reviewId int64 363k 588k | userId int64 33.9k 15.9M | itemId int64 1 1.42M | rating float64 1 10 | title stringlengths 1 10.9k ⌀ | content stringlengths 81 11.6k ⌀ |
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447,630 | 1,048,771 | 360,486 | 3 | Hell on earth . . . appallingly bad script , bad acting , bad everything . . . | CONSTANTINE is one of those Prince of Darkness tales that defies description . It's so bad , I kept watching to see if it could get any worse . It did . Nowhere is there any coherence in the shell of a plot . The dialog uttered by KEANU REEVES and RACHEL WEISZ is unbelievably bad . As the Angel Gabriel , TILDA SWINTON ... |
446,313 | 1,048,771 | 209,144 | 3 | I agree with Maltin's verdict . . . " pretentious pap adds up to zero " . . . | I can scarcely believe the cult status this film seems to be getting here at the IMDb board . It's a totally enigmatic mess of a nightmare " from end to beginning " , to coin a phrase based on the fact that the story is told backwards . If it made even one iota of sense to me , it was only toward the end when I had a c... |
445,894 | 1,048,771 | 240,579 | 3 | Badly in need of film restoration is this grainy print . . . | Perhaps the low rating is due to the atrocious print shown on TCM of this ten minute short produced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and narrated by Cecil B . DeMille , who took no credit for his services . The murky print barely has time to dwell on any of the film footage it uses from various films ... |
447,623 | 1,048,771 | 1,107,851 | 3 | Forgettable short subject about horses . . . | Except for a glimpse of RONALD REAGAN , KENNY BAKER , DICK FORAN , MARIE Wilson and LANA TURNER , who were then the up and coming fresh young faces at Warner Bros . , there's really very little reason to watch this short subject from 1937 . An uninspired narration is severely hurt by the bad sound recording of the TCM ... |
446,705 | 1,048,771 | 239,381 | 3 | Hardly more than a cheap exploitation film . . . | This riddle of a film is directed by a man who narrates the DVD with a commentary that makes about as much sense as the film . When you finish hearing it , you will have no more understanding of the story or characters than you did before - - except for one thing . You will learn that he harbored sexual fantasies about... |
446,675 | 1,048,771 | 56,526 | 4 | Why they should never make remakes of classic films . . . | STATE FAIR - - the 1962 version - - is barely watchable . If it weren't for the Rodgers & Hammerstein songs , it would be a complete misfire . As it is , it just makes you yearn for the simple charm of the 1945 version that starred JEANNE CRAIN , DANA ANDREWS , DICK HAYMES and VIVIAN BLAINE in the roles occupied here b... |
445,337 | 1,048,771 | 35,151 | 4 | Bad mix of comedy and drama . . . awful mess of a script . . . | How did two successful Hollywood stars of the magnitude of CARY GRANT and GINGER ROGERS ever sign on to do this totally unappetizing story after reading the script ? How did one of Hollywood's finest directors , Leo McCarey , write and direct this sort of trash ? How did this manage to open at one of New York City's mo... |
445,768 | 1,048,771 | 217,768 | 4 | This " Broadway Brevity " wasn't brief enough . . . | Twenty-two amateurish minutes of a Vitaphone " Broadway Brevity " short , this is strictly cornball stuff that should have been discarded , just as vaudeville died . Nothing I can say about the musical interludes except that they fall flat , the dancing is clumsy and the intentionally funny clumsiness of Gil Lamb is ba... |
446,566 | 1,048,771 | 34,985 | 4 | Horrible . . . this is the kind of programmer that gave Poverty Row a bad rap . . . | How anyone can lavish even the faintest praise on this junk is baffling to me , since THE LIVING GHOST is a cliché ridden mystery with some vain attempts at humor . Furthermore , it's ineptly performed by the entire cast and appears to have been filmed on a quickie basis with no close-ups introducing the chief suspects... |
446,905 | 1,048,771 | 66,393 | 4 | Gorgeous Norwegian scenery in search of a plot . . . | SONG OF NORWAY is an unbearably dull musical pastiche of clichés heard in every musical ever made that purported to be the saga of a composer's struggles to find recognition for his music . Edvard Grieg's struggles are so dull as to be non-stop in this awful compilation of Norwegian scenery by the truckload with no sto... |
445,595 | 1,048,771 | 26,420 | 4 | Foolish comedy is strictly for B-film addicts . . . | Even the presence of EDWARD EVERETT HORTON who is at his flustered best , can't save this innocuous little comedy from being a total bore . ROSS Alexander's career never did materialize as Warner Bros . hoped , and this film must be one of the reasons why . He's the spoiled rich boy in a girl meets boy story striving f... |
445,642 | 1,048,771 | 34,882 | 4 | Staggeringly awful piece of angel cake . . . this is the pits . . . | I'll say one thing for Jeanette and Nelson - - even when stranded in a mirthless , witless , painfully inept musical like this , there's still that twinkle in their eyes . Yes , the chemistry between the famous duo is there even when the material is paper thin . Even when the score is practically a throwaway , non-exis... |
