Monday, September 30, 2013

Watch Canyon Crossroads Online

Canyon Crossroads (1956)Canyon Crossroads (1956)iMDB Rating: 6.0
Date Released : 28 May 2014
Genre : Western
Stars : Richard Basehart, Phyllis Kirk, Stephen Elliott, Russell Collins. A mining engineer, who is shunned by his peers for his unorthodox beliefs concerning the whereabouts of large uranium deposits, joins forces with a girl and her father to search for the mineral. When the father is hurt in an accident, daughter and engineer continue the project, aided by a Native American guide. Unbeknownst to the group, a reputable citizen of the town, really of low moral value, ..." />
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A mining engineer, who is shunned by his peers for his unorthodox beliefs concerning the whereabouts of large uranium deposits, joins forces with a girl and her father to search for the mineral. When the father is hurt in an accident, daughter and engineer continue the project, aided by a Native American guide. Unbeknownst to the group, a reputable citizen of the town, really of low moral value, is shadowing themi, his intention, to jump their claim.

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Review :

Meh.....

I watched this film for one reason--Richard Basehart. He made some dandy B-movies in the 1950s, and so when I saw this on Netflix, I decided to give it a watch. Unfortunately, the film just wasn't very interesting.

Basehart plays a stubborn Uranium prospector who insists he knows where he can find ore. But, since he hasn't got the money, he is forced to work for others. Eventually, however, he's able to get a rich guy to stake him the money and the rich guy's daughter (Phyllis Kirk) goes along with Basehart for the journey. Now Kirk's character HATES Basehart's, so you know by the end of the film they'll be in love (this is film cliché #5). In the meantime, they take on another partner and head into the desert.

Up until this point, I was totally bored by the film. The chemistry between the man and woman just seemed phony and nothing of any great interest occurs...nothing. However, the film does pick up a bit when they make a bit strike, as some scum-bags are more than willing to kill them and steal their claim. Overall, not a bad film but one that barely ever interested me. Had the relationship between Kirk and Basehart now been one giant cliché after another, it would have been a lot better.

Watch The Beachcomber Online

The Beachcomber (1954)The Beachcomber (1954)iMDB Rating: 6.4
Date Released : 10 August 1954
Genre : Comedy, Drama, Romance
Stars : Glynis Johns, Robert Newton, Donald Sinden, Paul Rogers. Mr. Gray is the new Resident in Charge of the Welcome Islands in the Indian Ocean. The Islands are full of life, but the only other Europeans are the "sanctimonious, psalm-singing" brother-sister missionary team of Martha and Owen Jordans, and the Honourable Ted - a hard-drinking, womanizing social outcast whose English family pays him to stay away. Martha and Ted become an unlikely team when ..." />
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Mr. Gray is the new Resident in Charge of the Welcome Islands in the Indian Ocean. The Islands are full of life, but the only other Europeans are the "sanctimonious, psalm-singing" brother-sister missionary team of Martha and Owen Jordans, and the Honourable Ted - a hard-drinking, womanizing social outcast whose English family pays him to stay away. Martha and Ted become an unlikely team when cholera threatens the islands and they must do their best to stop its spread.

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Review :

Boozing Romeo meets psalm-singing Juliet

"Anyone who drinks water deserves all they get," says drunkard Ted as he travels to cholera-plagued islands with missionary/nurse Martha.

This is not dazzling film-making, but it is well-done and engaging, with a solid Maugham story, a marvelous turn by Donald Pleasance in his first role (as a perpetually smiling Indonesian clerk), and three notable stars:

Glynis Johns is a delight to watch, and she brings a lot of heart, soul, and spirit to Martha, a woman so inexperienced that she keeps her eyes wide open when a man kisses her for the first time.

Entering with a torn hat, filthy jacket over filthy undershirt, and five o'clock shadow, Robert Newton establishes himself immediately as an irresistible reprobate. Introducing himself to the new colonial kingpin, he scrounges a whiskey, announces that he's been banished from England, and says it's not so bad on Barru island: "There are ways of passing the time. Are you married? (answer no) Well, any time you feel like a little bit of fun, just let me know."

The third star, truly, is the locations in Sri Lanka and the colonial British islands of the South Atlantic. Not just gorgeous—fearfully gorgeous. There is a remarkable scene of an alligator attacking an elephant as it drinks. Hell of a fight, splashing, bellowing. The alligator wounds its trunk, but the elephant soon tramples the reptile, and then-- and this is wonderful—kicks its attacker ashore, and then, instead of just walking away, it kicks the corpse back into the water. That final kick, which is clearly unnecessary, seems almost punitive. And thrillingly deliberate. That elephant is a genuine character in the film-- not a big role, but a crucial one because of the ending, which reminds us that an elephant never forgets.

