Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

Reza
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Virginia (Edward H. Griffith, 1941) 6/10

A New York chorus girl (Madeleine Carroll) comes down South to claim her property - a dilapitaded old plantation complete with her Mammy in tow (the great Louise Beavers). She finds herself pursued by a poor married Southern gentleman (Fred MacMurray), who lives with his spinster cousin (Helen Broderick) and a wife galavanting in Europe, and a dashing and much younger Yankee (Sterling Hayden). Overlong film has far too many cutesy scenes with a child actor who yammers on and on but this is an extremely rare film (a sadly faded print but in colour) and in contrast to GWTW which came out only two years before - where that production was lavish this one seems like it's extremely poor relative set during modern times. Brit Carroll makes a spirited heroine not unlike Vivien Leigh and she also ended up married to Hayden (in his film debut) off screen.
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Washington Story (Robert Pirosh, 1952) 7/10

Slick film about dirty Washington politics. An idealistic young congressman (Van Johnson) is set upon by a reporter (Patricia Neal) to dig up dirt on him. Filmed at the height of the Red Scare the story exposes destructive elements man indulges in to create chaos with the press rightfully getting the brunt of most of the mud raking. Johnson and Neal - she of that incredibly smoky and sexy voice - both make a very attractive pair and their characters hold a remarkable resemblance to the young JFK and Jackie Bouvier. Louis Calhern is also very good as another congressman who with experience under his belt has tricks up his sleeve. Shot on Capitol Hill the film is sharply filmed by John Alton giving it a bright glow especially during the scenes set amongst the chic cocktail circuit.
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The Jungle Princess (Willhelm Thiele, 1936) 3/10

Dorothy Lamour's sensational film debut wearing that Edith Head sarong. The film is pure hokum and absolute nonsense though it was a huge hit and got the star a career playing similar exotic jungle females wearing an assortment of sarongs. A female (Dorothy Lamour) is raised all alone in the jungle with her pet tiger and comes to the recue of a hunter (Ray Milland) and falls in live with him. Totally absurd but Lamour is charming andbalso gets to sing.
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Till We Meet Again (Frank Borzage, 1944) 7/10

The fourth in a series of films made by the great Frank Borzage about the War and specifically about the Nazis coming to power. And the first without the incandescent Margaret Sullavan. The film's opening half hour has some of the most moving scenes in cinema history as a group of nuns in a french convent come head to head with the Nazi menace. Superbly shot sequence is like a religious psalm come to life as the Mother Superior (the amazing Lucille Watson) and a lovely young novice (Barbara Britton) clash with the German occupiers. The rest of the film is a typical WWII chase film as the young nun poses as the wife of a downed flyer (Ray Milland) helping him to escape. Along the way the innocent woman learns about the love the man has for his wife. The concluding image reverts back to the film's opening sequence with its serious religious overtones. Britton is superb as the delicate young woman whose journey brings her closer to God in more ways than one.
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Angel (François Ozon, 2007) 3/10

Melodramatic rags to riches saga of an over imaginative writer (Romola Garai) whose romantic novels bring her a rich lifestyle, a sapphic companion (Lucy Russell), and a husband (Michael Fassbender) whom she smothers and tries to dominate. Garai's character is so over-the-top and she plays her at such a high pitch that she just doesn't seem to fit in with the actors she is sharing the screen with. Ozon, in his first english language film, appears to have intentionally created this character (along with the writer Elizabeth Taylor - no relation to the actress who was probably just as excessive during the 1960s as the character of "Angel" here) to be at odds with her surroundings as her selfish behaviour indicates that she lives in a world of fantasy which money and fame have allowed her to achieve. The only two stars who emerge unscathed from this messy film are Sam Neill as her publisher and Charlotte Rampling as his quietly incredulous wife - both giving tremendously understated performances.
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East Side West Side (Mervyn LeRoy, 1949) 6/10

Glossy MGM soap with a dash of adultery and murder as the screenplay covers the love lives of the rich and famous. A vain businessman (James Mason) has a tremendous itch for sex which returns in the shape of his former mistress (Ava Gardner) who declares that she won't let go of him this time round. His socialite wife (Barbara Stanwyck), fed up with her philandering husband, catches the eye of a cop-turned-writer (Van Heflin) who in turn is pursued by a much younger girl (Cyd Charisse). A homicide jolts awake everyone causing each character to face upto new horizons. Superbly produced film with topnotch production values is stolen by the stunningly beautiful Ava Gardner as the bitchy playgirl who wants Mason back - her scenes opposite Stanwyck are fun to watch. The film's best performance comes from the elegant Gale Sondergaarde as Stanwyck's smiling mother who quietly deflates pompous Mason. The film has nothing new to say but the exciting cast keeps it afloat.
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Streets of Laredo (Leslie Fenton, 1949) 7/10

An outlaw (Macdonald Carrey) separates from his two partners (Willuam Holden & William Bendix) when they decide to go clean and join the Texas Rangers. Their friendship, however, continues with a love triangle forming with the young waif (Mona Freeman) who loves Carrey while Holden loves her. The unrepentant outlaw's violent streak results in a severing of their friendship leading to death and destruction. Solid little B western stunningly shot in colour by Ray Rennahan capturing the vast landscapes. Holden was well on his way to full fledged stardom which for him was just around the corner. Freeman makes a most spirited western heroine.
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In Search of the Castaways (Robert Stevenson, 1962) 8/10

Rousing Disney adventure film (based on a novel by Jules Verne) with star contract player Hayley Mills in search of her missing father. Along with her brother and french con-man (Maurice Chevalier) she convinces a rich ship owner (Wilfred Hyde-White) to sail the seas in search for her father. From Plymouth to the Andes in South America to Australia and New Zealand the group encounter fantastic adventures. From experiencing a massive earthquake to rolling down an icy mountain on a giant boulder to grappling with a giant condor to escaping a massive flood, finding shelter on a giant tree housing a jaguar which catches fire due to lightning to snapping crocodiles to facing rampaging Maori tribesmen to dodging an erupting volcano this film crams it all. George Sanders is around to roll his vowels and cause a mutiny on ship while secretly using their boat for gunrunning. Ignore the simplistic screenplay full of convenient potholes and dodgy effects full of horrendous matte shots and just sit back and enjoy the ride. Steven Spielberg appears to have incorporated and perfected many action shots from here into his Indiana Jones adventures. The stars are all game - Hayley Mills is pugnacious and charming with her non-stop chatter, Chevalier mugs relentlessly and sings tunes by the Sherman Brothers, Hyde-White is amusing as the stiff Brit with a jolly gleam in his eye while Sanders does his usual "Shere Khan" act dripping with charm and venom. Exciting film was a huge hit and was the first film I ever saw on the big screen over 50 years ago.
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Summer Magic (James Neilson, 1963) 5/10

Charming Disney film for kids but quite a bit treacly for adults. A family is forced to move from Boston to the countryside after they face financial problems. Mother (Dorothy McGuire) is the typical Disney Mom with a smile on her face and loving arms to run into. She has three kids of which Hayley Mills is the precocious older child - also the star of the film - talking non-stop. There are two brothers including a tyke and a dog. The neigbors are jolly old Burl Ives, his kids (a pre-Bonnie and Clyde Michael J. Pollard) and his mealy mouthed wife (Una Merkel). The crisis they face is a bitchy young cousin (Deborah Walley) who comes to stay causing problems which in true Disney fashion are resolved by the end. They all live happily ever after while singing numerous boring songs. The film is really not bad at all but only kids will get a kick watching it. And lovely Dorothy McGuire is always a treat to watch on screen.
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The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969) 9/10

Elegiac western that debunks the myth showing it the way it was. Set during the early twentieth century when the West was changing and the old guard were beginning to find themselves at odds with the time. Peckinpah's influential film not only depicts the "real" west but allows modern film techniques to portray violence as it was then using slow motion to hit home his point as bodies are hit by bullets with graphic scenes of blood spurting forth from mangled bodies. Although truth be told this mixture of slow motion violence coupled by staccato editing and sound was already a thing of the past courtesy of "Bonnie and Clyde" two years before. Both films brought a new form of violence to cinema. A grizzled old gunslinger (William Holden) rounds up a gang (Ernest Borgnine, Ben Johnson, Edmond O'Brien, Jaime Sánchez, Warren Oates) for one last bank job before he plans to retire. They walk into an ambush and make a run for it in pursuit by a former partner (Robert Ryan) and his posse. The film has three magnificent set pieces - the opening bank robbery, a train heist which they agree to do for a corrupt Mexican general (Emilio Fernández) and the violent finalé which decides the fate of each character. In between we get long tranquil scenes set amongst local rugged faces of men and women - the director used actual prostitutes to portray the women these men frolic with - which lends authenticity but also slows down the action especially during the scenes right after the train sequence. Superbly acted by the entire cast of veteren actors - this is clearly one of the career highs for both Holden and Ryan - the film really comes to life during the superbly shot action sequences courtesy of Lucien Ballard's astute camerawork and the astonishing editing creating scenes of balletic death and destruction. One of the great Westerns and Peckinpah's masterpiece.
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The Great Sinner (Robert Siodmak, 1949) 9/10

Superb MGM production has a distinguished cast, a screenplay by Christopher Isherwood (based on the "The Gambler" by Fyodor Dostoevsky) which Siodmak films like a noir with a doomed fatalistic sensibility steeped in religiosity - the scene at the end inside the church is like an expressionist painting come to life courtesy of George Folsey's magnificent cinematography. A writer (Gregory Peck), dazzled by the beauty of a woman (Ava Gardner) on a train, follows her into town and discovers that she and her father (Walter Huston) are both addicted to gambling. They are in deep debt to the casino owner (Melvyn Douglas) who wants the young lady and gets her when her father wills her away to him to pay off his debts. The gallant writer hits the roulette table, wins a fortune and pays back the lady's debt only to fall prey to gambling fever losing everything - his money, his writing, his dignity and soul. Superbly acted film has possibly one of Peck's most outstanding performances as he goes from being in love to utter degradation as he lies, cheats and almost reaches the point of murdering the seedy pawn shop owner (Agnes Moorehead). The delightful Ethel Barrymore plays "Grandmother" who also manages to get the "fever" and like another elderly patron (Frank Morgan) finds salvation. There was nobody more beautiful in Hollywood than Ava Gardner. She is ravashing here and gives a lovely performance of great delicacy. The film does a great job of capturing the frenzy of gambling fever - the casino as a metaphor for hell - which was replicated (maybe as an homage) many years later by Jacques Demy in "La baie des anges". One of Siodmak's best films and a must-see.
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My Forbidden Past (Robert Stevenson, 1951) 5/10

Stodgy but atmospheric soap opera set in New Orleans, a city steeped in false honour and strict class distinction. A young woman (Ava Gardner) is disuaded by her impoverished cousin (Melvyn Douglas) from running away with her doctor lover (Robert Mitchum) so she can instead marry a rich man. Sometime later she comes into an inheritance from her tainted grandmother and becomes the toast of society. When her lover returns with a wife in tow she bribes her cousin to seduce his wife leading to tragedy. Rather dull film has lovely Ava going through emotional turmoil with a wooden and bored Mitchum by her side. Douglas is a hoot as the immoral cad willing to do anything for a buck.
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Hellcats of the Navy (Nathan Juran, 1957) 6/10

Old fashioned WWII heroics of the patriotic kind. A commander (Ronald Reagan) of a U.S. submarine takes on a dangerous mission to chart minefields in the Sea of Japan. Along the way he has to make instant decisions during the heat of battle which causes members of his crew to question him. Exciting battle scenes make this ride fun even if the screenplay has nothing new up its sleeve. B-film that made its debut at the bottom end of a double bill with a Randolph Scott western. Reagan is good and this was the only time he starred on screen with Nancy who stiffly plays a nurse and his love interest. Together they look exactly how they did years later at the White House except here she is dressed in a bland white nurse's uniform very far removed from the glamourous John Galanos outfits she wore as the "President" of the United States. Enjoyable film.
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Saturday Island / Island pf Desire (Stuart Heisler, 1952) 6/10

Two survivors from a ship destroyed by a stray mine in the South Pacific find their way to an island. After initial hostility wears down both find sex and love. May-December romance between a 30-something nurse (Linda Darnell) and a 20-something marine (Tab Hunter) gets a fly in the ointment when a RAF officer (Donald Gray) crash lands and comes between the two lovers leading to a highly improbable conclusion which censors of the time probably demanded. Stunning Ocho Rios in Jamaica substitutes for the Pacific island. This location near the falls would later become world famous as the place where Sean Connery (as James Bond in "Dr No") encounters the magnificent Ursula Andress rising up out of the sea. Darnell and Hunter make an equally alluring couple in this beautifully shot film by Oswald Morris.
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The Corpse Came C.O.D. (Albert Levin, 1947) 6/10

Comedy-Mystery-Noir - a corpse arrives bundled in a box at the house of a Hollywood starlet (Adele Jergens) and two rival reporters (George Brent & Joan Blondell) turn detectives to solve the crime. It takes two more dead bodies for the mystery to be resolved. Tongue in cheek humour is more in line with the Hope-Crosby comedies with one liners zipping through this fast moving film although it's nothing but fluff. Brent has better chemistry with sultry Jergens than with Blondell and the endless slapstick begins to grate after a while and hinders the mystery plotline.
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