267. SHANE (1953)

Running Time: 118 minutes
Directed By: George Stevens
Written By: A.B. Guthrie Jr., from story by Jack Schaefer
Main Cast: Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon deWilde, Jack Palance
Click here to view the trailer

...100 TO GO

Let's not let the fact that I only have 100 movies left to watch before I call it a wrap on the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book stand in my way of the business at hand, which is Shane - a shoddy western from George Stevens starring the good looking Alan Ladd and the nefarious Jack Palance.

The film opens with Shane (Ladd) mounted on horse, traipsing across a picturesque countryside, complete with a deer drinking out of a stream and a towering, purple cast mountains looming overhead. He's approaching the homestead of Joe Starrett (Heflin), his wife Marian (Arthur) and their young son Joey (deWilde). Starrett plays nice at first, but later doesn't make any bones about telling Shane where to go. As Shane exits, a cattle baron, Rufus Ryker rides up, complete with a posse, and has some harsh words for Starrett. Basically Ryker wants Starrett and his friend to exit their land, so that he can seize it and of course, they don't want to. Shane shows himself from behind Starrett (he never left) and the two manage to scare off Ryker and company, for now. Starrett thanks Shane for the backup and offers him a hot supper and a place to stay. The two bond by tearing out a stump that Starrett had been working on for years and become fast friends. The rest of the film basically shows Ryker's men bullyng Starrett, Shane and company, burning down one of the men's homes, roughing them up more than once and calling in ace gunslinger Wilson (Palance) as one last ditch effort to move the homesteaders out. What they don't know is that Shane is a reformed gunslinger, who doesn't want to strap up his holster anymore, but won't rule it out if the going gets tough.

SPOILER ALERT!

This is your basic, run of the mill western. It's the kind of thing I'd see my grandparents watching on Saturday afternoon, the fire undoubtedly running, as they seemed to always be cold. It had the music of a western, the feel of a western, the look of a western - it was a western through and through. I don't mind westerns totally, but I prefer a little uniqueness with my westerns and in fact, I think I'm more of a modern western type man. I dug McCabe and Mrs. Miller and Once Upon a Time in the West, westerns that really made an impact on me and showed me what the genre was capable of. Westerns like Shane, Johnny Guitar and most of the John Wayne vehicles, usually leave me wanting more and leave me wanting out by film's end. I won't say I hated Shane, but it wasn't even an average western and honestly, I had the whole thing played out in my head before the thing even ended. Shane would eventually buckle up his holster and head into town for one, final showdown with Wilson, who he'd shoot and kill, maybe taking a bullet in the shoulder for his trouble, maybe not. It was a paint by numbers movie and it dragged along at a snails pace, at times. If you're a lover of westerns I'm sure you can find many reasons to consider this among the best in it's genre, but for someone like me, who just isn't into the whole horses and spurs era, it's a tough watch. And damn, was that little kid annoying or what? Also, were we to believe that Shane and Marian had an affair? I think so. I think they just couldn't outright say that and of course, they couldn't show it, so they just used heavy innuendo to make us assume that that's what happened. That aspect of the story was sort of interesting, I guess. Maybe fans of the film can enlighten me more on the exact intended nature of the relationship between the married woman and the gunslinger...

RATING: 4/10  And that's a wrap folks. It's hard to say when I'll be back for the TOP 20 write up, but more than likely it'll be tomorrow.

MOVIES WATCHED: 901
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 100

January 19, 2015  7:22pm

308. GIANT (1956)

Running Time: 197 minutes

Directed By: George Stevens

Written By: Fred Guiol, Ivan Moffat, from novel by Edna Ferber

Main Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Carroll Baker, Jane Withers

ELIZABETH TAYLOR: 1932 - 2011

I'm pretty sure that the news of Elizabeth Taylor's death came as a shock to most people this past week. I know it came as a shock to me and while she certainly lived a long and prosperous life, it's always sad when someone truly great passes away. Seeing as how I have a blog that focuses on potentially great films, I figured I could at least do my small part to honor the great Elizabeth Taylor and watch one of her two remaining films in the "1001" book - "Giant".

