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Reviews
Dönence (2023)
The gorgeous Foça backdrop and the autistic story line are the big draws for this Turkish Summer tv series.
An Istanbul family moves to the small seaside town of Foça for a better life for their autistic daughter. The father Cem is doing his best to set his family, which consists of his lovely wife Verda and two daughters Gece and Gülce, up so he can have a risky surgery performed on the brain tumor he has kept secret from them. The eldest daughter, Gece, is initially very upset to be leaving Istanbul with her friends and boyfriend Emir...but thinks she will be back to Istanbul soon to attend a music conservatory. She is also somewhat resentful initially of her autistic younger sister Gülce, who is trying to break away from her over protective mom and become a more normal girl...which has her heavily relying on her sister to go out into the public. Gülce attends a sailing school in Foça with other autistic children where they meet the handsome instructor Özgür and his autistic brother Rüzgar. As Gece's relationship with her boyfriend Moro sours a relationship develops between her and özgür, who encourages Gece to be a better sister to Gülce.
There is some interesting intrigue along the way with Miro hurting someone in a pedestrian/motorcycle accident, someone trying to steal Verda away from Cem, and someone trying to convince Özgür to do some illegal smuggling. All of this leads back to the fire that killed Özgür and Rüzgur's parents.
I really enjoyed the beautiful family relationship of the Olgun family and I particularly liked the love shown between Verda and Cem. These two were solid, excellent parents. I also really appreciated the character of Özgür, who came home after his parents die to take care of his severely autistic brother...I particularly liked his positive attitude. Life is hard enough, so it was so sweet to see such a lovely brotherly bond.
There were a few things that frustrated me with the series...like the father would rather be thought to have a gambling problem than admit to having a brain tumor? But these were minor quibbles.
I loved Foça and seeing sights around the city. I liked the small tight knit cast. It was interesting to see some of the struggles faced both as an autistic teenager and as a parent of a bright but autistic daughter.
I think if you are at all interested in or associated with autism that you will enjoy this series.
My review is based on watching the entire series in it's original Turkish language with English subtitles.
Junebug (2024)
Autumn Reeser and Aaron O'Connell save this fairly mainstream Hallmark film not filmed in Seattle.
I initially thought the kid was going to be a real turnoff, but she ended up being more endearing than I expected. The film is really saved by the chemistry between Autumn Reeser and Aaron O'Connell. The overall story is ok, but the romance is the reason to watch.
A shout out to the parents in this film...I kind of liked their kooky and cohesive unit.
Now my Seattle rant, while I love that Hsllmark wants to set these films in Seattle and uses some stock footage along with a couple name drops to solidify their "location"...it is so blatantly obvious that it isn't actually Seattle. As someone who lived on Capital Hill for more than two decades, I can spot a fake from a mile away. Why not set the film in Canada if you are going to shoot it there? Would anyone really care? Or...and here is a novel concept why not actually set it in Seattle if you are going to say it is Seattle, pay the money, bite the bullet and film it in Seattle.
Gabriel's Redemption: Part Three (2023)
Gabriel and Julia's family grows in this latest installment of the Gabriel's Inferno series produced by Passionflix, and fans are going to love it.
I'm a huge Passionflix fan and I really am grateful that they are bringing to screen beloved novels. It is thanks to Musk's interest in the Gabriel's Inferno series that I picked up and read the books. (I am always looking for great romantic stories.)
If you are a fan of the series you will love this continuation of the story which wraps up the third book. One piece of constructive criticism this film felt a bit rushed and the ending not finished, but in it's defense there was a lot of story to get through while staying true to the books...which is an aspect of Passionflix I really appreciate.
I am hoping the final book will be produced...Gabriel's promise, because I would hate to think that this is where the saga ends.
The Red House (1947)
There are moments of beauty like kids swimming in a lake in this pastoral teen noir that show cases Edward G. Robinson and a haunting red house.
This is an odd little noir built ostensibly around a few high school teenagers, but Edward G. Robinson makes a valiant effort to steal their show. Billed as a film noir, it's almost more of a ghost story.
The sweet Meg Morgan gets her friend and secret high school crush, Nath Storm, an after school job at her aunt Ellen and uncle Pete's farm helping out. After an evening of work, with a storm approaching, Nath decides to take a shortcut through the woods home. This is when something strange starts to happen Pete begins to get really twitchy and coming up with all sorts reasons why Nath should avoid the woods...particularly the red house therein. This not only gets Nath suspicious, but Meg as well...throw in an armed juvenile delinquent paid to keep people off the property and you have recipe for disaster.
This seems geared towards a teen market, but between the haunting music and Edward G. Robinson's gripping performance it appeals to a much greater audience. I particularly appreciated the teen actors Lon McCallister and Allene Roberts whose fresh-faced innocence really sold their performances.
