Point Blank.

Review #2224: Point Blank.

Cast: 

Lee Marvin (Walker), Angie Dickinson (Chris), Keenan Wynn (Yost), Carroll O'Connor (Brewster), Lloyd Bochner (Frederick Carter), Michael Strong (Stegman), John Vernon (Mal Reese), Sharon Acker (Lynne), James B. Sikking (hired gun), and Sandra Warner (waitress) Directed by John Boorman (#565 - Zardoz, #975 - Deliverance, #1210 - Excalibur, #1915 - Exorcist II: The Heretic)

Review: 

"I don't think it does, but what it is, is what you see." - John Boorman

There was a time where a star could just say to let the director get his privileges right then and there. John Boorman had made his film debut with Catch Us If You Can (known as Having a Wild Weekend in the U.S.). That movie was a vehicle for the band The Dave Clark Five that had a few good notices. Anyway, Boorman was sent by who else but Irwin Winkler (producer of Double Trouble, soon to be released in 1967 and, well, the Rocky films) to meet Lee Marvin when the latter was in the midst of filming of The Dirty Dozen (also released in 1967) because Winkler was interested in having Marvin read for a script he had seen. Boorman (who was interested in making more ambitious films in Hollywood) and Marvin didn't really care for the script but were intrigued by the lead character. Anyway, Marvin bargained for approval of the script and cast in order to want to star in the film, which would be done by MGM and with those privileges granted to him, he immediately deferred it to Boorman. Officially the script was credited to Alexander Jacobs (future writer of one more Boorman film with Hell in the Pacific), David Newhouse, and Rafe Newhouse, but Boorman and Marvin essentially cultivated their own vision of what is basically a loose adaptation of the 1962 novel The Hunter, as written by Donald E. Westlake (writing under the name Richard Stark). Westlake would write two dozen books with the lead character (referred to as "Parker") prior to his death in 2008. It actually wasn't the first adaptation of a Westlake novel, as Jean-Luc Godard did a loose unauthorized adaptation of one of Westlake's other novels to mash up with The Big Sleep (1946) for what was called Made in U.S.A (1966). In 1999, a loose remake was done (i.e. a second adaptation of the book that renamed the character to Porter) that had Mel Gibson play the lead in what was called Payback, which has two distinct versions (as provided by its director in 2006). Boorman made a crack about how the script for that film seemed to resemble the one he and Marvin threw out.

There is an alluring quality to be found in its elusive energy within a clearcut revenge thriller. It is the kind of film where dream and memory really could be more than meets the eye. It is a sleek feature packed with a grimly captured atmosphere with a lead actor clearly ready to meet the challenge in basically playing a myth of a figure. The movie was a modest success with audiences and has since become a cult classic with plenty of admirers, theories and studies about it. Of course one could ask Marvin about what he thought about seeing it on screen around the time of the 1980s: he found it "very unpleasant", one made "for the violence" that saw him shocked at what was shown, particularly from himself, with him ending that thought by stating, "See, there is the fright; and this is why I think guys back off eventually. They say, 'No, I'm not going to put myself to those demons again.' The demon being the self." I probably should see more Marvin films, but even I know his hard-lined appeal from the jump of a film where he practically glides in violence, and it perhaps best comes out in the sequence (involving where the money went) where he doesn't talk (as guided to that point by Marvin) and instead lets Acker essentially ask and answer the questions herself. The fact that he is surrounded by a tremendous supporting cast helps matters in a way that one could only, well, dream, particularly with the grace of Dickinson and the magnetic slime of both Vernon and O'Connor (each had varying level of experience in films and theater, but the former is given the "Introducing" credit) to go with Wynn and his own type of foreground expressive presence. This is a 92-minute film that is uptight to the core that has boiling dedication seen within distinct sounds and color (take a look at the scene of Marvin just walking and see what I mean). By the time the film departs, one knows they have watched a worthwhile noir drenched in commitment from cast and crew for a pretty good time.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

The Lonely Lady.

Review #2150: The Lonely Lady.

Cast: 

Pia Zadora (Jerilee Randall), Lloyd Bochner (Walter Thornton), Bibi Besch (Veronica Randall), Joseph Cali (Vincent Dacosta), Anthony Holland (Guy Jackson), Jared Martin (George Ballantine), Ray Liotta (Joe Heron), Kerry Shale (Walt Thornton, Jr), Sandra Dickinson (Nancy Day), Lou Hirsch (Bernie), Ed Bishop (Doctor Baker), and Shane Rimmer (Adolph Fannon) Directed by Peter Sasdy (#1159 - Taste the Blood of Dracula)

Review: 

