SATELLITE IN THE SKY

SATELLITE IN THE SKY (1956). Director: Paul Dickson.

An aircraft that can fly higher than ever before, dubbed the "Stardust," is sent on a test flight, and along with it comes a bomb that is also to be tested -- that is, exploded in space. There is some disagreement as to the wisdom of doing this, but things really get out of hand when it is discovered that the bomb, which was supposed to be jettisoned from the ship, is clinging to it magnetically instead. The crew realizes that if they return to Earth without dislodging the bomb, it will explode on the surface and kill thousands of civilians. The players in this tense situation include Commander Mike Hayden (Kieron Moore), Professor Merrity (Donald Wolfit), and reporter Kim Hamilton (Lois Maxwell, Miss Moneypenny of the Bond films), who is a stowaway on the ship. Bryan Forbes plays one of the technicians. There is some attempt at drama in the earlier sections of the film -- Kim thinks space exploration is a waste of time, to Hayden's consternation, and one of the scientists has a neglected wife -- but the movie only really comes alive with the business with the bomb.

Verdict: Acceptable, minor science fiction sans monsters. **1/2.

BURLESQUE

BURLESQUE (2010). Writer/director: Steve Antin.

"How many times have I held your head over the toilet bowl while you threw up everything but your memories?"

Small town waitress Ali (Christina Aguilera), with the usual show biz dreams, makes her way to L.A. and discovers a club called Burlesque run by Tess (Cher), a world-weary long-time performer. Tess can't pay her bills, and her ex (Peter Gallagher) wants her to sell out to the smarmy developer, Marcus (Eric Dane). Meanwhile Ali is befriended by Jack (Cam Gigaridet), a bartender at the club who helps her get a job there, even as she earns the enmity of jealous Nikki (Kristen Bell), a top-billed performer on the skids. Ali stops waitressing at Burlesque once Tess hears how well she can sing, and she begins a affair with Jack who already has a fiancee -- and, frankly, who the hell cares? Initially colorful and entertaining, Burlesque is so utterly superficial, the characters so one-dimensional, that after awhile it just becomes boring -- a long rock video we've all seen before. Cher sings two dynamic numbers, the title tune and "The Last of Me," while Aguilera, a solid professional, also struts her considerable stuff in more than one number. The eternally un-aging 65-year-old Cher looks fine and acts well, but had she and the film acknowledged her senior citizen status [not that that means she can't look sexy] it might have made for a movie with a little more substance. The other actors, including reliable Stanley Tucci as the club's gay manager, are all fine. When all is said and done, this is really Aguilera's movie, with Cher in a supporting role.

Verdict: Burlesque leaves no show business cliche unturned. **.

GREAT OLD MOVIES -- EXTRA

BACK TO "BACK STREET"

"Back Street" author Fannie Hurst

Every once in a while Great Old Movies will put out special "extra" editions where a few movies are lumped together according to theme. In this first extra edition we're looking at the classic 1930 novel of adultery, "Back Street," by Fannie Hurst, and the three film versions that were adapted from it:

BACK STREET (1932) with Irene Dunne and John Boles.

BACK STREET (1941) with Margaret Sullavan and Charles Boyer.

BACK STREET (1961) with Susan Hayward and John Gavin.

BACK STREET (1932)

Irene Dunne and John Boles

BACK STREET (1932).Director: John M. Stahl.

The first film version of Fannie Hurst's famous novel of a "back street" affair is a bit more faithful to the book, but not quite as successful as the 1941 version with Margaret Sullavan and Charles Boyer, although the acting in this version is also top-notch. In Cincinnati, Ray Schmidt (Irene Dunne) meets Walter Saxel (John Boles), who turns out to have a fiancee. Walter and Ray fall in love, and the former wants the latter to meet his mother and see how the old lady reacts to her. On her way for the fateful rendezvous, Ray gets sidetracked when her stepsister Freda (June Clyde) importunes her to come with her to her boyfriend, who knocked her up, and demand that he do the right thing. By the time Ray arrives at the bandstand to meet Mrs. Saxel, it's too late. However, Walter and Ray meet up in New York years later and begin a life-long affair. The rest of the movie has virtually the same script as the 1942 version with the exception that Ray/Dunne has a neighbor who is also a lonely kept woman. [Another difference is that in this version Ray's father is still alive.] Irene Dunne is outstanding as Ray, and it could be argued has a stronger, more emotional reaction than Sullavan [who perhaps underplays a bit too much] as she learns of the ultimate fate of her beloved. Bole is perhaps more romantic and more tender than Boyer was in certain sequences. In any case, while this version is not as good as the Back Street of 1941, it is still a creditable and entertaining picture. Zazu Pitts has a small role as the usual dithery landlady.

Verdict: Dunne and Boles make a nice duo. ***.

BACK STREET (1961)

BACK STREET (1961). Director: David Miller.

