Irma la Douce. 1963 The Mirisch Corporation & United Artists; distributed to DVD by MGM.
Starring: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Lou Jacobi
Director: Billy Wilder
Buy Irma la Douce at Amazon. Also part of the Billy Wilder DVD Collection.
Billy Wilder directed the film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name. Wilder opted to film his project as a straight comedy as he was not comfortable staging scenes with singing and dancing. He also originally wanted Marilyn Monroe (who died before production began) or Elizabeth Taylor for the role of Irma. Taylor lost out because the director did not want to deal with the publicity surrounding her relationship with Richard Burton at the time.
Nestor Patou (Lemmon) is an honest policeman working in Paris, and somehow, he has a straight American dialect. He finds a street full of prostitutes, and reports them to his supervisor, who is aware of the women, but has been letting them off in exchange for bribes. Nestor is instead fired for his report. While getting his drink on at a local bar, Nestor becomes close to Irma la Dolce (MacLaine), a popular prostitute. She soon dumps her pimp boyfriend, and Nestor moves in with her, and soon enough, he has become Irma's new pimp. Nestor becomes jealous of the thought of Irma involved with other men, so he plans to stop her prostitution (posing as the Englishman "Lord X"), but this plot backfires, and Irma becomes suspicious of Nestor, even preferring the company of his alter ego!
Recommended movie.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming
The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming. 1966 The Mirisch Corporation & United Artists; now owned by MGM.
Starring: Alan Arkin, Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Brian Keith, Jonathan Winters, John Phillip Law
Director: Norman Jewison
Available at Amazon.
A Russian submarine runs aground on a sandbar near an island off Cape Cod. Lieutenant Rozanov (Arkin) leads a landing party of nine men to look for a mator launch to help free the submarine, which they do not find at the home of Walt Whittaker (Reiner), a New York playwright, who is eager to get his wife Elspeth (Saint) and their two children back to the Big Apple. After failing to convince the family that they are Norwegians, Rozanov pulls a gun on the Whittakers. He promises no harm to them if they inform the Russians about the military on the island (none whatsoever), the police (Keith and Winters), and demanding the keys to their car. Alexei Kolchin (Law) is left behind to guard the Whittakers, along with their attractive 18-year-old neighbor Alison Palmer (Andrea Dromm).
As Rozanov and his men bumble from one vehicle to another, a gossipy telephone operator manages to spread wild rumors that quickly circulate around the island. Police chief Link Mattocks (Keith) and his wacky assistant Norman Jonas (Winters) try to keep the peace. Meanwhile, Kolchin has fallen in love with Alison.
Tensions reach a boiling point, but an unlikely person manages to avert World War III, by somehow uniting the locals and Russian sailors.
A great comedy that was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Picture, and Best Actor for Alan Arkin. It was also one of the very few movies made during the Cold War to portray the Russians in a positive manner. Highly recommended.
"Emergency! Everybody to get from street!"
Starring: Alan Arkin, Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Brian Keith, Jonathan Winters, John Phillip Law
Director: Norman Jewison
Available at Amazon.
A Russian submarine runs aground on a sandbar near an island off Cape Cod. Lieutenant Rozanov (Arkin) leads a landing party of nine men to look for a mator launch to help free the submarine, which they do not find at the home of Walt Whittaker (Reiner), a New York playwright, who is eager to get his wife Elspeth (Saint) and their two children back to the Big Apple. After failing to convince the family that they are Norwegians, Rozanov pulls a gun on the Whittakers. He promises no harm to them if they inform the Russians about the military on the island (none whatsoever), the police (Keith and Winters), and demanding the keys to their car. Alexei Kolchin (Law) is left behind to guard the Whittakers, along with their attractive 18-year-old neighbor Alison Palmer (Andrea Dromm).
As Rozanov and his men bumble from one vehicle to another, a gossipy telephone operator manages to spread wild rumors that quickly circulate around the island. Police chief Link Mattocks (Keith) and his wacky assistant Norman Jonas (Winters) try to keep the peace. Meanwhile, Kolchin has fallen in love with Alison.
Tensions reach a boiling point, but an unlikely person manages to avert World War III, by somehow uniting the locals and Russian sailors.
A great comedy that was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Picture, and Best Actor for Alan Arkin. It was also one of the very few movies made during the Cold War to portray the Russians in a positive manner. Highly recommended.
"Emergency! Everybody to get from street!"
The Bad News Bears
The Bad News Bears. 1976 Paramount Pictures.
Starring: Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neal, Chris Barnes, Vic Morrow, Jackie Earle Haley, Joyce Van Patten, Quinn Smith, Brett Marx, Brandon Cruz
Director: Michael Ritchie
Buy the original movie from Amazon.
Former minor league pitcher, pool cleaner, and professional alcoholic Morris Buttermaker (Matthau) becomes a coach of a terrible Little League team called the Bears. The Bears are only in this league because one of the fathers sued the league to allow the Bears (he intended the suit to benefit just his son) to play. Morris finds that his kids are mostly social misfits with limited skills at baseball. Buttermaker even passes out drunk during one early practice session. At first, the Bears routinely get creamed by the other teams, and the players' parents demand that the team disband to save their kids any further humiliation.
Morris agrees to disagree, and brings in two new players. Amanda Whurlizer (O'Neal) is the eleven-year-old daughter of one of Buttermaker's old girlfriends, and she has some decent pitching skills. The coach also notices that local cigarette smoking troublemaker and future Rorschach player Kelly Leak (Haley) has a decent throwing arm, whenever he's not trashing baseball fields with his motorcycle. The Bears start winning games, and make it to the championship game against the Yankees, coached by competitive Roy Turner (Morrow), who isn't above striking his own son, pitcher Joey (Cruz) whenever his performance isn't to his dad's standards.
