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Synopsis:
When British agent Charles Dobbs (James Mason) and Inspector Mendel (Harry Andrews) investigate the murder of an ex-Communist government official, they suspect that the victim’s wife (Simone Signoret) may know more than she’s revealing. Meanwhile, Dobbs has troubles of his own at home, when he discovers that his nymphomaniac wife (Harriet Andersson) has had an affair with a colleague (Maximilian Schell).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Cold War
• Detectives and Private Eyes
• Harry Andrews Films
• James Mason Films
• Lynn Redgrave Films
• Marital Problems
• Maximilian Schell Films
• Murder Mystery
• Sidney Lumet Films
• Simone Signoret Films
• Spies

Response to Peary’s Review:
The performances by Mason, Andrews, and Signoret are wonderful in this otherwise dreary, character-driven spy flick, based on the novel by John le Carre. Peary lauds the film as “gripping” and “expertly directed”, but I find it unduly depressing — primarily due to the distracting subplot about Mason’s marital difficulties.

On the other hand, Mason’s interactions with Andersson posit him as more complex and human, thus allowing him to display a wider range of emotions — indeed, as Peary notes, the film is notable for presenting a realistic contrast to the suave, romantic existence of James Bond; being a spy doesn’t come across as particularly appealing, glamorous, or romantically satisfying.

Redeeming Qualities:

• James Mason as Dobbs (Peary nominates Mason’s performance as one of the best of the year in his Alternate Oscars)
  
• Harry Andrews as Inspector Mendel
  
• Simone Signoret as the murdered official’s wife
  
• Effective use of gloomy London locales
  
  

Must See?
Yes, for the fine performances.

Categories

• Noteworthy Performance(s)

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review

Synopsis:
A trio of cowboys (Lee Marvin, Jack Palance, and Mitch Ryan) try to find work during increasingly difficult times.

• Cowboys
• Jack Palance Films
• Jeanne Moreau Films
• Lee Marvin Films
• Unemployment
• Westerns

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, this wonderful, unusual western is basically a “death song to the American cowboy”. There are many moments of genuine humor, pathos, and realism; the dirt on these cowboys’ faces and gloves isn’t wiped off. There are many memorable scenes: the cowhands bonding together to get their beloved (but stinky) cook clean, and his gleeful retaliation afterwards; a grizzled cowboy carefully removing his dentures before participating in a bar room brawl; the wordless interaction between Marvin and Jeanne Moreau as she successfully distracts him from smoking the cigarette he’s just rolled. You’re guaranteed to get caught up in the lives of these men as they negotiate a new existence in the midst of rapid economic and social change.

Redeeming Qualities:

• Jeanne Moreau as Marvin’s hopeful prostitute-girlfriend
  
• Lee Marvin’s subtle performance
  
• Jack Palance as a smiling cowboy
  
• A gritty look at life for cowboys in the late 1800s
  

Must See?
No, but it’s recommended.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• DVD Savant Review
• Roger Ebert’s Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
Fred Hampton, 21-year-old chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, is murdered in cold blood by Chicago policemen.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• African-Americans
• Assassination
• Documentary
• Murder Mystery

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, this film is “crudely made but powerful and important”. Amazingly enough, the filmmakers set out simply to show the hardships of being a black, openly political activist in 1960s Chicago, but instead found themselves documenting the controversy surrounding Hampton’s death (purportedly done by police in self-defense). The most compelling scenes show various Black Panthers giving stirring speeches and organizing community projects to combat poverty. The least successful are those attempting to understand what exactly went on in the apartment where Hampton was killed — it’s hard to keep track of the evidence.

Redeeming Qualities:

• Powerful footage of Black Panther speeches and projects in action
  

Must See?
Yes, as an important historical document.

