Diary of a Cinephile

Present Tense: No Lord of the Rings, But the Diabolical Mr. Tucci is Worth the Price of Admission

2010-01-21T08:43:00.010-05:00

The Film: The Lovely Bones (WingNut Films, 2009). Directed by Peter Jackson. Written by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Michael Imperioli.

Pictured: Stanley Tucci's Mr. Harvey, builder of doll houses, in The Lovely Bones.

This, That & The Other: Poor Peter Jackson. Once you've directed The Lord of the Rings trilogy, what else can you do to top it? Well, The Lovely Bones does not offer much in the way of competition. It is a garden variety fusion film - part fantasy, part murder mystery (even though you know whodunnit), part suspense. The reason to see this film is Stanley Tucci, whose deliciously sinister bad guy completely steals the show. I've loved Tucci since his magical film Big Night - a true masterpiece in every sense of the word. Tucci is magnificent in The Lovely Bones. He stands out so far and so above everybody else in the film that all the rest of his fellow actors appear to be sleepwalking. Tucci's thoroughly disturbed George Harvey is a fully realized film character - fastidious yet mumbly, sinister and, at the same time, tragic. If there is any justice, The Lovely Bones ought to finally net him the Oscar he is long overdue to receive. The rest of the characters? Mostly cardboard cutouts. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of Saoirse Ronan, the sour-faced younger sister of Keira Knightley's character in Atonement. Of course, Ronan was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Atonement, and maybe should have won it. Her character in The Lovely Bones - Susie Salmon - is much more likable, yet her melodramatic narration is extremely grating after a while. Only Tucci and Ronan manage to elevate The Lovely Bones to something slightly compelling. Once you walk out of the theater, you will pretty much forget everybody else in the movie.

The Bottom Line: I can't say I loved this film, but I quite enjoyed it and it kept me watching to the end. The CGI effects were thought-provoking yet limited. The screenplay contained no flagrant shortcomings, but there weren't any memorable lines to speak of. The film's suspenseful moments will make you grip your armrest. As I said, it cannot be easy for Peter Jackson to live in the shadow of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. His 2005 King Kong was admirable and had some spectacular moments, but, on subsequent viewings, it doesn't hold up quite as well. He also produced last year's slightly overrated District 9, a political/allegorical science fiction film set in South Africa. Like King Kong, D9 was compelling (and it was much more original than Kong), yet it wasn't really Jackson's film, despite the name association. The Lovely Bones will not be studied decades from now, the way The Lord of the Rings will. But it still has much going for it. It beautifully recreates suburban America the early 1970s, in a way that few films do. It rattles the nerves in certain scenes. There are interesting touches of existentialism and spirituality throughout the film. And the diabolical Mr. Tucci lights up the screen every time he is on it.

These factors made it worth the price of admission.

The Film Ron Howard Should've Watched Before Directing Splash

2010-01-15T09:23:00.013-05:00

The Film: Night Tide (Phoenix Films, 1961). Directed and written by Curtis Harrington. Starring: Dennis Hopper, Linda Lawson, Gavin Muir, Luana Anders. Running time: 84 minutes.

My intro to the film: First viewed it in 1989. My old buddy and fellow film buff Dee Wolfe loaned it to me on VHS. Thanks, Dee! (Dee loaned me a lot of movies that I'll be reviewing here in the future...)

What can I say about this movie?: Ten things oughta sell this sucka: 1) Dennis Hopper at age 25 (six years after appearing in Rebel Without a Cause); 2) A mysterious woman named Mora (Linda Lawson) who's either a human or a sea creature/siren disguised as a woman (nah-nah-nah! I'm not givin' it away here!); 3) The great beatnik subterranean scene where Hopper's character Johnny Drake first meets the Mora - and the chemistry that later develops between them; 4) The strangely hypnotic scenes of early 1960s' Malibu and Santa Monica; 5) Luana Anders as the young woman who warns Hopper not to get involved with Mora; 6) The atmospheric cinematography by Vilis Lapenieks; 7) A surprisingly decent screenplay for such a low-budget movie by Curtis Harrington (Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?); 8) The film keeps you guessing whether Mora is really a mermaid/sea creature, and it finally resolves the mystery; 9) Why are all these people warning Hopper to stay away from Mora? Is she really so dangerous?; 10) You can watch the film free online at the Internet Archive. Most of the prints of the film that I've seen are pretty lousy in quality, but the beatnik musical sequences hold up extremely well.

Some additional ramblings: Night Tide is a compelling, dream-like, rock-bottom-budget film from the early 1960s. The oceanside setting of Night Tide, the beatnikish flute music throughout the movie and Hopper's believable performance as a confused young sailor add to the intrigue. We want the film to end happily for Johnny/Hopper, but the sense of dread deepens with each frame. This is the final film of character actor Gavin Muir, a recognizable face who appeared in countless Hollywood movies. He elevates the film several notches with his performance as Mora's troubled caretaker.

Bottom line: This movie is by no means a masterpiece, but an eerie and absorbing piece of cinema nonetheless. One of the better made low-budget films made during the heyday of Grade-Z drive-in fare. It paved the way for Herk Harvey's Carnival of Souls, released the following year. And Night Tide demonstrates that just because the budget is almost nonexistent, the film need not be a piece of schlock like The Beast of Yucca Flats.

Footnote that I didn't wish I had to add: The legendary Dennis Hopper is currently struggling with cancer. In October, the 73-year-old actor was admitted to the hospital with flu-like symptoms. While some news outlets are claiming that he is losing the battle against prostate cancer (source), he is in my thoughts. He is a wonderful actor. He has had such an amazing career. He is an icon of American cinema. And he ought to have many good years ahead of him in the movies. Let us all wish for a recovery for Dennis Hopper.

Roman Polanski's Work of Twisted Genius

2010-01-15T07:19:00.016-05:00

The Movie: Repulsion (Compton Films, 1965). Directed by Roman Polanski. Written by Roman Polanski and Gerard Brach (adaptation and additional dialogue by David Stone). Starring Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Yvonne Ferneaux. Running time: 105 minutes.

My First Viewing: About 25 or 26 years ago, in a theater in Pasadena, California, with an Englishman named Mick who loved movies.

The Straight Dope: This is Roman Polanski's first English-language film, shot in mid-sixties London in glorious black and white. How to describe it to someone who hasn't see it? It's a deeply disturbing film, directed by a troubled man. I just noticed the film has a 100 percent approval rating over at Rotten Tomatoes, so the critics clearly love it. Polanski was only 32 when he made this dark horror film about a young woman Carole (played by ghostly Catherine Deneuve), a sensitive and troubled young Belgian beautician who's clearly on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She lives in a spacious London pad with her sister, Helen (Yvonne Ferneaux). There seems to be a lot of distance between the two sisters. Helen is more outgoing. She's a product of Swinging Sixties London culture. In fact, she goes on a vacation with a married man, leaving poor, tormented Carole alone in the flat for an extended period. This is where the nightmare begins, as Carole begins to spiral downward into total madness while she's a alone. The stark cinematography by Gilbert Taylor only adds another nightmarish layer onto this already surreal motion picture. Carole is not helped by the fact that she suffers from androphobia (the fear of men). While Helen is away, Carole retreats deeper and deeper into her own fragile insanity. She stays locked up in the flat, and all the food begins to go rotten (there is a scene of a decaying chicken that you will not ever forget). Best not to give too much away, other than to say that about midway through the film, you can tell it isn't going to end well. Let's just say there's a landlord in the film who really shouldn't have tried so aggressively to get Carole into bed.

