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445,213 | 1,048,771 | 26,055 | 5 | Genial Joe E . Brown mugs his way through predictable baseball comedy . . . | While A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM was really Olivia de Havilland's first film , the studio in the meantime put her in ALIBI IKE which was released first - - so this gave the public their first view of her . She's a pretty ingenue here with just a hint of stardom about her . Joe E . Brown was very popular at the time and ... |
445,633 | 1,048,771 | 29,947 | 5 | Classic screwball comedy but not my cup of tea . . . | I'll admit that Hepburn and Grant give their all to this screwball comedy about a paleontologist ( CARY GRANT ) seeking a bone for his museum , who runs into an eccentric young woman ( KATHARINE HEPBURN ) and can't seem to do anything right from then on . It's rightly famous for the scene where her ripped dress causes ... |
446,861 | 1,048,771 | 26,058 | 5 | Tiresome Bergen-McCarthy short falls into so-so category . . . | Boring and poorly executed EDGAR BERGEN / CHARLIE McCARTHY short , in which Charlie is improbably being touted as a football hero who will be expelled from college unless he passes the next exam . What might have been a promising comedy short becomes terribly dull from the opening scene onward , without an ounce of wit... |
446,345 | 1,048,771 | 22,180 | 5 | Tiresome WWI romantic comedy / drama with William Boyd as the star . . . | Three carnival workers romance the same girl until WWI interferes with their plans . They join the Navy and the plot meanders all over the place with tiresome effect . WILLIAM BOYD ( later " Hopalong Cassidy " ) spouts his dialog in a slow-moving way , and ROBERT ARMSTRONG and JAMES GLEASON mug their way through some s... |
447,460 | 1,048,771 | 57,129 | 5 | Julie Harris whimpers and cries her way through " The Haunting " . . . | This is one horror story by Shirley Jackson that had a lot of potential for film . . . and with Robert Wise at the helm , it's a pity it's spoiled by several unpleasant ingredients . One of those ingredients is JULIE HARRIS , who is a woman with demons in her past who can't rid herself of them no matter how hard others... |
447,900 | 1,048,771 | 29,906 | 5 | Insufferable brat is more like it . . . | BONITA GRANVILLE specialized in playing brattish kid sister roles throughout most of the ' 30s ( when she wasn't playing Nancy Drew ) , and this is one of her more insufferable roles as a rich brat given to tossing dinner trays out the window when in a huff . She plays the neglected daughter of DONALD CRISP , only inst... |
445,734 | 1,048,771 | 74,512 | 5 | I like Hitchcock but this one is not my cup of tea . . . | Two grifters inadvertently come into contact with each other when one pair ( BARBARA HARRIS , BRUCE DERN ) is on assignment to find a missing heir and their detective work leads them to two other more deadly serious grifters ( WILLIAM DEVANE , KAREN BLACK ) who are jewel thieves and kidnappers . That's about the basic ... |
447,103 | 1,048,771 | 25,886 | 5 | Witless and dismal Hal Roach short with Todd and Kelly . . . | These early Hal Roach shorts were on very wobbly ground . First of all , the scripts were entirely witless , not even up to the standards of early comedy sketches on TV in the late ' 40s and early ' 50s . Lacking any subtlety or wit , this one has an overly enthusiastic THELMA TODD declaring love for a worthless man wh... |
446,006 | 1,048,771 | 25,882 | 5 | Domestic comedy / drama is weak material from the ' 30s . . . | IRENE DUNNE may have had a blossoming film career that led to much better things in the ' 40s , but her early ' 30s films were potboilers and this sophisticated comedy among the idle rich is one of them . It's a thin comedy about a catty woman who threatens the happiness of IRENE DUNNE and RALPH BELLAMY , coming betwee... |
447,079 | 1,048,771 | 39,686 | 5 | Barbara never looked more glamorous , even facing a " Camille-like " situation . . . | Women's films , as they were called in the ' 40s , seldom offered a star a more glamorous way of leaving this world than THE OTHER LOVE , with BARBARA STANWYCK checking herself into a Swiss sanitarium to be treated for tuberculosis and promptly falling in love with her young doctor , David NIVEN against a background of... |
447,204 | 1,048,771 | 25,872 | 5 | Average B-film programmer fails to live up to its potential . . . | For a film that deals with an interesting subject like fake mediums , this ' 34 mystery / comedy fails to hit the mark . It's not particularly impressive as a mystery and the comedy is on the weak side . It's a B-film programmer with ZASU PITTS and SLIM SUMMERVILLE providing the comic relief while others carry the stra... |
446,299 | 1,048,771 | 117,979 | 5 | Implausible comedy strains to be believable but has a certain charm . . . | There's a lot to like in THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS but I find the basic premise completely unbelievable . BEN CHAPLIN is a handsome man who is fooled into thinking that the radio personality he's impressed by is really her blonde neighbor ( UMA THURMAN ) , enough so that he falls in love with Thurman until he finds... |
