Calamity Jane (1953)

Calamity Jane (Doris Day) goes to Chicago to bring the actress Adelaid Adams (Gale Robbins) back to Deadwood, South Dakota. Instead, she mistakes Adams' maid (the always welcome Allyn Ann McLerie) for Adams and takes her back instead. Problems arise when both Day and McLerie fall for the same man (Philip Carey). Comparison to Irving Berlin's ANNIE GET YOUR GUN are inevitable. Day's Calamity Jane and Berlin's Annie Oakley are sisters under the skin and both films share the same leading man, Howard Keel. Even the score can't shake off the Berlin tinge, I Can Do Without You sounds suspiciously like Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better from ANNIE. That being said, I find CALAMITY JANE much more enjoyable than the film version of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN. The likable Day doesn't grate on your nerves after awhile like Betty Hutton does in ANNIE. The catchy songs by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster includes the Oscar winning Secret Love. One of the musical delights of the 1950s and a highlight in Day's career. Directed by David Butler. With Dick Wesson.

A View To A Kill (1985)

James Bond (Roger Moore in his final outing as 007) is assigned to investigate the wealthy and mysterious head (Christopher Walken) of Zorin industries in order to discover who is responsible for leaking government technologies to the Russians. The 14th entry in the Bond franchise seems bloated and tired. The excessive running seems padded with irrelevant scenes (like Moore's tiresome dalliance with Fiona Fullerton which could easily have been excised) as if the producers felt that they were giving us more for our money when it just slows down the pacing. It doesn't help that Moore can't hide his ennui or that the Bond girl, pretty but vacuous Tanya Roberts, doesn't bring anything to the party. Even the normally reliable John Barry can't seem to bring his score to life though there's an infectious title song by Duran Duran. On the plus side, there's a pair of marvelous Bond villains. Walken seems to be having a great time as the psychotic Zorin, even when he faces death he giggles and that Amazon Grace Jones makes for a delicious "bad girl". The exciting airship on the Golden Gate bridge finale is very well known however. Directed by John Glen. With Patrick Macnee, Patrick Bauchau, Alison Doody, Geoffrey Keen, Desmond Llewelyn, Walter Gotell, Dolph Lundgren and in her swan song as Miss Moneypenny, Lois Maxwell.

The Citadel (1938)

A young and idealistic doctor (Robert Donat) attempts to treat Welsh miners as well as doing medical research in his spare time. But ignorance and superstition among the miners force him to resign and relocate to London where he is seduced by the opportunity to make large sums of money to society hypochondriacs. Based on the best selling novel by A.J. Cronin and directed by King Vidor (DUEL IN THE SUN). Vidor directs this cinematic dissertation on medical ethics with much grandiosity. Subtle it's not. Still, it is not without entertainment value as soap opera though its scenario has been replicated so often that one can't help feeling that you've seen it before. Donat does well in the leading role displaying more vinegar than we're used to from him. The reticent demeanor of his Mr. Chips is nowhere to be found. Others also do well like Rosalind Russell as his wife who is particularly good in an underwritten role and the great Ralph Richardson makes the most of his role as a dedicated if hard drinking humanitarian. With Rex Harrison, Francis L. Sullivan, Emlyn Williams (who had a hand in the screenplay), Cecil Parker, Felix Aylmer, Nora Swinburne and Athene Seyler.

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

After 25 years of marriage, a man (Steve Carell) is stunned when his wife (Julianne Moore) asks for a divorce and admits an affair with a co-worker (Kevin Bacon). Tossed unceremoniously into the single life again, a player and ladies man (Ryan Gosling) takes him under his wing and thus begins a series of events that spiral into ways he (and the audience) never imagined. The title says it all. But this is no cute WHEN HARRY MET SALLY romcom or wild and crazy BRIDESMAIDS farce. Directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (I LOVE YOU PHILIP MORRIS) have created a marvelous examination on the messiness of love. The highs, the lows, the anger, the shame, the pain, the contradictions, the insanity of it. By turns both poignant and hilarious, the film feels fresh and vital. Carell gets a chance to show his acting chops and Gosling encompasses the shallowness of a gym rat perfectly but his transformation is subtle and believable and one of the most charming things about the film. Marisa Tomei gets as close to stealing the film as anyone playing a recovering alcoholic with impeccable comedic timing. Two youngsters, Jonah Bobo as a 13 year old in love with his sister's 17 year old babysitter played by Analeigh Tipton (who's in love with Carell) have just the right amount of sincerity and awkwardness. The rest of the cast is spot on including Emma Stone, John Carroll Lynch and Josh Groban. An absolute delight!

