maksquibs Reviews

Native Land (1942)

Superb 1930s agitprop detailing attacks on Unions & The Bill of Rights

[8/10 · 4 November 2009]

This barely released piece of Left-Wing cinematic Op-Ed journalism fully lives up to its storied rep. Half documentary/half vignette-sized realizations on Capitalist & vigilante abuse against the Bill of Rights (with an emphasis on Union busting), it's remarkably effective as agitprop and remarkably advanced as sheer film-making. After co-lensing THE PLOW THAT BROKE THE PLAINS/'36, Leo Hurwutz & Paul Strand spent five years putting this together which would have robbed the stories of their immediacy if Pearl Harbor & WWII hadn't already muted so many political controversies 'for the duration.' But modern viewers will appreciate the remarkably up-to-date documentary techniques and the recreations which anticipate movie styles later developed by Elia Kazan & Boris Kaufman in films like ON THE WATERFRONT/'54. Paul Robeson beautifully handles the exceptional narration, and watch for noted NYC blacklisted actors like Howard de Silva & Art Smith. But the real champ here is undoubtedly Paul Strand, a great photographer whose eye is unmistakable in three museum-worthy montage sequences showing Americans going about their daily lives and celebrating holidays on the street.

Escape from Dartmoor (1930)

A barber, a manicurist & a client are on the razor's edge of a deadly love triangle.

[7/10 · 30 October 2008]

Anthony Asquith is best known for straightforward film-making in the so-called British literary tradition which served him particularly well in stage-to-screen adaptations of G. B. Shaw & Terrence Rattigan. Letting the writer function as auteur doesn't win you critical kudos, but films as fine as PYGMALION/'38 and THE BROWNING VERSION/'51 don't just 'happen.' Even so, it's fun to watch the young Asquith show off, even needlessly, on late silents like this & UNDERGROUND/'28, also out on DVD. You can all but hear him parsing the latest Russian or German import just screened at his CineClub. There's some strikingly fast montage work and psychological P.O.V. stuff (even a shock-flash of red tinting as in the original prints of Hitchcock's SPELLBOUND/'45), but the main influence is UFA studios with their posh camera moves, rich visual texture, expressionist acting, shadowy lighting & diagonal slashes The opening works best as Swedish actor Uno Henning (in his only British role, he's an intriguing mix of Buster Keaton & Conrad Veidt) breaks out of prison in search of revenge. The story flashes back to detail a rather commonplace love triangle that gives Asquith plenty of space for his set pieces (a visit to the cinema, a very close shave, et al.) which tend to run on a bit too long. But no matter, it's all ravishing to watch and if the characterizations never quite add up, the visual touches are worth the stretch.

Tom Brown's School Days (1940)

Young Tom Brown tests his mettle at a tough British Public school.

[6/10 · 4 June 2008]

Pinch-penny version of the oft-filmed fictionalized memoir (rushed out by RKO to pick up any GOODBYE, MR CHIPS backsplash) is remarkably clear-eyed in detailing the petty (and not so petty) sadism of British "public" schools, as well as its harrowing ostracism, despair & loneliness. Thomas Arnold's 19th century school reforms are alluded to, but neither dramatized nor properly integrated into the dorm dungeon life which the reliable director Robert Stevenson unintentionally(?) exposes. A good cast mixes real Brits like Cedric Hardwicke & Freddie Bartholomew with Yankee ringers who come off better than you might expect. Especially the Flashman, played by DEAD END kid Billy Halop, who makes a convincingly threatening top boy. Added bonus value: dig those musical lifts from Verdi's FALSTAFF in Anthony Collins' score. And you might want to try this out on a HARRY POTTER fan who wants to know where schools like Hogwarts come from. No quidditch field, but the school is called Rugby.

The Purple Plain (1954)

Handsomely filmed WWII drama with Greg Peck as a downed pilot in a Burma jungle.

[7/10 · 29 May 2008]

Well made faux-Hemingway with Gregory Peck reprising his neurotic pilot from 12 O'CLOCK HIGH, but in a mostly British production; the other American involved is Robert Parrish who smartly helmed. Brooding over his wife's death in the blitz, Peck finds something to live for in a young Burmese beauty. Then a routine flight goes awry and he lands in Japanese territory with two men to save. Geoffrey Unsworth provides riveting Technicolor images to go with the painterly action effects work, wonderfully different than the Hollywood norm at the time. And there's solid support from Bernard Lee, Maurice Denham, Lyndon Brook and a beauteous Win Min Than in her one & only film appearance. As a Scottish missionary Brenda De Banzie is over the top, but the film needs the bit of applied zest she provides.

Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922)

The police force are on the trail of Mabuse, a criminal mastermind wreaking havoc on Weimar Germany. But can they catch him before he strikes again or self-destructs?

[9/10 · 8 May 2008]

Fritz Lang's first masterpiece, a four & a half hour double-feature with hardly a moment wasted, has been restored to stunning effect. (WARNING: In the KINO DVD edition, you MUST lower the contrast & brightness levels to reveal the full grey scale.) On one level, this is simply a far-fetched, but smashingly entertaining detective drama about Mabuse, a criminal mastermind who shows up in more disguises than Alec Guinness in KIND HEARTS & CORONETS to counterfeit, manipulate the stock exchange, kill personal rivals, run the drug racket and generally lord it over the pursuing police force of the modern city. If Part One offers a more devastating look at the perilous world that was Weimar Germany, there's still plenty of action & schemes left for Part Two. In MABUSE, Lang manages, more than he would in METROPOLIS, to hold all the expressionist elements (design, acting, story construction) in perfect balance. The dynamism for an early '20s pic, (before the era of easy camera movement) is simply phenomenal. And where else will you find an inter-title as glorious as: 'Eat some cocaine, you weakling!'

Triple agent (2004)

On the cusp of WWII, a leader of the White Rusians in Paris may just be a spy . . . but for whom?

[7/10 · 25 April 2008]

Though denied a commercial theatrical release in the States (American indie fodder from Sundance now all but fills the old art house maw), this is a typically involving, if determinedly talky, pic from vet helmer Eric Rohmer. Known for his pointillist studies in manners & mores 'francais,' this late work tackles large political issues with a similar minimalist approach. In the years leading up to WWII, the last of the White Russians in Paris are struggling to maintain a presence just as the communist Popular Front comes to power and Stalin launches his deadliest internal purge back in the USSR. Rohmer keeps his focus on the wife of a Paris-based White Russian official as she watches for clues that might indicate just what side of the political fence this unflappably reasonable man leans toward. Or is he merely acting different parts for different situations? Rohmer's film-making is all essentials now, but the gusts of dialogue & functional camera set-ups needn't fool you. Rohmer remains an intensely visual artist with the easy mastery of the art that conceals art. Everyone is superb in their roles, but watch for Cyrielle Clair as a wealthy gossiping friend, she's Parisian chic itself.

Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938)

Mr. Moto finds he's not the only secret agent looking for a secret munitions warehouse.

[6/10 · 10 April 2008]

If you exclude MR. MOTO'S GAMBLE which is really a 'Charlie Chan' pic, this is the least of the Moto series. The workable plot concerns a munitions warehouse hidden in a Cambodian temple, but there's a poverty row feel to the thing. Not so much in production values, but in the writing & execution, as if everyone was just going through the motions. Peter Lorre's Moto spends a third of the picture as an ancient holy man (looking & sounding like a precursor to Yoda from STAR WARS), and combining the comic relief with the romantic subplot only makes things worse. If this happens to be your first MOTO don't let it be your last. Six of the eight adventures are tremendous fun, so hang in there.

Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937)

Mr. Moto must track down a complete set of ancient Chinese Scrolls to solve multiple murders.

[8/10 · 10 April 2008]

Exemplary Mr Moto entry is the darkest in the series and boasts a compelling emotional undertow that's as effective as it is unexpected. For once, the lame comic relief is expunged (studio execs, no doubt, forced its quick return) which allows Peter Lorre's wonderful characterization an extra bit of space to work in while following the procedural detective tropes and handling Moto's apt witticisms. (That's Lorre's stunt double handling the physical stuff.) The basic story involving some antique Chinese scrolls that make up a sort of treasure map was (atypically) based on a novel by Moto creator John P. Marquand and this may add to the tough, blunt tone hiding just below the surface. All the Moto films entertain, but this one sticks with you.

Liliom (1934)

Ferenc Molnar's great play about a doomed carousel barker who revisits his wife & daughter after death; it's CAROUSEL without the Rodgers & Hammerstein's score..