446,703 | 1,048,771 | 35,751 | 4 | Stunning Korngold score but disappointing in every other respect . . . | Having heard for years that THE CONSTANT NYMPH was one of Joan Fontaine's favorite performances and knowing that Erich Wolfgang Korngold wrote the score for it , I looked forward to the film with much anticipation when I finally had a chance to see it . Unfortunately , aside from good performances from Charles Boyer an... |
445,589 | 1,048,771 | 276,919 | 4 | Why must a morality tale be so hard to digest ? ? ? | The Thornton Wilder OUR TOWN approach to staging a small town cross-section of townspeople using a stylized approach ( few props and bits of scenery ) , has been used again sixty or more years later for DOGVILLE . However , I found the results stagnant and artless , instead of artful . No doubt the pseudo-intellectuals... |
447,481 | 1,048,771 | 30,108 | 4 | Weak little musical doesn't give anyone a fair chance to shine . . . | This is strictly JUDY GARLAND before she became the Judy we all know . Ditto for the ill used FANNY BRICE , whose " Baby Snooks " routine on radio was socko with millions during the ' 40s but looks bad here . The story , a dumb one even for MGM family musicals , is about a bunch of eccentrics in a family that are inten... |
448,087 | 1,048,771 | 43,511 | 4 | Mother / son theme gets soggy treatment . . . another interesting failure . . . | Poor Ingrid suffered and suffered once she went off to Italy , tired of the Hollywood glamor treatment . First it was suffering the torments of a volcanic island in STROMBOLI , an arty failure that would have killed the career of a less resilient actress . And now it's EUROPA 51 , another tedious exercise in soggy sent... |
447,787 | 1,048,771 | 25,829 | 4 | Depression movie is depressing . . . big time ! | Only the scene featuring SHIRLEY TEMPLE singing the title tune is worth watching . Othersise , this has got to be one of the worst musicals ever to come out of the ' 30s . The script is a mess , the editing is downright atrocious , the performances are flat , and nothing to keep your eyes open happens until Shirley bur... |
446,310 | 1,048,771 | 82,979 | 4 | Most overrated movie of all time . . . a tedious bore to watch for three hours . . . | Except for technical brilliance in photography and settings , this is possibly the most boring of all the epic movies to come out of the Hollywood mill . Not only is it difficult to praise the storyline , which wanders all over the place and never gives you time to sympathize or care about the characters , but the film... |
446,370 | 1,048,771 | 47,494 | 4 | Pretty odd , pretty awful . . . Paul Newman's debut is best forgotten . . . | I have to agree with the negative comments on this one . First of all , let's begin with the good points . It got two Oscar nominations - - one for William Skall's color cinematography and the other for Franz Waxman's tasteful background score . Indeed , the only tasteful thing about the film is that score . PAUL NEWMA... |
446,708 | 1,048,771 | 29,804 | 4 | Dreary stuff . . . RKO giving Fontaine the starlet treatment . . . | A man runs for mayor on a bet . The mayor's daughter meets him at a political campaign and it's hate at first sight . The chill only lasts until their next encounter , but by then we know this is a formula romantic comedy and they'll both be in love for the windup . After a few more misunderstandings , PRESTON FOSTER a... |
446,565 | 1,048,771 | 39,800 | 4 | So bad , you have to see it to believe it . . . makes Ed Wood look like the master of suspense . . . | The only distinction here is seeing BELA LUGOSI in a color horror film - - or , I should say , in a horrific B-film photographed in a process called " Natural Color " that makes anything Ed Wood did in the realm of horror look like Masterpiece Theater . The silly script has a woman in a morgue recalling how she got the... |
445,794 | 1,048,771 | 29,654 | 4 | Rival newspaper reporters have stormy romance . . . | There isn't anything in THERE GOES MY GIRL that hasn't been done before in screwball comedies of the ' 30s and ' 40s . This has the feisty ANN SOTHERN playing a game of oneupmanship with would be hubby GENE RAYMOND , both of them cheated out of getting married by their scheming boss RICHARD LANE . The story is absurd ,... |
445,333 | 1,048,771 | 79,152 | 4 | Dumas ' tale of twin brothers strikes out this time . . . | It's strange that THE FIFTH MUSKETEER leaves me with the impression that it's hardly worth watching despite a stellar cast and some gorgeous Austrian scenery . BEAU BRIDGES ( in a dual role as a commoner and Louis XIV ) does a competent but bland job in the film's major role , while assorted guest stars fill the suppor... |
447,944 | 1,048,771 | 71,455 | 4 | A disaster film in more ways than one . . . | EARTHQUAKE's biggest selling point , back in 1974 , was that theaters were advertising it as being released in Sensurround , a process that had your theater seat shaking and trembling while buildings fell and bridges collapsed and Los Angeles went up in flames . Unfortunately , it was a gimmick that dragged a lot of pe... |
446,016 | 1,048,771 | 29,565 | 4 | Horrid little British B-film is a waste of time . . . | This is about on par with the lowest of the Monogram films that the U . S . produced during the ' 40s - - however , it's a British B-film with little to recommend it . Holmes is played by sharp-featured Arthur Wontner ( who bears somewhat of a resemblance to Basil Rathbone ) and Ian Fleming is a suave version of Dr . W... |
