JACK PALANCE

He was so good in a couple of movies that we have to overlook the dozens of Italian potboilers and 50-plus American dogs. Jack Palance died at 87. He deservedly won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in City Slickers (1991). Billy Crystal and two friends try to get their lives back on track by going on a cattle drive.  Palance is the hard-bitten trail boss, Curly. Lots of funny stuff with an overlay of purpose that doesn’t hurt a thing. Ignore the terrible sequel foisted in 1994. 

And when you talk about Western bad guys, forget Jack Elam, Roy Barcroft, Eli Wallach et al. Nothing will ever measure up to the menacing hired gun, Jack Wilson, played to absolute perfection by Jack Palance in the wonderful Shane (1953). I watched Shane again not long ago, and boy is it still good! Alan Ladd underplays the heroic Shane so well, and there is that delicious undercurrent of forbidden romance between him and settler-wife Jean Arthur, plus the hero-worshipping kid, Brandon DeWilde. Your American education is not complete without a viewing of Shane. 

In Monte Walsh (1970) Palance is believable, playing way out of type, as a good guy. This is one of the better the-old-west-is-dying-ain’t-it-a-shame movies. Lee Marvin is the main guy, and the main girl is: Jeanne Moreau! (The French hottie with the bee-stung lips).

In Sudden Fear (1952) Jack Palance is once again in his comfortable niche as a classical meanie. He is an actor who is hired by his ex-wife Joan Crawford. She finds out he plans to kill her. Talk about bad hires! She tries to foil his satanic plans by her writing skill. Many twists and turns, and I will not give away what finally happens. 

The Halls of Montezuma (1950) is so old that  Palance is billed as Walter Jack Palance, but it’s still a darn good WWII flick. The Marines are about to invade a Pacific Island (you pick!). There are flashbacks to the civilian lives of the participants, including Mr. Palance, Richard Widmark, Karl Malden, Robert Wagner and Richard Boone. 

All of the films in this column are available on  DVD.  All are fine for 10 and up. 

                                                             WHO SAID THAT?  

                                                         Part 6

        There have been five Who Said That columns spread over several weeks. Is it possible that Mr. Movie has one more? Why, yes! Some of these are really easy and some are really obscure, but I hope all of them are fun!

1- As if!

2-Carpe diem.

3-I’m having an old friend for dinner.

4-There’s no place like home.

5-If you build it, he will come.

6-Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.

7- English MF. Do you speak it?

8-What, like it’s hard?

9- By all means move at a glacial pace. You know how it thrills me.

10-That’l do, pig. That’ll do.

11-Yippe Ki Yay MF

12-Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.

13- The stuff that dreams are made of.

14- It seemed like a good idea at the time.

15- Love means never having to say you’re sorry.

ANSWERS

1- Alicia Silverstone in Clueless (1995)

2- Robin Williams to his pupils in Dead Poets Society (1989)

3- Anthony Hopkinis as Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs (1991). He does not mean this in the best way...

4- Judy Garland as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939)

5- A spectral voice in Field of Dreams (1989) He came

6- Judy as Dorothy (again) in The Wizard of Oz (1939)

7- Samel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction (1994)

8- Reece Witherspoon as Elle in Legally Blonde (2001) She means law school

9- Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly to poor Anne Hathaway as Andrea Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

10- James Cromwell as Arthur Hoggett to Babe (1995)

11- Bruce Willis as John McClane in Die Hard II (1998)

12- Al Pacino as Michael Corelone in Godfather II (1974)

13- Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade  in The Maltese Falcon (1941)

14- Richard Barthelmess as Cary Lockwood in The Last Flight (1931) (Earliest I could find, but this quote has been uttered numerous times). 

15- Ryan O’Neal as Oliver Barrett to Ali McGraw as a dying Jenny Cavilleri in Love Story (1970)

Grades: 8 or less Poor. 8-12 really good. Over 12- genius. 

                                                      THE OTHER STEPHEN KING

Stephen King can do much more than just scare you. He is one of our best story-tellers. Hearts In Atlantis (2001), with Sir Anthony Hopkins in his usual top form, is  based on a King story and there’s nary a monster to be found. It’s an excellent coming-of-age film with the merest hint of the supernatural. There are several other fine films based on King’s non-horror work available for viewing.

In Misery (1990) James Caan is a highly successful romance novelist whose car crashes in the middle of nowhere. Kathy Bates (Oscar, Best Actress) comes to his aid, takes him into her home and begins nursing him back to health. She happens to be Caan’s biggest fan, and she also happens to be crazy as a bedbug. Very gradually we are made aware that she isn’t going to just release him back into the world when he recovers.  

Kathy Bates is back, and just as good,  in Dolores Claiborne (1995).  When Bates is accused of murdering her aged employer, daughter Jennifer Jason Leigh comes home to help. Through flashbacks, layers in the story are peeled away and we are nicely surprised not only by the resolution of the murder accusation, but by whatever happened to Bates’ abusive husband.  

Stand By Me (1986) is simply as good a movie about young boys as has ever been made. Four pre-teen boys go on an expedition, chasing a rumor there is a dead body at their destination. Whether there is or not is beside the point; in this film getting there is all the fun. Rob Reiner’s sure-handed direction and an excellent screenplay make these young guys achingly true.  Kiefer Sutherland, River Phoenix,, Richard Dreyfuss and John Cusak ( now in their 50's)  are all good in this true and remarkable film.

In The Green Mile (1999) Tom Hanks is a prison guard and Michael Clarke Duncan is a condemned prisoner who may have a gift for healing. 

Best of all (so far) is The Shawshank Redemption (1994). Tim Robbins (who always seems to pick good parts) is a banker sent to prison for murdering his wife and her lover. Morgan Freeman (another consummate pro) becomes his friend and mentor. Robbins’ creative tax planning  makes him very popular with the warden and some of the guards. There are several endings, so don’t go away before the credits. 

All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. None are suitable for children under 12.

                                                                            PIXAR

                                                                      Part 2

          As promised, here are five more solid gold Pixar movies, personally guaranteed by Mr. Movie. 

The Incredibles (2004) takes super heroes to a whole new level. Each member of their, okay, incredible family has a fantastic talent. Father Bob has superhuman strength and endurance. Mother Helen can shapeshift her body. Daughter Violet can make herself invisible and also can generate force fields. Son Dash has superhuman speed. Baby Jack-Jack can do most anything. Forced into early retirement, they rebound and demonstrate the need for super heroes. 

Cars (2006) is about, of course, talking cars. Laugh out loud funny most of the time. The somewhat complicated plot involves a championship race, deliberate forcings of crashes and other outrageous behavior. But the real hero of his film is the wrecker Mater, hilariously voiced by Owen Wilson. The film premiered at Charlotte Motor Speedway and went on to gross millions. It has spawned several sequels which are not nearly as good. 

