Dfree52 Reviews

Ghost Town (1956)

Better than expected

[6/10 · 24 March 2024]

Ghost Town is a B western released in 1956 starring Kent Taylor (Conroy) John Smith (Duff) Marian Carr (Barbara) William Phillips (Crusty) and Serena Sande (Maureen).

It follows a group of western stagecoach travelers trying to get to the next stage depot but having the misfortune of coming across first a depot, then a town left deserted after a Native American (Indian) raid.

Duff and Crusty have mined some gold and meet Barbara (Duff's fiance) on the west bound stage.

Conroy, a doctor (John Doucette) and a Rev. (Gilman Rankin) are also stage passengers after being joined by an army sgt. ( Joel Ashley) and his son (Gary Murray) it's decided to avoid the attacking natives and head to another army post. They instead get chased into an abandoned town, hence the title.

Heading off several attacks, with no food, little water and dwindling ammo, character flaws are laid bare as tensions mount. Not helping matters is when Duff finds a native american maiden Serena Sande and an aging chief hiding in a barn.

There are a few plot twists as the attacking Natives are willing to make a trade to spare them and a few trapped characters real motives come to light.

Not a classic, but it will hold your interest for it's 77 minute running time.

Return to Warbow (1958)

Be careful who you trust

[6/10 · 13 September 2021]

Return to Warlow is a Columbia 2nd feature from 1958, starring Phillip Carey (Clay Hollister) and Catherine McLeod (Kathy Fallam).

The film opens with Carey escaping from a chain gang with the help of fellow cons Robert J. Wilke (Red) and. William Leslie (Johnny).

Clay convinces them they'll all share in the loot Clay's weakling, drunk brother Frank (James Griffith) has been hiding for the 11 years Clay's been on the chain gang.

Both Frank and Kathy live in and near the town of Warlow, hence the title. The 11 years is my problem with the story line, since there's Kathy's son involved I think 7 yrs would've been a better time frame. Oh, Clay and Kathy were once an item.

Trouble is Clay and his two ex con buddies don't trust each other and once we see the always drunk Frank, why would Clay ever trust him?

Andrew Duggan is Murray, Kathy's husband who further complicates things for Clay.

It's all over in 67 minutes, so if you're into 50s Westerns, it's worthwhile.

Naked City: Howard Running Bear Is a Turtle (1963) Season 4, Episode 27

Howard's slowed by Ancient Traditions

[9/10 · 21 January 2021]

First off...I'm discovering this series. This episode was first aired the day after my 11th birthday! What I like about The Naked City was it emphasis on showing NYC America's true melting pot, featuring many stories of the city's ethnic diversity.

Here, it's native Americans whose tribal roots are in upstate New York and follows a construction worker's death from a 47 story fall. His fellow workers claim they didn't see it. They leave the police (series stars Paul Burke and Harry Bellaver) scratching their heads. Was it an accident or murder?

To complicate matters, the dead man (Paul Richards as Joseph Highmark) was involved in a fight with Howard Running Bear (Perry Lewis) who's in love with the unloved wife of the deceased (Mary, played by Piper Laurie). The fight led to his fall.

Everyone stays mum cause to admit to the dead man's drunken state ; it wouldn't bode well for his spirit. Howard and Mary have been in love since childhood but of different tribes. They have to convince an elder (Juano Hernandez) that love and therefore life is for the present.

Watch for Cicely Tyson in a bit part and Piper Laurie breaking her grieving, staid bonds with a sexy table top dance in the last quarter.

Top of the Heap (1972)

Ambitious and Choppy

[4/10 · 14 November 2020]

Top of the Heap is a low budget prime example of the blaxploitation films 2nd feature, drive in movies of the early 70s. Starring, written and directed by Christopher St. John expect no Orson Welles.

The film is about an emotionally fenced in 12 yr vet of the Washington D.C. police dept. He can't get a promotion, doesn't earn enough money and is unhappy on all fronts. His life is too complicated and you have to wonder why he doesn't attempt to simplify it. He can't connect with his wife (Florence St. Peter as Viola) or his mistress (Paula Kelly billed as the Black Chick, though he does call her by name) or his young daughter (Almeria Quinn) who at 13 is experimenting with pills.

He seems to revel in fantasies (he and Kelly romp naked in the jungle) or of seducing a sexy nurse (former Playmate Ingeborg Sorenson) or of being an astronaut. Here's where the film gets choppy and a bit incoherent.

