sambase-38773 Reviews

The Brady Bunch: The Power of the Press (1972) Season 3, Episode 19

How Dare You Scoop Me

[7/10 · 16 May 2024]

This episode is about the power and responsibility of the press.

Peter Brady comes running home from school like a maniac and drops all of his books right before entering the house. He hurriedly picks them up and scoots inside. Peter is clearly in a big hurry, something must be up, but what? What could have Peter in a tizzy like this? Is there a big tough bully chasing him? Is a girl chasing him?

Peter rushes up to his mother with his heart racing fast. Alice is standing right nearby doing her cooking chores. Peter announces that he has "great news". The women become excited. Their hearts start racing fast, too.

Then Peter reveals the mystery. He got a job on the school paper. And, not only that, but he's going to have his own column! And he's going to call himself "Scoop" Brady. Peter has clearly been watching too many old movies from the 30's and 40's. But his mom thinks that's a great name. She loves it.

Peter says he's going to use his new column to "stand Filmore Junior High on its ear". He says he might become famous and win a Pulitzer Prize. Peter is definitely not lacking confidence. He gets the writing job and makes plans for winning a Pulitzer all in the same day! But then Peter says that he first needs to learn how to type. His mom throws a kitchen towel in his face and lovingly rubs the top of his head. Peter smiles. Peter is enjoying the moment. It's good to be Peter Brady.

But things are about to go sour. Peter dons an old brown hat and puts a slip of paper in the band that says "PRESS". Yep. Too many old movies. Now Peter starts stealing everybody's carbon paper and pencils and erasers. And then he won't let Bobby and Cindy watch TV because it distracts him from his writing. It turns into a screaming match. Mr. Brady sticks up for Peter and kicks the little kids upstairs. Being the youngest is the worst! Everybody treats you like crap! They treat you like a dog! The older kids always get their way.

Greg is wearing that weird striped shirt that he becomes famous for. He and Alice start giving Peter advice. They tell him to flatter people in his column. Peter takes their advice. What could possibly go wrong? Lots.

Peter starts wearing the old brown hat even while wearing pajamas. He also starts neglecting his studies and his parents take notice. Uh-oh. Take care, young man.

Greg and Marcia begin helping Peter with his studies. Now that's a good family. But then when Peter visits with his science teacher, hoping for the best, the teacher makes a bunch of snarky comments. He's a very snarky teacher for some reason. Peter got a "D" on his test. That's almost an "F"!

I won't spoil the rest of it. It's a fun episode.

Matt Houston: The Showgirl Murders (1983) Season 1, Episode 19

Somebody Is Killing Showgirls In Las Vegas

[8/10 · 28 February 2024]

I'm watching the series Matt Houston for the very first time. So I'm not a fan who watched in in the old days and loves every episode, etc. I'm watching this on DVD's (yes, in this age of streaming I still watch DVD's) and so far I think this is one of the better episodes.

It's too gratuitous in terms of putting young women in front of the camera just for ogling purposes and that's the weakest part of this episode. The rest of it is pretty good. It's well-written and has some very good scenes. Robert Goulet is quite good as the singer who thinks he's a murderer. He calls his friend Matt Houston to help with that. Matt dives right in and as usual gets himself into some very hairy situations with some not very nice people trying to kill him.

There's something believable about a billionaire cowboy running around Las Vegas so I think this scenario is a good fit for our main character, Mr. Matt Houston.

This has nothing to do with the episode, but I once ran into Robert Goulet at the airport. He was all by himself which surprised me. No entourage or assistants or anything else.

Knight Rider: A Plush Ride (1982) Season 1, Episode 12

80's Had More Fun

[8/10 · 26 February 2024]

Watching Knight Rider and listening to 80's music you just get the feeling that people had more fun in the 1980's. At least with entertainment anyway. TV shows were more fun and so was music. And maybe even movies too.

This episode is an example of that. They have a lot of fun with this episode. It has a very serious premise, but it doesn't take itself too seriously. Modern TV shows take themselves way to seriously. They forgot how to have fun.

This is fun and entertaining. Michael has to figure out who the assassin is at a school for...I forget what the school is for. Anyway it's a bunch of fun characters and some dangerous action and a pretty girl who herself is dangerous. What's not to like?