Why I... uh... was troubled by this film: It's a damn disturbing movie. The rotting chicken has stayed in my mind for over a quarter of a century (that's a hell of an image not to be able to shake for 25-plus years). The film is now available from the Criterion Collection (right). There's a great sneak preview on the Criterion website (just tap the link in the previous sentence). Psychological horror films do not come any more unsettling than this one. Also, watching the film two and a half decades after I originally viewed it, I was struck by Polanski's ability to relate to women and portray them as multi-dimensional, fully realized characters. If you don't believe me, watch Repulsion - or have a look at Rosemary's Baby (1968), Chinatown (1974), Tess (1979) or Death and the Maiden (1994). Each film contains a complex female protagonist. You can trace Polanski's perceptiveness back to Repulsion.

Bottom Line: It may not be your cup of tea, but watch it anyway, if you want to see a nightmare beautifully portrayed on film. Only a troubled man like Roman Polanski, with the Holocaust in his background and a host of demons roaming around in his closet, could have created such an elegant and ultimately horrifying work of art. Grade: I am not going to grade films anymore. The "Bottom Line" entry should suffice.

The Great Depression, Bogdanovich Style

2010-01-11T17:15:00.010-05:00

The Film: Paper Moon (The Director's Company, 1973). Directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Written by Alvin Sargent. Starring Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal, Madeline Kahn, John Hillerman, P.J. Johnson. Running time: 102 minutes.

My first viewing: Whoah Lord, I don't know. Back in the 1970s sometime. I've seen the film so many times, I've lost track. Seems like the first time I saw it, I must've been seven or eight. It came on television often in Southern California. Hell, for all I know, I might've seen it in the theaters.

The 4-1-1: Paper Moon is one of those films that's like an old friend. I watched it over and over again, much like The Wizard of Oz (1939). Firing it up in the DVD player today, I feel the same sense of comfort I experienced when I viewed it decades ago. For some reason, during the 1970s, filmmakers made magnificent movies set in the Great Depression (recall Chinatown, Bound for Glory, Boxcar Bertha, Sounder, the list goes on and on). Paper Moon is yet another wonderful Great Depression movie from the seventies. It's a movie about a con man and a little girl who may - or may not - be father and daughter. The sparks between the O'Neals (papa Ryan and sweetly Tomboyish little Tatum) is nothing short of awe inspiring. What a delight it is to watch the two of them engaged in verbal boxing matches. It still works beautifully today, 37 years later. Madeline Kahn is a damn hoot as the floozie Trixie Delight, who spends her time trying to get her hooks deeper and deeper into Moses Pray (Ryan O'Neal). Young Addie Pray (Tatum) conspires along with Trixie's African American servant Imogene (P. J. Johnson) to drive a wedge between Trixie and Moses. Watch out for scene stealer Burton Gilliam as the foolish desk clerk Floyd, who is one of Addie's many pawns in the film. Gilliam is one of those character actors who is everywhere. You'll recognize him when you see him. He has a smile that can stop a train dead in its tracks. And John Hillerman, who played snooty Higgins in Magnum P.I. during the 1980s, turns up as twin brothers. Like Gilliam, Hillerman is one of those character actors who found an awful lot of work in the 1970s. Although he's from Texas, he has one of those great Orson Welles-esque deep baritone voices. He's in top form here, especially in his role as the sheriff. This was, of course, right before he landed the part as the deliciously slimy Russ Yelburton in Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974).

The Real Star of the Film: Without question, the main reason to see this film is the astonishing cinematography by László Kovács. His stark, high-contrast black-and-white shots of Kansas and Missouri absolutely boggle the mind and recreate the grandeur of Dorothea Lange's Great Depression photographs. Thanks to him, Paper Moon bears a much closer resemblance to America in the 1930s than any films actually made at the time.

Bottom Line: Peter Bogdanovich was on fire when he directed Paper Moon. Look at his filmography: Targets (1968), The Last Picture Show (1971), What's Up Doc? (1972) and Paper Moon (1973). All superb films. Alas, after Paper Moon, he began making films like Daisy Miller and Nickelodeon. Nothing that Bogdanovich has made since Paper Moon comes close to touching the film. Thankfully, in recent years, he has been writing some wonderful film criticism and he remains one of the finest film historians in the United States today. Nobody understands the language of cinema more than Peter Bogdanovich. Without question, Paper Moon was - along with The Last Picture Show - his finest moment. Grade: A-.

Blog Spotlight: Apocalypse Later

2010-01-10T11:29:00.009-05:00

The Blog: Apocalypse Later: Welcome to my journey of through a hundred and some years of cinema

The URL: http://www.apocalypselaterfilm.com/

The Blogger: Hal Astell

Why it's a Great Blog: Hal Astell has been blogging about film for several years. His blog actually dates back to 2000, but it really begins in earnest in 2007. Astell describes himself as a "transplant from the rain and beauty of northern England to the sun and desolation of Phoenix, AZ." He loves cinema and it shows. His output is extremely prolific and the entries are often detailed and thorough. In 2007 alone, he posted 542 times. He posts almost daily, sometimes several times a day. His film reviews are perceptive, fair and he has a great eye for detail. And he's a splendid writer to boot. He is especially into classic Hollywood cinema, which is near and dear to my heart. But his tastes are quite eclectic and he often reviews foreign films and more contemporary movies as well. His knowledge of film is encyclopedic, to say the least. And the Blog is often a sumptuous feast for the eyes, as he makes excellent use of numerous movie posters and lobby cards. Astell has, for all intents and purposes, created a masterful film reference guide which, if it were to appear in book form, would take up numerous volumes and cost a fortune. But the purpose of a Blog is to share thoughts and insights with people for free, and to that end, Astell has performed an invaluable service.

Bottom Line: Apocalypse Later might be the finest film blog I have ever encountered. I highly recommend that you take a look at it. You, like me, will probably end up spending a great deal of time there.

Present Tense: Avatar (2009) - a science fiction masterpiece for our times

2010-01-09T16:26:00.011-05:00

The Film: Avatar (Twentieth Century Fox, 2009). Directed and written by James Cameron. Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel Moore, CCH Pounder, Wes Studi. Running Time: 162 minutes, though it feels like 62 minutes.

In a Nutshell: For once, the hype holds true. There are movies. And there is Avatar. The film is in a league of its own. If there was ever a movie mold, Avatar has shattered it. The film costs gazillions of dollars to make and, believe me, you can see every single nickel of it on the screen. Visually, there simply hasn't ever been another film like it. The crystal clear images - rendered in state-of-the-art 3D - lack the smudgy blurriness earlier generations CGI (computer graphic image) effects. Avatar, in other words, sets the special effects bar at a whole new level, the way Star Wars did back in 1977. Let me say this in big, neon letters, surrounded by blinking lights: YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS FILM IN THE THEATERS! If you don't, you'll be depriving yourself of one of the most incredible filmgoing experiences in recent history. The plot? Well, there seems to be a culture of silence surrounding this film. People who've seen it just don't talk about the plot very much. My son saw it last month and all he could say was that he loved it. Briefly: Corporal Jake Scully (Sam Worthington) is a gung-ho disabled Marine who takes the place of his recently deceased twin brother in an experiment pioneered by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver). Turns out that Jake, Dr. Grace and Norm (Joel David Moore) are the key players in the Avatar Program. They control genetically-engineered Na'vi versions of themselves. The Na'vi inhabit the planet Pandora. They're much taller than humans. They're blue. They're cat-like. They have lithe bodies and they live in dense jungles, amidst colossal trees and cliffs that will make you uneasy if you have vertigo. The three human avatars - Jake, Dr. Grace and Norm - use their genetic shells to live among the Na'vi in order to win their hearts and minds, to pave the way for a corporation that plans to mine the planet. Adding to the intrigue: Jake has been tapped to help the Marines led by sinister Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and the sinister corporation conquer the blue race of feline beings. To make a long story short, Jake falls in love with female Na'vi warrior Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and, like John Dunbar (Kevin Costner) in Dances With Wolves, he comes to love the people he is sent to conquer. As for the rest of the film, well... See it for yourself. I have probably already given too much away. I'm glad this Blog wasn't around when The Crying Game (1992) was out in the theaters. I probably would've given the twist ending away in that film.

Why I Loved This Film So Much: This truly is an astonishing film that leaves the viewer flabbergasted. James Horner's moving musical score harkens back to his score for Glory (1989) in its emotional power. We'll be seeing a lot more of Sam Worthington, an Australian actor who was apparently living out of his car when James Cameron cast him in the film. He delivers a heartfelt performance in the film. The rest of the actors are in top form, too, and the incredible alien animals steal all of the scenes in which they appear. Avatar is perhaps the most intensely political film to come out of Hollywood in years. But it doesn't beat you over the head with its politics. Instead, it allows you to feel the emotion of the tale, in much the same manner as the aforementioned Dances With Wolves. Avatar has been sixteen years in the making. Apparently, Cameron wrote a treatment for the film back around '94, and he believed in it so passionately, he spent much of the 2000s developing and filming it. The result is science fiction on a grand scale. It has to be seen to be believed. It is truly a work of art.

Parting Shot: Avatar should cement James Cameron's place as an auteur of the first order. Avatar is a monumental achievement. Hundreds of years from now, it will be regarded as one of the cinematic gateways into the new millennium, a seismic moment when filmmaking took a quantum leap forward. (And, damn it, after watching history in the making, I wasn't about to chuck my Avatar 3D glasses into the 3D glasses recycling bin at the movie theater). Grade: A+.

"Take Your Flunky and Dangle...": Words from a flawless film

2010-01-07T07:20:00.021-05:00

The Film: Miller's Crossing (Circle Films, 1990). Directed by Joel Coen. Screenplay by Joel and Ethan Coen. Starring Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro, Albert Finney and John Polito. Running time: 115 minutes.

When I first saw it: I saw Miller's Crossing when it was in the theaters in the fall of 1990, at a multiplex theater on the south side of Madison, Wisconsin.

Above: Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro) pleads with Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne) to spare his life in the Coen brothers' masterpiece Miller's Crossing (1990).

About the Movie: Miller's Crossing was one of those films that seemed to come out of nowhere and made a lasting impression on me. This Coen Brothers' film - their first since 1987's Raising Arizona - is a brilliant homage to American hard-boiled novelist Dashiell Hammett and his taut tales of gangsters navigating their way through labyrinths of vast corruption. This is an impressive film in every respect. It contains an unforgettable musical score by regular Coen Brothers' collaborator Carter Burwell (The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men, etc.). The performers are utterly fantastic in their roles (even the minor players - especially the minor players!). The cinematography by Barry Sonnefeld (who would later direct Men in Black) is some of the most breathtaking in any film. Joel Coen's direction is tight, as always. But the best thing about this film - by far - is the mind-boggling screenplay, co-written by the Coens. When I saw the film in 1990, the screenplay instantly became my all-time favorite. It remains so to this day. You have to see it to appreciate it. The dialogue alone is a work of art. The film depicts the harrowing adventures of a prohibition-era tough guy Tom Reagan (stunning Gabriel Byrne), a confidant and advisor to gangster political boss Leo O'Bannon (Albert Finney). Unbeknownst to Leo, Reagan is secretly involved with Leo's girlfriend Verna Bernbaum (Marcia Gay Harden), a tough-talking gun moll. Reagan and Verna loathe one another, yet they have one problem: They're sexually addicted to each other. Byrne and Harden have intense chemistry in this film. It reverberates off the screen. They utter dialogue throughout the film like this:

Tom: All in all, not a bad guy - if looks, brains and personality don't count.
Verna: You better hope they don't.

Problem is, Leo's rival Johnny Caspar (played beautifully by John Polito) wants to knock off Verna's brother, an opportunistic bookie named Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro). Seems Bernie has been cheating Johnny - and not just once, but over and over again. The film thrusts forward from the first frames and not a millisecond of it is wasted. Tom decides to go rogue on Leo and, in the process, gets the crap beaten out of him over and over again by various gangsters. It's amazing he's alive by the end of the film. He's probably the smartest and toughest guy in the history of gangster cinema, yet his machinations can sometimes prove puzzling. In fact, we have a difficult time figuring out his raison d'etre in the film until the final few minutes. I won't give anything away, except to say that Tom plays one gangster off of another from start to finish. His motives remain a mystery, but they become apparent by the closing credits. And it is well worth the wait.

My reasons for falling in love with this film: The stars were all lined up here: The acting, the cinematography, the direction, the musical score - and most of all, the screenplay. That dream screenplay! This is one of the few flawless films I've seen in a lifetime of watching movies. There are so many unforgettable moments in Miller's Crossing. Where to begin? My personal favorite scene is when Tom has been assigned to take Bernie Bernbaum (Turturro) out into the woods at Miller's Crossing to be executed. To watch Bernbaum/Turturro pleading for his life is to witness some of the finest acting ever captured on film in the history of Hollywood filmmaking.

Bottom line: I know the word "classic" has become hackneyed, but I can't think of another word to describe Miller's Crossing. No wonder Time magazine hailed it as one of the 100 Greatest Films of All Time back in 2005. Gangster movies do not come any better than this one. When, early in the film Leo (Finney) tells Johnny Caspar (Polito), "Take your flunky and dangle" (tough guy talk for, "You and your friend leave my office"), you know you're in store for a treat. Leave it to the Coen Brothers to take us on an authentic ride through a landscape of corruption, violence and the journey of one man who may or may not be decent. Oh, and did I forget to mention that Steve Buscemi is in the film? He's in only one scene, and it isn't very long, but I promise you: You'll never forget his slimy character, or any of the other toughs and ne'er-do-wells who inhabit this masterpiece. Grade: A+.

Three on a Match: A Pre-Code Classic (or: Why I'm nuts about Ann Dvorak)

2010-01-06T06:42:00.003-05:00

The Film: Three on a Match (First National Pictures, 1932). Directed by Mervyn LeRoy. Screenplay by Lucien Hubbard, based on a story by John Bright and Kubec Glasmon. Starring Joan Blondell, Ann Dvorak, Bette Davis, Lyle Talbot, Warren William, Humphrey Bogart. Running time: A mere 63 minutes!!!

(Above: Three pals, left to right: Bette Davis, Joan Blondell and Ann Dvorak, lighting cigarettes from the same match. Not a good idea.)

When I first saw it: On Turner Classic Movies a few years ago. Thank God for Turner Classic Movies!

A few words about the film: Directed by the versatile Mervyn LeRoy (Gold Diggers of 1933, I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, the list goes on and on), Three on a Match is a potent pre-Hays Code motion picture that still packs one hell of a punch. The film was released in the fall of '32, during the depths of the Great Depression, when soup lines looped around entire city blocks and the nation teetered precariously on the precipice. In the film, three women (Joan Blondell, Bette Davis and Ann Dvorak) who've been pals since childhood get together and each light a cigarette from the same match. According to superstition, one of the three women who lights a cigarette from a match that lights the other two will die. Your job: Guess which one of the three gals will perish by the end credits? Will it be level-headed Mary (Blondell), who always does the right thing? Nondescript stenographer Ruth (Bette Davis), who isn't in much of the film at all but has pretty eyelashes? Or unhappily married Vivian (Dvorak), who is bored with her well-to-do hubby (Warren William) and sick of being a mother to her adorable little son? (Can you see where this is going?) Yes, it's a morality play. Yes, it lays it on thick. But this is a gripping melodrama in the finest tradition of Warner Brothers' Depression-era movies. Vivian goes on an ocean cruise with her son, but without hubby. She neglects the brat and shacks up with gambler Michael Loftus (Lyle Talbot). Vivian ultimately decides to leave hubby, becomes a cocaine addict and gets mixed up in Michael's entanglement with a group of gangsters (one of whom is played to the sinister hilt by Humphrey Bogart in an early role). Heroine Mary (Blondell) tries to intervene to save her downward-spiraling friend Vivian. Will she succeed before the coming of the end credits? That's for me to know and you to find out, bub.