But again, in spots there are hints that it not a bad attempt to be relative of the times. It does highlight the struggles of a middle class black man who just wants to be accepted. His frustrations stems from how he's looked at by society, his black brothers, his job, his home life, etc.

Shield for Murder (1954)

Edmund O'Brien Shines

[7/10 · 29 October 2020]

This is a neat little noir from 1954, Shield for Murder starring Edmund O'Brien as a frustrated detective (Barney Nolan) out to make what he thinks will be an easy score. He's picked the time and place...an alley at night; and victim...a two bit bookie for his deed. He even uses a silencer to cover his first shot. Trouble is, unknown to him, a deaf mute is a witness. He commits the murder but doesn't run or conceal it.

Instead, he admits to it and though his story is shaky feels he can count on the blue wall of his police department to not push or investigate too hard.

Trouble is, he's lifted 25 grand from his victim and it's mob money. The mob boss (Hugh Sanders as Packy) even offers him a deal...at first. But Nolan refuses. He has a dream and a dream girl (Marla English as Patty Winters).

It all of course unravels...but along the way we see how wired Nolan is. When a couple of (Packy's) henchmen try to put the squezze on Patty, Nolan pistol whips them in a restaurant. We don't see most of the blows but the horrified reactions of the patrons is effective. In that scene Nolan refuse to pick up a bar floozy, a blonde Carolyn Jones. Oddly, she's the kind of dame Nolan would go for, not the good girl Patty. Perhaps Nolan sees Patty as his salvation but of course he screws that up too.

Fine support is offered by Emile Meyer as the station Captain. Claude Akins is one of the henchmen and John Agar plays Nolan's still wet behind the ears partner. It may have been a little more interesting if he'd shown an interest in Patty.

The Wonderful Country (1959)

For me, A Wonderful Movie

[7/10 · 23 August 2016]

This offbeat 1959 western stars the laconic Robert Mitchum as gunslinger Martin Brady, a Texas outlaw and outcast who fled to his adopted country Mexico as a youth. He works for the corrupt Castro brothers of whom he finds out much too late that he's just a pawn they move about their chessboard (Northern Mexico) as they please.

The film's major flaw is the narrative...it's a bit jumpy in spots but may have fallen victim studio intervention. Some characters seem to enter briefly, to be seen no more or are underdeveloped. Julie London's Helen Colton seems to fall victim to that. She's an ex dance hall girl (I believe), now a 'respected' wife of Major Colton (Gary Merrill) who engages in an affair with Brady out of pure lust.

But Brady...who's growing older and wearier it seems before our eyes, sees her as his redemption. His guns have cost him heavily, he has no family or lover or even respect. All he has is Mexico and that has betrayed him too. If you're expecting an action packed, shoot them up...this is not for you.

There are elements here we see in later films...we get a taste of Mexican culture, which Brady identifies more with than America, that we see in The Magnificent Seven and The Wild Bunch. And Paul Newman's John Russell in Hombre, mirrors Brady here. All are men without countries, men who cling to a culture or code American society shuns.

The locations, photography and music (Alex North) all help create an atmosphere of majestic isolation. And the inclusion of black Buffalo soldiers is all too rare in westerns, even today.

As one reviewer stated earlier, it could have been more. But there's still a lot here.

Pauly Shore Stands Alone (2014)

Pauly hits the Road

[7/10 · 10 August 2016]

I will admit up front that I am not a big Pauly Shore fan, though I did enjoy Son In Law, which I caught a few times years ago on cable.

This is my second almost viewing of Pauly Shore Stands Alone, which is a documentary he made about a concert tour he did in late 2013, working small venues in towns and small cities in Wisconsin and Minneapolis.

What I found most appealing about this is his direct connection with some of his fan base, down to earth working class people, who were either once big fans from the early 90s when he had a successful movie career or loyal fans throughout his entire journey. Gone of course is the young, hip whiny kid...now he's an older, wiser, prostate challenged middle aged stand up comedian.

He's on the downside of his career. Notice the contrast of him and the few other, much younger up and coming comedians. The big pay days of mega million dollar A movies, large concert halls and insanely hot women looking to bed him are all behind him. What he has now and before him is caring for an elderly, ill mother, trying to keep The Comedy Store nightclub, his parents legacy open and I assume debts from his once freewheeling lifestyle.

