One, Two, Three (1961)

A Coca-Cola executive (James Cagney) in West Berlin dreams of being promoted to the London office. His boss asks a personal favor: keep an eye on his wild daughter for a few weeks. This proves to be a difficult task.

There is a significant tonal shift between Wilder’s screwball comedy Some Like it Hot (1959) and his black comedy The Apartment (1960). The tonal shift to One, Two, Three, however, is off the chart. The comedy is extremely broad and the pace is absolutely frenetic. I suggest subtitles.

Leon Askin, better known as General Burkhalter from Hogan’s Heroes, plays a Russian doing business with Cagney’s MacNamara. John Banner (Sargent Schultz) did some voice work. But it's Cagney's larger than life persona that takes up the vast majority of the film. His performance is breathtaking, quite literally.

There are several references to Cagney’s prior work, arranged like poorly hidden Easter eggs. At one point he quotes a line from Edward G. Robinson, whom he is often mistaken for.

The Berlin wall was erected during filming causing big problems. Production had to relocate to Munich, and now a major plot element (crossing back and forth between east and west) was no longer possible. Most importantly, the public’s view of the divided city and the cold war turned pretty negative. No longer a prime topic for a zany comedy, it bombed.

One, Two, Three is a peculiar film with a peculiar title. Very over-the-top comedy seldom works for me, but if you listen close you will hear Billy Wilder’s unique brand of wit. AMRU 3.5.

Red Light (1949)

The reunion between trucking tycoon John (George Raft) and his army chaplain brother is cut short when father-brother is plugged as revenge against brother John. The secret to the killer’s identity is apparently inside a missing hotel bible. John puts his business on hold to locate the bible and exact revenge. Virginia Mayo is brought in to assist with the search.

The movie plays out with Raft’s John obsessively getting closer to the bible while the presumed antagonists slowly reveal their hand. Many of the conventions of film-noir are dispensed with. There is no love interest nor femme fatal. And the religious subtext feels out of place. More on that later.

All-around nice guy Gene Lockhart plays John’s faithful company guy. Gene's daughter June recently turned one hundred. Our prime suspects include Raymond Burr, playing to type, and Harry Morgan playing opposite. Lucy’s wacky neighbor Fred Mertz (William Frawley) has a small role.

Based on a short story titled “This Guy Gideon”, it was renamed Red Light because the producer liked it better. I’m not really sure how the new title fits into the narrative. Revenge is bad, so stop? The religious overtones are a bit much, so much so that TCM host Eddie Muller joked that it could be called Biblical-noir. And the Virginia Mayo character was inserted as if they wanted a love interest element, without actually having one. Also, the brotherly love angle bordered on becoming a creepy folger’s commercial.

Red Light is a bit of a disappointment. The tone was almost there but it falls short. If you watch noir and wish there were more bibles in it, maybe this is for you. For me, however, AMRU 2.5.

Killer’s Kiss (1955)

A washed up boxer becomes involved with a pretty dime-a-dance girl, who’s boss has designs on. Mobster antics ensue.

Stanley Kubrick’s second feature film is a significant step up from Fear and Desire, but still has an air of amateurism. Audio problems required all dialog and sound effects to be added in post. The Killers, released the following year, would mark his first step into greatness.

Of the three leads only Frank Silvera had a significant film and TV career, with 81 screen credits. At 55 he would accidentally electrocute himself while fixing a garbage disposal. Pretty Irene Kane has only seven credits, mostly TV, but wrote several books under the name Chris Chase.

Pretty Gloria is a taxi dancer, a thing common in older movies, but may confound younger readers. During the early to mid part of the 20th century, young men would go to a dance hall, buy tickets, and use them to dance with a young woman for one song. Typically a ticket would cost ten cents and the girls would earn a nickel per dance. Careers for young women were in short supply.

Longtime fans of TCM will recognize a couple shots used in the TCM “Open All Night” montage. There’s something unpolished about the shots that worked for their purpose. I miss TCMs old aesthetic. I may soon be missing TCM altogether.

