An American Hippie in Israel (1972)

Directed by Amos Sefer
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

American hippie meets like-minded hippies in Israel and they take off into the desert as one big happy foursome. They end up on an island where they intend to leave behind war and violence. However, they only pack enough food for one night, and when their only way off the island disappears they become more and more desperate. This variation of Lord of the Flies is predictable and very, very dated. Watch Antonioni's Zabriskie Point instead.

Massacre Time (1966)

American International Pictures
Directed by Lucio Fulci
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

Prospector Franco Nero returns home to New Mexico in response to a letter he receives from his family. They are living in a town run by a tyrant. Nero tangles with gunslinging thugs in a series of atmospheric shoot outs and bar fights. His eventual showdown with the tyrant also reveals a hidden family secret. Fast-paced, entertaining spaghetti western from a director who is better known for his horror films in the 1970s.

Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)

Paramount Pictures
Directed by Leo McCarey
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

An elderly couple has their house foreclosed. The mother moves in with their adult son and wife, who would rather play bridge than deal with her. The father fares no better with an ungrateful daughter who doesn't want to be bothered. The couple eventually reunites in the hotel in which they spent their honeymoon fifty years earlier. I suppose there are people like those depicted here, or even worse, but to watch their selfish actions for nearly 2 hours is quite a chore. Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi as the elderly couple are contrived to elicit maximum sympathy from the audience.

Never on Sunday (1960)

Academy Awards, USA 1961

Won Oscar	Best Music, Original Song Manos Hatzidakis For the song "Ta paidia tou Peiraia" ("Never on Sunday").
Nominated Oscar	Best Actress in a Leading Role Melina Mercouri
	Best Director Jules Dassin
	Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen Jules Dassin
	Best Costume Design, Black-and-White Theoni V. Aldredge

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

An American author and amateur philosopher attempts to reform Greek prostitute Melina Mercouri with "culture". She rejects ouzo and takes up books and painting, much to the chagrin of her numerous former customers. When it turns out he is using money from her former pimp to fund their new lifestyle, it all gets turned around. Lightweight fluff, but a winning performance by Mercouri.

A Pistol for Ringo (1965)

Cineriz (Italy)
Directed by Duccio Tessari
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

Gunslinger Ringo is arrested and put in jail in a typical dusty western town. Mexican bandits kidnap a wealthy family and take over their sprawling estate. Ringo is hired by the sheriff to help end the stand off. He infiltrates the bandits, but does not hesitate to help them when they offer more money than what the sheriff wants to pay. Much of the screen time is wasted on pointless romantic subplots.

Easter Parade (1948)

 

Academy Awards, USA 1949

Won Oscar

Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Johnny Green Roger Edens

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

Perennially happy Fred Astaire's world comes crashing down when his dance partner/lover decides to go out on her own. Just to prove she couldn't have done it without him, he picks naive saloon hall dancer Judy Garland at random one night and claims he can train her to be just as good. Judy stumbles her way through the first few routines, but eventually they do become big stars. While the dancing and colorful costumes are entertaining, their juvenile romantic entanglements are not, with Judy in love with Fred, even though he seems to just use women for his own career, and completely ignoring a younger, more appropriate man.

Dreams (1955)

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

A fashion model and her boss take a business trip to a nearby city. The younger one, fresh off a breakup, is picked up by an older gentleman who showers her with expensive gifts. He takes her to his mansion where his bitter daughter shows up and harasses both of them. Meanwhile, her boss arranges a meeting with her married lover in a hotel. They have one last afternoon together, when his wife shows up and gives both of them a dose of reality. One of Bergman's more melodramatic efforts, although a ride through a fun house and a nightmare on a train provide interesting detours.

