The Canterville Ghost (1944)

Sir Simon de Canterville (Charles Laughton), called to defend the honor of his brother, chickens out. For his cowardice he is walled up inside the castle. His spirit will never become free until one of his descendants does something brave in his name. Unfortunately, all of his descendants are also cowards. It’s World War II and an American army unit is being housed in the once-grand Canterville castle. I wonder if one of those brave Yanks is a Canterville.

Six year old Margaret O’Brien plays Lady Jessica. She seems especially brave, but apparently curses are strictly misogynistic. O’Brien was very memorable in Meet Me in St. Louis that same year. As an adult she almost completely transitioned to television. Curious how she would have fared as a Hollywood leading lady.

It's very curious how the film clearly outlines the problem to be solved and the conditions that must be met to solve it. Because of this we are not surprised that G.I. Cuffy Williams (Robert Young) has the exact same birthmark as our spirit. That was the classic Hollywood version of 23 and me. Reginald Owen (A Christmas Carol) plays Sir Simon's less than forgiving father and Rat Packer Peter Lawford is his undefended brother. Una O'Connor has a disappointingly small role.

I’m certain I’ve confused this film with A Canterbury Tale more than once. Both were released in 1944, set in rural England, and involve the US Army. Not sure the Nazis were actually operating in rural England, but both films say otherwise. That said, the films aren’t terribly similar. This is a very Hollywood production while A Canterbury Tale is, well, not.

Based on an Oscar Wilde story, it has been adapted a great many times, twenty eight by my count. This appears to be the earliest. I know little of the source material, but I do know that sir Simon was guilty of far more than just failing to defend his brother's honor.

The Canterville Ghost isn’t a bad watch, but predictable and unimaginative. AMRU 3.

Heavy Metal (1981)

Heavy Metal is an anthology of seven loosely connected stories inspired by the fantasy magazine of the same name. I was too young to see the film at release, but there was a great buzz about it with the older teens. I didn’t give it much thought in the years since until my son heard about it. Damn, there was a lot of nudity.

The stories are connected by a glowing bowling ball of death. The individual stories had very different tones and animation styles because they had different writers and animators. Different enough that the narrative link occasionally seemed a bit forced. SCTV alums Joe Flaherty, John Candy, Eugene Levy, and Harold Ramis lend their vocal talents.

The story that interested my son was “Captain Sternn”, about a Zapp Brannigan type character facing a tribunal. He employs a controversial defense. Having watched it, I found it very familiar. Heavy Metal had some TV airplay early on, so I may have seen parts of it then. Music rights made it difficult to find until very recently.

More culturally influential than high cinema, but Heavy Metal did hold my interest. The opening scene with a car in space definitely influenced Musk’s Tesla in orbit, and do I even need to mention South Park? Damn, there was a lot of nudity. AMRU 3.

The Great Escape (1963)

The Nazi's had a problem with certain prisoners of war always finding a way to escape. Their solution was to put their biggest offenders all in one camp. An escape proof camp. The prisoners plan an escape. One might even call it a 'great' escape.

The movie is based on a 1950 book detailing actual events. The characters were combined or fictionalized, so you won't learn about the real people. That's what books are for, I presume. Americans were added for box office reasons.

Officers saw it as their duty to attempt to escape from prison camps, if for no other reason than to divert Nazi resources away from the war. A third front, as it were.

The assembled cast is quite impressive. James Garner, Steve McQueen, and Richard Attenborough head a cast that also includes James Coburn (in a terrible Australian accent), Charles Bronson, and Donald Pleasence, among others. The film divides time between them quite well.

When reviewing Stalag 17 I noted the parallels to the TV show Hogan's Heroes. This film, however, appears to be it's true inspiration. Garner is totally Hogan.

Despite its almost three hour runtime, The Great Escape does not drag. The many details of the escape plan and side stories are fascinating. AMRU 4.

