Reviews

Anyone who has rose colored glasses on about the days of Classic Hollywood will find their lenses crack if they watch this film. It tells the (often ugly) truth about show business and how ruthless it can be, how many bad choices are made by people who really want to be good but just can't seem to do it, how shallow it all is, and how deceived se can be by the idea of fame and fortune, when the price you pay comes way too high.

Jack Palance did an excellent job here, though I think John Garfield (who played the role on Broadway), had he lived, would have gotten the part and brought a b it more edge to it. Ida Lupino was her usual superb self, and her last scene at the end gave me chills. Rod Steiger was a bit over-the-top for me, but still okay, and Shelley Winters made you feel sympathy for her character and all she went through.

Worth watching, but not if you're looking for light entertainment.

True, considering what a John Garfield fan I am, my opinion might be a little biased, but I really did like this movie, and think (despite how others may feel) that is indeed a film noir, one with a more upbeat (or hopeful) ending. It also makes quite a social statement, as it shows how, pushed to the limit by one thing or another, even a good, law-abiding citizen can turn to crime if they feel there's no other alternative.

John Garfield gives his usual stellar performance, and I liked Phyllis Thaxter a lot, as his adoring but strong wife, who you know could find a way to survive without him and take care of their kids but loves him too much to even go there in her thoughts.

Patricia Neal was good too as the sort of "other woman", though I don't think her role was really necessary.

Worth watching!

This is the kind of ghost story I like; it goes for subtlety, rather than hit you over the head with a lot of over-the-top special effects that get on my nerves. That's why such stories from this time period were, in my opinion, the best.

And all the famous faces! Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey and Donald Crisp are at their usual best, while Gail Russell does very well for her early film acting days. Miss Holloway is played by Cornelia Otis Skinner, who was also a famous author. If I'm not mistaken, her character bears a striking resemblance to the character of Mrs. Danvers in "Rebecca".

For anyone who loves a good ghost story without all the added nonsense, this is one for you.

I don 't care how corny my title sounds; this was the best "ghost story" I ever saw! Kevin Costner was terrific, and so was every minute of this movie where past meets present, reality takes on a whole new meaning, and dreams really can come true.

I love the baseball history that's thrown in, as Shoeless Joe Jackson makes his appearance, and who cares about that old "Black Sox" scandal, when you get to know the person, and forget the hype.

Everyone, whether they'll admit it or not, needs to hold onto their dreams, believe in them, know in their heart that there's something more than just life as we know it, and - most of all - that the people you love and who love you never die.

If you love baseball, as well as stories with a fantasy theme, then this is for you!

This is a film you'll never be able to forget, as it makes you feel the impact of war, and what it does to civilians, especially - in this case - the two women of the title, Sophia Loren and Eleanora Brown. Mother and daughter, alone and having to make their way in an Italy that has turned hostile in wartime. Many location scenes, and the cinematography makes you feel the full impact of isolation and despair.

Sophia Loren earned the Oscar she won for her spectacular performance; she can put so much feeling and emotion into her scenes without ever becoming melodramatic or overdoing it. The other "woman" in the story, Eleanora Brown gives a performance beyond her young years, going through something so horrible that can destroy you, scar you, and change you forever. She had aspirations to become a nun, but then seems headed in the opposite direction.

Sophia's character wanted to protect her daughter from the horrors of war, by returning to her home town. But Thomas Wolfe did say, you can't go home again.

While I can't say it didn't have flaws, the movie turned out to be a pretty good story, considering that I was expecting slapstick and almost didn't watch it. I'm glad I decided to check it out because, while at first, I didn't think I was going to like the character, King Ralph sure grew on me pretty fast! John Goodman (to make a corny pun) was a really good man in this role of a Vegas performer turned monarch, a fish out of water who soon learns to swim in his adopted country and take his role of King more seriously than expected. He also finds true love along the way, though this romance does have its share of rocky roads. Camille Coduri does a good job as Miranda, and it's always nice to see familiar faces, like Peter O'Toole and John Hurt.

A good movie to watch when you want to unwind and just watch something fun.

I really liked this movie, a film noir that's suspenseful without being too dismal, where you can see light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how dark it gets. There was some humor in it too, as well as a growing romance between its stars, Ida Lupino and Howard Duff, which turned out to be a case of art imitating life.

Both Ida and Howard played their parts very well and didn't go over the top into melodrama. The same goes for the villain of the story, Stephan McNally, who sure got the ending he deserved!

One thing's for certain: the words "You can't go wrong with Made Right" won't be quickly forgotten!

Congratulations to whoever decided to drop the Hallmark Christmas movie formula (aka "Same Old Thing", yawn yawn) and come up with something new and different, yet reminiscent of holiday movies from the Classic Hollywood era. I could almost picture Barbara Stanwyck and Cary Grant starring in this one.

However, I was just as happy with the performances of Bethany Joy Lenz and Kristoffer Pulaha, the star-crossed (or rather, time-crossed) lovers, brought together by a magic hourglass and needing some Christmas magic to give them a "happily ever after", and a belief that true love knows no bounds, and that includes both time and death.

Skip the others, but don't miss this one!

I had never heard of this movie before, and I'm glad I checked it out. As a native New Yorker, I love seeing the location shots from the early 60's around East Harlem, Central Park and other places. Some changes since then, but some things are the same.

The same can be said for the theme of the movie, the sad reality of drug addiction. Some things never change, though opioids are now the fashion, rather than main lining heroine. Either way, it's just as pathetic.

Both Steve Lansing and Douglas Rogers do good acting jobs as police officers who go after the pusher that's supplying young people, including Laura (Kathy Carlyle), the daughter of one and fiancée of the other.

Ms. Carlyle gives a powerful performance as she goes through the stages of withdrawal, you really feel her suffering, as she's desperate for another fix of what she started taking as "headache medicine", or so she was told.

Felice Orlando is another good actor, as the evil but charming pusher, and Sara Ammon is also very good as Maria, the nightclub dancer/junkie who falls under his spell and helps cause her kid brother's death.

There are some exciting scenes involving Lansing and Rogers, who go after Orlando, risking their lives more than once.

As so often happens, there are familiar faces from TV: John Astin (in his first film role, pre "Addams Family') and David Ford, who fans of "Dark Shadows" will recognize as Sam Evans.

Worth watching.

This was a good story, but also a sad one, as it was Mario Lanza's last film, and hearing that wonderful voice, and knowing that soon it would be silenced (at least here on Earth) makes you want to cry, while smiling at the simple love story that's a backdrop for all the scenes and songs from famous operas.

Johanna von Koczian was sweet as the deaf young woman who falls for the opera star but won't marry him until she can hear him sing. Zsa Zsa Gabor plays the kind of role she's famous for, yet here she has a heart of gold behind all that glitter and glamour. The movie's filmed on Capri, with all its breathtaking scenery, and there are funny moments along with the poignant ones.

If for nothing else, it's worth watching to hear Mario sing (especially "Come Prima"!) So check it out!

Since I'm no ballet fan (why spend so much time learning to stand on tippy toe???), maybe I shouldn't judge, but the story just got on my nerves after a time. Loretta Young's usually stellar performance seemed a bit forced to me, as if she weren't sure she should have accepted the part, and the whole plot of older mentor/younger protege with the old guy getting the hots for the young girl just seems too "yuck" to me! Conrad Veldt gave a good performance in that role, however, and Shepherd Strudwick was equally good as the lovesick fool who can't forget her, no matter how many times she rejects him, both for her career and other men.

Really not worth it.

This was a pretty good movie, and I'm sorry Joey Heatherton didn't make more films, as she showed a lot of promise. This was the kind of movie where it's so easy to overact and go in for the melodrama, and she never lapsed into that.

Troy Donahue was his usual appealing self, with his understated, lowkey style, and I think it fit well in this story. (A friend of mine used to joke about anyone without a personality having gone to the "Troy Donahue School of Acting", but his style still brought him success!)

There are other familiar faces: Jeanette Nolan, Barry Sullivan, and anyone who's a fan of soap operas will recognize a young John McCook!

The movie combines suspense, the supernatural, dark family history, romance and the lure of the "bad boy", while the "nice guy" finishes last. Entertaining all the way!

I don't care how corny my review title is, that's the way I feel! It was different than the average drama/romance, with its "story within a story", as Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons play dual roles, modern day Anna and Mike, acting in a film about Sara and Charles, lovers in the Victorian era, whose story is told through their acting scenes. Based on the book of the same title, the present-day storyline is uniquely its own, and the two tales of star-crossed lovers blend perfectly.

It's interesting how, with the theme of infidelity that runs through them both, the Victorian couple, with convention and societal expectations weighing them down, manage to break free, whereas the modern couple, in a time where moral scruples have less meaning, seem more conventionally bound.

Both Meryl and Jeremy give stellar performances, but then again, when do they not???

This is, in my opinion, one of the best Sherlock Holmes movies ever, and perhaps the best one with a Jack the Ripper theme! John Neville was superb as the great detective, and Donald Houston made an equally great Dr. Watson! We're also treated to a few songs by the incomparable Georgia Brown, who could really belt them out (perhaps a previous life in Victorian London?), a subtle but powerful performance by Anthony Quayle, and a young Judi Dench, whose role was minor but still showed her acting skills and commanding presence. And let's not forget Robert Morley, who played Holmes's brother, Mycroft!

And in case one of the Ripper's unfortunate victims looks familiar, it's because in the future, Barbara Windsor will be Peggy Mitchell on "Eastenders"!

Need I say more? With a cast this loaded with talent, of course this movie was terrific!

If you haven't seen it yet, do so!!

I'll have to say, it held my interest for a bit, but then got on my nerves. I would have liked to see more of Christopher Lee, who always gives a good performance, no matter how good or bad the movie is. And I resented the fate of Nan Barlow, and that of her boyfriend. Both characters deserved better, especially when you think of the fantastic book she could have written, and how he used the last of his strength to lift that heavy graveyard cross and set the demons on fire!

After a time, all the satanic black capes and hoods, the evil chanting, the obligatory sacrifices, the foggy cemeteries, etc. Tend to be redundant.

Enough said.

If someone asked me about this movie, I think the first thing I'd say would be, "It's about a divorced woman who goes on a blind date with her dad!" while other people might have thought that whole bit was funny, it gave me a creep vibe. (Then again, there's something about Christopher Plummer that always creeped me out; I don't know what Julie Andrews saw in him!)

Be that as it may, the only things I liked about this movie was the rather low-key performance given by both Diane Lane and John Cusack. They didn't go over-the-top or overact, and made their characters seem more real.

But I couldn't help feeling that, rather than finding that special connection, Diane settled for John, because Dermot Mulrooney wasn't the type of person who she thought he was. Had he been, she wouldn't have given John another thought.

Only watch if you have nothing else to do. (Even then, try a good book, instead.)

This excellently acted movie (when do Barbra Streisand or Robert Redford ever give a lousy performance?) could be a history lesson of the Mccarthy Era, but also a life lesson on just how foolish that saying "opposites attract" really is! Even if it should start out that way, it'll finish very different, which is what happens here. Hubbell and Katie never should have gotten together, at least seriously. This was a case where they should have gone their separate ways before getting too involved, which Hubbell had the common sense to know, but then foolishly let Katie convince him they could make it work.

They couldn't!

There's also that questionable sex scene, where Katie gets into bed with an intoxicated Hubbell and lets nature take its course. Since she was sober and he wasn't, was it rape? He reached out for her, didn't try to push her away at any time, and didn't call her by another woman's name, (had he done so, and she pretended to be that woman, then it definitely could be considered rape) and the audience knows that Katie loves him desperately, so how can this be viewed?

She was wrong, misguided, acting on emotions rather than common sense, but I have trouble - though I don't approve of her actions - calling her a rapist. That being said, I'd have to say the same if it had been reversed, and it had been a sober Hubbell and a drunk Katie. So it kind of remains ambiguous.

Still, they fact remains, these two never should have gotten married, let alone had a child together, and could have saved themselves a lot of trouble and unhappiness if they had ended things before they began.

No sentimental tears for me, and coming from someone who's a hopeless romantic, that says a lot!

This wasn't a bad film, another take on those horny Roman guys and the Sabine women they kidnap. (I often wonder what really happened back then, as you get myths, stories, songs by Howard keel, etc. But you'll never know unless you time travel.)

It was nice to see Roger Moore in his pre-Bond days (was this pre-Saint, too?) he made a good Romulus, though a bit on the fickle side, and a bit tactless when he told his soon-to-be-discarded girlfriend "I no longer want you." (That's right Rom, break it to her gently!) Just his luck, his second love is a dedicated vestal virgin, torn between her love for him and duty to her vows.

There was some action as well as comedy, and I like the way the kidnapped ladies remained independent and feisty, rejecting Romulus's plan to have a lottery to assign partners, no way! These ladies were choosing their own husbands! Just because they were kidnapped, didn't mean they'd be bossed around!

A fun movie !

I wasn't aware that Hammer made movies that didn't include vampires, werewolves, and other assorted monsters, and was surprised to find this gem while searching for something else, glad I did!

The B/W gave it the right atmosphere, as this was a different kind of horror film, mor like a thriller film noir, and you're made to wonder if the young heroine is really being menaced or is she succumbing to hereditary insanity. Soon enough, you get your answer!

I loved the way the tables were turned on the two villains, who both thought they were so clever and then found themselves outsmarted by those they thought they conned!

Worth watching!!

If you can overlook the ridiculousness of the whole thing, you can get a good laugh out of it. Nothing in this movie makes much sense, especially a young woman from Italy who can't speak any English marrying a stranger at a bachelor party where everyone was fall-down drunk and she thinks it's just wonderful!

