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Reviews
Judge Priest (1934)
Antebellum dreamland
Wow, just wow! Granted this movie could not be made today, or even 10 years later, for all the antebellum stereotypes on parade, but it's a little amazing to me that it got made at all, even in the 1930's. Will Rogers is fine as the common sense judge, forced to sit out a trial by a windbag political opponent's charge of bias, and the core of the story is heartwarming, like much of John Ford's work. But the Kentucky town depicted, with happy negroes and mint juleps and genteel manners, is like Reconstruction never happened, let alone the Civil War. Yes, it's a treat to hear Hattie McDaniels sing, especially the impromptu duet with Rogers. But the black folks are all so happy! Problems are apparently for white folks only. Less said about Stepin Fetchit the better, though his character is hardly marginalized and contributes greatly to the happy conclusion of the court case. Did I want to whistle "Dixie" at the end of the film? Yes, but I don't feel good about it.
Rise of the Nazis: The Home Front (2022)
Impressions of History
Nothing wrong with the history presented in this last episode of season two, but the decision to focus on two figures alone as emblematic of German resistance to the Nazis and Hitler, Sophie Scholl and Claus von Stauffenberg, gave undeserved short shrift to other equally or even more significant opposition figures. The moral stand taken by Catholic and Lutheran pastors like Bishop Clemens von Galen of Münster, Martin Niemöller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer arguably formed the intellectual background of the student resistance. (Von Galen's sermons were reprinted in the White Rose leaflets.)
The producers seem to have focused on Sophie Scholl in large part because she was a young woman, a more sympathetic counterpoint to the aristocratic Wehrmacht officer, Stauffenberg. But the impression was given that Sophie was the sole animating force the of the Munich student resistance, neglecting to mention her brother Hans, or Christoph Probst, who were arrested and executed with Sophie.
In part, this can be explained by the format of "talking head" historians explaining the motivations of the key figures in Nazi Germany. If, hypothetically, you choose a feminist historian to speak for Sophie Scholl, you are unlikely to hear much about her male comrades. But perhaps more pointedly, the series is locked into the subtext of resistance to rising authoritarianism in the present, so who better than.a 21-year old university student, who experiences a moral awakening and becomes a martyr for freedom and justice to inspire young people in the present?
Dangerous Assignment: The Alien Smuggler Story (1950)
Dangerous Assignment on the cheap
NBC Radio's "Dangerous Assignment," a sort of retirement plan for movie actor Brian Donlevy, was successful enough that Donlevy bought the TV rights and brought it to NBC television in 1952.
This first TV episode adapts the script of episode 6 of the radio series from 1949 with few changes, although a couple scenes which might have clarified the plot were cut, (probably for time, since the radio episode ran almost a full half hour.)
The writing did in fact suffer a bit in the transition, but other elements, such as the fine theme music and Herb Butterfield as "The Commissioner," are intact. The acting by Donlevy is not as bad as some of his "mail it in" efforts on the radio, but not up to the standard of the tough guy roles he played in the movies.
In general, this episode doesn't measure up to the radio version, which itself was not among the best radio adventures. But it's not a disaster either.
By the way, I can't prove it, but I'm pretty sure the voice of "Perez" was dubbed by voice actor Paul Frees. (The character was played by William Conrad on radio.) Not sure why actor Tiny Stowe's voice was not up to the task, but his look was good for the part of the heavy. Otherwise the cast is okay, including Ralph Moody as an old man (imagine!) who dreams of going to America and sacrifices himself when the dream is shattered.
It was fun to see Brian Donlevy in the flesh as agent Steve Mitchell, but the overall feeling is of a half-hearted attempt to keep a semi-good thing going.