Pygmy Island (1950)

Columbia Pictures
Directed by William Berke
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

In Jungle Jim #5, Weissmuller helps the Army find a missing doctor while stopping foreign agents. Everyone is after a pygmy tribe's native plant whose fibers can be used for military applications. Jungle Jim wrestles a rubber alligator and tangles with a man in an ape suit on a bridge over a gorge. However, the lasting impression is of little people in loin cloths swinging from tree-to-tree on vines. Billy Barty and Billy Curtis never had it so bad.

Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968)

Janus Films
Directed by William Greaves
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

An experiment in which the director starts with a screen test of a couple in Central Park bickering over supposed infidelities, with the film crew, and even bystanders, in plain sight. The crew occasionally gets together to talk about the film, their part in it and how to make it better. There were a couple of insightful moments, such as when one of the crew posits the question that maybe they were acting and the director is standing right outside the door, and how that just adds another level of reality to the film. Overall, though, it's like a meeting of the philosophy club: the participants may enjoy the arguments, but to outsiders, in this case the viewer watching the film, it's not nearly as involving.

The Falcon and the Co-eds (1943)

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by William Clemens
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

The Falcon ends up at an all-girl seminary, just the place for a skirt chaser, where he investigates the murder of a teacher. The faculty all act a little strange, especially the psychiatry teacher with a shady past. Then there is the student with the ability to see into the future, who correctly predicts yet another murder. The truth eventually comes out, but not before a dramatic suicide-turned-accident on a cliff. Comedy relief from the "three ughs", cute kids who sing a lot, almost spoils it, but the remote seaside setting and the school itself provide enough menace to cancel them out.

Enemy of Women (1944)

Monogram Pictures
Directed by Alfred Zeisler
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Roan Group)

Anti-Nazi propaganda from 1944 which portrays Goebbels as a womanizer who uses his position of power to get back at the only woman who resisted him. Claudia Drake plays Maria Brandt, the aspiring actress who Goebbels helps attain stardom with the hopes she will fall in love with him. Instead, she falls in love with a Doctor who befriends her father. They get married and live happily in Austria, but make the mistake of returning to Germany where Goebbels eventually catches up with them. The end result is closer to romantic melodrama than exploitation.

Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976)

United Artists
Directed by Robert Altman
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, MGM)

Robert Altman exposes the myth of the American west. Paul Newman plays Buffalo Bill, the stereotypical showman who doesn't mind changing history if it makes him a few bucks. His "Wild West" show is a big hit, but when he hires the real Sitting Bull as a costar things start falling apart. Sitting Bull says relatively little but his actions wreak havoc on Bill's conscience and expose his lies. For example, when Bull and his tribe go to the mountains one night to celebrate the full moon, Bill's posse fails to round them up, and this from the greatest Indian hunter in American history. Later, the President visits the show, providing Altman with more opportunities to expose American hypocrisy. A failure at the box office, the American public was, and probably still is, reluctant to look at itself in the mirror, much like Buffalo Bill himself in one scene of the film.

The Dark Tower (1943)

Warner Bros.
Directed by John Harlow
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Hypnotist Herbert Lom gets a job at a struggling circus. They come up with an act for the trapeze girl, much to the chagrin of her partner and boyfriend. They are a big hit, and before long Lom is a partner in the circus. He is in love with the girl, but even his hypnotic powers can't make her love him. Hated by all of the other circus performers, and his death the only way to free the girl from his powers, he becomes a target. Sensationalistic story is given a rather routine treatment in this British production, though Lom is memorable.

Johnny O'Clock (1947)

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

Noir-ish mystery revolving around gambling den owner Dick Powell, his partner Thomas Gomez and several women. Powell's patented happy-go-lucky persona and deadpan delivery serve him well as he dazzles the ladies while looking over his gambling empire. When a hat-check girl, and former lover, turns up dead, intrepid police detective Lee J. Cobb suspects it's an inside job. Powell falls in love with the murdered girl's sister, in a rather insipid romance that takes up too much of the running time. Clues are dropped throughout the film: watches, a coin, a key; making the identity of the mystery killer rather obvious. The denouement and reveal are anticlimactic, but Powell's dialogue is priceless.

Marshal of Mesa City (1939)

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by David Howard
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

A dusty Arizona town with a corrupt sheriff is having problems with outlaws. Pretty school teacher Virginia Vale is fed up and leaves town by stagecoach. However, the sheriff, who is in love with her, sends his gang to stop it. In steps George O'Brien, who saves her from the bad guys and vows to clean up the town by becoming marshal, and maybe gets the girl as well. It's entirely predictable and the characters are mostly stereotypes, but well-acted by a cast of western pros who raise it above your typical B-western matinee picture.

