The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming.

Review #2544: The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming.

Cast: 

Carl Reiner (Walt Whittaker), Eva Marie Saint (Elspeth Whittaker), Alan Arkin (Lieutenant Rozanov), Brian Keith (Link Mattocks), Jonathan Winters (Norman Jonas), Paul Ford (Fendall Hawkins), Theodore Bikel (Captain), Tessie O'Shea (Alice Foss), John Phillip Law (Alexei Kolchin), Ben Blue (Luther Grilk), Andrea Dromm (Alison Palmer), and Sheldon Collins (Pete Whittaker) Produced and Directed by Norman Jewison (#127 - Rollerball, #273 - The Cincinnati Kid, #544 - In the Heat of the Night, #691 - The Thomas Crown Affair, #1484 - Moonstruck)

Review: 

"I realized then that the film, although made primarily for an American audience, [it] expressed the hopes and fears felt by people in both countries at that period in the Cold War. What the Russians of course couldn't believe, and were blown away by, was the fact that I had been allowed to make the film at all."

Vaguely, I remember this movie being on the consideration list years ago. In the old days of Blockbuster (before people decided Netflix was somehow better*), I remember my dad buying the movie for a rental, but I sure don't remember if he saw it all the way through. Anyway, in the dog days of spring, it feels prudent to cover some of the directors that I haven't really given as much attention as I wish I did. After graduating from middle-ground comedies with The Cincinnati Kid (1965), here comes The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966), the sixth feature film by Norman Jewison, who also produced the film. In 1963, Jewison was given a book by a friend of his with The Off-Islanders by Nathaniel Benchley. The plot involved a Russian sub accidentally running aground on a New England coast island. Jewison was intrigued about the idea of making a political satire. The Mirisch Corporation and United Artists were interested in financing the film, at least with a good writer behind it. After taking out an option for the novel, Jewison was told by his agent Charlie Baker that the one person who could do the screenplay best was William Rose (writer of such films as The Ladykillers [1955] and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World [1963]). Aside from having to find a proper conclusion point to the film (namely in the catalyst for both sides to see their similarities), the final draft came around with relatively few bumps in the road, at least when compared to having to make a submarine (the U.S. Navy was not giving one away for filming, with Jewison claiming they made one out of Stryofoam and plywood,, although other sources say they borrowed the one that had been used in Morituri [1965]) and turning the Northern California coast into looking like New England. Released in May 1966 with a budget of nearly $4 million, the movie was a solid hit with audiences, and the film was nominated for four Academy Awards, one for Best Picture.* Jewison followed up the film with In the Heat of the Night (1967) with even further audience attention.

So, you've got a comedy about a few good buffoons all alike on an international level that works best for those who love a silly farce. Sure, the Cold War may be dead and buried now, but you can see the appeal that the film had for people who saw something entertaining in its view of human nature that has a few chuckles within mob mentality, misunderstandings, a unifying moment from an unlikely source and so on. You can mostly understand what goes on with the Russian characters (as played mostly by a group of Americans, although the dialogue director was a Russian with Leon Belasco) without really needing subtitles before it crashes along with the island folk and their own offbeat dreams and delusions (order, being a writer, you name it), with Saint and Keith mostly being the normal ones of the bunch (with kids such as Collins, geez...). Not to knock down Reiner much, but you know Arkin is the highlight pretty early, mainly because he has the confidence and charm to carry the film in all of its odd leanings (namely tomfoolery), and he does so it without straining to go along with the dialogue. You get straight-laced neatness from Keith and a good deal of bubbling annoyance from Winters. Sure, the budding romance between Dromm and Law can only go so far beyond "two cats awkwardly looking at each other", but so it goes. I do like that the climax manages to give the folks a way to come together without straining for a corny message or playing to some cheap cop-out, instead making a pyramid of understanding that beyond the odds and ends of paranoia and maneuvering, there are a few things we'll do with others when things get tough. The 126-minute runtime can be one to trudge along with if you don't go along with all of its frantic misadventures, and I get that, in the same way that I can see someone finding their eyes starting to grow tired in madcap mish-mashes such as say, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World. But your milage may vary. As a whole, The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming is a solid enough comedy for its time that will probably work just enough for you to have some enjoyment within the time old (and multi-cultural) comedy of understandings.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

It may interest you to know that the San Antonio Spurs are in the NBA Finals. What a nice time :)

*A physical place to rent or buy movies will always be better than a streaming platform. Duh?

