Autumn Leaves (1956)

Autumn Leaves (1956)

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[Note: The following review is of a non-Guide for the Film Fanatic title; click here to read more.]

“The present is made up of little bits of the past – you can’t just throw it out of your mind like something used up and worthless!”

Synopsis:
A lonely typist (Joan Crawford) takes a chance on marriage with a much younger veteran (Cliff Robertson) she meets at a cafe, but soon discovers that her new husband has been lying about his past.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Cliff Robertson Films
  • Joan Crawford Films
  • Marital Problems
  • May-December Romance
  • Mental Breakdown
  • Robert Aldrich Films

Review:
Robert Aldrich’s first collaboration with Joan Crawford (six years before What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?) received scathing reviews from Bosley Crowther of the New York Times upon its release (“The situation… couldn’t have been handled less considerately or convincingly”) but has recently been resurrected as an unfairly maligned sleeper, with Time Out of London noting that it cuts “a radical cinematic swathe through weepie material”, and Slant Magazine (referring to it as Aldrich’s “secret gem”) offering a veritable film school treatise on the screenplay’s Freudian underpinnings. In truth, Autumn Leaves is a surprisingly complex and thoughtful treatment of a cinematic topic (marital distrust) which has often been mined for sensationalist gold (as in Crawford’s earlier, differently enjoyable Sudden Fear), but rarely in just this way.

Crawford and Robertson (21 years apart in real-life age) make a surprisingly believable May-December couple, with plenty of chemistry between them; they and their co-stars — including a well-cast Lorne Green and Vera Miles — give fine, nuanced performances. The film as a whole is elevated by both Charles Lang’s atmospheric cinematography and Aldrich’s distinctive directorial touch, which turn many would-be “ordinary” scenes (Crawford hesitating before answering the phone; Robertson standing in a hotel hallway) into haunting meditations on the characters’ psyches. With plenty of unexpected twists, the plot never fails to keep us on our toes; and while the film’s ending may come across as unnecessarily melodramatic, it somehow serves as a fitting ending to this emotionally intense whirlwind of an unconventional love story.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Joan Crawford as Millicent Wetherby
  • Cliff Robertson as Burt Hanson
  • Ruth Donnelly as Millie’s chatty landlady, Liz
  • Vera Miles as Burt’s ex-wife
  • Charles Lang’s b&w cinematography
  • Aldrich’s unique directorial style

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

Categories

  • Good Show
  • Important Director

Links:

Posse (1975)

Posse (1975)

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“Honest men stay honest only as long as it pays — that’s why I’m a thief, and you’re a liar.”

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:

Window, The (1949)

Window, The (1949)

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“With all the stories you tell, it’s no wonder you have nightmares!”

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:

Mannequin (1937)

Mannequin (1937)

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“I want to see those three rooms of yours; I’ve been wondering what makes them mean so much more to you than anything I’ve got means to me.”

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:

Toni (1935)

Toni (1935)

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“Forget her? Why not try grafting a plano leaf on to an olive tree?”

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:

Love at First Bite (1979)

Love at First Bite (1979)

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“I’m going out for a bite to drink.”

Synopsis:
When Count Dracula (George Hamilton) and his loyal servant (Arte Johnson) are kicked out of their Transylvanian castle, they head to New York City, where Dracula hopes to woo a famous model (Susan Saint James) into becoming his eternal bride. Little does he know, however, that Cindy (Saint James) is dating a psychiatrist (Richard Benjamin) whose grandfather was the vampire-hunter Van Helsing, and who is determined to complete the job his famed ancestor never finished.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Cat-and-Mouse
  • George Hamilton Films
  • Love Triangle
  • New York City
  • Richard Benjamin Films
  • Satires and Spoofs
  • Vampires

Response to Peary’s Review:
An enormous hit when it was released, this “wacked out spoof of [the] Dracula myth” remains a reasonably enjoyable comedic venture despite its uneven script. It’s primarily remembered today for providing “suave and slick” George Hamilton with his breakthrough role as a comedic actor (who knew that Hamilton’s impersonation of Count Vladimir Dracula as a lonely, smitten vampire would be so successful?). While I’m not a fan of Arte Johnson’s annoying impersonation of “the insect-eating Renfield” (Dracula’s servant), fine performances are given by Saint James as the object of Dracula’s desire (she’s a unique combination of cynical, “oddball” New Yorker and vulnerable romantic), and Benjamin as Dracula’s modern-day nemesis, whose repeated (failed) attempts to kill Hamilton are quite amusing. Ultimately, it’s the lead actors — who are “better than Bob Kaufman’s script” — who make this comedy worth checking out; even when the jokes fall flat (and they do — again and again), we’re kept in eager suspense about the outcome of this most unusual love triangle, one with very real consequences at stake.

Note: In his feminizing make-up, Hamilton looks uncannily at times like… Sandra Bullock (!).

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • George Hamilton as Count Dracula
  • Richard Benjamin as Dr. Rosenberg (nee Van Helsing)
  • Susan Saint James as Cindy Sondheim

Must See?
Yes, simply for George Hamilton’s comedic “breakthrough” performance.

Categories

  • Noteworthy Performance(s)

Links:

Amazing Transplant, The (1970)

Amazing Transplant, The (1970)

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“I’m afraid our Arthur wasn’t quite the sweet boy we thought he was.”

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:

Groove Tube, The (1974)

Groove Tube, The (1974)

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“Coat your hands with a generous amount of Kramp Easy-Lube shortening…”

Synopsis:
A series of satirical skits spoof early 1970s television shows and commercials.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Satires and Spoofs
  • Television

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary is overly generous in his assessment of this “sketch comedy having to do with television” as not “particularly inspired”: indeed, it’s resolutely unfunny for most of its hour-plus running time. Only a few skits are even mildly amusing (I’ve noted my favorites below); the rest are merely raunchy or lame. The least enjoyable spoof of all — an extended TV show segment about drug dealers — is, unfortunately, also the longest, and seems to go on f-o-r-e-v-e-r. While The Groove Tube (which received an X rating) was likely considered risque at the time of its release, its historical notoriety has long since gone with the wind.

Note: The Groove Tube is also of minor cinematic importance for featuring Chevy Chase in his first silver screen appearance.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • The truly disgusting cooking show spoof
  • The amusingly deadpan Sexual Olympics skit

Must See?
No. While it has a selective cult following, The Groove Tube isn’t must-see viewing for all film fanatics.

Links:

Screaming Mimi (1958)

Screaming Mimi (1958)

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“I know there’s gotta be a story when two sexy blondes are knifed the same way — and both have the same taste in statues!”

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:

Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy, A (1982)

Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy, A (1982)

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“Only a drunken, infantile idiot shoots himself over love — not an internist.”

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: