BY LEE PFEIFFER

In the 1970s and 1980s  director  Brian De Palma had some high profile hits with Hitchcockian thrillers such as "Sisters", "Obsession", "Dressed to Kill", "Blow Out" and "Body Double". De Palma's defenders extolled the virtues of these films as clever homages to Hitchcock while detractors accused De Palma of using The Master's formulas to make a fast buck. In 1982 director Robert Benton jumped on the same bandwagon with his own Hitchcockian  project, "Still of the Night", which was shot under the title "Stab" before the marketing campaign had been re-evaluated. A few years earlier Benton had triumphed at the Oscars with "Kramer vs. Kramer", taking home the Best Director Oscar. That film also provided an important career boost for Meryl Streep, who also won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. The two were reunited for this project which stands out on both of their credentials as an odd choice. Chances are that when you think of Streep's exalted status in the film community today, the thriller genre is unlikely to come to mind. (Though she did also appear in "The River Wild" and the remake of "The Manchurian Candidate".) Benton, who had directed relatively few films to date, was more accustomed to the genre and perhaps his involvement with this flawed production can be explained by the fact that the basis for the story (which he collaborated on with David Newman) was a real life experience that found him obsessed with a woman who simultaneously excited and frightened him. Certainly it's a sold premise for a thriller and through much of the movie Benton provides a compelling scenario complimented by two excellent actors: Streep and Roy Scheider. The film falls apart in the final act when it begins to resemble less of a homage to Hitchcock than an homage to De Palma's homages to Hitchcock- with a dose of "Play Misty for Me" thrown in (i.e knife wielding killer attacks protagonist on a balcony that overlooks the churning sea.) It's not that "Still of the Night" is bad (though Streep has gone on record as saying it is), it's simply that it hardly seems like it would ever have been compelling enough to attract two recent Oscar winners. 

The film opens in the office of New York City psychiatrist Sam Rice (Scheider). Like most cinematic headshrinkers, he appears to need psychiatric care more than his patients do. He's going through the miseries of a divorce and seems bored and depressed. The only significant female relationship he has is with his mother (Jessica Tandy, who perhaps not coincidentally starred in Hitchcock's "The Birds".) Sam's mundane daily routine takes a dramatic turn when he discovers that a long-time patient, businessman George Bynum (Josef Sommer) has been found stabbed to death in his car on a Manhattan street. From this point some key elements of the story are told in flashback sequences.  Sam remembers Bynum as a sexual predator who had been having an affair with one of his staff workers. Then he meets Brooke Reynolds (Streep), a gorgeous thirty-something blonde who seems both alluring and vulnerable. Bynum confesses that he is obsessed with her and cut off his previous affair in order to engage in one with Brooke. Shortly after Bynum's death, Sam is shocked when Brooke appears at his office, nervous, unsettled and chain-smoking. (Yes, you could smoke in an office in those days.) In the awkward conversation that follows she says the purpose of her visit is to return a wristwatch that Bynum had accidentally left at her apartment. She doesn't want to return it herself for fear of alerting Bynum's widow about the affair he was having with her. From minute one Sam is smitten and intrigued by this quirky, jittery- and stunningly beautiful- young woman. He also realizes that her cover story about the watch is thin. She actually wanted to meet him. Shortly thereafter Sam is visited by Detective Joe Vitucci (Joe Grifasi, channeling every personality cliche you can think of when it comes to a New York  City cop). He asks Sam if he can shed any light on who might be Bynum's killer. Sam informs him that anything he had discussed with Bynum would be protected under doctor/client privilege...but he also finds himself unable to inform Vitucci about Bynum's affair with Brooke. He realizes he is now obsessed with her, just as Bynum was. He strongly suspects that Brooke is Bynum's murderer but can't get her out of his mind. Like Bynum, he's simultaneously sexually stimulated and terrified of her. Nevertheless, he begins finding excuses to see her and his presence seems to have a calming effect on Brooke. The friendship goes to another stage when she responds to his kiss but Sam is too lacking in self-confidence to actually seduce her. Meanwhile he begins to experience some eerie occurrences. He believes someone is stalking him in the basement of his apartment building. As he follows the mysterious Brooke on a nighttime walk through Central Park (a chilling scenario for anyone in those days), he finds himself alone and so unnerved that when a man jumps out of the shadows to mug him, he is actually relieved to have another human being on the scene. Director Benton knows that a sure-fire way to ratchet up suspense is to put the protagonist in a creepy dark house or in an equally unnerving location. However he goes to the well with this plot device a little too often. For a man who lives in the heart of Manhattan, Sam seems to wind up repeatedly in eerie, isolated places. However, some of the sequences are genuinely suspenseful as in the scene in which Sam is in the laundry room of his apartment building, deep in the bowels of the basement. No one is around. There is total isolation when suddenly the lights in an adjoining room inexplicably go out. You can share his sense of increasing panic as he knows  someone is stalking him...but who and why? Refrehingly, Scheider portrays Sam as an everyday guy, not a tough-as-nails hero. He's vulnerable both physically and emotionally throughout.

The film's primary asset is its two stars, both of whom give intense and very convincing performances. There are also the usual plot twists and red herrings one would expect to find in a movie of this genre and Benton for the most part manages to wring some genuine suspense out of it even when he resorts to old gimmicks that include a dream sequence in which Bynum is menaced by an eerie little girl (are there any other kinds of little girls in dream sequences?) It's straight out of "The Shining"  but then again just about everything in "Still of the Night" seems recycled, even though it manages to be engrossing right up until the climax when Benton the screenwriter resorts to every time-worn cliche imaginable: an old dark house, a sacrificial lamb character, a vulnerable hero, a knife-wielding maniac...you get the picture. About all that is missing is John Carradine as a mad scientist. The weak ending feels like it was tossed together at the last minute and doesn't retain the suspense or logic that Benton has managed to build heretofore. Nonetheless, "Still of the Night" is still worth a look if only for the performances and those few genuinely spooky sequences.

The Blu-ray edition from Kino Lorber includes the original trailer and trailers for two other Roy Scheider films, "Last Embrace" and "52 Pick-Up."

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"RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVE"

BY LEE PFEIFFER

The Warner Archive has released the 1967 drama Chubasco as a burn-to-order title. The film represents exactly the type of title that is appropriate for the Archive treatment: although it boasts well-known stars, it's doubtful the film has enough commercial clout to ever merit a traditional DVD release. The story itself is a minor affair, a B movie masquerading as an A title. However, the film does have some minor significance as it represents Jones's feature film debut. The studio obviously had great hopes for the young thespian, as it afforded him a starring role despite the fact that this marked the first time audiences had seen him on the big screen. Jones plays the titular character, Chubasco, which may sound like an ingredient for a Bloody Mary, but, in fact, is a Spanish word for a particularly fierce storm at see. Chubasco is an arrogant young man who is always in trouble with the law for minor crimes. A judge offers him a choice: either follow in the tradition of his late father and live a disciplined life by serving on a tuna fishing vessel or go to jail. Chubasco reluctantly chooses the former, but he immediately clashes with the ship captain and crew members. All of this is happening while he is embroiled in a romance with Susan Strasberg that has Romeo and Juliet overtones. (Her dominating father refuses to allow the couple to be together).

The land-based sequences boast chintzy sets that give the film the look of a TV movie, perhaps not coincidentally, as the director Allen H. Miner was best known for his work on popular television series. However, the sequences at sea are quite exciting, as Chubasco learns to re-evaluate what he values through the dangerous profession he finds himself in. The scenes may not rival anything seen in an episode of The Deadliest Catch, but they do liven the story line beyond the hokey romantic subplot. The primary reason to see the movie is the inspired cast, which includes reliable stalwarts such as Simon Oakland, Richard Egan, Edward Binns, Preston Foster and Ann Sothern (typically cast as a lovable madam).

Jones's career would burn brightly but briefly in the years following this movie. His acting style, consciously or not, suggested another James Dean or Brando wannabe. However, he had charisma to spare, as evidenced by his excellent performance in Wild in the Streets. Ironically, it was after his most high profile role in David Lean's Ryan's Daughter that he dropped out of the industry altogether. (He made a brief return to the screen in 1996 in the little-seen movie Mad Dog Time.) Jones was a fine talent who could have had a long career in the film industry but he fell victim to his own excesses and eccentricities. "Chubasco" gives us a taste of what might have been.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

"Dum-dee-dum dum. Dum-dee-dum dum dum."

