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Reviews
The Glory Guys (1965)
Good battle sequences, beautiful Berger, otherwise forgettable
I must admit that I know very little about Director Arnold Laven, who reportedly stepped in to replace the famous Sam Peckinpah. In fact, the latter even wrote THE GLORY GUYS screenplay (not one of his finer achievements).
Reliable actor Tom Tryon does his best with a role that sees him appear and disappear from the action without relatable logic. Harve Presnell, who competes with Tryon for the attention of exquisitely sensual Senta Berger, was much younger and not as good an actor in 1965 than in FARGO (1996) where he shone as the tight-fisted father in law who refuses to loan the sum that William H Macy so needs in order to get his business shenanigans up and running.
Apart from some very good battle sequences toward the end, there is not much that I find worth remembering... and even those sequences arise from a very basic millitary error that sees the US Cavalry pinned down in a valley with Indians descending from mountain and hilltops to attack.
Famous cameraman James Wong Howe is the film's greatest saving grace - lovely cinematography, superb battle choreography, credible stunts. 6/10.
Thrilling (1965)
Imaginative three-episode anthology
Why an Italian film spoken in Italian gets the English title of THRILLING beats me. That said, the title is not dishonest: all three episodes carry a share of thrills.
The first, IL VITTIMISTA (THE VICTIM), stars Nino Manfredi as an Italian man who suspects that his German wife (spectacularly sexy Alexandra Stewart) is trying to poison him. In a surreal episode in which the stripes of a zebra crossing actually rise from the road as he keeps getting in the line of oncoming traffic, Manfredi starts off by getting the kiss of life from a male lifesaver at a beach. Meanwhile, curvaceous Stewart walks about, apparently unconcerned as she hears cries that someone is drowning. All this happens to the strains of the song DOWNTOWN, made famous by English crooner Petula Clark but sung in Italian as CIAO CIAO (apparently composed by the great Ennio Morricone, though it does not sound at all like his type of music).
Manfredi delivers terrifically as the husband who suspects everything Stewart does, hates the dolls her father sends her, and pulls every trick to avoid eating the food she makes - only to binge at restaurants on his own.
This episode's beginning announces the ending, which makes sense only in terms of the surreality surrounding the plot. 7/10.
The second and shortest episode, entitled SADIK, refers to a comic book hero that totally enthralls the wife of businessman Walter Chiari, who sees his business going down the tubes and is hoping for a phone call from Switzerland to get some much needed financial relief that will hold his firm afloat... while his wife reads comic book after comic book, always with Sadik as the hero.
Chiari is convincing as the hubby unable to communicate with his comic-addicted wife, who simply ignores phone calls from the Swiss bank. Director Gian Luigi Polidoro cleverly keeps the fanciful narrative under tight time rein and with a comic-like ending. 8/10.
L'AUTOSTRADA DEL SOLE (SUNNY MOTORWAY) , directed by Carlo Lizzani, is the third and, in my opinion, best episode in this anthology.
Alberto Sordi plays a speedster on the motorway who thinks nothing of overtaking others on the blind side, and signalling that they are cuckolds. However, when a driver with a Milan number plate does the same to him, he gets peeved and hunts him down to a family-run hotel where two stupendously beautiful murder-plotting sisters, Sylva Koscina and Nicoletta Machiavelli - fittingly named, hey? - systematically ice visitors in a manner that would do Norman Bates proud.
Considering that PSYCHO came out in late 1959 and this is a 1965 film, it may well be a spoof on the famous Hitchcock horror flick.
To Lizzani's directorial credit, Sordi's over the top emotional performance takes none of the sting away from the thrill of a man who finds out that he is the new guest targeted for assassination. The scenes where he removes the rotor of the Milan driver's vehicle, and then has to return it during a family card game are memorable, as are the highly aggressive quarrels in that same family that seemingly only unites to commit murder.
Very good B&W cinematography. 9/10.
The Case Against Mrs. Ames (1936)
Tricky prosecutor Brent pits wits vs lovely widow Carroll
THE TOUCH OF VENUS (1948) was the sole other film directed by William A Seiter that I had watched to date - and I really liked it, especially the incredibly gorgeous Aca Gardner. This morning, I watched THE CASE AGAINST MRS AMES, done 12 years earlier.
They are two very different films, but both have pleasing touches of humor bordering occasionally on screwball.
Madeleine Carroll is to THE CASE what Ava was to TOUCH, a stunning female who leaves no male indifferent. Carroll plays a widow, mother of a six year old boy, and she stands accused of murdering her husband who, the viewer finds in due course, was not exactly an altar boy in life. Things get to a head when Carroll's very wealthy mother in law decides to keep the child.