Cowboys & Aliens (2011)

In 1873 Arizona, a man (Daniel Craig) awakens with no previous memory. When he arrives in the nearest town, he is arrested by the sheriff (Keith Carradine) for robbery and murder and put in jail. But when the town is suddenly attacked by alien spaceships which kidnap many of the town's citizens, the mysterious stranger becomes the town's only hope. Based on the graphic novel by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg and directed by Jon Favreau (IRON MAN). The high concept idea of combining a western with science fiction is tantalizing and one wonders why nobody ever thought of it before. The concept is rife with comic possibilities but although Favreau makes little use of them, at least he doesn't patronize the western genre. Of the actors, Harrison Ford gives a nicely etched character performance as a grizzled land baron by way of Walter Huston. There's a nice score by Harry Gregson-Williams that has to compete with the ear splitting sound effects. It's good fun but it never lives up to its potential. With Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde, Paul Dano, Adam Beach and Clancy Brown.

The Bat (1959)

A famous mystery writer (Agnes Moorehead) rents a creepy "old dark house" for the summer. Meanwhile, a killer known only as The Bat (who kills women by ripping out their throats with his claws) begins to terrorize her and her house guests. Directed by Crane Wilbur (probably more known for his screenplays like HOUSE OF WAX and HE WALKED BY NIGHT than as a director), this hoary old chestnut based on a 1920 stage play and previously filmed as a silent in 1926 and a talkie in 1930 is rather silly and shows its age. Certainly not scary by today's standards but if you're partial to those "it was a dark and stormy night" old dark house thrillers with secret passageways, hidden treasure and shadows on the wall, it can be good fun. The house itself is a real corker, expertly rendered by art and set directors Dave Milton and Rudy Butler. Vincent Price as a doctor experimenting on rabid bats doesn't have much to do except lend his authoritative presence. The B&W cinematography is by Joseph Biroc (an Oscar winner for TOWERING INFERNO). With John Sutton, Elaine Edwards, Gavin Gordon (BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN), a grown up Darla Hood of The Little Rascals fame and Lenita Lane as Moorehead's maid in a performance so amateurish, it has to be seen to be believed.

Absence Of Malice (1981)

Frustrated in his attempts to break the case of missing union leader, an ambitious Federal prosecutor (Bob Balaban in a truly terrible, one dimensional performance) intentionally leaks misinformation to a reporter (Sally Field) who prints the story. This misinformation implicates an innocent man (Paul Newman) who the prosecutor wants to squeeze for information. This taut and well written screenplay by Kurt Luedtke, under Sydney Pollack's assured direction, is a clever examination of (un)ethical newspaper and government practices. Perhaps too clever because as entertaining as its "turn the tables" plot is, it's not very convincing. Its supporting characters seem like devices who function as pawns for the film's King and Queen, Newman and Field. There is one breakout performance that cuts through all the contrivances though. Melinda Dillon (in a justifiably Oscar nominated performance) as a fragile, chain smoking, anxiety ridden pal of Newman's who's responsible for the film's most wrenching moments. There's a fine score by Dave Grusin. With Josef Sommer, Luther Adler, Barry Primus, Don Hood and Wilford Brimley in a shameless performance as if he knew his one scene was his only chance to make an impression.

When The Boys Meet The Girls (1965)

A rich East Coast playboy (Harve Presnell) finds himself stuck against his will at an out of the way college in the Nevada mountains. But when a rancher's daughter (Connie Francis) catches his eye, he decides to help build a hotel on their property in order to get them out of debt. This third film version of the George and Ira Gershwin success GIRL CRAZY (Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney starred in the 1943 version) has a negligible and creaky plot to put it mildly (but to be fair, it probably had cobwebs on it way back when) which serves to showcase the movie's 12 musical numbers. The Gershwin tunes are supplemented by new pop songs of variable quality. It's a hodge-podge musical, where else could you see both Herman's Hermits, Louis Armstrong, Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs and Liberace all in the same movie? The best of the new stuff includes Francis's bouncy Mail Call and Herman's Hermits' Listen, People while the Gershwin classics are well served by a Francis/Presnell duet of But Not For Me and the film's big production number of I've Got Rhythm highlighted by Earl Barton's choreography. Directed by Alvin Ganzer. With Sue Ane Langdon, Joby Baker, Fred Clark and Frank Faylen.

