Cornel Wilde and Dan Duryea in "Storm Fear", and "The Unholy Four" starring William Sylvester

Last night's movie was "Storm Fear"(1955), a hostage drama/noir directed by and starring Cornel Wilde as a desperate bank robber. However, this ain't no standard crime film. It takes place at a remote mountain home during a snowstorm, which serves as a backdrop for a convergence of lives and the revealing - almost - of a long held family secret. You want a feel good film? This ain't it - in spades. What begins as a standard home invasion motif turns, by the end, into one of the grimmest, darkest stories we've seen in our years of reviewing. Why do I say this? Because a child is put at the center of the trauma. This is one bleak flick, but if you can stand it, it's very well done. I think Wilde and company set out to make an Acting Movie, because everyone emotes. Standing out above them all is young David Stollery, fourteen at the time, who plays "David", the son of "Fred Blake" (Dan Freaking Duryea), a writer who's sick with what appears to be tuberculosis.

As the movie opens, the Blakes, along with wife and Mom "Elizabeth" (Jean Wallace), are in the kitchen of their house in the New England mountains. Son David has just brought in a fresh pail of milk. In the kitchen with the Blakes is "Hank" (a young Dennis Weaver), their farm hand. He's talking to David about going hunting, but father Fred knows the real reason he's hanging around; he's attracted to Fred's much younger wife. Hank's body language says as much and he can't keep his eyes off her. Hank has bought a radio for the family as a Christmas present. He now asks Elizabeth how she likes it. "Oh, it's nice, Hank. Thank you very much". "Did you notice", Fred says when Hank leaves, "that he didn't ask me how I like the radio"?

Okay, so Hank the handyman has the hots for Fred's wife. That's one thing. But now, the next day when young David is out milking the cow, a car drives up. In it are two men and a woman. The driver is belligerent : "Hey kid! Is that barn big enough to hold this car"? When David stammers, the man doesn't wait. He just pulls in and the three walk right into the house. Elizabeth is in the kitchen. You'd think she'd scream. "Who are you?! What do you want"?! But she doesn't. A look of surprise does cross her face, but when she sees Cornel Wilde, she says "Hi Charlie......what brings you here"? Wilde is "Charlie Blake", Fred's younger ne'er-do-well brother. Charlie leads a life of crime, and - he's been shot. "I can't talk about that now, Elizabeth", he tells her. "I need your help getting this bullet out of my leg". Now, prior to this, even when Hank the handyman was not-so-subtly eyeing her in the kitchen, Elizabeth presented herself as very prim and proper. Pious, even. Her son calls her "ma'am". She commands respect and runs the household, while poor, sickly Fred sits in his bedroom trying to write.

But now that his brother Charlie has arrived, we see a whole other side of the woman. She doesn't ask how he got shot, instead she simply takes a knife and a bottle of rubbing alcohol and excises the bullet, as if she's done this kind of thing before. Charlie thanks her. They seem to have a bond. What could it be, we wonder? Well, before too long, it's obvious she and Charlie once had a "thing". But he's a stone cold criminal. Eventually we find out she was "rescued" from him by his straight-laced brother Fred, who she married. But Fred's old and ill. She doesn't love Fred but he's given her a life of stability.

Now, Fred is surprised to see Charlie as well, but unlike Elizabeth he's not welcoming. "Whatever it is you did, you can stay here tonight. But I want you gone in the morning. And keep away from David, do you hear me"? Charlie promises to leave with his gang at sunup, but what's this about David? Oh well, he's a kid. Of course Fred doesn't want Charlie around him. 

Charlie's sincere in his desire to leave. He doesn't want to cause Fred any problems. Unfortunately, however, there's been a storm during the night. You knew one was coming from the title of the movie. Now the gang is snowed in. They can't leave even if they want to, except.........wait and I'll tell you about that in a minute. While they're trying to figure out what to do, everyone goes stir crazy. "Edna Rogers" (the great Lee Grant), the "moll" of the gang, starts scouring the house for a drink. "Hey kid", she asks David, "don't your folks have a bottle of something - anything! - around here somewhere"? If she's a real hoot, the third member of Charlie's gang in not. He's "Benjie", a psychopathic trigger-happy thug. Would you believe he's played by Steven Hill, the aging D.A from "Law & Order"? Yep. Hill (like us all) was young once, and man he's one hell of an actor. He's downright chilling as Benjie, who's gonna cause a lot of havoc before the movie is over. Right now it's all Charlie can do to keep Benjie from beating up his brother Fred, or shooting David. Doggone bad weather. It it wasn't for the snowstorm the gang would be gone by now.

But wait. I was gonna tell you about a possible solution. You see, young David notices that his Mom is sympathetic to "Uncle Charlie", and he takes a liking to him too. Charlie, if he weren't a bank robber - we now know this because the news has been broadcast on the radio - might be a decent guy. He's kind to David and protects him from the crazy Benjie, and David likes Charlie in return, looks up to him even. But "Uncle Charlie" still has that criminal instinct, and when David tells him he knows the way over the mountains to the highway, instead of saying "no, I won't let you do that", he allows (actually asks) David - a child of twelve - to lead him and the gang over the steep, snowy slope. It's freezing outside, none of the gang are climbers, Charlie's got a bullet wound in his leg, and Benjie's a freakin' nut case. And they want a kid to take them over the mountain? Yeah, so maybe "Uncle Charlie" ain't so benevolent after all. Fred tries to stop them, to no avail. He hasn't got the strength to fight. Wife Elizabeth tries as well. Any feeling she had for Charlie is gone now. "You're just a bum and you always were"!, she shouts at him. He and Benjie tie her to a chair and, with Edna following along, they head out into the snow with David in the lead. Who would make a twelve year old kid do this? I told you the going would be grim, but it's gonna get a lot worse. 

I don't think I'll reveal any more of the plot, except to say that Fred leaves the house with a gun to try and stop them. He may be tubercular (or perhaps he's a recovering alcoholic, or maybe both), but as David's father he's gonna put up a fight. There's also Hank the handyman. Remember him? He goes hunting on that mountain. What if he's out there now and he sees them? Worst of all, what if crazy Benji gets the better of limping Charlie? And what about Edna? How's she gonna make it without a drink?

I mentioned the acting. If you're a Dan Duryea fan (which you should be) and you're used to seeing him play fast-talking hoods or slick ladies' men, watching him at death's door as the poor, emasculated Fred is a revelation. He shows himself to be one of the greats here. Cornel Wilde had range as well. He gives a complex performance as "Charlie". You empathize with his respect for his brother Fred and Elizabeth, and his early commitment to David, then you are repelled when he uses the boy to set him free, endangering David's life in the process. Jean Wallace gives strong support as his mother Elizabeth and Steven Hill is scary as mentioned, but in the end - and man, it's a harsh ending - it's David Stollery who steals the picture. He was a Disney child star who went on to become an automobile designer (according to Wiki he designed the 1978 Toyota Celica). If his performance here is any indication, he could have had a long career as an actor. You're gonna need another box of hankies for this one, mainly at the end, though as noted it's one our darkest crime stories overall. Still, it gets Two Big Thumbs Up from yours truly. It's highly recommended if you can handle it and the picture is razor sharp.  ///// 

The previous night we watched "The Unholy Four"(1954), a mystery with a touch of Noir from director Terence Fisher, best known for the Hammer classics "Horror of Dracula", "The Curse of Frankenstein" and "The Devil Rides Out" among others. Starring William Sylvester (of "2001" fame) as "Phillip Vickers", a man with amnesia, the story plays out like a chess game, with expository dialogue in place of action. The legendary Paulette Goddard co-stars as Sylvester's wife "Angie". As the movie opens, he's returning home to their estate. He's been gone for four years but at least his dog recognizes him. He sees a friend's car in the garage. Has the guy taken up with his wife? We hear these thoughts play out in his head. He drives down to a cottage by the boathouse. Apparently he's wealthy though it's never explained. Three of his friends are there but not his wife. "Where is she"?, he asks. "And aren't you surprised to see me"?

They all thought he was dead. He's got a scar on his forehead (wait a minute! didn't we just see this when Greta Gynt brained her husband with a coffee cup?). We learn that four years ago he was on a fishing trip with the three friends in South America. One of them conked him on the head. All three had the hots for Angie, his wife. But which one tried to kill him? He's going to find out, if the culprit doesn't frame him for another murder first.

You may have a hard time keeping up with what's going on as it's explained by William Sylvester, but you'll be captivated by his somnambulistic performance. He walks around in this movie, hypnotising viewers with his faux English accent, and wait a minute here - who's English and who isn't? Where does this flick take place anyway? It's gotta be England because the social secretary's English and so are the cops. And how many folks have a social secretary? She has a lifetime beef against William Sylvester who she blames for the death of her father (it's a corporate thing). Could it have been she who hit him in the head? Well no. She wasn't part of that long ago fishing trip. It's a good bet, however, that she's framing him for the murder of another of Paulette Goddard's suitors. The police inspector'll figure it out so don't worry. Just go with what Sylvester tells you. He'll walk you through the story. His friends will try to confuse you and Paulette Goddard will protect herself.

The fans at IMDB didn't like "The Unholy Four" but I did. In fact, I like even more when I think about it and consider William Sylvester's performance. It takes a lot of concentration to maintain that level of languor and yet he does it. And he's still intense enough to remain pissed off, even though he's about to fall asleep. This is a movie where you don't have to worry if you like (or can follow) the plot. It's all about the atmosphere, and the atmosphere is hypnagogic. Two Big Thumbs Up for "The Unholy Four", the picture is razor sharp. //// 

That's all I've got for tonight. I finished reading "Landslide" by David Wolff which I recommend if you can stand more Trump, and I've now begun "Coup in Dallas", yet another book on JFK, but this one is written by the late, great H.P. Albarelli, who brought you "A Terrible Mistake", about the death of Frank Olsen, a CIA chemist. That book was a landmark of research and revelation. I expect "Coup" to be nothing less. I wish you a pleasant evening and I send you Tons of Love as always.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)   

Greta Gynt and Marius Goring in "Take My Life", and "Mr. Emmanuel", a masterpiece starring Felix Aylmer and Greta Gynt (again!)