But now he's a much better human being. He talks to everyone. Local hairdressers, people who work in diners, hotel and motel staff, the people who run and work behind the scenes at the small clubs he does his stand up in. And he knows the business...the counting seats at the small clubs he performs in before each show is just one small lesson learned from his parents. And the way he connects with his fans after shows, posing for pictures and autographs, these are things most fans of anyone would never anticipate and once given will never forget.

He walks a tough and at times lonely road. It's not filled with the best of food or accommodations or balmy locales. But the people he stops to connect with are warm, more than happy to see him and leave smiling.

Starting Over (1979)

Good, though murky!

[7/10 · 5 June 2015]

I really like a lot about this movie, mainly Burt Reynolds playing against type. Instead of his Alpha male ladies man, we get a lonely, hurt, confused writer/teacher who's just been dumped by his wife Jessica (Candace Bergen). Escaping from New York City glitter, Peter (Burt) moves to Boston and after a failed attempt to enter the dating cycle again, connects with Marilyn (Jill Clayburgh) a neurotic preschool teacher.

***SPOILER ALERT****

The relationship is rushed and on shaky ground from the onset and we wonder how these two can overcome their own set of insecurities and become a couple. Phil's main roadblock to opening up to Marilyn is that he still loves his ex wife.

Candace (Jessica) causes several rifts between Phil and Marilyn. The first being an out of the blue Thanksgiving phone call, the second by showing up on the day Marilyn is moving in with Phil.

What follows in short order is a breakup...a failed make up of Phil and Jessica...then a reconciliation with Marilyn.

And that's my first of a few issues with the film. Rom Coms seem to suspend belief. Marilyn tells Peter she doesn't want to hear from him again (because she doesn't want to be the Rebound Lady). Phil breaks the rule...and she relents.

More importantly...cinematographer Sven Nykvist did a horrible job, this is where the murky comes in. We know it's Winter in the Northeast but all of the interiors are dark...even the bedroom display at Bloomingdales is dark. Hard to get involved in characters who we can't see. It's supposed to be a comedy, so lighten up; literally. As a result, the whole film takes on a more serious tone.

Plus, at times screenwriter James L. Brooks seems to tease us with a few quirky moments..like Marilyn's involvement with basketball player John (Sturgis Warner) because he's 'big'.

Also...continuity is an issue. I wasn't sure if this took place over one winter or two. Plus, last time I checked...there isn't six weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

One highlight...the divorced men's encounter group meetings. They precede the women's group and we get to peek in on a bunch of lonely, displaced males. The staircase scene as the aggressive women march down the basement steps to start their meeting and the departing males plaster themselves to the staircase walls are great moments.

On the whole, there are fun moments and nice ones too. Not meant to be a laugh riot, just a commentary on two people with 'issues'...trying to move on and cope.

Frontier Gal (1945)

Pleasing if you don't take it too seriously

[5 June 2015]

I came across this on YouTube after viewing a website that highlighted women in westerns from the 40s and 50s.

I picked this at random and was very surprised at the result.

In Technicolor, the ravishing, raven haired Yvonne DeCarlo is Lorena who runs and is the star attraction of her own saloon. Drifter Jonathan Hart (Rod Cameron) wanders in and almost immediately gets into a brawl with Blackie (Sheldon Leonard) and his gang.

***POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT***

When Lorena tells Jonathan she doesn't allow fighting in her place, the sparks between the two start to fly.Each time Lorena winds up and slaps Jonathan...Jonathan grabs her and lays a passionate kiss on her. This continues for a while, Lorena is both angered and aroused and is carried off to her boudoir.

A shotgun wedding of sorts ensues, but Jonathan is sent to prison by his rival for Lorena, Blackie. Jonathan returns 6 years later and finds that he's a daddy of a little girl, Lorena is her mommy. Jonathan is now faced with the prospect of instant fatherhood and coping with the ultra independent Lorena, who can take care of her self and their child.

There's music, dance,and some comedy...plus a climax near a waterfall. Along for the ride are Andy Devine and Fuzzy Knight. The tone reminds one of the Taming of the Shrew.

There's action at the conclusion and a reckoning of Lorena and Jonathan, while Lorena is over his knee.

