Deadline at Dawn (1946)

While on a drinking binge with a floozie, naive sailor Alex (Bill Williams) pockets a wad of her cash. Once sober, he tries to return it only to find her dead. For reasons that make the film go, he decides he must find the murderer before he ships out at 6:00 AM. World weary dance hall girl June (Susan Hayward) helps for the very same reason.

Quite a bit is going on here. Dead Edna was up to no good and her brother is a notorious gangster. More people enter the circle of suspects. There are also a number of amusing side characters, like Babe Dooley, the washed up ball player (apparently modeled after Hack Wilson), the philosophical taxi driver, and a dance hall patron who means no disrespect.

This is the first film with Susan Hayward as the lead. She was quite good in the hard boiled role, having to recite some pretty ridiculous lines. When sailor boy says something unexpected, she replies “let’s pause for station identification”. It was just as awkward on screen as it seems. Gangster Vic has a few gems of his own. "People with wax heads should keep out of the sun."

Deadline at Dawn is an entertaining watch, and the cheesy dialog only adds to the amusement. Sailor boy may have been a pretty weak protagonist but Hayward was quite charming. AMRU 3.5.

“She was no lullaby, but she had the brains, like a man.”

Boxcar Bertha (1972)

During the depression, Bertha (Barbara Hershey) joins up with a union rabble-rouser (David Carradine) and a card cheat to become outlaws. David’s dad John plays the evil rail baron.

Director Martin Scorsese was given an opportunity and a script from Roger Corman. This opportunity allegedly came with a requirement to include nudity, possibly every fifteen minutes or pages, it’s unclear. This didn’t stop Marty from being clever with his storytelling. Unfortunately there is only so much he could do with this sow’s ear. Famously John Cassavetes told Scorsese that was too good to be making this kind of shit.

Boxcar Bertha was rumored to be based on a true story, but it's not. This may have been a stunt to cause audiences to associate it with Bonnie and Clyde, a far better film. But story and acting performances aside, Boxcar Bertha isn’t hard to watch. And at 90 minutes, it doesn’t overstay its welcome. AMRU 3.

Forbidden Zone (1980)

Exchange student Frenchy discovers that a door in the host family’s basement leads to the sixth dimension. Excitedly, she enters to discover a bizarre world ruled by a jealous queen.

Richard Elfman, brother of Danny, scratched together money to finance a film featuring his band of street performers, known then as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. What was captured on screen was an absurdist, frenetic performance unlike anything. Like a twisted Alice in Wonderland, the king (Hervé Villechaize) takes a shine to her but Queen Doris (Susan Tyrrell) won’t just stand by. The cast of characters is too numerous to list. Brother Danny plays the Devil and sings Minnie the Moocher.

Originally shot in black and white to give it a German expressionist vibe, it was digitally colorized in 2008. The lack of sharpness is noticeable but the colorization isn’t if you didn’t already know. The sets appear to be made from trash bags, cardboard, and markers but still show a high level of craftsmanship. Despite the very small budget, around a hundred grand, Elfman lost his shirt. And his house.

Forbidden Zone has scenes most will interpret as racist, misogynist, or homophobic, and will be offensive to those who are so inclined. Elfman disputed this, but did change a blackface scene into clown-face. It did see success on midnight showing.

I’ve only just scratched the surface. There’s a dancing frog-man, a topless princess, a chicken-boy named Squeezit, and so much more insanity. Love it or hate it, one thing is certain. You can’t take your eyes from the screen. I’m rating it AMRU 3.5, but I feel there is just no way I won’t see it a second time.

From the Earth to the Moon (1958)

With the Civil War over, war profiteer Victor Barbicane (Joseph Cotten) sees profits drop. He gathers together his war monger friends for a proposition. He has invented Power X, a powerful explosive unlike anything ever seen. Problem is, it’s too powerful to demonstrate it on Earth. His plan is to fire a rocket to the moon and detonate it there. To convince investors, he performs a demonstration on Earth. President Grant catches wind and makes him promise not to blow up the moon. So instead he decides to travel from the Earth to the Moon. Skeptic Nicholl (George Sanders) comes along for the ride.