Elizabeth Taylor is the leading lady of "Giant" and one of three stars. The film starts out with Jordan "Bick" Benedict (Hudson) traveling to Maryland to purchase a stallion. It seems that he is purchasing said horse from a Doctor, who is the father of a very sassy young lady by the name of Leslie (Taylor). Bick is enamored with Leslie and even though they get off on the wrong foot, when Leslie questions the ownership of Texas (it seems Leslie is of the opinion that "we" stole Texas from the Mexicans), they wind up married. Leslie travels with Bick back to Texas, where he is the owner and operator of 595,000 acres of ranch called Reata. From here it's a real culture clash, as the Northerner Leslie doesn't really seem to fit in in the south and she's constantly doing something to embarrass the straight laced, old fashioned Bick. As time goes by Leslie and Bick have children, three to be exact - twins Jordan III (Dennis Hopper) & Judy (Fran Bennett) and Luz Jr. (Baker). Meanwhile, we also follow the rebel Jett Rink (Dean), a man who starts out working for the Benedict's, but hits it big when Bick's sister leaves him a piece of land and he strikes oil.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

I guess even more so than watching "Giant" and realizing that Elizabeth Taylor was no longer gracing Earth with her presence, was realizing that all three of our main characters were, in fact, gone. I'm, of course, speaking of Rock Hudson and James Dean. This was actually my first James Dean film and boy, what a treat! Not only was James Dean a "pretty face" but he was actually a hell of an actor and it's sad to think that he was only able to make three films in his short career. As far as Hudson goes, we're not done with him yet, as we still have more of his films to go in the pages of the "1001" book.

As for the film, I liked it! I wouldn't go all out and say that "I loved it", but it was definitely enjoyable and something that I'm sure I'll never forget. I mean, how could you forget "Giant" - you have outstanding performances from Taylor, Hudson and Dean, among others and you have some absolutely eye popping cinematography from William Mellor. It's a film that will stick with you once you've watched it and I know this, despite just finishing it.

As for the story itself, it was really good and the fact that it spanned over many years, justified the over three hour running time. With the film stretched out over such a long period, it gave us a chance to hit a lot of high points without a lot of worthless filler. We went from one big event to the next and actually "Giant" is one of the smoothest flowing films over three hours I've ever seen. The characters were likable and by the end, I had flip flopped on the character of Bick Benedict so many times, I couldn't remember whether I loved him or hated him. I will say, that for most of the film I didn't like Bick, but that made the scene in the diner, near the end, all the more powerful. Here you have this guy who was as old fashioned as they come, standing up for his Latina daughter-in-law and grandson. I was able to peg most of the big events (ie. Jett striking oil, Luz dying, Jordan III not wanting to inherit Reata), but I thought for sure that Leslie was going to end up with Jett. In fact, in the beginning, the only thing I was really sure about is that Leslie and Bick weren't going to last, because they had such different backgrounds, that it just flat out wasn't going to work. In the end, I came to the realization that they were actually perfect for one another and through the years (through the film) you realize that really they were the only two that could handle one another.

RATING: 7/10 I could definitely see that rating rising in the future, but for now, we'll leave it be. Rest in Peace Elizabeth....and that goes for Mr. Dean and Mr. Hudson as well.

MOVIES WATCHED: 238

MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 763

March 27, 2011 3:19pm

240. A Place in the Sun (1951)

Running Time: 122 minutes
Directed By: George Stevens
Written By: Harry Brown, Theodore Dreiser, Patrick Kearney, Michael Wilson, from the novel An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser and the play A Place in the Sun by Patrick Kearney
Main Cast: Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters

ON MY JOURNEY I MET A LADY NAMED ELIZABETH

My wife got this one in the mail today from Netflix and realizing it was in the "1001" book, I decided to join her in watching it. The biggest impression that "A Place in the Sun" left on me was the realization that Elizabeth Taylor was a stunning beauty.

"A Place in the Sun" is based on the novel An American Tragedy and tells the story of George Eastman (Clift), a man raised in a highly religious household who takes advantage of an opportunity to go work in his uncle's factory. Despite being the nephew of the owner, George is treated with no favoritism and is given the lowest position available in the factory. However, George is grateful for any opportunity and puts his best foot forward. On his nights and off days George takes to fraternizing with a girl he works with, Alice Tripp (Winters), which is in strict defiance of the workplace rules. Eventhough George is dating Alice, it seems that every boy in town is enamored by the beauty of Miss Angela Vickers (Taylor) and George is no exception. Once Angela notices that George exists, it doesn't take her long to fall for his good looks and proper manners. George is now courting two ladies, when he'd rather just be courting Angela and despite his efforts to ignore Alice, he can't shake her, especially when it is revealed that she is pregnant. Meanwhile George begins to move up the ranks at work and elbow his way into his uncle's social circle, but that is all in jeopardy when Alice threatens to spill the beans about their relationship unless George marries her.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

