Gloria (1980)

Gloria (1980)

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“Don’t be stupid. You got no home — you got me.”

Synopsis:
When a mob accountant (Buck Henry) and his family are targeted for assassination, only his son (John Adames) survives, thanks to a feisty ex-gunmoll (Gena Rowlands) who reluctantly takes him under her wing.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Cat-and-Mouse
  • Gangsters
  • Gena Rowlands Films
  • John Cassavetes Films
  • Lawrence Tierney Films
  • Strong Females

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, this “unusual, tough action film” represents a “change of pace for director John Cassavetes and his actress wife, Gena Rowlands”, given that it “replaces introspective dialogue with flying bullets”. It’s primarily notable for the truly “dynamic performance” given by Rowlands, who justifiably earned an Oscar nomination; her character — a “retired former gun moll” who “proves smarter, more resourceful than the killers who chase her and, when necessary, as brutal as they are” — is indeed “unique to cinema”. As the film begins, Cassavetes sets up an almost unbearably tense scenario (reminiscent of the Godfather films), as Buck Henry’s wife (Julie Carmen) is followed back to her apartment, and we soon realize that she and her young family are going to be murdered in cold blood by vengeful mobsters. When Carmen’s flinty, child-hating neighbor (Rowlands as “Gloria Swenson”) is tasked with hiding Carmen’s young son (Adames) — and thus saving him from being killed — we’re literally on the edge of our seats, wondering what will become of this unlikely duo.

Indeed, for the first hour or so, it’s quite compelling to watch Rowlands and Adames make their way across the “gritty”, “sordid New York and New Jersey locations”, as “Gloria stands her ground and guns down some mobsters in a car” (a truly shocking sequence), and she and Phil (Adames) establish their tenuous relationship with one another (I love how Rowlands literally swats Adames off the bed in irritation when he starts asking her too many questions). But as whiny Adames is given more and more screentime (and dialogue), things quickly go downhill; as Peary notes, Adames’ “little boy [who] is supposed to constantly act like a big man will really test your nerves”. (It’s interesting to contemplate whether a different, more skilled child actor — i.e., a Jodie Foster — could have actually pulled off this very challenging role; I’m not certain.)

At any rate, I disagree with Peary that “Buck Henry, in the small part of the boy’s father, is also miscast” — his nebbishy character actually seems perfectly suited as an accountant who stupidly puts his own and his family’s lives at risk. And while Peary calls this film “underrated”, I can’t say I agree — though I’ll concede it’s must-see viewing simply for Rowlands’ iconic performance.

Note: Adames co-earned a Razzie — along with Laurence Olivier! — that year for his performance in this film, and never acted again.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Gena Rowlands as Gloria — nominated for an Alternate Oscar by Peary
  • The truly nerve-wracking opening assassination sequence
  • Creative direction by Cassavetes
  • Nice use of authentic locales

Must See?
Yes — simply for Rowlands’ Oscar-nominated performance.

Categories

  • Noteworthy Performance(s)
  • Oscar Winner or Nominee

Links:

Knock on Wood (1954)

Knock on Wood (1954)

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“I don’t know what’s wrong, Marty; the words keep coming out — I can’t seem to control them anymore.

Synopsis:
When a ventriloquist (Danny Kaye) subconsciously sabotages his most recent relationship via his dummy, he seeks treatment from a beautiful psychotherapist (Mai Zetterling) and falls in love with her; meanwhile, he’s pursued by members of competing spy rings seeking weapon blueprints hidden in his two newest dummies.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Comedy
  • Danny Kaye Films
  • Psychotherapy
  • Puppets and Ventriloquism
  • Spies

Review:
In his review of Danny Kaye’s The Inspector General (1949), Peary acknowledges that “most Kaye vehicles [have] dated badly” — and this innocuous Cold War comedic thriller is no exception. Likely inspired by the “Ventriloquist’s Dummy” segment in Dead of Night (1946) (and/or Erich von Stroheim’s earlier The Great Gabbo, 1926), Knock on Wood capitalizes on the inherently creepy notion of a ventriloquist’s dummy “turning” on him; unfortunately, the opening sequence — in which Kaye’s dummy spews vitriolic statements about Kaye’s fiancee waiting in the wings — is so unpleasant and decidedly unfunny that is gets the film off to a rocky non-comedic start.

