Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Review #1420: Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Cast: 
Tura Satana (Varla), Haji (Rosie), Lori Williams (Billie), Susan Bernard (Linda), Stuart Lancaster (The Old Man), Paul Trinka (Kirk), Dennis Busch (The Vegetable), Ray Barlow (Tommy), Mickey Foxx (The Gas Station Attendant), and John Furlong (The Narrator) Directed by Russ Meyer.

Review: 
"It was the usual thing with me. It's like being in the military. Everybody has to get up and do their jobs to get things together, and that's it."

If you need a film that sticks out for the 1960s in its exploitation value and provocative nature, one can't quite go wrong with a film like this. It should only prove natural that this came from Russ Meyer, who over the course of twenty years served as director, producer (with some of his early films being co-produced by his wife Eve), writer (with this being co-written by him and Jack Moran), editor and cinematographer (this film however was done by Walter Schenk) for a variety of sexploitation films involving either campy humor, violence, or powerfully imposing women that earned him the nickname of "King of the Nudies", although his films have been argued to feature feminist values with their empowerment of women at times. One could view his career from just the titles, ranging from his first in The Immoral Mr. Teas (1959), to his "Gothic" period in Lorna (1964), to his brief association with 20th Century Fox in the immortal Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970). He started doing films with a 8mm camera at the age of 15, and he served as a combat cameraman for the 166th Signal Photo Company in World War II, for which he made friends with people that would later ask to work on his films. After the war, he did industrial films along with still and glamour photography before moving his attention to doing cheap (but profitable) films to direct. With the success of his motorcycle gang film Motorpsycho (1965), a film that dealt with three men terrorizing the countryside, Meyer wanted do one with three women terrorizing the desert, with both films featuring Haji. Two working titles for the film were The Leather Girls and The Mankillers before sound editor Richard S. Brummer came up with the luridly memorable title that we see today. The film wasn't a huge success upon release, but it has endured as one of Meyer's most influential films with plenty of admirers. Fellow director John Waters called this "beyond a doubt, the best movie ever made. It is possibly better than any film that will be made in the future." Satana gave credit to Meyer for how he "liked to make women strong, make them feel that they were empowered." Film critic and colleague Roger Ebert described him as "an auteur whose every frame reflects his obsessions. Like all serious artists, he doesn't allowed any space between his work and his dream."

This is an entertaining film, filled with plenty of entertainment value with its sly dialogue, brusquely charming characters, and roaring violence that make for a good time for those who seek something daring with passion for its time. One should expect something special from the opening narration, which welcomes you to violence (word and act), stating it as something that "doesn't only destroy, it creates and molds as well." At the helm is Satana, a dancer of Japanese and Native American descent that had just one other prominent role besides this with Ted V. Mikels' The Astro-Zombies (1968). She has an alluring power to her, one with rebellious spirit and conviction in all she sets out to do with manipulating others (men or women) that serve as a great curiosity to view. Haji, a fellow dancer-turned-actress that starred in numerous Meyer films along with making contributions to her own dialogue, proves adept in following along with the action on all the ends with care. Williams fills the last end of the uninhibited triangle with a careful carefree attitude. Bernard makes for a panicky debut that adds some tension to the dynamic between the other women and eventually the men, particularly with its climax. Lancaster (a fellow regular in Meyer films) makes a creeping adversarial presence with odd striking power that dominates among the other supporting parts of the half dealing with the desert. In the long run, one is watching a movie about people who know what they want and will do what they can to do so, whether that means violence or coercive passion that bubbles into a highly entertaining experience in a efficient 83 minute package. It deserves the cult following it has received in the five decades since its release as a neat little gem worth watching late at night for something different in independent cinema. It is a film with no bounds about how reckless and fun it can get with people in the right mindset for weird fun and a director efficient and focused enough to make such a passion come alive without becoming consumed by it.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors.

Review #1419: Dr. Terror's House of Horrors.

Cast: 
Peter Cushing (Dr. Schreck)

"Werewolf" segment": Neil McCallum (Jim Dawson, Ursula Howells (Mrs. Deirdre Biddulph), Peter Madden (Caleb), Katy Wild (Valda), and Edward Underdown (Tod) 

"Creeping Vine" segment: Ann Bell (Ann Rogers), Bernard Lee (Hopkins), Alan Freeman (Bill Rogers), Jeremy Kemp (Jerry Drake), and Sarah Nicholls (Carol Rogers)

"Voodoo" segment: Roy Castle (Biff Bailey), Kenny Lynch (Sammy Coin), Harold Lang (Roy Shine), Christopher Carlos (Vrim), and Thomas Baptiste (Dambala)

"Disembodied Hand" segment: Christopher Lee (Franklyn Marsh), Michael Gough (Eric Landor), Isla Blair (Pretty girl), Judy Cornwell (Nurse), and Hedger Wallace (Surgeon)

"Vampire" segment: Donald Sutherland (Dr. Bob Carroll), Max Adrian (Dr. Blake), Jennifer Jayne (Nicolle Carroll), and Al Mulock (Detective)

Directed by Freddie Francis (#854 - They Came from Beyond Space, #856 - The Evil of Frankenstein, #860 - Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, #1145 - Tales from the Crypt)

Review: 
"As far back as I can ever remember, without really knowing it I wanted to be an actor. I was always dressing up, you know, playing pretend, putting on mothers hats and things. I'm sure Freud would have something to say about that. It was very much in my blood."

"Making films has never just been a job to me, it is my life. I have some interests outside of acting - I sing and I've written books, for instance - but acting is what keeps me going, it's what I do, it gives life purpose."

