Reviews

The critics be damned, this is a fun time! Elvis sings 10 tunes, all relating to the situation at hand, composed by a variety of people, and all good, by me, despite what others may dismissively claim.

We can conveniently divide the film into 5 segments. The first, I call the pre-Sue Lin portion. It begins with Elvis(as Mike) and his gambling-addict friend Danny flying their ancient biplane crop duster, and buzzing a pair of cutiepies in a late convertible. Elvis takes his share of their pay and heads off to one of his hot squeezes, named Dorothy. But, he keeps calling her various other names, to her irritation. While he is chasing her around the house, her parents unexpectedly show up early, and her father chases him out with his shotgun. Meanwhile, in a poker game, Danny has lost all his pay, plus has an IOU for some of Elvis's pay. When Elvis arrives, he's very angry, and starts a big brawl, which extracts them from their gambling debt obligations. But, they still owe for other debts, and the sheriff impounds their plane until they pay up, losing it if they don't pay up within 2 weeks.

The boys decide to hitchhike to wherever, and we begin the 2nd segment of the film, when they are picked up by an open truck, containing 6yo Sue Lin and her uncle. Sue Lin gets acquainted with the guys in the back of the truck, while the truck makes its way toward the World's Fair, in Seattle, with Mount Rainer, in the background. When they arrive at the Fair, Sue Lin's uncle gets a call to take his truck to do a job, and reluctantly decides to leave Sue Lin with the guys to see the Fair. While Elvis and Sue Lin explore the Fair, Danny goes off to try to make some money gambling. Sue Lin wins a reddish stuffed dog bigger than her, and eventually develops a tummy ache from the snacks that Elvis buys her. So, Elvis takes her to the Fair's nurse's station, and we are ready for the 3rd segment of the film.

While one nurse tends to Sue Lin, Elvis focus's his attention on nurse Diane, claiming there is something irritating in his eye. This is their conversation: Diane: "There is nothing in either eye"

Elvis: "Well, maybe it's right in the middle, passing under my nose, passing from one eye to the other.

Diane: I'm afraid that would be medically impossible

Elvis: Well, science is making new discoveries every day.

Diane: Yes, and it's too bad they haven't come up with a wolf repellant!

With that, Diane shoos Elvis out the door, and Sue-Lin's uncle soon arrives to pick her up. Elvis leaves, but gets an idea to get him another chance with Diane. He offers a small boy (Kurt Russell) a quarter if he will kick him in the shin. The boy does a good job, and Elvis limps off to the nurse's station. Diane initially doesn't believe him, but, amazingly, discovers a big black and blue welt on his shin. She bandages it, and is reluctantly convinced to help him to a taxi. On the way, Elvis feigns passing out from hunger. Thus, Diane suggests they dine at the top of the Space Needle, where they get acquainted, and even kiss. On the way onward, they happen to meet the small boy, who wants another quarter, for kicking Elvis in the shin again! Diane gets the picture, and haughtily leaves. Actually, Dorothy seemed much more Elvis's type of woman than Diane, but he risked being shot for his passion.

Just then, Sue Lin happens along, crying that her uncle hasn't shown up like he's expected to, and we are ready to start the 4th segment of the film. Elvis takes her to the apartment that Danny won a 3 week lease from in a crap shoot. Sue Lin overhears Elvis talking to Danny about his problems with Diane, and has an idea for getting them back together. She turns on the room electric heater, and puts her head next to it, convincing Elvis that she has a fever. Wants nurse Diane to check her out. So, Elvis calls up Diane and has Sue Lin talk to her. Diane reluctantly agrees to come over. Sue Lin tells Diane what a nice man Elvis is, and this induces her to resume a flirtation with Elvis. She then leaves, but not before recommending that Sue Lin be taken by Child Welfare until her uncle shows up. Later, a Child Welfare worker shows up, demanding that she be allowed to take Sue Lin, who strongly resists. The worker tells Elvis that it was Diane who called the Child Welfare Dept., and he swears off seeing her again. Well, we know something must be rotten in Denmark(or rather Seattle), in order to get Elvis and Diane back together, for a happy ending. We are ready for the wild, unbelievable, fast-paced extended finale, which I won't comment on, leaving you to see it for yourself...... This film is part of a cheap 4 Elvis films DVD set, if interested.

A rather loose adaptation of Russian Nikolai Gogol's novel of the same title. It primarily deals with conflict between catholic feudal Poland and the non-catholic freedom-loving Cossacks over control of part of present Ukraine, in the late 16th century. The other plot thread deals with the fatal obsession of Andriy: son of Cossack leader Taras Bulba over a young Polish princess, causing him to commit treason to hopefully save her from starvation or plague inside the Polish citadel of Dubno besieged by a Cossack army. Today, Ukraine is again much in the news from an attempt by Russia to annex it or make it a vassal state.

I find it quite odd that Tony Curtis, as Taras's amorous traitorous son, Andriy, is given top billing over Yul Brynner, who plays the title character and apparent hero. Strangely, unlike Brynner and many others, no attempt is made to make Tony, or Perry Lopez, as his brother, look like a real Cossack, or anything other than their usual selves. At 37, Tony evidently is playing more like 15 years younger, as a Polish Academy student in Kiev, which makes him seem a more acceptable love interest for the teen princess Natalia. He and his brother are ostracized by the Polish students, as apparently the only Cossack students. While being punished for romancing princess Natalia, he somehow manages to grab a rapier and, in an informal duel, kills the princess's brother, after which he and his brother decide they should quickly return home. One would think that this misdeed would end the princess's love interest in him. But, later, we discover not so!

Brynner was quite displeased with the final product, which had cut out many of his favorite scenes. Meanwhile, 16yo German actress Christine Kaufmann, as princess Natalia Dubrov, is the female lead. Like the previous Linda Darnell and Joan Leslie, for example, she had always been precocious Thus, studios weren't hesitant to pair her romantically in films with a man in his late 30s or early 40s, especially if, like Tony, they looked much younger. In the film, as well, as off screen, it was love at first sight between her and Tony. Thus, Tony took her to the US after finishing the film, to become his 2nd wife when she was legally considered 'of age'.

The screenplay is quite intriguing, including forbidden love, treachery by groups and individuals, personal tragedy, and final victory by Taras and the Cossacks, in contrast to the tragic ending in Gogol's novel.

Filmed in Argentina, utilizing hundreds of gauchos mainly as mounted cavalry, the cost ran way over budget. There are a number of chaotic battle scenes, as hand to hand fighting tends to be. The Cossacks lacked body armor, while the Poles generally had such. Rather primitive firearms of the times, sabers, and lances were used, in addition to cannons on the castle. The initial battle scene involves the Poles and Cossacks fighting the expanding Turks. Unfortunately, this battle is too brief and dark to make much of an impression. However, the Poles then treacherously attack the Cossacks, who had suffered the brunt of the battle against the Turks. The victorious Poles now ruled a larger part of Ukraine........ The final battle between Poles and Cossacks occurs near a precipitous above a river. Many fighters and their horses are seen crowded off the precipitous edge, landing in the river or it's shore.........Previously, Taras had ordered a contest between Andriy and one who had accused him of being a coward, involving their horse jumping over a very narrow gorge, until one failed to complete the jump and fell to their death.

A criticism is that too many scenes either in the open or inside are too dark to make out what is going on: frustrating! As mentioned, this applies to the opening battle, and especially to Andriy's sneaking into the Polish castle, the attempts to capture him, and his discovery of Natalia, who had relocated from Kiev to her native city. I found this whole episode unlikely and unconvincing. ...In fact, I find it highly unlikely that she would be so attracted to a Cossack, especially one who had killed her brother, that she would risk her life for him. In fact, she was very nearly burned at the stake, as a witch, for this dallying.....Some reviewers believe Tony was miscast as a Cossack. I don't agree. His primary role was to be the romantic lead, while Brynner was the dramatic lead. He may not have been as beefy as ideal. But, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone were too young then, and Burt Lancaster turned down the role. Evidently, an extraordinarily good--looking man is what attracted the princess, be he Polish or Cossack. Tony fit this bill perfectly. This was necessary to overcome the fact that he was a Cossack.

