Marlburian Reviews

Black Velvet Band (1997 TV Movie)

Adequate

[6/10 · 10 April 2024]

When flicking TV channels I came across this film on Talking Pictures 15 minutes after it had started. I was sufficiently intrigued to record the remainder and then "catch up" with the start on TPTV Encore.

I found it adequate enough, though here and there I wondered if there'd been some editing before it was shown on Talking Pictures, with several jumps in the plot. These became more obvious when the action moved to South Africa, with a few scenes back in London, with communication between the two being rapid, one letter to the British Government taking just weeks to arrive. More like three months was the norm! And after they'd swum ashore the five seemed to have found some more clothes.

It was refreshing that the female lead, Louisa, was NOT portrayed as glamorous; in fact when I first saw her during the channel-flicking I wondered if she was a boy. Decades ago, Hollywood would have used a glamorous actress to play a female convict. Think Paulette Goddard in "Unconquered". (Gabriella Cirillo herself could be glamorous, to the extent of winning the Miss Italy title in South Africa a few years later.)

But if the producers avoided this trope, there were others that they did not. There were the traditional encounters with South African wildlife; after the lion, rhinoceros and elephants had appeared, I was thinking "snake next", and so it proved. And there were the immediate romances when the five reached the hospitable estate.

All the cast acquitted themselves well enough, but the vindictive Major Watson seemed rather callow for his rank. Better for him to have been a lieutenant or played by an older actor.

The ending caught me unawares. It was as if the makers had exceeded their screen time and rushed the closing scenes. And how did Mrs Tusco fare when she arrived in the vastness of South Africa to re-unite with her husband?

Where the Hell's That Gold?!!? (1988 TV Movie)

OK if you like lots of train scenes

[6/10 · 10 May 2023]

I like Westerns featuring trains and I like Jack Elam, but WTHTG became something of a drag, with rather too many views of the train meandering along windy tracks, albeit through very scenic country.

The last twenty minutes or so were a bit of a mess. Given that earlier on the soldiers had to replenish the locomotive's water using a bath and trekking backwards and forwards to the river, it was a little surprising that the locomotive later passed a water tower, when it surely must have needed another top up.

Though the Mexican lieutenant's loyalties were mixed, why did he and his men agree to all the vital dynamite being handed over to the rebels in exchange for five Texas Rangers who shouldn't have been in Mexico?

Wasn't 1895 a little late for the Apaches to be so aggressive? And despite fierce exchanges of fire, including from a small cannon (that was very quickly re-loaded) no human and no horse appeared to have been killed - perhaps because the film was light-hearted, though not the comedy some people have described it as.

Murphy's War (1971)

Not very convincing

[7/10 · 9 May 2023]

"Murphy's Law" takes the theme of "Brown on Resolution" (aka "Forever England"), remade as "Sailor of the King" (aka "Single-handed"), of a sailor marooned on an island taking his revenge on the German vessel that sank his ship, with an ending reminiscent of that of "The African Queen".

The other films were more convincing (or less unconvincing), as I found it difficult to believe in Murphy's two attacks on the submarine. And though atrocities at sea were committed by all sides during war, I found the one in "Murphy's War" a little unbelievable. Had the U-boat crew - or even its captain - been portrayed as fervent Nazis embittered by losing the war , their actions would have been more credible.

Although the aircraft and submarine may not have been authentic, at least they, the workboat and the scenery looked good. And thank goodness there was no contrived romance between the doctor and Murphy.

Escape from Fort Bravo (1953)

Interesting Western, with improbabilities

[7/10 · 3 May 2023]

EFFB combines the themes of "Major Dundee" and "Dakota Incident", starting off with a Union prison camp for Confederates close to Indian territory and concluding with a disparate bunch of whites in a gully fighting off hostiles. And there's a touch of "Henry V" when flights of arrow soar through the air to descend on their targets.

By that stage the Indians were showing some sense, after several times riding past their enemies and presenting good targets to them, rather than swamping them in one frontal charge (but that would have ended the film early).

