Wild Rovers (1971)

I'll admit up front that this review might be just a wee bit colored by the frustrations I've had trying to watch this film. For some reason my computer has fits with Netflix instant viewing now, and glitches every few seconds. I tried to watch this movie a month or so ago, gave up, and finally just bit the bullet and watched it, constant glitching and all.

Despite the fact that this is a Western, and stars William Holden, I did not particularly enjoy it. There was too little plot for its length, and consequently I found it tedious (not a normal complaint of mine -- I generally like long movies). But I need strong plots, and this one just didn't have one. Has an okay main concept, but doesn't do much with it, relies on coincidence and fate rather than character action. There's also a subplot about sheep farmers that really has nothing to do with anything, it just gets in the way of the rest of the story. Yawn.

The good things that almost outweigh the rest:

William Holden. I thought he was fabulous, particularly towards the end of the film. Watching him react to things, watching the emotions on his face nearly made me like this movie despite the lack of plot. He carries this film, and his character is the only one who changes a tiny bit.

Jerry Goldsmith's score. I've always liked this score, so it was great to hear it in context, and more than that, hear the music that's not on the album.


Moses Gunn as an old soldier friend of Holden's was great. And the scenery was pretty nice, but that's about all the positive.

And you know, I'm really really glad the first thing I saw Tom Skerritt in was Alien. He was a good guy there, nice, brave, and a bit naive. Mostly, he was just a nice guy, and I really liked him. I swear I have not seen him play a good guy since then. He shows up a lot in older films (and TV shows), usually as a young, whining, uncouth lout who I usually cannot wait to see get what's coming to him. This movie was no exception.

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

I had seen this movie a long long time ago, but it has been so long, I'd forgotten what happened in it! It was quite different from what I thought I recalled. I always thought of Lana Turner as much more of a femme fatale than she actually was. I love that she always wears white, except for a couple of times, which I'm sure is loaded with symbolism, but it's too early in the morning for me to delve into that.

My favorite part of this film was just watching John Garfield. He has an easy acting manner that just makes him fascinating to watch. He reminds me, physically, just a bit of a young Charles Bronson. I really liked him and do believe I will need to rent a few more of his. There was a special features piece that was TCM's "The John Garfield Story." I watched that too, and enjoyed it a lot, but it was so sad too. I knew he'd died young, but only thirty-nine? Sad. Such talent, taken away so early.

Hangover Square (1945)

What do you know? I finally had time to watch a movie! I've had this one from Netflix most of April, while my life has simply been too busy to find time to watch it or anything else. And what an enjoyable film this was too.

Laird Cregar plays the lead, George Harvey Bone, a brilliant, but schizophrenic composer, who gets siderailed by Linda Darnell, playing a sexy greedy manipulative songstress, who uses anybody she can to get ahead in the world (and then dumps them when someone mores useful comes along.


Faye Marlowe plays a beautiful pianist in love with Bone, though he can't seem to see how much she cares for him. And George Sanders puts in a turn as a good guy, a doctor Bone consults about his mysterious lapses in memories.


His mysterious lapses are episodes triggered by discordant loud noises. And once he trips over, he goes violent and murderous. When he finally snaps out of it, he can't remember what happened. A shopkeeper is murdered in the opening frames (very creepily, close angles, camera in POV of murderer), and Bone fears he may be guilty during one of his lapses. He goes to Scotland Yard, to George Sanders, for help, to find out if he's guilty and what he can do to prevent the lapses. Bone is a soft-spoken good guy who means well. He loves his music more than anything else, and his lapses in memory truly bother him. Laird Cregar always dominates a scene, and he is superb here, at turns gentle and quiet, letting himself be bullied around by Linda Darnell, who wants him to give up his concerto to write songs for her to sing (and advance her career), and then scary and ominous when he gets triggered. His life was so short, and it's such a shame. He was such a charismatic actor.


The movie features one of the most memorable ways to dispose of a body ever (I admit, I grinned in writerly delight at the cleverly beauty of it), and a spectacular finish. The running time of this film is only an hour and seventeen minutes, but it uses all those minutes well and, while Sanders is very under-utilized, the rest of it moves nicely in that short time frame.

The memorable score, including Bone's Concerto, is by Bernard Hermann.

April 17

Two of my favorite actors - old and new - share a birthday today: William Holden and Sean Bean. I'm not sure what it is about April, but so many of my favorites were born this month, and that includes friends and family.

