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Reviews
Experiment in Terror (1962)
Unexpected thriller via Blake Edwards
I'd known of Blake Edwards' comedy films as well as his dramatic television series (like the groundbreaking "Peter Gunn"), but wasn't sure how he could approach a thriller. Turns out those reservations weren't justified, as Edwards turned in a well-constructed, no-nonsense thriller that takes a page out of the Hitchcock manual and films it in stark black and white.
Without giving away the plot, the terror starts early in the film. While it's not constant terror throughout, there's a constant undercurrent of looking over one's shoulder, wondering if their every move is being watched.
The detective work, led by Glenn Ford, isn't flashy or sensationalistic at all--it is very "by the book" and businesslike. There are no gunfights or lots of car chases here. Instead, the focus is on the terror of Lee Remick and her teenaged sister played by Stephanie Powers, and we feel their discomfort along with the growing suspense. Especially as she receives one asthmatic phone call after another. Ross Martin plays a great villain here, one we see very little of.
A very enjoyable film, if one can say that about a thriller!
The April Fools (1969)
Entertaining, but doesn't quite click
Jack Lemmon, as always, plays his part well, but the sad part here is that I felt no real chemistry between Lemmon and Deneuve. She seems distant throughout, even aloof. Little spark is seen here, unlike Lemmon's other films with Shirley MacLaine, for instance. The supporting cast does a great job--Peter Lawford's boorish self-absorption and Sally Kellerman's total detachment from Lemmon as a spouse are top notch. And the drunken commuter train ride home is hilarious, if a bit out of place. The plot could also have used a bit of sharpening here--the premise of what seems to be roughly a 48 hour fling turning into two people leaving their marriages is kind of shaky, although the ending of the film does leave us with a bit of a question mark in terms of how it will all play out.
I'll watch it again for sure, but it does leave me feeling a bit empty when it's all said and done. It may not have taken much to flesh this out a bit more and make it more satisfying, including chemistry between the two leads.