What classics did you see last week ? (24 Feb - 2 Mar 2019)

The Private Life Of Henry VIII / Alexander Korda (1933). London Film Productions. We just managed to live through The 91st Academy Awards so let’s take a trip back to the 6th Academy Awards and the first British movie to be nominated for Best Picture and the second subject of the Queen to win Best Actor (Charles Laughton). The movie is indeed about the King’s private life, meaning of course, four of his six marriages. There is nothing about England’s break with the Roman Catholic Church, the King’s wars, diplomacy, or governing. His first marriage is skipped over completely and the movie starts on the day his second wife, Anne Boleyn (Merle Oberon), is executed. The bulk of what is shown takes place during his fifth marriage to Katherine Howard (well-played by Binnie Barnes). It was she who Henry loved the most and the one who betrayed him in an affair with his trusted advisor, Thomas Culpeper (Robert Donat). Else Lanchester has a delightful moment as wife #4, a German noble named Anne of Cleves. Anne didn’t want to be Queen of England so on their wedding night, the King shows up ready for a romp in bed but she keeps putting him off. They end up playing cards until morning. The marriage was annulled as being unconsummated. You can tell by this that we have a robust pre-code picture here whose forthright talk about married sex and were babies and heirs come from could never have passed under Joe Breen. A fun movie.



Charles Laughton and Binnie Barnes


Elsa Lanchester



The Strange Woman / Edgar G. Ulmer (1946). Hunt Stromberg Productions. At last director Edgar Ulmer gets an A-picture budget, stars, and a costume saga to bring his noir sentiments to. Set in Bangor, Maine during the 1820s, Jenny Hager (Hedy Lamarr) has, from her childhood, vowed to escape the poverty her abusive father (Dennis Hoey) has raised her in – no matter what she has to do. She first marries an older man (Gene Lockhart) who is also the richest man in the entire area, but she then precedes to seduce the old man’s weak-willed son (Louis Hayward) and then the fiancé (George Sanders) of her best friend. However, she is loved by the townspeople because of her charitable work which she pursues with what looks like sincerity. It is to the film’s credit that these two sides of Jenny – femme fatale and philanthropist - are not given a pat explanation. The story may be just a bit too sprawling and it turns a little soapy toward the end, but an engrossing story all the same. The melodious and striking score is from composer Carmen Dragon, winner of an Oscar for Best Scoring Of A Musical Picture for the 1944 film “Cover Girl.” (Side Note: This Oscar category was last awarded for “West Side Story” at the 34th Academy Awards. It was dropped after that.)




Shed No Tears / Jean Yarbrough (1948). The movie opens as Sam Grover (the always excellent Wallace Ford) is setting a fire in an upper story hotel room. He then meets up with his wife Edna (June Vincent) and we find out that he has just faked his own death. The plan is for Sam to lay low for period of time after Edna has collected his substantial life insurance, then meet up below the border. But Edna has other ideas. She has a lover on the side with whom she plans to escape, cutting Sam out of the deal. June Vincent in a fine performance plays Edna as a hard-boiled ‘40s mean girl only out for herself. The movie is packed with incident throughout its 70 minute runtime but wraps up rather abruptly. This aside, all the noir elements are in place for an entertaining ride.



MeTV ran two Monkees episodes back-to-back whose stories featured Peter Tork. I find The Monkees to be funnier now than when I first watched the show back in the ‘60s. But, as the old saying goes, if you can remember the Sixties, you weren’t there.

The Monkees S.1 Ep. 13 “One Man Shy” December 5, 1966. Peter becomes infatuated with a rich girl but is too shy to approach her so his buddies attempt to help him out. The featured music in this episode is what would be their second hit to reach #1, Neil Diamond’s “I’m A Believer.”

The Monkees S. 2 Ep. 20 “The Devil and Peter Tork” February 5, 1968. Peter unknowingly signs away his soul for fame, fortune, and the ability to play the harp. The second half riffs on “The Devil and Daniel Webster” as the Monkees contest the contract at a trial in hell.

