FilmFanatic.org

Synopsis:
When a “nice young man” (Joao Fernendes) is accused of murdering his former girlfriend (Sandy Evan), his detective uncle (Larry Hunter) contacts everyone in his nephew’s address book — and soon learns that Arthur (Fernendes) has recently turned into a deranged rapist.

Genres:

• Criminal Investigation
• Detectives and Private Eyes
• Rape

Review:
As perhaps the best-known film made by female sleaze director Doris Wishman (under the pseudonym of “Louis Silverman”), The Amazing Transplant will likely be of interest to fans of trash cinema, but its general appeal is limited. Wishman is notorious for her tendency to aim her camera anywhere (feet, furniture, statues) but at the characters’ faces when they’re speaking — which is actually a good thing, given that they’re all distractingly dubbed. The actors are uniformly awful (most are simply porn stars in the making), but special kudos must go to Uncle Bill (Hunter) for his hilariously bad extended reaction shots while listening to each rape victim tell her sordid tale.

The film’s plot (a criminal investigation) is basically an excuse for Wishman to show multiple flashback scenes of women being raped; while all resist at first, the majority eventually “give in” and appear to be enjoying themselves, thus disturbingly feeding any rape fetishist’s wildest fantasies. The “surprise twist” at the end of the film is anything but, with most reviews giving away the fact that this X-rated film owes thematic allegiance to such horror-film predecessors as Mad Love (1935) and The Hands of Orloc (1960).

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Not much

Must See?
No, though truly dedicated film fanatics may be morbidly curious to check out Wishman’s directorial “style”. Listed as Trash in the back of Peary’s book (and even he acknowledges that such films aren’t necessary viewing for ALL film fanatics).

Links:

• IMDb entry
• SciFilm Review
• Mondo Digital Review

Synopsis:
After nearly being killed by a psychopath, a voluptuous blonde (Anita Ekberg) is sent to a sanitarium, where her psychiatrist (Harry Townes) falls obsessively in love with her and helps her get a job working as an exotic dancer at a nightclub run by Joann “Gypsy” Masters (Gypsy Rose Lee). When Ekberg is nearly killed once again by an unknown assailant, a journalist (Philip Carey) who’s fallen for Ekberg does what he can to solve the mystery — and save her life.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Anita Ekberg Films
• Journalists
• Mental Illness
• Mind Control and Hypnosis
• Nightclubs
• Obsessive Love
• Serial Killers

Review:
This atmospheric serial killer flick (directed by Gerd Oswald) remains a minor cult flick due primarily to the lead presence of voluptuous Anita Ekberg, two years before her infamous appearance in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita; while no great actress, Ekberg projects an undeniably magnetic presence on-screen.

The opening scene — in which Ekberg is nearly killed by a knife-wielding psychopath while taking an outdoor shower:

— holds cinematic interest as well, given that it predates the infamous “shower sequence” in Hitchcock’s Psycho by two years. And fans of the legendary Gypsy Rose Lee will be grateful to catch a rare glimpse of the diva on film (though her performance of “Put the Blame on Mame” is tepid at best).

The storyline itself — a psycho-horror tale involving mind control and mysterious sculptures known as “Screaming Mimi”s — is overly convoluted, but Burnett Guffey’s superbly noir-ish black-and-white cinematography helps to elevate the film a notch above its pulpy, B-grade script.

Note: Any devoted film fanatic will immediately notice that much of Screaming Mimi‘s soundtrack is lifted directly from On the Waterfront — a seriously annoying distraction.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Anita Ekberg’s sultry nightclub dances
  
  
• Burnett Guffey’s atmospheric b&w cinematography
  
• The Red Norvo Trio (performing at Gypsy Lee’s nightclub)
  

Must See?
Yes, for its status as a cult favorite.

Categories

• Cult Movie

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Shock Cinema Review
• SciFilm Review
• TCM Article
• Alternative Film Guide Review

Synopsis:
An amateur inventor (Woody Allen) and his wife (Mary Steenburgen) invite two couples — a womanizing doctor (Tony Roberts) and his free-thinking nurse (Julie Hagerty), and a renowned philosopher (Jose Ferrer) and his beautiful fiancee (Mia Farrow) — to spend the weekend with them at their country estate, where cross-couple lust causes sexual mayhem.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Infidelity
• Jose Ferrer Films
• Mary Steenburgen Films
• Mia Farrow Films
• Romantic Comedy
• Sexuality
• Woody Allen Films

Review:
Considered by many to be one of Woody Allen’s lesser films, A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy (inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s Smiles of a Summer Night, 1955) is actually an innocuously enjoyable trifle, guaranteed to please Allen’s diehard fans — particularly those disappointed by his recent spate of non-stop misses. Allen’s ensemble cast is nicely chosen, with wide-eyed Julie Hagerty particularly delightful as a sexually “modern” woman:

and Jose Ferrer (what inspired casting!) offering a refreshing dose of arrogant refinement to the proceedings.