Ratatouille (2007) proves that Pixar can make anything charming, in this case, rats! Remy is a wannabe chef who secretly bails out a young trainee’s mistakes. When he is discovered, at first the plan is to kill him. But that all changes when he demonstrates that (1) he can talk and (2) he can really cook up a storm. Strangely, the colony of rats in hiding in their attic home over the restaurant, are not creepy. Patton Oswalt voices Remy. Ian Holm, Brian Dennehy, Janean Garofolo and Brad Garrett are among the many voices chiming in. 

Can a robot be funny? Loveable? The hero of a movie? Why yes and Wall-E (2008) is all of the above. Left nearly alone in a post apocalyptic world, the hero is a robot designed to clean up the mess left by lazy, destructive humanity. He survives by pirating parts off other robots. He finds love (?) or something when he is discovered by Eve (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) and they both find a sinlgle living plant that may save the world. 

I have saved for last what for me is the very best of this bunch: Up (2009). Widower Carl, voiced by Ed Asner, refuses to leave his cliffside home and go to an assisted living facility. Instead, he uses all the helium balloons he has stored from his business and floats his house into the sky. Unknown to him, he has a reluctant stowaway: Russell, a dorky kid in a scout uniform. They are floated to South America where they encounter a strange large flightless bird Russell names Kevin. They also meet a golden retriever (Dug) who wears a magic collar that translates his thoughts into English. And like your dog, he is completely sidetracked by squirrels.  Many adventures follow. The high point is Carl’s recollection of his marriage and early time with his late wife Ellie. If you can watch this part of the film without tearing up, you are made of iron! 

All of these movies are available on DVD and are fine for everybody.

                                                 A GOOD TIME TO BE HAD BY ALL

Pixar is a computer animation company started by George Lucas. The true genius of Pixar is not in the animation, which is excellent, but in the stories. The first five full-length Pixar films are absolutely guaranteed by Mr. Movie to appeal to everyone in your house, regardless of age!

Pixar’s first feature, Toy Story (1995) has already grossed over 325 million dollars. It is, in a way, an old story- toys come to life (see, for example, The Nutcracker). But the film is completely fresh.  Woody the cowboy has been the favorite toy of Andy, but may be replaced by spaceman Buzz Lightyear (“to infinity and beyond!”). And the other toys, which must resume inactivity when a human comes around, are a joy, from the toy soldiers to Mr and Mrs. Potato Head. Woody must be rescued from the horrible Sid next door and his nightmarish hybrid toys.

Most sequels fall flat. But Toy Story 2 (1999) is even better than the first one! In this film, cowboy Woody is mistakenly sold at a yard sale to a fiendish toy dealer. Off to the rescue again are Buzz and company. The trip through the toy store led by Tour Guide Barbie is alone worth the price of admission.

Between those two came A Bug’s Life (1998) in which Flik, a good-hearted ant, tries to save his colony from the evil grasshoppers by hiring tough killer insects. 

Unfortunately (or fortunately, for us) he hires a circus troupe by mistake. Full of delicious sight gags and great one-liners!

Despite its title, Monsters, Inc. (2001) is a delight from start to finish and won’t scare even the scardiest little kid. The Monster Factory is powered by the screams of kids frightened by monsters in their closets. But this ideal world is threatened when a real little girl named Boo inadvertently enters the factory and wreaks havoc all around.  Boo is, well, the definition of cute. 

Last but not least comes Finding Nemo (2003). Nemo is a delightful little orange clown fish with a flipper defect who gets lost with his blue companion, a fish with no short term memory. From sharks who have joined Fisheaters Anonymous to schools of fish who arrange themselves in hilarious patterns, this is a joy all the way through.

In any Pixar film, be sure and watch all the way to the end of the credits, because the outtakes are really great. How can an animated feature have outtakes? Well, because Pixar put them there! 

Disney bought Pixar in 2006 and so far (cross your fingers!) they haven’t ruined it. 

All of the films in this column are now available on DVD and all are suitable for all ages. Mr Movie has another bunch of Pixar winners for next time.

                                                          WHO SAID THAT? 5

Yes, yet another helping of movie quotes. These are the hardest yet. Answers at the bottom. No cheating! If you get number 15 you’re brilliant! 

1- This is really a great city. I don’t care what anyone says!

2- Would you be shocked if I put on something more comfortable?

3- I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout birthin’ babies!

4- My first wife drove me to drink. I’ll always be grateful to her.

5- Years from now when you talk about this- and you will- be kind.

6- In spite of everything, I still believe that people are good at heart.

7- When I die, in the newspapers they’ll write that the sons of bitches of the world have lost their leader.

8- I like to watch..

9- I’m not bad. I’m just drawn that way.

10--All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.

11- The only question I ever ask any woman is “What time is your husband coming home?”

12- Round up the usual suspects.

13- To infinity...and beyond!

14- Beulah, peel me a grape.

15- 24601.

1- Woody Allen to Diane Keaton in Manhattan (1979)

2- Jean Harlow to Ben Lyon in Hell’s Angels (1930)

3- Butterfly McQueen to Vivian Leigh in Gone With The Wind (1939)

4- W.C. Fields in Never Give A Sucker An Even Break (1941)

5- Deborah Kerr to John Kerr in Tea And Sympathy (1956).

6- Millie Perkins in The Diary Of Anne Frank (1959)

7- Vincent Gardenia in Bang The Drum Slowly (1973)

8- Peter Sellers in Being There (1979)

9- Jessica Rabbit (Kahleen Turner) in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)

10-Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard (1950)

11-Paul Newman to Patricia Neal in Hud (1963)

12-Claude Rains to his police officers in Casablanca (1942)

13-Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) in Toy Story (1995)

14-Mae West to Gertrude Howard in I’m No Angel (1933)

15- Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman)  confessing his prison number in Les Miserables (2012)

15- Brilliant! Mensa candidate

12-14 Cinephile

9-11 Fair

                                                               ELVIS 

I watched Elvis (2022) on DVD the other day and I remembered why I would never go to a theater to see it. It is waaayyyy tooo looonnnngggg! Two hours and thirty-nine minutes. It’s actually not that bad if it didn’t wear you out. Unknown Austin Butler is just right as The King. (He does his own singing and dancing). And Tom Hanks proves he can play despicable.  I’m sure a lot of his fans love that much of Elvis, but it’s sort of like ten pounds of chocolate all at once. Nevertheless I have heard from Elvis fans wanting some guidance through his 30-plus movies. Not all of them are terrible. Just most. So here goes.

Elvis’ filmography is contained in 10 short years- 1957-1967. And in that time span the studios frantically rushed to cash in on his popularity. The results are some truly awful movies and a few that aren’t so bad. 

I’ll begin with King Creole (1958). It is based on a Harold Robbins story, A Stone For Danny Fisher and in addition to Elvis, has Walter Matthau and Carolyn Jones. It is directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) and was a commercial and critical success. Elvis later said his role as Danny Fisher was his favorite. Danny drops out of high school and works to support his family. They move to New Oreans and Danny winds up singing at the King Creole club. After several fight scenes and several songs, it all ends  pretty well. 