There has to be a glamorous woman in most films of this type, but Eleanor Parker added little. Improbably travelling as the solitary passenger in a stagecoach through hostile territory (and even more improbably with a wardrobe of designer gowns). Her only role seemed to be to pass a message to Captain Marsh (who curiously appeared at a ball in a smart Confederate dress uniform he'd somehow acquired after being captured).

But perhaps she did serve to befuddle Captain Roper, who suspiciously examined a pass given to the storekeeper, asked what was inside his wagon, but didn't think to look for himself. The Confederates in the wagon must have had one of the easiest escapes in film history (slipping under a simple fence inside the fort at night) though the last-minute addition of Carla, resplendent in a ball gown, did disconcert them.

Such weaknesses were common in Westerns of the 1950s, and EFFB is still an effective contribution to the genre of that period. The fort and scenery look good, and there's some satisfying fighting.

Moss Rose (1947)

Reasonable US rendition of Victorian London crime

[6/10 · 28 April 2023]

All the cast did a reasonable job in portraying characters of the late Victorian period in England. However, the poster shown here on IMDB is very American, giving the impression of Victor Mature's character being an American gangster.

Mature was always self-deprecating about his acting abilities, but he does well enough here in a "gentleman" role that contrasts favourably with his tough-guy and "muscular" performances. But in the light of the denouement possibly he's too burly and virile, and an effete actor might have been more appropriate.

For its time (1947), the film does make several "racy" allusions, with men picking up dancers as they leave the theatre - one is thwarted when he tries to accompany the girls upstairs into her lodgings. And Michael's fiancee points out to Belle/Rose that, rather than spending so much money on clothes for her, he could have purchased her affections for two shillings (about £42 in 2023 - quite a low price (not that I know much about such transactions), with the implication that Bella/Rose came cheap.

The Young Warriors (1967)

Routine war film

[5/10 · 5 April 2023]

I gave up three-quarters of the way through the film after getting fed up with the characters supporting James Drury, several of whom I found annoying. Curiously only Sergeant Cooley showed any beard stubble, with everyone else remaining perfectly clean-shaven - they weren't that young!

Early on, when the patrol gets ambushed and one recumbent soldier appears to be hit, two or three of his colleagues withdraw barely crouching. And when the three men down by the pond are told they're in a minefield, they work their way back huddled together so that were a mine to explode it would kill or injure them all.

I gather that towards the end there's a good action scene, but I couldn't be bothered to wait for that.

Grace: Dead Man's Grip (2023) Season 3, Episode 2

Fast-moving, perhaps too much so!

[7/10 · 28 March 2023]

It's difficult for a TV detective series to find an acceptable place for itself and its central character in an over-crowded market - and to portray police procedures in way that is not too unrealistic.

"Grace" succeeds reasonably well, though the John Simm character is a bit flat, as are most of his team, but then we don't want a collection of larger-than-life police officers. Craig Parkinson as DS Norman Potting does provide the occasional spark, as when , unabashed, he interviewed his superior, ACC Cassian Pewe, in the previous episode

Others have remarked about the prompt arrival of DSI Grace and most of his team to investigate a traffic accident - and before Ecstasy tablets were discovered on the victim. Still, I suppose that the plot had to progress quickly, as indeed it did, with a bewildering succession of names being introduced, followed by the characters themselves. I had to work hard to keep up, and I remained confused about why some were killed.

The bereaved mother's relatively civil reception of the driver who'd killed her son was surprising in the light of future developments.

An enthusiastic reviewer of the book on which this episode is based has remarked "I have to admit that I did slightly have to suspend my disbelief at the coincidences needed for the plot to work", and thus it was with this adaptation. But then this a very frequent feature of detective fiction.

I confess to not being too bothered with the private lives of Grace and his sergeant, though the re-appearance of the former's wife, long presumed to be dead, is intriguing.

Serena (1962)

Acceptable low-budget film

[6/10 · 24 March 2023]

"Serena" is one of those films that, after I've watched it, I reflect back on the plot, wonder how convincing it all was, and debate whether to watch the film again to check! Certainly I had to think back about some of the scenes, but my eventual judgement was that it was all reasonably coherent.

