oliverpenn Reviews

Moment to Moment (1966)

Lovely Performance by Jean Seberg

[8/10 · 10 December 2006]

What an incredible theme song this lovely picture has. Henry Mancini, along with other major composers, wrote some of the best movie themes during this era (50s & 60s). Also, during that era, songs that went on to get nominated for Oscars were first rate - unlike today's non-descript dreck.

"Moment to Moment" is a lovely movie. I loved the scene at the café when the white doves flew up into the sun (turning golden) to say "goodbye to the day." That glorious theme music crept in all through the picture, making the mood extra special.

I recently bought a Mancini CD just to get the theme from this film. Jean Seberg was a beautiful actress with perfect looks which matched the astonishingly handsome, Sean Garrison, playing the man she cheats with and believes she's killed.

I could see Lana Turner playing this role, it was her kind of picture, but Seberg was just fine. I'm just disappointed that I can't have this on DVD with possible "extras" of outtakes, interviews, etc., especially with Mancini who created this impassioned music. The music theme set the entire mood for the movie and that theme is available on Henry Mancini's A Legendary Performer CD. I just love it.

Caprice (1967)

Everybody Has A Different Opinion

[10/10 · 6 November 2006]

Someone mentioned that Doris Day looked every bit of 42 in this picture ("Caprice"). So, what's wrong with being 42 and looking great? How many ordinary women can look as great as movie goddess Doris and have THAT BODY besides Miss Day (who owned the BEST figure in Hollywood)?

If you look at some of her later TV episodes where Doris wears tight-fitting jeans and pants, women all over the world would give anything to have a figure like her's. She's built like a brick sh**house! Ladies, don't be jealous! I understand from good sources that now in her 80s, her figure is STILL better than anything you'll see on the modern screen.

A Night at the Adonis (1978)

Totally Confused

[4/10 · 15 October 2006]

PMullins totally confused me with all that. What was all that rambling about? Roommates, Koreans, peanut oil, getting slapped in the face with a handbag, etc. What did all that have to do with this movie?

I have been in that theatre and I saw this movie. It was well-publicized when it came out and some of the actors, I used to see on the streets of New York. I've met Jack Wrangler too, we chatted for a while.

The movie is about the "adult games" that went on at the Adonis Theatre. You can guess what activity I mean. I do agree, it was rather odd to be in the exact theatre that was being depicted on the screen, sort of a movie coming to life all around you. What was happening on the screen was also happening in real life as you were watching the film.

Jeanne Eagels (1957)

Kim Novak Was Awful!!!

[1/10 · 5 October 2006]

Obviously, the other writers here are fans of Kim Novak, one of the WORST "actresses" ever to grace the silver screen. This is a woman who has NEVER gotten a good review from film critics. She was universally panned by everyone as "inept," "can't act," "totally wrong for this or ANY role," etc.

It's been reported that her behavior on her sets was abominable - temper tantrums to disguise the fact that she couldn't act and looked bad sharing the screen with such experts as Jack Lemmon and James Stewart.

In "Jeanne Eagles," I laughed at her throughout the entire picture. In the scene where Jeanne did the sequence from "Rain," her acting was so poor as Sadie Thompson, it was hard to believe that that particular audience would cheer her perfectly awful reading.

I felt sorry for her leading man, Jeff Chandler, a very good actor, who struggled like mad to keep a straight face trying to react to such a non-actress.

Fans who are devoted to Miss Novak's beauty (and she was) will forgive her for ANYTHING, even bad acting.

Born Into Exile (1997 TV Movie)

High School Teens Should See This

[8/10 · 30 April 2005]

Another movie about kids that run away from home! They seem to be all alike. These films should be shown in high school to kids, who might be thinking of "getting out" from under their parents' rule.

As someone else said, "it's a hard world out there." Kids arrive in New York, Los Angeles and every other big city, thinking that they can "make it." When the money runs out, prostitution seems to be the only solution to get money. There's always horny men out there with dirty minds (and money) willing to corrupt the helpless young.

