BY LEE PFEIFFER

Since the release of Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas" in 1990, it seems that every American crime movie has emulated elements of this masterpiece in some way or another.  Who can blame the filmmakers? If you're going to crib, you might as well crib from the best. The "Goodfellas" wannabes are often undone by the pretentiousness of the homage to Scorsese's film while others successfully capture certain elements that don't overwhelm their own unique qualities. Falling squarely into the latter category is "Kill the Irishman", a 2011 production that preceded Scorsese's much-lauded 2019 film "The Irishman". 'lest you suspect that this was a case of the master cribbing from another film, think again. They are two completely different stories involving two completely different Irishmen. Had the 2011 film made any kind of cultural impact, chances are Scorese wouldn't have used the title "The Irishman" (which was chosen because the book it was based upon, Charles Brandt's "I Heard You Paint Houses" certainly didn't evoke visions of it clicking with movie audiences.) Chances are, you've never heard of "Kill the Irishman". The only reason it had any name recognition for me was because a friend of mine, actor Robert Davi, told me at the time that he had been hired to appear in the film. He mentioned it would have a good cast. The movie ultimately suffered the fate of so many other productions that were shot without major budgets or big box office names- it basically went straight to video after a brief, limited theatrical run that saw it gross less than $2 million. Recently, it's been getting some buzz from crime movie fans who streamed it on Amazon. After getting a couple of recommendations, I decided to check it out, expecting to see a "B" crime flick with a few memorable moments. In fact, "Kill the Irishman" is an exceptionally good movie on all levels and ranks among the better crime films I've seen in many years.

The film is another "ripped from the headlines" scenario based on real life events. However, because this particular crime movie isn't centered in New York, L.A., Chicago or London, the average person probably won't be aware of them unless you lived in or around Cleveland, Ohio, where most of the action takes place. (The movie was actually shot in Detroit.) It tells the tale of Danny Greene (Ray Stevenson), a proud Irish-American, who came into prominence in the 1970s. Greene was just another local blue collar longshoreman trying to feed his wife and kids by working at backbreaking menial labor under appalling conditions while his corrupt union boss lives like a Roman emperor. Fed up, Danny ignores conventional wisdom and takes on the union president, rallying the rank-and-file behind him. Danny's thuggish ways and willingness to personally dispense violence sees him win an improbable victory and become elected as the new leader of the union. For a while, things are good. He improves conditions and job opportunities for the members but soon becomes addicted to power and money and ends up being as corrupt as his predecessor. He gets into legal trouble, is banned from the union and ends up penniless and unemployed. The film chronicles Danny's Lazarus-like rise back to power, this time through brutality and corruption. Before long, he's the crime king of Cleveland and presides over a city besot by enough gang wars, bombings and shootouts to rival Chicago in the Al Capone era. He survives numerous assassination attempts, the departure of his wife and family and the betrayal of close friends. However, he makes a major error by taking out a large loan from the Gambino crime family in New York. When he can't pay it back, it leads to all-out war.

"Kill the Irishman" is directed with flair and skill by Jonathan Hensleigh, who captures the feel of the great Coppola and Scorsese crime movies, a job made easier by his own compelling script, co-written by Jeremy Walters. The centerpiece of the production is a towering performance by Ray Stevenson as Danny Greene, who brings depth and complexity to the role. Danny is a murderous thug at heart, but he also lives by a code of honor and truly cares about the ordinary working stiff. He's brash and courageous to the point of recklessness, surviving numerous attempts to kill him. (The film's remarkable and gripping opening scene depicts one such scenario.) Stevenson, best known for playing the comic book superhero The Punisher, deserved an Oscar nomination for his work here. The movie boasts an extraordinary cast of supporting actors : Christopher Walken in a small role as a Jewish crime kingpin, Linda Cardellini as Danny's long-suffering wife, Val Kilmer as an F.B.I. agent and childhood friend of Danny's, Vincent D'Onofrio as the only friend Danny can truly trust, Paul Sorvino and Tony Lo Bianco as Gambino crime family bosses and the aforementioned Robert Davi as an ultra creepy assassin. The production values are strong and the film looks far more expensive than its $12 million budget.

"Kill the Irishman" deserved a better fate. However, its availability on streaming gives yet another fine movie the opportunity to be discovered by a wider audience. Highly recommended.

(The film can be streamed for free by Amazon Prime members or can be rented or purchased for streaming by non-members.) 

(A Blu-ray special edition can be ordered from Amazon by clicking here.)

Enjoy these vintage U.S. TV spots promoting American films released mostly in the 1970s and 1980s. We won't divulge the titles so you'll have some surprises!

By John M. Whalen

“Barton Fink” (1991), now available from Kino Lorber on Blu-Ray, is the Coen Brothers’ version of the old, familiar story of what happens to idealistic young writers when they go to Hollywood. Barton Fink (John Turturro) is a New York playwright in the 1930s whose play about the plight of the common man is a big hit. He’s Joel and Ethan Coen’s version of Clifford Odets, and his agent convinces him to accept an offer from Capital Pictures to go west and write screenplays for $1,000 a week. Full of his own sense of self-importance, the naïve Fink believes he can go to Hollywood and start a whole new movement of films dealing with the everyday struggles of the working man.

Eschewing lodgings in a typical Hollywood hotel, Fink choses the seedy and downright spooky Hotel Earle, whose only two employees are Chet (Steve Buscemi), who mans the front desk, and Pete (Harry Bugin) the elevator operator. He finds his room on the sixth floor in the middle of an endless corridor lined with shoes left by guests who never make an appearance. It’s perfect for his ascetic purposes. He sits his Underwood typewriter on a desk with a picture on the wall above it of a girl sitting on a blanket at the beach. Befitting his wanted need for isolation, she has her back to Barton.

The next day Barton meets his new boss at Capital Pictures, Jack Lipnick (Michael Lerner). Lipnick is basically a composite of Louis B. Mayer and Harry Cohn, two of the legendary studio heads of bygone days, and Lerner plays him as ruthless, dictatorial, and crass. Lipnick informs Barton he’s been assigned to write a wrestling picture that will star Wallace Beery. He tells him it’s got to have plenty of action, but, of course, still have “some of that Barton Fink feeling. Not too fruity. You’ll work it out.”

Back in his hotel room, Barton starts to write the first lines of the story about the dawn coming up over the tenements. But his concentration is broken by the muffled sounds of a grown man sobbing in the next room. He calls Chet to complain. A minute later there’s a knock on his door. It’s the guest from the next room, none other than big, burly Charley Meadows (John Goodman), asking if he had complained about him. What starts out to be a tense confrontation soon turns friendly when Charley breaks out a bottle of hooch, and the two men engage in some conversation. Barton soon discovers that the common man he wants to write about lives right next door. Charley is impressed when he learns that Barton is “writing for the pictures,” and apologizes for disturbing him. “So you’re a writer,” he says. “If you need any help, let me know. I got stories I could tell you.”

Charley offers his help several times in the course of the story, but Barton is so full of his own glorious vision of starting a new literary movement he never stops to listen. And then a peculiar thing happens. After Charley leaves he sits down at the typewriter to write but is again disturbed, this time by the sound of the wall paper starting to peel off the walls. He stands up on the desk to press the dripping paper back on the wall and hears more disturbing sounds—a couple upstairs engaged in what sounds like some kinky kind of sadistic sex.

A major motif of “Barton Fink” is the use of grotesque sound imagery coming through walls. It’s as though we’re allowed to eavesdrop on the madness and suffering being endured in individual private hells. The next such instance comes in the men’s room at the movie studio. Barton washes his hands at the sink and hears a man vomiting violently in one of the stalls. He’s shocked a few moments later when famous author William Mayhew (John Mahoney) comes out of the stall. Mayhew is obviously based on William Faulkner, with Mahoney playing him as a waste out alcoholic who once wrote great novels, but is now working on the Capital Pictures assembly line. Barton asks him if he’d ever written a wrestling picture. Mayhew assures him that there isn’t any type of story that he hasn’t taken a crack at and invites Barton over to his office that afternoon to talk about “wrestling stories and other literary things.”

Barton saunters over to his office later only to be greeted at the door by his secretary Audrey Taylor (Judy Davis), who says he’ll have to come another time. In the background we hear Mayhew behind the door, ranting and screaming in a drunken rage—another sound bite from hell.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

One of the most popular and enduring sitcoms of its era, "McHale's Navy" ran from 1962-1966.  The premise centered on Lt. Commander Quinton McHale (Ernest Borgnine), a PT boat skipper stationed in the South Pacific (later transferred to Italy)  during WWII along with a motley but lovable crew of swabbies. McHale and his men are unconventional, to say the least, and routinely disregard basic military discipline. They are so unruly that they have been relegated to their own tiny island, which suits them just fine. Here they brew booze, entertain young women and run about dressed in party attire. They also manage to "adopt" a genial Japanese prisoner-of-war, Fuji  (Yoshio Yoda), who manages to stay hidden despite indulging in all the excesses of McHale and his crew. McHale's antics are to the chagrin of their superior officer, Capt. Binghamton (Joe Flynn), who is constantly devising schemes to catch McHale and his men in a major infraction and have them court martialed. Inevitably, just in the nick of time McHale and his crew distinguish themselves in some sort of military action that brings them praise from the top brass instead of ending their careers. 

The series proved to be so popular that is spawned two feature films that have now been released as a double-feature DVD by Shout! Factory. "McHale's Navy" was certainly not the first TV series to have a cross-over to the big screen. In the 1950s Walt Disney edited together several  episodes of his immensely popular "Davy Crockett" series starring Fess Parker and released them as the feature film "Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier".  During the 1960s and 1970s, the same process was used to release previously-seen TV episodes as feature films, though many were seen only in European markets. These included "Mission Impossible Vs. The Mob", "Mission: Monte Carlo" (based on "The Persuaders") and most notably, eight entire feature films derived from two-part episodes of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.". "McHale's Navy" was a more ambitious venture because, like the big screen versions of "Batman" and "The Munsters" ("Munsters Go Home!"), it at least consisted of entirely new material shot specifically for the theatrical version. The real thrill for fans of such shows was the ability to see their favorites on the big screen in color during an era in which precious few homes boasted color TVs. 