Okay, that's as close as we can get to invoking the memory of one of the most famous TV themes songs of all time, from the long-running crime show "Dragnet". By the mid-1950s, the program was a national sensation. In  1954, the success of the series inspired star and producer Jack Webb to exploit the show's popularity by bringing it to the big screen. TV-to-cinema adaptations would become commonplace in the years to come with shows such as Walt Disney's Davy Crockett and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." converting episodes into feature films. However, in the case of the 1954 movie version of "Dragnet", Webb oversaw a completely new production shot in full color. In an era in which all TV programming was telecast in B&W, it was a real treat to see "Dragnet" in color on the big screen. Webb, who also directed the film, stuck to the basics and didn't stray far from the formula that had served him so well. The movie features the same trademark, clipped dialogue. Seemingly no one completes an entire sentence and virtually everyone smokes like a chimney. (Aside from Howard Hawks' "Hatari!", I have never seen so much smoking in one film.) Webb retains his bizarre  mannerisms that made him a television icon: he speaks with machine gun fire-like rapidity and walks like he has a diving board under his suit jacket. Both his manner of movement and speech seem to emulate  a robot, but you can't deny that the gimmick works: you can't take your eyes off him and he dominates every scene he is in (which is virtually all of them).

The movie opens with an effective sequence in which two hoods are walking through an empty field when a third hood comes out of nowhere and murders one of the men with a shotgun in a sequence that must have been considered rather brutal for the time. The murderer and the other man flee the scene and before you know it, Webb's Sgt. Joe Friday is on the scene with his Sancho Panza, Officer Frank Smith (Ben Alexander). They try to pick up leads but, frankly, within minutes I became rather confused about the relationship of three suspects they focus in on. Most of the labored script has Friday and Smith doggedly trying to build a case against the three hoods but the D.A. says the evidence is too circumstantial. They utilize a "hi tech" secret tape recorder in order to eavesdrop on the suspects. The scene is unintentionally amusing because the "micro recorder" is about the size of a lap top computer. They also enlist the assistance of a sexy police woman (Ann Robinson) who goes undercover to imply she'll go under the covers with one of the suspects. This notion of presenting a female police officer as brave, competent and equal to men is the one progressive factor in the dated screenplay. Friday's disdain for the niceties of the law is apparent. He doesn't consider the constitution to be a vital element of our society, but rather a necessary evil. Whenever he doesn't get his way, there is some eye-rolling, sighs and  cynical comments. (In his review of the film, New York Times critic Bosley Crowther specifically noted Friday's obvious "distaste for the Fifth Amendment" and concluded he "is not a nice policeman to anticipate as a hero on the screen.")  Most of the pedantic action consists of Friday and Smith tailing a suspect and harassing him day and night in a clear case of police brutality. But, hey, this was an era in which Sen. Joe McCarthy was considered a national hero for rooting out all the commies under all those beds, so Friday's tactics fit in well with the spirit of the day. The movie drags to a conclusion so limp and unsatisfying that I thought there was still another fifteen minutes of running time left. Nevertheless, taken as a museum piece, "Dragnet" is fun to watch, thanks to Webb's undeniable screen presence. The supporting cast includes Virginia Gregg as a dame from the other side of the tracks and Richard Boone as Webb's superior officer. (Young Dennis Weaver has a minor role, as well.) There is precious little humor in the film aside from some small talk between Webb and Alexander. Webb would considerably improve on this aspect of "Dragnet" when he brought the series back in 1967 with Harry Morgan well-cast as his humorous co-star. 

The film has been released as part of Universal's burn-to-order program. The transfer is very good with exceptionally impressive color qualities.  The movie would make a great double-feature with the 1987 comedy version of "Dragnet" featuring Dan Aykroyd's remarkable impersonation of Jack Webb. 

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BY LEE PFEIFFER 

By 1969, Raquel Welch was at the peak of her cinematic career. Still a bit rough-around-the-edges as an actress, she nevertheless possessed a charming on-screen personality. Not surprisingly, that wasn't the aspect that movie studios chose to showcase when marketing her films. A prime example is Flareup, a 1969 thriller that heavily stressed images and clips of Welch gyrating in a sexy outfit as a go-go dancer. The fact that she is dressed in depressingly demure outfits except for this brief sequence represents something less than truth-in-advertising. Welch is Michele, a vivacious, independent minded Las Vegas strip club dancer whose best friend is murdered by her psychotic ex-husband Alan (Luke Askew). He gets away with the murder and kills another of his wife's friends, who he believes conspired to cause convince his ex to divorce him. Last on the list is Michele, who he relentless hunts. Although charismatic, Michele shows a distinct lack of common sense when it comes to self-protection. For reasons never explained, she turns down police protection and is immediately stalked by Alan. He trails her to Los Angeles, where her poor judgment flares up again (pardon the pun) when he pursues her in a high speed car chase. In the kind of logic made for "women-in-jeopardy" movies, Michele sails through the crowded streets of L.A. where she could seek help from hundreds of passersby, only to wind up in a remote and deserted section of Griffith Park where her would-be killer pursues her through a zoo. She later continues to show similar good sense by escaping from a guarded hospital room only to walk straight into the killer's next trap. 

Flareup epitomizes the guilty pleasure movie, from the faux Bond-like opening credits to some laughably bad acting. The film is directed in a clunky, erratic style by James Neilson, who doesn't miss an opportunity to use a zoom lens or a cliched situation. He does succeed, however, in making the most of impressive on-location shooting in both Vegas and L.A, which at least gives the movie a feeling of authenticity. Neilson also shoots topless go go girls at L.A's famed Losers Lounge,where "King Leer" himself, Russ Meyer, is said to have scouted for well-endowed "talent" for his own movies. James Stacy is the parking lot attendant who starts a love affair with Michele and, refreshingly, this is one movie that doesn't have the male play hero to rescue his girlfriend. Michele maybe lacking in good judgment but is brave and resourceful enough to take on the killer herself. The movie does have some genuine suspense and one particularly chilling sequence in which an elderly motorist realizes that the hitchhiker he has picked up is actually a cold blooded murderer. Here, director Neilson finally distinguishes himself in an extensive sequence that is quite haunting. 

The movie is good, passable fun and brings back some fond memories of the swinging Sixties. The region-free DVD from the Warner Archive contains an original trailer that emphasizes that Welch is now playing "herself", not a Mexican bandito or a cavegirl, a sly knock on her earlier films. The trailer, which is sexist enough to cause Gloria Steinem heart palpitations also presents Stacy with prominent billing- and spells his name wrong!  

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BY DOUG OSWALD

John Wayne is merchant sea Captain Tom Wilder, an American being held prisoner by Chinese Communists, in “Blood Alley,” a Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray release. The 1955 film is the first of two movies in which the Duke would co-star with Lauren Bacall (they worked together again on the Duke’s final film, “The Shootist,” released in 1976). The Duke copes with prison life, presumably after being tortured, by looking up toward the ceiling and talking to “Baby,” his imaginary girlfriend with whom he shares his thoughts out loud to us and to his captors who believe he’s gone crazy. His prison routine is broken as the movie opens when a message arrives hidden in a fresh mattress giving him instructions for his escape along with a pistol and a Russian uniform. The guards have been bribed making for an easy escape after a fire is started in his prison cell.

He reaches the safety of a nearby village with the help of Big Han (Mike Mazurki). In the village he meets Mr. Tso (Paul Fix), Susu (Joy Kim) and Cathy Grainger (Bacall). Cathy wants Tom to help move the people of the village to the safety of Taiwan and to rescue her father, a doctor, but they later learn he’s been murdered by the Chinese. They arrange the hijacking of a Chinese ferry, making it appear the vessel has sunk. It turns out many months of preparation have gone into this effort. The ferry is refitted with a new boiler and Tom pilots the boat down the river and through Blood Alley, the nickname of the area in the Formosa Strait between mainland China and Taiwan.

In spite of taking place in Communist China during the Cold War, the movie is largely apolitical and focuses on the mission and escape by river boat to Taiwan, an area still disputed by China as a rogue province. The movie works on that level as an adventure drama so I’m not going to complain too much. The Communist Chinese soldiers and sailors are never truly menacing and are barely a threat. The movie has other more obvious problems, such as the casting of non-Asians as Asians. With so many terrific Asian actors available in the 1950s, it is baffling why post WWII Hollywood still chose to cast well known actors in Asian roles. Even the Duke was famously miscast as Genghis Khan a year later in “The Conqueror” in 1956. Sometimes Hollywood got it right, sometimes not, but it certainly is a snapshot of that era.

Among the villagers is Anita Ekberg as Wei Ling. While she has major billing on the movie poster, she has little in the way of dialog and very few scenes which are mostly in long-shot. The white elephant in the room is the casting of well known character actor Paul Fix and blonde sex symbol Anita Ekberg as Asians. Mazurki almost gets away with it as Big Han, but at nearly 6’5” he’s pushing the believability index. All-in-all, Mazurk is not too distracting and is always a welcome sight in every production he’s appeared in and a very underrated character actor.