Not much to say, really. I struggled to remember details even though I saw it less than a week ago. In actuality, stuff just happens. Killer’s Kiss is interesting because it’s Kubrick and definitely better than his previous effort, but on its own it’s just ok. AMRU 3.

Algiers (1938)

A Paris jewel thief (Charles Boyer) hides in the Casbah of Algiers, outside the reach of the authorities. There he is safe, but also a prisoner. He takes a shine to lovely tourist Gaby (Hedy Lamarr). Will love bloom?

It’s hard not to compare this film with Casablanca. There are many parallels. Exotic North Africa location, problematic love story, and elements of danger and intrigue. The later film was certainly inspired by the first. Warner Brothers even wanted Lamarr to play Ilsa but MGM refused to loan her. When Casablanca’s screenwriter tried to explain Casablanca’s plot, he finally exclaimed "Oh, what the hell! It's going to be a lot of shit like 'Algiers'!" The similarities are many but the differences are legion.

Old friend Alan Hale has a sizable role. I remember seeing him in a film when I was young and was convinced he was The Skipper. It’s too bad there never was an Alan Hale III in film and TV. Prolific character actor Gene Lockhart also lurks in the Casbah underbelly. Daughter June is pushing a hundred and still occasionally does voice work. Leonid Kinskey has a very small part. Some may remember him as Sasha in Casablanca, so there we go again.

Algiers is based on the French film Pépé le Moko from way back in the previous year. True to form, the producers tried to destroy every copy of the previous work. I tried to find a translation of the lead character’s name, but the best I could do was “Pepe the Moko”. The Looney Tunes character Pepe le Pew is based on Boyer’s performance.

While Casablanca is so much better in so many ways, let’s not lose sight of the fact that Algiers is not Casablanca. And Algiers is not a bad film. Some of the scenes are stilted and awkward, and the accents and poor audio quality made it hard to follow sometimes, but the story holds up well. It’s a fair watch, so long as you don’t keep comparing it to a vastly superior work. AMRU 3.

Dodsworth (1936)

Sam Dodsworth (Walter Huston) sells off his car company to do some traveling and reconnect with the wife. Her desire to shed her hayseed lifestyle and fear of middle age lead to her innocent flirtations becoming problematic.

The film features a very young David Niven as a wannabe suitor to the Mrs. Dodsworth. He didn’t think much of the role or experience, and director William Wyler didn’t think much of him. Ruth Chatterton plays the discontented wife. At 44, she was also facing a midlife crisis herself. She would appear in two more features in the next two years, then relegated to television.

But in many ways, this is Mary Astor’s film. Huston gets all the screen time but she’s always in the periphery. The good girl, or, the right choice. Not sexually aggressive or terribly beautiful, she is nevertheless appealing. Ironically enough she was going through a bitter custody battle during filming where her ex-husband was releasing excerpts of her stolen diary detailing affairs and sexual encounters. Mary wasn't staid and matronly in real life.

Dodsworth is an interesting and sometimes amusing drama, but I didn’t find much else there. Still, it was well written, well acted, and well paced. AMRU 3.5.

Diamonds are Forever (1971)

After murdering Blofeld (Charles Gray), Bond (Sean Connery) now investigates a diamond smuggling ring. Blah blah blah German space lasers.

Bad guys are dispatched by other bad guys with such frequency that it’s hard to figure out what is really going on. In actuality, that doesn’t matter. Bond sleepwalks into dangerous situations without a plan, gets into trouble, then is implausibly saved. Bond Girl Tiffany Case (Jill St. John) starts on the bad side but soon succumbs to Bond’s “charm”.

So too does Lana Wood’s Plenty O’Tool, both on screen and off. Wood and St. John had a long standing feud because Connery “dated” both during production. Lana, sister of Natalie Wood, and St. John have more reason for animosity. Jill is married to Robert Wagner, Natalie’s husband at the time of her death. During a 2017 interview, Lana said she believes Wagner murdered her sister.

