THE STREET WITH NO NAME

title: THE STREET WITH NO NAME
year: 1948
cast: Mark Stevens, Richard Widmark, John McIntire, Donald Buka
rating: ****

Begins as an FBI propaganda film, showing the inner workings of the department with a monotone "facts are us" narration, but settles into a mean lean mobster flick as we follow square-jawed agent Mark Stevens undercover on an urban street (with no name, since there are so many like it): then coasting into a boxing syndicate led by the dependably-vile Richard Widmark, who has solo time on screen, becoming an equal match of mobster verses undercover agent. Wonderfully filmed and acted, this is an underrated Fox Film Noir with suspense that never lets up: both for Widmark, as he tries figuring out who the plant is, and the audience, anticipating what will become of our hero when he does. And a standout of the thugs is a short knife-wielding Donald Buka, slightly reminiscent of Joe Pesci's character in GOODFELLAS.

GREASED LIGHTNING

title: GREASED LIGHTNING

year: 1977

cast: Richard Pryor, Beau Bridges, Pam Grier, Vincent Gardenia

rating: **

Not enough racing and too much racism. The adventurous aspects of the first black man to break into stock car driving in the South could have been a great story, especially that he ran moonshine in his early days. But how he's treated by redneck whites, while important historically, overwhelms the film which is too "heavy" for its own good. Richard Pryor, who can be a great dramatic actor (see BLUE COLLAR), seems stunted by a muddled script that never settles into anything worthwhile.

THE PHENIX CITY STORY

title: THE PHENIX CITY STORY
year: 1955
cast: John McIntire, Richard Kiley, Edward Andrews, James Edwards
rating: **1/2

The first fifteen minutes has interviews with actual townies from Phenix, Alabama. While a bit creepy, contrived and downright boring, these people counter-balance the melodramatic "fictional" story involving a group of semi-interesting characters (portrayed by very capable actors), all adding their own twists and turns for the first half: setting up a corrupt town with good guys and bad guys, and lawyer John McIntire in the middle. It's the second half, where the villains go around knocking heads and killing people, where things go downhill: simply because there's nothing else to build.

CRIME IN THE STREETS

title: CRIME IN THE STREETS
year: 1956
cast: John Cassevetes, Sal Mineo, James Whitmore, Mark Rydell
rating: *1/2

If REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE met WEST SIDE STORY at a carnival where all the rides were broken... No, not even a young "introducing" John Cassavetes, as a street savvy teenage gang member, at odds with a rival group of boy-thugs and pestered by cop James Whitmore... And the fact it's directed by Don Siegel and co-stars future director Mark Rydell... None of this could save, or even preserve, this corny "urban" dud. Sal Mineo, naive as ever, plays the youngest member of the gang, which alone dooms him from the start.

THE BROTHERS RICO

title: THE BROTHERS RICO

year: 1957

cast: Richard Conte

rating: ****

This is a perfect movie that isn't exactly perfect, but for what it is... a crime melodrama centering on the oldest brother Rico who, after being warned by middle brother seeks out younger brother on the run from a mobster whom all three worked for... there are no mistakes and no down time. The execution (per se) doesn't waste time or energy on anything but what needs to happen: and it's a very creative premise with plenty of twists and turns with Richard Conte, a fervently determined shark throughout, balancing desperation and machismo in a film that knows its limitations and never exceeds them.

THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW

title: THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW
year: 1944
cast: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea
rating: **

This review contains a major spoiler. In fact it's in the very next sentence. Well the thing is, I usually detest any "It's all a dream" ending unless it's so ridiculous a premise... of a college professor who admires a woman's painting, sees the woman, goes home with her, murders a man who pays her a visit, dumps him in the forest and for the next few days hangs out with the district attorney who isn't aware he's the killer but nearly figuring it out... An hour and twenty minutes of torturous, nerve-wracking "almost-busted" suspense gets very tiresome, although those few short scenes before he falls asleep are quite good. It's the dream I found a nightmare.

CORNERED

title: CORNERED

year: 1945

cast: Dick Powell, Jack LaRue, Walter Slezak, Nina Vale

rating: **

Another melodrama where the main character goes from location to location gathering information to get him to the next place, to question the next person, and sometimes getting tricked, lied to, almost murdered: or all three at once. There's not enough intrigue-based action in this muddled odyssey as Dick Powell travels from France to South America to find out who killed his wife. Since Nazis, who slaughtered millions in the war, are somehow involved in the initial murder, our hero's private mission seems selfishly desperate and, after so many red herrings, one forgets what, or who, he's after.