"There isn't a marriage in the world where one doesn't love more than the other."

NOTE: This review contains spoilers. The third film version of Fannie Hurst's novel [earlier versions appeared in 1932 and 1941] makes just about every mistake conceivable in adapting the material. Rae Smith (Susan Hayward) falls in love with soldier Paul Saxon (John Gavin) without realizing that he's already married. She is going to fly to New York with him to start a new life, but misses the plane. They meet up years later and resume their affair while Paul's conveniently drunken and nasty wife (Vera Miles) insists she'll never give him a divorce. The first problem with the picture is that mistresses, while still capable of raising eyebrows, were not quite as scandalous in the sixties as they were in the thirties, forties and earlier. Another problem is that the life-long affair of the novel and other two film versions only occupies a few years in this version. The wife, mostly unseen in earlier versions, was never supposed to be a shrew but a perfectly nice person, one of the reasons the married man never divorces her. The earlier film versions concentrated on the loneliness endured by women in back street affairs, but Hayward has a successful career and lots of friends. Worst of all, in this version the married man's son is just a child, incapable of eventually reaching an understanding as regards to his father and the other woman he loved, (making the ending all the more inexplicable). In the first two film versions, Walter/Paul was only engaged and decided to marry Ray/Rae, but in this version he wants her to run off to New York with him without first telling her he's got a wife! At the end, after his and his wife's death in an accident, his very young children suddenly show up at his mistress' door and want to be friends with her -- which makes absolutely no sense at all [their being orphans notwithstanding]! At the time of filming Hayward was 44 and Gavin was 30 and the difference in their ages quite apparent, but the script unwisely ignores it. Hayward, who seems justifiably bored with the material, just goes through the motions for the most part. Gavin makes an effort and is acceptable. Miles comes off the best, with good support from Virginia Grey, Charles Drake, Natalie Schafer, Reginald Gardiner, and Robert Eyer as the son.The liveliest scene has Miles invading a charity auction to make snide remarks about Hayward and carry on in supremely bitchy fashion.

Verdict: A completely unnecessary remake that shows some promise at first but gets more tedious with every passing minute. **.

THE BIG HEAT

THE BIG HEAT (1953). Director: Fritz Lang.

"I could always go through life sideways."

A violent series of events are set in play with the suicide of a cop, Duncan, who was on the take and knew where the bodies were buried. Det. Sergeant Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) wants to do a full investigation into the activities of criminal boss Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby) but even his boss, Lt. Wilks (Willis Bouchey), wants to tread easy, and the people that Lagana has in his pocket go all the way to the top. But then Lagana pushes Bannion too far and a tragedy ensues... Look out! Others caught up in Bannion's fury include Lagana's chief gunsel, Vince (Lee Marvin); Vince's girl, Debbie (Gloria Grahame); the dead man's widow, Bertha Duncan (Jeanette Nolan); another gunsel named Larry (Adam Williams); a pretty bar girl named Lucy (Dorothy Green); and another named Doris (Carolyn Jones); as well as Bannion's loving and lovely wife, Katie (Jocelyn Brando). The cast is terrific in this outstanding example of hard-boiled film noir, with Ford giving one of his most memorable performances, Scourby offering sophisticated villainy, Marvin and Williams scoring as young sociopaths, and Grahame dishing out another superlative portrayal as a gal who has a date with a really hot cup of coffee. Nolan and the others named are also in top form, and Lang's direction keeps things percolating and boiling over. Sure, you could quibble about some things [the burns caused by scalding coffee for one thing], but this is top notch Hollywood melodrama for sure.

Verdict: Taut, exciting, and altogether terrific. ***1/2.

OUTLAND

Frances Sternhagen

OUTLAND (1981). Writer/Director: Peter Hyams.

In the future, a mining colony has been established on Io, the third moon of Jupiter. The new Marshall, William O'Neil (Sean Connery), investigates when there is an increase in grisly suicides, and discovers something rotten in the state of Io: illegal drugs are being offered to workers to increase their productivity but it eventually makes them psychotic. When Sheppard (Peter Boyle), the head of the operation, realizes that O'Neil is out to shut him down, he enlists the aid of two hit men to come to Io and finish off the Marshall, who can expect no help from anyone, including his men. The only exception is the feisty Dr. Lazarus (Frances Sternhagen). This is basically High Noon in outer space. Connery is okay although it might be said that he's just going through the motions, betraying no sense of moral outrage over what's happening to the miners. Sternhagen is simply terrific. The special effects are solid and still hold up thirty years later. Fine score by Jerry Goldsmith.

Verdict: Not exactly original but an interesting variation on a theme. ***.

THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD

THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD (1958). Director: Nathan Juran.