Jimmy Dean, the sausage guy, was apparently an actor, portraying a Howard Hughes analog. Dean was an employee of Hughes at the time making that a bit awkward. But the most memorable part of this mostly unremarkable Bond film are the assassins Kidd and Wint. They neither look nor behave like you’d expect of a Bond villain. Also, it is heavily implied that they were a couple. So, it isn’t bad enough that they were remorseless murderers, they also were the G-A-Y! Hey, it was the 70’s.

Diamonds also features an apparent stunt gaff. In order to fit his Mustang through a narrow alley, Bond hits a ramp and balances his car on the right two wheels. But when he exits, the car is on the left. A quick, unconvincing scene was spliced in showing Bond turn the steering wheel to move the car to the other side.

Perhaps the most forgettable of the early Bonds, Diamonds are Forever still manages to do what Bond films do. It’s visually interesting and holds your interest, so long as you don’t think about it very much. AMRU 3.

Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

Ambitious PR man Sidney (Tony Curtis) trades personal favors with influential columnist (Burt Lancaster) in exchange for getting his client’s names into his articles. The latest favor is to get Hunsecker’s kid sister away from a dirty jazz singer. This task proves harder than first seems.

Lancaster’s Hunsecker is a Walter Winchell type. Ruthless, manipulative, egomaniacal. Also with a suspicious infatuation with little sis. And Sidney is willing to do anything, use anyone, to succeed, consequences be damned. What transpires is a battle of and between two wholly unethical men.

At one level one can understand why someone would not want their little sister seeing an unsavory musician but not so much when he is played by Martin “Apple Pie” Milner (Adam-12). Susan Harrison (Little sis) had a rather short career despite being very charming here. Just three movies and eight episodes of TV over eight years. She married outside the industry and apparently moved on with life.

Sweet Smell of Success has an engaging story, a smart script, and excellent performances all around. It’s original, compelling, surprising, sometimes amusing, and thoroughly enjoyable. I should have watched it sooner. Much sooner. AMRU 4.5.

"Everybody knows Manny Davis - except Mrs. Manny Davis."

Marty (1955)

Marty (Ernest Borgnine), a middle aged butcher, has given up on finding love, but his mom convinces him to go to a dance hall. It seems that there are tomatoes there. A man there ditches a girl he came with to go off with another, and Marty feels bad for her. They hit it off but he is pressured to brush her off.

The good-natured Marty finds someone he might be happy with but she isn’t pretty enough for his friends, or Italian enough for Ma. Marty touches on loneliness, self worth, and independence. And does so in a very simple and heartwarming manner. We watch young men looking for something to do on a Saturday night that would have resonated with young men in the mid-50’s and the mid-80’s. Today, the same people would stay home, put headgear on, and play online games throughout the night, but that’s just the grumblings of an old man.

Borgnine, of Mermaid Man fame, was mainly a heavy to this point in his career, but the unexpected success of Marty would improve the quality of his roles. Of eight Academy Award nominations, it won four Oscars including best picture and best lead actor. Maybe this is because of the movie’s refreshingly positive tone, or maybe because the for your consideration budget was higher than the actual production budget. Whatever works.

TV’s Jack Klugman had an uncredited role and I was surprised to see Frank Sutton, whom people my age will remember as Sgt. Carter. Oscar winning screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky also got a cameo. I don’t know much about him but film nerds speak his name in hushed voices. Those people, am I right?

Marty is just a pleasant watch. It provides a nice look into a particular slice of life that doesn’t really exist anymore. I don’t know if it was actually the best film of 1955, but I haven’t seen much that was nominated. But then again, Night of the Hunter wasn’t nominated.

“See, dogs like us, we ain't such dogs as we think we are.”

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

A man (Jimmy Durante) driving recklessly down a mountain road sails off the cliff. He just went sailing right out there. People from cars that he passed climb down to check out the accident. With his dying moments he tells the group of money buried in a park in Santa Rosa, California, underneath a giant W. I wonder if they can all work together to retrieve the loot? The police take a keen interest.