Last night's movie was "Take My Life"(1947), a British Crime Thriller starring Greta Gynt and Marius Goring, two of our current favorites. Gynt plays "Philippa Shelly", an opera singer married to "Nicholas Talbot" (Hugh Williams, who co-stars). Talbot is also her business manager. After a performance, he's just left her dressing room when a violinist approaches him in the hallway. She's "Elizabeth Rusman" (Rosalie Crutchley), an ex-girlfriend of Talbot's. He's surprised to see her, she's even more surprised to see that he's married to the beautiful diva Miss Shelly. "You've done quite well for yourself", she tells him. She seems nervous and asks if he'll visit her at her flat. "I really need to see you", she adds. He doesn't want to do this but takes down her address to be polite. Just then, his wife emerges from her dressing room and sees them talking. Talbot introduces her to Elizabeth. Then he and Philippa go home and have an argument. "I suppose that was just a chance meeting", she starts. "But it was"!, says Talbot, and he's telling the truth. But Philippa's the flighty soprano type. We've already seen how much emotional support she needs before taking the stage.

In short, she doesn't believe that her husband's tete-a-tete with Elizabeth Rusman was a coincidence. The argument escalates and Philippa winds up throwing a coffee cup which hits him in the forehead, opening a bloody gash. Talbot leaves and goes to a pharmacy for some bandages. The pharmacist tells him "you'd better get that looked at", so he heads to a nearby clinic.

Now, what he doesn't know but we do, is that sometime during all of this - the argument with his wife, his trip to the clinic - Elizabeth Rusman has been murdered. We've seen who did it, but Talbot is oblivious that it even happened. The problem for him is that an eyewitness saw the perpetrator leaving Elizabeth's apartment, and his description matches that of Nicholas Talbot. The key indicator is that both men have a gash on their forehead! Holy jumping jiminy what is he gonna do?

The police catch up with him leaving the clinic. He's tried, convicted and facing a death sentence. (hey wait a minute, didn't this just happen to Herb Logan in "For Them That Trespass"?). Lucky for Talbot, Philippa still loves him. She's sorry for doubting his word about Miss Rusman and sorry for braining him with the coffee cup. She takes it upon herself to prove his innocence. In her investigation of the case, she decides to find out more about Elizabeth Rusman, who Nicholas tells her he hardly knew. "Our relationship only lasted three months". She asks the police detective what he knows about the case and - perhaps because she's a beautiful and famous opera star - he allows her to examine Rusman's suitcase. There's a piece of music inside that looks handwritten. Believing it might be one of the dead woman's own compositions, she sets out to find who - if anyone - may have commissioned it. After all, few violinists write their own works, especially itinerant ones who move from town to town.

This may sound more convoluted than it plays on screen. The key is the piece of music. Philippa is a musician herself, a pianist as well as a singer. She takes the music home and plays it. Her son recognises the melody. He directs her to a friend of his who might know the name of the piece. But how can it be well-known if it was written by Elizabeth Rusman, a union scale violinist? As it turns out, the boy knows it because it's his former school song. Not a famous piece, then, just one he's familiar with. Still, did Rusman write it? And if so, who from the school commissioned it? Whoever it is has got to be the killer! 

Cue Marius Goring, who doesn't enter the picture until the 50 minute mark. Don't ask how Philippa is able to extrapolate from the music to the murderer without much else to link them. As noted, it plays a lot more smoothly than it sounds. Goring, who was the snivelling "Mr. Perrin" in our last blog's masterpiece and was dominated by a tyrannical headmaster, is this time the headmaster himself (and a grim one at that), at a private school in Scotland (pronounced Skaertlnd). I can't reveal what happens when Philippa travels to the school to meet him, but she needs to link Elizabeth Rusman to the music and therefore to whoever paid her to write it. Got all that? :) 

Though the plot is a little thin on forensics, and thus requires suspension of disbelief, this is not a hard-boiled crime film but one with a romantic "us against the world" bent. It's all about Philippa's intuition of the haunting melody and where it leads her. She feels guilty for her husband's plight and will do anything to exonerate him, even placing herself in danger. It works because of the talent involved. We love Greta Gynt by now (you will too), and Marius Goring, as always, speaks for himself. You need to see everything he's in. Handsome Hugh Williams is solid as "Nicholas Talbot", a victim of circumstance and misfortune, and Rosalie Crutchley's intense as "Elizabeth Rusman", the desperate violinist. I give "Take My Life" Two Big Thumbs Up. The picture's a tad soft again but not enough to detract. It's the perfect murder mystery for a late Saturday night, which means watch it now. It's very highly recommended!  /////

The previous night we saw a very special film called "Mr. Emmanuel"(1944), starring the great British character actor Felix Aylmer in the title role as an elderly Jewish welfare agent from the fictional town of Doomington. The year is 1938. Mr. Emmanuel has just retired after a 40 year career. His neighbors come out to congratulate him as he walks home that night. He shows them the "gold watch" he got as a send off. Mr. Emmanuel, who is very well liked, rents a room from a family named the Coopers. A friend comes to visit. They talk about his impending emigration to Palestine at the behest of his son, who wants his old father to live with him. "What? I should live on a farm"?, Mr. Emmanuel laments, "and sit in the sun all day long"? What he fears is having nothing to do, so he is relieved when the Coopers take in three German refugee boys. Now he can be a surrogate grandfather. He postpones his move to buy them gifts and throw them parties. Persecutions have begun in Germany. We don't know the history of all the boys, but one had a Jewish father who is now dead. The boy hasn't heard from his mother (an Aryan) in several weeks. Fearing she might be in jail for marrying a Jew, or even dead herself, he tries to drown himself. Mr. Emmanuel is shaken and makes the boy promise never to try that again. "And in return", he says, "I promise you I'll go to Germany and find out what's happened to your mother".

The Coopers and his friends try and talk Mr. Emmanuel out of it. "It's dangerous there and you're an old man and a Jew. What if you should be detained"? He shrugs off the possibility. "Detain me? I should be so worried. Come now, I am an Englishman with a passport, endorsed by His Majesty's government. They wouldn't dare detain me, it would cause a political scandal. Besides, I am only going to locate the boy's mother, not to raise a ruckus". Mr. Emmanuel's "what, me worry"? demeanor serves, along with his courage, to take him all the way to the police station in Berlin, where he nonchalantly asks for any information on the missing woman. He doesn't realise he's stuck his head in the lion's den, and before he knows it he's arrested by the Gestapo on suspicion of being a spy. That's bad enough, but when a Nazi official is assassinated at a local function, Mr. Emmanuel is additionally charged with being the brains behind the conspiracy. He's taken to see a judge and beaten in an effort to make him sign a "confession". "I cannot sign a paper made of lies", he says. He tells the judge again that he only came to Germany to find the mother of a refugee boy. "Also, I'm an Englishman, and you cannot hold me by right of my government".

"To us you're just a Jew", replies the judge. It looks like Mr.Emmanuel is doomed.

Then his picture is plastered all over the newspapers. "Jewish Spy Held In Murder Of High Official"! A woman happens to see it, a singer named Elsie Silver (Greta Gynt again, do you love her yet?). Elsie is herself half-Jewish, but can easily pass for Aryan. She's the girlfriend of an SS Officer named "Willi Brockenburg" (Walter Rilla). Stunning and seductive, she knows how to keep him in line. She recognises poor Mr. Emmanuel in the photograph as her neighbor when she was a child in England. "He's no murderer, he wouldn't hurt a fly". "Well what of it"?, Willi asks her. "I don't think it's right he should be jailed and probably executed", she asserts. "Okay, so he didn't do it. I'll grant you that, Elsie. But we can't worry about every Jew who comes along. It's enough that I'm covering for you, is it not"? "Yes, Willi, but look what you're getting in return".

As I said, she knows just how to play him. Now she asks Willi for a favor. "You can pull strings at Gestapo headquarters. I want you to set him free". "But Elsie, be reasonable. It's just one old man, and it could mean my head"! "Yes, but it's a man I care about. You do this for me, Willi, and I won't ask for anything else".

He really really doesn't want to lose Elsie, so he agrees to try to get Mr. Emmanuel off the hook. That's all I can tell you, except........even if it works, and he can get Mr. Emmanuel released, will the old man go back to England (the smart move) or will he keep up his stubborn quest to find the young boy's mother? You'll be thinking, "I hope they let him out of jail" and if they do....."c'mon Mr. Emmanuel, you need to leave Germany while you still can! Get out of there - go, go, go"!

Simply put, this movie is a masterpiece that gets our highest rating, Two Gigantic Thumbs Up. If you thought "Schindler's List" was a powerful Holocaust-themed film, "Mr. Emmanuel" will quietly blow you away. Felix Aylmer's performance is a blueprint of humble dignity in the face of what seems like impossible inhuman cruelty and an unwavering determination to hate. He withstands every obstacle in his way with a Yiddish shrug of his shoulders. It may seem cliche but the effect is overwhelming. You're gonna need a box of Kleenex with this one, and you may not be cheering at the end, but you'll be very very glad you watched "Mr. Emmanuel" and you'll never forget him as a character. This time the picture is indeed razor sharp (finally!) and you get Greta Gynt once again. It can't possibly be more highly recommended. /////

That's all for this evening. We've been on a great run so let's keep it going. And, can the Rams beat the Pack tomorrow afternoon? Man oh man, I'm scared to find out. We can't lose three in a row, can we? Yikes. I'll be peeking through my fingers at that game.

Have a great Sunday. I send you Tons of Love as always.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)     

Two Tremendous Films : "For Them That Trespass" starring Richard Todd, and "Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill", with Marius Goring and David Farrar

Last night's movie was "For Them That Trespass"(1949), the saga of a man wrongly imprisoned for murder. The great British actor Richard Todd stars as "Herb Logan" a small time thief who hangs around the bars of London. His life becomes intertwined with two other men through a girl all three are seeing. The story begins with budding writer "Christopher Drew" (Stephen Murray) getting a poem published in the newspaper. He then writes a play which is rejected as being "flat". "You need life experience to put heart in your work", an editor tells him, so he trawls the London pubs, hoping to absorb the Cockney culture. On his first night there, he meets "Frankie Ketchen" (Rosalyn Boulter), a free spirited lass who likes her beer and men. The main man in her life is "Jim Heal", a brute who shovels coal on a train. Heal knows she's got other guys on the side but he's always gone, riding the rails, and there's nothing much he can do about it. Herb Logan likes Frankie too, though his "jobs" mean he's often on the train as well, riding up to Glasgow for robberies. This leaves Drew, the educated young writer, to take Frankie out at night, away from the bars, and lift her out of the gutter.

One night at her apartment, he shows her his poem, which he's clipped from the paper to give her. "Oh, you write such fancy words", Frankie says, blushing but impressed. 'Ere, let me put it in a place where it'll always be safe. Later, when I'm old, I can take it out and read it, and tell people I knew you before you was famous". Drew loves her and wants more. "But Frankie, you'll always know me. You see, I want to marry you". She blushes. "Oh, Kit.......marry me? But I'm just a girl from the".....just then a noise is heard. "Oh no", Frankie stammers. "It's Jim, home from a run! You'd better get out of here, Kit. He'll kill you if he finds you here". Drew climbs out a window and runs, but Heal sees him turning the corner. "So! Goin' behind me back again"?, he yells at Frankie. He becomes enraged and strangles her. 

