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Reviews
The Black Watch (1929)
Ford's first feature foray into sound is solid.
Released in 1929, THE BLACK WATCH is an entertaining flick shot in black & white, and John Ford's first all-talkie film. It's based on the 1916 novel 'King of the Khyber Rifles' by Talbot Mundy.
Captain Donald King (McLaglen) goes undercover and leaves his regiment (Black Watch) to put down a rebellion in India at the at the start of WWI. There he finds the beautiful princess Yasmani (Loy) who plans to send her minions to attack British forces at the Khyber Pass.
As we would expect from a Ford movie it has a good look, especially the outdoor scenes. The Cave of Echoes scenes are well crafted with fine visuals and sound effects.
The problem the movie has is it's dialogue in many scenes, Myrna Loy's in particular, is stilted and stagy , as if they thought the mics couldn't keep up with their voices. Still, a good movie.
The Last Tycoon (1976)
All that talent....
To quote Robert De Niro's character in the last 10 minutes of the film,"This is a waste of time."
The Glass Bottom Boat (1966)
The party scene
A most predictable early 60's movie stuck in 1950's fluff. Harmless fun with Hollywood production, Ms. Day has this shtick down pat. She's perky and feisty and sweet and innocent and gee it must be exhausting to be America's oldest divorcée virgin. But Dom DeLuise, Paul Lynne, Dick Martin , and John McGiver supply the laughs that really make it work. Rod Taylor hits his marks and gets out of the way. Arthur Godfrey has no reason to be here. And sadly this is Eric Fleming's last movie before is tragic death in Peru.
The Westerner (1940)
Walter Brennan is Judge Roy Bean
Outstanding performance by Walter Brennan. Great cinematography by Gregg Toland. Of course Hollywood screws with some of the facts, but still a fine move. Gary Cooper is just along for the ride.
The Long, Long Trailer (1954)
Long, Long Trailer, is short, short, on laughs.
It's missing Fred and Ethel. Too much Lucy and Desi together in that trailer. Bad for the movie lovebirds and really bad for the movie. Only for fans and I'm a big fan, but it would have been better with a supporting cast.
The Horse Soldiers (1959)
Ford gets sappy
Horse soldiers is the last calvary-western movie Ford directed with his pal-star John Wayne. Ford directed three more movies with Wayne, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, How the West Was Won, and Donovan's Reef, but this is the last movie where the 'Duke' is, well the 'Duke'. Liberty Valance is a far superior movie and has Wayne in a pivotal role but less screen time, James Stewart and Lee Marvin are the real stars. How the West Was Won is just a bunch of clips with different director and stars so doesn't count as a Ford effort. Donovan's reef isn't in the genre. Horse Soldiers is in color, Technicolor I suppose, a loud soundtrack and anoying singing with soldiers off in the background. Some of the movie looks very good as on location some like its on the back lot.(A little research shows that John Ford became very depressed after a stunt man of his died from neck injuries after a fall from a horse that Ford moved the set from location back to California.)William Holden saves the movie from being just a bunch a bugle calls and calvary charges. He matches Wayne star for star and the movie is good when they're in front of the camera. Unfortunately there's a love interest and a war going on that Ford somehow makes dull.
U-571 (2000)
All Style No Substance
When I first heard about the movie U-571 it hadn't been made yet. So, for about a year I waited for what sounded like what was going to be a great submarine movie. When I read the plot I knew for me it would be a problem. I prefer something closer to the historical record. But, ok, it's only a movie. I'll give'em the plot. But in return I'd like to have I don't know maybe some well defined characters, some memorable dialogue, and perhaps something I hadn't seen before in a sub movie. You'll get nothing like that here. At least the old sub movies of Hollywood after the war, while the effects weren't there had the stars: Gable, Lancaster, in Run Silent, Run Deep; James Garner in Up Periscope. In U-571 we get Matthew McConaughey. I'm not a fan. But considering the script I guess he did a hell of a job. And if you've seen Wolfgang Petersen's Das Boot, well you'll see that the best scenes in this flick (except one) were lifted without credit from that great movie. In fact the first 15 minutes of Das Boot are better than this entire film. Don't believe me check it out.