Gideon58's Reviews

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made their final RKO musical together in 1939 playing real life characters for the first time in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle.

The film opens in 1911 when Vernon Castle was a Vaudeville comic and Irene Foote was an aspiring actress who actually meets Vernon on the beach. The film details Irene encouraging Vernon to give up being a comic and being a dancer and before you know it, the two are married and dancing together.

According to this film, the couple actually began their career in Paris where they not only became dancing sensations, putting their own stamps on the Fox Trot and Tango, but creating their own dance that came to be known as the Castle Walk, they also became style icons...apparently all over the world people were eating, drinking, wearing, and smoking whatever the Castles were. When Irene decided to cut her hair, the world went into a frenzy but eventually gave into the Castle way. The Castles became international sensations who had to beg off national tours and settled in the country until the Germans declared war.

This was a historic film for Astaire and Rogers in more ways than one. This was not only the first time that they had played real life characters, but it was also their first period piece. But more important, it was after this film, that Rogers decided she wanted to branch out on her own without Astaire and, incredibly, her next film, Kitty Foyle won her the Oscar for Best Actress of 1940.

The other thing I really enjoyed about this film is that it gave both Astaire and Rogers a chance to act in addition to dance. Director H C Potter trusted the fact that the pair were actors as well as dancers and guided them through Richard Sherman's screenplay that was based on a pair of books by the real Irene Castle. Once again, Ginger Rogers gets a chance to prove what an underrated actress she was with one of her richest performances, full of humor and warmth. Don't get it twisted though...Astaire and Rogers never try to outshine each other and that's why they were so special together and it's so apparent here. Walter Brennan and Edna May Oliver score in supporting roles, but this film is a fitting farewell to the dance team that single-handedly resurrected RKO studios. They would reunite 10 years later for The Barkleys of Broadway, but it just wasn't the same.

Cary Grant: A Celebration of a Leading Man
The life and career of one of Hollywood's greatest icons is lovingly detailed in a 1988 documentary called Cary Grant: A Celebration of a Leading Man which provides information about the star that might interest the layman, but no real surprises for the true film buff.

The film begins talking about Cary's childhood in Bristol, England as Archibald Leach where he was devastated when his mother was committed to a mental institution shortly after his birth. We learn that growing up without his mother had a profound effect on Archie but it did not deter him from eventually pursuing his passion at the Hippodrome Theater where he was originally hired as a stage manager and eventually became part of the onstage company.

It wasn't long after the company from the Hippodrome journeyed across the pond that Archie began to pursue a career in Hollywood. Though he was rejected the first time, the second time was a charm and he found himself under contract to Paramount Pictures and co-starring with the legendary Mae West in She Done Him Wrong. The film then offers detailed accounts of the films that Cary appeared in and regarding his four marriages.

I must confess that I found this documentary to be a bit of a disappointment because I really didn't learn anything about the man that I didn't already know. We all know about his career and how good looking he was and how he eventually took control of his career and how he knew when it was time for it come to an end. The information provided in this documentary could be found anywhere.

The film talks incessantly about his onscreen charm and the chemistry he had with his leading ladies, a couple of whom actually provide commentary here, but only hints at the loneliness and insecurity that the actor never showed onscreen. Deborah Kerr and Leslie Caron both spoke about a private Cary Grant that no one ever saw and I was hoping that this would lead into a reveal that I read in a biography of the actor a couple of years ago stating that the actor was gay and had a relationship with actor Randolph Scott, but there is no mention of that here.

In addition to Kerr and Caron, the film also features commentary from Stanley Donen, Garson Kanin, Richard Brooks, and Jean Dalrymple. The film is rich with clips from some of Cary's best work, but this documentary doesn't even scratch the surface of what Cary Grant was really like, and I'm not just talking about his sexual proclivities. The whole thing was just kind of dry and clinical and safe and just a little dull.

I've seen several documentaries about Cary Grant, but most of them seem to have the same information over and over again.