While not high on my list I think serious Film Noir fans should have this on their list along with Edward G. Robinson fans.
The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)
A sad story that is also filled with the hope of youth and a very humanizing look at the plight of Jewish families during WWII.
This film is based on the famous real-life diary of Anne Frank, a German born Jewish girl, who lives in hiding in the attic of a Dutch factory run by a friend of her father's from 1942 to 1944 in a Nazi occupied Netherlands.
The story begins as Anne, her older sister Margot, her parents and the Van Daan family, which includes their teenage son Peter, are shown to the attic behind a hidden door in the upstairs office of a Dutch Factory managed by the kindly Kraler and his secretary Miep Gies. These tight quarters are to be their shared home until the occupation is over. During the day, while the factory workers are working, the families are to remain quiet and shoeless without using water or making noise of any kind. The days are spent reading and for the kids doing their studies. Once the last factory worker has left for the day, they can finally breathe a sigh of relief...put their shoes on and move about. But the one thing they can never do is go outside the attic door. They rely on the meager rations and weekly visits from Kraler and Miep. They eventually are joined by another Jew in hiding a dentist named Albert Dussell.
The tension is built as their collective fears play out, in addition to some domestic squabbles and teenage love. The one thing this story does is humanizes their plight. When I was young this film was not only shown in schools, but was annually played on both the local and national television stations. Millie Perkins, who plays Anne Frank, manages to instill this tragic story with just the right level of hope.
I think this film honors the source material, making it a recommendation from me. It's worth seeing at least once.
Sophie's Choice (1982)
Tragic story of two star-crossed lovers, ala Romeo and Juliet.
This was a watch and delete for me. I waited a long time to see it and found it quite morose and without a purpose. I wasn't exactly entertained and I found myself troubled by Meryl Streep's Polish accent.
The story begins post WWII, when Stingo moves into a New Jersey Victorian that was divided into apartments. He is a Southerner and set on making it as a writer. The room in the New Jersey house was painted a peptobismal pink because the owner's husband got a good deal on the paint during the war. No sooner does Stingo move in, but he is befriended by this fiery couple who lives upstairs. Sophie is a Polish Auschwitz survivor and Nathan is the easily excited Jewish biochemist who fell in love with her. As it turns out both have rather dark secrets. Sophie has been lying to Stingo about her father and her past...and Nathan's brother reveals his serious mental health issues.
After seeing this, I understand why Kevin Klein was cast in A Fish Called Wanda...he plays crazy well. In this case he is a self-medicating volatile schizophrenic. Unfortunately, it's Sophie and Stingo who are the focus of this story...and it is painfully obvious from the beginning that Stingo is in love with Sophie, so in love that by the time she reveals all her lies and stories...he no longer cares. He still wants to marry her.
Be warned this film deals with a dark topic in a bit of a grey way and it has a very sad ending. I have read a lot about the amazing performances, but it was hard to get around the dark topic and it's slow pacing. Worth seeing once, but I won't be watching it again.
Who Is Erin Carter? (2023)
I love a man...or woman who can do anything and that is who Eric Carter is!
This series starts when a mom witness a robbery at the local market and intervenes in such a way that we know there is more to this substitute teacher than we know...or her daughter knows or her partner knows. This puts Eric Carter, the British school teacher living in Spain, on the radar of individuals she didn't want to draw the attention of. One of whom is her partner Jordi's best friend, who just happened to be a police officer. As the body count starts to pile up, it gets harder and harder for Erin to maintain this quiet idyllic life she has built with Jodi and her daughter Harper.
The acting in this was great, particularly by the lead Evin Ahmad who played a surprisingly sympathetic and believable Erin Carter, Sean Teale who played her partner Jodi Collantes and by Indica Watson who played the young daughter Harper. The back drop for this action adventure crime thriller was the coastal town of Barcelona, Spain...and it was spectacular. This whole series made me want to by a ticket and go there (minus the violence and killing of course).
As mentioned, I love a gal who can do anything like Erin Carter, especially when they sell the action scenes...which I feel that they did. One thing that was problematic for me was how quickly she healed from really bad beatings. There is no way she wouldn't be bruised up...which could have been covered by clothing, but wasn't.
This makes my recommendation list for action and thriller fans...I think there is a lot to enjoy in this series and even though I did figure out some of the twists before they were revealed, it didn't deter from my enjoyment in large part because of the acting and location.
The Stranger (2020)
You won't know what you want until it's gone in this twisty mystery thriller based on the writing of Harlan Coben.
