jackmunro Reviews

No Way Out (1950)

Widmark/Poitier

[19 May 2006]

I don't know whether this is true, but I was told that, when Poitier came to Hollywood as a young actor, he was fairly lost, as he knew no one. I was told that the person who took the young actor under his wing was Widmark. If true, I find this quite amazing, given the way that Widmark goes against him in the movie, making viewers detest him.

I also note that they did another movie together, i.e. The Bedford Incident.

Widmark appears to me to be a very under-rated actor. Watch him in this, Kiss of Death and Judgment at Nuremburg and you will see how good he is. There are also many others, e.g. Broken Lance, but these three stand out.

I Am Curious (Blue) (1968)

Trash

[28 November 2004]

I saw both of these movies on a double bill in 1970 (which means I actually paid to watch this rubbish). Interestingly, although I was very naive at the time, I was not the least bit turned on by any of the sexual content of the films, which was meant to be daring for the time. Furthermore, I could find no justification for the same movie being presented twice with different names (yellow and blue).

Funny thing! I tried to submit this comment as above. However, the system told me I had to write 10 lines. My problem was thinking of 10 lines to discuss such junk. I notice that not too many people have commented on the movies. Either they have not seen them or they also had trouble with finding 10 lines.

Sleuth (1972)

A supporting cast to die for

[12 April 2003]

To me, "Sleuth" is a demonstration of the problem with the Oscars (certainly a problem in 1972, and perhaps now also). The problem was that, even before the casting was done for the film of Mario Puzo's "The Godfather," everyone knew that whoever played the leading role was going to receive the Best Actor Oscar, irrespective of the performance. To rate Brando's performance above the performances of Caine and Olivier that year is nothing short of ludicrous. All I can say is thank God that at least Joel Grey received the best support Oscar for "Cabaret" that year.

I first saw Anthony Schaffer's play on the London stage about two years prior to the release of the movie. The leading roles were taken by Paul Rogers and Donal Donnelly, two fine English actors who were superb in these parts. I remember thinking what a difficult thing it would be to make a film of this, but I was sure that someone would try it and make a mess of it. How wrong I was!

I note that "Sleuth" comes up as #250 in the IMDB top 250. I recently selected my top 100 and it comes up at #55. This is a magnificent movie that keeps one on the edge of the seat for its entire length. The performances of the two leads as they play the same game a number of times is stunning. Here is the man acknowledged as perhaps the greatest actor of the 20th century, and here is the Cockney up-start Caine (famous for his "kitchen-sink" roles such as in "Alfie") matching him at every turn and often soaring above him.

But in saying all this, I need to put in a plug for perhaps the finest supporting performances ever delivered. Alec Cawthorne, a man few have heard of outside "Sleuth," is mesmerising as Doppler, while John Matthews and Eve Channing, although having very minor parts, imbue every nuance of their performances with ethereal splendour.

The Third Man (1949)

What can I say?

[10/10 · 8 December 2002]

This movie is so good that I barely feel qualified to comment on it. I first saw it as a 7 year old in the early 50s and, although unable at the time to appreciate its full qualities, I remained strangely moved by it and have been haunted by it ever since. This is the only perfect movie ever made. I guess most of the great things about photography and charisma and zither theme and story have been said by people far more articulate than I. However, there are two points I would like to make. Firstly, the camera angles seem to be designed to preclude the viewer from ever being comfortable in involvement with what is not meant to be a comfortable story. Secondly, the ending is just perfect, but the scene just prior to the ending is even more so. Watch as Lime is trapped in the sewer and Calloway tells Martins to shoot him. Harry turns to Holly and gives an almost imperceptible nod, and Holly pulls the trigger. Now that has some impact!