Top Hat (1935)

Runtime: 99 minutes

Directed by: Mark Sandrich

Starring: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes, Eric Blore

From: RKO 

This is my first Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers. The classic film fans might think I'm a MILDEW DONKEY upon hearing this revelation, but 'tis true. Song and dance musicals aren't really my forte, although some have been seen in the past. As this duo is still well-known in some circles, it seemed right to finally watch one film featuring their act.

He's Jerry Travers, a tap dancer who spends time in London to star in Edward Everett Horton's production. As he spends time in Horton's bedroom, he tap dances and much to my amusement, Rogers is sleeping below but is awoken by the racket. She storms up to complain, he swoons over her... there's other characters and situations but that's the gist. Ginger isn't that interested at first but of course that changes. Also of course, there are misunderstandings-many misunderstandings.

To be frank, this is silly piffle which features someone that speaks with an EYE-talian accent (Erik Rhodes, who evidently made a career of this) and another character speaks in malapropisms. However, people would most care about such aspects as:

The art/set design
The dancing
The singing
The soundtrack

All those are quite swell. I enjoyed the art/set design, the Max Steiner soundtrack charmed me-as did the Irving Berlin songs-and golly gee, the dancing between the two leads was marvelous. Cheek to Cheek is the most famed number from the film-the movie itself has been referenced in everything from The Penguin miniseries and The Green Mile to La La Land. The romantic types might enjoy Top Hat even more than moi.

A steady diet of films like these is not in the cards for me; however, once in a blue moon as a change of pace will be a thing you can expect from me. Top Hat in particular made me laugh alongside the stars cutting the rug quite well. Perhaps years in the future I'll see more from Astaire/Rogers; I do know that another famous effort (Swing Time) features BLACKFACE, which Hat thankfully does not.

 

Seven Chances

Seven Chances (1925)

Runtime: 56 minutes

Directed by: Buster Keaton

Starring: Keaton, T. Roy Barnes, Snitz Edwards, Ruth Dwyer, Frances Raymond

From: Buster Keaton Productions

This is a famous Buster Keaton effort finally seen by me. Beforehand, I did know some moments were rather, ahem, “questionable”, especially a century later. The basic story I knew—this is based on a 1916 play and has been adapted a number of times—most famously to me by The Three Stooges in their classic Shemp short Brideless Groom.

Buster's a cad who's afraid to commit & marry Mary, despite their love for each other. He discovers his grandfather passed & bequeathed him 7 million dollars (more than 136 million dollars in today's money), only he has to be married by 7 PM... tonight. He fumbles the bag w/ Mary so he has to go on a quest w/ a lawyer and his brokerage partner to find any woman that would accept his hand in marriage.

To address the elephant in the room, there is a BLACKFACE character seen on several occasions. Of course, the white man cosplaying as a Black man is an idiot. Also, I've seen comments how Buster was walking the street and he rejected a woman one he saw that she was Black. That does look horrible... but in most areas of the United States, interracial marriages were illegal. Let's say that was the reason why he rejected her.

Anyhow, Buster's an awkward dork so he's rejected—until the news is placed in the late edition of the newspaper. Several hundred potential brides (including Jean Arthur, apparently) show up to the church! Yes, there's the “gold digger” stereotype not everyone will accept. Even so, “Buster Keaton running” is one of my favorite moments in all cinema-it's of course grand to see him run away from all those women.

While not the best Keaton I've ever viewed, this was still delightful, moments that aged poorly aside. The first half featured more subtle gags as it set the table for the outrageous back half. For a movie that Buster only did to settle a debt w/ producer Joseph Schneck & he did not care for much of it, Seven Chances was still a very good way for me to spend an hour last night.

Big Bad Mama

Big Bad Mama (1974)

Runtime: 85 minutes

Directed by: Steve Carver

Starring: Angie Dickinson, Susan Sennett, Robbie Lee, Tom Skerritt (RIP), William Shatner

From: New World Pictures

A belated RIP to Tom Skerritt. Several famous faces in recent times have passed away that I never got to tip my proverbial cap to. Skerritt's death naturally got plenty of attention as even in 2026, many people still know both Alien and Top Gun. I always liked seeing him in films and television, whether it be those aforementioned movies, The Devil's Rain, his one memorable scene in Up in Smoke, or the obscure vigilante movie Fighting Back. At least he lived a long life (the age of 93) and evidently was relatively healthy until shortly before his passing.

Big Bad Mama was chosen as it was an early Roger Corman New World Pictures production, had a wacky-sounding plot, and featured other names I recognized, especially lead Angie Dickinson and William Shatner. During the Great Depression, Dickinson and her two teen daughters are broke so they rob banks and engage in bootlegging. The film (which is a comedy) made me laugh often; the opening scene featured some crass language then a few minutes later, Royal Dano is exactly the sort of 1930's Texas reverend I wanted him to be. Skerritt's Fred is the one who gets them involved w/ the bank robbin' business; he makes the moves on Dickinson... and her daughters, but only after they initiated it because Angie “got to know” Shatner.

Yep, this sure was a Corman production.