445,311 | 1,048,771 | 265,080 | 5 | Another " Dogville " short that humanizes dogs wearing costumes . . . | Some may find these shorts hilarious , but after the first few minutes it's clear that the dogs are being manipulated to assume the poses of animals talking to each other like humans , walking around on their hind legs and wearing costumes appropriate for the " characters " they're supposed to be playing . It's funny a... |
447,122 | 1,048,771 | 25,919 | 5 | Nothing subtle here - - a relentless shouting match from ham actors . . . | I can't join in the praise for JOHN BARRYMORE's overly hammy performance of Oscar Jaffe in Howard Hawk's screen version of the Broadway hit , TWENTIETH CENTURY . I was almost expecting Groucho Marx and the Marx Brothers to turn up at any moment , the farce is so forced and frantic once Barrymore and CAROLE LOMBARD laun... |
446,449 | 1,048,771 | 43,118 | 5 | Somber tale is too low-key to maintain interest . . . | It must have seemed like a good idea to reunite Joseph COTTEN and VALLI as co-stars in a darkly lit , low-key drama about a man who is a born loser , a lot like Uncle Charlie of " Shadow of a Doubt " - - the kind of intense character that Cotten always seemed to play . And they were wonderful as the stars of " The Thir... |
446,321 | 1,048,771 | 57,329 | 5 | Another unnecessary re-make of a classic Irene Dunne / Cary Grant film . . . | I can't work up much enthusiasm for this uninspired remake of MY FAVORITE WIFE from the screwball era of comedy in the 1930s . They should have let the dust settle when the first attempt starring MARILYN MONROE and DEAN MARTIN ( with CYD CHARISSE as the other woman ) was shut down because of Monroe's death . This was r... |
448,054 | 1,048,771 | 256,641 | 5 | Second in series of tall tales from Robert Ripley's " Believe It Or Not " series . . . | Ripley takes the stand in a make-believe courtroom to testify that his tall tales are all true , under grilling of a persistent prosecutor . Among them : The Star Bangled Banner is not America's National Anthem but instead is based on a British drinking song with the exact same melody . The Statue of Liberty was built ... |
447,040 | 1,048,771 | 29,818 | 5 | John Carroll in early dual role as Zorro in Republic serial . . . | This was typical Saturday afternoon serial stuff from Republic with the script reduced to good vs . bad shootouts , this time involving a crooked man ( NOAH BEERY ) who wants to take over a railroad and will stop at nothing ( including bombs and derailments ) to get his way . Only thing stopping him is our man Zorro ( ... |
446,562 | 1,048,771 | 276,585 | 5 | I was never a Marion Davies fan so you may find my review biased . . . | Growing up , all I ever knew about MARION DAVIES was that she was the protégé and mistress of William Randolph Hearst and there were rumors galore that Orson Welles based his CITIZEN KANE on the relationship between the real life newspaper magnate and an untalented actress by the name of Marion Davies . When finally I ... |
446,605 | 1,048,771 | 126,662 | 5 | A bugle boy needs $2 to buy a horn . . . forgettable trifle from the ' 40s . . . | Harmless short subject from the ' 40s has a bugle boy story as inspiration when a black boy wants to buy a horn from a pawn shop but needs an extra $2 to cement the deal . When WALTER CATLETT and SAM LEVENE hear him actually play the horn , they think they've discovered a goldmine and offer the kid a lucrative contract... |
445,951 | 1,048,771 | 35,415 | 5 | Threadbare tale needs help from Guy de Maupassant . . . | Uneven is the key word to describe the overall effect of this anthology about the effect a dress tail coat has on the fate of its various owners . The film is overloaded with well-known film personalities but lacking in the sort of wit and sophistication that would have turned it into the sort of clever short story ant... |
447,144 | 1,048,771 | 25,973 | 5 | Quaint but somewhat stifled by old-fashioned style . . . | HELEN HAYES indeed made a stage name for herself in this vehicle , but it's hard to see why in this film version of her stage success . BRIAN AHERNE does nicely as her somewhat stuffy husband , but all in all it's clearly aimed at pleasing the followers of Miss Hayes . She photographs well as the supposedly plain heroi... |
447,102 | 1,048,771 | 198,036 | 5 | Billy Gilbert steals comedy short . . . | YOU'RE TELLING ME is a ' 32 comedy short that is decidedly dated in concept and performance - - but at least BILLY GILBERT ( the rotund comedian famous for his sneezing - - he was the voice for Sneezy in " Snow White and the Seven Dwards " ) , makes the whole short worth watching . He does his famous stint as a much pu... |
446,018 | 1,048,771 | 25,964 | 5 | Russian love story not in the " Dr . Zhivago " class . . . | There's a heavy dose of Russian music and quaint customs in WE LIVE AGAIN , but it's a dull affair under the direction of Rouben Mamoulian . FREDRIC MARCH is a Russian officer in love with a peasant girl . Their affair leads to her pregnancy which ends with the death of the child while March is away unaware of the circ... |
447,502 | 1,048,771 | 29,789 | 5 | Dull screwball comedy never misses a cliché . . . | Only faithful fans of MIRIAM HOPKINS or JOEL McCREA could possibly want to sit through this screwball comedy full of impossible situations and banal dialog . Fast talking Hopkins is an architect ( c'mon , that's what it says ) full of pep talk when she schemes her way into CHARLES WINNINGER's office to sell him on her ... |