Flaming Star (1960) stars Elvis as the son of a Kiowa mother and a Texas rancher father. He happily works at the ranch until the Kiowa indians start raiding settlers in the area. He is caught between two worlds and the film is about his determination to find his way between. At Elvis’ insistence, two of the four songs were cut from the film as he wanted to be taken more seriously as an actor. Though not a great commercial success by Elvis standards, the film was well received by most critics and audiences. 

Viva Las Vegas (1964) has Elvis as a Formula 1 race car driver intent on winning the Las Vegas Gran Prix but needing money to buy a new engine for his car. The beautiful and famous Ann-Margaret is on board as the love interest and there are ten song and dance numbers to rev up the film. 

Jailhouse Rock (1957) was Elvis’ first film and one of his best. This film, together with his legendary appearance on the Ed Sullivan show (from the waist up!), sealed his place as the number one rock and roll star of his time. Okay, maybe all time! The movie stars Elvis and nobody else you ever heard of. It begins with him doing time for manslaughter and developing his singing and dancing. The famous scene in the prison was one of his best. The songs were recorded later and dubbed into the film. Elvis lip-synched them! 

Well, Elvis fans, it’s pretty much downhill from here. There are 27 more Elvis films and none of them are very good. All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. And all are fine for all ages. 

                                                        2021 Sleepers

                                                     Part 4

        Here is the fourth and last handful of films from last year that disappeared unmourned and which I thought were pretty good.

    Passing is about a light-skinned black woman who did exactly that- pass. She has made it into the white world, including a beneficial marriage, when she encounters an old friend who is decidedly black. The effects of this reversal on each of the friends is eye-opening. Ruth Negga plays the passer and Tessa Thompson plays her friend. 

The wretched Bakkers- Jim and Tammy Faye- have had their share of trouble. In the 60's they became internationally famous preachers with mega congregations and donations to match. The flimsy walls came tumbling down. Jail for him, unending comic portrayals of her. The Eyes Of Tammy Faye uses as a title the trademark makeup mishap of Mrs. Bakker to tell her side of the story. Jessica Chastain is excellent as Tammy Faye and Andrew Garfield plays Jim to a tee. The film portrays her as a clueless blonde caught up in a tsunami of trouble. Not sure you’ll believe in her innocence, but it’s a good movie. 

Would you like to retire to a place where no children are allowed, where everyone is well-off and about your age and everything is furnished for your enjoyment? Then pack your bags for The Villages in central Florida, a “Disney World for Retirees”. Some Kind of Heaven is Lawrence Oppenheim’s unflinching documentary about four different people who live there. All is not sunshine and oranges, but see for yourself. 

What to make of India? We read of the rape and murder of women going unpunished and yet they had a female prime minister. Writing With Fire is a fascinating documentary about a small corner of that huge country- Khabar Lahariya is the only news agency in India run entirely by lower caste women. Their dogged determination to get at the truth and get it out is a stunning portrayal of journalism at its best. 

Nightmare Alley features Bradley Cooper as a grifter who begins at a decidedly lower rung carnival and with his native cunning works his way up to be a headlining psychic. He stuns rapt audiences with his ability to tell things about them though they are strangers. Rooney Mara is his helper and stooge and Cate Blanchett is the psychiatrist determined to expose him. It’s quite a ride!

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

                                                              NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand is the site of some wonderful films. Almost all of Lord of the Rings was shot there; the scenery is simply breathtaking. But that trilogy is science fiction; let’s look at films not only in, but about, this little-known country.

Hunt For The Wilderpeople (2016) is billed as a New Zealand adventure comedy-drama. I could not have said it any better. Left an orphan, Ricky goes to live with foster mother Bella and her taciturn husband Hec. Bella dies, and the child welfare people want Ricky back. Neither he nor Hec are keen on this, so they take to the woods and for most of the movie hide out from the authorities and meet interesting people. Aussie Sam Neill is good as Hec and newcomer Julian Dennison is just fine as Ricky. Oh, by the way: Who or what are the Wilderpeople? I have no idea. 

Whale Rider (2003) is a terrific film that was in my top 10 for 2003. It is the life-affirming story of a young girl growing up in the Maori culture, which does not allow girls much room to grow. The young heroine fights back with courage and elan. It is a heart-warming film that should be seen by every young (and not-so-young) woman (and man!) 

Once Were Warriors (1994) is a devastating look at what increasing urbanization has done to the Maori culture and New Zealanders in general. The father’s traditional role as unquestioned head of the house has to give a little when he’s not making the living. With universal application, this fine little film gives us enough to think about for weeks. 

Heavenly Creatures (1994) is directed by Ring Cycle’s Peter Jackson and is based on a true story. Two young girls form a perilous friendship including a dangerous private world inhabited only by them. When separation is threatened by their parents, they take extreme measures. Melanie Lynskey and the better-known Kate Winslett (Titanic) are superb as the two girls. Trivia note: One of these girls grew up to be British mystery writer Anne Perry!

Angel At My Table (1990) is director Jane Campion’s affecting study of New Zealand poet and author Janet Frame, a quiet child misdiagnosed as mentally ill and sent to an institution for eight years! The fact it is a true story only adds to the emotional wallop of this excellent movie. 

Finally, there is the intriguing and utterly weird The Piano (1993), also directed by Jane Campion. Sam Neill and Harvey Keitel join Oscar winners Anna Paquin and Holly Hunter in the story of a mail-order bride (Hunter) who is apparently mute by choice and who loves only her piano and her daughter (probably in that order). 

All of the films in this article(including the whole Lord of the Rings cycle) are available on DVD. The Ring cycle and Whale Rider are fine for 8 and up.  The rest are for adults only.

                                                 DOWN UNDER THE RADAR (3)

Here’s another handful of really good films from Down Under, none of which had much of an impact here.

Among her many talents, Meryl Streep does accents better than anyone. So this very American lady seems right at home as the mysterious mom in A Cry In The Dark (1988). Her baby may or may not have been carried off by dingoes (wild dogs), but she stands trial for murder. Did she or didn’t she? Sam Neill (an Aussie) is quite good as her husband, and we find out that trial by sensation goes on somewhere besides the U.S.

Another very American actor, Kirk Douglas, is the grizzled old rancher in The Man From Snowy River (1982). This fun movie is as classic a western as John Ford ever made, and features the best horse action ever captured on film. And without computer tricks.

In The Getting of Wisdom (1997), a young girl from the outback is determined to get an education and rise above her somewhat rustic background. Most of the story takes place at a snooty girls school, and you will pull hard for this spunky young lady. The American frontier would have been just as good a setting for this story, and we identify with it wholeheartedly. 

Innocence (2000) with a largely unknown Australian cast, is about a widowed man and married woman, both well into middle age, who rediscover each other after many years of going their separate ways. Both tender and sensuous, it approaches the subject of love among the not-so-young about as well as anything since Queen of the Stardust Ballroom (1975) or Brief Encounter (1945).