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World brings together some of the best comedy talent of the day in an ensemble cast that is unrivaled. Popular TV comics of the day, old Hollywood legends, up and coming talents, and character actors. This level of talent could never happen again.

And if you think I’m exaggerating, the five people who visit the crash site were played by Milton Burl, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Mickey Rooney, and Jonathan Winters. Waiting in the cars are Ethel Merman, Edie Adams, and Dorothy Provine. Ok, Dorothy isn’t all that famous, but she starred in That Darn Cat! That’s not nothing.

Spencer Tracy is the tired police chief monitoring the people’s movements, and Phil Silvers, Dick Shawn, and Terry-Thomas have large, memorable roles. But a complete list of cameos and character rolls would be impractical, but I will at least to mention Buster Keaton and the Three Stooges (with Joe DeRita). It would almost be easier to list the exceptions.

The film is wall to wall stunts and gags. There were about one hundred stuntmen working in Hollywood at that time and about 80 worked on this film. It was essentially filmed twice: once with the stuntmen dressed as the stars (sometimes in blackface), and again with the stars themselves. When Hackett saw the stunt footage, he asked “What do you need us for?”

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a long film. IMDb says three and a half hours, but my TCM recording was just short of 3. Apparently a couple scenes were cut before the premiere. I remember loving it as a kid before I knew who most of the cast was, and was curious to know how well it held up. Amazingly well, it turns out. I watched until the intermission then finished the film on a second day.

Which begs the question, how many pure comedies have an intermission? I can’t think of another. But Mad World does not drag. It’s a case study on how to use a large ensemble cast properly. Also, how to use stunts effectively. And better yet, the stunts supported the comedy, not just tacked on.

There are too many side stories about the production and potential casting choices to go into here, but Don Rickles was slighted by not being included. When I saw Rickles in concert a few years ago, he mentioned this. AMRU 4.5.

The Magnetic Monster (1953)

Items in a store become magnetized and behave strangely. So, the shop owner does what any reasonable person would. He calls the department of power and light to speak with the chief engineer. When the engineer hears that appliances were magnetized, he wastes no time and contacts the Office of Scientific Investigation. A-Man Jeffrey Stewart (Richard Carlson) is on the case. Magnetism, it would seem, is the same as nuclear radiation.

Never before have I watched a film with more technobabble narration and exposition. Characters literally stop walking up stairs to spout this stuff. The intent was to make a film with a scientifically viable premise. Atomic energy was a serious and significant concern in post-war America, and this is a story about an experiment gone wrong. And rather than anthropomorphize the experiment as a giant insect or whatever, they anthropomorphize the element itself. It “feeds” and “murders”, and must be “killed”.

Every eleven hours the element reacts, grows larger and stronger, and more people die. Were it to continue growing it would spin the earth off its access. It’s the size of a raisin, but, you know, eventually … Much of the story follows the horror conventions of the day. They figure things out, test hypotheses, make a plan of action, then heroically carry it out. The difference is that despite the actor’s behavior, there is no conventional movie monster. Just a dangerous radioactive sample.

The low budget Magnetic Monster earns points for trying something different. It has a unique feel compared to the usual fare, and the lady in the shop jumping out of the way of a magnetized lawnmower is unintentionally hilarious. But in the end, it is a fairly unremarkable movie. AMRU 3.

“In nuclear research, there is no place for lone wolves.”

The Monster that Challenged the World (1957)

A minor earthquake shakes California’s Salton Sea and adjacent Navy base. Shortly thereafter some sailors go strangely missing. I wonder if some prehistoric mollusks were released by the earthquake and affected by radiation. It’s a reasonable hypothesis.

The Salton Sea is a pretty interesting place. An inland saltwater sea was created by accident, became a tourist attraction, then dried up. At the time of this film it was a tourist hot spot and apparently had a naval base.

Anyhow, the navy investigates, discovers the creatures (note, many of them), and fights them with their latest weapons: sticks. And fire extinguishers. Whatever’s handy. The story is essentially an aquatic version of Them! (1954), in that a population of somewhat larger than man-sized creatures, created by radiation, must be destroyed by the military authority, before they escape to (ahem) challenge the world. And if you swap 1950’s radiation with general scientific hubris, some of the Jurassic Park films fit this mold pretty well.