There was one recently on Showtime called "Becoming Cary Grant". I recorded it, but I haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

Margot At the Wedding
Family dysfunction at its darkest is the focus of a 2007 indie sleeper called Margo at the Wedding that is worth a look thanks to an uncompromising screenplay and dazzling performances by two of the best actresses in the business.

Nicole Kidman plays the title character, who has reluctantly agreed to attend the wedding of her sister, Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh) accompanied by her son, Claude (Zane Pais). Upon arrival for the festivities, we learn that Pauline's fiancee, Malcolm (Jack Black) is pretty much an unemployed bum, which is just the jumping off point for the long buried resentments between these two sisters.

Writer and director Noah Baumbach has mounted a tragic, shocking, and laugh out loud story that reminded me a lot of some of Woody's Allen's more serious work...characters who speak without filter and don't care who they hurt when they do it. Not to mention a story that might branch off into a few too many directions, but the core of the story always remains the permanently damaged relationship between these two sisters. It's clear early on here that the tension between Margot and Pauline has existed since they were teenagers and that there are things that both did to each other that are unforgivable and we never really find out what a lot of these things are and that's OK. It provides a deliciously layered context to what these women are dealing with now.

Baumbach's screenplay establishes that Margot and Pauline are two very different people while also establishing the fact that they are definitely sisters. Margot is the fixer, the big sister with all the answers regarding everyone else's problems, but is not very good at turning the mirror on herself. Somewhere along the way, she has decided she doesn't want to drive anymore, refuses to let Claude learn how to swim, and doesn't like opening presents in front of people. Pauline is the screw up who wants her sister's approval desperately but would rather die than admit it. Yet, they both blame their father for their promiscuous pasts.
The relationship between Margot and Pauline reminded me of another pair of movie sisters, Sadie and Georgia Flood in Georgia, where Leigh played Sadie.

Baumbach's limited budget comes through in the production values. Many scenes in the film are so poorly lit that it's hard to tell what's going on which was aggravating because I was so fascinated by the characters and the story that I didn't want to miss a thing.

Nicole Kidman gives one of her most riveting performances, completing investing in what is often a very unlikable character. Jennifer Jason Leigh adds another "hot mess" character to her resume and, as always, completely nails it. The offbeat casting choice of Jack Black actually worked, producing the most full-bodied performance I have ever seen from the actor. Zane Pais is an eye opener as Claude and there is also a classy cameo from John Turturro as Margot's estranged husband and Claude's dad. Baumbach shows definite talent here and it has motivated me to check out his other work.

Never seen Morning Glory, but I've come to the conclusion that I will watch anything starring Rachel McAdams. She's an angel.

Three Men and a Baby
Though it's starting to creak a little around the edges, the 1987 comedy Three Men and a Baby still provides entertainment value.

This is the story of three very eligible bachelors who share a huge penthouse apartment in Manhattan. Peter (Tom Selleck) is an architect, Michael (Steve Guttenberg) is a cartoonist, and Jack (Ted Danson) is an actor. Jack gets a part in a movie and has to leave the country and while he's gone, he receives two packages at the apartment that Peter and Michael become responsible for: One is $250,000 in heroin and the other is a year and a half old baby girl.

I have heard about this film for years and had seen bits and pieces but never managed to watch the entire film from opening to closing credits and I was pleasantly surprised that the film had a little more substance than I imagined, despite the predictability of the premise.

The initial scenes of Peter and Michael learning how to deal with a baby are actually kind of silly, but it is actually after Jack returns that the story begins to pick up steam. We are delighted as Peter and Michael initially return Jack's daughter to him, but in a surprising storyline move, not only does Jack step up to the plate, but Peter and Michael begin to actually miss the little girl, though they're in deep denial about it. I love the scene where Peter and Michael spend an evening out at the theater but bail on their dates when they can't get Jack on the phone during intermission.