In a court case full of adjournments, delays, deceit, and other malarkey, Carroll's defense lawyer (Alan Mowbray) thinks she is guilty, but somehow she is acquitted. That is when the mother in law - who has been poisoning the little boy's mind blaming Carroll for her son's death - retains Mowbray's services, and Carroll decides to do her own defense.
Not too successfully, and that is when Carroll asks prosecutor Brent to investigate the murder case so her good name is cleared.
I watched a poor copy on Youtube off a VHS tape, so I cannot usefully comment on the quality of the mostly interior photography but the script contains sharp and articulate dialogue, even if cause and effect are not always clear.
Thankfully only 85 minutes long and definitely worth watching. 8/10.
Forsaken (2015)
Better than usual 21st Century Western
Let me start by admitting that I know zero about Director John Cassar, never saw anything done by him - but I like FORSAKEN. Cassar extracts very good performances from the Sutherlands - Kiefer has the more substantial role and he certainly delivers as a repentant gunman who is trying to start a new life with his father, after mother and brother William passed away.
Things are far from easy between Reverend Sam Clayton (Don Sutherland) and his son John. The former believes in God, the latter does not... but over the course of the film each gets to understand more about the worldview of the other, and John does try to reconcile with God, even though he tells his father at one point that he does not believe in God. Those are not the only problems that John encounters on his return home: villain McCurdy (Cox) wants to take over the whole county by buying off local residents.
Given that Clayton Sr owns land that he does not wish to part with, it stands to reason that major clashes are in the offing.
Demi Moore appears in a needless role as the woman John loved before he left for the Secession War, and became an expert at killing men.
Interesting exchanges between John and hired gun Turner (Wincott), who feels bound by his contract and knows his reputation hinges on it.
Granted, FORSAKEN is no masterpiece - but in my view it is one of the best Westerns made since the start of the 21st Century.
Excellent cinematography. Engaging script despite the odd cliché. 7/10.
The Broken Land (1962)
Low budget, young Jack, old Darrin, OK photography
Director John Bushelman rings no bells for me but I see that he directed the 1978 TV mini series THE DARK SECRET OF HARVEST HOME, which was a better than tolerable horror effort.
Regrettably, the low budget puts paid to any hopes one might have of a hidden gem, particularly after one learns that a very young Jack Nicholson is in the jail of nasty Marshall Jim Cogan (Kent Taylor), who runs the place with whip and Colt .45, and does not hesitate to press false charges, even against the mentally retarded town idiot, amateurishly played by Gary Sneed.
Double chin Diana Darrin seems more than a tad old for the part of love interest to Robert Sampson, but at least she has some information about Marshall Cogan that she imparts to the populace at the decisive moment.
Nicholson and his mordant smile inevitably catch your eye as the sole spirited performance. Clearly, budget limitations did not permit contracting better players and script writing team, but at least the cinematography stands as better than usual for a B (C?) Western, all shot on rocky and dusty Arizona location.
Worth a watch, though probably not a rewatch. 5/10.
Souls at Sea (1937)
Fine filmmaking, acting; uneven tragicomic script
Although not in the same lofty class as William Wyler, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder or Fred Zinnemann, Henry Hathaway remains one of my favorite Hollywood directors. I particularly like CALL NORTHSIDE 777, RAWHIDE and NIAGARA, but will quickly add that I found SOULS AT SEA a gem.
For starters, Gary Cooper and Frances Dee were at the height of their physical beauty, in addition to punching in terrific performances - Cooper always with a comic touch, Dee delightful in every nuance of her lovely eyes.
They are ably seconded by George Raft, Cooper's chum and a rather uneducated but senior shiphand who picks up some cultural pointers from Cooper and ends with sensitive, even sentimental moments.
Terrific enmical exchanges between Cooper and Henry Wilcoxon as Dee's devious brother. The two have issues over slavery, which the former actively sabotages and the latter sees as a major income opportunity.
Glorious B&W cinematography from Merrit Gerstad and Charles Lang, with terrific sequences at sea, notably as the little girl inadvertently starts a fire and the bad ship William Brown goes down.
The screenplay by Grover Jones and Dale Van Every includes some highly comic scenes, such as when Cooper, Dee and Wilcoxon all have hiccups at the same time, some very touching ones between Raft and love interest Olympe Bradna, and some very tragic decisions that Cooper has to make as the ship sinks.
Despite narrative ups and downs, the production values are very high, and the film remains engrossing throughout. 7/10.
Rawhide (1951)
Great cast, solid character buildup in unflinchingly violent Western
I have no idea whether this film RAWHIDE (1951) functioned as a source of inspiration for the similarly named TV series (1959-1966) featuring Eric Fleming and Clint Eastwood.
