South Pacific (1958)

On an island in the South Pacific during World War II, pretty nurse Nellie (Mitzi Gaynor) falls in love with a rich French expatriate. He would be instrumental in a dangerous mission that could turn the tide of the war. I hope he agrees to help.

But this is a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical so there is a whole lot more going on, not limited to tedious musical numbers. There’s sexy lieu-tellen (John Kerr, no relation) who’s not on a mission, who says he is? And my favorite maritimer Billis (Ray Walston) who wants to visit the island Bali Ha’i for, you know, women. Jersey girl Juanita Hall reprised her role from the stage as Islander Bloody Mary. Figuring she was too old to sing, they dubbed her singing voice. In fact many of the actors had their singing voices dubbed, sounding comically different than their speaking voice.

The theme here is prejudice, highlighted by the song “You've Got To Be Carefully Taught”. The film features references to two interracial relationships, quite progressive for the fifties. Unfortunately, the depiction of south pacific natives was very 1950’s. You win some, you lose some.

Silly and dated, South Pacific is a somewhat amusing romp that holds your interest, particularly if you are a fan of musicals. It was as huge a success on the screen as it was on the stage. I found it a bit tedious at times, but it was nice to learn the origin of the songs my mom used to sing when she was being silly. AMRU 3.5.

Bedazzled (1967)

Stanley (Dudley Moore), a pathetic short order cook, is in love with a waitress (Eleanor Bron), but is too shy to ask her out. When he fails to commit suicide, he is approached by the devil (Peter Cook) and is offered a deal for his soul.

Stanley Donen, director of much more polished films, turned down Hello, Dolly! to work on this one. Written by the comedy team of Pete and Dud, it is mostly an extension of their BBC show. A riff on the Faust legend, Stanley is granted seven wishes he uses to win the affection of the pretty-ish Margaret. Unfortunately, the devil cannot be trusted.

The film has a low budget feel. Moore and Cook were not accomplished actors at that point and the audio wasn’t quite right. However the inventiveness of the comedy wins the day. There are some legitimate laugh out loud moments. Also, seven minutes of Raquel Welch, hot off her success in Fantastic Voyage and One Million Years BC, doesn’t hurt. Rest in peace, Raquel. I thought you'd live forever.

Bedazzled is mostly a collection of vignettes, Stanley’s seven wishes, connected by a larger narrative. While some moments are tedious and outright cringy, much is original and genuinely funny. Cook makes for a charming devil and Moore is likable as the hapless romantic. AMRU 3.5.

Anastasia (1956)

A former Russian general (Yul Brynner) leads a team searching for the Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia, or at least someone they can pass off as her. The royal family was executed ten years earlier and if a survivor could be found, ten million pounds would be in play. And maybe something more.

The film is based on the story of Anna Anderson, one of many pseudonyms of a troubled woman who claimed to be the Grand Duchess in the early 1920’s. While some details from her story are depicted here, the movie is mostly fictitious. Interestingly, during production the filmmakers learned that Anna Anderson was still alive and rushed to get her consent. In the end, no one remotely close to the Romanovs even considered Anna's claim (see quote), the body of the real Anastasia was positively identified, and DNA analysis finally proved Anna was not related. But back to the film.

This was Ingrid Bergman’s big return to Hollywood, so to speak. I touched on this when I covered Indiscreet and will once again recommend the video. Furthermore, she never set foot in the US as the entire production was produced in Europe. She was forty one playing the 27 year old Anna, and while that wasn’t a problem, it was noticeable. Yul Brynner played the Yul Brynner part. He would also star in The King and I and The Ten Commandments the same year and his career was off with a bang.

Here's an amusing side story: Actress Helen Haye played Ansatasia's grandmother in a BBC television adaptation and the producer instructed casting to hire her. They assumed a typo and instead hired the better known and less age appropriate Helen Hayes.