Lost in Space: The Oasis (1965) Season 1, Episode 9

Caring And Sharing

[7/10 · 28 January 2024]

Lost In Space was about sharing and caring. And this episode perfectly illustrates that. With water in short supply the castaways have to care about each other and share the water or people will die. It's a life and death situation.

Dr. Smith always has an endless supply of sympathy for himself, but he never has any for anybody else. I think there's a word for that. Oh yeah - I just thought of it - selfish. Dr. Smith is nothing if not selfish. He's what you don't want your kids to be when they grow up.

Selfishness in a life and death situation is extremely dangerous. It's a murderous weapon when dabbled in too deeply. It's much better to share. It's much better to care. Everyone in this episode practices sharing and caring except Dr. Smith and it endangers all of their lives.

This episode teaches us (and the kids who watched it back in those days) the importance of sharing and caring. It is also very entertaining.

The Wild One (1953)

Cartoonish

[4/10 · 6 December 2023]

Brando is awful in this. Personally, I think Brando has always been vastly overrated as an actor. But in this movie he's not only miscast he gives a very shallow and cartoonish performance not even remotely based in reality. Brando has the voice of a 10 year old boy! How can anybody be scared of that guy? And how anybody could think this guy was a great actor is hard to fathom. He had the impressive looks, but that was all he had.

As for the movie it's just dumb and silly. The makers of this movie didn't have a clue about bikes or anything else. It almost comes across as a comedy. It's downright goofy at times. Real bikers probably watched this movie and cracked up laughing and walked out of the theater. And I wouldn't blame them.

Another "classic" bites the dust. Oh well.

Starsky and Hutch: Class in Crime (1978) Season 3, Episode 17

Creepy

[7/10 · 26 November 2023]

I found this to be one of the creepiest Starsky & Hutch episodes. Everybody seems creepy in this. The men are creepy. The women are creepy. It has a creepy vibe. Creepy camera angles. Just a whole lot of creepy things going on in this episode.

It's also like a chess match, a match of wits. Hutch tries to match wits with a college professor. This college professor is very creepy, much creepier than any college professor I ever had. And he's got a creepy girlfriend. She seems totally soulless and creepy.

At first the professor tries to badly embarrass Hutch. And it makes Hutch very uncomfortable. But Hutch comes up with a plan to try and outsmart the creepy professor. Anything more than this would spoil it so I'll stop right here. Trust me, it's creepy.

Sweepstakes Winner (1939)

Funny And Adorable

[8/10 · 21 November 2023]

I'm not a big fan of horse racing movies. They're just too predictable. Guess who wins? Haha. Besides, I've been bitten by horses and kicked by horses and let me tell you horses can really bite hard and they can really kick hard, too. Luckily, the horse racing is kept to a minimum in this movie. That's just fine with me, but if you want to watch this movie mainly to see a bunch of horse racing you're going to be disappointed.

What this movie does have, thank goodness, is lots of comedy and an absolutely adorable main actress, Marie Wilson. She is one of a kind. 100 percent pure adorability. She puts the "bumpkin" in country bumpkin in this movie. She wins some money in the sweepstakes and there's nothing funnier than a country bumpkin winning money. The comedy is easy to achieve from there. Don't we all love country bumpkins? Especially when they're pretty and adorable? I should say so. And of course with her money she wants to buy a horse. A race horse. Uh-oh, here we go. Country bumpkin. Pretty girl. Money. Race horse. Sounds like the recipe for a movie to me!

The actor who plays the jockey who rides the big horse in the big race is a look-a-like and sound-a-like for Jimmy Cagney. I don't know if that was on purpose or just an accident. Now that I think about it I think it was on purpose. At least I hope it was because it works beautifully. It kept making me laugh.

Not much more to say I guess without spoiling the movie. It's fun. It's funny. And it's adorable. 8 stars.

Taxi Driver (1976)

As Time Goes By

[4/10 · 18 November 2023]

As times goes by I like this movie less and less. I grew up in the 1970's, but the Seventies is one of my least favorite decades for movies. It's a decade filled with lousy movies.

