There is an old joke about a brain surgeon who must call a plumber to fix a broken pipe that is flooding his basement in the middle of the night. The plumber arrives and quickly fixes the problem then hands the brain surgeon a bill for his services. The brain surgeon's eyes open wide and he says, "I'm a brain surgeon and I don't get paid this much money for only a few minutes work!" To which the plumber replies, "Neither did I when I was a brain surgeon". The joke unveils a common truth: that even the most sophisticated and educated person can find themselves helpless and dependent upon an everyday person who has more useful skills in terms of day-to-day living. This is the message that forms the basis of "The Admirable Crichton", a 1957 British film adapted from the 1902 stage production by "Peter Pan" author J.M. Barrie. Given that the story is a barbed poke at England's snooty days of old obsession with social status, Barrie's play, which opened when such societal prejudices were in full force, must have raised some eyebrows among the Reform Club set.
Kenneth More stars as the titular character, a devoted butler in the household of widower Lord Henry Loam (Cecil Parker), who presides over his country manor like a reigning monarch. However, Lord Loam has some progressive ideas and feels guilty that he doesn't even know the names of some of his lower-rung household staff. He orders that his three daughters Catherine (Mercy Haystead), Agatha (Miranda Connell) and Mary (Sally Ann Howes) join him in participating in a radical idea: they will devote an afternoon tea to getting to know the entire household staff, address them by name and wait on them. The girls are appalled at the concept and so is Crichton, who, as head butler, has the most esteemed position among the staff, as he also serves as Loam's personal valet. Crichton is a bit of a snob himself, as he doesn't want his status at the top of the pecking order to being jeopardized by the introduction of democracy to the household. The event is a miserable failure and ends prematurely due to everyone involved feeling awkward. Adding to Loam's woes is the arrest of Catherine, who had bypassed the social gathering to visit London, where she was charged with participating in a riot caused by a protest march by suffragettes. Wracked by the shame of the incident, Loam heeds Crichton's advice to set sail on the family yacht to the South Pacific until the scandal dies down. The group is joined on the holiday by two potential suitors, Lord Ernest Woolley (Ernest Harper) and a clergyman, John Treherne (Jack Watling.)
The cruise is going pleasantly enough when a brutal storm erupts, forcing everyone into two lifeboats. The boat carrying the girls, their suitors, Lord Loam and Critchton ends up beaching on an uninhabited small island. They have one addition to their group: a lowly housemaid named Tweeny (Diane Cilento), a sweet young woman from the other side of the tracks who is unsophisticated in the ways of the world. Despite the dire circumstances, Critchton is expected to carry on with his duties as though he is back in England, serving up meager rations while dressed in formal attire. It soon becomes apparent, however, that the group will need fire, shelter, food and water and everyone is helpless when it comes to finding these necessities. That is, except Crichton, who steps to the fore and through personal knowledge and common sense, manages to keep everyone warm and well-fed by adapting to the elements. The story then jumps ahead two years and we find the castaways still stranded but living in relative luxury, thanks to Crichton's ingenuity. In a scenario that mirrors other far-fetched castaway tales from Disney's "Swiss Family Robinson" to "Gilligan's Island", the stranded group have erected fabulous living quarters that are furnished with luxuries that were salvaged from the sinking yacht that had washed up near the beach. We find Crichton has, by acclamation, been voted to serve as "Governor" of the island. Everyone is merry and the old social prejudices have broken down with the castaways engaging each other on a first name basis. In fact, the combination of sun, sand and a democratic society has everyone giddy and content. With Critchton as the group's leader and savior, the sisters vie for his attentions, with Mary especially smitten by him. However, Tweeny and Crichton have also formed a special bond, with Tweeny having improved her knowledge and vocabulary thanks to tutoring by Crichton. She and Mary are the main contenders to be Crichton's bride. When he finally chooses who he will marry, the ceremony is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of a rescue ship. Once back in London, the social order returns to its former status with all the inherent prejudices. Crichton must bear the humiliation of watching Lord Loam and the other male castaways brag to their friends that they were the key players in keeping the group alive and well. Ever the loyal butler, Crichton keeps the truth to himself, but he does have a strategy to free himself from the humiliating circumstances and finally find happiness.
Despite being a long-time admirer of Sean Connery, it
took me until now to catch up with the legal thriller “Just Causeâ€, released in
1995. The film was directed by Arne Glimcher and is based upon the book of the
same title by John Katzenbach.Glimcher
had previously directed the well-received film “The Mambo Kings†in 1992.The screenplay was written by Jeb Stuart (“Die
Hardâ€, “The Fugitiveâ€) and Peter Stone (“Charadeâ€, “Arabesqueâ€, “The Taking of
Pelham One Two Threeâ€).Connery is
surrounded by a stellar cast, each of whom delivers a fine performance.
The primary character in the movie is Bobby Earl
Ferguson, played convincingly by Blair Underwood.Bobby Earl was convicted of abducting and murdering
a pre-teen girl in Florida, based largely upon a suspect confession we come to
learn was violently coerced by Detective Tanny Brown (in an outstanding
performance by Laurence Fishburne) and Detective J. T. Wilcox (Christopher
Murray).Sentenced to die several years
ago, time is running out for Bobby Earl as his execution date approaches.At the direction of Bobby Earl, his
grandmother Evangeline Brown (Ruby Dee) approaches Paul Armstrong (Sean
Connery), who is a Harvard law professor, at a debate in which Armstrong is arguing
against the death penalty. Evangeline
delivers a letter from Bobby Earl detailing the injustice of his conviction and
pleading for Professor Armstrong’s assistance to set aside his wrongful
conviction and save his life.After an
emotional plea by Evangeline, followed by a consultation with his
attorney-wife, Laurie Armstrong (Kate Capshaw), Armstrong agrees to take up
Bobby Earl’s cause and he heads off to Florida to investigate the case.
It is at this point the movie’s plot begins to undergo the
multiple twists and turns that are so frequent, the technique becomes a
distraction.It is almost as if there must
be an unforeseen plot twist every five minutes for the remainder of the film.First, Bobby Earl discloses that another
death row inmate on his cell block, a serial killer named Blair Sullivan (Ed
Harris), has confessed to the killing of the little girl.Professor Armstrong confronts Sullivan,
leading to the discovery of the knife used to kill the little girl.The prison warden (Daniel J. Travanti) then
lets Professor Armstrong review the letters written by Sullivan, only to
discover one to the little girl’s parents confessing to the murder.Based on this evidence, Professor Armstrong gains
Bobby Earl’s freedom.
Just when it seemed things were being neatly wrapped up,
the plot takes a hard left turn and the second storyline emerges concerning a
disturbing past personal connection between Laurie Armstrong and Bobby Earl,
who it turns out had once prosecuted him in a case of sexual assault against a
young girl. Due to a problem with the main witness, Bobby Earl was not
convicted but during his incarceration, we learn that he was subjected to a
terrible act of torture by prison guards. This plot revelation leads to another twist,
with Armstrong discovering that his wife and young daughter (Scarlett
Johansson) have been marked for death.Here the movie adopts a similar ending as in “Cape Fear†(pick either
the 1962 or the 1991 version) leading to the final deadly confrontation between
Armstrong and the real killer that had been forecast throughout the story.