A pivotal scene is when the Cossack armies of Taras and Ivan Mykola meet on their ways to the Polish stronghold at Dubno. Taras's motive is to defeat the Poles and capture this stronghold. In contrast, Ivan has made a deal with the Poles at Dubno to add his army to theirs in a military venture in a Baltic state. Neither leader is willing to back down. However, Taras wins the dispute in the minds of Ivan's army. Ivan stubbornly stands steadfast in the path of the advancing armies, and is trampled to death.

Another pivotal moment is when Filipenko beckons the besieging Cossacks to either rush the citadel or quit the siege(see my review title), in conflict with Taras's order to maintain the siege. Many Cossacks, weary of the siege, follow Filipenko in retreat. However, later, when the emboldened Poles, incongruously led by Andriy, attack the remaining besieging Cossacks, causing them to also retreat, Filipenko's group will join Taras's retreating group to fight the advancing Polish cavalry. By the way, where were the horde of Polish cavalry and their horses that came spewing out from the citadel housed??

Based largely upon William Harrison's novel "Burton and Speke", recounts two expeditions into Africa by the British team of Richard Burton and John Speke, the main one being an effort to pin down the ultimate source of the White Nile, which Brit intellectuals of the time were obsessed with.

The title is derived from the ancient Greco-Egyptian Ptolemy's writings about a merchant who claimed he had traveled to central Africa and discovered a high snow-capped mountain range that fed water into several sizable lakes, that fed the Nile. Unfortunately, it was uncertain if this was true or merely a fable, since no European had since confirmed this. As things turned out, Burton and Speke 'discovered' Lakes Tanganyika and Victoria, as they named them, and Speke proposed, with insufficient evidence, that the latter, higher, more northern, lake is the main ultimate source of the Nile. They never saw the usually mist-covered Ruwenzori mountains, to the west of Lake Victoria, which we may identify as the fabled 'Mountains of the Moon'.

As far as the film goes, I believe it would have been much better to delete the approximately first 30 min., devoted to their brief, disastrous expedition into Somalia, in which both were nearly killed, and their subsequent recovery in England, and to have begun the film when Burton and Speke met in Zanzibar to organize their expedition into central Africa. Then, there would have been room for a depiction of Speke's subsequent expedition to much more fully explore the region around Lake Victoria, in hopes of finding an effluent, which he found on the north side, as he hoped. Unfortunately, because of tribal problems, he was unable to trace a water course from this river to the undisputed White Nile, hence giving the jealous Burton fodder with which to dispute his claim. Burton, along with David Livingston, continued to favor Lake Tanganyika as the ultimate source of the Nile, later proven wrong by Stanley, who also discovered and named the Ruwenzori Mountains: 'The Mountains of the Moon'. During this subsequent trip, Speke was also presented with 2 native teens as 'wives' and fathered a child by one.

Also, I believe it should have been pointed out that, for a while, before they discovered the 2 big lakes and during their time there, Speke was sometimes partially or fully blind, which hindered his characterization of the lakes, while Burton was mostly laid up. Also, for a time after the dramatized beetle-in-the- ear incident, Speke was partially deaf...........I didn't find reference on the internet to the dramatized incident of Burton breaking his leg, nearly killing him, and responsible for much of his subsequent infirmities. No doubt, he was wracked by a variety of acquired health problems, as was Speke, at times. It's also emphasized that much of their provisions and scientific instruments were ultimately stolen or lost, and some of their porters ran off or were killed.

All the African scenes were shot within the borders of Kenya. Thus, Lake Turkana, in extreme northern Kenya, substituted for Lake Tanganyika. We got only a very brief look at a small section of Lake Victoria, as Speke didn't bother exploring much of the lake's perimeter on his first expedition.......... A review of the book suggested that some of Speke's problems and likes may have been due to having dyslexia, which wasn't even a recognized malady during his life.

Despite it's deficiencies I have enumerated, I believe the film is worth watching. I especially liked their interactions with the several African tribes, who could be helpful or hostile, or both. Incidentally, they were fortunate to discover native Sidi Bombay in Zanzibar before their trip. Both he and Speke had spent some time in India and learned to speak Hindi, which was their only common language. With his knowledge of Africa and it's languages, Sidi would prove invaluable on their trip, and would return to help lead a seminal expedition or two by Stanley.

A humorous family-type Elvis film, rather like his much later, much maligned, film "Stay Away, Joe", also one of my favorite Elvis films.

Chronicles the adventures of a highly unconventional family, headed by middle-aged Pop Kwimper, including two adult 'children' in Toby(Elvis) and the younger Holly(Anne Helm), a pair of half-grown twin boys, and 5y.o. Blonde Ariadne. For some reason, Ariadne is only seen in the beginning, and again near the end. All the adult 'children' and actual children were child orphans when Pop unofficially adopted them. No info is given about a possible past wife for Pop. The 3 adults are from a backwoods background, with minimal formal education. Thus, most people they meet consider them stupid. Even Toby refers to himself as not very bright.

Holly clearly is waiting for Toby to marry her, but Toby is in no hurry to end his carefree bachelorhood. Thus, Toby and Holly come across as being much like the classical comic strip characters L'il Abner and Daisy Mae. Alternatively, you may think of Holly as being more like Debbie Reynolds, in "Tammy, and the Bachelor".

On a vagabond trip, Pop decides to ignore a Do not enter barrier across a newly finished highway, waiting for the Florida governor to perform an official dedication. After driving a ways, they run out of gas, so Pop decides to set up camp near the road, by a deserted beach, later claiming that they are homesteading, when Mr. King: the state highway commissioner inquires what they think they are doing there. Fortunately, when the governor motorcade arrives, he's impressed with their pioneer spirit, and OKs their homesteading claim, to the irritation of King, who will try several more times to make them move.

The screenplay includes periodic humor, most involving Toby. In one incident, he is mistaken for a would-be bank robber when he and Holly go to ask for a loan to expand their fledgling fisherman supplies business. Fortunately, the bank president, in contrast to the loan officer, is friendly, and gives them an unofficial 'character loan', in view of their lack of substantial property security.

Eventually, the sexy state welfare supervisor, Alisa(Joanne Moore) shows up to hassle them about the unofficial status of the children as adoptees. She is an ally of King, hence a potential enemy. However, she gets sidetracked by serious flirtation with Toby, who gives humous unexpected answers to her word-association quiz. A very jealous Holly pushes her into the water, after being jealously referred to as a 'squaw'. The angry Alisa leaves, with the ambition to get even by hauling the family into court, charging them as being unfit parents for the unofficially adopted younger children. This court hearing takes up most of the last part of the film. You can guess the result, with an unusually sympathetic judge.

The third menace for the family is a trailer-housed illegal casino, that takes up temporary residence in the growing community. When Toby is elected sheriff, he takes exception to their noisy very late night patrons, and slaps a 11PM curfew on their business. Naturally, they take exception to this, and try to buy the family out, with a negative response from Pop. Several times, they try to kill Toby, or the entire family, with humorous results, becoming victims of their schemes, finally causing them to leave.

At the end, Toby finally allows a kiss by Holly, suggesting he may be willing to soon give up his bachelor days....... Spaced among these events, Elvis sings his usual 5 songs, including the title song. Several are rather good.........The novel, the film is based upon, in turn, was based upon a true story.

Joanna Moore, who played evil Alisa, was rendered an orphan herself, due to a fatal car crash. A beauty queen, her acting career started out promising, but her life gradually spun out of control, with 4 brief marriages, and increasing addiction to alcohol and amphetamines, in addition to her chain-smoking habit. She would die rather young from lung cancer.

