Reviews
Margie (1946)
This is as charming a film as you are ever likely to see!
I saw this film as a child and have loved it over the years. It has a depth of innocence and sweetness that is totally unavailable in films since...oh ,probably, the early sixties ..with movies like Pollyanna. This is the story of a lovely young school girl and her coming of age in an era that, sadly, many of todays viewers will NEVER know, but through the art of film (Thank God). These days are long gone,...and you can have NO idea how wonderful and uncomplicated they were by comparing them to today. Sit back an watch this wonderful little comedy and fall willingly under its spell. You won't regret it. This beautiful film will give you another small taste of the true genius and simplicity of movie making at its finest!!!
Lock Up Your Daughters! (1969)
hilarious 60's send-up of chastity issues, ala Tom Jones
I went to see this at the theatres when it first came out mostly to follow the career of Christopher Plummer...it was the summer of my first car...and I drove an incredible distance to see it in some obscure little theatre. I couldn't believe my eyes..the ribaldry and overt sexuality reminiscent of Tom Jones had everybody in histerics...but none so much as whenever Christopher Plummer was on the screen as Lord Foppington, a long lanky, powder haired, rouge lipped, belaced and high heeled ,courtly gentleman in satins and feminine finery trapsing thru' the movie like some awkward, flamboyant peacock. I got hysterical...I could hardly breathe ,I laughed so hard I was crying. The whole movie is full of gems..and is well worth watching to catch them all. Dated of course by today's standards..but for its time really very riskee'. See it ...if only for Lord Foppington!
Sweet November (1968)
One of my top ten favorite movies of all time!
Maybe I'm weird but this film really struck a chord with me. What a tender and moving little love story..definitely a woman's movie, romantic and sweet. Sandy Dennis is at her quirky best in the role of Sara Dever...and Anthony Newley at his most attractive and wonderful as charming Charlie Blake is a perfect casting match.There is terrific music by Leslie Bricusse, a fine performance by Theodore Bikel as a crusading vegetarian signmaker....but mostly there is this incredible growth of love between Sara and Charlie that is a delight to watch from the first frame to the last..and an incredible bittersweet ending that has me in tears EVERY time I see it. This movie SINGS to me.A lost and forgotten gem of a play made into a movie Sweet November is a must see for anyone who has ever been in love ...and lost. Don't miss this one!!!! It is a definite KEEPER!
The Black Arrow (1948)
Slow and somewhat ponderous adventure flick.
Lois Hayward is capable of much better than this. It was slow and awkward...some of the cast was good but over all I did not feel the casting was a great asset...certainly the script and direction were not...the cast deserved better to work with. Still if you are an afficianado of sword and swash be prepared to sit around for awhile and wonder why you bothered to wade thru this...definitely "not" a keeper...but watch it only if you love Louis Hayward movies.
The Last Days of Pompeii (1935)
Fabulous film w/deep,rich undertones of conscience
I first saw this film when I was a child and the impact it had on me has never faded no matter how many times I watch it, nor at what age. Every time I find some nuance I had not noticed before...it really is an unsung masterpiece. Try to see it with eyes unjaded by years of excess on the movie screen...for its time it had great special effects..a wonderful script, interesting casting...none so much as Basil Rathbone as Pontius Pilate..I have never seen better! Basil imbues Pilate with a sense of duty and conscience that fills the screen with its irony and pain at his dilemma. Marvelous! Preston Foster is often forced and hammy...but it did not distract from the enjoyment of the movie..in fact it was "a style" of acting in the thirties that many leads presented..actors like Fredrick March, etc had the same style...a leftover from the silent age when actors, in order to convey their sentiment used their body more to propel their feelings to the screen. An exaggeration of movement that lasted for a number of years until the realization hit that on the big screen with sound actors could be more subtle with their gestures. The story is , in content wonderful...holds my attention even after all these years of viewing. It is a fascinating story...a progression from a happy, hard working man with everything he could ever want, who loses it all in a very few days for lack of money. Bitter and lost, after having lost not only those he loved but losing his principles too to try to save them, he decides the only thing worth having is money..because it is the only thing that PROTECTS you. In the backround to all of this is the story of the Christ...not meant to be in the foreground but a backdrop to everything that happens to this man struggling with the heavy burden of his reality and his decisions. This is a beautiful film worthy of repeated viewing for its amazing messages...and there are many. This is a thinking man's film, a philosopher's film, a spiritualist's film, and a film for every man and woman searching for answers to the question "why?" What it ultimately leaves you with is HOPE. This is a KEEPER.