Night Moves (1975)

Night Moves (1975)

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“What’s it all about, Moseby?”

Synopsis:
When a private investigator (Gene Hackman) is hired to bring a runaway (Melanie Griffith) back home to her mother (Janet Ward) in L.A., he unexpectedly finds himself embroiled in a multiple murder mystery.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Arthur Penn Films
  • Detectives and Private Eyes
  • Gene Hackman Films
  • James Woods Films
  • Murder Mystery
  • Runaways
  • Susan Clark Films

Review:
Arthur Penn’s Night Moves is smart ’70s noir — a psychological thriller with multiple twists and turns. Gene Hackman is perfectly cast as Detective Moseby, and is surrounded by fine supporting actors — including Susan Clark as his philandering wife; Jennifer Warren as the mysterious, earthy blonde who uses Moseby in unexpected ways; young Melanie Griffith as a runaway teen; and James Woods (ever smarmy) in an early bit part. Alan Sharp’s screenplay makes good use of settings in both Florida and L.A., and never gets stale — we’re continually kept guessing as to what will come next. Definitely worth checking out.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Gene Hackman as Moseby (nominated by Peary as one of the Best Actors of the Year in his Alternate Oscars)
  • Susan Clark as Moseby’s wife
  • Jennifer Warren as the mysterious, over-tanned Paula
  • Melanie Griffith as the sexpot runaway
  • Good use of distinctive settings in both L.A. and Florida

Must See?
Yes. This edgy detective thriller is one-of-a-kind. Listed as a Cult Movie and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Categories

  • Important Director
  • Noteworthy Performance(s)

Links:

Cousin, Cousine (1975)

Cousin, Cousine (1975)

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“What we have is extraordinary… It has to stay that way.”

Synopsis:
After meeting at a family wedding, a woman (Marie-Christine Barrault) and her distant cousin (Victor Lanoux) become friends and then lovers, while their philandering spouses (Guy Marchand and Marie-France Pisier) get increasingly jealous.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • French Films
  • Infidelity
  • Romantic Comedy

Review:
This lilting French comedy — essentially a tale of romantic revenge — is listed as a cult movie in the back of Peary’s book, and was remade in 1989 as Cousins, starring Isabella Rossellini and Ted Danson. It’s easy to understand why American audiences were so taken with it, given that it represents a decidedly “European” approach to love and marriage — one which allows for an unconventional, free-spirited attitude towards extra-marital affairs. From the beginning of the film, we’re made to sympathize with the long-suffering Barrault and Lanoux, who accept their spouses’ philandering with an air of insouciant sadness; once they discover their attraction for one another other, we can’t help but cheer them on, because their spouses deserve to worry and wonder. A frothy souffle, but worth a look.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • A light-hearted look at infidelity and sexual mores in the 1970s
  • Marchand breaking things off with his six extra-marital lovers

Must See?
No, but it’s recommended for one-time viewing.

Links:

Play It Again, Sam (1972)

Play It Again, Sam (1972)

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“Oh, face it, Allan: you may be very sweet, but you’re not sexy.”

Synopsis:
When his wife (Susan Anspach) leaves him, a neurotic film critic (Woody Allen) enlists the help of his married friends (Diane Keaton and Tony Roberts) and Humphrey Bogart (Jerry Lacy) in navigating the world of dating.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Dating
  • Diane Keaton Films
  • Herbert Ross Films
  • Infidelity
  • Movie Buffs
  • Play Adaptation
  • Romantic Comedy
  • Woody Allen Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, this “consistently funny” adaptation of Woody Allen’s Broadway play (directed by Herbert Ross) was “the picture that really established Allen’s screen persona”. In typical Allen fashion, his avatar — whose first name is Allan — is a “depressed, neurotic, self-effacing sexual klutz” who mouths one-liners incessantly (when Keaton is impressed that he got her a birthday present, he notes, “You mentioned the date and I remembered because it’s the same day my mother had her hysterectomy”). His series of awful first dates — a narrative sequence which has been done in films many times since, but never as successfully — is truly hilarious, and, though obviously exaggerated, nonetheless rings true in every respect.

