Gideon58's Reviews

The Silencers
Columbia Pictures decided to give Sean Connery and James Bond a run for their money when they introduced Dean Martin to the world as a secret agent named Matt Helm in a sexy and elaborate spy spoof called The Silencers.

This 1966 Bond spoof starred Martin as a retired secret agent who has been working as a fashion photographer who has been lured out of retirement to intercept a computer tape from a scientist that will allow bad guys the ability to control all United States missile power and somehow his only way of preventing this is a road trip with a klutzy redhead (Stella Stevens) who may or may not be an enemy agent.

But as anyone who has seen this film can attest, this movie is so NOT about the story, but about the movie genre that it is respectfully lampooning and how dead solid perfect the lampoon is. Oscar Saul's screenplay is filled with corny comic book villain dialogue, sexual double entendres, and even utilizes a couple of famous lines from TV commercials from the 1960's to show how hip and cool what we're witnessing is.

As in the Bond films, Matt Helm is surrounded by hot and cold running women from opening to closing credits but I found it absolutely inspired that the female he spends most of his screentime with is a clumsy airhead who just might only be pretending to b an airhead. The screenplay does do a pretty good job of keeping us in suspense as to whether or not her being an airhead is just an act. The story never takes itself too seriously and never forgets who is the star of the film...there are several moments in the film where Martin sings these little monologues that totally spit in the face of realism but we really don't mind.

Columbia spared no expense in bringing this tale to the screen. The film features lavish art and set direction...Matt's house is amazing as is the underground lair where villains are planted. Martin is not required to do much more than be himself here and Victor Buono is an appropriately over the top villain in the best tradition of Gert Frobe's Goldfinger, but if the truth be told, Stella Stevens walks off with the acting honors here as the ditzy Gail Hendricks, a textbook performance in comic timing and the art of physical comedy, a joy to behold. For a film from the 60's, this one holds up and was a lot of fun. Thanks Citizen, your review motivated a re-watch of this one. The film inspired three sequels:
The Wrecking Crew, Murderer's Row, and The Ambushers.

I need to find and watch those other three films of Dino's.

Oh you didn't know, Citizen? Yeah, there are three other Matt Helm films.

I knew there was. I need to find and watch them. I have Dino in Marriage on the Rocks to watch next. I'm sure you seen that one.

Astaire and Rogers: Partners in Rhythm
Having seen seven of the ten films that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made together, I was naturally drawn to a 2006 documentary called Astaire and Rogers: Partners in Rhythm, an economic look at cinema's greatest dance team that didn't answer some questions I thought it would, but was definitely worth the watch.

The documentary begins with an overlook at the studio where the films were born, RKO Studios, a tiny studio that was crumbling under the crush of big studios, like MGM, Warner Brothers, and Paramount. The film recounts the beginning of their individual careers, which both began on Broadway. Rogers was actually brought to Hollywood first and made her first big splash in Hollywood with her role in the 1933 classic 42nd Street while Fred was still dancing on Broadway with his sister Adele. At the beginning of the 30's, Fred and Adele were doing a show in England where Adele met and fell in love with an English nobleman and left show business forever. I'm pretty sure this part of Fred's story was partial inspiration for a film Fred did in 1951 called Royal Wedding with Jane Powell.

This documentary then moves into how the pair were brought together totally by accident to play the second leads in a Dolores del Rio movie called Flying Down to Rio. Apparently, Astaire and Rogers made such an impression onscreen together that the ending of the film was changed so that Fred and Ginger have the final scene in the movie instead of del Rio and leading man Gene Raymond. This film then makes a big point of making us understand that being a team was something that neither Fred no Ginger envisioned or planned on. I learned here Fred only agreed to continue making musicals with Ginger after RKO offered him a piece of the profits.

The documentary features commentary from quite a varied group of artists, some who worked with the pair and some who didn't. Commentary is offered by director Peter Bogdanovich, long time Astaire choreographer Hermes Pan, musician Michael Fienstein, dancer Marge Champion, other Astaire leading ladies like Leslie Caron and Joan Leslie, Astaire's daughter, Ava, and, oddly enough, Liza Minnelli, who is billed as an "Astaire friend."

The film also features archival footage of interviews with Ginger Rogers circa 1987, eight years before her death. Watching Ginger talk was fascinating even though a lot of what she said was contradictory to things already said or already considered legend. Ginger vehemently denies that her mother, Lela was a controlling stage mother, like Ethel Gumm was to Judy Garland, though everything we are told says she was. She also mentions in one breath how she loved being paired with Astaire but longed for her own career, but gets very upset when people refer to their films together as "Astaire movies."