With the way that "Chris" broke down about his hustling experience, he must have done something heavier than engaging in oral sex. Sounds like some dude "turned him out." You don't have much choice when you have NO MONEY and a guy orders you to, "turn over." The movie was as good as most of these are. Usually, it's about a girl who gets involved with an older man who seizes the opportunity to make money by turning her into a prostitute. The male version of this is rarely told. John Rechy's book, CITY OF NIGHT, did a fine job of educating young, hopeful guys who hit New York with $75 in their jeans. All I can say is "thank God I read his book before I came to the Big Apple." I saved for three years before I stepped on the train and traveled East to live in Gotham. The hardcore pimps saw this angel and pounced, but it didn't work with me. I had OTHER plans.

I hope that schools will play this film, "Born Into Exhile" and others like "Off The Minnesota Strip" for teenagers. It might help to keep them at home and off the streets.

The Doris Day Show (1968–1973)

Doris Day Quit CBS, She Was Not Fired

[27 February 2005]

"Raysond" wrote this in his/her review: "due to low ratings and a sorry time slot) to let it go and from there "The Doris Day Show" was canceled by CBS. Also during this time the career of singer/actress/producer Doris Day was over and to this day in 1973 officially retired from the entertainment industry where she is living peacefully somewhere in her private estate in Hollywood."

Nothing could be far from the truth. Yes, CBS dealt Doris Day a "Ft. Knox Hand" (that's what VARIETY called it) to Miss Day for her to do a TV series. But, unlike what was reported by Raysond, the series was consistently in the Top 20 it's entire run. Doris Day called it quits with CBS. She had never wanted to do television in the first place: her husband secretly signed her to the CBS contract without her permission. He died, and as Day has said, "I was delivered to CBS." From what I have read, CBS wanted Doris to re-sign and continue the show, but she declined. She did, however, live up to her contract and did the two musical specials that her late husband promised.

Most people are not aware, but Doris' film career was far from over in 1968. Her three films that year ("Ballad of Josie," "Where Were You When The Lights Went Out" and "With Six You Get Eggroll") should have landed her among the top ten box office stars, but with the news that she would be doing a TV show, Quigley's Poll didn't bother. The fact is, Doris Day's 1968 films out-grossed several of the stars who made the list.

The Return of Dracula (1958)

This Movie Nearly Scared Me To Death!

[9/10 · 26 February 2005]

I saw this on a revival double feature with I was very young. I don't remember the other picture, but that was the one that I had gone to see. I had no idea about "The Return of Dracula," but Francis Lederer nearly scared me to death. After watching his wonderful performance as Count Dracula, I was literally petrified walking home in the dark. My home was only four blocks from the movie house and I was about ten. Behind every tree, bush or dark spot, I expected Lederer to appear. Boy, was I happy to get back into my house!

I was pleased to see it, years later, on television where I taped a very good copy. The movie is still frightening, mainly because of the expert direction, the creepy score and the total dedication of the actors. Norma Eberhardt was both beautiful and believable as Rachel, the young "cousin" who had a slight crush on Lederer. Her horny boyfriend, played by Ray Stricklyn, was appropriately jealous and Virginia Vincent ("Helen Morgan Story," "I Want to Live!") as Jennie Blake, the blind girl who became one of Lederer's victims, were both very effective. Miss Eberhardt had the stuff to become a big star, what happened? Francis Lederer, with his craggy face, watery eyes, was downright "pornographic" when he gazed into Rachel's eyes. You just KNOW he wanted her sexually, not just for her blood.

With such piffle as "Dead Man Walk" with George Zucco out on DVD, this wonderfully scary film deserves the same respect.

DON'T MISS THIS ONE! And, don't watch it alone!

Something's Got to Give (1962)

Good Thing This Mess Wasn't Finished!