The plot of the first film is reed-thin. McHale crew member Gruber (Carl Ballantine) tries to raise funds for an orphanage by devising a massive betting scheme predicated on the outcome of a horse race in Australia that has already been completed. However, the bettors won't legitimately know the results of that race until the newspaper is delivered by mail drop a week after the race's conclusion. Thus a large number of servicemen converge on McHale's island to engage in the betting. The trouble is that almost everyone is betting on the favorite: Silver Spot. When the newspaper arrives, Gruber discovers to his horror that Silver Spot has indeed won- and now the pot isn't big enough to pay off the bettors. McHale and Gruber stall for time and buy a week during which they must come up with the money to pay off the bettors. McHale and his men sail their PT 73 to New Calendonia where McHale reunites with a former lover, Margot (Jean Willes), a local saloon owner who he hopes will lend him the funds. She agrees to do so but only for a steep price: he must consent to marry her. Meanwhile, McHale's bumbling executive officer, Ensign Parker (Tim Conway) attempts to rescue a local French beauty, Andrea (Claudine Longet) from a bothersome local wolf, a rich businessman, Le Clerc (an unrecognizable George Kennedy). He earns her respect and his wrath but he also accidentally launches a depth charge that destroys one of the docks owned by Le Clerc. Now McHale and his men must come up with money for damages or risk being imprisoned. In a plot device that is as improbable even by sitcom standards, it turns out the valuable Silver Spot has gone missing and the crew of the PT 73 just happens upon him on a remote island. They attempt to win the money they need by disguising the horse and running him in another race under another name. The "Day at the Races"-like scenario falls apart, exposing the crew's deceitful tactic- but when McHale and his men thwart a Japanese submarine attack, all is forgiven and they are rewarded with enough cash to pay off all their debts. The film provides some pleasant entertainment and manages- ever so slightly- to spice things up compared to the TV series. (It's clear that McHale and Margot enjoy a pretty steamy past.) Also, the ever-virginal Ensign Parker finds himself uncomfortably close to Andrea as she tries to change out of wet clothing. Much of the fun derives from watching the great Joe Flynn and Tim Conway interact with impeccable comedic timing. The direction by Edward J. Montagne is well-paced. Montagne, who also produced the TV series, was an underrated talent, having helmed and/or produced the terrific Don Knotts feature films of the era including the cult classic "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken".

Edward Montagne was also in the director's chair for "McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force", released in 1965 on the heels of the first film's success. This time, however, Ernest Borgnine is nowhere to be seen. Borgnine told this writer years ago that he never got a clear explanation for why the film was made without him but said that theater owners leveled criticism at him, thinking he refused to be in it. In fact, Borgnine said he was flabbergasted that he had never been asked to appear in the movie. There were probably two motives for by-passing him. The first was money. By eliminating the highest paid cast member, Universal could keep production values low. Second, the studio might have wanted to give unrestrained screen time to the antics of Joe Flynn and Tim Conway, who were becoming an enormously popular duo through the TV series. In any event, Borgnine's absence is initially glaring but the as the film gets underway it turns out this sequel is superior to the original. The plot is more ambitious and the antics of Conway and Flynn are unrestrained. This film also affords McHale's crew- which consists of some wonderful character actors like Billy Sands, Gavin MacLeod and Carl Ballantine- to appear as something more than mere window dressing. This time around the plot revolves around a case of mistaken identity. Cutting through the clutter, it boils down to Ensign Parker first being mistaken for defecting Soviet officer and being arrested by KGB agents (one of whom is played by Len Lesser, who went on to appear as Uncle Leo in the "Seinfeld" series). Parker bumbles his way out of that but then becomes mistaken for a high profile Army officer (Ted Bessell), who has a reputation for being quite the lady's man. A lot of the fun revolves around the hapless, innocent Parker becoming a chick magnet for the likes of willing young women played by Susan Silo and Jean Hale, among others. Since the Army Air Corps officer Parker is impersonating is also a master pilot, he is forced to act as navigator aboard a bomber. Through a convoluted series of events, Binghamton ends up aboard the plane with him and the two wreak havoc before tumbling out of the plane on a jeep that is suspended from the cargo hull by a parachute. Flynn and Conway are like a modern version of Laurel and Hardy and I must admit that, despite the sheer predictability of their routine, I ended up chuckling out loud at numerous points. Meanwhile, McHale's crew gets some screen time when they switch uniforms with Russian sailors in order to sneak off PT 73 and go into town to get drunk. This, of course, turns out to have disastrous unforeseen consequences. The film also benefits from some other familiar character actors of the era including Henry Beckman, Tom Tully and Willis Bouchey, all of whom are marvelous to watch. Both films also feature the deft comedic turns by series regular Bob Hastings as Binghamton's ever-present aide and boot-licker, Lt. Elroy Carpenter, whose devotion to his unappreciative boss borders on the homo erotic. (I'm convinced the Mr. Burns/ Smithers relationship in "The Simpsons" is directly based on the Binghamton/Carpenter characters in "McHale's Navy"). As with the previous film, this one is a bit more mature in terms of sexual content, though it remains firmly in the category of family entertainment. The women's sexual aggressiveness would never have made it in the TV series (Jean Hale's character in particular makes it clear she can't wait to bed the legendary Romeo that Parker is impersonating). In another scene, Parker and Binghamton uncover a shipment of brassieres and both of them are clueless as to what they are. 

Both of the Shout! Factory transfers are completely pristine and make for a highly enjoyable afternoon of "McHale" bing-watching. Unfortunately, there are no bonus extras.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

It's been said that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes classic "The Hound of the Baskervilles" is the most-filmed literary adaptation of all time. You might be forgiven for thinking that status might belong to Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians", which was originally published in the UK in 1939 under a title that was so racist that the mind boggles over the fact it could ever have been socially acceptable. It was later changed to "Ten Little Indians". The original U.S. publication was titled "And Then There Were None" out of racial sensitivity. The book was an immediate sensation and in 1945 and Christie adapted it to a hit stage production. A well-received film version was made by director Rene Clair in 1945 under the title "And Then There Were None". Officially, there have only been four English language feature films based on the book as well as one British mini-series. However, the novel has influenced so many thrillers over the decades that the well-worn central scenario has become a main staple of films and TV programs ranging from any number of crime thrillers to Vincent Price's delightfully campy horror flick "House on Haunted Hill". A common link between three of the film versions was Harry Alan Towers, who produced feature film adaptations of the novel in 1965, 1974 and 1989. Towers had a long career of churning out profitable schlock ranging from low-grade James Bond ripoffs to sexploitation and horror films that were definitely of the "guilty pleasure" variety. The fact that he produced three of the four major adaptations of Christie's novel is quite remarkable.The 1965 and 1974 film versions received major international distribution but the 1989 version is largely unknown by most movie fans, as it only received very limited distribution. (It's entire gross in North America is reported as $43,000 over a two-day period.).

Kino Lorber has released the 1989 version of the film on Blu-ray. The film, directed by Alan Birkinshaw, deviates from the other versions in terms of location. The main plot premise is still followed. In the novel and previous movie versions, a disparate group of strangers turn up at an isolated mansion house at the invitation of a mysterious, wealthy stranger named Mr. Owen, who promises them a lavish holiday. Upon arriving and making each other's acquaintance, the ten guests are bewildered that there host is not present to greet them. Instead, they are instructed to listen to a phonograph record on which Mr. Owen announces the truth behind his invitations. He accuses each of the attendees of having been responsible for the death of an innocent person or persons and has managed to escape justice. Owen promises that he will ensure that the victims are avenged and very soon thereafter the participants are knocked off one-by-one through ingenious and sometimes gory methods. As each murder occurs, the guests realize that one figure from a corresponding set of ten Indian dolls also inexplicably disappears to mark the demise of the latest victim. The 1989 version opens in an unnamed African nation, which in fact is South Africa. The country was by then an international pariah and bleeding red ink in terms of its solvency. This was due to the government's stubborn insistence upon trying to prop up its atrocious system of apartheid. To raise funds, South Africa solicited for film production companies to shoot there in return for attractive tax breaks and other financial incentives. It is undoubtedly for this reason that the end credits of the movie don't mention where it was filmed. The movie was distributed by the famed (or infamous) Canon Films, which was itself a schlock factory that nevertheless proved to be the toast of the film industry in the 1980s for its ability to churn out modestly-budgeted movies that more often than not proved to be hits with undiscriminating movie-goers.

As with previous film versions of the novel, this one boasts a cast of eclectic actors but only a few with name recognition, most notably Donald Pleasence, Herbert Lom (both of whom appeared in the 1974 version), Brenda Vaccaro (an Oscar nominee for "Midnight Cowboy" twenty years earlier) and Frank Stallone. Under Alan Birkinshaw's direction, they are all adequate but some chew the South African scenery a bit too often. With Lom seen in an abbreviated role, only Pleasence makes much of an impression, giving one of his reliably understated performances. Producer Towers was said to have approached Oliver Reed, (another veteran of the 1974 version), along with Peter Cushing, Klaus Kinski and Robert Vaughn to appear in this production. The mind reels at how beneficial their presence might have been. In previous versions, the male and female leads form a romantic attachment. Those roles are played here by Sarah Maur Thorp and Frank Stallone, but aside from some mild flirting, there are no sparks between them. Thorp fares better in terms of character and performance because Stallone has nothing interesting to say or do other than parade about in jungle attire that makes him look like someone attending a Halloween party dressed as Indiana Jones.

BY DOUG OSWALD

Rock Hudson and George Peppard are WWII commandos in “Tobruk,” available on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. Hudson is Major Donald Craig, a Canadian prisoner of war on board a German transport ship anchored off an Italian controlled port in North Africa sometime in late 1942. A group of frogmen surface near the ship and sneak on board with silencers fixed to their guns in order to kidnap Craig. The frogmen are led by Captain Bergman (George Peppard) who is part of a team of German commandos. They take Craig to a German airfield and fly him to a desert landing strip. They’re unexpectedly greeted by a group of British soldiers led by Colonel Harker (Nigel Green). It turns out Bergman is the leader of German Jews who fled Nazi Germany for obvious reasons and are now part of a British commando unit operating in North Africa. Craig has an expertise in map making which they need to navigate a mine field, gain access to the German occupied port at Tobruk, Libya, and destroy it in time for a British sea invasion.

The movie is based on an actual, although unsuccessful, attack on Tobruk in September of 1942 which did include German-Jewish soldiers and fake British POWs. Just like the actual events, the British commandos in the movie pretend to be POWs in order to get to their ultimate destination undetected. During the journey through the Sahara desert, the group encounters the German and Italian Army as well as Arab horseman seeking money for captured British hostages, an aerial strafing from a British fighter plane and a mine field crossing.

Directed by Arthur Hiller, the movie appears to be an unusual choice for the director best known for dramas and comedies such as “Love Story,” “The Hospital” and “Silver Streak;” but he did previously direct “The Americanization of Emily” which features a Normandy invasion sequence and his comedy “Silver Streak” is interspersed with action sequences. Mingled between the action and military battle scenes in this film, the British and German-Jewish commando team deal with serious issues like bigotry and anti-Semitism with Hudson caught between the two camps as the outsider as they make their way across the desert.

