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

[gunnar]

The Garden (2008) - 7/10 - This documentary follows the battle to save the South Central Community Garden in Los Angeles. The site was barren and covered in trash when it was turned into a community garden following the 1992 Los Angeles riots. There were over 300 plots, many run by Latino families. The site was purchased by a developed who moved to evict the farmers from the land. The battle played out in court and in the court of public opinion for a couple of years. It was an interesting film.

I Am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary School (1993) - 7.5/10 - This documentary looks at the students and staff of a Philadelphia school in a very poor neighborhood where there are many challenges. I could relate to this from my experience teaching at the high school level where man of the students came from a similar background. The challenges can change a bit as they grow older, but they are not that different really. It was a good film.

American Dream (1990) - 8/10 - This documentary examines the Hormel strike by meatpacking workers in 1985-1986. Hormel decided to reduce salaries by more than $2 per hour and reduce benefits by 30% despite posting a $30 million profit. Workers at one plant went against the advice of the national union and hired a strike consultant. Unfortunately, the workers did not have a lot of leverage. I think that attempts to reduce salaries and benefits has been a theme for decades. We certainly felt it at my job, though not to the extent that the Hormel workers did. My dad was a teacher and they went on strike once in the early 1970s and the entire teaching staff of the district nearly got fired as a result. It came down to a 4-3 school board vote.

[gunnar]

Topper Returns (1941) - 5.5/10 - Cosmo Topper is heading home with his chauffeur when they happen across two young ladies who are headed to the mansion next door. They talk him into giving them a ride to the mansion where one of the ladies is about to inherit the whole estate. That night, one of the girls is murdered and her ghost forces Cosmo to help her find out what happened to her. The movie is slightly better than Topper Takes a Trip, though Billie Burke is annoying as usual and the way some of the characters act just doesn't seem realistic. I realize that it's a comedy, but this took a bit away from my enjoyment of the film. The bombastic and ineffectual nature of the police detective is one example.

The Emperor's New Groove (2000) - 8/10 - A self-centered young Emperor gets turned into a llama and has to rely on the help of a llama herder whose home he planned to destroy. I thought that it was a lot of fun.

[Reza]

Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King, 2021) 9/10

Sensational dramatization about the machinations of the FBI to curtail the growing voice of the Black Panther Party during the 1960s. The events depicted are rendered more shocking by the undiminished currency of its themes. Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in late-1960s Chicago, is betrayed at the hands of William O'Neal (Lakeith Stanfield), an FBI informant, and during a raid is shot dead in his apartment. Fascinating look at the Black struggle for respect and equality and how relentlessly the U.S. Government found ways and means to silence that voice. The superb screenplay forcefully condemns racial injustice and the story plays out with a sense of foreboding dread throughout. At the center of the film are the audacious performances by the superb ensemble cast led by Lakeith Stanfield and in particular by the sad-eyed Daniel Kaluuya (the heart and soul of the film), Dominique Fishback as his steadfast girlfriend and Jesse Plemons as the slimy and sinister FBI handler. In a brief cameo Martin Sheen, under mounds of facial prosthetic makeup, plays the despicable J. Edgar Hoover - head of the FBI and the sadistic instigator of many a witch-hunts in the Country. The film ends with archive footage of Hampton's speeches, his funeral procession, and a television interview O'Neal gave in 1989 - he continued working as an informant for the FBI within the Party before committing suicide. This is one of the year's best films and a must-see that deserves serious Oscar consideration.

What Would Sophia Loren Do? (Ross Kauffman, 2021) 8/10

Charming documentary traces the life of an 82-year old Italian-American grandmother and intertwines it with the life of her idol Sophia Loren. The old lady, a big fan of the movie star, took inspiration from the star's movies and founf that it brought her comfort during her life. Heartwarming film has many scenes from Loren's movies charting her life and career with many similarities - starting with their Italian heritage - between the two. The wonderful and touching moment at the end has the two ladies meeting up via their children, producer Regina Scully and director Edoardo Ponti, who were working together on Loren's new film - "La vita davanti a sé" / "The Life Ahead". Humourous, witty and often moving short film is delightful fun.