I didn't have this film initially in mind for Turkey Week 4, you know. I thought to myself, hey, what was the next film adaptation of Jacqueline Susann's works after Valley of the Dolls (1967). Well, The Love Machine (1971) did seem like an idea, but I found my way to something that might as well be part of it all. The Lonely Lady was a novel released to stores in 1976 by the hands of Harold Robbins. He dedicated the book to Susann (who had died in 1974). Robbins was notable as a writer in his own right, of course; born and raised in New York to Jewish emigrants, he served in the U.S. Navy for a time before going on to work a variety of jobs that even included Universal Pictures. He started writing in 1948 and basically wrote melodramas for the rest of his life, which would see various film adaptations that went from King Creole (released in 1958, after changing the title from the book) to The Adventurers (1970) to The Betsy (1978). He was the kind of racy book writer that lived a life so colorful that had people such as Stephen King say didn't want to end up like him as a "nightmare". Needless to say, Robbins led a strange life that probably would've made for its own film, even if he liked to fib about his upbringing; he died at the age of 81 in 1997. And then there's Pia Zadora. Born in Hoboken, New Jersey to a violinist and wardrobe supervisor, she actually was an actor from a young age, which included what else but Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964). She later married Meshulam Riklis, who wanted to push her as an actress, complete with financing from his company. This would culminate in Butterfly (1982), a film that saw her get critical savaging and a "Newcomer" Golden Globe. Fake-Out (1982) isn't even remembered as the follow-up, because, well, the next one was this film. It all aligns together because Riklis helped out the logjam that Universal Pictures had when it came to doing a film based on that Robbins book that had stalled for years despite having Susan Blakely in mind to star. The eventual screenplay credit went to John Kershaw and Shawn Randall with a story credit for Ellen Shepard. Peter Sasdy never directed another theatrical film after this failure, which had the dubious honor of having an ad campaign lead by John J.B. Wilson, the guy behind the Golden Raspberry Awards who "liked" what he saw (Zadora apparently said that receiving a nomination but not winning would've been something she "hated" - take one guess how that worked out). Robbins called the film crap but liked the fact he received $600,000 before it opened.

I should mention that Zadora called the film a turkey upon release. She had one more star role in her with the B-flick sci-fi musical Voyage of the Rock Aliens (1984) and has since been more known for her musical career. It is kind of like watching a perverted cousin of The Oscar (1967), another film involving an awards ceremony setup (but that one had the actual Oscar statuette). It actually is a short film at 92 minutes, and if you avert your eyes as the ridiculous amount of sex scenes, it is even shorter, unless one really needed to see a guy shoot a pool ball at a naked woman on a table. I think the preening title song has the most life next to Zadora when it comes to such ridiculously lowkey acting around it all. Holland is probably the only "normal" person in the film, which includes plenty of perverts and lurid attempts at hard-hitting dialogue that has the impact of light cat scratching. Bochner and Cali might as well be mailing it in from downtown. Zadora may have been the target of criticism because, well, title character, but who could have helped this film? She really tries to show the trouble and toil that come with an industry that seems to value the body of a woman over a body of work and where it can lead someone to go down the road of shame. Of course, skin showing aside, there is nothing for anyone to grab on to because the dynamics of the film are skewed into lame soap opera with no sense of dignity or interest. For a "writer", you see exactly one line of dialogue that she suggests, which really can apply to dubious choices of any kind: "Why?". I can't tell what is most embarrassing in the opening sequence: Zadora supposed to be playing a high schooler among other near 30-somethings or, well, the garden hose moment. The fact that the particular sequence has Ray Liotta (a future member of being in even worse material than this) making his debut is probably a testament that if you can make it there, you can...escape to anywhere. The movie dives into the mud early, puts oil all over said mud and decides lighting a match would be better than the garden hose to top it off. Calling the film silly trash is actually a bigger joke than you think, because this is the kind of movie you show to someone who thought Valley of the Dolls lacked that cheesy factor. The closing sequence takes the cake for such empty dramatic heft that Zadora gamely tries to make stick, for better and certainly for worse. I especially like how she just leaves the ceremony to no one around, as if the film was about to hang itself in shame. The points that the film that stop one from going all "zero stars" is mostly on her shoulders, because the script and director failed her most of all. As a whole, it is a lurid and ridiculously terrible time to spend for all the reasons you would expect, but Zadora at least seems like she deserved better than the reviews of the time gave her. It isn't the worst of anything, but if you love some Hollywood trash, you have something to consider.

Overall, I give it 3 out of 10 stars.

Once more on Turkey Week, let's consider some religion. The Left Behind (2014) kind.

The Night Walker.

Review #1418: The Night Walker.

Cast: 
Robert Taylor (Barry Morland), Barbara Stanwyck (Irene Trent), Judi Meredith (Joyce), Hayden Rorke (Howard Trent), Rochelle Hudson (Hilda), Marjorie Bennett (Manager), Jess Barker (Malone), Tetsu Komai (Gardener), and Lloyd Bochner (The Dream) Produced and Directed by William Castle (#369 - House on Haunted Hill, and #1071 - 13 Ghosts)

Review: 
"We all have a common interest: bigger and more horrible monsters--and I'm just the monster to bring them to you."