Good movie, and not just because the young actors have the foulest mouths you've ever heard. Recommended.
Starring: Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neal, Chris Barnes, Vic Morrow, Jackie Earle Haley, Joyce Van Patten, Quinn Smith, Brett Marx, Brandon Cruz
Director: Michael Ritchie
Buy the original movie from Amazon.
Former minor league pitcher, pool cleaner, and professional alcoholic Morris Buttermaker (Matthau) becomes a coach of a terrible Little League team called the Bears. The Bears are only in this league because one of the fathers sued the league to allow the Bears (he intended the suit to benefit just his son) to play. Morris finds that his kids are mostly social misfits with limited skills at baseball. Buttermaker even passes out drunk during one early practice session. At first, the Bears routinely get creamed by the other teams, and the players' parents demand that the team disband to save their kids any further humiliation.
Morris agrees to disagree, and brings in two new players. Amanda Whurlizer (O'Neal) is the eleven-year-old daughter of one of Buttermaker's old girlfriends, and she has some decent pitching skills. The coach also notices that local cigarette smoking troublemaker and future Rorschach player Kelly Leak (Haley) has a decent throwing arm, whenever he's not trashing baseball fields with his motorcycle. The Bears start winning games, and make it to the championship game against the Yankees, coached by competitive Roy Turner (Morrow), who isn't above striking his own son, pitcher Joey (Cruz) whenever his performance isn't to his dad's standards.
Good movie, and not just because the young actors have the foulest mouths you've ever heard. Recommended.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Major League
Major League. 1989 Paramount Pictures.
Starring: Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Rene Russo, Wesley Snipes, Chelcie Ross, Dennis Haysbert, Margaret Whitton, James Gammon, Bob Uecker
Director: David S. Ward
Buy Major League at Amazon.
Filmed and released during the twilight of the Cleveland Indians' long period of futility, Major League is definitely one of the better baseball movies. Within five years of the film's release, the real life Indians became genuine pennant contenders.
Rachel Phelps (Whitton) has inherited the Cleveland Indians from her husband who died during the offseason. She already has major plans for the team: moving them to Miami as quickly as possible. To do this, she has to ensure that the attendance at Cleveland Municipal Stadium ("The MISTAKE by the LAKE!!") dips below 800,000 ticket sales, which would void the team's lease with the city. Rachel instructs her new GM Charlie Donovan (Charles Cyphers) to stock the team with the worst players available (with a list she personally compiled):
* Veteran catcher Jake Taylor (Berenger), who is old and out of shape. He's also still in love with his former flame Lynn (Russo), who is engaged to someone else, but that doesn't stop Jake from trying to win her back.
* Incarcerated picture Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn (Sheen), who has a lot of speed, but hardly any control. A simple remedy fixes that.
* Willie "Mays" Hayes (Snipes), a cocky and speedy outfielder who waltzes into training camp and makes the team despite not having been invited.
* Right fielder Pedro Cerrano (Haysbert), who can easily hit fastballs out of the park, but anything else is a guaranteed strike. He experiments with voodoo to help him hit curve balls.
* Veteran pitcher Eddie Harris (Ross), whose arm isn't as good as it once was, forcing him to doctor his pitches.
* Third baseman Roger Dorn (Bernsen), who is already under contract, but he's a high-priced prima donna, who gets into a long feud with Vaughn during spring training.
* Manager Lou Brown (Gammon), who is a tire salesman who spent several years in the minor leagues managing the Toledo Mud Hens.
This is your starting lineup for your 1989 Cleveland Indians. After a fairly lousy spring training, the season starts even worse, with Vaughn's control issues being a major issue until someone discovers that he just needs eyeglasses. Eventually, the Indians make it up to .400, so Rachel starts trying to personally sabotage the team's morale by taking away luxuries they have access to. Manager Brown has a simple tool of motivation to get the team to win: a cardboard cutout of Rachel from her showgirl days, which has a dress that has a piece cut away for every game the Indians win.
Our boys manage to tie the Yankees for first place at the end of the season, which means they need to play a one-game playoff to win the division. Before that game, Jake and Lynn spend the night together, while a vastly improved Vaughn drowns his sorrows in a bar after finding out he will not be the starting pitcher. He ends up sleeping with Dorn's wife Suzanne (Stacy Carroll) at her invitation, after she saw Roger enter a hotel with another woman during a TV broadcast. Can the Indians make it to the American League playoffs despite their internal problems?
Highly recommended movie.
Starring: Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Rene Russo, Wesley Snipes, Chelcie Ross, Dennis Haysbert, Margaret Whitton, James Gammon, Bob Uecker
Director: David S. Ward
Buy Major League at Amazon.
Filmed and released during the twilight of the Cleveland Indians' long period of futility, Major League is definitely one of the better baseball movies. Within five years of the film's release, the real life Indians became genuine pennant contenders.
Rachel Phelps (Whitton) has inherited the Cleveland Indians from her husband who died during the offseason. She already has major plans for the team: moving them to Miami as quickly as possible. To do this, she has to ensure that the attendance at Cleveland Municipal Stadium ("The MISTAKE by the LAKE!!") dips below 800,000 ticket sales, which would void the team's lease with the city. Rachel instructs her new GM Charlie Donovan (Charles Cyphers) to stock the team with the worst players available (with a list she personally compiled):
* Veteran catcher Jake Taylor (Berenger), who is old and out of shape. He's also still in love with his former flame Lynn (Russo), who is engaged to someone else, but that doesn't stop Jake from trying to win her back.
* Incarcerated picture Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn (Sheen), who has a lot of speed, but hardly any control. A simple remedy fixes that.
* Willie "Mays" Hayes (Snipes), a cocky and speedy outfielder who waltzes into training camp and makes the team despite not having been invited.