Now, you'll notice I referred to Christopher Drew as "Kit". That's the name he gave to Frankie Kitchen, the pseudonym "Kit Marlowe", a real life playwright from Shakespeare's time whose full first name was Christopher. Drew uses the false name due to lack of confidence in his talent, and figures people from the lower classes will not have heard of Marlowe. Frankie therefore knew him by that name, a fact that will become important later. Meanwhile, Jim Heal didn't know about Christopher Drew, but he was aware that Herb Logan was seeing Frankie. When questioned by the police about her murder, he identifies Logan as the man he saw that night. "He musta done it! I just come back from my job on the train and I seen him running away".  A manhunt then begins for Herb Logan. The plot gets complex from here.

Logan high tails it to another part of the city. "London's big, they'll never find me", he tells a friend. "But if you didn't do it, why not turn yerself in"? "Ahh, because them coppers got a certain mentality. I'm a thief with a record. They'll believe I done it no matter what I tell 'em". Logan rents a room from a sweet girl named "Rosie" (Patricia Plunkett). When the headlines spread the news, she finds out he's wanted but decides to help him. "I swear I didn't do it, Rosie". "I believe you", she says. But Rosie's friends find out Herb is staying with her and pressure her to turn him in. Herb is then caught in a stakeout. He's tried and convicted when the real killer, Jim Heal, gives false testimony, and he's ultimately sentenced to hang. Poor happy-go-lucky Herb, a victim of evil circumstances.

Time passes. In prison, Herb tells anyone who'll listen "I didn't do it". Some of the guards believe him. The warden doesn't disbelieve. Finally, the word gets around. A petition is started by a citizen's group to ask the governor to commute Herb's sentence. The plea is successful but he doesn't get a new trial that was hoped for. He still must serve fifteen more years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Those fifteen years pass slowly. He's now in middle age. When he's released, the warden wishes him well. "Be good Herb and don't come back". "Thank you sir, I won't. In fact I'm going to prove my innocence". 

Herb goes back to live with Rosie, who he's forgiven for turning him in. Meanwhile, what's happened after all that time to Christopher Drew, aka "Kit Marlowe", the writer who was seeing Frankie Ketchen? Remember, he fled just before she was murdered. Well, as the audience knows, he was at Herb Logan's trial. He sat in the gallery and said nothing as Jim Heal lied to the jury, knowing that Heal was the guilty one. He said nothing when Herb was facing execution. Drew is a coward; he's admitted as much in his diary. In the intervening years he's become famous, a successful wealthy playwright. To come forward now would destroy his career ("you let an innocent man rot in prison all that time"). Drew is content to maintain the status quo. He knows Herb's been released but figures it's all said and done. "And at least they didn't hang him after all", he rationalizes of the end result.

What Drew doesn't know is that Herb has new information and is determined to clear his name. That's all I can tell you about this epic, epic plot, but again we've been very fortunate of late to find some exceptional motion pictures, and I urge you to see "For Them That Trespass" which I give Two Huge Thumbs Up. The story has it all: crime, romance, suspense, tragedy, injustice. Richard Todd's performance is it's heart. There's a lot of Cockney Britspeak to work through, especially early on during the bar scenes, and the picture is not razor sharp (in fact it's quite soft), but let none of that stop you! This is an incredible film. The script was written by J. Lee Thompson of all people, who I always thought was an American but it turns out he was English. Thompson became famous for making macho Hollywood action movies in the 1970s, working with actors like Charles Bronson, so it's interesting that he wrote so sensitive a film as "Trespass", way back in 1949. It's very highly recommended, so see it and enjoy. ////

The previous night's picture was "Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill"(1948), one of those boy's school movies along the lines of "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" and "Dead Poet's Society". The focus here isn't on the students, however, but on the teachers and their imperious, intractable headmaster. Marius Goring, an actor we didn't know about until a year ago, shows himself to be an all-time great in his role as the priggish "Mr. Perrin", a math teacher at Banfield's College (it should be noted that the Brits have different names for their schools, as this college is what we'd call a junior high school). Mr. Perrin is fussy in the classroom, doling out after-hours assignments for boys who don't learn their equations. "You'll be staying until 4pm. Write the solution ten times and hand it in".

One day he's introduced to a new man who'll be sharing the department with him, another mathematics teacher by the name of "Mr. Traill" (David Farrar). If Mr. Perrin is by-the-books and old school in the time honored Veddy Brrrittish tradition, then Mr. Traill is down-to-earth and easygoing by comparison, though he's not above holding a boy's nose to a piece of Indian rubber on a stove as punishment for him placing it there as a prank. But he's generally well liked and is also the coach of the school's rugby team, whereas Mr. Perrin is mocked behind his back as "Pompo", i.e. Mr. Pompous by his students.

In between the two teachers is the school nurse, "Miss Isabel Lester" (Greta Gynt again). She's pretty and personable. Mr. Perrin pines for her though he's old, and even gets up the nerve to ask her on a walk, while the handsome Mr. Traill attracts her just by being present. Mr. Perrin is frustrated by Mr. Traill at every turn, though Traill means no harm. It's just that Traill is the newcomer and everyone likes him. Perrin tries lording it over Traill by using his 20 year seniority as a weapon. He hogs the staff bathroom, keeps Traill's star rugby player after school, causing him to miss practice. The two go back and forth with Perrin doing most of the sniping. Mr. Traill finds sympathy in the teachers' common room, where he discovers that most of the other men don't like Perrin either.

Then one day, he goes to the headmaster's office to ask a favor, and witnesses Mr. Perrin being denounced and threatened with his job. All Mr. Perrin did was give a boy a day's leave, to visit his soldier father. Seeing this unfair abuse by the headmaster, Mr. Traill feels sympathy for Mr. Perrin. Now he realises why the man is such a pain in the rear end. He commiserates with Mr. Perrin, but all this does is make Perrin resent him more. "Don't give me your disingenuous pity", he cries, storming off to nurse his growing hatred of Mr. Traill.

Traill sees the domineering headmaster as their common enemy, but for Perrin, his nemesis is Mr. Traill, who's not only stolen his favored students for the rugby team but is making inroads with Nurse Lester, the woman of his fanciful dreams. Poor Mr. Perrin. He'd be likeable if he wasn't such an ass. Later, after much professional skirmishing between the men, Mr. Perrin will learn, much to his dismay, that Mr. Traill has become engaged to Miss Lester. His dream of being with her is over, even though it never existed in the first place. This, coupled with the dressing down he's received from the headmaster, is enough to send Mr. Perrin over the edge. He begins to hallucinate, seeing the face of Mr. Traill everywhere. Traill is the cause of all of his problems, he's certain. Finally he sets out to do him in.

That's all I can tell you, though the story isn't over yet. In fact, it will have a heroic resolve, though you'll have to find that out for yourself. Just be glad you aren't a teacher at a British Public School in the 1930s, when the film is set. The script is based on a novel, from the real life experiences of Hugh Walpole who taught at Epsom College. I assume he is represented by the character of Mr. Traill, who wants to change the high-handed culture in the Public School system, where the boys are told to use their last names to make men of them and the teachers are at the mercurial whims of a tyrant headmaster, who can end a twenty year career over any perceived breech of his authority, no matter how insignificant. As mentioned, Marius Goring's performance as Mr. Perrin is the stuff Oscars should be made of. We're used to seeing him play nasty little Nazis or grim-faced morticians. Here, as the fussy, officious Perrin, he's doing a complete 180 and demonstrating an impressive range. Looking at his IMDB, I see he was in several Powell & Pressburger movies including "The Red Shoes", which means we saw him back in 2014 at the CSUN Cinematheque, when Professor Tim was doing the P&P retrospective. We also saw David Farrar (Mr. Traill) back then, in P&P's "The Small Back Room" as an alcoholic bomb squad expert. Farrar stands out here too, though he's playing second fiddle, theatrically speaking, to Goring.

All told, we've got yet another tremendous film. "Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill" gets - yes indeed - Two Huge Thumbs Up. I'm not just doling these out willy-nilly. Our recent movies simply are that good. This makes the second (or is it the third?) blog in a row where both movies got Two Huge Thumbs. The picture on "Mr. Perrin" is better than on "For Them That Trespass" but it's still less than razor sharp. Once again that's a minor complaint compared to the greatness of the movie. Absolutely do not miss either of the films in this blog, they're both of the highest caliber. ////

That's all I know for tonight. I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving and I send you Tons of Love as always!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)        

Andre Morell in "The Camp on Blood Island", and "The Thief" starring Ray Milland (plus Thanksgiving)

Last night we saw another brutal, uncompromising war film from Hammer Studios, once again directed by Val Guest. Luridly titled "The Camp on Blood Island"(1958), it's an unrelentingly grim scenario of life in a Japanese prisoner of war camp on an island off Malaya. Andre Morell stars as "Colonel Lambert", leader of the British prisoners. As the movie opens, one of the men - skinny and weak - is being forced to dig his own grave by a shouting, insistent Japanese adjutant named "Captain Sakamura" (Marne Maitland). His high pitched voice and rapid delivery cut both the audience and the prisoners to the core. He's the dictionary definition of a sadist, but he's not the worst officer in the camp. That dishonor would be reserved for his superior "Colonel Yamamitsu" (Ronald Radd), the camp commandant and a war criminal who's aware he will be hunted down if Japan is forced to surrender. If that happens, he's informed Col. Lambert that he will raze the camp and execute every man, woman and child therein (both a men's and a women's enclosure exists on the premises).

Soon after the movie opens, Col. Yamamitsu discovers that someone has broken into the communications hut. The radio has been disabled. In retaliation, he selects six prisoners at random for savage punishment. During their interrogations, Col. Lambert asks another man to attempt an escape. On a nearby island is a small Malay village where the natives have a radio. "I need you to swim there and broadcast a message".

Colonel Lambert has been keeping a secret from his men, and especially from Colonel Yamamitsu. Two atomic bombs have been dropped on Japan and the war in the Pacific is over. This is why he ordered the dismantling of the Japanese radio. If Yamamitsu finds out Japan has lost, he's going to execute all the prisoners. It's also why Lambert's been keeping the secret from his men, so that none of them can reveal it under torture. Lambert himself found out the news via a secret transmitter kept in a hole in the ground. The message he wants the escapee to transmit is a call for allied air support.

