Mark
Mawston lands
a rare exclusive interview with A Hard Day's Night director Richard
Lester, who recalls the making of the iconic film on its 50th
anniversary- with insights from former United Artists production
head David V. Picker, who brought the film to the screen.
Denis
Meilke looks
at the legacy of the Steve Reeves Hercules films and the
spin off Italian sword and sandal flicks in "Blood, Sweat and
Togas".
Nicholas
Anez compares
the John Wayne/Howard Hawks classics Rio
Bravo and El Dorado in the concluding part of
his essay.
Matthew
Field provides
the moving and informative final interview with legendary
cinematographer Oswald Morris, who shot such diverse
films as Fiddler on the Roof, Oliver!, Death Wish and The
Guns of Navarone.
Lee
Pfeiffer on the
legacy of the late, great Eli Wallach.
Brian
Davidson pays
tribute to the short, tragic career of 1960s glamour girl Francoise
Dorleac.
Tim
Greaves celebrates
the guilty pleasures of Warlords of Atlantis
Gareth
Owen's tribute
to legendary Gerry Anderson and his work at Pinewood
Studios
Brian
Davidson revisits
the kinky, British cult thriller Fright starring Susan
George and Honor Blackman
Howard
Hughes concludes
The Oakmont Story with a look at their last production, Hell
Boats starring James Franciscus.
John
M. Whalen explores
the strange tale of One-Eyed Jacks starring and directed
by Marlon Brando
Sergio
Leone's A Fistful of Dollars- the 50th anniversary of the Clint
Eastwood classic
Raymond
Benson's
10 best films of 1989
Plus
the latest film book, soundtrack and DVD reviews
Sheldon
Hall's 13 page spectacular tribute to the 50th anniversary of Zulu starring
Stanley Baker and Michael Caine. Rare behind the scenes photos and
international movie posters.
Dave
Worrall takes on you on a locations "now and then" tour of
where Goldfinger starring Sean Connery was filmed at the
legendary Pinewood Studios.
Ray
Morton's exclusive interview with cinematographer Richard Kline, who
shot King Kong (1976), Death Wish, Star Trek: The Motion
Picture and Camelot.
Dean
Brierly looks at classic American crime movies including The
Killers (1974), The Driver, Point Blank, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo
Garcia and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.
Brian
Hannan tells the fascinating story of Elizabeth Taylor's
BUtterfield 8, the film she did not want to do but won an Oscar
for!
Tim
Greaves looks at the short but exotic career of Victoria
Vetri, star of Hammer Films' When Dinosaurs Ruled the
Earth- and provides some rare provocative photos!
Illustrated
tribute to movie comic book tie-ins from the 1960s and 1970s.
Howard
Hughes continues his history of Oakmont Productions with The
Thousand Plane Raid starring Christopher George.
Harvey
Chartrand tells the fascinating story behind Mary Rose, the
dream project that Alfred Hitchcock never filmed.
Trevor
Chapman remembers the glorious Gaumont Theatre, one of Britain's Cinerama
gems.
Gareth
Owen looks at Pinewood Studios in the 1970s and 1980s.
Raymond
Benson's top ten films of 1987
Plus
the latest film book, soundtrack and DVD reviews
Don L. Stradley
examines the dramatic life and career of Lolita star Sue
Lyon
John Exshaw's
unpublished interview with screen legend Peter Cushing
Adrian Smith
interviews Hugh Hudson, director of Revolution and Greystoke:
The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
Dean Brierly
looks at classic Japanese crime movies
Stephen C. Jilks
celebrates the Hammer horror flick Curse of the Werewolf
David Savage
examines Liz Taylor's little-seen, late career bizarro cult
movie The Driver's Seat
Howard Hughes
continues his history of Oakmont Productions with Submarine
X-1 starring James Caan
Paul Thomson
provides in-depth coverage of the Amicus Edgar Rice Burroughs film
adaptations The Land That Time Forgot, At the Earth's Core and The
People That Time Forgot and reviews the long-forgotten electric
rock Western Zachariah
Remember Ray
Harryhausen
Raymond Benson's
top ten films of 1986
Lee Pfeiffer's
Take Two column looks back on The Valachi Papersstarring Charles
Bronson
Burt
Reynolds underrated
dark comedy The End is re-evaluated by Tim Greaves
Gareth Owen's
Pinewood Past column features Reach for the Sky starring Kenneth
More
Plus the latest
film book, soundtrack and DVD reviews.
Sam
Peckinpah's Straw Dogs: Mike Siegel provides in-depth
coverage of the legendary director's controversial 1971 classic starring
Dustin Hoffman and Susan George. Includes extensive rarely seen behind the
scenes production photos and rare international ad campaigns.
Lee
Pfeiffer interviews comedy genius Mel Brooks, who
reflects on his long career in TV and feature films.
Howard
Hughes examines the 1969 spaghetti Western classic The Five Man
Army starring Peter Graves, Bud Spencer and Tetsuro Tamba
Dean
Brierly pays tribute to the great French crime films of the 1960s and
1970s
David
McCallum recalls
the making of Oakmont Studio's 1969 WWII film Mosquito Squadron
Cinema
Retro attends the 40th anniversary cast and crew reunion of Bob
Fosse's Cabaret and gets interviews with Joel Grey,
Michael York, Marisa Berenson and Robert Osborne of Turner
Classic Movies. Plus we cover the "re-premiere" at New York's
Ziegfeld Theatre, attended by Liza Minnelli herself.
Don
R. Stradley looks at Sextette, the bizarre cinematic swan
song of Mae West
Raymond
Benson's ten best films of 1985
Gareth
Owen examines the making of the 1969 spy flick The Chairman (aka The
Most Dangerous Man in the World) starring Gregory
Peck
Dave
Worrall covers the new restoration of the Hammer horror classic Dracula (aka Horror
of Dracula)
Remembering
the brilliant, cynical comedy of Paddy Chayefsky in The
Hospital starring George C. Scott and Diana
Rigg
Plus
the latest DVD, soundtrack and film book reviews
James
Bond at 50: Cinema Retro interviews Daniel Craig,
producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G.
Wilson and Skyfall director Sam Mendesabout the screen
legacy of Agent 007.
Dr. No cast
and crew reunion at Pinewood Studios, England: Gareth Owen reports
Matthew R.
Bradley covers the Blofelds of screen and literature in The Importance of
Being Ernst: Part 2
Major coverage
of Hammer Films events: convention report, Hammer horror film
locations then and now and coverage of the latest Blu-ray releases.
In-depth look at
the new restoration of David Lean's masterpiece Lawrence of
Arabia and exclusive interview with Sony's Grover Crisp, the man who
spearheaded the restoration process.
Best-selling
author Robert Sellers provides a fascinating look at the life and career
of the ultimate "bad boy" of British cinema, Oliver Reed.
Dean Brierly
looks at the best Italian crime movies of the 60s and 70s.
Tribute to the
creator of master of British film posters, artist Tom Chantrell.
Michael Davey
interviews British sex symbol Liz Fraser
Sands of the
Kalahari starring Stuart Whitman and Susannah
York: Lee Pfeiffer revisits an underrated classic adventure
Nicholas
Anez pays tribute to Burt Lancaster's controversial The
Swimmer
The"B"
British war film Attack on the Iron Coast starring Lloyd
Bridges- part one of Howard Hughes' history of Oakmont Studios
Raymond Benson's
top ten films of 1984
Plus the latest
DVD, soundtrack and film book reviews
Our "Girl Power" issue
celebrates female screen heroes of the 1960s and 1970s!
Dawn Dabell examines the phenomenon unleashed by Emmanuelle, a
breakthrough in eroticism from a female perspective. Diane A. Rodgers looks back on two female secret agent heroines of the
1960s: Monica Vitti as Modesty Blaise and Raquel Welch as Fathom. Lee Pfeiffer's exclusive interview with Stefanie Powers about her
title role as The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. Mike Siegel provides a rare, exclusive interview with Marianne Koch, who
recalls filming Leone's A Fistful of Dollars
Glamour model Pamela Green recalls her role in the notorious Peeping
Tom Hayley Mills is the target of gigolos Oliver Reed and Noel
Harrison in Take a Girl Like You Olivia de Havilland is terrorized by thugs led by James Caan in
the chilling Lady in a Cage Gareth Owen celebrates the career of pioneer female producer Betty
Box Dolores Hart, Pamela Tiffin and Lois Nettleton are
"stewardesses" seeking love on land and in the skies in Come Fly
with Me.
Tribute to the 50th anniversary of the James Bond classic "On
Her Majesty's Secret Service" starring George Lazenby:
a five-page photo feature packed with rare images, some never published before.
"Mackenna's Gold"- a look back fifty years on at
the much-hyped big budget fiasco that has a fascinating back story behind it.
This major article by Dave Worrall and Lee Pfeiffer is the
most comprehensive ever written about the troubled production that starred Gregory
Peck, Omar Sharif,Telly Savalas and an all star
cast.
Cai Ross provides an exclusive interview with director Peter
Medak, who recalls the little-seen Peter Sellers
pirate comedy "Ghost in the Noonday Sun" and relates
the maddening experience of working with the volatile comedy genius.
Dawn Dabell covers the 1966 British coming-of-age comedy "The
Family Way", which allowed Hayley Mills her
first adult role in a scathing comedy about coming of age during the sexual
revolution.
Brian Davdison looks back on the controversial "Assault",
which is regarded as Britain's only true giallo.
Nick Anez analyzes director Robert Aldrich's
bizarre-but-gripping Depression era crime drama "The Grissom
Gang".
Gareth Owen examines the clues in the making of "Sleuth"
starring Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine
at Pinewood Studios
Brian Davidson pays tribute to actress Virginia
Maskell, whose career and life were tragically short, but very
impressive.
John V. Watson takes a nightmarish journey back to 1971 to
examine the release of numerous high profile films that were extremely violent.
Among them: "A Clockwork Orange", "Get Carter",
"Villain", "Dirty Harry", "Straw Dogs" and
"The Devils".
Plus Raymond Benson's "Cinema 101" column, Darren
Allison's news about the latest soundtrack releases and our extensive
reviews of new Blu-ray and DVD releases.
THIS ISSUE SHIPS FROM OUR UK OFFICE, AS IT IS SOLD OUT IN THE U.S.
