Saturday, October 3, 2009

Recent views, from best to worst:

Death of Richie (1976)
One of those based-on-truth stories that still packs a punch, helped mightily by Ben Gazarra and Eileen Brennan as the anguished parents of drug-addicted son, Robby Benson. Richie, a wimpy Mick Jagger lookalike, hangs out with three older losers (you know they're scum because one of them is Opie's no-talent brother) who apparently spend all of their lives stoned on grass and barbs. Gradually, he becomes more and more violent, leading to his tragic end. Of course this is a bit of an exaggeration since most pot-heads are pretty docile, but I had no problem with Gazarra's tough-love approach
Road To Bali (1954)
Hope & Crosby's only color Road picture has the usual combination of wacky situations (two philandering vaudevillians on the lam in Australia) and romantic interludes for Bing and Dorothy Lamour, the latter a Balinese princess dealing with an abusive suitor.
Shell Game (1975)
Speaking of con-men, John Davidson is pretty good as a charming thief who does a good turn for charity in the person of Louise Latham, whose refugee organization has been swindled by a phony chair (Jack Kehoe). Joan Van Ark plays Davidson's likable assistant.
Dishonored Lady (1948)
Hedy Lamar plays a neurotic magazine art editor who gets mixed up with a debonair but ultimately creepy diamond merchant. She quits her job on the advice of her shrink, moves to Greenwich Village to concentrate on her fine arts career, and falls in love with an uptight scientist who lives in the same apartment house. Good supporting cast (Margaret Hamilton as her nosy landlady, William Lundigan as her social-climbing former co-worker) and Lamar's classic beauty make this watchable. Hoping TCM has a cleaner print than this version.
The Gun and the Pulpit (1974)
Knowing that the star of this flick was Marjoe Gortner (laughable in Earthquake) kept me from watching it for quite awhile, but I'm kind of glad I finally did. Gortner, plays a gunslinger in 1860's Arizona who reluctantly assumes the identity of a murdered preacher to escape a lynch mob -- the irony here of course is that Marjoe was a famous child evangelist in the 40's. What makes this comic western work is the A-list supporting cast of Estelle Parsons, Slim Pickens, and David Huddleston -- the latter two having had appeared in Blazing Saddles around that time. Huddleston plays the arrogant town boss who has had Parsons' do-gooder husband killed; look for Geoffrey Lewis as one of the boss' men who winds up in a showdown with Gortner.
Second Chorus (1941)
The only reasons for sitting through this picture are the presence of Fred Astaire in the lead and Artie Shaw as (duh) a cool bandleader. Fred dances twice, the first and best number with Paulette Goddard to the tune "Dig It". Shaw's orchestra cooks through another couple of songs. The story is irrelevant as long as you have fast-forward to mow through the stupid plot of aging college boys (Fred and Burgess Meredith) trying to stay in school to avoid actual work. A third old guy who is after Goddard is so completely unfunny, I was surprised to learn the amount of screen credits he had had before and after.

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