Hudson is very good in “Tobruk” and broke away from being stereotyped as a leading man of several very popular romantic comedies to star in thrillers and heroic military parts in “Battle Hymm,” “A Gathering of Eagles,” “Ice Station Zebra,” “The Undefeated” and “Hornet’s Nest.” In the 1970s he had continued success as a San Francisco police commissioner in the popular television series “McMillan & Wife” which ran from 1971 to 1977. He continued to work, mostly in television, in such high profile productions as “The Martian Chronicles,” the Agatha Christie thriller, “The Mirrror Crack’d” and made brief returns to series television in “The Devlin Connection” and “Dynasty.” His final feature film was “The Ambassador” released a year before his death in 1985 at age 59.

Peppard, no stranger to tough guy roles, plays a German soldier for the second time following his performance as aviator Bruno Stachel in the WWI classic “The Blue Max.” Interestingly, he didn’t attempt an accent for “The Blue Max,” but did for “Tobruk.” Prior to this he appeared in the WWII adventure “Operation Crossbow” which was preceded by a string of high profile big budget movies like “How the West Was Won,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “The Carpetbaggers.” Like Hudson, Peppard found success in a hit television series, “Banacek,” which ran from 1972-1974. He also starred in the popular television series, “The A-Team,” which ran from 1983-1987. Another series, “Doctor’s Hospital,” ran for one season from 1975-76. Peppard remained busy on television and film featuring in a couple the cult classics, “Damnation Alley” and “Battle Beyond the Stars" until his death in 1994 at age 65.

Nigel Green is a standout as Colonel Harker, the leader of the commando unit. One of the great character actors of British cinema, Green is memorable in just about everything he appeared in. “Jason and the Argonauts,” “Zulu,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” “The Ipcress File,” “The Face of Fu Manchu,” “The Skull,” “Khartoum,” the underrated “Let’s Kill Uncle,” “Deadlier Than the Male,” “The Wrecking Crew,” and “Countess Dracula” to name just a few of his memorable appearances in movies. He also appeared in numerous television series throughout is career. He played a similar character to Colonel Harker as the head of a commando unit in another WWII movie set in North Africa, the underrated “Play Dirty.” His career was cut short by an accidental overdose of sleeping pills in 1972 at age 47.

Guy Stockwell rounds out the featured cast as the German-Jewish second in command, Lt. Mohnfeld. The older brother of actor Dean Stockwell, Guy may be best remembered for this movie and his role as Draco in “The War Lord” from 1965. Stockwell remained busy acting in movies and television until retiring in 1990. “Tobruk” also features a cast filled with many familiar British character actors including Jack Watson, Percy Herbert, Norman Rossington and Irishman Liam Redmond. Leo Gordon does double duty as the screenwriter and playing a rare good guy role as Sergeant Krug.

“Tobruk” is overshadowed by the popularity of “The Dirty Dozen” which was released a few months later and both films are part of the “Men on an Impossible Mission” genre. “Tobruk” doesn’t pack quite the same punch as movies like “The Dirty Dozen” and “Where Eagles Dare,” but in hindsight, it is a very entertaining WWII adventure with a satisfying plot, terrific performances and plenty of action. The Arizona Desert stands in for most of North Africa with a few scenes shot in Spain. Imperial Beach, California stands in for the final battle scenes at the gun emplacement and the California Army National Guard provided technical assistance. The movie features an abundance of graphic deaths via flame thrower which may have served as an inspiration to Quentin Tarantino for “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.”

Released by Universal in March 1967, “Tobruk” has a run time of 110 minutes and looks and sounds terrific, preserving the Techniscope widescreen image. This Kino Lorber Blu-ray release is a worthy upgrade of the previously released Universal Vault Series DVD. The Blu-ray includes an audio commentary by Steve Mitchell and Steven Jay Rubin which is as entertaining as it is informative. The disc also includes optional subtitles and the trailer for this and other Kino Lorber titles. The movie is a welcome addition for fans of 60s WWII movies.

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BY DOUG OSWALD

An all star cast features in the adaptation of Leon Uris’ “Battle Cry,” available on Blu-ray via the Warner Archive Collection. The granddaddy of contemporary WWII melodramas like “The Winds of War” and “Band of Brothers,” “Battle Cry” was one of the first big dramatic war stories which followed multiple characters through boot camp, romance, heartbreak, the battlefield, death and homecoming. One of my favorite movies in this genre is Otto Preminger’s “In Harms Way” from 1965 which teamed John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. “Battle Cry” was first a best selling novel released in 1953 and quickly adapted to the big screen. Some people criticize these types of military themed melodramas as being light on action and heavy on romance, but there’s certainly a place for both.

“Battle Cry” begins with the narrator setting the stage. It’s January 1942 and several young men and their families say their goodbye’s from East Coast to West Coast picking up more guys along the way to San Diego where they will start their 10 weeks of training at the Marine Corps Base in California. The narrator of the story is their senior NCO, Master Sergeant Mac, played by James Whitmore in one of my favorite of his many great performances. He portrayed a similar character a few years earlier in the gritty story of the Battle of Bastogne, “Battleground.” He also served in the Marine Corps during WWII and his portrayal in both films is convincing and natural.

We meet all the central characters on the train and we get the basic set up for their stories. They’re a mixed lot, ranging from intellectuals and the street wise to hot heads, country boys, a lumberjack and tough guys. We follow them from boot camp to radio school and then off to the war in the Pacific with stops in New Zealand and Hawaii in between landings on Guadalcanal, Tarawa and Saipan. In between they find time for romance and infidelity.

Danny Forrester (Tab Hunter) is engaged to his high school sweetheart, Kathy (Mona Freeman). While in San Diego he meets USO volunteer Elaine Yarborough (Dorothy Malone), the wife of a deployed naval officer who, as she says, has everything she needs. They have a brief affair until Danny breaks it off.

Andy Hookins (Aldo Ray) is the confirmed bachelor of the group who sees “dames” as playthings. He reminds his pals their problem is falling for one dame. While in New Zealand, he meets and falls for widow Pat Rogers (Nancy Olson). She’s not like the other women he has met and apologizes to her for his behavior. He meets her family and later, they get married. He even contemplates desertion to avoid the risk of leaving her and dying in the war.

Marion “Sister Mary” Hotchkiss (John Lupton) is a reader, a thinker and an aspiring writer who rides the Coronado Ferry while on liberty during radio school. There he meets Rae (Anne Francis), who enjoys their relationship talking on the boat. He wants more, but she likes things as they are. Later, while at a local bar with his classmates, she walks in with several other girls brought in by “Spanish Joe” Gomez (Perry Lopez) to liven things up for his fellow Marines. Naturally, Marion is devastated and leaves.

“Ski” Wronski (William Campbell) also has a girl back home, Susan (Susan Morrow) who sends him a “Dear John” letter. He’s never the same after that. The guys rescue him and his nest egg which a bar girl tries to steal while he’s drunk. He never does quite bounce back from his girl dumping him and marrying someone else.

Van Heflin is Major Sam Huxley, the commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion 6th Marine Regiment. He works his men hard in order to prepare them for fighting the enemy. He has a wife back home we never meet, but we know he cares for his men and sometimes crosses the line in identifying too closely with their personal problems.

Raymond Massey has a cameo as Major General Snipes, Huxley’s commanding officer during their island hopping in the Pacific. L.Q. Jones provides comic relief as L.Q. Jones. The actor changed his professional name from Justus E. McQueen to his screen namesake in his film debut which was probably good as there may have been room for only one McQueen in Hollywood. Perry Lopez is the afore mentioned “Spanish Joe” Gomez, the con man of the outfit and Fess Parker is the good natured, guitar playing country boy, Speedy.

The Marines finally depart San Diego and in November 1942 they arrive in New Zealand for more training and to prepare for their first island invasion. After celebrating Christmas services, the Marines ship out to Guadalcanal and then Tarawa. In both cases they are held in reserve and perform mop up duty. It isn’t until June 14th, 1944, the Marines take a lead role as part of the first wave in the invasion of Japanese held Saipan. In between they take leave back in New Zealand and Hawaii. This final third of the movie depicts the men at war. For those of us used to contemporary watching recent films which have more realistic depictions of combat, “Battle Cry” may appear unrealistic and dated. If you’re looking for a war movie filled with battlefield action, this may not be the one for you. It’s nearly 90 minutes until the first bomb is dropped and the battle action takes center stage.

Leon Uris adapted the screenplay from his own novel. He based the story on his own experiences as a radio operator in the Marine Corps and served in combat during the battles depicted in the story and fictionalized those experiences to great effect. Uris would go on to write many more best selling novels which is where his greatest success remains. He did write first drafts for adaptations of “The Angry Hills,” “Exodus,” “Topaz,” and “QB VII” as well as the original screenplay for “The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.” I think it’s safe to say Uris was not happy in Hollywood as a couple of his first draft screenplays went unused.

“Battle Cry” was directed by Raoul Walsh, whose career began in silent movies and continued into the mid 1960s. Known for his crime dramas and military themed movies, Walsh first introduced John Wayne in the 1930 release, “The Big Trail.” He helped create the tough guy personas associated with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Errol Flynn in movies like “They Drive By Night,” “High Sierra,” “They Died with Their Boots On” and “White Heat.” He also directed the antithesis of “Battle Cry,” the gritty and cynical military drama, “The Naked and the Dead” which features no home front romance or melodrama of any kind.

“Battle Cry” is indeed a statement on war and the human toll during war at home and on the field of battle. If I were to pick a favorite performance, I’d have to say it’s a tie between James Whitmore and Aldo Ray. Whitmore because he’s spot on in his thoughtful portrayal as a career senior NCO who empathizes with his men and successfully turns them into Marines without being a tyrant. Aldo Ray because his portrayal is the most transformative going from essentially a cad and a womanizer who falls for the right woman and considers deserting in order to preserve the new man he has become.

Released by Warner Bros. in February 1955, the movie clocks in at a hefty 148 minutes. Filmed in CinemaScope, the “Battle Cry” benefits greatly from the widescreen aspect ratio. The Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray looks better than it ever has on home video and sounds just as good. There are no extras on the disc other than the trailer and subtitles. Highly recommended for fans of high drama military movies.

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BY DARREN ALLISON

Cineploit continue to help feed the healthy appetite for European cult film classics with their two latest Region-Free Blu-ray media book releases, Mark Colpisce Ancora aka The .44 Specialist aka Mark Strikes Again (Italy 1976) (CP 05) and Brothers in Blood aka Savage Attack (Italy 1987) (CP 06).

Police Inspector Mark Terzi (Franco Gasparri) works undercover as Mark Patti. He is assigned to apprehend a hardened group of terrorists. Terzi has already narrowly escaped a murderous attack at a location where he was meant to be in Vienna, which leads to suspicions. Soon after, clues lead Terzi to begin thinking that his own superiors may also be involved in the plot.