Big Bad Mama was low-brow nonsense yet was quite entertaining as Dickinson was a bold, brash mama who had wild teen daughters and there are many sleazy moments. No surprise that there was plenty of “twangy” music on the soundtrack & both sexes fired off Tommy guns on multiple occasions. This is likely what you'd want from a film w/ such a plot produced by Corman in the 70's. There is a threesome at one point and also there's a THROUPLE between Angie & the two leading men, although we never seen the two men “do anything”... yes, we do get some prime Shatner Acting in this.

If you need even more motivation to give this a spin, Dick Miller has a nice supporting part. His behavior towards some people aside, I'll give props to Shatner and also Dickinson; both are alive at the age of 95 & I've never had a problem w/ them performance-wise. BTW, some people in this movie happened to be in The Devil's Rain, released the following year. Randomly, this movie had a 1987 sequel directed by... JIM WYNORSKI.

Skerritt's performance was one of the reasons why I had fun with Big Bad Mama.

One Night in Bangkok

One Night in Bangkok (2020)

Runtime: 105 minutes

Directed by: Wych Kaosayananda

Starring: Mark Dacascos, Vanida Golten, Prinya Intachai, Michael S. New, Sahajak Boonthanakit

From: Grindstone Entertainment Group/Kaos Productions

The world was not my oyster while watching this film.

Actually, that's too harsh a phrase to say; of course this won't be the only reference to the song that was for a random Broadway musical called Chess that would have been forgotten if not for the tune, from Murray Head, Tim Rice and the two dudes in a band my late mother enjoyed: ABBA. I've known of this movie for awhile now-my seeing it now is due to a recent cable box upgrade from my small regional cable company. Whether it's permanent or temporary, I now get the Showtime and Starz channels for free. Somehow, years ago w/ my old cable company, we accidentally got various premium channels for free for YEARS.

The plot: You can call it“Temu Collateral.” Personally, I don't love Collateral like everyone else does... but I'm still glad that Michael Mann is OK after he recently shot himself in the leg by accident. Specifically to Bangkok, Mark Dacascos is a hitman who visits the city not for the Somerset Maugham suite, any golden cloisters, or muddy rivers, but rather to perform various hits through the night as he uses a local lady w/ a rideshare Volvo SUV instead of a dude in a taxicab like in this film's inspiration.

It was nice to see Dacasos in the lead; he always deserved to be known for more than just The Chairman in Iron Chef America. He's a martial artist who should have done more in low-budget action cinema. This movie is more a thriller w/ plenty of dialogue as there's only a few action scenes; another key detail of this is the director: Wych Kaosayananda, i.e. the guy who gave us the infamous flop Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever... although that project was taken out of his hands unjustly so him going to Director's Jail for years wasn't entirely fair. Bangkok is at least better than that. This has various split-screen shots-while not De Palma, the attempt was still appreciated.

This film is incredibly low-key, more dialogue than action-driven. The movie is low-key even by my standards; at least Mark was fine as the lead and so was random lady Vanida Golten as the driver. There's plenty of monologues concerning fishing, religion, Thai cuisine... the plot isn't plausible by any regards but at least is watchable, not a grueling, painful experience. It's always nice seeing Dacascos and Kane Kosugi, although the latter doesn't appear until the finale.

The attempts at drama weren't always successful; at least “Honey, we have Collateral at home” was not a DVR recording I regretted making.

Sorry, Wrong Number

Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)

Runtime: 89 minutes

Directed by: Anatole Litvak

Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ann Richards, Wendell Corey, Harold Vermilyea

From: Paramount

 
I return to the world of film noir for Norivember. Those have been watched by me for years now, not just exclusively to November; <a href="https://letterboxd.com/blairrussell/list/black-film-the-film-noir-ive-watched-since/">there's in fact a list made by me</a> for those that ever need any suggestions, especially those that are new to the genre. I'll check out at least one more genre example later this month.

This played last night on Turner Classic Movies; Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster are never bad reasons to see a motion picture. She is a bedridden woman who happens to be wealthy; there's no time wasted in getting the plot started. Babs is a bedridden woman alone in her bedroom who is unable to call her husband's office-we know that phone is off the hook. She attempts to have the operator assist her but by happenstance, she is spliced into a conversation w/ two men discussing a murder about to occur in a few hours. Her Leona Stevenson attempts to call that operator, the cops, etc. but the details are vague and plus it's 1940's sexism, so she isn't believed. Meanwhile, Burt is her husband.

Even if the viewer might be ahead of Mrs. Stevenson, Sorry, Wrong Number is quite the entertaining yarn. Evidently, this radio play was greatly expanded for the silver screen. There are flashbacks and even flashback within flashbacks—Stanwyck isn't always stuck in the bedroom and in fact used to be ambulatory until a bad heart ruined her health. We discover how the leads were an odd couple that fell in love; we also discover (to echo the thoughts of others on Letterboxd) Leona had some melodramatic moments irrelevant to her overhearing a murder plot, although she's that outside of the flashbacks as well. 

