Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

Director: Barry Shear
Cast: Christopher Jones, Shelley Winters, Diane Varsi, Hal Holbrock, Ed Begley, Richard Pryor
Genre: Drama, Social Commentary Dark Comedy
Rating: R

Max Frost is America's most popular counterculture rock star! He has the ability to rally his fans to do his bidding. And what he wants is voting rights for teenagers of 14 years of age...he demands it! As his celebrity grows he runs for president with the campaign slogan, "All oldsters are required to live in "retirement homes" where they are forced to ingest LSD."


This must have been a pretty wild film in it's time, note the R rating which is unusual for this type of film back in 1968. What's interesting is, this is about the baby boomers/ hippie movement of the 1960s, and the movie is made in 1968, making it a time capsule of a changing America. We get a real sense of what it was like to be part of the baby boomer 'counterculture movement' back in the late 60s.

I wonder how many adults, I.E. 'squares' were scared silly by this film? That's not as far fetched as it sounds, as this movie has the teenage baby boomers, who were the majority, taking over and putting the old people in their place.


This has some big name stars: Shelly Winters, Ed Begley, Hal Holbrook and a very young Richard Pryor. As silly as the premise might seem, this is a very unique movie, best of all you actually get to see people and places in groovy 1968.

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Director: Don Sharp
Writers: A.E.W. Mason(novel), Gerald Di Pego(screen play)
Cast: Beau Bridges, Jane Seymour, Robert Powell, Simon Ward
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Romance

Yes, I watched another one of those Four Feather movies again! This one was made in 1978 for British TV and features that British beauty Jane Seymour. Jane is paired up with American actor Beau Bridges, brother of Jeff Bridges. To my American ears, Beau did a passable English accent and fit the part well.

This version, unlike the 1939 & 1955 versions that I watched, followed closely the classic novel by A.E.W. Mason. It's funny how just a little difference in story telling makes the movie all the more compelling. In the earlier movie versions the soldier on the eve that his army unit is to be deployed to Egypt, resigns...thus earning him four white feathers, the mark of a coward. But that seemed a bit harsh to me, and unbelievable.

So in this version at his wedding announcement party he receives four messages from military command telling him and his three army friends that they have been called to duty in Sudan. Well, he burns those messages and lies to his friends, saying nothing of the orders to report for duty. This causes his friends to earn scorn from their commander officer as they are basically AWOL. They then give him their personal calling card with a white feather attached. The mark of a coward.

I thought Jane Seymour was stunning, regal and perfect in the role. I like Beau Bridges but not as much as I did the actor who did the role in the 1939 version. There was less of the action and fighting in this 1978 version than the earlier movies...but there was more time spent in England getting to know the characters.
Overall, I liked this story quite a bit.

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Director: William A. Wellman
Casts: Clark Gable, Ricardo Montalban, John Hodiak
Genre: Adventure, Romance, Western
Length: 78 minutes

Synopsis (spoiler free): In the backwoods of unexplored Montana circa 1830's, a mountain man (Clark Gable) joins up with other mountain men to enter into the virgin woods of Montana on a trapping expedition. There he must deal with the Blackfoot chief Ricardo Montablan who's sworn to kill him.

Across the Wide Missouri is a cut above many old westerns as it's filmed in the outdoors in stunning Technicolor. For it's time it was a progressive movie as it shows the lead, Clark Gable as a white mountain man who marries a Blackfoot princess, they even have a child together. That was cutting edge for 1951..And it must have raised some eyebrows.

We think of Clark Gable as a tough he-man in the movies he made, but here he's able to show real love and tenderness with his native American wife and child.


Directed by 'two fist', William A. Wellman, the film looks fantastic and he balances action with drama. A number of talented actors made this film a treat to watch. Besides Gable we get a young Ricardo Montalban before he got stuck on Fantasy Island... as well as John Hodiak and veteran actor Adolphe Menjou.




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Do you know if Across the Wide Missouri is the only movie where Ricardo Montalban played an Indian? If it is, I think I've seen parts of this movie.

I remember flipping channels a while back and finding a movie with Ricardo Montalban as an Indian, and thinking that it didn't work for me because I kept picturing him as Khan. I'm not sure if this is the movie or not, but that's pretty much all I remember about it anyway.

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If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.

Beats me? I don't think I've seen Ricardo Montalban in anything other than this and Fantasy Island. But...in looking for pics for this movie I did find pics or Montalban as an Indian in other movies.


Across the Wide Missouri


Not sure which movie this is?


Or this one? But you know who the actress played? hint she was in Star Trek the original series.

And Star Trek.

And you must have seen his Chrysler Cordoba car commercials in the '70's.



The top picture is the only one that looks familiar to me, so that must be the movie that I saw him in.