Categories

• Historically Relevant

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review

Synopsis:
Judy (Maureen O’Hara) wants nothing more than to become a “serious” ballerina, but finds herself hustling a living in burlesques alongside her outrageous, money-grubbing friend Bubbles (Lucille Ball).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Aspiring Stars
• Dancers
• Dorothy Arzner Films
• Feminism and Women’s Issues
• Louis Hayward Films
• Lucille Ball Films
• Maureen O’Hara Films
• Musicals
• Ralph Bellamy Films
• Romance

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, this “fascinating” early feminist film — in addition to being an enjoyable “backstage musical” — is noteworthy for being helmed by Dorothy Arzner, virtually the only female director in Hollywood during the thirties and forties. The story remains true to Arzner’s feminist loyalties: while men are clearly the ones with the most power here, the females in the film do what they can to look out for each other and follow their dreams. They are “intelligent, witty, courageous, resilient, self-motivated, self-reliant, honorable, and ambitious” — and, most unusually for the time, are willing to put career first, over romance. Dance, Girl, Dance is also notable for giving Lucille Ball one of her best early roles.

Redeeming Qualities:

• Lucille Ball as Bubbles
  
• Maria Ouspenskaya as Madame Basilova
  
• O’Hara’s fiery speech to the men in the burlesque audience
  

Must See?
Yes, as Arzner’s best film, and for the memorable performances by both O’Hara and Ball. Discussed at length in Peary’s Cult Movies (1981).

Categories

• Important Director
• Noteworthy Performance(s)

(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die)

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• TCM Article

Synopsis:
Private detective Jake Masters (Allen Garfield) has sex with nearly every woman he meets while on the trail of a blackmailing murderer.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Allen Garfield Films
• Black Comedy
• Criminal Investigation
• Detectives and Private Eyes

Response to Peary’s Review:
This sexist private eye spoof has few redeeming qualities, and is especially disappointing considering that it was director Joe Avildsen’s follow-up to his noteworthy, daring debut film, Joe (1970).

Masters is unappealing in every way, and it’s no fun to watch him having sex with woman after woman — including one who’s already dead. Skip this one.

Redeeming Qualities:

• Not much at all.

Must See?
No. While this movie was renowned at the time for mixing soft-core porn into a “straight” detective flick, it’s ultimately neither funny nor particularly enjoyable.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Four Word Film Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
Vietnam vet John Eastland (Robert Ginty) seeks revenge for the brutal beating of his best friend (Steve James), and eventually becomes an all-purpose vigilante in New York City.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• New York City
• Revenge
• Samantha Eggar Films
• Veterans
• Vigilantes

Response to Peary’s Review:
This “ugly urban melodrama” is a clear rip-off of Charles Bronson’s Death Wish (1974) — and, despite its erstwhile popularity (according to Peary, “audiences cheered when [Ginty] tortured the bad guys”), it’s certainly not must-see viewing. The screenplay lacks any nuance at all, with director James Glickenhaus portraying his villains as “the dirtiest, hairiest, most disgusting youth gang imaginable”. Perhaps most interesting is the film’s status as part of the subgenre of “Vietnam vets gone wild”; along with Shoot (1976), Deathdream (1974), Joe (1970) and others, The Exterminator capitalizes on the titillating trope of trigger-happy vets.

Redeeming Qualities:

• A mildly interesting premise
  

Must See?
No, unless you’re a fan of vigilante films.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Light Views Review

Synopsis:
Renowned filmmaker Federico Fellini pays tribute to the European clowns of his childhood in this pseudo-documentary.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Anita Ekberg Films
• Clowns
• Documentary
• Fellini Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Fellini’s “comical yet elegiac tribute” to European clowns is clear evidence of the “profound effect” they had on his work. As Peary notes, it’s remarkably easy to see “the parallels between clowns… and the absurd characters (midgets, drunks, the handicapped)” peopling all of Fellini’s films. There are many touching and/or enjoyable scenes in the movie (which originally aired on television); my favorite is the opening circus act, which manages to convey the pure slapstick enjoyment audiences at the time must have felt.