Hints are dropped throughout that Begman’s Anna truly is the Grand Duchess, but also of the problems with her claim. Or his claim, as she is a mostly unwilling (or at least resisting) participant in the General’s plan. And the ending provides some ambiguity on this matter. But for the most part, Anastasia provides the pomp and pageantry one would expect from a 1950’s 'A' picture from a major studio. Lavish sets, costumes, and an excellent supporting cast (including Mrs. Howell eight years before casting off). It holds your interest but I don’t expect it to stick in my memory. AMRU 3.

"I claim categorically that she is not Anastasia Nicolaievna, but just an adventuress, a sick hysteric and a frightful playactress. I simply cannot understand how anyone can be in doubt of this. If you had seen her, I am convinced that you would recoil in horror at the thought that this frightful creature could be a daughter of our Tsar."

Valley of the Dolls (1967)

Anne (Barbara Parkins) moves from a small town to New York City to chase her dream of doing office work. There she falls for a lady’s man, and makes friends with singer Neely (Patty Duke) and pretty no-talent Jennifer (Sharon Tate). Their lives go in unexpected directions and their paths occasionally cross. The one thing that ties them together is their love of dolls. Pills, that is. Dolls are pills. Dolophine, specifically.

Perkins’ pretty Anne is the moral center of the film. Not swayed by fame, she steers (mostly) clear of the pitfalls that trap her friends. Twenty year old Patty Duke took the controversial role of the pill-popping prima donna hoping it would help the public see her as an adult. She did mostly TV in the years following so it's unclear how well that worked.

I’ve known something of Sharon Tate’s story since forever but I wouldn’t have been able to pick her out of a lineup. She was quite striking. She appeared in fifteen episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies, so I must have seen her at some point. Judy Garland was initially cast as an older, ruthless star but the substance abuse story element played itself out in real life. Judy would beat Sharon to the grave by 49 days. And so it goes.

The story of who was cast, what happened, and how much of a jerk director Mark Robson was may be a more salacious story than the Jacqueline Susann story itself. Many big names were offered roles only to turn them down, horrified by the script. You could go down a serious rabbit hole with behind the scenes stuff. On screen, however, the film is mildly interesting, soap-opera adjacent, and very 1960’s. AMRU 3.

"Boobies, boobies, boobies. Nothin' but boobies!"

And Then There Were None (1945)

Eight people are invited for the weekend to an island mansion. Including two servants, the ten guests discover the mystery host has ulterior motives, and the ten proverbial Indians are killed off one at a time.

Based on Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians, not the novel but her play adaptation. Interestingly, when she first tried to publish the book in the US, publishers insisted she change the title. Apparently the original title was too racist, even for 1940’s America. Go figure.

Essentially an Old Dark House mystery, the viewer is sent off in many directions, and everyone has their suspicions. Many great character actors are here but I want to point out Roland Young. He didn’t make an amazing number of films, but is always memorable when we cross paths. Also Judith Anderson who appeared in even fewer films, but some really good ones. I most remember her as the creepy Mrs. Danvers in Hitch’s Rebecca. Her big scene was the best thing about that movie, by far. And I must mention Angelica’s grandpa.

As mentioned, two of the ten guests were hired as servants. That was just a ruse to get them into the house, but they continued to function as servants, even after the killings began. I suppose British class structure is more rigid than I thought.

And Then There Were None is a better than fair mystery. Sure, details are kept from the audience to make it work but nothing felt deceitful. It was fun and amusing, and my mom would have loved it. AMRU 4. A slightly better copy would have been nice.

Nightmare Alley (1947)

Stan Carlisle (Tyrone Power) is a sideshow mentalist who yearns for the big time. When he learns that a fellow carnie and her husband have a system that got them to the big time before he fell into a bottle, Stan must learn more.

Power was a swashbuckling matinee idol, but thirsted for darker roles. When he learned of the script, he begged for the role. It was his favorite role and a box office flop. Audiences weren’t interested in seeing their knight in shining armor scam people and play with their emotions.