Odd mix of western action, music, comedy and perhaps 1945 political correctness, but it works. Cameron and DeCarlo are great together and remind you of John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in The Quiet Man. Oh yeah, the climax of this movie will remind you of Wayne/O'Hara in McClintock! too.

Flame of the Islands (1955)

Soap Opera Ride in the Green Surf

[6/10 · 9 March 2013]

I'm a big fan of '40's and '50's B movies. I go in not expecting much and have been invariably surprised.

After viewing, I thought if this film were at Warner Brothers in 1946...it'd been a Bette Davis vehicle for sure. Bette would be the seasoned woman with a trunk full of dark secrets in her past, paying for mistakes she'd made and for some she's only suspected of. The movie would have a searing high powered Max Steiner score under toning her showdowns with clinging mothers, intruding god mothers, a lustful creep,a wimpy love interest and the nearby he man...all set against the gorgeous backdrop of the Bahamas.

But it's 1956, the studio is Republic and the star is Yvonne De Carlo. And it works in a way. Another reviewer mentioned time and for lack of an added 5 or 6 minutes, the film suffers so. The ending particularly.

***SPOILER ALERT WARNING****

This is a great one to summarize. Yvonne (as Rosiland) accepts a princessly sum from a recent widow (Freida Inescort) as Mrs. Hammond and decides to venture forth with friend Wade (Zachary Scott). Wade's friend Mace (Kurt Kasznar) talks the two into checking out a Casino/Resort he's set up but can't open because he needs operating capital. Roz and Wade check it out, and throw in with Mace. Since Roz can sing and dance a little, she'll be the stage show attraction. Mace wants it to be a private club, for rich high rollers.

Mace (the Creep) introduces them to Kelly (James Arness) a boat captain/beachcomber/preacher (the He-Man). Roz charters a boat, privately...and catches not only a marlin but a pass from Kelly.

Then at the dock she meets bad penny #1 Howard Duff (Doug Duryea) an old teen aged flame. I won't even go into what's in their past...just watch the movie. Doug (the Wimp)and Roz connect and plan to marry, naturally against controlling mama Barbara O'Neil's objections. But the aqua clear waters get muddier as bad penny #2 shows up...Mrs. Hammond, best friend to mama Duryea and Doug's godmother!

Yvonne must survive a wimpy fiancé, bribing and slanderous old biddies, though the so called invalid...she uses a cane; new widow Mrs. Hammond looks pretty attractive (but no men, even the wrong type seem interested in her), a creep (Mace) who wants her, whether she wants him or not and Mace's unsavory silent business partners...who she's unaware till near the end.

Then the story becomes an adventure tale for 6 or 7 minutes, as she and He Man Arness escape the baddies and find true love as The End title card comes up. This sequence seems rushed, it would have been better if it'd been expanded on some.

Oh,yeah...Yvonne is drop dead gorgeous, be it wiggling in a tight white gown doing her floor routine, or fighting a marlin for over an hour. Notice the white short outfit she battled the marlin in and the fashionable hoop skirt cover up on the dock. No wonder Captain Kelly went all gaga!

My Pal Gus (1952)

Pleasing Surprise

[8/10 · 19 April 2012]

I just caught most of MY PAL GUS on the Fox movie channel early this morning. Boasting Richard Widmark as a single parent to a preschool boy (frog sounding George Winslow) and the lovely Joanne Dru as the boy's teacher, I thought I'd give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised.

Here is a portrayal of a parent who can't deal with his precocious child and seeks help with a professional. He's a successful, self made business man and getting help is something he rarely does.

***Spoiler Alerts***

We follow Dave Jennings (Widmark) through his frustrating efforts to cope with the school's (and it's administrator's, Dru's Lydia Marble) demands for active participation. Widmark is awkward, annoyed and at times funny as he struggles with his softer side. As Dru converts a "jerk into a parent" his feelings for her deepen and she eventually relents. She of course is a teacher to both son and father.

But paradise is threatened by the cold, conniving ex-wife and boy's mother Joyce (Audrey Totter). She left her family high and dry when the boy was an infant but is back looking for a payoff.

A custody battle ensues and both sides get what they want...or do they? This of course endangers all concerned...father-son and Dave-Lydia. I won't spoil the outcome but the battle is largely Dave's fault. He's not willing to settle out of court, so sure he'll win, as he has with everything. The spectre of losing his son and his love guides him in the end.

