Track the Films You Watch (2010) - Page 31

I've wanted to see FRITZ since I was kid. I bought the DVD when it was released and it's sitting on my shelf unopened still.

I started to go through all my Kubrick titles but I got so caught up in the HOLLYWOOD doc that I put the rest of these on the back burner just to go through countless silents I've got lined up for next month.  Even though I didn't get to go through all of the titles, there's no doubt in my mind that Kubrick is the greatest director in the history of cinema.  I've seen his films a number of times and it's just amazing how much are in them and even more amazing that you could watch the same title everyday of your life and still come away with a different meaning or thoughts on it.

Clockwork Orange, A (1971)

Stanley Kubrick

Set at some point in the future, British teen Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) spends most of his time hanging with his goon friends, raping women and causing other violent harm but after he's caught he volunteers for an experimental therapy that doesn't quite work as planned.  Sick, shocking, crude, violent, nauseating and vulgar are just a few of the words that many will use when describing this film but I'd call it a true piece of art that rightfully deserves its high reputation.  Many people have said that a Kubrick film would never be a Kubrick film if it wasn't an ego-maniac you took his sweet time to make sure what made it to the screen was his vision and only his vision.  There's something beautiful about a painter taking his time to make sure his painting has all the right colors and vibes yet if a filmmaker does this he's often criticized for it.  There's no doubt in my mind that Kubrick was a mad genius and that's never more evident in this adaptation of the Anthony Burgess novel.  To me the greatest thing about this movie is its sick and twisted sense of humor but also the visual look of the film.  It's amazing what Kubrick can do in the matter of seconds but the masterful and now legendary opening sequence only lasts a few seconds yet it pulls you into this bizarre world of sex and murder.  These two objects are never a funny thing yet Kubrick pulls us into this world where we can laugh at them and follow our "hero" Alex as he rapes one person after another, murders and fights only for us to eventually come to see him as the good guy and a victim.  I'm sure one could make this film a very political one and many arguments have been raged about the meaning of the ending but everyone who watches the film will draw something different from it and I'm sure ones own opinion on what's done to our hero will have you seeing the ending in different ways.  For me personally, the film has always been an incredibly dark comedy that works simply because the world we're watching might be set in the future but you could call it ahead of its time just like METROPOLIS was.  It takes place in the future with the bizarre sets and weird culture yet at the same time the subject matter is so today that you can't help but feel you're in the middle of some nightmare.  McDowell's performance is a truly great one as he perfectly plays both the psychotic Alex but also the victim.  I thought some of McDowell's greatest work here comes once he's cured and can no longer tolerate violence.  What's even better is the narration, which is downright superb and wonderfully used by the director with the actor perfectly delivering the lines and helping one get into the story.  You'll also never hear "Singin' in the Rain" the same way again.  Some people call the film overindulgent, which is probably is but I see this as a good thing.  This just helps create this strange world and in the end it's really unlike any movie ever made and there's just something so unique in its vision that you can't help but feel this is something from the future.  Kubrick's vision has never been questioned and fans could debate on which of his features has the greatest look but for my money it's this film.  That's not to say this is the director's greatest film but I do think it has the great look and feel.  It's certainly a very violent movie but the director gives the violence such a pleasant nature that it just seems normal and rather light.  The strange music selection, crazy camera shots and overall strange tone makes it a one of a kind and that's why A CLOCKWORK ORANGE will always be a timeless work of art.

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Stanley Kubrick

Kubrick's film follows a Marine (Matthew Modine) from his basic training with a brutal Sny. Sgt. (R. Lee Ermey) to a final showdown in Vietnam where a group of soldiers are being picked off by a sniper.  Kubrick's return to the cinema after a seven year break came with a film genre that has pretty much played itself out in the past eight or nine years considering we got films like THE DEER HUNTER, COMING HOME, APOCALYPSE NOW as well as PLATOON.  Many critics panned the film for being too familiar while others called it a masterpiece that showed the war unlike any movie before.  I've always had a love-hate relationship with FULL METAL JACKET and it's probably a film I've seen more than any other Kubrick even though I think it's one of the director's lesser films.  There's no question that the first hour is a masterpiece but I've never warmed up to the second half for several reasons.  I can never really put my finger on it and each time I revisit the movie I try to pick up what it is I don't like.  I think the bottom line is that the second half just seems to wonder endlessly and without too many points.  Yes, the sniper stuff is thrilling and the visual look is mesmerizing but I found there were way too many slow spots like one sequence where the troops are questioned about their thoughts on the war.  If the second part had been just half as good as the first then we'd be talking about one of the greatest films ever made but as it stands this is a flawed masterpiece.  The first half of the film is probably the most unoriginal as the training camp sequence has been seen in dozens of films going all the way back to the silent era yet Kubrick shows it in a way that makes it an unnerving thrill that will wreck each of your emotions.  Kubrick paints some very dark humor in the film and most of it at the expense of Pvt. Pyle (Vincent D'Onofrio), an overweight idiot who gets tortured not only by the drill Sergent but also the men in his group.  I've always seen the first half of the film as a portrait of how much a man can take before finally cracking up.  The picture shown here certainly needs to give credit to D'Onofrio but the main credit goes to Kubrick and that amazing vision.  The way the camera glides around much like it did in THE SHINING brings the same claustrophobic sense of dread and one can't help but get caught up in the story.  This portion of the film has some very funny moments but it's also incredibly disturbing simply because of the abuse Pyle takes and you can't help but feel sorry for him but at the same time you too want to hate him because of how stupid he is.  The scenes are quite shocking in a way because of how raw Kubrick makes them and its this rawness that really makes this stuff seem fresh even though we've seen it before.  Kubrick was a master with the camera and it's just amazing to see how quickly our emotions can change as one second we'll be laughing only to have that quickly go away as something darker happens.  This first hour can easily be called a masterpiece because of how raw and powerful it is and in the end there's really not another basic training sequence that can compare.  I only wish the second half had been half as interesting but as it stand, FULL METAL JACKET is still a must-see but one can't help but walk away thinking there should have been more.

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Originally Posted by Pete York 

Great job, Michael. I remember seeing Brownlow in a forum online a couple of years ago and he seemed pretty resigned to the fact that this was nowhere near getting released and probably wouldn't be. This year, the same industry that is the obstacle to his greatest work being released to a wide audience is going to give him an honorary Oscar. I hope someone realizes what a joke that is. And maybe Coppola, while he's picking up his Thalberg Award, can explain to Brownlow why he is blocking the NAPOLEON restoration. 

Thanks.  I do wonder if Coppola and Brownlow have been talking.  Hopefully something can be worked out between the two and hopefully the upcoming attention will get some of Brownlow's films either released or other projects funded. 

Desert Nights (1929)

William Nigh

John Gilbert's final silent picture is a pretty interesting one even if its reputation isn't that high.  In the film he plays Hugh Rand, a diamond mine owner in South Africa.  One day a father (Ernest Torrence) and daughter (Mary Nolan) show up on invitation for some good hunting but it turns out they're a pair of thieves who take Hugh hostage as well as steal $500,000 in diamonds.  The three head off into the desert for their escape but soon they're out of water and not sure which way to go so the thieves must depend on Hugh to save their lives.  Watching this film there's no doubt that it was rushed together just to save time before MGM had to put Gilbert into a sound feature.  I'm really not sure why they selected this one to remain silent as the material could have made for an interesting early talkie but I must say it's a good thing that they kept it silent.  The movie runs an extremely quick 62-minutes and for the most part is very entertaining.  The reason I say it works best as a silent is because of the hot sexuality throughout the film between Gilbert and Nolan.  The two of them certainly heat up the screen and this is apparent early on in a simple dinner sequence where the two begin to get to know one another.  Just the way they look at one another just tells you all the sexual undertones you'll need to know.  Once the film moves out to the desert it picks up the entertainment as it's clear Gilbert's character is just having fun tormenting the two thieves by constantly reminding them that death is near.  I really loved the way Gilbert played the role in a sort of madness that his character finally breaks through and decides to have some fun with the people who kidnapped him.  The way he torments the "Father" by coming onto the girl was a lot of fun and just added to the sexual tension running through the film.  Gilbert is a lot of fun in the role as he gets to play that tough guy everyone loved him as and I'm sure the women really ate up seeing him burning in that hot sun.  Torrence is a real blast as the bad guy as he eats up every scene he's in and you can't help but love to hate him.  He's such a arrogant jerk at the start of the film so it's fun seeing him tortured by Gilbert.  Nolan is incredibly beautiful in her role and this includes a great sequence with her bathing naked.  We don't actually see anything but the implications of the scene are easy to see.  Her and Gilbert really burn up the screen and make it worth sitting through.  In many ways this film reminds me of a silly serial that has just about everything happening.  This film offers up some nice tension but there's also plenty of sexuality, comedy and even camp value especially the scene with the machine gun tied on the side of a car.  Fans of silent cinema will really eat this thing up but even those who aren't fans will probably find themselves having fun.