The movie was to originally star Robert Mitchum as Tom, but he was fired over a disagreement with the director, William “Wild Bill” Wellman. The Batjac production was among the Duke’s first as producer and the film’s distributer, Warner Bros. persuaded the Duke to take the lead role in place of Mitchum or face possible cancellation of the production. The Duke is fine, but one can only imagine the on-screen fireworks between Mitchum and Bacall that could have been. There isn’t much in the way of chemistry between the Duke and Bacall, but it’s not all the Duke’s fault as Bacall phones in her performance. Much has been made of the political opposites the stars were in real life. Bacall stated she and the Duke got along just fine and never discussed politics. This was true of the Duke throughout his life as he was able to work with and develop lifelong friendships with people regardless of their political beliefs.

The movie was filmed on location just off the coast of California with location shooting in Stockton, San Francisco, San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, San Rafael and Belvedere Island. Photographed by William H. Clothier, he makes the tight shots believable as China, but at times it appears as though the river boat passes the same island more than once throughout the journey and the movie feel restricted by not opening up wide shots of the Chinese landscape. Veteran set designer Victor A. Gangelin created terrific sets that help compensate for the restrictions of the California coast. One of the more fascinating locations was used in a scene where the crew is stripping wood off of the hulls of old ships. This was filmed at the San Pablo Yacht Club/Marina. The marina piled up old ships as an artificial reef for the entrance to the club.

Released on 1 October 1955, the movie had a tight production budget of two million dollars and barely made back its cost. While the Batjac production was directed by Wellman, some scenes were directed by the Duke when Wellman became ill. The screenplay was written by Albert Sidney Fleischman from his book with a score by Roy Webb.

The Blu-ray release by the Warner Archive looks and sounds terrific clocking in at 115 minutes. Extras on the disc include two episodes from the “Warner Bros. Presents” TV series in which the Duke gives scripted responses to host Gig Young regarding the release of “Blood Alley.” There are also newsreels from the premier and the trailer. The movie is recommended for fans of the Duke and Cold War era drama.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

"The Wilby Conspiracy" is primarily notable for the teaming of two big screen legends: Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine. The 1975 film itself aspires to be a bold indictment of South Africa's cruel apartheid regime which saw black residents of the country terrorized and humiliated by the white minority.  Most movies wouldn't go near the topic in the mid-1970s so the script, based on Peter Driscoll's novel, is to be commended for being ahead of the game in terms of raising awareness of the practices that would ultimately bring down the corrupt regime and see the seemingly impossible achievement of having one-time political prisoner Nelson Mandela elected as president. Yet, screenwriters Rod Amateau and Harold Nebenzal were obviously tasked with primarily delivering an action adventure "buddy" pic that starts off resembling Poiter's 1950s classic "The Defiant Ones" (the protagonists are even handcuffed together for a time.) Adding another note of nostalgia is that the film reunited Poitier with director Ralph Nelson, with whom he collaborated on "Lilies of the Field" and "Duel at Diablo".

The film opens with a courtroom scene in which a prisoner, Shack Twala (Poitier) is awaiting what is believed to be a predetermined sentence for political "crimes" that will see him sent back to prison. Twala is a prominent black activist who has gained international attention for his objections to social injustice. Much to the surprise of Twala and his lawyer, Rina Van Niekerk (Prunella Gee), Twala is absolved of the crime and is released as a free man. The good feelings don't last long, however. During the drive home, their car is stopped by police officers who harass Twala, who becomes enraged and fights back with the help of Rina's boyfriend, Jim Keogh (Caine), a mining executive who is largely apolitical. Now wanted by the law, the two men drop off Rina and flee to Johannesburg, a 900 mile journey. There, Twala hopes to unite with a fellow political activist who might be able to sneak them across the border into Botswana. They have plenty of close calls and are aggressively pursued by Major Horn (Nicol Williamson), a dreaded higher up in the nation's nefarious security forces that routinely employed torture. They also learn that there was an ulterior motive in the court case that saw the government drop charges against Twala. The plot gets increasingly burdened with secondary characters and the search for a large cache of stolen diamonds that went missing many years ago. Twala wants to recover them and deliver them to a man named Wilby (Joe de Graft), the head of the black resistance movement who resides freely in Botswana. The plan is to use the diamonds to finance Wilby's attempts to publicize and shame the apartheid regime. Along the way there are double crosses and people who turn out to be dubious allies to the men who are on the lam. Most amusing is Saeed Jaffrey as a timid dentist who nevertheless risks his life for the activists cause. He also employs a fellow conspirator, Persis (Persis Khambatta), who seems to have been primarily written into the film in order to shoehorn in a rather absurd and unconvincing sex scene between her and Twala. Caine is in top form as the meek man who turns into an action hero literally overnight and he has the movie's best one-liners. Poitier, while not wasted, is under-utilized and lacks any scenes of great dramatic power. Prunella Gee provides a fine, spirited performance but the scene stealer is Nicol Williamson, who presents a fascinating villain who is charismatic, yet cruel and totally dedicated to enshrining white supremacy in South Africa by whatever means he needs to employ. (Like his real life counterparts, he naturally considers himself to be a patriot.)

The film abounds with impressive action scenes though a couple come close to "jumping the shark" in terms of credibility. (Ironically, the most suspense was generated off screen when an errant camera crashed through a speeding car with Poitier and Caine in the front seats, almost killing them both.) The movie also has an adequate score by Lalo Schifrin, though the decision to open this action opus with a romantic love song over the credits is bewildering. Because South Africa was obviously not available as a film location, Kenya substituted nicely and director Nelson makes the most of the expansive landscapes. Interiors were shot at Pinewood Studios outside of London. There are quite a few "behind-the-cameras" talents from the James Bond films: Associate Producer Stanley Sopel, Sound Recordist Gordon K. McCallum, legendary stunt coordinator Bob Simmons, First Assistant Editor John Grover and and Stills Photographer George Whitear. Another trivia note: the film was produced by actor/director Helmut Dantine, who has a small role in the movie. So there's a lot of talent both on and off-screen and while the movie is certainly not a classic, it can be recommended as a fun and sometimes poignant action flick.

Kino Lorber has released a Blu-ray edition of "The Wilby Conspiracy". The transfer is generally fine but not overwhelmingly impressive. The only bonus feature is a trailer gallery of other Caine and Poitier films available from KL.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

In the summer of 1977, New York City experienced a massive blackout that led to an explosion of crime as looters, muggers and other miscreants took to the streets to take advantage of the fact that the police were immediately over-stretched. I was traveling in Austria at the time while in college and in those pre-internet days had to watch appalling images of the chaos on television without knowing the full context of what was happening. It was a black eye for Gotham, the city that weathered the 1965 blackout in a civilized way. It wasn't long before a film capitalized on the incident, as evidenced by the Canadian production of "Blackout" which was released the following year. The modestly-budgeted film, directed by Eddy Matalon, uses some second unit footage of New York City to somewhat effectively mask the fact that most of the movie was shot in Montreal. The movie opens with a powerful storm bearing down on the city. Ultimately, there is a total blackout. It isn't long before crime starts to soar. Because of the limited budget, Matalon is forced to confine most of the action to an apartment building where various tenants are terrorized by an escaped group of murderous thugs led by the psychopath Christie (Robert Carradine). There is some suspense as the goons go through the building selecting their next victims, who include the standard characters who tended to pop up in disaster films. (i.e sexy single woman, a seriously ill man who attached to a respirator, a stereotypical elderly Jewish couple and a young mother who is going into labor at the height of the crisis. There's even a wedding celebration that is invaded by the gang.)  Among the recognizable victims are Belinda Montgomery, Jean-Pierre Aumont, June Allyson and Ray Milland. James Mitchum (billed here as "Jim") plays a harried New York City cop who stumbles onto the crime spree and who attempts to thwart the villains while at the same time looking after the victims in the pitch black apartments and hallways. Refreshingly, he's not a Dirty Harry superhero type. He makes misjudgments, gets captured twice and fires loads of shots without hitting his prey. For the most part, the performances are fine. Mitchum makes for a low-key good guy while Carradine provides a frightening portrait of a charismatic, soft-spoken killer. (Ten years earlier, Bruce Dern would have nabbed the part.) Milland also registers as a stuffy millionaire who doesn't flinch even in the face of death and June Allyson is sympathetic as a woman begging for her bedridden husband's life to be spared. "Blackout" is competently made when one considers the budget limitations but unlike similarly-themed disaster flicks, it isn't fun to watch. The screenplay is a smorgasbord of terrible, vicious things happening to sympathetic people. The only respite is a climactic car chase between Mitchum and Carradine that is set in a parking garage and is relatively well-staged.