Sorry, Wrong Number was filmed well, w/ moments where the camera didn't remain static-its movements helping to explain the plot without the usage of speech. The quality supporting cast (Ann Richards, Wendell Corey, Ed Begley, Sr., Leif Erikson, etc.) were further assets. I was happy to have finally tackled this film noir; the hope is that by the end of the month, I'll view at least one more from the genre, and they likely will be famous examples that should have been viewed long before November, 2026.

Interceptor

Interceptor (2022)

Runtime: 99 miserable minutes

Directed by: Matthew Reilly

Starring: Elsa Pataky, Luke Bracey, Aaron Glenane, Mayen Mehta, Rhys Muldoon

From: Netflix

Yes, this is sure some Netflix gruel. I won't use the “S word” as it's overused, even more so when referring to AI. I'll keep Netflix for at least one more month (meaning, early December) and in the meantime, I'll view some films & documentaries on the platform. There's no real good explanation why I chose this random Netflix exclusive picture, aside from telling or reminding people that most fictional Netflix Original Movies are avoided by me as if they were a fentanyl pill. Under Siege, this isn't.

Yeah, Elsa Pataky is an attractive lady; I am hesitant to proclaim that in this context as a key plot point is the sexual harassment her character experienced while in the military. Note that even I was taken aback by how STUPID this was! This containing too much “humor” and it being unfunny wasn't unexpected. I also knew that a famous face had a small role; entertaining, that wasn't.

The sexual harassment subplot was crude & crass, but the motivations for villain Luke Bracey to take control of the interceptor missiles that prevent enemy missiles from reaching the United States... “condescending” and “insulting” are two appropriate words to use. “Manipulative” is another term I'll use; America is bashed often, whether valid or not.

The setting is a rig in the middle of the Pacific Ocean; that setting didn't really mean much when it came to the average action. The interceptor missile that sank this movie: the horrendous plot and even more horrendous dialogue. The villain used the word “paroxysm” at one point but the movie is stump-dumb! You don't want to scrutinize the plot even a minuscule amount. Interceptor isn't even worth having on in the background while you're folding your laundry or doing the dishes.

The desire is for me to avoid such drivel as this and instead concentrate on motion pictures more worthwhile. That said, I am glad to offer my opinion-how much stock you put into my opinion is up to you-that this is lame, felt incredibly cheap, has acres upon acres of dialogue, and not even the action is worthwhile. There is one absurd death that made me laugh; for this reason I can't give it my worst-possible rating or even a plain 1 star. Otherwise, Interceptor should be avoided; this is worse than even the typical Netflix Original Movie.

I had never even heard of Matthew Reilly; he's an Aussie author turned director-although this is his only credit. More than one mutual enjoys his writing, which naturally focuses on action plots such as this. As a director, he's no Michael Crichton or Alex Garland.

The Clones of Bruce Lee

The Clones of Bruce Lee (Shen Wei San Meng Long) (1980)

Runtime: 91 minutes

Directed by: Several different people; different sources tell me different things

Starring: Dragon Lee, Bruce Le, Bruce Lai, Bruce Thai, Jon T. Benn, Bolo Yeung

From: Filmline Enterprises/Filmark International Ltd.

It's a BRUCEPLOITATION movie... of course this was weird. So we're on the same page, for years after Bruce Lee's untimely death, there was an entire industry of films based on guys who resembled the late icon as the star of martial arts films, usually weird and sometimes bizarre like Clones was. That's a world I've barely scratched the surface of yet I know the genre's reputation.

We see Bruce (well, the body of someone who barely resembled him) wheeled into the hospital, where he “died of a heart attack” instead of the “swelling of the brain caused by an allergic reaction” that was his actual cause of death. Law enforcement in Hong Kong plus a professor create a trio of clones, cleverly named Bruce Lee 1, Bruce Lee 2, and Bruce Lee 3. They were “born” as adults; this is never adequately explained, nor are the “THOUGHTAL INJECTIONS” that the clones receive via what's best described as an upside-down salad bowl w/ wires attacked that's on their heads. BTW, the doctor that created the clones was Jon T. Benn of The Way of the Dragon fame & they train w/ Bolo Yeung of Enter the Dragon fame.

This is as ludicrous as you'd expect; I say that as a positive in this case. While none of the action was unforgettable by any means, at least there's a slew of martial arts throughout. One clone is in an adventure involving a gold-smuggling movie producer (he becomes an actor. Once the producer discovers Bruce Lee 1 is investigating him, he has the scheme to... have Bruce Lee 1 die via HAVING AN ON-SET “ACCIDENT” INVOLVING A GUN. No kidding) and the other two team up with the Thai version of Not Bruce Lee-appropriately known as BRUCE THAI-in Thailand to stop an evil scientist, known as Dr. Nye..no, not Bill. His scheme is straight out of a 30's serial.

This was fun nonsense featuring dubbed dialogue, stolen music (only some of which I recognized... there's Gonna Fly Now, the theme to The Spy Who Loved Me, and songs from The Warriors), way more full-frontal female flesh than I was anticipating, and nice scenery in both Hong Kong & Thailand. A movie as goofy as The Clones of Bruce Lee naturally won't appeal to all tastes; thankfully, I'm in the camp that can laugh at the thought process of having a film star multiple Lee impersonators.