Not a bad output for a six year period. Which of these are your favorites?
No. 1 for me is THE NAKED SPUR, followed by WINCHESTER '73, then THE MAN FROM LARAMIE.
It is said that Mann brought a "noir sensability" to the western, would you agree?
He certainly did. Mann is my favorite noir director and my favorite Western director. I nominated two of his noirs in the Noir Poll (RAW DEAL and HE WALKED BY NIGHT) and almost nominated two others (T-MEN and REIGN OF TERROR). And all had John Alton as the cinematographer. The dark tone, conflicted hero, physical anguish from his films noir are in his Westerns, though he wasn't the first to make a noir Western. I don't know who was first, but Raoul Walsh (with cinematography by James Wong Howe) made PURSUED in 1947, the same year Mann made T-MEN.
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movieman1957
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I think I like "Winchester '73" best followed closely with "The Naked Spur" and "The Man From Laramie."
The manner with which Stewart manifests his anger and the gun fight at the end are real highlights. The gun fight seems very realistic. Stewart is strong in the other films as well. In "Laramie" the part where he gets his hand shot is seems so painful. If Dave (Crisp's son) had been less of a whiny twit and more of a strong character I would like it even more. I like it fine though.
Noir? Yes. Not all the personal issues are always spelled out. Obvious distrust of another but reluctant willingness to work with them for a bigger result mark most of these movies.
How much better would "Night Passage" have been if Stewart and Mann had not had their falling out?
The manner with which Stewart manifests his anger and the gun fight at the end are real highlights. The gun fight seems very realistic. Stewart is strong in the other films as well. In "Laramie" the part where he gets his hand shot is seems so painful. If Dave (Crisp's son) had been less of a whiny twit and more of a strong character I would like it even more. I like it fine though.
Noir? Yes. Not all the personal issues are always spelled out. Obvious distrust of another but reluctant willingness to work with them for a bigger result mark most of these movies.
How much better would "Night Passage" have been if Stewart and Mann had not had their falling out?
Chris
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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cinemalover
- Posts: 1594
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cinemalover
- Posts: 1594
- Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
- Location: Seattle, Washington
Law of the Underworld #522
Date watched: 6/14/2008
Title: Law of the Underworld Made: 1938
Genre: Crime Drama Studio: RKO
Format: DVD-R Source—TCM
Number of times viewed: First
Director: Lew Landers
Stars:
Chester Morris—Gene Fillmore
Anne Shirley—Annabelle Porter
Eduardo Ciannelli—Rocky
Walter Abel—Warren Rogers
Richard Bond—Tommy Brown
Lee Patrick—Dorothy Palmer
Paul Guilfoyle—Batsy
Frank M. Thomas—Police Captain Gargan
Eddie Acuff—Bill
Jack Arnold—Eddie
Jack Carson—Johnny
Paul Stanton—Assistant D.A. Bob Barton
A new D.A., Warren Rogers (Abel), has been appointed as crime is running amok in the city. Rogers looks to recruit the city’s leading business men to support his cause. He asks them, “What you say we run all these rats into the East River?”
One of those rich men seems hesitant to get his hands dirty with Rogers’ new anti-crime campaign, that man is the smooth talking Gene Fillmore (Morris). It seems Gene has another agenda on his mind since he secretly runs one of the gangs that is pestering the honest citizens of the city. He uses his façade of respectability to gauge where the real money is, which comes in real handy when planning capers.
The only thing undermining Gene’s well-oiled professional crime machine, which emphasizes brains over brawn and bullets, is malcontent tough guy Rocky (Ciannelli in a colorful role). Rocky is a disruptive force in the ranks that tries to get the other boys to side with him against Gene. He initiates their discontent by inferring that they should all be receiving a bigger cut of the profits, a theory that rocky often puts into practice for himself under the table.
One night Rocky is feeling particularly underprivileged and targets a young couple, Annabelle (Shirley) and Tommy (Bond), that he knows have a roll of dough on them. He confronts them in a park and steals their only $136, money that was intended for them to get married on. Rocky casually heads to the gang’s hangout, leaving the broke and discouraged couple to commiserate. Rocky shows up with a big smile on his face and some of the other boys know he’s been up to no good. They warn him that if the boss finds out he’s been disobeying orders it’ll go badly for him. Rocky laughs the warnings off, he’s very confident in his ability to take care of himself.
The gang finds itself shocked when the young couple show up at their door with a gun in Tommy’s hands. He is determined to retrieve his money and not have his matrimonial plans interrupted by the thug, Rocky. Gene shows up in time to disrupt the young couple’s robbery plans and takes the gun away. In an ironic stance the criminals threaten to take the two to the police and have them locked up on robbery charges. The couple is terrified at that prospect and obviously not thinking clearly, or just plain naïve. Gene tells them that to avoid jail time they will be coming with him, he has an errand in mind that they can run. But Gene won’t forget that Rocky’s actions created this mess.
Gene, “Rocky, you’re really getting annoying!”
Gene would think that he’s even more than annoying if he knew that Rocky was also bedding Gene’s girl, Dorothy (Patrick). Dorothy pretends to be still interested in Gene, but if push comes to shove she’d stick with the Rock-man.
Gene is planning one last score for the gang and then he figures he’ll have enough to retire comfortably on. He intends to marry Dorothy and go live some exotic place far away. That big score is a jewel robbery in which the young couple will act as decoys. Rocky leads the team pulling off the robbery and, like he is wont to do, he fouls the plan. He shoots and kills one of the jewelry store employees while taking the stones. Gene had organized a very detailed, clean heist, that was not supposed to include any violence. The murder will just draw closer scrutiny from the authorities. When Gene learns of the shooting he is furious and leaves his office to go confront Rocky. Dorothy is concerned for Rocky’s safety so she telephones him to warn him that Gene is on the way and he’s seeing red.
Gene arrives at the club where Rocky and the gang are. He happens to meet Annabelle and Tommy outside and they enter the club with him. They find Rocky sitting alone at a table, his gun at the ready.
Rocky, “I tried to tell you that you need a gun in this business. It makes people respect you more.”
Rocky is planning on killing Gene but before he does he wants to slap him in the face with the truth about he and Dorothy’s relationship. The two tussle and Gene ends up with the gun pointed at Rocky with their fortunes reversed.
Rocky, “Why don’t you shoot, big shot?”
Gene doesn’t until Rocky tries to pull another gun from his jacket. Gene beats him to the draw and fires a lethal shot into Rocky. Dorothy walks in and is crushed as she rushes to hold the expired Rocky. She looks at Gene with laser eyes, “The boys will kill you for this!” She raises the level of venom by adding, “I hope you die….slow.”
Gene gives the kids back their $136 and sends them on the way so they can avoid the upcoming showdown amongst the members of the gang. The boys decide that they are going to give Gene a “fair trial” concerning his shooting of their pal Rocky. Should they find him guilty the penalty will be death. Gene seems no more worried than if he had a hangnail.
Dorothy is leading the lynch party, hoping the boys rule against Gene. When one of the boys that supports Gene reveals to the others that Rocky was channeling the gang’s funds for his own use they back off their stand against him and give Gene a pass on the shooting. Dorothy just won’t let it go, she’s determined that Gene pay for killing her lover, even if she has to turn to the hated police. She tips them off as to the gang’s whereabouts and information to incriminate them.
When the police show up to raid the club the gang manages to get out just in time, but Tommy and Annabelle were sitting at a table eating a meal. The cops pick them up in frustration of the big fish getting away. Warren Rogers goes hard against the kids to try to get them to testify against Gene. He threatens them with both imprisonment and the death penalty, but they don’t budge, feeling an unwarranted loyalty to Gene. Finally, Rogers is able to bring Gene to the station on false pretenses and confronts him with the fate of the kids. He tells Gene that Tommy will get the death penalty and Annabelle will spend her life in prison if he doesn’t confess to get them off the hook. The emotion-deprived Gene just takes everything in stride. How will this drama shake out?
The usually entertaining Chester Morris gives a fairly flat performance as his character displays little of the emotion or wit that Morris excels in. His role displays the same attitude when he talks about being able to retire a wealthy man as he does when he learns his girl isn’t his girl. Even faced with the death penalty or when becoming resigned to the fact that his boys are going to whack him he seems unfazed and unconcerned.
This mawkish melodrama presents some interesting concepts, as with the Gene character playing in society to find targets for his criminal activities, but fails to capitalize on them. This is a pot-boiler that never comes to a boil and instead settles for a soft-boiled finale.
4* (out of 10) Undistinguished lower bill film that could have been better.
Title: Law of the Underworld Made: 1938
Genre: Crime Drama Studio: RKO
Format: DVD-R Source—TCM
Number of times viewed: First
Director: Lew Landers
Stars:
Chester Morris—Gene Fillmore
Anne Shirley—Annabelle Porter
Eduardo Ciannelli—Rocky
Walter Abel—Warren Rogers
Richard Bond—Tommy Brown
Lee Patrick—Dorothy Palmer
Paul Guilfoyle—Batsy
Frank M. Thomas—Police Captain Gargan
Eddie Acuff—Bill
Jack Arnold—Eddie
Jack Carson—Johnny
Paul Stanton—Assistant D.A. Bob Barton
A new D.A., Warren Rogers (Abel), has been appointed as crime is running amok in the city. Rogers looks to recruit the city’s leading business men to support his cause. He asks them, “What you say we run all these rats into the East River?”
One of those rich men seems hesitant to get his hands dirty with Rogers’ new anti-crime campaign, that man is the smooth talking Gene Fillmore (Morris). It seems Gene has another agenda on his mind since he secretly runs one of the gangs that is pestering the honest citizens of the city. He uses his façade of respectability to gauge where the real money is, which comes in real handy when planning capers.
The only thing undermining Gene’s well-oiled professional crime machine, which emphasizes brains over brawn and bullets, is malcontent tough guy Rocky (Ciannelli in a colorful role). Rocky is a disruptive force in the ranks that tries to get the other boys to side with him against Gene. He initiates their discontent by inferring that they should all be receiving a bigger cut of the profits, a theory that rocky often puts into practice for himself under the table.
One night Rocky is feeling particularly underprivileged and targets a young couple, Annabelle (Shirley) and Tommy (Bond), that he knows have a roll of dough on them. He confronts them in a park and steals their only $136, money that was intended for them to get married on. Rocky casually heads to the gang’s hangout, leaving the broke and discouraged couple to commiserate. Rocky shows up with a big smile on his face and some of the other boys know he’s been up to no good. They warn him that if the boss finds out he’s been disobeying orders it’ll go badly for him. Rocky laughs the warnings off, he’s very confident in his ability to take care of himself.
The gang finds itself shocked when the young couple show up at their door with a gun in Tommy’s hands. He is determined to retrieve his money and not have his matrimonial plans interrupted by the thug, Rocky. Gene shows up in time to disrupt the young couple’s robbery plans and takes the gun away. In an ironic stance the criminals threaten to take the two to the police and have them locked up on robbery charges. The couple is terrified at that prospect and obviously not thinking clearly, or just plain naïve. Gene tells them that to avoid jail time they will be coming with him, he has an errand in mind that they can run. But Gene won’t forget that Rocky’s actions created this mess.
Gene, “Rocky, you’re really getting annoying!”
Gene would think that he’s even more than annoying if he knew that Rocky was also bedding Gene’s girl, Dorothy (Patrick). Dorothy pretends to be still interested in Gene, but if push comes to shove she’d stick with the Rock-man.