This was the final film in director Stelvio Massis’s ‘Mark trilogy’ and is considered by many commentators to be the best. Massis appears to have accumulated his collective skills, experiences and shooting techniques from the previous two films and put them to very good use for the final entry. Whist the plot and narrative are pretty straight forward, there is plenty of action to enjoy. Crashes, car chases, an air escape and plenty of bullets litter the screen, and given that this was probably something of a low-budgeted affair, it all comes off as both exciting and hugely enjoyable. The film looks good. too, making the most of its locations based mainly in and around Milan and Vienna. As with a great deal other Poliziotteschi films, Mark Colpisce Ancora also boasts an American actor in its cast. It’s usually no more than an extended cameo, but worked well, especially in reaching out to the American market. John Saxon appears here, Saxon had an uncanny knack of choosing and turning up in so many cult films. It would have been great to have seen him appear longer, but more often than not these Western world, star contracts arguably stipulated a week or so scheduling, and in the process Saxon no doubt collected a healthy fistful of Lira (and probably a return ticket to Europe for his troubles). The film marks its worldwide 2K Blu-ray premiere, and looks incredibly clean (the disc includes a restoration comparison) and free of any major defects. Euro film favourite, composer Stelvio Cipriani also keeps the suspense thumping along nicely with another memorable score.

As to be expected from Cineploit, their package is again highly impressive. Their media book style (as with their previous four releases) is beautifully produced with 28 pages of detailed information. The company also offer the media book in a choice of three different cover variations, (two Italian and one German) in numbered and limited editions of 400/300/300. Cineploit’s continued use of partial UV spotting also adds an edge to the covers overall presentation. Leading the bonus material is Part 2 of Cineploit’s exclusively produced career interview with composer Stelvio Cipriani. Cineploit teasingly split this excellent interview (part 1 was included on their debut release, La Polizia Ha Le Mani Legrate). There’s another 41 minutes here, which, with part one, totals some 92 minutes and makes it something of a defining overview on the composer. There’s also two further exclusive featurettes with son and assistant Danilo Massi and cameraman Roberto Girometti (20 and 16 minutes). Also included is an international picture gallery lasting some 8 minutes. Cineploit fashionably round the whole package off by including a reproduction double-sided poster with the Italian locandina and Manifesto. Wonderful stuff!

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Writing on the Mental Floss web site, Jake Rossen recalls the impact of the 1983 ABC-TV airing of the controversial film "The Day After" starring Jason Robards. The movie was director Nicholas Meyer's warning to the world about the dangers of a nuclear war. At the time, the Cold War was very much in play and the stakes were high. ABC found they could get scant advertisers to sponsor a program with saw the destruction of America through the eyes of residents of a small Kansas town. To the network's credit, it aired the film anyway. What they lost in advertising revenue over two hours, they made up for in prestige. The show, which aired in the days when cable TV was in its infancy, attracted an astonishing 62 million viewers. (It would later be released overseas as a theatrical feature film in a slightly extended version.) Those of us of a certain age who recall watching it were left deeply moved and very upset as we watched the "lucky" survivors cope with facing a slow, torturous death. Perhaps in this modern era of a pandemic, it would still  be difficult to watch even in the post-Cold War era, as our nightly news presents scenes of an America that seems scarcely recognizable, with desperate teams of physicians and nurses working in hellish, over-crowded hospitals- much like the scenario presented in "The Day After". The film represented a time period in which the three major networks were proud to produce and telecast controversial productions that often had a societal impact (think "Roots".) "The Day After" certainly did and it's been theorized that President Reagan was so moved by what he saw that he redoubled his efforts to finalize important arms limitation deals with the Soviets.

Click here to read.

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“TECHNICOLOR SABERS”

By Raymond Benson

Was this really a movie sub-genre? Colorful “Middle Eastern” action-comedy-adventures loosely derived from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights? Full of harem girls, saber-wielding swashbucklers, epic set pieces with beautifully designed sets and “Arabian” costumes, camels and horses and tigers, and… comedians?

The answer is, ahem, yes. During the war years of the early 1940s, Universal Pictures made several of these “exotic adventure” pictures that capitalized on the success of Britain’s Thief of Bagdad (1940). Hollywood quickly got into this act, but like the Bing Crosby and Bob Hope “Road to…” pictures, these movies set in the world of ancient Arabia were filmed on sound stages in southern California… and it shows.

The films were hugely popular at the time, but they have not aged well. We shall examine two of the more successful entries of this short-lived movement—Arabian Nights from 1942, and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves from 1944. Each picture shared some actors and a cinematographer (W. Howard Greene). Nights was nominated for no less than four Academy Awards in the categories of Cinematography and Art Direction (both richly deserved), Sound Recording, and Score (by Frank Skinner). Ali Baba did not chart at awards season, but it is, in truth, the better picture.

The good: These are gloriously produced old Technicolor extravaganzas that show off the artistry and imagination that only Hollywood can concoct. The films are truly gorgeous, and the new high definition restorations bring out the colors with intensity (of the two, Arabian Nights looks the best, but both are visually exquisite). Secondly, the films provide some excellently choreographed action sequences such as battles between Arabs and Mongols. It’s as if the pirate film genre had migrated to the Islamic Golden Age.

But therein lies the bad. These films have almost nothing to do with the real Book of One Thousand and One Nights. They are full of stereotypes and likely blasphemous depictions of Islam. Arabic characters are played by white Hollywood actors with darkened skin makeup. If all that weren’t bad enough, way too much of each movie is played for laughs. Blatantly comic actors are cast in major roles and they stand out like broccoli in a fruit basket. Consider this: Shemp Howard plays “Sinbad” in Arabian Nights, and he acts exactly like… Shemp Howard, complete with New York accent, mugging facial expressions, and squeaky vocalizations when he’s frightened. Loud, sneezy Billy Gilbert also has a sizable role in the picture. Ali Baba is graced with the presence of none other than… Andy Devine in a supporting role as one of the Forty Thieves. Andy Devine as an Arab? He even speaks like Andy Devine in his whiny drawl, “Aw, Ali, you don’t want to marry the princess! A thousand gold coins can get you a girl in the marketplace who’s just as purdy!”

Jon Hall stars in both movies as our hero. In Arabian Nights, he’s Haroun-Al-Raschid, the brother of the caliph. He has the title role in Ali Baba. Sultry Maria Montez is also in both pictures as the love interest. In the first, she is the famous dancer, Scheherazade (although in the credits and promotional materials, this is spelled Sherazade, but the characters pronounce her name the proper way). In Ali Baba, she is Amara, the prince’s daughter. Turkish-Czech actor Turhan Bey also appears in both movies in supporting roles. The popular Indian actor Sabu is a featured performer in Arabian Nights, having emigrated to Hollywood after the success of Thief of Bagdad.

Arabian Nights is the tale of two rival brothers, Haroun and Kamar (Leif Erickson, credited as Leif Erikson), their pursuit of Scheherazade, and their quest to gain power in Arabia.

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves is the tale of Ali, the true caliph who is in exile because Bagdad is overrun by the Mongols. He wants to reunite with his childhood sweetheart, Amara, run the Mongols out of town, and reclaim the city for the Arabs.

The eye-rolling aspects aside, one must consider the films within the context of when they were made and released. Yes, they’re silly and loads of rubbish, but in their own way they are fun and entertaining. If one can get past Shemp Howard and Andy Devine, one might have a few laughs and appreciate the scenic beauty on display in these admittedly superb presentations.

Both films come with interesting audio commentaries by film historian Phillipa Berry. The theatrical trailers for each title and others from Kino Lorber are on both disks as well.

Arabian Nights and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, available separately from Kino Lorber, are prime examples of the Exotic Technicolor Adventure movement that Hollywood once pushed. So, grab your magic lamp, rub it a few times, sit back, and watch these vibrant burlesques with your favorite genie.

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BY LEE PEIFFER

Actor John Saxon, who specialized in playing celluloid tough guys, has died from pneumonia at age 83. Saxon grew up on the (then) mean streets of his native Brooklyn and became a model at age 17. He segued into feature films and television, winning acclaim for his performances. Saxon had the ability to use his charisma and good looks to portray both heroes and villains on screen, and did both convincingly. Major stardom never materialized for him but he had a long career as a popular supporting actor. Among his more notable films: "The Reluctant Debutante", "War Hunt", "The Electric Horseman", "The Unforgiven", "Joe Kidd", the original "Nightmare on Elm Street" and two sequels, "From Dusk Till Dawn", "Black Christmas", "Wrong is Right", "Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation" and "Battle Beyond the Stars". One of his most popular films was "Enter the Dragon", the final movie of Bruce Lee. Saxon also starred in numerous action film in Italian cinema. For his performance opposite Marlon Brando in the 1966 Western "The Appaloosa", he received a Golden Globe nomination. That year, he won a Golden Globe as "Most Promising Newcomer" even though he had been making films for almost a decade. He also had recurring roles in two popular TV series, "Dynasty" and "Falcon Crest". For more, click here.

“NEXT STOP… HIJACK!”

By Raymond Benson

There were many motion pictures made in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s that depict New York City as a less than desirable place to be. A hell on earth full of crime, grime, sin, debauchery, drugs, gangs, and corruption. You know the titles—The Out of Towners, Midnight Cowboy, Joe, Taxi Driver…

While the portrayal may very well have been true, to a certain extent, this reviewer lived in Manhattan over a decade during the relevant years and found it to be the most exciting, vibrant, culturally potent, and beautifully stimulating environment. Not only that, the #6 IRT train (the “Pelham 1:23,” hence the title) is one this reviewer rode almost daily, so the stops, the milieu, and the atmosphere were dead-on familiarities. As some of us like to say today in the age when 42nd Street and Times Square have been “Disney-ized,” we miss the old days when New York had “character,” and we’re not talking about Elmos and Iron Men hawking photos with tourists.

One must add to the above list of New York films the marvelous thriller, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, from 1974. Director Joseph Sargent delivered a gritty and accurate nail-biter that displayed Manhattan in its visceral authenticity, especially regarding the underground subway system, where most of the movie takes place. New York’s Transit Authority (MTA) cooperated with the filmmakers, however there is a disclaimer that they didn’t advise or take part in the story details or provide information on how the trains worked. The one condition the MTA made to allow filming in the subway was that no graffiti could be seen in the movie. At the time, graffiti was everywhere, and subway trains and stations were primary targets for the artists. Throughout the 70s and 80s, the MTA was at war with graffiti artists—it was a never-ending battle to keep the cars clean. Thus, the unmarked subway cars seen in the film are the only thing about it that could be called unrealistic.