Way for a Sailor (1930)

Sam Wood

Early talkie from MGM suffers from a lot of technical issues and the story really lets down the cast.  In the film a drunken sailor (John Gilbert) argues with his buddy (Wallace Beery) but soon falls for a questionable woman (Leila Hyams).  Soon Gilbert is trying to win her heart but she doesn't want a sailor so the man must try and form a new life but finds out he is what he is.  According to legend MGM was really sticking it to Gilbert and trying to ruin him with movies like this.  I'm really not sure how true that is because legend also has it that he had a horrible speaking voice but the more sound films I watch I'm starting to realize that wasn't the case at all.  In fact, I think the sometimes soft-toned voice perfectly fits some of these rough characters he's playing because he had the body of a tough guy but that voice allows him to work well in the more romantic sequences.  In fact, during one of the love scenes he's saying one love line after another and it was actually quite effective as he was clearly very passionate and this really come through on screen.  I'm not sure what people in 1930 were expecting but I can only guess that silent movies had people imagining what their favorite stars sounded like and when talkies came along and these voices didn't match, people were left disappointed.  Either way, Gilbert is the only reason to watch this film as everything else is pretty bad.  Hyams to me was way too flat and I really didn't care too much for the character or performance.  Beery isn't too bad but he's pretty much just here to start fights, drink and be loud.  We get Ray Milland in a brief, uncredited bit but the rest of the supporting cast are pretty forgettable.  I think the biggest problem is the actual screenplay, which is quite boring, predictable and at times laughable.  You really can't blame it too much as many of these early talkies were simply made for talking.  The story never really progressive in a believable way and by the time it is over you can't help but feel you've been watching it for hours.  The technical quality is another disaster as there are several scenes taking place outdoors where it's hard to hear what the actors are saying because of everything else the microphones are picking up.  We also get some early rear-projection but it looks quite poor and often doesn't match up with the "real" footage.  In the end, this isn't a disaster but it's certainly only recommended to those who want to see some of the Gilbert films that were laughed out of theaters back in the day.

Phantom of Paris, The (1931)

John S. Robertson

Well-made, if far-fetched, drama from MGM has John Gilbert playing Cheri-Bibi, a famous escape artist who plans on marrying a rich woman (Leila Hyams) even though her father (C. Aubrey Smith) is against it.  The father is killed after an argument with Cheri, which causes a detective (Lewis Stone) to arrest him.  Facing death in the matter of hours Cheri escapes from prison to prove his innocence.  It's rumored that this film was originally meant for Lon Chaney, which if true would be interesting since it's also rumored that Chaney turned down THE SHOW, which then went to Gilbert.  Whatever the truth is, this remains a pretty solid "B" movie that has some great acting and a pretty good story.  I'm sure many might go into a title like this expecting some type of horror picture but it's pretty much a straight drama with some pretty tense scenes.  I think the film takes a turn for the worse in the final fifteen-minutes when Gilbert takes the identity of the man he believes did the real killer.  The two didn't look like one another but even if they did manage to fake people their different voices would have certainly given them away.  Gilbert turns in another winning performance and what's so nice here is how incredibly charming he is.  The early scenes with him doing the magic tricks had him "acting" to large crowds and I thought the charm came through just like you'd expect a real magician to do.  Being Gilbert we also get a love story, which has the actor delivering soft lines and doing a nice job with it.  Hyams is much better here than she was in her previous film (WAY OF A SAILOR) with Gilbert.  The two come across like a real couple and have some pretty good scenes together.  Lewis Stone turns in a fine supporting performance as does Jean Hersholt, Natalie Moorhead and Ian Keith.  Smith only appears at the start of the film but he too adds nice support.  This film was adapted from a novel by Gaston Leroux and for the most part it's pretty successful.  I'm sure the original story had more magic but I guess you can only expect so much from a film like this.  The 72-minute running time flies by without too many slow spots and in the end it's yet another film to prove that Gilbert did have a voice and he knew how to use it.

Downstairs (1932)

Morita Bell

Brutally honest and at times shocking Pre-Code about a chauffeur (John Gilbert) who gets one job after another only to blackmail both the rich as well as the poor servants.  His latest job has him falling for a married woman (Virginia Bruce) who just happens to be married to the main servant (Paul Lukas).  The con man begins to dig up dirt on the rich folks in the house so that he can swindle them and take off with the beautiful wife.  Soon everyone in the house is being held hostage by the gossip and rumors started by the man.  It's well known that Gilbert wrote the story to this thing and sold it to MGM for a single dollar so that they'd agree to make it.  I've seen hundreds, if not thousands, of movies from this era and I must say that this here is without question one of the most unique, strange and downright bizarre of them all.  While watching the movie it keeps you off guard as you never really know where it's going to go next but there's no question that it has one surprise after another and the story itself is brave enough to go in many directions no matter what the outcome.  One example of this is an elderly cook who has pretty much given her life as a servant and managed to save up a lot of money, which of course Gilbert goes after.  The Pre-Code material goes as far as having Gilbert seduce her and then verbally abuse her in such a way that you can't help but feel incredibly bad but at the same time shocked.  What's even more shocking is that Gilbert allows his character to be even darker and meaner.  There's no question that Gilbert's "power" was on its way down but it still took quite a bit of guts for someone of his stature to play a role like this.  His performance here is incredibly good because he's so cold during the bad parts yet he's also so charming and warm during the scenes where he's taking advantage of people.  One can't help but think this is exactly how this type of person would be and Gilbert nails it without any troubles.  The performance is certainly the best I've seen from him and I'd say it's one of the most memorable villains from this era of Hollywood.  Gilbert's then wife Bruce is terrific here as well as her abused character is so full and rich in detail that you can't help but feel as if you know her and feel the pain she's going through as she has to fight off the abuse from Gilbert but also the abuse she feels from her husband.  Lukas is magnificent as the husband who has a strange loyalty to his employers who he feels more for than his actual wife.  Bodil Rosing is terrific as the elderly woman who gets taken advantage of.  I think a lot of people, even those familiar with Pre-Codes, will be shocked at how raw this movie is.  The final fifteen-minutes contain some intense drama and an outrageous scenario but it works so incredibly well that you can't help but really respect the film.  The movie is very adult in nature and the marvelous performances makes this a must-see for any film fan.

Captain Hates the Sea, The (1934)

Lewis Milestone

Disappointing comedy has pretty much been forgotten by everyone except for die-hard film buffs who will probably remember the film not for its quality but due to it running over budget thanks in large part to a cast full of drunks who spent more time drinking than actually acting.  The GRAND HOTEL type story takes place on a ship where we get several small stories including a P.I. (Victor McLaglen) tracking some stolen bonds, a writer (John Gilbert) suffering from alcoholism and of course a Captain (Walter Connally) who is constantly making the life of his steward (Leon Errol) a mess.  For a comedy this thing really lacks any laughs and perhaps the funniest quote took place off the film.  If legend is true, Columbia president Harry Cohn telegraphed director Milestone saying, 'Return to studio.  The cost is staggering.'  The director would reply, "So is the cast!"  Who knows if that's the truth or not but it's certainly funnier than anything else in this film, which is a shame because we're given a very talented cast and most turn in fine performances but in the end there's just not much anyone could do with this screenplay.  Considering the troubled production, who knows if there was more to this story that hit the cutting room floor but we're left with a pretty big mess.  It seems that the film struggles to connect all the stories but that doesn't matter too much because none of them are overly interesting.  I'd say the most interesting one deals with Gilbert but at the same time you have to question why he was given this part.  Well, considering John Barrymore was a major alcoholic and ended up spoofing it in his later films I guess you can see why director Milestone would want Gilbert for this role.  He certainly looks in pretty rough shape and appears to have aged fifteen-years from what he looked like in a few of his earlier talkies but at the same time he's certainly giving it his all and actually manages to turn in a memorable performance, which would be his last.  McLaglen will put a smile on your face in a few of the scenes as will Errol who is constantly getting into trouble.  Alison Skipworth, Donald Meeks, Wayne Gibson, Fred Keating and Helen Vinson are some of the supporting performers and they too deliver fine work.  The Three Stooges appear as band members but the studio gives them very little to do.  In the end, this is a real disappointment considering the talent involved but I'm sure film buffs will get some mild entertainment out of seeing all these familiar faces in one place.

Underworld (1927)

Josef von Sternberg

Big-time gangster Bull Weed (George Bancroft) takes pity on an alcoholic lawyer (Clive Brooke) and gets him cleaned up and back into shape.  Soon the lawyer and the gangster's moll (Evelyn Brent) begin to fall in love but they both owe Bull everything they own so this puts a hamper on their relationship.  D.W. Griffith is credited with making the first gangster film and 1915's REGENERATION gets credit for being the first feature-length film to feature gangsters but I think it's fair to say that UNDERWORLD is what really shaped the genre for decades to come.  When you watch this film you can see the impact it would have on Warner and their upcoming gangster pictures with Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney.  You can also see the impact it would have on films like SCARFACE.  The Oscar-winning screenplay from Ben Hecht really puts us into the life of gangsters and their lifestyles better than any movie up to this point so I'm sure that's the reason this thing went over so well with people back when it was released.  The most impressive thing for me was the beautiful look of the film and it's clear von Sternberg wanted to show the fast, loose and dangerous world that these men lived in.  I really loved how the director would shoot the more outrageous stuff extremely fast and almost out of control as this really did make you feel as if you're were involved with these men and you could feel the pace that their lives worked.  One of the best scenes happen early on when the lawyer, still working like a bum, gets picked on by another gangster to get some money out of a dog bowl.  Just take a look at this sequence and see how von Sternberg slows things down just to add some built up tension that something bad could happen at any second.  This type of suspense is used in the same fashion later in the film when the moll comes under attack by this same gangster.  Bancroft is downright marvelous in the role of Bull and you can easily see the influence he's have on everyone who would play a gangster.  I loved the toughness he brought to the role and in the scenes where he goes off you can't help but understand and feel why everyone would be frightened of him.  Bancroft has the perfect look for the role and you can't help but feel he was born to play the part.  Brooke is also very good in his more serious and straight role.  Brent is wonderful as well and we also get strong support from Fred Kohler as the rival gangster and Larry Semon gets a few funny scenes of comic relief.  I did have a few problems with the film and that includes the ending, which I found to be quite bad and it really took away from how the characters were throughout the film.  I won't ruin everything but I didn't believe what happened and thought the film should have ended in a different way.  I also thought the love story could have used a couple more scenes just to build it up as the relationship between the lawyer and moll seemed to happen a bit too fast.  With that said, this is a very important film and it's easy to see why it was such a hit in its day and why it would influence so many.
 