A hundred years ago I saw Power in Witness for the Prosecution and enjoyed his performance. I have no interest in seeing his pirate and costume romance flicks, but there are a few good films on his CV, this being one. It was nice to see Joan Blondell in a middle role. She came up with Jean Harlow and Barbara Stanwyck, and that crowd back in the pre-code cheesecake era and did cameo-adjacent roles in films like Grease and The Cincinnati Kid in her late career. But here, she is still attractive, likable, and intrinsic to the plot.

Here also is pretty Coleen Gray in only her third film role. Her acting was noticeably weak compared to her costars, but it’s easy to forgive because she was absolutely adorable. And she was still adorable fifteen years later in the forgettable Phantom Planet.

Based on a book, the film drops hints of darker elements. When told she has a big heart, Blondell’s Zeena replies “Sure, as big as an artichoke, a leaf for everyone.” A later scene doesn’t make sense unless you infer carnal activities. The background characters have depth and leave the audience wanting more.

Nightmare Alley is a fun and interesting watch. It’s reputation improved from it’s initial failure. It saw TV syndication after Power’s untimely death. There, audiences embraced it, no longer considering it “distasteful” as Darryl Zanuck called it. It has atmosphere, texture, and a persistent sense of danger. AMRU 4.5.

“I'm about as reliable as a two dollar cornet.”

I Was a Male War Bride (1949)

Cary Grant is French Captain Henri Rochard with a Cary Grant accent. He goes on one last mission and for the purposes of the story needs an American WAC to come along. That woman is Lieutenant Catherine Gates (Ann Sheridan), with whom they’ve had a troubled personal history. Details there are scarce. After implausibly falling in love, they face difficulties getting him into the US.

The film begins with Grant being chauffeured across a bombed out German city with up-beat and patriotic music playing in the background. The language barrier is played for laughs. This scene may not have bothered me had I not recently watched films like Two Women and Bicycle Thieves. Here, the consequence of war is that America is strong, rich, and happy. I can no longer ignore the other consequences.

Part one has our heroes looking for a German black marketeer named Schindler to convince him to move to Paris for some reason. In actuality, it is about our two heroes bumbling around, getting into predicaments, and expressing hate and distrust for each other. Through the power of a haystack, they fall in love.

Director Howard Hawks cast the supporting characters as he saw fit so the 52 year old chose his nineteen year old girlfriend. I’m not sure how much better an inappropriate relationship is than a casting couch, but here we are. The production was beset with illness, with Sheridan coming down with pleurisy and Grant contracting hepatitis, appearing visibly thinner in the second half.

The title refers to the plot point that while there is a process for a male soldier to bring a war bride back to America, there is not for a female soldier bringing home a foreign husband. I’m curious how true this is. They designate him a war ‘bride’ and hilarity is expected to ensue. To be fair, there was one joke that made me laugh out loud. It involves a sign post written in German, but much of the rest wasn’t very inspired. They bicker, there are misunderstandings, things go wrong for him, stuff like that. It’s “funny because it happens to somebody else” type comedy but it doesn’t work because Cary Grant is our hero. Well, my hero.

Grant called I was a Male War Bride one of the best comedies he had done. While it’s not his worst, it is far from his best. He and Ann Sheridan had little chemistry and their predicaments were mostly unfunny. I feel I am being generous by giving it an AMRU 3.

The Gorilla (1939)

A rich man (Lionel Atwill) in a spooky mansion receives a note saying he will be killed by The Gorilla. He hires the worst detectives in the world to protect him, but is there more going on here?

The Ritz (or Joachim) Brothers were something of a poor man’s Marx Brothers. While prolific in their day, they never saw the same success. They appeared in fourteen films over eight years. If that sounds impressive, consider that their first twelve were released within four years. They used to just stamp these things out back then.