The screenplay, which is actually based on a French novel, is a little bit cliched and the story definitely has some dated elements. Three grown men living together in an apartment is something you never see in the movies in 2018, but, damn, you should see the apartment these guys live in. Big bouquet to the art direction/set direction teams as well as the film editor. Director Leonard Nimoy does a credible job of connecting the story of the baby and the heroin and just when the requisite happy ending seems on the horizon, we are thrown one more conflict for our heroes to handle.

Nimoy gets charming performances from the three leads with standout work from Selleck. I also liked Margaret Colin as Pete's girlfriend, Philip Bosco as a police detective, and there's also a very classy cameo from Oscar winner Celeste Holm as Jack's mother. There are dated elements here and there, but this comedy still provides equal doses of laughter and warmth. Followed by a sequel called Three Men and a Little Lady.

It's been a long time since I've seen Three Men and a Baby, but I liked it a lot. However I don't remember the sequel being as good as the first one.

The Savages
It's not exactly user-friendly subject matter for movies, but it is something that people deal with every day. A practically unknown filmmaker has crafted an emotionally charged look at the disease of Dementia and its affect on the victim and his loved ones called The Savages that had my stomach tied up in knots and simultaneously fighting tears.

Jon Savage (the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman) is a theater professor trying to get a book published about Bertolt Brecht and dealing with the fact that his Polish girlfriend must return to her homeland. Wendy Savage (Laura Linney), Jon's younger sister, is an unsuccessful playwright trying to get a fellowship from the Guggenheim and having an affair with a married man. Jon and Wendy are forced to put their own lives on hold when they learn their father, Lenny (Phillip Bosco) is slipping into Dementia and they must arrange some kind of permanent care for him.

Director and writer Tamara Jenkins has crafted a compelling and at times tragic story that is not an easy watch, but I got the feeling that Jenkins has gone through this because the film had a very personal feel to it...it seemed important to this filmmaker to tell this story, warts and all, perhaps as a way of helping other people dealing with this when they might have to.

I especially loved the way the story introduced us to the Savages. Lenny is actually living with a woman and when she dies, her family mercilessly throws Lenny out on the street, forcing Jon and Wendy to step up. We then watch Jon and Wendy initially trying to push the responsibility of Dad on each other until they see exactly how the disease has affected dad. This film realistically depicts aspects of dealing with the elderly that we don't talk about and would rather look the other way when they become public. There is a horrific scene where Lenny and Wendy are on a plane and Lenny screams that he has to go to the bathroom right now...absolutely heartbreaking. The scene where Jon and Wendy meet Lenny in a restaurant and ask what they should do if he slips into a coma was equally devastating.

In addition to the story of the Savage siblings dealing with their dad, we get an insightful look into the siblings themselves, who apparently hadn't connected in awhile prior to what happens to Dad. Jon is definitely the realist and though she won't admit it, Jon's opinion means a lot to Wendy and I liked the way that caring for their dad helped to bring some healing to their own relationship, which they weren't even aware was in need of healing.

Jenkins direction is detail-oriented making certain the viewer never forgets the agony of this disease. She works wonders with a very talented cast, all working at the top of their game. Laura Linney's tightly wound Wendy earned her an Oscar nomination and Hoffman was nominated for a Golden Globe for his pragmatic Jon. Phillip Bosco was robbed of an Oscar nomination for the lost soul Lenny...this performance is so precise and frightening that we are never sure if Lenny knows where he is or what he's doing and that's exactly what this disease does. I also have to mention Stephen Trask's extraordinary music that beautifully accentuates this terribly sad and gripping story.

Pat and Mike
Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, screenwriters Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon, and director George Cukor first collaborated on the 1949 classic Adam's Rib. Since it was probably Tracy and Hepburn's biggest hit, it was no surprise when they all reunited for a 1952 comedy called Pat and Mike, which had a problematic screenplay but Tracy and Hepburn totally make the viewer look past it.

Hepburn plays Pat Pemberton, a world class golfer and tennis player who could go to the top but she always chokes whenever her fiancee, Collier, is present. A blissfully unaware Collier has no problem with this since he just wants Pat housekeeping and baby making. Enter Mike Conovan (Tracy), a sports agent who recognizes Pat's talent as well as the effect that Collier has on her and while agreeing to be her new manager, does whatever he can to keep Pat and Collier apart.