Last Command, The (1928)

Josef von Sternberg

Marvelous drama about a former Russian General (Emil Jannings) who after the war fled the country and ended up in America where ten years later he's working as an extra in Hollywood.  A director (William Powell) is making a movie about that Russian war when he comes across a picture of the former General and recognizes him as the man who threw him in prison years earlier.  This here certainly turned out to be something truly special and a lot of the credit has to go to director von Sternberg but we also have Jannings turning in a magnificent performance, which ended up winning him an Oscar.  The story also won a Oscar and it's easy to see why because the screenplay pretty much contains ever bit of emotion you could possibly want.  There's some nice laughs, a pretty good love story, some political drama and some incredibly tense scenes.  What shocked me so much is that it seems like von Sternberg wanted the first twenty-minutes or so to gain sympathy for our main character as we see him obviously destroyed by life and working for peanuts as an extra.  When then get the grand flashback to when he was pretty much the ruler of Russia and how his encounter with a woman (Evelyn Brent) pretty much changes the rest of his life.  The story is part tragedy but it also works incredibly well as a character study because one can't help but love this guy and feel sorry for the pain he goes through.  The "Rosebud" from CITIZEN KANE is perhaps the greatest secret in film history but I think Jannings' nervous head shake has to be the second one.  Early on we're told that this head shake is due to some accident and when it's finally revealed what that accident was it comes as a great shock and is an incredibly powerful sequence.  The final thirty-minutes of the movie is like an out of control train, which is funny because the majority of the footage takes place on-board a train.  As the revolution begins the film starts to pick up energy and drama and it just keeps growing and growing as the thing moves along.  It's clear von Sternberg planned it this way because he just keeps pounding the viewer with one twist after another and the suspense just keeps building until that final secret is revealed.  The aftermath as the story picks back up in Hollywood is yet another powerful turn and will certainly leave an impact on the viewers.  Jannings is marvelous in the main role as he really is playing two characters and he does a terrific job with both of them.  I was very moved by his performance as the broken down extra because he tells us everything we need to know the first time we see his face.  The eyes can be a very powerful thing for an actor and Jannings tells us so much with the look on his face.  The power and emotion in his eyes isn't something they can teach at an acting school and the veteran certainly knows how to use his.  Powell's role isn't nearly as flashy but he too is quite good.  Brent is even more impressive here than she was in the director's previous film UNDERWORLD.  Her character goes through a lot of changes as well and I thought the actress nailed each one of the emotions and manages to have us want to see her dead one second only to then change our opinions on her a split second later.  THE LAST COMMAND is certainly one of the most powerful movies from this era with a final thirty-minutes that rank among the best I've ever seen.

Docks of New York, The (1928)

Josef von Sternberg

Impressive melodrama benefits from some strong performances and some terrific visuals.  The film tells the story of Bill Roberts (George Bancroft) a man who lives down on the docks who ends up saving a woman (Betty Compson) from killing herself.  Over the period of a day he saves her life, then the two get to know one another before getting married hours later but neither of them know what the future might hold.  The plot of this film is pretty simple and in many ways it's not too original but that doesn't hamper the film too much as director von Sternberg has such an amazing eye that each scene contains something fresh even if the story in that scene isn't anything new.  I'm not sure how much a better story would have helped overall but it might have benefited in a few ways including the two actually falling for one another.  In many ways this film plays out like a lonely males fantasy of him just happening to save a beautiful woman and then she gives him a chance of winning her heart.  Being made years before the Code went into full effect allowed the director to show off some darker moments to both characters as it's made clear in a very funny scene that neither person are virgins and that they've both had their share of wild moments.  What's most impressive about the direction here is his visual style, which is easily the most impressive that I've seen from him.  Just take a look at the scene where Bill saves the woman.  The fog is laid on very thick making the scene come off almost like a fantasy sequence and the way von Sternberg edits the thing makes it seem like some sort of strange dreamland.  The way the girl is seen, pulled from the water and eventually carried home are all shot very darkly with very little light and what light there is comes mainly from the reflections off the fog.  I loved the way von Sternberg shot the scene where the woman comes to and is introduced to the man who saved her.  I loved where the camera was placed and how the lighting once again plays a very important part.  The atmosphere is a very thick one as you can feel how dirty the docks are and all the people there seem like the type you'd actually find living and working there.  Bancroft delivers a very good performance in a role he has no problem playing.  The toughness of the character is very believable with Bancroft in the role but he also handles the more quiet and tender moments.  Compson has the harder of the two roles as her character is much darker but she has no problem making us care for her.  The two don't look like the types who would be together but their performances are so good and the two act so well together that they make us believe.  While the film is far from flawless it's well worth watching for the performances and directing.

Home, Sweet Home (1914)

D.W. Griffith

Interesting, if not totally successful, drama from Griffith tells four different stories with the later three being wrapped around John Howard Payne's song Home, Sweet Home.  The film starts off with Payne (Henry B. Walthall) leaving his mother and sweetheart (Lillian Gish) to find fame but ends up in a world of depression only to die alone but first writing a song that would become famous much later.  In the second story a man (Robert Harron) falls in love with a woman (Mae Marsh) but gets a chance to go out West.  The third story deals with two brothers (one played by Donald Crisp) who hate one another and try to do each other off.  The fourth story has a wife (Blanche Sweet) being tempted to leave her husband for a man with more money.  This Griffith film clocks in at 55-minutes but it really doesn't feel like a feature but instead just four shorts thrown together.  I must admit that the director did a very good job at connecting all three "separate" stories to the song from the first one.  I thought Griffith did a pretty good job at building the stories up but all of them vary in quality.  The opening has a strong performance by Walthall and this is probably the best of the group.  Gish is also quite strong as she and Walthall get some nice scenes together.  The story involving the man going out West is also a good one thanks in large part to the terrific performance by Harron.  The story with the two brothers is so over-dramatic that you can't help but roll your eyes.  I thought this was without question the weakest story.  The final one is the shortest but it's always nice to see Sweet.  We even get a prologue that features Walthall being dragged to Hell by some evil forces only to have an angel (played by Lillian Gish) to try rescue him.  As you can tell, this film features a terrific cast of Griffith's regulars and we also get Dorothy Gish and Jack Pickford.  Seeing such a large cast in a 55-minute movie is certainly a plus but one wishes the final two stories had been written just a tad bit better.  With that said, fans of Griffith or the cast will find enough here to make this worth viewing at least once.

Coward, The (1915)

Reginald Barker, Thomas H. Ince

One of the handful of Civil War films that were rushed into production and released after D.W. Griffith's THE BIRTH OF A NATION became what's probably the biggest hit of all time.  This film here deals with Confederate soldier Frank Winslow (Charles Ray) who is terrified of the war and runs away as a battle is about to begin.  His father (Frank Keenan) is a decorated soldier and is embarrassed why his son so he pretty much turns his back on him but soon the son is going to have a chance to redeem himself.  There's no doubt that this thing isn't in the same league as the Griffith film but at the same time it's still a pretty good little picture.  I think the most interesting this is the actual story because it's pretty much saying you're worthless if you're scared to die for your country.  I think the film goes a bit too dramatic during the relationship of the son and father.  This relationship includes a sequence where the father loads his pistol to shoot the son if he doesn't enlist in the war and even follows him to the enlistment office and again threatens to shoot him.  I found the father character to be rather laughable and he'll certainly go down in history as the most pathetic father I've seen in a movie.  The jerk is that bad and we get a sequence towards the end where the son might be dying and the father refuses to say he knows the kid.  One major plus for the film are the costumes, which all look like they're real.  The battle scenes aren't nearly as grand as the one in the Griffith film but they still look pretty good on their own.  The performance by Ray is actually pretty good as he does a nice job at showing fear as his character goes through quite a bit here.  The pain from his father's rejection is also something else the actor handles quite well.  Keenan, on the other hand, is downright awful here.  You'll never see me bashing silent acting because it is what it was at the time.  I think it's unfair to bash acting from 1910 because it's not like the acting we see today or saw in the 30s or 40s.  However, Keenan's acting appears to be coming from the 1620s.  Just take a look at how slowly he moves no matter what his character is doing.  I'd swear on my life that he moves slower than a zombie.  If he goes to raise his hand it takes a good fifteen-seconds.  If he goes to turn around that's probably twenty-seconds.  If he goes to stand up it's probably thirty-seconds.  You get the point.  The movie runs 77-minutes but if Keenan would move at a normal speed we'd probably be looking at a movie under an hour.  Even with that bad performance there's still enough to make fans of the silent era check this thing out.  It's certainly not a classic or a masterpiece but it's an interesting story with a fine lead performance and some great outfits.  The film shares a lot in common with Griffith's THE HOUSE WITH CLOSED SHUTTERS.

