Reviews
Pardon Us (1931)
humor, old style
1931 was a very different time in this country. "pardon us" reflects the modes and mores of the time; remember, that was seventy-three years ago. the attitude toward blacks at that time was of one to a second-class people. so, we have laurel pointing at two black inmates and saying "look, amos 'n andy". happy, singing sharecroppers (i'd like to know if the singing sharecroppers were the crinoline choir seen in bing's "mississippi" and the marx bros "day at the races")...stan and ollie coloring themselves with grease and mud. as another reviewer remarked, they couldn't get away with that today, and rightly so. withal,pardon us is not a "great" film, but it is a great l&h film. the accompanying music is straight out of the silents. listen to it...savor it...worth the admission. hardy exhibits his fine tenor voice in "lazy moon"..the various l&h skits throughout. my favorite is when l&h declare a hunger strike but the guard tempts them with visions of a roast turkey dinner replete with all the trimmings including hot biscuits and a big, black cigar. how could hardy turn that down! laurel pipes up after all that and asks, "any nuts?" "all you can eat of them!" comes the stentorian answer from the guard. wilfred lucas (the warden), walter long (the "tiger") and jimmy finlayson (the school tutor) lend yeoman support to l&h. all three supported them in other vehicles. wilfred lucas was the dean in "chumps at oxford"; walter long appeared in "saps at sea" and, of course, finlayson appeared in all l&h films. listen to the warden's welcoming talk at the start and his congratulatory talk at the end. poor l&h...they are mesmerized by the pomposity. fine l&h film, creaky in spots, but recommended for the film buff and the l&h fan.
Double or Nothing (1937)
pleasing musical-variety
in 1937, paramount films, along with other studios, was in deep trouble in the recession. bing crosby was paramount's main source of easy money. the public then was willing to see anything with bing in it, or for that matter, hear him on records and on the radio. in "double or nothing", bing gave them some of all three media. four crosby-type numbers, "smarty", "the natural thing to do", "moon got in my eyes","all you wanna do is dance" which crosby does with that effortless, casual insouciance for which he was so famous. at that time, crosby's kraft music hall was one of the top radio shows, and the night club scene had bing emceeing just as he did on radio. pretty mary carlisle is the love interest, and a capable cast of martha raye (great in "it's on, it's off"), bill frawley, andy devine round out the foursome, with bing, trying to win the million dollar jackpot, courtesy of a multi-millionaire's whimsy. samuel s. hinds (jimmy stewart's father in "it's a wonderful life") plays one of his hundreds of supporting roles, as bing & co's adversary. not a "great" movie, but a thoroughly enjoyable one.
The Merry Widow (1934)
frothy musical, in the lubitsch-lehar style
the music's the thing in this treatment of the light opera favorite. mcdonald was never better, voice and looks. ditto chevalier, acting in a role tailor-made for him. talk about a film having everything...the comedy, handled by old pros, such as sterling holloway, geo. barbier, una merkel, billy gilbert, henry armetta, donald meek, minna gombel. stupendous sets with dance scenes that were a lasting tribute to those who put them together. but as i said, the music, withal, is the thing. chevalier's "girls, girls, girls", "maxim's"; mcdonald's "delia" (was there ever a sweeter, more poignant song?), "merry widow waltz" and three or four other numbers. a truly great film. regrettably enough, mcdonald today is better remembered for the nelson eddy team-ups; personally, i prefer her with chevalier. they made at least four great musicals , the "widow" topping them all.
Nuremberg (2000)
well researched film history
having previously read "psychiatrist at nurenburg" which familiarized me with the trial, i was ready to pick out inconsistencies in the film presentation. i found next to none. the love angle could be disposed with, but i suppose baldwin had to have some fun. the characterizations of the defendants were superb, esp. goering. physically, as well as mentally. except for speer's, whose actor did not really look like him. all the rest were chillingly close! the psychoanalist was sympathetically presented. a jew in the company of these jew-hating monsters. yes, as was previously reviewed, the self-justifying of the defendants, goering and speer, worked exceedingly well. the sets were very much like bombed out nurenburg. great work, all around. save for baldwin, terribly miscast; but, to give the devil his due, he did help put this masterpiece together. bravo!
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
contrived mishmash
the basic idea of the story is intriguing, but as a film story, nearly laughable. f'rinstance, obviously an englishman, the main character is inexplicably an american soldier in korea. f'rinstance, harvey murders some four or five acquaintances in cold blood, yet no police activity, no suspicion, no nothing. f'rinstance, sen iselin is such a gross caricature of joe mccarthy,complete with the left-liberal slop smear job, worthy of herblock, the cartoonist, but, then again what would you expect from frankenheimer? f'rinstance, maj. marco (sinatra) manages to totally enthrall already engaged janet leigh by their second meeting and by then she has already thrown over her affianced for the pee-wee "major". and it goes on and on, but you get the idea... all in all, mad magazine was a better showpiece for this movie, the way it was projected on the screen.
The Little Hut (1957)
a laugh riot
i saw this film"way back when" in '57 and my date & i were helpless laughing at it. i know it was panned even back then, both as a b'way show and later as a flick. stewart granger plays a totally naive tennis nut with a beautiful wife, ava gardner. he is totally oblivious to his pal, david niven's overt courting of gardner. one scene has niven & gardner playing a game and, at the game's end, they engage in a passionate kiss. the naive granger passes it off as "good, clean fun". he just can't see pal niven for what he's up to. another scene has the three at a table on the island they were stranded on, with granger again in total oblivion to gardner & niven playing tangle toes and trading double entendres at each other. granger finally wakes up and tries to win wife's attentions back. this picture is really worth seeing, in my book.
The Vicar of Bray (1937)
intrigues in the court of charles 1
i viewed this engaging film "way back when"...when tv was relegated to showing british films in the early fifties, and american films were only "b"'s and worse. "vicar of bray" i recall, unfortunately only dimly,after 50 years. stanley holloway is the vicar who leaves his flock in bray, co. wicklow and heads for the intrigues of the court of charles I. i can't remember if the vicar were roman catholic or c of i as charles may well have been a secret catholic. i recall a great dockside scene with his adoring flock cheering the vicar a fond farewell and the vicar and flock singing a rousing rendition of "i'll be back to dear ol' ireland in the morning". i'd love to see this movie again, but i don't see it available anywhere i've looked; maltin's reviews, massive though it is, doesn't include the movie at all.
The Steel Trap (1952)
great suspense; almost comical , at times
the steel trap, with joe cotten & teresa wright, that great duo from hitchcock's shadow of a doubt, is a never to be forgotten suspense film. cotten plays a bank officer who becomes obsessed with the notion of absconding with a million dollars and taking refuge in brazil (no extradition treaty). miss wright is perfect as his all too understanding wife who goes along with his preposterous explanations of what he is up to. everything goes wrong on get away day and the riveting climax leaves one sitting on the edge of his/her seat. i wish this film were available on video; i've seen it a few times, in '52 as a teen and once or twice on tv. at any rate, bravo, joe and teresa!!!
So This Is New York (1948)
comedy- satire
one of my favorite films, first seen when i was twelve, in 1948. in my opinion, it was the signature film of all those in it...henry morgan, leo gorcey, rudy vallee, bill goodwin, dona drake, virginia grey, jerome cowan. i'm tempted to say that goodwin's jimmy ralston character was the best; but then, all the performances were so great. i spotted it on tv some ten years ago, on a weak station and taped it. so, bad copy and all, i do watch it a few times a year.