Unlike the Marx Brothers, however, some of their films were not purely Ritz Brother’s vehicles. Instead, the boys acted as comic relief in someone else’s film. And if The Gorilla is any indication, they were also unfunny. What was their comedy like? Think Huntz Hall from The Bowery Boys, with a touch of Shemp Howard, times three. Their jokes were mainly being dumb and doing the exaggerated delayed reaction gag. You know the one.

Luckily the film does not rely on the Brothers. Patsy Kelly, playing a domestic, was quite amusing. Atwill brought significant gravity to his role. Bela Lugosi was kinda wasted as the creepy butler. Peter Lorre, originally intended for the role, might have been a better fit. There was a lot going on with his character that was never explored.

At its core The Gorilla is a spooky mansion mystery/comedy with an ape fetish. The comedy is what it is, and the mystery element does not hold up at all. The filmmakers wanted to pull a twist on an already twisted ending, but none of it made any sense. I don’t think it matters as the audiences were likely checked out of that part of the story.

I shouldn't judge the boys too harshly. This is their lowest rated film. But I think I watched this film out of fear that someone would find out I liked the Marx Brothers, ask if I ever saw a Ritz Brothers film, and I would have to say no. Now I can say yes. Watchable with an occasional giggle. AMRU 2.5.

Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)

Obsessed with putting the pinch on a big time hood, Detective Mark Dixon (Dana Andrews) sometimes steps over the line. When investigating the murder of a whale, he accidentally bumps off the suspect. He covers up his mistake and becomes infatuated with a witness (Gene Tierney).

Based on the novel Cry Night and not the Shel Silverstein poem, we are treated to a dangerously unstable protagonist. Demoted for shaking down suspects, he seethes with anger and daddy issues. Tierney’s Morgan is the sweet girl with a taste for bad men. Both starred in 1944’s Laura and their characters share some similarities.

Gary Merrill is our decongestant-addicted mister big. He played a very different character this same year in All About Eve. There he got his comeuppance when he decided to marry Bette Davis. In real life, that is. What was he thinking? Smooth, smart, and ruthless, he makes for an excellent villain. Karl Malden is the straight-laced detective, but let’s talk about screenwriter Ben Hecht.

Hecht has writing credits on 135 films (according to IMDb) ranging from Hitchcock to horror, Marx Brothers to Gone With the Wind. He had his hands on so many films, so many great films (and some stinkers too) that he deserves his own keyword. I’ll need to find a bio of him someplace. His characters are rich and the dialog rings true. He has two academy awards and four other nominations.

With attitude and atmosphere, Where the Sidewalk Ends is an excellent film. Again, well written background characters leave an impact. The diner owner almost deserves a film of her own. Not often recognized in the top of the genre, it deserves to be in the conversation. It is better than some that are. AMRU 4.

“Look at ya! You're all bunged up like a barrelhouse vag!”

Niagara (1953)

A young couple on honeymoon at Niagara Falls meets up with another couple with problems. George (Joseph Cotten) is a troubled veteran married to Rose, a much younger Marilyn Monroe type (Marilyn Monroe). They have a couple blow-outs that bring Polly and Ray into their situation. It soon becomes clear that secrets are being kept.

Tagged Film-Noir, it is slightly outside the genre (vibrant color, American director). But it checks enough boxes so I’ll allow it. Marilyn’s character is perhaps the most complex of her career with lines way longer than “It’s me, Sugar!”, and she does well with them. Not academy award nominee level, but a step above her regular. Forty eight year old Cotten looked ridiculous next to peak Marilyn hotness but that was the point. I expected to read how he buffed-down for this part.

Speaking if Marilyn, this was her first color film and her first starring role. She would go on to make Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire the same year banking a fortune for Twentieth Century Fox, but because she was contracted as a stock actress, she would earn less then her makeup man.