And tonight, Game of Thrones premieres on HBO. It's the first day in years that I really wish I had television. I love the books, and with Sean Bean playing my favorite character from the first book (Ned Stark), it's as delightful as finding out he was playing my favorite character from the Lord of the Rings series (Boromir), or my favorite character from the Iliad (Odysseus). He has a habit of doing that, and no complaints here! Alas, Game of Thrones will air tonight, and I will not be able to watch it, but I will be dreaming of it, and waiting for the day I can watch it myself. Sigh.


Happy birthday, Sean Bean, and happy birthday to my number one favorite -- William Holden.

Quicky run-down

I was visiting a friend for the past few days, and she showed me a bunch of movies, new and old, that I'd never seen before.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) -- fun! I love Jane Russell in particular, and the music is catchy.

Moonstruck (1987) -- meh. Not bad, but not my type of movie. At least it had opera in it!

Inkheart (2008) -- fun! Helen Mirren steals every scene she's in. I want to see this one again.

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) -- entertaining, nice music, but not one I particularly want to see again.

Chicago (2002) -- blech, did not like this one, mostly because I could not care about the unsympathetic characters. Why, exactly, am I supposed to root for murderesses to evade their sentences? I did like Catherine Zeta Jones, though. I thought she was great, but it's just not a story I cared for.

True Grit (2010) -- well, I didn't actually finish watching this one. I was so bored about forty-five minutes in that I gave up on it. I know, I'm a Western fanatic, but nothing about this one caught my attention long enough to keep it.

Snippet!

Click here to read a snippet from my upcoming story "Measure of a Man."

Publishing news!

Woo! After a long hiatus of working on novels, I have just had a short story accepted to the newest volume in the Heroes in Hell anthology. My story is called "Measure of a Man" and will be out this summer in Lawyers in Hell. I got to write about Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp, and even work in opera. Life is good!

This is not the cover, just a promotional postcard, but it's pretty cool looking!

Warlock (1959)

This is an excellent film. It won't make my own favorite list because I dislike Henry Fonda and there's way too much of him and way too little Richard Widmark, but that's a personal prejudice, and doesn't prevent this from being a great movie.

This one has a complex, yet satisfying plot. The town of Warlock is overrun by a nasty set of cowboys who feel it's their right to control everything, using whatever violence is needed. Richard Widmark plays Johnny Gannon, a member of the cowboys who stays distinctly on the sidelines and who decides to quit their company when he can't stomach their methods any longer. His younger brother, Billy, played by Frank Gorshin, stays on with the cowboys.


The town hires a famous marshal/gunfighter, Clay Blaisedell (Henry Fonda) to clean up the town. He brings with him his partner, Tom Morgan (Anthony Quinn, who is fabulous in his role), and their entire gambling establishment! He does his job, cleans up the town, but in a bid for true law and order, the town hires Gannon as the new marshal. Multiple alliances, betrayals, and showdowns ensue between various parties.

What I liked best was, of course, Widmark's role as Gannon, taking on a tough job but believing in the law and justice, even though he's liable to get backshot at any moment. I love love love characters who are willing to die for what they believe in. I loved Anthony Quinn and his complex dependent relationship with Henry Fonda. Movies rarely get into how complicated friendships can be. Usually, scripts reserve such complexity for "love" relationships, but in real life, straight friendships can be even more complex. This movie doesn't shirk that, and I very much appreciate that. De Forest Kelley also has a nice role as one of the cowboys, who goes from leading the violence, to honoring his own word and helping out Widmark when he's also had enough.


The movie is action-filled, and yet works in the deeper stuff without ever slowing down the action. I appreciate that too. It's a well-rounded film with a satisfying ending. Very enjoyable.

(more lovely scenery too!)

The only things I didn't like where the two women characters, played by Dorothy Malone and Dolores Michaels. Their characters were both necessary to the story, but I found them both annoying. And I really wish someone else had the Henry Fonda role. He's fine, he does a good job, there's nothing wrong with him and his character is quite intriguing, I just personally don't enjoy his performances. Sorry.

The Sell-Out (1976)

I've been watching Richard Widmark and Oliver Reed movies lately, so imagine my sheer delight when I discovered a movie with both of them in it! Mwah-hah-hah! I had no idea they'd made a movie together.