445,174 | 1,048,771 | 51,657 | 4 | I have to go with the detractors on this one . . . ultra corny mush . . . | THE GIFT OF LOVE has got to be one of the most cringe-inducing movies I've seen from the ' 50s when sentimental tear-jerkers were still the rage , especially if they were dressed up in handsome Technicolor photography and settings . . . and preferably , with stars like ROBERT STACK and LAUREN BACALL for box-office appe... |
446,946 | 1,048,771 | 29,454 | 4 | Insufferable comedy of manners . . . too quaint , too precious for words . . . | No wonder KATHARINE HEPBURN was considered box-office poison around the time of QUALITY STREET . As a James M . Barrie heroine , she's as mannered and coy as ever in a silly , very dated comedy of manners that never manages to be the witty romp it strives to be . Only FRANCHOT TONE gives the story any semblance of wit ... |
447,552 | 1,048,771 | 29,496 | 4 | Benchley in another one of his supposed amusing lectures . . . | I don't know whether my sense of humor is amiss , but frankly I never find these dry ROBERT BENCHLEY short subjects very intriguing or all that original . He gives a lecture facing the camera on the " romantic " process of digestion , complete with a chart that shows the course food must take when it enters the human b... |
447,420 | 1,048,771 | 79,319 | 4 | What were they thinking ? ? ? . . . awful remake of classic John Ford film . . . | Although this is a remake of the famous and far superior John Ford masterpiece , HURRICANE manages to be one of MIA FARROW's least impressive jobs as an actress - - not entirely her fault since the script , based this time on the Nordhoff-Hall novel , is a mess . It's really not the same storyline used in the Ford film... |
448,057 | 1,048,771 | 1,371 | 4 | Mary Pickford stars in early version of " Ramona " . . . | Except for some nice visual touches in the B & W outdoor photography , this RAMONA from D . W . Griffith is easily dismissed as the primitive work that it obviously is . Certainly MARY PICKFORD is nobody's idea of a Spanish girl but here she has a black wig and tries to look the role rather than the fair-haired image w... |
446,960 | 1,048,771 | 55,608 | 4 | Sub-standard kiddie romp belongs at the bottom of the sea . . . just awful . . . | It's hard to work up any enthusiasm for this awful cartoon-like epic that for some reason has become a cult classic . It certainly can't be because of the totally artificial look of the set designs or the limpid acting of an all-star cast . These days it's shown much too frequently on Fox Movie Channel or AMC . It pain... |
447,500 | 1,048,771 | 82,766 | 4 | Never able to watch the whole film . . . Dunaway is strictly a caricature . . . | I'm not even one of JOAN CRAWFORD's biggest fans , but I think what they've done with the novel MOMMIE DEAREST is totally stupid and unworthy of any sort of detailed film comment . Not that I had any hopes that the screen version would be on a quality level with Masterpiece Theatre . Hardly that . But it certainly tras... |
446,458 | 1,048,771 | 174,576 | 4 | Dreadful Technicolor short is early Warner Bros . use of color . . . | SYBIL JASON is the girl whose father dies and leaves her the owner of " Wonder Horse " . The rest of the short film has Sybil in full Shirley Temple mode - - laughing , crying , singing - - but all to no avail . Let's just say it's best to remember her in the two Technicolor films she made with Shirley Temple in the la... |
447,473 | 1,048,771 | 44,319 | 4 | Uninspired oddity is better left forgotten . . . | It's not that ALAN YOUNG and DINAH SHORE don't try to bring some life to a lifeless , uninspired script co-authored by Claude Binyon , who directed this mess . Considering what they have to work with , they sometimes rise to the occasion and produce a few chuckles . And as the villains of the piece , ROBERT MERRILL and... |
446,759 | 1,048,771 | 39,098 | 5 | The sparkle is missing in flat comedy | Before Olivia de Havilland made her remarkable comeback in 1946's To Each His Own , she stepped in as a last minute replacement for Paulette Goddard in ' The Well Groomed Bride ' , her first film after her two year legal battle with Warner Bros . Unfortunately , the script is so slight ( about de Havilland and Milland ... |
447,421 | 1,048,771 | 78,199 | 5 | Has a Neil Simon feel to it , without the punch lines . . . | I can't say I share the great enthusiasm others show for this essentially two-character Broadway play by Bernard Slade that seems so much like a Neil Simon piece without the constant punch lines . Perhaps it's because every line spoken by ALAN ALDA sounds as though he's delivering the kind of remark that deserves a pun... |
447,729 | 1,048,771 | 52,561 | 5 | Time has blunted the shock appeal this had originally . . . | Time has dulled the sensational aspects of a story daring to mention " panties " in a courtroom trial about a man accused of murder because a man attempted to rape his wife . LEE REMICK is the woman about whom we never really learn the truth , JAMES STEWART is defending the man on trial for murder , and GEORGE C . SCOT... |