Thundering Hoofs (1924)

Albert S. Rogell

Decent Western has good guy Dave Marshall (Fred Thomson) framed by bad guy Luke Severn (William Lowery).  The battle goes to Mexico where Marshall has fallen in love with a beautiful Senorita (Ann May) but her father is under the impression that he's a bad guy so he must clear his name and defeat the bad one as well.  This plot detail sounds like hundreds of other "B" movies that the genre would release at one per week once the 1930s came along.  It's somewhat hard not looking at this film as being unoriginal but I'm going to guess that the plot was somewhat fresher in 1924, although today it comes off terribly dated due to all the other films that have been released since.  Overall I had a decent time with the movie, although much like those "B" Westerns of the 30s, you're not going to be missing a Holy Grail if you decide not to watch it.  The most memorable sequence in the film is when a robbery goes wrong and the stagecoach carrying the woman goes off on its own and Marshall must ride up to it and jump onto the horses.  This scene was featured in the HOLLYWOOD documentary as the stuntman was seriously injured and it's easy to see why as the accident footage is still in the film.  You can still clearly see where he misjudged his jump and ended up going under the stagecoach.  This action scene is without question the highlight of the film.  Fred Thomson was one of the bigger names in the genre back in the day but this was my first time seeing him.  It's hard to judge someone by just one film but I thought he was mildly entertaining and at least was able to carry himself in front of the camera.  Lowery is pretty good as the bad guy who hates the horse Silver King.  Yes, even this era of Westerns had the special horse.  Silver King isn't any better or worse than the various other horses out there but he certainly takes a beating in a few scenes including the over-the-top ending where our bad guy throws him into a bull ring.  In the end there's not enough to recommend this to general or casual fans but I think those interesting in the genre will probably find enough to keep them entertained.

Sheik, The (1921)

George Melford

Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan (Rudolph Valentino) is accustom to having his wishes fulfilled by whoever he asks but he gets a challenge from an English woman (Agnes Ayres) who is more freewheeling and doesn't believe that a man owns a woman.  The Sheik eventually kidnaps the woman, forcing her to his retreat in the desert where he slowly tries to force his will on her.  This film has certainly become one of the landmarks of cinema as it created a brand new type of sex symbol and it forever made a legend out of star Valentino.  It's strange because I really enjoyed this movie yet I really can't say why I did because there's so many negative things in the movie.  For starters, you could easily call this movie both sexist and racist yet I guess no one in 1921 cared.  I guess the woman who made this movie a hit didn't mind the fact that the Sheik was not only a kidnapper but also a rapist and an all around bad guy.  I guess a little dark side didn't turn anyone off.  I'm rather amazed at watching this film that it was such a hit and that women would drop head over hills for a man like the character here.  I really don't know what it was but I guess Valentino managed to put a spell on the women in the crowd just like his character in the film.  I will add that I've seen several Valentino pictures before and after them and the majority of them feature a better performance but I guess that really doesn't matter too much.  I found Valentino here to be way over-the-top during certain scenes but this might be due to the rather poor direction.  We have way too many silly shots of Valentino giving silly looks at the camera and it's easy to see why some critics attacked this film in 1921 because shots like these do make it come off campy.  Valentino certainly knows how to play up the sex appeal but again, I'm still somewhat shocked this went over so well with women.  Ayres isn't all that impressive as the female lead but we do get strong supporting performances by Adolphe Menjoy, Walter Long and Lucien Littlefield.  I've read different reports of where the exteriors shots were actually filmed but wherever they were they do look terrific and add a lot to the film.  The tints on the print I viewed also helped things quite a bit.  I'm not sure what movie people in 2010 will make of this movie but I'm sure many would either laugh it off or be offended by it.  I'm really not sure why it kept me entertained so but I had a pleasant time with the picture no matter how many flaws it did have.

Son of the Sheik, The (1926)

George Fitzmaurice

This sequel to THE SHEIK was released to theaters just eleven days after the death of star Rudolph Valentino so it goes without saying that this earn a lot of money by female fans wanting to see the star one final time.  In the film he plays the son to the Sheik of the first film.  The son gets into a bit of trouble when he falls in love with a poor dancer (Vilma Banky) only to have her father kidnap and torture him.  The father tells the Sheik's son that the daughter was in on the kidnapping but it turns out this wasn't true so the son must make mends with his own father (also played by Valentino) and go get the woman he loves.  For a 68-minute film there's quite a bit of plot going on but in the end it's certainly a better film than the original thanks in large part to a lighter tone that allows some humor as well as a lot more action.  It's said that Valentino was embarrassed by his image in the first film so perhaps that's why this sequel is so different in terms of tone.  In the original film you could accuse the Sheik of being a truly horrid monster but those traits weren't passed down to the son who we see as an all around good guy.  The camera certainly soaks up the sexuality with various shots just fixated on the star and I'm sure his female fans appreciated this.  The film also benefits from some nice humor from a couple idiots working for the dancer's father.  The action scenes this time out are a lot more impressive as we get more fist fights, more sword battles and of course we have Valentino riding to the rescue of his woman and having to save her from the evil father.  Valentino turns in a much better performance here than in the previous movie.  He's very charming as the son and manages to be funny in his own right but the more impressive performance comes from the older father.  There's quite a bit of make up on Valentino when playing the Sheik from the first film but I thought he did a very good job with the anger the character has as well as a small bit of humor when his wife (Agnes Ayres; returning from the first film) reminds him that he was the same way when he was younger.  George Fawcett is good as the bad guy and Banky is also very good in her role.  Banky and Valentino have a lot of chemistry together and this is extremely apparent early on when the two sneak away to meet under the moonlight.  Who knows where Valentino's career would have gone had he not died and we can't even say he would have survived into the sound era.  This final film of his has the actor in good form, which is more than a lot of legends can say for their swan songs.

Rudolph Valentino and His 88 American Beauties (1923)

David O. Selznick

This short was pretty much just thrown together by David O. Selznick to make a quick buck off of Valentino's popularity.  What basically takes place is that 88 different cities had one woman selected to go to New York City where they'd compete in a beauty contest.  The winner would be selected by Valentino and that winner would be very happy.  That's pretty much what we get here as we get quick clips of the women and of course plenty of shots of Valentino.  There's no question that this thing was cheaply thrown together as there's no artistic merit to be found and it's really nothing more than a newsreel with added clips of the star to sell to theater owners to cash in on his name.  The only interesting things are seeing what was considered beauty in 1923 and we also get some clips inside Madison Square Garden.

Bucking Broadway (1917)

John Ford

Considered lost for many decades, a print of this film would eventually show up in a French vault and making it one of the earliest films by John Ford to survive.  In the film Harry Carey plays Cheyenne Harry, a simple cowhand who asks the woman (Molly Malone) he loves to marry him.  She says yes but a few days later a city man (Vester Pegg) comes to town and steals her heart with a bunch of lies.  She runs off to NYC with him before learning what a jerk is so it's up to Harry to show up and save the day.  At just 52-minutes there's quite a bit wrong with this film including the middle sections that pretty much bring the thing to a complete halt.  The scenes involving the city man wooing the girl were pretty bland and boring in my opinion and I think the scene with all the cowboys crying was pretty over dramatic as well.  Outside those scenes this is a pretty good little Western that has the perfect mix of action and comedy.  The scenery early on is downright breathtaking as Ford clearly showed his ability even at an early age to pick beautiful locations and do them great justice on the screen.  You can't help but want to pause the film just so you can admire some of the terrific location shots here.  Another major plus is some rather nice bits a comedy that are added in the second part of the film when the cowboy heads to NYC and doesn't understand too much about the city.  It's even funnier when his friends show up and start a major fight with some of the city folks there.  Carey was one of the biggest Western stars out there and it's pretty easy to see why.  He's got that certain look that the best of the best had in this era and he's also quite believable in the tougher spots.  You can't help but believe he's going to beat the crap out of anyone who gets in his way and that's always a plus.  Malone is pretty good in her role as well but the character is so bland that you'd have to wonder why the cowboy would even bother going after her.  Pegg is a delight as the city guy and L.M. Wells is good as the girl's father.  Again, at just 52-minutes you'd wish that there weren't any slow spots but in the end this is a pretty solid little film that fans of Ford or just silent buffs will want to check out.

Mary of Scotland (1935)

John Ford

Historical drama from RKO about the rivalry between Mary of Scots (Katharine Hepburn) and her cousin Elizabeth I (Florence Eldridge).  The film follows Mary's fight for justice from 1560 to 1587 and includes her third marriage to Bothwell (Fredric March).  This film was a notorious flop when it was originally released and it had a large part in Hepburn being called box office poison.  Seeing the film today it's rather amazing to see how good the film actually looks considering RKO was usually just popping out very low-budget films.  There were certainly a few exceptions and this here is one of them and I'm sure many will be shocked to see how much actually went into this film.  The amazing sets and costumes are one of the biggest selling points to the movie.  Ford knows how to make things appear epic and he does that here with these amazing sets that make you feel as if you're at the actual locations.  Many times these sets are obviously on some lot but you never get that feeling here.  The costumes are another major plus as they help bring a realistic nature to the film.  I'm not sure what the actual budget was on the film but it really does look just as expensive as many of de Mille's epics.  Another reason the film is worth viewing is the performance by Hepburn.  As a devoted atheist she really does a nice job in the role of a Catholic and her religious scenes are quite moving as she's certainly giving it her all.  She's very believable in the part as you can tell she's strong enough to lead all the battles that Mary had to.  That strong nature of the actress clearly shows up on the screen.  March is also very good in his role, although the film could have used much more of him.  I was a little luke warm on Eldridge but after a while she started to grow on me.  The supporting cast includes Douglas Walton, Frieda Inescourt, Donald Crisp and John Carradine.  Carradine plays the servant Rizzo and does a pretty good job with it.  We also get to hear him sing a couple songs, which I'm not sure how many times he had the chance of doing that in his long career.  The biggest problem with the movie is that the story is at times hard to follow as it appears like the screenplay wasn't totally sure where they wanted to take all of the events.  I think at times the story just seemed to float all over the place.