ISSUE #36 (SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016) OF CINEMA RETRO MAGAZINE:
Highlights of this issue include:
*Dave Worrall and Lee Pfeiffer celebrate the 50th
anniversary of "The Professionals" starring Burt
Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Claudia Cardinale, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode and Jack
Palance.
*Mark Mawston with a rare exclusive interview with 70's sex
siren Linda Hayden
*Cai Ross takes a bite at covering the underrated 1979
version of "Dracula" starring Frank Langella and Laurence
Olivier
*John LeMay uncovers the top secret story of the unfilmed
"Romance of the Pink Panther" that was to have starred Peter
Sellers.
*Peter Cook continues his celebration of matte painting
artists
*Tim Greaves uncovers the fascinating career of British
"Sex Queen" Mary Millington
*Mark Mawston concludes his interviews with legendary stills
photographer Keith Hamshere, who recalls shooting "Indiana Jones
and the Temple of Doom" and the James Bond films
*Lee Pfeiffer's personal tribute to the late Euan Lloyd,
producer of such films as "The Wild Geese" and "Shalako"
*Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau burn up
the Old West in "Viva Maria!"
ISSUE #34 (JANUARY 2016) OF CINEMA RETRO MAGAZINE:
HIGHLIGHTS OF ISSUE
#34 INCLUDE:
Steven Jay Rubin presents part 2 of the remarkable
story about the making of The Bridge at Remagen and gets
insights from stars Robert Vaughn, George Segal & Bradford
Dillman .
Legendary stills photographer Keith Hamshere shares
insights from his remarkable career and provides rare images from the
filming of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey
Bestselling author Robert Sellers presents the in-depth
story behind the making of The Three Musketeers and The
Four Musketeers with exclusive archival comments from producer Ilya
Salkind and cast members including Michael
York and Sir Christopher Lee.
James Bond mania! Matthew
Field returns to Piz Gloria, the Swiss mountaintop location of "On
Her Majesty's Secret Service" for a celebration of the film
with star George Lazenby; Gareth Owen recalls the 007
40th anniversary production kick-off of "Die Another
Day" at Pinewood Studios and Cinema Retro attends the London
royal premiere of "Spectre".
Dawn Dabell examines three WWII films that featured
women in the starring roles.
Tom Lisanti interviews Dean Martin's Matt
Helm Slaygirl Jan Watson
Tim Greaves celebrates the Amicus horror classic Dr.
Terror's House of Horrors starring Peter Cushing,
Christopher Lee and Donald Sutherland.
Brian Davidson's tribute to the guilty pleasure British
sexploitation film Au Pair Girls
Howard Hughes covers the Blu-ray release of the obscure
spaghetti Western "Cemetary Without Crosses"
Plus Raymond Benson's top ten films of 1953, Darren
Allison's soundtrack reviews and the latest movie book and DVD/Blu-ray
releases
"The Sand Pebbles"- James Sherlock explores the trials and
tribulations behind the filming of Robert Wise's epic film which gained
Steve McQueen his only Oscar nomination.
"Dr. Syn: Alias the Scarecrow"- Dave Worrall's in-depth
history of the character in film and literature, concentrating on the
evolution of the Walt Disney three-part TV episodes starring Patrick
McGoohan which would later emerge as a feature film.
"Tarzan's Greatest Adventure"- Nick Anez argues it's the best
Tarzan film ever and his analysis might convince you to agree with him.
Gordon Scott starred as the King of the Jungle and the gang of villains
included young Sean Connery.
"The Pink Panther"- John LeMay presents the fascinating history behind the first film to showcase Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau.
"The Golden Lady"- Tim Greaves shines the spotlight on the
little-seen and little-remembered spy flick that featured a female James
Bond-type character- with Desmond Llewelyn in the supporting cast!
"The Bad News Bears"- Robert Leese celebrates the hit comedy with the unlikely teaming of Walter Matthau and Tatum O'Neal
"The Crimson Kimono"- Lee Pfeiffer covers director Sam Fuller's controversial and underrated crime thriller that was packed with racial conflicts.
Plus regular columns by Raymond Benson, Gareth Owen, Darren Allison and Brian Hannan.
It's hard to believe that a half-century has gone by since the opening of director Gordon Parks' "Shaft" starring newcomer Richard Roundtree. The film's impact on the industry, pop culture and society was felt immediately and ushered in the era of the so-called Blaxploitation movies. Writing on the Digital Bits web site, Michael Coate provides a 4-page tribute to the film that contains some fascinating information and culminates on page 4 with a round table format discussion of the film's legacy with Cinema Retro's Lee Pfeiffer, author Josiah Howard and Chris Utley, who provides the viewpoint of a "Shaft" superfan. Click here to read.
My
seventh grade English teacher was an interesting character. From 1981 to 1982 he
encouraged us to write our own stories and introduced us to collections of macabre
short stories in paperback format (he even read us a story that he wrote
himself, about a man who cooks and eats his wife!) The names Richard Matheson,
George Clayton Johnson, Charles Beaumont and the like became household names to
me, just a few years before I dove head first into Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone as these masters of
storytelling frequently adapted these stories from Alfred Hitchcock paperback collections
into episodes of that extraordinary series. They were classy, spooky, and
bereft of violence and gore and sent a chill down one’s spine.
If
you mention the character names of Julie, Millicent, Therese, and Amelia to
die-hard horror film fans over the age of forty, they will no doubt recognize
them as the characters portrayed by the late actress Karen Black in what is
unquestionably one of her most famous horror outings, Dan Curtis’s made-for-TV
movie Trilogy of Terror. Originally
aired on the ABC Movie of the Week on Tuesday, March 4, 1975, the film was
presented with the warning, “Due to mature subject matter, parental discretion
advised.â€
Just
as the title tells us, there are three stories, or segments. The first is
“Julie,†adapted by author William F. Nolan from the short story “The Likeness
of Julie†by the late-great author Richard Matheson which first appeared in the
Ballantine Books collection Alone by
Night: Tales of Unlimited Horror in 1962. A college student, Chad Foster (Robert
Burton, Karen Black’s then-husband whose casting in the film compelled Ms.
Black to sign on to the three-segment project) cannot help but notice his English
teacher’s thigh, and wonders what she must look like under the minimal war
paint and her plain-Jane clothes. He watches her through a window as she undresses
and then gets the idea to ask her out on a date but Julie initially refuses,
then later accepts. They go to a drive-in movie and Chad spikes Julie’s drink
which puts her to sleep. Chad drives her to a motel and photographs her in
various sexually suggestive positions. He develops the photos in a darkroom and
shows her the photos. Julie is furious, and the story ends with a strange
twist. “Julie†is elliptical in a way, the structure calling to mind John
Fowles’s The Collector (1963). Actor
Gregory Harrison has a small cameo in this segment.
The
second story, “Millicent and Thereseâ€, adapted also by Mr. Nolan from Mr.
Matheson’s story “Needle in the Heart†which was originally published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine in October
1969, is arguably the weakest of the three. Millicent is a sexually repressed
woman with dark hair who fights with her twin sister Therese who is sexually
free and blonde. Millicent truly believes that Therese is evil and creates a
voodoo doll with the desire to kill her. Dr. Ramsey (George Gaines of Punky Brewster), Millicent’s
psychiatrist, does his best to help her, although the ending can be sensed from
a mile away. In lieu of “Millicent and Thereseâ€, I would have liked to
have seen a version of Mr. Matheson’s “The Children of Noah†appear in this
collection, a short story that I read in that classroom in 1982. It left quite
an impression on me.
The
third and final segment is called “Amelia†and is based upon Mr. Matheson’s
short story “Preyâ€, originally published in the April 1969 issue of Playboy
Magazine. Mr. Matheson wrote the teleplay adaptation of his own source material
and it is this segment that has given Trilogy
of Terror its notoriety as being one of the scariest TV-movies of all-time.
Ms. Black plays the titular woman, Amelia, who has finally gotten away from her
physically overbearing mother. After spending a few hours shopping, Amelia
returns to her new apartment with a package containing a horrifically scary
wooden doll of an aboriginal warrior that possesses sharp teeth, a spear and a gold
chain that, according to the paper that accompanies it, must remain intact on
the doll in order to prevent it from coming to life. It is just the sort of
thing that any single woman would want to bring into their home.
Amelia’s
mother still holds a sway over her and a one-sided telephone conversation
reveals that despite moving out, Amelia still feels guilty about her renewed
independence. Unfortunately, the chain on the Zuni hunter doll falls off, and
Amelia becomes embroiled in a life and death struggle against the crazed
spirit. Director Curtis employs many effective cinematic devices that make this
episode truly frightening, including low-to-the-ground P.O.V. shots of the doll
chasing Amelia, screaming and brandishing its spear. The creepy ending and
terrifying final shot make this segment the hands-down winner in a rather
uneven overall film. Try to imagine seeing this segment in 1975. The violence
and bloodletting alone was unprecedented for its time. The nightmares that this
segment must have induced in children no doubt still linger to this day.
Mr.
Matheson, who is most famous for his short story “Duel†which appeared in the
April 1971 issue of Playboy Magazine and inspired the television movie of the
same name, directed by Steven Spielberg, collaborated again with Mr. Curtis in
1976 on Dead of Night (1977), another
creepy TV-movie that consists of three segments.
Robert
Cobert brings his own special brand of musical spookiness to the film. He and
Mr. Curtis certainly made quite a team! Perhaps not on the order of Hitchcock
and Herrmann, but very close.
I'll admit I'm a soft touch for any spy movie of the 1960s, from the outright classics such as "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" to the endless Eurotrash James Bond rip-offs that flooded theaters like a tidal wave during this era. One of the more prominent spy flicks of the Sixties that evaded me until recently was "Hammerhead", in which the hero is Charles Hood, an American adventurer and playboy who is occasionally employed by Western intelligence services on a freelance basis. The film is based on a character in a series of novels by Stephen Coulter, who used the nom de plume James Mayo.The film was produced by Irving Allen, who blew the opportunity to make the James Bond movies with Cubby Broccoli in the 1950s. Broccoli instead teamed with Harry Saltzman and launched the most successful franchise the film industry had ever seen. Allen got some compensation by bringing Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm novels to the screen with considerable success. For "Hammerhead", Allen provided an adequate budget to allow for some lush production values and exotic scenery in Portugal.