In this marvelous fantasy film inspired by tales of the Arabian Knights, Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) must battle a whole host of monsters on the island of Colossa in order to save his beloved, Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant), who has been shrunken to doll size by the evil wizard, Sokurah (Torin Thatcher). There's a mean-tempered cyclops [who actually has a right to be mean as some of Sinbad's crew try to steal his treasure], a gigantic roc with huge flapping wings, and a fire-breathing dragon kept tethered in a cavern. In one of the best scenes, Sinbad has to battle a sword-wielding skeleton that has been animated by Sokurah [see video]. Actually the skeleton and everything else has been animated via stop-motion photography by the great FX wizard Ray Harryhausen, who offers superlative work in this picture. Mathews and Grant are acceptable in the leads, but the acting honors go to a really wonderful Thatcher, who seems to be having a ball enacting his villainy. {It's amusing that absolutely no one can figure out that it was Sokurah who shrunk the princess -- duh!] Nowadays fantasy films often feature computer effects of variable quality, but 7th Voyage with its stop-motion effects is the real deal. Mathews and Thatcher were reunited for Jack the Giant Killer, which featured stop-motion of inferior quality [not done by Harryhausen]. Thatcher had one of his best roles as the prosecutor in Witness for the Prosecution. 

Verdict: One of the all-time great fantasy films. ***1/2.

ADVANCE TO THE REAR

ADVANCE TO THE REAR (1964). Director: George Marshall.

During the civil war, Union brass are so dismayed by a unit of screw-ups headed by Colonel Brackenbury (Melvyn Douglas), that they reassign them to a backwater outpost -- then realize that they made a dreadful error: a consignment of gold is coming and needs to be guarded by the screw-ups. In the meantime rebel spy, Martha Lou William (Stella Stevens), engages in a cat and mouse game with Brackenbury's second-in-command, Captain Jared Heath (Glenn Ford). Can Brackenbury's men manage to keep the gold out of rebel hands? This is a generally amiable if distinctly minor comedy with a few amusing sequences and characters. Douglas, of course, gives the best performance, but the others are good as well, including Jesse Pearson, who played Conrad in Bye, Bye Birdie, as a soldier with an odd attraction for horses. Jim Backus [I Married Joan], Whit Bissell [The Family Secret], Joan Blondell [Nightmare Alley], and Alan Hale Jr. [The Killer is Loose] are also in the cast.

Verdict: If you think the Civil War was funny ... **1/2.

DAUGHTER OF DON Q

DAUGHTER OF DON Q (12 chapter Republic serial/1946). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet and Fred C. Brannon.

The pretty sports celebrity Delores Quantero (Lorna Gray playing as Adrian Booth), one of many descendants of Don Quantero, is unaware that an old Spanish land grant actually leaves millions of dollars of real estate to his heirs. One of them, Carlos Manning (LeRoy Mason), is aware of this, and with the aid of his main henchman Donovan (Roy Barcroft), sets out to murder the other heirs. Cliff Roberts (Kirk Alyn) is an intrepid  reporter who aids Delores and tries to find out why someone is killing off all of her relatives. This is a nifty idea for a serial, and Daughter of Don Q makes the most of it. Although comparatively colorless, the villains in this are especially evil  -- at one point they are going to make it look like a perfectly innocent man committed embezzlement and then suicide. The serial also has a sense of humor. When one nasty gunsel falls out of a window to his death, it turns out that he made a living by proposing to wealthy women and absconding with their fortunes before the wedding. "I wonder if any of the ladies he left at the church will attend his funeral," someone quips. There are many good cliffhangers; one of the best has Delores hanging onto a shower curtain after she's knocked out of a window as it begins to slip off the rod notch by notch ... The feisty Delores, who gives as good as she gets, gets hit on the head so often it's a wonder she even knows who she is by the end of the serial! Although there is nothing elaborate or especially unique about Daughter, it's still terrifically entertaining. Lorna Gray played the villainess in Perils of Nyoka and Barcroft was the bad guy in Manhunt of Mystery Island, another superlative Republic serial.

Verdict: Maybe not a classic but fast-paced and action-packed from start to finish. ***1/2.  

THOR

THOR (2011). Director: Kenneth Branagh.

When Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the God of Thunder, disobeys his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins), the latter strips him of his powers and hammer and banishes him to Earth, where in a self-sacrificing moment he eventually regains his power -- alas, too late to save this surprisingly dull movie. Inspired by an excellent comic book series created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby back in the sixties, the movie certainly has a wealth of history and great stories to draw upon, and it does make use of some of the mythos, such as the rivalry between Thor and his brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and the menace of the robotic Destroyer. Unfortunately, Branagh is absolutely the wrong director for this film, betraying absolutely no flair for well-crafted action scenes, which tend to be just as tedious as the rest of the movie. The kingdom of Asgard is only mildly impressive, the producers eschewing the Kirby-esque grandeur of the comic book, although the rainbow bridge is an attractive sight, and the climax that takes place on it is comparatively exciting. Hemsworth is okay, but he takes a back seat to Hopkins and Hiddleston. Natalie Portman is so blah as Jane Foster that it's hard to realize that she's the same Oscar-winning actress from The Black Swan; she does nothing for Thor and the film does nothing for her. But at least she's not as bad as her silly associate with thick collagen lips who is presumably comedy relief but is only even more irritating than Jane. Patrick Doyle's music does most of the work in drumming up any suspense or excitement.