If you take some scenes in this movie in isolation they aren't so bad all by themselves. But when you put all the scenes together and watch the whole thing then you ask yourself: Ugh, what did I just watch? This movie was made by talented people, but they did not have a worthy vision for this movie. This movie doesn't take you anywhere worth your while and leaves you feeling totally depressed just like the main character. It leaves you dripping with the cynicism of the film makers. I do not recommend this movie.

The Famous Ferguson Case (1932)

The Cynical vs The Hayseeds

[7/10 · 17 November 2023]

When the murder of a powerful man happens in a small town everybody starts nosing around. The big city newspaper boys show up and start manipulating and intimidating everybody to get the story they want even if it isn't true. The small town folks repeatedly give in to the big city boys and things get out of hand. You start wishing that somebody, anybody would punch these big city boys right on the jaw, knock them down and teach them a lesson about small towns and about truth. So that's what kept me watching. I wanted to see those big city newspaper boys get popped!

Some old movies start out strong, but then get weaker in the 2nd half. This movie not only stayed strong, but got even stronger in the 2nd half. It has a definite point to make and it makes it very effectively. There are some character speeches that help to solidify that. Those are well-written and well-acted.

It's a movie about the media and the truth. That problem is timeless and still exists today. This one is worth watching.

Lilly Turner (1933)

Hidden Classic

[8/10 · 11 November 2023]

A collection of desperate and deranged souls looking for a break in life and looking for love. Both are so hard to come by. It can wear you down just looking. Other people get breaks, but not them. Just when they think they might have a break to cling to it gets ripped away. And then the pain sets in again. And the desperation and the sadness and the grind of life. It all just keeps wearing them down. Once they had ideals, once they had dreams. But that was so long ago. It's all been lost in the swirl of time and the crushing, cold darkness that never leaves.

This movie is hard and very realistic. I was not expecting that. I thought it might be a sleepy little charmer, but it's more of a kick in the gut. I would call this a hidden classic. It should not be forgotten.

Too Many Wives (1937)

The Adorable Anne Shirley

[8/10 · 11 November 2023]

60 minute thrill ride starring the adorable Anne Shirley packed with comedy, surprises, and a magnificent car chase. It even has Jiu-Jitsu! Never jump on the back of someone who knows Jiu-Jitsu!

A dog walker gets a job at a newspaper by telling lies and it gets him into all kinds of hot water. And of course he becomes smitten with Anne Shirley because everybody becomes smitten with Anne Shirley, including and especially me! That's why I call her The Adorable Anne Shirley. She had a screen innocence and adorability rivaled only by the great Judy Garland and the great Shirley Temple.

This movie moves fast. I don't like slow moving movies (I'm looking at you Stanley Kubrick!) and this is never slow. It's always moving forward, forward, forward. It's relentless. And it moves faster and faster as it moves along. This is a gem.

And the ending is wonderfully fun and adorable.

My Dear Miss Aldrich (1937)

Charming and Beautiful

[7/10 · 10 November 2023]

I'm speaking of Maureen O'Sullivan of course. She is indeed very charming and beautiful, beautiful and charming.

I won't go over the plot. Everybody has already done that. Besides, writing plot summations bores me to tears.

The script is smart and funny, funny and smart. The acting is fairly standard for the 1930's. Not too heavy, not too light. But very professional. It is a comedy after all. And a very good comedy at that. Lots of laughs, lots of funny lines and situations.

A movie to make you smile. A movie to make you laugh. And that was greatly needed in the 1030's. Lots of dark times during that decade. But they sure had some wonderful movies to make them smile.

Hawaii Five-O: The Joker's Wild, Man, Wild! (1969) Season 2, Episode 13

Femme Fatale

[7/10 · 21 October 2023]

She's lovely. Don't you want her? Of course you want her. She's desirable. She's rich. She's smart. She's dirty. She's filthy. And she knows your weak points. She knows how to manipulate you. And you are a sucker. You are a born sucker for beautiful women. You've wanted them all your life. But you can't have them because you're a loser. So you want to be a winner. And she knows that. And she manipulates you into proving yourself worthy of her. She pits you against another man who wants her too. He's another loser. He's always making bad decisions just like you. Now you two are competing for this woman who knows how to make you do anything she wants. And she wants a lot. She wants you to commit crimes for her. Lots and lots of crimes. Maybe even.....murder.