* Right fielder Pedro Cerrano (Haysbert), who can easily hit fastballs out of the park, but anything else is a guaranteed strike. He experiments with voodoo to help him hit curve balls.
* Veteran pitcher Eddie Harris (Ross), whose arm isn't as good as it once was, forcing him to doctor his pitches.
* Third baseman Roger Dorn (Bernsen), who is already under contract, but he's a high-priced prima donna, who gets into a long feud with Vaughn during spring training.
* Manager Lou Brown (Gammon), who is a tire salesman who spent several years in the minor leagues managing the Toledo Mud Hens.
This is your starting lineup for your 1989 Cleveland Indians. After a fairly lousy spring training, the season starts even worse, with Vaughn's control issues being a major issue until someone discovers that he just needs eyeglasses. Eventually, the Indians make it up to .400, so Rachel starts trying to personally sabotage the team's morale by taking away luxuries they have access to. Manager Brown has a simple tool of motivation to get the team to win: a cardboard cutout of Rachel from her showgirl days, which has a dress that has a piece cut away for every game the Indians win.
Our boys manage to tie the Yankees for first place at the end of the season, which means they need to play a one-game playoff to win the division. Before that game, Jake and Lynn spend the night together, while a vastly improved Vaughn drowns his sorrows in a bar after finding out he will not be the starting pitcher. He ends up sleeping with Dorn's wife Suzanne (Stacy Carroll) at her invitation, after she saw Roger enter a hotel with another woman during a TV broadcast. Can the Indians make it to the American League playoffs despite their internal problems?
Highly recommended movie.
Bang the Drum Slowly
Bang the Drum Slowly. 1973 Paramount Pictures.
Starring: Michael Moriarty, Robert De Niro, Vincent Gardenia, Phil Foster, Danny Aiello
Director: John D. Hancock
Available from Amazon as a single DVD, or as part of the Game Night Collection.
This is reportedly Al Pacino's favorite movie, and it was the first film appearance for Danny Aiello.
Bang the Drum Slowly was adapted for the screen from the book of the same name by Mark Harris, and it had been previously adopted for television in 1956 starring Paul Newman.
Pitcher Henry Wiggen (Moriarty) and catcher Bruce Pearson (De Niro) are teammates on the New YorkYankeesMammoths. Pearson, a hayseed from Georgia, is not accepted by his team when he first joins. The attitudes of the team, and especially Wiggen changes after Pearson is diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, which means that this season is going to be his final one.
Highly recommended. If you liked Brian's Song, you'll certainly enjoy this one.
Starring: Michael Moriarty, Robert De Niro, Vincent Gardenia, Phil Foster, Danny Aiello
Director: John D. Hancock
Available from Amazon as a single DVD, or as part of the Game Night Collection.
This is reportedly Al Pacino's favorite movie, and it was the first film appearance for Danny Aiello.
Bang the Drum Slowly was adapted for the screen from the book of the same name by Mark Harris, and it had been previously adopted for television in 1956 starring Paul Newman.
Pitcher Henry Wiggen (Moriarty) and catcher Bruce Pearson (De Niro) are teammates on the New York
Highly recommended. If you liked Brian's Song, you'll certainly enjoy this one.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The Yakuza
The Yakuza. 1975 Warner Bros. Pictures.
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Ken Takakura, Brian Keith, Herb Edelman, Richard Jordan, Keiko Kishi, Eiki Okada, Kishi Keiko
Director: Sydney Pollack
Buy The Yakuza from Amazon as a single DVD, or part of Robert Mitchum: The Signature Collection.
Robert Mitchum is Harry Kilmer, a retired detective called up by his old friend George Tanner (Keith). Tanner's been doing business with a yakuza gangster named Tono (Kishi), who has taken Tanner's daughter and her boyfriend hostage to apply pressure to a business deal. Tanner is hoping that Kilmer's Japanese contacts can help him rescue his daughter.
Tanner and Kilmer had served as Marine MPs in Tokyo after the war, and Harry had fallen in love with a woman named Eiki (Keiko), who operated on the black market. Kilmer also helped Eiko find penicillin for her daughter after she became ill, saving her life. However, when Eiko's brother Ken (Takakura) returned from an island where he had been stranded during combat, he was outraged that his sister was living with an American soldier, but still deeply indebted for saving the lives of his remaining family members. Ken disappeared into the yakuza underworld, refusing to have anything to do with his sister. Harry and Eiko soon split up, since she did not want to offend Ken any further, and Kilmer bought her a bar as a parting gift. Neither have married since that time. Tanner hopes that Kilmer can get in touch with Ken and use his connections to help out.
Ken is no longer a yakuza, but he still resents Kilmer. Regardless, due to his giri (definition) to Kilmer, he agrees to assist finding Tanner's daughter and her beau. Ken and Harry free both of them, but Ken injures one of Tono's men, and is discovered by one of the gangster's henchmen. Contracts on their lives are issued. It soon becomes apparent that the only way out is for one of them to kill Tono. Things become more dangerous after Tanner takes the contract on Kilmer's life (Tanner and Tono aren't sworn enemies despite appearances), and we also learn that the relationship between Ken and Eiko is more than Kilmer had ever known before. Also, how will Ken's nephew, who has aligned himself with Tono's organization, affect the final income?
Pretty good movie, I felt. Recommended.
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Ken Takakura, Brian Keith, Herb Edelman, Richard Jordan, Keiko Kishi, Eiki Okada, Kishi Keiko
Director: Sydney Pollack
Buy The Yakuza from Amazon as a single DVD, or part of Robert Mitchum: The Signature Collection.
Robert Mitchum is Harry Kilmer, a retired detective called up by his old friend George Tanner (Keith). Tanner's been doing business with a yakuza gangster named Tono (Kishi), who has taken Tanner's daughter and her boyfriend hostage to apply pressure to a business deal. Tanner is hoping that Kilmer's Japanese contacts can help him rescue his daughter.