DESPERATE

title: DESPERATE

year: 1947

cast: Steve Brodie, Audrey Long, Raymond Burr, Freddie Steele

rating: ***1/2

This would seem a cookie-cutter crime melodrama involving good husband/independent trucker, Steve Brodie, framed for a cop's murder he didn't commit: but how the crime's pulled off, how our innocent hero's thrown into it, and how the dark-lit warehouse scenes are filmed, involving Raymond Burr and his shady henchman, makes up for the somewhat generic, though always mellowly-involving, journey as Brodie and pregnant wife seek shelter in a rural town till the sinisister forces catch up. The final showdown involves a suspensfully-paced fifteen minutes (owned by Burr) leading to midnight: when someone has to pay.

BURNT OFFERINGS

title: BURNT OFFERINGS
year: 1976
cast: Oliver Reed, Karen Black
director: Dan Curtis
rating: **

A family, consisting of a strong-willed, serious-minded husband; a faithful wife who sets up a room with his typewriter; and their young son moving into a large house for the summer. It's haunted, and within days, the father becomes violent towards the son. The house has a strange past that overlaps into the family's life. And after an extremely predictable ending, the last shot is of the family members seen in pictures within the house: as if they'd always lived there. Sound familiar? This is very much like THE SHINING. Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick both should haven given credit to not only this film, but the novel in which it was based. Although since it's not very good... the suspenseful setup working much better than when the plot takes hold... I guess no one cared to acknowledge it.

KISS OF DEATH (1947)

title: KISS OF DEATH

year: 1947

cast: Victor Mature, Richard Widmark, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray, Karl Malden

rating: ****1/2

This is a classic study in fear mainly because of two memorable scenes, one of Richard Widmark, as a creepy, giggling thug, shoving a wheelchair-bound woman down a staircase. The other where Widmark, and the main character played by Victor Mature, an imprisoned thief who, to protect his children, "rats" on his former partners-in-crime, have a few drinks. Thus the audience, and main character, realize two things: Mature's family is in peril and there are absolutely no bounds when it comes to Widmark's "Tommy Udo" who, as one of the great cinematic villains, becomes even more of a formidable threat off-screen.

OUR WINNING SEASON

title: OUR WINNING SEASON

year: 1978

cast: Scott Jacoby, Dennis Quaid, PJ Soles, Joe Penny, Joanna Cassidy

rating: **

There are so many distractions in this seventies high school drama centering on teens from the sixties involving Vietnam, necking in cars, drag racing, getting drunk, getting stoned and going steady that the main story, of a runner preparing for a big race, is completely forgotten. By the end, when Scott Jacoby faces his challenge, it doesn't matter. Nor do any of those distractions which, if executed by more involving, fleshed-out characters, might have worked better. A great young side-cast including Joe Penny, Dennis Quaid and PJ Soles cannot save this cliche-filled template of sixties youth. And one scene involving a car flying through the back of a drive-in movie theater screen is a great, memorable stunt, but seems more fitting to a Burt Reynolds chase film.

TWISTER

title: TWISTER

year: 1996

cast: Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt

producer: Steven Speilberg

rating: **

One scene in JAWS has shark researcher Richard Dreyfuss sharing about an experience as a kid, when a baby Thresher tore apart his boat... making him a lifelong shark fanatic. Another has shark hunter Robert Shaw discussing his fellow soldiers being eaten by a horde of Great Whites. Helen Hunt, an attempted combination of both, having witnessed her father being sucked away by a tornado: seeks revenge and knowledge at the same time. This is either producer Steven Speilberg's attempt to outdo the genre he helped perfect: that of humans trying to outwit something stronger than them; or a really corny movie where a gang of underdog scientists literally chase tornadoes like cowboys to bulls. Bill Paxton, as Hunt's counterpart, tries his hardest and the non-stop action does pay off at times. But the stupidity of the premise, and the gaggle of horrendous side-characters, all playing for the giggles of an opening night audience, makes for one sloppy, contrived mess.