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
Mediumrare Entertainment is proud to announce Police
Squad! The Complete Series available for the first time on Blu-ray from 20th
April 2020
Starring Leslie Nielson, Alan North & Ed Williams
There are 8 million stories in the Naked City. Here are
six. Join Detective Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) and Capt. Ed Hocken (Alan
North) as they solve the toughest cases - full of all the sight-gags, puns, and
non sequiturs that made the series famous! Created by
David Zucker, Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, who gave us other classics such as
Flying High! and The Naked Gun series.
Be an eye-witness to all the comedic action for the first
time in stunning High Definition
Marginally a "straight" police drama in the
Jack Webb/Quinn Martin school, Police Squad occurs in a strange universe where
everything is taken literally (when a name "rings a bell" we hear
bells go off every time someone mentions it), non sequiturs occur (a mime tries
to spell out a ransom note, and Officer Nordberg guesses "Theme From a
Summer Place") and sight gags abound (while looking for a corpse, someone
wants to know the time and the dead man's hand drops out of a tree).
Police Squad Blu-ray Special Features & Product
Details
· Audio
Commentary by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, Robert K Weiss
“Cover Up†(1949) is a very strange little movie. An
insurance investigator Sam Donovan (Dennis O’Keefe) arrives in a small
Midwestern town by train to investigate the death of one of his company’s
policy holders, a man named Phillips. He meets pretty girl Anita Weatherby
(Barbara Britton) on the train and helps her carry the Christmas packages she’s
brought home for her family. He meets her father, Stu Weatherby (Art Baker) who
came to pick her up and invites Donovan to come out to the house for a visit
when he has the time. Friendly town. Donovan next visits the local sheriff
Larry Best (William Bendix) to get the death report. And that’s where
complications start. The sheriff tells him although the death was a suicide by
gunshot, there’s no gun, no bullet and no coroner’s report and the body is
already buried in the cemetery.
Sounds like a decent set up for a good hard-boiled
who-dunnit, doesn’t it? Except it’s anything but. Despite Kino Lorber’s
packaging, with Bendix and O’Keefe wielding a couple of Lugers on the Blu-Ray
cover, “Cover-Up†falters mid-way through, deciding it wants to be a nice, friendly
holiday movie. Despite a set-up that sounds like the beginning of “Bad Day at
Black Rock,†unlike the characters in that film, everybody in this town must
have migrated from Mayberry. There all so nice and kind and wouldn’t want to
ruin anyone’s Christmas with a nasty thing like murder, which Phillips’ death
turns out to be.
This may be the only mystery story in which the
murdered man and his murderer never appear on screen. In fact, although the
mystery gets solved, there’s no punishment that can be meted out to the
perpetrator because he conveniently dies of a heart attack before Donovan get
put the cuffs on him. And besides Phillips was a no good rat that nobody in
town liked and doesn’t miss. So why make a big fuss about it?
It’s all pretty weird and at the same time kind of tame
and dull. The emphasis is more on the romance between Anita and Sam than the
crime. Oh, there are red herrings sprinkled throughout the script co-written by
O’Keefe and Jerome Odlum that keep the mystery plot going but director Alfred
E. Green provides little tension or suspense.
One wonders why Kino Lorber chose to put this title out
in a nice Blu-ray format when there are so many other more worthy noirs out
there waiting for that kind of presentation. The picture and sound quality are
first rate but the disc has no extras at all.
Bottom line, if you’re looking for an unusual, off-beat
Christmas movie, pick it up. You could run a double bill along with Jean
Shepherd’s “A Christmas Story†to liven things up. Tough guy noir lovers should avoid.
Andrew V. McLaglen was almost predestined to be a movie director. The
son of the legendary character actor Victor McLaglen, Andrew came of age
on movie sets. His father often appeared in John Ford Westerns and
Andrew developed a passion for the genre. He ultimately gained a
foothold in the television industry during the late 1950s and early
1960s when TV Westerns were all the rage. He proved himself to be a
capable and reliable director and eventually moved on to feature films.
McLaglen scored a major hit with the rollicking Western comedy
"McLintock!" starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in 1963. Two years
later, he teamed with James Stewart for the poignant Civil War drama
"Shenandoah". The film was a big success with both critics and at the
boxoffice. Thus, Universal, the studio that released "Shenandoah", hoped
to capitalize on the film's success and re-teamed McLaglen and Stewart
for a Western, "The Rare Breed".
Adding to the reunion aspect of the
production, it co-starred Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith. O'Hara had
co-starred with Stewart in the 1962 comedy "Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation"
and Keith was O'Hara's leading man in the Disney classic "The Parent
Trap". Got all that? The script by Ric Hardman takes an unusual aspect
of the Old West for its central plot line. Martha Price (O'Hara) and her
daughter Hilary (Juliet Mills) have arrived in Texas from their home in
England. They are bringing with them their prized Hereford bull, a
breed not known in America. Their hope is to sell the animal at auction
so that cross breeding American cows will eventually result in superior
stock. The prim and proper upper-crust British ladies have endured a
tragedy that isn't depicted on screen: the death of Martha's husband on
the ship en route to America, although they seem fairly unperturbed, as
they only fleetingly reference the dearly departed in the course of what
follows. The Hereford is mocked by the cattle barons because it lacks
the signature horns of traditional Texas steers. In a convoluted plot
device, a smarmy rich man (David Brian) with an obsession for seducing
Martha, bids on the Hereford to impress her. When his awkward attempts
to bed her fail, somehow another unseen buyer steps forward and the
beast must be transported to him via the efforts of a wrangler named
Burnett (James Stewart). At this point, the story becomes difficult to
follow. Suffice it to say that Burnett agrees to escort Martha, Hilary
and their prized bull to the far-off destination to conclude the deal.
Along the way, they are ambushed by Simons (Jack Elam), a greedy crook
who causes a stampede of another cattle herd being escorted by Burnett's
friend Jamie (Don Galloway.) In the resulting chaos, Simons intends to
steal the Hereford as well as the money Martha has been paid to deliver
the bull. If all of this sounds confusing, watching it unfurl on screen
makes the plot even more fragmented when Martha accuses Burnett of also
trying to swindle her. Ultimately, they all wind up at the outpost of
the new owner, Bowen (Brian Keith), a Scottish eccentric who runs his
own cattle empire and sees the possibility of crossbreeding the Hereford
with his own herd.
