Footlight Parade - 1933 - USA

Footlight Parade - 1933 - 7/10  

 
Director of Broadway musicals, which aren’t doing so well, changes gears and puts on Broadway preludes.
Yes, another variation of,  “Kids, let’s put on a show!”
Except this one is spectacular.
James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler headline the cast.
Cagney’s performance is on-fire ferocious, while Blondell is sexy and wisecracking as ever.
One watches, however, for the outrageous Busby Berkeley dance numbers.
“The Honeymoon Hotel” is beyond risqué, while “Shanghai Lil” is set in a bordello and opium den.
Fantastic musical and brilliant gem from the Pre-Code era.

The Great Escaper - 2023 - UK

The Escaper - 2023 - 7/10  

 
He’s 90, he’s forgetful, plus he worries about his wife, who seems to have less remaining time.
Anyway, that explains why he forget to reserve a place on the Normandy ferry to commemorate D-Day.
Instead, as always, he wings it, leaves the nursing home early, buys a ticket, and recalls memories.
Memories of his wife of 70 years, back when they were dating.
Memories of the soldier whose fears he tried to ease during the choppy beach landing.
A quiet film.  Remembering others, paying tribute, holding onto love in the twilight of time.

 

Best Of Enemies - 2023 - UK

Best Of Enemies - 2023 - 8/10

 
USA national party conventions of 1968.
Bottom ranking network ABC pulls a stunt, allowing two outsiders to engage in post-days’ debates.
William F Buckley and Gore Vidal.
Two intellectuals, both erudite, using words like rapiers, eviscerating both parties and each other.
Very heady adaptation of the 2015 documentary.
Attempts are made to include historical context and outside figures amidst the trenchant dialogue.
That said, US Boomers may be the last to have real time memories of these events.
For theatre junkies, this is riveting drama, wickedly funny, to boot.
Political obsessives, yeah, you will enjoy too.
For others, appreciate the intelligence expected of viewers in 1968.
English subtitles = https://subscene.com/subtitles/national-theatre-live-best-of-enemies/english/3210584

Land Girls - 1998 - UK

Land Girls - 1998 - 6/10

 
During WWII, three young women are dispatched to work farms while the men are off fighting.
A flirt, a reserved studious sort, a romantic dreamer.
Friendships, emotional entanglements, and work.
Stories are not hackneyed, but somewhat predictable.
Scenery is lush and will be eagerly devoured by armchair pastorale travelers.
Easy rolling film with a lovely feel for time and place.
I saw this when it first came out, and it still offers a nostalgic charm.

Count Dracula - 1977 - UK

Count Dracula - 1977 - 7/10

 
Criminally overlooked version of the Carpathian count.
Louis Jourdan readily has the elegance and panache of the aristocrat.
The story is faithful, right down to the moonlight snack Vlad offers to his brides.
Darkish throughout, and much of the colors seem drained.
Frank Finlay makes a worthy adversary in Van Helsing, yet Jourdan dominates every scene.
Why has this never had a restoration?  This is one of the most faithful versions of the count.

Dracula In Istanbul - 1953 - Turkey

Dracula In Istanbul - 1953 - 5/10  
AKA - Drakula İstanbul'da

 
Young lawyer travels to Romania to help reclusive count buy kiosks in Istanbul.
Gloomy castle, one wife, aroused and thirsty, rooms forbidden entry into.
For thirty minutes, the plot is fairly faithful, until the scene shifts to Istanbul.
The lawyer’s wife, Güzin, is a cabaret dancer, while her sister, Sadan, is a sleepwalker.
Dancing, dancing, more dancing, coupled with declining health, and red-eyed bats.
Final act brings back Count Drakula, as well as his enemies, led by Dr. Nuri.
Curiosity got the better of me – again.

Savage Three - 1975 - Italy

Savage Three - 1975 - 7/10
AKA - Fango Bollente

 
The three work for a huge computer / data-information company.
Work is monotonous and dehumanizing.
They are cogs in an electronic grid.
Releasing steam, and to feel alive, they engage in escalating criminal behavior.
Provoking riots, car theft, causing traffic accidents, beatings, murders, rapes, brutality.
The theme is 40-50 years ahead of its time.
Excellent German commentary equating this prescient film with ongoing human madness.
Dallesandro leads a forceful cast in what turned out to be a fantastic surprise for me (I was expecting a routine Poliziottesco or Euro-Crime).

Eyes In The Night - 1942 - USA

Eyes In The Night - 1942 - 6/10  

 
An old flame reenters Norma’s life, and this time he is seducing her 17 year old step daughter.
For advice, Norma seeks out her blind friend, private eye Duncan Maclaine.
Who soon deduces nefarious activities swirl about Norma’s quiet home.
While blind, Mac’s remaining senses are as razor keen as a Hollywood scribe’s imagination.
As with so many disabled crime fighters, he has a formidable sidekick in his dog, Friday.
MGM programmer could have been a franchise, but faltered after a second installment.