Code Red has released "Blackout" as a special edition Blu-ray that has apparently restored some footage excised at one point from the theatrical cut. The film apparently has a cult following that will appreciate this even though the transfer leaves something to be desired with some action hard to discern because it's like staring into an ink well. The bonus extras include an enjoyable on camera interview with Robert Carradine and a feature length commentary with Belinda J. Montgomery. There is also a gallery of trailers and TV spots for this film and other Code Red releases. The company should be commended for presenting the film but they need to tighten quality control in regard to packaging. On the reverse of the sleeve, Jim Mitchum is listed as "Jim Mitchell" and the running time is incorrectly listed as 88 minutes. (I timed it at 92 minutes.) Also the company doesn't credit the film historians on the sleeve who conducted the commentary track with Montgomery. That's not an error but it is also not very thoughtful. Overall, a good presentation in terms of special features of a film that most retro movie lovers won't be familiar with.

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BY DOUG OSWALD

Jack Lemmon is cast against type with co-star Glenn Ford in “Cowboy,” a gritty western available on Blu-ray by Twilight Time. The movie has a rousing start with titles by Saul Bass accompanied by a title score composed by George Duning, setting the mood for this western directed by Delmer Daves. No stranger to westerns, Daves also directed Ford in “Jubal” and “3:10 to Yuma.” The drama in Daves’ westerns was atypical of the genre and unfolded in a more realistic way with no clearly defined hero or villain in an era where the western followed a typical story pattern with clearly defined depictions of heroism and masculinity. Daves was part of a change which redefined the western in the 50s and in some ways prepared us for the inside-out world of the spaghetti westerns to come in the 1960s.

Frank Harris (Lemmon) is a Chicago hotel clerk seeking to make his fortune in the cattle business when he meets Tom Reese (Ford) who just happens to arrive at the hotel with his men after a two month cattle drive. Tom likes opera, gambling, drinking and enjoys a hot bath. Frank is more introspect and in love, but has just been informed by the wealthy Senor Vidal (Donald Randolph) that his daughter, Maria (Anna Kashfi), will never be allowed to marry him. Maria and her family return home to Mexico and Frank makes a deal with Tom to be his partner on his next cattle drive which will take the men to Senor Vidal’s ranch in Mexico. Tom initially rejects Frank, but takes him up on his offer after losing most of his money gambling and also due to Frank’s persistence.

The movie evokes, but only touches on, heroic mythology as the young wide-eyed idealist Frank, eager to make his fortune and find the woman he loves, joins the older and more experienced Tom who becomes his mentor and father figure. Tom warns the young idealist Frank by telling him no woman is worth going after when he should be focused on the quest for fortune. Along the way the cattle men face several trials of near epic proportions resulting in death and near death including the taming of a savage bull, an encounter with a deadly serpent, an attack by a band of Indians who attempt to steal the cattle and an attempt to rescue a friend who tempts fate in a Mexican border town. The sage advice of the experienced Tom is often ignored by Frank in this Homeric journey starting in Chicago by train to Texas and on horseback from Texas to Mexico and back again to Chicago. Frank’s admiration of Tom turns to dislike as they tussle with one another along the trail including a dramatic fight with a crowbar next to the camp fire pit. Both men compliment each another in spite of their struggles and come to a grudging admiration of one another after Frank takes the lead in rounding up the cattle lost during a stampede.

There’s more- a lot more- to enjoy in this unique and unconventional western. Stupid boyish pranks turn deadly and men who know better tempt fate by placing themselves in dangerous situations. There are no traditional heroes or villains in “Cowboy,” but rather men faced with a series of tasks and trials not unlike those which could unfold for all of us as we make choices and move through life. Lemmon and Ford are very good, especially Ford who gives a believable and effortless performance. The movie also features a great cast of supporting actors including Brian Donlevy, Dick York, Richard Jaeckel, Victor Manuel Mendoza, James Westerfield and Strother Martin in an early uncredited role.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

In 1971, a well-connected Dutch prostitute named Xavier Hollander published her memoirs under the title of "The Happy Hooker". The book became an international bestseller with its lighthearted recollections of her adventures in "the world's oldest profession". "The Happy Hooker" delighted readers who were relishing the new-found sexual freedoms that came about in the 1960s. Women, who would have been chastised for reading such a book ten years earlier, could openly read it on buses and in subway cars because everyone else was reading it. The content was erotic enough to be titillating but humorous enough to give it enough cachet to not be labeled pornographic. How much of it was true? Who knows. bestselling author Robin Moore ("The Green Berets", "The French Connection"), who actually took down Hollander's recorded comments on her life, came up with the title and the book was likely ghostwritten by Yvonne Dunleavy. With the success of the book, it was no surprise that a few years later Hollywood brought Hollander's exploits to the screen the film version of "The Happy Hooker". Released in 1975, it starred Lynn Redgrave in the title role. Not wanting to alienate mainstream audiences, the film was made as a saucy comedy. It was followed two years later by "The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington" with Joey Heatherton portraying Hollander. The third and final film in the official trilogy (we won't count an unauthorized hardcore production) was "The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood", which was released in 1980 with Martine Beswick (billed here as "Beswicke") taking over the role.The film has been released as a Blu-ray special edition by Scorpion.

"The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood" follows the tradition of the previous two films in that it stresses zany comedy. However, there are some surprisingly steamy softcore sex scenes between some very recognizable actors that makes for a bizarre mixture of slapstick and eroticism. It also features an eclectic cast of first-rate second bananas who finally get some plum roles on the big screen, albeit in a Cannon Films production. Cannon, of course, was notorious for being a highly profitable "cheese factory", churning out many modestly-budgeted exploitation flicks for undiscriminating audiences. The film opens with a wheelchair-bound Phil Silvers (yes, that Phil Silvers!) as legendary studio mogul William Warkoff, an obnoxious one-time titan of the industry whose fortunes have been in decline. When he reads that Xavier Hollander intends to bring her bestselling book to the big screen, he dispatches his long-suffering right-hand men Joseph Rottman (Richard Deacon) and his son Robby (Chris Lemmon) as well as Lionel Lamely (Adam West), to secure the screen rights by whatever underhanded methods are necessary. Lionel arranges a meeting with Xavier, who is immediately attracted to him. (In fact, she finds most men irresistible and even seduces her chauffeur en route to the meeting.) Before long, Lionel and Xavier are engaging in steamy sex sessions. She falls for him and agrees to allow Warkoff Studios to produce her film- that is, until she learns that Lionel actually has a longtime girlfriend and has been misleading her. She then announces she will make the film herself and secure her own financing, which outrages Warkoff. In order to raise money, Xavier employs her ever-ready squad of equally happy hookers. She sets up an exotic bordello in which men can live out any fantasy, including having sex with a call girl dressed like Little Bo Peep. (Imagine "Westworld" for fetishists.) Warkoff strikes a more lucrative deal with Xavier but intends to deceive her and cheat her out of ownership rights to the film but she is savvy enough to turn the tables on him.

Directed by Alan Roberts, "Hollywood" has a goofy charm primarily because of the good-natured performances of the cast. It's nice to see Martine Beswick in a rare leading role and she plays the part with a deft combination of wicked wit and eroticism. (Beswick unabashedly appears topless numerous times in the course of the film). Adam West, who looks he had barely aged a day since playing Batman two decades previously, also gets a chance to showcase his comedic abilities and admirable physique. The sex scene between Beswick and West's characters is a bit eye-opening because it's one of the few elements of the film that isn't played for laughs and there is some kind of pop culture appeal to watching the Uncaped Crusader getting it on with a two-time Bond girl. Phil Silvers overdoes the obnoxious aspect of his character but it's still enjoyable seeing him in a feature film this late in his career. Richard Deacon, who made a career of playing sycophantic "yes-men", is in top form and he and West share an amusing scene in which they are forced to dress in drag. Chris Lemmon is very appealing as a naive young man who gets caught up in Xavier's world with appreciable results. He exudes the same comic timing and mannerisms of his legendary father, Jack. One of the most unintentionally amusing aspects of the film is the virtual beatification of Xavier Hollander, whose approval of the movie must have been a prerequisite. In any event, she is referred to as a titan of business and a living legend, when, in fact, by 1980 her star had diminished appreciably. The whole plot climaxes (if you'll pardon the pun) at the "World Premiere" of the film...which is also unintentionally amusing because it is only a grand event by Cannon standards, though they did spring for getting a spotlight and a few dozen extras to act like a screaming mob as the stars arrive at a nondescript L.A. theater.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

I confess to never having heard of this film prior to receiving a review DVD from Warner Archive, probably due to the fact that it had never been released theatrically in America.  In fact, it's fairly obscure even in its native Britain. However, The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer, released in 1970, is one of the most amusing and perceptive political satires I have ever seen. The dark comedy opens with the titular character (Peter Cook in top deadpan form) inexplicably arriving at a mismanaged London publicity and advertising agency. With nary an explanation about his identity or background, Rimmer simply makes himself at home, though uninvited. The inept brass assumes some big wig has implanted Rimmer among them to be an efficiency expert so they defer to him on virtually everything. In short order, he turns the failing company into a fabulously successful force in terms of marketing potential political candidates. Finding a way to manipulate the dumbest segment of the Tory voter base, Rimmer quickly becomes a major force in choosing which candidates are the most charismatic, yet intellectually vacuous. Before long, this man of mystery, who says little but achieves a lot through shrewd schemes, is on the A list of London socialites. He's courted by all and beautiful women are at his disposal. Rimmer chooses a comely lovely (Vanessa Howard) as his bride, but she soon learns even she is a tool for political expediency as Rimmer himself becomes a top candidate for public office. He's a British precursor to Robert Redford's Bill McKay in The Candidate (1972). Both end up being ironic political forces, though Rimmer is a clever manipulator while McKay is an empty shell who rises to the top by serving as the charismatic tool of his puppet masters.