This brings me to the most troubling aspect of this documentary...there was no similar footage of Astaire providing his side of the story. I kept waiting to hear Fred's side of things but never did. On the other hand, it shouldn't have really surprised me since for years in interviews, Fred had always dodged the question of who his favorite dance partner was.

Any problems this documentary went by the wayside as these classic dance routines rolled across the screen again. Scenes were provided from the three films I haven't seen that didn't spoil, just pushed them further up my watchlist. There will never be another Astaire and Rogers and fans will be in heaven here.

I saw Marriage on the Rocks at the local drive-in when I was a kid...time for a re-watch.

I enjoyed reading that about Rogers and Astair. Could'nt stop there so started reading about Raymond.

I could lose all day reading about dancers from that Era. Thanks for posting. 💃

Added Chappaquiddick to my watchlist

Did the documentary mention the feathers from Ginger's dress kept coming loose and flying around, ruining the shot? If so I think I seen this documentary before.


Amen to that! Enjoyed reading your review, nicely laid out and written. Loved the photos too.

Yes, the feathered dress was discussed in great detail mostly by Ginger and Fred's daughter. Ginger apparently was begged to wear something else but refused because she designed the dress herself.

OK, I must have seen that documentary before. You know if you watch Ginger in the feather dress, during the dance, a couple tiny feathers still float off.

The Owl and the Pussycat
A surprisingly sophisticated screenplay and energetic performances from the leads make 1970's The Owl and the Pussycat worth a look.

George Segal plays Felix Sherman, a bookstore clerk and aspiring writer who rats out his downstairs neighbor, Doris (Barbra Streisand) when he realizes she is turning tricks in her apartment. Unfortunately, Felix's move backfires on him and gets both him and Doris evicted but also launches an off and on relationship between the two that both fight and deny until the final reel.

This piece was originally a two-character play by Bill Manhoff that hit the boards in 1964 with the late Diana Sands playing Doris and Alan Alda playing Felix, which ran for over 400 performances. I suspect that the less than impressive Broadway run might had something to do with the interracial cast of two, which probably caused some whispering during the turbulent 1960's during a Broadway season where most New York theatergoers were buying tickets to Hello Dolly! or Funny Girl. Ironically, Streisand was packing houses as Fanny Brice at the time and would later star in the film version of Hello Dolly.

Be that as it may, as I watched this film, I couldn't help but think that a lot of the appeal of the original stage play had to do with the fact that Doris was black and Felix was white. I'm pretty sure back in 1970, movie audiences weren't really ready for an interracial romantic comedy, not to mention the fact that Sands was a theatrical actress with no box office clout behind her, so Barbra Streisand, pretty much the biggest star in Hollywood at the time after appearing in three huge musicals, was awarded the role.

Streisand really sinks her teeth into the role and gets a lot of help from Buck Henry's intelligent screenplay that provides a pair of three dimensional characters involved in a story that is a little on the risque side (for 1970).Aided by director Herbert Ross and Henry, the two character play which I suspect took place in a single setting is nicely opened up, utilizing on location filming in Manhattan that almost keeps the movie from looking like a photographed play. Streisand proved her skill as a comic actress here as this was the first film she did in which she didn't sing. George Segal is quite charming as Felix, the nerdy bookstore clerk with the sexy side, a precursor to the character Ryan O'Neal would perfect in Barbra's next film What's Up, Doc?. The story does make some moves that don't really make sense but Streisand and Segal make an engaging screen team who will hold your interest.

I'll Cry Tomorrow
An explosive, Oscar-nominated performance by Susan Hayward makes the 1955 melodrama I'll Cry Tomorrow worth a look.

This alleged biopic of singer and Broadway star Lillian Roth opens with a glance at her childhood, a shy young girl pushed into show business by an aggressive stage mother (Jo Van Fleet) who has decided that her little girl is going to be a star whether she wants to or not. Lillian does become a star but her personal life is a mess, courtesy of alcoholism and some really miserable luck with men.

Director Daniel Mann and screenwriters Helen Deutsch and Jay Richard Kennedy have concocted what is allegedly a biography of a great movie star, but is really a highly stylized melodrama and commercial for Alcoholics Anonymous. This is another one of those biopics, like Funny Girl, which pretty much throws the facts aside for the sake of entertainment and on that level, this totally works, but if you're really interested in learning about the life of Lillian Roth, this is not the place to look.

