Reviews

All fans of Olivia de Havilland MUST watch this film, as her outstanding performance in The Snake Pit just might be the greatest of her entire brilliant career. Olivia plays Virginia Cunningham, a woman in a state mental hospital not knowing how she got there. The film's director, Anatole Litvak, insisted that the cast accompany him to mental institutions to do some research before filming. Olivia took this ball and ran with it, engaging in research with complete dedication and intensity. This was evident in her performance, as her hands-on research combined with her extraordinary acting ability made Virginia Cunningham into a character that the audience may not understand, but has deep sympathy for. Olivia struck the perfect balance between normal and "sick," and showed the world that those with mental illnesses are not bad people, but simply misunderstood. She took a very difficult role and produced a masterpiece from it, and it's downright unbelievable that she didn't win an Oscar for this (although she was nominated).

As phenomenal as Olivia was, she was also accompanied by a fantastic cast, as the performances were great from top to bottom, even the uncredited roles. Leo Genn was great as Dr. Kik, Virginia's sympathetic doctor, as was Mark Stevens as her loyal and worried husband. Betsy Blair was extremely effective in her role as Hester, despite speaking only once in the entire film, and Helen Craig was great in a heel role as the hateful Nurse Davis. Jacqueline deWit was another memorable role as Ms. Sommerville, the kind nurse who loses her mind and becomes a patient in the institution herself. A few more actors of note in this film: Natalie Schafer (Mrs. Howell from Gilligan's Island) played Virginia's mother, silent film star Mae Marsh played a bit part, and Barbara Pepper (Doris Ziffel from Green Acres) played one of the patients in the institution. All of the nearly 100 actors in this film played their roles effectively, which added to the strength of the picture.

It is important to note that some parts of this film are quite disturbing, and it can be difficult to watch at times. However, it was a very effective film during its time because it exposed the many evils of the mental institutions of the time. Harsh treatments, such as the ones depicted in the film, were very common back then, and women's institutions in particular had little discretion with how they treated their patients. Furthermore, husbands could simply get sick of their wives, claim the wife is crazy, and have her committed to one of these institutions. While many of these institutions have been shut down today, these kind of treatments are not necessarily exclusive to the past, and the mistreatment of patients by nurses has spread into other medical facilities, such as nursing homes.

Sometimes, a great film NEEDS to make its viewers feel uncomfortable.

There are many things that make Twelve O'Clock High one of the greatest, if not THE greatest war movie ever made. During WWII, too many war movies were just lighthearted, unrealistic comedies designed to get a laugh and feel-good reactions out of the audience during a time of war. Conversely, Twelve O'Clock High is very serious, and does an excellent job of conveying the grim realities of war to the audience. Gregory Peck's performance was magnificent. He showed great character development, evolving from a hard-nosed general to eventually developing a loving relationship with his men. Peck called this his favorite role, and it's very obvious that he enjoyed this performance and put his heart into every scene. It wasn't just Peck who made this movie great, though. Every single actor in this film, from the top of the cast list to the bottom, put on a fantastic performance in which the audience can feel the emotion coming from them. Despite the film being from 1949, it doesn't feel the least bit dated, and every message in the film still resonates today. Lastly, if these weren't enough reasons to watch it, parts of the air combat scenes were filmed during ACTUAL COMBAT, and the way these scenes were interspersed with the drama of the film was incredible. Twelve O'Clock High is an absolutely phenomenal war film, and a great thing to watch on Memorial Day or Veteran's Day.

As a millennial, it is important for all fellow millennials to remember to not watch this film from a 21st century perspective. In order to appreciate Gone With The Wind, or any old classic film, one must watch it from the perspective of the period it was filmed as well as the period it describes. Certainly, the portrayal of the African-American characters is very dated, but that takes nothing away from how these roles were performed. Furthermore, while most today would disagree with the film's sympathetic disposition towards the south during the Civil War, everyone can agree that Gone With The Wind does an incredible job of highlighting the monumental costs of a war - the loss of lives, the strain put on those left behind afterwards, and the horribly wasteful drain of resources, money, and emotion that a war causes for everyone involved.

