mercutio-8 Reviews

The Rookies: Cliffy (1975) Season 3, Episode 22

Very touching...

[3 March 2006]

A very moving story dealing with "The Rookies" and their kindness to a mentally retarded young man and the sister who takes care of him. I saw this as a boy and, just over thirty years later, still remember it. Mark Slade is very effective in the title role of this episode. His shyness at being quizzed by Kate Jackson when she is tutoring him, calling her "Miss Jill" is touching and not cloying. The actress playing Cliffy's sister (guessing from the IMDb cast list is that it is Tyne Daly) also delivers a strong performance. At one point she breaks down, confessing to Jill how difficult the sacrifice of being Cliffy's caretaker has been, and how she longs "to be held and comforted, instead of being the one who holds and comforts" was especially powerful. Here is hoping that this episode may one day be available on DVD.

Taking Lives (2004)

Coupla scares, BUT...

[20 March 2004]

Shoulda known better. Interesting, atmospheric and scary prologue. Then came the opening credits... I should have known I was in for nothing new or different when I saw that the opening credits sequence (yes --- OPENING CREDITS), was a direct rip-off of

the opening credits to "Seven". As some other titles have been listed by other imdb users, think of your favorite moments from your favorite psychological thrillers. They're bound to appear

here in some version or another. That's NOT a good thing, in this case. On the plus side, there is the always terrific actress Gena Rowlands, who

deserves far better material...

The Bedford Incident (1965)

Wow! Genuine edge of the seat movie!

[13 December 2003]

I like Richard Widmark's performances, and having never seen "The Bedford Incident", nor knowing anything about it, rented it.

I have just finished watching it, and it rates up there with the BEST of the Cold War thrillers of the 1960s, such as "Seven Days in May" and "Fail-Safe". So taut and engaging was this movie, that I actually was gasping aloud at some of the twists and turns.

Widmark again delivers a fine performance as the tough-bordering-on- obsessed captain. Sidney Poitier matches him as an inquiring, curious reporter who finds out more than he bargained for. Martin Balsam plays a Naval reserve doctor who is pushed to the brink with Widmark's disdain (a scene where he stands up to Widmark is a highlight.) And Eric Portman brings a quiet gravity to the role of a former WWII German U-boat commander - now on the allied side, courtesy of NATO. And look for a younger Donald Sutherland as one of the ship's junior doctors.

(It is too bad that Mr. Widmark has not been honored in the AFI salutes.)

Laughter on the 23rd Floor (2001 TV Movie)

What happened to the play? Elevator did not reach floor 23...

[3 April 2002]

Neil Simon's play "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" centered on the relationship between a 1950s television comic (based on Sid Caesar and his staff of writers, who worked out of the 23rd floor of a midtown building in Manhattan. This group would talk, confide, fight, and go for each others' throats if the situation - however absurd - warranted it. Underneath the zaniness, hostility or any dilemna, however, was a shared love and talent for creating sketch comedy. And it was this talent that bonded writers and comic together and, when all smoke cleared, made them realize that they did in fact care for what they did, and for each other. Max Prince (the Sid Caesar model), and his writers. The writers and Max Prince. He needed them, they needed him. Together they needed comedy. This play was indeed a fine ensemble. Every character is defined. None are short-changed in depth. Would have been a novel approach for the film. Understandably, a film version of a stage script needs some change and adaptation so as to not be a confined, filmed play. When this transition goes so far afield, however, changing the intention and focus of the original piece, there seems to be no point in adapting it to film at all. The film "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" plays like a sequel to an original that was never made (like maybe the play?) The film focuses on Max Prince's relationships with virtually everyone (including his dead parents in a cemetary scene), EXCEPT the writers. Characters who were not even in the play become the main supporting cast, while the writers are left as incidental characters. Considering those who are playing the writers - Victor Garber, Mark Linn-Baker, Saul Rubinek, Dan Castellaneta, among others - a fine pool of talent is genuinely squandered, with nothing to do except occassionally react to and comment on the changing state of The Max Prince show. As a result, when Max makes the heartfelt statement that his writers mean everything to him, the point is lost, because there has been little interaction with them A more fitting title for this film would be "The Travels and Travails of Max Prince". Why this instead of "Laughter on the 23rd Floor"? Because Max hardly spends any TIME on the 23rd floor!

A Tale of Two Cities (1935)

Classic novel, classic film, Ronald Colman a "far...far" better actor.

[10/10 · 17 August 2000]

I have just finished reading Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities," for the first time. It is one of the greatest books I have ever read. I then rented the MGM movie, and found it to be a fine, straightforward adaptation. I once read a critic's summation of Ronald Colman as having a dignified presence, fine voice, but ultimately NOT a very good actor. I DISAGREE. If on this film alone, his moments of reflection, his drunken revelry, the longing glances at Elizabeth Allan, and his fierce determination to see that his heroic plans are carried out make for a well-rounded, full character. Truly a fine performance.