December 7th (1943)

Academy Awards, USA 1944

Won Oscar

Best Documentary, Short Subjects

Directed by John Ford
My rating: BOMB
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

"Uncle Sam" discusses the state of the nation, and Hawaii in particular, with his conscience "Mr. C" the day before Pearl Harbor. Idyllic scenes of nature are interspersed with a dry account of the pineapple and sugar cane business. Particular emphasis is given to the role of Japanese labor in keeping the economy afloat. However, the friendly tone evaporates when it is speculated that most of them are actually spies sending military information directly back to Tokyo. The attack on Pearl Harbor is portrayed using poor models and very little actual footage, completely deflating any credibility. Instead, this is the worst kind of patriotic propaganda, complete with inexcusable ethnic stereotyping and dead soldiers preaching from the grave. Hilarious, shockingly awful and a complete embarrassment for director Ford.

Rawhide (1951)

Twentieth Century-Fox Film
Directed by Henry Hathaway
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

An outlaw gang takes hostages at a remote stagecoach station in the west. They stash passenger Susan Hayward and her toddler in a room with cowboy Tyrone Power who works for the line. They manage to stay alive by passing themselves off as husband and wife, while secretly chipping away at the wall in their prison room. The gangsters eventually turn on each other in a violent finale. Tense drama with some memorable characters, particularly Jack Elam as the outlaw who turns against their leader.

Stop, You're Killing Me (1952)

Warner Bros.
Directed by Roy Del Ruth
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Broderick Crawford and his cronies are forced to go legit after the end of prohibition. He plans to make a fortune with his awful beer, but goes into deep debt with the bank. Unable to pay, they show up at his mansion to foreclose. Chaos ensues when a large party of his friends gets mixed up with a suitcase full of cash and 4 dead bodies. Bizarre mixture of comedy, musical and straight gangster drama with some jarring violence. My jaw was agape when Crawford starts singing a love song to his wife!

The Sandpiper (1965)

Academy Awards, USA 1966

Won Oscar

Best Music, Original Song Johnny Mandel (music) Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) For the song "The Shadow of Your Smile"

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

Elizabeth Taylor is an artist living on a remote California beach with her young son. She gets the attention of a local judge when her boy shows up in court for a series of minor offenses, and sends him off to a religious school headed by Richard Burton much against her wishes. Taylor and Burton butt heads over ethics, marriage and religion, to name a few topics, but ultimately fall in love. The reverend Burton must deal with the fall out with his wife and parishioners. Taylor and Burton are fascinating to watch as always, and Dalton Trumbo's screenplay is not afraid to tackle difficult subjects, although in the end it feels dated and falls to easily into the melodramatics of a love triangle.

Island of Lost Women (1959)

Warner Bros.
Directed by Frank Tuttle
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Two he-man flyers make an emergency landing on a remote Pacific island. They are greeted by a scientist and his three beautiful daughters who have left civilization behind because of the threat of the atomic bomb. They have converted a cave into a luxury home powered by solar energy. The scientist performs experiments with uranium in the living room. He destroys their plane with a ray gun, so the two men start building a raft. They spend most of the time with their shirts off and flirting with the innocent young girls who walk around in Greek togas. It's sort of like Forbidden Planet on Gilligan's Island hosted by Batman's butler Alfred. There is a serious anti-nuclear message buried somewhere in this hilariously awful film.

Blood Money (1974)

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Antonio Margheriti
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

After a failed robbery results in the death of a mysterious Chinese man, his son travels from China to claim the inheritance. Instead, he teams up with the gunslinger responsible for his death to search for a treasure the man has hidden. Clues are tattooed on the backsides of various beautiful women, and they travel around from one dusty western town to another in search of them. Strange hybrid of western, kung fu and slapstick comedy succeeds only in putting the viewer to sleep.

The Grifters (1990)

Academy Awards, USA 1991

Nominated Oscar	Best Actress in a Leading Role Anjelica Huston
	Best Actress in a Supporting Role Annette Bening
	Best Director Stephen Frears
	Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium Donald E. Westlake

Miramax
Directed by Stepen Frears
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Netflix)

A trio of con artists tries to out-con each other for suitcases full of cash. John Cusack is a small time prestidigitator who tricks bartenders into giving him incorrect change. His girlfriend Annette Bening is the former lover of a big time hustler and she tries to get Cusack to think bigger. Cusack's mom Anjelica Huston works the racetracks for the mob. There is not a likeable person in the bunch, which is one of the biggest problems with the film. It's a cold, unemotional portrait of liars and cheats, most of whom get what they deserve.