Meanwhile, spare parts have arrived for Yamamitsu's radio. Lambert cannot allow it to be repaired, so he sends the same man back to disable it once again. This is some very risky business as the comm hut is now guarded around the clock. Some of Lambert's men are now openly questioning his motives. One, an older officer who argues he's Lambert's superior, orders him to cooperate with Yamamitsu. "If we keep antagonizing him he'll eventually kill us all. You say you know what you're doing, but I've got a wife and child in the other camp. I demand you let me talk to the Colonel". "I can't allow that, and you are not in charge here. I am, by virtue of being named by Yamamitsu himself. You're just going to have to trust me".

The entire plot boils down to preventing Col. Yamamitsu from finding out the news before allied help can arrive. At one point a Navy flier crash lands on the island. He too is tortured, but Lambert manages to reach him first so he can tell him not to reveal the news. A revolt is eventually planned in case no help is forthcoming. Col. Lambert digs up an old cache of grenades. "These have been buried for three years and are pretty well corroded", he says, handing them out to the men. "Throw them quickly once you pull the pin". He also instructs them to make weapons "out of anything you can find". The men meet in secret the next night to show him the shivs, garrotes and bludgeons they've created from available materials. A takeover of the camp is planned for the following morning. "Failing that", Lambert tells the men, "kill as many of them as you can".

This movie is not for the squeamish. Like Val Guest's other war effort for Hammer, "Yesterday's Enemy", it's a straightforward and very ugly depiction of man's inhumanity to man. The Japanese officers are portrayed without the slightest shred of humanity, which may well have been true in these camps. The torture and interrogation scenes are not easy to sit through (and again are ahead of their time, cinematically speaking, in their starkness), but eventually the plot gains traction and the viewer is somewhat relieved to have an action-oriented escape theme to follow.

If you are a fan of World War Two movies and you can handle one that presents the darkest aspects of war, then I highly recommend "The Camp on Blood Island". In the dramatic sense it's a powerful film, and it's interesting that Hammer Studios produced two of the most realistic war films in the WW2 canon, and did so decades before, as I said in the earlier blog, such raw barbarity was shown in Vietnam movies like "Apocalypse Now" and "Platoon". I give it Two Huge Thumbs Up, but warn you that it's not an easy watch. The picture is widescreen and close to razor sharp. Give it a look if interested. ////

Our previous night's movie was "The Thief"(1952), starring Ray Milland as a nuclear physicist who's stealing Top Secret information from the Atomic Energy Commision where he works in Washington D.C. He photographs documents with a miniature camera. The film is then transferred through a maze of couriers to New York and then out of the country, to an unnamed Communist power. Milland uses stealth to avoid scrutiny, but spends restless nights at home in his apartment, where he seems to regret his participation. We don't know how or why he got involved. Was he blackmailed? Is he a commie himself? This we aren't told, however he's very good at his gambit. He makes several film drops without a hitch. Then one day, a New York courier is hit by a car and killed. The microfilm is discovered in his pocket. This brings on an FBI investigation. As it's clear where the documents came from - the AEC heading is on each one - the Bureau sends agents to interview every scientist in the building. Eventually Milland's turn comes up. We don't see him in the process of being interviewed, but he must've done something to attract further interest because the FBI puts a tail on him. He's good at evading that also. One night he ditches the agent following him, climbs up the fire escape on the side of his apartment and scampers over the rooftops like a chimneysweep. Not bad for a 45 year old office dwelling researcher.

The walls are closing in on him, however. He's gonna need an "out" before too long. It looks like he's been promised one when a telegram is pushed under his door, instructing him to pick up a fake passport in a train station storage locker. It comes with a seaman's identification papers. If he wants out, he going to have to sail to Cairo and make his own way from there. But to where? His life in the U.S. is over, one way or another and that's all I'm going to tell you about the plot.

I was tempted to do something I've never done before, which was to let you see this movie first before I reviewed it. The reason I was gonna do this is because it's has a quality that makes it unique, at least as far as I'm aware. I've never seen a movie like it, and I wondered if I could review it without revealing why it's unique. Now, if you're gonna watch it (and you should because it's a near masterpiece in my opinion), please please don't Google it in advance to see why I'm saying this. You'll get the gist as you watch, so please don't spoil it for yourself. And even then, you'll wonder a particular thing about this uniqueness. I don't wanna reveal that either. Just watch it and I'll mention it again in the next blog. It's equal parts spy film and noir, with excellent black and white photography and great location shooting in New York and Washington D.C. Particularly cool is the interior of a grand old library that's not unlike our own Central Library in downtown Los Angeles. That's where many of Milland's transactions take place. His performance here is also above and beyond, especially given the "uniqueness" of the picture. Milland more or less carries it, though there are several effective support players. One, whose name we don't know (the credits call him "Mr. Bleek", played by Martin Gabel) is quite creepy as the spy who gives Milland his instructions, dropping them in a cigarette pack on the sidewalk.

One final thing I want to mention about "The Thief". When you watch it, consider "Eraserhead". There's a scene, midway through, in which a leggy woman, wearing a wraparound dress, opens her door and comes into the hallway of Milland's building, just as he's entering his apartment. She has dark, curly hair - lots of it - and she gives him the same come hither stare down that a similar looking girl gave "Henry" in Lynch's movie. The woman makes Milland nervous, just as Henry was in his encounter. There's a payphone in the hallway, which I'm not sure but I believe was there in "Eraserhead". The woman makes another sultry appearance to again tantalize Ray Milland, standing in her doorway staring. I immediately thought, "this is too similar not to have influenced David Lynch". I'll bet you a nickel he's seen it. There is another scene in a darkened room, where a light flickers against a wall of shadows. In that scene I again thought of "Eraserhead", where the Man with the Pockmarked Face pulls the levers that control Henry's world.

Watch "The Thief" and see if you don't agree, especially in the scenes with the woman. I give it Two Huge Thumbs Up, giving us another Double Huge duo. We've sure found some good ones of late. I trust you're gearing up for Thanksgiving. Our next blog won't be until then, so I might as well mention how strange it will be for me not to share the holiday with Pearl. If you've followed the blog through the years, you might be aware that Thanksgiving was a shared tradition between our families since long before I became her caregiver. The tradition began sometime in the 1980s, when my Mom, Dad and sister would gather at Pearl's cabin on Pine Mountain in Frazier Park. Pearl's daughter Helen would be there, too. It was she who always did all the cooking. I was "doing my own thing" in those days (remember when I used to make Paul Prudhomme Cajun roasts for Thanksgivings at 9032 Rathburn?), so I never went to the cabin, but in 2004 I attended my first Thanksgiving in our two-family tradition, at Pearl's house in Reseda. I missed 2005 cause my Mom was sick, but since 2006 I've spent every Thanksgiving at Pearl's. That's 15 years in a row, the last eleven as her caregiver.

Man do I ever miss that nice lady. Make that two nice ladies, Helen most obviously included. I'll be sad but I'll also feel like both are still with me. Helen is back home in Northern California and I'm sure I'll see her again at some point. Pearl in a sense is much closer. I keep her in my heart and mind, and I'm working on my book. I feel as if she's writing it with me. We had one heck of a run, and the story of our time together, 11 1/2 years, is gonna make for one heck of a tale. It's interesting to consider that Pearl, as my neighbor, close family friend and Godmother, was "with me" in those ways when I came into the world, and I, as her caregiver, was with her and holding her hand, when she left it. That's really something amazing, I think. 

That's all I know for tonight. I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving and I send you Tons of Love as always.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)  

A Glenn Ford Double Feechum : "The Brotherhood of the Bell" and "Appointment in Honduras"

We've got a double Glenn Ford bill for ya this time, so let's jump right in and get started. Have you ever heard of a TV movie called "The Brotherhood of the Bell"(1970)? I had not, but it came up on my Youtube recommendations last night and Classic Rob, who runs a Glenn Ford channel on Youtube and who posted the movie, says it's a Tarantino favorite. We usually trust QT's choices, so long as they aren't Grindhouse, Kung Fu or Blaxploitation, and from the synopsis this one sounded right up my alley.

Ford stars as a college professor who's a member of a secret society. Think "Skull & Bones". As the movie opens, we see him and two other members of the Brotherhood inducting a new member (CHiPs sergeant Robert Pine). The four are down in the hidden basement chamber where the Bell is kept, at a San Francisco Catholic University. The ceremony is being led by Brotherhood Chairman "Chad Harmon" (Dean Jagger, Mick's brother), a wealthy industrialist and university alumnus. Robert Pine swears the oath, which of course includes a vow of lifetime secrecy, and voila, he's now a Bellsman. Before the men go their separate ways, Jagger stops Glenn Ford to say he has a mission for him. Ford gets upset. "C'mon, Chad. I've paid my debts by now. Why're you handing this to me at this late date"? In Brotherhood terms, "paying one's debt" is parlance for carrying out the special "missions" required of Bellsmen in exchange for all the material goodies any of them could ever want. Through their wealthy connections, Jagger and the shadowy players above him will arrange for you to get the house of your dreams, any car you desire, a new position in whatever field you'd like to work in (provided you can do the job). You say you're tired of being a bank president? You'd rather be the curator of a museum? Done. You'd rather live in France? Done. You want your stock portfolio to take a healthy jump? Done. They can even get you a nice young wife. Ford has one. All you have to do in exchange is carry out the missions that are infrequently given to you, and keep silent about them. And hey, as Jagger explains to the now-complaining Ford : "It's not like we've ever asked you to murder anyone".

Maybe not, but when Ford opens the file Jagger's given him, he sees that what he's being asked to do could end up amounting to murder. His mission is to persuade a fellow professor to turn down a promotion he's been offered. "Dr. Konstantin Horvathy" (Eduard Franz), expatriate from a Communist country, has been named as the new Dean of Linguistics at the university, but Jagger and the Bellsmen want someone else because Horvathy is seen as a potential rabble rouser. Now, Ford is Horvathy's close friend. His mission is to get the professor to turn down the Deanship, to plead with him if he has to, and as a last resort to blackmail him with a list Dean Jagger has given him. The list names the people who helped Dr. Horvathy defect to the United States. If he refuses to turn down the job, Ford is instructed to mail the list to the Communist country's government (it's gotta be Hungary, given the name Horvathy), who will certainly jail or execute the conspirators.

Ford is furious when he sees the list, but goes to a party in honor of Dr. Horvathy to try and persuade him not to become Dean. Horvathy of course cannot understand why his friend isn't happy for him. "This is a wonderful opportunity for me, why are you so upset"? Finally, going against Brotherhood rules, Ford spills the beans. "Because if you take the job, many of your friends will die". He starts to explain that he's a member of a secret society, knowing that if it gets back to Dean Jagger, he could wind up dead himself. He's hoping that his old pal Horvathy will just go along with it and keep his professorship. "Your students love you". But Horvathy freaks out and runs off down the hall. The next morning he's found dead in his bathtub, a suicide.

