SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN CHRISTMAS MOVIES

Nothing against Miracle on 34th Street or It’s A Wonderful Life, mind you, but you might want something a little different for your Christmas viewing this year. 

Auntie Mame (1958) features Rosalind Russell as the madcap maiden aunt, and reluctant guardian,  of author Patrick Dennis. When everyone gets depressed, Mame decides it’s time for Christmas, and so they have it. The calendar is irrelevant.  Much better than the so-so musical version with Lucille Ball.

Christmas is the catalyst for a strange voluntary truce between Allied and Axis soldiers in the compelling, and underrated, A Midnight Clear (1992).  Ethan Hawke and Gary Sinise head a good ensemble cast. This fine film quietly makes the point that we have more in common than we have to fight about. 

Another highly recommended sleeper is The Railway Children (1952). It begins with the worst Christmas ever when the father of three children is unjustly sent to prison. Their lives were already hard on a marginal small farm near the railroad tracks, and now it seems all will be lost. But they begin a doubtful campaign to free their father and are most grateful for the small pleasures life brings them. This joyous, almost unknown, film teaches that children can accomplish great things.

The wonderful Kramer v. Kramer may seem an unlikely choice unless you happen to remember that Ted Kramer loses his job a few days before Christmas and has to put on a happy face for the young son he is raising alone. We tend to remember the bitter child custody trial that gives the film its title, but most of the movie is about learning to be a real parent and what a joy everything can be. Dustin Hoffman as the father and Meryl Streep as the mother both won Oscars, as did the movie for best film.

When you reach the saturation point from Christmas schmaltz and commercialism, it’s time for Tim Burton’s amazing The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). Filmed in an exacting stop-action technique, the look of the film is unique. The story involves Jack Skeffington, the bizarre Pumpkin King of Halloweentown, deciding to confiscate Christmas as the better choice of holidays. The kidnapping of Santa Claus is just one of the outrages committed by Jack and his cronies. Nightmare is not for all tastes. Teenagers generally love it; adult reviews are mixed.

All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. Railway Children and Auntie Mame fine for 8 and up; the rest for 12 and over.

                                                                    CHESS

        Here’s a sport with no cheerleaders, color commentators or roaring crowds. Yes, chess! There are a few good movies about chess and most are included in this article. So, you think they will be boring? Be pleasantly surprised!

The idea for this article came to me while watching the superb Netflix serial The Queen’s Gambit (2020). Previously almost unknown Anya Taylor-Joy stars in this compelling drama that is more about growing up as a tough, smart girl than it is about chess. Orphaned Beth winds up at a down-at-the-heels girls school. At the age of 9 she discovers the custodian playing chess in the basement. She wants to learn the game and he teaches her. She is a natural. Shunned by most of the other girls and all of the male players,, she gets better and better and eventually plays for the world championship. There’s not a boring minute in this miniseries. 

Speaking of tough, smart girls there is another one starring in a good chess movie. Queen Of Katwe (2016) features Madina Nalwanga as 10-year-old Phiona, who with her friends learns the game of chess at the local missionary school in Uganda. She and her friends advance to the world olympiad of chess where she hopes to become proficient enough to earn money for playing. Their first effort falls short. Although Fiona is the best player on her team, the competition is just too tough. But she perseveres and is finally able to earn enough money to buy a home for her family. And yes, this is based on a true story.

Pawn Sacrifice (2014) is the true story of American chess master Bobby Fischer. He makes John Macenroe seem placid. Fischer becomes more and more paranoid as he advances in the chess world. This culminates in a match against Russian champion Boris Spassky in Finland. Tobey Maguire (yes, Spiderman!) is outstanding as the brilliant, troubled Fischer. 

Another film on the same subject is Bobby Fischer Against the World (2011), a documentary about the great player’s life. Fischer was a self-taught chess genius from New York who rose to the top of world class players in the 70's. At the time of his ascendance, the Russians had virtually owned world chess ranking. It was unheard of for an American to even be in their class. Hence the titanic match between Fischer and Russian champion Boris Spassky. The match held the world captive for days. There is rare footage of the match in this documentary. 

The Coldest Game (2019) and Critical Thinking (2020)  use chess as a background to the film’s story.

I have saved the best for last. Searching For Bobby Fischer (1993) is one of my all-time favorite movies. Max Pomeranc (8 years old at the time) is perfect as the super-talented boy, who really just wants to be an ordinary kid. Joe Mantegna and Joan Allen are really good as his bewildered parents, trying to navigate between his talent and his childhood. And Lawrence Fishburne has an excellent turn as a park speed player. If you don’t like this film don’t even tell me!

All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are fine for mature kids and up. 

                                                             SEAN CONNERY

                                                             Part 3

Here is the third and final article about Sean Connery movies (not including the Bonds). 

Harrison Ford is of course the main guy in the four Indiana Jones movies. But in the third entry Sean Connery appears as Indy’s father, a professor. The prof has gone missing on a journey to find the holy grail. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) has lots of Nazis and action and is as good as the other films. Connery is just fine as Indy’s somewhat absent minded Dad. 

The Russia House (1990) features a fine script by Tom Stoppard from the book by the inimitable John Le Carre. Sean Connery is Barley Scott-Blair, head of a British publishing firm. On a business trip to Moscow he stumbles upon a document supposedly leaked by one of Russia’s top scientists which says the Soviet nuclear program is in disarray and the West should stop the arms race. MI6 and the CIA get involved and Barley heads back to Russia to confront the leaker.

Rising Sun (1993) from a crackerjack book by Michael Crichton, stars Sean Connery as police officer John Connor, dispatched to a murder scene at the LA office of a Japanese company. The death of a call girl is recorded on a video disc which turns out to have been digitally altered. When it is corrected, it changes things completely.

        The Rock (1996) is about a raid into Alcatraz to rescue captured tourists and prevent rogue Marines from firing rockets into San Francisco. Sean Connery plays John Mason. He is pardoned from another prison to help with the raid. He is the only person to ever escape Alcatraz (and live to tell about it) and knows all of the ins and outs of the storied prison. Lots of action and hijinks follow.

        In The Avengers (1998) Sean Connery portrays a mad scientist out to control the earth's weather. He runs up against the iconic Emma Peel and John Steed, the same characters from the popular British TV series.

        And finally there is Finding Forrester (2000). Sean Connery plays the title character, William Forrester, author of a Pulitzer Prize winning novel. Forrester has become a recluse, rarely leaving his apartment. He befriends Jamal, a local kid with a talent for writing. After a ragged start, Forrester agrees to help Jamal with his writing, and, incidentally, his life. This is one of Connery's finest roles and he makes the most of it.

        All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups. 

                                                           SEAN CONNERY

                                                           Part 2

Here are five more good movies starring the late great Sean Connery. 

Connery convincingly plays the renegade Berber chieftain Raisuli in the adventurous The Wind And The Lion (1975). Britain, Germany and France are all trying to get a piece of 1904 Morocco. Raisuli kidnaps Eden Pedecaris and her two children in an effort to force out the corrupt Sultan (don’t ask). There’s a botched exchange of the kidnap victims and Raisuli is betrayed by a confederate. President Theodore Roosevelt gets into the game and winds up admiring the Berber. Based on a true incident? Uh, no. 