ビルマの竪琴 (aka The Burmese Harp) (1956)

At WWII's end in Burma, a band of Japanese soldiers attempt to cross the border to Thailand when they receive word the war is over and they surrender to the British. But a private (Shoji Yasui) is asked by his captain (Rentaro Mikuni) to attempt to persuade a group of Japanese soldiers, still fighting in the mountains, to surrender. When that attempt proves a disaster, he dons a Buddhist monk's robe and begins his own spiritual journey. Based on the novel by Michio Takeyama and directed by Kon Ichikawa (FIRES ON THE PLAIN). An exquisite film that is both lyrical and grieving as it probes the nature of human suffering amongst the mysteries of mankind's propensity for war. Far from being an "in your face" anti-war treatise, Ichikawa almost leisurely lets the protagonist's conversion from solider to monk take place as he brings to the forefront the lush Burmese vistas (superbly photographed in black and white by Minoru Yokoyama) and Akira Ifukube's moving score (one of the best Japanese film scores I've ever heard) to move the story forward. A powerful piece of Japanese cinema, the film was nominated for a best foreign film Oscar (losing to Fellini's NIGHTS OF CABIRIA). Apparently, Ichikawa remade the film in color in the 1980s.

The Yellow Rolls Royce (1965)

An omnibus film centered around three separate stories in three different countries, each utilizing the same yellow Rolls-Royce to frame the stories. The curtain raiser features a cuckolded British aristocrat (Rex Harrison) who presents the Rolls-Royce to his unfaithful wife (Jeanne Moreau) as an anniversary present. The second story features an American gangster (George C. Scott) and his moll (Shirley MacLaine) in Naples where she finds herself attracted to a gigolo (Alain Delon). The third and best is saved for last. A rich American widow (Ingrid Bergman) travels to Yugoslavia, just before the Nazi invasion, where she becomes involved with a band of Yugoslavian patriots headed by Omar Sharif. Directed by Anthony Asquith (THE BROWNING VERSION) and based on an original screenplay by Terence Rattigan (SEPARATE TABLES). The film doesn't really amoun to much but it has a glamorous sheen and is aided by its all Star cast and striking locales though the middle segment sags the film down considerably until the Yugoslavian sequence picks up the pace. The score is by Riz Ortolani and features the song Forget Domani which became quite popular. With Art Carney, Edmund Purdom, Wally Cox, Isa Miranda, Joyce Grenfell, Michael Hordern, Moira Lister, Gregoire Aslan and Roland Culver.

It Happened In Hollywood (1937)

A popular cowboy star (Richard Dix, CIMARRON) in silent films finds his limited acting skills are a deterrent to a successful transition to the talkies. As his actress girlfriend's (Fay Wray) career blossoms, he finds himself losing everything. The first half of the film is quite interesting and it looks for awhile like it's going down the A STAR IS BORN route (also released in 1937). One of the three credited screenwriters is future auteur Samuel Fuller and I wouldn't be surprised if his contributions were for the first half because the second section of the film becomes increasingly maudlin (a sick orphan becomes the focal point) and preposterous, very unlike Fuller. One can't find much sympathy for Dix's character. He gets a chance at a comeback but refuses to take it because playing a cop killer would tarnish his clean scrubbed image! It doesn't help that Dix's acting isn't all that much different from his character's stilted screen test. The highlight of the film is a Star laden party Dix gives to impress the sick orphan but since he's washed up, instead of real Stars he invites doubles who look like them. So we get to see imitators of Mae West, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, W.C. Fields, Dietrich, Joan Crawford, Chaplin etc. Directed by Harry Lachman. With Franklin Pangborn as an acting coach.

Follow The Boys (1963)

Set in the French and Italian Riviera, the film follows four Navy "seagulls" (wife and girlfriends who follow the fleet) and their respective romantic mix ups and entanglements till everything is sorted out for the predictable happy ending. The Mediterranean vistas, attractively photographed in Panavision by Ted Scaife (THE DIRTY DOZEN) dwarf the slight plot-line but director Richard Thorpe (IVANHOE) doesn't do much to utilize the landscapes, it may as well have been shot in Hollywood rather than on location. The girls: Connie Francis, Paula Prentiss, Janis Paige and Dany Robin (Hitchcock's TOPAZ) are exceedingly likeable and Francis gets to sing four songs, all of them fairly lacklustre though the title song was a top 20 hit for her. Their mates: Roger Perry, Russ Tamblyn, Ron Randell and Richard Long respectively make less of an impression.