Scott-52 Reviews

It All Came True (1940)

This cute little gem shows why Ann Sheridan was a star

[8/10 · 3 April 2004]

It isn't often a movie can change a mood, but this little piece of fluff did. Whether it was a chance to see a young Bogie doing some comic acting, or Jeffrey Lynn doing something besides standing in the shadows, or Ann Sheridan being more than a wisecracking dish, I don't know - but I expect it was the latter.

On one level this is a poor man's YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU, with a dash of ARSENIC AND OLD LACE thrown in. It isn't oscar bait, but it does make you realize how much simple joy the hard working people at Warner Brothers gave to audiences during the Depression and the second world war. When I finished watching, I could just imagine pushing out into the evening air after the show, taking my date to get a piece a pie and cup of coffee someplace, and basking the warm glow of a simple happy time.

Taken for what it is, you'll have a heck of a good time with IT ALL CAME TRUE.

Road to Utopia (1945)

gags and cast triumphant

[8/10 · 26 January 2000]

Bob and Bing pal through this in their breezy manner, ably assisted by Dottie Lamour and especially the dry witty commentary of humorist Robert Benchley. Students of film and lovers of movies will appreciate the quality of the production, and rejoice in the knowledge that not everything funny was created after 1990.

Beau James (1957)

At least something on his life was made

[25 November 1999]

The life of Jimmy Walker would make a great film. It could be a tragedy in the Greek tradition - a man of many gifts with a single fatal flaw. A pretty good, though short-lived, musical Jimmy, was on Broadway in 1969 for about 85 performances. It had a good score, excellent casting and quite a story..... it missed it's audience though - theater goers in the late sixties were played out on musicals of the past, and didn't want to hear about politicians not attending to duty.

The film does well to capture the spirit of the 1920s via the 1950s, and stays true to Gene Fowler's memorable biography. Hope is an inspired choice for the tin pan alley songwriter turned politician.

Alexis Smith does a good job. And its always a pleasure to see Jimmy Durante, that well-dressed man.

Though pretty one-dimensional, it is good this film was made if only to chronicle the story of a man who really could have done great things, if he'd only paid attention to business and not got caught up in extra-marital problems and suspect financial transactions made by friends on his behalf.

Hellzapoppin' (1941)

You think the Marx Brothers were anarchic?

[2 September 1999]

For those who feel the Marxes were the last word in over the top hollywood product, I heartily recommend this adaptation of the Broadway show that made Ole and Johnson such a huge sensation, albiet briefly. This one has non-stop gags (not all of which work), and is unlike anything I have ever seen the studio system produce. H.C. Potter is credited with the direction, but its hard to imagine him doing more than assembling the cast each morning and saying "Okay folks - go nuts!"

A habitue of the 60s might describe this as a Crosby and Hope road picture on acid, but that's missing the point. Audiences embraced this thing in part because it represented an exhausting escape from what was becoming a pretty stressful world.

See it whenever you can!

S.O.B. (1981)

Terrific character studies

[9/10 · 25 June 1999]

S.O.B. is one of the best of the show biz films about show biz. It takes a good look at multiple stereotypes: pretentious stars, egocentric directors, sundry hangers-on, lecherous and world weary veterans, self-important producers, savage cutters, creppy gossip mongers, people users and others. Star turns by Richard Mulligan and William Holden, with outstanding support by the remarkable Robert Preston, Julie Andrews and especially Robert Vaughn (cast brilliantly against type).

The Viking funeral scene was affecting, even if it was a rip-off of several fictionalized accounts of John Barrymore's demise.

Only the boring could find this boring.

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)

allegory for Huston

[25 June 1999]

This one is a very moving piece, and is a tribute to the director himself who, like the judge, felt often as if he had outlived his time. It does weaken when it moves into the mythological part in the final half-hour, and could've been cut a good twenty minutes without much damage. Still, there is a lot to like here.

Newman is very real, and successfully captures the outsider determined to make his world the one others should want to live in. For me, the most touching moment occurs when Ms. Langtry (a stunning Ava Gardner) visits the shrine to her memory left by the late Judge.

Like some of his other later work, this one doesn't seem sure where to end, and is left sort of abandoned, rather than finished. Still worth a look.

The Sun Also Rises (1957)

A Doomed Leap for Greatness

[8/10 · 5 January 1999]

This was made in 1957, when Ty Power was 43, and getting a bit dull and paunchy. The whole cast was a mite ripe for the film. If the same cast had made it ten years earlier, it would have been a real treat.

Problem is, in 1947, none of that cast had put themselves through enough agony to convey the world-weariness of Hemingway's 20-something crew. Power was still a one dimensional pretty boy, although morphing into a real actor with films like Razor's Edge and Nightmare Alley; Ava Gardner was a slick chick on the MGM lot who had been married to Mickey Rooney, but otherwise didn't have a lot of movie experience. Errol Flynn was deteriorating noticeably, but hadn't acquired the self-knowledge he demonstrated in The Sun Also Rises.

If the Cast of '57 could have conveyed their panache in '47, it might have worked really well. As it is, only Flynn really rises to the occasion. Ironically, he steals the film in a distinctly supporting role. He is the only one who captures the tragedy of a misspent life - the others just seem cranky and self indulgent.