Verdict: Slow and unmemorable on virtually all levels. **.

JOY HOUSE

Fonda and Delon share a moment in Joy House

JOY HOUSE (aka Les felins/1964). Director: Rene Clement.

Marc (Alain Delon) is a handsome gigolo who is on the run from hit men hired by the husband of his latest conquest. On the riviera he winds up becoming chauffeur for a strange household consisting of a wealthy widow, Barbara (Lola Albright), and her cousin, Melinda (Jane Fonda). In the meantime, a strange figure is watching the goings-on from hidden rooms behind the walls. This may sound intriguing, but frankly with that premise and this cast Joy House should have been a lot sexier and much more entertaining. This was taken from a Charles Williams novel or screenplay which was probably more on the mark. Delon plays his part in just the right note; the women are good but less effective. The movie is at times more confusing and irritating than genuinely suspenseful.

Verdict: A bit dull despite everything. **.

PATHETIC CHRISTINA CRAWFORD NEVER GIVES UP

Christina and Joan Crawford

CHRISTINA CRAWFORD'S LATEST DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO BECOME MORE FAMOUS THAN HER MOTHER

Poor Christina Crawford never gives up. Although most sensible people -- including two of her siblings -- have dismissed Mommie Dearest as (as her sister put it) "fake and fictional," she still keeps trying to trade off the book's success -- and the fact that famous movie star Joan Crawford was her adoptive mother.

First Christina tried intimating that Joan murdered her fourth husband Alfred Steele, a fact-less, fruitless ploy that didn't work. Now she claims to have suddenly discovered her mother's blue movies and "naked home videos" in which she allegedly is having sex with a man. Even if it's true, who cares? Joan certainly had a right to an active sex life and if she wanted to photograph it that's her business.

So now Christina is readying a stage show -- starring herself -- called "Surviving Mommie Dearest" in which, presumably, these videos will play a part.

Christina is beating a dead horse.

One can't help but think of what Myrna Loy wrote in her autobiography [written with the help of James Kotsilibas-Davis]: "[Christina] wanted to be Joan Crawford. I think that's the basis of the book she wrote afterward, and everything else. I saw what her mind created, the fantasy world she lived in ... She envied her mother, grew to hate her, and wanted to destroy her."

Apparently the publication of Mommie Dearest brought no closure to Christina Crawford. Or at least not enough lasting fame or money to suit her.

Because here she is again, still battening off her mother, and still beating her up far worse than she contends her mother ever beat her.

Pathetic, really.

This is a lady who needs to get a life.

MERCI POUR LE CHOCOLAT

MERCI POUR LE CHOCOLAT (2000). Director: Claude Chabrol.

If you were the passenger in a car, and the driver, looking sick, said "I'm beginning to feel numb all over," wouldn't you tell them to pull over to the side of the road? Well, this passenger doesn't in one of the dumb, illogical moments in this film made by French filmmaker Chabrol from an old Charlotte Armstrong mystery novel. The plot has to do with "Mika" Muller (Isabelle Huppert), heir to a Swiss chocolate concern, who is fond of serving her own special hot chocolate to her husband, concert pianist Andre Polonski (Jacques Dutronc), and her stepson Gillaume (Rodolphe Pauly), as well as any guests she may have. Into this little household comes aspiring musician Jeanne Pollet (Anna Mouglalis), who thinks that Andre might possibly be her biological father. She also suspects one of the members of the household of being a poisoner. Merci Pour le Chocolat is absorbing and suspenseful for much of its length, but ultimately it heads in a predictable direction and has absolutely no surprises. Worse, Chabrol completely fails to bring out the dramatic potentialities of the storyline and character inter-relationships. The film is so low-key that its characters act like zombies when they should be more than a little upset. This isn't subtlety -- this is just mediocre filmmaking. Those who wrongly compare Chabrol with Hitchcock won't want to use this movie as a case in point. Hitch would never make the fatal mistake of leaving the audience without a punch line and way too many unanswered questions to boot. Chabrol and Huppert also teamed for the slightly better Story of Women in 1988.

Verdict: Have mercy and don't make criminally disappointing movies like this. **.

GLENN FORD: A LIFE

GLENN FORD: A LIFE. Peter Ford. University of Wisconsin Press; 2011.