[8/10 · 9 April 2008]

Billy Wilder, Kurt Weill & Fritz Lang, three Berliners fleeing the Nazis, all sojourned in Paris before coming to the USA. Wilder's Parisian work was negligible, but the more established Weill & Lang each produced a masterpiece. While Weill's 7 DEADLY SINS is one of his best known classical works, Lang's adaptation of Molnar's great play is almost unknown. CAROUSEL, Rogers & Hammerstein musicalization of LILIOM, which all but buried the original, has now brought it back. (It shows up as a welcome 'extra' on the latest 2-DVD edition of CAROUSEL.) The musical stays remarkably close to LILIOM's plot, structure & characterizations, but Molnar is both rawer & more fanciful. The mix fits Lang like a monocle. As Liliom, the carousel barker (Billy Bigelow in the musical), Charles Boyer is just about perfect, bluntly cruel & irresistible, not only a precursor to the Stanley Kowalskis of the world, but like Brando with the sensual features of a Caravaggio. The rest of the cast is just as fine, but the film's success comes largely from Lang's handling of the difficult material. Rudolphe Mate's lensing looks stunning in this well preserved copy (far superior to the KINO DVD release) and the few scenes that suffer from flat poverty row French studio conditions are easily ignored. A near great film.

Tomorrow, the World! (1944)

Homey American family takes in a young, unrepentant German war refugee or OUR TOWN meets HITLER'S CHILDREN.

[4/10 · 9 April 2008]

Fast transfer of a smash WWII B'way play is both fascinating and unintentionally ludicrous. An OTT idea ('typical' American family take in a German refugee relative and find an unrepentant Nazi Youth!) is given an OTT treatment, right down to Louis Applebaum's balmy background score. Character actor turned megger Leslie Fenton can't camouflage a penny-pinching budget and he certainly doesn't hold the actors down. (Skippy Homeier's award-winning perf as the Nazi boy is berserk.) Yet he pulls off a remarkable chase/fight climax that's like something out of F. W. Murnau. Even Henry Sharp's lensing comes to life, recalling his glory days shooting Doug Fairbanks classics & THE CROWD. (Bump down your brightness level to increase the 'grey scale' on this Image DVD edition.) With naturalism out of the question, pros like Fredric March, Betty Field & Agnes Moorehead all succumb to heightened stage manners, but they still can't pull off the simplistic humanistic psychological ending. The story might make a bit more sense if the kid remained the monstrous automaton we first meet. Put on your own double bill with Roger Corman's THE INTRUDER/'61 and see who decides to follow the Leader.

The Three Musketeers (1939)

Musical-comedy retelling of "the Queen's Jewels" with the Ritz Bros as The Three Musketeers.

[6/10 · 9 April 2008]

A musical comedy version of the swashbuckling classic starring Don Ameche and the Ritz Bros? It sounds like a Catskill burlesque sketch, but turns out to be a straight, if bare-bones, version of Dumas, with mistaken identity (times 3) swapping Al, Jim & Harry in for Athos, Aramis & Porthos. Vet megger Alan Dwan was an old hand at this type of material (his THE IRON MASK/'29 -- in the restored KINO edition, please -- is one of the great Dumas adaptations) and the production has a giddying pace and a surprisingly sumptuous look to it. But the songs are unmemorable (to put it nicely) and leave an already short film with hardly enough time to fit in a measly Cliff Notes edition of the narrative.

The Stone Flower (1946)

An apprentice stone sculptor risks his life, soul & marriage to learn the secrets of his trade from a mountain witch.

[6/10 · 9 April 2008]

This faux (?) folktale, probably the best known film of Soviet fabulist Aleksandr Ptushko, is a paean to artistic individuality: a daydreaming youth becomes protégé to an old stone carver; visits the secret cave of a mountain witch to delve into his art; and then, with the unwavering trust of his deserted bride, finds his way back into the world as absolute master of his craft. A rather non-collective idea to find in the Stalinist film world of the time. Ptushko's style often looks like some over-decorated/Russian-themed Christmas window, but it certainly fits his subject. The crudity in the technique comes off as sincerity and the USSR color processing of the era is often quite lovely if you boost the brightness level on your equipment. Aimed at kids, but probably best for grown up cultural Sovietologists.

NOTE: Check out the DVD extras for an amazing stop-motion animation clip from Ptsuhko's 1936 pic THE NEW GULLIVER.