In
Sergio Corbucci’s 1967 Italian Western, “The Hellbenders†(1967), now available
on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, embittered Colonel Jonas (Joseph Cotten) devises a
plan to avenge the outcome of the Civil War.Where today’s cultural conservatives mostly express their nostalgia for
the Old South by gathering to protest the removal of Confederate monuments,
Jonas takes more extreme measures.He
and his three sons -- the remnant of his old command, known as the Hellbenders
-- ambush a military convoy transporting $1.5 million in greenbacks.Slaughtering the convoy’s cavalry escort,
they transfer the stolen money to a makeshift coffin supposedly containing the
remains of Jonas‘ “son-in-law†Ambrose Allen, another Confederate officer
killed in action at the Battle of Nashville.In truth, an officer named Ambrose Allen died at Nashville, but he
wasn’t Jonas’ son-in-law, and his corpse isn’t in the coffin.Jonas picked his name off a list of the war
dead.Using a forged travel permit and
abetted by a hired floozy who poses as the bereaved widow, they set off for
Jonas‘ Texas ranch.There, the
grief-stricken family will lay the gallant “Ambrose Allen†to rest, as Jonas
sorrowfully and convincingly tells the Army patrols and sheriffs’ posses whom
they encounter on the way.In reality,
once they arrive, the colonel will disburse the stolen money to finance and arm
an invasion of the North.
Since
Corbucci, Cotten, and the script clearly establish Jonas as a callous fanatic
wedded to a dubious cause, the movie builds suspense not by cheering him on,
but instead by presenting one obstacle after another that he and his sons must
surmount on their journey.We may not
hope that he’ll succeed in fomenting another Civil War, but regardless, we
wonder how he’ll outwit all the soldiers, lawmen, bounty hunters, outlaws, and
Indians who continually cross the Hellbenders’ path.And what will happen after circumstances
force him to replace one “widow†with another, a saloon girl, Claire, who
unexpectedly reveals a conscience as she realizes what she signed on for?Her innate honesty troubles one of the sons,
Ben (Julian Mateos), who has already begun to have his own qualms about Jonas’
brutality.
Given
Joseph Cotten’s illustrious film career, even the most dedicated genre
enthusiast would be challenged to argue that “The Hellbenders†(released in
Italy as “I crudeli†or “The Cruel Onesâ€) poses any threat for displacing the
likes of “Citizen Kane†or “The Third Man†from a list of Cotten’s most
memorable movies.Nevertheless, on its
own terms, Corbucci’s Western gives the distinguished actor a respectable showcase
with a decent, downbeat plot and strong support by the other actors, notably
Norma Bengell as Claire.Bengell uses
herarresting, expressive features to
good advantage in an exceptionally pivotal role for an actress in a Spaghetti
Western. Corbucci’s Westerns often featured a woman of easy virtue who turns
out to be the moral fulcrum of the story, and in “The Hellbenders,†Claire
serves that function.Corbucci delivers
the chair-busting saloon brawls and bloody shootouts expected by Italian Western
fans, laced together with an unusually intricate storyline for the genre.Two subplots involving an attack by a Mexican
bandit (Spaghetti stalwart Aldo Sambrell) and a chance encounter with a
pathetic but sinister beggar (the magnificently grungy Al Mulock) seem
initially to disrupt the forward momentum of the story for no other purpose
than to add more gunfights.While they
fulfill that expectation, they also set up a surprise reversal for the
characters at the end, and a finale that -- in Corbucci fashion -- leaves few
survivors standing.
The
Kino Lorber Blu-ray presents “The Hellbenders†in a beautiful 4K restoration
with a droll, informative audio commentary by Alex Cox.Cox notes that “Leo Nichols,†who composed
the score for the movie, was actually Ennio Morricone under a name that he also
used for two other Italian Westerns around the same period.The score is atypical for Morricone, sounding
more like Jerry Fielding or Jerry Goldsmith than what we’re used to hearing
from the soundtracks for Sergio Leone’s epics.Perhaps that was why Morricone decided to use the pseudonym.“The Hellbenders†is complemented by a
separate Kino Lorber release of Corbucci’s “The Specialists†in a comparably
fine 4K restoration, also with an Alex Cox commentary.There’s little else to add to what I’ve already
said about “The Specialists†(also known as “The Specialistâ€) in an earlier
blog entry HERE, except to note that the two films represent Corbucci’s
versatility within the conventions of the Spaghetti Western.“The Hellbenders†is an American-style Western
epic, albeit more viscerally violent than a typical Hollywood production from
the same period.At the other end of
the form, “The Specialists†capsizes Western conventions in the
impressionistic, caustic Corbucci style of “Django†and “The Great Silence.â€
Ernest B. Schoedsack’s
Dr. Cyclops (1940) was certainly not the first - nor is it the most famous
- horror/sci-fi film to exploit the cinematic possibilities of shrunken humans
as ghoulish entertainment.Audiences of
the 1930s were first introduced to Ernest Thesiger’s deliciously devilish Dr.
Pretorius as he dabbled with his experimentations-in-miniature in James Whale’s
The Bride of Frankenstein.The miniaturization of human specimens were central
to the plot of Tod Browning’s The Devil
Doll (1936).In that film, an embittered
Lionel Barrymore misuses a scientist-friend’s discovery to convert people to
doll size in order to extract revenge on those who had earlier sent him to
prison.In the Silver Age of Sci-Fi,
this device was most famously captured in Jack Arnold’s The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) and again, rather exploitatively
a year later, in Bert I. Gordon’s less-celebrated but still amusing knock-off Attack of the Puppet People (1958).
In some manner of speaking, the size-reduced victims terrorized
by Dr. Cyclops is frightening to them only as a matter only of ratio.The combat between the unusually very large
versus the very small was already a well-established trope, straight out of the
playbook of such giant-ape films as King
Kong (1933), Son of Kong (1933),
and Mighty Joe Young (1949).Interestingly, Schoedsack and Dr. Cyclops producer Merian C. Cooper
worked together on all three of these epics, though their involvements were not
always credited on-screen.
Brooklyn’s own Albert Dekker portrays the titular Dr. Cyclops, otherwise known as Dr.
Alexander Thorkel.In his steamy
scientific-research laboratory nestled deep within the green and leafy Amazon
jungles of Peru, the secretive doctor has managed to tap into what’s described
as a “deposit of the richest radium ore known to man.â€Though he would have preferred otherwise,
Thorkel’s poor eyesight requires him to request the assistance of a scientific
colleague, Dr. Bulfinch (Charles Halton).Bulfinch travels the thousand or so miles to Thorkel’s remote Amazon
base – if only to look through a few microscopic slides and confirm his colleague’s
findings.
