Listy things -- George Raft

Favorite George Raft films:

1. Spawn of the North (1938)
2. Souls at Sea (1937)
3. Each Dawn I Die (1939)
4. Invisible Stripes (1939)
5. Rumba (1935)
6. Scarface (1932)
7. Some Like It Hot (1959)
8. They Drive by Night (1940)
9. Loan Shark (1952)
10. Background to Danger (1943)

I find it very amusing that my favorite two George Raft films also star two actors I'm not particularly fond of, Henry Fonda and Gary Cooper. Yet I'll watch each any day of the week just to catch those two particular films, which showcase George at his least smooth and well-dressed. Not that I mind him smooth and well-dressed, because damn, the man can wear a tailored suit like nobody's business. But I tend to love rough-and-tumble first, and Spawn of the North and Souls at Sea deliver that. I love the first half of They Drive by Night for the same reason, rough and tumble and scruffy, fisticuffs and wise-cracking.


(up tomorrow... Aldo Ray)

Listy things -- Joel McCrea

Today is Joel McCrea's birthday! I'm delighted to be attending the open house at his ranch in Thousand Oaks and will report in on that later. But for now, here's my favorite films starring Joel McCrea:

1. Ride the High Country (1962)
2. Dead End (1937)
3. The More the Merrier (1943)
4. The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
5. Bird of Paradise (1932)
6. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
7. The Silver Horde (1930)
8. Foreign Correspondent (1940)
9. Union Pacific (1939)
10. Buffalo Bill (1944)

There are so many enjoyable Joel McCrea movies that this list was kind of hard! And I still have so many films of his left to see! Of course, Ride the High Country is still my absolute favorite by a long shot. I have a lobby card from that film on my wall. Makes me happy every time I walk back it.


(up next... George Raft)

Listy things -- Dana Andrews

My favorite Dana Andrews' films:

1. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
2. Swamp Water (1941)
3. Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
4. Fallen Angel (1945)
5. Laura (1944)
6. Ball of Fire (1941)
7. State Fair (1945)
8. Night Song (1947)
9. The Frogmen (1951)
10. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)

It's very hard to put Ox-Bow Incident on that list, because that movie is very painful to watch, but at the same time, he's so wonderful in it that it is one of my favorites. Actually, typing up this list really put me in the mood to watch most of these. I kind of wore them out a few years back, but now I'm fresh and ready to watch!


(next up... Joel McCrea, just in time for his birthday)

Listy things! -- William Holden

I have at least three movie reviews I'm behind on, but I've been fighting a cold and can't focus on anything right now... so we're going to do some lists for November, starting with my personal top ten favorite movies from several of my favorite actors.

I absolutely love how many people can adore the same actor and yet love completely different movies starring them. As they say, how boring it would be if we liked the same things, right? And when there's a jillion movies to choose from, and only ten can go on a list... So, here's my personal favorites (ie: the most watched go-to movies when I'm in a William Holden mood). There's still a few of his films I haven't yet seen, that I have a feeling will be on this list, once I do see them, like Streets of Laredo. That's the thing... favorite lists are so flexible and ever-changing. But as of this moment:

William Holden

1. The Wild Bunch (1969)
2. The Horse Soldiers (1959)
3. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
4. Escape from Fort Bravo (1953)
5. Alvarez Kelly (1966)
6. Stalag 17 (1953)
7. Picnic (1955)
8. The 7th Dawn (1964)
9. Golden Boy (1939)
10. Texas (1941)


(Up tomorrow... Dana Andrews)

Background to Danger (1943)

This was a pretty entertaining, but not great, spy movie. On the surface, it sounds like quite a winner. The plot is intriguing. Set in WWII, in neutral Turkey. The Germans aim to break that neutrality and give Germany a chance to take over by convincing Turkey Russia plans to evade. They've cooked themselves up a nice little scheme, complete with a fake invasion plan, photos, maps, etc. that the main German instigator (Sidney Greenstreet) plans to publish in a Turkish newspaper. Standing in the way of the nifty German plot are an American spy (George Raft), and several Russian ones (including Peter Lorre and Brenda Marshall).

The movie starts out promising enough. Raft manages to obtain the photos and plans, but the woman who gives them to him is murdered and Raft framed. He's then kidnapped by Greenstreet's men -- not before hiding the plans, of course. Greenstreet does not remotely play nice in his quest to recover the plans, and when Raft refuses to cooperate, our hero gets kicked down to the cellar, only to be rescued from torture by Peter Lorre, and the race is on to see who can obtain the plans first -- and stay alive while they're at it.