Great to watch Widmark, though still the tough guy in a different role. What I liked best is that it's not sappy or hokey. Dad doesn't have to do something to win over his child or gain the support of his woman, just be a loving man. Dru is good as Widmark's patient love. Joan Banks is Widmark's capable personal assistant Ivy, Regis Toomey his lawyer.

Nice companion to 1953's TROUBLE ALONG THE WAY (John Wayne-Donna Reed).

Gimme the Loot (2012)

Good Slice of Life

[7/10 · 26 March 2012]

I just saw this yesterday in NYC at MOMA, invited by a friend. This is a good effort by first time director (and screen writer) Adam Leon.

(The Following Contains Spoilers)

It follows a young (late teen age to early twenties) pair of graffiti artists efforts to make the big time by 'bombing' the NY Mets Big Apple Homerun attraction at Citifield. Bombing means to graffiti it. The problem is they need to raise $500 to bribe a security guard. Their efforts are further complicated by a lack of planning and a mixture of dumb/bad luck.

The young duo are Malcolm (Tysheeb Hickson) and the tomboyish, street tough Sofia (Tashiana R. Washington). We follow them throughout the hot summer days of the Bronx, downtown Manhattan and Queens as they try to reach their goal.

This is told in a straightforward, stripped down style by director Leon. It's refreshing in it's not hokey or trying to make a statement. It's done so with a great deal of humor as both leads are endearing. It's also not a coming of age tale. The characters act and react within their world and since they know little else the time we spend with them is their norm. Also of note is Zoe Lescaze as Ginnie; the fleeting object of Malcolm's desire.

All of them, Leon, Hickson, Washington and Lescaze are very talented and it's hoped that this is a fine jump off to successful careers.

Private Hell 36 (1954)

A Tale of Two Husbands

[10 March 2012]

Co-screenwriter and star Ida Lupino wrote this tale of ambition with former husband (and producer) Collier Young. One of the costars is Howard Duff, her current husband, though in the film he's married to Dorothy Malone and his LA detective partner Steve Cochran is Lupino's love interest.

***CONTAINS SPOILERS****

The plot revolves around a cache of stolen, marked bills that begin turning up in LA, a year after being lifted in New York City. Lupino plays a down on her luck lounge singer in a class B type bar, who'd been tipped a marked bill by a boozy customer. She reluctantly agrees to go on stake outs at various racetracks with the boys; she also resigns herself to the affections of Cochran.

After some time she spots the bad guy leaving the racetrack parking lot, a car chase and crash ensues and at the crash site, bad cop Cochran pockets some of the loot, to the dismay of good cop partner Duff. Cochran uses the singer's longing for a better life and diamonds as his motive. Then comes clean and admits to wanting a better life for himself.

I won't divulge the ending, but good does triumph over evil.

The movie is quite well directed by Don Siegel, though both co-writers and producers (Filmways was Lupino's studio) were said to have given him fits. Not being under a major studio's restraints a few things got passed by the censors. One is a scene with husband and wife (Duff and Malone) conversing in their bed, not the standard separate twin beds all movies showed at the time.

Another is the Lupino-Cochran relationship. Frankly, he generally treats her like dirt, part of his character's ambition; part of her knowing that she's fraying at the edges. She's still attractive, but for how long? She's not desperate, but how far away is she from it? He's abusive and it seems to turn her on.

Not great, but entertaining.

Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953)

Has some redeeming qualities

[6/10 · 1 February 2012]

I remember this movie from the old NBC Saturday/Monday NIGHT AT THE MOVIES from the early 60's! Of course watching it in black and white, fullscreen and on a small TV is not the way to view this.

I wrote this review to defend Robert Wagner's performance. Am I the only one to get he's playing a Greek American; not an old school Greek from the old country? He's not going to have the accent or mannerisms of his father...he's American!!! I also like that Tony (Wagner) was depicted for what he was...a man-child. His father (Gilbert Roland) steps in when he feels Tony is in over his head going up against bully Arnold (Peter Graves).

It also displays a love story that develops..not like today's movies where people hop in bed, then calm down and try to figure out if they even like each other. And Terry Moore is lovely as Tony's love interest Gwyneth.

Of course the Cinematography, Stereo, Wide Screen format and great Bernard Herrmann are superb and add to the overall effect. J. Carroll Naish, Richard Boone and Harry Carey, Jr. lend capable support.