The Man Who Would Be King (1975) is based on a Kipling adventure story. Sean Connery plays Danny Dravot. He and companion soldier Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine) trek to faraway Kafiristan where they help the natives with modern weapons and tactics to defeat their enemies. When an arrow hits Danny but is stopped by his leather bandolier the natives then think he is a god and make him their king. He loves the adulation, and wants to meet Queen Victoria as an equal ruler. 

A Bridge Too Far (1977) is a film too long. Good lord, what a cast: Sean Connery, James Caan, Michael Caine, Edward Fox, Dirk Bogarde, Elliot Gould, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, etc, etc. And that is the problem. Too many names, all of whom have to have screen time. The story of an allied attempt to land paratroopers behind German lines and secure needed bridges is a good one. Just 4 minutes short of three hours, it’s pretty good if you have a comfortable chair. Sean Connery is quite good as British Major General Urquart. 

The Great Train Robbery (1978) is the best of several films about an amazing and complicated heist. Sean Connery is gentleman thief Edward Pierce. He recruits a specialized gang to rob a large and heavily guarded gold shipment. Every time there’s a hump to get over, the gang seems to rise to the occasion. The ending is quite good and this is a fun movie. Author Michael Crichton adapted the screenplay from his novel and also directs. 

Sean Connery’s only Oscar (for Best Supporting Actor) came from The Untouchables (1987) in which he plays Jim Malone, part of a police squad gathered by Elliot Ness (Kevin Costner). Their principal task is to take down mobster kingpin Al Capone. Their moniker comes from the fact they are immune from the corruption surrounding law enforcement in Chicago. Unable to pin any of Capone’s more violent crimes on him, they go after his tax returns and discover a way to get to him. The way forward is not easy, and many of the incorruptible group are killed. There’s plenty of action and a neat ending. 

All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups. Next time, the third and final installment about Sean Connery films. 

                                                            SEAN CONNERY

                                                            Part 1

Many actors have done a fine job of portraying James Bond; Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan and Roger Moore to name a few. But there’s only one Bond- Sean Connery.

No one else could lift that eyebrow or say “shaken, not stirred”, like the wily Scot. Well, nothing lasts forever and Connery bid this vale of tears farewell at the great age of 90.

And while Bond was his signature role he had lots of others. Since the Bond movies tend to have the same basic plot, I’m going to skip them. They are fun, though!

That leaves me with only 15 or so good movies to write about. So this is going to be the first of probably three articles about the late great Sean. I am, of course, up for that. I’m going to go chronologically starting with the earliest.

Marnie (1964) features Tippi Hedren in the title role and Sean Connery as wealthy Mark Rutland. Marnie seems a really bad girl who steals money here and there. Mark falls in love with her, tries to pay off her victims, and straighten her out. Her past is revealed in a layered fashion in an attempt to explain her sticky fingers. Not director Alfred Hitchcock at the top of his game, but pretty good. 

In The Hill (1965) Sean Connery is Joe Roberts, a British soldier sent to a British detention camp in desert Libya. The camp is run by sadistic officers bent on breaking the prisoners. The hill of the title is a manmade thing which only exists to torture the prisoners. The sadistic officers make them run up it over and over. Roberts becomes something of a hero to the other men because he refuses to knuckle under.

Connery plays completely against type in A Fine Madness (1966) and he aces it. He is Samson Shillitoe, a failed poet with severe writer’s block. This does not, however, affect his attraction to various women. He spends time in a sanitarium where he is subjected to a risky operation, which has no effect on his temper or writer’s block. But he does meet and bed more ladies.

The Anderson Tapes (1971) is one of the first films to include various kinds of  clandestine and open surveillance. Sean Connery  plays Duke Anderson, a safe-cracker just released from prison. He plans to rob an entire apartment building and rounds up a group of miscreants to help him. Unknown to the gang, the whole operation is being watched and recorded from the beginning by the IRS, the FBI, a private detective and others. By the time the gang is ready to leave with their loot, the place is completely surrounded by the police and a shootout leaves most of them dead. 

Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express is a delightful romp that keeps you guessing unless you already know the answer. You won’t get it from me. The 1964 version is quite good with Sean Connery as Col. Arbuthnot.  A whole bunch of train passengers are stalled over night by a track blockage and daylight reveals that one of them was murdered. The 2017 version is, I think, equally good. If you’ve never seen either, or read the book, you will enjoy the story.

All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups. More Sean Connery films next time. 

                                                    COMING FULL CIRCLE

I love movies with lots of different plot lines that somehow come together against all expectations. The only trouble with writing about them is that it is hard not to give away how the various threads are finally woven together. 

At least one of them has won a Best Picture Oscar and so I’ll start with Crash (2004). Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle and Matt Dillon lead a fine cast through a rather complex plot involving race relations, bad and error-prone cops and mistaken identities. The screenplay also won Oscar and the complications are worth staying on board to get the payoff. 

Babel (2006) is a terrific film that keeps you guessing as to how all these plot lines intersect. An accident connects four groups of people on three different continents: two young Moroccan goatherds, a vacationing American couple (Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett), a deaf Japanese teen and her father, and a Mexican nanny who takes her young charges across a border without parental permission. The title reminds one of the biblical tower, and miscommunication is one of the main plot lines. The movie was nominated for seven Oscars, but won only for Best Original Score. 

Look Both Ways (2005) is a splendid Australian film with a mostly unknown cast.  Reporter Nick discovers he has cancer, and on his way to cover a train accident he encounters Meryl, who witnessed the event.  Nick’s colleague,  Andy, has to deal with his ex-wife’s refusal to believe he can properly care for their children. The train victim’s wife and the driver of the train are grieving and trying to get on with life. The ending of this film brought tears to my eyes. 

Mother and Child (2009) has a good story and a crackerjack cast: Samuel L. Jackson (you can’t get away from him!), Naomi Watts, Annette Bening and Kerry Washington are as good as expected. The film involves adopted children, attempts to reconnect, lots of twists and turns and a fine ending. 

Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic (2000) features interwoven stories about the drug trade in America and elsewhere. Benecio Del Toro, Catherine Zeta Jones, Michael Douglas and Don Cheadle head the cast. Soderberg, always the innovator, uses different color grades for each story so it’s easy to tell them apart. There are other movies named Traffic, but I can recommend only this one. 

Syriana (2005) completes my list. The Middle Eastern oil industry is the backdrop of this tense drama, which weaves together numerous story lines. Bennett Holiday (Jeffrey Wright) is an American lawyer in charge of facilitating a dubious merger of oil companies, while Bryan Woodman (Matt Damon), a Switzerland-based energy analyst, experiences both personal tragedy and opportunity during a visit with Arabian royalty. Meanwhile, veteran CIA agent Bob Barnes (George Clooney) uncovers an assassination plot with unsettling origins. You will not see the end coming.

All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are for adults. If you can think of any other movies that fit this rather limited category, I would appreciate an email advising.

 

                                                    HANDICAPPING THE OSCARS

America, Hollywood, and especially the Motion Picture Academy, are absolutely head-over-heels in love with movies about people overcoming severe disabilities. At least 10 Oscars have been awarded to the actors who undertake these difficult roles. At Academy Award time, always bet on the gimper.