Leading the fight is Commander Twillinger, played by Tim Holt. Old friends will remember him from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). He was in a bunch of films, mostly westerns, before walking away from Hollywood. He returned after five years for this film then two more spread out over the next fourteen, before retiring for good. Two years after that, bone cancer would take his life. He was 54. So it goes.

The Monster that Challenged the World is unoriginal, low budget, silly nonsense. But despite that, it works. The monsters looked pretty good, and many background characters were fully flushed out. Specifically, some quirky scientists and especially map guy Lewis Clark Dobbs. The script gave them something to do and the actors did it. Not saying I am eager for a rewatch, but it deserves every bit of AMRU 3. But, dude, the ax was right there!

Love Happy (1949)

A theater troupe struggles to finance their show (named Love Happy), jewel thieves are trying to locate a million dollar necklace they stole, and the brothers clown around. There is a lot going on, little of which is of much consequence.

This last Marx Brothers film came together somewhat accidentally. Harpo planned it as a solo project, but couldn’t secure financing unless Chico and Groucho came along. Harpo playing the Harpo character and doing all of the Harpo bits without his brothers doesn’t really make sense anyhow. Many of Groucho’s scenes appear to be filmed at a different time, improvised and poorly shot. He serves as the story’s narrator but interacts somewhat during the third act.

Vera-Ellen is charming as the plucky and lovelorn dancer. Baroness Frankenstein herself Ilona Massey is the exotic and enigmatic leader of the thieves. Her performance is peculiar but I blame the source material. Raymond Burr is one of her thugs. Marilyn Monroe had a very short and entirely gratuitous scene. That, and conspicuous product placements, may have been part of the financing agreement.

Like the worst of the Brother’s films, it transitions from a mostly uninteresting story line, to unfunny comic bits, to tedious song and dance numbers, then back again. To be fair there were a couple amusing bits, one in particular involves a handheld mirror. Unfortunately Harpo chooses to repeat it, just in case the audience was napping.

The Marx Brothers were a moment in time. Their downtrodden but irreverently upbeat act played well during the Depression, but became increasingly anachronistic as we inched towards the affluent and optimistic 50’s. Besides, only baby Groucho was under sixty at this point. It was a good time to move on.

So, this is it. The last of the Marx Brothers films. Famously Groucho omitted in his autobiography, naming A Night in Casablanca as their last. But the Brothers did appear, separately, in one more film, but I think I’m done here.

The boys did thirteen films together, but I can only recommend their second through seventh. Love Happy might be the worst of the lot, Groucho apparently thought so, and unless you feel compelled to complete arbitrary lists, it is completely skipable. AMRU 2.

The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959)

When Professor Jonathan Drake has a vision of three skulls, he knows his brother Kenneth is in danger. But by the time he arrives at the country mansion, Kenneth is already dead. Routine heart attack, nothing suspicious. No need to run a toxicology scan. Oh, and his head is missing. The police suspect foul play but professor Drake knows it’s the family curse.

Directed by schlockmeister Edward Cahn who helmed 72 films in his career. Not a bad total, but impressively he directed 44 features between 1956 and 1961 alone. That averages to over seven films a year. That’s … exhausting. How did he rush through that many films? Simple. He rushed through them. Everything about this picture felt rushed. The script, acting, stage direction, everything. I’m sure only the most disastrous takes were redone. Cahn would direct two more in 1962, then die. And so it goes.

I thought I had seen The Four Skulls just before I started my blog but apparently that was The Screaming Skull. I watched a lot of this sort of thing in the year prior to blogging. Obvious bad guy type Henry Daniell is the obvious bad guy. Coming from the stage, he seemed to be the only actor to rehearse their lines (such as they are) prior to filming. This is the eleventh film I’ve seen him in, including three Sherlock Holmes.

Despite itself, The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake was enjoyable to watch. The sets were fine, the story made sense, and was barely over an hour long. It held my interest without taxing my slip glazed brain. What more could one want? AMRU 3.5.

