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The World of the Seekers (1968)
Simple, beautifully done time capsule, starring one of the greatest voices of the sixties
The World of the Seekers, originally aired for Australian TV very shortly before the group disbanded in 1968, is the story of the Australian folk group The Seekers. It tells in flashback how three childhood schoolmates - each talented musicians and singers in their own right - had the good fortune as young adults to cross paths with a young woman with angelic looks and a soaring, pure, equally angelic voice. She is the great, most definitely underrated Judith Durham, whom the story reveals had wanted to be an opera singer but had been swayed by her overwhelming interest in gospel and jazz, and both influences appear in the music of the mostly folk-oriented group. Although an amazing solo vocalist, there was something about the blend of her high lead vocals with the traditional trio of male folk harmonies underneath that proved to be the key to the fame and fortune that followed, culminating in them being named the 1967 Australians of the Year. Shortly after filming this special, Durham left the band for a solo career. I would recommend this special for fans of great vocal harmony and sixties nostalgia. It is done in a very understated way and contains many full performances by the group. This is one of the best popular music specials of the sixties.
The 300 Spartans (1962)
Made in the golden age of historical epics, this film should have been better
Way back in the 1960's, before the advent of VHS/DVD or cable, each of the three networks had their own "Night At The Movies" broadcast, with NBC being the first network to do so, I believe. These movies provided many truly great films with their network TV debuts. These airings were the first showings of these great movies that many Baby Boomers ever saw. I first saw the best Hitchcock films (REAR WINDOW, VERTIGO, THE BIRDS, NORTH BY NORTHWEST) on NBC Saturday Night At The Movies, along with many of the golden age westerns of the 1950's.
CBS and ABC soon followed suit, but I believe it was on NBC in the mid-1960's where I first saw THE 300 SPARTANS. My brother and I remembered it through the years as being a good movie, but having just rented it on DVD, I could only say that the movie overall was average at best. What drags the movie down most is the lack of action during the first 2/3 of the movie and the aforementioned soapy subplot, a la Kate & Leo in TITANIC, that was no doubt inserted to interest the younger audience and females in general. A good musical score can truly help an action movie, but this film and the little action that exists towards the end is accompanied by a less-than-stellar soundtrack.
Although the cast contained Sir Ralph Richardson and Laurence Naismith, most of the acting is less inspired. I always enjoy Richard Egan, but I feel that he exudes more natural charisma than true acting skills as the Spartan King Leonidas. Barry Coe is especially bad as Diane Baker's love interest, but this was one of his very first roles and I believe he grew somewhat as an actor, as did Baker. Director Rudolph Mate was chiefly known for his skill as a cinematographer, and this is where the movie shines. It is a beautiful film to look at and was filmed very close to where the actual events occurred.
The fact that the film was made in 1961 (released in 1962) is no excuse for the average results. Compare THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, SPARTACUS, BEN-HUR, KING OF KINGS, all made before this film. It is obvious that comparatively speaking, this project had a somewhat limited budget (the B-movie cast alone bears that out), which is truly sad, since it was made by a major studio, 20th-Century Fox, was filmed on location in Greece (a much bigger deal back then than it would be today, and a fact that likely used up most of the budget), and saddest of all, the true story was worthy of first-class cinematic treatment, which it certainly does not get here.
Someone posted a review of the film here in 2004 and expressed a desire for a definitive version of the story of the Battle at Thermopylae. This definitive version may have yet to be made, but 300 is very entertaining and will certainly do until a more realistic and less fantastical version is made.