Reunion in France (1942)

In Nazi occupied France, Joan Crawford risks life, limb & haute couture to whisk John Wayne out of Paris.

[2/10 · 26 January 2008]

There's not a single convincing moment in this mishmash CASABLANCA wannabe from M-G-M with John Wayne, Joan Crawford, Philip Dorn, Reginald Owen & John Carradine fumbling about as Bogie, Bergman, Henreid, Raines & Veidt, respectively. It would be funny if it wasn't so appalling. And as sheer visual movie-making, Warners product leaves M-G-M entirely in the shade. Not too surprising from producer Joe Mankiewicz, though helmer Jules Dassin would soon grow camera savvy. (Midway thru the pic, lenser Robert Planck delivers a stunning close-up of Joan, but that's the single redeeming feature here.) For a far better shot at this sort of thing (leaving CASABLANCA aside), try 'PARIS UNDERGROUND' with Constant Bennett. (Please see my review.)

The Viking (1931)

Ignore the 2 Guys & a Gal plot of this early Talkie and focus on the extraordinary footage of Newfoundland ships and sea.

[6/10 · 15 January 2008]

A DVD combo-pack on adventurer/photographer Varick Frissell, who died in an explosion on the eponymous seal hunting ship. WHITE THUNDER is a bio that barely lives up to its fascinating subject, but nicely sets up the paired early talkie. THE VIKING is officially directed by George Melford, an A-list silent director who faded fast with sound (his swansong, EAST OF BORNEO/''31, is an unintentional riot). But Frissell must have taken charge of all the Newfoundland location shooting which is so filled with extraordinary footage of sealers, churning ice floes, full-rigged ships, sea & sun that you'd gladly put up with twice the cornball "two guys & a gal" hokum so mechanically delivered by the talent-challenged cast.

Oliver Twist (1985)

Ultra-faithful version of the Dickens's classic gets in ALL the story . . . too much?

[4/10 · 3 December 2007]

OLIVER TWIST films live or die by their Olivers and this ultra-faithful six-hour British mini, dies with two inadequate Olivers. Not that the rest of the cast does much better. No one seems able to sustain the heightened characterizations Dickens needs, giving us a sort of loud, generic hamminess that quickly wears out its welcome. Even so, it's a treat to (just once) get all the story (the Artful Dodger has some surprising character turns), and it's certainly preferable to a recent mini-series which added a 'clarifying' preface. Memorable versions by Frank Lloyd, David Lean & Carol Reed each lose almost half of the story; for the better say I. With early Dickens, small sins of omission do wonders for story construction, especially in keeping Oliver in personal danger for the climax.

Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1938)

Peter Lorre as Mr Moto races the clock to stop sabotage against French & British Naval maneuvers in Egypt.

[7/10 · 28 November 2007]

In the long line of 'politically incorrect' Hollywood racial casting, Hungarian born Peter Lorre's Mr Moto is probably the least in need of historical/cultural apologies to facilitate our enjoyment of the eight dandy pics he made as the polite, but not quite knowable Japanese detective. This one is a particularly good outing as Lorre/Moto benefits from regular helmer Norman Foster's visual flair and his original storyline which has George Sanders & Ricardo Cortez plotting to disrupt joint Naval maneuvers between France & England @ Port Said, Egypt. Darkly handsome lensing from Virgil Miller (who brought similar chiaroscuro refinement to some of the Universal Basil Rathbone/Sherlock Holmes series), an unexpectedly nasty edge of perverse violence (watch for John Carradine's grim exit), and cleverly integrated Music Hall elements add a nice kick to the proceedings. Even the obligatory comic relief is tightly woven into the narrative fabric. Moto Rules.

Mr. Moto in Danger Island (1939)

Peter Lorre's Mr Moto tackles a gang of diamond smugglers.

[6/10 · 27 November 2007]

In the long line of 'politically incorrect' Hollywood racial casting, Hungarian born Peter Lorre's Mr Moto is probably the least in need of historical/cultural apologies to facilitate our enjoyment of the eight dandy pics he made as the polite, but not quite knowable Japanese detective. Most were smartly directed by ex-actor Norman Foster, but this late entry was helmed by 'routinier' Herbert Leeds who brings a good deal less to the party. Still, even when playing more closely within the conventions of drawing room detective yarns (and with too much forced dimwit comic relief), Lorre manages to elevate the slim story about diamond smuggling in the tropics into something entertaining and a bit perverse, with nice support from Jean Hersholt, Leon Ames, Paul Harvey & Douglas Dumbrille all in spiffy white suits.

