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Synopsis:
A mysterious drifter (Keith Carradine) enters the lives of a renowned radio talk show host (Genevieve Bujold) and a bar owner (Lesley Ann Warren) in Los Angeles.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Alan Rudolph Films
• Genevieve Bujold Films
• Keith Carradine Films
• Looking for Ms./Mr. Right
• Mistaken Identities
• Radio

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, this “zany film” about “troubled characters who make coincidental connections with each other, put up false fronts, act crazy, and are hopelessly confused and worried about sex, love, marriage, and their inability to communicate” is a sleeper favorite of many — possibly because we can all relate to feeling this way ourselves at one point or another in our lives. The “preposterous” ensemble storyline (written by Rudolph) nonetheless “has the ‘logic’ of crazy real life”, and “we willingly suspend our disbelief because we’re touched by the characters and root for them to make it out of their misery”. This is due in large part to the “superb” cast, with Lesley Ann Warren giving perhaps her most vulnerable performance, and Genevieve Bujold digging deep into the neuroses of her character — a famed sexologist who, ironically, has never experienced satisfying intimacy herself. Carradine essentially plays yet another a variation on his standard womanizing persona, but, as Peary notes, in this film we “believe him each time” he “tells [a] woman that he loves her and wants to marry her”:

… and we’re relieved that he ultimately “manages to be a positive influence.” Adding to the film’s dreamlike ambience are Jan Kiesser’s cinematography (evoking a nighttime L.A. unlike any other I’ve seen) and the jazzy soundtrack by Teddy Pendergrass, whose “Choose me, baby” refrain emerges at strategic, emotionally loaded moments.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Genevieve Bujold as Dr. Love/Ann
  
• Lesley Ann Warren as Eve (voted one of the best actresses of the year in Peary’s Alternate Oscars book)
  
• Lush, evocative visuals
  
  
• Teddy Pendergrass’s background score

Must See?
Yes, as perhaps Rudolph’s most memorable film.

Categories

• Important Director

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• Roger Ebert’s Review
• TV Guide Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
When her father (Ian Hunter) leaves to fight in the Boer War, Sara Crewe (Shirley Temple) is sent to a boarding school run by snooty Miss Minchin (Mary Nash). When notice arrives that Captain Crewe (Hunter) has died a penniless man, Sara becomes a servant at the school — but she refuses to believe her father is really dead.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Boarding School
• Cesar Romero Films
• Historical Drama
• Ian Hunter Films
• Search
• Shirley Temple Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Despite its generally acknowledged status as “one of Temple’s best films”, Peary isn’t a big fan of this Technicolor adaptation of Frances Hodges Burnett’s Victorian children’s novel. He argues that “while it is lavishly produced and features what was [Temple’s] last impressive performance as a child actor, the story is flimsy and predictable”, and notes that by 1939, “it was getting tiresome watching Temple’s little girls suffer.” Modern viewers, however, won’t have to experience the same sense of fatigue, given that we can pick and choose which of Temple’s many childhood films — Peary lists just five of her earlier hits in his book — we want to see. Diehard fans of Burnett’s book may be disturbed by the many changes made in the screenplay, but the spirit of the novel remains intact, and Temple (who looks nothing like Burnett’s description of the protagonist) brings a much-needed air of optimism and spunk to the role of poor Sara Crewe. Equally impressive is Temple’s co-star, Sybil Jason, who plays a young Cockney maid. [It’s interesting to note that Temple was, in fact, jealous of Jason’s performance, given the adulation heaped upon her by the film’s crew.]

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Shirley Temple as Sarah
  
• Sybil Jason as Becky
  

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a look as one of Temple’s most famous films.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• TCM Article