Pelham is terrific. One unexpected element that makes it so good is the humor exhibited in the dialogue and by the superb performances of the actors, especially those playing the Transit Police and the MTA employees. The likes of Walter Matthau, Dick O’Neill, Jerry Stiller, and Tom Pedi keep the proceedings lively and entertaining.

Four armed men (Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, and Earl Hindman) in similar disguises (hats, overcoats, mustaches) board the #6 Downtown train, each using the pseudonym of a color (Mr. Green, Mr. Blue, etc.—nearly twenty years before Reservoir Dogs, and it is acknowledged by Quentin Tarantino that Pelham was an influence). At around 28th Street, they hijack the train, separate the front car from the rest, and park it between stations in the dark of the tunnel. They hold seventeen passengers and a conductor hostage and demand $1 million in cash from the city within one hour. Lt. Garber (Matthau) of the transit police oversees the negotiations and getting things moving. A mayor downtrodden with the flu (Lee Wallace, who uncannily resembles future New York mayor Ed Koch, although Koch was not mayor at the time the picture was made) must approve the payout, the bank must gather the dough, and the police need to deliver the bundle to the hijackers on time before they start executing hostages.

It’s the perfect example of a “ticking clock” thriller, and director Sargent, screenwriter Peter Stone (adapting from John Godey’s novel), and the actors pull it off with finesse. Another major component to the film’s success is the funky, brassy score by David Shire.

Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray restoration looks and sounds great, and it comes with an audio commentary by actor/filmmaker Pat Healy and film programmer/historian Jim Healy. Supplements include a recent interview with actor Elizondo, who provides several amusing stories about the making of the film and the other actors involved; a recent interview with composer Shire; and one with editor Jerry Greenberg. A “Trailers from Hell” episode with Josh Olson, an animated montage of stills and posters, and the original theatrical trailer round out the package.

In short, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is a seminal “New York Movie,” a quintessential “1970s picture,” and one of the better thrillers ever made. Note: It was remade in 1998 as a TV movie and in 2009 as a theatrical film, but neither of these comes close to the power and ingenuity of the original.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Ennio Morricone, the Oscar-winning and prolific film composer, has died in Rome at age 91 from complications resulting from a fall that had left him with a fractured hip. In the course of his career, Morricone rose from composing music for little-seen Italian films to becoming an icon of the movie industry. He worked virtually non-stop, turning out a head-spinning number of film scores. However, it was his collaborations with director Sergio Leone that brought him to international attention. When United Artists head of production David V. Picker saw Leone's A Fistful of Dollars  and For a Few Dollars More, both of which had been sensations at the European boxoffice, he purchased the distribution rights for the movies for English language territories. He also agreed to finance the third and final film in the series, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The films proved to be sensations worldwide and audiences responded enthusiastically to Morricone's quirky scores. His music for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly remains one of the most iconic main film themes ever composed, rivaled only, perhaps, by the James Bond Theme. Morricone's work was highly original, and for the Italian westerns often included full choirs singing intentionally unintelligible words. Ironically, in the United States, Morricone's main theme for "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" became a major hit on the radio, but it was a cover version performed by Hugo Montenegro and his orchestra. Even after the success of the Leone Western trilogy, Morricone continued to compose scores for low-grade Italian films. One of the most amusing was "O.K. Connery", the title song for the 1967 James Bond spoof "Operation Kid Brother" which starred Sean Connery's brother Neil. The film (currently streaming on Amazon Prime) was dreadful but you might find yourself humming Morricone's catchy opening song. Morricone teamed again with Sergio Leone for another western masterpiece "Once Upon a Time in the West", as his star rose internationally and he became increasingly revered by film enthusiasts worldwide.

Over the course of decades, Morricone retained his status as a workaholic composer. In 2006, he received an honorary Oscar for his lifetime achievements. It was  presented to him, appropriately enough, by Clint Eastwood, star of the Leone "Dollars" trilogy. Morricone continued to compose non-film scores that were acclaimed in their own right and often performed by him in live concerts that were always hot ticket events. However, it was the movies that cemented his legendary status. He had been nominated for numerous Oscars before winning in for his score for Quentin Tarantino's 2015 film "The Hateful Eight". His influence continues today. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" theme is currently heard in a TV commercial, as is his magnificent composition from that film, "The Ecstasy of Gold", which is the signature theme for Modelo beer commercials.

For more about Morricone's career, click here to read obituary by Jon Burlingame of Variety.

BY DOUG OSWALD

William Holden commands a newly formed commando group in “The Devil’s Brigade,” available by Kino Lorber on Blu-ray. On the heels of the successful “The Dirty Dozen” from the previous year, “The Devil’s Brigade” is based on the 1966 book by Robert H. Adleman and Colonel George Walton. It chronicles the true events of the 1st Special Service, a joint American and Canadian commando unit assigned to the United States Fifth Army. Inspired by true events, the movie follows the standard tropes of this type of action adventure men- at -war movie. A rag-tag group of soldiers are brought together for a mission, they initially mistrust each other, get into a fight, train together, get into another fight this time working together against another group, graduate from their training and then deploy on their mission to fight the enemy (usually Germans, Italians or Japanese). I recall seeing this for the first time on American broadcast television with commercials advertising “The American misfits and the proud Canadians…” The commando group starts training at an American base where the two groups learn to work as a single unit. The action switches to German occupied Italy in the second half as they battle the Germans in close combat action sequences.

The movie features a “Hollywood Who’s Who” cast of leading men and character actors: William Holden as Lt. Colonel Robert T. Frederick, the commander of the unit. Cliff Robertson as the Canadian commander, Major Alan Crown. Vince Edwards as the American commander, Major Cliff Bricker. The supporting cast gets even better with the American misfits and proud Canadians portrayed by: Claude Akins as Private Rocky Rockman, Richard Jaeckel as Private Omar Creco, Andrew Prine as Private Theodore Ransom, Richard Dawson as Private Hugh MacDonald, Luke Askew as Private Hubert Hixon, Tom Troup as Private Al Manella, Jeremy Slate as Sergeant Pat O’Neill, Jack Watson as Corporal Peacock, Harry Carey Jr. as Captain Rose, Michael Rennie as Lt. General Mark Clark, Carroll O’Connor as Major General Maxwell Hunter, Dana Andrews as Brig. General Walter Naylor, Michael Rennie as Lt. General Mark Clark, stunt man and future director Hal Needham as a sergeant. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Karl-Otto Alberty as the German officer interrogating Claude Akins. Fans of retro classics will remember him as the German tank commander in “Kelly’s Heroes” and the German officer who captures Richard Attenborough in “The Great Escape” and orders, “Hands UP!”

Holden give a stoic, yet one-dimensional, performance as the commander. This is a year prior to his iconic performance as Pike in Sam Peckinpah’s classic “The Wild Bunch” in 1969. While “The Devil’s Brigade” is not as highly regarded as that movie, or even “The Dirty Dozen,” it stands on its own as a minor classic in the genre. Richard Jaeckel steals every scene he appears in. Cliff Robertson is terrific as the Canadian commander, just a year away from his Academy Award-winning performance in “Charly.”  Vince Edwards was transitioning back to the big screen following his run on television in “Ben Casey” which was a very popular series in the first half of the 1960s. However, the abundant cast makes it difficult for anyone to really stand out as the face behind this movie, as Lee Marvin did in “The Dirty Dozen.”

Director Andrew V. McLaglen and William Holden on location in Utah. (Cinema Retro archives.)

Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, a veteran director of many popular movies, the film looks and sounds terrific and clocks in at 130 minutes. Released in May 1968 by United Artists, it was filmed in widescreen Panavision on location in Utah. The Utah location doubles for the training base during the first half of the film and some of the action when the brigade get to Italy in the second half. From the appearance of the buildings, it appears to have been filmed on an active military base in Utah. The buildings look live in and may have been left standing from the WWII period, which was not uncommon. Much of the second half was filmed on location in Italy in actual WWII battle locations, using much of the same armaments used in countless other WWII-themed movies filmed in the 60s and 70s. The production value in the location filming really elevates this movie. Look through the windows in the interior scenes during the first half of the movie and you’ll notice that McLaglen ensures there is stuff going on outside, making the location come alive.

Unfortunately, the movie was not a major hit during its initial release. Subsequent broadcast television, cable TV and home video releases have elevated its status over the years as a solid action adventure movie. The film is often compared to “The Dirty Dozen” which came out the previous year. There are definite similarities and this may have been part of the movie’s shortfall a the boxoffice. Also, the Vietnam War was raging and military movies were falling out of favor. It’s hard to know for certain, as movie audiences can be fickle. However, the “men on an impossible mission” genre remains popular to this day.

The Kino Lorber Blu-ray comes with an audio commentary by film historians Steve Mitchell and Steven Jay Rubin. The commentary is an entertaining trivia and  Mitchell and Rubin know their stuff when it comes to military movies. Rubin is an expert on the various armaments used in the film and has a knack for identifying Hollywood military weapon sound effects and the differences between the studio libraries. The audio commentary is compelling enough to justify watching the Blu-ray twice. The other extras are the trailer for this and other Kino Lorber Blu-ray titles.

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(For extensive coverage of "The Devil's Brigade", see Cinema Retro's Movie Classics Films of WWII special issue.)

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Carl Reiner has passed away at age 98. The New York native who served in WWII and then went on to become a comedy icon, had a varied career and many achievements that were often behind the cameras. He gained fame as a member of Sid Caesar's ensemble on his legendary 1950s TV series "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour". Reiner was usually happy to play the straight man in skits that help revolutionize the world of comedy. With his good friend Mel Brooks, who wrote for Caesar's shows, he created the concept of the 2,000 Year-Old Man, which found Reiner interviewing the elderly Jewish guy, played by Brooks. The concept started informally when the duo would improvise acts at social gatherings, but when they finally released the 2,000 Year-Old Man as a comedy album, it sold over a million copies and institutionalized Jewish humor for a generation of American comedians. In the 1960s, Reiner turned the concept for a failed TV sitcom in which he starred into a major hit as "The Dick Van Dyke Show". The series made Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore beloved TV icons. The show ran from 1961 to 1966 and was still a top-ratings earner when Van Dyke chose to quit in order to pursue a career in feature films.

Reiner began to find success as a movie director, a career he began in 1967 with his semi-autobiographical film "Enter Laughing". His 1969 film "The Comic" about the rise and fall of an obnoxious silent screen icon starred Dick Van Dyke. The ambitious film has built a cult following but was a flop upon its release because of its downbeat premise. His 1970 comedy "Where's Poppa?" was controversial because of its cynical content but  "Oh, God!" starring George Burns was a major hit, as was "The Jerk", a concept of producer David V. Picker's that launched Steve Martin's career as a leading man.

