A Life Of Her Own (1950)

An aspiring model (Lana Turner) leaves her small Kansas hometown for New York where she seeks fame and fortune. But be careful of what you wish for. As directed by George Cukor, the film starts out promisingly. It appears that it might be a hard, dark look at the cutthroat world of fashion modeling. But it soon deflates into a sordid tale of Turner's character having an affair with a married man (Ray Milland). The film might have worked with a stronger actress than Turner, who is miscast as a high fashion model. She doesn't have the figure (too short and thick wasted) or the carriage of a real model. It doesn't help that she and Milland (who's pretty bad here) have zero chemistry. Apparently the film's downbeat ending was changed at the studio's insistence. Two performances stand out however. Ann Dvorak is wonderful as an aging model turned party girl at the end of her tether. She brings a reality and a truth to the film and when her character exits the film, it never recovers. The other performance is that of Margaret Phillips as Milland's wife. In what could have been a cliche of the martyr wife, she brings a quiet dignity and class to the role. There's a lovely score by Bronislau Kaper (so lovely he reused it again two years later for INVITATION). With Tom Ewell, Barry Sullivan, Jean Hagen, Louis Calhern, Phyllis Kirk, Lurene Tuttle and Kathleen Freeman.

Die Buchse Der Pandora (aka Pandora's Box) (1929)

The mistress (Louise Brooks) of a wealthy newspaper publisher (Fritz Kortner) will have none of it when he tells her that he is leaving her for another woman (Daisy D'Ora) and intends to marry her. She gets her way for awhile but her carefree lifestyle will soon take a dark turn, ending in degradation, prostitution and death. Based on two plays by Frank Wedekind (which also served as the source material for Alan Berg's opera LULU), G.W. Pabst's (THREEPENNY OPERA) film would seem inconceivable without Brooks in the leading role. A mixture of vitality, sensuality and innocence, Brooks inhabits the role of Lulu to the point that she and the character become one. The film itself is a chronicle of the rise and fall of an amoral pleasure seeking temptress yet there doesn't seem to be any moralizing on Pabst's part. Perhaps, like us, he's infatuated with Brooks' Lulu and she seems a victim of her own nonconformity and passions rather than a self conscious femme fatale. With Francis Lederer (who would go on to a Hollywood film career), Alice Roberts, Carl Goetz and Gustav Diessl. 

Battling For Baby (1992)

Two former childhood friends, a concert pianist (Suzanne Pleshette) and a beautician (Debbie Reynolds), must reconcile their bitter dislike for each other when their children (Courteney Cox, John Terlesky) marry. But when a baby comes along, the feud goes into a no holds barred rivalry. This average family friendly comedy goes through the motions without a trace of originality. You know as the glamorous grandmother (Pleshette) and the homespun grandmother (Reynolds) toss barbs and quips at each other, that they will eventually get to the source of what really broke up their friendship and that a warm and fuzzy happy ending isn't far behind. Any minor (very minor) pleasures to be had come from the expert playing of Pleshette and Reynolds who manage to make the cliches tolerable. These two gals know their way around a quip. Directed by Art Wolff. With Doug McClure and Leigh Lawson.

Ten Seconds To Hell (1959)

In post war Berlin, six Germans are employed as a bomb disposal unit. There are still hundreds of unexploded Allied bombs through out the city. The six men make a pact. They all put up half their salary and the money will go to the sole survivor of the six. For two of the men (Jeff Chandler, Jack Palance) who have an antagonistic relationship, it becomes personal. The director Robert Aldrich has an aggressive directorial style and a knack for bleak and darker films with cynical protagonists. Films like KISS ME DEADLY and WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? for example, follow their lead characters through a maze that leads to ironic conclusions which come too late for their central figures. TEN SECONDS TO HELL is not one of Aldrich's better films. Although he co-wrote the screenplay (based on the novel THE PHOENIX by Lawrence P. Bachmann), Aldrich is unable to form a believable relationship between its two combatants. It doesn't help that Chandler and Palance aren't remotely believable as Germans but Chandler gives a very poor performance. He's so innately likable that he can't make a convincing bastard and his drunk scene is cringe inducing. The bomb defusing sequences are well done with the requisite tension however. With Martine Carol (Ophul's LOLA MONTES) as the love interest,  Wesley Addy, Dave Willock, Virginia Baker, Robert Cornthwaite, James Goodwin and Jim Hutton.