The most recent winner was Brit Eddie Redmayne, who won the gold for his incredible performance as world-famous physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything (2014).  Hawking had late-stage ALS and could only communicate through a computer program. He was confined to a wheelchair for many years. Mr. Redmayne’s portrayal is astonishing. 

In Rain Man (1988), Dustin Hoffman is spectacularly good as an idiot-savant who has few social skills and the common sense of a tree, but who can instantly compute square roots in his head. Tom Cruise is equally good as his cynical brother, and their mutual voyage of discovery make this film a must-see.

Daniel Day-Lewis catapulted to stardom as Irish author Christy Brown, severely afflicted with cerebral palsy, in My Left Foot (1989). Brenda Fricker and Ray McAnally are just right as his unsentimental and bewildered parents. This is a superb film with excellent performances that gently teaches us not to be so concerned with peoples’ appearances, but to look within (them and us!).

In the enigmatic and deliberately weird The Piano (1993) Holly Hunter’s affliction is constant but entirely self-inflicted. She is mute by choice. She is sent to an arranged marriage in a strange New Zealand locale. Her ability to convey emotion with just her face and body language is absolutely amazing. Sam Neill as her husband, Anna Pacquin as her daughter, and the always dependable Harvey Keitel as her Maori lover help make this film something altogether different and fascinating.

      Cliff Robertson had a good career as a conventionally handsome and unspectacular journeyman actor, but his moment in the sun came in Charly (1968). He is severely mentally retarded. An experimental drug instantly lifts him to mental brilliance, but gradually wears off. His ability to convey the nuances the part requires is convincing and frankly surprising. And he copped the Best Actor Oscar. This film is better than the similar Awakenings (1990), 

Tom Hanks made the dim-witted but ebullient Forest Gump (1994) a national icon. Forest is a good old boy whose elevator stops well short of the penthouse, but he is solid as a rock and the things he can do far outweigh his deficiencies. By turns serious and funny, but never preachy, this remarkable film won every award in sight and deserved them all. Sally Field as his long-suffering mother and Gary Sinise as his damaged friend add to the enjoyment. 

I’ll also mention Jamie Foxx, who won for the blind Ray Charles in Ray (2004), and Colin Firth, overcoming a debilitating speech impediment in The King’s Speech (2010).

My limited research failed to find a Best Actor nominee with a handicap who lost the award. 

All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are suitable for 12-year-olds and up.

                                                               RON HOWARD                                 

                                                                 Part 3

Herewith the third and final article about director Ron Howard. At only 66 he still has lots of good movies in him. And actually he just completed Hillbilly Elegy, which will be out soon. And Thirteen Lives is now in pre–production.

Rush (2013) is worth watching for the car race action alone. It is based on the real life duel between Brit James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Austrian Nikki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) rivals who between them practically owned Formula One racing in the 1970's. I do not know of a better car race movie. The racing cinematography is just superb. And the personal stories of the two drivers is engaging. 

Edtv (1999) is a terrific idea with a terrific cast: Matthew McConahaughey, Woody Harrelson, Ellen DeGeneres, Sally Kirkland, Martin Landau, Rob Reiner and Dennis Hopper. True TV is a failing network determined to make a comeback with a show about the daily life of a real person: Ed. For a while he is too boring and the show goes nowhere. Then he meets Shari and sparks fly. Also ratings. The plot meanders a bit but gets back on track toward the finish. 

The Missing (2003) is a pale imitation of John Ford’s The Searchers. Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett do their best in a story of white girls kidnaped by Indians to be sold into slavery in Mexico. The film is about the attempt to rescue the girls. 

Backdraft (1991) is about as close as a movie is going to get to the real life of firefighters. Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Robert DeNiro, Donald Sutherland and Jennifer Jason Leigh head a stellar cast. The story involves an arsonist and city hall budget cuts, and is fine. But the real reason to watch is the incredible cinematography of the fires. The 2019 sequel is not really worth your time. 

Parenthood (1989) stars Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Rick Moranis and Dianne Wiest in a clever film about a family facing the challenge of an unwed daughter’s pregnancy and a father with too much on his plate. It is funnier than this sounds, and good enough to be made into two tv sitcoms (1990 and 2010).

      Ron Howard has adapted three Dan Brown novels to the silver screen, beginning with The DaVinci Code in 2006. Ir’s the worst of the three, and even Tom Hanks can’t save the murky plot. Angels And Demons is a sequel and slightly better than the first one. Tom Hanks is back chasing a mysterious outfit in the Vatican. Inferno (2016) is a stand-alone with Tom Hanks looking for clues in the work of Dante. None of these three are really bad. Nor are they terribly good.

All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups. 

                                                                RON HOWARD

                                                                 Part 2

This is the second of three articles about the incredible directorial career of Ron Howard. Not only was he Andy Griffith’s son Opie, as a teenager he was Richie Cunningham on Happy Days. Then he went behind the camera.

Howard’s expertise as a documentary director was evident in last year’s Pavoratti. The film  documents the career of Luciano Pavorotti, perhaps the world’s greatest tenor. Even if you don’t like opera much (me neither!) you will love this film. The singing is just super and he was one heck of a guy. Generous almost to a fault, he spread his talent and money freely. And Lord, what a voice!  Howard does a super job highlighting the personal and the profound about this iconic artist. 

Another really good documentary helmed by Ron Howard is The Beatles: 8 Days A Week (2016). From their beginnings in a smoky Liverpool dive to international stars at the absolute pinnacle of the music world is well chronicled here. Howard again successfully mixes the personal and the public face of the Fab Four. 

Frost/Nixon (2008) isn’t really a documentary but plays like one. It recreates the famous confrontational interviews between disgraced ex-President Richard Nixon and British reporter David Frost. The gloves are off in this one. Actually, Nixon comes across pretty well considering. Younger viewers won’t remember much of this, which is fine. Those near my age will find some deja vu here. Both the movie and Howard were nominated for Oscar, but neither won. 

Perhaps the movie that best captures the newspaper business is The Paper (1994). Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, Robert Duvall and Randy Quaid lead a brilliant cast in this Ron Howard-directed vehicle about the problems on a big-city daily. About midway through the press run a terrible mistake is discovered. This film is way over the top, but somewhat accurate on the newspaper details and fun to watch if you don’t stop to think. As an old newspaper guy, I greatly admire this film.

In Ransom (1996) Ron Howard displays his directing chops in an action-packed thriller. Mel Gibson plays Tom Mullen, a millionaire whose son, Sean, is kidnaped. Mullen turns the tables on the kidnapers by offering the ransom amount of two million dollars as a bounty on the heads of the kidnapers, and that he will withdraw the bounty and drop all charges if the bad guys release Sean unharmed. Then it gets complicated. 

The true story of the U.S. whaler Essex, which was attacked by a sperm whale in 1820, is the subject of In The Heart Of The Sea (2015) a spectacular film about men against the sea and its creatures. As the ship loses all means of locomotion, starvation and sickness sets in and death seems inevitable. It is fairly well established that Herman Melville based Moby Dick on this incident. 

All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are for adults. Coming soon: Part 3 of the films of Ron Howard. 