Buoying the film tremendously is the genuine rapport we sense between Keaton and Allen — it’s remarkably easy to imagine them as friends, and we feel for Keaton when her workaholic husband (well played by Tony Roberts) neglects her so egregiously that she looks outside her marriage for love. The final scene — a nearly blow-by-blow replica of the infamous “tarmac scene” in Casablanca — is, as noted by DVD Savant, perhaps not quite as fresh as it must once have seemed, but remains an effective ending to this cinephilic homage .

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Diane Keaton as Linda
  • Keaton and Allen’s genuine rapport
  • Allan attempting (unsuccessfully) to play it cool before his first blind date
  • Dick (Roberts) obsessively phoning in the telephone numbers where he can be reached
  • Allan imagining Dick’s potential reaction to the news of his wife’s affair
  • Many hilarious one-liners:

    “Sorry I had to slap you around, but you got hysterical when I said, ‘No more.'”

Must See?
Yes, as early evidence of Allen’s comedic genius.

Categories

  • Historically Relevant

Links:

Hold Back Tomorrow (1955)

Hold Back Tomorrow (1955)

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“He wants to have some fun. Music, dancing — y’know. To kill time.”

Synopsis:
As his final request, a death-row prisoner named Joe (John Agar) asks for a girl to be sent to his cell. When a suicidal prostitute named Dora (Cleo Moore) shows up, Joe is at first disappointed — but soon the two misfits realize they have more in common than they thought, and a last-minute romance ensues.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Character Arc
  • Hugo Haas Films
  • John Agar Films
  • Prisoners
  • Prostitutes and Gigolos

Review:
In this character-driven romance, director Hugo Haas tells a simple, occasionally derivative, but ultimately touching story of two lonely souls finding love at the brink of death. Moore (who starred in no less than seven of Haas’s films) gives one of her best performances as Dora, a woman so weary of life she barely reacts to the worst insults; Agar is much less impressive, but serves as a suitable foil for Moore — the true protagonist of the film. Haas’s dialogue occasionally descends into outright camp, as in the following melodramatic exchange later in the film:

Joe: “Shut up, you crazy dame! What are you trying to do?”
Dora: “I’m trying to help you — help you, you fool!”

but more often is simple and quiet, befitting the film’s low budget and lack of special effects. While no masterpiece, Hold Back Tomorrow fits squarely within the realm of Haas’s unusual B-level oeuvre.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Cleo Moore as Dora
  • An effective tale of romance between two misfits

Must See?
No, but it’s recommended for fans of Hugo Haas’s work.

Links:

Cat Women of the Moon (1953)

Cat Women of the Moon (1953)

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“Four of us will be enough. We will get their women under our power, and soon we will rule the whole world!”

Synopsis:
Five astronauts (Sonny Tufts, Victor Jory, Marie Windsor, William Phipps, and Douglas Fowley) on a trip to the moon discover a colony of man-hating “cat women” with psychic powers.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Aliens
  • Marie Windsor Films
  • Mind Control and Hypnosis
  • Science Fiction
  • Space Exploration

Review:
Cat Women of the Moon is often cited as one of the definitive “bad movies” of the 1950s — and for good reason. First, its classification as “sci-fi” is highly suspect, since, as noted in the AlanSmithee.com review [nb as of 12/08: now sadly defunct], “Science has about as much to do with [the film] as leopards have to do with double-entry accounting.” The dialogue is either laughable (“We have no use for men!”) or offensive (“You’re too smart for me, baby — I like ’em stupid!”), and the acting — even by B-favorite Marie Windsor — is over-the-top.

Plus, in true “bad movie” fashion, the title is misleading: the only association these female aliens have with cats is their skin-tight black suits.

“May we serve you, Earth men?”

