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The Prisoner of Swing (1938)
A Pleasant Surprise
This short is a take-off on the Ronald Colman version of Prisoner of Zenda, sort of like a 1930's Abraham-Zucker film. The King is going to outlaw swing music upon his coronation so his loyal retainers have him kidnapped & replaced with his cousin, who looks just like him. It's very funny & surprisingly well done and you'll especially enjoy it if you've seen the film. The characterizations and mannerisms are spot on & the only flaw is that the sound quality isn't optimal. But it's worth putting up with to be able to see the film.
This appears as one of the extras on the recently-released DVD of Dawn Patrol.
Dusty's Trail (1973)
It's Bad
As others have noted, this is a cheap rip-off of Gilligan's Island. Now, ripping off Gilligan's Island isn't such a bad idea given the popularity of that show but you would think that the creators of Dusty would have used at least a little creativity. Maybe replace the bickering rich couple with a pair of bickering trapeze artists! Or replace the innocent Iowa farm girl with an innocent Bulgarian farm girl who doesn't speak English! But no, this is a paint-by-numbers re-run of Gilligan which is shot through with cheap opportunism & cheaper production values.
The one thing the show had going for it was that it aired at an odd time, just before the networks prime time began. So if you wanted a sitcom at 7:30 on (I think) Friday night Dusty was your only choice. It's indicative of how bad the show was that it failed almost immediately in spite of that. I saw every episode when it first ran & that's the main reason I did so.
I have an especial animus for this show because the theme song has been imprinted on my memory ever since the show aired:
"Dusty's the reason for their plight; Thanks to Dusty, nothing's right! Only the Wagonmaster's hand; Can keep them a-rollin' to the promised land!", etc.
Maybe electro-shock therapy can get rid of it.
Moby Dick (1930)
Stupid but Fun
I saw this one on TNT several years ago. It's a pre-code Hollywood version of the novel which has little or nothing to do with the book. Barrymore plays Ahab who, as the film begins, has both his legs. After a gory meeting with Moby Dick in which he has his leg bloodily chewed off, Ahab returns to New Bedford where he meets the scorn of his fiancee because of his wooden prosthesis. Vowing revenge, he returns to sea, kills Moby Dick, & (I kid you not) gets the girl.
The film is ridiculous with the story completely re-written & Barrymore as a good-natured, capering Ahab. But at this late date it does provide some silly fun & a good view of how Hollywood can (& still does) ruin great literature.
I think it's worth a look--I wish I had taped it.
Charlotte's Web (1973)
Cloying & Lame
I had been meaning to read Charlotte's Web ever since the third grade when it was one of the most popular books among the students in my class. It took me about 30 years to do it but I finally did & decided to watch the movie shortly afterwards. While the book is a wonderful novel, perfectly readable by an adult as well as a child with a very touching story of love, death, & life, the movie is a cloying, syrupy bit of idiocy which completely misses what made the book so great. While the book had depth, the film is as shallow as a puddle & is further handicapped by some of the worst songs ever penned for a movie. The animation is the simplistic Hanna-Barbera type, but for all that it isn't bad & is one of the better parts of the film. Except for Paul Lynde, who is excellent as Templeton, most of the rest of the cast is mediocre at best & many of them seem to have mailed in their performances. All in all, a major disappointment. Interesting Trivia: Pamela Ferdin, who voiced Fern, also played Felix Unger's daughter on the TV version of The Odd Couple!!
Moby Dick (1998)
Really Bad
Moby Dick is one of my favorite novels & the 1950's film adaptation is one of my favorite films. There is something about the novel that I can read it again & again & never tire of it, always finding something new. The 1950's film is like that too--I must have seen it a dozen times at least & I could watch it again right now. So when I heard that a new version of Moby Dick would be on cable with Patrick Stewart, an honest-to-goodness decent actor, playing Ahab & Gregory Peck appearing as Father Mapple, I was delighted. TV-movies have a justified reputation for being of poor quality but on the cable networks, you are often able to find a gem mixed in with the mud & this sounded like it could be just such a gem.
Unfortunately, this Moby-Dick is a hideous disappointment. The film goes wrong right from the beginning with a buffoonish, incompetent performance by the guy playing Queequeeg & a sad performance by Gregory Peck. Peck looks nothing like the great actor who could dominate films of all different types from Moby Dick to Pork Chop Hill, to westerns, etc. Instead, he looks like an elderly man reading lines. And the guy playing Queequeeg, despite his pre-release hype, is a poor actor, incapable of the intelligent, dignified performance of Frederick Ledebur in the older film.