The script was co-written by Cook, John Cleese and Graham Chapman- heavyweight comedy talents who specialize in theater of the absurd. However, the writers keep their comedic instincts restrained, opting wisely for subtle laughs rather than slapstick and it's all deftly handled by director Kevin Billington. The inspired supporting cast includes such comedy stalwarts as Cleese, Chapman, Arthur Lowe, Denholm Elliott, Norman Rossington, Dennis Price with Ronald Culver and Harold Pinter thrown in for good measure. The cynicism of the piece is that a brainless segment of the public will be satisfied by the superficial aspects of candidates even if they know nothing about those candidate's backgrounds or motives. Rimmer becomes the toast of the town without ever taking a firm position on any issue. He smiles a lot, charms everyone and remains firmly in the middle of the road on any topic. Thus, the story is as timeless today as ever. Witness the parade of ignorant, empty-headed people who have emerged as leading political figures in the last few years and you'll understand why The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer plays more like a horror film today than the comedy it was originally intended to be. Kudos to the Warner Archive for making it available.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Kino Lorber has released a Blu-ray edition of the obscure 1984 thriller "The Ambassador". Despite it's impressive cast, the film was barely seen in the United States and had only sporadic distribution in other parts of the globe. The movie was a production of the Cannon Group, the now legendary schlock factory owned and operated by passionate Israeli movie buffs Yoram Globus and Menahem Golan. Cannon specialized in building often sub-par movies on limited budgets around stars with name recognition. Usually backed by sensationalist ad campaigns, Cannon became the toast of the film industry for churning out product at an almost surreal pace. Initially, Cannon was awash with cash but as moviegoers tastes became more sophisticated their ratio of misses-to-hits increased and ultimately the company folded. Although Cannon is synonymous with low-end action films and tasteless comedies, the company did occasionally seek to elevate the quality of its output by producing higher quality productions. "The Ambassador" was one such instance. It was ambitious in terms of aspirations even if it fell short of delivering on them.

The film was shot entirely in Israel and was based on Elmore Leonard's crime novel "52 Pick-Up". However, when Leonard learned that the screenplay by Max Jack had discarded virtually all of the characters and set-pieces from his book, he disowned the film. (Curiously, Cannon would make this up to Leonard by producing a more literal version of the novel a couple of years later. It was released under the book's title and Leonard wrote the screenplay.) The titular character is Peter Hacker (Robert Mitchum), the U.S. ambassador to Israel. Hacker is an idealist who is determined to use his influence to bring about a two-state solution to the Middle East crisis that will allow Israelis and Palestinians to finally coexist peacefully. However, he not only has to overcome skepticism from mainstream people on both sides, there are also fringe terrorist groups determined to undermine his efforts. The film opens with Hacker and his embassy security man Frank Stevenson (Rock Hudson) attempting to broker a secret meeting in the desert between armed Palestinian and Israeli combatants. Against all odds, both parties send representatives but a terrorist group attacks by helicopter and slaughters most of the attendees. Undeterred, Hacker concentrates on courting young people on both sides in the hopes that he can convince them to use peaceful means to settle their differences. Hacker has other pressures in his personal life: his wife Alex (Ellen Burstyn) is suffering from alcoholism and makes a spectacle of herself at a high profile social occasion. More disturbingly, she's been carrying on an anonymous affair with a local Palestinian merchant, Mustapha Hashimi (Fabio Testi). He doesn't know that his lover is the wife of the American ambassador and she doesn't know that he is a bigwig in the Palestinian Liberation Organization and is under constant surveillance by the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency. It turns out someone has secretly filmed the lovers in bed. Hacker receives a phone call threatening to release the film unless he pays a million dollars ransom. This sets in motion a complex but interesting plot in which Hacker and Stevenson work to find the culprits and retrieve the film by any means necessary. The trail leads to mysterious and dangerous characters who attempt to assassinate Hacker even as he doggedly continues his obsession with finding a peaceful solution to Middle East violence.

"The Ambassador" features the three principals in very fine performances. An aging Mitchum still shows charisma and can deliver the goods in terms of a dramatic performance, despite the fact that he was said to be drunk throughout much of the shoot. Burstyn (in a role originally intended for Elizabeth Taylor) gives a daring performance for an actress over 50 years old by appearing topless in several scenes. Hudson, in his final feature film, cuts a handsome figure. He was still in fine athletic shape and performs quite a few action scenes with credibility. Mores the pity that the AIDS that would take his life within the next year was probably already beginning to take its toll on him. Donald Pleasence appears fleetingly but impressively as the head of the Mossad. The direction by the once-esteemed J. Lee Thompson is a step up from the celluloid claptrap he had been churning out for Cannon in recent years. It's also interesting to note that 22 years previously, he and Mitchum had teamed for the classic thriller "Cape Fear". "The Ambassador" has plenty of well-staged action scenes and Thompson makes the most of capitalizing on the Israeli locations, bringing a good sense of exotic atmosphere to the production. The script is more problematic because some aspects of the story stretch credibility. Ambassadors are to follow directions from the administration they serve. Peter Hacker is constantly freelancing by taking on well-intentioned but absurd secret missions and rendezvouses. In reality, he wouldn't last a day in the job. The film ends with a bloodbath but tries to mitigate the shock by tacking on a feel-good ending that comes across as contrived.

The Kino Lorber release has a very impressive transfer. There is a commentary track with film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger, who present an informative discussion the film's editor, Mark Goldblatt. They provide a wealth of great information about the film (i.e. Rock Hudson was a last minute replacement for Telly Savalas). Goldblatt discusses the pros and cons of working for Cannon and bemoans the fact that the film was not widely seen. (He speculates it might have been made for tax shelter purposes.) There are times when the volume on Thompson's voice drops significantly, which is a bit annoying and, unless my ears deceive me, the track consists almost entirely of Thompson and Goldblatt with Berger only weighing in very infrequently. But the track is a great addition that gives valuable insights into a film that should have received more respect. The disc also contains two trailers: one for the American market and another for the international campaigns.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

The checkered career of director Fritz Lang is amply illustrated by "Moonfleet", the 1955 MGM adaptation of the novel by J. Meade Falkner. Lang was arguably Europe's most esteemed filmmaker but the rise of National Socialism saw him immigrate to America before the worst aspects of Hitler's government were put into place. Lang was initially embraced by Hollywood studios but he soon wore out his welcome. His abrasive attitude and dictatorial style alienated studio brass and actors alike. He made some good films in America but the Hollywood studio system was still operating under the creaking conservative dictates of the Hays Code, which acted as a defacto censorship board. Fritz still managed to sneak through some progressive messages in his films but he was also often consigned to formula productions that didn't fully exploit his considerable talents. One such production was "Moonfleet". The story is set in Dorset, England in 1757 and casts Stewart Granger as Jeremy Fox, an aristocratic ladies man who has just returned from an extended trip to Europe with a beautiful mistress, Mrs. Minton (Viveca Lindfors) as his live-in lover. Fox has surrounded himself with a rogue's gallery of drunks and thieves who welcome him back to the fold, which in this case, is a successful smuggling operation that Fox oversees in the coastal community. He is also in cahoots with an equally disreputable noble, Lord Ashford (George Sanders) and his wife (Joan Greenwood), who openly attempts to seduce Fox. Into this mix arrives a young boy, John Mohune (Jon Whitely), who has been sent by his dying mother into the care of her former lover, Fox. (It is implied but not stated that Fox is the boy's father.) Fox is instantly dismissive of the lad, who he fears will infringe upon his lifestyle. He intends to send him to an upscale school but through a complicated set of circumstances, reverses his decision. Seems that the Mohunes were once a rich family in Dorset but their fortunes were undermined by another family that also victimized Fox. Young John has some clues to the whereabouts of his family's long-lost fortune, a revelation that gives Fox a reason to keep John in his care. The lad comes to idolize Fox even though the feelings of love aren't reciprocated. However, as the two share dangerous adventures and uncover the fortune in the form of a large diamond, Fox takes a more paternal view of the child.