Our lead is pretty Polly (Jean Peters). Not the flashy beauty of Marilyn, but perhaps prettier. Also a solid actress, she likely would have had a long career had she not married Howard Hughes. She had a late TV revival after the divorce. This film would have been shorter had the people listened to her instead assume she was just a hysterical woman. Men, am I right?

There is a lot going on here and any more detail would be in spoiler territory. Niagara is an excellent thriller that keeps you guessing. It is visually stunning with a very 50’s look and feel but the film-noir elements are still intact. Suffice to say that this is a thrilling, complex film with great performances. It, the falls, and Marilyn in the shower all look great. It's a real treat. AMRU 4.

Shock (1946)

A young wife, waiting for her recently released POW husband, checks into a hotel to advance the plot. Believing him dead for years, she becomes distraught when his arrival is delayed. Out on the balcony she witnesses an argument in another apartment that ends in murder. This shock puts her into a catatonic state. As luck would have it, a specialist (Vincent Price) happens to be staying at the same hotel and has just finished murdering his wife. This is a very delicate case. Better bring her to the sanitarium.

No mystery here as it never occurred to the filmmakers to play the ambiguity angle. Did she really witness a murder or was it all a delusion? Nope, she totally did. It’s just a matter of how everything plays out, which seems pretty obvious from the onset.

Our damsel in distress, cute Anabel Shaw, went on to do, well, fairly little else. She had a forgettable role in Gun Crazy but here she pouts her way into our hearts. Price is great as always in a very early villain role. If not for him, and the film’s short running time, I would not have considered watching it. Still, probably shouldn’t have.

The Amazon Prime film quality is quite poor. Rumor has it that there is a crisp version out there someplace, but I don’t think it would have helped. This is a slow moving, low budget, non-thrilling thriller that wastes a good Price performance. AMRU 2.

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

A farmer is secretly cheating on his wife with a woman from the city, except everyone knows. The woman convinces the man to drown his wife, sell the farm, and move to the city with her. And everyone lives happily ever after.

F.W. Murnau is better known for Nosferatu and Faust, and was brought to America to recreate his magic touch. He was given complete creative control and a giant budget, and the result was arguably his best work, winning three Academy Awards. But it lost money, so budget and control disappeared for his next film. Welcome to Hollywood. He would die in a car accident before he could make his mark on sound cinema.

Twenty one year old Janet Gaynor played ‘The Wife’, looking more than a little bit like Tweety bird’s Granny, and won an Oscar for her performance. Remember her from ‘A Star is Born’. Her Oscar from here made a cameo there. Margaret Livingston played the woman so wicked as to tempt a married man. The Vamp! George O’Brien played ‘The Man’ victimized by her womanly wiles. He went on to appear in many westerns, apparently.

The visual storytelling in Sunrise is amazing. There are great overlay scenes done in-camera that are remarkable. Few title cards were needed to tell the story. Margaret’s ‘The Woman’ takes much of the moral blame for ‘The Man’s transgressions, and that storyline does not age well, but let’s consider the period. This was the Jazz age and women had the right to vote for only seven years at this point. And it’s a great film. We can let this slide.

I didn’t want to pay Amazon another four dollars so I found it on YouTube. The quality was excellent. I suggest you do the same. AMRU 4.

The Omen (1976)

Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck) is a rich diplomat whose wife lost a child at birth. Not wanting to disappoint her he is pressured into getting a replacement baby by some rando priest, and doesn’t tell her. Born at exactly the same time, too: June 6 at 6 AM. Wonder what that means. Things are fine until the boy turns five and bad stuff starts to happen.

Much like the other two great Demon horror films of the era, The Omen is a well acted, well written, slow burn that avoids the cheesy pitfalls common with the genre. A big difference with The Exorcist is the lack of horror effects. Little gore and no devil iconography. One could question if this was happening all in his mind. I have yet to see Rosemary’s Baby.

Gregory Peck’s son had killed himself prior to casting and the role of the grieving, conflicted parent appealed to him. Plus being married to Lee Remick is pretty sweet.