THE LONELY GUY

title: THE LONELY GUY

year: 1984

cast: Steve Martin, Judith Ivey, Charles Grodin, Merv Griffin

rating: ***1/2

If based on how many particular jokes land compared to the ones that flop, this wouldn't be considered a great comedy, but the character played by Steve Martin, who, after a break-up, residing in New York as a terminally lonely single man, is so likable and relatable this isn't a slapstick comedy, but rather, the journey of a man who not only hits rock bottom, but learns how to exist there. He has a buddy, Charles Grodin, just as "pathetic"; and keeps meeting the woman of his dreams (Judith Ivey): always losing her phone number right after. What works best here are the specific examples of being alone in a big city and how to deal with each. Although the last forty minutes, after our hero becomes famous for writing a book about "The Lonely Guy", things dwindle considerably; but that first hour, especially the scenes shared with Grodin, is a real slice of life.

SOGGY BOTTOM U.S.A.

title: SOGGY BOTTOM U.S.A.

year: 1980

cast: Ben Johnson, PJ Soles, Don Johnson, Dub Taylor, Brion James, Anthony James, Lane Smith

rating: **1/2

What makes this different than any episode of "The Dukes of Hazard" or countless films dealing with bayou moonshiners is there's a dependably bland Disney film feel throughout, a charmingly laidback family movie-night aura that will make you "feel good". Led by town Sheriff Ben Johnson, there's a dog race, country music, and good old fashion bar fights. There's a few side plots: one involving young Don Johnson having invented a new kind of fan boat; the other with his girlfriend, cute PJ Soles and a song she sells to a flashy Country singer (Ann Wedgeworth) who is, along with manager Lane Smith, not very honest. Fun times in this decent rural romp, with some class envy thrown in for free, makes for a decent time-filler.

PRIVATE BENJAMIN

year: 1980 cast: Goldie Hawn, Eileen Brennan rating: **

Unlike the far superior STRIPES, this isn't a military spoof but a character-study involving the army. And we're supposed to enjoy seeing Benjamin punished for her pampered ways, but the setup doesn't introduce us to someone deserving of any big turnaround. The boot camp segment, mostly rushed along in montage scenes, aren't that funny. And for a little while, Eileen Breenan owns the screen as the tough drill Sergeant. But when Goldie eventually becomes a Green Beret type, travels to Italy and meets the man of her dreams, any plot or purpose goes completely AWOL.

Eileen Brennan has some explaining with special friend Sally Kirkland

Listen to my podcast interview with PJ Soles, and that's an order!

 

Listen to internet radio with cultfilmfreak on Blog Talk Radio

THE DEADLY BEES

title: THE DEADLY BEES

year: 1967

cast: Suzanna Leigh, Frank Finlay, Guy Doleman, John Harvey

rating: ****

Don't mistake this as one of those by-the-number creature-feature bug flicks where bees fly around killing people because of the ozone or military or whatever else causes "beasts" to cause havoc in other films of this type. Here we have an intelligent, subtle suspense yarn centering on a beautiful singer who finds solace at the house of a professor who isn't nice to his wife, or her dog, and might just be mad enough to made bees... deadly. But things are never what they seem, and this is more Hitchcock than exploitation: building suspense and mystery from start to finish. And when the bees do attack (although the effects are rather dated) it's quite a buzz.

TITANIC

title: TITANIC

year: 1997

cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, David Warner

writer/director: James Cameron

rating: ***1/2

The big ship is going down. Everyone is running for their lives, but there's nowhere to go. Not enough life rafts for everybody. And the villainous Billy Zane is pissed that his pouty girlfriend (played by Kate Winslet, the only character with layers) loves another man... I mean, boy (Leo, being himself). Funny, huh? Like the dialog, which, at times, seems from a soap opera: melodrama through and through. But what makes this so good is James Cameron. He takes it seriously enough so you're practically forced to be involved. And, past the additively romantic, corny fluff, when we eventually get to the "predictable" tragic conclusion: people falling to their deaths, banging against steel and tumbling violently to the icy sea, you'll know why the iconic director, best known for ultra-violence "The Terminator" films and "Aliens", made this movie in the first place. A means to an end: a what an ending.

