クールに遊ぼう (aka Play It Cool) (1970)

A student (Mari Atsumi) shares a cramped home with her mother (Akemi Negishi), a "hostess" at a bar. When her mother's live in lover (Ryoichi Tamagawa) rapes the daughter (who's a virgin), the mother kills him by stabbing him to death. Left alone when her mother is sent to prison, the daughter begins her journey as a "hostess" in Tokyo's pleasure bars but she vows not to make her mother's mistakes and becomes a sex worker on her own terms. Based on the novel by Masayuki Toyama and directed by Yasuzo Masumura (BLIND BEAST). Walking a fine line between exploitation and legitimate melodrama, Masumura's film is an engrossing twist on mother/daughter love. This is no STELLA DALLAS, the two women are essentially prostitutes leading sordid lives and it's closer to NIGHTS OF CABIRIA than the mother sacrificing STELLA DALLAS. Men are predators in this atmosphere and Mari Atsumi's innocent student turned call girl makes them pay through the nose for her "favors". In its own way, this is a feminist film. Atsumi turns her victimization into an angry but potent weapon against a society that exploits its women. With Yusuke Kawazu and Ko Nishimura.

That Dangerous Age (aka If This Be Sin) (1949)

The neglected long suffering wife (Myrna Loy) of a workaholic attorney (Roger Livesey) is having an affair with his young law partner (Richard Greene). When the husband falls ill, she breaks off the affair to take care of him. But when he receives an anonymous letter accusing his wife and his partner of adultery, it sets forth a series of events that can only lead to disaster. Based on the play AUTUMN by Margaret Kennedy and Ilya Surguchev and directed by Gregory Ratoff (INTERMEZZO). An overwrought melodrama where lies and deceit lead to calamitous results. It's pretty hoary stuff and the talented cast can't overcome the creaky and often handwringing dialogue they're required to recite. While it's interesting to see Myrna Loy straying from her "perfect wife" image, she can't do much with her character as written. With Peggy Cummins (returning to England after her Hollywood sojourn), Elizabeth Allan, Wilfrid Hyde White, Barry Jones and Margaret Withers.

A View From The Bridge (1962)

A dock worker (Raf Vallone) on the Brooklyn waterfront is unnaturally obsessed with his niece (Carol Lawrence) that he helped raise. When two immigrant cousins (Jean Sorel, Raymond Pellegrin) of his wife (Maureen Stapleton) arrive in the U.S., the niece is mutually attracted to the younger one (Sorel) which enrages him. Based on the play by Arthur Miller (DEATH OF A SALESMAN) and directed by Sidney Lumet (DOG DAY AFTERNOON). The film version of Miller's gritty play is like a cousin to the British "kitchen sink" dramas that were popular at the same time but plays out like a Greek tragedy. However, Vallone's character is no Oedipus. He's a loutish bully so he doesn't have the height of a King to fall. Still, Vallone gives a potent performance that almost (but not quite) brings empathy to his longshoreman. As the niece, Carol Lawrence is lovely enough and talented enough that she should have had a better career but she never made another theatrical movie after this though she continued to work on the stage and TV. The rest of the cast is very good too. Although the exteriors were filmed in Brooklyn, the interiors were shot in Paris. With Morris Carnovsky, Vincent Gardenia and Harvey Lembeck.

Men Are Not Gods (1936)

The young secretary (Miriam Hopkins) to a newspaper's drama critic (A.E.  Matthews) goes to a performance of Shakespeare's OTHELLO and becomes obsessed with the actor (Sebastian Shaw) playing the title role. But the actor is very much married and his wife (Gertrude Lawrence) has befriended the young lady. Directed by Walter Reisch (SONG OF SCHEHERAZADE). Some 11 years before A DOUBLE LIFE (1947), this movie touched on an actor's crossing the line with art and real life. But this strange turn comes out of the blue as we've been watching what appears to be a comedy until then. Frankly, both the wife and the secretary are too good for this narcissistic actor and why either would want him is beyond me. While the star of the film is Hopkins, we have the opportunity to see a solid performance by Gertrude Lawrence whose cinematic output is minimal. There's also a lanky, boyish Rex Harrison role on the edge of stardom in a supporting role. With Sybil Grove and Val Gielgud.

