Review: Five Came Back (1939)

Another great film from that golden year of 1939 that got overshadowed by the big guns of Gone with the Wind, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, The  Wizard of Oz and others. But this little taut thriller is really good and deserves to be on that list of 1939's best films. Twelve people are aboard Coast Air Line's flagship the Silver Queen enroute to South America when the airplane encounters a storm and is blown off course. The people include Lucille Ball as Peggy, a woman with a past. C. Aubrey Smith as Professor Spengler with his wife Martha (Played by Elizabeth Risdon). Also on board is Wendy Barrie as Alice, a secretary secretly eloping with her boss/fiancee Judson Ellis (played by Patric Knowles). Then there is the always reliable Allen Jenkins as racketeer Pete who is escorting Tommy, the son of his boss back to America. Also on board is John Carradine as Crimp, who is escorting the criminal Vasquez (played by Joseph Calleia) to stand trial for his crimes. And finally the pilots Bill (Chester Morris) and Joe (Kent Taylor).

The pilots are able to land the plane into a remote jungle, but it is populated with headhunters. The pilots have to repair the plane before they can try to take off and it's a race against time. As the headhunters drums signal they are preparing to attack. Days turns into weeks and most everybody pull their own weight except for Crimp and Ellis who become full on alcoholics. Everyone else remains strong and vigilant. The top performances are by Calleia who actually turns out to be a fair and actually likable man. He is at ease with the current situation because he knows once the plane if fixed, he is that much closer to being hanged for his crimes. Lucille Ball is very good in a rare dramatic role that makes her tarnished lady trying her best to be a better person, despite the resistance from others. Wendy Barrie is also very good as the lovestruck secretary who manages to put her alcoholic fiancee in check. Allen Jenkins is tops as Pete, who believes in honor, despite being on the wrong side of the law. Morris and Taylor are very good in their roles as the pilots. And C. Aubrey Smith is excellent as the Professor who is very knowledgeable about the current situtation. The final twist at the end is a shocker and makes one take value of life and choices. There are a few deaths before then but when the climax comes you will be completely enthralled.

The running time is only about 75 minutes long but it is a taut, tension filled 75 minutes. It's to the director's skill and credit that we actually never see the headhunters but we know they're coming thanks to those constantly banging drums. Five Came Back is a top notch thriller that deserves more attention now since it didn't receive it back then. A pleasing little B thriller from yesteryear.
B+

A Double Feature with Anne Baxter

Tonight on TCM, there is a double feature starring the wonderful Anne Baxter. They are two of Anne's earlier films: Five Graves To Cairo (1943) directed by Billy Wilder and The Fighting Sullivans (1944). If you get a chance, check out at least one of them of this highly underrated actress. Anne was best known as the young Eve Harrington, who sparred with the great Bette Davis in the classic All About Eve. For my money Anne was one of the best actresses ever to come along. I recently did a top 25 favorite actresses list and she just missed it by an hair. I may have to rethink that list now. Or maybe expand it to a top 50. Anyway check out the lovely and talented Anne Baxter tonight on TCM. It starts at 8pm EST.

A Special Thanks to Kate Gabrielle over at Silents and Talkies

Thanks to Kate for letting me on the great actor Dirk Bogarde. I recommend everyone to watch a Dirk film now, and I know that's possible thanks to the generosity of Kate herself. She is mailing out copies of her Dirk movies to all those that responded to her blog a few days ago. If it wasn't for Kate, I would have never known about Dirk Bogarde. So this is my way of telling Kate thank you very much. And for people to check out her wonderful blog, Silents and Talkies. Click on the post title to go to Kate's site.

My First Dirk Bogarde Experience

Thanks to my new friend over at Silents and Talkies, Kate Gabrielle has introduced me to the wonderful world of actor Dirk Bogarde. She actually sent out free DVD copies of her Bogarde collection to anyone who requested one. I chose The Woman In Question and I eagerly await it's arrival. As I told Kate the other day, I actually came across a Dirk movie that I had recorded on my DVR a while back called Cast A Dark Shadow (1950). I forgot I even had it on my machine. I sat down to watch it and was thoroughly enthralled by it.

In this terrific thriller Dirk is cast as Edward Bare, a clever fortune hunter who, kills his elderly wife, and actually gets away with the crime. But he is shocked to learn that his wife did not change her will to provide him with all her wealth, much to the delight of her lawyer. Edward gets the estate home but all the money goes to his wife's sister who lives in Jamaica. So now desperate for money, Edward meets up with a new woman, the tell like it is Freda Jeffries (played by the wonderful Margaret Lockwood of Hitchcock's 1938 classic The Lady Vanishes (my favorite Hitch film by the way). Freda is a recent widower herself and before you know it, she and Edward are married. But Freda quickly lays down the law that her money is her money and Edward has his. Of course Edward is broke and is now desperate. He eventually meets another woman named Charlotte Young (played by Kay Walsh) who is not all she seems to be. Edward takes a fancy to her much to the dismay of Freda.

In the meantime laywer Philip Mortimer is keeping close tabs of Edward, hoping to catch him in a mistake. All things will converge in a splendid climax involving Edward bragging about how he did kill his first wife and got away with it. I won't spoil the ending for anyone who hasn't seen it yet but it packs a punch. Dirk Bogarde is phenomenal in this movie. He is suave, calculating, smart, and a real ladies man. He radiates as much charm as he does disgust. As I had mentioned to Kate, I had only seen Dirk in only one other film, the ensemble military epic A Bridge To Far. This is the first time I've seen a film where Dirk is front and center and I was very impressed with his performance. I can't wait to watch more of his films now. That's the cool thing about blogging and networking, you get to meet new people who show you new things or ideas. Thanks Kate. And to my followers, check out Kate's site Silents and Talkies. It's one of the best out there. Click on this post title and it will take you directly to Kate's blog.

