In Beau James, Bob Hope does a great job of depicting how the enormity of New York courses through its Mayor's blood and at least partially takes over every aspect of his life. Politics, in general, makes it difficult, if not impossible some times, to actually have a private life. When New York is your wife, you have no time for mistresses. Bob Hope did a great job of illustrating this in Beau James. He neither looked nor spoke like the tall, angular, thick-accented Jimmy Walker, but Hope captured his spirit and his joie-de-vivre. Paul Douglas is superb as Chris, the Tammany Hall boss. Alexis Smith is marvelous as Walker's pragmatic spouse and Vera Miles is gorgeous and winsome as ingénue Betty Compton with whom Walker had an affair. There is a great cameo by Jimmy Durante while Darrin McGavin and James Flavin both resonate in strong supporting performances. This is an enjoyable film that never forgets that New York is its actual star.
Reviews
7 Reviews
The Pawnbroker
(1964)
Steiger gives greatest performance of all time
9 February 2006
Rod Steiger gives the greatest lead-actor performance I have ever seen in the title role of the Pawnbroker. Lumet's direction strikes no false note and neither does the incredibly well-researched and painfully honest script. It's hard to believe how virtually forgotten this true masterpiece of a survivor's private hell. It shows very vividly that even those of us lucky enough to survive the camps need to be ever more rare of spirit to survive without significant trauma scars. Steiger extracts every piece of emotion from his character with a performance that exceeds all that came before it and has never been surpassed. Every aspiring actor needs to view Steiger's performance to realize how magnificent it truly is.
Act of Violence
(1948)
Early Zinneman extremely memorable
9 February 2006
Although not a pleasant movie to watch, An Act of Violence is as memorable and honest a look at the realities of the aftermath of war that one would ever want to see. Van Heflin's post-war suburban bliss with wife Janet Leigh is ended by the grim and dogged determination of pursuer Robert Ryan. Heflin's hidden cowardice during the war cost Ryan his leg and some of their comrades their lives. Ryan won't rest until the ledger is balanced somehow.
That's all of it, and Zinneman allows it to unfold in a manner that goes straight to our hearts and minds. This movie obviously has earned a Fan Club at TCM since they now show it frequently after I hadn't seen it since the late 50's until about 10 years ago. I recommend it highly.
That's all of it, and Zinneman allows it to unfold in a manner that goes straight to our hearts and minds. This movie obviously has earned a Fan Club at TCM since they now show it frequently after I hadn't seen it since the late 50's until about 10 years ago. I recommend it highly.
Marty
(1955)
The Bronx The Way It Used To Be
9 February 2006
I danced at the Stardust Ballroom. You could not see a film more representative of the way the Bronx used to be in the 1950's than Marty. The bus stop, the butcher shop, the Grand Concourse, it's all here -- beautifully preserved for you. And, you can see the seeds being sown for the actually undoing of the neighborhood into what it eventually became (see Fort Apache, the Bronx, and Do The Right Thing).
Beyond the preservation on film of the Bronx, "Marty" was a true pioneer as a slice-of-life masterpiece. I could watch this movie 100 times (and I think I may have) and never grow tired of it. The feelings are gritty and real. The mores followed by the characters are perfectly representative of the time. When Marty chuckles with a mixture of bemusement and embarrassment at his mother for telling him to go out to the Stardust Ballroom because he might meet some "cute tomatoes", I see my own youth in the Bronx flashing before my eyes. The scene where Marty tells Betsy Blair's date off for offering him five dollars to take her off his hands cuts like a knife to all of us more-homely-than-average types out there. See this movie, and appreciate it for what it is.
Beyond the preservation on film of the Bronx, "Marty" was a true pioneer as a slice-of-life masterpiece. I could watch this movie 100 times (and I think I may have) and never grow tired of it. The feelings are gritty and real. The mores followed by the characters are perfectly representative of the time. When Marty chuckles with a mixture of bemusement and embarrassment at his mother for telling him to go out to the Stardust Ballroom because he might meet some "cute tomatoes", I see my own youth in the Bronx flashing before my eyes. The scene where Marty tells Betsy Blair's date off for offering him five dollars to take her off his hands cuts like a knife to all of us more-homely-than-average types out there. See this movie, and appreciate it for what it is.
Dinner Rush
(2000)
The city is the star of enjoyable independent.
9 February 2006
New York City, and Greenwich Village in particular, is really the star of this modern more light-hearted update of the gritty city films in which Richard Conte used to specialize. John Corbett has one of his best film roles to-date as a customer at the bar. Danny Aiello is magnificent as the restaurant patriarch.
Overall, the plot takes a back seat to the Italian food and the Itazlian neighborhood atmosphere that is New-York-in-its-glory through-and-through. It is a movie that invites you to sample it as if you were eating one of its luscious Italian dishes. First, one delicious morsel, than another. Now, stop to digest. Have a sip of wine, eat a piece of homemade bread, sop up the gravy (real Italian-Americans in that section of NY never say "sauce."), then return to the main dish, and sample some more. This movie is a real treat. Watch it on a Saturday afternoon on DVD, then head down to Little Italy and enjoy a delicious meal!
Overall, the plot takes a back seat to the Italian food and the Itazlian neighborhood atmosphere that is New-York-in-its-glory through-and-through. It is a movie that invites you to sample it as if you were eating one of its luscious Italian dishes. First, one delicious morsel, than another. Now, stop to digest. Have a sip of wine, eat a piece of homemade bread, sop up the gravy (real Italian-Americans in that section of NY never say "sauce."), then return to the main dish, and sample some more. This movie is a real treat. Watch it on a Saturday afternoon on DVD, then head down to Little Italy and enjoy a delicious meal!
Eddie
(1996)
Great Family Fun
9 February 2006
Whoopi Goldberg is ideally cast as a passionate and loud-mouthed Knicks fan with the best of intentions. The film does as a good job of setting up its fantastic premise: Whoopi appointed as coach of the Knicks to help the owner break obnoxious coach Dennis Farina's ironclad contract. Farina is terrific as the ex-coach of the Knicks who tries to edge the Knicks out for the last playoff spot in the East as the Coach of the Hornets. Vlade Divac is hysterically funny, but not-at-all over-the-top as Ivan. Frank Langella is perfectly sinister but never unbelievable as the larger-than-life Cowboy owner who buys the Knicks to try to sell them for a profit. There are hilarious cameos throughout especially by two former NYC mayors.
Second Serve
(1986 TV Movie)
Virtuoso performance by Redgrave carries above-average TV flick
9 February 2006
Ms. Redgrave is no less than stunning as Richard. This is so much the case that when she finally won her hard-fought battle to become Renee, I was worried that she'd have a hard time passing as female. Her performance really grabbed me that much. The supporting cast is also very professional, and they wisely defer to Redgrave's presence in every scene. This film walks the line between the clinical and the emotional better than any other I have seen on the subject including the recent TransAmerica. There can be no greater fighting for the dignity of one's soul than when the world insists that your apparent gender is true but you are certain it is a lie and that you really can never life your own life until you correct that lie.
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