Certainly, it is a very good, credible Western with a plot that may have also inspired THE DESPERATE HOURS (1955) starring Humphrey Bogart, Fredric March, in which a group of criminals invades the home of a peaceable family.
Tyrone Power, Susan Hayward, and the latter's baby niece are not a family yet, but they come under the evil grip of a gang led by trigger-happy Hugh Marlowe, with Jack Elam in his creepiest, meanest role ever as an unrepentant female stalker.
Edgar Buchanan, one of the best supporting actors ever to grace the screen, delivers as the stage station chief who wants to do his job well to the end.
Each character in this plot acts in a logical manner, making it all believable. Of course there are weaknesses: I found it hard to believe that a sharp prison escapee like Zimmerman (Marlowe) would not identify the sounds of a metallic object being used to create a hole in the wall of the room where Power, Hayward and baby are confined. I also doubt the wisdom of Power emptying his Colt into the wood logs protecting Elam. He had to know that he would need bullets to save himself, Hayward and baby.
Power does not come across as more than a man trying to make the best of a life-threatening situation - not particularly good at his job but aware of the importance of his presence for the attackers to get at the money-carrying stagecoach.
Superior cinematography from Milton Krasner. Must-see Western 8/10.
Corruption (1968)
Excellent Cushing shines in mediocre cast, film
I do not know very much about Director Robert Harford-Davis, his only other directorial effort that I saw was the comedy THE SANDWICH MAN (1966), a flick in many aspects so different from CORRUPTION (1968) that I could not discern any particular film-making style that might have influenced the latter.
What Harford-Davis has here is a trump up his sleeve: Peter Cushing delivers a superb performance as a doctor who falls in love with a female model whose face he inadvertently disfigures after bringing down a lighting unit in the course of an argument with her photographer.
His love for pretty, svelte Sue Lloyd is so blinding that he kills another woman for a skin graft that will restore her beauty, all the while reminding himself of the Hippocratic oath he made at the start of his medical career. Cushing convincingly conveys his dilemma: to love or to lose this woman who knows she has empire over his emotions and therefore his mind.
What follows is in turns an emotionally combustible, over the top, gory saga ending on a hysterical note that suggests the corruption and decay of the good doctor's once healthy mind.
The inevitably uneven script by Donald and Derek Ford proved as annoying to me as noisy score, and the cinematography quickly forgettable. 6/10.
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
Most enjoyable Hammer version of Conan Doyle's tale
Having recently watched the 1939 film entitled THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, generally regarded as the finest version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's tale, with Basil Radford and Nigel Bruce as Sherlock Homes and Dr Watson, I approached the Hammer version with far from the loftiest expectations.
Truth to tell, the 1939 version still wins in my book... but not by a great margin. Terence Fisher, who often directed Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee in his Hammer ventures, gets to direct both here, and he extracts more than adequate performances from them. Andre Morell as Dr Watson and Francis Dewolff as Dr Mortimer also deserve plaudits for their short but eye-catching contributions.
Very good cinematography by Jack Asher, sharp editing by Alfred Cox. Peter Bryan's script takes a few liberties with the original but dialogue remains gripping throughout. 8/10.
My Darling Clementine (1946)
Superlative Brennan, Fonda in superior John Ford Western
John Ford was in great form in 1946. Recently arrived from doing active military duty in WWII as head of a US Army documentary film unit, he and Henry Fonda would do three films in quick succession: MY DARLING CLEMENTINE, THE FUGITIVE and FORT APACHE.
That John Ford was not minimally interested in staying faithful to history or geography becomes apparent the moment you see Monument Valley from what is purported to be Tombstone. This geographical deviation opens your mind to an imaginary tale of the Old West with characters we know from history.
Fonda's calm but firm Wyatt Earp is one of his career-best performances. The same could be said of Walter Brennan, as the treacherous, unfeeling, and viciously violent Ike, pater familias of the Clanton gang - if ever he deserved a supporting actor Oscar nomination, and to win it, RIO BRAVO and MY DARLING CLEMENTINE were it.
In what I regard as one of the cinema's finest sequences ever, Fonda goes to a bar to get the "great" Shakespearean actor, Granville Thorndyke, who is being forced to recite the famous Hamlet soliloquy "To be or not to be" for the benefit of the less than appreciative Clanton boys while Father Clanton is having a good time with bar flies.
As Earp leaves with Thorndyke, the Clanton bros try to stop him but Fonda plonks one over the head and shoots another in the hand. Old man Clanton promptly comes into the barroom to find out what is happening and his eyes speak murder. He deceitfully apologizes to Fonda over his sons' drunken behavior but the moment Earp turns his back, old Clanton pulls his whip and savagely beats up all his grown up sons, unequivocally stating: "Once you pull a gun, kill a man!"