Then again, she came out of a cake wearing a whipped cream bikini, and entertained at wild bachelor parties for a living, so landing a rich hubby, no matter how it happened, is a step up.

Virna Lisi is great in that role, and Jack Lemmon is his usual great-in-any-role self as her wealthy husband, mourning his carefree bachelor days (though not really), wishing he could be rid of his wife (though not really) and killing her off through his comic strip character, Bash Brannigan (yes, really), and subsequent events make it look like he did the deed really!

The courtroom scene's a riot, and the message may be a bit harsh, but considering how few people end up happily married, it does indeed make sense.

There's a lot of slapstick, the usual men vs. Women so prevalent in mid-60's comedies, and the kind of ending you'd expect from these types of films.

To be honest: if it wasn't for Virna and Jack, I wouldn't give it the time of day.

I'm willing to bet the movie "The Ballad of Josie" was inspired by this one, and it's yet another case of the first being the best.

This was a fun film, with Debbie Reynolds as a widow from the east who heads west (in the last days of that distinction, as it's 1912) to try and make a better life for herself and her two young children. She has quite a time (and a lot of hilarious moments) working as a ranch hand for Thelma Ritter, while attracting the attention of two very different men: saloon/gambling house owner Steve Forrest, a charming "bad boy" and ranch owner Andy Griffith, a "nice guy", though a bit too attached to his domineering mother (Blossom Rock, better known as "Mama," on "The Addams Family" and the sister of Jeanette MacDonald).

Debbie's also the only one in town brave enough to stand up to the corrupt sheriff (Ken Scott), a bit hard to believe with feisty Thelma around, and soon there's a petition circulated to oust him from his job. And guess who gets it???

That's where the flaws come in. While it's NOT TRUE that women couldn't sign petitions without the vote, that doesn't mean they'd want a woman as sheriff, unless she's lived out west all her life and had the right skills to qualify her, which Debbie did NOT. She proves this all too, soon, by using her badge to get the saloon shut down and Steve thrown in jail, out of spite for the way he tricked her into panning for gold so he could attempt to seduce her. Then, she gets kidnapped by the ousted sheriff, and that's where the silly brawls come in, as no comedy western can do without them, of course not!

That's what bugged me, there was more than one brawl incident, where windows are smashed, chairs are broken, tables tossed over, lots of property damage done, etc. Maybe some people find that entertaining, but most of the time it's just ANNOYING to me.

Like I said, fun but flawed.

One of the things that weakened this film is that Doris (though I love her, she does have her film flaws once in a while), for all the strong stance she takes in wanting to run a sheep farm and her own life, doesn't seem to have the enthusiasm for the role, as if she really didn't want to be there. Even while she was arguing with the men, declaring her independence, wearing jeans, chugging down brandy and getting into a town brawl which landed her in jail, (even her fight to get her son back from her tyrannical father-in-law), she just seems like she really doesn't care.

Ditto for her co-star, Peter Graves, who gives the impression he'd rather be anywhere else than in this movie, even locked in a freezer (and considering his performance, I wouldn't be surprised)!

There's also no chemistry between Doris and Peter, so the potential romance just falls flat.

Couldn't they get James Garner? The chemistry they had in their two films together would have made this one a heck of a lot better, and maybe Doris would have had a bit of that Calamity Jane spark and fire again!

No such luck here.

This movie was a winner! Jack Lemmon - -who has yet to disappoint me - outdoes himself here, torn between wanting to fess up to the truth for his new friend whom he wants to help and sticking to the lie for his ex-wife whom he wants back.

Walter Matthau is fantastic as his less-than-scrupulous lawyer brother-in-law, who convinces him to use an old injury as the ticket to a fortune. After all, what's a little insurance fraud if you end up a rich guy? And if the career of football star "Boom Boom" Jackson (Ron Rich, who plays the part of the guilt-ridden nice guy whose life begins to unravel to such perfection you start to think it's real) is destroyed in the process, well, what can you do?

Judi West does a good job, too as the conniving ex-wife who returns to help the man she still loves to recover, repentant, remorseful, and hoping for a second chance. That insurance payoff has nothing to do with it, of course, and the fact that she needs money to jumpstart her singing career, a mere coincidence!

Once again, we have a movie with familiar TV faces, like Ned Glass, Howard McNear (a.k.a. Floyd on "The Andy Griffith Show"), Marge Redmond (Sister Jacqueline of "The Flying Nun"), and William Christopher (Father Mulcahy on "M*A*S*H*"). Always nice to see some old friends!

Remember that fortune in the cookie: "You can fool some of the people most of the time, and most of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time!"