(Left: Ann Dvorak, protecting her son from a group of ominous goons led by the great Humphrey Bogart.)

My reasons for digging it: Three words: Ann Dvorak, Ann Dvorak and Ann Dvorak. Actually, that's seven words, but who the hell is counting? I'm not kidding you, my friend - this woman was truly one of the finest actresses to ever come out of Hollywood. This is the time and place to recommend the wonderful website called Ann Dvorak: Hollywood's Forgotten Rebel. Dvorak had just recently starred in the gangster masterpiece Scarface, another one of my favorite movies, when she appeared in Three on a Match. In Three on a Match, she conveys a wide range of emotions in a way that is always utterly believable. She's the classic "fallen woman," and there isn't a false note in her performance. Throw in brilliant Humphrey Bogart as the menacing gangster called "Harve" who, through a simple facial and hand gesture, indicates that Dvorak's character is hooked on cocaine, and you've got the makings of a fabulous film. I've watched a lot of films from the early 1930s (it was a fascinating period of experimental filmmaking, in the limbo region between silent and sound) and not many of them from this era withstand the test of time the way Three on a Match does. Most movies from the period tend to be full of pops and hisses, stilted dialogue and overacting. Not Three on a Match. It keeps you watching until "The End" flashes on the screen. Even though Dvorak's character Vivian is selfish, she's also sympathetic. The viewer is left on the edge of her/his chair, waiting to see whether she survives the superstitious curse placed on her early in the film when she shares a match with Davis and Blondell.

In the final analysis: Part paleo-noir, part gangster film, part romance, part drama, this film has it all. There's humor. There's pathos. There's the nerve-racking last ten minutes of the film that made me bite my fingernails to the quick. Hard to believe Mervyn LeRoy packed all of this in to 63 minutes. Being a pre-Motion Picture Production Code movie, the film gets away with all kinds of edgy and risky moments that you won't find in movies made even a year after it. And Ann Dvorak - brilliant Ann Dvorak - how lucky we are to savor her amazing screen presence. Grade: A-.

Sleazy Exploitation at its Finest

2010-01-06T00:15:00.000-05:00

The Film: The Hypnotic Eye (Allied Artists, 1960). Directed by George Blair. Screenplay by Gitta and William Woodfield. Starring Jacques Bergerac, Allison Hayes, Marcia Henderson, Joe Patridge, Guy Prescott. Running time: 79 minutes of pure joy.

When I first saw it: I can't exactly remember, but I'm quite certain Ronald Reagan was president at the time.

A few words about the film: The Hypnotic Eye is one of those films that you have to see to believe. It's genuinely entertaining. It was filmed in Los Angeles and has that great 1960 look about it (probably because it was made in 1960). The film features a shrink who smokes pipes (Guy Prescott), a macho police detective (Joe Patridge), the police detective's girlfriend (Marcia Henderson), a stage hypnotist called Desmond with a thick French accent that puts Pepe Le Pew to shame (Jacques Bergerac) and his hot assistant (Allison Hayes of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman fame). The premise: Several women who have seen Desmond's stage show end up disfiguring themselves in horrific ways. Turns out all these women not only saw the stage show, they were called up on stage by Desmond to be hypnotized. While they were under his spell, the prick leaned over and whispered in their ears, telling them to mutilate themselves in unthinkable ways. We follow the police detective and the shrink as they close in on Desmond. In order to trap Desmond in the act, the cop allows his dish of a sweetheart to be hypnotized by the maniacal Frenchman.

Why I dug it: This is a great gimmick film, in the tradition of William Castle's gimmick movies. The ads boasted: "NEW AUDIENCE-PARTICIPATION THRILL HYPNOMAGIC - It makes YOU part of the show..." As noted above, the film isn't very long (a minute short of 80 minutes), and there is never a dull moment. I stayed up late for this sucker back when I was a teenager in suburban Holladay, Utah, and I can honestly say it was worth waiting up for. I recorded the film on VHS and watched it over and over again. Before reviving this blog, I gave the film one more viewing and it still holds up beautifully after all these years. I've noticed it's available on DVD. Looks like I'm going to visit eBay after I finish this entry so I can once again relive the pleasures of Hypnomagic!

Parting Shot: The very least that can be said about The Hypnotic Eye is that it's the best non-William Castle gimmick film ever made. The exteriors shot in Los Angeles give the film a wonderful noirish look, ripped straight out of the pages of James Ellroy (the demon dog would dig this film... I just know it). The self-mutilations are actually still quite shocking. Even today - a half century after the film was made - they can make the viewer squeamish. And as if all this isn't quite enough, there is a twist ending. Grade: B.

Back in Business!!!

2010-01-06T00:02:00.001-05:00

Greetings Fellow Film Buffs,

After a long hiatus, I have decided to resume blogging here at Diary of a Cinephile. I miss it and I love blogging about film. I also hate to think that the last film I'd leave off with on my Blog is Observe and Report, truly one of the worst films of 2009. For a long time, I blogged about contemporary American politics and society on my blog called Andrew's Tiki Lounge. I'll be honest with you: American politics has really been depressing me (quite badly), so I abandoned the Tiki Lounge. But just because despair has gotten the best of me with regards to American politics, that doesn't mean I have to abandon this Blog. I will continue to treat it as a tour of the weird, the wonderful, the sublime, the terrible and the fun films I have watched throughout my life. This blog will focus primarily on the films that have influenced me in one way or another, but I also reserve the right to include movies that are currently playing in the theaters. I have a lot to say about film and I'm happy to resume with this Blog.

I hope you enjoy it and much as I enjoy writing it.

Happy Moviegoing!

Andrew Hunt

Present Tense: Observe and Report (2009)

2009-04-12T18:02:00.000-04:00

The Film: Observe and Report (De Line Pictures, 2009). Directed by Jody Hill. Screenplay by Jody Hill. Starring Seth Rogen, Ray Liotta, Michael Peña, Anna Faris, Collette Wolfe, The Yuan Brothers (John & Matt), Celia Weston. Running time: Somewhere around an hour and a half, but it felt like it was eighteen days long.

The Quick and Dirty: The second mall cop movie of 2009 (the first being Paul Blart: Mall Cop), this movie is about a bipolar -- which, in this case, means borderline psychotic (sometimes not borderline at all) -- mall security officer played by Seth Rogen. There are a few laugh-out-loud moments in the film, but the movie is amazingly dark for a comedy. It's a great premise for a movie: The mall cop and the men under his command are in hot pursuit of a flasher who is showing off his goods in the mall parking lot. But the movie deviates a lot from the main storyline, showing a go-nowhere romance between Rogen and Anna Faris that is so unfunny it's painful. Genuinely talented actors such as Ray Liotta, Celia Weston and Michael Peña are, sadly, wasted in the film. The hilarious Yuan Brothers -- pudgy twins who play Rogen's subordinates -- steal all of the scenes they're in, and Collette Wolfe helps savage the parts of the film she's in as a genuinely sweet employee at a cinnamon bun joint.

Why I Didn't Dig It: Hollywood has made one too many slapdash comedies (e.g., You Don't Mess with the Zohan, just about every movie with Anna Faris in it). Add Observe and Report to that list. The movie has a screenplay that sounds like it was written in less time than the actual running time of the movie. Observe and Report is much too grim for a comedy. Some people found the sex scene between Rogen and a drugged-up, passed-out Faris to be too crass (certain reviewers have referred to it as a "date rape" scene, although I wouldn't go that far). The Rogen/Faris sex scene did not bother me as much as the gratuitous violence throughout the film (Rogen and his fellow security guards bashing the hell out of skateboarders; Rogen blasting the unarmed flasher with a handgun). In the end, the movie just doesn't hold together and the funny moments are few and far between. And it proves that just because Seth Rogen is in it, that doesn't guarantee it's going to be funny.