Vice Raid (1959)

Mamie Looks Great in White!!

[6 October 2011]

The headline covers just about all that's good with this supposed expose' into the tawdry call girl-model industry. The movie isn't campy enough to be funny, in fact it's cleaned up look and LA feel (it's supposed to be New York City) work against it.

****POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT****

The film runs a scant 71 minutes and cuts corners from the onset. Two vice cops a known low level mobster attempting to transport a would be model-call girl into town at a bus station. Since she's over 21 and stacked (Juli Reding as Gertie) it's assumed she's coming to town to become a working girl. What happens to her 'transporter' doesn't fit the accusation and it's only there to expose one of the vice cops as being a bad cop. The good cop takes Gertie to the ticket window to give her a bus ride out of town.

Good cop Sgt. Whitey Brandon (an OK Richard Coogan) is out to bust mob boss' Vince Malone's (Brad Dexter) model-call girl racket. The alluring Carol Hudson (Mamie Van Doren) is recruited from Detroit to entrap the vice cop. He poses as a photog; she hired as a 'date' and busted...but not before she struts her stuff in a white bathing suit.

Carol turns the tables on Brandon and charges him with entrapment and he's bounced from the force. Brandon then unbelievably goes into business himself to break Malone. One of Malone's thugs Phil Evans (Barry Atwater) lusts for Carol and when she rebuffs him repeatedly, goes after her younger, naive sister Louise (Carol Nugent).

After Phil attacks Louise, Carol decides to help Brandon bring down the racket because Malone (now her boyfriend) takes the mob's business first approach to little sister's attack.

I didn't know bad guys and cops still used tommy guns in 1960. Movie lacks any real seediness, looks like a bunch of air brushed gals right out of the men's mags of the day, doing a little fun modeling on the side for some randy clients. No hint of abuse, no booze, or drugs. Only hint of realism is innocent Louise being attacked by the creepy Phil.

Of course, the bad mob boss loses, Carol is exonerated since she helped and good cop Brandon she's both Carol and little sister Louise happily off as we reach the end. Only Mamie, clad mostly in form fitting white makes this one watchable.

Tell It to a Star (1945)

Some delightful moments

[17 September 2011]

Some spoilers may be contained within.

Odd mixture of some comedy, some music but still entertaining mostly due to it's short running time (67 minutes) and supporting cast. What seems to be a showcase for Ruth Terry (cigar girl and wanna be singer Carol Lambert in a swank hotel in Fla).; instead is stolen away by her unsavory uncle (Col. Ambrose Morgan) played by the always capable and funny Alan Mowbray. Uncle Ambrose (aided by sidekick Eddie Marr as Billy) cons everyone and everything in sight.

Ruth/Carol is given little to do except look nice, sing a few tunes (a nice version of the Joseph Dubin-Gus Kahn standard Love Me Or Leave Me, plus the title tune) and be the love interest for bandleader Gene Ritchie (Robert Livingston). A longer running time may have helped two points...Carol and Gene's romance, told in a montage and Mona's (Adrian Booth, later Lorna Gray) character. Mona is the vocalist in Gene's band, which has a gig at the hotel where Carol works. Mona waits to the last reel before she reacts to Carol taking her vocal spot during a live, coast to coast radio broadcast and shortly after, her man Gene. Before that she puts up some fuss, by not nearly enough.

Fans of the period will recognize other stellar character actors, fussy Franklin Pangborn as hotel mgr. Mr Lovelace, and truck drivers Tom Dugan (Smith); George Chandler (Marx). Again, these pros all make the goings on both watchable and pleasant.

The plot's resolution is fine, but the two leads are lukewarm.

Lawyer Man (1932)

Entertaining WB 30's film

[20 July 2011]

I just saw this in a local theater retro series of Pre-Code Hollywood films. I always liked Warner Brothers films of this era, be they hard hitting gangster or social dramas or fun musicals. Though there are serious issues touched on here (political corruption in the judicial system) it's handled with a light touch. William Powell is good as the title character Anton 'Tony' Adam and Joan Blondell is bubbly as his secretary/love interest Olga.