*That year, the nominees were: Alfie, The Sand Pebbles, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and the winner...A Man for All Seasons. All four nominations (Jewison for Best Picture, Arkin for Best Actor, Rose for Adapted Screenplay, Hal Ashby & J. Terry Williams for Editing) lost but each ended up being nominated for future efforts, with Ashby, Arkin, and Rose all eventually winning an Academy Award.

I Bury the Living.

Review #1791: I Bury the Living.

Cast: 

Richard Boone (Robert Kraft), Theodore Bikel (Andy McKee), Peggy Maurer (Ann Craig), Howard Smith (George Kraft), Herbert Anderson (Jess Jessup), and Robert Osterloh (Lt. Clayborne) Directed by Albert Band.

Review: 

With new directors, sometimes you have to look back into the realm of B-movies to find people to feature, or at the very least one behind films that slipped through the cracks. So, here we are with a film directed by Albert Band. Technically, there are some interesting things to say about the Band family, in that he was the son of Max Band, a landscape artist born in Lithuania (he lived in France for most of his life, which is where Albert was born). Band had two children that became involved with film: Charles became a horror filmmaker and Richard became a music composer. At any rate, Albert became interested in film from a young age (when the Bands moved to the States before France became occupied, they lived in California). He would be tasked to help write the film adaptation for The Red Badge of Courage (1951), doing so with John Huston. Band would be given his chance to direct with The Young Guns (1956), a Western. While he never exactly became a household name, Band was a solid contributor to B-movie cinema for years in directing and producing, whether that meant films like Troll (1986, producer) or other various efforts (which even included work with his brother Charles).

The movie was shot in nine days in a cemetery. Honestly, there is quite a crisp movie to watch here, even if the title (originally referred to as "The Killer on the Wall" before United Artists changed it) is considerably misleading. Nobody is actually buried alive, for one thing. Well, the plot is quite simple, really. A new member of a committee is tasked to manage a cemetery by obligation, and his office just happens to have a wall-map of the cemetery with white pins for plots that are bought but not used and black pins for the dead and buried. Accidents in putting the wrong pins make him think that he has the problem of marking folks for death, and it is attempts by board members to dissuade him from his belief that make things worse (in other words, he isn't "burying" the living, he just happens to be putting pins in people's spots that see them die). Of course, there also happens to be a superstitious Scotsman that works at the cemetery, too. Louis A. Garfinkle wrote the film while also producing it with Band, and the two worked on five films together (Garfinkle is likely best known for his help in developing a computer screenwriting system called Collaborator along with co-writing The Deer Hunter). Garfinkle's script seems like the kind of material familiar with stuff such as The Twilight Zone (although this film came out one year earlier), which means one might find eerie fascination with the ideas presented here. The lighting also certainly helps here (not just being a budget dodge), since it contributes to the growing mood of fear and weirdness presented in a film with limited sets and consistent understated acting. In that sense, one could almost see this as an under-looked gem, one that benefits from Boone (perhaps best known for Have Gun - Will Travel, which premiered the previous year), who moves through the material with icy curiosity that doesn't quiver when faced with looming morbid stuff. Bikel (actor, folk singer, musician, composer) might be a bit clouded under all the age makeup, but he isn't distracting to the point of irritation, as he pulls off an interesting contrast to Boone in offbeat nature. The rest are the usual skeptic type for weirdness (i.e. folks needed to look dull before they could get roped off). The growing sense of losing oneself is the best part of the film, because the climax is a complete letdown, doing a bait and switch that tries to cut off the mystery with rationality. Sure, it might have fit when it comes to trying to make money with the audience, but a bait and switch is still a bait and switch. As a horror movie, it is completely average, but it at least stands out enough in its average qualities to make it worth a curiosity over the attempts at building horror within simple things (a cheap set, reliable actors, Gerald Fried's music, take your pick). It was interesting enough to have praise lent to it by horror writer Stephen King, no less. If that can't sway you, nothing could. As a whole, Albert Band had a lengthy career of film that one could only dream to have for themselves or for their children, regardless of quality, you might say.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Next Time: This Sporting Life (1963)

My Fair Lady.