There is very little good I can say about this movie. It is quite likely even worse than the old John Barrymore version in which Barrymore, as Ahab, goes out in the Pequod, kills Moby Dick, & returns to New Bedford to get the girl. At least that film had the benefit of a sort of nostalgic old-time Hollywood humor. This film has...well...a shot of Queequeeg's naked buttocks for any who might enjoy it. And not much else.
A vulgar atrocity that is best forgotten.
The Last House on the Left (1972)
An Overrated Film from an Overrated Director
I had heard about this film for years &, as a big fan of horror films, I was really anxious to see it. It was quite a while before I finally managed to see it on video but I finally did so. Last House was supposed to be one of the best horror films ever made--disturbing, scary, frightening. Unfortunately, it was none of those things &, if I had to give it a one-word review, that word would be "unwatchable".
Everything in the film is poorly done, from the acting to the directing, to the camera work to the stupid music. Perhaps the worst part is the idiotic "comic relief" of two bumbling sheriffs trying to get somewhere but unable to hitch a ride. Their moronic plight is interspersed with scenes of brutality & torture. Fans of brutality & torture could be rightfully upset that the scenes they had waited to see are being interrupted by comic hijinks while fans of comic hijinks are likely to be nauseated by the torture & brutality. Add to all this the twangy banjo soundtrack & this film could easily make you want to kill yourself.
I have always felt that Wes Craven was an overrated director. He's made some good films, but not as many as he is given credit for. This is surely his most overrated film.
Note: This review is based on the R-rated Vestron Video version.
Ring of Bright Water (1969)
I Hated It
When this film came out, it was sold as a children's movie and, being a child at the time, my mom took me to see it. Unfortunately, it was dreadfully dull for a child and what enjoyment I got out of it was ruined by the ending.
(SPOILER!!!)
When the otter gets killed. I was so sad about it and it seemed so gratuitous and cruel to kill the little otter that the film depressed me for days and days. I hated it and hate it to this day. That's not to say it's a bad film--seeing it as an adult might change my mind and I might very well agree with the other comments praising the film. But I'll never ever see it again because the thought of doing so depresses me too much. Maybe there'll be a remake where the otter lives?????
The Perfect Storm (2000)
Great Movie, OK Script
Every summer brings around a new batch of blockbuster-wannabes. The last few years even the ones that make the big bucks (Men in Black for example) have been pretty lame. Usually I can't help watching these films & wondering in incredulity..."THIS made $200 million????".
Well, Perfect Storm is another one of those wannabes, but this time they have made an excellent, entertaining film. The first half of the movie is slow as the characters are introduced & things are set up. But director Petersen keeps things moving in his old "Das Boot" style with a realistic depiction of men at work. There are cliches, yes, but you can understand that this part is just the set-up & the real film is still to come. And once the storm starts & the special effects kick in, the film just takes off. These are some of the best & most thrilling effects I have ever seen in a film. For those who can remember being thrilled the first time they saw Close Encounters or Star Wars & how jaw-dropping the effects were back then--the sfx in this film will have the same effect on your jaw. Everything seems so incredibly real & the terror of being caught in such a storm at sea is scarred into your soul.
All isn't perfect. The script is mediocre & cliched & has more than its share of dumb lines. The acting is generally good, although Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is not believable as a sword boat captain & her performance has more sour notes than a case of lemons. The last scene in the film is a rip-off of a similar scene in one of the all-time great sea movies, Moby Dick. Whether this is an "homage" or just a steal from the earlier film, personally I'd prefer screenwriters to use their own creativity instead of borrowing from other films whatever the reason.
But these are just quibbles. This is one movie you must see this summer! It makes Titanic look like a college film school project (& not a very good one at that).
Gladiator (2000)
Good Film but Very Derivative of Braveheart
Think a minute & tell me what film I'm describing: It's an historical drama which is only loosely based on history. Its hero is a strong-willed man who only wants to live his own life but whose wife is killed by an evil ruler & who vows revenge. In later portions of the film, he dreams of being together with his wife in an idyllic setting. He has a loyal Irish sidekick & the film features airy music & large & violent battle scenes. The hero of the film is fighting for freedom and against tyranny & in the end, although he dies, he succeeds in bringing freedom to his people. Sound like any movie you know? Maybe...Braveheart? Well, all those features also apply to the new film Gladiator, a shallow but entertaining Braveheart rip-off set in the Roman Empire c. 180 A.D.
