Wings (1927)

Two men, one from a rich family, vie for the affection of a woman (not Clara Bow). When duty calls, they both sign up as pilots for the Great War.

Clara received top billing despite not being the lead. Having made a huge splash earlier in the year with It, the twenty two year old’s star power was at an all-time high. The studio capitalized on her fame, giving her a “topless” scene. She would go on to appear in nothing else of interest. She didn’t transition to talkies very well or to thirty at all. Clara married a cowboy star and retired to a comfortable life of mental illness. She would die at the ripe old age of sixty. And so it goes.

Gary Cooper appears in a very short scene, one of his earliest credited roles. It was enough to kick start his career into lead roles. The real leads are Buddy Rogers and Richard Arlen as Jack and David, whose relationship begins as rivals but evolves throughout the film. Arlen would actually marry the object of his affection in real life.

Some state of the art visual effects trickery was employed to show the leads flying the airplanes. What the filmmakers did was to strap a camera to the front of an old airplane and tell the actors to fly it. This technique worked surprisingly well.

Wings is a lavish, expansive, and expensive film. The 2016 restoration, which reunited it with the original score, is breathtaking. A two and a half hour silent film is a tough sell and I would be lying if I said it didn’t occasionally drag, but it is amazingly engaging. Hand painted frames highlighted the flames of crashing planes and the flash of the gunfire. It is quite the spectacle. AMRU 4.

Prescription: Murder (1968)

A well-to-do doctor (Gene Barry), with the help of his young girlfriend, kills his wife. Then they follow an overly complicated plan to make it look like a failed burglary. Thirty minutes later the disarming Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) is on the case.

Something of an anti-mystery, we see all details of the murder then watch Columbo puzzle it out. Based on a play, it was intended as a stand-alone TV movie. It was a huge hit but Falk wasn’t interested in television. It would be three years before another was made, followed by seven seasons of the regular TV series, then twenty four more TV movies.

For those too young to remember Columbo or Falk, he was the grandfather in The Princess Bride. For those unfamiliar with the Princess Bride, you are living your life wrong. Gene Barry played the lead in the good version of War of the Worlds.

There isn’t much to say about the story. Columbo is annoyingly persistent and Barry’s Dr. Flemming is confident he can outwit him. Guess how it turns out. Prescription: Murder is a fairly amusing if unspectacular watch. I watched a fair amount of Columbo as a kid so it was pretty nostalgic for me. I watched the next TV feature, but I don’t think I want to cover TV movies here. Suffice to say it hit all the same beats. As for this one, AMRU 3.

Sudden Fear (1952)

A stage actor (Jack Palance) is fired by the playwright (Joan Crawford) because she doesn’t think he is romantic enough, so he proves her wrong by winning her heart. And everyone lives happily ever after.

Pitch perfect casting of Palance as the homme fatale. Charismatic enough but definitely not the romantic lead type, he fits the character perfectly. Plus he nailed the performance as the menacing charmer. This is the role that launched his career. Gloria Grahame is his accomplice.

No longer the traditional Hollywood leading lady, Crawford fully embraces this mature lead part of her career. As executive producer, she was involved in all aspects of production, not dissimilar to her character. She wanted Clark Gable in the Palance role but was thankfully overruled.

Crawford’s Myra doesn’t seek help when she begins to fear for her life. This is a key point in order for the story to happen, and it’s handled reasonably well. The director also did a pretty fair job planting ideas into the audience’s head to build later tension. We are never sure how this will all play out until the very end.

A little overly dramatic in parts, but Sudden Fear has solid performances. It’s an interesting take on the genre and totally sticks the landing. AMRU 3.5.

The Bad Seed (1956)

With her husband on deployment, a mother begins to suspect that her perfect eight year old daughter is a cold blooded murderer.

Based on a play based on a book, the movie brought in the stage cast, who brought their stage annunciation. Set almost entirely in the Penmark residence, it feels every bit like a stage adaptation. Bad Seed herself Patty McCormack, two or three years older than when she originated the role, was given oversized dresses and props to make her look younger. And the illusion worked.

The question openly asked here is of Nature vs. Nurture. Is evil inborn or a product of a person’s environment? I believe social science has put that debate to rest, but at the time of the film it was still an open question.

Many character actors populate the periphery. Jesse White has a sizable role. Folks might remember him as the egg and onion sandwich guy from Harvey, but he will forever be the Maytag repairman to me. Frank Cady has appeared in too much to list. He was Sam Drucker in three different series. Frances Bavier (Andy Taylor’s Aunt Bee) is in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene. Also Shelley Fabares is one of Evil Rhoda’s classmates.

The Bad Seed is surprisingly creepy, mostly due to McCormack’s performance. It was quite impressive. I’m surprised she didn’t go on to a bigger career in film. The theme has become a cultural touchstone and is referenced widely across pop culture. The biggest barrier to a rewatch is the stage acting and vocal projection. It was quite exhausting. But in the end it earns it. AMRU 4.