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Reviews
Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us (2005)
Excellent Documentary
Despite the previous reviewer's screed, this is a well paced and interesting documentary with lots of clips from classic 1950s sci-fi films that influenced Spielberg, Lucas and others in their more recent efforts. I agree that Spielberg's films aren't even in the same league as the films discussed here, such as William Cameron Menzies' brilliant INVADERS FROM MARS, to name just one of the many titles examined, but this is still a remarkably good overview of 1950s paranoid sci-fi. Yes, it turns into a commercial for the tepid remake of WAR OF THE WORLDS during the last fifteen minutes; you can turn that off. The rest is surprisingly good, and it's nice to see contemporary filmmakers remember the films that inspired them, even if they can't begin to match the originals.
The Phantom Speaks (1945)
Typically Brilliant Republic 1940s Supernatural Thriller
I just caught up with THE PHANTOM SPEAKS yesterday, and it's one of a group of disturbing, yet riveting hour long thrillers that Republic produced in the mid 1940s, along with such films as VALLEY OF THE ZOMBIES, THE MYSTERIOUS MR. VALENTINE, and THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST; short, evocative, and deeply atmospheric. While Republic's serials dealt in nonstop action, and their Westerns offered up the artificially cheerful spectacle of Roy Roger and family in a seemingly endless series of singing westerns, Republic's hour long programmers are melancholy, paranoid, world weary, and genuinely disturbing. Directed by such superb veterans as Phil Ford, Leslie Selander, and in this case, John English, Republic's "B" films offered the viewer a vision of the world as a vast, bleak, and friendless place, inhabited only the corrupt and powerful, and their unwilling victims. Superb direction by English, with Tom Powers excellent as the ruthless killer, and the ever reliable Stanley Ridges both sympathetic and harrowing as his dupe. Watch for an uncredited Kenne Duncan in the opening scene as Powers's victim. All of these films, needless to say, should be available on DVD.
Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien (2000)
This is NOT a remake of THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY
I feel compelled to note that this superb French film has nothing to do with, and bears no resemblance to, and is in no way connected with Alfred Hitchcock's comedy THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY. In that film, Harry is a body that all the characters keep trying to dispose of, with little success. WITH A FRIEND LIKE HARRY has an entirely different plot line, in which an old pal, Harry, insinuates himself into an unsuspecting friend's life with increasingly sinister consequences. I can't believe, quite frankly, that this wasn't noticed by the people who supposedly screen these comments. Please, some accuracy!!
Cell 2455, Death Row (1955)
Brilliant, Overlooked Film
Brutal, fast moving crime thriller from deeply underrated director Fred F. Sears, who cranked out numerous westerns, crime thrillers, science fiction, comedy, horror, and musical features for producer Sam Katzman in the 1950s. This film isn't available on DVD or VHS, and more's the pity; it's easily better than most of the Don Siegel, Andre de Toth, or Budd Boetticher crime films of that era. Why Sears has never gotten the respect he deserves is easy to understand; he also directed junk, like THE GIANT CLAW. But his best known films, including ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK and EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS with superb effects by Ray Harryhausen are remarkable accomplishments, and Sears is long overdue for a career retro.
The Penthouse (1967)
Brilliant Film; Should be on DVD
This is a superb and prescient little thriller by Peter Collinson that predates such films as FUNNY GAMES and other "extreme cinema" projects, and is much better, and much more restrained, in every way. I'm amazed that the film hasn't gotten better distribution, and that it seems to have slipped between the cracks of cinema history. A great film; see it if you can.
The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002)
Superb
An excellent filming of the classic Holmes story; easily the equal of Terence Fisher's classic 1959 production. There has been some carping about the character of Holmes, but this is a new and vitally realized production, which does not use many of the cliches of the long running Rathbone series. Richard E. Grant is especially good; as for the hound, I found it to be a quite effective visualization of the mythic beast. Superb all on counts; a must see.
The Flower Thief (1960)
One of the Key Films of Beat Generation
I was shocked and amazed to see that no one else has bothered to click on this film, or vote for it; sadder still to see that it is unavailable on VHS or DVD. Starring Taylor Mead, this is one of the classics of the 1960s underground cinema, featuring superb direction, camerawork and editing by the late Ron Rice. The entire film was shot on outdated World War II surplus 16mm aerial gunnery film in 50 ft. cartridges; Rice and Mead improvised most of the film on location in San Francisco. On a budget of less than $1000, Mead and Rice created a film that rivals the best of Chaplin, Keaton, or any of the other great silent comedians, a film that can be seen again and again. There really is no other word for it; the film is a masterpiece, and I urge you to seek it out and see it at your earliest convenience.
Runaway (1964)
Superb 1960s B/W film about adolescent alienation and loss.
This is an absolutely brilliant film, all but unavailable on video, which is well worth seeking out. I viewed a print at the New Zealand Film Archive, and felt as if I was watching an undiscovered Losey or Antonioni film from the apex of the 1960s, with superb black and white cinematography, excellent acting, and a script which is suitably brutal and yet ultimately intangible, as in the best of both Losey and Antonioni. Do what you need to, but see this film; it's a remarkable testament to one person's determination to make a film without any studio to back him up. Shot for less than $50,000, without sync sound (but so skillfully "looped" that you'll never know it), and with a great "cool" jazz track, this is one of the undiscovered treasures of the cinema. Don't miss it.
Night Train to Paris (1964)
Excellent British suspense film.
This is a real "sleeper" (no pun intended), a tight, compact suspense film that really keeps moving throughout its economical running time. The cast is uniformly superb, the direction is assured and fluid, and the film is a reminder of just how many quality low-budget films were made even into the 1960s, before the collapse of the double-bill and the end of black and white as a commercial medium. Well worth looking for; I don't know if the film is available on tape. It should be.