Vince Edwards is well-cast as Hood and when we first meet him, he's been engaged by British Intelligence to thwart the theft of important NATO secrets that are due to be unveiled by a diplomat at a forthcoming conference in Portugal. The film opens in London with Hood attending a wild, "mod" hippie stage presentation that devolves into chaos. As he slips away, he meets cute with Sue Trenton (Judy Geeson), a dippy young hippie girl who jumps into his car. Before long, she's back at his bachelor pad but Hood doesn't have the time to engage her romantically, despite the fact that she obliges herself by taking a shower and slinking about in a wet towel. Hood receives orders to meet with the titular culprit, Mr. Hammerhead (Peter Vaughan), a tycoon whose hobby is to collect valuable examples of ancient artwork and sculptures depicting pornography. The business deal is designed to get Hood aboard Hammerhead's yacht, which the villain arrives at through his customary method of being lowered from his private helicopter in what appears to be an elaborate phone booth-like contraption. (Like most spy villains, he knows how to make an entrance.) Hood is shocked to find Sue is on board as well. What is she doing there? The plot never clarifies whether she is in league with Hammerhead or is also an agent trying to undermine him- or if she really is just a perky young woman with bad timing. It's just one confusing aspect of a fairly confusing story line that director David Miller manages to overcome by keeping the action flowing briskly and in an entertaining manner via punch-ups, hippie parties and chases on motorcycle and speedboat.
Vince Edwards makes for a dapper hero but although he cuts a dashing figure, he's a notch below Bond in that he occasionally loses a fight and lacks the rapier wit of 007, though he's not without the occasional wisecrack. It must be said that he's excellent in the action scenes, often performing many of his own stunts. Judy Geeson's character is easy on the eyes but quickly wears out her welcome through incessant giggling. She's a mod version of "Laugh-In" era Goldie Hawn and every bit as annoying.She is overshadowed by Beverly Adams (who appeared in two of the Matt Helm films) as Hammerhead's henchwoman. She's the epitome of a Sixties spy girl: promiscuous, sexy and adverse to wearing any extraneous items of clothing. In a scene that would make a modern feminist develop agita, her character demonstrates a prolonged exotic dance that is completely superfluous to the plot but which allows the camera to pan over every inch of her body. (In fact, the cinematographers spend so much time zooming in on bouncing breasts and shaking bottoms that it's surprising there isn't traces of drool on the lens.) Peter Vaughan is properly dour and pompous as Hammerhead, but aside from committing some ruthless acts against his own employees, the role is largely underwritten and the character never makes much of an impression. It should be said that the manner in which he meets his demise is possibly the most absurd death seen in a spy movie of this era, at least until Yaphet Kotto's Dr. Kananga turned into a human balloon and exploded in "Live and Let Die". Diana Dors, having become the British Shelley Winters, is another female accomplice of Hammerhead and one of the villain's thugs is played by future Darth Vader, David Prowse. Michael Bates has a good role as a master of disguise who is vital to pulling off the theft of NATO documents. There are also snippets of a title song, "Hammerhead", that will make you grateful the entire song was not used over the opening credits.
"Hammerhead" is akin to the Matt Helm movies in that it doesn't strive to be anything other than a fun time-killer. In that regard, it succeeds admirably.
"Hammerhead" has finally been released on video in America. Mill Creek Entertainment has included it with five other Cold War films
in a collection that features "Man on a String", "Otley", "The Deadly Affair",
"The Executioner" and "A Dandy in Aspic". The DVD transfer is excellent
but unfortunately there are no bonus features.
Michael Curtiz’s Doctor
X is a more technically extravagant version of the original stage
production of playwrights Howard Warren Comstock and Allen C. Miller.The play was first tested at the Fox Theater
in Great Neck, Long Island, for a single night’s performance on January 10,
1931.It was immediately followed by a
brief run at Brandt’s Carlton Theatre in Jamaica, Queens, where newspaper adverts
suggested theatergoers “Bring Your Shock Absorber†along.The production then moved to Brandt’s Boulevard
Theatre in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, for several performances, only to
be followed by a week-long preview and fine-tuning at Brandt’s Flatbush Theater
in Brooklyn beginning January 26.
The three-act “mystery melodrama†would finally make its Broadway
debut at the Hudson Theater, off W. 44th Street, on February 9,
1931.The stage play featured actor Howard
Lang in the role of the sinister Dr. Xavier, but the mystery wouldn’t enjoy a
terribly long run on the Great White Way.The Hudson would eventually shutter the doors on the production in
mid-April 1931.
It’s no coincidence that four Brandt-owned theatres were successively
engaged to showcase the early previews of Doctor
X.The play had been intentionally co-produced
for the stage by the theatre owners William and Harry Brandt.Billboard
would note in December of 1930 that the two brothers had chosen to enter the
field of theatrical production as a potential remedy to offset the “slack
business conditions on the subway circuit.â€
The early reviews of the Brandt’s showcase were mainly
positive, especially when considering the decidedly grim fare offered.The critic from Brooklyn’s Times-Union thought Doctor X a “swell show.†The paper reported that the gruesome
goings-on of Jackson Height’s preview had not only caused a woman in the
balcony to scream in fright but that other patrons nervously called “for the
lights to be turned on†midway through the program.Whether such outbursts of fright were genuine
or simply publicity ballyhoo stunts may never be known.But likely more of the latter than the
former.
Not everyone was impressed. Brooklyn’s Standard-Union newspaper took a
contrarian view of the stage show’s ability to curdle the blood of attendees.In the paper’s review of February 10, 1931,
their critic would grieve that Doctor X
was a mostly undistinguished effort, “Freighted with all the dismal baggage of
those lamentable pastimes known as mystery thrillers.â€â€œEven though the authors, no pikers, have
arranged almost an endless procession of synthetic horrors,†the review
mercilessly continued, “spectators are no longer hoodwinked by such drowsy
tidbits.No longer can an actor with an
anaemic makeup or panels that slide open terrify theatergoers into submission.â€
Nonetheless, and though the play opened to mixed reviews,
some of the New York dailies were impressed.There were enough good notices to allow the Brandt’s to run
advertisements suggesting Doctor X as
“New York’s Only Mystery Hit: Electrifies Press and Public Alike!†The critic of the New York Herald Tribune thought it a grand affair, trumpeting, “’Doctor X’ holds the best claim for some
time to the grand heritage of such creepy works as ‘The Bat,’ ‘The Cat and the
Canary’ and ‘The Spider.’â€These
references to past and successful mystery-melodramas of the stage were not only
interesting but prescient: all three of these theatrical properties were
subsequently licensed by Hollywood studios to be brought to neighborhood movie
screens. Such transitioning of
properties from Broadway to Hollywood was, as referenced by the above review,
not unusual.
Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood’s The Bat had made its Broadway debut at
the Morosco Theatre on August 22, 1921.That play would be belatedly adapted for the screen as a vehicle for
Vincent Price in 1959.John Willard’s The Cat and the Canary would debut on
the boards of the Majestic Theatre on June 14, 1937, and enjoy no fewer than three
film treatments: there was Paul Leni’s celebrated silent film version of 1927,
a popular Bob Hope mystery-comedy of 1939, and a late-arriving 1978 British
production featuring Honor Blackman, Michael Callan and Edward Fox.Fulton Oursler and Lowell Brentano’s The Spider would make two appearances on
Broadway with an initial staging at Chanin’s 46th Street Theater in
March of 1927 and, again, at the Century Theater in February of 1928.That play would be brought to the big screen
twice, first in 1931 as a straightforward murder mystery, then reconfigured in
1945 as a film noir-style mystery picture.
Interestingly, Lionel Atwill was working on a different
Broadway stage at the same time Doctor X
was concurrently running at the Hudson.Atwill was working one block north at Broadway’s Morosco Theatre, the
featured player in Lee Shubert’s production of The Silent Witness (opening date 3/23/31).The
Silent Witness too was quickly picked up by Fox and following that show’s
Broadway run, Atwill traveled out to Hollywood to star in the play’s film
version, co-directed by Marcel Varnel and R.L. Hough.Though there were reports that Lionel Atwill
was to return to the New York stage directly following that film’s wrap, in early
March 1932 newssheets reported that Warner Bros. had asked him to remain in
Hollywood for a spell.He had been
offered the title role in their recently optioned property Doctor X.
There’s a lot to like about this film.With the release of Doctor X, Warner Bros. was most likely hoping to siphon off some of
the public interest and box office that Universal was enjoying with such
macabre fare as Dracula and Frankenstein.Though the studio fell short of producing an
iconic film, they nevertheless produced a pretty decent B-picture that offered
a modicum of thrills and chills.One of
the true highlight’s of the film version of Doctor
X, is the art deco “mad scientist†laboratory sets of designer Anton
Grot.The sets were so elaborate and
grand that the New York Herald Tribune
would run a fifteen paragraph long - and impressively detailed - tribute on
Grot and his designs.That article, “Built-in Menace Hangs Over All in Anton
Grot’s House of Doomâ€), includes an unusual for the period in-depth
interview with the designer.The article
also notes that no fewer than “192 sketches and blueprints†of imaginative and
elaborate design had been drafted in preparation for shooting.
Alastair
Sim was a national treasure in Great Britain, a comic actor who never failed to
make one smile or outright guffaw. His Scrooge (1951, aka A Christmas
Carol) proved that he could also take a serious turn as well. This reviewer
likens him to an early sort of John Cleese—an irreverent player who could do
irony, surrealism, farce, wicked delight, and pure outrageousness within the
confines of a somewhat realistic human being of a character.
As
the star of The Green Man (1956), Sim plays an assassin named Harry
Hawkins. Yes, that’s right, Alastair Sim is a mad bomber who takes it
upon himself to get rid of the pompous blowhards in Britain, whether they be
boring politicians or unctuous professors. He even has a Peter Lorre-like
assistant, McKechnie (John Chandos), who is willing to obey Harry, even when it
comes to the murder of the innocent.
Add
the very funny George Cole into the mix to confound Harry’s latest plot to blow
up Sir Gregory Upshott (Raymond Huntley), and you have the makings of a classic.
Harry
has romanced Upshott’s spinster secretary, Marigold (Avril Angers), so that he
can learn the politician’s movements, but Marigold gets wise to Harry. When she
arrives at Harry’s home, McKechnie has switched the name of the house with the
empty one next door, and that’s where Marigold meets her end.
