The Man with the Golden Arm

The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)

Runtime: 119 minutes

Directed by: Otto Preminger

Starring: Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold Stang, Darren McGavin

From: United Artists

I saw Man on Turner Classic Movies this morning; they had a marathon of Sinatra movies due to today being his birthday. It's a famous anti-drug screed from the past that had never been seen before now. While of course it being a product of 1950's Hollywood this is far less explicit than something like Christiane F or Trainspotting, the message is still effective.

Ol' Blue Eyes portrayed the somewhat improbably-named FRANKIE MACHINE, a heroin addict who takes the rap for a rat fink and becomes clean while serving his time in prison. Technically, “heroin” is never said and in the novel this is based on, the drug was morphine, but the context clues suggest H. He tries to stay clean and become a jazz drummer; however, he still has his old friends and some of them are also rat finks. He also has a wife in a wheelchair (Eleanor Parker), although Kim Novak-a flame from the past-seems to be a better partner for him, not because of his wife requiring a wheelchair.

As others have proclaimed, Darren McGavin as the guy who forced H on an addict attempting to recover for good might as well have twirled his mustache if he could. The movie was still controversial for its time in its frank depiction of drug addiction-including attempting to go cold turkey-and demonized the drug rather than the individuals hooked to the poison. The cast was swell... Frank Sinatra as the lead, McGavin, Parker, Novak, and while I finally noticed that Arnold Stang resembled a tortoise w/ glasses, he did a fine job as Frankie's annoying/energetic lackey. 

Buttressed by solid direction from Otto Preminger and a great score from Elmer Bernstein, The Man with the Golden Arm is well worthy of your time if the premise/individuals involved pique your interest whatsoever. It also has a sweet opening credits sequence from the legendary Saul Bass.

 

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

Runtime: 89 minutes

Directed by: Amy Heckerling

Starring: A great, deep cast

From: Universal

I'd love floor seats to Van Halen for $12.50.

This was a film viewed by me many years ago; slice of life pictures aren't always my bag and despite some memorable moments (especially “that one scene”) I was lukewarm at best with the movie. However, now my movie tastes have changed and Fast Times is now better appreciated by me.

Based on Cameron Crowe's book of the same name where he went undercover as a high school kid (!) the film shows the lives of a gaggle of students at the titular high school, from freshmen through seniors. They're teenagers, so naturally the focus is on sex and relationships, although such topics as “cool cars”, jobs, and difficult teachers are also addressed. A key aspect is that the characters felt real & relatable. A few people are painted as jerks but all (even Ray Walston's amusingly grumpy Mr. Hand) are shown to have their good qualities also. Judge Reinhold's Brad acts more confident than he should for someone that crashes out at customers at his fast food job, but he is nice towards his sister Jennifer Jason Leigh and won't tell their parents about her rather serious elective medical procedure.

I went to high school in Illinois instead of So Cal but how messy and chaotic those teen years/school could be felt real. People fought over a woman, a near-brawl happens during school hours, a dude is too shy/nervous to ask a woman out so she thinks he doesn't like her, a stoner is happy to flaunt his truancy, and yes, what I'll call “self-gratification!” Teen sex was addressed honestly, including the consequences. I was a fool for not fully appreciating the movie, its authenticity, the mix of laughs and drama, the cast full of famous faces, including more than a few who would become quite famous in later years. It is amazing that nerdy Mark Ratner was based on someone who later wrote some computer books in the For Dummies series-Andy Rathbone.

The So Cal setting was charming, as was all the period fashion and the joke that several high school girls modeled their appearance after Pat Benatar. Related, the soundtrack was great; I enjoyed most of the tunes that were from a wide variety of artists, including several people that were in the Eagles. That created a good mood for me, even during the film's most sobering scenes. As said too often by me, this rewatch was long overdue, especially considering my opinion is now more in line with the general consensus. Director Amy Heckerling also deserves her props for the swell job she did. As astounding as this will sound, somewhere in the multiverse, DAVID LYNCH would have been the director; honest.