Highway 301 (1950)

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

A gang of bank robbers ends up with worthless money after robbing an armored car. Afterwards, they hole up in a city apartment. When the girlfriend of one of them starts talking a little too much, they murder her in cold blood. The new wife of another gang member gets scared, but her husband won't let them touch her, until he is killed in a shootout with the cops. She manages to escape in the film's best sequence, but ends up in the hospital. The cops are waiting when they show up to finish her off. There is an introductory sequence featuring the real governors of states where these events happened. Documentary style doesn't really pay off, however, the whole thing feels staged and lifeless.

Silver Saddle (1978)

Cineriz (Italy)
Directed by Lucio Fulci
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

A boy who witnessed the murder of his father at the hands of a gunslinger grows up to become a bounty hunter. He uses his skills to save a young boy at the center of a family dispute over an inheritance. He gets involved in their complicated scheme, eventually leading to a shootout with the "blonde cowboy". However, the boy is then kidnapped by a vicious Mexican gang and it's up to the bounty hunter to save him again. Complicated, unengaging, melodramatic spaghetti western with one too many endings.

The Wrestler (2008)

Academy Awards, USA 2009

Nominated Oscar	Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Mickey Rourke
	Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Marisa Tomei

Fox Searchlight Pictures
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(HDNet Movies)

Aging wrestler Mickey Rourke working the small time circuit reaches a turning point when he has a heart attack after a match. He reaches out to stripper Marissa Tomei, but she has trouble separating her working persona from real life, a problem he also struggles with. He also attempts to reconnect with his teenage daughter Evan Rachel Wood, but after initial success it falls apart. He eventually turns to the ring and his adoring fans as his only solace. Rourke and Tomei are excellent, though Wood's turn as the spiteful teen is a little over dramatic. Filmed in a documentary style that places the back of Rourke's head as the centerpiece of many shots gets a bit tiresome. Nonetheless, deep characters that you can care about keep it from sinking into some kind of reality TV pit. A nice return to form for Aronofsky after the disappointing The Fountain.

Fear (1946)

Monogram Pictures
Directed by Alfred Zeisler
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

A college student facing a large tuition bill resorts to murder in order to pay it. His guilt ridden conscience makes him paranoid, especially around police detectives. It appears he may get away with murder when another man is falsely accused and arrested. However, the ludicrous ending won't allow it, which may have satisfied the production code ethics but leave most viewers rolling their eyes. Adapted from Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, which I can assure you had a different ending.

Birdy (1984)

Tri-Star Pictures
Directed by Alan Parker
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

Teenage friends Nicolas Cage and Matthew Modine find themselves in the psycho ward after harrowing experiences in Vietnam. Modine has retreated from the world by indulging in his fascination with birds. Cage desperately seeks to reach him by recalling experiences from their past in suburban Philadelphia. They fix up a car, go to the prom and other normal teenage activities. However, it becomes apparent that Modine is already sliding into mental illness before the war, his life entirely taken over by birds. Wildly uneven, it veers from saccharine scenes of boyhood games set to "La Bamba", to brutal war scenes in Vietnam and uncomfortable nude scenes of Modine and his birds. Cage is over the top as usual, but is complemented by Modine's reserved performance.

Jane Eyre (2011)

Academy Awards, USA 2012

Nominated Oscar

Best Achievement in Costume Design Michael O'Connor

Focus Features
Directed by Cary Fukunaga
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Netflix)

Orphan girl endures a harrowing childhood in a boarding school, ends up a governess in a large rural estate. She falls in love with the master of the house, but he's got a secret from his past which prevents their marriage. Modern adaptation of the Charlotte Bronte novel is unabashed melodrama, and unwisely resorts to a few "jump scares", but is nonetheless engrossing. Beautifully filmed by Adriano Goldman on English locations.