Kathryn Grayson: Beautiful and Talented

Here is a short video of Kathryn singing Time After Time with Frank Sinatra on piano and Peter Lawford being starstruck...

Never Nominated...Are You Kidding Me?

We know that the Academy has made colossal blunders in the past like Saving Private Ryan losing to Shakespeare in Love even though Steven Spielberg won Best Director that year. Or that they gave Best Actor to Paul Newman for The Color Of Money but not for The Hustler, when he played the same character of Eddie 20 years earlier and better. But I came across this article that lists several big time actors and actresses who were never even nominated a single time. Which is a lot more heartbreaking than never winning like Cary Grant or Deborah Kerr did. But I was amazed at the ones who never received a single nomination their entire career. Just amazing and unbelievable. So here is some of the ones I came across to make a Top Ten list of Oscar's biggest blunders.

1. Marilyn Monroe - I know some may dispute her acting ability but you can't deny Monroe's presence in any film she ever did. Her Sugar Kane in Some Like It Hot is iconic and she gave a very strong performance in Bus Stop. But then for her final film, The Misfits, she gave the type of performance that Oscar would normally be salivating at, a tortured turn by a popular actress trying to show her dramatic skills. But alas, no nod for the overlooked Marilyn Monroe.

2. Joseph Cotten - Really? This is a total shocker right here. Cotten was a proven actor and was sometimes the best thing going in some of his films. He had several out right classics like The Third Man, Citizen Kane, and what I thought would have been an automatic nod was his highly effective performance as Uncle Charlie in Hitchcock's Shadow Of A Doubt. This omission is a real head scratcher.

3. Myrna Loy - No way. Not Nora Charles. Those entertaining films aside, she gave an understated yet touching performance as a postwar wife trying to keep her family together in the classic film, The Best Years Of Our Lives. Unbelievable. I will be saying this word a lot during this blog.

4. Errol Flynn - I guess the Academy overlooked Flynn because of the all derring and swashbuckling he did and he made it look so easy. But toward the end of his career and after the notorious scandal, he wowed his peers with his performance in The Sun Also Rises, which was pretty much autobiographical.  A man who once had it all, and then to lose it through alcohol and bad choices. But no nomination for our man Flynn.



5. Maureen O'Hara - The glorious redhead who entertained audiences for over 50 years never got love from the Academy. Her pairings with John Wayne are legendary, especially as Mary Kate Danaher in the rollicking The Quiet Man.


6. Edward G. Robinson - Let me tell ya something, when a actor can play a volatile gangster in Little Caesar and then later on play a middle aged painter who falls for a hooker in Scarlet Street, he has to get a nomination. This guy had some range and could play more than the tough guy gangster which I guess a lot of people judged him by. Also had a strong supporting turn in Double Indemnity.


7. Fred MacMurray - Which leads to Mr. MacMurray who also gave a memorable performance in Indemnity. Then he backed that up with another solid role in The Apartment. I guess after feeling no love from The Academy, Fred bolted to TV for a long run on the enjoyable series My Three Sons.


8. Kim Novak - May have been judged early on as a Monroe knock off and doesn't have a long resume. But she gave one hell of a performance as two distinct characters in Hitchcock's Vertigo. Oscar - please.


9. Peter Lorre - What? Are you kidding me? His accent alone is worthy of a nomination. Of course everyone knows his big roles in Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon. But Lorre was sensational as the child serial killer in the classic film, M.


10. Donald Sutherland - The Dirty Dozen. MASH. Klute. Don't Look Now. Ordinary People. Anyone of those films should have netted Sutherland a nod. But no such luck.
 

So there you have a list of 10 actors and actresses who didn't receive much love from the Academy. And I'm sure there are lots more that have been overlooked. If anyone has anymore, feel free to chime in.

Review: Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958)

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Superb film. Liz is smoking hot in this Tennessee William's adaptation. And she gives a great performance, to boot. Easily could have won an Oscar for it. Liz is Maggie the cat and she's married to Paul Newman as Brick, who have come home to celebrate his dad's birthday. He's called Big Daddy , wonderfully played by Burl Ives. Jack Carson is Gooper, Brick's brother. And Dame Judith Anderson is Ida "Big Momma", wife to Big Daddy. When a southern family like this get together, all kinds of drama starts to unfold. This is the type of film where you just sit back and watch the fireworks go off, because it's an actors showcase. And there are several scenes where you just see where everyone is at the top of their game. Trading insults and bringing up shameful secrets from the past. Things get emotional as temperatures fly high with everyone but Brick. He manages to stay pretty mellow, until he finally lets out some rage at Big Daddy. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof  is an extremely satisfying film experience and lets all involved have some of their juiciest film roles. One of my favorite films of all time. Sitting right there in my top 10.
A

Brick Pollitt: What is the victory of a cat on a hot tin roof?
Margaret "Maggie" Pollitt: Just staying on it I guess, long as she can.

Ann-Margret says Good Morning...

Hope everyone has a lovely day....

Paulette says Good Morning...

.....and make sure you have some cake at some point today...

One of the best blogs to be reading...Chick Flicks Musicals

Just wanted to let everyone I know that one of my best friends Dawn, who I met through blogging has one of the best blogs out there called Chick Flicks Musicals. She even invited me to contribute which I gladly accepted. In her own words this is how she describes the blog: MUSICALS, include humor, music, dancing and a story. One of the reasons I love musicals, is the use of beautiful background scenery. Dancers seem to perform as if there is a live audience watching. This is my version of DANCING WITH THE STARS. So I'm trying to pass the word around that this is definitely one of the most entertaining and enjoyable blogs out there. Give it a try sometime. Just click on the title to go to the blog and tell Dawn that Monty sent you.