Parting Shot: Maybe it's unfair to hold every Seth Rogen comedy to the standard set by the sidesplittingly hilarious Pineapple Express (2008). Rogen's successful collaborations with Judd Apatow -- The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up -- also set the bar very high. Give the guy a break. He's bound to make a dud once in a while. Grade: D+.

Five Ghost Films You Really Should Watch...

2009-04-12T09:23:00.000-04:00

I just saw A Haunting in Connecticut and was pleasantly surprised by what a good film it was. I went into it with rock-bottom expectations. It received only a 5.8 out of 1o on the Internet Movie Database. I'd give it about a 6.5 -- maybe a 7 if I'm in a very generous mood. The screenplay was well written, the main characters were fully realized, and the spooky moments were genuinely chilling. It was far superior to the dreary 2005 ghost film American Haunting (about the allegedly true Bell Witch haunting), but that isn't saying much.

There are some superb ghost films out there. This is my list of Top Five Ghost Films. If you get a chance, have a look at some of them, especially Number One.

1. The Haunting (1963): There has not -- repeat, HAS NOT -- ever been another haunting/ghost film that can match this 1963 Robert Wise masterpiece. This, simply put, is one of the finest films ever made. Period. Julie Harris is brilliant as the neurotic and insecure Eleanor, a character both sympathetic and maddeningly annoying at the same time. British actor Richard Johnson is thoroughly believable as the erudite Dr. Markway, the movie's resident "expert" who is on hand to explain the strange goings-on in the film. Claire Bloom is the beautiful medium Theo and throw in Russ Tamblyn as the beatnik Luke, one of film's greatest cynics, who's going to inherit the spook-filled castle. Here's something interesting: You never actually see a ghost in the entire film (!). You only hear sounds -- footsteps, groans, shaking door knobs -- yet the film is more horrifying, intense and authentic than any other ghost film ever made. Hollywood will never again be able to make a ghost film this outstanding. Best not to even try. A word to the wise: Avoid the 1999 remake at all costs!

2. Kwaidan (1964): Possibly my favorite Japanese film is also a ghost film to boot (no surprise there). Director Masaki Kobayashi's 1964 tour de force is actually four ghost stories for the price of one. The colors are subdued in the film, which gives you the impression at times that you are watching a black and white film. At other times, the colors are saturated, depending on the mood of the film. There is no gore in the film. No shock scenes. No ghouls leaping out of the darkness. Like The Haunting, Kwaidan relies on top-notch acting, writing, directing, cinematography and music to convey a sense of dread and horror. The film probably is not too easy to locate on DVD, although the mail-order services (Zip.ca in Canada, Netflix in the United States) probably have it. Rent it. Have a look. It will hypnotize you.

3. The Legend of Hell House (1973): John Hough's 1973 The Legend of Hell House -- based on the novel by horror writer Richard Matheson (Matheson also wrote the screenplay) is not in the same league as The Haunting by any means, but it is still a very good horror film. it is also a sentimental favorite: It is one of the first horror films I remember watching as a little kid (no wonder I'm so disturbed -- I grew up on a steady diet of horror films!). Mousy Roddy McDowall -- one of cinema's most underrated actors -- steals the show as turtleneck-wearing medium Dr. Ben Fischer, the lone survivor of another paranormal experience gone bad. He leads a team into the Belasco House -- The Mount Everest of Haunted Houses, as it's called -- a huge castle built by a psychotic millionaire. There isn't much build-up in this film. Crazy shit abounds almost right away. The film has that gritty early 1970s feel to it, the same feeling so many films had when they were finally liberated from the Production Code. It's full of loud moments and shocking special effects. The other performers, Pamela Franklin, Clive Revill and Gayle Hunnicutt, are also very good in the film. But make no mistake: The film belongs to Roddy. He's the reason to see it. He's a great tormented character, going up against dark and powerful forces.

4. The Others (2001): Alejandro Amenabar's eerie, atmospheric 2001 ghost film, along with 1999's The Sixth Sense (below) revived the genre. In my view, it's a better film than The Sixth Sense. It's darker. It's more forlorn. It's creepier. Like The Sixth Sense, it contains a twist ending (don't worry -- I loathe spoilers). Nicole Kidman is at her very best as Grace Stewart, the mother who cannot tell whether she is losing her sanity. The entire cast delivers fabulous performances. Irish actress Fionnula Flanagan actually somehow manages to steal the show, though, as Bertha Mills. If you want to see a truly great performer at work, watch the film just for Flanagan's performance. This is a movie you'll want to view over and over again.

5. The Sixth Sense (1999): Like Orson Welles, M. Night Shyamalan started out strong and went downhill from there. Sadly, unlike Orson Welles, Shyamalan doesn't seem to have a Magnificent Ambersons or Touch of Evil or Chimes at Midnight up his sleeve. In fairness to Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense is hard to top. Who would've thought Bruce Willis was a heavyweight? He is -- in this film, at least. As Dr. Malcolm Crowe, he becomes a father figure to Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment, a magnificent 11-year-old actor in a tortured role). The film is a minor masterpiece and shines in every category. And it also catapulted Toni Collette to fame. What more can you ask for from a film?

You will notice A Haunting in Connecticut did not make the list. Neither did some other very good ghost films: The Night Comes Too Soon, a.k.a. The Ghost of Rashmon Hall, an obscure British gem from 1947; the overlooked 1995 ghost drama The Haunted starring Aidan Quinn and Kate Beckinsale; the amazing British horror film Dead of Night from 1945; and, of course, one of my personal favorite ghost comedies, Ghost Busters from 1984.

All of them are worth watching.

More Vintage Lugosi: One of my favorite scenes from Devil Bat (1940)

2009-03-28T11:18:00.001-04:00

The Film: Devil Bat, a.k.a. Killer Bat, Devil Bats, etc. (Producers Releasing Corporation, 1940). Directed by Jean Yarbrough. Screenplay by John T. Neville. Starring Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren, Dave O'Brien, Guy Usher, Donald Kerr. Running time: 68 minutes.

The Brief Lowdown: Hardcore Bela Lugosi fans, such as yours truly, savor this classic B-movie from the Golden Age of Bela's film career. Lugosi plays Dr. Paul Carruthers, who genetically engineers a gigantic mutant bat in his kick-ass secret laboratory (what the hell are those buzzing electrode thingies, anyhow, and what exactly do they do?). The bat goes after anybody wearing a special after-shave lotion invented by -- you guessed it -- the same Dr. Paul Carruthers responsible for the genetically-engineered giant mutant bat. This film is one of my favorite poverty-row quickies (it's not quite as much of a masterpiece as Edgar G. Ulmer's 1945 film noir Detour, which I'll also review here at some point -- but it's up there). Remember Dave O'Brien, from Reefer Madness? ("MAE! BRING ME SOME REEFERS!") He's in this sucker, as a newspaper journalist. O'Brien was one of Hollywood's great underrated B-actors. But Lugosi steals the show as the mad scientist living in an idyllic small town who gets unceremoniously screwed over by a local cosmetics firm. The people who tried to stick it to Lugosi get their comeuppance, thanks to his giant killer bat. Unfortunately, when O'Brien and his dopey photographer pal (Donald Kerr) come snooping around the town, it's the beginning of the end for Lugosi. The film is easily accessible on DVD. Here is a scene from it (below). Enjoy!!!

Memorable Moments: The Black Cat (1934)

2009-03-28T11:13:00.000-04:00

Here is a classic scene from Edgar G. Ulmer's The Black Cat (1934). I guarantee that after you watch this scene, you'll want to watch the entire film.

"Supernatural, perhaps. Baloney, perhaps not."

2009-03-27T22:26:00.000-04:00

The Film: The Black Cat (Universal Pictures, 1934). Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. Screenplay by Peter Ruric (Screen Story by Edgar G. Ulmer, Peter Ruric). Starring Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, David Manners, Jacqueline Wells. Running time: 65 minutes.

When I first saw it: Mmm... 1981. Shortly after we purchased our first VCR.