[18 January 2005]

I taped the "finished" product of "Something's Gotta Give" when it appeared on AMC. Being a fan of Marilyn Monroe's, I expected to like what I saw. The documentary showed Marilyn just as she has been described by many of her co-stars: confused, ill-prepared and generally "lost." By the time that Tony Curtis finished "Some Like It Hot," he almost hated Marilyn. Movie stars like Curtis do NOT like waiting around all day for their co-star to show up! And, when they show up, not ready to perform.

Tony Randall said of Monroe: "if you were there watching her film a scene, you'd say, 'she'll never get by'...but the next day, you look at the rushes and MAGIC ON THE SCREEN." He felt, basically, that Monroe had "no talent." That the camera transformed her. Tom Ewell ("Seven Year Itch") said, "what you see on the screen with Marilyn, usually took up to 90 takes per scene. She couldn't remember her lines." More than any of her movies, I think that "Something's...Give" would have been awful, worse than Doris Day's overblown version, which was ill-directed. Dean Martin looked totally out of it, while Cyd Charisse did quite a credible job, much better than Polly Bergen, who was much too "acty" and over the top.

Day, a much more skilled actress than Monroe, had her moments in "Move Over Darling," but the script was bad, and they should have used Day's own hair instead of those crazy wigs.

Poor Marilyn's brain was not up to making ANY film at the time of SGTG. I must admit that she was much better when she kept her mouth shut (when she first saw her children on her return), but her scenes with Dean were God awful. The best thing she did was take a nude swim.

Just compare Day's scene with Don Knotts and Monroe's with Wally Cox in the department store scene. Day and night. Day/Knotts was certainly better than the grade school calibre acting of Monroe/Cox.

To be fair to everyone. I didn't like "My Favorite Wife," "Something's Gotta Give" or "Move Over Darling." Was there a "Thelma Ritter" in "Something's"?

From the Terrace (1960)

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward - Such Beautiful People.

[8/10 · 8 January 2005]

As a youngster, I saw Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in person, a few years after they finished this picture, in New York. They were appearing on Broadway in a comedy called "Baby Want A Kiss," and I was passing by Sardi's on 44th Street, I believe. First to come out was drop dead gorgeous Joanne, still wearing her FROM THE TERRACE hairstyle (shoulder-length pageboy flip) & dark movie star sunglasses, accompanied by two men in suits. She ignored the crowd who screamed, "Joanne, over here!" "Hi, Joanne!" Next, Paul Newman came out (two suited men on either side) as he held a cocktail glass in his hand. Obviously on his fourth or fifth drink, he looked like Alfred Eaton in TERRACE. But, unlike Joanne, he smiled and flashed the bluest eyes I've ever seen! He even toasted the screaming crowd. Women AND men were fainting unashamedly.

Personally, I loved FROM THE TERRACE. I was just fascinated by all the glamour, wealth, sex, adultery and sheer drama (especially between Leon Ames (Paul's father) and Newman.

Joanne as Mary St. John was a stone nympho, similar to Susanne Pleshette's over-sexed character in another John O'Hara book-to-film, A RAGE TO LIVE.

It was just a joy to see Woodward wear all those fabulous clothes and look spectacular in those hairdos and 60's makeup (it was all in the eyes!) After getting propositioned on the dance floor, Mary rebuked the man who knew "all about her..." donned a tremendously long white satin coat and "floated" like a regal queen to the limo (hair in a French Roll and a tiara!) Gorgeous.

Yes, she was an adulteress, but what was a "hungry" girl like her to do when her husband didn't want to touch her?

Off the Minnesota Strip (1980 TV Movie)

Mare Winningham's Greatest Performance

[10/10 · 2 January 2005]

When I saw this, I was deeply impressed with the young actress, Mare Winningham. Everything she did (as an actress) was brilliant -- even when she smoked (blowing smoke from the side of her mouth).