This starts as the story of a husband and father who is approached by a stranger who tells him a secret about his wife...but ends up being so much more as we learn the same stranger has visited multiple individuals with secrets from their lives, which is where this gets interesting as some of these secrets and stories start to intersect. Filled with action, drama and great acting particularly by Richard Armitage who played the husband/father Adam Price this is a wonderfully twisty mystery thriller that will keep your attention until the end.
There is a naked, drugged badly injured high school boy who shows up in the woods, a decapitated sheep from a local farm, a missing but beloved school teacher, stolen money from the football/soccer club, inappropriate photos posted of an underage girl, a girl ill with a mysterious illness, a woman retiring and leaving her husband, an absentee father/grandfather, a blackmailer, and a holdout homeowner in a block that is being bulldozed in the name of progress...and most of this is within one small community.
There is a lot of commentary here about whether or not the ends justifies the means, but the moral seems to be you don't know what you want until it's gone. I enjoyed the friendships, the family moments and the hilarious banter between Siobhan Finneran, who played the detective Johanna Griffin, and her partner. I was thrilled to see Anthony Head, I have always been a big fan of his and didn't know he was in this series, so I was delighted to see him.
I am really loving the storytelling of Harlan Coben and I have yet to pick up one of his books...which is looking like a must for me. I recommend this series to fans of thrillers, mysteries and just interesting or twisty storytelling. So often writers of really twisty plots have difficulty sticking the landing (or tying everything back in together), but Coben seems to do an excellent job bringing everything together. Now you might not like the ending, but you have to admit that he has brought everything together neatly.
This is a recommendation from me and I am looking forward to seeing and reading more.
Forst (2024)
Cold and atmospheric Polish crime thriller involving a serial killer in the Tatras mountains and the fictional famous detective Wiktor Forst.
There is a serial killer brutality murdering and posing his victims in interestingly tied climbing rope with a coin placed in their mouthes in the icy but gorgeous Tatras Mountains on the Slovakia-Poland border. The detective originally assigned to the case is the infamous policeman Wiktor Forst.
There is wonderful atmosphere in this cold and disturbing Polish crime thriller. It initially gave me very dark vibes ala Scandinavian crime dramas like The Killing and The Chestnutman. This is based on the popular Polish novels that center around the life of the brilliant but troubled detective Wiktor Forst and his unconventional ways. The acting in this series is pretty decent, but the cinematography is fantastic. I think I would recommend this series to people just to see the spectacular snow covered landscape around Zakopane, Poland.
While initially working the case, Forst meets a tenacious female reporter Olga Szrebska and after he is officially kicked off the case and assigned to a missing person's case, the two of them continue to try to piece the mystery of the serial killer together. The clues lead them to an interesting location, the Mountain Remembrance Headquarters. It's a foundation where they collect everything on Gorals and the Tatras. Great historical photos provide a key to this case that dates back to WWII.
My husband and I were able to guess who the killer was, but I don't think it deterred too much from our enjoyment of the dark series,. That mystery may be solved, but the end leaves an opening for a second season when a character we have grown to trust over the series turns out to have a hidden motive. The music was good and added drama and atmosphere appropriately, there is an amazingly creepy exclusive sex club so high in the mountains you can only reach it by a gondola, but the real reason to watch this series is the amazing setting as I stated previously. It's cold, stark and breathtaking...you couldn't ask for a better backdrop. For me this is a must see for crime thriller fans for the location alone.
My review is based on watching the series in it's original language, Polish, with English subtitles.
El inocente (2021)
I came for Mario Casaa, but stayed for the great twisted story...involving the secret pasts of a young newly expecting married couple.
A young law student Mateo who is convinced to go to a club by his brother ends up in an altercation outside in which he accidentally pushes another young man named Dani who falls, fatally striking his head on a rock. Mateo, thanks to some creative remembering of events by Dani's friends gets the maximum sentence in prison for negligent homicide. In prison he is picked on and decides to build his body to protect himself. While in prison he is given leave when his parents are both killed in a car accident. He meets a lovely lady Olivia Costa while on leave and they have one nice evening together. Mat doesn't tell her he has to go back to prison.
Three months after Mat's release from prison he is hired as a paralegal at his brother Isma's law firm and is asked to select consultants for a case...one of those ends up being Olivia. Two years after they first met neither has forgotten the other and they begin a romance. She fills his future with hope. Then his brother has a brain hemorrhage and dies out of the blue. Mat feels like life is punishing him, so he confesses to Olivia how he was in prison for accidentally killing a boy, but she stays with him.
Four years after that, mat and Olivia find themselves pregnant and that is where the real story begins...
While at the hospital getting an ultra sound, Mat sees the father of the boy he killed...who also sees him. Mat and Olivia search for a new home and they find one near his brother's widow and niece and nephew...unfortunately it is also right across the street from two spectators who lied in court about that fateful night, one of which is Hugo who started the fight.