Reiner had a rare leading man role in a feature film with the smash hit "The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!" in 1966 but, in general, he was satisfied playing supporting roles in movies and TV programs. He played key roles in the "Oceans Eleven" films starring George Clooney, which were derived from the original 1960 Rat Pack classic.

Reiner, the father of acclaimed actor and director Rob Reiner, was married for 65 years to his wife Estelle Lebost, who passed away in 2008. He remained close friends with fellow comedy icons Mel Brooks and Norman Lear.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Way back in the 1970s while in college, I took a course dedicated to classic films. The teacher was Herbert J. Leder, an affable, if eccentric, professor who also had the distinction of having directed some films for major studios. They were all "B" movies, but they did get wide release. One of them was titled "The Frozen Dead", a 1967 Hammer horror wanna be with Dana Andrews as a mad Nazi doctor who plans to use cloning to revive the Third Reich in modern day England. As a joke, Herb showed the film one day in his "Classics of the Cinema" class. It was mildly diverting fare, no better or worse than much of what Hammer itself was releasing during this time period. A couple of years later, Fox released "The Boys From Brazil", a major adaptation of Ira Levin's bestselling thriller. The plot centered on a mad Nazi doctor who was using cloning to revive the Third Reich in modern society. I was rather shocked at the similarity of the story lines and discussed it with Herb Leder, who was dismissive of pursuing any possibility that Levin's novel might have been influenced by his "B" movie. Today, of course, the mindset would probably be different and a lawsuit, frivolous or not, would probably have been brought against all parties concerned with "The Boys From Brazil". The film version of Levin's novel was greeted with mixed reviews. I recall arguing the movie's merits (or lack thereof) with my mentor, Playboy film critic Bruce Williamson. I found the movie to be highly enjoyable and I was particularly impressed by Gregory Peck's refreshing change of pace, playing an outright villain, the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele. Williamson said he felt that Peck reminded him of a drunk at a party who puts a lampshade on his head in an attempt to bring attention to himself. Nevertheless, upon seeing the film again through the Blu-ray release from Shout! Factory, my admiration for the movie remains undiminished.  

The film begins with a series of suspenseful sequences in which a determined young American, Barry Kohler, (Steve Guttenberg) in South America doggedly and surreptitiously tracks and photographs the activities of suspected former Nazis.He becomes increasingly audacious and manages to bug one of their meetings. He is shocked to learn that they have launched a plan to revive the Third Reich through the efforts of the world's most wanted man, the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele, who oversaw barbaric "medical experiments" at Auschwitz. Kohler makes contact with the legendary Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman (Laurence Olivier), who runs a drastically underfunded operation with his sister (Lili Palmer) that attempts to bring war criminals to justice. Lieberman is sarcastic to the young man and dismisses his information- until he suspects that he has been murdered. Lieberman then launches his own investigation, traveling internationally to interview parties who might shed light on the conspiracy. He finds that the ex-Nazis have ordered the murder of 94 civil servants around the globe who are all in their mid-60s. As the investigation continues, he suspects that Mengele has cloned DNA from Adolf Hitler and that there are now teenage boys coming of age as sons of the men who have been marked for murder. Mengele needs to replicate the exact occurrences in the life of Hitler, including the death of his father when he was a teenager. By doing so, he hopes that at least one of the 94 boys will become a leader for the revived Reich.

The premise of the plot is an unlikely one to involve the talents of Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier and James Mason, who plays another ex-Nazi who pulls the plug on Mengele's plans, thus forcing the arch villain to act independently to see his scheme through to fruition.  Indeed, there are times the film seems like a dusted off vehicle for old time character actor George Zucco, who reveled in playing mad doctors. However, under the direction of Franklin J. Schaffner, the pace is brisk, the story involving and the performances are compelling. Add to all this a superb musical score by Jerry Goldsmith and it's hard to resist the movie, despite its abundance of guilty pleasures. The finale is a bizarre doozy in which  Mengele and Lieberman (who is obviously supposed to be real life Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal) end up in a wrestling match in the presence of bloodthirsty hounds! Olivier overdoes the feeble old Jewish guy routine (a performance he would recreate practically verbatim as Neil Diamond's cantor father in "The Jazz Singer" a couple of years later). Nevertheless, he's fun to watch. An irony is that, although Gregory Peck gives the superior performance, it was Olivier who got a Best Actor nomination. Adding to the irony, Olivier had been nominated for Best Supporting Actor two years before for playing a thinly-veiled Mengele in "Marathon Man". There are plenty of fine supporting performances including Anne Meara in a rare dramatic role, Bond baddie Walter Gotell, John Dehner, Rosemary Harris, Uta Hagen, Denholm Elliott, Bruno Ganz and Linda Hayden. Young Jeremy Black is especially creepy as the teenage boy who doesn't realize he is carrying Hitler's DNA. 

The Shout! Factory Blu-ray does justice to this opulent production that is dripping in atmosphere. An original trailer is also included.

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Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Paramount Home Entertainment:

A masterpiece of off-the-wall comedy, AIRPLANE! celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2020 with a brand-new Blu-ray in the Paramount Presents line, as well as a limited edition Blu-ray Steelbook.  Originally released in July of 1980, AIRPLANE! was a major hit and become a pop culture touchstone.  Voted “one of the 10 funniest movies ever made” by the American Film Institute, the film continues to be widely referenced and quoted 40 years after its theatrical debut.

The Paramount Presents Blu-ray and limited edition Steelbook each includes the newly remastered film from a 4K transfer supervised by writers/directors Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, a new Filmmaker Focus on the directors, a new Q&A with the directors recorded at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood in January 2020, and an isolated music score by Elmer Bernstein.  The discs also include previously released audio commentary with the directors and producer Jon Davison.

Robert Hays stars as an ex-fighter pilot forced to take over the controls of an airliner when the flight crew succumbs to food poisoning.  The all-star cast also includes Julie Hagerty, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Leslie Nielsen, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.  The outrageous comedy spoof skewers airplane disaster flicks, religious zealots, television commercials…and everything else in its path.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

The Warner Archive has released a Blu-ray edition of its previously issued DVD of "The Set-Up". The acclaimed 1949 film noir was directed by Robert Wise at the end of his contract with RKO, where he was championed by Val Lewton and made a name as a very capable editor ("Citizen Kane" was among his credits.) When Wise graduated to directing, he felt hampered by RKO's low budgets and production values and yearned to work for the major studios. Ironically, it was the low budget and production values that enhanced "The Set-Up". Wise may have been handed some lemons but he knew how to turn them into lemonade. The film has all the earmarks of a great film noir experience: a fine cast, dark, moody atmosphere, crisp black-and-white cinematography that emphasizes the shadows and a cast of roughneck characters that ring all too believable, especially if you grew up in an inner city. Wise, working with a fine screenplay by Art Cohn that was, perhaps improbably, based on a poem by Joseph Moncure March.

Possibly because of the abbreviated running time of only 73 minutes, the story is simple and the stakes are laid out quickly. The film opens in a seedy hotel in a honky tonk area of an undefined city. Stoker Thompson (Robert Ryan), an aging boxer who is past his sell date, prepares to cross the street to an arena where he will compete in one of several boxing matches on the card. Stoker is no longer a big draw and his bout is considered to be an added attraction. He's fighting a brash young up-and-comer, Tiger Nelson (Hal Baylor). What he doesn't know is that his manager has agreed to insure that Stoker throws the fight in the third round in return for a bribe from a local crime lord. The manager assumes that Stoker wouldn't agree to toss the fight and gambles on the premise that he will lose anyway and the crime boss will be none the wiser. Stoker is comforted as he heads out by his devoted by long-suffering wife Julie (Audrey Totter), who begs him to give up boxing. But Stoker wants another shot at the brass ring in the hopes of winning a large enough purse to retire from the sport and open a cigar shop with Julie. He feels in his bones he can beat his younger opponent. Much to his disdain, Julie refuses to attend the fight on the premise that she can no longer witness the beatings he has been taking. In the ring, however, the brutal match finds Stoker in better form than anyone could have imagined. Despite the severe punishment he takes, he delivers a spirited performance...as his manager sweats over the prospect that he might win. The outcome of the bout has serious implications for the well-being of everyone involved. Wise ensures that that the production is appropriately gritty, with sweat-drenched locker rooms and an arena packed with street-wise dames and fat, bellowing men sucking on thick cigars. He turns the lack of financial resources into an asset, presenting the events in real time and eschewing a musical score. The boxing bouts are so fast-paced they don't allow for a minute of rest for the combatants, something that would be a physical impossibility in real life. However, it adds to the building tension and excitement. It must be said that the performances are uniformly excellent, with Ryan (who was the Dartmouth College boxing champ for four years in a row), in particularly fine form as the down-but-not-out would-be champ.

The Warner Archive Blu-ray looks superb, allowing the viewer to appreciate the excellent cinematography of Milton R. Krasner. There is only one bonus feature, but it's impressive: the original commentary track recorded by Robert Wise and Martin Scorsese for the previous DVD release. Prior to his passing in 2005, Wise had enthusiastically embraced the idea of participating in such tracks. Thanks to his foresight, we now have numerous commentaries for several of his best films that allow us to hear his personal memories of making them. In this track, Scorsese recalls being impressed by the movie when he first saw it as a film student. He also points out that "there isn't a wasted frame". Some viewers might be annoyed that the duo allow long gaps without speaking but stick with it, because this is a golden opportunity to enjoy two great directors of succeeding generations celebrate the art of filmmaking. Highly recommended.

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“NOSTALGIA, SWASHBUCKLING, AND LAUGHTER”

By Raymond Benson

Mel Brooks served as executive producer on this thoroughly delightful picture released in 1982 and directed by actor/director Richard Benjamin. It feels like a Brooks movie (but perhaps not as zany). In fact, My Favorite Year, which was written by Norman Steinberg and Dennis Palumbo, from Palumbo’s story, is loosely inspired by Brooks’ days as a writer on Sid Caesar’s early television comedy/variety programs, Your Show of Shows and Caesar’s Hour, in the 1950s.

The year is 1954, New York City, and Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) is a young comedy writer on “Comedy Cavalcade,” which stars the demanding and difficult-to-work-for King Kaiser (Joseph Bologna). The studio is lucky to snare a guest appearance on the show by the once hugely popular but now fading swashbuckling movie star, Alan Swann (Peter O’Toole). Swann is a notorious alcoholic, is unreliable, and has a reputation for major trouble. Stone is assigned the job of being Swann’s babysitter during the rehearsal process to make sure the actor is on time, that he stays away from the booze and women, and is present for the ever-important live broadcast. Along the way, Stone falls in love with his co-worker, K.C. (Jessica Harper), but she’s not impressed with Benjy—yet. Throw in a subplot involving a mob boss (Cameron Mitchell) who wants to kill King Kaiser for making fun of him on the show, and My Favorite Year becomes a laugh riot that also manages to trigger a great deal of nostalgia for those halcyon years of early TV.