Streaming Via Padova 46 (1954) Online

Via Padova 46 (1954)Via Padova 46 (1954)iMDB Rating: 6.8
Date Released : 18 March 1955
Genre : Comedy, Drama
Stars : Peppino De Filippo, Giulietta Masina, Arlette Poirier, Leopoldo Trieste." />
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Review :

A middle-aged Don Juan seeks adventure.

(Some spoilers) Arduino Buongiorno is a middle-aged office worker whose last name means "hello" in Italian and is the source of predictable humor whenever he gives someone his name. .

He's married to a loving but dumpy wife and he seeks escape from his monotonous and boring existence by attempting to have a relationship with Jolanda (Arlette Poirier), a somewhat classy prostitute he meets when he is having his ice-cream dish at a café in Rome's Piazza della Repubblica one Sunday morning.

He himself is a drab but nice-enough guy. Trouble is, the prostitute is murdered before their rendezvous is brought to fruition Some suspect Arduino is the murderer, especially Jolanda's friend Irene, who romantically sees the man as a hero of a crime of passion! Lots of silly stuff here before our poor schmuck discovers that the actual murderer has been apprehended and he is able to return to his life of domestic tranquility, boring but secure.

This film boasts some great performers. The amazing Peppino De Filippo plays the libidinous second-string Don Juan with great skill. I was reminded of a later performance he would give as the prudish prig of an upright/uptight citizen in Fellini's "The Temptation of Doctor Antonio" (in "Boccaccio ‘70") who first deplores and then would fall in love with the enormous breasts of Anita Ekberg on a drink-more-milk billboard. Fellini must surely have seen this movie, given that his wife Giulietta Masina plays Irene, the friend of the murdered slattern.

A hilarious secondary character is Gianrico, played by Alberto Sordi. He is a tiresome garrulous ubiquitous bore who follows Arduino around, talking incessantly, always close to one's face, clinging, impossible to dump. You know the type. He's so incredible in those scenes that when the film was re-issued in Italy it was retitled "Lo scocciatore" or "The Boring Pest" to take advantage of Sordi's increasing popularity. The direction by Giorgio Bianchi is lively. The picture was only shown in the United States in ethnic Italian-language houses. It has been issued on video/DVD in Italy.

Watch Slaves of Babylon (1953) Online

Slaves of Babylon (1953)Slaves of Babylon (1953)iMDB Rating: 5.3
Date Released : 1 October 1953
Genre : Adventure
Stars : Richard Conte, Linda Christian, Maurice Schwartz, Terry Kilburn. The Jews are taken from Jerusalem and made slaves by King Nebuchadnezzar. In the meantime Cyrus, king of the Persians, who has been living as a shepherd, is proclaimed king and defeats Nebuchadnezzar." />
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The Jews are taken from Jerusalem and made slaves by King Nebuchadnezzar. In the meantime Cyrus, king of the Persians, who has been living as a shepherd, is proclaimed king and defeats Nebuchadnezzar.

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Review :

SLAVES OF BABYLON (William Castle, 1953) **1/2

For a low-budget Biblical epic from the Sam Katzman stable, this is decidedly above-average and definitely superior to the turgid (and recently-viewed) SINS OF JEZEBEL from the same year. It deals with only a partially-familiar episode in the Old Testament (that of Daniel and the Lions) – working it into a plot wherein the Jews, somewhat surprisingly, intend to overthrow the Pagan realm of Babylon!

Typically, it features an incongruous lead in Richard Conte (who is perhaps too good an actor to be entirely defeated by the genre trappings, though his hairstyle is unforgivably unflattering!) who is chosen by the placid Daniel figure to escape from captivity and go seek and indoctrinate a boy shepherd (actually a royal off-spring) whom Divine inspiration has decreed as the Savior of His People. Incidentally, Daniel is favored by King Nebuchadnezzar but his son (played by Michael Ansara) is jealous of his influence over Dad and decides to strike at him where it hurts the most i.e. persuading the King to order the (previously-tolerated) worshipping of gods other than those of Babylon as forbidden. When the Holy Man keeps at his daily piety (easily detected by the fuming Ansara), he is thrown into prison and left at the mercy of a bunch of lions that are unleashed upon him; arriving the next day and jokingly querying whether there will be enough of him to be identified, the King's son is shocked to find Daniel is still alive (the latter simply walks out of the cell, leaving Ansara to pick up his jaw from the floor)! The young man is adamant, however, and he throws three other Jews who have dared defy the restricted practice of religion, into a furnace this time around…and, once again, he has to witness their unscathed – and nonchalant – exit from the flames (though the special-effects in this scene leave a lot to be desired)!

