A young exiled creature (Dimitrius Schuster Koloamatangi) of the Yautja race is exiled to a dangerous and hostile planet. In order to survive, he reluctantly joins forces with a damaged synthetic android (Elle Fanning). Directed by Dan Trachtenberg (PREY). This is the seventh entry in the PREDATOR franchise. This time around, the predator is not the bad guy but the hero. Heavily laden with its CGI effects, the film takes awhile to kick in but when it does, it becomes a thrilling sci-fi action piece. Even though she's playing an android, Elle Fanning infuses the movie with some much needed humanity, something missing in its other characters. While I'm a big fan of the original PREDATOR (1987), its subsequent spawn didn't interest me but I liked this well enough.The film's final image assures us that a sequel is on the way. With Reuben De Jong and Mike Homik.
A Los Angeles undercover cop (Theresa Russell) teeters on the thin line separating her "normal" life as a cop from the lurid and tantalizing life of neon glitz she pretends to lead. Directed by actress Sondra Locke (THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER). Russell's out of control cop living on the edge is a compelling character and Russell is excellent and while Locke's direction is assured and taut, it turns into a one woman show because Russell has no one to play against. The two male protagonists (Jeff Fahey, George Dzundza) are stereotypes played by uninteresting actors so it often seems that Russell is acting in a vacuum. Instead of focusing on her, the screenplay by Leigh Chapman features an prosaic drug deal plot that's pedestrian. Still, Locke's direction is good enough that one wishes she had continued directing (she directed only three other movies) but with better material. With Alan Rosenberg and Nicholas Mele.
A first sergeant (Joel McCrea) in the cavalry captures an Apache village. When rounding up the women and children, he discovers a white woman (Barbara Stanwyck) with an Apache son. She had been taken captive nine years before. He attempts to return her to her husband (John Dehner) but will the husband accept her son? Directed by Charles Marquis Warren (ARROWHEAD). A potentially intriguing subject matter is reduced to a routine western. The movie sets up a confrontation between the husband and wife but doesn't resolve it, instead preferring to eliminate an unsolved situation by a convenient and abrupt event. The film is fortunate to have the the aging McCrea and Stanwyck in the leads, their star presence accounts for something. With Earl Holliman, Susan Kohner, Edward Andrews, Royal Dano, Rodolfo Acosta and Celia Lovsky.
An unemployed salesgirl (Ginger Rogers) picks up a baby left at an orphanage's doors at Christmas. Everyone assumes the foundling is hers, including her playboy ex-boss (David Niven), who offers her a job if she'll live up to her maternal duties. Directed by Garson Kanin (MY FAVORITE WIFE). A remake of the Hungarian movie LITTLE MOTHER (1935), this is a delightful romantic comedy with its two stars sparkling. It's not a pre code film but there's a moderate sense of naughtiness abound as everyone assumes Rogers is an unwed mother. Yes, it's a one trick pony in that respect but Kanin doesn't run it into the ground. Remade in 1956 as BUNDLE OF JOY. With Charles Coburn, Frank Albertson, Ernest Truex and Leonard Penn.
An ex-crime reporter (Charles Bronson) is hired by a sinister millionaire (John Houseman) to recover some stolen journals. What seems like a simple job as an intermediary soon turns deadly as the bodies start piling up. Based on the novel THE PROCANE CHRONICLE by Oliver Bleeck and directed by J. Lee Thompson (GUNS OF NAVARONE). A homage to THE MALTESE FALCON with Houseman channeling Sydney Greenstreet, Jacqueline Bisset as the requisite not to be trusted femme fatale, even Elisha Cook Jr. shows up! It's entertaining enough and it's nice to see Bronson in something other than as a revenge crazed killing machine. There's lots of killing here but not by Bronson. Still, it's average at best and derivative at worst. With Maximilian Schell, Harry Guardino, Jeff Goldblum, Harris Yulin, Dana Elcar, Michael Lerner and Robert Englund.