                                                                      RON HOWARD

                                                             Part One

He was perhaps the most beloved child in America, and it’s pretty obvious that for years many of Hollywood’s heavy hitters couldn’t shake the image of Ron Howard as little Opie Taylor on the Andy Griffith Show. That might account for the fact that he was nominated for a directorial Oscar for the first time for A Beautiful Mind (2001), despite several previous stellar efforts. Well, at least Mr. Howard won that year, and his film won Best Picture.

A Beautiful Mind is one terrific movie! Russell Crowe is just fantastic as John Nash, a brilliant but deeply disturbed mathematician who in fact won the Nobel Prize despite his handicap. Jennifer Connelly grabbed her own Oscar as Nash’s long-suffering wife. This is a director’s movie, and Mr. Howard gets every ounce out of the story. 

Since that triumph, Mr. Howard has directed Russell Crowe and Rene Zellwegger in Cinderella Man (2005), a much underrated film about the incredible comeback of heavyweight boxer James Braddock. 

Ron Howard’s achievement in directing Apollo 13 (1995) is considerable, because everyone in the world knows the ending- Apollo 13 did not crash and burn, but returned safely to earth. And yet, this is one of the most edge-of-your-seat, suspense-filled movies ever made. A stellar cast includes Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise and Ed Harris. The special effects are totallly convincing. And this movie will leave you gasping in spite of yourself! Yet the 1995 directing Oscar went to Mel Gibson for Braveheart. Oh, please...

Cocoon (1986) is a real charmer and Ron Howard ably directs a cast of older actors, including Don Ameche (Oscar, Best Supporting Actor), Hume Cronyn, Wilford Brimley, Brian Dennehy and Jack Gilford. Florida senior citizens discover a real fountain of youth, and the results are not always expected but are always funny and entertaining. 

Tom Hanks connects with Ron Howard again in the clever and winning Splash (1984) with Daryl Hannah as a real mermaid who is found in the city by Mr. Hanks. He falls for her, and what to do with and for her becomes his joy and his plague, and great entertainment for us. 

Ron Howard’s first big hit was the underrated Night Shift (1982) with Henry Winkler (The Fonz!) as a quiet introvert working in a morgue because of the stillness, and Michael Keaton as his manic, off-the-wall assistant who hatches a wild plot to use their workplace as a brothel. . 

All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. All are suitable for kids 12 and up. This is the first of three planned articles about this great director. Watch this space!

                                                           INGMAR BERGMAN

He was one of the few directors who truly deserves to be called a giant. Ingmar Bergman, the great Swedish master, died at the good old age of 89. He made over 50 films, ( 11 with actress Liv Ullman) most of them good. He was nominated for an Oscar six times, and, incredibly, never won. The Academy will probably give him one of those lifetime work deals now that he’s dead. Some of his films are difficult, but worth the effort. I’ll start with two that are more accessible.

Smiles Of A Summer Night (1955) is a delightfully light comedy about manners, mores and sex as a mixed group of people spend a weekend at a summer home. This film inspired the Broadway play A Little Night Music, as well as Woody Allen’s A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy. It doesn’t really show its age; it’s still a delight.

Fanny And Alexander (1983) is a magical family story mostly seen through the eyes of a young Bergman. It has joy and sorrow and most all of the things that most families share. The Academy gave this one Best Foreign Film, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Set Decoration, but not Best Director.

In Wild Strawberries (1957) an aging professor looks back on the shortcomings and pluses of his life en route to receive an honorary degree. Bergman’s use of flashbacks is still studied in film schools. This movie contains one of the most astonishing scenes of self-recognition ever put on the screen. No, I won’t tell you; see it yourself. 

Scenes From A Marriage (1973) lets you have your cake and eat it too. There is a 6-part mini-series made for Swedish TV and a 2 hour 49 minute movie taken from the same. Both can be seen on DVD. I don’t think the movie misses much, but the TV series has it all. Liv Ullman and Erland Josephson are the subject couple. This is probably the best film ever made about the painful erosion of a romantic union. 

The Virgin Spring (1960) seems to be the straightforward story of the rape and murder of a beautiful young farm girl and its effect on her family, but there’s a lot more going on here. A fable for any time; don’t be scared off by the subject matter. Beautifully made.

The Seventh Seal (1957) is frankly difficult. Max Von Sydow is a disillusioned knight on his way home from the crusades. But this one contains incredible set pieces, such as the knight’s chess game with Death. 

When you realize that many of Bergman’s films began as Swedish television dramas, you can only wish we had something similar.

All of the films in this column are available on DVD. All are strictly for grown-ups.

                                                           BRIAN DENNEHY

Brian Dennehy left this mortal coil recently at 81. There is a huge gap in his resume’. From 1990 to 2020, although he worked steadily, it was entirely in TV and made-for-TV movies. Since this column deals with big screen flix, I’m going to skip those 30 years. 

The last Dennehy movie was excellent. Driveways (2020) is the story of a young mother and her son moving into her deceased sister’s house to clean it out. Next door is Del (Dennehy), an aging Vietnam veteran, who lives alone. Shy 8-year-old Cody gradually becomes friends with him. The unlikely partnership grows closer with time. 

Brian Dennehy was the go-to guy if you needed a crusty Irishman in the 70's and 80's. He has a bit part as a surgeon in Looking For Mr. Goodbar (1977) and another brief appearance as T.J. Lambert in Semi-Tough (1977). 

In Foul Play (1978) Dennehy is a police inspector who is of no help at all to poor Goldie Hawn, caught up in all sorts of spies and devilment. In Never Cry Wolf (1983) Dennehy is bush pilot Rosie, who drops naive scientist Tyler on a frozen lake in the Arctic. Tyler is to study whether wolves are responsible for a decline in caribou. 

Dennehy plays William Kirwill, an American detective searching for his missing brother, in Gorky Park (1983). William Hurt is the lead as Russian cop Arkady Renko, investigating a series of grisly murders. 

Brian Dennehy plays Walter, one of the fortunate oldsters rejuvenated by trespassing in a swimming pool owned by and magically charged by aliens. Cocoon (1985) is a real charmer about the transformation of the aging men and women in a retirement home made young again. There’s quite a cast: Jack Gilford, Don Ameche, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Wilford Brimley and Gwen Verdon are all on board. The plot is a stretch, but just go with it. Oh, and you should probably avoid the pale sequel.

Silverado (1985) is an entirely crooked town in the old west, run by its ruthless Sheriff Cobb, played with evil glee by Brian Dennehy. The plot is complicated, but boils down to an attempt to clean out the town. A fine cast includes Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Kevin Costner and Danny Glover. These are the good guys. A mano a mano showdown on Main Street between the sheriff and Paden (Kline) is a traditional wind-up. The stunts in this oater are really terrific!

In FX (1986) the Department of Justice hires special effects expert Bryan Brown to stage a fake murder. Lt. Leo McCarthy (Dennehy) investigates the murder and can’t understand why the DOJ isn’t co-operating. Then things get very complicated.

Presumed Innocent (1990) is a terrific legal thriller based on the Scott Turow novel. Asst. District Attorney Rusty Tyler (Harrison Ford) works for DA Raymond Horgan (Dennehy). He is ordered to investigate the murder of a female colleague. When his fingerprints are found on a glass in the woman’s apartment, he is charged with the crime by the new DA , who has won an election over Raymond Horgan. The ending of this one is classic. No more from me- watch it yourself!