Tanner and Kilmer had served as Marine MPs in Tokyo after the war, and Harry had fallen in love with a woman named Eiki (Keiko), who operated on the black market. Kilmer also helped Eiko find penicillin for her daughter after she became ill, saving her life. However, when Eiko's brother Ken (Takakura) returned from an island where he had been stranded during combat, he was outraged that his sister was living with an American soldier, but still deeply indebted for saving the lives of his remaining family members. Ken disappeared into the yakuza underworld, refusing to have anything to do with his sister. Harry and Eiko soon split up, since she did not want to offend Ken any further, and Kilmer bought her a bar as a parting gift. Neither have married since that time. Tanner hopes that Kilmer can get in touch with Ken and use his connections to help out.
Ken is no longer a yakuza, but he still resents Kilmer. Regardless, due to his giri (definition) to Kilmer, he agrees to assist finding Tanner's daughter and her beau. Ken and Harry free both of them, but Ken injures one of Tono's men, and is discovered by one of the gangster's henchmen. Contracts on their lives are issued. It soon becomes apparent that the only way out is for one of them to kill Tono. Things become more dangerous after Tanner takes the contract on Kilmer's life (Tanner and Tono aren't sworn enemies despite appearances), and we also learn that the relationship between Ken and Eiko is more than Kilmer had ever known before. Also, how will Ken's nephew, who has aligned himself with Tono's organization, affect the final income?
Pretty good movie, I felt. Recommended.
The Drowning Pool
The Drowning Pool. 1975 First Artists & Warner Bros. Pictures.
Starring: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Tony Franciosa, Murray Hamilton, Gail Strickland, Melanie Griffith
Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Available as part of the Paul Newman Collection from Amazon.
Stuart Rosenberg and Paul Newman get together to make their fourth feature film, which so happens to be what everyone in the world was demanding to see in the mid '70s: a sequel to 1966's Harper. Since I really couldn't get into the first movie, let's see how the sequel holds up.
(True, I wasn't that thrilled with Harper, but I still own two copies of it. Go figure...)
Lew Harper ventures to Louisiana to investigate a blackmail plot involving the nymphomaniac daughter (Griffith) of a former lover, Iris Devereaux (Woodward). He is also caught up in a power struggle between Iris and the oil tycoon Kilbourne (Hamilton), who wants the Devereaux property for himself.
The film's title comes from a scene where Harper and Kilbourne's wife Mavis (Strickland) are locked in a hydrotherapy room. Harper is inspired to flood the room, so he and Mavis can possibly float to the top and escape through the skylight.
The Drowning Pool looks good on film, but the plot is a bit complicated, and the main appeal of the first movie was its kitschy '60s look. The same magic wasn't captured on film in 1975. Newman, as always, is enjoyable, so I would have to say this is recommended for a rainy day. Oh, and I did like this one a little better than Harper.
Starring: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Tony Franciosa, Murray Hamilton, Gail Strickland, Melanie Griffith
Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Available as part of the Paul Newman Collection from Amazon.
Stuart Rosenberg and Paul Newman get together to make their fourth feature film, which so happens to be what everyone in the world was demanding to see in the mid '70s: a sequel to 1966's Harper. Since I really couldn't get into the first movie, let's see how the sequel holds up.
(True, I wasn't that thrilled with Harper, but I still own two copies of it. Go figure...)
Lew Harper ventures to Louisiana to investigate a blackmail plot involving the nymphomaniac daughter (Griffith) of a former lover, Iris Devereaux (Woodward). He is also caught up in a power struggle between Iris and the oil tycoon Kilbourne (Hamilton), who wants the Devereaux property for himself.
The film's title comes from a scene where Harper and Kilbourne's wife Mavis (Strickland) are locked in a hydrotherapy room. Harper is inspired to flood the room, so he and Mavis can possibly float to the top and escape through the skylight.
The Drowning Pool looks good on film, but the plot is a bit complicated, and the main appeal of the first movie was its kitschy '60s look. The same magic wasn't captured on film in 1975. Newman, as always, is enjoyable, so I would have to say this is recommended for a rainy day. Oh, and I did like this one a little better than Harper.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
MST3K: Shorts, Volume 2
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Presents: Shorts, Volume 2.
Available on the third MST3K collection from Amazon.
Featuring...
Catching Trouble, from experiment 315, Teenage Caveman.
What to Do on a Date, from experiment 503, Swamp Diamonds.
Last Clear Chance, from experiment 520, Radar Secret Service.
A Day at the Fair, from experiment 608, Code Name: Diamond Head.
Keeping Clean and Neat, from experiment 613, The Sinister Urge.
The Days of Our Years, from experiment 623, The Amazing Transparent Man.
The highlights of the second compilation is definitely Union Pacific's ("They make the best films!") fairly depressing and dark films about railroad safety, aimed at young drivers, as well as their own employees, who frequently are blinded, maimed, or killed by accidents in the rail yard.
Catching Trouble is the story of Ross Allen capturing wild animals for a zoo, and the fairly cruel methods in which he does, while narrator Ted Husing frequently refers to the guy as "my boyfriend". Absolutely not politically correct at all. It's also pretty hard to watch at times.
Recommended for newbies to MST3K, or anyone, for that matter.
Available on the third MST3K collection from Amazon.
Featuring...
Catching Trouble, from experiment 315, Teenage Caveman.
What to Do on a Date, from experiment 503, Swamp Diamonds.
Last Clear Chance, from experiment 520, Radar Secret Service.
A Day at the Fair, from experiment 608, Code Name: Diamond Head.
Keeping Clean and Neat, from experiment 613, The Sinister Urge.
The Days of Our Years, from experiment 623, The Amazing Transparent Man.