This episode is about the power of women. The power of women over men. I gave it a "7".

Wonder Woman: The Pied Piper (1977) Season 2, Episode 6

Silly and Campy and Weird

[6/10 · 21 October 2023]

A music star, played by Martin Mull, has a strange power over young women. He plays the flute and they do what he wants. That sounds like it could lead to trouble and it does. It leads to crime.

When people knock the 1970's they usually say it was too "cheesy" or too "silly", etc. And if you watch this episode it's hard to argue with that....haha. It's extremely cheesy and silly. But it almost turns cheesy and silly into an art form. Nobody could be this cheesy and silly by accident it must have been on purpose.

It starts with the odd casting and shallow acting. The only casting part they got right was Eve Plumb (Jan Brady on The Brady Bunch). She's very good in this episode. There's a reality to her acting that's totally missing from the other guest actors. Martin Mull gave it a good try, but he just didn't have the acting "chops" as they say in the business. But I salute his effort.

Another one of the odd things about this episode is that the creepy flute player (played by Martin Mull) and Eve Plumb have the exact same hair color. They look like they're family members of some kind. I wonder if they cast it that way on purpose. Probably just a coincidence though. But it just looks odd.

Overall, it's kind of fun. It's a real time capsule of the 1970's. At least the silly part of the 1970's. Not all of the 1970's was silly, but this episode certainly was - silly and campy and weird. I gave it a "6".

Gilligan's Island: Big Man on a Little Stick (1965) Season 1, Episode 21

Hysterical Dialogue

[10/10 · 17 October 2023]

This is a fabulously written episode and the dialogue is hysterically funny. It's also one of the "sexiest" episodes in that Ginger and Mary Ann are besides themselves with attraction. No, not to each other! To Duke Williams, famous surfer!

Duke surfs his way to Gilligan's Island and lands on the beach and passes out. Gilligan and the Skipper revive him and get him on his feet again. He meets Ginger and Mary Ann. Both girls start salivating and drooling, which is funny to see because they can usually control themselves. Here they seem to have no self-control whatsoever! They ooh and aah over everything he does. And he's happy to oblige them. He shows off his muscles to them and they quiver and shiver and salivate. Maybe this will be the episode that finally has sex! It sure looks that way! But hold on, pardner, this is a family show! So it doesn't quite go that far. But it sure seems to want to. It's bursting with sexual tension. This has the most sexual tension of any episode in the series.

One of my favorite scenes is Duke interacting with Mr. And Mrs. Howell. They think he's an actual "duke" and he thinks they're crazy. It's a very funny scene.

Okay, so the castaways want to get rescued and they think Duke can help them. They think Duke can surf back to Hawaii and then send help. But Duke would rather hang out with the girls. So they have to trick him to get him to surf back. And he has to catch a very big and dangerous wave called a Tsunami. He catches the wave and surfs back to Hawaii. But then something happens. I won't say what because I don't want to spoil it.

This episode is just so darn funny. Denny Miller is marvelous as the dim-witted muscle-bound surfer.

The Terror (1963)

Karloff Is The Best Thing In The Movie

[5/10 · 15 October 2023]

This movie has a lot of problems and weaknesses, but the biggest weakness is Jack Nicholson. He's supposed to be a French military officer, but he doesn't even remotely try to portray a French military officer. All he did was put on a French military coat and he thought that was good enough. Put on the coat, show up to the set, and you're good to go. Right, Jack? Wrong, Jack! You sucked in this movie because you didn't even try. And that's unforgivable. It's amazing his career didn't come to a sudden and screeching halt after this movie. But I guess the ultimate blame goes to casting. What were they thinking...Jack Nicholson as a French military officer.....haha that's a good one!

In the first scene that Nicholson and Karloff have together Karloff completely embarrasses and shames the lazy Nicholson with his superior acting. I've seen other reviewers say that Karloff couldn't act anymore at this point, but that's hogwash. Karloff still had that incredible charisma and depth of soul that only he had. Karloff was still Karloff.

