rclements3-2 Reviews

The Ruthless Four (1968)

A very solid, brutal Western

[9/10 · 20 November 2005]

I had been looking for a copy of this film for a long time and finally found one. I wasn't disappointed as it is a well-written and directed film.

Van Heflin stars as a down and out prospector who finally strikes it rich. After surviving a double-cross attempt by a partner, he decides to look up an old friend to help him retrieve the remainder of his fortune. Through various situations the group expands to four - Heflin, George Hilton (his old friend), Klaus Kinski (who has a strange hold over Hilton) and Gilbert Roland (hired by Heflin as insurance against future double crosses), and the four then begin the trek to retrieve the gold. What happens along the way will hold your interest as there are some unusual plot twists.

As for the performances, Heflin and Kinski are remarkable. Heflin looks like he sat in the hot desert sun for weeks to prepare for this role, and his craggy voice and features are perfectly suited for his character. As for Kinski, dressed mostly in black, he is evil incarnate, with his cold stare, flashing eyes and creepy voice. Roland is also excellent, as an old army buddy of Heflin's who suffers from malaria. Hilton is good, too, although his performance pales in comparison to the others.

The direction is some areas is inventive, with good use of scenery, and the music score is impressively spare with only acoustic guitars for much of it.

If you enjoy realistic Westerns that don't romanticize the Old West, this comes highly recommended.

Executive Suite (1954)

Good but not great, despite its cast

[14 September 2005]

Executive Suite is the story of what could happen when the boss of a company dies suddenly and all of his underlings start scheming to take over. A great premise for a film, but this version, while capably handled, is not outstanding.

First, the great cast. There are many terrific actors here, perhaps too many. Not all of them are given enough to do, as many of their parts are too thinly written to warrant stars of their magnitudes. This is the especially the case with Barbara Stanwyck, Shelley Winters and Walter Pigeon. There just isn't enough room for all of them. Paul Douglas, a good actor, has a somewhat thankless role as a nervous wreck who, for some reason, is actually considered by some of the staff as a good replacement for the departed boss.

On the plus side, Louis Calhern is great as a slimy employee, Fredric March is good as the ringleader of the takeover attempt, and Nina Foch deserved her Oscar nomination for her role. William Holden, normally a great actor, does a credible job but his role as written is really nothing special.

The problem here is there's too many characters and too many subplots. If the film focused more on March's takeover attempt and less on the romances, eliminated some of the secondary characters, and had less clichés in the script, a much better film would have resulted. And the worst part is the ending - without actually revealing what happens, let's just say its Hollywood cliché all the way.

While not without merit, if one's looking for a great movie about business intrigue, Executive Suite isn't it. Check out the far superior Patterns (1956), starring Van Heflin, for a much more compelling view of this subject.

Because of the great cast, 6.5 out of 10. Without the cast, the rating would be less.

Patterns (1956)

Outstanding film

[10/10 · 14 September 2005]

Patterns is a lesser-known film version of big business intrigue. A much more famous example of this type of film is Executive Suite, but despite that film's big budget and numerous stars, Patterns (with its tight script by Rod Serling and superb acting) blows Executive Suite out of the water.

Van Heflin plays a factory manager brought to New York City from Ohio. Everett Sloane plays the ruthless head of the company, and Ed Begley is the harassed company man who is nearing retirement. Sloane hates Begley's outmoded ways of doing business and grooms Heflin to take over. But Heflin and Begley become friends, and Heflin doesn't want to get ahead at the expense of his friend. The dynamic between these three very different characters forms the gripping premise of the film.

The best scene is when Begley, having stayed late to finish some work, is contemplating doing terrible things to his boss, Sloane. Heflin drops by to speak with him and sees what a distraught state of mind Begley is in and tries to convince him that he should retire. Begley works himself up into such a state that he begins shouting, but right about then, his son comes by looking for his dad because he promised to take him to a ballgame. Begley doesn't want his son to see him in that state of mind and implores Heflin to tell him he's gone home. From this point the film works toward its powerful climax.

Heflin is superb, as are Sloane and Begley. All were very well respected character actors and so it is not correct to say the cast is filled with unknowns. The remainder of the cast is also good but has less to do.

Patterns deserves to be better known than it is. Don't miss it.

Finger Man (1955)

pretty good noir-type film

[8/10 · 15 August 2005]

Fingerman is a good example of a 50's style crime drama. The basic plot line is: a man who has spent a lifetime committing crimes is "back at work" after his latest release from prison. While committing a hold-up by hijacking a truck, he carelessly drops a pack of cigarettes on the road with his fingerprints all over them and is nailed by the feds. Given a choice to go free if he becomes a stool-pigeon, he has to decide if he'll work for the feds to nab a crime kingpin.

Although there are no major stars, the performances are mostly good. Frank Lovejoy specialized in this type of role, a cynical protagonist caught up in circumstances beyond his control. Forrest Tucker (as the crime boss) and Peggie Castle (as Lovejoy's girlfriend) do well also. Timothy Carey (one of the most bizarre actors in screen history) is a standout as a torpedo in Tucker's employ.

The direction is decent but not outstanding, yet there are a few good moments, such as when two of Tucker's henchmen toss an informer in front of an approaching vehicle. Much of the action occurs at night, thus adding to the "noir" feel of the movie.

The film is unquestionably dated, and may bore younger viewers who need explosions or special effects every five minutes, but if you like 50's crime drama, Fingerman is a good way to kill an hour-and-a-half.

Ocean's Eleven (2001)

Pretty boring

[8/10 · 9 August 2005]

Add me to the list of people who think that Hollywood is running out of original ideas. This film tries too hard to be cool. Somehow, you get the impression that the big stars of this movie (Clooney, Pitt, Roberts, etc.) are just laughing at all of us, saying "Don't you wish you were beautiful like us and could appear in movies and make lots of money like we do?"

I'll admit I've never been a fan of George Clooney. In this movie and others, he apparently wants to be the next Steve McQueen (who turned down Sinatra back in 1960 when when asked to appear in the original movie). The only problem is, Clooney's not McQueen. McQueen didn't have to act cool, he was cool. As was the real Rat Pack.

Brad Pitt and Matt Damon are somewhat better. Both at least show some talent, although this film gives them little opportunity to use it.

The rest of the cast is decent, but again, they haven't got much to work with. The best work is turned in by old pros Carl Reiner and Elliott Gould. Andy Garcia is convincing in his role as well.

Probably the best thing about this film was the soundtrack - there was some decent music in several sections throughout.

I haven't bothered to see "Ocean's Twelve", as the real "heist" of these films is being played on the moviegoers who've paid to see them.