Now Ford is really pissed off. He goes to see Dean Jagger : "Never asked me to murder anyone, eh? This is the same damn thing. I'm responsible for Horvathy's death. He was my friend and I've killed him".

"Oh come now, Andrew", says Jagger. "You had no way of knowing he'd do that. Even though you broke your sacred oath by showing him that list - which I'll overlook this one time - any reasonable man would've done what you asked. A reasonable man would've refused the promotion, thereby saving those lives".

Ford's now had enough. "What you call reasonable is to me persecution! You're no different than the leaders of the country he came from. Let me tell you something Chad. I quit the Brotherhood as of this moment".

"You can't quit, Andrew. You took a lifetime oath".

"Well I just broke it. And I'm not only quitting, I'm going to expend every effort to expose you and the Brotherhood, so the world can see exactly who and what you are"!

"Andrew........that would be a big mistake".

Ford storms off and the next day does just what he threatened. He calls a press conference to announce the existence at the university of a secret group called The Brotherhood of the Bell, who he claims is responsible for the death of Dr. Horvathy. Then he names Dean Jagger (Mick's brother) as the leader.

Okay it's me again. Man oh man, do you like super paranoid thrillers like "The Manchurian Candidate"? The thing is though, just because Ford becomes paranoid doesn't mean the Bellsmen aren't after him, because they are. First, his father-in-law offers to help him expose the group. "I've got a friend at the F.B.I". But when he takes Ford to meet with the Special Agent, and Ford later tries to follow up, he's told that the agent doesn't exist! "We have no one by that name in this branch". Maybe he should try the I.B. Curly. Anyhow, the harder he tries to find out what's going on, the more he gets pulled in to the quagmire of dirty tricks and disinformation. It's pretty clear his father-in-law is a Bellsman, and that his beautiful young wife (Rosemary Forsythe) was "arranged" to marry him ("we can get you anything you want"....).

Ford's own father (Will Geer again, Ford and Geer are always great together) finds out what's happening to his son and pays a visit to the father-in-law, who he threatens to kill "with my bare hands". I told ya Geer's a badass in his non-Grandpa Walton roles. I won't reveal how that confrontation turns out, but I will say that finally, Ford, out of other options, is forced to take his case to a tabloid talk show. You think there's something new under the sun? This movie could've come out today and been 100% current. William Conrad is the host of the show and is a cross between Jerry Springer, Howard Stern and Alex Jones. Really, he almost comes across as Trumpian as he baits Glenn Ford and then takes him apart, allowing his audience to take potshots at Ford's "ludicrous" story in the form of their own ridiculous questions. You think there's something new under the sun? One of the first "questioners" is an African-American man, 30ish and wearing a tunic,  who comes across with the old "I represent all of Black history" routine. "His story's nothing new. I've known about it for 600 years! And it's not about no secret societies because the only secret is that everyone in White America is a racist! Only it ain't no secret to me"! He then goes on to explain the "fact" of systemic white racism ("it's in the genes"!) until William Conrad shoots him down with insults. Next up is a female John Bircher from Michigan, who says it's all the fault of the Jews. Conrad, an equal opportunity loudmouth, cuts her down to size too, and even though she deserves it, the whole point is to create a circus-like atmosphere in which Ford's story gets lost in the hysteria. Sounds like 2021, no?

There's another subplot involving his wife and a burglar that I won't describe except to say be on the lookout for Dabney Coleman in a non-moustachioed role as a detective. I didn't recognise him; you might, given the heads-up. Now I've gotta say "man oh man" again, because "Brotherhood" is a five star classic with one of the best scripts I've ever encountered for this type of movie, made-for-TV or otherwise. It gets our highest rating, Two Gigantic Thumbs Up. The picture is a little soft and in color (which we don't prefer because in older movies it tends to become washed out), but it's still exceptionally watchable. Give it a view tonight! ////

The previous night saw Glenn Ford traipsing through the Central American jungle with hostages in tow, in "Appointment in Honduras"(1953). Ford plays "Jim Corbett", a mysterious adventurer riding aboard a tramp steamer headed for Guatemala. Also on the boat are "Harry" and "Sylvia Sheppard" (Zachary Scott and the great Ann Sheridan) a wealthy man and his wife. It's not clear what they're doing on the rickety old ship (or maybe I missed it), but it's clear from the outset that it's not a happy marriage. Sheridan throws herself at Ford the first chance she gets. He refuses because he's got something else on his mind. In addition to Ford and the Sheppards, there are five wanted criminals on board, headed up by "Reyes" (Rudolfo Acosta of "High Chaparral" fame). The captain of the boat is charged with transferring them into custody. In the middle of the night, Ford hatches a plan with the bandits. "I'll help you escape through the jungle if you'll help me take over this boat". While the crew are asleep, Ford and the criminals grab their guns. They force the captain to step aside, and - taking the Sheppards as hostages - jump into a rowboat and head off downriver to disembark in the thick of the rainforest.

No one knows what Ford is up to. Ann Sheridan thinks he's a gun runner. Rudolfo Acosta thinks he's a treasure hunter. "I'm sticking with you, amigo. I think you know where the gold is". Ford doesn't want this. "I got you your freedom, so take off". But Acosta and his comrades, as well as the Sheppards, know that Ford is their only way out of the jungle. He knows the terrain, they don't, and potential death is everywhere in the form of gators and pythons and piranhas and pumas. Watch out! And Zachary Scott had better watch out, too, because wife Ann Sheridan is becoming more and more attached to Glenn Ford, Patty Hearst/Stockholm Syndrom style. Even though he kidnapped her and her husband, she sees him as the stronger of the two men. Once they're all off the boat, most of the plot is about the survival of the group, which totals seven (four criminals, the Sheppards and Ford). Different alliances form. Scott, who's filthy rich, tries to sway Acosta and the banditos over to his side. "I can offer you real money, as much as you want, instead of some imaginary gold. How do you know that's what he's here for, anyway"? In truth, no one does. Ford even wants the Sheppards gone now. "Everyone needs to go their own way, I have nothing to offer you". But they can't, as they keep telling him, because they don't know the jungle. He's their only way out and now Ann Sheridan's hooked. She's getting Ford on the hook too and husband Zach Scott is jealous......well, not jealous exactly, though he's that too. What he wants is to get the hell out. If Ann decides she wants to come with him, fine, if not ces't la vie. You see, he's found a map in Ford's backpack, and the map gives away an important secret. If this secret is revealed to Reyes and the criminals, Ford's days as the shot caller are numbered.

So what's Ford's deal? Is he a criminal himself, like Acosta and the banditos? Is he a treasure hunter, or maybe a gun runner as Sheridan suggested? If he's a bad guy, why hasn't he simply gotten rid of the others, now that they've served their purposes as enforcers and hostages? Most importantly, is it even in Ford's contract to play a bad guy? Watch "Appointment in Honduras" and find out. Though the plot's a one way ticket through the dangers of the jungle, with some romantic suspense thrown in, it's top notch in the going, and in the scheming between the males in this particular safari. You also get Ann Sheridan in the bargain, one of our favorite actresses. I give it Two Big Thumbs Up. Once again it's in color and the picture is very watchable. ////

So there you have it for tonight. I hope you had a nice weekend. The Rams had a bye today, so we didn't have to worry about them getting creamed. Hopefully that won't happen next week when they go on the road against the Packers. I'm currently reading "Landslide" by Michael Wolff, about the last days of the Trump administration. It's some weird, wild stuff, Ed. "You are CORRECT, sir"! It's crazy, yet pathetic and written with a sense of the absurd in Wolff's almost stream-of-consciousness style. Reassuring is that Trump's staff thought he was as nuts as we did......  :)

I send you Tons of Love, as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Jack Hawkins in "She Played with Fire", and "Sons and Lovers" starring Dean Stockwell

Last night's movie was "She Played with Fire"(1957), an intriguing British thriller starring Jack Hawkins as "Oliver Branwell", an insurance investigator who meets an old flame while working on a case. The movie opens on Christmas Eve, with Hawkins being sent to a mansion named Lowis Manor to inspect the damage from a small fire. The gentleman of the house,"Tracy Moreton" (Dennis Price), shows him around. While looking over the living room, where a wall and several paintings were burned, the men are joined by a beautiful woman. "Mr. Branwell, I'd like you to meet my wife Sarah" (Arlene Dahl). They each nod hello, but there's recognition in their eyes. Sarah can't restrain a smile, though it's imperceptible to her husband, who's preoccupied about the fire. "Nice to meet you", Hawkins and Sarah say. We find out later, after Hawkins returns to the mansion, that they not only already know each other, but that they were once almost engaged.

But does Tracy Moreton know this, and is he setting Hawkins up? I mentioned that Hawkins returned to the mansion, but it arises from a coincidence. You see, while Hawkins is still working on the insurance case, which he finds possibly fradulent (because he thinks the fire might've been arson), he comes in to the office one day and Moreton is there waiting for him. His supervisor explains the situation. "Oh hello Branwell. I found Mr. Moreton in the parking lot, sitting in his car. He was suffering a terrible asthma attack, could hardly draw breath poor fellow. I brought him in here to rest, turns out he knows you". "Oh yes, I'm the agent on his case, hello Mr. Moreton". Moreton apologizes for the inconvenience, then asks if Hawkins can do him a favor. "Would you be so kind as to fetch my wife? I was supposed to pick her up from shopping, but I'm in no shape to drive now. Oh, and for your trouble I have tickets to the opera tonight. The way I'm feeling, I don't think I can make that either. Sarah would be disappointed not to go. Would you take her? My way of saying thanks".

Hawkins is somewhat flabbergasted at Moreton's sudden offer, but agrees to the tasks, and the next thing we see, he and Sarah are attending the opera. On the way home, we discover their prior history. "It's wonderful to see you again, Sarah, but why did you leave me in China"? "Me, leave you? I waited for you in Hong Kong". "Well, I guess it was a mix-up. And it has been five years. Glad you married well, but......I have to ask.......do you love him"? She hesitates. "Well, let's say he needs me and that's good enough".

When they arrive back at Lowis Manor, Tracy Moreton insists Hawkins stay for dinner. "It's pouring and I won't take no for an answer. And you might as well stay the night". What's going on? Does he know about Hawkins and Sarah? In the car, Sarah answered "no" to that question, but something's weird. Why is Tracey so friendly to his insurance investigator? Why is he so free with his wife? Hawkins tries to beg off the dinner invitation, and he sure as hell doesn't want to stay the night. He's thinking he might be getting set up for a "Double Indemnity" style frame job, or if not that, maybe the fire was caused by arson and Moreton is responsible. Maybe he's trying to butter Hawkins up, and worse, maybe Sarah's helping him! Better to concentrate on his job, maintain a professional demeanor. He hasn't - at this point - fooled around with Sarah anyway. She's married, they met by sheer coincidence. But something fishy is going on. Whatever it is, Hawkins intends to find out.