Horror, particularly horror in a decade of expanding tastes like the 1960s, can come in any kind of package. Anthology is a particular interesting manner in telling stories revolving around something creepy that can be linked together by either a theme, a character or a framing device. There have been plenty of anthology films in numerous genres, but one key anthology film that helped inspire this was Dead of Night (1945), a British production that producer Milton Subotsky liked enough to feel inspired to do his own multi-story film. He had started his work in television, but soon moved to films such as Rock, Rock, Rock (1956) and The City of the Dead (1960), which he produced with Max Rosenberg. In 1962, they would form Amicus Productions, a British company led by the American producers and writer that lasted until 1977. They specialized primarily in horror over the years that would have a share of name actors alongside young and old actors in the cast, particularly when it came to their anthologies. This was the first of seven anthology films they would do over a span of nine years, with those including Torture Garden (1967), The House That Dripped Blood (1970), Asylum (1972), Tales from the Crypt (1972), The Vault of Horror (1973) and From Beyond the Grave (1974). This was filmed in a span of less than three months from Freddie Francis, who had a career of over four decades in both directing and cinematographer that was known for his work on British horror films while winning two Academy Awards for the latter.

Honestly, the parts that are really interesting are the scenes inside the train with Cushing and the main five, since he tries on a beard and an German accent that stand out from the curious others. This isn't surprising to me at this point, because he had a perfectionist and dignified attitude that served him well in six decades of film, stage, television and radio, treating every role with seriousness that he felt his audience would like. One can have a soft spot for British horror when it is done right and Cushing always seems to end up fitting in to most of the right ones. Accompanying him is fellow British actor and friend Lee, who had a career just as versatile and long (nearly seven decades! This includes a singing career before turning 90!) with a distinctive voice that for a change is not playing someone villainous but merely just pompous, which he breezes by without trouble. McCallum and Freeman aren't exactly as well-known in presence (the former being an actor of stage and television and the latter being a disc jockey and radio personality), but they are least serviceable to starting the film with decent leads in their respective stories. Castle, a dancer/singer/comedian comes off with the lesser of the five stories and suffers for it. Sutherland, a Canadian actor doing British roles in film and TV before hitting it big later in this decade, makes for a composed turn in his third career role, fresh in looking for more beyond horror fare.

The segments each have a focus on something you've likely seen in a horror film before, whether that means a supernatural beast or a killer plant/hand or voodoo, and they generally range from average to slightly above average. In this sense, the Lee story involving a hand that follows him around is my personal favorite of the bunch, since it also features Gough for a time (making fun of an art critic, no less) in a segment that has a silly looking effect but enjoyment value regardless. I would say that the werewolf story is a notch below that, having a bit of interest in its coffin hidden in a fake wall that leads to a somewhat played out ending. The vine story also has a silly-looking effect, particularly since it doesn't have much of an ending (regardless of the resolution for the film, which is just as odd), although at least it is nice to see Bernard Lee play his type of authority role and utilize a pipe for safety. The vampire tale is fair, although it probably suffers from having a small time to build a story from the most, complete with the final twist in the knife with its last line (as is the case with the wolf and hand story). The voodoo is the lesser of all the tales (although none are actually terrible), mostly because of how hokey it is in generating actual suspense (copying a tune and getting followed for it, what a twist), but at least none of these tales manage to bore the senses or hold for too long. In the long run, this is a fair package of horror that utilizes its familiar trappings of its genre and stars to useful effect, and it is a serviceable film for its era to pick up on a day for curiosity.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

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.

At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul.

Review #1417: At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul.

Cast: 
José Mojica Marins (Zé do Caixão), Magda Mei (Terezinha), Nivaldo Lima (Antônio), Valéria Vasquez (Lenita), Ilídio Martins Simões (Dr. Rodolfo), and Eucaris Moraes (Velha Bruxa) Directed by José Mojica Marins.

Review:
"What is life? It is the beginning of death. What is death? It is the end of life! What is existence? It is the continuity of blood. What is blood? It is the reason to exist!"

There is no time but the present to cover a film from South America, particularly from its most populous country in Brazil, which has had a varying level of success with entertainment over numerous decades. It's easy to stand out as a film in a different country if you're the first in a genre. In this case, At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul [À Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma] was the first ever Brazilian horror film. It came from director-co-writer-star Jose Mojica Marins, who lived near a cinema that his family operated growing up. He made short films as a child while growing up inspired by the films he saw that came from other countries, becoming a fan of actors and directors such as Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Alfred Hitchcock, while also noting the expression in the eyes of Charlie Chaplin. By the time he was 18, he had formed his own film company and studio with Companhia Cinematografica Atlas. He made his debut as a director with Adventurer's Fate (1958), a Western. He would become known for his horror and drama films over a career that spanned three decades before a reprise with Embodiment of Evil (2008). Marins would do the role of (known in English-speaking countries as Coffin Joe) numerous times over four decades (for both film and on television), and three of them are considered to be a trilogy: this, This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse (1967), and Embodiment of Evil (2008, Marins' last film before his death in 2020).

He was inspired to do the character based on a nightmare he had about a figure that dragged him to a cemetery and left him in front of his headstone. His character was a clear contrast to the cultural sensibilities of the time in Brazil (a predominately Roman Catholic country), which are represented through actions such as eating meat on Good Friday as an open mocking of other's beliefs or through his actions to others in desire of a child to continue his blood. It is a film more popularly known in Brazil than abroad (Coffin Joe is sometimes referred to as "Brazil's National Boogeyman"), but there is definitely quite an cult appeal for something like this. Sure, plenty of people suffer his wrath through physical means, but it is the conviction that Marins holds in such a morbid character (with a big beard and long fingernails) with a clear method of madness that makes for a capable 84 minute tale of creeping chills. It achieves most of what it sets out to do with striking terror through a demented lens fitting of its main character that holds up in most ways now as compared to five decades ago with its sensibilities. It doesn't depend on big moments of gore but instead in those foreboding moments and images that drive curiosity mad, with everyone else being but a potential next person to terrorize in some way, where moods shift completely after he enters a room. On the whole, this is a fair experience of terror that oversteps its low budget to make a morbid pioneer for its country that retains some of its creeping power now more than ever.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

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.