Thank You, Jeeves! (1936)

P. G. Wodehouse's Bertie & Jeeves get the Hollywood formula treatment.

[4/10 · 16 November 2007]

He only gets third billing (behind Arthur Treacher & Virginia Field), but this was effectively David Niven's first starring role and he's charmingly silly as P. G. Wodehouse's dunderheaded Bertie Wooster, master (in name only) to Jeeves, that most unflappable of valets. As an adaptation, it's more like a watered-down THE 39 STEPS than a true Wodehousian outing. And that's too bad since the interplay between Treacher & Niven isn't too far off the mark. Alas, the 'B' movie mystery tropes & forced comedy grow wearisome even at a brief 57 minutes. Next year's follow-up (STEP LIVELY, JEEVES) was even more off the mark, with no Bertie in sight and Jeeves (of all people!) forced to play the goof.

A Prayer for the Dying (1987)

Guilt-ridden IRA drop-out is called back for one last "hit."

[3/10 · 3 November 2007]

Jack Higgins' straightforward thriller about a guilt-ridden IRA bomber forced into "one last job" (where have I heard that plot before?) gets a snarky treatment from cult director Mike Hodges. Mickey Rourke, with alarming red hair, confesses all to the priest (Bob Hoskins, of all people) who accidentally witnessed the shooting. The rules of the church keep Father Bob from talking, but then Rourke goes and falls in love with the priest's blind niece. They bond at the church organ. What? Really, that's the plot. Alan Bates is around as the top dog mobster who's calling the shots (literally) and he seems to be the only actor who's on to the jokey tone Hodges is aiming at. Bates is all set to do a sort of U.K. PRIZZI'S HONOR, but no one else, including an effortlessly charismatic Liam Neeson in a supporting role, has been informed.

Can-Can (1960)

Misfire musical

[3/10 · 26 September 2007]

A recent NYC concert version of CAN-CAN (w/ a superb Patti LaPone) revealed a reasonably sturdy book & an underrated late Cole Porter score. Where had it been hiding all these years? Perhaps the vanishing act can be blamed on this inept film version which mangles the plot, throws away two-thirds of the score (even 'I Love Paris' is stiffed) and has all the French flavor of a Burger King croissant. Louis Jourdan and Maurice Chevalier show up to provide Gallic seasoning (Jourdan does his numbers charmingly and has far more rapport with Shirley MacLaine than his victorious rival, Frank Sinatra, while Chevalier's intro to 'Just One of Those Things' is the best thing in the film), but Minnelli's GIGI, Huston's MOULIN ROUGE and Renoir's FRENCH CAN CAN are each in their own way infinitely superior to this malarkey.

NOTE: It takes a lot of chutzpah to include a DVD-extra tribute to writer Abe Burrows on a pic that utterly trashes his work on the original stage show.

Dust in the Wind (1986)

In 1960s Taiwan, two young friends move from their small town to the city where they find new jobs & new problems.

[6/10 · 21 May 2007]

Hsaio-hsien Hou based this quietly effective Taiwanese Bildungrsoman on co-scripter Nien-Jen Wu's own experiences. The film is heavily influenced on the one side from Japanese masters like Ozu (though Hou denies this) and from the Italian Neo-Realists whose films inspired Wu. It's the old story of the younger generation ('60s kids from a mining town) leaving the country to try their luck in the big city. A shy, but devoted couple seem to be making a go of it, but life, jobs, family and even military service take a toll on the relationship. It's well observed, especially in the rural sections, and charmingly acted, but the natural flow of events doesn't really stick with you. Hou has trouble balancing the plot strands and particularizing the relationships, asking for a response out of proportion to what we've seen. No doubt this is not a problem for Taiwanese audiences, but then Ozu & De Sica managed the trick, didn't they.

Bedlam (1946)

Boris Karloff, playing the head of Bedlam Insane Asylum, comes to regret trapping the aristocratic Anna Lee in his institution.

[6/10 · 21 May 2007]

The last of the atmospheric RKO thrillers made under Val Lewton's supervision was this relatively lux production set in 18th-century London with Boris Karloff (in good form) as supervisor of the infamous eponymous insane asylum. Working in Hollywood, Lewton must have known the feeling.