I'm not sure who the woman is in the bottom picture, but she was probably a Yeoman in a TOS episode. It's hard to tell from that picture because she's dressed as an Indian.

But she's with Khan, so she must be Lt. Marla McGivers.

Even funnier, she is the actresses who played Marla McGivers

How would you compare the three older Four Feathers with the 2002 version?

That IS funny!

She reminds me of Shani Wallis, who played Nancy in the movie Oliver! (1968).

Ricardo Montalban looks AMAZING here.

Zotis, that's a good question. I have the Four Feathers 2002 to watch sometime next week and will review it soon. Right now, all I know is that it has Heath Ledger and Kate Hudson, two fine actors. I'm excited about watching it and comparing it to the three older versions. So stay tuned to this thread

I already have my opinion on all of them, but I'll wait until you see the newer one.

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Isn't that Madelyn Rhue in the first photo?

I personally LOVE "Little Shop pf Horrors". I can remember seeing it after school. For some reason it seems like it was a Monday or some day that was not at the end of the week. Two of my brothers and mother went along. They picked me up from school, I did my math homework in the car and we went to see the movie. I just remember all of that for some funny reason that I can't explain.

Anyway, I love the movie. That is definitely deliberate to have a character like Ellen Greene's interested in Rick Moranis because they are so different. At least their lifestyles seemed that way. After all, she really didn't want to live the kind of life that she was living, and she really did like him. So, just because they don't "fit" doesn't mean that can't really like each other.

I own the original cast album. And that was all I could go by until I saw a live production of it. It does end differently than the film. I personally like how the movie ends better. Especially that last shot when they go to the house. The ending is the ending of everything (and everyone) on stage, but with the way that it ends with the film is that you think the world is a happier place, but there is that final tease at the end that says it isn't. I liked that better.

And I love the music. But, to each his own.

It is safe to assume that you have never seen the original 1960's film that it was based on then, right?


It looks a hell of a lot better than people who seem to be devouring each other. That is just ridiculous.

Think about a kiss - any kind of kiss. 5 seconds would be the perfect length. Watching someone kiss more than that just begins to look silly, I think.

We may not agree on "Little Shop of Horrors", but we agree on this little bit right here.

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I did see that one, and I really liked it too, I liked the girl and guy main leads. It was a fun B sci fi film.

I don't know, but the 1986 musical of Little Shop of Horrors didn't click with me. I do tend to like the older musicals pre 1960. On the other hand I really enjoyed Chicago and liked Mommy Mia too.

I suppose, in a way, the stage production's ending is closer to that film. It is a little different, too, but it is closer to that ending.

Ah, I will just have to try to think of something for you to try then. Say, "1776", perhaps???

Well, didn't you say that you weren't crazy about Disney musicals? I am only saying that because the same people who wrote the music for "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin" wrote the music for "Little Shop of Horrors". So, then, that wouldn't surprise me if you didn't care for the music in the film (which I know you weren't fond of it).

And I hate "Chicago". I don't see the big deal in it. Never did. Out of all the Kander and Ebb musicals, this may be close to the bottom, if not THE bottom. I really like the songs of "Nowadays", "All That Jazz" and "Mr. Cellophane". Otherwise, I just think the story is boring. Of course I went to see the movie. But I wasn't as impressed as other people. And that is OK. I just don't want people to not let me have my opinion of NOT liking it when I allow them to have theirs of liking it. People that I have talked to have had a tendency to get defensive over that one for some reason. I just don't care for it.

Mommy Mia? I will have to check that one out.

But as for "Mamma Mia", I didn't mind it. I am not a big Meryl Streep fan, though, which I know I have said before. I found her to be irritating in there. Everyone else was fine, I guess.

I saw the stage production of "Mamma Mia" years ago. The tickets were only $25 because it was on the 4th of July. It wasn't bad. It was kind of the perfect thing to sit through on a hot summer day.

That's too old Actually I've never seen 1776, one of these days I'll catch it. For me, 30s,40s,50s is mostly what I like in musicals, but of course every decade has it's greats. Sweet Charity (1969) would be a favorite from the 60s...and believe it or not I just about typed Sweet Chariot by mistake!

I didn't grow up with Disney animation, like most people. I had a deprived childhood I don't know if I've seen any classic Disney animation actually? Maybe 1 or 2 of them.

For me it's not the songs, that I like or dislike in a musical, it's more about the movie and the characters.

I watched Across the Wide Missouri last month, thought it was very average to be honest.

I know I seen you review. I can kind of agree with you in a way. Across the Wide Missouri isn't the same type of western as say The Big Country or High Noon, it's more of a romanticized western. But unlike a lot of romanticized westerns it's not shot on a sound stage. Did you like the romance part between Gable and his Indian wife?

The romance part wasn't bad, and I've seen that in a few of the older westerns. I really enjoyed The Big Sky if you get a chance. I think you'd like that.