A secret agent (Anthony Eisley) goes after a madman (Folco Lulli) who plots world domination from his underwater city. The villain deflects moon rockets launched from Cape Kennedy by blasting them out of the sky with laser beams. Directed by Antonio Margharetti (LONG HAIR OF DEATH) under the pseudonym of Anthony Dawson. The success of the James Bond franchise (starting in 1962) spawned parodies, both domestic (Matt Helm, the Flint movies) and international like this entry. This one is a dud! The stock footage and rear projection shots reveal its low budget limitations and the sexless Eisley (best known from the HAWAIIAN EYE television series) makes for a stiff leading man. Other than the American Eisley, the actors are Italian all dubbed into English. It steals bits and pieces from DR. NO and GOLDFINGER and the poster quipped, "It strikes like a ball of thunder", a nod to THUNDERBALL. It never manages to rise above tediousness. With Diana Lorys, Wandisa Guida and Francisco Sanz.
In order to make ends meet and to support her daughter (Debbie Lytton), a divorcee (Susan Anspach) moonlights at a professional dating service. She finds herself falling in love with a struggling actor (Tony Bill) who has a few secrets of his own. Directed by Steven Hilliard Stern (MORNING GLORY). A rather sleazy telefilm that whips up a faux thriller subplot to hold our waning interest. Since there's only one logical suspect to be her stalker, it's pretty obvious to guess and its revelation is a yawn. To the movie's credit, it doesn't wrap it up neatly and give us a "live happily ever after" ending but leaves us with a sensible ending. The supporting cast is good though. With Cyd Charisse, Kevin McCarthy, Edie Adams, Gretchen Wyler, Biff Elliot, Mary Frann and Todd Susman.
Set in 1844 Sweden, a farmer (Max Von Sydow) and his wife (Liv Ullmann in an Oscar nominated performance) struggle to make a go of the farm. Poor weather, bad harvests and a rock filled landscape work against them. Thus their decision to emigrate to America. Based on the novel by Vilhelm Moberg and directed by Jan Troell (ZANDY'S BRIDE). A genuine epic (over three hours plus intermission), it received five Oscar nominations. It avoids the sentimentality that English language films often indulge in when telling stories of immigrants. Their life in Sweden is brutal and their sea voyage is brutal although the film's last shot is one of optimism. Overall, it's an evocative and surging movie that slowly but surely pulls you in until you're committed to these characters' story. The second half of the tale (A NEW LAND) came the following year. With Eddie Axberg, Allan Edwall, Ake Fridell and Monica Zetterlund.
On the run after shooting one of the men who murdered his partner, a man (Rod Cameron) stops in a remote saloon and meets the vivacious entertainer (Yvonne De Carlo) who owns the saloon. Tempers and passions immediately flare up. Directed by Charles Lamont (MA AND PA KETTLE). Yvonne De Carlo in Technicolor is always a treat but boy, is this one a dog! We're treated to De Carlo constantly being humiliated by Rod Cameron's gunslinger (including the "happy" ending where he spanks her!). Rod Cameron never moved beyond being a B movie leading man and it's easy to see why. He recites his lines with all the emotion of an oak tree, he's a real stiff. De Carlo was cast after Maria Montez wisely refused to do the movie. With Sheldon Leonard, Andy Devine and Fuzzy Knight.
Set in Spain, during a terrible thunderstorm, a married couple (Melina Mercouri, Peter Finch) traveling with their friend (Romy Schneider), take refuge in a small hotel. During their stay, the wife becomes obsessed with a man (Julian Mateos) on the run from the police for killing his wife and her lover. Based on the novel 10:30 ON A SUMMER NIGHT by Marguerite Duras (who co-wrote the screenplay) and directed by Jules Dassin (NIGHT AND THE CITY). An odd film! There's only the thinnest (very thin) of plots as an enigmatically moody Mercouri obsesses (in equal measure) over the affair that's going on under her very nose between her spouse and her best friend and the crime of passion killer on the run from the law. I'm sure it's about something but I'll be damned if I could figure it out. I wouldn't call it pretentious as it was compelling enough for me to become engaged with it but I'm not sure Dassin figured out what it was about either.
A hot-shot Manhattan physician (Macdonald Carey) known as Dr. Broadway knows everyone under the bright lights of the Great White Way ... and they know him! When a gangster (Eduardo Ciannelli) just released from prison contacts him to do a favor, he soon finds himself up to his neck in murder and thievery. Directed by Anthony Mann (EL CID) in his directorial debut. A low budget pseudo Runyonesque tale notable for being Mann's directorial debut. It's a zippy little movie that Mann keeps moving along but the movie needed a more charismatic leading man than the bland Macdonald Carey to hold it together. Everybody has to start somewhere and this was a decent enough beginning for Mann though one would never guess how far he would go based on this outing. With Jean Phillips, Joan Woodbury, J. Carrol Naish, Gerald Mohr and Richard Lane.