Gunfighters (1947)

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

Gunfighter Randolph Scott lays down his weapons after being confronted by his best friend. He starts over in in a new town, but his reputation follows him and he is soon forced to pick up his guns again when falsely accused of murder. He finds plenty of time to romance twin beauties Barbara Britton and Dorothy Hart. California locations look great in Cinecolor, but romantic subplot drags down the Zane Grey story.

Les Enfants Terribles (1950)

Gaumont
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Siblings Paul and Elisabeth fight, bicker and torment each other in their bedroom. Some of their friends start living with them in a giant mansion she inherits after her newlywed husband dies. They all fall in love with each other, but not to the satisfaction of Elisabeth, so she manipulates their emotions to pit them against each other. Boring people doing bad things to each other for no real reason, with pretentious narration by the author of this melodramatic mess, Jean Cocteau.

It's a Small World (1950)

Eagle-Lion Films
Directed by William Castle
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Midget Paul Dale has a hard time growing up in a small California town. His father yanks him out of school, his sister is ashamed of him and his best friend marries someone else. He leaves home and ends up shining shoes on the streets of LA. He befriends a group of pickpockets and they show him the ropes, but once again love lets him down and he turns to alcohol. A friendly judge sends him to Miami where a circus becomes his new family. William Castle certainly knows how to pick his subject matter to gain maximum publicity, but the acting is strictly amateur and it would be condemned today as politically incorrect.

Nebraska (2013)

Paramount Pictures
Directed by Alexander Payne
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Netflix)

Elderly Bruce Dern believes he really has won a million dollars in a sweepstakes. He convinces his adult son to drive across the Great Plains to claim the prize. They stop in his small home town where everything has changed over the years. However, when the townsfolk find out he is a millionaire, old "friends" come out of the woodwork looking for a handout. They eventually reach their destination where of course their is no money, but his son finds a way out of the predicament. Populated by overbearing Midwest stereotypes, particularly an old woman with a foul mouth who threatens to take over the entire movie. Beautifully photographed in black and white, but episodic and lightweight.

The Blot (1921)

F.B. Warren Corporation
Directed by Lois Weber
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

A college professor and minister struggle to keep their families out of poverty despite their stable jobs. The professor's daughter gets attention from numerous young men, especially the spoiled son of a college trustee. He gradually learns that it is better to send her food and money rather than expensive gifts. Meanwhile, her mother is self-conscious about their plight and constantly bickers with a well-off wife next door. Even the cat gets involved. While it may draw sympathy to the plight of the poor, it lacks any kind of dramatic momentum and has a rosy, anticlimactic non-ending.

Before Winter Comes (1969)

Columbia Pictures
Directed by J. Lee Thompson
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

David Niven is a middle-aged British officer taken away from his regiment and assigned to oversee an Austrian refugee camp in the waning days of WWII. He begrudgingly decides the fates of its inhabitants, sending some to freedom and others to labor camps at the hands of the Russians. Topol is an outgoing resident who becomes his interpreter. However, he uses his position to pad his own pockets and try to get a ticket to freedom. Anna Karina is a local girl also looking out for herself, by sleeping with anyone in power. John Hurt is a young British officer aghast at the inhumanities and selfishness on display. Well acted, but talky an lacking in a compelling plot.

Camille (1921)

Metro Pictures
Directed by Ray C. Smallwood
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Socialite Alla Nazimova floats from one party, and boyfriend, to another in her wealthy circle. She meets dashing Rudolph Valentino and they fall in love. Their impending happiness is blocked when his father convinces her not to marry so as not to smear the family name. Heartbroken, she returns to her former life, where eventually she runs into Valentino again. The ending is not happy. Convincing early adaptation of the Dumas classic, if somewhat overly melodramatic in the style of the day.