Gene is planning one last score for the gang and then he figures he’ll have enough to retire comfortably on. He intends to marry Dorothy and go live some exotic place far away. That big score is a jewel robbery in which the young couple will act as decoys. Rocky leads the team pulling off the robbery and, like he is wont to do, he fouls the plan. He shoots and kills one of the jewelry store employees while taking the stones. Gene had organized a very detailed, clean heist, that was not supposed to include any violence. The murder will just draw closer scrutiny from the authorities. When Gene learns of the shooting he is furious and leaves his office to go confront Rocky. Dorothy is concerned for Rocky’s safety so she telephones him to warn him that Gene is on the way and he’s seeing red.
Gene arrives at the club where Rocky and the gang are. He happens to meet Annabelle and Tommy outside and they enter the club with him. They find Rocky sitting alone at a table, his gun at the ready.
Rocky, “I tried to tell you that you need a gun in this business. It makes people respect you more.”
Rocky is planning on killing Gene but before he does he wants to slap him in the face with the truth about he and Dorothy’s relationship. The two tussle and Gene ends up with the gun pointed at Rocky with their fortunes reversed.
Rocky, “Why don’t you shoot, big shot?”
Gene doesn’t until Rocky tries to pull another gun from his jacket. Gene beats him to the draw and fires a lethal shot into Rocky. Dorothy walks in and is crushed as she rushes to hold the expired Rocky. She looks at Gene with laser eyes, “The boys will kill you for this!” She raises the level of venom by adding, “I hope you die….slow.”
Gene gives the kids back their $136 and sends them on the way so they can avoid the upcoming showdown amongst the members of the gang. The boys decide that they are going to give Gene a “fair trial” concerning his shooting of their pal Rocky. Should they find him guilty the penalty will be death. Gene seems no more worried than if he had a hangnail.
Dorothy is leading the lynch party, hoping the boys rule against Gene. When one of the boys that supports Gene reveals to the others that Rocky was channeling the gang’s funds for his own use they back off their stand against him and give Gene a pass on the shooting. Dorothy just won’t let it go, she’s determined that Gene pay for killing her lover, even if she has to turn to the hated police. She tips them off as to the gang’s whereabouts and information to incriminate them.
When the police show up to raid the club the gang manages to get out just in time, but Tommy and Annabelle were sitting at a table eating a meal. The cops pick them up in frustration of the big fish getting away. Warren Rogers goes hard against the kids to try to get them to testify against Gene. He threatens them with both imprisonment and the death penalty, but they don’t budge, feeling an unwarranted loyalty to Gene. Finally, Rogers is able to bring Gene to the station on false pretenses and confronts him with the fate of the kids. He tells Gene that Tommy will get the death penalty and Annabelle will spend her life in prison if he doesn’t confess to get them off the hook. The emotion-deprived Gene just takes everything in stride. How will this drama shake out?
The usually entertaining Chester Morris gives a fairly flat performance as his character displays little of the emotion or wit that Morris excels in. His role displays the same attitude when he talks about being able to retire a wealthy man as he does when he learns his girl isn’t his girl. Even faced with the death penalty or when becoming resigned to the fact that his boys are going to whack him he seems unfazed and unconcerned.
This mawkish melodrama presents some interesting concepts, as with the Gene character playing in society to find targets for his criminal activities, but fails to capitalize on them. This is a pot-boiler that never comes to a boil and instead settles for a soft-boiled finale.
4* (out of 10) Undistinguished lower bill film that could have been better.
Chris
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
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cinemalover
- Posts: 1594
- Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
- Location: Seattle, Washington
Nim's Island #523
Last Friday night we took the kids out to see a family film at the theatre….
Date watched: 6/13/2008
Title: Nim’s Island Made: 2008
Genre: Adventure Studio: Walden Media
Format: Big Screen Extras—Popcorn and Junior Mints w/ a Diet Coke (Root Beer for the kids)
Number of times viewed: First
Directors: Jennifer Flackett/Mark Levin
Stars:
Jodie Foster—Alexandra Rover
Gerard Butler—Jack Rusoe/Alex rover
Abigail Breslin—Nim Rusoe
Michael Carmen—Captain
Mark Brady—Purser
Anthony Sincoe—First Mate
Christopher Baker—Ensign
Maddison Joyce—Edmund
Peter Callan—Edmund’s Father
Rhoda Doyle—Edmund’s Mother
Tagline: Be the hero of your own story!
We wanted a family friendly film that we could all see together (MikeBSG had even recommended we see this when I had mentioned earlier how hard it is to find a family appropriate film) and this certainly filled that bill. Nothing groundbreaking here, but it has that feeling of the early Disney live-action films that empower the kids into heroic situations (think Swiss Family Robinson among many others).
The story involves writer Alexandra Rover (Foster) who suffers from agoraphobia and lives a reclusive life in her San Francisco home. She has written a string of very popular adventure stories built around a manly hero named Alex Rover (think Indiana Jones), which is the name she writes under. Alexandra is so securely wrapped up into her own little world inside the walls of her home (Her best friend seems to be the ever-present bottle of Purell hand sanitizer. (Can you say “Product Placement”? I knew you could.) that she has no direct contact with any other people. She has everything delivered to her house that she needs and has to work up courage to venture to the mail box. In her isolated world, her character, Alex Rover (played by Gerard Butler who also plays Nim’s father, Jack Rusoe) actually exists to her. He appears to talk to her and will eventually be the one to spur her to action. Early in the film he is pleading with her to find a solution to the dilemma that he is trapped in within the pages of her latest, unfinished, story. In the book he is bound to a pole and is about to be tossed into an active volcano. Alexandra has been stuck at this point for months, to the point where she receives inquiries on her answering machine from her editor, anxious to see the latest chapters. This crisis causes her to start researching volcanoes, looking for a potential solution. This search leads her to an article in National Geographic titled, “Living in the Shadow of a Volcano” by Jack Rusoe. She tries to e-mail Rusoe to ask him about volcanoes, but gets who she assumes is his assistant instead. That “assistant” is really Nim (Breslin) Jack’s 11 year old daughter.
Jack and Nim live by themselves on an uncharted island, literally in the shadow of the volcano described in his article. Jack is a scientist researching protozoa in his tropical climate. Nim’s mom had passed away and it’s just the two of them and Nim’s animal friends on the island. Their biggest fear is that someone will come along and find the island, ruining their tropical isolation. Nim has been “island schooled” and is quite the little adventurous little woman. She is also a huge fan of Alex Rover, having just finished the most recent novel. She, like most readers of the series, believe that Alex is a real person, a hero, not a reclusive hermit living on cans of Progresso soup (more product placement). When Nim receives an e-mail, even though it’s addressed to her father, form “THE” Alex Rover she is thrilled and happy to help in any way she can.
Nim is alone because she stayed behind to see the sea turtle have its children, sending Jack on a two day excursion on their sail boat to get more samples at another location. Nim tries to answer Alex’s question about the volcano, but to do this she will have to hike to the top of the volcano and peer down into the lava. This trip is not without danger, but she manages to get back and give the information to Alex. That night a major storm hits the island, devastating Jack’s boat but breaking the mast and knocking the satellite dish, and thus his ability to communicate with Nim, into the sea. The boat has sprung multiple leaks and he is in big trouble. When she awakes the next morning after the storm Nim has a bad feeling about her Dad’s safety, which worsens when she can’t contact him. Her worries are relayed to Alex who becomes very concerned when she learns that Nim is only 11 and all alone.
Alexandra tries to make some calls (including a comical attempt to get 911 to help this distant island) to get some help to Nim’s island without luck. Alexandra has an internal struggle where her fears tell her to stay out of it but her Alex Rover character tells her to “Be the hero of her own story”. The by-play between these two is pretty funny as Alex will quote her lines from his books that she wrote, and she’ll have to remind him that those are her words and he can’t use them against her.
After much debate the completely unprepared Alexandra embarks upon the adventure of a lifetime to travel to this remote island and help save an 11 year old girl, who, by the way, is much better prepared to deal with any emergency than Alexandra will ever be. The whole trip to the island is pretty funny and is even more priceless when she finally arrives and Nim realizes with unbridled disappointment that this IS Alex Rover.
Abigail Breslin is a fabulous little actress who shares the weight of the story equally with Jodie Foster. The fact that she holds up her end admirably is fairly amazing. She should have quite a future ahead of her on the big screen with her charming charisma. Foster is always very talented and it was nice to see her tackle a comedic role after all the “revenge” type thrillers that she’s been playing lately. She’s fairly amusing as the fish not only out of water, but out of her comfort zone and in way over her head. Gerard Butler in the duo role of Jack Rusoe and hero Alex Rover is very likable and I didn’t instantly realize that they were the same actor.
A breezy film that fits the family bill perfectly. I found it a bit annoying and too manipulative at times, but I’m just an old Scrooge. The rest of the family really enjoyed our visit to Nim’s Island.
Jeremy-meter 8* (out of 10) It’s those little moments that Jeremy cherishes, like when Alexandra gets distracted while running on her treadmill and does a nose dive onto the moving belt (note to Jeremy, I’ve seen you staring at me when I run on our treadmill and I KNOW what you’re thinking!). Or when she turns around suddenly and runs into a wall, or perhaps when she’s wrestling at the door with her imaginary character while the cab driver stares at her wondering what the heck is going on.
Tina teen-meter 8* (out of 10) Tina enjoyed Nim’s Island pets more than anything, the lizard, the pelican and especially the seal.
Karie meter 7* (out of 10) She’s the one that has really wanted to see this movie and was happy to see it appear on the menu at the $2 theatre.
5* (out of 10) Nothing wrong with it, I just found myself anxious for the end. Harmless yet predictable. Bottom line, the kids enjoyed it and Karie (who is a kid’s movie softy) found it entertaining.
Date watched: 6/13/2008
Title: Nim’s Island Made: 2008
Genre: Adventure Studio: Walden Media
Format: Big Screen Extras—Popcorn and Junior Mints w/ a Diet Coke (Root Beer for the kids)
Number of times viewed: First
Directors: Jennifer Flackett/Mark Levin
Stars:
Jodie Foster—Alexandra Rover
Gerard Butler—Jack Rusoe/Alex rover
Abigail Breslin—Nim Rusoe
Michael Carmen—Captain
Mark Brady—Purser
Anthony Sincoe—First Mate
Christopher Baker—Ensign
Maddison Joyce—Edmund
Peter Callan—Edmund’s Father
Rhoda Doyle—Edmund’s Mother
Tagline: Be the hero of your own story!
We wanted a family friendly film that we could all see together (MikeBSG had even recommended we see this when I had mentioned earlier how hard it is to find a family appropriate film) and this certainly filled that bill. Nothing groundbreaking here, but it has that feeling of the early Disney live-action films that empower the kids into heroic situations (think Swiss Family Robinson among many others).
The story involves writer Alexandra Rover (Foster) who suffers from agoraphobia and lives a reclusive life in her San Francisco home. She has written a string of very popular adventure stories built around a manly hero named Alex Rover (think Indiana Jones), which is the name she writes under. Alexandra is so securely wrapped up into her own little world inside the walls of her home (Her best friend seems to be the ever-present bottle of Purell hand sanitizer. (Can you say “Product Placement”? I knew you could.) that she has no direct contact with any other people. She has everything delivered to her house that she needs and has to work up courage to venture to the mail box. In her isolated world, her character, Alex Rover (played by Gerard Butler who also plays Nim’s father, Jack Rusoe) actually exists to her. He appears to talk to her and will eventually be the one to spur her to action. Early in the film he is pleading with her to find a solution to the dilemma that he is trapped in within the pages of her latest, unfinished, story. In the book he is bound to a pole and is about to be tossed into an active volcano. Alexandra has been stuck at this point for months, to the point where she receives inquiries on her answering machine from her editor, anxious to see the latest chapters. This crisis causes her to start researching volcanoes, looking for a potential solution. This search leads her to an article in National Geographic titled, “Living in the Shadow of a Volcano” by Jack Rusoe. She tries to e-mail Rusoe to ask him about volcanoes, but gets who she assumes is his assistant instead. That “assistant” is really Nim (Breslin) Jack’s 11 year old daughter.