On the heroic front, however, things are not rosy either as Conte's efforts to elevate the shepherd-boy's status are largely unappreciated by the brash kid. Things come to a head when the latter entrusts the protagonist with taking a princess (lovely and well-cast Linda Christian, better-known as Mrs. Tyrone Power) he had abducted while on her way to marry newly-appointed Babylonian king Ansara to the city for himself(!) – needless to say, she prefers her rugged escort to both his immature 'leader' and the scowling ruler of her new home! Anyway, Daniel's prophecy comes true at the end – the catch being that his ultimate intention was not to gain Babylon but to liberate the Jews, and we are shown a more modest exodus to the more famous one co-ordinated by Moses out of Egypt. While the film is relatively sober for the duration, a howler is nonetheless reserved for the finale: Conte, who had in any case already been betrothed to a rather frumpy Jewish woman, exits the gates of Babylon without having deigned his intended of a word or even a look…as she has to earnestly call out to him amidst the crowds in order to be re-united with her lover and ensure the obligatory (and, under the circumstances, inevitably lame) fade-out clinch!

Streaming Small Town Girl Online

Small Town Girl (1953)Small Town Girl (1953)iMDB Rating: 6.4
Date Released : 10 April 1953
Genre : Musical, Romance
Stars : Jane Powell, Farley Granger, Ann Miller, S.Z. Sakall. Rick Belrow Livingston, in love with Broadway star Lisa, is sentenced to 30 days in jail for speeding through a small town. He persuades the judge's daughter Cindy to let him leave for one night, so that he can visit Lisa on her birthday. After that he goes on the town with Cindy and she falls in love with him. But Dr. Schemmer wants his son to become her husband." />
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Rick Belrow Livingston, in love with Broadway star Lisa, is sentenced to 30 days in jail for speeding through a small town. He persuades the judge's daughter Cindy to let him leave for one night, so that he can visit Lisa on her birthday. After that he goes on the town with Cindy and she falls in love with him. But Dr. Schemmer wants his son to become her husband.

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Review :

seek details on B. Van's dance

Does anyone know any behind the scenes info about the dance number "Take Me to Broadway" as performed by Bobby Van in this movie? It is comprised of several minutes of hopping. For example, did he do it in one take? Did he have to have special shoes that had major cushioning inside? Whose idea was it to have him perform a dance that consisted only of hopping? As someone who has suffered from shin splints, I think this choreography would make him a prime candidate for that or some other kind of injury as a result of this dance. Did he do special warm-ups? This just struck me as I watching the film on May 21, TCM channel. Some people will think it odd to focus on this, when the major dance number is Ann Miller's, but I just got to thinking . . .

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Streaming White Christmas (1954) Online

White Christmas (1954)White Christmas (1954)iMDB Rating: 7.6
Date Released : 24 December 1954
Genre : Comedy, Musical, Romance
Stars : Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen
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Having left the Army following W.W.II, Bob Wallace and Phil Davis team up to become a top song-and-dance act. Davis plays matchmaker and introduces Wallace to a pair of beautiful sisters (Betty and Judy) who also have a song-and-dance act. When Betty and Judy travel to a Vermont lodge to perform a Christmas show, Wallace and Davis follow, only to find their former commander, General Waverly, as the lodge owner. A series of romantic mix-ups ensue as the performers try to help the General.

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Review :

I'm dreaming of... WHITE CHRISTMAS!

I absolutely ADORE this movie! Have since the first time I saw it! Sure... some may classify it as simply a "feel-good" movie, but what's wrong with that? Some may also classify it as pure schmaltz, but the movie truly does have it's sad points... like the priceless look on General Waverly's face whenever he enters the room where everyone who had been under his division is awaiting his arrival!

The movie has a truly wonderful musical score, not to mention some VERY kick butt dancing!

Bing Crosby is charming as Bob Wallace, a calm and reserved, yet witty and delightful and wise-cracking, and somewhat cynical kind of guy. Bing truly performed to his greatest. And his vocal talent is enormous, not to mention evident throughout the entire movie! It's a real treat to see him crack up when he and Danny Kaye are performing their rendition of "Sisters"!

Danny Kaye is hilarious as Phil Davis, the foil to calm and cool Bob. Phil, too, is full of wise-cracks, and very intent on getting Bob to settle down. Danny gave such a life to his character, portraying him like no other! His best one liner was when a young blonde with voice like nails on a chalk board says to him (after his phoney engagment to Judy) "I sure wish it would happen to me!") to which he replies "So do I!"