There are things that I liked about Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon's screenplay, particularly the Damon Runyon quality infused into the character of Mike Conovan and all of his cronies, but there were problems with the story that nagged at me throughout: There's a scene where Pat actually jumps off a moving train to get away from Collier and to see what Mike can do for her and we think it's over...why wouldn't their engagement have been over right then? Why would Collier want to stay with a woman who jumped off a moving train to get away from him and why would a woman who jumped off a moving train not break off the engagement before she did it? Did Collier really have no idea what his presence was doing to Pat's career and just didn't care? Why would Collier show up at that tennis match with a trio of females and let them sit there and laugh at Pat while she chokes?

Believe it or not, I was actually able to look past all of this for a couple of reasons. First of all, I can't think of a role that she's done where Katharine Hepburn looked more like she was enjoying herself than this one. Hepburn was a natural athlete IRL and this role fit her like a glove. I must credit film editor George Boemier for making sure that everything Hepburn did in this film looked authentic though I don't think he had to do that much. There were a couple of long shots during the tennis match with Gussie Moran where it looked like Hepburn had a stand-in, but most of the sport scenes were very believable. Second, I loved the extremely slow burn of the relationship between the title characters...they only share one kiss during the entire film and when Mike wipes the lipstick off his cheek might be one of my favorite movie "Awwww" moments ever. I loved that Mike's feelings for Pat were more about protection than affection.

Cukor's energetic direction never gets in the way of the very special chemistry between the stars. Aldo Ray also scores as a dim-witted boxer who is a client of Mike's who feels neglected after he meets Pat. There are also brief supporting turns from future stars like Jim Backus, Chuck Connors, and a very funny Charles Bronson (who is billed under his real surname, Buchinski). Further authenticity to the story is aided with appearances from real life athletes like Babe Didrickson Zaharias, Don Budge, Beverly Hanson, Frank Parker and Helen Detweiler. It's no Adam's Rib, but Tracy and Hepburn make anything they do "cherce."

KInsey
Dr. Alfred Kinsey was a pioneer in the study of Human Sexual Behavior whose book Sexual Behavior and the Human Male stunned people with its frank and eye-opening look at the science of sexual behavior. The Oscar winning screenwriter of Gods and Monsters has crafted a thought-provoking and sometimes shocking biopic about this scientific icon called Kinsey.

This 2004 film introduces us to the title character (Liam Neeson) as a college professor who is studying gull wasps and is approached by the college to teach a sex education class when the students demand a class exclusively on the subject which is only briefly touched upon in a health class taught by Thurman Rice (Tim Curry). Kinsey becomes attracted to Clara McMillan (Laura Linney), one of his students and their tentative romance leads to a marriage that both parties come into as virgins. How a man who was a virgin until his wedding night became interested in human sexuality isn't really made clear but he does and turns a college campus on its ears.

Kinsey shocks students with his frank and in your face discussion of sexuality but realizes that the surveys that he has his students fill out aren't always honest so he decides the only way he could get the proper answers he needed for his research was to conduct one on one interviews with people and the film actually opens with Kinsey teaching three of his students how to conduct these interviews.

Clyde Martin (Peter Sarsgaard) is one of the students who Kinsey picks to be his assistant who happens to be bisexual and when his research approaches the subject of homosexuality, an encounter with Clyde changes his relationship with Clara (or Mac as he called her) forever but Mac somehow learned to live with what she considered a betrayal and we watch the three blaze a trail of study that had never been broached before.

Bill Condon has always been a filmmaker at home with prickly subject matter but this biopic really allowed him to venture into some foreign territory. Never before had human sexuality and its motivations and manifestations been discussed onscreen with such openness. The shots of students in Kinsey's first class as he shows films detailing the process of male-female intercourse are amusing and, frankly, if you're uncomfortable with the use of words like penis, vagina, ejaculation, clitoris, and masturbation, you might want to give this film a pass.