Unusually (as a fan of postwar B films shot in and around London), I failed to recognise many of the supporting cast, with the exception of Peter Glaze as the station clerk at Victoria. (He went on to co-host "Crackerjack", a popular TV programme of my childhood.)

Honor Blackman's star potential was very evident, and Patrick Holt made a reasonable police inspector. The acting of several others was poor - in particular I was surprised to see that John Horsley, as the family solicitor, was an established actor, so amateurish were his reactions when he was being questioned. The trailing of Ann Rogers after she'd left the church looked very clumsy.

I was a little surprised to see that the film lasted only an hour - it seemed longer. Overall, it was very acceptable.

Johnny Reno (1966)

Reasonable re-hash of familiar tropes

[7/10 · 17 March 2023]

By 1966 the conventional Western was disappearing after countless movies had re-hashed themes that had become well worn to the point of deserving erosion. "Johnny Reno" (released that year) assembled many over-familiar tropes and somehow managed to present them collectively in a fresh manner that made for a reasonably entertaining film.

But ... at 57 Dana Andrews was far too old and time-worn for an action man, though it was evidently he who managed at least some of the agility required by his character. Lon Chaney at 60 looked even more a man who had lived a full life; by then his illnesses, not least alcoholism, were showing in his face.

At least Jane Russell looked good at 45 and effectively delivered a bathtub scene that was highly publicized at the time.

Stone Junction seemed a large town with a large saloon with several hostesses - but fewer than 20 fully-able men. A dozen remained to defend it against the Native Americans after several had been eliminated.) It was strange that Nona Williams didn't know where the nearest town with a telegraph was, not that she got very far on her mission to summon help.

Recoil (1953)

Very basic and unconvincing plot

[4/10 · 16 March 2023]

I like low-budget old B & W films shot in postwar London and am usually forgiving about their shortcomings, but I found the plot of "Recoil" too basic and almost insulting to the viewer. It was a little difficult to accept that Nicholas didn't recognise Jean in his brother's waiting-room, and even more so when he didn't do so immediately at their next encounter. And it was impossible to believe that she could mask her feelings sufficiently to become, presumably, his lover.

I can accept the age gap of 13 years between Edward Underdown and Elizabeth Sellars, but he failed to convince as an attractive alternative to his brother.

OK, the length of the film was limited -and other reviewers have suggested that some footage could have been cut - but how unrealistic that someone could come in off the street and see a doctor without the receptionist taking a few personal details.

Moore and Sellars did well enough, but the old cars - especially the taxis - were more noteworthy than the supporting cast.

Sierra Baron (1958)

Familiar plot with interesting historical elements

[6/10 · 9 March 2023]

Spectacular scenery, loud music and a slightly novel plot in terms of history and with the Spanish being seen as the good guys. But overall the story is a familiar one: a man accomplished with a gun comes to the aid of a community under threat and quickly gets romantically involved. Jack's instant switch of loyalties as soon as he met Felicia was unconvincing, and it was easy to guess that Miguel would fall for Sue.

Also unconvincing was how the mob's attack on Miguel's hacienda fizzled out.

I'm a fan of Brian Keith, but he wasn't really cut out for characters in romantic situations in "Sierra Baron" and was mis-matched in his relationship with Felicia.

Pit of Darkness (1961)

Cobbled-together plot-lines

[6/10 · 5 March 2023]

I found "Pit Of Darkness" a reasonable film to watch but with several plot holes, not least no-one wondering if there was a connection between William Franklyn being missing for three weeks and one of his firm's safes being robbed by an expert. And the partner in the firm didn't even mention the incident when Franklyn did turn up. The gang that held him must have been very considerate in allowing him to buy some smart new clothes after they'd messed up those he'd been wearing when they captured him!

It wasn't very bright of Franklyn to accept the blonde hostess's invitation to her flat after her previous invitation to a cottage had nearly led to his death. And then the gang, after several attempts to bump him off, suddenly realised that they needed him to crack another safe.

As another reviewer has suggested, the makers seem to have taken bits of plots from other films and untidily cobbled them together.

Franklyn acted well enough and there were several interesting names in the supporting cast.