The Sell-Out is not good, but it's not bad either. I found it entertaining enough that I'd definitely watch it again, particularly if I can get a better copy. The DVD I watched had absolutely terrible picture quality. It's a fairly formulaic spy film, but it's elevated by Widmark and Reed's performances, and the location shooting in Israel. Widmark stars as Sam, a retired CIA agent, living in Israel with his girlfriend. He's dragged back into the action when his old protege Gabriel (Reed) comes crashing back into his life. Seems Gabriel defected to the Russians awhile back and now wants out. Seems certain members of the CIA and KGB have a secret agreement to help each other eliminate certain agents who are either embarrassing or compromising to each agency and Gabriel is next on the list. He turns to Sam for help. Some failed assassination attempts on Gabriel kill innocent bystanders and bring the Israelis in, and things get complicated fast. Add in Sam's current girlfriend, Deborah (Gayle Hunnicutt), who used to be Gabriel's girlfriend before he defected... and things get even more complicated.

The film's strength is definitely the two leads. As they were the reason I watched this, they did not disappoint. Widmark and Reed work really well together, playing, sparring, and snarling at each, but always with a current of respect underneath. Particularly Reed for Widmark. And when Sam physically threatens Gabriel, you get the feeling he's perfectly capable of carrying out his threat, even though he's twenty years older. Ultimately, Sam and Gabriel slip back into a smooth partnership when they find themselves on the run together. I particularly liked the last half of the film, once the two go on the lam. Sam leads, Gabriel follows, backing him up, deferring to his old boss instantly, and I just loved watching the two actors support each other when they head towards the inevitable confrontation with the man who set them up. There's something very satisfying in movies where the two characters are at odds until circumstances put them on the same side. Like in LA Confidential, when Ed Exley and Bud White finally join forces.


The last third of the film is basically one big car chase as the two men race for the border to Jordan, pursued by both the bad guys and the Israelis. Pretty exciting chase through interesting scenery. Best moment of the entire film is when they find themselves in the middle of a mine field in the desert. After driving along at about half a mile an hour for a few nail-biting moments, Widmark finally growls, "Oh the hell with it," and stomps on the accelerator, flooring it. Made me grin in a good way. It was a great moment. Also sort of summed up the fact that neither he nor Gabriel had anything else to lose at that point.

So, a rather routine, betrayed-spies-on-the-run-in-foreign-country flick, worth watching for Richard Widmark and Oliver Reed, if they're your cup of tea.


(And I must admit, it's also just plain, silly fangirl fun to hear both Widmark and Reed say "Deborah," which is also my name.)

The Last Wagon (1956)

Another highly enjoyable Richard Widmark Western, although this one has a few problems, mostly stemming from the fact that it can't quite make up its mind whether it wants its central character to be a hero or an anti-hero, and that leads to a few plot problems, particularly the ending, which goes a bit out-of-the-blue Hollywood. However, I didn't really mind, because Widmark was absolutely fabulous, the action was fast and entertaining, the Arizona scenery spectacular, and did I mention that Widmark was wonderful? This was pretty much a win-win film!

(gorgeous scenery!)

Widmark plays Comanche Todd, a white man raised by Comanches. The film opens with him on the run/getting caught by one of the nastiest, most brutish sheriff's I've ever seen. Egads! This guy was pure meanness, and the actor (George Matthews) was perfectly cast. (How nasty is he? He shoots at a young boy and beats up a teenager half his size! Dude! At least Widmark is a grown man and can take care of himself -- mostly.) Timothy Carey shows up briefly as the sheriff's ill-fated brother in the beginning. Fortunately for Widmark, they meet up with a wagon train heading to Tucson, and the settlers don't take kindly to the nasty sheriff's behavior, even if Widmark's character is a murderer and the sheriff tells them repeatedly he deserves it.


The story changes direction abruptly when the wagon train's young adults take off in the night to go swimming and when they return... Apaches have massacred everyone else in the wagon train. The wagon Widmark is shackled to is shoved off a cliff, but he survives the fall. The rest of the movie's action is about Widmark helping the young people get out of Apache country alive. Trust and overcoming prejudice become the main themes through the rest of the film. Nick Adams plays one of the survivors who gives Widmark the most attitude (naturally). Felicia Farr plays the oldest of the group, and the most sensible. I've liked her since I saw her in 3:10 to Yuma. She and Widmark fall for each other, and I liked their quiet romantic moments, snatched in moments here and there between attacks and running for their lives.


I watched this one twice while I had it from Netflix, and wouldn't mind owning it on DVD either.