This is an excellent bio of the late actor written by his son, who had a problematic relationship with his father, eventually deciding to think of himself  primarily as a "fan." The book provides a detailed look at Ford's life and work, with recollections from friends and other performers who worked with him. Peter Ford doesn't sugarcoat his father but neither does he excoriate him, so while we don't know Glenn's side in their conflicts the book still comes off as fair and balanced. Peter looks bluntly at Glenn's marriage to his first wife, Peter's mother, singer-dancer Eleanor Powell, and also examines from a personal perspective the other marriages that didn't last nearly as long. The book is not just a catalog of Glenn's infidelities but a solid look at his film performances and acting style. Although Peter writes about his own life and achievements -- declaring at one point that he's a "red-blooded heterosexual" [a dated expression if ever there were one] -- he never forgets whom this bio is really about. Like the best biographies of movie stars, Glenn Ford: A Life makes you want to revisit many of the actor's famous and not-so-famous movies. Like other tomes penned by famous people's offspring, this book makes it clear that it isn't easy being the child of a celebrity, but it nonetheless does bring its perks. There are some unintentionally eyebrow-raising passages in the book, such as when Peter lists guests at his father's artistic soirees and all of them are well-known gay men, making it seem as if Glenn hosted all gay-parties [until some women are mentioned in subsequent paragraphs]. Glenn Ford is another case of a presumably straight actor benefiting greatly from the early career ministrations of a devoted gay man. [Also recommended: Gary Crosby's book about his father, Going My Own Way.]

Verdict: A substantial, very entertaining, and long-overdue major bio of an important star. ***1/2.

PERRY MASON SEASON 6

Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale

PERRY MASON SEASON 6.

The main change to this venerable series in its sixth season was the addition of actor Wesley Lau to the supporting cast. Lau played Lt. Andy Anderson, an assistant to Lt. Tragg (Ray Collins), who was still on the show but whose appearances became sporadic. Most of this seasons episodes were at least "B+" and quite a few were solid "A's."

For instance: An embezzler and his wife are caught up in surprising developments in "Double-Entry Mind" with Virginia Christine and an outstanding performance from Stuart Erwin. Lt. Anderson's cop cousin is implicated in a crime in "Hateful Hero," which features a superb turn by Jeannette Nolan. Liam Sullivan scores in "Inappropriate Uncle," in which a broke, irresponsible man inexplicably makes out a will but turns out to be wealthy after all. "The Stand-in Sister" is an excellent story of gangsters and switched babies with lots of good twists. In the excellent and unusual "Lurid Letter" -- there is no actual defendant in this episode, as such -- a school teacher is accused of making passes at her male students in an unsigned letter. "The Polka Dot Pony" answers the question of which girl is a woman's long-lost grand-daughter. Perry takes on the scandal sheet Spicy Bits as well as a lying client in "Velvet Claws" with Patricia Barry and Virginia Gregg. An excellent Robert Middleton plays an esteemed judge accused of murder in "Witless Witness."

Perhaps the single best episode of the season -- and one of the best in the entire series -- is "Weary Watchdog," in which John Dall plays a blackmailing art dealer. Perry reveals the killer -- which comes as an utter surprise -- in another courtroom  even as the jury in his own trial is still deliberating. This audacious episode may not stand up to close scrutiny but it certainly is a corker!

Raymond Burr became ill during the sixth season and in several episodes he was replaced by other stars playing defense lawyers of his acquaintance. These included Bette Davis ["Constant Doyle"], who faces Hamilton Burger in court and whose expression as she reveals the guilty party is priceless [she says to a hospitalized Perry on the phone: "I'll make a deal with you -- if you don't give me legal advice I won't take your temperature"]; Michael Rennie ["Libelous Locket"], a law professor who defends a woman accused of killing her blackmailer; and Walter Pidgeon ["Surplus Suitor"], who defends a woman with two beaus who is accused of murder. However, the best of these "substitute" episodes was "The Two-Faced Turn-A-Bout," in which Hugh O'Brian, a colleague of Perry's, not only has to defend a murder suspect but deal with the machinations of his own double.

Verdict: Perry's still going strong! ***1/2.

THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS

THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS (1957). Director: Nathan Juran [as Nathan Hertz].

"A very exciting female -- she appeals to me."

Scientist Steve March (John Agar) goes with associate Dan Murphy (Robert Fuller) to Mystery Mountain for some experiments and discovers a hitherto unknown tunnel -- and exploring it encounters the evil Gor from planet Arous. Gor is an intergalactic criminal as well as a ghostly disembodied brain of substantial size who takes over March's mind and then tries to take over the world. Although Gor terrorizes the military and several representatives of world governments by frying enemies and bringing down airliners, there are some compensations: March's girlfriend, Sally (Joyce Meadows), notices that Steve has become a much more passionate kisser. The Brain from Planet Arous is like a fifties horror/sci fi comic book story and just as silly. But it's also extremely entertaining and features a whopping good lead performance from John Agar, who really seems to be having a ball threatening everyone with his evil eye beams. There are also solid performances from the supporting cast, including Meadows and Fuller, as well as old stand-bys Thomas Browne Henry and Ken Terrell. Meadows was primarily a television actor, as was Fuller, although he also appeared in What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? with Geraldine Page and Ruth Gordon in 1969. 