Olivia heads on a business trip and Mat meets the mother of the boy he killed, for what is apparently their usual ritual where she pretends he is the dead son Dani. This of course is done without her husband's knowledge. Meanwhile, Mat is clearly being followed...then he receives an ominous message from a man from Olivia's phone. This strange man proceeds to show him images of a naked and asleep or drugged Olivia. When he calls Olivia's phone the mystery man introduces himself as the man who knows his wife's secrets which follows Mat getting hit by a car and threatened with a gun.
Mat hires a P. I. friend named Zoe to help him figure out these mounting mysteries that seem very personal.
This is a dark and interesting story, with some even darker back story. When these strange things start happening, we don't know if it is because of Mat's past or Olivia's. I really enjoyed Zoe's loyalty and some of the loyalty shown to Mat especially since he had such a rough shake. I actually came to this series because I really like the actor Mario Casas who plays Mateo, and I was even more excited to discover it was based on a Harlan Coben novel. I loved the pacing, the setting and how the story was told. There was an interesting story telling tool employed...each episode was narrated from a different characters perspective teaching us more about them, including the orphaned detective Lorena Ortiz.
I think Harlan Coben fans will appreciate the series as will fans of mystery thrillers. This is a recommendation from me, but be prepared for a fairly dark and violent story.
My review is based on watching this series in it's original language, Spanish, with English subtitles.
Fool Me Once (2024)
Michelle Keegan is fantastic in this Harlan Cobin series who's twists and turns do not disappoint. Recommend giving this a go.
I am relatively new to Harlan Coben having been largely unfamiliar with his work, but I enjoyed this short series based on his work. What really carried the eight episodes of this series were the lead actress Michelle Keegan (Maya Stern) and the lead detective Sami Kierce played by Adeel Akhtar. I loved the twists and turns that I now associate with Harlan Coben's storytelling style...along with this style of mystery thriller. (I definitely need to add one of his books to my "to read" pile.) The supporting cast in this series was particularly great Richard Armitage, Emmett J. Scanlan, Marcus Garvey, Dino Fetscher and Joanna Lumley.
The story starts with Maya Stern burying her husband after his murder and attending the memorial at his wealthy family's home...which surprisingly is attended by the lead detective in his murder case a Sami Kierce. Throughout the series we get these lovely flashbacks to how Maya met and married her husband Joe...and what their marriage was like. She actually was in the military, but forced out of a career she loved over a controversial friendly fire incident. Maya is a helicopter pilot instructor, but still maintains a friendship with her military intelligence officer and friend Shane Tessier. Maya has a somewhat antagonistic relationship with her wealthy mother-in-law, Judith Burkett (played so fabulously by abfab star Joanna Lumley), who may be trying to take her and Joe's daughter Lily away from her. Her sister, Claire, who worked for Joe's company Burkett Global Enterprises as a pharmaceutical scientist was murdered in her own home weeks prior to Joe's murder. Claire's husband Eddie Walker has a close relationship with Maya, which is beneficial for both their kids. This is one of my favorite relationships, Eddie and Maya's. I really appreciates how she knows what a good father her is.
Her good friend Eva, gives her a picture frame nanny cam and she ends up seeing her dead husband visiting Lily on it. When she confronts the nanny, that's when things get weird and she starts to investigate...that's when the series gets interesting and mysteries start unfolding. Our detective, Sami, seems to be having some unusual medical issues and is assigned a young partner named Marty...who I agree with Sami should be fired for not knowing who Duran Duran is. When the bullets used to kill Joe are tied to those used to kill Maya's sister Claire, the story becomes infinitely more interesting.
Excellent production quality, I really liked the locations and in particular the homes used. It was fun that there was an older murder that ties into the main mystery and that there was a theme of the wealthy covering up for their own. I also really liked the family theme woven throughout the series.
"Is she good enough, this bit of rough? Was she really good enough for my special boy?"
I think mystery thriller fans and Harlan Coben fans will enjoy this series. I think I am hooked and definitely need to seek out more Harlan Coben.
"Lying is never good policing."-Sami.
Between Heaven and Hell (1956)
This was an odd, almost schizophrenic film for me.
This is a WWII film that takes place in the Pacific theater without a lot of actual war being shown. The story sort of fluctuates between showing us Sam's spoiled life in the south as a rich and un-empathetic owner of three cotton gins and land being share cropped and his time as a private in WWII.
The story is supposed to tell us that Sam's time in the trenches with actual sharecroppers made him value and respect them so much that when he gets home he is going to elevate their lives by paying them better etc. We see some of them die and we see him have the shakes, but we don't really see the friendships built or character development...it's really just spoon fed verbally almost as an afterthought which is unfortunate...because really there were some decent actors and with a good script rewrite, I think they could have told the story that they wanted to tell.
