Synopsis:
A progressive young priest (Bing Crosby) is sent to assist an ailing parish run by elderly Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald).

Genres:

• Do-Gooders
• Generation Gap
• Leo McCarey Films
• Musicals
• Nuns and Priests

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary is quite a fan of this genial box-office hit (directed by Leo McCarey), which he refers to as “a wonderful, warmhearted film”. While he acknowledges that “some of the scenes are a bit forced or corny” (and, in his Alternate Oscars book, concedes that it’s “flawed, with subplots better suited for the reject basket than the screen”), he cites a number of “delightful” scenes, including many between Fitzgerald — “who tends to play the martyr” — and Crosby (who Peary describes in Alternate Oscars as “genial, wise, humble, unpretentious, [and] quietly authoritative”). He seems impressed by the film’s attempt “to show that priests are human too”, and argues that the “finale in which Fitzgerald is reunited with his old, old mother after about forty years ranks with [the] greatest of tear-jerking reunion scenes”.

These days, opinions are decidedly mixed on whether Going My Way has stood the test of time. Crosby (the “No. 1 box-office draw” of the time) is certainly charismatic, and sings as nicely as ever, but the meandering storyline — in which “Crosby helps out a young woman (Carol James) who has left home and wants to be a singer, turns the tough neighborhood kids (all of whom say ‘fodder’) into angelic choirboys, looks up his opera-singer friend (Rise Stevens) …, gets money for the church by selling one of his songs, and wins over Fitzgerald” — lacks focus, and feels patently crafted to allow either Crosby and/or Stevens (who’s charming but smiles too much) “natural” opportunities to sing. With that said, if you’re in the mood for a feel-good film with some fine ditties sprinkled throughout (my favorite is Crosby leading the boys in “Swinging on a Star”), then this is certainly worthy viewing.

P.S. Despite his claim that Going My Way was a “deserved Best Picture winner”, Peary actually gives the award to Double Indemnity in Alternate Oscars, noting that …Indemnity was “more deserving… if only because it has been much more influential.”

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Barry Fitzgerald as Father Fitzgibbon
  
• Bing Crosby as Father O’Malley
  
• Several enjoyable musical sequences
  

Must See?
Yes, for its historical importance as a multiple Oscar winner.

Categories

• Oscar Winner or Nominee

Links:

• IMDb entry
• MRQE (Movie Review Query Engine)
• NY Times Original Review
• FilmCritic.com Capsule Review
• Classic Film Guide
• TCM Article
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
When his sister (Pamelyn Ferdin) goes missing, a teenager (Nicolas Beauvy) and his friend (Wesley Eure) attempt to determine who has committed a rash of bloody murders in an apartment complex.

Genres:

• Amateur Sleuths
• Horror Films
• Kidnapping
• Serial Killers

Review:
Within the first half-hour of this notorious serial killer flick — banned in the U.K. from 1982-2000 as a “video nasty” — we witness no less then four grisly “murders by tool” of nubile young women, all living within the same apartment complex. Shortly thereafter, we learn that the ski-masked killer is the apartment’s deeply disturbed landlord (Cameron Mitchell) who has gone off the deep end after the death of his teenage daughter in a car accident (shown as a flashback in the film’s opening credits sequence). When an apple-cheeked young virgin in the complex (Pamelyn Ferdin) goes missing, we can accurately guess that Mitchell is responsible, and that her life is in grave danger. Given its reputation, I was surprised to find The Toolbox Murders (remade in name only in 2004, by Tobe Hooper) to be a reasonably compelling slasher flick. While the opening murders are hard to stomach, the remaining hour or so holds one’s attention, as Mitchell chews the scenery and a major identity twist is revealed. While it’s only recommended for fans of the genre, this one is not quite as bad as you’d think.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• The “bedside” scene between Mitchell and Ferdin
  

Must See?
No — though hardcore film fanatics may be curious to check it out, given its notoriety. Listed as Trash in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• MRQE (Movie Review Query Engine)
• Classic Horror Review
• DVD Beaver Review
• Digitally Obsessed Review
• Stomp Tokyo Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
In post-colonial Senegal, a corrupt businessman (Thierno Leye) attempts to marry a third wife (Dieynaba Niang), but finds that his ability to consummate the marriage has been foiled by a “xala” (curse).

Genres:

• Africa
• Corruption
• Downward Spiral
• Marital Problems
• Satires and Spoofs

Review:
In his fourth feature film, Senegalese director Ousmane Sembene continued his cynical exploration of corruption in post-colonial Africa — this time with more of an overt satirical edge than ever. As in his earlier film Mandabi (1968), the central protagonist in Xala (Thierno Leye) finds himself caught in a nightmarish situation — yet while Mandabi’s Ibrahim was hapless and illiterate (a victim of social changes beyond his control), Leye’s wealthy “El Hadji” arguably sparks his own downfall through explicit greed. In the film’s comical opening sequence, El Hadji sits around a table with a host of other powerful black men, accepting briefcases full of cash from white men in suits (clearly representing the country’s lingering vestiges of colonial power and influence). El Hadji uses this money to help purchase a third wife — the young and beautiful Dieynaba Niang — in order to propel his own prestige, ignoring the fact that this makes both his university-age daughter (Miriam Niang) by his first wife (Seune Samb), and his jealous second wife (Younouss Seye), deeply unhappy.