But if you have the stomach for it, this is a compelling look at a scientist who was passionate about a subject that most people didn't like talking about, which made research nearly impossible at times, especially when his study ventured beyond normal male-female sexual behavior. It was when Kinsey's studies ventured into homosexuality, extra-marital and pre-marital sex, and especially sex offenders that his support began to dry up, but it only increased his passion. I loved the scene where he shares a passionate kiss with Clyde but I had to wonder if he was having genuine feelings for the young man or if it was just part of his research.

Liam Neeson brings equal parts fire and sensitivity to his performance in the title role and he is perfectly matched by Linney who received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her rich performance in a complex role. Sarsgaard is smooth and sexy as Clyde and mention should also be made of Timothy Hutton, Oliver Platt, Chris O'Donnell, William Sadler, and John McMartin who round out the supporting cast. There's also a classy turn by John Lithgow as Kinsey's icy father and a wonderful cameo by Gods and Monsters co-star Lynn Redgrave. Mention should also be made of Virginia Katz' editing, Carter Burwell's lush music score, and lovely period costumes by Bruce Finlayson. A unique and compelling look at a scientific pioneer made for the adult filmgoer.

Fitzwilly
Between Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Dick Van Dyke managed to squeeze in a forgettable little comedy from 1967 called Fitzwilly that features a stellar cast fighting an overstuffed screenplay.

Van Dyke plays Claude Fitzwilliam, the butler to an eccentric named Victoria Woodworth who thinks she is a millionairess. Woodworth has been broke ever since her father's death, but has no clue because Fitzwilliam and the rest of her staff have become a very clever organization of con artists who have been robbing some of Manhattan's largest businesses, charging alleged purchases to other wealthy people and then misdirecting the delivery of the merchandise so that they can sell the merchandise and keep Miss Victoria living in the style to which she is accustomed. Fitz's plans may come to the halt with the arrival of a secretary (Barbara Feldon) whom Miss Victoria has hired to help her write a book.

Isobel Lennart's over-padded screenplay is where a lot of the problems with this film lie. Actually, the secretary says it best: Instead of all these elaborate robberies, when the staff realized Miss Victoria was broke, why not get real jobs? The screenplay also implies that Miss Victoria's staff has been doing this for a long time and I had a hard time believing A, that they have gotten away with it for as long as they have and B, that Miss Victoria has never had a clue as to what was going on under her nose in her own house.

The film also suffers from some lead-footed direction by Delbert Mann, who won an Oscar for directing Marty in 1955, but Mann was a director whose specialty was melodrama. This kind of elaborate slapstick comedy was definitely foreign territory for him. The film's pacing is sluggish and it's about 25 minutes longer than it needs to be.

Dick Van Dyke works very hard to keep this thing moving, but his personal charisma only carries this one so far. Feldon was pretty vanilla though he does have a terrific veteran supporting cast behind him, including the legendary Dame Edith Evans playing Miss Victoria. John McGiver, Norman Fell, Harry Townes, John Feidler, Cecil Kellaway, and a very young Sam Waterston offer solid support as well, Mann does make Manhattan an effective backdrop for the story and this film was also a very early assignment for legendary composer John Williams (he's billed as Johnny). This comedy has not held up as well as I hoped, it was just kind of blah and had me looking for toothpicks for my eyelids.

The Savages looks amazing. I really want to see it. I'm a big fan of Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

It's a must see if you're a Hoffman fan.

The Late Show
After winning an Oscar for 1974's Harry and Tonto, the late Art Carney became one of Hollywood's busiest actors. One of the strongest entries from this career renaissance was an underrated sleeper from 1977 called The Late Show.

Carney plays Ira Wells, a self-described broken down old private detective with a gimpy leg, a hearing aid, and a queasy stomach whose partner and best friend shows up at his door and dies in his arms. Shortly afterward, Ira is approached by a New Age kook named Margo (Lily Tomlin) who wants to hire Ira to find her missing cat. We are a little surprised when Ira learns that his friend's death and this missing cat are somehow connected.