Alas, the second half of the movie isn't as fun as the first, but it's livened up considerably by Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet. How can you go wrong with either? Lorre plays a good guy for once, albeit a devious, tricky spy, who loves his vodka. He's delightful, and his lines and delivery made me laugh outloud more than once. He's definitely worth the price of admission alone. I love when he finally tells Raft the truth, isn't believed, and kind of throws up his hands. And the way he sits crosslegged on top of a table to tell his story. He's just plain fun in this movie!

Sidney Greenstreet plays one of those pontificating bad guys who likes to hear himself talk. But, he also smart, one step ahead of the good guys most of the movie, and isn't afraid to do his own dirty work when it comes down to it (though he prefers to do it in comfort). And while he may speechify an awful lot, his dialogue is filled with dry humor and some really nice turns of phrase that also made me grin.

Brenda Marshall plays Peter Lorre's sister, and I hate to say it, but she appears to have hated making this movie or something... she put zero personality into her role. She has no chemistry with Lorre or Raft or even the scenery. She's the weakest link here, her part is unnecessary anyway (token female good guy and tacked on love interest), and I really wish her part had been cut completely. She at least gets to drive the car in the big car chase... but she's pretty expressionless there too.

George Raft turns in a mostly average performance, with a few really good moments and a few snappy lines of his own. I still adore the man. I do love when he gets that stubborn set to his jaw and that defiant look in his eye, and I love the back and forth with Peter Lorre he gets to do as both try to play each other to get what they need, and as they alternate who has the drop on the other. Not nearly enough fisticuffs from him, but there's still plenty of running and scrambling around to show off his physical grace. And he sure does know how to wear a hat and coat well.

The rest of the supporting cast was excellent, I loved the train sequences (trains in old movies are never a bad thing!), the wild, fish-tailing car chase was exciting, shadows and dark alleys abounded, and I loved the confrontations between good guys and bad guys. There was also a lame epilogue, and a couple of lame deaths, but for the most part, it still kept me solidly entertained in a B-spy movie way.

Blowing off the cobwebs

My apologies for the neglect. A combo of vacation, illness, and impending story deadlines has left me with little time for blogging in the last month. I've watched only a couple movies in the past month, and those were re-watches. Weird to go such a long stretch without watching a movie, but I read a lot in there. No fiction, though, oddly. Only biographies on Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. I loved reading about both men. Up next is another biography, this one on Travis, Crockett, and Bowie. Really looking forward to it, but man, it's a fat book!

I've also had a birthday, and I find that while I don't need quite glasses yet, I'm distinctly getting more and more farsighted nowadays. Pretty soon my arms won't be long enough, and then I'll need glasses. LOL! No problems with driving or seeing anything far off. Just the up close stuff. I also cannot read for hours and hours like I used to in my youth. My eyes take longer adjust quickly from up close to distant and back again, and reading nowadays tends to leave me with a fair bit of nausea if I try to read for too long. It's unsettling. I just try to make sure I read in bright light and for shorter periods of time. Ahhhh, how the body slowly changes with age.

Most free time lately has been spent racing a deadline for my next anthology submission. Once it's off my plate, there's another one to write... but I should be able to get back to watching old movies. I hope. I'm craving some Dana Andrews and William Holden about now!

Ivanhoe (1952)

This version kind of made me laugh. It's as if someone read the story and said, "What's this? Ivanhoe spends most of the story sidelined? But we've got Robert Taylor lined up for the role! What's up with this Black Knight who keeps rescuing Ivanhoe? King Richard? Bah! Who needs King Richard, give his part to Ivanhoe!" And so, Ivanhoe becomes the Black Knight instead of the Disinherited Knight and any time there is a rescue or heroic action scene by someone else, they give that part to Ivanhoe. He becomes a bit of a superman! Nothing can keep him down. Oh, he still gets wounded, but he bounces right back up so he can go storm the castle himself. Now if you're going to have a movie called "Ivanhoe," and you're unfamiliar with the story, this version might actually be truer to your expectations. But coming to this version last, I was a bit underwhelmed.


And so far, I think the only movies I genuinely like Robert Taylor in are Westerns. I dig him in Westerns, but in these older period movies? Much as I want to like him, he's just flat and expressionless and seems a bit out of time and place.

Best things in this one are George Sanders and Joan Fontaine. Really, can you go wrong with George Sanders? He is always awesome, purring his lines with that smooth, delicious voice. He makes an excellent Bois-Guilbert in this version. I quite enjoyed his performance. And Joan Fontaine might just be my favorite Rowena in any version. She's beautiful, strong and feminine at the same time. Normally, I'm kind of rooting for Rebecca to win Ivanhoe, but not in this version. In this one, I loved Rowena. I'll admit, though, I'm not an Elizabeth Taylor fan. She was undeniably beautiful when she was young, but her voice always grates on me, and she just didn't sell me on her Rebecca. I guess she kind of fits with Robert Taylor, though.


