Darling Companion (2012)

A woman (Diane Keaton) and her daughter (Elizabeth Moss) find an abandoned dog on the side of a freeway. She adopts the dog as a companion which helps relieve the empty nest syndrome as well providing the companionship her self involved husband (Kevin Kline) can't. But a year later at a family wedding in the Colorado mountains, the dog goes missing and it precipitates some insights, romance and adventure for the few remaining wedding guests who form a search party to find the dog. Directed and co-written by Lawrence Kasdan (BODY HEAT), the film is an ensemble piece that resembles his THE BIG CHILL as six characters go through confrontations and changes laced with humor but the film seems so been there, done that. It's a conventional "safe" movie whose end is never in doubt without anything to upset or disturb us. One can't even recommend it to animal lovers since the dog is missing most of the movie. It's the kind of movie that depends totally on its cast which, luckily for us, is likable and works hard to jump start the movie. With Dianne Wiest, Sam Shepard, Richard Jenkins, Mark Duplass and Ayelet Zurer.

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957)

When an advertising agency is in danger of losing its biggest account, a lipstick brand, a struggling ad man (Tony Randall) attempts to persuade a Hollywood sex symbol (Jayne Mansfield, repeating her stage role) to endorse the lipstick. The resulting storm of publicity in which he is perceived as her lover wreaks havoc with his personal life. One could hardly call this a film version of the George Axelrod play since everything but the title and Ms. Mansfield has been tossed out. The director Frank Tashlin instead whipped up a new screenplay satirizing television, Hollywood and the advertising world. Most of its topical references are dated but if one is familiar with those references, it remains a witty and caustic barb of a movie. The film is laced with the usual Tashlin inspired visual and verbal gags (when Mansfield is referred to as the titular head of her production company, she indignantly squeals, "Don't talk dirty!"). Ironically, for a satire on advertising, Fox has its cake and eats it too as it publicizes its own films thru out the film: Randall's niece (Lili Gentle) goes to a theater showing A HATFUL OF RAIN, Mansfield is seen reading PEYTON PLACE in her bath, Mansfield's character's next film is KISS THEM FOR ME etc. With Joan Blondell, Henry Jones, Betsy Drake, John Williams, Barbara Eden and Groucho Marx.

The Devil And Miss Jones (1941)

The wealthy owner (Charles Coburn, Oscar nominated for his work here) of a major department store goes undercover and works in his own store in order to discover who the agitators are that are attempting to form a union so that he can fire them. But things start to change when he becomes involved with the store's employees particularly a pert clerk (Jean Arthur) in the shoe department. This delightful comedy exemplifies what is referred to as the Hollywood "golden age" at its best. Norman Krasna's Oscar nominated screenplay manages to mix wit and charm with a progressive message and director Sam Wood (A NIGHT AT THE OPERA) easily coaxes first rate comedic performances from Coburn (whose picture this is) and Arthur. Even the vapid Robert Cummings manages to be less offensive than usual. It's not talked about as often as other screwballs from the same year as BALL OF FIRE and THE PHILADELPHIA STORY but it's every bit as good and in PHILADELPHIA's case, a darn sight better I'd say. The supporting cast is chock full of terrific character actors like Edmund Gwenn, Spring Byington, S.Z. Sakall, William Demarest, Florence Bates and Regis Toomey.

La Commare Secca (aka The Grim Reaper) (1962)

When the dead body of a prostitute is found by a river, the police round up a bunch of witnesses and suspects who were in the park where the prostitute plied her trade. Through a series of interviews, they attempt to get clues that might lead to the identity of the murderer. But as we see via flashback, the witnesses aren't as observant or as truthful as they should be. The directorial debut of a 21 year old Bernardo Bertolucci is so assured and fluid that you'd never guess it was a film by a first time filmmaker. Of course, it helped that his mentor Pier Paolo Pasolini provided the seeds of the storyline, and one would assume, perhaps some guidance on his first film. Each flashback by the witness/suspect is a short story, a movie unto itself, that are totally unrelated to the murder but give us an insight to each character from a purse snatching punk (Francesco Ruiu) to a lonely soldier (Allen Midgette). Even the prostitute (Wanda Rocci) gets her moments before she's killed. The film works just fine as a conventional murder mystery but even better as a series of life portraits. The discreet score is by Piero Piccioni.