Meanwhile, he's been assigned another case. The wife of a popular theater singer (Christopher Lee!) has laid him up with a black eye. It seems he was seeing another woman. The producers of his show want him to put makeup over the shiner and forge ahead. "The show must bloody well go on". But Lee won't do it. They accuse him of faking it, trying to get out of his contract. As the insurance investigator, Hawkins must get to the bottom of the accusation because the producers will have a claim if it's true. He goes to the apartment of the woman with whom Lee's affair is alleged. She's a hot number played by Greta Gynt. She puts the make on Hawkins, who once again has to strive to remain professional. While he's there, though, he notices a painting in her bedroom. Where has he seen it before? Why yes! That's it! He's seen it at Lowis Manor. It's one of the paintings that was damaged in the fire, a landscape of the Manor itself. After wriggling away from Greta Gynt, he goes back to the Manor to see Tracy Moreton. "I have a question about one of the insured paintings". Moreton explains that he's taken it to a restoration specialist. After interviewing the man the next day, Hawkins thinks he knows what has taken place. Moreton, or someone he hired, set an arson fire in an elaborate art fraud scheme. I should probably stop there and give you no more of the plot (and it's tempting to keep going), but there's still the issue of Hawkins and Sarah Moreton and I want you to discover it yourself because this is a really good mystery. Remember, there's the whole issue of "is Hawkins being set up by Sarah's husband Tracy", who comes across as too accommodating, too smooth, as if he doesn't notice what's right in front of him. 

In the early stages, while the backstory is being established (i.e. Hawkins and Sarah's prior relationship), the direction has a light touch, with slightly whimsical music and an almost rom/com sensiblity demonstrating Hawkins foibles as he struggles to maintain his composure first with Sarah and then Greta Gynt (in an exaggeratedly sexy role). But then in the second half, director Sidney Gilliat brings the hammer down hard. Things get serious fast when a game changing event takes place. That's all you need to know. We love Jack Hawkins here at the blog. He's one of those actors who can do it all, from the self-effacing ladies' man (ala Cary Grant) in this movie, to a grim Navy captain about to go down with his ship (in "The Cruel Sea"). We just saw him as the prevaricating Communist colonel in "State Secret". He was great in that film and he's even better here because he's the star. Arlene Dahl is good as Sarah Moreton, who may or may not be in on the fraud scheme, and Dennis Price is the epitome of the Veddy Brrrittish gentleman as her husband Tracy. Two Big Thumbs Up for "She Played with Fire" (verging on Two Huge). The picture is once again widescreen and as usual razor sharp. It's very very highly recommended!  /// 

We've been on a roll lately. The previous night we saw an out-and-out masterpiece entitled "Sons and Lovers"(1960), featuring a tremendous performance from the late, great Dean Stockwell as the eldest son of an English coal miner and his independent minded wife. The time is the early 1900s. Stockwell is a talented artist whose mum (Wendy Hiller) wants him to develop his ability to prevent him from surrendering to the grubby, dangerous miner's life that's the lot of her husband and younger son. "I want you to remain 'above ground' " is how she puts it, "your art's your ticket out". Her husband - Stockwell's father - disagrees. "All this sketchin' and paintin' ain't gonna getcha nowhere. What? The mines ain't good enough for ya? Afraid to get your hands dirty like your brother Arthur"? As played by Trevor Howard, father "Walter" is by turns verbally abusive, raging drunk, physically violent (to housewares if not to family), and sheepishly apologetic on mornings after. Really, he feels unappreciated for what he does do, which is bust his butt in a soul-deadening job that kills a lot of men, in order to put food on the table. So what if he drinks away a lot of his salary? "Wouldn't none of ya have a roof over your head if it wasn't for me". 

Still, momma Gertrude (Hiller) wants a better life for young Paul (Stockwell), a spirited, intelligent boy whose capabilities are far above his station. Paul tries to remain above the fray but his Dad is forever egging him on. He starts to believe it when Walter tells him he'll never make a living with his art. "Maybe I should just go down the mine", he says one day. But Gertrude won't have it. Neither will his girlfriend "Miriam" (Heather Sears), a loving soul who comes from a fundamentalist background. Her mother is so rigid, she tells Miriam that sex is only for procreation, and even then is to be gutted out without lust and never enjoyed. "That boy you're seein' (Irish brogue), he's no good for thee, he's got 'is 'ead in the clouds". But Miriam loves Paul and encourages him to stick to his guns. One day, Paul gets a showing for his paintings. He thinks everyone will hate them, but an art patron sees his potential and offers him a full scholarship to an institute in London.

Paul wants to go, but that would mean leaving Miriam. He's getting restless however, and Miriam, though she's given herself to him in spite of her mother's orders, doesn't satisfy his desire to find someone equally yearning for some unknowable sense of freedom. Miriam's too tied to the ways and morals of the village. Paul wants a bigger life, whether through his art or a yet undiscovered pursuit. He shuns the scholarship offer to take a job at a local clothing factory. The employees there are all women, including the supervisor, a suffragette. "Pay no attention to Miss Dawes", the owner (a man) advises Paul. "She likes to spout her philosophies in the workplace. I wish she'd save 'em for the soapbox, but she's a good employee, so I just ignore her. You should too".

"He's got a thing against women's rights", Clara Dawes (Mary Ure) tells Paul as he settles in. "Do you"?

"Why, no. No ma'am", Paul replies. Miss Dawes is very pretty. He stammers his way through his first day of training, but later attends one of her rallies. He finds her independence fascinating. Possibly it reminds him of his mother who is also his champion. But with Clara Dawes it's also alluring because she's not only beautiful, her feistiness offers him a challenge. He sees her as an equal in the philosophical sense, a kindred spirit, but as a woman he wants to possess her. Paul pays lip service to her womens' rights stance, putting her on the spot at her rally by asking in front of the crowd if she believes in free love. "Why, in fact I do"!, she declares, standing up to him. Then she adds, "but that doesn't mean I'm free with my love". Paul pursues Clara after that, even when he learns she's married! "Why didn't you say so"?, he asks her. "Because we're separated", she replies. Soon they are in love, and Clara's estranged husband - who also works at the clothing factory - threatens Paul to stay away from his wife. "He means it", Clara says. "He'll kill you too". The guy's a big brute and Paul wonders what's up with this woman. "Do you still love your husband on not"? And it's the same deal as in "She Played with Fire". "He needs me", Clara admits. Unlike in "Fire", where the marriage was part of the mystery, i.e. were Mr. and Mrs. Moreton part of a doublecross against Jack Hawkins? - here, in "Sons and Lovers" it's just one more stop on Paul's highway of life. That's a lousy metaphor, I know, but you get my drift. His story is a saga. He's a young, yearning artist who's trying to find his way, and one of the obstacles he comes up against is The Married Woman, who - even though she's a budding feminist - isn't about to divorce her husband to marry Paul, because divorce just isn't done in 1904 England, not even for Clara Dawes. So, young Paul, sadder but wiser, goes back home to the village, where Miriam loves him still.

I did feel that too much time was spent on the Clara Dawes subplot, because even though Mary Ure is great in the role, Clara is - to me - an unlikable character. She's self centered and even bland despite her strong beliefs. What happened to Paul's burgeoning career as an artist? To me it's unlikely he'd give it up entirely, just over his infatuation with Clara.

Having said all of that, this is a tremendous film with a Capital T. In fact, we need Big Dorky Dan from the last days of College Records (when it was called Aaron's Too) to slam his fist down on the counter and declare it "Tra-MENN-Dous"!! like he did when we asked him about "The Late Great Planet Earth", because that's where that exclamatory version of tremendous came from. Dan was the guy who originated it, and that's how great "Sons and Lovers" is. It deserves a fist-pounding Big Dorky Dan exclamation. I later read on Wiki that it got seven Academy Award nominations. In addition to the career-making performance by Dean Stockwell (who was way more than just The Candy Colored Clown They Call The Sandman, an incredible actor he was), you also get stupendously authentic turns from Trevor Howard and Wendy Hiller as Paul's parents, stuck in their depressing situation with no way out because, where they're from it's the mines or nothing, unless you were born with a special talent.......like their son Paul, who mother supports but Dad does not. Howard was nominated for Best Actor for his role. I think Stockwell should've been nominated also, and either of them could've won. Mary Ure was nominated for Supporting Actress, though as good as she is I think Wendy Hiller should've been a shoo-in for an Oscar. As it turned out, the movie only won for Best Cinematography, which was well deserved also. But it could've easily ran the table and I'm surprised it's not more well known. I'd never heard of it, which is either an embarrassment on my part or a measure of how much it's been forgotten, but it's time for a whole new audience to see this epic motion picture : it gets Two Gigantic Thumbs Up, our highest recommendation. Absolutely don't miss it, it's another one of those movies that might not be up on Youtube indefinitely, so watch it soon. The picture is widescreen and razor sharp. ////

Wow, I'm out of breath. But I mean, we've been having some great luck recently, and with our last four films in particular. We've even extended our running times of late. "Sons" ran 103 minutes, which would've seemed an eternity not long ago, when we only had the attention span for 60 minute Shortinos. Now don't get me wrong, because Short Films still rule, but just the fact that we were able to sit through longer fare means the movies were exceptionally good. As an aside, I think our preference for shorter films mostly has to do with the fact that we're watching movies on a computer. While it's turned out to be quite tolerable - and a boon for older films - I don't know if we could sit through, say, three hours of "Andrei Rublev" on a laptop, which would be no problem in a theater. Anyway, I'm blathering on now so I'll shut up, and besides.......it's time to watch a movie. So, I'll bid you good night and wish you a wonderful weekend. Thanks for reading. I send you Tons of Love, as always.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Anthony Quayle in "Serious Charge" and "Yesterday's Enemy" starring Stanley Baker

Before we begin, please note that there will be major spoilers ahead in our first review. I know I always have some, but this time I'm giving away most of the plot. What's that you're saying? "You always give away most of the plot, Ad". I do? Well, I'm giving away even more than usual this time, so be warned. Here we go. //

Last night's movie was a multi-themed affair entitled "Serious Charge"(1959), a combination melodrama/juvenile delinquent story about a priest accused of molestation, with some early rock n' roll dancing thrown in to showcase the songs of Cliff Richard, who co-stars. There's a lot going on in this British production. The great Anthony Quayle stars as "Reverend Howard Phillips", a Boy's Town type vicar who teaches local lads how to box and hosts a Saturday night dance blowout for rowdy teens at the parish auditorium. He's also an amateur soccer star. Not your average starched collar preacher, in other words. 