446,909 | 1,048,771 | 66,090 | 5 | Gritty coal miner drama about a rebellious secret society . . . | RICHARD HARRIS is an informer who works his way into THE MOLLY MAGUIRES , a rebellious group and a secret society of Irish immigrants working under brutal coalmining conditions of 1876 . Harris is suspected of snooping by SEAN CONNERY , the leader of the group , and it is their scenes together that make the film worth ... |
446,846 | 1,048,771 | 26,245 | 5 | Lilli Palmer makes debut in British crime melodrama . . . | Crisply paced British crime story about a gang of jewel thieves preying on high society is reminiscent of the David Niven / Olivia de Havilland caper RAFFLES . This one is about a man who appears to be a dapper thief eluding Scotland Yard . It turns out he is posing as a thief , but is really a lawman infiltrating a je... |
448,090 | 1,048,771 | 70,444 | 5 | Elizabeth in another " am I crazy or not ? " sort of role . . . | I saw NIGHT WATCH on Broadway with Joan Hackett and recall being fascinated by the murder mystery and the number of suspects in a story about a woman claiming to see a murder from her window . It's the stuff mysteries are made of . Then , a couple of years later I saw the film and didn't realize I was watching the same... |
447,430 | 1,048,771 | 101,276 | 5 | Odd and creepy horror film , but ultimately disappointing . . . | To better understand what the director was attempting to do , I read many of the other posts on this film after watching it - - because , clearly , it was a murky way to tell a story about an odd little boy who thinks he might be going blind . Some of the explanations seem valid enough , but that still doesn't make AFR... |
447,774 | 1,048,771 | 277,425 | 5 | Vienna of 1888 recreated for the cameras on " Mayerling " . . . | This is a short promotional piece from MGM in connection with the filming of MAYERLING in Vienna , an historical costume drama starring JAMES MASON , OMAR SHARIF , CATHERINE DENEUVE and AVA GARDNER . Never having seen the film itself , I can only say that they certainly were striving for authentic locales , filming sce... |
445,939 | 1,048,771 | 35,258 | 5 | Silly comedy that wastes the talents of a good cast . . . | RINGS ON HER FINGERS is the story of a shopgirl ( GENE TIERNEY ) who dreams of riches and accepts the idea that if she joins a gang of con artists she can escape her department store existence and live it up as a rich girl . The unlikely con artists are played by LAIRD CREGAR , SPRING BYINGTON and HENRY STEPHENSON . Al... |
445,396 | 1,048,771 | 39,152 | 5 | Wayne and Russell in low-key Quaker western . . . | This is not your run of the mill JOHN WAYNE film . It's not exactly a rootin ' tootin ' western with gunfights galore . Instead , it's the quiet , leisurely paced tale of an outlaw ( Wayne ) befriended by a Quaker family , most particularly a girl ( GAIL RUSSELL ) who helps heal him when he suffers a shoulder wound in ... |
447,375 | 1,048,771 | 39,160 | 5 | Bland performance by Frances Gifford in key role ruins the impact . . . | FRANCES GIFFORD had one of the best roles of her career as the troubled wife of lawyer GEORGE MURPHY in THE ARNELO AFFAIR , but the director fails to get more than worried looks and a coma-like expression that she wears most of the time - - while looking very beautiful . Facially , she bears a strong resemblance here t... |
446,544 | 1,048,771 | 35,272 | 5 | A misfire with irritating chewing-gum performance from Ginger Rogers . . . | The corn is definitely more than green in this uninspired farce which is broadly played by every member of the cast except GEORGE MONTGOMERY . Based on the same story that CHICAGO was based on , ROXIE HART has GINGER ROGERS , chewing gum and batting her eyes while on the witness stand when she gets caught up in a murde... |
446,140 | 1,048,771 | 47,753 | 5 | MGM Parade Show # 4 . . . George Murphy is the host . . . | Decidedly a mixed bag of stuff used for an MGM promotional short hosted by genial GEORGE MURPHY . The first segment opens with a view of the MGM waterfront where many ships still remained after used in films ranging from SHOW BOAT to MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY . First off is the story behind a ship that became known as a " g... |
445,225 | 1,048,771 | 43,915 | 5 | Talky , unpredictable , but too esoteric for its own good . . . | CARY GRANT has an offbeat role as a distinctly offbeat doctor in this comedy / drama that takes unpredictable twists and turns while telling the tale of a doctor with an unusual bedside manner . Under strange circumstances , he becomes enamored of one of his patients , JEANNE CRAIN , who plays the heroine in her usual ... |
445,318 | 1,048,771 | 38,962 | 5 | George O'Hanlon as Joe McDoakes in typical short . . . | These Joe McDoakes shorts were popular in the ' 40s and this one is all about horses . We meet Joe who " always has a horse . " He thinks he's going to divert others from picking the winner by spreading the word that so-and-so is a sure bet to win , knowing full well that his own winning pick will be kept secret . Natu... |
447,266 | 1,048,771 | 30,485 | 5 | Ann Sheridan in a Warner B-movie before full-fledged stardom . . . | MYSTERY STREET gives laconic DICK PURCELL the leading role , while ANN SHERIDAN is seen in one of her early roles at a time when the studio was grooming her for bigger things in the future . She's a nurse caring for a crotchety old woman ( ELSPETH DUDGEON ) in a wheelchair , an old woman who is annoying as all get out ... |