Two Rode Together (1961)

John Ford

Surprisingly pleasant Western about a Marshall (James Stewart) and military officer (Richard Widmark) who are sent by the government to Comanche territory where they want the Marshall to try and get back several white people who were kidnapped years earlier.  While Widmark has good plans in his heart, Stewart on the other hand is simply in it for the cash.  Many reviews have called this Ford film a "been there, done there" type of thing, which I'd somewhat agree with since this does contain elements of THE SEARCHERS.  That's about all I'd agree with because I found the story to be quite poignant and the performances excellent.  Those wanting 100% action are probably going to be disappointed because there's very little of that and instead we're treated to a very good story that will make you think.  THE SEARCHERS dealt with some of the issues that might happen when young female kids are kidnapped by Indians but this film takes it up a few notches as Stewart, in a rather mean fashion, informs people that their 9-year-old daughters who went missing years ago are now used up women who probably have many half-breeds.  The racial tensions are very high in the film as many of the white folks can't come to terms with this and this is just part of the film that tries to make you think.  When one of the kidnapped victims are brought back, the white people's prejudices are much greater than the race they look down upon and Ford is very clever in how he gets his message across without being preachy.  Stewart and Widmark are terrific together and their energy certainly helps keep things moving.  The Stewart character is an interesting one because the first portion of the film we see that loveable Stewart as he tells funny stories, makes light of everything and is just an all around likeable guy.  The second half is when that darker character comes out and this is where Stewart really shines.  The way he uses that brutal honesty to really put hopeful people in their place was very effective and the actor does a marvelous job with it.  Widmark gets the lesser of the two characters but that stern and straight-forward nature of his comes through very effectively.  Shirley Jones is quite good in the role of a woman searching for her brother and we get the one and only Andy Devine for some great comic relief.  The banter between he and Stewart early on is priceless.  The cast also includes Linda Cristal, John McIntire, Harry Carey, Jr. and Mae Marsh in a brief part.  TWO RODE TOGETHER has a few dry moments that bog the film down but on the whole it's a pretty impressive feature that has been overlooked probably because it's not as grand as some of the director's other works.

7 Women (1966)

John Ford

John Ford's final film is one you really wouldn't expect to see from him but I guess it goes to show what a great director he was as he could end his nearly fifty-year career with something fresh and original.  The film takes place in 1935 China as a free-wheeling and free-spirited doctor (Anne Bancroft) comes to work at a missionary where she immediately clashes with the head of the mission (Margaret Leighton).  The head doesn't agree with the doctor's way of life, which includes smoking, drinking, profane language and of course not believing in God.  Soon the doctor is battling this but then a plague breaks out in the mission and then they come under attack from some rebels.  I'm not sure if stunned is too strong of a word but that's what my feelings were going through this film.  I've seen at least fifty John Ford movies and I never thought I'd see something like this one.  The attitude of the Bancroft character just seems like something the director would stay away from and the anti-religion stance was so strong that again I couldn't believe this was something from Ford.  I think if you showed this movie to the biggest of film buffs and didn't tell them who the director was I doubt they'd ever guess it was someone like Ford.  I really appreciated the 60s fling thrown into the picture because you can obviously tell that they were taking a 60s woman and putting her into this situation.  There's a bit about the doctor leaving America because a woman couldn't get a fair shake at a good career and again I wonder if they were standing up for women's rights.  The film also has bits of lesbianism, the religious hypocrites and a strong sense of sexuality.  The movie certainly isn't ahead of its time considering this was 1966 but it's still impressive stuff.  Bancroft is downright marvelous here and turns in a very memorable performance.  I must admit that I fell in love with her character as you have to respect the toughness that the actress brings to the role.  I believed every second of it and there's just a certain fire to Bancroft that clearly shows up on the screen.  Leighton is one of those love-to-hate performances and makes for a great villain.  Sue Lyon, best known from Kubrick's LOLITA, turns in a fine performance.  We even get Woody Strode in a small role as one of the warriors.  The film's pacing is a very slow one and it feels like the movie is a lot longer than its 86-minute running time but this isn't a negative thing as I never got bored.  I was certainly surprised to see how much Ford managed to cram into the short running time.  His direction here contains some of his softest touches but they all work.  It's a shame this movie isn't mentioned more when people discuss his career but it's certainly a good and original way for him to go out.

Geez, does anyone know CPR?

Ghost Chasers (1951)

William Beaudine

Funny entry in the never-ending series has Slip (Leo Gorcey), Sach (Huntz Hall) and the other boys trying to bring down a medium who is charging people large sums of money for her fake spiritual advice.  These victims include Slip's neighbor who recently lost her son in the war and is now trying to get in contact with him.  At just 68-minutes this movie has a few too many slow spots but overall this is one of the better entries in the series and it's certainly one of their best when it comes to mixing comedy and the darker horror elements.  I think some of the funniest moments happen early on when a few of the boys are in the back of Louie's shop doing a fake seance and Louie himself walks in and gets scared out of his wits.  Bernard Gorcey is again back as Louie and he has some really funny moments as the screenplay makes the right decision to include him in on some of the action and the viewer gets rewarded with some nice laughs.  Lloyd Corrigan gets a rather large part of a ghost who helps Sach get out of the various bad situations he gets himself into.  I thought some of the stuff between the Hall and Corrigan was funny but after a while it started to get somewhat boring.  With that said, Hall certainly steals the show with his idiot character constantly doing one dumb thing after another.  He gets some pretty big laughs especially during the scenes where he gets scared for the various things going on.  The scene where he first sees the ghost is priceless and he certainly helps keep things moving.  Leo is in fine form as well, although he's part isn't nearly as big as usual.  Lela Bliss isn't too bad as the medium but it's Bernard Gorcey that really nails everything home.  Fans of the series will certainly want to check this one out but I think this one is good enough to the point where even non-fans will probably find themselves laughing.

Prapancha Pash (Throw of the Dice) (1929)

Franz Osten

Royal cousins King Sohat (Himansu Rai) and King Ranjit (Charu Roy) share a love of gambling but soon the two fall in love with the same woman (Seeta Devi) and eventually place a bet, which will determine which one she goes with.  This British/Indian/German production has some terrific things in it but in the end the story and characters just left me way too cold to fully enjoy the picture.  I'll start with the positive things and you have to mention the downright beautiful cinematography.  I was really shocked to see how marvelous this film looked as it appears each shot took hours to make sure everything was correct so that they could get all the details on the frame.  Another major plus is the wildlife scenes at the start of the movie as we get to see various creatures in their habitat.  The costume design is also marvelous and it really makes you seem as if you're right in India during the particular time that this film takes place.  Yet another major plus are the locations.  You can't help but look at this film with your eyes wide open as the locations just jump off the screen and that beautiful black and white print is really, really sharp.  Every single frame of this film is beautiful to look at but sadly the story is really lacking.  The basic plot has one of the cousins being an evil, no good SOB but you have to wonder how so many people could be stupid to what he's doing.  I could understand one, two or maybe even three people falling for this bad idea of his but for everyone to do so?  Another problem I had is that I didn't care for either cousin so it was hard to root against the bad one and cheer for the good one.  I also didn't care too much for the woman they were in love with so that was yet another problem.  I must admit that I didn't care for anything in this film story wise and I thought it really dragged down everything else that the film has going for it.

Wildcat Bus (1940)

Frank Woodruff

Warner made a crime picture about taxi drivers in the entertaining TAXI! so I guess RKO thought they'd push the envelope by making a crime picture with bus drivers.  This film, however, is pretty dull from start to finish.  In the film a playboy (Charles Lang) goes bankrupt so he has to get a job at a bus company ran by a woman (Fay Wray) and her father.  The bus company has had all sorts of accidents that are ruining their company but they begin to think that it's racketeers running a taxi service that's trying to steal their business.  This RKO picture runs a very brief 63-minutes but at times it feels doubt that length.  The biggest problem is the rather bland direction that puts very little life into the picture.  The screenplay really doesn't help matters either as all the characters are pretty one-dimensional and none are overly interesting.  The bad guys are carbon copies of what you'd see in a Warner picture and the good guys are just boring and constantly saying bad jokes.  Lang is okay in his role but the screenplay pretty much lets his character done as at times he's annoying and it's really hard to care too much for him.  Wray is pretty much going by the numbers but once again, a lot of this could be blamed on the screenplay or direction.  Paul Guilfoyle, Don Costello, Paul McGrath and Joe Sawyer round out the supporting players.  There's very little energy to anything in the film as the entire story just feels forced and it's just not interesting enough to carry the short running time.  The ending picks up a few punches as we get a big fight sequence with plenty of punches and kicks.