On the other end of the spectrum is the neighborhood punk, a fast talking "juvie" named "Larry Thompson" (Andrew Ray). Larry's brother "Curly" (Cliff Richard), has been up before a magistrate already at the beginning of the movie. He's charged with petty crimes but Rev. Phillips is there to vouch for him. The brothers story is typical, they come from an abusive home, their Dad uses a belt. The reverend asks the magistrate to consign the boys to him, to give him a chance to reform them. Curly, the younger brother, is willing. Larry, the troublemaker, is resentful. He hates Reverend Phillips for what he represents, which is "Squaresville" according to Larry (who uses American slang).

At the next parish dance, things get out of hand. Cliff Richard is singing, the kids are swing dancing, and Larry gets carried away. He starts twirling a French girl up and around, doing the Lindy Hop and more. He's exposing her legs, which you don't do in England in the 1950s (nor anywhere else I imagine) and finally the Reverend has had enough. He's an open-minded man and likes the teenagers, but Larry and the other juvies have pushed the dance too far. He turns off the music and declares the party over. Larry is offended and ends up pulling a knife when the reverend asks him to leave. Because the rev is an athlete, he easily disarms Larry. This sets the two on a collision course. Larry already hates authority figures, and on top of that the rev has now shamed him in front of his friends. But that's only part of the story.

There's also a woman named Hester, a 30 year old spinster-in-the-making who lives with her father, the elder priest at the church. He's semi-retired ( I think he'd be known as an emeritus), and Hester has remained at home to look after him. She also volunteers at the parish. Now, Hester has a crush on the handsome Reverend Phillips. She confides this to the reverend's mother, who urges her to go for it. "Neither of you is getting any younger, my dear". But Hester, not having had any experience with men, comes on too strong. She grabs the rev one night and plants him with a major league smootch. With some men that wouldn't be a problem, but with the reverend it's a lack of decorum. And as it's depicted on screen, her advance is a bit sudden and awkward. The reverend pushes her away, saying "Hester! My dear, what are you doing"? Hester is crushed and embarrassed. "I......I'm in love with you", she stammers. "Oh, Hester.....Hester. I'm sorry but I don't feel the same way". Reverend Phillips likes her fine, and she's not unattractive. He just doesn't love her back. There's also a chance he might be gay, though this is the only such hint and it may not have been intended in a 1959 release. It may also be that Hester is a little too spinsterish, or that the rev simply is not the marrying type. In any event, she does throw herself at him, and it doesn't work. Now she's embarrassed, as noted.

Later that night, as Reverend Phillips is walking through town, he comes across young "Mary Williams" (Leigh Madison). She's alone and crying. "Why Mary, what's wrong", the rev asks her. She won't tell him at first. He convinces her to come back with him to the parish "for a nice hot cup of tea", and while there he gets her to spill the beans. She's pregnant. Even now, this could be upsetting news for a girl who hadn't meant to become so. But for an unwed teenager in 1950s England? Poor Mary's scared half to death. "What'll I tell my parents"? The rev asks if she's informed the boy who's responsible. "I.....I can't tell him". "Why not"? asks Reverend Phillips. "Because he'd leave me". "That doesn't make him much of a man anyway", says the rev. Mary doesn't want to reveal the father's name but eventually she lets it slip. "Larry would just get mad". "Do you mean Larry Thompson"?, the reverend asks her. "Yes", says Mary.

Well, here's where the collision course becomes set in stone. While Mary is still in his office, Hester returns unexpectedly. She sees Mary, a pretty young thing who wears makeup, and assumes she's the reason Reverend Phillips rejected her. Feeling doubly crushed now, she storms out of his office before the rev has a chance to explain. Mary leaves five minutes later. At a bus stop, she observes Larry, the punk who got her pregnant, making out with Michelle the French girl. Mary is now at the end of her rope. She runs into the street and is hit by a passing car. When the reverend finds out that Mary is dead, he loses his cool and becomes furious. Keep in mind that, besides being a priest, he's also a macho boxer and athlete. He finds Larry and demands he come back to the parish to talk with him. When Larry gets there, Reverend Phillips confronts him with Mary's pregnancy. "You're the reason she's dead"!, he concludes, yelling at the sullen street punk. All the hatred rises up in Larry, a cunning young man. He gets an idea. "Say, Reverend. You know something? You made a mistake inviting me over here alone". "Oh really? Why is that Larry"? Larry begins trashing the place, knocking pictures off the wall, sweeping the mantle of knicknacks and vases with his arm. He smashes a lamp, overturns a table. "Here now! What in the world are you doing, young man"?!

Larry looks him in the eye as he rips up his own shirt. "I'm getting back at you is what! You see reverend, it'll be just my word against yours. I'm gonna yell for help and then I'm gonna run to the police". He's announcing he's gonna frame Reverend Phillips for molestation. "But it won't work, Larry, because it isn't true", he tells the kid.

Well, who should walk in the parish door at that very moment than the scorned Hester, who's holding a grudge against the rev because she saw him with Mary.

Holy Smokes, talk about a Gordian Knot. Observing the scene - the trashed room, Larry's torn shirt and flushed face - Hester asks, "what in the world is going on here"? Larry speaks up first. "He....he tried to take advantage of me"! "It's not true", says Reverend Phillips. "He created this all by himself". Hester storms out once again, saying "I'm going to tell the police".

That's all I can reveal, but is that a potboiler or what? We should coin a new phrase and call it a plot-boiler. Man oh man is the reverend in a jam. It's his word against Larry Thompson's, and normally you'd think the police and the townsfolk would believe the Man of God. But Larry has a "witness", the also reputable Hester, who takes Larry's side even though she didn't see what happened (she only saw after the fact). Hester's romantic grudge against the rev causes her to want revenge. But we still have a long way to go before things are resolved. "Serious Charge" is a very frank movie for 1959, examining juvenile delinquency and sexual repression in a way that was far ahead of it's time. The acting is uniformly excellent all around, and I was surprised to discover later on that the actress playing Hester - Sarah Churchill - was, you guessed it, none other than Winston Churchill's daughter. Talent runs in the family. She may not have saved England from the Nazis, but she's a heck of an actress if this role is any indication. The rest of the supporting cast are incredible, too, and Anthony Quayle shines. Man what a tremendous actor.

"Serious Charge" has one of the most involving and complex stories of any of the films we've seen recently. I'm gonna give it Two Huge Thumbs Up, with a high recommendation to see it. You've gotta see it soon, however. The guy who posted it said it'll only be up for a week or so. Don't know why, maybe copyright reasons or some other some-such. So watch it asap, the picture is razor sharp.  ///// 

The previous night's film was called "Yesterday's Enemy"(1959). Simply stated, it's one of the most powerful war films ever made, and probably one of the greatest. I'll need some time for it to settle in. I might ultimately decide it belongs in the top ten. It's a British film, a Hammer production. Stanley Baker stars as "Captain Alan Langford", who's leading a company of soldiers down a Burmese river in World War Two. The troop is behind enemy lines, forty miles from their headquarters. They're carrying wounded comrades and are short on food and water. They lose communication when their radio gets wet.

After stumbling across a jungle village, they wipe out a small group of Japanese soldiers hiding there and use the village as a place to regroup. Captain Langford orders the radio repaired, then sets about interrogating the villagers about any remaining Japanese in the area. One man tries to run away. When he is caught, Langford leans on him even harder. "Why did you flee"? The man pretends not to understand, even when Langford's message is translated by a local girl who speaks some English. "Tell him we found a colonel among the dead Japanese soldiers". Langford believes the man is an intelligence agent who was working with the dead colonel, who had a map in his possession he thinks indicates British troop positions. The man continues to play dumb, and this is where the plot intensifies. I'm not going to give as many spoilers as I did above with "Serious Charge", but when I say that this film gets intense, think of My Lai or the Kevin Dillon scene in "Platoon". What happens is not as brutal as either of those examples, but it's no picnic, either, and is especially shocking given the film's 1959 release year. In fact, both of our films this time are from 1959, and both are ahead of their time in dealing with previously taboo issues. I have to cut in to say "Tab who"? "No, not Tab Who, Gilligan! Taboo"! - The Skipper.

Okay, but yeah, when the suspected intelligence agent won't talk, Captain Langford decides to play hardball with him. This causes a crisis in his ranks, as some of the men in Langford's troop think he's going too far and some go along with him willingly, particularly his sergeant, who carries out every order the Captain gives, no matter how unethical, or even illegal. Accompanying the troop are a priest (Guy Rolfe) and a newspaperman (Leo McKern), both of whom object strenuously to Langford's methods. He explains that in war, there can be no half-measures. "If we don't find out about that map, it'll get us all killed including the rest of the brigade up front. I'm doing what I have to do".

The tables will turn on the Captain later on, when Japanese reinforcements arrive in the village, led by an articulate, English speaking and utterly ruthless officer named Major Yamazaki (Van Nuys' own Phillip Ahn). I won't tell you how his arrival plays out, but I will say you've got to see this movie. According to Wiki, both it's star Stanley Baker (who should've got an Academy Award) and it's director Val Guest called it one of the proudest achievements of their careers. It's also included on a list by Total Film magazine, called "50 Amazing Films You've Probably Never Seen". The plot mostly concerns this one issue, of whether or not Colonel Langford has overstepped his bounds. You may think the answer is obvious; it certainly seems so. However, as he states, and as Yamazaki later confirms, "this is Total War", a military philosophy in which there are no rules. "Yesterday's Enemy" is a tremendous film. Harrowing and thought-provoking, there's also a fair amount of combat. Two Huge Thumbs Up for this must see motion picture. Wow, have we ever had two Two Huges in the same blog? I don't think so. Don't miss either one them. The picture on "Yesterday's Enemy" is widescreen and razor sharp. /////

And that's all I've got for the moment. The Krazy Kafka Konstruktion Krew is back, pounding and sawing away in the Unit From Hell next door beginning at 8:30 each morning. They've been at it, on and off, for over two months now, since around September 10th. Can you believe that? I think I remarked, in my last blog about them, that they must be rebuilding The World Trade Center in there. How else do you explain two months to renovate a one bedroom apartment? Have you ever seen the movie "Mother" by Darren Aronovsky? It's a weird, nutty movie, and not all that great, but if you remember the ending, well, that's what it's like, living next door to the Unit From Hell when the Krazy Kafka Krew are at work, which seems to have been forever. I think I'm turning into a cockroach.......  ;)

I hope you had a nice evening and I send you Tons of Love as always.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Glenn Ford and Ida Lupino in "Lust for Gold", and "The Lineup" starring Eli Wallach

Last night we watched "Lust for Gold"(1949), a Western adventure with a self-explanatory title. Glenn Ford stars as "Jacob Walz", a Dutch immigrant who discovers a Mother Lode gold mine in the Superstition Mountains outside Phoenix, Arizona. Ford's story is told in flashback. He doesn't appear until about 25 minutes into the movie, which begins in the modern day with his grandson (William Prince) trying to locate the mine, now known as "The Lost Dutchman Mine". Prince follows an experienced local man into the mountains, hoping to be lead to the spot. Then suddenly the man is shot dead. Prince runs back down the mountain to tell the sheriff. He doesn't want to get blamed for the murder. The sheriff informs him that this isn't the first shooting. "Twenty other men have been killed looking for that mine in the last hundred years, four of them just recently". He sends a deputy (Will Geer) out with Prince to the murder site to recover the body. While they're up there, Geer recounts the history of the gold mine.