Rio Bravo (1959)

direction and acting carry this classic

[9/10 · 23 December 1998]

Rio Bravo stands on its own as a remarkable piece of movie-making. By almost any measure, the remake ElDorado is a pallid reflection of it. In Rio Bravo, you have Walter Brennan coming into his own as a western icon; John Wayne answering the call to serve the townpeople who elected him, in effect throwing down the gauntlet to High Noon. Most of all, you have Dean Martin, presenting a shattering portrayal of an alcoholic that ranks with Paul Newman in the Verdict, Jack Lemmon in Days of Wine and Roses, or Bing Crosby in the Country Girl.

Give Dean his due. Too much has been written about him as a Rat-Packer sycophant. He was his own man throughout, and between the times of his split with Jerry Lewis and his Las Vegas-drunkie persona he proved that he could act. RIO Bravo, Some Came Running and the Young Lions answer any question about his ability. He makes this movie more than a western,

The Master of Ballantrae (1953)

Not the Sea Hawk, but not the Big Boodle, either.

[7/10 · 22 November 1998]

There are some problems with this version of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic, not least of which is the changing of the ending and parts of the story to make it more appealing to the juvenile appetite. Psychological complexities are minimized here, so that what you're getting is an adventure yarn about greed and jealousy. It could have been a lot more.

Yet there are compensations. Jack Cardiff's photography is really eye-catching, and Mr. Livesey carves a nice bit of ham from his role. Flynn himself seems more interested in the proceedings than at any time since before the war. He is out of condition, and lacks physical vigor, but a clarity of eye indicates he may have had some inkling of what this could have been.

Made to utilize Warners Brothers frozen assets in England, the film is not Stevenson, but is but no means a bad way to pass part of a rainy afternoon.

People Will Talk (1951)

Unconventional film gets better with each viewing

[9/10 · 14 November 1998]

This gem just isn't given enough play. Actually, given the power of the forces it takes to task, it is a small miracle it even got made. In tackling the project, Mank riddled the medical profession, with a not too subtle sidetrip to take on McCarthyism.

Cary Grant is more smooth and relaxed than usual, and actually seems to be enjoying the role. Jeanne Crain tackles a difficult (and not too well written, alas) part, and Walter Slezak does a nice turn as a collegue and crony of Grant's. Hume Cronyn is despicable as the jealous and zealous pracitioner, prosecutor and persecutor.

This film didn't do well initially, but is now developing a cult following. It is one of those rare movies that gets better with each viewing.

The Mark of Zorro (1940)

Almost all the ingredients for greatness

[8 November 1998]

Always enjoyable, the best version, Fairbanks not withstanding. A great screenplay, outstanding musical score, and fine performances by Power, Rathbone, even a very young Linda Darnell. Two things prevent it from being a classic: it cries out from technicolor, and it would have been even better with someone more athletic, like Doug Fairbanks, Jr.

The Sea Hawk (1940)

Some minor flaws, but major assets

[9/10 · 17 September 1998]

There a only a couple of things that make this fall short of classic status, and they are not enough to keep it off of anyone's list of favorite/best adventure films.

The film is somewhat overproduced. The settings are too opulent, the costumes too magnificent, and the score is almost too rousing. This is particularly true when Flynn and his entire crew start singing, backed up none too discreetly by the entire Warners chorus and orchestra. Who sings while climbing riggings, anyway?

The other shortfall is the absence of color. Warners was known for their cost-consciousness, but it is ironic to note that a bit of trimming in the costuming and settings department would have probably allowed them to use the tri-color process, which was used to such spectacular effect in The Adventures of Robin Hood.

That said, the Sea Hawk possesses an embarrassment of riches. The semi-historic story line is strong, as are the performances of a truly stellar cast. Flora Robson, Claude Rains are tremendous, and Henry Daniell darn near out-sneers Basil Rathbone as the duplicitous villain. Brenda Marshall is no Olivia de Havilland, but she doesn't have do be; its nice to see Errol flirting with another comely wench.

Errol himself is also a treat. This was 1940, before his rape trial and before he got tired of movie making. He is obviously engaged in the production, and is at his most dashing self in pushing it along. Perrenial sidekick (on and off screen) Alan Hale is outstanding as well in his portrayal of...Well, Alan Hale.

Best of all is the score, composed by gool old erich Wolfgang Korngold. It is no coincidence that his music is at the heart of Flynn's best movies. It matches the action scene for scene in a manner again reminiscent of Robin Hood.

Although I cannot rank this as Flynn's best vehicle, there is a solid minority of Flynnatics who do. A compelling argument can be made for it.

San Antonio (1945)

While not the best of Flynn's westerns, San Antoni...

[8/10 · 6 September 1998]

While not the best of Flynn's westerns, San Antonio offers appealing players a lavish budget, and plenty of action. It was the Christmas offering from Warner Bros., and, perhaps due to the returning G.I.'s, the highest grossing film Flynn ever made (in its original release). Some good music helps, as does the chemistry between Errol and Alexis Smith. Raoul Walsh is uncredited for some of the direction, and I speculate the action scenes are those he worked on.

The Last Hurrah (1958)

Political dinosaur becomes extinct

[9/10 · 5 September 1998]

Some viewers have said this is directed sloppily, that it is another example of John Ford's wavering hand in later years. This overlooks the strengths of the cast, and the obvious affection they all had for the material. Never have so many been assembled for such a unified purpose. A director is essential, but a strong hand isn't. I like this one better every time I see it. Does anyone know the name of the theme song?