Anna Lee plays a carefree favorite of some arrogant aristos who finds herself railroaded inside the asylum when a handsome Quaker friend goads her into questioning the horrible conditions there. But, like Daniel in the lion's den, she make friends by helping the inmates and, once freed, contrives to keep Karloff's well-earned fate a secret from the authorities.

Nicholas Musuraca's lensing & an ominous Roy Webb score help smooth over helmer Mark Robson's bluntness and the typically uneven acting Lewton always got stuck with. But the film has little of the absurd & fanciful creepiness of the best Lewton productions. It's worthy and not much fun.

Asphalt (1929)

Late UFA silent shows style trumping content as a Tru-Blue Cop is vamped by a femme fatale thief.

[8/10 · 14 May 2007]

UFA helmer Joe May, once spoken of in tandem with F W Murnau or Fritz Lang, ended his career struggling for gigs on B-list Hollywood fodder. But this late silent, a superb psychological meller lovingly restored with a fine new score on KINO DVD, shows him in top form. It's the old story of a naive cop corrupted by a shady lady. He bends the rules for a night of love. But when her rich lover returns, tragedy strikes, and his disgrace can only be erased through her redemption. Thrillingly designed & shot in a studio-created Berlin, May uses the camera with Murnau-like freedom & expressivity, only stumbling over the pacing of a few scenes he has trouble ending. Gustav Frohlich will always be stamped by his silly perf in Lang's METROPOLIS, but in this more naturalistic mode, he's touching & handsome. As the femme fatale, Betty Amann leaves an odd taste. She's an obvious precursor/model for Liza Minnelli's Sally Bowles in CABARET (had Bob Fosse seen this film?), but she's also a dead ringer for Tony Curtis in his drag mode in Billy Wilder's SOME LIKE IT HOT. Perhaps not as much of a stretch as it sounds since Wilder was @ UFA in '29 and even wrote May's first Hollywood pic. (05/13/07)

BBC Play of the Month: The Apple Cart (1975) Season 10, Episode 5

A King must decide whether to sign papers ceding his power for a strict Constitutional Democracy.

[6/10 · 12 May 2007]

This G. B. Shaw play comes as an extra on the Maggie Smith MILLIONAIRESS DVD (putting the horse before the CART?), reversing received critical opinion on these late works. The reasoning soon becomes clear as this is an also-ran production that only fitfully brings out the issues & compromises variously embedded in governance, monarchy & democracy that Shaw touches on. Nigel Davenport is fine as the King who must sign off on making himself an irrelevant figurehead in a constitutional monarchy, and it's a kick to see young Helen Mirren as his mistress, yet they are both acted off the screen when Prunella Scales makes her belated appearance as the Queen in the final act. Her magnetism unbalances both the structure & the argument. The play has been faintly modernized (helicopters, minimalist interior design) which makes it all seem less rather than more topical, while the direction feels catch-as-catch-can, but Shaw's imagination in the last act is just too strong to resist with both America & the King turning tables and confounding all expectations.

BBC Play of the Month: The Millionairess (1972) Season 8, Episode 1

The wealthiest woman in England finds a new kind of love when she leaves her useless husband for an Egyptian doctor who only tends to the poor.

[7/10 · 12 May 2007]

A late comedy from G. B. Shaw about . . . wait for it . . . Economics: or How Britain's Wealthiest Heiress Dumped Her Useless Philandering Husband, Her Useless Ne'er-do-well Escort and Found Happiness With an Egyptian Doctor to the Poor. Shaw wrote this one to be acted in UPPERCASE and that's just how the cast plays in this BBC Play of the Month production. You have to hang in there during the opening scene as Shaw carefully lays out the relationships & themes, but this gives us time to adjust to the larger-than-life theatrical style the stellar cast use. It's no surprise to find Maggie Smith a mannered marvel, but note how subtly she trims her style as the play deepens in feeling & philosophy into a more naturalistic mode without losing Shavian attitude or altitude. (She must prove herself to the good doctor by living for six months on just her wits & labor.) By Act II, Smith's become a warm beauty after her off-putting entrance. Only Wendy Hiller has equaled her at turning Shaw's female paradoxes into people. The play remains minor Shaw, but it grows on you. Nice shiny transfer from the original PAL video system, too.