alicepaul Reviews

Cell 2455, Death Row (1955)

another incredible crazy-paced wonder

[9 December 2004]

I am always amazed at how well hidden small jewels like Cell 2455 Death Row are. This is an important film, not only because it was based on the prison autobiography of Caryl Chessman, the notorious Red-Light Bandit who briefly haunted lovers lanes in post-war L.A but because he became the cause-celebre of the anti-death penalty movement. It's also a high-octane film that attempts to fairly portray the prison system of the day. William Campbell brings a measure of intelligence to the role of the condemned killer. We bear witness to his evolution as crook and (if you believe the crimes that led to the death sentence were his) sex fiend. All in all a snappy little effort.

The Sniper (1952)

another rare and excellent noir travelogue

[2 December 2004]

Someone previously has mentioned the value in this sort of location- driven film noir. As 60% of THE SNIPER was filmed on the 1951 streets of San Francisco, we and our descendants will benefit from these wonderful glimpses into the past. The story itself, perhaps somewhat naive as an earlier reporter comments, is intense and strangely current. Richard Wiley's psychiatrist makes a long,and not a little tedious, call for better treatment for sexual predators. Society is still unable to provide early diagnosis not to mention sufficient resources for treatment. As a film noir thriller, we are drawn into the sniper's pathetic personal pain. As a cautionary note, one might well choose to learn from the missteps of victims in this film and stay home and never take unnecessary risks such as meeting new people or expressing any public views that might set someone off on a killing spree. Fortunately we are garrulous beings for the most part and likely won't hibernate our lives away. Still, this film captures the randomness of psychotic death dealers fairly efficiently. The cast is uniformly excellent. I wonder if Adolf Menjou watched NAKED CITY and picked up a few disheveled pointers from Barry Fitzgerald. As a final note, I have to wonder why this excellent little film, like so many. has been hidden from us. Surely I'm not one of so few who love these gems?

The Lineup (1958)

Hard-assed, violent little flick

[22 November 2004]

This was a breezy, fast-paced little piece of noir that crosses the time barrier pretty efficiently. Each of the three main villains, driving through the sun-lit streets of San Francisco, delivering violence and death, leave up with strongly etched character studies. The locations are wonderful, particularly the ice rink. It's a privilege to sit back, follow, a simple, well-woven plot and travel back in time to a place you never been, yet know pretty intimately anyways. Films that flow with such ease are becoming rare items

This would be a great double bill with Bullitt or Dirty Harry. Heck, it would be a great double bill with anything.

Johnny Cool (1963)

taut, slick, anomic, infected world of death 'morte'

[8 May 2004]

Johnny Cool moves along at a bloody and violent pace. The bad guys are complex and heroic deeds few and far between. Dare's self-revelation about the innocence of her 'dolce vita' friends and the corruption and the prevalence of the underworld is almost understated. 40 years since the film was made, it still intoxicatingly drags the viewer back to a simpler albeit vicious time. The acting is almost uniformly true. Henry Silva is powerful and Elizabeth Montgomery is as sexy as the times would allow.It has some funny moments including Joey Bishop as a very verbal used car salesman

The murders are mostly quick and effective. Some are sloppy and brutal the way you know they must be in real life.

Every moment of this film is a hard little gem. Why films like this are so elusive escapes me.

This Is Wonderland (2004–2006)

I love the way this series captures urban chaos

[4 March 2004]

Even with the frantic pace, this courtroom comic drama takes just the right amount of time to tell its painful, and painfully funny stories. As art it creates its own universe and peoples it with highly original characters. As a piece of urban it seems to tell the truth. It is a highly inventive and revealing portrait that shows how peoples lives are affected by their dance with the court system. What is also revealing and truth-telling is the necessary manipulation of the judicial process in order that people actually get a bit of justice. A funny dramedy. CBC, you're on the ball.

Night and the City (1950)

like a rat in a trap of his own creation

[25 February 2004]

Every where Richard Widmark's loser character Harry Fabian turns in this film he finds golden opportunities smothered in bad timing. Widmark utilizes a variation of that smarmy, snickering sinister giggle-chuckle that was memorialized in Kiss of Death.It serves the actor well in this film in its toned-down form but offers up a sort of pathetic body language for Fabian, the character. It may be that this American ex-patriot character is just way out of his depth. His hucksterism is not much appreciated by many of his acquaintances in this seedy London underworld. If Harry Fabian would simply accept that he is destined to be a 3rd rate shill and stooge,he might have fund some small pleasures. However, his mind is a shade too quick and his ambition too pumped. He's a user with not a shread of remorse about stepping on others, ripping them off, keeping one tiny step ahead of exposure. This is a superb film, squalid and sinister in its portrayal of greed, corruption and betrayal.

Iron Jawed Angels (2004 TV Movie)

Powerful rendition of womens' emancipation movement

[15 February 2004]

I found this film to be so powerful as to reduce me to tears. It certainly deserves wide distribution and the pity is that it most likely won't. In the past I have glibly mentioned the getting of the vote as if it was as simple as ordering fries. Clearly the struggle for the vote required extraordinary strength. This film blends a rather modernistic, upbeat directorial style with some modest homage to period detail. I trust that this approach will make the film more easily accessible to younger viewers. Hilary Swank and Frances O'Connor are a delight to watch. While their respective portrayals of Alice Paul and Lucy Burns might seem a shade romanticized, I think they offer up excellent role models of women who take political action. I also was taken by Molly Parkers painfully slow portrayal of Emily Leighton's awakening to her own imprisonment. Highly recommended