Smart, well acted horror films are a rarity with even some of the more popular ones being cliche laden exploitation films. The Omen is a great movie that also happens to be a horror film. It didn’t change cinema quite like how The Exorcist did, a slightly better film, but perhaps it would have had the former not existed. AMRU 4. I have to say I had a similar reaction to going to church as a boy.

“Look at me, Damien! It's all for you!”

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938)

A radio station is looking for a Little Miss America, a girl to sing while pitching bran flakes, and little Rebecca (Shirley Temple) is exactly who they are looking for. But step-dad Uncle Charlie thinks they are passing on her so he deposits her with her dead mom’s sister who will have nothing to do with this show business talk. There she learns to love country life and becomes friends with the neighbor (Randolph Scott!) who is searching for that little girl his incompetent assistant allowed to leave the studio before signing a bran flakes contract.

Our incompetent assistant is played by Jack Haley, whom some may remember as the Tin Man. Haley himself said that if it wasn’t for that role, nobody would remember him at all, and I tend to agree. Gloria Stuart played the ingenue/love interest. She was also Old Rose in Titanic. She lived to be a hundred. Also here is dancer Bill Robinson. Bojangles was a great and innovative tap dancer prior to making films. He was paired with Temple for three movies and eeked out a modicum of Hollywood fame.

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is a remake of the Mary Pickford film of the same name. I understand many of Temple’s films were Pickford remakes. Pickford, who frequently played roles much younger than she, was 25 years old when making the original version compared to ten for Temple. Temple was up for the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, but didn’t get it. She remembered that as a lost opportunity to step out of Pickford’s shadow and do her own films. I wonder if Pickford auditioned.

Early in the film there was a sassy receptionist that I thought was going to be a major character. She wasn’t but I found out why all her scenes were sitting down. At 4’11 she was actually shorter than Shirley. I thought step-dad was going to be a gruff but amiable character but they went in the opposite direction with him. I forget that Demarest didn’t play likable much prior to My Three Sons.

I was looking for another film to see and I wasn’t motivated by anything on the DVR or streaming. I popped on TCM just before the beginning of Rebecca and decided to give it a chance. I Hadn’t seen a Shirley Temple film front to back, maybe ever, so I gave it a try. No part of it was terrible so I ended up seeing the whole film.

Maybe sacrilegious to say but little Shirley was charming, kinda cute, but only talented because she was young. Nobody marveled at her skill and as she matured she outgrew her specialness. Hollywood didn’t turn its back on her any more than she had nothing left to offer. In the end Rebecca was upbeat, well composed, and somewhat charming, but I won’t go out of my way to see another. Well made cotton candy is still cotton candy. AMRU 3.

“I never get nervous. I'm very self-reliant.”

Monkey Business (1952)

Absent minded professor Barnaby (Cary Grant) is working on an elixir of youth. He thinks he solves the problem but in reality a chimp (or “monkey”) had escaped its cage, mixed up the concoction, and put it into the water cooler. Hilarity ensues.

I have to give him credit. The 48 year old Grant was more believable as the college aged wildling than as the stodgy old scientist. But screen wife Edwina (Ginger Rogers) was downright convincing (and charming) in both roles. Hugh Marlowe of All About Eve and Day the Earth Stood Still fame gets another paycheck. Marilyn Monroe played the Marilyn Monroe character.

Don’t confuse this with 1931 Marx Brothers vehicle. I liked this one slightly better probably because it's a more conventional screwball comedy but fans of the Bros will disagree. It was pointlessly zany and holds your interest, but don’t look for any classic bits. It is what it is and that’s fine. AMRU 3.5.

Rings on her Fingers (1942)

A pretty shop girl (Gene Tierney) is enticed into working for a pair of con artists. She uses her womanly wiles to lure rich prey into their traps. One such is millionaire John Wheeler (Henry Fonda) who is convinced to buy a boat that they don’t own. Turns out he’s really a working stiff and has lost his life savings. He only led on that he was rich because she was, gosh, just so pretty. Her con friends want her to move to a new mark but she’s actually in love.