With his task accomplished, Dr. Bulfinch – who has visited
with a small expedition party – is surprised when he’s summarily dismissed:
Thorkel has – somewhat ungraciously - told Bulfinch and Co. to pack up their
things and head home.Though his time at
the jungle laboratory was short, Bulfinch recognizes that Thorkel’s “drawing
the cosmic force from the bosom of the earth†is an inherently dangerous
practice.Especially when one considers
that, by almost all measure and standard, the “abnormally secretive†and
obsessive Dr. Thorkel is clearly a bona fide paranoiac.Bulfinch deems him as a “delusional†who is recklessly
“tampering with powers reserved for God.â€
The “cosmic force†that Bulfinch has referenced is
radium.Dr. Cyclops has been collecting
radium ore through a sophisticated ringed and phallic two-bulb-shaped instrument
of his own invention.Having extracted
the subterranean radium from an open-pit mine, this unrelentingly malevolent madman
then transmits the alkaline and highly radioactive metal through a condenser unit
housed inside his home laboratory.It
there’s that he tricks his overstayed-their-welcome but curious visitors into
taking a closer look at his technical handiwork.Their apparent trusting willingness to do so
will prove to be unfortunate for them as Thorkel reduces them to 12â€-13†in
size.He does this gleefully and without
a hint of remorse, assured that his scientific secrets will remain… well,
secret.
Paramount’s Dr.
Cyclops – one of only a handful of horror films commissioned by the studio
during the genre’s Golden Age – isn’t a masterpiece by any stretch of the
imagination, but it’s never dull.It
must be said that the photographic effects of Dr. Cyclops are very well done for the period.The work of Visual Effects team of Farciot
Edouart and Gordon Jennings’ would earn both a “Special Effects†nomination at
the 1941 Academy Award celebration.Though they would lose out that year to the flying carpets featured in The Thief of Bagdad, both men would go
on two win Oscars for later special projects.
Director Robert Altman was widely admired for choosing his film projects based on personal passion for the subject matter, regardless of whether the production had any apparent boxoffice appeal. That artistic side of Altman is to the fore with his 1987 screen adaptation of the stage farce "Beyond Therapy", a title that might well have been applied to the people who financed this misguided production. The decision to bring the play to the screen was bizarre to begin with, as it had flopped both off-Broadway and on the Great White Way itself. When a stage-produced turkey dies, the burial is witnessed by only the relatively few people who had the misfortune of attending the performances. (The infamous "Moose Murders" only affected the opening night audience, as it closed the minute the curtain dropped.) With Altman's screen adaptation of "Beyond Therapy", the flaws in the original work became magnified through a theatrical and video release that saw the pain inflicted on an exponentially larger audience, despite the fact that the movie was itself a bomb.
"Beyond Therapy" is set in New York City but was filmed in Paris, where Altman had taken up residence for a time. The film opens in a French restaurant where Bruce (Jeff Goldblum) and Prudence (Julie Hagerty) have a disastrous first date, with Prudence having responded to Bruce's ad in a personals section of a magazine. Turns out he's a psychological basket case who brings Prudence a rose but never gets around to ordering food or drinks. He speaks frankly about her physical attributes and then tells her that he is a bisexual who ls living with his jealous lover Bob (Christopher Guest). Prudence is no prize, either. She's erratic, over-stimulated and, like Bruce, is undergoing psychiatric therapy. Perhaps if the story stuck to this eccentric couple, a reasonably funny plot line might have emerged but an abundance of other oddball characters are introduced. Tom Conti plays Prudence's sex-crazed psychiatrist who prides himself on seducing his patients. Glenda Jackson is another shrink who is having anonymous sexual encounters with him while at the same time is suffering from mental problems herself that result in her taking the couch in the presence of the patients she is supposed to be analyzing. Christopher Guest's Bob is flamboyantly gay and more than a little perturbed by Bruce's dalliance with Prudence, and he's also in a troubled relationship with his Lady MacBeth-like mother, played by Genevieve Page. All of these characters have intertwining relationships that are played out in the style of a French bedroom farce. The problem is that French bedroom farces must be as light as air in terms of pacing, while Altman's film goes down like a three-week old baguette. Eccentric big city urbane types are generally the domain of Woody Allen, whose romantic comedies tend to be very good because the characters and dialogue are believable. Not so here. Altman encourages his cast to chew the scenery at every turn and it can be said that this is one of those rare films in which very talented people come across very badly at every turn.
Robert Altman, like any director, had his share of flops. He was said to disdain "Beyond Therapy" but if he wanted to assign blame, he needed to only look in the mirror, as he co-wrote the screenplay with the play's author Christopher Durang. Happily, the film's was largely ignored, grossing less than $800,000 worldwide. Altman rebounded occasionally and enjoyed two highly acclaimed films before his death in 2006: "The Player" (1992) and "Gosford Park" (2001). His legacy is assured as a great American filmmaker, "Beyond Therapy" not withstanding.
The Blu-ray from Scorpion is perfectly fine with a crisp, nice transfer. The only extras are the original trailer and a gallery of "B" sex comedies also available from the company.
In 1934, the American film industry initiated a system of self-censorship known as the Hays Code. Eager to avoid an office of government film censorship from being established, the movie studios put in place their own draconian rules when it came to presenting adult content such as sex and violence on the big screen. Ironically, these restrictions were generally every bit as suppressive as any government agency might have applied. Over the course of the code's thirty year run, its impact was lessened as society became more liberalized. However, many great literary works that were brought to the screen were watered-down in an attempt to protect adult viewers from such shocking realities as premarital sex and the existence of homosexuality. The straw that broke the camel's back occurred when Jack Warner refused to make substantial cuts to the 1966 release of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", telling the code enforcers to, in essence, stuff it. Grateful movie-goers made what essentially an art house film in to a monster boxoffice hit. The code was doomed and would soon be replaced by the ratings system.
It may come as a surprise to readers to learn that despite the dreaded restrictions compelled by the code, industrious exploitation film producers found ways to bring nudity to the big screen in the 1930s through a number of cheaply produced movies. These basically fell into two categories: movies with narrative plots and fictitious characters and documentaries that purported to extol the health benefits of a nudist lifestyle. In fact, nudism was becoming quite the rage during this era, with over 300 nudist camps opening in America, attracting an estimated 300,000 members. The fad was, in part, influenced by European interest in the health benefits of nudity. German cinema of the era was far more liberal about presenting nudity on screen, and it was often integrated into the German penchant for movies that centered on love stories that often involved physical fitness as a main ingredient. In order to get around the Hays Code, the U.S. nudist films had to scrupulously avoid any hint of sexual contact. Only good, wholesome activities could be depicted and the hottest the action might get would be a quick kiss or hug between a couple.
Kino Lorber, in association with Something Weird, has released a fascinating Blu-ray featuring two of the more prominent nudist films of the era. First up is "Unashamed: A Romance", released in 1938. This is a drama starring people with little or no experience in the film industry. Rae Kidd (her only screen credit) plays Rae Lane, a secretary who is not so secretly carrying a torch for her boss Robert Lawton (Robert Stanley). Rae's unrequited love for Robert causes her to seek medical attention. Her doctor explains that because she is of mixed race (never defined exactly), she will never be regarded as a "catch" by most men. (Yes, folks, this was mainstream thinking back in 1938). Nonetheless, she convinces Robert, who is a hypochondriac, to join her at a nudist camp where she is a member, on the basis of the belief at the time that nudism was not only good for the psyche but also for a person's physical health. The ploy seems to work and before long she and Robert are romantically involved and engaging in hiking and sporting activities including volley ball, a requisite for any film set in a nudist colony. However, when a runaway aristocrat, Barbara Pound (Lucille Shearer) arrives at the camp to seek solitude from the public, Robert is immediately smitten and cruelly ignores Rae's heartbreak. The final scenes of the film trace Rae's efforts to adjust to having been dumped by her lover and we can't help but feel it was caused in part by his desire to be with a woman who wasn't "tainted" by mixed race heritage.
