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.

Paper Moon (1973)

When attending the funeral of a woman he knew, a bible selling con man (Ryan O’Neal) agrees to take the deceased’s daughter (Tatum O’Neal) to her aunt in Missouri. Is she also his daughter? Well, Tatum is Ryan’s. They have the same jaw.

Ostensibly about the adventures they share, the film is actually about their relationship. How they begin to trust, appreciate, and help each other. Perhaps something Ryan failed to do with Tatum. Allegedly when Ryan learned that Tatum was nominated for an Oscar and he wasn’t, he hit her. Neither parent attended the ceremony when Tatum won and she would never be nominated again. Hollywood is a tough town.

John Hillerman of Magnum PI fame plays a double role. He also appeared in Peter Bogdanovich’s What’s Up Doc? and The Last Picture Show. We are also treated to a great early performance from Madeline Kahn as Trixie Delight, a floozie grifter who sets her sights on Ryan’s Moses Pray. Subtle performances were not her forte and here she is deliciously over the top.

Based on the book Addie Pray, Bogdanovich changed the title to Paper Moon and included a throw-away line to justify it. He asked Orson Welles what he thought of this title and Welles replied: "That title is so good, you shouldn't even make the picture, just release the title!" Welles was so helpful. Paper Moon is an amusing character study with excellent performances. AMRU 4.

Tortilla Flat (1942)

Troubled Danny (John Garfield) inherits two houses from his grandfather, and his good friend Pilon (Spencer Tracy) is there to keep him from the pitfalls of property ownership. By this I mean he scams him at every turn. Danny has an eye for Dolores, a hot Portuguese girl (Hedy Lamarr).

Based on the John Steinbeck novel, it is set in a humble California village populated by Mexican-Americans and other poor immigrants. A comedy in the “pleasantly amusing” rather than “actually funny” model, we follow the character’s antics as life goes on.

One issue is that the principal characters are of either Mexican or Portuguese descent, but as far as I can tell only Frank Morgan, who has an Argentinian grandparent, can claim this. This should come as no surprise. During Hollywood’s golden era it was considered progressive to even have Hispanic characters. But to the studio’s credit, they did make an attempt (Anthony Quinn, Desi Arnaz, Rita Hayworth, Maria Montez) but had to settle for Tracy, Garfield, Lamarr, and Betty Wells.

A bigger issue is that the actors spoke in a stilted manner that felt disrespectful. Maybe that's because that’s how Mexican characters spoke in looney tunes. But it was very distracting, especially out of Spencer Tracy’s mouth. I got over this before the film’s end and far be it for me to be offended on someone else’s behalf. I would be interested to know how Mexican-Americans feel.

Tortilla Flat is an amusing story, with many familiar faces in character roles, and my first Hedy Lamarr film, which is the reason I watched it. She invented WiFi, not really, but read about it if you are so inclined. AMRU 2.5.

Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)

Reporter Michael testifies against a man (Elijah Cook, Jr.) found at a murder scene. The suspect had threatened the deceased. Later, Michael finds himself in a very similar situation, and is now the suspect. It’s up to his pretty fiancee to prove both murders were committed by a mysterious stranger (Peter Lorre) only he saw.

I recently learned that this film is considered the first example of film-noir, and TCM was kind enough to air it a few days later. It wasn’t a critical or financial success, the style being a bit of a departure from mysteries and crime dramas of the day. It was called pretentious and artsy, an unusual reaction for an RKO B picture. It featured the desperate and pessimistic attitude, and expressionistic lighting of later noirs, and an extensive dream sequence.

Ethel Griffies, who was our hero’s cantankerous landlady, played the elderly ornithologist in The Birds some 23 years later. His neighbor is played by prolific character actor Charles Halton, who appeared in 174 feature films, 108 in a six year span between 1937 and 1942. He must have jumped from set to set shooting his scenes quickly then moving on. He has appeared in everything from classics to forgotten B pictures. He worked until he was 82, then died at 83. He needed the rest.

Peter Lorre was very Peter Lorre playing the Peter Lorre role. He had little screen time but was quite good. Elijah Cook had a surprisingly small role. Heroine Margaret Tallichet was quite charming, but having married director William Wyler, would retire a year later.

Perhaps the real villain was the criminal justice system, too quick to rush to judgment. Too eager for a conviction, truth be damned. Our hero learns this only when the shoe is on his foot. Also, he is kind of a jerk. Pretty Jane should think twice before marrying him. Stranger on the Third Floor does have a strange tone. Maybe a bit pretentious. Still, it’s interesting, and Peter Lorre is fun to watch as a demented killer. AMRU 3.