A few words about it: This art deco horror film is dark as hell. And for a movie made in the depths of the Great Depression, it was way, way ahead of its time. This movie has the distinction of being the film that I've seen more than any other film ever made. I missed a lot of school when I was a teenager, and I spent a lot of that time with The Black Cat in the VCR, watching it over and over and over again. I memorized every scene and every line in this movie. Bela Lugosi plays Dr. Vitus Werdegast, a World War I veteran who is returning to settle an old score with evil Hjalmar Poelzig (Boris Karloff). Karloff gets top billing (by this time, Universal was simply referring to him by his last name -- KARLOFF). But make no mistake about it: This picture belongs to Lugosi. It's his finest moment. Better than Dracula. Better than White Zombie. Better than any of his other movies. Lugosi is sympathetic in this film. It's his most sympathetic role ever, in fact. He is sympathetic to the point of being heartbreaking. The poor guy has been in a prisoner of war camp for years (long after the war ended, he was still held captive there). During the war, Lugosi was ripped apart from his wife and daughter. By sharp contrast, Karloff's Poelzig, a war criminal who now owns a uber-high tech house on the ruins of notorious old Fort Marmorus. The movie opens with Lugosi on a train meeting a young couple on their honeymoon (played by Manners and Wells). After leaving the train, a bus accident leaves the couple, along with Lugosi and Lugosi's servant (a tall, spooky looking dude called "Thamal," played by character actor Harry Cording) stranded at Herr Poelzig's fancy house. The house is actually one of the stars of the film. It is cool as hell, in a funky, retro, art deco kind of way. Turns out that Poelzig is a Satanic high priest (!). There is also a dark secret involving Werdegast's wife and daughter that simply adds to the pathos of the film. Ultimately, Poelzig and Werdegast play a chess match that will decide the fate of the young married couple. If Werdegast loses, the cute young lady (played by Wells) will get sacrificed in a Satanic ritual! One other note: The film has an amazing classical music soundtrack; in fact, it probably utilizes more classical music than any other movie ever made, from Franz Lizst's Sonata in B Minor to Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished) to Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture. The list goes on and on.

Why I dug it: The Black Cat is one of the most unique films ever made. It's a pioneering film noir -- a paleo-noir of sorts. It's almost impossible to believe that such an edgy and dark film could've been made in the 1930s. But here it is. The final scene in the film -- I WILL NOT GIVE IT AWAY (no spoilers here!) -- is still shocking, even after 75-plus years. Let's just say you will not forget the ending -- or the rest of the nightmarish film, for that matter.

Parting Shot: I will never see another film as many times as I've seen this one. This movie got me through my teen years. I love Lugosi in this film. He reveals in The Black Cat what an astonishing actor he is. The intensity in his eyes, the facial expressions, the range of emotions... There will never be another Lugosi. My favorite line from The Black Cat is when Lugosi tells David Manners' naive young character: "Supernatural, perhaps. Baloney, perhaps not."

The best road movie from the 1970s...

2009-03-22T20:42:00.000-04:00

The Film: Two-Lane Blacktop (Universal Pictures, 1971). Directed by Monte Hellman. Screenplay by Rudy Wurlitzer and Will Corry. Starring James Taylor, Warren Oates, Laurie Bird, Dennis Wilson. Running time: 102 minutes.

When I first saw it: Oh God. Years ago.

A Few Words About It: When I first saw director Monte (Ride the Whirlwind) Hellman's Two Lane Blacktop, I wanted to become James Taylor. Not the James Taylor who sang folksy soft rock in the Seventies. No, I wanted to be the James Taylor in this movie -- billed as "The Driver" -- who was totally badass (incidentally, he's the same James Taylor as the singer, but just way, way cooler). What's the plot? Hmm. There isn't much of a plot here. Two guys race around the country in their souped-up 1955 Chevy 150 (which was also an important performer in the film). The characters don't even have names, Taylor stars as "The Driver"; the great character actor Warren Oates of Wild Bunch fame played "GTO", so named for his car; Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys played "The Mechanic"; and Laurie Bird is The Girl. Taylor and Wilson agree to race Oates to Washington, D.C. and the winner gets the pink slips to both of the cars. The movie wanders aimlessly. At various points in the movie, The Girl sleeps with The Driver, The Mechanic and GTO. I won't tell you what happens to The Girl (or any of the other characters -- you really have to see the movie!); let's just say, The Girl has commitment issues. Two-Lane is a countercultural road movie masterpiece. It has all the ingredients of a classic Seventies movie: Overlapping and meandering dialogue; characters who are anti-heroes and can be pretty damn narcissistic sometimes; wide shots that abruptly zoom in; great hot rods, including old-school muscle cars, and a terrific 1970s' soundtrack. I saw the movie years ago on television and then it was abruptly yanked out of circulation (apparently, due to copyright issues having to do with the music used in the film). Two-Lane Blacktop has, thankfully, resurfaced. The film just played on Turner Movie Classics the other day. After watching it, yours truly decided I definitely have to purchase it on DVD. Apparently, the Criterion Collection released the film on DVD at the end of 2007. It is well worth having in your collection, as it remains a great existentialist road movie. It is better, IMHO, than Easy Rider. Sadly, there was a Two-Lane Blacktop curse of sorts. Except for James Taylor, all of the other performers died too young. Laurie Bird, who went on to become Art Garfunkel's girlfriend for a time (and took the photograph of Garfunkel on the cover of his 1978 Watermark album) committed suicide in 1979 when she wasn't quite 26. Dennis Wilson drowned in Marina Del Rey, California, in 1983 (at age 39). Warren Oates had a heart attack in 1982 at age 53. Too bad none of them lived to see Two-Lane Blacktop go on to become a cult movie.

Why I dug it: I have a thing for road movies and TV shows. Route 66, starring George Maharis and Martin Milner as two buddies crisscrossing the country in a Corvette, is one of my favorite TV shows. I'm also a huge fan of The Fugitive, where David Janssen as Dr. Richard Kimble wanders from town to town across America. My love of road stories started with Two-Lane Blacktop.

Parting Shot: A fine car movie, an even better road picture, Two Lane-Backdrop deserves its cult status. It has that gritty, naturalistic feel that so many films in the late 1960s and 1970s had. Watching it on TMC the other day brought back a flood of memories. The film gives us a glimpse of America in a very different time -- in the early 1970s -- before Watergate and defeat in Vietnam. Some people might view it as a countercultural relic, and it does seem dated at times. But it remains an edgy glimpse of a bygone era. Grade: B+.

Present Tense: The Watchmen (2009)

2009-03-15T11:46:00.000-04:00

The Film: Watchmen (Warner Brothers, 2009). Directed by Zack Snyder. Screenplay by David Hayter and Alex Tse (based on the limited run graphic novels by Alan Moore, illustraed by Dave Gibbons). Starring Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earl Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson. Running time: 162 minutes.

The Quick and Dirty: A confused movie that bombards you with images, Watchmen is a sprawling buffet with just about every dish imaginable. It's a superhero movie. It's a love story. It's a feast for the eyes. It's a nihilistic urban drama. It takes recent American history and morphs it into an alternative universe where presidential term limits have been repealed, Richard Nixon is elected four or five times as president, the United States and the USSR are on the verge of annihilating one another, and Ronald Reagan is contemplating a run for the presidency in 1988. This alternate historical universe just adds to the confusion. It's set in New York City in 1985, where -- for some reason -- it is raining nearly all of the time. The superheroes -- all caricatures -- are more like psychological case studies than movie inhabitants. The film uses the jarring CGI pioneered by Sin City (and used again in director Zack Synder's overwrought Spartan epic 300). The superheroes are flat. Even the edgiest one, Jackie Earle Haley's bloodthirsty Rorschach, seems like the sort of role that Clint Eastwood might've been asked to play if he were 30 years younger. Rorschach talks in a guttural Eastwood whisper, but his vigilantism lacks the kick-assiness of Dirty Harry's urban outings. Sadly, he's the most compelling of the lot. The other superheroes are cardboard cutouts. And the confusing plot merely undermines the finished product. Still, after all that dissing, it is impossible to deny that there are some brilliant visuals and some masterfully handled scenes in Watchmen.