446,853 | 1,048,771 | 35,393 | 5 | Pleasant but forgettable MGM programmer gives Lundigan the spotlight . . . | Sunday PUNCH was a B-film that played the lower half of double bills when released in 1942 , pleasant enough fluff that was only passable as entertainment even then . But fans of WILLIAM LUNDIGAN got to see him in a starring role for a change and pretty JEAN ROGERS got a chance to show that she was someone to watch eve... |
447,370 | 1,048,771 | 296,212 | 5 | Wyman and Reagan in a Warner short subject on golf . . . | Not being a golf enthusiast , I can only say this one is a real yawner with RONALD REAGAN and JANE WYMAN ( then happily married ) getting golf tips from professionals Jimmy Thompson and Jack Redmond , showing them how to make long drives and trick shots , respectively . Photographed in color , it shows Reagan and Wyman... |
446,678 | 1,048,771 | 51,466 | 5 | No substance but Sagan's story has lots of style . . . | Here's a film that's boosted by its spectacular scenic splendor and a lovely title tune , A CERTAIN SMILE , sung by Johnny Mathis and immediately becoming one of his favorite hit tunes , which is about the only thing that will linger in your memory once the tawdry tale is over . The simple story is a trifle ( as all of... |
445,392 | 1,048,771 | 44,962 | 5 | Russell gets the " Private Benjamin " treatment in wacky comedy . . . | When ROSALIND RUSSELL wasn't doing heavy emoting in films like MOURNING BECOMES ELECTRA , she was doing wacky comedies like NEVER WAVE AT A WAC and proving that she had comic flair even in sub-standard material . This is a forerunner of the " Private Benjamin " type of service story - - or the " See Here Private Hargro... |
446,358 | 1,048,771 | 29,636 | 5 | Another Warner B-film makes it to TCM . . . | A fired talent agent ( DONALD WOODS ) promotes an aspiring actress / singer to stardom . Where have you heard that one before ? Woods is the brash , fast-talking agent ( a departure from his usual placid roles ) , and Jeanne Madden is the girl he goes to great pains to promote . Frankly , Miss Madden is a singer with a... |
447,961 | 1,048,771 | 20,902 | 5 | Buster Keaton and Anita Page in early sound film trifle . . . | BUSTER KEATON and ANITA PAGE are saddled with some lame dialog and tacky situations in this hokey comedy about an aspiring beauty contest winner ( Page ) who travels to Hollywood with her mother in hope of becoming America's next motion picture sweetheart . It's a look at early Hollywood and for that reason alone it's ... |
446,304 | 1,048,771 | 36,306 | 5 | Wartime musical waves patriotism and swings some music . . . | Built around a thin plot which serves as an excuse to parade a bunch of then current pop bands , singers and comedy acts , this little programmer from Columbia spotlights ANN MILLER in the central role as a disc jockey who directs her show at the U . S . Armed Services . She gets involved with two young soldiers - - WI... |
446,433 | 1,048,771 | 20,888 | 5 | Depressing Vitaphone short about the Great Depression era . . . | Awkwardly staged short subject has SYLVIA SIDNEY pleading with her husband's boss to give him the promotion he so richly deserves - - after a disastrous dinner which goes wrong in every possible way . While this serves as a reminder of hard times during the Great Depression , it's hardly a memorable short subject . The... |
445,898 | 1,048,771 | 36,324 | 5 | Another " Saint " story that suffers from low-budget and Hugh Sinclair . . . | This entry begins with an intriguing opening - - a man is found dead on Simon's doorstep and immediately Simon calls an inspector who , as usual , suspects Simon is holding out and knows more than he cares to reveal about the murder of a well-known bookie . Inspector Teal also has a confrontational moment with Simon's ... |
447,677 | 1,048,771 | 16,544 | 5 | Slapstick showcase for Larry Semon bears little resemblance to the " Oz " story . . . | This WIZARD OF OZ is merely a frantic slapstick showcase for LARRY SEMON , apparently a silent comedian who is unknown to today's audiences and who died at a young age ( 39 ) . He had a hand in the production and even designed his own Scarecrow costume , but the film is a curio that starts with a toymaker ( again , LAR... |
447,221 | 1,048,771 | 25,263 | 5 | A hodge-podge of stale routines brightened by those chocolate soldiers . . . | For film buffs , this one has real curiosity value . There are plenty of reasons for today's fans to be turned off by the poorly staged musical interludes - - but movie buffs will appreciate seeing Lupe Velez , The Three Stooges , Laurel & Hardy , Mickey Mouse and Jimmy Durante all doing their best to liven things up .... |
446,765 | 1,048,771 | 500,095 | 5 | Sarah Brightman in full command of her lyric soprano . . . | I have nothing but admiration for the quality of SARAH BRIGHTMAN's high soprano voice , but have less complimentary things to say about her stage presence ( she looks like a frightened fawn with staring eyes and awkward hand gestures ) . Surely , she is someone who has spent a great deal of money on coaches and someone... |
