At least for the first season. Ed O'Neill isn't Jack Webb, but he doesn't really need to be. He manages to make the character of Joe Friday his own without diminishing the original portrayal in the least. His stoop-shouldered presence is reminiscent of his Al Bundy, but he still conveys Friday's well-known moral fiber flawlessly. The scripts were well-written and the actors well-chosen. (Look for a couple of Breaking Bad stars in pre-fame guest roles.) The quality dropped dramatically in the second season, with Ethan Embry replaced by somebody whose name escapes me. By the last episode of season two, I was ready for the series to die a dignified death.
Reviews
4 Reviews
Coming Up Roses
(1986)
A low-key romantic comedy with wonderful characters
14 February 2012
I ran across this film at a video store in Portland, Oregon in 1988 or '89. I'm passably familiar with Welsh, but I learned from a northerner and the southern (I assume) accents made it tricky for me to follow without the subtitles.
A depressed mining town seems like a strange setting for a comedy, and there's a strong strain of melancholy through the visuals, the music and the overall air of the cast. The actual storyline in which a projectionist and an ice-cream girl (American that I am, I'd never heard of ice cream in a theater) try to save their jobs is fairly clichéd, although the repeated setbacks aren't as predictable as they might have been. But the real joy is watching the two as they turn each other's lives around.
Trefor (Dafydd Hywel) has two boys who live with his ex-wife and her new husband. The pair are broker than he is and continually need money, which he always produces no matter the toll it takes on him. Mona (Iola Gregory) takes care of her irresponsible daughter's baby girl while Mama is out presumably entertaining herself. The low-key romance that develops between these two good-hearted, taken-advantage-of veterans of life is what really makes this film worth watching.
A depressed mining town seems like a strange setting for a comedy, and there's a strong strain of melancholy through the visuals, the music and the overall air of the cast. The actual storyline in which a projectionist and an ice-cream girl (American that I am, I'd never heard of ice cream in a theater) try to save their jobs is fairly clichéd, although the repeated setbacks aren't as predictable as they might have been. But the real joy is watching the two as they turn each other's lives around.
Trefor (Dafydd Hywel) has two boys who live with his ex-wife and her new husband. The pair are broker than he is and continually need money, which he always produces no matter the toll it takes on him. Mona (Iola Gregory) takes care of her irresponsible daughter's baby girl while Mama is out presumably entertaining herself. The low-key romance that develops between these two good-hearted, taken-advantage-of veterans of life is what really makes this film worth watching.
Telephone Operator
(1937)
Snappy romantic comedy
7 April 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This one is well worth watching for the interplay between Grant Withers and Judith Allen, with Hymer and White for a counterpoint. The sparring-to-snogging relationship between the principals is delightful to watch, and the dialogue, while dated, still comes out fresh. Nothing stilted or wooden here.
One scene in particular is interesting in the way it's handled, involving as it does one woman covering for another's infidelity. It's handled frankly for the late thirties, but still with enough decorum not to faze the Hays Office censors (although it seems strange today to think of an employee being canned for moral turpitude).
One drawback for me was the overuse of stock footage for the flood scenes. It was pretty visibly taken from a wide variety of newsreels, and some of the backgrounds are incongruous. In particular, I noticed a shot of people panicking in the streets of a city much bigger than anyplace referenced in the film (and I'm fairly sure I've seen the same footage somewhere else).
One scene in particular is interesting in the way it's handled, involving as it does one woman covering for another's infidelity. It's handled frankly for the late thirties, but still with enough decorum not to faze the Hays Office censors (although it seems strange today to think of an employee being canned for moral turpitude).
One drawback for me was the overuse of stock footage for the flood scenes. It was pretty visibly taken from a wide variety of newsreels, and some of the backgrounds are incongruous. In particular, I noticed a shot of people panicking in the streets of a city much bigger than anyplace referenced in the film (and I'm fairly sure I've seen the same footage somewhere else).
Where Are My Children?
(1916)
Wasn't the wife played by his real wife?
31 July 2005
I find it interesting that Mrs. Walton is credited as Helen Riaume (with no IMDb link). This appears to have been the same Helen Riaume who is credited elsewhere as "Mrs. Tyrone Power," and was Tyrone Power Sr.'s wife until the same year this was released. The content of this film is unusual enough, and having a married couple playing the leads and not credited as such adds to the interest.
In particular, the content was of a controversial nature in 1916, and is even more so today, with the sides reversed. The topic of abortion (called simply "birth control" in this movie) was not one that was raised often in films anyway, and moral guardians would have hesitated to let a movie through that favored the practice. The climate of Hollywood being what it is today, there might be no legal impediment to making a similarly anti-abortion film, but it would certainly be frowned upon, and perhaps de facto blacklisted.
In particular, the content was of a controversial nature in 1916, and is even more so today, with the sides reversed. The topic of abortion (called simply "birth control" in this movie) was not one that was raised often in films anyway, and moral guardians would have hesitated to let a movie through that favored the practice. The climate of Hollywood being what it is today, there might be no legal impediment to making a similarly anti-abortion film, but it would certainly be frowned upon, and perhaps de facto blacklisted.
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