The film is interesting on several levels but for a fuller understanding, listen to the excellent commentary track by film historian Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, who provides informative insights into the birth of the nudist film movement as well as this movie's shocking, downbeat ending and a tragic twist that is presented in such a subtle manner that you might otherwise have overlooked it. I should also point out that the film is very creatively photographed by George Sergeant, though this movie appears to be his only cinematic credit.
"Hudson
River Massacre†is a 1965 Italian Western originally titled “I tre del
Coloradoâ€and also released as “Rebels
in Canada,†“Revolt in Canada,†and “Canadian Wilderness.â€In the film, the Hudson’s Bay Company, an
English corporation, is tightening its monopoly on the lucrative fur-trading
business in western Canada in the late 1800s by driving independent French-Canadian
trappers out of business.The
French-Canadians counter with an uprising led by Leo Limoux, played by Franco
Fantasia, a Spaghetti Western regular with a familiar face if not a familiar
name.Trapper Victor DeFrois (George
Martin) resists joining the rebels until his brother is executed for robbery
and murder on charges fabricated by the ruthless Hudson’s Bay trading-post
manager, Sullivan.When that happens,
Victor throws in with the resistance.At
Limoux’s direction, the young trapper kidnaps Sullivan’s sister Anne and holds
her at a remote cabin for ransom.From
there, veteran fans of old-fashioned Westerns can pretty much write the rest of
the script themselves.What usually
happens in these movies when a handsome, stalwart outdoorsman is cooped up with
a genteel, gorgeous woman, and the two begin to rethink their animosity toward
each other?
The
director of “Hudson River Massacre,†Armando de Ossorio, is better known to
Euro-movie fans for his four horror films in the “Blind Dead†series about
undead medieval knights who rise from their tombs as zombies.As director and co-writer, he keeps the
B-Western fistfights and shootouts moving at a fast clip in “Hudson River
Massacre,â€including the relatively
large-scale “massacre†of the title in which the outnumbered rebels clash with
a troop of Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the shadow of snow-capped Spanish
peaks standing in for the Canadian Rockies.The role of the Mounties as Sullivan’s malleable dupes will surprise
older fans who fondly remember Sergeant Preston of the Yukon.The Spanish actor George Martin had a busy
career in Italian Westerns, sometimes playing against type as a bad guy but
more often cast like here, as the hero.He appears to be performing most of his own stunts in “Hudson River
Massacre†without the help of a stand-in, except for the more dangerous moments
of a fight with a bad guy in a rugged stretch of rapids.He’s ably supported by an attractive trio of
European actresses, Giulia Rubini as Anne, Pamela Tudor as a feisty
action-heroine named Swa, a common fixture in today’s movies but unusual for a
1960s Western, Italian or otherwise, and Diana Lorys as Nina, a French-Canadian
saloon girl whose unrequited devotion to Victor has unfortunate consequences.
A new Blu-ray edition
of “Hudson River Massacre†from MVD Classics presents this obscure movie in a
serviceable hi-def transfer.The only
extra is a trailer, but the Blu-ray includes SDH subtitles that will be
welcomed by those who saw unpretentious fare like “Hudson River Massacre†at
the local drive-in as kids, back in the day.Italian Western enthusiasts will be equally happy to see another
hard-to-find title now available on the commercial market.
A long-neglected gem, the 1959 apocalyptic thriller The World, the Flesh and the Devil has finally been released on Blu-ray through the Warner Archive. The movie, which was once routinely shown on TV, has all but vanished from sight in recent years. One of the first serious attempts to examine the implications of Armageddon in the nuclear age, the film was largely over-shadowed by Stanley Kramer's similarly-themed, all-star production of On the Beach. Harry Belafonte stars as Ralph Burton, a construction worker who is investigating a long-dormant underground tunnel when catastrophe strikes. He is trapped by a cave-in and when he manages to emerge from the death trap situation, he discovers the entire population of his town has fled in mass hysteria due to the outbreak of a world war. His research shows that biological weapons were used to kill seemingly everyone on earth. For the sake of dramatic license, the lethal aspects of the weapons are neutralized within a few days, thus making Burton immune from any lingering effects.
Burton makes his way to New York City where he finds the entire
population has vanished and is presumably dead. Driving to New Jersey,
he witnesses an eerie sight: thousands of deserted automobiles stranded
at the Lincoln Tunnel and atop the George Washington Bridge. The impact
is somewhat diluted because Burton never encounters a single dead body.
Like Kramer's On the Beach, this production seems a bit timid
when it comes to showing the actual carnage of a world war. In horror
and suspense films, what you don't see is often scarier than what you do
see, but in this scenario, it becomes rather implausible that there
isn't a trace of a single soul in evidence. Nevertheless, the sequences
remain powerful and haunting. Burton, who conveniently is a handy man
who can tackle even the most daunting tasks, manages to generate
electricity in the luxury apartment he stakes out in Manhattan. While he
enjoys a reasonably lavish lifestyle, he is desperately lonely- until
he encounters Sarah (Inger Stevens), a gorgeous blonde who has also
miraculously survived the devastating event that seemingly has ended all
other human life on earth. The film crosses into the realm of sexual
tension and racial bigotry- bold topics during this era of moviemaking.
The two would logically become lovers in any other scenario, but Burton
balks because of the (then) American taboo on inter-racial
relationships. Sarah is willing but becomes frustrated by Burton's
avoidance of her sexual advances.
The situation becomes even
more complicated when a third survivor emerges: Ben Thacker (Mel
Ferrer). Burton saves his life, but the inevitable comes to pass. When
Ben turns his attentions to Sarah, Burton becomes jealous and the two
men engage in a duel to the death, stalking each other through the
deserted canyons of Wall Street. The World, the Flesh and the Devil is
a poignant film about the human pysche. As absurd as it might seem, the male ego being what it is, one
can well imagine that sexual dominance would result in the last two men
on earth trying to reduce the male population by 50% through murder.
The film is extremely well acted by the three leads, and Belafonte, who
was then riding at the top of the pop charts, even gets to sing a couple
of Caribbean songs. The most memorable aspect of the production,
however, is the impressive camera shots in an around New York City.
While many of the scenes of deserted landmark areas are achieved through
special effects and matte paintings, there are nonetheless some fairly
incredible shots of main thoroughfares completely devoid of any traffic
or pedestrians. (A similar feat would be achieved in Los Angeles for The Omega Man.)
