Capsule Reviews: September/October
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- DirectorMark SandrichRobert AllenStarsBing CrosbyFred AstaireMarjorie ReynoldsAt an inn which is open only on holidays, a crooner and a hoofer vie for the affections of a beautiful up-and-coming performer.September 27, 2010: Bing Crosby sings to, and Fred Astaire dances to, Irving Berlin songs, while both fight over Marjorie Reynolds in Bing's Connecticut inn where holiday-themed revues are performed. Berlin's "White Christmas" is introduced. I'd pick this film over the partial remake, White Christmas (1954). 7/10
- DirectorSidney FranklinVictor FlemingGustav MachatýStarsPaul MuniLuise RainerWalter ConnollyAlthough married Chinese farmers Wang and O-Lan initially experience success, their lives are complicated by declining fortunes and lean times, as well as the arrival of the beautiful young Lotus.September 27, 2010: Classic Hollywood is usually the place to go for delicious moonshine, but once in awhile they roused themselves into making mature and intelligent dramas like this one. Paul Muni and Luise Rainer are poor Chinese farmers in this epic story, which climaxes with a spectacular plague of locusts. It's amazing to think the locust plague would be done with CGI today and be less convincing than it is in this 73 year old film. 8/10
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsJames StewartCharlton HestonBetty HuttonThe dramatic lives of trapeze artists, a clown, and an elephant trainer are told against a background of circus spectacle.September 28, 2010: Relentlessly cornball melodrama. It's colorful, has great circus acts, lots of animals and a terrific train wreck; but at two and a half hours even the bad laughs wear thin. James Stewart manages a good performance among the hams. 6/10
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsAudie MurphyFaith DomergueStephen McNallyMarshal Tyrone and the Silver Kid form an uneasy alliance against a gang of claim jumpers.September 28, 2010: Exciting, well-plotted Audie Murphy western, directed by Don Siegel. 7/10
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsVan HeflinRobert RyanJanet LeighAn embittered, vengeful POW stalks his former commanding officer who betrayed his men's planned escape attempt from a Nazi prison camp.September 29, 2010: An ex WWII officer (Van Heflin) enjoys suburban life with his beautiful young wife (Janet Leigh) until a solider (Robert Ryan) once under his command while they were prisoners in a German POW camp turns up to seek revenge on him. Evocative black-and-white photography is the best thing about this engaging suspense thriller with good performances. 8/10
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsRicardo MontalbanSally ForrestBruce BennettA small-town policeman is assisted by a Harvard professor after the discovery of a human skeleton on a Massachusetts beach.September 29, 2010: Fine police procedural, well shot and edited. Ricardo Montalban is good in the lead role of a detective investigating the murder of a now-skeletonized woman. Elsa Lanchester is delightfully eccentric as a blackmailing landlady. 7/10
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneEijirô TônoTatsuya NakadaiA crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.September 30, 2010: A fascinating story of strategy, duplicity, amorality and (very rarely) compassion is told with violent action, beautifully composed shots, dynamic music and a marvelously controlled, athletic and witty performance from its star, Tishiro Mifune. 9/10
- DirectorAnthony HarveyStarsKatharine HepburnSam WaterstonJoanna MilesAmanda Wingfield dominates her children with her faded gentility and exaggerated tales of her Southern belle past. Her son plans escape; her daughter withdraws into a dream world. When a "gentleman caller" appears, things move to crisis point.September 30, 2010: I can't say I actually enjoyed this adaptation of Tennessee Williams's oppressively sad play, but the production is fine and Katharine Hepburn is wonderful. I was less satisfied with the other three players, especially Joanna Miles, who seems too inherently strong and sensible to play this shy and peculiar young woman. 7/10