"Moonfleet", which is the name of the town in which the action takes place, is a fairly mundane affair and a bizarre choice for a CinemaScope production since virtually every scene had been filmed in the cramped confines of MGM's sound stages in Hollywood. The film has a cheap look to it and most of it is set in dank locations in the dead of night, which also robs the movie of any visual splendor. The performances are all very good with Jon Whitely especially impressive and holding his own against his prestigious older co-stars. (For some reason, the cherubic Whitely never found stardom as a child actor.) Granger plays a more subdued character than usual in a costume drama but he does get to display some derring-do and Sanders is quite good playing a typical George Sanders role, the effete, morally bankrupt snob. The atmospheric score by Miklos Rozsa is another asset and the film's emotionally moving conclusion compensates for some of its drab production values. "Moonfleet" is never boring but it never rises to its potential, which may explain why it was a major bomb for MGM. Even Granger was said to have denounced it because if veered far off course from the source novel. However, "Moonfleet" is revered in France as one of Lang's greatest films. Viva la difference!

The Warner Archive Blu-ray presents a wonderful, top-notch transfer. The only bonus feature is an original trailer complete with sensationalistic narration and graphics.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

The Warner Archive has released the 1966 spy spoof "The Glass Bottom Boat" starring Doris Day and Rod Taylor, who had teamed for "Do Not Disturb" the year before. Everyone was riding the James Bond-inspired mania for espionage flicks and Day and director Frank Tashlin came up with a winner. The action takes place entirely in and around Catalina Island, California. Day plays Jennifer Nelson, a widow who recently started a job at a NASA facility where she works as a tour guide. She also moonlights by donning a mermaid costume and swims beneath the glass bottom boat tour boat owned and operated by her father Axel Nordstrom (Arthur Godfrey), much to the delight of the customers. One day, her costume gets snagged on the line of Bruce Templeton (Rod Taylor), who is deep sea fishing. As in most films of this type, their initial encounter is unfriendly, which is a necessary ingredient for the couple to inevitably become lovers. When Jennifer is guiding a tour at NASA she is stunned to learn that Bruce is a world-acclaimed scientist who has developed a top-secret gravity simulation device that the government has hailed as a major step forward in the Cold War space race against the Soviets. Bruce hires Jennifer as his personal secretary despite her lack of credentials just so he can attempt to seduce her. She is immediately smitten by him but keeps his advances at arm's length even when she is agog at at his state-of-the-art mansion that is equipped with inventions of the future that seemed fantastic in 1966. (They include a forerunner of the microwave oven and a self-guided vacuum cleaning device.) Things start to heat up when an abundance of other characters are introduced who are either allied in keeping the formula for Bruce's invention (known as "Gizmo") secret or who are serving as enemy agents trying to steal it.

"The Glass Bottom Boat" afforded Doris Day one of her best roles from films of the 1960s. Once again, she disproved the myth that she only played over-aged virgins. True, she doesn't jump at the chance to bed Bruce, even though he's a millionaire who looks exactly like Rod Taylor. But it's made clear that she just wants to ensure he isn't going to treat her as a one night stand. By today's standards, this would be commended as a sign of female empowerment. When she does get ready to move their relationship to the next level, in true family comedy style, fate keeps intervening with a series of interruptions. Day plays well alongside Rod Taylor and they exhibit genuine screen chemistry. The multi-talented Taylor was always woefully underrated as an actor even though the native Australian could portray American, British and Irish characters with equal conviction. Most of the belly laughs are provided by the sterling assembly of great comedic character actors of the day. Dick Martin is Bruce's perpetually horny business partner who is willing to sell his friend down the river in his desperate attempts to bed Jennifer. There's also the great Edward Andrews as a pompous U.S. army general who is reduced to the level of fawning schoolboy in Jennifer's presence. The inimitable John McGiver turns up as a NASA paper-pusher who is enlisted in an ill-fated spy assignment and Alice Pearce (in her last screen role before succumbing to cancer) and George Tobias blatantly recreate their popular roles as the nosy neighbors from the sitcom "Bewitched" to very funny effect. Even Eric Fleming (recently fired as the lead actor in TV's "Rawhide) turns up in a rare comedic role as a double agent and acquits himself surprisingly well. Arthur Godfrey is equally funny as Jennifer's crusty-but-lovable dad and one can only ponder why this icon of American TV and radio eschewed pursuing a career on the big screen. The most inspired bits come from Dom DeLuise as a bumbling spy and Paul Lynde as a snarky security man obsessed with revealing Jennifer is really a Soviet agent. The script by Everett Freeman is racier than most Doris Day vehicles and even includes some gay-themed humor. (Martin and Andrews end up in bed together and Lynde gets to dress in drag.) If all that isn't enough, there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-him cameo by a tuxedo-clad Robert Vaughn set to the theme from "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.". (This was shrewd marketing on the part of MGM. When word leaked out about Vaughn's appearances, countless "U.N.C.L.E." fans went to see the movie for that reason alone. I know. As a 9 year-old fan of the show, I was among them, persuading my dad to take me to see "The Glass Bottom Boat" at a drive-in.)

Although the film isn't a musical, Doris Day does get to do some crooning, singing a love song ("Soft as the Starlight") that was co-written years before by Joe Lubin and Curly Howard of the Three Stooges! This song is reworked into the catchy title theme for the movie that will have you humming it to the point it becomes annoying. (Think "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"). Day also does a duet of the song with Arthur Godfrey and slips in a few bars from her signature song "Que Sera Sera". She also gets to indulge in a fantasy sequence in which she appears as a scantily-clad Mata Hari.

The Warner Archive Blu-ray ports over all the extras from the previous DVD release. There are three vintage featurettes. One has Godfrey providing narration about the Catalina locations in a droll, humorous fashion. Day takes us on a tour of a NASA facility in another and there is a third featurette in which a young model tours the MGM back lot, which will afford retro movie lovers some glimpses of very familiar sets from movie and TV productions. There is also a trailer and a vintage cartoon. The transfer is right up to the Archive's generally high standards but the trailer could stand a facelift. 

I won't make the case that "The Glass Bottom Boat" is a comedy classic. It isn't. There's plenty of corn and gags that don't come off and some of the rear and front screen projection effects are crude even for 1966. But the film made me laugh quite a bit back then and revisiting it through this Blu-ray, I found that it still does. Highly recommended. 

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Any movie fan who has enjoyed watching The Remains of the Day should also view the 1973 film The Hireling, a far more obscure production that nonetheless had been praised by critics at the time of its release (it also shared the Palm d'Or grand prize with Scarecrow at Cannes that year). Like Remains, The Hireling explores the rigid class structure in Great Britain. The film is set in the 1920s, a period when social mobility in England was limited by virtual caste-like economic barriers. Lady Helen Franklin (Sarah Miles) is a young woman who returns to her elegant country estate (and her snobbish and unfeeling mother) after a stay in a sanitarium where she was recovering from a nervous breakdown following the death of her husband. The fragile Helen finds it difficult to return to a normal life and shuns attempts to reintroduce her to the upper crust crowd she once associated with. She forms a friendly bond with Steven Ledbetter (Robert Shaw), a working man who is proud of the fact that he owns his own car hire company. The enterprise consists of a couple of cars and precisely one chauffeur- Ledbetter himself, as well as a helper who serves as a mechanic. Ledbetter is hired to drive Lady Franklin on pleasant outings in the countryside as well as the occasional picnic. The two form a friendship and before long Lady Franklin breaks social barriers by sitting upfront with Ledbetter- a development that starts tongues wagging in gossip circles. 

Over the course of the story, Ledbetter dares to imagine that the obsessive romantic interest he has developed for Lady Franklin is secretly shared by her. This sets in motion a series of events with Ledbetter trying to summon the nerve to express his feelings for her. Before he can do so, however, she is actively wooed by a handsome young artistocrat, Captain Hugh Cantrip (Peter Egan), an opportunist who is trying to use his distinguished military record as a stepping stone for a political career. Ledbetter has to silently endure chauffeuring the couple to various high society functions, while he is constantly reminded of his status as an employee. He becomes especially disturbed when his outings with Lady Franklin all but disappear as she spends more time with Cantrip. When Ledbetter discovers that Cantrip is a womanizer who is merely using Lady Franklin's social status to enhance his political ambitions, he comes to a dramatic decision that leads to the film's powerful conclusion.