O’Toole received a deserved Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance. The character is based on Errol Flynn, who in reality was a guest on one episode of Sid Caesar’s TV show. The Benjy Stone character is an amalgamation of not only Brooks himself, but also Woody Allen, who worked on the same show. The character of Herb (Basil Hoffman), is allegedly based on Neil Simon, who also was a member of the Sid Caesar writing troupe. Simon tended to whisper his ideas to a colleague, and that’s what Herb does throughout the movie.

The film is full of comic set pieces, and every actor brings something humorous to the table. A highlight of the film is when Stone brings Swann to his family home in Brooklyn for dinner with his mother, Belle (Lainie Kazan) and Filipino stepfather, and the party is crashed by Stone’s uncle (Lou Jacobi) and others. Look for Gloria Stuart (the older Rose in Titanic) in a small role as a woman who dances with O’Toole at a nightclub.

Warner Archive’s high definition transfer is on par with other releases by the company, which prints the disks on demand. It comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono soundtrack. An entertaining audio commentary by director Benjamin is included, and it should be noted that he also displays an assured hand helming the proceedings.

My Favorite Year will provide an evening of nostalgia, swashbuckling, and laughter. Especially recommended for fans of early television, who will pick up on the various references and Easter eggs.

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“EALING GOES SCOTTISH”

By Raymond Benson

The famous British studio, Ealing, made many kinds of pictures and became a major force in the U.K.’s film industry, especially after producer Michael Balcon took it over. While the studio had already made a few comedies, for some reason in the late 1940s it started producing more of them. The natures of these comedies shifted and became more intelligent, dry, and focused on underdog characters who valiantly attempt to overcome a series of obstacles. Sometimes the protagonists are successful—and sometimes not. Along the way, though, a series of misadventures occur. They range from “amusing” to “riotously funny.” It all worked, and the Ealing Comedies became a sub-genre unto themselves, especially when they starred the likes of Alec Guinness, Alastair Sim, or Stanley Holloway.

The year 1949 is generally considered the beginning of the run, which lasted until around 1957. In ’49, one of the best Ealing Comedy, Kind Hearts and Coronets (directed by Robert Hamer), was released, but so was Whisky Galore!, with Alexander Mackendrick making his directorial debut. From the accounts told in the documentary supplements contained in this marvelous new Blu-ray package from Film Movement, Mackendrick had a difficult time with the production. Shot entirely on location in remote areas of Scotland, there were over-schedule and over-budget problems, and the director himself tended to downplay the picture’s quality in his later years.

That said, Whisky Galore! (released as Tight Little Island in the U.S.) ended up being a hit at the box office and is today fondly remembered as one of the great Ealing Comedies. Its success assured Mackendrick’s place in making future films for the studio, like The Man in the White Suit (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955), as well as The Maggie (1954), which is also included in this Blu-ray two-movie set.

Based on true events, it’s the story of a Scottish isle called Todday and the inhabitants who love their whisky. During World War II, the island goes dry and it’s near impossible to obtain the magic nectar. One night a ship carrying cartons of whisky meant for another port wrecks on the coast. While Captain Waggett (Basil Radford, of “Charters and Caldicott” fame), the English head of the Home Guard on the island, attempts to safeguard the whisky cases, everyone else is determined to confiscate it and hide what they can in secret places. The comedy comes with Waggett’s frustration at constantly being foiled, and with the various eccentric and colorful characters that populate Todday.

Every cast member is wonderful in the movie, but Joan Greenwood, who had starred in Kind Hearts and Coronets, is a standout with her sultry, sexy low voice and delivery.

The Maggie (released as High and Dry in the U.S.) also has a Scottish seafaring theme, with the stubborn Captain MacTaggart (Alex Mackenzie) and his pitiful “puffer” cargo boat attempting to haul expensive furniture owned by American millionaire and businessman, Calvin Marshall (Paul Douglas) from one port to another. At first the captain gets the job due to a misunderstanding and his own perpetuation of it, but ultimately Marshall allows the Maggie to haul his possessions. Everything that can go wrong does.

Film Movement’s new high definition digital restorations from StudioCanal are excellent. Whisky Galore! comes with an audio commentary by British film expert John Ellis. Supplements include a 52-minute documentary, “Distilling Whisky Galore!”, “The Real Whisky Galore!” (about the shipwreck of the original whisky-carrying vessel upon which the film is based), and a colorful booklet containing an essay by film scholar Ronald Bergen. There are no supplements associated with The Maggie.

For fans of Ealing Comedies, Scottish history and atmosphere, and well-written and performed British cinema, the Whisky Galore!/The Maggie combo pack is for you!

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"WTF VALUE"

BY RAYMOND BENSON

Only serious film history aficionados and perhaps viewers of Turner Classic Movies will be aware that there was once a live-action version of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland adapted by Hollywood in the early pre-code years. It was released in 1933 by Paramount and directed by Norman Z. McLeod, the guy who had helmed the Marx Brothers’ comedies Monkey Business (1931) and Horse Feathers (1932). McLeod would go on to make such titles as It’s a Gift (1934), Topper (1937), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), and The Paleface (1948).

The production of Alice in 1933 boasts a screenplay by none other than heavyweights Joseph L. Mankiewicz (you know, the fellow who wrote and directed All About Eve) and William Cameron Menzies, the man behind Things to Come and a production designer whose hands were all over Hollywood and British productions over the next two decades. The script also borrows heavily from the popular and then-current stage production written by Eva La Gallienne and Florida Friebus, although they do not receive screen credit.

The main thing the movie has going for it is the spectacular roundup of Hollywood stars who play all the fantasy characters in brief vignettes. Gary Cooper, W. C. Fields, Cary Grant, Edward Everett Horton, Edna May Oliver, Richard Arlen, Jack Oakie, Sterling Holloway, Roscoe Karns, Baby LeRoy, Charlie Ruggles, Ford Sterling, and Ned Sparks are just a few of the “VIPs” who appear in the picture, all stalwart or rising stars in Tinsel Town at the time. Alice is played with conviction by Charlotte Henry, who enjoyed a decent career as an ingenue and young woman throughout the 1930s, but she retired from acting in the early 40s.

The film is not particularly good—in fact, it was a major bomb for Paramount at the time—but take heart! The “WTF? VALUE” of this movie is tremendously high. In fact, if a viewer is in that altered state (not that Cinema Retro is condoning such a thing!), the experience of viewing this short (76 minutes) feature, with its extremely surreal costumes and makeup, Betty Boop-style sets come to life, and just plain weirdness, would be elevated.

Suffice it to say that Alice in Wonderland is worth the price of admission for its succession of bizarre cameos, especially Fields as Humpty Dumpty, Oakie and Karns as Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, and Horton as the Mad Hatter. It’s a shame, though, that we only hear some of these actors’ voices because they are heavily made up or wearing full head costumes (such as Cary Grant as the Mock Turtle). One highlight is the “The Walrus and the Carpenter” animated sequence created by the innovative Harman-Ising Studio.

Kino Lorber’s new high definition transfer looks good enough, and it comes with an audio commentary by film historian Lee Gambin. There are also theatrical trailers for this and other Kino Lorber releases.

If you’re a fan of pre-code Hollywood, Salvador Dalí-like surrealism, and of Lewis Carroll’s classic dream tale, you owe it to yourself to see this jaw-dropping curiosity.

(A personal note: This reviewer has a history with the La Gallienne/Friebus stage play. I was a theatre major in college (way back in the mid-1970s), and my first job after graduating was serving as an Apprentice Director (and composer/musician) for the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas for the 1978-79 season before moving to New York City. The Alley did a production of Alice in Wonderland, and I was in charge of composing the songs—set to Carroll’s lyrics, the same words used in the 1933 film—and incidental pieces. The actors sang the songs, and I accompanied them on keyboards and a variety of other instruments. There were several more songs in the stage play than were utilized in the film. The production was a major hit for the Alley, and we performed it over 150 times in the one season. Watching the Kino Lorber release brought back a flood of memories, especially since I recognized the lyrics—but I heard them in my head with my tunes, which I dare say were much better than the melodies in the movie (composed by Dimitri Tiomkin, no less!). That aside, it is indeed remarkable how closely the film adaptation really is to the stage play.)

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"ALASTAIR SIM'S SCHOOL FOR LAUGHTER": 4 CLASSIC COMEDIES; BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITIONS FROM FILM MOVEMENT

REVIEW: DAVID LEAN'S "THE SOUND BARRIER" (1952) STARRING RALPH RICHARDSON; BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION

JERRY STILLER, ACTOR AND COMEDIAN, DEAD AT AGE 92

Jerry Stiller in a promotional photo for "The King of Queens". (Photo: CBS/Sony)

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Jerry Stiller, who rose to fame in the 1960s by teaming with his wife Anne Meara as a comedy act, has died at age 92. The father of actor Ben Stiller, Jerry went on to a successful acting career himself, becoming an iconic presence on such television series as "Seinfeld" and "The King of Queens". Both he and his wife Anne always aspired to acting careers but found their initial success in standup comedy, although Stiller appeared in dramatic roles on many television programs beginning in the late 1950s. Anne was a tall and of Irish heritage and Catholic while Jerry was short and Jewish. Their first major break came in 1961 when Ed Sullivan featured them on his show. They were an immediate sensation and would be invited back over the years for return appearances. Audiences loved their shtick which revolved around the ways men and women get on each other's nerves. They always worked "clean" and their observations resonated with everyday people who could identify with them. Ultimately, both Stiller and Meara would develop separate, successful acting careers. Stiller got his first credited role in a feature film in 1974 with a supporting part in "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three". Many more film roles would follow. However, it was in the role of Frank Constanza on the TV series "Seinfeld" that he became immortalized in pop culture. The character was high strung, manic and possessed a hair-trigger temper, generally directed at his son George (Jason Alexander) or his long-suffering wife Estelle (Estelle Harris). Despite the show's long run, Stiller only appeared in 30 episodes but his presence was always welcomed by fans. His most memorable episode involved his character's devotion to the fictional holiday he created, "Festivus", which was an alternative to Christmas and Hanukkah. "Festivus for the rest of us!" was his mantra and the logo can be found on the T shirts of fans even today. Following "Seinfeld", Stiller found great success playing a regular role in the CBS sitcom "The King of Queens" over a nine year period.

Jerry Stiller never went out of style. He continued to work even after Anne's death in 2015, occasionally teaming with his son Ben, with whom he appeared in the two "Zoolander" films.

For NY Times obituary, click here.