Lured (1947)

Pretty women of London are being murdered, lured by an ad in the personal column. When the friend of pretty Sandra (Lucille Ball) goes missing, she agrees to act as bait for the investigation.

Lurid is classified by IMDb as Film-Noir, but I reject that label. While it does have some noir elements, it completely lacks the most important ones. A remake of a French musical romance, it keeps a rom-com undertone. That original film was inspired by a real-life case that became the last public execution in French history. Lurid was a financial failure, no doubt caused by the studio changing the title to Personal Column during its initial run. Apparently Lured sounded too much like Lurid.

Many old friends visit us here. Everyone’s favorite lecherous old man, Charles Coburn is the decidedly non-lecherous chief inspector. Batman’s Alfred Alan Napier makes an appearance, and personal favorite George Zucco has a sizable role, both appearing in their tenth film I’ve covered. But somebody please tell me what Boris Karloff is doing in this picture! My guess is he was under contract and his name was needed for promotional purposes. His small and inconsequential scene gave him forth billing. But let’s talk of George Sanders.

Before agreeing to work for the police, Sandra sets up an interview at a fancy club owned by Sanders’ Fleming, but doesn’t show. Fleming falls for her based on her voice and the chase is on. Always playing the notorious cad, Sanders was wonderful in this role. It is his performance here that, despite story issues, makes the film worth watching. Villain or not, he is wonderful in all of his roles.

Much has been said of Lucy’s less than stellar early film career and here is yet another example. Not bad, should have been better, and sabotaged by the studio with the title change. But 35 is a bit long in the tooth for a woman striving to achieve A-list status during that era. Not for a man, but certainly for a woman. Despite lots of leading lady talent, it just didn’t happen for her. But things worked out for her in the end. AMRU 3.5.

The Misfits (1961)

A divorced hot chick (Marilyn Monroe) and her landlady (Thelma Ritter) meet up with a tow truck driver (Eli Wallach) and his cowboy friend (Clark Gable). They later swap out the landlady for a troubled ranch hand (Montgomery Clift), then go rustling Mustangs. They all fall over Marilyn while she falls out of her dress.

Clark Gable was 59 going on 109 and would pass just after filming wrapped. He had said that working with Marilyn was going to give him a heart attack and, well, it seems he was right. He got in shape for the roll, quitting booze and losing weight, but too little, too late. There was a doctor on call but it was for the troubled Monroe and Clift. This would also prove to be Marilyn’s last film, dying of a semi-accidental drug overdose a year and a half later. Of the five principles, only Eli Wallach would see 1970, leaving us in 2014 at 98.

Maybe because he wasn’t playing the romantic lead, I liked Montgomery Clift’s performance. He played a neurotic, self-destructive cowboy. A role I suppose he could relate to. Except for the cowboy part. I’ll again repeat Marilyn’s quote about him: "the only person I know who is in worse shape than I am".

Not what I was expecting. There is a whole lot of ogling of Marilyn to the point where it seems to serve the dual purpose of making a point and appealing to men who like ogling Marilyn. She was 34 or 35 here and still effectively playing the 20-something bombshell, if maybe carrying a bit more weight than normal. It was said that they suspended production for two weeks so she could detox but that may have been a ruse to cover director John Huston’s gambling losses.

The four main characters (excluding Ritter’s landlady) are trying to figure out where they fit in. The aging cowboy out of touch in the new west, the tow truck driver dealing with the dead wife he worshiped, the young ranch hand not sure where he is going in life, and of course the divorcee who based her identity on the men who want her. You know, Misfits. They seem to come to terms with their issues, but it is not altogether clear.

The Misfits is an interesting film. Here we say goodbye to two icons of classic Hollywood. However I don’t know what to make of the overt “male gaze” aspect of the film. It felt very intentional. I may not see it again, but I do find myself thinking about it. AMRU 3.5.

"Honey, we all got to go sometime, reason or no reason. Dyin's as natural as livin'. The man who's too afraid to die is too afraid to live."