However, if you're looking for a stylish, old-fashioned melodrama with a melodrama experts behind and in front of the camera, no need to look further. Mann's direction is a little heavy-handed and the horrors of alcoholism are driven home with a sledgehammer, but there are some pretty accurate messages about the disease that ring quite true. There's a scene in a hotel room where a drunken Lillian, unable to stop drinking, decides to jump out a window but can't do it. This is the core of what drives most alcoholics to seek help...to paraphrase Jerome Kern, they're "tired of livin' and scared of dyin."

Susan Hayward received her fourth Oscar nomination for her powerhouse performance in the starring role, a melodramatic tour-de-force that riveted this reviewer to the screen, despite Mann's overheated concept of alcoholism. Richard Conte was impressive as an abusive con man who Lillian marries and Eddie Albert scores as the man who helps Lillian get sober and this does bring up one minor nitpick with the film's depiction of AA: We learn that Eddie Albert's character, Bert, becomes Lillian's sponsor, but IRL AA, men only sponsor men and women only sponsor women, but I let it go. It's concept of alcoholism as a disease is over-the top, as is Alex North's music, but Hayward is divine and will keep you watching. And yes, Hayward does her own singing.

Superbad
The 2007 comedy Superbad is a raunchy and nonsensical teen comedy that features a terrific premise that gets out of control, but the laughs provided almost make it hard to notice.

Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) are high schools seniors who have been BFF's since they were eight years old but are going to be going to different colleges and in denial about how much they are going to miss each other. Their feelings get pushed aside when a huge party being thrown that night might be providing both of them to have sex with the girls of their dreams for the first time.

The guys find themselves in charge of providing liquor for the party and they are forced to turn to a super nerd (Christopher Mints-Plasse) who has a fake ID to buy the liquor, which is the springboard for a series of bizarre events that includes fights, two different parties, and Seth being hit by two different cars.

The screenplay by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg is probably based on their real life friendship, hence the names of the central characters, but I'm pretty sure only selected events here actually happened as the outrageous story that unfolds here is all over the place and even though there are laughs here, you also need a scorecard to keep track of everything that happens.

Personally, I thought the basic premise of this film was pretty unique...a look at separation anxiety between a pair of high school seniors, something we had never really seen before in the teen movie genre. Unfortunately, Rogen and Goldberg got carried away and came up with an outrageous comedy that often defies logic and realism and goes on forvever.

The film is populated with a lot of future stars. Rogen and Bill Hader get huge laughs as a pair of off-the-wall cops and future Oscar winner Emma Stone plays the hostess of the party in question, but, for my money, Jonah Hill walks off with this film, thanks to flawless comic timing and his affinity for physical comedy. And Michael cera deserves an Oscar for keeping a straight face working with Hill. The opening and closing scenes of this film did make me think about the very special movie that should have been and could have been between them.

A Night to Remember
The tragic events of one night in April of 1912 aboard the RMS Titanic are faithfully and reverently recreated in the 1958 classic A Night to Remember.

This film recounts the excitement felt worldwide as word of the first "unsinkable" cruise ship prepares to make its maiden voyage. Counts and commoners are seen excitedly preparing for this memorable journey and not long after the launch, the ship runs afoul of a giant iceberg, causing irreparable damage to the ship and causing it to sink in about an hour and a half.

I had been planning a re-watch and review of the 1997 film Titanic, but after reading my good friend Citizen's review of this film, I decided to watch this first. In a word, this film is an absolutely breathtaking account of what happened on that fateful night in 1912 that was much more effective than the 1997 film because there was no cowering to the 18-34 demographic by placing a fictional romance around the story. There are no Jack Dawson or Rose Dewitt in sight here, just a harrowing and terrifying account of a tragic event that actually touches upon several things that the 1997 film did not.

Something that horrified me that I don't believe was even mentioned in James Cameron's film was the fact that the Titanic sent up several distress signals in the form of rockets as soon as they realized what was happening and, according to this film, three different ships saw the signals and either ignored them or felt they couldn't act without specific details about what was happening. One of the ships doesn't even inform their captain of the signals until they see the sixth rocket go up...I can see dismissing one or maybe two signals as nothing serious but six?

Like the 1997 film, this film does nail the concept of class separation and what it meant in terms of what was happening before and after the boat began to sink. The first class passengers don't even acknowledge the existence of 2nd class or steerage until they find themselves standing side by side for the first time waiting to get into a lifeboat. On the flip side of this, we also see an ugly and unnecessary attempt to keep the people in steerage from getting to the lifeboats until the first class people do. Ironically, a lot of the first class passengers refuse to believe what's happening. The film also effectively addresses well-worn phrases like "Women and Children First" ...we see several women fight being separated from their husbands in order to enter a lifeboat and even learn near the finale that a man dressed up like a woman to get on a lifeboat. I was bothered by the fact that after most of the boats with the women and children were already in the water, a child was discovered still on board. What kind of parent would leave their child in a situation like this?