You Only Live Once (1937)

The price of unpunctuality

[7/10 · 20 January 2023]

I watched YOLO last night and this morning I can't recall much of the hilarity and comedy noted by a few other reviewers. Oh, OK, there was the unnecessary and annoying early sequence with the shopkeeper complaining about stolen apples, and the landlord and his wife plucking up courage to ask Fonda and his wife to leave.

The film became increasingly sombre, then depressing, as the fugitive couple's plight worsened. Given that the Hollywood mores of the 1937s dictated that a criminal, however hard done by, had to receive retribution, the end was predictable.

Interesting to see Barton MacClane get third billing after I'd seen him further down the cast list in so many Westerns, but his was a very flat performance. Also interesting to note Guinn "Big Boy" Williams in a straight role as a prison guard rather than as a comic sidekick.

I have a little difficult in assessing what sort of personality the Fonda character had. Three times inside and still so young suggested a weak, criminal character, and Fonda, though an excellent actor, seldom did weakness. But what a cluck: starting a new job and very much on probation, he's 90 minutes late on a delivery run because he's checking out a new home. And then Sidney moves into it without telling him - just as he loses his job for unpunctuality.

I wasn't convinced by the last-minute reprieve that was still too late, as Eddie could still have been implicated in the robbery despite the bank van being found with someone else inside. And Joan seemed very nimble for someone who was pregnant - unless she and Eddie were on the run for a very long time.

Five Bloody Graves (1969)

Not THAT bad but

[6/10 · 11 January 2023]

Good marks for the scenery and the photography, and I thought that the "Death" voice over was quite effective and that the plot had potential. There seemed to be a steady flow of Native Americans to be shot, some by long-distance revolvers, one of which, early on, appeared to have twelve chambers. Lots of arrows piercing pads under clothing, and there was a miraculous recovery from a lance wound. There was a semi-nude bathing scene and, I infer, a rape victim.

Two-thirds of the way through, my attention started to wander, and I wasn't sorry when it ended.

I watched the film on YouTube - it was one of those where the opening title frames are omitted (perhaps for copyright reasons).

The Way Out (1955)

Very humdrum

[6/10 · 21 December 2022]

The seven previous reviewers have said it all. I felt no sympathy at all for the fugitive, who had no redeeming features. Obviously the film's emphasis was on his nice, devoted wife and her efforts to help her husband flee, but there were times when I wondered how plausible some of the actions were. It's one of those films where watching it again might help me understand it better - or determine actual flaws in the plot.

John Bentley and Sidney Tafler took the acting honours, with a very mixed range of support cast. The acting of several of the women failed to impress, notably that of the woman in the bathrobe. And it was strange that the publisher called his secretary "Terri", which was the name of Mona Freeman's character.

I've often wondered about vehicles' lights in these old films. IIRC, in Britain side-lights only were permitted on roads with street lamps, but out in the country there were times when the vehicles seemed to have no lights at all. (Perhaps the "night" scenes were filled during the time, with a back filter??)

Massacre (1956)

Welcome variation from the 1950s' Westerns

[7/10 · 8 December 2022]

I watched "Massacre" (for the second time) courtesy of YouTube, and thought that it compared well with the usual B Westerns of the 1950s. It's not often that.we get to a film devoted to Federales, the South American scenery made a change and, for once, the hero didn't ride off at the end with the love interest.

Given the many times that films cast white actors in races other than their own, Dane Clark and James Craig did well enough as Mexican officers, though Martha Roth did not convince as a Mexican. Nor did the actor playing young Juan Pedro, but I see he actually was a Mexican!. And the villagers' chieftain was a bit comical.

Nice to see some attention to detail, such as the jangling spurs that another reviewer has commented on, and the Federales had at least one pack-horse of supplies; all too often patrols of soldiers in films of various genres are a long way from anywhere with no signs of sustenance, not even saddle-bags.

The Case of Charles Peace (1949)

Entertaining if a little confusing

[7/10 · 2 December 2022]

I thought better of TCOCP than other IMBD reviewers, and it seems to have kept to the actual events better than many films "based on facts". Michael Martin Harvey did very well in portraying Peace's various personalities and he bore a resemblance to some of the varying portraits that exist of the murderer. But it was difficult to imagine him attracting so many women - though I suspect that the actresses were better looking the women they portrayed, as is suggested by contemporary drawings, and one authority on Peace states that Mrs Dyson was an "'attractive woman, buxom and blooming ... and ugly men can be notably successful with women". Certainly Chili Bouchier spoke with remarkably refined accent - though this was not nearly as incongruous as that of Robert Cameron playing an Irish rough, John Habron.

