In his 1st movie, "Four Daughters", he changed the movie with his amazing acting. The movie was sugary junk until he showed up. It was one of the best performances I've ever seen. It was his 1st role & he was nominated as best supporting actor. The studio tried three more times to put all of the actors together in subsequent type movies. The last scene in his last movie is really compelling. I rank the documentary a 9 because his daughter isn't impartial & sometimes she's just wrong. It's sad that he made so many pro-USA movies (I won't list them here.) He made a number of war films, etc, yet the HUAC hounded him due to his earlier stage career. He died at 39 and my understanding is that he had a huge funeral. He deserved it.
Reviews
6 Reviews
In Cold Blood
(1967)
Blake's best performance and the impact the book made on the U.S. Death Penalty
25 May 2021
I'm really surprised that the scene in Perry's cell when he's telling his story - while it rains - happened by accident. I've always thought it was one of the best scenes in any film. The writer here notes that Perry's body jumps up & down when he's hung. I dare to think that they would use a real hanging to fix that. It's the heartbeat that is horrific. The book is said to have been one influence on the US Supreme Court when they found the death penalty cruel and unusual in the 70's. Everyone on death row in the U. S. was commuted to life without parole (like Charles Manson, etc.) A few years later the death penalty was reinstated.
What We Do in the Shadows
(2019–2024)
It's difficult to explain how great this is
13 September 2020
It's not what you expect. I guess I saw the movie after I watched the current TV show. The movie was really good and the show is absolutely hysterical. If you think it isn't your thing turn it on anyway. You won't be disappointed. I can't wait for the new season!
The Colgate Comedy Hour
(1950–1955)
It's hard to rate because I only watched the Martin & Lewis episodes
13 June 2020
When the Martin & Lewis episodes were available my mom bought as many as she could. (I'm 61 so I wasn't born yet.) I think they were the funniest comedy pair in my lifetime (I was born eventually.) Some people don't like Lewis & that's too bad. These are the years they were at their best. The skits are mostly always funny, but the bloopers and ad-libs are the best. They are on the same page even when they screw up. They also get away with insulting each other (for instance, Lewis stands behind Martin & mimics Martin's nose job.) My father told me that when their episodes were showing the streets were pretty empty because everyone was watching the show.
Moonshiners
(2011– )
Interesting characters but problems with repetition & fear of the law.
9 May 2020
You come to really like some of these guys. The problem is that they keep trying to change things up because the show has run so long. Every moonshine season they can't be doing the same thing they did the last season. They honestly come from moonshine ancestors. I really don't like it when they act like they're afraid of "the law" since they have permission from authorities to film the show. I guess they could be trying to show how things were. As an aside, the story of Popcorn Sutton is interesting. There's a lot more to it than they show. The guy says I'd rather be dead than go to prison. I've seen it in my work. It's not really unusual.
Grace Under Fire
(1993–1998)
Seemed to live and die with her own demons
22 July 2018
1st: Whenever I see someone say that something is "politically correct" I get a bit annoyed. LAFF had Grace on before July when Roseanne disappeared (her latest rant on YouTube is, frankly, very sad). No one knows if there was another reason (like ratings maybe?) I told Comcast to jump in the lake so I watched antenna TV for awhile. I really like the show and I remember it from the 1st time around. Most people say that it went downhill and I agree. I wondered if she was able to express her addiction problems so well because she was still having trouble. Her best friend was the best and she left. Her son grew to about 7 ft tall over a break. It was weird. I'd like to check out something more recent & see what's up with her.
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