One of my favorite parts of the 1997 film wasn't given short shrift here either. I loved when the ship's orchestra played to keep people from panicking and when they decided to stop playing, the leader keeps playing and the rest of the orchestra comes back to join him. The film even manages to inject a little humor into the situation when we meet the ship's baker, who decides to deal with the situation by getting very drunk.

For 1958, this film was quite the technical achievement and stands up quite proudly next to the 1997 film. Yes, it was filmed in black and white, but personally I think that heightened the drama and made the waters of the Atlantic look even more icy. And except for the on board orchestra, the story featured a very minimal music score, but you don't really miss the music at all. The story was powerful enough without it. Director Roy Baker is to be applauded for his attention to production values as well to a cast that served the story instead of instigating star gazing. If you liked the 1997 film, you will love this one.

When I first went on a sea cruise in 2000 that was the standard rule. I was shocked because everyone has to do a lifeboat drill and the officers in charge said, 'in case of a real emergency it will be women and children first.' I'm thinking, what the hell! I'm not chop liver!

I don't know if that was based on fact or not? Though I believe it suppose to show the utter confusion onboard.

The baker in the real Titanic sinking was the only person to survive being in the icy water for any length of time, because he was so drunk his blood alcohol kept him from going into shock.

You should watch Titanic (1953) before you watch Cameron's Titanic.

Old School
Todd Phillips, the creative force behind the Hangover franchise. showed his penchant for over-the-top comedy long before with a rowdy little comedy from 2003 called Old School that borrows liberally from comedies of the past but still manages to deliver the laughs.

Luke Wilson stars as Mitch Martin, a guy who leaves his cheating wife and rents a house on a college campus. His buddies, the long married Bernie (Vince Vaughn) and the recently married Frank (Will Ferrell) decide to use the house as an opportunity to re-live their college days but the Dean (Jeremy Piven) orders the house is only to be used for college oriented activities so the guys decide decide to turn the house into a fraternity, allowing anyone they want to pledge.

Anyone who has seen films like Animal House or Revenge of the Nerds will be as familiar with the goings-on here as Phillips and his co-screenwriters seemed to be when they put this story together. Three guys become the spiritual gurus of a bunch of misfit oddballs and inexplicably making them the kings of the campus while giving constant headache to various college administrators, doing whatever they can to put a stop them, but just aren't able to do it.

Needless to say, the various party scenes provide the lion's share of the laughs here...Will Ferrell's drunken streaking expedition seems somewhat dated in 2018, but for some reason, it's still really funny. A KY wrestling match with two well built females and an 89-year old pledge is also really funny. Somehow in the middle of all this, Mitch's re-connection with a girl he he crushed on in college (Ellen Pompeo) never fades into the woodwork.

The film is packed with future stars...Pompeo would shortly find fame as the star of Grey's Anatomy and Piven would soon get his 15 minutes as Eli Gold on the HBO series Entourage. Perry Reeves, who plays Ferrell's wife here, would end up playing Piven's wife on Entourage. There's also a very funny cameos by Andy Dick and Seann Wlliam Scott. Wilson is a perfect straight man for all the craziness and Vince Vaughn has some fun moments too, but Will Ferrell easily steals the show as the wildly insecure and slightly maniacal Frank. It's not anywhere near as funny as the films that inspired it, but the laughs are there.

Throw Momma from the Train
Danny DeVito made his feature length directorial debut with a tasty black comedy from 1987 called Throw Momma from the Train.

In this comic skewering of the Hitchcock classic Strangers on the Train. Billy Crystal plays Larry, the teacher of a writing school class who claims that his bitchy ex-wife (Kate Mulgrew) stole a book that he wrote, put her name on it, and is now a wealthy celebrity being interviewed by Oprah. DeVito plays Owen, a student in Larry's class, who is in misery being the caregiver for his shrewish and emasculating mother (Anne Ramsey). And if you saw Strangers on a Train, you know the rest.

Screenwriter Stu Silver makes the Hitchcock film the linchpin upon which this comedy manifests itself. Owen gets the idea off swapping murders when he actually goes to a movie theater all by himself and sees Strangers on a Train. What makes this story different is that in this film, Larry and Owen never actually agree to swap murders and, without Larry's knowledge or consent, Owen calls Larry long distance from Hawaii and announces that he has murdered Larry's wife.