The highlights of the second compilation is definitely Union Pacific's ("They make the best films!") fairly depressing and dark films about railroad safety, aimed at young drivers, as well as their own employees, who frequently are blinded, maimed, or killed by accidents in the rail yard.
Catching Trouble is the story of Ross Allen capturing wild animals for a zoo, and the fairly cruel methods in which he does, while narrator Ted Husing frequently refers to the guy as "my boyfriend". Absolutely not politically correct at all. It's also pretty hard to watch at times.
Recommended for newbies to MST3K, or anyone, for that matter.
MST3K: Shorts, Volume 1
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Presents: Shorts, Volume 1.
Available on the second MST3K collection from Amazon.
Featuring...
The Home Economics Story, from experiment 317, Viking Women vs. the Sea Serpent.
Junior Rodeo Daredevils, from experiment 407, The Killer Shrews.
Body Care and Grooming, from experiment 510, The Painted Hills.
Cheating, from experiment 515, The Wild Wild World of Batwoman.
A Date With Your Family, from experiment 602, Invasion U.S.A.
Why Study Industrial Arts?, from experiment 609, The Skydivers.
The Chicken of Tomorrow, from experiment 702, The Brute Man.
Thoughts: Seven of the better mental hygiene shorts featured on assorted episodes of MST3K. This is the only shorts compilation hosted by a character from the show, in this case, Tom Servo. The next three shorts compilations were hostless. The first three short films are my favorites from the video.
If you've never seen Mystery Science Theater 3000 before, this is a perfect introduction. Recommended.
"And the crowd goes wild!" "yaaaay."
Available on the second MST3K collection from Amazon.
Featuring...
The Home Economics Story, from experiment 317, Viking Women vs. the Sea Serpent.
Junior Rodeo Daredevils, from experiment 407, The Killer Shrews.
Body Care and Grooming, from experiment 510, The Painted Hills.
Cheating, from experiment 515, The Wild Wild World of Batwoman.
A Date With Your Family, from experiment 602, Invasion U.S.A.
Why Study Industrial Arts?, from experiment 609, The Skydivers.
The Chicken of Tomorrow, from experiment 702, The Brute Man.
Thoughts: Seven of the better mental hygiene shorts featured on assorted episodes of MST3K. This is the only shorts compilation hosted by a character from the show, in this case, Tom Servo. The next three shorts compilations were hostless. The first three short films are my favorites from the video.
If you've never seen Mystery Science Theater 3000 before, this is a perfect introduction. Recommended.
"And the crowd goes wild!" "yaaaay."
Friday, April 3, 2009
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. 1948 Universal Pictures.
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange, Lenore Aubert, Jane Rudolph, Vincent Price (voice only, uncredited)
Director: Charles T. Barton
Available from Amazon as part of the Complete Universal Pictures Collection.
Two Florida baggage clerks named Chick and Wilbur are responsible for two crates that need to be shipped to a horror museum owned by a Mr. MacDougal (Frank Ferguson). They allegedly contain the remains of Dracula (Lugosi) and the Frankenstein monster (Strange). Dracula awakens, hypnotizes Wilbur, and spirits away his own coffin as well as the revived monster. Mr. MacDougal finds the crates empty, accuses the boys of theft, and has them arrested.
Dr. Sandra Mornay (Aubert) receives Dracula and the Monster at her island castle. She has been posing as Wilbur's girlfriend, and she has collaborated with Dracula to replace the Monster's brain with Wilbur's. Back at home, Wilbur and Chick are bailed out of jail by Joan Raymond (Randolph). She is secretly working for the company processing MacDougal's insurance claim, and she hopes Wilbur will lead her to the missing 'exhibits'.
Larry Talbot (Chaney Jr.) has taken the apartment across the hall from Wilbur and Chick, and he's been tracking Dracula and the Monster, since he knows they are alive. He asks the boys for their help in finding and destroying the two villains. Wilbur goes along, but Chick thinks both of them are crazy. Talbot also has a secret: he transforms into the Wolf Man when the moon rises. Wilbur is stalked by the Wolf Man after he brings over Talbot's luggage that he left behind, and doesn't realize it.
The action soon moves to the house of Dracula for a masquerade ball, with Wilbur frequently having run-ins with monsters, and Chick refusing to believe it. Talbot arrives on the scene, along with MacDougal, and pretty soon, the boys are dealing with all three famous Universal monsters. Will they survive?
Recommended.
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange, Lenore Aubert, Jane Rudolph, Vincent Price (voice only, uncredited)
Director: Charles T. Barton
Available from Amazon as part of the Complete Universal Pictures Collection.
Two Florida baggage clerks named Chick and Wilbur are responsible for two crates that need to be shipped to a horror museum owned by a Mr. MacDougal (Frank Ferguson). They allegedly contain the remains of Dracula (Lugosi) and the Frankenstein monster (Strange). Dracula awakens, hypnotizes Wilbur, and spirits away his own coffin as well as the revived monster. Mr. MacDougal finds the crates empty, accuses the boys of theft, and has them arrested.
Dr. Sandra Mornay (Aubert) receives Dracula and the Monster at her island castle. She has been posing as Wilbur's girlfriend, and she has collaborated with Dracula to replace the Monster's brain with Wilbur's. Back at home, Wilbur and Chick are bailed out of jail by Joan Raymond (Randolph). She is secretly working for the company processing MacDougal's insurance claim, and she hopes Wilbur will lead her to the missing 'exhibits'.
Larry Talbot (Chaney Jr.) has taken the apartment across the hall from Wilbur and Chick, and he's been tracking Dracula and the Monster, since he knows they are alive. He asks the boys for their help in finding and destroying the two villains. Wilbur goes along, but Chick thinks both of them are crazy. Talbot also has a secret: he transforms into the Wolf Man when the moon rises. Wilbur is stalked by the Wolf Man after he brings over Talbot's luggage that he left behind, and doesn't realize it.