Haven't seen that many Elvis movies, but this must be one of the better ones. I recently saw the original 1937 film of the same title, and mostly similar plot, but with many different details. The '37 version, with Eddie Robinson and Humphry Bogart as rival boxer promoters, is much more infused with a serious gangster element: typical of many Warner '30s films. In contrast, the gangster element in this film is mostly soft-pedaled, until the last part. It has a mostly laid-back '60s feel, as you would expect from an Elvis film. Whereas there was only one song in the '37 film, of coarse, Elvis periodically sings one of 5 songs, mostly with good lyrics. The film endings are completely different, with Eddie and Bogey simultaneously shooting each other to end their rivalry. In contrast, here, the two fight promoters don't meet after the big title fight. There is a feel good ending, with Elvis's promoter, played by Gig Young, finally apparently convinced by his long-suffering girlfriend to marry her, while Elvis and his recent girlfriend end the film with a long kiss.

This film tends to get lower ratings than the '37 film: mostly just average. I think this is unjustified. Maybe there are too many scenes of Elvis practicing and too few actual fight scenes, most of his bouts being passed over quickly as montages. Maybe people tend miss the malevolent charisma of Eddie and Bogey. I thought Elvis was well trained to look like an actual professional boxer, although not actually by his film trainer: Charles Bronson, who makes a good charismatic buddy for him. Maybe he takes too many vicious head punches and punches too ferociously for believability? Maybe his singing detracted from his image as a professional boxer? Maybe his passion for fixing up a junked Model T or A?, and in fixing people's car problems detracted from his image as a fighter?

Lola Albright is OK in the Betty Davis role, as promoter Gig Young's mistress. She gives a good verbal battle with Gig in explaining why she packed her things in preparation for leaving him, and resuming her previous role as an establishment singer. ....Joan Blackman, as a blue-eyed brunet, perhaps reminds us of Elvis's wife. She had also been his leading lady is his previous film: "Blue Hawaii". Actually, she had little to do except smile at and flirt with Elvis.

I'm sure Elvis's opponent in his title fight was nicknamed 'Sugar Boy' in remembrance of famous boxer Sugar Ray Robinson.

On the whole, I rate this film as equal, if more diverse, to the '37 film. Actually, both these films are an adaptation of a novel about a novice becoming a circus lion tamer! This theme is exploited in the '41 film "The Wagons Roll at Night", starring Humphry Bogart as the circus owner, equivalent to the boxing promoters. You can see this film, as well as the '37 film, for free at YouTube.

Well, I've already told you the plot in a nutshell in my review title, so you'll have to red flag my review, for sure.

It's always fun to have Eddie Robinson and Humphrey Bogart at odds with each other. Here, apparently, they are the 2 top boxing promoters in the country. Bogey has recently bribed Eddie's top boxer to throw the title fight with Bogey's champion: Chuck McGraw.. Eddie now needs a new challenger, and finds him in one of the least likely guises: as the tall handsome bellhop for his party after the fight. He( Wayne Morris, as Ward Guisenberry) knocks McGraw to the floor for pulling Betty Davis away from Bogey, who she was berating for making fun of Gooseberry, jealous of all the attention he was receiving from the females. Eddie offers him a chance to prove his worth as a professional boxer. Gooseberry is OK with that if he can make enough money to buy a farm.

There followed an unbelievable classic Horatio Alger story, in which Gooseberry beat every opponent, usually by knockout, until it was time to challenge McGraw for a title fight. Betty suggested the 'stage' name of Kid Galahad, in honor of the legendary knight who had defended the honor of ladies, because he had defended her.

After the Kid's first victory, over McGraw's brother, Betty and his trainer, played by Harry Carey, fearing reprisal from Bogey's gang, took him to hide for a while at Eddie's family farm, outside of NYC, even though they knew that Eddie wouldn't approve. The Kid meets Eddie's mother and kid sister Marie(Jane Bryan, 25 years younger than Eddie!). The kid and Marie don't get along very well, and Eddie takes him back to NYC when he finds out. Nonetheless, when he gets enough money to buy a car, the Kid drives back to the farm. He discusses his differences with Marie, and, in an unbelievable reversal, asks her to marry him, and she accepts!

When Eddie finds out, he's irate that the Kid disobeyed his order. In revenge, he cooks up a dastardly plan to make the Kid lose the title fight, by instructing him to come out punching, causing him to get punched out. Sure enough, McGraw keeps knocking him down, or against the ropes. Bogey is happy, because, after talking to Eddie, he bet a huge amount of money on the kid losing, and warned Eddie that he'd better lose, or Eddie's life would be in jeopardy. But Betty and Jane go to Eddie and pled to do something to make the Kid win. Reluctantly, Eddie tells the Kid a change in strategy in his technique. He appears to anticipate Muhammad Ali's Rope-A-Dope technique, where he dances around his opponent, mostly keeping his distance. As I remember, Errol Flynn had also previously used this technique when boxing John L. Sullivan, in "Gentleman Jim". Eventually, this works, and McGraw is KOd.

Bogey is livid at the turn of events, and sneaks into the Kid's room. He sticks up Eddie and the Kid when they arrive. He delays shooting them until after some talk. In an awkward-looking shootout, Eddie somehow manages to pull out his gun and shout Bogey as Bogey shoots him, both mortally wounded. However, Eddie manages to wish the Kid and Marie well before dying. Before the fight, the Kid had promised Marie this was his last fight, win or lose. Thus, like Rocky Marciano, he retired undefeated.

Wayne Morris and Jane Bryan, as the final romantic pair, were in Warner films from 1936-40, when Jane decided to retire, get married and have a family, while Wayne joined the Navy as a flyer, and made quite a name for himself in the Pacific war. Shockingly, he died of a heart attack at 45.

This was redone, with the same title, in 1962, starring Elvis Presley. I haven't yet seen that, but most people seem to prefer the present version........Also, in 1941, the same basic formula was used, except it was a story about a circus, in "The Wagons roll at Night", starring Bogey in Eddie's role in the present film. Again, this hasn't been as popular as the present film. How could it be, without Eddie?..... You can see the present film for free at YouTube.

Clearly, the structure of the screenplay mimics that of the prior "Kid Galahad", with the exception that it's the story of the unlikely accent of a young man to become the lion tamer of a traveling circus/carnival, instead of his ascent to become a world champion boxer. However, interestingly, both were based on the 1936 novel by Francis Wallace, which was about a circus. Clearly, "Kid Galahad" has been more popular with IMDB voters. I have yet to see it.

Bogart plays Nick: the owner of a struggling traveling circus/carnival. Sylvia Sydney is especially beautiful as Nick's fortune teller and girlfriend, Flo. Although they are the nominal leads, actually the film is mostly about the unexpected growth of Eddie Albert's character, Matt, from backup to the regular lion tamer for the circus, and his unexpected meeting with Nick's much younger sister Mary(16yo Joan Leslie) and their whirlwind romance, to Nick's disapproval. Nick doesn't want Mary to mix with his circus people, whom he considers her social inferiors. He has paid for her education at a convent, and expects her to marry an important man. Regardless, behind his back, Matt continues to see Mary.

Nick is so determined to squash this romance, that he schemes to put Matt in a performance cage with just increasingly ill-tempered biggest lion: Caesar, hoping Caesar will tear him apart. He is given a whip and chair to defend against Caesar. Nick also gives him a pistol supposedly loaded with blanks, but actually, empty, as a last resort, to scare Caesar away. Unexpectedly, Flo and Mary arrive as Matt is performing. They see that he is having difficulty, shooting his gun, but with no sound. Mary begs Nick to do something to protect Matt. I won't divulge the happenings of the following film climax.

This film followed closely on the heels of Bogey's acclaimed performance in "High Sierra". Joan Leslie was one of his girlfriends in that film, whereas she even more incongruously plays his 25 years younger sister here! Oh well, not quite as bad as "Royal Wedding", where Fred Astaire and Jane Powell, 35 years apart in age, play brother and sister!

Although Bogey apparently didn't think much of the film, I enjoyed its relatively simple story, and always enjoy seeing the beautiful Sylvia Sydney. See it for free at You Tube.

Nice little waterfront gangster drama, based upon a stage production. See it for free at YouTube. Ida Lupino and John Garfield return from their previous film : "The Sea Wolf", to costar, although I'll bet bespeckled Thomas Mitchell, as Jonah : Ida's father and small-time fisherman, has the most screen time, and feels like the main character. Jonah is mostly found with his immigrant friend, Olga(John Qualen).

Garfield, as small time extortionist Gott, plays presumably his most dislikable character ever, so full of himself, he's hardly believable. Goff tries to pick up the beautiful Ida as soon as he lays eyes on her. Initially, she brushes him off, but persistence pays off for him, as eventually she succumbs to his constant bravado.

Jonah knows he has to get rid of Goff quickly, or his daughter will end up a gangster's moll, and he won't be able to support himself and wife with Goff demanding weekly payments. Thus, he tries to have Goff arrested for demanding protection money. But, Goff has an answer for the judge. Then, Jonah has a plan to lure Goff into taking a ride in his small fishing boat to get to Ida, so that they can take a trip to Cuba. The plan is for Olga to club Goff and push him out of the boat while he's distracted watching Jonah trying to 'fix' the motor. But, the timid Olga loses his nerve, and Goff sees what he's up to. Nevertheless......

In connection with my review title, we now see that salesman George Raft is holding a tennis racket, which is the sort of racket he's talking about. Surprise!

This was the 2nd of 3 pairings of tough guy Raft and perennial tough luck lady with those big soulful eyes: Sylvia Sydney. I enjoyed both of them in these crime-oriented films, Sylvia with her easy-going beauty, and Raft with his handsome stylishness and edginess. Unfortunately, in the late 30s, Raft killed his career as a notable leading man by rejecting a series of roles in pictures that turned out to be popular. His up and coming competitor for these types of roles: Humphrey Bogart, took them and finally became a star. Who's to choose between them? Both had their distinctive looks and natural charisma. Raft tipped his hat to the left, while Bogey tipped his to the right. Was Raft left-handed?

Raft and Sylvia are cast as employees of Morris((Harry Carey) department store. Kind-hearted Morris likes to give ex-cons and parolees a fighting chance to rehabilitate their lives honestly, thus he mixes them with those without a criminal record. His wife doesn't like this, saying "They were born that way", implying that they can't be rehabilitated. Raft is an ex-con, and Sylvia is an parolee. Initially, neither knows this. They are attracted to each other, and pretty soon they get a marriage certificate, although Sylvia knows it's illegal for a parolee to get married(at least, not without the permission of her parole officer).

Later, Sylvia gets in trouble with Raft because some of his ex-gang members tell him the truth about her. Later, she's in double trouble, because Raft surmises that she must have somehow learned about the plan by his old gang to rob the department store(Actually, she essentially guessed that is what one of the gang members was trying to tell her). She tells Morris, who is then waiting with armed guards when the gang breaks in. Morris promises them leniency if they will listen to a speech by Sylvia. Like a schoolmarm lecturing her unruly students, she tries to convince them that crime doesn't pay, financially as well as the added risk of being sent back to prison. She uses a convenient blackboard to detail her calculations of the various costs of a heist and their probable individual financial gains to prove her point. Afterward, Raft is not moved, so she flees home, where she packs her things to move elsewhere. Meanwhile, Raft has had a sudden change of heart(very unlikely) and buys her some perfume, then goes to their apartment. But, Sylvia already had left, leaving a goodbye note.

Raft somehow(?) learns who and where Sylvia's parole officer is, and explains his distress. The PO says he knows where she went, but promised not to tell. He also tells him that they aren't legally married, because she is still on parole. Also, she is pregnant........Raft gathers his buddies and tells them to spread out to find her. No luck for quite sometime(apparently quite a few months, although our impression is that it isn't that long), until Raft's friend Gimpy announces that he found her in the hospital, ready to deliver a baby. The gang rushes there, and finds that she has already delivered, and is fine. Raft and Silvia make up, and Silvia suggests they get married legally, since her probation period is over. The film ends with their marriage, the gang treating her like a queen.

It's a good story, by me, albeit with some faulty critical turning points or bazaar scenes. It illustrates the dangers of hiring known ex-cons or parolees, and the limited hope of reforming them, as a whole. Nonetheless, ex-cons need more people or governments like Morris to give them a chance to go straight.

When you think of MGM musicals released in 1951, you probably come up with the dance-oriented "An American in Paris" and "Royal Wedding", and the remake of Jerome Kern's celebrated "Showboat". The present film was yet another, albeit, strongly song-oriented, with minimal dancing. This is what Jane Powell did after her costarring role in "Royal Wedding", with Fred Astaire. By now, she was pregnant, hence, time was of the essence, before it began to show too much.

The overall plot rather reminds me of that of 1944's "The White Cliffs of Dover", in which an American takes his marriageable daughter on a trip to England. She promptly falls in love with a dashing aristocrat, they are married, and her father returns to America. Here, the same thing happens, except that its France, not England, and she marries a fellow singer, instead of an aristocrat.

This is the first of several romantic and singing pairings of Jane with rather reserved effete Vic Damone in MGM musicals. Both in their early 20s, they made a great singing couple. Italian-sourced New Yorker Vic plays a dyed-in-the-wool Parisian, while Jane's Liz character has grown up on a sprawling Texas ranch. How could their backgrounds be more different? But, besides their animal attraction, they have their singing in common. However, Vic absolutely refuses to move to a Texas ranch. Jane is OK to live in Paris, as long she can periodically visit Texas and her father. So, that's the plan at film's end.

Meanwhile, Jane's long-estranged Parisian mother, she has been told died when she was very young, pops up frequently in the form of famous Parisian professional singer and actress Danielle Derieux. She is paired romantically and professionally with handsome, debonair, Argentinian-native Fernando Lamas, they both being in their mid-thirties. Lamar gets to sing a bit, in duets with Danielle, and one solo. ........... The two other main characters are Wendell Corey: he with those penetrating blue eyes, who plays Jane's rancher father, and an unrecognizable Una Merkel, who plays their maid.

There is no lack of singing, throughout, with 5 of the 6 main characters participating. In addition, the Four Freshmen, dressed in baker's uniforms, accompanied by Jane and Vic, sing the novelty song "How D'ya like your Eggs in the Morning". Most of the singing is in the form of back and forth duets, with Danielle getting most of the solos. "Paris" is the theme song, being the first and last song sung. All the new musical compositions were done by the team of Nicholas Brodszky and Sammy Cahn. Brodszky was a mediocre tunesmith, but Sammy's lyrics generally dress them up to be acceptable. In addition, the standards "Deep in the Heart of Texas" and "Old Piano Roll Blues" are dueted.

Corey, as Jane's father, is all against her unexpected romance with Vic, not wanting another debacle like his own marriage to a Parisian. However, Danielle, as Maria, gradually warms up to the idea of their marriage, and finally convinces Corey that it's probably for the best, as long as they mainly live in Paris: not Texas. Afterall, when Jane finally learns that Danielle is her mother, she realizes that, genetically, she is half French.

To me, the screenplay's plot is clever, with just the right amount of tension and feel-good, and uncertainty about whether Jane and Vic are going to marry, with their blowup in the finale. .........As several others said, it provides a charming elegant 'minor-musical' experience, rather typical of Jane's musicals. Also, we get to experience several stars who very seldom were seen in Hollywood films. Besides, I can never get enough of Jane in her young prime, blossoming in the last years of the classic MGM musicals.

As usual, Sylvia Sydney, with those big soulful eyes, is either in prison, was in prison, is associated with a criminal, or is a desperately poor woman. Here, she begins as being released from prison, while her husband, Jim, remains in prison until he breaks out, in the last part of the film. The two were convicted of playing a 'badger' game, resulting in the suicide of the victim. If you don't know, a badger game involves enticing the victim into a compromising position, then blackmailing them with hush money. Mary was the apparently unenthusiastic bait in Jim's scheme. Hence, her prison time was less.

Leading man George Raft, as Harry, is her accidental benefactor, when she is released from prison, with nowhere to go. In the pouring rain, she hops in his taxi. Assuming she's probably a down and out streetwalker, Harry initially orders her out, then changes his mind, and offers her temporary shelter in his bachelor flat. They gradually learn to like, then, love, each other, but Mary((Molly, to Harry) still is married to Jim, and is afraid of adverse publicity, if she should initiate divorce. Harry gets her a job as a switchboard operator for the cab company he works for. But, eventually, she becomes dissatisfied with Harry's complacent attitude toward trying to get a more profitable job. Thus, she accuses the company boss of sexual harassment, and Harry comes to her aid. Hence, both are fired.

Harry does what Mary hoped: invests his savings in a vehicle repair shop. Eventually, they are living better, and Harry's ego inflates. One day, Muriel: a fancy-free single good-looking young woman from a wealthy family, takes a liking to Harry. They have a date. Soon, Harry tells the marriage-bound Mary that he's going to ask Muriel to marry him. Thus, she packs her things, ready to move. But Muriel just laughs at Harry, when he pops the question. She just wanted to have a good time with him.

Meanwhile, Mary's husband: Jim, has broken out of jail, killing a guard in the process. Now, he's really in trouble. He locates Mary and tries to reestablish a romantic relationship. But, Mary isn't interested. Besides, he finds out that she unilaterally annulled their marriage, possible when a felon is involved. Also, he says he's gunning for Harry. He tells her if she leaves him, he will tell the police that she helped him escape. Nonetheless, when she gets a chance, she phones the police. Soon, both are arrested.

Meanwhile, rebuffed by Muriel, Harry badly wants Mary back. Thus, he pours all his money and property into getting a good, but expensive, defense lawyer for her. The bazaar controversial trial probably is the highlight of the film. Hence, I will leave the details for you to see.

I should point out the strange masquerade party that Muriel organized, and invited Harry and Mary to. Most of the guests are dressed in white children's or baby clothes, and frolic, as in "A Midnight's Summer Dream". Muriel eventually has them play 'post-office'. Of course, she and Harry are the first couple, which Mary objects to, and announces she's leaving(with Harry). Presumably, the point of this scene is that this is the sort of foolishness the idle rich, including Muriel, engage in.

Presently, you can see this for free, at YouTube.

In the much later film "To Die For", starring Nicole Kidman, sarcasm and irony is heaped upon the obsession of some to be a media celebrity: in Nicole's case, to be a TV personality or movie star. Similarly, here, sarcasm and irony is heaped upon most women's never-ending insecurity over their perceived all-important looks. Even naturally good-looking women often seek to somehow correct real or imagined small flaws in their face or whole bodies. One such woman is Eve Caron(Genevieve Tobin). Cary Grant, as Dr. Lamar, runs a cosmetic surgery and fitness center in Paris. Although married, Eve keeps returning to the clinic for yet more treatments, partly because she's obsessed with Cary. Finally, he declares that she is his perfect creation, and bids her farewell. But, she's determined to marry him, after her husband, Marcel(E. E. Horton) divorces her for being too full of herself. He complains that he liked her previous self, not her present obsession on maintaining her enhanced looks. Now, every man will want to make love to her.

Well, the divorce happens, and despite Marcel's warnings, Cary is puddy in Eve's arms. Sure enough, their wedding night and whole honeymoon is a disaster! Eve refuses to accompany Cary in an ocean swim, because he had taught her than salt water ruins your looks. She ruins Cary's chance to be named the president of the cosmetic surgeon's society at a banquet, because she took hours to get herself ready, so that the banquet was over by the time they sauntered in. When it was time to consumate their wedding, Eve appears with her face smeared with cleansing cream, her hands covered with long gloves, and her head covered with a net. Cary is so repelled, he says goodbye. It's taken that he divorces her.

Meanwhile, Cary's faithful, but non-glamorous, secretary, Annie((Helen Mack) has had a crush on him for years. But he treats her like a kid sister. Finally, he invites her to spend an evening in his apartment, supposedly to work on a book he's writing. But, he makes several moves to suggest he actually has romance on his mind, including serenading her with "Love Divided by Two". But, then suddenly switches to talking about working on the book. How cruel! She's humiliated, and storms out, crying. During Cary's 'honeymoon', she establishes a romance with Marcel, whom she declares is lacking in excess vanity, and has curly hair, she likes to run her fingers through. She quits her job with Cary. Consequently, when Cary returns to his clinic, he finds that all is not well. For one thing, the Maharajah's harem of previously mostly plump middle-aged-looking women have been transformed into sleek beautiful young things, and have decided to abandon the middle-aged Maharajah for anticipated handsome young men. Annie announces she is going to marry Marcel, while Cary blurts out that, now, he loves her. "Sorry, too late, Buster". But, before she has a chance to tie the knot, she discovers that Marcel's 'naturally' curly hair is a toupee! Yes, he also has vanity about his looks, just as Cary has vanity about his skill in making women more beautiful. But, Cary has renounced his profession, realizing it's down side. He has lost his excess vanity, Hence, Annie is OK to forget his past ignoring of her, and gives him a passionate kiss to end the film.

The film mixes various types of humor: sophisticated farce, low farce, satire, irony, screwball romance, and, at the end, good old Mack Sennett-style slapstick, in a wild car chase, which was a great way to finish the film! In all, I think this is my favorite Cary Grant film! It also includes the 1934 Wampas baby stars, who make up the staff at Cary's clinic, among other things. Besides the two renditions of "Love, Divided by Two", Marcel and Annie sing the novelty song "Corned Beef and Cabbage", which is the humble fare that Annie ordered for them to eat. Funny, it reminds me of the novelty song "I Love Corny Music", in ""Broadway Melody".

In the 1959 musical "Li'l Abner", the opposite sarcasm is included: The boyfriends take Mammy's magical Yokumberry Tonic, which immediately makes them into self-absorbed statuesque musclemen. But, they've lost all interest in romance. Thus, their girlfriends want them back the way they were.

Presently, you can find this film in the Cary Grant Screen Legend Collection.

Surprise! This is now my favorite Cary Grant movie! Ditto for the then beautiful Sylvia Sidney! They certainly made a handsome/beautiful couple during their frequent associations in this film.

At only 74 minutes long, it qualifies as a programmer, rather than a full-fledged feature film. No matter. I still consider it a modestly funny farcical screwball romantic comedy. It's also one of those rare films where an actor(Sylvia, in this case) plays a character and their identical-looking 'twin'. Here, she plays the princess of a fictional European country: Taronia, as well as her incredibly look-alike American counterpart: Nancy, who is a starving struggling young actress. Thus, we have Princess vs. Pauper situation. This adds to the appeal of the film, as the pauper gets her chance to play the princess, when the latter immediately comes down with the mumps, upon her arrival in the US. Thus, the banker, played by Eddie Arnold, hires her to impersonate the princess, to promote floating a $50 million loan to improve the infrastructure of her tiny country.

Cary plays a newspaper editor, who initially is sarcastic about loaning this tiny country such a sum. However, when he meets the 'princess'(Nancy) at a social gathering, he's smitten by her beauty and graciousness. Hence, he takes every opportunity to squire her around town, and they even kiss. However, eventually, he hears rumors that the 'princess' is actually the lowly Nancy. When Cary finally meets the real princess, she points out that she doesn't want to give up her crown to marry him. She pleads that he , instead, marry Nancy, as she loves him, and she thinks that he loves her. But, Cary is still peeved that Nancy duped him, thus initially isn't impressed with that idea, and walks out upset. But, he soon reconsiders and decides to visit Nancy at her home to talk things over. - Fireworks to end the film!!

Vince Barnett was a famous vaudevillian and film comedian and trickster. He adds occasional humor in playing the princess's unwanted dopey aristocratic fiancé : Count Nicholaus. His ears stuck out pretty far, enhancing his impression of looking dopey. Nancy wants to get rid of him in favor of Cary,

Despite the implausibility of the plot's premise, it's an entertaining experience! Presently, you can find it in the Cary Grant screen legend collection.

If your little ones have seen "The Wizard of Oz" too many times, you might introduce them to this alternative magical adventure, featuring two much younger twin girls as the main characters. Of course, this '93 made-for-TV production isn't nearly as polished as "The Wizard..." Nonetheless, many magical things happen, to perhaps even keep adults entertained. I can't believe the abysmally low mean rating here at IMDB, and neither can most of the few other reviewers!! Also, I doubt if it's as scary to kids as the "The Wizard...." I was scared out of my wits when I first saw "The Wizard....." in a dark theater, at perhaps age 5. My friend went screaming out of the theater when he saw the abducting flying monkeys!.... I just wish this film had been made two years later, as in "It Takes Two", when the twins were about 8, so that their speech would have been more understandable, and their partnership with various men would have been a bit more believable and less cringeworthy.

The twins run away from their parents, and eventually meet up with and travel with 3 odd men, one, two or three at a time, although not nearly as odd as the 3 'men' Dorothy traveled with in "The Wizard......". Mr. N is a well-spoken homeless black man, who sort of reminds me of Uncle Remis, in "Song of the South" back in the '40s. Oscar the clown is a 'little person', the same height as the girls, perhaps reminding us of The Munchkins in "The Wizard....." He lives in a house with very low ceilings and gives them a magic wand to enhance their apparent twin-derived magic powers. The skinny very neurotic Gravedigger, very afraid of their miserly witch-like Aunt Agatha, sometimes joins and helps the twins.

The twins are on a mission to try to steal Agatha's flashing Magic Moonstone she keeps on a necklace, so that they can release Agatha's generous twin sister from her imprisonment in Agatha's magic mirror, so that she can hopefully loan their parents the money they need to avoid foreclosure on their house.

It's confusing that Agatha craves the Magic Moonstone, yet clearly has magical properties without it. It seems to enhance her magical abilities, as it does the girl's lesser such abilities...........Like the wicked witch in "The Wizard.....", evil Aunt Agatha vanishes at the end, being trapped in her broken mirror, where she had previously banished her twin. Bizarrely, after the girls no longer need the Magic Moonstone, it develops a leak, and deflates! Moonstones, of course, are actually a semi-precious stone, which have sometimes been credited with healing properties.

Not necessarily just for small kids, as some claim! Especially good for those who are allergic to old B&W films, as most present-day kids and even adults are!

Unlike many reviewers, I can't compare this film with the '94 revival film, which generally gets higher ratings, as I haven't seen it.. Both films derive most of their skits from the original "Our Gang" shorts, later recycled on TV, usually, as "The Little Rascals". I noticed that the '94 film had two kid characters not present in this film: 'Froggy', and Jane, the latter have been present in just a few films after the demise of Dorothy Deborba, but before the beginning of Darla Hood, as the gang's leading lady sweetheart. Froggy was a nerdy character who didn't start the series until 1940, remaining until the series' demise. Mary Ann, who quit the series in 1931, is included in both films. She is characterized as a tomboy member of the gang. Not cute enough to quality as a leading lady sweetheart of the gang, she is contrasted with non-tomboy, girly, Darla, as the gang's semi-gang member sweetheart, mostly going back and forth between Alfalfa and sneaky, rich, Waldo: the gang's chief nemesis in this film. Strangely, in this film, Mary Ann is played by a Latino, who looks nothing like the original actress. Spanky reiterates the gang pledge that no girl was allowed in the gang. Someone points out that Marry Ann is a girl. "I mean, a real girl",i.e. Not a tomboy, he retorts. Mary Ann takes exception to this pronouncement. "Ok, Ok, You're a real girl" Spanky reluctantly admits......... A main reason I chose this film over the '94 film was the fact that Eden Wood, after having her normally blond hair dyed black, looked remarkably like the the original Darla Hood, whereas the actress in the '94 film doesn't look near as much like the original......... The kids playing Spanky, Alfalfa, and Porkey looked reasonably like the originals. Also, African American kids Stymie and Buckwheat were recognizable: the former with his Oliver Hardy-like derby hat, the latter with his long wild afro-like hair. Doris Roberts was great as grandma, and Valerie Azlynn as Miss Crabtree(June Bug, as called by her boyfriend, who periodically is hurt by a gang member, for comedic effect).

The overall theme of the film is for the gang to try to make money to help pay off Grandma's mortgage back payments, so she won't lose her long-established bakery to the bank, or have to sell it to rich kid Waldo's father, to turn it into a mall.

An early scene has the kids trying to make a 'velvet' birthday cake for a customer, while Grandma is at the bank. Of course, it nearly wrecks the oven, which rocks around, and explodes all over the bakery. After failing at various hired jobs, they decide to try to establish their own business. First, they devise a semi-automatic pet washing and grooming business, with a Rube Goldberg-like setup. But, eventually, Spanky mistakes a bottle of green dye for shampoo, causing the pets to come out green! So much for that business! ..........Next, they somehow put together a 'taxi', with gang mascot, Petey, on a treadmill, serving at the 'motor'. But, Waldo, not wanting them to succeed, sneakily, cut the wires to their brake. Hence, the taxi crashes at the bottom of a steep hill, after a wild ride.

Spanky's next idea is to stage a wrestling match between tall Alfalfa, and short Porky: posing as 'The Masked Marvel', with the assumption that Alfalfa will win. But, Waldo again foils the plan, by tying up and gaging Porky, and dressing the much taller bully ally Butch as the Marked Marvel. Well, you can imagine what happens!.

Spanky's final idea is to stage a kid's talent contest in a sizable auditorium. It looks like Waldo plus Darla will probably walk off with first prize, but he tries a dirty trick and Darla thwarts him, and abandons him for the gang. Remarkably, after a shaky start, Alfalfa's singing becomes quite melodious, and Darla eventually joins him, for a win.

Basically, a bunch of failed romances or marriages by a perennial over-sexed adolescent, played by Jack Nicholson and a romantic-minded, but shy and less than exciting, lover, played by Art Garfunkel, who maintain an unlikely close friendship beginning in college, into middle-age, which is as far as the film takes their relationship. I suspect the shock value of the sex and nudity scenes strongly contributed to its initial popularity.

After going through a number of flirtations, and one marriage each, at middle age, Jack has hired a prostitute(played by a less than exciting Rita Moreno) whom he evidently hopes will rejuvenate his flagging libido. Meanwhile, Art is dating an 18 year old, presumably for the same reason. Rita just delivers a hopeful monologue to Jack to end the film. We are left with no indication of how Art's last relationship works out.

The prior sexual fling between Jack and Art's girl, Susan, played by Candice Bergan, makes no logical sense. Jack initially rejected her, saying "Her tits are too small" and he says big tits are the most important criterion for his ideal lover. The physicality of a women is mostly what attracts him. But, Susan is a shy intellectual, pre-law student: ideal for Art, not Jack. Nonetheless, Jack succeeds in debasing her conservative nature, making love with her. They then soon breakup, and Art eventually marries her. But, after a few years, this marriage ends, apparently because, although caring, Art lacks sufficient passion as a lover. He then has an unsatisfactory dalliance with a Cindy(Cynthia O'Neal), in which Jack again tries to butt in, before Art turns to the 18yo.

However, the 'meat' of the film concerns Jack's romance with Bobbie(Ann-Margret), whose tits are big enough to turn him on. At first, they get along well, and we get a couple of frontal or side views of her breasts, and a couple of side views of her stark naked. But, then Jack asks her to quit her job. Then, she feels bored and unfulfilled without a child. But, Jack nixes marriage(no problem in today's world). Eventually, Bobbie goes crazy with boredom, mostly sleeping, and neglecting housework. Eventually, they have a big blow up, and say it's time to break up. Bobbie then tries to poison herself. We don't see anymore of Bobbie. However, during Jack's slide show of his history of girlfriends, or sexual conquests, he mentions that he and Bobbie got married, had a child, but eventually divorced. Evidently, Bobbie's nearly fatal suicide attempt worked to galvanize Jack to marry her and have a kid.