Romeo And Juliet (1936)

In Verona, two powerful clans have a long standing feud between them. But when the son (Leslie Howard) of the Montagues and the daughter (Norma Shearer) of the Capulets fall in love, the fierce opposition to their romance will lead to tragedy for both families. MGM pulled out all the stops, sparing nothing for this lavish production of Shakespeare's beloved tale of ill fated young lovers. Oliver Messel, one of the great stage designers of all time, was the consultant on the production design and the costumes. A Shakespeare scholar was flown in from Harvard to be on the set and none other than Agnes De Mille herself choreographed the ball sequence. Visually, it's impressive but ..... the performances do the picture in. Putting aside the fact that most of the actors are about 15 to 20 years older than the characters they're playing, Howard and Shearer are egregiously miscast. There's no passion to Howard's Romeo, he says the line "I am fortune's fool" with all the feeling of ordering a burger. Shearer's acting (with a capital A) is affected and one cringes watching her act all girly and indicating. Also miscast is John Barrymore as Mercutio but he brings a much needed vitality to the proceedings. George Cukor directed this "prestigious" film but I don't know whether to blame him or Irving Thalberg. With Basil Rathbone, C. Aubrey Smith, Andy Devine, Reginald Denny, Ian Wolfe and in the film's best performance, Edna May Oliver as Juliet's old nurse.

Devil Girl From Mars (1954)

A diverse group of guests are gathered at an inn in the Scottish countryside when a flying saucer makes an emergency landing near the inn. A leather clad alien (Patricia Laffan, QUO VADIS) threatens the guests while her ship is being repaired by her robot companion. Based on a play by James Eastwood (who also wrote the screenplay) and directed by David MacDonald (BAD LORD BYRON). Science fiction has been a popular genre since the days of silent cinema. But sci-fi plays? There's no record of Eastwood's play ever being performed so it might be an unpublished play. This low budget British "B" hokum takes place on an inn set with minimal action and the characters yakking away. It's difficult to decide which is worse. The dialogue or the acting. I'd call it a draw though only one performance is jaw dropping bad, Hugh McDermott as a London reporter.  There's a small degree of amusement to be derived from the awfulness of it all though it never quite manages to cross over into camp although Laffan's dominatrix costume is an eye popper. If you've an appetite for kitschy 1950s sci-fi, this should be right up your alley. For everyone else, I suspect it's rather dull. Also in the cast: Hazel Court, Adrienne Corri, Peter Reynolds and Joseph Tomelty.

Deadfall (1968)

A recovering alcoholic and jewel thief (Michael Caine) is recruited by a mysterious woman (Giovanna Ralli) and her homosexual husband (Eric Portman) to help them in a dangerous jewel heist. But when he and the woman become lovers (with her husband's knowledge), things become even more complex as the trio head toward tragedy. A stylish and elegant heist thriller handsomely shot in Spain by Gerry Turpin (SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON) and directed with aplomb by Bryan Forbes. The film's big set piece comes midway into the film. A mansion break in and robbery intercut with a concert. The concert piece Romance For Guitar And Orchestra plays in the concert hall but it also acts as an underscore to the robbery as Forbes goes back and forth between the concert and the robbery. Having reached its highpoint so early, the film struggles for the next hour until it is saved at the last moment by its forlorn conclusion. The film has a bit of fat however. The playgirl played by Nanette Newman has no place in the film (unless it was an excuse for Forbes to give his wife a job) and clogs up the narrative unnecessarily. The superb score is by John Barry (who also appears in the film conducting the concert). With Vladek Sheybal and Renata Tarrago.

Charlie Chan And The Curse Of The Dragon Queen (1981)

When a series of bizarre murders occur in San Francisco, the famed Chinese detective Charlie Chan (Peter Ustinov) is called in to help solve the case. By coincidence, his half Jewish/half Chinese grandson (Richard Hatch, he puts soy sauce on his lox and bagel), eager to follow in his grandfather's footsteps, is a San Francisco resident and joins forces with his grandfather in helping to track down the killer. The main suspect is Chan's old nemesis, the Dragon Queen (Angie Dickinson) just released from prison and seeking revenge on Chan.  Directed by Clive Donner (WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT?), this is a rather silly hit or miss frantic comedy. Some of it works like Roddy McDowall's insolent butler in a wheelchair or Lee Grant's widow obsessed with her husband's urn but there's a lot of slapstick stuff that falls flat. Principally, the klutzy Hatch and his fiancee (Michelle Pfeiffer) who are constantly tripping and falling. This was one of Pfeiffer's first movies and she already shows the charm and presence that would soon turn her into one of the major actresses of the 1980s. Paul Lohmann's (NASHVILLE) location photography shows San Francisco at her best. Also in the cast: Rachel Roberts, Brian Keith and Johnny Sekka.