Why I Didn't Dig It: Scanning the Blogosphere, the consensus among hardcore Watchmen fans is that the movie is not as good as the original 12-issue comic book series from 1986-87. There seems to be some agreement that it's a good idea to read those first. But it's hard to see how they could save this visually stunning but ultimately shallow movie.

Parting Shot: Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and Iron Man (2008) have raised the bar incredibly high for superhero movies. Watchmen can't possibly compete with that outstanding trio. But it sure beats the hell out of Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Catwoman, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and the list goes on and on and on... Grade: C+.

Five Film Noirs (I know: the proper plural is films noirs, but screw it) that you probably haven't seen, but really should watch...

2009-03-14T19:52:00.000-04:00

I love film noirs (or films noirs for you hardcore francophones). I saw my first noir, Double Indemnity (1944), when I was fifteen (I'll be blogging about it soon, I assure you) and I've been hooked ever since. I've seen most of the big enchiladas (Double Indemnity, The Asphalt Jungle, The Big Heat, etc. etc.). And I've also seen a lot of obscure noirs. What follows is my list of Five Noirs you probably haven't seen, but should watch at some point.

1. Shack Out on 101 (1955): Put Lee Marvin in a film and no matter how lousy the film is, he always has a way of partially redeeming it. This is a terrific B-movie set in seaside diner. The movie is brimming with Red Scare paranoia. Marvin plays a goon who cooks in the diner and hatches a scheme with Dr. Sam Bastion (Frank Lovejoy) to deliver secrets to the Reds. Bastion might be a good guy or he might be a bad guy (you'll find out). Terry Moore foils the plot. Throw in Keenan Wynn as the owner of the diner and you've got a forgotten noir full of unintentional laughs, truly tense moments and good old Lee Marvin.

2. The Hitch-Hiker (1953): Actress Ida Lupino directed this tight Fifties noir. This one also stars Frank Lovejoy. Along for the ride is another noir veteran, Edmond (White Heat, The Killers) O'Brien. They play buddies who make the mistake of picking up a psychotic hitch-hiker. I know what you're thinking: Not another psycho hitch-hiker movie... But this is the granddaddy of 'em. This one started it all. William Talman (right, who played Hamilton Burger on Perry Mason) plays one of the coolest psychopaths in any Old School Noir: a maniacal gunman with a dead eye who menaces Lovejoy and O'Brien. There's a great night scene in the desert, near a campfire, where you can't tell if Talman's character is asleep or awake (because of his dead eye). Truly chilling stuff. Lupino was not only an underrated actress. She was a gifted director, too.

3. Quicksand (1950): Mickey Rooney had recently stopped playing 17-year-olds when he took the role of Dan Brady, a two-bit grease monkey who wants to impress looker Jeanne Cagney by taking her out for a night on the town. Problem is, Brady's broke, so he lifts a $20 out of the cash register, thinking, "What's the worst that can happen?" Mayhem ensues. How, you wonder, can a stolen twenty dollar bill snowball into a noir full of twists and turns where even Peter Lorre makes a small appearance? To find out, you have to watch Quicksand. Actor/director Irving (Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid) Pichel directs this taut B-thriller.

4. Red Rock West (1992): Looking for a truly great modern noir? Look no further than Red Rock West. Nicolas Cage (right), back before he won the Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas (1995) and then made the leap into all these lame action movies, stars as Michael Williams, a fundamentally honest guy who is down on his luck and looking for work. The late, great J.T. Walsh plays a wealthy married man who mistakes Cage for the hitman he planned to hire to kill his wife (Lara Flynn Boyle). Cage takes the big bucks from Walsh and then goes to warn femme fatale Boyle that hubby wants to bump her off. Add to the mix the real hitman (played in the usual over-the-top fashion by Dennis Hopper) and the pure noir mayhem ensues. Director John Dahl is the neo-noir director who also gave us The Last Seduction (1994) and Rounders (1998). He also co-wrote the script with his brother Rick. The end result is a tight, well-made Western noir with plenty of atmosphere, fine performances, and a really cool ending (I won't give it away).

5. He Walked By Night (1948): Richard Basehart stars in this noirish police procedural as Roy Morgan, a genius psycho who shoots and kills a patrolman in the middle of a burglary attempt. Morgan is pursued by two police detectives, but he stays one step ahead of the police by monitoring their movements on a radio that picks up police frequencies. Roy actually has a past with the Police Department (I won't give it away, but you find out his connection -- and the experience he gained from it helps him outwit the police at every turn). Scott Brady and James Caldwell are the police detectives who relentlessly pursue every tiny lead, every dead end and twist and turn, in the search for Morgan. The real treat in this film is a pre-Dragnet Jack Webb, who actually has a pretty decent role as a police forensics specialist. The pseudo-documentary Los Angeles street scenes remind me of the same year's Naked City, set in New York City. Alfred Werker, who built a whole career around directing now-mostly forgotten B-movies, handles this one superbly. It will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Movie Mavens: Leslie Halliwell

2009-03-11T16:17:00.000-04:00

Who: Leslie Robert James Halliwell (1929-1989).

What: British film critic, author of numerous books, including The Filmgoer's Companion (originally published in 1965, but revised countless times), Halliwell's Film Guide (originally published in 1977, also revised too many times to count), Double Take and Fade Away: Halliwell on Comedians (1987), the list goes on.

His influence on me: Halliwell's film writings were among the first film criticisms I've ever read. Halliwell taught me a lot about watching films. When I was about 11, I read him for the first time (my then-stepfather was a huge fan). Turns out, Halliwell was extremely picky. He hated a lot more movies than he loved. He definitely was NOT a movie slut. He panned a lot of movies, and when he went after a film, he could be very caustic. Sometimes, I thought he was hard on movies. For instance, he hated Abbott and Costello movies and at the time, I worshipped Abbott and Costello (I still love Bud and Lou, for the record -- Halliwell failed to convince me on that one). Halliwell was especially fond of movies made in the 1930s and 1940s. The farther you get beyond the '40s, the more likely he is to hate the movie. By the time you get to the 1970s, he loathes most of the cinema. He wrote a column on film for The Daily Mirror. He rated films up to four stars -- a four-star film being a masterpiece -- and I think the very most recent film ever made to get a four-star rating from Halliwell was Bonnie and Clyde (1967). When he loved a film, which was rare, he heaped praise on it. For instance, he wrote of The Grapes of Wrath (1940): "A superb film which could scarcely be improved upon. Though the ending is softened from the book, there was too much here for filmgoers to chew on. Acting, photography, direction combine to make this unforgettable experience, a poem of a film." Halliwell was a gifted writer with a keen eye for great cinema. I didn't always agree with him, especially his refusal to accept more modern motion pictures. But he challenged me to defend why I liked certain movies and disliked others. He taught me about the language of film. And he deepened my appreciation, in general, of the art.

Other Odds & Ends: According to the Website on Leslie Halliwell, LeslieHalliwell.com, Michael M. Binder is at work on a biography of Halliwell. If he ever publishes it, I'll be the first to read it. Here was Halliwell's Top 10 (his 10 favorite films of all time):

Citizen Kane
Trouble in Paradise
The Bride of Frankenstein
Le Million
A Matter of Life and Death
Lost Horizon (1937)
Sons of the Desert
The Philadelphia Story
The Maltese Falcon
The Lady Vanishes

Hunt's verdict: One of the greatest film critics of all time. A gentleman who simply loved movies and helped countless readers -- including me -- appreciate them as art.

This muthah is the Citizen Kane of two-headed monster movies...