447,177 | 1,048,771 | 26,121 | 5 | Trouble in the mines . . . trouble with Muni's accent and overacting . . . | BLACK FURY could have been a straightforward story of miners being exploited by greedy bosses and directed by Michael Curtiz , that's what it ought to be . But at its centerpiece is the character of PAUL MUNI as a cheerful " honkie " coal miner with an accent thick enough to cut with a knife and chewing all the scenery... |
446,289 | 1,048,771 | 26,116 | 5 | Early color cartoon has its moments with advertising products . . . | BILLBOARD FROLICS is an early two-strip color cartoon in which billboards advertising ' 30s products come to life with uneven results , some funny , some mystifying and others just falling short of being really humorous . Toward the end , it turns into a cat chases bird sequence that becomes tiresomely familiar to all ... |
445,914 | 1,048,771 | 26,142 | 5 | Breezy comedy with music courtesy of Dick Powell . . . | DICK POWELL is a cab driver with singing aspirations who doesn't mind holding up traffic while he demonstrates his singing prowess to a couple of captive passengers who are so impressed they arrange an audition for him . Only in the movies , only in the movies . This is another one of those improbable Warner Bros . com... |
445,185 | 1,048,771 | 35,134 | 5 | Programmer merely passes the time . . . trite script , poor performances . . . | Trivia note : Darryl Hickman turning into James Craig as an adult ? ? ? I don't think so . JAMES CRAIG and WILLIAM LUNDIGAN co-star as two orphans who are reunited years later when Lundigan is a Mountie and Craig is a big gambler who started his gambling career in JOHN CARRADINE's gambling joint as a kid . PATRICIA DAN... |
446,908 | 1,048,771 | 66,181 | 5 | Only marginally successful as play and film . . . | There are times in ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER where you know Vincente Minnelli had a firm hand on the proceedings and there are moments when BARBRA STREISAND does an outstanding job on the vocals . But there are just as many dull spots in the long-winded musical that is stronger when it's showing flashbacks to ... |
446,151 | 1,048,771 | 30,503 | 5 | A kitten's best friend is his guardian angel . . . | This is a cute but undistinguished Chuck Jones cartoon ( his first ) and it falls far short of being truly funny . Another drawback is that the kitten is no match for Figaro in Disney's " Pinocchio , " lacking the charm and humor of that kitten in the way it's animated . The whole situation is predictable from the star... |
445,972 | 1,048,771 | 38,916 | 5 | Artificial melodrama with psychological overtones . . . | JUNE ALLYSON is really irritating in this one . She's got the petulance down pat , pouting throughout what is supposed to be her great dramatic role ( musicals being her forte ) . MGM obviously hoped that this would prove to be a turning point in the way of future dramatics for the usually sunny June . Seems she's supp... |
447,002 | 1,048,771 | 43,822 | 5 | Easily forgettable but not a total failure . . . | If there's one thing MR . IMPERIUM has going for it , it's the delight of hearing EZIO PINZA's strong bass do justice to a few pleasant songs , most of which he sings while serenading LANA TURNER , who's principal job in this one is to stand around and look beautiful while Pinza's voice takes over the soundtrack with g... |
446,838 | 1,048,771 | 52,619 | 5 | The worst of everything . . . riddled with clichés . . . | I'm sure Rona Jaffe's book examined the lives of working girls a little more seriously and with better intent than THE BEST OF EVERYTHING , which is about as cliché-ridden with ripe dialog as any film in memory , perhaps eclipsed only by VALLEY OF THE DOLLS . On the plus side , there are ravishing shots of bustling New... |
447,543 | 1,048,771 | 442,685 | 5 | Geraldine McEwan is not Miss Marple according to Christie . . . | There are so many departures from the original story in A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED , but unfortunately the biggest departure of all is GERALDINE McEWAN as Agatha Christie's Miss Jane Marple . McEwan never suggests a clever old lady able to assimilate information while never dropping her knitting , deceptively fooling others... |
446,912 | 1,048,771 | 210,382 | 5 | ( POSSIBLE SPOILER ) . . . An interesting failure . . . unsolved murder mystery remains a riddle . . . | The question that hangs over the opening scenes of THE WEIGHT OF WATER raises a puzzle in the viewer's mind : What has the past murder of two women got to do with the present occupants of a boating party who are revisiting the scene of the crime ? Events keep shifting back and forth between past and present , as a phot... |
446,660 | 1,048,771 | 91,223 | 5 | Struggles to mix black comedy with horror for mixed results . . . | WILLIAM KATT suffers from the sudden death of a suicidal aunt , the disappearance of his son , the end of a marriage and nightmarish Vietnam memories - - and this is all before he moves into the HOUSE . Of course , he should have known better than to try to settle down to some quiet writing of a novel about Vietnam in ... |
447,739 | 1,048,771 | 221,241 | 5 | A quick look at animal talent in this Pete Smith Specialty . . . | It's a dog's day afternoon at the talent scout's office . By the end of the day she slams the door on a man who shows up with a monkey . " Can I show you a trained monkey ? " Slam ! That's the tone of this MGM short with some dogs doing some amazing balancing acts - - or jumping through a swinging trapeze , balancing o... |