One cannot forget the master entertainer when they think about film, and there aren't many as capable in self-promotion and imagination as William Castle. He was an orphan by the age of 11, but he found inspiration to entertain audiences by seeing the play Dracula (1927-28), which featured Bela Lugosi. He found what he wanted to do in life from watching numerous performances: "to scare the pants off audiences." A meeting with Lugosi led to a recommendation for a position as assistant stage manager for the touring production, and he later dropped out of high school to do a variety of work on Broadway shows such as stage building. He performed his first great stunt of persuasion by convincing Orson Welles to lease out his theater in Connecticut (vacated in preparation for work on Citizen Kane), where Castle would do a play with German actress Ellen Schwanneke. However, regulations regarding actors speaking plays originally performed in their native country meant that Castle had to conjure up a play in German in only two days. This, combined with a telegram from Germany to invite her home to the country she left led to Castle promoting the actress as "The Girl Who Said No to Hitler", which proved successful. He soon found a job with Columbia Pictures, where he would work for a few years as bit player and dialogue director before being slated to direct in 1943. Although he is remembered for horror, he had started his career with The Chance of a Lifetime (1943, a drama), and he would also spring to doing Westerns and noirs, all being B-movies before he decided to shift focus to independent filmmaking for himself. Inspired by Les Diaboliques (1955, which Robert Bloch noted as his favorite horror film), he was inspired to do horror. which he would start doing with Macabre (1958). He was a master of self promotion and imagination, with gimmicks ranging from moviegoers being given a life insurance policy for $1,000 if they happened to die of fright because of the film they watched, vibrating motors that came from military surplus airplane wing de-icers being installed into some of the theater seats to buzz for a key moment with a supposed tingler. In a career of over 40 years, it is the films in the last fifteen years that are most remembered, some for their gimmicks (like 13 Ghosts, with Illusion-O) but some for their interesting qualities (such as House on Haunted Hill). His filmmaking helped inspire other filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock (noting the returns for violent B-movies by him) and John Waters (who described him as his idol).

The film was written by Robert Bloch, most known for his novel Psycho, which was adapted into the hit film of the same name that Castle had done his own take of in Homicidal (1961). The pairing of Taylor and Stanwyck seems planned by Castle as a play on the fact that they were married for twelve years. It would be the last film for Stanwyck in a career that had started in the 1920s in stage shows and Broadway before film stardom and eventual shifting to television that she did until her retirement in 1986 and her death four years later. She was cast when Joan Crawford (another classic actress/actor doing horror in the near end of their career in the 1960) declined due to her intent to star in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964). She does a fair job in lending dignity to a film that has a careful touch of suspense that demands conviction and is accomplished without fail. Simply put, you care to follow this character in a film that grows a web of weirdness, betrayal, and deception that is done with careful control to make a solid 86 minute thriller. One should expect nothing less than something to drive some curiosity after a creeping voiceover from Paul Frees involving something about the nature of dreams that have some catchy Vic Mizzy music to dig into your head. Taylor does fine with matching up to growing tension in what is real and what isn't. Rorke, though not in the movie too much manages to make a fair impression of mania (particularly with the makeup for his eyes), while the others prove fine in bits, such as Bochner and his strange alluring presence to accompany the sometimes surreal nature of the film. This particularly proves true for its wedding sequence, involving a buildup to showing some mannequins as viewers. It finds a middle in suspense in its buildup to the climax that doesn't spring too many clichés nor do something completely out of left field for enjoyment. It makes for a pleasant experience with atmosphere and consistency expected from a Castle film that delivers most of what it wants to deliver to its audience without trouble.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear.

Review #821: The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear.

Cast

Leslie Nielsen (Lieutenant Frank Drebin), Priscilla Presley (Jane Spencer), George Kennedy (Captain Ed Hocken), O.J. Simpson (Detective Nordberg), Robert Goulet (Quentin Hapsburg), Richard Griffiths (Dr. Albert S. Meinheimer/Earl Hacker), Jacqueline Brookes (Commissioner Anabell Brumford), Anthony James (Hector Savage), Lloyd Bochner (Terence Baggett), and Tim O'Connor (Donald Fenswick) Directed by David Zucker.

Review
It's strange, I did not really notice that the 25th Anniversary of this film was 13 days ago until doing this review. Happy 25th.

The original film (#599 - The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!) was fast-paced slapstick slapstick comedy that worked exceptionally well, with Nielsen being a particular highlight in part due to his comedic timing. With the second (and a half) film, you could say mostly the same thing, just with a few diminishing returns. Simply put, if you enjoyed the first film, you'll at least like the second film a little. Even though the movie seems a bit more predictable with the jokes, there are at least enough gags that work, with a pace of 85 minutes that fits enough. Nielsen and Presley do well enough again, with a gag spoofing "Ghost" being pretty funny. The supporting cast is well enough, with Goulet and Griffiths being decent enough additions, having good chemistry with Nielsen when needed. I wish I could say more, but take my word for it: It's okay, but if one had to pick between the two Naked Guns, take the original. It at least is a decent comedy sequel, as opposed to other comedy sequels (#402 - Rush Hour 3, #496 - The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and #698 - Airplane II: The Sequel), so take this movie for what it's worth.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.