Ninotchka (1939)

Just before the onset of World War II three Russian operatives arrive in Paris to sell the legally confiscated jewels of the former Grand Duchess. Unfortunate for them, they chose the same hotel that the Grand Duchess (former) herself was staying at. Her lover (Melvyn Douglas) interrupts the sale and makes a claim on them. The operatives are living the Paris lifestyle waiting for the courts to decide, but Soviet government grows impatient and suspicious. They send in their sternest and most serious envoy to take over negotiations, Nina Ivanovna Yakushova (or Ninotchka to her friends, had she any).

A Lubitsch rom-com written (at least partially) by Billy Wilder, how can it go wrong? Greta Garbo, who underwhelmed in Grand Hotel, sparkles. First as the comically humorless Russian agent then as love-lorn and conflicted. She and the Grand Duchess' lover (soon to be former) cross paths without knowing who they are. He takes a fancy to her and she finds him amusing enough. Then things get complicated.

Hey, Bela Lugosi is here! Briefly. He has a quick and unimportant scene late in the film telling Ninotchka to check in with the same three operatives again, this time in Constantinople (not Istanbul). Was he begging for bit parts already?

Wonderfully written, delightfully performed, Ninotchka is a lot of fun. It does seem to lose track and go heavy handed on the Soviet social commentary, but that doesn't spoil a great viewing experience. AMRU 4.

"The last mass trials were a great success. There are going to be fewer but better Russians."

Sleeper (1973)

A health food store operator (Woody Allen) goes in for a routine operation and wakes out of cryogenic sleep two hundred years later. Here he finds himself in a dystopian future and involved with the underground trying to overthrow the dear leader. No, it's not that serious.

TCM presenter Robert Osborne said Allen was inspired by silent comedies like Buster Keaton, but I saw way more Chaplin and Marx Brothers here than stoneface. But Allen differed in a more fundamental way from the early comedians. Even when at a physical and economic disadvantage, Keaton, Chaplin, or even the Stooges would control the action. They were active participants in their own predicament. In a real way, they were in charge. Not so with Allen's Miles Monroe. He stumbles around and is directly controlled by the other actors. Everything goes wrong and everything is out of his control. We laugh (if we do) at him bumbling.

Some funny parts and kinda interesting, and it features Diane Keaton back when that was a good thing. But based on it's reputation, it was a disappointment. Silly, slapstick, a few good lines, but sometimes annoying. If this is the best of Allen's early comedies, I don't need to see the rest. AMRU 2.5.

"This stuff tastes awful. I could make a fortune selling it in my health food store."

Eyes in the Night (1942)

A woman disapproves of her ex-lover knocking boots with her teenage step daughter (Donna Reed). When hot teen meets her oldie boyfriend, she finds him dead and step-mom lurking in the shadows. Who can solve this mystery and prove the innocence of step-mom? A blind detective with his wonder dog Friday, that's who.

This is the second of three Duncan Maclain detective movies, the first apparently lost the the other two starring Edward Arnold (not THAT Edward Arnold) as the eyeless private eye. Author Baynard Kendrick made a dozen Maclain books over two dozen years, but only these made it into film.

Typical of the day, the audience is not left in suspense very long. The only real mystery is what exactly the bad people are after and how will our hero save the day. Everything else plays out exactly as anticipated. Given the genre and premise you just know there's a blind mans bluff scene. I would have been disappointed otherwise. So, how would you handle it? Just turn the camera off and see things as Mac does. Brilliant in its simplicity.

The movie features but doesn't properly use amusing black stereotype Mantan Moreland. He's the butler, of course, but doesn't have nearly enough to do.

This low budget quickie is not without charm. The acting isn't terribly good, the story isn't terribly original, but some of the dialog is amusing, and it's not a bad way to spend 80 minutes on a cold winter night. AMRU 3.

The Circus (1928)

The Tramp joins the circus. Oh, you wanted more? Well, then ... he falls in love with a woman way to young for him and there's this funny horse. Oddly, much else to say ...

This is Chaplin's last film during the "silent era". He would do two more films in pantomime before retiring the style. Chaplin's second teen bride Lita Grey served him divorce papers during production. oddly, it was Grey who convinced Chaplin to hire Merna Kennedy as leading lady, maybe knowing that she was on the cusp of twenty and therefore too old for Charlie's tastes. The divorce along with fires, stolen equipment, and scratched negatives led Chaplin to a nervous breakdown. If ever he needed to score with an under aged hottie, it was then. Sadly, Oona was fifteen years away. And three years old at the time. Poor Charlie.

There's nothing real special to recommend The Circus. It's well made and has no serious flaws, but that's about it. Some bits were funny, others not so much. Lowly tramp is under appreciated, love triangle, cruel boss. Insert bits on high wire and with animals and presto, circus. No emotional hook like previous Chaplin films. And no time travelers. AMRU 3.