Victor Mature also delivers as a menacing Doc Holliday intent on icing Earp but quickly learns the importance of numbers when Earp's bros rock up in the saloon. The lovely Cathy Downs radiates beauty in the role of Clementine. Linda Darnell, playing the part of Doc Holliday's lover Chihuahua, did not impress me, possibly because her Hispanic accent sounded fake.
The muggy, somber atmosphere when the Clantons appear on screen is one of the memorable aspects of the absolutely fantastic cinematography and editing, by Joe McDonald and Dorothy Spencer, respectively. Superior script by Samuel Engel and Winston Miller, too, with very sharp dialogue - none better than Brennan's deceitful one-liners.
I must have watched MY DARLING CLEMENTINE some five times by now, and with each viewing I find more details to enjoy than before. Regardless of its misrepresentation of historical facts, it nly stands as one of the greatest Westerns ever. 9/10.
The Lonely Man (1957)
Good B&W Western: Palance in blinding form, Mom-missing Perkins
Henry Levin did not direct many Westerns but he does well with this one, extracting credible performances from the main names, including Jack Palance, who keeps straining his eyes until we learn near the end that he is going blind; Anthony Perkins, fresh from his supporting Oscar nomination in FRIENDLY PERSUASION; Neville Brand as master villain, very good at planning the killing of unaccompanied targets; Lee Van Cleef as cold killer happy to do it well; and a truly superior performance from Robert Middleton, who simply steals the show.
Excellent B&W cinematography from Lionel Lindon. Gripping dialogue in script by Harry Essex and Bob Smith, though the ending could have been a little bit more light-hearted... like, for instance, an operation to Palance's cataracts...
Anyway, well worth a watch. 7/10.
Johnny Allegro (1949)
Why Raft if you can save the day with boat and foxy Foch?!
Ted Tetzlaff is probably better remembered as a high quality cinematographer than as a high quality director but, in truth, he does a good job of JOHNNY ALLEGRO and to that end he is not shy to serve a finale reminiscent of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, the 1932 film featuring Joel McCrea and Leslie Banks as the evil Count Zaroff.
Getting two Georges into the thick of the action was a master stroke. Although Joel McCrea would never make the top shelf in terms of acting, he was a far better actor than the rather limited George Raft. In contrast, George Macready certainly matches the evil inherent in Leslie Banks' portrayal of Count Zaroff.
Somehow, though, the two Georges make credible foes, even if Raft is replaced by a much larger double/stuntman in a fight against watchful Roy, played by the almost lineless, quietly menacing William Phillips.
Last but not least, the still deliciously beautiful Nina Foch at age 41 declaring her love for lucky Raft, who is trying to come straight after doing time as a hoodlum, and so keeps running to a boat belonging to Vallin (Macready) with a ship to shore phone that allows him to keep police detective Will Geer informed about what Vallin is cooking up on his lush but deadly island
I enjoyed JOHNNY ALLEGRO, not least because at 81 minutes long it still allowed me time to do other stuff. Good cinematography by Joseph Biroc and editing by Jerome Thoms, plus a gripping script by Karen Dewolf and Guy Endore, the shameless borrowing of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME finale notwithstanding. 7/10.
The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday (1976)
Great cast wasted on empty screwball
I do not know enough about Director Don Taylor but I can assure you that after watching THE GREAT SCOUT & CATHOUSE THURSDAY I hope I do not have to suffer the torture of watching another mindless piece like this.
Taylor completely misuses an ageing Lee Marvin apparently trying to revive the role of Kid Shelleen in CAT BALLOU - without the booze; a statuesque and lively young Kay Lenz as Thursday, who for no discernible reason seems to be in love with old and frail looking Marvin, by then clearly affected by all the heavy drinking; Sylvia Miles having lesbian designs on Lenz seven years after servicing strapping John Voight in MIDNIGHT COWBOY; and Robert Culp in tow looking for $60,000 which Marvin does not care for - he wants Lenz, unfit though he seems for the part of making her happy. Throw in a few great looking jallopies competing with horses for space on the road in the late 19th century. Oh progress - why do you spoil everything?
It used to be just gunslingers, innocent souls getting in the crossfire and hookers livening things up but this bad old West has snakes in glass jars, Strothers Martin ready to pull the rug, Ollie Reed running around making faces and bulbous bulging eyes in the best tradition of no known Indian tribe...
Does it make any sense to you? Me neither.
Cinematography is sloppy, script nonsensical throughout, supposedly looking to recapture Marvin's glory day in screwball Western CAT BALLOU (1965) with expletives modernizing it to match 1976 lingo.