- DirectorVincent ShermanStarsBette DavisClaude RainsWalter AbelPopular and beautiful Fanny Trellis is forced into a loveless marriage with an older man, Jewish banker Job Skeffington, in order to save her beloved brother Trippy from an embezzlement charge.September 30, 2010: Engrossing soap opera. I was especially impressed with the way Bette Davis subtly changed her character over the years, even though the vain, silly (but nevertheless sympathetic) woman doesn't really change much until near the end. Claude Rains is also splendid. My only complaint is the dull moments of comic relief, goosed up by a music score that suddenly turns bouncy to let us know we're seeing something funny. The running gag about Janie Clarkson didn't appeal to me either. 8/10
- DirectorVincent ShermanStarsBette DavisMiriam HopkinsGig YoungOld friends Kit Marlowe and Millie Drake adopt contrasting lifestyles: Kit is a single, critically acclaimed author while married Millie writes popular pulp novels.October 1, 2010: Another terrific soap opera, with Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins as two friends with dramatic ups and downs. Davis is the nice one, who writes unpopular but critically acclaimed books; Hopkins writes popular trash. The latter describes Old Acquaintance, I guess, but it's hugely entertaining. 8/10
- DirectorMyron J. SwartzStarsLou MarcelleGeorge GarfieldJerry ColonnaA general paean to the dying art of the blacksmith and more specifically to the skills of George Garfield, blacksmith to the Hollywood stars.October 1, 2010: We meet the blacksmith for the stars, who are shown with their horses. Of historical value only. I wonder how many in 1943 enjoyed any excuse to see the stars and how many rolled their eyes at this kind of thin gruel. 4/10
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsRobert C. Bruce"As everyone knows," the narrator begins, "goldfish must have water... and cats hate water." And so it goes.October 1, 2010: A cat wants the goldfish, but can't stand water long enough to reach in the bowl and get him. Another early Chuck Jones short in which Jones tries new things but can't manage to make the thing funny. The backgrounds are pleasingly abstract (in a way unusual for animation at the time) and the compositions are interesting. The cat is a typical Jones character: neurotic, petty and cruel. He apparently is more interested in tormenting the fish than in eating him, as is demonstrated at one point when he exacerbates the fish's pain and frustration at being out of water through such tricks as focusing a beam of light on him with a magnifying glass. 6/10
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsIvana BaqueroAriadna GilSergi LópezIn the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.October 1, 2010: The successful combination of real-life horror and mystical horror is just one of many triumphs of this strange, touching, violent fantasy. 9/10
- DirectorJohn SichelStarsAlec GuinnessTommy SteeleRalph RichardsonAfter a shipwreck, believing her brother has been killed, Viola disguises herself as a boy named Cesario and becomes a courtier to Orsino, who sends her to deliver a message of his love to Olivia, but she falls for the messenger instead.October 2, 2010: Good production of Shakespeare's play with hit-and-miss performances, mostly hit. Hit: Alec Guinness as Malvolio, Ralph Richardson as an exceptionally drunk Toby Belch, Joan Plowright as Viola and Sebastian (on screen an actress can play both) and Adrienne Corri as Olivia. Miss: Gary Raymond as a bland Orsino and Tommy Steele as an annoying Feste, who sings Shakespeare's lyrics as tedious pop songs. 7/10
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsCharles AznavourMarie DuboisNicole BergerA pianist helps his brother escape from two gangsters, who retaliate by abducting their kid brother.October 2, 2010: Truffaut borrows everything from Hollywood crime films except a gripping story. I felt no emotional involvement in the goings-on, which include a lot of flashbacks and winks to the audience, but the film looks great and the characters make some interesting observations. 7/10
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsMarlene DietrichJames StewartMischa AuerDeputy sheriff Destry tames the town of Bottle Neck, including saloon singer Frenchy.October 2, 2010: Funny, touching, exciting Western, gorgeously photographed, with two great stars and a saloon-full of excellent character actors. A marvelous, classic piece of entertainment. 10/10
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsNorma ShearerJoan CrawfordRosalind RussellA study of the lives and romantic entanglements of various interconnected women.October 3, 2010: Betrayal and catty cruelty are well-calculated to make my blood boil, but this acid comedy with an all-female cast was too witty and entertaining to anger or depress me. I could have done without the long fashion sequence in color, but this movie wasn't aimed at me. 8/10