Mel Gibson was not always a household word, either on these shores or in his native Australia. What put him on their map, and ours, is a series of outlandish films about the world in the distant future. In these exciting films, gasoline and goodness are in equally short supply. The new world order consists of a few daring policemen and crazed androidal bikers. Doesn’t sound like much, does it? But Mel is a decent, resourceful cop whose family is killed by crazies. He vows revenge. The stunts are amazing, and the look is like nothing ever seen before or since. Mad Max (1979) is the best, followed closely by The Road Warrior  (1981), and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). The last one is even more of a stretch but does feature as a dominatrix Tina Turner (of all people!)

All of the movies in this column are available in DVD. All are for mature audiences.

                                                DOWN UNDER THE RADAR 

                                                                   Part 2

Gallipoli (1971) is director Peter Weir's memorial to World War I from Down Under. Mel Gibson is one of the featured actors; this was before he came to America and became rich and famous. The youthful exuberance of the lads on their way to the front plays nicely against what we know waits for them there. For three-fourths of the film the war seems like a great adventure, a lark. We, and they, are jerked up short by the last reel. This is a splendid film.

An excellent young-woman-growing-up film is My Brilliant Career  (1979). It stars the wonderful Judy Davis as a spunky girl determined to be Somebody. Her treatment in turn-of-the-century Australia is harsh, but she refuses to buckle. We wince, and we cheer for her. 

     Phar Lap (1983) is about the great Australian racehorse of the same name. To Australians, he is a legend larger than Secretariat is to us. He died in a mysterious fire in the U.S. in 1933, after whipping all comers. This is a good story with very good racing shots.

    Tony Colette has a grand time as the title character in Muriel’s Wedding (1994). Muriel is a socially awkward young woman, ridiculed by her only friends. She dreams of a storybook wedding, which seems most unlikely to happen. Her trip from social hanger-on and wannabe to responsible woman is both humorous and touching. This is a most unusual movie with an unusual story.

    Look Both Ways (2005) features an ensemble cast you will not have heard of, with several divergent stories that nicely come together. A young man finds out he has a deadly cancer and on his way home meets a mentally fragile young woman who has just witnessed a train wreck. This accident is a central point of the film, as if affects every member of the cast in very different ways. Toward the end there is a scene where the engineer who was driving the train shows up at the home of the victim’s family, full of remorse for a terrible thing that is not his fault. He will break your heart. The 2022 American film with the same name is nothing like the Australian and not nearly as good. 

And for a good time, check out The Castle (1997) in which the Kerrigan family happily lives on the edge of Melbourne Airport. The airport wants to expand and take the Kerrigan home. They fight it in court, but their dreadful lawyer’s argument that the taking destroys “the vibe” of the constitution doesn’t work. When all seems lost, they’re befriended by a retired Queen’s Counsel attorney who represents them before the Australian High Court. 

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

                                                       DOWN UNDER THE RADAR

For whatever reasons, Australian movies don’t do much business here. Our loss. Fortunately, lots of excellent Aussie flicks are available for home viewing. 

The Dry (2021) is a whip-smart Australian murder mystery. Eric Bana stars as Aaron Falk, a federal agent returning to his hometown for the funeral of a friend. The deceased friend is believed to have died in a murder-suicide action, killing his wife and  child and himself.  The friend’s parents believe their son was innocent and ask Aaron to stay in town and look into it. It turns out that Aaron had left town under a cloud. Most townspeople believe he was responsible for the death of his then-girlfriend Ellie. The word “Grant” turns out to be a major clue. That’s all I’ll give.

Walkabout (1971) is a weird, beautiful masterpiece. A teen-age girl (Jenny Agutter) and her younger brother are left on their own in the Outback by their demented father. They are saved by an aborigine boy who soon falls in love with the girl. The contrast between the two cultures is constant and holds our interest. There is danger and humor aplenty. When it is over none of them will ever be the same. We might not, either. In a real sense, this great movie is a capsule version of Australia. 

Breaker Morant (1980) introduced Aussie super-star Bryan Brown to Americans. It is based upon a true story of three soldiers in the Boer War accused of cowardice in a trumped-up charge to further Great Britain's political requirements. Remindful, and as good as, Paths of Glory.

Strictly Ballroom (1993) is a world of fun. It is the story of people who take ballroom dancing seriously. When the handsome lead loses his beautiful partner just before the big contest, he has to make do with a klutzy Plain Jane. Of course, we all madly pull for her. The swishy contest director is a hoot, and the dancing and the gags are a joy. 

        Proof (1992) is almost impossible to describe. I saw this when it came out and breathlessly waited 12 years for it to come out on DVD, eager to see if it’s as good as I remembered. It is. Hugo Weaving is a blind man who takes pictures, then asks others to verify what is in the picture. An incredibly young Russell Crowe becomes his friend and verifier. I can’t give away much more, but I assure you this is a really good one. 

They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) is full of both good intentions and Hell. In the last century, the Australian government decided it would be a good idea to force Aboriginal children to go to state boarding schools. Actually, they were kidnaped by the police and shanghaied to the schools, hundreds of miles from their homes and families. This is the story of two little girls who wanted to go home. Kenneth Branagh is the only notable actor. You will never forget this incredible film.

All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. Strictly Ballroom is fine for 8 and up. The rest are for adults.

                                                            WOLFGANG PETERSEN 

Wolfgang Peteresen, who died recently at 81, was born and raised in Germany. His Dad was a naval officer and that influenced his interest in the sea and figures in several of his films The first bunch of films he directed are German. Frankly none are very memorable.. And then came Das Boot (1981). It got him noticed and an Oscar nomination. He lost to Richard Attenborough for Ghandi.  In 1987 he moved to California and for a while was an A-list director with a string of popular films. He very deliberately made movies people would want to see. And they did. 

Das Boot (1981) is a first-rate suspenser about a German submarine's war. In one unforgettable scene, the boat has to dive far below its limit to avoid detection. Rivets start popping like gunshots. We're chewing our nails, and suddenly realize we're pulling for the enemy. The essential humanity of these sailors, and the ironic ending, place Das Boot squarely in the forefront of war movies. Jurgen Prochnow is superb as the captain. The director's cut is available. I usually much prefer subtitles to dubbing, but the dubbing in this one is excellent.

The Never-Ending Story (1984) is a real charmer. A bookish preteen(Bastian) discovers a magic book that transports him to Fantasia, an idyllic place unfortunately being attacked by The Nothing. He is enlisted by the residents to help them and he does amid adventures galore. This is Petersen’s first film in English. 

A complete change of pace is the nail-biting In The Line Of Fire (1993) with Clint Eastwood as U.S. Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan, wracked with guilt by his failure to save John F. Kennedy from the assassin’s bullet in Dallas. He is assigned to help guard the current president who is running for re-election and touring the country. Horrigan’s identity and detail are hacked by the villainous Booth, who says he will kill the president. That’s all I’m telling. 