DeVito and Silver have mounted an expensive and entertaining black comedy here, but part of the backstory nagged at me throughout...Larry whines at the top of his lungs throughout the film that he wrote the book his wife allegedly stole but he never offers any proof throughout the running time that he wrote the book which made it a little hard to get behind his white-hot hate for his wife. On the other hand, the slightly demented Owen, who comes off as a little scary and off-kilter as the film opens, gained mad sympathy points for this reviewer when he was showing Larry his coin collection...I loved that scene.

The film features elaborate locations, beautifully photographed by future director Barry Sonnenfield and DeVito once again displays his imaginative eye with a camera, which would come to full fruition later with War of the Roses. Crystal and DeVito have almost a Martin/Lewis quality to their onscreen chemistry and Anne Ramsey's mother-from-hell actually earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. an impressive directorial debut for Danny DeVito.

Cool Hand Luke
Though the film is definitely showing its age, the 1967 Best Picture nominee Cool Hand Luke is still a riveting cinematic experience thanks to the powerhouse performance by Paul Newman that anchors the proceedings.

Newman plays Luke Jackson, a guy who gets drunk one night and gets arrested for destroying parking meters. Luke gets sentenced to two years at a prison work farm in the deep south where, on the periphery of civilization, Luke starts out as "New Meat" but eventually becomes the messiah of the prison population due to his refusal to conform to his new life.

The prison work farm is definitely a concept of the past and definitely keeps this story in another era and Frank Pierson and Donn Pearce's screenplay is rich with dated dialogue but there are universal themes addressed here that I'm pretty sure struck a chord during the war-torn , turbulent 1960's, a time when war protests and draft dodging were the norm and there is no doubt that the rebel streak inside Luke Jackson was something that a lot of 1960 audiences could relate to.

Director Stuart Rosenberg provides an atmosphere of heated confinement that the viewer feels throughout the film. We feel the sweat dripping off of these prisoners' bodies as they toil in the merciless sun and simultaneously feel the hopelessness of the dungeon they are brought back to every night. I loved the way large chunks of the story are photographed through fences in order to convey that locked up and forgotten sensibility that pervades a lot of what's going on.

Despite the skill of what's going on behind the camera, it is this fascinating central character of Luke Jackson that keeps the viewer invested in what's going on. What makes the evolution of what happens to Luke so interesting is that he really doesn't plan it or ask for it, he just refuses to stop being the person he was before he got caught busting parking meters and the rest of this prison population stopped being what they were years ago and are only concerned with survival that doesn't include spending the night in "the box."

In addition to the Best Picture nomination, Newman received a richly deserved fourth Oscar nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor. George Kennedy won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance as Luke's first enemy who eventually becomes his greatest ally. Their boxing match where Luke is clearly outmatched is definitely one of the film's highlights. Strother Martin is terrific as the Captain and several other familiar faces pop up along the way, including Dennis Hopper, Harry Dean Stanton, Wayne Rogers, Ralph Waite, Lou Antonio, and Robert Drivas. There's also a stylish cameo by Jo Van Fleet as Luke's dying mother. It's a little much for 2018, but Newman makes it worth the watch. Fans of the Robert Aldrich/Burt Reynolds film The Longest Yard will have a head start here.

It's My Turn
A luminous performance by the late Jill Clayburgh does make a 1980 romantic comedy called It's My Turn worth a look.

Clayburgh plays Kate, a college mathematics professor in Chicago in a dead end relationship with a sweet but dull architect (Charles Grodin) who flies to New York to attend her father's wedding and finds herself attracted to her father's bride's son (Michael Douglas), a semi-retired baseball player with a wife and a child.

I remember seeing this film during its original theatrical release and I recall now that the theater was practically empty and I remember why now. The years have not been kind to this one. The screenplay by Eleanor Bergstein, who would score big time seven years later with the screenplay for Dirty Dancing, really misses the boat here with an overly cute screenplay revolving around a romantic triangle that never really gets resolved. There is a scene near the beginning of the film where Douglas' character asks Kate why are her clothes so dumb. What the hell does that mean?

I love the way Clayburgh and Douglas meet in front of their families, but after that, things get really strained for the viewer. There's actually a scene of them in the hotel game room playing foosball because the bar was closed. And don't get me started on the old-timers game at Yankee Stadium...fifteen minutes of my life that I'll never get back.

Clayburgh was always worth watching and this film is no exception but Clayburgh's talent only carries this one so far. The chemistry between Clayburgh and Douglas is viable but they're no Tracy and Hepburn and though there was a glimmer of hope offered regarding the resolution, it wasn't enough to satisfy this reviewer. The film did feature some wonderful Manhattan location shooting and Patrick Williams' music was rather stylish, as was Steven Hill's performance as Clayburgh's dad. For hardcore Clayburgh fans only.