Mary Poppins.

Review #1415: Mary Poppins.

Cast: 
Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins), Dick Van Dyke (Bert / Mr. Dawes Sr), David Tomlinson (George Banks), Glynis Johns (Winifred Banks), Hermione Baddeley (Ellen), Karen Dotrice (Jane Banks), Matthew Garber (Michael Banks), Elsa Lanchester (Katie Nanna), Arthur Treacher (Constable Jones), Reginald Owen (Admiral Boom), Ed Wynn (Uncle Albert), Reta Shaw (Mrs. Brill), and Don Barclay (Mr. Binnacle) Directed by Robert Stevenson.

Review: 
"That’s the real trouble with the world. Too many people grow up."

What is there to say that has not been said about one of Walt Disney's greatest triumphs? Winner of 22 Academy Awards, Disney was a pioneer of animation that created with his brother Roy one of the most powerful film companies of the world that in the span of nearly a century has gone from animation to diversifying in live-action, theme parks and other various ventures. He had an interest in drawing from an early age, doing various exercises such as copying cartoons and working with tools like watercolors. As he grew older, he delivered papers and took courses for drawing and cartooning at the Kansas City Art Institute. By the time he was 18, he had joined the Red Cross (arriving after the armistice that ended World War I) and found work as a commercial illustrator. He soon found interest in cel animation (as opposed to cutouts), and he soon joined forces with others like Ub Iwerks to make their own studio (Iwerks-Disney commercial Artists, which was short-lived, and Laugh-O-Gram Studio, which lasted two years). Although too late to save the studio, their last creation, inspired by Alice in Wonderland, led to eventual interest in creating a series of shorts (which led to the creation of a studio to distribute said films, originally named Disney Brothers Studio). Over the course of a decade, they would create numerous cartoons with Mickey Mouse being created in 1928. Disney yearned to expand the studio's range and money by making a feature of his own. He would soon plan the first feature-length cel animated film in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), which would take three years to develop amidst arguments with his own brother and wife to try and talk him out of it that was thought to be a futile idea. Simply put, the film was a tremendous success, and several animated film classics would follow in its wake, and live-action segments and features would later follow, and this ended up being Disney's most successful project of the 1960s, one that appeals to both children and adults to this day, an achievement for everyone from longtime Disney director Robert Stevenson to its star in Julie Andrews.

The film was adapted from the book series of the same name by P. L. Travers, who wrote eight children's books featuring the character over a span of 54 years beginning in 1934. As early as 1938, Disney wanted to buy the film rights to the book (owing to his daughters loving the books), but Travers rebuffed efforts for years and years because of her doubts that a feature could do justice to her work (it did not stop CBS from doing a television play of the book in 1949 for their live telecast Studio One, however). In 1961, Travers allowed the rights to be purchased, although she demanded script approval rights (this however was not final draft approval). Considerable changes were made in settling things to film, such as the timeframe being shifted from the 1930s to 1910, a focus on two Banks children rather than four, and a significant lightening of the title character (characterized as slightly vain and stern in the books). The latter change, along with the decision to use animation in some parts and the music (she wanted period piece) did not ultimately please her; when approached in 1993 about turning it into a musical, her key stipulation was that no one who worked on the film be involved with it, although the subsequent stage show that premiered 21 years ended up utilizing the songs from Richard and Robert Sherman, who do tremendous work here (as they did for decades). When it came to star, one could not ask for a greater debut. Andrews had sang with her parents since she was ten years old and had risen to performing on the stage and Broadway by the time she was 19, noted for her work in My Fair Lady (1956) and Camelot (1960). It was the decision by Warner Brothers to pick Audrey Hepburn over her to star in the film adaptation of the former that led to Disney having the chance to have Andrews for this film. Her charm and grace are immediately present to view after seeing her first few scenes, one with a great singing voice and a warm spirit that always seems ready for an interesting time with the children while seeming authentic and firm no matter who she interacts, whether that means children or something odder. Van Dyke, a radio/Broadway/television star (sporting a "Cockney" accent), proves quite amusing to follow up with Andrews, an inviting presence that never seems out of place, whether that involves him singing "Chim Chim Cher-ee" or being part of a laugh riot on the ceiling with Wynn (who proves just as amusing in his one scene). Tomlinson accompanies the film as a capable stuffy authority that holds his own in inspiring curiosity on the other side of the hill (namely, reality). Johns, although not in the film too much, inspires a few flighty chuckles. Doctrice and Garbert do a fine job for the time needed, having that middle ground for child acting that isn't too knowing or annoying to write home about. The others fill in the details of curiosity quite nicely for quirks.

The songs are quite catchy, with one clear choice being "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" in driving a smile to one's face. The animation sequences are interesting, aided by a modification from Petro Vlahos in a Technicolor camera that mixed live-action and animation through what is known as the "Sodium Vapor Process", utilized in films such as The Parent Trap (1961) and The Birds (1963) that served as an alternative for bluescreen in order for more accuracy. There is plenty of imagination and charm to be found here, a film that can sing with the best of them in leaving an impression on its audience with its simple but efficient story of growing up without seeming too sentimental or abrupt through a ravishing 139 minute run-time. Behaving well doesn't mean not having fun, really. Could it have been more accurate to its source material, sure, but does it really matter? Is this not a magical film that accomplishes what it sets out to do for its target audience (i.e. anyone)? There is a magic here that one wishes to experience every now and then that make it an easy pick for its era and Disney's line of work.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.

McLintock!

Review #1414: McLintock!