447,078 | 1,048,771 | 40,109 | 5 | Dreary , empty and depressing version of Remarque's novel . . . | INGRID BERGMAN's immense popularity during the ' 40s was the only factor to save this film from instant oblivion . It was a huge box-office failure , but nobody blamed Bergman who still looked luminous despite her deadly dull assignment opposite CHARLES BOYER , as the protagonist facing deportment during World War II's... |
447,755 | 1,048,771 | 25,228 | 5 | This potboiler is a poor man's " Petrified Forest " . . . | If you can get over the unlikely pairing of ALINE MacMAHON and PRESTON FOSTER as former lovers and stand the desert heat at a motor court stranded in the middle of nowhere , you may be able to accept some of the melodramatics of HEAT LIGHTNING . Nevertheless , I have to agree with The N . Y . Times when it summed it up... |
447,184 | 1,048,771 | 55,370 | 5 | A pale , lifeless version of the original . . . a sequel that never should have happened . . . | The only spark of life left in RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE is MARY ASTOR as Roberta Carter , ironically , a character who had no screen time in the original film five years previously . Her sassy , confrontational arguments with the denizens of Peyton Place provide the only juicy and convincing moments in the whole film . I... |
445,953 | 1,048,771 | 40,071 | 5 | Tepid melodrama seems quaint by today's standards . . . | At the time of release , THE ACCUSED was probably considered a daring story for Hollywood to tackle - - a teacher about to be assaulted by a student kills him rather than being subjected to rape . The prim schoolteacher is played by LORETTA YOUNG with all her virginal modesty bolstered by wearing her hair in a bun with... |
447,178 | 1,048,771 | 74,906 | 5 | Brando at his most eccentric in odd western from Arthur Penn . . . | Never thought I would see the day when JACK NICHOLSON was upstaged by another actor , but that's what we get in THE MISSOURI BREAKS , an odd western directed by Arthur Penn that teamed the two icons for the first and only time . If you like your westerns in a more conventional mode , you can forget this one . It comes ... |
447,383 | 1,048,771 | 29,511 | 5 | ( POSSIBLE SPOILER ) Watchable but weak prison drama saved by the stars . . . | If you're looking for top flight work from BOGART , SHERIDAN and O'BRIEN , don't look here . It's strictly a routine drama with a rather implausible resolution , and yet , because of its three stars it's still quite watchable . Sheridan is a nightclub singer who catches the eye of Pat O'Brien . He's present when Sherid... |
446,324 | 1,048,771 | 55,458 | 5 | Not bad , a certain fairy-tale charm but odd vehicle for The Three Stooges . . . | I suppose The Three Stooges were getting a little fatigued by the time they did their work in SNOW WHITE AND THE THREE STOOGES because they're less exuberant than usual , in fact you might even say their slapstick is much more restrained . But this is good because Fox never intended this to be a showcase for them - - r... |
447,734 | 1,048,771 | 491,005 | 5 | The ravens are mad for human flesh . . . | In what appears to be a feeble rip-off of THE BIRDS , KAW stars SEAN PATRICK FLANERY as a man about to serve his last day as sheriff of a sleepy town when some nasty business involving black ravens preying on people comes to his attention . Naturally , he has to do something about it - - and then the fun begins . What'... |
447,157 | 1,048,771 | 315,459 | 5 | Rough around the edges . . . | This is a story of aimless drifters ( SHAWN HATOSY and SCOTT CAAN ) , bar buddies with no particular marketable skills who spend their time boozing it up , fighting , with at least one of them ( Scott Caan ) dreaming of big bucks in an easy heist . The heist ends the film on a downer when things go horribly wrong . It'... |
445,818 | 1,048,771 | 311,648 | 5 | Put this turkey on the back burner . . . | A family on their way to a dinner with a daughter who can't cook is the stuffing for this comedy about a disastrous day in the life of a girl expecting her family for Thanksgiving . The girl who can't boil water is KATIE HOLMES and she can barely carry this unfunny comedy . It's a good thing for her that the mother is ... |
447,996 | 1,048,771 | 48,734 | 5 | Sterling Hayden in brisk , low-budget western . . . | Western fans who like their stories brisk and to the point , should find enough reason to like this mildly interesting western with STERLING HAYDEN as a gunslinger who returns to his hometown after a prison stay and runs into trouble again when he finds corruption rampant and the town's citizens all have him wrongly re... |
445,654 | 1,048,771 | 82,533 | 5 | Make-up : 10 - - Script : 3 - - Acting : 3 . . . | Only until midway through THE HOWLING is there any real hint of danger or excitement in the werewolf scheme of things . Up until then , we have pretty blonde DEE WALLACE advised to seek rest and relaxation by a doctor ( PATRICK MACNEE ) who thinks a trip to a country retreat will soothe her nerves . Of course , what he... |
447,327 | 1,048,771 | 44,916 | 5 | Something went wrong with " the formula " . . . only Marilyn shines . . . | The cast includes some of the top masters of screwball comedy and is directed by the man who made BRINGING UP BABY - - and yet this is not the bright and witty farce it strains to be . Ironically , it's MARILYN MONROE , in the film's smallest role as a dimwit secretary , who steals the spotlight from CARY GRANT , GINGE... |