When she is orphaned, a young child (Tamara Harvey) is taken in by a local Squire (Derek Jacobi). But now grown into an attractive young woman (Naomi Watts), the Squire's intentions have turned lecherously sinister. To escape him, she flees with his son (Iain Glen) whom she loves. Alas, she soon discovers the dark secrets of the family history. Based on the 1869 novel by J.S. Le Fanu and directed by Alex Pillai (HOW TO DATE BILLY WALSH). A Victorian Gothic that is reminiscent of JANE EYRE but, of course, nowhere near as good. It's often confusing (a nice way of saying incoherent) but it provided Watts with a juicy role while waiting for her big break which would come the following year with MULHOLLAND DRIVE. If you enjoy this kind of BBC Gothic "imperiled heroine" costume melodramas, you may well like it. I found it just passable (and I'm a big Watts fan), nothing more. With Jack Davenport, Aisling O'Sullivan and Ellie Haddington.
Set in Paris on the eve of WWI, a pacifist writer (Claude Rains) allows an ambitious politician (Lionel Atwill) to take credit for his words in the broadsheet he publishes. When his political aspirations bring him closer to the very people condemned in the pacifist's writings, he urges the scribe to soften his rhetoric. Based on the play by Jean Bart and directed by Edward Ludwig (WAKE OF THE RED WITCH). The play was a flop (it ran for about three weeks) and also starred Claude Rains, recreating his stage role here. Considering this was not a pre code film, I was taken aback at the violent ending (the title is to be taken literally as well as metaphorically). Other than that, it's your standard tale of a passive man pushed to the brink until the worm turns. Enjoyable enough but not essential. With Joan Bennett (still in the blonde phase of her career), Wallace Ford and Juanita Quigley, one of the most annoying child actors I've ever seen.
A young inventor (Malcolm McGregor) is loved by two very different women. A refined graduate (Norma Shearer) of a finishing school and an overpainted and undereducated floozy (Norma Shearer). Directed by Monta Bell (LIGHTS OF OLD BROADWAY). Two Norma Shearers for the price of one! Normally, that wouldn't be such a bargain but this was way before Shearer became the grande dame of MGM with a little assist from husband Irving Thalberg. She's actually very good in both parts with her tart standing out. The storyline is pedestrian and we know exactly where it's going but at a brief running time (1 hour, 5 minutes), this silent movie doesn't give you time to get restless. With George K. Arthur and Dale Fuller.
A young woman (Juliette Lewis) decides she wants to live by herself for awhile rather than moving in with her boyfriend (William Hurt). When she moves in to her new apartment, everything seems fine at first but things quickly turn bizarre. Written and directed by Josh Klausner (WANDERLAND). A serviceable second tier thriller that doesn't make much sense. Just why is everybody in the building weird, particularly the nutty landlady (Shelley Duvall). When Juliette Lewis is terrorized by the mysterious tenant who lives in the apartment beneath her, why doesn't she just move out? None of this is answered to the viewers' satisfaction. As to who is the perpetrator behind all this, in movies of this sort, I consider who is the most unlikely person to be the villain and I'm almost always right and in this case, it is the most unlikely person and the most likely person. With Austin Pendleton, Artie Lange, Tobin Bell and Robert Costanzo.
Influenced by her social climbing mother (Charlotte Greenwood), a young woman (Lynn Bari) is looking for a rich husband. But her father (Charles Ruggles) hatches a plan to sabotage an engagement between his daughter and her much older fiance (Alan Mowbray). Directed by Ray McCarey (THE FALCON'S ALIBI). What might have been a cute little comedy misfires because of one central performance. As the suitor who attempts to woo Lynn Bari away from her gold digging plans, Cornel Wilde's character is so obnoxious that the romantic element falls flat on its face. Wilde lacks the charm (he's no Cary Grant) that the role needs in order to make the situation palatable. The other actors fare better, especially Ruggles and Greenwood, a pair of excellent comedy actors who know how to deliver a line. With Anthony Quinn and Chester Clute.