Peter fights a duel for Valerie’s affections


Peter is tormented by go-go girl devils



The Children Act / Richard Eyre (2017). Fiona Maye (Emma Thompson) is an experienced British Justice who presides over a family court. One of her cases concerns a teenage boy, Adam (Fionn Whitehead, Dunkirk). who is just two months from his 18th birthday and legal adulthood. He has contracted a virulent form of leukemia which requires blood transfusions a part of his treatment. He and his family, however, are Jehovah Witnesses so his parents (Ben Chaplin and Eileen Walsh) want to withhold the blood and rely on prayer and God’s will. The hospital is suing to allow the transfusions. Meanwhile, at home her marriage is suddenly falling apart. Her husband (Stanley Tucci), tired of a lack of intimacy with his busy wife, wants to find it elsewhere. Fiona’s private interview with Adam, her legal decision, and her confrontation with her husband lead to consequences for her life. Once again Emma Thompson has come up with an impossibly brilliant performance that should not be missed.





The Equalizer 2 / Antoine Fuqua (2018). Retired super-secret agent Robert McCall (Denzel Washington), who uses his fighting and killing skills to protect innocent people (often with them not knowing about his help), returns in Denzel’s first sequel of his movie career. Those sequences, which open and close the movie, are quiet good and involving. Most of the movie’s time, however, is taken up by a standard revenge plot which begins with the death of one of McCall’s former colleagues in the spy business. This story and how it develops turns quite tedious. A major draw of the film is the performance, almost a cameo, by 90-year-old Orson Bean who plays a Holocaust survivor trying to work the legal system to recover a painting he did of his sister which was lost when taken by the Nazis and is now in private hands. Bean made the entire movie for me.




Juliet, Naked / Jesse Peretz (2018). I thought this was going to be a drama but about half-way through I realized I was greatly enjoying a *gasp* Romantic Comedy. To clear something up right away, neither Juliet or anyone else is naked in this movie. Juliet is not even a person, but the title of an obscure alternative rock album from the 1990s. Annie (Rose Byrne) is in a dull relationship with Duncan (Chris O’Dowd in a wonderful comedy characterization) who is part of an on-line conspiracy group which is obsessed with the disappearance of the rocker Tucker Crowe who only produced one album (named Juliet) and soon after walked out of a gig between sets and was never seen again. One day Duncan receives a CD of the original demo of “Juliet” with only Crowe and his guitar but no other back-up music (hence “naked”). Annie listens to the disc and hates it. She signs on to Duncan’s group and anonymously writes a bad review. The review is read by Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke) who, it turns out, was not all that hard to find. Crowe contacts Annie and they begin a long distance relationship. Funny and touching, “Juliet, Naked” is one of the best films of 2018.

DARK SHADOWS (1969) “Episodes 696-700” 50TH ANNIVERSARY The conclusion of Part 1 of the Quentin Collins Saga is reached. Next week begins Part 2, and to what many consider the Soap Opera’s High Point- 1897. MPI Video DVD.

CHARMED (1999) “Is there a Woogy in the House?” 20TH ANNIVERSARY. Halliwell Manor has a dark secret in the basement, and it possesses Phoebe. This episode marks the first appearance of Jennifer Rhodes’ matriarch Grams- albiet in flashback. Paramount DVD.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (1979) “Kate Jackson/Delbert McClinton” 40TH ANNIVERSARY. Today’s episode has a storyline- John Belushi plays NBC President Fred Silverman, revealed to be an ABC sleeper agent intent to ruin NBC via any means necessary. There is mention of the short-lived NBC series LITTLE WOMEN, a spinoff of the 1978 TV movie (of which I celebrated its 40th anniversary last October), without Laurie Partridge, Elyse Keaton, Mrs. Miniver, and Captain Kirk, although Jan Brady comes back as Beth’s lookalike cousin. Universal DVD.

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF SHIELD (2018) “The Force of Gravity.” The penultimate Season 5 episode, I viewed this complete while viewing the end of the previous episode “I Will Save the World” and the beginning of the next “The End”. Netflix.

ZORRO (1957) “Slaves of the Eagle” & “Sweet Face of Danger.” ZORRO 100TH ANNIVERSARY Disney DVD.