Ingagi (1930)

A documentary crew travels to Africa to film the natives and wildlife. There they learn of a tribe that sacrifices girls to the “ingagi” (or gorilla). Except, the crew never left Los Angeles.

Done in voice over, much of the film feels like an early episode of Wild Kingdom. No real narrative and a little boring, save for the oddly frequent need to kill animals for fresh meat. But a critical eye will notice that scenes featuring the principles will show them in front of tall grass or shrubs while long shots feature the recognizable African Serengeti. But the reason for Ingagi’s infamy is in the final few minutes. A naked native woman is sacrificed to a gorilla. For, you know. Nudge nudge, wink wink.

Ingagi entered my radar years ago when I learned of a controversial, early exploitation film. It was either lost or unavailable until it appeared on YouTube a couple years ago. As mentioned, the filmmakers never went to Africa. They stole footage from earlier safari films, added scenes filmed at a local zoo, then recorded the narration. The end result is a somewhat plausible nature documentary, with a side order of implied bestiality. And if Charles Gemora, the man in the ape costume, fathered his children while wearing it, well, that’s his business.

Ingagi (a completely made up word) had difficulty being distributed but was wildly popular where it was shown. The MPAA tried to keep it suppressed but anti-trust legislation made that difficult. In the end, they resorted to insisting it be labeled a work of fiction. The filmmakers refused.

A great many words could be written about the kerfuffle this film caused, but there are videos that do a pretty good job covering that. But were I to focus only on what we see on screen, there wouldn’t be much to say. If nature films or safari adventure is your thing, look elsewhere. If sexy native women are your thing, look elsewhere. Ingagi was provocative in its day, but today it’s a snoozefest. AMRU 2.

Long Day’s Journey Into Night (1962)

A well to do theater family, staying in a summer cottage, air out their grievances. Roll credits ... three hours later.

As playwright Eugene O’Neill is the sole writing credit, this seems to be less based on his play as it is a slightly abridged version of it. Very autobiographical, the play was published posthumously. Many details of the characters closely match those of his immediate family, including the house it is set in.

The father (Ralph Richardson) was a promising actor who gave up the sage for love. His tightfistedness is responsible for many of the family’s problems. The mother (Katherine Hepburn) became addicted to morphine prescribed during a difficult childbirth. The eldest son (Jason Robards) is a drunken layabout, rebelling against his father’s pressure to be that great actor dad could never become. And youngest son (Dean Stockwell) has tuberculosis and may die, unless dad springs for one the high class sanatoriums.

Jason Robards was very familiar to me from his later career, but exactly where I can’t say. It was interesting to see him at the youthful age of … 40? Of course Dean Stockwell will always be remembered as Al from Quantum Leap. It was quite strange seeing him as a handsome young man instead of as, well, as Al.

Even compared to other stage play adaptations, this is an amazingly talkie film. Individual family members come and go to allow various combinations for scenes. There is a maid who gets little screen time, a cook who gets none, and a driver who appears only in the distance.This is entirely a story about the family. Eugene’s family. It is engaging, and the performances, while very theatrical, are very good. Except for Stockwell's. I feel he was a bit out of his league, here.

Some of the interactions were strange, however. They seemed all over the place. During a single conversation two people would go from sarcastic, to shouting, to emotionally bonding, to angry again, all without a clear reason. It was a little annoying. In the end, nothing is really resolved, but I suppose they understand each other a bit better. Another viewer might think differently. AMRU 3.

One Way Passage (1932)

Dashing Dan (William Powell) catches the eye of pretty Joan (Kay Francis). They fall in love while sharing a voyage to San Francisco, but are keeping a dark secret. Convicted of murder, Dan is returning to face the hangman’s noose, while Joan is terminally ill. They sneak around, have adventures, and everyone lives happily ever after.

Character actor Frank McHugh is Skippy, Dan’s comic relief friend. He’s come up quite a few times in my travels putting him into the ‘Familiar, but can’t quite place him’ category. Same could be said for Roscoe Karns, but his role here was uncredited and quite small. Pretty Kay Francis is quite charming in the lead. She had a moment in the early thirties, but limited acting range and a slight lisp soon relegated her to second tier films and second fiddle roles before the decades end.

One Way Passage is a fairly simple story but it makes use of its characters and premise well. Barrel House Betty, who feigns aristocracy to scam rich idiots, has more depth than you might expect. The same could be said for the knucklehead cop bringing Dan to justice. And the ending, well, see for yourself. At times funny and touching, and always entertaining to watch. William Powell always delivers. AMRU 3.5.