Single worst sin: a completely miscast Reed as an Indian with a Harvard background who just runs around with women's scalps in his inside pockets (wow, a novelty - I had never noticed those in Indian clothing before!)
Hysterical throughout. Everyone gets to shout, holler, yell, at various points in the flick... but definitely NOT hysterically funny!
Overlong, too. Despite superior cast, fair warning: best avoided. 5/10.
Escape from Fort Bravo (1953)
Far from Sturges' best; good Surtees photography, acting
I am a fan of Director John Sturges, very fond of THE GREAT ESCAPE, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL in particular... regrettably, ESCAPE FROM FORT BRAVO does not rate anywhere near the above mentioned films in terms of quality.
I find the script by Frank Fenton rather uneven and less than realistic. Eleanor Parker was definitely at the height of her physical beauty in this film, and apparently MGM did all it could to have her play this part, but her impeccable clothing, hairstyle, lovely complexion all contrast with the reality of Mescaleros on the warpath, and Fort Bravo under siege from Indians and with its security undermined by rebellious Confederation prisoners.
I think Sturges could have done something to improve the script, which really does not live up to the quality of a cast including William Holden (fresh from winning the Oscar for Best Actor in STALAG 17), Parker, John Forsythe, and William Demarest.
Contrary to other viewers, the final shootout - with Mescaleros finally doing more than just riding around stopping Cavalry bullets - rather disappointed me. I found it hard to believe that a seasoned US Army captain like Roper (Holden) would lead his men into a gorge, thereby giving the high ground to the far more numerous and better supplied Mescaleros. It is a basic military mistake that any US academy would warn against.
And then I had to thoroughly suspend my disbelief in the face of the Deus ex Machina ending. 6/10.
Walk Tall (1960)
Whites scalp Indians, Indians achieve justice - perfect world?
Far from perfect, WALK TALL is, and yet I found myself watching it to the end. Effective photography by Floyd Crosby, though nothing to write home about, and not particularly memorable landscapes.
The screenplay by Joseph Fritz rises to no more than typical of a B Western, but at least it manages to develop a couple of interesting characters: Captain Ed Trask, played by Willard Parker, a US Cavalry officer determined to catch and bring to justice the heavy, Frank Carter - cynically portrayed by Kent Taylor - , who is the opposite of Trask in every imaginable way: an avid killer.
Throw in Joyce Medford, who cannot act to save her life, and you can see why this film gets a very median mark. Besides, Capt Trask with a gunshot belly wound manages to mount horses and engage in pursuit of the diabolical Carter.
Best thing about it: 61 minutes long: it's over before you wake up!
7500 (2019)
Brutal - NOT for the faint-hearted!
I have never heard of Patrick Vollrath, but he can certainly take pride in having directed 7500 - which, I am unofficially told, in aviation lingo means that your aircraft has come under terrorist attack.
This film pulls no punches. The aircraft hijackers are Muslims, most of them fanatical but at least one conscious of the value of life... at least his own life.
Vollrath's direction benefits immensely from extremely authentic, superior cinematography by Sebastian Thaller; a generally quite concise script by Vollrath and Hallibasic; and a very good, throroughly believable performance by Gordon-Levitt, even if I found it hard to swallow that an American citizen would be on that European 162 flight and that he should emerge the hero, while cabin crew and Muslim terrorists mostly croaked around him.
Already as far back as the 1930s, Europeam cinema saw American leads as fundamental for box office success, and by 2024 nothing much has changed. That said, Gordon-Levitt delivers a superb, quietly determined performance... and from bodily harm to personal loss, he certainly suffers more than anyone's fair share.
The Muslim assailants play short but well rounded parts in terms of characterization. From the outset, you can tell that the youngest of that lot could prove to be the weak link.
Interesting that two German jetfighters accompany the aircraft's descent to Hannover Airport and yet cannot fire upon it, despite learning that the terrorists have taken over and intend to crash it over Hannover. You know police and marksmen are there, too - but they remain invisible, which somehow adds to the action's credibility.
A few flaws: 1. Overlength - some unnecessary talk, especially when the suicide Arab pilot keeps calling to Allah, and encouraging his young sidekick to prepare for death; 2. I found it hard to believe that Tobias (Gordon-Levitt) would be able to shut the door on the terrorists, bash the head of the main heavy in the cockpit, then tie him up, all that with a stabbed left arm... and then he just does not take another glance at the baddie.
Those minor holes aside, it is a gripping film, possibly the finest aircraft under threat movie I have ever watched and, like other viewers, I am flabbergasted that as at 10 September 2024 it gets a rating of just 6.3/10.