The thing that I find the most intriguing about "A Place in the Sun" is the observance of what a man will do when his social rank is in jeopardy. You take the very gracious, very humble George Eastman, who was raised in a very poor household with a strict religious upbringing. He comes to New York for an opportunity at making it on his own, with his own job and own place and doesn't expect much. He makes the most of the opportunity and in the process begins to gain a little notoriety around the factory and begins to draw the attentions of a beautiful woman. You give George Eastman a taste of what the high life can be like and it drives him to ponder the thought of murder...murder on a person who is threatening to strip him of his new found social rank. I guess it echoes that old adage "Give him an inch and he takes a mile". George was in a good spot when he was living on his own, courting Alice and holding down a steady job, but when he got a taste of how the upper class lived, he wanted a mile.

I can't say that I fully enjoyed this movie as I did the last time I saw it, which was some years ago. I am intrigued by the premise and am enamored with the beauty of Liz Taylor and the acting skills of Monty Clift, but it just didn't fulfill me like it seemed to many years ago. I did love the camera work too. In fact, there's a particular shot in the film where George is conversing with Alice and all that can be seen is Alice's eyes. George looms in the shadows and to me this represents the exact moment when the thought of murder crossed the mind of George Eastman, when a purely evil thought consumed him. On the other hand, one thing that really took me out of this movie, just a bit, was the editing. I'm pretty sure that every change in scene over the course of the film is done with a dissolve, a dissolve that seems to hang way too long and leave us with overlapping images for too many seconds. I know it's a really anal thing to even mention, but it just seemed really sloppy and could've been handled with a little more care.

RATING: 6.5/10 Despite my nitpicking, this really is a good movie and I recommend it based on Elizabeth Taylor alone. I also recommend watching it as part of a double feature with "Match Point" - the 2005 Woody Allen picture.

MOVIES WATCHED: 215
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 786

February 16, 2011 8:37pm

128. GUNGA DIN (1939)

Running Time: 117 minutes
Directed By: George Stevens
Written By: Ben Hecht, from poem by Rudyard Kipling
Main Cast: Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Sam Jaffe

ENTERING THE HOME STRETCH OF THE 1930s

With only four movies remaining (including this one) until we wrap up the decade of the 1930s, we enter the home stretch with "Gunga Din", a movie that seemed to drag on forever, with no end in sight.

The film starts out with a small fleet of British soldiers being captured by a group of quasi-terrorists, later named the Thuggee's, and when they don't answer to communication, the British Indian Army sends in a fleet of troops to investigate the matter. The group is led by three buddies, who are part of the Royal Engineers, MacChesney, Cutter and Ballantine. Upon arrival at the post, they find no trace of the missing soldiers, but do find themselves under attack by a large number of Thuggee's. The fleet fight them off without much trouble, making for a semi-entertaining action sequence, complete with sticks of dynamite and sword fighting. After their small victory, they trek back to their commanding officers, and on the way there, Cutter and MacChesney learn that Ballantine will be leaving the armed forces in a matter of days to get married. When they report to their commanding officers, the three are filled in on the history of the Thuggee's and told that they're basically a cult of killing machines.

Meanwhile, Gunga Din, a water bearer, who longs to be a solider, tells Cutter of a treasure on the outskirts of the town. Cutter, being a known treasure hunter, takes the bait and goes with Gunga Din to check out the treasure. When they arrive at a large temple, which Gunga Din claims is filled with gold, that's just what they find, however it's also the shelter for hundreds of Thuggee's. Not knowing that the Thuggee's are inside, they march in and find themselves caught, unable to get out. Cutter lets himself be known, so that Gunga Din can get away and go get the cavalry. Din goes back to get MacChesney, who swindles Ballantine into going with him, despite the objections of his bride to be. MacChesney and Ballantine, along with Gunga Din, go alone to the temple, and give orders that if they don't return within a day, that the rest of the fleet is to follow their trail.