A Fine Pair (1968)

National General Pictures
Directed by Francesco Maselli
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Claudia Cardinale shows up in New York to ask for help from her former boyfriend and cop Rock Hudson to return some hot jewels. She somehow convinces him to go to Austria where they break into a house using extreme heat to disable the alarm system. However, Claudia is only using Rock and actually steals jewels while he is busy returning fake ones. Afterwards, they head to Rome to try to same scheme all over again. It's difficult to believe Rock, a cop, could be so gullible, but Claudia does have a way with men. Beautifully shot on location by Alfio Contini, who often worked with Antonioni, but annoyingly the dialogue is all dubbed.

The Wildcat (1921)

UFA (Germany)
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Pola Negri and her mountain bandit friends tangle with the military at a remote fortress. She falls in love with a newly arrived war hero, but he is promised to the daughter of the outrageous camp commander. Pola doesn't give him up easily, until she finds her true love literally crying his eyes out back in the mountains. Lubitsch has created a visually inventive film, with unusual framing and exaggerated sets and characters in the German Expressionist style. However, plot and character development are almost non-existent, making this at times very silly film a chore to watch.

Hot Pepper (1973)

Flower Films
Directed by Les Blank
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

The self-proclaimed "King of Zydeco", Clifton Chenier, is seen performing in bars around Lake Charles, Louisiana, and hanging out with his friends and family. The focus is less on Chenier's music on more on the lifestyles of creole blacks in southeast Louisiana in the early 70s. There is still hope that racial integration will work and everyone will just get along, but nearly 50 years later that has not happened, far from it. A nice companion piece to Blank's other documentary on Mance Lipscomb in nearby east Texas.

Sadie Thompson (1928)

United Artists
Directed by Raoul Walsh
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

A prostitute arrives at a South Seas island where she becomes the center of attention of all the lonely sailors. She falls in love with one in particular and hopes to leave her past life behind. However, a conservative missionary tries to get her kicked off the island, until he falls in love with her himself. The story takes a ludicrous melodramatic turn in the reconstructed last reel. Swanson is magnetic, but the story does not do her justice.

It (1927)

Paramount Pictures
Directed by Clarence Badger
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Shop clerk Clara Bow, who has "it", falls for her boss, who doesn't realize he also has "it". Their potential romance is derailed by a misunderstanding over her role as a friend of a poor tenement woman and her baby, who the boss thinks belong to her. Clara is also romanced by a dimwitted but wealthy friend of her boss, and uses him to get to her real target. Entertaining if somewhat predictable romantic comedy, with a bit of social commentary in the subplot.

Our Man in Marrakesh (1966)

American International Pictures
Directed by Don Sharp
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Clueless American Tony Randall gets involved with spies in Morocco when his briefcase is mistaken for one carrying important documents. Pretty Senta Berger leads him cross country as they run from bad guy Herbert Lom and friends. Laughless, boring trip to north Africa, redeemed slightly by Terry-Thomas' turn as an English playboy.

The Lineup (1958)

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

Eli Wallach and Robert Keith are professional hoodlums hired to recover heroin smuggled in via unsuspecting tourists in San Francisco. Wallach is the gun and Keith the brains, and along with driver Richard Jaeckel they quickly and efficiently go about their business in a cold, ruthless manner. However, complications arise with their last targets, who mistakenly lose the heroin, setting off a confrontation with their superior and a long police chase through the streets of the city. Fast paced script by Stirling Silliphant, location shooting and steely performance by Wallach, but occasionally let down by some poor special effects: a couple of obvious dummies take a fall and the back projection for the car chase is unconvincing.

The Brothers Rico (1957)

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

Successful businessman Richard Conte can't quite shake his gangster past after his brothers get involved with a mob hit and need his help when things start to go bad.  The mob forces Conte to track down one brother: he thinks he can save him when actually the mob just wants him dead. When Conte realizes what's going on it's too late to save his brothers, but not to exact his own revenge. Tough crime drama brought down a bit by overly melodramatic subplots. Conte is good in the lead role as is the unheralded Larry Gates as the conniving mob boss.

The Mob (1951)

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Robert Parrish
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

Tough cop Broderick Crawford is forced to take an undercover assignment after being duped by a killer impersonating a police officer. He assumes the identity of a hard drinking longshoreman to infiltrate a corrupt union. At the top he finds the killer, who, unaware of his real identity, hires him to kill himself! However, his cover is busted when his real wife gets kidnapped. Beautifully shot in moody black and white by Joseph Walker, quickly paced, unusually plotted and peppered with one-liners from Crawford.