Jack and Nim live by themselves on an uncharted island, literally in the shadow of the volcano described in his article. Jack is a scientist researching protozoa in his tropical climate. Nim’s mom had passed away and it’s just the two of them and Nim’s animal friends on the island. Their biggest fear is that someone will come along and find the island, ruining their tropical isolation. Nim has been “island schooled” and is quite the little adventurous little woman. She is also a huge fan of Alex Rover, having just finished the most recent novel. She, like most readers of the series, believe that Alex is a real person, a hero, not a reclusive hermit living on cans of Progresso soup (more product placement). When Nim receives an e-mail, even though it’s addressed to her father, form “THE” Alex Rover she is thrilled and happy to help in any way she can.
Nim is alone because she stayed behind to see the sea turtle have its children, sending Jack on a two day excursion on their sail boat to get more samples at another location. Nim tries to answer Alex’s question about the volcano, but to do this she will have to hike to the top of the volcano and peer down into the lava. This trip is not without danger, but she manages to get back and give the information to Alex. That night a major storm hits the island, devastating Jack’s boat but breaking the mast and knocking the satellite dish, and thus his ability to communicate with Nim, into the sea. The boat has sprung multiple leaks and he is in big trouble. When she awakes the next morning after the storm Nim has a bad feeling about her Dad’s safety, which worsens when she can’t contact him. Her worries are relayed to Alex who becomes very concerned when she learns that Nim is only 11 and all alone.
Alexandra tries to make some calls (including a comical attempt to get 911 to help this distant island) to get some help to Nim’s island without luck. Alexandra has an internal struggle where her fears tell her to stay out of it but her Alex Rover character tells her to “Be the hero of her own story”. The by-play between these two is pretty funny as Alex will quote her lines from his books that she wrote, and she’ll have to remind him that those are her words and he can’t use them against her.
After much debate the completely unprepared Alexandra embarks upon the adventure of a lifetime to travel to this remote island and help save an 11 year old girl, who, by the way, is much better prepared to deal with any emergency than Alexandra will ever be. The whole trip to the island is pretty funny and is even more priceless when she finally arrives and Nim realizes with unbridled disappointment that this IS Alex Rover.
Abigail Breslin is a fabulous little actress who shares the weight of the story equally with Jodie Foster. The fact that she holds up her end admirably is fairly amazing. She should have quite a future ahead of her on the big screen with her charming charisma. Foster is always very talented and it was nice to see her tackle a comedic role after all the “revenge” type thrillers that she’s been playing lately. She’s fairly amusing as the fish not only out of water, but out of her comfort zone and in way over her head. Gerard Butler in the duo role of Jack Rusoe and hero Alex Rover is very likable and I didn’t instantly realize that they were the same actor.
A breezy film that fits the family bill perfectly. I found it a bit annoying and too manipulative at times, but I’m just an old Scrooge. The rest of the family really enjoyed our visit to Nim’s Island.
Jeremy-meter 8* (out of 10) It’s those little moments that Jeremy cherishes, like when Alexandra gets distracted while running on her treadmill and does a nose dive onto the moving belt (note to Jeremy, I’ve seen you staring at me when I run on our treadmill and I KNOW what you’re thinking!). Or when she turns around suddenly and runs into a wall, or perhaps when she’s wrestling at the door with her imaginary character while the cab driver stares at her wondering what the heck is going on.
Tina teen-meter 8* (out of 10) Tina enjoyed Nim’s Island pets more than anything, the lizard, the pelican and especially the seal.
Karie meter 7* (out of 10) She’s the one that has really wanted to see this movie and was happy to see it appear on the menu at the $2 theatre.
5* (out of 10) Nothing wrong with it, I just found myself anxious for the end. Harmless yet predictable. Bottom line, the kids enjoyed it and Karie (who is a kid’s movie softy) found it entertaining.
Chris
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
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cinemalover
- Posts: 1594
- Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
- Location: Seattle, Washington
Twice Told Tales #524
Date watched: 6/9/2008
Title: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Twice Told Tales Made: 1963
Genre: Horror Studio: UA/Admiral Pictures Inc.
Format: DVD Extras—Anamorphic WS, Case says it has English ST, but it doesn’t.
Number of times viewed: 2
Director: Sidney Salkow
Stars:
Vincent Price—Alex Medbourne/Rappaccini/Gerald Pyncheon
Sebastian Cabot—Dr. Carl Heidigger
Brett Halsey—Giovanni Guasconti
Beverly Garland—Alice Pyncheon
Richard Denning—Jonathon Maulie
Mari Blanchard—Sylvia Ward
Abraham Sofaer—Professor Pietro Baglioni
Jacqueline De Wit—Hannah Pyncheon
Joyce Taylor—Beatrice Rappaccini
Taglines:
A trio of terror!
No demonophobiacs admitted!
A terrifying trilogy of passion, poison and possessions!
The film opens with a pair of skeleton hands opening up a book to reveal the title of the first of the film’s three segments, “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment.”
It’s Dr. Carl Heidigger’s (Cabot) 79th birthday and his life long friend, Alex Medbourne (Price), is visiting to celebrate it with him. Carl is getting very maudlin and asks his old friend a favor, when he dies would Alex please have his most valuable possession buried with him? That possession is a pressed rose that was given to him by the now deceased Sylvia 40 years earlier. Sylvia (Blanchard) had died on the eve of her planned wedding to Carl and his has grieved every day since. Alex lectures him for having never allowed himself to love again. As they speak a mighty storm begins to swirl around the Victorian home. Carl looks out the window across the dark yard to see that the door has blown off the family crypt where Sylvia’s body lay at rest. Carl goes to investigate, followed by the reluctant Alex. Once inside the crypt they notice that the ceiling over Sylvia’s casket is cracked and leaking water on the lid. They attempt to move the casket away from the leak and in the process the lid slides off which reveals a perfectly preserved Sylvia within. Carl speculates that that there is something special about the water that has been dripping down that has preserved Sylvia’s body.
Carl takes samples of the water back to his lab, inside the house, to run tests on their composition. He postulates that the water is the equivalent of the Fountain of Youth. He sprinkles a few drops on the pressed flower and it instantly becomes a vibrant, fragrant rose once again after 40 years. Carl chooses to drink some himself declaring that it will either, “Bring eternal youth, or bring him to eternity!”
Before Alex’s eyes Carl returns to his prime. Alex, “Carl, I can’t believe it! You could be your own son!”
Alex follows suit and soon the two are arm wrestling as they did in their youths. Then Carl gets another brainstorm. He wants to see if the water can bring Sylvia back to life. Alex anxiously warns him about tampering with the dead and the negative repercussions it could have. Alex seems to have TOO much concern over the possibility of Sylvia’s resurrection. Regardless of Alex’s trepidations Carl injects Sylvia with the magic liquid. It takes a few moments but Sylvia begins to breathe for the first time after almost 4 decades.
Sylvia’s first words, “Carl, is everything ready for the wedding?”
When Alex tells her that the wedding was supposed to occur 38 years ago she has understandable trouble comprehending the concept. Carl disappears to retrieve the original wedding gown. While he is out of the room the conversation between Sylvia and Alex reveals incriminating facts about their previous relationship. Carl overhears before he re-enters the room. Carl learns that these two had been lovers and that Alex had poisoned her on her wedding eve. Carl enters as though ignorant of these facts, but he won’t be able to hold his temper for long. These three that have all been given a miraculous second chance at life are about to learn of opportunity lost in a most macabre fashion.
Tale two “Rappaccini’s Daughter”
Beatrice Rappaccini (Taylor) is a beautiful young woman whom is never allowed to leave her father’s estate, and with a very good reason. The estate has a beautiful fenced off garden in which she spends much of her time. It is while she is there that she comes to the attention of young medical student Giovanni Guasconti (Halsey), whose rented room overlooks the garden. He notices that when deliveries are made to the gate they are left outside and payment is slipped under the gate to avoid any contact.
Beatrice lives with her scientist father, Dr. Rappaccini (Price), a formerly well known medical man who has now completely isolated himself in his compound. Giovanni becomes enchanted with Beatrice and will do anything to get to know her. One day he learns that both the garden and Beatrice are deadly to the touch. When she touches anything it withers and dies instantly. Giovanni doesn’t want to believe this so he “borrows” the key to their gate and lets himself in to talk to Beatrice. She tells him that her “curse” is true and she proves it by touching a gecko that is in the garden. The lizard instantly dies and Giovanni now understands the meaning of killer love.
Beatrice explains that she is the result of her father’s experiments. He asks why would her father do this to her?
Beatrice, “So that I can never sin like my mother did. So that no man can ever touch me with evil. Now you know.,…” She runs of crying.
Her father claims that he only has her best interest in heart. But when he sees that she has attempted suicide he comes to understand how unhappy he has caused her to be. He decides to prepare for her the perfect mate, another whose touch will be deadly to all others, except for her. Once again his best intentions only bring sorrow to his daughter’s heart.
Tale three “The House of Seven Gables”
The opening of this tale tells us, “In 1691 mass hysteria gripped New England and innocent people were executed as witches. Yes, it was a time of horror, and blood, and left a mark on the house that was not to be forgotten for more than 150 years…”
The Pyncheon house lives under a curse. For years Hannah Pyncheon (De Wit) was the only family member still living in the house. Now her brother, Gerald (Price) is returning with his new wife, Alice (Garland), after an absence of 17 years. It is immediately obvious that there is no love lost between siblings Hannah and Gerald.
Hannah suggests to Alice that there is a good reason why Gerald had been gone for so many years, the curse seems to only apply to the males of the family.
Hannah, “Every male member of the family has died the same way. And unless Gerald leaves he too will die with blood on his lips!”
Gerald has not returned for any sentimental attachment to his childhood home or for any love of his sister. He has returned solely to search for the hidden vault which is rumored to contain a long missing family fortune. Hannah laughs in his face, telling him that she has had the last 17 years to search every inch of the house and there is no mystery vault.
The house itself seems to have a life of its own and is having an effect on Alice. She finds herself in possession of knowledge of things that have happened in the past in this house that she should have no way of knowing. Her visions and knowledge of the past seem to signify a merging of past and present while the portrait in the drawing room drips blood.
It seems that Gerald will stop at nothing to find the riches that he thinks he’s entitled to, including murder. The house will not respond positively to his presence and soon it becomes a struggle of Gerald’s greed and the power of the house. This just in…the house wins. Film at 11.
I enjoyed these tales in descending order as Dr. H’s Experiment was clearly the best tale and should have been reserved for last. Rappaccinni’s Daughter was an interesting story with a nice twist at the end. The House of the Seven Gables was the weakest of the entries though still fun for Price’s overacting. Generally I’m not a huge fan of the multi-storied film, but using Price in his comfort zone to structure these stories around makes them feel a part of a larger whole.
Vincent Price is showcased in three diverse roles and is always compelling to watch as his style is well suited to these costumed dramas set in the past. He always brings an energy to his characters, regardless of how unbelievable their actions are. He was obviously having fun in this film and his enjoyment is translated on the screen. Beverly Garland as a blonde has never looked lovelier than she does Alice Pyncheon, the newlywed brought into some very heavy family drama. She adds some depth to a comparatively small part. Sebastian Cabot is outstanding as love-struck Carl. His interactions with Price are the highlight of the film.
