A 700 mile horse race across the American Southwest in 1906 attracts a disparate group of entrants. Among them: a former Rough Rider (Gene Hackman), a gambler (James Coburn), an ex-prostitute (Candice Bergen), an old saddle tramp (Ben Johnson), an English gentleman (Ian Bannen), an arrogant punk (Jan Michael Vincent) and a Mexican (Mario Arteaga). Directed by Richard Brooks (ELMER GANTRY) from his original script, this is a superior western. Brooks' screenplay falters briefly toward the end before recovering in time for the finale but for the most part, it's a thoughtful and intelligent western. It has a lot to say about winners and winning (the last shot is a beaut), about horse racing and the cruelty of it (pushing horses beyond endurance) and as two of the film's characters say, "the people some people marry". The actors are good except for Jan Michael Vincent though I'd venture to say it's more because of the ill conceived conception of his character than the actor. The justifiably Oscar nominated score is by Alex North. With Dabney Coleman, Jean Willes, Sally Kirkland, Paul Stewart and Robert Donner.
A down and out chorus girl (Dorothy Lamour) finds herself in Mexico without any money and no job. With the help of a taxi driver (Mikhail Rasumny), she passes herself off as a Spanish Contessa and gets a job as a nightclub entertainer. Enter a bullfighter (Arturo De Cordova), a banker (Patric Knowles) and his catty wife (Ann Dvorak) ... complications ensue. Directed by Mitchell Liesen (MIDNIGHT), this is an attempt at sophisticated comedy but the script seems warmed over and it needed actors with expert comedic timing (say, Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea) to make it work. What we get are Dorothy Lamour and Patric Knowles. Nothing against them, they're attractive and likable but their talents aren't specific enough for a farce like this. It's not an unpleasant way to pass the time but quite early on, you realize it will never rise above adequacy. The few songs and dance numbers are forgettable but the real stars of the film are Roland Anderson and Hans Dreier's art direction (that Spanish style country villa is a real beauty) and Edith Head's exquisite costumes. With Natalie Schafer, Billy Daniel and George Rigaud.
The famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (David Suchet) finds himself a passenger of the Calais coach on the Orient Express. He is approached by an unpleasant passenger (Toby Jones) and offered a large amount of cash for protection which he refuses. The next morning, the passenger is found dead in his compartment with 12 stab wounds. Based on the classic Agatha Christie novel and directed by Philip Martin. Reputedly the best selling novelist of all time, Agatha Christie wrote clever precisely constructed murder mysteries, intricate puzzles that engaged the reader who pored over the pages for possible clues. Yet why do so many adapters of her work feel the need to "improve" on her? The 1974 Sidney Lumet film version was pure bliss for a moviegoers and mystery fans alike. Here, they've decided to rewrite Christie to give the story a more politically correct ending with Poirot behaving like he would never ever do in one of the Christie books. She must have been spinning in her grave. I've never understood the praise for Suchet's Poirot. I've read every Poirot novel and Suchet is not the Poirot of the books. The cast is good but to no avail, it seemed doomed from the start. With Jessica Chastain, Barbara Hershey, Eileen Atkins, Hugh Bonneville, Susanne Lothar and Brian J. Smith.
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A retired music teacher (Peter Simonischek) is a prankster who is alienated from his adult daughter (Sandra Huller), who is a workaholic currently working as a business consultant in Romania. He makes a spontaneous unannounced visit to her in an attempt to reconnect by putting on a wig and false teeth and passing himself off as Toni Erdmann. Directed by Maren Ade, this is Germany's submission for this year's foreign language category at the Oscars. My major problem with the film is that it sees the daughter as the problem while I see the father as the problem. The film doesn't give us any background on their relationship: what caused the riff, why is she so obsessed on career, what was their relationship like when she was a child etc. It doesn't help that Simonischek is a pretty creepy looking guy even without the wig and false teeth. Fortunately, Huller's performance anchors the film, her face is like a tight fist, you can sense her frustration and unhappiness. Also, the movie is way too long, it pushes near the 3 hour mark which seems a bit much for a father/daughter relationship movie. There are excesses like a sex scene between Huller and Trystan Putter which stops the movie cold. It's just a film I wish I had liked more.