SPARROWS (1926) UNITED ARTISTS 100TH ANNIVERSARY. Since I have already done a Chaplin, three Griffiths, and two Fairbanks, I had to watch a Mary Pickford before the UA beginning month ended. This one, a thriller of orphans surviving a swamp, I knew about from Everson’s CLASSICS OF THE HORROR FILM, which describes a revival screening where a child ran away in discomfort over the scene of Gustav Von Seyffertitz throwing a doll into the swamp. Milestone Blu-Ray.

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES (1979) “Anne’s Impressions of Sunday School.” 40TH ANNIVERSARY. Youtube.

KID MILLIONS (1934) UNITED ARTISTS 100TH ANNIVERSARY. And now to the Sam Goldwyn films. Eddie Cantor’s next-to-last film during his early-30s peak. First saw parts of this on the Nostalgia Channel, and then saw the full on American Movie Classics during a weekly Cantor marathon in July 1992. HBO Video VHS.

THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN (1984) “The Tower of Silence” 35TH ANNIVERSARY. PBS Video DVD.

DRAGON BALL (1989) “Nothing Else Can Be Done!!” 30TH ANNIVERSARY. Funimation DVD.

AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS (1956) UNITED ARTISTS 100TH ANNIVERSARY. Michael Todd’s All-Star production of Jules Verne’s Novel, beginning with an Edward R. Murrow introduction with Georges Melies’ A TRIP TO THE MOON (1902) and then getting to the main plot with David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine, as well as Ronald Colman, Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich, Peter Lorre, Noel Coward, Sir John Gielgud, Robert Morley, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Buster Keaton, Gilbert Roland, Charles Boyer, etc. Infamous as one of the ‘worst Best Picture winners’ I always had a fondness for it. Aside from some glimpses of the film in the past, I first saw it on Cinemax in 1992, got the VHS for Christmas that year (thus allowing me to have A TRIP TO THE MOON in my possession in those pre-Kino days). Warner DVD.

A DIFFERENT WORLD (1989) “Greek to Me” 30TH ANNIVERSARY. I remember watching this episode when it was first broadcast on NBC, as Wayne and Ron join a fraternity and do a rap version of Little Red Riding Hood for children. TV One VHS Broadcast.

DRAGON BALL SUPER (2017) “Rampage! A Crazed Warrior’s Savagery Awakens!” Cartoon Network English Premiere Broadcast.

Earliest this Month: AMERICA (1924)
Latest this Month: MARVEL’S AGENTS OF SHIELD (2018) “The Force of Gravity.”

 Walk a Crooked Mile (1948)

www.imdb.com/review/rw4689582/?ref_=tt_urv  6/10



Raw Deal (1948)

www.imdb.com/review/rw2397593/?ref_=tt_urv  9/10



The Train Robbers (1973)

www.imdb.com/review/rw2712938/?ref_=tt_urv  8/10



Trance (2013)

www.imdb.com/review/rw2776729/?ref_=tt_urv  9/10

Believe it or not..... was a first time viewing.

U Turn (2nd viewing) is a moderate recommendation.

It's worth a shot. Great cast and Jennifer Lopez is gorgeous.

The problem is Oliver Stone: sometimes he needs to be constrained and whoever does that was missing this time. Quite a lot of humor at the beginning; I wish he had kept that going.

The Strange Woman, I liked it plenty, most interesting >

Bangor is mine and it owes me a living. 


The Strange Woman is directed by Edgar G. Ulmer who also co-writes the screenplay with Hunt Stromberg and Herb Matthews from the novel of the same name written by Ben Ames Williams. It stars Hedy Lamarr, George Sanders, Louis Hayward, Gene Lockhart, Hilary Brooke, Rhys Williams and June Storey. Music is by Carmen Dragon and cinematography by Lucien N. Andriot.

I don't want the youngest. I want the richest!

Well well, what an intriguing little period noir this is. Story deals with Jenny Hagar (Lamarr), a strong and scheming woman who in 1840s Bangor in Maine, uses men for her own gains whilst exuding a double persona that shunts her into the upper echelons of the town's standings. But, as we become privy to Jenny's back story and psychological make-up, you can feel that cloud of pessimism closing in.

There will always be arguments put forward about if the likes of The Strange Woman should be classed as noir or not, but with Ulmer and Andriot cloaking the tale with claustrophobic shadows and low lights, the blacks and whites atmospherically used, thus the visuals are in place to marry up with the story, and what a story.

