Coming Soon: John Garfield Blogathon

The John Garfield 100th Birthday Blogathon, hosted by Patti at They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To is quickly approaching.

I'll be participating with posts on two delights: 1939's  Daughters Courageous and 1943's Thank Your Lucky Stars (to be reviewed on Olivia & Joan).

For more information on the blogathon, visit Patti's blog here and view the schedule.

The Caine Mutiny (1954)

An exciting and compelling drama featuring memorable performances by Humphrey Bogart, Van Johnson and Fred MacMurray, set during WWII.

In the first part of the film, a naval captain (Bogart) pushes his crew to the limits, forcing the crew - believing him to be mentally unstable - to stand against him and his orders. In the second part of the film, the officers are brought to trial, and in his testimony the captain's true state-of-mind is revealed.

The movie is brilliantly told from the perspective of an Ensign, played by Robert Francis (1930-1955). Mr. Francis died very young at the age of 25 in a plane crash, and only had 4 films to his credit: They Rode West (1954, with Donna Reed), The Long Gray Line (1955, with Tyrone Power), and The Bamboo Prison (1954, with Dianne Foster).

Another promising young star in the film is May Wynn (1928 - ), who plays the Ensign's girlfriend. She retired from films after the 1950s; this was her best-known film. More about May Wynn here at the blog Captain Critic.

Van Johnson, Robert Francis, and Fred MacMurray

Nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor (Bogart), Best Supporting Actor (Tom Tully), Best Screenplay, and Best Score (Max Steiner).

Directed by Edward Dmytryk.  Co-starring Jose Ferrer, Tom Tully, EG Marshall, and James Edwards. A number of other recognizable actors have smaller roles aboard the ship, including Lee Marvin, James Best, Claude Akins, Jerry Paris, and Todd Karns, who played brother Harry Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life.

Based on the acclaimed novel by Herman Wouk (1915 - 2019).

Trivia: Herman Wouk served in the U.S. Navy as Executive Officer on the Destroyer-Minesweepers U.S.S. Zane and U.S.S. Southard. This later became the inspiration for his novel The Caine Mutiny. (IMDb)

Further Reading:
Greenbriar Picture Shows: The Caine Mutiny, Part 1
Greenbriar Picture Shows: Part 2: Exhibitor Memories of The Caine Mutiny

The State in Benton Harbor, Michigan

According to Cinema Treasures, the State opened in 1942 in Benton Harbor. 

A close-up of the marquee. 

Other buildings nearby are structures of another era, including an old Farmers and Merchants Bank.

The Nasty Girl (1990)

Before the opening credits, the director (Michael Verhoeven) explains that the characters are fictional.

The story, however, is inspired by true events, as noted on Ted's blog Just a Cineast earlier this year.

The movie is narrated by the lead character, thirty-something Sonja (Lena Stolze), who speaks directly to the camera as though she's a reporter. Kind of similar to what Michael Caine's character does in Alfie.

The stories she tells are all flashbacks, which makes the film feel something like a docu-drama.

Sonja tells stories about her strict Catholic upbringing in Bavaria and about her mom and dad, both teachers. In one funny scene, Sonja (as narrator), is interrupted by a group of unruly teens and she quips how she was raised very differently. Then we see a scene of her as a young teenager, presumably  in the early 1970s. It's remarkable how she can convincingly play a young teen and an adult. The early flashback sequences are in black-and-white, and then switches to color when she comes of age.

Most of the film is a recollection of her high school years the history assignment that changed her life forever. Sort of like Nancy Drew, she goes on an investigation, interviewing numerous people about her town's Nazi past. In the process, she uncovers some old wounds that the townspeople would rather not deal with. In her determination to uncover the facts, she develops a reputation of being a "nasty" girl. Ultimately her school project turns into a lifelong passion.

Despite the serious subject matter, the film has a lighthearted tone, and lots of quirky comedic elements that some critics - including Roger Ebert -  found confusing. But the style was OK with me. The pacing, the direction, and the editing of this film are done well.

Separate Tables (1958)

In the opening shot of the film: a young woman (Deborah Kerr, who is wonderful in this film) walks out of a hotel and sits on a park bench down the street. She appears lonely as if expecting to meet someone - or escape from somewhere. Her doting mother (Gladys Cooper, a permanent resident of the hotel) disapproves her associating with David Niven's character, also a resident of the hotel. Miss Cooper also disapproves of Burt Lancaster, another guest, and calls him "boorish". Meanwhile a pair of young guests (Rod Taylor and Audrey Dalton) keep their distance from the older folks.