The Hireling is about unrequited love told in a heartfelt and moving way. We recognize early on that Ledbetter's dream of establishing a romantic relationship with the woman he adores is more than likely doomed. Neither he or Lady Franklin are villains, but both of them are flawed human beings. Ledbetter's tendency to turn to drink in times of personal turmoil leads to making disastrous decisions; Lady Franklin's naive belief in Cantrip leads to their engagement- and she remains in denial of his unfaithfulness despite being presented with convincing evidence. The film is sensitively directed by Alan Bridges, who had been heretofore primarily known for his work in the British television industry. (Surprisingly, the critical success of this movie did not lead to a fruitful career in feature films.) The production values are excellent, adding immeasurably to establishing a convincing sense of period; Michael Reed's cinematography is superb and the script by Wolf Mankowitz (based on a novel) is brimming with terrific dialogue. The real pleasure of the movie, however, is watching two of England's best actors- Shaw and Miles- in their prime and delivering magnificent performances.

The Hireling is, in the end, a soap opera....but a grand one, indeed. 

Sony has released the film as a burn-to-order DVD title. The quality is excellent, though there are no extras.

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BY HANK REINEKE

It was never his intention to be remembered as the Alfred Hitchcock of the Chester-Delaware Counties of Eastern Pennsylvania. Director Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. was a devout Christian whose real passion was turning out religious-themed short films that would bring the Gospel to the masses. But such proselytizing was cost prohibitive. So, at the suggestion of - and in partnership with - Philadelphia-based distributor/producer Jack H. Harris, Yeaworth signed on to direct a handful of low-budget teenage dramas and science-fiction films. Harris had convinced Yeaworth that there was a cash-grab market for such indie films, and these productions would bring in enough revenue to fund projects with loftier aspirations.

Yeaworth’s first feature film (as co-producer), The Flaming Teenage (1956), was not really his at all. It was instead a cobble of pre-existing footage from a drug-abuse morality fable now disguised and sold to distributors as an exploitation film. Things would evolve in the summer of 1957 when, working in tandem with the movie business-savvy Harris, Yeaworth’s Valley Forge Productions cameras cranked out the soon-to-be-cult-classic science-fiction film The Blob (1958) featuring twenty-seven year old Steve McQueen.

The partnership of Harris and Yeaworth proved to be a brief but modestly lucrative teaming of two disparate souls on separate life missions. Two additional sci-fi films, with Yeaworth directing and Harris co-producing, would follow in The Blob’s successful box-office wake: The 4D Man (1959) and Dinosauraus! (1960). Though neither of these subsequent films would inculcate their way into the American pop-culture psyche as had The Blob, The 4D Man, the first of the two, is an intelligent, under-praised minor contribution to the 1950’s sci-fi canon.

One of the bonus features included on this new Blu-ray release of The 4D Man from Kino Lorber is “Reflection from the Fourth Dimension,” a featurette ported over from the German SubKultur 2011 DVD issue of the film. These dimensional reflections come courtesy of Jack H. Harris (1918-2017) who muses unapologetically on a career of bringing exploitation films to the big screen. Aside from his participation in The Blob, Harris might be best remembered as the man who helped bring such post-college student cult films as Schlock! (1973) and Dark Star (1974) to movie houses. His penny-pinching patronage of young talent undoubtedly helped launch the careers of directors John Landis and John Carpenter, respectively.

Harris brags in the featurette that he never had to license any literary works to bring a story to the screen. There were, he muses, plenty of ideas already out there, so why pay to license any literary material? Having said that, the wily producer would admit the idea for The 4D Man was not entirely self-generated. It came to him courtesy of an illustration on the cover of Weird Tales magazine, where a man was pictured walking through a wall, his body mass co-mingling seamlessly with the atoms of the brick.

Harris was a film economist of the Roger Corman School, and Yeaworth was a dependable enough filmmaker to stay on budget. Shot entirely in Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania, fans of The Blob will recognize many of the same faces from that film in small supporting roles here: actors from Yeaworth’s personal troupe (George Karas, John Benson, Elbert Smith et. al.). And, in much the same manner that The Blob had helped introduce Steve McQueen to movie audiences, The 4D Man would mark the feature film debut of actress Lee Meriwether.

Crowned as Miss America in 1955 during the pageant’s very first televised edition, Meriwether would tour as a spokesman for the organization during most of the following year. She then began to pick-up small roles in early, live television productions, before being offered the substantial role of Linda Davis in The 4D Man. Looking back on her experience, Meriwether fretted that she was perhaps still “too green” as an actress for the assignment and unsatisfied with her performance. She thought the film’s screenplay (co-written by Theodore Simonson and Cy Chermak) was, in her own words, “very involved.”

She had a point. Trying to explain away the complex concepts of a scientist moving in and out of the fourth dimension was a tough task, though it must be said that the movie’s special effects are relatively impressive for a regional film shot on a modest budget. Meriwether’s character works at the Fairview Research Center, where some sort of secret federal government experimentations are underway. It’s no secret that she has to contend with her fair share of sexual harassment in the workplace. She’s engaged to Dr. Scott Nelson (Robert Lansing), in love with the doctor’s brother, Tony Nelson (James Congdon) and is routinely and unwelcomingly being hit up for dates by the shifty Roy Parker (Robert Strauss).

Tony Nelson is, to put it politely, a disruptor. Obsessed with his experimentations with the fourth dimension, he accidentally burned down the workplace of his previous employer. Understandably dismissed from his position following that inferno, he resurfaces at Fairview where his older brother Scott serves. The two appear to have a frosty relationship. Their grudging interactions become understandable when we learn that Tony has a history of running off with Scott’s paramours. Unfortunately for Scott, his inability to hold on to women will soon be the least of his troubles.

Not only are his inventions being co-opted by both a shifty coworker and an unscrupulous boss, he’s also beginning to suffer symptoms of muscular stiffness. The laboratory’s medical officer suggests his ever-worsening condition may be the result of exposure to excessive amounts of radiation. It’s also determined that he is sending out strong “electro-magnetic impulses” and other tests reveal his brainwaves are registering “different than most people.” Perhaps even enough to drive him mad.

These conditions ultimately result in his being able to pass through glass, metal, drywall, brick, and steel. The only way he can renew his personal energy and appearance is to literally suck the life out of his flesh-and-blood victims through a kiss or simply a mere touch. Having an intimate knowledge of the science brother Tony rues, “A man in the fourth dimension is indestructible.” Perhaps.

If The 4D Man was ambitious in its cerebral storyline, the final project pairing Harris and Yeaworth was ambitious in its scope… CinemaScope. Harris was able to sell an idea for a combination prehistoric monster/children’s film Dinosauraus! to Universal-International… where the film would play in some markets as the under-bill to the more adult-orientated Brides of Dracula. It’s the mostly visually impressive of Yeaworth’s films. Gone from the screen are the low-budget locations shoots mounted in and around the sleepy hamlets of the director’s hometown. They’ve now been replaced by the exotic beaches and townships of St. Croix, in the Virgin Islands, and the film comes replete with colorful underwater sequences, boasts its very own team of special effect experts and features a great Ronald Stein score.

BY SARA REINEKE

The Kino Lorber Blu-ray release of Stephen King’s 1993 Needful Things comes in the midst of Hollywood’s current remake fever. With such projects as Carrie (2013), IT (2017), Pet Sematary (2019) and the upcoming IT: Chapter Two (2019), this author’s works continue to draw movie audiences and infuse the horror genre as they had during the 1980s and 90s. Revisiting this original production of King’s 1991 novel - whereupon the devil comes to visit the small Maine town of Castle Rock - one is reminded why both his novels and films alike are regarded as iconic horror set pieces.

Following along on the heels of previous successes such as Carrie (1973), The Shining (1980), Pet Sematary (1989), and Misery (1990) - and released only a year before the iconic Shawshank Redemption (1994) - Needful Things shares many similarities to King’s other works. Meditating on the theme of human evil, this film puts the hateful hearts of the townspeople of Castle Rock in the forefront. The supernatural element of Needful Things’ shopkeeper Leland Gaunt’s omniscient devil is present as he instigates many of the townsfolk to action. But the most heinous and horrific acts are ultimately committed by ordinary people, those of whom are fueled by an underlying anger against their neighbors.

Unlike other Stephen King adaptations, this film does not bury its ideas in subtext. Gaunt reminisces boastfully about how, over the centuries, he has sold weaponry - but it was always the ordinary people around him that put these tools of mortality to work. So while supernatural elements certainly exist in this film, it’s also a morality play that begs us to look critically at ourselves.  It’s only by doing so that we can make sure we don’t become the Danforth Keetons, the Chris Hargensens, or the Annie Wilkes of the world. 