Be ready for unflinching violence and threats that go beyond just words. Not for the faint-hearted! 8/10.
Ferry to Hong Kong (1959)
Orson Welles in fisticuffs and blows over the head?
Lewis Gilbert, who directed three passable James Bond vehicles (YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, MOONRAKER, and THE SPY WHO LOVED ME) must have been wet behind the ears when he directed FERRY TO HONG KONG... and with Orson Welles as captain of the good ship Fat Annie in the cast!
Curt Jurgens, a German-born thespian of some quality and fame in the 1950s and 1960s, plays the dashing drunk and disheveled hero who wants to beat the dragon, encouraged to that end by exceedingly beautiful Sylvia Sims.
With some fisticuffs, fights, and blows over the head delivered by a fast fattening Welles, ably aided by fast aging Jurgens with pirates and criminals as targets, you see poor Fat Annie bubble down and sink in Kowloon Bay off then British colony Hong Kong, with some memorable sunset shots (could it be symbolic of the sun setting on the British Empire?)
If this crit makes no sense to you, the plot made no sense to me either, and it drags on for an interminable 111 minutes. I will NOT watch it again.
The Report (2019)
Intelligent insight into state power, violence
This is the first Scott Z- Burns-directed film I have watched and I have to say that it impressed me on many fronts: incisive dialogue that casts light on the intricate catch-22 situations you find yourself in when you are ordered to carry out an investigation into a US agency, the CIA, relating to 9/11, and the pitfalls of doing your job to the best of your ability only to see other government structures, and even Senate figures, doing their utmost to thwart that investigation and prevent the publication of its results.
Focused, at times claustrophobic cinematography that emphasizes the loneliness of Daniel Jones as he perseveres and reads 7,000 pages of transcripts of CIA torturers getting "results" out of suspects thought to have been involved in the Twin Towers, Pentagon attack on 9/11.
Acting by Driver and Bening deserves plaudits. Intelligent film warrants watching several times. 8/10.
The Frightened Man (1952)
Atmospheric B noir with quality performances from Victor, Walsh
John Gilling directed and provided the script for THE FRIGHTENED MAN - and I readily admit that he did well on both counts. The copy that I watched could never rate good, let alone pristine, with some truncated bits where dialogue was lost. That said, it was clear enough to deserve praise for cinematography by Monty Berman.
Those lost words notwithstanding, dialogue struck me as both convincing and involving, assisted by two very fine actor performances from Dermot Walsh as the worthless, cheating, mendacious Julius, the son of Rosselli (superbly portrayed by Charles Victor as the caring father with a past about to catch up with him). Martin Benson plays very effectively the shifty villain Alec Stone.
I found the film arresting from beginning to end without needing any extraordinary amount of action. The characters came across as believable and well rounded. With a length of 69 minutes, it is short enough that it is a pleasure to view and review. 7/10.
Le professionnel (1981)
Descending curve in Bebel's career; often unintentionally comic
Georges Lautner became known to me with LES TONTONS FLINGUEURS, a dark comedy of 1963 starring Lino Ventura, Claude Rich, Francis Blanche among other distinguished French thespians.
The downbeat pace of that film shifted gear with its surprising turns, and although I first watched it as a teenager it stayed in my memory for many years. Thus, when I watched LE PROFESSIONNEL in the early 1980s, I expected a flick along those lines.
Well, it is a very different kettle of fish. It does not have the subtle characterization and sense of the absurd, instead it takes itself rather seriously. One detail that helps is the Morricone score, though it goes from unobtrusive in the first half to absent in the second.
Jean-Paul Belmondo, aka Bebel in response to BB (Brigitte Bardot) in their glory years, had begun to hit his descending curve in the mid-1970s, and herfe he posts yet another caricature of a performance with the name of Joss Beaumont, clearly modeled on Bob Denard, the French mercenary who reportedly masterminded coups d'état on the Comoros Islands, Central African Republic, and other African nations in the 1970s/1980s.
Joss first appears as the sole white in an African kangaroo court, is rapidly shoveled off to a prison camp where he survives as a kind of Papillon, aka Henri Charrière, the famous French inmate who managed to escape Devil's Island on a raft. I think in the first few minutes he clearly imitates Steve McQueen in that role, then suddenly he escapes in the company of a fellow black inmate, and lo and behold he is back in France with the French Secret Service hot on his heels.
LE PROFESSIONNEL's stodgy script presents you with a cardboard cutout of a character, but Bebel's perpetual grin and sturdy constitution see him overcome all hurdles. Along the way, I found myself laughing at the sheer nonsense of some of his perils, at a car chase in the middle of Paris and right by the Eiffel Tower - which we have all just recently and abundantly seen as the pièce de resistance of the Paris 2024 Olympiad - and engaging in all manner of hand to hand combat and stunts, which he famously demanded to do himself.