Against the wishes of her father, the daughter (Suzanne Cloutier) of a senator elopes with a Moorish general (Orson Welles) in the Venetian army. It isn't long after the wedding that an Ensign (Micheal Mac Liammoir), who hates the Moor, begins to plant suspicions in his mind about his wife's fidelity. Based on the play by William Shakespeare and directed by Orson Welles (CITIZEN KANE). Not unusual for Welles during this period in his life, he found it difficult to get his films funded. OTHELLO was filmed sporadically over a three year period and released in 1952 (where it won the grand prize at the Cannes film festival) but released in the U.S. in 1955 in a recut version. This is a pared down version of Shakespeare's OTHELLO with much of the play's text cut. But as he proved with CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT and MACBETH, Welles was an expert at visualizing Shakespeare for the screen. Certainly, not the definitive film of OTHELLO (that might be Olivier's 1965 movie) but still, a masterly rendering. That aside, while Welles makes for a robust Othello, I found Liammoir's Iago on the wan side and Cloutier's Desdemona bland. With Fay Compton, Robert Coote, Michael Laurence and Doris Dowling.
After her lover (Gabriele Tinti) is killed when his car goes over a cliff and into the sea, his girlfriend (Romy Schneider) begins an affair with his brother (Maurice Ronet). But the brother suspects that she isn't telling all she knows about his "accident". Directed by Leonard Keigel (UN FEMME UN JOUR). A confusing, often incoherent psychological thriller. Even when the movie is over, we're not quite sure if what happened is real or is it the hallucination of Schneider's guilty conscience. The movie doesn't give us any help in that area either. Keigel's choppy editing style and freeze frames only add to the pretentiousness. Th movie just doesn't make any sense and the lack of suspense or tension only adds to the confusion. Its assets are Jean Bourgoin's (THE LONGEST DAY) cinematography and the score by Claude Bolling (CALIFORNIA SUITE). With Simone Bach.
Frustrated by her insensitive, workaholic husband (Ray Milland), a wife (Claudette Colbert) finally loses her temper and leaves. She soon finds herself in the arms of her handsome divorce lawyer (Brian Aherne). But her husband isn't through with her yet. Based on the novel (and later a play) by Samson Raphaelson and directed by Mark Sandrich (TOP HAT). The first half of this comedy is quite good and I was enjoying it so when it went off the rails in the second half, it was a big disappointment. Milland's husband is a selfish male chauvinist but after she divorces him, his character does a complete turnaround and then you know exactly where this is headed. It's the 1940s and the mere idea of a woman divorcing her husband and living happily ever after with a new man goes against the grain. I much preferred Aherne's charming libertine to Milland's conniving spouse. With Binnie Barnes, Walter Abel, Grant Mitchell and Mona Barrie.
Set in Hawaii, a charter boat skipper (Elvis Presley) wants to buy the boat he works on but the owner (Jeremy Slate) is asking a steep $10,000 price for it. He attempts to work off the asking price but meanwhile, he has girl trouble from a nightclub singer (Stella Stevens) and a rich girl (Laurel Goodwin). Directed by Norman Taurog (GIRL CRAZY). A tedious and mindless Elvis musical with the thinnest of plots. Some of the songs (but not all) are pretty good and Presley got one of his biggest hit records from the movie, Return To Sender. Elvis fans made it a box office hit but for the rest of us, it's a slog. Almost all the characters are annoying or unpleasant and I felt sorry for poor Stella Stevens stuck with the bitter and bitchy other woman role. The movie has some uncomfortable Chinese stereotypes, too. You have to be a diehard Presley fan to enjoy this one. With Robert Strauss, Benson Fong and Beulah Quo.
Set in a closed religious community, a proud homesteader (Amy Madigan) is being pressured to marry a man (Norbert Weisser) she doesn't love. As the town turns against her, a mysterious gunman (Ed Harris) offers her protection. Based on the novel by Zane Grey and directed by actor (ALTERED STATES) turned director Charles Haid. Originally made for television, This is a western that's good enough that you wish it were better. In the original novel, the closed religious community is Mormon but that's been changed here to an unnamed religion for obvious reasons. This is the fifth film version (1918, 1925, 1931, 1941) of the Zane Grey novel and I wish it had a stronger screenplay and a more creative director. Filmed in Utah (including Monument Valley), it would have benefited from being shot in wide screen scope too. On the plus side, the performances by Harris and Madigan are strong. Maybe the sixth film version will do the novel justice. With Henry Thomas, Robin Tunney and G.D. Spradlin.