Thank god my romantic relationships with women has played nothing like those of these 2 losers. So far, I've stuck with one woman for 34 years, and don't regret it.

How ironic that the very day I watch this comedy was the day that costar Stella Stevens passed away, after some years suffering from Alzheimer's. Also ironic that Stella died just 2 days after the passing of her slightly younger sister Hollywood 'sexpot' of the '60s: Rachel Welsh.

Based upon the serialized novel "Company of Cowards". It was deemed advisable to think up an alternative title for the film. However, the catchy theme song played during the opening and closing credits was titled "Company of Cowards".

A ton of slapstick. Maybe too much for you? But, if you're OK with that type of humor, you'll probably like this film. Mixed in with the buffoonery is a difficult would-be romance between Stella's Confederate spy character and Glen Ford's Union Lt. Character. She's mostly reluctant, and he's understandably persistent. I've read that, off-stage, she was more willing. Neither was married at the time, both being divorcees, and Ford had a deserved reputation as a regular Casanova.

James Griffith plays his usual villainous role, as Hugo Zattig: the leader of a bunch of bandits on the Montana plains(presumably) who claim to be pro-Confederate, but are actually more pro-themselves, as things turn out, when it comes to stealing a wagon of gold from Union forces.

Melvyn Douglas plays the demoted captain and Ford plays the demoted Lt. Of their company of hand-picked misfits and screwups, denoted as Company Q. Well recognized character actor Alan Hale, Jr. Plays the sergeant of the company. Company Q is sent from the eastern war theater to the far western plains, where hopefully they won't cause mischief. Meanwhile, Stella's character: Martha, is sent by a Confederate General to find out what this company of hand-picked men is up to. They meet when Company Q boards a river steamer, presumably to ascent the Missouri River as far as it can take them: to Sioux Landing.(Historically, this would be Fort Benton, in mid-north Montana). She is pretending to be one of the gang of prostitutes led by 'Easy Jenny'(Joan Blondell), who also board the boat. But, eventually, Ford, as Lt. Heath, learns from Jenny that Martha isn't one of her girls, and rumor has it that she's actually a Confederate spy, which she initially denies, but eventually admits to. Nonetheless, Heath starts talking about marriage. Meanwhile, Martha has somehow learned about a big gold shipment from the west, and sends a messenger to tell her presumed allies farther west: Zattig, and Sioux chief Thin Elk, about the gold shipment. Historically, this gold is probably being sent from the gold fields around the boomtown of Virginia City(not to be confused with Virginia City, NV) near present Yellowstone National Park, which was experiencing it's bonanza days during the Civil War, and was infested by many southern draft dodgers and highwaymen. Eventually, Zattig's bunch, Company Q, and Martha would fight each other over the gold : the Confederacy be damned.

The film definitely gets more interesting as it goes along, although I have no idea of the meaning of the very last scene. .........Jesse Pearson stands out as the Cpl. Who apparently smells like a horse to horses, causing then to follow him. Andrew Pine could be called Pvt. Hiccup, as he has a permanent case .............. Chief Thin Elk recognizes the Captain as a fellow West Point graduate of 1837. Surprisingly, the first Native American to graduate from West Point happened in 1822. He was from the aristocratic Creek clan, and was also the first West Point graduate from Alabama.

Some think this film was the inspiration for the comical TV series F Troop, which suspiciously began the year after this was released.

This was the 2nd of 3 films costarring Stella and Ford.

The prior 1956 Anthony Mann Civil War Western "The Last Frontier" also featured a company of mostly misfit soldiers led by a commander sent, as punishment, to the western frontier to confront Native Americans, for his disastrous command during a Civil War battle. However, unlike the present film, this was not a comedy. Rather, partly meant, to remember a disastrous historical cavalry defeat, at the hands of Native Americans.

Frank Sinatra plays a boring middle-aged family man and workaholic, who has forgotten how to be romantic with his wife of 19 years, played by striking redhead Deborah Kerr, who talks to her lawyer about the possibility of getting a divorce, on grounds of boredom. She claims that 95% of divorces happen due to boredom, whatever the official grounds may be. She also opinionates that marriage is a bad archaic institution that should be done away with, as promoting boredom. Frank tells swinging bachelor friend Dean Martin "I don't have to be romantic, I'm married", which backs up her thinking. Yet, near movie's end, she is shocked that her teen daughter, played by Nancy Sinatra, is planning on moving in with her boyfriend, exposing her basic conservative nature, and contradicting her former pronouncement.

Meanwhile, Frank's bachelor workmate and best friend, played by Dean, is enjoying playing the field in his plush bachelor's pad. This provides some relief during the middle of the film, when Frank and Deborah are having arguments, and Frank is being a couch potato bore, claiming he's too tired from work to do anything except watch TV and sleep. Also, we meet Jim, Nancy's boyfriend(Nancy was 25, playing a late teen). As a psychiatry student, he ventures some relevant psychological insights to the older generation.

It's only when Frank and Deborah are talked into taking a trip to Mexico to renew their wedding vows that the main comedy portion begins. Without going into details, things don't exactly go according to plans, partly because of the meddling of Cesar Romero's hyper character, who specializes in drawing up marriage certificates and divorce papers. And Dean supposedly ends up married to Deborah, in a farcical ceremony in Spanish they didn't realize was taking place until it was over! No ring and no kissing. Is Frank upset? No! He takes over Dean's bachelor pad and harem, while Dean tries to take his place as the head of his family, tending to take on Frank's undesirable traits, fighting with the kids. Deborah's Scottish mother, who plays the bagpipes when she feels like it, moves in with Frank. Of course, we 'know' that, before the film ends, things will get back to normal.

While Frank is enjoying being single, Nancy's 22yo blonde roommate meets Frank, and immediately likes him. Soon, she's talking marriage. Of course, 50yo Frank knows this is ridiculous, but plays along with it for a short while. NONETHELESS, only a year later, Frank married 21yo Mia Farrow - perhaps the dumbest thing he ever did!

Now, what about all those beautiful dames? Of course, Deborah wasn't bad looking, going with her aristocratic British bearing. Davey Davison, as Lisa, was a good looking blonde. We barely got a good look at Sigrid Valdis, but it was clear that she was a knockout blonde. But, the prize was 36yo blonde bombshell Joi Lansing, who was often compared with rather similar blondes Jane Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren, although she never achieved their level of fame. She was also a nightclub singer. Her sizable breasts were one of her notable assets, but eventually she developed cancer in one and it killed her at 43! She had 3 unsatisfactory marriages and numerous affairs, but in her last 4 years, she became a lesbian when she discovered 20yo actress Nancy Hunter, who wrote a book(available today) about their life together, called "Joi Lansing: a body to die for".

Incidentally, I calculated that 60% of the ratings by reviewers are below the median value of 6, which contrasts to only 38% of all raters. Thus, the reviews, as a whole, are skewed toward those who didn't like the film. For me, seeing Joi Lansing several times, sometimes in a bikini, was worth the price of admission!

Based upon the 1925 novel of same name, by British Somerset Maugham, which begins in England, before soon moving to Hong Kong, which is changed to Shanghai in the film, so that snippets of the 1925 political and economic unrest in China could be better portrayed.

At age 38, the still unmarried normally blonde Naomi Watts plays the also reluctant to marry 25yo Kitty: a striking-looking brunet British debutante, who has rejected many suitors, mostly arranged by her mother. But, suddenly, she feels uneasy about her unmarried status, as her younger sister is about to marry. A quiet charismaless bacteriologist/MD, Walter Fane, suddenly proposes marriage. She feels no immediate attraction to him, but is finally won over by his persistence, and the fact that he will soon be returning to China to continue his work on cholera, which will remove her far from her meddling mother. Walter sensed that she didn't love him, and that she was spoiled, superficial, and selfish. But, he was infatuated with her beauty and style. It obviously had the makings of an unsatisfactory marriage.