Rosemary Clooney is absolutely riveting as Betty Haynes, the older of the two Haynes sisters. She is the most calm and most subdued. She is looking for her "knight on the white horse" in life. Rosemary played Betty to the fullest, making her every bit as believable as you could imagine! And that voice... GOLDEN! A gift from God! It's a true treasure to see her in her solo "Love (You Didn't Do Right By Me)". She's absolutely marvelous and extremely talented.

Vera-Ellen is refreshingly delightful as Judy Haynes, the younger and more naive Haynes sister. Judy is also the dreamer of the two. Vera-Ellen does a wonderfully through job of portraying Judy! She is a perfect foil to her older sister. And those dancing stems... to see her dance in numbers like "Mandy" and "Choreography" is a real treat! How ANYONE could ever dance as well as she is beyond me! She really did a great job in this movie, even better than her performance in "On The Town" with Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Betty Garrett.

A GREAT MOVIE!!!! GREAT CAST CHEMISTRY!!!! GREAT MUSIC!!!! GREAT DANCING!!!! WATCH IT AND YOU WILL SOON BE DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS!!!!

Watch Saginaw Trail (1953) Online

Saginaw Trail (1953)Saginaw Trail (1953)iMDB Rating: 6.7
Date Released : 20 September 1953
Genre : Action, Music, Western
Stars : Gene Autry, Champion, Connie Marshall, Eugene Borden
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Micgigan in 1827 was a bit off the beaten path for any B-western, especially one from Gene Autry, so Gene had to shed his Levis (since Mr. Strauss was about 20 years away from stitching his first pair together in San Francisco) and wear a different gun-belt, but the rest of his costume (hat and string-looped shirt) didn't make much of a bow in the authentic direction in this film, which finds the fur empire of Jules Brissac in Michigan's Saginaw Valley wilderness being threatened by advancing settlers. His right hand henchman, Miller Webb, disguised as an Indian, leads renegade Delawares against the settlers. Captain Gene Autry of Hamilton's Rangers is sent to investigate. Gene and his pal Smiley, aided by Randy Lane and Brissac's niece, Flora Tourney, find evidence pointing to the guilt of Brissac and Webb and round them up to make the region safe for settlers.

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Review :

Gene battles corrupt fur traders

Gene leaves the dusty range and heads to the Great White North to clean up the Saginaw Valley from crooked Frenchie fur trader Jules Brissac (Eugene Borden) and henchman Miller Webb (Myron Healey). Along the way he befriends orphaned adolescents Randy Lane (Ralph Reed) and Flora Tourney (Connie Marshall). Aided by Delaware Indian renegades, Healy and Borden attempt to stop settlers from moving into the valley.

Typical of a lot of the later Gene Autry Westerns this one finds Gene singing less and fighting more. Not to worry though, Gene does manage to get in several tunes along the way. "Comic antics" furnished via Smiley Burnette and (lucky us) Smiley also gets a chance to crank out a tune of his own. No real leading lady, as the obligatory romantic undercurrent is supplied by the two adolescent heroes played by Marshall and Reed.

This was Gene's second to last starring movie. His television series was in its third year of production and western movie counterparts Roy Rogers and William Boyd (as Hopalong Cassidy) had already ridden into the Slver Screen sunset and onto the small screen . Only a handful of the old B-Westerns that once dominated the Saturday Afternoon Matinees were left to be produced. It was perhaps an instructive glimpse into Gene's real life, when at the end of the movie, Gene advises the young hero (wannabe trapper Reed) "Don't try to stop progress, go with it, be a part of it".

Just so-so Gene Autry.

Streaming Shield for Murder (1954) Online

Shield for Murder (1954)Shield for Murder (1954)iMDB Rating: 6.8
Date Released : 27 August 1954
Genre : Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Stars : Edmond O'Brien, John Agar, Marla English, Emile Meyer
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A vicious cop kills a bookie's runner and steals $25,000 from the corpse. He then frames everyone in sight in order to keep to the money to buy a model home for his would-be lounge singer girlfriend.

