Robin Hardy's 1973 film The Wicker Man was a deliberate and in my book very successful effort to make a new kind of horror movie. A rejection of the kind of camp horror that was being produced in mass in England at the time, The Wicker Man is creepy, but creepy in a way I've never encountered before. The wicker man (massive spoiler coming) is a reference to a giant man statue, a cage really in which ancient Celts used to sacrifice animals and even people. This titular object of horror will of course make an appearance before the end of the film, but it is the process of getting their that entrances as much (if not more so) as the main event.
Edward Woodword is Sargent Neil Howie of the West Highland Police, he travels by way of a small sea plane to the isolated island of Summerisle, home of a reclusive community known for their ability to grow fine fruit. Sargent Neil has come to the island because of a report alleging that a young girl on the island has disappeared, when he gets there he finds that the local residents claim that the girl Rowan Morrison doesn't exist. Even the woman who is suppose to be the girls mother and who supposedly sent the request for help claims there is no such person as Rowan Morrison (though her verifiable daughter says the Rowan is the name of a Hare that plays in the meadows).
Sgt. Howie must stay on the island overnight, in part because its gotten too dark to fly and in part too continue investigating the increasingly curious case. A very pious and observant Christian Sgt. Howie becomes disgusted by the behavior of the community members, bawdy songs in the pub, open sexuality including intament displays outdoors and propositioning by the innkeepers daughter (played by Swedish model Britt Ekland). Sgt. Howie quickly discovers that the islanders practice a form of paganism and have little use for Christian rigidity. Around the same time that Howie learns this he also learns that there is in fact a real Rowan Morrison, or to be precise there was, but that she died in a fire last fall (the movie is set in the last few days of April and the 1st of May 1973).
Sgt. Howie is confused by the fact that there is no death certificate for Rowan, and why the islanders at first denied her existence, he stays on to investigate. He has a meeting with Lord Summersile at his palatial manner. Lord Summersile is the of the third generation of community leaders, his grandfather having moved to the island in the 1860's to take up the breeding of special strains of fruit that he had developed. To motivate the locals grandpa Summersile reintroduced pagan practices and traditions to the island, in time they drove Christianity out and his son and grandson continued the practice, and apparently even became believers themselves.
Lord Summersile gives Sgt. Howie permission to exhume Rowans grave, when he does so he uncovers a coffin containing a dead march hare. Howie demands answers, the natives suggest he leave before there May Day celebration, he attempts to leave so as to bring back additional officers, only of course the plane won't start. Having become convinced that Rowan is alive and being held captive so as to be sacrificed on May Day to 'atone' for a poor harvest the year before, Sgt. Howie scowers the island, and attempts to infiltrate the islanders May Day celebrations in a stolen costume.
The end I'll leave out here as an incentive to view this remarkable, strange, and literate horror classic. There is certainly enough heft to the film to support a remake but the one released in 2006 leaves much to be desired. Directed by Neil LaBute and staring the perennial lead of bad movies Nicholas Cage, this version is relocated to the Pacific Northwest and contains a strong feminist slant, not out of place in a movie involving pagan religion. I must admit I was mostly with this movie, which surprised me, but I suspect I was mostly riding on the buzz of having seen the original film the night before. Not as awful as I'd suspected, somewhat flat and the ending just, I don't know lacked that oomph, wasn't realized well. Of course no remake could possibly live up to the original but I think I could have made a film better then this. Skip the limp imitation, but see the remarkable original.
1973: Grade A-
2006: Grade C-
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Rough Cut (1980), Virus (1980), Von Ryan's Express (1965), Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Rough Cut
Having recently watched the 'Every Which Way' movies with Clint Eastwood I've come to see that a successful formula for Carter era films is a lite tongue in cheek plot which is bluffed through on the bases of how cool the star is. Burt Reynolds is cool, he's at the height of his coolness. Jewel thieves are also kind of cool, as long as there cool like Burt Reynolds. It's also cool for a jewel thief to have a beautiful love interest and be assisted by wackier cohorts like a disco singer and an ex Nazi. David Niven is also cool, the whole jewel thief thing is very Niven retro, though here he plays the long arm of the law, sort off. Reminiscent of To Catch a Thief.