Robert Wagner is young and handsome in this film, I imagine his fans will enjoy it. Not a recommendation from me however.
Flamingo Road (1949)
I really enjoyed this noir even though Sidney Greenstreet plays a particularly odious character.
The film starts with a corrupt southern sheriff named Titus Simple (Sydney Greenstreet) sending his deputy sheriff to shut the carnival down. When Fielding Carlisle (Zachary Scott) arrives everyone involved in the carnival has fled except for one of it's exotic dancers Lane Bellamy (Joan Crawford), who he takes for a meal and gets her a job at the same cafe. The two start up a romance that Sheriff Titus is eager to put an end to as he has a plan to put Field in politics and marry him off to a local debutante.
"I told you I had plans for you. Plans that don't include you getting mixed up with that stray cat from the carnival."-Sheriff Titus
To get Lane out of town Titus frames her for solicitation. While in the joint she meets an interesting character who points her to a job close to town...a way to stay close to Field but out of Titus' reach, working for a colorful character named Lute Mae Sanders (Gladys George). Lute Mae hosts a regular card game with the local movers and shakers around, including a Dan Reynolds (David Brian), who seems to be the big man that the others answer to.
"My boyfriend cut himself on a knife I was holding."-female inmate
After taking care of Dan when he was drunk and not feeling well, he and Lane take up with each other about the same time Titus decides to cut Field loose and run for Governor himself...and to do so means a lot of blackmail and a big frame up.
"Pinch it's ear, Bob. I like to hear it squeal!"-Titus
The exotic captivating dancers of the far East...and there in the middle was Joan Crawford, it was great! I actually really enjoyed Joan Crawford in this film and found her character of Lane to be not only sympathetic, but an interesting and strong woman worth watching. She doesn't let Greenstreet's odious Titus push her around or drive her out of town. I enjoyed David Brian and wasn't really familiar with his work.
This is a noir that should be on both classic film fans, fans of Joan Crawford and Sydney Greenstreet, and film noir fans' must see list. I still expect to see Titus sitting on the porch of The Palmer House with the fan spinning over his head and his hat with it's own chair. Definitely a recommendation from me.
Desperate (1947)
Raymond Burr is a brutal thug in this noir who gets his little brother the electric chair and uses a former military pal getting him in trouble with the law.
Newlyweds Steve and Anne Randall are celebrating their four month anniversary and tonight Anne has a surprise in store for Steve, she is expecting. Steve gets a call for a run for his delivery truck and Anne talks him into going...which ends up being an unfortunate mistake.
The call came from a former military buddy played by Raymon Burr (Walt Radak) and his gang who want to use his truck to smuggle stolen furs...only once Steve arrives at the pickup he wants nothing to do with their plan. Unfortunately Walt isn't going to let him go, including threatening his wife. Steve is able to use his headlights to signal the cop on duty, which gets Walt's little brother shot and caught. Eventually Steve gets away and immediately calls Anne to pack a bag. The two meet on the train and make their way to her aunt and uncle's farm. Walt hires a P. I. To track down Steve, which he successfully does. Once Anne is safe, Steve tries to turn himself in because the police think he is part of Radak's gang and in on it from the beginning...only the cops don't seem to believe Steve's story and are happy to use him as bait to catch the rest of the gang.
This is a pretty good cat and mouse noir, but my favorite parts of the film had nothing to do with that. I loved the sweet moments with Anne and her neighbor preparing to surprise Steve with the baby news and the wedding that Anne's relatives host for her and Steve when they find out they only had a courthouse marriage. It was nice to see the good and good people when there is a relentless criminal like Radak running around.
Not groundbreaking or even very significant for a noir...but lots of travel and then there are those sweet newlywed moments. I think I would recommend this to Raymond Burr fans.
Deception (1946)
This is Claude Rains' show from beginning to end and well worth the watch.
This an interesting noir that has Bette Davis playing Christine Radcliffe a musician and budding composer who reunites with her pre-WWII European boyfriend who she had mistook for dead, Karel Novak (Paul Henreid). The two unite in New York at a University concert Karel is performing in, which is how Christine "schatzi" found him. She rushes him post concert to her apartment after their joyous reunion. Looking around her loft Manhattan apartment with it's grand piano and fancy statues...Karel starts to question how Christine survived and had such nice things, he remembers how girls...even good girls survived after the last Great War.
Schatzi immediately starts making up some story about teaching students of wealthy families and how generous they are with gifts etc. It's clear she is in a rush to get with Karel to the altar. During their post-wedding celebration the reason for her rush becomes clear as the famous composer Alexander Hollenius (Claude Rains). As much as Christine is gas-lighting her husband, it is clear that she and Hollenius had a romantic relationship...and that he is the real source of her luxurious abode.
