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Reviews
Simon (1980)
Yikes!
I remember Marshall Brickman from WAY back - when he was a member of the folk group The Tarriers (2nd instalment) in the earlier '60's. He wrote and delivered some very humorous comedic interludes between songs. And of course there's his Oscar for co-writing Annie Hall.
But this Simon thing? It stinks. I'm flabbergasted that anyone would be taken it by it.
Elsewhere on this thread I saw a comparison to Dr Strangelove. Gads - that was brilliant, this thing is wretched.
Guns of the Timberland (1960)
How sad
Ghastly, amateurish film. Sad to see a dissipated yet puffy Alan Ladd sleepwalking thru this turkey. Disgraceful departure from the source material, a fine novel. I won't bother summarizing the plot - that's been done sufficiently in other reviews. But it's almost incomprehensible to see what happened in the few years between Shane and this thing.
The Great McGinty (1940)
What a debut!
I'm quite surprised at the negative or middling reviews on this site. This was Sturges' directorial debut, after having several of his screenplays directed by others. He chafed at this, as is well known, and sold "McGinty" to Paramount for $10, in return for the chance to direct it.
Typical Sturges brilliance in the dialogue, an omen of even greater things to come (The Lady Eve, Hail the Conquering Hero, Miracle of Morgan's Creek).
Wonderful supporting case, highlighted by Akim Tamiroff (The Boss) and the incomparable Bill Demarest. And I think Brian Donlevy was ideal for the role. Unlike some other comments, he carried the lead role quite well, IMO.
Hoosiers (1986)
Coulda been...
I finally caught up with this thing, decades after it came out, and intrigued by the loads of hype.
Pluses: Gene Hackman and Sheb Woolley. Honorable mention; Dennis Hopper.
Minuses: been-there-done-that (Bad News Bears meets Hoop Dreams); excruciatingly predictable - I saw every pothole coming; shamelessly manipulative. This thing is Cornpone Alley.
If you want small-town Indiana with a sports twist, try Breaking Away. A classic - and a vastly superior film. A grudging 4 out of 10.
Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
Brilliant gem from Preston Sturges
Pompous mayor-for-life, dictating acceptance speech to his less-than-bright son, who is filling in for the mayor's secretary (the son's fiancé) - although the latest election hasn't been held yet: "I accept this responsibility with both humility, satisfaction, and gratitude."
Son: "You can't say 'both.' Humility, satisfaction and gratitude, that's three. And 'both' - that's two."
Mayor: "I've been saying it for years!"
Son: "Well, it's not good grammar."
Mayor:"I'm not running on a platform of good grammar. Now where was I?"
Son: Humility, satisfaction and gratitude."
Mayor: All right, take out humility."
Son: "Oh, leave it in."
Mayor:" TAKE IT OUT!!!"
This is slightly condensed, but still represents how a genius can take a minor point of grammar and turn it into a hilarious scene. The brilliance of Sturges' screenplay and direction, augmented by the marvellous actors Bracken, Demarest, Pangborn, so many others) is a guarantee for comedic success.
A classic example of one of Hollywood's greatest films. Right up there with Sturges' other classics (Miracle if Morgan's Creek, The Palm Beach Story), as well as My Man Godfrey, Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, etc.
So much funnier than most modern-day "comedies." I can't recommend it highly enough. 10 out of 10.
Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
Aye aye...OY!
In 2011, I attended the 2nd annual TCM Film Festival. The late Robert Osborne was introducing a film (not this one) and invited the audience to ask questions prior to the showing. After a few Q and A's, an audience member stood and asked "Do you still maintain your unreasonable position that the 1962 version of Mutiny in the Bounty is a pointless, self-indulgent remake of a genuine classic from 1935?"
"Pointless, self-indulgent and ghastly," came Osborne's reply. The questioner, 3 seats to my right, pointedly disagreed. He also turned out to be Osborne's great friend Alec Baldwin. This repartee had all been set up, based on Baldwin's knowledge of Osborne's contempt for the 1962 version.
It was great a fun, except for the fact that Osborne was right - and Baldwin knew it. The Brando version is indeed ghastly and overblown - and Brando has never been worse.
The 1 point I gave this thing is for Kaper's music.
Designing Woman (1957)
Pallid remake
How this thing won an Oscar for "best original screenplay" is baffling. It's an almost direct rip-off of Woman of the Year, a vastly superior film.
(1) Sportswriter meets sophisticated upper-clawss lady, (2) they marry impulsively, (3) incompatibility ensues, (4) happy ending. Except: that movie has Tracy and Hepburn (their first collaboration), and this one has Atticus Finch and Margo Channing ("Applause"). Gregory Peck lumbering through a comedic role is cringe-inducing - just as it was in Roman Holiday. Lame, weak pallid, overblown remake of a classic film. It has technicolor and fashions - that's it. 1 out of 10.
Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)
Tedious, derivative, way too long
It steals, badly, from Some Like It Hot and Pocketful of Miracles, and tries unsuccessfully to capture the dialogue and atmosphere of Guys and Dolls. Lazy writing, laissez-faire direction, sleepwalking performances from the actors.
ONE highlight only: "My Kind of Town;" ONE minor highlight: "Style." Both written by Cahn and Van Heusen. Literally dozens of "gangster comedies" from the 1930's and '40's are much funnier. This thing is a big yawn.
Above and Beyond (1952)
An extraordinary film, for a variety of reasons.
Considering that "Above and Beyond" was made during the height of the hysteria now known as McCarthyism, one would have expected a jingoistic flag-waver out of Hollywood. Instead, surprisingly, the screenplay as written allows the Paul Tibbets character (Robert Taylor) the opportunity to register a variety of emotions, in a most realistic and compelling performance.
This is ironic, seeing as the real Tibbets, decades after the event (the bombing of Hiroshima), is to this day unrepentant. Not to criticize his position in any way, because that was a different time and place, and it's Tibbets' view that he had a job to do, and the morality of it all, he has stated, is best debated by others.
But the film is all the more compelling because of the ambivalence written into the Tibbets character, and Taylor's especially fine work. There are uniformly strong performances throughout the cast, notably those of Eleanor Parker (Lucy Tibbets), James Whitmore (the security officer) and Larry Keating (General Brent).
Another surprise: the team of Melvin Frank and Norman Panama (screenplay, direction) had been best known for their Bob Hope comedies, when under contract at Paramount. Their first dramatic effort was "Above and Beyond," and they acquitted themselves admirably.
Final note: the musical score by Hugo Friedhofer is immensely satisfying: stirring in an emotional sense, with just a touch of, but not too much of, militaristic flavor.
Dore Schary, a Democrat, had succeeded fervent Republican Louis B. Mayer at MGM in 1951, and had encouraged the production of "Above and Beyond." One wonders if (a) the film would have been made at all on Mayer's watch, and (b) if it had, would it have been more of a cornball, John Wayne-type flag-waver. Thankfully, those questions are moot. "Above and Beyond" is a stirring, finely-crafted film. I would stress again the unusual nature of the protaganist's ambivalence as portrayed in a film made during a very sensitive time in America's history.