[Reza]

The Hangman (Michael Curtiz, 1959) 7/10

Robert Taylor, matinée idol of the 1930s and 1940s and one of the most handsome actors in Hollywood, started the last decade of his life with a prematurely rugged face reduced to mainly B-films and the start of a 3-year run as star of the tv series "The Detectives". Veteran director Michael Curtiz, also once part of the A-list scene, directs this talky little Western surrounding his leading man with present and future familiar faces from television - Fess Parker (Daniel Boone), Tina Louise (Gilligan's Island), Jack Lord (Hawaii Five-O), Lorne Greene (Bonanza), Gene Evans (My Friend Flicka), Mabel Albertson (Bewitched) and Betty Lynn (as sweet "Thelma Lou" in The Andy Griffith Show). A tough U.S. Marshall (Robert Taylor) arrives in a small town to identify and arrest a fugitive (Jack Lord) now living under an assumed name with a pregnant wife. Since nobody knows how the fugitive looks he bribes the man's former girlfriend (Tina Louise), now down and out after being jilted by her lover, to accompany him in order to identify the criminal. Nobody in town, including the sheriff (Fess Parker), believes that the well-liked young man could be a criminal and the plan fails when the woman warns her former lover and pretends not to recognise him. Stock western goes through its paces with Taylor actually quite good although its Tina Louise who comes through with a superb performance completely in contrast to her sexpot image courtesy of the Playboy magazine pictorial and her subsequent film debut in "God's Little Acre" which came out before this film. Excellent production values, courtesy of Paramount studio, also help, and Mabel Albertson is hilarious as a busybody who tries to come-on to Taylor.

Razzia sur la chnouf / Raid on the Drug Ring (Henri Decoin, 1955) 9/10

French gangster film and noir explores the drug underworld in Paris. A master criminal (Jean Gabin) is lured back to Paris from across the Atlantic by the head of a major narcotics ring (Marcel Dalio) in order to oversee and bring efficiency to their distribution. He is provided a restaurant as a cover where he takes up with the 22-year old cashier (Magali Noël) - sex in french cinema was always treated as natural and with utter realism though Gabin today would be called out for being a dirty old man for making his move on the young virginal girl who is actually very receptive towards him. The screenplay moves almost like a police procedural or a documentary with cops sniffing at the heels of the drug couriers who also have a habit of double crossing their handlers. Such couriers are ruthlessly eliminated with help from two hitmen (Lino Ventura & Albert Rémy) who handle the matter with cold-blooded efficiency. The magnificent Gabin plays his character with curious sympathy and sophistication with his face a deadpan mask. The film later gained notoreity for one questionable sequence which suggests that black singers and dancers can only "swing" when high on drugs - a laughable notion apparently prevalent then about black people. Lila Kedrova is superb as a junkie begging for a hit and a fantastic jazz score compliments the action on screen. Decoin, one of the great traditionalist french directors, made this gritty film after a long list of melodramas most of which had his then wife Danielle Darrieux as leading lady.

Schachnovelle / The Royal Game / Brainwashed (Gerd Oswald, 1960) 8/10

Fascinating story about a man's broken spirit and how the game of chess comes to his rescue. The film is inspired by the novella by Stefan Zweig ("Letter From an Unknown Woman") which he wrote just before his suicide. A broken political prisoner (Curd Jürgens) boards a ship and takes on a chess champion (Mario Adorf) and much to everyone's surprise defeats him even though he claims never to have played the game before. A lawyer by profession he had famously, with the help of the Church, saved important art objects in Austria by hiding them abroad from the occupying Nazis. A battle of wits ensues with the Gestapo head (Hansjörg Felmy) who wants him to reveal the whereabouts of the treasures while his girlfriend (Claire Bloom), a ballerina, comes between the two men forming a love triangle. Put in solitary confinement and with the help of a stolen book he distracts his mind from a complete psychological breakdown. The book describes important chess moves by the masters which he memorizes and plays with himself using bread crumbs. Jurgens is magnificent giving a highly emotional performance as the sophisticated and intellectual man almost driven to a nervous breakdown. He gets able support from Felmy as the reptilian, smooth-taking Nazi and lovely Claire Bloom as the desperate woman willing to sell herself in order to help her friend. Superb cerebral story is riveting throughout.

My Six Loves (Gower Champion, 1963) 4/10

Debbie, six "adorable" kids (aren't they always) and a dog. You just know exactly what is going to happen in this formulaic rather tired but cutesy comedy. Exhausted Broadway star (Debbie Reynolds) retreats to her Connecticut farm for some much needed R&R and discovers six kids on her property abandoned by their drunken layabout parents. She has two suitors - a charming and sensitive minister (Cliff Robertson) and her grumpy agent (David Jannssen. For laughs there is her personal sidekick (Eileen Heckart in fine wisecracking form), an obnoxious cook (Alice Ghostley) and a grouchy school bus driver (Alice Pearce). Debbie solves the kids' problems and sings "It's a Darn Good Thing" while dressed to her teeth in chic Edith Head gowns spectacularly inappropriate for the country setting. Cloying sentimental claptrap although Debbie is her usual charming and exhuberant self and always worth a watch.

[gunnar]

My Son John (1952) - 5.5/10 - Dan and Lucille Jefferson (Dean Jagger and Helen Hayes) are sending two of their sons off to serve their country in the armed forces, but their eldest son John (Robert Walker) couldn't make it home in time for the send off. When he does show up, the parents are worried that he is a communist. The father is real piece of work with his quick temper and rabid anti-communist stance while the mother is pretty needy. The movie is a product of its time with its propaganda. It isn't a very good movie, but there are some interesting parts. Unfortunately, Walker died before the movie was quite finished.

Tender is the Night (1962) - 6/10 - Jason Robards stars as talented psychiatrist Dick Diver who treats mentally ill heiress Nicole Warren (Jennifer Jones). After she is cured they marry, have two children, and move to the French Riviera. As time passes, Dick becomes dependent on alcohol and his wife; she gets stronger while he gets weaker. However, the appearance of a beautiful young actress (Jill St. John) who seems attracted to Dick threatens Nicole's mental wellbeing. The movie is entertaining enough, though it seems a bit inconsistent to me.

La Mandragola (1965) - 8/10 - Callimaco hears of the beauty of Lucrezia of Florence and when he sees her upon his return to Florence, he falls in love with her. Lucrezia has been married for four year to an older notary who puts her through all sorts of quack methods to try and increase her fertility since she hasn't gotten pregnant by him yet. Callimaco takes advantage of this by posing as a doctor and convincing the husband that a potion made with mandrake root can make her fertile, but it can be deadly for the man who beds her so they will need to find a substitute (him of course). The movie is pretty funny and is based on a satirical play by Macchiavelli set in the early 1500s. I enjoyed it a lot.

[gunnar]

Unconquered (1947) - 7/10 - Gary Cooper stars as a Christopher Holden, a British captain during the French and Indian War. He arrives from England on a ship that is carrying a number of bond slaves, including a woman named Abby (Paulette Goddard). An unscrupulous man named Garth tries to purchase Abby, but is thwarted initially by Holden. However, Garth conspires to get Abby for himself anyway after Holden has left. They all meet again on the frontier where Garth has plans to help the Seneca destroy the British outposts in the west. I thought the movie was pretty entertaining.

The Puppetoon Movie (1987) - 7/10 - I've been watching a lot of animated shorts recently, including a few of George Pal's Puppetoons. I decided to pick up the Blu-Ray of The Puppetoon Movie since it has a number of shorts not available elsewhere. The movie features an intro by Gumby, Pokey and Arnie (the dinosaur) and an ending scene which also has The Pillsbury Doughboy and many other characters in cameos. The rest of the movie is a collection of classic shorts which I enjoyed. The second movie came out recently so I'll be watching it soon.

[Reza]

The Night of (Steven Zaillian & James Marsh, 2016) 7/10

This 8 episode drama has some vicious things to say about the American prison system which appears to make criminals, guilty or not, into vicious animals. Prisoners are under constant threat of gang rape, knife attacks, murder and many end up dealing in drugs. A young Pakistani-American (Riz Ahmed) takes his father's taxi cab and goes into Manhattan to attend a party. He gets lost, picks up a young white girl who gives him party-drugs and they end up at her house for a wild night of sex. He wakes up in the kitchen, discovers the girl has been viciously stabbed to death in her bed and grabbing the knife makes a run for it. He is stopped by the cops and eventually put into prison and charged for the murder. The film covers the trial that ensues and we also get a look at his life inside the prison and how it affects him. The prison section seems to have taken its cue from the old classic film "Caged" where a naive housewife (Eleanor Parker) is booked for a murder and how life inside the prison changes her into a hardened person. The naive suspect here also ends up hardened after learning to survive inside prison. Overlong film is also a police procedural as we see the workings, or lack of, behind the scenes along with how the law system can often prove just as brutal on offenders with District Attorneys trying to ensure culprits are convicted even if there might be a shred of evidence proving their innocence. Highly acclaimed film won many Emmy awards including one for Riz Ahmed whose persona physically transforms through the course of the story.

Comanche (George Sherman, 1956) 4/10

Pedestrian Western has a frontier scout (Dana Andrews) trying to broker peace between the Comanche tribe and the Mexicans. A renegade Comanche goes on a rampage murdering, pillaging and kidnapping a woman (Linda Cristal) and the scout takes help from his cousin the Comanche Chief (Kent Smith) - their mothers were sisters - to subdue and capture the renegade. The Durango Mexican locations are interesting but overall this B-western is pretty hohum.

The Outfit (John Flynn, 1973) 8/10

Taut, grim, fast-paced neo-noir has a superb cast of actors associated in the past with film-noir - Jane Greer, Elisha Cook Jr., Marie Windsor and Timothy Carey. A small-time criminal (Robert Duvall), just out of jail, is informed by his girlfriend (Karen Black in restrained mode) that his brother has been killed by the outfit (the Chicago Mob). The two brothers had once robbed a bank that belonged to the Mob who now want retribution. With help of an old pal (Joe Don Baker) - their close friendship is perfectly captured in an easy going way - he decides to take on the Syndicate by robbing a couple of their spots - a gambling club, a bookie joint - and finally the home of the sinister Mob Boss (the great Robert Ryan in one of his last screen roles) who lives with his moll (Joanna Cassidy). Excellent adaptation of a novel by Richard Stark (Donald E Westlake), who also provided the source material for "Point Blank", "The Split" and Godard's "Made in USA", the film superbly captures these anti-social underworld characters in a confused and trecherous world. Also making a mark in a vivid cameo is Sheree North as a nymphomaniac. This was one of Duvall's first lead roles and he effortlessly carries the film through to its violent climax.

[gunnar]

Operation Thunderbolt (1977) - 8.5/10 - This is a pretty good dramatization of the hijacking of an Air France fight by a mixture of Germans and Palestinians. The flight contained around 100 Israelis plus a larger number of non-Israelis. They were taken to Libya and later to Uganda where the release of 40 Palestinian prisoners was demanded. Non-Israelis were later released, but the Israeli Defense Force mounted an operation to rescue the remaining passengers and crew.

The White Cliffs of Dover (1944) - 7.5/10 - Irene Dunne stars as an American woman who visits England with her father shortly before the first World War begins. She meets an Englishman at a ball just before departing for home and it changes everything for her. They marry and shortly thereafter, he has to go off to war. A good portion of the movie is a romance, though the last quarter takes place inbetween the wars and during WWII. Dunne does an excellent job and I think that the rest of the cast was pretty good as well, including Frank Morgan as her father, Alan Marshal as her husband, Gladys Cooper as her mother-in-law, and Roddy McDowell as her teenaged son. The patriotism gets layered on a bit at the end, but overall it is a pretty good film.

[gunnar]

In the Shadow of the Stars (1991) - 7/10 - A number of opera singers who are chorus members are interviewed about their lives and careers and experiences with opera. I thought that it was interesting.

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) - 7.5/10 - Wallace & Gromit run a pest control business and are tasked with protecting the vegetable gardens of the town as the annual vegetable growing contest approaches. The movie was fun, but I didn't think it was quite as good as the shorts.

So Ends Our Night (1941) - 6.5/10 - The movie is about several German exiles/refugees who lack passports and therefore are not legally allowed to stay in Austria, Hungary, or other neighboring European countries. If they are caught, they face exile or prison. The film stars Glenn Ford, Margaret Sullavan, and Fredric March. It was one of the first Hollywood films to show the plight of German exiles at the time. The film isn't bad, but I think it had the potential to be a lot better. The pace was kind of slow and the film would have benefited from a few changes to tighten it up some and move things along.

[gunnar]

Man of Conquest (1939) - 5/10 - This Sam Houston biopic glosses over a lot of his personal history and also has a number of inaccuracies (not unusual for biopics). It has a few parts that are interesting and is certainly watchable, but isn’t really a very good picture.

Helen Keller in Her Story (1955) - 8.5/10 - This documentary does a nice job covering the life of Helen Keller and includes footage from the 1919 film Deliverance that she made. It demonstrates how she learned to speak, some of her daily activities, and some of her visits to various organizations.

The Last Days (1998) - 9/10 - The movie follows five Hungarian Jews who survived the Holocaust. The ones who were in concentration camps return there with their families and try to explain what they remember. A couple of American veterans who liberated the camps are also interviewed. A few of the survivors also return home to try and see where they grew up before they were rounded up. It’s pretty effective.

[Reza]

Two Minute Warning (Larry Peerce, 1976) 3/10

This disaster film from the 1970s is overlong (the tv version horrifically ran an hour longer) and hilariously has Charlton Heston as lead in a film about a sniper - gun control be damned. And it also has the dubious distinction of getting an Oscar nomination for its rapid-fire editing. A sniper positions himself on a high tower above Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during a professional football championship and by chance is caught on camera by the Goodyear blimp. The stadium manager (Martin Balsam) and the Police Captain (Charlton Heston) call in the SWAT sergeant (John Cassavetes) to put his team in place to try and get the shooter. As with all disaster films from that era a supporting cast of stars (a mixture of prominent movie stars, familiar faces from popular tv shows and a star from Hollywood's golden age) play characters in peril - a bickering couple (David Janssen & Gena Rowlands), a gambling addict (Jack Klugman) in trouble with the mob, an elderly pickpocket (Walter Pidgeon), a young married couple (Beau Bridges & Pamela Bellwood) with two kids, a football fan (David Groh) seated next to and flirting with a pretty woman (Marilyn Hassett). The film's memorable moments involve a stampede when over ninety tbousand spectators decide to make a run out of the stadium causing expected mayhem. The only actor who manages to provide a semblance of a performance is Gena Rowlands, although its obvious both she and Cassavetes took on the project strictly for the paycheck to finance their next film together. Heston grimaces throughout and gets to be the hero in consideration of his top billing. Trashy film which critic Roger Ebert rightfully called a "cheerfully unashamed exploitation of two of our great national preoccupations, pro football and guns". The motive of the sniper remains a mystery here although in the extended tv version he is a decoy used during an art theft masterminded by a criminal (Rosanno Brazzi).

The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 1978) 10/10

Cimino's graphic and haunting epic about Vietnam delves deep into the horrors of war but at its center are the equally strong themes of honour and comradeship. Three friends from a working-class background in steel-town Pennsylvania get drafted to Vietnam. Cimino opens his film with an elaborate Russian Orthodox wedding followed by the friends' ritual deer hunt. Steven (John Savage) marries his pregnant girlfriend while best buddies Mike (Robert De Niro) and Nick (Christopher Walken) both love Linda (Meryl Streep) who suffers physical abuse at the hands of her father. De Niro wanted John Cazale, suffering from terminal cancer, to play one of the friends and also brought on board Streep (this was her second big screen film after "Julia" - on tv she had done the acclaimed "Holocaust") who agreed to play the stock character of the girlfriend so she could be near her lover Cazale. The intense Vietnam sequences, where all three friends end up prisoners of the Viet Cong trapped like rats in cages half submerged in the River Kwai (the Vietnam scenes were all shot in Thailand), contain the notorious Russian Roulette sequences which Cimino shot with brutal intensity and which later caused much controversy as apparently no such incident took place during the war and the director was reviled in the press for presenting the Viet Cong as racist sadistic killers. However, these scenes take on an allegorical tone showing the ravages of war and what, under highly intense moments, human beings are capable of doing to each other and how each reacts differently during crazy pressure. Stunningly shot by the great Vilmos Zsigmond and scored by Stanley Myers the film won Oscars for Best Picture, Cimino, Walken, Peter Zinner's remarkable editing and the sound design while De Niro, Streep, the screenplay and Vilmos Zsigmond received nominations. Classic film is one of the great films about war and a must-see.

[gunnar]

Stand By for Action (1942) - 7.5/10 - Robert Taylor stars as Lieutenant Gregg Masterson, a Harvard educated Naval Reservist who serves as an aide for Admiral Thomas (Charles Laughton). He spends much of his work time on social duties leaving plenty of time to plan tennis or flirt with women. He gets assigned as the XO of a first world war destroyer that has been in mothballs for 20 years, but is reactivated due to the need for ships. His captain (Brian Donlevy) is a man who worked his way up from the ranks during the first world war and later retired, but was recalled to active duty for the second world war. Walter Brennan also has a decent role in the film. After a shakedown cruise, their ship, the USS Warren, is assigned to join a convoy escorting ships to San Francisco. There is plenty of action in the film along with plenty of humor as well. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Spawn of the North (1938) - 7/10 - George Raft and Henry Fonda star as childhood friends in Alaska named Tyler and Jim. Tyler returns from up around the Arctic circle with visions of buying a schooner and returning to the north. Jim has a successful fishing boat and while happy to see his old friend, doesn’t want to join Tyler’s operation. Fish pirates who steal fish from other men’s traps are a problem and the fishermen plan to kill any that they find on their traps. Tyler falls in with them as a way to raise money for his schooner and this brings him into conflict with Jim. I thought that Raft and Fonda were both good in this film. I liked Dorothy Lamour quite a bit as Nicky, the hotel owner and girlfriend of Tyler. Louise Platt also stars as another childhood friend who returns to Alaska near the beginning of the film. I thought that this was a good film.

The Boy Friend (1971) - 7/10 - Twiggy stars as a shy assistant stage manager for a 1920s musical who has to take over the lead role with only a few minutes notice due to the star injuring her ankle. She becomes more confident as the production continues. She also falls in love with the lead actor. Many others in the cast ham it up when they discover that famous Hollywood director Cecil De Thrill is in the audience. I thought that Twiggy did a nice job and the movie isn’t bad.

The Black Rose (1950) - 6.5/10 - Walter of Gurnie (Tyrone Power) is the illegitimate Saxon son of a recently deceased Saxon lord whose Norman widow despises him. Walter hates the Normans and decides to leave 13th Century England in search of far Cathay. He is accompanied by a yeoman bowman named Tris (Jack Hawkins). They end up in the Middle East and join a caravan loaded with gifts for Kublai Khan. The caravan is led by a noted warrior named Bayan (Orson Welles) who takes an interest in them. There is also an escaped slave girl named Maryam (Cecile Aubry) who may be half English and takes refuge with the two men. The movie is a decent adventure, though I didn’t find Power that convincing as Walter. I didn’t think Aubry was very good as Maryam either. The language issues were mostly brushed over since Bayan conveniently spoke perfect English as did a few others in China and elsewhere.

Butch and Sundance the Early Days (1979) - 7/10 - Tom Berenger and William Katt assume the roles of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in this prequel. It starts with Butch getting released from prison in Wyoming and soon after meeting the Sundance Kid when Sundance tries to rob some people at a casino, but it goes badly. The two eventually team up and commit a number of robberies. This isn’t in the same league as the earlier film with Robert Redford, but it is entertaining, even though it seems to meander quite a bit.

Ulysses (1967) - 7/10Leopold Bloom is a middle aged Jewish man who spends the day wandering around Dublin. Leopold ogles the female form during his walk, including a nude Greek statue and a woman at the beach who gives him a nice view. His sexual fantasies and thoughts are played out on the screen in various short scenes. There are also a number of other encounters with various people, including Stephen Dedalus several times. Dedalus has been spending the day wandering around Dublin as well, dealing with his own personal issues. Dedalus also has a bit much to drink during the day and Bloom helps him out. We’re let into their inner thoughts at times. The last half hour of the movie is an inner monologue from Bloom’s wife as they lie in bed while scenes from each of their lives are shown. The movie is a bit slow at the beginning, but becomes more interesting as it progresses. There are also a number of humorous parts. The movie certainly won’t be for everyone.

[gunnar]

Lloyds of London (1936) - 8/10 - Freddie Bartholomew stars as Jonathan Blake, boyhood pals with Horatio Nelson. The two discover a plan to defraud those at Lloyds of London by scuttling a ship and claiming the insurance. Jonathan heads to London to warn them and earns a job there as a reward. Tyrone Power takes over as the adult Blake and befriends a woman named Elizabeth (Madeleine Carroll) who is trying to escape from France. This leads to a number of complications as time passes. There is a heavy emphasis on the need to insure ships, even in time of war. Blake also forms a syndicate to do this as well as insuring other things. I thought the movie was very entertaining with nice performances all around. It is clear that Bartholomew’s star power at the time since he received top billing even though he is only in the first 30 minutes of the film. He did a nice job, though.

Jesus of Montreal (1989) - 8/10 - A talented young actor is brought in to update a Passion Play at a local church. He recruits other talented individuals and puts together an avant-garde production that is critically acclaimed. The actors find themselves changed somewhat as a result of this experience. Conflict with the Catholic Church threatens the continuation of the play. This was very well acted and I thought that the play within the movie was pretty creative as well. Very well done.

This Above All (1942) - 7/10 - Joan Fontaine stars as Prudence Cathaway, a young aristocrat who joins the WAAF (Women’s Auxiliary Air Force) as a private, rather than using her family’s influence to become an officer. When helping a friend by going on a double date, she meets Clive Briggs (Tyrone Power), a moody man at times who seems to have something bothering him. The two fall in love and start spending what time they can together and eventually Prudence learns what his secret is. I thought that Fontaine was pretty good in her role. Power was perhaps a bit miscast, but did an adequate job. Overall I enjoyed the film, though I wouldn’t rank it near either actor’s best.

Lillian Russell (1940) - 5.5/10 - Alice Fay stars in this biography about a singer who was very popular in the late 1800s/early 1900s. I thought that Alice Faye did a decent job, though the movie itself was a bit underwhelming. Henry Fonda was kind of stiff as newspaperman Alexander Moore. Don Ameche wasn’t much better as Lillian’s first husband. It was watchable and the singing was decent, but other than a few humorous bits here and there, it was fairly pedestrian.

Sweethearts (1938) - 7.5/10 - Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy star as Gwen Marlowe and Ernest Lane, singing partners on the stage and happily married off the stage. Their lives are pretty frantic between their popular Broadway show, radio performances, recording, and other events. Their family and the people involved in the show all place numerous demands on their time so when a man from Hollywood tries to get them to move there, they are interested. The people in the show then plan how to keep them from going. You get a lot of good singing from MacDonald and Eddy as expected. There is a lot of humor here as well and I enjoyed the film quite a bit.

Fellini’s Casanova (1976) - 2/10 - This is a bizarre and terrible film. It does have some interesting sets, but that’s about it.

[Reza]

The title, though, is Widows' Peak, not Widow's Peak, there was more than one of them.

Absolutely right

[Big Magilla]

Never Too Late (Bud Yorkin, 1965) 5/10

Paul Ford's pompous demeanor holds him in good stead as the middle-aged lumber merchant who discovers to his embarrassment that he is to become a father again. The film is based on the hit Broadway comedy with Ford reprising his Tony nominated performance opposite his lovely stage co-star, Maureen O'Sullivan, as his radiant wife. A source of further hijinks in the house involve their grown up married daughter (Connie Stevens) now desperate to also conceive a baby and her husband (Jim Hutton) who freeloads off his father-in-law by living and working with him. Extremely old fashioned comedy from another time zone has a good cast making a go of the material. Also adding sparks are Jane Wyatt and Lloyd Nolan.

This hasn't aged well, but O'Sullivan sparkles in her first starring role since the Tarzan movies. It had been a huge hit on Broadway and Warner Bros. wanted Spencer Tracy and Rosalind Russell for the leads but both turned it down, Russell insisting that O'Sullivan should be allowed to reprise her role. Warner Bros., in typical fashion, signed Paul Ford to reprise his role but passed on O'Sullivan until half the actresses in Hollywood in their 50s at the time turned it down and she was finally signed to do it.

Widow's Peak (John Irvin, 1994) 6/10

Irish playwright Hugh Leonard wrote the screenplay specifically for Maureen O'Sullivan who wanted an Irish based project to act in with her daughter Mia Farrow. While this mother-daughter pairing never took place it was Farrow who years later revived it when she decided to end her two-year acting hiatus after playing Woody Allen's muse through 13 films and the "scandal" that bitterly ended their personal and professional relationship. The tiny Irish village of "Widow's Peak" is home to many widows just after the First World War. The community is unofficially ruled by courtesy of a sharp tongue belonging to a rich and imperious old widow (Joan Plowright) who lives with her henpecked bachelor son (Adrian Dunbar). Into their lives arrives an American widow (Natasha Richardson) who makes a play for the bachelor and immediately antagonizes the town spinster (Mia Faroow) who is quietly seeing the local dentist (Jim Broadbent). Soon a cat-and-mouse game ensues as both ladies try their utmost to belittle the other. When the spinster suddenly goes missing, presumed drowned, the townfolk slander the American woman accusing her of murder. Charming little film has three lovely stars having a ball playing these wacky characters while the droll screenplay has dark shadings including a last minute twist ending. The stunning Irish locations are also a plus point.

This is quite a gem. I didn't realize O'Sullivan had wanted to do it originally. Nice that she was able to see her daughter do it before she died in 1998 at 87. Farrow seemed a bit young for it to me, but she was more animated in this than any other film she ever made. Joan Plowright and Natasha Richardson are perfect. It makes a great St. Patrick's Day alternative to watching The Quiet Man for the umpteenth time.

The title, though, is Widows' Peak, not Widow's Peak, there was more than one of them.