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsAudrey HepburnFred AstaireKay ThompsonAn impromptu fashion shoot at a book store brings about a new fashion model discovery in the shop clerk.October 4, 2010: Stanley Donen directed this gorgeous musical with Gershwin songs, the ever-delightful Audrey Hepburn as a reluctant model and Fred Astaire as a photographer, performing several wonderful routines, including one in which he imitates a bullfighter. Hepburn dances, too; her highlight is a bebop number in a Parisian café. The vivacious Kay Thompson, a kind of Auntie Mame type, plays a fashion editor and sings and dances with high spirits. The use of color is exceptional throughout. 8/10
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChishû RyûShima IwashitaKeiji SadaAn aging widower arranges a marriage for his only daughter.October 4, 2010: As in Ozu's Late Spring, a widowed father tries to marry off his daughter, even though both are resistant to the idea. This time, however, the daughter's resistance is only superficial; and when she does get married, it seems the father will be the one to suffer. Subplots feature more strongly this time and give the film a wider scope. This is my first experience with a color Ozu, and he uses color beautifully. I knew from the first shot I would enjoy it. 9/10
- DirectorJames FoleyStarsChris O'DonnellGene HackmanFaye DunawayA young man fresh out of law school tries to win a reprieve for his racist grandfather who is on death row.October 4, 2010: Relentlessly phony John Grisham thriller that deals with racial issues in an unenlightening and unserious fashion. Gene Hackman is a racist on death row for killing two Jewish boys. Chris O'Donnell (in a flaccid performance) is his grandson, a lawyer who wants to get him off. Faye Dunaway (in an overbaked performance) is his estranged daughter. Hackman rises above his hackneyed material; no one else does. 3/10
- DirectorJesse MossStarsJesse MossJulie HaenerArnold SchwarzeneggerRepublicans in Hollywood is a 2004 American television documentary film about politically conservative members of Hollywood, exploring whether they face discrimination within the industry.October 4, 2010: OK documentary about a pretty interesting subject. The filmmaker, a Democrat, bends over backwards to be fair—perhaps too far, since the movie almost comes off as propaganda for the Right. 5/10
- DirectorPeter SmithStarsJohn NettlesDaniel CaseyJane WymarkWhen an arrogant aristocratic family's decision to develop a memorial garden into a commercial tea shop has the villagers up in arms, murders past and present rear their heads.October 5, 2010: The privileged Inkpen family wants to convert a public garden into a commercial tea room, but then one of them is killed with a blow to the head from a shovel. Entertaining but overcomplicated and finally unsatisfactory episode. 6/10
- DirectorDavid TuckerStarsJohn NettlesDaniel CaseyJane WymarkWhen a hotel owner dies, the manager misses the reading of the will that names him part-owner.October 5, 2010: A mushroom gatherer is murdered in the woods. Barnaby and Troy's investigation leads them to a Punch and Judy show and a pair of sexual sadomasochists who like to run through the woods in this clever episode. 8/10
- DirectorPeter SmithStarsJohn NettlesDaniel CaseyJane WymarkThe body of a criminal is found in a crop circle, and the locals blame extra-terrestrial activity for the death. But Barnaby is not convinced.October 5, 2010: A dead man turns up in a crop circle, which proves to be just the beginning of a series of weird deaths related to ufology. The overstuffed plot contains at one unexplained body (does the American print contain extra cuts?) and sentimental passages that don't move us. Kenneth Colley unconvincingly plays an innocent-minded UFO nut. Highlight: Barnaby and Troy trapped in an electric house. 5/10
- DirectorDavid TuckerStarsJohn NettlesDaniel CaseyJane WymarkBarnaby and Troy are drawn to Newton Magna where their search for a horse whisperer allegedly struck by a car is complicated by the discovery of a body in the town well.October 5, 2010: When a horse whisperer turns up missing after being hit by a car, Barnaby investigates and winds up solving two murders. Solid but unexceptional episode. 7/10