Jenny Hagar is a classic femme fatale, in fact fatalistic could be her middle name. We get a sneak peak of her deviousness as a child, and then we see her as a luscious older beauty, dangling men around her fingers and fully committed to marrying purely for money. What follows Jenny around is murder, suicide, incest, seduction, greed, violence and alcoholism! And of course, self-destruction.

Jenny has no qualms about who she tramples on to achieve her ends, but the kicker in her story is that she does have good in her fighting to get out, she can be charitable at times, and as we come to understand her upbringing she even garners a level of sympathy from the audience. It's this dual aspect of her make-up that intrigues greatly, but she's fighting a losing battle, more so as Bangor is the wrong place for her, itself a confused mess of unsavoury or spoilt characters.

There were problems behind the scenes, but so many conflicting reports exist it's hard to know what is true and who was pulling the main strings. What we do know is that Ulmer, armed with a bigger budget than usual, has crafted a moody and daring picture that strikes devilish notes without banging the drum too loudly. Striking scenes and imagery are many, thunderstorm seduction, lairy lumberjacks, river of death and the big finale are just some of the moments showing what Ulmer was capable off.

While Lamarr, for her pet project to move her into darker roles and be taken seriously as an actress, turns in a top performance. Unafraid of the material, she cuts loose with a blend of sexual dynamism and troubled soul. Around her are fine performances from Lockhart, Hayward and Brooke, though Sanders is a touch out of place. The pace sometimes sags, and motivations and actions of support characters could have been more fleshy, but in the main this is well worth taking a stroll down a dark alley for. 7.5/10

Shed No Tears. Didn't have a lot to say about it but liked it enough >

Single Indemnity… 

Directed by Jean Yarbrough and starring Wallace Ford and June Vincent, Shed No Tears was once one of those lost film noirs that noiristas craved to see. Now widely available to view, it proves to be a decent journey into noirville, even if it becomes a touch shaky come the final third.

Plot has Vincent as a devious femme fatale wife who convinces her husband (Ford) to fake his own death. The plan is to get rich on the insurance claim, but soon it becomes apparent that hubby is caught in a web of murder, blackmail and treachery. The plot dynamics are laid out for us very early in the peace, leaving the rest of the narrative to tease us with the shifty shenanigans of the protagonists. Classic noir staples are adhered to with the characterisations, viper woman, dupes, dopes, crooks and cronies. Yarbrough moves it along at a good old "B noir" clip, while the screenplay has enough twists and surprises in it to keep the noir faithful pleased. 7/10

Around the World in Eighty Days. Yes I often wonder if I had seen it as a youngster if I would like it more, I only caught it for the first time in 2008 >

Spot the cameo in 5 Oscar winning epic.

Based on the wonderful writing from Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days is just shy of three hours, this was my first ever visit to the film and my reaction is mainly positive, though tempered with a small sense of unfulfillment.

Phileas Fogg takes a wager from his fellow London club members that he can't circle the globe in 80 days, this it should be noted is 1872 where transport was not of the fast and dynamic variety. Fogg and his trusty servant Passepartout, set off on a journey that brings many adventures, and many humorous scrapes. They meet a wonderful array of characters and travel on many forms of transport, it is in short a magical journey.

The production here from Mike Todd is gargantuan, the sets are incredible, the multiple locations befit the multi cast of actors that grace the film (have fun playing spot the star in this one). The costumes and the score are spot on, while Lionel Lindon's cinematography rightly won the gold award because it's lush and cloaks the delightful story with a number of treats for the eyes. David Niven is perfect as Fogg, whilst Cantinflas as Passepartout is perfect foil for Fogg's staid stiff upper lippery.

Yet in spite of it's obvious beauty the film is a touch overlong, some scenes are padded far too much when surely a shorter take would have made its mark equally enough? I was surprised by the ending being so short and sweet, yes, sure it's fitting, but after sitting through just under 3 hours of film you are not being unreasonable to expect a grand fanfare type of ending. Still, it doesn't take away from this being a good cinematic achievement. As to if it stands up to repeat viewing? I'll have to see on that one... 7.5/10

I'll have to get to a revisit at some point.