">The World, the Flesh and the Devil is very capably directed by Randall MacDougall, who was primarily known as the screenwriter for such diverse films as Cleopatra and Dark of the Sun. It's a
thinking person's vision of the apocalypse. Some of it is a bit corny and
dated, but time has not diminished the power of the storyline. The Blu-ray offers a superb transfer and includes the original trailer. The disc is region-free.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM THE CINEMA RETRO MOVIE STORE.
If anyone still needs to be persuaded to believe that the 1960s was the greatest era for popular music, the documentary "Echo in the Canyon" will provide further evidence. It was a time of such diversity that groups like the Doors and the Rolling Stones could share the top of the charts with Frank Sinatra. Writer/director Andrew Slater traces the emergence of the electronic folk/rock scene that came to life in L.A.'s Laurel Canyon area during the years 1965-1967 when many aspiring young singers and songwriters emigrated to there and inspired each other to create a new sound that transfixed America. Much has been written about Elvis Presley defining rock 'n roll in the 1950s and how the Beatles and other British Invasion bands took the nation by storm in the 1960s. But the highly influential folk/rock scene has rarely been analyzed with the same intensity, despite the influence of the talents that emerged from it. Slater's film finally does justice to this incredible explosion of talent. The film is a patchwork of various interviews that somehow blend together to make a coherent central point: that the artists involved in the folk/rock scene knew they were creating something special. In the film, they discuss how they drew from each other's strengths beginning with the Byrds electronic hit version of Pete Seeger's "Turn! Turn! Turn!". They were competitors on one level, but colleagues on another. When one group or singer came up with a hit, it inspired their friends to redouble their own efforts, occasionally subliminally stealing some aspects of others' songs for themselves.
Contemporary folk rocker Jakob Dylan, son of you-know-who, conducts the interviews as we follow him driving around various Laurel Canyon locations that were central to the movement in the 1960s. Dylan, like his legendary father, wears a somber expression throughout but he does a fine job of eliciting interesting observations from such icons as David Crosby, Michelle Phillips, Ringo Starr, Graham Nash, John Sebastian, Stephen Stills, Roger McGuinn, Jackson Brown, Tom Petty (his last filmed interview), Eric Clapton and legendary music producer Lou Adler. Michelle Phillips discusses her sexually liberated lifestyle while in the Mamas and the Papas and recalls how her husband John, founder of the group, discovered she was having an affair with fellow band member Denny Doherty. Out of frustration, he wrote their hit song "Go Where You Wanna Go" to reflect his wife's aversion to monogamy. (Not mentioned was the revelation in later years that John had been alleged to have carried on an incestuous relationship with his daughter.) Ringo Starr recalls how the Beatles were so impressed with the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" album that it inspired them to make "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and David Crosby admits the real reason his friends and colleagues kicked him out of the Byrds was "because I was an asshole." Dylan even coaxes the often reclusive Brian Wilson out of hibernation for some brief, upbeat comments about the glory days of the Beach Boys.
The film shows Jakob Dylan and and his contemporaries (including Fiona Apple, Beck and Nora Jones) performing spirited and reverent cover versions of some of these artist's greatest hits, intermingled with priceless vintage film footage of the original groups playing them. There are also extensive clips from director Jacques Demy's 1969 feature film "Model Shop" that shows star Gary Lockwood in footage in which he is seen in many of the locales where the great folk/rock music was created.
The Blu-ray from Greenwich Entertainment looks great but unfortunately is bare-bones in terms of bonus extras. However, the film is a priceless time capsule of a wonderful era in popular music that we're not likely to experience again any time soon.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON (The film is also currently streaming on Netflix.)
After finding
chart-topping success in the late 60s, Sonny and Cher found themselves
performing in nightclubs in 1970 when they were “discovered†by CBS
entertainment chief Fred Silverman, who decided they had great potential for a
weekly variety series. The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour premiered on August 1,
1971 as a summer replacement, but quickly reached the top 20, becoming a Wednesday night draw for the
Network and cementing Sonny and Cher as one of Hollywood’s most beloved
couples.
Containing 10
hilarious, never-before-released episodes of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (1971-74),
which feature the musical duo performing their hit songs and side-splitting
sketches with must-see guest stars, I GOT YOU BABE brings home audiences back
to the beginning with the pilot episode, firsts of many classic sketches -- just
naughty enough for nighttime! – Cher’s incredible Bob Mackie-designed costumes and
the chemistry that started it all.Also,
tune in for an incredible line-up of guest stars including Dick Clark, Jerry
Lewis, Jim Nabors, Joe Namath, The Righteous Brothers, Dinah Shore, Carroll
O’Connor, Art Carney, Chuck Berry, The Supremes and many more!
I GOT YOU BABE: THE
BEST OF SONNY & CHER also features exclusive extras including:
Sonny & Cher’s
pilot, an appearance on The Barbara McNair Show (Original Air Date: February
15, 1970)
Jerry Blavat’s 1970
interview of the duo on “Jerry’s Place†featuring an impromptu performance of
“I Got You Babeâ€
Interviews with Frankie
Avalon, producers Allan Blye and Chris Bearde, and Cher herself!
Day
and date, Time Life will also bring The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour to leading
digital platforms for the very first time!Available for download on Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play will be 10
hand-picked episodes of the fan-favorite TV Variety show, assuring that the
fondly-remembered series lives on for a new generation of classic TV lovers.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Israeli producers Yoram Globus and Menahem Golan took Hollywood by storm by unleashing a tidal wave of low-budget exploitation films that were superbly marketed and which made their Cannon Films company the toast of the town. The fare was generally for undiscriminating viewers who were willing to plunk down their money to see movies about breakdancing, sexual slapstick and over-the-top action movies. They made a feature film star out of the charisma-free Chuck Norris and revived Charles Bronson's career after the major studios had pronounced him to be past his sell date. The glory days of Cannon were relatively short-lived as movie fans sought more sophisticated fare. Still, it must be said that occasionally, Cannon did try to move out its comfort zone by producing respectable, mainstream films, one of which was "Runaway Train" in 1985. The movie starred Jon Voight as Oscar "Manny" Manheim, a convicted bank robber and incorrigible inmate imprisoned at a remote penitentiary in Alaska. He's become an idol to his fellow inmates because of his obstinate refusal to conform the draconian rules set in place by the sadistic warden Rankin (John P. Ryan), who tries to break Manny's will be having him chained up within his cell for a period of months. Manny has used legal appeals to force this practice to be stopped and when he prevails in court, the prisoners rejoice, much to Rankin's disgust. Manny isn't content with his temporary victory, however, and soon plots an audacious plan to escape. He ends up allowing a younger inmate, Buck (Eric Roberts), to join him only because he has suffered a severe hand injury and might need Buck's assistance. That doesn't preclude him from constantly insulting and harassing the younger man.