445,680 | 1,048,771 | 280,760 | 5 | Great cast livens depressing comedy . . . | KIERAN CULKIN gives a marvelous performance as a hip kid who treats everyone with supreme indifference and no shortage of one-liners . Asked by a potential girlfriend why he's not in school , he merely says , " Sheer ingenuity " , after being kicked out of numerous schools on the east coast and driving his mother ( SUS... |
446,973 | 1,048,771 | 44,876 | 5 | Amusing but hardly hilarious as it takes a swipe at capitalism . . . | It's hard to classify this as a comedy when it really deals in a rather underhanded way with what would happen if someone invents a dirt free fabric that would put millions of cleaners out of business . That's the set-up for this strange little comedy featuring ALEC GUINNESS as " everyman " who just happens to be a wee... |
445,629 | 1,048,771 | 36,149 | 5 | Benny as a lawyer . . . no more Mr . Nice Guy . . . | I was always a fan of JACK BENNY and his radio shows and later his appearances on TV after his movie career waned . But while I enjoyed some of his films tremendously ( GEORGE WASHINGTON SLEPT HERE , CHARLEY'S AUNT , THE HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT ) , I found THE MEANEST MAN IN THE WORLD to be a huge disappointment . Even ... |
447,899 | 1,048,771 | 25,117 | 5 | Another old-fashioned look at debutantes in the ' 30s . . . | FINISHING SCHOOL starts with a whimper : FRANCES DEE enters the same finishing school her mother ( BILLIE BURKE ) attended , a school burdened by rules that most of the girls never follow - - including Dee's new roommate , GINGER ROGERS . And it doesn't end with a bang . BEULAH BONDI is the prissy lady who tells Dee ab... |
445,935 | 1,048,771 | 64,328 | 5 | U . S . agent infiltrates forgery ring in London . . . | U . S . secret service agent YUL BRYNNER is enlisted by Scotland Yard to infiltrate a forgery ring distributing phony U . S . currency in London . He joins a Scotland Yard man EDWARD WOODWARD in this story that appears to be a remake of T-MEN , a thriller from the ' 40s that starred Dennis O'Keefe in the Brynner role .... |
447,455 | 1,048,771 | 49,034 | 5 | Cute , funny , bubbly . . . NOT . . . | If it wasn't for the professional ease DEBBIE REYNOLDS displays in almost any role she plays , BUNDLE OF JOY would rank among the most forgettable romantic comedies of all time . And this is true , even though she's surrounded by pros like TOMMY NOONAN ( as an ambitious but overly flirtatious floor-walker ) and ADOLPHE... |
447,364 | 1,048,771 | 40,421 | 5 | Explosive kisses mixed with carrots . . . typical Bugs Bunny cartoon . . . | This is your typical Bugs Bunny cartoon , complete with enemy antagonist ( another bigger and more moronic bunny ) , explosive carrots and enough slapstick to keep Bugs ' fans happy . Daisy is out on a shopping spree while Bugs decides he has to get rid of his arch rival in a hurry . He dresses up like Daisy and has a ... |
445,317 | 1,048,771 | 844,342 | 5 | Really a tribute to the blacksmith who works on Hollywood's horses . . . | Trite little short supposedly shows Hollywood stars on horseback - - but instead lifts clips from their films in the case of Bette Davis ( DARK VICTORY ) and Olivia de Havilland ( GOLD IS WHERE YOU FIND IT ) . Otherwise , the viewer gets brief glimpses of Priscilla Lane , Dennis Morgan , Joan Leslie , George Tobias and... |
445,432 | 1,048,771 | 40,446 | 5 | Even the mud in HOMECOMING looks slick and unreal , like it passed an MGM screen test . . . | HOMECOMING was an enormously popular MGM hit when released because Gable and Turner gave it tremendous box-office power . But the majority of the reviews were pretty scathing . Yet , the public ran eagerly to see it . I tend to agree with the critics on this one . " Nothing more than a cheap , synthetic chunk of romanc... |
446,429 | 1,048,771 | 829,182 | 5 | Spiritual fable marred by some odd casting . . . | THE GREATEST GIFT is a simplistic fable about a juggler ( EDMUND GWENN ) who is on his way to earn money at an Italian fair when he falls ill and is taken in by some monks who nurse him back to health . They are preparing for a festival honoring the Virgin Mary and each is making a suitable gift for an offering . Encou... |
447,872 | 1,048,771 | 78,869 | 5 | Some stunning visuals in search of a plot . . . | What a sad waste of time to find people like MAXIMILIAN SCHELL , ANTHONY PERKINS and YVETTE MIMIEUX - - and even ERNEST BORGNINwasting their time in a ripoff of " Star Wars " or any other sci-fi extravaganza ever made . None of them is the least bit believable in this silly effort to create a story around THE BLACK HOL... |
447,061 | 1,048,771 | 16,804 | 5 | John Barrymore's Don Juan not quite as dashing as Flynn . . . | This is another example of an early sound film that is worth viewing just to get a sense of how advanced film was in the mid-20s with the ability to synchronize a musical score to film . Otherwise , it's not quite up to what we expect of entertainment in a story about DON JUAN and his exploits , which was done years la... |