This begins an ugly battle between Bette Davis' character and Claude Rains' character, one who is dangling fame and fortune for Karel if he is told the truth about their relationship and the other who will do anything to prevent Karel from finding out.
Bette Davis plays a real piece of work, but make no mistake this is Claude Rains' show and he is fabulous! Surrounded by his rich home, Louis XIVth furniture and his cushion sitting Siamese cat he command attention and really has Bette Davis' character in a twist.
This is a music filled noir where my favorite piece is the impromptu wedding march. Noir fans should appreciate the uniqueness of this film and I highly recommend it to fans of Claude Rains in particular. The death scene is especially well done.
The Return of Frank James (1940)
The sequel to Jesse James makes a nice bookend to the James family saga told in Technicolor.
This film is the sequel to the Henry King film Jesse James (1939), but this time it gets a Sam Hellman screenplay. Beautifully filmed in Technicolor it starts right where the last film left off with with Jesse James being shot dead in the back by Bob Ford. Frank (Henry Ford) is back working the farm with Pinkie (Ernest Whitman) and the son of a friend named Clem. When he hears of the dirty deed of the Ford brothers, Frank goes after them to seek revenge. Of course he needs money, so he steels money from the railroad (specifically McCoy's) who he ultimately blames for both the death of his mom and brother.
"That boy's harder to hold than a handful of bumblebees."-Pinkie
Frank and Clem use a young eager newspaper woman to spread the false word of Frank's death to lure the Ford brothers out of hiding, which works...but the railroad detective seeks out the truth and sets a trap for Frank. There ends up being an theatrical court case that exonerates Frank James, which stays pretty true to the real story.
I loved seeing most of the cast return in this sequel to Jesse James. One of my favorites was Major Rufus Cobb (Henry Hull), who really steals the show in this film. I also enjoyed new comers Jackie Cooper (Clem) and Gene Tierney (Elenor Stone-newswoman)...her first credited appearance I believe.
Some bigger sets for Dallas, but there were also some obviously painted ones as well. I think these two biopics as a set are a must see for classic film fans, especially those entertained by the James lore.
Jesse James (1939)
This is a wonderful technicolor biopic of the life of Jesse James starring Tyrone Powers as Jesse.
Tyrone Powers stars as Jesse James and Henry Fonda his equally famous older brother Frank. The story starts with the end of the civil war, when according to the film they started to move the railroads west. This is depicted in a very despicable way as agents of the railroad strong armed and violently force farmers to sign away their land to the railroad for pennies. They hit Liberty, Missouri and the James' farm but were unable to browbeat or force Ma James to sign away her land thanks to her two strong boys. Frank gets into a fair fight with one of the railroad agents while Jesse made sure it was a fair fight by having his gun on the other three, preventing their usual tactics. Upset about his defeat and desperate the railroad agent goes for a weapon behind Frank's back and Jesse shoots it out of his hand.
This leads the railroad men to rally the long arm of the corrupt law, in the pocket of the railroad tycoon, to go after Jesse James and their first visit is the James farm we're they burn Ma James out of her home which results in her death. This starts a relatively long career of the James brothers and their gang robbing the railroad they feel is responsible for Ma's death and their lifestyle.
James ends up marrying his childhood sweetheart Zee and having a son, but the running from the law and the traitorous railroad tycoon begin to wear on Zee. The film goes right up to Jesse James's infamous death where he is shot in the back by the cowardly traitorous Bob Ford. This film picks up in the next year's film The Return of Frank James (1940), which has most of the same cast and Frank (Henry Fonda) getting revenge for the death of his brother.
I was surprised how much of a side-character Frank was in this film. It really was Tyrone Power's film. It was an interesting transition to see Jesse start to like the thriving life and tak8ng more and more risks while it was Zee and Frank who were shown to really pull him back from going over the edge. It's too bad we never really see the railroad representatives or tycoon pay for their crimes.
Some of my favorite performances were by Randolph Scott as Will Wright and honest and fair lawman who has eyes for Zee and Zee's father newspaper man Major Rufus Cobb played by Henry Hull. Hull is also in the sequel and is even better in that film.
An enjoyable biopic that with it's sequel make a nice set for classic film goers. The technicolor Henry King production is well worth seeing, making this a recommendation from me.
Hickok (2017)
I love the country singer Trace Adkins and this was the first feature film that I saw him in.
This is the story of a gunslinger ("Wild" Bill Hickok/Luke
Hemsworth) and the Wild West town of Abilene, Kansas.
After the civil war, like a lot of soldiers, Hickok is drifting and he drifts into Abilene. He ends up saving a young crop farmer from sure death over a card game in a saloon, steals his horse and then is asked by the town mayor, George Knox/Kris Kristofferson, to help clean up the town and become it's Marshal.