This was a big budget production under RKO, who went bankrupt during production. The budget was slashed and the film was released by Warner Brothers, which may account for some of the plot holes. But it is riddled with them, and there is no excuse. Grant was not yet president at the year the movie is set.

Pretty Debra Pagent is Sanders’ daughter, smitten with Cotten’s assistant. She did a lot of genre pictures until one tragic day she turned thirty. She is apparently still with us, just celebrating her ninety third birthday. Henry Daniell appears in a small role as one of the war mongers. Script wiz Dalton Trumbo was hired to give the script a tune up.

From the Earth to the Moon is of that strange sub-genre of High Tech Victorian sci-fi. See The Time Machine (1960) for a better example. But this isn’t the problem. The story is quite messy in parts and, try as they might, lacks drama. Wasn’t painful to watch, but should have been better. AMRU 2.5.

Murder Ahoy (1964)

Jane Marple (Margaret Rutherford) is elected to a board of trustees that funds a nautical themed program for wayward boys. Another trustee says he learned damning information about the program, but dies before he can explain. Heart attack, say the police. Bad snuff, says Marple. She invites herself aboard the program ship to do some snooping.

Not that it matters, but I intended to watch the four Marple films in release order. Both this and Murder Most Foul were released in 1964, but this was the last. A fifth was planned but never materialized.

Marple must find the secret, find the murder, and discover what else is going on. Quite a bit is going on. But rest assured, we get there in the end. The viewer can't investigate along because of hidden information and many red herrings. But I did guess the culprit, but that had more to do with spotting the pattern than spotting the clues.

Murder Ahoy isn’t a great mystery, nor a great comedy, and Rutherford isn’t very believable as a detective. Agatha Christie wasn't a fan of the casting. But the movie is entertaining enough, for 90 minutes anyhow. AMRU 3.

The Story of Mankind (1957)

Mankind has invented the “Super H-Bomb”, and if they detonate it, the Earth and all men will be destroyed. Women too. A tribunal is held in Heaven to decide if mankind should be allowed to destroy itself. Advocate for the defense is The Spirit of Man (Ronald Coleman). Mr. Scratch (Vincent Price) advocates for destruction.

The “Master of Disaster” Irwin Allen assembled a large cast of stars by promising one day of work for $25,000. Several big names appear in cameos: Virginia Mayo as Cleopatra, Hedy Lamarr as Joan of Arc, Peter Lorre as Emperor Nero. The three main Marx Brothers appear and this is sometimes included as an official Marx Brothers film, but their screen time is brief and they don’t appear together. Scenes of action and of large set pieces were borrowed from better films.

The storybook version of world history is illustrated with Mr. Scratch pointing out the war, cruelty, and injustice, while The Spirit of Man points out the occasional scientific discovery or work of art. I’m glad they acknowledged the treatment of native americans, but much is still hand-waved away. The prosecution’s case is pretty air-tight.

The Story of Mankind is a cringy vanity project. It doesn’t earn its all star cast or grand scale. It’s a dull, tedious watch whose only real entertainment is to play spot the fading start. But that too gets tedious. AMRU 2.

Contempt (1963)

A screenwriter (Michel Piccoli) is hired by an arrogant American producer (Jack Palance) to punch up a script during filming, and his marriage to his disproportionately attractive wife (Brigitte Bardot) begins to deteriorate.

Director Fritz Lang plays director Fritz Lang. Real-life Lang’s directing career was already over, due mostly to failing eyesight. Here he is directing, interestingly enough, The Odyssey.

The film was a success for director Jean-Luc Godard, but for Bardot, one of the biggest stars at the time, it was a bit of a disappointment. Half of the million dollar budget went into her fee.

Husband and wife wander around their apartment while arguing. The scene goes on for thirty-four minutes and nothing sees to be communicated. This is the key to the film. A relationship goes from very solid to on the rocks, and the root cause is never uttered. It is left to the audience to decide. I have my theory, and it's not what's in the IMDb blurb.

Contempt is a very talky movie. Little action of consequence and the viewer is left to decide what it all meant. A second viewing may be in order, but I don’t feel compelled to do so. AMRU 3. It is, however, my favorite Jean-Luc Godard film so far.