Son Of Fury (1942)

In 18th century England, the son (Roddy McDowall) of a deceased Baronet is taken by his uncle (George Sanders) and turned into an indentured servant. The man fears that the boy may one day attempt to claim his rightful title of Baronet and to the properties and title his uncle now holds. When the boy grows into manhood (and into Tyrone Power), he escapes to the South Seas where he hopes to make his fortune and return to England to claim his rightful place. Based on the novel BENJAMIN BLAKE by Edison Marshall, this is a relatively well done adventure movie even if it offers nothing beyond an enjoyable hour and a half. This was the kind of movie hokum that Power was tired of making though it would be a few more years before he had more challenging roles in THE RAZOR'S EDGE and NIGHTMARE ALLEY. This was during Gene Tierney's "exotic" period when Fox wasn't quite sure what to do with her and cast her as Eurasians and, as here, Polynesian. Rescue in the form of LAURA would come two years later. The film is also notable as the tragic Frances Farmer's (who plays Sanders' haughty daughter) last film before her mental illness got the better of her and she would not make another film for 16 years. Nicely shot by Arthur Miller (HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY) with Pasadena standing in for the South Seas. Directed by John Cromwell. Also in the cast: John Carradine, Kay Johnson, Harry Davenport, Dudley Digges and a nice turn by Elsa Lanchester as a prostitute.  

The Last Page (aka Man Bait) (1952)

A clerk (Diana Dors) in a book store gets involved with a petty criminal (Peter Reynolds) who pushes her to blackmail her boss (George Brent) for some money. She's reluctant but goes ahead anyway but everything goes wrong. Before Hammer films became synonymous with horror, they did a series of low budget semi-noirs and crime thrillers usually with an American actor (or two) who had seen better days to make the film lucrative to U.S. audiences. Here, George Brent and Marguerite Chapman provide the American "star power" but it's the sexy young Diana Dors, who gets introducing billing, that makes the film watchable. The screenplay is by Frederick Knott who wrote DIAL M FOR MURDER and WAIT UNTIL DARK but this film lacks the the precise detail and intelligence that made those films quality efforts. All the characters here are pretty dumb and their actions are stupid so it's hard to drum up much sympathy for any of them. None of them bother to think out the possible consequences of their actions and the hot water they get into are of their own making. Directed by Terence Fisher, who would go on to become one of Hammer's premier horror directors. With Raymond Huntley and Eleanor Summerfield.

Pete Kelly's Blues (1955)

Kansas City, 1927. A trumpet player (Jack Webb) and his small jazz band are eking out a living when a mobster (Edmond O'Brien) attempts to become their "agent". When they refuse, the band's drummer (Martin Milner) is killed and they give in. The gangster forces an aging alcoholic singer (Peggy Lee in an Oscar nominated performance) on them. How much will they be able to take before things come to a head? Directed by Webb, the film is rich in 20s atmosphere and the music is sensational. It's a tough little crime drama reminiscent of those 1930s Warners gangster melodramas. However, the less said about Webb the actor, the better. He seems to have switched his Joe Friday badge for a cornet but little else has changed. As a romantic leading man, he's a stiff and he and Janet Leigh (as a society flapper) have zero chemistry. Also in the cast: Lee Marvin, Ella Fitzgerald (who does a great rendition of Hard Hearted Hannah), Jayne Mansfield and in a rare dramatic role, Andy Devine.

Dinner At Eight (1989)

A rather self absorbed but ditzy society hostess (Marsha Mason) plans a dinner party for some British royals. The guest list includes her husband's (John Mahoney) old flame (Lauren Bacall), a crass tycoon (Charles Durning) and his trampy wife (Ellen Greene, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS) and a washed up Hollywood actor (Harry Hamlin). This remake of the 1933 MGM comedy (by way of the George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber Broadway play) can't hope to compete with the George Cukor film but it doesn't help matters by updating the plot to the 1980s. Instead of John Barrymore's alcoholic we get Hamlin's cocaine addict and it just feels off and Bacall lacks Marie Dressler's comedic timing. Greene does what she can with the brassy Jean Harlow role but try as she might, she can't fake the sex appeal. The source material is good enough that it doesn't need the updating.  Chalk it up to a misfire. Directed by Ron Lagomarsino. With Julia Sweeney, Stacy Edwards, Joel Brooks and Tim Kazurinsky.