A Life In The Balance (1955)

A serial killer (Lee Marvin) plagues the streets of Mexico City. A young boy (Jose Perez) witnesses the murderer's latest killing and when his father (Ricardo Montalban) is accused of the murder, he follows the serial killer to clear his father's name. Based on the short story SEPT PETITES CROIX DANS UN CARNET by Georges Simenon and directed by Harry Horner (BEWARE MY LOVELY). The potential of a gripping thriller is diffused by a poor screenplay, an unconvincing performance by Lee Marvin and an annoying child actor (Perez). This is one movie that could be vastly improved by a remake. Filmed in Mexico City, with the exception of Lee Marvin and Anne Bancroft (as Montalban's romantic interest), the cast is completely comprised of Latino actors. With Rodolfo Acosta and Eva Calvo.

The Bamboo Prison (1954)

Set in a North Korean POW camp, a newly arrived Corporal (Brian Keith) and a Sergeant (Robert Francis), a converted communist who appears to be the enemy of his fellow soldiers but is actually working for the Allies attempt to flush out a spy in the camp working for the North Koreans. Directed by Lewis Seiler (GUADALCANAL DIARY). An obvious Cold War programmer that that flirts with the "brainwashing" of American POWs, a subject that would be dealt with with more finesse 8 years later in THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. Here it's merely used as a teaser for a routine Cold War drama. Even then, it went over the heads of some paranoid cities that banned it because they found it sympathetic to communism. With Dianne Foster, E.G. Marshall, Jack Kelly, Murray Matheson, Leo Gordon, Richard Loo and Jerome Courtland.

Dick Tracy (1990)

A mobster (Al Pacino) organizes the city's gangs with himself as the head and proceeds to terrorize the city. Meanwhile, detective Dick Tracy (Warren Beatty) vows to break the gangster's hold on the city and put him behind bars. Based on the 1930s comic strip by Chester Gould and produced and directed by Warren Beatty (REDS). Visually, the movie is a triumph. The colors and look of Gould's comic strip world has been duplicated by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, the Oscar winning art direction of Richard Sylbert and the costumes of Milena Canonero. There's also the added bonus of original songs by Stephen Sondheim (his Sooner Or Later won the best song Oscar). But there are still major problems with the production. For one, it seems overproduced and blown out of proportion for a simple comic strip. The low budget B DICK TRACY movies from RKO in the 1940s had the right idea ..... keep it simple. Then there's the problem of Beatty as Dick Tracy, he's miscast and as the film's femme fatale, Madonna has no screen presence. The camera doesn't love her the way it does for a true Movie Star. This leaves Al Pacino, who seems to be parodying his Tony Montana from SCARFACE, to steal the movie. The cast is crammed with terrific actors, many who are barely in the movie. With Dustin Hoffman, James Caan, Glenne Headly, Kathy Bates, Mandy Patinkin, Dick Van Dyke, Estelle Parsons, Charles Durning, Henry Silva, Paul Sorvino, Henry Jones, Michael J. Pollard, Mary Woronov and Catherine O'Hara.

Rhino! (1964)

A zoologist (Robert Culp) hires a big game hunter (Harry Guardino) to assist him in tracking down a herd of white rhinos. His intention is to capture a pair so he can save them from extinction. What he doesn't know is that the hunter is also a poacher who intends to capture the white rhinos for profit. Directed by producer Ivan Tors (CLARENCE THE CROSS EYED LION). This African action adventure benefits from being shot on location in South Africa but despite some violence and adult situations, it still comes across like a pilot for a TV series and indeed, two years later producer Tors produced just such a TV series called DAKTARI. Is there a more colorless actor than Robert Culp? His blandness lets the more charismatic Guardino's bad guy take center stage although his conversion to good guy comes way too swiftly to be convincing. If you want to see a superior film with a similar narrative, check out Howard Hawks' HATARI, a better movie in every way. With Shirley Eaton, Harry Makela and George Korelin.

Without Honor (1932)

A gambler (Harry Carey) joins the Texas Rangers in the hope of finding out the identity of his brother's (Lee Sage) killers. Directed by William Nigh (STRANGE CASE OF DR. RX). A static western with some wooden acting. The first sound film THE JAZZ SINGER was released in 1927 and by 1932, sound films had been the norm for at least two years. But you'd never know it from this stiff western. The acting is rudimentary and the actors without much presence. Its storyline is basic and although a leading man here, Harry Carey would quickly recede into the ranks of supporting character actors. The film is a low budget B and looks it. Of interest to western buffs only. With Mae Busch, Gibson Gowland and Mary Jane Irving.

Хитровка. Знак четырёх (aka In The Moscow Slums) (2023)

Set in 1902 Moscow, the celebrated Russian director and actor Konstantin Stanislavsky (Konstantin Kryukov) is having problems getting his character believable while acting in Gorky's THE LOWER DEPTHS. To this end, he engages the renowned journalist Vladimir Gilyarovsky (Mikhail Porechenkov) to take him to the slum district of Khitrovka so he can experience poverty first hand. But when the two of them discover a murder victim (Ayub Tsingiev), they decide to investigate his murder themselves. Loosely based on THE SIGN OF THE FOUR by Arthur Conan Doyle and directed by Karen Shakhnazarov (ASSASSINATION OF THE TSAR). A slick mystery that takes two real historical persons and throws them in the middle of a fictional Agatha Christie type period murder mystery. Moving Conan Doyle's story from Victorian London to pre revolutionary Russia works surprisingly well. As a whodunit fan, I found I found the eventual resolution disappointing but the journey was quite fun. With Anfisa Chernykh, Yevgeny Stychkin and Alexey Vertkov.

One Battle After Another (2025)

A white male (Leonardo DiCaprio) and black female (Teyana Taylor) are part of a revolutionary group called French 75 that frees immigrants from detention centers, attack politician's offices, rob banks and disable power grids. They become lovers but when she gives birth to a baby girl, she abandons both of them to continue the fight. 16 years later, the past returns with a vengeance when their teenage daughter (Chase Infiniti) is kidnapped. "Inspired" by the novel VINELAND by Thomas Pynchon and written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (MAGNOLIA). This is Anderson's most mainstream film to date but he hasn't compromised his audacious style and layered conceptual designs. Rich in humor, the film stands as a paean to fighting inequity, racism and repressive powerful institutions (including those behind the scenes) as well as the bond between a father and daughter. Its timeliness is startling! It's also one hell of a cinematic rollercoaster ride. The acting is excellent, not only from DiCaprio which you expect or Sean Penn's hilarious performance as a reptilian military officer but all the way down to the smallest roles. A triumph and yet another reason to declare Anderson the greatest living American director (sorry Mr. Scorsese!). With Regina Hall, Tony Goldwyn, Benicio Del Toro, Paul Grimstad and April Grace.

The Trap (1966)

Living alone in the Canadian wilderness, a fur trapper (Oliver Reed) buys a mute girl (Rita Tushingham), sold against her wishes, for his "wife". Directed by Sidney Hayers (CIRCUS OF HORRORS). Handsomely shot in the rustic parts of British Columbia, this isn't a particularly fresh story. As expected, the brute of a mountain man softens and becomes more "civilized" because of the girl's influence and the girl toughens up till she's able to hunt and take responsibility for the both of them when the trapper becomes disabled. They've gone overboard in making Reed's crude trapper an absolute pig. During one scene when he's eating, it's as if he's imitating Henry VIII with grease and food caught in his beard and throwing bones on the floor! It's a brutal film including a graphic attack on Reed by some savage wolves. With Barbara Chillcot and Rex Sevenoaks.