But
wait! Ann Vincent (Jill Adams) and her husband, Reginald Willoughby-Cruft
(Colin Gordon) are about to move into the murder house. Determined vacuum
salesman William Blake (Cole) also mistakes the house for the address of his
appointment with Harry’s housekeeper next door. Thus, William and Ann discover
the murder and take it upon themselves to stop Harry’s scheme. Did we mention
that the uproarious Terry-Thomas (as “Charles Boughtflowerâ€) also appears to further
stir the proceedings?
Of
course, it’s much more crazily complicated than that, with numerous mistaken
identities and locations, characters being in the wrong place at the wrong
time, and plans going awry. It’s all hilariously funny. In short, The Green
Man is British farce at its finest.
The
movie is superbly written by the brilliant team of Frank Launder and Sidney
Gilliat (The Lady Vanishes, The Belles of St. Trinian’s). A
formidable outfit by this time in British cinema, they also produced the
picture. It is directed by cameraman Robert Day in his debut (word on the
street is that Basil Dearden had an uncredited hand in it).
Kino
Lorber’s new Blu-ray presentation looks marvelous in a 4K restoration from the
original camera negative. It comes with an audio commentary by film historian
David Del Valle, and it also sports the theatrical trailer for this and other
Kino Lorber releases.
Highly
recommended, The Green Man will color a grin upon your face and keep it
there.
This sketch from "Saturday Night Live" aired in 1976 and is probably the very first spoof of "Star Trek" ever to be broadcast on a major T.V. program. At this point, "Star Trek" had already been off the air for seven years. However, the spoof indicates the kind of grassroots enthusiasm that still existed for the show. Ironically, Paramount was slow to embrace the fan movement or to back bringing the series back in any format. Ultimately, "Trek" would be revived with the 1979 big budget feature film "Star Trek- The Motion Picture". The rest, as they say, is history...
The 1970s saw a tidal wave of gritty crime films unleashed on the
movie-going public. There were classics such as the first two
"Godfather" movies and "The French Connection", but there were also an
abundance of worthy but rather unheralded mid-range productions that
have proven to stand the test of time. Case in point: "Sitting Target" (released in some countries under the title "Screaming Target"), a
1972 British crime thriller that most readers have probably not seen or
are even aware of but has been saved from oblivion by the Warner
Archive's DVD release. The movie was directed by an equally unheralded
filmmaker, Douglas Hickox, who passed away in 1988 at the age of only
59. If Hickox never created any classics in the course of his career, he
did direct some good, very diverse films including
"Entertaining Mr. Sloane", "Theatre of Blood", "Sky Riders", "Brannigan"
and the sadly under-seen and underrated prequel "Zulu Dawn". In
"Sitting Target", Hickox benefits from a tightly-woven, fast-moving
screenplay by Alexander Jacobs, based on a novel by Laurence Henderson.
He also benefits from a fine cast that delivers impressive performances.
The film opens in a dank, fortress-like prison on the outskirts of
London (actually shot in real prisons in Ireland.) We meet Harry Lomart
(Oliver Reed), who has already spent a number of years in prison and is
looking at a sentence of serving fifteen more because of a high stakes
robbery he and his gang carried out that netted them 200 grand. The
money was never recovered and Harry and his best mate and right hand man
Birdy Williams (Ian McShane) intend to collect the dough once they are
out of jail. Harry spends his time exercising and bulking up to make himself even more intimidating. As it is, he's a violent bloke with a short fuse and a penchant for engaging in brawling (we can't refrain from pointing out that these were the same personality traits that characterized Reed himself.) Plans to escape are put into high gear after Harry's vivacious wife Pat (Jill St. John) pays him a visit and delicately informs him she can no longer put her life on hold waiting for him to be released. She tells him she has a new lover and provides the coup de grace by telling him she is pregnant with the man's child. Harry goes ballistic and swears to escape as quickly as possible for the express purpose of killing her. Using his gangland connections in London, he manages to arrange a daring an elaborate escape plan for he and Birdy as well as another convict, MacNeil (Freddie Jones). Douglas Hickox milks a good deal of suspense out of the escape sequence and when the gang gets out, they are whisked away by a waiting van driven by their henchmen. MacNeil goes his own way while Harry and Birdy get down to business. They are quite a team. Although Birdy is equally murderous, he has disarming charisma, is more intelligent than Harry and far less impulsive. The two acquire a Mauser pistol that converts into a sniper's rifle from an ill-fated gun dealer (Robert Beatty) who crosses them. Harry's plan is to shoot Pat dead from afar by using a distraction to lure her out on the balcony of her high rise apartment on a public housing estate. They also plan to recover the loot which was hidden by a gang member, Marty (Frank Finlay), who they intend to murder if he doesn't cooperate.
The film is consistently fast-moving and engrossing with a top-notch cast in fine form. Reed makes a formidable, terrifying villain and McShane is terrific as his cheery but ruthless partner. Even Jill St. John manages to acquit herself well in a rare dramatic performance, coming off her performance as a Lucille Ball clone in "Diamonds are Forever" (assuming one can overlook her faux British accent that comes and goes). Edward Woodward appears as a police officer assigned to be bodyguard to Pat and there is a well-choreographed knock down fight between him and Oliver Reed.
There's a good deal of violence, so much so that the movie has the distinction of being the first film awarded an "X" rating in Britain for the reason of on-screen brutality. Director Hickox, working with a limited budget, manages to provide an impressive climactic car chase, marred only by some poor rear-screen projection shots of the principals.
"Sitting Target" is by no means a crime movie classic, but it deserved a far better fate. It's gritty and highly entertaining throughout.
The Warner Archive DVD is adequate, but some of the colors are washed out. It certainly merits a Blu-ray upgrade. The only bonus feature is an American TV spot.
Enjoy watching the very first episode of "The Saint" from 1962, the series that would bring Roger Moore to international stardom as adventurer Simon Templar, presented courtesy of Shout! Factory.
The Warner Archive has released director Lewis Gilbert's excellent WWII espionage thriller Operation Daybreak.The 1975 film is largely unknown despite the fact that it's one of Gilbert's most ambitious and artistically successful movies. The story is based on fact. Allied Intelligence convinced three Czechs serving in the British army to parachute into their occupied homeland to assassinate Reinhold Heydrich, one of Hitler's most trusted commanders and the man he cynically appointed "protector" of the conquered nations of Europe. Heydrich was considered even more brutal than Hitler and the Allies feared the worst if a scenario came about in which he would have been appointed fuerhrer. As Reinhold was heavily guarded at all times, the commandos were left to their own devices to concoct the assassination plan. After an initial attempt went awry, they opted to boldly approach his car in the middle of the street and spray it with machine gun fire. It will not spoil the film to relate the historical fact that the plan ultimately succeeded, but Operation Daybreak is as much about the aftermath of the incident as it is about the mission itself.
Incredibly, the principal assassins and their network of partisans survived, at least initially. However, on the verge of rescue, elements of betrayal and carelessness led to tragedy. In reprisal for the assassinatin, Hitler ordered that the entire village of Lidice be razed to the ground and every citizen murdered or sent to concentration camps. Gilbert shot the film on location in (then) communist Czechoslovakia. The locales add immeasurably to the sense of authenticity. The film also boasts a sizable budget and there are impressive sequences featuring large numbers of German soldiers parading in the streets - a sight that must have been chilling for residences who lived through the actual occupation. Ronald Harwood's screenplay, based on the novel Seven Men at Daybreak by Alan Burgess, is consistently gripping- and the final battle between the conspirators and a large force of German troops takes place inside a magnificent church. Gilbert ensures this sequence is superbly staged on every level.
If there is a weak link in the film it is the casting of Timothy Bottoms in the lead role. Bottoms is competent enough, but makes for a bland and colorless hero. He is out-shown by fellow cast members Anthony Andrews, Martin Shaw, Joss Ackland and Anton Diffring, who makes a coldly majestic Heydrich. Curiously, the film contains many extended sequences involving Heydrich in which German is spoken without the benefit of sub-titles. Whether this was the case in the original film, I can't say, but it does make for some irritation on the DVD version. Also, the Czech characters all speak English, but as they are portrayed by American and British actors without any attempt to form a common accent, it gives the film's dialogue a Tower of Babel effect. Nevertheless, Operation Daybreak is a memorable movie about real-life heroes that deserves to be seen by a wider audience. Hopefully, the Warner Archive release will achieve just that.
(The late Lewis Gilbert discussed Operation Daybreak and his other war movies in an exclusive interview with Matthew Field in issue #18 of Cinema Retro)
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Loren did receive equal line billing with Charlton Heston in print ads for El Cid (as indicated by this trade magazine advertisement for the film's reissue). However, she was appalled to find that the billing arrangement on a Times Square billboard had relegated her name to an area below Heston's.
By Brian Hannan
A row broke out in 2018 in Italy over promoters choosing to give Brad Pitt top billing for 12
Years A Slave, the Oscar-winning film that depicts the plight of an African-American man played
by Chiwetel Ejiofor. That reminded me of a lawsuit brought by Sophia Loren over
El Cid in January 1962.Although
contractually guaranteed equal billing with Charlton Heston, her name had been
featured below his on an electric billboard in Times Square in New York
promoting the Samuel Bronston roadshow presentation at the Warner Theatre. Her name
on the billboard was in equal size to Heston’s but she demanded it should be on
the same line. She sought a temporary injunction in the New York Supreme Court
to stop the sign being used and, in a drastic turn of events, then demanded her
name be removed entirely from all promotion to do with the film. She claimed
the action had damaged her prestige and reputation. The New York court
disagreed. Aggrieved at being denied the temporary injunction, she was set to
continue her lawsuit and there was a stalemate for several days in February until
common sense prevailed. Loren was no stranger to rows over billing and later
had a titanic tussle with Marlon Brando over who got top billing on The Countess
From Hong Kong. She lost that one, too.
Click here to read the original formal complaint filed by Sophia Loren's attorneys.
Stanley Kubrick's shocking film version of "A Clockwork Orange" was one of the most acclaimed films of the 1970s, impressing seemingly everyone except Anthony Burgess, author of the novel on which it was based.
What do J.D. Salinger, Anthony Burgess, Stephen King, Gore Vidal and Truman Capote have in common aside from the fact that they wrote bestelling novels? They were among the many famous writers who disdained certain film versions of their work. Writing on the Indiewire website, Ryan Lattanzio cites 17 specific movies that offended the authors of the source novels on which they were based. Some of these anecdotes are well known, such as Stephen King's disdain for Stanley Kubrick's version of "The Shining"...but some of the others may surprise you. Click here to read.