Nice scenery, nice jousting, great storming of the castle, and a first-rate score by Miklos Rozsa also helped this version. This is probably my second favorite Rozsa score after Ben-Hur. He wrote some of the most beautiful and romantic and heroic music ever for this one, and I could listen to it all day. I absolutely love his score.

Ivanhoe (1997)

This was the next version I saw of the Ivanhoe story. This is an A&E mini-series, and it is fabulous. Just as I watched the first one for Sam Neill, I tuned into this one for another actor, this time, Valentine Pelka. He's one of those British actors most people have never heard of, but I love love love him. He plays Maurice de Bracy, which delighted me no end, after loving Stuart Wilson in the same role.

What I found was a rock solid mini-series that was gripping start to finish. It has an unfair advantage over the 1982 version because it is a mini-series. With a running time of 270 minutes, it has room for character growth and depth that the other versions, of course, don't have, and it uses them wisely. This is also a much grittier, more "realistic" filming of the story. The characters look dirty, scroungy, and like they belong in the time period much more than the 1982 version.

The cast? Really, they're unrivaled here. Everyone of them looks and fits their role and turns in above standard performances. No cheese here! Ciarin Hinds gets the plummy Brian de Bois-Guilbert role and he is perfect. I may have loved Sam Neill, but I can't say I truly cared about his Bois-Guilbert. Not so this time, I was much more invested in the character. (But again with the unfair mini-series advantage of having so much more time and space...) Susan Lynch is Rebecca, and she, also, shines. The two play off each other very well, and their scenes are some of the best in the mini-series. James Cosmo plays Cedric, and, as opposed to the complaining version in the 1982 version, this Cedric is fierce, and definitely more action less talk, and definitely no whining. He'd be a scary stern father that you wouldn't want to mess with. (You know, I don't think I've seen James Cosmo in anything but period/fantasy movies. I can't even picture him in modern day clothes!). Stephen Waddington is Ivanhoe, and is more than adequate. Valentine Pelka makes a most excellent de Bracy, even more honorable than Stuart Wilson's, and if I hadn't already been in love with actor and character, this would have cemented it! Christopher Lee is even here, being absolutely terrifying as the rigid head of the Knights Templar. Everyone else fills in their characters nicely.

Special credit goes to Sian Phillips who has a brief but absolutely priceless appearance as Queen Eleanor, who meets with her two feuding sons. It might just be my favorite scene in the film. At the very least, it's the one that made me grin the most! Brilliant dialogue as she verbally lashes her two sons. Now this is a powerful and smart Queen! She's so good, you almost wish there was more scenes with her!

The only extremely minor downside is this version does not appear to have had a big budget. There are not hundreds of extras available to storm the castle or fill in the stands for the jousts, or even to populate Prince John's castle, which seems woefully understaffed. This didn't actually bother me because the rest was so good, but I've heard other complaints that it's "too small" in scale. Rubbish. I'll take it just as it is.

So, yes, this is far and away my favorite version of Ivanhoe. It's true to the story, has a great cast, great scenery, and is meaty. A&E got this one right!

Ivanhoe (1982)

I recently re-watched three versions of Ivanhoe, and thought I'd write up my thoughts on each here. The three versions are the 1952 Robert Taylor movie, the 1982 TV movie, and the 1997 TV mini-series. I'm going to start with the 1982 version, as that was the first Ivanhoe I saw. After I've written up each individually, I'll do a compare/contrast.

I did not see it when it aired, but caught it several years later on video. I rented it solely for Sam Neill, and fell in love with the story of Ivanhoe, among other things. I grew up on the Robin Hood legend, King Richard, Prince John, the Magna Carta, and that whole time period, so Ivanhoe was a natural for me. I'm just surprised it took me that long before I saw a version. (I read the book shortly thereafter, loved it too.)

This is a star-studded version, with a decent budget, lots of action and vibrant color, but a bit cheesy and/or dated in places (depending on how you want to look at it). Sam Neill plays Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert, the Knight Templar who falls in love with Rebecca of York, whose played by Olivia Hussey. I loved her in Romeo & Juliet, and she did not disappoint here. James Mason plays her father, Isaac of York. Julian Glover is King Richard, Ronald Pickup is Prince John, Anthony Andrews plays Ivanhoe, John Rhys Davies is Front-de-Boeuf, Michael Hordern Cedric, and Stuart Wilson played Maurice de Bracy.