447,384 | 1,048,771 | 30,543 | 5 | King of the Warner B's in routine prison story . . . | DICK FORAN was an amiable Warner player during the ' 30s and ' 40s who spent most of his time as a singing cowboy or playing the romantic lead in a number of trifles as the studio's dependable B-budget star . His real life experience as a band vocalist is used to good effect as a prisoner who gains some respect with a ... |
447,892 | 1,048,771 | 43,790 | 5 | Zorro-like adventure from Columbia is really an inflated B-film . . . | Italy in 1848 is the setting for MASK OF THE AVENGER , which borrows heavily from every Zorro-like swashbuckler or " Count of Monte Cristo " film ever made . Columbia's fledgling stars , JOHN DEREK and JODY LAWRENCE play the romantic leads with ANTHONY QUINN lending his presence to a colorful supporting role . He was o... |
446,545 | 1,048,771 | 61,391 | 5 | Strictly a product of British ' 60s humor . . . full of gags but still misses the mark . . . | I grant you that PETER COOK and DUDLEY MOORE are two very talented British performers but even their kind of talent needs a better than average script to overcome the tired gags conjured up to give a new spin to the Faust legend . Cook is a dim-witted short order cook who gets to realize some of his wishes ( but always... |
446,983 | 1,048,771 | 213,622 | 5 | Dated comedy short about a man getting hooked by a smart gal . . . | Not quite what I expected in a Pete Smith Specialty - - usually lots of slapstick . This is a straightforward look at the male / female relationship getting started at a cocktail party where the woman gets a glimpse of an eligible male she sees as a security catch . From then on , everything she does is calculated to t... |
446,158 | 1,048,771 | 61,390 | 5 | Unconventional little cartoon strictly a product of the rebellious ' 60s . . . | Whatever kids are supposed to glean from this unconventional way of saying " be yourself , " it's liable to be over their heads in delivering any sort of message . The appeal seems targeted for the ' 60 rebels who were activists on college campuses . Nice modern animation , some bright colors , an abstract look - - and... |
445,360 | 1,048,771 | 26,187 | 5 | Heavy-handed explanations don't help this Philo Vance yarn . . . | PAUL LUKAS stars as Philo Vance in this trifle designed to entertain audiences with an intriguing murder mystery laced with comedy . The comedy is just so-so and the mystery is weighed down by some heavy-handed explanations involving " heavy water " , a most curious plot device and one that Agatha Christie mercifully n... |
447,852 | 1,048,771 | 26,184 | 5 | Errol Flynn gets a bit part and low billing in this Perry Mason mystery . . . | A dull script makes THE CASE OF THE CURIOUS BRIDE one of the lesser entries in the Perry Mason series starring WARREN WILLIAM as the famous sleuth . CLAIRE DODD makes an attractive blond Della Street , the secretary always a step ahead of her boss . This time the action centers on the mysterious death of a man called G... |
446,868 | 1,048,771 | 52,646 | 5 | Weird little sci-fi B-film thriller is awfully executed . . . but it's hard to turn away . . . | Despite the below par performances of the leading actors and the triteness of the script , it's hard to turn away from the silly horror manipulations of THE BRAN THAT WOULDN'T DIE . It actually gets off to a good start before the pace starts to slacken and you'll find yourself guessing how it's all going to end . POSSI... |
445,841 | 1,048,771 | 65,263 | 5 | A wisp of a story centering on a young boy's infatuation . . . | If beautiful photography and lovely views of rural France were enough to sustain a slight story , SECRET WORLD ( U . S . title ) would be worth recommending . JACQUELINE BISSET is at her most photogenic as the mistress of a British gentleman ( PIERRE ZIMMER ) who is also attractive to the man's son ( MARC POREL ) and a... |
447,068 | 1,048,771 | 48,064 | 5 | Tacky , tawdry and a whole lot of fun . . . | JOAN CRAWFORD was still playing babes who fall for much younger men when she did FEMALE ON THE BEACH , another one of her Miss Lonelyhearts roles where she , against her own better judgment , lets herself fall for a studly beach bum ( JEFF CHANDLER , all brawn and gleaming smile ) who invites himself into her kitchen w... |
447,350 | 1,048,771 | 91,541 | 5 | A so-so rip-off of " Mr . Blandings Builds His Dream House " . . . | Actually , two films from the ' 40s must have served as a guide for the writers to invent jokes around a couple who buy what they hope will be their dream house in the country , only to find that everything they touch has a way of collapsing . The films were MR . BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE ( a sophisticated , wit... |
447,679 | 1,048,771 | 21,745 | 5 | Moderately amusing MGM short built around Jackie Cooper . . . | MGM may have called itself the studio with " more stars than there are in heaven , " but this little short with JACKIE COOPER as the centerpiece of attention as a child star , surrounded by the studio's impressive list of contract players , features a lot of " stars " that today's fans are totally unfamiliar with . Tha... |