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Review :

good cop goes bad

I cannot say that this is one of the better films noir, but it's a good example of the way this kind of film was drifting in the early fifties: away from the studios; toward independent production; more cars, fewer subways; a vaguely documentary air, ala Jack Webb, rather than the more elegant stylization we associate with the forties; more outdoor scenes, fewer cramped rooms; and overall a movement away from the Gothic and toward a more contemporary, which is to say paranoid mood. Having said this, it ain't a bad picture. Edmond O'Brien (who also had a hand behind the camera) plays a basically decent and fair cop who gives in to temptation and steals some money from a bad guy. He pays dearly for his transgression. O'Brien is edgier and tougher than usual; the rest of the cast is okay. This is an extremely watchable film. It involves you more than most police thrillers. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Watch Gycklarnas afton (1953) Online

Gycklarnas afton (1953)Gycklarnas afton (1953)iMDB Rating: 7.7
Date Released : 14 September 1953
Genre : Drama
Stars : Åke Grönberg, Harriet Andersson, Hasse Ekman, Anders Ek. While traveling in caravan through the country of Sweden, one member of the decadent Alberti Circus tells the owner and ringmaster Albert Johansson a sad story about the clown Frost: seven years ago, his wife Alma was surprised by him bathing naked in a lake with a regiment. When the circus arrives in the town where Albert's wife Agda and sons live, he decides to pay a visit with his young ..." />
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While traveling in caravan through the country of Sweden, one member of the decadent Alberti Circus tells the owner and ringmaster Albert Johansson a sad story about the clown Frost: seven years ago, his wife Alma was surprised by him bathing naked in a lake with a regiment. When the circus arrives in the town where Albert's wife Agda and sons live, he decides to pay a visit with his young mistress Anne to a famous local troupe to borrow some capes, hats and vests for their tonight show. They are humiliated by the director Mr. Sjuberg, but he lends the pieces, and the lead actor Frans gives an unsuccessful pass on Anne. When Albert decides to visit Agda, the jealous Anne meets Frans, who seduces her with an apparently valuable necklace, and they have a love affair. Anne finds that the necklace is actually worthless and returns to the circus. Meanwhile, Agda refuses to accept Albert back and he sees Anne leaving the theater and going to the jewelry. During the exhibition, Albert and ...

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Review :

One of Bergman´s masterpieces

This is one of his earlier film productions. After have done this it did get bad critic and was no big hit at all in Sweden. But in France for example people who was interested in film saw it. So it helped Bergman to become more famous international. This film is still a masterpiece.

"You live and don´t care about how bad everything can be" is what I would call the message for this film. The opening scene is masterful and it´s a very dark(but what do you expect from Bergman?)film. The lightening and settings are very good and the cinematography is fantastic(The scenes that are filmed inside are filmed by the great Sven Nykvist). The way that the camera moves is fantastic and the way it films in to mirror´s. Also many of the actors and actress are giving their performance of their life. Today this film is a very powerful and disturbing film. I would call it a masterpiece.5/5

Streaming Single-Handed (1953) Online

Single-Handed (1953)Single-Handed (1953)iMDB Rating: 7.0
Date Released : 11 June 1953
Genre : Action, Drama, War
Stars : Jeffrey Hunter, Michael Rennie, Wendy Hiller, Bernard Lee. A British naval officer has a brief affair with a woman in England and never knows that she bears him a son. 20 years later the boy is on a ship under his command when he is tracking a German Raider. When the boy is captured after his ship is sunk, he finds a way to slow the German's progress while a lethal hunt for him goes on." />
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A British naval officer has a brief affair with a woman in England and never knows that she bears him a son. 20 years later the boy is on a ship under his command when he is tracking a German Raider. When the boy is captured after his ship is sunk, he finds a way to slow the German's progress while a lethal hunt for him goes on.

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Review :

Superb vehicle for Jeffrey Hunter

Jeffrey Hunter sparkles in this film. I only wish it were on DVD! From the moment he appears on the screen he has the audience in his pocket. Strangely, the film has two endings - one happy, the other sad. Audiences were asked to vote for which one they liked best. I am astonished that this fine actor has fallen out of public favour and so little of his work is available on video. He had real charisma and charm. And he could act. It's about time someone presented a Jeffrey Hunter season on TV.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Watch Fort Algiers (1953) Online

Fort Algiers (1953)Fort Algiers (1953)iMDB Rating: 5.7
Date Released : 15 July 1953
Genre : Action, Drama
Stars : Yvonne De Carlo, Carlos Thompson, Raymond Burr, Leif Erickson
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Size : 700 MB

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In northwest Africa, a tribal leader tries to stir up a rebellion against the ruling powers.

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Review :

Lots of sand, a little action, and no intrigue

For a plot, "Fort Algiers" leaves nothing to the imagination. And very little hidden. Right away, we know who the bad guy is, so there's no intrigue at all to this film. It's not very well directed or edited, and the acting is just so-so. One reason to watch it is to see Raymond Burr before he became Perry Mason and found his niche on TV. Another reviewer commented that he or see could see why he left Hollywood. Yes, it's obvious that he wasn't much of an actor. Even in these early films of his – I've watched a couple lately, his weight must be over 300 pounds.