Superman couldn't do better than Joss, whose contempt for danger and death are present to the very last sequence.
Positives: the exceedingly beautiful, elegant and sexy Marie Christine Descouard, one of the finest looking females with the finest pair of lower limbs I have had the privilege to watch on the silver screen (I found it offensive that Hossein and (Minister... of what?) Desailly refer to her as "pute"; the equally stunning Cyrielle Claire (wow, two bombshells in one flick, lucky Bebel who is rumored to have bedded both!); the much maligned Fiat of THE ITALIAN JOB (UK 1966) sees the French-made Peugeot off the road in some style, with great driving stunts by Bebel; the spaghetti Western-like shootout between three-piece suit Hossein and cheaply attired Bebel in broad daylight Paris; and some of the most politically incorrect discourse I have heard in many years... and how I welcome that! I hate watching films where you have to contain your feelings, expressions and interpretation for fear of hurting someone else of a different skin color or religious persuasion.
Of course, this is Bebel in his cartoonish heroics period. The great performances of LA CIOCIARA, CARTOUCHE, LE DOULOS, A BOUT DE SOUFFLE, CLASSE TOUS RISQUES, MODERATO CANTABILE, are all in the past, and Bebel already shows facial expression-limiting wrinkles.
Bebel is not the only one feeling the age pinch. The Lautner of LES TONTONS might have done better with this cast, LE PROFESSIONNEL is a very pale opus by comparison. 6/10.
The Sound of Fury (1950)
SOUND OF FURY aka TRY AND GET ME! Zero relation with Faulkner
As a director, Cy Enflield cranked out such remarkable flicks as HELL DRIVERS and ZULU, which I have enjoyed tremendously. When I saw that he had directed THE SOUND OF FURY, I decided I had to find some way to watch, and at first I even made the mistake of relating this film to Nobel Literature Prize winner William Faulkner, who wrote a similarly entitled film.
Alas, I was wrong. This cinematic effort bears no relation to Faulkner's stream of consciousness opus. That said, cameraman Guy Roe posts highly effective cinematography and the screenplay by Enfield and Jo Pagano deserves praise for its first hour. Then, it goes into a highly theoretical stretch on the fallibility of the death penalty, and I found it tough to stay awake over the last 30 minutes +.
High quality acting from Lovejoy, Lloyd Bridges
OK entertainment, quite gripping at the start, as we see Frank Lovejoy (playing jobless Tyler) follow Murphy's principle: Just when you think things can't get any worse... they do! 7/10.
Gun for a Coward (1956)
Intricate, touchy brother trio: mother, reputation ruiners in tow
Although better known for cranking out TV productions from the late 1950s onward and for his acting as one of the Indian rebels in GUNGA DIN /1939/, Director Abner Biberman does a splendid job of directing GUN FOR A COWARD.
To that end, he summons splendid service from talented cinematographer George Robinson, snappy editing from Edward Curtiss, and a screenplay that imbues characters with strong dialogue - and an odd turn of events whereby the woman older brother Fred MacMurray loves and plans to marry, suddenly falls in love with middle sibling Jeffrey Hunter, the so called coward of the title (who is not really so but who at the age of 7 had a psychologically devastating encounter with a snake that resulted in his father's death), while younger bro Hade (devilishly played by a very young Dean Stockwell) lurks about looking for any violence he can stir.
Add to that Josephine Hutchinson as the mother who says Bless (Hunter) is the only person she ever really loved, thereby distancing Will (MacMurray) and Hade... and she wants him out of the ranch and studying medicine in St Louis under her skirts.
Poor MacMurray gets a degenerate part: he has to keep a clear head to lead ranch and his bros whilst losing his lovely to his better looking, younger and seemingly yellow sibling Bless, having to step in every so often to save Bless' honor and life.
In the end, Hade goes to hell, Will moves to another town, and Bless is blessed with beautiful Janice Rule, who - at least until that point, perhaps later things change - is not the snake in paradise.
Interesting Western - 8/10.
All Good Things (2010)
Technically fine flick, superb acting from Gosling, Dunst, Langella
Andrew Jarecki, who had already done the documentary CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS with remarkable imagination, technical quality and a sense of macabre comedy, shows good form again in ALL GOOD THINGS.
The title refers to a shop that David Marks (representing alleged criminal Robert Durst in real life) and the wife he elopes with, brilliantly played by Kirsten Dunst in a performance that ranges from idealistic to completely aware of Durst's evil ways. The two call it ALL GOOD THINGS because both aim to sell healthy items and want to escape the clutches of David's multimillionaire father, Sanford Marks (marvelously insidious Langella).