Grade: B-
Virus
This was the most expensive Japaneses made movie up till its time. Disaster movie premise, a seemingly unstoppable virus destroys world civilization almost wiping out the human race. Movie is padded with appearances by the likes of Glen Ford, Robert Vaughn, Edward James Olmos and George Kennedy. This movie was a bomb, in fact its already been allowed to land in the public domain, but I kind of like things like this, even in there paint-by-numbers sensibility. Like a cheap made for TV disaster film you'd see on Sci-fi, only this is better. Guilty pleasure.
Grade: B-
Von Ryan's Express
I expected little more then a cheap Great Escape want to be, but this was good. Frank Sinatra, a River Kwai type British officer, a train (like in the movie The Train) full of POW's and a flight through Italy to Switzerland. A Vicar pretends to be a Nazi officer, an Italian sports an eye patch, a group at first divided among themselves come together, courage, sacrifice ect. Plenty of enjoyable little set pieces, pleasantly surprised by the ending.
Grade: B
Night of the Living Dead
A lot of Zombie films are made these days, and to be honest I'd rather watch most anybody elses over those made by George Ramero. He's the godfather of the genera but I just don't think he's that good, the last one of his films before this that I tried to watch I could only make through the first 20 minutes, flat, derivative, poor. But he did launch the genera, develop the standard model that is still largely followed, and Night of the Living Dead is the seed from which the whole zombieverse would grow. This movie was actually very good, I guess Romero's talents just haven't aged well. Its obviously a cheaply made movie, but it still works well, genuine suspense, tension, largely sub par acting. I can see why this film is so memorable. The photo montage and the end sequence with the Sheriffs posy invokes the civil rights era, interestingly the lead role was not specifically written for an African American.
Grade: B
Having recently watched the 'Every Which Way' movies with Clint Eastwood I've come to see that a successful formula for Carter era films is a lite tongue in cheek plot which is bluffed through on the bases of how cool the star is. Burt Reynolds is cool, he's at the height of his coolness. Jewel thieves are also kind of cool, as long as there cool like Burt Reynolds. It's also cool for a jewel thief to have a beautiful love interest and be assisted by wackier cohorts like a disco singer and an ex Nazi. David Niven is also cool, the whole jewel thief thing is very Niven retro, though here he plays the long arm of the law, sort off. Reminiscent of To Catch a Thief.
Grade: B-
Virus
This was the most expensive Japaneses made movie up till its time. Disaster movie premise, a seemingly unstoppable virus destroys world civilization almost wiping out the human race. Movie is padded with appearances by the likes of Glen Ford, Robert Vaughn, Edward James Olmos and George Kennedy. This movie was a bomb, in fact its already been allowed to land in the public domain, but I kind of like things like this, even in there paint-by-numbers sensibility. Like a cheap made for TV disaster film you'd see on Sci-fi, only this is better. Guilty pleasure.
Grade: B-
Von Ryan's Express
I expected little more then a cheap Great Escape want to be, but this was good. Frank Sinatra, a River Kwai type British officer, a train (like in the movie The Train) full of POW's and a flight through Italy to Switzerland. A Vicar pretends to be a Nazi officer, an Italian sports an eye patch, a group at first divided among themselves come together, courage, sacrifice ect. Plenty of enjoyable little set pieces, pleasantly surprised by the ending.
Grade: B
Night of the Living Dead
A lot of Zombie films are made these days, and to be honest I'd rather watch most anybody elses over those made by George Ramero. He's the godfather of the genera but I just don't think he's that good, the last one of his films before this that I tried to watch I could only make through the first 20 minutes, flat, derivative, poor. But he did launch the genera, develop the standard model that is still largely followed, and Night of the Living Dead is the seed from which the whole zombieverse would grow. This movie was actually very good, I guess Romero's talents just haven't aged well. Its obviously a cheaply made movie, but it still works well, genuine suspense, tension, largely sub par acting. I can see why this film is so memorable. The photo montage and the end sequence with the Sheriffs posy invokes the civil rights era, interestingly the lead role was not specifically written for an African American.
Grade: B
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Frozen River (2008), White Zombie (1932), No Way to Treat A Lady (1968)
Frozen River
The frozen reaches of upstate New York, a Mohawk reservation, the Canadian border, people living on the margins and just subsisting, things we're not accustomed to seeing in film. Two woman, one a mother of two whose husbands abandoned the family leaving not enough money to pay for their new trailer home, the other an American Indian widow whose young son has been taken from her by her mother-in-law, at first they have an adversarial relationship but grow to be partners in crime and friends. Strong performances anchored by one of our best under used actresses Melissa Leo. Moving and in its way inspiring.
Grade: A
White Zombie
Considered to be the first zombie movie. Rushed into production at the height of Universals early talkie horror cycle, this film uses left over sets from Frankenstein and Dracula, and of course Bela Lugosi. These are not the zombies your used to from contemporary films, they are the old Haitian voodoo school, people brought back from near death to work as mindless slave labour. Lugosi is the owner of a mill who is recruited by a neighbouring plantation owner (Robert Frazer) to help him win the girl of his dreams. At first the love struck landowner hopped to detain the girls fiance long enough to win her over, but Lugosi convinces him that he could not accomplish this and instead offers to turn her into his zombie love slave, this Lugosi does. Only having a zombie love slave ain't that fulfilling on a relationship level, Frazer asks Lugosi to bring her back to her normal self, instead he makes the remorseful lover a zombie as well. Lugosi, zombies, the girls true love (John Harron), and a Christian missionary (Joseph Cawthorn) end the film in a final confrontation. Also there's a vulture. "Do you have a light?"
Grade: C-
No Way to Treat a Lady
No relationship to the Linda Ronstadt song, this is the story of an actor with a mother complex who uses his makeup skills to disguise himself and kill a series of widowed old women. Rod Steiger is very versatile, he does a great job as the villain and his various alter-egos (though those are mainly very stereotyped performances they are still fun), he's a serial killer worthy of a Dexter antagonist. George Segal is the Jewish detective (complete with over the top nagging mother) investigating the murders and who Steiger torments by phone. Lee Remick and her beautiful blue eyes are a potential witness and love interest for Segal. A satisfying crime thriller.
Grade: B
The frozen reaches of upstate New York, a Mohawk reservation, the Canadian border, people living on the margins and just subsisting, things we're not accustomed to seeing in film. Two woman, one a mother of two whose husbands abandoned the family leaving not enough money to pay for their new trailer home, the other an American Indian widow whose young son has been taken from her by her mother-in-law, at first they have an adversarial relationship but grow to be partners in crime and friends. Strong performances anchored by one of our best under used actresses Melissa Leo. Moving and in its way inspiring.
Grade: A
White Zombie
Considered to be the first zombie movie. Rushed into production at the height of Universals early talkie horror cycle, this film uses left over sets from Frankenstein and Dracula, and of course Bela Lugosi. These are not the zombies your used to from contemporary films, they are the old Haitian voodoo school, people brought back from near death to work as mindless slave labour. Lugosi is the owner of a mill who is recruited by a neighbouring plantation owner (Robert Frazer) to help him win the girl of his dreams. At first the love struck landowner hopped to detain the girls fiance long enough to win her over, but Lugosi convinces him that he could not accomplish this and instead offers to turn her into his zombie love slave, this Lugosi does. Only having a zombie love slave ain't that fulfilling on a relationship level, Frazer asks Lugosi to bring her back to her normal self, instead he makes the remorseful lover a zombie as well. Lugosi, zombies, the girls true love (John Harron), and a Christian missionary (Joseph Cawthorn) end the film in a final confrontation. Also there's a vulture. "Do you have a light?"