I spent some minutes trying to work out who Roberta Huby as "Mrs Thompson" reminded me of - it was Miranda Richardson playing Elizabeth 1 in "Blackadder"!

I struggled a little to keep up with Peace's exploits, and it may be that the film showed them in a different sequence to what actually happened. I was surprised when, just before his execution, he referred to his children, as I don't think that they had been mentioned before.

The Great Armored Car Swindle (1961)

Reasonable enough for the very low budget

[6/10 · 23 November 2022]

I've just watched the latest screening of this film on Talking Pictures and, considering the low budget, thought it reasonable enough. Apparently it was also known as "The Great Armoured Car Swindle". "Hi-jacking with a blonde as the bait" is the claim on a poster, exaggerating the influence of the nightclub girl on Eric, and as for the crime "that baffled Scotland Yard" there was no evidence of this in the film.

Apart from the 1960s' scenes of Gatwick Airport, the most noticeable aspects were Peter Reynolds' "elevated" hairstyle and the cumbersome camera with flashbulb he used for clandestine photography! It's been suggested that he was wearing a hairpiece, in which case it was a bad one; and if it was his real hair ...

The plot was very predictable. Reynolds portrayed a weak man well enough, though Dermot Walsh was uninspiring as the "hero"

Considering they came from a country neighbouring the USSR, some of the citizens of Lalvador seemed very English, and the plot was basic - though comparably so to those of many other films.

There are some good now & then photographs of locales on the Reelstreets website, though there are no modern ones of Gatwick - presumably because of security and access considerations.

Shadow of Treason (1964)

First two-thirds good, last one-third formulaic

[6/10 · 15 November 2022]

The first two-thirds of the film (which I watched courtesy of YouTube) were quite good, and at times John Bentley belied his 47 years by appearing tough - though he should have kept his shirt on rather than display his flabby torso. The scenes in which the father in his wheelchair followed the villain pursuing his daughter were well directed.

But with the move to Somaliland the film became formulaic, with no fewer than FOUR hackneyed encounters with animals. Bentley seemed to follow a very crude small map with incredible ease, as well as finding his way through some well-lit tunnels to conclude his quest.

I thought that the floor show at the beginning was a little daring in that the girls were "cheeky", but only because the film had a 1950s look to it. Then I realised that it had come out in 1963, a year after "Dr No", with a sensual Ursula Andress, a virile Sean Connery, colour and exotic locations. No real comparison!

Last of the Comanches (1953)

Well-photographed Western

[7/10 · 8 October 2022]

I'd seen this film not so long ago and have just watched it again, as "Last of the Comanches", on YouTube. I guess it's nearly all been said in other reviews.

Its other title, as given here on IMDB, was not particularly appropriate, as sabres only featured at the end. Strange that the only survivors of the attack on the town were cavalrymen - one might have thought that there would have been a few civilians, even an alternative to Julia Lanning, one of so many attractive women implausibly making perilous journeys in Westerns' stagecoaches.

And how remarkable that, despite being short of water for several days, the men remained clean shaven. (Perhaps Sergeant Trainor insisted on them shaving dry?)

The two captured Indians looked very scrawny and unimpressive.

But these are criticisms of minor flaws in a generally entertaining film.

William Kelly's War (2014)

Rather good for a low-budget film

[7/10 · 6 October 2022]

Considering the low budget and a cast of unknowns, this film was very good. Several basic goofs have already been noted: the 1914 tank, the unmilitary haircuts and beards, for example. Perhaps the most jarring event was the soldier-deserter being handcuffed to a hospital bed on the eve of his execution, which was carried out immediately outside the hospital.

A frequent gripe (usually relating to Westerns) that I have with depictions of solitary horsemen on long treks through remote country is that apart from a modest saddle roll they seldom have saddle-bags carrying food and other necessities. (Heck, even I on a six-hour walk take a rucksack of bits & pieces with me.)Thus it was with Billy's extended quest for his sister.

