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Reviews
Gildersleeve's Ghost (1944)
Really Bad !
This a good example of the type of potboiler movie made to fill out the bottom half of a double feature program. Double features were very common in the 1930's and 40's and the second half were very cheaply produced and usually mediocre at best. The Guildersleeve series rarely rose to that level. "Guildersleeve's Ghost" is an attempt to create a comedy/mystery movie which is a hard job- it can easily become ridiculous and boring instead of funny and that is what has happened here. If you want to see better examples of the type try some of the Abbot and Costello series where they meet scary characters such as the Invisible Man,Frankenstein, the Mummy or Jekyll and Hyde. I think the best example of comedy/mystery is the 1939 haunted house Bob Hope movie "Cat and the Canary". But don't waste your time with "Guildersleeve's Ghost". The only amusing part of this movie is Hal Peary's laugh and Mr Peavey's classic line "Well I wouldn't say that"-not enough to support an hour long film !!
The Lost Patrol (1934)
John Ford Missed The Mark on this One !
If ever there was a totally forgettable war movie this is it! It is wildly overacted with a very obvious plot- in short it commits the one unforgivable sin in a war movie -it is boring! Some allowance has to be made for the fact that it was made in 1934 but there were war movies made in the 1930's that were excellent such as All Quiet On the Western Front and Beau Geste. The acting of Vic McLaughlin is the one bright spot in the show but he can't overcome a terrible script and as others have commented Boris Karloff's Bug Eyed frothing at the mouth performance is embarrassing! John Ford was to become a great director so he was just learning his trade at the time this was made but he lost his way on this one !! Nobody's perfect !
Stage Struck (1958)
Katherine Hepburn vs Susan Strasberg - Don't Miss Both Performances!
I was lucky enough to find this movie on TCM. There isn't any other way to see it since there are no DVD or VHS copies made as far as I can find. I found it amazing. Kaherine Hepburn has pretty much owned this story with her 1933 Acadamy Award winning performance of "Morning Glory" but I have to say (and I yield to no one in my admiration for the late Ms Hepburn) Susan Strasberg's performance was better. First allowance has to be made for changes in acting styles between 1933 and 1958 but looking at both versions now Katherine was good but Susan's performance was better and more compelling. As a matter of casting, Katherine isn't as good at portraying the vulnerable ingenue perhaps because her personality was so sharp even in her 20's. Anyway, keep an open mind, see both versions and decide for yourself ! You will enjoy them.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
Sad Waste of Talent.
I am a fan of Virginia Mayo, Danny Kaye, Boris Karlof -and James Thurber. Also I like comedy-mysteries in general (for example the ones with Bob Hope, Red Skelton and Abbott and Costello). So this movie should have been really good. Instead it is incredibly horrible. The acting was fine- the cast did all that could be done. The problem was the writing. Comedy mysteries aren't easy to write because they can very easily step over the line into the absurd. That is what happened here. It has been made into a farce that in my opinion just isn't funny. And nothing falls flatter than an embarrassingly bad farce. I can see why James Thurber who wrote the original short story on which this movie is based hated it. I don't know why Danny Kaye agreed to do this one. Don't waste your time on this turkey !! Incidentally, I saw this on TCM a day after seeing The Seven Year Itch and I was struck by the similarity between the Tom Ewell and Danny Kaye characters. They both worked for a publisher that specialized in sex and gory violence and both suffered from excessive repression but a very active fantasy life!. However, Seven Year Itch succeeded brilliantly while the Danny Kay movie didn't. !
The Last of the Mohicans (1932)
Pretty good for 1932!!
Considering that this was made only 5 years after sound was added to movies, I think that some of the negative comments is extremely unfair. This is one of the problems in reviewing old movies. Should they be judged by current standards or should allowances be made for age? Personally my answer is that the only fair way to solve the problem is to give two ratings on all movies prior to say 1935, one using current standards and the other allowing for age . This would be particularly important for silent films. Using that approach I would give this serial a five for today but a 7 for 1932. If you doubt this try watching other movies of its day-they do not make very interesting watching today with very few exceptions.
Lonesome Dove: The Making of an Epic (1991)
Wonderful for Lonesome Dove Fans!!
This is an excellent backgrounder that describes the inside story of the nitty gritty of the making of Lonesome Dove. It brings out a lot information that you wouldn't otherwise think of. For example, it shows the large variety and numbers of animals of all kinds involved and the amount of time and effort required to keep them in line. Remember the swimming pigs? It also has interviews with the staff both actors and the behind the scenes people that gives them a chance to tell their stories. Mostly they all just loved doing the picture- Duval says the he never expects to get a better part than Gus McCrea and that they originally offered him the part of Capt. Call which he turned down. If this kind of information interests you, you will enjoy this tape-especially if you liked the original Lonesome Dove. Otherwise forget it!