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Reviews
I Dood It (1943)
The parts are greater than the sum
This is a film in which the parts are definitely greater than the sum. I understand it was a remake of a Buster Keaton silent feature,so the slapstick is pretty funny. Also entertaining are Miss Powell's dance numbers (even if two of them were lifted from previous films) and the musical numbers by Hazel Scott and Lena Horne. Red Skelton is his usual bumbling, confused,but lovable self. But the film as a whole is just goofy. Besides the whole "mistaken identity" plot,there is a subplot about Nazi saboteurs,which is just stupid and some really bad spoof of "Gone With the Wind" as the play that Powell's character is starring in. I guess that during wartime, anything light hearted was quickly put together and rushed into theaters as a diversion. This film looks it.
Blonde Fever (1944)
Harmless but dated
I made it a point to watch this film because I read that it was Gloria Grahame's first film and I am a huge Grahame fan. Like most people I am most familiar with her work in the noir genre. I had assumed that "It's a Wonderful Life "was her first film, since that is where she actually garnered her first public attention, but clearly I was wrong. At any rate it wasn't bad for a first effort from her.
Mary Astor is good as the long suffering wife of a philandering husband with a gambling problem as well. Astor always rose above whatever material she was given and here is no exception. This film is lightweight wartime fluff. I would think that most people forgot about it the minute they left the theater.
Marshall Thompson, who is also making his film debut is appropriately goofy and yet charming as the boyfriend competing for the wandering attentions of Ms. Grahame's Sally.
Phillip Dorn is not an actor I'm that familiar with, but he's okay here as the husband , Mr.Donay, with the wandering eye (and lips, hands, etc.).
This is no masterpiece of fine film craftsmanship, but it is harmless if dated, as most women today wouldn't put up with Mr.Donay's nonsense and Ms. Grahame's character would have been looking for another job.
One other thing. People always talk about what a superior studio MGM was, but realistically they put out as much junk as the others. The difference was that they spent a ton of money on their huge musicals and big star vehicles, but their "B" pictures were as crappy as everybody else's.
Dark Passage (1947)
Improbable, but still entertaining
So, as a lot of posters have already noted, there are a lot of improbable situations that pop up in this film and all of them work to the main character's advantage. As unrealistic as that is, it is what it is and no amount of complaining will change it.That being said, this is still a wonderful example of the noir genre for several reasons. The way the San Francisco locale is used so that the city itself is a character in the film, the terrific performances of the supporting cast, especially Agnes Moorehead, and the settings and costumes give the film a distinctive look that few films, noir or otherwise can match. This was the third pairing of Bogart and Bacall and by now their legions of fans were willing to forgive a few plot contrivances in order to watch the glamorous pair at work. Lauren Bacall as beautiful artist Irene Jansen glows every time the camera is on her. Although this is far from Mr. Bogart's best work, even his mediocre is better than a lot of actors' best. The real reason to watch is Agnes Moorehead as Madge Rapf, the jealous, vindictive, ex girlfriend of Vincent Parry, Bogart's character. She's the one that framed him and she's not through doing nasty things ,as we find out as the film progresses. She is magnificent as a truly vicious woman that will stop at nothing to get what and who she wants. Woe to anyone that gets in this dame's way! A word about the sets and wardrobe. As mentioned earlier in this review, San Francisco, its neighborhoods, landmarks and general atmosphere are used to full advantage in a way that was rare in the 1940's, as most studios preferred to do everything on a sound stage and backlots rather than shoot on location. 1947 was actually a big year for location shooting as Naked City was filmed entirely in New York City that same year. The wardrobe for this picture was wonderful as well. Watch Madge as she shows up unannounced at Irene's apartment, dressed to the nines in a leopard print dress with a matching hat. No question she was on the prowl. Of course, Ms.Bacall is stunning in every frame whether wearing a satin jacket and flowing pants or a casual plaid jacket and woolen slacks. Her experience as a model served her and her costumers well . The other supporting players were fantastic here as well, especially Tom D' Andrea as the cabbie that puts Vincent in touch with the plastic surgeon. All in all, this is a very good film, even if some of the plot contrivances are a bit unbelievable.
Perry Mason: The Case of the Deadly Double (1958)
Good Episode
I am a Perry Mason fan. I especially enjoy these episodes from the first couple of seasons,because a lot of them are the ones that have that sort "mini film noir" quality about them that was part of what made this show special. Although this episode was more straight drama than noir,it is very well crafted.
"The Case of the Deadly Double" was clearly inspired by the film "Three Faces of Eve" for which Joanne Woodward won an Oscar. Here,the "multiple personality" patient is played by Constance Ford and she gives as good a performance (in a much shorter time frame) as Miss Woodward did. She plays a meek woman with apparently no vices named Helen Reed,who is fighting her wealthy soon to be ex-husband for custody of their young son. He is accusing her of being an unfit mother. We later find out that the accusation is because Mrs. Reed has another personality named Joyce Martel that is a party girl. Joyce hangs out in night clubs,dressed to the nines,drinks,smokes and has a lover with a shady past,the owner of her favorite hangout. A slick dude named Johnny Hale.
When Helen Reed's husband turns up dead and the gun with which he was killed is found in her(Joyce's) evening bag,she is confused and insists that there is no way she killed her ex. She doesn't even recall owning a bag like that! Her brother gets Perry to defend his sister and here we go.
I feel it necessary to mention a couple of points made by other posters. The psychiatrist calls her disorder "schizophrenia" which we now know is a completely different diagnosis,but which was frequently called "split personality" back in the day. Psychiatrists were just becoming aware of the multiple personality disorder,so of course there is no way screenwriters would have been aware of the difference. Secondly, the courts back then did not recognize it as a viable defense, so Hamilton Burger is correct when he states that fact.
Now, this being "Perry Mason" of course there is a twist at the end and the familiar last minute confession. We find out that Joyce's lover in a fit of jealous rage murdered hubby, so Helen/Joyce is off the hook for the crime and free to get the psychiatric help she so desperately needs.
This was the first of three appearances Constance Ford would make on this series playing different roles. She was a terrific actress and would later become very familiar to soap audiences as Ada Hobson on NBC's Another World.
Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)
Silly Fun
Anybody that remembers late night television in the 70's and 80's will surely get a kick out of this. A couple of the skits are cringe-worthy,but most are spot on when it comes to what they are parodying.
**Spoiler Alert**
Some hilarious spoofs of commercials for instance,like the old K-Tel records ads features a singer, Don "No Soul" Simmons doing renditions of pop songs that make Pat Boone look hip by comparison. The Hair Club for Men send up features a man literally having carpeting installed on his head. The 50's sci-fi film being shown, Amazon Women on the Moon, is appropriately cheesy and low-budget with a chimp,no less.Plus,I swear I actually saw a film like this with Zsa Zsa Gabor, of all people.
The spoof of all those supposed "true story" shows(Believe It or Not,Fact or Fiction,Beyond Belief,etc.)is called "Bullshit or Not" here and it's hilarious.
The film critics review of an ordinary guy's life was good,but the Celebrity Roast Funeral that followed went on a little long. The date night and hospital skits fell flat,but the opening sequence with the apartment that attacks a man returning home from work,is a slapstick gem.
There are some very familiar faces here: Arsenio Hall,Michelle Pfieffer,The old-time comedians,as well as Ed Begley,Jr.,Howard Hessman and Rosanna Arquette. But the stand outs are clearly David Alan Grier as the aforementioned soulless singer and Carrie Fisher in her hilarious turn as the victim of a social disease in a PSA that clearly used Reefer Madness as it's inspiration. Because of the nudity,it isn't recommended for kids,but adults, especially those of us that remember this stuff actually being on at 2;00 a.m. should enjoy this silly,fun movie.
Pulp (1972)
Not Get Carter,more like Get Smart
The people that are complaining that this film is "no Get Carter" are missing the point entirely. This film is more Get Smart than Get Carter. Just as that '60's television series was a send up of the James Bond films,this '70's film is a send up of the gangster films and pulp fiction novels that a lot of them are based on. In that respect,it shouldn't be taken seriously, just enjoyed for the sight gags and one-liners. Sure,some of it is ridiculously obvious. There is an actor that could have doubled for Bogart if he had been around in the '40's and '50's. Lizabeth Scott,a femme fatale from many noir pictures plays a "princess" married to a politician and making no bones about the fact that she got where she is by being good in bed. Michael Caine is fine as the hack pulp fiction writer that gets caught in a real life murder mystery. But the real gem here is Mickey Rooney as the over the hill former movie tough guy with mob ties that hires Caine to ghost write his autobiography. I was never a big Mickey Rooney fan. I didn't dislike him,but I never got into his Andy Hardy or "Let's put on a show" flicks with Judy Garland. In fact,except for this film,I've really only seen one other MR film that I liked,a little b-picture from the '50's called "Quicksand." So his turn here as the movie star/mob guy/practical joker was a surprise and a delight.