Despite its title and topic, Midsummer… is actually rather innocent of sexual content — while sex is discussed ad infinitum, the most we ever see on-screen are gropings and kisses. Allen’s occasional use of supernatural touches (including a flying bicycle and a “spirit machine”):

… may turn some off, but these elements ultimately just add to the charm of this feel-good tale about love and lust, which ends on a surprisingly happy note for all involved.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Julie Hagerty as Nurse Dulcy
  
• Jose Ferrer as Leopold Sturgis
  
• Gordon Willis’s luminous cinematography
  

Must See?
No, but it’s recommended, and certainly must-see for Woody Allen completists.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• Moria Review (spoiler alert)
• Combustible Celluloid Capsule Review
• Roger Ebert’s Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
A small-time grifter (Robert Redford) asks for help from a more experienced con-man (Paul Newman) in seeking revenge when his partner (Robert Earl Jones) is murdered by a cold-blooded Irish mobster (Robert Shaw).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Con-Artists
• Depression Era
• George Roy Hill Films
• Heists
• Paul Newman Films
• Revenge
• Robert Redford Films
• Robert Shaw Films<

Review:
George Roy Hill’s beloved con artist-revenge flick has held up remarkably well, and remains a clever, challenging delight even for those recently weaned on David Mamet’s intricately plotted House of Games (1987), The Spanish Prisoner (1997), and Heist (2000). While first-time viewers will likely be overwhelmed by the sheer number of plot twists and turns to keep track of (I confess to initial confusion myself), a second viewing helps to clear things up, and Hill’s creative team does such an impressive job recreating Depression-era Chicago that it’s easy on the eyes to sit through more than once. The lead actors are perfectly cast, with Robert Shaw particularly noteworthy in a performance far, far removed from his title role in The Luck of Ginger Coffey nearly ten years earlier, and Newman having fun with his role as a “seasoned” con-man. Only Dimitra Arliss — playing a worn-out waitress who has a one-night-stand with Redford — seems miscast; she looks old enough to be his mother.

P.S. The Sting earned an impressive seven Oscars in 1973, including awards for best picture, best director, best original screenplay, best musical score, best costume design, best set direction, and best editing. In his Alternate Oscars, however, Peary — while referring to it as “a great date movie and cheery commercial film”, and agreeing that it has a “slick and tricky script” — argues that it didn’t really deserve to win Best Picture of the year.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Robert Redford as Johnny Hooker
  
• Paul Newman as Gondorff
  
• Robert Shaw as Lonnegan
  
• Robert Earl Jones as Luther Coleman
  
• Colorful depression-era sets and costumes
  
• David S. Ward’s wonderfully dense and intricate “long-con” screenplay
  

Must See?
Yes, for its status as a multiple Oscar-winning film. Listed as a film with Historical Importance in the back of Peary’s book.

Categories

• Historically Relevant
• Oscar Winner or Nominee

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

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• TCM Articles
• DVD Savant Review
• Combustible Celluloid Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
Brothers Stan (Stan Laurel) and Ollie (Oliver Hardy) are relieved to hear from their mother that their black sheep sailor twins Alf and Bert (also Laurel and Hardy) have died at sea. Yet Alf and Bert are actually alive and well — and when they happen to dock in the same town as their more respectable twin brothers, mistaken identity mayhem ensues.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Alan Hale Films
• Comedy
• Laurel and Hardy Films
• Mistaken or Hidden Identities
• Sailors
• Twins