Posted by Cinema Retro in Obituaries on Monday, May 11. 2020

REVIEW: BILLY WILDER'S "AVANTI!" (1972) STARRING JACK LEMMON AND JULIET MILLS; BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION

REVIEW: "HITLER'S MADMAN" (1943) STARRING JOHN CARRADINE; WARNER ARCHIVE DVD RELEASE

SHOUT! FACTORY TO STREAM GENE AUTRY MOVIES

Gene Autry from Rovin' Tumbleweeds (1939) (c) Autry Qualified Interest Trust and The Autry Foundation

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Shout! Factory:

Los Angeles – April 20, 2020 – Back in the saddle again! America’s favorite singing cowboy Gene Autry heads to streaming for the first time ever with the launch of the Gene Autry film and television library on Shout! Factory TV May 1. The streaming service will release its first collection from Gene Autry’s personal archive, with the streaming debut of fully restored feature films South of the Border, Gaucho Serenade, Melody Ranch, The Strawberry Roan and Blue Canadian Rockies.

He was the silver screen’s first singing cowboy and is credited with creating the genre of the musical Western. As the star of 89 feature films and a television series, Autry brings music, comedy and action to each of his roles from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Now available to stream for the first time, Gene Autry’s rollicking big-screen adventures and unforgettable tunes are presented in these Western classics, fully restored and uncut from Autry’s personal film archives.

Shout! Factory TV has worked closely with Gene Autry Entertainment to curate monthly releases of Autry content. Coming June 1 will be Public Cowboy No. 1, In Old Monterey, Rovin’ Tumbleweeds, Ridin’ on a Rainbow, and Sioux City Sue.

The Gene Autry film and TV archive will be available for streaming on demand across Shout! Factory TV platforms, on ShoutFactoryTV.com; Shout! Factory TV’s Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and Android apps; and on various Shout! Factory TV branded channels including Tubi, Amazon Prime Video Direct, Amazon Channels, and the Roku Channel.

Additionally, on the last Wednesday of every month, Gene Autry films will stream on Shout! Factory TV’s linear channel. The stream can be viewed on ShoutFactoryTV.com; Shout! Factory TV’s Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and Android apps; and the following digital streaming platforms: Twitch, Redbox, Samsung TV Plus, Comcast Xfinity, XUMO, and STIRR.

One of the most influential performers in American pop culture, Gene Autry is the only entertainer with all five stars on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, one each for Radio, Recording, Motion Pictures, Television and Live Performance. In a career that spanned more than three decades, Autry built a media empire, thanks to his box-office smash musical Westerns, cross-country rodeo tours and a diverse music career that included the million-selling hit Christmas classic ‘Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.’

Continue reading "SHOUT! FACTORY TO STREAM GENE AUTRY MOVIES "

Posted by Cinema Retro in Blu-ray/DVD/Streaming Reviews & News on Monday, April 20. 2020

BLU-RAY REVIEW: "MALICE" (1993) STARRING ALEC BALDWIN AND NICOLE KIDMAN

HONOR BLACKMAN, ICONIC FEMALE STAR OF "GOLDFINGER" AND "THE AVENGERS", DEAD AT AGE 94

REVIEW: "TIME LIMIT" (1957) STARRING RICHARD WIDMARK AND RICHARD BASEHART; BLU-RAY RELEASE

UPDATE ON CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #47

DVD REVIEW: "OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY" (1991) STARRING DANNY DEVITO AND GREGORY PECK

REVIEW: "RETURN FROM THE ASHES" (1965) STARRING MAXIMILIAN SCHELL; BLU-RAY RELEASE

REVIEW: "DOWNHILL RACER" (1969) STARRING ROBERT REDFORD, GENE HACKMAN AND CAMILLA SPARV; CRITERION BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION

BY LEE PFEIFFER

What do you do when you despise the person most likely to bring your goals to fruition? We're not talking about the Republican establishment's dilemma with Donald Trump but, rather, the central plot premise faced by  the U.S. Olympic ski team coach (portrayed by Gene Hackman) in director Michael Ritchie's acclaimed 1969 film "Downhill Racer". The protagonist of the movie is one Dave Chappellet (Robert Redford), an almost impossibly handsome young man from the rural town of Idaho Springs, Colorado, who has a single-minded obsession of being America's first gold medal winner for downhill skiing in an era when the sport was dominated by Europeans. With his good looks and superficial charm, Chappellet is used to being a big fish in a small pond. He is virtually penniless and, when not practicing on the slopes of European mountains, is forced to eek out an existence by living with his cold, unemotional father (non-professional actor Walter Stroud in a striking performance.) He has no career plans beyond his single-minded obsession with getting on the Olympic team. His lack of intellectual curiosity or abilities to socialize with others don't seem to phase him. Like any narcissist he savors any small victory as a sign of his superiority over the peasants he must occasionally interact with. Chappellet lacks any self-awareness or introspection. He takes a cocky delight in being able to drive down the main street of his one-horse town, pick up a local old flame and get her to have sex in the back seat of a car. He seems oblivious to the fact that the battered vehicle belongs to his father and that he doesn't even have a place of his own to carry out his carnal activities.  Chappellet gets the big break he is looking for when a top skier on the Olympic team suffers a grievous injury. The team coach, Claire, calls in  Chappellet to replace him. From the start, their relationship is a rocky one. It becomes clear that  Chappellet is not a team player. He skis superbly and Claire recognizes him as the team's potential best hope for victory. However, he is also alarmed by his independent streak and his inability to follow protocols.  Chappellet is in this for personal glory and his teammates are viewed as unnecessary distractions. True, he can go through the rituals of socializing. He's polite to his roommate and occasionally joins the other guys for beers, but Chappellet is clearly a vacuous, self-absorbed figure. The film traces his achievements on the slope and Claire's unsuccessful attempts to turn him into a team player. Chaplette also meets a vivacious business woman in the sports industry, Carole (Camilla Sparv). He's instantly smitten by her exotic good looks and libertarian outlook toward sex. The two begin an affair but it turns sour when Chaplette can't accept the fact that Carole is an emancipated young woman who marches to her own beat. Her unwillingness to dote over him or to treat their relationship as anything but superficial bruises his ego. In Chaplette's world, it is he who treats sex partners like disposable objects, not the other way around. The film concludes with Chaplette and his teammates engaging in the make-or-break competition against top-line European skiers to see who can bring home the gold.

The Best of Frenemies: Redford and Hackman

"Downhill Racer" was a dream project of Robert Redford, who had championed the film, which is based on a screenplay by James Salter. Redford's star had risen appreciably with Paramount following the success of "Barefoot in the Park". The studio wanted to do another film with him and suggested that he play the male lead in the forthcoming screen adaption of "Rosemary's Baby". Redford pushed for "Downhill Racer", a film that the Paramount brass had dismissed as being too non-commercial. (This was before Redford would reach super stardom with the release of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid".) Thus began a game of brinksmanship between Redford and the studio. He managed to get Paramount to supply a small budget ($2 million) and creative control over the project to him and Roman Polanski, who was enthused about directing the film. However, the studio made a counter-move and lured Polanski to direct "Rosemary's Baby". Annoyed, Redford had to find a new director and settled on Michael Ritchie, and up-and-coming talent who was eager to make the transition from television into feature films. He and Redford, along with their tiny crew, used their limited budget to travel to international ski competitions in order to film real life action on the slopes that could later be combined into the final cut of their movie. For all their efforts, "Downhill Racer" was a boxoffice disappointment and would be overshadowed by the release of "Butch Cassidy" later in 1969. Yet its a film that Redford is justifiably proud of. There are many admirable aspects of the production, not the least of which is Redford's compelling performance as a protagonist who is not very likable or sympathetic. He's also not very intelligent, either, a character flaw that doesn't seem to bother him much, as he feels he can get by on his looks. The down side of "Downhill Racer" is that when the central character is a total cad the viewer finds it hard to be concerned with his fate, unless there is a major dramatic payoff as in the case of Andy Griffith in "A Face in the Crowd" or Paul Newman in "Hud", two of the most notorious characters in screen history. Where "Downhill Racer" blows it is in the final sequence during the championship ski run. There was an excellent opportunity to end the movie on a poignant note but the movie punts and leads to an emotionally unsatisfying ending. Nevertheless the exotic scenery and fine performances (especially by Hackman, who is under-seen and under-used) compensate for a story that is as chilling as the locations in which it was filmed. 

Criterion has upgraded their previously released DVD special edition to Blu-ray and it looks spectacular. There is a wealth of interesting extras, all ported over from the previous release. These include separate interviews conducted in 2009 with Robert Redford and James Salter. I found them to be most enlightening because I was blaming Salter, as the screenwriter, for being responsible for the film's unsatisfying ending. Lo and behold, Salter expresses the same exasperation. Apparently his original script called for the more dramatic finale that I was envisioning. However, he says that Redford made the change without his permission. It's still apparently a sore spot with him. For his part, Redford is defensive about the decision, saying that he felt the the ending he insisted upon was the correct choice (Note: it wasn't.)  It would be interesting to see Redford and Salter lock horns over this in the same interview at some point. In any event, Redford's enthusiasm for the film is evident even if it seems to exceed that of audiences. To reiterate, it's a fine movie with many qualities but Redford has had superior, under-appreciated gems in his career. Other bonus extras on the Blu-ray include interviews with editor Richard Harris (whose work on the film is most impressive), production executive Walter Coblenz and champion skier Joe Jay Jalbert who was hired as a technical consultant and became indispensable on the production, serving as double and cameraman. The footage he captured skiing at high speed with a hand-held camera is all the more amazing because he was a novice at shooting film.  There is also a vintage production featurette from 1969 and a very interesting one-hour audio interview of director Michael Ritchie at an American Film Institute Q&A session in 1977. The affable Ritchie was there to promote his latest film "Semi-Tough" but goes into great detail about how he became disillusioned with the constraints of working in the television industry where directors at that time were just hired guns whose creative ideas and instincts were constantly being suppressed. Ritchie tells an extended anecdote about shooting an episode of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." during which he came up with a suggestion to improve a key scene in the script. He was told to mind his own business by the producer (who he doesn't name). When series' star Robert Vaughn agreed with him, Ritchie shot an alternate version of the scene that was met with enthusiasm by the network. Instead of being congratulated, he was blackballed from the series henceforth. Ritchie would go on to make some very fine films including "The Candidate" (again with Redford), the wacko-but-mesmerizing crime thriller "Prime Cut", "The Bad News Bears" and others. However he never lived up to his full potential and ended up directing many middling films before his untimely death at age 63 in 2001. The AFI audio included here is a rare opportunity to listen to his views on filmmaking while he was at the height of his career. The Blu-ray set also contains the original trailer and a collectible booklet with essay by Todd McCarthy. 

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Posted by Cinema Retro in Criterion Corner-DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on Monday, March 16. 2020

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