It was strange to see Tierney in the Barbara Stanwyck-esque role in what amounts to a slight retelling of the somewhat better Lady Eve, but she did a fine job. It was a departure for her and she was absolutely charming, as always. Fonda was basically the same character as in Eve.

Rings on her Fingers is a nice screwball comedy material, but nothing terribly original or surprising. Fonda and Tierney had good chemistry and I suppose that’s all that matters. The story clunked from time to time, but I think my mom would have liked it. AMRU 3.5.

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

After discovering her Thanksgivings Day Parade Santa is drunk, pretty Doris (Maureen O’Hara) hires a spectator who looks the part. He does such a good job that he is hired by Macy’s to be their regular store Santa. But rather than talk children into Macy’s overstock product, he refers them to competitors to get the exact toy they want. Initially this goes over poorly with management until it becomes a public relations boon. Things get complicated when they realize that Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) actually believes himself to be Santa. Like, for real!

So, the objects in play are the stern realist Doris with a precocious daughter (Natalie Wood). They have little time for such fantasies like Santa. Also, the neighbor Fred who wants to know Doris a little better, nudge nudge. He also happens to be a lawyer, which will come in handy later. Macy’s has a psychiatrist who thinks Kris Kringle ought to be locked up. Finally there is R.H. Macy himself who wants to keep the goodwill train rolling, and heads will roll if it doesn’t. They couldn’t get the real R.H. Macy to play the part because he’d been dead seventy years before filming began. It’s been another seventy years since so you can see how long the “Christmas is so commercialized nowadays” mantra has been going.

Gene Lockhart, whom I saw most recently as Bob Cratchit, is the judge caught in the position of determining Santa's sanity. Here also is Thelma Ritter’s first role. Also is possibly Jack Albertson’s first screen role. He was Charlie’s granddad but I remember him most from television.

Macy's and Gimbel's department stores play a significant part in the film. They agreed to have their names used only if they liked the finished product. This means if either one vetoed, significant parts would have to be reshot. As such, many of the references to the stores were cut-aways. Fortunately, both parties liked the movie and it was released in time for ... summer solstice? What the hell, people ...

Miracle on 34th Street is a charming film that holds up very well. That is, if you overlook the ‘frigid woman must learn to love so she can catch a man’ angle. Also, the part about the little girl being left in the care of a 30-something stranger living next door. Yea, that wouldn’t fly today. But apart from that, it still hits all the right notes. Edmund Gwenn (remember him from Them!) is the best Santa analog we can hope for, Maureen O’Hara is a wonderfully charming ice queen, and Natalie Wood basically steals the show. Few child actors were as impactful as she was here. AMRU 4.

“The DA's a Republican”

Move Over, Darling (1963)

Five years after the death of Nick’s (James Garner) wife Ellen (Doris Day), he marries Bianca (Polly Bergen). Everything is all well and good until Ellen returns from the dead to foul things up.

This was the studio’s second attempt to remake the 1940 Cary Grant/Irene Dunne film. Notoriously they tried filming with Dean Martin, Marilyn Monroe, and Cyd Charisse when Monroe’s erratic behavior caused serious delays that the studio could not tolerate. Then she died. They had about a third of the film in the can before shutting everything down. Here is attempt two with a completely new cast, new title, and a modified script.

Lots of studio contract actors to be seen here. First is Thelma Ritter, whom old friends will remember from Rear Window and All About Eve. Our disgruntled hotel manager today is Fred Clark, who I’ve seen in Sunset Blvd and surprisingly nothing else. He also did a lot of television. Also here is John Astin (you know, Sean’s dad), and Don Knotts who was a TV staple for me growing up. Speaking of TV, Schneider had a small role.