A Canterbury Tale (1944)

A US Army sergeant (John Sweet) on his way to the English city of Canterbury accidentally gets off the train one stop too early, where he meets a British sergeant (Dennis Price) and pretty Alison (Sheila Sim). When some man puts glue into Alison’s hair, the three are determined to track him down.

The title is a reference to The Canterbury Tales, a fourteenth century collection of stories by Geoffrey Chaucer. Director Michael Powell grew up just outside the city and this film is his love letter to it. There is an ancient road that pilgrims used centuries ago to travel to Canterbury, where they would receive blessings. This is important, because our heroes are modern day pilgrims, apparently, even though they aren’t actually going to Canterbury for much of the film.

All three leads were unknowns, none more unknown than Sweet, an actual sergeant in the US Army with no acting experience. Other than a short released the same year, this was his only screen credit. His lack of acting skill was quite evident. Alison, as was actress Sim, is in the Woman’s Land Army, a program to place women on farms to replace men who left for the war. She and Sergeant Johnson cross paths with characters that feel like they will become part of the story, but don’t.

A Canterbury Tale begins as a detective story, then becomes something different. I have high expectations for a Powell/Pressburger production, especially one as revered as this. It does feature some excellent visuals (black and white in academy aspect, as it is), but initial audiences didn’t quite know what to make of the film. I seem to be in their camp. Perhaps a second viewing. AMRU 3.

She-Wolf of London (1946)

Grisly murders in a nearby park has a young heiress (June Lockhart) believing she inherited the family curse.

June Lockhart passed away last fall at 100 and TCM ran a few of her films recently. Many might remember her as the mom on Lassie, or perhaps as the mom on Lost in Space, but she has a ton of screen credits to choose from. Her first screen credit was as a Cratchit child in A Christmas Carol (1938).  The Cratchit parents were played by her real life ones.

The murders spark sensationalist stories in the newspapers. Inspector Pierce (Dennis Hoey) investigates. Hoey also played the bumbling Inspector Lestrade in six Sherlock Holmes films. The charming fiancee Barry (Don Porter) doesn’t accept that his lovely Phyllis is responsible, and does his own investigation.

She-Wolf of London is period drama posing as gothic horror. While well made and well acted, it was entirely predictable. If you haven’t figured everything out by the end of the first act, you’re not paying attention. But it isn’t easy to develop a complex story in sixty one minutes, so I feel generous. Pour one out for Ms. June. AMRU 3.

Murder at the Gallop (1963)

Miss Marple (Margaret Rutherford) is back to investigate a murder that the police won’t. A wealthy old man is scared to death by a cat. Which one of his heirs is the murderer?

Marple’s buddy (and real life husband) is back as Mr. Stringer (Stringer Davis). It’s been a bit since I watched Murder, She Said (1961), but I feel he had a bit more to do in this film. Robert Morley is recognizable in his significant part. He seems to show up when a pompous Englishman is needed.

Based on the Agatha Christie novel After the Funeral, which is actually a Hercule Poirot story. Christie herself is mentioned by Rutherford, citing a fictitious book titled “The Ninth Life”.

While it’s amusing to watch Rutherford waddle around and poking her nose into someone else’s affair, Murder at the Gallop is not much of a mystery. There’s a lot going on and Marple just solves the murder, ex machina style. AMRU 3.

Roadblock (1951)

Straight-laced insurance investigator Joe (Charles McGraw) crosses paths with pretty part time grifter Diane (Joan Dixon). She wants the best things in life and always gets what she wants. Unfortunately Joe can’t afford much on his detective salary, so he reconsiders that whole “ethics” thing.

If there is anything interesting here, it's because it’s perhaps the first film to shoot in the Los Angeles river. Them! (1954), Chinatown (1974), and Grease (1978) and many others would follow suit.

Roadblock is a pretty lackluster Noir. The story is simple and the characters are rather dull. But the biggest issue is that the leads have little chemistry. I just don’t buy their attraction, and thus Joe’s motivation. Short and sweet, but otherwise uninteresting. AMRU 2.5.