oneillrobyn Reviews

Jefferson in Paris (1995)

Just one bit of information

[6/10 · 12 June 2012]

Jefferson promised to his wife on her deathbed that he would never marry again. It turns out that Sally Hemings and Jefferson's wife were half-sisters ... they had the same father. It has been noted that Jefferson's older daughter knew of the relationship but of course it wasn't discussed in their presumably polite household. I just got a tape (that's the only format available today) and I haven't looked at it yet. Since I saw the film only when it was released, and I've learned a lot about Jefferson since then, I'm looking forward to finding free time to just sit and watch. I'll be back and possibly change my rating, but I remember wishing for a more dynamic actor to play Jefferson.

Flushed Away (2006)

Probably the funniest, most complicated animated film I've seen

[8/10 · 27 January 2012]

It is so "adult" in the sense of mature comedy, but you need to know what the references refer to. Those slugs are just adorable, but they're not like real slugs. It's so great, from the French frogs (don't miss the cellphone picture), to the tadpoles in jars who want everything, to the (Irish) siblings dancing on the boat, to all the inhabitants of the sewer city and all the inside jokes. When I first saw Roddy's closet, I knew this would be a spectacular movie. Maybe the best joke was "Millicent Bystander" -- I say it all the time! I wonder why there is no voice information on the DVD box. Were they all ashamed of the film? It's just one laugh after another and the drawings are wonderful! One of the best of all time.

Holiday for Lovers (1959)

It should have been better

[3/10 · 15 February 2011]

I'm fascinated by the few movies of this era I haven't seen, and this was one of them. First, it should have been more tightly directed, it seems to wander loosely all over the place and I started to count the sets (or studio backdrops?) and I ran out of patience. Having Clifton Webb play somebody's father defies logic and Jane Wyman always leaves a bad taste in my mouth because of her Reagan association (I never understood their mutual attraction) and even though she ditched him it was too late. I don't like to look at her profile -- it makes my nose hurt. Her hairstyle changes during the film, from 50s back and top flatness and early 60s teasing. How long did it take to make this film? I always wanted to look like Carol Lynley and her sometimes heavy-handed delivery was acceptable. The director should have taken everyone aside and warned them of their deadly performances. Paul Henreid: how did he end up in this? Jill St. John was the only joy of this film. It took me a while to figure out just who the actress was. She looked absolutely gorgeous in her 1959 flowered dresses, the ones I wished then I was old enough to wear. The plot is so obvious and the additional "local color" scenes (bullfight and flamenco) are completely unnecessary. Trinidad bagpipes, goatskin wine, and plane flight after plane flight! Everyone leaves the table before they can eat. Fuzzy old travelogue films of old cars and "modern" hotels. And what is the US Air Force (referred to once as "The Army") doing in it? What a mess! Any film student should see this picture, just to see how not to make a movie and how not to put together a script. At least Bob Hope or Bing Crosby and Lucille Ball or Maureen O'Hara weren't the "parents".

Little Big Shot (1935)

Damon Runyon again

[4/10 · 21 January 2010]

Is this another Damon Runyon story, like "Little Miss Marker"? It all sounds too familiar. As far as giving way for the black kids in the film, look up Sybil Jason's biography and you might a bit of British Jewishness in there (her uncle Harry Jacobson was a British band leader), which didn't sit well with Hollywood in those days.

Maybe that's why she didn't get too far. I was born in Hollywood, BTW, and I know a lot of Hollywood stuff and stories. My schools were full of child actors, my mother went to junior high in Hollywood with Judy Garland, before going to the MGM Schoolhouse. And Ricardo Montalban was a classmate of my mother.

Glenda Farrell is gorgeous and glamorous, as always. And Edward Everett Horton as a soda jerk is hysterical.

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

I don't like it

[5/10 · 28 December 2009]

I am definitely in the minority regarding "Wonderful Life". I have avoided seeing this movie for years ... and I finally gave in just before Christmas 2009. It was Christmas Eve and I discovered why I was so depressed on the holiday. I really can't stand this movie. The original problem I had with it was when I first saw it many many years ago. I didn't like the idea that "Mary" needed glasses and was "ugly", and a lonely prim librarian without Jimmy Stewart in her life. No, I am not a librarian, but I love spending time in libraries with all the knowledge books have to offer. I felt this was gratuitous and insulting. In addition, couldn't "Mary" have found another husband? I resented those old movies where all the those poor, struggling people live in large, comfortable old houses, even if the hero's mother ran a boarding house. I think Frank Capra's films are phony and the products of an immature mind. Another Christmasy movie is my favorite one: "The Bishop's Wife". It's sophisticated, witty and beautiful, and has much stronger actors than any of Capra's films, with the exception of Henry Travers who, as far as I am concerned, is the real star of "Wonderful Life". Even Lionel Barrymore is wasted in "Life".

Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008)

Surprise voice!

[8/10 · 26 September 2009]

I love all dogs, including chihuahuas (when they're well behaved!). But what made me buy this movie, more than any other reason, is the voice of the King of the Chihuahuas ... none other than Placido Domingo. The reviewers I guess have never heard of him, but it was a pleasant surprise for me. The portrayal of the real Mexico is sort of strange, as is the inaccurate geography. But I've seen many movies that were written as if the authors didn't know much about the subject. Anyway, I love the idea of expressing your chihuahua with a great bark and emphasizing the regal chihuahua character. I'm glad Montezuma, the chihuahua King, turned out to be the greatest singer of all. It's also wonderful thinking about the possibility of a protected mountainous Shangri-La for those often-maligned little dogs -- although I wonder what they eat! The other animals were also well done, especially the mouse and iguana.

Start the Revolution Without Me (1970)

Modern transportation

[10/10 · 17 September 2008]

Does anyone notice the small motorized van that crosses a bridge on the Seine during a scene on the riverside? It's either white or yellow and it travels from left to right, I think.

Was that van shown on purpose? What a great, hilarious, sophisticated movie. Besides the "queen"/"king" lines, I love the paper-passing during the "costume" ball. It "kills" me every time I see it. They just don't make movies like that any more. BTW, it was Louis XVI not Louis XIV.

And the Orson Welles "narration" is just ridiculous. Perfect touch, it makes me want to take notes to prepare for the history test.

Here, have some chicken.

Child of Manhattan (1933)

Nancy Carroll and gorgeous clothes

[7/10 · 16 September 2008]

I saw this movie this morning by accident. I love 30s movies for the clothes, the beauty of which hit me during the "first" mini era. I was a teenager and I had never seen such gorgeous clothes.

The movie is predictable, but Nancy Carroll is adorable and I can see what her appeal was. With that pretty face and hair, she would have absolutely no chance of getting any job as an actress today, in this world of gaunt, giraffe-like women-men. Too bad we don't have any visual differences among the "leading actresses of today", all those interchangeable bland flat-haired blondes.

Those clothes are wonderful. Too bad we'll never see their like again -- after all, how can anyone be attractive wearing anything other a mini or jeans?

Hey, wasn't Buck Jones handsome! I won't contrast him with our "leading men" today. I leave that up to you.

The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud (1984)

Really awful and unfunny

[1/10 · 18 May 2008]

This movie tries to be a combination of Mel Brooks and Woody Allen, with a bit of dense Eastern European farce thrown in. It was made in Yugoslavia and looks like it. It's just too painful to watch, even with Carol Kane. She was one reason I watched it, but everyone else was terrible. Who is (was) Bud Cort and where did they dig him up? I also wanted to see what they came up with about Freud (not one of my favorite people) and it was dreadfully unfunny. Also the period got skewered again, just like in other films when the producers treat the period style and costumes in a cavalier manner. Why can't movie makers be satisfied with making the actors and actresses look like they would have at the time of the story? It's unbelievable how "off" they usually are. Sometimes you can't tell if it's 1870 or 1970. And of course there always have to be references to inventions that haven't been invented yet or to people who haven't been born yet or hanging framed paintings or photos of people from later periods. Why can't they get experts like me to work on these period films? But then, you wouldn't have jobs for all those relatives of producers, directors, "stars", etc. who need "work".

The Twilight Zone: Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up? (1961) Season 2, Episode 28

Barney Phillips

[10/10 · 18 September 2007]

One of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes. And the next day we were in the supermarket at Hollywood Blvd. and La Brea, my father and I, and guess who was coming toward us in the aisle! Barney Phillips, but no hat on -- at least, I don't think he had a hat on.

We asked him about his third eye, and he said something like he left it at home, and everybody he met that day had asked him about it.

A friendly guy. We used to see all kinds of character actors in LA in those days.

BTW, I was a teenager and it took a long time for me to get over the "three hands" on the other alien!

Robyn Frisch O'Neill

Hollywood native and resident 1947 to 1963.