Magic Boy (1959)

MGM
Directed by Akira Daikuhara and Taiji Yabushita
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

A Japanese boy encounters a witch in his tranquil forest home. He travels far away to find a man who can teach him magic powers with which to defeat the witch. He leaves behind his sister, who is kidnapped by evil henchmen of the witch. The boy returns to save his sister, with help from a handsome prince. Simple story is enhanced by vivid animation, but hampered by comic relief and cutesy interludes with anthropomorphic animals. Americanized version has a terrible theme song by Danny Valentino.

The Vanishing American (1925)

Paramount Pictures
Directed by George B. Seitz
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Indian leader Richard Dix endures mistreatment, prejudice, robbery and even murder at the hands of government "Indian agent" Noah Beery. Pretty school teacher Lois Wilson makes it personal when Beery attacks her but blames Dix. WWI comes calling and Wilson, who has been romancing Dix as well as reading the Bible with him, convinces him, and his tribe, to fight for the American side in Europe. The wounded return home to find Beery in charge and nothing has changed. Strong indictment of the American policy towards its native inhabitants has lost none of its impact. Beautifully filmed in Monument Valley, Utah.

Torrent (1926)

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

A peasant family is kicked out of their home after their daughter falls in love with the landlord's son. She leaves for Paris, where she becomes a famous opera singer. Returning home years later, her reputation combined with his engagement to a local girl initially prevent them from rekindling the romance. However, they eventually do, much to the disappointment of their respective families. Downbeat melodrama has little to offer other than an early look at Garbo.

The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960)

Eros Films (UK)
Directed by Ken Hughes
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Successful London playwright Oscar Wilde is accused of sodomy by the father of one of his many lovers. Wilde fights back with a libel suit, but the ensuing trial reveals more of his private life than he intends. Wonderfully acted by Peter Finch as Wilde, Lionel Jeffries as his accuser and James Mason as the prosecuting attorney. Vividly realized Victorian setting provides the backdrop to a debate which continues in earnest today.

A River Called Titas (1973)

Directed by Ritwik Ghatak
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

A newlywed couple in a remote Bengali fishing village meets tragedy one night while crossing a river. Ten years pass, and the girl returns to the village after living in another one. A local crazy man may or may not be her husband. After another tragedy, their only child is left an orphan. He is raised by her childhood friend, but she struggles with the responsibility and his apparent ingratitude. Interesting glimpse at Bengali culture and customs, beautifully shot in black and white, but suffers from extreme length, amateur actors and melodramatic, occasionally incoherent plot.

Sword in the Desert (1949)

Universal-International
Directed by George Sherman
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

American boat captain Dana Andrews looking to make a fast buck helps a group of illegal immigrants get to Israel. After he tips off their location to the British, they are forced to go on the run. No longer trusted by the Jewish underground, they keep him a prisoner, but when one of their own is captured they must rely on him to help. Andrews' change of heart takes place on Christmas Eve with a postcard view of Bethlehem in the background. Although not entirely historically accurate, it is nonetheless an engrossing story involving many clever disguises and daring rescues. Hard to see for many years, probably due to the fact that the British, and to a certain extent the Americans, are the villains in a fight against Jewish immigration from Europe.

Secret of Treasure Mountain (1956)

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Seymour Friedman
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

Bank thieves running from a posse hideout with an odd assortment of characters in the mountains. An elderly Englishman has retired there for his health with his pretty daughter. Their Indian helpers live nearby in a hut carved in the side of a hill. The legend of buried treasure keep them occupied with digging and searching for it. When the thieves here about it, they begin their own search. One of them falls in love with the girl, causing romantic tension with one of the Indians. Works best as a serial-inspired adventure story, but also mixes in elements of westerns, gangster dramas and romance. Burr is ridiculous as the heavy, especially when his much thinner stunt double fights for him.