A mild mannered jeweler's clerk (Nigel Patrick) steals a priceless diamond and kills a man in the process. He is pursued across Europe by two people: a private detective (Jack Palance) and a beautiful woman (Anita Ekberg) who claims the diamond belongs to her. Based on the novel by M.E. Chaber and directed by John Gilling (PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES). A decent enough international crime thriller that could have been so much better with a stronger script. The film focuses on the wrong man, Jack Palance's detective when it's Nigel Patrick's mild mannered clerk turned thief who's the most intriguing character but the screenplay doesn't give him any background and instead focuses on the detective's pursuit. With Anthony Newley, Donald Pleasence, Sid James and Anne Aubrey.
An advertising bigwig (Jack Benny) is charged with choosing a queen for the yearly Artists And Models ball. He wants to make his girlfriend (Ida Lupino) the queen but his client (Richard Arlen) has other ideas. He wants a society type, not a professional model. Directed by Raoul Walsh (WHITE HEAT). A bland musical comedy whose sole distinction is casting Jack Benny as a romantic leading man. Benny's persona never translated well to flm, he seemed more suited for TV and radio. It's a failure as a musical and as a comedy. Two musical numbers compensate for the barely there formulaic plot: a lively dance number with Judy Canova and Ben Blue that accents their physical agility and a jazz number with Martha Raye and Louis Armstrong directed by Vincente Minnelli in his first Hollywood assignment. With Gail Patrick, Hedda Hopper and Cecil Cunningham.
Near the Arctic Circle, an atomic bomb is detonated. This disturbs the sleep of a giant rhedosaurus (a fictional dinosaur) encased in ice for over 100 million years and sends it southward on a destructive, deadly rampage. Loosely based on the short story THE FOG HORN by Ray Bradbury and directed by Eugene Lourie (GORGO). A relatively low budget sci-fi movie that became a huge hit and a landmark (it was released one year before the Japanese GODZILLA) in the "giant creature on a rampage" genre of the 1950s. The legendary Ray Harryhausen created the special effects. Although critical response was lukewarm upon its original release, the film is now considered a classic in the creature feature genre. It's a tight, economical film that holds up very well. The creature is the star of the movie but among the human cast are Paul Hubschmid, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey, Donald Woods and Lee Van Cleef.
A severe schizophrenic (Malcolm McDowell) in a dreary Soviet mental hospital is convinced that he's the assassin of two Tsars, Alexander II in 1881 and Nicholas II in 1918. The new head (Oleg Yankovskiy) of the hospital is determined to cure him of his madness. Inspired by the novella WARD NO. 6 by Anton Chekhov and directed by Karen Shakhnazarov (ZEROGRAD). Simultaneously shot in Russian and English versions (McDowell is dubbed in the Russian version), this is a complex and often frustrating film. The back and forth between the doctor and the schizophrenic is engaging and especially so when its the doctor and not the patient who begins to descend into insanity. The flashbacks into the assassination of Nicholas II (with Yankovskiy playing Nicholas II) are often intrusive and obvious. A good movie but alas, not good enough. With Armen Dzhigarkhanyan and Olga Antonova.
Thanks to his chain of five and dime stores, a small town businessman (Richard Bennett) becomes a wealthy magnate and he moves to New York with his wife (Irene Rich), son (Douglass Montgomery) and daughter (Marion Davies). But their newfound wealth just means they're nouveau riche to Manhattan society. Still, the daughter decides to steal a playboy (Leslie Howard) away from his fiancee (Mary Duncan). Based on the novel by Fannie Hurst (IMITATION OF LIFE) and directed by Robert Z. Leonard (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE). What begins as an interesting pre code melodrama stagnates midway as it goes around in circles until it limps to its hokey "tied neatly in a ribbon" finale. Davies and Howard work well together although sympathy for Davies' situation is hampered by her unethical and deliberate scheme to steal another woman's fiance. With Theodore Von Eltz and Henry Armetta.