Alas, Sanford is not that easily avoided, he has the right strings - money - to pull his son back into his business, renting out less than upscale real estate.
Given that Durst is not identified in the film, one is left with a difficult choice: 1. To see the film as just a story, 2. To see it as an attempt to recreate the reality of strange character Durst/Marks, who even went so far as to dress as a woman and assuming a woman's name, purportedly to elude police... even though he never looked more convincing than a transvestite.
Why Marks would force Katie to abort the baby is never explained. You just have to accept that Marks did not want it. Katie resents it but in time accepts it, and Marks' increasingly violent behavior.
Truth to tell, the film is very well shot, the dialogue is quite arresting, and the acting by Ryan Gosling, Dunst and Langella deserves every praise... but in the end I could not label what I had watched, or even why it was made as it struck me more as a schizophrenic descending into ever greater delusion and violence than any cautionary tale obviating the self-evident need to stay away from characters like Durst and his dad.
One thing is certain: this movie feels creepy. It left me uneasy, rather unsettled for about two days. 7/10.
The Outpost (2019)
Supposedly true military action at valley outpost in Afghanistan
The only other Rod Lurie-directed film I have watched to-date was entitled STRAW DOGS, a very poor remake of the 1971 classic starring Dustin Hoffman, Susan George. In light of that, I had serious doubts about THE OUTPOST.
The acting is generally good, with particular plaudits to Caleb Jones, as selfless SPC Ty Carter, apparently lacking in the qualities that a soldier make, but genuinely interested in helping wounded colleagues, and taking ammo to the firing line. Scott Eastwood does not have his father Clint's imposing height, but he has menacing eyes and by and large delivers his part very convincingly.
Nearly two hours of relentless shooting, blood and guts flying, Talibans toppling over, and a shot puppy with blue eyes proved rather taxing for yours truly, who begs forgiveness for falling asleep for a few minutes, thankfully ahead of the Taliban attack on the camp in a valkley surrounded by mountains, just like Dien Bien Phu which saw the French defeated in Indochina in 1954. Why repeat such a glaring and unintelligent historic mistake baffled me as much as the various captains in command at the camp - Keating, a small and useless part by Orlando Bloom; Yllescas, yet another needless death, played by Milo Gibson (any relation of Mel's?); and Broward, the Coward, who would pee and poo in bottles and pans that poor Carter had to cart outside for disposal.
That the military personnel at the outpost in 2009 were trueblue heroes I do not doubt, but somehow the film gets sapped by too many concurrent incicdents, loads of deaths and not particularly arresting dialogue. 7/10.
Trap (2024)
Hitchcock touches in a rather loud, off the mark production
I liked very much the first three films directed by Night Shamyalan, but after THE VILLAGE my interest in his work sank somewhat. That said, TRAP is actually the film that comes closes to the sinister quality of UNBREAKABLE, SIGNS or SIXTH SENSE.
Sadly, as others have pointed out, Shamyalan tries hard to come with something clever with rather middle of the road material. To that end, he gives his daughter Saleka the important role of Lady Raven, who manages to dupe sadomasochistic killer Cooper aka The Butcher (Josh Hartnett) into a false of security to then swipe his mobile phone... but before her, Cooper's wife Rachel had already sussed out that her hubby was the murderer police were looking for... one problem, though: she put out the evidence, including a Lady Raven concert ticket stub, but not The Butcher's photo.
So prophiler Hayley Mills (a wrinkled beauty 50/60 years after her heyday in the 1960s) has to try to identify the infamous serial killer in the concert crowd.
Be ready to suspend your disbelief to snapping point. The best thing about the film is the way the spectator learns about good hubby and daddy Cooper's devious second life as criminal, and the occasional Hitchcockian touch - the main one being that, like the grand old master, Director Shamyalan also has a cameo in the picture. He does it in all his films, speaking parts unlike Hitchcock's if you blink you miss onscreen appearances.
Hartnett steals the show as the apparently sane villain who might be about to crack up. Saleka of the stunning eyes does well playing the singer, Mills gets the thankless role of profiler made ultimately redundant by the very fact The Butcher's wife had laid the trap of the title in the first place.
Good cinematography from Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, very good editing from Noemi Preiswerk, superior choreography in respect of the stage scenes.
As the end credits roll, you get a cautionary tidbit about Jonathan Langdon talking too much, to the point of giving away the trap. It is much too obvious and does nothing for the film.
If you are a good sport and avoid puzzling out cause and effect, you might enjoy it enough to give this effort a 7. But that is a big if...