Cast: 
John Wayne (George Washington McLintock), Maureen O'Hara (Katherine McLintock), Patrick Wayne (Devlin Warren), Stefanie Powers (Becky McLintock), Jack Kruschen (Jake Birnbaum), Chill Wills (Drago), Yvonne De Carlo (Louise Warren), Jerry Van Dyke (Matt Douglas Jr), Edgar Buchanan (Bunny Dull), Perry Lopez (Davey Elk), Strother Martin (Agard), and Gordon Jones (Matt Douglas) Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen.

Review: 
“The only one who could stand up to my father, and stand toe-to-toe with my father, and match him in everything.”

It never hurts to make a film that fit into numerous genres. In this case, why not have both a Western and a comedy? With famed stars in Wayne and O'Hara, who could go wrong? At the helm for the film was Andrew V. McLaglen, a British-born American director that grew up with his father Victor (a prolific character actor in numerous John Ford films, where he won an Academy Award for The Informer in 1935) around films, and he eventually found work for himself such as production assistance and assistant directing, with one notable film credit being The Quiet Man (1952, where he did the latter category). In 1956, he started his career in directing, doing Gun the Man Down while also starting work in television with programs such as Gunsmoke and Have Gun - Will Travel, and he directed over 90 episodes of each show over the course of nine and six years respectively. McLaglen would direct a variety of subjects over the course of 35 years in film and television (ranging from Western to war films) with a variety of stars like Wayne (who he would work with five times), James Stewart (four times), and Roger Moore (three times). Familiarity is the name of the game when it comes to this film, since James Edward Grant (who wrote several films with Wayne in them, such as The Alamo) served as writer for a film that was inspired by William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew; Wayne acts alongside his third son while having his eldest son serve as producer and this was the fourth of five Wayne-O'Hara films, which were noted for their clear chemistry between their stars. One shouldn't forget about O'Hara in all of this, a figure of the Hollywood Golden Age that came from Ireland and theater acting at a young age to stardom in a variety of genres such as Westerns, melodramas, and adventure films. Speaking of actors nicknamed the "Queen of Technicolor", De Carlo (star of film and future star on television) was given a role in the film because of Wayne's sympathy in light of her husband being permanently crippled while doing stunt-work on How the West Was Won (1963, which had Wayne as star).

While the film is certainly a bit different from the usual Wayne fare, he also made this film as a way to express his belief (and disapproval) on certain topics, where his character yearns to tame both his wife and the West at the same time. There are quite a few moments of amusement within a story that moves at its own careful pace of 127 minutes, one with a casual story rather than tension that takes a familiar story to make a controlled film that sticks out from the usual Wayne experience without becoming a parody of itself. This is a film with a climax involving a paddling with a coal scuttle shovel, after all. The mud brawl proves to be a big highlight, one with plenty of fist-fighting and amusement, complete with the usage of bentonite (a type of clay that looks like syrup) for mud. Wayne seems to be having a fine time here, a clear-cut blunt performance that has a sense of honesty and humor without becoming too obvious about it. One can see the chemistry between him and O'Hara even when he's drunkenly falling down the stairs with her, really. O'Hara makes for a fiery presence with her own sense of humor that makes for plenty of smiles with those expressive eyes. The younger Wayne and Powers prove a fair pairing with others and themselves, while Kruschen, Wills and De Carlo provide capable careful chuckles that resonate with the trappings of the plot. There isn't the usual villain to make a showdown, but at least there are adversarial presences to drive things (however obvious things get). In the long run, this is a fair little mixture of Western and comedy, buoyed by Wayne, O'Hara and company to make a useful time worth having, particularly since it is readily available in the public domain (bless those failures to copyright) for anyone to stoke their curiosity in familiar territory for all in the 1960s.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

Review #1413: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

Cast: 
Spencer Tracy (Captain T.G. Culpeper), Edie Adams (Monica Crump), Milton Berle (J. Russell Finch), Sid Caesar (Melville Crump), Buddy Hackett ("Benjy" Benjamin), Ethel Merman (Mrs. Marcus), Dorothy Provine (Emmeline Marcus-Finch), Mickey Rooney (Ding Bell), Dick Shawn (Sylvester Marcus), Phil Silvers (Otto Meyer), Terry-Thomas (Lt. Col. J. Algernon Hawthorne), Jonathan Winters (Lennie Pike), Eddie "Rochester" Anderson (a cab driver), Jim Backus (airplane owner Tyler Fitzgerald), William Demarest (Aloysius, Chief of the Santa Rosita Police Department), Jimmy Durante ("Smiler" Grogan), Peter Falk (a cab driver), and Paul Ford (Col. Wilberforce) Produced and Directed by Stanley Kramer (#139 - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, #228 - Inherit the Wind, and #1402 - On the Beach)

Review: 

"Why do actors think they're so goddamn important? They're not. Acting is not an important job in the scheme of things. Plumbing is."

I have seen a few films that have had big ambitions before, but this one certainly takes the cake any day. There aren't as many films as bold to utilize such a cavalcade of comedians and actors as this one, and it only seems fitting that such bold action would be taken by a director with a keen eye for tough subjects. This was the seventh of fifteen films directed by Stanley Kramer, who wanted to make "the comedy to end all comedies", which stands in contrast to the films done before and after this one. It was part of a string of noted hits for Kramer that took place in the 1950s and 1960s, although his popularity would later wane as a reflection of the times, and he would muse about the changing times for filmmaking, describing technique as cover for a "multitude of sins". It was written by William and Tania Rose, with the former being known for scripts such as The Ladykillers (1955) and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967). This was filmed in widescreen through Ultra-Panavision 70, a widescreen process that could be filmed with one camera (as opposed to Cinerama and its three) that could be projected on a Cinerama screen. For such a large film, it is amazing to note the fact that it doesn't even exist in the way it was originally screened. The original cut was 210 minutes, but it eventually was cut to 192 for the premiere. It then was cut to 161 for theatrical release, reportedly to fit in more screenings. However, restorations were done in recent years to try and get close to the intended vision by Kramer, with a 1991 cut running 183 minutes that had footage found in a warehouse set to be destroyed. A restoration was done with the approval of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that was released by Criterion Collection in 2014 that tried to reconstruct and restore the footage (which is derived from 70mm) that runs at 197 minutes, which also includes an overture and intermission (if one is into that sort of thing). It's interesting to see how the footage looks in contrast to the normal footage, whether as little bits by parts already in the film or as audio-only parts or parts that have Asian subtitles superimposed onto the print. 

