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Reviews
Faithful in My Fashion (1946)
coninuity goof
Mid-film, Tom is wearing Ike jacket which lacks his 3-stripe sergeant's rank. An excellent actor, never a let-down. Looked for a CIB then saw 2nd Armod Div patch. All tank crewmen were incredibly brave.
San Antonio (1945)
Great Flynn - delivers all you could want
Flynn of course - one of the all time greats, here in top form. Evenly-paced action in rich color reinforced by a great soundtrack -- can't stop whistling the title tune. Classic western good guy versus bad guys, with beautiful talented Alexis in the mix. Her singing is very enjoyable. John Litel - delivers another solid character performance. S.Z. Sakall provides comic relief in his inimitable style. As the bad guy, Kelly is credible, but in contrast to his usual good guy role as tough cop or prison warden. And, of course, as Flynn says at the end: "There's only one place for us Texans - driver turn around! (back to San Antonio)" I grew up in SA, and it is every Texan's hometown. Too bad Alan Hale and Guinn Williams weren't shown here -- but you can see them in the GREAT Flynn 1940 color film "Dodge City" (way better than John Ford's acclaimed "Stagecoach" also of 1940).
The Young Racers (1963)
About much more than the racecars
Early 1960's newfangled, fast, agile, sleek, clean-lined, independent suspension formula one racers streak across the screen in glorious color. High-pitched, hi-revving engines scream DANGER HERE! This film delivers the typical 1960s male adolescent fantasy desire for a fast beautiful car, fast high-living, and the same kind of woman. At film's beginning, the characters are presented as mere stereotypes. In movie westerns, William Campbell was often typecast as a somewhat erratic bad guy, and in this movie he starts off in type as a bad guy 20th century playboy driver. He is egotistical, ruthless, detestable, married to a beautiful woman but still enjoys controlling, using, then callously discarding woman after woman (as he says, "the kind I get"). Mark Damon plays a writer who is also a driver and fiancée of one of the discards. But Damon's revenge is complicated by a growing friendship with Campbell as they compete on the racing circuit. Without being too obscure or complicated, the movie allows the excitement, danger, conflict, and searing emotions to cut thru the drivers' facades and expose their inner drives and fears, like a Bowie knife can carve up a tin of Boston baked beans. The characters become more than and different from what we thought. We increasingly understand and sympathize with the "bad" guy as he struggles with his fears and tries to become his better self. The plot climaxes, then accelerates promptly to a plausible resolution that leaves you with a good feeling. Enough fast action for any classic auto fan. Enough human element to get past the action into hearts and minds of the drivers "and the women who love them" (sorry, could not avoid inserting that cliché). Fans wanting more dwelltime should see James Garner's thrilling 1966 film "Gran Prix."
Young and Innocent (1937)
characteristically Hitchcock
Recently viewed this, without getting to see the credits, and therefore did not know beforehand who was the director. But, not far into the film, I knew it just had to be pre-Hollywood Hitchcock. IMDb just confirmed that to me. The classic Hitchcock elements in the film include, interestingly, the almost-scary close-up shot of the ---- birds!!! Tippi Hedron would certainly recognize the avian art of the master's hand in this little scene (see Tippi as the lead actress in Hitchcock's "The Birds" 1962). There are several Hitchcock characteristic zoom shots, or shots of things moving toward the viewer. Also, typically, the protagonist is in a jam and is innocent and there is great urgency in a race against time (this angle reminded me of Hitchcock's 1972 "Frenzy")to save a life in jeopardy - in this case the protagonist. And also in this case a great urgency to "get the bad guy." I was disappointed in the somewhat unlikely appearance and discovery of the bad guy, with his tell-tale identifying facial quirk. I liked the high quality black and white film -- it had the rich look of those films shot in color but released only in black and white (or seen on your black and white TV back in the days before color TV was affordable to most folks) - depth, texture, atmosphere. Also, the blackface make-up (like the old time minstrel shows) worn by the jazz band will probably unsettle many folks nowadays. When this film was made, blackface was not thought of as "racist," but today's audience no doubt looks upon the practice unfavorably. I also liked the sound of the band - great period music! Which prompts me to wonder if there has been much attention to the musical compositions and sound tracks of Hitchcock's films. Just sit back and enjoy this one!