         The world was scared witless by Richard Preston’s The Hot Zone, crafted into an equally scary movie, Outbreak (1995), directed at fever pitch by Wolfgang Petersen. Dustin Hoffman and Rene Russo are physicians trying to curb the spread of mobata, which is thinly disguised ebola. There are good and bad guys galore as the couple races to save humanity. 

The special effects, even on a small screen, are alone worth the trip to see The Perfect Storm (2000). George Clooney is the captain of a commercial fishing boat caught at sea during a combined hurricane and nor’easter (hence the title). After a particularly bad streak of fishing, he decides to try once more though the storms are close at hand. Various rescue attempts fail and waves intensify. Then a rogue wave higher than a skyscraper rolls toward the little boat. 

Mr. Petersen’s directing skills are also on view in Shattered (1991), Enemy Mine (1985) and Air Force One (1997). 

His remake of The Poseidon Adventure (1972) was so awful it knocked him out of any meaningful work. You can see Poseidon (2006) and decide for yourself if it's really that bad. It is and He made one more film in Germany before his death.

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

                                                         WHO SAID THAT? 

                                                                    Part 4

Yet another fun (I hope!) quiz about famous movie quotes. This one may be a little harder than the previous ones. Answers at the bottom. No peeking!

1. Oh, Jerry, don’t ask for the moon. We have the stars.

2. One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don’t know.

3. A boy’s best friend is his mother.

4. Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.

5. As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again.

6. Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into!

7. Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me, aren’t you?

8. Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.

9. Here’s Johnny!

10. They’re here!

11. I have always depended on the kindness of strangers. 

12. Hello, gorgeous.

13. Tell ‘em to go out there with all they got and win just one for the Gipper.

14. A martini. Shaken, not stirred. 

15. I’m king of the world!

ANSWERS

1. Bette Davis to Paul Henreid in Now, Voyager (1942)

2. Groucho Marx (who else?) to everyone in Animal Crackers (1930)

3. The extremely creepy Anthony Perkins to Janet Leigh in Psycho (1960)

4. Michael Douglas to Charlie Sheen in Wall Street (1987)

5. Vivian Leigh to the whole wide world in Gone With The Wind (1939)

6. Oliver Hardy to Stan Laurel  in Sons Of The Desert (1933)

7. Dustin Hoffman to Anne Bancroft in The Graduate (1967)

8. Humphrey Bogart to Dooley Wilson in Casablanca (1942)

9. Jack Nicholson to his terrorized family in The Shining (1980)

10. Heather O’Rourke (the little girl) to the family in Poltergeist (1982)

11. Vivian Leigh to Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

12. Barbra Streisand to Omar Sharif in Funny Girl (1968)

13. Ronald Reagan ( yes, him!) to Pat O’Brien in Knute Rockne, All-American (1940)

14. Sean Connery to a bartender in Goldfinger (1964)

15. Leonardo DiCaprio to Kate Winslett in Titanic (1997)

12-15 Cinephile

9-12 Fair

                                                                ANNE HECHE

        Poor Anne Heche died at only 53 years old as a result of a tragic automobile accident. She had lots of good parts, and lots of work. In fact, she had around eight projects running at the time of her death. Here’s a look at her cinematic highlights.

    She portrays young attorney Beth in Return To Paradise (1998). Three men are vacationing in Malaysia when they buy marijuana from a local. Tony and Sheriff return to New York but Lewis remains behind. Beth tells them Lewis has been arrested and is imprisoned and will receive the death sentence unless they return to share the blame. After they return she reveals that Lewis is her brother and she has been playing them. Things don’t go well in the Malaysian court and Lewis is sentenced to die.

In Six Days, Seven Nights Heche plays Robin, a high end fashion photgrapher. She and her fiancé Frank (David Schwimmer) go on vacation to a tropical island. She hires rough-hewn bush pilot Quinn (Harrison Ford) to fly her to a photo shoot. Their plane crashes on an uninhabited island in a storm. There are pirates and other adventures. 

Wag The Dog (1997) stars Anne Heche as a presidential aide tasked with diverting public attention from a sex scandal involving her boss. She hires spin doctor Conrad (Robert DeNiro) who in turn employs film director Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman). They concoct a fake news show about a fake war in Albania and the media buys it. Best line: “Of course it’s true- I saw it on TV”. 

Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) is an undercover cop who infiltrates the Mafia for the FBI. His marriage to Maggie (Anne Heche) becomes more and more shaky as he advances further into the mob. He uses the assumed name Donnie Brasco (1997) and succeeds spectacularly. Though his marriage suffers due to his lengthy absences and the stress of his job, his Maggie sticks with him. They are still a couple at the end, living in an undisclosed location with a half million dollar price on his head. 

The Juror (1996) is based on George Dawes Green’s crackerjack novel of the same name. Annie (Demi Moore) is selected as a juror trying a mafia hit man. She is threatened into voting to acquit and the mob decides she is now a loose end and has to go. Her friend Juliet (Anne Heche) pays the ultimate price for their friendship. Annie and her son try to hide from the mob in Guatemala but don’t completely succeed. 

Anne Heche  can also be seen to good effect as Brooke in tOpening Night (2016), and as Joan in the very complicated but enjoyable Cedar Rapids (2011).

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

                                                                 2021 SLEEPERS

                                                                         Part 3

Here’s another bunch of films from last year that are quite good but didn’t get noticed much. You might find one or two to try.

The Duke is one of my favorites from 2021. I was able to watch it only recently but it’s widely available now. It stars two of the absolute icons of British movies: Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren. They are the Buntons. She is hardly recognizable as the dowdy, stodgy housewife. He is the pocket socialist who decides to make things better for the poor by stealing Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the British Museum and distributing  the reward money. Of course he gets caught and the fun part of the film is his trial in the Old Bailey. And- it’s hard to believe, but this film is based on a true story!

How great would it be for a woman to have a boyfriend who fulfilled her every want and need, almost before she wants it? Actually it may not be as great as it sounds. In I’m Your Man, scientist Alma agrees to evaluate a robot programmed to satisfies her every need. And he does. Handsome, charming, sensitive Tom’s only drawback is that he is not a human being. Alma’s reactions might not be what we think ours would be. Or maybe they would?

    Well, of course in this same article we have to review I’m Your Woman, which is absolutely nothing like the prior film. Jean (Rachel Brosnahan) is married to Eddie, a professional thief. They have long wanted children but haven’t been able to conceive. One day Eddie comes home with a baby he says they can have and raise. Eddie vanishes and a colleague gives Jean a bag of money and tells her to relocate at once. She does so, taking baby Harry with her. As you might guess, it ain’t over!

The Water Man is a modern fairy tale in which tweens Gunner and Jo go on a search for the mythical title character, in the hope he can cure Gunner’s mom of her lethal leukemia. Their trek through an enchanted forest is fraught with peril. The ending may not suit everybody, but it is at least interesting. 