Oscar winner Robert Benton (Kramer VS Kramer) received a Best Original Screenplay nomination for this loving valentine to 1940's film noir that captures the essence of the genre but never forgets that the film takes place in the 1970's. The story cleverly places Ira Wells, who actually seems like an older version of Phillip Marlowe or Sam Spade in a time machine and transported into the 70's and is not happy about it. I love the way the character speaks like a 40's detective and that a lot of the characters, especially Margo, often have a hard time understand what he's talking about.

The character of Margo is a perfect counterpart for Ira...she is self-absorbed and is overly concerned with the way she appears. During her first 15 minutes onscreen, she claims to have seven or eight different occupations and we just know that she probably doesn't know half of what she claims to know, but her bravado is kind of endearing and it is watching the relationship that develops between these two characters that makes this film so endearing, not necessarily the crime story that surrounds them.

The other thing I loved about the Wells character is his unspoken respect for the opposite sex...yes, he calls Margo "doll" for most of the running time, but every time Ira senses any kind of real danger, he does whatever he can to shield Margo from it. I love the care he shows for her well-being when Margo accidentally encounters a corpse, yet can't look the woman square in the eyes when she starts to blather on about how fond she has become of him and how she thinks they should start a business together. I like that Benton's screenplay also respects the fact that pairing these two characters romantically would have made no sense.

Benton directed the film as well and does a credible job of establishing the noir-ish atmosphere that his screenplay requires some terrific detail in photography...I love the way the camera carefully scans over Ira's apartment during the opening credits and Ken Wannberg's music sets the appropriate mood for the story. Carney is terrific and his chemistry with Tomlin is an absolute revelation. A lovely homage to a beloved movie genre that actually puts characters first and story second.

Bachelor Mother
An effervescent performance from Ginger Rogers is at the center of Bachelor Mother, a 1939 comedy classic that still provides pretty consistent chuckles for most of its running time and is further proof that Ginger Rogers was more than a pair of tap shoes.

Rogers plays Polly, a seasonal department store employee who has just been laid off, who happens to witness a baby being left on the front steps of an orphanage and is unable to convince the orphanage staff that the baby is not hers. An orphanage rep goes to the department store and convince the store's manager in-name-only David Merlin (David Niven) to give Polly her job back so that she is able to afford to raise her child.

Polly agrees to keep the baby as a way of keeping her job and begrudgingly begins to bond with the baby and David becomes drawn to Polly and the child, wanting to do what he can to help, even though he has no desire for a ready made family. Things are going OK until David's father (Charles Coburn) receives an anonymous note from Polly's ex (Frank Albertson) stating that David is the father of the child and Dad decides he wants custody of his grandson.

Director Garson Kanin has a very clever screenplay by Norman Krasna (White Christmas)to work with, not to mention a terrific leading lady. This comedy was actually released the same year as Rogers' final musical with Fred Astaire, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle and, just as I noticed in Stage Door, Ginger Rogers was more than a partner for Fred Astaire and was more than capable of commanding a movie screen without Fred Astaire or anyone else for that matter. What was special about Ginger was that she had a special kind of screen charisma that grabbed moviegoers and she did it without blowing other actors off the screen and had chemistry with just about every leading man she ever had, not just Astaire.

As splendid as Rogers is here, the pleasant surprise here was the performance by David Niven. Yes, Niven has done comic roles but he was not known as a comic actor and the gift for light comedy that he displays here so early in his career was so much fun. I loved his bewilderment at the New Year's Eve party when Ginger was the belle of the ball and he was being ignored or the breakfast scene with Coburn where he's trying to convince Dad that the baby isn't his. He's so funny here that it's hard to believe believe he was most famous for his work as a dramatic actor. Aided by Kanin's fast-paced direction, Rogers, Niven, and Coburn deliver the comedy goods here. Remade in 1956 as Bundle of Joy. Thanks for the recommendation Citizen.

Glad you enjoyed, Bachelor Mother. It's one of my favorite comedies, thanks to Ginger.