I was surprised by a couple things when I saw this movie. Ivanhoe may be the title character, but he's not the heart of this story. He spends most of it sidelined with injuries he receives in a melee that was unfairly stacked against him. If not for King Richard, he wouldn't have made it out alive! So, while he moans and groans and tries to recover, the other characters take over the story. In particularly, Bois-Guilbert's forbidden love for Rebecca. In many ways, he is the main character. He's also the only character who truly has a character arc, the only one who changes throughout the story. This, naturally, makes him the most interesting character. Well, almost.

I also fell in love with Bois-Guilbert's cohort, Maurice de Bracy (and by extension, the actor that played him, Stuart Wilson. After seeing him in this, I sought him out in other films, and still keep my eye out for him. He has never disappointed me in a role yet.) De Bracy is a mercenary knight, leader of the Free Companions, but he's honorable, and I am always a sucker for honorable men. He also is lovely to watch when he swordfights. He's quick and very graceful, more so than any of the other actors. In an unstaged fight, I think he would have beaten everyone. His fights are too short, but that's what the rewind button is for! LOL!


As much as I love Sam Neill, in this particular film, I liked Stuart Wilson more. Not to say there was anything wrong with Sam Neill. He was deliciously angry, smarmy and condescending, and finally frustrated with the whole unrequited love thing. One of the things I love about this version is that he nearly takes Ivanhoe apart in their final showdown. Ivanhoe may have bested him in the joust, but I think even were Ivanhoe fully recovered from his injuries, this particular Bois-Guilbert is the better swordsman, and the victory is clearly in his hands. I loved that, because it made his sacrifice for Rebecca that much more poignant.



Things I didn't like: Michael Hordern and Lysette Anthony (Rowena). I like both actors in other movies, but they both annoyed me here. Hordern because his Cedric was a whining complainer and a bit of a fool (not the actor's fault, but the script's), and Rowena because her spunk was overridden by her simpering and sad pouting. Hard to explain, but she just annoyed me here. Too bad, because she had some sassy dialogue and showed spirit. The actor playing Ivanhoe was adequate, but his character is overshadowed by the others, so honestly, I didn't pay that much attention to him.

John Williams at the Hollywood Bowl!

Wow, went to the Bowl last night to see John Williams conduct the LA Phil in a concert of various movie music. The concert was sold out! The attendance sign said 16,792 people were there last night!!! It was packed to the gills, and it was AMAZING. Hundreds of people had brought lightsabers. Williams opened the concert with a medley of famous movie themes (accompanied by clips from the movies played on a giant screen), and when Star Wars came on, those lightsabers all came on and the theater glowed around us, as everyone cheered. And that was for just a very short clip of the music. It was just a taste of what was to come. We knew when the full theme would be played later that night, the Bowl would go bonkers mad.

Sure enough, at the end of the second half of the concert, Williams started with "The Asteroid Field," from Empire, and a few lightsabers clicked on. Then Princess Leia's theme. More lightsabers. And then... the main Star Wars theme accompanied by film clips... and the place went MAD in the best possible way. All those lightsabers went on. Everyone was laughing and cheering and if you could have bottled the love and enthusiasm in that audience, you could have made a fortune. It was amazing. I've been to a lot of John Williams concerts, but holy smoke, I've never quite seen anything like this.

That was technically the end of the concert, but the deafening round of applause brought Williams back out, who launched the orchestra immediately into the Imperial March. You thought the audience went mad for just the Star Wars theme? This was even bigger! And all those lightsabers? Started keeping the beat. Sheer. Awesomeness. Hundreds of lightsabers stroking the downbeat. Wow. Just wow.

After that cue, John Williams was peering out in the audience, and he realized the whole place was glowing with waving lightsabers, and he pointed, and his mouth dropped open in surprise and awe at the tribute.

We got two more encores, ET and Indiana Jones, and then, even though the audience had not quieted in the slightest, and was still clapping madly, alas, the lights came up and that was that. What a fabulous evening. Here we are thirty-four years after Star Wars came out, and John Williams and his music are still moving people that much.

And then nearly 17,000 people headed for the exits en masse...

One of the other highlights for me was when they played the How the West Was Won theme and showed clips from all kinds of Westerns. Loved loved loved that. Lots of other good stuff, more medleys, a suite from The Reivers, Harry Potter, etc. They showed the opening from Last Crusade without music, and then with music, and that was pretty cool.

I'm embarrassed to say I had no real idea who James Taylor was, but for those who do -- he was a guest narrator during The Reivers suite, and he also brought his guitar and played a piece. At the very end of the concert, John Williams brought him back on stage to show him the audience with all their waving lightsabers, and they were both boggling.