445,958 | 1,048,771 | 26,529 | 5 | Grim melodrama is badly dated , grim look at the downside of human nature . . . | Time changes everything , even the way we look at movies that were once so esteemed . Nothing about THE INFORMER is subtle . It's all told in the broadest way possible - - even Max Steiner's score only punctuates the dismal feel of the whole maudlin story . Victor McLaglen is " the informer " in Dublin during " the tro... |
447,726 | 1,048,771 | 39,349 | 5 | Claudette on a chicken farm with Ma and Pa Kettle as neighbors . . . | How often have you heard the term , " The book was better than the movie " ? Well , you'll hear it again from me , since Betty MacDonald's book was much more than the conventional slapstick comedy it has been turned into , using only the cleanest episodes from the racy novel to appear in this sanitized screen version w... |
447,560 | 1,048,771 | 34,959 | 5 | Fast moving gangster film is a B-film with Faye Emerson in the lead . . . | FAYE EMERSON was a competent actress who never became a major star during her short career at Warner Bros . , but she was usually among the prominent supporting players in A-films . Here she's given the leading femme role as a LADY GANGSTER in what is a remake of an old Barbara Stanwyck film . FRANK WILCOX gets the mal... |
445,631 | 1,048,771 | 91,554 | 5 | All the right ingredients but what happened ? . . . | THE MORNING AFTER is one of those films that begins with an intriguing opening - - JANE FONDA wakes up in bed next to a murdered man and , because she was in an alcoholic daze , can't remember even entering the man's apartment . So far , so good . Nice hook to draw the viewer in . But as the story unwinds , it becomes ... |
445,320 | 1,048,771 | 39,301 | 5 | Above average B-film is interesting . . . has a polished look . . . | It's a pleasure re-discovering how well made these minor B films were at MGM . This is another entry in the Dr . Gillespie series at MGM , the ones without Lew Ayres as Dr . Kildare . Instead , JAMES CRAIG is a young doctor treating a very troubled young woman ( LUCILLE BREMER ) whose guardians want her committed to an... |
445,764 | 1,048,771 | 39,306 | 5 | Unsympathetic characters in a mildly suspenseful melodrama . . . | ERIC PORTMAN finds his wife has been cheating on him and decides to commit the perfect murder by doing away with her lover ( DENNIS PRICE ) . Sound familiar ? Of course , it does . It's been done so many times before and usually more effectively . At least Portman does a commendable job in an unlikeable characterizatio... |
446,344 | 1,048,771 | 26,525 | 5 | Curiously flat comedy has a silly script but is still fun to watch . . . | In spite of everything that's wrong with IN PERSON , I stayed with it till the end , enjoying whatever chemistry there was between GINGER ROGERS and GEORGE BRENT in a very lightweight comedy that suffers from heavy handling and a contrived script . The story has about three places where the ending was in sight and then... |
447,919 | 1,048,771 | 39,312 | 5 | It's a film as innocuous as its title . . . | Certainly this has to be ranked as one of the most forgettable films GREER GARSON and ROBERT MITCHUM ever participated in , a film that went from bad to worse once it was handed over from one director to another at least three times . In the end , nobody wanted to take credit for it and it's easy to see why there is no... |
447,846 | 1,048,771 | 39,394 | 5 | Hollow historical romance buried in pop culture clichés . . . | Critics suggested that Frank Yerby must have fashioned his THE FOXES OF HARROW on the sort of epic best-sellers enormously popular when GONE WITH THE WIND and ANTHONY ADVERSE were taking the public by storm . But Fox apparently had less faith in this turgid screenplay and gave it a more modest B & W budget , apparently... |
445,866 | 1,048,771 | 30,400 | 5 | Joan Fontaine struggles with screwball comedy . . . | MAID'S NIGHT OUT is an absurd little screwball comedy which demonstrates , in painful fashion , why JOAN FONTAINE was relegated to programmers during her early career at RKO . As in most of her other " comic " turns , she's not served well by a script that would be a hurdle for an accomplished comedienne like Constance... |
447,904 | 1,048,771 | 30,413 | 5 | Crawford in above average Cinderella story . . . from rags to riches . . . | JOAN CRAWFORD plays a tenement girl with a Park Avenue accent no matter how much she has to sweat in a factory for a living . She hates her tenement environment so much that she's willing to run off with boyfriend ALAN CURTIS at the drop of a hat . Of course , what seemed like a good idea changes drastically once she m... |
447,759 | 1,048,771 | 9,018 | 5 | Even a Chaplin short can run too long . . . | With only some thin material to support a running time of 40 minutes , A DOG'S LIFE is hardly one of Chaplin's best , but there are a couple of inventive sequences , as always , in any Chaplin film . Here he's the Little Tramp , sleeping on the streets - - just like a nearby mongrel dog - - and when he's caught stealin... |
447,301 | 1,048,771 | 35,034 | 5 | B-picture quality from Raoul Walsh and his stock company cast . . . | Everything about MANPOWER is highly improbable , including the casting of EDWARD G . ROBINSON as a lineman in love with the alluring clip-joint hostess MARLENE DIETRICH and the three-way romance that includes GEORGE RAFT as a jealous blue collar onlooker who warns Robinson about the pitfalls of marrying Dietrich . Raou... |
447,135 | 1,048,771 | 39,402 | 5 | Bleak and brooding story of a fugitive priest . . . | It's easy to see why THE FUGITIVE was a critical and commercial box-office failure . For some reason , none of Graham Greene's novels transfer well to the screen . The somber stories are all too melodramatic and heavy-handed , and this is no exception . Furthermore , in the role of the fugitive priest south of the bord... |
447,434 | 1,048,771 | 56,625 | 5 | Limp melodrama crashes with a thud . . . | Next to TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN , THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL looks like an all-around masterpiece of subtle drama . Both take a cynical look at the behind-the-scenes backstabbing in Hollywood . The story gets off to a slow start and then continues to move at a snail's pace , especially through the early scenes where w... |
447,138 | 1,048,771 | 65,374 | 5 | Full of sound and fury signifying nothing . . . pulp trash typical of Robbins . . . | Except for the color cinematography of Claude Renoir , this sprawling story of a selfish playboy son of a South American diplomat who has been murdered , is nothing more than a revenge story told on a scale that would be impressive if the story was worthy of being treated as an epic . There are huge crowd scenes , many... |
447,025 | 1,048,771 | 39,416 | 5 | Dates badly . . . preachy and artificial . . . should not have won the 1947 Oscar . . . | Hollywood loves to give Oscars to films of social significance or British imports that have intellectual appeal . They had a chance in 1947 to award an Oscar to the British-made masterpiece , " Great Expectations " , from the Charles Dickens novel . Instead , they opted to give their gold award to a preachy , artificia... |
447,710 | 1,048,771 | 39,366 | 5 | Silly comedy trifle about a talking dog . . . | I always enjoyed WALTER ABEL , one of the most likable character actors of the ' 40s , but THE FABULOUS JOE gives him star billing in a minor feature that attempts to be a witty screwball comedy . It fails . The jokes are thin , the premise is ridiculous and actor Abel seems to know his material is far beneath him . On... |
446,148 | 1,048,771 | 39,365 | 5 | A few musical highlights but this is the pits for plot and acting . . . | THE FABULOUS DORSEYS is , as Maltin says , " a limp musical " , largely because neither JIMMY or TOMMY DORSEY can act their way out of a paper bag and the screenplay is hardly an inspired piece of writing . The most ingratiating performers are JANET BLAIR and WILLIAM LUNDIGAN , supplying the love interest as members of... |
447,916 | 1,048,771 | 48,034 | 5 | Heavy going . . . tedious love affair against war background . . . | The first disadvantage of THE END OF THE AFFAIR is that the star chemistry between DEBORAH KERR and VAN JOHNSON is not there . Each does a respectable job as two people burdened under the strain of a doomed love affair , but the motivations are murky , the talk is endless and the resolution seems more like a cop-out th... |
446,794 | 1,048,771 | 245,238 | 5 | Beware of obsessive love seems to be the only message . . . | Actually LOST AND DELIRIOUS is an artfully photographed film that explores the relationships between boarding school girls , especially the two young girls at the heart of this story ( Paulie , played by PIPER PERABO and Tori , JESSICA PARE ) . The two girls tend to look so much alike that it seems to be a casting erro... |
446,435 | 1,048,771 | 30,442 | 5 | Overdone screwball comedy is painful to contemplate . . . | I can't believe all of these rave comments on what is essentially a screwball comedy that lacks the magic of other such items made during the ' 30s . This one is decidedly less successful than OUR MAN GODFREY or HARD TO GET ( Dick Powell / Olivia de Havilland ) or even FOUR'S A CROWD . Once again , it takes potshots at... |
447,303 | 1,048,771 | 39,377 | 5 | An oddity among Esther Williams ' films features wonderful Copland piano suite . . . | If you can accept the notion that ESTHER WILLIAMS and RICARDO MONTALBAN ( his American film debut ) are twins and that Esther could substitute for him in the bull ring - - well , then you can sit back and enjoy a few of the other perks of FIESTA . It's more a drama than a musical , but the dance numbers are what give i... |
445,583 | 1,048,771 | 35,052 | 5 | Wacky domestic comedy is early vehicle for William Holden . . . | Living within a budget just about sums up the entire plot line of this feeble little domestic comedy , MEET THE STEWARTS , which serves to show WILLIAM HOLDEN and FRANCES DEE as a squabbling young couple who dive into marriage without enough money to finance her extravagant ways . Dee is pretty but plays a rather fligh... |
447,361 | 1,048,771 | 26,424 | 5 | You have to be a Margaret Sullavan fan to appreciate this one . . . | Here's a film that did succeed as a charming comedy when it first opened at Radio City Music Hall back in 1935 , based on a play by Molnar that had been a very successful stage comedy . And given the fact that MGM produced it with a handsome cast and gave it a director like William Wyler , it ought to be something to s... |
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