Director John Brahm manages to hold this poor-man's "Casablanca" together. The picture moves at a good clip and Brahm makes the studio-set Singapore visually interesting. There's help too from stars Fred MacMurray and Ava Gardner as lovers whose lives are complicated by World War II and Gardner's amnesia when MacMurray, who thought her dead, finds her again in postwar Singapore, married to a wealthy planter. MacMurray and Gardner are really a goofy romantic team, but MacMurray has his appealing casual charm, and Gardner's vague, unfocused acting works well in some of her amnesiac scenes (plus she was at her most beautiful in the late 1940's). Supporting turns by pros like Richard Haydn and Spring Byington are also a plus. Overall, contrived and derivative, but it looks like a classic compared to the depressing Errol Flynn 1957 remake, "Istanbul."
Reviews
6 Reviews
Ambush
(1950)
Standard fare but very well done
22 May 2003
This is pretty standard cavalry outpost versus the Apaches fare, but it's well acted and directed, moves along at a good clip and boasts an intelligent script that develops its stock characters effectively. Robert Taylor is at his best in this kind of stalwart but human role. And the rest of the cast delivers strongly. (Arlene Dahl has great chemistry with both Taylor and John Hodiak, rivals for her affections.)
This was director Sam Wood's last film. The many action scenes are well staged and exciting, although color would have enhanced them. This is an example of big-budget Hollywood westerns from the late 40's and early 50's (many better known than this, e.g., "Red River) which--for some reason--were filmed in black and white.
This was director Sam Wood's last film. The many action scenes are well staged and exciting, although color would have enhanced them. This is an example of big-budget Hollywood westerns from the late 40's and early 50's (many better known than this, e.g., "Red River) which--for some reason--were filmed in black and white.
High Wall
(1947)
A few terrific moments, but disappointing overall
21 May 2003
Robert Taylor grapples valiantly with an offbeat role that may be too much for his limited range. He has some good scenes as a World War II vet who sustained head injuries and whose return to civilian life is plagued by headaches--and worse, incarceration in a county mental hospital after he is suspected of murdering his wife. Did he do it? No way, this guy was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross, loves his young son whom he hasn't seen for two years (while flying charter places in Burma to earn bucks for an ambitious wife), and really wants to take a research fellowship (for a measly $200 bucks a month. Besides, the movie tips its hand as to the murderer's true identity before Taylor even appears.
That first glimpse of Taylor is a stunner--he's at the wheel of a car speeding out of control, an apparently dead blonde female (his wife as it turns out) at his side, his face full of madness and anguish. Unfortunately, the movie gets bogged down in dated (and superficial) psychiatry and trite glimpses of life in a mental ward. The relationship between Taylor and his psychiatrist (Audrey Totter) strains credibility, though it does push the plot forward to a fairly exciting, if not believable, conclusion. Totter is a disappointment, drab and too serious--her performance needs more of the sharp, tart personality you get from many of her other roles.
Director Curtis Bernhardt gets in a few good film noir licks here. The rain during the extended climax is effective, and the scene where hospital staff visits Taylor's mother--only to find her dead--is extraordinary.
Do a few terrific moments make this a worthwhile 98 minutes? Maybe.
That first glimpse of Taylor is a stunner--he's at the wheel of a car speeding out of control, an apparently dead blonde female (his wife as it turns out) at his side, his face full of madness and anguish. Unfortunately, the movie gets bogged down in dated (and superficial) psychiatry and trite glimpses of life in a mental ward. The relationship between Taylor and his psychiatrist (Audrey Totter) strains credibility, though it does push the plot forward to a fairly exciting, if not believable, conclusion. Totter is a disappointment, drab and too serious--her performance needs more of the sharp, tart personality you get from many of her other roles.
Director Curtis Bernhardt gets in a few good film noir licks here. The rain during the extended climax is effective, and the scene where hospital staff visits Taylor's mother--only to find her dead--is extraordinary.
Do a few terrific moments make this a worthwhile 98 minutes? Maybe.
Working Girl
(1988)
Melanie Griffith wins you over
6 May 2003
The three stars, plus solid direction from Mike Nichols and a terrific supporting cast, put this one over. Harrison Ford is endearingly goofy and Sigourney Weaver is a classic bitch-on-wheels. In the title role, Melanie Griffith wins you over with a charming (if a bit uneven) performance. The script is serviceable but could use more snap and wit. Sights and scenes of the World Trade Center add retrospective poignancy. An engaging--if not completely top drawer--romantic comedy.
June Bride
(1948)
Weak script swamps strong cast
15 April 2003
Fitfully amusing for the cast, especially the supporting characters, but the dated material is done in by a weak script. The Davis-Montgomery relationship is core of the film. The chemistry shows promise at the outset, but has really evaporated by the film's end. Davis is watchable, although her performance is variable; Montgomery gets more annoying as things progress and is particularly done in by the strained plotline. Here is an actor who has more mannerisms than Bette Davis (and they don't serve the picture as well). The ending probably annoyed audiences even back in 1948--it certainly doesn't play well in 2003! One wonders what went through Bette Davis's mind during the final scene, considering that this movie was made at time when she was having her famous contract feuds with the Warner Brothers. Was Jack Warner getting back at her?
One Crowded Night
(1940)
Entertaining curio
5 April 2003
Tight, entertaining curio if you accept the coincidence-based premise. Kind of a low-rent "Petrified Forest" that wraps everything up in about 90 seconds with relentlessly upbeat resolutions. Strong character ensemble includes an oddly off-center turn by a very young Gale Storm that avoids the pert, cute qualities of her "My Little Margie." Billie Seward (as Gladys, not a character named Gale Storm as IMDB lists it) registers strongly. I had never seen her before.
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