Set in Rome 74 B.C., a Thracian slave by the name of Spartacus (Massimo Girotti) leads his fellow slaves in open rebellion against the might of Rome. Directed by Riccardo Freda, this sword and sandal peplum was a precursor to Stanley Kubrick's 1960 epic. In fact, the producers of that movie bought the negative and copies to prevent any comparisons to their film. They needn't have bothered. This one is shot in B&W and is pre-wide screen so it's in the 1.37 Academy ratio and at 74 minutes, it's less than half the running time of Kubrick's epic. There's not much historical accuracy in evidence here either. The narrative provides two romantic interests for Girotti, Gianna Maria Canale is the daughter of a Roman general (Carlo Ninchi) and Ludmilla Tcherina (THE RED SHOES) is a slave girl. Since Tcherina was a noted ballerina, she's given a dance number to do. It's harmless but forgettable. With Yves Vincent and Vittorio Sanipoli.
In 16th century England, a corrupt magistrate (Vincent Price) is ruthless in his mania to destroy all the witches in his domain. But in his drive, he cruelly punishes the innocent as well as the "guilty". Directed by Gordon Hessler (GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD), this is a thoroughly unpleasant movie which is a combination of horror and softcore torture porn. Watching people get tortured has never been my thing but the film seems to gloat over it. All of the torture victims are nubile young women (no males are tortured) but not before their breasts are bared for our delectation. But I must note that I saw the European cut as the nudity and torture were heavily edited for the U.S. release. It was nice to see Elisabeth Bergner (RISE OF CATHERINE THE GREAT) in her first American film in 30 years and she manages to invest her role of a sorceress with a dignity the movie could have used more of. The striking title credits were designed by Terry Gilliam, who would soon move to a major directing career of his own. Definitely one of the lesser Price/AIP horror films. With Hugh Griffith, Essy Perrson, Hilary Heath, Patrick Mower and Quinn O'Hara.
After three years of marriage, an attorney (Robert Montgomery) discovers that he and his wife (Carole Lombard) aren't legally married. When he doesn't immediately offer to remarry her, she throws him out of their apartment and refuses his attempts to reconcile. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock in only his third film made in America following REBECCA and FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, this screwball comedy is outside the scope of the traditional Hitchcock film. There is no suspense, no murder and Hitchcock always claimed he only did the film as a favor to Lombard. That aside, as an out and out comedy, it's not bad at all. In fact, I suspect that it's because the Hitchcock name is attached that the movie is usually dismissed as a lesser effort when compared to his justifiably praised classics. It has a certain charm and there are several laugh out loud moments scattered through out the film like Montgomery's paranoia about the cat not eating the soup or his embarrassing encounter in a nightclub when Lombard spots him with a less than classy dame. But as pleasant a diversion as it is, it's no THE AWFUL TRUTH which it resembles. With Gene Raymond (surprisingly good in the Ralph Bellamy role), Jack Carson and Lucile Watson.
After they get a divorce after eight years of marriage, a TV writer (Judy Holliday) and a lawyer (Jack Lemmon) find it difficult to adjust to the single life. Based on an original screenplay by George Axelrod (SEVEN YEAR ITCH) and directed by Mark Robson (PEYTON PLACE). This romantic comedy seems a forerunner to the Doris Day/Rock Hudson comedies that would flourish a few years later. Shot in B&W, it lacks the glamour and lushness of those Technicolor comedies but in Holliday and Lemmon, it has two superb actors with expert comedic timing which the film needs as its script is pretty thin. But at an under 90 minute running time, it doesn't have enough time to wear out its welcome. The film features Kim Novak in her first major role and she's charming as a ditzy Monroe like blonde. Fortunately, Columbia didn't keep casting her in such roles which allowed her career to go in a different path. With Jack Carson, Merry Anders, Donald Curtis and Joyce Jameson.
A guy (Huntz Hall) and his friends decide to redecorate his sister's (Ava Gardner) honeymoon cottage as a wedding present. But the gang mistakenly enter the creepy old house next door which turns out to be the hideout of a nest of Nazi spies! Directed by William Beaudine (BILLY THE KID VS. DRACULA), this lowbrow (and I do mean low) comedy is pretty dumb stuff but without the goofiness that can sometimes make lowbrow comedies fun. The tantalizing prospect of seeing Ava Gardner and Bela Lugosi (as the head of the Nazi spies) in a film together evaporates very quickly and they have no scenes together. Gardner is as bland as any ingenue and the smoldering screen presence which would make her a Star is nowhere in evidence. There's a tasteless joke on German measles as the movie's punchline. Still, it's a Monogram film, not MGM so what do you expect. With Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Rick Vallin and Minerva Urecal.
A Paris banker (Pierre Alcover) is the head of a failing bank. He sees an opportunity to rescue the bank from disaster by backing a pioneering aviator's (Henry Victor) transatlantic flight. He also sets his sight on the pilot's pretty wife (Marie Glory). Loosely based on the novel by Emile Zola and directed by Marcel L'Herbier (LE BONHEUR). The name of Marcel L'Herbier isn't much discussed in cineaste circles today but he was one of France's most prominent film directors in the 1920s. L'ARGENT, which is loosely based on the 1882 collapse of the Union Generale bank which precipitated France's plunge into a decade long recession, is about money (L'argent means money in French). How money corrupts, how money seduces and is quite timely today as it reflects our own financial crisis in 2008. L'Herbier tends to linger on his scenes longer than necessary. The film is over 2 1/2 hours and could easily have been shorn by 15 minutes. But it remains a riveting accomplishment and the art direction is breathtaking (courtesy of Andre Barsacq and Lazare Meerson). The transfer I saw had a superb underscore by Olivier Massot. With Brigitte Helm (METROPOLIS), Alfred Abel and Antonin Artaud.
In 1968 London, the legendary Judy Garland (Renee Zellweger) arrives for a five week run at a nightclub. With her finances in a precarious state and emotionally fragile, she hopes to make enough money to stop touring and stay home with her children. Based on the play END OF THE RAINBOW by Peter Quilter and directed by Rupert Goold. As far as movie bios go, this one is pretty decent although it doesn't tell us anything that we didn't already know about Judy Garland. The movie is strongest when it stays with Garland in London and at its weakest during the flashbacks to her early days as a juvenile at MGM. But the real reason to see this film is for the amazing performance by Zellweger as Garland. Her transformation is incredible yet it's not an imitation but an inhabitation of Garland. Fortunately, the film makers let Zellweger do her own singing rather than lip syncing to Garland (like Judy Davis did in the TV bio) and Zellweger is able to add another layer to her performance. I also very much liked Jessie Buckley's subtle work as Garland's harried assistance. With Rufus Sewell, Finn Wittrock, Michael Gambon and Darci Shaw as the young Judy Garland.
A public relations man (Paul Newman) is married to a woman (Joanne Woodward) who devotes herself to community service which leaves very little time for romance. When the U.S. Army decides to build a top secret installation in their community, she forms a committee to protest. Which leaves the husband at the mercy of the Army (who makes him a liaison between the town and the Army) and the town's predatory femme fatale (Joan Collins). Based on the best selling novel by Max Shulman and directed by Leo McCarey (THE AWFUL TRUTH). This big screen sitcom gets a lot of negativity but I found it modestly enjoyable. Newman and Woodward are overqualified for fluff like this but I suppose it was a change of pace for them after the heavy dramas (like CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF and THREE FACES OF EVE) that they were usually cast in. The humor is is overplayed and clearly Newman and Woodward aren't farceurs though even a Cary Grant and Irene Dunne would be hard put to squeeze much laughs from the material. But it does give Joan Collins a chance to show her comic chops and she manages to milk some laughs. With Jack Carson, Gale Gordon, Dwayne Hickman, Murvyn Vye and Tuesday Weld, who manages to steal what few scenes she has.
When a spoiled heiress (Lucille Ball) goes off to a small college in New Mexico, her father (Harry Shannon) hires four football players (Richard Carlson, Eddie Bracken, Desi Arnaz, Hal Le Roy) to act as bodyguards. Based on the Broadway musical with music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and directed by George Abbott (PAJAMA GAME). This lightweight college musical has nothing on its mind but football and girls and songs. It's no GOOD NEWS (the best college movie musical) but it's inoffensive. The film version retains most of the Rodgers & Hart songs from the Broadway show but it's not one of their best scores. The most famous song from the show is the lovely ballad I Didn't Know What Time It Was. Musically, the film's two highlights are the Latin production numbers choreographed by Leroy Prinz, Spic And Spanish with Arnaz and Ann Miller and the Conga number which ends the film. Arnaz, Bracken and Van Johnson were in the original Broadway cast and yes, this was the film where Ball and Arnaz met and fell in love and married two months after the film's release. Also in the cast: Frances Langford and Grady Sutton.
A beautiful but unstable model (Cristina Raines, NASHVILLE) rents an apartment in a Brooklyn Heights brownstone. It isn't long before she discovers there is something very wrong with the building ..... like dead people giving a birthday party for a cat! Based on the novel by Jeffrey Konvitz and directed by Michael Winner. A perfectly silly horror film with more unintentional giggles than chills. If, say, someone like Ken Russell had directed it, it might have been outrageous fun but Michael Winner is a director who never rose above competence at his best. During the movie's big finale, it appears to exploit real malformed people (or "freaks" if you prefer) which gives off a bad taste. But then, then the whole movie leaves you with a bad taste. The film is crammed with many celebrated actors (20 Oscar nominations among them) and it may rival only THE SWARM as the worst film with so many famous faces. They include Ava Gardner, Christopher Walken, Burgess Meredith, Jeff Goldblum, Eli Wallach, Jose Ferrer, Martin Balsam, Chris Sarandon, Arthur Kennedy, Sylvia Miles, Tom Berenger, Deborah Raffin, Beverly D'Angelo, Jerry Orbach and John Carradine.
A notorious gunfighter (Gregory Peck) is weary and tired of having to prove himself to every trigger happy punk who wants to make a name for himself. He arrives in the small town where his estranged wife (Helen Westcott) is living under an assumed identity with their son (B.G. Norman) where he hopes to reconcile with her. But he must contend with a young gunslinger (Skip Homeier) who wants to make a reputation for himself. Directed by Henry King (SONG OF BERNADETTE) from an Oscar nominated screenplay. This is one of the best westerns (and perhaps still a bit underrated) of the 1950s with Peck giving one of his very best performances. It doesn't romanticize the old west and from the very beginning, we have a sense that our hero is doomed yet despite his killing background, it's hard not to empathize with him. In a sense, karma has come around and he knows it. There's very little in the film that isn't essential and every scene has purpose. Unusual for a movie of the era, there's no underscore, just a main title (and a terrific one by Alfred Newman) and a brief end title that total less than three minutes at most. There's strong support from Karl Malden, Millard Mitchell, Jean Parker, Richard Jaeckel, Verna Felton and Ellen Corby.
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