From there, we’re subjected to two equally dull storylines, as Kaye romances his beautiful new psychotherapist (who has psychological hangups of her own, naturally):

… and rival spy rings go after high-profile blueprints located in the heads of Kaye’s new dummies. Fortunately, there are a few sequences in the second half of the film in which Kaye finally gets to strut his comedic chops, but they’re not nearly enough to recommend the film as a whole.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • A few amusing sequences


Must See?
No; this one is strictly for Danny Kaye fans

Links:

Pickpocket (1959)

Pickpocket (1959)

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“Could one turn a blind eye to certain kinds of theft?”

Synopsis:
A young man (Martin LaSalle) becomes addicted to pickpocketing as a way of life, much to the distress of his concerned friends (Marika Green and Pierre Leymarie).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Character Studies
  • French Films
  • Robert Bresson Films
  • Thieves and Criminals

Review:
While most reviews and analyses of this Crime and Punishment-inspired character study by Robert Bresson are adulatory, DVD Savant’s take rings the truest to me. He argues that “Bresson’s deliberately intellectual approach is going to be a long reach for all but the most dedicated and focused audiences”, and he humorously notes that the primary actors — infamously directed by Bresson to not act — all “have a slightly glazed look in their eyes, like Pod people not quite comfortable in human bodies”, moving “as if it took a conscious act of will to do simple things like turn around or look in a certain direction”. Indeed, while LaSalle is effectively enigmatic for about the first ten minutes of the film, his mannerisms (an intense yet empty gaze; a tendency to look down at the floor, then glance back up again) quickly become not only tiresome but downright irritating.

Meanwhile, it’s devilishly difficult to care at all for his Raskolnikov-inspired character, who we’re purposely emotionally distanced from — given that he (and all the other characters) “behave in a way that expresses nothing beyond the exact words they say and things they do”. To that end, the most useful advice I’ve read about Bresson’s films is to view them more like graphic novels than filmed theatrical dramas; Bresson was aiming for “pure cinema”, and believed this was the best artistic direction to take. While Pickpocket is cited by many as Bresson’s masterpiece, however, I would argue that his earlier Diary of a Country Priest (1951) is the film in which his ascetic directorial style is best served. And for a much more engaging look at the “art” of pickpocketing, check out Sam Fuller’s vigorously anarchic Pickup on South Street (1953) — a truly enjoyable “must see” classic.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • The remarkably tense opening pickpocket sequence (at the racetrack)

Must See?
Yes, simply for its historical relevance; but it won’t be for all tastes. Listed as a film with Historical Importance and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Categories

  • Historically Relevant
  • Important Director

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

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Teorema (1968)

Teorema (1968)

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“You have filled my life with a total, real interest.”

Synopsis:
A mysterious guest (Terence Stamp) at an Italian villa provokes erotic desire in all its inhabitants — including the mother (Silvana Mangano), the father (Massimo Girotti), the teenage son and daughter (Andres Jose Cruz Soublette and Anne Wiazemsky), and their maid (Laura Betti).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Bourgeois Society
  • Catalysts
  • Italian Films
  • Pier Paolo Pasolini Films
  • Sexuality
  • Terence Stamp Films

Review:
Pier Paolo Pasolini’s enigmatic religio-political allegory (is Stamp a Christ figure, an emissary of the dark side, or a quietly liberating revolutionary?) falls squarely within his unique oeuvre of audaciously provocative films. Little overtly “happens” in Teorema, and even less is said; most of the film’s sparse dialogue occurs midway through the narrative, as each character reflects on how Stamp’s arrival has changed them, and the impact his imminent departure will have upon them (with responses ranging from “You’ve simply destroyed the idea I’ve always had of myself.” to “You have filled my life with a total, real interest.”). Otherwise, the bulk of the screenplay is filled with surprisingly chaste erotic encounters, and bouts of personal crisis — the most intriguing of which is Betti’s emergence as some sort of village saint. As Dan Callahan notes in his review for Slant Magazine, “It’s all very grand and vague and shapeless, filmed better than most of Pasolini’s movies, but indulgent and fairly meaningless”; DVD Savant accurately asserts that “viewers will need to already be riding Pasolini’s specific philosophical wavelength to appreciate it — for most it will be a slow and uninvolving experience.” Featuring a weird, often incongruous score by Ennio Morricone.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Effective cinematography and lighting

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a look simply for its historical importance. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The (1947)

Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The (1947)

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“I’m here because you believe I’m here. Keep on believing, and I’ll always be real to you.”