The romance and spying in this are just plain hokey. It's not even a very good picture of life in the Foreign Legion. Yvonne de Carlo has one of her roles as a foreigner, and she probably does the best acting job for the whole film. The battle scene provides a little action but even that seems awfully stagy. The tribes must have been a few miles away when the oil field workers spotted them approaching. Once they charged at full gallop, it took forever for them to cover the ground to the oil wells. While the film quality is very good, the production values are clearly second-rate.

This just isn't a film I can recommend.

Watch Taza, Son of Cochise (1954) Online

Taza, Son of Cochise (1954)Taza, Son of Cochise (1954)iMDB Rating: 5.8
Date Released : 18 February 1954
Genre : Western, Action, Drama, Romance
Stars : Rock Hudson, Barbara Rush, Gregg Palmer, Rex Reason. Three years after the end of the Apache wars, peacemaking chief Cochise dies. His elder son Taza shares his ideas, but brother Naiche yearns for war...and for Taza's betrothed, Oona. Naiche loses no time in starting trouble which, thanks to a bigoted cavalry officer, ends with the proud Chiricahua Apaches on a reservation, where they are soon joined by the captured renegade Geronimo, who is all ..." />
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Three years after the end of the Apache wars, peacemaking chief Cochise dies. His elder son Taza shares his ideas, but brother Naiche yearns for war...and for Taza's betrothed, Oona. Naiche loses no time in starting trouble which, thanks to a bigoted cavalry officer, ends with the proud Chiricahua Apaches on a reservation, where they are soon joined by the captured renegade Geronimo, who is all it takes to light the firecracker's fuse...

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Review :

The reactionary side of Douglas Sirk

Don't get me wrong.I've always been a big fan of Deltlef Sierck (Douglas Sirk in America)and most of his melodramas are among my all time favorites : "A time to live and a time to die ","All that Heaven allows" "Magnificent obsession" " Tarnished angels" "Written on the wind" plus those with Zarah Leander in Germany not to forget his final effort ,the remake of "imitation of life".

THis remake was drastically different from Stahl's version:the black servant Delilah became Annie and the only thing she could expect in life was a beautiful funeral.In Stahl's version (and in Fannie Hurst's novel) she was a businesswoman's associate ,in Sirk's screenplay she stayed the good servant -not very far away from GWTW's Mamma-who knew her place.

Still with me?I do think that,in spite of Sirk's storyteller qualities and good scenes (the discovery of the bruises on Barbara Rush's back),"Taza" is also a reactionary work .Taza (who in real life died of pneumonia two years after his dad)predates Annie in "Imitation" :he is the good Indian,who knows his place ,who (this is amazing) dresses like them ,who rebels against his people's customs and even fights them;on the other hand ,Geronimo (and his allies) plays the role of the villain : "we were hunters, warriors,we won't be breeders ".After all ,the white men are taking their land and sending them to reservations:his rebellion makes sense.

Rock Hudson,who was Sirk's favorite actor (his best parts were certainly "All that Heaven allows" and "Magnificent Obsession" -another remake of a Stahl's work-) ,is not well cast as an Indian.And what about Barbara Rush as a squaw?Debra Paget was acceptable ("Broken Arrow"),she is not.

Streaming A Lion Is in the Streets (1953) Online

A Lion Is in the Streets (1953)A Lion Is in the Streets (1953)iMDB Rating: 6.3
Date Released : 23 September 1953
Genre : Drama
Stars : James Cagney, Barbara Hale, Anne Francis, Warner Anderson
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Size : 700 MB

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Colorful bayou peddler Hank Martin marries pretty teacher Verity, who finds that the rural poor all love Hank. Gradually, she realizes that Hank's popularity is the fruit of his expert manipulation of everyone he knows. She's further taken aback when she meets sexy swamp girl Flamingo, who considered Hank hers and is murderously jealous. Now Hank starts crusading against a crooked cotton buyer, and swiftly rises toward political power. Is there no stopping him?

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Review :

Storm warning

More like a bull in a china shop! Cagney completely unfettered here, carrying everything before him in a typical barn-storming performance of sheer bravura.

Forget all the succeeding shortcomings of the plot, they're there from the start and almost far too numerous to mention, but let's just throw some in - like Cagney's whirlwind romance with too-young-for-him school-marm Barbara Hale and even more ridiculous fling with far-too-much-younger-for-him Anne Francis as a wild-child with a crush on our hero, who in a "hath no fury" scorned moment improbably tries to feed Cagney's new bride to the crocodiles, mix in a plumb-loco trial scene where Cagney props up a dying witness to testify for his innocence even as he expires on the stand and grandstand it all with Cagney's "Kingfish" character Hank Martin getting shot at point-blank range by widow of same dying witness when Cagney's treachery in thrall of power is exposed, just at the point when he's fathered his first child and lost the election to boot!.

Only Raoul Walsh could whip all this into, I hesitate to call it shape and in under 90 minutes at that. Shot in gleaming technicolour, with hordes of well-marshaled crowd scenes and with Cagney threatening to self-combust from the off, this has to be one of the most preposterous films I've ever watched. You could argue with some justification that the great man chews more scenery than Hungry Horace, but best just to surrender yourself to the whirlwind, suspend all disbelief and see where it deposits you. It may not be Oz, but there's certainly a wizard at work here.

Streaming Ôsaka no yado (1954) Online

Ôsaka no yado (1954)Ôsaka no yado (1954)iMDB Rating: 7.5
Date Released : 14 August 2006
Stars : Shûji Sano, Nobuko Otowa, Mitsuko Mito, Hiroko Kawasaki." />
Movie Quality : BRrip
Format : MKV
Size : 700 MB

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Review :

A "Lost in Translation" for 50's Japan

Mr. Mito (Shuji Sano), a Tokyo businessman, is demoted and sent to Osaka. There, he finds lodging in the titular inn, and makes the acquaintance of many of the town's citizens. Notable among them are the maids at the inn, a hard-drinking geisha, and a mysterious woman Mito encounters at the mailbox. In Japan, director Gosho's name is synonymous with melancholy and finding laughter through tears; An Inn at Osaka bears up that reputation. The struggle to stay afloat in life, especially financially, is a running theme of the film, as all of the characters struggle with looming poverty and gnawing loneliness, but it all ends with a kind of quiet triumph.

Streaming The Farmer Takes a Wife Online

The Farmer Takes a Wife (1953)The Farmer Takes a Wife (1953)iMDB Rating: 5.4
Date Released : 1 July 1953
Genre : Comedy, Musical, Romance
Stars : Betty Grable, Dale Robertson, Thelma Ritter, John Carroll
Movie Quality : HDrip
Format : MKV
Size : 700 MB

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Erie Canal, N.Y., 1850: Molly Larkins, cook on Jotham Klore's canal boat, has a love-hate relationship with her boss. She hires handsome new haul-horse driver Dan Harrow and the inevitable triangle develops (complicated by Dan's desire to farm and Molly's to boat) against a background of the canalmen's fight against the encroaching railroad.

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Review :

Navigating On The Erie Canal

It's sad that The Farmer Takes A Wife was owned by 20th Century Fox instead of Warner Brothers. Had Jack Warner been in charge he had the right person for the female lead in Doris Day. As it is this musical adaption of the Frank Elsner-Marc Connelly play has a most miscast Betty Grable doing a part that had Doris stamped all over it. When Betty says 'Uticky' it doesn't quite come out right.

The original play ran for 104 performances in the 1934-35 season and was the vehicle that made Henry Fonda a star. In fact producer Walter Wanger took the highly unusual step in bringing Fonda to Hollywood to star in the role that made him. Playing the parts that Betty Grable and John Carroll have in this version are Janet Gaynor and Charles Bickford.

Of course with this being changed to a musical and the billing reflecting it, the emphasis was changed from the male to the female lead. Seeing Dale Robertson as Dan Harrow though, he makes an admirable substitute for Fonda.

Too bad that Harold Arlen and Dorothy Fields didn't write anything memorable in the score. And for the life of me I can't figure why John Carroll who does sing well, wasn't given more to do musically.

The story is an old fashioned rustic one set during the final days of the Erie Canal. Everyone but Betty seems to realize the railroad will eventually put the canal out of business as the major venue of transportation. Still she and soft spoken farmer Robertson do eventually come together as Robertson wins her over Carroll who is a real lout in this film. I can readily see Charles Bickford in that part in the first film version.

At the same time Betty was doing this, Doris Day was doing Calamity Jane over at Warner Brothers in a similar role with much better songs. Maybe with a better score, The Farmer Takes A Wife would have been more memorable.

Still I think it would have needed Doris Day.

Friday, September 27, 2013

Watch Due notti con Cleopatra (1954) Online

Due notti con Cleopatra (1954)Due notti con Cleopatra (1954)iMDB Rating: 4.7
Date Released : 4 February 1954
Genre : Comedy
Stars : Sophia Loren, Alberto Sordi, Paul Muller, Nando Bruno. Sophia Loren plays a dual role, as both the sultry Queen of the Nile with a "man-a-night" appetite and a beautiful slave girl who takes her place and is wooed by a bodyguard who thinks she's the real monarch." />
Movie Quality : HDrip
Format : MKV
Size : 870 MB

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Cleopatra è una donna bellissima ma ha un piccolo difetto: quando un ufficiale della guardia le piace, dopo una notte d'amore lo fa avvelenare dal fido Tortul perchè Marcantonio non lo venga a sapere. Cesarino è un ufficiale nuovo, non ancora al corrente del piccolo vizio di Cleopatra e subito accetta di fare la guardia alla regina. Quando entra non trova però la vera sovrana, ma Nisca, una schiava sua sosia che il perfido Tortul aveva scovato per permettere a Cleopatra di andare in incognito da Marcantonio. Ma, passata la prima notte, la vera Cleopatra torna...

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Review :

TWO NIGHTS WITH CLEOPATRA (Mario Mattoli, 1953) **

This one can't seem to make up its mind whether to be a vehicle for Italian comic Alberto Sordi or a peplum spoof, perhaps the first in the genre; I tend to find Sordi's brand of humor in this early stage overbearing – as for the latter, CARRY ON CLEO (1964; which I watched in January) is far superior!

Lovely Sophia Loren (not yet the international star, she featured in a famous bare-breasted black-and-white publicity still for this very film!) has a dual role as the conniving Cleopatra and a lookalike slave, who is made to pass for her when she absents herself to visit Marc Anthony (played by peplum regular Ettore Manni). Sordi is an Egyptian merchant who contrives to (literally) win a place as a personal guardian to the Queen of the Nile: the trouble is that she's in the habit of taking these as lovers and then have them killed!; the title, then, refers to Sordi's having trysts with both of Loren's characters (comforting the despairing slave while aggravating the no-nonsense ruler!). By the way, "Euro-Cult" stalwart Paul Muller is Cleopatra's villainous adviser.

For the record, director Mattoli helmed several Toto' vehicles around this same time; besides, the script was co-written by Ettore Scola (later a top director in his own right) – while Giuseppe Colizzi, a future Spaghetti Western specialist, served here as production manager. Incidentally, I had resisted renting this on DVD in a dubbed version…but, when it eventually turned up on Italian TV, the battered print used featured a number of jump cuts – so that the film ended up being even shorter than its already modest 78 minutes!

Streaming Captain Scarface (1953) Online

Captain Scarface (1953)Captain Scarface (1953)iMDB Rating: 4.7
Date Released : 15 October 1953
Genre : Action, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Stars : Barton MacLane, Virginia Grey, Leif Erickson, Peter Coe
Movie Quality : HDrip
Format : MKV
Size : 870 MB

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The Banos has exploded and sunk at sea, but another freighter, also called the Banos, is now loading at a South American port, under the command of a man known as 'Captain Scarface'. On shore at the Los Rios Hotel, a number of passengers are waiting to board the ship. Sam Wilton is in trouble, and needs to get back to the USA quickly. Ilse Yeager is waiting to be reunited with her father, who arrives with Mr. Kroll, an associate of Captain Scarface. A man named Clegg, who has just completed some work for the captain, also arrives and demands money from Kroll. Meanwhile, the captain is expecting Dr. Yeager, whom he plans to force into helping him on a mission of destruction.

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Review :

Atom bombs, commies and deadly bananas

A Communist plot to destroy the Panama canal sees a number of passengers join forces in an attempt to overthrow the crew of a ship carrying an atom bomb en route, while an eminent doctor aboard the ship is blackmailed into activating the missile or risk the murder of his daughter.

The dialogue is a bit juvenile, and MacLane seems to be hamming it up as the crooked captain, nicknamed "Scarface" for obvious reasons, who smokes a durry like the Penguin and will do anything to honour mother Russia. Erickson is the opportunist who stumbles upon the plot while attempting to escape South America for a relatively minor (by comparison) feud with a local kingpin. Grey is simply wasted, with little to do except wallow in her cabin aboard the doomed ship of "Captain Scarface".

The villains are simply described as 'Communists', political jingoism and highly appropriate for 1953, but the film is little more than a B-grade quickie, peddling an array of hokey plot contrivances for a 69 minute back-slapping exercise devoted to subduing a red threat. Hastily resolved, there's very little action of which to speak and despite attempts at intrigue, it's pretty dull an uninspired.