Grade: C-
No Way to Treat a Lady
No relationship to the Linda Ronstadt song, this is the story of an actor with a mother complex who uses his makeup skills to disguise himself and kill a series of widowed old women. Rod Steiger is very versatile, he does a great job as the villain and his various alter-egos (though those are mainly very stereotyped performances they are still fun), he's a serial killer worthy of a Dexter antagonist. George Segal is the Jewish detective (complete with over the top nagging mother) investigating the murders and who Steiger torments by phone. Lee Remick and her beautiful blue eyes are a potential witness and love interest for Segal. A satisfying crime thriller.
Grade: B
Thursday, October 13, 2011
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)
I can't believe it took me this long to see this movie, it is just great. The iconic title doesn't tell you much as to what the stories going to be about, I knew a little but I think my viewing of the film was benefited from not really knowing the direction it would take. In fact for a while I though it was going one direction, and then it became much more. A sad beautiful film. Heartbreaking, even devastating. The whole cast with maybe one or two exceptions is putting in bravo performances. Dorthy McGuire gives the kind of performance I didn't suspect she was even capable of, so many levels to it. Peggy Ann Garner is perfect as Francine. Joan Blondell always fun to have around. But it is James Dunn, today little known even by me, who steals the picture. His performance as the luckless dreamer Johnny Nolan is a marvel, one of the greatest feet of acting and pathos I've ever seen. I was surprised how current and emotionally real the film seemed, even while being so firmly rooted in the sensibilities of its time. This is not what you would traditionally think of as an Elia Kazan film, but his handling of the film in a well crafted almost studio director style works wonderfully. This is really an amazing movie, I was surprised, moved and very much pleased.
Grade: A+
Grade: A+
Two Weeks in Another Town (1962)
Vincent Minnelli is a real hit or miss director, Meet Me in Saint Louis is great, Some Came Running I hate. This is a miss though it tackles much the same subject matter as an earlier hit, The Bad and the Beautiful. This move is considered by some a kind of lose sequel to that film, I think some of the backstory is inspired by the later but the characters are not the same. I don't know why they decided not to do a direct sequel, probably because the plot here is borrowed from a book and perhaps there were copyright reasons.
Anyway this is the story of an alcoholic ex movie star (Kirk Douglas, who was also in The Bad and the Beautiful) who has been three years in rehab at a private hospital in Connecticut. Douglas is released from the hospital and then takes an offer of a small supporting part in a film being directed by his one time collaborator Edward G. Robinson. The two had had a falling out but Robinson flys him to Rome where he's shooting the picture (a historical romance). When he gets there Robinson decides Douglas is not right for the part, but that's in an effort to lure him into supervising the dubbing on the film, which is due in two weeks or Robinson loses the right of dubbing to his producer.
While there Douglas finds romance, is kind of stalked by his ex-wife, fights with Robinson and others, then Robinson has a stroke or something and Douglas takes over directing the feature. Robinson recovers, fires Douglas and takes all the credit for the film. Douglas turns back to booze, is almost in a car accident, and then unexpectedly regains his will to live and pursue his career. Douglas's strange epiphany is sudden, it doesn't fully seem to fit and feels almost like an add-on, but I suspect it was in the original script as the movie wasn't particularly well written. To quite Wikipedia:
Bosley Crowther in his New York Times review of August 18, 1962 wrote: "The whole thing is a lot of glib trade patter, ridiculous and unconvincing snarls and a weird professional clash between the actor and director that is like something out of a Hollywood cartoon."
I agree, it wasn't very good. It felt trite and a forced effort to come across as Hemingwayesque, much like Some Came Running. I'd say more but I think I've said it all.
Grade: D+
Anyway this is the story of an alcoholic ex movie star (Kirk Douglas, who was also in The Bad and the Beautiful) who has been three years in rehab at a private hospital in Connecticut. Douglas is released from the hospital and then takes an offer of a small supporting part in a film being directed by his one time collaborator Edward G. Robinson. The two had had a falling out but Robinson flys him to Rome where he's shooting the picture (a historical romance). When he gets there Robinson decides Douglas is not right for the part, but that's in an effort to lure him into supervising the dubbing on the film, which is due in two weeks or Robinson loses the right of dubbing to his producer.
While there Douglas finds romance, is kind of stalked by his ex-wife, fights with Robinson and others, then Robinson has a stroke or something and Douglas takes over directing the feature. Robinson recovers, fires Douglas and takes all the credit for the film. Douglas turns back to booze, is almost in a car accident, and then unexpectedly regains his will to live and pursue his career. Douglas's strange epiphany is sudden, it doesn't fully seem to fit and feels almost like an add-on, but I suspect it was in the original script as the movie wasn't particularly well written. To quite Wikipedia:
Bosley Crowther in his New York Times review of August 18, 1962 wrote: "The whole thing is a lot of glib trade patter, ridiculous and unconvincing snarls and a weird professional clash between the actor and director that is like something out of a Hollywood cartoon."
I agree, it wasn't very good. It felt trite and a forced effort to come across as Hemingwayesque, much like Some Came Running. I'd say more but I think I've said it all.
Grade: D+
Manhattan Melodrama (1934)
John Dillinger saw this movie in a theater immediately before he was ambushed and killed by the FBI, well at least it was a good one. Given its title one might be suspecting one of those 'White Teleophone' pictures common at the time, all plush apartments, heiresses, and tears. Manhattan Melodrama could probably be categorized as a 'crime drama' but its really a story about friendship. The structure or organizing principle of the film is one perhaps most associated with the classic Cagney/O'Brien feature Angels with Dirty Faces, two childhood friends end up on opposite sides of the track and one must ultimately sacrifice himself for the principles of the other.
In this case the two friends are Clark Gable and William Powell. When they are children (Micky Rooney plays Gable as a boy) their respective parents are killed in a tragic steam boat accident (you've got to love a film that features a river boat fire in the first five minutes). The two are briefly taken in by a nice Jewish man but he's killed in a riot and the film then becomes rather vague about how the two survived. Natural born con artist and charmer Gable goes on to become a kind of crime lord lite (he goes by Blackie), while studious Powell ends up an earnest and dedicated lawyer in the district attorneys office. Interestingly the two remain friends, Powell openly lets Gable know that if he's every arrested it will be his duty to prosecute, Gable for his part still respects, even venerates Powell envisioning a successful future political career for his friend.
Eventually Powell is elected district attorney, unable to attend Gable sends his girlfriend Myrna Loy to the celebrations, and of course love blooms. While Gable loves Loy he seems to love Powell even more and wishes the two the best as they embark on a romance that ends in marriage. As time goes by Powell is put up by his party to run for Governor, an associate in the DA's office expects to ride his coattails up the political ladder, but Powell knows him to be corrupt and even dismisses him from his current position. The bitter ex-associate threatens to defame Powell, charging that he purposely let Gable off on the murder of a bookie he is widely rumored to have killed (he is actually not prosecuted for lack of evidence). Loy tells Gable this, Gable kills the crooked former lawyer, Powell makes good on his promise to prosecute Gable if he was ever arrested, Gable's sentenced to death and Powell is elected governor.