(James Drury shows up briefly as a cavalry officer)

The Law and Jake Wade (1958)

What an enjoyable Western! I really loved this movie and will have to pick it up on DVD at some point. Robert Taylor, Richard Widmark, and Patricia Owens star, John Sturges directed. I'm not particularly a Robert Taylor fan, though I also don't mind him either. He's quiet a large chunk of the time, his character lost in thought -- plans and self-recriminations -- and he does the brooding/scheming thing here pretty well. His silence is countered by Richard Widmark, who is absolutely delightful here as Taylor's opposite -- a quite garrulous outlaw who appears to love the sound of his own voice as he uses words to undermine Taylor. He's also just as smart and calculating. More so, in some ways than Taylor's character. They are very well-matched for cat-and-mousing with each other.


This movie wastes no time whatsoever jumping into the action. Taylor, a former outlaw now turned lawman, busts Widmark out of jail in the first five minutes. They were partners awhile back, but Taylor couldn't stomach the killing and went straight. Only problem is, when he quit, he ran out on Widmark with the all the money from their last bank holdup. So, not only is Widmark sore at being betrayed, he wants his money back. The rest of the movie is a quest to retrieve those buried funds. Throw in Patricia Owens as Taylor's girl, who Widmark kidnaps and brings along as insurance for Taylor's good behavior, and Widmark's gang of ne'er-do-wells, and the requisite Indian attack and there's plenty of action to keep the film moving.


What I particularly loved about this movie was Widmark's character, Clint, and the contrast between him and Taylor's character, Jake. Clint has no morals, no qualms or even a flash of conscience over killing, robbing, whatever. At the same time, though, he has a very distinct code of honor, and he never lies in the film. He's, ironically, more loyal to Jake than Jake is to him. Wouldn't stop him from killing Jake, but there's respect and genuine friendship there too. You get the feeling Jake's death would be the only killing he might regret, even as he recognizes the necessity. He likes Jake, even after being betrayed. Clint is also brave and pretty darn fearless, going after the Indians alone.

I love me a well-rounded and complex bad guy, and Clint is that. Smart too. He knows Jake well enough to take serious precautions on preventing him from escaping or gaining the upper-hand. For example, he insists on keeping Jake's hands bound behind him while they travel, refusing to untie him, because he knows darned well what Jake's capable of. I loved that when Clint reluctantly relents and gives in to the repeated protests of his own gang to untie him, as he's been expecting, the second he does Jake bolts. And I love even more that Clint does not berate his men for what is really his own failing. He knew better. So he just gives them a look, and takes steps to regain custody of his former partner. Widmark is so perfect in the role. And naturally, there's the inevitable showdown between the Jake and Clint, with some great dialogue, and a last exciting bit of cat and mouse.

The movie is filmed around Lone Pine, so there is also lovely Alabama Hills, Death Valley, and Sierra scenery. It's beautiful.


All in all, a very satisfactory Western.

Slow time for films chez moi

Alas, it's been a mostly no-movies zone over here for a while now, so I have nothing to report. Life has been too busy, and I've had a deadline on a short story I need to meet, so my time has been spent writing. I did watch Burnt Offerings (1976) last weekend, which is actually a horror movie. Highly unusual for me to watch horror, but Oliver Reed was in it, so I gave it a shot...

Actually rather liked it, and it didn't give me nightmares. It was more of a suspense horror film than freaky gory horror, and I can handle that. Falls under that horror subgenre of "Deadly Houses." I swear, anyone ever offers you a deal to go babysit a gigantic mansion out in the boonies somewhere, for an unbeatable price -- Don't Do It! This particular mansion wasn't haunted, it was just alive, and needed injuries and death to "feed" and regenerate itself. Naturally, if you go there to stay, you get put on the house menu. Coolest scene in the movie was when the house was "refreshing" itself, the old boards popping off by themselves to expose shiny new white boards underneath, old broken tiles cascading off the roof. Freaky and very cool. Bette Davis was in this film, and it might just be the first time I actually liked her in a movie. Maybe she mellowed as she got older. But her Aunt Elizabeth was neat. I wanted her for my aunt!

Oliver Reed was very great, as usual. Very appealing in this movie. I'd say his character was the only sensible one in the movie (until the end -- dude, run away, run away!), except he was handicapped by nightmares from his youth of this funeral and a very frightening, grinning Chauffeur, who was more terrifying than the house. The Chauffeur's one of those creepy characters who is twice as creepy because he doesn't really do anything but grin at you, but what you think he might do is the terrifying part.

Creepy!