In a normal film, one could make a comedy jell with one duo and a group of supporting characters, but this is one with multiple pairings and supporting characters, complete with their own versatile backgrounds. One could start with the comedienne/TV star/clothing designer Adams, or perhaps talk about the long-time comedian in show business of clubs, film, radio and television for eight decades in Berle, or TV pioneer stars in Caesar and Silvers. In a film of excess, why stop at those mentions? One can't forget about comedian character actors like Winters, Thomas, and Shawn or an esteemed singer of musical comedy stage in Merman to go along established actors of the Hollywood Golden Age like Rooney and Tracy (who at this point in his life and career could only film for four hours a day due to failing health, with this being his penultimate film before his death in 1967). One has to stop at that point, since you can't go on and on to note the importance of cameo appearances that range from Jack Benny to Buster Keaton to the Three Stooges to Don Knotts. Really one could summarize the performances by separating them into tiers, with Winters and Thomas making up the first one, the second goes to Berle, Caesar, and Silvers, the third goes to Hackett, Rooney, and Merman, and the fourth being Shawn, Adams, and Provine. This certainly seems to be a film where people enjoyed themselves, where one doesn't have to wonder if the best moments are by the smallest parts or wonder if someone is chewing the scenery too much (they all do). There are gags that pile on other gags that can and will be drawn out to the longest point imaginable. Tracy doesn't even encounter the others until about two hours in (one does not exactly think about things like time and pacing with something like this, really). He does a fine job in serving for some small gags and plot details with care expected of his natural versatility. Perhaps the only fitting way to note the gags and which ones work best is to do a list, so here are five highlighted ones:

1. The Three Stooges (comprised of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Joe DeRita), dressed up as firemen with axes that don't say one word but drive a laugh regardless from the fact that they are there.

2. A masterful destruction of a gas station by Winters, with Marvin Kaplan and Arnold Stang being present as people to be pushed around all of the equipment that ends with one great big collapse.

3. The ladder sequence for the climax, which had help in animation from famed effects man Willis H. O'Brien (who died before the release of the film), a captivating end to a madcap buildup.

4. Airplane antics with Hackett and Rooney, whether that involves crashing into a sign or buzzing by windows.

5. Jimmy Durante, in his last film role, setting the stage of events with a face considered by Kramer to be fitting in being funny and tragic at the same time - which proves correct in the long run.

Perhaps this film's closest relative is Around the World in 80 Days (1956), which stuffed itself to the gills with cameo appearances when the word wasn't even a cliché yet that also had roadshow release. This is a maniacal effort for its era in a time that razzles, dazzles and bedazzles from scene to scene to make a tremendously long and winding road film befitting anyone who enjoys a good time with a laugh, right down to the last banana peel. There aren't many films like this one, that much is for sure. It wasn't the be all end all comedy to outdo them all (nor the one to end the idea of doing a big search for money with a big cast), but it certainly stands today as a comedy big enough for all people to enjoy in some fashion.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

The Great Escape.

Review #1412: The Great Escape.

Cast: 
Steve McQueen (Captain Virgil Hilts), James Garner (Flight Lieutenant Robert Hendley), Richard Attenborough (Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett), Charles Bronson (Flight Lieutenant Danny Velinski), James Donald (Group Captain Ramsey), Donald Pleasence (Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe), James Coburn (Flying Officer Louis Sedgwick), Hannes Messemer (Oberst von Luger), David McCallum (Lieutenant-Commander Eric Ashley-Pitt), Gordon Jackson (Flight Lieutenant Andrew MacDonald), John Leyton (Flight Lieutenant William "Willie" Dickes), Angus Lennie (Flying Officer Archibald "Archie" Ives), Nigel Stock (Flight Lieutenant Dennis Cavendish), Robert Graf (Werner), and Jud Taylor (Second Lieutenant Goff) Directed by John Sturges (#427 - The Magnificent Seven and #1395 - Gunfight at the O.K. Corral)

Review: 
"He had great faith in the actor. He would storyboard everything. He never talked to me about character or about anything. What was in the script was what was shot; what was on the storyboard was the way it was shot."

You can't get much bigger in escapism in entertainment with war dramas like The Great Escape. It has certainly left a mark on popular culture with all of the homages that have been done in the near six decades since the film's release. It was loosely based on the 1944 mass escape of POWs from the German prison camp Stalag Luft III, which Paul Brickhill (who was in the camp but not allowed to be part of the escape due to claustrophobia) wrote an account of in 1950. NBC subsequently adapted it into a live drama episode of The Philco Television Playhouse the following year. Sturges had been interested in the book immediately after reading it, describing it as "the perfect embodiment of why our side won", a presentation of people from different countries with their own makeup that found a way to defeat the Germans with their own organization. It took a few years for Sturges to find producers interested in doing the film (with his attempts at selling it to MGM failing due to a lack of interest in material that would have a downbeat ending), but eventually he found interest with The Mirisch Company (comprised of three brothers in Walter, Marvin, Harold), who produced numerous hits in the late 1950s and 1960s such as Some Like It Hot (1959) and The Magnificent Seven (1960).