If I'm correct, she had been sexually abused by her father (Hal Holbrook) when she was a little girl, but didn't hold it against him after she became a teenager. Yes, she was troubled, but I think her biggest headache was a very critical mother (Michael Learned), who, obviously put up with the abuse.

When Mare comes back from her New York jaunt as a prostitute, she bravely goes back to high school. She even dabbles in a little hooking upon her return. Boys, of course, are "after" her sexually, and then she has to deal with her NY pimp, who arrives to take her back to the street. Leon Isaac Kennedy as the pimp gave a marvelous performance.

Funny, why a great film like this is allowed to get lost in the shuffle. This should be restored and put on DVD. I'd love to hear comments from Miss Winningham and the other living cast members about their experience while making the picture.

I have seen Winningham in many TV movies since, including the wonderful, "Amber Waves," and felt that she could be the next Bette Davis or Shirley Booth. What an actress! "Off The Minnesota Strip" was certainly Mare Winningham's finest hour.

Running Against Time (1990 TV Movie)

Perfect Cast - Good Show!

[8/10 · 17 December 2004]

"Running Against Time" is an enjoyable film that I happened to stumble upon early one morning. Time travel films have always fascinated me starting with "The Time Machine" with Rod Taylor, which won an Oscar for special effects way back in the '60s.

This film doesn't pussyfoot around with 20 minutes of build-up, they get straight to the meat of the plot relatively fast. You have a physics professor, Dr. Koopman (Sam Wanamaker) who is working on the time travel concept, secretly, with obviously, some success. His "clandestine" experiments are accidentally discovered by another professor (history), David (Robert Hays) who volunteers his help with the research. You see, he lost his big brother in the Viet Nam war and he'd like to go back and prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, thus saving his brother's life.

David's girlfriend (Catherine Hicks) is a TV reporter who is trying to get an interview with Dr. Koopman and is drawn into the overall intrigue.

Koopman, is outraged about the revelation of his work, but does not want the research made public. He's almost "blackmailed" into allowing David and his girlfriend to participate in his work.

He sends David back in time (1963) to stop the President's murder by Lee Harvey Oswald. What they did consider, but ignored, was that David's going back would effect his own presence on our planet in 1963: two life forces in one space.

Can you really go back and change history? It's fascinating to think that everything that has ever happened is still happening IN TIME. Just think, "Gone With the Wind" is still, and will forever be, in production in 1938! With time travel, we could go back and watch the filming of the burning of Atlanta, or any event in history. Going back, you could even see your own mother playing in the backyard in 1925.

When David gets back to 1963 at the book storehouse, Oswald is loading his rifle, but our time traveler is unable to stop the killing. Instead, he shoots Oswald and the police arrive with Oswald claiming that David was the shooter. The plot gets interesting at this point with Hicks having to travel back EARLIER than David to help him out of the jam.

When Hick's "travel plans" don't work out (upon arriving, she's hit by a car and taken to the hospital), Dr. Koopman decides to go back to rescue them. While back at his old house in 1963, Koopman decides to visit President Lyndon Johnson to convince him to get out of Viet Nam before it's too late. He warns him of what will happen if the war is esculated. Johnson is shocked by what he hears and SEES in a filmed documentary from THE FUTURE in which he sees himself deciding not to run for a second term.

I won't tell everything, but it gets exciting and also very sad, especially when Hays sees his older brother, aged 16, at a hospital where he (Hays) is dying of an unknown ailment (remember, two life forces sharing the same time in space?)

Tears well up in my eyes every time I see this film. I thought that the performances were wonderful and I wouldn't want to see any other actors playing these roles, this casting was perfect.

I wouldn't mind having this on DVD, even though the VHS copy I have is just fine.

Mame (1974)

Lucy Should Have Known Better!

[30 September 2004]

Hollywood has always gone the money-road instead of the artistic avenue when it came to transforming a Broadway show into a movie. As a young movie-goer and fan of Broadway, I often wondered WHY they did this?