The film follows the convicts' successful escape only to find them facing the harsh winter weather with only a modicum of supplies and clothing. They end up boarding an express freight train with a plan to hitch a ride to wherever the final stop is. Things go awry quickly, however, when the train careens into another locomotive and suffers significant damage. Worse, Manny and Buck are stranded in a freight car and unable to access the engine where they suspect the engineer must have been disabled or died. Their fears are warranted, as the engineer has died from a heart attack. The train is out of control and is blazing along at an unsafe speed. Much of the action concentrates on the men's desperate attempts to access the front of the train and slow it down. They later discover there is one other person on board, a railroad worker named Sara (Rebecca De Mornay), who makes her way to their car and informs them of the dire situation they are all in. If they can't stop the train, it will inevitably crash, killing them all.
Director Andrey Konchalovsky ratchets up the suspense and thankfully the script avoids any cliched sexual interaction between Manny, Buck and Sara, probably because even the horniest guy would find it hard to conjure up erotic thoughts while spiraling toward his doom. Sara proves to be invaluable in assisting the men in making death-defying attempts to access the engine by crawling about outside the train. However, the sheer speed of the vehicle, along with the piercing cold, precludes them from being successful. The action is inter-cut with sequences set in a control room as railroad technicians frantically attempt to utilize "fool proof" safety measures to stop the train, only to find they are uniformly failing. Meanwhile, Rankin is determined to take charge himself. Humiliated by the convicts' escape, he has a helicopter fly him over the train and lower him down so he can confront Manny and settle the score.
"Runaway Train" is a superior prison escape drama, though there are elements that are a bit over-the-top. When the prisoners initially escape, they are submerged in water and, despite the viewer being told earlier that the temperature outside is 30 below zero, they persevere, when, in reality, they would be dead within minutes. It is also distracting that Buck's hair remains carefully coiffed through all this and he looks like he just stepped out of Beverly Hills salon. Additionally, the mano a mano scenario of Rankin make a death-defying landing atop the train is an element that would be more appropriate for Rambo or James Bond film. Nevertheless, when the two antagonists do come face-to-face, the cliches vanish and lead to a poignant and memorable final scene that is refreshingly free of violence.
There's plenty of reasons to recommend the film, not the least of which are the incredible stunt work brilliantly filmed by cinematographer Alan Hume. The performances are all first-rate but the movie belongs to Jon Voight, who is terrific as the very flawed protagonist. The film received very positive reviews but bombed at the boxoffice perhaps because discriminating moviegoers might have been wary of the Cannon connection, whereas Cannon's prime audience might have considered it too lacking in schlock. Disappointingly, the movie's failure seemed to result in Voight losing future opportunities as an "above-the-title" leading man, though he has continued to work constantly in supporting roles in feature films and in television, always providing fine performances.
The Kino Lorber DVD provides a fine transfer but we hope the movie is slated for a much-deserved Blu-ray upgrade from the company. (UK-based Arrow Films did release a Region 2 Blu-ray edition and reader Matt Bowes advises that a limited edition U.S. Blu-ray from Twilight Time has sold out.). The DVD contains the original trailer and trailers for other similarly-themed KL releases.
RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVES
Paramount has issued a 10-DVD collection of Jerry Lewis films, all but one of which pertain to his solo career. ("The Stooge" co-stars Dean Martin). The set is packed with 90 minutes of bonus materials including trailers, commentaries by Lewis and rare archival films and materials. Here is the official press release:
Paramount Home Entertainment has issued a repackaged DVD set containing ten Jerry Lewis feature films. Here is the official press release:
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Relive some of the greatest
film moments from comedy legend and Hollywood icon Jerry Lewis with the
new JERRY LEWIS 10 FILM COLLECTION, arriving on DVD June 12, 2018 from
Paramount Home Media Distribution. Celebrated for his remarkable range of
characters, outlandish antics, and uninhibited physicality, Jerry Lewis’ work
continues to delight audiences around the world and inspire new generations of
comedians.
Featuring 10 of Lewis’ most beloved comedies, the JERRY
LEWIS 10 FILM COLLECTION is headlined by 1963’s enduring classic The
Nutty Professor, which celebrates its 55th anniversary this year.
Considered by many to be Lewis’ finest and most memorable film, The Nutty
Professor was included on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100
funniest American films of all time and was selected for preservation in the
U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2004.
The 10-DVD set includes the following:
The
Stooge (1951)—Features one of Lewis’ earliest pairings
with Dean Martin as a musical-comedy duo
The
Delicate Delinquent (1956)—A “teenage terror†is recruited
for the Police Academy
The
Bellboy (1960)—Lewis plays a friendly but clumsy bellboy in
this slapstick classic
Cinderfella (1960)—Lewis’
take on the classic Cinderella story
The
Errand Boy (1961)—Paramount enlists a bumbling Lewis to spy on
their productions in this hilarious film studio comedy
The
Ladies Man (1961)—A girl-shy man finds work in a women-only
hotel with uproarious results
The
Nutty Professor (1963)—A socially awkward professor
invents a serum that turns him into the handsome but obnoxious Buddy Love
The
Disorderly Orderly (1964)—Lewis wreaks havoc in a private
rest home
The
Patsy (1964)—Lewis directs and stars as a novice
recruited to replace a big-time comedian
The
Family Jewels (1965)—Lewis directs and plays seven
distinct roles in this family inheritance farce
The British Film Institute (BFI) deserves praise for continuing to invest in restorations of worthy, but largely forgotten, British films from bygone eras. Case in point: the 1953 crime drama "Cosh Boy" (absurdly re-titled "The Slasher" for American release in order to make it appear to be a "B" horror movie.) Incidentally, a "cosh" is old British slang for a blackjack used by thugs to strike victims over the head. The low-budget B&W production is typical of the film output in post-WWII Britain. Britain was on the winning side but after initial jubilation the reality of living in an almost bankrupt nation set in. Rationing was strict, much of the country was in ruins and crime and juvenile delinquency began to rise. "The Slasher", co-written and directed by Lewis Gilbert, touches on these problems by examining how the delinquency problem was exacerbated in part by the loss of so many fathers during the war. This left suddenly single mothers having to cope with raising families on their own and facing severe financial hardships. The screenplay centers on these challenges through a micro-view of how it affects one family and one neighborhood. Roy (James Kenny) is a bad apple. He looks like Leslie Howard but has the personality of James Cagney's "The Public Enemy". The 16 year-old is the ringleader of a local group of delinquents who prey on the elderly and commit petty crimes to keep their wallets full. Roy is ostensibly being raised by his widowed mother Elsie (Betty Ann Davies) and her live-in mother (Hermione Baddely) but it's really Roy who is running the show. He is cruel and dismissive to his mother and grandmother but can turn on the charm when he needs to because he senses that his mom is actually an enabler who wills herself to believe every ridiculous explanation he gives for his run-ins with the law.