All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are for adults. 

                                                   CHADWICK BOSEMAN

At last Black people had a super hero of their own. Chadwick Boseman, who died way too young at 43,  burst into stardom with three appearances as the Black Panther. Beginning with Captain America: Civil War (2016) where he was a trusted ally of the title hero, and continuing into a couple of Avengers outings in 2018 and 2019 Boseman was everything a hero should be.

But his real coming out party was the earlier Black Panther (2018) in which he brought T’Challa to full iconism. This film, though modeled on the super hero flicks about White people, makes its own path. T’Challa becomes ruler of Wakanda on the death of his father and strives to keep to the successful path his forbears forged. He is challenged by cousin N’Jadaka (Michael B. Jordan) who wants Wakanda to expand its outreach and become a world power. They battle to determine who will be king. The film was nominated as Best Picture, and though it lost to The Shape Of Water,  it still garnered three production Oscars. A sequel is in the works but obviously won’t feature Boseman.

But it’s not as if that is the limit of Boseman’s resume`. He had a sterling run-up to the Black Panther films. These began in 2013 when Boseman appeared in 42 as Jackie Robinson, who integrated baseball in 1947. He encountered discrimination and outright hatred, but he was such a great player he endured. And not only is he in the Hall of Fame but his number is worn by every single major league player on April 15 (August 28 this year). It’s not an easy role, but Boseman is superb as Jackie. 

The very next year Chadwick Boseman played The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, in Get On Up. Boseman rose to the challenge of doing his own dancing and singing much to the delight of even hard core James Brown fans.

Boseman’s third portrayal of an African-American hero came in 2017 when he nailed the title role in Marshall. Thurgood Marshall was a terrific lawyer and became the first Black justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. The film dwells mostly with Marhsall’s early career as a civil rights attorney and in particular with his defense of Joseph Spell, an African-American accused of rape in Connecticut. Forbidden by the White judge to speak, Marshall has to guide his co-counsel by notes and whispered instructions. 

Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods (2020) features Chadwick Boseman as Stormin’ Norman, leader of an all-Black platoon in Viet Nam. They find a stash of gold bars intended for Vietnamese allies and decide to keep it. They bury it, intending to come back for it later. They do come back later, much later, after they are all over 70.

All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All but the last one are suitable for mature kids.  

                                                                   Errol Morris 

                                                                       Part 2

As promised, here is the second installment about director Errol Morris, the absolute master of the documentary. Even if docs aren’t your thing, you will not go wrong by checking out some of these. 

In The Unknown Known (2013) Morris changes gears somewhat. This film is exclusively about his interview with former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. It is definitely not kind to Rumsfeld (nor should it be). His explanations of the Iraq war, the torture of Muslim prisoners in Cuba, and other matters are hardly inspiring. At one point he is asked why he agreed to this interview and responded “I’ll be darned if I know.” 

Standard Operating Procedure (2008) details the intent and result of photos taken at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The pictures were taken not by Morris but by soldiers posted at the prison. The photos are hard to take. They portray torture and deliberate harassment of prisoners by their guards. The pictures caused an uproar in 2004 when they came to light as most Americans were not aware of what went on at the prison. Not a shining moment for our country, but a story that needed to be told. Several critics put this film in their top 10 of 2008.

Tabloid (2010) would never make it as a regular fictional film because it is just way beyond belief. Joyce McKinney was a former Miss Wyoming looking for the perfect husband. She settled on young Kirk Anderson, a Mormon on his way to his obligatory church mission. Miss McKinney followed him to England. Here the stories diverge. She says he voluntarily went with her to a cabin where they shacked up for several days. He says he was kidnaped, raped,  and held against his will. The film is largely narrated by Ms. McKinney. The other side of the story is also presented. Mr. Anderson declined to be interviewed. Ms. McKinney never married, proclaiming that Mr. Anderson was the only man she would ever love. She lives in isolation somewhere in North Carolina with her aged father and five cloned bulldogs. 

The B Side (2016) is one of those films that sounds completely boring but turns out the be completely fascinating. Elsa Dorfman, a very and interesting woman, is the subject of this movie,. She became a photographer in the 90's . She shot Alan Ginsberg, Anais Nin, Andrew Wylie and other famous people But her best work is photos of ordinary people, hence the title. She is on board to narrate most of the film and does so quite winningly. Her use of the large 20x24 Polaroid camera is a good story in itself. 

A serendipitous event occurred when I remembered Errol Morris directed American Dharma (2018). It is about his in depth interview with one Steve Bannon back before he got indicted. It is interlaced with movie clips and Bannon’s take on them and on then-current events for far right  Breitbart news. 

All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are for adults. 

                                                       ERROL MORRIS

                Part 1

The best director of documentaries now working is someone you may never have heard of: Errol Morris. His method is simplicity itself. Find an interesting subject, give him a mike, point the camera at him and get out of the way. 

The Thin Blue Line (1988) is a marvel, a landmark film which is generally credited for saving an innocent man from execution. Morris delves into a cop killing in Texas and slowly but surely reveals the truth. This is not to be missed!

Gates of Heaven (1978) is about a pet cemetery in Southern California (where else?). Alternately touching and funny, it presents the pet owners and the cemetery owners, warts and all. This is a genuine slice of Americana. 

There are four stories in Fast, Cheap and Out of Control (1997), all of them way off the beaten path. Presented are a topiary gardener, an expert in blind mole rats, a lion tamer and a robot scientist. All are completely devoted to their particular fields, all are completely fascinating (and terminally weird!) 

And speaking of weird, it would seem from Vernon, Florida (1988) that the town had a strangeness convention and the attendees decided to live there. There is a couple who believes that sand grows, a besotted turkey hunter, and various other bizarre people. Mr. Morris makes this work- he never condescends or interferes.

Former Secretary of State Robert McNamara is the subject of The Fog Of War (2003) in which he discusses his role in the Vietnam War, the Bay of Pigs crisis, and other foreign entanglements that occurred during his time at Foggy Bottom. And Mr. McNamara (85 when the film was made) does a rather good job holding his own. It sounds boring but decidedly is not. And it won Morris his only Best Director Oscar.

Mr. Death (1999) is Fred Leuchter, an expert in execution devices (gas chambers, electric chairs, gallows and lethal injection machines). As if that weren’t strange enough, he is hired to prove there was no Holocaust, and tries to aid that cause. Not recommended for everyone, but strangely fascinating.

Physicist Steven Hawking, the British genius afflicted with ALS, is the subject of A Brief History Of Time (1991). The film details the subject’s life as well as his explanation of cosmology so that laymen can understand it (more of less). Mr. Hawking’s life is also detailed in the biopic The Theory Of Everything (2014) directed by James Marsh. And Eddie Redmayne deservedly won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Hawking. 

This article contains roughly half of Morris’ films. Next week: the rest of them.

All of the films in this article are available on DVD. They are for grown-ups. 