The action soon moves to the house of Dracula for a masquerade ball, with Wilbur frequently having run-ins with monsters, and Chick refusing to believe it. Talbot arrives on the scene, along with MacDougal, and pretty soon, the boys are dealing with all three famous Universal monsters. Will they survive?
Recommended.
Revenge of the Pink Panther
Revenge of the Pink Panther. 1978 United Artists, distributed to DVD by MGM.
Starring: Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Dyan Cannon, Robert Webber, Burt Kwouk
Music: Henry Mancini
Director: Blake Edwards
Available from Amazon as a single DVD, or part of the Pink Panther Film Collection.
This is the final appearance for Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau before his death; the next Pink Panther film, Trail of the Pink Panther, used a plethora of outtakes of Sellers from previous films. Still, that didn't stop Blake Edwards from cranking out 1983's Curse of the Pink Panther, attempting to relaunch the series with TV actor Ted Wass (Soap, Blossom) as the new main character, NYPD sergeant Clifton Sleigh, while bringing in Roger Moore to play Clouseau (after extensive plastic surgery).
Anyway...
Philippe Douvier (Webber) is a French businessman with ties to the mob, who is making a deal with a New York syndicate for a lucrative drug smuggling operation. Douvier is deemed "too old" to handle it, so he decides to prove his worth by bumping off Inspector Clouseau. The first attempt with a bomb fails, and a second attack by a Chinese martial artists is easily thwarted by the detective, who believed it was the doing of his assistant Cato (Kwouk), who is always under orders to randomly attack his master to keep him alert.
Douvier anonymously calls Clouseau, and poses as an informant to tell him about a criminal involved in the French Connection, and where he's currently operating.After an exciting car chaseCato warns the inspector that it's obviously a trap, but Clouseau concludes that it's obviously not a trap. After driving to the location, Clouseau is mugged by a transvestite criminal called Claude Russo, who steals the detective's clothes and car. Russo drives into the trap and is murdered by Douvier's men, leading people to conclude that Clouseau is dead. Meanwhile, former Commissioner Charles Dreyfus (Lom) is deemed sane, and scheduled for release so he can take over on the case. Instead, after Clouseau is taken to the same asylum, Dreyfus sees him, and faints. The inspector steals his clothes and escapes, returning home, and teaming with Cato to plan revenge, using the public belief that Clouseau was murdered to their advantage.
They are soon joined by Douvier's former secretary and secret lover Simone LeGree (Cannon), who leaves him after his wife threatens him with divorce. Dreyfus leaves the asylum and again fails to assassinate Clouseau after tracking everyone involved (including Douvier) into Hong Kong.
Recommended, but obviously not the greatest Pink Panther movie ever made
Starring: Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Dyan Cannon, Robert Webber, Burt Kwouk
Music: Henry Mancini
Director: Blake Edwards
Available from Amazon as a single DVD, or part of the Pink Panther Film Collection.
This is the final appearance for Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau before his death; the next Pink Panther film, Trail of the Pink Panther, used a plethora of outtakes of Sellers from previous films. Still, that didn't stop Blake Edwards from cranking out 1983's Curse of the Pink Panther, attempting to relaunch the series with TV actor Ted Wass (Soap, Blossom) as the new main character, NYPD sergeant Clifton Sleigh, while bringing in Roger Moore to play Clouseau (after extensive plastic surgery).
Anyway...
Philippe Douvier (Webber) is a French businessman with ties to the mob, who is making a deal with a New York syndicate for a lucrative drug smuggling operation. Douvier is deemed "too old" to handle it, so he decides to prove his worth by bumping off Inspector Clouseau. The first attempt with a bomb fails, and a second attack by a Chinese martial artists is easily thwarted by the detective, who believed it was the doing of his assistant Cato (Kwouk), who is always under orders to randomly attack his master to keep him alert.
Douvier anonymously calls Clouseau, and poses as an informant to tell him about a criminal involved in the French Connection, and where he's currently operating.
They are soon joined by Douvier's former secretary and secret lover Simone LeGree (Cannon), who leaves him after his wife threatens him with divorce. Dreyfus leaves the asylum and again fails to assassinate Clouseau after tracking everyone involved (including Douvier) into Hong Kong.
Recommended, but obviously not the greatest Pink Panther movie ever made
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Road House
Road House. 1989 United Artists, distributed to DVD by MGM.
Starring: Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliott, Ben Gazzara, Kevin Tighe, Red West
Director: Rowdy Herrington
Available at Amazon.
This is the ultimate guy movie.
James Dalton (Swayze) is a professional "cooler" who is lured away from his current L.A. job by club owner Frank Tilghman (Tighe) to work at his place, The Double Deuce, in Jasper, Missouri. Dalton has a degree in philosophy from New York University, and while he's an expert in martial arts, he prefers to resolve a confrontation peacefully. Jasper's residents seem to know who Dalton is, and welcome him with open arms for the most part.
The Double Deuce is a place where drunken brawls are a nightly event. Dalton is injured on his first night on the job, and "Doc" Clay (Lynch) comes to his service, as she's the town's physician. Doc and Dalton hit it off immediately, although another man, extortionist Brad Wesley (Gazzara) already is pursuing her. Wesley has everyone in town under his thumb, and is used to getting his way. Dalton, he feels, needs to be taught a lesson. Dalton decides to try cleaning up Jasper in addition to his night job of breaking up brawls.
It's inevitable they'll engage in some good ol' fashioned violence before the credits roll.
It's not a classic movie by any means, but it's great fun to watch. Highly recommended.
Starring: Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliott, Ben Gazzara, Kevin Tighe, Red West
Director: Rowdy Herrington
Available at Amazon.