7* (out of 10) A good film that could have been even better with a re-ordering of the segments ( and a slightly better defined script for The House). The stories are sprinkled with black humor.
Title: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Twice Told Tales Made: 1963
Genre: Horror Studio: UA/Admiral Pictures Inc.
Format: DVD Extras—Anamorphic WS, Case says it has English ST, but it doesn’t.
Number of times viewed: 2
Director: Sidney Salkow
Stars:
Vincent Price—Alex Medbourne/Rappaccini/Gerald Pyncheon
Sebastian Cabot—Dr. Carl Heidigger
Brett Halsey—Giovanni Guasconti
Beverly Garland—Alice Pyncheon
Richard Denning—Jonathon Maulie
Mari Blanchard—Sylvia Ward
Abraham Sofaer—Professor Pietro Baglioni
Jacqueline De Wit—Hannah Pyncheon
Joyce Taylor—Beatrice Rappaccini
Taglines:
A trio of terror!
No demonophobiacs admitted!
A terrifying trilogy of passion, poison and possessions!
The film opens with a pair of skeleton hands opening up a book to reveal the title of the first of the film’s three segments, “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment.”
It’s Dr. Carl Heidigger’s (Cabot) 79th birthday and his life long friend, Alex Medbourne (Price), is visiting to celebrate it with him. Carl is getting very maudlin and asks his old friend a favor, when he dies would Alex please have his most valuable possession buried with him? That possession is a pressed rose that was given to him by the now deceased Sylvia 40 years earlier. Sylvia (Blanchard) had died on the eve of her planned wedding to Carl and his has grieved every day since. Alex lectures him for having never allowed himself to love again. As they speak a mighty storm begins to swirl around the Victorian home. Carl looks out the window across the dark yard to see that the door has blown off the family crypt where Sylvia’s body lay at rest. Carl goes to investigate, followed by the reluctant Alex. Once inside the crypt they notice that the ceiling over Sylvia’s casket is cracked and leaking water on the lid. They attempt to move the casket away from the leak and in the process the lid slides off which reveals a perfectly preserved Sylvia within. Carl speculates that that there is something special about the water that has been dripping down that has preserved Sylvia’s body.
Carl takes samples of the water back to his lab, inside the house, to run tests on their composition. He postulates that the water is the equivalent of the Fountain of Youth. He sprinkles a few drops on the pressed flower and it instantly becomes a vibrant, fragrant rose once again after 40 years. Carl chooses to drink some himself declaring that it will either, “Bring eternal youth, or bring him to eternity!”
Before Alex’s eyes Carl returns to his prime. Alex, “Carl, I can’t believe it! You could be your own son!”
Alex follows suit and soon the two are arm wrestling as they did in their youths. Then Carl gets another brainstorm. He wants to see if the water can bring Sylvia back to life. Alex anxiously warns him about tampering with the dead and the negative repercussions it could have. Alex seems to have TOO much concern over the possibility of Sylvia’s resurrection. Regardless of Alex’s trepidations Carl injects Sylvia with the magic liquid. It takes a few moments but Sylvia begins to breathe for the first time after almost 4 decades.
Sylvia’s first words, “Carl, is everything ready for the wedding?”
When Alex tells her that the wedding was supposed to occur 38 years ago she has understandable trouble comprehending the concept. Carl disappears to retrieve the original wedding gown. While he is out of the room the conversation between Sylvia and Alex reveals incriminating facts about their previous relationship. Carl overhears before he re-enters the room. Carl learns that these two had been lovers and that Alex had poisoned her on her wedding eve. Carl enters as though ignorant of these facts, but he won’t be able to hold his temper for long. These three that have all been given a miraculous second chance at life are about to learn of opportunity lost in a most macabre fashion.
Tale two “Rappaccini’s Daughter”
Beatrice Rappaccini (Taylor) is a beautiful young woman whom is never allowed to leave her father’s estate, and with a very good reason. The estate has a beautiful fenced off garden in which she spends much of her time. It is while she is there that she comes to the attention of young medical student Giovanni Guasconti (Halsey), whose rented room overlooks the garden. He notices that when deliveries are made to the gate they are left outside and payment is slipped under the gate to avoid any contact.
Beatrice lives with her scientist father, Dr. Rappaccini (Price), a formerly well known medical man who has now completely isolated himself in his compound. Giovanni becomes enchanted with Beatrice and will do anything to get to know her. One day he learns that both the garden and Beatrice are deadly to the touch. When she touches anything it withers and dies instantly. Giovanni doesn’t want to believe this so he “borrows” the key to their gate and lets himself in to talk to Beatrice. She tells him that her “curse” is true and she proves it by touching a gecko that is in the garden. The lizard instantly dies and Giovanni now understands the meaning of killer love.
Beatrice explains that she is the result of her father’s experiments. He asks why would her father do this to her?
Beatrice, “So that I can never sin like my mother did. So that no man can ever touch me with evil. Now you know.,…” She runs of crying.
Her father claims that he only has her best interest in heart. But when he sees that she has attempted suicide he comes to understand how unhappy he has caused her to be. He decides to prepare for her the perfect mate, another whose touch will be deadly to all others, except for her. Once again his best intentions only bring sorrow to his daughter’s heart.
Tale three “The House of Seven Gables”
The opening of this tale tells us, “In 1691 mass hysteria gripped New England and innocent people were executed as witches. Yes, it was a time of horror, and blood, and left a mark on the house that was not to be forgotten for more than 150 years…”
The Pyncheon house lives under a curse. For years Hannah Pyncheon (De Wit) was the only family member still living in the house. Now her brother, Gerald (Price) is returning with his new wife, Alice (Garland), after an absence of 17 years. It is immediately obvious that there is no love lost between siblings Hannah and Gerald.
Hannah suggests to Alice that there is a good reason why Gerald had been gone for so many years, the curse seems to only apply to the males of the family.
Hannah, “Every male member of the family has died the same way. And unless Gerald leaves he too will die with blood on his lips!”
Gerald has not returned for any sentimental attachment to his childhood home or for any love of his sister. He has returned solely to search for the hidden vault which is rumored to contain a long missing family fortune. Hannah laughs in his face, telling him that she has had the last 17 years to search every inch of the house and there is no mystery vault.
The house itself seems to have a life of its own and is having an effect on Alice. She finds herself in possession of knowledge of things that have happened in the past in this house that she should have no way of knowing. Her visions and knowledge of the past seem to signify a merging of past and present while the portrait in the drawing room drips blood.
It seems that Gerald will stop at nothing to find the riches that he thinks he’s entitled to, including murder. The house will not respond positively to his presence and soon it becomes a struggle of Gerald’s greed and the power of the house. This just in…the house wins. Film at 11.
I enjoyed these tales in descending order as Dr. H’s Experiment was clearly the best tale and should have been reserved for last. Rappaccinni’s Daughter was an interesting story with a nice twist at the end. The House of the Seven Gables was the weakest of the entries though still fun for Price’s overacting. Generally I’m not a huge fan of the multi-storied film, but using Price in his comfort zone to structure these stories around makes them feel a part of a larger whole.
Vincent Price is showcased in three diverse roles and is always compelling to watch as his style is well suited to these costumed dramas set in the past. He always brings an energy to his characters, regardless of how unbelievable their actions are. He was obviously having fun in this film and his enjoyment is translated on the screen. Beverly Garland as a blonde has never looked lovelier than she does Alice Pyncheon, the newlywed brought into some very heavy family drama. She adds some depth to a comparatively small part. Sebastian Cabot is outstanding as love-struck Carl. His interactions with Price are the highlight of the film.
7* (out of 10) A good film that could have been even better with a re-ordering of the segments ( and a slightly better defined script for The House). The stories are sprinkled with black humor.
Chris
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
-
cinemalover
- Posts: 1594
- Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
- Location: Seattle, Washington
Last night Karie and I decided to treat Jeremy to a night on the town (Tina was otherwise engaged) as a reward for the completion of a very successful school year. He chose to eat out (Mexican food, of course) and to go see a movie. Since he's a big martial arts fan the film on the top of his must-see list was the Jackie Chan/Jet Li chop-sockey extravaganza The Forbidden Kingdom.
I had read very mediocre reviews for the film and so my expectations were fairly low, but we were all pleasantly surprised. Jeremy thought it was absolutely fabulous and Karie even thought it was outstanding (not her favorite genre by any means). It was light on plot but very heavy on perpetual action and excciting stunts. Mindless fun and I'll have to gather my complete thoughts on it in the next day or two. Needless to say it gets a thumbs up from all three of us.
I had read very mediocre reviews for the film and so my expectations were fairly low, but we were all pleasantly surprised. Jeremy thought it was absolutely fabulous and Karie even thought it was outstanding (not her favorite genre by any means). It was light on plot but very heavy on perpetual action and excciting stunts. Mindless fun and I'll have to gather my complete thoughts on it in the next day or two. Needless to say it gets a thumbs up from all three of us.
Chris
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
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cinemalover
- Posts: 1594
- Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
- Location: Seattle, Washington
The Adventures of Rat Pfink and Boo Boo #525
Welcome to the no-budget world of Ray Dennis Steckler….
Date watched: 6/17/2008
Title: The Adventures of Rat Pfink and Boo Boo Made: 1966
Genre: Mish Mash Studio: Morgan Picture Corporation
Format: DVD Extras—Anamorphic WS, Trailer, Director Interview and Commentary, Music Gallery.
Number of times viewed: 2
Director: Ray Dennis Steckler
Stars:
Carolyn Brandt—Ceebee Beaumont
Ron Haydock (Vin Saxon)—Lonnie Lord/Rat Pfink
Titus Moede—Titus Twimby/Boo Boo
George Caldwell—Linc, leader of the Chain Gang
Mike Kannon—Hammer
James Bowie—Benjie
Mary Jo Curtis—Irma La Streetwalker
Romeo Barrymore—Ape Trainer
Kogar—Bob Burns
“Filmed in RegularScope Black and White ”
The film was best summed up in the commentary by the director himself when he says, “The film was made with $20…and it shows ” The Rat Pfink suit was assembled from parts picked up at the local Sears and Roebuck which includes a thick ski mask. The entire film was shot without audio and the dialogue and Foley effects were completely created after the fact. When the company that Ray hired to create the titles for the film mistakenly printed the title as “Rat Pfink a Boo Boo” Ray didn’t have the funds to get it fixed. That title still appears on the print.
Story: Lonnie Lord (Ron Haydock) is a rockabilly star who has sold “10 million records last year .” You wouldn’t know it from the numbers that are dubbed in for the film. One of the “hits” he sings is the ever popular love song, “You is a Rat Fink ”. His luscious girl-friend, Ceebee (Brandt, the future Mrs. Steckler) who likes to wear skin-tight, gold lam pants and walk with a distinct wiggle, is being stalked and terrorized by the dreaded Chain Gang. They are a group of juvenile delinquents who appear to have attended the “Kookie lend me your comb” school of acting. The gang is led by Linc (Caldwell), who likes to display his really bad teeth in a constant wolf’s grin as though he were auditioning for the part of The Joker. After following Ceebee around the city while dragging their thick chains for dramatic effect the gang decides to cross the line into kidnap territory and snatch the girl.
Lonnie Lord puts his simple head together with friend and resident gardener, Titus Twimby (played by the one and only Titus Moede), to come up with a plan to save Ceebee. With all this brain-power working on her rescue Ceebee must have been resting easy.
Lonnie (emphatically to Titus), “This looks for a job for You Know and Who ”
The two jump into the closet, and, after some fumbling with a stuck door knob, emerge wearing the most pathetic superhero costumes you’ll ever see. Ladies and gentlemen, we present Rat Pfink and Boo Boo The criminal element must be cringing in fear. These two pajama avengers shall seek out the Chain Gang and bring sweet Ceebee back to Lonnie’s loving arms. Before they bound into the Ratcycle (a motorcycle with sidecar) the leader but one piece of advice for his sidekick.