And i got to see it, thanks to you, I couldn't find it anywhere.

Carmen Jones
The 1954 musical Carmen Jones was certainly an attempt at something different that isn't always successful, but it did provide a career-defining role for its star, who was taken from us much too soon, but made history here.

This film is based on the opera Carmen, composed by Georges Bizet, but what screenwriter Harry Kleiner, lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, and director Otto Preminger have done is take the plot and the music from the opera and turned them into a musical with dialogue and presented the story with an all-black cast, something I know had to raise a few eyebrows in 1954 and I'm pretty sure Preminger and Hammerstein had to shop this one around a few studios before finding a studio willing to do this.

I haven't seen the opera since I was a kid, but in this film, the setting is an army base where parachutes are manufactured right before the Korean Conflict. The title character is the local good time girl who every guy on the base wants to go out with, but right now she only has eyes for a young soldier named Joe, who only has eyes for a pretty thing from back home named Cindy Lou. When fate throws Joe and Carmen together, it gets Joe in hot water with the military and he eventually ends up messing up his whole career for this woman and just when Joe is ready to give up everything for Carmen, she attracts the eye of the current heavyweight boxing champion, Husky Miller, who has decided that he wants Carmen for himself, no matter what it costs him.

Yes, there's no denying that this was a very original concept and Preminger and Hammerstein must be applauded for the cajones it must have required to take on such a project, but the story does have a couple of problems...the primary one being, and I don't know if I missed it, but I never caught exactly where Joe stopped loving Cindy Lou and started loving Carmen. During Carmen's opening number, Joe completely ignores Carmen and when they're on the road together to take her to jail, he shows nothing for contempt for her, but a couple of scenes later, Cindy Lou has disappeared without explanation and Joe is imprisoned when Carmen escapes and when he gets out, he goes straight to Carmen.

Anyone who has seen the opera or ever watched the movie or TV series The Bad News Bears will recognize a lot of the music here. The music has been adopted into musical comedy-type songs but they are still sung in the style of opera with opera singers singing for most of the actors. The score includes "Dat's Love", "You Talk Jus' Like My Maw", "Beat Out Dat Rhythm on a Drum", "My Joe", and "Dere's a Cafe on the Corner." I believe filming this story with an all black cast was supposed to broaden the appeal of the original piece, but I think it might have had just the opposite effect. I just don't see blacks in the 1950's flocking to movie theaters to hear blacks singing opera. And Preminger wasn't kidding when he wanted to utilize an all-black cast...there isn't a white face in sight here.

Despite its spotty screenplay and limited appeal, the film did make a true movie star out of the breathtaking Dorothy Dandridge, whose flamboyant and full-bodied performance in the title role earned her the first Oscar nomination ever for Outstanding Lead Actress for an African American Actress. Though her singing is dubbed by Marilyn Horne, there are moments where it's almost hard to tell. The dubbing is so well done and Dandridge breathes everywhere Horne breathes and shapes her mouth to fit Horne's vowel sounds, it's very professionally done. Harry Belefonte looks great in an army uniform and does create chemistry with Dandridge. His singing is dubbed by LaVerne Hutchinson. Pearl Bailey, Brock Peters, and a very young Diahann Carroll have supporting roles, but it is the work of the legendary Dorothy Dandridge that makes this worth a look.

Chris Rock: Bigger and Blacker
After my recent viewing of Chris Rock's Netflix special Chris Rock: Tambourine, I felt the need to visit Chris back in his prime when he was the hottest standup on the planet. This brought me back to 1999's Chris Rock: Bigger and Blacker.

If you want an efficient comic overlay of pop culture for the last 20 years or so, there are are fewer places to start than with a Chris Rock concert. This third HBO concert for the former SNL cast member starts off with Chris' hilarious take on the Columbine shooting and how people kept making feeble excuses for these boys who did the shooting but Chris only has one excuse: "Whatever happened to crazy?" Chris also offers his very special viewpoint on the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal, the blame for which Chris lays at Hillary's feet, which had this standing room only crowd on the floor. I was also amused by Chris' views on gun control, which made perfect sense to me. He also raises a eyebrows with his views on the medical profession and the Jerry Lewis Telethon.