There is something about Doris Day’s body language. She is so wonderfully expressive and you can’t take your eyes off of her. Several years older and never the sex kitten Marilyn was, she was nevertheless much more relatable. I did watch the 37 minutes of Something’s Got to Give edited to a final film as much as possible. While it’s impossible to judge what a completed version would have been, it seemed like I was watching an overall crappier version of the exact same movie. While Marilyn certainly had her charm, she was miscast as a loving mother/sexpot and her acting talent could not hold a candle to Day.

Move Over, Darling is a fine romantic comedy. If I were to criticize it, I’d say it could have been funnier. Also, the entire situation could have been resolved if Nick just told Bianca about Ellen’s return. And I didn’t buy that James Garner would be too timid. Not Jim Rockford. Also, the premise that the marriage would not be consummated until the honeymoon may have been plausible back in 1963, but it was head scratching today.

Slightly better than the original but brings nothing new to the table. Pleasant and easy to watch. AMRU 3.

Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

An old southern mansion is slated to be demolished but the loony shut-in (Bette Davis) who lives there isn’t playing nice. Her trusty doctor (Joseph Cotten) and her cousin (Olivia de Havilland) offer their guidance while Charlotte goes completely off the rails.

Back story: young Charlotte’s domineering dad disapproves of her running off with a married man (Bruce Dern). When the breakup he engineered goes bad (read: the head was never found), Charlotte is presumed to be the killer. So hide in the spooky mansion she does.

Hush Hush has a few things in common with What Ever Happened to Baby Jane made two years earlier, besides the hag-like Bette Davis in a spooky house. First, they both were directed by Robert Aldrich, who is totally not Robert Altman. Not even a little. Secondly, the Cousin Miriam character was initially played by Joan Crawford. In fact her arrival scene is still included in the final print, before she is visible. Crawford and Davis’ notorious animosity made that pairing unworkable and Aldrich made a trek to the Swiss mountains to convince de Havilland to replace her.

Endora herself Agnes Moorehead was wonderful as a nutty housekeeper. Very different role than what I’ve seen her in before. Victim of 2016 George Kennedy had a small role. Mary Astor appears in her final role. Big Daddy was played by King Tut himself Victor Buono, who also appeared in Baby Jane.

Because style and setting were so similar to Baby Jane, had Crawford stayed in the film it almost would read like a sequel. And part of me would want to see that film. As it stands, it has an excellent story, excellent acting (save Cotten’s terrible accent), and an all around first class production. But I give it a half tick lower. Maybe if I had seen it first … AMRU 4

Return of the Fly (1959)

After his mother’s funeral, Philippe, son of the scientist Andre from the first film, learns what really happened to father. Spoiler alert: he accidentally turned himself into a bug then killed himself. Despite his debilitating fear of flies, he decides to complete dad’s work. Guess what happens? Vincent Price plays the disapproving uncle.

Written specifically to reuse the sets and props of the previous film, the filmmakers cut just about every corner they could. While The Fly was in color, Return Of was in black and white. The only corner they chose to keep was Price, who saw a few things in the script he liked. Unfortunately for him (and us) the filmmakers chose to cut that as well. What we end up with is essentially the same film, done worse, with slight modifications.

I don’t automatically discredit cash-grab sequels. I understand the forces at play, and sometimes poverty sparks creativity. Return of the Fly, however, brings nothing new to the table (except, maybe, Bunny-Man). Much of the first act is exposition to explain the events of the first film, as if there could be a single audience member that hadn’t see it the year prior. Same sets, same props, and for the most part same story. Even the same giant bug prosthetics. Bug-Man runs away while police shoot at him (insert your own reason here) while he holds his bug head on with his free hand! Price is all but wasted, putting in his most forgettable performance so far.

Return of the Fly isn’t hard to watch but even if you don’t try to compare it to the original, it is uninteresting. Poor script, mediocre acting, predictable story. Please skip. AMRU 2.