Ironically, Peary notes that as a boy, “Fellini didn’t like clowns because they reminded him of sad aspects of reality”; here, we see how radically his appreciation changed over the years.

Redeeming Qualities:

• Many memorable sequences
  
• Nino Rota’s score

Must See?
No, but it will certainly be of interest to Fellini fans.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review

Synopsis:
Four vignettes tell stories of erotic perversion throughout the ages.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Episodic Films
• Historical Drama
• Sexuality

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, this episodic soft-core film by Polish director Walerian Borowczyk is “occasionally erotic but mostly boring”. The most notorious of the four vignettes tells the story of Countess Bathory’s infamous taste for bathing in virgins’ blood; it generates pure terror in its literal recreation of exactly how she went about doing this. The opening sequence is also powerful, telling of a nubile teenager who is seduced by her cousin into performing fellatio on him while the tide rolls in. The second vignette, which shows a pious young woman masturbating with cucumbers, holds some prurient interest, but the fourth — about Countess Lucrezia Borgia’s incestuous relationship with her brother and father — should have been scrapped altogether.

Redeeming Qualities:

• Paloma Picasso (daughter of Pablo Picasso) as the “Bloody Countess” Bathory
  
• Sensuous cinematography

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a look simply for its notoriety. It was apparently the second biggest box-office hit in France the year it was released.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Moria Review

Synopsis:
Jeremy (Robby Benson), an aspiring cellist, falls in love with Susan (Glynnis O’Connor), a new student at his high school.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Coming-of-Age
• First Love
• Glynnis O’Connor Films
• New York
• Robby Benson Films
• Teenagers

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, this “sweet, well-acted, unexploitative teenage romance” is notable for introducing stars Robby Benson and Glynnis O’Connor (real-life lovers) to the screen. Director Arthur Barron perfectly captures the nuances of first love, and handles Jeremy and Susan’s lovemaking scene with tenderness and taste. I like the fact that the screenplay allows us to see so much of Jeremy’s quirky life before he first spots Susan, indicating that this busy, independent young man is not especially pining for just any girlfriend, but instead falls truly in love with Susan.

Redeeming Qualities:

• Glynnis O’Connor as an atypical, self-possessed young beauty
  
• Jeremy’s awkward attempts to woo Susan
  
• A sensitive, honest portrayal of teenage sexuality emerging from mutual love and respect
  
• Interesting on-location camera work in New York
  

Must See?
No, but it’s recommended.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• ReelFilm.com Review

Synopsis:
When a young man (Jan-Michael Vincent) is rejected as a Marine during WWII, he’s sent back home from bootcamp wearing an infamous “baby blue” uniform. Along the way, he inadvertently swaps uniforms with an AWOL Marine (Richard Gere), and fools the small town he arrives at into believing he’s a war hero.

Genres:

• Glynnis O’Connor Films
• Military
• Mistaken or Hidden Identities
• Richard Gere Films
• Small-Town America
• World War Two

Response to Peary’s Review:
This compelling sleeper deals with the shame many young men felt when they were found “unfit” to serve in WWII. As Peary notes, director John Hancock — best known for helming Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) — effectively shows how Americans tend to be “intolerant” and “blindly jingoistic”, glorifying “undeserving heroes” rather than taking the time to “calm down and learn what’s really going on.” Unfortunately, while the film is mostly successful, its denouement — which Peary curiously neglects to comment on — fails to resolve a number of issues, and it seems as though there is a substantial chunk of the story missing. However, fine performances from the supporting cast — especially Richard Gere in an early role as a white-haired young Marine who knocks Marion out and steals his uniform — make this one worth seeking out for a one-time look.

Redeeming Qualities:

• Richard Gere as “The Raider”
  
• Glynnis O’Connor as Marion’s understanding new girlfriend
  
• Bruno Kirby as a recruit who can’t wait to fail basic training and get back home to his beautiful wife
  

Must See?
No, but it’s worth checking out.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Roger Ebert’s Review