As in the later camp classic Queen of Outer Space (1958), Cat Women is ripe for feminist analysis, with male-hating female aliens eventually either shown the folly of their ways (one falls in love) or destroyed.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Hopelessly campy performances by everyone involved

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

Categories

  • Cult Movie

Links:

First Time, The (1983)

First Time, The (1983)

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“While others get laid, Charles, you will make love!”

Synopsis:
An aspiring virginal filmmaker (Tim Choate) lusts after a beautiful young co-ed (Krista Errickson) who wants nothing to do with him.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • College
  • Romantic Comedy

Review:
Charlie Loventhal’s semi-autobiographical debut film received promising reviews from the New York Times upon its release — but it’s truly difficult to understand why. This archetypal tale of a young virgin hoping to gain some experience has been told countless times, and there’s nothing particularly new or original here; in fact, within the first fifteen minutes, we can already tell which pretty-but-not-popular girl the protagonist will end up with, and which pretty-but-selfish girl he’ll woo without luck — only to eventually realize she wasn’t worth the effort to begin with (who knew?). Charlie’s romantic travails (yes, he even has the same name as the director) are counterbalanced by a running subplot concerning his obnoxious film professor (played by Wallace Shawn, annoyingly typecast), and his classmates’ slavish slathering over the pretentious “art” films Shawn has produced. Naturally, our lovable protagonist is the sole budding filmmaker in the bunch who believes that films are meant to be — gasp! — entertaining; it’s too bad that the drivel he churns out really isn’t.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Wendie Jo Sperber as a sexually aggressive co-ed determined to bed Charlie

Must See?
No. While this film is inexplicably listed in the back of Peary’s book as a Personal Recommendation and a Sleeper, it’s definitely not worth seeking out.

Links:

Soup for One (1982)

Soup for One (1982)

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“Soup for one… It’s the story of my life.”

Synopsis:
A single New Yorker (Saul Rubinek) hoping to meet Ms. Right falls in love at first sight with his “ideal woman” (Marcia Strassman) — then must convince her to marry him.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Dating
  • Flashback Films
  • Looking for Ms./Mr. Right
  • Romantic Comedy

Review:
After his successful role in Ticket to Heaven (1981), Saul Rubinek starred in this comedic film about the trials and tribulations of the dating scene. Unfortunately, Soup for One doesn’t offer much that’s new or original; while it’s clearly influenced by films like Annie Hall (complete with its New York setting and neurotic Jewish protagonist), it lacks both the insight and the close-hitting humor of Woody Allen’s brilliant early work. By the cliched final scenes, we’ve given up hoping for anything resembling real life or real emotions. Perhaps most egregiously, however, we’re once again presented with a beautiful female romantic lead (Strassman — a Margot Kidder lookalike) who has no reason on earth to be interested in the nebbishy male who is stalking her, yet somehow — through movie magic, one supposes — gives him a chance simply because he won’t give up.

This is sending the WRONG message to obnoxiously persistent men everywhere.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • A few mildly amusing moments — as when Strassman drops her glass slipper (er, diaphragm) while running away from Rubinek

Must See?
No. While it offers a few chuckles, this romantic comedy is ultimately a disappointment.

Links:

Sugarbaby (1985)

Sugarbaby (1985)

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“I spied on you, I tracked you down — and then I nailed you!”

Synopsis:
A lonely, overweight mortuary employee (Marianne Sagebrecht) falls obsessively in love with a handsome young subway driver (Eisi Gulp), and plots to ensnare him romantically.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • German Films
  • Misfits
  • Obsessive Love
  • Romantic Comedy