Another thing Gone With The Wind did extremely well was to abandon the traditional roles of heroes and heels and instead blur those lines, showing the good and bad qualities of every character. Clark Gable's Rhett Butler spent his entire life as a slimy, womanizing sleazeball, yet demonstrated numerous times that he has a huge heart. Vivien Leigh as Scarlett was a very selfish, crass, and heartless person, yet showed the strength and resilience to persevere through any hard situation thrown her way. Olivia de Havilland portrayed Melly as an incredibly warm, caring, sweet individual who cared deeply for everyone around her, but suffered from naïvety and an inability to truly care about herself. Just to note for Olivia fans, this role is a must-see because it was the first role that removed her from the standard "beautiful girl pursued by the lead man" roles that Warner typically gave her, and it truly gave her an opportunity to show off her acting chops like never before. Leslie Howard's Ashley was the strong war hero yet was too weak to fight off Scarlett's continuous tempting advances. Last to mention but certainly not least was Hattie McDaniel as Mammy. She may have been portrayed as an uneducated house slave, yet several times was the smartest character in a scene.

There are a couple characters who could've been done better, though. Victor Jory was a brilliant heel character actor, and Jonas Wilkinson was one of the few true heels in the film, yet he was confined to just a handful of scenes and was quite insignificant overall. Butterfly McQueen as Prissy was insufferable. It's not clear who told her to act like that or why they did, but her lines almost exclusively consist of screaming and extreme overacting, and her scenes are extremely painful to watch. She does have one worthwhile moment in the film though - to avoid a complete spoiler, just watch her lips.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Gone With The Wind is the cinematography. The color is gorgeous, and the HD copies of the film available today make it look like it was filmed just a few years ago. The use of thousands of extras in the outdoor hospital scene was very impactful. The fire scene was absolutely brilliant. Long-distance shots are used perfectly throughout the film. If someone wasn't told what year this film was made, it is highly doubtful that anyone would guess it dates all the way back to 1939. It could easily pass for the 90s. It looks THAT good.

Overall, this is one of the all-time greats of classic film. Gone With The Wind is a must-watch for all classic film buffs!

This film begins rather slowly, but gets more interesting as one progresses through the film. The Swan, later retitled One Romantic Night, was the talkie debut of silent film giant Lillian Gish. The criticism that Gish was too old for this part are baseless because Gish still looked quite young at this point (she certainly didn't look 37). She was also very dolled up and beautiful, looking every bit like a princess. Her talkie debut was great. She spoke well, she had great facial and bodily expressions, and she captivated the audience during her scenes just as she did in her silent films. This role was also a welcome change for Gish fans used to seeing her play the vulnerable, frail, nice girl roles, as she was strong, defiant, and independent in this role. Marie Dressler was great too. She owned her lines expressively without overdoing it, and it was nice to see her in a nobility role, much different than her previous roles. Rod La Rocque and Conrad Nagel could be stiff at times, but there were scenes where they shined as well. The two teenage boys had small roles, but performed them very well. Overall, the film has a rather slow start, and at some point the acting seems quite "stagey," but overall it is an enjoyable film, and it's very worth watching for Lillian Gish fans to see her in her first talkie.

For those just getting started with silent films, this is the perfect one to start with. The General isn't just one of the best films of the silent era; it is also one of the greatest films ever made. The film is just barely an hour long, but it has so much action packed into that hour that it feels longer, in a good way. Many of today's "action" movies don't have half as much action in them, despite being twice as long as The General. Buster Keaton tells a brilliant story and doesn't need many intertitles to do so, as the silent action on film is often enough to progress the story in itself. While there are plenty of laughs in the film, there are also plenty of moments in which the viewer is on the edge of the seat. The stunts in The General were pulled off without any special effects or stunt doubles, as Keaton preferred to do his own stunts. What was accomplished in this film in 1926 was nothing short of incredible. Furthermore, today, the film has been restored in HD and looks every bit as clean as something shot on a modern camera with grayscale turned on.

Lowell Sherman was a very versatile man in the world of early film. He was successful in both silents and talkies. He could play a dastardly heel (Sanderson in Way Down East) as well as a good hearted man, as seen in this film. He could act, direct, or both, as he does in The Pay-Off. There were a few issues with the film, mainly due to it being from 1930 - the dialogue is sometimes fuzzy and tough to hear, and at some points, some of the actors overact, as was typical for an early talkie. Still, the film is very good for a 1930 talkie. Sherman's performance is magnificent, as his acting seems as natural as can be, as though he'd been making talkies for years. The film is just over an hour and moves at a quick pace to keep the viewer interested. There's a mix of older and younger actors in the film, and as a whole, the acting is pretty good. Overall the film is an 8/10 and definitely worth watching.

Every single thing about this film was terrible. I'd thought it would be funny because I could laugh at the horribly dated propaganda, but even that wasn't a redeeming factor because the film was so bad. I'm not sure which was worse - the incredibly false, fearmongering propaganda, or the horrible acting. Everything from the screenplay, to the lines, to the acting, to the message behind the building. There's nothing redeemable about this so skip it.

Bambi II is a very good film. It has all the elements that one comes to expect from a Disney film, and serves as an excellent complement to the original 1942 classic, despite being made more than 60 years later. However, Bambi II seems more like it "fills in the gaps" of the first Bambi film rather than serving as its own film. It would actually be a very good idea for Disney to combine the two films. Start with the original Bambi, insert Bambi II after the death scene that begins the film, then conclude with the rest of the original. This is a highly recommended way to watch the two films as well.

I typically avoid using first person in reviews, but for this film, I'll make an exception. Dodge City is a phenomenal film that I've watched at least twelve times since discovering it around 2014. It's important to note that this film is from 1939, arguably the greatest year in film history, and it ranked sixth at the box office that year, which is a testament to how great the film truly is. Errol Flynn was reluctant to take the part. He didn't feel he would be accepted in Westerns, and to that point, no successful Western film had a non-American playing its lead. Errol Flynn ultimately accepted the part and knocked it out of the park. His portrayal of the good boy looking to clean up Dodge City was excellent, while Alan Hale Sr. and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams we're both effective and humorous as his sidekicks. Bruce Cabot and Victor Jory were magnificent heels in this film. Unlike some bad guys who skirt the line between good and evil, or have some redeeming qualities, there was absolutely nothing good or likable about Cabot or Jory in this film. As for Olivia de Havilland, it's widely known that she was unhappy with her cookie-cutter Warner Bros. roles at this time (this was a few months before she made Gone With the Wind), but she still played this role excellently. This role of a stubborn, independent young woman was a perfect vehicle for her to vent her frustrations through acting (although she did end up marrying Flynn's character at the end of the movie). Lastly, for those who love a good saloon brawl, this film probably has the best bar fight ever in the history of both film and television. There are so many great reasons to love this film!

In the world of early talkies, this one was excellent. In what was Chic Sale's feature-length talkie debut, his performance was magnificent. It's hard to believe he was actually in his late 40s when playing this role, as he was entirely convincing as an old man. He had everything from the stubborn, set-in-his-ways attitude to the old man walk down pat. His portrayal is very likable, and makes the viewer really want to root for the old man. Noah Beery is the other memorable performance from this film. His heel role as the thorn in Sale's side, constantly looking for any way to mess up his life, really make the viewer hate the guy. This film provides its share of comedic and lighthearted moments, while also focusing on some of the struggles of the Great Depression that was going on when this film was made. Unlike many early talkies, this film does not seem overacted. Overall, it was a well-done job by all.

This particular episode of Rawhide is very creepy and strange, but in a good way. The effectiveness of this episode really comes from the guest actors, notably Luana Patten and Claude Akins. Patten's acting in this episode is superb. She plays both of Foulger's daughters, Maeve and Mona, and does a fine job of expressing the two very different personalities of the sisters. Perhaps the most impressive part of her performance is the very creepy, chilling tone she gives when Mona speaks about the legends of the stones (mentioned in a vague way to avoid giving too much away), as well as the beautiful but creepy song she sings. Claude Akins plays the heel role, as he typically does so well. His greedy and arrogant demeanor with both Mona and her father have the viewer eager to see him get his comeuppance by the end.