Once in Shanghai, Kitty soon met the handsome, charismatic, but married, British aristocrat Charles Townsend. It was love at first sight and, soon, they were having an affair. She was hoping Charles would divorce his wife and marry her, but, he refused to do so, as that would look bad for his station. As a result, she broke off the affair. Meanwhile, Walter had surmised what she had been up to, and gave her the choice of a messy divorce, or to accompany him to a cholera-infested area in distant Guangxi province. To her, these were equally bad choices, but, finally, she agreed to go with her now aloof husband. A bad marriage had been made worse! I will stop my partial summary here, except to mention that, in about a month, Kitty realizes that she is 2 months pregnant, meaning that either Walter or Charles, but more likely the latter, could be the father.

Kitty's very brief reconnection with Charles Townsend, on an unlikely London street, differs from her reconnection with him in the book, presumably so as to include Kitty's ironic answer to her 5yo son's question of who is that man she had talked to, and then left. I will let you discover her response, which ends the film. In the book, she accompanies her father to his assignment in the British Bahamas, he serving as the male head of household.

Most of the beautiful cinematography actually took place in the geologically spectacular-looking limestone karst region of Guangxi province, in southeastern China.

About this time, Naomi Watts began a long romantic relationship with Liev Schreiber who played Charlie Townsend. True to the film, she soon bore him 2 sons, although, at 53, she still has never married.

I should point out that, in a sense, this is a color remake of the 1934 film of the same title, which I haven't seen. In it, Greta Garbo took Naomi Watt's role. According to several reviewers, that film was more of a vehicle to showcase Greta, being much less faithful to the book than the present film.

I think of this as the twin film of the much better remembered story of "The Bounty". They both involve British subjects, and occurred at nearly the same time, in the late 18th century. Both included a very unlikely successful very long oceanic voyage in a small boat over a virtually unexplored part of the western Pacific, and both voyages terminated at the Dutch colony of Timor, at the extreme eastern edge of the Dutch East Indies. Both appeal to the romantic sensibility in us, although parts of this film are much grittier, and mostly involves sport with grimy disheveled rags-adorned low class British women rather than with bare-breasted well-washed hula-dancing Tahitian girls. It follows the misadventures of an illiterate young woman prisoner from a Cornwall fishing family who, against all odds, survives a harrowing adventure from one end of the earth to the other, and back again. It is mostly a story of much suffering, and very frequent near starvation, beginning with Mary's Cornwall fishing village, where the usual schools of fish failed to appear at their usual time for 2 years running, leading her to steal to avoid starvation.

We learn about the unjustified severe punishments for even minor thefts, the terrible conditions, especially for women, in British prisons, and the even worse conditions, again especially for women, in the hulls of the prisoner ships during the long voyage from Britain to the east coast of Australia. We learn that the British aristocrat, Lord Sydney, had decided on the recently superficially explored continent of Australia, as the new place to ship Britain's surplus of petty criminals, now that Britain had recently lost the American colonies as a convenient place to ship them. We learn about the very tentative state of the first European colony in Australia, at Botany Bay, near present Sydney. Perhaps the soil was naturally low in fertility, or too acidic, or they didn't bring enough livestock to provide enough manure, or the climate wasn't right. Whatever the cause, the crops they planted failed to flourish the first few years, threatening the colony with extinction from starvation. Mary's new husband, Mike, was the only skilled fisherman, hence was prized by the colony. But, eventually, the governor revoked his special status in keeping a share of the fish. Hence, he and Mary were afraid they too would starve. Thus, they, along with a few others, schemed to steal the governor's cutter, reckoned to be the only ocean-worthy craft available, and sail north up the coast, toward the Dutch East Indies. Incredibly, they succeeded at this heist, along with the necessary food stores and equipment to make such a voyage a credible success. As we learn, this was no cake walk voyage, again, with frequent near starvation, occasional enemies on shore, the treacherous Great Barrier Reef to maneuver through, and the merciless sun beating down on them. Fortunately, they were well received in Timor, as supposed survivors of a shipwreck. This is the most pleasant part of the film. But, eventually, a British ship from Australia discovers them, they are captured, and imprisoned on the ship, which sails back to England. During the voyage, Mary loses her husband(actually, murdered in Timor, in the film) and 2 young children to ship-born diseases. Thus, ironically, she has lost all dear to her, as a result of her flight from the starving Australian colony. Once she arrives in England, she is subjected to another trial. I won't tell you the result.

Mary's long on and off hidden romantic association with Lt. Clarke is the most important totally fictionalized aspect of the film. This adds to the drama and supposedly largely explains how she managed to survive and obtain some of the necessary things for their sea adventure, as well as the disruption of their life in Timor, and return to England.

In addition to several web documentary treatments of Mary's life, Australian Meg Keneally rather recently published s novel, based upon Mary's life, entitled "Fled". It was published well after the film was released, hence there is no obvious direct connection between the two. I haven't yet read the book, thus cannot comment on a comparison. Meg gives Mary another name, to emphasize the fictional aspects of her character.

The film is a fusion of the two part Australian TV series. It was very well financed, and totals 3 hours long. Part l takes us up to the stealing of the governor's cutter. The film is rated as R for the frequent distressing scenes, bloody flogging of a woman, implied sex, brief partial nudity, mass rape scene, and a hanging. If you don't think you can stomach such, perhaps you should give this film a pass. The DVD is currently readily available at a reasonable price. As well, a prime video is available.

One of Glenn Ford's lesser-remembered films. Soon, recent Harvard medical school graduate and aspiring surgeon Dr. Mike Corday has an unexpected central dilemma. He has fallen in love with one of his patients(played by Janet Leigh), or has he? Initially, he pitied her because of her impoverished background, and not having any visitors during her long hospital stay. This was quite unusual for him, as normally he treated his patients quite formally and briskly, as his chief surgeon father( the charismatic Charles Colburn) had instructed him to do. He began bringing her extra food, as she needed to build up her strength before her lung operation. Gradually, he realized that he was falling in love with her. After all, she wasn't a bad-looking woman. His attention to her had caught the eye of the hospital staff, including his father, who had warned him that the next few years was the time to gain experience toward becoming a world-class surgeon, not a time to be dallying with women. He suspected that this was just a passing infatuation, and warned Dr. Mike that if he persisted in marrying this classless girl, from the other side of the tracks, he could expect no further help from him in furthering his career. What was Dr. Mike to do? Was he very sure he wanted this girl, whom he had limited knowledge about, for his wife? Was he sure his attraction wasn't just pity. Was she worth giving up his potential career as a surgeon for? After much soul-searching, he decided to take a chance on her, even though she wasn't sure it was a good idea. However, his enthusiastic marriage proposal won her over. His idea is that he will change careers to become a lowly GP. In the future, instead of following his father's advice to remain aloof from his patients, he vows to become their friend as well as doctor, treating the whole person, instead of just their immediate medical problem. Taffy, as he calls his wife, because she used to work in a candy store, finds an ideal building for his office, and soon busies herself learning to be his secretary, greeter, and nurse.

That's the gist of the film. Gloria DeHaven has a secondary role as Dr. Mike's rebellious younger sister, who has moved to Greenwich Village to escape her overbearing father. Unfortunately, she gets into an affair with a married man, who impregnates her, then abandons her. She's afraid to tell her father or Dr. Mike. Eventually, she has a botched abortion, and dies. This tragedy brings father and son back closer to each other.

The story of Dr. Mike and Taffy much reminds me of the more recent story of of Prince Harry and his surprise wife, in Megan: a biracial American : hardly what the British royals were hoping for. It also reminds me of my own story. I had a doctorate in biology when I chanced upon a girl from quite a different culture: a member of an impoverished family, who was afraid of marrying within her own culture. She soon came to trust me as a potential husband. She was pretty, and had a good personality, and wanted to move to the US. So, I decided to take a chance. In the US, she took classes to qualify as a surgical tech. She soon became a favorite of the surgeons for her attention to detail, work ethic, and pleasant personality. Yes, my big gamble has worked out great!