                                                                 ALAN PARKER
The roller coaster career of British director Alan Parker ended with his death in London at 76. Like David Lean and Alfred Hitchcock, he made most of his films here in America. He made some big winners, some big losers and some near misses.
Bugsy Malone (1976) sounds like a terrible idea but Parker somehow whipped it into a winner. Young children play the part of gangsters, lip syncing the lines spoken by adult actors. I know, I know, it sounds awful. But it isn’t. 
Midnight Express (1978) gave Parker his first Oscar nomination for Best Director. Alas, he lost to Michael Cimino for The Deer Hunter. Featuring a bravura performance by unknown Brad Davis, the film is unremittingly dark and grim for its first hour and a half.  It is based on the true story of Billy Hayes, a young American arrested for smuggling drugs out of Turkey. Actor Brad Davis died at 41, a brilliant career cut tragically short.
Mississippi Burning (1988) is the fictionalized story of the murder of three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964. It stars Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe as FBI agents investigating the incident. They are not exactly welcomed with open arms by the locals. The film garnered seven Oscar nominations, but won only for cinematography. Parker lost to Barry Levinson for Rain Man.
Shoot The Moon (1982) stars Diane Keaton and Albert Finney as the dysfunctional couple from Hell with four innocent daughters. I found it a real downer, but I guess Parker did a pretty good job directing it. 
Evita (1996) is a tantalyzing near miss. A great story of the rags-to-riches wife of Argentinian dictator Juan Peron, and a great score from Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. And with Madonna and Antonio Banderas in the leads, what could go wrong? Well, something did.  It isn’t bad, really, but it just isn’t very good. I guess we have to hang the fault on Alan Parker, who somehow fails to get this off the ground. 
The Committments (1991), about an Irish rock band, is okay, just not to all tastes (including mine). Many critics blamed director Parker for the slow pacing and draggy dialog. 
Fame (1980) is a musical with top-heavy topics weighing it down. Actually loved by many fans, but disliked by more. A C+ for director Parker.
From there it’s pretty much downhill.. The Road To Wellville (1994) is from a really good book by T.C. Boyle about an eccentric clinic in Michigan. Though it has Sir Anthony Hopkins in the lead, it is pretty much a big mess. 
Angela’s Ashes (1999) is dragged kicking and screaming from Frank McCourt’s family memoir. It would be hard for anyone, including Alan Parker, to direct.. Finally, the really bad The Life of David Gayle (2003) is about capital punishment, sort of. It has Kevin Spacey, Laura Linney and Kate Winslett. And yet it is just unremittingly awful.
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups, who are hereby duly warned about the last three. 

                                                        WILFORD BRIMLEY

He made a nice living as a kindly, but grumpy, old man, and Wilford Brimley worked almost to the time of his death at 85. You might remember him from Quaker Oats commercials, or for his signature walrus moustache. Or maybe from some of these fine films.
The China Syndrome (1979) is still scary, with its cautionary tale about the failure of a nuclear power station. Jack Lemmon plays the station manager and Brimley is on board as Ted Spindler, a shift supervisor. When things go terribly wrong, it is Spindler who wants to shut things down and notify the public. 
In Absence Of Malice (1981) Reporter Sally Field gets suckered into printing a completely false story about union official Michael Cunningham (Paul Newman). Brimley appears as James Wells, an assistant District Attorney who does his best to settle matters down before they blow up again. 
Tender Mercies (1983) features Robert Duvall as alcoholic country singer Mac Sledge, attempting to reform as he promised  motel owner Rosa Lee, a comely widow. Duvall did his own singing and won Oscar as Best Actor for this good film. Wilford Brimley is quietly effective as the manager of country singer Dixie Scott (Betty Buckley), Mac’s ex-wife. 
The Hotel New Hampshire (1984) is faithfully adapted from John Irving’s novel. It features a wealth of unusual characters, some in the hotel owner’s (Beau Bridges) family. Too complicated for summarizing here, but I will point out that Wilford Brimley’s character, Iowa Bob, has a fatal heart attack when a stuffed dog he knows was long dead shows up at a Christmas celebration. 
Robert Redford is Roy Hobbs in The Natural (1984) a baseball fairy tale that is quite wonderful. Hobbs shows up at the New York Knights’ practice as a 40-year-old rookie, whose signing enrages manager Pop Fisher (Wilford Brimley). There are lots of shenanigans involving attempted fixes but Hobbs is unfazed and hits a legendary home run into the light standard to win the pennant. 
Wilford Brimley appears as Ben Luckett, one of the fortunate oldsters rejuvenated by trespassing in a swimming pool owned by and magically charged by aliens. Cocoon (1985) is a real charmer about the transformation of the aging men and women made young again. There’s quite a cast: Jack Gilford, Don Ameche, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy and Gwen Verdon are all on board. It’s interesting that at the time of the filming, Brimley was actually about 20 years younger than the other actors, and dyed his hair and beard to fit in. BTW, the 1988 sequel sucks.
No more Mr. Nice Guy for Wilford Brimley for in The Firm (1993) he plays a law firm’s top security man who is actually their hit man. Tom Cruise, recent Harvard Law graduate, gratefully accepts employment with a Memphis law firm. He gradually discovers that the firm is crooked as a snake and involved in lots of criminal activity. 
After this, Wilford Brimley’s resume’ drops off the earth. There are lots more movies, but none of them very good. I believe this was his choice, wanting to go his own way and leaving glitzy Hollywood productions behind.  
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for adults.

                                                        Olivia de Havilland

She was sort of the Meryl Streep of the 40's with five Oscar nominations and two 
wins. She was the sister of actress Joan Fontaine (Rebecca) and they had the worst 
sibling rivalry since Cain and Abel. Olivia de Havilland lived to be 104 and if her starring 
days were way behind her, well, there were sure a bunch of them! I’m going to stick to 
to the films that got her nominated, but there are lots more.
Gone With The Wind (1939) is on everybody’s list in spite of having happy 
slaves. This movie won everything on Oscar night: Best Movie, 12 other nominations  
and 8 wins. Olivia was nominated for supporting actress and lost to Hattie McDaniel, 
who actually won from the same movie! This film was shown so much that it was 
referred to as “the Oz bowl game.” It still holds up pretty well and Olivia is very good as 
doomed cousin Melanie.
In Hold Back The Dawn (1941) Charles Boyer is a Romanian gigolo lurking in Mexico to catch a naive American woman to marry so he can immigrate. Olivia de Havilland fills the bill, a schoolteacher from America with a busload of young boys. But she marries Charles and then it gets complicated. She is badly hurt in a car wreck but he sticks with her until the, of course, happy ending. Olivia was nominated for this one but lost to her not-exactly-beloved sister, Joan Fontaine, for Suspicion.
The third time was the charm for Olivia, as she copped the Oscar for Best Actress for her part in To Each His Own (1946). After a one-night stand with a soldier, she has a child. She gives him up for adoption, then regrets it and after four years gets him back. But he wants his adoptive parents, not her, and back he goes. Then there is a very unlikely happy ending, but hooray for Hollywood!
The Snake Pit (1948) ripped the cover off the dreadful state of most mental hospitals. Olivia de Havilland plays Virginia Cunningham, who is crazy, but not that crazy. Undone by a hateful jealous nurse, she is consigned to the Snake Pit, where the worst patients are simply strait-jacketed and thrown together. But don’t worry, there is the obligatory happy ending!  Olivia was nominated for Best Actress, and she was very good but lost to Jane Wyman for Johnny Belinda. A close call, but I agree.
Olivia de Havilland copped her second Best Actress award for The Heiress (1949). And she is quite wonderful as the rather plain but rather wealthy Catherine Sloper. She is wooed by handsome gold digger Montgomery Clift. They plan to elope and she packs her bags and waits for him by the door. And waits. But he never comes. This is a truly great scene and she does it splendidly. 
Olivia de Havilland can also be seen to good effect in My Cousin Rachel (1952), Libel (1959) and Light In The Piazza (1962).
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. Though tame by today’s standards, they are adults only films. 