Once El Hadji attempts to consummate his marriage — and finds himself strangely unable to do so — his downward spiral is set in motion. He engages the services of medicine men, and struggles to maintain dignity in the face of impressively widespread social knowledge about his dilemma. It’s clear to El Hadji that his problems aren’t his own, but rather the result of a curse (xala) — and while he believes this curse has been placed by one of his other wives, the cause for blame remains a central mystery of the film. Unfortunately, Sembene’s narrative (based on his own novel) veers off course at times, shifting to lengthy and seemingly inexplicable sequences (later explained) involving a band of disabled men who at one point gather to drink sweetened condensed milk (!); from what I’ve read, this confusion may be the result of drastic editing that was done without Sembene’s consent. In addition — as in all Sembene’s films — the performances by the majority of the actors are decidedly amateurish. Regardless, there’s enough sting and bite in Xala to make it worthy viewing for all film fanatics who are genuinely interested in world cinema.

P.S. It’s strange that the primary poster used to promote this film features unnamed actors who appear only briefly in the film, at a party scene for a few seconds…

P.P.S. Sembene’s other acclaimed film made before the publication of Peary’s book in 1986 — Ceddo (1977), the only Sembene title listed in 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die — is strangely missing; I intend to watch it shortly and verify whether it merits inclusion on this website as a Missing Title. Also be sure to check out Sembene’s final film, Moolaadé (2004), made before his death in 2007 — it’s most definitely must-see viewing.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Yet another fascinating perspective by Sembene of life in post-colonial Senegal
  
  

Must See?
Yes, as one of Sembene’s most acclaimed films. Listed as a film with Historical Importance and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Categories

• Foreign Gem
• Important Director

Links:

• IMDb entry
• MRQE (Movie Review Query Engine)
• NY Times Original Review
• CineScene Review
• DVD Beaver Review
• Slant Magazine Review (SPOILER ALERT)
• Strictly Film School Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
A poor Senegalese villager (Makhouredia Gueye) finds himself confronting endless bureaucracy and corruption while trying to cash a money order sent by his nephew in Paris.

Genres:

• Africa
• Black Comedy
• Corruption
• Living Nightmare

Review:
Ousmane Sembene’s second feature-length film — after his acclaimed but flawed 1966 debut, Black Girl — was this absorbing, relentlessly cynical look at corruption in post-colonial Senegal. While its lead protagonist, Ibrahim (Gueye), is initially not all that likable — opening shots show him wolfing down an enormous meal, belching profusely, and ordering his wives around — he nonetheless quickly becomes the most sympathetic character in the film, given the ceaseless roster of charlatans and “beggars” he encounters during his travails. In order to actually secure the money he’s supposedly inherited from his nephew, he must find a way to turn a slip of paper sent from abroad into actual cash — a seemingly straightforward process which turns into a true living nightmare. Ibrahim (who is illiterate) finds that in the paper-trail legacy the French have left behind, it is no longer enough simply to state that one exists — one must prove it, in specific, written detail. Yet how can one prove one exists without… prior proof that one exists?

It’s a devilish dilemma, and one that Sembene handles with masterful humor — up until the point when Ibrahim’s attempts are foiled for what seems like the umpteenth time, and Sembene’s central thesis (that “decency has become a sin in [Senegal],” and that “in a country like this, only crooks live well”) is made eminently, depressingly clear. Despite its undeniably downbeat trajectory, however, Mandabi (which translates literally into “money order”) remains fascinating simply for its unprecedented ethnographic portrayal of Senegalese village life. Sembene’s ability to slyly slip in visual commentary on the influence of Western norms (watch for the white European doll being washed and played with by the young village girls, for instance) is impressive; and his attempt to call out the impossibility of maintaining civil, logical interactions with one’s fellow citizens in an environment tainted by colonial norms is undeniably essential.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• A fascinating glimpse at post-colonial village life in Senegal
  
  

Must See?
Yes, as a depressing but revealing film by the world’s premiere African director. Listed as a film with Historical Importance and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Categories

• Important Director

Links:

• IMDb entry
• MRQE (Movie Review Query Engine)
• NY Times Original Review
• DVD Beaver Review
• DVD Verdict Review
• Slant Magazine Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
During the Revolutionary War, a patriotic tinker (Lou Costello) and a noblewoman (Marjorie Reynolds) are mistaken for traitors and shot, their ghosts cursed to remain on the same plot of land until they can prove their innocence.

Genres:

• Abbott and Costello Films
• Comedy
• Falsely Accused
• Fantasy
• Ghosts
• Old Dark House

Review:
The Time of Their Lives was Abbott and Costello’s second attempt — after Little Giant (1946) — at moving away from buddy films and towards a more “traditional” style of comedy. Here, they tap into the genre of “ghostly comedy” (a la the enormously successful Topper trilogy), with a twist of period drama for good measure — though the bulk of the film takes place in 1946. As in Little Giant, Abbott once again plays dual roles (as Costello’s Revolutionary War-era nemesis, and his descendant), but Costello’s the primary protagonist — along with his female “buddy”, Marjorie Reynolds. The story — involving Costello and Reynolds desperately trying to get modern-day Abbott and his friends to help them uncover a hidden letter from George Washington, which will prove their innocence — is innocuous and reasonably entertaining, but I found myself noticing (and sorely missing) the absence of A&C’s classic routines. This one is really only must see for fans of Abbott and Costello — many of whom, interestingly, consider it among their best.

P.S. This film’s rather generic title really should have been reconsidered… It makes little sense, and doesn’t accurately convey the movie’s central premise.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Lou Costello and Marjorie Reynolds as the doomed ghosts
  
• The effectively “spooky” seance scene
  

Must See?
No, but it’s worth a look if you stumble upon it.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• MRQE (Movie Review Query Engine)
• NY Times Original Review (scroll down to second review)
• Spinning Image Review
• SciFilm Review
• Classic Film Guide Review
• TCM Article