Review #1416: My Fair Lady.

Cast: 
Audrey Hepburn (Eliza Doolittle), Rex Harrison (Professor Henry Higgins), Stanley Holloway (Alfred P. Doolittle), Wilfrid Hyde-White (Colonel Hugh Pickering), Gladys Cooper (Mrs. Higgins), Jeremy Brett (Freddy Eynsford-Hill), Theodore Bikel (Zoltan Karpathy), Mona Washbourne (Mrs. Pearce), Isobel Elsom (Mrs. Eynsford-Hill), and John Holland (The Butler) Directed by George Cukor (#479 - Travels with My Aunt, #974 - A Star is Born (1954), and #1355 - The Philadelphia Story)

Review:
"She is a truly romantic creature. She doesn't just profess good manners--she is really well mannered at all times. She is not driven in her career but she gives full value and she is never indifferent."

If you watch enough musicals, they may eventually seem all too alike from each other. However, if you encounter one with elegance and charm, it certainly will stick in your mind as one for the ages. In an age of musicals and big-scale productions, My Fair Lady certainly belongs in the discussion as one of those classic musical epics. It was adapted by Alan Jay Lerner from the stage musical of the same name that was done by him and Frederick Loewe in 1956 that was based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 stage play Pygmalion (with one notable difference between the two being its ending, since Shaw strenuously argued against Eliza coming back to Higgins). The original Broadway and West End productions featured Harrison and Julie Andrews in the star roles (with the former winning a Tony Award for his performance), and there have been numerous revivals (with the most recent being in 2019) over the years. When it came time for Warner Brothers to do a film adaptation (after buying the rights to it for over $5 million), Jack L. Warner decided to personally oversee the production himself, and it was he who decided that the lead role was to be played by a star (in this case, Academy and Tony Award winner and fashion icon Audrey Hepburn), as opposed to Andrews. Even if Hepburn had rejected the part, it would have gone to another big star before Andrews (one named floated was apparently Elizabeth Taylor). Hepburn would have most of her vocals dubbed by Mami Nixon (vocal singer for films such as An Affair to Remember (1957) and West Side Story (1961)), however, despite training with a vocal coach and musical director Andre Previn before shooting (the same would be done for Brett by Bill Shirley). Harrison, famed English actor of stage and screen, would reprise his role (after rejections from Cary Grant and Peter O'Toole), doing so while having a wireless microphone on him to do his musical numbers (as opposed to pre-recording them, which he felt he could not do convincingly for his particular range), which was innovative for the time; Holloway and costume designer Cecil Beaton would also be retained for the film.

Made on a budget of over $17 million (with primary filming on soundstages, much to Lerner's disappointment), this is a film of tremendous style and passion, rumbling through 170 minutes with spirit from its main group of actors that make a ravishing experience. One finds plenty of interest in the numerous songs that are catchy and endearing. Regardless of the dubbing, Hepburn pulls in a tremendous performance, convincing with her evolution to dignity and elegance that generates a few smiles and interest no matter what she is doing, whether that means being insulted while trying to sell flowers on the street with an accent or being at an embassy ball and looking the part of a princess.  One cares about her struggles with getting a "proper" accent, as one could expect from such a dignified actress. Harrison proves his own with a strait laced performance, filled with confident bravado that talks his way through songs with capability and a bit of wit to go alongside everything. They together make for a compelling duo to watch interact with each other, both brimming with confidence that we grow accustomed instantly. Holloway accompanies the action at times with charm befitting someone on the corner selling you some wit. Hyde-White lends a straight hand to Harrison when needed, while Cooper gives off sharp noble air and Brett gives off a capably insipid performance to round out the cast. Cukor, who grew up around the theater, executes the film with conviction and interest to make everything resonate with interesting tunes and a story worth being involved with. When it came time for awards, Cukor, Warner and Harrison reaped an Academy Award each, and the film won awards for its cinematography, sound, score, and art + costume design. One can debate the merits between this beating Mary Poppins for Best Picture, but its title star (Andrews) would reap the benefits of being snubbed for this film while Hepburn didn't get a nomination. Regardless of that, this is a classic big-scale musical in an age where the tide was slowly turning away from such things, a great hurrah with everything seeming right at home here, where pace and spectacle go hand in hand with each other in the fairest of senses.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.