The story has Nicholson wandering around a lot with a vague look on his face. I can't really blame him for that because he was just following the script and the director. Lots and lots of wandering around. Wandering and wondering. Wondering and wandering. There's a mysterious girl he's looking for, but everybody tells him that she doesn't exist. But he doesn't believe them and good for him. Always believe your own eyes!

The sets are wonderful. The sets are the next best thing in the movie after Boris Karloff. They were not built for this movie obviously as they are way too good for a cheapo production like "The Terror".

Bottom line, I can't highly recommend this movie except as a dated curiosity and as a chance to see Boris Karloff again.

Christine (1983)

My Own Car Was Scarier

[1/10 · 15 October 2023]

I can't give this movie a good review because my own car, the first one I ever bought, was scarier than this movie. It tried to kill me several times and almost succeeded. The first time it tried to kill me with steam. I turned on the heater and out came boiling hot steam, nearly scalding my face off. It frequently made me speed through speed traps and then would make me run from the cops. Nothing in this world - and I mean nothing - is scarier than a pissed off cop with a gun and a good reason to shoot.

I can't compare it to the book because I've never read Stephen King except one time I tried to read The Shining and was bored out of my mind. I do like following Stephen King on Twitter (now called "X" for some stupid reason nobody can figure out) he's never shy to blast opinions and take people to task. He seems like a cool guy.

Doctor X (1932)

Absolute Classic

[10/10 · 14 October 2023]

This movie is an absolute classic work of genius and work of visual art. Every image, every moment is delectable. The lighting.....oh my goodness the lighting. The shadows....oh my goodness the shadows. The debauchery.....oh my goodness the debauchery!

I won't go over the plot. The plot has been written on here 100 times. Why do it again?

The acting is fantastic. Not a single weak performance in the entire movie. The acting is gritty and deep and at times shocking. There is a rawness to the acting that serves the story wonderfully well.

Bottom line: The imagery combined with the acting makes this an absolute classic. It's mesmerizing from start to finish. A work of art. A work of genius. Be sure to see the color and restored version.

Combat!: Headcount (1966) Season 5, Episode 8

Keep Your Head

[8/10 · 8 October 2023]

This episode is called "Head Count" (two words is correct English not one word so I'm using two words) which is interesting because they do have to keep counting the heads of their German prisoners as they march them back to friendly territory. They also have to do their very best to keep their own heads, as the saying goes, and not lose their cool. If you lose your head/cool in a situation like that then all hell is going to break lose. And there are a few times when that almost happens.

The is a really good episode that shows the experience and skill of Sgt. Saunders and his men. The Germans are trying to outsmart them and they are trying to outsmart the Germans. The Germans have greater numbers, but the Americans have all the weapons! The Germans want to try and escape, but they also want to stay alive! They know the Americans will blow them away if they get to aggressive. This episode also has a fun twist at the end that makes it even more enjoyable. The only thing I would change is the last line spoken at the end of the episode. That didn't work for me. But that's a small quibble.

Overall a wonderful episode. Catch it if you can.

Spook Busters (1946)

A Good Mix Of Wacky Fun

[7/10 · 2 October 2023]

This is one of the better movies in this series because there's a lot going on. A spooky mansion, a beautiful girl, crazy doctors who want to remove brains, mysteries upon mysteries, slapstick, funny lines, funny words, and funny situations. It even has a slow-motion fight scene.

The boys want to make money as exterminators. They get a job at a mansion. The mansion is full of mysteries and strangeness. That sparks the action and the comedy.

As I said this is one of the better ones. Sure, it might have lots of recycled elements, but all movies have that. Every movie ever made has that. But this is a good Saturday movie. Popcorn not included. Bring your own. And enjoy the film.

The Ghost Breakers (1940)

Bob Hope Starring With A Black Man

[6/10 · 14 September 2023]

I like Bob Hope he's an American legend. I like his movies, too. And I liked this movie for the most part, although I was expecting the ghosts earlier in the movie. You have to wait a long, long time for the ghosts. I got annoyed with waiting so long.