We Got the Beat from The Go Go's was a great opening credits song, but at the risk of sounding like a Gross Man, “that one scene” of Phoebe Cates in her red bikini—the scene and the usage of Moving in Stereo from The Cars will forever be legendary. I want to stress that she did well in her role-I'm not being all heart eyes about her because she was (& still is) an attractive woman.

Final Destination

Final Destination (2000)

Runtime: 98 minutes

Directed by: James Wong

Starring: Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Kristen Cloke, Seann William Scott

From: New Line Cinema

I don't even need to ask... people will be appalled that I had never seen ANY Final Destination movie until today. I knew of several deaths throughout the franchise due to cultural osmosis (chiefly, the one involving the logging truck) but I've never been interested. Perhaps it was visiting the liberal video store in college one evening, where they were playing the installment that had the opening where some woman stopped her car on an entrance ramp and backed up many cars behind her... that was so dumb it turned me off of all those films. However, it was over 20 years ago so seeing this on my sister's HBO Max account gave me the inspiration to say that I at least gave one of these a chance.

The opening act, I wasn't expecting to hear such topics as “use the bathroom before going on a flight to Paris... you don't want a 'hot chick' to smell your stinky poo if they use the airplane lavatory right after you!”, see Seann William Scott wear the classic New York Rangers alternate jersey (the one with the Statue of Liberty's face on the front) or spot a poster of the John Waters movie Pecker hanging in Devon Sawa's room at the beginning. 

Of course, I knew the premise that Sawa had a premonition-correct, in this case-that his airplane bound for Paris would blow him... due to circumstances, including that of the aggro male type, several others get off the plane with him and Death fixes that mistake via preposterous kills. Yes, after viewing, I read up on some of the lore... how the original idea was proposed for an X-Files episode, the “180” references are due to the film's original title, and the perhaps questionable decision to base part of the plane's explosion on the real-life 1996 TWA Flight 800 explosion, including the usage of stock footage from that used as news footage in a scene. The decision to use John Denver's music when he died in a plane crash... that can also be debated.

Final Destination the movie is quite silly; that aggro male behavior, the decision to name your daughter CLEAR RIVERS (although yes, I understand the concept of “hippie parents”), those elaborate deaths, the realization that the scene in the airport lavatory was actually foreshadowing a kill. That said, Destination did address survivors' guilt, Sawa's obsession over the incident, and the impact of that tragedy. The premise is of course a great one; even the writers have admitted they were “inspired” by the moody 1984 horror movie Soul Survivor, which is one I recommend.

Ultimately, I was entertained by Final Destination, including how “2000” it was. Of course, I knew that Tony Todd was a familiar face in the franchise; it was bittersweet that Bloodlines allowed him to have a quality send-off both for his mortician character and of Todd himself. His one scene part was a macabre delight. Don't expect me to check out the sequels-that doesn't mean that the second installment will never be checked out far in the future-but I was amused... including Sawa referring to Death as “you f***” during a crazed rant. 

After all, using the names of people involved in horror movies from many decades ago for character names here was a charming touch.

Larceny, Inc.

Larceny Inc. (1942) 

Runtime: 95 minutes

Directed by: Lloyd Bacon

Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Broderick Crawford, Edward Brophy, Jack Carson, Jane Wyman

From: Warner Bros.

It's time for me to catch up on movies I've seen while in Kansas. So far, it's been two, although I hope to view then review one sometime Thursday proper.

As I am now in Wichita-and will be until I fly back to Florida on Friday-I have the opportunity to see more than one movie and participate on this platform again. The drive here was as exhausting as in August of last year, including the traffic and all the hours on the road. I'll give more details in a later review but I visited some locations that can't be experienced in Florida.

Larceny played on Turner Classic Movies this morning. As the movie was a comedic version of a heist movie and featured quite a few recognizable faces, I was happy to see an old-timey picture. Turns out, not only is this a Christmas film, Larceny was quite delightful. Robinson plays a hoodlum nicknamed PRESSURE who teams up with his lunkheaded friend JUG and their pal WEEPY to purchase a luggage store once the first two are released from prison... instead of proving that they're reformed and wish to succeed in a legitimate business, a bank is next door and they wish to rob it via drilling in the basement. I've heard that Woody Allen's 2000 movie Small Time Crooks was “heavily inspired” by Larceny.

