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kent-johnson
Reviews
My World and Welcome to It (1969)
unique, enjoyable but short lived sitcom
I agree with the other comments concerning this TV show. The cartoons and Thurber connection made it unique; and the cast did a good job. I've always considered Windom to be a good actor and will always remember him with his wide tie, a pen in his mouth and his leg draped over the arm of his chair when prosecuting Peck's client in "To Kill a Mockingbird".
One of my favorite scenes from "My World" was one in which a guest star (I believe it was a former Miss America...maybe Lee Merriweather) got into a fight with Joan Hotchkis. It was a food fight of sorts and had something to do with jealousy between the two women.The guest star ended up on the floor with food all over her. She wiped something off her face, tasted it and said to Hotchkis, "You call that quiche lorraine?"
Another fond memory concerns the fact that Lisa Gerritsen was in braces with the rubber bands that were common at the time. I was just out of braces in the late 60s and liked the fact that the show portrayed her like other kids her age.
One of my favorite guest stars was Arthur Hunnicutt. I think he appeared in the second season as an old timer with a southern drawl (in other words, playing himself) who made Windom mad with every line of dialogue.
Jump Into Hell (1955)
interesting film reflecting the French view of turning point battle in Indo-China before it became an American battleground
Well done look at the French loss at Dien-bien-phu which some historians believe led to their withdrawal from Indo-China. Demonstrates the difficulties in fighting a committed enemy on his own ground long before US faced the same problems. French efforts to reinforce and save their forces in an enclave surrounded by soldiers that would, in later years, be described as Viet Cong prove to be unsuccessful. Loyalty to comrades on the ground leads French paratroopers to jump into a death trap.
Stars Jacque Sernas who later played Paris, Prince of Troy, in "Helen of Troy" with Rosanna Podesta as Helen. That 1956 movie should be a good measuring stick for the new Brad Pitt version.
The Wind and the Lion (1975)
Milius has a strong interest in TR, and this is an enjoyable adventure based loosely on a true incident during TR's presidency.
Sean Connery is very good as the Great Raisuli, Lord of the Rif and Defender of the Faithful. This is an adventure movie with Arabs, Germans and the USMC all coming to grips at one point or another. There is also a lot of humor in the interplay among the main and supporting characters. The story is based on the true incident in which a wealthy Greek-American businessman was kidnapped by the Raisuli in the early 1900s. Milius has substituted Candace Bergen and her two children as the victims of the kidnapping, and this opens the story to a lot of literary license.
On the other hand, the movie gives Milius the opportunity to remind the viewer of two of the most famous (though mostly forgotten) political quotations of the TR era. Brian Keith (very good as TR) says, "Pedecaris alive or the Raisuli dead!"; and John Huston (also good as Sec of State John Hay)asks the Japanese Ambassador at a White House dinner, "You likee knifee, you likee forkee?"
Them! (1954)
Funny with many actors who later became well known.
This movie starred James Whitmore, James Arness and Edmund Gwinn but had small parts for Dub Taylor, Fess Parker, William Schallert, Leonard Nimoy, Richard Deacon and Joe Sawyer (Sgt Biff O'Hara from the Rin Tin Tin TV show). Olin Howard played a guy who claimed to have seen the giant ants in and around the LA River. His mental hospital scene allowed him to yell, "Make me the sgt in charge of the booze!" If you like old sci-fi with a lot of familiar faces in supporting roles, you'll like this one.