Bill eventually accepts the position, after a negotiation, and this puts him in direct opposition with the town's saloon owner and wealthiest patron, Phil Poe/Trace Adkins. Later he meets Poe's lovely betrothed Mattie/Cameron Richardson, who he has a checkered history with...one she doesn't want Poe to know about.
Poe and Bill work out an arrangement which seems to work until a young boy from the town, Joey, gets shot in the leg. This leads Bill to ban the carrying of firearms in the town and cuts into Poe's usual clientele...who could just as easily go to other towns nearby to spend their money.
This is how Bill meets another gunslinger, Little Arkansas...John Wesley Hardin/ Kaiwi Lyman, who eventually joins him to clean up the town.
I thought this was actually a decent Western. I don't know how accurate it was, but I loved the character of Doc Rivers O'Roark/Bruce Dern, who was not only the doctor but the town undertaker. The best character was Kris Kristofferson's mayor Knox. He always hit just the right note.
This might not be Oscar material, but it was highly entertaining and I think fans of westerns, who are ok with some modern spins will enjoy this film. I know I did.
Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
Pre-American Revolutionary frontier story based on the famous novel told in a rushed manner.
This is a John Ford production of the famous Walter D. Edmonds novel of the same name. It tells the story of newlyweds Gil and Lana Martin who try to establish a homestead in the Mohawk Valley, but are troubled by natives lead by Torie soldiers just prior to the start of the American Revolutionary War.
The cast is great as is the acting, but it was almost as if the film was stuck on fast forward as the pacing was a little to rapid for my taste. There were some moments when it slowed for a scene, like the live birth of their second child and the looking after the injured after the Battle of Oriskany, but otherwise I thought the pacing was too rushed.
I like both of the leads Claudette Colbert and Henry Fonda, but it was the widow Sarah, played by Edna Mae Oliver (Mrs. Mc Klennar), who stole this show. She added much needed levity and gravitas to this film.
This is a recommendation only to the most hard core of American history fans, otherwise I think you could skip this film.
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
This is a Frank Capra classic screwball comedy and one of the reasons I love Gary Cooper.
I love both Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. The combination of those two and Frank Capra is pure cinema gold. Gary Cooper plays small town Longfellow Deeds who inherits a rich uncle's entire fortune. He must leave his small town and go to New York to claim his vast fortune. Longfellow and his tuba get a grand small town send off only to be received by vipers in the city. The lawyers are trying to get control of his money by tricking him into signing over power of attorney, the media is hounding him and tricking him to get stories to mock and make fun of him...until he meets down and out Mary Dawson (Jean Arthur). Except Mary isn't who she says she is either. She is the reporter Louise "Babe" Bennett, who is trading in exclusive stories in order to get a months paid vacation from her editor in chief boss at the news paper. All of this is going on while Longfellow seems to be calling a spade a spade and is more interested in observing the latest and greatest in fire trucks and is itching to see Grant's tomb.
"Back to nature, back to nature. Clothes are a blight on civilization"-Walter
My favorite moments weren't the comedy or romance, but rather when the small town yokel called scams out. Every time it happened I cheered and when he came up with a scheme to give his money to help down and out farmers...well, more power to him. I guess I feel the same, he was happy in his small town without a lot...and I was too. Not sure the big city and bigger pay brought me the true happiness I sought, just like Mr. Deeds.
This is truly a classic romantic comedy and should be on all classic film fans' must see list. Definitely a recommendation from me.
A Midnight Clear (1992)
A surprisingly well acted WWII film, that I am shocked doesn't get more attention.
The cast is excellent in this WWII coming of age film and it consists of Ethan Hawke (Sgt. Will Knott), Peter Berg (Bud Miller), Kevin Dillon (Cpl. Mel Avakian), Arye Gross (Stan Shutzer), Gary Sinise (Vance 'Mother' Wilkins), Frank Whaley (Paul 'Father' Mundy), and John C. McGinley (Major Griffin).
A unit of six young American intelligence soldiers are asked to occupy a dwelling on the border of the Ardennes Forest in December of 1944 to observe and report back about German Army activity. There they meet a small German unit who not only interact with them...initially verbally, but then through a snowball fight and finally they celebrate Christmas with them. The Americans soon discover that the German army unit consists of old men and young boys who want help in order to surrender.
No plan goes smoothly in this brutal WWII movie, but the real reason to watch is the coming of age story and they great performances put in by the cast. If you are a fan of WWII movies, you might add this one to your list to see.
One Foot in Hell (1960)
This is a grim little revenge western with none of the finesse of something like The Count Of Monte Cristo.