Here and there the acting was somewhat uninspired.

IMDB gives the film's length as 94 minutes, but the version that I saw on YouTube ran for 108.

Laura (1944)

Over-rated

[7/10 · 6 October 2022]

Generally a good film by the standards of the 1940s though, as others have noted, the plot creaked at times.

The standards of the time also meant that actual sex had to be hinted at, leaving viewers to form their own impressions. At least one reviewer here on IMDB saw Waldo as gay, which I didn't, though the lesbianism of Laura's maid was detectable. (According to IMDB, the actress, Dorothy Adams, was uncredited, though her brief appearances were striking.)

Given that so much emphasis has been placed on McPherson's infatuation with a supposedly-dead woman, this didn't come over that strongly in the film. And though I can understand many men falling instantly for Laura, her doing so for McPherson so quickly seemed implausible.

Vincent Price had a formidable screen presence, though I did wonder whether the jacket he wore in his first scene was too big, even for him; but then men's clothing of that era was generously cut - all those baggy trousers!

Hollow Triumph (1948)

Great first half, implausible second

[6/10 · 5 October 2022]

I've just watched "Hollow Triumph" for the second time. It started off very promisingly, especially with the way that Muller's gang planning the raid was filmed. And depicting the various expressions on the casino gamblers' faces was done brilliantly.

But it deteriorated from the point when Muller snatched a photograph of Bartok's face, the end result being more like a studio portrait than something taken in a street. And how did no-one - except the cleaner-lady - notice that the scar on Muller's face was on the wrong cheek? This puzzled me so much that I had to check back on my recording to see that I hadn't missed something.

On a very subjective note, I found Muller/Bartok's affected smoking to be annoying. (OK, I know that smoking, especially in Hollywood films, was prevalent in those times.)

A good, surprise ending.

Sharpe: Sharpe's Justice (1997) Season 5, Episode 2

Interesting insight into the young Sharpe

[7/10 · 12 September 2022]

"Sharpe's Justice" follows on from "Sharpe's Revenge". In both cases, Sharpe finds his reputation being trashed. First, it's Ducos creating a very contrived plot to implicate him in theft and murder - (and one that I found unconvincing and easily refuted). But our hero is absolved by a deux ex machina in the form of one letter.

Then in "Justice", it takes another letter, from a man of dubious repute, to absolve Sharpe again when his actions would be questionable in the eyes of "Horseguards" and his detractors - the more so after he has been named in newspapers as responsible for the violence against civilian protestors - and after he's killed at least one yeoman. A full-scale enquiry would have been obligatory to look at the facts. Still, for dramatic reasons at the end he gallops off back to France.

And in both episodes, a character who later influences the plot just happens to be in a tavern to help it along: the French NCO when Frederickson is enquiring about Ducos's optician and Hagman when Sharpe is made unwelcome in a Yorkshire pub.

It's strange that he and Harper seldom wear their shakos - and travel from London to Yorkshire with absolutely no sign of them or of personal possessions. And how convenient that Lady Anne Camoynes was in the locality, and so on hand to assist Sharpe.

These quibbles apart, I found "Justice" a reasonable episode in the overall series, giving an insight into Sharpe's youth - albeit as perceived not by Bernard Cornwell but scriptwriters.

Interesting to see Philip Glenister and Douglas Henshall in supporting roles before they starred in popular detective series.

Island of Doomed Men (1940)

Very much a B movie - if not C

[5/10 · 29 August 2022]

Mildly entertaining, but a weak plot was poorly scripted. As has been mentioned several times, why go to all that bother of infiltrating Mark Sheldon - when a team of inspectors could have been sent in; there seemed to be very few guards to resist them.

Mrs Danel was impossibly glamorous for her surroundings, though I appreciate the need for some sex interest.

I hadn't come across Robert Wilcox before; he reminded me of Tyrone Power with a touch of Glenn Ford. War service interrupted his career; indeed he made only three films afterwards, with alcoholism presumably inhibiting his being cast in anything significant.