The African Queen.

Review #1379: The African Queen.

Cast: 
Humphrey Bogart (Charlie Allnut), Katharine Hepburn (Rose Sayer), Robert Morley (Rev. Samuel Sayer), Peter Bull (Captain of the Königin Luise), Theodore Bikel (First Officer of the Königin Luise), Walter Gotell (Second Officer of the Königin Luise), Peter Swanwick (First Officer of Fort Shona), and Richard Marner (Second Officer of Fort Shona) Directed by John Huston (#081 - The Maltese Falcon (1941), #094 - The Misfits, #224 - Casino Royale (1967), and #419 - Key Largo)

Review: 
"The directing of a picture involves coming out of your individual loneliness and taking a controlling part in putting together a small world. A picture is made. You put a frame around it and move on. And one day you die. That is all there is to it."
"The only thing you owe the public is a good performance."

Everyone needs a good adventure now and then. Who better to make an adventure than John Huston? He had grown from a bedridden childhood to a resilient early adulthood spent doing various things such as amateur boxing, acting, honorary membership of the Mexican cavalry, and eventually writing, first through magazines before finding his way to contract writing in Hollywood. However, it wasn't until 1938 that he found his way to substantial success as a serious writer, most notably with Jezebel for Warner Brothers. In 1941, he was granted a chance to direct his first film with The Maltese Falcon (1941), an influential noir classic. He directed two further films before serving in the US Army for World War II, where he made a few short films for the Signal Corps before returning to Hollywood for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), where he won Academy Awards for directing and screenplay. In a career that lasted until his death in 1987, he directed and wrote over thirty films, notably directing his father Walter and his daughter Anjelica each to Academy Award wins for their acting in one of Huston's films. One particular actor who benefited from Huston was Humphrey Bogart. He had started his acting career in the theatre, which resulted in a few notices before trying his hand with film parts (with his debut being a short in 1928). Bogart's role in play The Petrified Forest (1935) helped in getting his foot firmly in the door for film roles when it came time for the film adaptation the following year. High Sierra (1941) was the first collaboration between Bogart and Huston (who wrote the film), and the two would collaborate in six films together as star and director.

The film was adapted from the 1935 novel of the same name by C. S. Forester, which originally had the character of Allnut as an English Cockney (which was changed to him being a Canadian) along with an ambiguous ending for its main characters with its final line. The film had a mixed production between scenes shot in Britian and the Belgian Congo, with a good deal of the cast getting sick (except for Bogart and Huston, who apparently thrived on canned food and whiskey). In any case, one can see the tremendous craftsmanship on display in terms of directing and writing (Huston, James Agee, with un-credited work by John Collier and Peter Viertel) that go along with an incredible pairing with Bogart and Hepburn that make 105 minutes seem to go by quickly. Each play off each other with tense passion that can go for humor alongside drama without becoming a parody of itself. Bogart grabs your attention as he always does with his weary charm and plenty of concentration that is to be expected from him. As such, Hepburn matches up to him just as much in terms of great free-spirited presence that equates to an interesting match that charms the audience once it gets started. There are other members of the cast (such as Morley, who is in the first few minutes), but one spends a primary amount of time with Bogart & Hepburn and finds themselves lost as if they were actually on the boat besides them, complete with Technicolor photography from Jack Cardiff. One should not be surprised to know that this was a hit with the public, with Bogart even winning an Academy Award for his work in the film (while Hepburn and Huston received nominations for acting and directing/writing, respectively), and it is not hard to see why. It is a prime adventure story to serve as the template for plenty of other romantic adventure films, one with a dynamic duo game enough to interact with each other in amusing or touching ways that gives the audience enough curiosity for more in a decade that had plenty of crowd-pleasers to sift through.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.