Sullivan's Travels (1941)

Director (Joel McCrea) of lighthearted comedies wants to make serious films about the downtrodden. When it's pointed out that he knows nothing of trouble, he has wardrobe bring up a bum costume, puts a dime in his pocket, and tries to live among the poor. Along the way he meets up with a struggling starlet (struggling starlet Veronica Lake) and proceeds to find all the trouble he was looking for.

I suppose this is a romantic comedy, but Sullivan's quest to learn about the disenfranchised takes top priority. This movie appears to explore liberal guilt. Rich white man taking up the cause of the poor without having any clue what it means to be poor. Boy howdy, does he find out.

Nineteen year old Lake was seven or eight months pregnant while filming, and you'd never know it. She's jumping on trains and falling into water just as the doctor ordered. There's a scene in a black church that was rather interesting. It depicts the poor black people as, well, people. This was 1941, remember. Being a frightened or bumbling servant was the BEST they normally could hope for. Director Preston Sturges received a letter from Walter White (not THAT Walter White!) from the NAACP in appreciation. I guess the scene with the bumbling chef was easily ignored.

So wonderfully written, Sullivan's Travels is delightful. His dialog had just enough edge to make production code Hollywood interesting. Definitely a see-again. AMRU 4.

"Just an extra girl having breakfast with a director. Only I didn't used to have breakfast with them. Maybe that was my trouble.
Did they ever ask you to?
No.
Then don't pat yourself on the back."

12 Angry Men (1957)

A young kid with a court appointed attorney is tried for the murder of his father. When the jury retires, the jurors are certain of his guilt. Well, eleven of twelve are certain.

Shot almost entirely in one room, this is a character study of perspective, personality, and circumstance. Each of the unnamed jurors bring their own prejudices and they are revealed as Juror 8 forces them to examine the evidence piece by piece.

The cast features some fantastic character actors. E.G. Marshal, Lee J. Cobb, a young Jack Klugman, Jack Warden. No "superstars", excepting Fonda himself, who also produced. Ed Begley Jr's dad had a wonderful tirade trying to explain what "those" people were like and that's know he knows the boy is lying. He even goes on to say "Oh, sure, there are some good things about 'em, too!" putting it a border fence reference away from a Trump speech. Nice to see how far we've come in almost sixty years.

I've had jury duty three times, and sat on two juries. Even though one was a murder case, never did it approach the drama seen here. Never-the-less, 12 Angry Men rings true. Courtroom dramas (this not actually being one) are notoriously inauthentic. But here little things and big were handled true to life. Used to illustrate team dynamics in teamwork training, this character study is claustrophobic, intense, and authentic. It failed to turn a profit or win an Oscar, but it succeeded in excellence. AMRU 4.

"Baltimore? That's like being hit in the head with a crowbar once a day."

One Million Years B.C. (1966)

Our story begins One Million Years B.C., or 1,001,966 years before the films release, which is an oddly specific date. As the narrator says, this is when the Earth was just beginning. The Earth is 4,543,000,000 years old, so this was when it was a mere 4,541,998,034 years old, which too is an oddly specific date. So, actually, the story begins with us completely dispensing with the idea of it making any scientific or logical sense.

The Rock Tribe, peopled with brunettes, is brutal and warlike. Our hero Tumak is cast out of the tribe during one of their nonsensical grunting and grabbing ceremonies. He finds a cave with water and some sort of indoor pine tree that produces edible fruit, but he has to leave when the Morlocks come. Later he stumbles onto another tribe. Not sure what they were called. The narrator had given up by then. They carried shells with them, so let's call them the SHELL tribe! Yea, that works.

Anyhow, the Shell Tribe is peopled by blonds who make their cave comfortable and inviting. Totally interior decorators, these people are. They are nice and treat this injured new human. He can't stop his grunty and grabby ways, so off he goes with hot Loana (Raquel Welch) in tow. Have we heard this before? Why yes, as it is a remake of the 1940 One Million B.C., a film with basically no dialog, and the story was copied almost verbatim! They added a few more monster fight scenes, and had the talents of Ray Harryhausen, but the end result was amazingly similar.

So, the question is, did this film need to be remade? All it added was color, slightly better effects, and more cleavage. Otherwise it was quite dull. But let's hand it to Hammer Films. It was a HUGE money maker and movie poster is absolutely iconic. Although noticed in Fantastic Voyage, this was this film that made Raquel an international sex symbol.

Having seen the original, I felt I needed to see the remake. Maybe I would have liked it more had the order been reversed, but that's not what happened. Raquel's boobies not-with-standing, this is a fairly uninteresting movie. AMRU 2.5.