Mysterious Intruder (1946)

Columbia Pictures
Directed by William Castle
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Another entry in the Whistler series, this time Richard Dix is a detective hired by an old shop owner to find a girl missing for 7 years. The girl shows up at the shop, but the "mysterious intruder" shoots the man and kidnaps the girl. The police blame Dix for the murder so he must find the real killer. Complicated plot is difficult to follow and  I gave up trying after awhile. Too much talk, too many characters, multiple red herrings, false identities, etc. do not make a good mystery.

The Treasure of Pancho Villa (1955)

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by George Sherman
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Mexican revolutionary Gilbert Roland and his gang steal gold from a government train. American mercenary Rory Calhoun and school teacher Shelley Winters join them for the cross-country trek to deliver the gold to Pancho Villa. Calhoun and Winters try to fall in love but mostly bicker over his changing allegiance to the revolution. Eventually greed gets the best of just about everyone and the gold never gets to Villa. Short on action, long on talk, the film never generates any momentum, wasting the location shooting in Mexico and a cast that should have known better.

Mark of the Gorilla (1950)

Columbia Pictures
Directed by William Berke
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Jungle Jim fights Nazis who are digging for stolen gold in a cave. They dress up as apes to scare the local natives, but they can't fool Jungle Jim who knows a real ape when he sees one. There is the usual animal stock footage and comedy relief from Caw Caw the Crow and Skipper the dog, who gets the last scene smoking a cigar.

Dangerously They Live (1941)

Warner Bros.-First National
Directed by Robert Florey
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

John Garfield is miscast as a doctor whose amnesia patient draws him into a Nazi spy ring. Garfield looks completely lost puffing a pipe in a suit and tie while discussing the latest advances in psychiatry. The story moves briskly enough, from the hospital to a country estate where he is held prisoner. The Nazis, living as respectable Americans, are after information on the location of an American fleet. The final scenes feature model submarines being bombed by stock footage.

East of the River (1940)

Warner Bros-First National
Directed by Alfred E. Green
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

This is perhaps John Garfield's worst movie. It's a predictable story of two kids growing up in New York, one bad and one good, who become stepbrothers to avoid reform school. Garfield's mother is a stereotyped Italian who owns, what else, an Italian restaurant, in a simply awful performance by Marjorie Rambeau in broken Italian-English. Garfield's brother is another stereotype, this time the angelic brother who can do no bad, in a stiff and shallow performance by William Lundigan. Perhaps the one bright spot in the film is Brenda Marshall, who makes a somewhat believable transition from gangster girlfriend to wholesome wife, although even that is a stretch.

Rock City: London 64-73 (1973)

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

This documentary of the London rock scene is filled with iconic imagery. The Stones get the most screen time, but are the least interesting, stuck in their pop psychedelic phase of the early 70s. In fact, things really don't get that good until Cream shows up and blows everyone away with a live performance of Sunshine of Your Love. Well, I think it was live. The overdubbing is a nagging problem throughout the film, you are never quite sure if the performances are lip-synched or live. Ike & Tina Turner give an embarrassing performance laced with sexual innuendo, which is oddly edited straight into Pink Floyd with an obviously lip-synched performance of Careful With That Axe, Eugene. Other scenes include naked hippies at the Isle of Wight and Blind Faith surrounded by hoards of fans in a London park.

Flowing Gold (1940)

Warner Bros-First National
Directed by Alfred E. Green
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

John Garfield is on the lam again, this time in the oil fields of Oklahoma, accused of killing a fellow worker in a fight. He stays one step ahead of the law while helping his new friends in their pursuit of liquid gold in a well they are drilling. Frances Farmer is the tomboy he falls in love with in the oil fields. The Big Action Finale sees their oil derrick struck by lightning and exploding in flames, shot mostly in miniature models.

Dust Be My Destiny (1939)

Warner Bros-First National
Directed by  Lewis Seiler
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

John Garfield is released from prison after serving time for a crime he didn't commit. Bitter towards the world, he vows to only look after himself. He gets arrested for vagrancy and serves time on a work farm. He falls in love with pretty Priscilla Lane, stepdaughter of the drunkard warden. Garfield accidentally kills the warden one day during a fight. The two lovers go on the lam where they get help from a friendly restaurant owner and newspaper editor. Still not convinced that he can trust people again, Priscilla turns him in and he goes on trial for his life. Garfield is always watchable, but it tends toward the melodramatic and the preaching comes off as a poor-man's Capra.