Strangely enough, this year’s sleepers contain two movies about truffles. Pig with Nicholas Cage is reviewed in an earlier sleepers column. The Truffle Hunters is an Italian documentary about old guys who hunt the epicurean treats. These men use specially trained dogs to find the elusive truffles. The white Alba truffles they seek are extremely rare and valuable and have resisted all efforts to cultivate them. 

All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All except I’m Your Woman are okay for all ages, though kids probably won’t care for most of them.  

                                                     WHO SAID THAT? 

                     Part 3

Here’s another installment of famous quotes from movies for you to test your trivia IQ, or just to have a little fun. Answers at the bottom. No cheating!

1- I coulda been a contender.

2- Wait a minute! You ain't heard nothing yet!

3- I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

4- Love means never having to say you’re sorry.

5- I am your father.

6- Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

7- I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore!

8- I am big! It’s the pictures that got small.

9- Why don’t you come up and see me sometime?

10- After all, tomorrow is another day.

11- You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow.

12- You’re gonna need a bigger boat!

13- I’ll be back.

14- Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

15- If you build it, he will come. 

ANSWERS:

1- Marlon Brando to Lee J. Cobb in On The Waterfront

2- Al Jolson to the audience in The Jazz Singer (first talking movie!)

3- Robert Duvall as Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now

4- The dying Ali McGraw to Ryan O’Neal in Love Story

5- Darth Vader (David Prowse body, James Earl Jones voice) to an astonished Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in Star Wars

6- James Cagney to Margaret Whycherly (his ma) in White Heat

7- Peter Finch as crazy newsman Howard Beale in Network

8- Gloria Swanson to William Holden in Sunset Boulevard

9- Mae West to Cary Grant in She Done Him Wrong

10- Vivan Leigh to the world at large in Gone With The Wind

11- Lauren Bacall to Humphrey Bogart in To Have And Have Not

12- Roy Scheider to Robert Shaw in Jaws

13- Arnold Schwartzenegger to a cop in a police station in The Terminator

14- Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig in The Pride Of The Yankees

15- A mysterious voice to Kevin Costner in Field Of Dreams (he came)

12-15 Cinephile

9-11 Fair

                                                             2021 SLEEPERS

                                                                    Part 2

    Here’s another batch of movies from last year that didn’t get much play, but which I liked and think are worth a look. On completing this article, I realized for the first time that all but one of them are documentaries!

    It started when a group of teen-age soccer players and their coach decided to explore a cave in Thailand. But a deluge of rain flooded the tunnel and prevented their exit. Divers located the boys on a raised rock platform two and a half miles from the entrance. Various methods were suggested. Finally, it was decided to send divers to swim the boys out one at a time. Two divers died during the rescue effort, but somehow all of the boys and the coach were rescued. This documentary, The Rescue, covers the true story very well.

    You can always count on Spanish director Pedro Almodovar (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Volver, Talk to Her)  for an off-beat, entertaining film. And he doesn’t disappoint in Parallel Mothers. Almodovar’s muse, the beautiful Penelope Cruz, stars as Janis. Janis shares a hospital room with Ana, and both deliver babies the same day. DNA tests later, Janis discovers that a switch was inadvertently made. Ana reveals to Janis that her baby has died. Janis struggles with what to do, as she realizes the baby she has at home is Ana’s child. 

    After discovering that his grandparents had been murdered by the Nazis in a concentration camp, Austrian Luke Holland interviewed over 300 Germans who lived through World War II. Final Account is the documentary account of those interviews, which include everyone from Jewish survivors to SS members. The results are both revealing and chilling. Mr. Holland died shortly after completing this disturbing film. 

    You won’t see many animated documentaries, but Flee is one of them and it’s a good one. Amin is a talented gay man who has escaped from Afghanistan. His journey to Denmark, his eventual home, is fraught with peril and missteps. He is shipped from country to country, always looking over his shoulder as a refugee with no papers. He eventually finds most of his scattered family, none of which are in Denmark. The fate of his father, imprisoned in Afghanistan, is never discovered. 

    She rose from being the only female in a very chauvinistic French cooking school to become an internationally celebrated chef and the author of several books on French cooking. Julia is the documentary about her rise to fame and her travails with colleagues and publishers. The partly fictional Julie and Julia (2009) is frankly more entertaining, though both of these are very good films. 

    All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. Julia and The Rescue are fine for kids. The rest are for adults. 

                                                                 2021 SLEEPERS

In spite of the pandemic and other assorted woes, 2021 was a pretty good year for movies. This article contains five that I thought were good but didn’t get much notice. Perhaps you might find one or more to try. 

The Dry is a whip-smart Australian murder mystery. Eric Bana stars as Aaron Falk, a federal agent returning to his hometown for the funeral of a friend. The deceased friend is believed to have died in a murder-suicide action, killing his wife and  child and himself.  The friend’s parents believe their son was innocent and ask Aaron to stay in town and look into it. It turns out that Aaron had left town under a cloud. Most townspeople believe he was responsible for the death of his then-girlfriend Ellie. The word “Grant” turns out to be a major clue. That’s all I’ll give.

Pig showcases the oft hidden talent of the much-maligned Nicholas Cage. This is his best part in many years. He plays Rob Feld, once a top-flight chef, now a battered truffle hunter living as a recluse in the backwoods of Washington state. His truffle hunting activities are enough for him to live on. His pet pig is the secret to his hunting success. Thugs break into his cabin and steal the pig. He sets out to get it back. 

C’mon C’mon is a slight film featuring the talented Joaquin Phoenix as a radio personality whose niche is interviewing children. When his sister begs him to take care of her nine-year-old son while she cares for her ill ex-husband, he reluctantly agrees. The bond they share is a surprise to both of them and to us, and is the backbone of this movie. 

The Dig features Ralph Fiennes as Basil Brown, a self-taught archaeologist in England. His friend Edith (Carrie Mulligan) owns a farm containing several burial mounds. She hires Basil to dig them up. He has stoutly maintained the mounds are Anglo-Saxon, not Viking. Experts disagree. The digging gradually uncovers incredible artifacts proving that Basil was right. The artifacts now belong to the British Museum. Yep, this is a true story. 

Those Who Wish Me Dead is based on Michael Koryta’s crackerjack novel of the same name. Is it as good as the book? Of course not. But with Angelina Jolie as the smoke jumper trying to rescue a boy on the run, it’s good enough. The boy has witnessed the murder of his father and the killers know he can identify them. A raging forest fire is center stage. 

All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. C’mon is ok for kids. The rest are for grownups. 

 

                                                               JAMES CAAN

        James Caan, who died recently at 82, was greatly admired by his fellow actors for his ability to play virtually any role and do it well. He steadfastly refused to be typecast and picked his parts with care. 