Alan Ladd plays Mitch Barrett, who after having his home and lands in Atlanta destroyed during the civil war heads with his pregnant wife west for a fresh start. The two make it to a western town where Mrs. Barrett and the baby die for want of medicine that cost $1.87. Simmering with hatred, Mitch never forgives the town...particularly the sheriff, general store owner and hotel owner. The three of whom he holds personally responsible for his wife's untimely death.
Cold and meticulous he plans his revenge, amassing four partners to help him with his plan. I appreciated the end...but overall thought Alan Ladd's acting lacked interest or emotion. He was so flat it made the revenge theme hard to follow. The story and plot were interesting...but Alan Ladd's flat performance ruined the film for me.
Bandolero! (1968)
This is a humorous western with some great lines and James Stewart posing as a hangman!
This is kind of a classic western, with humor, stars, outlaws and lawmen. I really enjoyed all three of James Stewart's entrances, but particularly his one as a pseudo-hangman. This Western is so full of humor it was great. I particularly enjoyed the washing scene where he sees the real hangman initially...but when he walks in with high waters as the hangman, we'll it was hysterical.
There is lots of star power in this Western with Dean Martin playing the infamous outlaw Dee Bishop, George Kennedy playing the honest and tenacious sheriff July Johnson, Raquel Welch playing the hostage and damsel in distress Maria Stoner, and James Stewart as Dee's older and more decent brother Mace Bishop.
"These men deserve to hang, but they don't deserve to hang cold sober while a bunch of drunks stand around watching."-fake hangman Mr. Grimes.
I am not the biggest western fan, but thanks to all the humor I really enjoyed this one. I also loved Raquel's hat, culottes and boots! I enjoyed how bandits silently picked the posse off one by one, and I really enjoyed how the bank money was with them the whole time. This was a fun film and I recommend it to Jimmy Stewart fans, Dean Martin fans, and I think western fans.
No Way Out (1950)
This an amazingly well done noir that pits the taciturn Poitier in his first picture against the wild-eyed vitriol spewing Richard Widmark.
This should be on every Film Noir fan's must see list and makes my recommendation list. Joseph Mankiewicz really out does himself with this race centered noir. The acting was spectacular and I appreciated that racism was seen from a bunch of different angles...not just Ray Biddle's, but Lefty's, and even more interesting Edie Johnson's.
I want to draw attention to something that I really appreciated in this film, as a former county hospital employee myself. The hospital was really at the center of this noir, from the prison lockdown floor, to night shift work, to orderlies, to residents (or as we called them baby docs), to the families or lack there of at home, to the lack of pay and the begging for money to keep the lights on. I think this really showed County hospital work off well.
It was nice to see the unwavering conviction of Dr. Dan Wharton (Stephen McNally), Dr. Luther Brook's mentor and fellow doctor. It was equally interesting to see the conflicting views of Edie (Linda Darnell), from wanting to help to facilitating a race-induced riot, she had the most interesting course through this film.
Richard Widmark really knows how to play a despicable character and this performance as Ray Biddle is no exception. This was however Sidney Poitier's first commercial feature film, but you couldn't tell it as he stood in there like a professional.
I enjoyed seeing Ray Biddle's family home and hearing about the details of the family's sacrifice for him to get where he is as a doctor. Something that will eventually pay off...but not yet. Also, the humor of the song "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" playing in the background while Ray is holding his former sister-in-law hostage in her appointment, did not escape me. That small detail was a great example of care and direction this film was given. Should be seen at least once by classic film fans and anyone interested in race relations. I thought the story was well handled.
Pony Soldier (1952)
Tyrone Powers adopts an orphan and negotiates peace with the Cree leader Sitting Bear while being a newcomer to the Northwest Territories as a Royal Canadian Mounty.
Tyrone Powers plays Duncan MacDonell a Royal Canadian Mounty who is new to the Northern Territories. One of his first assignments is to take the former military tracker Natayo deep into Cree territory to investigate the claims of them venturing across the border into America and taking two white hostages.
Once amongst the Cree, Duncan calls out their leader Standing Bear and tries to get a meeting with him and the elders. Standing Bear eventually agrees to talk and guarantees the safety of the two white prisoners, something that is challenged by a warrior named Konah when he forcibly tries to marry off the female prisoner to his brother. This sets up a chain of events that puts Duncan's adopted native son Duncan Comes Running in danger.
It was fun seeing Tyrone Powers as a Canadian North West Mounted Police Constable, something the locals call a pony soldier. This was a beautifully produced technicolor western in the old style that I think western fans will enjoy. The storyline wasn't overly strong, but the atmosphere was perfect for a western and the wagon raid was wonderfully done. Both Montana and the Northern Territories look spectacular in this film, as does Tyrone Powers...whose fans won't want to miss this. The one thing this film is really missing is a love story.