Max Von Sydow’s performance as the shadowy shopkeeper Leland Gaunt is particularly compelling. The townspeople's desired treasures he sells comes at a steep price, causing them to commit acts of sabotage and violence against one another. Ed Harris, who plays Castle Rock’s sheriff, is a central figure in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game… one that only intensifies when petty feuds drive the townspeople to commit heinous acts in retaliation for perceived wrongdoings. Amanda Plummer’s interpretation as the mousy and skittish Nettie Cobb should be recognized, as her character’s life is the first to be manipulated.  One is not entirely empathetic to the sad consequences of Gaunt’s cynical game until Nettie finds the remains of her beloved dog and is finally pushed to her breaking point. 

The quality of the film’s print is exceptional, presented here in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio and 1920x1080P, with a DTS a soundtrack. Bonus features include the original theatrical trailer and an informative and entertaining audio commentary with film historian Walt Olsen and director Fraser C. Heston. The commentary provides interesting insights into the production of the film, the on-set relationships between crew and cast, and the back stories to Heston’s first feature film. Film historians and Stephen King fans alike should enjoy this behind the scenes look at the making of the film. 

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

The Warner Archive has released a slew of worthwhile 60s spy movies and TV series. Among the under-rated gems is The Double Man, a 1967 Cold War thriller starring Yul Brynner, who gives a powerful performance as American intelligence agent Dan Slater. His teenage son is killed while skiing in Switzerland and Slater suspects it was actually murder. He finds he's been lured to Alps as part of a complex plot to kill him and replace him with an enemy agent with his identical facial features and characteristics. The plot was covered with moss even at the time since it formed the basis of a two-part Man From U.N.C.L.E. episode, The Double Affair, that was released theatrically the previous year as The Spy With My Face.  Still, this is a highly intelligent, gritty film with Brynner as the most hard-ass hero imaginable. Devoid of any humor, Slater suspects both friend and foe as he leaves no stone unturned in trying to thwart the plot. The film benefits from a good supporting cast including future Bond girl Britt Ekland who finds herself unable to distinguish between the two Slaters. Clive Revill and Anton Diffring are excellent in supporting roles.  There are some spectacular aerial sequences photographed by the late great cameraman Johnny Jordan, whose work on On Her Majesty's Secret Service bears a strong resemblance to this film, though both movies suffer from the shoddy rear screen projection technology of the time. The score by Ernie Freeman is sometimes overly-bombastic, but in the aggregate, this is one of the better spy films of the era thanks in no small part to the direction of Franklin J. Schaffner, who would win the Oscar several years later for Patton.

The transfer is crisp and clean and the DVD features the original theatrical trailer. 

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RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVES

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Scorpion has released the complete version of the 3-part 1978 mini series "The Dain Curse" as a double DVD set. The show has a checkered history in terms of home video. A truncated version was available for a while on VHS, then Image released the full three episodes on DVD. Now Scorpion has done the same and the quality of the set is very good, capturing the relatively rich production values of the series. Those of us of a certain age can remember when the pre-cable major networks put a great deal of time, talent and financial resources into mini-series. In the 1970s and 1980s, many of these shows constituted "must-see" TV. In an age in which the average household didn't have video recorders, some shows were so special that people altered their lifestyles to ensure they could catch each episode. Today, those days seem long gone, with network TV now a haven for trashy game shows, indistinguishable cop shows and so-called "reality shows", most of which don't bear any resemblance to the world most of us live in. To top it all off, even if you are inclined to indulge in this fare, you have to sit through such a mind-numbing number of commercials, you'll probably forget where the story left off before the last break. The good news, of course, is that magnificently entertaining mini-series are still thriving. The bad news is that you have to pay even more to watch them via "premium" cable TV channels.  "The Dain Curse" was produced smack in the middle of the prestige craze of the 1970s when TV networks tried to outshine each other in terms of producing acclaimed mini-series. Unfortunately, this series, despite a promising concept, falls far short of the mark. 

The story, set in 1929, is based on a Dashiell Hammett novel, ordinarily a good source for a film noir production. Robert Mitchum had gotten the formula right a couple of years before with his portrayal of Philip Marlowe in "Farewell, My Lovely". Coburn would seem to be an appropriate leading man for another Hammett protagonist, private eye Hamilton Nash. However, whereas Mitchum looked sleepy, worn-out and perpetually pissed off, Coburn looks too much like a movie star.  He's immaculately attired and supremely self-confident. He does suffer the fate of all noirish detectives: he makes the occasional misjudgment that sees him beaten and battered, but for the most part Coburn is a bit too Hollywood to ever convince you that he's an employee of a private eye agency. Nonetheless, even miscast Coburn is a joy to watch, especially as he trades wisecracks with cops, crooks and dames. The problem with "The Dain Curse", however, is that there are far too many of all these characters. The plot is overly-complex and virtually impossible to follow. It opens with Nash investigating the alleged robbery of some diamonds from the home of a rich, middle-aged couple. In the process, he suspects there never was a robbery and begins to unravel the reasons for the staged crime. In the process, he meets the couple's daughter, a twenty-something beauty named Gabrielle, who turns out to be real handful. She's  a head-turner, but she's also insufferably cynical and self-obsessed and her party girl habits lead to a complicated scenario that ultimately involves murder, phony religious cults, drug addiction and kidnapping. (This is another staple of the private eye genre: the errant "wild daughter".)  Throughout, Nash has to deal with the usual eccentrics found in any detective story of the era: incompetent cops, a kindly boss who is exasperated by his star detective's independent streak, corrupt public officials and more red herrings than you would find in a fish factory. Within ten minutes, I found myself confused. By the one hour mark, I had given up in terms of trying to follow the plot and the character's motivations and just decided to sit back and enjoy the often impressive performances. These include Beatrice Straight as Gabrielle's mother, Hector Elizondo as a small time sheriff who assists Nash and, most impressively, Jason Miller, playing against type as a dandy writer in the Truman Capote mold (though he favors the opposite sex.) The best performance comes from Nancy Addison in the challenging role of Gabrielle. Addison successfully conveys the wide range of emotion the character has to display over the film's five hour running time. There are also welcome appearances by Jean Simmons, Paul Stewart, Roland Winters and New York's favorite raconteur, Malachy McCourt. 

The film has some riveting sequences such as Nash's investigation of a cult religious temple where a human sacrifice is being planned and his subsequent drugging by hallucinogen-causing gasses. The Long Island locations are also pleasing to the eye and Charles Gross's period jazz score is admirable. However, the screenplay drags on for far too long, testing one's ability to follow the nature of pivotal relationships and motivations. By the time the movie grinds to what should be a compelling courtroom climax, the revelations aren't shocking because you can barely understand their implications- and there is little that director E.W. Swackhamer (we love that name!) can do to sew these disparate elements into something comprehensible. 

The Scorpion DVD package features the cool original promotional art on the sleeve and also includes trailers for other Scorpion releases including Coburn's "The Internecine Project", Burt Lancaster in "Go Tell the Spartans" and an unusual trailer for "Saint Jack" hosted by director Peter Bogdanovich.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Having grown up in the wilds of New Jersey, my playground was generally Times Square, so I've never developed a full appreciation of country music, at least outside of the realm of such mainstream, chart-crossing greats as Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Glen Campbell and Kenny Rogers. The numerous attempts to launch country stations on New York radio generally ended in financial disaster. Thus, I acknowledge I'm not very well versed in the lives and careers of legendary country singers, including the man who is considered by many to be the greatest of them all, Hank Williams. Watching the Warner Archive's DVD of the Williams' biopic Your Cheatin' Heart arrived, I felt as though the world it was set in would be as foreign to me as a distant planet. The 1964 MGM release, directed by Gene Nelson, is notable in several ways. It is perhaps the last musical to be filmed in black-and-white and it represents a rare mainstream release for producer Sam Katzman, who was known for cheesy cult classics, though he did produce successful Elvis Presley and Herman's Hermits musicals for MGM.  

I found myself surprisingly impressed by the movie, particularly with George Hamilton's performance as Williams. On the surface, it would seemed to have been a bizarre bit of casting: Hamilton was the ultimate Hollywood pretty boy and he was to play a man who was unsophisticated enough to make Gomer Pyle look like Laurence Olivier. However, Hamilton gives an excellent performance - in fact it may be the best work of his career. The film itself is consistently entertaining, though the background on its production is quite fascinating. Williams emerged from an impoverished youth to become an idol to country music fans. His seemingly endless array of chart-topping hits were sung in his distinctive style of crooning, which generally included high pitched vocals that often approached yodeling. In his personal life, however, Williams had trouble coping with the trappings of success and felt his material gains were somehow an insult to his core audience of everyday folks from modest backgrounds.