2009-03-10T20:40:00.000-04:00

The Film: The Manster (Lopert Pictures Corporation, 1959? 1962? The date varies. Internet Movie Database lists it as 1959; Rotten Tomatoes also has a '59 release date; Wikipedia insists it was '62; AllMovie claims it was 1961. My DVD copy says '59; so far, '59 seems to be winning.) Directed by George P. Breakston and Kenneth G. Crane. Screenplay by William J. Sheldon, George P. Breakston. Starring Peter Dyneley, Jane Hylton, Tetsu Nakamura, Terri Zimmern. Running time: 72 minutes.

When I first saw it: Late 1970s, probably 1978 or 1979.

A few words about it: The Manster kicks some major-league, jiggling booty. And you can take that to the bank, mister. An American foreign news correspondent in Tokyo named Larry Stanford (Peter Dyneley) interviews a reclusive Japanese scientist, Dr. Robert Suzuki (Tetsu Nakamura). Suzuki is a total nut. He has a big Mad Doctor Lab and he keeps his mutant wife in a cage (she's totally cool -- sort of like a female Japanese Hunchback of Notre Dame, and she drools and grunts... in short, this lady rules). The reclusive scientist injects correspondent with strange potion (after drugging his drink and knocking him out). Reclusive scientist instructs sultry babe (Terri Zimmern) to wine and dine Stanford. Sultry babe monitors correspondent as he becomes grouchier and grouchier. Soon, an eye appears on Stanford's shoulder, and eventually he sprouts a cocoanut-like head from his shoulder. Stanford also grows facial hair and looks like a two headed werewolf. He goes on a murderous rampage all over Tokyo. At a certain point, Larry splits into two people. Cocoanut Head gets his own body. Larry and Cocoanut Head battle it out. Cocoanut Head grabs the sultry babe and jumps in a nearby, conveniently located volcano. Larry knocks off Suzuki (unfortunately, he does this after Suzuki knocks off his caged mutant wife, the coolest character in the whole damn film). Larry's estranged wife arrives to pick up her hubby. In other words, it's a tired old plot that has been rehashed in movies a thousand times (not!).

Why I dug it: I was about 10 or 11 when I saw The Manster. It was the movie of the week on Saturday night Creature Features. This movie had everything: Monsters, mutants, volcanoes, a mad scientist, a babe, a suave reporter. I watched it with my Aunt and Uncle and cousins (The Manster was my reward for enduring The Love Boat and Fantasy Island). The film came on TV late, around 11 or 11:30 p.m. By the time it was over, I was the only one awake! Everybody else had gone to bed. I was on the edge of the couch. I loved this movie! I spent the next twenty years searching for this sucker on VHS. Now, I own not one, not two, but three DVD copies of it!

Parting Shot: While it's the Citizen Kane of two-headed monster movies, that doesn't necessarily mean you'll like it. It's not a movie for everybody. It's a joint Japanese-American production, and you can tell it was filmed for about a thousand bucks and a bucket of chicken. The film is still loads of fun to watch and you really should see it, if you get a chance. It was the beginning of my love of low-budget schlock films. It's actually pretty well acted and the screenplay isn't half bad. I still watch it whenever I want to take a wonderful trip down Memory Lane... Grade: B.

A film I savored with my father...

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The Film: The Sting (Universal, 1973). Directed by George Roy Hill. Screenplay by David S. Ward. Starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan. Running time: 129 minutes.

When I first saw it: First in 1973 (at the ripe old age of 5), then about 10 years later for the second time.

A few words about it: The Sting takes more twists and turns than Lombard Street in San Francisco. It is not a movie for kids. Not that there's anything gruesome or graphic about it. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre it ain't. But it's a movie about con men and their art. And these con men are damn good at what they do. It's also a movie about good, old-fashioned, All-American payback. Revenge. It's about Johnny Hooker's (Robert Redford) effort to avenge the death of his beloved friend, Luther (played by James Earl Jones's father, Robert Earl Jones -- the two men look different but sound identical). Luther is murdered by gangsters working for underworld kingpin Doyle Lonnegan (brilliantly played by Robert Shaw, a tremendously gifted actor who died much too young of a heart attack in Ireland in 1978 at age 51). Hooker enlists in the aid of his fellow con man Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman), a burned-out, old-school scam artist who believes in going big when he schemes. Hooker and Gondorff plan a massive and intricate plot to con Lonnegan. In order for it to work, everything has to come together just so.... The real tension in the film comes in when you wonder whether this Mount Everest of con jobs is actually going to work. I won't give away any spoilers. Like the con job it depicts, the film is seamless. It's beautifully made, with a screenplay by David S. Ward that speaks the language of the 1930s with authenticity. Director George Roy Hill (who teamed Redford and Newman together for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid four years earlier) is in top form. Too bad Hill would never direct another masterpiece to equal The Sting or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (although fans of Hill's 1977 hockey comedy-drama Slap Shot --and there are plenty of 'em here in Canada -- might beg to differ). Backing the powerful trio of Redford, Newman and Shaw are great character actors Charles Durning, Eileen Brennan and Ray Walston and Harold Gould, who all seem like they've been plucked out of a fast-talking, Depression-era movie.

Why I dug it: The Sting is one of the first films I actually recall seeing in the movie theater. I didn't understand it at age 5. It was far too intricate. A decade later, I saw it with my father. We watched it on VHS. He would stop it every few minutes and explain the con job to me and make sure I was following it. It was a wonderful bonding experience between the two of us. I'll never forget it.

Parting Shot: The Sting still packs a punch. It's not a perfect film. The Scott Joplin music seems curiously out of place in it. Ragtime was out of fashion in the 1930s. The story is complicated -- not the sort of film you can start and stop, start and stop. It isn't always a delightful romp. But it's a film with heart and soul. And nothing can quite beat having your father dissect it for you. Grade: A- (but an "A" for sentimentality).

The Movie that Started it All...

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The Film: King Kong (RKO, 1933). Directed by Merian C. Cooper, Ernest Schoedsack. Screenplay by James Ashmore Creelman, Ruth Rose (based on the story by Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace). Starring Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot. Running time: 105 minutes.

When I first saw it: Circa 1972. I was about four.

A Few Words About It: There isn't much I can add about this film that hasn't already been written. Entire books have been published on King Kong and its influence. It's an amazing film that holds up incredibly well today, three-quarters of a century after it was made. It has inspired numerous remakes, sequels, rip-offs and pale counterfeits. What can I say that you don't already know about the movie? One of the screenwriters, James Ashmore Creelman, committed suicide by leaping off a tall building in 1941. Co-creator Edgar Wallace wrote more than 150 novels, numerous plays and too many articles to count. It's difficult to say which figure involved in this making of this film had the greatest influence on its timeless, enduring style. Several King Kong experts have given credit to stop-motion-animation guru Willis O'Brien. Like Creelman, O'Brien's life contained some tragedy. He married Hazel Collette in 1925, divorced her in 1930, and the year Kong was released, Hazel murdered their two sons and then attempted to shoot herself. Her suicide attempt failed, but she later died of tuberculosis. O'Brien's Kong was more human than human: Filmgoers could see the happiness, pathos, anger and frustration in his face. He was far more sympathetic than any of the human characters in the film. Even in our Age of CGI, the special effects are still amazingly fresh in the film. You can almost feel the steam in the jungle sequences. And the airplanes strafing Kong atop the Empire State Building are astonishing. O'Brien's techniques improved even more later in the year with Son of Kong (1933) and 1949's giant ape film, Mighty Joe Young. The end of King Kong -- I won't give it away here if you're one of the three or four people in the world who hasn't actually seen it -- is still haunting after all these years. King Kong remains influential to this day, ranking number 41 on the latest list of the American Film Institute's Top 100.

Why I dug it: There's something magical about the first film you've ever watched from start to finish. I I laughed, hid under my cushion and ultimately wept in Kong. The memories are still vivid.

Parting Shot: The film looms large, not only in the popular imagination, but in my memory. I had to pick a Mount Everest of a film for my first entry. But you've got to start somewhere. Grade: A+.