice, each time to save a heroine in distress. First they have to save a fiance promised to one man but forced to marry another. The second raid is to rescue none other than Robin's love interest Maid Marian, played by the lovely Patricia Morison. The colorful settings and costumes are enhanced by the teal-and-orange flavored Cinecolor.

No Blade of Grass (1970)

2011-12-31T22:03:00.000-08:00

MGM-EMI
Directed by Cornel Wilde
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Chaos breaks out in London when a worldwide famine threatens the food supply. A small group of men lead their families and girlfriends to the country in the hopes of reaching a farm where they can start over. They must fight roving motorcycle gangs and common citizens turned vigilantes. Filled with disgusting imagery of dead animals and even a live human birth, it's a poorly directed if well-intentioned depiction of an ecological disaster in the near-future.

New Year's Evil (1980)

2011-12-31T19:29:00.000-08:00

Cannon Films
Directed by Emmett Alston
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(VHS, Paragon)
(Turner Classic Movies)

A man is killing girls on New Year's Eve, at the top of the hour in synch with the time zone celebrations being shown on TV. He calls in to the show's host, Roz Kelly, better known as Pinky Tuscadero from Happy Days, after each murder and replays them on a cassette tape. He makes his way to the hotel where the show is originating, intending to make Roz his final victim. The most interesting parts of this predictable slasher are the bands on the TV show. You've got "Shadow", a bad heavy metal band, even though the audience is supposed to be all punk rockers. Even worse is "Made in Japan", who sing their hit "Dumb Blonde".

The Jade Mask (1945)

2011-12-31T11:36:00.000-08:00

Monogram Pictures
Directed by Phil Rosen
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, MGM)

Static Charlie Chan entry that takes place entirely within a few rooms of one house. A mad scientist type is killed for his experimental gas formula. The suspects include his family and house servants. Chan, Number Four Son Edward and manservant Birmingham stumble around after clues. The resolution is as ridiculous as it is improbable.

The Next Voice You Hear... (1950)

2011-12-31T09:45:00.000-08:00

MGM
Directed by William A. Wellman
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

The "voice of God" is heard on the radio one night, at the same time all over the world. The voice breaks in every night for the next seven days, the same amount of time it took to create the world. An all-American family comes to grips with the possibility that it really is God. It's sort of a Christian version of War of the Worlds: mass panic, disbelief, fear that the world is ending. Joe Smith, all-American dad with an expecting wife, gets drunk at the local bar but later regrets it. Joe, Jr, the boy with a newspaper route, is ashamed, but they make up one night at the house of an atheist. Meanwhile, mom, played by that ultimate symbol of puritanism, Nancy Davis, has her baby on the Seventh Day. I thought maybe it would be Baby Jesus, but it was a girl. Hilarious for all the wrong reasons.

Tough Assignment (1949)

2011-12-30T23:26:00.001-08:00

Lippert Pictures
Directed by William Beaudine
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, VCI Entertainment)

The illegal beef racket is the subject of this poor "film noir". An intrepid newspaper reporter and his picture-happy new wife accidentally snap a photo of thugs leaving a butcher shop. To get more information for a newspaper story they pose as farm workers and head out to the rustler's ranch. Eventually their cover is blown and they have to make a run for it.

The Boy Friend (1971)

2011-12-30T20:56:00.000-08:00

MGM
Directed by Ken Russell
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Understudy Twiggy takes over the leading role of a play in a run down London theater circa 1926 in front of few paying patrons when the star has a foot injury. A famous film director shows up and the cast play up to him in hopes of landing a ticket to Hollywood. Russell accentuates the complex set design of the play with occasional flights of fantasy that fully indulge in bright psychedelic colors. Twiggy is fine as the innocent girl who falls in love with her leading man, both in and out of the play. A supporting cast of virtual unknowns outside of the works of Russell give energetic performances.

The Taming of the West (1939)

2011-12-30T11:35:00.000-08:00

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Norman Deming
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Encore)

Bill Elliott becomes sheriff of a dusty western town overrun by lawlessness. I think he is mostly interested in impressing pretty Iris Meredith. Anyway, eyewitnesses are being intimidated before Wild Bill can convict the bad guys. So, he comes up with a plan: let them out of jail and follow them to the man giving orders. Brilliant!

The Waltz King (1963)

2011-12-30T09:36:00.000-08:00

Walt Disney
Directed by Steve Previn
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Walt Disney)

The young Johann Strauss, Jr., lives under the shadow of his father who is the waltz king of Vienna. When the young Strauss shows promise as a musician, dad tries to sabotage his career before it starts, preferring he pursue the more conventional profession of law. Well, it backfires and Strauss Jr. becomes even more famous. However, his fame comes with a price, everywhere he goes he is mobbed by young adoring women, poor guy. He eventually tires of writing waltzes and tries his hand at more serious compositions, finding more fame in operettas. This Disney biopic is bolstered by the music and location shooting in Europe.

Double Dynamite (1951)

2011-12-29T22:11:00.000-08:00

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by Irving Cummings
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
(DVD, Warner Bros)

Odd pairing of Groucho and Sinatra living it up on gambling money. Frank unknowingly saves a bookie from getting beat up by thugs and then wins a boat load in his back room horse parlor. He enlists Groucho, a waiter at the local Italian restaurant, to help him hide the loot. Frank is suspected of embezzlement in the bank where he works as a teller. Jane Russell is a coworker and love interest. The plot is contrived and performances strained. Groucho gets the best lines impersonating a millionaire.