Aaron Loves Angela (1975)

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Gordon Parks, Jr.
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Teenager Aaron lives with his single dad, a washed-out football pro who runs a diner and drinks too much. His advice to Aaron is to not worry about winning or losing his basketball games but just score as many points as possible. Aaron falls in love with Puerto Rican girl Irene Cara, which causes racial tensions among his friends and neighbors. He secretly furnishes a room in a condemned building where they can have their first sexual experience together. A drug deal gone bad nearby leaves him with a briefcase full of cash, which puts him in a moral dilemma. This teenage romance can't quite escape the feel of an after school drama, but it does have authentic mid 70s period flavor due to NYC locations and natural performances.

Five Minutes to Live (1961)

Sutton Pictures
Directed by Bill Karn
My rating:  1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Small time hoods Vic Tayback and Johnny Cash hold a suburban housewife hostage while attempting to shakedown her bank executive husband. Only problem is their marriage is on the rocks and the husband wouldn't mind at all if they killed her. Cash is cast as a cold-hearted killer who snarls a lot and plays guitar at inappropriate times. Unfortunately his acting chops can't keep pace with his attitude. That problem extends to many of the other actors as well, including little Ronnie Howard.

Sallah (1964)

Directed by Ephraim Kishon
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Recently arrived immigrant Topol and his large family are shuffled off to an Israeli "transit camp" and promised a new house by the government. When it becomes apparent the new house may be years away, Topol schemes to raise enough money to buy one. A taxi cab driver offers a large sum of money for his daughter, which he gladly accepts, but begins to unravel when she challenges his decision and wants to marry for love instead. Topol's huge presence is the whole show, but it is not always easy to sympathize with some of his decisions, mainly because of his lazy, selfish and not always moral approach.

Poltergeist (1982)

MGM/UA
Directed by Tobe Hooper
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Warner Bros.)

A typical southern California suburban family's home is overtaken by malicious ghosts. They kidnap their young daughter who communicates with our world through the TV set. They call in professional ghost busters to try to get her back. After they fail, they resort to a psychic medium. However, it's old fashioned rope that does that eventually does the trick. Glossy, Spielberg-ized treatment of the haunted house genre has so many twists and turns that it feels more like a them park ride. It's fun, but impossible to take seriously.

Rio Rita (1929)

Radio Pictures
Directed by  Luther Reed
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

A Texas ranger crosses the border into Mexico in search of "The Kinkajou", a bandit patronizing Texas banks. He falls in love with pretty Rita, whose brother may or may not be the bandit. Rita is also pursued by a wealthy Mexican who could also be the bandit. A strange mix of western, operetta and dreadful misogynistic comedy relief from the duo of Wheeler and Woolsey who almost single-handedly ruing the film. For some reason the last 30 minutes or so is in a sickly turquoise and brown early Technicolor.

Dracula (1974)

EMI Distribution (UK)
Directed by Dan Curtis
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, MPI)

An English real estate agent in Transylvania finds himself the victim of a vampire. Count Dracula recognizes a girl in one of his photos as his long lost love from the medieval ages, so travels to England to find her. After being bitten, Dr. Van Helsing is called in to cure her, but to everyone's horror declares she is a vampire and sets out with friend Simon Ward to find and destroy him. A very faithful adaptation of the Bram Stoker story, beautifully shot on English and Transylvanian locations. Jack Palance is a surprisingly effective Dracula.

The Devil's Daughter (1973)

ABC
Directed by Jeannot Szwarc
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Belinda Montgomery is befriended by Shelley Winters at her mother's funeral. Accepting her offer to move in with the complete stranger, she soon finds out that Winters is the leader of a coven of Satanists who believe Montgomery is the daughter of Satan himself. When she tries to leave, they murder her new roommate. She falls in love with a next door neighbor and after a brief romance they get married. You will see the "twist ending" coming a mile away. Joseph Cotten is the devil and Robert Foxworth a demon. It's a variation of Rosemary's Baby, even ripping off the point-of-view camera angles.