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Synopsis:
With the help of his deputies, a politically ambitious marshall (Kirk Douglas) captures notorious outlaw Jack Strawhorn (Bruce Dern), and uses his victory to campaign for more votes as U.S. senator — but when Strawhorn eludes his grasp, Douglas finds his political future once again on shaky ground.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Bruce Dern Films
• Cat and Mouse
• Kirk Douglas Films
• Outlaws
• Westerns

Review:
Kirk Douglas’s revisionist western (he produced, directed, and co-starred) offers a cynical look at the intersection of politics and crime in the American West, with Douglas’s aspiring senator (Nightingale) and Dern’s crafty outlaw (Strawhorn) representing two sides of the same self-serving coin. Because Nightingale is clearly using his pursuit of Strawhorn for political purposes — and because Strawhorn’s capture is framed as a veritable media frenzy which leads to even more “corruption” (Nightingale’s posse takes advantage of their “moment of glory” to bed the star-struck women of Tesota) — it’s relatively easy to start rooting for Strawhorn, who’s clever enough from scene one to warrant our continued attention. The entire film is essentially an extended cat-and-mouse chase, in which — thanks to Strawhorn’s remarkable guile — the tables are turned again and again; just when the game looks to be over, it’s not. While Posse‘s ending isn’t entirely plausible, the point is clearly made that loyalty is relative, and that looking out for one’s best interests doesn’t always fall on the right side of the law.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Bruce Dern as Jack Strawhorn — as always, Dern’s performance alone makes this unusual sleeper worth a look
  
• Kirk Douglas as Howard Nightingale
  
• Fred Koenekamp’s cinematography
  
  
• Maurice Jarre’s memorable score

Must See?
No, but it’s recommended.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• TCM Article
• DVD Talk Review

Synopsis:
An overly imaginative young boy named Tommy (Bobby Driscoll) sees his upstairs neighbors (Paul Stewart and Ruth Roman) murdering a man, but neither his hardworking parents (Arthur Kennedy and Barbara Hale) nor the police believe he’s telling the truth. When Stewart and Roman learn that Tommy has witnessed their crime, his life is soon in jeopardy — but can he get anyone to believe him?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Arthur Kennedy Films
• Barbara Hale Films
• Coming of Age
• Living Nightmare
• “No One Believes Me!”
• Paul Stewart Films
• Plot to Murder
• Ruth Roman Films

Review:
Nearly everyone who’s seen this nifty, under-appreciated thriller (a genuine “sleeper” at the time of its release) agrees that its time in the limelight can’t be too far away. The Window posits a riveting “no one believes me” scenario based on an entirely legitimate premise: who will believe the “boy who cried wolf” once a wolf is really out to get him? Indeed, Tommy’s life is in genuine, startling jeopardy for the majority of the film — and while we may question his parents’ wisdom in leaving him all alone at night in a sketchy New York tenement, there’s something undeniably (perhaps disturbingly) refreshing about witnessing an era in which children aren’t automatically believed, and in which they’re expected to take a certain amount of responsibility for themselves. In addition to Driscoll’s Oscar-winning performance (he truly carries the film), all of the actors do a fine job here, with Ruth Roman surprisingly well-cast as a baddy (one shot in particular — see stills below — reveals an other-worldly evil in her eyes), and Paul Stewart genuinely creepy as her even more ruthless husband. Credit must go as well to Robert De Grasse and William Steiner for their atmospheric cinematography, which places Tommy in a black-and-white shadowland of New York peril.

P.S. Film fanatics may be interested to compare this film with The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953), which adds a Freudian, dream-like spin to its tale of another “Tommy” caught in the ultimate Living Nightmare.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Bobby Driscoll as Tommy
  
• Arthur Kennedy and Barbara Hale as Tommy’s loving but weary parents
  
• Paul Stewart and Ruth Roman as Tommy’s murderous neighbors
  
  
• Fine use of run-down New York tenements as locales
  
• Excellent noir-ish cinematography

Must See?
Yes, as an oft-overlooked “good show”, and for Driscoll’s Oscar-winning performance.

Categories

• Good Show
• Oscar Winner or Nominee

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• TCM Article
• Time Out Capsule Review
• Spinning Image Review

Synopsis:
A hardworking factory girl (Joan Crawford) marries her childhood sweetheart (Alan Curtis) in a desperate attempt to leave her Hester Street tenement home behind her. Despite advances made by a wealthy shipping magnate (Spencer Tracy), Crawford refuses to leave her deadbeat husband — until he proposes a get-rich-quick scheme so reprehensible that she finds her love for him put to the test.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Cross-Class Romance
• Frank Borzage Films
• Joan Crawford Films
• Love Triangle
• Social Climbers
• Spencer Tracy Films

Review:
This rags-to-riches soaper by director Frank Borzage remains a firm notch above its more pedestrian counterparts, thanks primarily to fine performances by Joan Crawford and Spencer Tracy, and an unexpectedly witty script by Lawrence Hazard (and Borzage, uncredited). Although Crawford — two years before her infamous turn as Crystal Allen in George Cukor’s The Women — isn’t asked to stretch very far in her role as a working class girl with (surprise, surprise) aspirations towards a better life for herself, there’s no denying that she’s perfectly cast here, and she lights up the screen with her earnest yet cautious romanticism. Tracy, meanwhile, is the perfect foil for Crawford’s glamorous aesthetic — he’s solid and grounded in his attraction for her, and though we may revile him at first for going after another man’s new wife with so little compunction, we soon realize that his love for Crawford is deeply authentic. While few will be surprised by the outcome of this sticky love triangle, it’s a testament to Borzage and his crew that we remain genuinely invested until then.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Joan Crawford as Jessie Cassidy
  
• Spencer Tracy as John L. Hennessey
  
• Alan Curtis as Eddie
  
• Elisabeth Risdon as Jessie’s hard-working mother
  
• Clever dialogue:
  

  Tracy: “Now you find that girl — and if you can’t, hire a detective!”
  Policeman: “I AM a detective!”
  Tracy: “The crack still goes!”

Must See?
Yes, as an all-around “good show” by Borzage.

Categories

• Good Show
• Important Director

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Classic Film Guide Review
• TCM Article

Synopsis:
An Italian immigrant (Charles Blavette) in love with a Spanish washerwoman (Celia Montalvan) ends up marrying his landlady (Jenny Helia) instead when Josefa (Montalvan) is seduced by the local quarry foreman (Max Dalban). But Toni (Blavette) remains dissatisfied in his marriage, and is determined to rescue Josefa from her unhappy fate.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• French Films
• Jean Renoir Films
• Love Triangle

Review:
Considered by many to be an early forerunner of Italian neo-realism, Jean Renoir’s Toni (co-directed by Luchino Visconti) holds a special place in cinematic history. In addition to the use of many non-actors, most scenes are shot either outdoors in the southern French countryside (in a quarry, under trees on hills, along vineyard paths), or in authentic local buildings, and the effect is palpable: one immediately gets the sense of being immersed in this particular niche of early 20th century French immigrant society. The story — based on a real-life event — involves murder and sacrifice, but never comes across as overly melodramatic; rather, it’s easy to believe that these particular characters would act in just the way they do. While not quite the masterpiece that some of Renoir’s earlier and later films would prove to be, Toni is of note for those interested in the evolution of European cinema.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Effective use of realistic locales
  

Must See?
No, though it’s certainly worth a look for its historical importance.

Links:

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

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