                                                         JANE WYMAN

        Jane Wyman died at the age of 90. She famously left, and divorced, Ronald Reagan, and many who were not fans of The Gipper’s politics proudly wore buttons proclaiming “Jane Wyman Was Right.” She actually had two careers. From 1981 to 1990 she appeared in over 200 episodes of the megahit Falcon Crest, starring as Angela Channing, regal mistress of the upscale winery. 
Her film career started in 1932, but her memorable roles were in the 40s and 50s. She won the Oscar as the heartbreakingly vulnerable Johnny Belinda (1948). This is the sort of role the Academy loves- she plays a deaf mute, the victim of a savage sexual assault. Using only her gestures and face, she truly breaks your heart. 
Ms. Wyman is even better, in my humble opinion, in Tennessee Williams’ Glass Menagerie (1950). I have probably seen a half dozen productions of this memorable play, and to me Jane Wyman is Laura Wingfield. Gertrude Lawrence is fine as her vague but hopeful mother and Kirk Douglas is good as the gentleman caller. But Ms. Wyman carries this film as the crippled, enchanting Laura. 
Billy Wilder’s Lost Weekend (1945) won everything in sight that year and still packs a punch after 70 years! It was one of the first Hollywood movies to treat a serious issue (alcoholism here) in a grown-up manner. Ray Milland sparkles as the rapidly sinking hero, and Jane Wyman is quite good as his somewhat enabling spouse. 
The Yearling (1946) is a fawn raised by the young son (Claude Jarman, Jr.) of Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman. The boy learns a bitter lesson about necessity.
Magnificent Obsession (1954) is Douglas Sirk’s soapy remake of the earlier 1935 version, and it made Rock Hudson a star. It is his fault that Jane Wyman is blinded, and he vows to become a physician so he can heal her. She is good, once again playing a woman with a severe disorder. The story is ridiculous, but after all this is Hollywood, so just go with it.
All That Heaven Allows (1955) is another Douglas Sirk potboiler with Jane Wyman as the society lady scorned by friends and family because of her love of gardener Rock Hudson. Beneath her, you know...
Jane Wyman can also be seen to advantage as Betty Rogers in The Story of Will Rogers (1952), and as an amateur sleuth in a lesser Alfred Hitchcock vehicle, Stage Fright (1950).
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All except Johnny Belinda are really suitable for any age, keeping in mind the boredom factor for littlies. 

                                                             JANE WYATT
Her best known role was as the wise and nominally pretty stay-at-home Mom in the 50's TV show, Father Knows Best, which is still kicking around on TV Land and its brethren. After this long-running success, Jane Wyatt’s work was mostly in TV. And yet, before Robert Young and the tube, she had an interesting career on the silver screen. Ms. Wyatt left this vale of tears  at the grand old age of 96. 
Lost Horizon (1937) is an absolute masterpiece and still very much worth seeing. Based on James Hilton’s captivating novel, it is the story of a place (discovered quite by accident) that is for all intents and purposes, perfect. Directed by the iconic Frank Capra, it features Ronald Colman as well as Ms. Wyatt in a fairy tale about the possibility of perfection. 
Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) is more than 60 years old, but is still a classic. Gregory Peck pretends to be Jewish to find out what it’s really like. He does. We do. Ms. Wyatt adds a nice note of stability as his lady friend. Ok, it’s a little dated, but aren’t we all?
Boomerang! (1947) is a good courtroom drama with a crime-fighting, straight-arrow District Attorney (Dana Andrews) who is the only one to question the guilt of a convenient suspect nabbed right after the crime. Ms. Wyatt is the supportive love interest in a fine film directed by Elia Kazan and based on a true story. Not to be confused with a really awful film of the same name with Eddie Murphy, released in 1992.
Ms. Wyatt is just fine as Aggie Hunter in None But The Lonely Heart (1944) written and directed by Clifford Odets. Pretty close to soap opera territory, but still a nice turn for those involved. You can’t go wrong with Cary Grant and Ethel Barrymore along. 
One of Ms. Wyatt’s last feature film ventures was in the still-charming Never Too Late (1965) with Paul Ford and Maureen O’Sullivan as surprised middle-aged parents in waiting, and Ms. Wyatt as Grace Kimbrough, friend of the astonished family. 
Ms. Wyatt is good in the pivotal role of Estella in the 1934 version of Great Expectations. But, in all honesty, this one pales compared to the 1946 classic directed by David Lean (though it is better than the weird 1998 one with Ethan Hawke).  
All of the movies in this article are fine for children of all ages (boredom factor noted). All are available on DVD.

                                                              HOWARD KEEL
He was a great big handsome man with a great big glorious voice . When he was 66 years old, and hadn’t made a movie in 17 years, he was summoned to appear as Clayton Farlow in the mega-popular prime-time soap, Dallas. He stayed for 17 years, and this is the role for which many fans remember him. 
But I remember Howard Keel, who died recently at 85, as the star of lots of wonderful MGM musicals. The 50's were the Golden Age of the movie musical, and he was in a bunch of the best ones. 
As Frank Butler to Betty Hutton’s Calamity Jane, Howard Keel burst on the movie musical scene in Annie Get Your Gun (1950). The role needs a strong man with a strong voice and Mr. Keel filled the bill nicely. The song “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better” includes many skills, the main one being sharpshooting. What fun!
The 1951 version of Show Boat is the best of several, and Howard Keel is on board with Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner (no, she didn’t really sing), Marge and Gower Champion and of course, William Warfield. Mr. Warfield’s “Old Man River” almost steals the show, but there are plenty of Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein  songs to go around. 
Kiss Me Kate (1953) is Cole Porter’s musical version of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. Katherine Grayson is the strong-minded Kate and Howard Keel the equally determined husband. Grayson and Keel play actors married to each other whose on and off-stage lives intertwine. Also on board for wonderful dancing are Ann Miller and Bob Fosse.
Keel teamed with songbird and big star Doris Day in Calamity Jane (1953). She is Jane and he is Wild Bill Hickock. She owned a saloon and became the love of his life. If you Google Calamity Jane you’ll notice she wasn’t quite as pretty as Ms. Day! Only one good song- Secret Love- but that alone made Ms. Day wealthy.
Howard Keel’s favorite film was the rambunctious Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). The songs are fairly forgettable and the plot is hopelessly sexist, but there is a dance scene at a picnic that is one of the best ever put on film. 
Kismet (1955) is the Arabian nights tale whisked from the Broadway stage to the silver screen, and brought us “Stranger In Paradise” and “Baubles, Bangles and Beads”. Ann Blyth is the lovely foil for Howard Keel’s roguish leading man.  
All of these MGM movies have Technicolor that has never been bettered to this day. All are available on DVD. All are fine for all ages. And all are fun!

