aktatmot Reviews

Paris Precinct (1955– )

Amazingly Great Actors

[8/10 · 16 December 2006]

When's the last time French TV show was a hit in the US? This was it, in 1955. Two Parissienne detective solve crimes in ... uh ... Paris! They get about in Citroens and Pugeots. I think they saved one of them for Columbo. This show was at the same time as Dregnet and much more sophisticated (of course). The dialogue was all in English. Heavily accented. It appeared that the outdoor shots were done on location. This diversion from the typical US crime drama of the time (Dragnet, M Squad, etc.) led to a whole new genre of crime programming. "San Francisco Beat" was a direct descendant (if not a knock-off) of "Paris Precinct". I was very young (honest!) when this program was on, but really enjoyed it.

Crack in the World (1965)

Freud Meets the Ecologists

[5/10 · 16 December 2006]

Metaphors, metaphors, metaphors. Ach, what the "scientists" are doing to the earth! Let's see, a giant missile is aimed down into a big crack in the earth. Hmm. They shoot the missile into the earth and it explodes. Hmm. Then the earth moves. Hmm. Then all heck breaks loose. Hmm. What's that four letter word for this sort of thing? I think that is what the scientists are doing to the earth. Hmm. It's really difficult to either stop this comment or to abbreviate it. Hmm. It's hard to stop this comment or cut it short. Hmm. I don't think that this was Dana Andrews at his best. After all of this metaphorical action, the sky catches fire. "Mother" earth is really angry. Yes, this movie was ahead of its time. Hmm. Was it good for you? Hmm.

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Close to Worst

[2/10 · 15 August 2006]

I first saw this movie when I was about 11. About 2/3 of the way through it I was hoping that George Bailey would just get it over with. The guy is an idiot and cannot seem to get the picture that it was the idiotic Uncle Billy who has (insert appropriate word)ed up so why does George want to kill himself? How happy I'd be if Mrs. Bailey had, as his widow, run away with the banker and lived happily ever after. Add to this the caricature of the greedy banker and you get such a bucket of swill that the DVD should come with a barf warning. This should have been an embarrassment to Donna Reed -- she did so much better on TV. I'd like to point out that the "Vomit" comment and other negative reviews unfairly blame their relatives for the urge to puke during this movie. It's the movie itself.

The Timber Tramps (1973)

Tax Dodge Party Movie

[1/10 · 2 November 2005]

This dog was filmed in Juneau, Alaska. It struck me, at the time, as odd that such a collection of has beens would be cast in this loser. The cast resided on John Wayne's Yacht, The Wild Goose (as I recall its name), anchored in Gasteneau Channel, while filming. Claud Akins behaved just as disgracefully in town as his character did in the movie. I believe that the studio or producer used this project as some sort of tax dodge while simultaneously compensating the actors for past (almost) glories or just to throw a party and write it off. That approach to movie making may also explain the making of "Ishtar". I resided in Juneau at that time and saw the "preview" of this monstrosity at a local theater there. The processing of the film was so poor that the color palate changed drastically from reel to reel. By the way, Chuck Keen lived in Juneau and, over several years, made several unsuccessful attempts to set up tourist attractions there. He mostly tried to promote his image as a "talent" "connected" in the movie industry.