This film was an odd mix of comedy and action adventure and as per my tastes, those two usually don't mix well. The story, which ultimately is centered around the lowly water bearer Gunga Din, doesn't pay enough attention to this character, therefore, when the movie finishes and we're supposed to be "Hooray for Gunga Din!!", I'm left with only the feeling of relief that the picture is over and those lovely words "The End" are appearing. Despite my dislike for Cary Grant, I actually found him to be the most likable character in the movie, with the most comedy that actually got a few chuckles out of me here and there. The rest of the performances were fine, yet nothing to get excited over. The movie was just dull, in my opinion, with a big chunk in the middle with literally nothing happening. It pretty much went like this: beginning, action sequence, nothing, action sequence, end. I didn't even find the action sequences to be as dazzling as the '1001' book made them out to be.

RATING: 2.5/10 Another disliked film goes on the watched list and I get to move on and try to put this one out of my memory.

NEXT UP: Ninotchka...How do you (usually) spell boring...G-A-R-B-O. I'm would be lying if I said I was looking forward to this one, but I'll keep my attitude positive and hopefully I'm pleasantly surprised. Review to come later today.

March 5, 2010 2:28am

96. Swing Time (1936)

Running Time: 103 minutes
Directed By: George Stevens
Written By: Erwin Gelsey, Howard Lindsay, Allan Scott, from the story Portrait of John Garnett by Erwin Gelsey
Main Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore, Helen Broderick

JUST PICK YOURSELF UP, DUST YOURSELF OFF AND WRITE A REVIEW OF 'SWING TIME'

With the starting punches of a cold hitting me fairly hard today, a nestled down into my warm bed, popped "Swing Time" into the DVD player and had a good time watching Fred and Ginger sing and dance and make me forget about my cold.

This time around Astaire plays John "Lucky" Garnett, who is part of a dance crew that he's planning to leave behind to get married. When his dance mates make him miss the wedding and also succeed in angering the girl's father, he's forced to go and make things right. Upon arriving at the home of his fiance, John makes a deal with the gal's father, that he can earn $25,000 while he's in New York City. The father admires a man who can make money, and agrees that if he returns with that much cash in tow, that he'll allow his daughter to marry him. Lucky hops a train to the Big Apple and almost immediately meets up with Penny Carrol, who he gets into an argument with over a measley twenty five cents. With his friend Pop beside him, Lucky follows Ms. Carrol into the dance academy where she works and tries to make things right, as he's obviously smitten with her. He gets his free introductory dance lesson and even Astaire looks great as he pretends not to know how to dance. Penny is fired, but Lucky gets her job back for her and they become fast friends, who seem to want more.

Later, the two are set up to do a dance number at one of the fancy nightclubs in town, but the orchestra leader, who is himself, smitten with Penny, refuses to play for them, stating that he no longer works at the particular nightclub and that he's been hired on at another. Lucky, also with a history of gambling, decides to go to the other club and gamble for ownership of the orchestra leader's contract, which he wins, forcing the orchestra leader, Ricardo, to play for them, as they dance. The rest is pretty much set in stone, as love triangles and romances are established to give us enough material to finish out the film and send everyone home happy.

I didn't like this quite as much as "Top Hat", but I still liked it a lot. Who can resist these two and my only regret is, that this is my last Fred and Ginger movie in the book. I'm sure I'll soon find myself taking detours on my journey, checking out some of the other Fred and Ginger pictures, while these ones are still fresh in my memory. Ginger Rogers is an absolute beauty on the screen and when she starts dancing and being twirled by Fred, in her gorgeous gowns and sparkling dresses, complete with capes and jewels, who can help but be dazzles by the vivacious Rogers. Astaire was, of course, a joy to watch as well, as he serenaded Rogers with his rendition of "The Way You Look Tonight" and does his own song and dance solo act, complete with blackface, in "Bojangles of Harlem". However, it was my favorite scene and number, that came in the beginning of the film, when Astaire pretended to be a clutz and the two dueted on "Pick Yourself Up". Bottom line: It seems as though, if you enjoy one Rogers/Astaire picture, then the rest will please you as well.

RATING: 7.5/10 Deducted just a hair, since it didn't strike me as good as "Top Hat" did and thus I couldn't give it an equal rating.

NEXT UP: My Man Godfrey...I'm excited to see William Powell in a different role, as I loved him in "The Thin Man", but didn't care for the movie that much. Check back for the review, either later tonight or tomorrow.

February 9, 2010 3:22pm