The film started production without a fully completed script. Obviously there are differences between the real-life account of the escape and the film, with requests to omit details about help from home countries of ex-prisoners of war about tools in gift packages being a noted example, with another being in making composites based on real people for the characters of the film (the number of escapees however is the same as the events in 1944 with three, which also includes the details of how they successfully made it home). Although James Clavell and W.R. Burnett are credited with writing the screenplay, numerous revisions were made throughout production (with Walter Newman asking to not have his name credited due to disputes with Sturges, which also occurred a few years prior with The Magnificent Seven). Even showing the daily rushes after a few weeks of filming didn't help much, since McQueen (who had made a request accepted by Sturges to feature him in an extended motorcycle chase) felt his character was underdeveloped. It mattered especially for McQueen, who had made a name for himself over the past few years after starting his career in 1953 that gradually led to starring roles like The Blob (1958) and Wanted Dead or Alive (1958–1961), and this sealed his reputation as a "King of Cool". Interestingly, he wanted his character to be the hero without doing anything overtly heroic that contradicted his detached demeanor.

The movie runs at 172 minutes with gradual pacing that builds its group of capable characters with fair precision that builds and builds towards its escape without becoming suffocated in any sort of way. There is plenty of starpower to see here, particularly since over half of them had at least some war experience (such as Bronson, who was also claustrophobic as his character, owing to working in coal mines as a child) and some even had experiences in a POW camp, such as Pleasance, who even produced and acted in plays for the entertainment of his fellow captives. Each of the main group excels in their own way, drawing presence and charm that inspires tension for what goes on. McQueen, whose screen-time increases as the film goes on, proves tremendous as a sardonic and charming presence, highlighted by the film's most celebrated sequence - a motorcycle chase over the countryside and one quick jump over a fence (done by McQueen's friend Bud Ekins) that is dazzling. At helm for the buildup to the escape is a talented collection of international presences such as TV star-turned star Garner and his honest resourcefulness or British star-director Attenborough and his steely commanding resolve or Bronson's resolved ambiguity or Pleasance's well-mannered dignity. Accompanying them with their own concentrated time is a reasoned Donald, a charming Coburn, and a resourceful Messemer and McCallum. There are plenty of interesting moments to highlight, such as a sequence involving homemade moonshine on the 4th of July (complete with drums), or its riveting sequence in the countryside with a view on various escapees trying to pull through by train, motorcycle and even planes that make its ultimate ending just as resounding. All of this makes for a capable entertaining film that invites one into adventure with plenty of interesting presences and intricate designs that stand as a classic to see at least once.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Hud (1963).

Review #1411: Hud.

Cast: 
Paul Newman (Hud Bannon), Melvyn Douglas (Homer Bannon), Brandon deWilde (Lonnie Bannon), Patricia Neal (Alma Brown), Whit Bissell (Mr. Burris), Crahan Denton (Jesse), John Ashley (Hermy), Val Avery (Jose), George Petrie (Joe Scanlon), and Curt Conway (Truman Peters) Directed by Martin Ritt.

Review: 
"I make the kind of films that not too many people get to make in this town, though sometimes I've had to take the risk myself"

One cannot simply make a good film without some sort of sensitivity and knowledge of how to maintain a production and the aspects that go with it from cast to tone. Martin Ritt was a director known for his socially conscious films, concerned with the human condition while making sure to film with a careful hand and careful approach to his stars, which served him well over the years. Born in 1914, he grew up in New York City but attended college in North Carolina, with the latter experience shaping his vision in wanting to show the struggle of inequality. He moved to the theater not long after graduation, shifting from theatre groups (as actor and director at times) to the Federal Theater Project to the Group Theatre where he met Elia Kazan (in later years Ritt would do work at the Actors Studio when Kazan could not make a class). After serving in World War II under the US Army Air Forces, he had shifted some of his focus to television, but the prevailing fear over red influence into entertainment trapped him on the blacklist for a few years. A few years later, he directed his first feature film with Edge of the City (1957), which depicted a interracial friendship. In the course of over three decades, he would make several notable films, such as The Long, Hot Summer (1958, which also starred Newman), Sounder (1972), and Norma Rae (1979).

The film was adapted by Harriet Frank Jr and Irving Ravetch (who co-produced the film with Ritt) from the 1961 novel Horseman, Pass By from Larry McMurtry, the first of six of his works to have been adapted into film (with others being notable films like The Last Picture Show and Terms of Endearment). The key change made in adapting the novel was in expanding the character of Hud to be the main focus, as opposed to Lonnie. The film was shot over the course of four weeks, with most of it being done in the Texas Panhandle, with some time being spent beforehand to rehearse with the cast to have them delve into their roles before shooting. This is a feature with a tremendously well-rounded quartet (with Douglas and Neal winning Academy Awards for their performances), headlined by Newman. The method actor had risen from theatre work to feature film roles in the 1950s, and he had spent a couple of days in a Texas ranch working and sleeping in a bunkhouse to prepare for the role. He pulls off a magnificent performance here, a charming monster who lives for himself and the tastes that go with said figure that swaggers over the conventional lead focus for the time, sinking with ease into such a rough role. To the surprise of Newman and Ritt, audiences found a liking to this amoral character, who they thought would not be accepted as a heroic character, with Ritt believing it being a reflection of the counterculture that would engulf the latter part of the decade. Perhaps it is evident in a quote from the film that talks about how a country changes its look by who we admire, and one must make up their mind over what is right and wrong. In that sense, theatre-turned-film star Douglas matches up with principles and a weary but unbroken spirit that reflects his ranch with measured composure. When it comes to deWilde, he holds his own as a yearning youth at a crossroads that all growing youth find themselves, and he does it with plenty of conviction. Neal, a member of the Actors Studio that appears for just twenty minutes, makes the best of her time with a relentlessly compelling performance, filled with worn-out cynicism and wit. The other key highlight is James Wong Howe (a pioneer of cinematography for six decades) and his stark cinematography, which captures the depth of such a landscape like the Panhandle with tremendous contrast and shadows that make for a devastating effect for a reasonably paced 112 minutes. This is a film that sets its own trail of where one can go in their life without needing to draw it out for the audience, with four capable performances and direction to drive a film that drives hard to questions that aren't easy to get to but prove fairly worth it in the long run. It reaches most of the marks it wants to make while serving as its own kind of Western melodrama worthy of a watch for its vision of the countryside.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

The Music Man.