This is the ultimate guy movie.
James Dalton (Swayze) is a professional "cooler" who is lured away from his current L.A. job by club owner Frank Tilghman (Tighe) to work at his place, The Double Deuce, in Jasper, Missouri. Dalton has a degree in philosophy from New York University, and while he's an expert in martial arts, he prefers to resolve a confrontation peacefully. Jasper's residents seem to know who Dalton is, and welcome him with open arms for the most part.
The Double Deuce is a place where drunken brawls are a nightly event. Dalton is injured on his first night on the job, and "Doc" Clay (Lynch) comes to his service, as she's the town's physician. Doc and Dalton hit it off immediately, although another man, extortionist Brad Wesley (Gazzara) already is pursuing her. Wesley has everyone in town under his thumb, and is used to getting his way. Dalton, he feels, needs to be taught a lesson. Dalton decides to try cleaning up Jasper in addition to his night job of breaking up brawls.
It's inevitable they'll engage in some good ol' fashioned violence before the credits roll.
It's not a classic movie by any means, but it's great fun to watch. Highly recommended.
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. 1982 Universal Pictures.
Starring: Steve Martin, Rachel Ward, Carl Reiner
Director: Carl Reiner
Also featuring: Edward Arnold, Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Wally Brown, James Cagney, William Conrad, Jeff Corey, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Brian Donlevy, Kirk Douglas, Ava Gardner, Cary Grant, Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Burt Lancaster, Charles Laughton, Charles McGraw, Fred MacMurray, John Miljan, Ray Milland, Edmund O'Brien, Vincent Price, Barbara Stanwyck, Lana Turner, Norma Varden (all via clips of classic films edited into the movie!)
Available at Amazon, as are all of the movies featured in this one.
Carl Reiner directed, and had a starring role in a parody-slash-homage to film noir and the pulp detective movies from the 1940s and '50s, which went a step further and incorporated actual scenes from an impressive list of films into the finished film, which allowed Steve Martin and company to interact with the older stars, usually with some pretty funny results.
Martin is the detective Rigby Reardon, who only charges ten bucks a day, and business has been really slow lately. Things change when Juliet Forrest (Ward) arrives in his office, and faints at the sight of a newspaper report of her father's death in a car accident. Juliet is convinced her dad was murdered, and she offers Rigby $200 to investigate. Reardon searches Mr. Forrest's office and discovers a list of names underneath the heading "The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta".
Was it murder?
Highly recommended film. This is also an interesting concept that I think should have been utilized more by today's directors.
Starring: Steve Martin, Rachel Ward, Carl Reiner
Director: Carl Reiner
Also featuring: Edward Arnold, Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Wally Brown, James Cagney, William Conrad, Jeff Corey, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Brian Donlevy, Kirk Douglas, Ava Gardner, Cary Grant, Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Burt Lancaster, Charles Laughton, Charles McGraw, Fred MacMurray, John Miljan, Ray Milland, Edmund O'Brien, Vincent Price, Barbara Stanwyck, Lana Turner, Norma Varden (all via clips of classic films edited into the movie!)
Available at Amazon, as are all of the movies featured in this one.
Carl Reiner directed, and had a starring role in a parody-slash-homage to film noir and the pulp detective movies from the 1940s and '50s, which went a step further and incorporated actual scenes from an impressive list of films into the finished film, which allowed Steve Martin and company to interact with the older stars, usually with some pretty funny results.
Martin is the detective Rigby Reardon, who only charges ten bucks a day, and business has been really slow lately. Things change when Juliet Forrest (Ward) arrives in his office, and faints at the sight of a newspaper report of her father's death in a car accident. Juliet is convinced her dad was murdered, and she offers Rigby $200 to investigate. Reardon searches Mr. Forrest's office and discovers a list of names underneath the heading "The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta".
Was it murder?
Highly recommended film. This is also an interesting concept that I think should have been utilized more by today's directors.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
The Lost Weekend
The Lost Weekend. 1945 Paramount Pictures, now owned and released to DVD by Universal Pictures.
Starring: Ray Milland, Jane Wyman, Phillip Terry, Holward Da Silva, Doris Dowling, Frank Faylen, Mary Young
Director: Billy Wilder
Buy The Lost Weekend at Amazon.
A winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Billy Wilder, and Best Actor for Ray Milland.
New York writer Don Birnam (Milland) is an alcoholic, and the picture opens with Don supposedly not having a drink in ten days. He and his brother Wick (Birnam) are packing for a getaway in the country, up until Don's girl Helen St. James (Wyman) shows up. Don talks his brother into taking a later train out of town, and even urges him to go to a concert with Helen. Wick reluctantly agrees, but he has also taken care of Don's hidden bottles of liquor, and points out to Helen that he is broke. A desperate Don cons the cleaning lady out of her wages, and goes out to buy a couple of bottles, and then, missing the train quite deliberately by overstaying at Nat's Bar on Third Avenue. Wick intends to leave without him anyway, even if Helen is not a fan of the idea of leaving Don alone in the city for 96 hours.
Of course, Don goes off on the epic drunk of a lifetime, babbling about how he met Helen to Nat (Da Silva), and how he managed to stop drinking while seeing her, but started again after Helen's parents were overheard saying that they weren't impressed by him. Later on, Don finds himself stealing a woman's handbag for more money, but he luckily isn't arrested. He also fails to pawn his typewriter on Yom Kippur, and manages to get some money from an old acquaintance before falling down the stairs at another bar. He also spends a night in the drunk tank, overseen by "Bim" Nolan (Faylen), and suffering from the DTs. Don escapes after the staff is preoccupied with a more violent patient. Returning home, Helen meets him there, and she sticks by him, even after Don makes it clear he wants nothing to do with her again. Helen does manage to persuade Don to stop drinking, and concentrate instead on his novel.