They Made Me a Criminal (1939)

Warner Bros.
Directed by Busby Berkeley
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

John Garfield is a successful New York boxer, but his life outside the ring gets him in trouble. A newspaper reporter is accidentally murdered one night in his apartment, but he was too drunk to remember what really happened. Framed for murder, he goes on the run. He ends up on a California ranch with fellow big city exiles the Dead End kids. He takes them under his wing but mostly teaches them how to steal and cheat. Farm girl Ann Sheridan eventually changes his ways. The New York boxing drama is OK, but when the action shifts to California it becomes just another predictable juvenile drama with Leo Gorcey and friends. Berkeley's former directorial flourishes are nowhere to be found, although there is one interesting scene where Garfield and the boys get trapped in a water tower while swimming.

Of Gods and Men (2010)

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

Trappists monks in Algeria are threatened by terrorists in a civil war.  They manage to talk their way out of the first encounter, but are scared and want to leave, others to stay. As they return to their daily routine, they pray, chant and discuss their options. This takes up most of the film, and is an interesting glimpse into the motivations of becoming a monk, their doubts and fears. Eventually the dissenters change their minds and all decide to stay. The terrorists return and take them hostage, and the film ends as they walk up a snowy mountain path and disappear.

Take Shelter (2011)

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

The father of a middle class family in suburban Ohio gradually realizes that he may have a mental illness. He is tortured by vivid nightmares of tornadoes, being attacked by his own dog and strangers abducting his daughter. He keeps the dreams to himself, a mistake, but secretly goes to a doctor for advice and treatment. It begins to affect his job and he is eventually fired. His wife, in a wonderfully natural performance by Jessica Chastain, bravely stands by him despite initial misgivings. Mental illness can be a difficult subject to portray on-screen, but writer-director Nichols manages to be both poetic and realistic.

The Cool Ones (1967)

Warner Bros.
Directed by Gene Nelson
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Perky teenager Debbie Watson dreams of becoming a pop star. She is a dancer on a popular television show, where one night she steals the microphone on live TV. In the ensuing confusion, she accidentally starts a new dance craze. She hooks up with singer Gil Peterson and eccentric millionaire tycoon Roddy McDowall to try to capitalize on it. At its best when a satire of the music business, such as in McDowall's hotel, but slowed down by excessive breaks for singing and dancing, all of which is very, very dated. The Leaves perform in the underground dance club.

Voice of the Whistler (1945)

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

In the fourth entry of the series, Richard Dix plays a wealthy industrialist dying of loneliness. He strikes a bargain with his nurse for a marriage of convenience and they move to a remote lighthouse on the coast of Maine. It only takes a few months for her to grow bored with the isolation. Her old boyfriend shows up and murder is in the air, but you won't know who gets murdered, or the murderer, until the end. Passable entertainment, but poorly acted and the characters are not credible.

Captive Girl (1950)

Columbia Pictures
Directed by William Berke
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Jungle Jim rescues jungle girl from natives who killed her parents. The girl, platinum blonde Anita Lhoest in her only screen credit, has no speaking parts until late in the film, but can communicate with animals by whistling. Treasure hunter Buster Crabbe, a former Tarzan himself, dives in a lagoon after lost gold, which features some good underwater action scenes with skeletons. Otherwise, this is a bad movie even by Jungle Jim standards, with loads of stock footage, stereotyped natives played by white men covered with dark makeup, rubber alligator wrestling and comedy relief from an anthropomorphic chimp and his dog sidekick.

The Falcon in Danger (1943)

RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by William Clemens
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

The Falcon investigates the disappearance of a millionaire industrialist on an airplane during mid-flight. He mingles in high society with some lady friends in search of clues. It's kind of boring until the end, which takes place mostly in an old mansion and incorporates "old dark house" staples like sliding panels. However, the mystery depends too much on coincidence and the special effects, such as the opening plane crash, aren't too special.

White Shadows in the South Seas (1928)

MGM
Directed by W.S. Van Dyke
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Monte Blue is a doctor living on a remote island in the South Seas which has been invaded by greedy traders: white men who trade trinkets with the natives in exchange for diving for pearls. The natives soon take up western habits which threaten to annihilate their culture. One day a typhoon sweeps the good doctor to another island. This one is unspoiled by the white man. He lives in a tropical paradise, treated as a god by the women and leaders. He falls in love with native girl Raquel Torres after reviving her young brother from drowning. They have feasts and dance a lot. He stumbles upon a pearl one day and is overtaken by greed himself. He lights a fire to attract a ship, which backfires when the same greedy traders show up. Presented with music but intertitles for the dialogue, it is most interesting today for the location shooting in Tahiti.