Maximus is a popular general of the Roman legions for whom the Emperor Marcus Aurelius has just bypassed his son, the incompetent Commodus, as his successor. Marcus wants Maximus to bring power to the Roman senate & bring freedom to the Roman people who have been living under the yoke of the Emperors. Unfortunately, when Commodus learns of Marcus' plan, he kills the old man, kills Maximus' family, & tries to kill Maximus himself. But Maximus escapes & winds up a slave in North Africa where he is trained as a gladiator.
Eventually, the gladiators are brought to perform in Rome where Commodus has ordered a lengthy series of games to improve his popularity. Various schemes ensue until there is a big showdown in the gladiatorial ring between Commodus & Maximus.
The film at least has the honesty to admit (in a blurb at the end) that, while it contains historical characters, the story it tells is fictional. It is an entertaining movie but it's not as good as it could have been. The opening battle scene, while suitably noisy & crowded, is not up to any of the battles in Braveheart (the Romans' German opponents look like a bunch of poorly armed old men--the sort of soldiers who, centuries later, would have been guarding the Fuhrerbunker in 1945 & not a formidable opponent for the Roman legions). The gladiator scenes are mostly good, although like most of the film they lack the feel of authentic history. However, while the action is pretty good, the whole bit about Maximus' desire for revenge & his goal of freeing the senate is uninvolving & the plotting between Commodus' sister Drusilla, the senators, Commodus, & various others seems to be there mostly to fill screen time between gladiator matches.
There are a few good bits in the film. In particular, the scenes of the gladiators seeing & then entering the Colosseum for the first time are impressive & the battle scenes of the legions have their moments. But the numerous & often weird & gratuitous `borrowings' from Braveheart (both films even have the hero voice an aphorism about death-`Every man dies, not every man really lives'-Braveheart vs. `Death smiles at all men, but some of them smile back'-Gladiator) leave a bad taste in one's mouth & make one wish that the `creative' forces behind Dreamworks had used a little bit more of their *own* creativity on this film & not relied so extensively on the creativity of others. I'd give it two stars out of four, but add a star if you didn't see Braveheart.
De Johnsons (1992)
Half of a Good Movie
The first half of this Dutch horror movie is great. A 14-year old girl begins having horrific dreams about a group of strange children in a deserted building smearing blood on the walls. Meanwhile, a professor of anthropology is consulted by an FBI-type police organization about seven maniacs who, when they were children, slaughtered their schoolmates. The government doesn't know what to do with them & wants to know why they went crazy.
This first half of the film is great. The dream sequences are creepy & frightening & you are led to wonder what is the connection between the girl & her dreams & the maniacs in the prison. The fact that the film was made in Holland adds to the eeriness since everything is just a little bit "off"--it's not a standard formula Hollywood scare film & anything is likely to happen. Watching this part of the film at night, alone in the dark is guaranteed to terrify anyone.
Unfortunately, the second half of the film isn't nearly as good. As the secrets are revealed, they turn out to be fairly pedestrian & even silly. The addition of some foolish comic relief (in the form of the anthropologist's father, a voodoo priest) and some unlikely coincidences lead the film astray & throw away all of the spookiness that the early part of the film had created. The maniacs, so frightening and intimidating in the beginning, become laughably easy to kill as the film becomes just another cheap-o "slasher" film.
The film is a little different in that the leads are two women (the girl and her mother) and a black anthropologist. The guy playing the professor is good, the young woman is also good but her mother is kind of annoying.
This film is worth a try, but expect to be disappointed.
Captain Nice (1967)
I Owned the Book
I liked it AND I owned a copy of the novelization of the series!!! The show was definitely better than the book, but I remember very little of either of them. I did like the uniform that Captain Nice wore &, being only seven years old, I'm not sure that I understood that it was all a joke.