He is best known for his portrayal of Sonny Coreleone in The Godfather (1972). Surrounded by heavy hitters, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Robert Duvall and Al Pacino  were also nominated as Supporting Actor and all of them lost to Joel Grey for Cabaret.  Marlon Brando won for Best Actor and the movie itself won the Oscar. It became the rather high bar for gangster movies. Caan’s Sonny is a somewhat dull-witted philaderer whose drunken antics shame the family. Caan’s role in Godfather Part II is limited to a flashback to the famous birthday party, a snippet for which (at his insistence) he was paid the same as he was for Part I. 

Mr. Caan’s first big part is as the dying Brian Piccolo in the made-for-TV Brian’s Song (1971). He is convincing and quite human and has great rapport with football colleague Gayle Sayers (Billy Dee Williams). There are few dry eyes in the house when this one winds up. The 2001 remake, also a TV movie, is a pale imitation of the original.

Caan’s next great role after Godfather was in Thief (1981). In a frankly surprising bit of casting, he plays Frank, the title figure. A nifty take on the old “one last job and I’m out of the business” plot, Frank is an expert jewel thief who wants to go straight. His thuggish boss wants him to keep stealing, and tries to renege on the money Frank is entitled to. The boss and his minions try to get rid of Frank. There’s an ending that will please most everyone. 

James Caan spends most of Misery (1990) flat on his back. He is  Paul Sheldon, a famous author who has  a car wreck and the misfortune to be “rescued” by nurse Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates). She says she is his number one fan and that she loves his romance novels featuring a character named Misery. She is outraged when she sees the manuscript of  his new novel in which Misery is killed off. She reveals that no one knows where he is and when he tries to leave she stops him. From there is gets worse. This one will keep you guessing (and maybe hoping) til the credits roll. 

Elf (2003) requires of viewers a giant dose of “just go with it”. Suspend your disbelief and enjoy the fun! Will Ferrell portrays Buddy, who as a baby who sneaked into Santa’s bag and was taken to the North Pole. The other elfs accept him as one of them, but as he grows taller they realize he is not. Buddy travels to New York to meet his real father Walter (James Caan) who is a children’s book publisher. From there stranger things happen, most of them pretty funny. 

James Caan can also be seen to good effect in Rabbit, Run (1970), Cinderella Liberty (1973) and Chapter Two (1979).

All of the films in this article are available on DVD. Only Elf is really suitable for kids. 

         WHO SAID THAT? Part 2

The last “who said that” column was so popular (okay three people kind of mentioned it in passing), that I decided to do another. Answers at the bottom. No cheating! 

1. I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.

2. You talkin’ to me?

3. What we have here is a failure to communicate.

4. Show me the money!

5. I want to be alone.

6. Round up the usual suspects.

7. Plastics.

8. I see dead people.

9. We rob banks.

10. Well, nobody’s perfect!

11. You can’t fight in here! This is the War Room!

12. I can’t do that, Dave.

13. Where’s the rest of me?

14. You can’t handle the truth!

15. You had me at hello.

ANSWERS

1. Marlon Brando to assorted thugs in The Godfather

2. Robert DeNiro to an unfortunate bystander in Taxi Driver

3. Strother Martin to a shackled Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke

4. Cuba Gooding, Jr. to wannabe agent Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire

5. Greta Garbo to everybody in Grand Hotel

6. Claude Rains to the police chief in Casablanca

7. Walter Brooke’s career advice to a puzzled Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate

8. Haley Joel Osment to Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense

9. Warren Beatty explaining his vocation in Bonnie And Clyde

10. Joe E. Brown on discovering Jack Lemon is actually a guy in Some Like It Hot

11. Peter Sellers to battling bureaucrats in Dr. Strangelove

12. HAL the computer’s chilling answer to Keir Dullea in 2001: A Space Odyssey

13. Ronald Reagan (yes, him!) on discovering his legs have been amputated in Kings Row

14. Jack Nicholson to Demi Moore in A Few Good Men. (He was wrong.)

15. Renee Zellwegger to Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire

12-15 Cinephile

8-11 Fair

                                                       WHO SAID THAT?

Let’s have some fun with some famous movie lines. See how many you can correctly identify which movie they come from. For bonus points, the character that said the line. Answers at the bottom. No cheating!

1. “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn”

2. “Who are those guys?”

3. “The stuff that dreams are made of”

4. “I’ll have what she’s having”

5. “It’s alive!”

6. “There’s no crying in baseball”

7. “Play it again, Sam”

8. “Carpe diem; seize the day, boys!”

9. “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get”

10. “Fasten your seatbelts! It’s gonna be a bumpy night.”

11. “Houston, we’ve had a problem”

12. “Rosebud”

13. “You’ve got to ask yourself one question- do I feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?”

14. “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore”

15. “Here’s looking at you, kid”

ANSWERS:

1. Rhett Butler as he leaves a tearful Scarett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind.

2. Paul Newman to Robert Redford when they can’t shake their pursuers in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

3. Humphrey Bogart to the room at large, describing The Maltese Falcon

4. Nearby diner, played by Carl Reiner’s mom, on hearing Meg Ryan describe faking an orgasm to Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally

5. Dr. Frankenstein (Carl Clive) on seeing the monster (Boris Karlof) move in Frankenstein

6. Tom Hanks to Geena Davis when something goes wrong in A League Of Their Own

7. Humphrey Bogart to pianist Dooley Wilson in Casablanca, though the actual quote is “Play it, Sam. Play As Time Goes By.”

8. Robin Williams to his Prep School English class in Dead Poets’ Society

9. Tom Hanks to lady on a park bench in Forest Gump

10. Bette Davis to partygoers in All About Eve

11. Tom Hanks to Mission Control in Apollo 13. 

12. Orson Welles as a dying Charles Foster Cane remembering his boyhood in Citizen Kane

13. Clint Eastwood glowering down at a captured street punk in Dirty Harry

14. Judy Garland to her little dog in The Wizard Of Oz

15. Humphrey Bogart to Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca

12-15 Cinephile

9-11 Fair

                                                           THE BEST OF 2021

        I have hesitated to write this column because I really didn’t see that many movies last year (comparatively speaking, of course). Shoot, I didn’t even see the Oscar winner CODA. I haven’t heard from many who have seen it, though. It is available only on Apple, which I don’t have. Or you can buy it (!). So anyway, since we’re almost halfway through the next year, here goes. No 10s again this year. I’m not listing 7's but will send them on request.

1- The Mauritanian 9

2- West Side Story 9

3- The Dry 9

4- Pig 8

5- No Time To Die 8

6- C’mon C’mon 8

7- The Dig 8

8- Those Who Wish Me Dead 8

9- A Hero 8

10- King Richard 8

11- The Rescue 8

12- Parallel Mothers 8

13- Final Account 8

14- Julia 8

15- Spencer 8

16- Belfast 8

17- Flee 8

18- The Falls 8

19- I’m Your Man 8

20- Nightmare Alley 8

21- The Water Man 8

22- Respect 8

23- MLK/FBI 8

24- The Truffle Hunters 8

25- Don’t Look Up 8

26- Judas and the Black Messiah 8

27- Together Together 8

                                                                 POLLY BERGEN

Polly Bergen, who died at 84, had a fascinating and varied career. She began as a radio singer at the age of 14. She was nominated for a Tony award for her performance in Follies. She was also nominated for an Emmy for The Helen Morgan Story. Most recently she was seen as Stella Wingfield, Felicity Huffman’s mother, on Desperate Housewives. And she was quite an entrepreneur, founding and running a highly successful cosmetics corporation. 