The Warner Archive has released a Blu-ray edition of director John Sturges' "Escape from Fort Bravo", a 1953 Western that serves that combines several different aspects of the action/adventure film genre: traditional cowboy elements, Mescalero Apaches on the warpath and key elements pertaining to the Civil War. This "everything but the kitchen sink" approach makes the film the equivalent of celluloid jambalaya but it somehow works. The movie was originally set to be a 3-D production but MGM ultimately settled on making it an early venture in widescreen presentation format, filmed in a color process known as Ansco. It was heavily promoted and became a major boxoffice hit.
The story is set in Arizona when the area was a territory in the days before statehood. Fort Bravo is a remote desert outpost that protects a small town in the midst of hostile Indian country. The fort's commander, Colonel Owens, (Carl Benton Reid) is sitting on a powder keg. His troops are standing guard over a large contingent of Confederate prisoners that outnumbers the Union troops, who are regularly reduced in numbers when Apaches attack their patrols. (It's not satisfactorily explained how the Reb prisoners arrived in Arizona, since the territory saw only one minor battle/skirmish fought on its soil.) To keep order, Owens treats his prisoners with a light touch and extends all respect and courtesies to the Confederate senior officer, Captain John Marsh (John Forsythe). The Rebs resent the fort's second-in-command, Captain Roper (William Holden) for his often brutal treatment of recaptured prisoners who have attempted to escape into the brutal environment surrounding the fort. The dynamics of the situation at Fort Bravo take a dramatic turn with the arrival of a stagecoach that had been under attack by Apaches. A passing cavalry patrol intervenes and brings the stage safely to the fort. The most prominent passenger is Carla Forester (Eleanor Parker), a stunning beauty who alights from the stagecoach dressed to the nines and looking as though she just stepped off a fashion show runway in Paris. (As in many such scenarios in Hollywood Westerns of this era, she has endured a brutal journey in excruciating discomfort but her hair and makeup aren't any worse for the wear.) Upon seeing her, Roper is immediately smitten. He learns she has come to Fort Bravo to see the wedding of Colonel Owens' daughter Alice (Polly Bergen) to one of his senior officers (Richard Anderson). Carla and Alice are old friends but the wedding serves as decoy for Carla's real reason to visit the fort. Seems she is a Southern sympathizer who is secretly engaged to Captain Marsh. She intends to serve as a crucial conspirator in helping Marsh and a few other prisoners escape with the help of a local merchant who will hide the escapees and Carla in his wagon after he leaves the festivities for the wedding. Meanwhile, she strings Roper along by acting flirtatious and somewhat sexually suggestive. Roper becomes so head-over-heels in love with her, that he ends up proposing they get married.
Up to this point, "Escape from Fort Bravo" is fairly routine horse opera stuff. However, after Marsh, Carla and a few others manage to escape, the film switches into high gear and affords director Sturges the opportunity to show off his skills at directing a big budget action movie, something that would become his trademark as his reputation in Hollywood became elevated in status. Humiliated by being cuckolded by Carla, Roper and a few troopers track down the escaped prisoners and recapture them. Predictably, Carla has been pining away for Roper, realizing that she no longer loves Marsh. Upon heading back to Fort Bravo, the small group is surrounded by Apaches and forced to abandon their horses in the midst of the harsh desert. The Apaches use inspired military-like strategies to isolate the group and pick them off one-by-one. Sturges cranks up the suspense and makes the most of this highly engrossing sequence, which serves as the heart of the film. The performances are all fine, with Holden in particularly good form and the movie benefits from a good supporting cast of welcome character actors including William Demarest as an aged Confederate prisoner and Howard McNear as the conniving local merchant.
The new Warner Archive Blu-ray looks sensational and does justice to cinematographer Robert Surtees' impressive shots of the Death Valley landscapes where much of the movie was filmed. If you like the movie and own the previous DVD release, it's worth investing in the Blu-ray upgrade.The only bonus feature is the original trailer.
Retro-Active: The Best from the Cinema Retro Archives.
By Harvey
Chartrand
Neville
Heath was an English killer
responsible for the murders of two young women. He was executed by hanging in
London in 1946 (aged 29). Heath was a handsome and well-spoken sociopath who
could easily lure women to their doom.
In 1967, Alfred Hitchcock was trying to rebound
from the failure of the Cold War espionage thriller Torn Curtain with an
original screenplay entitled Frenzy (and later Kaleidoscope). The
unproduced project was to have been based on the crimes of serial rapist-killer
Heath, although the story would be set in the present day in and around New
York City. The original story would be told completely from the point of view
of a murderer who is both attractive and vulnerable.
Screenwriter Benn Levy wrote in a letter to
Hitchcock in January 1967: “It's got to be (based on) Heath, not (John George) Haigh
(the acid bath murderer). Told forwards, the Heath story is a gift from heaven.
You'd start with a ‘straight’ romantic meeting, handsome young man, pretty
girl. Maybe he rescues her from the wild molestations of a drunken escort. ‘I
can't stand men who paw every girl they meet.’ Get us rooting for them both. He
perhaps unhappily married and therefore a model of screen-hero restraint. She begins
to find him irresistibly ‘just a little boy who can't cope with life’ -- least
of all with domestic problems such as he has described. She's sexually maternal
with him, she'd give him anything -- and we're delighted. Presently a few of us
get tiny stirrings of disquiet at the physical love-scenes but don't quite know
why. By the time we see the climax of his love in action and her murder, then
even the slowest of us get it! But we shouldn't know till then.â€
Rare trade ad for a film that was never made.
Frenzy would also be a stylistic
departure for Hitchcock. After watching Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow-Up,
Hitchcock felt he had fallen behind the Italians in technique. Hitchcock
biographer Patrick McGilligan writes: “Watching one Antonioni, he sat up
straight at the sight of a man all in white in a white room. ‘White on white!’
he exclaimed to (his personal assistant and script supervisor) Peggy Robertson.
‘There, you see! It can be done!’â€
Hitchcock was also impressed
by the camerawork improvisation of maverick American director John Cassavetes (Shadows). He asked the novelist Howard
Fast (Spartacus, Cheyenne Autumn) to sketch a treatment about a gay, deformed serial
killer. Pleased with the results, Hitchcock composed a shot list with over 450
camera positions and shot an hour’s worth of experimental color tests, using
unknown actors in various states of undress. This footage was filmed in New
York City, and gives a tantalizing glimpse of what Hitchcock had in mind, of how
revolutionary Frenzy/Kaleidoscope would have been in his body
of work – a Psycho for the more
liberated counterculture era. Unfortunately, MCA/Universal were disgusted by
the script and test footage and immediately canceled the project, reducing
Hitchcock to tears. Hitchcock was coerced into directing Topaz, Leon Uris’ behind-the-scenes account of the breakup of a
Soviet spy ring at the highest levels of the French government during the 1962 Cuban
missile crisis. Topaz was another in
a string of artistic and commercial failures for Hitchcock as he approached age
70.
Japanese poster for the 1972 film Frenzy which was entirely different from the previous project Hitchcock had intended to use the title for.
What would have been
Hitchcock's most daring and controversial work was thwarted: an avant-garde
film using hand-held camerawork, a first-person viewpoint and natural lighting
(Ã la Blair Witch Project, filmed
32 years later), detailing the exploits of a gay bodybuilder who dabbles
in murder, rape and possibly necrophilia. It was conceived in 1964 as a prequel
to Hitchcock’s 1942 film Shadow of a Doubt and was initially titled Frenzy,
not to be confused with his eventual 1972 movie of the same name, from which
certain plot elements of the original Frenzy
were recycled.
Hitchcock’s interest in
Neville Heath first manifested itself in 1959 in his unproduced project No Bail for the Judge, which would have
starred Audrey Hepburn, Laurence Harvey and John Williams. A respected judge is
blamed for the murder of a prostitute, and his barrister daughter searches for
the real killer in London’s criminal demi-monde. Hepburn, who desperately
wanted to work with Hitchcock, suddenly withdrew from the project because of a
scene in which her character is brutally raped in Hyde Park by a good-looking London
pimp named Edward “Neddy-Boy†Devlin, who dominates Hepburn by
slowly strangling her with a necktie.
Audrey Hepburn never did work
with Hitchcock, but Laurence Harvey got along with the Master of Suspense and
starred in Arthur (1959), a grisly episode
of the long-running TV anthology series Alfred
Hitchcock Presents in which a beautiful woman (Hazel Court) meets with a
terrible fate.
Neville Heath
The rape scene in No Bail for the Judge obviously was one that Hitchcock wanted to
realize, in one form or another. It is quite similar to the scene of Mark’s
rape of the frigid Marnie on
their honeymoon cruise. The unproduced script of No Bail for the
Judge also looks forward to the unproduced Frenzy/Kaleidoscope
and to Hitchcock’s serial killer masterpiece Frenzy (1972), with its sexually impotent necktie strangler Bob
Rusk (Barry Foster) loose in London, eager to pin the murders of several
attractive women on his best friend. The unproduced Frenzy contains a
sequence in New York’s Central Park where the killer, Willie Cooper, takes a
young woman into the bushes and murders her. And while Bob Rusk may have more victims
to his credit than Neville Heath and Willie Cooper, it is clear that Edward
“Neddy-Boy†Devlin was Hitchcock’s first “necktie stranglerâ€.
So, as Hitchcock matured as an
artist, his impulse to film violent misogynistic scenes intensified – scenes
which would finally be free from censorship in the freewheeling “anything goesâ€
atmosphere of Hollywood in the sixties and seventies.
In browsing through the seemingly endless selection of retro movie choices available on Amazon Prime, I was rather surprised to come across the 1972 Peter Sellers comedy "Where Does It Hurt?", as- to my knowledge- the movie has never been released in any video format in the USA. I had seen the film when it played in theaters and I recalled enjoying it. Thus, I thought that after almost a half-century later, it would be time to revisit the title. At the time, Sellers was working steadily, but from an artistic standpoint, his career was in the doldrums. For the last few years, Sellers was seeming to accept any script that came with a fat paycheck attached. Even the more high profile and promising productions disappointed: Sellers was fired from the mega-budget, all-star 1967 spoof version of "Casino Royale" before he had finished filming some key scenes. His reunion with Blake Edwards for "The Party" proved to be a ten-minute gag painfully stretched to feature film length. Until he and Edwards would stop their on-going feud and revive "The Pink Panther Franchise" in 1975, Sellers had been on a downward spiral.
"Where Does It Hurt?" casts Sellers as Dr. Albert T. Hopfnagel, the scheming administrator of an independent hospital in Los Angeles. Hopfnagel has turned the place into his own fiefdom, hiring equally corrupt people to serve in key positions. They coerce patients into staying in the hospital longer than necessary by forging their medical records and billing insurance companies to cover their treatments and room costs. If a patient finally gets wise and causes a fuss, Hopfnagel will let them in on the scheme and bribe them with booze and women to get them to cooperate. Indeed, the place is a virtual bordello with the "nurses" freely dispensing sexual favors along with the aspirin and most of them have been hired because of their bust lines, not brains. Hopfnagel is not above indulging, too. Despite the jealous nature of his on-premises girlfriend Alice (Jo Ann Pflug), who helps fleece the patients, Hopfnagel is addicted to having quickie sexual encounters with female staffers in private nooks. His office even has a secret built in escape route that is hidden by a hallway Pepsi machine. It's the kind of scenario that would have been a perfect fit for Groucho Marx and Sellers milks whatever laughs the film possesses out of his attempts to fool around while assuring Alice he's remaining true. If only the rest of the film were as amusing. In fact, "Where Does It Hurt?" runs out of steam shortly after the maddeningly addictive title song. Director/screenwriter Rod Amateau had some legitimate credentials in the television industry, but his feature films were mostly low-grade, despite the presence of impressive cast members. (His previous film was the notorious "The Statue" with the estimable presence of David Niven, Virna Lisi and Robert Vaughn.) Amateau's screenplay, based on the novel "The Operator", is one long dirty joke. I suppose I can excuse my 15 year-old self for finding the smutty situations amusing back in 1972, but much of it is painful to endure today. Sellers acquits himself well enough but the role is sketchily written and not up to his potential, though he once again displays his ability to project a perfect American accent. Pat Morita has a supporting role that is cringe-inducing due to the idiotic Asian stereotype he plays, but Harold Gould scores some laughs as a hopelessly inept surgeon who gets all the major surgeries precisely because he can be counted on to botch them and worsen the patient's condition.
The film's premise had some nuggets of legitimate social commentary. America has always been the only Western democracy to privatize citizen's health care in a for-profit scenario. Consequently, despite having top rate doctors and research, the financial aspects of the system have been prioritized to the point where you can be charged $10 for a single aspirin and go bankrupt if you become seriously ill and lack adequate coverage. Unfortunately for Amateau, screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky beat him to the punch with his scathing, Oscar-winning script for "The Hospital", which was released a year earlier. That film dissected the U.S. health care system and predicted it was on a collision course with destiny. Compared to the earlier film, "Where Does It Hurt" is a fairly anemic medical comedy.
The print shown by Amazon leaves a lot to be desired but then again, so does the film. For Sellers' fanatics only.
Ned Beatty, who aspired to be a musical theater star before an unlikely transition into the movie business, has died at age 83. Beatty made his big screen debut in director John Boorman's 1972 wilderness survival classic "Deliverance" with a daring portrayal of an innocent man subjected to a brutal rape. It was a bold decision to take the part but it launched Beatty's career to international acclaim. He rarely had a leading role but enhanced every film he appeared in. His diverse body of work includes such films as "All the President's Men", "Superman", "1941" and "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean". Although appearing in the 1976 classic "Network" for little more than five minutes, he delivered a performance so powerful that it earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Beatty formed a friendship with his "Deliverance" co-star Burt Reynolds and they made numerous films together including the boxoffice hits "White Lightning" and "Gator". He was equally convincing as a comic presence, good guy and villain. He later found success on television as one of the star of "Homicide: Life on the Streets". For more about his life and career, click here.
The witty, controversial, and
fabulous actress/comedienne Mae West displays her jewelry to the coat check
girl. “Goodness, what beautiful diamonds!†the girl exclaims. Mae West coolly
replies in her sultry, New York-accented signature voice, “Goodness had nothing
to do with it, dearie.â€
The line was also the title
of West’s memoir, published in 1959, and is one of her many memorable
utterances, along with “Come up and see me sometime.†(However, the first time
this one is spoken, in She Done Him Wrong, she actually says, “Why don’t
you come up sometime and see me?â€)
Kino Lorber has just released
in restored, high-definition presentations every Mae West film made between
1932-1940—the Paramount years, plus one with Universal. This review will cover
the first four out of nine titles, with the remaining five to come in a later
“Part Two.â€
Hollywood knew that Mae West
would be trouble (but a possible box office winner) before she was invited to
the west coast to star in films. She had made her name in New York vaudeville
as a bawdy, talented, sexy, and very funny lady. West could sing and deliver
one-liners with the best of them; she wasn’t so much a dancer, but she did have
the ability to sashay with aplomb. West transitioned to Broadway, writing and
starring in her own shows to great success. One, though, the 1926 play entitled
Sex, got her into hot water with the morality police and she was
arrested for indecency charges. West quickly bounced back, having garnered even
more publicity because of the raid, and became more popular than ever. That’s
when Hollywood, namely the more adventurous Paramount Pictures, came calling.
Paramount tended to push the
envelope in the pre-Code days with violent gangster pictures, sex comedies, and
the early movies by the anarchic, surreal Marx Brothers. Mae West fit in quite
well at Paramount, where she quickly took control of her screen career. What is
truly remarkable is that West was 39 when she made her first picture. For a
Hollywood studio to introduce any actress at that age was unheard of,
before and probably since.
All of West’s movies follow a
formula established by the second one, which was such a success that it saved
Paramount from bankruptcy. Usually there are crime hijinks going on involving
former and current boyfriends. West acquires a flirtatious love-hate
relationship with the wealthy leading man. All the men try to hoodwink West and
each other, and she does some sneaky trickery to foil their plots. At the end
West always ends up with the leading man, even after it seemed that they were kaput.
Oh, and there are some musical numbers thrown in for good measure.
Herewith are the first four
titles released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber, all of which look spectacularly
“new†and blemish-free.
Night After Night (1932) is really a melodrama/gangster flick starring
George Raft and Constance Cummings. Mae West appears in a supporting role as
Maudie Triplett, but she steals the movie. In fact, Raft in later years is
known to have said, “She stole everything but the cameras!†Joe Anton (Raft) is
the owner of a speakeasy (it was still Prohibition at the time), and he must
handle conflicting love affairs and competition from rival mobsters. Maudie is
a former girlfriend (now just a friend) who comes to the club for a good time.
Her scenes with Mabel Jellyman (Alison Skipworth), the matronly woman who is
teaching Joe how to speak “properly†and develop more high-class manners, are
worth the price of admission—almost. The picture is all right, but without
West’s debut, Night After Night would likely have dropped into
obscurity. The Blu-ray comes with an audio commentary by film historians Alexandra
Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson, plus the theatrical trailer.
I’m No Angel (1933) is still ensconced in sassy, sexy pre-Code
sensibilities. It was West’s most financially successful picture, coming after
the previous hit. Cary Grant co-stars once again. This time, West is Tira, a hootchy-cootchy
singer/dancer in a circus sideshow, but she also doubles as a lion tamer (!).
In one sequence she puts her head in the mouth of a lion (obviously done with
rear-screen projection, but there are scenes in which West is in the cage with
real lions and pets one). The sideshow impresario, Big Bill Barton (Edward
Arnold) is a crook, Tira’s beau Slick (Ralf Harolde) is just as bad, and Tira
wants to break away from the show and be on her own. She succeeds, goes to New
York, and meets the cousin of a rich beau, Jack Clayton (Grant), who is trying
to keep his relative away from Tira. They fall in love instead, of course. Look
for future Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel in an uncredited role as a maid. Mae
West was known for insisting on parts being given to African American actresses
and actors. Unfortunately, in those days, the only roles for black performers
in Hollywood were as maids, butlers, train conductors, and Tarzan natives. I’m
No Angel is second in ranking only to She Done Him Wrong, with Mae
West in top form in a very entertaining picture. The Blu-ray comes with an
audio commentary by film historian Samm Deighan, plus the theatrical trailer.
Belle of the Nineties (1934) was originally supposed to be titled It
Ain’t No Sin, but the Production Code went into effect just as production
finished. The censors forced West to revise some dialogue and change the title.
It’s a shame, for the remainder of West’s films in the 1930s, while still
entertaining, were sadly neutered of their frank boldness and—let’s face it—the
daring and evocative innuendos that made Mae West movies something to see. In
this one, she plays Ruby, a singer in the 1890s (again), this time in St.
Louis. Her boyfriend, boxer Tiger Kid (Roger Pryor) finds that he has rivals in
wealthier, “classier†men (who are all crooks, though). She moves to New
Orleans for a better position, only to become embroiled in fight fixing
shenanigans. Belle is a tangible step down from the previous two
pictures. While directed by comedy stalwart Leo McCarey (Duck Soup, The
Awful Truth, and later, Going My Way), Belle sort of plods
along and doesn’t produce the expected belly laughs. It does, however,
introduce the jazz standard, “My Old Flame,†sung by West and accompanied by
Duke Ellington and his band on screen. The Blu-ray comes with an audio
commentary by film historian Samm Deighan, plus the theatrical trailer.
Certainly a boon for film
history lovers and aficionados of 1930s Hollywood, these new Kino Lorber
Blu-ray releases are terrific. Cinema Retro will review the remaining
five Mae West titles—including one co-starring W. C. Fields—in a coming piece.
To be continued!
CLICK HERE TO ORDER “NIGHT AFTER NIGHT†FROM AMAZON
CLICK HERE TO ORDER “SHE DONE HIM WRONG†FROM AMAZON
CLICK HERE TO ORDER “I’M NO ANGEL†FROM AMAZON
CLICK HERE TO ORDER “BELLE OF THE NINETIES†FROM AMAZON
"If a movie makes you
happy, for whatever reason, then it's a good movie."
Big E
*******WARNING:
REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*******
Giant bug movies have always been a favorite
of mine; Tarantula, Black Scorpion, The
Deadly Mantis, Earth vs. The Spider, etc. The best of them all has to be Them!, the 1954 classic about atomic
testing causing ants to mutate to gigantic proportions. It was the first and
best of the 1950s cycle of big bug movies.