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Korean war heroes return home but soon realize that something isn’t right. Major Marco (Frank Sinatra) slowly figures out that they all were brainwashed with some nefarious goal in mind. Oh, and Janet Leigh is here for some reason.

Six foot 2 Henry Silva played Korean man-servant Chunjin. He has a fight scene that apparently broke Sinatra’s hand. Angela Lansbury plays our brain-washed main character’s less-than-motherly mother, despite being only three years his senior. Inspector Luger (James Gregory) is his McCarthyesque step-dad.

The Manchurian Candidate is a fantastic film, but not without its flaws. Characters would sometimes behave illogically and Janet Leigh’s character made no sense at all. But it deserves its reputation and stands the test of time.

Avoidance of spoilers keeps me from discussing further. The brainwashing is established early on but there still are mysteries to solve. Sinatra again proves he was a real actor and Lansbury was, well, amazing. It's a slow burn with a solid finale. It should have been higher on my priority list. Oh, and if anyone asks, my uncle did not appear in this film. AMRU 4.

Paths of Glory (1957)

During the first world war a general (George Macready) is convinced by central command (Aldophe Menjou) to attack a strategic position despite the casualties and futility. When things fall apart, three men stand trial as scapegoats. Their Colonel (Kirk Douglas) defends them.

Aldophe Menjou is just as much of a scoundrel as he was twenty five years earlier in The Front Page, if somewhat less charming. He has been in a ton of stuff and I’m surprised we haven’t crossed paths more. He would have made an excellent Hercule Poirot. Speaking of path crossing, this is only the second film I’ve seen George Macready in, the first being Gilda.

Joe Turkel (The Shining, Blade Runner) plays a private, but I don’t remember him. A young Richard Anderson (Forbidden Planet, Six Million Dollar Man) is here. I saw him at ComiCon just before he passed. He wanted $100 for an autograph and wouldn’t even look up to engage the fans. This is the other Kubrick film with Timothy Carey. He was disruptive, faked his own kidnapping, and was fired. They used a body double in some scenes. So, yea, my opinion of him hasn’t changed.

Half war film, half courtroom drama, Paths of Glory is spectacular. Kubrick brought the script to Kirk Douglas who knew he must make the film. Studios, being all about the Benjamins, weren’t so hot on the property. In the end everyone was right. Kirk for how good and important the film would be and the studios on how much it would make. TCM host Ben Mankiewicz called it Kubrick's greatest film, and one could make an argument. It's definitely Kubrick's first great film and stands well with the rest. I have The Killing a 4 so I feel compelled to bump Paths of Glory to 4.5. It was the best film I saw in a long while. At least for the blog.

Manhattan (1979)

Shriveled Isaac (Woody Allen) is dating a hot teenager way out of his league (hot teenaged Mariel Heming-way out of his league) when he learns that his married friend is having an affair. He meets Mary (Annie Hall … I mean Diane Keaton) and immediately dislikes her. So obviously, he becomes obsessed, screwing up his relationship with the hot teenager way out of his league.

Meryl Streep is here in a small role as Isaac’s pissy lesbian ex-wife, intent on embarrassing him. She shot her scenes while on break from Kramer vs. Kramer. I wonder if she regrets it.

The creep factor for this film is off the scale. The obvious starting place is Allen’s 42 going on 62 Isaac dating 17 year old Hemingway as a plausible plot point. But it gets worse when you realize that the man himself was actually dating two different teenage girls during that time. His first wife was sixteen when they wed and his current wife was born nine years after Mariel. It became fashionable to dump on Allen after his Soon-Yi fiasco, but all the warning signs were there.

The success of the film hinges on caring about the Woody Allen character and sympathizing with his concerns and problems. He’s an intellectual snob who hates intellectual snobs, is the catalyst for all of the problems in his life, and whines about everything. But how does one relate to an ugly man who screws up relationships with hot women who for some reason sleep with him? Some of them minors by certain standards. I’ve seen six or eight of his films, which is a small percent of his total, but I am tired of his schtick. His brand of humor (“I think people should mate for life, like pigeons or Catholics”) just doesn’t do it for me anymore. His pedophilia-adjacent behavior notwithstanding.