The only time I can think of when it was just right (a Broadway musical working when it came to the screen) was Doris Day, taking over for her former co-star ("Romance on the High Seas"), Janis Paige in THE PAJAMA GAME.

Just this once, they got it right. I'm not taking anything away from the talented Miss Paige, but it was either Frank Sinatra taking over for John Raitt and playing it with Paige, or dropping Paige and giving the lead female role to Doris Day, a bonified movie star that could sing, act, dance, carry this picture and retaining Raitt in the male lead.

Since Sinatra was unavailable, a star that could bring in the folks was DORIS DAY, since no other top female film star could fill Miss Paige's shoes.

Even though I love Rosalind Russell, the original star of GYPSY should have done the movie version. Who was she? Ethel Merman. Hollywood was wrong - people WOULD have come to see Ethel.

Likewise, audiences would have shown up to watch Angela Lansbury in MAME. Yes, Lucille Ball was a great star, but this role was not for her. She might possibly have been right for it ten years previously, but not at 63. Eve Arden played it, also on Broadway, and would have been great at 42, but her box office was not certain as a film star.

This whole thing is sad, mainly for Lucy, who tried, but failed here. This should have taught Hollywood a lesson, one which they didn't learn previously when they brought "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?" to the screen.

Elizabeth Taylor was a poor excuse for "Martha" after Uta Hagen had created the role on the New York stage and given an astonishing, Tony Award-winning performance and garnering some of the most incredible reviews in the history of the theatre.

Likewise, Grace Kelly's rendition of "Georgia Elgin" in THE COUNTRY GIRL, pleased all, EXCEPT those who saw Uta Hagen create the role on Broadway. It's the same old story...

A Rage to Live (1965)

Wonderful Performance by Susanne Pleshette

[8/10 · 13 April 2004]

"A Rage to Live" had beautiful, haunting theme music which crept in at just the right moments. The story of Grace Caldwell, a beautiful young girl with a "problem," not unlike most men, everywhere, she loved sex and had no control over her actions. She was a nympho.

Women like Grace are scorned and hated by other women, because men are so drawn to her type -- women who crave sex just like men. There wasn't a lot of "dating and cat and mouse" with a girl like Grace. A brief look into her eyes and the next stop was the bedroom.

Personally, I felt sorry for Grace after her marriage to Bradford Dillman and the birth of her child. She seemed truly happy. Into her life walks Ben Gazzara, with a bulging crotch and sexy Italian bravado. Much too much for Grace to resist, especially when he tells her that he has the hots for her. Obviously, Grace is not getting the KIND of sex she craves: cheap, tawdry, motel sex with strange men. Well, that's what she got with Ben, but he was mentally "off" and easily fell in love with Caldwell. Trying to break off the affair with Gazarra, she tells him, "You knew what this was. I have a husband and child that I love." His response, of course, is to call her a "dirty slut" and a "rotten, filthy whore!"

Ben is not the only man that is after Grace. Every man she comes across "knows" her and "her kind." Unfortunately, it's difficult for her to say "no." Even on a vacation with her mother, who has a bad heart, Grace sneaks out in the middle of the night to have tawdry sex with a hotel worker. She copulates with a college buddy of her brother's, plus, it was insinuated that she had "entertained" other men.

The ending is sad, especially because her husband deserts her after a drunken, jealous wife accuses Grace of "sleeping" with her husband (Peter Graves.) After calling Grace a "tramp," the woman breaks down in tears and tells Bradford that her husband "admitted it!!!"

Susanne Pleshette was wonderful. Her performance was as good as any other actress's in 1965, certainly better than Liz Taylor's in 1960's "Butterfield 8." Perhaps if Grace had been a prostitute, the role would have been more appealing to the Academy. They just LOVE giving Oscars to actresses who play ladies of the evening. Nymphomania, obviously, is too strong for their coffee.

Too bad Susanne didn't become a major movie star -- she certainly had the looks and the talent.

I'd love to have this on DVD. And, that THEME music was lovely.