Review:
Two years before his breakthrough film — Bagdad Cafe (1987) — writer/director Percy Adlon made this quirky comedy about an unlikely romantic couple. To his credit, Adlon’s screenplay goes in unexpected directions, with Sagebrecht’s somewhat creepy stalking of Gulp resulting in joy rather than heartache; unfortunately, however, once Gulp has been successfully seduced, not enough happens until the final 5 minutes or so, when the movie ends on a frustratingly unresolved note. Also distracting is cinematographer Johanna Heer’s excessive use of color tinting, with most scenes literally saturated in hues of pink or blue. Although Sugarbaby appears to have been well-received by most critics (see review links below), I was disappointed. Remade in 1989 as a T.V. movie with Ricki Lake, called Babycakes.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Marianne Sagebrecht’s bold performance as Marianne
  • Eisi Gulp as Huber
  • Good use of an eclectic, synthesized soundtrack

Must See?
No, but fans of Adlon’s Bagdad Cafe will likely want to track this one down.

Links:

Beau James: The Life and Times of Jimmy Walker (1957)

Beau James: The Life and Times of Jimmy Walker (1957)

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“There’s his one true love — the cockeyed city of New York!”

Synopsis:
New York’s flamboyant, song-writing mayor, Jimmy Walker (Bob Hope), has an open affair with a showgirl (Vera Miles) while dealing with charges of political corruption.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Alexis Smith Films
  • Biopics
  • Bob Hope Films
  • New York City
  • Paul Douglas Films
  • Political Corruption

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, this biopic of New York’s “dapper mayor” (who served in office from 1925 to 1936, until his resignation) is “brave in not overlooking Walker’s loveless marriage and infidelity or the corruption in his administration” — yet it ultimately doesn’t do justice to either issue. In one of his few non-comedic roles, Bob Hope looks “ill at ease” playing it straight, and is, as Peary notes, too “laid back”. Alexis Smith does a fine job playing Walker’s wife-in-name-only (as in Night and Day, she’s once again cast as the ice-blonde “trophy wife” of a famous man), but her character isn’t on-screen enough for us to learn anything significant about her. Similarly, Vera Miles is stunning and winsome as Walker’s mistress, but adds up to little more than a cliche. While movie audiences in 1957 may have been curious to learn more (however fictionalized) about the infamous “Beau James”, most viewers today won’t have the faintest clue what all the fuss was about.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Alexis Smith as Walker’s long-suffering wife

Must See?
No. This one is only must-see for Bob Hope fans.

Links:

Three in the Attic (1968)

Three in the Attic (1968)

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“You’ve heard of the sexual revolution… Well, I’m probably one of its first casualties.”

Synopsis:
A womanizing college boy (Christopher Jones) is imprisoned as a sex slave by his girlfriend (Yvette Mimieux) and two other girls he’s been secretly dating (Judy Pace and Maggie Thrett).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Black Comedy
  • Prisoners
  • Revenge
  • Womanizers
  • Yvette Mimieux Films

Review:
Shortly after the release of Wild in the Streets, Christopher Jones starred in another AIP social satire, this one about three college girls who take an unusual form of sexual revenge on their cheating lover. Unfortunately, the idea of kidnapping a man and forcing him to have sex until his strength is literally sapped sounds amusing on paper, but is too far-fetched to believe; Jones never once tries to escape from his flimsy attic-prison, and far too many other logistical details are glossed over. The story is much more interesting during the first hour, when we watch a nicely told, if somewhat conventional, tale of a Casanova trying to juggle three women without any of them finding out. Fortunately, the lead actors are all appealing, and make the film — despite its flaws — easy to watch: Jones acquits himself admirably as a nice-guy Alfie; Yvette Mimieux gets to do more than simply look sexy (though she does that, too); Judy Pace is a welcome spitfire; and Maggie Thrett is appropriately wacky as a hippie Jewish girl who loves to paint flowers on skin.

Note: Be sure not to miss the creative closing credits.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Christopher Jones as Paxton Quigley
  • Yvette Mimieux as Tobey
  • Judy Pace as Eulice
  • An odd scene in which Paxton stumbles upon Eulice teaching Standard English to a classroom of children

Must See?
No, but film fanatics will likely be curious to check it out. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book.

Links: