Love and Bullets is a 1979 Charles Bronson starrer that Roger
Ebert appropriately described at the time as "an assemblyline
potboiler". The film initially showed promise. Originally titled Love and Bullets, Charlie, the
movie had John Huston as its director. However, Huston left after
"creative differences" about the concept of the story and its execution
on screen. The absurdity of losing a director as esteemed as Huston
might have been understandable if the resulting flick wasn't such a
mess. However, one suspects that, whatever the conceptual vision Huston
had for the movie may have been, it must have been superior to what
ultimately emerged. Stuart Rosenberg, the competent director of Cool Hand Luke took
over but was unable to create anything more than a sub-par action
movie. The plot finds Bronson as a Phoenix cop who is reluctantly sent
to Switzerland on an undercover assignment. The local prosecutor has
been doggedly trying to convict a local mob kingpin (Rod Steiger) for
years. Now it appears that his moll girlfriend (Jill Ireland) might be a
viable witness in terms of spilling the beans about his operations.
Thus, Steiger has stashed her abroad and is keeping her under constant
watch. Bronson's job is to pretend he is also a mob guy and convince
Ireland to return with him to Phoenix to testify against her lover. The
movie seems to exist for one reason only: the main participants desired a
paid working vacation in Switzerland. This concept is nothing new. The
Rat Pack squeezed in filming Oceans Eleven almost as an
afterthought while they were performing nightly in Las Vegas at the
Sands casino. In the twilight of his years, John Ford famously got his
stock company together for a jaunt to Hawaii and released the result as a
big boxoffice hit called Donovan's Reef, which still must retain the status of being the most expensive home movie ever made.
Love and Bullets is such a lazy effort you have to believe it
must have taken a great deal of effort for the cast to meander to the
set every day. The film also illustrates the danger of love-struck
leading men force-feeding the lady in their lives into virtually every
movie they make. Clint Eastwood shoe-horned Sondra Locke into a string
of his films in the 1970s and 1980s and while some of them were artistic
and commercial successes, I always greeted their next teamING with a sense
of bored inevitability. (Locke was also a prime perpetrator in the
creation of the worst movie of Eastwood's career, The Gauntlet.) In
this case, Ireland had been Mrs. Bronson for over a decade following
her divorce from David McCallum. She was always a competent enough
actress but the couple obviously envisioned themselves as a new William
Powell/Myrna Loy teaming. Not quite. Bronson is on full automatic pilot,
registering almost no emotion. Ireland overplays the role of
bubble-headed moll to an embarrassing level, as though she is a
character in a sitcom sketch. She is saddled with intentionally
laughable fright wigs but the real joke comes when she decides to
discard them for her natural hair style, which proves to be even less
flattering. Absurdity piles upon absurdity as the film becomes one long,
extended chase sequence with Bronson and Ireland squabbling like Ralph
and Alice Kramden, if you can imagine The Honeymooners being
pursued by assassins. Steiger is in full scenery-chewing mode and an
impressive array of supporting actors (Val Avery, Michael V. Gazzo,
Henry Silva and Strother Martin) are pretty much wasted along the way.
I'm generally undemanding when it comes to the pleasures of watching an
unpretentious Charles Bronson action movie but Love and Bullets represents
the latter period of his career where he rarely even tried to elevate
his films beyond being vehicles for an easy pay check.
(The film is currently streaming on Shout! Factory TV and the app and subscription are also available through Amazon Prime Video.)
Kino Lorber has released
the 1975 Charles Bronson crime thriller "Breakout" as a Blu-ray special edition. Bronson
was riding high at the time, coming off the sensational success of
"Death Wish". The film was originally supposed to star Kris
Kristofferson under the direction of Michael Ritchie but those plans
soon fell apart. Bronson took over the lead role with veteran director
Tom Gries at the helm. The film finds Bronson well-cast as Nick Colton, a
shady businessman/con man/grifter who operates a variety of small time
business ventures on the Mexican border with his partner Hawk Hawkins
(pre-kooky Randy Quaid.) Nick is living hand-to-mouth when he is
approached by Ann Wagner (Jill Ireland) with a proposition to help her
husband, equally shady rich guy Jay (Robert Duvall), escape from a Mexican prison where he has
been sentenced after being framed for a murder. Time is of the essence
because Jay is in declining health and may well be too weak to help
effect his own escape. Colton and Hawk's first attempt to spring him
ends disastrously and they barely escape back to America. Colton
concocts an audacious plan for a second escape attempt that involves
split-second timing. He will arrange for a helicopter to land in the
courtyard of the prison and in the inevitable confusion, Jay is to make
his way on board and presumably fly away to freedom. In order to pull
off the caper, Nick enlists the help of a professional helicopter pilot
as well as Myrna (Sheree North), a married ex-call girl who will be used
to distract some of the guards when the copter lands inside the prison.
When the pilot gets cold feet, Nick is forced to fly the chopper
himself despite the fact that he only has minimum experience doing so.
Another complication ensues when Jay is confined to the prison hospital
and doubts he will be able to be in the courtyard at the precise moment
Colton lands.
"Breakout" was inspired by an incredible 1971 real life escape in
which an American was indeed rescued by helicopter from a Mexican
prison. The screenplay has some other sub-plots that are poorly
developed and quite confusing, but some of which are obviously related
to the actual escape including some rumored involvement by the CIA. In
the film, Jay Wagner's frame-up takes place at the behest of his evil
tycoon grandfather, Harris Wagner (John Huston) for reasons that never
become clear. Apparently, Harris is concerned that Jay may inherit some
control over the company Harris runs with an iron fist, though these
plot points remain murky as does the involvement of some CIA characters.
Another potential plot device, which finds Nick and Ann obviously
attracted to each other, also goes nowhere. The film has a rushed look
to it and there are some unsatisfying aspects caused by the movie's
rather abrupt ending. The movie studio, Columbia, apparently felt the
film was a rather weak production and thus gambled on a massive ad
campaign that probably cost more than the film's modest budget. Ads for
"Breakout" were everywhere: in newspapers, on TV and on radio.
Additionally, the film opened wide in 1,000 American theaters, which was
a big number in 1975. The movie was dismissed by critics with Variety
calling it a "cheap exploitation pic", and indeed the main poster
artwork (different from the Blu-ray sleeve artwork) and graphics looked surprisingly amateurish considering this was
a golden age for film poster designs. Nevertheless, Bronson's appeal
seemed to override these negative factors. "Breakout" proved to be a
major hit and helped cement his status as a top boxoffice attraction ,
though his clout would gradually diminish henceforth.
Scene stealer: Sheree North in posed cheesecake publicity photo for the film.
Like a lot of older movies, "Breakout" probably plays better today
than it did at the time of its initial release. Bronson is in top form
and gives an unusually energetic performance that allows him to stress
his rarely-used talent for light comedy. The only other standout member
of the cast is Sheree North, as the epitome of the sexy cougar. She's a
fast-talking, tough cookie who parades about in sexy lingerie in an
attempt to seduce Bronson. (Surprisingly, Bronson's character does not
engage in any sexual action throughout the movie.) Robert Duvall is
largely underutilized in a low-key role and performance that could have
been credibly played by almost any other competent actor. Huston's
presence in the movie is disappointing, also. His role is confined to a
few scattered cameo appearances that probably don't last more than two
minutes. Some other familiar faces include Paul Mantee, Alejandro Rey,
Roy Jenson and the Mexican cinema's favorite bad guy, Emilio Fernandez.
As for Bronson teaming for the umpteenth time with real life wife Jill
Ireland, the gimmick was wearing thin. Some screen couples could team
without wearing out their welcome. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
made many films together but they were always playing entirely different
characters in entirely different scenarios. Bronson and Ireland,
despite being competent actors, were no Liz and Dick. It became clear
that their films together were largely made possible by Bronson's clout
with the studios. Although Ireland always gave credible performances,
she never lit up the screen. After a while the sheer predictability of
their on-screen teamings probably undermined Bronson's popularity
because it constrained him from interacting with other actresses. It was
a trap Clint Eastwood also fell into for a period of time when he cast
Sondra Locke in the female lead in six of his movies over a period of
only seven years. Despite these gripes, it must be said that director
Tom Gries keeps the pace moving briskly and there isn't a dull moment.
He also knows how to milk some genuine suspense out of the helicopter
escape scene, which is exceptionally well photographed by the great
cinematographer Lucien Ballard. Jerry Goldsmith also contributes a
typically fine score. The movie was shot in a wide number of locations
including California, Mexico, Spain and France, where the impressive
edifice that serves as the prison is located.
The Kino Lorber Blu-ray looks great and features a very informative commentary track by Paul Talbot, author of the excellent "Bronson's Loose" books, which analyze his action movies. There is also a trailer, TV spot and radio spot. In all, an impressive package for a fun '70s adventure flick. Recommended.
Acclaimed actor and star of TV and feature films Fred Ward has passed away at age 79. As of this writing, no cause of death has been announced. Ward overcame a hardscrabble childhood and had eclectic careers that included a short-order cook, a lumberjack, a boxer and a stint in the U.S. Air Force before trying his hand at acting on stage. He gravitated to feature films by 1979 and appeared with Clint Eastwood in the hit crime thriller "Escape from Alcatraz". Before long, he was much sought after for more prominent roles. Ward sometimes scored starring roles, as in "Henry and June" (in which he played controversial novelist Henry Miller) and "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins", which was designed to launch him as a screen action hero in a series of a films. However, the movie flopped and no sequels were made. "Remo Williams", as with Ward's 1990 boxoffice disappointment, "Tremors", would go on to become far more popular in later years and build loyal fan followings. Ward won acclaim for his performance as astronaut Gus Grissom in the 1983 NASA space epic "The Right Stuff". A favorite of Robert Altman, he appeared in the director's "Short Cuts" and "The Player". His television work included "ER" and "True Detective".
When it was announced that producer Elliott Kastner had succeeded in
signing both Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson for the 1976 Western, "The
Missouri Breaks", the project was viewed as a "can't miss" at the
international box-office. This would be Brando's first film since his
back-to-back triumphs in "The Godfather" and "Last Tango in Paris" and
Nicholson had just won the Best Actor Oscar for "One Flew Over the
Cuckoo's Nest". The two Hollywood icons were actually neighbors who
lived next door to each other, but they had never previously teamed for a
film project. Kastner, whose prowess as a street-wise guy who used
unorthodox methods to get films off the ground, had used a clever tactic
to sign up both superstars: he told each man that the other had already
committed to the project, when, in fact, neither had. With Brando and
Nicholson aboard, Kastner hired a respected director, Arthur Penn, who
had worked with Brando ten years before on "The Chase". He then chose an
acclaimed novelist, Thomas McGuane, who had recently made his
directorial debut with "92 in the Shade", to write the screenplay. What
emerged from all these negotiations was seemingly a
boxoffice blockbuster in the making. Alas, it was not to be. Upon its
release, critics emphasized the "Miss" aspect "Can't Miss" of the "The Missouri
Breaks", with most reviewers citing the opinion that the film was a long,
slow slog interrupted up a hammy, over-the-top comic performance from
Brando, who Penn apparently exercised little control over when it came
to the actor's penchant for improvisation.
The film opens with cattle baron David Braxton (John McLiam)
"hosting" a lynching for a rapt audience of his ranch hands. Seems the
intended victim has rustled some of his cattle and McLiam is determined
to put an end to the thievery, which has reduced his overall business
income by 7% per year- a statistic he never tires of griping about.
McLiam's hardball tactics against the rustlers don't sit well with his
otherwise adoring daughter Jane (Kathleen Lloyd), an
independent-thinking young woman who has acted as her father's most
trusted companion since her mother left him for another man years ago.
The victim of the lynching was a member of a rustling gang headed by Tom
Logan (Jack Nicholson), who befriends Braxton on the pretense that he
wants to purchase a plot of land on his property to establish a small
farm. In reality, he wants to utilize the land to temporarily house
stolen horses which his gang has gone to Canada to obtain in a daring
operation against the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's stables.
Meanwhile, Jane- who lives a life of relative isolation on her father's
estate-is immediately smitten by the charismatic Tom Logan and when she
insists that he become her first lover, he finds it impossible to
resist. Thus, Logan is now in a romantic relationship with a girl who is
the daughter of a man he is deceiving and stealing from. David Braxton
goes all-out in his obsession with thwarting the rustlers. He hires Lee
Clayton, a renowned "regulator", which is a polite term for bounty
hunter. Clayton is an eccentric man with a bizarre personality who
speaks in a heavy Irish brogue, but also at times utilizes other
accents. He is at times charming and amusing and at other times
fiery-tempered and unpredictable. Upon being introduced to Tom Logan by
Braxton, Clayton immediately suspects he is not a farmer, but a rustler.
The two men play a cat-and-mouse game, each one employing
double-entendres in their conversations. When Logan's men return from
Canada empty-handed after being thwarted by the Mounties, Clayton
becomes an omnipresent figure, observing their every move from afar
through binoculars. One by one, he systematically murders the members of
the rustling gang, always preceding their horrendous deaths by chatting
with the doomed men in disarmingly friendly tones. Clayton becomes so
frightening a figure that even Braxton becomes intimidated by him and
attempts to fire him, but Clayton says the money is irrelevant and that
once he commits to a job, he sees it through. The stage is set for a
mano-a-mano confrontation between Logan and Clayton that both men
realize will see only one emerge alive.
Ad for London opening.
It's easy to see why "The Missouri Breaks" didn't catch on with
audiences. Much of the film moves at a glacial pace, but McGuane's
script is intelligent and the dialogue often witty. Brando's outrageous
antics easily overshadow anyone else in the film, even though his
appearances are fleeting and the lion's share of the screen time is
dominated by Nicholson. Brando seems to be having a field day and there
seems to be no limit to his improvisations. (At one point he is dressed
as a Chinese peasant and in another he is inexplicably attired as a
woman, complete with apron and bonnet.) He also has a penchant for
making some uncomfortably romantic overtures to his horse. Thus, the
character of Clayton proves to be a distraction from the otherwise
somber, realistic tone of the film. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that
Brando's appearances are both amusing and somewhat mesmerizing, even if
out of place. The movie boasts a first rate supporting cast that
includes Harry Dean Stanton, Frederic Forrest and a young and slim Randy
Quaid. Kathleen Lloyd holds her own against the considerable star power
of Brando and Nicholson, which could not have been an easy feat. Alas,
stardom was not to follow for her, though she still occasionally appears
as a guest star in popular TV series. Where the movie disappoints the
most is in its climax. The audience has been led to expect a memorable
confrontation between Logan and Clayton, but when one of them gets the
upper hand on the other, it's done very abruptly and rather
unimaginatively, leaving the viewer feeling cheated. The
movie boasts a low-key but appropriately atmospheric score by John
Williams and impressive cinematography by Michael Butler.
After "The Missouri Breaks", Brando seemed uninspired and went on
automatic pilot in terms of his film roles. He was paid a relative
fortune for what amounted to extended cameos in "Superman" and "Apocalypse
Now", and while he was a significant physical presence in both films, no
one made the case that he exerted himself dramatically. He would find
occasional enthusiasm in certain roles (an Oscar-nominated turn in the
little-seen "A Dry White Season" and a hilarious performance recreating
his Don Corleone role for "The Freshman"), but his enthusiasm seemed to
diminish in direct proportion to his increase in weight. Sadly, he would
never totally recapture the mojo he once enjoyed as a screen icon. Yet,
time has been kind to "The Missouri Breaks". The film's literate script
and direction are a reminder of an era in which such projects would be
green-lit by major studios who appealed to the intellect of movie
audiences. Today, the project would never have seen fruition no matter
who starred in it.
"The Missouri Breaks" is currently streaming on Amazon Prime and Kanopy.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE FILM ON BLU-RAY FROM AMAZON
The Warner Archive has released the 1972 MGM thriller The Carey Treatment on Blu-ray. James
Coburn has one of his best roles as Dr. Peter Carey, a rebellious but
esteemed pathologist who moves to Boston to take a prominent position at
one of the city's most highly regarded hospitals. The charismatic Carey loses
no time in gaining friends, alienating top brass and bedding the comely
chief dietician (Jennifer O'Neill). However, he soon finds himself
embroiled in a politically volatile investigation when a fellow surgeon
is arrested for performing an illegal abortion on the 15 year-old
daughter of the hospital's crusty administrator (Dan O'Herlihy). (The
movie was released a year before the landmark Roe V. Wade decision that
legalized abortion in America and now appears to be on the verge of being reversed.) Coburn believes his friend's
protestations of innocence and decides to launch his own investigation
into the matter. The case soon unveils a lot of skeletons that some
prominent people would prefer to be kept in their closets and Carey
finds himself subjected to blackmail and physically assaulted as he
comes closer to discovering the shocking truth behind the young girl's
death.
The film was a rather low-key affair for director Blake Edwards and
there is nothing particularly exceptional about the screenplay, which
resembles a rather well-done Columbo episode. However, Coburn has
a field day in the role of Carey. He's all teeth and smiles on the
exterior but internally he harbors a healthy suspicion of authority
figures. Carey can turn on the charm one minute and pummel a thug the
next. Refreshingly, he's no superman. He makes mistakes and misjudgments
that almost cost him his life. Edwards tries a bit to hard to sandwich
some action into what is essentially a methodical mystery story and his
instincts betray him in one silly sequence in which Carey virtually
kidnaps a teenage girl and subjects her to a death-defying high speed
car ride to induce her to reveal information. Nevertheless, the film
remains engrossing throughout and Coburn benefits from his chemistry
with some fine supporting actors including O'Herlihy, Pat Hingle and
Skye Aubrey. He also generates some genuine sparks with O'Neill, who is
largely inserted into the screenplay for pure sex appeal. There's also a
fine score by the great film composer Roy Budd.
The movie takes on a rather sobering social relevance when viewed
today. With abortion rights dominating the news once again, the film reflects a period when the nation was initially torn apart by the
debate- an occurrence that is happening again today. It's doubtful this film won't bring back some
disturbing memories of a particularly contentious period in America's
social consciousness that has been reawakened.
The film was not a critical or boxoffice success. Blake Edwards accused MGM of butchering his cut of the movie and leaving out vitally important scenes, a scenario that had occurred to director Brian G. Hutton a couple of years before when MGM devastated his vision of Kelly's Heroes. As with that film, the missing footage has never surfaced and is presumed lost forever.
The Carey Treatment is not high art, nor does it pretend to
be. However the film reconfirms why Coburn was one of the most
charismatic leading men of his day. The fact that he had such a long and
distinguished career is something all movie fans can be grateful for.
The new Blu-ray looks very good indeed and contains the original trailer.
"Young Billy Young" is the kind of film of which it can be said,
"They don't make 'em like that anymore". Not because the movie is so
exceptional. In fact, it isn't exceptional on any level whatsoever.
Rather, it's the sheer ordinariness of the entire production that makes
one pine away for an era in which top talent could be attracted to
enjoyable, if unremarkable, fare such as this. Such films, especially
Westerns, were churned out with workmanlike professionalism to play to
undemanding audiences that didn't require mega-budget blockbusters to
feel they got their money's worth at the boxoffice. Sadly, such movies
have largely gone the way of the dodo bird. In today's film industry,
bigger must always be better and mid-range flicks such as are no longer
made. However, through home video releases such as Kino Lorber's Blu-ray
of "Young Billy Young" and streaming services such as Amazon Prime, it's possible to still enjoy the simple
pleasures that such movies provide.
The story opens with botched robbery in Mexico committed by Billy
Young (Robert Walker) and some cohorts including Jesse (David
Carradine). The plan to steal horses from the Mexican military goes awry
and Billy is forced to split from his fellow robbers with the army in
hot pursuit. Making his way back across the border to New Mexico, he is
penniless and desperate. He has a chance encounter with Ben Kane (Robert
Mitchum), a tough, sarcastic older man who he encounters again in a
nearby town. Here, Billy is being cheated at cards by the local sheriff,
who goads him into a gunfight. Billy ends up killing him but stands to
be framed for the sheriff's death. He's saved by Ben, who rides along
with him to another town where Ben has agreed to take on the job of
lawman. Ostensibly he is there to keep order and collect back taxes from
deadbeats but in reality, he is on a mission of revenge. Some years
before, Ben's son had been gunned down by a criminal named Boone (John
Anderson) and Kane has learned that Boone is a presence in the new town
and that he is being protected by a local corrupt businessman, John
Behan (Jack Kelly). Ben makes his presence known immediately by
enforcing the law in a strict manner. He's confronted by Behan, who
tries to intimidate him. This results in Behan being slapped around by
Kane. Behan also grows to resent the new lawman because he is flirting
with his mistress, saloon entertainer Lily Beloit (Angie Dickinson).
When Behan abuses her as punishment, he gets another beating from Kane.
Meanwhile, Billy runs into Jesse and accuses him of having deserted him
in Mexico. The two men fight it out and Jesse is later involved with the
accidental shooting of the town's beloved doctor while in the employ of
Behan. Kane learns that Jesse is Boone's son and holds him in jail as
bait for Boone to come out of hiding. The plan works all too well. Boone
turns up with a small army and lays siege to the jailhouse where Kane
and Billy are holed up.
"Young Billy Young" was compared to a TV show by New York Times critic
Howard Thompson on the basis that it contains so many standard elements
of westerns from this time period. There is the bad girl with the heart
of gold, the evil business tycoon, the brash young gun and his wiser,
older mentor, the heroes outnumbered by superior forces and a lovable
old coot (played against type by Paul Fix in full Walter Brennan/Gabby
Hayes mode.) Yet somehow it all works very well, thanks mostly to Robert
Mitchum's stalwart presence. With his trademark ramrod stiff walk and
cool persona, Mitchum tosses off bon mots like a frontier version
of 007. Even the Times acknowledged that "Mitchum can do laconic
wonders with a good wise-crack". He has considerable chemistry with
Dickinson, though the action between the sheets is more implied than
shown. Robert Walker Jr. acquits himself well in the title role and
David Carradine makes an impression even with limited screen time. The
film was directed by Burt Kennedy, an old hand at directing fine
westerns in reliable, if not remarkable, style and it all culminates in a
rip-snorting shoot-out that is genuinely exciting. The fine supporting
cast includes Willis Bouchey, Parley Baer and Deanna Martin (Dino's
daughter) in her acting debut. One oddball element to the film: Mitchum
croons the title song over the opening credits. If this sounds strange,
keep in mind that Mitchum improbably once had a hit album of calypso
music.
Few actors had the screen and stage presence of Yul Brynner. There
never was an actor quite like him and there hasn't been since. Like most
thespians, Brynner had his share of good movies as well as those that
fell considerably short of their potential. Nevertheless, the man never
gave a false performance. He came across as supremely self-confidant
even when he must have suspected the material he was given proved to be
far below his considerable talents. Much of his self-confidence seemed
to stem from an inflated ego. Robert Vaughn once told me that when
Brynner arrived on the set of "The Magnificent Seven" in Mexico, he was
still firmly in the King of Siam mode that had seen him win an Oscar.
Vaughn said he carried himself as though he were real life royalty at
all times. You didn't chat with him casually. Rather, he would grant you
an audience. As Brynner's stature as a top boxoffice attraction began
to wane, he returned over and over again to his signature role in stage
productions of "The King and I" and found his mojo and star power were
still very much intact when it came to touring in front of live
audiences. His exotic look and manner of speaking were invariably
intoxicating. Given Brynner's enduring legacy as a Hollywood icon it's
rather surprising to remember that he had very few major hits. "The King
and I" in 1956 was his star-making vehicle and his role in "The Ten
Commandments", released the same year, helped build on his success.
However, with the exception of the surprise success of "The Magnificent
Seven" in 1960, Brynner proved to be more of a reliable on screen
attraction than a powerhouse draw in the way that John Wayne, Cary Grant
and Burt Lancaster were regarded. For most of Brynner's screen career,
he top-lined in major studio releases that were relatively modest in
terms of production budgets. Since this was during an era in which a
decent profit for a film made it a success, Brynner remained popular for
many years. By the 1970s, however, his clout had diminished
considerably. He would have only one memorable big screen success during
the decade- his brilliant appearance as the murderous robot in
"Westworld" (1974). He would concentrate primarily on stage work until
his death in 1985.
"Invitation to a Gunfighter" is the kind of mid-range vehicle that
defined most of Brynner's career in Hollywood. Released in 1964 by
Stanley Kramer's production company, the film is a perfect showcase for
Brynner in that it lacked any rival star power and afforded him a
smorgasbord of scene-stealing opportunities. The story opens in the
wake of the Confederate surrender that marked the end of the Civil War.
Matt Weaver (George Segal), a veteran of the Confederate army, is making
an arduous journey home to his Texas ranch on foot through the desert.
When the exhausted man finally reaches the small town he calls home, he
gets a rude welcome. His ranch is now occupied by another man who claims
he bought the deed from the township. Matt soon learns that he is
despised by the locals because he is the only man to have served in the Southern army. He is notified by the town's political kingpin, Sam
Brewster (Pat Hingle), that a technicality has been used to seize
ownership of his ranch. He also advises him to move on out of town
because he is no longer welcome there. Matt, however, is not about to be
cheated. He confronts the new owner of his house and is forced to shoot
him dead in self-defense. Brewster manipulates the facts and accuses
Matt of being a murderer. Matt takes possession of his ranch and uses
firepower to hold off the townspeople. He is surreptitiously visited by
his former lover Ruth (Janice Rule), who admits that she could no longer
bear waiting for him to return from the war. She reluctantly married
Crane Adams (Clifford David), a local Union war veteran who lost an arm
in the conflict. Since then, Crane has become an alcoholic with a
violent temper and his relationship to Ruth has devolved into a loveless
marriage of convenience.
Unable to lure Matt from his besieged homestead, Brewster takes the
step of announcing to the town council that he will hire a gunslinger to
kill him. Coincidentally, a man with the exotic name of Jules Gaspard
d'Estaing overhears the offer. He is just passing through on a
stagecoach ride but is immediately intrigued. d'Estaing convinces
Brewster that he is a master gunfighter and demonstrates his prowess
with a pistol. Brewster hires him on the spot but d'Estaing is in no
hurry to carry out the mission. Instead, he sees the townspeople for
what they are: cowardly hypocrites and delights in humiliating Brewster
in front of them. d'Estaing is an intimidating presence to the
townspeople. They can't pinpoint his ethnicity and know nothing of his
background. He dresses immaculately, speaks fluent French, plays the
harpsichord and chain smokes Churchill cigars (though I wonder what
they called them in this era before Churchill was born.) Ever
provocative to his hosts, he stirs the pot even further by moving into
the house of Crane and Ruth Adams. Predictably, it isn't long before
Ruth is entranced by this larger-than-life man of mystery who dresses
like a dandy and is highly cultured- the very opposite of her own
husband and Matt. Tensions rise as Crane correctly suspects a romance
may be brewing. d'Estaing insists he intends to carry out his mission to
kill Matt, despite Ruth's protests, but he later makes it clear to her
that he intends to manipulate the situation so that Matt is spared and
Brewster is dragged down in disgrace.
The film, directed with admirable if unremarkable competence by
Richard Wilson, is a slow-moving, talky affair that leads to some
intelligent discussions about race relations and the horrors of bigotry.
(This was, after all, a production financed by Stanley Kramer, who
never heeded the old adage, "Leave the messages to Western Union!").
What saves the movie from devolving into a completely pedantic affair is
the charisma of Yul Brynner. It also helps that he is playing an
interesting character with a mysterious background and the revelations
he makes to Ruth about his life only make him even more intriguing. This
is a "thinking man's" western that touches on social issues as well as
the desperate plight of women in the old West, when their survival often
saw them entering dreadful marriages simply for financial security and
protection. Brynner gets fine support from Janice Rule and rising star
George Segal and Pat Hingle plays the town's pompous boss with
appropriate, sneering superficial charm.
"Invitation to a Gunfighter" is by no means a classic but it does
afford viewers to spend some time with Yul Brynner and that is always
time well-spent.
The film is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER KINO LORBER BLU-RAY FROM AMAZON
When Robert Altman's "M*A*S*H" was released in 1970 it was a critical and boxoffice sensation. Audiences immediately recognized that, although the film was set in the Korean War, it was very obviously an analogy to the current controversial conflict in Vietnam. The film thrust Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould into the top tier of leading actors and the movie spawned the classic TV series that was a phenomenon in its own right. The film's success, along with the simultaneous triumph of the more traditional war film "Patton", helped stem the red ink that was plaguing 20th Century Fox and played a key role in making the studio solvent once again.
Actress Yvette Mimieux passed away on Tuesday from natural causes. She was 80 years old. Mimieux rose to fame starring opposite Rod Taylor in George Pal's 1960 screen adaptation of H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine". Prominent roles in major films soon followed and she won acclaim for her abilities primarily in dramas, although the1960 film "Where the Boys Are" combined comedy with tragedy and Mimieux's star rose further when the movie became a boxoffice hit with teenagers. In 1962, she teamed again with George Pal for his Cinerama classic "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm". Other major films in which she starred included "The Light in the Piazza", "Toys in the Attic", "Diamond Head", "The Reward" and the Disney hit "Monkeys Go Home!". In 1968, she reunited with Rod Taylor for "Dark of the Sun" (aka "The Mercenaries"), a brutal but well-made adventure film centering on social unrest and revolution in the Congo.
Many of her films from this era were less-than-stellar, however, but she did score a major hit in 1972 starring opposite Charlton Heston in "Skyjacked". In 1976, she starred in the exploitation/sexploitation crime drama "Jackson County Jail", which has become a cult favorite from the era. Her last role in a major film was in Disney's 1979 sci-fi movie "The Black Hole". She had been active in television since 1959 and continued to appear in the medium while simultaneously starring in feature films. Her last screen credit was the TV movie "Lady Boss" in 1992, after which she retired from acting. She had been married three times including a 13 year union with director Stanley Donen. She had no children. The web site Deadline reports that no memorial services are planned, keeping true to her penchant for privacy in her personal life. For more, click here.
Sidney Poitier, a man who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the biggest boxoffice stars in Hollywood history, has passed away at age 94. He grew up in poverty in the Bahamas and had to quit school at age 13 to do manual labor. As a young man, he immigrated to America with the hope of pursuing a career in acting. He auditioned for the American Negro Theater in New York but was initially rejected. Relegated to washing dishes in a restaurant, Poitier befriended an older Jewish man who taught him to read properly. Poitier attributed that training to his ultimately joining the theater company and launching his career on stage and screen. He first gained attention with a prominent supporting role in the 1955 film "Blackboard Jungle" in which he played one of a group of delinquent students who defy high school teacher Glenn Ford. From that point, he was launched into starring roles in films with racial overtones such as "No Way Out", "Edge of the City" and the 1958 classic "The Defiant Ones" in which he and Tony Curtis played escaped convicts who are handcuffed together, with Curtis portraying a racist. Poitier was nominated for Best Actor, breaking racial barriers. In 1961, he had the starring role in the film version of "A Raisin in the Sun", giving a magnificent performance as an earnest but flawed young man determined to get his family out of poverty by any means necessary. Poitier had earned a Tony nomination for his performance in the 1959 Broadway production. A few years later he would defy the odds and win the Best Actor Oscar over favorite Paul Newman for "Hud", based on his performance in the low-budget, but highly popular comedy "Lilies of the Field" in which he played a drifter in the desert who helps German nuns build a small chapel. He became the first Black male actor to win an Academy Award.
Poiter's fame skyrocketed just as the civil rights movement was heading into high gear in America. He found himself in the uncomfortable position of being a reluctant symbol of his race, much as Jackie Robinson had been when baseball had been desegregated. Nevertheless, he was more than symbol. Stated simply, he made good movies. White audiences flocked to his films and in 1967 he was arguably the top boxoffice star in the world. In that pivotal year, a career highlight for Poitier, he starred in three massive hits: "In the Heat of the Night", "To Sir, With Love" and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner". In director Norman Jewison's "In the Heat of the Night", Poitier introduced the character of Virgil Tibbs, a Philadelphia police detective who is assigned against his will to help a racist sheriff solve a murder case in the deep South. Rod Steiger won an Oscar for his performance as a the sheriff but Poitier was not nominated for any of the three key roles he played in 1967. This probably had less to do with racial prejudices than the fact that he likely canceled himself out by splitting the votes of Academy members who wished to nominate him for different films.
Poitier found himself the unlikely target of criticism from activists and academics in the Black community who accused him of playing "Uncle Tom"-like roles in order to appeal to white audiences. Poitier bristled at the accusations and reminded his critics that he was carrying an unwanted burden. He also said that he had never- and would never- play a role that was demeaning to his race. Indeed, for a number of years, Poitier was the only bankable Black star in Hollywood. Football legend Jim Brown joined the ranks by the mid-1960s and many other actors would break down the barriers, but Poitier was largely on his own until audiences became more receptive to Black actors in leading roles.
Poitier continued to diversify his career by becoming a director, mostly of comedy films. He directed nine films including such hits as "Uptown Saturday Night", "Let's Do It Again" and "A Piece of the Action" in which he also co-starred with Bill Cosby, and "Stir Crazy", which teamed Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. In later years, Poitier seemed to lose interest in starring in films. He occasionally appeared onscreen in largely unmemorable films. He rejected starring roles in "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Driving Miss Daisy". His self-imposed retirement didn't diminish his popularity or reputation. In 1974, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth. In 2002, he was awarded an honorary Oscar to commemorate his entire career and in 2009, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. For more about his remarkable life and career, click here.
Bogdanovich directing Ben Gazzara in "Saint Jack" (1979).
BY LEE PFEIFFER
Noted director and film historian Peter Bogdanovich has passed away from natural causes at age 82. Bogdanovich grew up idolizing the legendary actors and directors of his youth and would later enter the film industry working for Roger Corman on the 1966 hit "The Wild Angels". Corman saw potential in him and allowed him to direct a "B" movie titled "Targets" in 1968, which Bogdanovich and his wife Polly wrote very quickly. The atmospheric film was widely praised and it provided a fictional interpretation of a notorious mass shooting in 1966 that had horrified the nation. Bogdanovich also managed to logically intermingle a parallel story relating to a once-legendary horror actor played by Boris Karloff in his last great role. Bogdanovich next gained acclaimed with his 1971 B&W drama "The Last Picture Show" which received international honors. He seemed to be on a non-stop juggernaut towards success, as more hits followed: "What's Up, Doc?" and "Paper Moon". However, after Bogdanovich began an affair with Cybill Shepherd, who had appeared in "The Last Picture Show", his personal life became increasingly chaotic. His marriage ended and his next film, "Daisy Miller" starring Shepherd was a notorious bomb. This was followed by another starring vehicle for Shepherd that paired her with Burt Reynolds, "At Long Last Love", a tribute to musicals of the 1930s. When that film proved to be an expensive failure, Bogdanovich's reputation as a "Golden Boy" was diminished.
Over the years, he was in the news, not because of his film achievements, but because of his love life. After he and Cybill Shepherd broke up (but stayed on amicable terms), Bogdanovich became obsessed with Playboy Playmate of the Year, Dorothy Stratten, who was married. On the evening she was going to tell her husband she was leaving him for Bogdanovich, he brutally murdered her in a jealous rage and then committed suicide. (Bob Fosse would later make a film about Stratton, "Star 80", that recounted her love affair with Bogdanovich.) Bogdanovich remained haunted by the tragedy for the rest of his life and would he would later marry Stratten's 20 year-old sister Louise. He was 49 at the time. The marriage didn't last but Bogdanovich continued to live with Louise and her mother.
Professionally, Bogdanovich would continue to make films occasionally. He received critical acclaim for the 1979 arthouse film "Saint Jack" starring Ben Gazzara but his much-anticipated 1981 comedy "They All Laughed" in which Dorothy Stratton had a major role, proved to be a boxoffice bomb when it was released shortly after her death. Bogdanovich didn't like the studio's marketing campaign for the movie and bought back the rights at a cost of most of his assets. He believed he could distribute the film himself but reviews were tepid and he could find few theaters that would play the movie. He rebounded and a modest boxoffice success in 1985 with "Mask" starring Cher.
In later years, Bogdanovich was often sought-out for his first-hand knowledge of old Hollywood. As a young man, he had the foresight to interview prominent actors and directors and used the original tapes to launch his own podcast. Bogdanovich had befriended his idol Orson Welles in the 1960s and Welles served as his adviser and mentor. However, Welles was often the victim of his own ego and excesses and fell out of favor in Hollywood. At one point, he was living in Bogdanovich's house as he tried to raise funds for his final film "The Other Side of the Wind". Welles worked on the project for many years but died before finishing it. Bogdanovich, with support from Netflix, finished the movie using Welles's own scripts and notes. Bogdanovich would also occasionally accept roles as an actor and proved be quite effective. He had a recurring role on "The Sopranos" and appeared in supporting roles in many feature films.
In 2021, he consented to participate in Turner Classic Movie's podcast "The Plot Thickens" and afforded a series of remarkably insightful and brutally honest interviews that didn't reflect well on the decisions he made as a much younger man. In the podcast, hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, Bogdanovich comes across as a man who is proud of his successes but regretful about many aspects of his personal life and how it adversely affected his career.
Sally Ann Howes, who played the female lead as Truly Scrumptious, in the 1968 screen version of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", has died at age 91, three months after the passing of her husband, literary agent Douglas Rae. Howes was also a major name in theater productions, having received her first break as an understudy for Julie Andrews in the 1958 Broadway production of "My Fair Lady". When the audience heard that Howes was replacing Andrews at a matinee performance, the ticket buyers were understandably devastated. But Howes took pride in the fact that she won over the audience with her spirited performance and called that afternoon "the best I ever had". In 1963, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in "Brigadoon".
Howes was cast opposite Dick Van Dyke in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" when James Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli decided to adapt Ian Fleming's children's novel for the big screen. The film was released between two Bond movies: ""You Only Live Twice" (1967) and "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969). However, Broccoli produced "Chitty" alone, as his Bond producing partner Harry Saltzman was working on his own solo projects. Broccoli once told this writer that the challenges of bringing a major musical to the screen while simultaneously preparing for another Bond film proved to be daunting, which is why he decided to never produce a non-Bond movie again. "Chitty" was a big budget production and Broccoli had enlisted some top talent including production designer Ken Adam, who rose to fame on the early Bond movies. The effects in the film remain impressive today, especially when one considers they were achieved in the pre-CGI era. Initially, the film was a boxoffice disappointment. However, over the years, it has become regarded as a beloved children's classic, especially in England. It would later spawn a successful stage production mounted by Broccoli's daughter Barbara and his stepson Michael G. Wilson that would play in the West End and on Broadway. Sally Ann Howes was deemed to be integral to the film's legacy and undoubtedly "Chitty" fans worldwide will mourn her passing. For more, click here.
(We are running this review from 2016 in commemoration of Pearl Harbor Day.)
BY LEE PFEIFFER
If ever an epic deserved the Blu-ray deluxe treatment, Fox's 1970 Pearl Harbor spectacular Tora! Tora! Tora! is it. The film was a major money-loser for the studio at the time and replicated the experience of Cleopatra from a decade before in that this single production threatened to bankrupt the studio. Fox had bankrolled a number of costly bombs around this period including Doctor Doolittle, Hello, Dolly and Star! Fortunately, they also had enough hits (Patton, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, M*A*S*H, the Planet of the Apes series) to stay afloat. However, the Tora! debacle cost both Fox chairman Darryl F. Zanuck and his son, production head Richard Zanuck, their jobs. Ironically, Darryl F. Zanuck had saved the studio a decade before by finally bringing Cleopatra to a costly conclusion and off-setting losses with spectacular grosses from his 1962 D-Day blockbuster The Longest Day. By 1966, Zanuck and that film's producer Elmo Williams decided they could make lightning strike twice by using the same formula to recreate the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The project seemed jinxed from the beginning. Skyrocketing costs and logistical problems delayed filming until 1969. By then, America's outlook about war movies had changed radically due to the burgeoning anti-Vietnam movement. Zanuck and Williams also forgot one important distinction between The Longest Day and Tora! Tora! Tora!: the former was about a major Allied victory while the latter was about a tremendous defeat. Americans generally stay away from military movies that depict anything other than glorious victories and Tora! was no exception. Critics were also lukewarm and the only saving grace was that the film performed spectacularly in Japan, largely because it presented both sides of the conflict on a non-judgmental level.
Bringing the story to the screen strained the relationship between
both Zanucks, especially when legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa
was brought on board to helm the Japan-based sequences. What should
have been a tremendous boost to the production became a nightmare when
Kurosawa acted irrationally and burned up money while working at a
snail's pace. He was ultimately fired in a scandal that was seen as an
insult to all of Japan. So much of the budget had been wasted that it
left no major funding for big stars. Unlike The Longest Day, which
boasted a "Who's Who" of international film favorites, Fox could only
hire well-respected character actors with little boxoffice clout. Thus,
the spin was put on the production that they were chosen due to their
resemblance to the actual people they were playing. That notion was
absurd because audiences did not know or care about such nuances,
especially since many of the major figures were not known by their
physical characteristics. Although fine actors such as Jason Robards,
Martin Balsam and James Whitmore gave distinguished performances, the
film lacked the pizazz of John Wayne or Lee Marvin in a lead role.
When the film opened, reviews were respectable at best. The film
received Oscars for technical aspects but was not nominated in major
categories. Yet, Tora's reputation has grown over the years and
today it is much more respected than it was in 1970. The film is a
thinking man's war movie and 2/3 of the film is dedicated to
claustrophobic sequences set in board rooms and conference halls as the
antagonists debate where and when war will break out. Nevertheless, this
aspect of the movie is quite admirable, especially in this era of
dumbed-down, CGI- generated "epics". The screenplay assumes the audience
is intelligent and has the patience to endure a gripping story,
well-told. By the time the actual attack on Pearl Harbor is depicted, it
is quite spectacular, even if the use of miniatures in some scenes is
very apparent. The film is enhanced by the extremely efficient
co-direction of Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku and Toshio Masuda.
Most refreshingly, the Japanese characters are anything but ethnic
stereotypes, which adds immensely to the impact of their side of the
story.Special mention should be made of Jerry Goldsmith's innovative,
pulse-pounding score that brilliantly heightens suspense as the time
line draws nearer to the attack.
Fox's Blu-ray edition looks magnificent and contains a wealth of
bonus extras that include numerous original Fox Movietone WWII
newsreels, the excellent AMC network documentary about the making of the
film as well as an equally impressive History Channel documentary that
examines how accurately the film depicted real events, Day of Infamy
(another very good documentary), the original trailer, commentary by
Fleischer and film historian Stuart Galbraith IV and two still photo
galleries. Astonishingly , Fox makes a major faux pas by not even
listing on the packaging the fact that the set contains the entire
Japanese release version of the movie, which includes ten minutes of
footage not seen in the American cut. Not surprisingly, the extra
footage is dedicated to the Japanese sequences and contains one bizarre,
largely superfluous sequence centering on two cooks aboard one of the
war ships. The Blu-ray has a menu that is rather awkward to find certain
features through but the disc is attractively packaged in a small
hardcover book that has plenty of insights about the film, biographies
of cast members and a wealth of rare photos.
Tora! Tora! Tora! has only grown in stature over the decades-
and Fox's magnificent Blu-ray release does justice to the type of
ambitious epic we simply don't see today.
Hard to believe, but Cinema Retro is entering its 18th season thanks to the consistent support among classic and cult movie lovers worldwide. The new season will begin with issue #52, which will ship in the UK and Europe during December and to all other sections of the globe in January. Throughout the new season, we have an exciting lineup of in-depth analysis from talented film scholars who will be providing highlights such as these:
"The Sand Pebbles"- director Robert Wise's acclaimed 1966 epic that saw Steve McQueen earn his only Oscar nomination
Disney's "Dr. Syn: Alias the Scarecrow", the fascinating journey of the adventure TV episodes starring Patrick McGoohan and the subsequent feature film version.
"Somewhere in Time", one of the most beloved and haunting romances ever filmed. Exclusive interview with director Jeannot Szwarc.
"Lord Jim", director Richard Brooks' ambitious adaptation of Joseph Conrad's classic novel. The film was deemed a major misfire and boxoffice flop- but we feel its ripe for a re-evaluation.
"Tora! Tora! Tora!", the massive production that recreated the attack on Pearl Harbor from both the American and Japanese viewpoints. This was yet another major boxoffice disaster but one that affords viewers an intelligent and insightful script and some of the best special effects seen during this era of filmmaking.
"Age of Consent" - a quirky May/December island romance directed by Michael Powell and starring James Mason and the up-and-coming Helen Mirren.
"Ryan's Daughter", yet another underrated gem, this time directed by the estimable David Lean.
The making of Blake Edwards' landmark comedy "The Pink Panther" starring Peter Sellers as the immortal Inspector Clouseau.
Why "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure" starring Gordon Scott (and a young Sean Connery) is arguably the best screen appearance of the fabled jungle hero.
Rare interview with actor John Leyton, who reflects on filming "The Great Escape", "Von Ryan's Express" and "Krakatoa, East of Java".
Charlton Heston as "The Omega Man", one of the most popular "Last Man on Earth" adventures, released in 1971.
We celebrate the 60th anniversary of the James Bond film series and present some rarely-seen production stills and behind-the-scenes photos.
That's just a sample of what we have planned for the new year. So please subscribe or renew and help keep the dream alive of celebrating great films of the past in print format.
Writing on Crooked Marquee's web site, Roxana Hadadi pays tribute to the 1996 disaster film "Twister", which became a blockbuster despite the lack of big name boxoffice stars. The film appealed to those of us who enjoyed the spate of mega-budget disaster flicks of the 1970s- and "Twister" fully capitalized on the new generation of exciting special effects technology. Click here to read.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER BLU-RAY TRIPLE FEATURE ("TWISTER", "POSEIDON" AND "THE PERFECT STORM") FROM AMAZON
Shout!
Factory has released the 1973 film version of Broadway’s hit musical Man of La
Mancha.Directed by Arthur Hiller and
starring Peter O’ Toole, Sophia Loren and James Coco, this was United Artists’
follow-up to their hugely successful film version of Fiddler on the Roof.It was also one of the last of the roadshow
attractions to play across the country.In the Chicago area, where I grew up, this meant a reserved seat
engagement at the famed McClurg Court Theater.
Based
on author Dale Wasserman’s stage hit, Man of La Mancha, and featuring music by
Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion, itt starred the great Richard Kiley in
the role of Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes.Well-received by audiences at the time, the show won the 1965 Tony Award
for Best Musical.
Mitch
Leigh wrote the music for several stage musicals such as Cry for Us All and
Home Sweet Homer with Yul Brynner.Both
of these productions closed after only a handful of performances.While these shows did not produce any hit
songs, it was Leigh’s efforts in the area of television advertising that
provided his greatest fame.Jingles such
as Nobody Doesn’t Like Sara Lee and music for the ABC network’s programming
introductions paid the bills.He also
wrote the trippy instrumental number The Dis-Advantages of You, which was made
famous by a series of commercials for Benson & Hedges cigarettes during the
late 60s.
The
score for Man of La Mancha features a boisterous title song along with the
inspirational anthem The Impossible Dream.Gillian Lynne provided the staging for the dances and fight
sequences.While you may not recognize
her name, Lynne went on to create the amazing movements and dances for the
Andrew Lloyd Webber megahit Cats.
In
the film, O’ Toole plays Miguel de Cervantes, an aging and utter failure of a Spanish
playwright, poet and tax collector.Cervantes has been incarcerated in a Seville dungeon awaiting trial by
the Inquisition for an offense against the Church. There he is dragged before a kangaroo court of
his fellow prisoners, who plan to confiscate his few possessions including the
uncompleted manuscript of a novel, Don Quixote.Cervantes, seeking to save the manuscript, proposes his defense in the
form of a play. The court agrees, and Cervantes and his manservant utilize make-up
and costumes transforming themselves into Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. They
then play out the story with the prisoners taking the roles of other
characters.
In
this play within a film, Quixote and Sancho take to the road in a quest to
restore the age of chivalry, battle evil, and right all wrongs. The famous
battle with the windmill follows, with Quixote blaming his defeat on his enemy,
the Great Enchanter.
In
a roadside inn, which Quixote insists is really a castle, Aldonza, the inn's
serving girl and part-time prostitute is being harassed by a gang of muleteers.
Quixote sees her as the dream-ideal whom he will serve forever and insists her
name is Dulcinea.Aldonza is confused
and angered by Quixote's refusal to see her as she really is.
Later
Aldonza encounters Quixote in the courtyard where he is holding vigil, in
preparation for being knighted by the innkeeper. She questions him on his seemingly
irrational ways, and Quixote answers her with a statement of his credo, The
Impossible Dream.
Peter
O’Toole is charming as the confused Don Quixote and is effectively able to
separate himself from that role to play the clever Cervantes.He is not, however, a singer and his songs
were dubbed even though he reportedly recorded the score before this decision
was reached.His emotions shine through
the layers of make-up and masks required for both of these characters.Sophia Loren is simply gorgeous even though
she is understandably sullen through most of the film.Her songs are also dubbed, but she has a
commanding presence during the dance sequences.She suffers a cruel fate late in the story, however, as she is ravaged
by the muleteers.The assault is more
suggestive in this PG-rated movie supposedly geared for family audiences.James Coco, a stage veteran, is a comic
genius in the roles of Cervantes’ servant and the squire, Sancho Pancho.He can convey more emotion with a single
glance or raised eyebrows in his complete devotion to his master.British stalwart Harry Andrews must be given
credit for his wonderful portrayals of the Innkeeper and the leader of the
prisoners.
At
first Richard Kiley and Joan Diener, Broadway’s Aldonza, were going to repeat
their stage roles.Albert Marre, the
original director, was to helm the movie but creative differences with the
producers caused him to depart the production taking Kiley and Diener with him.British director Peter Glenville was then
hired and quickly fired when he planned to eliminate the tunes from the
production.A musical without songs was
apparently not a good idea.Glenville
was the one who hired O’ Toole for the lead role. Finally, Arthur Hiller came
aboard and the production was filmed in Rome.
Under
Arthur Hiller’s direction the film took on a dark and colorless quality.It seemed that Hiller could not decide if it
was a drama with many close-ups or a musical with more open scenes and
production numbers.
On stage the entire story took place in the prison common
room, but Hiller kept switching from the jail to the inn and the prairies of
Spain. This juxtaposition of the settings was somewhat confusing to audiences
and even Roger Ebert in his review admitted he didn’t know what was going on
for the first 15 minutes.
The cinematography, set designer and customer all worked to
create the depressing brown, tan and grey colors that dominate the film. It is
also one of the few big budget musicals to be shot in 1.85 and not scope like
most stage-to-screen adaptations. However, for the 70mm roadshow
prints the picture was cropped to the 2:20 aspect ratio.
Shout! Factory has given us their usual excellent quality
for this Blu-ray preserving the 1.85 ratio and 5.1 surround sound. Extras
include a 1973 featurette, the theatrical trailer and a photo montage shown
over the overture music.
Man of La Mancha, which was a critical and boxoffice
failure, may disappoint some fans of the stage show, but it is an interesting
study of a man who lives in his dreams and sees only the best in his fellow
man.
By 1987, Burt Reynolds was largely regarded as being past his sell date as a leading man in theatrical films. Some of his decline in popularity was self-imposed. Reynolds had continued to knock out cornpone comedies long after they had run out of steam. His other problem was due to the fact that he had been seriously injured on the set of "City Heat" due to a mis-timed stunt that left him in serious shape and resulted in a long hospital stay. During this time, terrible rumors spread widely that implied he had contracted AIDS. By the time Reynolds recovered, the damage to his career had been done. Although he would continue to star in films for major studios, their boxoffice take was generally mediocre at best. Reynolds would eventually gravitate to television where he starred in a hit sitcom, "Evening Shade". One of his attempted comeback vehicles was the 1987 crime thriller "Malone" in which Reynolds eschewed his image as a towel-snapping wiseguy and returned to his roots to play a mysterious man of action. The film opens with the titular character, played by Reynolds, refusing to carry out an assassination for the CIA. Malone has been one of their most reliable covert killers but he's ashamed of his profession and decides to give it up for a quiet, normal life. He knows that one doesn't just walk out on the CIA so he uproots his life and packs all his belongings in his weather-beaten car and heads off to remote areas of the Northwest. While enjoying his lifestyle as a drifter, his car breaks down and he manages to get it to a one-horse town where the local garage owner, a partially disabled widower, Paul Barlow (Scott Wilson) informs him he has to order a special part for the vehicle. The two men make friendly chatter and Barlow offers to allow Malone to stay at his house until the car can be repaired. Also on the premises is Barlow's teenage daughter Jo (Cynthia Gibb), who immediately takes a fancy to the mysterious stranger who has entered her otherwise mundane existence. During his stay, the tight-lipped Malone observes that Barlow and some other town residents are being bullied and intimidated by employees of a local land baron named Delaney (Cliff Robertson), who- for reasons unknown- is trying to force certain locals to sell him their land. Failure to do so results in inevitable harassment. When Malone comes to Barlow's aid and humiliates some of Delaney's goons, Delaney meets with him and tries to bribe him to work for him. Seems that anyone of influence in the town is on Delaney's payroll, including the local sheriff (Kenneth McMillan). Malone refuses the offer and Delaney turns to bringing in professional assassins to murder him. Adding to Malone's woes is the fact that a former CIA colleague, Jamie (Lauren Hutton) has tracked him down and has orders to kill him, as well. Jamie, however, warns Malone of her mission and the two decide that "Make love, not war" should be their mantra. As Delaney increases the pressure, Malone decides to go mano a mano with him. He sneaks into Delaney's heavily-guarded compound and discovers a massive arsenal being stockpiled there. Turns out that Delaney is the leader of an extremist right wing fringe group with ties to sympathetic elected officials in Washington, D.C. He intends to imminently launch a violent uprising in the hopes that it spreads nationally and takes down the government.
There isn't a single original thought in "Malone". The film is a modern day remake of Clint Eastwood's "Pale Rider", which had been released two years before. Eastwood's film, in turn, was a virtual remake of George Stevens' "Shane". The stories all share some common themes: a family is being harassed by a local rich guy who has nefarious purposes. A mysterious stranger comes to their aid and, in the process, is idolized by a young member of the family. In the climax of all three stories, the stranger finds himself having to put his life on the line to rid the locals of the menacing figure who is making their lives miserable. Having said all that, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed "Malone". Under the competent direction of Harley Cokeless, the story moves at a brisk pace and there is plenty of time to explore the backgrounds of the key characters. Reynolds still had enough macho mojo to pull off roles like this and it's great seeing him play a serious role once again. As a man of few words, he excels not only in the dramatic sequences but also in the film's explosive conclusion, which borrows much from another (then) contemporary hit, "Witness" as we watch Malone on Delaney's farm systematically eliminate the bad guys. Reynolds gets some fine support from Cliff Robertson (in the kind of superficially charming role usually played by Robert Vaughn), Kenneth McMillan and Scott Wilson. Lauren Hutton's brief appearance is a highlight of the film, as she and Malone intersperse romantic interludes with suspicions about each other's motives. (Malone willingly beds her but is afraid to digest any drinks she prepares out of fear she will poison him.) The biggest revelation is the performance of Cynthia Gibb, who displays considerable charm as the young girl who is starstruck by Malone. (The script thankfully keeps the relationship chaste.) "Malone", filmed in and around Vancouver (the usual tax-friendly doppleganger for American locations), is a good old-fashioned action flick. In today's era of over-produced, over-budgeted CGI-laden monstrosities, it's simplicity, predictability and unpretentious story line are assets. The Kino Lorber Blu-ray contains the trailer as well as trailers for other Burt Reynolds releases available through the company.
Hollywood has mined gold from films relating to the American Civil War. Generally, however, the opposite has been true of movie relating to the American Revolution. Relatively few have been made and those that were often proved to be boxoffice failures, none more so than director Hugh Hudson's expensive 1985 epic "Revolution", which was savagely attacked by critics and disappeared from theaters quickly due to audience disinterest, However, Hudson would later issue a DVD version of the movie with significant changes. As we argued at the time, the film may not be a classic but it has plenty of merits and it deserves to be re-evaluated. Click here to to read our original review.
"Chisum", released in 1970, was John Wayne's first film after he won the coveted Best Actor Oscar for "True Grit", a fact played up in the trailer for the film which opened with news footage of Wayne exiting the Academy Awards ceremony, showing off the Oscar to an adoring crowd. The film was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, who frequently collaborated with Wayne. This was arguably their best joint venture.
This review from the Independent Film Journal treats the movie like a standard John Wayne Western, but the uncredited writer fails to see the many factors that elevated it above most of Wayne's horse operas. In any event, the Duke had the last laugh when the ultimate film critic- the President of the United States- publicly praised the movie. Yup, Dick Nixon had screened it at the White House and told the press he very much enjoyed it. Not that Wayne needed presidential approval, as in 1970 he was still boxoffice gold- and indeed "Chisum" became one of his biggest hits. - Lee Pfeiffer
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.
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.
There's an old Hollywood adage about the young starlet who was naive enough to think she could get to the top by sleeping with a writer. Indeed, writers are the primary reasons movies get made. Without a viable script, there would be nothing to shoot. Yet, screenwriters have routinely griped about how they feel they are left at the altar once filming begins. In fact, unless there is a specific need to have the writer on the set, most producers and directors would prefer that they remain removed from the filming process, probably because they might object to spontaneous changes made to the script. In "Sweet Liberty", Alan Alda's 1986 comedy that he starred in as well as wrote and directed, he plays a writer who finds himself in this dilemma. He plays Michael Burgess, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author of a historical account of important events that transpired in a North Carolina community during the American Revolution. He's delighted when a Hollywood studio buys the rights to his book (titled "Sweet Liberty") and plans to adapt it into a major film with big stars. Burgess's enthusiasm is short-lived, however, once the army of actors and technicians arrive to set up headquarters in the small town. The locals are understandably thrilled but when Burgess meets with the screenwriter, Stanley Gould (Bob Hoskins), he finds him to be a crude and unsophisticated character who would be right at home in a Scorsese crime movie. Burgess is appalled to find that Stanley has taken many historical liberties with "Sweet Liberty" at the behest of the studio bosses, who are only interested in morphing dramatic real-life events into a romantic comedy with plenty of T&A. Burgess's gripes are dismissed by the director (Saul Rubinek), who also views the production as just a pay check. He appeals to the film's star, matinee idol Elliott James (Michael Caine), but finds him to be a towel-snapping prankster with no regard for the historical accuracy of the character he is playing. Ultimately, he has a breakthrough with the more thoughtful leading lady, Faith Healy (Michelle Pfeiffer), who seems to understand the importance of bringing her character to the screen in a realistic and accurate way. This leads to some romantic encounters between Burgess and Faith, a situation that poses problems for his relationship with steady girlfriend Gretchen Carlsen (Lisa Hilboldt), who exacts her own form of revenge.
Alda's marvelous screenplay keeps in his usual pattern of writing comedies that avoid shooting for big belly laughs and concentrate on being mildly amusing throughout. As good as Alda is as an actor, he's equally impressive as a director and screenwriter, despite the fact that his "triple-threat" film ventures only resulted in a couple of boxoffice hits. Here he has assembled a wonderful cast and he gets the best of out every actor, including legendary Lillian Gish, the silent era film star who was still going strong in 1986. She appears in an admittedly superfluous subplot that seems written to simply squeeze her into the movie, but it's a joy to see her on screen this late in her career. Michelle Pfeiffer is well-cast as the seemingly vacuous diva who Burgess might be able to reach on an emotional level and Bob Hoskins is delightfully funny as the rough-around-the-edges but affable screenwriter who seems to have been chosen for the job simply because he's a reliable hack. I was also highly impressed by the performance of Lisa Hilboldt as Burgess's long-time girlfriend. Hilboldt has a terrific comedic timing and lights up the screen in her every appearance. It's surprising she never achieved major stardom. The key scene-stealer is Michael Caine, who plays a variation of Peter O'Toole's immortal Alan Swan character from "My Favorite Year". As Elliott James, he makes local women swoon and he uses this skill to seduce a local rich southern belle (Lois Chiles, in a rare comedic role) as well as any other woman who crosses his path. Elliott is reckless, self-centered and egotistical but he's also an irresistible charmer. A highlight of the film finds Elliott and Burgess engaged in an amusing fencing match that must have taken eons for both Caine and Alda to learn to perform.
"Sweet Liberty" is low-key comedy but a thoroughly amusing one. The Kino Lorber release has a typically impressive transfer. There is also a commentary track by film industry veterans and historians Daniel Kremer and Nat Segaloff that is very interesting and engaging, as they dispense informative facts about the production as well as Hollywood lore in general. There is also the theatrical trailer and a gallery of trailers for other KL releases. Highly recommended.
Here's a rarity: original 1969 behind-the-scenes production featurette for "Paint Your Wagon". The quality is pretty lousy but it's still fun to watch and hear comments from the stars. Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood and Jean Seberg starred in the mega-budget musical that went down in flames at the boxoffice, but there's still plenty to like in the film including production designer John Truscott's amazing sets and Marvin's unexpectedly effective warbling of "Wanderin' Star".
"One of the most brutal and unforgettable crime films ever made, "Cry of a Prostitute" is now presented in its degenerate glory uncut in HD for the very first time!"
So reads the blurb on the Blu-ray sleeve of Code Red's new release of the Italian crime thriller "Cry of a Prostitute", a 1974 "B" movie directed by Andrew Bianchi. Although I was ignorant of the film until the screener arrived, apparently it has built a reputation over the decades because, even by Italian crime movie standards of the era, it was considered to be outrageously violent, tasteless and shocking. Obviously, I couldn't resist indulging...The film certainly lives up (or down) to the Code Red blurb and is representative of Italian movie-goers' obsession with violent crime movies during this period. The movie follows in the tradition of throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the screenplay: spectacular shoot-outs, a stone-faced anti-hero who is just as vile as the villains, a Morricone-inspired score and plenty of nudity and sexual abuse. This "something for everyone" scenario also includes the Italian cinematic tradition of blatantly cribbing plot devices from older films. It can be said that if you ever desired to see Leone's "A Fistful of Dollars" incorporated with Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", your ship has finally come in.
As with many Italian films, an American leading man was imported to give the movie some additional luster and boxoffice appeal in the USA. In this case, it's Henry Silva, who plays Tony Aniante, a grim, unsmiling assassin who is brought to Sicily by a mob boss who hires him to neutralize a rival Mafia don. It seems the other gang is involved in a particularly insipid practice of using the bodies of deceased children to secrete the movement of illegal drugs. It's pretty hard to find any humor in such a scenario but when you see the corpse of one of the children displayed on a roadway after an accident, it makes it painfully obvious that it is a dummy used in CPR training courses. Such are the glorious absurdities of "B" Italian crime movies. As in "A Fistful of Dollars", Silva ends up dividing his loyalties to between the crime families for his own personal gain. He also gets involved with Margie (Barbara Bouchet), the wife of one of the dons who saunters around the house half-naked and has a penchant for suggestively eating bananas at the dinner table. The only sympathetic characters in the film are a young couple from rival families who are in a forbidden love affair, hence the Shakespearean connection. The film is packed with trademarks of the Italian crime genre: over-the-top fight scenes and sound effects, bright red paint substituted for blood, confusing plot devices and a "hero" with a particular eccentricity: in this case, he whistles loudly and ominously before appearing out of nowhere to kill his rivals. In fact, the movie blatantly lifts several plot schemes from "For a Few Dollars More", including flashbacks of a murder and the notion that when a tune stops, someone dies. (In "For a Few Dollars More", the music came from a locket.) The most memorable aspects of the movie are the grotesque scenes of violence. There is a decapitation, a corpse cut up by a buzz saw, the squashing of bodies by a steamroller and the serial abuse of Margie, who is beaten to a pulp with a belt and then raped by Tony, who previously had raped her while shoving her face into the hanging open carcass of a pig. As in most films of this type, the abused and beaten woman is sexually stimulated by her mistreatment and doesn't hold a grudge. It's enough to make "Last Tango in Paris" seem like "Brief Encounter".
The title "Cry of a Prostitute" is a bit absurd because there are no prostitutes in the film, although we learn that Margie had been one some years before her marriage. The U.S. distributor simply wanted a commercial title and so, voila!
The Code Red release is derived from "the 2017 HD scan from the original negatives with major extensive color correction done here in America". In general, it looks sensational, although on a few occasions there are still some glaring artifacts remaining.The print used for the transfer is the English-language version which features the requisite hilarious dubbing found in such movies of the era. (Even American Henry Silva is dubbed.) While it is generally best to view foreign films in their native language with English sub-titles, in a case like this, we have to be grateful for what we have. The only extras are separately viewed main titles for the U.S. release, a U.S. TV spot and an abundance of trailers for similarly-themed films.
All told, kudos to Code Red for continuing the good fight to salvage and present movies that would otherwise be lost to time. This one is definitely an acquired taste so we don't recommend it for suggested viewing on a first date.
One of the most troubled film productions of its era, the 1983 sci-fi thriller "Brainstorm" is mostly remembered for being the final film of Natalie Wood, who famously died under mysterious circumstances during production. The movie was directed by legendary special effects wizard Douglas Trumbull. It was his second directorial effort following the 1972 release of his cult favorite, "Silent Running". Based on a story by Bruce Joel Rubin, who would go on to loftier achievements, "Brainstorm" combines science fiction elements with the traditional conspiracy sub-plot that has permeated so many thrillers over the last half-century. The premise is intriguing, however. Scientists Michael Brace (Christopher Walken) and his colleague Lillian Reynolds (Louise Fletcher) head a small team that's working for a major corporation headed by Alex Terson (Cliff Robertson). They have succeeded in creating the most fantastic scientific achievement of all time: the ability to video record people's thoughts and preserve them on tape. Even more impressive, the tape can be accessed by others, who must don a rather cumbersome helmet that looks like a combination of comic book Ant-Man and Ed Norton's Captain Video chapeau from that famed episode of "The Honeymooners". At first, the experience is a joyous one, as each member of team is able to view what their colleagues have imagined for the sake of the experiment. Thus, the images consist of visual delights such as soaring over the Grand Canyon and immersing oneself in a thrilling rollercoaster ride. However, when privately utilizing the device, each member of the team is unable to control their innermost thoughts. All humans have at least fleeting fantasies that are either arousing, shocking, distasteful or all of the aforementioned. When members of the team begin to secretly access their colleague's visuals, unintended consequences occur. One person becomes obsessed with someone else's graphic sexual fantasy with disastrous psychological and physical results. It becomes apparent that the device is less a dream machine than a potential instrument of destruction. Adding to the tension is the fact that a new member of the team, Karen (Natalie Wood), is Michael's wife and the two are currently going through the process of a messy divorce even while they still live under the same roof with their young son.
A subplot is introduced mid-way through the film in which government officials (the villains, of course) want to take control over the project for intelligence purposes. The scientists rebel at this, even though Alex has been cooperating with them. They become determined to subvert their own achievements rather than have them militarized. This plot device gives the audience heroes to cheer for and baddies to boo. However, the scenario is implausible. It stands to reason that any responsible government would want to have control of mind-reading technology for the simple reason that adversarial nations would inevitably gain access to the same abilities and could use them for intimidating purposes. Nevertheless, the scenario allows for some action scenes in which director Trumbull gets to show off his special effects abilities, as in a scene in which a wild melee ensues inside the scientists' laboratory. (The effects must be viewed within the context of the era in which they were created and although crude by today's standards, an objective analysis is that they were highly impressive when the film was in production.) The most intriguing aspect of "Brainstorm" is a parallel dilemma that is introduced when a member of the team realizes they are about to die. They manage to record their final thoughts on video. Michael realizes that the video might hold the answer to eternal question: is there life after death? If so, whatever the dead scientist experienced might have been recorded for posterity. Alex warns Michael not to tempt fate and view the images...but you know how that goes. This aspect of the plot is the most fascinating and thought-provoking and allows the film to end on a satisfying note.
"Brainstorm" is by no means a sci-fi classic but it certainly deserved a better fate. With Natalie Wood's death, Trumbull had little time to mourn his leading lady. He had to immediately salvage the film by rewriting portions of the script and editing existing footage of Wood in creative ways to extend her role until the final scenes of the movie. (Natalie's sister Lana stood in for her in certain shots.) Trumbull hit another speed bump when MGM decided to cancel production of the movie, even as Trumbull was trying to salvage it. The studio was going to accept a payout from Lloyds of London when Trumbull exercised a clause in his contract that forbade them from doing so. This prolonged process delayed release of the movie substantially. By the time it had opened, Wood's death had already faded from the headlines despite the scandalous aspects and unanswered questions which remain unresolved today. Not even the morbidly curious could save it from being a boxoffice flop. Trumbull was so disgusted by his battles with the studio that he vowed to never direct another major film. He kept true to his word and has used his filmmaking talents primarily for educational projects. Despite all these woes, Trumbull's final cut of "Brainstorm" is reasonably compelling and the performances are all fine, if unremarkable, though it's interesting to note that Walken had not yet overtly demonstrated the kind of eccentricities that would characterize his performances in the years to come.
The Warner Archive Blu-ray presents a fine transfer but, alas no special features except for a trailer. If ever a film deserved to have a commentary track, this is it.
Throughout motion picture history, there have always been "disaster" movies. From Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy facing the great earthquake in "San Francisco" to John Wayne trying to rescue an airliner in distress in "The High and the Mighty". However, the disaster movie didn't emerge as a genre until the 1970s. Most people credit "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972) with being the first major entry among these kinds of films during that era, but arguably the genre began two years earlier with "Airport". That blockbuster flick set the standard for all of the disaster movies to follow:
An all-star cast ranging from top boxoffice attractions to respected veteran stars and popular character actors
Big production values
State-of-the-art special effects
Majestic musical score (and, if possible, a Top 40 hit shoe-horned into the proceedings)
A well-regarded director at the helm to preside over the mayhem
For the most part the formula worked fairly well. "Poseidon" was a major boxoffice smash and that film begat the short-lived genre's best year, 1974, which saw the virtual back-to-back release of "Gold", "Earthquake" and "The Towering Inferno", the latter being the "Citizen Kane" of disaster movies. However, the genre was to burn brightly but briefly. In the wake of "Inferno", there was nowhere else to go. The 1977 film "Black Sunday" was excellent, but despite a blimp crashing into the Superbowl stadium, it is not a "disaster movie" in the traditional sense. Most of those films that were, flopped badly. Producer Irwin Allen, who struck pay dirt as the producer of "Poseidon" and "Inferno" found the formula had grown stale by the late 1970s. His 1978 release "The Swarm" is generally referred to as the worst "Bee" movie ever made. His 1980 anemic attempt to blend cast members with elements of "Poseidon" and "Inferno" was released as "When Time Ran Out", an appropriate enough title for the flop that ended his big screen career. Another costly casualty of the disaster genre ebb was "Meteor", a 1979 production that top-lined an impressive cast: Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Brian Keith, Karl Malden, Martin Landau, Trevor Howard and Henry Fonda. It was produced by Gabe Gatzka and Sandy Howard (among others), two veterans with very respected backgrounds in the film industry. The film was directed by another highly respected individual, Ronald Neame, the man who had helmed "The Poseidon Adventure". On paper, the project must have looked like a "can't lose" proposition. Yet, "Meteor" turned out to be a major flop at the boxoffice as well as a critical disaster. What went wrong? To start with, it was probably ill-advised to entrust the production to American-International Pictures which specialized in making low-budget horror and teeny bopper exploitation films. The AIP association branded "Meteor" with a "cheesy" stigma even before cameras rolled.
Connery stars as a cynical, world-respected scientist whose warnings about the possibility of earth being hit by a destructive meteor have largely gone ignored. When the film opens, he is summoned to Washington by government officials who tell him the top secret bombshell disclosure that his worst nightmare is about to come true. A gigantic meteor is racing towards earth and there is only one way to stop it: by having the USA and Soviet Union join forces to synchronize their nuclear missiles in the hopes of blasting the meteor out of the sky. Brian Keith plays the Soviet foreign minister who meets up with Connery and his colleagues at a secret underground New York City command center located adjacent to the subway system(!) Natalie Wood is his gorgeous interpreter, which allows for some mildly suggestive byplay between Connery and her. There's little time for romance, however, as advance particles from the meteor are already hitting earth and causing widespread damage. With time running out, the U.S, and Soviet technicians scramble to employ their nuclear arsenals in a last ditch attempt to save earth. This scenario might seem stale today, but it was a relatively fresh concept back in '79. However, the film was undermined by the apparent shortage of production funds for use in the special effects. The sets are elaborate and impressive but the key sequences showing the missiles in action are laughably poor. Equally bad are the shots of the presumably menacing meteor hurtling towards earth. No matter how much the filmmakers try, it never looks much more terrifying than a large rock you might encounter in your garden. (Sean Connery once referred to the meteor special effects as making the titular objects resemble "little balls of shit".) The screenplay is a scatter shot affair. Apparently concerned that concentrating on the key characters who are locked into an underground command center might prove to be too claustrophobic, the decision was made to "open up" the scenario by showing various international locations being destroyed by meteor fragments. In doing so, the screenwriters cram in completely extraneous characters who are given approximately ten seconds each to develop personalities in the hope we can sympathize with them when they are pulverized. Thus, we see a young father in Hong Kong scrambling to get his child before a tidal wave engulfs the city. People in a ski resort in Switzerland are given equal opportunity for brief character development before they are buried under an avalanche. The sin of it all is that the production company really did film on location in these places but, aside from a few impressive snippets of crowds running frantically through the streets of Hong Kong, there is limited to value to the expenses incurred in shooting in such disparate areas of the globe.
Yet, for all its cheesiness, "Meteor" somehow plays better today than it did at the time of its initial release. This is primarily due to the fact that we can appreciate seeing the great cast members interacting on the big screen. Connery, middle-aged and handsome, makes for a fine leading man. Natalie Wood is given little of substance to do here but, given this was one of her last films, it gives us a precious opportunity to at least see her natural beauty. Brian Keith, long underrated as a leading man in feature films, steals the show, playing against type as a witty and funny Soviet diplomat. Only poor Martin Balsam comes across awful in an unintentionally funny performance as a fussy U.S. general who refuses to trust his Soviet counterparts (Fritz Weaver played essentially the same role very well in "Fail Safe" fifteen years earlier.) The finale of the film is truly impressive as a sea of mud descends upon the underground command center. The sequence was indeed a challenge to film and, if it looks like it was dangerous for the actors, it indeed was: several cast members were injured during this elaborate sequence.
The Kino Lorber Blu-ray is superb in terms of overall quality. As with so many special effects-laden films of the past, today's technology tends to expose the shortcomings in this pre-CGI era, but that only adds to the charm of watching a flick like this. The only bonus extra is the original theatrical trailer.
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"Sweet November", released in 1968, came and went without generating much enthusiasm from critics or the public. Produced the estimable team of Jerry Gershwin and Elliott Kastner, who would go on to make "Where Eagles Dare", the film is a romantic comedy set in Brooklyn Heights, just across the river from Manhattan decades before the area was deemed to be hip. Anthony Newley is Charlie Blake, a stuffy British import to Gotham who is the workaholic president of a company that manufactures cardboard boxes. You know the type: no time for love or laughs and just perfect to be taught a life lesson by the right girl, who, in this case, happens to be Sara Deever (Sandy Dennis), a 23 year-old independent young woman who meets cute with Charlie while they both are taking a test to renew their driver's licenses. As in all such scenarios, the small talk is awkward and Charlie finds Sara to be wacky and annoying- before discovering that her bizarre conversations are somewhat intoxicating. Before long, they are pals and Sara brings him to her apartment. She explains she's an artist who has found a way to act as a de facto repair woman for other apartment dwellers, thus supplementing her income. She also has unusual living arrangements. Every month, she "adopts" a new man with emotional needs who gets to live with her for a full month, during which time she serves as an amateur psychiatrist who documents the progress (or lack there of) in bringing the temporary man of the house to a better status than she found him in. At the end of every month, the male tenant must leave to make room for his replacement. Sara can discern that Charlie is an uptight nerd who is also frustrated poet at heart. She convinces him to be her tenant for November. Since Charlie owns his company, he's able to take the time off, which serves as a reminder of nice things were before E mails and text messages came to rule the lives of executives.
Sara's modest flat provides some amusing sight gags: her bed is located on a shaky platform accessible only by a even shakier ladder. However, the perks of being her "Tenant of the Month" are that you don't have to pay rent and you get to sleep with her, though the sexual aspect of the relationship is only hinted at. Charlie finds Sara to be a handful in terms of personality quirks. She has an opinion on everything and likes to play "Mother Hen", advising her tenants about how to improve their lives. Gradually, Charlie becomes intoxicated by her innocence and good nature. She's Holly Golightly on steroids, as she inspires him to explore his creative impulses, shed his business attire and dress in the currently mod styles. Sara introduces Charlie to her best friend, Alonzo (nicely played by Theodore Bikel), an artist and local activist who serves as a father figure to her. Before long, Charlie is madly in love with Sara and dreads the day when his eventual departure will have to occur in order to accommodate her next tenant. Until this point, "Sweet November" plays out like a sitcom of the era, albeit with some nice footage of Brooklyn. Director Robert Ellis Miller often encourages his stars to overplay the "cutesy" elements of their characters. Sara is almost pretentiously quirky and Charlie displays a fey personality and habits that were mostly associated with stereotypical gay characters of the era. However, Herman Raucher's script takes a somber turn in the last third of the film as Charlie desperately convinces himself that Sara loves him as much as he loves her. A dramatic twist is introduced that leads to a genuinely touching, if unexpected finale. As the script grows darker, the two leads have more to work with. Dennis brings a sensitivity to her performance as the ultimate liberated woman and Newley (who generally displays more ham than your local supermarket) eventually reigns in his comedic mannerisms and redeems himself by making Charlie a more sympathetic figure.
"Sweet November" has all the trappings of a stage play that was adapted to a film. In fact, it is not, although one can easily see it translated into a theater production, as most of the scenes take place in an apartment. The script was considered to be a hot property back in the day and Audrey Hepburn was said to have been interested in starring in the film. It enjoyed a prestigious opening at Radio City Music Hall but critics were dismissive of the movie, though the influential New York Times almost begrudgingly acknowledged a positive recommendation. The film quickly disappeared until 2001 when it was remade starring Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron, though that film failed at the boxoffice as well. Despite its unenviable legacy, "Sweet November" is a touching film that will probably please most retro movie lovers. It is currently available on DVD through the Warner Archive.
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Olive Films has released the now obscure 1941 British film noir "Pimpernel Smith" starring Leslie Howard, who also directed. The movie (known as "Mister V" in the United States) was released in 1941 at a time when England was hanging on by a thin thread as Hitler dominated most of Europe. As with all of the countries involved in WWII, the British film industry relied heavily on top stars appearing in inspiring movies that would boost public morale. This was especially true in England which saw its major ally, France, capitulate to Hitler in a matter of weeks, leaving the island nation standing alone against the Nazi menace. . At the time "Pimpernel Smith" was released in July 1941 (American would not enter the war until the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December of that year), the Brits were enjoying a spate of good news. After the disastrous experience of the British expedition force in Dunkirk, the nation had been subjected to the Blitz, the daily bombing by the Luftwaffe. London was especially hard hit in what Hitler had hoped to be a strategy that would have destroyed the RAF and led to his massive invasion of England. Instead, after a year of bitter fighting, the RAF had defeated the Luftwaffe and Hitler put his invasion plans on hold as he dealt with the consequences of his misguided incursion into the Soviet Union. With the Battle of Britain now over, the Brits could catch their breath and resume normal activities such as attending the cinema without worrying about being bombed into oblivion. Apparently "Pimpernel Smith" was an especially popular boxoffice hit in 1941, though the film's reputation as faded into oblivion in the decades since.
Howard's film production is a modern, loosely-based version of the classic "The Scarlet Pimpernel"- one of the first famous tales in which the dynamic hero hides behind a meek and mild alter ego to keep his identity secret. The story is set in the months before England went to war with the Axis powers following Germany's invasion of Poland. Howard plays Prof. Horatio Smith, a tweedy, eccentric academic who teaches at Cambridge. He arranges to take a group of his male students on a field trip to Germany ostensibly to undertake an archaeological expedition to prove that an ancient Aryan culture had once existed there- a notion that appeals to the xenophobic Nazi establishment. In reality, Smith is the unlikely anonymous hero whose exploits are filling the newspapers with tales of adventure, much to the delight of the British and the consternation of the Germans. Through daring schemes that border on the outrageous, Smith has been able to rescue important political prisoners from jails and concentration camps. His latest foray into Germany is designed to rescue Sidmir Koslowski (Peter Gawthorne), a Polish intellectual who is of value to the Allies. He has been arrested by the Germans on suspicion of being a spy. As the field trip gets under way, Smith plays up his role as an absent-minded professor, much to the amusement of his students. However, when he receives a flesh wound during one of his nocturnal secret missions, the boys catch on and insist that they be enlisted into helping Smith free Koslowski. Smith reluctantly concedes to accept their help. On the surface, Smith is treated as an honored guest by the Germans but the local military commander, General von Graum (Francis L. Sullivan) strongly suspects he is actually the "Pimpernel" and is determined to prove it and arrest him before any more prisoners can be freed. Von Graum forcibly enlists the services of Koslowski's beautiful daughter Ludmilla (Mary Morris) and makes her serve as a spy, holding her father's well-being over her head as collateral. Her mission is to seduce Smith if necessary in order to get proof of his extracurricular activities. Predictably, the two fall in love and Smith now not only has to rescue Koslowski, but his daughter as well.
Despite the fact that Leslie Howard was at the height of his career coming off of his role as Ashley Wilkes in "Gone with the Wind", "Pimpernel Smith" is a low-budget film that resembles a Poverty Row production. Perhaps resources and funding for films in wartime Britain were scarce even for a movie with strong propaganda value such as this. Virtually the entire film was shot on soundstages- and rather claustrophobic ones at that. City views glimpsed through windows are represented by low-grade matte paintings and there are only a few fleeting shots of actual exteriors. It's to Howard's credit as star and director as well as the screenwriters that the movie overcomes these distractions with a highly engrossing story line that builds in interest and suspense during the two-hour running time. Howard is in top form and he is more than matched by Francis L. Sullivan who makes for a larger-than-life villain in both the figurative and literal sense of the term. Sullivan uses his considerable girth and wry delivery to channel the best characteristics of Charles Laughton and Sydney Greenstreet. The witty script allows some wonderful byplay as Smith and von Graum maintain a superficial politeness even though they both regard each other as mortal enemies engaged in a cat-and-mouse game of strategy. Mary Morris makes for a lovely leading lady though the male actors who play Smith's students are so wholesome as to come across as absurd. It doesn't help matters that the styles of the era make them appear to look older than Smith.
It's a pity that there were no further adventures of Pimpernel Smith. However, real-life tragedy intervened when Leslie Howard was flying back to England from neutral Portugal in 1943 aboard a civilian aircraft. The plane was shot down by German fighters and all aboard were killed. Germany claimed the tragedy was an error but theories persist that his may have been targeted because of rumors that Churchill was aboard. Another theory was that the Germans wanted Howard dead in retribution for an Allied propaganda campaign he had been carrying out in Spain and Portugal. (For full analysis of the conspiracy theories behind Howard's death, read this entry on Wikipedia.) Thus, one of the film industry's most popular leading men had his life cut short due to the war even though he wasn't serving in combat."Pimpernel Smith" is a modest film but one that resonates very well today and gives us a full appreciation of Howard's talents as both actor and director. The Olive Blu-ray is sans any extras, which is a pity because of the aforementioned dramatic elements of Howard's life that would make for a good commentary track. However, the picture transfer is very impressive and does justice to the fine cinematography of Mutz Greenbaum.
Sir Sean Connery has passed away at age 90. One of the few remaining genuine legends of the film industry, Connery's passing will seem surrealistic to his legions of international fans, as he somehow seemed immortal. Connery overcame a humble upbringing in Edinburgh, Scotland to emerge as a cinematic icon. As young man, he entered the Royal Navy but his stint was short-lived, as he was released from service due to health issues. He later dabbled in weight lifting and was Scotland's candidate in the Mr. Universe contest. Connery drifted into acting quite by chance after someone suggested he audition for a chorus role in a London stage production of "South Pacific". He got the part and the acting bug got the better of him and he became determined to make it his profession. Connery secured bit roles in low-budget British films without making much of an impact, though one of the films, "Hell Drivers" managed to assemble a remarkable cast that included two other future stars who would make their marks by playing secret agents, Patrick McGoohan and David McCallum. Connery seemed poised for stardom when was signed under contract by 20th Century Fox. However, what was to be his first major film, Another Time, Another Place opposite Lana Turner, flopped.
Fox saw no potential in the young actor but two enterprising producers, Albert R. ("Cubby") Broccoli and Harry Saltzman did. The pair had recently formed Eon Productions for the express purpose of bringing Ian Fleming's James Bond novels to the big screen, having secured funding from United Artists' head of production David V. Picker, who was a fan of the books. The producers considered many young actors for the pivotal role of 007, knowing that securing the right man would be essential for ensuring sequels to their first production, Dr. No. There have been countless variations of how Broccoli and Saltzman agreed to hire Sean Connery, who had enough hubris to refuse to film a formal screen test. However, Broccoli once told this writer that it was his wife Dana who suggested Connery, having seen him in the 1959 Disney film Darby O'Gill and the Little People. Connery suitably impressed the producers and Dr.No was brought to the screen in 1962 (it premiered in America the following year.) While the film wasn't a blockbuster, it was considered to be a sizable hit and, most importantly, Connery truly "clicked" with critics and audiences. The following film, From Russia with Love was released in 1963 to great acclaim and much higher boxoffice grosses on a worldwide basis. The films pushed the envelope in terms of sex and violence and Bond rapidly became male role model for the Playboy magazine era. Broccoli and Saltzman wisely decided to make each successive film more expensive and grander in terms of production values. With the 1964 release of Goldfinger, the fan movement had evolved into worldwide Bondmania. Connery had attributed much of his success in the role of 007 to Terence Young, the dapper director of the first two films, who took the 'rough-around-the-edges' young Scot to a level of refinement, teaching him how to dress, eat and drink properly.
Despite the Bond films bringing Connery wealth, acclaim and fame, there was already the seeds of trouble in Paradise. He could perceive that the Bond films would have a much longer history than anyone initially anticipated. Consequently, he became afraid of being typecast. He sought other roles in high profile films. In the 1964 thriller, Woman of Straw, he gave a strong performance as a manipulative womanizer and schemer. Although the film is a gem, it flopped on its release. Connery had high hopes for working with Alfred Hitchcock as the male lead in Marnie the same year. Hitchcock had been riding high with a wave of acclaimed, high profile films but to Connery's disappointment, Marnie was a critical and boxoffice failure. By the time Connery went into production on the fourth Bond film, Thunderball, he was feuding with the producers, who, in turn, were feuding with each other. The unexpected popularity of the Bond franchise had put enormous pressure on everyone. Connery, an intensely private man, found himself the reluctant idol of millions around the globe. His marriage to actress Diane Cilento was suffering as a consequence. Prior to the release of Thunderball in 1965, Connery won acclaim for his lead role in The Hill, an intense prison drama that teamed him with director Sidney Lumet for the first time. The movie was widely praised but sank at the boxoffice. Connery became frustrated that fans only wanted to see him as Bond, a theory proven by the blockbuster grosses for Thunderball. Connery's attempt at a madcap comedy, A Fine Madness, also flopped in 1966, the year he was going into production on the fifth Bond movie You Only Live Twice. Filmed in Japan under enormous logistical pressures, Connery had made it known he was fed up with playing 007. Although contractually obligated to star in the next film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the producers released Connery from the movie and hired novice actor George Lazenby to play Bond.
Eager to reshape his image, Connery teamed with producer Euan Lloyd for the European Western Shalako, which boasted an international high profile cast. While not a flop, the movie also didn't indicate that there was a major acceptance of Connery in a non-Bond role. The Russian/Italian co-production of The Red Tent in which Connery played doomed Norwegian Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen, was a boxoffice disaster. He had high hopes for director Martin Ritt's The Molly Maguires, but that failed commercially, too. Perhaps for this reason, Connery agreed to return to the role of James Bond one more time in Diamonds are Forever. After George Lazenby had quit the series after only one film, producers and United Artists had signed American actor John Gavin for the role of Bond. However, David Picker wanted to ensure the stability of the lucrative series and offered Connery the highest salary ever paid to an actor: $1.25 million plus a percentage of the gross. Connery agreed with the promise of using the windfall to establish a charity in his native Scotland. Ironically, Connery's latest non-Bond film, The Anderson Tapes, proved to be a critical and commercial success even as he was filming his return to the role of 007. Predictably, Diamonds Are Forever was a smash hit, despite the fact that a weak script had left some diehard fans somewhat disappointed. After all, Connery was back and the world press rejoiced. Nevertheless, Connery resisted offers to appear as Bond again in Live and Let Die and Roger Moore inherited the role, finding equal success over a twelve year period.
Some of Connery's post-Bond films fared well, despite the high profile failure of director John Boorman's sci-fi film Zardoz and The Offence, a grim police drama in which Connery gave an Oscar-caliber performance. However, the movie, which reunited him with Sidney Lumet, was barely released theatrically and played briefly in only a handful of venues. Connery finally began to earn praise from critics for his performances in films such as The Man Who Would Be King, The Wind and the Lion, Murder on the Orient Express, The Great Train Robbery and Robin and Marian. By this point in his personal life, he and Diane Cilento had divorced. Connery would then marry the artist Michelene Roquebrune in 1975. They remained married until his death. Professionally, many of his films still failed at the boxoffice, though by this point he was enjoying status as an icon of international cinema. In 1983, he returned to the role of James Bond in Never Say Never Again, a loose remake of Thunderball that was produced outside of the Eon franchise films. The movie was a financial success and earned good reviews, though Bond purists widely consider it to have fallen short of its potential.
In 1988, Connery was awarded the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his impressive performance as an aging Irish cop on the trail of Al Capone in The Untouchables. Even as he aged, he was regarded as a sex symbol. Upon being told that he had been voted "The Sexiest Man Alive", Connery characteristically quipped that there weren't many sexy dead men. In 1989, he co-starred with Harrison Ford in the blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, directed by Steven Spielberg. Connery would later say it was one of his most enjoyable experiences as an actor. The following year, he scored another hit with The Hunt for Red October, a Cold War thriller that benefited from the recent collapse of the Soviet Union. However, it wouldn't be until 1996 when he starred in another blockbuster release with the prison adventure film The Rock. His 1999 crime caper Entrapment was also a major hit but Connery was publicly griping that the filmmaking process and the quality of scripts presented to him were becoming matters of concern. After the ill-fated super hero movie The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in 2003, he announced he was retiring from acting. Despite overtures from the industry, Connery refused all offers, including another Indiana Jones film.
In his post-retirement years, Connery kept a low public profile, rarely appearing at events or granting interviews. This led to rumors that he was ill or even at death's door. However, in 2010, his brother Neil told this writer that people simply didn't understand that Connery was enjoying a laid-back retirement lifestyle, having traveled and worked so extensively for decades. Politically, Connery remained steadfastly nationalistic in terms of Scottish independence and would occasionally March in the Tartan Day parade in New York City, attired in a kilt.
Sir Sean Connery's legacy was not only as an icon of international cinema, but also as a man of dignity and honor who made it to the top without compromising his principles. He had lived to see many of his films become regarded as classics and he enjoyed the respect of his peers as well as audiences around the world. Not bad for a Scottish lad who started out driving lorries and polishing coffins.
"Hearts of the West" is a somewhat sentimental, generally amusing tale that displays affection for the early sound era of cinema. Written by Rob Thompson and directed by Howard Zieff, the film barely registered at the boxoffice when released in 1975, despite having received very positive reviews. The story is another familiar "fish-out-of-water" tale with young Jeff Bridges as Lewis Tater, an Iowan who is obsessed with the Western novels of Zane Gray. He's eager to get to the real West to find inspiration for his own plans to become a screenwriter for the horse operas that were all the rage in the 1930s. First, he plans to attend a university in Nevada where he hopes to hone his writing skills. Upon arriving in Nevada, however, he finds that the "university" doesn't exist beyond a post office box where gullible applicants have sent their tuition fees. While still licking his wounds, Lewis checks in to a local boarding house and coincidentally ends up confronting the two men behind the scam (Richard B. Shull and Anthony James.) A brawl ensues and Lewis escapes in their car, while also taking a box that contains a pistol. The con men chase after him to no avail, as Lewis escapes into the desert. What he doesn't know is that the box he has taken has a secret compartment containing thousands of dollars in ill-gotten gains from the tuition applicants. Lewis is saved from dying of thirst when he stumbles on to a low budget movie company that is filming a Western. He befriends veteran stuntman Howard Pike (Andy Griffith), who takes him under his wing and gets him a job as a stunt man despite the fact the Lewis has no experience. Still, his willingness to place himself in danger favorably impresses the director, Kessler (Alan Arkin). Lewis also strikes up a romantic relationship with the script girl, Miss Trout (Blythe Danner), who gets him a job as a busboy in a local diner to help him add to his skimpy wages on the film set. Lewis discovers the hidden money and uses it to try to buy an audience with eccentric film producer A.J. Nietz (a very quirky and funny Donald Pleasence), who he hopes to convince to buy his script for a Western. Things go awry, however, when the two con men track him down and threaten his life.
"Hearts of the West" provides gentle comedy, as director Zieff favors mild chuckles over belly laughs. What enriches the film is the vast assortment of interesting characters. Bridges, then 24 years old, shows star power as the likeable but gullible protagonist and Andy Griffith steals the show as the shopworn, cynical stuntman who never realized fulfillment of his dreams. All of the supporting actors give yeoman performances and there are brief appearances from beloved character actors such as Frank Cady, Dub Taylor, Alex Rocco, Herb Edelman, Marie Windsor, Thayer David and William Christopher, among others. The film is an homage to a bygone era of filmmaking. Ironically, the same can now be said about "Hearts of the West", which is available as a region-free DVD from the Warner Archive. The only bonus extra is the original trailer.
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Still going strong: Eastwood in "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964).
Clint Eastwood isn't about to let a worldwide pandemic interfere with his filmmaking plans. Eastwood is collaborating with Oscar-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy ("The Godfather") to bring the novel "Cry Macho" to the screen. The story is set in 1978 and finds Eastwood playing a washed up former rodeo star who takes a road trip with a troubled young man. Warner Brothers hasn't confirmed the film officially, but according to Deadline, Eastwood is already scouting locations, though the production schedule will depend upon factors dictated by the pandemic. The goal would be to have the film in theaters by next winter. Eastwood's last film "The Mule" was well received by audiences and critics and was deemed a boxoffice hit. For more, click here.
The release of the eagerly-awaited James Bond film "No Time to Die" has been delayed once again. Producers announced the November release has been scrubbed and the film is now anticipated to open next April. Originally, the movie was to have opened last March but the emergence of the virus caused MGM and Eon Productions to postpone release, making the film the first movie to have its premiere pushed back due to the epidemic. Producers were criticized at the time but they proved to be prescient, given how rapidly the virus spread. There had been speculation that Eon would push the film back to next year but a new round of marketing seemed to indicate that "No Time to Die" would indeed open in November. However, it became clear that the boxoffice would suffer, given the fact that theaters are still either closed or operating under limited capacity rules in key international territories, even as the virus is now worsening once again. The film's title reflects the current philosophy of movie-goers who have proven to be reluctant to patronize movie theaters, which are still considered by health experts to be high risk environments. For more, click here.
(This trailer is not is widescreen format, but the film itself is.)
BY LEE PFEIFFER
A decade before the release of the teenage vampire sensation "Twilight" in 2008, there was another film with the same title that couldn't be more different in tone and style. While the horror flick helped launch the careers of up-and-coming actors, the 1998 film was gently acknowledging that its already legendary stars were coming to the end of theirs. This is evidenced by the title, which has a dual meaning: the time of day as well as the stage of life its central characters find themselves in. "Twilight" was written and directed by Robert Benton and stars Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman and James Garner. Benton and Newman had found considerable acclaim and success with their previous collaboration, "Nobody's Fool", but "Twilight" received mixed reviews and performed poorly at the boxoffice. Therefore, there's probably a good chance you never saw it. The failure of movie is puzzling, given the public's affection for the film noir genre. Purists may argue that true film noir requires that a movie be made on a modest budget and shot in black and white. "Twilight" doesn't apply to either of these rules. It has a high-priced cast and gorgeous color cinematography by Piotr Sobocinski, but in many ways it evokes the very best of the noir genre, in a way that director Dick Richards' 1975 detective flick "Farewell My Lovely" also succeeded in doing. It has all the central elements: the protagonist is a down-and-out private eye (are there any other kind in noir films?), a deceptive man who sends him out on a mission to make some fast money, a sultry femme fatale and an abundance of supporting characters who are as eccentric as they are threatening. Oh, and most of the action takes place in the dead of night.
The film is set in contemporary L.A. Newman plays Harry Ross, a one-time cop who was fired for alcoholism, an affliction that saw his career as a private dick also fail. In the process, he lost his wife and kids and remains alienated from them. Harry survives due to the generosity of his benefactors, old friend Jack Ames (Gene Hackman) and his wife Catherine (Susan Sarandon), both of whom were once prominent and popular actors whose careers and finances are on a downward trend. Harry is allowed to live rent-free at their lavish home, where he earns a few bucks here and there by acting as a Man Friday for Jack, running errands for him that often involve people of dubious backgrounds. Jack has just learned that his cancer has been determined to be terminal and he's given about six months to live. He takes it in stride but resents having to spend much of his time in bed. Catherine seems to be devoted to him but even Jack knows that she and Harry have long had eyes for each other. Also sharing the residence is Jack and Catherine's precocious teenage daughter Mel (Reese Witherspoon), who Harry had to to fly to Mexico to retrieve from the arms of an older paramour, Jeff Willis (Liev Schrieiber), who accidentally shot Harry in the leg during an altercation. Now Jack has another mission for Harry; a seemingly easy one: deliver an envelope stuffed with money to a man named Lester Ivar (M. Emmett Walsh) with no questions asked. Needless to say, things go awry from the start and Harry finds himself being shot at, beaten up and framed for murder, all due to a blackmail plot against Jack and Catherine, who were long suspected of murdering her first husband so they could be together. As with any noir or noir-like film, it doesn't pay to go into much detail about the plot, as it would compromise all the twists and turns in Robert Benton's screenplay, which, in true genre form, is complex but thoroughly compelling.
"Twilight" is the kind of film that celebrates the kinds of characters that existed in crime movies of the 1940s and 1950s. Everyone speaks the same lingo, dishing out insults and wisecracks with abandon. It's the kind of film where a cuckolded husband learns his best friend has been sleeping with his wife and deals with it by simply telling him to knock it off. The performances are uniformly excellent, with Newman at age 73 displaying the same cynical wit that made "Harper" such a pleasure to watch. He's also still drop-dead handsome, even though his character acknowledges his advanced years. (A running gag in the film is that Harry is unaware that the rumor mill has it that his "pecker had been shot off" in the incident in Mexico.) Sarandon burns up the screen as the diva-like object of both Harry and Jack's affections and Reese Witherspoon displays the talents that would see her rise to stardom. Hackman is very good, but his screen time is limited, though the dialogue he shares with Newman is terrific. There's also a standout turn in a supporting role by James Garner, as a friend of both men who is a retired cop who serves as a "Mr. Fix-It" on the L.A. crime scene. There is also an excellent performance by Stockard Channing as a tough-as-nails LAPD lieutenant and former flame of Harry's. Liev Schrieber and Margo Martindale fill out the ranks as a team of murderous blackmailers who are as eccentric as any characters to be found in an old John Huston movie and there is an amusing turn by Giancarlo Esposito as an aspiring private eye who idolizes Harry. The film is also complimented by an impressive score by the legendary Elmer Bernstein.
The critical and boxoffice failure of "Twilight" shouldn't distract from the fact that this is a first-rate detective film well worth checking out. It is currently streaming on Amazon Prime, free for Prime members and available for rental by non-members.
We pay tribute to the eternal cinematic love story Somewhere in Time starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. Cai Ross provides an exclusive interview with the film's director, Jeannot Szwarc.
Simon Lewis provides a 12-page "Film in Focus" article detailing the trials and tribulations of making David Lean's ill-fated Irish romance, Ryan's Daughter.
John P. Harty examines the merits of another high profile boxoffice misfire, Richard Brooks' Lord Jim starring Peter O'Toole.
Mark Mawston entices actor John Leyton to give a rare interview in which he discusses his successful career as a rock 'n roll heartthrob and, as an actor, filming The Great Escape.
Dave Worrall shines the spotlight on Helen Mirren's breakthrough film, Age of Consent.
Gareth Owen's "Pinewood Past" column
Brian Hannan looks at boxoffice performance of retro film releases
Darren Allison reviews the latest soundtrack releases
Thomas Hauerslev celebrates the recent restoration of MGM's Cinerama classic The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
Lee Pfeiffer looks at the dark side of director Blake Edwards' films with Experiment in Terror starring Lee Remick, Glenn Ford and Stefanie Powers.
Plus regular columns by Raymond Benson, Gareth Owen, Darren Allison and Brian Hannan.
EVERY ISSUE CONTAINS:
64 FULL COLOR PAGES
RARE STILLS AND MOVIE POSTER ART
EXCLUSIVE FILMMAKER INTERVIEWS
STAFF REPORTS ON FILM EVENTS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE
Despite Sylvester Stallone’s status as a movie icon, his
boxoffice success outside of the Rocky and Rambo franchises has always been
spotty. There have been some hits with films such as Cliffhanger and The
Expendables series, but Stallone has managed to remain relevant simply by
working non-stop. A few of his failures seemed promising on paper and were
ambitious in execution, such as “F.I.S.T.†and “Paradise Alleyâ€, while others
were just done for a quick pay check (though I will concede that “Over the Topâ€
is the “Citizen Kane†of arm-wrestling movies.) Some of his films have even gone
direct-to-video but he always manages to bounce back. However, his attempts to
conquer the comedy genre have generally fallen flat. (When was the last time
you had a craving to watch “Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot†or “Rhinestone�).
Thus, when, on a whim, I plucked out Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray screener of Stallone’s
1991 comedy “Oscar†from a pile of golden oldies, I pondered whether I was
experiencing a momentary episode of self-flagellation in the manner of religious
pilgrims who take satisfaction from the experience of whipping themselves for
some greater cause. In my case, the greater cause would be to warn unsuspecting
readers to avoid yet another Stallone comedy. But fate played a strange trick.
From its opening moments, I found myself smitten by “Oscarâ€, perhaps because it
was directed by John Landis, a man who knows a thing or two about directing
first rate comedies. (His credits include “National Lampoon’s Animal Houseâ€, “Trading
Places†and “The Blues Brothers.â€) Landis had long wanted to remake a 1967 French film farce that, in turn, had been based on 1950s stage production. When it finally came to fruition, he moved the setting from contemporary to the 1930s.
The film opens with a very amusing scene in which Chicago gangster Angelo "Snaps" Provolone sits by the bedside of his dying father (a very amusing Kirk Douglas in a cameo) and promises him that he will give up his criminal ways and live on the straight-and-narrow. For his empathy, his old man slaps him across the face and then dies. Still, Snaps is determined to keep his vow. He presides over a palatial mansion house with his glamorous wife Sofia (Ornella Muti) and his rebellious, sexually frustrated daughter Lisa (Marisa Tomei). The script by Michael Barrie and Jim Mulholland (who plays the titular character who is much-discussed but seen only at the very end of the film) is spot-on and keeps the action flowing at a fever pitch, as is appropriate for a farce. The less said about the plot, the better. It moves at lightning speed and Landis capitalizes on the constant devices of mistaken identities, assumed identities and a packed house of amusing characters straight out of a Damon Runyon story with a side dish of Frank Capra and Howard Hawks comedies. Spats has to deal with double-crosses, temptations to return to crime and deal with a daughter who may or may not be pregnant and may or may not be marrying his personal accountant. Stallone is very good indeed, deftly spitting out wisecracks and showing frustration at the rapidly changing series of events. Director Landis wisely keeps virtually all of the action in and around the mansion, thus keeping the story's origins as a stage production intact. The film features a potpourri of marvelous supporting performances from the likes of Tim Curry, Peter Riegert, Harry Shearer, Chazz Palminteri, Kurtwood Smith, Vincent Spano, Martin Ferrero and Ken Howard. There are also welcome guest appearances by veterans Yvonne DeCarlo (her last film), Don Ameche and Eddie Bracken, who is particularly funny as hyper street informant.
"Oscar" was a box office flop and critics attacked it across the board. However, it has aged very well and I found it to be a delight throughout. Give it chance, will ya?
The Kino Lorber Blu-ray features an amusing interview with John Landis, who recounts how the film was able to use the still-standing street sets on the Universal lot that had been constructed for "The Sting"- until a disastrous fire destroyed them all along with priceless vintage wardrobe. He describes the Herculean tasks of salvaging the film. He also relates a very amusing story about casting Kirk Douglas without realizing he and Stallone had been feuding for ten years ever since Douglas walked off co-starring in "First Blood" because Stallone wouldn't concede to killing off the Rambo character.
Other bonus features are the original trailer and a gallery of other KL trailers.
From the mid-to-late 1970s, American football was the subject of quite a few high profile Hollywood studio productions. Burt Reynolds starred in two: "The Longest Yard" and "Semi-Tough". There was also "North Dallas Forty" and two similarly-themed thrillers set at the Super Bowl: "Two-Minute Warning" and "Black Sunday". Even Warren Beatty's "Heaven Can Wait" had a tie-in to the sport. The aforementioned "Semi-Tough" has been released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. The 1977 production has a lineup of top talent including a script by the estimable Walter Bernstein ("Fail Safe", "The Front"), who adapted Dan Jenkins' bestselling novel. The director was Michael Ritchie, who saw a meteoric rise in stature after once being fired as a director on "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." after arguing over the artistic merits of a single episode. Ritchie was coming off a string of eclectic films including "Downhill Racer", "Prime Cut", "Smile" and "The Bad News Bears". His acclaimed 1972 satire "The Candidate" is back in the news, as it seems prescient today with its tale of an unqualified aspirant to high political office who succeeds largely because he learned how to be media-savvy. "Semi-Tough", which was a boxoffice hit, boasted three leading actors at the peaks of their careers: Burt Reynolds was arguably the top male movie star in the world, Kris Kristofferson was riding high from the success of "A Star is Born" and Jilly Clayburgh was very much a hot property, having appeared in numerous high profile films.
The plot can be written on the head of pine: Billy Clyde Puckett (Reynolds) and "Shake" Tiller (Kristofferson) are best buds and NFL stars on a (fictitious) Miami team. They live together with Barbara Jane Bookman (Clayburgh), daughter of the team's mercurial owner Big Ed Bookman (Robert Preston). Strangely, while the trio consistently flirt and make sexual references, they live a platonic lilfestyle, largely because Barbara has suffered a string of bad relationships and broken marriages that she is not eager to repeat. Things are going swimmingly until one night, on a drunken impulse, Shake and Barbara break the rules and have sex. The next day they announce their engagement. Although Billy Clyde tries to put on a poker face, he's fighting depression because he realizes he has loved Barbara all along and should have made the first overture to her. Tensions only rise when Shake and Barbara begin to have second thoughts, leaving Billy Clyde tempted to intervene for selfish purposes. The movie has plenty of yucks and presents Reynolds at his best and in full towel-snapping, wise ass mode. He enjoys genuine chemistry with Kristofferson and Clayburgh and there are a wealth of amusing contributions from the fine supporting cast that includes Brian Dennehy in his first noticeable role as a numbskull NFL star who at one points memorably dangles a woman by the ankles from the roof of a hotel. There's also a priceless interlude between Reynolds and Lotte Lenya (in full Rosa Klebb mode) as a sadistic chiropractor.)Refreshingly, this is one 1970s film that doesn't demand nude scenes from its leading lady. Instead, director Ritchie finds numerous excuses for his male leads to doff their tops.
Burt Reynolds and Lotte Lenya.
For all the talent involved, however, "Semi-Tough" never amounts to much and seems rather dated today. The concept of a menage-a-trois was already old hat in 1977 and at times the movie begins to resemble "Paint Your Wagon" with some shoulder pads tossed in. Director Ritchie and screenwriter Bernstein almost salvage the proceedings with a sub-plot that satirizes the craze for wacky self-help movements that swept America in the late 1970s. Bert Convy is very funny as the deadpanned dictator-like leader of a spiritual cleansing movement clearly modeled on EST. The three main characters end up attending a meeting and it's quite amusing to see art imitate life as dozens of well-heeled but naive souls pay money to be insulted and made to listen to pompous lectures, followed by ridiculous physical exercises. However, things go askew in the final scene which finds a chaotic wedding descending into slapstick. The movie never finds a consistent theme. Is it a sex comedy? Is it a social satire? Is it a poignant statement about the shallowness of relationships in the modern era? However, it is fun to spend time with the three leads, who were at top of their game. Sadly, over the next few years, their big screen careers would nosedive as Reynolds and Clayburgh chose unsatisfying films to star in and Kristofferson would find his career among the wreckage of the "Heaven's Gate" financial debacle.
The Kino Lorber presents a fine transfer. Bonus features are limited to a stills gallery and a variety of trailers. Kudos to Kino for retaining the marvelous and politically incorrect poster art by the great Robert McGinnis.
Ennio Morricone, the Oscar-winning and prolific film composer, has died in Rome at age 91 from complications resulting from a fall that had left him with a fractured hip. In the course of his career, Morricone rose from composing music for little-seen Italian films to becoming an icon of the movie industry. He worked virtually non-stop, turning out a head-spinning number of film scores. However, it was his collaborations with director Sergio Leone that brought him to international attention. When United Artists head of production David V. Picker saw Leone's A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More, both of which had been sensations at the European boxoffice, he purchased the distribution rights for the movies for English language territories. He also agreed to finance the third and final film in the series, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The films proved to be sensations worldwide and audiences responded enthusiastically to Morricone's quirky scores. His music for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly remains one of the most iconic main film themes ever composed, rivaled only, perhaps, by the James Bond Theme. Morricone's work was highly original, and for the Italian westerns often included full choirs singing intentionally unintelligible words. Ironically, in the United States, Morricone's main theme for "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" became a major hit on the radio, but it was a cover version performed by Hugo Montenegro and his orchestra. Even after the success of the Leone Western trilogy, Morricone continued to compose scores for low-grade Italian films. One of the most amusing was "O.K. Connery", the title song for the 1967 James Bond spoof "Operation Kid Brother" which starred Sean Connery's brother Neil. The film (currently streaming on Amazon Prime) was dreadful but you might find yourself humming Morricone's catchy opening song. Morricone teamed again with Sergio Leone for another western masterpiece "Once Upon a Time in the West", as his star rose internationally and he became increasingly revered by film enthusiasts worldwide.
Over the course of decades, Morricone retained his status as a workaholic composer. In 2006, he received an honorary Oscar for his lifetime achievements. It was presented to him, appropriately enough, by Clint Eastwood, star of the Leone "Dollars" trilogy. Morricone continued to compose non-film scores that were acclaimed in their own right and often performed by him in live concerts that were always hot ticket events. However, it was the movies that cemented his legendary status. He had been nominated for numerous Oscars before winning in for his score for Quentin Tarantino's 2015 film "The Hateful Eight". His influence continues today. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" theme is currently heard in a TV commercial, as is his magnificent composition from that film, "The Ecstasy of Gold", which is the signature theme for Modelo beer commercials.
For more about Morricone's career, click here to read obituary by Jon Burlingame of Variety.
William
Holden commands a newly formed commando group in “The Devil’s Brigade,â€
available by Kino Lorber on Blu-ray. On the heels of the successful “The Dirty
Dozen†from the previous year, “The Devil’s Brigade†is based on the 1966 book
by Robert H. Adleman and Colonel George Walton. It chronicles the true events
of the 1st Special Service, a joint American and Canadian commando unit
assigned to the United States Fifth Army. Inspired by true events, the movie
follows the standard tropes of this type of action adventure men- at -war movie.
A rag-tag group of soldiers are brought together for a mission, they initially
mistrust each other, get into a fight, train together, get into another fight
this time working together against another group, graduate from their training
and then deploy on their mission to fight the enemy (usually Germans, Italians
or Japanese). I recall seeing this for the first time on American broadcast
television with commercials advertising “The American misfits and the proud
Canadians…†The commando group starts training at an American base where the
two groups learn to work as a single unit. The action switches to German
occupied Italy in the second half as they battle the Germans in close combat
action sequences.
The
movie features a “Hollywood Who’s Who†cast of leading men and character actors:
William Holden as Lt. Colonel Robert T. Frederick, the commander of the unit.
Cliff Robertson as the Canadian commander, Major Alan Crown. Vince Edwards as
the American commander, Major Cliff Bricker. The supporting cast gets even better with the
American misfits and proud Canadians portrayed by: Claude Akins as Private
Rocky Rockman, Richard Jaeckel as Private Omar Creco, Andrew Prine as Private
Theodore Ransom, Richard Dawson as Private Hugh MacDonald, Luke Askew as
Private Hubert Hixon, Tom Troup as Private Al Manella, Jeremy Slate as Sergeant
Pat O’Neill, Jack Watson as Corporal Peacock, Harry Carey Jr. as Captain Rose,
Michael Rennie as Lt. General Mark Clark, Carroll O’Connor as Major General
Maxwell Hunter, Dana Andrews as Brig. General Walter Naylor, Michael Rennie as
Lt. General Mark Clark, stunt man and future director Hal Needham as a sergeant.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Karl-Otto Alberty as the German officer interrogating
Claude Akins. Fans of retro classics will remember him as the German tank
commander in “Kelly’s Heroes†and the German officer who captures Richard
Attenborough in “The Great Escape†and orders, “Hands UP!â€
Holden
give a stoic, yet one-dimensional, performance as the commander. This is a year prior to his iconic performance as Pike in Sam Peckinpah’s classic “The
Wild Bunch†in 1969. While “The Devil’s Brigade†is not as highly regarded as
that movie, or even “The Dirty Dozen,†it stands on its own as a minor classic
in the genre. Richard Jaeckel steals every scene he appears in. Cliff Robertson
is terrific as the Canadian commander, just a year away from his Academy Award-winning
performance in “Charly.†Vince Edwards was transitioning back to the big screen following his run on television in “Ben Caseyâ€
which was a very popular series in the first half of the 1960s. However, the abundant cast makes it difficult
for anyone to really stand out as the face behind this movie, as Lee Marvin did
in “The Dirty Dozen.â€
Director Andrew V. McLaglen and William Holden on location in Utah. (Cinema Retro archives.)
Directed
by Andrew V. McLaglen, a veteran director of many popular movies, the film
looks and sounds terrific and clocks in at 130 minutes. Released in May 1968 by
United Artists, it was filmed in widescreen Panavision on location in Utah. The
Utah location doubles for the training base during the first half of the film and
some of the action when the brigade get to Italy in the second half. From the
appearance of the buildings, it appears to have been filmed on an active military
base in Utah. The buildings look live in and may have been left standing from
the WWII period, which was not uncommon. Much of the second half was filmed on
location in Italy in actual WWII battle locations, using much of the same
armaments used in countless other WWII-themed movies filmed in the 60s and 70s.
The production value in the location filming really elevates this movie. Look
through the windows in the interior scenes during the first half of the movie
and you’ll notice that McLaglen ensures there is stuff going on outside, making
the location come alive.
Unfortunately,
the movie was not a major hit during its initial release. Subsequent broadcast
television, cable TV and home video releases have elevated its status over the
years as a solid action adventure movie. The film is often compared to “The
Dirty Dozen†which came out the previous year. There are definite similarities
and this may have been part of the movie’s shortfall a the boxoffice. Also, the
Vietnam War was raging and military movies were falling out of favor. It’s hard
to know for certain, as movie audiences can be fickle. However, the “men on an
impossible mission†genre remains popular to this day.
The
Kino Lorber Blu-ray comes with an audio commentary by film historians Steve
Mitchell and Steven Jay Rubin. The commentary is an entertaining trivia and Mitchell and Rubin know their stuff when it comes
to military movies. Rubin is an expert on the various armaments used in the
film and has a knack for identifying Hollywood military weapon sound effects
and the differences between the studio libraries. The audio commentary is
compelling enough to justify watching the Blu-ray twice. The other extras are
the trailer for this and other Kino Lorber Blu-ray titles.
By the year 1972, the esteemed Billy Wilder was licking his wounds over the boxoffice debacle that was "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes". Wilder's revisionist depiction of the legendary sleuth is precisely what Holmes fan clamor for today, but to a generation that defined the depiction of Holmes and Watson by the low-budget film series starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, there was little enthusiasm to see an all-too human Holmes with all-too-human failings. Wilder blamed the poor reception for the film on the fact that the studio had overridden his objections and made major cuts to the movie. Years ago, some of the missing footage was discovered and the altered film was accepted favorably by reviewers and retro movie lovers. Still, at the time, Wilder was not used to suffering the humiliation of public rejection of one of his movies. After all, he had given us classics such as "Some Like It Hot", "The Apartment", "Sabrina", "Double Indemnity" and "Stalag 17". Wilder was eager to return to his comedic roots and for his next film, "Avanti!" and he enlisted long-time collaborator Jack Lemmon to star and his esteemed writing partner I.A.L. Diamond to co-author the script with him. The stars seemed be aligned for another Wilder comedy hit, but it didn't work out that way, to put it mildly. "Avanti!" was another critical and commercial failure and this time it really hurt. Henceforth, the few films Wilder would direct would all be bombs, marking an inglorious end to an otherwise glorious career. Yet, "Avanti!" deserved a better fate. It's certainly Wilder in an inspired mode even if the inspiration came from a flop Broadway comedy production that he and Diamond kept the basic plot premise of but otherwise rewrote.
Wilder and Lemmon had enjoyed such audience-pleasing hits as "Some Like It Hot", "The Apartment", "Irma La Douce" and "The Fortune Cookie". Lemmon is well-cast as Wendell Armbruster, Jr., the son of a titan of American industry who has just died in an automobile accident in Italy where he went every year for a month-long personal sabbatical to cleanse his body and soul. Wendell is already in a state of nervous panic when we first see him on board the flight to Italy. He has just a few days to arrange to bring his father's body back to Washington, D.C. where a high profile televised funeral will take place with the President and other world dignitaries in attendance. (It's never explained why the Armbruster family self-imposed such a tight deadline for retrieving the body and staging the funeral.) Wendell idolized his father as the symbol of American family values and conservative political doctrine; a robust Republican who socialized with Henry Kissinger and who was devoted to Wendell's mother. Upon arrival in the quaint coastal town where his father died at his favorite small hotel, Wendell is greeted by the manager, Carlo Carlucci (Clive Revill), an unflappable local "Mr. Fix-It" with a penchant for reassuring words and an ability to move mountains to carry out impossible tasks. However, Wendell is in for a shock when he meets Pamela Piggott (Juliet Mills), a working class girl from London whose mother also died in the same car crash as Wendell Sr. Turns out the two were lovers who met for the past ten years at the hotel, where they were adored local legends. Thus begins a madcap farce in which Wendell has to deal with the emotional revelation that his father was an adulterer while at the same time keeping family members and the public in the dark about the scandal. Pamela has a different attitude. Unlike Wendell, she knew of the affair long ago and assures Wendell that the two were madly in love and could fulfill their fantasies through their annual reunion. Wendell also learns that his ultra conservative father would join his lover for daily nude swim.
Once upon a time in Hollywood, studios weren't obsessed with "tent pole" series, mega-budget blockbusters and remakes of films (some of which probably shouldn't have been made in the first place.) To be sure, these aspects of the film industry were always embraced to a certain degree but there was also a concentration on developing mid-range budgeted films designed to make mid-ranged profits. Case in point: the little-remembered 1993 movie "Aspen Extreme", the brainchild of director and screenwriter Patrick Hasburgh, who had found success on television by co-creating the series "Hardcastle and McCormick" and "21 Jump Street" with Stephen J. Cannell. Hasburgh's achievements on the big screen were non-existent, however. Yet, he convinced Disney's Hollywood Pictures division to finance "Aspen Extreme", a youth-oriented drama that centers on two lifelong friends: T.J. Burke (Paul Gross) and Dexter Rutecki (Peter Berg). The film opens in Detroit with the twenty-something duo becoming fed up with their careers as blue collar workers. The spontaneously quit their jobs, pile into their dilapidated old van and head out to Aspen, Colorado, playground of the rich and famous, to establish themselves as ski instructors. The pair is dead broke and end up having to convert a caboose train car into a bachelor pad. T.J., the more intelligent and charismatic of the two, is also the better skier and immediately lands a job as an instructor. The slow-witted and uncouth T.J. (he attends upscale cocktail parties clad in a plaid shirt and red baseball cap) is lucky that T.J. coerces his boss to employ him in the children's ski program, where he actually thrives. Life is initially good for the men: they finally have decent salaries and the future looks bright. T.J. catches the eye of many of the local rich women, in particular, gorgeous Bryce Kellogg (Finola Hughes), who is a cross between Joan Collins and Cruella de Vil. Before long, T.J. becomes the latest acquisition in a string of boy toys who are invited to share her opulent lifestyle and endless sex sessions, only to be discarded for the next in line. (For all the emphasis on sex in this movie, the depiction of it is straight out of a TV production with discreet fade-outs before the action gets too hot.)
In reality, "Aspen Extreme" is a soap opera aimed at men. It unwinds over a running time of nearly two hours, as we watch T.J. fall in love with good girl Robin (Teri Polo), a local radio newscast host, only to have this meaningful relationship jeopardized by being lured back for a one-night stand with Bryce. Meanwhile, Dexter is feeling inconsequential. His crude ways alienate him from women and when he finally attracts a girl, it turns out she is using him to run illegal drug deals. T.J. and Dexter end up feuding and the reason is, well, cherchez la femme. The film presents a spider's web of female sexual manipulation, coercion and impatience. #MeToo wasn't even on the horizon. If you can past that, the movie is reasonably engrossing and well-acted by a talented cast of young people who were anything but known boxoffice attractions. Director Hasburgh excels at the exciting skiing scenes but the script tosses in many sub-plots that give the production an "everything but the kitchen sink" feel. One amusing aspect is seeing how hip young guys behaved in the era just before the introduction of cell phones and internet. Yes, folks, people actually spoke to one another while making eye contact. Ultimately, "Aspen Extreme" was a critical and boxoffice failure, recouping only about half of its modest $14 million production cost. Yet, aside from being a bit long-winded, it provides enough entertainment value to merit being recommended viewing.
The Kino Lorber Blu-ray looks great and the skiing scenes practically jump off the screen. The original trailer is also included.
We're not sure how many readers might still find movies dealing with the destruction of mankind by biological agents to be entertaining, but if you're in the mood, check out this complete version of "The Last Man on Earth", a 1964 Italian adaptation of Richard Matheson's novel "I Am Legend". The film stars Vincent Price and, despite its obvious budget limitations, it's an effective chiller- and truer to the novel than the two other screen versions, "The Omega Man" starring Charlton Heston and "I Am Legend" starring Will Smith. Both of those films were boxoffice hits but that doesn't diminish the value of Price's lesser-known contribution to the Matheson canon. (Watch Joe Dante analyze the trailer on the Trailers from Hell site.)
In a 2018 essay that coincided with the 50th anniversary of Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey", Owen Gleiberman, writing in Variety, analyzes the impact of the movie and what it all really meant. (His theory is that it was less about space travel than the fact that technology could now mimic the intimacies of human feeling.) The film seemed poised to be a boxoffice flop but an imaginative new marketing campaign aimed at younger audiences clicked and paid off handsomely. Today, of course, it is regarded as a classic for the ages, even though some posture that anyone who thinks they really know what it is all about doesn't know what it's all about. It remains a fascinating puzzle that each of us can interpret in our own way.
Kenny Rogers, who overcame a hardscrabble upbringing to become a country music legend, has died at age 81. Rogers was a prolific talent. Inspired by seeing Ray Charles in concert, he decided to become a singer and was part of the New Christy Minstrels folk group in the early 1960s. Rogers then became part of the counter-culture revolution in music later in the decade. Many people probably don't realize that he was the lead vocal on the First Edition's `1967 hard rock, psychedelic hit "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)". He later found his niche in country western music and during the 1970s and 1980s became one of the most successful singers of the era, with tens of millions of albums sold. Rogers' iconic ballad "The Gambler" became massively popular and spurred a successful, if short-lived acting career in the 1980s based on a series of TV movies inspired by the song. Rogers' popularity didn't extend to the big screen, however. His 1982 feature film "Six Pack" was a family comedy that proved to be only moderately successful at the boxoffice. Music was his bread and butter and Rogers had the ability to cross over into audiences that generally rejected country and western music, making him one of the most celebrated singers of his time. For more, click here.
What do you do when you despise the person most likely to bring your goals to fruition? We're not talking about the Republican establishment's dilemma with Donald Trump but, rather, the central plot premise faced by the U.S. Olympic ski team coach (portrayed by Gene Hackman) in director Michael Ritchie's acclaimed 1969 film "Downhill Racer". The protagonist of the movie is one Dave Chappellet (Robert Redford), an almost impossibly handsome young man from the rural town of Idaho Springs, Colorado, who has a single-minded obsession of being America's first gold medal winner for downhill skiing in an era when the sport was dominated by Europeans. With his good looks and superficial charm, Chappellet is used to being a big fish in a small pond. He is virtually penniless and, when not practicing on the slopes of European mountains, is forced to eek out an existence by living with his cold, unemotional father (non-professional actor Walter Stroud in a striking performance.) He has no career plans beyond his single-minded obsession with getting on the Olympic team. His lack of intellectual curiosity or abilities to socialize with others don't seem to phase him. Like any narcissist he savors any small victory as a sign of his superiority over the peasants he must occasionally interact with.Chappellet lacks any self-awareness or introspection. He takes a cocky delight in being able to drive down the main street of his one-horse town, pick up a local old flame and get her to have sex in the back seat of a car. He seems oblivious to the fact that the battered vehicle belongs to his father and that he doesn't even have a place of his own to carry out his carnal activities. Chappellet gets the big break he is looking for when a top skier on the Olympic team suffers a grievous injury. The team coach, Claire, calls in Chappellet to replace him. From the start, their relationship is a rocky one. It becomes clear that Chappellet is not a team player. He skis superbly and Claire recognizes him as the team's potential best hope for victory. However, he is also alarmed by his independent streak and his inability to follow protocols. Chappellet is in this for personal glory and his teammates are viewed as unnecessary distractions. True, he can go through the rituals of socializing. He's polite to his roommate and occasionally joins the other guys for beers, butChappellet is clearly a vacuous, self-absorbed figure. The film traces his achievements on the slope and Claire's unsuccessful attempts to turn him into a team player. Chaplette also meets a vivacious business woman in the sports industry, Carole (Camilla Sparv). He's instantly smitten by her exotic good looks and libertarian outlook toward sex. The two begin an affair but it turns sour when Chaplette can't accept the fact that Carole is an emancipated young woman who marches to her own beat. Her unwillingness to dote over him or to treat their relationship as anything but superficial bruises his ego. In Chaplette's world, it is he who treats sex partners like disposable objects, not the other way around. The film concludes with Chaplette and his teammates engaging in the make-or-break competition against top-line European skiers to see who can bring home the gold.
The Best of Frenemies: Redford and Hackman
"Downhill Racer" was a dream project of Robert Redford, who had championed the film, which is based on a screenplay by James Salter. Redford's star had risen appreciably with Paramount following the success of "Barefoot in the Park". The studio wanted to do another film with him and suggested that he play the male lead in the forthcoming screen adaption of "Rosemary's Baby". Redford pushed for "Downhill Racer", a film that the Paramount brass had dismissed as being too non-commercial. (This was before Redford would reach super stardom with the release of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid".) Thus began a game of brinksmanship between Redford and the studio. He managed to get Paramount to supply a small budget ($2 million) and creative control over the project to him and Roman Polanski, who was enthused about directing the film. However, the studio made a counter-move and lured Polanski to direct "Rosemary's Baby". Annoyed, Redford had to find a new director and settled on Michael Ritchie, and up-and-coming talent who was eager to make the transition from television into feature films. He and Redford, along with their tiny crew, used their limited budget to travel to international ski competitions in order to film real life action on the slopes that could later be combined into the final cut of their movie. For all their efforts, "Downhill Racer" was a boxoffice disappointment and would be overshadowed by the release of "Butch Cassidy" later in 1969. Yet its a film that Redford is justifiably proud of. There are many admirable aspects of the production, not the least of which is Redford's compelling performance as a protagonist who is not very likable or sympathetic. He's also not very intelligent, either, a character flaw that doesn't seem to bother him much, as he feels he can get by on his looks. The down side of "Downhill Racer" is that when the central character is a total cad the viewer finds it hard to be concerned with his fate, unless there is a major dramatic payoff as in the case of Andy Griffith in "A Face in the Crowd" or Paul Newman in "Hud", two of the most notorious characters in screen history. Where "Downhill Racer" blows it is in the final sequence during the championship ski run. There was an excellent opportunity to end the movie on a poignant note but the movie punts and leads to an emotionally unsatisfying ending. Nevertheless the exotic scenery and fine performances (especially by Hackman, who is under-seen and under-used) compensate for a story that is as chilling as the locations in which it was filmed.
Criterion has upgraded their previously released DVD special edition to Blu-ray and it looks spectacular. There is a wealth of interesting extras, all ported over from the previous release. These include separate interviews conducted in 2009 with Robert Redford and James Salter. I found them to be most enlightening because I was blaming Salter, as the screenwriter, for being responsible for the film's unsatisfying ending. Lo and behold, Salter expresses the same exasperation. Apparently his original script called for the more dramatic finale that I was envisioning. However, he says that Redford made the change without his permission. It's still apparently a sore spot with him. For his part, Redford is defensive about the decision, saying that he felt the the ending he insisted upon was the correct choice (Note: it wasn't.) It would be interesting to see Redford and Salter lock horns over this in the same interview at some point. In any event, Redford's enthusiasm for the film is evident even if it seems to exceed that of audiences. To reiterate, it's a fine movie with many qualities but Redford has had superior, under-appreciated gems in his career. Other bonus extras on the Blu-ray include interviews with editor Richard Harris (whose work on the film is most impressive), production executive Walter Coblenz and champion skier Joe Jay Jalbert who was hired as a technical consultant and became indispensable on the production, serving as double and cameraman. The footage he captured skiing at high speed with a hand-held camera is all the more amazing because he was a novice at shooting film. There is also a vintage production featurette from 1969 and a very interesting one-hour audio interview of director Michael Ritchie at an American Film Institute Q&A session in 1977. The affable Ritchie was there to promote his latest film "Semi-Tough" but goes into great detail about how he became disillusioned with the constraints of working in the television industry where directors at that time were just hired guns whose creative ideas and instincts were constantly being suppressed. Ritchie tells an extended anecdote about shooting an episode of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." during which he came up with a suggestion to improve a key scene in the script. He was told to mind his own business by the producer (who he doesn't name). When series' star Robert Vaughn agreed with him, Ritchie shot an alternate version of the scene that was met with enthusiasm by the network. Instead of being congratulated, he was blackballed from the series henceforth. Ritchie would go on to make some very fine films including "The Candidate" (again with Redford), the wacko-but-mesmerizing crime thriller "Prime Cut", "The Bad News Bears" and others. However he never lived up to his full potential and ended up directing many middling films before his untimely death at age 63 in 2001. The AFI audio included here is a rare opportunity to listen to his views on filmmaking while he was at the height of his career. The Blu-ray set also contains the original trailer and a collectible booklet with essay by Todd McCarthy.
Max Von Sydow, the internationally acclaimed Swedish leading man who found fame in the films of Ingmar Bergman, has died at age 90. Von Sydow's most famous role may have been the knight who plays a game of chess with Death in an iconic scene from Bergman's 1958 classic "The Seventh Seal", but he also enjoyed broad international appeal. His other iconic role was as Father Merrin, the aging titular character in director William Friedkin's sensational 1973 film version of William Peter Blatty's bestseller, "The Exorcist". Von Sydow was already a major star in European cinema when he was cast in his first leading role in a Hollywood film, director George Stevens' 1965 religious epic "The Greatest Story Ever Told" in which he was cast as Jesus Christ. The film proved to be a major boxoffice flop but Von Sydow personally enjoyed good reviews for his dignified performance. From that point on, he would be a regular presence in English language cinema as well as European films. He won acclaim in a supporting performance as a dreary, humorless intellectual in Woody Allen's "Hannah and Her Sisters". Von Sydow's career extended until the present day and he won a new generation of fans through his appearances in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in 2015 and in episodes of "Game of Thrones". For more about his life and career, click here.
Writer Ralph Jones looks back on the debacle that was the 1999 big screen production of "Wild Wild West", based on the popular 1960s TV series "The Wild, Wild West". Despite an abundance of talent topped by superstar Will Smith, the film was a critical debacle. Thanks to Smith's boxoffice clout, it wasn't a boxoffice disaster, but even before the movie premiered, there were signs a turkey was about to be unveiled. In his article, Jones contacts some of the key participants in the botched attempt to turn yet another beloved TV series into a big screen franchise.
It's generally accepted that the blockbuster business generated by the release of "Airport" in 1970 inspired the disaster movie craze of the decade. However, the year before, Cinerama's "Krakatoa: East of Java" was a forerunner. The fact that the film was a critical and financial flop results in it often being overlooked in discussions of the disaster movie genre. The making of the film was covered in detail by Dave Worrall in Cinema Retro issue #22, but suffice it say, the entire production proved to be problematic both in terms of bringing it to the screen and also in regard to its marketing. The screenplay Clifford Newton Gould and Bernard Gordon uses the 1883 eruption of the titular island as the basis for an adventure epic, although what emerged was somewhat less than epic. Overlooking the fact that the historical record of the eruption, which had effect on nations worldwide, is presented in a simplistic, fictional manner, the production's dramatic qualities are also lacking, squeezing in a number of sub-plots that don't pay off in a satisfying manner.
Maximilian Schell plays Chris Hanson, captain of the steamer ship the Batavia, stationed in Java. When the story opens, he's loading passengers and cargo on to the vessel when he's told by government officials that he must take aboard 30 convicts who are in chains in order to drop them off with authorities on another island. Hanson resists but is legally bound to accept his unwanted passengers, who he is told to keep in the sweltering hold. Also on board is an unexpected former flame, Laura Travis (Diane Baker), with whom he had a torrid affair. She informs him that her abusive husband found out about the affair and has left for parts unknown, taking her beloved young son Peter with him. She has now returned to Hanson to find solace and try to cope with the blame she puts on herself for losing her son. Other troubled passengers include John Leyton as Douglas Rigby, an entrepreneur who has brought aboard a diving bell with which he intends to search for a sunken ship said to contain a fortune in pearls that belonged to Laura's father. (One of several absurd plot "coincidences"). He has in tow Connerly (Brian Keith), a gruff professional diver who is on his last legs in terms of health and finances. He and Captain Hanson will share in the loot if the pearls are located. Also along as part of the side mission to find the treasure is Giovanni Borghesi (Rossano Brazzi) and his son Leoncavello (Sal Mineo), who will utilize a hot air balloon to search for the wreck once they get near Krakatoa, where the sunken ship is said to be located. A superfluous character is Charley (Barbara Werle), a saloon girl with a heart of gold who is Connerly's lover and who shares his dream that the pearls will give them a new lease on life. The first half of the film is talky and not very exciting but is punctuated by ominous rumblings and explosions on Krakatoa that serve as a teaser for what is about to occur. This is couple dwith other warning signs including strange behavior by flocks of birds and smoky clouds that envelope the ship.
The pace of the second half of the film picks up considerably with a diving bell mishap that proves almost fatal. Once the wreck is located, the balloon goes astray, thus serving as a typical Cinerama production excuse to show Super Panavision 70 widescreen point-of-view shots of spectacular island valleys and mountains. By the time the wreck is searched, Krakatoa is exploding in increasingly spectacular fashion, thus leaving the passengers and crew of the Batavia in fear of their lives. The film pretends to be a Hollywood spectacular but it comes across as what it is: a European production with a sprinkling of respected international stars. (The movie was shot in Spain and in Italy). The finale is rather exciting though the effects must be judged by the crude technology of the era, as virtually every image of the distressed vessel is achieved through the use of very obvious miniatures and models. If you're retro movie lover, however, you'll appreciate the achievement of SFX master Eugene Lourie and his team. In fact, the quaint look of these scenes adds to the movie's appeal even if we see "Krakatoa" explode completely in one frame, only to be reconstituted in the next.
Andrew V. McLaglen was almost predestined to be a movie director. The
son of the legendary character actor Victor McLaglen, Andrew came of age
on movie sets. His father often appeared in John Ford Westerns and
Andrew developed a passion for the genre. He ultimately gained a
foothold in the television industry during the late 1950s and early
1960s when TV Westerns were all the rage. He proved himself to be a
capable and reliable director and eventually moved on to feature films.
McLaglen scored a major hit with the rollicking Western comedy
"McLintock!" starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in 1963. Two years
later, he teamed with James Stewart for the poignant Civil War drama
"Shenandoah". The film was a big success with both critics and at the
boxoffice. Thus, Universal, the studio that released "Shenandoah", hoped
to capitalize on the film's success and re-teamed McLaglen and Stewart
for a Western, "The Rare Breed".
Adding to the reunion aspect of the
production, it co-starred Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith. O'Hara had
co-starred with Stewart in the 1962 comedy "Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation"
and Keith was O'Hara's leading man in the Disney classic "The Parent
Trap". Got all that? The script by Ric Hardman takes an unusual aspect
of the Old West for its central plot line. Martha Price (O'Hara) and her
daughter Hilary (Juliet Mills) have arrived in Texas from their home in
England. They are bringing with them their prized Hereford bull, a
breed not known in America. Their hope is to sell the animal at auction
so that cross breeding American cows will eventually result in superior
stock. The prim and proper upper-crust British ladies have endured a
tragedy that isn't depicted on screen: the death of Martha's husband on
the ship en route to America, although they seem fairly unperturbed, as
they only fleetingly reference the dearly departed in the course of what
follows. The Hereford is mocked by the cattle barons because it lacks
the signature horns of traditional Texas steers. In a convoluted plot
device, a smarmy rich man (David Brian) with an obsession for seducing
Martha, bids on the Hereford to impress her. When his awkward attempts
to bed her fail, somehow another unseen buyer steps forward and the
beast must be transported to him via the efforts of a wrangler named
Burnett (James Stewart). At this point, the story becomes difficult to
follow. Suffice it to say that Burnett agrees to escort Martha, Hilary
and their prized bull to the far-off destination to conclude the deal.
Along the way, they are ambushed by Simons (Jack Elam), a greedy crook
who causes a stampede of another cattle herd being escorted by Burnett's
friend Jamie (Don Galloway.) In the resulting chaos, Simons intends to
steal the Hereford as well as the money Martha has been paid to deliver
the bull. If all of this sounds confusing, watching it unfurl on screen
makes the plot even more fragmented when Martha accuses Burnett of also
trying to swindle her. Ultimately, they all wind up at the outpost of
the new owner, Bowen (Brian Keith), a Scottish eccentric who runs his
own cattle empire and sees the possibility of crossbreeding the Hereford
with his own herd.