                                                  JOEL SCHUMACHER 

He’s hardly a household word, but maybe he should be. Director Joel
 Schumacher, who died recently at 80, has a sterling resume’ of fine films. The 
Academy did not apparently know of his existence, but you will if you read this.
St. Elmo’s Fire (1985) set a high bar for coming of age films about a group.  
Emilio Estevez. Rob Lowe, Mare Winningham, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson and Ally 
Sheedy were pretty much unknown before this film. Mr. Schumacher got the most out of them and the story, which he co-wrote. 35 years later, it still rings true.
Falling Down (1993) is a strange little film that attempts to be a cautionary tale for our times. Michael Douglas plays William Foster, a basically normal guy who gets pushed and pushed and pushed and finally pushes back. He does so more and more violently as time goes on and more people annoy him. Douglas, always good, is perhaps near his best in this one. Director Schumacher has you believing it.
Mr. Schumacher directed two John Grisham stories. The Client (1994) stars Susan Sarandon as a lawyer trying to save a young boy who has seen something he shouldn’t have and there are very bad people wanting him dead. Good suspense in this one. A Time To Kill (1996) is one of Grisham’s best and also one of Schumacher’s. A young African-American girl is abducted and savagely raped in rural Mississippi. Her father (Samuel L. Jackson) waits for the defendants to attend their trial and guns them down in the courthouse. He gets a young untried lawyer (Matthew McConaughey) to defend him. An incredible cast also featuring Chris Cooper, Patrick McGoohan, Kevin Spacey, Ashley Judd and Donald Southerland brings this one home. 
Phone Booth (2002) is an accomplished thriller revolving around the last phone booth in the city. Colin Farrell appears as Stuart Shepard, a sleazy publicist. He enters the phone booth and answers its ring to be told he will be killed if he leaves the booth unless he confesses his misdoings to those he has wronged. The suspense ramps up really well considering the limited location and the ending is a double surprise. 
Mr. Schumacher’s Phantom Of The Opera (2004) gets all it can out of a fairly ridiculous plot that has somehow hung on for years. The music is very good and the principals do what they can. Gerard Butler is the phantom and Emmy Rossum the haunted Christine. Mr. Butler’s singing is, well, on key.
All of the films in this column are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups.

                                                              FREDERIC MARCH

Movie fans who only remember the late Frederic March (1897-1975)  from Inherit The Wind (1960), where he played a pompous bible-thumping William Jennings Bryan, might want to look further. Sternly handsome and with great range, Mr. March had a distinguished film and stage career which peaked in the 30's and 40's.
Frederic March’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) is one of the best of a slew of attempts at the famous Robert Lewis Stevenson tale of double identity. Mr. March mines the nuances of the story extremely well and won his first Oscar for it. If it’s not quite up to the 1920 John Barrymore silent, it’s close.
Mr. March is at his romantic best as Robert Browning in The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934), a fine edition of the affecting love story between poets Browning and his eventual wife, Elizabeth Barrett (Norma Shearer). Charles Laughton as the imperious father is also excellent, but this is ultimately March’s movie.
Playing opposite Greta Garbo was always a challenge, but Mr. March was up to it in Anna Karenina (1935). He is the dashing, irresponsible Levin; Garbo the smitten, doomed Anna and Basil Rathbone the cold and hateful husband. This version is by far the best of the four made so far. 
In Les Miserables (1935) Mr. March is the relentless, merciless Inspector Javert who chases Jean Valjean (Charles Laughton) across the years to enact the full vengeance of the law in revolution-torn France. This stirring version is superior to others and the principals are uniformly excellent. The 2012 version, based on the Broadway musical, has good music. 
Frederic March is the has-been actor and Janet Gaynor the meteoric actress in the 1937 version of A Star Is Born. It is the compelling story of the hopeless marriage of two Hollywood actors rushing in opposite career directions. Mr. March was nominated for the Oscar but lost to Spencer Tracy for Captains Courageous. The Judy Garland-James Mason edition of this film, made in 1954, is almost as good. And the Bradley Cooper-Madonna version from 2018 though nominated for a truckload of Oscars only won for a couple of minor tech categories. 
Mr. March won his final Oscar for William Wyler’s monumental The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946). It is the perfectly pitched story of the GIs returning from World War II to civilian life, and claimed seven Academy Awards including Best Picture. Frederic March is a businessman who finds that the home folks just don’t get it, and his somewhat irascible character is convincing and moving. 
All of the movies in this column are available on DVD.  All are suitable for kids 10 and up.

                                                                  IAN HOLM

Ian Holm ,who worked right up to his death at 88, was one of those character actors whose face you can’t come up with- until you see him in a movie and think “Oh, yeah- that guy.” A reader requested a column on him, and with over 136 acting credits there is plenty to choose from, so here goes:

Most recently you would find Ian Holm appearing in most of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies as Bilbo Baggins. 
In Alien (1979) Holm is cast as Ash, a really bad guy who tries to scuttle the mission along with the human crew. Fortunately, though maybe not so much for him, he is decapitated and turns out to be an android! 
In Robin And Marian (1976) Holm is the hated King John, who hunted the noble Robin Hood like a dog and who was forced to sign the Magna Carta. Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn shine as the title characters, middle-aged lovers, still charming.
In Chariots Of Fire (1981) one of the two British runners who are the movie’s heroes is Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross). In 1919 he breaks with tradition and hires a professional trainer. And that trainer is Sam Mussabini, played adeptly by Ian Holm. Later his protégé makes headlines by refusing to compete on the Jewish sabbath. 
In Kenneth Branagh’s marvelous adaption of Shakespeare’s Henry V (1989) Mr. Holm is Captain Fluellen, the right hand man of the fighting king. I think this version is only a hair behind the 1944 Henry V with Olivier.
Franco Zeffirelli’s splendid adaptation of Hamlet (1990) has Ian Holm as the foolish and doomed Polonious. He is surrounded by a stellar cast including Mel Gibson as the title character, Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Paul Scofield and Helena Bonham Carter. 
Playing the part of a rather quackish physician is no problem for Ian Holm, and he is such as Dr. Willis in The Madness Of King George (1994). His idea of curing the king’s craziness is to strap him into a tight vest whenever he misbehaves. Right...
Ian Holm is the dastardly Pascal in Big Night (1996). Brothers Primo (Tony Shaloub) and Secondo (Stanley Tucci) are trying to succeed with a new Italian restaurant. Pascal tell them he will have a famous opera star appear there at a certain time, on the Big Night. I will just say that Pascal is a competitor and doesn’t play fair.
Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Herafter (1997) involves a horrific school bus accident in which many children are killed. Many of the parents are recruited by attorney Mitchell Stevens to file a class action lawsuit. That lawyer is played by none other than Ian Holm, and this is one of his best roles. I’ll reveal no more!
Joe Gould was a semi-famous gadfly in New York in the1920's and after. He compiled an “oral history” of characters he encountered and many people were intrigued by this opus. One of them was Joseph Mitchell, who put together this story and this movie. Joe Gould’s Secret (2000) is the result and Mr. Holm plays the title character. What is the secret? My lips are sealed!
Ian Holm can also be seen as the somewhat evil Gideon Largeman in Garden State (2004), and as the quirky Professor Fitz in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator (2004).
All of these movies are available on DVD. All of them are adult films.