Three Kings (1999)
One of the Ten Worst of the Year
This movie got 3 & a half stars & a good review in the paper today so I stopped by to see it after work. Also, I had thought Mark Wahlberg was good in The Corruptor & I looked forward to seeing him in this. But I have to say that this film was a terrible disappointment. The early part of the film is weak but at least it moves along fairly nicely. But once the "subplot" about saving Iraqi refugees begins, the movie crashes & burns badly. I think this film was supposed to have combined action with satire, but what we get instead is a tendentious political screed from the director, who apparently opposed the Gulf War and who is willing to use whatever propaganda weapon at his disposal to get us to agree with him (at the expense of entertaining us). Unfortunately for his purpose, he is so incapable at this task that the movie is almost laughably bad. The film tries to wring your emotions but it is so inept that it never even manages to rise to the level of being called "manipulative". It is incapable of manipulating anything. One of the worst scenes involves an attempt to equate Mark Wahlberg's character with an Iraqi who is torturing him and is both painfully obvious in its intent & painfully stupid in its execution. In fact the entire film is painful. And stupid. And obvious. Spare yourself the money & go see something else. This one has already made my "Ten Worst" list.
Predator 2 (1990)
This One is Really Bad
The original Predator was a fun movie--not Arnie's best, but not anywhere near his worst either. It's an interesting idea done well with good special effects. The idea of an alien hunting humans the way we hunt deer has lots of possibilities and, if those possibilities remained mostly unrealized in that film, enough of them *were* realized to make it an above average movie.
Predator 2 had a promising idea. Transferring the alien from the jungles of Central America to the urban jungle sounded really interesting. But the film turns out to be just a loud and incompetently made action movie.
What is an action film? Is it simply scenes of people shooting at each other and running around while explosions go off? Or is there something more to it than that? Pred 2 shows no cognizance of how to put action on screen. Static scenes of people shooting at each other do not an action film make. The film's opening is a good example of this. The police are having a shoot-out with some gang members. We see: 1) shot of the cops standing towards the right of the screen shooting towards the left; 2) Cut to shot of the gangsters standing towards the left of the screen shooting towards the right; 3) Cut to shot of the cops standing towards the right of the screen... and so on. Meanwhile, between these groups is a policeman who is lying on the ground and whom the gang members apparently want to kill. Why don't they just shoot him? You get the feeling that the reason is because the gang members are never in the same camera angle as he is. This is simply BAD DIRECTION and it is displayed throughout the film.
Danny Glover is a good actor and has appeared in action movies before, but he is not believable here with all the physical derring do required of his character. Gary Busey, looking very pudgy, has a rather foolish role as a government agent out hunting predators.
Most sequels aren't as good as the original and, in my opinion, Predator 2 doesn't even come close to the film that preceded it.
The Running Man (1987)
I Thought it was Pretty Bad
The other comments on this film have been pretty positive, but I felt the film was bad--one-and-a-half stars or worse. My big problem was that it was very derivative of "Deathrace 2000", a Roger Corman movie from the 70's (it even took the idea of a group of freedom fighters using the competition as a cover for their activities). It wouldn't surprise me if this came from the King story (which I have never read) since he can be pretty derivative himself. "Running Man" is cartoony & silly & is one of those films that pretends to be an action flick while all the time making fun of such films and people who enjoy them. In my opinion, this may be Arnie's worst film.
Here Come the Tigers (1978)
Bad Movie--Good Anecdote
This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen, but seeing it did give me a funny story to tell people. Usually, before seeing a movie, I know quite a bit about it from reviews, etc. I decided one day to go out & see a movie that I knew nothing at all about, just as a kind of change of pace. And the movie I selected was "Here Come the Tigers". Was it a nature documentary? An environmental horror story? A jungle adventure? Who knew?? Well, as it turned out, it was nothing more than a cheap, vulgar rip-off of "The Bad News Bears" made by people who apparently saw nothing attractive in that film but the obscenities. So "Here Come the Tigers" is filled with "funny" scenes of children cursing and engaging in "hilarious" infantile hijinks. This movie was so awful that I was on the verge of leaving the theatre & the few other people who were enduring it with me were openly making fun of it. I was *really* *really* regretting the money I had just laid out for this junk (money being short supply for me back then). Just then, magic happened. One of the reels somehow got put on the projector wrong so that the film suddenly began running backwards!! Since most of the last part of the film concerned the dramatic "big game", scenes of backward baseball players making weird squeaky noises was hysterical. It took the theatre people about 15 or 20 minutes to notice what was going on and, since they weren't able to rectify it, everyone in the theatre was given their money back!!! So I may be one of the few people to have seen this movie to get any enjoyment out of it.
The Longest Day (1962)
Great Movie But Dated
Everyone else seems to think that this is the best war movie ever made (or close to it), including several friends whose opinion I value. However, although I agree that it is one of the best war films of its time, I feel that it has not aged well and is now dated & not as interesting as more recent efforts.