The Squeeze (1977)

2011-12-29T20:13:00.000-08:00

Warner Bros.
Directed by Michael Apted
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Stacy Keach is an alcoholic ex-cop in London whose ex-wife is kidnapped. The thugs demand money from her husband, who runs an armored car company. Keach and friend Teddy turn private investigators while the husband tries to keep the kidnappers occupied. There are long, unpleasant detours into Keach's battle with alcohol and the kidnapper's sadistic treatment of their victims. It concludes with a predictable armored car chase and robbery.

Tumbling Tumbleweeds (1935)

2011-12-29T11:29:00.000-08:00

Republic Pictures
Directed by Joseph Kane
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Image Entertainment)
(Encore)

One of the earliest and best Gene Autry pictures for Republic. After a fight with his father he joins a traveling medicine show. Years later, he returns to find his father murdered and the suspect his best friend whom he just saved from dying. However, he soon learns that the real killers are loose and hatches a plan to get them. Gabby Hayes is fun in a supporting role not as a sidekick but the owner of the medicine show. Even Smiley Burnette manages to keep himself under control.

Child of Glass (1978)

2011-12-29T09:40:00.000-08:00

Walt Disney
Directed by John Erman
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Walt Disney)

Atmospheric Disney TV movie about a family that moves into an old southern plantation haunted by a little French girl (and her dog). Steve Shaw is the teenage son visited by the ghost and given a riddle to solve. Katy Kurtzman is his friend with the kooky psychic aunt who helps in the search for a doll which will allow the ghost to rest in peace. Subplots include a drunk handyman out for revenge, a costume party ruined by a dog chasing a cat, a barn fire, a fall down an abandoned well and a diamond treasure. It's never boring!

Riders in the Sky (1949)

2011-12-28T21:28:00.000-08:00

Columbia Pictures
Directed by John English
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Image Entertainment)
(Encore)

A memorable song but unmemorable movie from Gene Autry. He tells the story in flashback of how he inherits enough money to retire from being a deputy to buy a ranch and retire. However, he falls in love with a girl in a stagecoach and ends up helping her prove her father was wrongly accused of murder. Features flashbacks within flashbacks and an obvious stunt double for Gene.

Unidentified Flying Objects (1956)

2011-12-28T19:53:00.000-08:00

United Artists
Directed by Winston Jones
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Painfully boring attempt to convince viewers that "flying saucers" are real. Endless scenes of interviews, newspaper headlines and dramatic recreations of sightings. Tom Towers, a real LA newspaperman, plays Al Chop, a civilian assigned as public relations man for the military. Various cases are examined, with only a few fleeting glimpses of actual UFOs. The best is saved for last, the extended footage, but it's a real let down. Just a few white dots against blue sky, completely unconvincing.

King Lear (1953)

2011-12-28T11:15:00.000-08:00

Directed by Andrew McCullough
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, E1 Entertainment)

Archaic TV production by Peter Brook and company omits the subplots and focuses strictly on the disintegration of King Lear. I must admit difficulty in following the language of Shakespeare, only being able to make out a word here or there. Welles is appropriately grandiloquent, but only the last scene, dragging the dead body of Cordelia to the throne, made any lasting impression on me.

West to Glory (1947)

2011-12-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

PRC
Directed by Ray Taylor
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Encore)

Eddie Dean and sidekick Soapy Jones are undercover deputies watching a diamond in a dusty western town. A gang of thieves, posing as cattle buyers, are after the diamond and some gold. A girl gets involved, but she turns out to be an undercover deputy as well, for Mexico. The action takes several breaks for Dean to sing sappy love songs. The supporting actors are terrible, even by B western standards, just listen to Dolores Castle deliver her lines as Maria.

On the Town (1949)

2011-12-27T21:18:00.000-08:00

MGM
Directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Bros)

Those two rascals Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra team up with sailor buddy Jules Munshin for 24 hours of shore leave in NYC. They see the tourist sites in the first few hours, but what they really want are girls. Gene falls in love with poster girl Vera-Ellen, leading to a frantic search of the city's museums and cultural centers. Frank falls in love with taxi driver Betty Garrett, or the other way around, while Munshin picks up anthropologist Ann Miller. The couples hit the nightclubs with plenty of stops for songs and dances. Energetic production with some very good dance routines, particularly a couple of stylized tangents with Kelly, but dragged down by some dumb ones as well, such as an ill-advised caveman number and at Coney Island with the boys in drag.

Montana Belle (1952)

2011-12-27T19:08:00.001-08:00

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by Allan Dwan
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(VHS, Warner Bros.)
(Encore)

The Dalton Gang is terrorizing the Oklahoma Territory when one of the brothers rescues Jane Russell from a hanging. They take her in to their hideout, which inevitably leads to infighting. They plan to rob a casino but Jane likes it so much there she decides to stay. Before long she is the resident singer and half-owner. However, her past eventually catches up with her when the Daltons show up again. In wonderful teal and orange Trucolor.

The Missing Juror (1944)

2011-12-27T10:45:00.000-08:00

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Budd Boetticher
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Sony Screen Classics by Request)

Newspaperman Jim Bannon writes a feature story about a series of murders on a jury that mistakenly found a man guilty. He falls in love with the next potential victim when he goes to warn her. The murderer is a poorly disguised George Macready, in one of his patented raspy-voiced performances. Macready can play these characters in his sleep, which he may have been doing here. Anyway, the police get involved but arrest the wrong man. Can Bannon get the story while saving the girl? One of director Boetticher's least memorable films.