I love watching Chris perform because, unlike a lot of standups, Chris doesn't spend a lot of time laughing at himself. He has enough acting ability that he can deliver a punch line with a straight face> When a comic laughs at himself delivering a punch line, he takes the power out of the joke and this is something Rock never does. He also has this uncanny ability to take his show wherever the audience wants it to go. There are certain things he says here that got bigger laughs than the guy expected and instead of moving on, he runs with it, mining extra laughs that he really didn't plan.

Chris also talks about the lack of strong black leaders, different kinds of racism, and homophobia, warning the audience that if they hate gays, they will have a gay son. But where he really scores and where he always scores is when the discussion moves to sex and relationships. Like it or not, Chris appears to be an expert on these things and I have always found this part of his show he funniest and very difficult to argue with anything he says. This is also the part of the show where Chris always divides his audience...he always says at least one thing that only gets laughs from the females in the audience and at least one thing that only gets laughs from the males. I love when he asks the audience who are the biggest liars, men or women and he says men tell the most lies but women tell the biggest lies, a distinction which he nails and raises a few eyebrows in the audience while doing it. For those whose only exposure to Rock was the Netflix special, you might want to check out the Chris Rock who was, at the time, the King of HBO.

Presenting Lily Mars
An effervescent performance by Judy Garland is at the center of 1943's Presenting Lily Mars, an unremarkable if enjoyable musical romp that is watchable despite some dated elements.

Garland plays the title role, a stage-struck 19-year old who lives in the same Indiana town as the mother of important Broadway producer John Thornway (Van Heflin). Lily pesters the poor man while he's in town preparing his next show. She even steals his play from his home so that he has to come to her house to retrieve it and is forced to sit through her take on Lady Macbeth. Despite all forms of discouragement from Thornway, when he leaves for New York, she follows him there.

Lily eventually wears Thornway down who agrees to give her a small part in his show because the girl is a friend of his mother's. What Thornway doesn't count on is Lily coming between him and his very arrogant leading lady, an operatic diva named Isabel (Martha Eggert).

This film was the beginning of a new phase of Judy Garland's career...though she was still making barnyard musicals with Mickey Rooney, she was no longer the teenager who enchanted us in The Wizard of Oz four years earlier. A 20 year old Garland was growing up and MGM realized this, providing her with a character who for all intents and purposes, was an adult, and Garland seems to be cherishing the opportunity to play a grownup.

Director Norman Taurog has mounted a fun show business story even if it is definitely showing its age...there is no way in 2018 a girl could actually sneak into the stage door of a Broadway theater and hide so efficiently that nobody finds her there until the next morning but it's forgiven in 1943 because the filmmakers want to show how determined this girl is to succeed. Also because it's Judy. And this might be a bit of a nitpick, but there are several scenes of Isabel complaining about the dialogue in the play, but everytime she's onstage, she only sings, she has no spoken dialogue at all.

Several composers, including EY Harburg and Burton Lane, who wrote the songs for The Wizard of Oz, have contributed to the score for this film which includes "Tom, Tom, The Piper's Son", "Is it Really Love?", "When you Think of Lovin (Think of Me)", and "Every Little Moment". There is a spectacular finale set to "Broadway Rhythm" (which Gene Kelly would later immortalize with his ballet in Singin in the Rain), which features elaborate choreography by Charles Walters.

Garland gives a delightful performance which is more centered on her talent as an actress than her singing. We have to wait about 30 minutes into the film before we get to hear her sing, but she holds our attention nonetheless. Van Heflin, an actor I've always considered intensely dramatic, shows a gift for light comedy here and does create a viable chemistry with Judy. Oscar winner Fay Bainter and Spring Byington were also fun as the leads' mothers. It's not top tier Garland, but a fun musical outing and true fans of the star will not be disappointed.