In the 1970s, bugs and just about every other
form of nature, struck back against irresponsible humans who were poisoning the
planet in a plethora of nature-runs-amok films such as Frogs, Kingdom of the Spiders, Squirm, etc. They may not have been
gigantic like they were in the 50s, but they were just as deadly. However, Mr.
B.I.G. himself, Bert I. Gordon, the man responsible for entertaining, 1950s
giant creature classics like The Amazing
Colossal Man, Beginning of the End, Village of the Giants and the
aforementioned Earth vs. The Spider, had
already brought back giant wasps and worms in 1976's Food of the Gods,and felt
that 1977 was the time to bring back the best giant insects of them all: the
ants. Using the great H.G. Wells's popular short story as his inspiration, Empire of the Ants was born.
The movie begins when a canister of toxic
waste, which was dumped and supposed to sink into the ocean, washes up on shore
and leaks its toxic sludge into a neighboring ant hole.
Nearby, con woman Marilyn Fryser (Joan
Collins) and her lover/partner Charlie (Edward Power) attempt to sell some
worthless land called Dreamland Shores to a large group of potential buyers
including nice guy Joe (John David Carson), middle-aged Margaret (Jacqueline
Scott), beautiful Coreen (Pamela Susan Shoop), two-timing Larry (Robert Pine)
and his poor wife Christine (Brooke Palance).
As the group surveys the land, a few members
break off on their own. Cautious Margaret, while flirting with boat driver Dan
(Robert Lansing), asks him if he thinks the land is a good investment; Larry
gets Coreen alone, puts the moves on her and gets a knee to the groin for his
trouble, and Coreen eventually hits it off with Joe. All the while, the ants
silently watch them.
The entire group is gathered and taken on a
leisurely tour of the area. The tour doesn't last long though as the dead body
of one of Marilyn's crew (Tom Ford) is found. Joe and Coreen volunteer to check
things out and find the remains of a married couple (Jack Kosslyn and Ilse
Earl) that were originally part of the group. To their horror, they also find a
horde of giant ants and all hell breaks loose as the intelligent insects attack
and destroy Dan's boat. With no way off the island, the terrified group starts
a campfire in order to keep the ants away.
The next morning, a storm begins and the rain
puts out the fire. The group frantically decides to make a run for it with the
ants hot on their tail. An elderly couple (Harry Holcombe and Irene Tedrow),
who can't keep up, hides out in an old shack. Christine falls, sprains her
ankle and is killed by the ants, and, while helping a tangled Marilyn escape
from a tree branch, Charlie also meets his demise. As the rain stops, the
elderly couple, thinking that i's safe, emerges from the shack only to find an
army of ants waiting for them. The remaining group members stumble upon a
rowboat and slowly take off down the river. The ants attack again, turning the
boat over and killing Larry.
The group realizes that the ants are leading
them toward a specific destination upstream and, as they continue to move
along, they come across an old couple (Tom Fadden and Florence McGee) who
contact the sheriff (Albert Salmi) for them. The sheriff drives them into town,
but the relieved survivors soon realize that something still isn't right. They
can't seem to find a working phone and everyone in the small town acts very suspiciously.
The group decides to hotwire a car, but while
trying to escape, they're captured by the authorities and taken to the local
sugar refinery. While there, they discover that the queen ant is using her
pheromones to control every human being in the town and forcing them to feed
the giant ants. Marilyn is the first to come under the queen's control, but
when they try to control Dan, the clever boat captain burns the queen with a
road flare he took from the abandoned car. Dan escapes with Margaret, Joe and
Coreen, but Marilyn, who snaps out of her trance too late, is killed by the out
of control queen.
Knowing that if the gigantic ants aren't
stopped they will multiply and eventually take over the world, Joe drives a
leaking fuel truck into the refinery and blows the insects to kingdom come. As
the entire place goes up in flames, Joe, Coreen, Dan and Margaret reach a
speedboat and drive off to safety.
From
UA World, the house newsletter from United Artists in 1963. We learn Fred
Zinnemann was originally going to direct "Hawaii" and that Peter
Sellers was to co-star with Dean Martin and Kim Novak in "Kiss Me,
Stupid". Also, Roger Corman's "The Secret Invasion" was
originally titled "The Dubious Patriots".
Robert
Altman’s 1974 crime drama, Thieves Like
Us,when viewed today, seems to
be a cross between Bonnie and Clyde (which
preceded Thieves)and O Brother, Where Art
Thou? (which appeared twenty-six years later). It’s the Depression-era
story, based on the novel by Edward Anderson, of a trio of escaped convicts who
go on a bank-robbing spree. But it’s also a love story between one of the
thieves, Bowie (played by a young Keith Carradine), and a country girl, Keechie
(portrayed by a young Shelley Duvall), and this is the aspect of Altman’s film
that truly shines. The novel was also the source inspiration for Nicholas Ray’s
1949 film noir, They Live By Night,
starring Farley Granger and Cathy O’Donnell. As much as I like 1940s and 50s
film noir, for my money, Altman’s is the better version.
Altman,
who had a decidedly hit-and-miss career over six decades, was on a roll in the
early seventies. Thieves Like Us is
indeed one of his hits—from a critical standpoint—although it didn’t
necessarily do bang-up box office. Filmed on location in Mississippi, Altman
and his production team managed to find authentic 1930s settings, lending a
you-are-there feel to the period piece. More importantly, Altman chose not to
use a traditional musical score but instead relied on vintage radio programs to
fill out the ambiance. That part was a stroke of genius.
The
director also often utilized a stock company of actors, many of whom appeared
in multiple pictures. In this case, besides Carradine and Duvall—who are
terrific in their roles—there is John Schuck and Bert Remsen as the other two
thieves, and Tom Skerritt as a shady service station owner. Louise Fletcher, in
a pre-Cuckoo’s Nest performance, is
effective as Remsen’s sister-in-law, who aides and abets the criminals until
she has a change of heart.
But
the picture belongs to Carradine and Duvall, whose love scenes are intimate,
honest, and endearing. Their characters are extremely likable and exude an
innocence that is a counterpoint to the violence depicted in the rest of the
picture. The fact that these two relatively unknown actors (at the time) were
cast as leads attests to the New Hollywood attitude of allowing auteurs do their thing. It’s too bad
that the studios clamped down on risk-taking after the 70s.
Kino
Lorber’s Blu-ray has A high-definition transfer of the film—which looks fine—and the theatrical trailer and a commentary by
Altman himself as extras. The location scenery—especially the muddy roads, the
rain, and the back-country hills and shacks, are strikingly beautiful, thanks
to Jean Boffety’s soft cinematography.
One
of the better “lovers on the run†pictures, Thieves
Like Us is worth grabbing.
There
is a fair amount of gore spilled in this film and by the end you sort of feel
glad that it’s all over. Madman Marz
could be considered the cinematic brethren of Andrew Garth in Tom DeSimone’s far
more entertaining Hell Night (1981) who
creeps around Garth Manor, or even Victor Crwley in Adam Green’s Hatchet movies. Hell
Night was the first film that Frank Darabont worked on (he’s not a fan of
it!) and it truly deserves a Blu-ray release.
What sets this new Madman DVD/Blu-ray combo set apart is Vinegar Syndrome’s wealth of
extras that appear on both formats:
-The
film boasts two separate running commentaries that run through the entire 90-minute
running time. They feature comments from director Joe Giannone, producer Gary
Sales and actors Paul Ehlers and Tony Fish.
-There
is an intro in HD that runs just under one minute as producer Gary Sales talks
before the Blu-ray presentation.
-Madman: Alive at 35 runs 21 minutes, is shot in HD and
features producer Gary Sales and actors Tom Candela and Paul Ehlers who discuss
the making of the film.
-The Early Career of Gary Sales is an interview with producer Gary Sales.
Shot in HD, it runs 14 min. and 15 seconds in length, but Mr. Sales speaks with
a great deal of energy and explains that he went to film school with director Armand Mastroianniwho,
at that time, had directed He Knows
You’re Alone (1980), a clear Halloween
(1978) rip-off. So, despite the sort
running time, he includes a wealth of info. It seemed like everyone was
making these types of horror films at the time, and Madman is loosely based upon the legend of Cropsey, who became famous in Staten Island,
NY. Mr. Sales also explains how he got his start in the industry by working on
a sex film in New York in 1973 entitled It
Happened in Hollywood. If you were looking to break into the film industry
in the early 1970’s, one way to do it was through the adult film industry. It
was here that he met Wes Craven who edited Hollywood,
as well as Peter Locke. Wes Craven and Peter Locke would go on to make The Hills Have Eyes in 1977, so
networking and making contacts are everything. What makes this
documentary/interview so fascinating is that we are given a first-hand account
by the producer as to what it took for him to not only get into the film
industry, but to get the ball rolling on Madman.
It wasn't like it is today, where somebody can make a film on a cell phone or
an iPad and simply upload it to someone.
-The Legend Still Lives is from 2011, which is strange as Code
Red had just released a 30th anniversary edition DVD at the
time. Shot in SD, it runs an
unbelievable 91 minutes (longer than the movie!) and gives you just about all
you would want to know about the film. Cast
and crew and other experts in the field of horror talk about the film and, in a
maneuver that would make Sean Clark happy, we are taken to the filming
location, only to find that most of the buildings that appeared in the film
have been torn down many years ago.
-There
is a stills & artwork gallery that runs over seven minutes and provides newspaper
ads and reviews.
-Music Inspired by Madman runs just over 13 minutes and consists
of submissions of music by fans. This
film has quite a following!
-In Memoriam runs almost six minutes and discusses
the passing of both Joe Giannone the director Carl Fredericks.
-Rounding
out the extras are brief discussions with Mr. Sales and Mr. Ehlers at a horror
film convention; TV spots, and the theatrical trailer.
I would recommend this to not only fans
of the film, but to fans of the genre who want an insight into filmmaking in
general, and what it took to get a film like this made in the
1970’s/1980’s.