Highly, highly recommended film.
Starring: Ray Milland, Jane Wyman, Phillip Terry, Holward Da Silva, Doris Dowling, Frank Faylen, Mary Young
Director: Billy Wilder
Buy The Lost Weekend at Amazon.
A winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Billy Wilder, and Best Actor for Ray Milland.
New York writer Don Birnam (Milland) is an alcoholic, and the picture opens with Don supposedly not having a drink in ten days. He and his brother Wick (Birnam) are packing for a getaway in the country, up until Don's girl Helen St. James (Wyman) shows up. Don talks his brother into taking a later train out of town, and even urges him to go to a concert with Helen. Wick reluctantly agrees, but he has also taken care of Don's hidden bottles of liquor, and points out to Helen that he is broke. A desperate Don cons the cleaning lady out of her wages, and goes out to buy a couple of bottles, and then, missing the train quite deliberately by overstaying at Nat's Bar on Third Avenue. Wick intends to leave without him anyway, even if Helen is not a fan of the idea of leaving Don alone in the city for 96 hours.
Of course, Don goes off on the epic drunk of a lifetime, babbling about how he met Helen to Nat (Da Silva), and how he managed to stop drinking while seeing her, but started again after Helen's parents were overheard saying that they weren't impressed by him. Later on, Don finds himself stealing a woman's handbag for more money, but he luckily isn't arrested. He also fails to pawn his typewriter on Yom Kippur, and manages to get some money from an old acquaintance before falling down the stairs at another bar. He also spends a night in the drunk tank, overseen by "Bim" Nolan (Faylen), and suffering from the DTs. Don escapes after the staff is preoccupied with a more violent patient. Returning home, Helen meets him there, and she sticks by him, even after Don makes it clear he wants nothing to do with her again. Helen does manage to persuade Don to stop drinking, and concentrate instead on his novel.
Highly, highly recommended film.
The Awful Truth
The Awful Truth. 1937 Columbia Pictures.
Starring: Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy, Alexander D'Arcy, Cecil Cunningham
Director: Leo McCarey
Available from Amazon as a single DVD, or as part of a Triple Feature with Born Yesterday and His Girl Friday.
This movie netted director Leo McCarey an Academy Award for Best Director. Cary Grant tried to leave the film during its production, feeling that McCarey was just making it up as he was going along. Grant even wanted to switch roles with Ralph Bellamy, but he stayed in the male lead part and gave an excellent performance.
Jerry Warriner (Grant) returns home from a trip to find his wife Lucy (Dunne) not at home. She soon returns with her music teacher, Armand Duvalle (D'Arcy), and it's revealed that she had spent the night in the country with him, after his car allegedly broke down. Lucy discovers that Jerry had not gone to Florida as he claimed, and mutual suspicions result in divorce.
Lucy quickly gets engaged to Dan Leeson (Bellamy) from Oklahoma after moving in with her Aunt Patsy, but Dan's mother doesn't approve of her. Then, Lucy realizes she still loves Jerry, and decides to break off the engagement. Before she can do so, Duvalle arrives to talk about Jerry's disruption of Lucy's recital. Jerry himself appears, prompting Armand to hide. He wants to reconcile, to Lucy's delight, but Dan and his mother make an appearance, sending Jerry hiding in the same place Armand is. A fight follows, and Jerry chases the music teacher out, right in front of the Leesons. Dan and his mother storm out.
Jerry is later sighted in town with heiress Barbara Vance (Molly Lamont) on his arm. Lucy decides to break them up by crashing a party at the Vance mansion, posing as Jerry's sister, acting like a showgirl, and claiming her "father" was merely a gardener at Princeton. This torpedoes the relationship between Jerry and Barbara, and he leaves with Lucy in her car. After being stopped by the police, Lucy damages the car, and get a lift to her aunt's cabin, where they finally reconcile.
Recommended.
Starring: Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy, Alexander D'Arcy, Cecil Cunningham
Director: Leo McCarey
Available from Amazon as a single DVD, or as part of a Triple Feature with Born Yesterday and His Girl Friday.
This movie netted director Leo McCarey an Academy Award for Best Director. Cary Grant tried to leave the film during its production, feeling that McCarey was just making it up as he was going along. Grant even wanted to switch roles with Ralph Bellamy, but he stayed in the male lead part and gave an excellent performance.
Jerry Warriner (Grant) returns home from a trip to find his wife Lucy (Dunne) not at home. She soon returns with her music teacher, Armand Duvalle (D'Arcy), and it's revealed that she had spent the night in the country with him, after his car allegedly broke down. Lucy discovers that Jerry had not gone to Florida as he claimed, and mutual suspicions result in divorce.
Lucy quickly gets engaged to Dan Leeson (Bellamy) from Oklahoma after moving in with her Aunt Patsy, but Dan's mother doesn't approve of her. Then, Lucy realizes she still loves Jerry, and decides to break off the engagement. Before she can do so, Duvalle arrives to talk about Jerry's disruption of Lucy's recital. Jerry himself appears, prompting Armand to hide. He wants to reconcile, to Lucy's delight, but Dan and his mother make an appearance, sending Jerry hiding in the same place Armand is. A fight follows, and Jerry chases the music teacher out, right in front of the Leesons. Dan and his mother storm out.
Jerry is later sighted in town with heiress Barbara Vance (Molly Lamont) on his arm. Lucy decides to break them up by crashing a party at the Vance mansion, posing as Jerry's sister, acting like a showgirl, and claiming her "father" was merely a gardener at Princeton. This torpedoes the relationship between Jerry and Barbara, and he leaves with Lucy in her car. After being stopped by the police, Lucy damages the car, and get a lift to her aunt's cabin, where they finally reconcile.
Recommended.
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