Dangerous When Wet (1953)

While peddling his health tonic across the country, a sales representative (Jack Carson) discovers a robust farm girl (Esther Williams) and talks his company into sponsoring her entry in a swimming race across the English channel. One of the better aquatic film vehicles of Williams' career, I watched it today in memory of her passing. The film personifies everything about her that made her a popular star. She sings a little, she acts a little, she has lots of sass and a strong screen presence and, of course, she swims like a mermaid. One would have to work awfully hard not to like her. The songs by Arthur Schwartz and Johnny Mercer aren't anything to right home about but they serve their purpose. The highlight of the film is probably the animated Tom and Jerry sequence where the pair swim with Williams. Fernando Lamas is Williams' romantic interest (she'd marry him 16 years later). Directed by Charles Walters (EASTER PARADE). With Denise Darcel, William Demarest, Charlotte Greenwood, Barbara Whiting, Ann Codee and Donna Corcoran.

The Mask Of Fu Manchu (1932)

An archaeologist (Lawrence Grant) is kidnapped and tortured by the evil, power mad Fu Manchu (Boris Karloff) in an attempt to find the whereabouts of the tomb of Genghis Khan. But the archaeologist's daughter (Karen Morley) takes her father's place on the expedition and guides the search party to the tomb. This silly piece of kitschy nonsense, based on Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu novels, is crude film making at best but its ludicrous racism (Karloff's Fu Manchu whips his followers into a frenzy with "Kill the white man and take his women!") and pre-code sexuality (Myrna Loy as Fu Manchu's sadistic daughter gets turned on by seeing a partially naked man whipped) make it a fascinating curio. Karloff seems to relish his role and Loy in her "Oriental" phase is sexy which renders them luckier than the rest of the cast who can't seem to shake off their stiffness. Asian groups, understandably, protested the film's attitude. Directed by Charles Brabin. With Jean Hersholt and Charles Starrett as the hunky but clunky romantic interest for Morley.

Princess Of The Nile (1954)

In 13th century Egypt, a royal princess (Debra Paget) secretly escapes from the palace each night and disguises herself as a dancer at a tavern. By this method, she can relay information to her people about the evil Shaman (Edgar Barrier), who keeps her father drugged and her a prisoner of the palace in order to rule the kingdom. When the son (Jeffrey Hunter) of the Caliph of Baghdad arrives, she hopes to persuade him to help rid her country of the Shaman. For a low budget programmer, the film has a vivid palette and first rate production values. Most likely because reputedly it was filmed on left over sets of bigger budgeted films like DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS and THE EGYPTIAN and cinematographer Lloyd Ahern (MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET) makes the most of it. Paget, the "go to" girl whenever Fox needed an exotic type like Polynesian, Egyptian or Indian, gets a couple of dance numbers though none as sexual as her snake dance in Lang's INDIAN TOMB. The blue eyed Jeffrey Hunter is as out place here as an Arab as he was as Jesus in KING OF KINGS. But as a mindless Saturday afternoon movie matinee, it's an enjoyable adventure. Directed by Harmon Jones. With Michael Rennie, Lee Van Cleef, Michael Ansara, Jack Elam, Dona Drake and Merry Anders.

Vampire's Kiss (1988)

A literary agent (Nicolas Cage) is undergoing a mental breakdown that manifests itself under the delusion that he's been bitten by a vampire (Jennifer Beals, FLASHDANCE). But is it a delusion? This invigorating mixture of horror and comedy isn't everybody's cup of tea but I find it both stimulating and mind blowing. It's just so deranged and Cage's performance is brilliant! There's often a thin line separating a bad Cage performance from a good one and he really walks a fine line here, often threatening to go just too far but inevitably pushing it to the very edge without crossing over. There's something inherently creepy and off balance in Cage (he seems to be channeling Dwight Frye here) and in his best work, like LEAVING LAS VEGAS and this, he uses that creepiness to great effect. He's both genuinely scary and very funny. The loopy storyline has some inspired moments (reputedly Cage actually ate a live cockroach in one scene, it looked real to me) and witty dialog. Still, it has a small cult following though others are, understandably, turned off by it. Directed by Robert Bierman with a darkly atmospheric score by Colin Towns. With Elizabeth Ashley, Maria Conchita Alonso (the principal victim of Cage's sadism), Kasi Lemmons and Bob Lujan.

Ice Palace (1960)

Shortly after WWI, a soldier (Richard Burton) returning home to Seattle finds that his former employer (Barry Kelley) refuses to give him his old job back in order to discourage his daughter's (Martha Hyer) romantic interest in the ex-soldier. After running off to Alaska, he partners with a fisherman (Robert Ryan) in the hopes of building a cannery empire. But the next 40 years finds them embroiled in both personal and professional conflicts on Alaska's long road to statehood. Based on the novel by Edna Ferber, this wannabe epic film tries to do for Alaska what Ferber's GIANT did for Texas. I'm no fan of GIANT by any means but this 2 1/2 hour film is a cookie cutter imitation. It plods along, often jumping decades, in order to squeeze three generations (Richard Burton begets daughter Shirley Knight who begets daughter Diane McBain) of storylines. The film could have been funded by the Alaska Chamber Of Commerce for all the publicity and deference it gets. The normally impressive Joseph F. Biroc's lensing is compromised by obvious rear projection work as well as studio bound sets and Max Steiner's generic score is pretty pitiful (though he wrote a lovely Eskimo theme). Directed by Vincent Sherman. With Carolyn Jones, Jim Backus, Ray Danton, George Takei and Karl Swenson.

Les Uns Et Les Autres (1981)

Covering almost 50 years from 1936 to 1980, the film follows and intercuts three generations of four families: American, French, German and Russian and two generations of another French. A Russian ballerina (Rita Poelvoorde) gives up her career when she marries a man (Jorge Donn), who will be killed in WWII but spawns a son (also played by Donn) and a granddaughter (played by Poelvoorde). A German pianist (Daniel Olbrychski) is acclaimed by Hitler but his association will have consequences that will haunt him the rest of his life. A French Jewish couple (Nicole Garcia, Robert Hossein) are sent to the concentration camp but abandon their infant son (played by Hossein as an adult) to save him, when only she survives the death camp she spends the rest of her life looking for her son. An American band leader (James Caan) and his singer wife (Geraldine Chaplin) have children (played by Caan and Chaplin as adults) whose lives will not be as happy. A French singer (Evelyne Bouix) collaborates with the Nazis and her daughter's (also Bouix) destiny also seems as ill fated. All storylines merge by film's finale. The common thread that ties them all together is music whether as a composer, musician or performer. Claude Lelouch's (A MAN AND A WOMAN) ambitious three hour semi-musical is often hard to keep track of as the film bounces around the four narratives and having the actors play their own children is often confusing. But if you stick with it, you'll find a rich if flawed tapestry that is never less than engrossing. The songs and underscore duties are shared by Michel Legrand Francis Lai. The large international cast includes Macha Meril, Alexandra Stewart, Jean Claude Brialy, Fanny Ardant, Richard Bohringer and Sharon Stone.

They Might Be Giants (1971)

After the death of his wife, a former attorney and judge (George C. Scott) has a breakdown and retreats into the delusion that he is Sherlock Holmes, the great detective. When his brother (Lester Rawlins), who wants his monies and estate, attempts to have him declared incompetent, the doctor (Joanne Woodward) assigned to evaluate the case bears the name of Dr. Watson. But instead of "curing" the patient, the doctor falls under Holmes' spell. Yet another throwback to those screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s, this might have worked with William Powell and Myrna Loy ..... maybe. But it's another one of those films with the dubious underlying premise that the mentally ill are somehow touched by magic and that it's the outside world that's insane, not them. Scott and Woodward give it a valiant effort. Scott, in particular, never the warmest of actors is quite likable here but James Goldman's (based on his play) script lets them down. It's heavy where it should be light and Anthony Harvey's (THE LION IN WINTER) direction is of no help. Considering how disappointing it all is, the film's last five minutes are surprisingly poignant. There's a lovely delicate score by John Barry. With Jack Gilford, F. Murray Abraham, Rue McClanahan, Kitty Winn, M. Emmett Walsh, Eugene Roche and Theresa Merritt.

Crisis (1950)

A renowned American brain surgeon (Cary Grant) is on a vacation with his wife (Paula Raymond) in a Latin American country. But political tensions and a brewing revolution of its people against their dictator (Jose Ferrer) cause them to change their plans and leave the country. But they are forcibly detained and taken to the presidential palace where the doctor is ordered to perform delicate surgery on the dictator in order to save his life. But anti-government factions, lead by Gilbert Roland, threaten to kill his wife unless he allows the tyrant to die during surgery. The directorial film debut of screenwriter Richard Brooks (ELMER GANTRY), this is a taut compact thriller with Cary Grant in a very different kind of role. Perhaps politically simplistic, it nevertheless casts a cynical eye on both tyrants and revolutionaries, each cut from opposite ends of the same cloth. Grant shows that he could do more than just be debonair and charming and Brooks admirably restrains Ferrer's tendency to ham. The score by Miklos Rozsa is mostly a solo guitar by the Spanish guitarist Vicente Gomez. With Signe Hasso (very good as the Lady MacBeth-ish wife of Ferrer), Leon Ames and Ramon Novarro.