Synopsis:
A headstrong widow (Gene Tierney) develops an unusual relationship with the ghost (Rex Harrison) haunting her new seaside house.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Anna Lee Films
  • Gene Tierney Films
  • Ghosts
  • Historical Drama
  • Joseph L. Mankiewicz Films
  • Natalie Wood Films
  • Rex Harrison Films
  • Romance
  • Sailors
  • Star-Crossed Lovers
  • Widows and Widowers

Review:
Made during a decade replete with supernatural fantasies — including Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), A Guy Named Joe (1943), The Canterville Ghost (1944), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), A Matter of Life and Death / Stairway to Heaven (1946) and Portrait of Jennie (1948), among many others — The Ghost and Mrs. Muir remains one of the best of the bunch. Gene Tierney gives a mature and heartfelt performance in the title role as a widow and single mother determined to survive on her own; her romance with Harrison emerges naturally and gradually, alongside their respectful “working relationship”. Indeed, Philip Dunne’s nuanced screenplay — based on a novel by R.A. Dick — effectively weaves feminist issues into period romance, deftly incorporating a love triangle (George Sanders is nicely cast as a dubiously motivated author attracted to Tierney) and a number of plot twists along the way. Perhaps most satisfying is the fact that we’re led to wonder whether Tierney’s belief in Harrison’s presence — is he “real”, or a figment of her imagination? — might simply be a function of her loneliness and desire for “true love” at last; I’ll buy that as a compelling premise for a ghost story any day. Haunting cinematography, fine period sets, and Bernard Herrmann’s lovely score all contribute to making Mrs. Muir a surprisingly enjoyable minor classic.

Note: Nearly all reviews give away major spoilers, so if you haven’t seen it yet, be forewarned.

Note: Watch for Natalie Wood in a small role as Lucy’s young daughter, Anna.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Gene Tierney as Lucy Muir
  • Rex Harrison as Captain Daniel
  • Charles Lang’s cinematography
  • Fine period detail and sets
  • Philip Dunne’s romantic screenplay
  • Bernard Herrman’s score

Must See?
Yes, as a most unusual and satisfying supernatural romance.

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

Categories

  • Genuine Classic

Links:

Ghost Goes West, The (1935)

Ghost Goes West, The (1935)

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“There isn’t a ghost here or anywhere else, because ghosts simply don’t exist outside of mystery stories!”

Synopsis:
The daughter (Jean Parker) of an American businessman (Eugene Pallette) falls in love with the destitute owner (Robert Donat) of a Scottish castle, which is haunted by Donat’s doomed ancestor (also Donat).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Cross-Class Romance
  • Elsa Lanchester Films
  • Ghosts
  • Heiresses
  • Jean Parker Films
  • Mistaken Identities
  • Rene Clair Films
  • Robert Donat Films

Review:
Rene Clair’s first English-language film (produced by Alexander Korda) was the highest grossing film of the year in Great Britain, and received glowing reviews from the New York Times, which labeled it “gay, urbane and brilliantly funny”. These days, however, it pales somewhat in comparison with Jules Dassin’s superior The Canterville Ghost (1944) — also about a ghost doomed to haunt his castle until he’s able to commit a specific deed. In this case, Donat’s “Murdoch Glourie” — killed while kissing a lass rather than paying attention to a battle — must avenge his family’s honor against a rival clansman; meanwhile, Jean Parker’s sweet Peggy Martin falls for the modern-day (“real”) Donat, though mistaken-identity plot complications ensue (naturally) when Parker believes the ghostly Murdoch is merely Donat dressing up.

The script also incorporates some rather pointed barbs about American mores, as Pallette’s blustery millionaire arranges to have Donat’s castle shipped over to America brick by brick (!), and engages in petty one-upmanship with a business rival over “ownership” of the castle’s ghost.