THE BIG HEAT

title: THE BIG HEAT

year: 1953

cast: Glenn Ford, Lee Marvin

director: Fritz Lang

rating: ****

In many crime melodramas of the 1950s, the story of the bloodthirsty, fun-to-watch villains can be hindered by the police and their philosophy of the situation, as they separately discuss the "nature of the crime" to counter the violence, but here we have rogue a cop who, investigating a "suicide", is bent on revenge for the murder of his wife: and we have the best of both worlds combined - the "fuzz" being as violent as the gangsters while both elements, rolled into one, make for an excellent, headbutting thriller. Glenn Ford is calculatingly brilliant and the scenes pitted against baddie Lee Marvin are as great as you'll ever see.

THE SNIPER

title: THE SNIPER

year: 1952

cast: Arthur Franz

rating: ***1/2

Most of this film, centering on a sniper who kills women, is wonderfully executed (pun intended) but only as we center on the gunman himself: as he goes from one hit to the next, led by various gals who bring the nasty out in him. Along the way he leaves subtle clues to the police who, only used sparingly in the first half, then become too important as the death scenes shorten or vanish and we only hear about them from these cops who, along with a police shrink, dissect each remaining murder with too much dialog: making up for the violence that might have been "too much" for audiences at that time. Although when this movie works, it works wonderfully. Arthur Franz as the sniper is excellent, as is the direction by Edward Dmytryk: especially during the "good parts".

THE LINEUP

title: THE LINEUP

year: 1958

cast: Eli Wallach, Robert Keith, Richard Jaeckel

rating: ****1/2

Crime melodrama perfectly mixing good and evil: beginning with a police investigation of heroin smuggled through antiques, and then focusing on the criminals who collect the stuff. Tension builds nicely and, despite a somewhat typical car chase for a climax, this is one hell of a ride from start to finish. Eli Wallach, playing the crazy, insecure, and sometimes charming lead thug, following subtle "orders" from his elder partner Robert Keith, make for one unique partnership. And director Don Siegel keeps the suspense on par with the Film Noir dialog, especially memorable among the cops in the first act: as things get figured out.

5 AGAINST THE HOUSE

title: 5 AGAINST THE HOUSE

year: 1955

cast: Brian Keith, Kim Novak, Guy Madison, Kerwin Matthews

rating: *1/2

If you thought casting high school or college students with grown men was something staple of the eighties, check out this melodrama centering on four college buddies who plan on overtaking a poker house, all played by actors, including Brian Keith and Kerwin Matthews, who look forty years old and act accordingly. Keith is the only interesting character but breaks down way too soon, promising a psychotic side that never comes to fruition, making for a very lame heavy in an ensemble piece that lacks everything including style, plot, and purpose.

THE SNORKEL

title: THE SNORKEL

year: 1958

cast: Mandy Miller, Peter Van Eyck, William Franklyn, Betta St. John

rating: *1/2

This could have been a terrific comedy. A man wearing a big snorkel sits in an airtight basement while his wife suffocates on deadly gases above. Doesn't sound very funny, but it is... unintentionally. The woman's pre-teen daughter is on to this guy, who's just too perfect... and he's a conceited jerk. A perfectly conceited jerk covering up a "perfect murder" in a B&W British melodrama (somehow considered Noir) as suspenseful as deep-sea-diving in a swimming pool... in the shallow end.

THE CHRISTIAN LICORICE STORE

title: THE CHRISTIAN LICORICE STORE

year: 1971

cast: Beau Bridges

rating: *

The strange title is the most intriguing aspect of this 70s-channelling-psychedelic-60s art house dud, especially because, throughout the entire film... centering on a young talented tennis player (Beau Bridges), showing every nook and cranny of his meaningless existence through pretentious trick shot editing - all without connecting to any plot or purpose... you'll wonder what the hell that crazy title means.

THE DAY TIME ENDED

title: THE DAY TIME ENDED

year: 1979

cast: Jim Davis, Chris Mitchum

director: John Bud Cardos

rating: *

This ultra low-budget science-fiction dud, helmed by John Bud Cardos, couldn't be more different than the indie director's masterpiece KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS, where actual things are shown, in that particular case, tarantulas, stalking the characters, while this film, centering on a family living in the desert being harassed by UFOs, space monsters, and a frolicking pint-sized alien, all superimposed on the screen as the actors, including Jim Davis and Chris Mitchum (Robert's son), are merely reacting as if something's really there... But we know there isn't anything at all.