Review:
While Our Relations is widely considered to be one of Laurel and Hardy’s best feature length films, it never quite reaches the comedic hilarity of their more “certified” classics, such as Sons of the Desert (1933), Way Out West (1937), and Block-Heads (1938). One problem is the fact that Stan and Ollie aren’t sufficiently differentiated (visually speaking) from Alfie and Bert — an issue which becomes especially problematic during the denouement of the film, when each set of twins is mistaken for the other, and even audience members may have a hard time figuring out who’s who. With that said, the clever script (which pays homage to Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors) moves along at a quick pace, and includes plenty of enjoyable gags — including Alfie and Bert being swindled by a suave deck mate (James Finlayson) into giving him their earnings, and cement-bound Stan and Ollie teetering precariously along the edge of a pier (though this sequence is milked a tad too thoroughly…). Laurel and Hardy fans won’t be disappointed.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Several clever sequences — including the duo’s infamous “feet in cement” routine on the pier
  
• Laurel and Hardy doing their “Shakespeare — Longfellow!” recitation after speaking in tandem
  

Must See?
No, but it’s recommended, and certainly a must for any Laurel and Hardy fans. Listed as a film with Historical Importance and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
A recently institutionalized woman (Zohra Lampert) moves with her husband (Barton Heyman) and their friend (Kevin O’Connor) to an abandoned farm in the country, where they encounter a mysterious red-headed hippie (Mariclare Costello) living on the property. They invite Emily (Costello) to stay with them, but Jessica (Lampert) becomes unnerved when she discovers that Emily bears an uncanny resemblance to a long-dead previous owner…

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Horror Films
• Mental Illness
• “No One Believes Me!”

Review:
The intriguing title of this atmospheric horror film leads one to believe that gaslighting may be its primary theme, but this isn’t necessarily the case — instead, the film keeps us in continual suspense about who or what is responsible for Jessica’s renewed sense of fear and paranoia. Is she going mad again, or are the bloody corpses she sees cropping up on her property actually real? And why do certain town members — many of whom are inexplicably gruff and cold — have mysterious scars on their necks? Zohra Lampert is well-cast as the perennially nervous, child-like Jessica, who wants desperately to be “well” again but can’t help fearing for her sanity; equally effective — though we only gradually understand why — is Costello, giving an appropriately understated and mysterious performance. While it’s not must-see for all film fanatics, fans of horror suspense films will likely be curious to check this sleeper out. Click here to see a website devoted to the film.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Zohra Lampert’s sensitive — albeit occasionally overly twitchy — performance as Jessica
  
• Mariclare Costello as Emily
  
• An atmospheric, effectively creepy ambiance
  

Must See?
No, but it will likely be of interest for fans of the genre. Listed as a Sleeper and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Spinning Image Review
• NY Times Original Review (spoiler alert)
• Moria Review

Synopsis:
When two Scottish orphans (Jon Whiteley and Vincent Winter) are sent to Nova Scotia to live with their grandparents (Jean Anderson and Duncan Macrae), they learn that their father’s death in the Boer War has caused Macrae to hate and distrust all Dutch settlers in the area — including a kind local doctor (Theodore Bikel) who is romantically involved with their aunt Kirsty (Adrienne Corri). Meanwhile, the boys long for a pet dog to keep them company, but settle instead for a “lost” baby (Anthony Michael Heathcoat) they find in a meadow.

Genres:

• Childhood
• Feuds
• Kidnapping
• Orphans

Review:
This enjoyable sleeper about two orphaned brothers adjusting to a new life in Canada features a strong sense of time and place, and believable characters who we quickly grow to care for. Both Whiteley and Winter are appealing and natural in the title roles, with Winter (the younger brother) especially charismatic; their childish yet dead-serious banter together — all spoken in a strong Scottish brogue — is priceless (“Are we going to keep it forever?” “I don’t know… We’ll keep it for a year or two anyways, until it’s got a mind of its own — and then, if it wants to hit the trail, there won’t be no stopping it.”). While the boys’ gun-toting grandfather seems at first like simply an angry, self-righteous man with an iron will, several key scenes – including his interactions with the local schoolmaster (Jack Stewart), who’s ultimately even sterner than himself — reveal him to possess an innate sense of fairness and goodness, and it’s clear that his character may develop for the better. The story moves along at a leisurely but natural pace, with the key plot development (the boys’ innocent kidnapping of a baby) not occurring until more than halfway through the film; the outcome of this event — while perhaps mildly predictable — offers a satisfying resolution on every count.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Vincent Winter as Davy MacKenzie
  
• Duncan Macrae and Jean Anderson as Davy and Harry’s
  
• Nice period detail
  
• Many memorable lines: “Don’t eat the babby, granddaddy!”

Must See?
No, but it’s recommended.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• Time Out Capsule Review