The Last Frontier (1955)

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

A couple of wild frontiersmen lose their horses and supplies to Indians so join the local Cavalry unit. The younger one, played by Victor Mature, sets his eyes on the CO's wife, who is not unresponsive. Their rocky relationship takes up much of the plot of the film. Mature also spars with the officers of the company, who don't appreciate his non-military lifestyle, although it comes in handy when the Indians attack. The dialogue is occasionally awful and unintentionally funny, there is too much melodrama and not enough action, but the location shooting in Mexico, standing in for Oregon, is pretty to look at in this early CinemaScope production.

Carnival in Flanders (1935)

Films Sonores Tobis (France)
Directed by Jacques Feyder
My rating: 2.5 stars out of  4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

When Spanish invaders arrive in a small Belgian town the men imagine the worst. Instead of fighting, they find ways to avoid confrontation, such as hiding or even faking their own deaths. It is up to the women to save the town, which they do by dressing up and throwing an all night party. The Spanish turn out to be civilized, if overly amorous, gentlemen who drink and dance the night away, showing the women just what boors they have for men. Placed in its time, Europe of the mid 1930s where Nazi Germany was busy invading its neighbors, it was understandably criticized as encouraging collaboration with invaders. It stands up fairly well today due to that extra layer of meaning, but it can be talky and is a bit overlong.

Lebanon (2009)

Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Samuel Maoz
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Starz)

An Israeli tank rolls into a recently bombed city in Lebanon to clear it of any remaining people. Inside, the young soldiers struggle to adapt to their claustrophobic environment and the realities of war. A periscope provides them with a glimpse of the outside world, and it becomes a second camera for the film. We see the horrible effects of war on people and animals, a bit too explicit, I thought, even given the subject matter. Well, the tank gets hit, is disabled and stuck in an unfriendly part of town. They negotiate with the other side, likely terrorists, in order to get out. There is a great opening and closing shot, and it really captures the feel of being in a tank, but lacks in story and character development.

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)

Twentieth Century-Fox Film
Directed by Paul Newman
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Fox Movie Channel)

Joanne Woodward is a widowed mother of two school-aged daughters living in an old house in urban Connecticut. She is slightly eccentric and spends most of her time blaming the world for her troubles. Her daughters are somewhat embarrassed by her behavior and try to keep her away from school. However, when one of them wins the science fair, to which the title of the film refers, she shows up drunk for the acceptance speech. Occasionally incisive but never riveting, although Woodward, and the daughters, are quite good in their roles.

2046 (2004)

Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Wong Kar Wai
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Starz)

Kar Wai's meditation on the nature of love: how people fall into habits and refuse to change. Letting go of the past is particularly difficult, a major theme which frames the movie. A writer imagines a future where people travel by train through time. A popular destination is 2046, where supposedly nothing changes, which also happens to be the room number of his hotel in late 1960's Hong Kong. He has relationships with a series of women, some for sex, others for drinking, but none of them last. Each one is dissected in detail, and as a result it can get a bit talky. Also, I'm not sure the sci fi angle really added anything to the plot other than an android fashion show. Still, it is a beautiful film to look at, steeped in deep, rich colors, resulting in an almost poetic experience that may improve with repeated viewings.

The Power of the Whistler (1945)

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

In the third entry of the series, Richard Dix is involved in a minor traffic accident and loses his memory. Pretty Janis Carter and her sister try to help him recover his identity by tracking down clues. They don't notice that small animals and pets have a way of turning up dead when he's around. Dix eventually remembers he's a recently escaped inmate from the mental institute and is hell bent on murdering the judge who sent him there. It takes awhile to get going, and some of the supporting characters are clumsy, but generally an entertaining mystery-thriller.

The Lost Tribe (1949)

Columbia Pictures
Directed by William Berke
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Weissmuller's second Jungle Jim film might as well be his 10th, it's the same formula that would be followed for years. Greedy sailors force him to show them the way to a hidden city in the jungle where they intend to plunder its priceless treasures. Weissmuller gets plenty of help from his animal friends, but it's two people in gorilla suits who save the day. Watch in awe as he wrestles a rubber alligator.