Rat Pfink, “Remember, Boo Boo, we only have ONE weakness ”
Boo Boo, “What’s that, Rat Pfink?”
Rat, “Bullets ”
Our less-than-super heroes chase after the Chain Gang ending up in the vacant foothills outside of Los Angeles. The mighty powers of Rat Pfink and Boo Boo (which include poorly thrown roundhouse punches that don’t even land in the same zip code as the villain’s chin) quickly subdue the evil Chain Gang, but when they turn to pick up the lovely Ceebee and celebrate they find her missing. An extensive scan of the horizon reveals that she has been abducted once again, only this time by the great ape, Kogar (Bob Burns in his oft used ape suit).
Rat Pfink (trying to assume control of the situation by using his outdoor voice), “Ape. Drop that girl ”
After another epic struggle Ceebee is saved and they all live happily after (insert stock footage of parade to pad the short running time).
Another observation that Ray Dennis Steckler makes during the commentary (which is more interesting than the film) is the lack of light during the interior scenes. He explains, “I only had two lights to work with, so some of the scenes are kind of dark….sorry ”
This is simple minded silliness that totally changes direction in mid-stream. The first half is played fairly straight as Lonnie sings and the Chain Gang stalks, but once Rat Pfink and Boo Boo make the scene all bets are off. It has to be seen to be believed. There are actually moments of low-budget brilliance buried under an avalanche of attempted over-achievement. The end result feels like a high school term project gone wild with too many cooks spicing the broth.
3* (out of 10) This one gets bonus points just for Ray having the audacity and stubbornness to actually complete the film.
Date watched: 6/17/2008
Title: The Adventures of Rat Pfink and Boo Boo Made: 1966
Genre: Mish Mash Studio: Morgan Picture Corporation
Format: DVD Extras—Anamorphic WS, Trailer, Director Interview and Commentary, Music Gallery.
Number of times viewed: 2
Director: Ray Dennis Steckler
Stars:
Carolyn Brandt—Ceebee Beaumont
Ron Haydock (Vin Saxon)—Lonnie Lord/Rat Pfink
Titus Moede—Titus Twimby/Boo Boo
George Caldwell—Linc, leader of the Chain Gang
Mike Kannon—Hammer
James Bowie—Benjie
Mary Jo Curtis—Irma La Streetwalker
Romeo Barrymore—Ape Trainer
Kogar—Bob Burns
“Filmed in RegularScope Black and White ”
The film was best summed up in the commentary by the director himself when he says, “The film was made with $20…and it shows ” The Rat Pfink suit was assembled from parts picked up at the local Sears and Roebuck which includes a thick ski mask. The entire film was shot without audio and the dialogue and Foley effects were completely created after the fact. When the company that Ray hired to create the titles for the film mistakenly printed the title as “Rat Pfink a Boo Boo” Ray didn’t have the funds to get it fixed. That title still appears on the print.
Story: Lonnie Lord (Ron Haydock) is a rockabilly star who has sold “10 million records last year .” You wouldn’t know it from the numbers that are dubbed in for the film. One of the “hits” he sings is the ever popular love song, “You is a Rat Fink ”. His luscious girl-friend, Ceebee (Brandt, the future Mrs. Steckler) who likes to wear skin-tight, gold lam pants and walk with a distinct wiggle, is being stalked and terrorized by the dreaded Chain Gang. They are a group of juvenile delinquents who appear to have attended the “Kookie lend me your comb” school of acting. The gang is led by Linc (Caldwell), who likes to display his really bad teeth in a constant wolf’s grin as though he were auditioning for the part of The Joker. After following Ceebee around the city while dragging their thick chains for dramatic effect the gang decides to cross the line into kidnap territory and snatch the girl.
Lonnie Lord puts his simple head together with friend and resident gardener, Titus Twimby (played by the one and only Titus Moede), to come up with a plan to save Ceebee. With all this brain-power working on her rescue Ceebee must have been resting easy.
Lonnie (emphatically to Titus), “This looks for a job for You Know and Who ”
The two jump into the closet, and, after some fumbling with a stuck door knob, emerge wearing the most pathetic superhero costumes you’ll ever see. Ladies and gentlemen, we present Rat Pfink and Boo Boo The criminal element must be cringing in fear. These two pajama avengers shall seek out the Chain Gang and bring sweet Ceebee back to Lonnie’s loving arms. Before they bound into the Ratcycle (a motorcycle with sidecar) the leader but one piece of advice for his sidekick.
Rat Pfink, “Remember, Boo Boo, we only have ONE weakness ”
Boo Boo, “What’s that, Rat Pfink?”
Rat, “Bullets ”
Our less-than-super heroes chase after the Chain Gang ending up in the vacant foothills outside of Los Angeles. The mighty powers of Rat Pfink and Boo Boo (which include poorly thrown roundhouse punches that don’t even land in the same zip code as the villain’s chin) quickly subdue the evil Chain Gang, but when they turn to pick up the lovely Ceebee and celebrate they find her missing. An extensive scan of the horizon reveals that she has been abducted once again, only this time by the great ape, Kogar (Bob Burns in his oft used ape suit).
Rat Pfink (trying to assume control of the situation by using his outdoor voice), “Ape. Drop that girl ”
After another epic struggle Ceebee is saved and they all live happily after (insert stock footage of parade to pad the short running time).
Another observation that Ray Dennis Steckler makes during the commentary (which is more interesting than the film) is the lack of light during the interior scenes. He explains, “I only had two lights to work with, so some of the scenes are kind of dark….sorry ”
This is simple minded silliness that totally changes direction in mid-stream. The first half is played fairly straight as Lonnie sings and the Chain Gang stalks, but once Rat Pfink and Boo Boo make the scene all bets are off. It has to be seen to be believed. There are actually moments of low-budget brilliance buried under an avalanche of attempted over-achievement. The end result feels like a high school term project gone wild with too many cooks spicing the broth.
3* (out of 10) This one gets bonus points just for Ray having the audacity and stubbornness to actually complete the film.
Chris
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
I didn't know that this is on DVD -- with commentary yet! A must buy!
Chris: Only 3-stars out of 10? The title, RAT PFINK A BOO BOO, alone is worth 2-stars. Ray Dennis Steckler is always worth a minimum of 5-stars. Carolyn Brandt and Ron Haydock are worth at least 1 -- so that's 8-stars, putting it right behind WILD GUITAR (Arch Hall, Jr. is far better than Haydock) and the 10-stars standard set by THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES. Not a fan of cinema verite?
Chris: Only 3-stars out of 10? The title, RAT PFINK A BOO BOO, alone is worth 2-stars. Ray Dennis Steckler is always worth a minimum of 5-stars. Carolyn Brandt and Ron Haydock are worth at least 1 -- so that's 8-stars, putting it right behind WILD GUITAR (Arch Hall, Jr. is far better than Haydock) and the 10-stars standard set by THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES. Not a fan of cinema verite?
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
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cinemalover
- Posts: 1594
- Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
- Location: Seattle, Washington
Good morning ChiO,
Not only is Rat Pfink on DVD but I bought it in one of two boxed sets, each of which features four of Steckler's films. More Steckler than any one person could stand!
It's not so much that I didn't enjoy the goofiness of the film, it's more that the film has two distinct personalities. If Steckler had followed the original path of the rather psycho, hyena-laughing, Chain Gang, following Ceebee and her assortment of butt-hugger pants it could have been fairly fun. Or if the entire film had been about the crusading dimwits Rat Pfink and Boo Boo, it would have been entertaining for entirely different reasons. As is, it's kind of a mess. Unique and worth a look, but a mess none the less.
Arch Hall Jr. was the perfect choice to compare Ron Haydock to, very similar screen personnas.
Not only is Rat Pfink on DVD but I bought it in one of two boxed sets, each of which features four of Steckler's films. More Steckler than any one person could stand!
It's not so much that I didn't enjoy the goofiness of the film, it's more that the film has two distinct personalities. If Steckler had followed the original path of the rather psycho, hyena-laughing, Chain Gang, following Ceebee and her assortment of butt-hugger pants it could have been fairly fun. Or if the entire film had been about the crusading dimwits Rat Pfink and Boo Boo, it would have been entertaining for entirely different reasons. As is, it's kind of a mess. Unique and worth a look, but a mess none the less.
Arch Hall Jr. was the perfect choice to compare Ron Haydock to, very similar screen personnas.
Chris
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
-
cinemalover
- Posts: 1594
- Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
- Location: Seattle, Washington
Think Fast, Mr. Moto #526
Date watched: 6/18/2008
Title: Think Fast, Mr. Moto Made: 1937
Genre: Detective Studio: 20th Century Fox
Format: DVD Extras—Trailer, Featurette, Restoration Comparison.
Number of times viewed: 2
Director: Norman Foster
Stars:
Peter Lorre—Mr. Moto
Virginia Field—Gloria Danton/Tanya Borau
Thomas Beck—Bob Hitchings
Sig Rumann—Nicolas Marloff
<urray Kinnell—Joseph Wilkie
John Rogers—Carson
Lotus Long—Lela Liu
George Cooper—Muggs Blake
J. Carrol Naish—Adram
Fredrik Vogeding—Curio Dealer
Mr. Moto is another character memorialized on film to compete with the ever popular Charlie Chan. Peter Lorre starred as the diminutive detective in 8 movies, produced between 1937 and 1939. This was the first of the series. Here's the entire series:
• Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937)
• Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937)
• Mr. Moto's Gamble (1937)
• Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938)
• Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938)
• Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939)
• Danger Island (1939)
• Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation (1939)
The story: In Shanghai a band of smugglers are giving the local importers a bad name. Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre in glasses and angled eyes) is an importer of oriental goods and part-time sleuth. He is on a personal crusade to put the smugglers out of business.
Moto tracks the clues which lead him to San Francisco where he boards a cruise ship, the Marco Polo which is bound back to Shanghai. On the ship he buddies up with Bob Hitchings (Beck), who is conveniently the son of the shipping line’s owner. When Bob asks Moto exactly who he is Moto answers, “I’m Mr. Moto. Importer of oriental goods with a hobby for magic!”
While on board the ship the audience is also treated to racist lines when the tourists talk to the Asian help. Lines like, “Hey, boys! You catchy my luggage! Chop suey!”
Moto has learned that members of the smuggling gang have a flag tattooed on their forearm. While Moto is sneaking around the boat looking for evidence to end the smuggling, Bob is sniffing around the alluring Gloria Danton (Field) and would like to engage in some smuggling of his own.
Moto is always handy with a little advice, “A beautiful girl is only confusing to a man!”
Bob (speaking for so many of his gender), “I could do with a little confusion!”
Bob doesn’t get the confusion he’s looking for as when the ship docks in Shanghai, Gloria seems to disappear off the face of the earth. His dad wishes he’d spend a little more attention to the shipping business and a little less to lady’s legs. The shipping line is being scrutinized by authorities because oriental curios are coming in on the ships filled with stolen diamonds and narcotics. The shipping line will be fined if caught transporting these goods, even if they have nothing to do with it. They’ll have to step up their internal security to ensure the smugglers aren’t able to use their ships.
Bob is still trying to find Gloria, but he turns his attention to business. Bob is working with his father’s employee, Wilkie (Kinnell), to stop the flow of illegal goods onto their ships while his father stays in San Francisco to do the same on that end of the line. While trying to protect the company Bob finds himself once more distracted when a note is slipped under his hotel room door. It reads, “The girl you are looking for is an entertainer at the International Club.”