Donat — whose Scottish accent noticeably slips in and out — is appropriately handsome and charming as the lady-loving Murdoch, but rather bland and forgettable when playing his modern-day heir, Donald; Murdoch should have been given more screentime. While it holds some historical interest given its enormous popularity, this one is no longer must-see viewing for all film fanatics.

Note: Elsa Lanchester is sadly underused in a tiny role as a paranormal enthusiast showing up for dinner during the film’s final climactic scene. Was this meant merely as a cameo?

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Robert Donat as Murdoch Glourie
  • Atmospheric sets

Must See?
No, unless you’re a fan of the ghostly genre.

Links:

College Confidential (1960)

College Confidential (1960)

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“I want you to abandon this dangerous project, which people are interpreting in the worst possible way!”

Synopsis:
A sociology professor (Steve Allen) under fire for corrupting his students (including Mamie Van Doren) is investigated by an inquisitive journalist (Jayne Meadows).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • College
  • Elisha Cook Jr. Films
  • Falsely Accused
  • Herbert Marshall Films
  • Journalists
  • Mamie Van Doren Films
  • Morality Police
  • Professors

Review:
Albert Zugsmith directed and produced this tepid exploitation flick meant to capitalize on both the success of 1958’s High School Confidential (also co-starring Mamie Van Doren) and the era’s infamous Kinsey Reports. Unfortunately, Irving Shulman’s screenplay tries so hard to be sensationalistic that it comes across more like a loosely focused series of vignettes than a compelling narrative. Numerous characters — including Elisha Cook, Jr. as van Doren’s irate father:

Pamela Mason as Allen’s jealous fiancee, Herbert Marshall as Allen’s sympathetic supervisor, and Ziva Rodann as a lusty “foreign” bombshell with the hots for Allen — are introduced for a scene or two, then disappear completely from the story; meanwhile, the identity of the person “framing” Allen is patently obvious to anyone half paying attention. The dialogue throughout is laughably campy (“Now I’m going to shock you good people even more than before: I’m going to reveal the source books of my questions — first of all, the Bible itself”), and while Zugsmith aims for stylistic creativity in his direction:

… it’s often simply clumsy — as when he positions the camera from inside a refrigerator for a lengthy scene, or awkwardly shifts perspective time and again during van Doren’s heated argument with her father and mother. According to TCM‘s article, Allen apparently signed on to this project thinking he was giving himself a rare non-comedic role to bite into; little did he know that he would instead be starring in what Peary refers to as a “camp classic”.

Note: While College Confidential is no great shakes as entertainment, it’s infinitely more watchable than the other college-themed Mamie Van Doren film Zugsmith directed and produced (later that same year): the utterly abysmal Sex Kittens Go to College (1960).

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Some amusingly campy dialogue:

    “Have I ever stopped you from being strong and silent?”

Must See?
No. Listed as a Camp Classic in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Left Handed Gun, The (1958)

Left Handed Gun, The (1958)

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“I don’t run, I don’t hide. I go where I want, I do what I want.”

Synopsis:
When his new employer (Colin Keith-Johnston) is gunned down, Billy the Kid (Paul Newman) vows revenge against the men who killed him — but he alienates his mentor, Pat Garrett (John Dehner), when his vengeance disrupts Garrett’s wedding.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Arthur Penn Films
  • Hurd Hatfield Films
  • Outlaws
  • Paul Newman Films
  • Revenge
  • Westerns

Response to Peary’s Review:
Adapted from Gore Vidal’s TV play “The Death of Billy the Kid”, this feature film debut by Arthur Penn blends “myth-legend and history” by creatively interpreting Billy the Kid’s ascendancy to bad-boy culthood as “a modern-day psychological examination of a troubled youth”. Indeed, as Peary notes, despite being “set in the West”, Left-Handed Gun actually “fits in with fifties juvenile delinquent pictures” given that it deals “with a rebel outcast who is in conflict with society”. It’s notable for Penn’s “audacious camera work”, which effectively broke with traditional Western conventions and paved the way for a new wave of “anti-Westerns”, directly inspiring “Sam Peckinpah, Marlon Brando (in One-Eyed Jacks), and other western directors”. Unfortunately, “Newman’s heavy-handed Method acting” contributes to “the film seeming dated”, and the screenplay (featuring an obligatory love interest for Billy, played by Lita Milan) is far too stagy and contrived for its own good. Most film fanatics will likely be curious to check this film out once, given its historical relevance on several accounts, but Left-Handed Gun isn’t must-see viewing.