Though he loves Gable, Powell refuses to grant him a stay of execution, feeling it would be an abuse of his power to intervene legally for the sake of a friend, as well as a betrayal of the voters who elected him on his anti-crime credentials. On the night Gable is to be executed Loy tells Powell that Gable committed the murder in order to ensure his election as governor. Loy says she'll leave Powell if he lets Gable be executed, he sticks to his principles and says he can not let Gable off. Torn Powell goes to visit Gable as he awaits execution, he moved by his friends willingness to face execution for the sake of his friend, in fact Gable is down right nonchalant about his impending execution. Powell wavers and offers to save Gables life, Gable refuses and is executed.
How Powell got elected governor I'll never know, he is simply too virtuous. Viewing his 'moment of weakness' in offering to save his friends life as making him unworthy of his high office Powell resigns the governorship (kind of a betrayal of what Gable sacrificed his life for if you think about it), he and Loy are reunited. A melodrama to be sure, and a good one. Charming and anchored by fine performances this is an engaging and likable picture, and while too unlikely a story for the real world, as cinematic morality tale it excels.
Grade: B +
In this case the two friends are Clark Gable and William Powell. When they are children (Micky Rooney plays Gable as a boy) their respective parents are killed in a tragic steam boat accident (you've got to love a film that features a river boat fire in the first five minutes). The two are briefly taken in by a nice Jewish man but he's killed in a riot and the film then becomes rather vague about how the two survived. Natural born con artist and charmer Gable goes on to become a kind of crime lord lite (he goes by Blackie), while studious Powell ends up an earnest and dedicated lawyer in the district attorneys office. Interestingly the two remain friends, Powell openly lets Gable know that if he's every arrested it will be his duty to prosecute, Gable for his part still respects, even venerates Powell envisioning a successful future political career for his friend.
Eventually Powell is elected district attorney, unable to attend Gable sends his girlfriend Myrna Loy to the celebrations, and of course love blooms. While Gable loves Loy he seems to love Powell even more and wishes the two the best as they embark on a romance that ends in marriage. As time goes by Powell is put up by his party to run for Governor, an associate in the DA's office expects to ride his coattails up the political ladder, but Powell knows him to be corrupt and even dismisses him from his current position. The bitter ex-associate threatens to defame Powell, charging that he purposely let Gable off on the murder of a bookie he is widely rumored to have killed (he is actually not prosecuted for lack of evidence). Loy tells Gable this, Gable kills the crooked former lawyer, Powell makes good on his promise to prosecute Gable if he was ever arrested, Gable's sentenced to death and Powell is elected governor.
Though he loves Gable, Powell refuses to grant him a stay of execution, feeling it would be an abuse of his power to intervene legally for the sake of a friend, as well as a betrayal of the voters who elected him on his anti-crime credentials. On the night Gable is to be executed Loy tells Powell that Gable committed the murder in order to ensure his election as governor. Loy says she'll leave Powell if he lets Gable be executed, he sticks to his principles and says he can not let Gable off. Torn Powell goes to visit Gable as he awaits execution, he moved by his friends willingness to face execution for the sake of his friend, in fact Gable is down right nonchalant about his impending execution. Powell wavers and offers to save Gables life, Gable refuses and is executed.
How Powell got elected governor I'll never know, he is simply too virtuous. Viewing his 'moment of weakness' in offering to save his friends life as making him unworthy of his high office Powell resigns the governorship (kind of a betrayal of what Gable sacrificed his life for if you think about it), he and Loy are reunited. A melodrama to be sure, and a good one. Charming and anchored by fine performances this is an engaging and likable picture, and while too unlikely a story for the real world, as cinematic morality tale it excels.
Grade: B +
Friday, October 7, 2011
Every Which Way But Lose (1978), Hard Candy (2005), Nineteen Eighty- Four (1954)
I watched this and Every Which Way You Can out of order. I don't think the formers as good as the later, this first one feels more somber, can I say that about a comedy featuring and Orangutan? The first one features most of the plot elements, characters, and structure of the second. The theme here though I think is slightly superior. I love the comic sensibilities of these films.