I also got annoyed with the "scared black guy with big white eyes" joke they they do about 50 times in this movie. Something happens, cut to the black guy. Oh look, he's scared and shaking again and his eyes are white and big as dinner plates. That joke just gets very old when it's done 50 times in the same movie. That black man was probably very talented, but all they let him do was shiver and shake and make his eyes go big. That's pathetic. I'm not going to say that it's racist, but I am going to say that it's lazy. The same joke 50 times in the same movie is just plain lazy. There. I said it. So sue me. Lazy. I said it again. What are you gonna do? Nothing. Because I'm the one writing this. Lazy. Lazy. Lazy.

Overall it's pretty fun. I enjoyed quite a bit of it. Bob Hope is very good and so is the actress. There are some good jokes. Bob was an expert at delivering one-liners. Nobody was ever better than him.

What-No Beer? (1933)

Odd Comedy Team

[6/10 · 11 September 2023]

Or should I say The Odd Comedy Team. I like both Keaton and Durante individually, but having them co-star together is a bit strange to the eyes and ears. It was so strange that I couldn't stop watching. It was kind of mesmerizing in an odd sort of way.

I'm not even sure what the story was. It was probably something stupid. Something about beer and people trying to make beer. I didn't even really pay attention to the story. I just kept watching Keaton and Durante. So I'm afraid I can't give you a complete rundown of the plot because I don't know what the plot was.

I guess all I can really say is if you enjoy Durante and Keaton like I do and want to see them together then go ahead and watch this movie. It is kind of fun and wacky. Sorry, if this review is not helpful, but I don't know what else to say about it.

Traveling Saleslady (1935)

The Power of Women

[8/10 · 11 September 2023]

This movie was ahead of its time. It's all about the power of women. That's something we're very familiar with these days, but they were not quite as familiar with back in the 1930's. But that's okay, it was the 1930's not 2023. So I cut them a little slack. There is no need to cut this movie any slack because it's marvelous.

This is a comedy full of wit and energy. It's extremely well-written and never backs down. The actors never back down either. They play it with all the energy they can muster. All the players are wonderful.

Basically, two toothpaste companies are battling it out. A salesman for one and a saleswoman for the other are also battling it out, face to face. Both of them are extremely ambitious and extremely ruthless. They are also attracted to each other.

The fun never stops in this non-stop fun fest. Feast your eyes and ears on this fabulous comedy from the 1930's, a decade that has never been topped for screwball comedies. This one is a gem.

Live Wires (1946)

Curio From The Forties

[6/10 · 11 September 2023]

My favorite scene in the whole movie by far was the scene between Leo Gorcey and Mike Mazurki about 50 minutes into the movie. That scene was much funnier than anything else in the movie. It was the only time during the movie that I laughed out loud. This is not a terribly funny movie except for some amusing gags here and there, but that scene was on a whole other level. They were perfect together. They would have made a great comedy team.

Other than that this movie is just a curio from the 1940's. It's watchable and is a breezy 64 minutes long so it's not a big time investment. But nothing too great and nothing to bad. I watched it one Saturday - or was it Sunday. Anyway, it's an okay way to kill an hour on the weekend.

The Final Countdown (1980)

About 8 Hours Too Short

[7/10 · 3 September 2023]

While I was watching this movie I started thinking: "You know, if they are going to actually play this concept out then this movie needs to be about 10 hours long. Either that or they need to make it a mini-series for TV at about 10 hours in length." But the movie is only 103 minutes long, not even 2 full hours. That's only enough time to whet the viewers appetite and nothing more. And that's really all it did for me was whet my appetite. I wanted to see it play out. Otherwise, what's the point. I know, it can give us food for thought, etc. And that has value. But a movie needs to be more than that to really be effective.

So, as far as I'm concerned, the star of the show ends up being the actual ship itself and the fighter planes and helicopters. And those military realities overshadowed the concept because the concept was never turned into a functioning reality, except for a brief moment.

It reminded me of the Twilight Zone, a show I love, so there was just enough of that to keep me watching and also the military hardware kept me watching. But all I can give it is a "7", which for me means fairly average. I can see why it wasn't a big hit at the box office. It just doesn't pay off in a full and complete way.

But it is fun to see all the navy stuff, especially since that era is just a part of history now and we can never go back......or can we....maybe. Who knows.