I like when Rita Hayworth arrives at the hotel. She plays an actress and a "woman of the world". Guests of the hotel can't help but stare at her as she walks in dressed in her fur coat. It turns out she has an interesting history with Burt's character.

Wendy Hiller plays the manager of the hotel, Miss Cooper.

When the dinner bell sounds, all of the guests come down to eat, but sit at separate, assigned tables.

A good movie, filled with great performances by legendary actors. Directed by Delbert Mann (Marty).

I feel this is a movie that could be remade today. Maybe with a more diverse cast as well.

The Michigan Theatre in South Haven, Michigan

Last month I went on a road trip with a photography group to southwestern Michigan. Our mission was to get some good shots of snow-covered lighthouses. We managed to get some good pics (see below), and I also took some pics of vintage theaters, too.

Below is the Michigan Theatre in downtown South Haven. It's still open, and showing Oscar-nominated films Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook. 

I love this marquee! I can only imagine what it looks like lit up at night.

50-cent popcorn and soda refills! Wow, that's a great deal!

According to Cinema Treasures, this theater may have been built around 1950, and it may have replaced another theater built earlier.  In this age of Netflix, Red-Box, Hulu and Streaming videos, it's nice to see it's still open!!

Downtown South Haven is like stepping back in time. You see mailboxes, department stores, ice-cream shops, and a row of a half-dozen newspaper boxes on the corner. 

A block down from the theater is a once-thriving department store, Hale's Department Store, which is closed, and out of business.

The owners have placed historic photos in the shop windows until the fate of the building is to be determined. 

This one was really cool. I love that basement staircase. Brings back memories of the old department store days.

Here's Hale's Department Store in it's WW2-era glory!

Not far from downtown, is the harbor and lighthouse, which is something of a tourist attraction. 

Lots of great photo opp's. 

The harbor. 

Look at that icy railing!!!

Look at those mini-icebergs!

Love these ice chunks! 

You Only Live Twice (1967)

The film looks great on
Blu-Ray

The film begins with the "death" of James Bond (Sean Connery), complete with a burial at sea. But is he really dead? We'll let's just say they don't call the title of this film "You Only Live Twice" for nothing. In the meantime, an American spacecraft and a Russian spacecraft mysteriously disappear in orbit. A "resurrected" Bond is sent to investigate, while the world prepares for World War 3. The British suspect that Japan is involved, so Bond is sent there, and meets his Japanese allies, including Kissy Suzuki (Mie Hama), who helps Bond assimilate into Japanese culture. They also investigate a mysterious volcano that might be a secret base of archvillian Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Donald Pleasance), who has a pet cat and a pool of piranhas. I love the entire sequence with the Japanese secret service ninjas infiltrating the volcano lair. Very enjoyable! Co-starring Charles Gray. Directed by Lewis Gilbert. Great score by John Barry. 

Great set design by Ken Adam

Video review from calvindyson (approx 15 minutes)

Read review from Sidewalk Crossings

Read review from Classic Film & TV Cafe

Thunderball (1965)

The original trailer to Thunderball claimed that it was the most thrilling of the Bond adventures, but I'm not a big fan of it, despite it's intriguing situation: two nuclear bombs are stolen and Bond (Sean Connery) has to find them before they can be used. The main villain is eyepatch-wearing SPECTRE agent Largo (Adolpho Celi - his voice was dubbed by another actor). He's my least favorite of the villains so far (more reviews to come), but I do like the sequence with him gambling with Bond.  A number of scenes take place underwater, but I found most of these to be longer than necessary. (I did, however, enjoy the part when Bond was in the pool with the sharks) Bond has a few allies in this picture, including Paula (Martine Beswick). (The same actress appears as a gypsy dancer in From Russia With Love, and I'd like to think  Paula is the same character)  It's not a bad film; I'd just give it a "C"/average.

Here is an entertaining, 15-minute review from a video blogger and Bond fan calvindyson that I tend to see eye-to-eye with on the Bond films. In this video, he gives his review of Thunderball.  (Visit his YouTube channel here for more Bond video reviews). Parental warning: there is some swearing in the video.