Forget business when you’ve got a hottie to chase. Bob can’t resist the temptation of finding Gloria and abandons his business concerns to head for the International Club. Wilkie tries to warn him that the club is a very disreputable and dangerous place but when that doesn’t stop Bob, Wilkie chooses to join him for his protection. On the ride to the club their chauffeur hits a rickshaw which happened to be carrying Mr. Moto. Moto’s not hurt, just shaken up. It turns out that the clues he is following also leads to the International Club so he joins Bob and Wilkie and their ride.
When they arrive Gloria is performing on stage and Bob’s eyes light up like New Year’s Eve, After she’s finished Bob goes back stage to meet her. When he enters her dressing room the stage manager hangs around outside the door to listen in.
Bob, “Well. I’ve found you after all.”
Gloria, “You’ve got to leave this place! Right away!”
Bob, “After the trouble I’ve had…ohhh no!”
Gloria, “I mean it! It’s dangerous for you to be here!”
The stage manager has run to the office of the boss, Mr. Marloff (Rumann) to tell him about Bob. Inside the office a group of men are hiding diamonds into tins of tea in preparation of smuggling them out of the country. Marloff decides to “detain” Bob to determine how much of the operation Gloria, who it is revealed is really Tanya Borau, has told him about. While keeping Bob against his will I the back of the building Marloff needs to find out exactly what Moto is up to. Marloff invites him to the back room where a gambling casino is set up. It’s not open for patrons yet, but it’s filled with Marloff’s tough-looking employees. Moto pretends to be a fellow smuggler, sympathetic to Marloff’s business. Moto offers to join forces with Marloff for their mutual benefit. His ploy is working until one of Marloff’s flunkies recognizes Moto and blows his cover. Moto and Bob will have to do some fast talking to get themselves out of this jam.
We are exposed to the standard reveal at the end where Moto has to do the police’s job of figuring out all the details.
The film is not as interesting as the Charlie Chan stories that it tries to imitate, but still an enjoyable endeavor. Lorre is always worth the price of admission for me. His character is able to overcome the stereotypical make-up and accent by being very talented and always the smartest person in the room. He remains fairly humble while staying in character. Sig Rumann plays the cardboard villain with a bad haircut. He isn’t allowed much depth in his role and has little screen time to convey his personality.
6* (out of 10) Average to slightly above detective programmer. We’ll see if Lorre improves with age as the series progresses.
Title: Think Fast, Mr. Moto Made: 1937
Genre: Detective Studio: 20th Century Fox
Format: DVD Extras—Trailer, Featurette, Restoration Comparison.
Number of times viewed: 2
Director: Norman Foster
Stars:
Peter Lorre—Mr. Moto
Virginia Field—Gloria Danton/Tanya Borau
Thomas Beck—Bob Hitchings
Sig Rumann—Nicolas Marloff
<urray Kinnell—Joseph Wilkie
John Rogers—Carson
Lotus Long—Lela Liu
George Cooper—Muggs Blake
J. Carrol Naish—Adram
Fredrik Vogeding—Curio Dealer
Mr. Moto is another character memorialized on film to compete with the ever popular Charlie Chan. Peter Lorre starred as the diminutive detective in 8 movies, produced between 1937 and 1939. This was the first of the series. Here's the entire series:
• Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937)
• Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937)
• Mr. Moto's Gamble (1937)
• Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938)
• Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938)
• Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939)
• Danger Island (1939)
• Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation (1939)
The story: In Shanghai a band of smugglers are giving the local importers a bad name. Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre in glasses and angled eyes) is an importer of oriental goods and part-time sleuth. He is on a personal crusade to put the smugglers out of business.
Moto tracks the clues which lead him to San Francisco where he boards a cruise ship, the Marco Polo which is bound back to Shanghai. On the ship he buddies up with Bob Hitchings (Beck), who is conveniently the son of the shipping line’s owner. When Bob asks Moto exactly who he is Moto answers, “I’m Mr. Moto. Importer of oriental goods with a hobby for magic!”
While on board the ship the audience is also treated to racist lines when the tourists talk to the Asian help. Lines like, “Hey, boys! You catchy my luggage! Chop suey!”
Moto has learned that members of the smuggling gang have a flag tattooed on their forearm. While Moto is sneaking around the boat looking for evidence to end the smuggling, Bob is sniffing around the alluring Gloria Danton (Field) and would like to engage in some smuggling of his own.
Moto is always handy with a little advice, “A beautiful girl is only confusing to a man!”
Bob (speaking for so many of his gender), “I could do with a little confusion!”
Bob doesn’t get the confusion he’s looking for as when the ship docks in Shanghai, Gloria seems to disappear off the face of the earth. His dad wishes he’d spend a little more attention to the shipping business and a little less to lady’s legs. The shipping line is being scrutinized by authorities because oriental curios are coming in on the ships filled with stolen diamonds and narcotics. The shipping line will be fined if caught transporting these goods, even if they have nothing to do with it. They’ll have to step up their internal security to ensure the smugglers aren’t able to use their ships.
Bob is still trying to find Gloria, but he turns his attention to business. Bob is working with his father’s employee, Wilkie (Kinnell), to stop the flow of illegal goods onto their ships while his father stays in San Francisco to do the same on that end of the line. While trying to protect the company Bob finds himself once more distracted when a note is slipped under his hotel room door. It reads, “The girl you are looking for is an entertainer at the International Club.”
Forget business when you’ve got a hottie to chase. Bob can’t resist the temptation of finding Gloria and abandons his business concerns to head for the International Club. Wilkie tries to warn him that the club is a very disreputable and dangerous place but when that doesn’t stop Bob, Wilkie chooses to join him for his protection. On the ride to the club their chauffeur hits a rickshaw which happened to be carrying Mr. Moto. Moto’s not hurt, just shaken up. It turns out that the clues he is following also leads to the International Club so he joins Bob and Wilkie and their ride.
When they arrive Gloria is performing on stage and Bob’s eyes light up like New Year’s Eve, After she’s finished Bob goes back stage to meet her. When he enters her dressing room the stage manager hangs around outside the door to listen in.
Bob, “Well. I’ve found you after all.”
Gloria, “You’ve got to leave this place! Right away!”
Bob, “After the trouble I’ve had…ohhh no!”
Gloria, “I mean it! It’s dangerous for you to be here!”
The stage manager has run to the office of the boss, Mr. Marloff (Rumann) to tell him about Bob. Inside the office a group of men are hiding diamonds into tins of tea in preparation of smuggling them out of the country. Marloff decides to “detain” Bob to determine how much of the operation Gloria, who it is revealed is really Tanya Borau, has told him about. While keeping Bob against his will I the back of the building Marloff needs to find out exactly what Moto is up to. Marloff invites him to the back room where a gambling casino is set up. It’s not open for patrons yet, but it’s filled with Marloff’s tough-looking employees. Moto pretends to be a fellow smuggler, sympathetic to Marloff’s business. Moto offers to join forces with Marloff for their mutual benefit. His ploy is working until one of Marloff’s flunkies recognizes Moto and blows his cover. Moto and Bob will have to do some fast talking to get themselves out of this jam.
We are exposed to the standard reveal at the end where Moto has to do the police’s job of figuring out all the details.
The film is not as interesting as the Charlie Chan stories that it tries to imitate, but still an enjoyable endeavor. Lorre is always worth the price of admission for me. His character is able to overcome the stereotypical make-up and accent by being very talented and always the smartest person in the room. He remains fairly humble while staying in character. Sig Rumann plays the cardboard villain with a bad haircut. He isn’t allowed much depth in his role and has little screen time to convey his personality.
6* (out of 10) Average to slightly above detective programmer. We’ll see if Lorre improves with age as the series progresses.
Chris
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
-
cinemalover
- Posts: 1594
- Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
- Location: Seattle, Washington
The Guilty Generation #527
Date watched: 6/18/2008
Title: The Guilty Generation Made: 1931
Genre: Crime Drama Studio: Columbia
Format: DVD-R Source—TCM
Number of times viewed: First
Director: Rowland V. Lee
Stars:
Boris Karloff—Tony Ricca
Leo Carrillo—Mike Palmero
Constance Cummings—Marisa Palmero
Robert Young—Marco Ricca/John Smith
Emma Dunn—Nina Palmero
Leslie Fenton—Joe Palmero
Murray Kinnell—Jerry
Ruth Warren—Nellie Weaver
Plot: John Smith (Young) is a successful young architect doing business in Manhattan…and hiding a cumbersome secret. His real name is Marco Ricca and he is the son of crime boss Tony Ricca (Karloff). John was raised by his mother and has disassociated himself completely from his father’s operations, in everyone’s mind except Tony’s. One night Tony, accompanied by three of his ruffians, pays his alienated son a visit. John doesn’t try to hide his displeasure.
Tony, “Ashamed of me, huh? Well you weren’t ashamed to take the money to pay for your education in Europe! Now I’m not good enough for ya’!”
John, “You weren’t good enough for Mother, either! That’s why she left you and took me with her! All the money in the world couldn’t pay for the suffering you’ve caused her. Before she died last winter in Paris she asked me to get my brother away from you! She knew what you making of him!”
Tony’s sympathetic response, “Ahhh…you’re yellow, you take after your Mother’s folks….flower sellers!”
John strikes back by telling is father why he discarded the Ricca name, “I couldn’t hold a job in a respectable firm. Everywhere I went I was expected to have a quart of gin on my hip and a machine gun up my sleeve!”
Tony, “Yeah, but they didn’t get tough with you, did they?”
John, “No, nor after I changed my name to Smith either!”
Tony ends up leaving in anger, an emotion that he displays on a regular basis. Tony has long been partnered with fellow hood Mike Palmero (Cummings). Mike has visions of grandeur and feels he no longer needs Tony in the picture. Mike feels perfectly comfortable running the gang by himself and sets up a violent gang war by ordering a successful hit on Tony’s brother-in-law. To even the score the next victim is a relative of Mike’s and the war is on. Mike decides to keep his hands clean of the violence and heads to his lush home in Florida while the minions duke it out. He claims that he’s there on “doctor’s orders” but no one is fooled. Mike wants desperately to be accepted into the rich society in Florida and he starts the process by holding a huge party in celebration of his daughter, Maria (Cummings). All of the “waiters” for the event are really bodyguards with strict orders to monitor and control who gets in or out of the party. Mike wants to make sure there aren’t any “accidents” to mar the celebration.
After his squabble with his Dad, John has skirted down to Florida with some friends, partially for recreation but also because his friend’s parents wanted to hire John to design a new hotel for them. He is out socializing with his buds at a nightclub when they are invited to the big party. John happily goes, having no idea that this is a Palmero party. John meets Maria at her party and there are instant sparks between the two. Things are going really well until Joh invites maria to leave the party with him. When she says she can’t because she lives there John finally realizes that she is a Palmero.
While the party is raging Mike receives a somber phone call. He is informed that his cousin Angelo has received a “surprise party” from Tony’s boys. One more relative bites the dust and the gang war continues to escalate.
As if the party wasn’t lively enough Mike’s son Joe (Fenton) is an angry drunk. When Mike orders his boys to throw a couple of floozies that Joe had brought to the party out on their keesters, Joe gets ticked. He starts shoving guests around, some of them right into the pool. This happens right in front of John, who retaliates by having Joe join the dunk tank. Joe is furious and starts to grab a gun when Daddy’s boys grab him and take him to Mike’s office.
Bodyguard explaining to Mike what happened, “He got to shovin’ people into the pool with their clothes on. Then some guy threw him in. He got nasty and pulled a gun!”
Mike (more concerned about his social reputation than his son), “Hey, where’d he get a gun.”