Roy's best mate is Alfie (Ian Whittaker), a dim-witted, wimpy character who seems to have a good heart but who is nonetheless unable to resist following Roy's demands that he join him in committing crimes. Roy makes sure that, to the extent possible, his gang members assume disproportionate risks compared to himself. He is a true sociopath: ruthless, selfish but at able to appear to be likable and sympathetic when it suits his needs. When Roy sets eyes on Alfie's 16 year-old sister, Rene (Joan Collins), he has his gang beat and hospitalize her boyfriend, leaving him free to seduce her, an act that will come back to haunt him later. When Roy is arrested for a crime, the judge goes lenient on him and sentences him to probation and tells him he should frequent the neighborhood youth center to ensure he stays out of trouble. Roy follows the advice, but uses the center as a meeting place to plan future crimes with his fellow thugs. It is there that he is intrigued by the possibility to pull off a big score by planning to rob the boxoffice receipts from a local major wrestling event. (The script takes a decidedly conservative "spare the rod and spoil the child" viewpoint in terms of dispensing justice to juvenile offenders.)
The movie caused some controversy in the UK and is said to be the first film released with an "X" certificate. It certainly is bitingly realistic compared to many other films from the era. The main character has no redeeming qualities and there are frank depictions of vicious crimes and the consequences of unplanned pregnancies in an era in which that would make for devastating personal and social consequences. As director, Lewis Gilbert's work is quite admirable, with nary a wasted frame of film. The seeds of his future success as a major director are sown here and he derives an outstanding performance from James Kenny in the lead role. Kenny is quite remarkable, his disarming angelic looks alternating with his character's vicious and unpredictable tendencies. In viewing the film, I couldn't help but wonder why fortune didn't smile on his career in the way that it did for Richard Attenborough, who vaulted to stardom during the same era also playing a teenage thug in "Brighton Rock". Everyone else in the film is also impressive, with Betty Ann Davies and Hermione Beddedly especially good as the women who have the misfortune of trying to raise young Roy. Baddely's character is not the enabler her daughter is and is wise to Roy's true nature. Joan Collins is very effective as the vulnerable teenage girl who Roy uses and abuses. Robert Ayres appears late in the film as Elsie's new beau, which causes Roy to rebel even further, as he is understandably threatened by having a streetwise older man in the house who could exact some discipline on him.
"Cosh Boy" is a depressing film, to be sure, but a very worthy one. Kino Lorber has imported the BFI restoration for their Blu-ray release the transfer is literally stunning, making the stark B&W cinematography Jack Asher look very impressive indeed. The only extras are trailers of other KL releases (though not for the main feature) and an alternate title sequence from the American release of "The Slasher". (The film has no slashing at all other than a brief scene in which Roy threatens someone with a razor.) This is British "B" filmmaking at its best. Highly recommended.
The widescreen "roadshow" films of the 1950s were so profitable that studios kept grinding out prestigious productions in hopes of making the next "Ben-Hur" or "The Ten Commandments". However, the sad truth is that more of these mega-budget spectacles tended to lose money than fill the studio coffers with profits. Indeed, some films that might have made money if they were shot as standard budget productions ended up being elongated to fill the running time of a roadshow presentation. One such film was director John Sturges' "The Hallelujah Trail", a visually sweeping production released in the Ultra 70 Panavision process and marketed under the banner of a Cinerama movie. (By then, the traditional 3-panel, multi-projector presentation process had been simplified, making such films easier to shoot and screen to audiences.) The story was based on a comedic novel by William Gulick. In addition to the prestige Sturges brought to production, an impressive cast was signed up by United Artists with Burt Lancaster getting top billing. However, Lancaster was dragooned into doing the film as part of financial commitments he owed the studio stemming from losses incurred by his own production company. Consequently, he had to make multiple films for United Artists at the bargain rate of $150,000 per picture. Lancaster was said to be in a rather foul mood during production and the mood was only dampened by the death of a stuntman during a wagon chase, a tragedy that cast a pall over the production.
The story is set in 1867 when the boom town of Denver is going through a crisis. It seems the local miners are rapidly depleting the local supply of whiskey. If they can't get a new shipment, they will have to suffer through the approaching winter months in a dry town until deliveries can resume in the spring. It's decided to make a bold gesture by hiring whiskey magnate Frank Wallingham (Brian Keith) to form a wagon train to deliver the booze to Denver. However, this requires traveling through landscapes controlled by hostile Indians. Thus, Wallingham uses his political connections to ensure that a U.S. Cavalry detachment is sent to meet the wagon train and escort them to Denver. That job falls to Col. Thaddeus Gearhart (Lancaster), who is non too pleased about having his men act as personal bodyguards for a profit-making enterprise. Adding to his woes is the arrival of Cora Templeton Massingale (Lee Remick), a noted feminist and leader of an all-female temperance movement. Cora and her followers insist on accompanying the cavalry unit so they can attempt to dissuade Wallingham from delivering the whiskey. Gearhart is a widower who is trying to raise a sexually precocious teenager daughter, Louise (Pamela Tiffin), who is romantically involved with Capt. Paul Slater (Jim Hutton), a key member of her father's unit. The situation worsens when Louise becomes a convert to Cora's cause. The reed-thin plot line involves all sorts of chaos and slapstick that occurs when the cavalry, temperance protestors and attacking Indians all converge with the wagon train in a big shoot-out in the desert.
"The Hallelujah Trail" is a perfect example of a movie that would make for a suitably entertaining 90-minute comedy. In fact, Sturges did just that with the 1962 Rat Pack western "Sergeants 3". However, it is packed with padding in order to justify its length as a Cinerama production. Consequently, scenes and repetitive comedic situations drag on endlessly. (The filmmakers are were so desperate that a joke involving Cora surprising Gearhart in his bathtub is reversed when he surprises her in her bathtub.) By the time the intermission comes, the battle in the desert (in which thousands of shots are fired without anyone being injured) is the cinematic equivalent of a sleep aid.
"The Hallelujah Trail" isn't an awful film, just overblown. The actors perform gamely throughout and there is a marvelous supporting cast, among which Donald Pleasence shines as a phony oracle who reads fortunes in return for booze and Brian Keith is marvelous grumpy as the whiskey magnate. The usually reliable Martin Landau, however, is saddled with the role of a comically drunken Indian that is literally cringe-inducing to watch. There is a wonderful score and title theme by Elmer Bernstein and cinematographer Robert Surtees impressively captures the magnificent landscapes.
Ordinarily, Olive Films produces very admirable Blu-ray product but they missed the boat on this one. The most charitable description of the transfer is "disappointing", though the average viewer might find it acceptable. Those with more discriminating standards will find it awful. The aspect ratio is wrong and the quality is little better than the old DVD releases. If you're watching it on a large screen, it's even more painful, with washed-out colors and a soft focus look that is quite truly below Olive's generally high standards. The film is no classic so Olive probably went with the best available elements but if this was the case, they should have considered deferring the release of the movie on Blu-ray. Despite the interesting back story, there is no commentary track. In fact, there are no bonus extras except the overture, intermission and a trailer that is so unspeakably bad that one suspects it was transferred from VHS. We rarely say this, but let the buyer beware. Our advice: skip the Blu-ray and make due with the DVD until a more promising release comes along.