Verdict: As evil brain movies go, this one is a winner. ***.

THE SPIRIT [telefilm]

Nana Visitor and Sam J. Jones

THE SPIRIT (1987 telefilm). Director: Michael Shultz.

"I think she's got the hots for you -- too bad you're dead."

Years before the terrible theatrical film, also called The Spirit, made in 2008, Will Eisner's comic book/newspaper hero Denny Colt was featured in this made-for-TV movie. After his good friend, a writer who was investigating some kind of art crime, is murdered, Officer Colt comes to LA [or a representation thereof] seeking his killer. Instead he winds up being shot and left for dead. Colt decides to let his enemies think he's deceased, and operating from an HQ in Wildwood cemetery, goes out to fight crime as the masked Spirit. Sam J. Jones is not bad at all as Colt/Spirit, and Nana Visitor is zesty as Ellen Dolan, the police commissioner's (Garry Walberg) daughter. Laura Robinson is acceptable as P'Gell Roxton, the bad girl of the piece, although perhaps not the best casting choice. The stereotypical black character of Ebony, the Spirit's pal and assistant, has been updated to a "streetwise" youth named Eubie (Bumper Robinson) -- another stereotype? The Spirit is amiable enough, but one can see why it never became a series.

Verdict: Okay time waster but little else. **1/2.

A SUMMER STORY

A SUMMER STORY (1988). Director: Piers Haggard.

Just before the war two young men are hiking in the area of Devon and Somerset (where A Summer Story was filmed), when the nicer of the two, Frank Ashton (James Wilby), badly sprains his ankle. The two men find a farm that lets rooms, but when his friend gets bored and leaves, Frank stays on and on and on all summer -- drifting into an intense love affair with orphaned Megan (Imogene Stubbs) and promising her his undying devotion and indeed the world. Unfortunately, things don't quite work out that way in this deeply affecting, beautifully done picture that delineates the tragic aspects of romance. A Summer Story also shows in unflinching terms that even supposedly "nice" people can be unspeakably weak and cruel. This is based on the story "The Apple Tree" by John Galsworthy and has been very well dramatized by Penelope Mortimer. Georges Delerue has crafted a memorable score and the countryside is expertly photographed by Kenneth McMillan. Wilby, Stubbs, Jerome Flynn as Joe (who also loves Megan), Susannah York, and the rest of the cast are excellent. Director Haggard, who has done mostly television work, also directed the wretched Blood on Satan's Claw, but is clearly much more inspired by the material this time around. A Summer Story is a decided tearjerker but by no means is it a soap opera. Beautifully done on all levels.

Verdict: This has been known to make grown men blubber. ****.

THE GAZEBO

THE GAZEBO (1959). Director: George Marshall.

"Can't you call Hitchcock again?"

"The guest room? You know how long it's been since I cleaned in there!" -- the heroine, upon learning a corpse is to be placed in a guest room.

TV writer Elliot Nash (Glenn Ford) decides to take the law into his own hands and take care of a blackmailer who threatens to send sexy old photos of his wife, Nell (Debbie Reynolds) -- just starting an important Broadway career -- to the scandal sheets. A new gazebo that the wife has just bought might come in handy as the blackmailer's resting place. Unfortunately, things don't go exactly as Elliot plans. [At one point he asks an unseen Alfred Hitchcock, for whom he's working on a script, for help! If only ..! ] Actually. this is a pleasant and reasonably entertaining black comedy with a few minor twists that only goes awry and becomes a bit labored in the final quarter. Ford is fine; Reynolds is perky and competent; Carl Reiner is okay as their friend, Harlow -- but Reiner's on-screen personality in his younger days was never exactly likable. Doro Merande is hilarious as the maid Matilda, who shouts at everyone. Martin Landau shows up late in the game as a hood. Ford and Reynolds appeared together the same year in the pretty awful It Started with a Kiss.

Verdict: Undeniably amusing but somehow unsatisfying. **1/2.

CITIZEN KANE BLU-RAY 2011 ULTIMATE COLLECTOR'S EDITION

CITIZEN KANE BLU-RAY 2011 ULTIMATE COLLECTOR'S EDITION. 

Here it is! Beautifully restored and remastered in a special edition 70th anniversary blu-ray collection.

"Citizen Kane, Orson Welles’ tour de force which the American Film Institute (AFI) chose as the #1 film of all time[i], celebrates its 70th Anniversary with an all new 1080p hi-definition restoration from original nitrate elements in stunning 4K resolution and revitalized digital audio. Warner Home Video will bring the iconic masterwork to a new generation with their new Blu-ray™ 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition, complete with more than three hours of bonus content and an array of rare and collectible premiums including a 48-page collector’s book filled with photos and behind-the-scene details, 20-page reproduction of the original 1941 souvenir program, lobby cards, and reproductions of rare production memos." 