Review #1410: The Music Man.

Cast: 
Robert Preston (Harold Hill), Shirley Jones (Marian Paroo), Buddy Hackett (Marcellus Washburn), Paul Ford (Mayor George Shinn), Hermione Gingold (Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn), Pert Kelton (Mrs. Paroo), Ron Howard (Winthrop Paroo), Susan Luckey (Zaneeta Shinn), Timmy Everett (Tommy Djilas), Harry Hickox (Charlie Cowell), and The Buffalo Bills (Vern Reed, Al Shea, Wayne "Scotty" Ward, Bill Spangenberg as The School Board) Produced and Directed by Morton DaCosta.

Review: 
Showmanship can go a long way when it comes to musicals, for better or worse. This film was adapted from composer/conductor/bandleader/playwright Meredith Willson's Broadway musical of the same name, which he co-wrote the book (alongside Franklin Lacey), music and lyrics for based on his boyhood in Mason City, Iowa. After years of trying to get producers on board for it and revisions and cuts to songs, the production premiered on Broadway in 1957, running for four years with stage and film actor Preston (chosen after numerous others rejected it, such as Gene Kelly) in the lead role, and it would garner Tony Award wins the following year, winning awards such as Best Musical and Best Actor for Preston. Further productions have been done in London alongside revivals, with one being planned for later in this year on Broadway. When Warner Brothers bought the screen rights for the play, they wanted a prominent figure for the lead role, with the first choice being Frank Sinatra and another consideration being Cary Grant. Willson held firm to his preference for Preston, and he prevailed eventually in this regard; DaCosta, who had directed the play on Broadway, would serve as director and producer with the intent of being as faithful to the original as possible, which is reflected in its 151 minute run-time.

When it comes to grand old musicals, this is one firmly in the middle of average and great, fairly memorable in its rendition of songs and its Americana spirit that makes for a pleasant time for those who are into that sort of thing. On the one hand, I applaud the efforts to maintain the spirit of the play into a film with plenty of design and beat, complete with having Preston helm the ship as lead. On the other hand, it generally seems to hit its mark only just enough to make it worth one viewing and that is it. The enjoyment of said film rests on one's patience for its matter of singing and its small-town trappings and humor, which do fine in parts. If one desires songs and plenty of people to go along with it and inspire jokes that hit with that sensibility of a folksy spring, this will likely pan out. Preston is the best aspect of the whole film, relentless in his façade with plenty of charm and capability to sing and talk as well as anyone. Jones (a trained singer who was the only person signed to a personal contract by Rodgers and Hammerstein) accompanies him with her own share of pragmatic grace that makes for a capable chemistry with Preston to go with fine singing. Hackett makes for a capable comic relief and a decent dancer (despite my reservations about "Shipoopi" as a whole). Ford and Gingold each contribute a few courtly laughs, while child TV star-turned-future director Howard makes a fine bright presence. There are quite a few highlight moments and songs, with "Seventy-Six Trombones" being a particular entertaining one to listen to, and the film does land itself with fair rallying spirit that entertains its audience without drowning in too much sentimental hokum to wither the fun. This is a fair show to seek out for those who like some Americana spirit from way back when that entertains to this very day.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

Review #1409: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

Cast: 
John Wayne (Tom Doniphon), James Stewart (Ransom "Ranse" Stoddard), Vera Miles (Hallie Stoddard), Lee Marvin (Liberty Valance), Edmond O'Brien (Dutton Peabody), Andy Devine (Marshal Link Appleyard), Ken Murray (Doc Willoughby), John Carradine (Maj. Cassius Starbuckle), Jeanette Nolan (Nora Ericson), John Qualen (Peter Ericson), Willis Bouchey (Jason Tully), Carleton Young (Maxwell Scott), Woody Strode (Pompey), Denver Pyle (Amos Carruthers), Strother Martin (Floyd), and Lee Van Cleef (Reese) Directed by John Ford (#398 - The Last Hurrah, #1324 - 3 Bad Men, #1349 - Stagecoach, #1372 - Fort Apache, and #1392 - The Searchers)

Review: 
"This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."

The ravages of time strikes all of us in the end. What is destiny and history but in the eye of the one telling it? This can apply as a philosophical question but also to film as well, particularly with John Ford and this particular film. The 1960s was the sixth and final decade in which Ford directed a film, having won four Best Director Academy Awards and two more for his war documentaries in the years before. It was not the last Western that he would direct (that went to his penultimate film Cheyenne Autumn, released two years later), nor was it his last feature (he directed four more films after this one, the last being 7 Women in 1966), but this film is generally regarded as the last great film of Ford's lengthy career, with Sergio Leone describing it was the only film that Ford "learned about something called pessimism." By this time in his career, Ford found it harder to fund his features, with this taking months for Paramount Pictures to greenlight the feature, and he found some resentment in having Wayne forced onto him as star, although said resentment could also be due to being shuttled off to second unit work not meant to be used on John Wayne's The Alamo (1960). This also happened to be Ford's last black-and-white film, and the decision to shoot it in this process was evidently his decision alone and not a matter of budget. Ford is on record for stating his preference for black-and-white photography over color, calling it "real photography" that requires one to be careful and know where to lay the shadows and make the right perspective. It just happens that it also helps in suspending disbelief (at least most of it) in the idea of 50-year old Wayne and Miles portraying characters significantly younger for a majority of the film, which would be filmed mostly on the lot as opposed to Monument Valley.