Coincidentally, Dear Old Hollywood has a great post on the Hollywood Bowl and it's history today too. Check it out!

Where has the time gone?

Ahhhhh, summer, it's slipping away fast. Kids are back in school, the nights are cooling and the sunlight is starting to slant that golden shadowed way it only does in autumn. Fall is my favorite season, so no complaints, but everything seems to be moving so fast!

I have not watched much of anything in the last month. Oddly, only a few newer movies. Not sure how that happened!

The quick summary:

1. Cowboys & Aliens (2011) -- which I had to go see in the theater because I love Daniel Craig. It was okay. Entertaining but ultimately forgettable. And some plot points the previews and the movie's first twenty minutes led me to anticipate didn't happen (namely, some sort of conflict between Harrison Ford's character and Daniel Craig's). But noooooooo, the aliens arrived and any pretense at actual story went right out the window. ("Is this a stand-up fight or a bug hunt? ... It's a bug hunt.") I intensely disliked the female lead. She did not seem to fit in this movie at all and it jarred every time she was on screen. But I did looooooove Clancy Brown's brief time on screen. Would have loved more of him. And Daniel Craig is always a good thing.

2. Ironclad (2011) -- I liked this one quite a bit, mostly because the actors were first rate and the dialogue well-done, but it suffered from eye-rolling character cliches that quite annoyed me. It also suffered from really really REALLY over-the-top gore that had even me looking away, and the shaky-camera syndrome that ruined all the battle scenes and sword fights. Will someone ever get it in their heads to stop this?? I want to actually see those sword fights, not catch brief glimpses of metal here and there. But I'm a sucker for the Alamo and anything resembling a one-sided fatal stand, so this movie pushed the right buttons to keep me interested. And Brian Cox was amazingly awesome as always (I really would watch him in anything), James Purefoy was perfect and brooding and handsome, Vladmir Kulich was cool and had a much bigger role than I thought he would.

3. Chain Reaction (1996) -- One I really only watched to hear the Jerry Goldsmith score and see Brian Cox. It was entertaining enough, a bit predictable. One of those where you don't want to think too closely about it, just enjoy the action and conspiracies.

4. RED (2010) -- okay, now this one, I really loved. Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Mary Louise Parker, Karl Urban, and Brian Cox (again). Thoroughly entertaining. No shaking camera, either, despite all the action! Humor is dark, but made me laugh. The actors mesh well and more than deliver. My favorite character was Brian Cox's Ivan, naturally. He was classy and funny and awesome all at once. Love! It's one you don't want to think too closely about; however, because it doesn't take itself seriously, I have less problem with plot holes than I would otherwise. It's all for fun. This one, I immediately ran out and ordered the DVD.

Romeo & Juliet (1968)

I recently rewatched this film, when I was in the mood for some Shakespeare. It was the first Shakespeare story I was introduced to, back in the seventh grade, when my school showed it over two afternoons in the auditorium. My memories of that experience are still very strong, mostly because I must have bawled for at least an hour after it ended and my mom picked me up with my best friend. I still remember sitting in the car crying and crying.

I love this movie. Everything about it is note perfect for me. The casting, the gorgeous score by Nino Rota (I really love that music!), the scenery, the costumes. I'm the first to admit romances aren't normally high on my list, but if I'm going to watch one, I'll take this one. And because it was my first exposure to Shakespeare, it has always held a special spot in my heart for me.


It really struck me on this viewing how the story only works because the protagonists are teenagers. They are such typical teenagers. Instantly passionate over something, instantly angsty, instantly drastic, instantly woe-is-me-it's-the-end-of-the-world the minute something goes wrong. I think I had to get old enough to be around teenagers and witness this behavior to appreciate this about the play.

Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey are perfect. She is so beautiful. Really, they're both beautiful people. I remember watching "The Last Days of Pompeii" miniseries because she was in it. They make the perfect couple, and I always believe it when they see each other and fall in love. They sell me on it every time. And I love John McEnery as Mercutio. I remember the first time I saw Paul Bettany (in A Knight's Tale), my first thought was of how much he reminded me of John McEnery. Not a bad thing. LOL! I'm not a particularly big Michael York fan, but he made a great Tybalt. His sword fight with Mercutio is one of the highlights of the film.

And I always feel badly for the Prince, stuck with these two unruly problem families who will not live in peace. I'd have confiscated their lands and banished the lot of them from Verona. All are punished indeed.

And I realized while watching this that there is one song I do know all the lyrics to. Shocking, I know, and probably even odder that it is the song from this film: " What is a Youth."