A year after their Oscar-winning triumph, The Bridge on the River Kwai, William Holden and writer/producer Carl Foreman teamed again for another drama set in WWII, The Key. The 1958 drama is primarily a love story but there is plenty of action on the high seas, all superbly photographed in B&W by the great Oswald Morris. The offbeat story is set in England in the early days of the war before America entered the conflict. Britain stands alone against the seemingly unstoppable German forces and fights to maintain shipping on the high seas in the face of ever present U-Boat threats. William Holden is Capt. David Ross, a Canadian serviceman who is reluctantly assigned to skipper a rescue tug boat that is sent to retrieve men from sinking ships that have been torpedoed. There is good reason for his less-than-enthusiastic acceptance of his assignment: the tugs are lightly armed sitting ducks for the U-Boats. The specter of death hangs over every mission. Ross is pleasantly surprised to be reunited with fellow tug captain Chris Ford (Trevor Howard). The two old friends bond again by getting drunk then returning to Chris's apartment. He has a rare commodity. While most servicemen are crammed into barracks-like hotel rooms shared by numerous other men, Chris has been fortunate enough to secure his own apartment. He explains that the place has an eerie tradition. The present occupant is to make an extra key and give it to his best friend, who will inherit it in case he dies. Ross is startled to find that the apartment comes with another fringe benefit that is passed down from doomed owner to doomed owner: Stella (Sophia Loren), a beautiful but somber Swiss refugee who acts as housekeeper and lover for the latest tenant. Still, Ross sees that there is genuine affection between Stella and Chris and the two even announce plans to marry. A premonition convinces Stella that Chris will never return from his next mission: a prophecy that sets in motion an engrossing series of events of which nothing else can be revealed here without providing "spoilers".
It's glorious to see three great stars of the cinema playing off each other. (While Holden and Loren reached superstar status, Howard was always regarded as a character actor- albeit, one of the best in the business.) Under the sensitive direction of Carol Reed, the leisurely-paced story contains elements of the supernatural with the premonitions and apparitions accompanied by Malcolm Arnold's eerie score. The supporting cast is also impressive with the great Bernard Lee in fine form as a naval officer with the unpleasant duty of sending rescue boats on virtual suicide missions. In all, a fine film all around- and one that neatly avoids the cliched final sequence you believe the script is building to.
Sony has released The Key on DVD. The transfer is excellent, though no extras are included.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM THE CINEMA RETRO MOVIE STORE
It was an era when Oscar speeches were mercifully short, as evidenced by Burt Lancaster accepting his Best Actor win for his magnificent performance in "Elmer Gantry" (1960).
One
wonders if Bond villain Elliot Carver (Tomorrow Never Dies, 1997) ever
saw the 1944 comedy-fantasy, It Happened Tomorrow. Carver’s evil plot
involved making bad news happen so that his newspapers could scoop the
headlines before other media outlets even learned about the events. “Tomorrow’s
News Today!†was his slogan.
In
the fanciful and entertaining It Happened Tomorrow, a newspaper man receives
tomorrow’s news today, allowing him to write the piece and get it ready to go
to the presses before the incident occurs.
Journalist
Larry Stevens (Dick Powell) is astounded when kindly “Pop†Benson (John
Philliber), an older employee at the newspaper, gives him a copy of tomorrow’s
edition before it has gone to press. A frontpage article with Stevens’ by-line
concerns a robbery at an opera theater. Figuring that he has nothing to lose,
Stevens asks Sylvia Smith (Linda Darnell) on a date to the opera. Sylvia is
half of a mind-reading act with her Uncle Oscar (Jack Oakie), but even she
admits that it’s a lot of hooey. Sure enough, though, the robbery occurs,
Stevens writes it up—and Police Inspector Mulrooney (Edgar Kennedy) suspects
that Lawrence was in on the crime. As time moves forward, Stevens receives even
more future editions of the newspaper, so he continues to pursue the stories
before they happen. Eventually, of course, he is unable to explain to his boss,
the police, and even his girlfriend how this is possible. When a headline predicts
Larry’s own death, things become complicated!
This
whimsical, cautionary tale is well directed and cleverly written. Cinema buffs
might liken it to the works of Frank Capra (who had originally been attached to
the project) or Preston Sturges. Dick Powell carries the picture with
confidence and humor. The actor was just beginning to transition out of
musical-comedy roles into more serious ones (Murder, My Sweet was
released the same year). While Powell displays his good-natured comic talent in
It Happened Tomorrow, there are hints of the pathos and thoughtfulness
to come. Jack Oakie is always hilarious, as is Edgar Kennedy. Linda Darnell is
easy on the eyes, to be sure, but her role is perhaps the only underwritten
aspect of the movie. Still, there are plenty of laughs and a potent message to
boot.
The
Cohen Media Group has issued a marvelous Blu-ray restoration from a 4K scan. It
looks wonderful, despite a few instances of artifacts and scratches. There are
optional subtitles for the hearing impaired, plus the theatrical trailer. Alas,
there are no supplements.
It
Happened Tomorrow should
appeal to fans of fun, time-bending fare such as Groundhog Day.
Recommended.
The Warner Archive has released a Blu-ray special edition of the 1939 crime flick "Each Dawn I Die", based on a novel by Jerome Odlum. The film is primarily notable for the teaming of James Cagney and George Raft, two perennial favorites in Warner's lucrative gangster movie sagas. Like most of these films, this one was shot on a modest budget and consists mostly of interior shots, with "exteriors" largely filmed on the Warner back lot. Nevertheless, it's an unusual movie in Cagney's career because of the character he plays. This time he's on the right side of the law as Frank Ross, a big city crime reporter for an influential newspaper who has been relentlessly exposing powerful elected officials and business titans as criminals. In response, they hire some goons to kidnap Frank, knock him unconscious and drench him in alcohol. They then place him behind the wheel of a car and send it speeding into an intersection where it causes an accident and the deaths of innocent people. At his trial, Frank pleads that he's the victim, but the local D.A. and judge are part of the rackets and ensure he's sentenced to 20 years hard labor. En route to prison, Frank meets fellow prisoner "Hood" Stacey (George Raft), a renowned local gangster. The two men get off to a tense start but when Frank prevents Hood from being stabbed with a shiv, he earns the gangster's respect. Hood concocts a plan to use a forthcoming courtroom appearance as a means to enact an elaborate escape plan. Frank agrees to help him by pretending to be his adversary while secretly aiding in the escape based on Hood's promise to track down the people who framed Frank and force them to confess. The escape goes well but Hood receives mistaken information that Frank had tried to double-cross him, thus leading Hood to drop his promise to aid Frank's cause. Frank faces serving his full sentence, his despair only alleviated by the continued loyalty of his girlfriend and fellow reporter, Joyce (Jane Bryan) and his mother (Emma Dunn), both of whom continue to lobby for his release. Most of the suspense comes from the plot device of when and how Frank and Hood will inevitably resolve their misunderstanding.The film culminates with an attempted major prison break and a resulting battle with National Guard forces, as would later be seen in "Brute Force".
Under the direction of William Keighly, the film is engrossing throughout and ranks as one of the better Warners crime films of the era. On the accompanying informative commentary track, film historian Haden Guest points out that Cagney had been going through a tense period while under contract with the studio, as he held out for more interesting roles. "Each Dawn I Die" represented a victory for him in that he was no longer playing a wisecracking gangster. In fact, Cagney's performance is dramatically different than what audiences had been used to. He's an every day guy who tries to play by the rules under a prison system so cruel that only the warden is the soul official who shows any humanity or compassion for the inmates. It's a largely humorless role for Cagney, who does the unthinkable at one point: he breaks down and cries due to his seemingly helpless situation. Cagney was happy to let George Raft have the flashier role and Raft certainly runs with it, playing the kind of mob boss Cagney was rebelling against playing again. They provide the expected on-screen chemistry but the screenplay by Norman Reilly Raine and Warren Duff tends to be rather confusing at times due to the references to many villains of varying degrees of importance to the story and what their roles are in framing or exonerating Frank. While "Each Dawn I Die" doesn't rank with all those fabled classics released in 1939, it's good, solid entertainment throughout.
The Warner Archive's Blu-ray provides a sterling transfer and a wealth of great bonus extras. On the aforementioned audio track, Haden Guest provides insights into the fact the movie tended to buck the much-hated Production Code which provided self-censorship guidelines for studios that ensured all gangster movies had to uphold the theory that crime doesn't pay. Haden points out that the film nevertheless paints a dim view of public officials by presenting them are rotten to the core. The movie also presents the prison guards as ruthless sadists and the parole board as corrupt. It's surprising this much candor was left in the final cut. Other bonus extras are all from 1939:
A newsreel about Japan's invasion of China narrated by Lowell Thomas
a 1949 reissue trailer
The Oscar-nominated cartoon "Detouring America" as well as bonus cartoon "Each Dawn I Crow"
The documentary color short "A Day at Santa Anita"
The trailer for "Wings of the Navy", a current release from WB that is promoted in the film when the prisoners see it during a movie night
The featurette "Stool Pigeons and Pine Overcoats: The Language of Gangster Films"
"Breakdowns of 1939": a compilation of movie set bloopers
Radio show version of the film with George Raft and Franchot Tone.
This crime movie release from the Warner Archive is an offer you can't refuse.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM THE CINEMA RETRO MOVIE STORE.
Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Turner Classic Movies:
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will celebrate
the life and career of iconic actor, producer and director Norman Lloyd with a programming
tribute on Monday, June 14. Lloyd,
who passed away on May 11 at the age of 106, was known for playing the saboteur
himself in Hitchcock’s Saboteur
(1942) and was part of original company of Orson Welles’ Mercury Theater. His
eight-decade career saw him work in all media including Broadway, television,
film, and radio, with stints as director and producer. He attended the TCM
Classic Cruise in 2011 and 2013 and attended all but one TCM Classic Film
Festival in Hollywood.
The following is the complete schedule for TCM's on-air tribute to Norman
Lloyd:
TCM Remembers Norman Lloyd –
Monday, June 14
8:00 p.m. Saboteur (1942) – A young man accused of
sabotage goes on the lam to prove his innocence. 10:00 p.m. Live From the TCM Classic Film Festival: Norman
Lloyd (2016) –
Norman Lloyd discusses his career in front of a live audience. 11:00 p.m. Limelight (1952) – A broken-down comic
sacrifices everything to give a young dancer a shot at the big time. 1:30 a.m. He Ran All the Way (1951) – A crook on the run
hides out in an innocent girl's apartment. 3:00 a.m. The Southerner (1945) – A sharecropper fights
the elements to start his own farm. 5:00 a.m. Live From the TCM Classic Film Festival: Norman
Lloyd (2016) –
Norman Lloyd discusses his career in front of a live audience.