The film was adapted by writers James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck from a 1953 short story by Dorothy M. Johnson. At any rate, this is an involving and successful look upon its ironic tale of a hero and his destiny, a thoughtful Western that utilizes its familiar company of actors and crew for Ford to tremendous effect. It moves at its own pace and structure at 123 minutes that is filled with more grit and realism than Ford's previous output, where the myth can prove to endure far more than the facts themselves, for better or worse. Stewart, as one would expect from such an distinct everyman like him, does tremendously well in carrying his composure and idealism in the face of danger and destiny, whether that means interacting with the townsfolk about statehood or having to use a gun to save himself. In that sense, Wayne fits like a glove on the other side of the main coin, significantly grittier in presence but still having plenty of rough conviction to make this compelling, despite his troubles with this film. He felt that this was a tough role for him, seeming merely functional to the plot to have to make a part out of (while opposing the idea that it was one with ambiguity, since he hated and distrusted ambiguity), and Ford's heaping of abuse (ranging from his failures to make it as a football player to his lack of war service) did not help. Miles accompanies the last angle of the film's careful love triangle with subtlety and care. Marvin, known for his supporting and villainous roles, excels in a title role with plenty of viciousness and grime to go around in each scene he is in, such as the delegate scene or the showdown near its end. O'Brien proves just as adept in inspiring curiosity as a presence and voice for a town, while Devine inspires a few chuckles as said town's supposed authority. Others don't have as much time on screen, but they do make it count, such as Carradine and his grand-old bluster present in the last twenty minutes or a composed Strode. One is invested in this tale that is being told through flashback without growing tired of its capturing of what made the Old West: a tall tale with honesty, amusement and a conclusion worth writing home about, where men can be made or broken on the strength of a lie (or in this case, a myth). In any case, this is an entertaining and thoughtful Western from John Ford as one would expect from such a distinguished filmmaker who honed his craft in delivering entertainment over the course of six decades that has something for everyone now more than ever.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

El Cid.

Review #1408: El Cid.

Cast: 
Charlton Heston (Don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, El Cid), Sophia Loren (Doña Ximena), Herbert Lom (Ben Yusuf), Raf Vallone (García Ordóñez), Geneviève Page (Doña Urraca), John Fraser (Alfonso VI, King of Castile), Douglas Wilmer (Al-Mu'tamin, Emir of Zaragoza), Frank Thring (Al-Kadir, Emir of Valencia), Michael Hordern (Don Diego), Andrew Cruickshank (Count Gormaz), Gary Raymond (Prince Sancho), Ralph Truman (King Ferdinand), and Massimo Serato (Fañez) Directed by Anthony Mann (#947 - He Walked by Night)

Review: 
"I'm not a genius, I'm a worker."

Epic films, when in the right hands, can prove to be entertaining spectacles that make one interested in the subject matter or in its setting. Anthony Mann served to be a good choice to make an epic film, despite having most of his work being film noirs and westerns. Mann found his first calling with the theatre as an actor and eventually as director. After some work in the Theatre Guild and the WPA Federal Theatre Project, he was hired by David O. Selznick to scout talent and serve as casting and screen test director, doing so for films like Gone with the Wind (1939). After a few years of assistant directing, he made his debut as main director in Dr. Broadway (1942). He directed B-movies (mostly noirs and dramas) for numerous studios such as Paramount Pictures, RKO, and Eagle-Lion in his early years, with highlights being T-Men (1947), Raw Deal (1948) and un-credited work on He Walked by Night (1948). He soon added Westerns to his foray with Winchester '73 (1950), which would be the first of his with James Stewart. This was the fourth-to-last film (along with his last major success) of a career that spanned over thirty films in 26 years before suffering a heart attack at the age of 60. This film was produced by Samuel Bronston, who was behind a few historical epics such as John Paul Jones (1959), King of Kings (1961), 55 Days at Peking (1963, also starring Heston) and The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964, also directed by Mann and starring Loren).

It should figure that theatre-turned film star Heston would star in an epic like this, since a selection of his memorable films over a career that spanned six decades and dozens of movies were from epics like The Ten Commandments (1956), The Big Country (1958), and Ben-Hur (1959). Accompanying him is international star Loren, who came from poverty as a child to beauty pageant participant and eventual actress who became the first thespian to win an Academy Award for a non-English language performance with Two Women (1960). When the film isn't spending time on its sets or setting up its battles with bombastic nature, Heston and Loren are present to make a fair couple of passion to look upon a film that spans years and sometimes seems to feel like it too. This is a loose depiction of El Cid, the celebrated national hero of Spain that lived in the eleventh century, which has proven a source for numerous works such as the epic poem El Cantar de Mio Cid, and noted historian Ramón Menéndez Pidal was a consultant on the film. There is plenty of time to spend in three hours with something that wants to depict honor and legend that makes for a diverting time that keeps its conflicts in check without too much confusion or becoming a shell of itself and seeming outdated. It won't win all the credit for complete accuracy to history (such as the actual fate of El Cid), but the legend still presents itself with enough power from this film to inspire further interest regardless. Heston and Loren did not get along too well in making the film, but they still manage to come off together decently, perhaps in part because of that tension that carries over to a good chunk of its first half, and it eventually ekes its way out of seeming wooden on both sides, with Heston being a towering presence and Loren being a timeless figure of devotedness. The rest of the actors fall in line just as well, but the true highlight is undoubtedly the battle sequences. Any time that one gets to see a tremendous execution of horses and knights is a good one to have, with the jousting sequence being a fun one to view especially. The strangest thing is not the fact that Heston was unimpressed by the film (with some of that reason being Mann's insistence on shooting the battles himself), it was the fact that he felt that director best suited for the film was William Wyler, while conversely feeling that Mann would have been the better choice for Ben-Hur (1959). Regardless of that fact, one cannot deny that this is a fair epic to stand for its era, mixing spectacle and romance with a capable director and stars to make it a useful experience to view once as a showing of a tale worth looking into further.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.