My biggest problem is the depiction of the Germans vs. the Allied characters. The Allies tend to be shown in a silly or comical way--snapping their little plastic noise makers, cracking jokes, & engaging in other low comedy (i.e. Sean Connery). Meanwhile, the Germans are all depicted as deadly serious, realistic characters. One gets the feeling that the tension in the film comes from whether these bumbling comedians can overcome the serious, goal-driven Germans. While the film is faithful to Ryan's book, the choices of what to show and how to show it are not well made. This may not have been that big a problem in 1962, but in 1999 it is a significant one.
A further problem is with the idea of the "all-star" cast. The stars tend to overcome the characters they're supposed to be playing. Again, other than the German characters who are given more depth, there is a tendency to toss big names at the audience and the significance of the character they're playing is minimized.
I'm not saying this is a bad movie (no movie with Robert Ryan in it can be said to be truly bad). What I am saying is that it has lost some of its sheen over the years. I have to admit to preferring "A Bridge Too Far" when it comes to "all-star war movies". For all the flaws in that film, it puts its actors firmly into character and doesn't fall for simplistic sentimentality. And the low humor is kept to a minimum.
The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959)
Dull, But it Has its Moments
This is one of those films that used to be shown on Creature Features on Saturday mornings. Its a rather dull film about a Black Lagoon-type creature who goes around killing people. Despite its dullness, it has a couple of the scariest scenes of any film made during this era. The first, when the monster comes bursting out of a door is a moment of shock and horror equal to the similar scene in "The Thing". And the second, at the lighthouse at the end of the film, is extremely terrifying and gave me recurrent nightmares as a child. Both scenes are still frightening to me as an adult. One also has to appreciate the amount of thought that went into the plot. The origins of the monster and the reasons he starts to kill are convoluted but, if you follow along carefully, everything is explained in a logical manner and there are no inconsistencies in the plot. In "Keep Watching the Skies", Bill Warren criticized the film as lacking a logical plot and explanation for the monster, but he is wrong! However dull, a lot of thought went into the plotting of this film and, had the script been better, this could have been a scare classic.
Milano odia: la polizia non può sparare (1974)
I Agree!!
I agree with a previous reviewer. This is a deadly dull Italian crime film which was billed in the USA as a horror movie. When I saw this film (in the Massapequa, NY multiplex) it was one of only two times in my life that I have walked out on a movie, that's how bad it was. Avoid this at all costs!!!
Chosen Survivors (1974)
What Ever Happened To....?
The story concerns a disparate group of people who are placed in some kind of underground bunker just before the world is destroyed by a nuclear holocaust. They are told that they are the "chosen survivors" who will re-populate the world for humanity. Unfortunately, the bunker was built near some caves containing hordes of bloodthirsty vampire bats which proceed to attack the characters, threatening to wipe them out.
I saw this film when it first came out & some of the scenes stand out in my mind to this day. Unfortunately, the film is completely unavailable on video despite the appearance of much more obscure movies in that format. Since I haven't seen it in 25 years, I won't make any comments as to its quality--but as a 14-year old in 1974, I enjoyed it quite a bit.
The Hot Rock (1972)
Another Great Movie Missing from the Video Shelves
This film is taken from one of a series of books by Donald E. Westlake about John Dortmunder & his various cronies who try to pull off big capers but never quite succeed. Anyone who likes this movie should try picking up the novel it's based on.
If, as other posters have written, Robert Redford has prevented release of this movie on video then that's a shame since this is a very funny & enjoyable crime caper film with some good actors & good New York City locations. Recently, it has been on Cinemax (which I don't have) a couple times so maybe that is a prelude to a future video re-release.
Blood and Lace (1971)
Creepy and Weird
This is a weird and rather gruesome horror film from the early 1970's. Melody Patterson's mother, a prostitute, is murdered in bed with one of her customers. Melody is sent to live at an orphanage run by the great Gloria Grahame where something very strange is going on. She has to contend with the possibility that the murderer is coming after her and the fact that the people running the orphanage are covering up mistreatment of their charges as well as other, worse things.
The scare scenes in the film are effective, especially the opening scene of the hammer murder of the mother. The film is helped along by the presence of a number of familiar faces, including, in addition to Melody Patterson and Gloria Grahame, Vic Tayback as a policeman, Len Lesser as the orphanage's handyman (he's very handy), and Milton Selzer as the orphanage inspector. The film also has a sense of humor about itself and you will find a couple of (intended) chuckles.
