Change Your Image
stephen-downs-937-904338
Reviews
Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
Best ever
For me, this will forever be the best movie ever made. And before you laugh, let me explain myself. I first saw this movie in 1959 when I was six-years-old during its initial run in a downtown Minneapolis theater. It had everything a young boy could fantasize about, including a journey into the unknown bowels of the earth, the lost city of Atlantis, dinosaurs and a volcanic eruption. I have never been so excited to see a movie in my life (I am now 66-years old)--and yes, this includes Star Wars in 1977 and Jurassic Park in 1993. As phenomenal as those more recent experiences were, they can't quite compare with the way my mind was blown away on that day of my early youth. I suspect my mouth must have been hanging open non-stop once they lowered themselves down into the Icelandic volcano. And I still get an adrenaline rush every time I hear the amazing soundtrack that has no peers at setting the perfect mood. So comparing my boy-like wonder with later movie-going, my enthusiasm for Journey to the Center of the Earth (the 1959 version, mind you; all other attempts are crap) is matchless. If you haven't seen it, don't assume it's the same as the typical cheesy B-grade sci-fi movies of the 1950's; it holds up pretty well even today. Even without computer-generated effects (and in some ways, that's a good thing).
Libeled Lady (1936)
Amusing, but flawed, comedy
We all have our biases concerning favorite actors and actresses. The more of I see of Myrna Loy and William Powell, the more they impress me, and Libeled Lady doesn't disappoint. However, I feel Spencer Tracy was miscast; I didn't find him very funny in this movie. And as for Jean Harlow, she was at times amusing, but after awhile her overacting got under my skin. I agree with one reviewer that at times she was behaving like a gangster's moll. However, her evolving relationship with Powell was a nice twist. The middle section where William Powell goes fishing was a refreshing change of pace, especially with the outdoor setting, though his ineptness was a bit over the top. I wonder if they derived some inspiration for the fishing sequences from Buster Keaton's 1923 short, The Balloonatic. For me, the scenes with Loy and Powell were by far the most satisfying. I doubt he has an equal in delivering witty lines oozing with biting sarcasm. I strongly disagree with many of the reviews rating this one of the greatest romantic comedies ever, even comparing it to My Man Godfrey. While that movie had one of the most satisfying endings I've ever seen (with Powell delivering a surprising, brutally honest, assessment of the family he's been working for), the ending to Libeled Lady is a dreadful contrived mess that attempts to dismiss rather difficult complications in noisy, albeit trivial, fashion (as if they had no idea how to end it). Nevertheless, it's well worth the watch to see William Powell in top form.
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Sorry, not the greatest screwball comedy
I couldn't take it any more and had to finally write a review for this movie after getting tired of reading other reviews claiming "funniest film ever," "one of the greatest film classics," or "what film were you watching?"(the latter in response to negative reviews). I just forced myself to watch it carefully for maybe the 4th time before I wrote this review and have to say I found Hepburn and Grant more annoying than the previous times I viewed the film. Others rave about the dizzying pace and nonstop zany dialogue, but I found it grating on my nerves. Grant seems to be reprising the same over-the-top character he played in Arsenic and Old Lace and Hepburn plays a scatter-brained, intellectually challenged woman who is endlessly running around yelling "David" over and over again that for me became repetitious, tedious and curiously lacking in humor. And the coup de grace for me was the jail scene where the most irritating and obnoxious buffoon of all, the constable, headlined an extremely painful, interminably long and unfunny sequence centering around whether or not Susan had an aunt. It reminds me of some of the over-the-top unfunny sequences in highly regarded Preston Sturges comedies. I'm no stranger to screwball comedies and have watched many of the best movies of that era, so I have a rather extensive frame of reference for this type of film. I rate movies on whether I could watch them over and over. This movie is not one of them. The first thirty minutes were very promising, but the rest of the movie was inconsistent and periodically tedious. Cary Grant has always been one of my favorite actors, but I don't think this movie can hold a candle to two of my favorites starring him--The Awful Truth and My Favorite Wife. I much prefer Irene Dunne"s more subdued style in these films to Katherine Hepburn. Don't try to tell me I don't "understand" the point of the film: hell-bent mayhem or such. It just doesn't work for me and I'm not drinking the kool-aid. It's amusing, but please, please don't call it the greatest screwball comedy ever made!
Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940)
Great dancing, but can she act?
So many of the reviews imply that Fred's most famous partner, Ginger Rogers, was overrated when compared to Eleanor Powell. I strongly disagree with this contention, at least in regard to this movie. There is no doubt Powell could tap dance circles around Rogers, and as this movie shows, she could certainly do the splits (in the one fairly ridiculous number with the sailors), but I found her character development herein sadly lacking when compared to most of Rogers' characters in her movies with Fred. Much of the movie revolved around Fred's interactions with George Murphy, with only occasional glimpses of the Powell character. With the Astaire/Rogers movies there is much more banter/interaction between the two leads. The one exception is the scene quite late in the movie where, unbeknown to Fred, Powell watches him carry out a whimsical solo dance while toting around a picture of her, this followed by a scene where there's finally some substantial interaction during a luncheon date. The highly touted Begin the Beguine dance number may have been spectacular, but I actually found this solo dance by Fred more enjoyable because of the feeling/emotion involved. This all being said, Powell is certainly a spectacular dancer, and I agree that it would have been nice to see what results further collaboration with Astaire produced. I also agree that she had an amazing smile--she may have exerted as much energy in maintaining that as she did the hoofing.
And I would be remiss if I didn't ask why the film-makers found it necessary from time-to-time to put an imbecile in Astaire movies (think Edward Everett Horton, who was often an annoying distraction in the Rogers movies). Frank Morgan's antics may have been mildly amusing initially, but after awhile it became embarrassingly obnoxious, including the lame running gag with the fur cape.
A Damsel in Distress (1937)
mildly entertaining disappointment
I was disappointed in this movie, though it had some good moments. First, there was a reason why the Astaire/Rogers movies were so successful--the chemistry between the two. I have seen most of their movies and, in terms of personality, think Rogers is always more fun to watch than her costar (dancing, of course, is another issue). Thus, although Joan Fontaine was attractive in this movie, she had no sense of comic timing, and compared to Rogers had the personality of tree bark. And all throughout Fontaine's dance number with Astaire, I kept asking myself why did they feel the need to have a dance number between the two of them at all? It was fun to see Burns and Allen dance, but I have to say Gracie's bread-and-butter ditsy routine got a little old by the end of the film. The fun house dance routine is being hailed by so many as a film highlight. While it had some fun moments, it was interminably long and had some inexplicably crass scenes, especially one where Gracie is mindlessly running around in a circle atop a spinning disk for several inexplicable minutes while in some kind of trance. A more compact treatment would have been preferable. I was also irritated at the end of the film when the upbeat conclusion was interrupted by a long, illogical number by Astaire, where he was dancing and kicking drums. Sure, it showcased a fine talent, but it greatly disrupted the flow of the film. And finally, I might have given a month's salary for the right to whack that obnoxious brat of a young servant over the head for his intolerable overacting.