 In this collector's edition you get:

"Disc 1

·         Commentary by Peter Bogdanovich

·         Commentary by Roger Ebert

• Opening: World Premier of Citizen Kane Vintage Featurettes
• Interview with Ruth Warrick
• Interview with Robert Wise
• Storyboards
• Call Sheets
• Still Photography with Commentary by Roger Ebert
• Deleted Scenes
• Ad Campaign
• Press Book
• Opening Night
• Theatrical Trailer

Disc 2

·         The Battle over Citizen Kane Documentary

Disc 3

·         RKO 281 (HBO Feature)"

"Here are links to the Official Facebook page as well as trailers and clips:

         Official Facebook:

o    www.facebook.com/CitizenKaneMovie

·         Trailer:

o    http://youtu.be/GwN9Vwr-jRw

·         Film Clip:

o    http://youtu.be/Rrj9-MfXJys

o    http://youtu.be/fgd1ZgGalA4

o    http://youtu.be/qf0zghq-WoM

·         Images:

o    http://warnervideo.com/art"

 Click here to read my review of the masterpiece Citizen Kane. 

Verdict: This is one collector's edition to own. ****. 

HENRY ALDRICH, BOY SCOUT

HENRY ALDRICH, BOY SCOUT (1944). Director: Hugh Bennett.

Henry Aldrich (Jimmy Lydon) has become a troop leader in the boy scouts and is hoping to get a promotion by leading his team to victory in some games. Endangering this scheme is young Peter Kent (Darryl Hickman), the obnoxious son of an old classmate (Minor Watson) of Henry's father, Sam (John Litel) -- Henry has been put in charge of the boy. Meanwhile Henry is also hoping to impress his girl, Elise (Joan Mortimer), who is playing hard to get. This is an okay enough entry in the long-running movie series, although the sentimental aspects do become a bit cloying at times. Peter only gets in line after he gets beaten up, a suspect development to be sure. However, the cast --- including Charles Smith as Dizzy and Olive Blakeney as Mrs. Aldrich --  are as proficient as ever, the picture is often amusing, and there's a suspenseful and funny bit when Henry and Peter are caught on a crumbling cliff as Dizzy tries to haul them up on a shredding rope. Yikes! Darryl Hickman's brother Dwayne played Dobie Gillis on TV.

Verdict: Another pleasant saga in the life of the irrepressible Henry Aldrich. **1/2.

THE FIGHTING DEVIL DOGS

THE FIGHTING DEVIL DOGS 12 chapter Republic serial/1938. Directed by John English and William Witney.

When virtually all the men under his command are killed in a bizarre electronic assault, Lt. Tom Grayson (Lee Powell) becomes subject of a hearing. But it isn't long before he, his buddy Lt. Corby (Herman Brix/Bruce Bennett), and the entire United States Marine Corps learn that the true culprit is a masked fiend who calls himself the Lightning. He uses an "electrical Thunderbolt" to wipe out hundreds on ships so he can loot them, and carries a portable version of the device to obliterate his personal enemies. The cliffhangers in this otherwise exciting serial are fairly routine -- cars over cliffs, conflagrations, falling beams and even sharks -- and one or two are borrowed from earlier serials. There's a minimum of suspense over the true identity of the Lightning, which comes as somewhat of a surprise. Lee Powell did mostly westerns and died only six years after this serial was released at age thirty-six. He had an appealing sensitivity, although he could do the action stuff with reasonable aplomb as well. 

Verdict: Entertaining if unspectacular cliffhanger. **1/2.

A WOMAN'S FACE

 

A WOMAN'S FACE (1941). Director: George Cukor.


"What the well-dressed gargoyle will wear."

Anna Holm (Joan Crawford) is a bitter, disfigured woman who heads a gang of petty criminals and blackmailers. But in her future are fateful encounters with an oily sociopath, Torsten Barring (Conrad Veidt), whom she loves, and a blackmailing victim's husband, Gustav (Melvyn Douglas)  -- who just happens to be a plastic surgeon. Will Anna find love, happiness, and a pretty face -- or will she become inveigled in Barring's plot to kill off his lovable nephew, Lars, for dollars? The plot may sound pretty silly but A Woman's Face is a winner all the way, with a strong performance from Crawford [who, ironically, looks strikingly beautiful in some shots], and a superb supporting cast, including Douglas and Veidt, as well as Connie Gilchrist and Donald Meek as members of Anna's gang; Marjorie Main as a feisty housekeeper; Henry Daniell and George Zucco as officers of the court; and little Richard Nichols as the little boy, Lars. And we mustn't forget Osa Massen as Gustav's wife, who was given the most memorable role of her career in this picture. Dickering with Anna over the price of some indiscreet love letters, she makes the mistake of exposing the latter's scars and insecurity and gets slapped around for her trouble in the picture's liveliest scene [see video]. However, there are other highlights, such as a suspenseful sequence in a cable car and the sleigh ride climax. While Cukor may never have been a Hitchcock, he handles these sequences quite well. Despite the grimness of the subject matter, Donald Ogden Stewart's screenplay doesn't eschew humor any more than it does pathos.

