“All I can see is a million frogs on tiny crutches.”
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Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
“Chance is too tricky — the wrong people might win; we’ve got to be logical.”
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tasked with taking charge — though naturally, not without contention. At just 75 minutes long, the pithy script (co-written in part by none other than Nathaniel West and Dalton Trumbo) wastes no time at all in presenting each of the characters and allowing them to interact with one another in strategic ways, so that we’re easily able to see the shifts that take place once they’re plunged into survival mode — i.e., while Ball was once judged too “loose” to help care for the gangster’s son (Johnson), she’s soon entrusted with this role:
… Smith’s browbeating wife (Risdon) is “domesticated” in the jungle:
… etc. Watch for the nicely handled final scene, which packs a true emotional punch, and is seamlessly directed. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Nobody’s interested in turtles — except the keeper, me… and you.”
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Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“You are not fit to raise a son in this world.”
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Review: Will romantic entanglements ensue? Absolutely — though again, the script is too undeveloped for the situation as played out to feel anything but contrived. With that said, the performances by O’Connor, Cummings, and Sorvino are all top notch. Cummings — an enormously popular Canadian rock star who I’ll admit I knew nothing about before watching this film — gives a refreshingly natural performance; while his character isn’t anyone we feel sympathy for, he’s at least highly believable. The scenes in which he struggles to compose new songs come across as particularly authentic — and it helps that the score is filled with his catchy ballads. Fans of his music will certainly want to locate a copy of this film, the only one he made — but it’s otherwise only must-see for O’Connor fans. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“I heard this little story… And while it was fresh in my mind, I thought I’d borrow it, for just a few minutes.”
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Review: However, it’s Grimms’ fairy tales themselves that most viewers will be eager to see brought to life — though the stories selected to showcase here are lesser-known, and none are particularly compelling. The first tale (“The Dancing Princess”) primarily functions as a vehicle for Tamblyn’s dancing, as well as for the Cinerama process itself, with an extended carriage chase sequence far-too-obviously designed to show off what virtual reality tricks the camera could manage (i.e., Tamblyn dangles precariously down from a broken bridge hovering thousands of feet above a roiling river). The second tale (“The Cobbler and the Elves”) is primarily a vehicle for George Pal’s puppetoons, who come to vivid life during a modestly enjoyable musical sequence.
The final tale — “The Singing Bone” — possesses a strong narrative arc and a nicely handled twist ending, but relies far too heavily on cartoonish slapstick for laughs (i.e., when the animated dragon breathes fiery air onto Hackett’s metal suit of armor, and hot steam emerges from Hackett’s nostrils). With all that said, TWWOTBG is the type of colorful, escapist fantasy fare that just might appeal to kids of a certain age — at least those not jaded by more sophisticated animation styles. Unfortunately, it’s not yet widely available on DVD, most likely because the only surviving print (which suffered from water damage during a studio fire) shows distractingly clear evidence of the dividing lines between the three filmed “panels”. Interestingly, this visual artifact is somewhat fascinating at first, given that it helps us more easily imagine seeing the movie projected onto a much larger, curved screen — but it’s ultimately too distracting, and definitely merits “cleaning up” by a restoration team. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“If God made me perfect, I might as well show it — you know what I mean?”
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— is nicely cast as the lower-class girl Boyd is smitten with, though her performance eventually becomes a tad too predictably sullen; much less successful is Neill Barry in a key supporting role as Harvest’s rugged older brother, whose actions and attitudes throughout feel scripted rather than authentic.
Meanwhile, Silver’s rambling script is better at establishing a mood than providing an interesting storyline for the characters. We’re eventually drawn into a subplot involving Harvest’s father (Danny Aiello) and the sexy new tenant (Roxanne Hart) he may or may not be having an affair with, but this simply feels like a distraction from the central tale of Boyd and Harvest’s evolving friendship, which never quite resolves in a satisfying fashion. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Thank you for pointing out to me how obscene eggs are.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Ultimately, Forbes tries too hard, pulling out every trick in the book — including weirdly unnecessary inter-titles, a bit of slow-motion, and tricky editing — in an attempt to bring the material to life. Meanwhile, the majority of the characters come across as either insipid (i.e., Michael Caine and his would-be lover, played by Nanette Newman, whose entire romance seems pointless to the plot) or evil, leaving precious few folks left to root for or enjoy. Exceptions include Richardson’s wickedly droll turn as a polymath professor who simply won’t shut up; Wilfrid Lawson as an inconceivably decrepit butler; and Peter Sellers in a scene-stealing performance as an outrageously corrupt doctor. While I agree with Peary that (many of) the actors do a fine job, their efforts are ultimately wasted in a vehicle that doesn’t do them or the premise justice. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“If anybody ever finds out he passed away, they’ll take us to the county home for sure.”
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Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Bring me my pendulum, kiddies — I feel like swinging!”
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With that caveat out of the way, he quickly concedes that “the picture goes downhill when nostalgia gives way to annoyance at the stupidity of the characters Avalon and Funicello play”, not to mention the fact that “all the teens in the film have IQs lower than their ages”. He argues that at least the “campy film… pokes fun at itself” — though this is small solace for the drivel one has to sit through in the meantime. Having now viewed all three of the “Beach Party” flicks recommended in Peary’s book — this one, Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965) — I can safely say that seeing one will suffice to give film fanatics a sense of the genre; it might as well be this inaugural entry, and then ffs can consider themselves done unless otherwise compelled. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Belonging to Max Herschel had a lot of advantages: it was fun and first class all the way.”
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To that end, Allen seems to get many of the details of this particular universe “right” — most notably in the way everything happens at a faster-than-expected pace, with King autocratically dictating orders left and right, pausing only to break down in temporary tantrums over minor details he can’t control. Indeed, King’s performance is spot-on throughout, indicating unexpected star power. Much more problematic is the key casting of Ali MacGraw as his lover, “Bones” Burton; though she tries hard, MacGraw simply isn’t up to the task of inhabiting this undeniably complex character — a powerful female television executive who is nonetheless content to live as King’s mistress for years on end.
As events get more and more complicated and treacherous in their relationship, she begins to exhibit the same forlorn expression far too often (and is shown digging for solace in a pan of homemade fudge at least one too many times). Where’s her bite? It comes in fits and starts (most notably during the infamous Bergdorff-Goodman’s brawl), but is never fully present or believable. Meanwhile, though the poster’s tagline proclaims, “They’re rich. They’re in love. They’re negotiating”, this isn’t quite accurate, given that it’s clearly King who holds the purse strings in the relationship, from beginning to end. In sum, we just don’t learn enough about “Bones” to really “get” her, other than on the most surface level — which makes it twice the shame that her character’s voiceover was chosen to bookend the film, rather than Loy’s (who would have been a MUCH more logical option). Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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