Grade: B-
Hard Candy is something. An independent film, few sets, a small group of then mostly upcoming actors and a controversial and creepy story line. Ellen Page may appear at first to be a naive 14 year old girl who meets a much older man (Patrick Wilson) on the Internet and is destined to be his sexual victim. But she is more then Wilson takes her for, a former abuse victim, whip smart, viscous, determined and out for revenge; she also spouts beyond her years, witty per-Juno dialogue. She not Wilson has actually done the luring. Once at his bungalow she drugs him, ties him up, emotionally destroys him and then castrates him. Fascinating, dark and just damn good. It goes without saying this is not for every one, but for those it is Grade A.
An British television adaptation of George Orwell's iconic book, Nineteen Eighty-Four is one of the best of the black and white era teleplays. Good cast, Peter Cushing as Winston, Donald Pleasence as Sim. Despite flimsy sets and slow parts, especially near the beginning, this is a perfectly decent adaption, and I would suspect strikingly good television for the era in which it was produced. It's neat to have seen this story made in a context of roughly the same time in which the book was first published ( a mear five years later).
Grade: B-
Grade: B-
Hard Candy is something. An independent film, few sets, a small group of then mostly upcoming actors and a controversial and creepy story line. Ellen Page may appear at first to be a naive 14 year old girl who meets a much older man (Patrick Wilson) on the Internet and is destined to be his sexual victim. But she is more then Wilson takes her for, a former abuse victim, whip smart, viscous, determined and out for revenge; she also spouts beyond her years, witty per-Juno dialogue. She not Wilson has actually done the luring. Once at his bungalow she drugs him, ties him up, emotionally destroys him and then castrates him. Fascinating, dark and just damn good. It goes without saying this is not for every one, but for those it is Grade A.
An British television adaptation of George Orwell's iconic book, Nineteen Eighty-Four is one of the best of the black and white era teleplays. Good cast, Peter Cushing as Winston, Donald Pleasence as Sim. Despite flimsy sets and slow parts, especially near the beginning, this is a perfectly decent adaption, and I would suspect strikingly good television for the era in which it was produced. It's neat to have seen this story made in a context of roughly the same time in which the book was first published ( a mear five years later).
Grade: B-
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Take Her She's Mine (1963), Hitchcocks Holocaust Documentary (1945)
Take Her She's Mine
Comedy about a father (Jimmy Stewart) trying to protect his daughter's (Sandra Dee) virtue as she enters college. Reminiscent in tone and style of another Jimmy Stewart film' Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation', which came out the previous year. Entertaining enough comedy of errors, a family film but with a touch of the sex comedy about it, but those early 60's sex comedies where nothing compared to the raunch fests of today. Movie has a recurring gag of people mistaking Stewart's character for the actor James Stewart. Neat to see what constituted 'rebillion' in the post beatnik per-hippie window.
Grade: B-
Alfred Hitchcock the Holocaust Documentary
Uncompleted British documentary on holocaust atrocities directed in part by Alfred Hitchcock. The film is missing the final real and has segments where the audio's missing but still an interesting work, its pretty direct and calls out the whole German people for letter this inhumanity happen.
Grade: B
Comedy about a father (Jimmy Stewart) trying to protect his daughter's (Sandra Dee) virtue as she enters college. Reminiscent in tone and style of another Jimmy Stewart film' Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation', which came out the previous year. Entertaining enough comedy of errors, a family film but with a touch of the sex comedy about it, but those early 60's sex comedies where nothing compared to the raunch fests of today. Movie has a recurring gag of people mistaking Stewart's character for the actor James Stewart. Neat to see what constituted 'rebillion' in the post beatnik per-hippie window.
Grade: B-
Alfred Hitchcock the Holocaust Documentary
Uncompleted British documentary on holocaust atrocities directed in part by Alfred Hitchcock. The film is missing the final real and has segments where the audio's missing but still an interesting work, its pretty direct and calls out the whole German people for letter this inhumanity happen.
Grade: B
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