Verdict: Absorbing and first-class all the way. ***1/2.

THE SLEEPING TIGER

Dirk Bogarde and Alexis Smith

THE SLEEPING TIGER (1954) Producer/Director: Victor Hanbury [Joseph Losey].

"A cheap hoodlum -- flipping me away like a cigarette!"

Dr. Clive Esmond (Alexander Knox) is held up at gunpoint by a thug, Frank (Dirk Bogarde), whom he later invites into his home for treatment instead of sending to jail. Knox is an incredible bleeding heart -- he blames all of Bogarde's actions [which might seem tame by today's standards] on his childhood, and can't see what's happening under his nose: an attraction between Frank and Esmond's beautiful wife, Glenda (Alexis Smith), which eventually blossoms into an affair -- and leads to a lot of melodramatic complications. Bogarde is, as usual, quite good, but he seems a little too old and intelligent to be this dysfunctional youth, although if he had played it like a complete lowlife it would have been hard to see Glenda as having romantic feelings for him as well as sexual ones. Knox is fine as the clueless cold fish who can't see this sexy younger guy as a threat to his marriage [there doesn't seem to be any real indication that he himself is attracted to Frank -- aside from his covering up and excusing his criminal actions -- although a modern-day remake might explore this a bit more]. Smith is sexy and not bad as Glenda, although she isn't quite up to the demands of the more challenging sections of the script, although one could argue that this film is not exactly a serious drama and melodramatic emoting was the order of the day. Whatever its flaws -- including an especially pretentious ending and dubious character reversals --  The Sleeping Tiger holds the attention and is entertaining.

Verdict: A good picture that could have been a great one. ***.

FEDERAL AGENTS VS UNDERWORLD INC.

FEDERAL AGENTS VS UNDERWORLD INC. (12 chapter Republic serial/1949). Director: Fred C. Brannon.

Professor Clayton (James Craven) is kidnapped because he has knowledge of something called the Golden Hand of Abisthan treasure, which is coveted by a villainess named Nila (Carol Forman). Nila wants to organize the entire underworld of the country into a massive group like the F.B.I [not nearly enough is done with this great idea]. Out to stop her nefarious plans and find the professor are Inspector David Worth (Kirk Alyn of Superman fame) and Laura Keith (Rosemary La Planche from Strangler of the Swamp). While there are a couple of borrowed cliffhangers in this serial, it also boasts a suspenseful bit involving a box with a bomb in it in chapter 5; Dave nearly running Laura over with his car in chapter 8; a stone-hearted Nila shooting David in 9; a collision between planes in mid-air in 10; and a collapsing bridge in 11. Roy Barcroft, Tristram Coffin and Tom Steele are also in the cast.

Verdict: Fast-paced and generally lively. ***

ROCKY JONES SPACE RANGER

Richard Crane

ROCKY JONES SPACE RANGER 1954. Director: Hollingsworth Morse.

This half hour science fiction show lasted for 39 episodes in 1954. Richard Crane [The Alligator People] starred as Rocky, with Sally Mansfield as Vena Ray, Scotty Beckett as Winky, and Robert Lyden as ten-year-old Bobby. Some of the stories were divided into two or three episodes, and two of these arcs have been collected on DVD. "Crash of the Moons" has Jones and company trying to stop a collision between two planetary bodies and having his efforts thwarted by the suspicions of alien races. In "Menace from Outer Space," Rocky flies to Fornax to investigate after a weapon from that world hits the earth. With his tight pants and sensual lower lip Crane makes an attractive enough hero, and the other cast members are game. The series is charmingly low-tech to say the least.

Verdict: Earnestly dull but not really awful. **.

CHARLIE CHAN'S SECRET

CHARLIE CHAN'S SECRET (1936). Director: Gordon Wiles.

"Chinese people interested in all things psychic."

A very wealthy man who has been presumed dead suddenly turns up alive -- and is promptly murdered. And there are several people who would benefit from his demise. Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) investigates and encounters elderly Mrs. Lowell (Rosina Lawrence) and her family, all of whom are suspects. Inside the Lowell mansion Chan looks for the killer amidst seances, corpses that turn up and vanish, and similar tricks played by both him and the killer. None of the Chan sons appear in this picture -- which alone makes it unusual -- but the comic foil is Baxter the butler played by Herbert Mundin.

Verdict: A very satisfying Charlie Chan mystery. ***.