Manpower - Early, highly melodramatic take on the two guys, pals for life, and one baaaaad goil who comes between 'em routine. In this case, Edward G. Robinson and George Raft play the working stiffs who tangle with giant-headed Marlene Dietrich as a sad-luck dame who brings them nothing but trouble. Eddie G. is a hot headed sap who wants to save the girl by marrying her even though he knows she has no feeling for him. His buddy Raft tries to watch out for his pal but ends up falling for the girl himself. Raft and Dietrich are both so wooden and devoid of personality that they generate very little heat and, in a perfect world, would be allowed to go off and make boring little babies with giant heads. EGR and a host of Warner's character all-stars try hard to keep things bubbling along to the final 'Shocking' conclusion with not much to work with save sheer personality. Maybe they should have called it 'Starpower' instead.
Men in War - Extremely grim little picture about a single small troop of combat soldiers who are behind enemy lines during the Korean war and their attempt to get back to their own side of the fighting. Robert Ryan plays the battle scarred lieutenant who leads his men, most of whom are raw recruits, through treacherous fields of enemy snipers and guerrilla fighters. He gets help from Aldo Ray as an equally weary sergeant trying to get his shell-shocked colonel to safety. This is another later period Anthony Mann film, where he seemed to go back to making small intimate films. You get a real feel for the pressure and fear these men are constantly subjected to and how death can come from many directions at once. Mann does a good job here showing what grim trials these men are subjected to on a daily basis without making a an outright anti-war film. It'd definitely be enough to discourage me from climbing into any foxholes.
Many Rivers to Cross - Rambunctious western about a tough but cute frontier gal who sets her cap for a he-man trapper who's passin' through town on his way to the great northern wilderness. When he tells the gal that he just ain't the marryin' kind, all manner of hijinks ensue, as she tries to trap him like a possum up a 'simmon tree. I'm not always so big on Western comedies, especially romantic comedies, but, with the exception of Eleanor Parker channeling Lucille Ball as the girl, they manage to keep the wackiness and cornball antics to a slow simmer. It's nice to see Victor McLaglen as the girls hard drinking father, and both the Professor and the Skipper from 'Gilligans Island' pop up in small early roles. This is a Robert Taylor vehicle and he is an actor who hasn't really made a huge impression on me. He seems a bit of a dude to be wearin' all that buckskin and he gives off a whiff of vague distaste during the love scenes. Like I said though, Western romantic comedies really aren't my thing.
Morning Departure - Even grimmer little picture about a submarine on a routine training mission that hits a leftover land mine and lays dead at the bottom of the ocean. Only small number of the officers and crew survive the incident and this film is largely about them keeping themselves together as rescue efforts proceed topside. This is a rather unique entry in the Submarine film genre, in that it is largely a vehicle for showing why a stiff upper lip is necessary in times of crisis. The acting is well done and features several familiar faces of British film, including a very young Richard Attenborough. Apparently this was taken from a true story, and if I ever had any inclination before to go down into a submarine, this movie definitely cured me of that.
Men in War - Extremely grim little picture about a single small troop of combat soldiers who are behind enemy lines during the Korean war and their attempt to get back to their own side of the fighting. Robert Ryan plays the battle scarred lieutenant who leads his men, most of whom are raw recruits, through treacherous fields of enemy snipers and guerrilla fighters. He gets help from Aldo Ray as an equally weary sergeant trying to get his shell-shocked colonel to safety. This is another later period Anthony Mann film, where he seemed to go back to making small intimate films. You get a real feel for the pressure and fear these men are constantly subjected to and how death can come from many directions at once. Mann does a good job here showing what grim trials these men are subjected to on a daily basis without making a an outright anti-war film. It'd definitely be enough to discourage me from climbing into any foxholes.
Many Rivers to Cross - Rambunctious western about a tough but cute frontier gal who sets her cap for a he-man trapper who's passin' through town on his way to the great northern wilderness. When he tells the gal that he just ain't the marryin' kind, all manner of hijinks ensue, as she tries to trap him like a possum up a 'simmon tree. I'm not always so big on Western comedies, especially romantic comedies, but, with the exception of Eleanor Parker channeling Lucille Ball as the girl, they manage to keep the wackiness and cornball antics to a slow simmer. It's nice to see Victor McLaglen as the girls hard drinking father, and both the Professor and the Skipper from 'Gilligans Island' pop up in small early roles. This is a Robert Taylor vehicle and he is an actor who hasn't really made a huge impression on me. He seems a bit of a dude to be wearin' all that buckskin and he gives off a whiff of vague distaste during the love scenes. Like I said though, Western romantic comedies really aren't my thing.
Morning Departure - Even grimmer little picture about a submarine on a routine training mission that hits a leftover land mine and lays dead at the bottom of the ocean. Only small number of the officers and crew survive the incident and this film is largely about them keeping themselves together as rescue efforts proceed topside. This is a rather unique entry in the Submarine film genre, in that it is largely a vehicle for showing why a stiff upper lip is necessary in times of crisis. The acting is well done and features several familiar faces of British film, including a very young Richard Attenborough. Apparently this was taken from a true story, and if I ever had any inclination before to go down into a submarine, this movie definitely cured me of that.