Since the movie is a scant 72 minutes, things move along well, but you do get an episodic feel overall. Another 10 minutes could have fleshed out or explained a few plot points. And is it me or were Helen Vinson and Claire Dodd, two gals the skirt chasing Tony tangles with, twins? They kept popping in and out of the plot and it took me a few seconds each times to figure out who was who. Both were blonds, which doesn't help matters.

For the Pre-Code curious there are two comical suggestive bits. One being Tony's case of mistaken identity as he's gam watching. Another, how his cigar reacts to a prospective tryst with Dodd.

Possible Spoiler Alert....

One reviewer mentioned here a lack of chemistry between Powell and Blondell and I lay the blame of director William Dieterle, who did a fine job overall. Olga pines for Tony, warns him of his womanizing but waits hopefully for him to make the first move. One kept waiting for her to storm into his office (as she does often) hop onto his lap and let him know how she feels. She never does.

When last seen, Tony and Olga go back downtown, so Tony can champion the cause of the downtrodden. And they are happily arm in arm. It suggests they are now a couple...but one passionate kiss would have made their relationship clearer.

I Died a Thousand Times (1955)

Stands on it's own to a degree

[21 May 2011]

To begin with, I haven't seen HIGH SIERRA in years, though I do remember most of it. Therefore, I was able to watch it with an objective eye, not constantly comparing the two films.

It does offer panoramic vistas of the mountains and the desolate surroundings. I think the leads, particularly the love triangle of sorts (Marie is involved in two) are to me what sets it's apart from HIGH SIERRA.

SPOILER AlERT We know that Marie (a very good Shelley Winters) is a fallen angel. She's a dance hall girl who's run off to the mountain cabin resort with Babe (Lee Marvin) as the gang Red (Earl Holliman) awaits the right time to pull off it's caper once Roy (Jack Palance) arrives and assumes leadership. But Marie isn't going to be anybodies girl, she's the prize of the Alpha Male of the bunch. Even though he repeatedly tells her he doesn't want her around, lust finally wins out.

In the second triangle, Marie finally meets her rival, the presumed virginal Velma, a young woman whom Roy's opened up a new life for but springing for surgery to correct a club foot. Though Velma's previously rejected him and he's on the lam, he drops in one more time. Interesting that Velma is dancing up a storm with her young friends and Marie begins to wiggle around suggesting this is the proper way to dance (and maybe do other things)? Velma is Roy's embodied fantasy, a life he's longed for while languishing for years in prison. Though, her second rejection is callous, the second time a woman tells you to get lost usually is. He fools himself into believing he can have her and provide that kind of life. He rejects, then warms to Marie because she's a reflection of him...cheap, unrefined, desperate and living for the moment.

Palance reveals both Roy's foolish sentimentality and his vicious streak. When he confronts Babe for slapping Marie, he takes great pleasure in beating the daylights out of him. This act, just like in the animal world, where the strongest males will fight over who gets the female(s) confirms not only Roy's place, but Marie's too. Palance is more brutal than Bogie (who's Roy was only violent when necessary). Palance will back hand a man, rather than speak to him.

These factors I feel were better expressed here.

Upperworld (1934)

Code Confused

[6/10 · 3 December 2010]

The Following contains SPOILERS:

As it's been pointed out by other reviewers this is a Pre-Code movie, released before the code took effect 7/1/1934...however the impending restrictions were known to all and had to influence how this movie was made.

I did note in Ginger's dance number in the stage show, the chorus girls wore skin tight, transparent briefs. The film basically comes down to the following: Good guy (millionaire Stream...William Warren) is a lonely, doting father meets and romances Bad Girl Ginger. Meanwhile Mrs. Stream (Mary Astor) is too busy being Mrs. Socialite to attend to hubby or son. Warren starts out by trying to not get involved with drop dead gorgeous Ginger...but man and the flesh are weak. Her slimy boyfriend (J.Carroll Nash) tries to blackmail him and a double homicide ensues.

Stream then tries to foolishly and clumsily cover things up...but gets caught, tried and since he's a good guy and rich...gets off scot free, wifey sees the error of her ways and they both pledge their love and then sail off on a luxury cruise.

Perhaps if more time were spent in the courtroom before a quick resolution,this would have been stronger. Perhaps writer and director were trying to tell us the rich can always get off.

It follows the moral code that was on it's way. Bad Girl Ginger must and does die. Good Guy and Good Girl reconcile and learn from their mistakes. Good, watchable...but could have bee better.