When the husband (Cary Grant) of his mistress (Thelma Todd) comes home unexpectedly and catches them together, her lover (Roland Young, TOPPER) hires a girl (Lili Damita, who was married to Errol Flynn and Michael Curtiz) to pose as his wife to throw the husband off the scent. When all four of them go on a vacation to Venice, things get interesting. Based on the 1923 French farce POUCHE by Henri Falk and Rene Peter which in turn was adapted for the American stage in 1925, this is a perfectly charming pre-code screwball romcom. While not a musical, the director Frank Tuttle (THIS GUN FOR HIRE) opens the film with a musical sequence in the manner of Rene Clair and Rouben Mamoulian. This was Grant's film debut but the romantic male lead is Young, who would switch to character work in a few years. I'm surprised the film doesn't have a more well known reputation but I suppose it's because the leads (Young, Damita) never became major stars and Tuttle doesn't have the reputation of a Clair or Mamoulian. But it's a delightful piece of fluff which reminded me of TOP HAT and THE GAY DIVORCEE without the musical numbers. One amusing running gag has Thelma Todd (who died under mysterious circumstances at 29) constantly being stripped of her dress. With Charles Ruggles and Irving Bacon.
A mild mannered and henpecked proof reader (Danny Kaye) for a pulp magazine spends much of his time daydreaming. In his daydreams, he's a daring WWII pilot, a Mississippi gambler, a sea captain, a cowboy, even a designer of ladies hats. But soon when he encounters a pretty blonde (Virginia Mayo), he finds himself on a real life dangerous adventure. Loosely based on the James Thurber short story, this is one of Danny Kaye's best movies and was quite popular in its day. It may not do Thurber's story justice (Thurber disliked the film) but as a comedy, it's quite fun. Kaye gets to do two of his specialty patter songs (written by his wife, Sylvia Fine) but it's not a musical. Kaye's antics may not be for everybody but I find him one of the screen's great clowns. Curiously, the emphasis seems to be on the "real life" story than on his daydreams which get short shrift. Directed by Norman Z. McLeod. With Boris Karloff, Fay Bainter, Ann Rutherford, Florence Bates and Konstantin Shayne.
An American adventurer (Glenn Ford) in Cuba is persuaded by a private art collector (Francis L. Sullivan) to smuggle a small parcel into Mexico. But that parcel contains a map to a treasure and there are other people who are determined to get it ..... even if they have to lie, cheat and kill. Based on the novel by David Dodge (TO CATCH A THIEF) and directed by John Farrow. This minor adventure flick is modestly if predictably entertaining should have gone the extra mile and been shot in Technicolor. The B&W lensing by Jack Draper is handsome enough but the Oaxaca and Veracruz locations (including the Zapotecan ruins) cry out out for vivid colors. It's your standard dumb Yankee gets in over his head in a Latin American country action/adventure movie but even taking that into account, Ford's character seems incredibly naive and gullible for a man who lives by his wits and his fists. On the plus side, Diana Lynn and Patricia Medina make for an attractive pair of femme fatales. With Sean McClory, Eduardo Noriega, Julio Villarreal and Douglass Dumbrille.
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Set in 1988, a small time opportunistic businessman (Matthew McConaughey) puts everything he has in a partnership with a geologist (Edgar Ramirez) to hunt for gold in the jungles of Indonesia. Before long, they become rich enough to attract some Wall Street companies who want to invest in their company as partners. Directed by Stephen Gaghan (SYRIANA), this is loosely based on the 1993 Bre-X mining 6 billion dollar scandal. I found it decent enough but unexceptional. It's not the kind of film that will resonate (either negatively or positively) with me in the future. While its ending is perceptively ambiguous, there's still a sense of deja vu about the whole thing. You have to hand it to McConaughey. Whether you like him or not, as an actor he commits himself 110% to his roles and he's in top form here. Physically, it's the reverse of his emaciated character in DALLAS BUYERS CLUB, here he's overweight, soft and flabby. Although based on true events, a lot of dramatic license is taken, so much that the characters have different names from their real life counterparts. With Bryce Dallas Howard, Stacy Keach, Craig T. Nelson and Joshua Harto.
Set in a medieval kingdom, a duplicitous Queen (Jane White) is determined to keep her son (Ken Berry) unmarried and tied to her. She insists on a test for all the Princesses who apply to be his wife but the tests are rigged for the Princesses to fail. But when a rather unrefined Princess (Carol Burnett) catch's the Prince's eye, the Queen has to make her test more difficult than ever. Based on the fairy tale THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA, this musical began off-Broadway in 1959 but it was a surprise success that quickly transferred to Broadway the same year. It made Carol Burnett a star and one can see why. It's been done for television three times: in 1964 and 1972 with Burnett repeating her stage role and in 2005 with Tracey Ullman as the Princess and Burnett as the Queen. Unfortunately, this 1972 production is played way too broadly as if it were an extended sketch on Burnett's variety show. Worst of all, they've added a horrid laugh and applause track which all but sabotages the production. What remains is the lovely song score by Mary Rodgers (Richard's daughter) and Marshall Barer even though some songs from the stage production have been eliminated. Directed by Ron Field and David Powers. With Bernadette Peters, Wally Cox, Jack Gilford, Ron Hussman and Lyle Waggoner.
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