Manhattan’s saving grace is it’s cinematography. Filmed in black and white anamorphic widescreen, it gives the city a vivid, lush, and classic look. And the city is framed beautifully in every scene. It is truly stunning. Sometimes called a love letter to New York, I think it would have worked better if it was just that, and left the story out of it. AMRU 2.5.

The Killing (1956)

Ex-con Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) is getting together a team to rob a racetrack. They could put you away just as fast for a $10 heist as they can for a million dollar job. So might as well go big.

The Killing is a pure heist movie. Cool and in command, we watch Johnny plan, organize, and execute the heist in almost documentary style. Few details are revealed until the job begins. We just see the pieces put into place. There is voice over narration that reads like a police blotter.

Many characters are introduced over the first act. Elisha Cook Jr. is here of course, ex-wrestler Kola Kwariani needed subtitles to be understood, Rodney Dangerfield is visible in a crowd scene, but most bizarre is the performance of Timothy Carey. Carey had a strange career. A method actor, he would improvise to a ridiculous degree. I’m surprised that Kubrick used him twice considering his reputation for control. A little later in his career there were directors who were afraid of him. Here he has a small role, hired to shoot a horse. He smooth-talks a parking lot attendant who starts hanging around. His line delivery is nothing short of confounding.

I struggled with this film for the first act. The storytelling and performances were odd and not very noir-like. There are many moving pieces with little explanation. The cuts from stock footage to the sets were jarring and took me out of the movie. Also the narration was distracting. But as the film progressed and the caper became clear, I became interested.

The influence of this film on directors like Quentin Tarantino is very apparent. The lunch table scene from Reservoir Dogs is taken almost verbatim. The gun hidden in the bathroom is also familiar. Here Sterling Hayden’s character gets it and in The Godfather Sterling Hayden’s character “gets it”.

I must give Kubrick some slack. The film was fairly low budget without much studio support, and the dragnet-esque narration was a studio demand. In the end, it’s a strange, complex, and interesting film, and totally worth watching again. However, maybe because of the more conventional tone, I liked The Killers a smidge better. AMRU 4.

“You'd be killing a horse - that's not first degree murder, in fact it's not murder at all, in fact I don't know what it is.”

Gun Crazy (1950)

Ever since he was little, Bart was obsessed with guns. He just loved shooting things. Not living things, he’s no monster. Just things, and he’s pretty good at it. Returning home from the Army he visits a carnival with his buddies and sees a sharpshooter act featuring a hot woman. He becomes as obsessed with Laurie as he is with guns. After drama, they go off together and do this Bonnie and Clyde deal across the country.

I know of Gun Crazy as a top Film-Noir. Even read about it in a book, but that was a couple years ago. After seeing the movie, I needed to re-read that chapter to remember why I was supposed to like it so much. Unscripted and improvised scenes influenced the French New Wave, ok I see that. Very low budget, didn’t realize that. Written by Dalton Trumbo, interesting. Crackling sexuality between the leads, hmmmmm, ok.

Gun Crazy makes a strong parallel between sex and guns, and Peggy Cummins sizzles on screen. Bart, though, is damp toast. He is never fully on board with the whole criminal outlaw lifestyle and only goes along so he can buy Laurie nice things. She’s the femme fatal leading our dufus good boy astray. I didn’t connect with John Dall in Rope and I didn’t connect with him here. Also, I don’t buy that either lead were familiar with firearms. The actors handle them as if they had fifteen minutes of rehearsal. I admit I also know nothing about guns, but I can tell when something is the extension of one’s being or a toy in the hand.

Our heroes’ motivation is straightforward. Guns, money, and each other. And sadly, the chemistry is lacking. Don’t get me wrong. It did like Gun Crazy. I just failed to see what made it exceptional. There was something slightly bland about the story and dialog. I had high expectations, and once again, they landed soft. AMRU 3.