446,471 | 1,048,771 | 40,364 | 5 | Deanna's last film is highly forgettable . . . | It must be reasons like FOR THE LOVE OF MARY that had Deanna packing her duds and leaving Hollywood for good . Seems that Universal was unable to offer her the kind of scripts she wanted which would offer her more substantial roles than this attempt at light-hearted screwball comedy that never once flies into orbit . T... |
447,568 | 1,048,771 | 102,057 | 5 | Even a misfire can have a certain charm . . . | ROBIN WILLIAMS tones down his usual manic personality to play a suitably aged Peter Pan who has become ( of all things ) a lawyer and the father of children he can barely spare the time to acknowledge . It's an original concept for a film about the legendary Peter Pan who , as an adult , has to save his children by spr... |
445,434 | 1,048,771 | 40,355 | 5 | A minor melodrama with standard priest role for O'Brien . . . | PAT O'BRIEN has all the Irish charm and blarney to play a priest who can fast talk his way out of any situation with consummate ease - - and it's the sort of role he could have played in his sleep by the time he made FIGHTING FATHER DUNNE . The storyline sounds like a recap of BOY'S TOWN - - without the extra punch sup... |
446,081 | 1,048,771 | 16,832 | 5 | Silent backstage drama stars Beatrice Lillie in rare screen role . . . | There's nothing strikingly original about EXIT SMILING except for the fact that it doesn't have the usual happy Hollywood ending . It stars the incomparable BEATRICE LILLIE and FRANKLIN PANGBORN ( yes , that's right ) as a matinée idol by the name of Cecil Lovelace ! He , of course , was a great character actor who cou... |
446,243 | 1,048,771 | 265,692 | 5 | MGM promotional short for " Guns of San Sebastian " . . . | International film-making is exemplified by this promotional short advertising the forthcoming GUNS OF SAN SEBASTIAN starring ANTHONY QUINN and filmed on location in the desert and among the mountains of northern Mexico . The town of San Sebastian looks exactly as it did centuries ago when the action of the story takes... |
446,891 | 1,048,771 | 40,331 | 5 | Betsy stalks Grant in weak comedy . . . | Anyone watching EVERY GIRL SHOULD BE MARRIED today can see why Betsy Drake never made it as a big star . She's an acquired taste with her thin , pensive face and her thick lips and that little lisp that comes and goes while she gushes about her dream man - - CARY GRANT - - whom she married shortly after finishing the f... |
447,951 | 1,048,771 | 36,022 | 5 | A nostalgic slice of Americana that is definitely " gone with the wind " . . . | Viewing the film today is a lot different than when I viewed it years and years ago as a kid growing up in a residential town not quite as isolated looking as the railroad town shown in THE HUMAN COMEDY . Don't get me wrong - - I can still appreciate the charm of individual scenes , the boy waving to the trains , the s... |
446,927 | 1,048,771 | 29,350 | 5 | Abstract art accompanies " Hungarian Rhapsody " . . . | I appreciated the soundtrack more than the abstract art , patterns of balloon-shaped dots that dance across the screen for six minutes while the 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody explodes with musical sounds . After a few minutes , the short becomes too repetitious to be really novel . In fact , it's the sort of thing the Disney ... |
447,571 | 1,048,771 | 75,147 | 5 | POSSIBLE SPOILER . . . Tiresome , dreary take on the legendary outlaw . . . gritty product of the 1970s . . . | Despite its stellar cast , this is clearly a product of 1970s film-making , when even a tale of the legendary childhood hero has to have a gritty , realistic approach with a downbeat ending . Younger viewers are saying things like " if you liked the Kevin Costner version , you won't like this . " They ought to start th... |
447,276 | 1,048,771 | 71,360 | 5 | Good plot , bad script , dull characters . . . | GENE HACKMAN gives a virtuoso performance as a loner , a weird one at that whose character is never fleshed out because he can't bare to reveal himself to anyone - - not even the viewer . At least that's the limitation imposed upon him by the dull script . What could have been an extraordinarily fine suspenser , is tur... |
447,592 | 1,048,771 | 102,007 | 5 | Weak made-for-TV low budget try at the horror genre . . . | Not only is this a weak haunted house story ( although based on a true life story ) , but the acting and direction is downright foolish and unconvincing . The special effects are possibly the worst feature of all , with the demons completely lacking any sort of evil presence and simply shapeless blobs . You have to won... |
446,996 | 1,048,771 | 25,452 | 5 | Primitive by today's standards . . . inferior to Hitch's ' 56 remake . . . | Hitchcock believed , with good reason , that his first version of THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH was " amateurish " ( his own words ) and felt he could do more justice to the story by giving it a modern remake with Bernard Herrmann's magnificent music adding dimension to the suspense . He even used Herrmann as a conductor f... |
447,779 | 1,048,771 | 131,483 | 5 | The power of the nickel is extolled in this strange documentary . . . | It's extraordinary how something like the nickel can be the subject of a documentary from MGM which ends with statements from four of their stars to write letters overseas to let European know what America is really like . It begins with a look at the nickel over the years and how it became the most used bit of currenc... |