Gunpoint (1966)

Lifted scenes

[3/10 · 11 November 2010]

What I noticed right off were the railroad scenes transplanted from 1957's NIGHT PASSAGE where Audie Murphy appears as an outlaw (The Utica Kid) and is the younger brother of James Stewart. He wears black, with a black leather jacket. In the beginning of this film, he's dressed the same way...the only difference being a sheriff's badge. All the train scenes were inter cut into this film...nice way to save on cost.

I must admit I quickly lost interest, only watching the first third of this movie, but it looked like it wasn't going to get any better. One of the reasons it may look 50ish in style is because of the borrowed scenes.

The Proposal (I) (2009)

Misses the Boat

[6/10 · 19 September 2010]

While it has it's moments, premise is weak for several reasons:

Margaret...she should have been involved with a man (maybe the writer Frank who we never see). She proposes to him first, he turns her down. Then, last ditch idea, she turns to Andrew. She carries that hurt and rejection (makes her more sympathetic and human) and reveals that in time to Andrew. In other words, make Margaret conflicted, make her begin to fall for Andrew and be shocked, confused and realize that there's more to life than being career driven by what she sees in him. The his great family thing is fine, but in her eyes Andrew becomes great, too.

Andrew's mom should hate Margaret. It's OK for the older GrandMa to be all gushy and romantic, but no one really looks at why Margaret supposedly loves Andrew (a boss he's told them he hates). It falls on his mom, who should be more skeptical of the whole deal...this is her only child!! Accepting it on face value is too convenient. Again, this is something else for Margaret to have to deal with.

Two scenes could have been better. Don't you think that being on a plane ride for what 10 hrs, the thought of their marriage proposal story would have come up?

Also, the scene where Margaret threatens Andrew with mutilation for the grievous crime of grabbing her butt (not funny) would have been funny if she'd just forgotten herself and kneed him in his privates with Mom and Grand Mom looking on.

That's it...they were too much 'in character.' Funny would have been the two of them trying to think up stuff to do to appear to be the couple they weren't in front of people. Andrew could have been laying kisses on her in front of his folks without warning her and she'd have to roll with it, etc.

Bread and Roses (2000)

Very Good...until the End

[6/10 · 1 June 2010]

OK...my problem was we're presented with an effective, compelling story that gets flushed at the end.

SPOILER ALERT: Why does Maya steal for a man she's not in love with? And Maya, didn't you think of slipping on some latex gloves before you touched the cash register?

Also...what was up with only facing 3 years for robbery? What happened to unlawful imprisonment for the guy she locked in the bathroom...who had a witness to it?

Also...didn't Maya and Sam (the guy she does love) discuss what would happen if the cops showed up during the demonstration in the building lobby? It was only done to weed out any illegal aliens...would they risk that? Once the cops ordered them to leave, in the real world all of the illegals would have stepped outside.

It also seemed that the resolution came too fast and out of nowhere...too much like now we need to hurry and get the movie over with.

I Confess (1953)

Why isn't this well known?

[16 July 2007]

I recently rented this one and on first viewing I'm amazed that this is considered a minor work of Hitchcock's...it's not.

There's no special efforts or an ironic, memorable way of doing in the bad guy (O. Hasse)...but it's brilliant none the less.

Briefly...a curator confesses to his young parish priest (Clift) that he's just committed murder. He's still caught up in the emotion of doing the deed and morally guilt ridden. He knows the priest can't break his vow of confessional secrecy and as the story moves along we find that the killer uses this to implicate the innocent priest...who it turns out is trying to shield a socialite (Baxter) from further scrutiny. It turns out the murdered lawyer has been blackmailing Baxter over an assumed affair (she's willing, the priest isn't) that if exposed could ruin everyone.

The priest is charged (Karl Malden is very good) as the detective working the case, tried and acquitted. However, the jury of public opinion convicts the priest anyway. He's cleared as the killer strikes again.

In a great climax, the priest publicly confronts the killer and shows all his deep faith, conviction to his vows and courage. Here is where Clift is at his silent best...he's chosen to suffer and even be railroaded into a crime to protect a woman he clearly loves, though he's restricted to act on that love only so far.

It's a nice look on how very often things are not as they seem and none of us should pre judge and how often the facts as we know them can be misleading.

It's not classic Hitch, but still enters the realm of very good and should be checked out by all Hitchcock fans.