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Reviews
It's a Great Feeling (1949)
Two buddies, one wannabe-starlet-waitress.
This is a terrific little film. Light entertainment, nothing to think about, just sit back watch the stars of Hollywood's Golden Age and enjoy. Any movie with Dennis Morgan AND Jack Carson has to be good, and Doris Day pretties up the whole thing. Lots of cameos by Hollywood's best and lots of talent. I recommend this movie when you're tired and stressed and just want a good movie to relax to. The other great thing about this movie is you never know who will show up. Gary Cooper and Dennis Morgan sitting at a drug store counter, Coop sipping Coke, Dennis prattling on and Coop just saying "Yup." Just goes to show you don't need to say a lot, especially a lot of "F" words to show your talent. Nobody in Hollywood today comes up to these stars in terms of talent and class.
A Face in the Crowd (1957)
Good Ol' boy con man goes to town
One of my all time favorite movies. I love to watch Andy Griffith work the Lonesome Rhodes character along with everybody else in the movie. One of the marks of a great actor is how well he plays a bad guy and Griffith plays a great bad guy. It's not hard to dislike Rhodes but everybody around him is as bad as he is trying to get a piece of the Lonesome Rhodes pie. Anthony Franciosa plays a great part as the greasy creepy hanger on. You can see Franciosa working Rhodes. One scene he's snapping his fingers to something Rhodes is singing and he's just plain creepy. Rod Brasfield plays Beanie, Rhodes' traveling buddy. I remember Brasfield from a 50's TV show that showcased up and coming country stars of the time and old favorites as well. He was a pretty fair comedian and does a pretty fair job in this movie. All in all, great movie.
12 O'Clock High (1964)
Best Show on TV in the 60's
I was a teenager when this show was on in 64 and I never missed it. It's on AMLTV now, and I catch it whenever I can. Between Robert Lansing and Paul Burke, my friends and I preferred Lansing. He always gave an intensity to the role, sort of stand-offish, but always in command. But when Paul Burke stepped in as commander of the 918th Bomb Group, he brought pretty much the same intensity. I'm not sure if Lansing tried to copy Gregory Peck's General Savage, but Lansing did a great job transitioning the role to TV. The show was produced by Quinn Martin (QM Productions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinn_Martin) who produced some of the best shows of the 60's. For those of us who have always been fans of the great old B-17 Flying Fortress, 12 OClock High is still a great TV show.
The Dukes of Hazzard (2005)
Good Ol' Boys
Not the greatest movie I've ever seen, but entertaining none the less. I was surprised it was this good. I was a little disappointed in the language because the original Dukes never used it. Being on TV is of course, why, but the original Bo and Luke just didn't seem the type.
There is one hilarious scene where Bo and Luke are in jail and Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds doing what he does best)offers a 100 dollar bill for someone to knock out a big mouth. A fist come from out of nowhere and the guy goes down. Best scene in the movie.
I have to say I liked the Bo character. A space cadet and quite funny without being stupid. And I liked Willie Nelson playing Uncle Jesse as laid back and low key.
The use of the CB radios and its accompanying slang seemed a little dated but didn't detract from anything.
It's light entertainment so pop some popcorn and enjoy.
Eve Knew Her Apples (1945)
Ditzy young thing runs off and gets mixed up with a reporter
I had never heard of this movie until recently it was shown on Turner Classic Movie channel. I watched it because the breath-takingly pretty Ann Miller was the star.
Anyway, after watching for a while, something became familiar - it has the very same plot line as "It Happened One Night" with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. THis movie even had the Roscoe Karns character. Basically, only the names were changed.
All in all I liked the movie. So what did I like about it? Good acting, good writing, and Ann Miller - you don't need anything else. Even though it was a remake of another film, Ann Miller is always a joy to watch.
Broken Trail (2006)
The cowboy is still a hero even though he didn't start out to be.
When I first saw this advertised on AMC I knew I was going to watch because of Robert Duvall. While the character of Print Ritter was almost a carbon copy of Gus McCrea from Lonesome Dove, Duvall was still a thrill to watch. He reminds me of the old time movie cowboys although dressed more authentically then they ever did. But he stood for justice in Lonesome Dove and also in Broken Trail. And he did this while minding his own business - he never sought out the confrontations. These were men doing what men had to do and Duvall epitomizes that character.
Thomas Haden Church was excellent as Tom Harte. I had never seen him in anything except "Wings" but he makes an excellent cowboy. And he and Duvall played well off each other.
I also got the impression this story was based on real people and real events.
The only thing that would have made this movie any better would have been including Tom Selleck, Sam Elliot and Keith Carradine in the cast. But Broken Trail was great as it was and I believe will become a classic.
Lonesome Dove (1989)
A Great Western
I grew up on western movies - Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. But when I saw Lonesome Dove when it first came out, it ruined all the Hollywood westerns for me. They can in no way compare to Lonesome Dove. From what I was able to find out afterward, the costumes were authentic even down to the cross draw manner in which they wore their pistols. This was without a doubt Robert Duvall's best role. And Tommy Lee Jones didn't do too bad either. It was gritty with a lot of tragedy, but then, wasn't that the way life was in the Old West? Hollywood has romanticized the whole thing, but I think Lonesome Dove showed it the way it really was.