Drummer of the 8th, The (1913)

Thomas Ince

Billy (Cyril Gardner) is too young to join the Civil War with his older brother so he's forced to run away where he's eventually brought in as a drummer boy.  After a couple years he ends up getting kidnapped by the wrong side and he must risk his life to try and escape and get a message to his side.  This short has a lot of good things going for it and we can start with the direction by Ince.  I was really impressed with many of the visuals that he lined up here and it really does seem like he took many hours trying to come up with the perfect shot.  One of the best examples of this is when the boy is rejected.  Just take a look at all the details in the scene and you can also see a wide range of details in just about every scene in the film.  I really think the composition by Ince is top-notch and makes this material even better than it probably actually is.  Once again Ince also gives us a rather interesting story.  The Civil War was nearly reaching its 50th Anniversary end so it's interesting that Ince would pay tribute to many of the kids who would join and eventually lose their lives.  The performance by the entire cast are pretty strong with Gardner leading the way.  Another major plus is that we're not given any fake, happy moments as everything plays in a very realistic way.

Grandad (1913)

Thomas Ince

Extremely well-made and touching story of the relationship between a young girl (Mildred Harris) and her Civil War vet grandfather (William Desmond Taylor).  When the girl's new step mom arrives she objects to gramps heavy drinking so the old man packs up and heads out so that he doesn't ruin the young girl.  A month passes and the family finds him in a poor house and it might be too late to help him.  I really wasn't expecting too much out of this 30-minute short but it turned out to be a real gem with a great story and some fine direction.  I think what impressed me the most was the direction, which was very loving from start to finish and in the short running time Ince is able to make us care about this old man.  There's a subplot about a Southern General who comes looking for the old man and this allows us a pretty big action sequence taking place during the Civil War.  Again, there's nothing grand scale about this scene but the authentic uniforms and all the canons firing really makes this sequence stand out.  I think the biggest thing going for the film is its actual story.  Yes, it gets a tad bit over dramatic towards the end but that really doesn't take away from the heart and soul of the picture.  Taylor is extremely good as the old man and we also get future director Frank Borzage plays his son.  At the very end of the film we get to see an actual funeral for a decked out Civil War vet and it's not only quite touching but as a part of history its really interesting to see.

Trick Baby (1972)

Larry Yust

Minor blaxploitation movie about black man "Blue" Howard (Mel Stewart) and white man "Folks" O'Brien (Kiel Martin), a couple con men who work well together because of their different race.  Blue has been teaching Folks the business from an early age and both are onto a major score but soon they have a dirty cop and the mob on them.  Those expecting exploitation might walk away disappointed because this film is more drama than anything else.  While watching the film you might be thinking of THE STING but it's important to note that this movie did come first but don't expect the same type of quality.  I think the biggest problem with this movie was the screenplay that just doesn't do enough for the actual sting.  The first scam the guys pull is a pretty nice one but the main one just didn't draw my attention too much.  The screenplay didn't seem to know what direction it wanted to go into and we get a couple side stories that are never really explored and this includes a female that Folks hooks up with and she pretty much becomes obsessed with him in a weird scene inside a hotel room.  I'm still trying to figure out how and why she got so obsessed with him but that's just something that was never explained.  Blue also has a relationship going on but it adds up to very little.  What makes the film worth viewing are the two lead actors.  Neither man got to play the lead too often in their careers but both take the opportunity and run with it.  Most will remember Stewart as Henry Jefferson in ALL IN THE FAMILY and he turns in a wonderful performance here.  I thought he was quite charming and really played that wiser old guy perfectly.  Martin also turned in a very good performance and the two really do work magic together as you believe they're really intelligent enough to pull this stuff off and we believe that they know what to work with each other.  The film has the unique situation of Folks being half-black but he looks so white that no one believes it.  The way the race tensions are shown here are pretty interesting and added a few nice situations.  TRICK BABY is one of those films that contains some very good things but at the same time you can't help but wish you had enjoyed it more.

Five Savage Men (1970)

Ron Joy

Michele Carey plays a school teacher heading out West who just happens to be on the same stagecoach as criminal Pudge (Keenan Wynn).  Sure enough Pudge's four goons attack the coach to get him off and of course they take the teacher hostage.  Later that day they all gang rape her and leave her for dead but she's nurses back to health thanks to an Apache Indian (Henry Silva).  He also teaches her the Apache way and trains her to go kill her attackers.  This Western is also known as THE ANIMALS and THE DESPERADOS but no matter what title you saw it under at the drive-in, the end results aren't as good as one would wish.  I swear while watching the film I thought this was an Italian movie but apparently it was made in America, which struck me as strange because it's obvious that a lot of the dialogue has been dubbed.  I'm not sure how on Earth dubbed Carey but her voice sounds horrible here and is way too high-pitched.  It sounds as if someone wanted to play a teenage cheerleader and I'll apologize in advance if that is her real voice.  The movie is pretty much a pre-clone of DEATH WISH but the screenplay doesn't give the teacher that much to do.  She seems to get over her ordeal fairly quickly and we're never really explained anything she's doing.  We never really get to understand why she wants this revenge or why she doesn't seem to have any effects of the rape.  The screenplay also doesn't give the Apache too much to do as he pretty much just stands by doing his own thing and this includes at the start of the rape.  Those expecting graphic violence are going to have to look elsewhere as none of the shootings are all that graphic and the rape scene isn't shocking either.  The rape sequence was shot in an interesting way and it appears the director wanted it to be psychedelic with its strange visuals and zooms.  Carey is just way too bland in the title role and Silva appears to be wishing he was somewhere else.  Wynn, on the other hand, delivers a terrific, if over-the-top performance that at least keeps you watching.  The ending is a pretty effective one and has a clear message through the rest of the film's short-comings but at least it does end on a strong note.

I loved BRIDGES when I saw it in the theater but I haven't had much desire to go back and watch it, although I almost did last year when I was going through the Eastwood films.  I think critics started falling in love with Eastwood around this time and most of the praise was coming from them respecting him for doing something so different and actually making it work.  I don't remember too much but the scene at the light when we're waiting to see what Streep does still remains one of Eastwood's greatest directing moments IMO.  I still remember the scene quite vividly even though I haven't seen it in all this time. 

Re: CLOCKWORK....you can also watch Andy Warhol's VINYL. 

Machete (2010)

Robert Rodriguez, Ethan Maniquis

When GRINDHOUSE was released the reception was mixed among fans of critics but I think most people would agree that the fake trailer "Machete" was a real hoot.  It took a while but director Rodriquez has finally got the movie on the screens with Danny Trejo returning as Machete, a pissed off Mexican who gets caught up in a political battle after a drug kingpin (Steven Seagal) killed his family.  The plot here is pretty thick as we have countless double crosses and twists but in the end there's no question that the film delivers what fans will expect.  We got the countless bodies, non-stop blood, nudity, sex and just an all around dirty feel that makes this a real throwback to the exploitation days of the 70s.  A recent movie about dumb fish tried to do this but failed on so many levels but MACHETE has a director that knows about style and knows how to deliver the goods.  The biggest key to the film is the character Machete himself because he's just so laid back and cool that you can't help but go with anything his does.  Trejo does a terrific job as he obviously has the perfect look for the part but he's acting "style" is just right on the mark in terms of toughness and coolness.  The star is finally given top-billing in a film and he does the most with it as fans certainly won't be disappointing.  The director stocks up with an incredibly strong supporting cast that includes very good turns by Michelle Rodriguez and Jessica Alba.  Both bring a certain toughness and sexiness to their roles and both deliver.  Seagal only appears in about ten-minutes worth of footage but it's great seeing him back on the big screen and with material that suits him.  Cheech Marin has a funny bit as a priest and Don Johnson gets to have some fun playing a Mexican-killing vigilante.  It's always fun seeing the underrated Jeff Fahey on the big screen and he's delightful as the evil nutcase with a thing for his daughter played by Lindsay Lohan.  Lohan also gets to have some fun whether it's over dosing, dressing as a nun or having a threesome.  Then we have Robert DeNiro has the crooked Senator.  It was fun seeing a major talent like DeNiro in a movie like this because many great actors (Joseph Cotton, Ernest Borgnine) would appear in these type of films back in the day and DeNiro seems to be having a blast.  The movie is pretty much all action from start to finish, although the political message gets a tad bit too thick at times.  The film certainly isn't going to win any Oscars but that's not why it was made.  It was made to be a real throwback to the old days and I think for the most part it works. 

Last Exorcism, The (2010)

Daniel Stramm

Another "real documentary" type of film just like we saw with THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY.  This time out a minister (Patrick Fabian) is beginning to lose his faith so he sets out with a documentary crew to prove that exorcisms are fake.  He begins treating a young girl (Ashley Bell) from the deep swamps but soon begins to feel there might be something going on that he can't explain.  Some people are going to write these type of movies off as soon as they start because they hate the shaky cam or they just find this type of film making to be cheap.  I personally enjoy it when it's done right as the previously mentioned film did but this one here falls a little short.  The trailer would make you believe you're going to be in for one big scare after another but that's not the case.  In fact, there really aren't any horror elements until around the fifty-minute mark so the director obviously wanted to take him time in letting us get to know the characters.  Each character from the preacher to the girl to her father (Louis Herthum) are all given plenty of character development and the majority of the running time is dedicated to that.  There's no doubt that this is going to turn off many people but I can let it slip by if the pay-off is worth the wait.  When the horror elements finally get started here they are mildly effective and we're constantly kept off guard because we never really know what's going on.  It could be that the girl is possessed but there are a few other reasons thrown out.  The psychological side of things never really work but again, it's the pay-off that matters.  I won't ruin anything but I don't believe it works in the end.  There's a last second plot twist that I thought fell short and it just wasn't scary enough or creepy enough.  The film's ending was clearly influenced by THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT in terms of the type of feel they were going for but they come up well short.  Had the ending had more of an impact I would have bumped up my rating because everything else here is pretty good.  I thought the performances by the three leads were extremely good.  I grew up around preachers and thought Fabian nailed the role.  Bell was extremely cute as the girl and managed to handle the fear aspect of the part quite well.  Herthum is good enough to where we can feel for him one second and then hate his guts the next.  I also thought the director handled everything pretty well as the "real footage" stuff looked quite nice and he certainly created a nice atmosphere in the swamps.  However, this is a film where everything depends on that final scare and it's just not strong enough to fully recommend.

Thanks for the link.  I'll certainly read that story later tonight but I had no idea he had killed himself.  I knew people on various silent boards said never to believe a word he said because of the wild claims he was constantly making.  I never really knew how old he was.  I always figured he could have been old enough to see some of the films when they were originally released. 

It took about two weeks but I finally managed to go through some films by von Stroheim.  I'm really not sure what to think of him other than he was crazy and obviously had talent, which went to waste.  I thought GREED was clearly the best of his films.  Certainly a four-star movie but I don't think I can call it one of the greatest silents ever made simply because so much footage is missing.  FOOLISH WIVES might have been even more had we seen the original version.  QUEEN KELLY had a lot going for it but then when the first started to pick up it just ends with stills has the production was shut down.  It's certainly hard to judge his films since none are available in their original form but it was interesting going through them.

Blind Husbands (1919)

Erich von Stroheim

A doctor (Sam DeGrasse) and his wife (Francelia Billington) travel to the Dolemites in Northern Italy where their rocky marriage shows.  The doctor pays very little attention to his beautiful wife, which an Austrian military officer (Erich von Stroheim) notices and decides to try and seduce her.  After viewing this film I must admit that I was rather shocked about all the positive reviews it has received over the past several decades.  Apparently the film was very popular when it was first released, which is shocking too because I found the film to be way too simple.  Half way through I really started to think I was watching a film by D.W. Griffith due to how simple the story structure was.  It's pretty simple as we have a lazy husband, a bored wife and a jerk who wants her.  There's no problem in keeping all of this simple but the issue I had with the entire film is that I found all the characters to be under-written.  We never learn why the doctor is so uninterested in his wife.  We never learn why the wife puts up with it.  She never mentions anything to the husband and instead just sits back doing nothing.  We get a few hints at the type of person the military officer is but von Stroheim's story really doesn't give him too many details either.  This type of simple storytelling can be effective but I found a lot of the 91-minutes here just to wonder on without anything either going for them or the scenes just leading to no where.  Many of them just run on and on for no apparent reason so perhaps a good ten-minutes edited out would have helped the flow of the film.  The issues with the story are the main problem and the rest is pretty good.  The performances by the three leads make the film worth viewing and of course von Stroheim stands out as the creepy.  You can tell he's having a good time playing this jerk and it looks rather effortless so perhaps he's just playing himself.  The opening credits explain the situation of the film and it's written as if the director was trying to explain himself to many husbands out there.  I found Billington to be extremely effective as well as she does a very good job at showing the character's boredom without going over the top.  Another plus is the vision of the director as each scene has a very nice look and the cinematography really packs a nice punch.  BLIND HUSBANDS is far from a bad movie but at the same time I just didn't think there was enough here to make it a classic or something that is a must see.

Foolish Wives (1922)

Erich von Stroheim

von Stroheim's third feature (his second is now lost) had a budget of $250,000, which was quite high for the time but the "man who love to hate" managed to grow crazy during production and the final cost to Universal was just over $1.2 million.  The director also managed to turn in a film running six-and-a-half hour only to have the studio cut it down to three-and-a-half.  Still not short enough it was cut down to two-and-a-half and this is what it was originally released to.  The studio would cut it again to 73-minutes, which is the version that would be shown for years until a 120-minute cut was discovered.  Finally, using prints from five different locations, Kino's DVD restores the film to 142-minutes, which to date is the longest surviving cut.  Using so many prints has left the quality quite shaky and poor but it is the film that counts.

Set in Monte Carlo, Count Sergius Karamzin (von Stroheim), with the help of his two cousins, lives a luxury life thanks to his ability to seduce married women and then blackmail them for money.  His latest target is an American Miss DuPont) who is rather bored with her husband.  The story is fairly close to that used in BLIND HUSBANDS and many ways this here seems like an alternate and more epic version of it.  I felt BLIND HUSBANDS wondered a bit too long so I was a little nervous watching a longer version of it but this one here turned out to be much better all around.  I'm not sure if the story would have worked at over six-hours but I'm going to guess that the longer version probably features more plot built around other characters including a maid as well as the two cousins who are more than likely lovers to the Count.  It's impossible to discuss this movie without its budget but you can look at the screen and see where the money went to.  von Stroheim actually rebuild the entire Monte Carlo city on the Universal back lot and the attention to details is quite amazing.  Not for a second will you feel that you on a lot and it's a rather staggering achievement that the director was able to pull this off but then again it shows what a madman the director was.  Apparently even the scenes where they are eating caviar had to use the most expensive caviar because the director wanted everything real.  The story here is much better written than the previous film and you can tell that each character has their own bit of story and I think there reasons for doing everything are much better written and explained.  The performances by von Stroheim and DuPont are both excellent and they work extremely well together.  von Stroheim has no problem slipping into this snake role and he does a great job at playing the seducer as well as the con man.  DuPont makes for a great victim as you can actually feel how soft and vulnerable she is.  Even though the film is epic in scale, some of the best moments are smaller, quiet ones including a tremendously powerful scene where DuPont reacts to a man who has lost both of his arms in the war.  The way this scene plays out is incredibly touching and perhaps the most powerful scene in the film.  Another excellent scene happens when the maid, apparently another lover, finally realizes that she's been played all these years.  Her breakdown is very effective and heartfelt.  The ending has a spectacular fire sequence that contains some nice drama and the ending is pretty funny.  The film being chopped down obviously leaves some flow issues but overall this is a much better film than BLIND HUSBANDS and one that really does fit the epic label.  We'll never know if the uncut version is a masterpiece or not but what survives is a good indication of what might have been.

Greed (1924)

Erich von Stroheim

Landmark silent film about a happy couple (Gibson Gowland, Zasu Pitts) whose lives slowly spins out of control and into pure hell once they win the lottery.  Everyone knows the legend behind the making of this film and the fact that it's probably the most wanted lost film ever made.  The 9-hour cut of this movie will probably never be discovered so who knows what von Stroheim's original version was like but what remains (130-minutes) is quite an adventurous little gem that's really unlike any movie out there.  I think what I enjoyed most is how simple the actual story was and how much the director was able to get out of it.  There have been hundreds if not thousands of movies dealing with greed and this might be the simplest of them all.   The plot is very simple and the director doesn't try to do anything overly difficult with it but that's what makes it so effective.  We see the wife get this money and slowly begin to lose her mind in fear that she'll become poor.  She refuses to use any of the money just to save it for when she needs it but as her mind begins to go she and her husband become more and more poor and yet they never touch the money that could bring them back to riches.  The idea of someone becoming poor while sitting on a ton of money is an interesting idea and von Stroheim uses it to create a rather creepy film that manages to get darker and darker as it moves along.  I was really amazed at both Gowland and Pitts.  Their acting is terrific and I thought both really got into the roles and delivered wonderful performances.  The way the two slowly begin to lose their minds was perfectly done by both and there wasn't a single second where I didn't believe they were going crazy.  What was even more amazing was their physical appearance because they begin to have their looks break apart as they grow deeper into debt.  I thought the way their looks changed was an interesting part of the story and one that really doesn't get mentioned much when people discuss the film.  I thought the visuals of them getting poor and desperate were just as interesting as anything else in the film.  Jean Hersholt is also terrific as a friend who also falls victim to the greed of the lottery ticket.  The direction is flawless from start to finish.  Again, it's hard to tell what all this thing was meant to be considering seven hours (!!!) are missing from the picture but each frame has so much darkness and passion that you can't help but wonder what else is out there.  The legendary ending in Death Valley certainly lives up to its hype as von Stroheim does a terrific job at making you feel the sun on your back as our characters grow more tired from the heat.  You can't help but feel as if you're out in the heat with them and the final shot is pure beauty.

Queen Kelly (1929)

Erich von Stroheim

I think it's safe to say that von Stroheim's directing career was over when Gloria Swanson threw him a bone to direct this picture, which was originally intended to be a five-hour epic.  Soon, as was always the case with the director, the thing was way over budget, he was fired and the film was never completed, although a few years later Swanson went back and filmed an alternate ending, which is included on the DVD.  The film, as presented on the DVD, runs around 100-minutes and I'd say about ten-minutes are made up from stills and title cards explaining the missing footage.

