We're on a Brit flick kick of late, and we've got two good ones starring the same guy, an American named Sheldon Lawrence, who sort of strolls his way through these pictures - genial even when he's pissed off. He's smiling all the time because he feels obligated to share his handsomeness with you, and in "Mark of the Phoenix", he's a jewel thief named "Chuck Martin", who comes into possession of a cigarette case made out of an experimental metal that is resistant to radiation, and therefore invaluable in atomic warfare. As the movie opens, three grim-faced hoodlums are driving down a dirt road in the Belgian countryside, on their way to the home of a scientist. When they get there, they force him to mold the liquid metal that is bubbling away in his lab. The hoods, wearing suits and gloves (of course), instruct the scientist to make plates that will become the cigarette cases, which they have him coat in sterling silver. Then they shoot him and make it look like suicide.
Martin the thief comes into possession of one of the cases, through his fence, a jeweler. The hoodlums' boss, a Belgian big shot, wants to get his hands on it for political blackmail, but so does a Russian secret agent and also the Belgian IBCurly.
The big shot's girl, half his age, is tired of being treated like an afterthought. He gives her plenty of stolen trinkets, but she thinks he's cheap: "You get them at a discount, just like everything in your life." She wants a "real man" and falls for Chuck Martin, though it can't last. You just can't smile all the time at a romantic Belgian chick. This one is good because the director keeps the action moving, and because it has a cold war stealth-metal premise. Sheldon Lawrence holds his own against well-known European actors like Anton Diffring, and there are brief subplots, like the kidnap and torture of the Russian agent by the hoodlums. It would've been nice (as usual) if they'd developed the importance of the experimental metal, and spent less time on the handsomeness and the romance, but then they'd have had to fork over for a better screenwriter and we might not have been treated to Sheldon Lawrence.
The movie was made by a group called Butcher's Films, which - I mean, you're taking a chance calling your company Butcher's Films, aren't you? Think of the critics waiting to pounce: "they've butchered yet another one!" But this flick is good, and it's all shot on location in late '50s Belgium, not a place that would top your vacation bucket list, perhaps, but interesting to look at onscreen.. Two Big Thumbs Up for "Mark of the Phoenix", the picture is widescreen and very good. ////
The previous night, we had our other Sheldon Lawrence feature, "Black Tide"(1958), with an atypical set-up: two swimmers are competing to cross the English Channel. One, "Danny Parker" (Lawrence), is professional, though he's making his first Channel swim. Ditto for the other swimmer, "Kitty Tyndall" (Joy Webster), an amateur. John Ireland plays Danny's brother "Griff" and is also his trainer. Danny likes Kitty and takes her under his wing. They do a 2 mile practice sprint together, and she flirts with him but seems nervous. Her British trainer is worried that she's distracted from her goal. Danny is falling for her and asks her to come to America when the Channel swim is over. Then, the day before, she disappears for several hours. Her trainer is now quite concerned. Griff tells him not to worry. "With athletes you've gotta give 'em some rope, gotta know when to lay back on the discipline."
Kitty returns late in the day, happier than before and ready to take on the Channel. We know where she went and why she's happy. Now comes the morning of the swim, and it's good stuff cinematically, because they're really swimming the Channel, all greased up and the works. The starting point is Butlin's Channel Camp (you've probably heard of England's series of Butlin's Holiday Camps. All English families have summered at a Butlin's, and Ringo was playing at one while in Rory Storm's band when he was hired to be in The Beatles). The water in the Channel is heaving and choppy, the fog thick as pea soup. No wonder England ruled the waves and the world. You've gotta be a tough people to live up against the frigid North Atlantic.
What's the deal with the Pacific ocean? The non-violent ocean? No wonder Hawaiians are so mellow. Anyhow, when they do swim the Channel, it's the best part of the movie. Their trainers are following them in rowboats, and there's a larger monitor boat making it official. A swimmer is disqualified if he or she touches any boat. They must be careful in the fog so they don't get lost. The current can pull them five miles off course. Something happens whilst the two (david) schwimmers are making the crossing. I shant tell you what, but it leads one of them to quit before they finish. This is the kind of plot I usually describe in detail, but because I like the Channel swim so much, I'm gonna leave it for you to see for yourself.
The one thing I will say, concerning what happens, is that there's no guesswork involved. John Ireland, whose character avoids women because "they're bad for athletes, they make you lose your focus", ends up with the beautiful hotel concierge (Maureen Connell), and they team up to solve the mystery of why the crossing wasn't completed. Two Big Thumbs Up for "Black Tide". Sheldon Lawrence is more serious in this one, but still smiles at every opportunity and the picture is also widescreen and very good. ////
That's all for the moment. I apologise for the less-detailed-than-normal reviews this time, but I've been working very hard on one of my two upcoming books (due later this year or early next year), and I'm a little short on time and somewhat bleary-eyed. My blogging music is still Van Der Graaf - "H to He" again, and my late night is still Handel's Aetsi. Talk about your binges: I can't stop listening to Handel Operas. He's the Wagner of 2023. I hope you had a nice day and I send you Tons of Love as always.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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