Bodyguard, “Search me…”
The fight breaks up the party and John leaves, confused about his feelings towards Maria. Maria is also unsure of her potential future with John as she reveals to her Mom, “I met a young man tonight. We got on beautifully until he found out who I was…..I’ll never forget that look on his face….it was marvelous (sarcastic)…marvelous….” Maria breaks into tears.
Overnight John has decided to go with his heart, not his head and goes to the Palmero home to call on Maria. He comes clean with her and explains in detail who he is. The two of them actually spent time together as kids when their fathers were on peaceful terms before John left to Europe with his Mother. Maria is attracted to him but warns him about how dangerous a relationship between the two of them could be, with their Dads in the middle of a bloody war. At first she tells John to never come see her again, but her stance softens and the two agree to meet away from the house and under the radar.
Mike is such a vain gangster that he employs a full-time press secretary, Nellie (Warren), just to manage his image in the press and help him become accepted in high society. Nellie is also chummy with Maria, whom confides in her the situation with Tony Ricca’s son. The idea of keeping a secret from the deadly Mike scares her.
Nellie, “No, you simply cannot get away with it! Why you’re making me a fellow conspirator. If this leaks out do you know what your father might do to me? There’s no sex discrimination in this gang war-fare nowadays!”
And she’s worried how she can keep this secret from the always inquisitive Mike, “He can ask questions faster than a machine gun can sputter!!”
The two lovebirds are oblivious to the danger as they fall deeper and deeper in love. They even joke about getting married and finding a bomb in the wedding cake, but ultimately Maria gets frustrated by their inability to get publicly serious.
Maris, “But it’s all so hopeless. Perhaps it would have been better if we’d never met!”
The gang war continues but as more innocent bystanders become victims of the aggression public sentiment turns sharply against the gangs, turning up the heat on police officials to put an end of the hostilities. Tony’s beloved son, Bennedicto, gets hit by Mike’s killers, score a big one for Mike. But then he realizes that Tony will try to retaliate by killing one of his children.
All the ink that these gang killings have generated spurs a New York reporter to head for Florida on a blind lead. He has heard that Tony Ricca has another son, one who no longer carries the Ricca name. The reporter gets friendly with Joe while trying to investigate the lead. He gives Joe enough info that Joe is able to deduce John’s true identity. He tells Mike and Mike assumes that John has been working undercover in an attempt to kill him or his family for his father. Maria and John decide to get married against Mike’s wishes. When they show up at the house married Mike has to reconsider his plans to whack John, or does he. The final reel is full of murder and intrigue and only some of the stars will survive. The action will have you guessing until the end.
This is a nice little gangster flick that focuses on the sibling’s love affair while the parents run around gun-happy behind them. Robert Young gets most of the face time and is charming as the man looking to create his own identity from under the evil shadow of his father. In one of his early roles you can easily tell that he’ll have a very successful career ahead of him. Leo Carrillo as the heavy Mike Palmero is a scene chewing tough guy. His accent ranges from barely perceptible to over the top stereotypical. Any time Carrillo is on the screen he is using his big elbows to clear the path and steer viewers attention to his mug. Boris Karloff’s scenes are comparatively sparse, but each is very intense. At the film’s opening when he walks into John’s apartment with his bodyguards he is danger on legs. At that point we don’t know what his relationship is with John but we’re thinking he’ll be the recipient of a new pair of cement shoes. Karloff can create that sense of dread with the slightest facial movement.
The dependable director, Rowland V. Lee, keeps the pace fast and focuses on the underlying danger more than the love story. He gets the most out of his cast (though some would say “too much” out of Carrillo) and maintains a nice air of tension.
6* (out of 10) A good discovery for me. A gangster piece that views the family activities from those who try not to participate.
Title: The Guilty Generation Made: 1931
Genre: Crime Drama Studio: Columbia
Format: DVD-R Source—TCM
Number of times viewed: First
Director: Rowland V. Lee
Stars:
Boris Karloff—Tony Ricca
Leo Carrillo—Mike Palmero
Constance Cummings—Marisa Palmero
Robert Young—Marco Ricca/John Smith
Emma Dunn—Nina Palmero
Leslie Fenton—Joe Palmero
Murray Kinnell—Jerry
Ruth Warren—Nellie Weaver
Plot: John Smith (Young) is a successful young architect doing business in Manhattan…and hiding a cumbersome secret. His real name is Marco Ricca and he is the son of crime boss Tony Ricca (Karloff). John was raised by his mother and has disassociated himself completely from his father’s operations, in everyone’s mind except Tony’s. One night Tony, accompanied by three of his ruffians, pays his alienated son a visit. John doesn’t try to hide his displeasure.
Tony, “Ashamed of me, huh? Well you weren’t ashamed to take the money to pay for your education in Europe! Now I’m not good enough for ya’!”
John, “You weren’t good enough for Mother, either! That’s why she left you and took me with her! All the money in the world couldn’t pay for the suffering you’ve caused her. Before she died last winter in Paris she asked me to get my brother away from you! She knew what you making of him!”
Tony’s sympathetic response, “Ahhh…you’re yellow, you take after your Mother’s folks….flower sellers!”
John strikes back by telling is father why he discarded the Ricca name, “I couldn’t hold a job in a respectable firm. Everywhere I went I was expected to have a quart of gin on my hip and a machine gun up my sleeve!”
Tony, “Yeah, but they didn’t get tough with you, did they?”
John, “No, nor after I changed my name to Smith either!”
Tony ends up leaving in anger, an emotion that he displays on a regular basis. Tony has long been partnered with fellow hood Mike Palmero (Cummings). Mike has visions of grandeur and feels he no longer needs Tony in the picture. Mike feels perfectly comfortable running the gang by himself and sets up a violent gang war by ordering a successful hit on Tony’s brother-in-law. To even the score the next victim is a relative of Mike’s and the war is on. Mike decides to keep his hands clean of the violence and heads to his lush home in Florida while the minions duke it out. He claims that he’s there on “doctor’s orders” but no one is fooled. Mike wants desperately to be accepted into the rich society in Florida and he starts the process by holding a huge party in celebration of his daughter, Maria (Cummings). All of the “waiters” for the event are really bodyguards with strict orders to monitor and control who gets in or out of the party. Mike wants to make sure there aren’t any “accidents” to mar the celebration.
After his squabble with his Dad, John has skirted down to Florida with some friends, partially for recreation but also because his friend’s parents wanted to hire John to design a new hotel for them. He is out socializing with his buds at a nightclub when they are invited to the big party. John happily goes, having no idea that this is a Palmero party. John meets Maria at her party and there are instant sparks between the two. Things are going really well until Joh invites maria to leave the party with him. When she says she can’t because she lives there John finally realizes that she is a Palmero.
While the party is raging Mike receives a somber phone call. He is informed that his cousin Angelo has received a “surprise party” from Tony’s boys. One more relative bites the dust and the gang war continues to escalate.
As if the party wasn’t lively enough Mike’s son Joe (Fenton) is an angry drunk. When Mike orders his boys to throw a couple of floozies that Joe had brought to the party out on their keesters, Joe gets ticked. He starts shoving guests around, some of them right into the pool. This happens right in front of John, who retaliates by having Joe join the dunk tank. Joe is furious and starts to grab a gun when Daddy’s boys grab him and take him to Mike’s office.
Bodyguard explaining to Mike what happened, “He got to shovin’ people into the pool with their clothes on. Then some guy threw him in. He got nasty and pulled a gun!”
Mike (more concerned about his social reputation than his son), “Hey, where’d he get a gun.”
Bodyguard, “Search me…”
The fight breaks up the party and John leaves, confused about his feelings towards Maria. Maria is also unsure of her potential future with John as she reveals to her Mom, “I met a young man tonight. We got on beautifully until he found out who I was…..I’ll never forget that look on his face….it was marvelous (sarcastic)…marvelous….” Maria breaks into tears.
Overnight John has decided to go with his heart, not his head and goes to the Palmero home to call on Maria. He comes clean with her and explains in detail who he is. The two of them actually spent time together as kids when their fathers were on peaceful terms before John left to Europe with his Mother. Maria is attracted to him but warns him about how dangerous a relationship between the two of them could be, with their Dads in the middle of a bloody war. At first she tells John to never come see her again, but her stance softens and the two agree to meet away from the house and under the radar.
Mike is such a vain gangster that he employs a full-time press secretary, Nellie (Warren), just to manage his image in the press and help him become accepted in high society. Nellie is also chummy with Maria, whom confides in her the situation with Tony Ricca’s son. The idea of keeping a secret from the deadly Mike scares her.
Nellie, “No, you simply cannot get away with it! Why you’re making me a fellow conspirator. If this leaks out do you know what your father might do to me? There’s no sex discrimination in this gang war-fare nowadays!”
And she’s worried how she can keep this secret from the always inquisitive Mike, “He can ask questions faster than a machine gun can sputter!!”
The two lovebirds are oblivious to the danger as they fall deeper and deeper in love. They even joke about getting married and finding a bomb in the wedding cake, but ultimately Maria gets frustrated by their inability to get publicly serious.
Maris, “But it’s all so hopeless. Perhaps it would have been better if we’d never met!”
The gang war continues but as more innocent bystanders become victims of the aggression public sentiment turns sharply against the gangs, turning up the heat on police officials to put an end of the hostilities. Tony’s beloved son, Bennedicto, gets hit by Mike’s killers, score a big one for Mike. But then he realizes that Tony will try to retaliate by killing one of his children.
All the ink that these gang killings have generated spurs a New York reporter to head for Florida on a blind lead. He has heard that Tony Ricca has another son, one who no longer carries the Ricca name. The reporter gets friendly with Joe while trying to investigate the lead. He gives Joe enough info that Joe is able to deduce John’s true identity. He tells Mike and Mike assumes that John has been working undercover in an attempt to kill him or his family for his father. Maria and John decide to get married against Mike’s wishes. When they show up at the house married Mike has to reconsider his plans to whack John, or does he. The final reel is full of murder and intrigue and only some of the stars will survive. The action will have you guessing until the end.
This is a nice little gangster flick that focuses on the sibling’s love affair while the parents run around gun-happy behind them. Robert Young gets most of the face time and is charming as the man looking to create his own identity from under the evil shadow of his father. In one of his early roles you can easily tell that he’ll have a very successful career ahead of him. Leo Carrillo as the heavy Mike Palmero is a scene chewing tough guy. His accent ranges from barely perceptible to over the top stereotypical. Any time Carrillo is on the screen he is using his big elbows to clear the path and steer viewers attention to his mug. Boris Karloff’s scenes are comparatively sparse, but each is very intense. At the film’s opening when he walks into John’s apartment with his bodyguards he is danger on legs. At that point we don’t know what his relationship is with John but we’re thinking he’ll be the recipient of a new pair of cement shoes. Karloff can create that sense of dread with the slightest facial movement.
The dependable director, Rowland V. Lee, keeps the pace fast and focuses on the underlying danger more than the love story. He gets the most out of his cast (though some would say “too much” out of Carrillo) and maintains a nice air of tension.
6* (out of 10) A good discovery for me. A gangster piece that views the family activities from those who try not to participate.
Chris
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
-
cinemalover
- Posts: 1594
- Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
- Location: Seattle, Washington
The Forbidden Kingdom #528
Karie and I took Jeremy out to the movie of his choice for a reward. Gee, Jeremy, what kind of movie would you like to see? Martial Arts! Duh, Dad!
Date watched: 6/20/2008
Title: The Forbidden Kingdom Made: 2008
Genre: Martial Arts Studio: Casey Silver Productions
Format: On The Big Screen Extras—Snacks galore!