John Kerr (1931-2013)

Tony-winning actor John Kerr passed away last week at the age of 81. He is perhaps best known for playing the role of Lt. Joe Cable in the 1958 #1 box-office hit, South Pacific. His career began on stage in the 1950s and he won a Tony for his role in Tea and Sympathy, a role he reprised in the film version. (LA Times)

John Kerr in South Pacific (1958)

He also had major roles in The Crowded Sky with Dana Andrews and The Pit and the Pendulum with Vincent Price. 

Motion Picture Filmography:
1955 The Cobweb
1956 Gaby
1956 Tea and Sympathy
1957 The Vintage
1958 South Pacific
1960 The Crowded Sky
1960 Girl of the Night
1961 The Pit and the Pendulum
1961 The King of Kings
1961 Seven Women from Hell

He moved to television in the 1960s and by the end of the 1970s he focused most of his attention on his second career as a lawyer. He continued to practice until 2000, according to an interview he gave to The Astounding B Monster.

Rest in peace.

From Russia With Love (1963)

A new James Bond series is underway over at the blog Sidewalk Crossings, so I thought I would join in on the fun and do a few posts, too. Next up on my list is From Russia With Love. 


Bond's mission this time is to investigate the whereabouts of a Russian decoder machine, which is believed to be located in Istanbul Turkey. Among the villains out to stop him: henchman assassin Robert Shaw. In a great sequence - the two come face-to-face on the Orient Express. Another is a beautiful Russian agent (played by Italian model Daniela Bianchi).  Bond has a very trustworthy Turkish associate, played by Mexican actor Pedro Armendariz. There's a cool scene where they're both in an underground tunnel spying on the Russians. They also take down some bad buys in a sequence involving a billboard poster for Call Me Bwana (starring Bob Hope and Anita Ekberg). I wondered why that poster was in the film so prominently; alas, it was produced by Eon Productions, who also did the Bond films.

I really enjoyed this movie; it's exciting and kept me guessing as to what would happen until the very end.

One of my favorite parts is the fantastic boat chase that comes near the end of the film. 

Trivia: 

• This film was screened in the White House for President John Kennedy, who was a fan of the original novel. 
• Daniela's Bianchi's voice was dubbed by another actress because her accent was too thick. 

Goldfinger (1964)

In this installment, less serious in tone than its predecessor, Bond investigates the titular character, a millionaire suspected of wrongdoing. In one of the most memorable sequences, Goldfinger reveals his sinister scheme - to manipulate the world's economy - to a group of mobsters, complete with huge wall maps and small-scale 3D models. One of the mobsters then has a "pressing engagement". You'll have to see the movie to understand.

The film's locales include Miami, London, Switzerland and then finally Kentucky, where Bond's CIA pal Felix provides assistance. He also stops off for some fried chicken at Kentucky Fried Chicken! I love that product placement!

There are so many memorable scenes that it's hard to pick a favorite. Bond and the laser. Bond golfing with Goldfinger. And there's all the great scenes with Bond and his gadget-laden car.

Bond also makes a quip implying he's not much of a fan of the Beatles, that they're too noisy. Bond not liking the Beatles? Really interesting.

With Gert Frobe and Honor Blackman as Miss Galore, an accomplice of Goldfinger's. Cec Linder plays Felix. Harold Sakata plays henchman Oddjob,

Directed by Guy Hamilton. 

Further Reading: Auric Goldfinger Saves Lives (from Man I Love Films)

The first Bond film: Dr No (1962)

The first Bond film is Dr No from 1962, one of my top favorite Bonds.

Immediately following the credits, the film introduces three suspicious characters - all blind - and then there's a murder. Two murders, in fact.  The setting is Jamaica, and Bond is called in to investigate.

With help from CIA agent Felix Leiter, Bond learns of a mysterious nearby island - Crab Key - where people go... and never come back.

What transpires on the island is part of the mystery that continues to unfold until the very end.

I love the villain, Dr. No and his lair, which includes a giant window with a thick glass that magnifies the fish. The sets are so cool in this film.

Overall, I love this movie, and look forward to another viewing soon with the commentary track on.

For a review of the 50th Anniversary Blu-ray and all the special features, click here for a review from the AV Forums site.