The absurdity is that despite their best efforts, they were victims of circumstance & the luggage business becomes a success for them. The film-by my tastes-is hysterical, the humor still landing after over 80 years. Not a surprise that Woody would want to remake it, credited or otherwise. Robinson of course nailed his smooth-talking debonair part. Broderick Crawford was a delight as the dim-witted Jug and I was quite amused by Edward Brophy as Weepy. There's also Jane Wyman as Pressure's moll, Anthony Quinn as a foil, Jack Carson, Harry Davenport, George Meeker, and several faces I won't reveal here who would become famous (or in one case, much more famous) in later decades. This Warner Brothers production offered many of their stock players. To my delight, Fred Kelsey had a small part-I best know him for appearing in a few Three Stooges shorts.

I was happy to have finally seen this underrated early 40's comedy from Lloyd Bacon where Robinson was swell at spoofing his tough guy persona; this includes dressing up as Santa Claus at one point. It's unknown how many more reviews will be done in the upcoming week--to reiterate, I'm doing fine in Kansas at the moment.

Chimpanzee

Before I post my review for the 2012 DisneyNature documentary Chimpanzee, an announcement: Now's the time for me to announce that until Saturday, December 13th, I won't be on Letterboxd as frequently. It's vacation time; I'll explain later why I'll be even more preoccupied with other things than the previous times I was on vacation. I still hope to post some reviews, but they won't be daily by any means-the next one won't be for a few days.

The review for Chimpanzee: 
 

Now felt like the time to see another DisneyNature documentary. A few have been viewed; as I always say when diving into that world, the more serious, “adult” sort of nature documentaries (such as the ones narrated by Sir David Attenborough) are more my speed. That said, what DisneyNature does is still good and full of great footage of animals & the worlds they inhabit. The narration from celebrities can be too goofy at times and/or cloying-I can comprehend that it’s for an all-ages audience and to list a specific example, I’d be fine with my four nephews & one niece viewing something like Chimpanzee.

Chimpanzee follows a young member of the species named Oscar. The viewer follows his clan as we see the stunning jungle habitat they reside in (the Tai National Forest in Ivory Coast), feuds w/ other clans, some peril, etc. Along the way, educational facts are presented. As I’ve stated in other reviews, the assumption is that more than one chimpanzee was used as “Oscar.” Other nature documentaries do craft narratives, after all. It is wacky that they decided to have a villain named… SCAR.

Celebrities always provide the narration; in this case, it was… Tim Allen. I know, a controversial figure now but he was fine as a narrator. At one point, he does impersonate Tim “The Toolman” Taylor; perhaps those in power wanted him to do that to placate audiences. My carping, re: certain details of these documentaries don’t mean that I don’t like them as infrequent viewing or that they don’t have anything to educate/entertain me, let alone Joe Q. and Jane Public. While not theatrical releases anymore, DisneyNature still makes these documentaries. It won’t be a future project to view all of them—but that doesn’t mean rare viewings won’t occur.

Carry On Jack

Carry on Jack (1964)

Runtime: 90 minutes

Directed by: Gerald Thomas

Starring: Bernard Cribbins, Juliet Mills, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtry, Donald Houston

From:Anglo-Amalagated Film Distributors

It’s actually been years since I’d seen a Carry On movie from the 60’s. Yeah, those aren’t watched that often anymore and many from the 60’s were already witnessed by me. The same, I was happy to see one of the films that I have on DVD as part of a set purchased long ago; furthermore, I’m sure the Dr. Who fans will like that this starred Bernard Cribbins as the lead. Who knows what you guys will think of his name: ALBERT POOP-DECKER.