The film is topped by a weird "twist" ending that you will never see coming. In all, this is a very entertaining 70's horror flick and shouldn't be missed if you get the chance to see it.
The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959)
Last Man on Earth--Not!!!
The film begins with Harry Belafonte as a coal miner getting caught in a cave-in. He waits patiently as his cohorts dig him out, even singing to pass the time, but at some point, all the digging sounds stop and he believes that he has been given up on. Digging frantically from his own side, he eventually manages to get himself out--only to find that everyone on earth has disappeared.
After this excellent beginning and some nice scenes of Belafonte in the city establishing a life for himself, the film goes rapidly downhill. He meets Inger Stevens and, later, Mel Ferrer arrives and the film degenerates into symbols and messages, racial and otherwise. What had been an interesting story about a man coping with a bizarre and terrifying situation is turned into silly philosophizing.
This movie is worth seeing for the beginning, but once that is over you are advised to turn it off and make up your own ending.
Beware, My Lovely (1952)
Disappointing
The pair that teamed up for one of the best films noirs (On Dangerous Ground), is here teamed up for one of the worst. Ida Lupino plays a woman who hires Robert Ryan as a handyman to work around her house. Unbeknownst to her, Ryan is a psycho who goes back and forth between insanity and normalcy. The film mostly concerns her attempts to get out of her house and away from him before he flies into a rage and kills her.
The film has many flaws. Based on a stage play, it is very "stage bound" with all the scenes taking place inside the house and nothing happening outside it. This could have lent the film a claustrophobic feel, but in this case it is nothing more than a lazy adaptation of a play. Ryan plays the type of character he often played in his film noir roles--a bad guy with whom you can't help but feel sympathy for. In this case, he's a decent person who can't help his homicidal urges but he is unable to engage our empathy for his struggles, especially when his swings into insanity coincide so neatly with the needs of the plot. Ida Lupino spends most of the film in laughable attempts simply to leave her own home, something you or I or our grandmothers could have done within five minutes of the start of the movie.
It is always nice to see Robert Ryan on screen, but this may be his weakest effort.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Disappointing but not a total loss.
Hi All!
I finally got to see BWP & I have to say I was disappointed. My biggest problems with it included: 1) The actors, whom I felt just weren't that good ("Mike" was OK, "Heather" was variable, & "Josh" was annoying); 2) The characters, who tended to act in such a way as to best advance the plot--sitting & sulking when they should be getting the heck out of there, and getting helplessly lost in the middle of the crowded eastern seaboard. I mean, even a tenderfoot like me knows to follow a creek downstream to find civilization. And why didn't they bring a cell phone--a necessity for camping out in the 90's?; 3) The technical qualities in some instances--the sounds the characters heard, for example, were muddy & indistinct, at least in the theatre in which I saw the film. All these things detracted from the ability of this viewer to suspend disbelief, something very important for a horror film.
On the other hand, I did like the jumpy camera work & the fact that the characters weren't very sympathetic people since those things *helped* the reality of the film. And the townsfolk who appeared at the start of the film were pretty good, especially the little girl who helped add to the anticipation of scariness. What she did looked so unscripted that it seemed really creepy. In sum, I think BWP is similar to the Exorcist--a not that scary movie which drives people crazy due to their expectations of being scared. Maybe the sequel will be better.
p.s. In fairness, I should note that I saw the movie in a theatre with a bunch of chatty, restless people & that didn't help my enjoyment of the film. But I don't think my opinion would have been much different had I seen it under better circumstances. I would say that this may make better viewing on video than in the movies.
Orders to Kill (1958)
An interesting & emotionally powerful war film.
I saw this film on the late show about 25 years ago & haven't seen it since but I still remember much of it vividly. A soldier is parachuted into occupied France during World War II & is "ordered to kill" a resistance leader who is believed to have been collaborating with the Nazis. However, as he works his way into the trust of his target, he begins to believe that he is a loyal Frenchman & not a Nazi sympathizer. He expresses his doubts to his superiors, but they order him to continue his mission. His decision & its consequences form the climax of the movie. Despite its obscurity, the film packs quite an emotional punch & I dearly wish I could see it again. Perhaps time has burnished its image in my mind, but I would rate this as a superior war movie.