The Ice Follies of 1939 (1939)
Seriously,LB?
I can only imagine that when Joan Crawford,then a reigning star at MGM was handed this script, she asked,"Seriously,LB?" Let's face it, the only reason this awful mess was made was GREED. LB Mayer wanted to cash in on the millions being made by Darryl Zanuck at FOX with the skating pictures Sonja Henie was doing. Joan Crawford and Jimmy Stewart as a couple (no way) of skaters(no way) that get married and end up temporarily separating because she becomes a BIG MOVIE STAR within moments of meeting a movie mogul! Boy,those studio contracts must have been iron-clad because nobody in their right mind would have read this horrible script and decided to make this film unless there were dire consequences to not doing so! Miraculously, this pile of manure didn't kill her career and later in '39 she made The Women. Fortunately, Jimmy Stewart also survived this horror.
The color sequence at the end is interesting because it was the first time Crawford was seen in color, and the actual Shipstad-Johnson skaters are good,but the God-awful blue gown she was in almost ruined that.
Maybe,I'll try to dig up some actual critic reviews from 1939 of this film. It will be interesting to see what they thought of this train wreck.
Blues in the Night (1941)
Entertaining Mess
I caught this one on TCM just yesterday morning. Based on the title(because I happen to love the song),I thought it would be a lot better than it was. Basically, "Blues In the Night" is a hot mess! It's a musical/noir/melodrama and therein lies the problem. Too many genres,with no clear vision of what story it wants to tell. The saga of a struggling band? The mental breakdown of a guy hopelessly in love with a no-good woman? The trials and tribulations of a married couple trying to be keep it together while on the road? This last bit reminded me of Scorcese's 1970's film, "New York,New York" and for all we know,this film may have been in the back of his mind when he made that one.
One thing that bugged me a lot while watching this film was the over the top performance of Betty Field.Waaaayyy too much! How could any man fall for a woman that acted like her? Loud mouth,loud clothes,no class,awful make-up,etc.etc.
Some of the musical performances are good,especially the title song,sung by the black guy in jail,the appearance of the Jimmie Lunceford Band and the one song that Priscilla Lane gets to sing after they start their gig at the roadhouse. It also boasts one of the worst musical performances I've ever seen on film, when the band goes to visit Jigger at his new gig and that blonde with the back-up singers does that weird song where she's making a lot of faces. She's like some 1940's version of Miley Cyrus with the outrageous bouncing around and facial contortions.
In general,it wasn't horrendous,but it could have been so much better. No wonder John Garfield turned down the role of Jigger. If that was the script he read,who could blame him?
Alice Adams (1935)
Avoid!
I had the unpleasant experience of seeing this film for the first time. The only tolerable characters in the entire film are the father and brother.
I was never a huge Kate Hepburn fan,but here she is basically unwatchable. The ridiculous way she yaks and twitters and tries to impress everybody is only the tip of the iceberg as to why this is so bad.I'm sure this film is the basis of the impressions comedians did of her for years.
First,her family is considered so poor,but their house looks pretty middle class to me. Second,if she is so "poor" why do these rich idiots bother to invite her to parties? As shallow as everyone in the film is,one wouldn't think she'd even be on their social radar,much less a party guest. The level of racism in this film is astounding to my modern eyes. Black people are referred to as "darkies",yep,darkies. Was this the Civil War era or what? Also,her brother is looked down on because he actually (gasp!) has black friends he'd rather hang out with than the high class bigots and snobs his sister wants so much to be like. Then there is Hattie McDaniel. Yes,in a few years she would win an Oscar for GWTW,but here she is just as embarrassing as Hepburn(more so,I'm sure to any black people that actually saw this hot mess back then). The fact that Drew Barrymore thinks she is so funny in this opens up some questions in my mind about Miss Barrymore.
At any rate,I will try to forget I ever saw this mess .