Her filmography is equally varied and interesting. Her best, and most famous role, was as the terrified mother Peggy Bowden in Cape Fear (1962). This is a genuinely scary film with Robert Mitchum just eerily creepy. He is the stalker who is out to kill the Bowden children who may have witnessed him committing a murder. The final chase and confrontation at the ocean is riveting. The 1991 Martin Scorsese remake with Robert DeNiro is every bit as good, but of course Ms. Bergen isn’t in that one.

Escape From Fort Bravo (1953) is an above-average western with William Holden and Eleanor Parker involved with a Civil War prison camp, hostile Indians, a prison escape attempt and some good action scenes. As Alice Owens, Polly Bergen doesn’t have a whole lot to do but stand around and look pretty. 

Polly Bergen snared a Golden Globe nomination for her performance as a mental patient in The Caretakers (1963). And she is quite convincing- not over the top as many playing this role would be. This film demonstrates how little we have progressed in the treatment of mental illness. 

Move Over, Darling (1963) is a remake of the 1940 screwball comedy My Favorite Wife. The plot sounds like something Shakespeare might have cooked up- Doris Day and husband James Garner are lost at sea but he survives and she apparently does not. He waits a while then decides to marry the lovely Bianca (Polly Bergen). Of course it turns out that the first wife not only isn’t dead but shows up on the day of the Mr. Garner’s second wedding. Hilarity ensues!

Once Upon A Time When We Were Colored (1995) is based on the true story of Clifton Taulbert and his travails as a Black boy growing up in the South. Polly Bergen is okay in a frankly minor part as a fairly nice White lady. 

Paradise, Texas (2005) features Timothy Bottoms as an overworked actor knocked out of a part in a blockbuster movie because he decides to work on a small-budget independent film shot in his home town. The film is quite good in portraying the problems confronted by actors who often have to choose between family and work. Polly Bergen is quite effective in a small role as the actor’s mother.

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

                                               Good Little Known Movies

Part 7

        So you still don’t quite feel like it’s safe to go into the theatre? . I feel your pain. So- another batch of really good movies you’ve probably never heard of.

        I will admit to being absolutely smitten with Charles Dickens. The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) is a fictionalized account of how he came to write A Christmas Carol. Almost everyone is at least familiar with the basic outline of the story. Each set-piece in the film shows how it could have happened that he wrote this scene. Little-known Dan Stevens is Dickens. Miserly, miserable Ebenezer Scrooge is brilliantly portrayed by the unmatchable Christopher Plummer.

        Wild Tales (2015) is a Spanish film that more than lives up to its title. The movie is a series of vignettes about crazy coincidences. They do not seem  to be related, and some are better than others. The best shows a group of passengers on an airliner who gradually discover they have all done bad things to one man- who turns out to be the pilot of the plane! All the others are almost as good. What fun!

        Victoria And Abdul (2017) is about the unlikely, but true, story of how the Queen became fast friends with an Indian servant. Surrounded by sycophants and ungrateful children (9 of them, waiting for her to die), the Queen is really lonely. Enter a handsome Indian sent to England to present the monarch with a commemorative coin. Soon they are fast friends and he is teaching her Urdu and Hindi as well as cultural matters. Her court is outraged. Too bad...she’s still the Queen! This movie is worth watching for Judi Dench’s performance alone, but it’s an interesting story of an interlude no one would have predicted. 

        Learning To Drive (2015) features two of my all-time favorite actors: Patricia Clarkson (The Station Agent) and Ben Kingsley (Ghandi). She is a high-strung New York City book editor. When her husband leaves her for another woman, she realizes she must learn to drive if she wants to visit her daughter in Vermont. She hires Mr. Kingsley who plays the role of an American Sikh. The culture clash is both humorous and touching, as each gradually learns about and warms to the other. These two actors could carry anything and they make this small, pleasant movie very enjoyable. 

        The great Hayao Miyazaki, the genius of Japanese anime films, says that The Wind Rises (2013)  was his last movie. We hope not, but we can enjoy this beautiful animated film. As always with his work, you could take any scene and frame it. It is the story of a young man who dreams of flying, but eyesight problems prevent it. So he becomes an aeronautical engineer and designs wonderful planes. 

        All these except Learning To Drive are fine for all ages. All are available on DVD. And many are available without charge at your local library. 

                                                             MERCHANT-IVORY

An actor in one of their films was not alone in thinking that Merchant-Ivory was one person. Actually, this extraordinary pair was director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant. I say was because Mr. Merchant died in 2005. They formed one of the most successful partnerships in the history of the movies, which lasted more than 40 years. Though they had their share of misfires (including, unfortunately their last one, The White Countess (2005), they also produced a handful of classics that will be viewed as long as there are movies. And their imprint always meant unsparing quality and class. 

Remains of the Day (1993) Is simply extraordinary. It features Anthony Hopkins’ finest performance as a self-sacrificing butler, and the luminous Emma Thompson as the smart, capable head housekeeper. They both work in a baronial English home owned by James Fox, who in a larger story is dabbling with Nazisim. Christopher Reeve (last film before his accident), Tim Piggott-Smith, and Hugh Grant add to a distinguished cast. The scene in which Mr. Hopkins and Ms. Thompson come that close to a romantic attachment will absolutely break your heart. Unforgettable.

A Room With A View (1986) is a beautiful film, beautifully done, that won Oscars for art direction, costume design and screenplay adaptation (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala). Helena Bonham Carter is a proper English young lady touring Italy to complete her education. She is, of course, chaperoned and you couldn’t improve on Maggie Smith in that role. She encounters attractive young men, including Daniel Day- Lewis. The film is a most successful adaptation of an E.M. Forster novel, and has lots of insights into British mores and manners. It is also very funny and just a joy to look at.

Howard’s End (1992) garnered Oscars for screenplay (again Ms. Jhabvala), art decoration, and for Emma Thompson’s wonderful performance as a young and feisty English girl with no particular fortune or prospects in early 20th century England. Anthony Hopkins is a worldly, urbane and somewhat sinister older man who casually seduces the wide-eyed Ms. Thompson. Vanessa Redgrave and Helena Bonham-Carter add to a splendid cast.  

It is so much fun to watch Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward as a middle-aged married couple in Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (1990) that you can forgive the fact that there really isn’t a lot to this movie, based loosely on two novels by Evan Connell. Their lives are jostled (but never jolted) by changes in society and their growing children. 

All of the movies in this column area available on video and DVD. While there is nothing objectionable in any of them, the content is strictly grown-up fare.