Yes, this had the randy and bawdy humor you’d expect from the franchise, albeit less frequently than typical. The setting is naval in general and specifically, the time of Horatio Nelson-the opening shows him passing away, establishing the year as 1805. It involves the War of the Third Coalition-the particulars aren’t important but it was Britain and several other countries versus France/Spain and several areas that would later become a part of Germany. Poop-Decker is inept but is forced to become part of the crew of the ship Venus. Juliet Mills cosplays as a guy to find a long-lost love.

An important detail: of course, the setting and plot wouldn’t easily allow for the inclusion of the distaff regulars to the franchise: Hattie Jacques, Joan Sims, etc. However, Jim Dale only appears for a few minutes and only two other regulars appear-at least they were Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey, portraying exactly the sort of archetypes you’d expect. Be that as it may, two familiar character actors make their only appearance in this universe: Donald Houston and Cecil Parker.

While atypical, the film was still silly and still entertained me. Nice ship sets was an asset, as was the inclusion of pirates in the final act. It won’t be all those months later that I finally see another Carry On picture-however, what I’ll select for next time should be more the archetypical movie you’d expect.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

Runtime: 95 minutes

Directed by: Jack Clayton

Starring: Jason Robards, Jonathan Pryce, Diane Ladd (RIP), Royal Dano, Vidal Peterson, Shawn Carson

From: Disney

A belated RIP to Diane Ladd. In the upcoming month or two, there’s more than one person who’s passed away this year that I need to tip my cap to. As I’m subscribed to Disney+ for December, I’ve only seen some of Ladd’s movies-this was a small yet important role-and until its addition to the platform two months ago, this movie was infamously hard to track down.

I’m fascinated by this era of Disney where they weren’t quite sure what they were doing in the world of cinema and they didn’t have subsidiary companies like Touchstone or Hollywood Pictures to release pictures not meant for a family audience, that’s how we had oddball films (like this, Return to Oz and The Watcher in the Woods, which I hope Disney+ adds one day) that tried to be of a darker tone from the Disney label.

In this tale where a Mr. Dark brings an ominous carnival to a bucolic small Illinois town during an October at least 100 years ago, the talent involved was impressive. An adaptation of a Ray Bradbury novel, the stars included Ladd, Jason Robards (as a really old father; the movie stresses that point), Royal Dano, Pam Grier in a supporting role, and Jonathan Pryce as Mr. Dark. This was in gestation for years-Bryna Productions was the production company, meaning Kirk Douglas was involved. James Horner provided a proper whimsical score-it wasn’t the original soundtrack, but more on that later-and the rural setting was pleasant.

Regrettably, I only liked rather than loved the film-perhaps if there had been childhood viewings, a different tune would be whistled. Like with Watcher, this had production issues, reshoots, an unhappy Disney, and other drama which undoubtedly did harm to the potential this had. The idea that this carnival grants the told & untold desires of the town’s residents (only of course it’s of the Faustian bargain variety) is a swell one, and I’m sure the book is better. The presumption is that the overblown special effects finale were part of the reshoots. Be that as it may, it was still a movie I liked. The town’s setting is pleasant, as was the carnival-aside from the whole evil aspect thing.

The cinematography was quality; that was due to future De Palma chief cinematographer Stephen H. Burum. Pryce did a nice job; somewhere in the multiverse are versions where either Peter O’Toole or Christopher Lee would have been Mr. Dark. Disney wanted to save money, you see, so they cast a talented actor, but one who was almost always in the world of theater at the time. The film’s from the perspective of two young boys; the actors and the characters were both fine, not intolerable to follow.

A shame that there were those issues, those reshoots, the replacing of the original Georges Delerue score (from a short listen on YouTube, it is more ominous) and other problems. There are still nice practical effects and a few effective scares as well. Plenty do love the movie more than moi-for their sakes, I’m glad the film is on Disney+. The Blu release was a limited exclusive deal back in ’21 as part of a now-defunct program—the prices on eBay are as expensive as you would expect. There are rumors of an upcoming remake; now this is the sort of movie that does need one… if they don’t screw it up with various tropes and movements I’m not a fan of in modern cinema.