The film tells the story of Kitty Kelly (Swanson), a convent girl who gets swept off her feet by Prince Wolfram (Walter Byron) but she does know that he's set to marry Queen Regina (Seena Owen) the following day.  Kelly runs away in shame and finds herself in South Africa where her dying aunt turns over her brothel, which Kelly will now run.  The love at first site plot isn't the most original out there but von Stroheim adds enough weirdness that makes this film worth sitting through.  You can tell that this was meant to be an epic because of the 90-minutes worth of footage the first seventy-minutes are pretty much dealing with the love story.  I'm guessing Kelly's rise in the brothel was originally meant to be much longer than what's shown here but I guess we'll never know as the footage is long gone and what stills are available really don't tell us too much.  There are many flaws in this film but for the most part I found it very enjoyable.  I thought the opening fifteen-minutes were a tad bit stiff but things really start to heat up around the thirty-minute mark.  The sadistic side of von Stroheim comes through when the Queen learns that her man has been unfaithful and the whipping sequence she puts on Kelly is marvelously done and is without question one of the most beautiful shots in the director's career.  You can also easily see where the budget went and the incredibly banquet scene is just a real beauty on the eyes.  Swanson turns in a very good performance as she perfectly captures the spirit of the young, naive girl, although at the same time she's way too old for the part.  I thought she handled the role very nicely but we never really get to see her as the brothel queen.  Both Byron and especially Owen eat up their scenes and help keep the film moving.  As is, QUEEN KELLY is certainly flawed but it's hard to judge the film too much simply because most of it is incomplete.  The "Swanson" ending that's included on the DVD really doesn't work either so in the end we're just left with a "what if..." situation.

Great Gabbo, The (1929)

James Cruze

Early talkie has Erich von Stroheim playing Gabbo, a ventriloquist who breaks free from his assistant and then finds huge success on his own with his dummy Otto.  After his success he runs into his assistant again who by this time is also famous and Gabbo thinks he can control her like he did when they first started.  This here is a pretty confusing movie because it's not quite sure what it wants to do.  The stuff with the dummy controlling Gabbo might make you expect a horror movie but these elements are very few.  We have the personal drama of the assistant and her new husband.  We have some plot about Gabbo being crazy.  Then, for some unknown reason, the final thirty-minutes pretty much gets away from the Gabbo story and we get some incredibly long music numbers but more on them in a bit.  There's not too much plot here but what little there is seems to come and go as the movie goes along as we switch gears so many times that it's pretty hard to follow what the filmmakers are trying to do.  The best thing about the movie and the only real reason to watch it is for the performance of von Stroheim who is perfectly wicked in the role.  He gives an incredibly strong performance here and you can't help but feel the hatred of his character as it seems to be really coming out of the actor.  I'm sure this period in his life wasn't the greatest so this role gave him a chance to really let out some steam.  Betty Compson, who appeared in THE DOCKS OF NEW YORK, is pretty good in her role as well but the screenplay gives her a lot less to do and doesn't have nearly as flashy of a role.  I'm really not sure where the music numbers come from but I'm going to guess they were added after talkies became popular and Musicals started bringing people in.  The film is pretty much doing its own thing when out of no where these dance sequences come up and they'll all incredibly bad, poorly staged and most of the time the voices are so high-pitched that you'll be wishing you were watching a silent.  There's one incredibly strange one where the dancers are flies stuck in a spider web that's so bizarre it's pretty much a must-see.  The sound quality here is certainly among the best I've heard from this era and considering how small the budget was I'm curious how they managed to do this.

Man You Loved to Hate, The (1979)

Patrick Montgomery

Short but effective documentary takes a look at the career of Erich von Stroheim who early on was labeled the man who love to hate.  The film follows von Stroheim's earliest days as an extra on THE BIRTH OF A NATION to appearing in Griffith's HEARTS OF THE WORLD.  We then follow his directorial career, which would often deliver films that haven't been seen in their original form as the director would usually deliver items that were much too long or too controversial to release on their own.  We hear how FOOLISH WIVES, GREED, THE WEDDING MARCH and QUEEN KELLY were all taken from him.  We learn about his BLIND HUSBANDS remake was canceled before it could even start filming.  When von Stroheim's directorial career came to an end he turned to low budget studios for acting jobs before heading to France where he'd become a star again.  I think the moral of this documentary is that you could look at von Stroheim as some sort of tragic figure but everything bad about his career was brought on by himself and his actions.  It's rather amazing to see how someone could be in such demand only to eventually be thrown out of every major studio.  It's amazing to see him get "one more chance" and need to prove himself only to burn the studio giving him the second chance.  There's no question that von Stroheim was an interesting figure and for the most part this documentary delivers the goods.  At just 78-minutes we don't get a lot of details but we at least get to hear from those who worked with him and we even hear from his ex-wife and the woman who was with him at the end of his life.  We also get to hear from a couple people who saw some of his complete films before they were taken away by the studio.  I'm sure a more detailed documentary could be made today but considering when this thing was made it's quite excellent and gives you a terrific look at this troubled man.  

Opera Ghost, The: The Phantom Unmasked

Nice documentary from Universal that was originally released on the DVD of the 1943 PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.  Universal released many great documentaries on their monster films but this here is perhaps the weakest.  I'm going to say this is probably because there's really not too much to talk about as it seems the 1943 PHANTOM has been overlooked by movie fans, although I personally think it's an underrated gem.  The documentary starts off telling us the history of the 1925 version with Lon Chaney.  We hear about how Universal got the rights to the story, Chaney's make up and the eventually fighting between star and director.  We hear a few points on the 1930 version and then move to the 1943 version.  We hear about Lon Chaney, Jr. originally wanting to play the role but apparently the studio never took this too serious.  We hear about the decision to make it in color and the hiring of Claude Rains and his demands for the lack of make up.  Finally, we jump to the Hammer remake, which was distributed by Universal.  This documentary is entertaining but at the same time it comes off rather disappointing beause it jumps around so much and yet we really don't learn too much about any of the three version.  The 1925 version gives basic stuff and we don't get Chaney expert Michael Blake.  The 1943 version gets some nice comments from Rains daughter but a lot of stuff is pretty much overlooked.  Then, the Hammer version is pretty much skipped all together.  Again, we're greeted with some good information but this is certainly the weakest documentary from Universal in regards to their classic monsters.

 The fourth film in Hammer's series picks up slightly after the events in DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS.  The Monsignor Mueller (Rupert Davies) talks a priest (Ewan Hooper) into helping him perform an exorcism at the castle of Dracula but things backfire when the Count (Christopher Lee) comes back from his icy grave and sets his eyes on the Monsignor's daughter (Veronica Carlson).  Her athiest boyfriend (Barry Andrews) finds himself working with her father, who kicked him out of his house, in trying to kill Dracula before the woman is gone for good.  This Hammer film is like so many of their products in that it's pretty good for the most part but at the same time you can't help but wish there was a stronger screenplay with much better characters.  There are many strong moments in this film but they're pretty spread apart and in between them we're left with some fairly boring melodrama with characters as boring as the dialogue they're speaking.  I found the entire subplot involving the boyfriend's lack of religion to be rather stupid and saw it as nothing more than a poorly written attempt at some sort of weak character development.  I didn't buy the relationship he had with the girlfriend or her father.  Director Francis does a good job with the horror material and I thought this entry was a lot darker than the three previous movies.  The religious stuff at the beginning was extremely well done as Dracula goes into pretty much a fit when he sees that cross and it's a highly effective sequence.  Even more effective is Dracula himself and I really loved the blood-shot eyes that we're constantly getting close-ups of.  Lee, as you'd expect, is very good as Dracula and manages another winning performance even if it's not as lively as his previous two attempts.  Davies is good in his role as is Carlson, although she's certainly more eye candy than anything else.  I also enjoyed Barbara Ewing in her role but both Andrews and Hooper are rather boring.  The ending of the film packs a nice little punch and I enjoyed the fact that the attacks were a lot better staged.  The opening sequence in one of the highlights of the series and fans of the red stuff will be happy to see that there's more here than in the previous three films combined.  With the good moments in hand you can't help but wish the rest of the film contained more life and energy.  As it stands, this is a decent entry in the series but far from a classic.
 

I think the blaxploitation films of the 70s pushed the political boundaries a lot more than MACHETE.  I think MACHETE has a few bits that are too in your face but I don't think the movie tries to force you to see things from a different point of view.  God knows I didn't change my thoughts simply because DeNiro was an evil son of a bitch here.  The political stuff was certainly in the film but I don't think there was enough to drive anyone away from the film.  I think some exploitation fans might be disappointed that, like GRINDHOUSE, the budget is much more than what really would have been spent on this type of movie in the 70s but I don't think the subject matter should keep anyone away.  It was certainly much better than PIRANHA and I'd say it was a little below the Sly flick.  I think this one here would have been helped by five or ten minutes on the editing room floor. 

Pete, I read that article and he's actually a different guy than I was thinking of.  I often wonder who some of the people are out there that you run across on message boards, through PMs or simply read their work. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete York 

I'm gonna assume people would not take MACHETE as a thoughtful statement on anything, much less a complex issue. Then again, to paraphrase Mencken, it's hard to underestimate the public.

 

Michael, I was just checking your impressive totals recently. I think it's possible you might be the second best contributor over there, behind only the amazingly productive 'planktonrules', who's somewhere near 9000 reviews. Step it up.  

 

Believe it or not but there's actually a list ranking the IMDB users:

http://www.freewebs.com/bobthemoo/

I recently sent planktonrules a PM congratulating him on passing 9000.  On Jan. 1 he was at 7700 so that shows how much he watches as he's more than well doubled my viewing input this year.