447,514 | 1,048,771 | 5,314 | 5 | Arbuckle's hobo is a lot less appealing than Chaplin's . . . | Underneath his hobo greasepaint , FATTY ARBUCKLE is hard to recognize since he usually plays a working class guy , often teamed with MABEL NORMAND . Here he's a street hobo looking for handouts who inadvertently becomes suspected of being " the bomber " when he waltzes into MACK SWAIN's bar with a cheese Swain thinks i... |
447,870 | 1,048,771 | 60,126 | 5 | Short subject made from feature film and shown on TCM . . . | If the murky photography shown in this short subject with clips from AROUND THE WORLD UNDER THE SEA ( ' 66 ) is any indication , the bad comments from others on the feature length version of the film are more than vindicated . In fact , the color photography is murky whether photographed above or below water and the na... |
446,810 | 1,048,771 | 40,270 | 5 | Dated psychological drama with simplistic solution . . . | THE DARK PAST is notable only for giving WILLIAM HOLDEN a chance to get away momentarily from the " Smiling Jim " kind of roles audiences were used to seeing him play throughout most of his early career . It's a film that came along at a time when Hollywood was discovering psychiatric themes ( SPELLBOUND , THE SNAKE PI... |
446,130 | 1,048,771 | 48,937 | 5 | Handsome to look at , but dull in the telling . . . | When a film is more of a chore to sit through than a pleasure , you know something is wrong . " Alexander the Great " is lavishly produced and handsome to look at with impressive sets and costumes , but even the battle scenes are dull , as staged by director Robert Rossen . RICHARD BURTON is physically impressive as Al... |
446,887 | 1,048,771 | 60,121 | 5 | Where was Cary Grant when Donen needed him ? . . . | GREGORY PECK and SOPHIA LOREN make a handsome couple , even though Peck was pushing 50 at the time and still looked good enough to play romantic leads with the best of them . Loren is given a series of Christian Dior outfits that must have knocked the socks off viewers easily bowled over by movie glamor . But the story... |
446,228 | 1,048,771 | 25,413 | 5 | The boys are shanghaied onto what they think is a ghost ship . . . | Frankly , I've enjoyed other Laurel and Hardy shorts much more than this effort from 1934 . It's predictable from start to finish with the laughs centered around the boys helping a ship's captain to round up a crew for his ship and then getting hoodwinked themselves into joining the crew . The laughs revolve mainly aro... |
448,004 | 1,048,771 | 183,503 | 5 | Comedy / Fantasy experiments with virtual reality . . . | Strictly a hit and miss kind of thing , a chic flick for the romantically inclined types who revel in seeing a woman putting down men as worthless love objects and dreaming of an alternate life style for herself while not making any real commitments in the real world , but living in some kind of virtual reality so she ... |
447,682 | 1,048,771 | 44,557 | 5 | Don't bother to see it . . . | Unless you're a die-hard fan of MARILYN MONROE , this is not for you , or for anyone seeking serious adult drama . Fox evidently wanted to showcase her in a dramatic role since they were busy grooming her for major stardom - - but she would have needed a stronger script and a better director than Roy Ward Baker to pull... |
446,962 | 1,048,771 | 40,281 | 5 | Another film from Fox that never shows up on television . . . | DEEP WATERS was the kind of film that slipped by without much notice , a simple tale about an orphan boy ( DEAN STOCKWELL ) who longs for adventure on the high seas and has to be restrained by an old maid ( ANNE REVERE ) and a couple of townspeople who are carrying on an affair while arguing about the boy's future ( JE... |
445,345 | 1,048,771 | 35,856 | 5 | Conway makes an acceptable Falcon but script is too busy . . . | A plane lands with nobody aboard , making a crash landing on automatic pilot . The police come to The Falcon ( TOM CONWAY ) for assistance in the mystery of the vanishing crew but he's reluctant to help them . That is , until a pretty girl tells him her father was aboard the plane and wants him to help her . His girlfr... |
446,319 | 1,048,771 | 60,094 | 5 | My least favorite of all the Agatha Christie films . . . | In order to get even the slightest bit of enjoyment out of THE ALPHABET MURDERS you have to forget that it's based on Agatha Christie's THE ABC MURDERS and disregard the fact that it bears only a slight resemblance to that tale . If you can't forget , you can't forgive what they've done to a perfectly intriguing Hercul... |
446,224 | 1,048,771 | 152,606 | 5 | A new kind of swing band . . . | Buster Keaton , at a low point in his career , directed this short subject about a new kind of swing band that plays musical instruments without actually playing them . It's a novelty act that never really caught on and it's easy to understand why . No use discussing the plot . It's merely an excuse to show these " swi... |
447,607 | 1,048,771 | 239,673 | 5 | Putting yourself in the driver's seat via a movie chair . . . | A movie chair is a magic carpet , according to this short feature , MOVIES ARE ADVENTURE , produced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in ' 48 . Unfortunately , it's a compilation of tired clichés about the average movie-goer and his experience in putting himself in dangerous and exciting situations via... |