Number of times viewed: First
Director: Rob Minkoff
Stars:
Jackie Chan—Lu Yan/ Old Hop
Jet Li—The Monkey King/The Silent Monk
Michael Angarano—Jason Tripitikas
Yifei Liu—Golden Sparrow/ Chinatown Girl
Juana Collignon—Southie Girl
Morgan Benoit—Lupo
Bingbing Li—Ni Chang
Jack Posobiec—Southie
Zhi Ma Gui—Old Woman
Shen Shou He—Farmer
Bin Jiang—Village Man
Shaohua Yang—Village Man
Taglines:
The path is unsafe. The place is unknown. The journey is unbelievable.
The battle for eternity is the fantasy of a lifetime.
The film starts in the present day where teenage martial-arts movie junkie Jason Tripitikas (Angarano) makes his daily trip to Old Hop’s (Chan) shop to pick up the latest import DVD. When there he sees a backroom door at the shop opened and notices some amazing artifacts, including a beautiful staff, that he had never seen before. Old Hop redirects him back to his video selections. Going home Jason is confronted by a gang of punks who force him to go back to Hop’s shop after hours to get the old man to open the doors. Once he does the gang rob the place which results in them shooting Hop. The gangleader doesn’t want any witnesses so he threaten Jason with his gun. Jason takes a blow to the head and when he wakes up he’s somehow been transported back in time and place to feudal China.
Jason must absorb a lot of information (as must the audience) in a short time, but the short take is he has a mission in this time to complete before he’ll be able to go home. He must get a staff (the same one he saw in Hop’s shop) to the Monkey King (Li) who has been turned to stone by the evil Jade Warlord (Chou). This will free the Monkey King so that he can help control the Jade Warlord who is trying to control the entire land.
Jason is helped on his quest ( a Jason on a quest, who would’ve thought?) by the possibly immortal Lu Yan (Chan playing a Drunken master character, as he has done so well in the past) who must always have a flask of his elixir (wine) with him to drink. Jason is also aided by Golden Sparrow (Liu), who has a personal score to settle with the Jade Warlord, and a special weapon to do as much. Yu Lan and Golden Sparrow must escort Jason safely to the Warlord’s palace, where the statue-like Monkey King’s body is. Along the way the encounter The Silent Monk (Li), who immediately steals the staff from Jason leading to an epic battle between Lu and the Monk. This is a well-choreographed fight within a temple that allows each star to shine without holding a distinct advantage over the other.
Trying to prevent their successful completion of the mission is the deadly Ni Chang, a white haired female warrior who wants to obtain the staff for the Jade Warlord so that he will bless her with an elixir that will convert her to an immortal. She has a troop of soldiers to back her up, but she rarely needs help as she’s a wicked warrior on her own. Even her hair is a living weapon, capable of stretching like Plastic Man to do whatever she needs.
The exposition is all done on the fly as we learn plot details while fights progress the action. This is not a deep film by any means, but it is filled with non-stop, explosive action. The 113 minute run time absolutely flies by as the pace never slows. Usually the downfall of this type of film is the slow-down, change of pace, training segment so that the hero come recover from a crushing defeat early in the film. Jason does encounter the martial arts tutelage that he needs to survive in this environment, and he does progress comically quickly, but it’s still better than suffering through long boring segments of skill development that are traditional.
The dynamics of this journey are very similar to Dorothy’s quest in The Wizard of Oz. The Monk stands in for the Tin Man while the wobbly legged drunk, Lu Yan, makes a very capable Scarecrow. Golden Sparrow doesn’t have a cowardly side but she does step up above her means when Jason is in danger. The Jade Warlord makes a mean Wicked Witch and Ni Chang is as annoying as those flying monkeys. Jason doesn’t have any Ruby Slippers, but the staff is the object of desire. Sorry, no Toto to speak of, though they do ride horses.
Jet Li is particularly fun as the mischievous Monkey King (a traditional character from Chinese mythology), a role that really allows him to cut loose and have a good time. His fights with the Jade warlord are real highlights. Jackie gets to reprise his Drunken Master persona and also has a great deal of fun with it. Each of these stars more than make up for a very mediocre leading man (Angarano who is intended to be a rather bland centerpiece so as not to distract form the real stars).
If you’re just looking for a good popcorn flick that is filled with spectacular stunts and action, than this film is for you. If you’re looking for a deep emotional moment, look elsewhere.
Jeremy-meter 10* (out of 10) Jeremy loved the movie from beginning to end. In the middle of one of the fight scenes he’s saying, “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” One of his favorite non-fighting scene, not surprisingly, involved toilet humor. Jackie was preparing a chant to induce some rain out of the desert sky. As he’s looking skyward and experiencing the miracle of rain in his face, the camera pans up to reveal Jet Li’s character urinating off the top of a rock onto poor Jackie. Not the most intelligent joke you’ll ever see, but the audience got a huge chuckle out of it.
Karie-meter 9* (out of 10) Karie was very surprised at how much she loved in. In the middle of the film she turned to me to say, “This is fun!” Light-weight, but extremely entertaining.
7* (out of 10) It was pretty good. I am a big fan of Hong Kong cinema and so I’m a bit fussier about my martial-arts dramas, but I still enjoyed it. Nothing earth-shattering, but the consistent quick pace, never allowing the audience to stray, was a big plus. The special effects were unobtrusive and the ability to see these two top stars perform together is worth seeing. Jackie may be a bit past his prime, but he still has an amazing screen persona and charisma.
Date watched: 6/20/2008
Title: The Forbidden Kingdom Made: 2008
Genre: Martial Arts Studio: Casey Silver Productions
Format: On The Big Screen Extras—Snacks galore!
Number of times viewed: First
Director: Rob Minkoff
Stars:
Jackie Chan—Lu Yan/ Old Hop
Jet Li—The Monkey King/The Silent Monk
Michael Angarano—Jason Tripitikas
Yifei Liu—Golden Sparrow/ Chinatown Girl
Juana Collignon—Southie Girl
Morgan Benoit—Lupo
Bingbing Li—Ni Chang
Jack Posobiec—Southie
Zhi Ma Gui—Old Woman
Shen Shou He—Farmer
Bin Jiang—Village Man
Shaohua Yang—Village Man
Taglines:
The path is unsafe. The place is unknown. The journey is unbelievable.
The battle for eternity is the fantasy of a lifetime.
The film starts in the present day where teenage martial-arts movie junkie Jason Tripitikas (Angarano) makes his daily trip to Old Hop’s (Chan) shop to pick up the latest import DVD. When there he sees a backroom door at the shop opened and notices some amazing artifacts, including a beautiful staff, that he had never seen before. Old Hop redirects him back to his video selections. Going home Jason is confronted by a gang of punks who force him to go back to Hop’s shop after hours to get the old man to open the doors. Once he does the gang rob the place which results in them shooting Hop. The gangleader doesn’t want any witnesses so he threaten Jason with his gun. Jason takes a blow to the head and when he wakes up he’s somehow been transported back in time and place to feudal China.
Jason must absorb a lot of information (as must the audience) in a short time, but the short take is he has a mission in this time to complete before he’ll be able to go home. He must get a staff (the same one he saw in Hop’s shop) to the Monkey King (Li) who has been turned to stone by the evil Jade Warlord (Chou). This will free the Monkey King so that he can help control the Jade Warlord who is trying to control the entire land.
Jason is helped on his quest ( a Jason on a quest, who would’ve thought?) by the possibly immortal Lu Yan (Chan playing a Drunken master character, as he has done so well in the past) who must always have a flask of his elixir (wine) with him to drink. Jason is also aided by Golden Sparrow (Liu), who has a personal score to settle with the Jade Warlord, and a special weapon to do as much. Yu Lan and Golden Sparrow must escort Jason safely to the Warlord’s palace, where the statue-like Monkey King’s body is. Along the way the encounter The Silent Monk (Li), who immediately steals the staff from Jason leading to an epic battle between Lu and the Monk. This is a well-choreographed fight within a temple that allows each star to shine without holding a distinct advantage over the other.
Trying to prevent their successful completion of the mission is the deadly Ni Chang, a white haired female warrior who wants to obtain the staff for the Jade Warlord so that he will bless her with an elixir that will convert her to an immortal. She has a troop of soldiers to back her up, but she rarely needs help as she’s a wicked warrior on her own. Even her hair is a living weapon, capable of stretching like Plastic Man to do whatever she needs.
The exposition is all done on the fly as we learn plot details while fights progress the action. This is not a deep film by any means, but it is filled with non-stop, explosive action. The 113 minute run time absolutely flies by as the pace never slows. Usually the downfall of this type of film is the slow-down, change of pace, training segment so that the hero come recover from a crushing defeat early in the film. Jason does encounter the martial arts tutelage that he needs to survive in this environment, and he does progress comically quickly, but it’s still better than suffering through long boring segments of skill development that are traditional.
The dynamics of this journey are very similar to Dorothy’s quest in The Wizard of Oz. The Monk stands in for the Tin Man while the wobbly legged drunk, Lu Yan, makes a very capable Scarecrow. Golden Sparrow doesn’t have a cowardly side but she does step up above her means when Jason is in danger. The Jade Warlord makes a mean Wicked Witch and Ni Chang is as annoying as those flying monkeys. Jason doesn’t have any Ruby Slippers, but the staff is the object of desire. Sorry, no Toto to speak of, though they do ride horses.
Jet Li is particularly fun as the mischievous Monkey King (a traditional character from Chinese mythology), a role that really allows him to cut loose and have a good time. His fights with the Jade warlord are real highlights. Jackie gets to reprise his Drunken Master persona and also has a great deal of fun with it. Each of these stars more than make up for a very mediocre leading man (Angarano who is intended to be a rather bland centerpiece so as not to distract form the real stars).
If you’re just looking for a good popcorn flick that is filled with spectacular stunts and action, than this film is for you. If you’re looking for a deep emotional moment, look elsewhere.
Jeremy-meter 10* (out of 10) Jeremy loved the movie from beginning to end. In the middle of one of the fight scenes he’s saying, “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” One of his favorite non-fighting scene, not surprisingly, involved toilet humor. Jackie was preparing a chant to induce some rain out of the desert sky. As he’s looking skyward and experiencing the miracle of rain in his face, the camera pans up to reveal Jet Li’s character urinating off the top of a rock onto poor Jackie. Not the most intelligent joke you’ll ever see, but the audience got a huge chuckle out of it.
Karie-meter 9* (out of 10) Karie was very surprised at how much she loved in. In the middle of the film she turned to me to say, “This is fun!” Light-weight, but extremely entertaining.
7* (out of 10) It was pretty good. I am a big fan of Hong Kong cinema and so I’m a bit fussier about my martial-arts dramas, but I still enjoyed it. Nothing earth-shattering, but the consistent quick pace, never allowing the audience to stray, was a big plus. The special effects were unobtrusive and the ability to see these two top stars perform together is worth seeing. Jackie may be a bit past his prime, but he still has an amazing screen persona and charisma.
Last edited by cinemalover on June 24th, 2008, 2:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Chris
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
The only bad movie is no movie at all.
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cinemalover
- Posts: 1594
- Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:57 am
- Location: Seattle, Washington
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jdb1
Chris, the movie you've described above sounds an awful lot like the Chinese epic tale Journey to the West (not exactly, but an awful lot).
I've seen in news stories that the principal characters of that tale will be the mascots of the Beijing Olympics. Now you can amaze and confound your friends with your expert sinological erudition when you all see those cute little critters running around in front of the camera during Olympic coverage.
I've seen in news stories that the principal characters of that tale will be the mascots of the Beijing Olympics. Now you can amaze and confound your friends with your expert sinological erudition when you all see those cute little critters running around in front of the camera during Olympic coverage.