Now we enter flashback mode and come to the heart of the story. Geer gives Prince some background to begin with. "A hundred years ago, a Spaniard named Peralta discovered the mine. That is to say, he was the first man to hope to profit from it. He and his brother excavated 20 million dollars worth of gold ore and hid it deep in another shaft. They could only carry so much out at a time, you see, and they didn't want anyone to know the size of what they found. But in truth they weren't the first ones there. The Apaches knew about the mine long before any Europeans came out West. They considered it a sacred site, the home of their Thunder God. Because of that, they didn't remove any of the gold, and they killed Peralta for defiling it. His brother escaped and came back years later, hoping to recover the ore. That's where your grandfather comes in, and.......".

Next we see Glenn Ford. As Jacob Walz, he's climbing the trail with a man named "Wiser" (Edgar Buchanan aka "Uncle Joe" from "Petticoat Junction"). The year is 1880. They're following Ramon Peralta in secret, waiting for him to arrive at the mine. When he does, Uncle Joe - not movin' kinda slow but pretty fast this time - shoots him in the back. "Now it's all ours", he says to Walz. "How does ten million apiece sound to ya"? It sounds good, but twenty mil sounds better. Walz lets Wiser lead the way into the shaft, then shoots him in the back. Now he doesn't have to share the gold with anyone. But in cashing in some ore, Walz makes his first mistake. Unike the Peraltas before him, he brings down a large amount, 300 pounds worth. Word gets around to the townsfolk and he's accosted at the local saloon. "Hey, you're the one that redeemed that mountain of gold ore! Heard you got five thousand dollars"! Walz tries ignoring the men, then pushes them away but it doesn't work. "Say.....you didn't get that from the old Apache mine, did ya"? "Leave me alone", Walz replies. He finally has to pull his gun to make an exit.

Walz figures he's tough enough to hold the greedy gold seekers off and patient enough to wait them out. He goes up to the mine only in the middle of the night, sneaking out to rent a horse from the livery. He's bribed the stableman to keep quiet about their deal, but what he doesn't know is that there's another kind of threat to his fortune - a beautiful woman is lying in wait. Like everyone else in town, she knows about Walz' find. She sets about to seduce him, playing dumb, pretending to know nothing. "Julia Thomas" (Ida Lupino) runs a bakery. She's married to an outlaw named "Pete" (Gig Young). The two of them are barely scraping by and she's frustrated at hitching up with such a "failure" as she calls him. She also knows a secret about her husband; he got away with a murder in Kansas City. She uses this to blackmail him. "I want you to move out so I can get close to Jacob Walz". She assures Pete she won't sleep with him "but if it happens it'll only be one time. I just need him to show me where the mine is. Then we can take him out. We'll be rich like you used to promise me".

Julia conveniently "meets" Walz at the General Store. She strikes up a conversation. Coincidentally she speaks some German which comes in handy and impresses the suspicious newcomer. Soon, Walz is visting her in the bake shop, buying up all her cookies. "Oh thank you, Mr. Walz. That's very generous of you. It's not easy being an independent woman trying to run a small business". Julia plays her cards slowly, never letting on what she knows. Soon Walz is in love with her. He shows up one day with an engagement ring. Now we're going to find out what a duplicitous gal Julia is. Instead of keeping her husband Pete in the know, and keeping him in on the scheme, she decides to "X" him out of the deal by actually marrying Jacob Walz, who she can have killed later on, after he shows her the gold mine. This is reminiscent of how Walz acquired the mine in the first place, by shooting Uncle Joe in the back. The movie isn't called "Lust for Gold" for nothing. As played by Ida Lupino (a great actress), Julia is a total witch. Her husband Pete gets wind of what she's up to. He's been holed up at the town hotel so Julia will appear to be single. Now he comes storming back, to confront her and Jacob Walz. First she plays it one way, telling Pete it's all part of her plan. "I never loved him, it's you! You're my husband"! Then, when it looks like Walz is gonna win, she jumps back to his side. "Pete's nothing but a loser. I had to tell him that to keep him in line".

This will of course lead to a showdown, up in the Superstition Mountains. "You want her? You can have her", Pete yells to Walz at one point. By now, though, Walz has decided he doesn't want Julia, who even at this late date is still playing the two men off each other. I can't tell you how the showdown resolves, but what about the modern day? We now return to the present, where Will Geer is wrapping up his story. "And that's the story of the Lost Dutchman Mine. I understand your desire to find it, young man", he says to Price, "but no one ever has and no one ever will". That leaves only one question : what about the man who was just shot? If no one has ever found the mine, why have there been four recent murders?

"Lust for Gold" is a terrific yarn, part Western, part romance and all adventure (with even a hint of Noir). Lupino, as noted, is excellent, as are the supporting players like Will Geer, who before he was Grandpa Walton played some fairly rough and tough characters. Glenn Ford gives his usual first rate performance as the taciturn, wily Walz. He's become one of our favorite actors. Two Big Thumbs Up for this movie, bordering on Two Huge. The picture is widescreen as well as razor sharp so don't miss it, it's very very highly recommended. ////

The previous night we found a top notch crime film directed by Don Siegel called "The Lineup"(1958). Eli Wallach and Robert Keith (Brian's father) star as a pair of deliverymen in the San Francisco heroin trade. Both are sociopaths. Wallach is new to the game, Keith is his trainer. The movie opens with the lighting fast theft of a suitcase from a ferry terminal in Fisherman's Wharf. A man impersonating a cab driver speeds away with the case, but soon crashes after running down a cop, who shoots him dead before dying himself. It's a classic Siegel set piece. Detectives on the scene examine the suitcase back at headquarters and find a ceramic statue stuffed with smack. They track the luggage to a San Francisco Opera executive. For a while, they think he's involved with drug smuggling. This turns out to be a red herring, however, and I did wonder why Siegel spent so much effort on it. In this sense, the plot has the feel of a TV show. The script was written by the legendary Stirling Silliphant, who wrote some great movies including "In the Heat of the Night" and "The Poseidon Adventure", but was equally known for his television work.

Not to worry, though, it's a heck of a good movie. Between Siegel and Silliphant they've got us covered. We follow the bad guys through an afternoon of pickups. The way it works is that unsuspecting tourists buy souvenir clay statues in Hong Kong. The statues are hollow inside and carry bags of heroin. The tourists are then tracked back to San Francisco (and presumably other cities) and have their luggage intercepted when they arrive on the ferry. Robert Keith assures Eli Wallach that the afternoon will proceed smoothly. Keith is a weird bird who writes down the last words of Wallach's victims. He's working on a book. When Wallach shoots a guy who tries to stiff him on a deal, Keith asks "did he say anything for me"? Yeah, he's a real creep. The cops have yet to identify the pair, but they screw up when Wallach kills a guy in a steam room. Two kids identify them by their "dark complexions" (I think they're supposed to be Cuban). This leads to a stakeout on their car. Roadblocks are established across the city, by the bayy-ay. Whoa-ee-yohh....ee-yo-oh-oh. Sorry but I couldn't help myself. Cue the guitar solo and get your lighter out while you're at it.

Where were we? Oh yeah, so Robert Keith and Wallach are making their pickups of the ceramic statues at various points in the city. It's their job to transfer the statues to their final destination, so an Unknown Bossman can receive them. But Wallach screws up again, at a hotel. The final clay figure is a doll this time, in the possession of a little girl. She's in the hotel with her mother. Wallach first tries picking Mom up, giving her the Mr. Lonely Heart routine. It works, and Mom invites him back to her room cause she's divorced and he seems like a real gentleman. Her daughter likes him too. But when she lets him hold her doll, he starts pulling it apart, looking for the H. That causes the little one to cry. Mom comes running and Wallach freaks out. He smashes the doll and reverts to his true self, a freakin' maniac. "What'd you do with it"?! he screams. "Where's the baggie that was inside? Where is it?! What'd you do with it"?! The little girl is cringing now. "Mommy he broke my doll"! "Listen lady, if you value your lives, you'd better tell her to give me that baggie".

"But I can't", cries the girl. "I used the white powder that was inside to powder my dollie's face". Wow. Not good. Wallach and Keith are gonna be dead meat with Mr. Big. Then he gets an idea. "You two are coming with me". He takes them hostage and puts them in the car. Keith is waiting in the back seat and I forgot to mention that Richard Jaeckel is their driver. Wallach's idea is to take Mom and daughter to see The Big Boss. "You tell him what you told me. I just hope he believes it". It's the only chance Wallach and Keith have of getting out this thing alive.

There's gonna be a hell of a chase through The Streets of San Francisco (sorry, couldn't help it again) with Richard Jaeckel trying to outdo Steve McQueen. That's all I can reveal, but man what a slam-bang ending! Though there is that "police procedural" feel to the plot, and the only mystery is when the bad guys will be caught, it's a very exciting ride on the way. I give "The Lineup" Two Big Thumbs Up, with a special recommendation for Keith and Wallach's performances. The picture on this one is also widescreen and razor sharp. Two very good movies for your perusal. /////

That's all the news for the moment, except for.......er......The Rams? I hope you didn't see or hear the game tonight, but.........um.............it was terrible. We were worried last week after the Rams got clobbered by the Tennessee Titans, and we asked if that's who they really were. In short, did Tennessee expose them? Was their 7-1 record (at the time) a fluke? After the thorough butt-whipping they took tonight at the hands of San Francisco (there's that City again), I'd have to say yes. 7-1 looks like it was a fluke, because the Rams, right now, suck. The last two weeks they look like a wimpy team, mediocre at best. Let's hope they turn it around, otherwise I can hear Jared Goff saying "see, it wasn't my fault after all". Yikes. Good thing this is a bye week. I hope you had a nice day and I send you Tons of Love as always.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)