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Reviews
Forbidden (1932)
This is a great movie that spans lifetimes!
The movie, Forbidden, allows us to observe a classic love affair that spans the mature lifetimes of its characters, and it is one that you will feel you are living as you view it. True, the styles of the actor's clothes and environments don't modernize as the decades pass, but the acting and the story are so heartfelt that it hardly matters. Barbara Stanwyck and Adolphe Menjou were ideally matched for this film, and they played their rolls perfectly and naturally. Although Ralph Bellamy's acting seemed to be a bit over-the-top, maybe that's what he was supposed to do to irritate us. In any event, I absolutely loved this film. It made me feel the love that they felt; it reminded me of the difficult-to-navigate circumstances many of us get ourselves into during our lives; it confirms that even when truly good people become overwhelmed and lapse good judgment, they pay for it emotionally and they spend the rest of their trying to make things right for others affected; and it made me realize that whatever happens was meant to be. I will gladly watch this movie again.
Courage of Lassie (1946)
A Magnificent Gift!
Though "Courage of Lassie" has a simple plot, it is one of the greatest movies of the last century, and one of the most meaningful and greatest tearjerkers of all time. The "Courage of Lassie" is a time capsule that reveals the decency of where we came from, who we were, who we truly are, and who we still can be - because goodness is a root of us all. The "Courage of Lassie" also provides beautifully-crafted lessons in adaptation and the resiliency of both human and animal spirit.
Everyone should be positively touched by this film and should be bettered by it. However, it seems that those who lived at least part of their lives during the 1940's and 1950's will be especially emotionally struck by the realization of what has been lost, what's been gained, as well as by the automatically ensuing calculations of whether the gains were worth the losses.
Every character in this film plays his or her parts naturally and flawlessly, including Lassie. The changes in circumstances, action and locales should rivet all viewers of the film to the film from beginning to end. The only iffy scene in this film is where Lassie was a target of countless enemy riflemen but never got hit - somewhat like Kevin Costner in "Dances with Wolves." Other than that single stretch:
The "Courage of Lassie" is a magnificent gift!
The "Courage of Lassie" is Americana at its best!
Torn Curtain (1966)
Unrealistic
Although "Torn Curtain" is a somewhat enjoyable film, it is nothing more than light drama and fantasy.
I spent time in East Germany and East Berlin prior to the collapse of the Iron Curtain. Yes, there were a few nice show places there that were accessible by a few foreigners and/or the upper apparatchik. However, most of East Germany and East Berlin were in quite pitiful conditions compared to the West. Furthermore, in East Germany and, particularly, in East Berlin, there were soldiers everywhere, state security agents (domestic spies) everywhere ears and eyes everywhere. Yet, when you watch "Torn Curtain" you see shinny black taxis, brightly-colored buses, impeccably dressed citizens, and very modern, Western-style offices, dinning areas, etc. You also see a famous American scientist, who spoke only English and who had just defected to the East, and whose photo had been in all the newspapers and on TV, dodge security and visit a farm during his first day in town. Next you see the scientist and his British girlfriend dodge several security agents, police and soldiers in a building in Leipzig and escape back to East Berlin. And next you are supposed to believe that they soon thereafter somehow slipped back into the West healthy and happy. The whole thing is so absurd that, as you watch the film, you feel your I.Q. heading south by a point a minute.
I tremendously respect the talent of Alfred Hitchcock and I love most of his films. However, "Torn Curtain" leads you to believe that Hitchcock either didn't understand the grayness and severity of totalitarianism that permeated all facets of life in the police state that was East Germany, and/or he didn't spend the time to find the right locations for filming, and/or he didn't respect his viewers enough to think they'd know the difference.