445,724 | 1,048,771 | 25,381 | 5 | Early Ann Sothern film is good indication of her promise . . . | But the film itself is a dated trifle that passes the time pleasantly at a little more than an hour . ANN SOTHERN shows why her breezy charm worked magic on audiences and top-billed EDMUND LOWE , largely unknown today , is her leading man as a Hollywood director . The title tune gets a nice workout in the opening scene... |
447,515 | 1,048,771 | 5,310 | 5 | Enjoyable short film has some clever touches . . . | I'm sure FATTY ARBUCKLE and MABEL NORMAND deserved their popularity back in 1915 when silents were attracting audiences to this new thing called " the movies " , but frankly it's easy to dismiss it today as little more than a nostalgic look at Hollywood's primitive beginnings . Both are likable enough and the set-up is... |
447,586 | 1,048,771 | 144,012 | 5 | How exeriments with mice helped educators learn about child behavior . . . | A rather tame , boring short subject from John Nesbitt's " Passing Parade " purports to show how the behavior of mice can be studied in relation to the interaction of school children . It begins with a 1910 schoolhouse scene to show old-fashioned teaching methods and soon reverts to the ' 40s to show what a difference ... |
446,391 | 1,048,771 | 64,418 | 5 | Overbloated musical with Barbra doing her Mae West imitation . . . | BARBRA STREISAND's Dolly Levi seems to borrow heavily from Mae West's way with a spoken line , but when she sings any of the Jerry Herman songs she does them justice . Clearly , she's not the right age for the matchmaker role but this is just one of the film's flaws . The film itself is so over-produced , so decked out... |
446,847 | 1,048,771 | 60,048 | 5 | Where is John Ford when you need him ? . . . | Director William Witney is no John Ford . But it's doubtful that even the great Ford could have done anything with this lame western which has possibly one of the dullest screenplays ever written . Saddled with bad material , it's no wonder that AUDIE MURPHY finds himself floundering about in a role that's so poorly wr... |
445,726 | 1,048,771 | 101,902 | 5 | Overlong show biz drama is showcase for Bette Midler . . . | FOR THE BOYS manages to be entertaining although there are a lot of things wrong with it - - notably , the make-up job for Midler's aging process and some vulgarity in the lines she utters that seem like anachronisms given the time period begins with the ' 40s-era and women in show biz weren't quite that vulgar in fron... |
447,195 | 1,048,771 | 49,006 | 5 | Beyond all reason . . . a curious misfire . . . | With Fritz Lang in the director's chair , this should have been a much tighter , more suspenseful film than it actually is . Part of the problem is the script - - the characters portrayed by Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine are poorly written . Fontaine , in particular , has little to do with the scheme of things and And... |
447,155 | 1,048,771 | 25,345 | 5 | Wheeler and Woolsey in odd pre-code comedy . . . | Any enjoyment you get from KENTUCKY KERNELS will depend on whether or not you can view the film in the context of its time and accept all of the foolishness with that in mind . Otherwise , it's not a particularly rewarding way to view Wheeler and Woolsey . Surely , their reputation was based on better material than thi... |
446,763 | 1,048,771 | 109,686 | 5 | Lives up to its title and then some . . . | I realize I'm in the minority by not being a gushing fan of potty humor and a lot of scatological and very graphic sound effects , but DUMB AND DUMBER is definitely a movie that clicked with its targeted audience . And I can't ignore the fact that JIM CARREY and JEFF DANIELS have the ability to mug with the best of the... |
447,575 | 1,048,771 | 64,437 | 5 | Based on true-life story of killers Martha Beck and Ray Fernandez . . . | What should have been an expertly crafted thriller based on a true crime story , THE HONEYMOON KILLERS is hurt by bad direction ( LEONARD KASTLE ) , sub-par performances from the entire cast with the exception of TONY LoBIANCO as gigolo Fernandez , and totally unable to disguise its low-budget sets and what sounds like... |
447,173 | 1,048,771 | 49,013 | 5 | Rathbone stars in well-mounted but poor horror flick from the ' 50s . . . | BASIL RATHBONE gives dignity to his role as a doctor intent on practicing advanced medical theories on selective patients . In other words , he's a mad doctor in this horror flick from the late ' 50s that starts out interestingly enough , but soon falls into Ed Wood territory with its story of ghouls living within the ... |
446,699 | 1,048,771 | 29,179 | 5 | Madame X on a budget . . . but oh , what melodramatic courtroom proceedings ! | First of all , let me say that GLADYS GEORGE does a remarkably fine job as " Madame X " . But whomever decided to do the final courtroom scenes with an over-the-top argument by her lawyer son and hysterics from the woman on the stand , well . . . this maudlin scene reduces whatever credibility Miss George gives to her ... |
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