Submarine X-1 (1969)

United Artists
Directed by William A. Graham
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, MGM)

James Caan is a Canadian naval officer who is assigned to secretly train English sailors for a new midget submarine in a remote part of northern England. They learn how to operate the tiny sub and other aspects of military life. The Germans occasionally buzz them with planes and stage one secret attack by paratroopers. The subs eventually become operational and they are used to attack a German ship hiding in Norway. The plot never really becomes engaging, even the final battle is a bit anticlimactic, but the underwater scenes in particular do stand out. Caan is his usual subdued self, maybe not the best personality for the lead in an action movie.

The Maltese Bippy (1969)

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

Rowan and Martin try to duplicate their TV success Laugh-In on the big screen, with only middling results. Martin's new mansion turns out to have a family of werewolves living next door. When bodies start to turn up and he has urges to bark, he suspects he may be one as well. Rowan is a Hollywood producer trying to capitalize on it. It's a tired story filmed mostly on a familiar studio back lot. The opening credits and ending break the fourth wall and are even slightly amusing, however everything in between is not.

The Big Lift (1950)

Twentieth Century-Fox Film
Directed by George Seaton
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Roan Group)

American GIs in Berlin mingle with the locals while airlifting in vital supplies of food and fuel due to a Russian blockade. Cliff Robertson falls in love with pretty Cornell Borchers, a recent widow, while Cliff's buddy Paul Douglas struggles with befriending his recent enemies. When Douglas runs into a German officer who beat him while a prisoner he can't resist taking some revenge. Douglas is also skeptical of Cliff's new girlfriend, but makes some progress in treating his own with some respect. Interesting today mainly for the vivid street scenes of Berlin in shambles a few years after the war.

I Start Counting (1969)

United Artists
Directed by David Greene
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Jenny Agutter finds a bloody sweater in a garbage can, the owner of which is probably a serial killer on the loose. She gave the sweater to the older man on which she has a crush, who happens to live in her house, but he had since given it to someone else. He drives a van around town shuffling people here and there, and meeting women for secret trysts. Other suspects include her drug dealing brother, a lurid bus conductor and  maybe even her dad. She has frequent hallucinations about her past and fantasies about her crush. It's all rather boring until the final 5 minutes and the killer is revealed. In all fairness, I probably understood only half the dialogue, given the thick British accents and lack of subtitles.

Death at Love House (1976)

Directed by E.W. Swackhamer
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Screenwriters Robert Wagner and Kate Jackson rent an old Hollywood mansion of a dead silent film star in the hopes of inspiration. Instead the find the place is haunted and the ghost has her eyes on Wagner, whose father was her lover. Watch out for: a woman in white roaming the grounds at night, a black cat, a hooded figure in black robes, a talisman with Satanic symbols, etc. The real star is the mansion, and elderly Hollywood legends like Sylvia Sidney and Dorothy Lamour.

Me, Natalie (1969)

National General Pictures
Directed by Fred Coe
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Patty Duke is an awkward teen living in Brooklyn. She is obsessed with her appearance and has low self esteem. This continues into high school, including blind dates and the prom. She goes to college but gets expelled for protesting. Still without a guy, she moves to the Village to find herself. Instead, she falls for her downstairs artist neighbor. Duke is good but the late 60s trappings are cliche, although her unintentional acid trip after drinking spiked punch at a party was interesting.

The Last Child (1971)

ABC
Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

In "the not too distant future" America has enacted population control laws that limit couples to one child. However, when the days-old baby of one couple dies, they break the law and try to have another. It's a thinly veiled critique of abortion and overreaching government control that will appeal to today's Republican mindset. Only problem is that this was a made-for-TV movie in 1971 and in the intervening half century or so none of it's scare tactics have come true. Van Helfin is a curmudgeony Senator who tries to help and Ed Asner basically reprises his Lou Grant role.

Jenny (1970)

Cinerama Releasing
Directed by George Bloomfield
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Alan Alda wants to get married fast to avoid the draft. Along comes Marlo Thomas, 6 months pregnant and recently widowed. They are an odd couple. She likes classic movies and is a bit naive, while he is a pot smoking filmmaker. Nonetheless, she agrees to marry him knowing the reasons have nothing to do with love. This works for a while, but soon Marlo needs more than he is willing to give. As the birth of her baby approaches he begins to change his mind. The ending is a matter of interpretation for the viewer. Alda's character comes off as a selfish, immature heel, particularly his obnoxious laughter which is poorly timed. Marlo doesn't illicit much sympathy either, since the situation was her own decision. So, we've got two unlikeable characters in a loveless "marriage" of convenience for most of the film.