Tom Brown’s Schooldays (1951)
“Tell the truth, keep a brave, kind heart, and you’ll survive.”
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Zenobia (1939)
“I’d rather do something for somebody that needs a doctor — even if they can’t pay their bills!”
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… when Laurel had a falling out with Hal Roach studios. The result is a well-meaning but decidedly tepid comedy, one which admirably shows Hardy’s talents as a “leading man” yet fails to deliver many genuine laughs. The title character — a testy female elephant named Zenobia —
… is the film’s primary claim to uniqueness, yet Zenobia’s relentless attachment to Hardy unfortunately takes a back seat to the rather dull primary drama about cross-class romance and Southern snobbery. With that said, film fanatics will likely appreciate seeing Alice Brady in one of her final roles before she succumbed to cancer later that year; she looks frail but still manages to invest her character with gumption and energy. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Bowery, The (1933)
“Remember what I always tells ya: this is a man’s world.”
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… while volunteer firemen brigades engage in a street brawl rather than putting out the fire — and to know that the fire itself was caused by Cooper being given “permission” by Beery to “throw just a tiny rock in the Chinks’ window” (naturally, not a shred of guilt is expressed by either party). Regardless of these hideously uncomfortable scenes, however, Connor and Brodie’s lifelong rivalry simply doesn’t sustain a narrative; the “high point” of the story occurs when Brodie jumps off the Brooklyn Bridge on a dare:
… and Connor loses his saloon as a result — but who really cares about these louts anyway? Fay Wray is sympathetic but wasted as Brodie’s love interest:
while Cooper seems to be simply reprising his earlier role opposite Beery in The Champ (1931).
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All the Marbles (1981)
“Like it or not, the three of us are a team — and we’re going to make it, or die trying.”
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Crime Without Passion (1934)
“Always saving somebody’s life, so abominably clever at solving other people’s trouble — so half-witted when it comes to my own.”
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Review: Rains is excellent in the lead role, managing to sustain our interest despite his character’s decidedly unsavory actions and demeanor. Equally impressive is 17-year-old Margo (castanet-clicking “Clo-Clo” in Val Lewton’s The Leopard Man) in her screen debut as the object of Rains’ lustful affections — while we desperately want to shake some sense into her (how can she be in love with such a cad?!), she engages our genuine sympathies as well. Wrapping up within a neat 70 minutes, Crime Without Passion tells its fall-from-grace narrative quickly and succinctly, and is well worth the enjoyable ride. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Burglar, The (1957)
“You think that’s hot? It’s hotter out there — boiling hot!”
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Dreamchild (1985)
“We all want you to be the little girl you once were.”
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Review: Ultimately, however, Dreamchild is most concerned with Alice’s reflective flashbacks to her childhood, which — often in nightmarish ways — occasionally merge with the present in her aging mind. Ian Holm perfectly embodies the conflicted Reverend Dodgson (pen name “Lewis Carroll”), effectively conveying his desire for Alice while remaining sympathetic to viewers, given that he never acts upon his pedophilic urges. Amelia Shankley as young Alice is an excellent counterpart to Holm, showing clear evidence of the insouciant charm Carroll fell in love with, while (we sigh with relief) making the boundaries between the two of them perfectly clear. Equally impressive — though not given enough screen time — are Jim Henson’s Wonderland creations, including Mock Turtle, the Mad Hatter, Gryphon, Caterpillar, and Dormouse. They’re both magical and frightening, a perfect manifestation of Carroll’s twisted imagination and Alice’s lifelong interpretation of them, and they add just the right surreal touch to this highly unique film. Note: Click here and here to read more about Carroll’s real-life relationship with young Alice and her sisters. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Case Against Brooklyn, The (1958)
“When the law is suspended for a price, and truth and justice can be peddled on the marketplace, then every citizen’s in danger — and the law belongs to the highest bidder!”
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As a narrative, The Case Against Brooklyn is flawed by its overly perfunctory exposition and didactic narration (similar to that in Anthony Mann’s T-Men); but once McGavin enters the story and the voice-over mysteriously disappears, the story unfolds with tension and excitement until its bittersweet ending. P.S. McGavin is one of the more unexpectedly athletic actors I’ve seen in a while — watch how he leaps, then rolls across his bed to answer his ringing telephone, or how competently he (nearly) takes out two bookie thugs sent to collect money from him. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Psycho II (1983)
“I don’t kill people anymore, remember?”
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Review: With that said, Psycho II actually works on its own as a reasonably engaging, campy thriller, with enough plot twists and nasty surprises to satisfy most horror fans. Perkins is note-perfect as an older, more sympathetic Norman, who we grow to genuinely care for — as does Meg Tilly’s sexy waitress Mary, who at first seems like the ultimate putz for daring to sleep over at Norman’s house, but whose true motivations for spending time around Norman are soon revealed. As long as one can buy the initial, highly unlikely premise that Bates would be released on his own, back to his childhood home, rather than to a halfway house, the remainder of the story gradually clicks into place, and ends on a surprisingly freaky, satisfying note. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Dime With a Halo (1963)
“We’re gonna lose it, Chuy — that dime’s running out!”
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