Note: As in Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven (1992), …Gun explicitly features a character meant to show how a Western legend came into notoriety: in this case, Hurd Hatfield’s ‘Moutrie’, a “dime store novelist who adores Billy and wants to make him into a hero”.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • John Dehner as Pat Garrett
  • Hurd Hatfield as the pulp novelist who immortalizes Billy
  • Effective, innovative camera work

Must See?
No, though it remains of interest.

Links:

White Zombie (1932)

White Zombie (1932)

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“You don’t seem to realize what this girl means to me. Why, I’d sacrifice anything in the world for her!”

Synopsis:
A covetous plantation owner (Robert Frazer) in Haiti seeks the help of a voodoo practitioner (Bela Lugosi) in wooing the newlywed bride (Madge Bellamy) of his friend (John Harron) into his clutches.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Bela Lugosi Films
  • Horror Films
  • Mind Control and Hypnosis
  • Newlyweds
  • Plantations
  • Voodoo and Black Magic
  • Zombies

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary accurately notes that this “impressive early sound shocker” has “marvelous visuals, some that are extremely poetic” — much “like something from a classic silent horror film”. Indeed, director Victor Halperin employs an astonishing array of creative visual techniques in his telling of this spooky “fairytale”, which possesses thematic parallels with “Snow White”: just as “Snow White tasted the poisoned apple, Bellamy falls victim to a poisoned rose”, and must be “roused” awake by her lover. There are many “lengthy non-verbal passages in which the emphasis is on character movement, set design, creating atmosphere through light and shadow, and music (there’s a fine, varied score)”; in general, if there’s a way to frame a scene creatively, Halperin does so. Lugosi — with truly wicked eyebrows and goatee — is note perfect in the lead role as evil Murder Legendre (that name!); watching him carve voodoo dolls of his victims out of candles is truly chilling. As Peary notes, while “some scenes are static, [and] others silly”, this “‘sleeper’ is guaranteed to please the true-blue horror fan” — and, I would argue, most all-purpose film fanatics as well.

Note: A number of classic horror fans have pointed out this film’s historical relevance as the first appearance of zombies on film — and it’s certainly an atmospheric precursor to Val Lewton’s RKO horror classics as well.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Bela Lugosi as Murder Legendre
  • Truly atmospheric sets, cinematography, special effects, and framing



Must See?
Yes, as an historically relevant and most enjoyable early horror film.

Categories

  • Good Show
  • Historically Relevant

Links:

Incredible Torture Show, The / Blood Sucking Freaks (1976)

Incredible Torture Show, The / Blood Sucking Freaks (1976)

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“Look on in awe at a man who has turned all his fantasies into realities.”

Synopsis:
When the sado-masochistic director (Seamus O’Brien) of a theater macabre show kidnaps a prima ballerina (Viju Krem), her boyfriend (Niles McMaster) hires a detective (Dan Fauci) to investigate.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Black Comedy
  • Kidnapping
  • Let’s-Put-On-a-Show
  • Magicians
  • S&M

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary accurately describes this egregious inclusion in his book as a “reprehensible film”, one which, sadly, has a “strong underground reputation based on its … sickening violence and torture scenes”.

While it’s true that “some of the scenes are too ridiculous to be taken seriously” (the voluminous “blood” and amputated body parts throughout are very clearly fake), it’s equally true that “others” — many others — “are nauseatingly tasteless”. To describe them here would simply perpetuate their inexcusable titillation value, so I’ll leave it to you to read other reviews (see links below) for a blow-by-blow recap of the many ways in which women — and a couple of men, for good measure — are tortured and maimed throughout this film. Peary notes that part of the film’s notoriety comes from the fact that it was the “object of protests by women’s groups”, and argues that “if any film deserves to be banned, this [one] deserves strong consideration”; I must agree.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Nothing.

Must See?
Absolutely not; be duly forewarned.

Links: